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Last Days Aboard Night Music

6/10/2016

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Our last night aboard night music at anchor, we stopped at Cedar Creek, about three hours from our destination of New Bern/Northwest Creek Marina.  It was a pretty afternoon, we played games and enjoyed a beautiful sunset and singing birds both in the evening and the following morning.   There was no wind so we motored our way up the marina and found our slip at the dock.  This would be Night Music’s last stop under our ownership – she’d been a great boat and home for the past two years.  

With mixed feelings of sadness and excitement, we got right toward moving all of our things off the boat into a small condo we had rented right at the marina.  Having the condo would give us the space we needed to sort through all of our things and decide what would be making the trip with us back to Seattle.  There was a tropical storm, Bonnie, arriving in less than 24 hours  with over a week of heavy rain predicted so we managed to get everything off the boat before the rain started.  Let the work of getting her ready for sale begin!!
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Traveling North

6/10/2016

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We left Vero Beach with about 2 weeks of travel until reaching New Bern, our final stop on this adventure.  We didn’t have much leeway on the timeline for stopping and exploring as we needed to make it to New Bern with time to get moved off the boat and have it ready to put up for sale.  Traveling with Jeff and Kendra was an added bonus – always fun to have such good friends along for the ride.

Our first stop was just south of Titusville, FL.  We anchored just off the ICW near a bridge to get a little protection from the south wind.  We had a lovely dinner with Jeff and Kendra and a gorgeous sunset before we called it a night.  Sleeping at anchor is such a joy with the breeze always blowing through the boat at the bow points into the wind, gently sounds of water against the hull and sometimes you can hear dolphin’s breath as they surface near the boat.   And from the v-berth, where Eric and I sleep, there is a hatch just above our heads so we have our own view of the stars and moon as we fall asleep.  Pure heaven!

The next day was a long one, with our anchorage target being just north of New Smyrna Beach, FL.  We passed through our favorite manatee viewing area, the Haul-over Canal, and weren’t disappointed as we saw many manatees.  There was a large brush fire just near the huge Cape Canaveral space station buildings that sent a strange plume of smoke through the air.  We were a bit ahead of Finley and were spared the layer of ash on our decks that they encountered.   We pulled into our anchorage, which was quite crowded and set the hook and prepped dinner.  Jeff and Kendra joined us and we toasted yet another great sunset.

Our next stop was St. Augustine.  We picked up a mooring ball and headed into town to explore a bit.  We stopped at the A1A café, a favorite for Ava and Reed because of their homemade root beer.  Of course, the microbrews were also good for the adults!  It was a calm night on the mooring and we slept well in preparation for the next day of travel.

Our final day in Florida, we traveled past Jacksonville, FL, across the St. John’s River and into our anchorage in a small river next to the Kingsley Plantation, an historic site along the shore.  It was low tide and finding a spot wide enough to drop the anchor, swing with the current and not run aground was a bit tricky!  We finally found our spot and settled in for the evening.  It was a beautiful anchorage with lots of birds singing near shore and fish jumping in the creek.  We had cocktails aboard Finley after dinner and went to be just as the moon was rising. 

It was a relatively short day the next day to leave Florida and reach Cumberland Island, GA, one of our favorite spots on the entire trip.  To get to Cumberland via boat, we sail past the Kings Bay naval station.  That day, there was a submarine coming into the channel being escorted by several coast guard security vessels.  It was a sight to see – felt like being on set for The Hunt for Red October!  Very cool!

 After that excitement, we anchored at the south end of the island and went ashore with Jeff and Kendra to explore.  The wild horses are one of the main attractions of the island and they were out in force.  An added bonus was seeing all the new foals with their mothers, staying close and enjoying their fresh grass and freedom to explore.  As we explored the buildings, tiny inchworms were hanging from the trees and Reed loved to have them crawl on his arms.  From the historic buildings, we walked to the beach to explore at low tide.  There were lots of miniscule clams buried in the sand with little fountains coming up from the sand as the tide washed away.  It was a beautiful walk back to the dinghy dock, passing through huge, sprawling live oak trees covered in Spanish moss.   Another fantastic sunset and meal shared with Jeff and Kendra capped off the day.

Jekyll Island was our next stop for two days. Arriving around noon, we anchored just off the marina and for a small fee, could leave our dinghy tied up to their docks while we explored using their complementary bikes.  The first day we rode around a bit (saw a gator!) and then  had a great dinner and accompanied by a fantastic live band while watching the sunset at the Rah Bar.  The next day we started early and took a long bike ride around the north end of the island, past the ocean beach on the east side, through the marshes and park on the north side, and after a  picnic lunch at the fishing pier, we rode along the tree-lined paths back south toward the marina.  There was a “Turtle Festival” going on at the town square with booths that were set up to educated on turtles and other wildlife on Jekyll Island.  Reed especially enjoyed talking about turtles and snakes with the biologists manning the booths.  After four stops here, Jekyll remains one of our most memorable places from our two-year trip.

