It's dreadfully miserable today - wind and rain and cold, but Jim is anxious to leave Daytona and start towards our destination. We have been here since the 31st of January, after ending our three weeks of Caribbean cruises. This time our 'problem' is small parts that had to be ordered and then the lengthy wait for their arrival. However, Daytona has been fun for us. The marina was very pretty and although there was no internet connection, we were able to have access by making the 25 minute hike each way to the public library.
Our goal for the day is a mere ten miles away for an anchorage, as after that, the next stop on our chart is an additional forty miles. Although an unpleasant day, it's thankfully short, and we reach our goal by noon, grateful to go below and turn on the heat. The weather continues to progress in severity; during the night, gale force winds are reached at over 40 knots.
February 13
We awake to a temperature of 40 degrees and repeat yesterday's inclemencies; however, in the late afternoon when we reach our next anchor 40 miles further south, the wind has calmed and the sky graces us once more with shades of blue. We are able to enjoy our pre-dinner glass of wine in the cockpit. The evening, as usual, is predictably enjoyable as we continue our conversations below over a meal that has been slowly simmering and filling the cabin with aromas for a long time.
February 14 (Happy Valentine's Day!)
This morning, neither of us eager to leave the warmth of our little home, we (well, Jim), plot our course for leg 1, Nassau, Bahamas; once we arrive in South Florida (recommended routes usually start anywhere South of Palm Beach). We plan to depart from the Key Biscayne area for a crossing to Gun Cay/Bimini, which is in the Northwest end of the Bahamas. This route will require my first overnight passage, to reach our goal of an 8 a.m. arrival at “Gun Cay”.
According to the book “Gentleman's Guide to Passages South”, to reach our destination of Nassau, Providence Island, we should take the Northern route across the top of the Banks from North of Bimini to the Northwest Channel Light, passing a few miles North of the Macki Shoal Beacon. This route will give us waters 10 feet deep (our keel is 5' 2”) There are other routes through this area with waters of 7' deep, but this will give us a bit more 'breathing' room. Our present location is South of Titusville, adjacent to the NASA causeway bridge; therefore, there are still many ICW motoring days ahead of us, so no need for my inevitable panic yet.
February 17
Vero Beach
We arrive in Vero Beach on Monday, February 15, and this time, it's our friendly little dinghy motor that keeps us from moving onwards and upwards. It died our first day here and fortunately, kindly sailors hauled us to our destination and we await the needed repairs (unfortunately, Jim will have to row back to shore to pick up this repaired motor!)
The weather remains chilly, but everything is quite pretty; we understand why Vero Beach is often referred to as Velcro Beach....why move on when we can 'stick' it out here! There is complimentary bus service in this little retirement haven, the streets appear clean and well groomed, and everyone is so friendly.
February 19
Fort Pierce
We arrive in Fort Pierce. Our new friends, Jim and Jean on Windsong, (a Taswell 49), paddled over in their dinghy to join us for dinner on our boat while in Faber Cove, adjacent to Fort Pierce Inlet. We met this recently retired delightful couple from New York in the marina in Daytona Beach in December and have been keeping in touch by VHF radio.
February 20
We left Fort Pierce for our first day adventure of ocean sailing, and it was wonderful! The weather was lovely - warm, gentle breezes and a drastic change from the constant lookout required on the ICW. Jean and Jim anchor with us again tonight in Lake Worth (West Palm Beach), but spend their evening with friends in the area.
