Year: 2013

Jeff and Radeen, ready to go, Coconut Grove Sailing Club at dawn

Sunset sailing on the Bahama Banks

Morgan’s Bluff Fuel Dock and the only wall to climb up That is the bar/customs house in the background

Team Island Spirit, mid stream, offshore Miami

10 extra gallons of diesel fuel on deck to back up our 48 gallon tank Fuel burn is 3/4 gallon per hour, at 7 mph!

8 gallons of gasoline in red tanks on the stern rails  for the “car” our dinghy to get ashore

Hayden and Radeen at sunrise departure for the Exumas

Stiltsville homes next to Biscayne Channel

Looking off the stern down at the water color Bahama Banks shallow water!

Jeff offshore in the Gulf Stream

There it is…Gun Cay, the island cut that we passed through Notice the waves crashing on the rocks, this is a calm day

ahhhh….Bahama Banks, 8-10 feet deep, calm, and great sailing That is the shadow of our sails and hull on the sandy bottom

Sunset on the Great Bahamas Bank, 10 hrs to the NW Channel passage We motor sailed all night

0630, 24 hrs later, we are hoisting the Q flag, quarantined in Morgan’s Bluff on the northern end of Andros. Time to check in to Customs.

Island Spirit at anchor while Hayden is ashore checking in

Anchored off Morgan’s Bluff, Andros Island

Up with the Bahamas flag….papers filed, and fees paid, we are good for 180 days

Off we sail for New Providence from Andros

West Bay, New Providence, Bahamas, a birthday to remember!  Hayden announces the sunset with his conch horn…Thank you CAREY!

So, we tried today to bash our way into 20+ knot headwinds attempting to sail our way EAST in a East North East wind….DUH…that did not work. After reefing the jib from a 135% to 110% and sailing up onto the banks, 9 miles out, we decided to turn around and surf back into safe port. Doing 7.8 knots down wind in steep seas, we were all happy to safely back on anchor in West Bay with the boat intact. Island Spirit is one tough boat! We really need to WAIT for proper winds and better wind directions before moving on. That looks like Wednesday for now…Oh well, it is tough, but we will just live here until we can move on!

See our building EXUMAS TRIP MAP HERE

The Plan to Explore the Exumas, Bahamas

We have reached our planned time frame where we will be leaving the South Florida Coast behind and sailing over into the Exumas for our first discover trip of the area. Last year we spent nearly two months exploring and learning the Abacos, and this year we plan to spend a month or more exploring the Exumas. This area is south of the Abacos and after exploring there we will sail back north into the Abacos where we will enjoy a return visit.

Our good friend Jeff and great crew wanted to jump onboard for a ride out to Blue Water and to George Town where he has rented a home for the third week of February. If all goes well, we should be able to sail him there in time to connect with his wife Sharon. If the weather does not cooperate then there are mail boats and small plane to fly Jeff to George Town. You know the worst thing about cruising is HAVING A SCHEDULE….but we will do our best to discover the Exumas and show Jeff a great cruising time.

This is what a PERFECT weather window looks like! South winds 10 knots, Gulf stream calm

Our plan is to depart on Friday in the next weather window that is openning, and motor run directly from Miami to Morgan’s Bluff on Andros Island. There we will check into customs and enter the Bahamas. This is a 20 hour motor run and we will cross the Bahama Banks at night and pass through the North West Channel around 3 am. From there we will turn south for 20 miles more arriving Morgan’s Bluff around 0730. We called customs and they will be open and can check us in on Saturday am. After that we will up anchor and take off right away for the west end of New Providence Island dropping the anchor at Lyford Cay. We will be racing an arriving cold front with 20 knot NE winds. Anchored there, the front should arrive with building North East Winds all night long. Sunday, we will sail south east on this front to Highbourne Cay or beyond. Once here, we will be in the Exumas Chain and this will provide good protection from the normal trade winds that blow 15-20 from the east 24/7.

This is the frontal winds, Northeast and 15-20 This would NOT be fun

The challenge of this passage is to wait for the perfect weather window which is when a frontal systems approaches and pulls the east trade winds to the south. These south winds blow down stream over the northward flowing Gulf Stream (i.e. Florida Current) and the waves calm down to 2-3 feet. Wind blowing with current, no problem. Wind blowing against current BIG PROBLEM, big waves.

