State Side

We arrived at the Fort Pierce Inlet with Easterly winds opposing ebbing tide.  It made for an interesting ride as we surfed the waves into the inlet flanked by iron shores.  

Is he smiling or screaming?

I had the best seat on the bow while Steve had all under control at the helm??

We navigated up the ICW a few miles to Vero Beach Marina.   Other Cruisers had told us about the attraction of this area and how it is referenced as Velcro Beach since Cruisers come and stay much longer than initially anticipated.   To be true to the area we are staying a bit longer than initially projected, however we have had a few boat projects that needed our attention.    

Trying to pace ourselves we usually put work aside by afternoon to take time to explore our surroundings.   Vero Beach has a boutique community feel with much to offer.

Having returned from an area where goods are sparce, it is so easily taken for granted the conveniences we have in the States and the rows of stores to satiate American consumption.   

Vero Beach has had a few beach/sand restoration projects. Mother Nature has other plans and continues to reclaim the sand past water’s edge, thus the beach is not very deep.  

A friend once told me:

If you are lucky enough to live by the Sea, you are lucky enough.
                                                                                                                                                                 ~thanks Paula

West End

Life is a wonderful adventure, if you allow yourself to adventure in it.

When does a voyage actually start?  It’s an academic question made for long discussions.  Does it start when you slip your lines and point the bow toward the horizon or does it start with the commitment to go?   

We started sailing together in the 1970’s when we took a Sea Snark catalog Styrofoam boat and sailed in a local river.

 After our kids were adults and out of the house we revisited sailing and decided it was time to branch onto larger boats.  Funny how we thought a larger boat was 23’.   After several charters and long discussions (refer to line one) we decided this was an adventure we must attempt.  Thus leaving no regrets for what we didn’t do, thank you Mark Twain.

 As our sailing friends know, there are two kinds of East coast cruisers; those who plan to go to the  Bahamas and those who have been to the Bahamas.   Our more experienced friends had warned us our itinerary was a bit ambitious for a two month Bahama tour, but we have found it to be delightful and well-paced.

The last leg of this year’s trip to the Bahamas took us to Green Turtle Cay  and town of New Plymouth, where preparation for a large family regatta is underway.

Turtle Cay Resort

  

The race is followed by a cheeseburger cookout sponsored by the yacht named Stranded Naked. 

Stranded Naked

The T shirts and cheeseburgers are sold for a good cause, supporting the local fire department.   The town of New Plymouth is over 200 years and  the people are some of the nicest we have met yet (that’s saying a lot because there have been some VERY nice people along the way).      

  We had been advised to have the coconut lobster here and we were advised well, yummy food!  

Didn’t try the land crabs pictured but the Locals raise them in their backyards and fatten them up prior to cooking or selling. 

To get around this island’s narrow hilled roads we rented a golf cart to explore some of the hidden beaches.  The drive down the roads provided Simon with a cornucopia of smells.  Needless to say he loved it.

After leaving Green Turtle Cay we transited to Allen’s Pensacola and Great Sale Cay where we anchored, grilled dinner and enjoyed beautiful sunsets both nights.

Our next day was to transit further West to Old Bahama Bay Resort.  We had planned on 10 hours transit as an extra cushion in time.  The winds were wonderful at 15-20kts on beam reach so our average speed was 8kts.

This placed our arrival at low tide as we navigated through a shallow channel prior to turning into the Resort; fortunately we are shallow draft only needing 4’ and we registered 4.5’ at one spot.  

Old Bahama Bay Resort is a beautiful Resort with several amenities. 

We felt as if we had our own little oasis under the palm trees by the water with no one around.

As we explored the area on foot and bikes we found a fallen coconut.  We enjoyed fresh coconut milk in the hammock right outside our back door.  

There are many fishing boats here and at night they provide a colorful show.  

As always Simon continues to make new friends.  

Allen’s Pensacola and Great Sale Cay where we anchored, grilled dinner and enjoyed beautiful sunsets both nights. Weather is looking good for a crossing to Florida tomorrow.  We have revised our float plan with the Coast Guard and will clear in at Ft Pierce inlet, planning to stay at Vero Beach City Marina.  

We are leaving the beautiful turquoise waters of the Bahama's but now...
                                                                               it's time to continue the voyage.

Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay

What’s in a name?  Thought this should be addressed since we have had  our vessel's name, Panasea pronounced a variety of ways.  Panasy, Panseeya, Pansee and those who know the word Panacea pronounce it correctly as “pa-na-ˈsē-a”.   In Greek mythology, Panacea was a Goddess of Universal remedy but the term has general meaning as "cure all".  We liked the name and play on spelling when we bought Panasea so we made no changes and affectionately named the dinghy "Quick Fix".  

This got me to thinking about the different names of the various Cays we have visited and the following information was identified: 

Bahamas is actually 700 islands or Cays (pronounced Key, from the Spanich cayo) which means small island.  Bahamas name comes from the Spanish words "baja mar" meaning shallow sea.  The average depth of the Sea of Abaco is only 18ft.  Great Guana takes it's name from "guana" a corruption of the word "iguana".  This rather large lizard is enjoying a limited degree of acceptance as a pet in the US.  Fortunately iguanas are a protected species in most civilized parts of the world.

Treasure Cay, is no longer a Cay.  Years ago, a hurricane closed the spit over and it’s been a part of Great Abaco ever since.  It is rumored that a yet to be discovered, large pirate treasure is buried somewhere on the cay.  We looked but no luck.  If any of you reading this find it remember who put you on to it.

Nipper's

Great Guana is where we spent Father’s Day celebrating with a pig roast at Nipper’s,

followed by a swim with friends and Simon as our lifeguard.

