3.20/Friday Fresh Creek to Highborne Cay

Check out the Picasa Album for Highborne Cay photos.

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A strong cold front was approaching the area with 30-35 knot winds predicted late Saturday and Sunday. Larry suggested sailing to Highborne Cay, anchoring there for the night in a protected area, and moving Saturday to Big Majors, which had an anchorage that would be protected from the 30-35 knot easterly winds.

By 7:30 am we were headed out the channel bouncing over huge waves caused by coral reefs. Some of the waves were 6 footers that would almost stop the boat, even though we were motoring at 2200 RPMs. Our course was 90 degrees NE with winds 10-15 knot winds.
We motor sailed all day with the winds dying down to 5-10 knots. Again we were in the ink blue Tongue of the Ocean with water depths over 2000 feet. Along the way, Steve and I had several conversations about where to ride out the approaching high winds. I finally told Steve I wanted to go into the marina at Highborne Cay so I would be assured that we would be safe. I remember Green Turtle Cay last year and the horrible night we spent in 30-35 knot winds. I did not want that experience again. Steve concurred and we radioed Highborne Cay Marina to reserve a slip. Once we knew we had a slip, Steve radioed the two other boats to let them know our plans. Because marinas fill up during these weather situations, we wanted to give them time to decide if they wanted to go into the marina also.

As we approached Highborne Cay, the water began to change to a beautiful turquoise and lighter shades of blue depending on the water depths. Steve looked at me and said, “we are now in the Exuma Cays.” We found anchorages close to the shoreline in the lee of the island. There were many other sailboats and several 100 foot plus yachts anchorage in the area. Check out “Battered Bull.” We watched two of the passengers as they worked out on a tread mill, lifted free weights, and did other exercises on the bow of the yacht. Wonder who they were! At night the yacht looked like a small city with all the lights on.

The other two boats, Cygnus and Sunseeker, decided to move further south in the morning to Big Majors. The weather forecast had moved up the arrival of the high winds to late Saturday afternoon, so they decided to depart at 5:30 am in order to make Big Majors. Steve was glad that we did not have to out run the weather and glad that we were staying in Highborne Cay. We had heard from Larry and Carol/Cygnus the marina was pricey and the people were unfriendly continue, but I was willing to spend a little extra money for a sense of security from the high winds. The night was very “rolly” from side to side due to the current flowing in the area and the winds. I felt like a scrambled egg in a frying pan most of the night. You could hear the wind howling through the shrouds all night; I kept thinking how glad I would be in the morning when we could move into a slip.

3.21/Saturday Highborne Cay

We heard Larry calling George at 5:15 am because Steve had forgotten to turn off the radio. I was so glad I could turn over and “try” to sleep instead of get up and head south. They departed at 5: 30 am for the fifty mile trip to Big Majors. We waited until 10:30 am, and then motored into the marina, stopping first at the fuel dock for a top off, and then moving into our slip. We checked in at the marine office and I checked out the marine gift shop and grocery store. We walked around the beach area and talked about what we wanted to do during the day.
Another way to arrive at Highborne Cay Marina.

Highborne Cay is 35 miles southeast of Nassau and is the most northerly inhabited island in the Exuma Chain. It is a private island with limited privileges extended to boaters who say in the marina. The island is 3 miles long with only nine residences, three of which can be rented. Presently, several hill side homes are under construction. Eight beaches surround the island with the east beach regarded as one of the most beautiful and pristine beach in the Bahamas. After lunch we made plans to walk over the hill to see for ourselves.

We met our neighbors in the marina; sailing vessel, Gigi’s Island, owner Giget and friend Vic, who were a wealth of information about the Exumas. We also met Joel, who owns Cool Runners Catering Service, dockside as he was going from boat to boat inviting everyone for a Saturday night all-you-can-eat dinner. ($35 a person) We decided to attend. Showers delayed the dinner and forced some twenty-five of us under a tiny cabana for a short time. We enjoyed meeting boaters from Annapolis, Texas, North Carolina and sharing our experiences.

Tomahawk/Annapolis-Tommy, Diane, and Cameron

When I laid my head down and listened to the wind howl through the riggings on the boat, I was grateful to be in a secure slip, protected by the island. We made a good decision to spend some time on this island even though it was very expensive.

3.22/Sunday Highborne Cay

With Nassau such a short distance from Highborne Cay, mega yachts have found this marina to be very convenient and accommodating. One in particular we faced, sitting in the cockpit of Little Wing. It was over 100 feet and had at least five deck hands. We found out it was Rick Hendricks’s yacht, with his mother and other members of his family vacationing on it. The name of the yacht is, Wheels, and the name of his fishing boat is, Reel Wheels.

Steve unloaded the bikes and we took off on a trip exploring the island after lunch. The exercise was great and the beaches and scenery was spectacular. Check out my photos. We found a great beach that had tons of small conchs that had been harvested, which meant we could keep them.

Our lunch guest in the cockpit of the boat.

We meet a cute couple on the docks yesterday when Julie asked me to take a picture of them. I then asked if she would take our picture. We stood around talking and found out they had the small catamaran anchored close to the marina. They would dinghy in so their three and a half year old son, Glenn, and Gabe their labadore retriever could play on the beach. We walked to Little Wing where Steve and Dan looked over the charts and Julie used the Skype to get in touch with her family. They invited us to dinghy over to their boat later that evening for dinner, hitching a ride with Giget and Vic/Gigi’s Island since they had their dinghy in the water. Dan and Julie have been spending the month of March in the Bahamas each year and had a wealth of information to share with us.

We hope to stay in touch with

them and hope they will visit us in Gulf Shores.

Three-and-a half year old climbing on the mask in 10 knot winds. He has been sailing on the catamaran since he was 10 months old.

Nurse shark over 6 feet long waiting for dinner.

