It’s 2017.   The dust is settling, the Christmas decorations are being taken down (hopefully!) and I hope that the new year holds happiness and health for all of our friends.

We booked a flight out of the Bahamas on December 10th so that we would be home in time to celebrate Penny’s 4th birthday on the 11th – should have been easy.   But there was a front coming through and low cloud here, so the incoming flight could not land.   After countless delays and uncertainty, they finally cancelled the flight that night – luckily we had our boat to go back to; others weren’t so lucky.   We finally left at lunch time on the 11th – to get to Atlanta and find that there were no seats on the connecting flight into Baltimore.   We went on standby and a couple of planes left without us.   Finally we were called up just as the doors were about the close.   As she printed the boarding pass, the couple whose seats we were taking rushed up to the gate (she had been “shopping” and lost track of time!)   Feeling bad, I grabbed the boarding pass, put my head down and scuttled down the boarding ramp, determined that we would get on that flight!    So we made Penny’s birthday, even though it was 8.30pm before we got there!

We had a whirlwind trip home – Christmas time is always so busy and we caught up with friends, spent lots of time with Will and Penny, and worked hard at doing all the things we needed to set ourselves up for being away again for another four months.   I wish I could be more casual about paperwork, but I had my nose in the computer for a lot of our visit.   That way I can relax now, knowing everything is “under control”.

We went to the school Christmas concert and loved it – each year the kindergarten class are the main characters.  So Penny’s group featured as bell ringers, and Will’s class presented Christmas songs with words and actions.   All so adorable –  St Anne’s is an amazing school.

We loved being at home – the swans arrived in our absence and Garth picked up his share of the feeding.  We are so lucky to have the privilege of having these beautiful birds in front of our house every year.   We counted about 95 at a time this year – with quite a few cygnets among the group.

Christmas was low key – I made the Beef Wellington which seems to have become our tradition.   The day was mild and beautiful – we were able to open the big door and weren’t cold at all!

We have great neighbors – we routinely meet on our front lawns with a glass of wine in hand as the sun goes down – Christmas day was no exception, and mother nature obliged with a humdinger sunset.

And then it was time for the big adventure!   Kate, Will and Penny flew back with us on the 29th to escape the cold and see in the new year.  Unfortunately our luggage never made the connection in Atlanta and so we lost a precious day waiting for it to be delivered.   The kids were not phased too much – we had to find them a summer alternative to their long sleeves and shoes and socks which was an interesting exercise – but they swam happily in the marina pool in their underwear and ate their first conch fritters with relish!

We wanted to spend New Year’s Eve in Hope Town so made our way over as soon as we could on the 31st.   We went to the Reef Bar which is on the ocean side of the island with a fabulous beach and the most incredible clear turquoise  water.

We had an early lunch – opposite a cemetery which had a very steep hill which was an irresistable invitation to run down with hair flying!   There was a gate a little way away, but they found a couple of loose planks in the fence and did what kids do …

There was a junior Junkanoo scheduled for the afternoon – we found a playground to keep them busy while waiting.   Will is at that age where he jumps and swings and climbs on everything possible.   Penny keeps up, but with an age-appropriate reserve!   The Junkanoo was small but full of energy and such fun!

Time to go back to the boat and take a nap to be ready for the celebration.   We managed to book the last table at the Harbour’s Edge restaurant for the early sitting.   A delicious 5-course meal – our entree choice was Surf and Turf with lobster – yum!   They provided headgear – Will immediately adopted a Humphrey Bogart persona – Penny wanted the man’s hat rather than the feathery crown which they gave for the girls!   Afterwards we went down to meet up with Mel and Gary and the boys sported the headgear I had bought for the kids while sharing some Franschoek wine!!

New Year’s Day – my birthday! – and it was time to move on.   We went over to Nippers on Guana Cay for their traditional Sunday pork roast buffet.   The children had seen our photos and were looking forward to swimming in the pool with the pirate on the bottom!  The water was freezing apparently and they got in, but clung to Kate – not sure if it was really that cold or whether they were beleiving Garth’s stories about the pirate getting them.   But they didn’t let go for a minute.

It became shoulder-to-shoulder crowded at Nippers so we moved down to the beach at Grabbers – more swimming, eating and drinking!   Will and Penny donned the wetsuits which Chris and Jean Humpreys had kindly passed on to them and went for their first snorkeling lesson in “real” water.   They loved it and we got some real surfer-looking photos!

Every day down here seems to end with a memorable sunset ….

Next day we set off to see the swimming pigs.   We had to go around Whale Cut into the ocean.  Fortunately the swell was reasonable and the passage unremarkable – except for a float plane which took off right next to us!   By the time I got my camera it was already in the air, but was an interesting experience for Will and Penny

Noname Cay where the pigs live was the highlight of the trip!   Craig Russel who takes official care of them had arrived with food, and they were eating from the trough.   There were a number of 7-week old piglets who were just charming!   After a little encouraging, Will and Penny both fed them some of our bread, and by the end were petting and patting with confidence!   Craig had brought some coconuts which he opened with a machete – not something that you would ever experience in Annapolis!   The kids ate coconut right out of the shell before it was given to the pigs – who cleaned them out!   They drink from pipes attached to a huge water tank – Piggyville is alive and thriving.

