Wednesday afternoon Blaine arrived – we settled him in and quickly hit the bar for a few drinks and dinner and caught up whilst enjoying a lovely sunset.

Thursday morning I started cleaning down the stainless again – it gets a bit sticky from the masking tape and, inevitably, Richard had managed to get some varnish onto the rail too which needed to be removed.   We had also accumulated some rust areas that needed a bit of hard work – so I was armed with wet and dry very fine sandpaper too along with cleaner and polish.    So that was me for the day.   It was very very hot and there were some awkward places to get to as you can see – with the water side being done from inside the dinghy. (For those of you who are particularly observant, yes, I am wearing my ankle brace – nothing to worry about but feeling a little tender from the constant climbing on and off the dock so decided to give it some support.)

Richard and Blaine were off out to the shops to get the materials they needed to create some boards for Morphie’s port and starboard rails. These are for storing jerry cans for both diesel and petrol for our future journeys further afield.  They returned with their goodies and set to work on the dock.   As you can see they did a pretty good job.

They then unfurled the sails, washed them, dried them, and removed the staysail and the genoa and bagged them.   The main stays on until the last minute as the foil inside the mast from the furler rattles and creates a hell of a noise. But it is ready to go having been washed and dried….

Later in the afternoon we had a thunderstorm come through so we called it a day and headed to the bar.   The live music had been cancelled because of the rain but that didn’t stop us having a good time and we enjoyed chatting with Rachel our barmaid.

Friday morning and I carried on with the stainless….. while Richard and Blaine tackled main engine storage jobs, even checking out the manual every now and again….

before coming outside to service the outboard and the generator on the dock.

This is a great dock for doing all this work!   Was a busy, hot and sweaty day and we all worked hard so treated ourselves to a few drinks before we retired for the night.   Again live music was rained off….   There is definitely a pattern to the weather here in Florida – with sunny mornings, cloudy lunchtimes followed by a few storms moving around in the afternoons.   And when I say hot, I mean hot, like 95 degrees with the humidity pushing it up to feel like 110 degrees!

Saturday morning Richard and Blaine hauled dink for me onto the dock – so I could clean him.

They drained and replaced the engine coolant; drained and replaced the transmission oil; before they then removed the chart plotter from the binnacle. This meant they could access the 12v socket which had come loose and install a new 12v switch for the compass. The compass was originally wired to the bow / stern navigation lights but with no switch it meant when we run on tricolour only – which we added to the top of the mast as part of our cruising refit – we have no compass light.   While this was going on I cleaned the black caulk off the edges for later….

Saturday night we had a steak dinner on board before retiring to the bar for a few well-deserved drinks. And there was live music – but he was awful.   We even prayed for rain to stop him from playing / shouting / talking – sadly our wish was not answered – and he carried on.   Absolutely dreadful – can’t imagine why anyone would want to pay him for this assault on the eardrums – but the locals seemed to like him.   Thankfully he did finally pack up – not before we had moved onto rum, vodka and ice cream to numb the senses – and we had a good time before returning to Morphie for a sleep.

Sunday and I turned dink over and finished cleaning and polishing him.   Richard and Blaine were going to tackle the toilet hoses – this is a smelly and cruddy job, but essential as we had a build-up of calcium and it was time to replace them.  Oh yes, and every time they tackle a job, they have to move things around either in the cockpit or down below – you can guarantee that whatever one of us needs is behind or under the place stuff has been moved to…… The boat is an absolute mess!!!! They went out to purchase new hoses and came back and started looking through all the access hatches.   These are very small and in awkward places – at one stage Richard was pulled out from an access hole by Blaine using his legs…. Not sure he could have got out without assistance LOL. Anyway….they got the hoses separated under the sink…..and yes definitely calcium.

So……they took the toilet apart to access the hose…..and then attached the new one and started pulling….. But they couldn’t shift it…..so they removed the shelf under the sink to get more space….and still couldn’t shift it….. These hoses are so tightly packed it is an impossible job.   So they went out again and Richard purchased an augur and he started drilling through the calcium to break it out.

Then when it was looking clear they cleaned the U-bend and the hose the other side of it…..   To break it down further they put muriatic acid to sit in there for a while.   When the toilet was put back together and we started pumping water through it worked but leaked – problem with the actual head itself this time. Luckily we had a spare in our inventory already so it was replaced.  Then they pumped and it worked – yay!  The hose replacement project will have to be put off for another day.

While all this was going on I had finished dink so started washing down the bow back to the mast – this is where dink will be stored so needs to be washed, waxed and polished to protect the gelcoat.

After a while I felt really rough and took myself off to lie down in the cockpit to recover – I think I had a touch of heatstroke.   Anyway…..although downhearted to be beaten by the toilet….we at least had less calcium and a working toilet.   We decamped to the bar and enjoyed fantastic live music – wow this guy was talented.   Thoroughly good evening.

Monday – and I carried on waxing and polishing – while Blaine and Richard did some quick jobs like removing the accessories from the arch and the blades from the wind generator – before tackling the main task for the day – the water maker.

This sprung a small leak earlier in the season so needs to be fixed.   Well – they got it off the wall – and realised that this small leak was actually coming from the cylinder which is a fixed unit. Not good!

So Richard rang around Spectra mechanics in the area to get advice – and sent a video to them. Then we received the bad news that this was a unit failure – but the good news was that Spectra would probably replace for free due to its age (installed 2012). Richard then got onto Spectra and sent them the video – and they confirmed they would send a replacement for no charge.  Unfortunately they couldn’t do it in the time we have left here so we need to organise this for our return in November – so they reinstalled the unit and we pickled it ready for storage.

By now it was quite late in the afternoon so we all went bobbing in the pool with a couple of beers to cool down….before having dinner on board.

Tuesday we were planning a few more jobs and then to spend the afternoon pontoon bashing – Morphie has a long keel and is not easy to manoeuvre in reverse – and we also have no experience of dealing with the types of marinas they have in this area which are largely multiple pilings with very short and narrow pontoon piers (if any at all)….so Blaine was going to give us some hints and tips.   We were particularly looking forward to this……but, of course, then the heads stopped working with huge back pressure and we are no longer able to flush.   What a nightmare – so after going out and getting a propane fill – as the tanks ran out when I was cooking dinner the night before!!! –

…they tackled the toilet again.

I stayed away from the cussing and the smell and sat down on the dock working on the anchor chain and on the dorades – these were red inside when we picked up Morphie – but had faded to a weak pink over time. There was also rust inside that I needed to deal with….. So that was my job for the day and, after two coats, I was pretty happy with the results!

Oh yes and I cleaned the sink taps with special fine wire wool – and they came up great too….  And the new dodgers we ordered arrived – not fixed on properly at this stage – but will give us more protection from waves that  hit us side on in future….  We really are looking like a cruising boat now!

Meanwhile – back in the heads and under the floor in the forepeak – Blaine and Richard identified where the blockage was and were going to have to replace this hose.   The blockage was beyond the U-bend so they started to try to remove it.   But guess what – it is not possible to remove the Y-valve because of its position – and you cannot get tools into the area.   Why did Island Packet not put an access hatch above this?   Really frustrated and fed up –  they both spent the whole day on this but failed and had to give up – by which time Maria had turned up so we all got cleaned up and, avoiding the torrential rain, we had a nice dinner together.   And of course we had to go to the shore bathrooms during the night as ours was out of action.

Wednesday morning we started off with a nice breakfast – and then Blaine showed me some rope skills in catching pilings. I’m not very good at the rope throwing bit – especially when Richard usually shouts ‘make it count’ every time which makes me worse! – so was pleased that I was able to lasso pilings on the dock quite easily. Will definitely practice and practice now that I know the technique.   Richard enjoyed watching too…..

Then it was time for pontoon bashing – and we got off the slip and went out into the main channel.   Richard turned the boat around – Blaine showed him a few techniques – then he went up and down backwards.   Bit nervy to start but he got it very quickly and we then tied up to the fuel dock – filled up with diesel and then pumped out the holding tank.   Then we went reversing into a number of slips – went really well – well done Richard and thank you Blaine!

When we got back to our dock we lifted dink onto the bow under the hoyt boom. We then said our farewells to Blaine and Maria and chilled for a while before heading out shopping. The most important item was a large electric fan that we could rig up in our cabin as dink had closed off our forward hatch. Back to the marina – admiring the boatyard where Morphie is going to stay from the car park – and went into the on-site marine works company.

They are going to send someone down to look at our heads – perhaps professionals will have specific tools / techniques that will enable them to replace these hoses?   Hope so – we also e-mailed Island Packet to ask for technical assistance.  Wednesday we had a quiet night before turning in early as we were both pretty shattered after a hard week’s work….and the jobs aren’t finished yet!

Thursday morning we were up early – and received a glib reply from Island Packet which made Richard mad! – and went to West Marine to pick up a new light unit which we had ordered. Sadly the part was the wrong one so we’ll need to source that elsewhere.    But we cheered ourselves up by buying some new Columbia clothes; Richard got a new pair of sandals; a new dinghy anchor; and we also ordered two new Spinlock Offshore lifejackets.  Unusually we could have got them slightly cheaper in the UK but the known hassle of getting an agreement to carry them on an airline to the US offset the pain at paying a little more!   When we got back the guy from Whiticar turned up and inspected the heads – he then went away to talk to one of his specialist guys and will get back to us with a quote.

