Returning to the Bay . . . in a Jam, So to Speak!
Quick update first: we are currently back in the Annapolis area for a little while to visit home, see family and get some work done on the boat. We have completed an entire year of cruising and will take a little rest and reflect on our adventures. More on that in another post.
But right now the story of our re-entry into the Chesapeake Bay. Well, we were so excited to get back in the bay. We had transited the Dismal Swamp and passed through the Norfolk/Portsmouth, Virginia area (wonderful boat watching territory passing by the navy boats in port).
Passing the Naval Fleet
The planets and the universe aligned and, almost totally coincidentally, we were about to reunite with our water family on Magnolia and Mandala. We had no idea that Mandala was at the end of a 5 day passage straight from the Abacos into the Chesapeake and were about to land 10 miles north of us until we happened to hear them on the radio. We had been in contact with Magnolia and they were planning to hold up in Solomons, Maryland so we could catch up to them and have one more night together to celebrate our year of cruising before we all went back to our separate ports. But as it ended up, we all decided (mostly independently) that we would head to Deltaville, Virginia that Saturday . . . and we were all going to end up there together! Happy day!
Magnolia was already at anchor in Deltaville. Mandala and Eleanor Q were headed there. All was going well. We had fair current and were blazing by Norfolk at about 9.5 knots – very fast for us! We converged paths with Mandala and had about two hours to go to Deltaville when we were hit by severe thunderstorms – our worst weather of the entire year. But we had plenty happen before the storms . . .
The winds had been perfect at about 15 – 18 knots. The conditions were great. I went below to fix peanut better and jelly sandwiches for lunch. (Hey – they’re fast and easy. Don’t mock.) The sandwiches were done but laying open on the counter. The jam was still sitting on the counter. Suddenly, a freak rogue wind came out of nowhere. We had all three sails completely out. Frank was at the helm when, in about thirty seconds time, the wind went to 20 . . . 23 . . . 26 . . . and then hit a sideways gust at 30 knots! We do not want to be under full sail when that happens! The boat heeled over hard and was nearly sitting sideways. (We were not in danger – they are built to do that if they have to and our boat can take it . . . but it isn’t ideal.) I was still below when it hit and I heard and saw stuff starting to fly about. I had secured things pretty well, but there are a few extra books or magazines or other non-breakable stuff that will fall off of some shelves if I haven’t taken extra care. No big deal. It’s “just” the bay, right? We weren’t in the ocean or the gulf stream. How bad is it going to be? Mistake. I had dishes stored in the microwave. Pitching sideways with such a violent force, the latch on the microwave door didn’t hold and the plates became projectiles across the galley – they flew the complete width of the boat. We have very little that is breakable on the boat – no actual glass glasses for example; but we do have some heavy ceramic plates for our bigger dinners. You just don’t always feel like eating off of plastic, you know? Anyway, I thought the microwave was a secure enough stowage unit for them. On a normal day, it is. But this was freakish. The ceramic broke with such intensity that I was picking shards out of the wood. Broken pieces of plates were everyhwere. It looked like a tornado had come through. But to add insult to injury, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches flew with the dishes. Worse than that, the plastic jam container had still been sitting on the counter and was sliced wide open by the flying shards. Strawberry jam was everywhere. I am still finding jam on the ceiling today. I was in such shock as I saw the damage . . . beautiful wood on our boat with big gouges in it. Broken plates all over. I couldn’t even figure out what had just happened. But first matters first – Frank was calling to me and I ran up top to quickly help him get some sails in. He had already headed up into the wind to get the power out of the sails which cured the heeling immediately. (That sentence sounds like an oxymoron or a joke or something . . . “cured the heeling.”) Anyway . . . once things up top were in control, I went back down below to start the clean up. Hey, it’s just stuff and some bumps and scratches, right? No people were damaged so no big deal, right? I have an odd aversion to things like glass breaking. I told Frank this a long time ago; he understands this about me. It is irrational and I don’t know where it comes from. So I will confess openly right now . . . I cried the whole time I cleaned up. Hard. I wish I could explain why, but I can’t. It was just the surprise of it, I think. I briefly thought about taking pictures of the mess, but there are just some things you don’t want to look at again.
So then, just as oddly, ten minutes later the wind died. Nothing. Caput. We were practically becalmed. I am not making this up. Guess what that meant? The black flies showed up. Droves of them. All we could do was keep swatting them away from our ankles which became the fly buffet for the day. It was miserable. We are fortunate that we have screens on the boat, but each time we had to go down below, a portion of the swarm would try to sneak in, I must admit, killing flies down below became therapy for releasing my angst over the earlier episode.
An hour later we got hit with the severe thunderstorms. It was a day of total extremes. We got ready by donning our foul weather gear and pulling in all of the sails. The storms hit hard. The VHF radio was blaring warnings to mariners. We had nowhere to hide – we just had to gut it out.
Getting hit from two sides!
Frank looking at the storm’s progress.
Some ugly looking clouds!
Again, our boat can handle it and I have a very competent captain who knows how to handle the boat in these conditions. He’s been telling me for three years that I need to experience a Chesapeake thunderstorm – well, he finally got his wish. We had sustained winds of 40 knots with gusts to 48 for more than thirty minutes. It was not much fun. And in the midst of that, we were going through a minefield of crab pots. My job was to watch for and point out the pots. I was tucked under our dodger and somewhat protected. Frank was getting soaked. For the bay, we had some pretty good seas. He slowed the boat down and put her nose right into the wind and just rode it out. That’s about the best you can do. Mandala was close by, so we knew we had company! Meanwhile, Magnolia was in the anchorage, but their anchor was dragging n the storm, so they had issues of their own! Oddly enough, as uncomfortable as it was, we laughed later at the fact that I was far more upset at the broken dishes and jam episode than I was over the thunderstorms and high winds. I don’t know what that says about me.
Getting soaked.
Don’t often see real waves in the bay.
Whew. Through the worst of it! We were both safely tethered to the boat.
Bottom line: our three boats met for dinner aboard Magnolia and had great stories to tell about the day over good food and wine and great company. Mandala has spent just a little time on the bay (they are from Maine) and we assured them that they got the worst of what the bay has to offer all in one day – there is nowhere to go but up! We were rewarded the following day with the most beautiful weather conditions and the beauty of the bay as we generally think of it.
All’s well that ends well . . . but that was a little bigger splash back into our home waters than we were bargaining for! Ending the day next to our water family reinforced an abiding concept: “If you’re ever in a jam, here I am!”
(Bonus points if you get the musical reference.)
Moving North Fast: The Carolinas
We are moving north fast . . . well . . . for a sailboat, anyway. So I will try to hit the highlights of our favorite places through South and North Carolina. We stopped at some of the same spots we experienced on the way south in the fall, and we hit some new places, so I’ll focus on the newbies here.
Many other cruisers talk about the fact that they would NOT like to do the constant grind of the ICW. Now traveling it for the second time, there are definitely sections that are a grind. But there are also some of the most beautiful sights, too!!
We stopped at Beaufort, SC again (byoo-furt) and enjoyed a lovely afternoon wandering town and having a nice date night at a restaurant on their beautiful waterfront. Okay, with my new found interest in history, let me tell you a quick story about Robert Smalls. In as few words as possible – he was an African American born in the shed behind a large water front house in Beaufort (which is beautiful) where his mother was a slave – which meant he was a slave as well. His master sent him to Charleston to work various jobs to earn more money. After working the docks and learning all he could, he eventually became a boat pilot. He was put into service on a Confederate ship, the USS Planter, as one of the “drivers” (blacks would not actually be referred to as pilots or captains). It was carrying important munitions and tactical information as well as it’s own guns. When the three white crewman decided to go ashore for the evening, Smalls dressed as the captain, put on a straw hat like the captain’s, and proceeded to pilot the boat right out of the harbor. He headed north (after stopping to pick up his and his fellow crew members’ families) hoisted a white sheet and turned the boat over to the Union Navy. He received prize money for the capture of the boat and later met President Lincoln. He later served as the first black ship’s captain in the U.S military. After the Civil Rights Act was signed, he returned to Beaufort, BOUGHT the house where he and his mother were slaves, became a state senator and then served in the U.S. House of Representatives for South Carolina. AND, when his former master’s wife was very elderly, he let her come back to live in the house that she had known for so many years. How many things are amazing about that story? We learned this wandering through just the front of a small museum on the main drag in town. The weather was perfect for our stroll around town and we loved it as much this time as the last time.
Beaufort, SC and dinner on the waterfront
And, we found ice cream after dinner!
Then we headed up past Savannah (anchoring south of town for a brief rest) and charged by Charleston to maintain our target of getting to the Chesapeake in mid-May. We kept on going and anchored at Butler Island, an easy “in and out” off the ICW. It is wide open but quiet and comfortable (on a settled day) and is at the beginning of one of our favorite sections of the ICW . . . the Wacamaw River.
