"Submit" is put to bed

Submit is put to bed.  She was hauled out of the water and put in storage the morning of 4/22.  Our closing up projects kept us there until 4pm.  Then, it was off to Gainesville for few hours sleep before catching our 5:20 AM flights to Spokane.  We arrived at 1:11 PM and left in the rental car to see family and spend the night in Missoula before arriving home 4/24.

I find almost 2 feet of mail stacked up on my desk and there is at least a foot of mail for Barbara.  Marie has done excellent work holding down the fort in my office.  Mike, with some help from Craig, has taken great care of Cramelot.  Stepping back into the traces is enough to make our heads spin.

Most folks don’t recognize me with long hair and big beard.  I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it, but probably not long.

Everything here seems to be unchanged.  Barbara’s 93 year old mom is doing fine and was happy to have us back nearby.  I’m surprised the car started after 3 months because I neglected to disconnect its battery before leaving.  Grass is turning green and flowers are starting to bloom.  The weather is nice, warming up into the 60’s.  We are told we must have brought it with us.  Apparently spring hasn’t been so nice here yet.

Impressions of our trip?  We were disappointed to have spent so much time on repairs and upgrades to Submit, but she is in better shape than she has been in years.  We hope/expect to have little to do to get her ready to go when we next return.  As for “Bahamas or Bust”, we made it and are glad we did even if our time was short.  Apprehension about crossing the dreaded gulf stream is over.  Seeing places like New Plymouth and Hope Town and Man-O-War Cay, was enjoyable, but our favorite times were spent anchored off uninhabited islands and exploring them and their sand beaches. 

Future plans?  We expect to go back to Submit early next year to do some more traveling in the islands.  Meanwhile, we will be heading to the San Juan Islands for a couple weeks next month.  We hope/plan to sail to Ben and Stacey’s wedding.  Wish us luck with that.  Then, we return home to prepare and launch “Knot Ready” for the summer sailing season on beautiful Flathead Lake.  And firewood gathering.  And projects at the old hunting cabin.  And firewood gathering.  And…

in case you cannot see it, on what appears to be a tanker, "Protect The Environment
No Smoking"

more miles under the keel

We anchored Monday evening just off the ICW a little south of Daytona, Florida.  Below are a couple views from our boat at anchor.  Which do you prefer?

Tuesday had us motoring north to anchor outside Fort Matanzas.  Why motoring?  Headwinds, narrow channels and time constraints.  

appears to have been underwater for a long time then raised and anchored here.

water level artwork on bridge collumns

additional water level art work?

We had anchored off Fort Matanzas on our way south and were disappointed we had no time to visit it and its visitor center.  We would solve the problem this trip.

as viewed from our boat

Fort Matanzas is miniscule, but has an interesting history which includes it having been named for a massacre.

  Interesting tidbits included the average age of the soldiers way back was about 15, and anyone over 5’6” was probably automatically going to be an officer.  Look it up for an interesting read.

officer material?

We weren't aware of how dangerous it is to dinghy ashore here.

ever met a dull oyster?

After visiting the fort this morning, we traveled to just north of St. Augustine to anchor off the Guana Aquatic Preserve.  We stealthed the electric dinghy ashore to find trails and info signs.  There is an active oyster regeneration program going on here as well as other preservation activities. It was a great walk.

the view from our anchorage

Back to the boat for sundowners!

tourist stop

The Kennedy Space Center was worth the one day delay, especially since we had some time to spare. We tied up at the Titusville Municipal Marina and took the Chamber sponsored van to the front gate of KSC. The van is free, but they will accept donations to help pay for fuel.

We took the bus tour which drove around the ‘big building’(one stripe on the flag takes 6000 gallons of paint), didn’t stop, through the wildlife preserve and dropped us off at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. We saw the Saturn V, the largest rocket ever made, one of the moon vehicles, a movie (plus a 3-D stage) about the Apollo missions. I didn’t remember (or know) that Neil Armstrong decided he didn’t like the spot they were headed towards to land, so he took over the controls and found a spot he liked better. That confused mission control and he almost ran out of fuel before touching down. I think he had 30 seconds of fuel left. After lunch at the Moon Rock Café we were bused back to the Visitor Complex. It is interesting that all of the technology and rocket launches are in the middle of a wild life refuge, but it is said that the only wildlife effective negatively is the small fish which can’t take the launches. We saw alligators, a turtle, lots of birds including an endangered Rosetta Spoonbill.

