Back in the US of A

We left Hope Town Friday morning and are now in North Palm Beach at Old Port Cove Marina.

The run to Spanish Cay was uneventful.  Only 47 miles.  The marina was expensive for what it delivered but it was a pretty spot with entertaining guests.

The welcoming committee graded our docking at 9.8 which I thought was a bit generous.

The main attraction was the sharks.

We were told these are Lemon Sharks.  Here's a short movie:

The next day was a very long one.  

Spanish Cay to West End is 100 miles and 11 hours at our trawl speed of 9 mph.  We started out at 6am.  

It was also very boring as there's nothing to see but crystal clear waters with almost no sea life save for the occasional dolphin and a few cormorants.  But you still have to keep a watch and monitor instruments.

Jo kept watch from time to time while I stretched my legs.

The air conditional raw water system failed en route which made it rather warm below decks.  We arrived at West End late afternoon.

Even though the engines were still hot we positioned a fan and I went down to check the a/c raw water strainer.  It was clogged with sea grass.  However, when it was cleaned out we still had a raw water pressure problem.  I checked for a through hull blockage but all seemed ok. I checked the main engine and generator strainers to be safe. So we had no a/c for the night and next day.  We slept above decks to get what little breeze there was available.

We headed out for Riviera Beach around 7am.

It was a bit of a rolly trip with 2 to 3 foot swells coming from the South.  Spooky found a way to cope.

With the Lake Worth inlet in sight we looked forward to docking.

So we are currently docked and have had technicians look over the air conditioning this morning.  The raw water pump is not working properly so it will be replaced hopefully this afternoon and we should have a/c again.  The lines appear to be clear but will be flushed tomorrow.  Looks like we are here for a couple of days.  Aside from delaying Jo's visit to the doctor in Vero it is no big sacrifice.  It's nice here!

On our way to Vero Beach

We left Hope Town at 10 am this morning after a fairly sleepless night.  I will fill you in on that later.

The boat ran well and we are in Spanish Cay Marina which charges too much for too little and we are currently running on our generator because their generator is not working.

Tomorrow we will have a long run of 100 miles to West End.

I will post pics when we get back on decent internet.  This post is via my phone.

Last days

So we set out for Spanish Cay tomorrow and I have a reservation there for a rich $2.75 a foot plus power and water!  It had better be good.

The last couple of days we have been checking out our systems, running engines and generator, updating charts, plotting routes and provisioning for heading back to the USA.

Jo's leg, hereafter called a haematoma we think, is under control but in need of inspection.

We also made last visits to our friends, Greg and Katie at Captain Jack's, and Gary at The Lodge.  And of course it rained during all of this in between being blisteringly hot and humid.

We met these two folks who just bought a piece of property on the north end of Elbow Cay, at The Lodge so we celebrated together.

Gary orchestrated and we had an iPad music trivia session as well.

Did I mention it rained?

Back to our marina for cocktails with Tristan.  While we were away this Horizon 60' cat came in.

I can't imagine being in bad seas with that bow profile.  I would rather be in this Offshore monohull I think.

Today we did some grocery shopping and I got my hair cut at Monica's.  Then we met at Captain Jack's for lunch.  Of course it rained so Katie had to close up the screens.

When we got back to our marina the barge was arriving and I realised I haven't shown you how supplies get to the out islands here. An ex US Army landing craft is the supply barge for pretty well everything except fuel.  It comes in every week day from Marsh Harbour with building supplies and groceries for everyone on Elbow Cay.

The system works and we know when the grocery store has fresh fruit and vegetables because it comes on the barge on Thursday and is on the shelves by Saturday.

So, tomorrow we head out.  It will be good to get back to "civilization" where we can can get radio and TV over the air or on-line, goods bought on line in a day or two and power that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  But we will miss this oasis on the planet.

We made many friends who passed through here and many more who live here.  I have a feeling we will be back.

Here's the sky tonight:

..sailor's delight?

Time to Leave

Jo had to visit the Doctor again today as the swelling is getting worse.  She's waiting in Marsh Harbour for the ferry to return to Hope Town as I type.  The swelling needs a drain and we have to head back to Florida for treatment.  So we will be casting off in the next few days.

Monsoon Season

It seems as though we can't remember the last day we didn't hear thunder , see lightning and.or get a heavy rain shower.  Today has been worse than most with constant thunder and torrential rain.  I took a couple of short videos to show the approach and then the rain.

Meanwhile, with all this rain and slick surfaces, Jo managed to miss her step and fell between the boat and the dock.  She banged her leg badly on the way down.

A few days later the swelling was not going down.

So we cashed in some more of those free ferry tickets we got and went to the Doctor in Marsh Harbour.  So the doc emptied two and a half cups of fluid from Jo and strapped her up and we headed "home" after a bit shopping and lunch at Snappas.  Joseph, as usual, looked after our transportation.

