When we last wrote, we were in Marsh Harbour enjoying the "hub of the Abacos". Now, a week later, we're relaxing at a marina in Fort Pierce safely back in the USA.
On April 27th we decided to cruise the 2 hours to Treasure Cay-- known for one of the top five beaches in the world. It was also fun for us to know that Marianne's sister and her husband had spent a week at Treasure Cay almost 35 years ago! We anchored in a protected anchorage ("KI4SMH" in the picture below is my ham call sign) just off the resort docks where we could tie our dinghy, have a drink at the Tipsy Seagull bar with the "Go Cole Go" sign (Marianne's maiden name), swim in the pool, and walk a few minutes to the wonderful beach...
As we relaxed in Treasure Cay for two nights we kept an eye on the weather for crossing the Whale northbound-- once again "respecting the Whale".
As we were getting ready to leave Marsh Harbour, we were excited to notice a painting of Wanderer on the wall of the bar. We had met Jim and Fay of Wanderer in the Chesapeake in 2007 while they were on their way to the Abacos and enjoyed a pleasant cocktail hour with them on Wanderer in Norfolk listening to their experiences of 20 years of cruising the Intracoastal Waterway from Long Island to Hopetown. What fun to see a painting of their lovely boat in a peaceful anchorage!
On April 27th we decided to cruise the 2 hours to Treasure Cay-- known for one of the top five beaches in the world. It was also fun for us to know that Marianne's sister and her husband had spent a week at Treasure Cay almost 35 years ago! We anchored in a protected anchorage ("KI4SMH" in the picture below is my ham call sign) just off the resort docks where we could tie our dinghy, have a drink at the Tipsy Seagull bar with the "Go Cole Go" sign (Marianne's maiden name), swim in the pool, and walk a few minutes to the wonderful beach...
As we relaxed in Treasure Cay for two nights we kept an eye on the weather for crossing the Whale northbound-- once again "respecting the Whale".On Thursday April 30th the forecast was good for the Whale so we raised anchor and began heading north. The forecasts were accurate and we continued about five hours to Alans-Pensacola anchorage where there were only four other boats and a perfect sunset...
As we watched the sunset we got a text message (yes, my GSM cellphone had a signal even here!) from that our daughter, Katie, was in labor-- we called and were able to speak to her at the hospital! As we watched some of the most amazing stars we had ever seen I thought this would be the perfect time to smoke the Graycliff Bahamian cigar I had purchased at Nippers in honor of our fourth grandchild-- Edward Rene Desjardins (Teddy)! The cigar was perfect for this special occasion-- on a trip to Nassau Marianne and I had met the Graycliff owner, Enrico Garzaroli, and, after an amazing wine tasting in his winecellar, he walked us through his cigar factory-- a small room where four women were handrolling cigars under the watchful eye of the head cigar roller who had worked for Fidel Castro before Enrico hired him away!
We awoke on Friday May 1st expecting to have a short day cruising to Great Sale Cay... but we talked with our weather guru, Chris Parker, over the SSB radio and he said Saturday would be the best day to cross from West End to Florida. So we quickly raised the anchor and cruised nine hours to West End. Fortunately, the seas were calm and we had a pleasant day watching the course, saying the Rosary, and playing Scrabble (Marianne won!). We arrived at the Old Bahama Bay marina at 5pm and were able to top up our fuel tanks before a short squall washed the salt off our boat. We had no trouble backing into our slip and picked up take out Cracked Conch dinners from the resort restaurant... Pathfinder looks pretty at night in the marina!
We set the alarm to wake up on May 2nd at 6am and found the winds and seas calm so we set out for Lake Worth 54 miles away. After one hour, as we entered the Gulf Stream, we saw the water temperature go from 82 degrees to 89 degrees and the seas settled down to almost flat. We changed our course for Stuart (66 miles away) saving a half day's travel on the ICW. As we left Bahama waters, I removed the Bahamas flag from our starboard halyard (below) and put up the "Q" flag for quarantine once we entered the USA...
About 25 miles from Stuart we were hailed by the Coast Guard. They were stopping all boats heading the Florida and asked if we were a US Flag vessel (which gives them the right to board us anywhere in the world), our documentation number, the owner's name and birthdate, and if we had any guns on board (Yes!)
About 25 miles from Stuart we were hailed by the Coast Guard. They were stopping all boats heading the Florida and asked if we were a US Flag vessel (which gives them the right to board us anywhere in the world), our documentation number, the owner's name and birthdate, and if we had any guns on board (Yes!)Fortunately the seas were calm as we needed to wait 45 minutes at idle until two officers boarded us for a "safety inspection"-- their excuse to keep an eye out for terrorists and drug runners. With this delay and the calm seas we decided to change our course for Fort Pierce (80 miles from West End) as the Gulf Stream would give us a better push than if we headed for Stuart. As we motored we suddenly saw a large black fin sticking out of the water slowly moving towards us-- a ten foot shark!
We were glad we hadn't decided to stop for a quick swim! Shortly afterwards we saw eight dolphin swimming towards us and they turned and "escorted" us for a few minutes...
The seas remained calm and we arrived in Fort Pierce about 4pm, tied up at the Harbortown Marina, and called the Border Patrol to clear customs-- we had prepared by signing up for the Local Boaters Option program when we were in Sarasota so we didn't have to visit the Customs office at the airport.
Now that we're back in the USA with free cellphone minutes we'll be more in touch. We now turn north towards our summer home of Newport RI-- we'll keep you posted!
1 comment:
WOW - just catching up now. UM- I don't think you told me about the shark!!! Yikes. Of course the dolphins guided you to safety. They are spectacular!
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