We had two lovely nights at anchor, one in the Crescent River where we’d anchored last summer during a thunderstorm but this time the weather was perfect!   Reed and Eric went fishing with Jeff and Kendra and we all had a lovely dinner together as the sun set.  We were soaking up every last moment of the trip and could feel the end of the trip looming.  The next day, we crossed over into South Carolina and anchored in a broad, current filled creek just north of the Savannah River.  It was a windy start to the evening but as the wind settled down, turned out to be a beautiful, secluded anchorage that we had all to ourselves.  Finley had stopped just before the Savannah River so we missed them that night.

Lady’s Island Marina in Beaufort, SC, was our next destination.  It was a long trip with some rain and wind at the last hour as we crossed over Royal Sound and sailed up the river into Beaufort.   Once at the marina, we were welcomed like family by Steve, the dock master, and the rest of the staff.  Reed immediately got to dropping the crab traps and Ava to finding all the resident dogs at the marina.  Reed caught enough crab to cook and clean them for us to eat.  Yum! Jeff and Kendra arrived the following day and we had some fun, including a dinner at the Fillin’ Station bar with other cruisers while waiting for the torrential rain to stop so we could continue on our journey. 

We anchored in Church Creek just south of Charleston to set up for an early arrival the next day.  We said our goodbyes via VHF to Jeff and Kendra who were stopping on the south side of Charleston Harbor while we moved to the Isle of Palms marina at the north end of the harbor. We meet up with Addy Fisher and her grandma, Janet Jones.  Jo Ann and Greg Fisher, Addy’s parents, were out of town but Janet was there and picked us up at the Isle of Palms marina.  They had let us stow some of our cold weather gear there during our first trip down the ICW and it was time to pick it up!  We had a great time at their house, with Reed and Addy playing on the trampoline and making a sailboat out of a roller skate and sail.  After a pizza dinner, we headed back to the boat to keep moving north the next day.

The next few days we anchored out in some of our favorite areas, including Butler Island along the Wacamaw River, north of Myrtle Beach in Calabash Creek, and then took a slip at the dock at Carolina Beach State Park. There, we met up with another family, the Bergstroms, who are just starting their cruising dream and had a lovely dinner at their house.  Ava was thrilled to have another teenager to chat with.

Our last few days were upon us.  With mixed feelings, we cast off from the dock at Carolina Beach and headed north.  One of our adventures that day was to see a sailboat aground just north of Camp Lejune.  It was the exact spot where we had run aground on our second day of our trip many months ago.  We had so many miles and experiences under our belt and navigated the area safely – but felt bad for the other sailors and were glad to see the Sea Tow boat as it zoomed past us to their rescue.  We were thankful that we hadn’t needed that assistance during our trip. 

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Back in the USA

6/10/2016

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After a wonderful few days in Lucaya, our weather window for a good crossing of the Gulf Stream back to Florida opened up.  We left with our buddy boat, Kendra and Jeff, on Finley for the 24 hour trip.  It was a bit rougher than was forecast but once you are out there, you just keep going!

Reed and Eric decided to get a last bit of fishing in as we were in the deep water and in a short amount of time, they hooked a skipjack tuna.  It was very strong and fought hard but in the end, we got him on board, filleted and ready for eating once we got to land.  There weren’t a lot of other boats so it was nice to always have sight of Finley’s mast and chat on the VHF about course heading, wind, etc.  

The Gulf Stream was moving northward quite quickly so as we headed due west, our course was actually more northwesterly in nature.  We had great wind so we didn’t need the motor for most of the journey.  At one point, we turned north with the Gulf Stream and had a blast sailing along at almost double our normal speed, surfing waves under the moonlit sky.   As we approached Fort Pierce, the sun was rising behind us and some thunderstorms were developing as well.  It was a good feeling to have those behind us!  We entered the inlet and headed north to pick up a mooring ball in Vero Beach and get some rest!

After resting a bit, we walked with Jeff and Kendra to a little brewpub called Orchid Island Brewery.  The beer was good, food so-so, but company wonderful.  It was a pretty walk down green, tree-tunneled streets with orchids growing in the branches (hence the name of the general area, Orchid Island!).   We all slept very well that night and were ready for the next adventure to start!

