Marsh to Lynyard and back to Marsh

March 23

Left the dock headed for Lynyard Cay about 9:45 and arrived at Lynyard about 2:00p.m. Greg and Jack had to dive under our boat and Jacks boat - fishing line was involved.  Greg and Jack took the dingy to the island to do some exploring.  However Jack forgot his shoes so Greg had to go alone.  My camera needed charging so I was going to wait to go to the island.  By the time Greg and Jack got back, we decided not the get the dingy off and go ashore.  That night we had pecan crusted salmon and a home made peach cobbler, that was promised to Jack and Greg for diving under our boat. 

March 24

We left Lynyard Cay about 7:30 in the morning and again our windlass did not work.  George is really going to be buff. We all were prepared for a long day.  We were expecting to get to our next anchorage just before dark.  It was an unfamiliar anchorage for us and we needed to get to it before dark. We were going to Royal Island through Little Harbour pass, which meant we had to go through some open water.  The wind was blowing much harder than the weather forecast predicted.  The waves were 4 feet to 7 feet on the nose.  George and Jimmy, on Celebration got a little woozy. After about 2 hours of the seas not letting down, all of us decided to turn back and anchor at Lynyard Cay again. We need to allow enough time to get to Lucaya before the other wives fly in.    

 We were all a little disappointed that we could not make that passage.  We got back to Lynyard about 10:00 a.m. This time I had my camera charged and I was ready to go explore the island.  We walked and walked and walked trying to find a path to the other side of the island with Greg leading to way.  We walked through miles of brush but we did not give up. We finally find the path that lead over to the other side.  It was will worth the effort.  The view was amazing, and as we looked down we found a piece of sea glass.  We were hooked.  Hunting sea glass is very addicting.  Greg went one way and George and I went the other.  We found a lot of sea glass.  Some pieces were worth being made into jewelry.  It was hard to stop looking but we had not prepared to stay so long in the heat.  We had nothing to drink and we were in long sleeves. After getting up so early, a rough sea, and exploring the island, we got back to the boat and  passed out from exhaustion.  Martini tried to call us but we had inadvertently turned off our radio.  Celebration had soup for dinner and Martini had spaghetti. 

March 25^th

We woke up earlier to hear the weather forecast in hopes to continue on to Royal Island, but it appears that the seas were going to be the same so we opted to turn back to Marsh Harbour.  Jack’s sail had a minor tear in the sunbrella part of his sail, and we again wanted to get our windlass fixed.  As it turned out it was a great day of sailing back to Marsh Harbour.  Martini asked permission to pass on our port…..Jimmy and George was to have none of that…..we had out our genoa, and the main sail. So when we saw they were passing, we put up the staysail, everyone was surprised how much difference the staysail made.  It was a shame they could not keep up enough to take some good pictures of us under our three sails…. Just kidding Martini we love you and your dingy Olive.

We got back to Marsh Harbour and Bill, a fellow boater called a guy, named Bryan that rebuilds motors; again this was a Friday afternoon.  He checked out the windlass and said he believed it was the solenoid.  George asked if we could buy one from him and put it on ourselves, if not we were going to have to wait until Monday. George was to go with him to his shop and get the part and take a taxi back.  Instead, Bryan loaned his car to us and our new friend Bill.  As it turns out Bill who helped Rey, the dock master, catch our lines when we came in was a good electrician. When Greg volunteered Bill to put on the solenoid, he cheerfully agreed to help. As we talked to him, we realized the man lying in our “basement”, a small compartment where we store stuff and where some of the electrical stuff is located, was a physician from Australia.  He was a very interesting “bloke”, to use one of his terms. We all went out for dinner at Snappas. We had a wonderful time talking and visiting with such a fascinating person.   Meeting people from different places and backgrounds has been one of the highlights of our trip.

March the 26^th

Today was another lazy day.  We did wash, bought groceries and planned our trip to Guana Cay tomorrow. Low tide in at 9:00 tomorrow, so we will leave about 12:00 noon. 