Just after noon Jim and ShaSha turned up to pick us up. We haven’t seen them since Christmas and New Year 2013/14 in Grenada – since then they have swallowed the anchor, sold ShaSha their boat, and purchased a luxury coach and a plot in a RV park near Okeechobee Lake, which isn’t that far from here.   Small world eh?   So we were very excited to see them again – and they looked amazing and very happy!   We had a wonderful day visiting their beautifully landscaped plot – checking out their huge tikki hut and the plans for the new shed – and met Molly their little dog who is such a pretty little thing. And as for the coach – well – it is stunning!   Check out the bedroom to see what I mean.

After the usual afternoon storm passed through we went out and about around to look at the park – including the pool; the library; the gym and much much more.   Pretty nice eh???

Oh yes, and on the way to their place, we popped in to see ShaSha’s mum who has just moved nearby – who loved Richard’s accent – and the OK Corral Gun Club which was a pretty neat place to see….

Lovely countryside around here – flat and green – with a stunning lake which is so vast it looks like the sea – and beef cattle.

After a wonderful afternoon together – catching up and imbibing wine – we went out to Brahma Bull for dinner. This is a diner that served fantastic liver and onions – yum – with Richard going for the prime beef.   We also enjoyed Christmas in July….

Back to the marina – having witnessed a stunning Ockechobee sunset – and we said our farewells. We definitely hope to see them again either before we leave and/or when we return.

Today I’m blogging and doing the laundry at the same time. Richard is sorting out the boat and waiting on the mechanic to turn up to let us know when they can fit us in to fix the heads…. We have lots of jobs to be getting along with but I’m hoping that we can take a couple of days out for fun next week – really fancy going to see Universal Studios and riding all the rides!!!

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday morning we were up bright and early and prepared Morphie for her capping rail to be varnished….   The anchorage is quiet – as in we are the only people in it – but the ICW is busy….   The Inter Coastal Waterway runs all the way down the East Coast from Canada to past Miami and is commonly known as the ‘ditch’.   The water is not brown this morning – and we’re moving 180 degrees with each turn of the tide – but a green colour instead.   And we’ve seen fish behind the boat and a couple of dolphins have gone past….   Pretty serene place when you aren’t rocking and rolling in the constant wake of the fishing boats, the pontoon boats, the wetbikes and the trawlers…   Not that many sail boats around here…

So it’s ropes tied up; stainless cleaned; some stainless removed; some blocks loosened and anchors / snubber secured out of the way…..   Then we taped up above and below the rail…..   Took us pretty much all day – it is blisteringly hot here – and we had had enough by late afternoon.   So we dinked in to Harbortown Marina for happy hour, some good food, and more live entertainment.   This place is growing on us!

Friday morning and it’s our first rub down……   I worked under the rail from dink and Richard started on the bow sprit…. Then I rejoined him on the rail and we met eventually – job done!

Ready for varnish.   So we both got in dink and Richard moved it around the boat while I varnished under the rail. Then we climbed back on board and I relaxed while Richard varnished the top sides.   Phew job done….

So back into Harbortown for dinner.   Tried the dinner menu this time and was actually disappointed – the appetizers and smaller meals are much better.   But had a good time and returned to Morphie for the sun to set and an early night – exhausted and drained by the physical hard work.

Saturday morning and we did it all again…..

Entertained by the large tug boat pushing a barge who ran aground three times and had to be rescued by a smaller tug. Even the professionals run aground in the ICW!

By the time we finished we couldn’t be bothered to go ashore so had a relaxing night on board.   So far so good though….

Sunday morning and we did it all over again…..   This is physical work for both of us and Richard’s knees are complaining!   I even managed to burn my bum on the deck as I shuffled along…

Oh yes and it was madness on the ICW – hundreds of wetbikes were out and although went slowly up to where we are, which is a manatee zone, they then buzzed off at full pelt.   I stopped work for a little while to watch them as rubbing down isn’t easy when you are moving from side to side at the same time!!!

I also enjoyed watching the bastille bridge opening – as this is where we will be going through to Riverside, Morphie’s final destination this year.

Anyway – late afternoon – and we’ve finished! Yay!   We are very happy – although Richard is not keen on his suntan lines LOL – and we went into Harbortown Marina to celebrate.

We were also happy because they had confirmed that they have an alongside floating pontoon slip for us to go into on Monday.   Then we can get on with the other list of jobs….. We had a few beers in celebratory mode and ended up going back to Morphie just before it got dark.

Monday morning – up early with the sun – and we got ready to go into the marina. We knew where the slip was, as we’d already scoped it out, so quickly reinstalled our rub rails and I removed the blue tape from below the rail. The deck tape can wait another day…..   Fenders on, lines ready, and in with go.  We have about 6 inches above low water – and it is supposed to be dredged to 7 feet throughout – but of course we find the shallower parts of the channel but luckily managed not to touch bottom on our way in.   Great manoeuvring by Richard on the helm and we were set.   At low tide we have less than 4 inches below the keel in this slip – but not too worried about this as Morphie is a long keeled boat and she would just sit on the bottom if we did touch.   Doesn’t she look beautiful?!?

I went into the office to pay and was told that it was cheaper to pay for a month than to pay for two weeks – so went for it – we can stay until we want to leave basically. Water is included but electricity is metered rather than the $7 a day fee for a shorter stay. The only downside is that they charged us for 45 feet as that is the size boat that the slip can accommodate – oh well – never mind. Actually overall it worked out pretty reasonable. Oh yes, and we’ve heard from Blaine that he needs some summer work, so we’ve asked him to come join us on Wednesday for five days. Win win on both sides – particularly me as I don’t get to winch Richard up the mast this year LOL!!!

In the afternoon we did the laundry, found the boaters lounge, ordered a hire car and generally got our bearings. Nice little pool too – although sadly rules suggest no bobbing, but we’ll see…. Later on we had a couple of beers and a snack in the marina bar but quickly called it a day.   Very very tired….

Tuesday morning up early and we were picked up by Enterprise and taken to the office to sort out the hire car. Initially we have booked it just for the week…..     We drove through downtime Fort Pierce and were surprised by how poor this area is – a combination of historic buildings and some pretty depressed looking housing and cheap rental apartments.   Numerous lots for sale and buildings abandoned.   Guess this area hasn’t recovered from the global downturn yet.

We went shopping first – to West Marine – Richard’s favourite shop. He was disappointed by this flagship store as it catered more to fisherman than to boating – but we joined their system anyway so that we get a discount and got a few bits and bobs. Basically I think we will order online and pick up from there…..   Then we went on to Publix the large supermarket.   Provisioned up for Blaine’s visit and returned to Morphie where we stowed it all. Then we had Edouard on board from the local canvas shop – he came to quote us for a pair of dodgers.

Having stowed all our goodies we headed off again – this time our destination was Riverside Marina which is where we have booked Morphie to stay. Well – this place is a nightmare. It is filthy, dusty, rubbish strewn, boats falling apart, little sign of any real security other than CCTV camera signs and haphazard storage areas to say the least.   Wires were everywhere too… We spoke to one guy working on his boat – funnily enough an Island Packet – and he said that it was good and cheap but you have to watch out for your stuff as it gets ‘borrowed’ constantly.   This is starting to feel like a nightmare….. We went into the office – introduced ourselves to Sue – and picked up our parcel which held the connectors for our cradle system from Brownell that had been delivered directly here.   We didn’t tell her what we thought of the place as we are not sure we’ll be able to find somewhere else that will accommodate us now and we may be stuck – but both of us were pretty depressed by the thought of leaving Morphie there.

When we got back Richard removed all the tape from the deck while I went to see the office here in Harbortown Marina to see whether they could accommodate us in their boatyard – it is a full service yard, so no work can be done by us but we can do most of it from the dock – and of course it is not inexpensive.  But it is clean – the boats are well spread – and there is good security.   The first response was yes we have space but probably not OK to use our connector system…..   Will let us know….. Damn…

We chatted over dinner and had an early night. Not hopeful at all and I was quite teary by now.   Neither of us slept much at all – not helped by the constant freight train traffic blaring their horns as they cross over the highway behind us – so we spent the early hours researching other boat yards online. Feels very familiar….and frustrating…..and depressing…..   Anyway, I found another yard in Stuart, Florida – about 20 miles south of us – and fired an online request off to them explaining about the connector system.

Eventually we nodded off – but ended up getting up early feeling very tired and puffy eyed. So this morning – Wednesday – and we checked our e-mails first.   The boatyard in Stuart had responded – happy to accommodate the connector system – but not sure if they have space to match our dates. Someone else will get in touch about that….. Fingers crossed.   Feeling much more hopeful we headed out – this time to Home Depot to buy Richard some more 110v power tools and other bits and bobs…..and then to West Marine for more bits and bobs….and then Publix for more beer…..and then back to Morphie. Oh yes, and we went into a Centrestate Bank to get some drinking vouchers – we have banked with them since 2008 but have never set foot in one of their branches before! Very swish – now we know where our bank charges are going LOL!

Later on Edouard came on board to make his pattern – we paid 50% of the quote – and hope to get the dodgers done by Monday.