3.18/Wednesday Morgans Bluff to Fresh Creek
We departed again at 7:20 am, motoring out the channel headed south with large waves hitting us at the bow. Once on our course, we had southeast winds 10-15 knots, motor sailing around 6-6.5 knots. It is so strange to look on one side of the boat and see 36 foot of water and on the other it drops off to over 2,000 feet. It is a magnificent place to fish, but we didn’t have any luck today.
Not too long after we had gotten the sails up and trimmed, we noticed a dark cloud in the south east which looked like it might have rain in it. Steve checked the radar and saw a squall ahead. He got on the radio to tell Cygnus and Sunseeker, while I went below to retrieve out fowl weather gear. There was no lighting, but the winds were almost 30 knots and there was a heavy rain, which was a good thing because it washed the salt water off the boat and the sails. Within 30 minutes we had sailed through it to see another smaller squall a few miles ahead.
Fresh creek has a reputation of having strong currents and a shallow channel which put us on our guard while entering. George had radioed ahead to secure slips for the three of us and asked for a dock-hand to be waiting to help us tie up.
We found it to be a little tricky getting into our slip with the oncoming current, but once in the slip Steve said it was too narrow for our boat so we had to back out and move to the end of the finger piers and tie up. By 3:00 pm, I was in the Lighthouse Marina office checking on a Internet connection and asking questions about laundry facilities, and grocery shopping. Sunseeker/George and Karen from Jacksonville, Florida, invited Cygnus and us for dinner on their boat. Because it was very windy outside, we enjoyed another dinner of mahi-mahi prepared anther way than we had last night. I made a Key Lime pie which was a hit for dessert.
The winds howled all night and we rocked up and down. Because of the 3 foot tide change, Steve was up several times during the night checking the fenders and retying the lines.
3.19/Thursday Fresh Creek
Carol, Karen, and I walked a short distance from the marina to the Androsia Batik Outlet/Shop (not a discount store) this morning in order purchase the beautiful batik designs found in the small town on Andros Island. Androsia is strictly a Bahamian product, made in the Bahamas by Bahamians. The company was started as a cottage industry in 1973. Since then, they have been manufacturing wearable art that captures the beauty of the islands.
Batik is an ancient art of waxing a design and stamping it on fabric in various patterns; hand-dyeing, then boiling the fabric to remove the wax. I remember having to make a batik fabric in one of my college textiles classes. We had original thought that we would design our own fabric in a class they teach, but you need two days to finish the product, which we didn’t have.
We spent at least an hour looking at all the fabric designs, clothing styles, and trying on different items to purchase. They also make tote bags, napkins, tablecloths, oven mitts, aprons, children’s clothing, stuffed animals and fish, and I am sure I forgot other items. We “made their day” with our purchases.
We walked a short distance to the factory for a self guided tour to watch the Bahamian women at work. We only saw seven people working today; six women and one man who looked like he was ordering supplies. One room was the stamping room, the next the dying room, and the third the cutting and sewing area. I was mesmerized by the gorgeous colors of large thread spools organized on shelves on one side of the sewing room. I don’t think my camera fully captures the essence of this display. If you are interested in purchasing items you can go to; http://www.androsia.com/. I understand they also custom design for corporations, groups, and other organizations and can ship all over the world.
After lunch, the group minus Steve walked into the small town to find a grocery store. After asking a local lady for directions, we located Gator’s, one three stores we went into searching for groceries. One of the hardest items to find is sliced bread. On most islands you can find fresh made bread but today no one was making any or had any to sell. I am astounded by the high prices of the products found in these stores not because we have to pay them but because this is the price for the local people as well. An orange or apple was $1; lettuce $4, eggs $5. No wonder so many of the locals eat rice, pasta and very little produce. We did see small freezers with frozen chicken, beef, pork and other frozen products but again they were very expensive. This is a low income area and I don’t know how they survive paying these high prices. We are lucky to have Wal-Mart and other discount stores available which offer competitive prices and a large selection. I might add also, all the local people we met and talked to were very friendly and helpful
While we were on our shopping trip, Steve was doing the laundry and preparing dinner for everyone on Little Wing. Since we had eaten mahi-mahi two nights in a row, Steve thought red beans and rice would be a switch for an entrée. The meal was delicious and enjoyed by all.
I spent some time walking around the Lighthouse Marina trying out my new camera. I am forcing myself to take less sunset and sunrise pictures and shots of foliage. Even though this lighthouse is not one of the more attractive lighthouses we have visited, I think it has character.
Early morning, Steve was awakened by a crash outside the boat. Winds were clocked at 30 knots and we were really bouncing up and down in the slip. While checking the lines and fenders, he heard the sound again, to find that Sunseeker next to us, was bouncing up against the dock. The outboard motor was banging so hard it had broken off a piece above the prop. Steve alerted George and he came outside to retie his lines and check for damage. It seems there is a 3 foot fluctuation in the tide at Fresh Creek, which constitutes adjusting your lines as the tide changes.

3.16/Monday Bimini to Northwest Channel

Steve paid the marine bill while I closed all the hatches, ports and made sure everything was secure. All of a sudden, Steve realized Cygnus was pulling out of his slip and we had not even detached the electrical cord or started the engine. We scrambled around trying to get lines off the dock cleats and depart, because Steve wanted to follow them through the new dredged channel that would save us at least 30 minutes. The wind was 20 knots but only predicted to be 6-7. We need to quit listening to the weather man; he is never correct!

All three sailboats had no interest in going to Nassau so a course was charted for the Bahama Bank and anchor in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean at Northwest Channel. The Bank is a huge area of shallow water 8-15 feet deep. The area we were in was about 80 miles across, but extends to the south end of the Bahamian Islands.

We dropped anchor in 12 foot of water with nothing in site but ocean. This area is

highly traveled by freighters and other large container ships, but we felt safe with three anchor lights shining in the night.

Neither one of us slept very much during the night. I was in the aft birth and felt like I was in a washing machine; Steve lay on the settee in the Saloon trying to stay on the cushions and said he felt like he had been at Six Flags all night. I was glad when daylight arrived!

3.17/Tuesday Northwest Channel to Morgans Bluff

Larry/Cygnus had us up early ready to head on a course to Morgans Bluff. We passed the Northwest Channel marker with a couple of miles left in the Bahama Bank before sailing into the Tongue of the Ocean with depths of over 4000 feet. If you Google, Tongue of the Ocean, look for a satellite view; you will be amazed at this phenonan. As we began to leave the bank, Larry suggested we should put our fishing lines out, as this is where the big fish hang out. Steve attached his newly purchased lure, specifically designed for attracting mahi-mahi. He put out the line, but within a few minutes he thought he heard a strike; he checked but found it had been cut clean off, probably by a barracuda! Bye, Bye “costly lure.”