Sunset at one of our scenic anchorages.
The Wacamaw is tranquil, peaceful, largely uninhabited – delightful!
Then we headed to Myrtle Beach area and stayed at the very cruiser friendly Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. We passed the golf courses of the Myrtle Beach area and marveled at the mass of humanity in the area. We’re talking full days (7 – 9 hours of transit covering 45 – 70 miles.)
A bridge opening at sunrise. We’ve had very early starts lately!
We saw the cable cars this time! These take golfers from the parking lot to the clubhouse.
A foggy departure from Myrtle Beach Yacht Club – stayed this way for only an hour.
Passing a riverboat.
We crossed the state line and went in to North Carolina, destination Southport. How did we miss Southport on the way down? What a great place! This is the mouth of the Cape Fear River – you’ve heard of Cape Fear? We stayed here for three nights on threat of bad weather and it was a great stop, so a little more about Southport. It is very “nautical” and has the feeling of an old fishing village. The movie ” Safe Haven ” was filmed there a few years ago (featuring Julianne Hough of “Dancing With the Stars” and Josh Duhamel.) The town is not overly commercial but offers a number of great dining options and nice shops to poke around in. The neighborhoods are beautiful. The history is interesting. We really enjoyed Southport and would make that a “must stop again” place. The marina that we stayed at offered a daily weather and navigation briefing by Hank of Carolina Yacht Care, a retired Navy meteorologist, a sailor, and he and his wife are former cruisers. His daily briefing was top notch and we used his shuttle services to do some provisioning. And we took Hank a dark and stormy for the last days’ briefing (sort of like taking an apple to the teacher.) What a great guy, a great service, and a great business he offers. Big fans, Hank. Finally the weather broke and it was time for us to go.
Cape Fear
A cool, classic truck with an old logo as we walk into Southport.
There must have been a classic car show close by!
Exploring the Maritime Museum
Pilot boats are sent out to usher large vessels into the inlet.
Eleanor Q parked at Southport Marina.
We enjoyed dinner with some new friends at a local eatery. Nice sunset!
The next night we had a more eventful night than we would have liked at the anchorage in Camp Lejeune. No, it had nothing to do with marines boarding the boat . . . it had to do with the strange noise I heard come from the engine earlier in the day. It was a metallic “ping” sound which meant something hit a fan blade. No other bad noise followed and we continued on. No problem. What we found when we anchored is that the bolt holding the alternator on had sheared in half. We were lucky the alternator didn’t fall off during the trip! We thought we were going to have a big problem and made a reservation in a close by marina for the next day – just in case. Of all the spare parts we have on board, that particular bolt wasn’t one of them. Amazingly, after a little chatting on the VHF, fellow cruisers came through once again! Frank had located the right bolt on a neighboring boat and had the repair done by 9:30pm!! (I won’t mention that in the midst of that repair, the engine decided it wouldn’t start, so then we were looking at the possibility of being towed out of the anchorage.) Happily, the persnickety starter cooperated, the new bolt held with some minor modifications and we were off as scheduled the next morning (following a very stressful evening and largely sleepless night!) We made SERIOUS tracks past Oriental (yes, we passed Oriental. All boaters are gasping now . . .) with a very specific mission in mind: reach Ocracoke Island the next day!
OCRACOKE! What a beautiful, wonderful detour off of the ICW it is! This is not a “typical cruiser destination” because it isn’t on “the route.” It is actually in the Outer Banks – the next island south from Cape Hatteras, but is part of the Hatteras National Shoreline. It can ONLY be reached by boat (or plane) which are my personal favorite kind of places to go. Plus, Frank has a boyhood friend (high school and fishing years) who lives in Buxton on Hatteras. Joe and Josie hopped a ferry and came over to see us for the afternoon! What a great and happy reunion. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, last fall I told the story of our time in Cape May when Frank was reunited with one of his life long friends and fishing crew mates who was on the ill-fated Marjorie Snow, the fishing boat that Frank ran hard aground on his first day as a captain. Well, Joe was the third of the three man crew on the boat. Wow, do Frank and Joe have the stories and the history. We were so happy that the four of us could spend some quality time sitting in the cockpit of Eleanor Q after a delicious lunch on land. We looked out over the very scenic town and Silver Lake.
Frank and I spent the next day walking and biking all around the island. Again, old fishing village feeling that has some terrific restaurants and shops, but is not overly commercial (at least not before Memorial Day.) I could have stayed there happily for a week, but you know us . . . we’re getting itchy to get home making it hard for us to stay in one place for more than a couple of days. We will make Ocracoke a must do place as well – and we’ll stay longer!! There is an airstrip there that Navy pilots training for larger jets use for practice and a lunch stop. I’m not kidding. Here came these three really beautiful airshow quality-looking planes (almost like biplanes) doing aerobatics. Then they landed in the distance. We got the local scoop that they stop on Ocracoke, take a golf cart to the nearby restaurant and then fly back out. We pulled our bikes into the parking lot just as the flyboys departed in their golf cart and I only caught a glimpse of them. DARN IT. Uhm, er, I mean they aren’t NEARLY as cute as Frank is, of course!
We knew the entrance was a little tricky. Problem solved – follow the ferry in!
Friends reunited.
Looking across Silver Lake
Sun setting over the ferry docks.
We walked briefly on the gorgeous beach on the Atlantic side. A chilly wind made the walk a short one.
I think I just discovered that I was about to ride before putting my sandals back on. Duh.
Ocracoke lighthouse. It isn’t open to go inside, but the grounds are pretty. Frank meets a new canine friend who escorts him.
As we continued our ride, we happened on to a roving band of musical pirates singing old sea songs. I think they were doing a promo for an upcoming show. Ocracoke seems to have a decent arts scene: galleries, music a theater . . .
This sign on a local store cracked me up. I guess their marketing strategy didn’t work since the place is for sale.
Beautiful sky over the docks.
We left Ocracoke and made a stop at the Aligator River Marina, place with a little bit of legend to it. It is a known cruising stop. We got fuel and took a slip for the night just so we could eat the fried chicken that we had heard so much about. The place is funky, quirky, country and worth the stop (plus no one was in the laundry). It is a gas station off of state route 17 as well as a marina. The station has a convenience store with a little dining room in the back where we dined on our much desired fried chicken. Two plates of chicken with sides, a large beer, a glass of wine and ice cream all for the whopping total of about $30. Life is good! All served by Ms. Wanda’s daughter-in-law. Ms. Wanda runs the place with an iron fist and she is legendary. We understand you either love her or hate her. I’ll bet we would love here, but we never got quite to meet her . . . just waved as she was driving by. Maybe another time, Ms. Wanda. She lives on the grounds. Talk about being married to your work!
Alligator River Marina (and Shell Gas Station).
Looking from the gas station and convenience across to Eleanor Q in her slip close to Ms. Wanda’s house.
We ate the famous fried chicken dinner – which had to be completed with ice cream!
And on the way back from dinner, Frank spotted a critter. What guy can resist picking up a turtle?
And now we are in Elizabeth City getting ready to transit the Dismal Swamp again tomorrow and make our way in to Virginia.
The roses are blooming in Elizabeth City.
We are having record high temperatures and are sitting under fans as we speak hoping for the nice breeze to continue through tonight. Tomorrow may be a sticky one going through the swamp, but doesn’t that sound appropriate? Stay tuned.
Georgia On My Mind: Florida to Georgia
After leaving Daytona, we trucked on up through the state with only a brief stop in St. Augustine. And then we thought we’d just “keep on truckin’.” (Okay, how many of you over the age of 50 had a poster or a sticker on your notebook that said that when you were young? Or was that a West Virginia thing?) Anyway, the weather had some different ideas for us.
First, St. Augustine. We took a mooring ball in somewhat unsettled waters/wind which made for a long and somewhat wet dinghy ride in to land. We did get off the boat a bit and met up with our friends Brian and Jane from Mar-a-lago (from the B to B Fleet. We keep crossing paths!) We had to stay in St. Augustine an extra day due to some bad weather moving through. As Frank likes to say, “You’ll have that.”
Sites and scenes in St. Augustine
Leaving St. Augustine
Next we wanted to go to Fernandina Beach. We missed it on the way down . . . and guess what? We missed it on the way back up, too. (You’ll have that.) Between the stretch of unfavorable weather and the fact that there was a trawler (boat) gathering in Fernandina, it just wasn’t in the cards. There was more bad weather coming and we wanted to make SOME progress north, so we made it to a marina on the southern side of Jacksonville and sat there for three days waiting for storms to move on through. We managed to get out for a couple of good, long walks up the highway to visit the Publix grocery store and the Waffle House. There were also two fun restaurants on the premises, so we made the best of our days there.
Front and back of sign at the ABC store. I think somebody be celebrating already! The one on the right was on the gas station side of the sign. I think I know where the extra “s” came from!
