So we got our Butts Kicked!

Moving on....next stop....er well where is our next stop?  We had planned to go from Chub Cay to Spanish Wells but we are doing something we vowed to avoid.  We are on a schedule as we are picking up friends for a week in Georgetown, Exumas  Sure - a couple of months ago getting to Georgetown by January 13 was not an issue.  But with the weather we have had, we lost a day here a day there...then several days in Bimini.  And here we are on a schedule to get to Georgetown by Saturday.  So looking at how we can shave off a day here and there.  The best option looks like Nassau.  Damn - we didn't want to go there, but from Nassau we can make it to the northern Exumas then work our way south.

So Nassau it is.  Should be fine.  Only 35 miles - forecast 15-20 on the beam.  Hmm, I prefer a forecast of 10-15.......but its only 35 miles.  How bad can it get?

So the wind is supposed to build in the afternoon - lets make an early start.  We push off at 6:30am.  Wind a little fresh, 15 or so on the beam.  We sail full main, reefed jib.  Making 8 kts, waves are a bit rolly, but life is good. Then we get out of the lee of Chub Cay.  Winds build a bit, waves start to grow - we have made 10 miles, only 25 to go.  Winds build, waves grow.  Time to pull in the jib.  Another hour  crap, time to reef the main.  Don't you just know that when you finally submit to reefing the main, you are actually 30 minutes late doing it?  Of course we were - we were starting to round up in gusts and as we rounded up our rear quarter was being hit by one of those 10 ft waves.  it got quite uncomfortable quickly.  I have seen 10 ft waves many times, but these were literally at 2 seconds period, with te bigger ones always coming in pairs.  Yes - this is literally getting your butt kicked!  We hung on for the next 3 hours and took Mr. Toads wild ride.

As we approached the west end of Nassau, we decided to swing wide and get on a lee shore to drop sails.  Then we came back into it and worked our way into West Bay. 

West Bay Anchrage

Getting in there was a rolly ride, but we were glad to see the anchorage.  its funny how folks describe the story differently....I think Larry posted on facebook "Made it to Nassau - good sail".  I recall Janet saying, "if you want to do that again - I'm flying".

But - the sunset was magnificent!  and, although I didn't want to visit Nassau, I have to say this is a very nice anchorage.  The shoreline is a gated community, but we have not had a problem getting on the beach with Salty.

Salty likes the beach, but did not like the sail over here - he spent it hibernating in the bathroom! and was well ready to get his paws on shore!

Pushing on through the Bahamas - Bimini to Chub Cay

So, after six days (5 nights) in Bimini, its time to move on.  We arrived the day before New Year's eve, and while we planned to stay for NY, the weather kept us here with 30+ kt winds.

Santa's Seaplane

A few boats tried to leave - the wise ones turned back.  Austin was scheduled to travel back to Miami on the 3 rd, but the seaplanes and the fast ferry were grounded, so he was delayed a day, but got out on the 4th via seaplane to Ft. Lauderdale, then  got a ride to Miami and a flight to Atlanta - long days of travel!

We heard a few storm stories locally - not sure how true they were, but the small oil tanker bringing fuel to Bimini did ground attempting to come in to port, they got off and held offshore until it could come in.  We also heard a cruise ship in Freeport ahad broken free of moorings - but I could not substantiate this.

Austin's seaplane trip to Ft Lauderdale

Before we left Bimini, new friends on their cat decided to complete the re-naming process with a re-naming ceremony.  Her new name was "Good Karma" - apparently they had had a string of breakages  after renaming the boat, but had not performed the re-naming ceremony.

So of course, we helped with a champagne toast to the new boat name "Good Karma" and wished them luck for the future.  Good Karma is also headed to Chub Cay next..........so let's hope that Poseidon looks on them favorably!

