Little Grand Cay..Nov26

Sue has given a good account of our trip here - not the most comfortable one and it took an hour to hose all of the salt off after we arrived (metered RO water I dread to think what that will have cost). We have spent a comfortable night here. Last night we had a drink at ate at Rosie’s Restaurant – local lobster; that was quite an experience because the only other party in the restaurant was a sixteenth birthday party for one of the local boys. I counted a total of twelve teenagers eating dinner and making an incredible noise – we all got to sing happy birthday twice. Today we leave for Fox Town and of course the wind has come around so it will be on our nose again.

Mangrove Cay & Little Grand Cay- Nov 25,26

Charles showing off his new lighting system he installed in the cockpit at Old Bahama Bay Marina (parts purchased at West marine in Ft Lauderdale of course!)

Going to dinner I can be assured of an easy time getting on and off the boat , not having to use the ladder which is strategically placed at the gate for MY convenience. Our spring lines are loose usually so it can be quite a gap to climb up and down that ladder!

Friday after Thanksgiving we left the West End- Old Bahama Bay Marina (26.42.1n, 78,59.4w) and headed toward Indian Cay rock to get into the channel toward the Western side. We were advised that the beginning of that passage had a very narrow channel and we should only go on a rising tide. We left the marina around 9am which seemed like a high tide for them.

It was a nail biter to get through the channel but Charles had several way points from a guide book which served us well. The shallowest was 8.4 ft ( we draw close to 5 ft) and the highest was about 11 ft. At low tide the depths are more like 4.5 feet. We were warned by local knowledge that at lower than high tide the cross currents can easily pull you out of the channel so high tide is ideal as the cross currents are non-existent then. The wind was on our nose so we did our famous motor sailing. It was rough and we were not making the time we had hoped so we decided to anchor for the night at Mangrove Cay around 4 pm. (26.54.88n, 78.37.36 w).

The lee of the island provided a small amount of protection. There is nothing here. I am struck by the thought that just north of us is the Atlantic Ocean. The thing separating us from open ocean is a shallow thing called Little Bahama Bank. The wind is representative of ocean breezes. On the VHF there is no weather reporting. We did not see another boat. I doubt that any mayday call would get a response. There was nothing on VHF, no chatter at all. Not good thoughts.

Both days we had winds in the high teens to mid twenty knots. It looked like a gray weather pattern was going to give you a heavy rain but it never made it to you. Instead you had the peripheral winds which gusted more near those gray clouds. The weather pattern here seems to be a slight shower sometime in the day. It can be light or a cloud burst when you are sleeping with the hatches open. You feet get soaked, then you wake up to close everything up.

Mangrove Cay ( pronounced Key) with a rainbow after a quick shower.

Sunset at Mangrove Cay.


On Saturday we pressed on toward Little Grand Cay. It was ocean challenging again in a Bay. This time depths got to 22 foot. We had more winds 20 plus most of the way. Charles was tweaking the sails to get some speed and sailing done. I took this picture because I like the rainbow that showed up as a wave hit the bow and sprayed toward the cockpit. It was pretty and in an unexpected place.

This place L G C (27.13.16n, 78.19.46w) is so remote that you are advised to call "Rosie's" to have someone guide you by whaler into the marina because it can be shallow. We were trying to dock once again in 25 kt winds and our "dock hands" were pulling the bow line in tight so we hammered the port light but we don't expect to be doing any sailing requiring a nav light any time soon. You just can't be everywhere at the same time..

Rosie is a big burly guy who owns the marina and restaurant. We had a delightful lobster dinner for $19. Charles will tell you more.

We ARRIVED- West End Bahamas

After a somewhat draining night ( from Fort Lauderdale) we made it to Old Bahama Bay Marina. I was beat. We shared helm duties 2 on 2 off approximately; both of us in the cockpit, till we saw land at about 8:45 am. We found out that customs and the dock were opened at 9:30. We were warmly greeted by both. Refueled did the paper work. paid our fees and went to our slip.


