April 24, Day 4

(I have added a link to an interactive map of the Abacos, for readers see travel locations) http://go-abacos.com/theabs/theab_map.html

 

We woke at Manjack Cay to a beautiful Sunday sunrise solitude. We decided to head off for an early morning spearfishing. I agreed to manage the dinghy while Mike and Jeff would snorkel – spearfish.

 

In the Bahamas, you cannot SCUBA and spearfish, you must only use snorkel. This mandates excellent diving skills along with the ability to shoot a speargun. I had mentioned in a previous blog something about a user failure in spearing a supposed great fish. With greater knowledge that morning we set out on a flat sea for more. The “fishing” was uneventful. The morning ended a bit early due to an approaching squall. We watched waterspouts and dark clouds as we motored the dinghy back to Lost Loon. After relaxation time, an afternoon meal, we motorsailed for Green Turtle Cay.

Green Turtle Cay

We had decided to obtain fuel as well as tour the island on a Sunday. It was a very hot day that afternoon as we made our slow approach through the narrow but adequate channel to Green Turtle Club Resort and Marina.

We initially tied up at the fuel dock, procured island transportation and then anchored in the marina to have lunch and secure the boat before we took off for the day.

Our tour took us by beautiful beaches that were absolutely beautiful. We made our way to Gillam Bay Beach and then onto New Plymouth (primary town or settlement on Green Turtle).

Being Sunday we only found one restaurant open, McIntosh Restaurant and Bakery. A welcome respite from the heat, we devoured lobster bites, conch bites and ceviche! And cold beers! We procured some famous coconut bread for breakfast onboard. This was a lazy-Sunday town where kids were playing in neighborhood lots and the adults keeping cool in the shade of porches.

 

We were surprised to find most of the beaches deserted…I guess you live there it’s the same paradise everyday. We made our way back to the Green Turtle Club Resort, returned the golf cart, and headed for quick dip in the pool before returning to Lost Loon. The pool was deliciously refreshing following a hot afternoon of “beach hopping”.

 

We pulled the anchor and headed out to our next stop in the Abacos, Powell Cay, which was located mid way between Green Turtle and our final stop before heading back to the US Great Sale Cay. Once out of the small harbor we were sailing!

We had a very relaxing sail to Powell. This was a 3-hour sail, in which we were rewarded with another great swim to cool ourselves off after anchoring sand then a dinghy ride to another idyllic beach.

We hunted for shells and unfortunately saw the washed up ocean debris. Always a joker, Mike was able to share the humor.

 

Our evening meal was galley prepared chicken and rice accompanied by the compulsory homemade bread, following another sweet sunset. The mundane sailing life had set in just as we were to make our home journey. We were fortunate to have such great weather to escort us through our Bahamas sailing tour.

April 25

Shortly after sunrise we were up took the dinghy to shore for long awaited hikes across the island. We followed a pretty well marked trail up an unusual “hill” on these flat islands.

We had a beautiful view of the anchorage and Lost Loon sitting patiently waiting for another travel day. We made our way back to the beach to find another well-marked trail from the bayside to the oceanside of the island.

Well marked with single crocs or flip-flops hanging precariously from the trees. Washed up ocean debris like marker buoys or plastic containers.

 

The trail moved through thick tropical foliage and open grassy ravines. We could hear waves crashing long before we arrived at the empty beach that stretched north to south. We commented that the setting was so desolate and remote that at any moment we expected a triceratops to appear out of the thick palms or pterodactyl to swoop down from the sky as if a scene from Jurassic Park.

 

We were quickly brought back to reality on the littered trail back to the anchorage. We found signs of a healthy ocean with numerous live starfish that inhabited the bay.

 

 

Our travel goal that day was to get back to Great Sale Cay in order to push off for GA early the next morning, eventually making our way back to the US. Once we were organized for the morning we were off sailing.

We had a Southwesterly that gently headed us northwest on a calm ocean. We spent the day aboard navigating, reading, cleaning, and discussing our planned 3 day passage across the gulf stream the following day. Great Sale greeted us with a host of other passage-makers that afternoon.

A quick swim to refresh and bathe followed by Captain’s hour was much welcome after a hot day’s trip. I made the predetermined 1600 radio contact and through several ham relays was able to get a reassuring weather report for our Gulf Stream passage the next few days: clocking winds 10-15, SE moving to SW and possibly W by day 3. We had hoped we were closer to Brunswick by day 3 as Westerly winds would again be on our nose (but we were used to this by now and had confidence in managing the boat into the wind).

We rested well as usual, waking to calm seas and East-Southeast winds. We were headed west (young man).

And knew we could be motoring or sailing for 3 full days. To pass the time we spent several hours rigging our sails for a wing on wing configuration.

This is used when you have following winds (at your back) that truly now push the boat through the water. What was unfortunate was by late afternoon –early evening our wind had died approaching the Gulf Stream and we lowered sails for motoring.