The tide was high and the water was pristine – more snorkelling for the kids and they saw fish swimming by.   Garth found a live conch and they were a little unsure about the animal living inside.   I thought it looked a lot like Kate …..

All round it was a gorgeous day, and a perfect end to a great visit.   From there we went back to Green Turtle Club – more swimming in the pool and then a delicious final meal together.   We loved having them on board – this visit was a highlight for us and we hope we instilled a sense of wonder, adventure and wanderlust in them – that the world is a place full of things to see and do and experience.

This blog has been all about family – from here we set off for Eluthera and the Exumas next week, to places we have not visited before and our own experiences to be enjoyed.

We arrived in Hope Town and fell in love all over again!    It is situated on Elbow Cay and is built around a perfectly enclosed harbor so that no matter which way the wind blows, you are protected and the water is calm.   The icon of the town is its lighthouse – built in 1864 it is the last lighthouse in the world that is hand operated without any electricity.   I’m going to  quote the brochure and give you some facts and figures – the lighthouse warrants it:

“The lens and turning equipment in this lighthouse, made in the early 1900s by Chance Brothers of Birmingham, England, is still in place today, working beautifully.  The lighting source is a 325,000 candlepower “Hood” petroleum vapour burner.   A hand pump is used to pressurize the petroleum (kerosene) which is in the heavy green iron containers below the lantern room.   The fuel travels up a tube to a vapourizer within the burner which sprays into a preheated mantle.   Pressurized camping lanterns operate similarly.   The beautiful Fresnel lens with its five “bulls-eyes” concentrate the mantle’s light into piercing beams which shine straight out towards the horizon, instead of up and down and all around, as in a camp lantern.

The entire lens with its brass work, bull’s-eye lenses and additional prisms weighs about three or four tons and floats in a circular tub containing about 1200 pounds of mercury or “quicksilver”.  This reduces the friction, which would otherwise be caused by wheels or rollers.   Weights on long cables, when wound up to the top of the tower by a hand winch, are able to, through a series of bronze gears, rotate the heavy apparatus, once every 15 seconds.   It works like a gigantic grandfather or cuckoo clock, and the keeper on duty has to wind up the weights every two hours.   This 19^th century system operates totally without electricity and runs very smoothly at that.   Thanks to its dedicated keepers, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse continues to shine exactly as it has every night for almost 80 years.”

Hope Town works hard to maintain the lighthouse and there are many fundraisers to keep it going.   But somehow locals and visitors alike feel a pride and identity with the lighthouse and deep pockets are often emptied for a good cause.

We walked to the top, all 101 stairs, and the view was spectacular

This is a picture of the last 14’ Abaco dinghy built in Hope Town by Winer Malone, a local craftsman, who built them entirely with hand tools and without plans.   In fact there are two versions, a 14’ and a 12’ – the size reduced when he moved house and the new house had a 12’ shed instead of a 14’ one!!

Our friends from Annapolis, Muffin and Will Heyer, come down on their boat every year to spend the winter in Hope Town.   They are very involved in local volunteer activities and we met some lovely people with them.   Will has one of the five Abaco dinghies left in Hope Town, and came sailing by in it one day – of course Garth had to try it out!!    It is called Mac & Cheese;  one of the others is called Peas and Rice – both popular side dishes down here (might be spelled Peace and Rice I think).

Later that day we shared stories and stone crab claws with Will, Muffin and their friend Bill Fulton, and Mel and Gary.   A great evening.

After two days on a mooring, we decided it was time to explore and we sailed down to Sandy Cay to go snorkeling.   The sea was a little choppy and the waves were a little strong so we didn’t snorkel for too long, but it was good to be out in the water.   Gary took some photos with his go-pro – he wasn’t sure why they were not properly focused, but I want to put them in as a reminder for us.   Snorkeling is amazing – we have wet suits so it’s not cold, and the only sound you hear is yourself breathing.   Everywhere you look things are moving and catching your eye and you drift over the coral beds just taking it all in.   We are tempted to try and get an underwater camera, but then you become “the photographer” instead of just an observer of wonderfully natural beauty.   It’s a toss up.

DCIM100GOPRO

DCIM100GOPRO

DCIM100GOPRO

On the way back the sky clouded over and the scenery was all the more dramatic for it.

We were lucky that our visit coincided with the annual Combustion Music Concert which benefits three local charities.   An American who has a home on Hope Town came up with the concept – he is in the music industry and invites his country and western songwriter friends, at his expense, to come to the islands.   They have four performances over the weekend – this year there were 11 songwriters singing their No. 1 hits – between them they have over 80!  They don’t charge for their appearances and all the donations go directly to the charity.   We are not country and western followers, but the music was great and the crowd was energized and it was a great evening.

We decided that we wanted to get some sailing in – no matter where the wind took us.   On Sunday we unhooked the mooring ball and set off for Treasure Cay.   The conditions were perfect; the seas were calm and the wind was behind us.   Gary and Mel have a spinnaker, and we had our sails set wing and wing, and it was a day to remember.

The water here is so clear and you can see the bottom at 25ft.   I tried to capture it on the camera; these show it a bit, but you need to be here!!

In the third picture above the dark bit is the shadow of our sail on the ocean floor!