Martini under sail

Dinner by Martini

March 22, 2011

Some of you may be wondering what is raking and scraping.  It is when you scrape a screw driver on a hand saw.  George, did not take a picture of me but here is a picture of Scott last year raking and scraping.

.  Greg and Jack went snorkeling today.  Greg took some great underwater pictures. Tonight we had lobster provided by Chef Greg. As we had hoped we plan to leave for Lynyard Cay tomorrow.  So this is the last post for a few days.

George and Freida

Hope town and the coconut!

March 20 th

We are waiting for a weather window to go south,   where we are going we are not sure.  Depending on how much time we spend waiting for the weather.  We stayed around Marsh Harbour and just chilled today.  Winds really were blowing today.  Glad we waited.  Tonight we had Ham Steak, cabbage, potatoes and corn bread. After the meal we watched a movie about sailing ……All the guys went to sleep during the movie. 

March 21, 2011

Today we went to Hope Town.  We did not sail because we were afraid of the low tides, so we took a Ferry.  We got to the Ferry Landing over an hour early. Someone read the schedules wrong….not calling any names ….Jack.  The boys did find something to do to occupy their time.  They found a coconut!  Many of you may not know this but there are stages to bursting a coconut open.  15 minutes of throwing the coconut against a rock, 15 more minutes of trying to pull the outer layer off.  Then you cut the “eyes” with a knife and drink the juice.   Then bursting the inter coconut, the one that has the eye on it that we all would recognize.  Well that kept the boys busy until the Ferry came.  Had a great meal of conch fritters, conch burgers and peas and rice. Peas and rice is the local favorite.  We took some great pictures from the Light House.  Oh by the way, I learned not to eat too much raw coconut.  After dinner we planned the trip south.  It looks like we will be leaving Wednesday morning and headed to Lynyard Cay where we will anchor for the night. The next morning we will continue on to Royal Island and on to Spanish Wells.

Living to dream

Freida and George

The Limbo man at the Jib Room

A Wild Dingy Ride

March 19^th

We planned to go to the Jib Room for steaks tonight.  George thought it would be a good idea to take the dingy, it is a straight shot from our marina to the Jib room but if you walk it is about two or three miles. We decided to go for a trial run. So we finally get the dingy started, after we called Scott to “find something”. Jack was in his dingy. George, Jimmy, Greg, and I were all in our dingy. Watching Greg, George, Jimmy and Jack “parking” the dingy at the Job Room was really entertaining.  It was a true comedy show. This is like being on a vacation with Larry, Moe, and Curly.  Only I am with 4 of them.  We got back to the boat at 6:00 and had to be back to the Jib Room at 7:00 for steaks.  All the guys took a 30 minute nap. This is such a hard life!  The docking of the dingies that night was much better.  It was good that we had a trial run because that night we had a much bigger audience.   I tried my hand at raking and scraping at the Jib Room and also did one turn under the limbo stick.  The limbo guy at the Jib Room is really amazing. I will try to post the video. The night trip back in the dingy was just as entertaining as the docking earlier that day.  Larry, Moe, Curly and #4 were at it again.

Laughing, Loving and Living the Dream

George and Freida

just another sunset

 

Here is the “rest of the passage summary”

March 16th

We had a great trip to our first anchorage Great Sail Cay. We only saw one boat that was three miles away. It was my first anchoring with this boat and our new anchor. Thank you kids for the Marriage Savers. These are a head set you can talk person to person from bow to the stern without screaming, hence the name marriage savers. Had you wondering, didn’t I? We anchored but were so tried we had to work at staying awake for the sunset. It was worth the wait!


March 17th St. Patrick’s Day
We cooked breakfast. We had to wait until the fog lifted about 10:00. We didn’t mind the wait because we were still a little tired from our crossing. When we tried to pull up the anchor we realized the windlass was not working. This is the motor that raises the anchor. George wanted to work on his biceps anyway. He pulled it up with the wench. We had a wonderful motor/sail to Powell Cay. We average 6.0 knots, sometimes going as fast as 7.2 knots. We got there at 4:00 PM. We had left over Pizza from Fort Pierce and warmed up in a frying pan. Who needs a Microwave? Again it was an effort to wait until the sunset to go to sleep. Again it was worth the wait.

