tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18186748608793771682024-03-21T08:08:48.223-04:00Steve and Liz's Great Loop AdventureShingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-73067203016367757262015-02-02T20:00:00.001-05:002015-02-02T20:03:14.796-05:00Pam and Darin's visitWe got onto a mooring ball after four days of anchoring, just as my niece, Pam and her husband Darin came to stay with us for a week. We were excited to share our cruising lifestyle with them and show them our boat. We wanted to cruise to Key West for a couple of days, but it was race week and no slips available in town. On what we thought was going to be a pretty calm day, we set out for Sombrero Reef Lighthouse, just a couple miles off shore to see if we could do some snorkeling. But oh, the waves were nasty and we had failed to batten down properly. Stuff was flying and we were pitching from side to side, so Captain Steve decided to call it quits before we got there. The route back into the harbor was calmer, so Pam and Darin rode on the bow. <br />
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On the way back to our ball, we passed by the wreckage of the old Faro Blanco Ocean Marina. Hurricane Wilma took it, and its partner marina on the Gulf side. The Gulf side has been reclaimed by Hyatt, complete with a new resort, but this one is crying out for someone to rehab it, along with about 50 deserted slips. </div>
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We went to great Happy Hour at Keys Steak and Lobster where all hors d'oeuvres are $5. They are all great. Here's the tuna tataki, as close as I come to sushi. But Pam and Darin liked the sushi. </div>
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Steve and I were talking to a couple next to us at the bar and she asked, "doesn't it get lonely living on a boat?" ... so I had to say: "see all these people to my right, we are with all of them, so no, it doesn't".</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Pam and Darin had a rental car for a week, so they went to Key West (we did not). We all took a drive to Bahia Honda State Park, where there is the best beach in the keys. Visitors can walk up the old Flagler bridge and take in the view. A section of the old bridge was removed here to allow boats to enter the Park Harbor. The current Highway 1 bridge and Florida Bay to the right and the Atlantic to the left. </span></div>
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From the bridge a great view of the bay side of the Park. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">On their last night we dined aboard. Pam and Darin were easy to please, and really, very good to have aboard. </span></div>
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After they left, it was our turn to entertain Brent and Susan and Em and Bev, so Steve made lasagna. Since we are cruising full time now, we've stocked our galley with equipment and supplies from home that we hadn't brought in previous trips. Somehow, we've managed to store it all. Brent and Susan brought Chianti, but oops, no corkscrew here. Steve had opened a bottle for Pam and Darin using a screw ... screw it in with screwdriver and pull the screw and cork out with a vise grip ... such a clever guy. </div>
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Great food and excellent company. Bev and Em graciously brought over a couple of folding chairs and we were able to sit 6 for hand and foot, our favorite card game with our favorite card players. </div>
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Our days start with coffee and Cruisers Net on the VHF radio at 9 am. Tuesdays and Fridays, I go to free yoga in the park and Steve usually goes for a bike ride. Sunday mornings are breakfast at the American Legion, great food, great price. Last Saturday we took the Keys bus line down to Big Pine Key for their long running Flea Market. We ladies had a good time trying on and buying some new clothes and we enjoyed the Fish Fry and ice cream. Big Pine has some cool "free range" roosters and chickens right on the main drag. </div>
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The City Marina, which normally closes their pavillion at 5 pm, stayed open for the Super Bowl. Great game and a good pot luck, as always. </div>
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We left during the third quarter and found we could stream the game on the computer. There is no antenna TV in the Keys (why is that?) ... so we've increased our AT&T MiFi to 30 gigabytes/month and are streaming a few TV shows. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"> We are adapting well to being full time cruisers and to life on the ball. The solar panels are rockin' the watts. We go most days without turning on the generator. I'm doing the dishes by heating water on the propane stove, make coffee with the Melitta "pour over" system, and we can use the toaster and short microwave times with the inverter. Its wonderful to return from an outing and not immediately have to turn on the gen to charge the batteries. The pump out boat comes once a week to empty the holding tank and you don't even have to be aboard for it. </span></div>
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Our next visitor, BFF Sue, comes tomorrow and we are very excited to have her back aboard. </div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-65795447745184536282015-01-24T10:11:00.002-05:002015-01-24T10:11:58.802-05:00Picture success !!Thanks to Darin and Pam's techie skills, we discovered why the pictures weren't uploading. We learned that Blogspot users now have to use Chrome to blog if they want to upload pictures. It appears to be a conspiracy by Google to get us all to switch over to Chrome as our browser, rather than Internet Explorer. Good news is ... problem solved. So rather than rewrite the previous blog, just gonna post pics and captions here. This is a floating bait shop on the Caloosahatchee River just outside Fort Meyers. <br />
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In Fort Meyers Beach, and here in Marathon, we are on a mooring ball. Picking up the ball can be a challenge ... Susan shows her technique while Cheryl looks on.<br />
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I've likely posted this pic before, but this is the Fort Meyers Beach pirate boat ... for the tourists.<br />
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Trico Shrimp Company nestled among the shrimp boat fleet. Excellent gulf shrimp. <br />
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And here is the shrimp fleet. </div>
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The homes on the Naples waterways are spectacular. Note the "boat garage" on the right side of the first one. <br />
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In Everglades City, this is the interior of the Rod and Gun Club.<br />
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This is the exterior. They don't open until 11:30, but the porch was open, so we took our own morning coffee up and enjoyed it on the porch.<br />
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This is the museum, where we learned how Everglades City was developed as a planned community to house the workers who built the Tamiami Highway, a massive undertaking that connected Tampa and Miami built in the early 1900's. </div>
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We are having a great time with Pam and Darin and they are enjoying the cruisers lifestyle. Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-27901276835227001782015-01-19T11:05:00.004-05:002015-02-02T17:31:43.718-05:00report from Marathon<br />
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Hello, dear blog readers,<br />
We have made it to Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, FL, in the "middle keys". I am unable to upload my photos from Fort Meyers to here into the blog at this time. Not sure what to do next, so I am going to write a brief narrative, just to get something down, and hope we can resolve the issue soon. <br />
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From Fort Meyers, we went to Fort Meyers Beach and scored a mooring ball. We had a mini Minnesota reunion at Bonita Bills, meeting up with Kay and Bob, neighbor Paul, and Dean and Missy. Bought 5 pounds of shrimp at $14/pound at Trico Seafood, nestled among the shrimping fleet. <br />
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Next stop was the Naples City Dock, where we had not stopped before, a lovely and very upscale city, we wandered about, went to a great Farmers Market and had some good pizza. From there we tried to take the old Naples-Marco ICW back channel, but after running around twice, decided there was just too much shoaling, the tide was too low, so we came out and went to Marco Island on the outside. Calm seas, it was a good cruise, but we still prefer the ICW routes to the open water, just more to look at. At Marco Island, we anchored in a small back bay, where there was a dinghy dock at the Winn Dixie (nice!) ... <br />
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We were traveling with <em>Once Upon a Time</em>, their guests had left at Naples, and by this time we were all sick with a wicked "cold" or "flu" or whatever. But travel we must, so on we went to Everglades City. This little community is less than an hour from Naples, but when you go there by boat, it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere. We wanted to visit the Rod and Gun Club, a historic inn on the water, so we spent the night at their dock. Overpriced, the shower had no light, no TP, no paper towels. In the early morning the fishing boats went out with no regard for their wakes, bouncing us off the pilings. But we saw the Club and toured the museum. <br />
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From there, boats traveling to the Keys almost all stop at the Little Shark River, one of our favorites, in the middle of the Everglades, very remote. The next day, we crossed Florida Bay and came into Marathon. There was a waiting list of 20 to get on a mooring ball, so we are anchored adjacent to the mooring field and are now #11 on the list. We've been out a bit with Susan and Brent, but we are all still recovering our health. Today our niece, Pam and her husband Darin are arriving to stay with us for a week. It's been cloudy, but today the blue skies returned. As always, stay well.Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-56277968127437716002015-01-05T13:36:00.001-05:002015-01-05T13:36:22.926-05:00to Fort MyersThe social life at Fort Pierce continued. We had dinner on our boat with Jim and Gloria, who we spent time with last winter in the Bahamas, and Susan and Brent. <br />
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We went caroling one evening on the docks, I lip sinc'd and played my toy tambourine from the Dollar Tree and Steve opted out altogether, but it was fun. We had a quiet Christmas Eve with Susan and Brent and their visiting friends, Bob and Lynette. Susan and I organized a pot luck Christmas Brunch, which was delicious and well attended by about 35.</div>
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Our plans were to leave on 12/28, but when Steve went to fire up our engine, we got nothing. A bad starter was the diagnosis. He pulled the 60 pound beast out and began researching replacement/rebuilding options. </div>
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I just set the beer bottle next to it to illustrate how big it is, but must admit, after wrestling that thing out of the engine room, Steve did drink the well deserved beer. After having no luck finding one at the typical places, he brought it up to Tim at Florida Marine Diesel about 2 blocks from the marina. It's the kinda place that looks like a complete mess with piles of stuff every where, but when you go in and ask "do you have one of these thingamajigs", Tim walks over to the thingamajig pile and pulls out exactly the right one. So he got us one, added the new starter to the old nose piece on ours and Steve put it in. We were just three days behind our friends and booked across the Okechobee waterway to Fort Myers (150+miles and 5 locks) in three days.</div>
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We giggle about the way the lock chambers are filled and emptied. No fancy pumps here, the lock master just opens the door a foot or so in the direction they want the water to flow and lets it rip. Here it is raising us up. </div>
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We fueled up at American Custom Yacht where diesel was a remarkable $2.71 a gallon, cheaper that it was when we did our Great Loop. New Years Eve was a quiet night for us at Indiantown Marina.</div>
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We love seeing the Cypress trees with Spanish moss drapped over the branches....</div>
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... and the occasional air boat. </div>
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The marinas in Fort Myers are all full with the annual Gold Looper Reunion coming up in a couple of weeks. So we joined <em>Once Upon a Time, </em></div>
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<em>Quimby,</em></div>
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<em> </em>and new friends, George and Mary, from Green Bay, on <em>Beach Quest</em> </div>
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in a great anchorage just across the main channel from downtown. The Fort Myers Yacht Basin (aka City Marina) has 6 mooring balls in the anchorage and there is room for many more boats to anchor. We have use of their dinghy dock, just blocks from the vibrant downtown and Publix. The mooring balls are only good for boats less than 22,000 pounds and even the humble Shingebiss, the smallest boat in our little fleet, is bigger than that. The solar panels have been very efficient in meeting our electrical needs and it's great to not listen to the generator run first thing in the morning and last thing at night. </div>
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The last few days have been a whirlwind of shopping, social hours, dinners, and dining out. We had lunch with Tom and Diann, who we looped with, great to see them. The weather has been stellar with near record highs and it feels great to be out of the marina bobbing on anchor. </div>
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Our plans are to head to Fort Myers Beach with Brent and Susan, <em>Once Uupon a Time ... </em>unfortunately, it's their turn to have boat problems and they are awaiting a part to be delivered tomorrow. If it fixes the problem, we'll be outa here. Meanwhile, a relaxing day aboard, maybe town later. </div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-43830657340938214122014-12-16T14:22:00.001-05:002015-01-05T12:33:36.728-05:00Fall in Fort Pierce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Time sure flies by quickly in our world and we've been here at Harbortown Marina for over three months. One of the first celebrations we had was for Steve's 60th Birthday. Out at a local fancy restaurant, the Quilted Giraffe, with Hobart and Linda. </div>
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We were grateful to be in air conditioning that night and throughout the first six weeks. We hope to never be in Florida in September again. It was sooo hot, we ran our AC 24/7 and even a walk from the parking lot to the boat made one break out in a sweat. No work outside was possible for us, I dunno how folks live here in the summer, so we worked in our forward guest cabin. Most of the teak was refinished and Steve painted the walls and ceiling for a new fresh look. He also did some other minor work like replacing our old aft toilet and both bathroom faucets. It was during this time frame that it really hit us hard that we are basically restoring a 30 year old boat, one system at a time .... almost a "project boat" .... but thankfully we get to cruise and enjoy the boat and the lifestyle while we constantly make improvements. </div>
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In mid October the heat started to moderate, so Steve went to work on replacing two of our most damaged salon windows. As you can see in the picture, the plastic layer in the safety </div>
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glass has melted in the corner. Removing the old windows was brutal, pulling all the glued and screwed trim and eventually cracking the window up pretty good. Thanks to the lamination, the glass doesn't shatter. </div>
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We brought our patterns in to a local glass company and had new windows made. Steve was unable to find trim to match exactly so he had to spend hours perched on the gunnel (no finger dock here), fiberglassing, attaching trim, sanding and painting. Looks great ... pilot house windows are next on the list, maybe in the spring. </div>
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Susan and Brent, aboard <em>Once Upon a Time,</em> arrived in early November. Here is their beautiful 42' Jefferson backing into their slip. We are thrilled that they are on our dock (F dock, the best dock) this year. </div>
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrNS-NVEOyD-Zu0vUeKbQlwjdNelKaSrSZ_YgWPSs5FwClXIeXwu643PD8WSXERFt3KLaubMDnCZO2R8jxQgJU8UhbLooU9p7De1gaTqkdJoWL0HW1wrmbh_vsTmy6GTayEyz8U_4aWBH/s1600/Fall+in+florida+074.jpg" height="298" width="400" /><br />
We have really grown to enjoy our time in Fort Pierce. They have one of the best Farmers Markets we have ever been to. Susan and Brent are selling her paintings, prints and greeting cards in the art section of the market. We think she is the best artist ever.<br />
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Susan and I love to plan a party, so we had an "organized Pot Luck" for Thanksgiving. Jeff and Kathy came over from Pensacola Beach and stayed with us. Of course, we had to show them our favorite Atlantic beach. Kathy gathered up some sea grass and other pretty finds and she and Susan had a great time decorating the tables. </div>
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Steve cooked a 19 pound turkey in our little propane boat oven, one of three that we needed to for the 35 people that attended and brought traditional Thanksgiving dishes. </div>
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Everything was delicious and as you can see in this picture of Susan, Kathy and me, the weather cooperated for our outdoor meal. yes, i got a very short hair cut, love it. </div>
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We've made some interior improvments in our salon, new upolstery for our dining settee and a great new teak folding chair for Steve's TV time in the evenings. His current project, almost done, is installing a 500 watt of solar sytem with the panels on our pilot house roof. It's been incredibly complicated, tying in all the electrical and battery components. Here's the panel he made with the regulator, battery charger and other switches that is now installed out of view under the aft cockpit. There's a remote display in the pilot house that shows how much electricity the panels are making. They are cranking it out and enough is stored in the new batteries to run the frig, our biggest power hog, through the night. We will still have to run the generator for hot water and AC if we need it, but this will be quite wonderful for anchoring and mooring ball living. It will take many years to get our money back compared to buying power or even making it with the generator, but there is a large "nifty factor" to it all. </div>
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Downtown Fort Pierce has a wonderful light display, the colors dance up and down the palm trees in time with the music. </div>
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Last Saturday night was the lighted boat parade, every waterfront community in Florida has one. This one comes right into and past the outside pier of Harbortown Marina, so we get a great view. </div>
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This big cruiser had a "Frozen" theme, great music and dancing lights. </div>
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And here's a great shot of the tug boat that always participates along with a very nicely done smaller boat. </div>
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Our plans are to leave here shortly after Christmas with Susan and Brent (<em>Once Upon a Time</em>) and Bev and Em (<em>Quimby</em>). We will cruise across the Okechobee Waterway to the Fort Myers area, then south to the Keys for a month or two. Have a very Merry Christmas and a great 2015. We are grateful, blessed and enjoying it all. </div>
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At the Upper St. Anthony Lock, water poured over the falls, and both lock doors were opened to allow as much water as possible through. It was an impressive sight from the Stone Arch Bridge. <br />
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We had decided over the winter that we wanted to become "full time cruisers". Not quite ready to sell our house, we found a ready renter in a close friend of the family. Thus began the long crazy process of liquidating 27 years worth of "stuff" starting with our 15' Boston Whaler. Steve says this is the only thing he was sad about selling, but we're sure her new owner will take good care of her.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkYAz1YejRxJ9r9A60fM8qWECp3-CHwjTGJMPIt46UTtWNU9dm0kuSwaLPJPJw0S2X5XMRVLnMJnEKXJKNIsefAB50jHLaq_AzJhpYeTATQD8tiidYKizkt6P6DYKSE1RdJJAKXIdxcNG/s1600/photo+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkYAz1YejRxJ9r9A60fM8qWECp3-CHwjTGJMPIt46UTtWNU9dm0kuSwaLPJPJw0S2X5XMRVLnMJnEKXJKNIsefAB50jHLaq_AzJhpYeTATQD8tiidYKizkt6P6DYKSE1RdJJAKXIdxcNG/s1600/photo+(7).JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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I became a Craig's list expert and we held the requisite garage sale in July for the small stuff. VVA picked up most of the rest, and we finished with weekly Goodwill trips as we did the final cleansing of each room. We rented a climate controlled storage locker for a minimum of furniture and memorabilia and offered family what we thought they might want. What a lot of work !!! Steve had to store his "complete since Issue 1" collection of <em>Passagemaker </em>magazine, so here I am sorting by year to box them up. </div>
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Steve did some home repairs that were probably a bit overdue. The flood had destroyed most of the plants in the two perennial gardens on our river bank, leaving bare ground, fertile for weeds. Not wanting to leave this mess for our renters, I got some estimates on rip rap placement. When I explained this plan to our new neighbor, he jumped right in and volunteered to use his 12 ton dump trailer and his brothers Kabota tractor and we could DYI it. "It'll be fun", he exclaimed. His enthusiasm was hard to resist, so we had to accept his offer. First of two loads.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLGj98ZAbe2PIXCRwg_48RyIXLa0FTtiDn3Ue-HXjtMlKyqdPGy7MJocw-fUjf8P5R-QhfWkdLTyCF18HxRmBiIe7TRK5J0GSl2Z2maX6tKmF8Ro8JQxoVf_7kMSyZuobUFtYk69DXBoX/s1600/2014+spring+to+fall+036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLGj98ZAbe2PIXCRwg_48RyIXLa0FTtiDn3Ue-HXjtMlKyqdPGy7MJocw-fUjf8P5R-QhfWkdLTyCF18HxRmBiIe7TRK5J0GSl2Z2maX6tKmF8Ro8JQxoVf_7kMSyZuobUFtYk69DXBoX/s1600/2014+spring+to+fall+036.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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Jeromy was an expert with the tractor and we just had to spread out the loads by hand. </div>
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Whole job done in about 4 hours at less than half the cost, even with a gift to the workers. Such a relief to never have to worrry about flooding or weeds again. Not as pretty as the flowers, but not too bad looking. <br />
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Right before we left, a couple of cruising boats made the long journey up the Mississippi<em>. Young America </em>came up last summer and was joined by <em>Carolynn Ann </em>this summer. The two Great Harbor N37's made an impressive site as they approached our dock. </div>
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Our last week was filled with last minute lunches and dinners and lots of good-byes. "When are you coming back?" we were asked. "We don't know, that's the beauty of it", we answered. With the van packed full and Lucy lounging on top of it all, we were off. Our first stop was at Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's Spring Valley Wisconsin home and studio. The tours are well organized, fun, and informative. Of course, no pictures are allowed inside, but here's the outside of the building called "Hillside". The room seen on the left of the photo is the "Assembly Hall", first stop on the tour. </div>
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The tour we took according to the website ..... <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is a rich overview of the Taliesin property’s finest architectural
jewels, beginning with Hillside’s expansive Assembly Hall, the Fellowship Dining
Room, the 5,000 sq. ft. "abstract forest" Drafting Studio, and the delightful
Theater, after which you’ll drive across the estate to Taliesin and enjoy
Wright’s personal Studio, the Living Room, his Guest Bedroom, the Blue Loggia,
Mrs. Wright's recently restored bedroom, as well as Mr. Wright's bedroom.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The drafting studio is especially impressive as there is a graduate level school of architecture present on the grounds. The students live in this building and work and study in the studio at drafting tables designed by Mr. Wright. Very competitive program and the students come from all around the world. </span></div>
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Back on the bus, we admired the incredibly gorgeous views of the property and surrounding hills, and then toured the Wright's private home. A couple of outside pics of the home.</div>
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Taliesin is an American Treasure and I highly recommend a visit. Our next tour stop was the Cherohala Skyway, a scenic drive through the Smokey Mountains. Only 37 miles long, with many switchbacks and awesome views, we saw lots of motorcycles and took a little side road to this lovely waterfall. </div>
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Next up, we visited a home that was a bit more ostentatious. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTyDx5m-fEKYW1htroRc48ydjzAtSig9DJxjozutJBpUvC-KZO1LZMAOl0dq9HEzfmwnxovIpOt7MnEa2YM_bYM3-4lpRiuvJBTB1kutbvYpb-5xk3biqeDByjcCI_w1Y6Rpr-bIX0W4-/s1600/2014+spring+to+fall+140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTyDx5m-fEKYW1htroRc48ydjzAtSig9DJxjozutJBpUvC-KZO1LZMAOl0dq9HEzfmwnxovIpOt7MnEa2YM_bYM3-4lpRiuvJBTB1kutbvYpb-5xk3biqeDByjcCI_w1Y6Rpr-bIX0W4-/s1600/2014+spring+to+fall+140.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, the largest privately owned home in the USA. We did a well organized audio tour that gives you a look into the main living and sleeping areas along with the servants rooms and kitchens. The home has about 40 bedrooms and bathrooms, so you only get a glimpse, but there are more indepth tours also offered. George Vanderbuilt completed the home in 1895, but died young at 51. His widow opened the estate to the public during the depression and it is still owned, preserved and managed by his heirs. Again, no interior photos allowed, so I copied this view of the library from the website. The art and architecture are phenomenal ...</div>
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<img alt="Chair in front of the fireplace" class="ci-image ci-original" src="http://biltmore.s3.amazonaws.com/1133/biltmorehouse_04-sz.jpg" height="400" width="316" /></div>
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... as are the acres and acres of gardens. Again, a recommended bucket list experience.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FmASnMJYU2ZZQPrKb-SIWXHoNOpaWzIsBxjkutEacvBLBqCj3CrLoxYYhKUFVCZuTVimisNfDMGUdhNi5UEu4yUvAaGtUpw-cYW6CQikwCl87AwCiiEexwo0zRiWec7DNktyoBymtG_8/s1600/2014+spring+to+fall+151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FmASnMJYU2ZZQPrKb-SIWXHoNOpaWzIsBxjkutEacvBLBqCj3CrLoxYYhKUFVCZuTVimisNfDMGUdhNi5UEu4yUvAaGtUpw-cYW6CQikwCl87AwCiiEexwo0zRiWec7DNktyoBymtG_8/s1600/2014+spring+to+fall+151.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our final stop before Florida was at Brunswick Landing Marina where <em>Once Upon a Time </em>is berthed for the summer. Many insurance companies want their insured boats out of Florida for the hurricane season, and Brunswick, Georgia serves this purpose well for a few of our cruising friends. Brett and Susan rented a studio for her art where we got to see some of her amazing work. </div>
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We stayed on their boat for 2 nights, Lucy included, and had great meals and lots of laughs. They drove us out to St. Simon's Island, where we did our usual tourist drill: climb the lighthouse, eat ice cream and walk on the beach. </div>
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Finally, after a week of car travel, we got to the boat yard. We had the boat shrink wrapped last spring, so we wouldn't have to worry about leaks with the torrential Florida summer rains. We have one extremely elusive leak and were afraid others would crop up over the summer. </div>
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It was late in the day, so Steve set up the portable AC (it's still hot summer here) and we got enough of the interior put back together to sleep. It felt GREAT to be in our own beds, even on the hard, even living with only 15 amps of electric, ie. no refrigerator. The next day Steve replaced 4 bolts that hold the rudder in place. When you have a 30 year old boat, you almost have to have a sixth sense about what's gonna wear out next, and he does. When we were hauled out last year, he decided to check these bolts and it's good he did. Here's one of the old ones, looking quite corroded. </div>
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The sealant had to sit overnite, so another night on the hard in the yard. Spent the day unloading the van and organizing inside and the next day Steve tore off the shrink wrap and we launched by noon. The minute we pulled off the dock, we had a beautiful cooling breeze coming in through the pilot house window and a total feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Our 2.5 day cruise to the marina was mostly uneventful except for getting caught in a bit of a thunderstorm just as we approached the lock coming off Lake Okechobee. We could see about 5 of these storm cells to our north, and finally one caught up with us. </div>
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We called the Lock in the middle of it, looking forward to getting into a more sheltered environment, but were informed that they were on a "lightening hold" and wouldn't lock us through until the storm passed. There was enough lightening around us that we unplugged all our electronics and I called him on the cell phone rather than the marine radio. He said they didn't want to be liable if we were hit by lightening in the lock ... we thought maybe they might be more liable if they left us sitting out in the middle of the lake, rather than getting us into the more sheltered river ... but I did not make that argument to him. We waited a half hour, and when he finally opened the lock, they had both doors open and we cruised right through. A lockmaster further down the waterway told me it's really up to the the lockmasters descretion in these cases. Interesting .... </div>
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Anyway, we are now safe and sound back in our same slip at Harbortown Marina. Today, we are doing Absolutely Nothing, except writing this lengthy blog. We have a rental car for the weekend and will go back to retrieve the van tomorrow. Then the annual "boat project marathon" begins. </div>
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Thanks for reading if you made it this far, it was a long one. I promise regular posts, not as frequent as during the Great Loop, but I do enjoy it and appreciate all your support and comments. </div>
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<br />Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-81641838519078682702014-03-13T10:33:00.002-04:002014-03-13T10:33:50.414-04:00Back in the USAWe made it. The wind kicked up during the night before our crossing, causing noise, worry and insomnia. We got up early and followed a 49' Defever to the small inlet that leads directly to the Atlantic. Watched him tip about 45 degrees up and down going through the breakers, so we turned around and tied back up at the dock. The west wind against the outgoing tide had set up a bit of a rage. "You made the right decision" said an old salt in a 49' Grand Banks, so we sat and felt the wind die down for about 2 hours. Watched another group go out and decided to go for it. It was definitely a ride, but after we were out just a couple of miles the ocean started to lay down and it got calmer and calmer. What a pleasant experience to be able to walk around the boat, make a sandwich, etc, without holding on for dear life. BUT, about 10 miles from the inlet at Lake Worth, the wind turned hard to the south and began to increase so the rolling motion began. We can do the up and down, but we hate the side to side. By five miles from shore, we were in some of the biggest waves we have ever experienced, right on the beam. Steve had to tack diagnonally about 4 times to get to the mouth of the inlet. We had a crazy hour, bracing ourselves for each impact, but Steve really appreaciated the way the boat handled. At last, we scooted sideways into the inlet and breathed a huge sigh of relief. <br />
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Back at the great anchorage in North Lake Worth, we felt at home. A call to customs, a meal and off to bed. The next day was an easy 50 miles up the ICW to Harbortown. So the old girl made it, and the boat performed well too. Steve admits there was stress involved in having this old boat so far away, we don't have the confidence in it yet that we had in the Mainship, but we are getting there. The only thing that broke was the anchor windlass, which is not the greatest anyway. Designed for rope only, Steve makes it work with our 30 feet of heavy chain (kind of a lift assist), but it bit the dust and he had to lift 45 pounds of chain and 45 pounds of anchor by hand four days in a row. At GTC, he tore it apart, and cleaned up the ground connections and it worked again. <br />