We picked up another mooring ball in Treasure Cay and went ashore for some frozen drinks and football.  Treasure Cay has a 3-1/2 mile beach – rated as one of the top ten in the world.   We went for a walk at sunset; the colors were soft and muted, the water lapped the shore and the sand at the edge was hard and easy to walk on.    The shadows on our footprints made them look as though they puffed up instead of sank in – and the shadows in the soft sand made incredible relief patterns.

The restaurants down here are expensive.   You can understand it, but the budget doesn’t always stretch to too many meals eaten ashore.   So I made an appetizer and Mel cooked the most delicious pasta with scallops in a lemon sauce – worth twenty restaurant meals.   We have been lucky to sail along with Second Sojourn – they are great friends it is always nice to have a second opinion on weather and destination; Garth and Gary have an ongoing cornhole challenge while Mel and I keep in touch with our friends and families.

The weather was perfect for sailing again yesterday so after another long walk on the beach we left Treasure Cay and headed around the Whale Cut and came back to Green Turtle Cay.   Love it here in White Sound – we will try and explore the beach side of the island this morning, and then head into town for some lunch and a bit of provisioning.

We will head back to Marsh Harbor by way of Man O War Cay tomorrow.   Garth and I are flying back to the States on Saturday for Penny’s birthday and Christmas.   We will leave the boat at a dock in a marina while we are gone (we still have a freezer full of frozen food that needs to be kept cold!).   We are so looking forward to seeing Kate and Will & Penny, and also our house, our neighbors and our friends!   Not sure I’m ready for the cold though – it has been between 70 and 80 degrees here, cooling off at night with a fresh breeze through the hatch above our bed – perfect!!

This little boy was playing peek-a-boo with his mom at a coffee shop in Hope Town – I couldn’t resist his delightful face!    I definitely need that grandchild fix!!!

So this may be the last blog until the new year – when we come back on Dec 29^th Kate and the kids will come with us for a week.   We are so looking forward to Will and Penny enjoying the beaches and seeing the magical world under the water when we go snorkeling!   We wish everyone a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.

Guess who’s having a ball?!?!?!?

All the work that he put into restoring this boat and making sure that it was everything it needed to be has rewarded us beyond measure.   It’s comfortable, it works  -and if it doesn’t, he can fix it!  We could not wish for more.

We left Manjack after that lovely walk over to the ocean side and headed to GreenTurtle Cay.   This is one of the bigger islands and has lots of accommodation available should you wish to come to this area other than by boat.   We stayed at Green Turtle Club which was a great marina with everything to offer.   They have an excellent chef and their menu leaves you wanting to try everything.   We did it justice!   We were there for Thanksgiving and had our first Turducken.  (Deboned chicken inside a duck inside a turkey).   It was delicious and served with all the traditional sides.   We caught up with all our laundry ($$$), filled up with water ($$$) and diesel (also $$$) – but that’s part of the experience and we expected and budgeted for it.  I wish I had taken a photograph of the marina – it is spic and span and so well run.

We found the burgee that our BOLD (Beneteau Owners Living the Dream) group had tacked up in the bar when we were all there in 2007 – we added a $1 bill with our re-visit update.   Tall Gary kindly stood on a stool for us!

On Thanksgiving day we dinghied over to New Plymouth, originally a settlement of British Loyalists who left the USA at the time of Independence.   They had their ups and downs, but the town survived and is now quaint and welcoming.  The pictures show a typical little house, the old jail and what a lovely final resting place!

Some great options on this Thanksgiving menu!

Loved the “stupid” sign!

Great Thanksgiving options at this place!     And loved the “stupid” sign.

Bahamian Christmas – up before Thanksgiving!

I don’t know whose job it was to string this cactus – glad it wasn’t me

Christmas decorations were up everywhere already – I thought that only happened in the States.   Don’t know whose job it was to string the cactus – glad it wasn’t me!

The next morning we left in time with the tide (the channel into the sound is very shallow and not to be attempted at low tide) and planned to be at Guana Cay that night.   We stopped at No Name Cay – lovely beach – and found that they had brought pigs to the island!   We can’t wait to show Will and Penny …. although the pigs get a little bit “pushy” when it comes to grabbing food from you.   I ducked behind Garth a couple of times when the snorting and pushing got a bit close!

We walked around the island – the other side had another long beach with interesting shells and rock pools.  We went for a great swim, walked out through the grass to the sandy patch where it was a little deeper – until Gary, who had brought his snorkel and goggles saw a huge ray settled in the sand!    We all went horizontal and swam until we were in 2ft water and HAD to stand!!!

The conch live on the sandy bottom and among the grass – it was nice to see some live ones as you normally just see the empty shells.

Sailed over to Guana Cay where we visited our favorite haunts – Nippers and Grabbers (sounds a bit suggestive when you put them together like that!?).   We will spend New Year’s Eve at Nippers with Kate and Will and Penny.  We have done it before with the Clarences and it is a wild night.