Larry called on the radio to announce his first catch, a 40 inch mahi-mahi, and to let us know he would slow down while he got it aboard, filleted, and ready for dinner tonight. Steve put another line out in hopes to better his odds for catching a fish. Sometime later, George/Sunseeker, called to say he had a mahi-mahi. Larry radioed again that he caught another one, but it got away. George caught two more so you can imagine how Steve was feeling. He hadn’t even gotten a bite. At least an hour later, we heard the drag of the big rod zing out and Steve started reeling it in. Sure enough, he had landed his first mahi-mahi.
We realized at this point that we were not prepared to land the fish. I had already gotten the dip net out, but the mahi-mahi was too large to fit into it. By this time, Steve had moved to the swim platform on the back of the boat and I had throttled back the speed of the boat. (We are still motor sailing.) I was afraid Steve would fall off the boat trying to get the mahi-mahi- on board. Finally, Steve pulled it onto the swim platform and the fish proceeded to coat the back of the boat in blood as he was trashing around trying to get away. Our friends had told us if you pour Vodka down their gills it will kill them. Our last resort was to get my Ketel One Vodka and give it a try. It worked! Steve then put a lasso around his tail to hold him. We had a picture taking session and he cleaned and filleted the meat for dinner.

We approximate the mahi-mahi to be about 30 inches long. There were six really nice pieces of meat from this one fish.

We arrived at Morgans Bluff, which is on the northern edge of Andros Island, around 1:30 pm. Once we knew the anchor was secure, we both jumped into the beautiful, clear water for a swim. Steve didn’t even take the time to put his swimsuit on; he just emptied his pants pockets, took off his t-shirt and dove in. The water was about 10 feet deep and you could see clear to the bottom. We found our masks and snorkels and enjoyed checking out the floor of the harbor.

Cygnus/Carol and Larry ( they live in Michigan) invited all of us to their boat for a mahi-mahi dinner and a celebration of a wonderful and successful day of fishing. We each brought a side dish and drinks and enjoyed a wonderful evening.

Chris Parker, the great weather forecaster in the Bahamas, was predicting a front with high winds, possibly as strong as 30 knots, for later in the week. With this information, the guys felt we needed to find a marina to ride out the high winds. Because Carol wanted to go to Fresh Creek to take a Batik class, it was decided to hold up there for a few days. Plans were to leave at 7:30 am the next morning.

One of the downfalls to spending so much time around the water is the moisture that accumulates in the cabin of the boat. I do not particularly like sleeping on soggy sheets but sometimes you don’t have a choice. The night was much more comfortable that the night before, until around 2:00 am, we were awakened by howling winds and rain. Steve checked the anchor line and found them to be holding. We were also awakened before daylight by a large tanker ship filling up with water at the Government Wharf.

The island of Andros, is the largest of The Bahamas group and has a strange, worldly charm all its own; the island of the Chickcharnie, the bonefishing capital of the world, the land of the mystic blueholes, and the western hemisphere’s second largest reef. Most of the island is water and supplies all the fresh water to the Bahamas.

3.14/Saturday Angel Fish Creek to Bimini crossing the Gulf Stream

Click on the Picasa Web Site below and few all of my pictures from Bimini.

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The alarm woke me up at 5:30 am but Steve had already gotten up and had coffee ready. I made sandwiches to eat later in the day while Steve finished his boat check list for the crossing. We waited for the sun to peek through the clouds to give us enough light to motor back through the narrow, shallow creek channel. Once outside the channel we would also need to see our course through a reef about 5 miles off shore. Finally we pulled up the anchor around 6:40 am. We noticed a small catamaran behind us and wondered if they were making the crossing also so Steve radioed them to find out. Sure enough, they were headed to Bimini and would like to hang with us as long as they could. They appeared to be a young couple indicating their first trip off shore. Their boat is named Mahalo. Steve asked them if they would like to follow us and they seemed glad to have another boat to stay in contact when making the crossing.

The Gulf Stream is a very hazardous body of water which is in essence a river flowing thought the Atlantic Ocean running south to north, off the shore of Florida. The current flows between 2-3 knots, which can create large waves and turbulence, testing both boat and sailor.

After we cleared the reef, we set a course that would allow for the northward push of the Gulf Stream in route to Bimini. We soon discovered that the wind was not blowing from the southeast as predicted, but was mostly easterly, resulting in a change of course, to be able to keep the sails full. Our hopes of sailing were not in the record book for the day; motor sailing was required to keep us on our course. If you miss calculate your position in the Gulf Stream, you can be pushed north of your destination, making it extremely difficult to turn into the current to make landfall. Within our hour or so, we were so far ahead of the catamaran that we could barely see their mast. The seas/waves were large and we knew they were in for a rough day with only an outboard motor for power. We tried to check on them every half hour, but after 2 hours we were almost out of radio rage. Steve radioed them that we were being forced to change course constantly because of the easterly winds and the strong northerly current. Mahalo indicated the same situation, but felt with his small boat and outboard motor; he would not be able to hold his course to Bimini. He said they would probably have to head to West End, which is on the western end of the Grand Bahamas, approximately 100 miles north of Bimini.

All day Steve and I asked each other where we thought they were and hoped that we would run into them at some point in our journey. They were either brave or stupid to make the crossing on a day like today in their small boat with only an outboard motor.

The winds were strong, 10-15 knots with 4-6 foot waves, allowing us to make good time. Approximately 6 hours after leaving Angel Fish Creek we had Bimini in sight. Steve attached the yellow courtesy flag to a halyard at this point to signify that we were visitors who had not checked into the country yet. At this point, we were a few miles north of the entrance of the channel which would take us at least another hour to motor to the channel. When Little Wing crossed the Bahama Bank, the color of the water changed from ink blue to a beautiful turquoise, as the floor of the ocean rose from over 2000 feet to 50 feet in a distance of a quarter of a mile.