We’ve just cleaned the boat down below and cleared room for Blaine – he arrives this evening – and I’ve just checked emails again and wow Harbortown will accommodate us and our cradle!!!  Obviously going to cost us – but who cares – there comes a point when you just have to throw money at a problem!!!   Soooo relieved…..   Will visit the office tomorrow morning to sort out logistics of it all – including finding out the rules and organising some haul out tasks like thru-hulls, prop cleaned, hull waxed, fresh water through the engine etc etc etc…..   Not going to think about the bills – just that Morphie will be safe and sound and in a better place!  Luckily Richard already has a job offer on the table for a few months when we get back again this year to help reduce the pain a bit.

Blogging in the cockpit now – waiting for Blaine to arrive….and the weather is closing in a bit.   Guess we might have rain later.   A social evening beckons before the huge boat jobs lists starts in earnest tomorrow – will be back with part 2 soon!

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday we had a quiet night in Crab Cay enjoying the sheltered anchorage.   We sat on the coach roof and watched the sun go down;   marvelled at the spectacle of the huge orange moon; and enjoyed the sight of Jupiter and Venus so close together in the sky…. Love this life!

Friday morning we decided to move on.   Crab Cay was a great anchorage – flat calm – but not much else to offer apart from scrubland and rocks.   So we motored the seven miles (no wind again) to Allens Pensacola – was a lovely bright start to the day.

We had just tucked into the entrance to this anchorage and were sitting in the cockpit and I realised that the fridge was playing up again……and drawing more power than needed.  So Richard quickly got out his refrigeration manifold set and added a bit more gas – which seems to have solved the problem – fingers crossed!  My hero…..

Later on Chris and Amanda sailed into the anchorage on their boat Empathy.  We went exploring by dink for a while before meeting up with them on the beach.   We all went in the water – and saw a few critters, including a sunfish, which was the first time we’d seen one of these whilst snorkelling.  Richard also got a good shot of Empathy at anchor from the water. Later on we had Chris and Amanda over for sundowners and had a great time catching up with the news.

Saturday morning and we picked them up by dink and we went out through the cut to explore the Atlantic side of the island and go snorkelling. It was very weedy at the beach but some good fish and coral to be found further out.

We headed back through the cut and visited another part of the shoreline.   Well – this was not my favourite place!   I could see things pulsing / throbbing on the bottom but wasn’t sure what they were – and Richard came by to see and, as we were so shallow, he disturbed a few of them.   Oh no – they are jelly fish.    And they were everywhere….. Have never seen them sitting on the bottom like that before…..   Yuck!!!   I have to say I didn’t hang around in the water much after that – although did have a face off with a couple of baby barracuda which was fun.

Watching the clouds coming over we decided to head back – and dropped Chris and Amanda off – just in time for the heavens to open and another thunderstorm to move through……   Sooooo hot and humid….   We had a lazy afternoon and evening on board before having an early night.

Sunday morning and we left the anchorage bound for Great Sail Cay.   Chris and Amanda had left two hours ahead of us – and the plan was to catch them up!  Well … no chance … the wind was too light for Morphie and although we managed to keep the sails full and hit over 6 knots in the occasional gust at other times we were struggling in the 3-4 knot range.   But we were determined to sail all the way as it had been a while since we’d had any wind at all – and managed the 32 miles in just under seven hours…. Slow but fun – although the constant power boat traffic was a bit of a menace at times.

As we rounded the top of Great Sail Cay the colour of the water was stunning……

Anchor down and we headed ashore – this time we were going bobbing and had supplies with us.   All four of us were in the water and then we were suddenly surrounded by tiny bait fish….and then the sharks came by. Well – they were pretty big sharks – and so we had to keep an eye out for them.   They were very actively hunting the fish and even beached themselves a few times – a great spectacle and kept us amused for sure.

Having had a fun few hours we said our farewells to Chris and Amanda and headed back to Morphie for a quiet night on board.   They are heading off to Florida too but are staging at West End so that they can do the crossing in daylight…… Crossing the Gulf Stream both ways on a small trailer sailor is quite an achievement and huge kudos to them.

Later on during the evening we sat out on the coach roof for a while – this time we were watching some critters that glow in the dark passing by in the water…… Isn’t nature wonderful?

Monday morning and the wind had picked up – yay! – so we moved further up the coast of Great Sail Cay to get a bit more protection from the chop. We are the only boat here now…..

We have been ashore and explored by dink…..

Back on board we got on with passage planning to Florida – trying to ensure we hit the tide leaving the Bahama banks and the tide going in at the Fort Pierce inlet to give us the best conditions.  The rest of the day was spent doing pre-passage engine checks and Richard cleaned Morphie’s water line while I blogged off-line.

Tuesday morning and we were up early getting ready to go to sea – Richard was doing more maintenance checks and hit a problem with the holding tank Y-valve and ended up delving into a nasty blocked hose.  He fixed it – but definitely needs replacing – so something else for the list.  The list of things to do – things to buy – is starting to outnumber the days we have left!!!  Finally at 3.30 pm – only 30 minutes after we had planned – we picked up anchor and left our last Bahamian anchorage for this season.   Bye….it was fun!

Of course the wind has died again and the forecast 10 knots turned into 0-2 knots…. so we had to motor.  It was like a millpond out on the banks with gentle ripples on the water broken only by the occasional leap of the flying fish getting out of the way.

We played some tunes – loudly – and sang along…..praying for wind….   This is our last long passage of the season – please Sir we want to sail!!!!!   But the wind gods decided not to play – but at least the thunderstorms which were circling us decided to leave us alone.

After an early dinner together we moved into our three hour shift patterns and the storms kept on coming through – and I’m alone in the cockpit when suddenly I saw a huge loggerhead turtle surface for air.   Well my excited ‘radical dude’ greeting to the turtle obviously woke Richard up because he came up into the cockpit all discombobulated wondering why the boat was moving LOL.   The sun went down and we continued motoring…..

No boat traffic either – all a bit weird – feel like we are the only people left in the world right now!   We exited the banks around 1am – with the falling tide – and moved into the deep water.   Still with no wind.   But at least there are ships…. six of them to be precise with only one getting close – and the radio woke me – when Richard and the captain agreed that we would pass behind his stern.

We made some southing to compensate for the anticipated escalator ride north that is the Gulf Stream and carried on….   Richard was on watch to enjoy the spectacular sunrise at sea heralding the start of a new Wednesday.

Even the Gulf Stream wasn’t in the mood running at only 2 knots and didn’t even carry us as far as our rhumb line – so once we were out of the stream we corrected our heading and enjoyed the ride.   Eventually we saw the buildings on the coastline of Florida – we’ve made it. We’ve sailed (er….motored) to Florida. Woo hoo!!!

Arriving at the Fort Pierce inlet, in time for the ingoing tide as planned, we picked our way through the confusing ICW markers (including one red marking shallow water on the wrong side of the channel) and eventually anchored in skinny water off Harbortown Marina. The passage was 118 miles in total.

But, oh dear, the water here is nasty!!!   Muddy and brown…. Not sure what we were expecting but this wasn’t it!  Oh well….. never mind.

We telephoned the US authorities and gave over our information – all good – got a ‘locator reference number’ and told to report to customs at St Lucie County Airport.   Got dink down, went into the marina, ordered a taxi – and waited for a long time in the heat of the day. Finally the cab turned up and the guy didn’t know where the customs office was – eventually he got some information from his controller and we found the right place.   In and out in minutes – very easy process – hurrah!   Back to the marina, we went into the bar to have a late lunch and a few celebratory beers, enjoyed the views and the start of the entertainment.

Oh yes….and the pelicans are back. Certainly didn’t see any in the Bahamas…. Check them out in front of Morphie at anchor. Back on board, safe and sound, and we had a very early night – going to bed even before the sun went down.

The plan is to stay here on anchor for a while to top up our varnish again….   It doesn’t seem that long ago that we did it, but actually, it was January so it is due…. Yes – an endless task – just like painting the Forth Bridge!   After that we’re thinking we may go into the marina if they can accommodate us – so that we can start on the huge list of boat jobs, which are always easier to do on a dock with power for tools and unlimited water. Another option is to move further up the coast to a better anchoring spot and work from there.   Decisions, decisions, decisions…..

We need to use the time in Florida wisely where we have access to marine stores and services.   Although not sure of our routing yet we are planning to cruise to Panama next season; and if we go through the canal the following year into the Pacific, then we need to have on board a huge array of spare parts and tools.  That’s without the periphery things like new lifejackets, scuba tanks, jerry jugs etc….. And other checks like the rigging…..and the sails…..and the navigation / communications gear….and on the list goes…..   Oh yes, some new summer clothes and swimsuits would be good too, as each year I get home to find the shops full of autumn wear LOL.

So a car is necessary – and somewhere to stay when Morphie is hauled while we do the final jobs on the hard – and then we need to make transport arrangements to Tampa to pick up another car from the airport to visit with friends over on the West Coast before flying Tampa to Toronto…   Toronto???  Yes, seriously!  We are going to visit some good friends in Canada on the way home to London. All very exciting – but just writing the list makes me feel tired!!!

Bye for now

Jan

Saturday afternoon, as planned, we went over to the Beer Festival. Well……there were about six cruisers there along with a couple of locals.   We chatted with a couple who have an Island Packet catamaran – nice couple.

We had a few beers and some BBQ food – but then I needed the loo and there was no facilities.   So we wandered the town – everything was closed – so ended up back on Morphie.  We watched from the cockpit to see if it got busier but we gave up and had an early night…. Very disappointing for the organisers – there must have been a ton of food wasted too.

