November 22, 2011

Dahlia stubbed her toe and this was the only acceptable bandage for her!

We decided to come down to Ft. Lauderdale, and 40miles and 20 opening bridges later we made it. The trip over to West End, Grand Bahama will be slightly longer, but we will have light winds and the current behind us pushing us over there.
When we got to Lake Sylvia to anchor, we had some company. Craig and Marie from "Sail On" were here. They are the couple who we first met in Block Island, RI. It seems like we met them forever ago.
It also seems like a lifetime ago that we were here. This was our very first anchorage, our first trip off the dock, and I feel like we have come along way. Both in distance and experience. Not that we are all that experienced now, comparatively speaking, but from when we left the dock last year we have come leaps and bounds.
When we anchored here last year we set the anchor on the first try. I got nervous thinking that we were too close to another boat, when really we were probably over 200ft away. I made Chris move us to another spot where we had trouble setting the anchor because it had spun around and was landing upside down. I was nearly in tears and begged Chris to come up and set the anchor himself. Obviously, he couldn't do that because someone had to pilot the boat, but I was overwhelmed and wanted to give up. We ended up getting the anchor set, and the 2 mile trip plus the anchoring felt like climbing Mt. Everest. Now after traveling up and back down the East Coast it seems like a lifetime has gone by, and that Chris and I have become completely different people because of all the trials and tribulations we have overcome. Here is to more adventures....big and small!

November 21, 2011

We have been doing the same old...same old for the past two days. Although, we did finish installing the water maker and got it running. I say "we", but it was really all Chris' doing. I provided the moral support, and watched for leaks (thankfully nothing leaked)! We can now make 16 gals of water and hour!
The weather continues to look good for a Wednesday crossing, we are still undecided on if we will go from here or head down to Ft. Lauderdale and cross from there. We will check the weather in the morning and decided after that.
We had an amazing last meal at Marsha and Barry's, and Marsha made Deason a special dessert (strawberries and whipped cream...his favorite), that quickly got out of hand. Although, anyone knowing the Rust family wouldn't be surprised! They had whipped cream hanging off of their noses in no time.
We have said all of our goodbyes, and we are sad to be leaving, but very hopeful that we will be able to make it to the islands this time.

November 19, 2011

The winds died down a little bit today, and the sun was bright and strong. It was warm enough for Dahlia to run around in her underwear for the better part of the morning. We also got some small projects done on the boat, and hit West Marine again for a couple more replacement filters for the water maker.
It looks like we might have another weather window coming up this Wednesday, hopefully the forecast holds and we can cross. We are thinking about heading down to Ft. Lauderdale and crossing from there. It makes the crossing a little longer, but we will have the stream with us instead of heading into it, plus we have a few more wind options from there. The cat doesn't point into the wind that well, so if the winds remain SE at least we can sail from Ft. Lauderdale, whereas from here we would have to motor right into it.....yuk!
Barry, Marsha, and Debra (Barry's niece) braved the elements to come out to the boat for pizza tonight. There aren't many people who would volunteer to get into an inflatable dinghy to go have dinner! Deason went to get them and the pizza, he really likes the responsibility of being able to drive the dinghy on his own, and he does it well. It was really nice to have people out on the boat again!

November 18, 2011

We moved back to our original anchorage in the northern part of Lake Worth, where it is only a short dinghy ride to my Aunt Marsha and Uncle Barry's place. It is not a bad place to be while we wait for this weather to pass. We swim in their pool, and if we show up at meal times they feed us well. We are like their stray dogs! Marsha is an excellent cook, and if we don't leave soon we will start feeling the effects of it on our waistlines. Although, I have a better excuse for a growing waist line than Chris does.
The weather has been as forecast, after midnight last night it really started to blow. It was definitely gusting over 25 knots, and the boat was getting jerked around pretty good. I have good faith in our anchor and it has held us in stronger winds, but it is still hard not to worry or lose a little bit of sleep when the winds are high. The kids however, sleep through anything!
The winds remained strong though out the day, and we spent it baking and sleeping. Who doesn't love a good banana chocolate chip bread when it is nasty outside? Deason baked it from scratch all by himself, it came out fantastic!

November 17, 2011

Mission aborted! We hauled the anchor at 3:15am and were headed out of the inlet by 3:30am. We made our heading towards West End of Grand Bahama Island, the inlet was choppy and the seas were a little choppy too. The wind was ESE at 10 knots. As we made our way out into the Gulf Stream we were getting pushed as we had expected, but our 35 degree heading change into the wind was not comfortable (The West End is due East of Lake Worth Inlet, and when we hit the Gulf steam which has a 3-4 knot current it was pushing us North, so we had to head ESE to correct for the current). We were hobby horsing over the 4 ft waves that had about a 4 second period between them, water was coming over the bows and we were getting that annoying wave slap. Our speed over ground was only 4 knots, and even leaving at 3:30 we were just barely forecast to arrive in the Bahama's by 5:30. We were essentially fighting the wind and current. The deciding factor for us to turn around was that the wind was also forecast to turn to the North and that would have made things miserable if it changed before we got to the Islands.
Deason was another factor, he does not like these kind of conditions, and a 12+ hr day of misery for him was not fair. He is at the age where he can make is own assessments of a situation, and as much as we try to reassure him, he is going to trust his own feelings. Where as Dahlia is ambivalent, as long as we are smiling she will too.
The hardest part about turning around, and it sounds so silly, but we were actually worried about what people might think. It seems so juvenile and high schoolish, but part of the reason we didn't turn around right away is pride. We have always told ourselves to trust our first instincts, and inevitably we did. Had it just been Chris and I with out the kids we probably would have kept going, but we made the prudent decision for us. The next few days the forecast is suppose to be rubbish, and we would have gotten over there and had to fork out a ton of money to stay at a marina because we wouldn't have been able to make it to a protected anchorage in time.
So for now we are back in Lake Worth, and hopefully, another weather window will open up next week.

November 16, 2011

We have been running around like crazy trying to get everything we think we might use or need over in the Bahamas. We do know that if we forget anything that we can get it in the Bahamas, but it is so much more expensive. I guess beer is $50.00 a case????? Not that we need beer, but it is still staggering to think that a case of Budweiser can empty your wallet. We have also made copies of all of our important documents, and stocked the boat with plenty of toilet paper!
Our water maker is fully installed, and we will give it a test run to make sure there are no leaks. It is a comfort to know that we won't have to pay for water in the Bahamas. Here in the States you are able to get free water where ever you stop, but in the Bahamas it could cost as much as $0.50/gal. It doesn't sound like much, but to fill a 100 gallon tank every five days will add up quick.
We are at the North end of Lake Worth right now, we will head down to Peanut Island tonight to anchor closer to the inlet, and we will head across tomorrow around 3am. That way we can hopefully check in and anchor before the sun sets.

November 14, 2011

We had a great visit over to Naples. We didn't do much after meeting our midwife. We basically spent our time between the pool and the couch. We did go to the zoo one day. Dahlia is very much into animals....all animals, and even insects. So naturally the zoo was a hit.
We plan to head back to Palm Beach today and get the boat ready to leave. The forecast this week is for South winds so hopefully we can get it together to go.