Beach Marine in Jacksonville, FL – our stay during some weather.
Next stop, Cumberland Island, Georgia! This is a place we had heard so many good things about and wanted to visit. It is a National Seashore and only reachable by boat. One of the things it is known for is the wild horse population. I most definitely wanted to see the wild horses! We were off and in search of them. There are three distinct areas to explore on the island: 1) The trails and camp sites in the marsh lands, 2) the beach on the Atlantic side, and 3) the ruins of an old mansion that had been owned by the Carnegies at one point. The horses roam the entire island – or so we hear.
We anchored by the island and took the dinghy to the dock where the daily ferries arrive from St. Mary’s, GA and where the ranger station is located, and began exploring.
Captain happy to be anchored at Cumberland Island.
This is the ferry that brings visitors over from St. Mary’s – the main means for people to visit the island. We were able to park our dinghy here.
It was a chilly, overcast day which actually made for comfortable hiking. First, we followed the paths through the live oaks and spanish moss. Gorgeous!
Following the marked paths on Cumberland Island.
Spanish moss on live oaks – beautiful and spooky looking.
Kept looking for wild horses . . .none to be found.
Then we cut across to the beach. It was practically deserted with just a few other people wandering the island. We looked up and down. No wild horses . . . we kept walking.
The beaches were wide open and stunning.
Eventually we got to the Dungeness Ruins. (Dungeness is the name of the mansion and grounds – kind of like “Tara” from Gone With the Wind.) What a history of this site. I will give you the headlines. It’s pretty interesting, and remember, this place can only be reached by boat.
– Original mansion was designed by Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. He got the land in exchange for a bad debt. His widow built the original, four story tabby mansion on the site in 1803.
– Dungeness is occupied by the British during the War of 1812 and used as a headquarters. (I’m wondering if Mrs. Greene was tearing the draperies off of the windows to make a dress . . . )
– In 1818, Robert E. Lee’s father, Henry, moved into the house and stayed until his death and was buried there for a time.
– Mansion is abandoned during the Civil War and burns down in 1866.
– In the 1880s, one of the Carnegies buys the place (Thomas, Andrew’s brother) and begins to build a 59 room Queen Anne Style mansion on the original foundation. Although he does not survive to see it finished, his widow continues to live there and builds three other mansions on other parts of the island for her children. (Do you notice a theme here? The guys start the place, die, and the widows end up living in there. Hmmm…)
– The Carnegies move out in 1925 and leave the mansion sitting empty.
– The mansion burns in 1956 – arson is suspected. The remains of Dungeness are now preserved.
The grounds of Dungeness.
Dungeness then and now
It is a beautiful piece of land with amazing views of the woods, marshes and shoreline. Any sensible horse would LOVE to hang out here! Still nothing. Let me point something out: Here are pictures from the blogs of some of our water buddies:
From Magnolia’s blog and a visit about two weeks ahead of us: these horses were too lazy to even move out of the trail for them.
This horse stood and posed for Anthony!
And here Brian from Mar-a-lago is just showing off with the horses on the beach. This was a few days after our visit there.
And here’s what we’ve found so far: It ain’t right.
Hoof prints and other “evidence” of horses. Hey – poop happens.
At last, far far in the distance, way far away, I spot . . . could it be . . . if I had binoculars I’d know for sure . . . yes, it appears there are two or three wild horses!
I think there are horses out there.
That was as close as we ever got. Sigh. I’m changing the words to the Rolling Stones song “Wild Horses” to ” wild horses … couldn’t drag themselves out….” It was a delightful visit to Cumberland Island IN SPITE of the fickle horses. What a beautiful and interesting place.
Frank in the marshes.
After that stop, we buzzed right on through the rest of Georgia, pausing only to anchor overnight by Raccoon Island south of Savannah.
After that we headed into the Carolinas. Next post (coming soon), we’ll catch you up on our Carolina travels. Right this second we are sitting in North Carolina, so yes, I’m a little behind again, but we’ve been hauling gas! (minus the “g” and plus the “s”) We have stayed put for the last couple of days to let the bad weather pass through . . . we did well seeming to be just north or south of the worst storms (or as we sometimes call the, free boat baths.)
And so, the trek towards home continues!
Yes, We Are Still Cruising! Back in the U.S.
I know, I know. It has been WEEKS since our last post. It was a winter interruptus, but now we are back on the boat and cruising along nicely. Let me try to efficiently get you caught up.
Last post I had shared that we’d lost my brother-in-law, Frank. The residents of Eleanor Q packed up and flew back to NJ for the services and to be with family. It was Ems’ second trip off the boat flying from Marsh Harbor airport in the Abacos. Frank took some time while we were in the area to hang out with his son, Frank, for a while – always a good thing! We returned to the boat and the following week was a blur. We were still recovering from an emotional trip and then had to start planning for our passage back to the U.S. Months ago I had booked a little bit of work back in Pennsylvania/NJ area for early April. For that and a number of other reasons, it was time for us to get back to the states. Eleanor Q enjoyed her month long parking spot in Hope Town, and we enjoyed the area and the people there very much. We hope to get back to the Abacos in the future and see some of the other cays that we missed this time around. You can’t do it all!
So on March 20th, we were underway again! We left Hope Town for Spanish Cay for the night and then went straight from Spanish Cay across the Gulf Stream, into Ft. Pierce inlet in Florida and straight up to Vero Beach. It required an overnight passage. The trip took about 30 hours. It was sporting but exhilarating and we were so happy to be back underway. I think we needed to blow some of the cob webs out of our heads at that point and get focused back on cruising. With each overnight, we both get more confident with my ability to be in the cockpit for 3 hour shifts at night alone. And I wasn’t very alone . . . we were crossing with Magnolia and two other boats that we met in the previous days. We established the hourly check in system on the radio and called each other if someone spotted a tanker on their radar or AIS system first. For the first time, Frank and I both truly slept on our 3 hour breaks which made us both a lot better off upon arrival!
We found a busy Vero Beach and ended up rafted three deep on a mooring ball, but one of our neighbors were our new friends from Cutting Class. We had met them in Hope Town and spent some time with them there. Magnolia, Cutting Class and Eleanor Q had a fun four days in Vero, and then we once again hopped on a plane and headed to New Jersey. Frank came with me for the first part of the trip since he was STILL dealing with ongoing dental issues that really needed some attention for real. Plus any chance for him to hang out with Frank and Nicole is excellent! It was very strange, at first, to be back in “work mode” and facilitate training classes, but there was a part of it that felt very good, too. I put on my adult clothes and make-up, broke out the blow dryer and curling iron and acted like a professional for a few days. I did have to laugh . . . the one client I worked for is Frank’s former employer, and they have been a client of mine for close to eight years. There are people at the company that follow the blog who didn’t have any reason to know that I’d be around teaching. I ran into two of those people in the hallways. They both blinked, looked confused and said, “Wait. Why aren’t you on the boat? And why haven’t I gotten a blog in a while?” It made me smile. Thanks for reading, John and Tom!! As much as I enjoyed the work, I was extremely homesick for the boat and for Frank who had flown back several days ahead of me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so happy to get back on the boat than I did that Wednesday when I returned to Vero via the West Palm Beach airport.
Now we’re back on the boat heading north. We’ve stopped in Titusville, Daytona Beach and are currently in St. Augustine, FL for a brief visit. We project a landing in Annapolis area around the third week of May and look forward to seeing a lot of cool stuff along the way. So stay tuned . . . the blogging has resumed. Here are the pictorial headlines of what we’ve been up to . . .
March 17th, taking off from a very snowy Philadelphia airport.
Enjoying our last few days in Hope Town including BBQ at Papa Nasty’s! Most excellent.
One of our favorite hangouts, “Wine Down Sip Sip” – with a great wine selection and excellent flatbread pizza!
Coming back from a long walk with Magnolia and Cutting Class . . . had to work off the BBQ!
Okay, really rough laundry duty. We had access to the marina since that’s who leases the mooring ball we were living on. Here’s how it goes: throw laundry in washer – sit by the pool – throw laundry in dryer – sit by the pool. Very stressful. Best laundry ever! I had a few things drying on the lounge chairs.
And it’s time to say goodbye to Hope Town . . . we’ll see that iconic lighthouse again some day.
We were lucky to dodge a few squalls in the area as we made our way across the Sea of Abaco and away from Spanish Cay.
Underway to the US and watching the sunset over choppy waters.
And dodging more squalls as we look behind us at sunrise as we approach the coast of Florida. I don’t think we ever saw more than a sprinkle. Guardian angels . . .
And then dodging a tug boat pulling a barge as we race him to the Ft. Pierce inlet. We were determined not to get stuck behind him at the inlet and he was very accommodating.
Re-entering civilization(?) – high rises and lots of bridges. We hadn’t seen those for a while!
