S/V Sunbeam
| Vessel Name: | Sunbeam |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Whitby Ketch |
| Hailing Port: | Agana, Guam |
| Crew: | Margaret and Thomas Krym |
| Social: |
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20 July 2020 | Harbor View Campground
Back to fire pit land
I think we have officially entered the “north” when it’s okay to start having fires in the fire pit and roast marshmallows.
19 July 2020 | Harbor View RV Park
More than half way...
We are tucked away in another FREE campground tonight in Colonial Beach, Virginia. This one is called Harbor View and tomorrow we will drive around to discover why. All we can see from here are trees. We will be here for two nights and then onto Pennsylvania. We have been completely apart from people now for 5 days. The parks are really good at doing all the registration, etc. over the phone and internet. Only 9 more to go.
17 July 2020 | The Oaks at Point South
Under the trees
We are in South Carolina in a campground canopied with huge trees. When we bought our trailer the dealer gave us a membership to Thousand Trails. We had no idea what it was and clearly weren't grateful enough at the time. Turns out this membership gives you access to various parks throughout the country [...]
14 July 2020 | Georgia/Florida Border
Escaping Florida
We did it!!!! We escaped Florida. After a lovely visit with Thomas's family we have gone into self isolation for a two week trip from Florida to New Hampshire. We want to arrive ready to hug all the babies! We have plenty of food and plan to only stop for gas along the way.
14 July 2020 | Merritt Island - Marie’s backyard
Visiting Family
We made it to Merritt Island, Fl to visit with Thomas sisters and cousin last Saturday. I was bad because I never got the location posted. Now this morning we are heading out again and beginning the trek north. We have provisioned the trailer so we don't need to shop or stop for anything and we can begin to self isolate today. The northern states are requiring a quarantine for those coming from the south and we figure we can start on the drive up.
Bimini to Riding Rocks
We were so happy to leave Bimini. We had expectations of enjoying ourselves there but were so disappointed. The charts show an anchorage area near Alice Town but turns out it is really tiny. There were two boats already there and no room for a third. Plus it is right beside their island power plant and very noisy. The harbor is a long and narrow channel that runs the length of the island and it also serves as a sea plane runway... so no anchoring there. There are many marinas including a state of the art brand new resort marina Hilton complex. Very upscale. But the harbor basically doesn't accommodate those who wish to anchor out. They want to force you to go into a marina and spend the docking fees. We went all the way to the end of the channel and found a small basin where we dropped the hook just off the Hilton docks... but we didn't feel welcome there.
Secondly, there are no dinghy docks and no place to tie up and go ashore. The chart shows a spot in Alice Town but it is not a good spot. No cleats, no dock, just a seawall. We had to put out a dinghy anchor and back in. Then tie off to a tree. The climb out was a bit treacherous. We had this same problem in Nassau. No dinghy docks and the whole waterfront was marinas or fenced off gated areas.
As a boater who doesn't want to stay in a marina (hot and confining) we didn't feel welcome in these places.
The guide books talk about a bakery and restaurants and laundry mats etc. in Bimini, but we found the only restaurants to be at the Big Game Club and or the ritzy Hilton. No local flavor. The town is VERY rundown. The named bakery was not there but we happened upon Stephanie who was selling homemade cookies which were a treat.
There were lots of accommodations where you could stay in waterfront condos with dockage and marinas and there were a lot of boaters. An event called Crossing for a Cure was in progress and the place was busy in preparation. This morning at 12:30 A.M. a whole lot of young people left the beach in Bimini on paddle boards headed for Ft. Lauderdale. They expected to paddle across in 20 hours and arrive tonight. Amazing. Each was accompanied by a chase boat.... so there were a lot of boats.
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