Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas

We were standing in the parking lot of the Poop Deck Restaurant and the Nassau Yacht Haven talking to the folks from the sailboats Troubadour and Endaxi when a taxi pulled up with Brad.  He had done the ‘red-eye’ from Vancouver, through Toronto to Nassau.  A sight for sore eyes! We were anchored near Paradise Island just off the Cloisters – a 14thCentury French monastery, imported to the US by Randolph Hearst and then to the Bahamas  by Sir Huntington Hartford.  We had suffered through wind and wake in our previous spot and worried about dragging our anchor (attached to the air conditioner on the bottom) and then over coffee at about 10AM our scenery started to change as the Blue Pearl started to drift.  We had to fuel up for our trip with Brad so we pulled in the anchor, left the hardware on the bottom and headed to the fuel dock.  Our new setting off the Cloisters was beautiful and our anchor was buried in sand. We had groceries and, most importantly, conch salad from Potter’s Cay so we headed out to the Blue Pearl with our new crewmember.  We spent a great evening catching up with Brad, installing the hardware he brought to make our alternator work and enjoying boat drinks and cracked conch a la Pam. The next day we sailed and then motor sailed to Norman’s Cay, arriving at about 3 pm.  We anchored near the partly submerged plane and then took a dinghy ride to show Brad around, took the obligatory photo in front of the “Welcome to Norman Island” sign and then retired to the boat for wasabi encrusted tuna with rice. The next morning, one of our acquaintances from Indiantown came by in his dinghy on a hunt for fish and lobster.   Nice to meet up with Ian and Elaine from “Stormy Weather” again!  We set out to find our own lobster and fish.  Intrepid hunters Brad and Glen searched faithfully for a couple of hours without any success while Pam followed in the dinghy.  In the meantime, Ian had pulled 4 ‘bugs’ from the caves and crevices. We followed them into Norman’s Pond, where they had anchored.  Ian showed us where the nurse sharks hang out (none home, thankfully!) and where the eagle rays swim – so Brad went swimming with the eagle rays and a barracuda.  Finally, we were successful in our hunting and gathering – we found 14 mature conch and we headed back home to extract them from their shells.  We visited at Stormy Weather as we left the Pond.  Ian must have felt sorry for us because gave us 3 lobsters! We headed over to Mac Duff’s for awesome burgers and by 6:30 we were back on the boat… exhausted.  Glen and Brad’s heads were nodding like bobble heads and not providing Pam much company.  By 8:30 it was all over – everyone sound asleep.
Our haul
Lots of conch

Out you come!
Expert conch cleaner
In the water in Norman's Pond

Ian's catch

Lobster Boy


On Thursday we woke to a rocky anchorage – the wind had shifted to the northwest and the rollers made it uncomfortable. We took the outside route to Warderick Wells, averaging 6.5 knots in a great breeze. Brad made a daring rescue of the mooring ball as we charged into the harbour with crazy wind and currents. Conch salad, a Kalik and we were set to go to register with Darcy in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park office.
View from Boo Boo Hill
We are spending Christmas Eve here eating and drinking – like everyone else does on Christmas Eve. We will travel on Christmas day to Staniel’s Cay to show Brad new territory. We are hoping there is a Junkanoo and other holiday activities.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Merry Christmas

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Holy Mackerel

It was awfully nice at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club in Freeport but after two weeks it was finally time to go.  We had been to the tourist place at Lucaya and had local Bahamian food and Greek food at Zorba’s.  We went over to the posh Our Lucaya Hotel and wandered around the place and took our Christmas picture in the lobby.  Pam bet the family fortune at the casino and had to be stopped before she got us into serious trouble.  We explored the canals by dingy where the gorgeous homes are built and checked out the Dolphin Encounter location where you can swim with the dolphins.  Pam had a haircut in the Lucayan Marketplace – better than last year’s cut in Nassau – short, but at least both sides are the same.  We met and visited with lots of boaters.  It was interesting to meet some new people and hear their stories.

Cleaning a Triggerfish we bought from the lobster guy.

Gangsta Losbsta

Sharing Kaliks with Bumpy

So, after a particularly cold couple of days, (down to 9 Celsius) we left early (0630) Wednesday.   As we readied the boat to leave, we watched the International Space Station travel overhead.  We motored out the Bell Channel at sunrise and headed for Great Stirrup Cay.  The crossing was uneventful – except we learned that our alternator regulator doesn’t work and an engine part designed to keep us from sinking was dripping water all over the engine.  Unfortunately, the dolphin pod we encountered on this 56 mile crossing last year was not available so we had to be content with watching the flying fish as they skipped over the water, trying to get away from us.