 

Wait , what day was it? Tuesday? Where had the week gone?…despite our desire to stay and enjoy more of the Bahamas we needed to be back by Friday morning, clean the boat , and pack her away for the summer, to get on the road for our 23 hour trip back to Wisconsin.

 

It was our luck to find an uneventful, but hot day sailing across the Bahamas Banks. We encountered a few porpoise and attracted a stow-away bird.

At some point during our stay at Great Sale, we acquired this passenger who would fly out and away from the boat and return to sit on the combing of the cockpit. I’ll spare other details, but this gentle creature ended up in some oily dishwater, unable to free himself. I placed him on the combing to dry out, he flew away (I would guess to dry out his wings), but never returned.

We made a brief stop in the late afternoon that day, mid-ocean before hitting the Gulf Stream to refresh ourselves in the still Bahama blue waters. We experienced another sunset partially clouded, but it was a enjoyable as the rest of the great ones we had experienced this maiden voyage to the Bahamas.

 

 

 

 

Our trip …April 2016

As previous blogs have described, our maiden trip to the Bahamas this past April that Mike and I made in the Caliber (on our own, with no help…ok a little help from Chris Parker…weather router) was delayed a few days leaving Florida, due to northerly winds against the Gulf Stream. We had finally made our way to the blue waters of the Bahamas. Our plan was to pick up friends (Jeff and Cynthia) off Green Turtle Cay, make a few island stops, do some fishing and then return to GA. Much of our first 2 days was spent motoring into the wind, for every small change we made in the direction of the autopilot toward our destination, the wind seemed to follow right on our nose. We were fine with that, we remembered John’s advice for patience with the wind so knew the sails would be ready when the wind was. First stop was Great Sale Cay.

Our first anchorage in foreign waters. The island was mostly scrub bush and rock, but it was gorgeous to us. We had just completed an overnight sail out of West Palm Beach, 60 open ocean miles, then another 30 miles crossing the Little Bahama Bank. We found others there as well, sailboats and trawlers. As we anchored I wondered what their stories were. Where were they from? Had they done this before? Were they as excited as we were to be sailing? In the Bahamas? I would say that after that first 24 hours we could have shouted “we made it!”. I will also admit that this crew of 2 did some definite high fives that day.

We made our 4 pm radio contact with family to report our safe position. I was also enlightened to listen to radio traffic from as far away as North Dakota that afternoon in trying to make family contact.

We prepared a great dinner that night in celebration and shared a few glasses of wine as well. We slept soundly (no critters on the hull here!) regenerating our sleep batteries for another day of sailing (or motoring, depending on the decision of the wind gods as to which direction they will blow)  to come. We slept well with the knowledge that all systems worked well. We had made a full day without any failures or malfunctions!

We awoke early the next morning to a beautiful sunrise across the bay. How great to arise rested, in peaceful waters. No cell phone alarms hailing the start of a new work day, no teleconferences, no appointments. It was a wonderful feeling…vacation. Thinking…. isn’t this is what vacations were made for? But we did have a destination and an appointment the following day to pick up friends who were making their way from the Midwest, and Florida our way. We needed to make hay while the sun shines as they say. We raised the anchor and were on our way. As usual, coffee was steaming not long after we made our way from the anchorage. Now this is not made in the usual fashion. We use a stainless coffee press, but of course must boil water on the stove while underway. Under good conditions this works well with fat seas, but with active waves and any wind this may be a challenge. We unlock the gambled stove and she moves with the motion of the ocean , as they say. So we can be at a 30 degree heel or take on a few waves or swells and we can successfully make hot coffee.

We passed several sailboats that day and made radio contact with a few inquiring about our boat and us about the conditions and weather reports. We played a game of guess that boat. We tried several times to get close enough to spy with the binoculars to identify the sailboat maker. Aside from keeping a navigation log, monitoring the clouds and wind, its what you do on a long day motorsailing. We tried to share nap time in the cockpit and below thru the day, resting up from our previously long sail out of Florida.

We had managed to travel about 50 miles that day, before we dropped anchor at ManJack Cay. (remember pr. “key”) We had read up on the hiking trails to the Atlantic side and up the bluff, but we were restricted to the boat because we had not checked in at customs yet. So, we planned instead to make this a stop on our way out of the Bahamas in several days. We finished our day planning our short sail to customs on Green Turtle Cay the next day.

We had a shorter sail the following morning to Green Turtle Cay where we planned to check into customs. It was a cloudy morning, and there was little wind as we motored into the anchorage on the west side of Green Turtle.

We spent part of that morning repairing a broken cockpit speaker. We had noticed it was not functioning several months previous, but it was probably the lowest on the list for repairs…get to it when we have downtime. Not an essential. More on fixing things to come in a future blog…..Once that was completed by noon Mike had decided it was time to head for customs.

We deployed the dinghy and he set off as I made preparations for guests that afternoon. He arrived during lunch hour and had to wait for their return. He presented our papers (passports, US boat documents, completed Bahamas cruising permit application ) and received our first cruising permit for the Bahamas!! We felt it quite ceremonious to be official cruisers of the Bahamas. It is then customary to raise and display the flag of the country where you are traveling as you take down the yellow quarantine flag (which you must display until you have cleared customs.)

