Sunday, December 14, 2014

Lake Worth to Green Turtle.

We left the Lake Worth Inlet on Thursday afternoon on the way to Great Sale Cay with two other boats, Lee Ann and Madeline. We had a good crossing, about 4 ft swells with a 12 second period on our stern quarter. It wasn't a great crossing, but it wasn't bad either. We arrived about 3 AM and dropped the anchor for about 4 hours of sleep.
  The next morning after a quick breakfast and a top up of our fuel from the jerrycans we keep on the deck we raised the anchor and started off for Spanish Cay. On the way there Chris baked a cake for the skipper of Madeline as it was his birthday and we wanted to celebrate his birthday and his first trip to the Bahamas. We arrived there around 4 in the afternoon, tied up at the dock and checked in at the marina and then went to bed to catch up on sleep. When we awoke the next morning refreshed we checked in with Immigration and customs and took a short walk around the island. When we got back we found out that Michael on Madeline was refused entry into the country. He did not have a passport, but he had called customs two weeks earlier and had been told that if he had a valid ID and birth certificate there would be no problem. While we had been traveling apparently the Bahamas changed that policy 2 days previously and he now had to return to the U.S. They did let him stay at the marina to prep his boat for the return trip, but it was sad to say goodbye to him. We did have a great dinner that night and were able to celebrate his birthday in the Bahamas. The next afternoon we saw a fisherman catching lobsters on the break wall around the marina so we hailed him and made a deal for 15 lobsters. That night the new managers of Spanish Cay cooked them up and we had a lobster feast with them and the other boats, of course since I am allergic to shellfish I had grouper.
  This morning we set sail for the short 20 mile sail to Green Turtle cay with Lee Ann, where we now are. We took a dock at the Bluff House where they are having a dockage special where you spend two days and get the third free. Also the rate is only 90 cents a foot, so it is a good deal. We spent the afternoon catching up with old friends and meeting new ones at the new beach bar that the marina recently opened, great fun.
  In a couple of days we hope to start out for Marsh Harbour Marina and Jibroom, that's all for now.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Finally on the move.

We left Titusville this morning with two other boats and are finally on the way South and over to the Bahamas. Presently we are in Melbourne FL and plan to stop at Ft Pierce tomorrow, and then on to Lake Worth where we will wait for a good forecast to cross the Gulf Stream and enter the Bahamas banks. We plan to anchor at Great Sale Cay to rest up , and then on to Spanish Cay where we will check in with customs and immigration.