"Legacy"

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Awaiting Guests

Wednesday, Dec. 26

We're here at Marsh Harbor Marina awaiting the arrival of Heidi and Jeremiah who
will be with us for the next week. They were leaving from Cleveland just as a major
storm was arriving so we're hoping their flight has been uneventful. Carol and I have
spent the last couple of weeks scoping out the vicinity for good places to take them.

Our visit to Hopetown was enjoyable. We were on a mooring ball at the base of the
famous lighthouse so the view was special. The harbor there is very protected but has
a shallow entrance that has to be approached at high tide. Many of the harbors here
require arriving at least at half tide if not full. Hopetown is very picturesque with
many quaint shops and brightly colored small homes. They also have more landscaping
than other towns. It felt like Christmas there because there were several marinas and
homes with Christmas lights and there were lights strung on the lighthouse. I've
realized that Christmas lights are an important tradition for me when I didn't have
them.

Moored in front of the famous lighthouse,one

of the few still lit by kerosene lamp.
 
View of Hopetown Harbor from the top of the
lighthouse (our boat is at the lower left).
 
Yeah, Christmas lights!
 
Christmas in Hopetown
 
 
 
Back at Marsh Harbor Marina on Christmas Eve we all got together up at The Jib Room
for hors d'ouvres and merriment. There is a great group of people staying here and the
staff is wonderful. Christmas day the owners provided turkey and ham and we had a
super potluck dinner. Several of the people at the docks received conch horns for Christmas,
I had made one from a found conch shell and at sundown we gathered together to herald
the setting of the sun, a Bahamian tradition. What we lacked in quality of sound we made
up for in volume, outblowing the folks from across the harbor at the other marina.
 
Christmas potluck
 
Heralding the setting of the sun.
 
The consensus of the canine spectators
was that we were making an awful racket.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Marsh Harbor, the Hub of the Abacos

Saturday, Dec. 22

Christmas certainly feels different down here than back in Ohio. First there is the lack
of snow and cold weather. Then there is the lack of all things traditional. We will see
but I think Boxing Day is as big a deal down here as Christmas. We were asking
around about whether there are any Christmas Eve services at any churches here but
were told there are none. There will be get togethers of marina people Christmas Eve
and a potluck dinner on Christmas day which should be fun. And of course we're looking
forward to Heidi and Jeremiah joining us on the 26th.
Last Sunday we sailed over to Guana Cay for their weekly pig roast at Nipper's which was
very good and their beach is beautiful with the exposed rocks and beautiful water color.
They have a very layed back atmosphere with the vehicles in the parking lot being mostly
golfcarts. We took a mooring ball for the night and enjoyed watching the sunset from
Grabber's, an establishment on Fisher's bay while visiting with a young couple from
Switzerland that have been cruising for three and a half years.
In the morning we headed across the water to Marsh Harbor Marina wher we intend to
stay for a month, using this as a base to explore the surrounding area. There are many
wonderful places within 25 miles to visit and there is an airport here for our guests to fly
in to join us only 4 miles away. There are very nice people we've met here and we are
enjoying our time here. The first day we walked to good snorkeling area nearby and town
is only a mile away by bike or a half mile away by dinghy. There are lots of shops here,
good bakeries, hardware stores, restaurants and a chance to meet locals.
Tomorrow we will be heading to Hopetown on Elbow Cay for a day and then back here
for arriving company.
Life is good. Carol said she has passed the 100 day threshold that marks passing into the
cruising lifestyle and she is still here and enjoying new experiences. She has been a great
trooper during the tough times and I'm grateful for her willingness to accompany me on
this trip of a lifetime.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL. WE LOVE YOU.


Snorkeling nearby at Mermaid Reef.
 
Stringing shells for Christmas decorations aboard.
 
Retired backhoe on Guana Cay.
 
View from Nippers on Guana Cay.
 