February 21
Fort Lauderdale
We arrive in Fort Lauderdale; it is late, perhaps 8 p.m. and we are dreadfully exhausted. We left Lake Worth about 7:30 this morning and it has been a long day of sailing and motoring south, fighting southerly winds which keep our boat in a constant rolling motion. Today, it just isn't the pleasure of yesterday! I am learning why sailors are usually slender folk as I sit in the cockpit bending forward, backward, left, right, with each rolling wave – what a great constant exercise! Jean and Jim are a few miles ahead of us down the coast, but keep in touch by VHF. We have agreed to meet up again in Fort Lauderdale and they have invited us to join them for a day of touring South Beach as they intend to rent a car. Unfortunately, this invitation cannot be fulfilled, as about a mile outside of Fort Lauderdale, our motor dies. It is dark and windy. Ahead, we see the lights of cruiseships departing for their Caribbean adventures; they seem frightfully close and I feel genuine fear. Three, four times, Jim is able to start the motor again, but each time it halts after about 10 minutes. Finally, we realize we have no recourse but to call Towboat US to tow us to a marina, the closest being Lauderdale Marina. And what a marina it is! We are surrounded by multi-million dollar yachts. We are in the world of the rich. I say to Jim that I feel like Cinderella and he replys that our boat suddenly looks like a dugout canoe! The nightly rate for this little piece of paradise is $5.00 per foot. Keep in mind that there are plenty of 100 foot boats here! Therefore, many of these people are paying $500 per night (extra for electricity) and they are bringing their own hotel. Including staff! So this is how the other half lives! Towboat US returns the following morning to tow us to the municipal marina on the New River (near the southeast third avenue bridge and Las Olas Blvd). This actually consists of a long winding lovely canal near the centre of the city. We love it, and the price is right – less than $1 per foot. Jean and Jim's Windsong is tied to the dock about 5 boats down, so all is well. We will stay here at least three days to relax, and of course, to have our motor repaired. This place is so pretty. We are tied up to a location that abounds in manicured lawns, flowers, trees and cobble-stoned sidewalks and we are minutes from restaurants, pubs and shopping. The 'canal' is a parade of huge yachts passing by. It truly brings to life the prosperity in this part of the world.
These past few days have made me keenly aware of the two conflicting emotions occuring daily with this new lifestyle: each day brings new surprises, new sights, sounds and experiences. This fills me with intense excitement and happiness; however, there is also more to learn than I feel I will ever be able to handle. At times, I feel I have walked onto another planet. Everything on the boat remains new to me. The list of “how to's” is endless, and I keep forgetting “how to”. When I am completely overwhelmed (which seems to happen at least once a day), poor Jim must live through the meltdown that comes from my fears, tears and frustrations. I must continually remind myself that there was a time in my life when I thought I would never master riding a bicycle or learn to drive a car. There was also a time, while working at Foreign Affairs that I was convinced I could not master the software HRMS (Peoplesoft). With practice, all of these challenges, and many, many more, were realized and my spirits soared each time. Fear of failure is the evil menace that grips me and holds me back, and many days I find myself saying “maybe tomorrow”.
February 26
This has turned into quite a busy day. We took our dinghy, Munchkin, down the 'street' (feel like we're in a modern-day Venice) to the local marina laundromat. Jim left me to take care of business, while he motored to the local Publix to stock up on groceries, picking me up upon his return. We ran into Jean and Jim on the return trip as they were having a similar type of day. No sooner did we return to the boat than Oil & Fuel Boatside Services showed up to drain and polish our fuel (it is highly expected that fungus (the diesal bug) has taken over our tank and that is the culprit of our failed engine.
Tuesday, March 23
Key Biscayne
Almost a month has passed since an entry has been made in these notes. Ongoing repairs and waiting for additional new boat parts has kept us in Fort Lauderdale. Since my daughter, Monique, was arriving March 10, we decided to stay the extra time for the pure delight of seeing her and the munchkins. It was an exhilarating experience, though we also learned that a forty foot boat becomes quite small indeed with seven passengers!
Enjoying a home video!
Jasmine and Mom
Cramped quarters!A reunion of grandparents
After their departure, we continued coastal sailing south to Key Biscayne to wait out a weather window for the crossing to Nassau. Our first attempt at this crossing found us being battered about so severely that after a couple of hours, Jim made the decision to turn back. We stayed in No Name Harbour for a couple of days and again, enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was a beautiful location surrounded by parks with a lovely restaurant offering mouthwatering fresh seafood niblees, such as conch fritters and calamari.
