10/31/2008

Thursday, 30 Oct 08, 0735-hrs
Galena departed Mears Point Marina heading toward the Bahamas... Again.

I'm now sitting in Solomons Island, MD
Trip: 47nm / Total 47 nm; Engine: 1904 hrs

It's 0200 hrs and I just woke up to check the anchor. Yep, it's where I left it: 88-ft off Galena's bow.

It was a cold day with very blusterly conditions to start with.
In fact, the wind was a big problem when I left the slip this morning. Wind was 15 gusting to 25 from the NW. That put it from 2-O'clock as Galena lay in her slip. I have to turn to port as I motor out. So when I was finally ready to leave the slip (which took much longer than I had expected; man am I out of practice!) I had to use a 'thief knot' at the bow, starboard side. I cast off the three leeward (port) lines, I cast off the port stern line. That left Galena hanging from just a bow and breast line on the windward (starboard) side. I made a final check to insure that I had disconnected all those pesky little things like shore power and cable TV lines. I checked the dink (which I would tow) to ensure it was properly positioned. Then I waited for a lull in the wind.

At least that's what I told myself I was doing...

Actually I was just savering the moment. I was about to start yet another adventure. This one would be unique. The first two I had my wife Jane with me. The third had Capt Tom on Evergreen sailing in tandem with me. This time I was all by myself.

Finally, the wind abated a little. I yanked the trip line for the thief knot at the bow and dropped the loop from the piling at the breast line amidships. The wind immediately started to swing Galena's bow to port. I gunned the engine and she started out of the slip. 3/4 of the way out I backed down a little to allow the bow to finish swining to port and then accelerated down the fairway.

We've had high northly winds for the last few days. The wind has blown all the water out of the bay. Usually in my slip I'm sitting in 7 to 8 ft of water. This morning I was reading 5.6-ft. And it was high-tide! As I turned around s/v Amici at the end of the dock and headed toward the marina entrance I was reading 5.2 ft. Remember Galena draws 5-ft. As I motored past the covered slips near the entrance to the marina I felt Galena rise up as her full keel slid up onto the muddy bottom. I hit full throttle and watched the water depth hit 4.6 ft. Galena continue to rise up... and slow down! As I got down to about 1.5 kts she started to settle into deeper (5.2') water. Finally I was out into Kent Narrows. I was 10-minutes early for the drawbridge. I checked in and started treading water waiting. The tide was heading out (South) and the wind was NW. So I would have a fast run through the bridge and the lower part of the Narrows.

After the bottoming in the marina I was concerned about the shoals just at the southern end of the Narrows. I'd read as little as 6.8 ft there in the past.

As a side note, last year I went all winter without hitting the bottom more than about two or three times. And here I was, rubbing the new bottom paint off only a few hundred feet into this trip. This doesn't bode well.

Through the bridge at 0800 hrs and into the southern leg of Kent Narrows. I read 5.2' at the shallow spot near Green '3' and that was the end of the shoals. A few minutes later I had turned into the wind and raised the sails: a double reef in the main plus the staysail. I was moving along smartly, directly downwind.

As I turned SW into Eastern Bay, my speed increased to 6+ kts. I shook out one reef and settled into my routine.

It was cold out. The sky had cleared and the sun was shining but providing absolutely no warmth. The temperature was about 60-deg. I turned into the Chesapeake Bay, proper, at about 1030 hrs. Now I was running almost dead downwind again. Ii shook out the final reef in the main and ran with full main and staysail. Galena was making about 5.5 kts most of the time. When the wind gusted (to about 25 kts) she sped up to 7kts. Then she slowed back to about 5.

At 1330 the sun started to warm things up a bit. The air was still cool. And the wind was uncomfortably cold. But sitting in the sun I felt warm for the first time in days. I stripped off my heavy winter coat and then my sweatshirt. I was basking in just a T-shirt and sweatpants.

That warmth lasted only about an hour. By 1430 everything got cold again. So back I was again bundled up.

Everything seems to be working well. Galena just sailed along quietly. But then the wind died. My speed dropped to less than 3-kts. My arrival time at Solomons Island quickly moved to 'after-dark,' So I fired up the engine and motor-sailed the last 15 or so miles.

I made it here at about 1645-hrs. I had seen 9 other sailboats ahead of me running down the bay. And I had heard a bunch of them calling marinas in the Solomons area. But no one was anchored in my little anchorage just inside the river entrance.

I slowed down to 1.5 kts. I went forward (I almost said 'I ran' but you never let them see you run; it looks so un-seamen-like, and so much of this is posturing for the other sailors) and dangled the anchor. I noticed that there was a lot of construction going on. everyone was building more docks. They were encroaching into 'my anchorage.' But I picked my spot. I put the engine in idle reverse. I walked forward and released the anchor break. Down it went just as Galena lost all way. I payed out rode as she started to slowly turn downwind and started making sternway. At 35-ft I snubbed the rode and set the hook. I walked back to the cockpit and increased revs in reverse. I check side ranges (masts and shoreside objects) and noted that Galena came to a stop once the catenary was taken up. So engine to idle and back to the bow to set my snubbers.

I settled in to a nice cup of hot chocolate and a can of stew. I also called Sarah and Bill of Moonlight Serenade. They keep their boat here and I was interested in seeing them again. Sarah said they were planing on coming down on Friday afternoon. So I'll sit here all day tomorrow and visit with them.

Saturday morning I'll head down to Indian Creek and then Sunday to Norfolk. There I may join up with Capt Ron on s/v Lastdance if he's still around.

Next entry, pictures. I promise.

This was just a started-post.

The adventure begins. Cool, huh?

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05/28/2008

17 - 18 May 2008
Beaufort, NC


I stayed in Beaufort for a few days longer than originally planned. Partly because of the weather. Partly because I was having such a good time. As I said, I really like this town. And, yeah, Moonlight and I partied our collective little hearts out. Three days of good meals and great times. Each day we thought we were leaving the next morning. And since they are so much faster than Galena, we would say, "goodbye" each night. But then the sun would rise and there we would be, still anchored next to each other.

One of our favorite places was the Backstreet Pub. It's off the alley behind Front Street.

The entrance to the Backstreet Pub

Downstairs is a small bar with a fireplace. Very old world feel to the place

Bill and Sarah downstairs at the Backstreet Pub

Upstairs there's another bar with a bandstand and dance floor.

The upstairs at the Backstreet Pub

One morning Moonlight Serenade and I were at a coffee shop drinking coffee and playing dominoes. Karen and Angela, whom we had met the night before at the Backstreet Pub, stopped by. We taught them how to play. When we found out they were musicians, we invited them out to Moonlight Serenade for a jam session.

Karen, Bill, Sarah, and Angela on Moonlight Serenade

Karen plays the fiddle and Angela plays the guitar. We sat around making music for a while as the wind blew about 20kts outside.

After a bit Bill, Sarah, and I went to town for dinner. When we stopped by the Backstreet Pub for a beer, Bill went out to check on the boats. The wind was still blowing about 20kts and the current had just shifted with the tide. In just a few minutes Bill came running back yelling that, "The boat's not there!" He thought someone had stolen it. We ran down to the dinghy dock and as we got into the dinks we saw Moonlight Serenade. It was about 200 yards downwind of were it had been. We hurried out there since she was riding very close to another boat. It had obviously dragged. Sarah raised the anchor as I fended off the boat that was close aboard on the starboard side. As the hook came up we found it had fouled on a mooring ball's mooring line. Once we got that cleared off the anchor Moonlight's fin keel caught on a boats anchor rode. Bill backed her off that and finally made it into clear water. We moved back to where Moonlight had been anchored earlier and dropped the anchor. We just wanted to catch our breaths and settle down a bit.

By the time Moonlight was well anchored again and I returned to Galena it was about 0100 hrs. Looking at the positions of the other boats around Moonlight, Bill believed that his anchor had been tripped by some other boat. I agreed. It just didn't seem like Moonlight would have dragged like that without any help.

19 May 2008
Aligator River Anchorage, South of G-37 at ICW Milepost 101.
Trip: 92nm, Total: 2976nm, Engine: 1821hrs


I left Beaufort early in the morning, as usual. I got was up and moving just an hour or so before Moonlight Serenade. The tide was with me most of the way. Moonlight had said they were going all the way to Milepost 101. I usually make it there in two days. After all, it's almost 100 miles! And a fifty mile day is just about right for Galena. But with the current with me, and the longer days this time of year, and with the early start I had, I just might make it.

About 1700 Moonlight called to ask where I was going to anchor for the night. I was just at the bottom of the Allegator-Pungo Canal. If I enter it, I have to make it all the way through; 20 miles. There's no place to stop once you get into that canal because it's just too narrow. There was a full moon tonight and I would be able to make it to the top of the canal by sunset. So I decided to go for it.

I came out of the canal just as the moon was rising. It was big and orange. Bill on Moonlight hit me with a light as I came into sight. I anchored in 9-ft of water in a dead calm. So I rowed over to Moonlight Serenade and had a great dinner with Bill and Sarah.

20 May 2008
Coinjock, NC
Trip: 51nm, Total: 3017nm, Engine: 1830hrs


I sailed off the hook before down. At first the Albamarle Sound was calm. I was sailing north with about an 8-kt south breeze. But as the day wore on the winds came up higher and higher. By the time I hit the swing bridge the wind was blowing at about 20-kts and the seas were up to 4-ft.

As I made it to the top of the Sound the wind was 25-30 kts. The seas were over 6-ft and it was really nasty. I made it in to Coinjock early enough in the afternoon to have a little nap before dinner. I was anchored behind s/v Mistriss, who was right behind Moonlight Serenade. See, I keep saying goodby to them and keep ending up right next to them day after day. My good fortune.

We had dinner and drinks and called it a night. Oh, and said, "Goodbye" once again.

21 May 2008
Hampton Public Docks, Hampton, VA
Trip: 50nm, Total: 3078nm, Engine: 1838hrs


I made it to Hampton after an uneventful run up the ICW and through Norfolk. Again, I'm tied up next to Moonlight Serenade. We all went out to a pub named Marker 20. There I met Kim and Brian, friends of M.S. After a nice light dinner and a couple of beers, we again said, "Goodbye" and called it a night. This time, the goodbye was real.

22 May 2008
Solomons Island, VA
Trip: 92nm, Total: 3171nm, Engine: 1856hrs


I was going to go all night and end up in Baltimore. The gang from my home marina was going to spend Labor Day Weekend rafted up in the Inner Harbor. I wanted to surprise them and just show up there. I had called my buddy Capt Ron and he was going to be there early on Friday.

But the wind was right on the nose. And the seas were about 3-ft and pounding into Galena with a very tiring motion. So about midnight I decided to head into Solomons and drop the hook for a few hours sleep.

I've been here quite a few times before and was fairly comfortable coming into this place in the dark.

I got the hook down and immediately fell asleep.

23 - 25 May 2008
Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD
Trip: 71nm, Total: 3241nm, Engine: 1869hrs


I had to motorsail all the way here. The wind was either non-existant or right on the nose all day long. By the time I got here there was four of my friends already anchored. s/v's Sea Woof, Lastdance, Cloud Nine, and m/v Bliss. I rafted up with Lastdance.

I partied with Capt Ron and the others for a while and fell asleep.

The next day we spent a lot of time talking about how we spent the winter. The others from O-Dock arrived throughout the day. Rising Tide, Integrity, Zufrieden. Capt Ron and I wondered about the waterfront for a while and went out for diner.

