Only a few more days till Christmas.

This morning, Dec 22 there were Christmas stockings hanging in the salon, although it’s only a few days till Christmas. Although we watched ELF on the computer last night, it does not seem real as we are sitting around in our bathing suits, snorkeling and going to the beach. Dec 23, Frosty the Snowman was the movie of choice and a few presents were wrapped, ginger bread cookies were made, and candy canes were revealed from their hiding places. With or without decorated trees, lots of presents, snow and all the commercial hype, it will be Christmas in 2 days! Christmas Eve Solange and Salt and Light arrived at White Cay. Denny and crew had landed a good sized blackfin tuna, and since we have the biggest bbq dinner was on High Five. We made the mistake of leaving the boats rafted together after dinner and at 3am, when the tide turned and a squall came through, the anchorage got too rolly for a raft. Fortunately the moon was full, so light was not a problem, and after a few tense moments the boats were apart and a bit more sleep was to be had before Santa arrived. Christmas day, Santa and his elves had found us and found a way to park the sleigh to deliver some boogie boards for the boys and some other presents. Dvd movies were a big gift on all the boats and before lunch 10 kids were hanging out on our boat watching the new Pirates of the Carribean movie. The adults took this opportunity for some exploring in the dinghys and some snorkeling. Hoffman’s Cay is home to a “Blue Hole.” A short walk from the beach, in the middle of the island the trail comes out onto a bluff overlooking the pool. Less than 100 yards across with 20’ vertical walls the water is over 600ft deep and a brilliant shade of blue. After an hour or so of swimming and jumping off the cliffs into the water it was back to the boats. All the boats brought their food to the beach in the anchorage for Christmas dinner. Ham, pork loin, tandori chicken, rice, bread, and of course the traditional Christmas s’mores, were enjoyed around a campfire. Losloper was the first to head the 7 miles south to Cabbage Cay, followed by Salt and Light, and High Five, and the day after by Solange. Dinner was at “Flo’s Conch Bar” a small family run restaurant. Alone at the top of the dock, surrounded with a midden of conch shells the family serves up a feast of conch fritters, cracked conch, lobster, fish, conch salad, and hamburgers. The beaches were popular spots the next day, the kids were practicing with their Christmas skim boards, everyone enjoyed snorkeling in the shallow water. Bands of coral contained dozens of brightly coloured fish, and the nearby grasses gave up 8 conch Some of which we butchered into our own conch salad. We were given some lobster from another cruiser, bbq’d up some steaks, and had a great dinner, for in the morning it was off to Nassau to pick up Granny……..but that will be another blog entry.

Only a few more days till Christmas.

This morning, Dec 22 there were Christmas stockings hanging in the salon, although it’s only a few days till Christmas. Although we watched ELF on the computer last night, it does not seem real as we are sitting around in our bathing suits, snorkeling and going to the beach. Dec 23, Frosty the Snowman was the movie of choice and a few presents were wrapped, ginger bread cookies were made, and candy canes were revealed from their hiding places. With or without decorated trees, lots of presents, snow and all the commercial hype, it will be Christmas in 2 days! Christmas Eve Solange and Salt and Light arrived at White Cay. Denny and crew had landed a good sized blackfin tuna, and since we have the biggest bbq dinner was on High Five. We made the mistake of leaving the boats rafted together after dinner and at 3am, when the tide turned and a squall came through, the anchorage got too rolly for a raft. Fortunately the moon was full, so light was not a problem, and after a few tense moments the boats were apart and a bit more sleep was to be had before Santa arrived. Christmas day, Santa and his elves had found us and found a way to park the sleigh to deliver some boogie boards for the boys and some other presents. Dvd movies were a big gift on all the boats and before lunch 10 kids were hanging out on our boat watching the new Pirates of the Carribean movie. The adults took this opportunity for some exploring in the dinghys and some snorkeling. Hoffman’s Cay is home to a “Blue Hole.” A short walk from the beach, in the middle of the island the trail comes out onto a bluff overlooking the pool. Less than 100 yards across with 20’ vertical walls the water is over 600ft deep and a brilliant shade of blue. After an hour or so of swimming and jumping off the cliffs into the water it was back to the boats. All the boats brought their food to the beach in the anchorage for Christmas dinner. Ham, pork loin, tandori chicken, rice, bread, and of course the traditional Christmas s’mores, were enjoyed around a campfire. Losloper was the first to head the 7 miles south to Cabbage Cay, followed by Salt and Light, and High Five, and the day after by Solange. Dinner was at “Flo’s Conch Bar” a small family run restaurant. Alone at the top of the dock, surrounded with a midden of conch shells the family serves up a feast of conch fritters, cracked conch, lobster, fish, conch salad, and hamburgers. The beaches were popular spots the next day, the kids were practicing with their Christmas skim boards, everyone enjoyed snorkeling in the shallow water. Bands of coral contained dozens of brightly coloured fish, and the nearby grasses gave up 8 conch Some of which we butchered into our own conch salad. We were given some lobster from another cruiser, bbq’d up some steaks, and had a great dinner, for in the morning it was off to Nassau to pick up Granny……..but that will be another blog entry.