  

 

The evening was topped off with a majestic sunset.   

Transiting from Great Guana we had nice 15kt winds on our beam to sail toward Treasure Cay.  Simon is always the hit on the beach and loves the attention.  

Man O War Cay

Rainy afternoons have provided opportunities for reading, catching up on minor boat projects and bread baking.  If you are impressed, don’t be, YouTube has a video for everything and makes it all seem so simple.  I think rebuilding the outboard carburetor may be next.

No knead Ciabatta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX_6l2bmvQI 

Replacing cord of outboard recoil:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3NjVomUQJM  

No picture of the cord replacement since fingers were too greasy to touch the camera.  It took four hands but we were able to completely rewind the spring mechanism so the outboard is much easier to start.

Leaving Marsh Harbour we traveled East to Man O War Cay which reminded us of Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay.  For the most part everyone is related and share a distinctive local dialect. 

Albury boat building circa 1960.

This hidden boat building village has been home to William Albury boat builder’s since mid 1900’s.   Their Abaco Dinghy was made of native Madeira mahogany and other Bahamian hardwoods. 

Albury Schooner

Since the majority of the boats are now built of fiberglass the local wood craftsmen applied their skill to home building.  These craftsmen are known for building homes like Ships that bolted to land.  Rafters and structure are bolted together similar to ship construction and resist the hurricanes very well. The residents stand as a reminder of the independent thinking and self-reliance of the founders of the Bahamas.

We wish all the Dad’s reading this a very Happy Father’s Day. 

 For all who love to capture wind in your sails, enjoy:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWINygISxDE

Marsh Harbour

Steve’s cousin Denis returned to his home in Florida.  Thanks Denis for the fun time and entertainment in watching you constantly tweaking the sails.  See you in August for your daughter’s wedding.

After seeing Denis off at o’dark hundred, we awaited daylight to exit Little Harbour’s  shallow channel.  As we transited North we had hoped to anchor outside Lyndard’s Cay and snorkel but the swells and winds were too stiff.    Instead we made way directly to Hope Town. 

Hope Town’s Elbow Reef Lighthouse is probably the most recognizable landmark in Abaco. It is one of the last manual lighthouses in the world using pressurized Kerosene oil with a wick and mantle. The Fresnel lenses concentrate the mantle’s light into a beam directed straight towards the horizon. The lenses and burner equipment, weighing 8,000lbs, float in a circular lubricated tub. This reduces friction so that the 700lbs of weight, when wound up to the top of the tower by hand, smoothly rotates the 4-ton apparatus once every 15 seconds. The lighthouse keeper on duty must wind up the weights every 2 hours in order for the red and white candy-striped lighthouse to be seen from 17 miles away. It’s impressive to see the mechanism but even more impressive is the view from the top.

We awoke June 11th to a beautiful sky and plenty of sun. Our goal was to make this anniversary a day of fun with no stress (last year we were beating a storm, transiting to ICW). After a leisurely breakfast at Hope Town Coffee House we made way to Marsh Harbour. As we entered the dock our starboard engine maneuverability failed. The winds were 15kts pushing us to starboard so this was not a particularly stress free situation. Fortunately the dock hands were available and after snagging a piling we were able to hand maneuver the boat (with the assistance of one engine) into the slip. After checking the situation we discovered that the locking washers placed on the shaft coupling had failed us with the bolts backing out. These were the same bolts we replaced in Daytona and we did not use locking nuts only locking washers as recommended by the local “bolt experts”. Fortunately we have been through this before so now we are securing the bolts with locking nuts. After the excitement abated we took a bike ride to see the local shops and get our bearings of the area. The evening ended with a lovely relaxing dinner of seared scallops and blackened grouper at Wally’s.

Thank you to all who sent us well wishes for our 36th Wedding Anniversary. It seems the years have gone by quickly and even more so with each year.

Nassau to Little Harbour Great Abaco Island

Left the Exuma Islands and traveled north to Nassau, New Providence, staying at the Atlantis Resort Marina. 

Disney World at Nassau proved a dramatic change from the remote Exumas.  Atlantis is amazing and there is sooooo much to see and do.  Like kids at Disney, we made all the water slides, tubed the rapids, saw various aquariums and many Disneyesque artifacts/ruins. 

After enjoying the many amenities at Atlantis and admiring the large mega yachts (including Jimmy Buffet’s) we headed north to a Marina in Southern Abaco, Schooner Bay.  







Arriving as the fishing tournament was completing, we were warmly welcomed and invited to a meet and greet for the fish weigh in. 

This community is in development and is patterned after SeaSide in Santa Rosa Beach, FL and aims to be self-sustaining complete with hydroponic gardens.

 The development has a lot of charm and is a great destination for fishermen since it borders the Atlantic’s deep water. 

Leaving Schooner Bay we transited North to Little Harbour Bay on Great Abaco Island. 

The swells on our stern were impressive (some 10') and made for a fun surf as we entered the channel between the Bay and Lynard Cay.  Once rounding into the Bay the land provided protection from the swells and we transited the shallow channel to obtain a mooring ball. 

 The main attraction here is Pete’s Pub and  Gallery.  Little Harbour’s remote and lush surroundings offered inspiration for bronze sculptor, the late Randoph Johnston.  The Johnston’s family has a vivid history since settling this harbor over 50 years ago.  They built a bronze art foundry to cast their renowned sculptures and a third generation Johnston continues the bronze and gold artwork depicting marine wildlife.   After a delicious hamburger, Simon's romp on the beach and exploring the area by dinghy we returned to Panasea.  Enjoying the sunset, grilled Wahoo tacos and finally beating Denis at a game of Texas Holdem.