Sunday morning and we picked up our anchor and headed into the White Sound anchorage.   We had spoken with the people at Bluff House Marina and they were happy for us to use their laundry – so once we had got through the narrow channel and safely anchored – we headed in with our washing.   Well it seems like everyone else had the same idea as we ended up in a queue for the driers.   Never mind…. might as well enjoy ourselves…..  So we caught up on the internet, had a fantastic lunch, and eventually headed back to Morphie later in the afternoon.    It was nice to be able to see her from where we were sitting too……   Thunderstorms had been moving around us all day – and the rain came down again later – so that was it for the day.

Monday morning and we headed out to explore. We had wanted to get a golf buggy but, surprisingly, they were fully booked. So we headed off for a hike – through the Green Turtle Yacht Club – and up over the hill towards the Atlantic beaches. Well…we must have made a wrong turn…and never actually found a beach. By this time Richard is calling for ‘water….water….water….’ so I knew he had had enough LOL.

So back to the Green Turtle Yacht Club – watched more weather moving through – and back on board.

Later on that evening we headed into Bluff House Marina for happy hour and had a great time with some other visiting cruisers before heading back for the most spectacular sunset after such a stormy day.

Tuesday morning and we had more rain, more storms moving through, but waited a while until the worst had cleared. The sun didn’t really come out properly but we decided to head over the hill to the Bluff House’s own private beach and beach bar called the Tranquil Turtle. As we were walking up the hill we got a lift by a member of staff – which we were grateful for – and settled into a nice afternoon bobbing and even getting romantic with pledging our love to each other by the palm tree…. Ahhh bless…..

Later on we went into Bluff House’s Ballyhoo Bar and Grill for dinner. We knew they were having surf and turf night with live music.  We were very excited about the food as we had had such an amazing lunch there before. Waiting for our order to be taken we were aware of a commotion on the dock – a woman had fallen off a boat and broken / dislocated her elbow – ouch….   They had to get medics over for her and then the ferry to transport her to Marsh Harbour where the nearest proper medical facility is…   Not a great start to her holiday, that’s for sure!

By now we had enjoyed a bit of wine and the food turned up – and we were very disappointed.

No starters available, no bread, and pretty average food.   The steak was rough and the mahi mahi was average….. Never mind – at least we enjoyed the musical entertainment in between a few power cuts!

We had a great night actually and left quite well hydrated if not a little poorer….

Wednesday morning we awoke to rain – so had a lay in – and then got ourselves moving. We wanted to go shopping in town for some fresh produce as we are planning on leaving on Thursday and this is our last chance before we get to Florida. As we were leaving Morphie the woman on the trawler next to us said that she thought we had dragged as we were closer to her than before…. Well, we have an anchor alarm, so we knew for fact that wasn’t true just a change in the wind meant that we appeared closer. But they were there first and she was obviously concerned about it all – bitch wings were very evident – so we picked up our anchor.

We then decided to go back through the channel and re-anchored out in Settlement Harbour.   We headed ashore – Richard took me out for lunch – and then back to Morphie for a quiet night on board.  We enjoyed the antics in the anchorage as boat after boat arrived – on Friday it is the start of Regatta Time in the Abacos – which starts with a very large party so boats are coming in thick and fast. We would have loved to have stayed for this – but time is ticking – and we want to do a lot of shopping for boat parts in the US when we get there, along with putting Morphie to bed properly, so have decided to leave before it starts.   Will power or what!!!   A beach party with free booze, burgers and hot dogs for 1500 people and we’re leaving…..   Who would have thought it LOL????

This morning – Thursday – we were up early and left as more and more boats arrived.

We were going straight to Crab Cay for some exploration but decided to stop off in Spanish Cay first.   The storms continue to rattle alongside us – wish they would give us a break!

At the marina they have a customs guy so we decided to enquire about checking out – everyone tells us that they don’t have to check out of the Bahamas, but we had been told we had to.  Now whether that is because we are British not American we’re not sure – but thought it was worth clarifying – as to check out will add some time to our trip…..   Well – the bottom line was – they don’t care!   Spanish Cay Marina’s bar was very inviting – but as a private island and not guests in the marina – we knew that we shouldn’t be there….. So we left…..and spotted two huge sharks under dink waiting for us!   Yikes….   Was nice to see lots of birds around too…..

Back on board we picked up anchor and carried on to Crab Cay – and dropped our hook by 5.00 pm. This isn’t what we thought it would be like at all…… Bit disappointed but hope that a sunny morning might make it look a bit more attractive.

Tomorrow we are off to Allens Pensacola – another uninhabited place – and then continue on our passage towards Florida.   We are amazed we can pick up a signal here in Crab Cay from a BTC tower on Little Abaco so making the most of it.   But we might not get another one…..so don’t worry….we’ll be in touch when we can.

Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday morning we picked up our anchor to sail from Great Guana Cay to Treasure Cay Harbour which is on Great Abaco Island.

This is only a 9 mile run over the shallow waters of the Sea of Abaco and – hurrah – we have wind!!!   Actually we have quite strong wind….   Fantastic we are sailing again…….

Changing direction towards our destination we are now running downwind so furled away the main and continued under genoa alone.

As we were nearing Treasure Cay we listened to a securité message on the VHF – a tanker was going in to the fuel dock – so we were warned to stay away from the channel.   No worries….. not going to mess with him.   We slowed down until we heard that he was secure and made our way through the narrow channel into the anchorage.

We picked up the mooring ball closest to the marina – no point anchoring here as you have to pay anyway – and enjoyed the views.   The buildings with their own docks remind us a bit of Jolly Harbour in Antigua.   We went ashore to check in and went off exploring to find the bank and the grocery store.   Found both – although the bank was closed – and got a few bits and bobs in the supermarket.  Walking around the complex we were surprised to see that, close up, the hotel buildings were actually in need of some tender loving care……

The main reason we had come ashore was to get wifi so that we can skype and finalise the Florida marina. The wifi signal was rubbish – we wondered if they were streaming the music – and the phone calls had to be aborted as they kept breaking up.   Disappointed…..but tomorrow is another day.   We went back to Morphie for our swimsuits and returned to the Tipsy Seagull where we had a bobbing afternoon in the pool – used their showers so lots of hot water – and returned to Morphie later with a chicken takeaway (think greasy KFC bucket) and enjoyed the sunset.

Wednesday morning – up early – and went to the bank to top up on drinking vouchers. Returned to the bar for wifi – and as it hadn’t opened yet there was no music – and the signal was strong enough to make the calls.   Finally I got through to the marina – they checked out our email – and replied almost immediately. Not sure why they had ignored our previous emails but, hey who cares, at last we have a confirmed reservation and we can go forward.   Feel quite relieved…..

I then contacted the company who makes the cradle connectors and he was going to liaise with the marina to work out our order.   Then I shot an email to our insurance company to confirm our layout arrangements and that we are going to be ‘Named Storm’ compliant with our connector system.   Whisker pole / boom vang emails flying from Richard too – got a quote for the components which is fine – just want to get a quote and details of where we can get it all fitted as this will decide our entry point to the US. We think it will be Riviera Beach just north of West Palm – and when they can fit us in will give us a schedule to get moving.

Wednesday afternoon – having had a successful morning – we went bobbing in the pool again, in between rain showers. But this time we took our own beer as we had noticed others doing that – it saves queuing at the bar in wet swimmers and it also means we don’t spend all those new drinking vouchers straight away LOL.

Thursday morning we were up early and headed out of the narrow channel – today we are going 18 miles to Green Turtle Cay.   There wasn’t any wind – again – so we decided to make water while we motored along.   Then we did get some wind so we increased our speed by getting the sails out……. and then we dropped the sails and motored again as the wind died.

We crossed the banks into Whale Cay Passage – which is out into the Atlantic – and Richard tried his hand at fishing. Sadly nothing was biting today, not even barracudas.   We came back inside the Sea of Abaco through the Whale Cay Channel and started motoring towards Green Turtle Cay.   There was a storm brewing behind us – and was giving us some serious wind although no rain – and the skies were ominously grey.   We thought we were going to get slammed at any minute, especially when the thunder and lightning started, so we pulled into No Name Cay and got anchored quickly with lots of chain out…..

We had some lunch and sat out the rain as the storm passed through.   Then the sun came out and we went ashore – No Name Cay is actually known as Piggyville. More swimming pigs…..   But these ones stayed firmly on the beach and in the scrub land when we approached. They are not as friendly as those we had met previously and the large one was a nasty piece of work – so we were a bit cautious about approaching them, and threw the food down for them to fight over rather than feeding them.

We enjoyed the beach and cooled off in the sea for a while before returning to Morphie.

At around 2pm we had our anchor up for the final couple of miles to Green Turtle Cay. We dropped our anchor in Settlement Harbour and enjoyed the view of New Plymouth ashore.

We got ourselves cleaned up and wandered around this charming settlement enjoying the old houses, the Anglican Church, the old jail and we found Miss Emily’s which is where the Goombay Smash – the Bahamian Rum Punch – originated from.

Wandering around we found the Memorial Sculpture Garden which is quite spectacular.   It commemorates the difficult times those loyal to the British crown had after the American civil war – which eventually forced them to flee and settle in the Bahamas.   At the time they were being persecuted for their difference of opinion and, the slaves that had escaped and were living free under the British, were also in fear of being reclaimed by their original owners.   So they moved and settled here too.   The bronze sculptures are quite something to see and the surnames of the original settlers still exist in many other Bahamian settlements that we have visited.