Our chart and chart plotter indicated an approach to the south end of Bimini Island turning and heading north running parallel to the beach. We saw large motor boats taking a different route but we felt compelled to follow our charts and electronic chart plotter. As we picked our way along large sand bars and shoals, we continued to see boats taking a different route. We finally made it to the opening of the channel and safely into the harbor area. We later learned the entrance to the harbor had been dredged resulting in a different approach and entry to the harbor.

Since we had never been to Bimini, we had to carefully find our way to the Blue Water Marina and ourslip that we had reserved the day before. Steve called the marina on the radio several times with no response; once he finally got someone on the phone, we could hardly understand their instructions in their Bahamian accent. Finally, as we were almost to the marina, we spotted a dock-hand waving us into the marina. Steve and I both noticed two large boats on either side of the narrow entrance to the marina, which didn’t leave much room to enter. And to make it worse, both of their boughs were facing each other with large anchors sticking into the channel. Steve made his way in without any difficulty, turning into the slip with ease, as I tossed the lines. Chip, the dock-hand, and surprisingly a couple we had met in Boot Key Harbor, helped us get tired up in the slip. Cruisers are always eager to assist each other with this task, as it can be very difficult with wind and current to contend with. We talked with Larry and Carol, sailing vessel Cygnus, finding out they had departed Boot Key Harbor on Friday, sailing over 24 hours, getting to Bimini early afternoon. They invited us for sundowners on their boat later in the day. Chip returned from the marine office with customs and immigrations papers that I started filling immediately so we could get them filled before they closed for the day. Since it was Saturday and they are not open on Sunday, we knew we had to get this task done today.

Between Steve and I we finally filled in most of the blanks on the applications and walked only a few buildings down from the marina to the customs office. Next door to this building, which looked like a church building I might add, was the immigration office. A small, attractive market is conveniently adjacent to the customs and immigration offices for new comers to purchase souvenirs and baked goods. I decided not to stop, thinking I would come back on Sunday by myself. Unfortunately, they were closed on Sunday when I went back. Carol, our friend served fresh baked bread she had bought from one of the ladies and it was delicious. Hopefully, I will have another opportunity to purchase bread and other native items.

Returning to the marina, we noticed that all the slips were filled mostly with large fishing boats. We wandered over to the fish cleaning station to find a large catch of huge dolphin. This is not the “Flipper” dolphin. This is the Mahi-Mahi, eating kind.

While Steve was resting, I carried my laptop to the marine office to get hooked up to WiFi so we could Skype home our safe crossing. We ate a quick dinner, made phone calls to the girls to let them know we had made it to Bimini safely and turned in for the night.

P.S. My new favorite beer-Bud Light Lime. It’s was very refreshing, especially today!

5.15/Sunday Bimini

Fresh water is scarce on the island, as is the case throughout the Bahamas, and distilled water can get pricey per gallon-50 cents at this marina. Steve washed the salt water off the boat this morning and filled the water tank, but warned me we would need to conserve as much as we could.

Today we rode the folding bikes around the island. I had my camera bag full; my new Nikon, my video camera, and my tiny point and shoot. I did not want to miss a single “Kodak” shoot. We stopped at a wreaked boat on the beach, walked through one of several cemeteries on the island, strolled along the beautiful beach picking up shells, and listened to different church music as we passed some eight or nine different denominations. Boy, they know how to sing gospel music here! We thought about going inside but were not sure what time the services had begun.
On the north end of the island, we rode through a beautiful new resort call Bimini Bay Resort. “Big bucks” are going into this project. I did take some pictures but I suggest you Google the resort for information and pictures. We meet a couple who were staying on the resort for a weekend wedding and said it was lovely. By this time I had stopped and taken my cameras out of my bag over 100 times and we had ridden, I know over 10 miles. I was ready for lunch and a rest!

We met our friends on sailboats Cygnus and Sunseeker late in the day for sundowners and a walk to Sandra’s for dinner. By the time we arrived, forty-five minutes it took us, it was 7:30 pm and she only had chicken, ham, one stuffed lobster and conch. We wanted to experience local cuisine but it wasn’t happening at Sandra’s, because we all wanted seafood. After a quick look around, I was not sure I wanted to eat anything that was being served. It really looked like a bar inside instead of a restaurant and I know the health rating, if they have such a thing, was below 50.

We started the walk back to the Anchorage Restaurant, owned by the people who owned the marina were we were slipped. It was a beautiful walk at sunset across the highest point on the island, overlooking the beach. Our seafood meal was good, not great. Over dinner, plans were made to leave in the morning heading for the Northwest Channel at 7:30 am.

I heard a helicopter flying overhead, not long after I lay down to read in bed. Steve was in the saloon listening to music and I asked him what was going on. We both went out into the cockpit to see what they were doing. It looked like a Coast Guard helicopter because they had a huge spotlight shinning it on the island as they passed really low. At one point they were shinning the light on boats in the marinas along the harbor. We wondered who they were looking for. The circled several times, continuing to shine the light around, then left. We tried to find out what they were looking for but no one knew. Steve said, “Probably drug smugglers.”

Like many islands in the Bahamas, Bimini has for centuries attracted opportunists and eccentrics. It is a good hideout and jumping-off point. Pirates, wreckers, Confederate blockade runners, rum-runners and smugglers have in the past brought waves of prosperity in and as quickly out of town. The famous and infamous have escaped to Bimini where, they think, no one will be watching. Ernest Hemingway pursued gin and shark-shooting here in the 1930’s, and in the late 60s, Adam Clayton Powell lived in Bimini with his mistress. One of Earnest Hemingway’s favorite haunts was Alice Town on North Bimini, where he enjoyed the big game fishing of the area and the camaraderie of the Compleat Angler Hotel/Bar. The Big Game Club looked like something we wanted to explore, but found it was locked up and in bankruptcy. It seems the recession has hit the Bahamas, also.