Elementary school next to Post Office on
Man-O-War Cay.
 
Housekeeping chores while at Marsh Harbor Marina.
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Treasure Cay

Saturday, Dec. 15

They say the beach here at Treasure Cay has been voted one of the top ten most beautiful
beaches in the world. I'm not going to disagree with them. We have been walking the three
mile beach here the past few days and are in awe of what God has created. The sand is very
soft and white and since this is a slow time of year here we've had the beach to ourselves for
the most part. The water is a combination of blue and turquoise and very clear.
We were headed to Marsh Harbor the other day and got sidetracked over to here. I understand
this is quite common in the Abacos. You start heading for somewhere and the winds are more
favorable to go a different direction so you change destinations based on the weather. There
are many places to visit, all of them great so you don't plan very far in the future. You just
chill, Mon.
Treasure Cay has a great place to anchor, very protected so we've been here the last four days
enjoying the great pool, local bakery for fresh cinnamon buns and bread and the beach. Oh, yeah
and we needed to have our freezer worked on. It just wasn't working all that well so a local
man was recommended to us. It turned out to be the cousin of the dockmaster, which had all
the makings of being a disaster but instead turned out to be a special blessing. Javado was
very prompt (unheard of in the Bahamas), very knowledgeable, gracious and inexpensive.
Our friends had him fix their freezer at the same time so we are all happy boaters again.
The marina charges ten dollars a day to anchor out and for that you get the use of their bath
facilities, pool, beach, wifi, and dinghy dock. The bakery and grocery store are a very short walk
away. We may stay at the marina dock for a month because they have a really special rate right
now. Apparently March is when it gets really busy here.
Our first day here we were visited by a big sea turtle which was pretty awesome.
Tomorrow we'll probably head out for Great Guana Cay for a pig roast and a visit to Nippers,
a popular local spot.


Carol in the marina pool with our boat in the
background, at anchor.
 
The gorgeous Treasure Cay beach.
 
The water is beautiful.
 
Leaving the first set of footprints of the day.
 
Sand Angel
 
A great way to start the day with local cinnamon rolls.
 
Javado, our angel of mercy, disguised as
a refrigerator technician.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Green Turtle Cay

Tuesday, Dec. 11

What's not to like about this: you pay the dock fee and then you eat and drink at the
restaurant and all those charges are free up to the price of the dock? We decided to
take a dock for one night at the Green Turtle Club  because the deal was too good to
pass up and the cracked conch dinner was superb. It is one of the best deals around
and very popular.
We were docked next to a boat we had first met on the Erie Canal from Michigan and
it was good to reconnect.
We had lunch the previous day at The Wrecking Tree in New Plymouth a town that
was settled by Loyalists from the US who had fled here during the Revolutionary War.
Like other towns around here the pace of life is very slow and people are outgoing and
welcoming. At one time "wrecking" was one of the major professions of the locals, the
salvaging of ships that wrecked on the reefs along the coast here.
The ocean beach of Green Turtle Cay is beautiful, unspoiled and we had it to ourselves.
The sand is very soft, clean and great for walking. The pool at the marina is great and we
enjoyed it in the afternoon, having it all to ourselves. There is a view of the harbor from
the pool area.
In the evening we had a group project taking apart our boat's compass trying to get it
to be reliable. We succeeded in disassembling it and getting it back together but little else.
Ocean beach at Green Turtle Cay
 
The great special deal for docking and dining.
 
Great place for lunch along the beach at the
marina, with Ed and Joyce.
 