We had a quiet night at Great Stirrup – the stars were unbelievable and the moon was so bright that you could see the bottom in 12 feet of water (3.69 meters).

In the morning we gathered our curled up anchor chain – not sure we needed an anchor that night, it was so calm – and headed out at 0700 for Nassau, another 50 miles.

Anchor chain lying on the bottom

Pam has figured out how to use some hooks from last year along with “hoochie” skirts to make lures – rather than buy them at $12 a pop and lose them to a barracuda.  WELL, do they ever work!  We caught an 5 pound Yellowfin Tuna just before we anchored at Great Stirrup and then the next morning we landed a 3 or 4 pound Mackerel, an Amber Jack (could have been an evil Cravelle Jack so he didn’t come aboard - a local fisherman told us you could eat them but you'll get the 'shittins') and a Barracuda (also unwelcome on the Blue Pearl.)  We’ll have to start throwing out steaks to make room for all the fish.  We had better luck in 18 hours than we had in 4 months last year.

Seared Tuna in ginger and sesame!!!
We motored the entire way to Nassau.  There was very little wind and what there was came right on our nose.  After the initial flurry of fish-catching, the trip was uneventful.  The Atlantis Resort in Nassau appeared on the horizon 16 miles away!  We listened on the radio as a multitude of boats requested permission to enter the harbour.  There is a good crossing “weather window” right now so loads of boats are coming into Nassau from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and points north.  After receiving our 'go ahead' from Nassau Harbour Control we motored past two huge cruise ships, under the two bridges, past Potters Cay and the marina we stayed in last year.  We found a perfect spot to anchor (rather than pay $100 per night at a marina) and got yelled at by someone who thought we were too close to his marina.  So we moved east 100 feet and now we are tucked in.  Rum punches and Holy Mackerel for dinner.  We noticed in the morning that our anchor chain is securely wrapped around an old air-conditioner on the bottom.  We've been told that the Nassau harbour is filled with such treasures.

Brad arrives on Monday and we will leave for the Exumas on Tuesday.  All the best for the holiday season to you all and a Happy Birthday to Jackson on the 23rd.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Relaxing in Freeport

We had a good crossing from Lake Worth to West End, Bahamas.  Woohoo!  High fives all around!  We thought we would take Al and Maria to the Abacos so we decided we would head to Memory Rock and over.  Then we changed our minds and decided to head south to Lucaya.  We were headed for Lucaya when we had second thoughts about the Abacos so we decided to hedge our bets and came to West End (in the middle) so we could do either.

Sunrise over the Gulf Stream
We set alarms for 3 a.m. but we were all awake before that in anticipation of our Gulf Stream crossing.  Al made 2 pots of coffee, Glen loaded the weather on the computer while Maria and Pam puttered to ready the boat.  We raised the anchor and raised the main sail in the dark and motored out of the Lake Worth Inlet.  We motor sailed most of the 54 miles to the Bahamas.  We wanted to charge the batteries and thought we could sail easier once the sun came up.  The wind was fairly light and the seas were rolly.  Beautiful stars and a bright quarter moon gave us some light.


We saw very few boats – a few out fishing and the occasional freighter but there was very little traffic.  We had radio contact with three other boats making the crossing.  We chatted with them and listened in on their conversations.  One boat was crossing for the 42nd time so we thought we might learn a few things from them.  The sun rose out of the clouds and we could see the changing blue colours of the Gulf Stream. We saw dolphins, flying fish but no Portuguese Man 'o Wars this year.  Towards the end of the trip, when the wind was coming out of the west it was slightly uncomfortable coming off the quarter with sloppy seas.  Luckily no one had to go below to prepare food as Maria had made a batch of delicious sandwiches the night before.   We arrived at 1:30 pm and within one hour the wind was coming from the north and was howling.  So, the forecasts were dead on.  We were glad to be in the shelter of a little harbour and tied to a dock.

Hard at work!

Boaters had been reporting immigration difficulties, especially for Canadians but we had absolutely no problem checking in.  No 1 or 3 month restrictions like some people are reporting.  No problem getting a 6 month permit.  Turns out we didn’t need to have made the run to Miami in a rental car to get a travel visa for the Bahamas but at least we had all the bases covered.

