Back in the ICW in Florida

We spent a few days in Vero Beach, a nice town with free buses to the beach and to the shopping areas. We enjoyed a dinner at Waldo’s on the beach and made a trip to Publix for provisions. We also enjoyed a nice cruiser’s get-together on Thursday at the marina. We headed up the ICW on Saturday, stopping in Cocoa that night. Greg had contacted his Navy buddy, Mark who lives there and he planned to pick us up near our anchorage to have dinner with him and Monica. Here’s the story: We anchored on the North side of a bridge on the East side of the ICW. We had read that there was a dinghy dock on the South and West side of the bridge.  It was really windy and the waves were kicking up pretty badly. I rode standing up in the dinghy to avoid getting my clothes wet (unsuccessfully) and we motored to the other side of the bridge. We couldn’t find a dinghy dock and wound up pulling up to someone’s pier at their house. I walked up to see if they knew where the dinghy dock was but the lady walked out when she saw me coming and met me on their back patio. Neither she nor her husband knew anything about a dinghy dock in the area. Just as she was telling me this our friends walked around the side of her house. They had driven out over the bridge to see where we were anchored and saw us crossing in the dinghy. We were shocked that they found us there and Mark walked down the dock to tell Greg the people said we could tie up at their pier. These total strangers were so nice to us. Joe and Donna invited us into their house which they had just built and gave us a tour. Joe is an architect and designed the house in Frank Lloyd Wright style. They even have 1960’s light fixtures and furniture. It was really neat. Joe also has an awesome collection (thousands) of  45’s. Mark and Monica invited Joe and Donna to come back to their house and have dinner with us but they had company coming. (The kind they actually invited and expected, not like us). We had a great dinner and a nice, relaxed time with Mark and Monica, but all good times must end so we headed back to the boat for an early departure the next morning. Thanks again Joe and Donna  and Mark and Monica!

Joe and Donna, Monica and Mark LizAnn and Greg at Joe and Donna's house

We had a long motorsail on Sunday (Mother’s Day) and made it to a good anchorage spot just north of Daytona Beach. Monday we motored to St. Augustine and saw some manatees playing in the river along the way. We had problems with "high voltage" readings as we motored Sunday and Monday and had to replace our 15 year old voltage regulator when we got to St. Augustine and could get to West Marine. Did a little laundry here and played tourist in the town. St. Augustine is a very historical city and the marina is in the heart of the old town area. We can walk to all sorts of historical spots, restaurants and shops. The marina has beautiful facilities and the cleanest and nicest bathrooms we’ve seen since we left home. We toured the San Sebastian winery and had our free wine tasting, toured the Whetstone chocolate factory.

manatees in the river

labeling the wiring to install the new voltage regulator

Paul, Sherry and LizAnn with our hairnets on to tour the chocolate factory

LizAnn helping Lucy at the chocolate factory

Wine tasting at San Sebastian wimery

 We visited Flagler College which was a hotel built in the 1800’s and is absolutely beautiful. They have Tiffany stained glass windows and the dorms are actually in the old hotel where all the beautiful architecture is. The Catholic Church here is the oldest parish in the U.S. and is also very ornate. We are planning to head up to Fernandina Beach in North Florida and wait for a weather window to head out offshore and sail up to Charleston. From what we hear, the ICW in Georgia is shallow and takes forever to get through because you have to wait on tides and still worry about running aground. So we figure we’ll head out and stay offshore til we get to Charleston.

Lightner museum (formerly a hotel built by Henry Flagler)

Casa Monica, a beautiful hotel in St. Augustine

Flagler college

Can you believe the dorms are in here?

Dome in the entrance hall

Tiffany windows in the stairwell to the dorms

Oldest wooden schoolhouse in the U.S.

North to Nassau

We left Georgetown on Sunday, 4/27, had a great sail under spinnaker to Blackpoint and went through Dothan Cut doing 11 knots with the current! Stopped in Staniel Cay the next day, got the T-shirt and left the next day and had another great sail to Shroud Cay. We picked up a mooring there and had planned to stay another night so we could explore the island but the anchorage was so rolly that we decided to head to Norman’s Cay. We anchored inside at Norman’s and walked around the island that we didn’t have time to do on our way down. They are expanding the airstrip there and are building a resort and a 16 acre marina. We moved to the West side of the island to anchor for the second night because it was more protected than the inside where the current moved us around all night and the southeast winds were coming through the cut. Much better anchorage that night. Tehani joined us there the second night and we sailed to Nassau together the next day. 

Sailing under spinnaker from Georgetown to Blackpoint

Anchored inside at Norman's Cay

MacDuff's resort on Norman's

Wing and wing on the way to Nassau

We arrived in Nassau on Friday 5/2 and had to wait until Monday for weather to cross back to the U.S. We enjoyed the pool at the Nassau Harbour Club Marina and walked around the city. We visited the fort and walked up the Queen’s steps. We even went to a Chinese restaurant (there are dozens here) one night. We met with Some other cruisers who have done the crossing several times and got their advice and then met with Paul and Sherry who we planned to cross with and plotted our course.