In preparation, you get your boat all ready, fuel up, load up the provisions/food (for months) and you wait in Miami for this perfect weather window. When it happens, it will usually only last 1-2 days, maybe 3 and then the front arrives and it blows hard from the North then North East, then it finally goes back to East trade winds. At that point you better be across the stream or be in a safe anchorage or a marina. You can get stuck for days, even weeks due to high winds, and you will just have to wait for the next weather window to move on. Welcome to Bahamas sailing and trade wind sailing with cold fronts from Nor’easter that effect our weather here! Once thing is for sure, you really learn to live by the weather.

So that is our plan. We are ready, we are loaded, We will shut down our Verizon Phones as we exit to sea. Our communications will be down to a SPOT transmitter and our SSB radio. We will be off the grid until we find free and open WiFi somewhere in the Exumas. We Plan to be in the Bahamas until the end of April. Let the explorations and discovery begin….

Here is our Weather data as of Wed PM Feb 6, 2013….we will be departing Feb 8 at Daybreak.
NOTE: Subtract 5 hrs from the time of UTC to get our time here in Florida.

Wed, what we are in right now, this is 5-10 knots from the east

Here you see 10 knots north east

This is typical. East winds blowing directly at you. You need to wait

East winds building….wait

Here we go, the wind is pulling to the south

Looking good, this is 10 knots south east….good window This is 6 AM Thurs

WOW….looks perfect, 10 knots south east Thur 15-5=10 am Thur

Still looks good, that is south east winds and still calm…. 18 UTC – 5 = 1300 or 1pm Thur afternoon

WOW….even better! SOUTH WIND, this is a GO Fri 00 UTC – 5 = 7 pm Thur night

Looking good, we are a GO

Really looks good, Friday 06 UTC

Here we go….DEPART MIAMI Fri 12 UTC – 5 = 7am departure time (NOTE: See the cold front up north? LOOK OUT!)

We will be at sea between Miami and Bimini

Now we will be on the Bahamas Banks for an all night run Looks calm, and winds behind us Sat 00 UTC – 5 = 7pm Fri night

COLD FRONT COMING….we will be pulling into ANDROS Morgan;s Bluff is the North West Corner this is below the front Sat 12 UTC – 5 = 7 AM

We will sail this cold front to the East Andros to New Providence and anchor

Sunday AM, we will depart New Provenience and Sail to the Exumas

This will be our winds as we try to sail South East to Highbourne Key This looks like a dream sail, winds on the port beam!

My Monday, we will be in the Exumas and this is typical EAST Tradewinds We will be behind the Exuma Islands and should be protected

This will be TOUGH to move SOUTH into this wind Tue 18 UTC – 5 is 1 pm Tue afternoon

OH NO….here we go again…another cold front approaching The winds have moved to the south. We will need protection

Look up NORTH, it is blowing 25-30 knots! Lucky for us, we will be south of this

There is your Bahama Weather lesson for a crossing to the Exumas. You need to time the fronts, study the patterns, listen to Chris Parker, our weather router, and make your best judgement as when to go. We hope we chose right! If we did, it should be a smooth ride and a great sail, If not, it will be a bashing…..

• www.PasssageWeather.com ( If you have internet, these are the files above)
• www.MWXC.com (Chris Parker)

Radeen, Punkie and Shane

Gallup, New Mexico, Radeen’s hometown, is a long way from south Florida where her sister and brother-in-law live. Rose Marie, aka Punkie, traded their timeshare for a condo on the beach in Hollywood, FL. We moved Island Spirit from Marathon in the Florida Keys to the Hollywood Municipal Marina. One can really become spoiled with a rental car, a slip, and a condo facing the ocean! We slept on the boat at the marina and used the rental car to come and go and to show Punkie and Shane the wonderful sights of South Florida. 

Hollywood Beach Towers Resort

The next day we enjoyed alfresco dining for lunch on Ocean Drive in Miami’s South Beach. Luckily, we bumped into the 50th anniversary celebration of Lamborghini Automobiles. After the president of the company and the Mayor of Miami spoke, 50 Lamborghinis revved up their engines for a parade from South Beach to Palm Beach! What a sight to see…Italian employees on radios organizing the cars with company executives and honored guests. These cars range in price from $250,000 to $640,000 $US! We also explored Lincoln Road Mall, always a fun walk with outdoor seating and coffee shops. 

Another fun adventure was a boat trip up the New River aboard the Jungle Queen. This is a 3 hour tour past the many beautiful homes and yachts all the way up to Marina Mile past I-95. What a great trip this is! The next day found us back at the Aventura Mall to the Apple Store. We also enjoyed the very modern Museum of Science & Discovery in Fort Lauderdale with an amazing Everglades Airboat Simulator and other interesting exhibits. Punkie & Shane came aboard for lunch one day to see our boat and marina life. This was such a fun time and a stark contrast to living on a boat. Malls, Cars, Shopping, Grocery Stores, and Condo Living…..wow….so easy!

Family fun!

Banyan trees along the road in Coral Gables, FL

We were lucky to have great weather every day!

Mojitos and other drinks with Cuban sandwiches on South Beach

We enjoyed South Beach’s vibe and Art Deco Archtecture

A scary Alligator Show was part of the Jungle Queen excursion

This photo is not zoomed in…we were very close!

Dinner at Five Guys with IP-31 True Love owners Keith and Blanca. They are our support team in Miami, providing cheerful mail and chauffeur services!

A new experience for all was watching Jai Alai, the fastest ball game in the world!

Pedaling our surrey on the boardwalk

Saying good-bye at the airport – hope to see you soon!

It took us 4 days of moving to get to Hollywood, FL

We are going to HOLLYWOOD ….. Florida …. that is, and you ask WHY? Because we are meeting Radeen’s Sister and Brother-in-Law who are flying out from NM to a timeshare on the beach here. We have moved the boat from Marathon in the Keys to Miami and then north up the ICW 15 miles to Hollywood.

Yes, this is back tracking but we had planned to return to Miami after our Keys visit to continue to learn about the beauty of Biscayne Bay sailing. So, the only back tracking is the 15 miles north of Miami to Hollywood. Now we are docked in the Hollywood City Marina where we will have a rental car and spend the week together exploring this fabulous coast and the great towns centered around here.

The Venetian Causeway East Lift Bridge

On our way from Marathon to Hollywood, we enjoyed anchorages off Key Biscayne and Miami Beach. We transited the Venetian Causeway Lift Bridge East near Miami Beach and learned how to exit and enter this area from the north side. We spent two nights anchored off Belle Island and took the dinghy into Collins Canal, where we walked to Lincoln Road outdoor mall and took in the movie “Lincoln.” The peace of living on anchor at Miami Beach is really great. We enjoyed sunsets over Miami to our west and the bright lights of SOBE to our east. The holding is great, with 10 feet of depth,  a sandy bottom and little current. What a joy to anchor off Miami Beach, one of our new favorite spots. Now it is time to discover Hollywood Florida with its famous boardwalk and all the town has to offer.

Photos of this section….

We waved to the passengers on their balconies!

Due to construction, we waited nearly two hours for the Dodge Island Bridge to open!.

Vessel “Fountainhead” on Miami’s cruise ship dock. This Super Yacht is Owned by MARK CUBAN ! 88 meters long and priced at $88,000,000 to $120,000.000 USD

A new 62 foot Power Cat motors north off South Beach at sunset.

The 79th Street Causeway Bridge opened just for us!

The Sunny Isles Bridge is a double bascule. Vessels are instructed by the bridge tender to wait until all lifts are fully raised.

Hallandale is a contrast of old and new, large and small!

The more we learn about South Florida boating in the winter time, the more it becomes a new favorite, due to the availability of anchorages and sailing in Biscayne Bay. The great cities and towns are even better than we expected!

Sunset from our Slip at Harbour Cay Club

What have we been doing since January 5…???

• 5 Days installing the SSB radio
• 2-3 Days motorsailing Marathon to Miami
• 4-5 Days studying for the Ham Exams
• 1 Day to actually take the Ham radio exams

….Weeks of simple living and peaceful life afloat on the boat in warm sunny Fl….

Kathy and Alan, good friends on IP420 Flatlander

Installing the SSB radio took 5 hard days, but our last two weeks at Harbour Cay Club weren’t all work! Kathy and Alan Huffman of IP-420 Flatlander came to stay in the condo for three days so they could meet the HCC group. They kindly offered transportation to ALL the transients, in search of dog food, hardware and provisions. We enjoyed the Pelican Key Information Center and learning about Flagler’s railroad. On their last evening, they made a delicious meal in the condo for Chuck and Lynn. What a delightful time!

Tiki Hut “Cone of Knowledge” 1700 gatherings are GREAT

We always enjoy the Tiki Hut gatherings for sunset, large and small. There were several group expeditions to Lencho’s for Mexican, The Stuffed Pig for breakfast and Lazy Days for happy hour. We really enjoyed our first Eric Stone music event at Salty’s. We had a few potlucks on the lanai, including a delicious cold meal of spinach avacado soup, freshly smoked pork and turkey, salad, bread, strawberries with orange dip and coconut cranberry truffles. Perfect for a warm evening and memorable as our last potluck together with some of our wonderful HCC friends.

Radeen and Hayden arrive to take their HAM EXAMs Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

After leaving Marathon, the greater part of four days was spent studying for the Ham license exams. Our hope was for one of us to pass the second level, so that we may use Winlink.org, a free SSB e-mail service. Mission accomplished! We both passed the Technician Exams and Radeen passed the General Exam. A big thank you to Keith and Blanca of IP-31 True Love for planning an interesting day in Ft. Lauderdale and providing transportation from the boat to the exam. Our celebratory dinner together afterwards was lots of fun!

So, Hayden installed the radio, Radeen passed the needed HAM General Exam, and it will now be Hayden who learns how to set-up and use Winlink.org, proving once again that we make a great team!

Sunset off Rodriguez Key, Hawk Channel, Florida Keys

Sunset sponsored by Verizon, note the Verizon Logo in the vapor trail

Channel Five Bridge, the old Flagler Railroad Bridge and the New US 1 highway bridge

HAM Radeen sailing past Miami on her way North to Miami Beach

Sunset over Miami as seen from anchor off Miami Beach, FL

The Question is….”Why are you sailing NORTH, and not over to the BAHAMAS?”

Answers:

1. We had planned to re-explore and re-enjoy Miami and Miami Beach.
2. We have family visiting next week and the closest they could get was Hollywood.
3. We planned to sail over to the Bahamas Feb 9th or later.
4. Biscayne Bay is FANTASTIC and has so much to offer with so many anchorages. We LOVE IT! We wanted to return.

ICOM 802 SSB Radio head unit and speaker

We decided to add an ICOM 802 SSB and a Pactor III/USB modem for voice communication, weather data, and email access, especially related to Chris Parker, our weather information subscription service.

We had originally thought that we would buy an Iridium 9555 satellite phone and use OCENS email services. Then we discovered the issue of minutes prepaid for a specific time period which then expire, in addition to the contracted monthly services charges for access. We figure that within 2-3 years of satellite phone use, we will have paid for all SSB equipment, so we opted for the SSB instead.

The cutting in for the instruments

Little did we know HOW MUCH WORK it would be to install and set up, let alone to learn how to use the beast! The install took us 4 days full time, including installing the radio, the modem, GAM antenna, KISS counterpoise grounding system and a number 8 power wire directly from the battery bank. Now we are up and running, testing the transmission and reception of the unit. It is working great!

We bought everything except the antenna and grounding system from Gary Jensen, owner of www.DockSideRadio.com in Punta Gorda, FL. Gary sells kits that include all the ferrite chokes and special line filters that make for a great install. Gary also includes a 50 page book with step by step directions on how to install the unit and set up your radio. We had a bid for $900 to install the SSB, so we decided to try it ourselves and we were successful. I credit this success to Gary Jensen, who was exceptionally helpful via cell phone calls, text messages, and his well-written book. Thank you, Gary!

The completed panel – this was the EASY part!

Our first few days of testing have been on the Marine Channels only, since we are not yet HAM licensed. On day one, we heard from Colorado to North Carolina, to George Town, Bahamas all from Marathon FL. This is a range of about 500-800 miles. On day two, we transmitted with a check-in on the daily Cruiseheimers’ Net. The net controller reported a “Clear Voice and Good Signal” from George Town, Bahamas. So, we are very pleased with our install and our set up.

Our next goal is to install and set up SAILMAIL and we are also preparing for the HAM exams. 

We will see how that goes. For now, we have a working SSB and, from what we understand, that is a big accomplishment for a self-installed unit!

Here are a few photos of the install.

FOR A FULL 38 PHOTO ESSAY, PLEASE SEE THIS on IPYOA.com

I built the transceiver onto a custom shelf for wiring and for the modem

The custom shelf fits under the back of the nav desk

I designed the shelf so it can be dropped for servicing the radio and modem.

This is the magic bullet….Gary Jensen’s book

The finished nav desk where you can see a small section of the SSB shelf to the right under the desk. This install took away zero space!

FOR A FULL 38 PHOTO ESSAY, PLEASE SEE THIS on IPYOA.com

So, if you are thinking of an SSB install, then I recommend that you visit Gary Jensen’s web site and buy from him. He will gladly help you out and make sure you get your SSB rig up and running.

PS:
To prepare for a HAM exam, try this…

Chuck and Lynn sail into Marathon Florida

Chuck and Lynn Evans of IP-380 CYAN completed their 7 year around the world circumnavigation when they made landfall in Antigua a few weeks ago. On  their way from the Caribbean to the West Coast of Florida, they stopped in Marathon for a visit at Capt Jim’s Harbour Cay Club. I was there in Rock Hall, seven years ago when they were bolting on their wind vane and I asked them where they were going. They said..”WE ARE GOING AROUND THE WORLD!”

Radeen, Chuck, Lynn and Hayden WELCOME HOME !

Radeen and I would read their stories together as the emails and blog posts came in from around the world. We marveled at their adventures and long passages. We emailed them in the South Pacific, loved the photos of them off Sydney Opera House, enjoyed their land travels in South East Asia, and followed them into the Indian Ocean and Red Sea via Pirate Alley, through the Mediterranean and finally while crossing the Atlantic.

Luckily, we were in Marathon as they were heading to the West Coast of Florida and so they came to HCC for a few days, http://HarbourCayClub.org, where fellow IP owner Capt Jim is an HCC owner and where several IPs spend the winter. We all were honored to celebrate their circumnavigation together!

The celebrations on the dock. First dock since the the MED !

Champagne popped, cheers erupted and hugs to all, as they stepped onto the docks after their 8 day voyage from St, Thomas, USVI. Truly amazing was the fact that cruising friends, who sailed the South Pacific with them, saw their post on Facebook and came to join in the celebration. Also here to greet them were…

• Jeff and Marjorie on IP45 FAR NIENTE
• John and Nancy Knight on IP420 ADVENTURESS (formerLY IP40 LARKING ABOUT)
• Hayden and Radeen on IP35 ISLAND SPIRIT
• Glenn and Valerie on IP31 FANCY FREE II
• Lanny and Jim, owners at HCC and guests Charlene and Ed
• Al and Marysea on Captiva, owners at HCC
• Sandy and Bill, guests at HCC

The many flags of the Countries they visited !

Celebrations under the TiKi Hut for sun downers and stories are continuing. Driving in were Capt Jim, IP29 FORTUNA, Keith and Blanca of IP31 TRUE LOVE, Mike and Carol of IP31 NOMAD.

It is hard to grasp the concept of sailing around the world, but as Chuck and Lynn say….”IT IS EASY, JUST KEEP HEADING WEST!”

Chuck and Lynn are amazing people, and they are very FUN to be around. I thank them immensely for their years of sharing their accomplishment of this incredible dream. They are looking forward to moving back to land and returning to gardening, woodworking and painting.Their new home will be decorated with beautiful pieces of native artwork from their circumnavigation. Well done, Lynn and Chuck!

Chuck and Lynn’s Web Site for PHOTOS:
http://www.starsonthesea.com/

Chuck and Lynn’s BLOG
http://sailingcyan.blogspot.com/

Chuck and Lynn’a YOUTUBE Videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/Lexxycyan/videos?view=0

Chuck and Lynn on FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/Lexxycyan

Chuck and Lynn’s photos on IPphotos
http://ipphotos.com/view_user_ads.asp?User_ID=210&Ad_ID=633

Here are some photos of the events…

Capt Jim, Keith, Blanca, Radeen, Nancy and John Island Packet Owners

Chuck gives to Hayden his ocean fishing rig, gaff and fishing book in appreciation for all the support over the years! WOW, this rig and gear was sailed around the world!

Chuck signs his book to us under the author’s signature from 2004

WELL DONE CHUCK and LYNN….world sailors!

Mike (IP 31 Nomad) w/ Lynn and Chuck

Hayden, Carol, Mike, Nancy, Chuck and Lynn

Radeen, Lynn and Marjorie enjoy an evening of visits and stories

Lynn and Chuck, IP380, World Sailors

The harbor full of Island Packet Yachts and World Flags

The famous TIKI HUT where we enjoy gathering at 1700 hrs.

Chuck and Lynn with owners Ed and BJ

Our pet Pelican overlooks one of our sunset gatherings….

It is a true honor to be in the company of Chuck and Lynn and to hear their stories and discussions of sailing around the world. Radeen and I are amazed at how easy they say it really is. JUST KEEP GOING WEST and you will sail around the world. Thank you Chuck and Lynn for seven years of emails, photos, blog posts and adventures, we were there with you the entire time…….and we loved it….Thank You!

LOOK AT THEIR WORLD TOUR HERE

Many of the cities in the world we have visited

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