Sailing Log of a Mahe 36

Charleston

2009-08-08T21:22:00.001+01:00

After Jo has been researching quite a lot about shipping everything back to England it all has seemed to come together today as one of the companies rang back and is coming over to give us an estimate on what we would need.

He came and told us all of the information we needed to know and answered any questions what we had.

Now we just have to sort through everything and decided what wants taking back and put it all into boxes.

We haven't got anything else planned to do for the rest of our day which is quite good in a way as it is too hot to do anything.

Alex Penney

Change of Pace…

2009-08-08T15:02:00.000+01:00

After much deliberating, Kevin and I have decided to pursuit new career opportunities in the UK and call a slightly earlier end to our travels. We have a fantastic adventure which we will always treasure and memories which will last a lifetime. However, we both feel the need for a change of pace, now that time out of the rat race has given us both the opportunity to decide what we want to do next.

We will be completing our travels in New York after sailing in under the Statue of Liberty with Alex, Donna and Mark and we cannot think of a better end to our trip than to end on such a high.

Therefore, we are putting Invincible up for sale for someone to get more use out of her than we will be able to do. If her new owners have half the fun we have had they will be pleased that they too took the leap.

Charleston

2009-08-07T20:44:00.000+01:00

After a late start to the day we all went and had showers before we headed into downtown Charleston we were waiting for the marina courtesy van when the broker Peter called who had a few things to sort out and offered to take us in.

He drove us around the peninsular showing us the residential area and where he used to live explaining how it had changed over time, he couldn’t quite drop us off near to where everything was as there had been a gas leak and some of the roads had been closed which caused loads of traffic jams all along the smaller streets.

We eventually made our way to where all of the restaurants were situated and choose to eat in a smoke house which brewed its own beer. Dad and I shared some chicken wings which were very tasty and then came our main course Dad had smoked ribs which he really enjoyed and Jo and I had a pizza each Jo had smoked vegetable and I had smoked bacon, we could see them making the pizza and putting them into the ovens right near to where we were sat.

After our lunch we went for more of a look around of Charleston so we headed toward the water front where the was a huge fountain with lots of children playing in it.

This sign made us all laugh

Also along the pier were a few swing benches so we all had a seat and a few minutes sat there swinging.

Me and Dad

At the end of the pier we could see over Cooper river.

Jo and I

We then had a quick walk through the park and went back on to the main street and had one last drink in a cafe bar before we got the marina van back.

But on the way back Jo and I had noticed that we had missed the main shopping street so we quite disappointed we hadn’t found that.

We got back to the boat and just was relaxing and as it was getting dark we heard a few shouts and when we went to go and see what it was a huge fish had jumped out of the water, we are not sure what it was but it was about six foot long, but hopefully it didn’t die as Dad managed to push it back in to the water after it flapped around and grunted for a little bit.

After that nothing else eventful happened and we just watched the day the earth stood still and went to bed.

Alex Penney

Charleston

2009-08-06T20:12:00.000+01:00

As the decision had been made to sell the boat here in Charleston there was then quite a lot of plans to be changed and new things to research and other things to sort out.

First of all there was a yacht broker to be found that we were going to sell Invincible with, and that was going to be Charleston yacht sales.

So we went in to the office to talk to them about selling the boat and sorted most things out and in the same afternoon Peter cam around and took pictures of the boat, so we had to do a frantic clean of the boat to get he looking nice for all the photographs.

The day past very quickly and was soon getting quite late, so we went and had showers and ready for some tea out we went to the office to see if there was any other restaurants nearby but it turned out there wasn’t so we ate in the same place as last night. But we didn’t mind as the food there was very nice.

I ended the night by watching pursuit of happiness which i had never seen but thought it was a really good film.

Alex Penney

Isle of Hope sail to Charleston

2009-08-04T21:25:00.000+01:00

We set off from the Isle of Hope marina surrounded by dolphins coming right up behind the boat and went down the I.C.W and headed for the Atlantic on our way out we saw two fighter jets.

Isle of Hope marina

We soon got out of the channel and what we thought was the sea but it was still only about six metres deep three miles offshore.

We decided to get the fishing rods out to see if we could catch anything but on the first bite we got was on my line and my reeling wasn’t fast enough and it got away, unfortunately we didn’t get anymore catches after that.

Me fishing

But Dad and Jo did see a loggerhead turtle whilst we were on our journey and it was about a metre long but i missed it.

We also managed to get the sails up which is quite rare for around here as there isn’t much wind and mostly motoring along the rivers and canals.

We approached an inlet which looked like it had appropriate shelter of where we could anchor off for the night. It was just off Spit island.

When we got there it was just in time to watch the sunset.

The sunset

We all enjoyed our night eating our tea outside under all the stars and the full moon and in almost silence apart from the noise of the water and the occasionally pesky insect.

In the morning we decided to go up the I.C.W for the rest of our journey we kept our eyes out for otters because they are meant to live around the area of Charleston but we never saw any and we were disappointed, but we did see lots more dolphins and a lot of pelicans.

We then had to wait for the Elliot cut swing bridge to open so we dropped the anchor and waited for a little while but it was soon open and we were approaching Charleston.

From first views it looked very nice and when we were coming in to the marina there was boats everywhere.

We moored up along the mega dock (which every time you walk down it seems to get longer each time!)

Once we settled down we went and found the nearest restaurant as we were all starving and not long after we had eaten we were back to the boat and fast asleep in bed.

Alex Penney

Isle of Hope Marina

2009-08-02T23:56:00.000+01:00

Today Jo and I set off for our shopping trip we had previously seen that there was a big mall near to where we were staying so we decided that there would be a good place to head to.

When we got there it was around dinner time so we stopped of before our shopping begun to get some dinner we both had a wrap from the food court and set off ready to shop.

We headed straight for Macy’s because Jo had seen they had some nice suits to buy on the internet.

We wondered into the huge shop not knowing where to start as we walked around a few of the corners we found the right section and as well as there being lots of suits to choose from there were a lot of suits in the petite section for Jo.

After we spent a while looking through some of the suits the pile had grown quite a lot and it was getting hard to carry so that is when Jo started to try on, from the first lot we didn’t find any which were right, so straight back out again to choose some more to try on that time we were successful and we found 4 and later on picked up an additional one making 5 one for everyday of the week.

Next job was to find tops to wear this one also took some time and lots of trying on until we found a few that we liked.

We looked for some shoes to match but didn’t find any appropriate ones they were all summer shoes which wouldn’t be quite right in English weather.

We then decided that we didn’t want to carry all of Jo’s new clothes around with us whilst doing the rest of our shopping so took them back to the car to then go back to Macy’s. This time it was for me because i had seen they had a choice of jeans. I saw some very nice Levi jeans which was very confusing with the sizing but after trying them on i got the right ones.

We were a bit exhausted after all of that shopping so we stopped for a smoothie which we both enjoyed.

We then did a last look around for some shoes but yet again they were mostly sandals and open toed so no luck there.

When we got back to the marina we were surprised at the time because we didn’t think we had been that long and dad was amazed at how much Jo had got.

Meanwhile whilst we were out shopping dad stayed on the boat just tidying up.

Afterwards as we still had the hire car we thought we would make use out of it and would go out for tea at a nice grill that we had seen a little up the road from where we was at the marina.

It turned out to be extremely nice for appetizers dad had blackened tuna bites and Jo and I shared the peel and eat shrimps which are caught locally, the main course was just as good we all chose of the specials as they all sounded so nice, I had tilapia, dad had flounder and Jo had seafood pasta but she got given so much they gave us a box to take it home in and we planned on having it for our dinner tomorrow along with some of the dough balls which they gave us to start with.

Isle of Hope Marina

2009-08-01T19:22:00.001+01:00

Today is Sean’s last day in America as he flies home today.

Jo has hired a car and is driving him down to Orlando airport from here which is going to take most of the day.

Dad and I are now giving the boat a good clean because it is surprising how dirty it can get and very quickly too.

We have done the laundry and just getting everything tidied away before Jo gets back.

As we have the hire car i think we might be driving to a nice restaurant tonight for some tea.

Alex Penney

Savannah

2009-07-31T18:14:00.000+01:00

We all got up early and set off to catch the bus. We knew that it would take us into the centre and that would be where all the main attractions were.

When we got there we were at the bottom of River street which is one of the main streets in Savannah which runs along side of the water.

SS Savannah

Boy playing the ukulele

We noticed throughout the day that there were a lot of signs up and around Savannah discouraging panhandling.

We saw a very nice restaurant called Huey’s so we all went in for some brunch.

Where Dad and Sean had egg Benedict which Sean had never had before but really enjoyed it, Jo and I had Pain Perdue which i found really nice especially with lots of syrup on. After having a few more coffees and lemonades we set off on a walk down Bull street which is where most of the squares are situated and it has been voted one of the top ten walking streets in America.

It was very picturesque with lots of monuments of people who had died in wars mainly fighting against us surrounded by very nice houses.

But the best square of all that is situated in Savannah is that which featured in Forest Gump.

But unfortunately they had taken the bench away and put it into a museum but they hadn’t replaced it so we had to improvise and just sit on the wall.

We then went up to the city market which used to be the place where slaves were bought and sold but now it is full of bars, restaurants and shops, we spotted a very nice sweet shop so we went inside to have a look around also to cool off as it was very hot and we all tried the ice cream which was delicious.

We then headed back to River street which was quite busy at that time because there was a protest happening about Obama.

There was a free bus, tram and ferry service in Savannah so we decided that we would go along River street on the streetcar as they call it here.

Dotty the tram

We looked around a few of the shops which have really funny t-shirts for sale. We then saw a restaurant called the shrimp factory which sounded like the perfect place to eat considering the local speciality is shrimp. Jo and I had shrimp and scallop tortellini, Dad had half a pound of shrimp and Sean stuck with a chicken sandwich which turned out to be a chicken burger.

We went for a walk along the the river and we saw a statue of something so we went to look what it was and it turned out to be the Olympic flame it was there because Savannah hosted the sailing section of the Olympics in 1996.

Olympic flame

We then continued our shopping but still not buying anything we then went for one last drink in a bar which ended up being more than one because we got trapped inside as a big storm had occurred outside.

When it was just a bit of drizzle we went and got a taxi back because we had missed the last bus back to the Isle of Hope as they weren’t very frequent anyway.

When we got back we watched a few more Simpsons episodes with some snacks and drinks and then decided to go to bed.

Alex Penney

Jekyll Island to Isle of Hope Marina

2009-07-29T17:41:00.000+01:00

We set off in the morning back down the I.C.W where we had entered Jekyll island but this time we were going out down the channel and in to the Atlantic.

As we headed out there was slight spots of rain coming down this was then followed by a huge squall which reduced visibility so we were all on the look out for the channel marker buoys as we had to avoid a big reef which was near to the channel.

When all of that was out of the way and the weather had cleared up it was already time for the night watches to begin.

Whilst Dad and I were on watch we reached speeds of 7.3 knots whilst under sail.

Then we arrived at the tricky bit. It was still dark but we needed to go up the channel to get to where we were going. But hardly any of the channel markers had any lights on so Dad and Jo had the job of having to navigate through all of that only to find when we reached the bridge it was not open until the morning so we had to drop the anchor and wait till it was time to lift the bridge.

We eventually reached the Isle of Hope marina which is very nice.

We settled down and all had some breakfast before going off in the courtesy car to go and get some food shopping. However the map they had given us was all the wrong way and was very detailed but eventually we found Wal-mart and inside was a subway so we all had a sub for our dinner which we all enjoyed then we worked our way around the huge Wal-mart getting everything we needed including a Simpsons DVD which when we got back to the boat we all enjoyed watching.

At Wal-mart we also bought some of the enormous steaks that they had and Sean and I had never tried them before and we had heard they were very nice so we enjoyed eating them.

After sailing everybody was tired so we had an early night.

Alex Penney

Cumberland Island to Jekyll Island

2009-07-28T15:36:00.000+01:00

We had an early start for our sail to Jekyll island it was a very hot day with not a lot of wind however, the tide was with us as we headed up the I.C.W where again we saw the huge houses along the side all with their own motor boats and jetties.

Along the way we passed a submarine base and we were carefully watched by a small boat as we went past.

Submarine

After that we started to approach the end of Cumberland island and we were all quite disappointed that we didn’t see much wildlife when we was there and then Sean noticed that there was a wild horse stood on the beach.

Wild horse on the beach

We weren’t keen on the next kind of wildlife that came to visit us. There were lots of large flies that kept coming on to the boat not only were they extremely annoying they could bite too.

We then arrived at Jekyll island marina where we got moored up and checked in. We organized to use the courtesy car they had so we could pick up some shopping.

Along the way we had a de-tour to go and see they famous Jekyll Island Club and all of the holiday cottages that surrounded it.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

We also walked around all of the holiday cottages that were there, which were owned by many of Americas rich like the Rockefellers and many other wealthy families at that time.

When we got back we were all very hot so we decided to go to the pool which looked so nice, the rest of our afternoon was spent cooling off there.

Next to the pool was a restaurant called Seajay’s which seemed to be okay from the outside so we decided we would go in there for some tea. But when we got our food we knew straight away it had all come out of a packet it was very obvious as it was so bad. All of the sauces where in pre-packaged pots, they gave us mash potato which was clearly out of a box and coleslaw which was out of a tub. Even though the local speciality was shrimps we could tell that the ones we had received were from a frozen packet and the same with the meat. It was the worst food any of us had had whilst being in America. When we said something to the waitress she didn’t seem surprised at all and gave us it at half price which was alright as it was over priced as well!

When we got back to the boat we were all disappointed with our meal but we were cheered up by a lady called Lynn who we met. She was passing and said how she was thinking of buying a catamaran so we showed her round and she really liked Invincible. Afterwards she brought her dog along Charley and she showed us the Charley show which was very amusing as he could do a wide variety of tricks, she next invited us to go and look to see if she had caught anything in her crab pots which she had caught a few crabs, but we didn’t think they were that big to eat but she seemed pleased with them.

As the night was drawing in we all sat on the back of the boat and played dominos which was enjoyed mostly by me as i won!

Alex Penney

Sail from Fernandina beach to Cumberland Island

2009-07-27T17:12:00.000+01:00

In the morning Jo and I had one last quick shop around Fernandina beach and picked up a few t-shirts before we set off sail to go to Cumberland island.