3.12/Thursday Boot Key Harbor to Rodriguez Key

Finally the weather was favorable for our trip northeast. Steve had been at Boot Key for two weeks and was ready to get across the gulf and headed to the Exuma Islands. Yesterday, we made a run to top off the fuel and replenish the water tank in preparation for our departure. The mooring ball was released around 7:30 am and we slowly motored out the narrow and shallow Sister Creek to Hawk Channel. Winds were from the east between 15-20 knots, with 4-6 foot waves pounding us on the nose for a couple of hours. Steve said he thought it was the roughest he had ever seen the Channel. I spent most of the day braced across the cockpit trying to remember why I was making this trip! Nourishment for the day was crackers, snack bars, coca-cola, and peanuts until we anchored at Rodriguez Key. The few times I had to go below, I felt like a monkey hanging from the ceiling handholds in order to make my way to the head. We mostly motored, with the main sail out for stability, the entire day. I was thrilled when Steve sited Rodriguez Key, knowing that the day was over!

On our approach to Rodriguez Key, late in the afternoon, we noticed the absence of anchored boaters on the western side of the key/island, where we thought would provide the most secure anchorage from the easterly winds. We motored close to the island and the shallow water trying to decide if this was where we needed to spend the night. Thinking it odd that there were no other boats in the vicinity, Steve decided to motor to the eastern side and check it out. There, we found other boats anchored and dropped our anchor as well, all the while wondering why the eastern side gave more protection in the easterly winds.

Steve listened to the weather forecast to hear that the winds were still blowing from the east. Based on this information and the fact that we would be making the Gulf Stream crossing alone, Steve thought it best that we continue tomorrow along Hawk Channel to Angel Fish Creek. This would decrease the number of miles across the Gulf Stream and make the trip shorter. I concurred.

3.13/Friday Rodriguez Key to Angel Fish Creek

With a good night’s sleep, we motored out to Hawks Channel around 8:30 am, noticing two other sail boats in the distance heading north. By the time we got to the channel, they were over a mile or two away from us. The winds were between 10-15 knots, the sun was shining and we were ready for a great day of sailing. Steve raised the sails and to our surprise the wind had clocked to the southwest, giving us a great point of sail. I enjoyed being at the helm, hand steering Little Wing under these conditions and pushed her to go faster, gliding through the waves with ease. I had her sailing between 6-7 knots and noticed we were gaining distance on the sailboat that had passed us in the channel earlier. After looking through the binoculars, Steve remarked that the boat ahead was an Island Packet, with the name Gandalf, hailing from Boston, and we were in fact catching up with him. I finally gave up the helm to Steve after an hour.

He began to get in a race with the sailboat ahead. We were probably a quarter of a mile from him we heard his buddy in the sailboat ahead of him hail Gandalf on the radio. When Gandalf answered and switched to another channel, we switched to the same channel. The buddy ahead said, “I think it is time to make your move!” Gandalf replied, “I’m toast, you are the one who needs to trim up so he doesn’t catch you!” I looked at Steve and he was grinning from ear to ear. At that point, Steve got on the radio with Gandalf and had a good natured conversation about their Island Packets. It turns out the guy at one time owned a 380 Island Packet, but it was lost in a storm some years back.

As we began overtaking him, I moved out on the deck of the boat to take pictures of Gandalf at full sail. Steve radioed him that I was taking his picture and would email them if he would share his address. He seemed excited to know that I had taken the pictures and would send them to him. Soon thirty minutes after we had passed Gandalf, we arrived at the entrance to Angel fish creek and prepared for the narrow and shallow creek depths, leading from the Atlantic Ocean into Biscayne Bay. Since it was close to high tide, we did not have any problem with the depth of the channel and found our anchorage near Pumpkin Key easily. Before lights out, we listened to the weather forecast again and set the alarm clock for 5:30 am.

Sailing to Marathon

Here it is February with Steve and me sitting on Little Wing waiting to cross the Gulf Stream for our Bahamas sailing adventure in 2009. Last year, we sailed in the Abaco Islands, meeting some wonderful cruisers and fulfilling a lifelong dream of sailing. If you are interested in our last years’ travel, scroll down to the end of this blog, which begins our trip to the Abacos.

I ask that you forgive my grammatical mistakes; I pray that Mrs. Wieman is not reading this somewhere in heaven. She would applaud my persistence, but reprimand me for so many mistakes in my haste to get our activities post on the blog.

We were told constantly from other sailors that the islands and waters in the Exumas were more beautiful than the Abacos. We find that hard to believe so we, I mean Steve, began charting and plotting our 2009 trip. Even though we live “at the beach,” January and February are pretty dreary months, leaving time to dream about warmer climates and spending time on Little Wing. It was decided that Steve would leave mid February with a crew of three, sailing to Marathon, then I would flying down the first of March. I just couldn’t miss my grandson, Jacob’s 1st Birthday Party in Birmingham.

Steve spent all January getting the boat ready for our three months of cruising, checking off his list each of his projects when they were finished. The boat had to be hauled out for a bottom painting job and to have service done on the prop, which meant a trip to Eastern Shore Marina at Fly Creek in Fairhope. The weather was particularly cold and rainy this year, making the departure difficult to schedule. Steve was still completing projects right up until the day they departed. After a quick trip home to Birmingham to visit with parents and children, Steve decided to set sail on Monday, February 16. We did a last minute cleaning job of the boat before we began loading all the provisions and equipment. We had three buggies full of groceries and supplies from WalMart on our first trip and we made several more trips before we finally finished. We kept telling ourselves that we might not be able to get these things in the islands so we did not want to run out. Three months is a long time away from WalMart! Steve, Ken and Mike went back to WalMart for their groceries and supplies on Sunday morning. One last project needed to be checked off the list; climbing the mast to replace the steaming light. I have included a picture of Steve being hoisted up the mast by his crewmates, Ken Rollins, Charley Stewart, and Mike Darden (all Sailboat Bay owners) to replace the steamer bulb. Boy, you really have to put a lot of trust in your crew with this project. Thank goodness he only had to go as far as the spreader and not all the way to the top.

The guys gear was stowed for the trip and they pulled away from the slip at Sailboat Bay around 8:00 am Monday morning, with the boat scraping bottom all the way out the canal. I couldn’t help but wonder what lay ahead for four happy sailors and how excited Steve is now that he has started on this sailing adventure.

The passage from Sailboat Bay to Marathon was dictated to me while we waiting for our weather window to make the crossing.