The next day, we rented a car and drove south to Boynton Beach to see our friend, Elfriede, and pick up a bunch of cold weather items we had left there on our way south back in January.  On the way, we stopped in Fort Pierce at our favorite Cuban restaurant– Mervis’ Café.   It’s a great stop, with authentic Cuban cuisine of sandwiches, platters, and desserts.  Yum!   We made it to Elfriede’s and spent a couple of days visiting with her and her brother Harry and his friends.  It was strange to sleep in a “real” bed again after many months – Ava got used to it pretty quickly, though! It was hard to say goodbye to such a wonderful woman but we needed to start our journey north toward New Bern while the weather was good.
We returned to the boat and got ready for our trip north.  We did have one potential hijacker, a cute little frog who must have climbed up our anchor chain to look for a place to rest for the night.  Despite many requests to keep him as a pet, we set him free before we cast off. 
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Lucaya - Last days in the Bahamas

6/5/2016

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Ahhh, Lucaya!  Our friends Dave and Sandy on SV Bel Canto had told us about their stop here when they first got to the Bahamas around Christmas in 2015.  A hidden gem, Flamingo Bay is a small marina inside the harbor with a partnership with the resort across the street which means access to their pool, lazy river, water slide and other amenities.   We had picked this spot partly because of those things but also to meet up with Dave and Sandy there and have a good jumping off point for our crossing back to the US.

Our first day we slept a bit being tired from the long overnight crossing and then headed straight for the pool.  Lazing around doing nothing felt great!  Dave and Sandy arrived the next day and quickly got in on the “doing nothing” action.  LOL.  With water fights, pool volleyball, and a swim up bar, it felt more like we were in Florida or a westernized resort than it did the Bahamas.  We all guessed it would be a slow way to get used to the chaos and relative luxury that lay ahead for us in the US.

Jeff and Kendra on Finley had stayed a few extra days in Eleuthera but ended up deciding to meet us in Lucaya as well in preparation for making a Gulf Stream crossing together.  It was fun to have our good friends back with us and introduce them to Dave and Sandy.  Much fun was had by all the pool, the swim up bar/grotto, and we also had a lovely dinner prepared for us by Dave and Sandy aboard their air conditioned (!) boat.  Delicious and great company. 

We left the resort one evening to walk to the local Fish Fry.  An empty tour bus stopped and gave us a lift to the beach area, which was mostly deserted of tourists on that afternoon as no cruise ships were in port.  Once we picked our spot, Reed quickly settled in with the cook/chef/grill master to learn his tricks.   We all ordered and the bravest of us ordered the whole fish – it came served with teeth and all – but was very tasty once you got past that part. 

Another day Karrie and Ava took a dinghy to the marketplace to walk around and look at shops and have a mother/daughter lunch while the boys tried their hand at fishing in the many canals inside the harbor. 

Lucaya was a perfect last stop.  After four days, we were ready and Mother Nature was ready with good
weather/wind/waves to make the Gulf Stream crossing over to Florida.  The Bahamas part of our adventure was coming to a close. 

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Spanish Wells to Lucaya

6/5/2016

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Governor’s Harbor and Hatchet Bay

6/4/2016

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After our five day adventure exploring by van, it was time to start sailing north toward along the west coast of Eleuthera.  Our first stop was at Kemp’s Bay.  It was a rather raucous but very fun sail up the coast about 30 miles.  We traveled with Finley and anchored in calm protected Kemp's Bay.  The next day, the wind switched so we moved around the point for a calmer anchorage.  Eric, Reed, Jeff, and Kendra went snorkeling while Ava and Karrie, who was a bit under the weather, stayed aboard Night Music and played cards. 

Our destination for Friday was Governor’s Harbor.  One of the larger settlements on Eleuthera, it hosts a Friday Night Fish Fry and Barbecue fundraiser with music and dancing that is not to be missed.  We sailed up toward the bay and about 3 miles out we were suddenly joined by dolphins at our bow!   While we had seen hundreds if not thousands of dolphins on this trip, none had played in the bow wake long enough to really enjoy the experience.   This day, they stayed with us for almost 40 minutes.  Ava and Reed stood on the bow and sang, clapped, and whistled to encourage them to stay.  Each had a such a smile on their faces at the experience they had imagined since we planned the trip finally coming to fruition.   What a treat!

We anchored in the clear, shallow water of the bay off of Governor’s Harbor and dinghied into town to explore.  The waterfront is marked by the historic library building, bright pink among the casuarina trees.  A small isthmus off the harbor leads to Cupids Cay where we stopped at Ronnie’s  Hi-D-Way tavern for cold drinks, some billiards, and a game or two of dominoes.