The Bahamas

We left West end and sailed southeast to Port Lucaya, arriving in early afternoon. The wind had clocked around to the north so the swells were blocked by Great Bahama Island and we were able to broad reach in 18 – 20 knots of breeze and virtually flat seas. Passing the industrial harbour of Freeport, we made the narrow, but well marked entrance into Port Lucaya, and the Grand Bahama Yacht Club. The harbour itself is about the same size as False Creek, but is connected to the east with a series of canals that were excavated for various housing developments. The marina’s water taxi took us over to the Port Lucaya Market Place, and Count Base square. Here we found a collection of nice restaurants, and a bunch of tourist stores. After dinner, in a very nice Greek taverna, we ran into a family we had met in West End, and enjoyed a drink aboard Equinox, their new Kady Krogen trawler. The boys were entranced with Ally (their 15yr old daughter) and her 48” plasma screen TV, while Janine and Gary admired the other features of this fine yacht. In 2 or 3 years when their daughter goes off to university they plan to do a long slow circumnavigation. Leaving to catch the last water taxi, it was back to the TVless High Five for the night. The next day we caught a bus into Freeport for some shopping at Kelly’s, and the Ace hardware. The fish that we had hooked on the crossing from Florida had taken our best blue and white “Cedar Plug” so some new fishing lures were in order, and as we were unable to find Janine’s mask and snorkel, Santa showed up and we found her a new one. At 0230, yes 0230 the next morning the alarm went off and High Five left Port Lucaya headed for the Berry Islands. A little after 0300 we were motor sailing towards Great Stirrup Cay 56 mile to the SE. Little Stirrup and Great Stirrup Cay, are used by the cruise ship lines as their “beach resorts” so as we passed we could see the cruise ship anchored, some development on the beaches, and parasailers flying around. Continuing south down New Providence Channel we joined Losloper, an Albertan boat whom we had met in West End, at anchor in behind Market Fish Key. Here is where we saw the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas for the first time. Although we have read countless descriptions of the clarity of the water, none can adequately prepare you. Pulling in the fishing lines as we prepared to enter the anchorage the bottom suddenly came into view some 75ft below. Navigating to the anchorage we must have checked the chart and the depthsounder a hundred times as we could not believe the water was deep enough. After anchoring in 12 ft, we donned our masks and snorkels and jumped in. You could easily see a hundred yards and felt like you were flying instead of swimming. After swimming around and around the boat, and checking the anchor, we took the dinghy ashore, ran on the beach and talked to the crew of Losloper. As the anchorage was a bit rolly, the next morning we headed further south to White Cay, at the south end of Hoffman’s Cay. As we were leaving Gary started to put out the fishing lines and in a few minutes one of our hand lines had hooked a 2 ft Barracuda! Teeth and attitude, along with the possibility that Barracudas carry Ciguatera poison, it was released. Moments later another strike, and an identical fish was pulled up to the boat, and spat the hook at the transom saving us from another battle with the teeth. Within 5 minutes we had another strike this time on the rod, providing us with a 2-3 lb Spanish mackerel, which Janine had for dinner the next night. After sailing for a few hours, and no more fish, we entered the cut between Devil’s Cay and White Cay. Again careful attention to the depth sounder, as our eyes cannot, or will not believe what they are seeing. 25 ft of water looks like 4’ or 5’. White Cay sports a fine sand beach, which we quickly covered in footprints. The area around the anchorage includes at least 10 similar beaches contained on half a dozen cays. Friday night we talked to Salt and Light on the Satellite phone. Early Friday morning Salt and Light, Solange had left Florida and were now anchored north of Bimini! Also San-I-Ti, Meander, and Sucia II had left an hour behind them and were all at the docks in Bimini. It was such good news to hear that everyone had made it across safely. Hopefully we will see them all in a few days.