Fernandina Beach main street

On our way we saw what we think is a Bubba Gump shrimp boat.

The sail to Cumberland island was not very far and in no time at all we were there moored up on the dock and going for a look around on the island where apparently there was supposed to be loads and loads of wildlife to see but unfortunately we did not see a lot all we saw were some very small tree frogs.

But we did manage to get to the beach just before it started to rain.

What we did see of the island was very nice but we got absolutely drenched by the down pour of rain on the way back and typically just as we got back to the boat it had stopped.

We spent the night on anchor looking at the beautiful island and listening to all of the creatures we could hear and looking at all of the magnificent stars we could see.

Alex Penney

Sail from St Augustine to Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island

2009-07-26T16:51:00.000+01:00

First of all we would all like to say Happy Birthday to Sean!

We set off from St Augustine and went down the I.C.W.

Me at the helm

I was amazed at all of the huge houses which were along side of the I.C.W all with their own jetties for their boats but this was my favourite one:

It was like a mansion it was enormous!

We all enjoyed how easy it was to motor down the I.C.W mostly we all read our books, Sean watched a DVD and it was all very leisurely apart from all of the motor boats that kept speeding past us and causing a huge amount of wake when it was supposed to be a no wake zone to help protect the manatee’s.

We soon arrived a Fernandina Harbour Marina which looked like it was very nice. So once everything was sorted we went and had a look around the small town and went into the palace bar for a drink which was very old in its decoration but was still nice and we went for tea and had been recommended to go and eat at an Irish bar called O’Kanes were the fish and chips were very nice indeed.

Alex Penney

St Augustine

2009-07-25T16:49:00.000+01:00

When we arrived in St Augustine from the boat we could see the fort and not long after there was a canon fired and it was almost as if they were firing at us!

So we all were intrigued to go and see what it was like.

Castillo de San Marcos Fort

The fort is over 300 years old and has been through many battles but this does not stop the park rangers from shouting at people for leaning on the walls. The walls are made from Coquina which is shells possibly oyster shells we think and they have been compressed together to from a solid brick which when shot at the canon ball is just absorbed by the wall.

There also were many canons and other types of weapons and ammunition all around the fort.

Dad

Also looking around the British quarters were interesting to see how crammed in they actually were for one bunk bed four men were expected to share two in each bed.

British quarters

From the top of the fort it was really nice but very hot there was a good point to it though and that was there were really good views of the surrounding area of St Augustine's.

Top of the fort

View from the top of the fort

For our dinner we came across an English restaurant so we decided to go in and see what it was like.

Sean in the English restaurant

It was very traditional and reminded us all of a typical English pub in how it was decorated.

We then had a quick shop around to get a few presents and other items for ourselves and we came across a very nice shop which sold homemade fudge, ice cream and chocolate and just the smell as you walked past was enough to tempt you to go inside. We ended up buying a block of rocky road fudge which was very tasty but you could only eat a small amount at once as it was slightly sickly.

As we knew we would be sailing tomorrow we all thought it would be best if we were to celebrate Sean’s birthday a night earlier.

We spotted a very nice restaurant called O.C Whites and we all really enjoyed out meals as they were delicious!

Alex Penney

Setting off sail to St Augustine from Cocoa Village Marina

2009-07-24T23:18:00.000+01:00

We set off at 11.15am heading into the I.C.W this was Sean and mine first time sailing this.

Not long after we set off we spotted manatees and dolphins.

Manatee

We then approached the first lifting bridge that Sean and I was going to go through.

NASA Canal Barge Bridge

Shortly after we reached a lock which is the first one for Invincible which then meant we left the I.C.W and we entered the Atlantic. That is where a few of the cruise boats were my favourite one was the Mickey mouse one.

Port Canaveral lock

Whilst we were in the lock there was a manatee in there with us.

We eventually got through and out of the marina area and into the Atlantic where we had to go the long way around because there was a reef which made it very shallow but it gave us a good view of Cape Canaveral where we could see all of the launch pads and buildings which belong to NASA.

Along the way there was a possible sighting of the north Atlantic right whale which is the most endangered large whale in the world.

We then got the main sail up and the Genoa up just as the night watches began first on was Dad and I we spent most of our time watching the weather, as there was a lot of lightning which was hitting the land and we were hoping that it wouldn’t reach us. Thankfully when it did get out to see it had dispersed and was nothing more than a little bit of rain, which passed over us with nothing more then a few specks.

Then it was time for a change over in night watch where Jo and Sean who decided to have a look up at the stars as the clouds had cleared and they saw a shooting star.

They also saw the sunrise on one of their watches.

Sunrise

They were also visited by a little sparrow who just had a rest on the guard rails and shortly after flew off again.

Sparrow

Soon St Augustine's was in sight and not long after we were there pulling up into the channel, however, we had missed the bridge opening so we dropped the anchor but 5 minutes later we had to lift it up again as the bridge was opening but it didn’t give us much time to get through as it sounded the horn whilst we were still in the middle of the first bridge. Later on we were informed that they are restoring the old bridge so had to build a new one for the time being which will later on be knocked down which seems pointless really.

After getting some fuel we went and moored up and we were welcomed with a down pour of rain and heavy lightning and thunder.

When it stopped raining we all went and got a shower before we went to explore the town of St Augustine’s.

Our first impressions of it was that it was very nice it has a lot of small shops and art galleries which all have really nice items in them.

Sean in St Augustine

For our tea we went out to a seafood restaurant where Dad and I shared a seafood platter and it was our first time of trying snow crab.

Our seafood platter

Soon after we went back to the boat and straight to bed as everybody was very tired from staying up on the night watches and doing some sailing.

Alex Penney

Cocoa Village Marina – Cocoa, Florida

2009-07-22T14:54:00.000+01:00

Today was a day to get the final jobs sorted out before we were to set off.

We had a quick drive to Wal-mart to pick up a few bits and when we were there the ice cream was very tempting so we decided to buy some but as we got back to the boat it had all melted in the heat and it was pouring out over the sides, so we had to eat a whole tub between us. Although it was very yummy we all now know why everybody has freezer boxes in their cars.

Jo then had to go and drop the car off which was just in time as we had a bit of difficulty trying to fill the car with petrol, as you have to lift a little lever under the pump.

Jo and I walked up to Hatleys to pick up the fixed battery charger and when we got there we were glad to be in the air conditioning as it was really hot and I slightly burnt my shoulders.

Dad and Sean went to Travis’ to get an American gas bottle as nowhere will fill our European gas bottle. After many trips forwards and back we finally got it all sorted.

Alex Penney

Universal Studios – Orlando, Florida

2009-07-21T00:37:00.000+01:00

Today was an early start eating some breakfast and then setting off to go to universal studios. Jo was the most excited of us all to get there.

Sean & I just arriving at Universal Studios

When we did arrive it was very busy and there was a lot of tour groups everywhere. But when we paid for our tickets and we were eventually in we went straight to the new Simpsons ride which was very good and totally unexpected for what happens and fortunately we only had to wait 5 minutes in the queue compared to the end of the day where people were waiting 50 minutes.

We then raced to get in to the next showing of terminator 2 3D which we all really enjoyed as it was quite unusual because it involved some actors which then merged into the 3-D film.

We had a walk around and chose to go onto Twister which was a bit of a let down really but that is comparing it to the Simpsons ride.

But we next queued for quite a while wandering in and out of many rooms for the Mummy ride, when we eventually got on to it was very good. But Simpsons was still our favourite!

We were all getting hungry by this point so we saw a nice Irish bar to eat in and Dad, Sean and I had a burger and Jo had fish & chips.

We continued on to Jaws.

Dad, Me & Sean

Which i got absolutely soaked on as the shark jumped out of the water right in front of where i was sat on the boat.

We next went to queue up for the Men in Black ride which was really interesting as we each had a little laser gun which was to shoot at any aliens we saw during the ride. Sean got the most points on this ride by shooting the most aliens.

Then we passed the kwik-e-mart so we decided to have a look inside and it was filled with lots of Simpsons souvenirs.

At this point we were all very hot so we stopped for a very large ice cream cone before continuing to queue up to go and watch Shrek 4-D which was the longest queue by far.

The new ride which they are building at the moment "Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It looks extremely good and apparently it has the largest vertical fall on it.

We all really enjoyed our day out at universal studios but after all of that walking around and quite a lot of standing we were quite glad to sit down in the car.

Overall the best ride was the Simpsons ride so we would highly recommend going on this one.

For tea we decided to go out to the pizza place as Dad had previously seen they do very very large pizzas.

Sean with large pizza

Dad, Sean and I started with chicken wings and Jo had a caser salad. When the 24 inch pizza came we were amazed.

It took a lot of eating but we still didn’t manage to eat it all. So we had to take the remaining two slices back to the boat with us.

Alex Penney

Cocoa Village Marina – Cocoa, Florida

2009-07-20T00:38:00.000+01:00

Today we had a walk around Cocoa village as Sean & I had never seen it before, so we went to look at all of the small shops.

We then went on to have a look at Cocoa beach which was very nice, so we decided to have a bit of a walk along it.

Sean, Jo & I at Cocoa Beach

We then went on to have some dinner at the restaurant red lobster. But unfortunately we couldn’t persuade Sean to try any seafood, so he stuck with eating chicken. But the rest of us tried lobster, shrimp and crab with our dinner which was very nice.

After our dinner we all wanted to go and visit JC Penney.

Sean, Dad & I

We all find it very amusing to see as you don’t often see Penney spelt like our last name.

Only Jo ended up buying something from the department store and that was a pair of sunglasses.

When we got back to the boat we decided we would go out for tea. We went to Murdock's which seems to be always busy and not surprisingly as the food there is excellent.

Alex Penney

Kennedy Space Centre – Cape Canaveral, Florida

2009-07-19T20:45:00.000+01:00

After arriving in the early hours of the morning we all got up quite early and set off to go and visit the Kennedy Space Centre.

But first of all we went to go and say goodbye to Scott & Lynn.

Scott, Lynn, Me , Kevin & Sean

All of us at NASA

When we arrived we all decided that the first thing we should go on was the shuttle launch experience simulator which is apparently the closest thing to actually taking off in the real thing. We then had a look inside a Shuttle Explorer.

Shuttle Explorer

We then went into the launch status centre where their was a man who was giving a talk all about the Kennedy Space Centre, the International Space station and what the future plans were which involves people going to live on the moon in about 20-25 years and in about 35 years when people going to live on mars, however, it would take 9 months to get there and would leave only 9 months to spend there and then to get back another 9 months. The robot scouts also was showing how it would be to live on mars and how they had achieved all this by sending robots up there to look first.

We then went to look at the 9 ton granite sphere showing the star constellations which just floats on the top of water. It spins slowly around and if your strong enough you can change the direction of which it is going.

9 ton granite celestial sphere

After that we went to the astronaut memorial which commemorates all of those who have lost their lives in the attainment of space exploration. Which made us all think about how they were all extremely committed to their jobs.

Astronaut memorial plaque

This was then followed by a look around the rocket garden where there are 8 quite big rockets.

Rocket garden

There was also an opportunity to sit in some of the smaller shuttles. Which we found out it did not have a lot of room inside of them.

Jo & I sat in a shuttle

We then watched a film in the huge IMAX about the International Space Station which we found really interesting seeing how they all lived whilst on the station, but again mentioned how this would help them achieve to finding out how to live on the mars and the moon. We then checked out the a small section which was dedicated to the Hubble telescope showing really amazing photographs which it had taken.

We also looked around the Early Space Exploration facility which was showing all of the very early stages of what happened at NASA.

When we visited one of the many souvenir shops we saw Jim Lovell who used to be an astronaut signing autographs.

We then went on a Space Centre tour on the bus where we saw many things such as: the 7 feet deep track they had built which accommodated moving the shuttles and rockets when they were to be moved on the crawler which must get its name as it travels at only 1mph. We also saw the vehicle assembly building which was very large and the stripes on the flag which are painted on the side of the building are 8 feet wide.

Vehicle Assembly Building

Our first stop was at the observation gantry which we climbed to the top of to get the great views of the launch pad where the most recent shuttle had launched from.

view from 39 observation gantry

The second stop on the bus tour was at the Apollo/Saturn 5 centre which was amazing to see as it was just so big at 363 feet long. We went into the theatre and watched a recreation of the first landing on the moon which was really well thought out.

Saturn 5

Recreation of the first moon landing

Also there was a small piece of moon rock which we were able to touch in the centre.

They had also kept the original 1960’s control centres where all of the old computers and other equipment was still there from all of the Apollo missions.

Apollo mission control

We unfortunately had to miss out visiting the international space station centre as we had to get back to the main visitor complex and we had booked into the IMAX cinema again but this time to watch the Star Trek movie which was really good to watch on such a big screen.

All of this was a very impressive first day for Sean & I in Florida but it made us all very tired so not long after we got back we were all off to bed.

Alex Penney

Dragon Point, Intercoastal Waterway, Florida, USA

2009-07-10T21:01:00.000+01:00

We are both dozing about 6am but struggling due to buzzing near our ears. We switch on the light to find little thunderfly- type insects all over the cabin ceiling. Yuck, even worse these little black flies bite with such a sharp bite you can feel it straightaway. We both jump out of bed. We can only imagine that they have come in through the flyscreens that we have fitted. We knew being so close to a mangrove which was literally buzzing with insects was not going to be a good thing and had been tormented out of the cockpit very early on the night before.

Leaving Vero Beach

We decide as we have paid up already to make use of the early start and get straight out before it gets too hot. It is a little overcast and with a light breeze so we even manage to motorsail. I decide to make a start with my spring clean before Alex and Sean arrive in a weeks time with a clean of the saloon cushions whilst we are motoring as these jobs are unbearable when the sun is out. Kevin sets to as well on polishing the guard wires.

Pelicans relaxing on the convenient resting posts provided

Little islets in the ICW provide a nature haven

It is another lovely cruise in the ICW, it is so relaxing and it is like being in a wildlife park. We have our first confirmed manatee sightings, it is difficult to spot them as the water is quite murky with the sediment all you see if the oval of their back and then a fin as they disappear, but I am thrilled anyway, I have always wanted to see one. The only disturbance of the ICW is those people on large speedboats who pass within yards at full speed leaving us with a full short beam on swell causing us to roll. One comes by just after I pass Kevin his morning expresso, he is too busy trying to turn us into it to steady the cup and it all goes flying everywhere as I try to grab things in the saloon. I have to confess I called the boat up on the VHF to berate him afterwards, but got no response. It wasn’t even a bunch of young lads like you might expect but 2 older couples, perhaps they thought it was like overtaking on a road?!

