Fishing and diving for awesome meals

Stan enjoying time on the bow as we cross the Great Bahamas Bank

Whoopi observing with great interest Stan cleaning conch

Anchorage at Honeymoon Bay

Boomerang sailing along with us to Chub Cay

Conch shells we dove for, the one on the right we use to blow as a horn at sunset every night

Whoopi wondering if this little Blue Runner Jack is going to be her next meal?!

22" Cero Mackerel

1/23/12 – 1/30/12

Monday was a gorgeous day with strong breeze out of the east holding us against the dock.  Stan purchased tips for our spears, we topped off our water and by mid afternoon we left Alice Town for Honeymoon Bay at the north east end of Gun Cay.  Had a beautiful sail caught a few plastic bags as we trolled and lost one fish.  As we entered the bay there was only one other boat as it turned out the sailboat was Boomerang from Shelburne, VT, what a small world, we introduced ourselves although we never knew each other before we certainly had common acquaintances. Howard Mitchell (Mitch) and Jessica are on their first big adventure as well.  Val and Leo from Bright Way came into the bay later in the afternoon.  This bay is known for their friendly sting rays which I saw 5 large ones while I was swimming over to check on our anchor which was well set in the sand.  They are awesome to watch, they swim around your feet in the shallows by the beach, a small one even swam between Whoopi’s legs, all very exciting. We even tried feeding them but they did not care much for the conch intestines and spit it back out, but they would take it right out of your hand with a licking sensation similar to a cat.

We had a great time sharing stories with Mitch and Jessica a couple of evenings over cocktails and spent one afternoon snorkeling together.  We are all very much into catching fish and have been very successful at it. I caught a barracuda which I ended up tossing back and Stan caught a Queen Trigger and a half a yellow snapper (barracuda enjoyed the other half), Stan did catch a red snapper but all that was left was the head, those barracuda are really quick.  This leaves me a little concerned about spearing a fish and getting it to the surface and in the boat before a barracuda decides to take the catch or me or whatever. I went nose to nose with a barracuda, I think it was the one I released so he was cool we just had a brief stare down and then went about our ways.

Our next big accomplishment was diving for conch which we found to be numerous at 20-25 feet in grassy areas.  That is a lot of fun, and tasty, Stan learned quickly on removing them from the shell and cleaning them, Mitch became a quick study as Stan taught him the ways of cleaning conch.  So far we have had several meals of conch and fish; it’s really wonderful having such great meals from the sea. I have made conch fritters, conch steak and conch salad which is similar to making ceviche, I end up using whatever veggies I happen to have and using a variety of different spices.  I made up some sauces as well that have gone nicely with both the conch and the fish.

Our original plan was to head out across the Great Bahama Banks on Friday with Bright Way and Boomerang but the winds were a little more than what we wanted to take on.  Val and Leo had a schedule to meet and decided to push on anyways, schedules are something that can really mess you up on adventures like this because it puts you in a position you don’t necessarily want to be in.    We wished them luck and hope they had a safe transit, it is likely we may run across Leo again as he is headed for Puerto Rico, Val was headed home on a plane in Nassau to be replaced with another crew member to help Leo. As Val put it, the rath from his wife if he did not get the plane in Nassau would be worse than any 25-30 kts of wind.

We ended up moving to the other side of Gun Cay as did Boomerang making it a more comfortable place from winds and waves.  Because that side of the Island was not a popular place to anchor the conch were plentiful.  Winds calmed down nicely over the night and ended up heading out across the banks first thing Sat morning with Boomerang.  The winds were a perfect east southeast for a nice sail, we were moving along at about 5.5 to 6 kts.  The water depth on this route is shallow with an average depth of about 8 to 10’ which leaves little between our keel and the bottom, we draw 6.5’. We caught 2 fish a little tunny which is a type of Tuna and a Blue Runner Jack which I tossed in the freezer (yes our refrigeration is still going strong:-) We dropped anchor around 4:00pm or so a couple of miles outside the marked channel to spend the night. 

Boomerang and Dream Walker left Sun morning around 8:00 am or so under power due to lack of winds, I caught a 22” Cero Mackerel  enroute.  We arrived at Chub Cay mid day launched the dinghy from the deck and went exploring with Whoopi who had not been ashore for a few days.  The area around the beach that we took her was very shallow and we walked the dinghy into shore. Saw a couple small nurse or sand sharks patrolling the shallows, fortunately they were decidedly shy of Whoopi.  We went back to leave Whoopi to guard the boat and went snorkeling with Mitch and Jessica off Mona Rhoda Rock.   Stan tried his hand at spear fishing but his prey seemed to be very familiar with the device he had and split the scene.  A 31’ Tanzer dropped anchor next to us late in the afternoon “Mad Star” was from Putney, VT, Dean was single handed sailing and has spent 7 years coming to the Bahamas.  Enjoyed a wonderful evening on Boomerang with Mitch and Jessica, I brought over the conch salad that we ate as appetizer and Jessica cooked a great shrimp stir fry with noodles, although a bit spicy for me I am still trying to get used to it.