The slips are wooden docks that have stood the test of time. The tide drop is about 4 or 5 feet. So I was worried I would not be able to get off the boat. ( I couldn't at the fuel dock). The high freeboard boats have no problem. Charles was careful to line us up to a swim ladder on the side of the dock. He worked away at getting the dinghy back together. We hoisted it onto the dock, finished the inflating and hoisted it into the next slip for it's final launch. It is resting in the davits. Our next sails will be day sails so keeping it there will be good.


Low tide.. Inflating the dinghy.

Everyone is very friendly here. There is a whole hotel complex with beach bar, dining room for dinners, hotel guest areas. We were lucky to get a ride into town to restock some much needed supplies. Kalik. We had Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room. My cell phone has cut out - no service. More cruisers came into slips on that first day. They had left from Lake Worth Inlet which is 54 nm. So they leave in am get here midday. We left at night to get here in am. We left Port Everglades for 69 nm. I like the evening tide when you can easily walk off the boat. But in the morning you will be climbing the ladder to get over there. Good exercise..

High tide.

Dinner in the dining room. I had shrimp with lobster alfredo one night and Thanksgiving dinner the next night.

The red building in the back is the fuel dock .. Next to it ( left) is customs and immigration.

The beach bar.. we have a lovely sandy beach, there is a pool too.

Another view.

Island pictures

This statue is in the park near the fort a in San Juan. We walked to both forts (there are two). The older one had 18 foot thick walls in some places, making it very secure from invasions. Last time we were here by sail boat there were hundreds of people on the grounds having a picnic. or flying a kite, or just hanging out with family and friends. This was a weekday and things were pretty quiet. In every town we notice all the real estate for sale. There is hurricane damage to houses and businesses some which will never recover.

We had docked in St Thomas. Then a Carnival Cruise ship joined us on the other side of the dock.

I watched closely as a motor boat went near all the moored boats to make sure the cruise ship was far enough away from these boats. The bow thrusters controlled what was happening. It looked like this vessel could cream a mooring field but nothing happened. Amazing. They had like four or five bow thrusters and the boat was larger than our cruise ship.

When we got off the ship we were greeted by an unexpected inhabitant.

They lined the rocks next to the pavers of the side walk.

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Half Moon Cay is an island owned by Holland America. When we first got on the ship they put us all in quaratine for two days. You were encouraged to take hand sanitizer from the person who dispensed it at the doors entering the dining areas. No one could serve themselves from the buffets. Then the rules were loosened on day three. When we went to Half Moon Cay the other ship had been to Europe and many guest got a virus so we were encouraged to use the hanb sanitzer again. Separate towel colors were used so you could tell if those people near you were from the "other " vessel. The really sick people were not even allowed off their boats and were given room service as their only dining option. Our ship brought it's own stuff and everything was wiped down, chaise lounges and all to eliminate contaimination from the other ship.

Here are two BIG ships on anchor at HMC.

Charles had to snorkel a little. He saw lots of little fish over that darkened part of this small reef.

They had a BBQ on land with a bar building made up like a pirate ship with holes through the walls. It was cute. A ship band played nearby. Plenty of white sandy beach for everyone.

Gourmet Cooking Class

I (Sue) was not convinced that I would be staying through every talk. When the opportunity came up to take a gourmet cooking class with an on board chef I was the first to sign up. We made the minimum of four people (max 12) and here is what we made after 2.5 hours with the chef. Tropical Fruit salad with white meringue sauce, Greens salad, Jumbo Shrimp with butter garlic herb sauce, specially seasoned sweet potatoes of course taking home all the written recipes for later use. They even sent us home with an Apron souvenir all for 29 bucks. I am happy.

I did enjoy the lectures and debates also.

Our "cabin boy" made things out of the towels. One was this monkey. Another was a sting ray, then an alligator.

