Bahamas

Hello Bahamas,

We arrived at West End on Great Bahama Island at 8am on a gloriously warm and sunny day. The crossing had been a little lumpy and the sails were more decorative than useful at times but the Skipper's navigation enabled us to get the boost from the Gulf Stream and we ended up having to slow down so as not to arrive before sunrise. We departed from Fort Pierce and were a little worried as we appeared to be the only boat making the crossing. Did the famous Chris Parker predict something we didn't know about but it was uneventful except for the cruise ships going past with the whiff of delicious cooking ablaze with lights. The biggest stress was arriving at Old Harbour Town Marina there were so many motor cruisers filled up with fuel that it seemed like rush hour. Eventually after an hour of circling we made it to the fuel dock and filled up with 8 gallons which cost $88 U.S. Dollars. Goodbye to cheap fuel then, mainly sailing for us from now on. The pleasant surprise was that the marina which we had been warned was likely to charge $3 a foot only charged $1.75 and $1.50 a second night. Even better is that they are attached to a resort and you get use their facilities, pool, gym, free Wi Fi and cocktails on the beach. A touch of luxury which was most unexpected. Can highly recommend checking in at West End, the immigration officers were friendly and helpful (an added bonus was that one of them looked just like Stringer Bell from 'The Wire'). 

The weather forecast for the next few days was for 15 to 20 knots southerlies and rain so we headed out to find a secluded and protected anchorage. Freya suggested Cave Cay as being a good option so we left Mangrove Cay and headed to the Little Abacos. We left behind 3 other yachts from the cay and had a magnificent sail across the banks at 6 to 7 knots. There was not another boat of any description in sight and some of the area is still unsurveyed, so Visual Piloting Rules are advised. The water is so clear it is quite disconcerting to see the bottom so clearly in 10ft of water but your eyes start to adjust to the changing colours. 

Xmas Day dawned wet and windy. The Skipper happily broke out deck water collection system which worked really well and quickly filled the tanks again. It is certainly one of our more unusual places to have Xmas. It feels very strange not to be able contact our families for Xmas Day to say hello but there is absolutely no cell phone reception. It's more like travelling back in the day when communication was phone boxes and letters. Hard to believe how much has changed even in our lifetime. A happy Xmas to everyone.

Reflections on ICW

Reflections on the ICW

There were times on the ICW in 'Bounty' that it felt like we were trying to control a thoroughbred race horse in a bath tub. For a deep keeled ketch with an 8 foot bow sprit and no bow thrusters she is not your typical candidate for an ICW cruise. Going in and out of marinas, waiting for bridges to open in strong currents, hearing the shallow water alarm going just in the wrong spot were times when the old heart rate had a good work out. Out of the five months we have been cruising we can probably count on one hand the times we had all the sails up and there were definitely times when we envied the trawlers going past with their air conditioner and comfy armchairs but we wouldn't have missed the experience for the world. 

America is such a land of contrasts and we have been very lucky to experience some of the best it has to offer. The kindness and hospitality, the friendships we have made, the stunning scenery are all etched fondly in our memories. The saddest thing has been how the security since 9/11 has changed travelling and the atmosphere of suspicion it has left in its wake. All the different agencies and differing interpretations of the rules make any traveller, especially on a yacht, confused, nervous and sometimes angry. That said, we have been treated extremely well every time we have encountered the authorities, though we could have done with not having to return to NZ for a visa. A warning for anyone wanting to buy a yacht in the States. You can't leave on a private yacht if you entered on the visa waiver system. Guess where we finally found that information two months into our stay? The British embassy website of all places.

Bounty has been a joy to get to know. She backs surprisingly well for a double ender, which has been a blessing on several occasions. Everything is thoughtfully set up for cruising and even with three of us on board we are all able to have our own space and not feel like we are living on top of each other. We also appreciated NOAA's weather system and U.S. Tow and the Coast Guard, not that we needed them in the end but it does give you a lovely feeling of security. 

Highlights have been, in no particular order: South Carolina's deciduous forest and the marsh country, the many dolphins , isolated anchorages, the bird life, squirrels, and manatees.

The best marinas: Lady's Island, Oriental Harbour, Harbour Town

Cities and towns: Oriental, Ananpolis, Bath and Washington NC, Charleston

Best places for boaters: Vero Beach, Ananpolis, Oriental

So, goodbye to the USA for now. It has been a pleasure and a privilege and hopefully we will get to come back and see all the bits we missed.

Florida

It's warm; Freya's new bikini has made its first appearance and the Skipper's shoulder has stopped being a bad weather indicator. Yes, we are in Florida. The slightly scary state that everyone warned us about. The no anchoring, don't touch the sea grass, don't go to Miami, watch out for the authorities, of which there are a huge range with large guns. So far it has been delightful, friendly with lots of wonderful wildlife and not to mention again, warm.

We were sad to leave South Carolina with the beautiful lowlands but the last couple of days there were so cold. We stopped at Beaufort after a cold, miserable day and found the Lady's Island Marina which improved the day immensely. We arrived at the dock with TJ's help and on the next boat looking out through the port hole was a bird. Thus we were introduced to Sam Peck n Poo who had landed on board a year ago and never left. Except occasionally to visit a friend's yacht and be sociable in anchorages.

 The marina is a great spot to stop as is very friendly with TJ a incredibly helpful dock master, groceries close by and a BBC cafe that has the best almond croissants I've had for a long while.

The weather window opened up and we went offshore from Beaufort. 

Freya's first overnight passage on 'Bounty'.