We proceeded down the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) almost four hours arriving at the pass at Pensacola around 2:00 pm. We decided to set a course to Clearwater with an option of stopping at Port St. Joe if the weather was not favorable. The wind was out of the north creating a good point of sail, allowing us to make good time along the coast. Due to a predicted cold weather front coming, we decided to make Clearwater as soon as possible.

Each crewmember would take a two hour watch throughout the run. It was easy for me to rest off watch with a very experienced crew in control.

Mike Darden at the helm.

The first night was uneventful except for the cold. I had all my fowl weather gear on plus I used my sleeping bag as a blanket while on my watch. The temperature was in the low 40’s but of course on the water especially at night, this seems much colder. The second day the weather was beautiful, with a bright blue sky, but still very cool. Charley Stewart on watch.

An interesting situation occurred during the second night. We were approximately 80 miles from Clearwater when we saw a red flare in the sky. Then we saw a second and third red flare. By this time we decided it was time to contact the coast guard. Countless questions were asked by them: What color was the flare? How high in the sky was it? What distance from our boat was it? Over the next hour we probably saw close to 20 red flares, but the coast guard seemed quite unconcerned, in our opinion, so we decided to investigate the situation by heading toward the approximate location where we saw the flares. We found NOTHING that would have released the flares and no one in distress. We then contacted the coast guard again and they instructed us to resume our course. We surmised the excitement might be some type of covert military exercise and they didn’t want “us” Alabama sailors anywhere around! We carried on our course.
Ken Rollins on the lookout.

On Wednesday, approximately 3:00 pm, we pulled into Clearwater, 56 hours after departing Sailboat Bay. Before motoring into our slip at Clearwater City Marina, we filled the fuel tank, surprised that fuel was $1.62 a gallon.

Captain Steve calling home.

As soon as the boat was secured in the slip, we were ready for a hot shower and a good hot meal! We walked to Frenchie’s for grouper po boys’ which is a local chain of several restaurants Charley had suggested. It was an excellent meal after eating canned soup for several days. A strong cold front was approaching Clearwater by mid day Thursday forcing us to remain in the slip as it passed through. We spent the day walking out to the beach area and checking out the marina and doing sailor stuff. The front was pretty much a non event; a little rain, a little wind. We walked to a second Frenchie’s Restaurant to have a beer and eat appetizers. Charley was reliving some of his glory days when he worked in Clearwater, showing us some of his “stomping” grounds in the area. Charley also took us on a tour of an old hotel and as we were walking down the sidewalk we met an interesting lady walking her dog. She owned a restaurant called Mandalay Bay and invited us to come by for cocktails. Both days we had a huge breakfast at an old fashion diner adjacent to the marina. You know, where they serve greasy food, grits, hash browns, with gum chewing waitress and a plate full of food at a reasonable price. Boy, we were “happy sailors.”

After good night’s sleep on Thursday night, we pulled out of Clearwater at daylight, heading out the channel in very rough water until we headed south. Once out in the gulf, the wind and waves were behind us giving us a great day of sailing. With the wind blowing 20 knots or more, we did the math and figured it would take us two full days to get to Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park. We all agreed to GO! It was a beautiful sunny day, but still pretty cool, in the 50’s with beautiful green turquoise ocean water for sailing. We saw several ships and ocean going barges, but no other pleasure crafts, just we idiots, but, we were making excellent time. For those non sailors, having a following sea (waves coming at you from the stern/rear) is the hardest point of sail to maintain your course. As the seas overtake you, you slide off the front and the boat wants to wander in several directions. Luckily, “Ray,” our trusty auto pilot, is an amazing piece of equipment, keeping us on course without saying a word. If we had hand stirred the boat it would have been a brutal two days. The day went by quickly. I only remember that Mike concocted some jazzed up beef stew. I can only say it was hot and ……… we ate it. Sleep was impossible in the forward bunk that night, so I moved to the bunk of the person on watch. Like “musical bunks” all night! We made excellent time through the night, as the winds clocked around to the east forcing a beam reach. This is Little Wings favorite point of sail. (This is when the wind is coming in straight from the side and usually the fastest point of sail.) The next morning we did the math again and decided if we kept going at maximum speed, over 7 knots, we could possibly make landfall before dark. Getting to an unfamiliar channel in the middle of the night, in shallow water, is not an option. We cranked the engine, getting our speed over 7 knots. The seas were large, probably 6-8 foot waves, with occasional 10 footers. But we all marveled how Little Wing shouldered through the seas.

We calculated our arrival time to be before dark, based on maintaining our speed. Land was sited at approximately 6:30 pm; we made the complicated approach and slowly maneuvered between shoals and sandbars, finally reaching the channel and finding a spot to anchor in the small anchorage at Fort Jefferson. We traveled 230 miles from Clearwater to Dry Tortugas National Park, averaging a little less than 7 knots an hour. What a trip! Sometimes you win…sometimes things go your way! There were only two fishing boats in the anchorage with us.

The old Fort at sunset was quite an erry scene. We had a sundowner and congratulated each other for quite a feat. We all crashed soon after dinner. The next morning it was breezy but we were in protected water and were not concerned. The water here is the most brilliant blue turquoise, much like you find in Bahamas or in the Caribbean Islands. Charley went to stick his foot in the water to check the temperature, jumping back when he saw a huge unknown fish. We all scrambled to get a look. It was very large and had this odd tailfin leading us to initially believe it was a manatee. I pulled out the “Sport Fish of the Gulf Of Mexico” book to look up the species. They were Jew fish, which are giant grouper and are a protected species. Four or five more showed up and we assumed because they were so friendly they were looking for food. After a good breakfast, we inflated the dinghy, lowered the outboard motor onto the dinghy, and road into the dinghy dock at Fort Jefferson.

The Captain and his crew.

Ponce de Leon discovered these islands in 1513, calling them Las Tortugas, meaning “the turtles” for the great number of turtles found here. The later name Dry Tortugas, was meant to advise seafarers that the islands contain no fresh water. Around 1845, the United States began construction on Fort Jefferson to control navigation into the Gulf of Mexico and protect Atlantic-bound Mississippi trade. The construction lasted over 20 years and is one of the largest brick forts constructed, with over 4 million bricks hauled in.

