Weighing anchor off No Name Cay, or should we say, “weighted” anchor?
We traveled from No Name Cay to Abaco Beach Resort and Marina. This marina is on Great Abaco Island and is kinda on the opposite side of an isthmus from the actual Marsh Harbour. Todd figured with a bit of blow coming, no real great anchorages around, and that Susie hasn’t seen Marsh Harbour, let’s duck in and put SaltyMare in a slip for a night or two. The Mare is becoming a diva with these “spa” days. Secured her stern in, in the wind, way to go Todd! This morning we went on walkabout over to Marsh Harbour (the town) to check out a grocery store, Maxwell’s. Since it is a holiday [New Year’s day observed], almost nothing else is open. Maxwell’s is huge, like a Kroger, but eye-opening.
$8.40? Wow, Tony!$3.85 for canned peaches?Tomato soup on sale – time to make grilled cheese sandwichesThank goodness for all that provisioning and onboard ship’s stores.Mangoes Seaside Restaurant (actually several blocks from the harbor), where Todd had his first cheeseburger in paradise. I went island style with a conch burger. Both were quite tasty. Suck it in, big boy! (Todd added that bit, not me. You do know we write these posts together, right?)
Some photos for the plant people
A palm the size of a person!Who has a name for this one flowering?Hey, that’s cotton! growing wild in a lot
After a wonderful New Year’s Eve off Green Turtle Cay, we moved to an island with no name. Well, okay, actually, it does have a name – a real imaginative one – it’s No Name Cay. We dropped the hook and went ashore to Big O’s (quite appropriate, since that was Todd’s nickname in high school) to meet the famous swimming pigs. Either the water was too cool or the piggies forgot their swimsuits. We met them on the beach. After cheering on a few limbo contests, admiring a Christmas tree that barely fit its place and having a bite to eat, we did some shore walking to look for treasures. Then, more exploring on the dink, man that thing is handy. We actually zipped back over to the very southern tip of Green Turtle, a sandy area known for sand dollars. Alas we didn’t find any whole ones, but I can already see we’ll need to temper the inclination to bring home every natural wonder or curiosity we find, or we’ll need a larger boat. And then, snuggled in the cockpit, to our surprise we had a VERY front row seat for Big O’s fireworks show. Fantastic! Next stop, Marsh Harbor? Or perhaps an actually unnamed cay? Who knows?!?
Dipping piggiesThey start young, no handouts? Moving on!Todd left our mark at Big O’sSaltyMare at anchorReady to walk off lunchStill alive & earned a toss back out to sea
After sleeping like babies for almost 11 hours, yesterday we headed into town to tackle the non-connectivity of the phone/data plan that we’d arranged before leaving the U.S. which wasn’t working at all. This would never do. We are a bit too old and responsible for that kind of shenanigans. It’s one thing to go cruising off to exotic ports of call but quite another to do so with no way to keep in touch with family and friends, not to mention researching weather, route planning, etc. We have charts, but heck, can somebody toss us an island/town map? Just amazing how the world is so reliant on the net. So, armed with smiles hidden behind masks (luckily Susie has great eyes), we did it the old fashioned way. By talking to folks in person. Long story, but it took more than 24 hours, the kind assistance of several very friendly Bahamians, in addition to many calls (on their phones) to the agency based in Washington, DC and, yes, access to free WIFI at the Green Turtle Club to finally get our phone connected…. today. Fortunately, just in time to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
At anchor on the Sea of AbacoIn New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay
Oh, remember that promise about the blue water? Well, we’ve cruised through bright blue water, followed by the most gorgeous turquoise water, and we are sitting in 14′ of water clear enough to see the bottom. This morning we took the dinghy out to locate our anchor, and there it was, clear as day, securely dug into the grassy sand. Then as we were zinging along, I kept my eyes trained on the bottom and saw a BIG starfish. Amazing!