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Back at our home marina, we were greeted by our good friends here. Arriving just an hour after we did, Brent and Susan came in on <em>Once Upon a Time </em>having completed their Great Loop. Last night they introduced us to another delightful Looper couple and we all celebrated together. The boat needs a scrub, covered with salt. A grocerty shopping marathon today and then more celebration and gaming tonight. <br />
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We plan to stay here a month to recuperate and prepare Shingebiss for her summer storage, so more later ... thanks for reading. Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-10973814967428228972014-03-10T16:22:00.002-04:002014-03-10T16:22:41.067-04:00GTB to OBB<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A few pictures of Green Turtle Club, this is the office, gift shop, and restaurant.</div>
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The screened in part of the restaurant, where we had the best lunch we've had in the Abacos one day with our new sailor friends.</div>
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The beach, in front of the rental cottages.</div>
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The pool.</div>
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The resort lounge, decor is old school elegant.</div>
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And, finally, the bar, with the "dollar bills on the wall" and "yacht club burgees hanging from the rafters" from visiting sailors theme going strong. </div>
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We hung out here the evening before we left in these lovely chairs, telling tales and trading stories with the sailors.</div>
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It's a two day journey to Old Bahama Bay (OBB, aka West End) which is the jumping off point to cross back to Florida. First day was eight hours of rolly seas. We dropped anchor at Great Sale Cay, a well known, very protected, and strategically placed island. With almost unlimited room for boats, there were only about 10 others in this quiet, isolated anchorage, with no phone or WiFi. </div>
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The following day, we had a smoother and shorter cruise to West End. This is a very fancy resort and marina and they charge accordingly, but their location, just on the edge of the crossing, means almost everyone stops here on their way in and way out of the Abacos. The sailors we had met at GTC skipped it and did an overnighter from Great Sale to Florida, but I (the Admiral) have nixed nighttime cruising and Steve (the Captain) wanted the assurance of another weather forecast before we crossed.</div>
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Well, sure enough, the weather had changed a bit, so rather than crossing today, we spent the day here and will go tomorrow. A group of sailboats went today, but many of them need about 20 hours to get across at their motoring speed, so they really needed today and tomorrow. About 8 power boats came in today, and they all reported an easy crossing. So we find out tomorrow if we made the right choice (the models all say tomorrow's seas to be less than today's) and/or if we are really just a couple of woosies who aren't cut out for this ocean stuff. </div>
Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-85179582568200296932014-03-07T17:38:00.004-05:002014-03-07T21:09:58.619-05:00"Another Beautiful Beach"On a calm sunny day, we set off in the dinghy's to find the blue hole. The lagoon behind Snake Island was filled with marine life. Hard to photo, but here's some coral ... <br />
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... and there were plenty of large (at least a foot across) starfish.</div>
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We were told to go on a rising tide, but we were still too close to low, and found ourselves paddling through some shallow water. When it got deep again, we started seeing sea turtles, at least 25 of them, but they swim really fast and are impossible to photo. Using his small hand held GPS, Buck lead us right to the blue hole. We put on our snorkel masks and leaned over the edges of the dinghys to see this amazing phenomenon. It looked like a big underwater bottomless cave, and I was quite impressed. We tried to dinghy further into the backwater, but kept running into shallows, so we turned around. Linda stopped us all to look at the sea urchins, which somehow end up with shells stuck to their spines. </div>
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On the way back, we had lunch at Lubbers Landing, a very charming beach restaurant. Bahamas lesson #1: have a dinghy that is easy to launch and can get up on a plane with your crew ... so much to see by dinghy.</div>
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A few days later, it was finally time to leave Sea Spray. Buck and Linda were also ready for a change of scene.<em> </em>First stop was of course Marsh Harbor to go to Maxwell's for the good groceries. We had a tour of the Jib Room, a popular marina for cruisers located on the "far side" of the harbor and spent the night in the safe protected anchorage. The next day, we had a short cruise across the Sea of Abaco to Great Guana Cay, where we dropped the hook in Fisher Bay and dinghy'd to the dock at the settlement. We walked across the hill to the famous "Nippers" on the Atlantic side ... also well known as being one of the most beautiful beaches in the Abacos, so we walked to the rocks at one end. Wide and flat, a great walking beach. There's also a large coral reef fairly close to the shore and on a calm day, you can swim to it from the beach. <br />
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Alas, this was not a calm day. </div>
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Meanwhile back at Nippers, the party was in full swing, it was "pig roast Sunday". The views from the upper levels of the bar are great. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHX40O9QKeJ1aIg47kMsxLtk9-kKNiK1ls3K4mHIcdOSFNkuOOQZ4du6-DnWo6AV75aeaXGuZV0-X7v-4mQtL5ss4VoYJYJs4oS0PaeRu-qOUlJi0nJ_E4xanCSA155GX9btG3Oqrt2QD/s1600/2014+Abacos+488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHX40O9QKeJ1aIg47kMsxLtk9-kKNiK1ls3K4mHIcdOSFNkuOOQZ4du6-DnWo6AV75aeaXGuZV0-X7v-4mQtL5ss4VoYJYJs4oS0PaeRu-qOUlJi0nJ_E4xanCSA155GX9btG3Oqrt2QD/s1600/2014+Abacos+488.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></a></div>
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As you can see, Nipper's is a popular hangout for the party crowd, here's the view of the pools. </div>
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We dinghy'd around the corner to the other bar, Grabber's ... seemed like a more grown up kinda place to us ... where we had beverages and the best conch salad we'd had in the Abacos.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RQJZAvgWl3ZeuQ7i2YBm9Of0sqigaFjLCu9zCuETF44UFWE0hp7iOzxbTg7Z3S70Q9H9HuVQvTuHyxwSyRQjZ9Q8KBgViJVGB-wjyymOgmvmDsXUFwtDZRfpCoBSYMr3KFZH9Gw11nAs/s1600/2014+Abacos+498.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RQJZAvgWl3ZeuQ7i2YBm9Of0sqigaFjLCu9zCuETF44UFWE0hp7iOzxbTg7Z3S70Q9H9HuVQvTuHyxwSyRQjZ9Q8KBgViJVGB-wjyymOgmvmDsXUFwtDZRfpCoBSYMr3KFZH9Gw11nAs/s1600/2014+Abacos+498.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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Later that evening, we had dinner with Linda and Buck on their beautiful <em>Oasis III.</em> The next morning, we took the big boats just three miles up Great Guana to Baker's Bay for a day stop. Disney's Big Red Boat used to anchor in this bay and we took a cruise on on it in about 1991. We recall that they trolley'd us across the island for some great snorkeling, so we wanted to see if we could get there by dinghy. We went north on some beautiful water. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2GUyJfuwNdC-k93RQBnhXtpN1W5JPfhNSuOtSGXuEq8MWZddfEs_n4cZ_Ezmo6dGYn_U_vyN5YNwM3NDgcHigkkciw06OJnkOqfUKu8GimqBe7Eu3oh3Btp3hq6C9EjFPKoHlRBflavn/s1600/2014+Abacos+504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2GUyJfuwNdC-k93RQBnhXtpN1W5JPfhNSuOtSGXuEq8MWZddfEs_n4cZ_Ezmo6dGYn_U_vyN5YNwM3NDgcHigkkciw06OJnkOqfUKu8GimqBe7Eu3oh3Btp3hq6C9EjFPKoHlRBflavn/s1600/2014+Abacos+504.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
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In recent decades, the developers have moved in building big houses, a golf course, and private clubs. We wanted to see if we could still get to the reef as we remembered it being right off the beach. At the end of the island was the clubhouse and a beach with chairs. We saw some open sand (to the left in the photo) and beached the dinghy's ... no one kicked us out, actually the place was deserted except for the bartender. </div>
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Behind the resort was, yep, you guessed it, another beautiful beach. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjq811clNBtrrQMUD4raCxZSEMONGq4VwcAxKpvvFVW1a36pE2YobmFI7wb7erPkjcy3kKQ5wkmCPgBnbbPB0jYprbtelR5t8v0nff0MUIKXPrBvc8uocnIyzZILyfDQJiesCy0iGyQ_th/s1600/2014+Abacos+514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjq811clNBtrrQMUD4raCxZSEMONGq4VwcAxKpvvFVW1a36pE2YobmFI7wb7erPkjcy3kKQ5wkmCPgBnbbPB0jYprbtelR5t8v0nff0MUIKXPrBvc8uocnIyzZILyfDQJiesCy0iGyQ_th/s1600/2014+Abacos+514.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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Huge luxury homes were built on top of the sand cliffs you see, one has to wonder if/when they will topple into the ocean. It was finally time to part company with Buck and Linda, we will miss them, and are so glad we met them. Our destination for the night was Treasure Cay, back across the Sea, actually on what they call the "mainland", Great Abaco Island. Treasure was developed as a resort and marina about 20-30 years ago, and it's still quite lovely, if a bit worn. The protected harbor charges you $10 to anchor and you have use of all the facilities. There are canals where you can build a home and dock your boat and the whole complex is "self contained" with a small shopping strip for groceries, bakery, etc., pools and three restaurants. The beach is billed as one of the top ten "in the world", so we had to see it. The sand is not sugar sand, it's powdered sugar sand in a perfect 3 mile cresent, calm (because it's on the Sea of Abaco, not the Atlantic) and a beautiful turquoise color. It was cloudy, so you'll have to take my word for it. </div>
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The next day, we crossed The Whale, which you may recall, is a short open ocean jaunt to get around Whale Cay. It was smooooothhh this time. Since the calm weather was continuing, we decided to anchor for the night at No Name Cay, right after The Whale. We dinghy's around the corner to ....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsoALLNGcwR-SnsKPMaUT_NIloSThYtTffM4WELocG4BcP3lU_jc25X_vk06Ipo5lib5t0j15fbEGED2BoVSuDisvku0At3IKzZ0PM4Kkc0rYFVrmzinpPdhJGEoWuuQXgpWFGADLoPcP/s1600/2014+Abacos+529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsoALLNGcwR-SnsKPMaUT_NIloSThYtTffM4WELocG4BcP3lU_jc25X_vk06Ipo5lib5t0j15fbEGED2BoVSuDisvku0At3IKzZ0PM4Kkc0rYFVrmzinpPdhJGEoWuuQXgpWFGADLoPcP/s1600/2014+Abacos+529.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
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No Name Cay has a band of feral pigs: 2 large and 3 small ones, so we had to take a look and a picture. </div>
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They wade out into the water when they hear a boat approach, but since we didn't have any food for them, they lost interest in us quickly. We spent the afternoon relaxing on Shingebiss, watching at least 6-8 small boats come in to feed, pet, and photo them. </div>
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Next day, we came into Green Turtle Club Marina and Resort on Green Turtle Cay, White Sound, across from where we stayed (Bluff House) on the way down. Just our opinion, but this really is one of the nicest places we've stayed at plus very friendly folks on the docks. We've been here through a front that produced alot of wind (30 mph +) and rain over the past two days. </div>
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The internet is a bit iffy right now, so I am going to close for now, and hope to get back to you in a couple of days. </div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-9696034568760292202014-02-26T14:24:00.001-05:002014-02-26T14:24:22.179-05:00One More From Sea SprayShortly after my last post, the Elliot Clan departed to return to Florida. Elizabeth, daughter, Janet, and granddaughter Hali pictured here on the Marina porch. Janet has to get back to work at her new job at a Canadian National Park on Vancouver Island. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LAV1ZkzPWKWfbBUaeyjgi9XtNxWlGxy5h7hMdfxVrFaJjqahRWpxJi1XLUPhVbiEaODYzn1jePBgAHEyjQ1D_GA1cQBtcYGkbKa1NyU5wy_zvZ3JSt3EQ6-BKDxmp8-gQ3Nzh70oYMQc/s1600/2014+Abacos+320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LAV1ZkzPWKWfbBUaeyjgi9XtNxWlGxy5h7hMdfxVrFaJjqahRWpxJi1XLUPhVbiEaODYzn1jePBgAHEyjQ1D_GA1cQBtcYGkbKa1NyU5wy_zvZ3JSt3EQ6-BKDxmp8-gQ3Nzh70oYMQc/s1600/2014+Abacos+320.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
The past couple of weeks have flown by and we are now in our last week on lovely Elbow Cay. The weather has remained perfect, dare we say a little too warm at times ... but then there is a pool. Every visit to Hopetown is fun, whether by dinghy or by bike. The cottages are darling.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbSsqfGh3Fq6w312i9BGB3ofdBtykdQb-YuUSOzc8oxpwg_iOGON1ty5AE8atAb4cPszQw3HO072IAQ36h0ZopNrJaA0pQQ7nSDh8wfHT77MBwLJ033SfJNohQ31NDttJkuswBliu1Sie/s1600/2014+Abacos+339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbSsqfGh3Fq6w312i9BGB3ofdBtykdQb-YuUSOzc8oxpwg_iOGON1ty5AE8atAb4cPszQw3HO072IAQ36h0ZopNrJaA0pQQ7nSDh8wfHT77MBwLJ033SfJNohQ31NDttJkuswBliu1Sie/s1600/2014+Abacos+339.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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There is a significant art community and the Hummingbird Cottage is an art gallery. The gallery is actually the larger building seen on the far right of the picture. In addition to selling their work, they host events and conduct art workshops. The two cottages, like many of the island buildings, have been restored, but always keeping the original design intact. </div>
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This is the School House. </div>
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Across the harbor is Hopetown Inn and Marina, a bit fancier than Sea Spray. It's only accessible by boat, but they have a pontoon that shuttles visitors across the harbor at all times of night and day for those who don't have their own dinghy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkjdAFShnhghgFv6cRHmTOCHmgTf3eQFzLfpQi7gnPCut41nOYGQnMYhALBCCjpRT-CYPAosZe5jSvW-trTJLLFyIZ181ym8dui1p6dm0jCpTKjLwnbjNs-lc2-3nU0Q1lKqzouBNSVKN/s1600/2014+Abacos+344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkjdAFShnhghgFv6cRHmTOCHmgTf3eQFzLfpQi7gnPCut41nOYGQnMYhALBCCjpRT-CYPAosZe5jSvW-trTJLLFyIZ181ym8dui1p6dm0jCpTKjLwnbjNs-lc2-3nU0Q1lKqzouBNSVKN/s1600/2014+Abacos+344.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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We pulled up to the dinghy dock and had a look around. It's gorgeous ... this is the resort they picture on the marketing websites for Hopetown. </div>
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Buck and Linda, aboard <em>Oasis </em>their lovely 44' Catalina sailboat, are the ones who originally told us about Sea Spray. Here they are getting into their dinghy for one of our adventures. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUCBY87Og2obRQNnPo4H5N3iav0TsdGLzHW-XKMdMa5nrXcxyzkYf21fbazQw5Wv5cR0huGPOgGDUn2JOOI10oHWOByDABLnRxJL07e2kH9OoxUMWuUgCgORLVEoLeBslQrrFzIREYAYI/s1600/2014+Abacos+356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUCBY87Og2obRQNnPo4H5N3iav0TsdGLzHW-XKMdMa5nrXcxyzkYf21fbazQw5Wv5cR0huGPOgGDUn2JOOI10oHWOByDABLnRxJL07e2kH9OoxUMWuUgCgORLVEoLeBslQrrFzIREYAYI/s1600/2014+Abacos+356.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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They are fun company, always up for an adventure, a meal, or a card or domino game. The dive boat was ferrying people over to Man O War Cay one Saturday for their annual Festival and Flea Market that raises money for their school. We thought it was a good opportunity to see another island, so off we went. It was very rough that day, and even on the top deck, we got soaked with spray. </div>
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We dried off quickly in the warm sun and set off to see the island. Man O War was also settled by the Loyalists, and there are many families there descended from these original settlers, resulting in clean, industrious, and family oriented island. We had a great lunch at the food tent. Cooked by the locals, there were several varieties of side dishes, beans and rice, potato salad and baked macaroni and cheese to choose from, so I quizzed the serving ladies on who made the best. The Albury family has been hand building boats on Man O Way for generations, and their sturdy elegant fishing craft are seen in all the harbors. </div>
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The Albury family also own the ferry service and a canvas shop where they used to make sails, but now sew up all kinds of good looking and useful bags, very expensive. </div>