Next day we wanted to get to Marsh Harbor as a front was due to come through and we needed to be in a protected anchorage.   On the way we stopped at Fowl Cay, which is a protected reserve.   It was a perfectly calm day and we were able to snorkel around these two big patches of coral reef.   We were the only ones out there (we have found that it is still early in the season – a lot of the places are still closed, but it means that there are seldom other boats where we want to be and it suits us perfectly).  A photograph just doesn’t seem to be able to do justice to the color and quality of the water – but this picture of Second Sojourn I think shows how the exquisite turquoise light was throwing back on the sides of their boat.   We were in about twelve feet of water and the dark patches, if you zoom in, are actually grass that you can see clearly on the bottom.   It blows me away.

So we are finally in Marsh Harbor.   The biggest town in the Abacos with all the amenities that we may need.   I am going to the telephone company tomorrow to see how to make the data I purchased on my local sim card work …. definitely need a twenty-something on hand to help with this kind of stuff!!  I thought about it and realized that many of you reading the blog don’t have a clear idea of exactly where the Abacos are – so here are two photographs of our chart book.   The first shows the relationship of the main island to the USA and to Nassau etc. and the second give more detail of the relationship of all of these cays that we are visiting, which are sort of barrier islands to the main Abaco Island.

We will stay here in Marsh Harbor until the weather improves and then make our way over to Hope Town on Elbow Cay.    Another favorite spot with lots to do.

We left Lake Worth at 5.00 am – still dark, but the light was coming into the sky.  Three of us left togther – Gary and Mel on Second Sojourn and George Shipp on Shipp Mates.   He had anchored near us in Lake Worth and was single-handing all the way from Canada and I think he was happy to be in convoy with us.   The forecast was not perfect, but very do-able we thought.   It started out lumpy and I took my Dramamine!  The sun came up and we said goodbye to the mainland – it is a very special experience to look around and the whole horizon is only water.   As the day wore on the seas flattened and we ended up motor sailing in a perfectly flat deep blue sea.   I love the way the water looks and colors from the sky reflect on it.

We had anticipated a really long ride over, but we arrived at West End by 3pm – a very successful day.   Unfortunately West End had been badly hit by the hurricane with many houses destroyed.   The marina didn’t seem to lose too many buildings, but there was limited power and water and their restaurant and bar were closed.   Not to worry – we hauled out the steaks and champagne and celebrated our arrival in grand style!   As anticipated, the water is clear and turquoise; the beach is white and the people are the friendliest around.  Old Bahama Bay is a great resort and entry point to the Bahamas.

The picture of the piling shows how clearly you can see the bottom – ten feet of water.   We decided to stay on Sunday as the winds were strong – we found a friendly diver who had just brought in his catch of lobster – we were set for dinner!    I’m including a picture of the beach bar which didn’t survive the storm – and the pool was pumped out, so for our Bold Group from 2007/8 we weren’t able to relax quite as much as we did then.

The three of us set off early again next morning to head for Great Sale Cay.   Nothing there, but when the sun sets and you are sharing a glass of wine with friends, what more could you wish for?

I often wonder which side of the sunset I prefer – the blaze of glory as the sun disappears, or the soft pinks and mauves that fill the sky behind you.  The night is so black – not a light anywhere and the stars just shimmered.

When we go out to sea, we put our dinghy on the foredeck for safety – we wore lifejackets on the way over, even though it was so calm.   You shouldn’t put yourself in a position that you might regret later.   Some pics of the command post – you can see the instruments showing our course – touchscreen so you can easily zoom in or out, and the wind instrument showing strength and direction.   (I should have tidied up a bit before this pic!)

Garth wants to give a particular shout-out to our friend Terry Clarence, who has the Rolly Tasker Sails dealership in Annapolis – he is SO happy with the wonderful sails that Terry supplied us!  He took these pictures of the sail shape for those of you that will appreciate them!

Our next planned destination was Green Turtle Cay, but we decided to stop on the way – we snorkeled off Moraine Cay and were rewarded with pristine coral banks – my impression was that the coral and fish were all purple and yellow and everywhere you looked could have been a calendar picture!   The tide was running through quite fast, so we dinghied out and then drifted back over the reef holding onto the dinghy.   We did this three times – could have stayed all day!    Of course, this also presented my personal biggest challenge – getting back into the dinghy.   We had a rope stepladder which helped some, but as you stood on it it shot underneath the boat …. needless to say my clamber in was not elegant or graceful!   But I did it and am here to tell the tale.   I would do anything for an underwater camera to be able to share the amazing world under the sea that we saw that day.

From there we set off for Manjack Cay.  We were a little late and sailed into the anchorage as the sun set.   Another contrast of the bright sunset and passive light behind.

This island is owned by a family who have lived there for 18 years – they have generously shared their island and made paths for visitors to get to the beach on the other side.   It was about a mile away, but the path through the brush was cool and dappled and we saw so much of the vegetation up close which you can’t really appreciate as you sail by.   The beach was spectacular!!

Lots of rock pools and their interesting inhabitants.   What looked like a simple hole in the rock revealed a whole ‘nother world when you looked closer …

We sent to Green Turtle that day – but that will have to be the next blog, as the internet service that I am “borrowing” is very slow and the pictures are not loading quickly enough.  We tried to get our phone set up and have a bit of a hiccup – apparently the iPhone 4 that I brought for the Bahamas sim card does not have the latest software, so my next task is to download it – at this speed, might take a while!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and you are relaxing on this long weekend.   Christmas is around the corner!

