Bahama Pictures and videos : Old Bahama Bay, Mangrove Cay, Great Sale Cay and Green Turtle Cay

SV Last Waltz , Bob and Monique also from Trenton. we spent Christmas Eve with them and had a lovely dinner. On Christmas day we joined all the other boaters here for a pot luck dinner at the dive shop.

Happy much??

Bob from the SV Last Waltz in the chilly aftermath of the hard blow
 we had on the 21st of December 

The first morning in the Bahamas, we enjoyed coffee
on the beach as the sun came up. It was cool enough that
I wore my jammies

As we crossed from Florida and hit the Gulf Stream our depth sounder read 1665 feet deep (here),
after 2000 feet it just blinked 0 constantly so I turned it off.

Sunset Christmas Eve, Green Turtle Cay

Monique and I deciding which shells to leave and which to keep.
(this was a rather chilly day after the big wind we had but it only lasts a day then it warms up nicely again)

With a sailboat anchored behind her, Time and Tide looks like a sailboat

Conch and starfish.

Sunset Mangrove Cay

Old Bahama Bay sunrise

Great Sale Cay

Wilson???? Gary likes to pick things up on the beach, I have to be firm or else we will have all kinds of weird stuff with us on the boat

So it says on the charts....

Centre of the World Rock - We passed this on our way from Fox Town to Green Turtle Cay
NONE of the pictures we took in FoxTown came out, something has happened to 2 for the 3 cameras we have on board (salt  perhaps) so I have none to share about that part of our trip.
All I can say is that it is a very poor community, but everyone had a big smile on their faces as they greeted us. We had cracked conch at a local restaurant which was very basic but the food was delicious and the beer was ice cold.
Everyone wanted to know where we were from and when I showed locals pictures on Facebook of my grand child and a snowman the shivered in sympathy. They can't understand how we could livein such a cold climate!

Christmas lights strung from our crane

Welcome to The Bahamas

Welcome to the Bahamas

Well, as you probably know by now, we have made it to the Bahamas. After trying twice and having to turn back to Florida I was very nervous when we set out for the third time.

The crossing was great. When we left Fort Lauderdale we were escorted out of the harbour by as many as six dolphins riding in our bow wake.  A good luck sign if ever there was one. The waters were smooth and the wind and slight swells were on our stern, giving us a nice push east and north. The Gulf Stream kicked in around 4 NM off shore and that made the going even faster. We had a very little window for the crossing so we were grateful for all the help Mother Nature gave us.

About 50 miles into our 80 mile crossing, the swells got bigger and started to rock us a little more. I was ok but poor Gary got queasy and had to lie down for a while.

In the Gulf Stream the water is incredibly deep and incredibly blue. Our depth sounder started flashing at 2000 feet and then stopped working all together. It unnerved me so I turned it off. The colour of the water is the deepest blue, unbelievably beautiful. All along our trip we were entertained by flying fish. A wonder of nature and a delight to see.

FINALY we arrived at Old Bahama Bay in West End on Great Bahama Bank. We treated ourselves to a stay in the Marina, a very expensive “treat”. We were welcomed by the friendly Bahamian staff and in a matter of less than an hour we had cleared customs. The locals are very friendly. The views were amazing. We went for a little walk on the beach with the crew from SV Last Waltz and enjoyed the sunset. 

We had to get the boat livable again. In preparation for the crossing we had moved all the heavy stuff from the fly bridge down to lower the center of gravity. Now we had to move it all back again, but I am not complaining. I was just so happy to be here and looking forward to relaxing…..little did we know…..

The next morning after a cup of coffee on the beach, watching the sunrise, we decided to head to Mangrove Cay (pronounced KEY). Mangrove Cay is literally just a pile of mangroves that give some shelter for the night at anchor. It felt like we had finally arrived in paradise!! The water is so clear you can see the bottom! We went for a dingy ride and explored all around the Cay, looking for the wreck of a plane that had crashed off the cay. Unfortunately were couldn’t find it.

The next morning we set off to Great Sale Cay. Our next stop in crossing the banks. The water is never deeper than 12 feet so it is very safe. Just east of Mangrove Cay we saw our first Fish Mud, so many bonefish, shoveling in the sand for food that it turns the water milky. From a distance it looked like a sand bar in the water but the depth never went under 11 feet. I had read about this phenomenon so we were expecting it, but I imagine if you see it all of a sudden it could scare the daylights out of you.

We arrived in Great Sake Cay and as soon as we could headed to shore for a walk on the beach. The waters in the Great Sale cay are full of sea turtles. We saw quite a few and some as big as two feet across while we were anchoring. They would pop up, give us a look and then dive back down out of sight.