Our destination to pick up friends was across the bay. We needed to anchor off the ferry dock, deploy the dinghy (again) and retrieve our guests. What could go wrong, we were experienced in doing this….

Just a Reminder……Boating Basics

#1: Ensure the anchor is set before leaving the boat.

#2 : Avoid anchoring where you might drag into a lee shore (that is the shoreline to which the wind is blowing, and there may be rocks which could wreck your boat).

#3: Assure all lines are on the boat when you engage the motor (to prevent wrapping of the prop.)

We had a bit of a south wind to tend with and headed off for the ferry dock on Great Abacos to pick up Jeff and Cynthia.

They had flown from Minneapolis to Orlando the day before. They then attempted to board a flight from there to Great Harbour, Abacos and were delayed (of course!), because they just had a one way flight, (they were leaving the country on Lost Loon back to GA, I guess not your typical expected departure mode) and being US citizens, they were not allowed to enter the country without proof of a way out.

We were out of contact (fixing things and actually checking into customs coincidentally) and could not give them any proof that we were transporting them back to the US. A simple refundable ticket out of the country sufficed to get them on board their final flight.

Although quite windy, we managed anchor successfully (we thought) just off the ferry dock and Mike went to retrieve them. Now, it is prudent to send the dinghy or a diver to check the anchor location to inspect the holding, but we figured we had a good hold and were only going to anchor for the short time it takes to retrieve our prospective guests. I will remind you again….it was pretty windy, and when there is wind in an anchorage , you worry about drifting or dragging anchor….

 

We all know, that as excitement takes over, the attention to detail takes second place and bad things happen. As Mike and the new crew approached I thought it funny they were coming in slow and to starboard, not where I thought they would land the dinghy. There was shouting…”Throw us a line!”, “Get the boat hook!”…now I know they were excited, but I can see the dinghy is loaded with gear, and I’m thinking, were all happy to be in the Bahamas…….saying to myself…(maybe out loud?) “don’t fool around, get the gear and people on board.” No, it wasn’t going to be easy. As they traversed the 200 ft from the ferry dock, the painter ( the rope from the bow of the dinghy) fell into the water and happily engaged itself to the dinghy prop. (this will invariably ALWAYS cause the forward motion of our secondary transportation to stall) The 2 became 1 and the dinghy was essentially helpless. The wind luckily sent them the way of Lost Loon where I was able to throw them a safety line and haul the wayward crew safely to the stern. Once aboard, we were stowing the new provisions and gear, I made notice out the starboard port that the trees were different on the shoreline, as I gazed to the stern and it seemed we were terribly closer to shore …….and I mentioned this to the Captain (Mike) that we were drifting and the anchor had come loose.  He wasn’t able to attend to this issue because he was currently wrapped up in getting the dinghy up on the davits.  So with Jeff at the helm,  I pulled the anchor and were successfully motoring. Unfortunately, as much as success comes in 3’s so does disaster. About the time we thought the dinghy was safely stowed, something came loose as we began to motor and the whole thing tipped caddy-wampus and we came close to ripping our only transportation from ship to shore apart. Well…..maybe not that dramatic, but close.

We did manage to re-tie and secure the dinghy to the davits, pull the anchor from the depths, find a place for all the new gear, and were able to head off for our anchorage that afternoon with sails up!!!!!! It was glorious. We finally had a heading in which we also had a favorable wind to the starboard giving us a great beam reach. We celebrated having friends aboard and headed for Manjack Cay. We had heard the snorkeling spearfishing was pretty good there.

We ended the day with a great meal aboard, beautiful sunset, and belted out Purple Rain in memory of Prince that evening.

 

 

 

 

From Bahamas Bash, 2015……..

 

We arrive on a wave of excitement and mixed emotions,

We bring our past and future dreams and inadequacies along to test the waters

There is the unknown for some, but confidence instilled by the appearance of a galaxy of reassurances

We become part of Quetzal history , and remarkably Triangulate our short term destiny with art and science

We are attentive to her needs as well

Through our circadian we deliver one another over the cerulean to quiet harbors

We are blessed with the time now to contemplate without encumbrances

And as reality sets forth sometimes at a pace unaccustomed

We are awash with the gratitude we have

for the experience that will enlighten or inspire

our journey to the next horizon.

NM, 2015/04

 

 

Sailing the BVI was our goal when we decided to take sailing courses. We managed to complete our courses in Bayfield WI by 2012.

We have now surpassed this by purchasing our own cruising boat and preparing to sail off the most of the Caribbean in the future. But initially we had little in the way of ocean experience when we planned our first charter in the British Virgin Islands.