Rafted up in Vero with Cutting Class
We enjoyed a cookout on the marina grounds at Vero with Anthony at the grill and the lovely Ms. Annette assisting.
How do you know you’re back in the U.S.? They actually expect you to wear SHOES in restaurants!! It is a weird transition back into the land of rules and noise and over-stimulation.
Marcia and Dan from Cutting Class – yes, retired teachers. Great boat name!!
And here we are flying . . . again.
Frank is showing off some of his dental work, two root canals later. This is the place we moved to last year after leaving Harrisburg. It feels like a vacation condo since we’ve spent so little time there. I still can’t find anything in the kitchen!
Ems VERY happy to be getting shuttled back to Eleanor Q after her “work” trip. Notice the lack of tan here.
An early morning departure from Vero Beach, FL.
Ems taking her turn at the helm.
A nice day of motor sailing on the ICW!
We had an audience watching us go under a bridge. I think the one in the middle looks a little judgmental. My sister Christine saw this picture and commented that that must be the “poop deck” they’re sitting on. You can always count on Christine for those witty observations!
We had a pre-dawn departure from Titusville in an attempt to make it to Daytona Beach around lunchtime.
And we were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise!
And we are back to the land of draw bridges, too!
For all the highrise areas you see in Florida, you see at least as much of the ICW that looks like a wildlife preserve! It is beautiful. Can you spot the heron in this picture?
We got to see our friends Anne and Bob in Daytona again. Here we are checking out what we think was a loon! It certainly sounded like it. By the way, Anne does an amazing duck call just blowing through her fingers. No lie, ducks actually came!! I gotta learn how to do that.
And we have another feathered observer supervising our departure from the Halifax River Yacht Club in Daytona Beach – a really wonderful facility with the best staff.
Life Doesn’t Stop Just Because You Go Cruising: Hope Town and New Jersey
We arrived in Hope Town in the Abacos section of the Bahamas in mid-February and received a warm welcome from our friends Al and Michele on Kindred Spirit. They decided to make Hope Town their home for the winter and were based out of the lovely harbor since before Christmas. We called them on the radio as we were coming in and they came out and met us in their dinghy to be our pilot boat. They had reserved us a prime mooring ball next to their boat, then gave us an orientation to the town and fed us dinner. What better welcome could we get? They even took us racing with them on our 2nd full day . . . a light air “race” where, at times, we were doing as little as 2 knots. When you can sit and eat your sandwich and never flinch, it is a very slow, light air race!
Michele and Al from Kindred Spirit welcoming us to the harbor
Our Pilot boat leading us into Hope Town – the iconic light house.
Eleanor Q rolling in to Hope Town!
Our escorts showed us to a spot near their boat in the harbor.
Racing on Kindred Spirit
We had a nice evening at Firefly Restaurant and attended the beginning of the song writers festival.
Listening to music with Al and Michele, the ultimate hosts!
But I’m having a hard time talking about any of that very enthusiastically at this moment because we are preparing for a second trip (second for Ems, first for Frank) back to New Jersey. My brother-in-law, Frank, lost his battle with cancer this past Thursday and my sister, Christine, lost her husband. He was a wonderful man who loved our family immensely – and we loved him. He and my sister have housed and cared for a couple of us siblings through various stages of life – for jobs we had in the area, but more meaningful to me, they helped care for one of my sisters during her (successful) battle with breast cancer a number of years ago. Knowing that his end was nearing, I flew back to New Jersey for twelve days to be with family while “My” Frank stayed with the boat in Hope Town. (When you have multiple Franks in the family, you have to have these designations!)
Aerial view taking off from Marsh Harbour.
Aerial view of the frozen New Jersey coast.
In our family, we have often done “sister shifts” after surgeries or treatments or hospital stays – the advantage of having a large family. My sister, Caroline, has practically moved in with Christine and Frank during this period . . . I was able to come home and give her a little break, and other sisters have jumped in to help as well. Frank remained at home under hospice care until the end where he died peacefully with family at his side. He was a retired police chief in a suburb of Princeton, NJ and was beloved in the community. He had a certain brand of humor that was classic. When I was staying at their house several nights every month for work (back in the 90s), he would get home from work first, me second and Christine third. I would find him sitting on their bed watching the local news – their room kind of doubled as a living room, without that sounding weird. I would go plop down next to him on Christine’s side and watch the news with him . . . but his favorite line that never got old was when we’d hear Christine come in the door and he’d shout down to her, “Hi honey! I’m in bed with your sister again!” Christine and I would have been SO disappointed if he didn’t do that each time. Although he was born and raised in the Princeton area, he spent a LOT of time in Cape May during the summers. The two Franks have shared many stories about Layers Dutch Kitchen or people that they both know from Cape May.
Christine and Frank about 20 years ago.
Being a police officer and then chief was the great joy of his life (after my sister, of course!) He was the kind of police chief you wish they could clone. He was about integrity and his officers being role models in the community, and he totally demonstrated that. Good police work was critical, but on top of that, God forbid he caught his officers double parked somewhere in a non-emergency, or pulled up in a handicap spot, or not using their turn signals during a normal cruise through town! The whole department was expected to conduct themselves respectfully and professionally. The new police building in West Windsor Township is named for him in honor of his work in building the department over many, many years. When it was time for me to leave their home last week, I said, “Okay, Frank. I’m getting ready to go home now,” (trying my best to sound non-plussed about it and not break down.) He quietly answered, “Honey, your home is upstairs!” And that’s how he made us feel, always. I really didn’t set out to turn this into a blog about my brother-in-law, and yet I find I can’t help but write about him today.
Frank (MY Frank) stayed in Hope Town and took care of Eleanor Q, a difficult but necessary decision. There is an AMAZING community of people here and we love it here. So let me turn the subject now to more about our time here. Hope Town and the Abacos strike us as being a little more developed and civilized than the Exumas. There are more restaurants and resorts and nice homes here than the other areas we’ve been to, but it doesn’t feel overdeveloped or “too fancy” or obnoxiously commercial. It is lovely and fun and has been a great respite. It is higher on that “Outward Bound-Jimmy Buffet Scale” I’ve referred to before. It is also the perfect place to be able to leave the boat on a mooring ball and know it will be looked after.
Hope Town is very picturesque.
A sign we spotted along our walk.
Frank and I at the door step of the Elbow Reef Lighthouse, about to climb up.
My twin sister and I pose for a shot atop the lighthouse. What a view! (I LOVE this trick!) Eleanor Q is parked down there.
There is a true community of cruisers who stay here for a good part of the winter. They are kind and welcoming and help watch out for each other. Frank had a chance to meet and get to know many of them while he was holding down the fort here. We will fly home knowing that the boat will be fine sitting here for a week – there are so many watchful sets of eyes. Also, our water family on Magnolia arrived in Hope Town a couple of days ago and will keep an eye on Eleanor Q while we’re gone. It has been great to be reunited with them. We have also been reunited with the “B to B Fleet” or what is left of it. That is the group that we got to know in Bimini and did the overnight passage with to Nassau. What a lovely group and we’ve enjoyed being part of the fleet again for the past several days. Sadly, they will be moving on today.
Magnolia Coming in to Hope Town. We did the pilot boat service for them like Kindred Spirit did for us.
Walking on the beach with Annette and Anthony.
Last happy hour with the B to B Fleet: Mar-a-lago, Amaroni II, Magnolia . . Luna had already moved on.
So, we will board the plane on Monday and return to New Jersey to attend the service and to be with family again. I am so impressed and proud of my sister, Christine, for the grace and strength that she has shown through this period. She acknowledged that one of a handful of people who could really understand what she’s been going through is “my” Frank. It is not a good club to belong to, but he was able to talk with her on the phone and share what words of wisdom he could muster. We will return to Hope Town soon and continue our travels, heading back to the U.S. before the month is out. When we knew Frank (Cox) was not doing well in December, we hesitated to leave the country where travel back and forth would be much more challenging. When discussing that with my family, I can’t remember exactly how the conversation went down, but the message was something to the effect of “Frank will kick your asses if you don’t go!” He was very excited for us and our adventures. One day recently, I almost sent him a picture of our “skivvies” hanging outside to dry on the boat because I knew it would make him laugh . . . and because I like the term “skivvies” which I adopted from him! The world does not stop turning because you decide to jump on a boat and run away from life for a while. Life still happens. Family tragedies still happen. But the good news is that family ties don’t get any weaker with distance.
