Sunday, 30 December 2007
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
The Bahamas
Saturday, 15 December 2007
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!
Saturday, 8 December 2007
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.



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