Re-naming ceremony for "Good Karma"

January 5 -  Bimini to Chub Cay

We left late afternoon seeing a marginal break in the weather to head for Chub Cay.  We were out of the channel by 4pm and headed around the top (north) side of Bimini before crossing the Bahama Bank to Chub Cay.  It started out a great sail, but as we shifted course the wids came off the bow giving us a close haul in 15-20 with building seas.  Electing comfort over pureist sailing, we first reefed the jib.......sailed on more......but as it became less comfortable, we rolled is up and motor-sailed with main only.  We still arrived early - 6am and we were almost there.  We cut the motor to slow down and arrived at 7am as the marina was opening up and the sun was rising.  We are moving farther south.....little by little.  Actually this was more east in order to get south.

Chub Cay

Arriving in Bimini, the 3 boats chose different options - Midnight Sun and Navigo took the marina at $3/ft, and TraSea elected to take the anchorage.  Midnight Sun had a dog in need of land, and excess laundry. Navigo has a water tank/heater issue, and laundry needs.  So now we are watching the building winds as another front rolls through.  At $3/ft we are not staying and the plan is to leave early tomorrow - likely with sporty 15-20 winds and try to make the 30 mile hop to Nassau.  Not our first choice, but we are trying to get south to pick up friends and guests on Saturday from Georgetown and days are slipping away.

Salty stretches his legs at Chub Cay

So we will see how it goes tomorrow - the plan (always flexible) is to sail to the west end of Nassau and anchor in West Bay.  We will likely be there until Tuesday to ride out this next front.  We shall see how it goes!

Check in on our current location by clicking:
https://share.garmin.com/Midnightsunii

Winter Storm in Bahamas!

The local Bahamians are cold!  We are currently in Bimini held up by the winter storm that has hit the East Coast US and reached down to Miami and the Bahamas!

We are safely tied up at a dock in Bimini, but the seas in the ocean just outside the entrance and the winds have been pretty wild the last couple of days.  We monitored winds well into the 30+ knots last night, adn temperatures are down in the 60s.  Brrr - its time to get south, but we are watching the weather closely for a window to leave -   possibly tomorrow afternoon/evening - but we will see.  That may not be long enough to let the angry seas subside.  So its time to just be a bit patient!  I finally got photos to upload - but a photo of the ocean just never does it justice!

I am struggling with "slow internet" and photos will not load to the blog.......but if I remember, I will go back and add photos when they will download. All is well - just cold and windy!

More later!

Happy New Year from Bimini, Bahamas - 2018

Yes, we have made it to Bimini in the Bahamas.  We arrived December 30, just in time for NYE.  A quick recap from where we left off, then a little about Bimini.  I think we were in Naples, FL at the end of my last post.  From Naples, we went to Marco island, staying at the Yacht Club (another free night and another plug for joining a FCYC yacht club).

The Crew at Marco island YC

From Marco, our next stop was a big more challenging.  We were headed for Marathon so that we could cut off Key West, but this was a bit far for a day sail.  Also, crossing Florida Bay, we wanted daylight due to the crab pots, shallow water, and unknown possible issues from storm damage.  So we elected a stop at Little Shark River in the Everglades NP.

As we got close, we realized we were only seeing mangroves, and we needed to get Salty on shore.  So we went a little farther south, still in daylight to Cape Sable, where we found plenty of beach access. 

Yes, I am sure it was against park rules to take Salty, but oh well - a dog has to go.  We were careful not to disturb anything.......like alligators and freshwater crocs.  While we didn't see any, it was obvious that they were there from some of the tracks we saw on the beach..Cape Sable is a spectacularly unspoiled spot - except for the remnants of crab pots and other fishing debris from the recent storms that have been washed up on the beach.

Victims of Hurricane Irma

After 2 nights at Cape Sable - OK, Larry figured the tides wrong and got stuck!.......after 2 nights, we left and headed for Marathon.  We arrived Marathon, Boot Key on Christmas Eve.  Marathon has done a great job of recovering after the hurricane damage and is back in near full operation.  Great job Boot Key!.  Now, you either love or hate Boot Key.  Yes, its a great cruiser facility and community adn for a couple of days, its a good place to hang and get caught up shopping, provisions, laundry etc.  Then you realize that its a bit like an RV/TRailer Park on the water.  I am  sure others will disagree with me on that, bit its just the way I felt. 