Leaving the Exumas: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
If you remember last post, we had enjoyed a two week “vacation” in George Town – our southernmost point in the Exumas. We started heading back north up the chain, retracing some of our steps. We ended up back with some of our buddies from the “B to B Fleet” – the group we had ended up with in Bimini and who we traveled with when we did our overnight crossing from Bimini to Nassau. It was good to reunite and we traveled up the coast from George Town with three of the fleet: Amaroni II, Mar-a-Lago and Luna. It was fun chatting with them on the radio and traveling in a pack again. They stopped in Little Farmer’s Cay while we went on to Black Point Settlement. We had sped through Black Point the first time, so we looked forward to exploring a little more this time. We spent four days there and got more acquainted with some of the local businesses and people. We found Black Point to be extremely cruiser friendly, helpful, service-oriented and welcoming. That was the good part of our visit. Ida at the laundromat is the best. It is the cleanest place you’ll find to do laundry anywhere, and it is large for these parts. She runs a great business and now trims hair (which both of us took advantage of).
Frank getting a trim from Ida. The best view from any barber chair!
We bought beautiful bread off of Lorraine’s mother of Lorraine’s Cafe fame. We had fun chatting with some movers and shakers of Black Point while sitting in Scorpio Bar and Restaurant. Another evening we enjoyed a great Happy Hour there with part of the B to B fleet (hey Brian, Jane, Bruce and Claude!). But not everything about our visit was good. We stayed there for four days. We were only going to stay for one or two. But not so fast . . .
Storm clouds were brewing in Black Point . . . figuratively speaking.
Let’s me see if I can take you through the good, the bad and the ugly:
– Bad: our dinghy engine started giving us fits again right before leaving George Town.
– Good: Met up with our friends Bert and Prue on Exuberant and had a lovely evening with them on their boat. Discovered that they have the same dinghy engine and have had similar issued. The two men pow-wowed. Also met up with a couple on Sans Cles who we’d been wanting to get more acquainted with since we have mutual friends and had met briefly at the gam in Annapolis. We had a great chat with them, and they have the same dinghy engine. The two men pow-wowed.
On our way to Exuberant for sundowners. I didn’t MEAN to cover up Frank’s face! I think it was best at that moment, he was saying bad things about the outboard engine.
– Ugly: after many hours of maintenance, dinghy engine still not cooperating. After the engine stalled just as we got to the dinghy dock, upon finishing our errands, we started paddling back to the boat (which wasn’t too far), but . . .
This outboard is dead to us!
Good: A couple came by in their dinghy to see if we needed a tow. I loved how they asked. They said, “Are you rowing because you WANT to or would you rather not be rowing?” That cracked me up. We said it was not by choice, and they took our line and towed us the rest of the way. Come to find out it was a couple that we’d been keeping an eye out for, and they for us, because we have a mutual friend! THAT was a small world moment when we discovered the connection as we approached the boat!
Ugly: While Frank was doing some preventative engine maintenance, he discovered that our raw water pump was about to go. What that meant is that the engine couldn’t be run until we had a new one installed . . . and we’re sitting at an out island in the Exumas with not much around us . . . no marine stores . . . nor marinas . . . no mechanics. Yikes. STUCK!
Really good: He discovered it while we were sitting still. If that thing goes while you’re underway, your engine overheats and comes to a dead stop which could happen at a most inopportune moment, and that could be really, really, really ugly.
Bad: Of all the spare parts we have on board, a raw water pump isn’t one.
We started weighing all of our options including the possibility of heading to Nassau strictly under sail, only turning the engine on at the end to dock . . . which we ended up not needing to do, but we considered it.
Good: One of the B to B Fleet knew that others had had boat parts flown in to Staniel Cay Yacht Club (7 miles away) from Ft. Lauderdale. YES! Thank you for that key information, Brian and Jane!!!!! So,
EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD: We found a marine store in Ft. Lauderdale who had the pump we needed. Then, (after charging us an arm and a leg) drove the part to the hangar where Watermakers Air flies from. It was on the next flight in the morning straight to Staniel Cay Yacht Club . . . and the Yacht Club has a boat that goes to Black Point every evening, and our part was on that boat. We discovered the problem at 10am on Friday morning and had a part in our hands at the dock at 5:30 on Saturday afternoon in the middle of the Exumas. I can’t tell you how amazing and unbelievable that is. The flying/shipping part of the whole deal was only $65 which we thought was incredibly reasonable under the circumstances!
Frank had to improvise something to use as a vise.
Really good: Frank successfully installed the water pump on Sunday after many hours of grunting, bleeding, bruising and frustrations. We fired up the engine and were filled with glee when we saw the water pumping out of the engine!!!!
REALLY, REALY UGLY: Not sixty seconds later did we discover that the alternator was no longer working . . . a very unhappy moment on Eleanor Q. The alternator was removed to put the water pump on and should have just slid back on, plugged back in and functioned . . . but it did not function. It was a crushing blow.
Good: The engine can still run without the alternator, but –
Bad: Because you lose some important functions like charging your batteries while you’re underway (important, as they run your navigation station tools like GPS, radar, depth finder, etc.) We have backups . . . solar panels help charge, and we have a generator permanently installed. There are ways to work around it for a while, but an alternator is an important piece of equipment that you don’t want to lose. Basically, we ran the generator while we were underway. The generator is located in a cabinet in the middle of the cockpit, so running both the main engine and generator at the same time basically renders you deaf by the end of two hours.
Good: Lots of people tried to help. Frank set about trouble shooting the problem. Jim from Kismet came over to help trouble shoot (after already having to tow us in the dinghy!). Frank got on the radio with other cruisers on the morning nets and THEY helped to trouble shoot. Mike Gozzard, the boat builder, tried to trouble shoot the problems via email.
Bad: Nothing worked. We needed professional help. So, we set off for an unexpected trip back to Nassau. In addition, Frank had been fighting a tooth ache. We decided it was time to go to the “big city” to get some of our issues resolved once and for all.
Good: We stopped back at the Land and Sea Park at Warderick Wells for the night on the way and met up with our friends Anna and Corky on Kabria. They made us a delightful dinner and gave us respite for the night . . . and a ride back and forth between our boats! They were heading south, we were heading north, and this was our point of intersection. We had met them this summer in Newport and have stayed in touch ever since.
Corky and Anna on Kabria waving goodbye as we leave Warderick Wells before sunrise.
Leaving Warderick at dawn – park office in the light.
Good: We left at dawn the next morning and had a beautiful motor sail for nine hours, ending up in a slip in Nassau Harbor Club Marina. We quickly set to work lining up a mechanic and a dentist.
Good: The dentist took Frank the next day. A filling had fallen out and they were able to replace it on the spot.
Really good: We decided to stop fighting with the dinghy engine since the parts we needed to fix it were not readily available . . . we packed the engine away and will refurb it back in the states and SELL IT!!! Meanwhile, we purchased a new dinghy engine in Nassau . . . six more horse power and eight less pounds, to boot! We couldn’t let the dinghy be the root of ruining the rest of our winter. You have to have a reliable dinghy.
Passing by Paradise Island . . . again.
Great: Frank figured out the problem with the alternator BEFORE a mechanic came! It was a large fuse right on the battery bank. He had checked other little fuses, but not this one since he thought that if a large fuse had blown it would have sparked, popped, arced or something. No sign. It was Mike Gozzard that thought of it. And, THAT was a spare part we had on board. Popped that puppy right in, fired up the engine and we had a working alternator again! Great day in the morning!
Particularly good: Coming to Nassau meant I got to see my friends, the Rolle family, again! We had a really lovely lunch with them at the Poop Deck . . . Mr. and Mrs. Rolle and daughter Sharrie came down. That made me happy.
Lunch With the Rolles
So the little boat, the big boat and the captain are all fully functional again and we’ve set off for the Abacos. We left Nassau Harbor yesterday morning and arrived in the little harbor at Royal Island on the tip of Eleuthra about seven hours later. The morning started out with an exciting ride through the cut from the shallower harbor water to the ocean . . . let’s just say I had never seen the bow IN the waves before, but that part only lasted for about ten minutes and then things got progressively calmer as the wind died out throughout the day.We will make our way into the Abacos and arrive in Hope Town in the next few days where we hope to resume some more vacation mode and move the score up the Outward Bound-Jimmy Buffet Scale closer back to an 8 or 9 and away from the 2 – 4 range that has been for the last nine days. It’s just part of cruising. Every boat we talk to shares similar stories. It is part of what comes with it. Your home floats and is exposed to the elements and takes a beating and requires ongoing maintenance. All part of our first year learnings!
Onward and upward to The Abacos!
Our hope for Hope Town: More Good, Less Bad, No Ugly.
P.S. Since the previous portion was written, we have arrived in Hope Town and are loving it. We have gotten the Red Carpet welcome from some cruising friends who have been here since December. More on that in the next post.
Our Southernmost Point – George Town, Exumas
Our geographical goal was to sail from Northeast Harbor in Maine to George Town in the southern Exuma Islands in the Bahamas. Check. Done. Completed. Another mile stone! We got to the southernmost point in our trip and have turned around to head back north again. That almost makes me sad to write it. We knew this year would go fast, and no kidding on that! But was George Town really going to BE our southernmost point????
