November 25, 2011

We are still at the marina, but we are going to try to leave tomorrow. It might be bumpy, but we are ready to move. Even though the marina is nice, it was not our Bahamas plan.
Closer to our Bahamas plan, we had a coconut feast today. Deason and two kids (the family happens to be from Mass, and keep their boat in Hyannis....small world) from a boat nearby gathered quite a few coconuts. We extracted the milk by using a screw driver and hammer, and then whacked at the thing with the hammer until we could peel it and get at the nut for the meat. It is much harder than it looks, but well worth it. Especially, because we know from watching "Castaway" that we can survive on coconuts, and fish if we can catch some. Hopefully, it won't come to that, but if Tom Hanks could do it so could we!
After dinner, we bought some fresh baked bread from a local woman who had come around with a cart. I won't mention how much I paid for the bread, but it was still warm and smelled so good that I probably would have paid more than I did.

November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving! We decided to stay at the marina for a few days. We woke up at 5am and the NW wind we had hoped for had already gone past and the winds were N-NE. If we had gone, it would have been rough out of the inlet, and we would have had a 20+ knot head wind for our 40 mile trip to Great Sale Cay. Rather than fight for it we gave in and stayed. Unfortunately, there are no good anchorages that can protect us from these North winds, so we are sort of forced to stay here, not that I am complaining. This front seems to be moving quickly, and it looks like we will have good winds by at least Sunday.
The good part about us staying, is I got to cook the Thanksgiving meal I had hoped to. If we had gone, I probably wouldn't have managed it. I am still getting sea sick, unless I spend all of my time outside while traveling. It would have been impossible for me to cook while we were underway! Its amazing the havoc a fetus can wreak on a grown person.
As for the rest of the day, we swam in the pool, walked on the beach, and caught up on some sleep. I love the turkey coma! And Uncle Bobby....you were right! As much as we miss all of our friends and family, Thanksgiving does taste the same......if not better in paradise!

November 23, 2011- West End, Bahamas

We made it! It was actually uneventful....in a good way! We hauled anchor at 3am, and had to go through one opening bridge in Ft. Lauderdale before heading out of Port Everglades Inlet. The wind was still out of the SE 12-18knots, and the first few hours of our trip we got bounced around a little, but nothing like last week. It really wasn't bad at all. The moon rise was at about 4:15 am and then dawn came shortly there after. It was a beautiful sunrise.
We were able to motor sail with the SE winds helping us along and we averaged over 6.5 knots. At about midday we lost our wind, and had to drop all the sails, but it was absolutely beautiful out. I can't even describe the color of the water, it was over 1500 ft deep, but you could still tell that the water was crystal clear even with it being such a dark blue.
Deason, Chris and I all made messages in a bottle that we tossed into the Gulf Stream. Hopefully, someone finds them, and not someone who might want to charge us for littering. Other than that, the crossing was pleasant. Although, we didn't catch any fish while trolling a line the whole way across, nor did we see any dolphins, whales or sharks. I was a little disappointed at the lack of marine life that I had expected to see. We pulled into West End by 3:30pm, and decided that we would stay at the marina. It made it easier to check in and we got to go for a swim in the pool. Win...Win! Chris got to go for a swim in the harbor too, after he dropped the diesel fill cap into the water.
We will be up and out early, we are hoping to make Great Sale Cay. A new front is suppose to move through this evening bringing more North winds, which could make tomorrows trip a little nasty. Here is to hoping that front stalls over Florida!

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!