 

 

In order to prepare for this first adventure to the BVI together, we realized we needed some meat in our resume. Would our coursework and owning our own boat in the Midwest suffice? It could have, but we also felt that we might feel more confident AND we yearned for some mid winter sailing fun. Mike had a business trip to California early January, 2013 (about 6 weeks before our Caribbean trip). We pondered whether we would be able to find a charter that would loan us a boat for a few days. We made phone calls to a couple of sailing charters in San Diego, where we knew that the weather was pretty nice (compared to Wisconsin at that time of year, I’d say it was awesome). We found a Catalina 34 available for the weekend! We quickly discussed the terms as well as our resume for sailing and we were set.

We arrived at Shelter Cove Marina on a bright, crisp Friday morning. We were immediately greeted by the typical sailboat marina sound of tinging halyards against the masts in the light breeze, seagulls calling to one another, and a gentle pacific ocean breeze (I’m always amazed that you can leave one season and be in another the next day!).We met the charter owner, reviewed the regulations and signed documents. He required that we make a quick trip with one of his captains out to the bay to make sure we knew how to handle the vessel. Sure, we thought that was a great idea! We’re thinking…”where’s the jib halyard? cunningham? do we need to refuel? As relatively new sailors, some experience on our Precision 23, now we are talking 34 ft of boat ..bigger engine…bigger sails…lots more to mess with.

With the papers signed, we grabbed our bags and meager provisions and headed to the boat. We were met by not 1 but 2 captains  on a 1990 Catalina 34. They were kind gentlemen and very proud of their Eastern European accent  to “show us the ropes”. After we became accustomed to the language difference, we we comfortable and quite pleased that they took the time for our safety and the safety of the boat. They demonstrated how to get out of the slip and taught us how to back down the runway out to the larger part of the marina, which was easier than trying to make a 3 point turn…pretty cool we thought.

They showed us how to raise sails, we inspected the engine, and we got a brief lesson on the VHF. After an hour or 2 ….or possibly 3, all parties felt more comfortable (including you know US!). We returned to the slip and spent the next hour listening to the two tell us of their interesting stories as delivery captains up and down the west coast and offshore.

It was a beautiful 70 degree light breeze sailing day and we were anxious to get going. We looked at the charts and decided that we could make a trip out the San Diego Bay and offshore a bit.There were few boats moving in the marina and the bay itself was becalmed except for a bit of commotion going on overhead. Shelter Cove Marina is right across the bay from the US Naval base on Coronado. It was Friday and they were in full training mode we figured. As we left the bay, we had huge military helicopters flying overhead, along with incoming jets.I remember commenting that we felt like we were in a scene from Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now. (Thankfully we didn’t take any rounds.) We slipped out past the last can bouy which was populated with seals (the marine animal and not the Navy type) to open ocean.

We raised the sails and were on our way, leaving San Diego to the stern. We enjoyed the quiet sound of water rushing past the rudder. We made lunch, a glass of wine, and relaxed. Our first time in open ocean!

We found the direction of the light wind and played around with different configurations of the sails. We left Point Loma headed north.

We had terrific day just coastal cruising and returned early evening to San Diego Bay. As we made our approach toward the marina we had our first encounter with huge watercraft.. a cruise ship. We heard the initial SECURITE warnings as we approached Point Loma, made a mental note, but didn’t think much of it until it came into view.

 

Leaving her to starboard we returned to the marina with a beautiful evening view of San Diego, very proud of ourselves for navigating and sailing alone.

We had a great dinner ashore finding some awesome pacific seafood. Overnight temps did drop to high 40s that night as we slept aboard. The following morning we walked to town for coffee and bagels and returned for our second  day of  our San Diego sailing adventure. Once out in the bay, we found many others had the same idea. Just a few more Saturday sailors. Initially, we sailed south in the bay passing our military’s finest marine defense.

We made several tacks and made our return into an unbelievable number of sailing vessels out for a beautiful day.

Now this picture doesn’t do justice to the mayhem we found ourselves in. ( I couldn’t find a moment to even grab the camera!) Not only were there hundreds of boats, but the wind had picked up making us just a bit more uneasy handling the sails. we tacked to starboard, we went to port dodging as we always seemed to be the give-away vessel. We began to banter to ourselves “what is that guy doing headed right for us? Who has the right of way , here? I can’t tack into the bridge piling and I cant jibe into that boat!!!” It was an hour of craziness! What had we gotten ourselves into? Of course, we managed to avert several potential accidents eventually finding clear water did some sight seeing along the city’s waterfront.

We returned to our slip, wishing we could stay longer, gathered our belongings and turned in the keys. We left halyards singing in the song breeze, realizing what great time we had that weekend. We found there were things we didn’t know and needed to, which we would research , but it also gave us the us the confidence that we would fair pretty well sailing in the BVI six weeks later.