We actually got there a couple of weeks earlier than we thought we might! We were amazed! A day after we arrived, I started making noises . . . hey – we’ve got more time than we expected. Let’s go a little further south!! Let’s move out of the Exumas and go to Long Island (seriously, there’s a Long Island). And then we started talking with our traveling buddies and someone suggested , “Hey, then let’s go further east to Conception; it’s not that far!” All of the sudden, it seemed like we shouldn’t limit ourselves to George Town.
But other forces were at play…
1) We were ready for a vacation from cruising. Now, many people think that cruising IS a vacation! And there are moments that are idyllic and vacation-like. But I recently came up with the OB-JB Scale . . . the “Outward Bound – Jimmy Buffet Scale.” If you’re not familiar, Outward Bound is an organization that provides learning experiences in challenging outdoor environments that push you out of your comfort zone in order to build character and develop leadership skills. So I now rate days using this scale. One side isn’t better or worse, they are just different. So let’s call the extreme Outward Bound side a “1” and the extreme Jimmy Buffet side a “10”. (Those can also equate with more stress and less stress days). In these nine months of cruising, I think we’d probably say that 75% of the days are a 6 or below. It is mentally, physically and emotionally challenging and we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and each other. That is a wonderful outcome from this experience! And I’ve likely written more about the 25% than the 75% on this blog. That said, you need some 8s, 9s and 10s on the OB-JB Scale from time to time. Getting to George Town provided an opportunity to stop and enjoy life for a while and to take a real vacation, not just a long weekend.
Welcome to George Town!
Let me describe George Town. It is a fascinating place. While some cruisers consider it to be “the” destination, many other cruisers consider it anything BUT. Feelings are very split about the place. At the peak of the season, around 300 boats can be anchored at various points around Elizabeth Harbor, either on the “town” side or across the harbor off of Stocking Island. Some people will anchor there for the whole winter. An entire city of cruisers is created. Some people go there year after there, and so an informal hierarchy has even developed within the cruising community. Stocking Island is the main hub for congregating and activity for the cruisers. There are a few private homes and one resort on the island, but otherwise, it’s like hundreds of American, Canadian, French, British and Australian boaters got picked up and dropped around a private island. Every morning you can tune in to the “Net” on the VHF radio and hear a series of announcements about activities, classes, speakers, sports, basket weaving, etc. They’ve even formed their own Beach Church. There are committees (shudder). There are also lots and lots of helpful boaters, so if someone has a need, they announce it on the “net” and plenty of boaters respond with help at the ready. There are a core of cruisers who are committed to giving back to the George Town community and will hold fund raising events for the local schools, clean the beaches, clear the trails, so it isn’t a parasitic community, and it certainly helps the local economy. It’s a great place to have fun, but you’re going to have a limited Bahamian cultural experience since there are almost no Bahamians on Stocking island other than the ones who work there.
Here is the hub of activity . . . The Chat ‘n’Chill on Volleyball Beach. This is their iconic sign.
Oh, there are trips into town while you’re there to provision and to take advantage of the many services, so you can get a little taste of the culture while you’re on “that” side of the harbor, but few boats really stay on that side for any length of time.
St. Andrew’s Anglican-Episcopal Church in George Town. Beautiful!
A lovely view seen while walking through town.
Each boat has to decide if they like the environment or not. Some use the term “adult day care” to describe it. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be interested in being there more than three or four days. Frank was looking to stay put for longer than that. Similar discussions were taking place on Magnolia and Mandala, our traveling companions. What would happen? How long would we stay? Would we head south? Would we go back north? And suddenly, it was two weeks later. Yup, two weeks. Nearly every day we were there, the OB-JB scale showed an 8 or 9. Suddenly, we were playing volleyball on the beach, going to dances (okay, only one dance), hiking, snorkeling, meeting other cruisers, having dinner on friend’s boats every night and making music . . . we were on a two week VACATION! Frank mused that he has never taken a full two week vacation. We weren’t worried about the weather forecast . . . we weren’t poring over charts every night figuring out our next route . . . we weren’t losing sleep over the skinny cut we were going to have to go through the next day and when slack tide is. We were enjoying a little R&R. Frank, who bears the brunt of the mechanical and captaining responsibilities, was especially happy for the break. And suddenly we realized, we didn’t have all that extra time on our hands any more. Two weeks was – poof! – passed.
2) There were also the forces (heart strings) tugging at us to get closer to better internet and airport accessibility. Being so far away from family and with with limited connectivity isn’t easy and we’re ready to get closer to home. We’d gone far enough. We did what we set out to do. It was time to turn around.
This decision came with a price, too. Our compadres on M & M (Magnolia and Mandala . . . we had taken to calling to each other on the radio hailing the “M’s-Q Fleet”) had divergent plans (always had) once we got to George Town. Magnolia was staying in the area through at least the 23rd because friends were coming to visit. Mandala is hoping to keep heading south for a while longer. And so, the difficult day came when we said goodbye to our “water family” and started heading home. Can’t figure out why I’m having a hard time seeing the keyboard right now.
Bon voyage dinner on Magnolia with the Ms-Q Fleet.
Ron and Nancy – our last night together . . . for now.
Me taking a picture of Nancy taking a picture of Eleanor Q pulling out of George Town. Not an easy moment . . .
And so, we enjoyed two weeks of 8s, 9s and 10s on the OB-JB scale with our dear friends. Here are some of the highlights.
Annette at the front of the dinghy, Nancy driving for ladies day in town!
As we approached Eleanor Q, I was trying to figure out what I was looking at! Yup, Frank head down and feet in the air working on something in the dinghy…
Walking on the beach . . .
You’re never too old for a swing.
Do not adjust your set . . . you see correctly. That is Frank dancing with me!
Ladies on dance night!
The ladies’ hiked to the St. Francis Resort for lunch . . .
. . . where the guys met us by dinghy . .. and here they are drag racing in. Boys will be boys.
And then there was the Super Bowl Party on Eleanor Q. The Seahawks side of the room was attempting to do the wave.
Not a bad place to sit a spell.
Zooming Through the Northern Exumas
We left the Exuma Land and Sea Park for places further south. Next stops: Staniel Cay, Black Point Settlement and Little Farmers Cay. Staniel Cay is particularly famous for wild swimming pigs. Yes, you read that right: wild, swimming pigs. We were anchored around the corner from the harbor at Big Major Spot. Yes, you read that right, Big Major Spot. Funny name. Our stay there was brief but enjoyable. We took the dinghy in to visit Staniel Cay “proper.” After being at the park for nearly a week with nothing around but nature (which we loved) it was actually nice to go to a place with a little restaurant on the water where we could get a sandwich and a couple of Kaliks. However, to get from the dinghy to the dock, we had to climb a ladder over a ray and a large shark. Yes, you read that right. It was a nurse shark, which everyone tells me is the friendly kind . . . uh huh . . . but he/she was quite large and proceeded to park itself right under the dinghy which made climbing the fives step ladder to get on and off the dock just a little more exciting. Apparently, people feed the sharks and the rays at the marina and they are quite tame – at least that’s what I kept telling myself. We walked around town, took advantage of a couple of small grocery stores, talked with some lovely ladies who ran each of the shops, and enjoyed stretching our legs. As we discussed which day of the week the mail boat comes in (a BIG day for each location since it brings in all shipments and supplies including the fresh produce for restaurants and grocery stores and is the lifeline for any business) the one woman laughed and said, “They don’t call us ‘out islands’ for nothing!” The islands are pretty small and sparse, but very friendly. On the way back from town, we cruised by the beach where the wild pigs hang out. Apparently many of them were napping, but two little pigs did come out to the water line. Only one was motivated enough to swim out to see what we had for her. We had taken the end of Frank’s lunch with us. Miss Piggy was very interested in the lettuce but totally turned her nose up at the leftover french fries. I figure either she was trying not to make a pig of herself or the potatoes were fried in bacon fat. She was very cute and friendly and we enjoyed her visit. I had seen pictures and heard about the pigs being big and aggressive. A couple of days later friends told us of witnessing a small boat going up to the beach in the very, very shallow water and having several pigs trying to launch themselves onto the boat! I enjoyed our mellower interaction with our little speckled friend.
Feeding the Pig in Staniel Cay
Miss Piggy and Ray
The next day we moved on to Black Point Settlement. We caught it on the day of their community BBQ. They had huge grills fired up making steaks, ribs, chicken and fish. We had a delicious meal there, caught some of the local flavor and then walked around more of the pretty little island.
Black Point Settlement Road Sign
Community barbecue at Black Point Settlement
Finally! Ice cream! It is hard to come by in these parts. Anthony and Frank partake happily.
This gives you an idea of the size of the settlement; here’s the government office!
Annette and Ems in Black Point
Here’s an interesting display of driftwood in someone’s front yard.
A cottage on Black Point. Love this evergreen!