Dolphins regularly pass us in the ICW

We have now passed under several fixed span bridges, the average height is 65ft and they have a helpful gauge on the supports giving the actual clearance plus / minus tide. The first couple of times are nerve wracking but after that we become quite blaze.

US courtesy flag now proudly flying on Invincible

We anchored up in a small subchannel near a place called Dragon Point though the fibreglass dragon is now no more than green marks on the rocks. We see a stingray fully clear the water just behind the boat, the second we have seen jump like that, followed shortly by a manatee. It is a lovely spot, again surrounded by luxury houses.

Dragon Point Anchorage

You can just make out the manatee, Dragon Point Anchorage

I decide to go ashore to get the milk we forgot from the mall I can see just ashore and head into the marina. I visit the Ship’s Store out of courtesy for using their dingy dock and find that they have engine spares. They have Volvo, but again not the ones we need. The owner warns me that I am not allowed to leave my dingy on the dock as they have had a lawsuit after a trip and fall incident as he calls it. Obviously I don’t know the details but if he can really be sued someone for tripping on the free courtesy dingy dock it seems like litigation gone mad. He informs me that the only place I can get ashore now is to pull it up a grassy bank along the shore. There is one dingy already there, but it is a steep overgrown bank and a Private Property sign is just the other side of the bush from this spot, so it is the bottom of someone’s garden. I decide it doesn’t look too inviting in shorts and flip flops and there are big black clouds forming, I wonder if the person suing thought about that…

Not long after I return, the huge squall hits, visibility drops so we can hardly see the shore and waves form across the whole ICW as strong winds gust around the boat. You can hardly imagine that the sun was shining 5 minutes before. We settle down for a film in the evening ready to get another early start, with any luck to get us all the way to Titusville.

Dragon Point anchorage during the squall

Vero Beach, Intercoastal Waterway (ICW), Florida, USA

2009-07-09T19:36:00.000+01:00

I called NASA in the morning (as you do!) and asked about the closures but the lady in the press office did not sound very convincing or authoritative “ should think”, “I’d imagine” etc. We decide not risk our chance of a lifetime to see the shuttle launch and decide to head up the ICW, as anywhere north of here we will see it’s trajectory. However we are aiming to get to Titusville, security restrictions allowing, where we should be able to see the launch pad. We decide to take the 60 miles in 3 hops, the first to Vero Beach which although only 12 miles away has been frequently recommended.

Fort Pierce lifting bridge

Our first ICW trip, “down the ditch” as it is sometime known is coinciding with my parents first fulltime week of cruising the UK canals and it seems oddly appropriate. The first half a mile starts with our first challenge though, a lifting bridge, we have the VHF on but fail to catch the one boat going through making their request. In the end I call them on Ch. 16 and am politely informed by someone to go to Ch. 9. The friendly bridge attendant informs me that they are an on request bridge (as opposed to timed opening) and if we’d like to come up he’ll let us through. It is perhaps unfairly quite a fun feeling having all the traffic stop to let you through and quite a queue has formed by the time we reach the other side and the bridge has dropped again with a friendly wave from the man in the little windowed box.

Luxury homes line the ICW

First trial over we settle down to a fantastic cruise down the waterway. The ICW is over 3000 miles long including the Gulf coast route west of Miami. The Atlantic route goes from north of Maine to Florida and is actually miles wide in parts and not like a man made canal but actually lots of connected natural waterways. The route we took was about 3 miles wide or more most of the way bordered by mangroves one side and beautiful enormous villas hidden in the woods on the other. There were lots of small boats with one or two people on board fishing over the side. It is a fantastic wildlife haven we saw dolphins regularly through the day, in small groups of 1-3 moving quite slowly, I think of a different perhaps harbour variety. We saw about 3 osprey, dozens of pelicans, mostly reclining on channel markers, a lone flamingo, cormorants diving and lots of fish jumping.

People out fishing between the mangroves in the ICW

We arrived just before lunch at Vero Beach City marina, in a beautiful spot up a small channel off the ICW. There was not a ripple on the water and it was really peaceful, except for the loud crickets in the mangroves just infront of our mooring which showed signs of many bugs for the evening. We got the dingy down for the first time in a couple of weeks and went to check in. We quickly disposed of rubbish and took a shower before jumping on the next free bus into town which comes right into the marina. The bus is excellent and drops you right outside the supermarket, we made our donation. We decided to head to lunch first and found a deli just opposite. We were both starving and were pleased to find nearly every table taken even on a midweek day at 1.30pm. Our waitress told us that we should take our time over the huge menu. I had a vegetable reuben wrap served with fresh fruit and Kevin a pastrami and corned beef (of the American variety not like the stuff in tins from the UK) sandwich, both of which were absolutely delicious. It was also the best service you can imagine, the manager even came to introduce himself and welcome us to the area.

Invincible in the ICW

Next we went to West Marine and bought another fan! (You can see a theme here), this one with an internal battery which means we can use it in our cabin which charges from 12v and 240v or we can use batteries. We also belatedly managed to get our US courtesy flag, though we got a really well made sewn not printed one to make up for it. Finally we headed to the supermarket, where we were again overwhelmed by choice and stocked up again on fresh fruit and vegetables. We went out to get the last bus back, only to be offered a lift by a lovely older couple leaving at the same time in the rain. They were ex-cruisers themselves and recognised the signs of us waiting for the bus. We had a lovely chat about the 10-15 years they’d spent cruising their boat from their previous home in New York to the Virgin Islands before they sold it in the 80’s.

Invincible in the ICW

Kevin unpacked the shopping whilst I went back ashore to make use of the bookswap in the air conditioned Captain’s lounge in the marina with TV and free phone – surely the best marina we have been to anywhere, with immaculate facilities and helpful staff. Finally we sat back for a quiet night with a book and a cool sleep under the new fan!

Picnic area at Vero Beach City Marina

Fort Pierce Anchorage, Florida, USA

2009-07-08T18:55:00.000+01:00

We get an early start for our ocean sail along the Gulf Stream to Fort Pierce of 49 miles. The sun is shining bright already but there is a lovely breeze and we enjoy looking at the fabulous houses along the entrance. We see an osprey sat on one of the channel markers before we even get out on to the ocean.

Beautiful houses line the waterway

Osprey surveys the waters from starboard channel marker

We are able to put up full sail for the first time in months and have one of our best sails ever on flat calm waters with a steady breeze and the Gulf Stream in our favour giving us 6-9 knots over ground all the way. The water is literally alive with fish with ripples all over of them breaking the surface and fish sometimes very large clearing the surface in escape from predators. This is also demonstrated by the large number of fishing boats around. We are only about 2 miles offshore and all the smaller ~20-30ft craft are near us and on the horizon Kevin counts 30 plus sports fishing boats out on the ocean shelf contour for the big fish. However, it certainly doesn’t seem to be having any effect of fish numbers. Kevin puts out lines in the water but we only only manage a Spanish mackerel, the lures we have for the small inshore fish are not really designed for this boat speed.

Invincible under full sail at long last

It is not long before Kevin spots the first loggerhead turtle fairly close to the boat and easily identifiable by it’s size being double the size of those we have seen in the Caribbean. Kevin is also the one to spot a large shape break the surface of the water and shouts me to come and see but I am not quick enough. We later work out from various posters in the area that this must be one of the protected Right Whales which breed along this coastline, recognisable from the lack of a dorsal fin. A manta ray then chooses the moment I go back below about an hour later to glide past the slide of the boat as Kevin futilely shouts me to come back on deck. We have never seen such a variety and abundance of life on one trip before and realise how luck the people of Florida are to have the Gulf Stream on their doorsteps.

Arriving at Fort Pierce

We arrived in Fort Pierce early afternoon and took a spot in the anchorage outside the marina and in front of the lifting bridge. We were amused to see Jason another cruiser we met in Riviera Beach moored nearby, though he wasn’t onboard. Fairly soon after anchoring the squall which had been threatening with strong winds and black skies hits so we retire inside for some food. We managed to get an internet connection and decided to check the NASA site for launch updates as our next ocean hop would take us to the Port Canaveral entrance and I was worried by previous reports it might be shut from a couple of days before the launch. I find the website and read the press release about the closures. It seems that the security restrictions started on Tuesday, 4 days before the launch and it is really unclear whether the Port Canaveral entrance (lifting bridge and locks) are operating. The detour if they aren’t is massive, there is also talk of an exclusion zone in the ocean 64 nm out to sea. We decide to call NASA in the morning to confirm and may take the “inside” route up the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) instead to get as close as we can.

Escorted in by Pelicans

Kevin goes out on deck after dark and calls me out, we can hear the distinct sound of something breaking the water and breathing. It sounds like either manatees or dolphins. I hope it is a manatee which I would love to see, such beautiful and innocent looking creatures.

West Palm Beach Anchorage, Florida, USA

2009-07-07T18:29:00.000+01:00

We are up early to try and get everything done before we need to leave the marina at lunchtime. We plan to go to the anchorage in the ICW by the Lake Worth exit before an early start tomorrow morning.

Kevin has the engine services to do and I need to go to the supermarket for a few things we forgot last time as it is likely to be a few days before we stop anywhere for long. I head out on the bus and am lucky enough to get one as soon as I get to the bus stop. I am also desperately hoping to find a hairdressers as I have been promising myself a new hairdo for months as soon as we got to the States. I am looking more and more like a surfer chick with bleached highlights and straggly ends, but we have been here a week and I have still not managed it. When I get to the mall there is one hairdresser there but it is empty except the elderly black guy hairdresser and looks like an old fashioned barbers shop, I decide this is probably not the place for my makeover and head to the supermarket.

I arrive back to find Kevin up to his waist in the engine bay in the direct sun with a slight breeze literally dripping. I swab him down and start to work myself. I get a trolley and go to fetch the diesel and pay up for the slip. The lady in the office say I must get an attendant to help fill the jerry cans (the fuel jetty is being renovated), he however starts the pump and retires into the shade leaving me to it. Very sensible it is scorching hot. When I get back Kevin has finished the engine service and I walk back along the pontoons to dispose of the oil waste. The disposal facility is right at the back of the huge warehouse of powerboats stored in the rack storage facility, looking pristine, definitely a really good way to keep a seldom used boat. Water is topped off and Invincible washed down.

West Palm Beach Anchorage

We then head back in to have a shower before we hand in the key for the marina, the showers are air-conditioned and it forms our favourite part of the day as you get a little bathroom area to use and we finally cool down after all the running around. We go to the marina office to see if our post has arrived and are pleased to head back to the boat with our parcels. We check the contents all charts and books are there and I make my sixth and last walk down the pontoons that day to hand in the key. We move easily off the mooring and breath a sigh of relief to get onto the anchorage. The ICW is really wide at this point and we are south of Peanut Island with beautiful villas overlooking us and flat calm waters. A squall passes over and reduces the temperature again before we get an early night.

West Palm Beach Anchorage

Riviera Beach City Marina, Florida, USA

2009-07-06T18:07:00.000+01:00

As it was Monday today we could start again with some boat jobs, now America had reopened after the 4th celebrations. I was supposed to be going up the mast, but after days of sweltering without even a breeze today was quite windy so we delayed that job. The other important job was to sort out our Furuno warranty issue and we spoke to Karen our broker at MI Cats who confirmed we were still covered and will chase it up, but we have holidays of the customer service rep at FP and French Bank Holidays coming up etc to cope with so we are not expecting resolution before we move on.

The next job was to order paper and electronic charts for the east coast of the US as well as pilot books. Our electronic charts don’t even cover us as far as our next port of call, so we can’t really leave without them as we have nothing to cover the area. Paper charts are also a must with all the lightning storms in the area. Finally after speaking to David at Blue Water Books in Fort Lauderdale we settle on the Maptech Pilot books which we need only two volumes of to get us all the way to New York. We have a bit more to-and fro over the paper charts as we wanted Admiralty, not least as they are in metric and we know the symbols but they don’t have those in stock. David seems a little affronted I don’t want the American NOAA charts and eventually I am persuaded as we can get them straightaway.

Next stop is the chandlery up the road which according to the never ending internet searching stocks Volvo Penta parts so we can get oil filters. We arrive to find they have only petrol engine parts, not diesel so those will have to stay on the list for now. We have enough to do the service the next day but then will not have spares. We are far more successful at the next chandlery when Kevin triumphantly walks up to me with a Seagull filter (drinking water filter) off the shelf. I had assured him repeatedly after internet searching West Marine and the manufacturer’s website and even calling them for the nearest stockist that we would not find any locally! We stocked up on various cleaning agents and also a 12V fan to try to counteract the heat. Whilst we are out Cal calls to say he is coming over so we head back to the boat.

Cal comes by and he and Kevin march around Invincible having rigging / fit out discussions (as Cal has an Fountaine Pajot catamaran too). We have a beer and say our goodbyes as we are planning to head north the following day. We are really keen to see the shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral on 11th July and we have realised how close that is getting.

Finally, Kevin wants to have his last Tiki bar burger before we go and it apparently rates as the best he has had so far so he is happy. I have the shrimp salad again and it is luscious with fresh pineapple, asparagus, artichokes, almonds, olives etc etc.

Riviera Beach City Marina, Florida, USA

2009-07-05T17:28:00.000+01:00

The party mood continued around the marina today, the campers at Peanut Island were a little quieter but determined to continue the celebrations until work beckoned. The Stars and Stripes were still out in force.

Stars and Stripes out in force Campers on Peanut Island

We were also feeling a little subdued today and didn’t venture off the boat. We decided we were not feeling up to the Tiki bar invitation and instead just caught up on a few internet jobs and reading.

Happy 4th! American Independence Day

2009-07-04T17:23:00.000+01:00

The main job today was to find a grocery store / supermarket to get some supplies for the boat and to take with us to the July 4th party we were attending in the afternoon. We set off out of the marina and by the corner of the street we were already drenched with sweat from the humidity and I remembered that the buses weren’t running. The supermarket was two miles away and we weren’t even sure it would be open. We decided to head back to the marina to find someone to ask. I approached the water sports hut and said “We are not from round here I wonder if I could ask a quick question”, only to get a response in an English accent to say, “no I’m not either!” It turned out that he had actually been here for 2-3 years and assured us we would find the supermarket open, we decided for the first time to get a taxi there and he called one for us. Being driven to the supermarket in a leather seated Lincoln Continental with full aircon was a luxury I’m not sure we can afford every trip, but it was very nice.