We made the excellent decision to go “outside” from Vero Beach down to Lake Worth.   It was Sunday and everyone and their brothers were out on their boats enjoying the beautiful day.   Lots of wake and activity and in this stretch there were SEVEN restricted bridges in ten miles.  Many of the old lifting bridges along the waterway have been replaced with high bridges that allow unlimited access.   But on this stretch, no.   The bridges open either on the hour, half hour, or sometimes on demand but you still have to call the bridge tender to open and wait your turn in all the traffic.   And if you just miss an hourly one, you have to wait that long for the next opening.  So we set off in a beautiful sunrise and motorsailed with Mel and Gary alongside – with beautiful sea and clouds as our view.   It got a bit choppy for a while, but that passed and it was a good day.

We had hoped to cross the gulf stream on Tuesday, but the forecast was a little rough with strong winds forecast on the Bahama side so we decided to wait.   It gave us a good opportunity to do some maintenance and get the boat ready.   We shared a hired car with the Tisdales and we hit Sam’s Club and a grocery store for final provisions.   I would kill for a bigger fridge!!!   We watched the super moon rise …

….after the sun set.    You can tell we are in Florida by all of the high rise buildings!

So we are at Lake Worth FL waiting to cross – we plan to go tomorrow even though the weather might not be absolutely perfect – if we waited for perfect it might never come!   We need to get there so that we can acclimatize, explore and get our boat situated for when we leave it to go home for Christmas.  We will get a sim card for our other phone and hopefully be able to send one or two blogs before we leave.  Otherwise I will do it from Annapolis when we get home.

So the waterway part of this adventure ends – it has been fascinating and a lot of fun.   But looking forward to what lies ahead.   Garth just headed off to the little French cafe we found for breakfast and the newspaper – his habits are hard to break!!  But I know he is not going to find one of those once we are in the Bahamas, so this is his last chance!!

After leaving Beaufort we went to Hilton Head and had a wonderful dinner with Sue and Kevin Keogh where there was lots of talk about Harbor 20’s!   I can’t believe I didn’t take a photograph around the dinner table.    It was sobering to see and hear about the damage that Hurricane Matthew wrought – I have a lot of photographs and will make a separate post of them.   Seeing the damage and imagining the individual lives that have been impacted makes me so sad.

I don’t understand those that say they find the waterway through Georgia boring.   To me it is one of the most beautiful stretches – okay, it’s a bit twisty-turny but every turn shows something new.

Sometimes the beauty of the anchorage at sunset is not when it’s all ablaze, but when the light mellows and softens and the moon rises.

There are times when you see a channel marker in the middle of the marsh ..???? – only to find out that the waterway curves around and you spend half an hour getting to where the crow could take you in five minutes.

We passed Thunderbolt Marine where Garth had worked on a 105′ boat “Victoria T” for Lex in the early days – all the boats are so big that their scale is lost in the comparison.   One of the boats had been partially shrink wrapped – bet Brad would have loved that job!

How about these vultures roosting together in a tree?  I had seen them circling and thought perhaps there was some food they were after, but it seemed they just needed to rest their wings.   On all three trips we have done down the waterway, we have passed this lovely house on a narrow island – each time we get a good feeling about whoever lives there in complete solitude – I’m sure a lot of books are read in that house.   Another house which is also remote, but not as livable.

We stopped for fuel at Jeckyll Island, but the timing was not right for spending the night.   We had wanted to go to Fernandino Beach, but their docks had been completely destroyed by the Hurricane and they weren’t even able to have dinghies land to go ashore.   So we stayed on the north side of the sound and spent the night at Cumberland Island, which had been recommended as a great stop.   It is a wildlife refuge and we saw the wild horses (apparently descended from the Spanish herds) and wild turkeys.   Unfortunately their dock had also been destroyed and we were not able to go ashore and over to the beach side.

Into Florida – it is amazing how every state is so distinguishable from the others.   As wild and twisty as Georgia is, so Florida is straight and developed.   Miles and miles of houses alongside the water, some fancy, some shabby, some manicured, some overgrown, but almost all of them with a pier and dock of some kind.   Looking forward to seeing some of the mansions around Jupiter!

Our next stop was St. Augustine.   After three nights on the hook we were looking forward to someone else cooking our dinner!   We met up again with Mel and Gary who had picked up Mel’s sister Moira and her husband Mike in Savannah and the six of us enjoyed exploring St. Augustine.   It is the oldest city in America and has a much more Spanish flavor than the historic towns we are used to up North.   We really enjoyed it and hope to spend more time there visiting museums etc. on our way back next year.  The buildings on the right are all the Hilton Hotel – how much better to preserve the waterfront as it was than build a big block building.

What was the Flagler Hotel has become Flagler College – a fine arts institution that is spectacularly beautiful.  Hopefully those students appreciate their surroundings!

A very old fort, the lions that give the Bridge of Lions its name, and two very tame herons that we met on the dock.

Continuing south we had a beautiful calm evening at Rockhouse Creek, just below Daytona Beach.   A soft gentle sunrise as the fishing boats headed out to sea; and the shoreline definitely Florida, with the textures and colors of the vegetation showing the change.