I was puttering in the galley when Jim called down to me that we were about to have company; I looked out a portlight and saw a man rowing his dinghy towards us. We invited him aboard and chatted pleasantly about our mutual hometown of Ottawa. I had a vague sense of having known this man and asked him of his employment prior to retirement. He responded that he had been with Health Canada, and bingo, I instantly knew the connection. I said “OMG, do you know Stephen Keith?” When he replied that he did, I laughed and informed him that Steve and his wife, Renette, had had us both to their home one night with the idea in mind of a possible 'connection' (probably about 1994). Alas, although he looked exactly the same to me, my grey hair and a few extra 'curves' had obviously made me indisdinguishable to him. On the other hand, perhaps he had a touch of the same condition that had settled upon me and Jim....old timer's disease? One has to amaze at the coincidence of meeting someone you know, in a) another country; b) in a small harbour; and, c) two boats anchored next to one another. After his departure, Jim commented: “Gee, just imagine, if things had worked out with you two back then, you could be sailing here in a 26 foot sailboat” We both laughed as this acquaintance was quite impressed with our 40 footer and used the word luxurious in his description when aboard. Everything is relevant; when we boarded Jim and Jean's 49 footer, I was awestruck! (I awoke from a dream one morning and told Jim that in it, Jim and Jean had decided to sell their boat to us for $300,000. Jim said, "Did you say $200,000?" I responded: "No, $300,000". Jim said: "Well, go back to bed and dream again until the price comes down to $200,000"!)
No Name HarbourElegant grocery shopping in beautiful Key Biscayne
By March 20, we were prepared to attempt the Florida Straight again and sailed a full day to Cat Cay where we anchored for the night.
March 21 - 22
Cat Cay to NW Channel Light across the Great Bahama Banks .
The Bahama Banks ended in a dreadfully bad night. We thought we had reached a good anchorage around 10 p.m. ; however, a passing towboat informed us that we were actually in the middle of a busy channel! Therefore, we took up the anchor and continued on until 1:30 a.m.. The weather grew worse as the evening progressed. The skies were lit up by lightening in every direction, the winds howled, the seas rolled and we were drenched from the driving rain. Neither of us were able to sleep as the entire night was spent tossing, as if on a roller coaster. We lay in bed feeling shot up at an incredible speed (our inner systems in havoc); upon reaching what seemed the top of a mountain, we then plumeted downward at an equal speed, with innards unprepared for this sudden descent. At the bottom of this journey, we would be shaken suddenly side to side, then shooting up again to repeat the cycle, over and over and over. Around us, unimaginable sounds greeted our ears; the lines within a world of their own, echoed noises; the waves in the water could easily create an image of little people everywhere outside of our boat carrying baseball bats and taking turns to see who could hit us the hardest; the wind seemed to be hitting us with its best shot from every angle; water gurgled in the toilets and the pipes below 'whoshed' their response. Our anchor was now becoming our newest challenge; the snubber, which takes the pressure off this mechanism by absorbing the shock, was making a new sound, which told Jim that trouble was in the air. He shot out of bed, bounding up the companionway. I could see him through the hatch above as he passed over our cabin, attempting to resolve it. This site only added to a growing mental anguish for me. The wind was blowing continuously, the boat was dipping down, followed by a breathtaking lunge upwards, all the time, Jim, hanging on with one hand, attempting to correct the problem with the other; my fears and imagination took him into these winds, never to return, my new wonderful husband and life as I knew it, to be no more. Surely, this life offered us the best, but also the worst.
The following morning brought fog, rain and some respite from the wind. We waited for the fog to lift and the wind to diminish further, but it meant another night on the roller coaster.
March 23
Bird Cay
This is our final destination today. Nature has decided to be kind and give us a break again. The night is calm and restful; we sleep like a babe in the womb.
March 24 (Happy Birthday Sista!)
Nassau
It's a full day of pleasurable sailing. It's the type of day where phrases like “this is the life” originate. All is good; nothing is breaking down; the weather is on our side. By 7 p.m. We have crossed the Northwest Providence Channel and are secured to a slip in NASSAU HARBOUR CLUB AND MARINA! I don't believe it yet....still pinching myself...are we truly, finally in NASSAU?? I couldn't remove the grin from my face as we cruised past Norwegian Sky, a cruiseship we were on in January this year with my dear niece, Karen and her partner, Shawn. This is absolutely magical! Passengers wave at us, just as I usually do when on one of these monsterous beauties. It's now almost 8 p.m., and as per Bahamian law, Jim is the only one permitted off this vessel until we have cleared customs and immigration; our yellow quarantine flag continues to flutter in the breeze, as she has done since we first entered Bahamian waters. Our late dinner is simmering as I await his return from completing the paperwork. I sip a glass of wine, glancing about this tiny little haven I now call home and continue in my amazed state of mind that life has been so bountiful.
Cruiseship, Norwegian Sky, passing the Atlantis Hotel
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