Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Feeling pressure from my "friends" to get an update out, so here it is...


Picking up from Debs last post...  The final week with Deb on the boat went by toooooo fast and pesky work still got in the way of some of our fun.  She had to take off on the 15th of May, our final stop was Trellis bay on Tortola.  It is a very convenient spot to pick up and drop off people at the airport, it is a 5 minute walk to the airport from the dinghy dock.


My college roommate came to visit on the 25th and stayed for a week.  We had a good time, hit all of the hotspots in the BVIs including Anegada which is a very flat island a bit out of the way from the rest of the BVIs.  The downside of Kevin's visit... it rained every single day he was there and was overcast when it wasn't raining.  The upside was some great snorkeling we did at the Caves and Monkey Point.


After Kevin left my plan was to put the boat on the hard at Nanny Cay on Tortola but I changed my mind. I am selling my boat so that I can buy a 4 cabin charter boat and work down in the Virgins.  I decided that it would be easier to sell back in the US.


So, on the 29th of May I did a fast but mostly easy sail back to the Domincan Republic.  Crossing the Mona passage from East to West is much easier than West to East.  I took the boat to Luperon and caught up with my frineds on Storyville and Pipe muh Bligh, with their help the check in process was easy.  My only advice is bring exact change, make sure you can break a $100 bill because you won't get any change.  I spent a few fun days catching up with these friends, I hadn't seen them in several months. On June 4th I flew back to Austin to hang out with Deb for 10 days before flying down to St. Lucia to pick up a Gemini 104 catamaran that my business partner and I bought and bring it back to Florida to sell.  It will be posted on www.govauctionsonline.com soon.  Check it out as well as my boat.


If you would like to follow our progress as we bring this boat back follow this link:  
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0xAq8LFz7ziR67Hs6mzt4YVblqrMmRkO1
If the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it to your browser's address bar.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

St. John, USVI


We've been here 2 weeks & now the vacation part can begin!!  Steve has been a patient, supportive Captain as I've been trying to keep my current stateside boss happy as well as stoke the potential for my own business down here in the islands.  We finally have a day to be nothin' but lazy.  It's been so nice to be back on the island that I called home 15 years ago & to see my great pals from back then, Mean Jean, Cid & Mary Pat!  MP is originally from Kentucky & started the Kentucky Derby celebration at my very favorite bar/grill, Skinny Leg's, 30-odd years ago.  All the crusty pirates & hippie locals don some kind of hat & fill 'em with the bougainvilleas, hibiscus & other flora that is found all over down here.  One lady even glued a plastic horse to the top of her hat.  Below is Steve joining in the tradition.  I'm happy to say that all of my ol' pals are now big fans of Steve.

We'll most likely leave the US waters in a bit & head for Jost Van Dyke for a day or 2.  It is blissful to not know where we will head after that - I relinquish my need to have a plan, hard as that may be to believe.  I've only got a week left to soak up the Caribbean - will have to make my tan last until December when we'll come back.  We're seriously looking at some charter boats/businesses, dreaming that we'll offer week long charters to 2-3 couples or a family here in the USVI/BVI.  We looked at a beautiful 45' cat yesterday & spent a few hours with the owners.  Fingers are crossed that something will work out!!  Might be another year or so before it comes to fruition, but the dream lives on.  

In the meantime, if any of y'all cruisers happen to pass through the USVI, I highly recommend St John as a place to land for a few days.  There are tons of moorings in Francis Bay and a very gentle swell much unlike our previous spot, roly-poly Hull Bay.  Right up the big staircase from the beach in the middle is the little store at Maho Bay Campgrounds that I used to run & found my natural foods calling (they don't have much in the way of natural foods anymore & I mean to fix that!).  They also have a shuttle to town if you need & a very decent restaurant.  The beaches here are pristine, as it's all smack dab in the middle of the National Park that covers most of St. John.  Good trails to hike, the Annaburg plantation ruins just up the road to visit & quiet, quiet, quiet!!  The east end of the island is where you can find Coral Bay, a very cool little sleepy village that is home to Skinny Leg's, an awesome bar & grill with yummy cheeseburgers & local beer.  Their motto is "same day service" and the dress code only requires 2 teeth.  Nice folks all over the place!!

We're sending out a big round of hugs for all y'all!






Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A few pictures

Pictures are courtesy of Deb.

