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Only 1014 statue miles to go from the north end of Lake Worth in West Palm, FL to Norfolk, VA. Going south last fall, a lot of time was spent in the Chesapeake and less in the ICW (NC, SC & GA) so the plan is to reverse this going north. Moving the way we are, it is difficult to keep up so here's a log to help jog my memory with one comment for each stop to keep it short.
3/16 MM 1014 Old Port Marina, Palm Beach, FL — Windemere stayed behind waiting for crew.
3/18 MM 966 Ft. Pierce City Marina, Ft. Pierce, FL — Connected with Dave & Dianne on Argonaut.
3/20 MM 915 Eau Gallie Marina, Eau Gallie, FL — Best Wednesday night potluck dinner & artist community.
3/22 MM 878 Westland Marina, Titusville, FL — Rented car for birding at Merritt Is and Windemere caught up for a night & left to sprint home.
3/24 MM 796 Marineland Marina, Marineland, FL — Sunsets, dog friendly beach and river to sea hiking trails.
3/26 MM 778 River’s Edge Marina, St. Augustine, FL — Refuge from a storm.
3/28 MM 703 Cumberland Island, Brickhill Creek at Plum Orchard, GA — Beach hike oceanside, horses and serenity.
3/30 MM 653 Darien docks behind Skipper’s Fish Camp, Darien, GA — Quite a journey upriver but nice dinner out.
3/31 MM 600 Delegal Creek Marina, Skidaway Island, GA — Gated community w/good facilities (but no lounge for Harry) and a funky loaner golf cart for errands.
4/02 MM 535 Beaufort City Docks, Beaufort, SC — Walkabout town and drinks w/Bill, Anne, Barbara & Dave
4/04 MM 462 Toler’s Cove Marina, Mt. Pleasant, SC — Bare bones, no showers, one pink portapotty in a modest gated community but a good one nighter stop.
4/05 MM 430 Leland Oil Company, McClennanville, SC — One of our favorite towns but the bugs were too vicious this time.
And Windemere has made it home safe and sound!
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Although overcast and cloudy, the trip across the Gulf Stream was a pleasant 4.5 hour trip. Bottles cast out and mahi caught on the Windemere, we anchored up in Lake Worth for lunch and customs. For those who set up their CPB ROAM app (Customs & Border Patrol Reporting Offsite Arrival Mobile) ahead of time, clearing customs took minutes. For others, well there was pain . . .
On to Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach where Diane flew home and Peter will hold up for crew coming in on Thursday. Meanwhile we continued on to Ft. Pierce to meet up with Dave & Dianne on Argonaut and will continue up to Eau de Gallie for a couple nights and then to Titusville for 2 more. Maybe Windemere will catch up.
Because it is rainy, cold and miserable today, here are a few more photos from the sunny Bahamas.
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Cruising up the Sea of Abaco with a brisk NE breeze on the starboard quarter was a gift on the first leg of our journey home. Traveling through cuts to the open ocean have become more familiar after many trips out fishing in the deeper waters for mahi, wahoo and whatever else hit the rods so getting around Whale Cay was no big deal with 5’ swells. One to two hour shifts work on long days like this but today was just a pleasure running with the wind and waves. Harry made up coffee and toast from bread that Bill gave us freshly baked by his sister Daisy that was enjoyed along the way.
The people of Man-O-War, those that live and work here year round are what make this place special. They are open, kind and speak from their heart. They are interested in what you are doing, helpful on how to fix things, where to find parts and how and where to fish. They talk, listen and share their lives. We pass fish along when we catch it and often receive fruits, veggies and today bread in return. Even when the boats come back empty, fresh tomatoes and bananas appear. One quick story about a boater on our dock who went to the grocery store to get some fish. In the market the fish is frozen and runs about $30-35 for a serving for 2. He commented that it was more than he wanted to spend. About an hour later, a man showed up at his boat carrying a bag of fresh fish. The man’s wife worked at the grocery store, heard the conversation and sent her husband down. This is just one example of the random acts of kindness that happen here.
There are several different types of boating folks. Those that moor their boat, those on a slip at the marina and the transients folks that come in for 1-2 nights. And then there are the fishermen, power and sailors that cruise from harbor to harbor while others like ourselves choose a home base and cruise for several days in between the fronts. We have reconnected with friends we met 4 years ago and made many new ones. Friends Toni and Sally put on an amazing going away gathering and everyone pulled themselves from their bunks to see us off the next morning.
When we made the decision to head home during the next weather break, I knew there were a few more adventures to be had. I really wanted to get out to Fowl Cay before we left. This is a group of very small islands that are part of the park system w/in the Bahamian National Trust. The real attraction is the snorkeling and diving offshore on the reefs but I wanted to explore, look for shells and snorkel closer to shore. It is a 2 mile run north from MOW so on a calm morning, Anne & I headed out in the inflatable while the guys went fishing.