When you are "at sea" for two separate nights we were supposed to dress formally. That meant Charles had to scout up a jacket and tie for dinner. Most sailing vessels do not come equipped that way. We had to get a jacket at the Galleria. I had gotten him two shirts from Macy's at the same place earlier in the day. With an on board computer and printer we were able to create our luggage tags required to have on your suitcases (in our case gym bags). I have gotten good at traveling light. I had one bag and he had his one bag with his computer bag and a suit bag. I gave Charles my extra luggage tag. No formal clothes for me, just a dress or skirt and top like this one. Women can get away with a lot.

Fort Lauderdale Pictures/ cruise week of Nov 12-19

Beach Ocean side a block from the Hall of Fame Marina. Facing the street from the same spot. You could get the number 40 bus and go to the Galleria Mall and get nearly anything you needed. If you transferred to the number 36 you could go to Home Depot, the Publixs grocery, Wells Fargo, Book store, Nappa for radiator parts, it is all here. The all day bus pass for $4 was great.

Charles thought it would be a good idea for us to rent a car to get things before we left town. So The Newest West Marine, Bed Bath and Beyond, JoAnn Fabrics, Kohl's were on the list.,

A few days after we arrived our friend Russ and Mary from EYC arrived at Bahia Mar marina which was next door and where I rented the car from Hertz. So we went to socialized a little after the cruise when they arrrived in town. Our thoughts were we both jumped off at the same time but they headed for Lucaya instead of the West End.

THE CRUISE on the CRUISE

This is the Holland America ship we took for the National Review Cruise. For those interested the statistics include : Decks 11, guests 2,104, crew 800, elevators 14, length 936 ft, width 105.8 ft, Draft 26 ft, Built 2008, props Azipods, Diesel 6 engines, Maz speed 23.9 knots, goss tonnage 86,000, bow thrusters :3 units, 3400 bhp with a cute bull nose in front. The National Review participants were about 550 people.

Our lectures were in the theater area mostly which is why we had 8 pm late seating for dinner so other guests could see the show. We were fortunate enough to be assigned seating with speakers for three evenings, and our dinner partners always changed by National Review assignment so we met lots of very interesting people.


The take home was one couple- Emily and Bill who are from Seattle. We may have Bill as a passenger on Ariel at some point. We were very blessed to also meet Betsy and Russ who live in St Cloud MN but also have a boat at Yankee Point Marina and I believe live at a second house in the RRYC area, so we have potential new members. Small world. Both couples joined us after the cruise to see Ariel. We will probably do another cruise like this again. It was fun.

The ports we saw ( which Charles did not even want to get disembark for- but we did) included: Grand Turk *, San Juan *, St Thomas *, and Half Moon Cay. ( we went to those with stars on Ariel in a sedate cruiser style location with a few less tourist and fanfare. We did not do any side trips as the talks were our focus.

View from deck 11 (Lido) arriving in Grand Turk.

NR Cruise

I have been asked to report on the cruise. Holland America from Port Everglades to grand Turk to San Juan to St Thomas to Half Moon Cay back to Port Everglades. Well run ship with very good food. the purpose of the cruise was a series of seminars put on by by National Reviw Magazine. There were sessions every morning afternoon and some evenings and you get to eat with some of the speakers in the evenings. We ate on separate occasions with Tony Blankley (used to be Newt Gingrich's press secretary, Deroy Murdock (a conservative ecomomic commentator) and John Yoo (the lawyer in the Bush administration who wrote the memos justifying enhanced interrogation methods on selected terrorists). At every session in which he participated Yoo was introduced as a "war criminal". The cruise was well worth it and both enjoyable and very informative. They do it every year and some of the partcipants had been to over 12 of them. I recommend it for anyone interested in politics and who prefers a more conservative approach to our governance.