 Ol San Juan is filled with sculpture

Sunshine trees 

Joy on the Paseo de la Princessa 

Forest of Spires 

Just cool 

My favorite captain contemplating Ol' San Juan 

Me in a previous life, that would be Deb 

Leaving Fajardo - clouds over rainforest 

Captain Smiley 

Arriving in St. Thomas

Sunset at surfer point 

I love Hull Bay 

Captain in the sunset 

Stand up Warriors at play 

 Get up, Stand up!

 Proud American Boat

My home in the Caribbean


Monday, May 2, 2011

I am waaaaaaay behind...

Time to catch up...

I spent a few days at Marina Pescadaria in Puerto Real, Puerto Rico.  The owner of the marina, Jose, is very friendly.  Next to the marina office is a small convenience store owned and run by Fernando Mantilla.  He drove me to customs to check back in to the US.  He grew up in the Salinas area and has been sailing his whole life.  He has raced throughout the Caribbean, we hit it off right away, except he smokes like a chimney.  I ended up hiring him and his friend Manuel Portela to move my boat from Puerto Real to Fajardo while I flew home to Austin.

Yes, I am planning on moving to Austin, my girlfriend Deb lives there in an awesome house on top of Cat Mountain.  I loaded up as much stuff as I could carry and flew in to Austin on the 7th of April.  I got settled in the new house, actually had to buy a dresser for my clothes.  It kinda feels like I am going in the opposite direction from where I want to be but Deb is not ready to move the the Caribbean yet, close but not yet.

On the 25th Deb and I flew to San Juan Puerto Rico, she has business down there, both for her "real" job and for the food brokerage she is starting in the Caribbean.  We spent 4 days between San Juan and Fajardo.  Fernando and Manuel left the boat in great shape.  We left Marina Del Rey on Saturday the 30th and sailed to Culebra.  It was a rough trip, motor sailed the whole way, emphasis on motor.  Straight in to the wind(15-20 knots) and waves and current.  If we didn't need to be in St. Thomas on Monday we would not have left, plus Deb only has so much vacation time.  Sunday's sail from Culebra to Hull Bay in St. Thomas was much the same as the day before.  We were greeted by two of Deb's friends on paddle boards as we cam in to the anchorage.  They have lived here 15 plus years and showed us the best place to anchor.  There were 2 other boats in this small bay but we still have plenty of room.  The downside is that we are getting a cross swell here, it make sleeping and everything else more difficult.  We may move to the next bay over(Megan's Bay) later today.  Deb had to pick up her business partner at the airport this morning, he flew in from PR, she will be working most of the day, so I am just goofing off.  Might go for a run and the bottom of the boat needs a good scrubbing, at least on the waterline.

We are under a flood watch until tomorrow morning, it was sunny this morning but the clouds are starting to roll in.

Hopefully I can get Deb to do some guest posts, I am sure she will be better and doing them more frequently than me

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Mona Passage

I left the Marina on Thursday night, March 30th. The plan was to sail at night over to a small anchorage called Escondido, sleep during the day and then take off on the evening of the 31st to cross the Mona Passage. That was the plan anyway, as I often do when sailing, once I get going I am more likely to keep going. Especially since my solo anchoring act on Mayaguana, see prior blog post.

The first night was actually really nice, I made better than expected time, I had about 12-15 knots of apparent wind, from a direction that allowed me to sail most of the time, AND the waves were small, 2-4 feet. As dawn approached Friday morning I decided to skip Escondido and push on through, like I said, sailing conditions were good and I was making better than expected time.

As I was crossing Bahia Escocea the wind and waves began to get worse. I had gone about 60 miles and still had 150 to go. It was time to crank up the engine so that I could continue to make good time and point a little higher into the wind so that I could make it around two capes that were about 20 & 25 miles ahead. With the engine running I was still making about 5 knots and figured I would be around the capes around noon.   My estimate was pretty close.

Two hours later I still hadn't made it around the second Cape and I was in 20 knots of breeze about 30 degrees off my bow and in 6-8ft confused seas, there was no wave pattern.

By now I was getting really tired of bashing in to the wind and waves. I was concerned about my leaking water pump. I was on a lee shore with an iffy engine getting the crap kicked out of me. Then like magic everything got better. The night Lee kicked in, the seas got better, the wind dropped to around 15 knots and I tacked to cross the Mona Passage. The rest of the trip was REALLY very good.

