RRRRRRRIIIIIIIPPPPPP!

Did you hear it? The tearing open of velcro yesterday when we left Vero (aka velcro) Beach? We were there over a month spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had a good time with new friends and with Mark and Julie on Rachel who we have known for several years. But we have been looking to get to the Bahamas and on the 28th the opportunity came along.

It was a trip of several parts. We left Vero and went out into the ocean at Ft. Pierce with very calm conditions, about a 1kt current against us and not much wind. We put out a staysail for good measure and motored out to the stream. Of course we slowed with the stream current but we also had a building wind from the E clocking to SE and it stayed on our nose all the way across the stream which ran pretty much to Matanilla Shoal. As time went on the seas built and we made pretty miserable time for about 4 hours and were pounding through the troughs. But Celilo is a strong boat and when she pounds she shakes it off instead of flexing and twisting and groaning. We reached the shoal on Roberta's watch but not before we were slapped on the starboard side, soaking that side of the cockpit. As we climbed up on the shoal the seas calmed and the wind shifted more to the south, enough to make it worth putting the jib out but not enough to make it to our destination under sail alone.

Michael got out his fishing pole and dropped a line in shortly after clearing the FL coast and pretty fast caught a nice small fish - not sure what it was. It was too small and it was easy to let it go without doing damage so we did. About an hour before dark the reel started singing with a big run. Roberta was below so was called up to steer and Michael went out to begin the fight. This fish ran three times and went deep into the spool, enough that Michael thought it might become a problem. But he tired and M got him in. Now what to do? We have not landed a fish with just the two of us, at least not one that needed to be gaffed. R took a shot and cleanly gaffed the fish on her first try and M swears she must have hit the heart because the fish was dispatched fast and hardly bled once on the boat. It was a nice tuna, skipjack we believe, and M got another lesson in filleting. It took a while but we have some nice fillets - 5 meals in the freezer!

We saw a huge turtle a few miles out from Ft. Pierce but didn't see much other sea life. The sky was cloudy in the late afternoon and early evening but after we cleared the stream it started to open up, so we had our full moon night on the Little Bahama Bank and it was spectacular.

We expect to be in the Abacos for a few more days, visiting our favorite places and trying out some new ones as time will allow. Once the weather gives us a shot we intend to get down to the Exumas. With luck we will meet with Rachel again. We are looking forward to the Exumas again with more sunshine, hikes and snorkeling. Have a fun New Year's Eve (we hope to celebrate at Green Turtle Cay) and a great New Year. We'd love to hear from you. Michael and Roberta svCelilo