Saturday December 21, 2012

(According to the Mayans, the world was supposed to end today)

The following morning we woke up to slightly higher winds. The weather in the Bahamas plays a big role in one’s boating life.  Everything depends on the weather here. There is a constant breeze, especially in the winter months and it is usually around 10-15 knots. The weather moves in a clockwise pattern. Winds move from east to south to west to north. East and South winds are warm but beware the North winds. And today we are expecting a big blow from the SW-West-NW, forecasted for around 25knots.  It looked like the squall was heading our way. In a matter of moments the wind picked up and the rain came down. As we were closing hatches we noticed that we were dragging our anchor.

Dragging the anchor is NOT good. It means that the hold you had, keeping your boat into the wind and waves is now non-existent. This is the first time we dragged our anchor since we started our trip. The wind and waves were so fierce and whipped around so quickly that our anchor got all fouled up with sea grass so we had to get it raised up and reset.

Fortunately it was the middle of the day. Fortunately it had stopped raining. Unfortunately we were unable to reset the anchor. We tried several times and eventually Gary said we will just idle into the wind till the squall settled. Ahmmmm ….the squall was forecasted to last 2 days so that was NOT an option. At last as we tried again our anchor stayed put. In addition we decided to let out about 140 feet of chain .The winds were crazy, a fellow boater said he measured 37 knot winds at times, about 44mph(70kmph). The waves were crashing round us and the protective bay was churned up with white caps. I would have hated to be out in the open water. We were safe and protected but a little uncomfortable.

We met Pierce off SV Wabi Sabi and he was kind enough to share the weather forecast with us

21st of December was my father s birthday and it is also the day Gary’s dad passed away. As the boat rocked and bounced in the wind and waves we spent a lot of time talking about them and our memories of them. Later we decided to do anchor watch through the night. We took turns in sleeping and staying up watching that we don’t drag again.

Anchor watch, as I do it, works like this: Find an object i.e. a light from another boat (at night) and make sure you keep that light in sight as you swing on the anchor. Staying up alone in the dark at anchor watch was a new experience for me. My first watch was very spiritual, I thought of people who I have loved and sent love out into the strong wind, hoping it would find them, I sent forgiveness out to those who have hurt me and I embraced the wind and waves and felt not fear. Sounds stupid hey, but it was a very cool experience.

The second watch I lost my mind….I had a nursery rhyme in my head but couldn’t remember the whole thing so it was driving me crazy……the one about black birds baked in a  pie……( If anyone knows it, please email it to me, I still can’t remember the whole thing!!)

My third watch I just did a lot of “day dreaming “and was very tired. Eating little bites of chocolate to and sipping on pop for the caffeine to stay awake.

December 22, 2012

The day dawned with promise of winds calming down and by mid-day it was nice enough to get in the dink and go to shore for some more exploring.

Gary strung the Christmas lights up and we sang Oh Christmas Tree over the VHF to SV Last Waltz.

After a long night and day we found ourselves in bed at 630pm, yes, 630!! We were both tired and it was dark so we figured why not. We both must have been asleep by 7pm. We are such night owls!!

Decmber 23, 2012 Sunday

Today we made it as far as Fox Town a tiny little hamlet full of friendly locals and a bar that sells cracked conch and has internet. So here I am in the middle of paradise with my battery almost dead posting this blog, hope you appreciate it!!



Mangrove Cay just a bunch of mangroves growing in a muddy marsh but a safe

haven for a boater to stay for the night, It gives minimum protection but

even a little is better than none.

 THIS IS THE ONLY PICTURE THAT WOULD LOAD, I WILL LOAD MORE WHEN I HAVE BETTER INTERNET , SORRY

..............to  be continued........

Fort Myers to Fort Lauderdale

 

SORRY, Things are a little messed up so the pictures are out of order....limited internet time is the reason I just can't fix it. 



Monique, Gary and Bob

Flotilla of winterfest lights Fort Lauderdale

Lizzard - Fort Lauderdale

Parade of lights Fort Lauderdale

Chilly evenings



Fort Myers.


Dec 01- 02 2012

Our friends Bruce and Ann from MV Happy Hour invited us to visit them in Fort Myers, Florida. We found a great anchorage near their winter home and dingied over for a visit.





No pets allowed either.

Marine Town

Gary enjoying the Florida lifestyle

In doing so, we had to leave Time &Tide anchored (over night!!) all by herself. Of course the cats stayed on board too which made me very anxious. But the boat was fine and so were the cats.

Bruce and Anne are great hosts,they fed us, took us sightseeing and as usual we had a wonderful time with them. They also took us shopping. When you live on a boat you wait for those times when you have a car available to go shopping for heavy stuff that is a pain to carry on a bicycle. Things like cat litter, pop and canned food (cats and human)

Dec 03/ 2012
We said goodbye to the salty sea water of the Gulf coast as we headed up the Caloosahatchee river and our first lock in a long time. Frankin lock was only a 2 foot raise compared to some of the huge ones we did on the river systems , this one was a breeze. The Caloosahatchee river is part of the Okeechobee waterway that stretches from the gulf coast (west ) to the Atlantic (east coats )


Those are Orange orchards

Aren't they afraid of the alligators?