Some of the boats at the Baltimore Raft-up

After another couple of days partying with my buddies it was time to actually finish this trip.

26 May 2008
Mears Point Marina, Kent Narrows, MD
Trip: 30nm, Total: 3270nm, Engine: 1856hrs


I called Jane and headed home to Mears Point Marina. It was only 30 miles across the bay and up the Narrows. I had to motor all the way home. I arrived about 1300 hrs. When I got there Joel and Joanne (s/v So Excited) and Billy and Karen (s/v Betterdays) were waiting to catch my lines. Jane took some pictures as Galena found her way into her slip after almost 3300 miles and seven months of cruising.

Galena turning into her slip at the marina.

Joel and Billy catching my lines

Jane and I went out to have a little lunch and then she drove me home.

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05/18/2008

Back in Beaufort, NC.

I know it's been a long time since s/v Galena's last update. Sorry to all. It's been so long that I'm starting to get letters of concern from readers I don't even know!

But the truth is that once in the ICW I get very bored. I mean the winter is winding down and most of the fun stuff is over. There's very little to write about and even less to photograph. I've run the ICW about four times now and it's just about the most boring thing you can do in a sailboat.

So here's the second-to-last blog entry for the winter. I'll make one more after I return to Kent Narrows. Then I'll take these entries and convert them to normal web pages and put them on Galena's main web page.


10 - 11 April 2008
Tilloo Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
Trip: 13nm, Total: 2029nm, Engine: 1682hrs


My trip through the Abacos was pretty quick. It went like this:

My run through the Abacos

I left Little Harbor about 1100 hrs. High tide was at noon so I had plenty of water to get out the channel at eleven.

As I prepped Galena for departure Bob and Chris (m/v Leap of Faith) dinghied over to say, 'goodbye.' So sweet of them. I was looking forward to seeing them again up-island, but it never happened. From what little I saw of them, they appeared to be my kind of people. Maybe next year our paths will cross again.

s/v Stella Polaris left about 1030 and were a mile or so ahead of me as I left Little Harbor. We were both motorsailing into a moderate breeze. After about six miles, as I passed the North Bar Channel inlet, I cut off the engine and just sailed. The swells coming in were rough and confused at the inlet. But once passed the inlet the Sea of Abaco was calm.

As I tacked back and forth toward Tilloo Cay Stella Polaris motorsailed on to Elbow Cay. There were about six boats anchored at Tilloo Cay when I arrived. I wanted to sail to the hook but was not willing to risk it. The few boats there were spread out in such a way that I would have to round-up into the wind fairly close to a couple of them. With no engine running I would have be afraid of drifting into one of them before the hook set. So I motored the last few hundred feet. I had the hook down at 1500hrs. I found a free, open WiFi site (Coconut Telegraphs) and started working on the blog (That was the previous one, of course)

I did some boat projects today. I emptied the head and refilled it with the starter layer of peat moss. Unfortunately I did that in the boat. Dry peat moss is very dusty and I had brown dust everywhere for days after that. I'll always do this little task outside from now on. I had emptied it while crossing one of the inlets on the sail to here, Tilloo Cay.

I settled in for a very quiet night. The anchorage is well sheltered from the northeast winds and the water was calm. couldn't have asked for a better anchorage.

The night passed with nothing to disturb me and I didn't get up until 0800hrs for the morning cruiser's net. Afterwards I heard Stella Polaris calling everyone they knew (except me) and no one was answering. Joyce usually wants to know what everyone else has planned for the day so she can plan her's.

I went online and posted my blog and read my e-mail. I spent a lot of time online during the morning. Not much news from the home-front except that Captain Terry had had quadruple-bypass surgery. Bummer!

I heard s/v Moonlight Serenade saying that Man-of-War Cay was 'dry' as was Spanish Wells, in Eleuthera. No point going there, I guess.

s/v Sea Renity has a very nice hard dodger that they say came from Pro-trim.com. I checked it and couldn't find anything like what they had. But it gave me some good ideas for Galena.

I plan on sailing to Marsh Harbor tomorrow. I understand that it's a crowded, dirty little harbor. Sort of like the George Town, Exumas, of the Abacos. We'll see. One of those places you have to go at least once.

This was a very relaxing day at anchor. It was one of those days that cruising is all about. Sure, I love to see my friends. And sure I love to meet new people and party around. But I also love, just as much, quiet days alone on Galena. Just me. No distractions and no people. I lay around on deck reading and getting parts of me sunburned that should never see the light of day.

12 - 16 April 2008
Marsh Harbor, Abaco (N 26° 32.8' W 077° 03.4')
Trip: 14nm, Total: 2043nm, Engine: 1682hrs

I sailed over here from Tilloo Cay in a stiff breeze. Nothing interesting happened; just had a very nice, brisk, sail. The wind was really kicking up (18kts) when I turned into the harbor proper. So down sails and motored in looking for a place to drop the hook. I found a lot of room inside. anchoring was no problem at all.

I went to shore to find a phone and call home. I spent about 2 hours finding someplace that sells phone cards and a payphone that would use them. But there was no answer.

So I moved on to phase II: Beer. I went over to the Jib Room. I had dinner (steak-night) and met Steve. After a couple of hours of me telling him my sea stories and answering all his questions about sailing/cruising he told Maria, the bartender, to move my tab to his. I protested telling him I'd had dinner and a lot to drink and that the tab was probably close $75. He said it was the least he could to for a Vietnam Vet. So I let him.

While there I also talked with Jim from s/v Xanadu. He's cool. We had first met when I anchored near him in George Town, Exumas. He said it was so cool that I sailed up the harbor and into the anchorage.

I somehow made it back to Galena.

As I looked around the harbor on the 13th, I see a lot of boats I recognize. Not that I know all those people, but I've seen their boats in other harbors. I may know the people and simply not connect them with a boat.

I went out to Curly Tails bar for a beer and there bumped into Sarah and Bill (s/v Moonlight Serenade) and Michelle and Clark (s/v Seabbatical 1). Got a great reception from the girls and that always makes me feel special. Then Carolyn and Bill (s/v Worthless Wench) showed up. After a few drinks with everyone I went off with W.W. to drink in few other establishments while M.S. and S.1. went back to their boats. We ended up at Mango's and the three of us got way, way too drunk. But we drank some very good tasting drinks!

After another great evening I made it back to Galena just before it started to rain. I slept soundly until 0730hrs. Well, more accurately: I passed out.

I walked the town and called Jane. I found the grocery store and bumped into Gail and Bob (s/v Star) there. I walked back to the harbor with them. I have really met the nicest people on this trip.

I spent the morning of the 14th recovering from the evening of the 13th. I actually ran out of water this morning. That makes about 55 gallons used in 30 days. Or about 2 gal/day. Not bad.

I went to make dinner only to find that bugs had invaded my supply of pasta. Anything that was not in a zip-lock bag was infested with strange little bugs. And a couple of the boxes of pasta that were in zip-lock bags that had rubbed through also had bugs. So I had to throw out a bunch of food and clean out that locker. \\

On the 15th it was very windy (20+ kts). So I went to shore and did laundry. I spent about $10 in quarters.

On the radio I heard Sarah (s/v Moonlight Serenade) complain about her dinghy being chained up. She actually wrote a song about it. It seems that, as before, M.S. and S.1. had used the dinghy dock at Boat Harbor Marina. But they didn't know they had to pay $20 each for the privilege. So when they got back to the dinks they found them chained up to the dock with big locks. They were told they had to pay the money or spend that much at the bar and show the receipts to the dockmaster to get their dinghies back. They were pissed. And by the time they had spent the money at the bar, they were also drunk. So that night on the radio there was a concert of sorts. Sarah can actually sing and the words were hilarious!

Michelle and Clark, s/v Seabbatical 1, drinks at the Boat Harbor Marina

The wind on the night of the 15th was ridiculous reaching over 50kts. I had Galena anchored with the 33# CQR and 100-ft of 3/8" chain. She held fine; even though a 90° swing.

On the 16th of April, Stella Polaris arrived in the harbor. I went over to visit and met their friends from Maryland, Larry and Barb. Worthless Wench stopped by for a visit, too. I went to Curly Tails to meet Moonlight Serenade and Seabbatical 1. Stella Polaris joined us. After everyone left I stayed on and met new friends.

17-20 April 2008
Fisher's Bay, Great Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas (N 26° 40.02' W 077° 07.21')
Trip: 9nm, Total: 2060, Engine: 1684hrs


Motored directly to windward to get here from Marsh Harbor. Seabbatical 1 is anchored a bit east of me just below Orchid Bay. I'm all by myself here in I was invited to Seabbatical 1 for dinner. I had a great time there. Michelle made pork chops. And that girl can cook! Oh, and Clark grilled the chops; he can cook, too. It was nice to sit down and really get to know people that you have previously just partied with.

On the 18th the gang was all here in Fisher's Bay. Seabbatical 1 moved up to be closer to everyone. Stella Polaris took a mooring ball inside of Orchid Bay (they don't like to lie to the hook if they don't have to). I think Star Shot is here, too.

Penny and George (s/v Star Shot) at Nippers

I'm starting to plan my run to Florida. This is one of the last places I want to visit in the Abacos and I'm looking at the weather trying to plan a move to Great Sale Cay to stage for a crossing.

We all went to Nipper's for drinks. There we met Gail and Mathew of s/v Alisios. We had seen them at George Town, Exuma.

Gail and Mathew of s/v Alisios at Nippers

Nippers beach bar, Great Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas

I walked on the beach with Sarah and Michelle. Joyce got a bit tipsy.

I wanted to find pictures of the cruising babes I've been hanging out with and found these:

My cruising companions: Joyce, Sarah, and Michelle of Stella Polaris, Moonlight Serenade, and Seabbatical 1, respectively.

But when I looked for pictures of the guys they are with... well... I just couldn't find any good pictures.

The gang at Nippers

Joyce spilled a rum punch on her skirt and after washing it in the restroom spent the rest of the evening all wet. Linda and Bill (s/v Joie de Vivre) were there and stopped by our little party. Oh, even though Worthless Wench was gone (on their way to NC) I met a guy they had been telling me about: Big Dick. We had a few drinks and talked about mutual friends.

Big Dick along with Linda and Bill (s/v Jois de Vivre)

When we left Nippers we found a small (7') palm tree that someone had broken off. So we took it with us to Grabbers where we danced with it, gave it a drink and generally had a great time.

Sunset at Grabbers, Great Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas

We all rented a golf cart to tour the island and meet friends of Moonlight Serenade. Along the way we saw a guy with a submarine in his back yard. We stopped to talk with him about it. It's a home built affair.

Home made submarine

Oh, he also has a helicopter that he built.

And his home made helicopter

I dinghied out to a dinghy-drift and had a nice time. Then back to Grabbers for another beer or two.

Part of the dinghy drift raft-up

21-22 April 2008
Green Turtle Cay (N 26° 45.7' W 077° 20.1')
Trip: 15nm, Total: 2076nm, Engine: 1685hrs

I had a great sail here from Great Guana Cay. Seas were calm as I went through Whale Cut and then the wind picked up to about 15-20kts. The wind also clocked from south to southwest to west during the trip. We had a small rain shower just after I anchored. I'm now with Moonlight Serenade and Stella Polaris.

Black Sound, on Green Turtle Cay is a pleasent little settlement. One of the quaintest I've seen here.

View of the settlement at Green Turtle Cay

We hit a few of the bars on the island. Actually I think we hit three bars in three hours. I got a T-shirt from the marina and, after all, isn't that all we really need from these places?