Whoopi has gotten picky about the food she eats , she prefers conch and fish and doesn’t care much for her dog food anymore, even when I try to doctor it up she has become very good at picking out her favorite stuff from around the dog food and seems a little digusted we would contaminate fish or conch in this manner.  She has had a great time digging / rolling in the sand and swimming from the beach, she has not jumped off the boat yet and not sure why as she would regularly jump off “Jack’s Fault”. 

Monday morning we have a good 20kts blowing from the northeast, not sure when we are heading out next, I believe we plan on heading for Nassau where we can get provisions as there is not much here.  At least we have a good wifi connection, we were able to download weather maps for the next week so captain Stan can decide when the best time to leave.

Hope everyone is well and glad to see the race club finally got a race in and hope my suit is doing well, go Colleen. If anyone is set up with skype send me an e-mail with your address and if your online when I am I can call you for free but you need to be on-line with skype open, several times I have spoken with my niece Ashley because she was on when I was. My skype name is walknet2 and e-mail address is noted at the top of the blog page.

Take care

Elizabeth

Alice Town, Bimini

Sunset over Miami as we leave the USA

A very happy captain as we arrive in Alice Town, Bimini

View as we head into Alice Town

Whoopi loving the water

As much fun as making snow angels

Living the good life

Whoopi's new friend Yankee with master Andreus from the s/v Gypsy

1/20/12 - 1/23/12

We finally got underway on Friday afternoon after completing several last minute projects, we fueled, pumped out and filled every water container we had stashed on board, water is a big deal from now on.  We left under full sails with the wind out of the east, "perfect", ended up having to motor a bit on Saturday.  Had the usual visits from the dolphins but Whoopi had a special treat Sat morning, a small flying fish committed harikari on our boat and I gave it to her she immediately ate it whole and turned to me as to say "what just one??!!", Sushi dog lives up to her name.
Saturday we tacked back and forth along the coast to avoid the "Gulf Stream" that runs north at 3+/- kts, results were Fri night & Sat. early morning we were traveling 1 to 2 kts but it felt like 5 to 6, it is like sailing up a river:
We ended up sailing as far south as Miami  and took a left, we motor sailed for a while and then sailed the final portion, had to furl in the jib was we were making good time and we we're going to arrive too early, did not want to enter in the dark. We were following another sailboat in until they chickened out and decided to follow us because they were afraid of going a ground. They were 2 nice guys (Val and Leo) of Russian decent from Colorado.   Got in safely to a dock, Stan got us checked in with customs and immigration, they didn't even look at Whoopi's papers (after all we went through). Met Andreus, Marc, Joel (crew) and their poodle Yankee from the s/v "Gypsy".
Enjoyed a walk around town then went to the beach for a nice long swim, Whoopi is loving it.  Need to get her to stop drinking the salt water, it really messes with her constitution. Saw several ray's swim by the boat, very cool, Whoopi even noticed one.  Had a couple of "Bushee's" (orange & pineapple juice, coconut cream, Bushee maple syrup and rum) with the folks from "Gypsy" a beautiful 51 ft. sailboat, ended staying for dinner.  Andreus had taken riding lessons from Meg Hilly, and Marc was familiar with the Mad River Valley, its a small world, very enjoyable evening, maybe had a little too much wine. Joel made us pancakes for breakfast this morning before they left for Ft. Lauderdale for some boat repairs.  We tentatively plan on heading to Gun Cay today and spend a few days enjoying some snorkeling on the reefs before we head for Nassau for some last minute re-provisioning before working our way south.  It may be a week or more before we get to Nassau and it is likely that we will not have internet or phone access until then.

Take care all
Elizabeth

Ready to leave

1/19/12

Although we have been scrambling to be ready I am sure we will be departing tomorrow (hopefully before noon).  We need to stop on way out to fuel up, take on as much water as possible, pump out waste tank and then head out into the atlantic.  We will be hugging the coast south until Sat. evening and then head east towards Bimini. Looking forward to snorkeling and scuba diving.

Not sure when I will be able to connect again but I will be have SPOT on.

The new transducer is up and working but we are once again having issues with our radar but this is not a show stopper for us at this point. 

Take care
Elizabeth

Loving Life

My mom as a cowgirl in Wyoming

 On Saturday the 14th my mom passed away peacfully and in the comfort of my sister Sallie by her side.  My mom was an adventurer and lived her life the way she wanted, from her is where I got my sense and need for adventure and independence (Stan would verify the independence part).  It is thanks to her that I have accomplished what I have in life and doing this adventure now.