There is a book called "The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South" written by Van Sant. He knows what he is talking about. If I had followed my original plan I probably would have avoided the 12-14 hours of bashing into the wind and waves. To anybody that is planning on crossing the Mona Passage I highly recommend reading this book.

I set up a spot adventure, check it out.
Spot Adventures Link

Steve






Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Made it to the DR

Well I made it to the DR yesterday.

Over all it was a long but generally good trip from Georgetown, Bahamas.
The last 24 hours or so were tougher than the rest.

I was having trouble picking up the weather guru, Chris Parker, but I
was able to pull down some grib files before making my decision to cross
from the Turks & Caicos to the DR. It showed wind less than 15 from the
East. Not exactly correct. I had wind from the Southeast, the
direction I wanted to go, at 20-25 knots. The waves were larger than I
had experienced in a while, probably since my trip from Galveston the
Louisiana. They didn't have much rhythm to them either. So far on this
trip I have been able to get lots of "cat naps" of 20-30 minutes during
the night, not during this crossing.
Regardless, I made it safely. I decided to treat myself and am staying
in a marina. They have a waterpark and everything. I doubt I will go.
The marina made the check in process really simple, all the people I
needed to see are here at the marina. I was able to get fuel here as
well. I used 63 gallons since leaving Georgetown on the 25th, as you
can probably guess, I did a lot of motor sailing.

I slept for 12 hours straight last night, I guess I was tired.

I actually plugged in to shore power today(my AC still works!!), first
time since Venice LA. I think I heard my boat sigh. I figure I will
try to top everything off before heading out of here in a few days. I
think the boat will get a really good wash inside and out.
Need to change the oil in the engine and genset, take a look at the
water pump and do some other small maintenance projects.

Tammy, just wanted to let you know that your canvas covers are still on
the boat but I lost some snaps on this last crossing.

Take care.
Steve

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Tough Day

It has been a trying day today on Anchor Management.

I don't mean to bitch but some days just aren't as good as others.

I sailed through the night last night, my plan was to get to Mayaguana
in the Bahamas, anchor, sleep for 6 hours or so and then head over to
the Turks & Caicos. I think I have good weather until Wednesday night
or Thursday and this would allow me to get down to the Domincian Republic.

When I arrived at Mayaguana this morning I snuggled up to the place I
planed on anchoring, I was in a bit over 20 feet of water. The bottom
looked like sand and grass. I had the wind on my nose and slow rollers
coming in from behind me that were breaking about 200-300 feet away.


Since I am by myself I usually drop the anchor until it hits bottom,
leave the flywheel open so that chain will free flow out. I then run to
the back of the boat to put the boat in reverse a bit so that chain will
come out. Since I could see and here the breakers I gave it a bit more
reverse than normal. As I ran back to the front of the boat I noticed
the flywheel tightening up as chain went out. In not time flat the
flywheel stopped spinning, the chain tightened up and then pulled down
on the anchor platform. The anchor was stuck, something had to give...
It was the anchor platform. The wood broke just aft of the stainless
platform I had built in an attempt to "beef up" the whole anchoring
system. It is not ruined but it sure doesn't look right anymore. To
add insult to injury my anchor was stuck on coral. I tried to wiggle
around it with the boat but finally gave up. I grabbed the snorkel
gear. On the first attempt I couldn't get down deep enough but I did
notice that it looked like it was free. I climbed back on the boat and
tried to pull up the anchor, no luck. The second time I dove I was able
to free the anchor but I cam up with REALLY sore ears and a bloody nose.
I am sure I have shortened my life somehow.

I motored around looking for another place to anchor but was now a bit
gun shy, the bottom looked the same as what I just had problems in.

Time to re-evaluate... I decided to motor sail into the wind slowly and
catch a few winks, then head South so that I hit the banks at sun up
tomorrow.

This evening when I checked the oil I noticed I have a pretty good leak
coming from my raw water pump. About a drip per second. I still have
good water flow but it is something to keep a close eye on.

Tomorrow is a new day! Although they are starting to blend together
since I left Rum Cay yesterday morning around 5am.

Somebody count some sheep for me.

Until later.
Steve


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Friday, March 25, 2011

Where the F is Storyville?

Since I left Kemah shortly before Christmas I have traveled roughly 1300
miles. The entire time I have been within VHF radio distance, if not
within sight of Storyville. I have lived next to Storyville both at
Watergate and at Portofino for 14 months before we left together. They
are dear friends and have supported me emotionally 100% during some very
troublesome times, they are truly family.