March 18th
After a breakfast of eggs and toast, we pulled anchor at about 10:30. We headed for our next destination, Marsh Harbour, where we hope to meet up with our buddy boat. We had to travel thought Whale pass which is unprotected water and was a little rough. Between 11:00 and 11:30 we heard a familiar sound on the VHF radio “Celebration Celebration this is Martini”. Our buddy boat, Martini was trying to hail us. We got into Marsh Harbour with the crew of Martini waiting for us to throw them the lines. It was a great reunion. We went to curly Tails and then on to Snappers for dinners. Jack reminded us we had been on the boat for 74 hours. That was shocking to realize we were on the water for that long. It seems Martini’s crew was ready for some of Celebration’s provisions. They keep talking about salmon from a bag with rice. However, Martini did have fresh lobster one night and steaks another night.

Crossing the Gulf Stream

March 15th
On March 15th we left Fort Pierce at 2:30. I was filled with emotion. I had spent a week of waiting and hoping to leave for the Bahamas. Just when I let myself stop hoping it happened the workmen said “O.K. we’re finished”. George and I were like two captured wild animals being set free.
George took first watch from 2:30 p.m. till 5:30 p.m. We would be at the helm 3 hours on and three hours off. I had what he called the sunset watch from 5:30 till 8:30. Earlier that morning I had wondered, “Isn’t it easier just to fly to the Bahamas. After the first few minutes on my watch, I realized why I wanted to go by boat. Something caught my eye on the starboard side of the boat. I saw what I thought was the noses of seal. Now they talk about having hallucinations on long passages with out sleep, but this was much too early in the trip. Before I knew it the seals noses were getting closer. There were at least 25-30 dolphins jumping in unison along side of the boat. For a moment I just looked with complete amazement. I tried to go forward to get my new camera to take a picture. By the time I got my camera, most of the dolphins were gone, only 3 or 4 dolphins were playing hide and seek with me. Later that watch I enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and a beginning of a very special night. My next watch was from 11:30 till 2:30. We were in the middle of the Gulf Stream. Oh! By the way, much too much adrenaline to sleep between watches. The moon was just enough light. The moon glistened on the water and highlighted each wave with a white cap. The waves were in rhythm with 3 or 4 short smooth waves then the last big one that shot water over each side of the bow. I looked up at one point during that watch to see our stern light shinning on our American flag, with the flag in the fore ground and the moon shinning in the background. A vision I will never forget. My next watch was from 5:30 to 8:30. By then the moon had disappeared and the night was much darker. As your eyes begin to get adjusted to the darkness, I realized that the stars have taken the place of the moon lighting the way. They were collectively giving light. Two or three were very bright. Each star was so defined. It was as if they were saying it’s our turn to shine. Just when I had started enjoying each star in its own brilliance, I saw a glimpse of light coming over the bow. The sun had also wanted to take my breath away. George got up to put another way point in to continue our passage to Great Sail Cay. I cooked breakfast, then I lay down and this time I slept like a baby. I awoke from my two hours nap because my body is now on a three hour on three hour off schedule. I woke up to the most beautiful deep calm aqua waters. All you could see 360 degrees was beautiful aqua water no boats no land just water. George was forward watching dolphins play. He had a big smile on his face. He greeted me with “Welcome to the Bahamas”. Now you know why I didn’t just fly to the Bahamas.

Praising God for all of this, and for the opportunity to live the dream,
Freida and George

Leaving the mainland

Believe it or not we a leaving Fort Pierce headed south. We will turn to go across to the Bahamas about 11:00 p.m. Hope to be in West End Bahamas before 3:p.m. tomorrow. Say a little prayer for us.
Living the dream in the gulf stream
George and Freida

 

Well another weather window comes and goes. The cabinetry people did not understand they were supposed to replace the bolts….. Long story! So they will come tomorrow to finish the work. We were planning to leave the docks at 7:00a.m. TOMORROW. That’s not happening. However, this should be the last of the repairs. So maybe the next weather window we will cross to the Bahamas. Since we have been detained in Florida for almost threes weeks, it makes me wonder if I am being punished for all the bad things I have thought about the Fla. Gators. O.K, I admit we have met a lot of really nice people since we have been in Fort Pierce and on the way down. The view is not bad either.