Oh, and when asking direction to the bar here, we were told to, "... turn right at the old jail."
And this is the old jail.

The old Jail on Green Turtle Cay

And we found the bar.

The gang at bar #1

Then we found another.

The gang at bar #2

Then we found another.

And bar #3

23 April 2008
Allan's Cay (N 26° 59.3' W 077° 41.2')
Trip: 29nm, Total: 2109nm, Engine: 1691hrs

This is just a stop-over place to break up the run to Great Sale Cay. Nothing here but a great anchorage. Room for a lot of boats, too. We had 9 boats where I got here. Some of the boats here were flying the 'Q' flag so they were just arriving from the States. And while the seas and wind were a bit boisterous out on the Sea of Abaco, in here it's just flat and calm. Very nice place too stop.

Stella Polaris had a rough time. They were almost here when they noticed that their fresh water tank plumbing had sprung a leak. They had absolutely no fresh water on board. So they turned around and went to Spanish Cay where they paid $50 for 100 gallons of water. They showed up here late in the afternoon.

I went over to M.S. for dominoes and drinks and got home about 2300hrs.

Tomorrow it's Great Sale Cay and then on to Florida.

24 April 2008
Great Sale Cay (N 26° 58.9' W 078° 12.9')
Trip: 37nm, Total: 2146nm, Engine: 1692hrs


Wonderful sail down here from Allan's Cay. The wind was 10-15kts mostly on the beam or just aft. Waves were about 3-ft on the beam. I averaged about 6.5 kts for the whole trip with a lot of over-7-kt sections.

As Moonlight Serenade moved in to anchor, they broke their throttle cable. Later in the day, Tom (S.P.) went over and together with Bill got the cable jerry-rigged to work until they got to the States.

I was the 5 th boat into this harbor. But by 1830 there were 21 boats here. Everyone must agree it's a good day for a crossing to Florida.

We met on M.S. for dinner, birthday cake (it was Sarah's birthday the next day), movies, and a planning session. Also, Brian and Bev (s/v Mango) dropped by. They were friends of M.S. And when I saw them, and they me, we recognized each other from George Town, Exumas. Bev was the one that convinced me to put my name on the mural at the Chat and Chill over which I got into a bit of trouble because I let my name go over the actually painting. It was all Bev's fault.

We disagreed on the planning session. M.S. and S.P. didn't like the 6' seas forecast for tomorrow. I didn't like the light winds forecast for day-after-tomorrow. So we decided to do our own thing. I was going to head out in the morning, they were going to stay for another day.

25 April 2008
Passage from Great Sale Cay, Abaco, to Port Canaveral, Florida


OMG! It's a Friday. Well, I'm leaving anyway. At 0700hrs I did the final prep of Galena for sea. At 0740 I raised the sails and then the anchor and sailed away... alone. This will be m y first ocean passage completely alone. Cool!!!

My run from Great Sale Cay, Abaco, to Port Canaveral

26 April 2008
Cape Marina, Canaveral, Florida
Trip: 160nm, Total: 2306nm, Engine: 1700hrs


I'm Back in the States! Customs came out to Galena for a visit. But they were ex-military guys and we just sat in the cockpit and talked trash for a while. Then they left. I called Jane, and my daughter, Michelle. I sent some e-mails and received some, too. Good to be back in the ol' U.S. of A.

I had a beautiful sail out of Great Sale Cay, Abaco. I sailed off the hook and turned to the harbor exit. I had all sails up in calm seas making 6+ kts as I left the island. But as I moved out of the lee of the island, the seas picked up to about 3-ft. But, like the wind the waves were from aft of the beam so it was a comfortable ride. I got Harvey sorted out and he steered Galena well for the entire trip to Florida.

About 12 miles from the edge of the bank, I hit the ocean swells. I went into the deep water of the Atlantic at about 1700 hrs. The swells were just aft of the beam on the starboard side. The wind was just starboard of aft. So it was a good ride.

All night I noticed a slow clocking of the wind. As it went to eastI had to point a little higher than I wanted. I was moving too far north too fast. I would overshoot Canaveral unless I turned more west. By dawn I was 3-nm north of the rhomb line.

After dawn the wind went to 5kts ESE. The swells were down to 4 to 5 feet. But the rocking caused the main and jib to backwind every few seconds. The banging and clanking drove me crazy. So with less than 20nm to go, I dropped sails and motored directly to Port Canaveral, FL.

I called Customs and they said they would call me back. And they did... just as I was approaching the fuel dock and Cape Marina! I had to tell them I'd call them back. I took a slip and bought a couple of beers at the ship's store. Then Customs showed up. After they left, I had another couple of beers and called it a night.

The next morning (27 Apr) I'm up at 0630 and called Moonlight Serenade on HF and got no response. So I tried VHF and there they were. I walked out to the fuel dock and caught their lines. Stella Polaris took a slip. But Tom and Joyce were so out-of-sorts after their crossing that I really didn't want to spend much time with them. They got even more upset when they found out they may have to take a taxi to the custom's office (it's a Sunday, you know?). So I went back to M.S. and, after they got some fuel, helped them cast off. They were headed for New Smyrna Beach where they have some friends.

I decided to leave, too. So I cast of with help from S.P. and made for Titusville, where Seabbatical 1 was getting put on the hard for the summer.

27-28 April 2008
Titusville, FL (ICW Mile 878)
Trip: 20, Total: 2327nm, Engine 1705hrs

I bumped bottom coming out of the locks at Canaveral. I was a little north of the channel and the sudden bumping on the bottom pointed that out to me. I was then stuck in the channel behind a pair of tugs moving a raft of dredging pipe. They were going about 3kts. When I finally could pass them, I kicked Galena up to about 3000 rpm and almost immediately the overheat alarm went off. I backed it down and it cooled off. At the normal cruise speed of 2800 rpm it was fine. I'll have to check the cooling system again.

I anchored north of the bridge and then ran in to see Seabbatical 1. We sat around drinking beer and telling lies and then walked into town to get some food. We found most of the places closed, Sunday, remember? So we got a pizza and went back to Seabbatical 1. I got back to Galena about dusk.

The next day I did some chores around Galena and then went in to do laundry and spend some time with Seabbatical 1. We went out for dinner and had a great time. They were getting Seabbatical 1 ready to go on the hard. And they were getting ready to drive back to Canada for the summer. So after hugs and kisses goodbye, I went back to Galena.

The next morning I headed out to New Smyrna Beach to see Moonlight Serenade again.

29-30 April 2008
New Smyrna Beach, FL
Trip: 31nm, Total: 2358nm, Engine: 1712hrs


The overheating problem is really getting bad. I can't even keep it at the normal, econ-cruise speed of 2800 rpm now. I was making 4kts into a 20kt wind and 2.5-ft chop all day long. But I still got here at about 1400hrs. It took me about 1.5 hrs to find a place to anchor. And then I had to re-anchor because I ended up too close to the channel.

I anchored South of the bridge and East of the channel. Another boat didn't check the tide state and ended up lying on the bottom at low tide.

What happens when you don't check the state of the tide when you drop the hook

After a while it was just Moonlight Serenade and myself.

Moonlight and Me

I dinghied over to Moonlight Serenade (they were in a marina) and we went to visit their local friends (they had the use of their friends car). I had the great good fortune to meet Joe and Ret Glasse. They had a very, very nice house on a canal. We sat around drinking excellent wine before we went off the a fish-house for dinner. Reminded me of Harris Crab House back on Kent Narrows, in Maryland.

On the 30th I tackled the engine. I found a bit of oil on the engine pan under the raw water pump. Looked like it might have come from the front of the engine somewhere. But it was just a smudge. I'll have to look at where that came from later. I checked all the hoses and, when I pulled a hose from the front of the heat exchanger I found an impeller blade jammed in there. So I pulled the raw water pump and replaced the impeller. Fortunately only one blade was missing from the old impeller and I had found that blade. So I cleaned out all the tubes in the heat exchanger just for good measure.

The little surprise in the cooling system: an impeller blade stuck in the heat exchanger.

I got cleaned up and went grocery shopping with Sarah. Had a good time. We came back to M.S. and I dinghied my stuff out to Galena. A bit later, I changed clothes and went back to M.S. to join Bill and Sarah. We went back to Joe and Ret's house for dinner. We had a few more bottles of good wine and a fabulous dinner. Ret is a wonderful cook. Joe and I got into a heated political debate. But we parted friends (I hope).


01-04 May 2008
St. Augustine, FL (ICW Mile 778)
Trip: 60nm, Total: 2422nm

The engine was overheating again. So I kept it below 2800 rpm all the way up here and it was happy.
I went over to the Tradewinds Bar and had a drink. I was followed there by Bill and Sarah. I saw some people whom I had met on my way down. People like Fran (the crazy broad). And some Hispanic lady that I had danced with before. I was home by 0100hrs.

The band at the Tradewinds Bar

On the second of May I was up at 1000hrs and even that felt too early. I did some minor chores on board. Stella Polaris called on the phone and we talked a bit. They were in New Smyrna Beach.

I went out on the town and walked through a few art galleries. I stopped by the Peter O'Neill gallery and looked at a painting that I had been looking at for about a year. The lady said she'd give me a good deal: about 20% off. So, after talking with Jane about it, I bought it for $400. It's the first print I've ever bought. I mean, the first thing to hang on a wall that would not be considered a poster, you know? Here's a picture of the tear-strip that I had been carrying around in Galena all winter.

Picture of the picture of the picture, "First Move" by Peter O'Neill

On the third of May I went over to Dennis and Bettye's house for dinner. Nothing like home-cooked meals for a single handed sailor. We had a very pleasant evening talking over old times and getting to know each other again. I really like those guys. Dennis had torn a tendon in his knee and was hobbling around on crutches. Bettye showed me their new sailboat.

Dennis and Bettye at their house

After dinner I went over to Tradewinds for a beer and met Moonlight Serenade there.

On the 4th I met with M.S. and S.P. at the A1A Pub and talked about the trip from here to Fernandina Beach. Looks like tomorrow is a go for an offshore run.

A crowded night at the A1A Pub

05-06 May 2008
Fernandina Beach, FL
Trip: 60nm, Total: 2480nm, Engine: 1735hrs

Motorsailed most of the way here. I could sail the first hour or so, then the winds went very light. The seas were flat and there was a 0.5kt current against me. But at Jacksonville, the current changed and I had about 2kts with me. Cool!
As I turned to port into the St Mary Channel, I was swept way north by the current and ended up crabbing all the way down the channel. The wind picked up and I had a hard time getting the sails down while staying in the channel after I turned south toward Fernandina Beach. Stella Polaris called and they were a couple hours south, coming up the ICW. Moonlight Serenade was about an hour ahead of me and pulled into the marina. I, of course, anchored out.

Once we were all settled in, we all went into town and had a beer or two. I ended up at the Palace Saloon playing pool with Sarah and Joyce while Tom and Bill sat in the bar and watched the girl playing the guitar. When the pool games were over, we joined them. I sat there looking at Tom and Joyce, and Bill and Sarah. They were sitting along the wall. Quietly watching the entertainment. I had been having a great time playing pool with the girls. We were laughing and running around. Now they were just sitting there. Well that wasn't for me. I said goodbye and headed out the door. I had heard about another good bar down the street and went looking for it. I found it.

A few hours later I was back in Galena. It was only 0200hrs.

