Bahamas Adventure, Week One.

 It is looking like a rainy day here in the Abacos and a good time to update the Blog. The following is a recap of the first week of the adventure.

 As I mentioned in the last post we crossed from West Palm to West End on April 27th in about as nice of conditions as one could hope for. Once we were just a few miles from Florida we began to feel the effects of the Gulf Stream trying to push us north as we headed east. We had to adjust course to the south to compensate and lost a bit of speed but not too bad overall. Once in the deep waters of the Atlantic the water turned a beautiful Indigo Blue.

 If you go to the "Locate Us" link the track is shown and you can see speed and course information on each dot. There is a wiggle later in the day and, no, we weren't drinking! As we got closer to West End we had to cross a major shipping lane and there were several large freighters crossing our path. I had to adjust course and speed to be sure we passed well clear of them. Kinda like playing Frogger in a boat.

 As I said in the last post we got into West End and cleared Customs and Immigration very easily. The first order of business after that was to take down the yellow Quarantine flag and hoist the Bahamas Courtesy flag we will be flying while here...and maybe hoist a beer.

 We were soon greeted by the local Conch Man and ordered our first Conch Salad which was made right next to the boat. We really are in the Bahamas!!

 The next morning we left West End and headed to Great Sail Cay. There is nothing on this island but it's a very protected anchorage and about half way to Green Turtle Cay which would be our first marina stop in the Abacos. The trip this day was not nearly as nice with 2-3 foot swells on our beam which caused us to rock n roll all day. The protected anchorage was very smooth and relaxing. As we approached we were greeted by 2 boats we had met while on the Great Loop. What a small world and great to see Crazy Love and Rowe Boat again!! This is shaping up to be a fun trip!!!

Our New Royal Marsh Harbour YC Burgee

  We left early the next morning for the 60 mile run to Green Turtle Cay. As we got into what is called the Sea of Abaco the water really began to take on that familiar Bahamas color you see in all the ads.

 We got in to the Leeward Yacht Club mid afternoon and took some time to enjoy the pool and congratulate each other on making it to the Abacos on our own boat! Jill and I have been to the Abacos several times but never to Green Turtle Cay. There is a shallow bar that crosses the Sea of Abaco just south of Green Turtle which causes you to go out to the Atlantic before re-entering the Sea. We were never allowed to use this pass in rental boats. It can build up a dangerous roll if waves are out of the east. In fact that was the forecast for the next several days so we settled in to the marina for a week.

 With the winds out of the east the leeward side of the island was calm and we were able to enjoy dinghy rides to visit other boaters and do some snorkeling. Our friend Gabi on Crazy Love joined us for a ride to snorkel in a quite bay. There are turtles that swim right up to you looking for a handout...they move along pretty quickly if you don't have food for them.

 Being "stuck" in Green Turtle Cay  for a week turned out to be a good thing. They were having their annual Island Roots Festival the following weekend. It was a nice event with food vendors and bands. We were treated to a performance by the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band which was fun. I took a nice video however found out later the microphone was turned off...it kinda looses something without the sound. Here's a still pic instead.

 We also got to catch up with our Looper friends as well as meet new boater friends.

 We really enjoyed our week in Green Turtle and will, most likely, stop again on our way home. The day before we left the winds switched from east to west which would make our passage around Whale Cay much more pleasant. Unfortunately the winds had us pinned to the face dock with boats close in front of and behind us. The dock-master quickly suggested the pontoon boat and, for the first time ever, we had a "tug" assist us off the dock! I will say it went rather smoothly considering. Once out it was an easy 2 hour day to Great Guana Cay. This is where we'll pick up in the next installment.

 If you ever have the chance to visit Green Turtle Cay (and I hope you do) be very careful if you rent a golf cart to get around. The "roads" are not what we're used to in the states!!

Crossing Florida

On April 23rd we pulled out of Legacy Harbour in Ft. Myers and turned right for the first time since we'd been there. Destination.....the east coast of Florida to prepare for crossing to the Bahamas.

A short 10 miles up the Caloosatchee River we arrived at our first of three locks for the day which lifted us up to the level of Lake Okeechobee. The locks are fairly small and fill or empty by cracking open the gates to let water in or out. After the lock we were in the Caloosatchee Canal for the rest of the trip to the lake. It was "scenic" with the typical, rural mid-Florida flora and fauna. Things like....

Horses

And Cows

And Orange Groves

And loooong straight stretches of canal

So it was an easy travel day and good for getting back into the swing of boating (and locking) again. Once through our last lock we were at the level of Lake Okeechobee and traveling along the marshy edge toward Clewiston. The scenery was much more interesting along this stretch. Unfortunately it began to pour as we got into the most scenic parts but Jill still managed to get some good pictures.

We arrived at the marina after hours but it is a very long face dock and we got in and secured easily. 1 Yeti cold beer later we declared day one a success! Unfortunately day 2 was a no-go due to storms forecast in the afternoon about the time we would be arriving in Stuart on the east coast. It was a good call as the storms arrived as predicted and were very strong. Not pleasure boating conditions.

The following day we got an early start and were on the lake within 30 minutes of untying. The lake is very shallow and we wanted to get across before winds picked up in the afternoon and made it choppy. It was a beautiful morning and an easy crossing.

On the east side of the lake the Port Myaca lock is unique as it's a pass through if the lake is at normal levels. They only operate the lock when the lake is high and they need to control the run off. You still contact the Lock Master for permission to pass through. We had to wait a bit for a westbound boat to clear before it was our turn.

After the lake it was pretty much the same scenery until we got near the coast. We had a few delays as we had to wait about 45 minutes for the last lock and stopped for fuel. Jill had been calling to find a marina once it became obvious we wouldn't make Palm Beach before sunset. She was able to find one a bit up the ICW from Stuart so we had a few mile detour. It turned out to be a nice detour. As we entered the marina I saw the Chanticleer docked on the T-Head. A beautiful yacht with a great history. Check out the link for more details.

The next morning we decided to run outside to get a feel for the Atlantic conditions (and avoid the bridges on the ICW). It was a great day and the run down to the Lake Worth inlet was smooth. It was good to enter the inlet since we then had an idea of our route for the next morning.

After a surprisingly good nights sleep we were off the dock by 8 and heading for an Atlantic Ocean crossing....okay, only 60 miles or so but really, really deep (like over 2000') we still had to cross the scary Gulf Stream!!! The crossing was smooth and we were checked in through Customs & Immigration by 4:00 and had our first Bahama Yeti cold beer!

We're now in Great Guana Cay (key), Abaco. If we have another rainy afternoon and wifi maybe we'll get out another post before we return to the US.