 

Celebration got a brand new sail on Friday.

A walk down memory Lane

As some of you know George spent half of the year in Fort Pierce Florida until he was about six. After Christmas his family would move from Haddock to Fort Pierce until June. He, his sister, brother and cousins would go to school half the year in Florida and half in Georgia. Yes I married a migrate worker. He also returned there frequently when he was older to check on the plant in Fort Pierce. So we took a trip down memory lane yesterday and today. Yesterday we rode bikes to North Beach where he climbed on the jetties as a child. I was surprised to know that Elaine allowed him to do so. He said it made him feel big. He was about six. Today we went by Casa Caprona, the apartments where they lived when in Fort Pierce. Yes the are still there. They were built in the 1920s. He showed me the tree where his mother fixed a picnic lunch. Yes in a tree, long story. He also showed me where the swimming pool was but is no longer there. Today we went by the cannery site. There was a vacant lot over looking the Indian river on one side and a train track on the other. He talked about the smell of the citrus plant and the smell of a bakery down town when they passed on the way to pick up his father from work. On Monday we went under what he called the swinging bridge where he almost lost his life. It seems his mother was going over the bridge and the guard rails did not come down, so his mother stopped the car with her front tires barely still on the bridge as it swung out. So it has been a very nostalgic past few days.

Living the dream in Fort Pierce
Freida and George

Missing Al

Yesterday Al Barnes (MVP) or (MVC) most valuable crew of the Celebration left to go back to Brunswick. George and I were both sad to see him go. What can you say about someone who was brave enough to go grab the roller furler. Before he left he also got in touch with another rigger who we like and trust a great deal. Now we are looking at a shorter time in Florida and fewer repairs. Al you are the greatest! Hope to sail with you again sometime.

We hope to leave for the Bahamas early next week, but to quote one of our sailing friends, ”sailing plans are always written in sand”.
Living the Dream
George and Freida

Still at ft. Pierce

Due to the fact that it may take two weeks for Celebration to get all of her standing rigging fixed, our buddy boat Martini had to go with out us. It took a lot of talking to presade them to leave but the weather window was closing and the only right decision was to go. They left about 3:30 PM headed south. They probably turned about 3:00 in the morning to cross over the gulf stream headed in to West End. So we are probably in Ft Pierce for a while.

Wait wait wait

We are just waiting until the riggers get here to see if we leave today. If the boat is not finished by 5:OO the weather window will close. If that happens we will have to wait until the cold front moves through.

 

George can now parallel park the boat now.

Time to rest

We are usually up at 5:00 A.M. and leaving the docks at 7:00 am. Today we will wash, buy any last minute supplies and just chill. Oh course George will be watching the guys doing the repairs. Oh, the West Marine is within walking distance so I'm sure the guys will make time for a trip.We will try to get some rest in before we go on the outside to go to Miami.

Sound Bound and Down

We did make it to Fort Pierce tonight ready for the repair work tomorrow. It has been long days as Greg will explain in the following paragraphs, but it has been great fun. One of my favorites is to have all the people on their way to work stop while they open the bridge for us to go through. Sorry, I know that's mean but it is fun!
Greg from the crew of Martini contrtbuted the following. We could not get on the wi-fi to publish it until tonight.

Well we have been steadily moving south over the last couple of days. The weather for the most part has been good, a little chilly, very little rain and some sun. We are looking forward to the days of shorts and tee shirts and the clear water of the Bahamas.

Our best run for one day has been 70 miles and that was an exceptional day mileage wise. Can you imagine getting excited over a total of 70 miles in one day? That is about the distance of Milledgeville to Macon round trip. Those 70 miles was the main topic of conversation over supper of grill chicken, new potatoes, biscuits, and salad. This meal was supplied by Celebration. The next day run was only 62 and we hardly mentioned anything about it at dinner last night. Oh, our dinner last night was hot dogs and potato chips, which was provided by Martini. They seem to eat a little better on Celebration; it may be the influence of Freida. Come to think of it last year with four guys we ate well on Celebration as well.

It is the hope of the crew of Martini that if we serve hot dogs, Celebration will do most of the cooking.

It is our hope to make Fort Pierce today, a run of only 54 miles, so we will be sitting at the dock Monday morning when they are scheduled to start the repair work on Celebration. We are thinking, hoping and praying that the repairs will go as plan and we will be on our way on Tuesday.

If things go according to plan we should make our crossing to the Bahamas mid week weather permitting.

Crossing the Gulf Stream is always exciting. The Gulf Steam has a steady current of 2-3 knots flowing from the south to the north. You have to time your crossing when there are no north winds. If the winds are from the north and the stream is going north this creates very large and bumpy seas and that is not fun.

That is about it for now; we all know how lucky we are to be out here living the dream.



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St Augustine

One correction on the blog from last night, Al will be on the Celebration on the trip to the Bahamas.  We did not scare him away.  We called the sail maker in Stuart Fl. It usually takes about two weeks to order sails.  When we called  Mack Sails to order a new sail they told us they could have it ready for us on Monday.  What Luck! They will put on a new forstay and furler.

We also had a great dinner at the Columbia resturant.  Great food! Great fun! Great Stories. 

When I started this blog, I thought this will be a very boring blog ……Maybe not.  Not if yesterday was any indication of the trip ahead.  I was at the helm and George was below.  Al was up top with me.  The winds were around 20 knots. We had the jib out to about 100%.  Something snapped.  The drum, that’s what I call it,  that holds the jib on the deck turned loose.  Greg was on Martini, our companion boat and wrote the following to the sail club.

Well got underway yesterday and decided to go outside, out in the ocean instead of going down the ICW. We have two boats going to the Bahamas this year, one is George’s 42 Tayana named Celebration and the other is a 33 foot Gib Sea, owned by Jack. We have Jack Sterrett, Jimmy Harrell, and me on the Gib Sea, named Martini. On Celebration George and Frieda Bloodworth and Al Barnes, who has a boat docked next to Celebration in Brunswick? Al we be leaving us in Miami and driving back to Brunswick, and then Jimmy will be jumping ship and going on board Celebration.

Well as Captain Ron would say, if it is going to happen it is going to happen out there Boss and it happen. We were sailing down wind with just the jib, or the front sail only. The wind was 20-25 with seas 3-5 foot, with the updated forecast we decided that we were going to pull into Fernandina spend the night and continue down the ICW until the weather improved.

We were about two miles from the entrance to Fernandina and the bolt holding the forestay on Celebration broke loose. This cause the forestay to fly freely in the wind and on the end of the forestay is a furling unit weighting about 30 pounds about the size of a soccer ball. Keep in mind the wind is blowing 20-25mph and you have a furling unit weighting thirty pounds on the end of a 55 foot forestay that is flying around the boat wildly with 3-5 foot seas. Al was able to grab and hold on to the furling unit and one point he actually was lifted off the deck. Freida was able to grab Al and they were able to secure the furling unit with some line to the deck.

The sail was being torn to bits during this hold ordeal. The sail is was only 1 year old. The sail even though it was torn we were not able to get the sail down and created a few problems docking. Once we were at the dock we were able to get the sail down and the mast secure.

Celebration has a cutter rig, which means it has an additional sail on the front of the boat. We this sail it has an additional stay, which attaches to the mast to the bow of the boat. If it were not for this additional stay the mast would have come down.

We have everything under control now and will get underway tomorrow down the ICW to Fort Pierce Florida where we are going to get a new forestay, roller furler and jib. We are suppose to be there on Monday and should be on our way to the Bahamas on Tuesday.

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leaving the docks

Every nook and cranny is full of food, drink or other necessities.  I don't know about the guys but I didn't sleep well last night. I am not sure if it is nerves, excitement, or just plan panic. well this will be the last post for a while.