More Picts Home Again

Debi had to see Winter from the movie Dolphin Tail. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium where the movie was filmed is within walking distance from the boat.

My friend Horace with a nice King Mackerel, one of many that we caught.

The intercoastal waterway north of ApalachicolaFirst dock party at Panama City Marina Until next Year!!!

Home Again!

All great things come to an end and so on May 7th we started the 917mile trip home to Panama City. We've had another winter of shorts,t-shirts and sandles which was the plan. We have enjoyed the adventure although Debi would say she had a couple of passages that went beyond adventure to ordeal. We definately have again met very interesting people from all sorts of backgrounds

The crew tied in and ready for anything!!

      A ship that didn't make it through the Whale channel that we had to go through.            

      
Land Ho Lake Worth and back to US soil and cell phones with unlimited service---                          

Dinner with Fred and Annette Linder. She helped make it all possible by consulting me while in my dental practice. The cheese burger that almost got away. Just happened to be Debi's but she was a good sport, must have been the beer!

The Island Packet factory and our friends from Island Spirit

Sea of Abaco

Steve Zellmer and Kitty Kinsman came to visit us so we took them on a tour of the Sea of Abaco. We started from Marsh Harbour where Steve learned to play a saw with a screw driver. It's called Rake N Scrape and really makes some great music. Anyway look out Pierre sailors as there could be a new entertainer this summer.

Boat building at Man O War Cay

Beach at Treasure Cay

True North is one of the boats anchored at Guana Cay

                                       Steve (Alias Jimmy Buffet) entertains us on Debi's guitar

  

Another beautiful sunset at Guana Cay

A great little racing sailboat coming into Hope Town

                                          Looks like they had a good time in the Abaco's

Now we start our way back to the US. We will leave this coming week to hopefully arrive in Miami by mothers day. We have really enjoyed this life style again this year. I guess it's because we always meet such interesting people. The Bahamian people are just so friendly and the fellow cruisers like to talk just like me. Since we all live on boats we have alot to talk about. Anyway I will try to do another blog once we get to the states.

Hope Town Abaco

It is so easy in the Abaco's to get around. There are a number of Islands that boarder the Sea of Abaco and we've been just visiting some of them. We had a very unusual experience the other evening. There were 10 of us on True North enjoying 5:00 somewhere listening to Craig play Debi's guitar when someone mentioned that we should climb the stairs to watch the lighting of the lighthouse.

This is where it all started! See the Lighthouse in the background This is where we were headed

True North boat on the Left with the orange Dinghy on it's left side seen from the top of the lighthouse

Sunset from the top!Jeffrey lighting the Kerosine lamp just the way it's been done since 1864

One of the five Fresnel Lenses that send the light 17 miles out there!! By the way there are only two kerosine lighthouses in the world.

What made the experience unique is that we were able to get clear to the top where the light turns thanks to Jeffrey letting us climb the last ladder into the restricted area so we could get pictures. The Bahamas is such a great place. Friendliest people we've ever met.

Eleuthera

After our friends left for the states we turned north again for our trip back by way of Eleuthera. We haven't been there before and have been told it's a great place. It just happens to be on the way to the Abaco's, also a path that we have not traveled. We first proceeded to back  track up to Warderick Wells in the Exuma park and with a good forcast for crossing Exuma Sound we took off on the 45mile crossing. This wasn't the first time that the weatherman has been wrong but this time we started under full sail in 12-15 kts of wind on the beam in 2-3'seas which quickly built to 4-5 with occasional 6' and up to 25kts of wind. We reduced sail but the Admiral (Debi) still wasn't having any fun. It is amazing that in order to increase your comfort level sailing you have to go through some discomfort. Anyway True North pulled us through!!

Our buddy boat Island Spirit on a foggy day at Rock Sound Eleuthera

This is a 120 year old church at Government Harbour

The pipe organ. Can't you just imagine a Sunday Service!