Also on my mind is Renee & Stacey on Pipe muh Bligh. They also provided
a significant "crutch" when I needed it.

It was a sad night last night to say "Until next time", I will miss the
good folks on Pipe & Storyville dearly. We have plans to meet up around
Christmas in the Virgins, I hope things work out for all of us.

Be safe and have fun!

On a lighter note.... Sailing to Rum Cay today has been, well, really
motoring. The headsail was out most of the day but there really wasn't
any wind to fill it.

The highlight today was my hour long battle with a fish, my fore arms
are tired and swelled up like Popeye. When I finally got the fish next
to the boat it was a 6 foot Barricuda. I didn't keep it, don't want to
get cigateria. Not sure how to spell that. By the time I got my hook
out we were both exhausted, I hope the fish lived.

When I got to the anchorage at Rum Cay I was greeted by friends on Crows
Nest. Had a sundowner with them. They are planning on heading South to
Luperon but at a slower pace than me.

After Rum Cay I plan on having my anchor down at Mayaguan by Monday so
that I can wait out the next bit of weather, then on to the Turks. Not
sure of my route to Mayaguana yet. Check the spot location for updates.

Steve

Monday, March 21, 2011

Been a while

Okay... It's been a while since my last post.

I was last at Little Farmers Cay. I am now on a mooring ball just off of Chat n Chill beach Stockton Island, across the harbor from George Town Bahamas. I have been pretty much in the same location for the past month.
I took in all of the festivities of the Cruisers Regatta here including sailing on my friends Lagoon 41 catamaran in both the "in harbor race and the "around the island race". We placed 3rd in the around the island race, however we placed first in the fishing contest and first in the baking contest. We placed second in the harbor race, lost by 8 seconds, corrected time. It was a very fun filled 10 days, the highlight was the sailboat racing.




I've started to jog again, a few times in and around George Town and several times on the sand trails and beaches on Stockton Island. I can tell how out of shape I am. They say that when you go cruising men generally drop a few pounds and woman gain a few. Generally this is based on the division of labor on a boat. Well, I do all of the labor, both "blue" and "pink" jobs and I have gained weight. I think since I have left I actually move less and eat/DRINK more than back on land. I have always believed that the key to shedding extra pounds is to move more and eat less, it might be time for me to practice what I preach?

I just got back from the States, had a great visit. Worked on my taxes, took care of my boat insurance, and figured out where I am going to keep my boat during the upcoming hurricane season. I would prefer to leave my boat on the hard someplace but I was not able to find a reasonably priced place that still has room. After much searching I have decided on Marina Pesacedria on the West coast of Puerto Rico. http://www.marinapescaderia.com/

I will probably remain in George Town for a few more days, need to top off Gas, Diesel, Water & pick up some food at the really good grocery stores here. They sure aren't Whole Foods or WalMart but they are the best I have seen since Nassau. After that, the next weather window will probably get me started in my march to Puerto Rico. I plan on following "The thornless path to windward" by Bruce Van Sant. Not many overnight passages & he has a very conservative approach to sailing in bad weather. Sounds good to me.


I would say that I promise to do a better job keeping up with the blog over the next few months but who are we kidding??? I would rather be doing than writing about it.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

First Lobster

 
Posted by Picasa

Dinner for six!

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Catching up

2-15-11
It's time to catch up...
On 2-4 I took the boat down to Staniel Cay so that I could catch a flight to Fort Lauderdale. It was a rough sail, actually motor sail. Wind on the nose and waves and current to against me to make things fun. I motor sailed along at about 3-4 knots. As soon as I tied the boat to the dock I was informed by the Harbor Master that I could not leave my boat unattended at the marina. I explained my situation and we worked out a deal. He would watch my boat for me, I think he has done this before. Very nice guy though, Chubby is his name. Everybody at Staniel Cay was very friendly and helpful. There was a 3-4 foot tidal current through the marina, lots of fenders and lines were used.
The next day my flight to Nassau was on island time, a few ours late which was okay since I printed the wrong ticket it gave the ticket person enough time to go print another one for me. The plane was a 8 passenger turbo prop that has been flown a lot. When I got to the ticket counter in Nassau I was informed that my flight to Lauderdale had been cancelled due to a mechanical problem. I caught another flight on a different airline and all was good.