The Bahamas

We left West end and sailed southeast to Port Lucaya, arriving in early afternoon. The wind had clocked around to the north so the swells were blocked by Great Bahama Island and we were able to broad reach in 18 – 20 knots of breeze and virtually flat seas. Passing the industrial harbour of Freeport, we made the narrow, but well marked entrance into Port Lucaya, and the Grand Bahama Yacht Club. The harbour itself is about the same size as False Creek, but is connected to the east with a series of canals that were excavated for various housing developments. The marina’s water taxi took us over to the Port Lucaya Market Place, and Count Base square. Here we found a collection of nice restaurants, and a bunch of tourist stores. After dinner, in a very nice Greek taverna, we ran into a family we had met in West End, and enjoyed a drink aboard Equinox, their new Kady Krogen trawler. The boys were entranced with Ally (their 15yr old daughter) and her 48” plasma screen TV, while Janine and Gary admired the other features of this fine yacht. In 2 or 3 years when their daughter goes off to university they plan to do a long slow circumnavigation. Leaving to catch the last water taxi, it was back to the TVless High Five for the night. The next day we caught a bus into Freeport for some shopping at Kelly’s, and the Ace hardware. The fish that we had hooked on the crossing from Florida had taken our best blue and white “Cedar Plug” so some new fishing lures were in order, and as we were unable to find Janine’s mask and snorkel, Santa showed up and we found her a new one. At 0230, yes 0230 the next morning the alarm went off and High Five left Port Lucaya headed for the Berry Islands. A little after 0300 we were motor sailing towards Great Stirrup Cay 56 mile to the SE. Little Stirrup and Great Stirrup Cay, are used by the cruise ship lines as their “beach resorts” so as we passed we could see the cruise ship anchored, some development on the beaches, and parasailers flying around. Continuing south down New Providence Channel we joined Losloper, an Albertan boat whom we had met in West End, at anchor in behind Market Fish Key. Here is where we saw the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas for the first time. Although we have read countless descriptions of the clarity of the water, none can adequately prepare you. Pulling in the fishing lines as we prepared to enter the anchorage the bottom suddenly came into view some 75ft below. Navigating to the anchorage we must have checked the chart and the depthsounder a hundred times as we could not believe the water was deep enough. After anchoring in 12 ft, we donned our masks and snorkels and jumped in. You could easily see a hundred yards and felt like you were flying instead of swimming. After swimming around and around the boat, and checking the anchor, we took the dinghy ashore, ran on the beach and talked to the crew of Losloper. As the anchorage was a bit rolly, the next morning we headed further south to White Cay, at the south end of Hoffman’s Cay. As we were leaving Gary started to put out the fishing lines and in a few minutes one of our hand lines had hooked a 2 ft Barracuda! Teeth and attitude, along with the possibility that Barracudas carry Ciguatera poison, it was released. Moments later another strike, and an identical fish was pulled up to the boat, and spat the hook at the transom saving us from another battle with the teeth. Within 5 minutes we had another strike this time on the rod, providing us with a 2-3 lb Spanish mackerel, which Janine had for dinner the next night. After sailing for a few hours, and no more fish, we entered the cut between Devil’s Cay and White Cay. Again careful attention to the depth sounder, as our eyes cannot, or will not believe what they are seeing. 25 ft of water looks like 4’ or 5’. White Cay sports a fine sand beach, which we quickly covered in footprints. The area around the anchorage includes at least 10 similar beaches contained on half a dozen cays. Friday night we talked to Salt and Light on the Satellite phone. Early Friday morning Salt and Light, Solange had left Florida and were now anchored north of Bimini! Also San-I-Ti, Meander, and Sucia II had left an hour behind them and were all at the docks in Bimini. It was such good news to hear that everyone had made it across safely. Hopefully we will see them all in a few days.