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Here we are at the festival at the classic sign telling us how far we are from just about everywhere else. </div>
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One of our favorite spots to visit is Tahiti Beach, just a short dinghy ride, or bike ride, or walk to the south. It's one of those perfect sand beaches, and if you go at low tide, you can walk out a long ways on the sandbar or in the water. The water is warm, the boats go by, it's heavenly. Getting more crowded as the month progresses, some days there are as many as 10 other people there !!!</div>
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The Bahamas are known for its many "Blue Holes", and Buck had gotten the coordinates for one about 6 miles down the Sea of Abaco, through a little "inlet", and then another 2 miles through a maze of islands behind Snake Cay. We took off in the dinghys one day to see it, but the Sea was way too rough for our 9'6" RIB's so we turned back, went around Lubbers Quarters and found a beach on the back side that was deserted. We landed, walked and discovered a "party place" complete with a swing... </div>
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... and a bar, built out of beach flotsam where we had a picnic lunch that Linda had packed for us. </div>
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Will try another day for the Blue Hole, stay tuned !!!</div>
Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-83306452054953021372014-02-10T20:19:00.001-05:002014-02-10T20:19:23.900-05:00Little Harbour and Pete's PubOne fine calm day last week, we decided to make a journey to Little Harbour and Pete's Pub, only 15 miles south of us, but necessitating a transit across two of those nasty "open to the Atlantic Ocean" inlets that produce the big rollers. In bad weather, crossing these inlets (just crossing them, mind you, not actually going out in them), can be impossible. On this day, we were told, it would be as good as it gets. A word here about beam seas ... this means that the waves are directly hitting the side of your boat ... and the difference between sailboats and motor boats. When a sailboat has a sail up, the wind helps to hold the boat steady and lessen the rolling of a beam sea. We have no such, so beam seas tend to roll us quite heavily. Even on this "as good as it gets" day, we were rollin', but only for a short time until we got back into the lee (protection) of the next barrier island. But I am getting ahead of myself. Here's the view looking south as we leave Sea Spray in White Sound and enter the beautiful Sea of Abaco...<br />
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... and here is a particularly lovely shot of the water. I don't enhance any of these photos, the colors are sensational. The "ripples" are actually the bottom of the sea bed reflecting in the sunlight.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZYqqxhA6tNn8WJd1rnT6ikmJzGwvy1_0c__KOQzDGiuQkf6rhb-liexMS4BChOXp8JHgMok__5IPl3fxDh2YWX_Xu68FOscDYbYTwOP295DEvy6oU_k8krHGVac7E3EnMJPG9z_GhJW0/s1600/2014+Abacos+262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZYqqxhA6tNn8WJd1rnT6ikmJzGwvy1_0c__KOQzDGiuQkf6rhb-liexMS4BChOXp8JHgMok__5IPl3fxDh2YWX_Xu68FOscDYbYTwOP295DEvy6oU_k8krHGVac7E3EnMJPG9z_GhJW0/s1600/2014+Abacos+262.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
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It felt great to be out on the water in the big boat, rather than the dinghy. We made it across the two inlets and entered Little Harbor, a destination with a wonderful story, which I am going to take verbatim from Dozier's Waterway Guide: Bahamas 2013 because they tell it so well.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Little Harbour probably comes close to anyone's dream of a Bahamian hideaway. It certainly met the critical demands of the extraordinary, dynamic, eccentric runaway Smith College professor, Randolf Johnston, one of the great sculptors of the 20th century. Johnston and his wife, Margot; daughter, Marina; and three sons, Bill, Pete, and Denny, left Northampton, MA, on their schooner, <em>Langosta</em>, to escape the maddening rush of civilization and live out their lives in sight of no man, in the pursuit of a free life and devotion to art. With no particular place in mind, <em>Langosta</em> sailed to Little Harbour. The family, in true Swiss Family Robinson style, lived in caves, built thatched huts, and eventually constructed a foundry for Randolf's work. Johnston, who died in 1992 in his late 80's, spent the last 40 years of his life in Little Harbour, pursuing his dream of living free to sculpt in an unspoiled natural environment removed from the fetters, constraints and pollution of life in the developed world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Today, much of Little Harbour remains in the hands of his three sons. Only Pete maintains a relatively high profile with a gallery devoted to his father's work and his own, as well as that of other local artists. </span></div>
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The small harbour has mooring balls, 'er make that mooring tires, so we grabbed one ...</div>
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... and dinghy'd in to see the gallery. </div>
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The sculptures are beautiful, but a bit out of our price range. </div>
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We settled for a new hat for Steve and lunch at the funky open air beach bar, Pete's Pub. </div>
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View of the Harbour from the roof.</div>
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We walked over the dunes on the board walk to take a look at the ocean... </div>
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... and hiked down the road and up the path to the remains of an old lighthouse. </div>
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It's a rugged coast line here. For cruisers heading further south to Eleuthera and the Exumas (the southern island chain, very popular cruising ground) Little Harbour is the last safe port before heading out for a 40 mile open ocean crossing. </div>
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For us, however, it was the furthest south we would go on this trip. On our way back to the boat, we met Pete on the dock. He denied he was Pete at first, but after we chatted for a while and asked him about the caves, he owned up. He told us where the caves were and how to best see them (we did), but said he couldn't really remember living in them. We slept well safely attached to our mooring tire, glad that we had made the journey to see this famous place. The next day, we anchored at Sandy Cay, met up with friends Steve and Elaine, and snorkeled a small reef that is part of the Bahamian National Trust Land and Sea Park. The huge spotted manta rays that Elaine promised did not show up, but we saw some decent coral and several schools of colorful fish. </div>
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The rest of the ride home was beautiful, cruising in the Sea of Abaco is great. We get a little restless sitting in our slip, so today took the big boat out to Marsh Harbor for provisioning. After paying the Elbow Cay prices for produce and dairy, Maxwell's prices looked pretty good. Just a day trip, back home tonight. </div>
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so here's a little map of where we've been so far, the Sea of Abaco is the water between Great Abaco Island and the Cays ... pronounced "keys". The English apparently spelled it Cays, but when the Americans decided to use it to describe small barrier islands, we decided to spell it like it sounds.</div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-71787412782737721632014-02-08T10:57:00.000-05:002014-02-12T16:24:50.152-05:00Hope Town & Sea SprayThis post is gonna be views around Sea Spray and pictures of the quaint buildings in Hope Town. First up is Elizabeth, in her inflatable kayak. We have an open slip next to us now, ahhhh, the huge sport fisher boat next to us has gone back to FL, so she paddles over most mornings and we share coffee and chat. Granddaughter, Hali, is with her today; mom and dad of Hali are also here on their boat, but both boats are leaving very soon, so we will miss their company. These blow up kayaks are really cool, and Elizabeth paddles fair distances in hers.<br />
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Here's the view from our aft deck. It faces east, so we get lovely afternoon shade for sitting in our chairs and with no boat behind us, we get a good view. Just over the dunes in the background is the ocean. </div>
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In addition to hearing the waves break, we also get a great deal of salt spray. You can't see it when it is happening, but the two screens Steve added this year face aft and they get covered in salt after a week. Hmmm, I guess that's why they named it Sea Spray. This is the entrance to the lovely pool...</div>
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and this is the lovely pool, where currently I sit in the shade under the covered area you see back left. <br />
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A brief word about the weather ... it's been above normal temperatures this winter, so the pool is warm and the sea and ocean waters are nice also. The north winds that plagued us earlier have pretty much gone away and the southerly's are prevailing, but light. Perfect, really.</div>
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This is the tiki bar, located between the pool and the outdoor dining area. </div>
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And this is the front view of the humble Shingebiss, among the big boys. </div>
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Our slip fees here, until March 1, because after all, this is the 'off season', are almost too cheap to be true, $10/day ... but water is 40 cents a gallon, and electricity is 85 cents a kilowatt. Compare that to our prices in the USA, and we realize again what a bountiful country we live in. So we use water and electric very parsimoniously, and take all our showers in the bath house, located just steps from the boat, and very nice. The marina staff will give you a lift into town, but so far we've preferred to take the dinghy. The town is full of old, well maintained, adorable (there's no better word) buildings and homes. Here's a couple of them, starting with the post office/police station. </div>
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The Clinic</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbBdlstnwX8A2FBwG09lGeDI4R8pQFpKyRIlC48tzjpWtLWFn_tnbFY0wHb46j4Po3NivJUKOIIdtYH3ndrHeQTbxYw4BJIPF7fqdiNs8QFTIBkMCfOmAwD0PAdv8LVsCYSETfqUTX1Vc/s1600/2014+Abacos+239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbBdlstnwX8A2FBwG09lGeDI4R8pQFpKyRIlC48tzjpWtLWFn_tnbFY0wHb46j4Po3NivJUKOIIdtYH3ndrHeQTbxYw4BJIPF7fqdiNs8QFTIBkMCfOmAwD0PAdv8LVsCYSETfqUTX1Vc/s1600/2014+Abacos+239.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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... and the Museum. Like New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay, Hope Town was founded and settled by the Loyalists, so the architecture is sort of a New England style with pastel colors. </div>
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No cars or golf carts are permitted on the narrow streets and you can walk the entire thing in about 30 minutes, stopping at each of the 2 grocery stores to see who has the best stuff ... supply boat comes on Thursday. </div>
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Here we are having ice cream cones with crew from October and Whisper, both on mooring balls in the harbor ... which I might add are $20/night, but people love them because they are at the center of all the social life of Hope Town.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_v6PEYjqnKGgcmmiw9VMt4tVmDoSfZRxDL2HSsaJdJyIluapYNJNX45SoJSPLknUfcYPLtMNiK4OZ1zY6EMXh3fKiT7GEiGLjpm0MuUl70G4jy55jxkOlxTcf87buDDlPy9aLOZP6nSt/s1600/2014+Abacos+241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_v6PEYjqnKGgcmmiw9VMt4tVmDoSfZRxDL2HSsaJdJyIluapYNJNX45SoJSPLknUfcYPLtMNiK4OZ1zY6EMXh3fKiT7GEiGLjpm0MuUl70G4jy55jxkOlxTcf87buDDlPy9aLOZP6nSt/s1600/2014+Abacos+241.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the land lubber that wants to visit, there are rental properties all over town and throughout the island. This one is my favorite, located right at the harbour entrance. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxalGInEvaEi8elf8ZqfAslLgQYRskt8B-YfowOI38FwfG-nx-gVDLKcILyi63at5LbtycpvTR4Bb8_XHvdysY8QzwM7PHqaFnzPPFR4kVcqaTbDbh8hbO3LM10aNPekIDWi3Dt5AEfaPm/s1600/2014+Abacos+242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxalGInEvaEi8elf8ZqfAslLgQYRskt8B-YfowOI38FwfG-nx-gVDLKcILyi63at5LbtycpvTR4Bb8_XHvdysY8QzwM7PHqaFnzPPFR4kVcqaTbDbh8hbO3LM10aNPekIDWi3Dt5AEfaPm/s1600/2014+Abacos+242.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, that's it for now !!! Time to decide if it's a pool day or a beach day. </div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-11475007481541079902014-02-04T09:11:00.002-05:002014-02-04T09:11:48.873-05:00Elbow Reef LighthouseHope Town is also a pretty easy dinghy ride away, so one day last week, we set off to visit. Nigel and Elizabeth joined us in their dinghy for this scenic ride. First stop was to see Jim and Gloria on Jimandi their 34' Gemini sailboat. They hopped in their dinghy and we all went to visit the famous Hope Town Lighthouse. This is the view of the lighthouse that is frequently painted by various Abacos artists. We tied up at the dock on the right. Note the small boat building shed on the shore, more on that later.<br />
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Climbing up the stairs, Steve was distracted by an old dinghy lying on the ground. </div>
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Visiting the lighhouse is easy, no fees and always open. </div>
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This sign at the entrance and a guest book is the only paperwork you'll see, so the following information is copied from the web. </div>
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Probably the most recognizable landmark in Abaco, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse is one of the last manual lighthouses in the world. The lamp burns pressurized Kerosene oil with a wick and mantle. The Fresnel lenses concentrate the mantle’s light into a beam directed straight towards the horizon. The lenses and burner equipment, weighing 8,000lbs, float in a circular lubricated tub. This reduces friction so that the 700lbs of weight, when wound up to the top of the tower by hand, smoothly rotates the 4-ton apparatus once every 15 seconds. The lighthouse keeper on duty must wind up the weights every 2 hours in order for the red and white candy-striped lighthouse to be seen from 17 miles away. </div>
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In 1836, 2 lighthouses were built in the Bahamas in order to improve navigation and decrease the amount of shipwrecks. One of the lighthouses was stationed at the southernmost tip of Abaco called Hole-in-the-Wall, and the other just south of Bimini. Even with the lighthouse at Hole-in-the-Wall, wrecks were still building up around Abaco. As a result, in 1863, England decided, to build a lighthouse at Hope Town to steer ships clear of the extensive “Elbow Reef”. Despite protests made by wrackers (salvagers), the lighthouse was completed in 1864. At this time, the lighthouse was equipped with a non-rotating, first-order light. In 1936, approximately 73 years later, the Imperial Lighthouse Service closed the Lighthouse at Gun Cay (south of Bimini), and realized that the lighthouse at Hope Town was in need of a beacon for easier identification by ships. The Gun Cay lighthouse was then decapitated, and the iron lantern room with its dome, petroleum burner equipment, turning mechanism, and the rotating Fresnel lenticular panels were brought to Hope Town to replace its standing wick-type light. In 1996, for economic reasons, the Port Department was prompted to automate the hand-wound kerosene–burning lighthouse in the Bahamas. The Lighthouse Preservation Society (the non-profit historical and educational society dedicated to the preservation of Bahamian lighthouses) convinced the government to reconsider, as long as the Society would provide the Port Department with the parts they needed that were longer available through their previous supplier. Since then, the Society has been using mantles from the Coleman Company (manufacturer of Outdoor Equipment). Today, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse is still sending out light, rated at 325,000 candlepower, with the same light source it acquired in 1936. </div>
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Imagine a giant Coleman lantern that needs to be refueled every 2 hours. Rumor has it that the government is no longer funding the job of lightkeeper so currently the light is being lit and fueled by volunteers. </div>
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We climbed the 100 steps and squeezed through a 3' high door to get out on the deck for a birds eye view of Hope Town. The inlet into Hope Town with small harbor and boatyard. </div>