1/13/12 thru 1/18/12
Our original plan was to leave yesterday but the weather window got too narrow and now it looks like we will be leaving Friday.

The past few days have been somewhat of a blurr but we have been accomplishing some important tasks.  I have gotten a good handle on the bus system and have been spending my time getting spare parts for the outboard engine, our honda generator, boat supplies, getting our propane tanks filled and laundry done.  Trying to make sure we have everything we need that will be either too expensive or impossible to obtain once we leave the states.  The new depth transducer is in and will be installed today. Stan has been busy doing some admin stuff making sure all our boat papers are in order with requisite #'s of copies to check in to the Bahamas and later to other countries we will be going to.  All of our storage compartments have been cleaned, aired out and reorganized once again.  We did take some time to take Whoopi for a long walk in the park nearby yesterday. 

Stay tuned and hope we get the weather we need on Friday.
Take care
Elizabeth

Made it to Lake Worth in North Palm Beach

Whoopi on dolphin watch, we think!!

A common sighting on this trip.

1/7/12 – 1/10/12

We finally got underway on Saturday afternoon started out with  winds out of the east around 10 kts, we put up main and flew the full jib.  The seas were much more comfortable this trip then the one from Southport.  Over the 4 days the winds moved around all over the place and died on a few occasions requiring us to run the engine, all in all it was good transit but still it was a long 4 days. I had the same  4-8 and midnight to 4 shift as before, occasionally Stan let me sleep in past my shift and I did the same for him at times, it is really warranted especially when he or I do not respond to the initial wake up call.

We went out to the gulf stream on Sunday (about 33 miles out in the ocean) and enjoyed a swim in 74 degree water as opposed to the 68 degree water near the coast. The further south we went the closer the stream moved west towards the coast, the flow of water in the gulf stream is about 2-3 kts north so it can greatly affect your transit south if you get caught in it. The water as we moved south became very blue compared to the turquoise further north. The weather was near perfect the whole trip and the full moon made for a bright evening, we had several pods of dolphin visited during the midnight to 4 am shift and Whoopi usually hung out with me during that shift, they would also always show up at some point during the day as well.  Speaking of Whoopi she continued to make us proud, she now takes care of business on her own when she has to go, which means we need to pay attention to her so we know when to do a wash down on the deck.  Whoopi has come to the conclusion that this is her new home and we are not on a vacation and has become pretty independent, she does not get upset when left alone on board and sometimes doesn’t even bother to get up when we leave  in the dinghy and she is not invited.

No fish landed on this trip but we did hook into something very large and as we went into our usual keystone cope routine of trying to manage the boat and the fish we lost it, one problem lies with trying to get the fishing pole around all the junk on the back of the boat because it seems the fish move to the other side boat when trying to work it in. If only we could video tape our fishing adventures I am sure everyone would get a good laugh.  We saw a lot more turtles on this trip and did see a shark (small) and other fish when we went for a swim just before we came into Lake Worth inlet, I pulled out my snorkel gear and checked out the bottom of the boat.  Of course we started to have a little issue with our depth gauge as we entered the inlet, hows that for timing, further investigation required as this is a critical instrument to have especially when going into the Bahamas.

The cuisine on this transit was better due to the ability to actually cook on occasion, omelets and pastas with sauces were our main stay nothing extraordinary but  excellent just the same.  Stan did make an excellent salsa in anticipation of catching a fish and marinationg it but it went well with chips.  Timing of meals was rather helter skelter depending on the seas, snacks are always available.

Coming in Lake Worth inlet

Peanut Island on left at Lake Worth inlet

 1/11/12

 Today we spent time organizing the bit of chaos created from 4 days out in the ocean.  Whoopi and I went for a long walk investigating resources in the area, it appears there is a good bus system, West Marine is very close along with a large grocery store for provisioning.  Started developing lists of what we need since this is our last stop before jumping across to the Bahamas.  Spotted our first manatee today although Whoopi was unable see it, I am sure there will be other opportunities.  Had an easy meal of grilled steak and broccoli for dinner.

Tiger Woods supposedly has a yacht here which is where we are anchored.

 1/12/12  Today I really did get ants in my pants

 

Sunny and hot today.  I managed to figure out how to use the bus system to get to Walmart and knock off numerous items on our list of stuff to get, I can't wait until we are in an area where we are provisioning from the sea and nothing else matters.  Our biggest issue I think will be getting fresh water, and probably good fuel once we leave.  Oh and note to self: when waiting for the bus do not set your packs down where ants may climb aboard, when I sat down in the bus coming back from Walmart there all these little red biting ants, fortunately I did not end up sitting near anyone otherwise I may have been asked to leave.