Coming into Nassau Harbour

Queen Victoria statue

 

The Queen's steps in honor of Queen Victoria who freed the slaves

Waterfall next to the Queen's steps

Views from the fort above the Queen's steps

Doors on an old house in Nassau

Junkanoo art (Hope to be here between Christmas and New year's for the parade next year

John Watling rum distillery

 

They filmed part of the Bond movie, Casino Royale at the distillery

The mailboat in Nassau harbour

HUGE cruise ship in Nassau

Nassau light house on our way out of the harbour

Sunset Monday night as we sailed back to the U.S.

We left Monday morning 5/5 and sailed for about 45 hours until we got just off the Florida coast at Ft. Pierce. We had good winds most of the way although they died to almost nothing for several hours Monday night. We took turns standing watches but Greg couldn’t sleep Monday night (too nervous to trust me alone on the helm) and then Tuesday night after my watch ended at 2:00a.m., I couldn’t sleep because I wanted to see the shore and be ready when it was time to heave to. We got there about 0400on Wednesday morning and hove to until daylight so we could go in the inlet. We had info from another boat that low tide was at 6:00 a.m. which is when we wanted to enter so we did that. BAD INFO and a very rough entrance. The current was still coming out and the wind was blowing in. That made for a washing machine effect going in the inlet. The boat was rolling from one toe rail to the other. Not fun! But we made it safely inside and went up the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to Vero Beach marina where we got a mooring ball. We showered and then slept for several hours.

Georgetown

We left Little Farmer’s on Holy Thursday, April 17th and motored to Georgetown. We had to go out the cut at Little Farmer’s (to cross from the Banks side to the Sound (ocean) side. The cuts are tricky with swift currents and if you are headed east on an ebb tide and the wind is coming from the East (as it usually is here), you can get some big standing waves. We timed it right to go at slack tide or as close to slack as you get around here, and made it out safely. We had some 8 foot waves but the boat took it fine. We buried the bow only once. Of course, the wind was southeast that day which is exactly the direction we needed to go so it was another motoring day with just the staysail up. The water is so blue that it reflects on the undersides of the clouds and on birds' wings, making them look blue too.We arrived in Georgetown about 6:00pm and anchored off of Stocking Island. This is a really big harbor with several anchorages. We are right off of the area they call volleyball beach with a little restaurant/bar called Chat N Chill. It has been quite windy most of the time, making it a rough, wet ride in the dinghy. We spent a quiet Easter weekend mostly on the boat due to the wind and the fact that the town was basically closed for the holidays. 

The blue underside of the clouds

Going under the bridge into Lake Victoria to the dinghy dock

S/V ... Is A Rose, 55meters long with 8 meter draft anchored in Georgetown

 

The "garage" on ...Is A Rose where they take the toys out. Dinghy reflected in the hull.

Friends, Paul and Sherry (S/V Tehani) arrived Monday (4/21). Wednesday began the National Family Island Regatta. The regatta is for Bahamians from the various islands. The boats are all Bahamian-made wooden boats with huge canvas sails and booms that protrude way past their sterns. They start each race at anchor and have to pull up the anchor and raise the sails after the gun is fired. The three classes race in Elizabeth Harbour for three days and often come through the area where cruisers' boats are anchored. They came so close to our boat, they had to pull in the boom to avoid hitting our bow. The races are pretty wild with people falling off the boats and boats colliding around marks and the various crews yelling at each other. Greg and Paul (and several dozen other people in their dinghies) would follow them around the race course taking photos. Our favorite, Tida Wave from Staniel Cay, won when all was said and done. 

Unloading the regatta boats

Pulling anchors and raising sails at the start

 

Greg enjoying the regatta from Lagniappe

Hiking out

Near collisions

And collisions

Tida Wave racing right beside our boat

Racing through the anchorage

 

The trophies

We watched the all island high school band and the Nassau Royal police band perform on Saturday before the final race. Greg met and sweet talked Ms. Helen from the pink store on Staniel Cay whose family sponsored the two boats from Staniel Cay, Tida Wave and Lady Muriel.  She said she would save a team t-shirt for him so we had to stop back in Staniel Cay on our way back up the Exuma chain. 

LizAnn's new friends waiting for the band

LizAnn, Greg and Sherry watching the bands

The high school marching group and band

The Nassau Police band at the Georgetown regatta

With their leopard skin pelts

Ms. Helen from Staniel Cay

Greg’s good friends from his Navy days, Carl and Leslie Hauquitz arrived in Georgetown while we were there. They were helping to deliver a boat to back to the U.S. from the Virgin Islands. Carl and Leslie have been cruising the Caribbean on their catamaran for the past 3 years. It was great to see them and have time to visit with them. One night some cruisers organized a dinghy drift where we all rafted up off volleyball beach and then drifted around while we passed around appetizers and drinks for a couple of hours. Great way to meet people.

A small part of the dinghy drift

Greg and Carl in our dinghy

Greg, Carl and Leslie