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Most of the town is seen in this one, Atlantic in the background.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSNsbELSiCJWe7_lvYyfdB7erzq9uY8u-CodERLDPP2Y-_R1uVcLb4W4gMKzD95ZqjeYA610zzYMe2dSSi0GuTMG6QXBc89rJhxqu5A00skdt_zXuPmSHsfDpQgw69ZZv_UV8xkq-m1i5/s1600/2014+Abacos+213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSNsbELSiCJWe7_lvYyfdB7erzq9uY8u-CodERLDPP2Y-_R1uVcLb4W4gMKzD95ZqjeYA610zzYMe2dSSi0GuTMG6QXBc89rJhxqu5A00skdt_zXuPmSHsfDpQgw69ZZv_UV8xkq-m1i5/s1600/2014+Abacos+213.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></a></div>
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and the mooring field, filled with cruising boats. </div>
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When we had our fill of the awesome view, we descended the 100 steps and visited with a young Bahamian boatbuilder who was part of a team restoring these classic wooden Abaco sailing dinghies.</div>
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They are beautiful and expertly restored. </div>
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Next we crossed the harbor and pulled up to the "fish boat", who comes every Friday to sell fresh fish and lobster. You can see the crowd on the dock and our little fleet of dinghies purchasing dinner. </div>
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We concluded this perfect day in paradise by docking the dinghies and walking through town. We purchased a "triple chocolate" cake from a bake sale going on next to the fish monger, and enjoyed a delicious smoothie at the Hope Town Coffee House. </div>
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Our friends Elizabeth and Nigel are also here with us at Sea Spray. They have a couple of inflatable kayaks and I got to try one out with Elizabeth. Over by the shore just adjacent to Sea Spray are some boats that appear to be abandoned. As we were paddling around them, we noticed a couple piles of conch shells and I found these two among them. They've been harvested which means they have a small cut on the back of the shell which allows the tendon that holds the meat in to be severed and the meat pulled out. But they must have been harvested recently because they were not bleached out from the sun and they were not broken. 48 hours in a bleach solution and a scrubbing with a stiff brush and I have the souvenirs I was seeking. </div>
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We are really enjoying ourselves here and there's lots more to tell. I can't keep up, but thanks so much everyone for reading. We read all your comments and love them. </div>
Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-81636478224551857162014-02-01T16:12:00.000-05:002014-02-01T16:12:20.301-05:00I wanna live here !!!<div style="text-align: center;">
Before we left Green Turtle Cay we discovered this beach, pretty nice. It was just a dinghy ride then a short walk from where we had the boat moored. </div>
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We left GTC early in the morning with Whisper, a beautiful 47' Passport (sailboat), with Craig and Carol aboard. They were "first timers" to the Bahamas also. Because of the several days of calm winds, the Whale Passage was smooth .... as they say "coulda crossed it on a shingle". </div>
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We dropped the hook in Marsh Harbor, the third largest city in the Bahamas (population 5,300) and had lunch with Craig and Carol to celebrate. </div>
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After lunch, Whisper moved on to a mooring in Man O War Cay and we set off, to do a little provisioning. The big grocery store in Marsh Harbor, Maxwells, is only a few blocks from the dinghy dock and has a reputation as being the best and most reasonably priced market in the entire Bahamas. While I couldn't compare it with Cub Foods, it was good and we were able to build back our supplies of dairy, produce, and bread, knowing it was the best shopping we'd see for the next month. It's funny how much meaning getting food takes on when one is cruising, something we take so much for granted when we are home. We had heard that Marsh Harbor was dirty, crowded, and loud, but we found it delightful with plenty of helpful, friendly people. The water was crystal clear where we anchored, as you can see the chain going all the way to the bottom. </div>
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We spent a peaceful, quiet night at anchor and set off the next morning on yet another calm, sunny, warm day. A couple of pics of the short cruise to Sea Spray Marina, where we will spend the month of February. The water is only 12 feet deep and we could see the bottom clear as could be. I took several pics trying to capture it, and this one is the best as it included a starfish. If you didn't have a depth finder, you'd swear you were gonna run aground. Actually, there are plenty of shallow spots, and we both keep a close eye on the electronic charts and on the water itself. The main passages are all marked on the charts, so just stay on the line. </div>
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And the water again was flat calm...</div>
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Sea Spray Marina is located on Elbow Cay, a narrow 6 mile long island, with a population of about 500 souls, most of them living and working in the settlement of Hope Town. Hope Town has a small natural harbor with mooring balls and a couple of marinas. We are about 3 miles down island in another small natural harbor called, again, White Sound. They have a terrific dockage deal in this "off season" and there are three other cruising boats from Harbortown (our Fort Pierce home) here, along with a couple of others in town. We are extremely pleased with the marina and absolutely in love with the island and with Hope Town ... I wanna live here. The marina is small but has all we need. Showers just steps away, a pool, outdoor bar and restaurant and laundry service. They send it out and it all comes back clean and folded !!! There are also cottages for rent and just over the dunes, is the Atlantic Ocean. Here's the view, about a block from the boat. We can hear the waves crashing as we nod off into dreamland every night. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cMAZPK4PXT3sYyeAunow8lhSkqwf6domJE0sR0KSvPOte00wgI0QXFEY1LKzDd9-byhIjZncR4abTZ0HoThwVFgalXni67nhQXJI62VXm7J1MR0l5jo2x8HoUvtueka9brFxQaTaC-Fz/s1600/2014+Abacos+182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cMAZPK4PXT3sYyeAunow8lhSkqwf6domJE0sR0KSvPOte00wgI0QXFEY1LKzDd9-byhIjZncR4abTZ0HoThwVFgalXni67nhQXJI62VXm7J1MR0l5jo2x8HoUvtueka9brFxQaTaC-Fz/s1600/2014+Abacos+182.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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This beach is a rocky one, not good for swimming, but great for finding treasures from the sea and there are several other places to swim close by. The day after we arrived, we unloaded the bikes and biked a scenic 2-3 miles into Hope Town, which is about the most charming and adorable town we've ever seen. Within minutes, we ran into Steve and Elaine, who had their sailboat, October, on a mooring ball. Before they came over by boat, they rented cottages in Hopetown and they gave us a great personal tour. Here's the harbor with the famous Hope Town Lighthouse in the distance, more on that later. </div>
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Here's Steve and I sitting in conveniently placed chairs at the end of a street overlooking the entrance to the harbor...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ktm_SufCyMLrgvf6Cg2tsaeGcWlp9ix9HNBzlHDRuhO0jTgmPkXlBLu4mJncdii575BUh-9suPQQSzvT7iRtGS-T6TeDhqST-PoV6Qh-MHC0dq2hjvYdTq92y1fe_mGfssVOkTfAolE3/s1600/2014+Abacos+191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ktm_SufCyMLrgvf6Cg2tsaeGcWlp9ix9HNBzlHDRuhO0jTgmPkXlBLu4mJncdii575BUh-9suPQQSzvT7iRtGS-T6TeDhqST-PoV6Qh-MHC0dq2hjvYdTq92y1fe_mGfssVOkTfAolE3/s1600/2014+Abacos+191.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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... and here's Steve, Steve, and me on the beautiful swimming beach just over the dunes from town. </div>
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This is our favorite place so far and we've been very busy since we got here. Lots more to tell and hope to get another blog up soon. Hang in there, Minnesota, it's Feb 1.</div>
Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-56238586901395684142014-01-25T17:00:00.001-05:002014-01-25T17:00:51.002-05:00Green Turtle UpdateWe spent 4 nights at the lovely Bluff House Marina and Resort. The property extended just a short hike up the hill and then back down this steep hill to the Sea of Abaco.<br />
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This is the beach bar...</div>
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... as seen from this pier, with beach in background.</div>
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But the place was largely deserted, apparently for sale, so we have moved a mile or so into Black Sound, where we are on a $10/night mooring ball. One of the advantages of cruising: if you don't like the neighborhood, move. There's more going on here, we've since met quite a few people and we feel like we are finally relaxing into the idea of being in the Abacos. It's less than a mile walk into town from here, so we've been in frequently. A short detour leads to this beach, where the folks that own homes on part of it are building a huge retaining wall to prevent beach erosion. They are open to the Atlantic waves here and I guess they don't want their homes to wash into the ocean. A notice on a board in town said the wall will eventurally be covered with sand and totally unseen. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88kctvC2Cs_mCBGgJYhJG-4LHniwqjgYuhC9_bA_6Fs7A2Eh8wOwtJzNAiAPipPYK4wlcaqsx_T4gU9TISjSObYkTi1OP4qsN42paW04hdHVk9lmntTbbX7kHP8_ECL5EUAhYBVGbXQKo/s1600/2014+Abacos+108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88kctvC2Cs_mCBGgJYhJG-4LHniwqjgYuhC9_bA_6Fs7A2Eh8wOwtJzNAiAPipPYK4wlcaqsx_T4gU9TISjSObYkTi1OP4qsN42paW04hdHVk9lmntTbbX7kHP8_ECL5EUAhYBVGbXQKo/s1600/2014+Abacos+108.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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Last evening we went to the Friday Night gathering at Plymouth Rock Bar, about as big as a single car garage, and soon packed with happy chattering cruisers. Later, the party moved to an outdoor venue called Pineapples where we had our first fresh conch salad and listened to some local musicians. I'm not sure if it was the traditional "rake and scrape" style of music, but instuments included cowbells, a hand saw, a washboard, and lots of energy. Okay, we were home by 9:30, but still it was good to be out. </div>
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A beautiful calm day today so went out for a long dinghy ride. There are a couple of boats here with some mechanical issues, so we went by to check up on their progress. Side bar: Feeling great about our boat, nothing has broken since we left Florida ... Steve got the itch yesterday so he prepped and painted one of the white walls in the salon that had been calling his name. Looks fresh and new !! </div>
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On our ride, we passed by the other well known marina in White Sound, the Green Turtle Club. </div>
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We stopped at the public dock in New Plymouth to get a few grocery items. Of note, a gallon of milk is $10 and a package of Oreos goes for $7, but you have to think of all the expense of bringing supplies out here. This is why our forward cabin is full of canned and packaged foods. We love this little town, here's a few more pictures of it, these taken as we entered the harbor. </div>
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The "construction" on the far right here is going to be a new park. </div>
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This is the old jail, one of the oldest buildings in town and PINK. Now used to store the town's Christmas decorations.</div>
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This is the statue at the center of Monument Park honoring the founders and their contributions. </div>
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Our cruising grounds is the Sea of Abaco, about a 100 mile long, mostly protected water, that runs northwest to southeast. It is bordered by Great Abaco Island on one side and the Cays (think barrier islands) on the other side. We are about 2/3 of the way down the chain. The sea is navigable for all kinds of vessels all the way down except for one section just beyond here where the channel is too shallow for all but the shallowest draft vessels. So we'll have to exit out into the big bad Atlantic Ocean, go around the small barrier island (Whale Cay) and come back in to get past the shallows. We're waiting for just the right conditions and it should happen in a couple of days. </div>
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We've purchased three months of unlimited data WiFi, so keep those emails coming and I'll keep blogging. Meanwhile, we remain grateful to be here, especially when we hear about the weather back in MN. People told us the Abacos were too cold in the winter; while the water temp is a bit too cool for me to swim, air temps of 70's during the day and 60's at night are feeling great to us. </div>
Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-32820835977598959642014-01-21T12:16:00.000-05:002014-01-21T12:16:50.362-05:00Green Turtle CayA few more pics from Grand Cay: A pile of discarded conch shells along side of the fisherman's boat, along with some other miscellaneous trash.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDY9GI9TYermt_3NE_EpZPg0IRook1T2Ebpsk5fwSBYxXhmmEDCw8_3HfV-p4upVQ0R8i54vTRiLNXCbmzB8k63TAdckclIkTPaxINIhdlBYDI9ljvwWpmYXq5_X-1HLD6spwXbQ8n1gv1/s1600/2014+Abacos+028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDY9GI9TYermt_3NE_EpZPg0IRook1T2Ebpsk5fwSBYxXhmmEDCw8_3HfV-p4upVQ0R8i54vTRiLNXCbmzB8k63TAdckclIkTPaxINIhdlBYDI9ljvwWpmYXq5_X-1HLD6spwXbQ8n1gv1/s1600/2014+Abacos+028.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
The Grand Cay residents don't seem too concerned with trash, it's everywhere. On a small island away from the town, there is a dump with evidence of periodic trash burnings. Not attractive, but what are their options?<br />
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Many of the buildings appear to be unfinished and in other states of disrepair. Here's one built on the very edge of the island, housing a family. <br />
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The island took a hit with Hurricane Sandy as evidenced by the ruined docks in this little canal. The island is littered with abandoned boats in all stages of decay scattered along the shore and beside the houses.<br />
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After 5 nights, we got our weather to get down the island chain to Green Turtle Cay. We wanted to visit some of the islands in between, but with the northern winds, there were no options for protected anchorages. So we took advantage of the good day that we had and went about 60 miles in light seas and sunshine. A beautiful cruise through previously unseen by us waters. What could be better?</div>
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Green Turtle Cay is an island of much different character than Grand Cay. There are two large totally protected sounds with marinas and anchorages and a historic town to tour. We are in White Sound at Bluff House Marina and Beach Resort. A pretty good price on dockage, this is, afterall, the off season, and decent enough WiFi that I can blog from the pilot house. There is a pool, bar and restaurant and beautiful deck overlooking the harbor. </div>
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Yesterday was another perfect weather day, sunny, light winds and 75 degrees, so we unloaded the bikes and pedaled the 4-5 miles into town. On the way, we saw many well kept homes for sale and for rent and stopped briefly at two beautiful beaches right along side the road. This one was in a little protected cove....</div>
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... and this one open to the Atlantic.</div>
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New Plymouth is about as charming and quaint as they come, with well maintained homes and small businesses lining its two main streets, each a narrow one way. </div>
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The settlement was founded shortly after the American Revolutionary War by the Loyalists, colonists opposed to separating from England. About one in five people opposed the war and the effort toward independence. After the war, many of them fled to England, Burmuda, and the Bahamas. The town is very proud of its heritage and has done a great job in archiving the history. We toured the Museum named after Albert Lowe, one the influential boat builders, fishermen, and civic leaders. It is in one of the homes that date back to the early 1800's.</div>
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We met Albert's son, Vert, in his model ship building shop. He shared some of his family's history with us and showed us his dozens of model boats. His father's model boats are displayed in the museum. His daughter runs a restaurant in town and his son is harbor master at the Green Turtle Club Marina. Great guy and a bit of a living legend. </div>
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This is the building where he has his shop. </div>