On the 6th the winds were up to about 15kts, north. Breakfast a little cafe with Stella Polaris and saw Moonlight Serenade just to say, 'Hi.'

I was going to get up and be on my way at dawn. So I went home early and sober. But at 0100 hrs I was awakened by a bump in the night.

Then another bump. I run up on deck to see a boat had drifted down on my and hitting Galena on her port side, forward. I called to the boat captain as I tried to put a fender between us. It was s/v Sadie C. They had anchored nearby and aft of me earlier in the day. But the tide shifted and now they were dragging down on me.

She was swinging on her anchor and each time she swung to her starboard she hit Galena on her port side. Four times before the captain came on deck. And then he didn't do anything but stand there. She hit Galena first on the port bow. Then on the port side amidships. Then on the port side stern. Then she squeezed my dinghy which was tide to my port quarter. Then, here comes the really bad part, she came at me and missed. She swung across my stern, just missing my Aries wind vane. But her anchor rode was now between the Aries wind vane servo rudder and Galena's rudder. So when Sadie C swung to her port, she took Galena's stern with her and crashed directly into the boomkin. She crushed the solar panel like it was so much tin foil. And she bent a stanchions on the stern pulpit like it was aluminum. Then she swung back to her starboard and fell back enough to be well astern of Galena. But the time I was dressed and ready to go talk to the guy, s/v Sadie C had come to a stop about 300 feet behind Galena. I went back and talked with her captain, Jack. I explained that he had dragged down on me. He looked around and agreed that he had indeed, moved quite a lot. I asked how much rode he had down. He said, 'About 80-feet.' And only 50-ft of that was chain! Well we were in 30-feet of water with at least a 2.5kt current flowing, and reversing every tide! I said I had out about 170-ft of chain. He thought that was excessive. But I didn't drag; he did. He wrote me a check for the solar panel. But I don't know what I'll do about the stern pulpit. Maybe nothing. It's a good reminder for me to watch where I anchor.

Galena's stern without one of her solar panels and with a damaged stern pulpit

Now it was 0300 and I was going to get up at 0500 to sail out by 0600. I couldn't get back to sleep and when I left for the 30-hr run to Charleston I was already sleepy with only 3-hrs of sleep the night before I left.

08-10 May 2008
Charleston, SC
Trip: 164nm, Total: 2640nm

I motorsailed for the first 10hrs out of Fernandina Beach. There was very little wind. And very small seas. Then I sailed all night making about 7.4 kts all the way. I dropped the Yankee Jib about 0100hrs just to slow Galena down and take some of the stress off her.

Moonlight Serenade left a couple hours behind me and passed me about 1700hrs. When they were about a mile back they said, "Hey, Bill. Why not take a nap for an hour or so and we'll watch your boat. If something happens we'll call you." So I put the radio on 18, and put the remote mike next to my head. I also set my egg timer in case something went wrong with the radio. I lay down on the deck for a little nap. I went to sleep right away and woke up an hour later. M.S. was about half a mile ahead of me. I called them and thanked them. They said, "OK, so we can speed up now?" They had slowed way down to keep close to me while I slept. They are so thoughtful.

After dawn the wind died to almost nothing. The seas, however were up to 6-ft. So with the main up to stabilize me, I motored. But the engine overheated again at only 2500 rpm! So I went below and spent an hour taking everything apart. I found nothing wrong anywhere. But when I put it all back together she ran at the normal 2800 rpm without complaining. In four hours I was anchored in Charleston harbor.

I went over to seen Moonlight Serenade and we partied a bit. I went home and slept soundly.

On the 9th of May, we went out with Brian and BJ (m/v Executive Suite). We had met them in the Exumas. They live in town. We went to their house and had a few drinks. They have a great home. Brian has the walls covered with nude art. But real art. It's all fantastic. We went out to dinner at their favorite night spot. The food was wonderful and the wine was probably the best I've ever had. Brian really knows his wine. He selected a suite of three bottles for us for dinner and they were a superb choice. This from a guy with tats all over his arms and four Harleys in his garage. He really surprised me. I like surprises like that.

After dinner we went down to the bar where we met some of their friends. They have the most beautiful friends. We reluctantly left and went back to our boats.

On the 10th I had dinner on M.S. and worked on Galena a bit.
The wind was up to 30-kts with tornados reported just a few miles away.

On the 11th we treated Brian and BJ to dinner. We went to another of their favorite places, and Indian restaurant. Again wonderful food and wine. We all went back to M.S. and taught Brian and BJ how to play dominoes.

12 May 2008
Georgetown, SC
Trip: 58nm, Total: 2706nm, Engine: 1770 hrs

We went into Harborwalk Marina. I bought fuel again for the second time this year.

I left Georgetown, SC, at 0540hrs to make the Ben Sawyer Bridge before they closed it for rush hour (0700). I was there at 0640 but had to wait until 0650 when the wind died down to less than 30kts. Then they opened the bridge for me.

The trip up the ICW was, as usual, uneventful. I was moving pretty fast motorsailing with just a staysail up. I was fueled and docked before Moonlight Serenade made it into the harbor. I was there to catch their lines.

Sarah and I went on 'walkabout' looking for a grocery store but never found one. Then we went back and got Bill and the three of us went out to get a burger and a beer. After that we all went home and had a good night's rest.

13 May 2008
Anchored in an oxbow on the ICW just north of Bucksport (G-29)

We had a movie-night on M.S. I saw 'Chicago' for the first time and loved it.

14 May 2008
South Harbor Marina, Southport, NC
Trip: 57nm, Total: 2788nm, Engine: 1787hrs


Good place to stop along the ICW. They have a long bulkhead for transients, sort of like Coinjock. Easy in and Easy out.
We went to the restaurant and had a very good, albeit expensive dinner. I got into a bit of an argument with Bill over politics (we have to avoid that subject in the future).

I did laundry and had a shower. Tomorrow I'll make it to Camp Lejeune (Mile Hammock Bay).

15 May 2008
Mile Hammock Bay, Camp Lejeune, NC
Trip: 57nm, Total: 2788nm, Engine: 1787hrs


As I left South Harbor Marina I heard two old friends on the radio: Cariba and Joie de Vivre. So I called Linda on Joie de Vivre and chatted for just a moment. They were both coming in the Cape Fear inlet after a night on the ocean. She was headed for South Harbor Marina for the day. She said she likes the bar there. Then Toby on Cariba called me to say 'Hi.' He was headed for Wrightsville Beach. It's so nice to know nice people. And the cruising community is full of nice people.

I had a quiet run up to here. Absolutely nothing to report. See? This is getting to be the boring part of the trip.

16 May 2008
Beaufort, NC
Trip: 42nm, Total: 2885nm, Engine: 1806hrs


Awoke at Mile Hammock Bay with rain and a cold south wind blowing about 20kts. I was hook-up by 0630 but had to slow way down to make the 0730 opening of the Onslow Beach Bridge. Once through the bridge I put up my staysail and motorsailed at over 6 kts all the way to Beaufort. At times I hit over 8kts with the motor, wind, and current all pushing Galena along her way. Sort of like a horse heading for the barn, she just galloped along as quickly as she could.

Once here I dropped the hook and found myself a little out in the channel in front of Beaufort Docks. But, what the hell. I'll be out of here on Sunday, or Monday at the latest.

So, once everything is settled down I headed to town to visit my favorite bookstore, Scuttlebutt. Then a couple of my favorite bars. I like this town.

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04/11/2008

15 - 20 March 2008
George Town, Grand Exuma, Bahama Islands
I went to town to see the Bahamian Music Festival in George Town. This was held at the park at Regatta Point in George Town. First I stopped off at the Peace and Plenty Bar. Mostly because I realized I didn't have a picture of me at that bar. So here it is.

Me at the Peace and Plenty bar

Also, I didn't take many pictures of the area around George Town.
So here's a few to show you some of the places I've talked about.

The dinghy dock in Lake Victoria behind the Exuma Market

(By the way, Tom (s/v Stella Polaris) painted the lettering on the sign,

which was painted by Gayla (s/v Vitamine Sea))

The front of the Exuma Market (one of two grocery stores in town)

For the Music Festival they put up about 50 stalls around the perimeter and a sound system that rivals anything you might find in the States. Local bands an celebrities perform well into the night. And in the stalls around the grounds island restaurants and organizations (churches, scouts, etc) sell food. Mostly variations on ribs, chicken, rice, mac & Cheese. Oh, and beer and booze.

This is one of the premier events of the Bahamas and to say it's well attended would be an understatement. People come from all over the Bahamas for this. And their most popular performers come to the island to perform.

The crowd at the George Town Music Fest

The music rocked! Bahamian rock can't be listened to sitting still. The island beat makes everyone move. Even the staid old cruisers were jumping around. One of the acts was actually a bunch of cruisers who put together a band named, "White Folks on Boats." They were very good. All of them were professional or past professional musicians. The lead singer, Capt Cal, was obviously at home on stage. She sounded a bit like a cross between Wynonna Judd and Janis Joplin. She's also single-handing her sailboat, Serenity.

"White Folks on Boats" Band

As usual, I drank way too much. About 0100 I decided to have dinner (Ribs and Rice). Met most of my friends there; too many to name. Donna and Toby (s/v Cariba) were having a good time. Sarah and Bill (s/v Moonlight Serenade) were really enjoying the music and being crazy. Ferdy and Jutta (s/v Pipe Dream) were dancing around like wild people.

Sarah and John at the George Town Music Fest

I got home about 0230 but when I left the party, it was still rocking strong. I could hear the music all the way across the harbor.

The 16th of March was a recovery day. Just sitting around and cleaning up the boat a bit.

On Saturday, the 17th I had another quiet day aboard. Sundowners on Stella Polaris with Moonlight Serenade. I was quietly and safely tucked into my bunk by 2030hrs.

The wind picked up out of the NNE about 0530 on the 18th of March. s/v Voyager (Charlie and Terry) were now in front of me and they were on rope rode. So they moved toward me a lot sooner than I moved away from them. At 0530 their dinghy, tied to their stern, was under my bowsprit. I fired up the engine and made a gentle reverse tug on the rode, which was in a big loop on the sea bed, to straighten it out a bit and move me away from them.

The wind shift put s/v Jule (a nice, older Island Packet) directly behind me and a bit closer than I liked. I talked with the captain and crew (Chris and Cathy) and they said they were fine with the situation. Well, I was there first so I wasn't really suggesting that I move, but I could haul in some of the 100+ feet of chain I had out. I didn't really want to do that since Galena was riding in 16-ft of water (16 deep plus 5-ft up to the anchor roller on the bowsprit = 21 feet of 'depth.' at a minimum of 5-to-1 for heavy chain rode that makes about 100-feet of chain. I was not willing to pull in any of that chain.)

By late morning the wind was up to 18-kts on deck. I poured the fuel from the deck jugs into the starboard tank. I went up to the bar at St Francis Resort and played in a Texas Hold 'em tournament. It was the most fun I've had for $5 ever. I lasted a few hours and went out at about number 17 out of 40 players. Not bad! Not in the money, but a lot of fun. I should have been playing the whole time I was in George Town. Too late I learned that they play twice a week. A great way to meet people and have some exciting entertainment. And it's a lot more work than it looks like on TV.