And then we were in Manatee country!   I heard someone on the dock tonight saying that in all the years that they had been doing the trip through the waterway they had never actually seen a manatee – this year they were in abundance.   There was one particular cut joining two rivers where fisherman lined the sides – in boats and on land – must have been a good feeding spot for them.   Unfortunately it is hard to get a photograph – for the most part all you see is an exposed hump which rises and falls – I managed to get one shot that showed some body parts – but your guess is as good as mine as to which end is which and even how many of them there were!

We passed Cape Canaveral on the way down (I am so thrilled with my camera – I would never have been able to get such a shot with our old one).

Melanie and Gary have a 63′ mast.   All the fixed bridges on the waterway have at least a 65′ opening, but with tides and all the additional water from the hurricane, they always have to take a very deep breath when passing underneath.   Their VHF antenna regularly pings the cross beams as they pass; my boat-envy of their spacious Beneteau 49 diminishes at these times (but not for long!)  We passed under a most beautiful bridge that had mosaics of dolphins and manatees and lovely terracotta shells – wish I could remember the name of the town.   Spent the night at Cocoa and woke to a glorious sunrise before setting off for Vero Beach- from where this is being written.

We will set off for West Palm Beach in the morning, and it seems there is a weather window for crossing the Gulf Stream over to the Bahamas on Tuesday.   If we can get all of our stuff done, and if the forecast holds, that’s what we’ll do.   Once in the Bahamas we will try and get a local sim card for our old phone, but I’m not sure how connected we will be to the internet.   So if you don’t hear from me for a while, be patient – I will post as soon as I can.

I get notifications that people are following the blog – thank you, it makes it worthwhile doing if I know you are interested.   I use their method of inserting photos – I hope that you can click to make some of them bigger so you can see the detail.  We’re having a good time so far; but also looking forward to getting over to the turquoise water and white sand.

We’ve been back in civilization for the last week – four nights in Charleston; we anchored one night – then on to Beaufort (the “Bewfort” one in South Carolina) for two nights.   Thoroughly spoiled by our friends who provided us with vehicles and local knowledge – we feel ready to set off again into the blue.

Charleston is the most amazing city (town?) – every corner you turn offers another vignette of beautiful buildings, cobbled streets, window boxes, churches – the colors and textures and history are overwhelming.   We walked and walked and walked, which was just as well because we ate and ate and ate!   There are hundreds of restaurants, cafes, and coffee bars, all tempting you in with wonderful fare.   The Charleston City Market is also a drawcard, with vendors offering everything from clothing to spices to leather goods – and lots of jewellery – great inspiration!

The brickwork all over town is wonderful – their historial society has done an amazing job

I have culled this selection of photographs, which speak for themselves, from literally hundreds that I took – it was so hard to choose!

I looked up – and down – and everything inspired me …

We finally met up with our friends Melanie and Gary Tisdale in Charleston – they have traveled from Youngstown NY and we left Annapolis a day before them.   They had been having dinghy engine trouble and Gary and Garth spent time trying to have it fixed – not possible – so had to buy a new one (ouch!).   Melanie and I explored and shopped Charleston together, such fun!  We had an excellent meal at this restaurant – I thought it was a clever name – 

They were moored at Charleston City Marina and we took the opportunity to re-visit Adix and a beautiful J-boat Huanan that was tied up there.  We chatted to the crew of Adix – they are headed off to St. Maarten.  Evidently the boat is up for sale – if they can find a buyer with $34 million!!!

The black mooring line seemed at least 3″ thick

Another beautiful sunset, a last breakfast with Ben on Tuesday morning, and we were on our way again.

We had a relaxing day travelling through South Carolina – cuts and rivers and always something to see.   We seem to have lucked out on the fauna front – caught this alligator sliding by, and always beautiful birds –

We think we remember this house from when we did this trip ten years ago – he fights a constant home-made battle to keep his bulkhead watertight – not sure that he is winning …. 

There were places of beauty and places of sadness along the way, and finally for me a shot of a dolphin!!   We joke that there is a network amongst the dolphins and they have communicated with each other than whenever that crazy lady appears with a camera they should DIVE.   But this time, I got one!

We anchored with the Tisdales in a peaceful creek; we had drinks on our boat and took photos of their boat in the sunset – Melanie obliged by taking a photo of our boat at sunrise the next morning.

They had arranged to meet up with mutual friends of ours, Wayne and Gretchen Bretsch, in Beaufort, and we were lucky enough to be able to share the wonderful hospitality that Wayne and Gretchen offered.   We were eaten alive by no-see-ums while having drinks on Wednesday night and were rescued when Simon, friend of Wayne who was down working on his boat, loaned us an oscillating fan for the cockpit.   We have all stocked up on extra bug spray after that and we bought our own fan for future attacks!   A nice walk around the town looking for a place to eat and then up until the wee hours watching the Chicago Cubs finally win the baseball World Series after 108 years!!!

We met Wayne and Gretchen for breakfast and they took us on a wonderful walking tour of historic Beaufort.   We are in Spanish Moss and Live Oak country – the magnificent trees stage the beautiful old houses perfectly.   Again – lots of pictures, and I’ll try not to share too many!

The Big Chill was filmed here (as was part of Forrest Gump) and this is the house and the field that featured.   We have to re-watch that movie!