We did go a bit mad at the supermarket particularly on fresh fruit which we’ve not been able to find reliably since the Canary Islands. We filled our shopping trolley /cart to the brim and I was even asked for ID to buy the beer we bought for the party by the friendly shop assistant. Once back at the boat we unpacked and gorged on several pounds of an enormous watermelon which became our lunch and was a welcome refreshment in the heat.

We got a call from Cal to say that a guy called Bill also in the West Palm Yacht Club would pick us for the party as he was coming to the Tiki Bar for a drink first. Bill duly called at about 3pm and we went round to meet him and friend Stephanie at the bar. They were both fairly new arrivals to Florida and the club and hadn’t joined the 4th raft party before. We had a good chat and they came back to look at Invincible whilst we picked up our party food and then headed off to the Yacht Club just up the road. Bill took us across in his dingy to Cal & Marty’s boat which was already rafted to two others, where Stephanie and I got off and Kevin and Bill went off to bring Bill’s boat over. Unfortunately this also entailed getting ice and fuel for the dingy and by the time Kevin came back he was quite sunburnt and hot from running around in the heat still he was quickly refreshed by Cal and Marty our excellent hosts. Debating the mast climbMarty relaxing on deck

Kevin joins the winching working partyCal decides sensibly that the spreaders is far enough!

Cal back safe and sound

Cal & Marty

I think there were 5 boats in the raft in the end and probably 30 people by the evening, quite a mixed bunch of sailors and non-sailors. It was a really fun afternoon and evening. Cal being a professional photographer volunteered to go up the mast in the afternoon to get a shot of everyone. There was alot of wake / swell in the bay and it was quite a rolly and sobering experience I think for his first mast climb. Luckily he returned to the deck safe and sound. We had a few jibes about being English at an American Independence party, it was all taken in good humour and Kevin just replied that without the English there wouldn’t be the party! Everyone congregated on the foredeck / trampolines for the fireworks at 9.30pm which were spectacular though we were a little far away to hear all the bangs. We really enjoyed meeting everyone, especially Cal & Marty who we got on well with and will be meeting again before we leave the area. We’ve also been invited to the Tiki Bar at 3pm on Sunday to meet another cruising couple… there is a bit of an alcohol theme forming already in our US stay I think!

Watching the fireworks

Riviera Beach City Marina, Florida, USA

2009-07-03T15:41:00.000+01:00

We spent some more time on the internet this morning trying to source all the things we needed for the jobs we needed to do and working out how and where we could receive them. After spending ages selecting what we wanted I called to try and place the order (not wishing to risk them being out of stock and unable to deliver whilst we were still here) only to find it was a national holiday today for American Independence day. I was also unable to get hold of the Furuno agent I’d located to see how our warranty request was going. Feeling like we not going to make much progress today and with the party starting all around us as live music started up about lunch time from the Tiki bar we began to think perhaps we should be joining in with the local customs instead. So we decided to down tools.

All through the day there had been a constant stream of small power boats passing with local boaters out to join the party with music going and stocked with cooler boxes. Peanut Island opposite the marina, formed by the dredging of the Intercoastal canal in the 1920’s had one tent on the beach when we arrived yesterday, but through the day a whole line of them started appearing with power boats rafted all along the shore. The ferry across was full every trip and running about every 20minutes all day.

I decided I wanted to go shopping and was told this was a big US shopping weekend, so I headed out on the bus to the Garden Shopping Mall. I was a bit confused with the system of the automatic money machine on the bus and needed a bit of instruction from the driver. This prompted the crowd of locals stood in the gangway to immediately ask me if I was English, I wasn’t sure if this referred to my accent or my inability with the machine but agreed I was. There was a bit of good natured joking about being English – which was to become a bit of a theme for this Independence weekend but it was all in good fun. I asked them to warn me when I was at my stop and the driver agreed to shout me.

I loved looking out at first the variety of shops along the route golf cart stores, Thai massage, book swap store. We then got into the seriously rich neighbourhood with immaculate landscaping, impeccably equidistant palm trees all down the central reservation of the large streets. The bus was air conditioned with a cycle rack on the front, used by three of the passengers and then a lady in a wheel chair got off the bus suspension lowered and the integral ramp was lowered down. All very efficient, the buildings were well spaced and traffic running smoothly and it was actually a welcome change from the more rustic nature of the Caribbean.

Bloomingdale’s at the Garden Mall

I was very excited on arriving at the enormous Garden Mall to see it contained a Bloomingdale’s, Macey’s and Sears. I was completely ignorant as to what any of those stores sold, but the names were so familiar and iconic American that it was all part of the experience. The centre of the mall had water features and flower displays and marble toped public tables and was really pristine. As much as it would have been lovely to go on a wild spending spree in the mall, on a cruising budget that is really not the idea, so I restricted myself to the new bedding and mobile phone that I had come out to get. I was never really a shopping addict in the UK, but something about being in the Caribbean for so long where it is hard to get what you need makes it a fun experience. I managed to get all that I needed, new pillows, mattress covers and a pay as you go mobile phone. The size of the bags I returned with were satisfactorily large that I thought Kevin would probably panic I had been on a wild spree when he saw me!

Beautiful shopping malls in Florida

I love how friendly all of the Americans are, I was walking past a lady and her friend sitting in their garden having a drink when I got off the bus and one of the shouted out to say “ooh lots of bag, looks like a good shopping trip!”, I said I was sorry to disappoint but the huge bags were pillows. Kevin did look duly worried when I returned but was suitably impressed by the good prices here.

We even got a USB TV dongle allowing us to pick up TV on the boat. However, our first attempt seemed to suggest that we had only got Christian and Spanish language TV, so we decided to cut our losses and go to the Tiki Bar to join the party to could hear going on there as the 4th celebrations continued.

Kevin and our bargain beer bucket ironically of Bahamian beer at the Tiki bar

Riviera Beach City Marina, Florida, USA

2009-07-02T14:44:00.000+01:00

We decided to take a dock at the nearby City Marina, being as it was quite reasonable according to their website and it is much either to be alongside with lots of boat jobs to do. We were up early and eventually got them on the radio to be assigned a hammerhead on the entrance to the marina. We got showered and changed and headed off to clear into the States. The customs building is just along the shoreline, but it is still a fair walk round by the road. We arrived into the four storey immaculate new building and remarked how things were different now from the sheds, broom cupboards and portacabins where customs officers are usually to be found at your average port. A fairly easy security search and up to the second floor. We approached the glass window to be told that we had broken the law by coming to the office without first telephoning Homeland Security before we first landed. Not a good start. Apparently we would need an arrival number from them before we could be cleared in. I had known we needed to telephone in with Homeland Security, but hadn’t quite realised the order of events, as it is quite normal for the captain to have to go immediately to clear in everywhere else.

Anyway, it seems they would let us off as it was a new system, but the officer dialled the number for me and pasted the received through the letter box in the bulletproof glass for me to report in. We were then kept on hold for literally 25 minutes. During this time a crew of a superyacht and another local guy came in and out. Whilst we were waiting another officer in full uniform and big boots came in and announced he’d just been on our boat! A little surprised when we hadn’t actually even told him our boat name that this had happened. Anyway, it seems that it was a different boat that he’d just been on, though apparently they had looked round Invincible too as we’d had our yellow Q flag up (to show we were not cleared in).

Eventually, we got through and only wishing to speak to the Master of the vessel, I handed the phone over to Kevin. He then gave our passport numbers, expiry, date of births, boat particulars etc. He was told off because we don’t have a US telephone number, however, it is still a puzzle to us how you are supposed to get one as you have to call them before you have even stepped ashore. Now we had our 15 digit arrival number we handed over our passports and I95 forms which we had just filled out to check in. When he handed them back we were told off again for not calling before we came in, which we duly apologised for. I asked for some clarification as reports on the internet are that you have to telephone Homeland Security as a foreign yacht when you move between ports too. We were told that was not necessary and once we had purchased our cruising permit from the 3rd floor we were clear for 6 months unless we left the country.

We duly bought our cruising permit for quite a reasonable $19 USD from the very friendly lady on the third floor. We walked away very relived that the check in was less of an ordeal than we thought. I think if we hadn’t been informed enough to know we needed a B1 visa and arrived without one it would have been a different story as I suspect many people have unwittingly done in the past being used to the visa waiver system used on arrival by air which is not applicable.

We went next to the local minimarket to try and get a US mobile but although they had some very large beer fridges they were limited on everything else. In fact we were a little disappointed to realise that we were a way from anywhere and were going to struggle without a car. We started to look into local bus travel on the internet in the afternoon so we could do some shopping for the things we needed. We also started to look on the internet for the boat supplies we were going to need as it didn’t look like we were going to find what we needed locally.

When we got back to the boat we found we already had more visitors, pleased to be here ourselves this time we went over to say hi. Our visitors turned out to be Cal, Marty and Siena who also have a Fountaine Pajot catamaran, though theirs is the slightly larger and older Venezia model. They were really friendly and invited us to join them for their Yacht Club’s raft up for the 4th July celebration on Saturday to watch the municipal fireworks display. Thrilled to be able to share such a big local celebration with some locals and sailors too, we immediately took their number and promised to call to arrange as soon as we had our phone.

Riviera City Marina

We treated ourselves to lunch at the Tiki bar at the marina in the afternoon and Kevin was rewarded with his first US burger. It was every bit as good as his expectations apparently being pure beef. I was not so happy with my dolphin fish (dorado) sandwich which came out made apparently made with fried bread. Even on a weekday lunch the place was busy and the service excellent and things like free refill on soft drinks and excellent prices was a welcome relief.

A different view for Invincible – Palm Beach skyline

A busy afternoon working out what we were going to be able to get where, which jobs we could do when and working out an itinerary to meet Alex & Sean on the 18th July in Orlando.

Lake Worth Anchorage, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

2009-07-01T14:40:00.000+01:00

We were quite determined to get going today if we possibly could but we were afraid the weather may not be with us when we were woken by strong prolonged winds in the early hours of the morning. Invincible was snatching sharply at her lines as the howling gusts blew through the marina and we were really pleased of the very substantial concrete slips at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club. The duration of the stronger winds and lack of rain, suggested it wasn’t a squall and we were quite concerned that this wasn’t forecast. The strong current (up to 5 knots) of the north bound Gulf Stream on our next passage which will carry us up the coast of Florida can be vicious with any north in the wind to oppose it so it is important to get the weather right for the crossing.

Squall of Florida coast

We eventually got to sleep but were a little later up that we’d hoped. It looked much calmer again and I ran round to the office to pay our bill (again) and get some photos before we set off again. We still managed to get the lines off the dock by 7.15 am and this time our passage across the channel to deeper water was pretty smooth. What was not so inviting was the line of huge ships hanging just offshore. We took bearings and tried to work out which were moving and which weren’t. It seemed that they were all just hanging offshore and as we got to Freeport there were even more. We must have passed 12 ships along the coastline. We were just beginning to leave the restricted area of Freeport Harbour passing shoreside of one large containership when a huge squall approached. We had radar running all the way along the coast but once the squall comes in it is all blocked out by the rain. That would not make it a good time for a large ship to manoeuvre through the area to closer into shore. The squall cause a complete whiteout, we couldn’t even see the containership we were passing. We were even more startled to look up and see another one approaching up the blind side of the containership as it cleared, I think he was even more surprised than us to see us appear and the other inshore supply ship beside us. It was a bit of a heart stopping moment to see a ship looming out of the gloom so close. He changed course and so did we and we passed well clear. Quite why he came up within yards of the containership to then just stop at the shore we don’t know.

Approaching a squall of Florida coast

When the next squall approached us on the radar, I was taking no chances and called on the radio a large ship I had been tracking. I had to use the radar / GPS combination on the plotter to be able to give a fairly accurate position in my call as “Vessel south of Freeport” would have given many responses. The vessel, Venturer I think, responded quickly and when we’d established we were talking to who we thought we were, he responded with “We are a British ship too!”. I still don’t know whether it was my accent or our red ensign which caused that response, but it was nice to greet them all the same. We agreed to stay out of each other’s way as the next squall came through.

We must have been hit by a dozen squalls in the course of our journey and they say that Americans build things big, well that certainly counts for the squalls. We thought we had done squalls until we got to Florida in the summer. The last one which hit us just off the coast was the worse either of us has ever encountered. The cloud was just above sea level and the rain was literally blinding as it went through. Again we were frantically looking out for the three other vessels in the vicinity but visibility was barely beyond the bow of the boat.

The Gulf Stream in the end was fairly calm and swell reduced from the fairly short seas as we came along the south coast of Grand Bahama to smooth out as we headed out offshore. The afternoon was actually fairly blue skies but with squalls in between. We didn’t quite see land in daylight I think partly due to the hideously large squalls hanging over the area. The radio was busy all afternoon with the US Coastguard leading rescues up and down the coast. Kevin had quite a task with the position of the wind and the strong Gulf Stream pressing us North to get Invincible to the Lake Worth inlet. We were mightily relieved to enter the Intercoastal canal at about 1am. It was well marked and we managed to put our anchor down without incident in a small anchorage just off Peanut Island.

Grand Bahama Yacht Club, Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama

2009-06-30T14:05:00.000+01:00

Tuesday we had planned to leave for the US and duly got up early to head off. It was looking very squally with black clouds in the distance and we were in two minds whether to leave. I suppose impatience got the better of us and we decided to depart as we were all paid up and the boat was ready. We went out of the narrow Bell channel and into the route out over the shallower water and through the reef. As soon as we got out of the channel and began pounding into the swell (which is completely absent in the well protected GBYC), we started to think we’d been a bit hasty. We thought that if we carried on, to the deeper water it might improve but after about a mile it was still pretty rough and blowing considerably harder than forecast. As we had quite a long passage ahead (75 miles) including the notorious Gulf Stream we decided to wait for another day, so for the first time ever headed back to port.

Invincible in her berth (taken on a different day with better weather!)