By the time I got home the wind was up to 25-kts ENE. Fortunately for me, the dinghy ride from the resort to Galena was on a course of SSW so I didn't get wet on the way. My small dinghy with it's 5-hp motor can make the passengers very wet when you try to drive her into the wind and waves. With just me aboard I can either get her up on plane and have a wild, rough ride. Or I can sit in the stern and keep the bow up and minimize the water splashing up from the waves. But with two or more people aboard, everyone gets soaked. If you're just starting cruising and you're considering buying a dinghy, do this: borrow friends dinks and take them for rides in really rough, windy (2-ft chop, 20-kts wind) weather with one, two and three people aboard. I mean look for the conditions you might find in a mile-wide harbor going against the wind. You will find a remarkable difference in 'passenger dryness' with different types of dinghies and different motors. Choose wisely.

Sometime in the morning of the 18th of March I was called on the radio, along with 3 other boats, by Sea Dancer and asked to switch to another channel. There we were all chewed-out for putting our names on the regatta mural in the wrong place. We had not 'stayed inside the lines' as it were. My lettering had spilled onto the actual painting and that "...showed disrespect for the artist. Now she would have to repaint that part of the mural." We all apologized as sort of a knew-jerk reaction. And Sea Dancer 'accepted' our apologies. But later I thought, Who is this Sea Dancer and why are we apologizing to him? Gayla on s/v Vitamin Sea painted the mural. She didn't mind where I had put my name. She certainly wasn't going to repaint it. This was just another case of the busy-body attitude of some cruisers. Sea Dancer saw that we had 'broken the rules' and he just had to call us on it. What we did had no direct effect on him, he just didn't like the fact that we had colored outside the lines. What an ass! And I felt foolish for saying, "I'm sorry" to him on the radio. He's an ass and I'm a pussy. Just wrecked my whole day.

The murals on Volleyball Beach at Chat n Chill

And a close-up of the offending lettering and the sign we ignored

On the 19th the seas were running 12-feet on the sound. The wind was 20-kts gusting to 30 most of the day. by evening the winds were down to 15 out of the Southeast. Because of the sea-state I may wait until Friday to head north. I'm looking at going to Eleuthera on the way back instead of just running back up the Exuma chain. I can run across the Exuma Sound from Staniel Cay and head almost directly north for about 40-miles. With the wind from the east or ESE I should have a pretty good ride.

I went to the library a exchanged some books. I had read everything on board and needed new stuff. I've taken to putting the boat name and date on the inside cover of the books I trade away. Sort of a 'I was here' thing. It would be interesting to run into those books again somewhere, sometime.

On the 20th I loaded some software on Joyce's (s/v Stella Polaris) computer. I went to St Francis for my third and final Texas Hold'em game. And, get this, I WON!! There were only 21 players since a lot of people have left already. But I won $65. During the play I was up and down a lot. I felt like I was not getting any cards at all. Some one next to me said the most important virtue in this game is patience. But, late in the night I realized that all the other tables had been consolidated to mine; I was sitting at the 'final table.' But I only had 3 chips left. I figured I would be gone soon. But I doubled up a few times, and the big stacks were taking out other players all around me. Suddenly there were just four of us playing. I thought, "outlast just one more person and I'm in the money." And that would be so cool! Then it was just Linda, some new guy, and me. Linda went bust. New Guy and I had about the same chip-count. It went back and forth. The dealer was dealing so fast that I made a couple of foolish mistakes. Things like folding when I had nothing but was the big blind. But New Guy bet big when I had a pair of 2's. The flop gave me a set of three 2's. New Guy went 'all in' and I called with a few chips left over. I beat his pocket 8's.

I put the dinghy on deck and took off the sail covers. Everything is ready for a dawn departure tomorrow morning. The wind was calm but was supposed to build out of the SE tomorrow. The sea state in the Sound was still an impressive 6-8 feet but it was a long-period swell.

21 March 2008
White Point, Great Guana Cay, Bahama Islands
Trip: 47nm Total: 1802nm Eng: 1659hrs

I motored all the way here from George Town. Absolutely no wind, the seas were fairly flat with a long-period 5-ft swell from the NE. It was rough getting out of Conch Cut at George Town. The big swells were hitting the reef and causing significant and confused seas for the last mile or so toward the cut. But once I was actually in the cut, the seas were no problem. The air was hot and hazy all day. I rigged my sun shade and read a book all day.

Getting into this anchorage was a bit nerve-wracking. The water is 6' deep for about half a mile. And I still stopped a good quarter mile from shore. And the protection is not all that great from winds out of the SSE.

I had a calm, quiet night.

Galena anchored at White Point. Hot hazy day with no wind

22 - 28 March 2008
Staniel Cay, Bahama Islands.
Trip: 13nm Total: 1815nm Eng: 1659hrs

The wind picked up a bit along the way. The last hour or so was very rolly with winds SE at 15-kts. I ran wing-and-wing on starboard tack with the stay sail boomed out. I was holding 4+ knots all the way. But near the end of the trip I let the main sail get back winded. I couldn't get the preventer loosened and Galena was essentially hove to. Finally I dropped the staysail and that let Galena make some way. And that allowed the rudder to turn her downwind and the sail filled as the wind came back around to the stern. Once I turned northeast around Harvey Cay the water was protected and calm. Compared to just South of Harvey Cay where the seas were 4' and Galena was rolling 15-degrees each side of plumb.

I anchored in my favorite spot and went over to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. There I had a beer with Dave and Christina (s/v Charmin) who I knew from George Town. And spent some time with Wireless Steve and his wife, Nichol, and there two kids, JoJo and Evan. They invited me to go with them to Sampson Cay for some kind of an event involving the kids so I went along. At the bar at Sampson Cay I met Mark and Lori (m/v CanFlor Lady). And engaging couple that I would meet again at Warderick Wells a day or so later.

Later in the day I went to Steve's house on Over Yonder Cay. I spent the night there since we had put away the better part of a case of beer. On the 23rd we went back to Sampson Cay for an Easter Egg hunt and then over to Warderick Wells for an Easter pot luck lunch. Mark and Lori were there. They are both such a joy to talk to and spend time with. They invited me over to their boat but Steve and Rob and everyone else, after a long, hot, sunny day were too tired and we just went back home. Steve dropped me off at Galena and after cleaning up a bit I headed over to Staniel Cay Yacht Club for a beer. There I once again connected with Sarah and Bill (Moonlight), Tom and Joyce (Stella) Bill and Carolyn (s/v Worthless Wench) and Dave and Christina (Charmin), and Dave and Heather (s/v The Answer My Friend). So at the bar we had: Bill, Bill, Bill, Dave, Dave. A full house, if you will, of captains.

The 24th was squally with north winds around 20-kts. A case of the Bahamian rule: "Nobody Moves; Nobody Gets Hurt."

On the 25th I invited myself over to Moonlight Serenade for a guitar lesson. Bill plays a mean guitar. In fact he said he hitchhiked across the country and panhandled by playing guitar on the street corners. Sarah plays guitar, too, and bluegrass banjo! So we jammed for a bit and I went home with a little better understanding of how to play.

At about noon, Stella Polaris moved over here to this anchorage and, while Joyce, Sarah, and Bill were on the beach feeding the pigs, I stopped over to chat with Tom. I said I wanted to leave on Friday and head over to Eleuthera. Stella Polaris still wanted to go to Warderick wells and Moonlight Serenade wanted to go Highborne Cay. I also mentioned going from Spanish Wells to the Abaco's overnight, Joyce balked and said she would rather not sail at night. She gave me the now well-used "we're ten years older than you" reasoning. Tom and Joyce argued about eating dinner at Staniel Cay Yacht Club and I left.

On the afternoon high tide of the 27th I moved from the anchorage at Big Major to the sand bar in front of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. From there I could just move forward into the channel and out the cut at low tide (early in the morning) without having to worry about crossing the shallow water between Big Major and Staniel Cay. I went to the yacht club and drank till midnight with my new buddy Rob. He poured me into my dinghy and eventually I found Galena. I set the alarm for 0530 and hopped I would be sober enough to sail her out of the cut.


28 March - 02 April 2008
Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahama Islands (N 24° 52.16' W 076° 009.89')
Trip: 57nm Total: 1875nm Engine: 1670hrs.

I actually departed Staniel Cay at 0630; first light. I was following my GPS route and didn't do too badly. The current coming in the cut set me to port a bit more than I had expected and at one point I found myself heading for a rock, but I corrected and got out onto the Exuma Sound without trouble.

I couldn't just sail. My sailing speed was just 2.5 kts. So I had to motor sail. Once again I realized that I should have made a night crossing. As it was I had to motor sail because I wanted to arrive before dark. If I had left at dusk, I would have had all night and could have enjoyed the 2.5-kt sail across and would have had plenty of time to make it at that speed.

Chart showing Galena's route from Staniel Cay, Exumas, to Rock Sound, Eleuthera

Once we were all (Moonlight, Stella, and Galena) settled in, we met aboard Moonlight for drinks and movies. On the way, my outboard engine was acting up. It would start but wouldn't idle or run under load. Obviously a fuel problem.

The next few days were a lot of hops north ending up in Little Harbor, Abaco. To put the moves in perspective, here's a chart showing my voyage legs with the Florida coast visible for scale.

Movement from Exumas, through Eleuthera, to the Abacos

The next day I took the carb apart and found some crud clogging the main jet. I cleaned it and the float bowl and everything ran fine.

I explored the town a bit. Found the grocery store, the hardware store and the liqueur store (all right next to each other. The grocery store is big, bigger and better than George Town. There was a blue hole swimming hole near the center of town. The people were friendly and the town looked a lot more prosperous than anything in the Exumas.

Sarah and Bill organized a 'Cruiser's Sundowner' at a disused tiki hut at the dinghy dock. Just about all the cruiser showed up. About 25 boats were represented there and we had a great time. Much more friendly than the George Town crowd. Although, most of these people were actually at GT. Here there was none of that, "Well, we've been here 15 years in a row. How many times have you been here?" attitude. Just a bunch of people having a good time.

Long hazy shot of the north dinghy dock, Rock Sound, and the tiki hut of the defunct Four Points Restaurant

After the sundowners, Tom and Joyce came over to Galena and we sat around listening to music till it got too cold outside (75 degrees) and then we went below to play dominoes till about 2200hrs.

I gave Joyce a bunch of MP3's and a little lesson on managing computer files. Tom used my pop-rivet tool to fix some oars. The weather was cloudy and raining all day with wind SE at 10 kts. But we were expecting 30-kts tonight so I let out more chain rode.

On the 31st Moonlight, Stella, and Galena rented a car and explored the island. The five of us crammed into a fairly small car and drove up to Harbor Island. That's the high-priced district of Eleuthera. I was told by Mark and Lori that the best Gumbay Smash was served at the Rock House on Harbor Island. So that's where we went. Tasked like a standard Gumbay Smash to me. Just more expensive ($12). So I tried a Mud Slide ($15) and it was good, but not as good as the 3 beers I could have had for that price.

The gang having drinks at the Road House, Harbor Island, Eleuthera (Joyce and Tom, Bill and Sarah)

Along the way north we stopped at Tippy's and had lunch. Tippy's is a bit out of the way, being on the 'north' side of the island. But it was worth the trip.

Tippy's bar and grill on the 'north' shore of Eleuthera

Me, Tom (s/v Stella Polaris), and Bill (s/v Moonlight Serenade) party at Tippy's while the girls walked the beach

Also along the way we passed over the narrowest point in the island. Actually, since the piece of land was washed away, Eleuthera is technically two separate islands connected by this bridge.