At the fish fry, we met many locals and land-based tourists but not many other cruisers.  The food was delicious – Eric chatted up the grilling team and got the inside scoop on what were the best items and sides to order.  After filling up on barbecue, we ate some yummy dessert provided by the two sisters from the Queen of Tarts!  They remembered us from our radiator break down adventures on Ava’s birthday.

Last fun for the night was the limbo contest.  Karrie, Jeff, and Reed entered while Eric, Kendra, and Ava looked on.  Surprisingly, Reed was out first, then Karrie, then the 6’4” Jeff!  Wow!  But his knees did hurt something terrible the next day.   Ava made friends with all the potcake dogs while the rest of us danced.   We went back to our boats around 10pm and listened to the party go on into the wee hours of the morning. 

The next day we walked to the bakery for more donuts and chicken pastries, then hoisted anchor and sailed up about 20 miles to the harbor of Hatchet Bay.   A very protected harbor, we decided to stay two nights to wait out some potential weather (that never really materialized).  We made the most of our time snorkeling, fishing, spearfishing, and exploring.   Jeff and Kendra were anchored south of the harbor but met us in nearby Alice Town to show us one of their favorite hangouts – Da Spott.  A great, shady place with cold beer and lots of adorable potcake dogs for Ava and Reed to play with.    We left more than a few “dead soldiers” on the table but it was a lazy, fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
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Five Days with Finley

6/4/2016

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In Rock Sound at the southern end of Eleuthera, we spent a day exploring while we waited for our sailing friends, Kendra and Jeff, on Finley.  We explored the local area of Rock Sound, including the inland “Ocean Hole”, a “fresh- water- on- top, salt- water- on- the- bottom “natural lake that feeds in from the ocean via tunnels and the fresh water is supplied by rain.  It’s full of fish and a great place to walk around and read about the history of Rock Sound.  We also met a very interesting man, Mike, who played some guitar for us and also told us great stories and history of the Rock Sound area from the early 60s through to the 80s.  It was time well spent and we learned a lot from him.  His stories would resonate in our land-based travels over the next five days. 

Jeff and Kendra arrived the next day to Rock Sound from the Exumas to lead us on some adventures. We had a great lunch at Sammy's Place upon their arrival.  With ice cream hard to come by on a boat,  Ava and Reed were most excited about the huge banana split dessert!  They were married on Eleuthera and have visited by air/land several times so were experts on the best things to do and see on the island. Because Eleuthera is such a large island, it is best to see it by car. Kendra used her connections to get us a good deal on a minivan and we were in business.  We had five days and they were jam-packed!


Day One:
There are seemingly an infinite number of dirt roads on Eleuthera – each begging to be explored to see what magical place they lead to.  Jeff and Kendra had done much of this exploring and took us to their favorite places.  The first stop was a beach called Islandia.  We carted along fishing and snorkeling gear, snacks and beverages. 

Along the road was a side spur road that led to a shallow bay.  There were beautiful shells lining the shore and small turtles swimming in the shallows.  Continuing along the main road, we ended up at a nearly deserted beach.   The excitement began immediately as Jeff spotted a school of large barracuda just off the shore.  He handed Reed the fishing pole and Reed cast the lure right into the school.  A very large barracuda took the bait and started leaping out of the water.   Reed reeled it in onto the beach, it was bigger than him!  After posing for a few pictures, we let it go and it disappeared at lightning speed into the depths. 

Eric and Jeff snorkeled on the reefs further off shore while Karrie, Kendra, and Ava walked the beach.  Reed continued his shore fishing quest.   It was a great first day of exploring!


Day Two:
The very southern end of Eleuthera is a place called Lighthouse beach.   Again, down another very bumpy dirt road – but this one is one of the worst on the island!  Only 3 miles long, it takes about an hour to get to the end.  It became routine for everyone but Jeff, our driver, to have to get out of the minivan and walk ahead in order to avoid bottoming out along some of the roughest patches. 

Every effort to get there was worth it as the beach was spectacular and the view was even better!  We hiked, snorkeled, and swam until the weather started to change and threaten a bit of rain.   We left via the same road and process of getting out often for the worst of the potholes.  All in good fun, a very memorable and fun day.


Day 3:
After a late brunch at the little restaurant where we land our dinghies, we decided to explore a bit around an area called Turtle beach.  It was down another unmarked road, this one got so bad we decided to park the van and walk the rest of the 2 mile road to the end.  It was a wonderful walk through abandoned palm forest from estates long forgotten.  We saw huge orb weaver spiders awaiting their prey lining the vegetation on the road, interesting plants, flowers, and too many geckos and lizards scurrying about to count. 