Bahamas at last

Dec. 13-14th Thursday at lunchtime we left Lake Worth and headed south on the ICW for what would be our last day in the ditch. As we got close to Fort Lauderdale, the dinner boats appeared. Large, and covered in Xmas lights, they made for some challenging navigation. There are at least a dozen lift bridges, all with different schedules, some on the half hour, some on the quarter hour, and 1 every 20 minutes. All the operators were nice except for one who was asleep and did not answer the radio or open when he should, and another who started to close the bridge as we approached. If Janine had not stopped the boat we would have been severely damaged. Around 11:30 pm and tied to a dock littered with 100’ – 200’ mega yachts, and before sun up (0530am) we were on our way again. We passed one more bridge and transited Port Everglades harbour in the dark, dodging cruise ships (they are really easy to see), and headed out. At 645am, after passing one more inbound cruise ship we were on the open ocean and motor sailing close hauled into 15 knots ESE of breeze and disorganized 4’ swells, with the sun just starting to rise. Our plan was to head south for a couple of hours and then east to Bimini, but by the time we were 2 or 3 mile offshore the Gulf Stream had us in its grasp. Our boat speed was still 7 knots but our speed over the ground was only 3 - 4 knots. This would mean our trip to Bimini would take 14plus hours. Plan B…..At about 0830 we tacked onto starboard and close reached NE toward West End. West End was further away but this put the effects of the Gulf Stream behind us and our speed over ground jumped to 10 – 12 knots. The GPS calculated our arrival in less than 8 hours……..As they say ‘it’s important to have a Plan B’…….. The ride was still bumpy but after a while the seas became more organized, and the ride more comfortable. We had put some fishing lines out earlier in the day as the Gulf Stream is supposed to be where all the fish are, but were still surprised when we got a strike. The fish stripped off 100 meters of line and as the chaos subsided and we slowed the boat, there was no line left on the reel, the leader broke, and the fish was gone. The brief view that we got of a dorsal fin, makes us think it was a billfish of some kind. Arriving at Old Bahama Bay Marina in East End, we tied up. We had made it to the Bahamas!! While Gary cleared customs everyone else gave the boat a quick clean before we treated ourselves to a dinner out. Everyone was ravenous as eating had not been a popular sport during the day. Our first night in the Bahamas was a very quiet one with everyone in bed before 9pm!