Sunset at anchor
Although it might have been nice to stay in Black Point for another day, we kept our visit short because of an approaching front that was predicted to have some pretty snarly west winds. The wind direction is very, very important for where to anchor the boat. Picking the wrong spot can mean a) worrying about the anchor all night because it is rough, and b) getting a bad night’s sleep due to the boat rocking and rolling all night. So off we went to find better protection at Little Farmers Cay. The anchorage and mooring field are situated between a couple of land masses, so it is a fairly settled anchorage. There is a big festival in February here, so we were there at a quiet time – which was kind of cool. It felt like we had a private island! And at this point we were back to our fleet of three traveling together. Our first night we rode in to the little harbor and enjoyed dinner at Ocean Cabin. Terry, the proprietor, was an interesting character and his wife was the evening’s chef. We ended up being the only people in the place for dinner! We enjoyed great conversations and Terry joined us for a memorable after dinner chat. The next day we went back in to the second of two places to get a meal on the island: Farmers Cay Yacht Club. Roosevelt was the owner and our host for the day, and again, we were the only people there! It was a leisurely, mid afternoon meal and we enjoyed walking the docks and enjoying the warmth of the sunshine as our made to order dinners were prepared with love. Roosevelt brought our conch fritters out to the dock for us to munch on while we waited for dinner. The wait was well worth it! Roosevelt was a gracious and delightful host. And we enjoyed the view of our boats in the harbor. Little Farmers has the Five F Festival (Farmer’s First Friday in February Festival) at which time 100 – 200 boats could be anchored up there. It was hard to picture after our peaceful, low key, private tour of the area. I think I might like visiting it when it’s quiet better!
Walking around Little Farmers Cay
Sign listing the hours at Ocean Cabin
frank and Roosevelt at the yacht Club
Tiki Hut at the Yacht Club
The ladies on the dock with our boats in the background: Annette, Nancy and Ems
Frank looking pretty content on his piling
Kind of looks like a Kalik commercial, doesn’t it? Anthony posed this picture with Eleanor Q in the background. Very artistic.
Ron and Annette enjoying the view and the sunshine. See, we had long sleeves on. We had a little chill. We needed the sun! Nope, not getting any sympathy, are we?
Don’t Nancy and Frank look like siblings in this picture?
Watching a seaplane overhead while at anchor
After our two days there, it was time to get on down the road to George Town, our planned southernmost point in our travels and a place we had heard and read so much about . . . the key word in that sentence being “planned”. You read that right. Stay tuned to see if that’s where our southernmost point turned out to be or not!
Hello Highborn: Into the Exumas
A funny thing has happened since this blog was started last spring: it became winter. Posting pictures of water and sailing and swimming during the summer has people saying, “Ah, isn’t that nice.” “Oh, look at that.” So let’s just put this on the table here and now . . . you are about to see pictures of blue water and swimming and sailing. And you may be one of the people sitting in a part of the country having record low temperatures and snow, and for that, we are very, very sorry for you. Really – we feel just terrible. So if you’re going to be totally disgusted with us when you see the blue water and snorkeling, then just stop reading now. You have been warned. There are a few pictures thrown in with us wearing jackets, just for good measure. Why, as this is being written, it’s 66 degrees with a wind chill of 62! So it’s not all 80 degrees and sunny, okay. We’re suffering too. We had to put long sleeves on this evening!
With that out of the way, put the winter aside for a few minutes and come to the Exumas with us. We left Nassau and did the 35ish mile trip to Highborn Cay (pronounced “key”). There was a little wind vs. wave action going on, so there there was a chop to the water and some pretty good sea spray happening over the deck. It was also our first day of using “VPR” or Visual Piloting Rules which you need to do a lot through the Bahamas. The note on the chart says, “VPR apply. Good weather, sunlight, bottom reading, and piloting skills required.” In short, that means, “Watch out for the coral reefs.” Watching the color changes in the water is a big clue, and down here the water is SO clear that it is pretty easy to see the changes. Different shades of blue indicate different depths. What took a little getting used to is that, if you can see the darker brown areas that are the coral, it looks like it’s really, really shallow! Very unnerving. We were learning that the coral can be 10 – 15 under your keel and you’re still going to be able to see it in the clear water; it’s only going to FEEL like you’re about to hit it. So one part of our trip to Highborn went across what is called the Yellow Bank where you really do need to have someone perched to watch out for coral heads.
Frank on the bow watching for coral heads while Ems is at the helm.
Highborn was just an overnight stop, but an important night: we were traveling with Magnolia and it was Anthony’s birthday! We enjoyed dinner on Eleanor Q and Annette brought the birthday brownies.
Anthony and Annette silhouetted with Magnolia sitting in the background at sunset.
There is a common occurrence at sunset: the blowing of the conch shell. It is not uncommon to hear a conch shell at sunset, a sound which very much resembles a note being played on a french horn. On one of our early vacations to the British Virgin Islands when we chartered a boat for a week, Frank bought me my own conch shell. I will digress and briefly tell you the story of how that came to be. On that vacation, we went to a place with live music and the very entertaining performer had various ways to engage the audience. One activity was a conch blowing contest to see who could hold the longest, continuous note. Being a former tuba player (yeah, you can laugh) I thought I had a good shot. Turns out I was out of practice and didn’t have a particularly good showing. That stuck in my craw and I vowed to come back another year and compete again (not that I’m competitive or anything). And with that in mind, Frank surprised me with my own conch shell. The following year, we repeated parts of that vacation and went to see the same performer who was doing the same schtick. This time I was ready. I was singing in a college/community choir . . . I had been doing my breathing exercises . . . I was ready. And I made sure I was last in line. Moral of the story, the first prize bottle of rum went home with me. And so, the conch shell travels with me on this adventure and comes out at sunset. Additional side note: we have also used it at various services over the years, too. When I was working as the organist/choir director for Pastor Rich in Illinois, he said it sounded like a shofar – pronounced SHOW-far – which is an instrument made from a ram’s horn and was used to announce special holidays, mostly in the Jewish faith. So we opened the Easter services with the conch blowing. Mid-morning when Frank asked me how the services were going, I couldn’t help but answer, “Shofar, sho good!”
Ems participating in the sunset tradition.
Okay, enough about the conch shell – back to the Exumas. The next stop was Shroud Cay. We spent two nights there and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the great places to explore by dinghy. This was our first stop in the Exuma Land and Sea Park – an amazing stretch in the Exumas that helps to preserve these wild places. It is a “no take” zone meaning that you don’t fish or collect shells. And there is no place to deposit trash. So what comes into the park with you leaves with you, and you don’t take anything from the park out. The motto is, “Take only pictures; leave only footprints.”
There were a couple of little showers lurking around the area and this rainbow formed right by Magnolia.
We took a short ride to a nearly deserted beach . . . there was really no one to be seen! We prepared to anchor the dinghy to the beach . . .
Doh! Hate when this happens! He eventually got it straightened out.
We were thoroughly enjoying our first few days in the Exumas! Sometimes you just gotta try a selfie – the newly added word to the US vocabulary in 2013. Sportin’ the hats!
The next day we set out to explore the creeks on the island. After a very long ride with some very shallow sections where we had to row or pole the dinghy (and a couple of places where we had to drag the dinghy!) we made it to the Sound side of the island (the Exuma Sound – basically the ocean or western side of the island). We discovered the most outstanding beach. This is one of those obnoxious blue water pictures I warned you about.
What a beautiful place to walk . . . so many shades of blue.
We met up with the crew of Magnolia and Mandala for a swim. What a wonderful afternoon.
Next we headed to a place Frank has read about, day dreamed about, and visualized on those nights that he couldn’t sleep. We were on our way to Warderick Wells, also in the park. I would have to agree with him – that has got to be one of the prettiest places on earth. It has an iconic horseshoe shaped mooring field. And we got one of the prettiest spots of all, right in front of the park office. It was another really cool moment for us both, but especially for Frank. Once we got in there, it was hard to leave, and we stayed for five days. There we enjoyed the hiking trails, the snorkeling and just hanging out with our (now expanded) water family of Magnolia and Mandala. We loved every day there.
Eleanor Q in her spot in the iconic mooring field.
Pretty sure Eleanor Q likes being parked here!
Hiking the Trails at Warderick Wells
We saw the sign and followed it. I don’t think that meant WE were the blow holes . . .
Frank looking out over the sound
One of the must see sights at Warderick Wells is Boo Boo Hill. Follow the trail up to the top of a bluff for a gorgeous view of the island, but also to see the offerings that have been left at Boo Boo Hill. So here’s the tale of the hill . . . It is said that, back in the 1800s, a ship load of missionaries wrecked on the island and met an untimely demise. It is also said that on the full moon you can sometimes here their spirits singing hymns. It is another tradition that when you visit Boo Boo Hill you bring a piece of driftwood with your boat name carved in it to leave as an offering. It is the one exception to the “don’t leave anything behind” rule. I must confess, we came woefully unprepared and will have to remedy that for our next visit.