The end of the trail opened up to an expansive view of the ocean and over a cut that fed in to an inland lake.  Perched on the cliffs above the water, we could see several very large stop light parrot fish in the surf, eating the algae from the rocks.  They were close to four feet long and easily handling the pounding waves and current.  It was amazing to watch them – we all wished we could have snorkeled with them but the conditions were just too rough.  We renamed this part of the trail Parrot Fish Point!

Eric, Reed, and Jeff had their fishing gear along and cast away at some ledges to see if they could land a prize grouper.  No large ones this time but one nice sized fish (NOT the parrot fish) was caught for dinner.
We made the trek back to the car and had an made an early evening of it to prepare for a big day the next day – Ava’s birthday!
 

Day 4:
On April 18th, Ava’s 14th birthday, we all agreed she could set the itinerary for the day.   Ava had long heard Eric and I talk about the beautiful pink sand beaches of Harbor Island on the northeast side of Eleuthera and picked that as her favored destination for the day.   It was about a 2 hour drive plus a ferry ride to get there but there were lots of interesting stops along the way as well.  Ava got the privilege of sitting in the front seat AND controlling the radio!   Many of these places we would later visit by boat as we sailed north but having a car made it easy to really explore.

We left early from Rock Sound with our first stop planned for Governor’s Harbor, about 45 minutes north.  There is a small, non-descript bakery there that sells fresh made donuts and home-made curry chicken pastries.  They were delicious and a great way to start the day.   

Further north is the small village of Gregory Town, where we stopped at a wonderful gift shop.  Ava chose for her birthday present a t-shirt depicting her favorite animal of the Bahamas – the Potcake dog.  Seen everywhere in the Bahamas but more so on Eleuthera, Potcakes are a mix of many breeds, smart, loving, and loyal dogs.   She wore the shirt for the rest of our travels that day.

Just before the ferry to Harbor Island, the road passes over a bridge that spans what is known as the “Glass Window”.  This is the narrowest section of Eleuthera and it separates the deep blue, turbulent, eastern ocean side of the island from the calm, brilliant turquoise, western bankside of the island.  We stood on the bridge and watched the swells from the ocean build up and crash/spray against the rocks and foam over the ledge out onto the banks.  Gorgeous!
Our next stop: Harbor Island!  We parked the van and took a 10 minute ferry ride over to the public docks.  First stop was lunch at the Queen Conch restaurant overlooking the bay between Harbor Island and the mainland of Eleuthera.  From there we walked the historic streets reading the history on the placards posted about and on buildings.  The houses and churches were colorful and well-kept despite being over 200 years old!

 Our next destination was the pink sand beach on the eastern shore.  As we approached, a rain squall forced us to duck into a swanky hotel lobby to wait it out.  Once cleared, we hit the beach and Ava was determined for her swim.   Reed and Karrie joined her for a bit but the surf was pretty strong so the dip was short lived.  The final act was Ava scooping up some of the pink sand to save in a glass jar as a souvenir of the day and dream.   

We stopped at Valentine’s marina on our way back to the ferry for a quick refreshing happy hour Kalik and then were on our way.   Driving on the roads of Eleuthera can be a bit dodgy at night so we headed straight back for rock sound.  About ½ hour from our destination, the engine heated up too much and we had to pull over.  Eric and Jeff walked to some nearby houses to get some water to refill the radiator – eventually getting some help from a wonderful woman who ran a pie-making business called “The Queen of Tarts”.  At that time, we didn’t know we would meet her later as we sailed northward.

All in all, it was a memorable birthday celebration for our not-so-little miss Ava!


Day 5:
After such a long day for Ava’s birthday, we took it a little easy on our final day with the car.   We did a first visited the lovely Island Farm for fresh produce and other treats.  The boys wanted to fish so we dropped them off at the start of yet another unmarked trail to hike to their spot. 

Kendra, Ava, and Karrie drove to the newly created Leon Levy wildlife preserve near Governor’s Harbor.  We walked the grounds and learned about the history of plant in the Bahamas, including medicinal plants, edible, poisonous plants to watch for, and some of the efforts to preserve the horticultural heritage of the Bahamas. 
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The last part of the day was spent provisioning and getting ready to start traveling by boat again.  Both Night Music and Finley had fared well on their anchors in Rock Sound during our five days of exploration.  

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Eleuthera Bound

5/5/2016

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​After Wendy and Anita left, we took stock on how much time we had left in the Bahamas (5 weeks!) and what we wanted to do with that time. 