 

verb
gerund or present participle: provisioning
– to supply with food, drink, or equipment, especially for a journey

 I had done my part in provisioning for our trip. I started with an internet search specifically for lists and recipes that would be easy to prepare on a sailboat (rocking to and fro, limited space, only so much propane to cook with…etc). I was happy to find many resources. Using many ideas from seasoned cruisers, I then decided to add some simplicity and creativity to the menu with some original recipes and menu items. I created two spreadsheets from many lists ….one for the menu, the other for ALL the ingredients. It was quite extensive, but necessary. On our previous trip down the coast of Florida, we had left a bit of coffee and probably salt and pepper aboard..that’s all!  So that meant we needed EVERYTHING.

Actually, I never thought I would get so detailed about food , but it happened. Because, when you need curry for the chicken recipe, or soy sauce, sushi rice or nori for the (hopeful) sushi, you can’t just drop by the market to fulfill your needs, we needed it aboard or we go without. I also included on the menu a few things that we would prepare at home, freeze and have available for easy meal preparation underway. These included a marinated chicken, smoked ribs, and grilled turkey that  all turned out to be perfectly simple and great tasting. We also had world famous Magnine spaghetti and meatballs as well as good ole standby breakfast quiche.  To make things easier, we were loaned the most awesome Fissler Vitaquick pressure skillet from our good friends. We found that to be invaluable in quick preparation of meals and side dishes. It dropped the cooking time in half and the utilization of propane on the boat much less. we provisioned for snacks and of course libations. Mike and I did succumb to box wine testing before our travels. we decided ahead of time that taking several bottles of wine aboard might be weighty as well as cumbersome. We found that the Black Box brand to have the fullest and best tastes for our palette.  Another consideration was for fresh drinking water. Needless to say, that is essential for morning coffee and staying hydrated while cruising.

 

We thought we might have time during the trip to enjoy a few Bahamian restaurants along the way, but I couldn’t rely on that so I figured a few extra meals (just in case). I had also added ingredients and supplies to fry fish, grill fish, and even have sushi.  Fingers crossed that we ate more of that than anything else!!!  So, I spent hours adding and subtracting to the shopping and home preparation lists. Most of our shopping was done on our earlier trip in March, but for some of the freshest provisions we had to procure the last days ashore.

I may have mentioned in previous posts that we spent the better part of the last three days in Stuart before crossing the Gulf Stream, provisioning not only food but other supplies that we would need in the event of equipment failure (extra beer and tonic to mix with the spirits aboard..)  We had rented a car for just over 24 hours to complete the task.We did some exploring as well, to distract ourselves from the delay. We actually headed out to the ocean to see what the waves looked like. This confirmed our plan to wait for easterly winds.

One morning on our way to Jensen Beach, we surreptitiously passed the most beautiful early-morning farmers market. We bought beautiful fresh peaches, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet onions, and deciding we needed more flavor, a basil plant (which we kept on board the entire trip and managed to return with back to the states!)

                         

By this time, we suspected we had enough food should we get stranded in the Bahamas and be unable to return somehow…..wishful thinking. Upon our return to the boat, it was actually the storage of said provisions that was challenging. We clearly had to figure out how to store the fresh fruit and vegetables, as refrigerator space was limited. The answer of course prompted another brief trip to Home Goods for baskets.

 

I wasn’t the only one provisioning, as the experienced fisherman, Mike was readying himself for a vacation near water, and he made sure that our equipment list included most everything for catching fish. Considering that his life experience was freshwater fishing, Mike spent long winter days and evenings reading about and watching the Youtube videos on catching and spearing saltwater fish.  He procured the best spearfishing gun (KOAH) along with fishing reels appropriate for the saltwater. He even designed and constructed his own fish cleaning table that would sit at the stern for filleting fish. We were not going hungry!

Day 4, Powell Cay anchorage…….. the decision is made to find a reef to spearfish. The dinghy is launched, spearfishing and snorkeling equipment are ready and we are off across the bay and narrow passage  to the ocean side of the island. I get assigned  dinghy driver as the guys fished. I monitor the progress, up for air, gestures, dive,fins in the air…. down for the fish, up with laughs and more gestures…….As the story goes……Spotting a hogfish Mike took a breath, following the fish, and then careful aim… a shot and was surprised that the fish swam away. He was sure he made a hit, right in the “head”. Quickly to the surface for a breath and he was back to collect his weapon, only to see that the safety tip was floating to the surface above the spear….rookie mistake. Mike -0, Fish -1 , leaving with his life and a headache.

Making a comeback the next day, the fishermen were very successful mid Gulf Stream in bringing in a few Mahi. We did enjoy a wonderful meal of sushi and fried Mahi that night!

We made other great meals on board. Everyone shared in the cooking activities, which also promotes the sense of “family” on board. We would all agree that our favorite  days  were when we made fresh bread. It must be the  caribbean heat and humidity that seems to create the best bread.  We found that fresh baked bread with a bit of wine and cheese at captain’s hour and of course the perfect sunset….is  priceless.

I have to say that growing up camping has made me a better sailor. I have a fairly good sense of managing  in close quarters (or over an open fire) as well as cooking in the outdoors.( I am just thankful that I am not waking up on a soggy tent floor.)  Cooking on a boat is very much like camp cooking, without the camp fire (of course, I hope)….you learn  to prepare food simply, enjoy the friends that have joined you, and share in the great travel experience.