We tied up at the Old Bahama Bay Marina at West End and took a walk along a beautiful sandy beach near the marina.  It was windy and the seas looked pretty rough.

Windy West End, Grand Bahamas

Al bought take-out conch salad for us at the marina restaurant ($$$) and we retired back to the boat for salad appetizer and steaks for dinner.  Champagne and an early night to bed!

Up the Bell Channel to the Grand Bahama Yacht Club
On Thursday, we brought the boat around from West End to Lucaya on the south of the island - about a 20 mile trip.  We had a fabulous sail, mostly around 7 knots, and Captain Chaos managed to get the boat to the dock with no major damage!

We are slightly embarrassed to admit that we are going to indulge ourselves.  We have about 2 weeks before we want to be in Nassau to pick up Brad.  With our Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club membership we get a smokin’ deal at a posh resort here in Freeport – only about $200 to tie up with all the amenities for a week.  It will be great to have a week to visit with good friends who live here in Freeport, putter on the boat and read a few books.
Up the mast...

Docked at Grand Bahama Yacht Club


... to retrieve a broken radar reflector

Maria and Al left early Saturday morning on a flight to Nassau.  They fly from Nassau to Toronto in the afternoon.  It was great to be able to share the Bahamas and our sailing adventures with them.  Now Al is looking to buy a sailboat down here.  Sorry, Maria!

Our plan is to stay here til Thursday and then, weather permitting, sail to the Berry Islands.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Back to Lake Worth

Well, we are tucked into the Lake Worth inlet, ready to launch to the Bahamas.  Last year we had to wait 9 days for weather.  Hopefully this year it will be better.

The Dinghy Dock at Thanksgiving dinner.

Al and Maria joined us in Stuart and we stayed there a few days with them.  It was difficult to leave because the place is sooooo boater friendly.  We moved a few miles to Manatee Pocket to be closer to the St. Lucie inlet for our trip down to Lake Worth.
Enjoying the trip to Manatee Pocket

Al making sure the bridge is opening properly.
When we launched we were having problems with an engine part and had ordered a new part.  That was last Friday - and a week later it is still not in.  So over the weekend we have set up to take off for the Bahamas the minute we can get the new part.  It is a challenging scheduling act - trying to cross the Gulf Stream with good weather and wait for parts so we are seaworthy.
The problem with crossing occurs when the wind comes from the north.  The Gulf Stream is traveling north and when it meets an opposing wind - kind of like petting a cat's back going the wrong way - the wind makes the waves all crazy and it is very uncomfortable.  We missed an opportunity on Saturday and we won't be able to go Monday.  We are hopeful that we can make Tuesday or Wednesday because on Thursday it changes.

We are hoping the part arrives on the Monday UPS truck in Indiantown.  If it does, we rent a car and drive back there to get the part.  We will race back to the boat to install it and hopefully be ready for Tuesday or Wednesday.

The trip south from Manatee Pocket to Lake Worth was excellent.  We averaged 7 knots all the way with the wind slightly forward of the beam.  We raised our new sail just out of the inlet and it looked spectacular.  At one point we were hailed over the radio, "Island Packet near the Jupiter Inlet."  We responded and he said, "I just wanted to tell you that I am on land and that you look magnificent, trucking down the coast of Florida."  Big smiles!

Maria spotted dolphins in the waves and Glen was soon abandoned in the cockpit while the others ran back and forth looking for our wave riding friend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoW7LXdpsGY

It was a great day!  The lunch with cold beer at anchor in Lake Worth was excellent, too!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Sunset Bay Marina, Stuart

We are on a mooring ball in Stuart!  Great marina with wonderful facilities.  Good wi-fi, a marina lounge, a restaurant and a shuttle service with quick access to businesses in Stuart.  We've been able to move to their great Courtesy Dock each morning to deal with the sails and canvas.  There are loads of group activities like meet-and-greets, potluck dinners and pub-crawls.  We haven't taken part in many of the activities - too much to do on the boat.  We will join the Thanksgiving celebration, considering what a big deal Thanksgiving is in the US.

There seems to be a crowd of regulars - people who use their boats as Florida condominiums for much or all of their time.  It is very comfortable and if you just wanted a Florida winter there are places like this in Vero Beach, Miami and up the west coast in Sarasota and Bradenton.

We had our first visitor - cousin Duane was in Florida on vacation and was in the neighbourhood so he came for the evening and left the next morning.