Not sure that its history was appreciated by everybody though as I heard one mother – who was walking by – tell her children that this was a memorial to those people who didn’t want to be American so wasn’t worth visiting.   The kids couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to be American. Sad or what?!?   I’ll quickly mention, at this point, that we have met many educated and well-informed Americans on our travels and know that they would appreciate the significance of this place just as much as we did.

We eventually followed the signs to Sundowners which is a bar on the water overlooking the anchorage – and had a few beers.

We met Chris and Amanda who have sailed over here on a small trailer sailor which they towed from their home in Missouri and launched in Florida. One of the reasons why they are on this extended trip is to renew their wedding vows in Hope Town for their 10^th wedding anniversary – nice!  We had a great time with them before returning to Morphie just before dark.

Friday morning we went to explore the anchorage in White Sound – which is where two resorts are located. We had a few sodas in the Bluff House and managed to pick up a good wifi signal – and I had received a quote for the connector system, so I rang them up and placed the order. They should arrive at the boatyard in about a week so will be waiting for us when we get there.   Job done!

Richard, however, was disappointed that he hadn’t received another email about the whisker pole so skyped them…. Apparently they can supply the 140 component parts immediately but can’t fix a date for us to have it fitted as they are three months behind schedule. Plus the cost is $95 an hour and it could take up to 40 hours to do the work. What?!? That’s ridiculous…..the pole doesn’t cost as much as that…..and we thought it would be a (long) day’s work tops. Richard asked the guy to put it all to us in an email including schedules / costings etc – and we’ll take it from there…..     Not sure we fancy drilling into our mast to fit the track ourselves especially with all those wires in there.   We might be able to find an alternative supplier in the US – and maybe we can schedule it for after our return in November???   Very disappointed.    The upside to this, though, is that we no longer have to enter the US at West Palm and can go straight to Fort Pierce instead – which leaves us with a better passage across the Gulf Stream when allowing for the push north of the current…..

Whilst we were in Bluff House a large thunderstorm went through – and we were concerned about Morphie – but the wind didn’t really pick up much. Bluff House is a nice resort which has modern rooms overlooking their own private beach on the other side of the island – with a beach bar – but today wasn’t that sort of day!

We sat out the rain and, when it had cleared, we made our way across the sound to check out the Green Turtle Club, another resort.

This place had more of a rustic feel to it – and Richard preferred the bar and there was a nice dining room – but wasn’t impressed by the service particularly. Oh well…who cares?     The rain eased again so we headed back for the long dinghy ride to Morphie – and the heavens opened again and we got soaked!   The new propeller is amazing – we go much faster than we used to LOL.

We relaxed on board for a few hours while the weather moved through and, about 4pm, we headed out to explore again.   We went off in dink to have a look at Black Sound – another protected anchorage and one we will move into if the weather deteriorates – and enjoyed the sights.

Then we went ashore to Pineapples where we admired the views out to the anchorage, the pool was quite inviting, and had a few beers and an appetizer.

Moving across to New Plymouth we headed back to Sundowners and bumped into Chris and Amanda again – had another nice time and got back to Morphie just before it got dark.

This morning – Saturday – and it is raining again.   Hoping that the rain will help the humidity too – as it is still incredibly hot and sticky. So I’m blogging while Richard is having a lie in – and this afternoon we are heading over to New Plymouth as there is a Beer Festival on, allegedly, although no sign of activity yet. Should be fun!

Bye for now

Jan

Wednesday afternoon we picked up anchor and moved further along the coast of Man-O-War Cay.   We admired the luxury houses on the shoreline and loved the colour of the sea – sadly not sailing though as there was no wind.

We arrived at Corn Bay and dropped our anchor into a sand and grass bottom. We then went snorkelling and swam all the way across to the rocky shoreline. This place was teeming with fish – and some large specimens too.   We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We were in the water for quite a white but we did keep a check on Morphie all alone out there in the anchorage.

Back on board, we relaxed and enjoyed the spectacular sunset before having an early night.

Thursday morning we picked up and motored across – still no wind – to the bottom of Great Guana Cay.

We arrived at Crawl Bight and went to anchor in a patch of sand that we had found…..   But as the chain started to play out I spotted what looked like metal on the bottom – so we picked the anchor up quickly and moved away.    Finally we had our anchor down and admired the views of the huge luxury house opposite.

We then decided to go snorkelling – but first we wanted to check out the sandy patch. The first thing we saw when we got in the water was that we were anchored in front of a power cable – another one not on the charts!!!   Phew glad we missed that…… When we got to the sandy bit we were shocked to find that the bottom was strewn with old car chassis……and various other metal bits and bobs.   And it looked like the cars had killed the grass around them too which was why we could spot the sand….

Moving on we went to swim across to the rocky ledge – hoping for a repeat of the previous day’s experience.     We were then hassled by a seriously unhappy barracuda.   He was about four foot long and kept darting at us.   When they do that they move so fast you can’t actually see them – quite a scary experience.   Usually they come and have a look and then get bored – but this one was persistent. He followed us around continuously and we decided not to push our luck and returned to Morphie – and he followed us closely all the way.

Richard decided to teach him a lesson so we bundled into dink and went fishing….. On our fifth pass around Morphie I told Richard to give it a break – we were just wasting petrol.   One more turn he says and as we make it the line runs out….   Gotcha!!!    He was a lot madder by now and jumped and jumped like a loony. Richard was laughing – and welcomed him to our world!!!!   We got him in dink, managed to get the hook out although he did get a bit bloodied, took his photo, and returned him to the water – that’ll teach him to ruin our snorkelling LOL….

On board having cleaned ourselves up we had a couple of beers and speculated that maybe the house owner doesn’t like people anchoring off and that he had perhaps dumped the cars there to deter boaters…. We’ll never know.   After another great sunset we had an early night.

Friday morning we motored again – checking out more luxury houses – into Settlement Harbour, Great Guana Cay, and picked up a mooring ball in this shallow harbour opposite Orchid Bay Marina.

We hadn’t visited there before so we took dink in for a look – and was pleasantly surprised by the bar, restaurant and pool area.   We decided to have some lunch while we were there and Richard said that he had the best plaintains he’d ever eaten!!!

After lunch we decided to go bobbing at Grabbers – so packed a bag with our swimmers and wandered through the settlement, enjoying the views of the harbour as we went.

We reacquainted ourselves with Wilson and then Richard went to get changed – to realise that he’d left his trunks behind!   Oh dear…. Never mind….. So he left me there admiring the views while he went back to get them.

When he got back we bobbed for a few hours…..

On the way back to Morphie we stopped at Kids Cove – a local bar – which was the first time we had seen it open and busy.  And the road was littered with parked golf buggies too – the main mode of transport on this island.   We enjoyed chatting with some people and admiring the unusual bar art before heading home.

Was a busy fun day!!!   We had seen storm clouds and rain on the horizon but thankfully nothing came our way – although we were treated to a lightning show during the evening.

Saturday morning and we were up early – we need to get a few things from the grocery store.   We wandered through the settlement, admiring the lovely old wooden houses nestling around the main road, and then came across the store. Was surprised how large it was – and it was well stocked too – so we managed to get everything we needed before returning to unload.

Sitting in the cockpit – absolutely sweltering in the heat – and a large motorboat came in.   The girl on the front didn’t have a boat hook – just a fishing gaff. And, of course, she couldn’t pick up the ball.   After a few more attempts they picked it up from the stern and she walked it forward – but managed to drop the rope in the process.   And while all this is going on they have got uncomfortably close to our bow.   Anyway they started to pick it up again from the stern and Richard went over to help them.   He could hand it to the girl on the front and make life easier.   They are happy to get assistance but in the meantime they have propped the ball…..   So the guy has to jump in and he cuts it all away – taking the mooring ball onboard.   They then decide to take another one behind us and Richard passes it up to them and, finally, they are settled and secure.

Richard tells them to contact Dive Guana – the owners of the ball to let them know what has happened – and they said they would. But then they take their seadoo – and the mooring ball – ashore.   They were gone for a few hours and came back without the ball or a bottle of bubbly to say thank you.  So we assume they dumped the ball ashore!

Later on we went to the marina to go bobbing in their pool and ran into a family that we had met previously in Marsh Harbour.

Had a great time and returned to Morphie for the evening. Richard wanted to go ashore again – and we were very tempted by the special of $10 ribs at the marina – but decided not to as I’d already defrosted steaks for our dinner…..

Sunday morning and it is party day at Nippers….   The boats started arriving, the ferries were constantly dropping people off and the dock was getting full.

We went ashore and managed to get tied up and wandered across the island…. spotting the new sports bar on the main road which had just been built but not opened yet.

The bar at Nippers was jumping; the beach was busy; the pool was rammed; the pig roast looked great; the sky was blue; and the sun was out…..

We enjoyed people watching and were sat in the shade singing along to the music.   Interesting that they were playing 60s/70s tunes which, I guess, catered to the older generation…. There were a few golden oldies about – including us LOL!  Oh yes and we were constantly being buzzed by a drone armed with a GoPro camera – the noise of its rotors was quite annoying – and I have to admit that we did laugh when it hit a post and ended up in the pool!!!   Ooops…..