We met some great cruiser folks that were generally heading our way.  An English couple (hi Hatty and Phil) who were on their way to Cuba.  It was sad to see the damage that had been done to many boats.  Most of the sunken boats had been removed, but still many damaged in the mooring field.

We had our Christmas in Boot Key, and it was good to spend time with other cruisers, but we were then ready to be on our way as we saw a slight weather window for a crossing.  Not ideal with winds from the north, but only at 10-15.  We headed north to Rodriguez Key to see if we cold cross.

December 30, 4:30 am, we left Rodriguez Key in the dark.  a little anxious about what the gulf stream would be like with winds from the north.  We had 72 miles to make before dark.  it turned out to be a great crossing.  Big waves, but they were rollers, some definitely up to 10 ft.but spaced far enough apart that we rolled over them for the most part.

Photos never show the magnitude of waves!

With winds on the beam,  we were sailing good making 8- 9 kts for many hours.  As we hit the center of the Gulf Stream, we saw the swells at their greatest - but it was a comfortable and fast ride.  We made Bimini in under 10 hours.

New Year 2018

Dad and Aus!

We had our NYE celebrations in Bimini.  I had been here once before, but it was just an overnight stay.  After exploring the island a little more this time, I actually quite like it here.  The people are friendly and there are some good little bars.  We stayed at Bluewater Marina - at $1 per foot, definitely the best value.  Facility are basic but Bahamian-clean, the docks are in good shape (fixed) and the staff great.  Water is outrageous at $0.75 per gallon - so we are about to break out the water-maker.  For reference, we heard other marinas charge around $3/foot and up to $6/foot at the Hilton Resort World.

NYE was a fun time on the island.  We visited several bars - probably one too many, including the "End of the World Sand Bar". 

A good night was had by all from what I remember.Austin seemed to hit it off with the locals.

Beach at Hilton Resort World

Making our Way South

December 20, 2017

I am going to try to keep the posts about South FL brief as we have been to most of these areas several times in the past and if anyone needs more info, look back on our previous cruises.  We arrived in Naples yesterday after a short motor from Ft. Myers.  First time we had been to Ft. Myers and I must say the place was fair hopping for this time of year.

Santa on the bar at Cabbage Key

So let me back up a bit - its so easy to get out of sync when I don't write every day!  We were last in Venice.  Our route took us from Venice to Charlotte Harobor where we ducked on the inside to find an anchorage for the night.  We were thinking about staying near Cayo Costa and had heard of a great anchorage in Pelican Bay.  I think we could have got in there fine, but one of the boats traveling with un, Navigo, draws 6 ft. and that might be tight.  So we elected to go a little south on the ICW and this turned out to be a great decision.  We dropped the hook at Cabbage Key after consulting with Bob Kriegel on the anchorage location.  It was actually pretty easy to find being just off the ICW channel (east side) near the private channel entrance to Cabbage Key, against Useppa Island.

The Inn at Cabbage Key

 

Anchorage Location

This was our our first time stopping here, despite having passed through this area in 2014.  So if you get to this area on a boat, check it out - a wonderful little spot.  The restaurant was delightful.  Excellent food, excellent service.  We had a shared dish of stone crab claws and shrimp.  Delicious!

The atmosphere in the bar/restaurant was great, with dollar bills on the walls and just a great "Hemingway" feel to the place.  Definitely worth a stop over or even renting a cottage here.  So far, this has been one of our favorite stops.  But onwards, it was just for one night.  Our next stop was Ft. Myers Beach.  We hadn't intended to stop here, but we were searching for an anchorage around Sanibel, and just didn't find much protection, so we headed into Ft. Myers Beach for fuel, water (Diversified Marine) and a look at anchorages.  We ended up in the mooring field ($18), which was quite a good spot.  Took in a quick look at Ft. Myers Beach- definitely set up for the snowbirds, and surprisingly some younger folks - likely as school is out for Christmas.  We did get a great happy hour meal deal  at the Yucatan - $9 for ribs or pot roast - great food and great price.  However, I was concerned that eating so early, Janet's hair may turn purple!!