We radioed in and they put us back to the same berth. We got back to the slip just as the heavens opened and finished our mooring up in the rain. As it turned out, we made the right choice, as the squalls didn’t stop all day and the wind coming with them was rather strong. It was a quiet day in with book/ internet listening to the rain hammering on the roof.

Grand Bahama Yacht Club, Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama

2009-06-29T13:26:00.000+01:00

Monday was just as hot and humid as we were doing some cleaning and tidying on the boat. Hazel arranged to collect me at 11.15 am to go to the supermarket so once the boat was clean I went off to meet her at the security gates. Hazel arrived bang on time after her daily walk down the beach with her dog and we went off downtown. I was struck again by the way everything is very spread out, in a US style, car based way in Grand Bahama and I suppose how it is now going in the UK now with out of town shopping centres. Nonetheless the roads were very good, the best I think I have seen in the Caribbean and everywhere is really tidy and well kept with lots of lawned areas. Hazel was telling me about the ex-pat population in the Bahamas, many for the ship yard, though as everywhere else outsiders working in the Bahamas must be brought in for skilled posts which cannot be filled by locals.

Owners boathouse at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club

We did a few errands for Hazel and then went to the City Market supermarket, the same brand as we had been using in Nassau. The prices seemed a bit lower here if anything. I was also quite interested to see for the first time, hurricane supplies for sale such as camping gas stoves, weather radios etc. I gather from Hazel that Grand Bahama has been rarely directly hit, but did suffer a hurricane I think 7 years ago. The problem it seems is rarely the actual hurricane passing but the disruption to utilities which often goes on for sometime after, so people have since then been installing generators and stock pilling bottled water etc in preparation.

Hazel helped me back to the boat with the shopping and stopped for a drink and a look round. Kevin was hard at it filling the water having completed the engine checks and washing the outside of the boat. We said good bye to Hazel and vowed to meet again when we return. We had a quiet afternoon onboard. Obviously as Kevin has washed the boat it rained all afternoon!

Grand Bahama Yacht Club, Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama

2009-06-28T13:05:00.000+01:00

Sunday was another really hot and humid day and with little air movement at the marina, we decided the only course of action was to find somewhere with air conditioning! We therefore decided to get the ferry across to Port Lucaya to have Sunday lunch, we had been recommended Shenanigans, an Irish pub which serves Guinness imported from Dublin and Irish food. We have been quite amazed to find Guinness readily available in the Bahamas and apparently quite popular, but most of that available is brewed locally and according to aficionados’ is not a patch on the real thing.

Condominiums at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club

We headed out but were rather disappointed to find the place closed and several others around it too. After much walking around in the sun, the only place with indoor seating was a restaurant called Le Med, which turned out not to be air-conditioned either, but did have fans which was better than nothing. The food however was fairly disappointing, I guess we should have realised with the plastic covered table cloths! At least we were cool for a while!

I decided to swim off my lunch and so we headed to the pool later and found it fairly busy. There are condominiums all round the yacht club and I think they have a lot of regular visitors. One lady was doing water aerobics and a few others lounging by the pool reading. I took a swim but couldn’t help being distracted by the large number of leaves and creepy crawlies floating in the water and decided to get out and read too. Kevin had spotted that baseball was showing on the tv at the bar and decided to watch. He is trying to get himself up to speed as he’d like to go and watch a game when we get to the States.

Marina office at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club

We were quite surprised to hear Liverpudlian accents (being from the North West, UK ourselves) near us at the bar and soon got talking to Hazel, Steve and Steve who are all living out in Grand Bahama, the two Steve work for the Camel Laird shipyard in Freeport. Steve has been on the island for 8 years and Steve & Hazel for nearly 2 years and they all seem to love the island life. They told us about the diving and lifestyle on the Bahamas and we told them about our travels. Hazel very kindly offered to drive me to the shops the next day when I asked her where the nearest supermarket was so we arranged to following morning.

Now the weather had cooled a little we returned to the boat for some dinner and a DVD.

Grand Bahama Yacht Club, Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama

2009-06-27T20:46:00.000+01:00

We have a dawn departure for our 58 mile sail to Grand Bahama, though again we are not rewarded with the best winds and are still running against a current as we depart under motor sail. Finally when the tide turns we can switch off the motors and sail. There is little swell and we take 2 hour watches so that the other can sleep / read / relax for a while. During my watch we are being gradually overtaken from astern by a large tanker of some sort. As Kevin takes over they are within half a mile. We are undersail and they are overtaking, it is clearly for them to give way but clearly they don’t choose to give us much room.

Close encounter 1

The afternoon carries on quietly and we are approaching Grand Bahama with land in sight. I see a large vessel on the horizon just as Kevin comes on watch, he complains that I seem to manage to do this each watch as he turns to starboard to avoid them. He turns more to starboard, as per the collision regulations, 2 hours and 2 miles off our course later we finally pass them as I come on watch. They are obviously drifting along the coast and drifting to port, across our deviated track but this is not clear until we get closer, they eventually start engines with a burst of black smoke and point their bows away.

Close encounter 2

Finally we reach the buoys of the Bell channel and turn to starboard for the Grand Bahama Yacht Club. We are planning to come back here with Alex and Sean in a couple of weeks and wanted to check it out. We are given a dock and are met by an attendant in a golf buggy who takes our lines. I go and check us in whilst Kevin finishes tying up then we both head for a shower. We go for a drink at the pool side bar after our shower arriving for happy hour. We chat to the lovely local barmaid Nikita who tells us a bit more about Bahamians and is really friendly. She insists that we should see the famous Lucayan market square where there is live entertainment in the evenings. It is now 10pm and we have been up since dawn and say we’ll go tomorrow. She is quite insistent that Sunday night will not be as good and after having some of the local strong Sands beer on an empty stomach somehow it seems a good idea.

Port Lucaya marketplace

Nikita calls the free water taxi service for us and we travel over with a nice Pilipino guy who works on the local ships. The area is buzzing and there are lots of people in the market place or milling round the many shops and bars around. We are starving and head straight to Zorba’s the Greek restaurant as we have only an hour before the last ferry back. After the quickest meal ever of hummus (one of my favourites), Greek salad and Greek kebab for Kevin we go back to watch the show in the market place. There are two girls on stage who are excellent singers who at the opening bars of one song are joined by a very excited local lady who jumps up on stage and after a quick conflab grabs the microphone and sings a few lines. It seems we have missed the fire dancers and limbo dancers though and we head back for the ferry.

Port Lucaya

Goat Cay, Berry Islands, Bahamas

2009-06-26T20:19:00.000+01:00

Another day another short day hop along the Berry Islands, this time reaching the northern most islands to allow us to pass to Grand Bahama the following day.

It is a fairly quiet day enough wind to justify sail up but with the contrary 2 knot current not enough to switch off the motors. We arrive at Goat Cay between the Great and Little Stirrup Cays which have apparently been commandeered by the cruise ships. They anchor outside and shuttle guests in and have build cafeterias, first aid stations, bars etc onshore.

There is another catamaran anchored at Goat Cay as we head across but they pull up their anchor as we start to drop our sails. We think this is good news as it is a fairly small anchorage. They start to navigate by eye across to Lignum Vitae Cay, which we know to be 1 m or less most of the way in and watch with interest. They get part way in then turn about, obviously spotting us moving toward the anchorage. There is then a comedy supermarket car park type rush to get a spot, being rather smaller than they and with an engineer skipper who would not over-rev our engines on pain of death we come in second but luckily there is plenty of room and our anchor digs in straight away. We are both hot and sticky and jump in for a swim, though as per my snorkel at Frozen Cay yesterday I am soon joined by a Great Barracuda. Kevin has recently read the tragic story of the USN Indianapolis that we picked up at a book swap, in which the Great Barracuda forms a rather evil role and I have never been comfortable with them since as they just don’t swim off like the other fish do. The water is green and murky anyway with literally a thick lawn of sea grass beneath so we are both soon out of the water.

Goat Cay

It is a squally afternoon as the wind comes in from all directions, with intermittent rain. We content ourselves with a good book with the loud cricket noises from Goat Cay as accompaniment.

Frozen Cay, Berry Islands, Bahamas

2009-06-25T19:39:00.000+01:00

We are up early and finally get the confirmations I need to book the flights, then our internet access runs out. I pay for another hour. Then my credit card gets stopped again because we are using it aboard. I Skype them and are put through to a call centre on a bad Skype connection where “Rachel” who is clearly in not in the UK tries to make out what I am saying. Credit card working again I get one flight booked. I get to the last step of the second flight and even though I have not stopped moving through the process it times out. I repeat steps 1 through 10, confirming flight numbers, seats etc between the two connections and 4 people over 6 weeks. Second flight booked. I get to the last step of flight three and then the 1 hour internet runs out! Arrgghh, buy more internet time and finally book the last flight! Stressed and aggravated but pleased it is finally sorted we head to the fuel dock, though it is now 11.30 am and our departure straight to Florida overnight to arrive in daylight is no longer timed well.

We get fuel and then motor under the two Paradise Island bridges, our first bridge on Invincible which although we have calculated we have a good 10ft of clearance over the mast even at high water from the prospective on deck looks sure to hit. We clear both bridges fine however and enjoy the views of the big villas and private docks all down the Paradise Island side and the cruise ships on the Nassau side leaving the harbour to the west this time. By Murphy’s law there is little or no wind now and we have to motor into a very light head wind contrary to expectations from forecasts.

Invincible passing under the Paradise Island bridges

You know you should pass clear but…

Around this time we decide that a long slog under motor straight to Florida is probably not going to be much fun and decide to turn the trip into day hops selecting the anchorage by Little Harbour Cay / Frozen Cay in the Berry Islands for the night. We have about 30 miles to go and arrive early evening, we are just beaten there by presumably the owners of the private Frozen Cay island in their helicopter which after a long motor in the heat seems a very fast and civilised form of travel.

Discreet buildings on the private Frozen Cay

We enjoy being on anchor in the peace and quiet and greenery of the Berry Islands after too long listening to screeching tyres and squawking exhausts in Nassau in the evening. We are even rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Lovely sunset over the Berry Islands

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-24T19:38:00.000+01:00

More flights arranging getting work confirmations etc, but still not quite booked as I wait to hear back. We get the boat ready for our trip to Florida, checking the engine levels, filling the water, going to the supermarket etc. We aim to leave in the morning after visiting the fuel dock.

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-23T19:21:00.000+01:00

After more flight searching in the morning – some have gone up £150 overnight we head to Nassau to pick up our visas. We are less than amused to find that there is already a queue outside in the bus shelter area. Luckily though it is quickly moved along and we are inside within 15 minutes and through the two lots of security. Once inside it is clear that everyone has been given a time of 2.30pm for visa collection and we are in for a wait. We are directed to two chairs by security as the row two back from us is led up to the standing queue to wait for the one window where a lady is handing out the visas.

We are told to print our name and sign the cards we have been given. It then occurs to us we do not know which is which and as I am still travelling under my maiden name as I have been unable to change my passport, if we get it wrong we imagine trouble. Kevin reckons that his will be the first and signs. Conversation breaks out in the queue as pens are passed around and then the queue is made to move along the chairs, three at a time, when you reach the top of the row you have to go to the bottom of the next row. Everyone is quite amused by the musical chairs situation as about every 10minutes you have to get up and move along another 3 chairs! We start chatting to the South African beside us who works on one of the local cruise ships and is getting his work visa renewed. He is about the 20th person to ask us why when we are from England we have to get a visa to visit the USA, though we discuss how he now has to get one just to transit the UK on a plane connection, so it seems worldwide.

We eventually reach the top of the queue and have guessed right on signing our cards. We have now got US visas attached into our passports and can visit the US by sea! We return to the boat for a bit more back and forth with flights (trying to coordinate Alex to fly out with Sean and back with Donna and Mark).

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-22T18:52:00.000+01:00

Finally, our US visa appointment is here after weeks of waiting and hopefully after today we can carry on our travelling. We are up early and after our previous bus experiences opt to walk to be sure of arriving 15 minutes early for our appointment as recommended. We arrive hot and sticky after our 40 minute walk in proper clothes (shirts, trousers and shoes!) in the humidity even before 9am. We walk to the security guard on the gate as we had been previously instructed and let them know we have a 9 am appointment. There is a whole queue of about 20 people already sat in a bus shelter type arrangement beside. We quickly learn that this is the visa queue as we had feared. So now we get to sit outside, in the shade but with no breeze in the humidity.

It seems that there are many people assigned to each 30 minute timeslot even though Kevin and I were given successive 9 and 9.30 am slots. We are finally admitted inside at 9.10 am and to our first security stop, my bag is searched and all the men have to remove belts to pass by the airport style scanners. I retrieve my bag from the xray machine and we head out the door. I am halfway out when called back, Kevin is not allowed to wait for me and sent through the fenced courtyard to the next door. I have apparently unwittingly tried to smuggle a 2cm safety pin into the building in my bag, but luckily have been found out and it is confiscated before I can reek havoc.

I am directed to the next door, where Kevin is currently passing through another metal detector / xray scanner perhaps in case you received something through the fence. I am slightly disheartened to see a room full of people, but Kevin is sent to stand in a queue straight away. I am not allowed to stand beside him but have to wait until he is at the window. At his turn we duly both report to the available window, but are told there cannot be two and Kevin goes to sit down, she goes through the form which I have apparently incorrectly completed. I am told we then need to go to window B when it is free. At window B, Kevin and I report for our electronic finger printing and are then told to proceed to the cashier. We pay our $131 each and are told to take a seat. We are not sure quite what comes next but were expecting an interview of some sort. It then dawns that there are only 1-2 people doing the interviews, one primarily sees the US citizens from a separate queue. There must be 40 people already waiting infront of us on the seats. Luckily there is a TV and CNN is showing though this quickly becomes very repetitive. Just after 11.30am we are finally called to a window and interviewed for about 2 minutes, we have to show our boat registration and a bank statement and we are told we are approved! We receive two numbered cards to collect our passports tomorrow with a 2.30pm timeslot.

Relieved that it is all over but rather annoyed by the organisation, we make our way back to the boat. We are now clear to go to the US for hurricane season and will be going as far as New York by the end of August. We have Kevin’s daughter Alex coming out for 6 weeks, nephew Sean for 2 weeks and my sister Donna and brother-in-law Mark for 2 weeks. I now spend the afternoon on the internet trying to book flights and call them to confirm.