Bahamas at last

Dec. 13-14th Thursday at lunchtime we left Lake Worth and headed south on the ICW for what would be our last day in the ditch. As we got close to Fort Lauderdale, the dinner boats appeared. Large, and covered in Xmas lights, they made for some challenging navigation. There are at least a dozen lift bridges, all with different schedules, some on the half hour, some on the quarter hour, and 1 every 20 minutes. All the operators were nice except for one who was asleep and did not answer the radio or open when he should, and another who started to close the bridge as we approached. If Janine had not stopped the boat we would have been severely damaged. Around 11:30 pm and tied to a dock littered with 100’ – 200’ mega yachts, and before sun up (0530am) we were on our way again. We passed one more bridge and transited Port Everglades harbour in the dark, dodging cruise ships (they are really easy to see), and headed out. At 645am, after passing one more inbound cruise ship we were on the open ocean and motor sailing close hauled into 15 knots ESE of breeze and disorganized 4’ swells, with the sun just starting to rise. Our plan was to head south for a couple of hours and then east to Bimini, but by the time we were 2 or 3 mile offshore the Gulf Stream had us in its grasp. Our boat speed was still 7 knots but our speed over the ground was only 3 - 4 knots. This would mean our trip to Bimini would take 14plus hours. Plan B…..At about 0830 we tacked onto starboard and close reached NE toward West End. West End was further away but this put the effects of the Gulf Stream behind us and our speed over ground jumped to 10 – 12 knots. The GPS calculated our arrival in less than 8 hours……..As they say ‘it’s important to have a Plan B’…….. The ride was still bumpy but after a while the seas became more organized, and the ride more comfortable. We had put some fishing lines out earlier in the day as the Gulf Stream is supposed to be where all the fish are, but were still surprised when we got a strike. The fish stripped off 100 meters of line and as the chaos subsided and we slowed the boat, there was no line left on the reel, the leader broke, and the fish was gone. The brief view that we got of a dorsal fin, makes us think it was a billfish of some kind. Arriving at Old Bahama Bay Marina in East End, we tied up. We had made it to the Bahamas!! While Gary cleared customs everyone else gave the boat a quick clean before we treated ourselves to a dinner out. Everyone was ravenous as eating had not been a popular sport during the day. Our first night in the Bahamas was a very quiet one with everyone in bed before 9pm!

Tia the Wonder Dog

December 5, 2007 This was the date of Tia’s last day with us. When we left Vancouver, her prognosis was not good, but the boating life agreed with her. After a breakfast of steak and rice, we went to Cocoa beach. Here after a hot dog for a snack Tia spent several hours playing on the beach with her family. Ice Cream for everyone. Tia had her own cone and got to finish the last of a few others. Later, we all made the trip to the vet, and stayed with her to the end. It was peacefull and painless, she was surrounded by those who loved her. She will be missed.

Tia the Wonder Dog

December 5, 2007 This was the date of Tia’s last day with us. When we left Vancouver, her prognosis was not good, but the boating life agreed with her. After a breakfast of steak and rice, we went to Cocoa beach. Here after a hot dog for a snack Tia spent several hours playing on the beach with her family. Ice Cream for everyone. Tia had her own cone and got to finish the last of a few others. Later, we all made the trip to the vet, and stayed with her to the end. It was peacefull and painless, she was surrounded by those who loved her. She will be missed.

Cape Canaveral and Disney World

Disney Land and the Space center With the stove installed it was time to go to the Kennedy Space center. An all day affair, we saw; the Saturn V complex, Went for a ride in the “Shuttle simulator”, and saw the shuttle sitting on the launch pad awaiting next week’s launch. The tourbuses ran every 15 minites around the base and each showed a short movie about the space programme. Everyone was impressed. After a day of rest it was off to the Happiest Place On Earth. Disney World was a splendor of commercial delight. Home of the $6.00 hot dog, we raced around and around riding the rides and taking in the sights. Dancing with the Stars was filming their season opener so the place was busy. Space Mountian was a particular thrill, Gary remembers riding it with his mother 32 years ago in 1975! It was very difficult to convince the boy’s that Grandma had ridden a roller coaster. The Marina in Titusville has a few Manatee swiming around. They are large slow moving creatures, who don't seem to mind us humans at all.

Cape Canaveral and Disney World

Disney Land and the Space center With the stove installed it was time to go to the Kennedy Space center. An all day affair, we saw; the Saturn V complex, Went for a ride in the “Shuttle simulator”, and saw the shuttle sitting on the launch pad awaiting next week’s launch. The tourbuses ran every 15 minites around the base and each showed a short movie about the space programme. Everyone was impressed. After a day of rest it was off to the Happiest Place On Earth. Disney World was a splendor of commercial delight. Home of the $6.00 hot dog, we raced around and around riding the rides and taking in the sights. Dancing with the Stars was filming their season opener so the place was busy. Space Mountian was a particular thrill, Gary remembers riding it with his mother 32 years ago in 1975! It was very difficult to convince the boy’s that Grandma had ridden a roller coaster. The Marina in Titusville has a few Manatee swiming around. They are large slow moving creatures, who don't seem to mind us humans at all.