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| On Nov 25th, we left Fort Pierce and motor/sailed south in the intercoastal to Stuart Florida where we anchored out for a few nights and then on a mooring ball for the Thanksgiving feast put on by Sunset Marina on the 28th. |
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| It was very well attended. The Marina supplied the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and buns. Every table had a fresh flower arrangement and linen tablecloths. |
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| The cruisers each brought a side dish or desert |
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| There was plenty for all for sure.....and all delicious.... |
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| Here, on a rainy day, while waiting for our weather window to cross over to the Bahamas, Guy checks his email on the porch of the Sunset Marina house. |
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| A good weather window is scheduled to arrive on Dec 3rd....So on Dec 2nd, we leave Stuart and sail/motor 5 hours to Lake Worth where we will drop anchor for a short night. Here Guy puts the way points in our chart plotter. Our destination in the Atlantic Ocean and beyond the Gulf Stream is Memory Rock at the Bahama Bank. |
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| At 4:30 a:m Dec 3rd, (still dark), we pull up anchor and slowly meander our way out to the inlet in company of 3 other sailbaots. Even though it was a good weather window, the wind had been blowing from the NE for several days and the Ocean was very lumpy.....no breaking waves but some large rollers.....It made the first 6 to 7 hours pretty uncomfortable. These Ginger Candies helped to keep the nausea away. |
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| It's early afternoon ...in the gulf stream....the waves have settled out and the ocean is super calm! We put the sails down as there was not enough wind. |
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| As we continued on, we noticed and heard a shuttle to the port side of us. It would have been launched from Port Canaveral. |
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| This photo shows the part of the shuttle that breaks away and drops off into the ocean......Yikes! At 2100 hrs, (16 hours after leaving Florida) we finally dropped our anchor in 16 ft of calm water on the Bahama Bank. It was very odd not to be near any land for the night. The sky was as clear as I have ever seen. It was a spectacular starry night. Thw wind was almost nonexistent and no moon. The blanket of stars was too spectacular. The milky was was like a white roadway across the night sky |
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| After a post crossing restful sleep, we lifted anchor at 7:00 am and made our way for another 8 hours to Spanish Cay Marina to check in. The wind filed in nicely for a comfortable sail. |
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| We had company |
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This would have been a Bad Day  |
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| These are the three other boats we traveled with. From the left, s/v Heritage...George and Jackie , us on Miss Ellie, Dennis and Dorothy on s/v Chances and a single handed sailor Mike on Solstice II. |
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| Our view from the cockpit on our second night in the Bahamas at Spanish Cay in the Abacos |
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| Needing and wanting to get off the boat and explore, we headed to the beach....a 10 minute walk from the marina. |
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| One of the many beautiful homes built on the water.... |
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| Guy has been wanting to "buzz" his hair off for a while now..... With clippers in hand, I buzzed away..... |
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| The new man.....short hair and no moustache....... |
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| Time to move on....our destination...4 hours sail away....Green Turtle Cay! |
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| A few sprinkles and a rainbow along the way...... |
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| After waiting outside of the harbor for a few hours till the tide was high enough for us to safely make it in, we dropped our anchor in about 12 ft of water. We are in White Sound Harbour on Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos. The other 3 boats we were traveling with all have shallower drafts than us. We entered last. It was bad timing for us because by the time the water was deep enough for us to enter it was way past sundown. We grabbed our searchlight to identify the buoys only to have it go dead in about 5 minutes. Then we were scrambling. We charged it a few days before but the charge obviously did not hold. The importance of a good dependable searchlight was very impressed on us that night. We ran aground entering the harbour but we were on a rising tide and only coming in at very slow idle speed. Was it wise to attempt entering an unfamiliar harbour in the dark? NO! Never again. I learned a very valuable lesson I will not soon repeat. NEVER ENTER AN UNFAMIIAR HARBOUR AFTER DARK!!! We were lucky this time. Next time we may not be so lucky. |
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| I got up later that night to see a huge spider in the galley. Luckily Guy was up too ! He bravely squished it in the kleenex that I handed him. Could it be a Brown Recluse? A search on the internet revealed that yes, there are Brown Recluse spiders in the Abacos. |
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| The next morning, we set out for a visit to the little town of Historic New Plymouth |
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| Some of the interesting homes in the Abacos |
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| Guy and George walking along the main St of New Plymouth....Most of their vehicles are golf carts. The roads are barely wide enough for a horse and cart. Very old city with many old original buildings. |
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| This is the Beer of the Bahamas |
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| We celebrated my birthday on the 10 th of December at The Bluff House restaurant with George and Jackie. The lobster was amazing. Guy had Cracked Couch. Also fantastic! |
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| This star fish was really big...in about a foot of water. Not sure where he was going but we hope he makes it back to the reef.... |
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| One of two planes we saw on the beach while on a walk in Coco Bay. There are many wealthy land owners here that just fly in and enjoy their places right on the ocean. Even so...many of the places are For Sale. I get the feeling that the 2008-9 economic downturn Stateside plus hurricanes in 2011 and 2012 have hurt the local economy on the Island. I know it is reflected in our price to stay at the Marina. The Marina was very glad we came in to tie up. |
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| Rough volcanic rock lines much of the shore and then a few feet from there will be an amazing white sand beach! Still feels odd to hear Christmas music in the businesses while wearing t-shirts, shorts and sandals. I'm sure I will adjust :) |
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| Wishing you all the happiest of holidays from Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos |
