Abacos 2016

Update - sailing south to Stuart, Florida. We left off at Vero Beach Loggerhead. From Vero we motor sailed to Stuart Loggerhead under the threat of heavy rain. We managed to outrun the rain and finished tying the lines just as the skies opened up! A quick clean up and we left Nemo, with dehumidifier plugged in, for a visit with Mom and Dad before heading north for the holidays. Friends Robert and Becky drove us to Richmond to retrieve our car. It was a great time to catch up and great way to travel! They have a small travel van named Elvie, short for Land Yacht. A quick stop in Orlando for dinner with our dock master from Urbanna and we were headed back to the chilly north. Except the north was not all that chilly! Seventy degrees Christmas Day! The family gathered at daughter Becky's new house for the festivities and the cousins were happy to have balmy weather to play outdoors. It was nice catching up with friends and family through the holidays. All too soon we packed up the car for the trip south to Florida. We took route 81 through the mountains and it was very pretty (when it wasn't rainy and foggy). After a bout of boat cleaning and a lovely visit from boat pals Julia and Gail, both Don and I succumbed to the head colds we had been fighting off. Don's cleared just in time for his trip to New Mexico for a family reunion. My plans to stay with Mom and Dad were put on hold until I became germ free again. Don returned and we had a lovely long visit with my parents before once again stocking up with provisions for the Abacos trip. Weather kept postponing our departure, but the day finally dawned when we motored down to the St. Lucie Inlet, intending to sail to Lake Worth to anchor for the night. One look at the waves crashing offshore kept us in the ICW. Maneuvering around the dredging machines in the harbor was tricky and we had several false attempts to reach the anchorage before we found our way through. We found our favorite spot by the golf course and settled in for a peaceful evening.

Four am came fast and we were fourth in line going out the channel, heading for the Bahamas. We listened to the other boats chattering back and forth before chiming in with our intended destination of Mangrove Cay. Northern Star was the leader and they pushed through to Sail Cay, in hindsight a smart move. Coming onto the Banks I took the catbird seat out front and happily searched the grassy bottom for any signs of sea life. In all that distance I spotted two nurse sharks, a filefish and a couple flying fish. We tossed the anchor just as the sun set for a peaceful slumber. Saturday was a desultory day and we drift sailed most of the day, enjoying the quiet after more than a full days motor sailing. We anchored off Sail Cay, the wind finally picking up after the anchor was dropped. Sunday we motor sailed to Allen's Pensecola, again the wind on our nose and pretty useless, good sized waves slowing us down. We spent a couple lumpy nights at anchorage there, confined to the boat due to high winds. Tuesday we finally made our way to Green Turtle Cay and tied up at the Bluff House Marina, just a couple slips down from Northern Star, who beat us in by several days. We cleared customs and had chicken nachos and Kalik at the Bluff House Beach Bar under threatening skies. Luckily the rain held off this time. With the threat of more weather coming in over the weekend we decided to shorten our stay on Green Turtle and make the jump to Treasure Cay the following day. Wednesday was a decent day for the trip through Whale Cay Channel, the passage we needed to make to get around the shallow waters of the Sea of Abaco and over to Treasure Cay. The sun was shining and there was negligible wind, we didn't even bother with the sails. My perusal of the bottom resulted in sighting many large orange and yellow starfish on the grassy bottom. I threw the fishing line over the side just before hitting the channel and got a couple bites as we were coming in the other side, but never landed a fish. Carl had a slip reserved for us at the marina and after finding our way, we tied up just a couple slips down from Bay Breezin! Nice to see our cruising companions again! Carl gave us the tour of the facilities and Melissa made dinner for us! We are very lucky to have great friends! Melissa had been to the library and took out a book for me to read by the pool, think that is where I am headed next!