The shuttle launch simulation was amazing. We were strapped in and then, I swear, we were tilted 90 degrees and lying on our backs. I started laughing and wondered if I was going to need my ginger gum for motion sickness, it was that real. The next big laugh was when the rockets fired. The noise and the turbulence was incredible. (apparently Barbara laughs hysterically when nervous or frightened?)As Reggie said, “Can you imagine trying to do whatever work they needed to do under those conditions?” I bet one requirement for astronauts is no dentures.

IMAX Theater was the next stop to learn about the Hubble telescope in 3-D. It has been repaired a few times and may not be around in years to come. The shuttle program enabled its extended life.  Some of its discoveries are worth studying just to be amazed and astounded.  They boggle the mind.

The second 3-D movie was about the Space Station. I knew there was an international space station, but that is about all I knew. I am so glad to know more about it. It is one of the things that gives me hope for the future. How wonderful for so many nations working so closely for a common good.

for Allison and Reid

The van picked us up at 4:30 and dropped us at the marina, where we noticed the boat of one of our new cruising friends. We grabbed some wine and headed over to see if they were around. We found them at the BBQ area with some of their friends. We had a great time sharing stories, cocktails and dinner together.

Florida mass transit?

This morning finds us anchored along the ICW just outside Daytona, FL. In the fog!

catching up

We were sheltered from any big winds in Black sound.  Our stay there involved a trip to the bank on Thursday.  The bank is only open on Monday and Thursday from 10 til two.  However, it had been closed the previous Monday for the Easter holiday.  Needless to say, there was a very long line.   It was a good time to chat with other cruisers.

We had to stay til our turn because we were down to $10 cash.  Barbara was able to get some Bahamian and some US currency on her debit card.  That meant we could go to lunch at the Wrecking Tree Bakery, Restaurant and Bar.  Barbara had a conch burger and I had conch in a bag, and grouper with salad. 

On our way back to the electric dinghy, we passed a fellow on a dock beating the heck out of fresh conch.  It is pretty amazing what they have to go through to make it edible.

Cribbage lessons are progressing nicely.

Next day we walked to Pineaples for lunch.  Their Plymouth punch was delicious, and the conch was tasty.  Afterwards, we took a long shortcut walk to the local liquor store with the last of the Bahamian money.  We bought some Bahamian rums.

Our plan was to leave  for Manjack and Crab Cays the next morning, and then stop at a couple more islands before heading back across the gulf stream.  Off we went to Manjack where we anchored and took the stealth dinghy to shore.  We took along rum and glasses because the plan was to get a couple coconuts and make drinks.

Two coconuts were husked and opened, their juice emptied into a glass.  These were mature coconuts with the coconut meat and clear milk.  All 4 or 5 tablespoons of it.  We added a little Mango rum to it and sat down to share it, for 15 seconds, until the no-see-ums showed up.  Back to the boat for our cocktails. On the way back to the boat we were greeted by 4 people in a dingy, making the rounds, to introduce themselves. They were new arrivals to the Bahama’s and making the most of it. After rafting dingys with them for a period, we were home again, only to have another dingy motor up and ask us to join them for game night. “Ok, right after dinner.”  Just as I was clearing the table, dingy # 3 arrived. This was someone we had conversed with several times and a friend of friends. Time passes and by the time he left, we were too late for games. Perhaps we will have an opportunity on the “ditch.” Beautiful water and cruising buddies- that’s what it’s all about.

Weather is always a topic of discussion.  Weather reports were indicating a couple supposedly good days for crossing the gulf stream on Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday.  Then weather was to change for the worse and nobody could say when the next crossing window would occur.  We have noticed that, once we make the decision to head back soon, we want to go now. We decided it was time to go. 

Sunday was a nice sail all the way to Great Sale Cay, one of the primary last stops before crossing.  From there, it would take about 10 hours to cross the Little Bahamas Bank, and another 10 or so to cross the gulf stream to Fort Pierce.  We would rotate 2 hours on watch, two hours off.

There are no stopping spots along the way, so we decided to leave after lunch on Monday, sail to the White Sand Ridge crossing point, arriving around around 2am, and thence across.  We were able to sail most of the way to WSR, but had to slow down for a rain squall and higher than expected wind, arriving about 1:30 am.

Then the crossing.  Monday night and Tuesday were to be a soft touch crossing.  Barbara describes her 12 hours of the 24 as 12 hours spent on a low speed mechanical bull.  It is a full body workout!!! By the way, when you finally get across to the inlet entrance, do not be tempted to try to enter against an outgoing tide running against strong southeasterly wind, regardless of how full of bull (riding) you may be. That time was maybe the worst of the 12 hours!

We made it in to Fort Pierce and immediately found a place to drop anchor.  After a bite of lunch, Barbara settled in for a nap.  I called Homeland Security and checked us back into the U. S. A. and then joined her.  After a few phone calls and dinner we settled in for a good night’s rest.

