11/29/2010, Lucaya, Grand Bahama

November 27-29, 2010 Lucaya, Grand Bahama
We left Lake Worth at 2:30 p.m. We don't know why-we were just ready to go. Aside from a squall that knocked us over, the trip was uneventful, and we were able to sail most of the way. We had to slow down so we could enter Lucaya in the daylight. Once we were tied up at Port Lucaya Marina, Mike and Steve went to check in with customs and immigration. The immigration officials in the Bahamas seem to be giving most cruisers 90 day permits. This often means that sometime in the winter you have to find another immigration official to extend your stay. We were lucky to have an official who granted us 180 days, so we should be good for the season.
With our yellow quarantine flag down and our Bahamian flag flying, we all walked into town. We had a celebratory drink at Rumrunners and then wandered around town. We had a delicious lunch at a Greek restaurant. Then it was back to the boat for a nap. Mike did not sleep much on the way over. We hung out on the boat and rested up.
The next day we headed back into Rumrunners to watch MSU win its 11th football game of the season. They are co-Big Ten champs. Go green!
On Sunday we took a long walk around town and through some of the resorts. We wandered through the markets and shops for a while, then went back to the boat to listen to MSU win a basketball game. We spent a quiet evening reading and listening to the live music from across the water.

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11/26/2010, North Lake Worth, FL

November 21-26, 2010 Stuart to Lake Worth
I guess, maybe, we'll leave tomorrow . . .
This has been quite the season for spending boat units. Most of the batteries were not good. Mike called a car service to pick him up and take him to Walmart for more batteries. Before the pick-up time arrived, Sid walked by. Mike had dinghied out to meet Sid, on "Quest" the day before. He is a friend of Mike's cousin Martha from Washington. Turns out, Sid has a truck here and offered to drive Mike. "Cancel the car", came the order from the captain.
While Mike went on his merry way, I walked to the Publix (grocery store) with Steve, Kim, and Susan. More food? Where will we put it?? Ah, well. We do like to stock up before going to the Bahamas, but there must be an end to it. They do sell food there!
So, with new batteries and a full larder, we all headed down the ICW for Lake Worth. Lake Worth is a good jumping off spot for the Bahamas. We had just gotten underway when Night Hawk, who had left earlier, called on the radio to say they were overheating again and were turning around and heading back to Stuart. We debated about going back with them, but decided to continue on.
After 7 bridge openings (always an experience), we arrived in Lake Worth and anchored in North Lake Worth. A boat in front of us left, and not too long after, "Estelle" dropped anchor there. We had not seen Jim and Jeannie for 2 years, so it was good to catch up with them.
Well, another trip to Publix here-more food!-as well as a trip to West Marine and Duffy's for lunch. Kim and I also picked up some stone crab claws from a truck on the side of the road. Yum.
Since we did not leave, we did boat projects. We had purchased some Spiroll to pad our dinghy davits in places. The davits tend to leave rust stains on the dinghy. Spiroll is actually a product to use as a chaff protector on lines and it wraps right around them, but we hope it will work as a nice pad for the dinghy.
We were invited to "Fine Lion" for cocktails, so we decided to eat supper before heading over. We ate our stone crab claws, some cooked spinach, and a spinach salad with dried cherries, pecans, and Gorgonzola cheese, with an Asian sesame dressing. It was all good.
So, I believe we will be off today, traveling all night and ending up in Lucaya tomorrow morning. That means internet will be intermittent from now on. We will post when we can!
PS-someone sent a private message to us through Sail Blogs. I skimmed it and thought we could go back and read it later, but I can't find it. It was someone who had just purchased a Bayfield 40 and had some questions. Please email us at sapphire.mk@gmail .com and I'm sure Mike will be happy to chat on and on about the Bayfield 40!

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11/21/2010, Stuart, FL

November 19-20, 2010 Stuart, FL
We (Sapphire, Fine Lion, and Night Hawk) picked up some mooring balls in Stuart. The marina has a nice clubhouse, showers, and laundry. They also have a courtesy bus to Walmart, West Marine, and some other places on Wednesday and Saturday.
We walked the town to find the post office and Ace Hardware. With those jobs done, we headed into historic downtown Stuart. We had a nice lunch at Duffy's, and then the girls stayed to shop all the little boutiques while the boys went back to the boat. We had a very nice time.
Our batteries have not been acting "right" so Mike checked them and found one of them is dead and the others seriously need to be equalized. He took the courtesy bus to Walmart to buy a cheap battery to put in, just for the winter. We will go to the dock tomorrow if there is room so that we can plug in and get the batteries equalized. He will also change the oil, I will do the laundry, and we should be ready to head for the Bahamas-maybe next Wednesday.


November 14-18, 2010 Vero Beach, FL
We spent a few more days doing Vero things. We went to the beach restaurant for breakfast and walked on the boardwalk, took the bus to shop some more, borrowed Jim and Nancy's car again for some trips you can't make with the bus, and attended a lovely party at Jim and Nancy's lovely new home. There were current cruisers, and some cruisers who have given it up and are living in Vero Beach now.
We had been waiting for some things we had ordered, and when we had everything, we cast off for a trip down the ICW, up the St. Lucie River to Stuart.

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