Salty Sam's - Ft. Myers Beach

Now - we had exceptionally low tides the following morning.  Midnight Sun and TraSea got our despite hitting something on the bottom - suspect it was a foundation to the mooring - ouch!

Navigo had to wait a couple hours for the tide - but that was ok, as we planned a short motor to Naples (no wind), with a 2-night plan for Naples.

Again, taking advantage of our PYC membership and the reciprocal arrangement, we decided on a free night at Naples YC followed by a free night at Naples Yacht and Sailing Center (a short 1/4 mile hop across the channel).  Also, its a laundry day!.....and yes, the YC at the sailing center has laundry facilities.

TraSea motoring to Naples

There are some amazing boats in Naples YC - mainly high dollar stink-pots, but look at this hand-built sailboat!

...........but they do let the "riff-raff" tie up too!

Midnight Sun at Naples YC

Where in the world is Midnight Sun II

Check out our real-time location at:

https://share.garmin.com/Midnightsunii

Drop us a line at ndaviesgeo@me.com

Under Way - Bahamas Bound!

Midnight Sun II and TraSea left Pirates Cove on Saturday, December 9.  As alway, we were not quite ready, but getting off the dock was an important step!.  The tide was very low; we plowed through the mud on the edge of our slip to make it to the channel, but we were off.  A short hop to Ft. McRee to spend the night and rest.  A very big thanks to Shaun and Casey for helping us get loaded, house sitting and offering to clear way the clutter in the garage from the final projects!  Thanks Guys!!  you are the best!

Off the Dock!

Midnight Sun and TraSea passing Pirate's Cove

So, dinner at McRee, and a fairly early start.  We were hoping to catch up to our friends Rick and Julie on Navigo I as they had left the previous Sunday and were holed up in Port St. Joe.

Sunset at McRee

We left Ft. McRee on Sunday morning with a plan to make either Panama City or Port St. Joe.  We sailed and motor sailed some to keep up speed, but based on our progress, we were looking at an early hours arrival in PSJ, so we made the decision to pull in to Panama City.  The day went well and we arrived in PC, after dark, dropping the hook at around 8:30 to 9pm just off the beach at Redfish Point (opposite St. Andrews YC).  Tracy had made an excellent Chilli, and we all had dinner together on TraSea  while pondering the plan for the next day.  We decided on a 6:30 am start, head in at PSJ, going up the canal to the ICW at White City, then motoring on to Apalachicola.  This is exactly what we did, making Apalach just before dark - wow....I even told Larry to slow down as we never seem to arrive anywhere in daylight!

We love Apalachicola, and it was busy with boaters.  We caught up with Navigo - they had taken a slip in Scipio Creek.  As for us - all marinas that could take us were full - its "Looper Season".  We had dinner at "Up the Creek" which turned out to be not only a great choice but about the only choice as it was Monday and many places are closed.  The great thing was that Salty could dine with us.  We later visited the old Bowery - which is now the Ice Company.  Again - dog friendly, and Salty was a hit!

Tuesday Dec 12

We left Apalachicola late morning and decided to head over to Dog Island.  We were on the tail of a cold front that was moving through so were watching the weather for our crossing of the Big Bend.  Should we leave Tuesday night or wait until Monday?  Hmm...seeing 22-25 kt winds and 6-7 ft seas on the sea buoys in the Gulf helped us make that decision.  By the way, I found that many of the Gulf sea buoys are currently out of action due to hurricane season damage.  It would be a 20-24 hour crossing, so leaving in the morning would give us a morning arrival.  We were convinced.  Midnight Sun and TraSea anchored off the beach at Carabelle rather than Dog Island as the wind was out of the north.  Navigo elected one more night in Apalachicola and an early morning start. 