The promised winds never really eventuated so we ended up mainly motoring with wind on the nose most of the way.  We did get about six hours of sailing but needed the staysail and mizzen up most of the way to steady the boat when the ocean decided to do a spirited impression of being a washing machine. 'Gus' the auto helm worked brilliantly and certainly helped with those long night watches. We did 375 nm in just over two days and arrived into Cape Canaveral just as four huge cruise ships were exiting the canal, complete with blaring music, guard boats with machine guns on the front and a festive air. Our favourite was the Disney ship with a large figure of Goofy hanging over the back. 

We finally were brave enough to enter the canal and the lock and to our delight two Manatees entered the lock with us. They proceeded to feed quite happily as the waters rose and then departed through the gates with us, as if the lock was a handy convenience store of stirred up Manatee food. 

All this meant we were later than expected getting to the Harbour Town Marina which we had to find and enter at night. Not an activity to be recommended but we made it, tied up and slept happily in a boat that was blissfully still.

We are now on our way to Vero Beach for final provisions. You know, essentials like soft toilet paper, deodorant, sun screen and chocolate. Hopefully if the weather forecast stays the same we will head off to Bimini on Saturday or Sunday. 

On The Road Again

We left Charleston early Sunday morning. A small craft advisory meant we are sticking to the ICW but hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday we will be able to venture outside and take the fast route to Florida. The skipper is keen to visit Cape Canaveral. It would be wonderful to see a rocket go up but I doubt we will be that lucky.

We had a lovely time in Charleston and the skipper installed our new semi flexible solar panel. The wonderful thing is that being on the bimini you do not even notice it's there. 

Xmas shopping in King Street was very entertaining. One end of the street is full of look but don't touch shops where the price tags rarely descend below three figures. One men's shop had blue jeans, a mere snip at $300 dollars US. Mind you we should have known, not many men's shops have French antique bureau and chess set displayed in their windows. As you walked away from the Gucci, Louis Vuitton end of town the prices were more in the cruising end of the budget. Clothing is certainly very cheap in America and generally good value for money. Though we were very impressed that the up market men's store had a NZ brand Rodd and Gun for sale. The Rue du Jean cafe had great food, especially the dessert. The photo of the chandelier is from inside of one of the cheaper chain stores but what a setting for a clothing store. 

We also found a teeny tiny Xmas tree for the boat.

As I have mentioned before we haven't seen many mammals (apart from humans, of course) but the bird life has been amazing. Yesterday I looked out the port hole at the fog and saw the most disgruntled little brown bird sitting on the flag of the boat next door.  By the time I raced down for the camera and returned his day had gone from bad to worse as the bird in the picture had replaced him. 

The marina was on the edge of the city but had plenty of bird life. Returning from the bathroom late in the evening I disturbed a Night Heron. He looked at me and lumbered off his perch and his squawk of protest sounded definitely like he was swearing at me. It reminded me of the Cockatoo in the Dunedin Gardens Avairy. He had a great repertoire of comments but his favourite was 'fxxxx off'. Obviously some uni student had spent a bit of time coaching him to startle the tourists.

We are now in Steam Boat Creek having wended our way through some of the very tricky shoaled sections of the route by catching high tide. We were doing 8.9 knots with tide at one stage. We anchored early as there is a seven foot tide range at the moment and tomorrow's section is supposed to be one of the worst shoal areas of all. 

Charleston

The city greeted us with a fine sunny day, warmth and a pod of dolphins. What more could you want? 

We approached Charleston with a little trepidation. Would it be as good as everyone said? One of the top five best cities in America. Well, this is day three and we have to agree that it seems to be a city with something for everyone. We are docked at the Charleston Maritime Centre and though a little rolly at times it is a very friendly and well run spot. Free internet, free laundry and a supermarket close by certainly makes provisioning and boat maintenance a dream. 

The cafes and restaurants are also excellent with a wide range of interesting and varied menus, we had a great lunch at Guallant & Michellant which specialises in French vegetarian food. Freya and I also spend a satisfying few hours examining the shops on King Street in detail and managed to add a couple of small items to our respective wardrobes - "Honestly, Skipper I've had this top for years". To be fair the boat is getting a new semi-flexible solar panel, so the crew is also getting new outer wear. 

The most stunning aspect of Charleston is the architecture. Evidently due to the poor post war economy the city missed out on being developed and having multi story building piled one on top of the other. The result is an architectural feast of styles, tree lined streets and gracious parks. I was expecting the historic area to be small and well preserved like Portsmouth or Ananpolis but you can walk for hours here and still be seeing lovely historic buildings.

We did visit one of the city's historic homes, it was a mixed blessing. The mansion belonged to one of the former governors of Charleston. The family were well educated, spoke five different languages, went on the European Grand Tour and collected a respectable collection of art. Underpinning all this activity was eight hundred slaves. The house has been left in the state it was when it was donated in the 1970's. The rooms had been gradually shut up and the interior had suffered quite a lot of damage in Hurricane Hugo. You could imagine what the life style must have been like but the atmosphere of faded and melancholy grandeur underpinned by human suffering left us all feeling rather subdued. As an Australian I am not in any position to criticise other countries behaviour towards people of non European descent but it does remind me that mankind still has a long way to go before we can consider ourselves truly civilised. The events in Ferguson in recent weeks just reinforce that message. 

So, returning to our First World problems, we are thoroughly enjoying being warm. The unseasonably cold weather really was rather tough. It has been a long time since I went to bed in three layers of clothes, a scarf and a woolly hat and still felt the cold. Hopefully the warmer weather will continue as we head south.