The narrow piece of land known as the Glass Window.
The ocean is on the left (east) and the banks on the right (west)

The bridge was hit by big waves during a hurricane and shifted about six feet to the West. You can seen in the photo below that the water pipe used to lie on the hooks along the outside of the bridge wall.

The bridge was moved about 6-ft to the west by waves in a storm

After the expensive drinks at the Rock House (beautiful place, by the way) we went to Valentines for beer. Another expansive and beautiful bar at the marina.

Me at Valentines Bar at the marina on Harbor Island, Eleuthera

Once we were back at Rock Sound we stopped by Sammy's for one last beer. Then back to the boats.

Sarah and Joyce at Sammy's bar.

On the 1st of April I went over to Moonlight to work with Bill on his Airmail program. He had a newer version than I so he let me borrow his disk. We downloaded grib files and weather reports looking for a good window to go north. Thursday or Friday looked good.

Tom and Joyce arrived. While talking about energy usage Tom and I got into an argument about watts. Tom said that watts and amps are the same thing. I said they were not. That escalated into a shouting match and Tom stomped out all pissed off and went home. In retrospect I should have let it go.

About 1700 someone came on the radio and said, "Party?" All the cruisers again met at the tiki bar and partied till dark. I met Susan and Walter King (m/v Kingdom) and they invited me over for a drink.

Susan and Walt on m/v Kingdom in Rock Sound, Eleuthera

It turned into drinks and dinner as Susan made a fabulous meal. Topped off with ice cream! Got to love power boats! Then a couple of serious games of dominoes. Susan taught me 'the real, the only way' to play dominoes. And I have to admit, I like her game best of all the games I've learned. Home by about 0130hrs.

On the 2nd I had a quiet day aboard getting Galena ready for another hop to the north. Only left the boat for a quick trash run.

03 April 2008
North of Alabaster Bay, Eleuthera, Bahama Islands (N 25° 17.15' W 076° 20.37')
Trip: 38nm Total: 1917nm Engine: 1671hrs

I was up at 0515hrs. I loaded the dink on deck and took off the sail covers. By 0600 I had coffee in the thermos and was ready to go. I had the hook up by 0645hrs and was the first of about 8 boats to leave the harbor heading north. Half of the boats went to Alabaster Bay and half here, just around the corner from Pelican Cay. Along with Galena are Moonlight Serenade, Stella Polaris, Worthless Wench, and Star Shot (Penny and George). I gave Star Shot a ride to the beach as we all went beach combing. George didn't want to take the trouble to launch his dinghy and I already had so it was easy for me to just give them a ride. They invited me aboard for drinks and we chatted for a bit. Lovely folks. Like most of the people I've met on these trips they have all the same fears, expectations, and generally the same experiences that I have. Since we all have sailing and exploring in common, we always have something to talk about.

We all then went over to Stella Polaris for more drinks. Again, we had three Bills on deck (Moonlight, Worthless, and Galena). But the Bill that shined that night was Worthless! He brought his guitar along and played for us. That guy could play like no one I've ever seen before! And sing? Wonderful voice. And he know so many songs that we all loved. What a concert. It ended too soon and we all went home.

04 - 05 April 2008
North of Current Cut, Eleuthera, Bahama Islands (N 25° 24.6' W 076° 47.5')
Trip: 28nm Total: 1945nm Engine: 1675hrs.

I was up at 0600 this morning and underway from Alabaster Bay by 0700. Sailed off the hook and worked hard at getting Galena to sail all the way. But the wind was light and directly astern. So after two hours of working the sails, I fired up the engine and motor sailed. Again a case of having to be somewhere at a certain time. Current Cut is our destination. It's not called that for no reason. There is said to be current through there at up to 10 kts. So I had to get there not later than slack low tide. The tide rushes north during the ebb there and we hit low slack at about 1300hrs. If I didn't make it there by then I'd have to wait until the next day to try to get through. (daylight plus tide restraints)

During this trip Tillie the Tiller AutoPilot finally broke to the point where she wouldn't work. The main actuator rod is housed in an alluminum tube about 1.25" diameter. That has a plastic extention at the end sticking out about 1/2 inch with threads. The motor housing, also about 1.25" in diameter screws over that plastic extention. Well, the threads stripped on the plastic. So the motor twists and get out of alignment with the actuator rod and jams. I want to send it in for repair when I get back, so I don't want to do anything Draconian like drill holes in it. So I went for the old standby: Duct Tape! I put the two pieces together and taped the hell out of the thing. If I can keep the motor housing from pulling away from the sholder on the actuator rod housing, it will stay in line. We'll see.

Stella Polaris and Moonlight Serenade motored all the way and made the cut at least an hour ahead of me. Star Shot and Worthless Wench left later and made the cut an hour behind me. I went through at 1245 hrs with at least a 4-kt current accellerating me north. We all anchored just around the corner to the east of the cut.

I planned on leaving for Little Harbor, Abaco, Bahama Islands at sundown tomorrow, 05 April. But all day on the 4th and the 5th I kept waffling. Go or wait? The seas were high, the wind was high (20-25 kts) but moderating. Moonlight and Stella Polaris headed over to Spanish Wells to a marina there. Joyce was very anxious to get into a marina. Worthless Wench was also waffling about heading north with me. But they were having freezer problems and they had to get home to North Carolina for work. So they had some reasons for going.

The problem was that where we were anchored was a very protected spot from southeast and south winds. We were feeling only about 10-kts and, being just off the beach, no waves.

Finally, at 1745 I decided to go.

06 - 08 April 2008
Little Harbor, Abaco, Bahama Islands (N 26° 19.63' W 076° 59.9')
Trip: 64nm Total: 2015nm Engine 1677hrs

Hook up and off I went, eventually getting everything up and sailing along at 4.5 kts across the banks toward the deep water of the Northwest Providence Channel. About 5-miles from the anchorage the wind picked up a bit and there was a 1-ft chop. But it was behind me and I was having a great sail. Harvey, the Aries wind vane was steering without any help from me. I was in 5 kts apparant wind on my port quarter as I turned to the west to exit the banks. Still, I was in the lee of the main part of North Eleuthera and I just had a mild wind chop to deal with.

At 2000 hrs I was watching the sun set into the sea and thinking this was a great sail. GPS said I was going to make the entrance to Little Harbor at about sunrise. So everything was fine. Two other boats, Nauti-Nauti (Alan and Patricia) and Start (Gail and Bob) were about 5 miles ahead of me, having come west from Spanish Wells. Worthless Wench was about 5 miles behind me and catching up fast.

So while I was sailing all along, I wasn't really alone. Star suggested we have a radio check at the top of every hour. Nice to have someone to talk with during the night.

Once I turned north (003° M) toward Little Harbor the wind was just to the staboard of directly astern. I pointed off to starbard about 6° to let the jib catch some air. A full main and a yankee jib and I was making 4.5 - 5.0 kts in a 4-ft wind chop. As I passed the northern end of Eleuthera, I started picking up the easterly ocean swells that I had heard were running out there.

At 2100 I was mesmerized by the fantastic bio-luminescence around Galena. This was the most dense luminescence I'd seen outside of the bay in Puerto Rico. For those not familiar with it, there are these little critters that give off light when they broken up by turbulance in the water. Little blue-white sparks that last about 1-second. Usually I see them in the ocean at a density of, how to explain it, well, the sparks are about one or two feet apart. here they were only 4 or 6 inches apart. That makes for a very dense light show! All around Galena, where the bow wave rolled, there were these beautiful sparkles. I watch it most of the night.

I say most of becase about 0100 I was making over 8-kts surfing down very big waves in fairly high winds. I went forward and put in a double reef and that calmed Galena down a bit. I was now back to a steady 5-kts. But my ETA was before dawn. I had to slow down more. So I sheeted in the staysail and used it more as a riding sail, damping out the now rather violent roll caused by 8-10 foot, long period seas from the east, combined with 4-6 foot short period wind chop from the SSE. A rolly, but not pounding ride. All the wind and waves were abaft the beam. But Galena was rolling from 30° to port, to 15° to starboard. I just curled up in the leeward corner of the cockpit and held on. It was a good thing I could see the sea. It might have frightened me. As it was, with a new moon, the sea and sky were just black. There was lightening far off to the west. Uncomfortable, but Galena has a reallatively controled motion in such seas and all I had to do was hang on. I even went below and made an early morning snack for myself. Again, the Aries wind vane steered well with little input from me.

By 0630hrs I could see the waves knocking me around. I was looking at seas that were subsiding a bit, and the wind was down to 15-kts SSE. Star talked with a boat that was already in the harbor and they said the waves were breaking completely across the cut at Little Harbor. So we all decided to head up the next, and larger cut about 3 miles further north. Star and Nauti-Nauti had had to slow down and wait for the dawn. They were still a few miles ahead of me. I turned left into North Bar Channel at about 0900hrs. Once I had Galena's beam to the seas she rolled violently. I had to hold on tight as we slipped between the cays and into the protected water behind Lynyard Cay. Once there I dropped all sail and motored south the 3 miles to Little Harbor.

The entrence channel to Little Harbor carries only 3.5 feet at low water. With the new moon last night, I had good tides to get in and out. I needed only 2-feet of tide and the highs were on the order of 3-feet. I arrived just after high tide and had no problem getting in (saw only 6.2 at the lowest). Once in I had to pick up a mooring. I've never done that alone. And the wind was still brisk from the SSE. I made one pass trough the harbor and found a mooring that I liked. I made one approach and missed. Bob and Chris (m/v Leap of Faith) saw me and hopped in their dinghy to help. They tossed me the painter and I was secured. Thanks, guys.

Once everthing was put away I went over to Pete's Pub and had a few bears. Everyone I had been cruising with on the passage from Eleuthera was there except Worthless Wench. They were sailing so fast they decided to go directly on to Marsh Harbor.

The moorings here cost $15 per day and you pay at Pete's. Beers are $5.

Pete's bar in Little Harbor

A quiet night aboard and a quiet day on the 07 April. It's Monday and Pete's is closed so I stayed aboard and did boat chores. The wind is supposed to clock South then West then North and build to 20-kts. The mooring just east of me is very close. In fact, with only a very short mooring line to my mooring, the one next to me goes under my rudder as I swing around.

About mid-day I saw two boats coming in the channel. One was s/v Another Adventure the other s/v Arial. Both were big boats with Arial looking to be about 50-feet. Arial went aground. I found later that she draws 6-feet and the tide was only giving her 5.5 feet. So why did she try to come in? Another Adventure turned around in the harbor and went back into the channel to help his friend. Since the tide was ebbing and AA had just barely made it the first time through, she promptly went aground, too. We all went out to help in our dinghies.

Arial aground in the channel into Little Harbor, Abaco

We tried everything but kedging off. Finally we gave up and they sat there till the evening high tide.

Another Adventure and Arial in the channel waiting for high tide

Another Adventer sounded familiar so I checked my log. Sure enough, back on the ICW on 03 May 2005 I had been waiting for a bridge and doing circles with a bunch of other boats. The bridge only opened on the hour so we had a lot of boats waiting by the time it finally opened. As I made my last turn I swung too wide and ran aground. Stuck. It was Another Adventure that saw my plight, came back and tossed me a line and pulled Galena off the shoal. Then we both had to wait for the next bridge opening.

That time it cost him a hour, this time it cost him several hours as he had to wait for the tide to turn.

On the 8th I was at Pete's bronze foundary when they were about to do a pour. A bit of history here. Pete Johnston's father, Randolph, was a sculptor/artist. He brought his family to this harbor to find a peaceful place to work. When they first arrived here they lived in the caves on the West end of the harbor while they built their home. The foundary was constructed in the 50's and still operates; as evidenced by today's pour.