Cousin Duane's Florida vacation

We are expecting Al and Maria Cohen - great friends from Abbotsford - later in the week.  We are hoping that we can cross to the Bahamas with them.

The new sails were installed on Monday - and they look great!!  We haven't had a chance to try them out yet.  We'll do that with Maria and Al.

New sails and sail cover going on.

Last year we picked up school books gathered by the South Seas Cruisers Association for the Georgetown elementary school.  They have been delivering books to Out Island schools for years.  This year our books are destined for Farmers Cay.  We had a good time at their school fair last year.

Books for Farmers Cay All Ages School

We had the new canvas installed - looks just like the old but newer!

No canvas
Santa working on the dodger
We've got shade!
Solar panels back on - Yay!

Sid from Quest gave us a lift to Total Wines - good thing he had a pickup!  We've managed to hide away lots of beer and wine in the various lockers.  Blue Pearl is floating a little lower today.

We are finally in retirement mode - the chores are mostly done and we are enjoying idle time reading, planning, chatting and visiting.  We listened to Cruiseheimers (nyuck, nyuck) this morning and heard from many familiar voices in Florida and favorite places in the Bahamas.  The weather has been great - sunny, hot days and we seek out shade and cool breezes.  Quite a contrast to Vancouver.  We've been hearing from friends and family that it has been unusually cold.

So, we will enjoy Thanksgiving with the crowd - the marina supplies the turkey and ham, we bring the side dishes.  Al and Maria will be here Friday and we will do our final provisioning and chores.  Then we move to the Lake Worth inlet so we can race out into the Stream when the weather allows.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Delays

We thought we'd be in the water last week.  However, things have taken longer than we anticipated and we are tentatively scheduled to launch on Thursday.  We are hopeful but not optimistic.

Scraping the bottom
We scraped the bottom and have had it sanded down to the gelcoat - ready for barrier coat and bottom paint.  Big job - but it will be good for several years.

Sanded and clean.

Barrier coat
Bottom coat going on.
More bottom... and new Blue Pearl!
Bottom coat almost done!
Pam has done most of the scraping, sanding, cleaning and painting of the teak rub rails and she hopes to be done before we launch.  There is a lot more teak to do but this is stuff that has to be done before we are in the water.  The rest can wait.
Artist at work!

We've added a drinking water filter and changed some hoses under the galley.  That's a tight fit.  Need to lose some weight or hire a monkey!

Under the sink

We've taken out the cutlass bearing - the thing that keeps the boat watertight around the propellor shaft - and replaced it with a new one.  The job should be done by Wednesday.

Stern tube with new cutlass bearing goes here.

We've cleaned and waxed the hull so it sparkles!

Buff! The boat, I mean.

We have started to provision - this is a small part of the hoard that Pam will stow in all the various lockers and hiding places on the boat.  We will do a Costco run in the next day or so to get the big stuff.  The boat needs to be in the water before we can start the fridge and freezer so we have to wait before we buy the freezer stuff.

Provisions!

So - we work every day on new jobs, hoping we can get the big stuff done so we can get in the water.  We are scheduled to be in Stuart for Monday so Mack Sails can put a new main sail and additional toys on the boat.  The canvas people will be there on Tuesday to put on the new dodger and bimini.

Jen called today to say that she and Jackson will be with us early in January, just after we say goodbye to Brad.  We've heard from Maria and Al Cohen that they will down on Wednesday.  Maybe a crossing right away to the Bahamas with them?

Friday, November 5, 2010

Getting ready to splash.

We had a terrific six months at home with family and friends.  The newest member of our family, grandson Jackson Closs, is thriving and commands centre stage at any family gathering.  It is great to watch him grow.  We are in withdrawal after seeing him several times a week and having a visit with him and his mom for 4 days in October.  We spent time with great pals on the Sunshine Coast, visited relatives in the UK and Scotland and enjoyed fun times with our wonderful Abbotsford connections.

However, our other life has kicked in and we are leaving the Vancouver winter for the sunny islands of the Bahamas.  We have moved back onto the Blue Pearl - although she is sitting on blocks in the work yard in Indiantown, Florida and you need to climb down a ladder if you need to find a washroom in the middle of the night.  Pam is convinced there is an alligator (see our last post) at the bottom of the ladder (she hears a clock ticking) and so she manages to wait until morning.

Scraping the teak rub rails

Only 95% left to do!