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And lastly, a view of the town as we approached it. The two one way streets converge here and the house in front is probably the biggest house in the town. <br />
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Today we are just relaxing on the boat and around the marina. It's raining intermittently, and the winds are gonna pick up again tonight and tomorrow. There is one more navigational challenge between us and our destination marina. The challenge is a brief open ocean passage called "The Whale" and the destination is Sea Spray Marina on Elbow Cay, where we have a slip reserved for a month .... details to follow. Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-8426880359611259642014-01-17T14:26:00.003-05:002014-01-17T14:26:56.332-05:00Back with some picsCalm and beautiful today. Shoulda left for Green Turtle. We are having difficulty figuring out the weather patterns here and what the parameters should be for moving to the next destination. Teaching us some patience and learning. As first timers over here, we feel like rookies all over again. <br />
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To get caught up, here's the marina at West End where we cleared customs after crossing the Stream. <br />
Perhaps you can pick out the boat to the right of the big yacht. <br />
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Here's a couple pics from crossing the bank, one of me driving. I'm making more effort learning to pilot this boat. I'm taking the helm when we anchor, as our windlass situation is functional, but less than optimal so I prefer to have Steve do anchor duty. View from the pilothouse: <br />
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The camera cannot do justice to the water colors. It's beautiful !!!</div>
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Our daily dinghy trip to town includes a stop at Iris and Daughters Bakery for delicious fresh bread and other treats. </div>
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...and here is the infamous BaTelCo office where we pick up the WiFi. </div>
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Calm enough to go for a dinghy ride today. We had to take a picture of the humble Shingebiss at anchor, looking good. </div>
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Steve drove us out a shallow cut between the islands into the ocean and we just gazed through the crystal clear water to see what we could see. </div>
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Stopped at this beach and walked a little. It's not a palm tree and raked sand tourist kinda place. We think of it more like the real Bahamas, that only those of us lucky enough to be on our own cruising boat get to experience. </div>
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One more interesting pic. This is the bottom seen from the dinghy ... yes, looking through water. This is also the sea grass that fills the harbor and causes the boats to drag if your anchor is set in it. Ours must be in a patch of sand, that's what Steve tried to do and it worked !!</div>
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Well there ya go Loyal Friends and Blog Followers !!! Written at a fever pace on a clandestine network ... probably not the quality of some of my previous efforts, but still a great way to share with you all. </div>
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One more, view of the boat from the Marina,you can see how small the harbor is. </div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-29548369930972431392014-01-16T13:19:00.002-05:002014-01-16T13:19:37.633-05:00socked in at Grand CayHi all !!! We have a Bahamian Phone now, but were unable to make the tether connection that we had hoped for in able to have internet on the boat. So we are currently sitting on a picnic table in the sunshine talking to some other cruisers. We are across the "street" from the Batelco office and they have graciously logged Steve's laptop onto their WiFi. No access to my pics from his laptop, however. <br />
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We crossed the Little Bahama Bank on Tuesday, lovely cruise with a gentle rocking over. We are anchored in the harbor across from town. The north winds are back and fierce at 10-20 for about the next week. We are pleased with the holding ability of our anchor, Steve added 30 feet of heavy chain, but we are on the same 45# Manson anchor that we had on the Mainship, so it's good to know it will hold a bigger boat.<br />
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Yesterday I bought 4 medium sized just caught lobster on the dock and had them for supper .... $10. Last night the only other boat anchored started to drag, I noticed it when I got up to check us about 4 am. They were so close to us that I was able to wake them with a loud shout, so they could get up and reset. This small town of 200 has no roads, just concrete paved paths for walking and golf carts. Commercial fishing is the main occupation and Boston Whalers are the preferred boat. <br />
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We are in the far northern section of the Abacos, less traveled and less commercial. Our next destination will be Green Turtle Cay, about 60 miles down, and much more developed. Hope to find some WiFi there and get you caught up with some pictures. Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-20537184391787992322014-01-13T20:28:00.000-05:002014-01-13T20:28:26.655-05:00We made itBucket List Item: Cruise Shingebiss to the Bahamas, check !!!! just a quick update on the crossing from Florida. Sorry, no pics, after losing my camera on the cruise ship last year, I'm taking all my photos with my iPhone, which I turned off this am after putting service with AT & T on hold (yes, you can do that for $10/device), forgetting that it was also my camera. I was too ill during the crossing to go dig it out and at sunset tonight, I was too technologically challenged and couldn't get it to turn on. <br />
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We had a lovely anchorage in Lake Worth last evening, spent the eve battening down everything that moves both inside and outside the boat. This morning, we topped off the fuel tank (deisel is reportedly over $6/gallon here in paradise), increased our boat insurance to cover the Bahamas, and cut off our AT & T. It was rough going out the inlet, the old "wind against current", current being the outgoing tide, and we had high hopes that it would smooth out once we got into the OOOOOcean. Alas it was not to be. If the seas we endured were truly 2-3 feet, I'd be surprised, they looked and felt much bigger. It had been years since we did a passage like this (12/6/09 to be exact), and I forgot that a.) I get seasick when I go below and b.) one should bring food and beverage into the pilothouse ahead of time to avoid a. Reminded me once again that we are coastal cruisers, not blue water sailors. I'll do it to reach a destination, but don't enjoy it.<br />
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Imagine riding a low level roller coaster with a little Tilt-A-Whirl tossed in for 6 hours straight with absolutely no break in the action ... then imagine that you brought your pet with you for this lovely experience. Poor Lucy lost her breakfast early on, and suffered all day along with me. Steve did not get sick, but he is tuckered out tonight. Although this boat steers like a dream, we have no auto pilot and steering by hand for eight hours is very tiring. Ah, what we do to live the dream. I recently heard that true adventure must include some discomfort, so we earned our adventure badge today. The last two hours were much smoother, thank goodness. Altogether an 8 hour trip to go 61 miles, the rough water really slows the boat down. <br />
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We cleared customs (they didn't even ask about a pet) and took a slip for the night at Old Bahama Bay Marina and Resort. A lovely place, pool, beach, condos, clear turquoise water, the whole nine yards. $97 a night, includes the $15 mandatory water fee, so we washed the salt crust off the boat and then off of us in the showers. Great complimentary WiFi, but they wanted $27 to plug in, so we are enjoying the ambieance of our computer screens enhanced with those great solar garden lights ... charge em up outside during the day, and bring em in for light at night. <br />
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We are studying up on the next crossing, which is over the Little Bahama Bank, should be a much more sheltered 50 miles, with our sites set on Grand Cay where we will anchor and search out the elusive BaTelCo SIM card. After that it's a leisurely skip down the island chain to our destination in Hope Town on Elbow Cay, much more on that later. Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-84817823408228244892014-01-12T15:15:00.000-05:002014-01-12T18:38:43.139-05:00Bahamas, Here we Come !!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Yes, yes, blogging in the pilot house, while cruising south on the ICW to stage for a crossing tomorrow. First, let's catch up on repairs and social activities. New water tanks went in great and Steve built a sight gauge out of clear PVC and a couple of fittings mounted on the wall so we can actually see how much water we have left. The main exhaust pipe runs along the hull in that same compartment ... 30 year old 5" stainless steel pipe, you can see it on the ground below, a 14 foot length and a couple of bends to reach the engine .... rusted enough to need replacement. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85kv9dVbTgWPxFeiB7AdlFoTUkzfOpDvQNe_YDH-n8Axw7avlgujG72JvUhgEIEfBm9RXYagMwhKv370zWMU5Gcdcfjcr6wqam3CJER8j5j8VxiDwlfyfv4PbhNw5F7U-x1Om2oXQFMGP/s1600/2013+Winter+012+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85kv9dVbTgWPxFeiB7AdlFoTUkzfOpDvQNe_YDH-n8Axw7avlgujG72JvUhgEIEfBm9RXYagMwhKv370zWMU5Gcdcfjcr6wqam3CJER8j5j8VxiDwlfyfv4PbhNw5F7U-x1Om2oXQFMGP/s1600/2013+Winter+012+-+Copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
So we had to come outta the water for just one overnight last week, and Steve worked hard replacing it with a fiberglass pipe with hose attachments. On our way back to our slip at Harbortown, we were followed by a large pod of dolphins, gotta be a good sign, right? We've had way more rain this winter than we had last winter. But after the rain comes the rainbow, and that's gotta be another good sign.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SwXOsP3oBXPUzXFNL50OaxUSKIiUjUUjiXINCfxFrpgHGy4wloxHFFIKHIbAQgDW5TT_z1igVecrX-rgFSnQCCmMx5bI83D6UQveU45vjyxIYVgOSy1JXFH3bG49ctcTLsGSMyYk8Ok4/s1600/2013+Winter+011+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SwXOsP3oBXPUzXFNL50OaxUSKIiUjUUjiXINCfxFrpgHGy4wloxHFFIKHIbAQgDW5TT_z1igVecrX-rgFSnQCCmMx5bI83D6UQveU45vjyxIYVgOSy1JXFH3bG49ctcTLsGSMyYk8Ok4/s1600/2013+Winter+011+-+Copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
We really like this marina and have made many good friends here. Last night there was a Chili Cook Off and I made my Sante Fe Chicken Chili. Nine entries and alot of yummie side dishes. Did I mention it was 80 degrees?<br />
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I won the prize for "Outside of the Box Chili". That doesn't mean I made it out of a box, it means it was different than traditional chili. Here is my first "selfie" with my $25 gift certificate, which I applied to our fuel fill up today. <br />
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and here's the F Dock gang wishing us smooth sailing. </div>
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Which brings us up to present time. We had been looking at a weather window all last week and prepping to leave. Our forward cabin is filled with canned goods and freezer packed with meat for 40 meals. I've applied twice to the Bahamian Dept. of Agriculture for a permit to bring Lucy into the country and still don't have a permit. But we have all her papers and a copy of the form (gotten from another boater) signed by our Florida Vet that she is vaccinated and healthy. Other cruisers tell us to not even worry, they often don't even ask. BFF Sue sent us our old iPhone3 and we've gotten it "unlocked" to accept a BaTelCo sim card and will be able to access the internet through the phone. We are headed for the Abacos, which is the more civilized part of the Bahamas and is reported to have a good cell phone network. </div>
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So what's the big deal with the weather for a short 54 mile day time crossing? Well, it's the Gulf Stream .... a 25-30 mile wide "river" in the ocean that flows north up the entire east coast ... here in Florida, it's only 5-10 miles off shore, flowing between us and the Bahamas. When the wind is from the north, or has any northerly component to it, you have "wind against current" and that is a set up that should be avoided .... big waves. It's like petting a cat backwards. In the winter the prevailing wind is north and every couple of weeks it "clocks around" to the east, then south, then west, then back to north. So all us snowbirds watch the weather, and scoot over when the wind clocks to the south and the sea lies down. Just make sure you get there before it clocks back to the north. One of the local Floridian boaters said to me "oh we don't go to the Bahamas in the winter, it's too rough" ... but us crazy snowbird cruisers do and then run for cover during hurricane season when the Floridians are cruising leisurely to the Bahamas. </div>
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We had been anticipating a "weather window" to cross this weekend, but then yesterday it didn't look that good, so we lazed about. Got up this am, and it looked better, so we really scurried with last minute prep: filled the water tanks, loaded the bikes, got last minute groceries, cash and dinghy gas, and got the car to storage. Fueled up, pumped out, showered and here we are. We should pull into Lake Worth by dark, this is a popular place to anchor for the night before leaving out the Inlet there for the crossing. We will be checking into West End on Grand Bahama Island tomorrow afternoon. Forcast is for 2-3 foot waves 6 seconds apart. Not smooth, but hopefully tolerable. Stay tuned, will get back on as soon as we are back on the grid. Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-16048497851540196092013-12-21T10:40:00.002-05:002013-12-21T10:40:11.997-05:00Merry Christmas PostGood news to report, the new fuel tanks and all related plumbing is complete !!! What a challenging job !!! One day Steve said "it's like trying to build a picnic table in a phone booth"... a particularly memorable weekend was spent figuring out how to access the port side vent tube to attach the new hose without disassembling the entire galley, as the fittings were out of reach. After a fair amount of cursing and brainstorming, a McGyver type solution evolved and hose was installed. <br />
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<span style="color: black;">Once the tanks were in place, there was an incredible amount of plumbing, hoses, clamps, valves, and fittings to be installed, along with an uncountable number of trips to the hardware store. Steve crawls in and out of the engine room many times a day, for sure the physically hardest job he's tackled in many years. The two racor fuel filters are built into a fuel polishing system, so that we can now "polish" (removed impurities) from any "bad" diesel that might find its way into our tanks. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXbX7O0SCXHazHLTqXp5HrEsmNnHlvi51SzEtb_2AiKELxtIzpKB3ZR9mnWEUAPv2LqG5YnFkK3kVVxadfY5jGgsFrMfCGMAcJBC-_nZlrDtksoGOPhLA1MQRd3Law4Lw-kiC7fHJT3cp/s1600/2013+Winter+100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXbX7O0SCXHazHLTqXp5HrEsmNnHlvi51SzEtb_2AiKELxtIzpKB3ZR9mnWEUAPv2LqG5YnFkK3kVVxadfY5jGgsFrMfCGMAcJBC-_nZlrDtksoGOPhLA1MQRd3Law4Lw-kiC7fHJT3cp/s400/2013+Winter+100.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This little drawing and all the "stuff" attached to the board is the hardware for the filter system, without the two filters yet attached. It's amazing what Steve has designed and built. In the south, algae grows even in "good" fuel if it is left untreated and sits for a while in the tanks. We apparently inherited some old fuel when we bought the boat. The "scuz" produced from the algae settles into the bottom of the tank and when rough seas are encountered, the scuz is stirred up, clogs the fuel filters, and can stall the engine. With our new system, Steve can "polish" the fuel at the dock, or if this happens while we are running, he can isolate each filter, running on one, while working on the other. Up north, the cold winters do not allow the algae to grow, but in the warm climate it's very common. With our old tanks, there was no access to get the fuel polished, and we had 30 years worth of scuz sitting in the bottom of our tanks ... looks like this. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhri3wUU68WQMwcal7LbydpO642CKLMM2G-kiTHMKqQn1qm4GysUq9mEMzzLarecMp0Rs1jXWIwypYPGvNXeTY38MH38qZ-Nu8P_szFc_T3KlLiHyehAkQ_ozZayOaOgeFABcqr9frEttG-/s1600/2013+Winter+064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhri3wUU68WQMwcal7LbydpO642CKLMM2G-kiTHMKqQn1qm4GysUq9mEMzzLarecMp0Rs1jXWIwypYPGvNXeTY38MH38qZ-Nu8P_szFc_T3KlLiHyehAkQ_ozZayOaOgeFABcqr9frEttG-/s400/2013+Winter+064.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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No more scuz for Shingebiss. </div>