One of the most famous people connected to the fort/prison is Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was convicted of aiding or treating John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg. But later, I understand, he was pardoned. We toured the Fort, finding amazing examples of old canons and other equipment used during that time period. We highly recommend you visit either by sailboat or by taking the high speed ferry from Key West every day.

We were glad the weather permitted digging out our t-shirts and shorts. We spent part of the afternoon cleaning the boat then Ken and I took the dinghy to Loggerhead Key, about 3 miles north of Fort Jefferson. There is a huge lighthouse on the Cay and a pristine, secluded beach that we enjoyed. Getting there was easy but on the way back, the wind increased causing a two foot chop and making the trip back to Little Wing a “wet ride.” It took an hour to get back. Since we hadn’t eaten very well for a few days, I grilled chicken breast, heated a can of baked beans, prepared wild rice, and grilled French bread. During the night the wind blew over 20 knots, causing the anchor line to creak and strain. I decided we needed to start an “anchor watch” at midnight, with everyone taking an hour watch. The anchor held and the captain slept!


Because it was 70 plus miles to Key West, we felt it necessary to leave at first light. Dressed in foul weather gear for the long slog to windward, which means the wind was from the east, made for a long day. We picked our way through the shoals and coral heads to deeper water and set a course to Key West. The middle of the day, we passed the Marquesas Keys, where Mel Fisher found The Atocha ship, the largest treasure ever found on a sunken Spanish Galleon. At first sight, we saw large cruise ships docked in Key West. Once we were in phone range, we called to secure a slip in Key West Bight at City Marina. Motoring into Key West around 6:00 pm, at sunset affords you the opportunity to meet beautiful old schooners going out for their sunset cruise. You also pass huge cruise liners making their way out of the area. As we entered the boat slip, several guys on dockside helped us get the boat into the slip and tie up. It’s always a “small world.” After talking with the guys, we found out they knew a guy at Sailboat Bay. Ken knew him and called him on the phone so they could chat. We cleaned the boat from all the salt spray, showered and headed out to dinner at Half-Shell Raw Bar. After walking through the marinas in the area, we turned in early.

On Tuesday, Charley got up early to run around Key West, as this was his first visit. The guys went for breakfast while I did my laundry. We all scattered for the morning and agreed to meet at Sloppy Joe’s Bar for lunch. I went to the Customs and Immigration Office to check on requirements to preregister us for our return into the US after our stay in the Bahamas. I finally found the “official building” were a gentleman stood guard at the door wearing a dark suit and dark sunglasses. At the door a large sign read, “no cell phones allowed. “ I asked if I should take my cell phone back to the boat, but he suggested I turn it off and hide it in the bushes. I wonder how many times he has given that response. I questioned this action, but I assumed he would keep a look out for it, and I sure did not want to dispute his suggestion! After entering the building, I had to empty all my pockets and state my business. After going through the metal detector, I was allowed to enter the empty customs office, waiting at least five minutes for a very large officer appearing at the window asking what I wanted. (They really know how to intimidate a guy!) I filled out the necessary paperwork and informed him of our intentions; he then took our passports and disappeared for 15 minutes. All I received from this “official visit” was a phone number written on a scrap piece of paper. He said, “Call this number when you get back to the United States.” I asked him if we would be able to handle this over the phone, he said, “depends.” Then he left. I turned and headed to the door and sure enough, my phone was still in the bushes. I thanked the non-smiling guard.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar was packed so we went to an Irish pub about three doors down where we enjoyed drinking Irish beer. We walked to the Southern Most Point Park for a picture taking session with Charley in front of the monument. We continued our tour of the area ending up at Fogerty’s and enjoyed an excellent meal. Later that day we walked to Mallory Park for the famous sunset watching, which is a local custom with hundreds of people milling around. Now that large cruise ships are coming into this area, they are required to be gone by sunset or early evening in order for this local tradition to continue. Today, just happens to be Fat Tuesday, so everyone is celebrating. Check out the picture of Charley made with the store models. We lost Mike in the melee and we are still not sure where he went. We never saw him again until we got back to the boat. We had dinner at Schooner’s, a unique restaurant reminiscent of old key west, were dogs and roosters have the run of the place and you always see a strange cast of characters hanging out. Wannabe Pirates, I mean guys with patches on their eyes, parrots hanging out, dogs begging for food, and of course your interesting tourists are visible everywhere. Afterwards, we walked around looking at all the old ships until we arrived back at our marina.

We departed Key West around 8:00 am the next morning in route to Marathon, about 60 miles, which makes for a pretty long day of sailing. As we headed northeast out to Hawk Channel, the wind was “on the nose” so we couldn’t sail. But it was a beautiful, warm day and we enjoyed the ride as well as the fighter jets flying overhead fairly low. Finally we pulled in to a slip at Marathon Marina around 5:00 pm. I wanted to make contact with Frank and Barbara, a couple we were trying to catch up with while in the Exumas, before they left Boot Key Harbor the next day. Hastily, I put the dinghy in the water to take off to Boot Key harbor; the sun was setting and getting late. As I was approaching the bridge, the Florida water patrol flagged me down, and told me I was speeding in my dinghy. They wanted to see my registration numbers, which I didn’t have; wanted to see my drivers’ licenses, which I didn’t have; but, I did have my personal floatation device and my orange whistle! They let me slide. As I entered Boot Key Harbor, I saw over two hundred sailboats, so the changes of me finding one particular sailboat in the dark was not good, so I returned to Little Wing. The guys decided to go to Frosty’s for dinner, which is a restaurant in walking distance to the marina.

Our arrangements for the next day were for Charley to get the rental car and Mike and Ken would help me get anchored in Boot Key Harbor because there were no available moorings. After we anchored, I took the guys into the dock at City Marina to meet Charley with the rental car for their trip to Gulf Shores. While there, I put Little Wing on the list for a mooring ball.

My crew and I shared a lot of jokes and tales and I truly enjoyed the comradely for the last 10 days with them. Judy and I are grateful to them for accepting the invitation to sail to Marathon with me so she could stay in Alabama and attend her grandson’s 1st Birthday party. Thanks Guys!