We had travelled 80 miles in about 16 hours across the Atlantic Gulf Stream when we finally reached the Shallows of the Little Bahama Bank. If I were walking,  it would be at 5 mph, a good pace. But I’m not and we had motored at the best speed possible for the 54 hp Yanmar and the weight of Lost Loon. (Mike would say too many canned goods! We will never eat all that.). Our first days journey takes us into opposing East winds and Northeast winds of 12-17 kt.  We carry on and look forward to days end and rest. We had spent endless hours planning our crossing and where we would make landfall. Would we need to make a short trip to West End or could we manage to make it to Great Sale Cay? Into that calculation, we had to figure in our stamina, how far we would be able to manage in 24 hours, with fatigue combined with the excitement of new travel.
The previous night, we had decided to anchor at Lake Worth, Pal Beach FL briefly to rest, before our 18 hour cruise. We had just come 8 hours (motoring) down the ICW from Stuart FL to reach our staging grounds for the “jump off ” into the Gulf Stream .   We made a simple dinner, cleaned up, and napped for about an hour or so before we were both ready to go. (I don’t think either of us slept…adrenaline was on the rise.)  We spent an hour getting Lost Loon ready to take us across the Gulf Stream. This detail had us readying lifelines, checking lights, double checking our rigging, reviewing our routing, and of course preparing coffee.  By this time it is dark. We have just anchored her for the first time successfully and now we need to retrieve the anchor in the dark. We managed to pull up much of the mud bottom, but we were on our way.

 

We had all our safety systems in place. Within 5 minutes,  as we round the corner to open ocean we were confused by the number of red markers(or lights). We had made a dry run to the inlet earlier that afternoon and made note of the markers, so when we made the night approach we were familiar. Well, one seemed to be moving toward us…..it was the Coast Guard. Now, this had been a concern of mine. So I had documentation papers, Canadian deletion papers, we had forgotten our documentation sign at home, so we wrote our vessel number on the fiberglass in Sharpie ( would that pass?). We had our flares, whistle, horn, life jackets, fire extinguishers in place, waste disposal signage ( in a binder) and passports ( and birth certificates….got documentation?). We were both thinking..were they really going to stop us?  in the dark?  and delay our time getting out to the ocean? Upon close approach, they inquired of our intended destination, where we had come from that day, and number of passengers aboard. They even asked if we had ever been boarded before. In all honestly, we of course said NO…. with trepidation …..thinking that maybe saying yes they would let us pass? ( like the scene from Wizard of Oz). We wait as the second officer communicates to Oz at the helm……he turns back (our hearts pounding and ready for a boarding) and tells us to have a safe trip. Really? No boarding? we can go? To the Bahamas?? Yes !!!!… We are gracious , beyond belief, and expressed our thanks, they turn off.

Lucky. We laugh, look at each other, smile,  and in Family Feud fashion say “good answer”.
We motor cautiously out the Lake Worth inlet, still not sure what we will find 10 miles out at the Western edge of the Gulf Stream. We leave with the thought that what we see at the coast could drastically change once on the Stream. Goodness it is our first crossing alone. But we do have the knowledge and spirit of all of the good sailing friends and instructors we have had the good fortune to sail with and learn from.   About 2 hours later we find 7-8 ft swells left over from the giant low pressure that is now moving north into the Atlantic. The winds as predicted are 12-17. We do have some confused swells and waves for a bit, until we reach the middle of the Stream. By 0200 we can feel things settle and no longer have the enormous swells that seem to hit at the same time as a wave, sending the boat heeling to port briefly. The items in the storage bins and cabinets have also found rest. At one point while off watch, trying to sleep I had felt As if I were placed inside a pinball game with tings and clunks going off all around me.
Daybreak brings us closer to our first anchorage. We have managed to trade out the night with short rest periods and are quickly re-energized by the rising sun, fresh coffee, and warmth of the day.

 

How to pick an anchorage? We know most anchorages are pretty secluded.We have perused the Navionics charts and read the guide books on what to watch for and where to set anchor.  We desire seclusion and privacy, along with a bath, shower or swim. Great Sale ( yes, as in yard and garage) Cay is just that, but a few fellow cruisers seem to also arrive as the afternoon went on.

A word about anchorages. We prefer one that seems to blunt the direction of prevailing wind so as not to have such a rolly night. This means that if we can find a piece of land that breaks the waves from the direction of the wind the boat sits calmly through the night. Weather is also monitored for changing winds. We make sure that if we set the hook (anchor) with a west wind, we are set well enough that if the wind switches southwest we we won’t move , or most worrisome lose anchor and drift. We are pretty sure that during the  night there will be a calm east wind that will persist through the night. With yours truly at the bow and Mike at the helm (we make it look easy) and set anchor easily for the second time. After we  check the hold we can finally turn off the engine for the first time in about 24 hours.
Needless to say as soon as the engine was off I was preparing for sweet submersion. Towel, soap and shampoo… Oooooh what?  It’s not bath water temp?  The water was initially a bit chilly, but nonetheless satisfying and refreshing all around. Finally, in the choice of anchorages one must highly consider the direction of the setting sun, ours was perfect that night.