 


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Life is Good

Saturday, Dec. 8

We scrubbed the boat in the morning to remove the salt spray from the crossing after our
morning coffee in the cockpit. We followed "One Love" slowly through Indian Point Channel
keeping one eye on the depth gauge. We went through at dead low tide seeing 5 1/2 feet-
7 feet through much of the channel, thankful for the lead boat. The published waypoints
seemed to be accurate and trustworthy. It was a beautiful day and we watched the starfish under
us as we passed over them. Most of the day was spent with no land in sight until we pulled into
the anchorage at Great Sale Cay, an island out in the middle of nowhere.
We arrived right at sunset which was beautiful after a long day. Ed and Joyce dinghied over for a lobster tail dinner on our boat.which was wonderful. The stars at night were unbelieveable.
Pulling down the quarantine flag and
hoisting the Bahamaian flag after checking in. 


54 miles


Sunday, Dec. 9

We had a wonderful quiet night at anchor. The new anchor holds very well, being hard
to pull up. Carol went for a swim off the back of the boat first thing in the morning  (a little
cool but not bad ). After a long day we headed into White Sound on Turtle Cay right at
dark, very tricky but successful and took a mooring ball for the night, sleeping soundly.
Zero Dollar Day.
"One Love" , the boat we've been traveling with.


70 miles



Monday, December 10, 2012

We be here, Mon!

Monday, Dec. 10

If we actually dropped off the face of the earth I like where we landed. We be here, mon.

Crossover day was Friday and we pulled up the anchor at 5:00 am to go out Lake Worth Inlet
with Ed and Joyce from "One Love". It was dark and a little intimidating as we ventured out
into the Atlantic Ocean. The forcast was for 2 -4 foot waves with occasional 5 footers and
that is exactly what we encountered. We traveled slower than we are capable of but it was
nice to have the company of another boat, especially as experienced as Ed is.
The ride was a bit rolly but not too bad - we don't have anything to compare it to. Lake
Erie is often worse. No one else was crossing with us as they were waiting for calmer weather.
We went through the Gulf Stream fine but it did carry us pretty far north as we were trying to
keep some wind in our sails to help with boat speed. We went through 4 brief showers over
by the Bahamas but no bad winds. The trip took eleven and a half hours and we came in at
West End.
Landfall was special. We came in at 4:30 and the harbor looked very Bahamian, with turquoise
clear water. We had just enough time to clear into customs with C J who helped us complete
the forms and was very helpful. The dock fee was only $55 instead of the $150 we were
expecting which a special blessing. We went over to the marina restaurant for our first rum
drinks and fantastic cracked conch dinner by the water. What a perfect welcome to the Bahamas.

70 miles

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Waiting for the Weather Window

Monday, Dec. 3

We pried ourselves away from Vero Beach and headed on down to Peck Lake where
we anchored out and enjoyed the ocean access this spot affords. We finally saw two
manatees today. Peck Lake is a favorite for many people because it is separated from
the ocean by just a narrow strip of land with easy dinghy access and extensive undeveloped
beach. It was sunny and fairly warm even right at the ocean and we walked the beach,
picking up shells to make Christmas ornaments. There was only one other couple there
most of the time we were there.
We are anchored with nine other boats for the night.

The ICW version of highway billboards.
 

The dinghy landing at Peck Lake.
 
Enjoying the deserted beach.
 