​After saying goodbye to our Bahamian friends on Staniel Cay, we decided to spend a last few days in the Exumas waiting for the right weather to move east to Eleuthera.  Our first stop was Pipe Creek – a great, protected anchorage. We relaxed there for a few days waiting out some thunderstorms and high wind.  Reed and Eric spearfished and some large remora took up residence under our boat.  Once the weather abated, we moved a bit further north to Cambridge Cay.  We’d been there before but wanted to get in some last snorkeling at this wonderful place.  It's inside the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park so the fish and other underwater creatures and plant life are amazing.  The tide was very low that day so we also explored the tidal flats around the island.  The next day we departed for Eleuthera.

About 40 miles east of the northern Exumas lies the southern tip of Eleuthera.   It is a very different experience compared to the Exumas, being that it is one long (100 mile) stretch of land with large hills and varied terrain.  This topography means different weather, navigation, and anchoring conditions.   Eleuthera is also a lot more populated than the Exumas, with small towns dotting the island from north to south.  We decided to cross over to a place called Cape Eleuthera, lying on the whale tale tip of the southernmost part of the island.  We had spent several weeks there 15 years ago and wanted to explore and see how much things had changed or stayed the same.

It was a beautiful 40 mile sail across Exuma sound, with moderate winds and seas.  About an hour out from landfall, Reed hooked another large Mahi Mahi – this one a bull (male) so the head shape was different and the colors more vibrant.   Eric cleaned the fish and we anchored in crystal clear water between several sandbars for a calm, starlit night.  Incredible! 
The next day we checked into Cape Eleuthera marina.  There were strong winds predicted for several days and it would be a secure place to leave the boat while we explored.   Karrie and the kids took the dinghy to nearby sand bore islands at low tide.  The crystal clear water and pink tinged sand made for phenomenal swimming, shelling, exploring, and just taking in the beauty of the area.  Reed and Eric went spearfishing on nearby coral heads and got a large grouper to add to our stock in our refrigerator.

Our next stop was a visit and tour of the nearby Island School.  A 100-day program for 50 high school juniors and seniors, the academic focus is on marine ecology, sustainability, and leadership.  The students also learn how to scuba, kayak, sail, and other water based activities.  In addition, they have a partnership with local middle schools to build Bahamian community relationships.  The campus is intent on being self-sustaining including the production of biofuel from cruise ship used cooking oil, large solar banks everywhere for power generation, composting, raising fruits and vegetables as the soil and weather allow, and raising and butchering pigs and chickens.   Finally, there is a partnership for research studies with the nearby Cape Eleuthera Institute where graduate students and professors work on research applicable to marine health and local sustainability.  We toured a hydroponic facility as well as tilapia research farm.   It was a fantastic afternoon and inspired Ava and Reed to think about their future opportunities as students and citizens of the planet. 

 Our last day at Cape Eleuthera was one of housekeeping, taking advantage of inexpensive laundry, water, and free high speed internet!   Leaving Cape E we moved 11 miles to the north east to a protected harbor called Rock Sound.  That would be our base for over a week in order to explore the island by car.  
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Wendy and Anita Visit

4/11/2016

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Last April/May, Eric’s brother Henry and his family came to the Bahamas for a two-week visit.  It was a great time and we’d hoped they’d all return again for another adventure.  But work, school, and other plans came into play so that was not to be.  However, Wendy wanted a return visit so she changed her annual ski trip with her long-time friend Anita into a warm weather Bahamas vacation trip instead!

The weather had been blustery so the waves in the middle of Elizabeth Harbor made any dinghy ride from our mooring across to the town where all the services were kind of like going through a salt water car wash!    Fortunately, there is a water taxi service, run by Elvis (yes, Elvis) that will take you across the harbor for $12 round trip.  We had planned to use this to method to pick up Wendy and Anita with their flight landing early in the morning into George Town, but a flight delay and a settling of the weather meant Eric could pick them up in the dinghy while the kids and I waited at the boat.   
After arriving, they explored town a bit, provisioned up on important items like beer and rum, and made their way across the harbor to the boat.  That night, we borrowed a dinghy from Finley and split up and dinghied again across the harbor to enjoy a special BBQ dinner at the iconic Peace and Plenty hotel, complete with entertainment by a Bahamian “rake and scrape” band.  Fantastic first day!