Wayne and Gretchen live on Dataw Island and we spent the evening with them.   They took us on a golf-cart tour of the community, beautiful homes and water and golf course.   They had been badly hit by the hurricane and it was so sad to see the piles of debris accumulated along the roadside waiting to be removed.   Huge trees with 30″ circumstances, all reduced to logs in a pile.   This is now more than three weeks afterwards; the community is still digging out.   One of the photos shows concrete pilings that were just pushed over like matchsticks; a boat that had sunk was forlorn on the shore – no resurrection for her I don’t think.

Another wonderful meal – another wonderful sunset – and we are ready for the next leg.   Heading off today to Hilton Head to meet up with more friends.

My sister Bev commented that this all seems too good to be true – surely there must be something that isn’t perfect – humidity? mosquitos? stinky toilet? …. no stinky toilet so far (thank goodness!), but we’ve had our share of bugs and humidity.   We have been extremely lucky so far with weather and conditions – I guess our time will come.   But we’re not holding our breath!!

We are in Charleston SC – which is half way along our Intracoastal Waterway trip to Florida.   Our good friends Ben and Sallie du Buisson  have been fantastic, arranging a slip for us at the Carolina Yacht Club, taking us for a wonderful dinner there, sharing their car, internet, copier, fax and washer/dryer to allow us to catch up on all the land-based type of things that we have put on hold.  Charleston is such a picturesque town with every street having its own charm created by buildings, plants, cobblestones and color.   But according to Ben and Sallie, many people have discovered its charm and are moving here in droves, pushing up real estate prices and making the narrow streets congested.  They are philosophical though and realize that small towns need to grow in order to thrive.

Here’s a picture to ponder – what is it?   (answer at the end)

We had two nights at anchor – one in Calabash Creek near to Myrtle Beach, and one in Minum Creek about 80 miles further.   The weather has been spectacular – in the early mornings the water is like glass and the reflections have been amazing.

In Calabash Creek we were surprised to see a big boat heading down what seemed like a very narrow inlet opposite us – turns out if was a gambling boat which heads out to sea into international waters where gambling is legal.   The inlets are interesting – we are only aware of some because we feel the current either with or against us; at others our path takes us pretty close to the sea.   Some of the houses are also built to get a peek at the ocean over the top of the dunes.

The scenery is ever changing.  Especially now after the hurricane, you have to keep your eyes peeled for floating debris.

Of course, turtles on logs are not to be passed by without a photograph

And birds on poles likewise …

We saw a lot of destruction from the hurricane, especially on the stretch after Myrtle Beach.   I can’t imagine how devastated some of these people must feel.   In some places the water was still almost right up to the houses – in others we just saw windows and doors open with personal belongings brought outside to try and dry.   The line of trees shows the level to which the water rose – and plants in gardens were dead up to that level because of the salt water.   It was sobering.

Sunrises are always so beautiful – photographs can’t seem to capture the ambient promise as light fills in.  But I take them anyway.   And then there is breakfast – we eat well on Jabulani!!

Coming into Charleston we were lucky to see the 210 ft Adix.   Garth had read a lot about her in magazines – the rigging was amazing!

And to end, two pictures of the spectacular Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge as you come into Charleston – one taken with the distinctive palm trees, and the other hauntingly beautiful as it appeared through the fog.

Answer:   It’s a VOR (VHF Omnidirection Radio Beacon!) used by all aeroplanes for navigation.   We used to use these when we were flying across the country in our small plane.

We have been meandering through North Carolina, each day very similar to the last.   But we had two unusual things happen.  I tried to get photos and wish I had had more time, but these things pass so quickly and I was pleased to get what I did.

The first was when we saw something swimming across our bow – up until then it had been birds – birds on the shore, birds in the air, birds in the trees.   I knew we would probably be seeing dolphins, but who would have thought this:

And then later in the day, this:

WHAT IS IT???   It was the size of a small labrador, swimming quite determinedly to the other shore.   I couldn’t believe it was a cat …. has anyone ever seen anything like this?  I’m sure it’s something that doesn’t happen every day, and we feel quite privileged to have seen it.

Another unusual sighting was an osprey – ours left the Chesapeake in August, and I was surprised when I saw the familiar silhouette.

Yesterday we stayed overnight in an anchorage in Camp Le Jeune.   The waterway travels though their base and is sometimes closed for firing practice.  I think we found their target!!!

The sunset there was incredible.   We barbequed a butterflied leg of lamb and ate in the cockpit without being besieged by bugs and were able to enjoy it from start to finish.

Part of the relaxation of the waterway is not to have too much to do – we notice and talk about the things we travel past, from tree roots to birds and in the built up areas we have a lot to say about houses we like, or not, and what we would change.   It is interesting that when you are in the waterway you have no idea of what extends beyond the two shores you can see; you don’t know whether you are in a town or if these are isolated houses.   You speculate on who might live there and why;   the two pictures below were taken just a couple of hundred of yards apart.

But it is the undeveloped marshes and cuts that we like the best – trees and vegetation right to the edge; those that have succumbed to the wakes of the boats leave behind interesting roots, it creates a habitat for new creatures and everything becomes a part of the cycle of life.