These are first class ferries which connect the Abaco islands.

The ferry terminals are first class as well but it all works like clockwork.  A round trip from Hope Town to Marsh Harbour is $27.

Then it rained some more.

Then the sun came out so we could show off our big-assed Canadian flag some more.

This nice Sunseeker has been here for the last week or so.

Then it rained some more.  This time with a rainbow so I took a panorama to capture it.

Yesterday our marina hosted the Abaco Regatta party.  This was concurrent with the annihilation of Brazil by Germany.  The morning was, you guessed it, torrential rain but then it cleared up to just grey. We watched the game at the bar and then spent another hour so at the party.  It was very well attended as are most events that offer free booze even if only for an hour.  They came on the Marina Shuttle..

...they came by catamaran...

...and they came by dinghy and small boat...

...and unlike the yahoos from southeast Florida they had a good time without making a spectacle of themselves.

Our dock-master, Robert, managed to get everyone in safe and sound and to get them safely away.

We watched from our bow as folks tried to find and then board their dinghies after a few too many beverages but, remarkably and somewhat disappointingly, none fell in.

Our shuttle was maxed out on many of its trips returning folks to Hope Town and boats at moorings.

We have been sick...

...with a virus that knocks you out for four days and then revisits over the next four.  But we are fully recovered now.  So let me try to catch up.  We had visitors from hell.  A family who didn't give a damn about anyone else.  They arrived in an old chalky blue hulled Cabo sport fish and proceeded to dump all their gear on the dock and adjacent finger.  Now that may not seem like much but folks have to move a pump out wagon in between the pilings and we use a cart to move our heavier goods to our boat.  So when some narcissistic low-life from Fort Lauderdale dumps his dinghy on the dock that all becomes impossible. 

We weren't right next to them but Paul and Eileen were.  This next picture shows how this narcissistic *&^%, well, you get the idea, puts his gear on the finger so the neighbouring boat has difficulty getting on and off. But he doesn't give a shit, he's the honey badger.

Add to that that they were loud and obnoxious, pumped out their holding tanks in the harbour next to us and then allowed their kids to jump off their tower into the polluted water and you can understand why no one was unhappy when they left.  

Good riddance.  Rant over but this is what the dock should look like so Spooky can wander unencumbered.

I noticed this young lady's label sticking out of her bikini bottom and was going to rush down and do the gentlemanly thing and tuck it in for her but she left too quickly.

Even before the current formation of Tropical Storm Arthur we have had frequent bouts of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. It helps ease the hot and humid air that is developing.  We think August is going to be a bit steamy!  The storms pop up much without warning and mostly follow the land mass of Great Abaco and Marsh Harbour but we get our share at Hope Town as well.

After the rain passes the Captains and crew and, in this case, the owner, get out and chamois their paint work dry.  This is Rick looking after his Hatteras.

We have had a pretty constant stream of boats passing through.  This British Sunseeker came for a couple of days.

Our friends on Exit Strategy left for Marsh Harbour but left their tender so they may be back.

Shortly before they left, Julie, their Chef, left for a visit home.  We have become quite friendly with her.

Jo keeps up her social networking.  Here with Donna, Rick's wife.

And this is Rick.  He often stops by with something pithy to say.

A couple mornings ago, as Arthur was still forming I awoke to this pre-sunrise sky.  Honestly, the colours are accurate.  An hour later we had very heavy rain and it kept up pretty much all day.  

Although Arthur's centre formed well north of us it was being fed from the Gulf of Mexico right over us.  This animation I grabbed this morning shows us right in the path of the warm moist air being sucked up from the Gulf. We are at the extreme right a tad more than half way up the picture

This is the week-end dock-master Sam.  He is a bubbly, friendly sort who always has a laugh with us.

June 24th saw the 150th anniversary of the Elbow Cay light at Hope Town.  This is one of the very few manned lights left in the world and the only one that is manually turned.  The keeper lights a kerosene lamp each night and winds the mechanism every two hours during operation.  The lens rotates on a bed of mercury.  

Many of the boats passing through here are solely for fishing like this one.  The owners come over from Florida and stay in the Inn here.  They fish each day and party at night.  All of them are good sorts and many have given us some of the fish they caught.

Arthur being well established now it looks like this is the kind of day we can expect for a while since it is only moving North at 6mph!

That's it for now.  Sorry for the delay. Later, friends!

I know....

I am overdue a post.  I have been sick with food poisoning and, as soon as I am back to normal operation, I will be posting a block buster with videos and all.  Just give me a day or two.

Edit:  And now Jo has the same virus (evidently NOT food poisoning) so more time needed....