We left Port Everglades on Ariel on Wenesday evening at 9:00 PM and arrived at Old Bahama Bay Marina West End on Grand Bahama Island at 9:00 AM Thursday. A pretty uneventful trip (motoring) against an east wind across the Gulf Stream. Bumpy but not nearly as bumpy as I expected. We managed to pick the only weather window for a long time and when we arrived the marina was empty. After we got in two catamarans and four monohulls arrived all from Lake Worth Inlet (a much shorter trip). No one has arrived so far today and I don't expect anyone, the wind is 15-25 knots out of the North East and is expected to stay there for three more days at least.

The marina is very pleasant - clearing in was easy and the people are very friendly. Tonight we will have our Thanksgiving dinner at the Bonefish Grill. Tomorrow if the weather looks good enough we are off to Great Sale Cay and then to Rosie's Place on Grand Cay - at least that is the plan but this is the Bahamas and plans can change. I am sure Sue will have more to say but I hope everyone who reads this (both of you) have a great Thanksgiving, wherever you are.

Nov 8- ICW 1064- Fort Lauderdale

We are finally here. We are docked at the Hall of Fame Marina which is next door to the BahiaMar marina complex where the Fort Lauderdale Boat show was held. MANY MEGA YACHTS. We have a slip in a fortunately quiet area. The ICW is to one side.. relatively far away and the main highway is a good dock walk away on the other side. In front a few dozen Mega Yachts across the fairway. You can get awoken by the sound of bow thrusters.

There is the International Hall of Fame swimming pool where lap lines are set up with a huge clock and from time to time, groups come through to practice swim meet stuff. They must have had an Olympic swim met here once.. huge place. http://www.ishof.org/about/

Charles did some walking this morning and found a high rise walkway to the beach only a block away. We can also dodge traffic on Sunrise Blvd the one block if we want. Coconuts restaurant has out of this world coconut shrimp for lunch.

We went to West Marine this afternoon. There are two in town and the part we ordered was at the southern one. We have been told ( for St Augustine store) that West Marine is opening a mega store with the largest square footage store in the system on Friday of this week. We may have to delay checking it out.

We will do some brite work tomorrow and general clean up with our goodies from West Marine.

Nov 7th ICW 1018- West Palm Beach

We left the marina with ominous clouds and spitting rain to charge for more miles on the ICW. Outside talk was of 20 foot seas with storm conditions. That was a no brainer. We made our way to just past Peanut Island near a huge cruise ship turning basin with a view of the exit out to sea. We were on the hook. Chill out.

In the morning it was "do we stay another day or take off.?" Weather reports were still not impressive and we knew that the next stop was Fort Lauderdale. BUT there were 21 bridges to go through all requiring a tender to open them in their time schedule.

We decided to go for it.

Many nice homes along the ICW in Palm Beach.

You wonder where everyone from NYC goes when they come to Florida?

It must be here in high rise city..

As we leave one area in Palm Beach to another our AIS is going crazy the closer we get to Ft Lauderdale. The reason is there are many more mega yachts with their electronics still on broadcasting themselves as (docked) dangerous targets. It does not stop which only makes navigating more challenging for Charles. Turning off the AIS buzzing and keeping the boat lined up for a bridge can be difficult. He came through wonderfully.

This is the view from the bridge. Wall to wall mega yachts.

This is the view from the Nav Pod - so many targets they super impose on one another. Each triangle is a mega yacht. They are pretty dense here!

More on Manatees- Sunday Nov 6th Fort Pierce

Sunday was nice. We went to the First United Methodist church on Orange street not too far from the marina. Linda and Steve were very hospitable and many of the congregation had lunch in fellowship hall. They told us that the church had been hit by three hurricanes in the recent past and had rebuilt several times. How is that for a building fund? Just keep rebuilding what you have.

Steve said the city marina docks were floating docks at one time, but a hurricane came through and changed all that. They are now regular driven pile docks. The tidal change is not that great and they work better through the bad weather. There were some piles that had scars from being warn away in storms. We had the usual reversing current in our slip. At times an extra fender was needed to protect Ariel from trying to shave the mid ship piling on port. Then you could barely get on the boat from the large gap on that side.