We had many fun adventures in George Town with Wendy and Anita, including:
  • A barbeque on the beach on Good Friday with Jeff and Kendra from Finley and Tim and Poppy from Grace V.  It was a calm night with a beautiful sunset, great food, and fine company.  The only downside was the no-see-ums that came out – Wendy got the worst of it, and sadly, suffered with many many bites for it the rest of her visit. 
  • Yoga on the beach on Friday and Saturday morning.  Agnes was a great instructor and the cool breeze and sand were a great setting to relax and exercise.  
  • A hike to the Exuma Sound side of Stocking Island to play on the beach and body surf in the waves and jump from the sand cliffs to the beach below
  • Eating fresh conch salad made from two large conch shells that Eric had harvested while on a spearfishing expedition with Jeff, Tim, and Reed earlier in the day.   Ronaldo from the famous conch salad stand at Chat and Chill beach showed Eric how to expertly clean them and prepare the salad.
  • An Easter Sunday adventure by dinghy north to Hamburger Beach with Finley and Grace V  - with a hike to the east side of the island in search of natural bubble baths created by the waves and rocks.  We found that baths but the sea and tide were too high/strong so we found a nice cove to relax and wade – our own chat/chill spot with no one else around. 

On Easter Monday, we left George Town headed north toward Staniel Cay – with Wendy and Anita having a scheduled flight from there to Nassau the following Saturday.   Sailing out in the deeper water of Exuma Sound, Reed put out his fishing tackle in hopes of catching another Mahi Mahi.   Instead, we hooked an Atlantic Bonito – a tuna-like fish with dark red meat.  It was beautiful and would make a great dinner that night!

 Our first stop was Lee Stocking Island, this time anchoring a little bit south of where we had anchored a couple weeks earlier.  There was a reef nearby to explore so we snorkeled while Reed speared three more fish: grouper, sailors choice, and a red snapper.   Once back at the boat, we swam, found sea stars, and enjoyed the beautiful sunset and calm moon-free night with incredible stars and Milky Way shining above.  

The next morning, we motored a short distance to Leaf Cay to see the native iguanas living there.  They were smaller than the ones we’d seen on Bitter Guana Cay but more numerous.    From Leaf Cay we headed north again out on Exuma Sound, a nice but somewhat rolly sail for several hours.  We crossed to the western, shallow bank side of the Exumas through Rudder Cut and traveled north from there to Big Farmers Cay.

 We anchored in a small bay at Big Farmers and dinghied across the Little Farmers Cay harbor.  The harbor was home to small nurse sharks, sting rays, and sea turtles who were there to eat the scraps from the fish and conch cleaning station.  We walked across Little Farmers (over the airport runway!) to Ty’s Sunset restaurant.    The dinner was excellent – fresh and plentiful – with rum punches and a nice set of chairs on the deck to enjoy the view.  Reed played volleyball with a local boy, Aaron, and soon they had everyone joining in on their game.  On the dark walk back to the dinghy, we met a man with potcake puppies for sale.  Ava and Reed begged to get one and as cute as they were, we knew that it wouldn’t be the right thing for the last few months of our travels.   Getting a dog will have to wait until we are back in Seattle.

We stayed an extra day at Big Farmers as weather/wind/squalls were moving through.  We played games, swam, and Wendy and Anita made grand plans to turn the abandoned houses in the bay into their own resort someday.  Let’s hope so!
Our last leg of the trip was a short jaunt up to Staniel Cay.  We stopped along the way at Oven Rock – an anchorage most famous for its inland trail to a hidden cave with fresh water pool inside.   We anchored, went ashore, found the trail and the cave.   While it was cool to see, we all agreed that swimming in the dark water with bats flying above might not be the best thing.  We hiked to an ocean side beach and swam there instead.

That sailing was wonderful all the way up the Staniel – felt great to have the engines off and nothing but the wind, sun, and waves all around in the teal blue, ultra clear water all around.   We anchored in our favorite spot off of the Yacht club in time for sundown drinks and a quiet dinner.

On Friday, we got up early to catch the low tide at Thunderball Grotto.   Just the adults went to snorkel the cave – we had it all to ourselves and were able to explore and enjoy for quite a while before the current started to run and other boaters showed up.   The light was perfect for catching back-lit pictures of us diving down to enter the cave.

​Back at the boat, Reed offered to take Wendy and Anita to “pig beach” off of Big Majors island.   Then Wendy and Anita treated Ava and Reed to breakfast and the kids then took them on a tour of the island to meet the locals and see the sights.  We a;; spent the rest of the day hanging out at the yacht club drinking yummy pina coladas, playing pool and the ring toss game, and people watching all the yachts coming and going from the docks.   We had a nice swim on the beach, cleaned up at the boat and went back to the SCYC for a great dinner and music and fun.  It was hard to believe that their visit was coming to an end.

Saturday morning meant an early 5 minute walk to the airport and saying goodbye as they boarded their small Flamingo Air flight to Nassau.  It was hard to say goodbye but we will see Wendy again this summer when the whole Netherlands Sanderson family visits in Spokane and Seattle. 