Next day, we topped up on fuel and met Kirk and his dad for lunch.  FYI, we averaged about 0.66 gallons per hour of motoring for fuel burned.  Then we went back to anchor and relax and have a day off which included a grade C (at best) movie. 

Today is Thursday April 11^th.  We had a lovely morning. We actually sailed on the ICW! The Environmental Learning Center dock was too shallow, so we were not able to increase our knowledge or visit Pelican Island Wild Life Refuge.  We are in Melbourne, Fl, 50 miles farther up the ICW.  We are looking for places to see and explore along our return trip.  We must leave Green Cove Springs no later than 4/22.

Appended please find posted a plethora of photos, previously postponed due to poor wifi propagation.  Please persist and peruse.

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how do you get these darn smart phones to zoom in, take a picture, and send it out?

4/4/13 update

From White sound in Green Turtle Cay, we went to Manjack Cay.  The cruising info we have shows it as being uninhabited.  Apparently someone has move in. Fresh laundry hung on the clotheslines near a house there.

We expected to find two or three boats sharing the anchorage.  The final count for was around two dozen.

Someone has marked a maintained trail across the island to the beach on the Atlantic side.  They’ve made creative “native mask” signs and others to mark the trail.  We enjoyed the hike to a beautiful pink/white sand beach.  One boater referred to a particular beach as so wonderful it was “to die for”.  All the beaches here seem “to die for”. 

Except for plastic.  Anything floating can be washed ashore, and it appears everything plastic floats.  Some things degrade fairly rapidly and disappear.  Not the plastic: ropes of every size and color, fishing nets, drinking water bottles, crates, motor oil bottles, flipflops and tennis shoes, garbage bags, barrels and buckets and lids of all sizes, Frosty the Snowman(really!), and on the list goes.  Past storms have carried some of it deep into the undergrowth.  Everyone everywhere uses plastic but it appears almost no one disposes of it properly or cleans it up.  Beaches “to die for”?  Yes, except for plastic.

There was discussion of staying at Manjack, but wind was supposed to build from an unfavorable direction, so the next day we had a nice sail to anchor off Coopers Town.  We had no reason to go into town, so spent a quiet evening aboard with Barbara giving me more Cribbage lessons (and him giving me lessons in humility). We enjoyed an incredible “light show” accompanied with rolls of thunder. The storm skirted us, so no rain to wash the boat.

Next day, we made the short crossing to Powell Cay.  We had the island to ourselves for most of the day.  Two trips ashore included walking beaches along both sides of the island and a short hike up the Bluff “trail”.  This trail is unmaintained and barely passable, but the view was great.  The walks were great as was wading along the beaches.  We were going to swim on the Atlantic side but noticed the splashing of our wading was attracting a light colored barracuda looking fish.  Most of them were in the one foot long range, but one over three feet stalked us for a long ways.  Reggie calmly said, “Barbara, look at that.” I saw a three foot ‘snaky fish swimming right toward us and chose to run to the shore. The other problem with the Atlantic side was the sand, which became very soft and gooey when we were about knee deep out into the waves. Swimming was delayed until we were back at the boat, anchored in 7 feet of water.  No barracuda, no sand between our toes.

One spot on a beach had signs indicating off the grid campers had stayed there for varying amounts of time.  Real signs.  Tied in the low trees.  Of course, I forgot the camera.  If they are to be believed, a small group of folks spent 3 months there last year.  Another group could have been there longer several years ago.  It made me wonder about doing such a thing.  You would have to bring everything you needed.  We’ve seen nothing edible growing anywhere wild except the very occasional coconut.  There is no fresh water source on these little islands, so you would have to bring lots and rely on rain.  We’ve been rained on twice since we arrived here, which isn’t much.  You would have to catch a lot.  Now where did I see that plastic bucket?

Our stay was a delightful day, dinner and cocktails in the cockpit and a quiet night at anchor.

We are currently back on a mooring ball in Black Sound.  There is supposed to be a storm of sorts building today, Thursday the 4^th of April, through tonight and Friday and perhaps into Saturday.  Winds on Friday are predicted to be 25-30 miles per hour with gusts up near 35, so we’ve chosen to hide in this protected harbor for a couple days, find some internet to catch up on work and post reports, and maybe stretch our legs walking New Plymouth, rain or shine.

We have started our discussions of “what next?” so our time here must be coming to an end. We expect to work our way to a ‘jumping off’ or crossing over spot after this stormy weather has passed.  We hope to stop at a couple more uninhabited islands along the way.