Later on we went into the pool ourselves – which was hotter than a bath – and were joined by the family from the day before…..   By now some local very scantily clad girls had joined in the fun and judging by their antics with a few of the old, fat, unattractive male tourists and the obvious taking of credit card information by their male minder, we thought that they could well be prostitutes…..   Oh well……

After the pool we headed to the beach to cool off and went bobbing with the family.  As the day went on, a lot of the day trippers returned to their hotels….and the beach returned to its normal state.

Had a great time….. Was a real party atmosphere and everyone seemed to be getting along ….   We eventually headed back to Morphie quite well hydrated LOL.

This morning – Monday – we moved along the coast of Great Guana Cay and have anchored off a beautiful beach at Baker’s Bay.   This area is being developed – a marina is already in place – and very large homes are being built along the water line…..   Very nice!!!

Planning a relaxing day after the excesses of the day before and it is really nice to be back on anchor….

Oh yes…update on Florida…..there isn’t one!   Nothing from the boat yard – very frustrating….   We are researching other places to leave Morphie just in case and, if necessary, we’ll have to cross the Gulf Stream onto the east coast of Florida, park Morphie in a marina, hire a car and drive around until we are sorted.   Hope it doesn’t come to that……sigh……

Bye for now

Jan

Friday afternoon we went ashore to Marsh Harbour Marina with fingers crossed that our parcel had arrived – and it was waiting for us.  Yay!   We quickly ordered lunch before the kitchen closed and Richard set to replacing the prop – and it fitted. Phew….   Quick spin up and down the marina and it works too – great….   What a relief!

Over lunch we got chatting to this older couple – mid 70s we reckoned – the guy was going off on a yacht charter in the morning and his other half was going to stay in an apartment and help out the local school’s library.   Interesting couple and we assumed they had been married for years…… It turns out they met six months ago via the internet!   Never too late eh??!!!???    After they left we enjoyed a few hours bobbing in the pool before saying our farewells to the Jib Room and staff – they have been great to us while we have been here and have helped us out a lot.

As we made our way back out to the anchorage Richard was a very happy dinghy captain as we left a wake behind us!   Back on Morphie we had a quiet night and enjoyed our last Marsh Harbour sunset.

Saturday morning we were up early and sorted ourselves out before heading over to Hope Town. Was nice to be back on the move again. By the time we arrived we were at slack low water – and going through the channel would be a little skinny – so we anchored off outside behind the lighthouse and had lunch.

An hour later we made our way in through the channel with about 18 inches beneath our keel…..

Picked up our mooring – there isn’t room in here to anchor – and settled in and admired the views.

Later on we went ashore to Cap’n Jacks for a bite to eat and caught up on the internet whilst enjoying the view of the anchorage.

Afterwards we went over to the yacht club which was pretty busy with loads of families and kids running around.  It certainly seemed odd to see people eating in their swimming costumes next to people who were clearly dressed for dinner….  We had a couple of beers – but nothing going on – so decided to call it a night. Back in the dinghy – admiring Morphie in front of the lighthouse – we heard live music so decided to check it out.

We realised it was coming from the Harbours Edge – so we tied up to their dock and went in.   The place was packed, the music was good, and we enjoyed watching the dancing…..   It ended up a late night after all.

Sunday morning and we did a few boat jobs before heading ashore – today’s destination was the beach at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge.   Last time we visited it was raining and it was amazing to see the difference with the sun out – particularly at low tide with the reef exposed.   Beautiful place… We got a bucket of beers and settled down to some afternoon bobbing – thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Later on we returned to Morphie and stayed put for the evening.   It was time for curry and an early night!

Monday morning and we did a few boat jobs again before heading ashore – this time we were going into the marina as we have laundry to do and garbage to dispose of.   Got our tokens for the laundry and put the wash on……and then settled down beside the pool. The main pool was quite busy so we took up residence in the small Jacuzzi at the top and Richard waited there patiently for me to deliver beer LOL!

We stayed in the pool for a while – nipping back now and then to check the laundry – and finally it was done.   We both folded it up and put the bag back in dink and had a final beer in the pool before returning to Morphie for another Hope Town sunset…..   We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves here in Hope Town again.

Tuesday morning and we dropped our mooring ball and headed off – our destination is Man O War Cay.   This island is only five miles away and we were hoping for a bit of a sail, but sadly, we ended up motoring again as the wind refuses to blow…..

We dropped our anchor off the west end of Dickies Cay and got a good set in sand.   We took some time out admiring the scenery and then dinked in through the cut into the main harbour.   This is a narrow channel – a bit like Spanish Wells – with the main settlement spread along it.

We found the dinghy dock and went for a walk. The roads are narrow and concrete as the main transport here is golf buggy and, of course, the main road is called the Queens Highway.

We wandered around – admiring the beautiful flowers, the ancient buildings, the manicured gardens, the fire station, the Abaco signpost and found ourselves on the other side of the island being blown away by the fantastic Atlantic beach.   Wow!

On the way back to dink we passed the museum – which was shut – and admired the boats on display outside.

We also liked the look of the local library – which was also shut – and wondered how anyone could cope with a bank that only opened for four hours once a week!

We then stopped in the Sail Shop – this is quite famous for making sunbrella / sailcloth items and I really wanted to buy something.   Unfortunately even the very small wash bag was priced a bit steeply – at $60 – so I came away empty handed.   Never mind……  Richard did come across this sign that he liked though….

On the way back to the marina we checked out the names of the local heroes – and you realise just how steeped in history this place is by the common surnames of those honoured.

Man of War Cay is an island-bound community of Loyalist descendants and their heritage goes back to eighteenth century settlers who constructed ships and made sails.   Some of this industry continues here on the island although now it is mainly fibre glass rather than the traditional wood….   Our final stop was in the marina restaurant where we had a diet coke – we were too late for the kitchen so no appetisers for us.   And yes, a soft drink! Why? Well, Man O War Cay is fiercely religious and is a dry island……

Having enjoyed our trip ashore we returned to Morphie very hot and bothered……   So we dug out the floating chairs, tied them off the back and enjoyed some superior bobbing….

Showered off we had dinner while the sun set in a spectacular fashion.   What a great anchorage.

This morning – Wednesday – we got up early and I even saw the sun rise.

Richard has been in the water cleaning off the hull which had picked up a bit of growth in Marsh Harbour and Hope Town while I’ve been blogging.   We are planning a snorkelling afternoon and another night here before we move on tomorrow.  Oh yes – and we still haven’t got a confirmed reservation for our haul out.   I’ve telephoned them, emailed them and telephoned them again. Being dealt with apparently……but not confident!   Although used to island time in the Caribbean I was expecting Florida boat yards to be slightly more on the ball……   So I’m still a bit frustrated – but Richard is confident it will all come good in the end.   But we have had a positive response from the company supplying us with a whisper pole and boom vang so not everything is up in the air.   In the meantime, fingers remain crossed!

Bye for now

Jan

Monday morning we were up early and went into the Jib Room to take advantage of their fast internet.   First job – find a place to leave Morphie in August. We had identified a few marinas / boatyards in Florida and whittled them down to the few that allow owners to work on their boats. We don’t mind hiring people to do specialist work or unskilled labour if time runs out on us, but not being allowed to do basic things ourselves like clean the stainless, wax the hull, replace the zincs, and clean the prop etc would certainly add up when marina labour costs $80++ an hour.

Finally we settled on one yard so we just have the issue of the hurricane cradle to overcome. Our insurance company insists on yachts being stored in one-piece hurricane cradles – which actually do not exist in Florida!!!   But, after some wrangling, they have accepted a specialist connector / rod system as compliant. Again not something readily available in Florida – so looks like we are going to have to purchase it ourselves and get it transported to the yard.….. At least it is made in the USA.

Richard is getting increasingly fed up about all this and being quite grumpy – but we can’t afford not to be insured in this hurricane area, so we are just going to have to put up with it.  Riverside Marina in Fort Pierce was happy to accommodate us – and put together the cradle system – so we have made reservations….  You can see from the photo that they are close to the water’s edge – but on a river which is sheltered by outer islands which should reduce the risk from a storm surge….

We are now waiting for confirmation from them so that we can order the connectors. Phew – one thing off our list. Fingers crossed….

Next thing was the outboard propeller – our prop is completely wrecked – check out the bushings in the photo!

We can go along at a snail’s pace but not sure for how long. So this is quite urgent now.   We couldn’t find a Tohatsu dealer who would send via FedEx – so ended up purchasing a Solas one instead. This part matches ours – allegedly – so we ordered it.   The part was cheap enough but the FedEx wasn’t – wow wasn’t expecting to pay $100 for a 4lb parcel….   Anyway – it’s on its way – so we return to Morphie, pay our marina bill, and head out to the anchorage.

Got a nice set, did a few boat jobs, and headed over to Snappas late afternoon for happy hour.   Met up with some nice people – enjoyed a few beers with them, along with a spectacular sunset – and back on board for an early night….

Tuesday morning and we were up early – and tried to phone the FedEx guy.  We need to get this parcel cleared through customs – and as a propulsion part – we shouldn’t have to pay duty, just the VAT (which is set here at 7.5% and now applies to everything from 1 Jan 2015) with no exceptions, even for yachts in transit.   But how do we pay it?   Well, the guy won’t answer his phone…..and no voicemail either. We tried loads of times.