We will paint the bottom, replace some sails and canvas, do a myriad of other smaller maintenance items and then look for a weather opportunity to head across to the Islands in the Stream.  Brad will be down over Christmas, Carrie at Spring Break and Jen is trying to figure out when is the best time to travel with a busy, inquisitive little boy. 

Busy boy...

Many of our guests from last year are planning to return... and we have commitments from others who plan to visit us on the Blue Pearl.  We are very excited about the possibility of a visit from Uncle Bob!  Those of you who know Uncle Bob know how much he would love the clear Bahamian waters.

We've already made preliminary visits to West Marine to buy tons of supplies.  Total Wines will be pleased to see us back as well!  VISA called the other day because we hadn't purchased anything.  Wondered if we'd lost our card.

We will be working here in Indiantown for another week, then on to Stuart to have our sails and canvas installed.  If that takes another week then we should be ready to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas when the weather provides us an opportunity later in November.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

On the Hard

The Blue Pearl is on the hard.  We took off all the canvas (dodger, interconnect and bimini), took off the sails, cleaned everything inside and out and got it ready to put to bed.  We will clean, wax and polish the topsides and paint the bottom next year before we launch.  We have sent the sails away to be cleaned and repaired.  We dropped the canvas off at a shop to get estimates for repairs or new canvas.

Sitting now in the airport in Orlando waiting for our flights.  Really excited about seeing all our family and friends.

[caption id="attachment_546" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Out of the water, pressured washed the bottom."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_545" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tied down with Hurricane Straps!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_547" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Better than a guard dog."][/caption]

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Changing Course in mid-Stream

Here we are in Stuart, Florida, ready for our run up the Saint Lucie River to Indiantown where we have decided to keep the boat for the summer.

Freedom - a 1926 Trumpy - sistership to the Kennedys'

We left Nassau after the Keys and reversed our route from when we came down.  The Berry Islands are nice and we will spend more time there someday.  Caught a couple of fish – one edible, the other a monster barracuda.  Made Mike’s look like a minnow.

Barracuda - too big might mean cigateura (poison)
Barracuda - too big might mean cigateura (poison)

At Great Stirrup Cay we found the engine awash in water in the engine pan.  Turns out a hose clamp let go and we had water pouring all over the engine – especially the starter (foreshadowing!)

Into Freeport with a little excitement along the way.  We were hit by a squall.  It seemed like it would never stop although it was probably only half an hour but my goodness, the rain!!!  It rained so hard that it washed a bird’s nest out of the boom.  Who knew we had a birds nest in there but we certainly had mud and twigs all over the deck afterward. Berlington took Glen around to a marine store for beer and hose clamps!  Problem solved.

We had a benign crossing. No wind, no waves, just 17 hours of motoring.

On the way over we watched the Coast Guard board a huge motor yacht.  They veered over towards us but when they saw we were Canadian (Canadians don’t pack heat!) and that we smiled and waved, they sped off in search of bad guys.

Coast Guard
Changed course in mid Gulf Stream… literally.  We changed our minds about going north.  We will keep the boat at Indiantown Marina in Florida.  The marina is 20 miles inland and hasn’t been bothered much by hurricanes.  Our insurance company is happy – and so are we.

At 11 pm, after a harrowing entrance into the Fort Pierce inlet we anchored, had a glass of champagne and had a great sleep.

Clearing Customs involves putting up a quarantine flag when you arrive, grabbing a taxi and reporting in at the nearest airport to fill out a ton of forms.  So the next morning we shared a taxi with another boater in the same situation and were done in an hour.

We stayed in Fort Pierce for a couple of days and then left for Stuart.  On our way, we decided to fill up with fuel in Manatee Pocket.  When we were fueled and ready to go we found that the engine would not start.  Turns out, the water spilling over the engine caused some damage.  We were towed to the nearest boatyard where mechanics spent a little time and we spent a lot of money to solve the problem.  Now we have a shiny new starter solenoid!!!

TowBoatUS - kind of like BCAA
TowBoatUS - kind of like BCAA

Yan Diesel with his New Solenoid!
Yan Diesel with his New Solenoid!

We are down to some odds and ends in the pantry.  Pam is creating strange things with canned black beans, onion, green beans and salad dressing.  She created nachos a la sausage for lunch yesterday and later announced that Vienna Sausage will not be making our provisioning list again.

Last Red
Last Red

We will put the boat away on Monday or Tuesday and head home right after.  It will be good to see our family and friends… and we are already looking forward to the new adventures of the Blue Pearl next year!