Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Fireplace PLEASE!!!
You guys weren't kidding when you said it was cold back home!! We are currently in St. Augustine, FL and are wishing the boat had a fireplace. Ran 64 very cold, foggy and rainy miles from New Smyrna Beach to St. Augustine on the inside. The outside had 4 - 6 foot seas with 20 knot winds. Listened on VHF as a Coast Guard helicopter dropped a rescue swimmer into the water to go to a sinking sailboat!! Glad we decided to run the inside.
Not as much fun stuff to write about as there was in the Bahamas. Hope everyone is safe and warm and getting ready to celebrate the holidays!
Not as much fun stuff to write about as there was in the Bahamas. Hope everyone is safe and warm and getting ready to celebrate the holidays!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
We're back in the States ...
And already missing the Bahamas.
The crossing was great. Cathy took the ship out of the channel into the ocean and captained it for about 10 minutes until she got bored and then turned it back over to Terry. But she did awesome for those 10 mintues. Bigger seas coming back than on the way over though. Slow rolling 2 -3 feet waves on the side with a light wind at our back. As we got closer there were a few 5 -6 footers that snuck up on us but they were coming from the side so not too terrible.
The city marina in West Palm was CRAPPY! Really small slips, lots of seagull poop and no internet access!! Hence no blog post yesterday. Cleared our ridiculous Customs in West Palm with ease. No wonder they can't secure our borders... Pretty sad that the Bahamian government has figured out how to do customs and immigration better then the USA.
Day 2 in the US: Got up before sunrise to get moving so we could put as much distance between us and South Florida as possible. South Florida boaters pilot their boats like they use to drive on the Jersey turnpike before they retired and moved down here!!
154 nautical miles from West Palm to New Syrmna Beach. Went on the outside and had really smooth seas. Watched the water temperature drop from 80F to 68F. Went around Cape Canaveral and saw the Space Center and Space Shuttle out on the landing pad. Pretty cool! Saw lots of sea turtles - some as big as Mini Coopers.
Stayed the night at New Syrmna Beach Marina. Great place, really cheap and they have internet access! Too tired to go out to dinner so we stayed on the boat and had to settle for fresh lobster from Port Lucaya and fresh Wahoo from West End... This boating life is tough!
On to St. Augustine today.
The crossing was great. Cathy took the ship out of the channel into the ocean and captained it for about 10 minutes until she got bored and then turned it back over to Terry. But she did awesome for those 10 mintues. Bigger seas coming back than on the way over though. Slow rolling 2 -3 feet waves on the side with a light wind at our back. As we got closer there were a few 5 -6 footers that snuck up on us but they were coming from the side so not too terrible.
The city marina in West Palm was CRAPPY! Really small slips, lots of seagull poop and no internet access!! Hence no blog post yesterday. Cleared our ridiculous Customs in West Palm with ease. No wonder they can't secure our borders... Pretty sad that the Bahamian government has figured out how to do customs and immigration better then the USA.
Day 2 in the US: Got up before sunrise to get moving so we could put as much distance between us and South Florida as possible. South Florida boaters pilot their boats like they use to drive on the Jersey turnpike before they retired and moved down here!!
154 nautical miles from West Palm to New Syrmna Beach. Went on the outside and had really smooth seas. Watched the water temperature drop from 80F to 68F. Went around Cape Canaveral and saw the Space Center and Space Shuttle out on the landing pad. Pretty cool! Saw lots of sea turtles - some as big as Mini Coopers.
Stayed the night at New Syrmna Beach Marina. Great place, really cheap and they have internet access! Too tired to go out to dinner so we stayed on the boat and had to settle for fresh lobster from Port Lucaya and fresh Wahoo from West End... This boating life is tough!
On to St. Augustine today.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
One Month Anniversary
Left Port Lucaya yesterday to travel to West End. A short 30 mile jaunt. Cathy drove the boat and learned all about COG (Course Over Ground), Waypoints, Headings and all sort of "fun" things you need to know to navigate a boat! She did well - or at least she didn't hit anything!
Now sitting here in West End we realize it is a month to the day that we set sail out of Charleston waving at our friends on A dock on a beautiful sunny morning. As we are preparing to head back we are sure it is just as warm as when we left, right?!?!?! It has been a fun month.