Part of the reason I hadn’t gone earlier is because a boat carrying anywhere from 50 to 90 Haitians shipwrecked on the reef at night several weeks back. They had traveled for 7 days over 600 miles when their boat broke up. It wasn’t until morning before authorities realized what had happened. Only 18-19 survivors were found, many dead amongst the broken sections of boat and others missing. One can only hope that some did make it to shore or were picked up during the night but no one will ever know or say. For people to risk so much, life in Haiti has got to be pretty bad. It was sobering when we got to the island to see a tribute made up of backpacks, shoes and parts of the boat to the people who died.
On the bright side, birding has been great. I’ve been able to join up with groups, met fellow birders and helped out with the piping plover survey by finding a few banded birds. Todd with the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of NJ came to the Abacos with a National Audubon team so we were able to meet up. The highlight of our day wasn't plovers. It was coming across 6 white-tailed tropicbirds circling low overhead. These birds are usually seen one at a time far out to sea. They nest on MOW and the nearby islands from March through July.
Fishing has been spectacular. Harry has learned a lot going out on the Bimini Twist, a 42' Duffy sports fishing boat with Captain Gene, Roger and Knox. Rigging, setting up ballyhoo, finding weed lines and the secret spots. Jeff & Readith came along on the Windemere many times and shared their knowledge as well. Fish has been good and plentiful!
Many more stories to tell and photos to post but for another time. It is late and we are starting our sprint home. Yesterday we got to Great Sale Cay and today West End on Grand Bahamas. Tomorrow will see us across the Gulf Stream to the US dropping 3 messages in bottles along the way.
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Merry Christmas to all our friends & family from Man-O-War.
What was suppose to be a weekly post has morphed into a month. With Sam (broken wrist and cast) & Diane arriving the beginning of December and the rest of the McDonnells following 2 weeks later, it has been nonstop fishing, snorkeling and island hopping since.
Although handicapped, nothing has stopped Sam. He has been recording his catches on his cast that read something like this - yellow tail & mutton snapper, trigger fish, porgies, Nassau grouper, a remora that he was "triple dog dared" to put on his back - not, white marlin on a light casting rig, mahi, Spanish mackerel and wahoo. And then there was the shark that got away! Harry caught many as well. We have been eating a lot of fish!
I was able to join in on the Christmas Bird Count on Great Abaco, hopefully the first of many trips across the Sea of Abaco. The weather has been almost constant fronts with heavy winds so we have been staying close to MOW with day trips to nearby islands. More later when things settle down!
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With Jim arriving on the 17th to join Windermere and a weather window opening up on the 18th, we left VB to rendezvous with everyone, anchoring off the public docks of West Palm several miles south of the inlet. Although a very convenient spot with easy access by foot or free trolley to a nearby Publix, West Palm was jumping with activities and bands that played well into the early morning hours. All good but we moved the following night up to the inlet for an early start.
Early start as defined by Peter — “getting up at 4, motoring over to the municipal marina fuel dock to get Nina ashore and out the inlet before 5.” The first few hours were dark with choppy sloppy confused seas. More than expected but daylight eased the pain and it got better about half way across. We reached the bank by 10:30 and Great Sale Cay by early afternoon. Not a bad day’s run.
Spanish Cay, a private resort island, was the choice for clearing customs. The resort provides “office space” in their bar and subsidizes having an officer come to the island accommodating guests. I knew it would be more laid back but didn’t expect sipping a drink while filling out the many forms! What we didn’t know was that the resort charged a $50 entry fee to access customs unless their slips are used. All still cheaper than going through West End. The only caveat was that Customs & Immigration are two separate departments. Only a customs officer was at Spanish (& Green Turtle) Cay to issue the cruising/fishing permit but limited to a 90 day stay. We will have to ask for an extension down the line.
Giving Jim a chance to see different islands, we skipped from cay to cay. Spanish to Manjack Cay for a quick row to the beach, swim and watched a family feeding rays and a couple lemon sharks. I gave it a try but didn’t like 3 rays swimming between and around my legs rubbing up against me like cats. Then on we went to Green Turtle Cay for 4 nights renting a golf cart and exploring the island end to end. The Bahamians celebrate Thanksgiving the same as we do so there were many restaurants to choose from. We had a great turkey dinner at Harvey’s Grille in Black Sound with a Bahamian flavor of conch in the stuffing.
One more special stop for Jim at No Name Cay where he found his calling with the swimming pigs. On Sunday the 25th we made our way around “the Whale”, a nasty stretch of water around Whale Cay that is exposed to ocean swell and narrow passages through reefs to Man-O-War Cay where we will call home for the next several months.
Vero Beach is another one of those stops where you can get anything done and stay in a holding pattern until the winds are favorable to cross over to the Bahamas. The VB City Marina has all the amenities including incoming mail and affordable moorings making it possible. The deal is that you must be willing to raft with others. Peter moved the Windemere down from Suntex Marina just a couple miles north and picked out the first mooring (#1) as you enter the lagoon that was perfect for good air, boat watching and very close to the dog park and a restaurant.
Getting to a vet for the Bahamas pet paperwork was the last remaining thing we had to get done. Our first morning, Nina & I headed to the park to ask around about vets and met Margie & Molly. An appointment was made and Molly was good enough to drive us there - one example of the wonderful, helpful people we meet along the way.