On the trail to Boo Boo Hill
Anthony looking over the momentos left behind on Boo Boo Hill.
Peace and Happiness indeed
The next night was, indeed, the full moon. I suggested to Annette that we should hide somewhere after dark and start singing, “Nearer My God to Thee” and see if we could freak anybody out. Between that remark and going empty handed to Boo Boo Hill, we got ours. At about 9:00pm, the moon rose on one side of the boat and the lightning started flashing on the other side. Light rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance. A couple of hours later, the heavens opened up and we had rain upon rain upon rain for hours that night – HEAVY rain. If you had a leak in your boat, you found out where it was that night. And then I started having very strange nightmares for most of the night. In the morning, I declared that the next time we went to Boo Boo Hill we were going to be sure to leave something with “Eleanor Q” on it and add it to the pile. Not that I’m superstitious . . . Frank and I both agree that it’s bad luck to be superstitious. But all the same, I’ll just think of it as insurance. I gotta say – it was a pretty cool full moon night! Spooky!
Full Moon at Warderick Wells
During our visit, we snorkeled for hours! Now keep in mind, I grew up in West by God Virginia. There’s not a lot of snorkeling there. This stuff is ALL a stretch for me . . . but my friends Ron and Nancy on Mandala were intent on getting me out there. And so the six of us set out to snorkel around the park. It was AMAZING and I loved it, much to my (and Frank’s) surprise and delight. It was only my second or third time and it was pretty cool.
He’s so cool looking in his wet suit! This is a guy who just looks like he grew up around the water.
Nancy took this picture of Ron and Annette about to jump in!
One of Nancy’s pictures from the coral garden in the park during our expedition. Beautiful fish and coral!
For those of you who have known me just recently, here I am in my wet suit coming back from snorkeling. To those of you who have known me from a tender age, here I am in my wet suit coming back from snorkeling . . . BA HA HA HA HA !!!!!!!
One of our other favorite activities while at Warderick Wells were evening jam sessions! Ron also plays the guitar, so we’d pull out all the musical instruments we had on board and try to make some music. One night on Mandala we even attempted to do a group sing!! I don’t know if that had any influence on the catamaran next door taking off early the next morning or not, but I have my suspicions.
Ron playing at sunset.
Here we are attempting to sing! Not ready for prime time, but having lots of fun.
After four days, it was time to move on. If that place had better internet, we might never leave. But we were ready to get into a little bit of civilization again, too. There are no restaurants, no shopping, no services in the park . . . and for the better part of a week, that was pretty okay with us. Time to go to Staniel Cay . . . but that will be the next post.
Looking out over Warderick Wells . . . sad to leave.
Crossing to Nassau
We had been in Bimini for almost a week waiting for the “weather window” to go to Nassau. Well, the window came. The trip to Nassau is about 100 miles requiring an overnight passage – not typically one of my favorite things to do, so I was looking forward to getting this behind us. But this passage turned out differently from the others because we ended up getting absorbed into a “fleet” of boats making the same passage. They were a group of Canadian boats and they called themselves “The B to B Fleet.” I’m not certain, but I think that stood for “Biscayne to Bahamas” since they met in No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay. There were about 10 boats total, and the fleet captain would hold a check in every hour on the radio. Each boat would give a report of their position and conditions. We were all within a mile and a half of each other. Frank and I did 3 hour shifts – longer than on day trips – so that the other person has the hopes of catching a real nap. It was a big graduation day for me because he felt comfortable enough to go down below for 3 hours at a time with me at the helm overnight. That was a big deal. Anyway, the comfort of having a group of boats around and looking forward to the hourly check-ins was helpful. I got the 1am – 4am shift. Never in my life have I seen that many stars. Other noteworthy things about the crossing: the first part goes over the Bahama bank which is hours of going through water that is 10 – 15 feet deep – shallow. Then you get to the Northwest Passage into the “Tongue of the Ocean.” That’s where you transition from the shallow water of the bank, through a cut and into the open water. Frank took us through that part, but I had to stay up long enough to watch our depth finder go crazy. We were looking at 20 feet of water, and then the numbers started soaring up . . . and then it did that blinking thing when it can’t compute any more. The ocean drops off to a MILE deep. A mile. What kind of glacier did that architecture? A poignant moment came at the early dawn check in when our friends on Mandala shared with the group that their on board 18-year old cat passed away during the crossing. They found it fitting to have a burial at sea at the Tongue of the Ocean in the mile deep water. The air waves got strangely silent as I think a couple of tears were shed throughout the fleet.
Leaving Bimini as taken by Time and Tide
Mandala in the sunset.
Sunrise approaching Nassau with Magnolia in the dawn
After a quiet night of listening to good music and watching the stars and going through a couple of early morning rain showers, at 8am we were pulling safely into Nassau Harbor (after radioing Harbor Control and requesting permission to enter, of course.) We slid by cruise ships and mail boats and ferries to get to our home for the next few days at Nassau Yacht Haven.
Nassau Harbor
Traffic in the Harbor
Our first day was catching up on some sleep and doing laundry. The second day was spent walking around Potters Cay by the docks and then across the bridge to Paradise Island area and the Atlantis Casino. You know we had to drop by there and see if we knew anybody working. We did not.
Frank checking out the fishing boats of course.
Walking around Potters Cay
Bridge to Paradise Island
Mega Yachts in the marina at the Atlantis.
Atlantis Casino Complex
But our next day was the day I had been waiting for and the main reason to pass through Nassau: to visit my friend Mr. Rolle.
I met my friend Mr. Rolle on an airplane about ten years ago. Mr. Rolle and his wife and much of his family are Nassau residents. He and his wife were flying back from the midwest and their flight had been canceled. They were put on the last two seats on the plane I was on and his seat was right beside mine. He was sweet and engaging and we shared a background and love for church music which made for easy conversation. We were friends by the end of the flight and exchanged information and promised to keep in touch. Before we got off the plane, Mr. Rolle sang “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again” to me. And then we became pen pals and he would periodically phone to check on me and to let me know he was keeping me in his prayers. He was much better at keeping in touch than me, but we kept the thread going over the years. And then when I said that we’d be sailing to the Bahamas, we hatched the plan to set up a visit.
So I was very excited when Mr. Rolle called me to say that his daughter, Sharrie, would be driving and they would come pick Frank and I up at 10am at the marina, show us the island, take us to the house for lunch and then return us later in the afternoon. I was so excited when the car pulled up and I saw Mr. Rolle looking nearly the same as he did ten years ago! The four of us took off and Sharrie was a great tour guide showing us the sights of the island that we would never have been able to see by foot. We saw neighborhoods and developments and schools and churches, and the town center and then stopped by “The Caves” for a look around.
Hanging with Sharrie and Mr. Rolle
The Caves – The Buffy Flower Bat lives in this cave. I did not call out to the Buffies. I just took the sign at its word and called it a day.
Next we went to their home for a delicious lunch and I finally got to meet Mrs. Rolle! They filled us with wonderful food and we enjoyed fun conversation. I was very touched that two of the pictures that I had sent to Mr. Rolle had made it to his bookshelf of family photos: a picture of Frank and I and a picture of my father and I. A little more history: Mr. Rolle sent me a copy of his CD of hymns, and I told him the story of listening to his CD in the car when I drove home from Princeton after my father died. So I had to catch a little breath when I saw the picture of me and my dad there. Mrs. Rolle was very warm, gracious and beautiful.
Mr. and Mrs. Rolle. I borrowed this picture from a beautiful article in their church magazine that spotlighted Mr. and Mrs. Rolle.
She/they have raised a large flock of children and she is a retired school teacher. And they have quite the flock of grandchildren as well! Their children hold various jobs in the community, were raised to volunteer their time to help those less fortunate, and are all very active in their churches. Like her father, Mr. Rolle’s daughter, Nadia, is a great pen pal and has recently been the family communicator with me since I could send her emails along the way to update her of our plans. So I was so thrilled that Nadia was able to zip home on her lunch break from the high school where she teaches so we could meet face to face, even though it was only long enough for a quick hello and a hug! So shout out to my new Facebook friends Nadia and Sharrie!
Then we stopped by the Rolle’s home church (by my request!) and Mr. Rolle and I spent a few minutes having an impromptu hymn jam session in the church. (Can you use those two terms in the same sentence?) He sang and I would try to fill in with some accompaniment behind him on the piano. I could have done that for hours. What a smooth, crooner’s voice! Frank looked on and smiled. He knew I was having a good time!
Mr. Rolle and I jammin’
And then it was time to go back. I was so happy to get to see my friend and to get to know more of the Rolle family, and I look forward to our sailing travels taking us through Nassau again in the future so we can visit some more.
And so, my friends, that’s how we roll in Nassau.
Voyages of the Eleanor Q 