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-21T18:49:00.000+01:00

A quiet weekend onboard catching up on Skype, DVDs and reading etc.

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-19T17:54:00.000+01:00

Our US visa appointment approaching on Monday, I dragged out all of our documentary evidence again to make sure that we had everything covered – why you are going, proof that you have ties elsewhere and that you will leave, proof that you can support yourself there etc. All present and correct, though the black printer cartridge was on it’s way out and the last couple of prints were barely legible (we obviously have two spare colour cartridges but no black). I had also forgotten that I still hadn’t got my passport photo taken.

So off I went on a bit of a tour, three computer shops later and still no printer cartridge nor anywhere local to get a photo taken so I took my first venture on a local bus. Being on a one way road about 2-3 miles from downtown Nassau, you end up taking one of the circular bus tours round the houses then onto downtown Nassau. I hadn’t realised quite how far it went first otherwise I think I may have even done the walk in the heat, as 40 minutes later I arrive in downtown Nassau. I had had a fairly extensive tour of the area first though as 40 minutes travelling on an island only 27 miles long and 7 miles wide yet without actually leaving the built up area of Nassau itself must surely call at most districts. Also, although the bus routes are numbered up to about 27, I also got the distinct impression that if the traffic is busy the bus driver can divert as they wish. It is not too picturesque out of the tourist areas and some areas seem pretty poor. The traffic is fairly heavy everywhere, but then this is very much a car-based society (directions always given as if you are driving and shops being malls with big car parks). Any Bahamians we have met outside Nassau seem to hate the place and blame it for all crime in the Bahamas.

Eventually I find a passport photo shop (no booths here) and wait in line as a local family come in dress up in proper Sunday best obviously for portraits including two little boys one dressed head to toe in a white suit, white waistcoat and white tie who is judiciously and firmly placed on his mother’s knee until photo time. Mine is very quickly taken, I am asked the purpose of the photo and when it is ready I am passed a 2 inch square photo, i.e. not normal passport photo dimensions. I double check the size with the assistant and she says, yes that is right.

I return back to the boat and immediately drag out the visa instructions and the ruler, yes, it seems US passport photos are not the same size as English. So, now we have to repeat the exercise because Kevin’s photos are ones we had left over from something else in English sizing, never having thought to measure it. So, off we go back into Nassau. We start out walking planning to call in at another computer shop for a cartridge on the way. There is an enormous storm cloud hovering and the weather is extremely humid. We then discover that the directions we have been given are not too good and everyone we ask is unable to help much. Eventually we pass a mall with another store, not the one we were looking for but they have the Canon cartridge we need.

As the squall is almost overhead by the time we come out and now a long way from the Nassau road we decide to brave the bus again. This time we travel for about 30 minutes, amusingly passing a few of the things I have seen that morning but often from the opposite direction. I think Kevin has despaired of us ever reaching downtown Nassau by now, having a much better sense of direction than I is less happy to sit contentedly as we regularly turn away from Nassau. However, eventually we arrive and I escort Kevin to the photo shop and we finally have his photos too. It is now about 5pm and still raining so we decide to fulfil one of Kevin’s Nassau visiting plans – a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt.

Trip Souvenir

Hard Rock Cafe’s t-shirt sales must now be such a major part of the business that they are in a shop on the ground floor and the restaurant is upstairs. They have quite an array of designs but Kevin chooses the traditional white. We decide to have a burger (veggie for me) whilst we are there. For once in the pouring rain, the aircon is actually that bit too cold and we are quite pleased when the hot food arrives. Having worked previously in the US, Kevin has often remarked on the quality of the burgers actually being made of beef, though this US chain didn’t quite have it right. I was also rather shocked to find my small glass of white wine was $9.

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-18T17:08:00.000+01:00

We had a quiet day escaping the heat and the wind. We managed to give the boat a really good scrub down, it was amazing how grimy it had got, though I think most of that was contributed by being in such a built up area. It started to pour down whilst we were washing the boat but we just carried on, now just having to apply soap. Eventually it stopped raining as quickly as it began, we were both fairly soaked now but soon were over hot again trying to work in the heat. So once Invincible was gleaming again we both got a hose down on the dock!

Uncle Tellis’ stall under Paradise Island bridge

Later that afternoon, after all of that activity we felt we had earned some refreshment and Kevin was very keen to try out the stalls on the edge of Potter’s Cay the fishing wharf, under the shadow of Paradise island bridge. We walked down the row of 10 or so stalls, many of which were filling up with local visitors apparently on their way back from work. The dominoes table at the end of the row was the scene of quite a concentrated game, though from our previous visits that goes on all day everyday.

We opted for Uncle Tellis’ stall at the end of the row, which was already busy. All of the stalls seemed to provide much the same menu of local fish (snapper, conch) and chicken (roast and jerk) dishes. A few more adventurous stalls also offer barracuda though they display a warning that these are eaten at the customers risk – being a potential ciguaterra (poisonous algae) carrier. I wasn’t too hungry and being a little cautious of local caught fish for the same reason opted for the conch fritters. Kevin despite his raving about eating local seafood straight off the boat opted for chicken this being one of his deprivations living with a veggie (albeit fish eating – I haven’t ventured to try chicken again since my first attempt).

Uncle Tellis’ stall, basic but freshly supplied

The crowd at Uncle Tellis’ were a lot of fun, firstly a young American couple who were from somewhere near Savannah and though being in Nassau only a few days had mastered the local buses and tried quite a few local places. They were I think fairly shocked by the cost of living compared to the States and were hence finding the local cheaper alternatives. They soon departed to get their bus. Uncle Tellis himself then came round the bar and told us about his travels in England which seemed to have been more extensive than most of the English. Though I think his biggest achievement in his travels came from his sampling of local bitters which he apparently did very thoroughly. It seems he found one of those local pubs with their own noxious brew of which even the locals would drink no more than three small glasses, a challenge he gamely took up, despite dire warnings of the fate of anyone passing out from the effects within the premises. It seems he survived though, but only by timing his collapse to be just outside the door. There were a number of other tales all told at top speed and usually involving a lady, plus some pretty choice jokes which I think Kevin has noted for later retelling with the boys!

Uncle Tellis himself

We also met another older local guy, George and his three friends who also bounced the banter off each other. Although George’s walking was rather laboured and assisted by two sticks having apparently been on a sinking ship and various other mishaps during his local nautical career he also left us to go out on the town with the girls, two of, at least 20 years his junior, no wonder he was always smiling. It was a fun night, the Bahamians have definitely been the friendliest people we have met so far and have earned the reputation from their islands being called the Friendly Islands.

Uncle Tellis’ stall

After an hour or two I decided it was time for us to go too – the bathroom facilities being a gap between huts leading to the waters edge which the men took their turn to use. One local lady did also venture, with her husband / boyfriend to stand at the entrance but I declined this option!Jo at Uncle Tellis’

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-17T14:39:00.000+01:00

Well the weather did not improve until late afternoon on Tuesday, so we delayed our Paradise Island trip to today. Wednesday started with clear blue skies so we made a relatively early start across the bridge to Paradise Island. We discovered on our way over that Potters Cay is actually the fishing wharf of Nassau and at the foot of the bridge is a number of little shacks selling fresh seafood that we have made a date in our diary to come back and sample.

View over Paradise Island bridge

There is a pretty spectacular view over Nassau from the tall arched bridges to Paradise Island and a very welcome breeze to improve the walk. We were soon across and straight away the landscaped hedges and immaculate lawns at the roadside showed that this was a really different area to downtown Nassau. Immediately we reached a shopping mall and were passed by a stream of buses presumably with today’s cruise ship guests arriving to Atlantis. We first found the Atlantis marina which was full of large luxurious motor cruisers and one ornate classic yacht. On the waterside is a lovely development of pastel coloured shops with discrete signs. Here the boater can purchase such essential nautical items as Versace Jeans, Colombian Emeralds and Perfumes. There is also a good selection of restaurants and cafes where surprisingly the prices are actually much the same as the Poop Deck restaurant next to our marina.

Atlantis marina

We wondered inside the Atlantis complex, where yet more designer shops (Gucci, Lalique, Cartier etc) are available. The air conditioning hits you before you even reaches the door and Kevin and I breathed a sigh of relief to reach a normal body temperature for the first time in weeks! We walked through the mall and past the spectacular crystal sculpture about 20ft high, which we overheard from the cruiseship tour contains over a million dollars worth of crystal. This leads into a vast casino, never having visited Las Vegas this was fascinating to me. There were row upon row of one arm bandit machines, rather dangerously accepting room keys not cash. Then there were several poker and black jack tables etc. There wasn’t anyone playing as it was only around 10am so we continued into another enormous foyer at the base of which was the famous aquarium.

The Atlantis complex

The only way to describe the aquarium is to say it is spectacular, I have never seen as many fish diving as were visible through the glass of the aquarium. There were two enormous manta rays, a sting ray, two lemon shark, African pompanos, snappers, groupers, bonefish, sunfish and hundreds of others of varying sizes all set around a fake sunken Aztec monument. We were both mesmerised and spent quite a while trying to identify the fish. The thick walls of glass stretched about 50m along the side of the enormous foyer. The fish were constantly circling and chasing each other and shoaling and in many ways it did look just like they behave in the open. However, it was only when we walked outside and saw over the surface of the aquarium that it is not as big as it appears and certainly especially the mantas whose wing tips are scratched from the constant turns against the walls were quite crammed in.

The aquarium at Atlantis

Large manta ray in the Atlantis aquarium

We decided to go and get a coffee, as it was time for our daily espresso fix and sought out the Starbucks we’d seen in the Marina Village. We spent a very relaxing half an hour reading the papers and enjoying the air conditioning before returning to the heat and look at the other half of the Marina Village we’d missed earlier. There are several Discover Atlantis desks around where you can pay for entry for the day and it was here that we overheard that we were supposed to have paid $35 just to look at the aquarium and be allowed to buy lunch in the restaurants inside the complex! To use the waterslides and waterpark for which the hotel is also famous (a 1 mile long tube run up slide escalators through exhibits etc) would cost us $110 each. We decided this was a little pricey and the cruise ship tourist who we heard go to the desk just after and had only 4 hours to spend just kept repeating the price incredulously, so I gather he felt the same. The expression on the face of the assistant suggested she was also fairly used to this reaction. However, there were hundreds of people around everywhere we went so I guess someone must pay it. I think from looking online that a day pass is the most expensive way to visit.

Sting ray and Manta ray in the aquarium

We decided though that we hadn’t had enough air conditioning yet and went back to the casino where we spent sometime watching people playing black jack and poker which was very amusing and quite educational for me. The roulette was also excellent viewing especially the table with only two men playing which nonetheless they seem to bet on nearly every square before each ball roll and I’m no expert but the pile of chips being cleared each time was certainly bigger than those paid out. Also double zero which is apparently not a good thing from a gamblers perspective had according to the electronic board come up 4 times in the last 15 or so spins. We watched the game where you throw the dice on the green baize table which always seems to be in films but after watching for 15 minutes we still had absolutely no clue how it worked at all so lost interest in that one. Finally there was another area with a bank of tv screens and comfy chairs where you could bet on the days horse racing or what I think was American football or baseball games. They really had thought of dozens of ways for you to spend you money.

Kevin at the aquarium – you can see the size of the manta ray by comparison

We headed back to the boat late afternoon which seem stinking hot after a mornings heavy air con usage. I decided to sleep my way through acclimatising as it was too painful to stay awake. About 5pm when I had come round and the temperature was more bearable I dug out some Eastern Caribbean coins and challenged Kevin to a game of Black Jack. It wasn’t pretty, though I did managed to win back my debts at one point.

Atlantis – Aquarium surface

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-16T16:29:00.000+01:00

Well, we were supposed to be on Paradise Island today, but I am in fact sat updating the blog on the boat. After a really sticky hot night, it is now pouring down such that we have to speak loudly to be heard over the noise. There were very low black clouds on the horizon when we got up so we thought we would wait. So for the moment rain has stopped play…

Proper rain of the sort that gets you wet

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-15T16:28:00.000+01:00

Our second cooking gas cylinder ran out today, so we were back on provisioning jobs. We wandered around the mall and looked for a few items we needed, but decided in the end it was probably best to wait for the States. We popped into the supermarket and got a few bits and pieces, I think having a large store at such a close distance is perhaps a little too handy! The gas man still hadn’t arrived to collect when we came back, so that would have to wait.

We are planning on a trip over to Paradise Island tomorrow, so, decided to get a new DVD for the evening and an early night.

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-14T16:16:00.000+01:00

We had little planned for Sunday, I went out and spent the morning in the laundry at Nassau Yacht Haven with my book and then in the afternoon we both washed down the boat which was absolutely filthy. It has been a along time since we had free access to a hosepipe and it was great to get Invincible shiny and clean again. It started to pour down whilst we were doing it, but already fairly wet we decided to carry on. In the evening we watched a DVD and played some cards until the temperature moderated and we could get some sleep.

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-13T14:56:00.000+01:00

We decided that we should see a little more of Nassau today so set off down Bay Street along the shore of the Nassau harbour into downtown Nassau. We could in the distance see cruise ships in dock, which seem to be daily here and meant we could expect it to be busy.

The Potters Cay area was first, an anchorage / dock area with lots of tumble down looking houseboats and fishing trawlers on the inside of a large dock jutting out into the harbour. Next, we passed the two impressive span bridges going across to Paradise Island, one of which appears to be the toll bridge the other free. Bay Street then passes through the dock area, never the nicest area of a town, where there were shipping containers pilled higher than the buildings which were fairly ramshackle. Still expecting something more of this supposed millionaire’s retreat we trudge further into town.

Attractive square downtown Nassau

When we started to see the white looking tourists we knew we were approaching the cruise ship territory and sure enough before long the shops were becoming smarter and mostly jewellers. The centre of Nassau has some nice colonial architecture and squares. The main area though is fairly small and mostly seemed to cater for cruise ship tourists rather than any local needs. Though perhaps the Fendi, Gucci and other designer stores is where the locals of Nassau do their shopping. The John Bull department store stands in the centre of downtown Bay Street and is apparently quite a local landmark, originating in 1929 and named after a character in a 1712 British satire, a stout English man wearing a top hat, waistcoat, knickerbockers and high boots. It has gone from stationers to high class retailer dealing in Rolex and Cartier.