Fort Lauderdale was great, even though I haven't been away from the States very long I was amazed at how easy it is to do anything and how readily available anything and everything is. I picked up some stuff that I forgot and picked up some items for Storyville and Kaleo. I had an awesome visit with Deb. It was sad to say goodbye but we have hopefully made a huge leap in repairing our relationship.

When I got back to Staniel Cay Storyville & Kaleo were there. The helped me get my boat out of the marina. Marina's here are not the same as back in Kemah, they are usually just a pier with boats tied everywhere. With my full keel and inability to go in a straight line in reverse I was very glad to have Troy and Matt on the boat. As soon as we got the boat anchored I met the rest of the "Texas Navy"(5 boats all from the Kemah area), which included Rusty & Linda on Sea Y'all Later and Shane on Guiding light. Both of these boats are catamarans. Sea Y'all Later practically treats their boat like a large dinghy. They took us out for a quick sail, then over to visit the swimming pigs and then back to Staniel Cay to vist Thunderball Groto, famous from the movie Thunderball, a James Bond movie.
On the 11th of February we sailed, really motorsailed down to Black Point Settlement. It took just a few hours. The Texas Navy all came down. Where Stanial Cay is about resorts and creature comforts Black Point is more traditional Bahamian culture. They do have a good store, free wifi for a donation and several restaurants they are not as commercial. We all got together on Sea Y'all Later for movie night. They have a projector and pull down screen. It was a fun night!
The next day the Texas Navy moved over to Castle Beach, it is just around the point from Black Point. We moved to get better protection from a northern that was supposed to come in around noon on the 12th. As soon as Storyville got their anchor down Deana was in the water, she checked their anchor and then snorkeled over to check out the fish. She was quickly getting her sling. As I was negotiating my anchor I could tell that there was something good going on there. I dove my anchor and then jumped in the dinghy to see what was going on. Sure enough she was trying to catch a fish or lobster. I grabbed my snorkel stuff and jumped in. I thought I was missing part of my sling so was more of a scout for Deana. i spotted 3 lobsters hiding under a rock and pointed them out to her. She missed her first shot and they all hid. She started looking for some others, I swam around to the back side to see if they were sneaking out but they weren't there. As I circled the rock I spotted a pretty good sized Lion fish and another lobster. I got Deana's attentions and she dove down and took a shot at the fish, not seeing the lobster. She missed the fish but scared the lobster, he ran from the cover of the rock into the open. Deana dove down and took a shot and just missed him. He ran for cover, we both surfaced to catch our breath. As we were doing this he came back into the open. This time Deana nailed him. We both came up yelling for Troy, full of excitement. Troy was talking with some lady on land. She crushed us as she informed us that what we had just done was illegal, there is no spearfishing within 200 yards of a family island, she referred to our fishing permit. The lobster was already dying so Deana kept it was a bit deflating. Deana made some great lobster pizza though.
On the 15th Pipe Muh Blih came back and joined the Texas Navy. They had a great provisioning trip to Eluthera with a fun sail back.
On the 16th we decided that we needed to dinghy South of the anchorage to see if we could find another place to spearfish. We have decided that a Family island means an island with a town or settlement. We found a pretty cool cave that 3 dinghys could easily fit into, very shallow and the coral put off this really neat blue color. We found a likely spot for some fishing and all dove in. Shane was the first to get a lobster, I will call it an average size. While he was calling Troy over with the dinghy I was battling it out with a MONSTER lobster. It was him or me. It took three shots, all direct hits but I finally bagged him. I was wearing a dive belt today with 5lbs in it. Between the dive belt and carrying the lobster out of the water I was struggling as I swam over to the dinghy. Stacy from Pipe came over to check out the lobster and all I could say was take my weight belt. This made life a bit easier. I put the monster in the 5 gallon bucket and climbed on the dinghy to catch my breath. By this time Deana had also got an average sized lobster. I dove a bit more, shot a lion fish and then called it quits. Renee from Pipe also got a lobster but it was a baby. Everything looks bigger under water. Last night we all gathered on Pipe for lobster dinner. It was a great meal.