I located Frank and Barb later in the morning and found they put their departure off one day because of the weather. He was able to assist me with the mooring ball late Thursday and we spent a little time looking at charts and discussing our journey. Friday, they departed and I started deep cleaning the boat, defrosting the freezer, cleaning the head, etc. for Judy’s arrival on Tuesday. Saturday, I got off the boat and walked to Publix and Boaters World to get a little exercise and some provisions. Sunday, a cold front came through with high winds, but there was no problem in the marina. I continued working on projects until Judy arrived Tuesday.

My(Judy) trip to Marathon.
I departed Birmingham for Gulf Shores on Sunday afternoon, as soon as Catherine, Josh, and Jacob left Emily’s for Memphis. Snow was still on the ground, but the roads were clear, making the trip south more enjoyable. I had much to do to get packed and ready to fly to Miami on Tuesday.

The flight to Miami and the two hour drive to Marathon were uneventful. I stopped at the local Papa’s Pizza in Marathon for our dinner, before arriving to the City Marina, where Steve would meet me at the dinghy dock. We enjoyed the sunset, one of many we would watch while waiting for the right weather window to make the Gulf Stream crossing. Plans were made to get provisions at Publix the next morning, before I took the rental car back to the local airport.
Boot Key Harbor, formerly the heart of the city’s commercial fishing industry, is the largest mooring field in the country, with 226 mooring balls.

The mooring community offers valuable amenities; free Internet access, laundry facilities, free dinghy dockage, West Marine, Boaters World, boat repair shops and grocery shopping in walking distance; free pump out, tennis courts, restaurants on the water, and a friendly community of boaters. Each morning at 9:00 am on Channel 68, the Cruiser’s Net broadcast includes a weather forecast, new arrivals and departing boaters, announcements, comments, questions, help and trivia. It is quite entertaining in the morning. It is like “Craigslist” on the radio. This is a friendly community of boaters offering to assist others in all types of matters.

Based on the long range weather forecast, we were not expecting to get out of Boot Key until next week at the latest. The easterly winds were blowing pretty hard, the temperature was chilly both day and night and no one was venturing out in the Gulf Stream. I spent the time lazing around reading and helping Steve with a few projects on the boat. The generator was not operating as it should so Steve had a repair guy out to diagnosis the problem. We thought it was repaired but after running it for the first time, the problem still existed. Steve decided to wait until we meet up with Frank since he is an experienced mechanic. We spent one day walking to West Marine then on to Castaways and Burdines, which is probably 3 miles one way from the boat. Of course, we needed the exercise after sitting around on the boat for so long.

Plans were to ride the dinghy to Castaways on Sunday night for dinner. Since the time changes on Saturday night, we would have enough time to eat an early dinner and get back to the boat before dark, as we did not have a light on the dinghy. On the ride to the restaurant, we encountered the patrol boat again. Several days ago, we lost one of our plates that had the dinghy registration numbers and decal sticker, in the dinghy docks at City Marina. Steve thought he could retrieve it with a long boaters hook and net but found out from the marine dockmaster that the water was over 30 feet deep. Steve took the other plate off and laid it in the bottom of the dinghy so we wouldn’t lose it too. I am sure the water patrol would love to give us a ticket for lack of registration! Back to the water patrolman. When we first saw him, Steve immediately gave me the plate and I hand-held it to the side of the dinghy hoping he had not seen my sly move. He slowly rode close by, I waved with my other hand (my Miss America wave and gave him a big smile) and he passed without stopping. Another day in paradise!

We spent one of our afternoons waiting to do one load of laundry in the City Marina laundry facility. The marina office is one big room, much like a large airplane hanger, with a 20 foot plus ceiling. This room includes; two TV watching stations, an Internet station, a library with shelves of books for you to “borrow,” a buddy boat board for boaters to sign up stating where they are headed so you can contact each other and travel together, the official marina office, pamphlets and travel guides everywhere, and tables for you to play scrabble, chess, or other board games.
Why we chose Monday to do the laundry; never again! There are three washing machines and four dryers. You purchase a card, much like a credit card, with the amount you wish to spend based on your laundry needs. Wash $2, dry $1. When we arrived there was already a line for the washing machines. The unstated order or “your turn” is to line up your washing and wait until the person in front of you has finished. Unfortunately, the person in front of us had a large cart that was overflowing with dirty clothes. I knew we would be there for a long time. She had at least 3 loads. I sat at the Internet table checking emails while Steve watched the laundry line. One young guy comes bounding in with his tiny laundry basket thinking he is just going to sit it down in front of a washing machine and skip the waiting line. Steve alerts me and I take over the watch! Once the lady with the large cart is finished loading her last load, I keep my eyes on the young guy for his first move. He isn’t going to get a head of us! Now, we have been waiting over two hours for the washing machine. When the 45 minute wash cycle is down to 3 minutes, I get up and move over to our laundry bag and move it to the front of the machine that is almost finished. The young guy gets up also and comes over to inspect what I am doing. I casually make mention that I have been waiting for over two hours and that I saw him come in with only a small load, knowing that it would be a long wait for him as it has been for me. Luckily, we both only had one load and he knew that another wash was almost over. When I returned to the table where Steve was sitting, he said he hoped that I was not going to get into a fight with the guy over the washing machines. Everything was cool. My only mistake was putting the dryer money in the upper machine instead of the lower machine where my clothes were. When the lady with clothes in the upper machine realized this mistake she kindly removed her clothes so I could swap my clothes to where I had paid. (She said her cycle only had 2 minutes the last time she looked.) Life in the laundry room! So much pressure!!!!! Another 45 minutes and we were ready to head back to the boat for our afternoon sunset sundowner. I needed it!

We hear on the Cruiser’s Net of an Island Packet boat owners’ gathering at the Dock Side Restaurant for lunch Tuesday so Steve adds it to our “busy” calendar of events for the week! Each day we Steve looked at the weather forecast and would postpone the departure another. We are looking for southeasterly winds for our sail up the Atlantic coast to Rodriguez Cay then possibly on to Angel Fish Creek before to made the Gulf Stream Crossing.
Steve decided to depart tomorrow, Thursday, March 12, for Rodriguez Key.