Now sitting here in West End we realize it is a month to the day that we set sail out of Charleston waving at our friends on A dock on a beautiful sunny morning. As we are preparing to head back we are sure it is just as warm as when we left, right?!?!?! It has been a fun month.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Free Water at our new marina!!
Left Bimini Wednesday Dec 8th at 11am headed North towards Port Lucaya on the Grand Bahama Island. Waves were anywhere from 3 - 5 feet. Cathy got a little sea sick! McKenna did fine. Nothing seems to bother her. Weather and seas got progressively better and by the time we hit Port Lucaya the seas were very calm. Port Lucaya is MUCH more developed than Bimini but we have FREE WATER! Tons of restaurants and places to go. We almost miss the seculsion of Bimini but it will be nice to get to a grocery store and re-supply some groceries.
Thursday was a nice relaxing day of exploring the island. A new sail boat arrived at our marina Thursday night that had 2 children - Nicholas (7) and Naomie (10). They are from Switzerland and a very interesting family. McKenna is loving having some new kids to play with.
Friday our family and the new family took our dinghys out to go snorkeling. It was truly amazing. The fish were so beautiful. All different colors, shapes and sizes. The fish must be use to being fed because they would swim right up to your mask!! Saw one medium size fish that looked like a shark. Luckily it was not but it gave Cathy a scare.
Friday afternoon we went to swim with dolphins. The dolphins were named Indy and Andros. Indy was 15 years old and his half brother Andros is 10 years old. They were very entertaining and McKenna, Cathy and Terry loved the experience.
Friday night there was a big Christmas party in the village square. They had clowns, dancers and all kind of entertainers. The most amazing was a man that could go under the Limbo poll that was 18 inches off the ground!! No kidding - it was quite a feat!
Pretty cool, huh?
Not sure when we will be heading home or if we will come home (just kidding). Love and good wishes to everyone back home. More later . . .
Thursday was a nice relaxing day of exploring the island. A new sail boat arrived at our marina Thursday night that had 2 children - Nicholas (7) and Naomie (10). They are from Switzerland and a very interesting family. McKenna is loving having some new kids to play with.
Friday our family and the new family took our dinghys out to go snorkeling. It was truly amazing. The fish were so beautiful. All different colors, shapes and sizes. The fish must be use to being fed because they would swim right up to your mask!! Saw one medium size fish that looked like a shark. Luckily it was not but it gave Cathy a scare.
Friday afternoon we went to swim with dolphins. The dolphins were named Indy and Andros. Indy was 15 years old and his half brother Andros is 10 years old. They were very entertaining and McKenna, Cathy and Terry loved the experience.
Friday night there was a big Christmas party in the village square. They had clowns, dancers and all kind of entertainers. The most amazing was a man that could go under the Limbo poll that was 18 inches off the ground!! No kidding - it was quite a feat!
Pretty cool, huh?
Not sure when we will be heading home or if we will come home (just kidding). Love and good wishes to everyone back home. More later . . .
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Fins to the Left - Fins to the Right - We're the Only Bait In Town
The longer we are down here - the more Jimmy Buffet songs make sense - we would all kill for a Cheeseburger right now. You can only eat so much seafood!!
Yesterday afternoon we visited the Bimini Biological Field Station aka Shark Lab. A couple days ago while on the boat we watched a show on Discovery Channel about "The Whale that Ate a Shark". Much of the research for this show was done at a lab in South Bimini. Terry bumped into several of the young people that work there. He asked them if we could come tour their facility. They said yes and it was amazing . . .
We thought it would be fun and educational for McKenna. Who would have thought that we all learned so much and had an incredible time!
From standing right next to a 4 foot Lemon Shark . . .
To petting a baby Lemon Shark (18 inches long)
Our time at the Bimini Shark Lab was truly amazing.
A special thanks to Jill (from England - whose parents just immigrated to Canada) and Jim (who got his Marine Biology degree from Coastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach, SC!!)
Just for fun - thought I would include this picture of a starfish we also saw today. It was huge (as you can tell by Terry's foot being next to it)
Yesterday afternoon we visited the Bimini Biological Field Station aka Shark Lab. A couple days ago while on the boat we watched a show on Discovery Channel about "The Whale that Ate a Shark". Much of the research for this show was done at a lab in South Bimini. Terry bumped into several of the young people that work there. He asked them if we could come tour their facility. They said yes and it was amazing . . .