After fueling up at Vero Beach City Marina, we headed out around 3:22pm. Oops, let’s make that 1522 hours for the sailors and military folk paying attention here. My request to the captain was that we hit the inlet in daylight in order to see it and take photos. Man, did he accommodate – our departure was perfectly timed to look back and capture the sunset over Florida.
Approaching the Fort Pierce Inlet from the ICWPassing the jetty – we are offshoreThe sunset looking back at Florida as we began our crossingSpectacular!
During the past year of outfitting the boat, if things got stressful, I’d playfully point out, “You promised me blue water.” And suddenly, there we were on the ocean blue. Then, it was dark, and darker, and darker. The stars were beautiful when not hidden behind cloud cover, above was clear and filled with the heavens, but to the east (our basic direction) there were clouds moving around all night. So it became difficult to distinguish the horizon in the inky blackness. To the west, the lights of South Florida made it clear we were headed on an adventure. We kept a watch on instruments, course headings, GPS, looking for lights of other vessels so we could identify them and their distance on radar and/or AIS, etc. Did I mention it was very, very dark? We could look down as our wake disturbed the water, and it absolutely sparkled with bioluminescence – beautiful blinking points of light on the water’s surface. Cool! We took turns on watch, but truthfully, we were both almost too excited to sleep, so the naps were brief, more like power naps. We spent most of the time together on the flybridge.
Around 0230, as we scanned the horizon, two points of yellow light appeared. What’s that?? I got my binoculars, handy 1st mate that I am, to identify it. A few seconds later, we were looking at a perfect Cheshire Cat of a crescent moon, as it seemed to POP into view. Hey, where have you been? We laughed at ourselves and from there followed the perfectly illuminated path to the Bahamas. Silly camera can’t take a steady shot in the dark on the ocean.
As the sun rose enough for us to see once again, we raised the yellow Quarantine flag required to be flown until check-in with Customs & Immigration. We were now strangers in a foreign land.
Raising the Q-flag as the sun rose over the Little Bahama Bank
Friends told us to watch for flying fish as we made the crossing, but since we crossed in the dark, we didn’t see them. At dawn, Todd found this little guy on the foredeck. So we did actually get to see one. Sorry, little guy; had we known you were out there, we’d have tossed you back in.
We dropped the hook near Green Turtle Cay around 1500 hours, set the anchor alarm, and quickly lowered the dinghy so the “Master of the Vessel” (it’s a Bahamian thing), Todd, could go check us in. We were fortunate enough that the customs agent had just arrived at the Green Turtle Club. Great timing on this end, as well. Off he went with our passports and folder full of information. As a matter of Covid-19 protocol, only the master is allowed to leave the vessel until you’re cleared. Upon his return with our stamped passports and Travel Visa, we removed the Q-flag and raised the Bahamas courtesy flag for our stay, grabbed a cocktail, and headed to the bow in time to catch our first Bahamian sunset. NOW we can sleep. Aaaaah.
Raising the Bahamas courtesy flagWhew.
Thanks to all for the prayers for our safe passage. Covid-safe, long distance hugs!
With the boat ship shape and ready to cruise, all we needed was the right weather window to cross to the islands. Yesterday, we took the dinghy to catch the bus, walked from the bus stop to the rental car agency, drove the rental car to Miami to pick up new thruster joystick controllers for the lower helm station, then reversed the whole process to return to Vero Beach. (Todd took his required-for-travel Covid-19 test before we left. I took mine as we flew down the Florida Turnpike.) A final stop at the grocery store, then back on the boat. As darkness settled, we loaded the dinghy on the flybridge and moved from the mooring ball to a slip so we could plug in for the night. Our electric guru calls this a “spa day” for the boat – gets everything totally charged without running the generator.
Today we will return the rental car, take the bus back to the marina, wash the decks, finish our navigational planning processes, fuel up, and head out mid-afternoon for the crossing. 24-30 hours or so later, the master of the vessel, Todd, will meet with Customs and Immigration officials at Green Turtle Cay Club, to check us in. After more than a year of outfitting and months of planning and provisioning, let the fun in the sun, and some serious down time, begin!!!
Our Travels 