( Oh here is something that freaked me out. Spanish moss is crawling with bugs and sometimes
even snakes! So pretty to look at, but don't touch!!
And guess where cockroaches like to live? Palms !!!!!)
Yuk!!

Labell Florida has a free dock with power and water BUT it is a small dock so in order to fit 6 boats on the dock you have to moor "med style" THIS is a whole new thing for us and Gary was actually very nervous about it. You have to drop you anchor then back to the dock , tie the stern to the dock and pull the anchor tight so secure the boat. Sounds easy?? NOT!! But we actually did an OK job. Gary was at the helm, I dropped the anchor, ran to the back to pass lines to some willing helpers on shore. (If they weren't there I have no idea how we would have done it) Of course my lines got all tangled but we got it on the first try.

Time&Tide Med Moored in Labelle

I went for a little stroll through town and sent Mya's Christmas present off to Ottawa ( The US postal service only charged me $4.00 to mail it and they gave my a lovely Christmas envelope to use for free. Pretty good hey!


Gary was taking the opportunity to use the fresh water to wash the sea salt off T&T when the wash down pump overheated and died! It never ends. There is always something that needs to be fixed on a boat.
The day ended with docktails (cocktails) and the company of new friends.

The biggest news for this day was that we finally saw our first manatee. Very cool.

Manatee

From Labelle we continued on to Clemiston , on Lake Okeechobee. We tied to what we thought ( and all the guide books say) is a free dock just to get chased off by the sheriff. She was very polite and felt bad asking us to leave but she was just doing her job. I just want to add that their was no sign or anything indicating that we were not allowed to over night there. Florida has a huge problem with "live-aboards" (People who live  in squalor on their boats and sometimes the boats are in such bad shape  too) I am sure this is why we were chased off the dock, because they want to make sure no one "lives" there for long periods at a time. So we just untied the lines and anchored right there.
The following morning we crossed the Lake. We had heard some horror stories about that body of water but it was as flat as a pan cake and a pleasure to cruise through. We spent the evening with Lind and Dave from SV Chimo2, who are also members of the Trenton Yacht club where we keep our boat. Because we heard about a rare weather window opening up for the crossing to the Bahamas we asked them to take us shopping for some provisions and we then spent  a lovely evening catching up on everything.
The next morning , wanting to get a good start for our trip to Lake Worth, we got delayed at St Lucie Lock for about 3 hours. After fuelling up in the cheaper part of Florida ( the further South you get the more things cost) we continue on to arrive in Lake Worth after dark.
The next day we were joined by SV Last Waltz also from Trenton yacht club. It was wonderful to see them and we took some time to catch up .

On the Okeechobee Waterway, abandoned

Forgotten

Anchorage on the ICW

So many beautiful homes on the ICW

Why don't you just put your boat on a bigger boat and get it shipped to the Bahamas??

Gary waiting for SV Last Waltz

Bob and Monique, SA Last Waltz

Because we had to get the boat ready for another major crossing we had to move things around and put all the heavy stuff in the boat to lower the centre of gravity.
From here we are waiting to cross to Bahamas, a very scary crossing. After everything I went through on the Gulf it is the last thing I want to experience again. I scares me to my bones.

Update: We are still in Fort Lauderdale. We tried leaving twice from Lake Worth Inlet and had to turn around both times because it was so bad. The weather has not co operated at all and a window for a crossing to the Bahamas seem unobtainable at this time. We are considering moving further south and over to Cuba to get out of the USA for the 15 days we HAVE to be out of the country. A silly law if you ask me. I wonder if the make other Canadians like Justin Bieber, Celine Dion and Shaina Twain leave every 6 months? It pisses me off to no end!!

In the meantime we have found a nice anchorage where we can just chill. Or so we thought......the fresh water pump died, the port engine's starter switch died and we decided to change to head's (sanitary hoses|) lines. What a job!! I had never seen Gary so disheartened. It is a MONUMENTAL job replacing all those hoses and it took us a whole day just to do the hoses from my toilet and Gary's toilet to the Y valve. We still need to do all the hose from the Y-valve to the holding tank. If the landlubbers who read this don't grasp the concept, I know the boaters will, and I am sure they will commiserate with our light.

It is not all work, we are also spending some time sightseeing. The homes on the water front here in Fort Lauderdale are unbelievable!!! It is just one mansion after another, and outside every mansion there is a 50-60 foot yacht!!! It is insane!!!! The beaches are beautiful and there are all kinds of beautiful people on the beaches. We even saw Sammy Hagar at a tequila bar.

Are you looking at me??

Pelican :)

I bite!

Where do they get all the money???

Lake Sylvia anchorage

Different scenery on the Okeechobee waterway

Crossing Lake Okeechobee

I have no idea how long we will stay here, I have a feeling that we will wake up one morning and just decide to move on.   It all depends on the WEATHER!!!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and Family. We miss you all and you are always in our thoughts.





...............................to be continued


 

Coconut face