It’s finally Captains hour, with a glass of wine we relax and reflect …..WE ARE IN FOREIGN WATERS ! We did it! ..Day one is a wrap. Pretty much a first for us, Lost Loon has some smugness though, she’s been there, done that a few times….we sleep easy this night. Our travels continue in the morning, we have a few more days of full day sailing ahead to arrive at our destination where we pick up friends.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the thing you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

 

 

April 2016

Happiness comes from within.
I like that. We create our own joy in life. That is our intention with this new venture.
We have been blessed. We grew up in the Midwest with values to work hard and enjoy life. We hope to have instilled that in our children. They question our fairly recent decision to “sell the farm” and go sailing. For now we will do this part time and then more long term when the time is right.
I write this at 35,000 ft, traveling to Lost Loon in Stuart FL. Our boat has been waiting for us to return and sail her on our first crossing to the Bahamas.
IN THE BEGINNING
It started with the lessons. We decided (with the help of a very close friend) that it would be fun to learn to sail so we could charter a sailboat on vacation in primarily the Virgin Islands. What did we really know about sailing? Not much. The wind blows it moves the boat. The wind stops….uh oh then what? We had vacationed on lakes and rivers most of our life. We both grew up with fathers that treasured fishing. Bass fishing, walleye fishing, the occasional northern or sunny we what we learned to catch. We have enjoyed the Midwest for the Great Lakes and all the thousands of small lakes in between. We live in northern Wisconsin and deciding that the fishing was much better further north and bought a small cabin on Lake Vermilion MN. A beautiful spot to relax and, of course,  fish or hike during the 3 or 4 months the lake isn’t frozen.

  We have had a small Sunfish sailboat there for years, a gift from an uncle that enjoys the water and sailing as well. We spent some endless days trying to manage the variable winds on the lake.
We invested in a tired  25 ft cabin cruiser on Lake Michigan near Chicago. We had fun on weekends cruising the lakeshore or trolling for big fish. We own canoes and a kayak. Before we married we took off into the BWCAW and Quetico Provincal Park canoeing and camping for 12 days  (That’s another story. )…..oh we can handle sailing ..Right? Needless to say we have water experience. So what could be so hard to learn to sail something larger than a sunfish? We found out after our coursework in keelboat , moving on to bareboat and coastal cruising. Following a sailing immersion weekend on Lake Superior out of the Apostle Islands we were totally hooked. It was fun, so we began to kick around the idea of owning a sailboat.
Fast forward to August 2008, Chicago suburbs, 85 degrees, I’m picking up a Precision 23 , sight unseen and bringing her ‘up North”.  We  had searched locally but found this great trailer sailing vessel 6 hours from home. We didn’t exactly buy the boat sight unseen, but had out daughter ( who knew nothing about sailboats) go look at her. We had 3 basic requirements no holes, no standing water inside, and an intact mast. Ok, we’re good. Heck, she even had a roller furler jib! We had educated ourselves on the Jim Taylor designed sailboat , reviewed the articles on how to buy a boat and within a week agreed on a price. Sanity was her name. I’ll leave that be. The boat had been sitting on a trailer in the suburbs just waiting for some interested soul to take her to water. It was in good shape , no holes. Her sails were older, but no tears. The cabin wasn’t as odorous as I expected, remembering the days of opening up a camper that had been put away after a rainy camping weekend. The previous owner helped me change the jib halyard. We repacked the cabin with all 10 thousand life jackets and headed to her new home.
This was a solo trip for me, Mike was on his annual Musky fishing weekend on Lake Vermilion. On the drive back, I would look in the rearview Saying ‘ oh my what have we done’. Arrival time home 1 am. Here’s the rub. We had less than 7 days to clean and prep Sanity for our voyage to the Apostle Islands.
I’ll spare details but as you can imagine we spent the hours we were not sleeping or working , on cleaning the exterior ( power washer was a savior as well as a son at home between jobs), repairing a damaged bulkhead, organizing what are now known in our household as lines ( not ropes), adding new depth / speed indicator, and arranging our inheritance of life jackets. At the last minute, we needed to make sure our outboard runs, major detail. We were so lucky. It only took a new spark plug a few pulls and she was running well. In all, we gave her a bit of love and we anticipated she return that in graceful response to the wind.

We launched her onto Lake Superior in Chevy Chase Family Vacation style ( driving around the casino parking lot to find the right wind direction from which to raise the mast). Our dream come true…. to anchor off Madeline Island on a summer night.

