Big Surprise
| Vessel Name: | Surprise |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Niagara 42 |
| Hailing Port: | Rochester, NY |
12 April 2015 | Abacos
Hello Abacos!
In one week, Doug and Donna Faust will join us to bring Big Surprise back to Florida. We look forward to having them with us as they are incredible sailors and mechanics. Something is sure to break and I know they always have duct tape in their pockets.
16 March 2015 | Great Exuma
Swimming with the pigs
It has been uncommonly windy in the Bahamas over the last couple of weeks. Strong easterlies at 20-25 knots with swells over 10 feet have limited everyone’s travels. Emerald Bay Marina, just north of Georgetown, is a beautiful place, but I find myself getting used to hot showers, a fitness facility, [...]
16 March 2015 | Thompson Bay, LI
The Green Flash
Does the Green Flash really exist or is it an illusion created by happy hour cocktails? All I know is that we saw several during our stay at Long Island.
28 February 2015 | Long Island, Bahamas
The Other Long Island
The days are getting a little slower, and that's just fine.
We have landed!
Ed and I left Palm Beach for Ft. Lauderdale under sunny skies and fair winds. We had a beautiful sail (beam reach in a 10 knot breeze in flat water the entire leg) along the coast, with dolphins greeting us along the way. Entered Ft. Lauderdale harbor surrounded by both Finn and Laser fleets finishing some sort of international level regatta. Boats from Russia and other international sites sailed alongside. We berthed at a marina that was also harboring Steven Spielberg’s yacht Seven Seas. It’s big. Really big. Star Wars big.
Just a note about these marinas. They house some of the largest, most pristine motor yachts I have ever seen. How does someone keep a boat on the water that clean. Our sailboat, docked next to these megaboats, looks like the ghetto with cans of diesel and water on the decks. Our feeble excuse is that we are actually using the boat every day.
Miami was a short trip the next day. Mike McCourt, and Chrissy and Joel met us on the dock in South Beach where our search for the best Conch Fritters of the south seas begins. Benny’s on Palm Beach is quite good; the Conch Fritters in South Beach mediocre.
After a day of preparation and waiting for the right weather window, we left Miami Harbor at 4 am for Bimini. Unfortunately the wind did not cooperate and we motor-sailed, landing in Bimini mid-afternoon after an uneventful Gulf Stream crossing. Bimini is a very quiet island without much in the way of services; but we checked in, got our cruising permit and our Bahamas telephone.
The next day was light air and we crossed the Grand Banks with little wind, but major sun. We anchored at dark just west of the Northwest Channel positioned to enter in the morning. It is an incredible sight to be anchored with no sight of land, in 15 feet of water.
Next morning, we anticipated stopping at Chubb Cay, but the winds were just right to sail directly to Nassau and the Conch Fritter contest.
