The Crossing...

Our crossing from the Bahamas to Florida would be a three day event. First, we departed Green Turtle and sailed to Allan's Pensacola (23 miles).

On day two we sailed another 32 miles to reach Great Sale Cay. This then positioned us for the third and biggest day - 117 miles back to Fort Pierce, Florida.

All along the Bahama banks we continued to fish. I lost track of how many barracuda we caught and tossed back - at least 10. The fishing was looking like lots of work and no yield until both lines started humming and Dave and I struggled to bring in two fish that were - most definitely - not barracuda. Unfortunately, one smart fellow would get away, but we managed to haul in his twin a real nice 24 inch mutton snapper. Dave and I have been really pleased with the fish we've been able to catch while in the Bahamas, but let me tell you this mutton snapper is the BEST!!!! Despite its 24 inch length, it yields almost as much as a 42 inch mahi and it tastes - oh my!! You can definitely bet we will be fine tuning the tackle box to catch more mutton snapper next year!

Oh yes, but the main event wasn't the fish, it was the last 117 mile leg into Florida. Chris, on Romany, and Dave could not have planned it any better. We crossed the last 50 mile stretch of the banks by nightfall and entered Atlantic waters. The weather was great, the timing excellent as we crossed the stream and found ourselves at the Fort Pierce entrance at sunrise.

What an incredible journey it has been. Can you believe that we traveled over 1100 miles in our 12 weeks in the Bahamas. Hard to imagine there is that much territory to cover and even harder to imagine that there is plenty we haven't yet seen. Well there is always next year.

But wait, don't think it is over just yet, because there is lots of mileage left to cover. Our final destination is the Chesapeake.

The Admiral

Green Turtle Cay...

At Green Turtle Cay we celebrated Easter and attended services at their beautiful new church St. Peters (Photo 1). Afterwards, we joined friends on Romany and Iolar for lunch at Pineapples Grill.

It would be our last opportunity to visit with Walt and Lynn on Iolar as we would be heading north with Romany and postioning ourselves for the big crossing back into Florida. It is amazing how quickly the time has gone. We've been in the Bahamas for 12 weeks, but it certainly seems much less than that.

But before we go, we must take a walking tour of Green Turtle. We did this on Easter Monday - a Bahamian holiday - so town was quiet. Despite the quiet, the Sculture Garden was open and we were able to view the bronze sculptures of some of the most prominent citizens of the Bahamas (Photo 4). We also passed the old jail. Certainly not a place I'd want to spend time in during the hot Bahamian summer (Photo 3).

The Admiral

Guana Cay...

From Marsh Harbor it was off to Guana Cay. Such a taxing day having to travel 5 miles to the next big stop. That is one of the amazing differences between the Abacos and the other island chains in the Bahamas. The Abacos are much more compact with lots of interesting things to do in a small area. Whereas the other Bahamain island chains are more widespread.

Nonetheless, lunch at Guana met with tough choices. Do we lunch at the well known oceanside beach bar Nippers or the popular beachside bar Grabbers. Hmmmmm. Tough choices, but we eventually chose Grabbers as it offered a bit more shade and views of Tropical Breeze in a distance.

Lunch was great and the day was still young so the Captain and I decided to navigate the Whale passage and head up to Green Turtle for the evening.

The Admiral

Marsh Harbor...

In Marsh Harbor we had SO much to celebrate!

We met up with friends from West Wind and Finn MacCool who we hadn't seen since we left Florida. They had spent their seasons in the Abacos and it was great to get together once again. Eric and I shaked some booty on the dance floor as did Eric's grandson Ben (Photo 2).

We also celebrated Lynn, from Iolar's, birthday (Photo 3) - more reason to boogie!

As if spending time with friends wasn't enough, the weather remained great and a group of us went over to snorkel Mermaid Reef. What a great spot! Lots of fish, beautiful water and accessible from the beach. The parrotfish were amazing. They were in all sorts of colors - purples, greens, yellows and my favorite - blues (Photo 5).

But perhaps the biggest celebration was from the Captain. Our arrival in Marsh Harbor included access to the largest supermarket we'd seen since leaving the US. While there the Captain found ice cream on sale and not just a 2 quart tub it was a 1 gallon tub!! The price $10.99. I know this sounds high, but after cruising the islands for 3 months where the going price for 2 quarts of ice cream is $9-$11, this tub of Breyers was both a treat and a bargain.