42 miles


Tuesday, Dec. 4

Last night was more exciting than we wanted. After dark the wind picked up and when
I checked to see how we were setting to the anchor I suddenly realized we were dragging
and close to another boat and a navigation light in a very shallow spot. It was very dark
and hard to tell our location and the position of the other boats in the area, but we needed
to raise our anchor,find a good spot and reset the anchor. It was a bit hairy but after two
tries we got the anchor set again, only without our trust in the anchor now. We took turns
staying up and watching things until 4:00 am and then went to bed. It held OK but we
decided to bite the bullit and buy a Manson Supreme anchor right away.
We went through seven opening bridges today with four of them having restricted opening
times which you have to time carefully, usually hurrying to make the next bridge by the
scheduled time, which can sometimes be stressful. For us today it was not much of an
issue. We tend to not mind the bridges as much as most people do.  The days run was fairly
short and we saw some gorgeous homes down here at Hobe Sound and North Palm
Beach, very high end areas. The water in Hobe Sound was beautiful and clear, getting us
psyched for the famous clear Bahamas water to come.
We decided to stay at Old Port Cove Marina after hearing some great reviews and the fact
they have a nice Boat US discount. We needed to fuel up for the crossing and get our
batteries charged completely. This marina has the nicest docks I've ever seen and the
staff is super. Theer are lots of megayachts around here and they are amazing. Our boat is
dwarfed by them.
The first thing we did when we got here was to visit the West Marine less than a mile
away and buy a 45 pound Manson Supreme anchor, which the marina help were kind
enough to stop and pick up and deliver to our boat. How's that for service? The anchor
is now installed and we are looking forward to being able to anchor with confidence in
the future. The Manson has fantastic reviews, has outperformed all competitors, and all
who have one swear by it.
Right now we plan on leaving 4:00 am Friday to head over to the Bahamas, according
to the weather forcast and will be traveling with "One Love", a catamaran with a great
couple we have met recently. They have made the crossing multiple times. For the next
couple of months over there our cell phones will not be usable but we will often have
internet access for emails and Skype. Perhaps we will get a Bahamian cell phone while
there but it will be best to reach us by email. It will be a few days before we reach
internet access so I will update everyone then.

The new anchor ready to be installed. We hope
it lives up to its reputation.
 
Finally storing our cold weater clothes and comforter
using the vacuum Zip Lock bags, a geat space saver.
 


23 miles ( 2160 miles total ) 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

"Velcro Beach"

Saturday, Dec. 1

"Velcro Beach" ( Vero Beach ) has managed to snare us. This city has a reputation for
how many cruisers stop here for one or two nights while traveling through and then
wake up one day a month or two later and realize they are still here. The marina has a
 small number of docks but a large number of mooring balls where they put as many as
three boats rafted together. It is a protected harbor with a good dinghy dock, nice weather
in a warm winter area, good laundry and bath facilities, and free bus service to connect
boaters with the rest of the city and easy provisioning. Quite a few people spend extended
time here as their destination. There is an active art community here and a good weekly
farmer's market which we availed ourselves of this morning. We have been here since
Wednesday and intend to stay until Monday. We are rafted off with "Blackthorn" a
couple from Massachusetts who have been cruising extensively for the last few years
and are experienced at making the trip over to the Bahamas from here. They have been
a wealth of info for us.
This area is also a place of reconnecting with others we have met along the way. We got
to spend some good time yesterday with a couple from Canada on "Eagles Wings" we
had met back in Waterford, NY at the end of the Erie Canal.
Thursday, Reichenbachs drove over from Lake Wales for the day and graciously ferried
us around the area getting groceries for provisioning and to Melbourne airport to obtain
special documentation (Local Boater Option) that makes it much easier for us on our return
to the US in the spring.
Another project we completed here was to find a print shop to make a vinyl boat name sign
for the stern of our boat. Patty at "Patty's Print Shop" was extremely gracious in making
it for us with only a half hour wait and at a very reasonable price. When overtaking vessels
would pass us on the ICW they would always hail us as "the southbound sailboat from
Geneva, Ohio" because our boat name was displayed only on the sides and not from the
back. Now they can hail us as "Legacy", which is easier to respond to. Carol had requested
this a while back and we were able to take care of it here (I maybe got some points for
this?).
The last several days of traveling we have encountered hundreds of signs with the
"manatee posting". They take it very seriously here.
Monday we plan to head further south where we hope to leave Friday or Saturday morning
for the Bahamas. That is the present weather forcast, which can certainly change.
The last few mornings we have enjoyed being able to have our morning coffee out in the
cockpit in short sleeves.
IPhone, our main navigational device at the helm.
 
Rafted off with "Blackthorn", tied tightly together.
 
Making ourselves known in the future to passing vessels.
 
The ubiquitous manatee signs.
 



75 miles