A month seems to pass
so quickly when making fond memories of friend and family gatherings.
Steve & his Dad
After a quick week of catching up in DC we ventured South to Huntsville, Alabama to visit with family.
Gwen & her parents
After a week in Huntsville we traveled East to Georgia,
visiting with fellow Key West dock mates (who live in Duluth) and family for
wedding in Roswell.
Our daughter was an attendant in
the wedding so it was great to spend some time with her and our son-in-law.
Returning to DC we were
busy with farewells and preparing the boat for transit
North. We left National Harbor 9/5 and
transited to Mattawoman Creek for a quiet anchorage. We continue to experience beautiful
sunsets with a dramatic difference in
the view at dock verses at anchor.
Made new playmates as we traveled North to Norfolk.
Transiting to National harbor we anchored the last few nights to beautiful sunsets. We prefer to anchor since
anchoring takes away the land based clutter.
It seems to allow the freedom to live at a gentler pace with more time
to “be” rather than frenetic drive to “do”, thus leading to a clearer
perspective on life and a much greater feeling of contentment. When there are no stores or shopping
convenient, contentment becomes a valuable personable asset.
Arrived Monday August 5that National Harbor in Fort Washington/Oxon Hill, MD. It’s been a fast paced week
since we arrived; catching up with friends and completing our yearly medical
exams (including Simon’s). We leave to
visit with family in Huntsville and Atlanta tomorrow.
Time continues to march forward and the water and it’s surroundings
continue to change. As posted in March, the landmark towers at Port
Everglades inlet in Ft Lauderdale have been demolished.
Cape Canaveral’s newest hotel is nearing completion.
New Smyrna and St Augustine inlet entrances continue to change due to shoaling.
St Augustine’s City Marina has a new attraction.
It’s hard to believe it has been a month since our return from the
Bahamas. We are currently at Conch House Marina in St
Augustine and have enjoyed reuniting with friends, visiting the beach and
enjoying many a lovely sunset.
On a
yacht you have sensational water views that change many times a day. Perhaps this is why waterfront property is so
valuable. Since our initial plan to
transit North has been delayed (due to engine head gasket issue) we hope to
transit outside and make Norfolk within four days transit. If Dorian or the Seas say otherwise then we
will go inside for passage and this should take approximately 10 days. Additional update will be posted once we
arrive in National Harbor.
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
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.
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:
Bahamasis 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.
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 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:
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Returning to DC we were
busy with farewells and preparing the boat for transit
North. We left National Harbor 9/5 and
transited to Mattawoman Creek for a quiet anchorage. We continue to experience beautiful
sunsets with a dramatic difference in
the view at dock verses at anchor.
.JPG)