In the end we gave up and went ashore – at a slower pace than on Monday so looks like we’ll be rowing everywhere soon. We wandered downtown Marsh Harbour towards Maxwells the large supermarket. We admired a few pimped up cars along the way – it seems like the locals really like fancy wheels.

And then we were offered a lift for the final stretch which we were grateful for in the heat of the day.   Provisioned up we returned to dink – via the BTC office to buy some more internet time – and set off back to Morphie, assisted by the local boy who moves the dinks around to make space for the next one. Bit of entrepreneurial spirit and he didn’t ask for money – which makes a nice change – so we gave him $1 for his time and he seemed happy enough.

In the evening we had Jeanette and Neil on board from Echo Echo – our turn for sundowners. We had another great evening with them…..

Wednesday morning and back on the phone to FedEx again. And again no answer….so we looked up the FedEx Abaco office on line and set off to find it. Well…we found the road eventually….but no FedEx office. We wandered around and asked a few people – guess what, it had relocated to near the airport.   And it wasn’t walking distance. Grrrr….

So we gave up and decided to go back to Morphie and carry on phoning.  On the way we found a marine store and Richard is now the proud owner of a Hawaiin sling so he is keen to go lion fish hunting.   We also got some replacement lures so I’m looking forward to filleting some more mahi mahi for the freezer soon!

While we were out the rain started….. Relaxing in the cockpit and the rain started to come through heavily – then the thunder and lightning started – and it rolled around us for quite a while.   But this is a protected place – nothing to worry about – so we just went below and lazed around reading books.   And that was it for the day – apart from eating dinner and sharing a bottle of wine….

Thursday morning and we finally got through to FedEx – and were told to open an account so that the duty could be applied automatically. And we were to phone them back with the account number so that they could link the parcel to it…. If only it was that simple…. Sigh….. We couldn’t open a US account as we don’t have a US address…. so we opened a UK one instead and hoped that it would still work.   We then phoned back to give them the account details and, guess what, they didn’t answer the phone again!!!

Frustrated we went through our lists of things to do and decided to go in to Marsh Harbour Marina to use their internet and have some food.  Had a great lunch – lamb gyro for me and Richard tried the Fish Reuben sandwich which Blaine had recommended.   He thoroughly enjoyed it.   We got on with the rest of our internet tasks whilst enjoying a few cold beers.   We still haven’t received the confirmed reservation for our haul out yet so I skyped the marina – and was told we should get an email by Tuesday next week….   Normally I wouldn’t worry but really want to get this connection system ordered and can’t do that until we have written confirmation so we can guarantee where we’ll be…..   Sooo frustrating……

Guess what, FedEx wouldn’t answer, again!!!   I asked the marina people about it – well, the answer is that they finish work at 12 noon. Great….grrrr….   I spoke to Linda – the owner of the marina – and she said don’t worry – if the tracking says it has arrived in the Bahamas on Thursday it should be delivered to Marsh Harbour on Friday (or Monday at a push).   I asked about the duty – and whether that would hold it at customs if it remained unpaid – and she said that they would usually deliver anyway and ask for money at that stage. She kindly agreed to take delivery, pay whatever was charged, and we could pick it up later on.   So fingers crossed we decided to leave it at that – and spent the rest of the afternoon bobbing and cooling down in the pool.   We really enjoyed it….

This morning, Friday, and I’ve been calling FedEx since 8.00 am…..and have finally got through after 10 attempts.   They confirm the parcel is here and they will connect my FedEx account to the customs bill when it comes in so the parcel can be released – and we hope to have it by noon today. Of course, we are still on island time……. But another bobbing afternoon beckons if it is late and we can finally get out of here tomorrow.  We’re both a little stir crazy!!!   Fingers crossed that the Solas propeller does actually fit …..

Not all fun in the sun you know!!!   Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday afternoon Blaine and Maria arrived….. So we settled them on board and caught up over a fish taco lunch – the last of Richard’s mahi mahi catch.  Was great to see Blaine again – and to meet Maria….. Anyone who brings chocolate when they visit is welcome on board LOL.   I think we’ll be having some fun with this Pirate – he has spent a lot of time in this area so we are looking forward to hitting some of the high spots.

Frustratingly we found out that expedited USPS service takes at least four weeks into the Abacos, if it arrives at all.   The only reliable method is FedEx and, guess what, the company we had sourced the new propeller from will not send it using them.  They hadn’t physically shipped yet so we were able to cancel the order and are now back to square one….   Grrrrrr…….   Luckily Jason – the dock master / bartender extraordinaire – had a spare 2HP Evinrude which he rented to us so we had more reliability whilst there was four of us to dink around.

Tuesday evening after a couple of drinks in the Jib Room we headed out to Snappas for dinner – was a great start to our time together.

Wednesday morning we continued to try and source another propeller – to no avail. So enough of wasting our holiday time – we’ll leave it for now.    We headed out from Marsh Harbour for the short passage to Hope Town – with Richard and Blaine singing ‘Hope Town, Hope Town’ along the way.   No wind – was a cloudy dull day – so no sailing either sadly. But you can see that the weather didn’t affect us – Richard was helming with ‘no hands’ and Blaine was teaching Maria how to coil ropes…..

We shortly arrived into the picturesque harbour of Hope Town dominated by the lovely old lighthouse.

We dropped dink and went ashore between showers.  First stop was the Hope Town Harbour Lodge – which is a great place overlooking the harbour on one side and an Atlantic Ocean beach on the other.  We stopped for a couple of beers – and met the funny and extroverted barman Gary – and settled in for a longer period than planned as we sat out torrential rain.

While we were there we met the owners of Sanctuary – which is the Island Packet Blaine is delivering back to the US after his holidays with us.  They had a problem with their generator and were very keen to get Blaine to look – he resisted – although we did lend them some coolant to help out which effectively fixed the problem.

After the rain had cleared we dinked around to Cap’n Jacks and the Hope Town Inn and Marina to find out whether they had anything going on in the evening as Blaine and Maria love to dance…..    We were told yes at both venues so we headed back to Morphie.   But on the way we ran out of petrol – this little engine has a petrol reservoir on the top and doesn’t feed from a tank, so we’d underestimated how much to put in….. It was hysterical as Blaine and Richard rowed along to our singing accompaniment of ‘Row, Row, Row the Boat’ and some drumming for a synchronised rhythm.   We were somewhat loud with our hysterical laughter and other boats in the anchorage were shouting encouragement by the time we reached Morphie…..   Soooooo funny……

After dinner on board we headed back to the Hope Town Inn but ended up being very disappointed.   They were due to have live music and a 6-11 pm happy hour – well the music was cancelled because of the rain so they cancelled the extended happy hour too…..

So after a single drink – accompanied by a beautiful rainbow throwing colours onto the water – we headed across the bay to Cap’n Jacks for dancing.   We really enjoyed the first part of the DJ’s set….. and the dancing…..  but later on the locals turned up, the music genre changed to rap, so we headed home to Morphie for a couple of pontoonies…….

Thursday morning we went ashore and explored the lighthouse.  The lighthouse was built by a Birmingham firm and the light is still powered by petrol.   The walk to the top wasn’t at all onerous when considering the spectacular views to be had at the windows – the only tricky bit was getting through the small opening onto the viewing platform.

Fascinating place….   It was certainly worth the effort!

After leaving the lighthouse we wandered around town admiring the beautiful houses; the lovely small alleys and the great views out to the channel entrance.   Flowers abound here amongst the pastel coloured buildings…..

One sobering reminder of days gone by was Cholera Hill – which is actually a mass graveyard for about 100 villagers who succumbed to an outbreak back in the 1850s.

Rain was threatening again so we headed off to the Sugar Shack to have ice cream – was very tasty – and we sat it out.   Once it had passed we made our way back to Morphie – this time we had enough petrol!

We then left Hope Town and motored to Guana Cay in the rain ….. and had a whiteout along the way……

We picked up a mooring ball and wandered into town, across the hill, which leads to  Nippers beach bar..

After Nippers we wandered down to Grabbas where we went bobbing in the pool, after Blaine had reacquainted himself with Wilson……   Suitably rehydrated and watching the sky change colour we headed back to Morphie for dinner on board and said a final goodnight to the sun whilst drinking pontoonies in the cockpit…..   Ended up another late night!

Friday morning we went snorkelling along that beach at Nippers – there really wasn’t much to see although Blaine did spot a turtle and we found a bill fish…..   What sort you ask?   A $50 bill fish equals one very happy husband!

Back on board we motor sailed in very light airs to Treasure Cay and managed to avoid the squalls that were moving around us.

The channel into Treasure Cay is quite shallow and it was great to have local knowledge from Blaine.

This is a beach resort with a marina – and a very pretty secure anchorage.   We admired the views and went ashore – first stop was Cocos Beach Bar where we had lunch.   Spectacular long beach here with very very soft sand……

After lunch we went bobbing in the pool at the Tipsy Seagull before returning to Morphie for dinner.

Then we went out again to the Tipsy Seagull – for karoake – one of Blaine’s favourite pastimes. We had fun – Blaine sang a few – Jimmy Buffet, David Lee Roth and David Alan Coe – getting the crowd going – and Richard opted for The Who and his version of Pinball Wizard.   They both rocked!