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While Steve works on the fuel system, I take care of activities of daily living and continue interior varnishing ... 3 coats Satin and 2 coats Gloss MinWax Helmsman Spar Urethane. Our Roughwater interior has white walls, but all 33 doors and 27 drawers are solid teak, and all need to be stripped to bare wood and refinished, so I've got no shortage of material to work with. There must have been some incredible teak forests in Taiwan 30 years ago as even the drawer sides, supports and wood in the engine room is teak. The room divider that I tackled earlier this year turned out pretty good. </div>
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The weather so far has been darn near perfect and we have fun occasionally too. Harbortown Marina is a great place to hang out and we like little Fort Pierce, a very non touristy Florida town. There's over 300 slips here and it's a very busy place. We've learned that the marina is owned by an investor from Minnesota, he is pouring money into improvements, and we suppose will eventually sell it ... and then the price will go up. For now it's a reasonable place to stay and work on the boat. The marina had it's 15 minutes of fame this past summer when AARRR Booty, a treasure hunting boat docked right across from us, hauled up $350,000 of gold treasure right outside the Fort Pierce Inlet. The find included 80 feet of gold chain and coins from Peru dated from the 1700's. This part of Florida is called the Treasure Coast, true for them. You can google the boat name to see some of the treasure. </div>
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Alot of the cruisers we met last year are here again gathering each afternoon for happy hour and sunset. </div>
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The Marina, with affiliated boat repair company, throws a party once a month. In November they served steak and shrimp to 150 of us, along with the pot luck dishes brought by the boaters it was quite a feast. </div>
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For Thanksgiving, we had a traditional dinner in the shelter you see above and will do the same for Christmas. Bill Esch, long time friend from MN who has lived in Fort Lauderdale for many years drives his Harley up to see us occasionally and we are always glad to see him. </div>
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On Saturdays we go to the wonderful Fort Pierce Farmers Market downtown on the waterfront for produce, seafood, bakery, breakfast, music and browse the great art fair. </div>
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When the wind blows we often head out to the inlet to check out the waves and marvel at the skilled kite boarders. I caught this one about 30 feet in the air, upside down. It's mesmerizing to watch them and it looks like so much fun. I don't think either of us is going to try it, however.</div>
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We enjoy having friends over for dinner (and cards or dominoes). Jerry and Marty are a cruising couple we met on the Great Loop who cruise Florida each winter. They stopped by Harbortown for a couple of nights and we served Bang Bang Shrimp. Marty is an accomplished cruising writer and has had her articles published in Lakeland Boating, Southern Boating, BOAT US magazine and Passagemaker. Google Marty Richardson.</div>
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Our son, Dan, came down to visit in early December, so we took some time off from working and played a little. He is a disc golfer and we found a great course where he played 18 holes and I walked and took pics. </div>
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We got out for a dinghy ride. </div>
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Swam in the ocean, even I went in, the water was pretty warm for this time of year.</div>
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and in the pool...</div>
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... ate seafood at the Harborview, marina restaurant.</div>
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Heathcote Gardens is a small botanical garden in Fort Pierce, so we thought we'd have a visit. The garden was lovely, but the real gem is the world class display of over 50 bonsai plants, most of them have been in training since the 1970's and 80's. I took a picture of just about everyone of them, because each one is so unique. Here's a couple of them. </div>
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One of our 70 gallon aluminum water tanks sprung a leak. The water tanks are under our two aft stateroom beds, easy to pull out. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOX5zFPfQIvaJezp4_nErspKizG9URn63AWycLuT45oAEkIFqDMqCjYFEgfXqvaF44-bs4gUR4QmCfAbgQhxzyWyK9IxMdP-rIgQ6sdBwyJsmsRN8t1_nV7jsUO8pOH8LxUX3mGO9rJcQ/s1600/2013+Winter+104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOX5zFPfQIvaJezp4_nErspKizG9URn63AWycLuT45oAEkIFqDMqCjYFEgfXqvaF44-bs4gUR4QmCfAbgQhxzyWyK9IxMdP-rIgQ6sdBwyJsmsRN8t1_nV7jsUO8pOH8LxUX3mGO9rJcQ/s320/2013+Winter+104.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Steve took it up to a local metal fabricator, who told him that it was likely not the original tank, appeared to be a "backyard" weld job, and though they could try to patch it up, there were no guarantees. So ... it couldn't be fixed. We opted to go with plastic as a replacement. We hoped we could find one at Marine Liquidators, an amazing place down the road, 2 huge rooms where they "liquidate" excess boat parts that they have purchased from boat manufacturers who no longer need them. It's always a first stop when shopping for boat parts. The wall on the right is all plastic tanks, alas, none of them the right size. The left wall is all bimini tops.</div>
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We ordered a new tank off the internet and Steve is going to add a site gauge, so we will know when the water is about to run out. I am now offically calling this boat a "restoration" project". We know, we know, all boats are alot of work, BOAT (Break Out Another Thousand), hole in the water into which one throws money, etc.etc. It does require a heck of alot of determination and dedication to "live the dream". We have our moments of doubt and pain, but can't see ourselves doing anything but this ... thank goodness Steve can do all the work, otherwise we could never afford this. We still have our eyes on the Abacos (in the Bahamas) this season, targeting mid January as departure and that will make it all worthwhile. </div>
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Unfortunately, Steve didn't get the fuel system completely up and ready for a test run until Dan had already left us, but we did take 'er out last week for a short ICW cruise and all was well. Felt great to be moving. <br />
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Well, this was a long narration, thanks for sticking with it. I'm enjoying writing it, just wish I had travels, not repairs to report. Thanks to all of ya that encouraged me to start it up again. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all !!!</div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-71133134448402718542013-11-14T18:16:00.000-05:002013-11-15T11:50:24.825-05:00Project Progess Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the first projects was to put our new settee, upolstery by Liz, in place. Back home, Steve had built the cabinet to enclose our wonderful frig, so he installed that. Big improvements for our interior. </div>
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Steve designed our new aluminum fuel tanks over the summer and we had them fabricated in a small shop about 2 hours away. Once we got almost everything else out of the van, we went to pick them up. There are four tanks, 54 gallons each, to replace the two old tanks. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFp_IvF7oC85UgEggmKPOYaQOU7GHxGRBcqbNLf5VeEOV37rrFO4WaYkMPEynL4IEh4fFm8t0CvaCOClJw8oMRHHJp3DCYW0RRHgyXplBH1EAnIvoHq8ujhFbzPZZ0XvuZEC49SJNi1T1d/s1600/2013+Winter+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFp_IvF7oC85UgEggmKPOYaQOU7GHxGRBcqbNLf5VeEOV37rrFO4WaYkMPEynL4IEh4fFm8t0CvaCOClJw8oMRHHJp3DCYW0RRHgyXplBH1EAnIvoHq8ujhFbzPZZ0XvuZEC49SJNi1T1d/s400/2013+Winter+003.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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First step is to cut out the old tanks. A pump built into the old fuel system transferred the remaining fuel from the starboard tank into the port tank, but the "bottom of the barrel" had to be pumped out by hand through the deck fill. Nigel took it off our hands and filtered it to use in his boat. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1BN2PUgIkyRweBYX9DQfOwD1NoKf-JwuChY6R8HZnIPep5AGF4eBBKc8jpsMjiEsWmzLzvsCpiyWD75M5Lec0T60GJGrhkFe6RFGbx1GTAlZkqC04JJNMvI-MAr4fUaC-tKsFGWq-ZAn/s1600/2013+Winter+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1BN2PUgIkyRweBYX9DQfOwD1NoKf-JwuChY6R8HZnIPep5AGF4eBBKc8jpsMjiEsWmzLzvsCpiyWD75M5Lec0T60GJGrhkFe6RFGbx1GTAlZkqC04JJNMvI-MAr4fUaC-tKsFGWq-ZAn/s320/2013+Winter+022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Steve was admittedly a little nervous about sawing through the tanks, even though he had solid information that any remaining diesel would not ignite. but the time came, so he started cutting. Crazy job, sawed the tank into four pieces and one by one, they came out the front floor hatch. It was a dirty, messy, sweaty job in a small space. Here's one of the tank sections and you can see the rust that necessitated replacing them. </div>
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He prepped the surfaces where the first set of tanks would sit. They won't fit through our doors, but came in through our big side windows, just like the frig did last fall....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnl5X9D4EtrRZIdpYrLANXOX9-tr99u2CA45QDrQvnYdLnYMkRdqMjZgOXss5vlSiRPpU1aK7NgwiI8Eq92WS9vWGAyGbcgobo4vjX1KsVe0cFLt24mpuguneYKenwVGKkBZsKa484y18/s1600/2013+Winter+053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnl5X9D4EtrRZIdpYrLANXOX9-tr99u2CA45QDrQvnYdLnYMkRdqMjZgOXss5vlSiRPpU1aK7NgwiI8Eq92WS9vWGAyGbcgobo4vjX1KsVe0cFLt24mpuguneYKenwVGKkBZsKa484y18/s320/2013+Winter+053.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
... and with only inches to spare, down into the engine room. The tanks were designed by Steve to fit precisely into this hatch. To go into the much bigger main hatches, he would've had to move the engine. This route, only had to move the generator. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOk96J3fhHxhBzZsX8qVEFuMtzAdHEdOFT3bfnI9RpE71SGgRuF2NgWJymp1ZVWnGutAFLCzCLJIbvQi9mcReS1Rxe1TtQmZZVe-t9QCFJ2tm0gbD38FSUEHe-Q4cu5448XIAVuGdO8u2/s1600/2013+Winter+058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOk96J3fhHxhBzZsX8qVEFuMtzAdHEdOFT3bfnI9RpE71SGgRuF2NgWJymp1ZVWnGutAFLCzCLJIbvQi9mcReS1Rxe1TtQmZZVe-t9QCFJ2tm0gbD38FSUEHe-Q4cu5448XIAVuGdO8u2/s320/2013+Winter+058.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wriggling it into place, even I got to help. Fittings had to be manuvered under bundles of wires and the tank had to be braced up and then dropped exactly onto the bunks and cribbing that had been coated with 3M 5200. Here she is, tank number ONE, proudly in place. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jG-pV5mVB_xpNyLI8tvjR9n0ErbSvHqSGvdvJB0p38ex_BqaGpFSZZm6oucNX2taUS3MDI_MUSDeWCChBVc-YtVHFqE2dRIbi72MWUDUCm8kJKsFcwcBH7X-ckGjg9hNU0j2KHa7nXPp/s1600/2013+Winter+060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jG-pV5mVB_xpNyLI8tvjR9n0ErbSvHqSGvdvJB0p38ex_BqaGpFSZZm6oucNX2taUS3MDI_MUSDeWCChBVc-YtVHFqE2dRIbi72MWUDUCm8kJKsFcwcBH7X-ckGjg9hNU0j2KHa7nXPp/s320/2013+Winter+060.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see, it is a pretty roomy engine room, especially compared to the one Steve used to work in. The second starboard tank is now also in place and some of what seems to be about a million fittings have been placed. Today Steve pumped the fuel back over and into the new tank, which already has a working fuel gauge !!! He's ready to start cutting on the port tank out. </div>
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I have started my most challenging varnish job to date. Last season I stripped, sanded, and varnished the column on the right of the picture below. Like alot of the copious interior teak, this piece was so dirty that the grain of the wood could not even be seen. I have tackled the railing and tiny spindles that ring this small peninsula that separates our galley from our salon. There are 30 spindles, and it is putzy, putzy, so I do a bit each day. </div>
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We do play a little bit too, and will cover that in next post. </div>
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Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-84656129008383020982013-10-21T16:48:00.002-04:002013-10-21T16:48:36.178-04:00Back to Harbortown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We had a great summer back in Minnesota. Along with seeing friends and family and enjoying our home, we did some really fun "bucketlist" stuff. Saw the tall ships come into Duluth, went hot air ballooning (Liz only), paddleboarded, and rode on Segways. One of our highlights was getting to play Harbor Host to Fred and Linda aboard their Great Harbor 37, <em>Young America. </em>Not too many cruising boats make their way all the way up the Mississippi, so we were delighted that they did. It was great to see them again and catch up on all their latest adventures. Here's Young America cruising by our house on their way back downstream. </div>
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We got out in our 15' Boston Whaler a few times. Here is our son Dan and his lovely dog, Aga, enjoying a perfect Minnesota summer day.</div>
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Of course, there was plenty of boat projects along with home maintenence and gardening to do.We spent alot of time on our deck, watching the water, barges, tow boats and pleasure craft go by. </div>
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In October it was time to return to Shingebiss with van packed again to the roof ... this time we had to take the middle seats out to fit it all. Stopped in Tennesee to see Jack and Nan and caught up with Brent and Susan at Green Turtle Bay. Susan is an artist, she painted us a picture of our Roughwater last winter. Just had to share this painting she did of abandoned boats in Georgetown, SC. It's really amazing in person. <br />
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The boat was stored at Glades Boat Storage on the Okechobee Waterway. Glades is not a marina, it is a boatyard and there is a difference. Snowbirds store their boats for the summer, then have them moved into the DIY yard to get them ready for launching. Steve sanded and painted new antifouling paint on the bottom. Notice the old Chris Craft next to us. It was very hot, we spent half the day working, and the other half recovering. </div>
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They allow you to live aboard in the yard, climbing up a 10' ladder to get on and off, with one 110v cord to run frig, and a few essentials. There are some boaters there who have been building and/or restoring boats while living there for months to years. Yikes !! Here is Dirk, a refinishing expert and professional captain showing me how to sand the rust off a stainless steel strip on the hull of the boat. Loaded with rust, I learned a new skill and it looks great now. </div>
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After a week in the yard, even Lucy was gazing at the waterway, wanting to get going.<br />
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We got launched early one morning. There's only a dock for a couple boats, so most folks fire it up and go. We had a two day journey upstream on the Calusahatchee River, across Lake Okeechobee, downstream on the St. Lucie River, and north on the Atlantic Intracoastal to our temporary home in Fort Pierce. <br />
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We spent one night at Indiantown Marina, plugged into full power (and air conditioning). It was a lovely cruise until we exited the St. Lucie Lock the next day and suddenly lost power. For almost an hour, Steve tried everything he could think of to get us going again. This Osprey put up a squawk as we drifted into his shoreline.</div>
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This had NEVER happened with our old Mainship so I was trying not to "awfulize" when suddenly she started up again. We were limping along, as she just wasn't sounding right, so we pulled into the fuel dock at American Marine to do more thinking and trouble shooting. Steve had our fuel needs calculated to come into Harbortown almost empty because the biggest project this winter is to replace the fuel tanks. The dipstick gauge was showing we had at least 40 gallons left, but it sure seemed to be out of fuel .... and oh, the generator wouldn't run either, same symptoms. So we took on 30 gallons of diesel and voila !!! All is well !!! The boat gods were with us as we broke down below the lock rather than above, and then managed to actually get to that fuel dock without a tow. Better late than never, we pulled into our new slip at Harbortown. Our friend, Nigel, was here to meet us, he was the first person we met here last year, but most of the other snowbirds haven't arrived yet. Last winter, Nigel and his first mate, Elizabeth, sailed their 41' sailboat all the way to Antigua/St. Kitts, so he's got plenty of sea stories to share.<br />