With three cameras clicking away, there were A LOT of pictures  - enjoy! 

Thanks for following along! 
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George Town, Exumas

4/10/2016

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First, just a little bit about George Town.   Located on Great Exuma Cay, George Town is the city on the shores of Elizabeth Harbor.  It is somewhat of a mecca for Bahamas cruising boats, especially sail boats.  Many cruisers make a beeline for this area and stay for months, often for the entire cruising season of November to May.   There can be as many as 500 boats anchored around the harbor at the height of the season, although this year due to the unusually unsettled weather, the highest number was slightly over 300.  There is a protected dinghy lake with access to laundry, a good grocery store, free water (yay!), a well-stocked liquor store, shops, restaurants, and bars.

Each morning at 8am there is an open “net” on VHF channel 72 where the tides and weather are relayed, local businesses can give announcements about food or shopping specials, and free activities for cruisers are announced.   A typical set of activities may include yoga, aqua fit classes, making grass baskets, volleyball tournaments, boat part swaps, nature talks, snorkeling trips, island hikes, etc.    Most of the beaches have nicknames so each activity is hosted on a specific beach – Volleyball Beach, Hamburger Beach, Monument Beach, Flip Flop Beach, Sand Dollar Beach, etc.   In the middle of all this is a restaurant/bar called the Chat and Chill where beers are cold and burgers and fries are hot.  It’s a great meeting spot to hang out under the shade of the casuarina trees.

Another unique attribute of George Town is that typically many “kid boats” hang out here.  On the first afternoon there, Ava and Reed met a whole group of kids, including teenage girls, which made Ava very happy.  However, consistent with our past months of travels, there were still many more boys than girls.  Each day around 1pm, usually after most kids had finished their school work, Ava and Reed met up with the kids from Singing Frog, Other Goose, High 5 and Cookie Monster and played volleyball, swung on the rope swing, jumped off the docks, swam at the beach, and just hung out.  These afternoons were a fulfillment of their vision of our cruising adventures.  One night we had a bonfire on the beach with the kids and their parents, Reed had a sleepover with 6 other boys aboard the boat Cookie Monster before they left for further travels.  It was great fun for all!

Speaking of friends, upon arriving in Georgetown, we met up with one of our earlier “buddy boats”, Finley.  We hadn’t seen Jeff and Kendra on Finley since they left Palm Cay over 6 weeks earlier.  They had planned to leave for Eleuthera the day we arrived but unfortunately, they had some engine issues and had to turn back.  The silver lining was getting to see each other - so we both took moorings next to each other and Eric helped Jeff troubleshoot the engine while Kendra and Karrie and the kids hung out at the Chat and Chill beach the first few days.

 In addition to seeing Finley, we reconnected with Grace V – Tim, Karen and their dog Poppy – who were also in the mooring area.  Karen was back in Canada for a 10-week work assignment so Tim was hanging out in George Town getting some projects done.  We did our best to distract him with fun outings instead!   Eric, Tim, and Jeff took several spearfishing outings to a reef about 2 miles north of the anchorage and it paid off.  One night we had a fish smorgasbord of grouper, snapper, hogfish, jack, mackerel, mahi mahi as well as grilled lobster.  It felt decadent but with limited refrigeration, it has to be eaten!   Other nights we shared dinners and sundown beverages aboard Grace V with Poppy scarfing up any scraps that fell to the floor.  Ava made a point to swing by Grace V at least once each day with a dog treat for Poppy – she loved it!

We also briefly connected with our friends David and Marcy on Trebuchet.  They were in George Town to pick up their son Jake and then head to more remote islands for a week.  We only had a few hours with them once we arrived but it was great to share stories of what we each had been doing whilst apart.  Reed, being a Packer fan, especially loved to wear all of his Packer gear when visiting Trebuchet to tease David, a Seahawks fan.  Lots of light hearted trash talking ensued.   Dave has a knack for jokes and pranks and they kids love to hang out with him. Marcy is a great lady, funny and smart, as well as a wonderful cook.  Ava wishes we had their oven and their provisions to make brownies, breads, and other treats that they often shared with us.

After about a week, we needed to prepare for our next and last set of visitors, Wendy (Eric’s brother Henry’s wife) and her friend Anita arriving from the Netherlands for a 10 day stay. 
​
Thanks for following along and hope you enjoyed the post! 
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    We are Karrie, Eric, Ava, and Reed Sanderson.  Our house is in Seattle but our home is wherever the four of us are...and for the next two years, our home is Night Music, a Tartan 37 Sailboat.  

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