Delilah's Meanderings

Kim and I have been doing a terrible job on posting updates on the blog. The photo gallery has been kept up to date so at least you have been able to see pictures of Delilahs meanderings. We will try to do better and maybe even make some "catch up" posts on from the end of last season.

Believe it or not we are in our third season aboard Delilah! At the end of last season there was a lot of discussion in the hut among the boaters at the boat yard about going to the Bahamas next year (2018). We said that we were definitely interested in being included. During the off season we prepared for the trip to and cruising in the Bahamas. This included buying nautical charts for the region, quarantine flag, Bahama courtesy flag, upgrading chart plotter and VHF radio, and a larger outboard motor for the dinghy.

We made it! Delilah is currently in a slip at Bimini Blue Water Marina in Alice Town in North Bimini in the Bahamas. Bimini is located about 50 miles east of Miami across the Gulf Stream. We are waiting for the weather to change so that we can sail east toward the Exumas which is our destination. The Exumas (part of the Bahamas) are a chain of islands running north and south with the largest town being George Town on Great Exuma Island near the bottom of the chain. Here are some key dates and events to catch you up on how we got this far.

1/5 - Arrived at the boat yard and started preparing Delilah for our third season of cruising. Most notable I went up the mast to install a mast head fly, the little thing that shows the wind direction. We bought a device that allows me to climb up and down the mast by myself, using two ascenders. Kim watches from below and handles the safety line. It is good to know you can go up the mast if needed.

1/22 - Delilah was launched. It is terrific to be back on the water! We motor and sailed through the canals and lake, went through the lock into Charlotte Harbor, and anchored not far from shore for the night. I grilled hot dogs and cooked beans on the grill … delicious. Also we had cottage cheese over fresh cut pear. This was a great way to start the season.

1/23 - We sailed, actually motored all the way, south to Fort Myers Beach mooring field and tied up to ball #54. There was light rain & fog in the morning. We saw dolphins jumping several times, always a thrill! After arriving we took the dinghy in to pay for 1 week and went to Beached Whale for wings and pepperoni flatbread. A few days later Tammy and Jerel Roe aboard Osprey caught up with us at FMB mooring field. The Roes are close friends and fellow Hoosiers from Kokomo. They are our guides and buddy boat on trip to the Bahamas.

2/4 - Went to Original Shrimp Dock, with several others to eat and watch the Super Bowl. Kim "I never win anything" Hayes won a 42inch LED HD Smart TV! Boating friends Steve and Mary Ann aboard Living Well stored the TV in their car and then drove it back to the boat yard where it waits for our return in the office.

1/29 - We met Kim's uncles Ted and Paul Houchin and their wives Barb and Deb at Doc Fords for lunch. It is great to see and visit with them, this has become an annual tradition.

2/6 - Sailed south to Smoke House Bay, Marco Island. We saw a lot of damage from hurricane Irma. We met two couples, anchored near by in a pair of Gemini 105Mc (Delilah's sister ships) rafted together. The next day we were invited about Flying Saucer (Catherine and Colin) for sun downer ... more friends from the boat yard. While in Smokehouse Bay we went to the farmers market and walked to Tiger Tail park where you can go to the beach.

2/9 - Sailed South to Little Shark River. It was very calm so we motored most of the way. Two smallish dolphins put on show beside the boat jumping out of the water several times. Kim was able to video some of it and there is a good picture in the photo gallery. Little Shark River is in the Everglades and there is nothing there except mosquitoes (also beautiful scenery). It is about half way and lot of boaters stop there on the way to the Keys.

2/10 - Sailed South to Marathon Marina on Vaca Key. What a difference one day makes. We sailed most of the way with the wind building all day from the east. By the end of the day we were seeing sustained winds in the low twenties. It was good practice for Delilah and her crew. First we rolled up the Genoa (head sail) until it was even with mast. Then later we hove to and put in the first reef on the main sail. This allowed for a little more of a comfortable ride. We made good time sailing at 7+ knots per hour even with shortened sail. A day later the Osprey caught up with us and got a slip in the same marina. We spent several days in this cushy marina because no mooring balls were available in Boot Key Harbor while waiting for the weather window to continue up to our staging point to cross over to Bimini. We saw considerable Irma damage walking around Marathon. During our stay in Marathon, we took the bus to Key West for the day with Tammy and Jerel. Fun times!

2/15 - Sailed North up ICW in Florida Bay and anchored by Key Largo. At the same time Osprey sailed north up Hawk Channel on the Atlantic side where conditions were much rougher. Osprey (Pearson 385) has draft of 5' 9" which is too deep to go on the "inside". We left Marathon Marina 7am and dropped anchor at 5:45pm and long day of motoring into the wind. We were stopped by US Customs and boarded later by Coast Guard for routine inspections! Maybe we look suspicious ... actually there weren't many boats on the water for them to choose from.

2/16 - Sailed North up ICW and out Angle Fish Creek to Atlantic. We went under 2 fixed bridges and then through Angel Fish Creek to the Atlantic side. We anchored next to Osprey at 12:30pm off Old Rhodes Key.

2/17 - Sailed East to Alice Town on Bimini in the Bahamas. We pulled up anchor at 4am and followed Osprey through the reef and toward Bimini. The waves were 4-5 feet and coming straight at us all the way which makes for an uncomfortable rocky ride. So the motor was on the whole way arriving at 3pm. It was too rough for the auto pilot so we manually steered the boat. Finally near the end we raised the main sail and motor sailed the last couple hours. We have been enjoying out time in Bimini with the Roes waiting for the weather to change so we can continue east toward the Exumas. Currently it looks like we will take off Sunday or Monday (25th/26th).

We'll keep you posted!