VB has a network of 15 bus routes for their county public transit service that is free. We also discovered that a 1 mile dinghy run down and across the ICW to AW Young Park got us a quarter mile from several shopping centers with a Publix, West Marine and many other stores. The time has come to look out a week at the weather and all we see are northerly winds. A hole may open up around the 19th. If so, we’ll make a move down to West Palm. The challenge aside from weather is Nina’s health certificate from the vet is suppose to be dated within 48 hours of entering the country, an impossible requirement coming in by boat. Today will continue to be a weather watch so could be a quick move any time now.
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River’s Edge Marina in St. Augustine is well protected, within walking/biking distance to the city as well as anything else you might need - restaurants, pet & grocery stores, pharmacy, wine, hair salon and much more. And if our legs gave out on the way home, we could have called on our live aboard neighbor Andrew who is a pedicab driver. Or of course, Lynne, who gave us extra mobility for city tours, shopping sprees and dinner at their beautiful new home.
We have been to St. Augustine’s before but never to the Lightner Museum, the former Alcazar Hotel built in 1888 by Henry Flagler. It was built in the Spanish Renaissance Style and on the bottom level has a swimming pool (the world’s largest at that time) with 3 storied balconies above and Tiffany stain glass windows. The pool is now used by a cafe at the deep end and special events including weddings and symphonies. It was elegant and I coming from yoga was not dressed the part nor did I have a camera so will look for a few online.
After wonderful wining and dining with Lynne & Steve, yoga and getting everything on our list done, it was time to move on. We didn’t stay the full week because it was incredibly hot up the river. From St. A’s, we made jumps to New Smyrna Beach and Eau Gallie. Next will be Vero Beach to reconnect with Windemere.
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735 miles after passing through Norfolk, Va on 10/19 we have arrived in FL. Four years ago we were in Morehead City, NC at this time. The journey has been a fast track blur so it’s time to slow it down. We are far ahead of many others making the same trip and as a result have met few. Tomorrow will bring us to St. Augustine where we will stay put for a week taking care of small repairs, oil change, haircuts, Rx refills, flu shots, provisioning and stuff before leaving the country later in the month. Friends, Lynne & Steve have relocated here and graciously have caught several packages and mail. It will be great to catch up and see their new home.
Attached are some “catch as catch can” photos along the way. Highlights were meeting up w/Rod & Susie in N. Myrtle Beach and the Bradfords & Currys in Beaufort, SC. Beautiful anchorages include Walburg Creek at St. Catherine Island, SC, Frederica Creek, SC (shore access difficult w/a missing/damaged dinghy dock), Cumberland Island, GA (this time at the south end - not as tight and protected as Plum Orchard) and Kingsley Plantation on the St. George River, FL.
Storm damage continued to be visible through SC and the northern part of GA. Dozens of boats were blown ashore, docks racked and affects of the incredibly high tidelines along the bottom of the trees, hedges and on homes especially in the Waccamaw River area.
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Mile 0 of the ICW starts in Norfolk, VA ending in Miami, FL at Mile 1095. These are statute miles and for dummies including myself, 1 nautical mile = 1.1508 statute miles. The last time we made this trip, we headed across to the Bahamas at Mile 1018 in Palm Beach. Because we don’t have a schedule or plan and weather matters, we could cross anywhere between Ft. Pierce (Mile 965) and Miami.
Currently, we are at Mile 204 passing through NC to Beaufort seeing the affects of Hurricane Florence. The marina in Belhaven, Forest River Marina, had only been open for 2 days prior to our arrival. Belhaven is completely exposed from the Outer Banks across Pamilco Sound and the Pungo River. A wooden breakwater protects the entrance to the harbor but the water flooded right over. Their dock was wiped out needing at least 24 pilings, all new decking, electrical, plumbing and new fuel pumps and lines. Houses and stores were flooded with many vacant and closed.
In Oriental, we had dinner with former Hullonians, Geri & Steve who gave more graphic details of 9’ tides above the 1-2’ norm lasting 3+ days flooding many businesses and homes including those raised above the ground, compounded by power outages lasting 10 days. My favorite coffee shop, The Bean right across from the town docks on 8’ foot pilings was sadly closed for repairs due to flooding. There were piles of insulation, sheetrock, flooring, furniture and stuff that had been striped out from many homes waiting for pickup from the FEMA crew. One elderly female resident who refused to evacuate, rolled towels and wrung them out to stop water at her door. The day we walked by, she was sitting in her yard cracking pecans that she had harvested as if nothing happened. On the bright side, we all feasted on fresh shrimp and Geri's home baked cookies aboard the Windemere while watching the sun set.
Beaufort at Mile 204 has 4+ boats ashore along Bird Shoal and Carrot Island that give an ominous feeling. The marina where we stayed was sparsely occupied with about a dozen large yachts on the outer docks being moved by crew. What was missing was the smaller owner captained cruising boats. There were a handful but not what we remembered from years past and the restaurants along the waterfront were pretty empty. It’s still early and we are guessing that people are holding back given the destruction of Florence followed by Michael in this area.