Of course, the boats that pass us and that we pass continue t be so interesting …

The one thing that plays a big part in travelling down the waterway are the bridges.   Some open on the hour, some every half hour, some don’t open during peak traffic times – you have to plan your day around the opening time and sometimes throttle back or push harder to make the opening – nothing worse than arriving 5 minutes late and having to hover for an hour!   Progress is also impeded or enhanced by the tides.   There are a lot of inlets to the sea and the incoming tide either slows you down or gives you a sleigh ride, depending on which side of the inlet you are.   It keeps you busy!!

We left Onancock in a strong wind and were not very happy about yet another day heading into waves and wind.   But as the morning wore on and the wind dropped it ended up being a beautiful calm day with and the water was like a millpond.   I became fascinated by the patterns which our wake left behind on the silky water and took photo after photo – thank goodness for digital photography these days!

Nearing Norfolk we were caught up by our friend Jonathan Hutchings, who had left Annapolis the day after us helping the brand new owners of a Lagoon Catamaran bring their boat down to Norfolk. We were able to take some nice photos of their new boat under sail – not always a picture you are able to get for yourself.

Norfolk!   Navy shipyard and home to hundreds of big grey boats.   And big grey helicopters, as we found when we anchored for the night in Willoughby Bay.   We had stopped there on our way up when we first came to America in 1986, and knew it would be noisy.   What we didn’t remember was that they practice into the night – no going home at 5.00pm like normal civilians.   It was interesting though – watched one helicopter go down really low and drop people into the water and then practice rescuing them – they did this in daylight and well into darkness.   (It is good to know that our navy seamen are prepared!)  And lots of take-off and landings of different helicopters – they came out in a circle over our boat … always in the same direction – we realized we were getting close to Nascar country!!!    But still photographs don’t capture the noise and the sunset was excellent, as we barbequed steak on the back of the boat.

In order to make the first opening of a low bridge at 8.30 we had to be up early and get moving.   Motoring through the hulking giant aircraft carriers and other navy ships was amazing.   We saw the brand new Zumwalt destroyer which makes you think you are in a star wars movie – it looks so unlike the traditional ships that surround it.

I pounce on my camera and take photographs of everything that passes by on the water – here are a few.

The official start of the Intracoastal waterway is at channel marker 36 in Portsmouth.   We timed all of our bridges perfectly and were there for the first intake to the Great Lock.   Of course these timed openings cause all the southbound boats to bunch up and once you are through there is a lot of jockeying for position – a great challenge for Mr. Competitive aboard Jabulani!     But the fast boats moved ahead and the slow boats fell behind and we plodded along somewhere in the middle.  Our destination was an anchorage at Bucks Island – perfect, we found a good spot, anchored and I got dinner ready.   Afterwards we went downstairs and watched a little TV – until Garth looked up and realized that we hadn’t shut the companionway and the boat was full of bugs!!   Not mosquitoes, just those things that look like them, but they were everywhere.   We looked outside and saw that the entire underside of the bimini was covered – I mean it looked as though it was fur lined! – and panic set in.   We shut everything (fortunately we have great screens and were able to leave the hatches open for air) and Garth picked up the trusty vacuum with the long nozzle and the bugs inside didn’t stand a chance!!!     When we woke up the next morning more dismay – all of those little buggers had pooped everywhere and left little black spots, which, when you wiped them, turned into green smears that stained the fiberglass.   We were distraught.   After trying three different boat soaps we finally got the bottle of Clorox Clean Up which did the trick.   We attacked the cockpit with zeal and used precious fresh hot water to rinse everything off.

Our course yesterday took us through the long (21miles), straight, Alligator River / Pungo River canal.   Not much to look at but grasses and trees on either side.  I did catch some cute turtles sunning themselves on a log – thought of Will and Penny and the children’s song.   The whole area had been badly affected by the recent Hurricane Matthew, but it seems that a lot of the floating debris had moved out of the way.

We made our way to the small town of Belhaven, NC and tied up at a marina for the night.   We ate in town at the Spoon River Restaurant – a farm to table place and quite possibly the most delicious meal I have ever eaten!   Who would have thought.    Back into town this morning for breakfast (why cook when you absolutely don’t have to?) – a small town bakery where a big group of local men at a table next to us were discussing hunting and politics (lots of Trump signs in the yards around here) and a group of young girls all wearing monogrammed plaid shirts sat opposite us – turns out it was a wedding group starting the big day.   So nice to have a peek into the lives of a small town.   People are “nice” – we went into the hardware store to try and buy some binder clips to hold the chart books from flapping – they didn’t sell them, but the man went into the back and gave us two from his office supplies.  Last night when we left the restaurant it was raining; the owner insisted on digging out an old umbrella that had been left behind for us to use.   You get a special feeling about places.

To end, I’m posting pictures of some cruising essentials – firstly my toaster, which I had bought online and am so thrilled with, it makes excellent toast! – our Yeti mugs which Jonathan and Anne Hutchings gave us, they keep early morning tea hot for as long as you need, and afternoon drinks as cold as you can make them – and what we believe belongs on every boat, a fruit cake smothered with nuts for that early morning start (that or a rusk starts the day on the right foot)!   Garth is doing a few small repairs – fuse on the fridge fan, fuel gauge sender fixed and we will be on our way again by midday.  Loving it so far!