There was laughter and dancing…..and we all had a great time……although Blaine was a bit surprised to be propositioned by a local prostitute before we returned back to Morphie for more pontoonies and bed.   Was a very late night……

Saturday we awoke to no wind again…..and cloudy grey skies…..   We motor sailed our way back to Marsh Harbour and pulled into the marina.  And if you wonder what pirates do on their holidays check out the photos below…..

Sadly this was our last night together.   We had a few drinks in the Jib Room in the afternoon before getting ready for dinner.   Saturday night at the Jib Room is the famous steak night – and wow, it was amazing!!!!   Huge steak, cooked perfectly, accompanied by jacket potato, salad, veg, bread etc etc….   Very reasonable at $29 a head too….

After dinner we were entertained by Jason who was doing his DJ stint as well as rake and scrape – Richard had to have a go at playing the saw while Blaine led the line dancers….

Later on we grabbed a cab and went over to the Abaco Beach Resort – another great place – and Eddie the Edge Sawyer was performing rake and scrape.   He was fantastic – danced like Michael Jackson – and was a real entertainer.   He whisked Maria off her feet while Blaine played his saw and Richard was dancing around too……   Eddie also taught some little kids what to do……

Was a really popular evening there and very buzzy – thoroughly enjoyed it.   What a fantastic final night to our pirate adventures!

This morning – Sunday – and Maria left us at 7.45 for her flight back to Florida.   After she had left Blaine took himself off to the laundry and the supermarket to provision up Sanctuary for his passage – he has two other crew to feed.  Eventually he came back to Morphie for final packing and said his goodbyes.  We took ourselves off to the pool and did the laundry at the same time…..   We then reorganised the boat – reclaiming the stern cabin as our garage – and returned the spare outboard to Jason.   We are now sitting outside the Jib Room (which is closed) taking advantage of the internet and the cool canopy above.   Tonight we are planning a very quiet and early night after the solid partying of the last five days!  Oh yes – and guess what – today is the first.day we have seen blue skies and sun for ages.  Typical…..

Tomorrow we are leaving the marina to anchor off but will stay here in Marsh Harbour for a few more days while we sort out our haul out arrangements for August – our original plans have gone a bit wonky as the boatyard could not meet our ‘named storm’ insurance requirements, even though they said they could, so we need to do some research into alternatives. Where we decide to go will impact on how long we can stay here in the Bahamas and where we should jump off from to cross the Gulf Stream to the USA – so hopefully positive news in the next blog!

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday morning we were up early and admired the views from the anchorage – pretty stunning being amongst the mangroves and the shallow sand flats – although we quickly realised that this narrow channel is quite a major route with constant boat movements so we did move around a bit.

With our outboard only capable of going VERY slowly we timed our crossing carefully to get across the channel to Spanish Wells.   The waterfront here is taken up by different jetties and docks, ship yards and the large commercial fishing boats…..   Lots of boat-related businesses too so we are hopeful of getting dink fixed.

Wandering the waterfront we found an outboard shop and made arrangements for Friday morning. We then saw the ferry coming through into the anchorage and watched all the boats hurry to get out of his way!

The main transport on the island here appears to be golf buggies but we came across a car that looked like something Noddy would drive. And it was driven by a white guy that looked like a Quaker with his hat and beard framing his face – and wondered whether this was a hint of the original Eleutherian settlers.

Wandering around the back streets of Spanish Wells we admired the ancient properties mingling with the newer constructions, the variety of colours and some very manicured gardens…. Quite a prosperous settlement too…. We walked a very long way in the heat of the day and eventually we came across a beautiful pink sand beach on the other side of the island – planning a visit here before we leave for sure.  Along the way we also got a nice picture of Morphie all alone out there in the anchorage.

Next job on the list was to book tickets to go to Harbour Island – a ‘must see’ luxury destination with a pink sand beach and up-market yacht club….   We have decided not to take Morphie there as the reef system – named the Devil’s Backbone – requires local knowledge and we would have to engage a pilot to assist us. So we have decided to let the ferry take the strain.    We went to the office but were told that the schedule was currently in disarray because one of the ferries has a broken engine – this meant that the maximum (and not guaranteed) time we would have on Harbour Island would be three hours – and we didn’t think the $104 cost of the tickets was worth it.   Disappointed but, hey, we know where there is another pink sand beach to visit!

We returned to Morphie for a few hours in the afternoon and just in time because the ferry returned from Harbour Island just after we got back…. And the barge bringing in a car nearly got run over in the channel. That ferry has no room to manoeuvre at all…

We had a few lazy hours on board before returning to the town to visit Buddas for Happy Hour and an early supper – had a nice time and they even gave us a lift on a golf buggy back to the waterfront. We returned to Morphie just in time to see the sun go down….

Friday morning and it was raining – hard – so we waited until there was a break before heading to the outboard repair shop.  We were surprised that they were going to lift dink out to take a look and we stood back and watched them work.   Quickly the guys identified that the propeller’s spline had sheared and we needed a new one – it was not fixable.

They didn’t have one that would fit so they put it all back together and lowered dink back into the water.   For all this time and effort there was no charge – we were very grateful for their help so we gave them a tip instead. At least we know that we are not damaging the engine by continuing to go very slowly without revving – we just need to source a new propeller.   Not going to be easy as Tohatsu is not a brand that is seen around this area – although apparently Mercury use the same sizes so that is our best option. Nothing to be found here though… so will have to wait for our next destination.

We headed off to the supermarket and got some provisions and then returned to Morphie – had a quick turnaround – picked up a cooler and went bobbing on that beautiful pink sand beach.   Very shallow so this was sitting down bobbing for a change LOL.  While at the beach we were buzzed by a lone aviator….

We checked the weather on our return and found that great sailing conditions were to be had the following day so we decided that we would move on and make the most of it, having had a few tough passages in recent weeks.   So we planned our route, made some rolls, and had an early night.

Saturday morning we were leaving as the sun came up and we said our farewells to Spanish Wells – we had really enjoyed our time here….

We motored out through the narrow channel and onto the banks before passing between Egg and Little Egg Islands into the deep waters….. And the sailing was fantastic although we could have done with a little bit more wind.   There were also some north swells but not too big and reasonably spaced, so didn’t make for an uncomfortable ride.   We chatted, we sailed, we tweaked sails, ate our food and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves….

We fished too – and Richard lost another lure to a sea monster…. Will have to buy some more soon!   Sadly nothing to replenish our freezer with this time….. Oh yes, we also identified Dumbo the elephant, a duck-billed platypus and a Westie dog begging in the cloud formations…..

We doused our sails and navigated our way through the Little Harbour Cut into the Abacos. Different feel inside these banks – which are actually called The Sea of Abaco – as there is a lot of sea grass so although the water is shallow it doesn’t look quite the same as the azure blue when it is a sandy bottom.   We decided to anchor overnight at Lynyard Cay having completed a 63 mile passage – and watched the sunset before having an early night.

Sunday morning and there was no wind at all – so we motored the 20 miles to our next destination Marsh Harbour.   It was pretty swelly on the banks in places as we came close to the cuts that lead out to the Atlantic – but pretty uneventful. We really admired some of the little private hideaway beaches tucked in here and there amongst the cays.

We arrived into Marsh Harbour at lunchtime and we took a few hours off having got a good anchor set.   We dinked into Marsh Harbour Marina, did the laundry and had a couple of beers in the Jib Room and caught up on the internet before heading across the bay to Snappas for Happy Hour and a late lunch / early dinner whilst enjoying the sights out across the bay.

Later on we moved to a local waterfront bar and had a pontoonie whilst enjoying the sunset.   I was strongly encouraged to dance by a group of young ladies who were having a bit of a party so we had another pontoonie before returning to Morphie. What a great day!

Monday morning and we moved into the marina.   Got hooked up to power and water and we started to clean the boat.   Blaine is doing a delivery from here back to the US next week so we have invited him and his girlfriend to join us for a few days before he heads off…..   And Morphie has to look her best for guests you know!   Boat cleaned inside and out…..and she came up sparkling. We still need to clean the hull though…..but that will have to wait for another day.

Richard took the propeller off and we headed out in a taxi to the Prop Shop.   They couldn’t help – so we went to the Mercury dealer, the Yamaha dealer, the Outboard Shop etc etc etc…… But nobody had anything like it at all – so looks like we are going to have to ship in from the US.   On the way back to the marina we took advantage of being in a cab and stopped at the liquor store for more beer supplies…..   We even talked to The Moorings who have a base here at the Conch Inn Marina as we know that they use exactly the same engine on their dinghies so they should have spares – and yes, they did have spare propellers, but refused to sell us one as it takes so long to get them. Miserable bunch!

We took the rest of the afternoon off and spent it bobbing in the marina’s small pool – and got chatting to a family from Florida.   Downton Abbey is always one of the first questions – followed by the royals…. One of the daughters was tiny and it turns out that we met Tinkerbell.   She actually had just graduated with a degree in psychology – working at Disney in Orlando was a way of making some cash while she decided which direction to take her career.   So Tinkerbell is not only pretty and dainty but is also smart!

This morning – Tuesday – and we are heading into town for final provisioning but expecting slim pickings as the weekly ship doesn’t arrive until later today. We have now ordered a new propeller to be delivered here and are investigating renting an outboard to tide us over for a week….. Not sure whether that will pan out or not.  Blaine and Maria fly in today so looking forward to exploring this area with them for the next five days.

Bye for now

Jan