These were some people with a roadside market selling vegetables that they grew. While there she brought out two loves of homemade bread right out of the oven. We immediately cut one open and it was fantastic.

Lobsters for sale along the road. Some huge ones but after buying large ones in the Exumas we learned that the small ones are much better. 

We then proceeded north up the coast of Eleuthera and positioned for another crossing to the Abaco's. This crossing was a little more scary since we would be crossing an area of the Atlantic that was over 13,000 ' deep. Again the weather man was wrong but this time the seas and wind were from the stern at 4-6' occasional 7' and wind up to 32kts. The admiral and Lucy spent the time down below trying not to be sick.

This is a cruisers pot luck in Marsh Harbour Abaco that we attended on Easter Sunday.  A  lot of the people we have traveled with on our way were there so we had a lot of fun. We have the boat in a marina at the Jib room in Marsh Harbour as our home base. We will travel from here to the various surrounding islands.

Bahamas

Our friend Horace flew to Miami and helped us cross over to Nassau where we picked up his wife Karen. The biggest problem with setting up Karen's vacation is that she must do it 6 weeks in advance. This poses a problem for us meeting a deadline but we had a weeks leeway built into the schedule to allow for weather and we made it. There are times when we've had to wait a month for the right weather window to make the gulf stream crossing to the Bahamas.

True North crossing the Gulf Stream on a Great Day!

We landed at Bimini Bahamas after about a 50 mile trip in light swell and beautiful skies. After a couple of days looking for sea glass we did a 23hr overnight to Nassau. Lucy was a champ but she wouldn't use her potty pad so she was really glad to see land. We had an interesting time going into Nassau harbour. It was the closest I've come to being run over by a cruise ship. He called me to get out of the way.


This big guy was right behind me coming into Nassau!

The fountain at the entrance to Atlantis

Jelly fish at the Atlantis Aquarium

Our goal was to get Horace & Karen to Staniel Cay in time for a flight back to the states so we headed to the Exumas after just two days in Nassau.

We landed at Hawksbill on a really nice beach but the anchorage was really rolly that night.

Lucy's favorite part of the trip is the beaches

This is the whale skeleton at Warderick Wells in the Exuma park. It died because of a plastic bag.



Karen with some pretty Exuma water in the background

The swimming pigs at Staniel Cay. This one actually tried to join these girls in the kayak

Snorkeling inside Thunderball Grotto where a OO7 movie scene was filmed.

Well we made it and they're on their way to the states.

Now it's just the two of us on our way to the island of Elutheria, a place we haven't been before!!


Bahamas 2013

We have had terrible internet service this year and as I mature ( I've decided I prefer mature rather than age) I'm less  motivated with the hassel of finding an internet connection so thus only one post so far this year.
I will recap the season so far. We moved True North in early November to Marathon in the Keys. We then flew home for the holidays until the end of January. We returned to the boat and spent the month of February in Marathon.


Dinghy Trip to small island off of Marathon

Man O War Jelly fish found on the island Dangerous for swimmers
 

We traveled from there to visit my nephew David and his fiance Kathy at Key Largo for an evening and then up to Coconut Grove just south of Miami

Sky Scrapers as viewed vrom the boardwalk not far from the boat

We met another boat called Bucket List in Marathon and they traveled from there all the way to the Exumas with us. They are " loopers" making the loop from the great lakes down the waterways including the Mississippi and Tentom rivers to the Gulf of Mexico then around Florida  and up the east coast connecting back to the great lakes. It is a year trip for them so we really enjoyed their stories. They are on a 40' trawler which is much faster than our sail boat but they chose to follow us because we had been before. They are now working their way to Norfolk, VA to meet up with other loopers.

L-R Larry& Cindy (Bucket List) The Admiral (Debi) Karen & Horace Crew & Boat Neighbors in Panama City

 

 I will end here for now and add more when a storm is in the area on friday. Suppose to be up to 70 MPH squalls so we'll see. We will be safe and sound in Marsh Harbour at the Jib Room.