Back on board Stan had troubleshot the depth gauge with the manufacturer, not good, most cost effective solution is to purchase an in-hull transducer compatable with our new chartplotter.  At a latter date say when we come back in a couple of years is to replace the thru-hull transducer as for now we are not wanting to have the boat hauled out of the water as that is what it would require.  Stan went to West Marine and ordered the transducer which will be here Monday.  Undoubtedly there will always be some annoying this going on, what we need to do is make sure we are safe.  Some very good news is the refrigeration is still working and we can even make ice:-) Had an excellent sizzle burger for dinner tonight.

General plan at this point is leave on Tuesday assuming the weather window is what it is supposed to be and we have gotten the depth transducer installed and working.

As always stay tuned and I am so glad the mtns are getting the snow needed for this very important holiday weekend.

Ants In My Pants

Saturday 1/7/12  partly cloudy, calm and low 60's

We'll as you can see from spot we have not left St. Augustine and I have ants in my pants. So now who is the one that needs to relax, oh well!! We are supposed to leave today around noon so stay tuned with spot to see if we actually make it out today, Stan has gone to sailor exchange for more stuff needed to mount the wind generator and material for making a cover for the dinghy, yesterday Stan bought me a present at the exchange, a manual waste pump just what any sailor girl dreams of :-)  My guess is by the time he gets back today it may be getting to late to do what is needed to secure the dinghy on deck and other items when you do an ocean transit.

I can not complain about the facilities here but the 10 degree difference from here to where we are headed next is very inviting.  So stay tuned and I will update when we get to the next port. Stan is saying there does not appear to be a good window for the jump to the Bahamas for over a week now so other than the temps there is not a big rush south.
Stay tuned and take care
Elizabeeth

Still in St. Augustine

12/25/11- 1/2/12

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year.  We are still here in St. Augustine doing several important projects before our next jump which will likely be Thursday.  We hope our refrigeration will be done Tuesday morning, I insulated the icebox with 3/4" of silver backed foam board and installed a new evaporator plate.  The technician needs to dry and charge the system.  We are also doing some rewiring, removing old wiring that was discontinued, putting in an external mike for our VHF radio and doing the permanent install for the radar unit. Stan is hoping to get the wind generator installed as well.  We have also been able to purchase and have delivered our very own wifi antennae which is how I am connected now, yea!!!

The weather has been excellent although we have some arctic air mass headed our way with night temps dropping into the high 20's, gale force winds for the next couple of days.  By Thursday the we are hoping for better conditions and head out for a 2 night ocean sail that would get us to Ft. Pierce.  Ft. Pierce is the most northern spot to make the jump to the Bahamas, which we may or may not do from there.  At this point everything depends on getting the right weather windows to continue south or make the jump across.

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, the Maple Creme Brulee came out terrific and since we had no one to share it with we suffered through 4 nights of it :-)  We had our first rum drink of the trip which we call the "Bushee" as the recipe include Ken and Francie's maple syrup with pineapple & orange juice, coconut milk, rum, and garnished with fresh pineapple(very yummy).  There is a great market about a 20 minute walk from here with the best fresh vegetables, meat and seafood at very reasonable prices so we have been enjoying some excellent meals, although we are looking forward to getting out in the ocean again and catching some fresh seafood.

We went to a Christmas eve service and I must say in all the years we have been going to a Christmas eve services it was the first time we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, Stan and I gave each other a glance and laughed. There was no sermon, but some children performed in a pageant of sorts, and there was not as much singing as we are used to but it was all still good. We have walked around and enjoyed the galleries and checked out some of the pubs that have such large selections of beer that it was hard to choose except when I saw the creme brulee stout it was 9% alcohol, I only had one.  We did some exploring by dinghy and watch pods of dolphin cruising the area frequently and there are several large and very vocal osprey in the neighborhood.  St. Augustine is a very clean city as noted by the street sweeper that goes by every morning about 4:00 am.  Everyone here is very friendly except we are not getting the offers like we did in the Mid-Atlantic states where everyone either loaned you their car or wanted to drive you to Walmart, West Marine or the grocery store.  The prevalence for that southern accent (which I love) seemed to disappear here in Florida.

I set up a skype account and made our first connection with my mom, what a fun way to connect and its "FREE".  Once we leave Florida I will cancel our AT&T cell phone and will be contacting through magic jack and skype, roaming charges are costly once we leave the states.

Glad to see VT got a little fresh pow for the holiday week keep those videos flowing!!  Well thats all for now, I will do an update just prior to departing St. Augustine.
Take care
Elizabeth

This 3 masted schooner showed up and turned out one of the captain's was Larry, the guy that took over for Stan on the Moonlight Lady