Relics of the empire – statue of Queen Victoria, Nassau

The John Bull store, Bay Street Nassau

We walked all the way through town to the Hilton hotel and there found the US Embassy that we need to visit next week for our visas, conspicuous by the large Stars and Stripes flying outside and by the security which meant we couldn’t even approach the door to check we’d got the right place without being stopped. The female security guard was very helpful and told us that we were in the right place and to return for our appointment but with no cameras, phones, nail clippers, scissors, lighters etc.

Not having any immediate need for diamonds and Rolexes our only purchase of the day was a bottle of duty free gin. It was still really hot and sticky so we decided to walk the 2 miles back to the marina. Well more hobble in my case, my decision to wear proper shoes was obviously not a good one after a year in flip flops and there was little skin left on my heel by now.

Dedicated Bacardi store, Nassau

When we got back to the marina we decided to stop for refreshments at the Poop Deck, I had a club soda and Kevin a Kalik and they barely touched the sides after hours of walking in that heat. We stayed for a couple of drinks and our free conch fritters then headed back to the boat.

Former slave market, now the Pompey museum, Nassau

Bayshore Marina, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-12T14:52:00.000+01:00

We are getting short of water now and really should think about getting it filled. There is a fuel dock which can also supply water or a number of small docks where we could get a slip and refill there and perhaps stay a night or two. The lethargy of the heat continues to postpone a decision until mid-morning when an unusual northerly squall comes and finally trips our anchor which has survived a number of pirouettes in the last few days and this seems to precipitate some action.

I did manage to rouse the energy for a short trip ashore the day before to suss out water availability / dock fees and it seems that there is a fairly wide variation. We have been quoted from 75c/ft with $3 per day water to $2 per day with $10 water by neighbouring marinas. The more expensive one has a restaurant and laundrette, but there is nothing to stop you from visiting the facilities from the cheaper side. I had been offered the outside hammerhead in the cheaper marina, which although easy to get on to is likely to be swelly and was subject to the current occupant leaving today. I ran in on the dinghy to see (dockmasters VHF is not working and we don’t have a local phone) if it was available. The yacht hadn’t left but he offered me an inside hammerhead instead though it looked fairly tight. I collected the dinghy and went to see. It had a tight turn on the way in but looked ok.

When I get back to the boat, Kevin informs me that the boat beside us has had a routine boarding by the navy who are still onboard when I arrive. I am thrilled to see the guy waiting in the fast rib chasing down the jet skiers and telling them to slow down! We are pretty sure that we are going to be boarded too and decide that it would be impolitic to pull up the anchor straight away as planned and head to the marina. Sure enough within 10 minutes the rib is alongside us and a pleasant smiling naval representative is on board. He explains it is routine and could he see our clearance papers for the Bahamas. We provide these willingly, after paying $300 to enter it is reassuring to know there is recompense for those not voluntarily going to check in. We wait for the agonisingly slow speed of his form filling as he copies out details on to his boarding form and asks us a little about where we have been and where are going to. He then thanks us and his friend comes to collect him, he leaves us with best wishes and a receipt. We have not been boarded before and it is all a bit of an adventure for us, though we are puzzled that the American registered boat beside us was made to show every hold and locker to the officer and provide a full boat inspection when he didn’t go out of the cockpit on our boat. We learn later in a leaflet that there is no income tax in the Bahamas and all is made on import duties and business rates, perhaps this is why the American boats get more hassle. As we had come up through the Bahamas from the Caribbean we were of less interest.

We pulled up the anchor and I navigated Kevin in. Unfortunately the current was now running through the harbour with the breeze and we are crabbing sideways going down the channel. A large day catamaran is moored right on the corner and Kevin has a few heart stopping moments trying to negotiate the current and the turn but nonetheless bring us in perfectly to the dock. The swell is pretty good where we are and the cockpit gets the breeze all day long with shade in the evening! Heaven. We decide to celebrate with a beer and maybe food at the Poop Deck restaurant overlooking the Nassau Yacht Haven next door. We find we have arrived for Happy Hour which means free entres and are treated to what we think are conch fritters with our drinks. We take a look at the menu but decide that $42 for a steak is pretty pricy for a fairly informal looking restaurant. Some English girls come into the bar shortly afterwards and it is refreshing to hear things converted to £UK, they make the same conclusion. We decide to walk the short distance to the mall for a takeaway and DVD instead.

We watch Defiance with Daniel Craig, a sort of Schindler’s List story which is good but it is still too warm to sleep when it finishes and we sit outside afterwards with a book. Foolishly I don’t put on mosquito spray first and after two bites I go indoors. Kevin remains outside and is curious to see a guy walk up and inspect our fenders, tugging on the lines. He asks if the guy is ok, he looks a little surprised and moves off. A security guard comes by later and chats, he asks if we are not going out. Hmm, hopefully that was just a because it is Friday night question. There is a stout padlock on the entrance to the dock and razor wire on the approaches, but you can’t do much about people with keys.

Nassau Harbour, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-11T17:43:00.000+01:00

Another day on anchor in the harbour and again it is hot and sticky. Neither Kevin nor I slept at all well as the heat even at night is sweltering. Consequently by consensus, both tucked into good books we decide to do little / nothing at all today and just try to stay cool. There is quite an impressive squall in the afternoon and we both breath a sigh of relief as the sun is momentarily obscured by cloud. After the squall a perfect rainbow spans the harbour and I head out to get some photos.

Rainbow over Nassau harbour

We have another resident barracuda stalking us under the boat and you regularly see him through the escape hatch in the heads lurking. Kevin also managed to get a great shot of an eagle ray gliding past the boat this morning, he has seen a couple recently, but you have to be really quick to get the camera in time.

Eagleray patrols the anchor chain

Nassau Harbour, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-10T17:23:00.000+01:00

It is getting extremely hot in the Bahamas now as the summer comes and between the rain showers the humidity and heat is astonishing. The current running through the harbour also means that Invincible is turned to have the cockpit in the sun as it rises then in the evening turned again to be faced back into the sun. Despite having been in the tropics for nearly a year, we are both struggling with the heat and it is difficult to summon the enthusiasm to move let alone do anything. I vainly spend the morning trying to read in the shade and the breeze but the current isn’t quite strong enough to hold us steady and 5 minutes after getting into the shade the boat turns and you are full into the sun again. The wind has also reduced to almost nothing at the moment so even the breeze is flaky.

However, it seems that I managed to catch the prop again when we were in Allen Cay and the outboard is again not able to get to full revs without the prop slipping which is not much fun when operating in a busy harbour. Two teenage boys seeing me return to the dinghy dock the night before asked me if I wasn’t scared to get in the little boat, he said it was so small it could fit in the palm of his hand! The outboard has also not been ticking over well recently, so definitely time for a service. We duly lift it onboard, luckily the helm seat works as a very good bench to support it in the swell and Kevin sets to work on first replacing the screws which he previously designed to do just what they did – work as a shear pin. Next, he changes the oil and replaces the spark plug. He gives it a quick start onboard, all seems well so we lift it back onto the dinghy and Kevin takes it for a spin. I can tell as he planes down the middle of the channel at full throttle that we must have had success and the tickover is also perfect when he brings it alongside.

We decide to take a walk ashore together, I also show Kevin round the mall and we decide to visit the dvd store and try and hire a film for the night. There seems to be no indication of price anywhere and I go to the counter to see if they will hire to us without an address. The assistant answers to say that there are no hires, they are all for sale at $6 each! We look around and there are all the latest releases, racks filled throughout the shop. They even have a section in the corner of pre-release films (e.g. Angels and Demons) though I am told that these are not good copies and they are not recommended. It slowly dawns on us that this is a high street store selling entirely copied DVDs! We wonder what on earth the copyright laws are in the Bahamas that this is done so blatantly. However, we decide that this is pretty good value and decide to get a couple to try out. Back on the boat they both play perfectly (Slumdog Millionaire and Quantum of Solace), so we have a great evening in with some new films.

Nassau Harbour, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-09T17:00:00.000+01:00

Our first full day in Nassau but we have a couple of weeks here whilst we wait for our US visa appointment so we are in no rush. Before we start any sightseeing we have a few jobs to do. First priority this morning is to drop off our propane cylinder in the hope of getting it filled, otherwise we’ll be on salad and sandwiches for the next few weeks. I go ashore and drop off the cylinder and the lady at the chandlery says to come back before 5pm. I decide to explore a few of the chandleries nearby to see if we can get any of the spares we need and tick off some jobs before we get to Florida. After visiting three I quickly conclude that it will all have to wait for the three weeks before Alex and Sean arrive which is making our Cuba visit look more unlikely.

I pop to the supermarket again to pick up some things I forgot the day before and then head back to the boat. There is a constant stream of small power boats, big day charter and motorcruisers and the inevitable jet skis going back and forth all day. Some of these are more courteous than others about wake, so consequently every so often we are thrown about by a full beam on swell. The jet skis especially take great interest in causing mayhem and you can actually see them deviate off the channel to slalom through the anchorage, luckily they are quite modern jet skis with a relatively small wake.

The afternoon is again fairly wet and we both settle down to a book until eventually it clears and I run in again to see about our propane tank. However, now it is low water and there are no steps up from the dingy dock… cue quite elaborate balancing on the seat as the dinghy sways under me in the swell and I try and work out how to get up on to the shoulder height dock with unhelpful wooden tie up bar in the way. I eventually make it up but the manoeuvre is less than dignified, at least I was in shorts not a skirt and there was no one around. I walk in the shop and the lady immediately says “It’s done! That’s $10 please”, very relieved I pick it up on my way out. It weighs twice as much as the last fill and has a tag saying $15, but I don’t quibble.

Sunset over Nassau

I get back to the boat and we have oven baked potato wedges for dinner to celebrate! There is a beautiful sunset and as the evening wears on the boat traffic gradually diminishes to a leave a very calm evening.

Sunset over Nassau

Nassau Harbour, New Providence, Bahamas

2009-06-08T14:43:00.000+01:00

We made another early start on our trip across the Great Bahama Bank to Nassau, New Providence. This was to be our longest trip over the reef, though the navigation looked simple enough from the charts, average depth about 4m with two large reefs half way- yellow and white banks which we needed to pass between. We seemed to reach the first waypoint between the reefs in no time at all despite the drizzly rain and overcast day. I had just been saying well at least we won’t be meeting any big vessels out here in this shallow water…. when of course one arrived on the horizon.

The supply vessels in these waters are like landing craft and presumably have a fairly shallow draught. This one was approaching to starboard and on a course to pass between the reefs, we turned to starboard to avoid the collision which the steady approach angle indicated, he didn’t turn at all but to be fair was presumably hindered by the reefs. He was moving fairly slowly and we ended up having to run almost up to the south side of the reef then turn 90 degrees to pass behind him and pass through ourselves. Needless to say we saw no other large vessels that day, only in the 1 mile of our journey (of 36 miles) where there was an obstruction!

Entering Nassau harbour

Nassau harbour is actually a narrow channel between New Providence and Paradise Island, open at both east and west. We were expecting it to be really busy on the approaches but it actually wasn’t too bad and we were able to make our way in quite easily. However, even though this one of the busiest stretches of waters in the Bahamas there are still reefs to be avoided even with our draught. We ended up in a procession of a superyacht then us, then a monohull on the same slightly dog legged course in. We managed to get a place on anchor besides another catamaran off the side of the main channel between marinas.

The skyline of Nassau is dominated by the Atlantis resort with towers and turrets of pink sandstone. It is supposed to be quite a place to visit. There is a marina but it is intended for superyachts you aren’t allowed in if you are below 40ft in length. There is a large aquarium, water chutes, casino, nightclubs etc. The original building has been significantly expanded so I guess it does well. We will probably go and have a look around when we get ourselves settled. There are enormous villas on both sides overlooking the harbour and you can certainly see that there is wealth in Nassau.

Looking east in Nassau Harbour

The rest of the afternoon it poured down with rain so we stayed on board to tidy up etc. Eventually there was break long enough for me to run in and see if we could find anywhere to get cooking gas as we are about to completely run out. The road behind the marina has a number of chandleries and a shopping mall complete with Starbucks, KFC and Radio Shack, we are certainly out of the sticks now. I managed to find somewhere we could drop the cylinder off for filling the next day though no promises on whether they would have European fittings. I also popped to the supermarket for some treats to eat after weeks of the same sort of food. Kevin got a steak so he was happy, I got some fresh fruit and bagels.

Large villas line the waterside in Nassau

Allen Cays, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-06-07T01:15:00.000+01:00

A grey start to the day but we were up quite early so we decided we would make an early start to Highborne Cay, our next destination. We needed a few fresh supplies and this was the nearest place with a store and a good staging post for departing for Nassau across the Great Bahama Bank. We could see squalls all around us and opted for just the full genoa on our 20 miles north. We decided to take the Exuma Sound route, much more relaxing sailing and also less swell in these south easterly winds, so we entered the sound through The Wide Opening the widest of the cuts into Exuma Sound lying north of Warderick Wells.

A fairly quiet sail up the Sound, just a couple of motorcruisers around. Sporadic rain but none of the big squalls actually hit. In contrast with The Wide Opening, Highborne Cut was anything but and even though we arrived within 30 minutes of slack water it was still a simmering cauldron of water surrounding the many rocks strewn in the channel. You have to take a zigzag route through the channel before finally passing north or south of the islet at the end which lies directly in the channel. Highborne marina lies just off the side of the cut within the lower half of the H shaped island and I would guess has quite a considerable tidal flow through.

We anchored in the anchorage to the west of the island beside a superyacht and another catamaran. It was fairly blowing now with another squall passing close by and I didn’t really fancy the route back through the cut to the store in our dingy so Kevin got to go. I called them on the VHF as this is a private island to make sure it was open and check we were okay to come ashore. The marina is $1.95 - $2.50 per foot (£46 - £60 per night for us) making it one of the most expensive in the Bahamas. I guess we should have realised the effect on store prices. Kevin reported the marina to be very well built but fairly empty and the store to be immaculate but nothing was priced. There were tame nurse sharks in the marina and about half a dozen locals just sat around the entrance. I think it was our most expensive shopping so far – 2 loaves of bread $13, 8 beers $32.