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The next day Nigel loaned us his van and we drove 2 hours back to the Glades to get our van. We had been on the go since we left MN so took a couple of days to regroup and rest up. Last night we took a swim in the pool, went up to the bar/restaurant to listen to steel drum musician and strolled the docks. Today, I blogged and Steve started his first project, installing the refrigerator cabinet that he built back in MN. There won't be any cruising news for a while, but I'll blog each week on what we've been up to as we continue "livin' the dream". </div>
Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-49782597873724484662013-10-15T18:10:00.000-04:002013-10-15T18:10:08.021-04:00First Roughwater Post<br />
18 months out of the blogosphere, but I've decided to get back into blogging our cruising adventures. After selling the Mainship 34 in April of 2012, we began our serious search for a Roughwater 41. We knew it was the only boat within our price range that would satisfy our boat wish list ... but they are not that common, only made from mid 1970's to mid 1980's and almost all of them are on the west coast. In June of 2012, we found our new boat on Craigslist (?!?), flew to Florida, had the boat surveyed, closed the deal, and cruised her to Indiantown Marina on the Ochechobee Waterway to be put on the hard for the remainder of the summer (hurricane season). We returned home and spent the next three months studying the numerous photos we had taken, ordering boat parts and dreaming of our return. October 1, we loaded the van to the roof and drove down. Within a few days we were safely tucked into a slip at Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce and then the fun (ie. work) began. The complete list of projects we completed by the New Year are too numerous to list, we worked 8-10 hours a day, 7 days a week, a labor of love most of the time. I decided to forgo the blog thinking no one would want to read about motor mounts, shaft straightening, marine toilets, curtains, and alot of varnishing. We spent our spare time commiserating, eating, laughing, and playing cards with Brett and Susan. These fun folks are from MN, and had recently purchased their first cruising boat, a 42' Jefferson, and were working on her in anticipation of doing the Great Loop, which they are now currently doing. Here they are at the restaurant at the marina.<br />
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We ushered in 2013 by picking up BFF's Sue and Ron from the airport for a one month cruise. Our new dinghy arrived, we bought davits and motor from a sailor in the marina and rigged it all up. We set off for our "shake down cruise", west on the the Okeechobee Waterway, south to the Florida Keys for a month's stay and then back up the Atlantic Intracoastal to Harbortown ... sometimes called the "Little Florida Loop". We had our fair share of issues, electrical, fuel, and others. There were moments when Steve wished he had his old Mainship back ... this one is like starting over with every system, repair, and improvement. But the weather was gorgeous and we were enjoying the room, storage, and comfort of the new boat and being able to have friends join us. Here we are heading into Fort Myers, thanks to Looper friend Tom for taking this from his condo. Ain't she lovely.<br />
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We hooked up to a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor in Marathon for a month. It's a low cost way to enjoy this fun cruising town. There are lots of sailboats headed for the Bahamas and Great Looper Trawlers enjoying the Florida winter, along with folks who live full time on their boats. </div>
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We explored the island, rode in the dinghy and just enjoyed. The last time we stayed in Marathon we were in a Marina, but wanted to see what it was like to spend a month on a ball. On the Roughwater, no problem. Sue and Ron went back to Miami airport via the Keys Shuttle and a week later Jack and Nan (readers may remember them as our Gibson 37 cruising buddies during our Great Loop) shuttled on down for a week long cruise back to Harbortown via the Atlantic Intracoastal. First we all attended a Looper Gathering at Banana Bay in Marathon, an annual event, and had a great time reuniting with more looping friends.<br />
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Our cruise up the Keys and through the Miami/Fort Lauderdale megapolis was trouble free. We discovered a new anchorage right across from downtown Miami called Miami Marine Stadium. Here we are in the dinghy, going to see the abandoned stadium. <br />
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Built in 1963 on a huge man made harbor on Virginia Key to host powerboat races and concerts on barges, the stadium was abandoned after 30 years following Hurricane Andrew and has really fallen into disrepair. It is considered a Miami Landmark, however, and there is a movement afloat to restore and reopen it. Meanwhile, the harbor remains a peaceful and popular place for an overnight anchorage with a great view of the Miami lights at night. </div>
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Back in Fort Pierce, we continued to enjoy this great Marina and town. Our final adventure of the cruising season was driving to Tampa and boarding the Norwegian Dawn with all 5 of my sisters adult children and their spouses/SO's. Our first time on a big cruise ship, organized by the "kids" so we could all be together while we are all still healthy. <br />
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<img alt="Our Family Group" src="https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/s160x160/575392_10201132272615545_1011491457_n.jpg" /><br />
Here we are in our tiaras and formal wear. Copied from facebook, this pic gets real blurry when I enlarge, but you get the idea. We went to the western Carribean and had a blast. In early April, we had the boat lifted and stored for the summer and returned to our home in MN. Here she is coming out of the water at Glades Boat Storage on the Okeechobee Waterway.<br />
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So that's a condensed version of our first season on the new boat. Welcome back, thanks for reading, and please stay tuned. Our cruising plans this season include going to the Bahamas, so we'll have some new adventures to share. </div>
Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818674860879377168.post-89187906306095862432012-04-02T14:08:00.001-04:002012-04-02T14:13:20.757-04:00Last Mainship BlogMy apologies for the delay in blog updates. Three months is the longest time we've ever spent at the same dock, except for home, of course. It's been good, but is not nearly as much fun and does not provide the same blogging material as cruising. Just the same, I will update our activities since the last entry.<br />
We drove to Columbus, Mississippi, to have lunch with Minnesota folks Steve and Julie (who are building a house on their TennTom canal lot in Aberdeen, MS) and Charlie and Trish (who live on their Skipperliner houseboat in Columbus). We all piled in the van and drove through the historic district, stopping at Tennesee Williams childhood home, now serving as the Columbus Vistors Center. <br />
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Many of the antebellum homes can be toured, but we just drove around and took our pictures out of the car window. The homes are beautifully well kept and show a variety of architectural styles. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvN2vrraSWKpkAU3qZINzx2M8x86slL8HQnt7jC6csPXgXoGh59cXQhC9iI_QyzP7zwTkpPSBnnF-rwX0O9G-6XNSUpGuSfM6u3umdhQSZ0zh2KdGgoouW6WUpnRITPMHX3X3IEmL2Bhg/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+043+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvN2vrraSWKpkAU3qZINzx2M8x86slL8HQnt7jC6csPXgXoGh59cXQhC9iI_QyzP7zwTkpPSBnnF-rwX0O9G-6XNSUpGuSfM6u3umdhQSZ0zh2KdGgoouW6WUpnRITPMHX3X3IEmL2Bhg/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+043+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our next road trip took us to beautiful Pensacola Beach, Florida, where we (along with BFF's Sue and Ron) stayed with Kathy and Jeff in their townhouse. We spent Thanksgiving with Jeff and Kathy when we did our Great Loop and they were also the friends who drove us home from Demopolis this past Thanksgiving. We arrived on Super Bowl Sunday, but the big event was Kathy's 65th birthday. 65 candles aflame all at once on this cake, pretty impressive. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1wOlR80u38vWI6gZi4BybNfg8461KHq5d5Qj6uruTrg58HtBtoapRMRwzds50sDQsNQfOnXb-_ZFH2ZRbJvI1Vjnn_sPo0AgYM1BUFt7pTdU4VH3lKP0x7IrbR1rr5n-OtQ5fYHEqTXW/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+055+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1wOlR80u38vWI6gZi4BybNfg8461KHq5d5Qj6uruTrg58HtBtoapRMRwzds50sDQsNQfOnXb-_ZFH2ZRbJvI1Vjnn_sPo0AgYM1BUFt7pTdU4VH3lKP0x7IrbR1rr5n-OtQ5fYHEqTXW/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+055+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pensacola Beach is on the barrier island of Santa Rosa and just down the road from the townhouse is a long stretch of Gulf Island National Seashore complete with a great bike path. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYkvQoVzu58h1k9sFskKTj73Ih1jX7-OhMghqpY_-GHJfF60aq2ibjxcQxKeV-ClPy-CN4n8wOp1q10iFEmmB4lx1o99reCflmkEGnjMW_D7kAVY6jMKn-iXNDTaob4mwEqXBkQWRqI5K/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+057+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYkvQoVzu58h1k9sFskKTj73Ih1jX7-OhMghqpY_-GHJfF60aq2ibjxcQxKeV-ClPy-CN4n8wOp1q10iFEmmB4lx1o99reCflmkEGnjMW_D7kAVY6jMKn-iXNDTaob4mwEqXBkQWRqI5K/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+057+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We cooked amazing meals in the gourmet kitchen of the townhouse with the seafood from Joe Patti's in Pensacola. This family owned business is amazing, the best seafood market we've ever seen. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JayH2AdxgM77MuDT1sfbtDA8Q6AZYe46fKvWse76JenXKzryjNc5M4t08n3-X_vsSuKWzNft_1JNgdEVR3f5mkd33TJqEwGc0gl9Z8g3FgGcyKNXEwLl6R6ZlhqQB0qcBMUvDvkTGo1p/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+061+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JayH2AdxgM77MuDT1sfbtDA8Q6AZYe46fKvWse76JenXKzryjNc5M4t08n3-X_vsSuKWzNft_1JNgdEVR3f5mkd33TJqEwGc0gl9Z8g3FgGcyKNXEwLl6R6ZlhqQB0qcBMUvDvkTGo1p/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+061+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We also ate at some really good restaurants, but mostly just enjoyed hanging out together and the beauty of the beach. This is the walkway to the beach.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1BJ6iOa5RBpkE5vdnQaIo9iB3KBNW5L9m7-QJeKIicutBIt0RWLiepX2-_WLy6F5FMWDwUC4jDO8vWzqxckHMe1P_8lOzCHZV079UGCs1_C5e97EnAMkCffvkS-Ji0G0dldz6J-ZpYA7/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+063+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1BJ6iOa5RBpkE5vdnQaIo9iB3KBNW5L9m7-QJeKIicutBIt0RWLiepX2-_WLy6F5FMWDwUC4jDO8vWzqxckHMe1P_8lOzCHZV079UGCs1_C5e97EnAMkCffvkS-Ji0G0dldz6J-ZpYA7/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+063+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sue and Kathy on one of our daily beach walks. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_y85ElkNOckk__wbJYT_TRTYOKULkLBKZxJjf1TGPeMX-2bEKwAcusrRtR-5uGdNcEOL5U3jffJ_Pu9SPLrM9CrmK6sPG2y9lE2ptGCgENndroTL6ZKn1aHwYqtXURDdHZQdLIkeptTT7/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+070+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_y85ElkNOckk__wbJYT_TRTYOKULkLBKZxJjf1TGPeMX-2bEKwAcusrRtR-5uGdNcEOL5U3jffJ_Pu9SPLrM9CrmK6sPG2y9lE2ptGCgENndroTL6ZKn1aHwYqtXURDdHZQdLIkeptTT7/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+070+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"Beachside" is the name of their vacation home. You can rent it from them for your beach vacation ... see it at <a href="http://www.vrbo.com/280274">http://www.vrbo.com/280274</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqYcZ4bHuJhjlQtMI4Gy5oSnHQ6tHEZnACmttdLXyfpZbtpkOSHMURMn8feEK_YzsDugXW8zxnhhdIBKkcfym6xBpcWirDA2dIFlqbOjXdT-M3Xq385sJvascNefWic59-ysTli0Y59Zv/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+072+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqYcZ4bHuJhjlQtMI4Gy5oSnHQ6tHEZnACmttdLXyfpZbtpkOSHMURMn8feEK_YzsDugXW8zxnhhdIBKkcfym6xBpcWirDA2dIFlqbOjXdT-M3Xq385sJvascNefWic59-ysTli0Y59Zv/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+072+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The seas kicked up big on the day we left as seen from the deck. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kdkmt5NGTH1c-509RfYYi5CSTNXqpvK0i5tv5rAjUNNHJtEaHs5n28luWFteVHQOSgGEyZQ0g0jSBYaLyKaJQP4WrUVnFCjHyazcicirTVsj8RSzR0Lls3M5yPBQt8c0WmHO4H3xBkqn/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+080+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kdkmt5NGTH1c-509RfYYi5CSTNXqpvK0i5tv5rAjUNNHJtEaHs5n28luWFteVHQOSgGEyZQ0g0jSBYaLyKaJQP4WrUVnFCjHyazcicirTVsj8RSzR0Lls3M5yPBQt8c0WmHO4H3xBkqn/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+080+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We cancelled our plans to drive to South Padre Island to visit Mark and Joann because we suddenly started to get some action on our attempt to sell our Mainship. Steve had the transmission out and sitting on the back deck while we waited for a new damper plate. Thinking the boat might show a little better with the transmission put back in its place, we hustled back and began to prepare the boat to be shown. Well, that potential and the next potential fell through, so we started to make plans to cruise to New Orleans. That plan also was cancelled as a third buyer called with genuine interest in a well kept, well appointed, and reasonably priced Mainship. Long story short, we have sold our beloved Mainship and are now CLODS ... that's Cruisers Living On Dirt. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had perfect weather our last month in Demopolis, 80's by day and 60's by night with all the trees fully leafed out. We left at the same time that our dock companions, John and Michelle, headed north for their summer. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1Pd7sHAMX3cuDFl7r_Q1ESxbjRzYAOMKWFgW2mUcsuUG0KwNINJ5enpZrlkd28lJmF05yosMzOPBVmRo9NLug-GyzSyfz-Lwn_-Q6zx85_0x1nd5ESq83xHcuDdrJ_hc7vWzkcv9N31f/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+187+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1Pd7sHAMX3cuDFl7r_Q1ESxbjRzYAOMKWFgW2mUcsuUG0KwNINJ5enpZrlkd28lJmF05yosMzOPBVmRo9NLug-GyzSyfz-Lwn_-Q6zx85_0x1nd5ESq83xHcuDdrJ_hc7vWzkcv9N31f/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+187+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We hope to meet up with them next winter in our next boat ... looking for a 41' Roughwater as it has the features that are important to us: single engine, 2 staterooms, one helm with glass windows and no isenglass or canvass. Here's a link if you've never seen one. <a href="http://www.roughwater.com/">www.roughwater.com</a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Just before we left, Fred and Kim had a hamburger dinner for all the boaters. Fred and Kim provide great southern hospitality to all the boaters they serve. The new basin at Demopolis, Kingfisher Bay, is coming along beautifully. Boaters who pass through next fall during the southern migration will be impressed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGoAOpvQlaBuqP0UV1-Q6cnZoEjU6ZFJJHWCY6uN6ohmrhDHXQY49zOxqwXNpc2yQ2ViW2LCkxNpd6XPJD17GP3BGqqwKngnT-qMJIuDAMLoZQDTsoOqsYuYwHSK4XirHtClIhf4T09MO/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+212+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGoAOpvQlaBuqP0UV1-Q6cnZoEjU6ZFJJHWCY6uN6ohmrhDHXQY49zOxqwXNpc2yQ2ViW2LCkxNpd6XPJD17GP3BGqqwKngnT-qMJIuDAMLoZQDTsoOqsYuYwHSK4XirHtClIhf4T09MO/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+212+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The new owner, Dave, will be shipping the boat (by trailer, big trailer) to his homeport in Connecticut, where we are sure she will be well cared for. As the closing date approached, we began to pack our stuff into the van (it all fit !!!). One of our final acts was to take our treasured Gold Looper Burgee down. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLv1pZM0TIT3b0oZ9wQDDPTE91X_g2ej_Z_AcWQYs2sPTkPAMKBBQ7nmueN_VUjTPlL203SuBQl-zt9qzxwxBNaYrRUDzd1n8wwnG1HWcyisdiwA7E0NBSebzehXd4ljdX-i0E-I8SBkpl/s1600/2012+Dempolis+Winter+215+Large+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLv1pZM0TIT3b0oZ9wQDDPTE91X_g2ej_Z_AcWQYs2sPTkPAMKBBQ7nmueN_VUjTPlL203SuBQl-zt9qzxwxBNaYrRUDzd1n8wwnG1HWcyisdiwA7E0NBSebzehXd4ljdX-i0E-I8SBkpl/s400/2012+Dempolis+Winter+215+Large+Web+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Leaving our boat for the last time was very difficult, especially for Steve, who has put an immeasurable amount of work into her over the past 16.5 years. But there's no better place in the summer than Minnesota, and we plan to enjoy life on the Upper Mississippi. We close our final blog looking forward to our next adventures. Thanks for following our travels. </div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Shingebisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04374124384046168669noreply@blogger.com1