U.S.A. To The Bahamas - The Abacos

Hello Again and Seasons Greetings.

Christmas Festival - Bahamas

 

Entrance To Manatee Pocket

Our last week in Stuart, Florida was spent checking and re-checking everything to make sure we were ready for the next cruising season.  We picked up our new sun shades for the back deck – which were not quite the correct fitting, but we had waited so long for them and I could make the necessary adjustments. On our last day we moved SHAMAL over to the fuel dock at Sailfish Marina for a final pump out, to fill up the diesel tanks plus the ten jerry cans, fill the four petrol cans for the outboard motor, and fill up the water tank as we have not been making water in Manatee Pocket as the water is filthy.  Then it was off to the markets for the fresh fruit and vegetables.  As for the tins and dry stores, once again I have stocked up with enough to go around the world again!!!  We have been told that we will find it more expensive out in the Bahamas, and, in Cuba most items will be impossible to find, so stocked up we are. Alec is now a little concerned how low we are sitting in the water!! 

Life in Manatee Pocket, Stuart, Florida/Hurricane Matthew

 

 

Our Local Café and Bar

Yes we are STILL in the “Pocket”.  Three months have passed since we first dropped anchor here to start the next round of maintenance and repairs after leaving St. Augustine.

We have settled in and are now nearly one of the “locals”. To some we are somewhat of a novelty still, coming from that far away corner of the South Pacific – many have no idea actually where NZ is, and others surprise us saying they have travelled there. We met a lovely gentleman in his eighties in the supermarket and we are now the best of friends.  He and his wife have taken us out on a sightseeing drive around the area, then out for a meal.  They too were keen boaties up until about five years ago and have given us lots of tips about the Bahamas.  After some considerable consideration we decided as our jobs were taking longer than we first planned, that we would stay here for the Hurricane Season, well most of it,  and as it turn out that was a good decision.

A meal with new friends
 

Thunderstorms are still a very regular occurrence, but I can’t get use to them. About six weeks ago we had a phone call from friends whom we met in the St Augustine Marina, and who were then out in Freetown in the Bahamas.  They were devastated as their 52ft catamaran has been hit by lightning.  They have lost ALL their electrics. After a couple of weeks they managed to motor back into Fort Lauderdale, and have been hauled out of the water to start the job of major repairs.  Since then we have brought a lightning rod which Alec has fixed to the top of the mast.  Now no one can say for sure that they work, but we are prepared to give it a go.

The Intracoastal Waterways - I.C.W. Part Three

Hello Once Again

 

St Augustine Marine Centre

I suppose many of you will have given up on ever hearing from us again thinking we may have merged into the American society taking down roots here – NO WAY  - this adventure has a way to go yet.

 

Five months on, with SHAMAL on the hard in the St Augustine Marine Centre in northern Florida, seemed like a life time, even though we were not living on board all that time.  Once out of the water we started on that GREAT list of boat jobs.  It was February and still very cold.  It took us the first ten days to get our power sorted out.  As you know the USA system runs on 110 volts while our system is 220 volts.  With our first step-up step-down transformer blowing every five minutes, we had some cold nights.  Alec managed to sort that by buying a larger transformer which also meant he could run all his power tools from it as well.  The first main job was to have the seals in the sail drive replaced.  That involved moving the engines forward to fit them in, but that job was completed before Alec had to leave for Vietnam to do a yacht delivery with an American couple. 

The Intracoastal Waterways - I.C.W. Part Two

Adams Creek

Hello To You All Again

 

This update is very late arriving out to you which I am sorry about, but so much has happened with so much to share.  I am taking you on a bit of a historical trip down the Inter Coastal Waterway, and then you will see where we are now.  So, here we go.

 

After our morning ashore, we up anchor and with the quaint town of Oriental in our wake we cross the Neuse River, which is very wide here, to join the ICW into Adams Creek.  The temperature has risen to 21 deg.c. which makes for a nice change. From here we motor for 21nm to the town of Beaufort, NC.  where we drop the anchor, eventually, in Taylor Creek after three attempts to get it to set.  Another yacht which we have been seeing along the waterways on several occasions was having the same problems anchoring.  There are a number of yachts on mooring buoys here, plus a couple of sunken vessels which we do not want to get caught around. Finally we are dug in. 

Wild Horses

 

We are now just inside the Cape Lookout area with the Shackeford Banks between us and the Atlantic.  These are home to wild horses.  From our anchorage we watch as they come and graze among the marshes.  Later we also watched a couple of obviously inexperienced guys from one of the boating recovery companies trying to pull a marooned yacht from the shore, but to no avail.  They ended up pulling its mast off before retreating defeated!!!  We were not sure why they did it at low tide – high tide would have given them a much better chance to remove it.

 

A Job NOT well done!!

A Marooned Yacht

The Intracoastal Waterways - I.C.W. Part One

Hello Again

Lifting Rail Bridge
 

Swing Bridge

Once you reach the lower Chesapeake you have two options to reach Key West in Florida which is some 1,200 miles to the south. One can take the coastal Atlantic Ocean route, the outside route, or, depending on your vessel’s draft and mast height, you can take the ICW. ( Intracoastal Waterways).  Many do a mixture of both as there are safe  estuaries and channels used by big shipping to enter and exit  through.  Many though require local knowledge, the correct tide, and good weather to pass through as silting can be a major problem.  As we had sailed up the Atlantic Ocean route, we decided we would do the ICW on the return trip. We would have dozens of bridges to pass under or wait till they open for you. The Fixed Bridges are all around 65ft. Our mast is 58ft so no problem there.  Other bridges are Swing, or Bascule – lifting.  These have different opening times, usually on the hour and half hour, so you try to time your approach just before they open.  Each of these bridges has an operator whom you call ahead to and advise of your pending approach. Also we would have a couple of locks at the northern end to pass through.

Cape May, New Jersey - to - Norfolk, Virginia

Hello Once More

First we want to wish EVERYONE Seasons Greetings. We hope your plans and preparations for the festive season are well underway and that you have a great one with family and friends.  As for us, well we are still meandering down the east coast of the U.S.A. not sure where we will be for Christmas.  It is so nice not to have the stress that can go with this season.  America really does know how to celebrate Christmas, and we are really enjoying seeing how the different towns that we are passing through decorate and dress themselves up with lovely decorations. Everyone really seems to get into the Christmas Spirit with shops, banks, public buildings and private homes all putting up wreaths with red ribbon, Christmas Trees, lights, and the likes.  Even some of the private docks in front of peoples homes, will have a Christmas Tree covered in lights sitting out on it.  It really is very pretty. We have even managed to catch a Christmas parade which was fun.