We left Black Point and headed to Big Majors Spot again. We stayed there long enough to say goodbye to Sapphire again (this time for good). We left with Blue Bay and started our trip North.
We went to Sampson Cay first and had dinner at the yacht club and met up with Steve and Kim from Fine Lion and went snorkeling for the afternoon. We ended up with no fish, but we each got about 10-12 conch. We took them to the beach and cleaned them, which is a disgusting mess, but the end result is great. We then said goodbye to Fine Lion again and made promises to keep in touch for next year's adventures.
We then went to Norman's Cay, where there is a sunken plane to dive on. We toured around the island and saw some of the most beautiful scenery we have ever seen. The beaches there are so white and beautiful. Lobster season is now closed, so we did not snorkel on the reefs, but we can see a lot of potential for next year.
We then moved up to Highborne Cay where we found the most beautiful coral reefs to snorkel on. The fish were awesome there. This is a reef that has not died off yet, so the fish are plentiful. We went over to the shoreline and snorkeled all the way along the shore and saw many interesting and beautiful fish. We were nearly at the end of the shoreline when a shark came over to greet us - needless to say that was the end of the snorkeling for that day.
From Highborne we sailed over to West Bay, New Providence, April 6th (the island that Nassau is on). We anchored there for the night and were planning to go to the Berry Islands for a week (as we have not gone there yet), but Chris Parker said some fronts were coming through for the next week or so, so we decided to cross over to Florida the next morning. It was a lot earlier than we had planned, but we knew we would have to hide out the fronts in the Barries (and they are not very protected), so we decided it was better to make it back to the States.
We had a great crossing of about 30 hours, and we were able to sail for 28 of those 30 hours - it was great. We had the wind 17kts behind and to the side of us the whole way. We caught a Mahi Mahi and lost it just as we went to gaff it at the boat. Later that day we landed a Greater Amberjack - it turned out to be delicious - yum.
We landed in Lake Worth (Palm Beach) on April 8th. We checked into customs there the next day and had the easiest check in we have ever had (we will definitely check in there from now on).
The next day we just moved up North about five miles to North Lake Worth and did some shopping around there - this is also a great anchorage.
April 11th (Barry's Birthday) we headed for Stuart, Florida to the Sunset Bay Marina - yes we are back to marinas- but this one is only $10.00 a night(mooring ball), includes showers, laundry, internet, captains room with TV etc. etc. We have discovered great shops around here and lots of great places to dine. We have met up with many boats we knew and made a lot of new friends here - happy hours find their way everywhere.
When we arrived on April 11th, we planned dinner with Blue Bay and Nancy baked Barry a birthday cake. We tend to have dinner on one boat or the other every day or second day, makes meals more interesting.
We will move to Fort Pierce tomorrow, April 22 and stay in a hotel/resort for a week while we decommission the boat. We found a great place that Dee and Ed from Sea Fox X stayed at last year. It has a kitchenette in a lovely room/cottage and there is a pool, hot tub, bar-b-que and tables to use, laundry, internet etc. for $250.00/week, can't beat that. We are renting a car with Dick and Nancy so we will split the cost there - not too bad.
We will have the boat hauled on April 26th and fly out of Fort Lauderdale April 29th. Sad to leave, but anxious to get home to see Sienna and Austin - oh yeah, Paul and Lauren too, hehe.