More to come.

The Admiral

Man-O-War...

At Man-O-War we were greeted by our friend Vince on Fin Macool. Vince, like several of our friends, had spent the winter season in the Abacos using Man-O-War as a base. As always, it is great to see good friends.

In town, we bummed around and rediscovered the Albury Sail Shop. The Captain and I had been here once before - about 15 years ago. Back then we purchased several canvas bags which have served as our toiletry bags ever since. The shop is still going strong and has expanded its selection from what we remember.

Next stop - Marsh Harbor.

The Admiral

Hopetown...

We left the Eleuthera's and traveled 50+ miles north to the Abacos. Our first stop Hopetown.

Many of you may recognize Hopetown from its distinctive candy striped lighthouse. Here we would be meeting someone new, Jean, the Aunt of a friend of ours. We didn't know what to expect when meeting her, but we were delighted to find an experienced sailor with whom we could trade stories and thoroughly enjoy spending time with. Jean introduced us to Captain Jacks where we played Jacks (local bingo), enjoyed cocktails and just had a wonderful time with Jean and her friends Betty and Ann.

We enjoyed strolling the streets of the small community and climbing the 101 steps to the lighthouse where we were able to get some extraordinary views of the harbor.

We had a wonderful time. Thank you Jean for your wonderful hospitality. We look forward to seeing you again next year.

The Admiral

PS. Yes, I have gotten another haircut. This time....even shorter than the last.

Photo 1: Jean and the Admiral

Photo 2: Hopetown Lighthouse

Photo 3: Harbor view from the lighthouse

Photo 4: The Captain and the Admiral with Tropical Breeze in the background

More Drama...

Our journey to Spanish Wells started well enough. We left Governors Harbor on a light wind day anticipating we'd be able to sail 4 knots to Current Island. The wind continued to fill in nicely and by mid-day we found ourselves doing 6.5 -7 knots. Despite a reef in the jib to slow ourselves down, we arrived at Current Cut early and dropped the anchor for a while awaiting a tidal change as the force of water through the Cut can be quite brisk if you catch it at the wrong time. Our journey through the Cut was fine and we dropped the hook for the evening behind Meeks Patch in plenty of time to enjoy a splendid sunset.

The next morning we hoisted the anchor and headed for Spanish Wells. The community is the major fishing town in the Bahamas exporting about 75% of the fish exported in the Bahamas from this small town. We anticipated that we would pick up a mooring ball early and have the bulk of the day to play ashore. We would be wrong.

As we left our anchorage, a large ferry boat was coming in. Moving slower than the ferry he entered the channel first stirring up the sand below. We followed, with poor visibility, and neglected to see the rock ledge that jutted into the channel. With the tide being almost low Tropical Breeze's 4 foot + draft was not sufficient to clear the rock ledge and the starboard hull went aground. We tried to get off - a mistake we would regret later - but no, we were stuck in the channel until the tide came up blocking large boat traffic into the channel for a time.

So instead of a full day ashore exploring we spent 3 hours lounging around aboard warning channel traffic of our presence as they approached. Fishermen would stop by occassionally to see if they could help, but unfortunately all we could do was wait for the tide. At one point a man in a small skiff approached us saying we had to move because the supply freighter was approaching. Fortunately we were able to hail the approaching freighter on the radio and he detoured to the eastern channel entrance avoiding us in the western channel.

The tide rose high enough and by about 1pm we were away from the rock ledge and headed to our mooring assignment. The Captain snorkeled around the boat to assess the damage. We were fortunate that the rudder, saildrive and prop were undamaged. Unfortunately, the back corner of the keel was not so lucky and is now about 3 inches shorter than it once had been. (This damage was not done by hitting the rock but instead by us as we tried to maneuver away from the rock.) Yet that is one of the functions of a keel, to protect the more vital steering and propulsion systems behind them. The damage does not impede our travels it just creates a new project for the Captain once Tropical Breeze is hauled out for the season. Nonetheless, ugh.

We finally made it ashore and found that the fishing industry created an affluence to the community we had not seen elsewhere in the Bahamas. The cemetery was beautiful with its array of floral wreaths covering many of the gravesites. The transportation was unique also. This is the first community we've seen branch out of the typical use of cars and trucks into bicycles, motor scooters and golf carts. Some other interesting things - no bars or liquor stores in Spanish Wells.

The Admiral