Anchored just off Carabelle Beach

Leaving at 8 am, we had light winds on the beam.  We pointed directly at Clearwater, and settled in for 22 hours.  We started out motor-sailing, but soon cut the engine as the winds built from 8 to 15...then occasionally touched the low 20s.  We were flying at 7.5 kts.  Not bad with the boat fully loaded down.  Seas were a bit rolly, but not too bad.  TraSea at 47 ft, was flying too, making 8.5 and  touching 9.  She passed us at about the half-way point, but we kept her tricolor in sight for all but the last 8 miles or so.  Navigo was behind us by 10-12 miles.  We were able to maintain hourly radio contact, which just feels assuring on an overnight crossing.

Thursday Dec 14

We pulled on the dock at Clearwater marina at around 7 am.  Poor Salty, had spent the time in the head - this is his "safe harbor" during crossings.  We needed to get him off the boat as he chooses not to eat or go potty on the crossings.  This was his longest so far and I am absolutely sure he was relieved to "go".  We have been trying to get him to go on the deck of the boat - but that's a long story, and so far, no success.  So, with leg's stretched and bladders relieved, we set off again for Pass-A Grille near Tampa Bay.  We stayed at the Tierre Verde Marina - very reasonable at $1/ft, but few amenities.  Still, the purpose of the stop was to get a rental car and, collect our son Austin from the airport and stock up on the things we had forgotten.

Friday Dec 15

Headed out in the Gulf for a relatively short hop to Venice.  We stayed at Venice YC - very nice, great food!  This was a "free night" stay with our PYC membership (reciprocal agreement).  when I say free - we spent anything we would have saved on a very nice meal at the YC restaurant.  Oh well!   Today we are going to do another 30 miles or so down to Charlotte Harbor and anchor.  Slow but sure, we are making our way south.

Now that we are across the "Big Bend" and truly headed south, the weather is starting to warm up, and it feels like we are headed to the Bahamas!

Where in the World is Midnight Sun II?

For a real-time check on our position, click the link below:

https://share.garmin.com/Midnightsunii

Follow us on our journey south - we would love to hear from you!

ndaviesgeo@me.com 

Bon Voyage - Pensacola Yacht Club

Today we held an impromptu Bon Voyage Party at PYC for all the sailors heading out this week towards the Bahamas.  PYC Boats are:

• Midnight Sun II - Neil, Janet and Salty
• TraSea - Larry and Tracy
• Navigo II - Rick and Julie
• Doolittle - Roger and Angela

Other non-PYC boats that we hope to see along the way include:

• The Pearl - our friend Rivers from Pt.YC
• Sea Hawk - new friends Bruce and Chris who we met at PYC today.

New friends Bruce and Chris from S/V Sea Hawk. 
Hunter Riddle (sailmaker) to the right

We would like to thank all of our friends from PYC who came to the party today!.  We had a wonderful time and were just blown away (ugh....and we are leaving on a sailboat) by how many folks came out to wish us well.  Thank you to you all!  It was great to see you and very encouraging.  We hope you will follow along.  Moreover, we hope some of our friends will catch up with us and join us along the way.  We would welcome the crew!

Cuba Award

Returning The Boot

Past Commodore Alan McMillan surprised us with an award for our efforts chairing the second Pensacola to Havana Race (May 2017).  Thank you Commodores McMillan and Jim Reeves.  And while on the subject of awards, our friends Larry and Tracy Cost got the prestigious "Boot" award in the 2016 Isla Mujeres Race.time to return that so that it can be awarded again in the next race (2018).  We will miss all of our friends from PYC and Pt.YC, but hope you will follow along, keep in touch and more importantly come see us along the way!

Captian Brian

Photographer Casey

And of course first mate Salty waiting patiently for left-overs!

our current location:

https://share.garmin.com/Midnightsunii