We thought it would be fun and educational for McKenna. Who would have thought that we all learned so much and had an incredible time!
From standing right next to a 4 foot Lemon Shark . . .
To petting a baby Lemon Shark (18 inches long)
Our time at the Bimini Shark Lab was truly amazing.
A special thanks to Jill (from England - whose parents just immigrated to Canada) and Jim (who got his Marine Biology degree from Coastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach, SC!!)
Just for fun - thought I would include this picture of a starfish we also saw today. It was huge (as you can tell by Terry's foot being next to it)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Changes in Latitude - Changes in Attitude - Changes in Plans
EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of the content on this blog may be changed or altered as we just learned that McKenna's 5-K class at St. Joseph's has been following our activities!! :-)
So we finally get our $53 part to stop the engine from shooting gallons of water a minute into the engine compartment. Terry had it installed by Sunday night (with the help of Charlie, the local island marine mechanic) and it actually worked! Woohoo! So we checked the weather again and decided we would leave Monday AM to either Port Lucaya or Nassau... it would be bumpy seas but we're tough, right? Monday morning Terry tells Robbie, the dockmaster, we're leaving.
Robbie says "No mon. See aw dose lobsta boats tied up to de docks? Dey're in dere fur a reason. And dey don't have no wife and daughter on board."
So Robbie and Terry hopped in the golf cart and the raced down to the inlet. Terry came back after watching a 120 foot Hatteras get hammered on the waves and said to get comfy we're gonna be here a few more days. This picture does not do justice to how big those waves were! Honest!!
Here in the Bahamas the weather looks like six foot seas and 25 knot winds at least through Tuesday night.
The wind and rough seas were brought by the cold front that has hit the States so hard this week. It is freezing here by Bahamas standards. The highs are in the 60s! Of course we did see the low in Charleston on Monday was in the upper 20s F so we really aren't complaining!! Guess it ain't so bad being stuck here after all. Of course McKenna and Cathy had to put on long pants for the first time since we left Charleston.
Terry refuses, and is still wearing swim trunks and flip flops (although, with a fleece pullover!)
Monday we went Bone fishing in the Mangroves with Eagle Eyes Fred. He could spot those fish from 100 ft. away in that crystal clear water. This was convenient because it allowed us to see all of the really big fish we were NOT catching! Fred said it was the cold front that made them not hungry. We still had fun and saw a bunch of Lemon Sharks and Barracuda too!
Photo by McKenna Sullivan
Life ain't too bad in Bimini even with a change in plans; we're on Island Time after all!
So we finally get our $53 part to stop the engine from shooting gallons of water a minute into the engine compartment. Terry had it installed by Sunday night (with the help of Charlie, the local island marine mechanic) and it actually worked! Woohoo! So we checked the weather again and decided we would leave Monday AM to either Port Lucaya or Nassau... it would be bumpy seas but we're tough, right? Monday morning Terry tells Robbie, the dockmaster, we're leaving.
Robbie says "No mon. See aw dose lobsta boats tied up to de docks? Dey're in dere fur a reason. And dey don't have no wife and daughter on board."
So Robbie and Terry hopped in the golf cart and the raced down to the inlet. Terry came back after watching a 120 foot Hatteras get hammered on the waves and said to get comfy we're gonna be here a few more days. This picture does not do justice to how big those waves were! Honest!!
Here in the Bahamas the weather looks like six foot seas and 25 knot winds at least through Tuesday night.
The wind and rough seas were brought by the cold front that has hit the States so hard this week. It is freezing here by Bahamas standards. The highs are in the 60s! Of course we did see the low in Charleston on Monday was in the upper 20s F so we really aren't complaining!! Guess it ain't so bad being stuck here after all. Of course McKenna and Cathy had to put on long pants for the first time since we left Charleston.
Terry refuses, and is still wearing swim trunks and flip flops (although, with a fleece pullover!)
Monday we went Bone fishing in the Mangroves with Eagle Eyes Fred. He could spot those fish from 100 ft. away in that crystal clear water. This was convenient because it allowed us to see all of the really big fish we were NOT catching! Fred said it was the cold front that made them not hungry. We still had fun and saw a bunch of Lemon Sharks and Barracuda too!
Life ain't too bad in Bimini even with a change in plans; we're on Island Time after all!
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