2-16-11
Anchored at Castle Beach, Great Guana Cay
Slept in this morning, skipped the weather report, wasn't feeling too great. indigestion or something. My stomach was upset all night so didn't sleep very well.
Sent a nasty email off to the wind generator place, it is still not working properly. I am very frustrated with my Air Breeze. I gave myself a haircut this morning, still not very good at it. Storyville said I have patches in the bacg of my head. I will get them to fix it up some. Went in to town to do some laundry and get on the internet. Just did one load, $3.50 to wash and $3.50 to dry. Still better than Staniel Cay. The internet was really bad today. I could not get on at Loraine's Cafe and at DeShaMon's it was very slow but did have a good cheeseburger. I am trying to find a reasonably priced marina to keep my boat for hurricane season, dry or wet storage doesn't matter.

2-17-11
Anchored at Castle Beach, Great Guana Cay
Dropped some dinghy fuel off for Storyville as well as some empty water jugs. I put 12 gallons of water in my tank today.
Went to Yoga, Kaleo was there as well as Crow's Nest(Dave and Pam). Pam led the class. It was low key and good to get some stretching in. Then headed over to Loraine's cafe for some internet, still searching for a place to keep the boat during hurricane season.
There was a big get together at regatta point at 4:30. Pot luck and good conversation. Sea Y'all Later showed the movie Captain Ron on his sail with his projector. A pretty good get together.

2-18-11
Sailed from Castle Beach to Little Farmers Cay
Had a really good sail down, wind was from the right direction at about 17-20. I was cruising along at 6.5 knots.
When I got to Little Farmers I decided to come around to the Sound side of the island , tucked in between Great Guana Cay & Little Farmers. There is a lot of current that comes through here so I decided to pick up a mooring ball. Not a fan of strong current & opposing wind. I also came here in search of good wifi. The wifi is not that great, it is free but I get kicked off about every 5 minutes and at times it is slow, kinda like 56k dial up.
Yesterday afternoon and evening it drizzled some and then had a few squalls roll in.
I met my neighbors on the next mooring, Jim & Nancy on S/V Solitaire(www.nancyjim.org). It is a small world, we have mutual friends in Sonny & Kay on S/V Valentina who are in Columbia right now. They also informed me that I can get NBC, CBS, ABC & Fox on the TV here. Not sure if that is a good thing?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Warderick Wells Cay


January 31st.

Sailed from shroud Cay to Warderick Wells Cay.  It was about a 4 hour trip.  Sailed for a bit over half of it.  I slowly turned into the wind to reach my destination and decided to drop the sails and motor the rest of the way.  I know kinda lazy but what the hell.

Warderick Wells is where the park headquarters are located for the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.  It is a no take zone, you can't take anything from the land or the water, living or dead.  They have mooring balls and Wifi(100 megs or 24 hours, whichever comes first), what more can you ask for.  They do not have any facilities here, no fuel, water, restrooms, trash cans, nothing.  What they do have is absolutely gorgeous water and beautiful beaches.  This place is a must see!


February 1st.
Walked around the island a bit, discovered Boo Boo Hill.  The only place within the park that you can actually leave something behind.  It is a tradition to put your boat name on driftwood and leave it on this hill.  There are some great views.


That night Storyville, Kaleo and myself worked on our signs to leave on the hill the next day.
Also walked over to Boo Boo Beach.


February 2nd.
Took my sign up to Boo Boo Hill.  Went to check out the blow holes but the tide is not right, no water blowing up but the draft was pretty incredible.
Finally got in the water today, took the dinghy out to a small reef.  Saw numerous small fish, they folks on Genesis and Pipe Muh Bligh saw a pretty large lobster but weren't able to get dinner since this is a no take zone.  After the snorkeling we zipped around some, there is a pretty cool house that is anchored next to the beach, not sure what the story is behind it.  Saw some more incredible beaches.
We came back to Storyville to hang out at their own personal beach, literally twice a day when the tide comes in and out they have a beach 20 feet off the stern of their boat.  While we tying up to their boat we saw a stingray under their boat.  Of course we had to jump in the dinghys and follow it around,  While doing that a Nurse Shark came cruising by so we all followed him around for a while.  I have some pretty jerky videos but will try to get them up soon.
It has been another great day!



Saturday, January 29, 2011

Catching up

Sent from my satphone...
I'm currently on a mooring ball at Shroud Cay.
The trip down from Nassau to Allen's Cay was uneventful with some good
sailing. I arrived at Allen's Cay on the 27th.
Allen's Cay is one of the first places most people that are new to
cruising the Exumas go. It has some prehistoric Iguanas that are pretty
cool. There are 1 or 2 tour boats that come in daily to feed the
iguanas so the are pretty tame. From what I can tell they don't care
too much for old spinach but they really like Ritz and Triscut crackers.
The anchorage itself is pretty close quarters, I think I counted close
to 15 boats. When I arrived Matt & Christie from Kaleo had already
anchored, Matt got a lift over to help me anchor, found a good spot,
drug a bit and then hooked up. We dropped my dinghy in the water,
checked the holding on it, checked Kaleo's anchor and then checked
Storyville's, all of them were buried in the sand. There is a really
strong current that runs through the anchorage. Around 9:30 that night
I found myself aground, the other boats around me were pivoting with the
current but I was stuck. I sat in the cockpit waiting for something to
happen, expecting the worst. Around 1:30 the tide came back in enough
to allow me to swing back in line with everybody else. I fell back
asleep but woke up around 4:30 freezing, yes it is cold at night.
Yesterday the 28th we decided to dinghy over to Highbourne Cay(Kaleo,
Storyville & myself). We packed a picnic lunch. It was a pretty rough
trip over, longer than I expected. We picked up some fuel for our
Dinghys, I think it was $5.13 a gallon, I hope I got super unleaded!!
The trip back was extremely wet, we were now going against the wind and
current. After we got back and settled in Kaleo had some crazy french
Canadian screaming at him and gesturing at their boat and mine. She was
hysterical, the gist of it was that she wanted us to move, stating that
our anchors were dragging. In reality our anchors were fine the current
was pushing us towards their boat. Neither Kaleo or I had a problem
moving but she was such a bitch about it. We both moved our boats to
less than ideal locations. There were now 20 boat in the anchorage.
Between the wind and the current my boat was swinging 270 degrees... No
Sleep.
I was more than ready to get out of Allen's Cay this morning. Had a
quick easy motorsail down here. Heard that Pipe Muy Bligh is nearby,
relayed through another boat where we are headed. Hopefully they will
show up here today.
Shroud Cay is gorgeous, ten feet of water, sandy bottom, the water is
beautiful, it is a postcard. I think it is time for a beer.
Until Later...
Steve




Sunday, January 23, 2011

Motoring on the Tongue of the Ocean

Getting close to Nassau.


View from Storyville's mizzen mast.

I'm gonna try to upload a short video.

This is from Marathon, I went up Storyville's Mizzen Mast to try to adjust the voltage regulator on their wind generator.  This is from 1-17-11.



Sunday, January 16, 2011

Leaving for the Bahamas

Boot Key/Marathon City Marina is a great place to stay.  I only wish the weather had been nicer, its been very windy and "cold", a relative term.  I've been cold.


I've done lots and lots of provisioning, I have found it is hard to know what to get when you don't know what you need.  I have heard that beer is between $40-60 a case in the Bahamas, I've stocked up, doing my best to keep my sister employed at Miller for at least a bit longer, I think I have almost 10 cases on board(plus wine and rum).  I thought my boat was full when I left Key West, now I'm packed.  I can't even add a "wafer thin mint", the boat will burst.  The only thing I could not track down are 2 water jerry cans, West Marine is out and nobody else seems to carry them.  If I have time tomorrow I might just get 2 more gas cans and label them water.


I haven't cancelled my phone service but have reduced it to its minimum, I don't think it will work in the Bahamas so why pay for it. I also tried to give myself a haircut yesterday and then a touch up today and I still have some "issues".  According to Troy and Deana I have missed a few spots.  I meant to get a hand held mirror today but forgot, oh well.


I have a Fedex package coming tomorrow but the office is closed, I called Fedex and they said I could wait for the driver and he might give it to me.  The office said Fedex usually comes between 10 and noon so I plan on hanging out there and see if they show up.  If I miss it the office signs for all of the packages when they come in and then they sit in a closet until somebody picks them up.  So I can either contact the office after it has arrived and pay them to ship it on or contact the person that sent the package and have them go back to the place they shipped it from and have it rerouted, this however has to be done before the package is signed for.
I haven't even left the country and am having mail/shipping problems.


The weather window I have been watching for a week looks like it is going to hold through Friday afternoon or evening.  It should give me plenty of time to get to Nassau.
Here is the plan to get there.

Leave here either Monday or Tuesday afternoon, I will know which day after the wether report tomorrow morning.  Either departure day will take me on the same route.
For planning purposes lets assume I leave on Monday,
Leave in the afternoon, head for South riding Rock(24 43.02N  79 10.47W).  Should arrive a bit after daybreak on Tuesday.
Throw out an anchor and sleep during the day.
That afternoon or early evening depart and head for the "Northwest Passage"
25 28.03N 78 26.64W then
25 29.48N 78 13.19W then towards the Northwest passage
25 27.55N 78 09.24W
I should arrive at the NW Passage a bit after daybreak on Wednesday.
From here I have options...
either to 
a marina in Chub Cay and check in(about 2-3 hours after the NW Passage)
or 
Anchor at Frazers Hog Cay(3-4 hours after NW Passage, no check in here).
From either of these places on Thursday morning I am planning on heading down to Nassau.  I believe another boat from Kemah is there that myself and Storyville would like to meet up with, "Pipe muh Bligh".  We would check in at Nassau. 
All of this is written in sand, depending on my sleep or lack of I might change things up a bit. Two constants will be to enter the Bahama banks during daylight(South Riding Rock) and to get to the NW Passage at or shortly after daybreak.

Watch the Spot.

Right now I am going to read for a bit and get some sleep while I can.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Almost forgot the picture of the tattoo




Locked and Loaded


Looks like I will be heading to Marathon(Boot Key) tomorrow.  This will be my first trip as a single handed sailor.  Based on the trip so far I will probably motor the whole way.

Key West has been fun, stayed here longer than planned but my plans are pretty loose right now.  Key West is the kind of place that I can only take in small batches.  It is a tourist destination, plain and simple.  Everything is over priced and I feel like everybody is trying to get in my pocket.  There are tourist and locals and I fit somewhere between the two.

I am hoping that Boot Key offers more of a "cruiser" atmosphere.  They have shower and laundry facilities here but it is a 10 minute dinghy ride in and most people are not really social, all business.  Pretty strange coming from the social butterfly that I am.  Maybe I am the unsocial one?

Also of note...  my holding tank was supposed to be pumped on Wednesday, they told me I didn't need to be on the boat.  When I returned later in the day I stopped at Storyville, they said the pump out boat came but they had trouble getting at my cap for the holding tank.  Troy said my boards were in the way.  When I got back to the boat I realized they tried to pump out my fuel tank, thankfully they weren't successful and they don't back flush but come on.  The cap says fuel???  And it was under the extra diesel jugs I am carrying.  I finally got pumped out yesterday.

Anyway, time to run some errands and get the boat ready for tomorrow.  Look for some spot updates, I should be on the move.  If I don't leave... then plans changed a bit again, no worries.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year from Key West!!!

Made it to Key West a few days ago.  It was a pretty uneventful Gulf crossing, we motorsailed almost the whole way.  We did catch two fish, I think they were Little Tunny.  Rick did a great job of cooking them up that night.  I forgot how many stars there are.  It really takes getting away from all of the city lights to see how amazing it is.

New Years Eve was spent on Duval Street here in Key West.  The place was packed, there was all kinds of wierdness going on.  The last time I remember looking at my watch is was 3:30 am, a very late night.  We slept in the next day but did manage to drag ourselves over to Storyville for black eyed peas and cabbage.

Rick had to take off on Monday, he was a great asset to have on this trip, Thanks again Rick!!!  If anybody out there is looking for crew give him a shout, I can't recommend him enough, he even cooks!!!  Also, if you are looking to buy or sell a boat he can help you out.  His cell number is 832-738-6251.

The other day while getting on and off the boat I noticed something wrapped around the prop and shaft, I dove on it yesterday afternoon.  A trash bag, a big one like you would put your leaves in.  I have no idea when or where we picked that up, just glad it didn't cause a problem on the way here.

I spent today, Tuesday, jerry canning water, diesel, and gas to my boat.  5 gallons of gas, 10 gallons of diesel and 30 gallons of water.  In the process I almost had a seaplane land on me.  I couldn't believe it, the guy brought his plane down right at the entrance to the Key West Marina.  I was half paying attention as I left the marina while loaded down with diesel and water, I saw this plane flying low and thought to myself, there is no way that guy is going to land his plane here... he did.  I am glad the plane slowed down as fast as it did when it hit the water.

Took a tour around the island with Troy and Deana on our rented bikes & got some necessities, Rum.

Oh yea, I got a tattoo, it's been a long time coming just needed to get in the right latitude.   I will post pictures soon.

It sure is a lot of hard work having fun in paradise!!

I added a new link at the top of the blog whre you can buy Anchor Management merchandise.