The process of mixing and smelting the bronze is quite complex. They mix their own bronze and do a lot of things to get the imperfections out of the mix. Like, they add an empty wine bottle. The glass quickly melts and all the small impurities get stuck the the sticky, melted glass. Then they lift the glass, which is floating on the surface of the molten bronze, out with metal rods. Pete's son, Brent, was actually going to do the pour. He's been working in the foundary for two years now.

Pete, the artist

Brent suiting up for the pour

Brent and Richard pouring bronze into molds

Starving artist, Christina, works on the wax originals

Alan and Pat from s/v Nauti-Nauti, as were Bob and Gail of s/v Star were also in the foundary. Catching a pour was a major tourist coup. We were lucky to just happen to be here for it.

Bob and Gail (s/v Star), and Alan and Pat (s/v Nauti-Nauti) in Pete's Foundary for the bronze pour

Pete runs a gallery showcasing his father's, as well as his own, work. Most of the pieces are far too expensive for me, running in the seven to ten thousand dollar range. But they really are special pieces.

While at Pete's bar I talked with Charles Park, a resident on the island for the past 20-years. As it turns out he has a summer home on the Wye River just past Shaw Bay in Maryland. He invited me up for a visit when I get back.

Alan and Patricia were kind enough to invite me to their boat, Nauti-Nauti, for sundowners. The boat is a brand new Leopard 40 cat. It's only a couple of months old and is spacious and well appointed. She has more berths than my house has. Along with me they invited Bob and Gail, and Bill and Linda. Here we all are sitting around the table on the fantail. (In the picture below I've cropped out all the other men on board, of course). I think most of them are heading north to Tilloo Cay today.

Sundowners on s/v Nauti-Nauti

The Eleuthera gang arrived today. Moonlight Serenade, Stella Polaris, Star, and Seabbatical 1, all anchored just outside of Little Harbor (they missed the mid-day high tide and couldn't get in). But they dinghied in to have a drink at Pete's bar and stopped by to say, 'hi.'

As you can see from the photo above I was busy and couldn't join them at Pete's. The wind was from the north and I fear they had a wet ride home.

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03/15/2008

20 February - 14 March 2008
George Town, Grand Exuma Island, Bahamas
(N 23° 31.1' W 075° 45.6')


It's been a month since my last blog entry. The entire time I've been sitting here in George Town just relaxing and enjoying myself. There has been only a few interesting events since Jane went back home from her visit and I'll try to cover those. But mostly I've been doing nothing but sitting around and soaking up the warm Bahama sunshine.

On the 20th of Feb Jane left for the airport at about 0600hrs. She had a long flight with about a five-hour layover in Nassau. So she wouldn't be home until about 2200. I spent the rest of the morning napping and then went over to the Peace and Plenty bar to have a couple of beers with Marty and Bev. Dave (m/v Ibiz) stopped by Galena and we sat around drinking and telling lies till just after dark. I called Jane to make sure she had gotten home OK and then called it a night.

The next day I moved Galena back across the harbor to Volleyball Beach. I found a nice spot a couple hundred yards off the beach.

The number of boats in George Town has not reached the 400 or so from a couple of years ago. In fact the number eventually maxed out this year at about 300 boats. Since the harbor is so long (7 miles or so) it's hard to take a picture that gives the right feel. But here's a picture of the Volleyball Beach area. The three other anchorages are just as crowded.

Volleyball Beach Anchorage (90° view from NE to SE)

And here's a shot from the deck at the St Francis Resort looking at the same anchorage.

Volleyball Beach Anchorage (St Francis deck looking SE)

I checked Galena's fuel status and found she had: 8 gal stbd + 32 gal port + 16 gal on deck in jugs = 56 gal. Enough to motor over 400 miles. I should be OK until I get back to Florida. I'll put the 16 gals on deck into the stbd tank and then transfer fuel from port to stbd as needed after that.

On the evening of the 21st the wind came up to about 20-kts. Then a squall came through with winds of about 25-kts and heavy rain for 15 or 20 minutes. After that it was a quiet night. I watched movies till midnight and slept well until 0630hrs when I got up for the morning weather reports.

About 0930 hrs on the 22nd I was sitting in the cockpit having coffee and wondering what I might do the rest of the day when I noticed a sailboat named Susan II coming through the anchorage looking for a spot to call home. They were having some trouble setting the anchor. They had found a spot a couple of hundred yards from Galena and between Galena and the beach. They were also directly in front of s/v Magic Moment. Susan II tried to raise their anchor and move to a better spot but were having trouble getting the anchor up. That's what was catching my attention. A lot of movement on deck between the guys at the bow and the guy at the helm. Suddenly I noticed that Magic Moment was turning beam to the wind and drifting. It looked like Susan II had pulled up Magic Moment's anchor rode and pulled her anchor out. I called Magic Moment on the radio to let them know they were adrift. While my call didn't get them on deck it did get everyone around them on deck. Soon there were horns blowing and people shouting and a couple of dinghies heading toward Magic Moment. Finally the crew of Magic Moment came on deck and saw what was happening. About then their anchor reset and she came to a stop just feet from the boat anchored behind her. Susan II, now aware of what she had done turned around and came back to apologize. A few minutes later Magic Moment hauled up their rode and moved forward to re-anchor where they had been. Susan II motored out of the anchorage and went down to Sand Dollar Beach.

In light of the high winds last night I put out another few feet of chain. I'm now hanging on 110-ft of 3/8" chain in 16-ft of water with very good holding. I should be OK.

I went over to the St Francis Resort for the first time this year. I went with Tom and Joyce. I convinced them to play some darts with me. After I whipped them soundly we went back to Stella Polaris for dinner and dominoes. I got home to Galena about 2000 hrs and went to bed. It rained a bit at midnight and again I was up at 0630 to hear Chris Parker's weather report on 4045 MHz.

It's the 23rd of February and I've settled into the George Town Cruiser's Regatta relaxation mode. I sit around and drink coffee in the morning. Followed by lunch aboard. Then dinghy over to one of the beach bars for beers till evening. Followed by dinner and bed by nine at night. All of this in sunny, hot weather with beautiful turquoise water all around me. When I get too hot I just jump over the side and go for a swim. Life is pretty good. But eventually even this gets to be a bit... well... boring. But this day, on the 23rd of February, it was still a marvelous way to spend each day.

Stella Polaris called me over to look at the scorpion they had just killed. A small tan one about 2" long had been crawling on Tom's leg. When he swatted what he thought was a fly it stung him on the hand. Tom killed it. First time I've seen a scorpion here. They think it came aboard either in the groceries they had just bought or it had walked on during the two days they had been tied up at the docks. Anchoring out has it's advantages.

I told Tom I was unhappy with the new wireless mike I had bought for my new VHF radio. I have the Uniden UM525 with the optional wireless command mike/speaker. Very cool. Except that the batteries only last about 5-hrs in the mike. Since when I sail it's usually for much longer than 5-hrs, I end up putting it back into it's charger at the nav station and using a small handheld VHF until the wireless mike is recharged. Really inconvenient! I was looking for some place I might mount the charger in the cockpit. I checked the book and found the charger was "splash proof." So I would be OK in the cockpit unless I have a huge boarding wave hit me. But everywhere I taped the thing up, I found that it was in the way. My leg hit it, or I stepped on it as I came into the cockpit, or something. I was about to give up when Tom suggested this: Put a small, 4" high drop-board in the companionway. On the board mount the charger. When you're not underway, swing that board around and hang it from hooks at the nav station. What a great idea! And there would be room to also mount my GPS unit. I could drop that board into the companionway and run the wires in a bundle to the lower starboard side of the opening. When not underway I would take the board (with the mike charger and GPS on it) and swing it around inside of the boat. I would make some large wooden hooks to secure it to the starboard side, aft wall just above the electrical panel. It would there be visible and usable from the nav station. I'll post pictures when I get that made. Then I'll get some lexan and make a dropboard that would be just big enough to close off the companionway with the 4" board in place letting me close off the cabin for inclement weather. Tom's very good with cabinetry and finding solutions to problems like this.

On the evening of the 23rd I went over to s/v Avalon (a Shannon 43) for dinner with Tom and Joyce (Stella Polaris), Joan and Dennis (friends of Avalon) and Marty and Bev (s/v Avalon). This is one very big boat. 7 people sitting around the main table for dinner and it wasn't even crowded. There was room for a couple more people!

That night the wind died to nothing and we had a very quiet night; no motion at all. By the morning of the 24th it was about 3-kts out of the south. During the day I went to the beach and joined a bunch of folks having a jam session. Guitars, fiddles and a base guitar. I brought my bongos. I met Dave and Heather of s/v The Answer My Friend. Dave is a very good guitar player. Also, s/v Slow Motion with Blake and Sunny arrived in the harbor. Great to see them again.

I'd decided to race Galen in both the around the island race and the in-harbor race. I know, racing a Westsail is like driving a pickup truck in the Indy 500, but it should be fun. Maybe I'll drag a dinghy just to make the point that I'm a cruiser, not a racer. The wind was very light on the 25th so the practice race was postponed until Saturday. I made a trash run today. You have to take your trash to the dumpsters near Kidd Cove; there's no other place to put it. I also ran Galena's engine to charge the batteries for about the first time since I installed the solar panels in Miami. Very cool. I might be just about energy neutral now.

Dinner was on Stella Polaris with Blake and Sunny (s/v Slow Motion) and Bill and Sarah (s/v Moonlight Serenade). Again, seven for dinner. But on Stella Polaris we were all sitting around in the cockpit and inside and on deck. But Joyce make a fantastic pot roast that had us all going back for seconds. Sarah had just passed her Ham Radio Technician class test. She and Bill were taking their General Class tests in a couple of days and were spending all their time studying the questions.

On the 26th of February I went into town to attend a weather seminar by Chris Parker. I listen to his weather broadcasts every morning. I had met him here a few years ago, but had never really talked with him about his forecasts. CUrrently his boat, s/v Bel Ami, is on the hard in back of his house in Florida. So he's been broadcasting from there. Anyway, the presentation was very interesting. And it was very well attended. Here's a picture of Chris as he's making a point about gradient wind.

Chris Parker during a weather seminar at George Town, Grand Exuma Island, Bahamas

And here's a shot of one half of the hall full of cruisers who came to hear him. I couldn't get the whole room in one picture.

The starboard half of the room full of cruisers listing to Chris Parker's weather seminar

Chris's presentation was very good. He explained how he puts together is forecasts and how to create a personal forecast from the information available to the average cruiser. He also spent a lot of time pushing the services that he sells. But that's to be expected; the man has to make a living. He also talked a lot about communication at sea. He was focusing on how to get the information you need to make weather-related decisions. He did talk bad about Global Star, though. That particular satellite service was having a hard time keeping satellites operational. He said that currently you can get about 1 minute of continuous communication during any 10 minutes of the day. Not a very good recommendation. He said things might improve in three years when they get new systems fielded. Provided they are still in business then.

One rule of thumb that Chris presented I had not heard before. The first part of what he said I had heard and seen: He said that as a cold front approaches, the winds usually go from NE, to E, to SE, to S. As it clocks around it will go light. By the time it goes to SW and W it will be less than 5-kts. Then as the wind continues to clock through the NW and N it will build to 15-20 kts depending on the strength of the high pressure area behind the cold front. But then he said something new to me. He said, "If the wind veers from light S or SW back to the SE and builds then it's going to build big-time! And then it will clock around again but will not go light but rather continue to build as it goes through the SW and W. Interesting.