The end of the week after practicing our tactics and getting a feel for Sanity’s tenderness we headed her to Lake Vermilion for the rest of the summer. Year one a success. Only one disappointment, winter, waiting for the days to lengthen and most importantly the ice to melt. We have repeated this cycle for 4 years. With a few BVI charter trips in the winter to escape the harsh Wisconsin temperatures under our belt and a bucket load of sailing journals we convinced ourselves to explore the idea of ocean sailing.
BUYING “THE ” BOAT
So how difficult can that be? Ok, what are the requirements for an ocean cruising sailboat? What do we know about marine systems? Diesel engines? Wind and solar energy? Fresh water systems? Fuel polishing systems? How many sails do we need, really? After a full year of perusing all the online listings, seminars at Strictly Sail Show in Chicago, and visiting boats from Texas to Florida along with a few on Lake Michigan (mid -winter) we found a Caliber 40 on it’s journey back from Grenada.

We enlisted the help of a Caliber broker and began our intensive on Caliber and cruising sailboats. Our first view of her was during a downpour in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, VI during a catamaran vacation with friends. That was serendipity. That was February. Fast forward through countless hours reading and reviewing the pros and cons of the different cruising sailboats, lists upon lists of what we wanted in a sailboat …we had finally made the decision. It seemed quite easy…. this Caliber had most of what we had on our “would like” as well as “would need” lists. We had a signed agreement  by May 25. Sea Kite was ours. Not long after the papers were signed we were enlightened as to all the tax, documentation, and insurance work we needed to get done…Bliss lasted temporarily.

 

FIRST SAIL
According to our insurance we needed to get Sea Kite above latitude 31 before hurricane season.  We found a great location at Brunswick Landing, Brunswick GA. We made our first voyage up the ICW from Cape Canaveral to New Smyrna. We picked up some trusty sailing friends and made a coastal voyage to her new home in Georgia. Carefully, but hastily we closed her up for the Summer months, trying to follow the previous owners directions in French as to what needed to be removed, closed and covered. How difficult that was to leave her and return to Wisconsin.

THIS IS NOW
We have made a couple of trips to visit the Caliber getting to know systems and making her ours. We made a trip to measure and take supplies as well as change the name. She was Sea Kite and had given her Canadian owners 10 yrs of pleasure, but to make her ours we needed a fitting name. Loons live in the North during temperate time of year. They are an interesting waterbird that has a distinctive call. They can be heard on the lakes and rivers calling to their mates in the evening. Protective of their few offspring, they carry their newborns on their backs for safety from the perils of large predator fish lurking under the water. They are seen diving for their food. One will see a loon on the surface, dive for nourishment and come up several yards away, surprising the the observer. They travel south in the winter and have been seen as far as south Florida and southern California . Mike came up with the appropriate name for the boat. Lost Loon. It is fitting.

The move from Brunswick to Stuart took place last month (March 2016). We needed to break up the Bahamas trip into manageable pieces since we are still employed. If this were a wedding, we’d be heading to the church! We have arranged most of the provisioning and supplies on our trip down last month. We literally looked like the Clampits leaving Wisconsin headed for Georgia with food, fishing supplies, diving equipment, and more.  We worked several hours packing the boat with the supplies, using every nook and cranny.

It was like that game we played where the object to move the numbered squares to get them in order, but you end up moving 3 squares (in our case rubbermaid boxes of like supplies and replacements) to to fit one odd piece of equipment. Their had to be a logical thought process of how to fit it all in AND remember where it was put!

We check all systems: fuel, water, bilge, electrical ,running rigging and finally standing rigging. That was Mike’s job. He can climb the mast at 60ft. I have problems hanging out of the second story washing windows. I stayed on deck with the halyard and winched him up, up, up.

Finally ‘ready’ . Time to move by day 3, after trips to Wal Mart, Home Depot and of course West Marine to outfit the ship. We refueled and were ready to go for offshore the next morning.

 

Our sail from GA to southern FL was a bit rough. We took 15-25 knot winds on the nose, so 50 hours of motoring all of the way. It was surreal at times. The night watches were short for the two of us now alone on the ocean. There was a sense that Lost Loon knew what to do if we gave her some direction.  No more tender Sanity, we had multiple options for dealing with the wind  now.

ANTICIPATION AND PATIENCE
What is it about preparing and planning for a trip that is so fun? It can be hectic and exhausting, but in all, waiting for the adventure can be very…. Exciting!!  We have been doing that for months. This is now the true test. Crossing the Gulf Stream as a capable couple of sailors who know their boat. But we wait. There is no reason to head into the Gulf Stream with any component of a north wind. For my friends who don’t sail, that is what makes high waves and a very rocky ride into the night. So the forecast says in 3 days we can leave.
Until then, we continue to reorganize and tinker. That is, we inspect stuff and fix it, if it doesn’t work right or “McGyver-it ” so it does. I want a t-shirt that says ” I’m done fixing stuff, I’m going sailing”.

(Yeah, my first post!!!! It only took me 4 hours. I am hoping this goes faster. Please return daily to check for posts on our continued first Bahamas adventure!)

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the thing you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain