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Motor Sailing Black Point to George Town, Bahamas

We have nearly sailed right off the grid…..the “connectivity grid” that is. We are now in George Town, GT, Exumas, Bahamas anchored off CHAT n CHILL. We are about 1/2 mile off their beach and we have our new 55 lb ROCNA anchor out, you know, the one I bought for  Radeen’s Christmas Gift. Well, this is why we bought it. It will blow 30+ knots tonight and we have out 150 feet of HT chain in 20 feet of water. We should be good with this, and we are looking for the winds to change from West to Northwest to North to Northeast, Once NE, we will have CHAT n CHILL upwind and our beach will be right off our bow giving us
protection.

Radeen filling in the log book, Jeff and Hayden blasting to GT

Over all, our run from Miami was easier than expected. Mainly because we have our good friend and great crew member Jeff onboard for the “Blast to George Town!” Our run was, as planned…

1. Miami to Morgan’s Bluff on Andros (overnight on the banks and out NW channel)
2. Morgan’s Bluff to West Bay on New Providence (we got stuck there 3 day w/25 knots ESE)
3. West Bay to Highborne Cay (fantastic sail, close hauled…get fuel and water)
4. Highborne Cay to Black Point (take Radeen out for Lobster Dinner at Lorraines)
5. Black Point out Dotham Cut to George Town (motor sail in 15-20 with it 20 degrees off stb bow)

Total Distance, 325 nautical miles

Jeff’s house rental begins now on Sunday Feb 17-24 and his wife Sharon is flying in for a winter vacation along with friends from California! Jeff will be taking the water taxi run by ELVIS, the harbor master, to shore if it is too rough to use the tender. We plan to stay here for a while, relax and tour the island and the area with Jeff and Sharon. After that, we hope to press on and explore from here. We now have a full month to explore from here back up to the Abacos.

Thank you for following along.

Hayden, Radeen and Jeff on anchor off Vollyball Beach, George Town, Bahamas.

Look at the BLUE WATER…..beautiful

Radeen’s Blue Shirt is NOT as blue as the water!

Radeen overlooks the George Town approach, again, look at the water color

Salt spray has been spraying over the windshields for seven days! Our boat is so salty and crusty….

Dotham Cut just north of Black Point. This is a great exit to sea Notice the north rocky point, the opening is about 300 feet wide!

Here in George Town, there are over 300 boats on anchor and we too are anchored right at ground zero off Volleyball Beach at Chat n Chill. We will relax here, take a break, explore the town and the beaches and hiking trails. From here…..who knows, we may head south more…

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Happy Valentines Day 2013, Radeen

We ran 45 NM today, under motor and main sail with staysail, reaching Black Point settlement in the Exumas. This is our first visit to the village and we obviously have a lot to learn about the wonderful people and their town. Since it was Valentine’s Day, we decided to take Radeen out for a nice dinner, considering she has cooked 3 meals a day for the past 6 days!

We phoned Lorraine’s Cafe and ordered three lobster dinners. Arriving at 1830, we were treated to an open bar, where you go behind the bar and make your own drinks. Then the lobsters arrived, broiled and baked, served with corn and rice and mac’n cheese. Fantastic! Dessert was warm chocolate cake with pink frosting and cheesecake, with Valentine’s candies. We enjoyed meeting Lorraine, who made us feel so welcome. Radeen really enjoyed herself and we were happy to take her out for such a lovely evening!

Fuel and Water Fri-Thur, Miami to Highbourne Cay 25 gal Diesel at $5.71 per gallon and 75 gallons of water at $.50 per gallon

Tomorrow, we will run the last 45 miles to George Town ahead of a new frontal system and 30 knot winds expected to blow on Sat night into Sun. We will deliver Jeff to GT on time for his beach rental scheduled for Feb 17th. From there, we will slow down, take our time and explore south of GT and then we will head north, exploring all the spots we missed on our trip south. After our Exumas exploration, we will head north to the Abacos.  Overall, it has been easier getting here than expected, but it certainly has bigger water and feels much more remote than the Abacos.

Here are some photos of today….

One of the many motor yachts cruising this area

Radeen, passed out, reading her book of the day….rough!

Motor sailing into 10-15 knots of south winds!

At Black Point, the dinghy looks like it is hovering above the water, instead of resting on it. This water is sooooooo clear!

Jeff and Hayden working the open bar at Lorraine’s Cafe

Our anchor chain running out in the clear waters

Hayden and Radeen at dinner at Lorraine’s Cafe, Black Point, Exumas. Note the Valentine’s Day decorations!

Tomorrow, we will make the last 46 mile run from here, Black Point, to George Town, off the Banks in deep ocean water. We need to be anchored down for the high winds and cold front approaching. Winds are expected to exceed 30 knots so we need to get ready…..

Life is great aboard our cruising sailboat……thanks for sailing along

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Team Island Spirit sails close hauled into the Exumas

We have declared TODAY, Feb 13, 2013, the BEST DAY OF SAILING, since we left Rock Hall, MD, in September! At 0640, we left West Bay, New Providence, Bahamas, rounded the coral reef and turned onto a course of 120 for 45 miles to Highbourne Cay in the Exumas. Our weather router, Chris Parker, called for winds of 15-18 knots, from a direction of 160-180, so this was a close hauled course for 8+ hours.

Team Island Spirit LOVES TO SAIL UPWIND, so today was a real treat. Jeff, our great crew, sailed with Hayden, while Radeen enjoyed reading below. We love to see Radeen, our librarian, get her reading in. as usually she is too busy to read. With Jeff on board, she could relax and read all day long…..this was a real treat for Radeen….it was also a real treat for Hayden and Jeff because they love to trim sails and sail upwind!

Sailing upwind in BLUE WATER

So, we navigated the Yellow Bank and the White Bank and looked for coral heads as we sailed east. Eventually we passed into the clear waters beyond these banks and sailed on toward Highbourne Cay. As we approached the cay, we passed 7SEAS, Steven Spielberg’s motor yacht that we had seen in Fort Lauderdale in December and then we moved into the anchorage. The first task was washing the salt spray off the entire boat and cockpit and then we enjoyed cocktails and snacks. Radeen spoiled us with a great dinner of smoked pork and seared potatoes and salad along with red wine. Life is amazingly wonderful aboard a cruising boat….

Radeen off watch and reading book 1 of 2 for the day

Jeff working hard as we sail upwind on autopilot

Steven Spielberg’s yacht 7SEAS is anchored next to us off Highborne Cay

Mark Cuban’s Yacht FOUNTAIN HEAD anchored off New Providence as we sailed out

Hayden looking out at the beautiful water

Thank you TAMMY….we opened my Christmas gift today and enjoyed many interesting flavor combinations!

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Map of West Bay, New Providence, Bahamas

We made it to the Bahamas after sailing out of Miami, FL on Friday. It took 29 hours of primarily motor sailing and 7 hours of resting and clearing in at Andros. We dropped the hook in West Bay, New Providence, where we have been stranded since Saturday. On Sunday, Hayden’s birthday, we tried to bash into 25+ knots of ENE winds only to go 9 miles out, turn around and surf back at 7.8 knots in building seas! DUH, that was really stupid. We had data from our weather router, Chris Parker, and knew it was going to be ENE or E winds….BUT….we thought we could push into this. NO, not down here, this is bigger water, with bigger seas, and we really do not want to move around in the dark, so we need to reach our destinations in the mid afternoons at best!

Departed Miami, made West Bay, now waiting for better winds. This is the current plan for our George Town run.

So we are here in West Bay, New Providence, Bahamas, on anchor and safe. These is no reason to try to move on UNTIL the wind is in our favor. This will happen Wednesday when the winds move to SSE. Our next destination is Highborne Cay which is 45 miles on a course of 112 degrees. Our overall goal is to deliver Jeff to George Town by Sat/Sun where he has rented a beach house for the week of Feb 17-24. If the weather holds us up, then there are mailboats and planes to take Jeff to George Town.

Here are some photos of our rough days…..

Sunrise over our bow in West Bay, New Providence Bahamas

My “BEACH BUM” crew, Radeen and Jeff

Clifton Heritage Park, where we can land dinghy and walk the sand or swim

View from the Park of Island Spirit at anchor out in the deep water (10 feet)

Radeen is spoiling us with great dinners. Hayden made bread and Jeff stocked the wine cellar.

Radeen walking the low tide

We have now proven that when our weather router says the winds will be 22 knots, gusting to 28 knots from the east, we should believe him. We set sail out into this forecast to “prove” and to “collect data” as to the accuracy of our weather reports. Guess what we learned? ……YES, Chris Parker was right on! Now we know that 🙂

This is the wind for today, dead on the bow, so we will wait until Wed, when it goes more SOUTH http://passageweather.com/index.htm?http%3A//passageweather.com/maps/florida/mappage.htm

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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

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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)

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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!

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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!

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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.

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