Laundry occupied the afternoon and a trip to the Manatee Observation and Education Center.

http://www.manateecenter.com/



This is from a magazine picture they are too fast to get a good shot. Manatees are similar to hippos without tusks in my opinion. They are huge being around ten feet long and weighing between 800 to 1200 pounds. They favor warm water and are found near power plant warm water deposits. As vegetarians they eat about 100 pounds of sea grasses a day. The center was just across from the marina.




The center stressed that exotic creatures have been introduced in Florida's environment with some detrimental effects. This is a lionfish which was native to the Indo-Pacific area and probably introduced by the aquamarine trade for aquarium use. The theory is that they got out to our waterways probably from hurricane Andrew in 1992 through a broken aquarium. Without natural preditors they have become over populated. Records show they have quickly migrated in three years from Florida to North Carolina and have even been seen in New England contrary to being though of as a warm water fish. They have a wide habitat range living between shallow waters and 575 foot depths. They reproduce quickly and abundantly. Being a voracious predator the effect is to decrease juvenile grouper, spiny lobsters, parrot fish, wrasses and other ecologically and economically important species.

There are 25 % of Florida's environment contaminated by exotic fish and animals from all over the world upsetting the eco system.
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In the parking lot I saw this guy with fish flapping in his laundry basket and I asked if I could take a picture of him. He then demonstrated how using a casting net he caught several fish in two minutes. He just flung the net in the water dockside and drew up the string and got three more fish for his collection.

Manatee

I have been looking for Manatee but so far no luck. Today that changed. We went to the hardware store ( nice Ace on Orange ave) and there was this cute statue of a manatee.

"Manatee at work" the sign says.

After lunch walking around the waterfront we saw our first manatee and I believe there were actually three together. Only one surfaced at a time. You can tell something is different because their tails are wide and come to a point. Whereas dolphins have split tails. They stay to the surface and are slower diving back down but I still have not been able to get a picture. Dolphins are even faster evading the camera.

This downtown area apparently has a huge federal court building and other circuit court buildings with many law offices nearby. Lady justice was above one such office.

Fort Pierce ICW 965- Nov 5

Sun rise with a half rainbow look. 20 % chance of rain today.

We did an early departure 7:30 am and short run from Vero Beach because we wanted to get the Fort Pierce to see what was on offer at their Saturday farmers market. We were well served. It was interesting seeing the maybe 100 vendors of all sorts from a guy who carves using just a chain saw and sand paper-- but beautiful work ;to every thing you would expect at this gathering. Jewlery, tee shirts, veggies, home grown plants, soaps etc. were for sale. There were two bands playing in their gazebos. One on the side closest to the street's circle did great jazz. They were retired guys having fun. The other group was more varied but nice also at the other end by the food court.

For lunch we feasted on Italian sausage (Charles) and chicken Fajita(Sue) and lemonaide all fresh cooked on the spot. Mmm. Lunch was cheap and great with live music and the waterway to watch.

I had to include a picture for Jarett our grandson and his friends of an actual pitcher plant. I had never seen one in person. It collects water in the bottom and the bugs get trapped there to be later digested by the plant.

I tried a sample remedy for bug bites at a nautral remedy booth. It seems yesterday on the way to dinner we walked through a baseball field and we literally jumped on by a few enthusiastic dogs. I think I either have flea bites or no- see-em bites but it was rough sleeping last night. When we went down the islands the no -see-ems are unmerciful to me. I have even thought their bites brought on a bronchial thing twice while visiting the VBI's. But later when we went down for seven months that proved to be unrelated. (Vero Beach Riverside Restaurant was recommended by cruisers and is located under the bridge nearest the VB Municial Marina). Use the side walks !!

When you get to this town you notice much more pelicans than any other place we have been.