I brought the racing applications from s/v Siggy's Dancer (race committee chairman, Dave) to Stella Polaris so Tom and I could fill ours out. While sitting in the cockpit I noticed that my dinghy was missing; it had gone on walk-about! I had let Tom tie it off as I climbed aboard Stella Polaris and had not checked the knot. At just that time I saw someone towing a dinghy and could tell by the painter and the engine that it was mine. I yelled and waved and he came over. His name is Rod and he's been here in George Town with his parents for about a year. I promised to buy him a beer next time I see him ashore.

After that I never let Tom tie me up again. And he notices it.

On the 27th of February I attended a 60's dance at the Chat 'n' Chill on Volleyball Beach. Everyone was there. But I wasn't feeling up to speed and went home about 2000hrs. I tried to call Jane but got no answer. I did get hold of her the next morning, though.

On the 28th I woke up with a bad cough. For the next few days I would have a pretty bad cold. It was a bug that would sweep through the anchorage for the next week or so.

Stella Polaris was moving to a mooring in Hole #2 in the morning. He's concerned about the next cold front. Actually, Tom just doesn't like the motion of the boat when there's a serious chop in the harbor, which there is when the wind goes from SE to S at anything over 10 kts.

Everyone was talking about the coming cold front. Forecasts called for up to 50kts winds in squalls. I debated with myself for a while and finally put out a second bow anchor at about 1500 hrs. It turned out that I didn't need it. And picking it up was chore after the wind clocked and the rodes twisted into a Spanish Windless.

That night we watched as fantastic lightning storms passed just north of us. We didn't get more than about 25-kts of wind as it clocked to NW and very little rain. But the light show was great.

The 29th was overcast, cool (76°), and windy (20-kts). Nothing was happening on the beaches because everyone stayed aboard their boats. A dinghy ride would result in an instant drenching as you bounced along in the 2-ft chop running through the harbor. I talked with Moonlight Serenade; I'm invited to dinner tomorrow night along with Stella Polaris. Moonlight is anchored down at Hamburger Beach, about a mile NW of Volleyball beach. So After the practice race tomorrow, I'll anchor down there near them.

On 1st of March we had a practice race around the harbor. I hadn't been sailing since the 14th of February so this would be a good shakedown. As I started to raise the sails I realized that it really had been a long time since I'd sailed Galena. I made a few mistakes while tacking and gybing around waiting for the start. The wind was too strong for the head sail so I went around with just the main and the staysail. That made Galena very slow on the downwind leg but very manageable on the windward legs. I also discovered that while I can certainly sail Galena single handed, racing single handed is a very different thing. There's no time to do things. And there's no sea-room. Too close quarters and too little time to do things. I may need crew for this race.

After the practice race (I came in last by a bunch) I anchored at Hamburger Beach near Moonlight Serenade. Sarah watched me anchor and commented on how I made it look easy. Believe me, after trying to race single handed, anchoring is a piece of cake!

We had a wonderful dinner on Moonlight. Sarah is a good cook. And their boat is also huge. We even had ice cream for desert!

My cold was getting worse and I went to bed at 2000 hrs feeling terrible. All night long I was either freezing or sweating. By dawn I was a mess. I spent all day the 2nd of March on the boat lying about.

The 3rd of March found me much the same as the second. I was feeling a little better by the afternoon, but not much. I went over to Stella Polaris to meet Holly and Jocelyn. Holly is Tom's daughter. Jocelyn is her friend. A couple of fun girls to be around. I went back to Galena and slept well.

On the 4th I was feeling much better. But I still had a bad cough. Stella Polaris and I went to St Francis for drinks and I found Rod (the guy who rescued my dinghy). I bought him a few beers and introduced him to Holly and Jos. They are all about the same age so that was a good move. Over the next few days the three of them went fishing and partying and... whatever. They even got together for the coconut harvest. That's a competition where the regatta committee puts a few hundred coconuts in Hole #1 behind Volleyball Beach and then teams in dinghies (no motors, everyone uses a diving fin in their hand for propulsion) race around trying to collect the most coconuts.

Jocelyn, Rod, Charlie, and Holly with their non-winning pile of coconuts

Sometime on the 5th, one of the boats put out a frantic call on the radio. Rosenante was taking on water and needed people to bring spare pumps and help bail. Within 4 minutes this was the scene on her starboard side.

Cruisers responding to a call for help.

There were just as many people on the other side of the boat. He was settling into the water fairly quickly. He was also in 15-ft of water. We said we would push him to the beach with our dinghies but by the time that was coordinated he was making progress against the incoming water. Bill, the captain, found the problem. The hose clamp securing the flexible hose between the cutlass bearing and the stuffing box had come loose. Water was poring in around the prop shaft at the bearing. once the water was down far enough to work in the shaft area, he replaced the hose clamp and everything was OK.

Just nice to have all that help around if something goes wrong.

7th March I was at St Francis playing Texas Hold'em. Most fun I'd had for $5 in a long time. I didn't win, but I lasted to about the middle of the pack. And I had a great time.

It has been windy the past couple of days. Since people are reluctant to ride around in their dinghies the Cruiser's Regatta's opening ceremonies have been postponed to the 8th.

George Town Cruising Regatta Starts Today

On the 8th, I attended the opening ceremonies. Maybe I'm just getting old. But I found the cute little sketches to be lacking in humor and way to long. Some of the events were contrived and just childish. People were told to make masks and then they walked out on the catwalk and danced around while the judges evaluated their masks. Lame, really.

As I said above, the number of participants this year is down from previous years. That might be due to the condition of the economy. Or it might be other factors. Click here for a list of some the boats that were here for this year's regatta.

On the 9th I played in the Texas Hold'em tournament. Great fun. Again the most fun I've had for $5 in a long time. I lasted to about the middle of the pack. We had 60 players and I bowed out as about number 20. I stayed to watch the end. Very exciting stuff.

On the 10th I raced around Stocking Island. We had 27 boats racing in 4 divisions. In my division there were 5 boats. One of them was Stella Polaris. Tom and Joyce had talked Rod into crewing for them. I was single handing. The race was clockwise around Stocking Island. The length of the race was about 19 nm. We had a downwind start and then went to windward on the Exuma Sound side of the island.

The course is shown here in red while my track is in yellow.

The race around Stocking Island, George Town, Grand Exuma Island, Bahamas

The start of the race had the slower boats leaving first. This was a timed race with each boat crossing the start line and getting a separate start time. But to keep it interesting the divisions started about ten minutes apart and you had nine minutes to cross the line. So I started at about 1103hrs. Most of the boats passed me by about 1200 hrs as I exited the harbor and turned to windward. Stella Polaris took a couple of pictures of Galena as we were running downwind wing-and-wing.

Galena running wing-and-wing

Galena running wing-and-wing trying to catch up to Stella Polaris with Rod at the helm

This was the easiest part of the course. I had dropped the staysail to give the Genoa clear air and was making about 5-kts in 8-kts of wind.

As s/v Smidge zoomed past me they took this picture. They went on to win the race.

As we turned at the downwind mark, most of us continued out into the sound. I chose to keep my tacks to within a mile or so of shore. Others made fewer but longer tacks. Some went out as far as three miles. They didn't report any better air out there, just fewer tacks.

As I passed the downwind mark, Stella Polaris was ahead and chasing the pack.

(Actually all the boats ahead of us were in the next division and had just passed us both)

As the day wore on and I drifted into last place the wind died to almost nothing. At the end of the windward leg I was making 1.5 to 2 kts. The race committee decided to call the race at 1830 hrs. There were still four or five boats on the course. I said I would just sail in and record my own time. The GPS showed an ETA of 2000 hrs. My only concern was to get through the reef markings in the middle of the harbor before dark. The marks are not lit. Dave the race committee chairman said he would come back out and record my official time for me.

After I turned downwind at the southern entrance to the harbor I had another wonderful downwind sail. The wind had backed a bit to the east and I could run all sails up on a starboard tack. The sun set and it started to get dark just as I went through the cut in the reef in the middle of the harbor. I passed the race committee boat in the dark at 1945hrs. Dave and Jan were there to cheer me on. Lots of people on the radio cheered as I crossed the line. I had my lights on and my music playing and was having a great time. I dropped the headsail and sailed over to Kidd Cove and sailed to the hook in the dark. That was the first time I'd done that. There were a lot of boats in that anchorage so I stayed out about a quarter mile from the shore. I was exhausted after all that tacking and sunshine and excitement. I slept well.

I went into town to do some chores. Going into town requires that you take your dinghy to Victoria Lake and tie up at the dinghy dock. To get to the lake you have to go under a small bridge. It's only wide enough to one boat at a time so incoming boats the right of way. And the current can be very strong. Here a dinghy is leaving the lake. The people are doing the 'Bahama-Stand' as they motor out of the lake. People stand up to keep dry on the long runs across the harbor. It's not the safest thing to do, but about half the people do it.

Exiting the lake and heading back to the boats

We had a day off from racing on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the 12th, we raced around the marks inside the harbor. This was twice around a 4-nm course. The wind was just about 15kts from the southeast and we were going counter-clockwise around the course. We had a reach at the start, then a broad reach along the anchorages and through some of the anchored boats, then a beat to windward and across the line.

The course is shown here in red while my track for the first loop is in blue and the second time around is in yellow.

The race inside Elizabeth Harbour, George Town, Grand Exuma Island, Bahamas

I had a good start. I arrived at the line from the west on a starboard tack and turned north along the line about 40-seconds before the start. Siggy's Dancer came in from around the committee boat and was to my starboard and windward as we ran up the line accelerating. As the gun sounded we both turned slightly to starboard and I just cleared the pin at full speed. I stayed fairly close to the first three boats during the first two legs. But when we turned to windward I fell behind. I ended up about 5 minutes behind Stella Polaris and, again, in last place. But it was a good day of sailing.

Again I sailed over to the Kidd Cove anchorage. On the 13th I went ashore and made a couple of water runs, a trash run, a gasoline run (dinghy is using a lot of fuel), and, on the 14th, a grocery run. I called Jane in the morning on the 14th and then sailed over to Volleyball Beach. The Race Award ceremony was at 1800 on the 14th. Being last I didn't think I would get anything, but I did. I won the 'Turtle Award' for being last in both races. I got a hat and a small Weems & Plath oil lamp. Dave the committee chairman said later he didn't really want to give out the Turtle Award. No one wants to last, right? But Dave is a racer. And a racer might feel that way. But I'm a cruiser. I explained to Dave that I had a great two days of sailing. And getting recognized for the effort was an unexpected bonus. Anyway, Dave presented the award and went to great lengths to say how Galena came across the finish fully epitomizing the cruising style of sailing. He said the music was playing, Bill was dancing in the cockpit, the sails were full. Dave and Jan said that it was too dark for a picture, but they both thanked me for the memory.

My Turtle Award and prize

OK, that's about it. For the last few days I've just sat around and relaxed. I'm set to leave this place on Saturday, 15 March. But there's a cold front coming with 25-kts of wind. So I may wait until things calm down. That puts me out of here on Wednesday, 19 March. I figure 10 days up the Exuma chain and across the NW channel to the Abacos. Then another 10-15 days cruising through the Abacos and over to Florida. Follow that by a few hops up the coast and I'll be home.

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