Invincible at south Allans Cay anchorage

We decided as the anchorage was very rolly that we might move to Allen Cay. Our pilot book was so in favour of the marina that it briefly mentions an anchorage at Allen Cay but suggests if you want to see the resident iguanas that you should take you dinghy the 5 miles and moor in the marina. When we looked at the charts there is a north and south Allen’s Cay both formed into a horse shoe shape with the open ends opposite forming two very well protected anchorages – though obviously the advertising for these does not pay in the pilot book. We motored round the reef between Highborne and Allen’s Cay and took the southern anchorage to ourselves. The northern already had two yachts anchored but there was certainly room for more. It is a stunning location, secluded, uninhabited, ringed by beaches and wonderfully clear water.

Kevin feeds the iguanas

When in Allen Cay you have to go an see the resident iguanas which are believed to have existed throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean but are now on the endangered list having been a speciality for Arawak Indians and since then their habitats have been reduced by development especially along the beaches. We took the dingy in and were soon surrounded by about 10 iguanas of varying age and with red jowls. They do look quite fearsome and you are told if you wish to feed them it should be fruit or vegetables and you need to watch out for biting. Needless to say by now, Kevin went ashore with the lettuce and I took the camera.

Range of iguanas at Allens Cay

They didn’t seem very impressed with our offerings to be honest, but like on Big Majors Cay with the pigs, there was a resident gull population more than ready to pick up the scraps. I am not sure what their usual food is but they looked fairly well fed anyway and the range of young and old even on this tiny scrap of a southern cay is quite encouraging. We didn’t walk ashore, as the sand dunes behind the beach is apparently where they nest and these can easily be damaged by walking.

Ready to pounce on unsuspecting fingers

A pleasant afternoon, a few other boats came in, a couple of diving charter boats and a small motor boat from Florida with a young couple aboard that shared our anchorage overnight.

North Anchorage, Warderick Wells, Exuma Land & Sea Park

2009-06-06T00:22:00.000+01:00

Our second day at Exuma Park, we had a bit of snorkelling and trekking planned. Visitors are provided with maps for both snorkel sites and the many marked trails on the island. We caught up on the blog and couple of other jobs first so that we managed to time our walk as per usual during the heat of the day.

View from the dingy dock – note the people walking on the sand bar in the centre of the anchorage

Our walk today took us to the top of the highest point of the island only about 30m above sea level but still giving spectacular views. The trail takes you along the beach where the skeleton of a sperm whale has been reconstructed as a monument and learning tool, the whale was washed up locally with a stomach full of plastic waste. The tour then winds across the moonscape interior of lava bordered on each side by mangroves. There are actually many different types of vegetation and each are sign posted with detailed information, the ones such as mosquito and sandfly bushes I personally thought they could do without but I suppose you have to maintain the local ecosystem.

Jo with our Invincible sign beside the Sperm Whale memorial

View of North Anchorage from Boo Hill

When you are at the top of Boo Hill you can see the amazing blue crescent shaped channel of the northern anchorage. There is also an area where you can leave you boat name. Kevin had decorated the board that we got with Invincible when we picked her up, marking her as hull #86. However there was yet another sign saying that drift wood only could be left in case it blows away in a storm. We decided that was a fair point so didn’t leave our board as we didn’t find any drift wood to substitute. The legend goes that the hill is named Boo after the ghosts which can be heard singing hymns up there at night following the loss of a vessel with all hands over a hundred years before. There were some quite elaborate signs and it did make it feel like quite a special place.

Boat Names at the top of Boo Hill

We took a seat on the small makeshift bench up there to enjoy the view and acclimatise to the altitude. We were joined by a lizard who was very bold and I think would have eaten from our hands if we had food to offer. As it was he surveyed each of us in turn and posed for a few photos with his splendid curly tail.

Kevin and our lizard friend

Friendly Boo Hill lizard

Invincible – Warderick Wells

We returned to the boat for some lunch before venturing out to Rangers Park a small reef at the north of the anchorage for a snorkel. There was a good selection of fish and coral on display and a couple of small rays. However, nothing as large as the eaglerays we had seen the night before. The current was beginning to pick up so we headed back to the boat for the rest of the afternoon.

Small ray at Ranger Park reef

Overnight there were some spectacular lightening and thunder again and a heavy downpour. The anchorage is extremely peaceful though and was again fully subscribed.

North Anchorage, Warderick Wells, Exuma Land & Sea Park

2009-06-05T16:46:00.000+01:00

We set off from Big Majors Spot around 8.30am for our 20 mile sail up the Exuma chain to the Exuma Land and Sea Park our next destination. The Exuma Park, set up in 1958, a world first in marine conservation covers 176 square miles of cays, rock and reefs. Warderick Wells is the site of the Park Headquarters and where moorings are provided.

We listened in on the daily 9am VHF radio broadcast allocation of moorings to reserve ours for arrival. This must be a popular spot though as they were fully booked but said we should make our way anyway as check out was not until lunch and they were sure we’d get a mooring at that point. We were not expecting to be there until lunchtime anyway because there was only light winds so carried on as suggested. There were a few more boats around travelling bankside. This time we were able to get straight out into the deeper water (well 4-5m) and so it was fairly relaxed sail in minimal swell despite the S-SE winds. The light breeze and building summer temperature meant that it was sweltering all the way as we struggled to get some shade and breeze.

Exuma and Sea Land Park, Warderick Wells

We arrived to the park just before it closed for lunch and we were given a mooring and good instructions to find it. The boats are all moored in a crescent shape around a central sand bank of bright white sand with a deep blue channel round the outside which makes a spectacular scene when you arrive. Nearly all of the moorings were full and I think we were one of only two boats not registered in Florida. I went to check us in with the Park HQ as I’d heard they had a book swap and our supplies are getting dangerously low with all this wet weather! Unfortunately we had missed slack water to do any snorkelling this afternoon and there seemed to be a wind over tide / wind tunnelling affect on the anchorage as there was quite a blow and chop not really suitable for swimming. Luckily they had DVDs for hire for only $2 each and after watching the same set that we had already watched before we left for the last year I could not resist!

Arriving into Warderick Wells North Anchorage

We had dinner in the cockpit, it was still really warm at 6.30pm as the wind had really died down now. We sat on the side deck in the shade and were amazed to see three very large eagle rays about to glide past the boat. I dashed up to get the camera (ever eager to record all for the blog!) which caused them to divert their course away but I just managed to get a shot of their shadows on the surface as they departed. Whilst I was fetching the camera, Kevin saw a small nurse shark as well! We are looking forward to some snorkelling tomorrow and a walk up Boo Hill to leave our boat name according to tradition.

Three very large eagle rays glide past the boat

Big Majors Spot, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-06-04T19:50:00.000+01:00

The mystery of the freighter was solved at 4am when the mail boat came in and moored up against the apparently disused Happy People marina. It did so without ramming either ourselves or the rocks behind us which was good.

I could not then get back to sleep so made the best of our remaining internet time and watched the sun rise behind large clouds to the east with a very red tinge of the proverbial sailor’s warning heralding the rain and distant thunder of the day. We’d only literally a couple of miles to travel today “round the corner” to Big Majors Spot, I’ve no idea where it get its rather unusual name though. When we rounded the headland we realised where everyone else had been hiding in the nice sandy bay which was cramped with large motor cruisers and a few yachts. Fowl Cay was directly ahead which hosts the Royal Plantation Resort which apparently does a great dinner and by the looks have a restored Plantation House ashore.

Busy anchorage and Fowl Cay ahead

Invincible anchored of Big Majors Spot

We manage to get a spot closest to the beach, though hopefully far enough away to be out of pig swimming range. We did some chores and had some lunch whilst the rain stopped. Kevin prepared some fairly disgusting tinned turkey which he could not bring himself to eat to take to the pig being rather short of any fresh supplies to feed them. We took the dingy in and disappointingly at first they seem to ignore us until on looked up and they all came running and then swimming out to the dingy. One tried to board the dingy at this point and Kevin had to start the engine whilst we replanned our approach. I rather sheepishly volunteered to stay with the dingy and drop Kevin off to feed the pigs are their enthusiasm is a little intimidating.

We’ve been spotted

First swimmers approach

Preparing to board

The Pied Piper

Feeding time at Great Majors Spot

We went in closer again and two swam out to meet us as Kevin jumped out of the dingy and the all followed him up the beach all the little curly tails jigging in unison behind him. The demolished the two tins of turkey in no time and Kevin received at least one nip in their eagerness. The other local wildlife have obviously also cottoned on the the popularity of the pigs and there were gulls swooping down to steal what they could not to mention fish swimming in to claim anything below the waterline.

We took a short trip along the dramatic undercut and cavernous coastline before it started to rain again and we headed back to the boat. Through the afternoon the pigs have received an almost constant stream of visitors, those with the bigger tenders seeming to fare slightly better in the food distribution, more than one smaller tender like ours turned back when the first boarding's started and they lost out on some good tack. Other than that the rain has been on and off all afternoon so we resigned ourselves to some more reading.

Staniel Cay, Exuma, Bahamas

2009-06-03T20:02:00.000+01:00

We lose our internet access this morning so I though I would be especially diligent and get completely up to date on the blog before we do. Last night we had an excellent evening out at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. When we arrived the staff were gutting fish at an outdoor facility at the waters edge and throwing the debris over the side. There to clean up were about a dozen nurse harks plus some pretty big rays. The kids here on holiday though that was great and they were taking the skin and trimmings and trying to hand feed them.

It’s behind you!

Shark feeding for children in Staniel CayNurse Sharks enjoying a free dinner

Staniel Cay Yacht Club is another one of those famous yachting hangout that you just have to visit (you can tell because they sell t-shirts!). So we thought we ought to experience a night there. It is has loads of character and the wall is covered in old photos of famous visitors and stages of the build starting back in the 1950’s, plus obviously all the Thunderball memorabilia.

Staniel Cay Yacht Club

Photos from the filming of the James Bond Thunderball film

We met two nice American families in the bar, Mark, Anna and Bella from Nashville / Florida are here for a week and there house in Florida is near the Cape Canaveral anchorage that we are planning to visit in July. They were really helpful on some places for us to visit in Florida. We are hoping to see them then and also later today when we visit the feral pigs on Great Major’s Cay, beside Staniel Cay which swim out to meet you in the dingy and like to be fed (Update to this post next time we get internet). David & Jamie are I think from Tennessee and are planning to visit London, the Cotswolds and the Lakes this summer. We used to live near the Lakes in the UK so we gave them a few suggestions on places to visit.

Thunderball Cave, Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-06-03T19:44:00.000+01:00

Today is another bright sunny day and we decide it would be a good day to go to the famous local land mark, Thunderball Cave, named after it’s staring role in the James Bond film of the same name. Due to the currents in the area we have to visit on low water slack so we have been waiting for this to occur nearer the middle of the day for better light. It occurs today at 10.30am so we head over to the dingy moorings outside. I have done a reckie the afternoon before and find it is fairly easy to find, having a sign in the rocks above it. The limestone Cay has entrances on each side and the inside has been carved out by the waves over the ages to form a cavern inside with hole through the roof with piercing sunlight shining through. It is most famed for the large numbers of fish which congregate inside and will hand feed.

Followed into the cave for feeding time

Before the bread arrives but they know what is coming

Behind that mass of fish you can just see Kevin The last of the bread being eaten and the fish disperse

Looking out the south entrance

South entrance Light penetrates the roof of the cave

South entrance after the second feeding

Shoal of fish on the outside of a smaller south entrance

Kevin beside the entrance

Jo thankfully no longer surrounded

Fish still hopeful of more bread

When we arrive there is another small motor boat moored up but they have not yet entered the water. The fish are obviously well versed in the procedure and come out to greet us when we enter the water. I take the camera and Kevin takes the bread. I am well used to diving with fish over the years but I have never been anywhere where they get so close and it is is quite claustrophobic as they cramp right up to your mask. Kevin starts distributing the bread and the fish go into frenzy. The photos are just a blur of movement. Kevin throws some bread near to me which brings them even closer and I squeal like a girl as the fish nip me in their excitement to get to the food.

It is quite spectacular inside the cave and when the bread is gone the fish back off a bit and I get some photos. The other group then come into the cave and do their feeding. We swim out round the Cay and back round into the entrance. I try to get the classic blue window shot from the film, but although the water looks clear it doesn’t quite come out in the photos as the sun is the wrong side of the Cay. However it does catch the light on the other entrance and the fish obligingly swim into shot. We were hoping there may be some nurse sharks, but there are not, obviously the apparently quite lazy nurse sharks thought better of hanging around in a tourist spot.

Invincible at anchor, Staniel Cay

Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-06-02T18:16:00.000+01:00

At last today dawns with bright blue clear skies and sunshine and we open all the hatches and drag mattresses, bedding and all lockers out for an airing. I give our cabin a real spring clean and Kevin cleans out the anchor locker whilst dragging out the diesel jerry cans ready for us to run ashore and top up.

We don’t need much and it doesn’t seem worth loosing our good anchoring spot, so we go in on the dingy. I am quite excited at the dock to see 6 nurse sharks lazing in the water under the boats on the dock. A big ray glides past in the clear water. I have obviously not thought to bring the camera for photos of diesel filling which just goes to show you. The fuel dock / marina attendant is less impressed in fact is pretty grumpy to any small talk at all and leaves us to fill our own jerry cans.

I leave Kevin to go and pay whilst I walk to the store to get some bread. Apparently the girl behind the bar is too busy doing her nails when he arrives to serve him. Luckily a nice Danish guy from the boat beside us who popped over to introduce himself last night is around with his son. They depart tomorrow on their first leg north before they depart for their 21 day Atlantic crossing back the other way to the Azores on route to Denmark.

Staniel Cay Beach

I decide to try the Pink store as it looks the biggest from outside. The screen door looks makes it look dark inside and I hesitate before an elderly female voice tells me to come in. I discover it is actually dark inside, obviously in an attempt to keep it cool, the white haired black lady owner though also has quite a creaky voice and it is quite eerie, it feels like a scene from a cheesy horror film!

I ask if she has any bread and am directed to a deep freeze and select one light and one dark wholemeal loaf. When I get to the counter the owner asks if I am sure about the darker loaf, it tastes different she says. I say yes thanks, we prefer the darker. I ask how much they are, she starts to pick off the price tag which I can see says $3.40, she says $6 each and asks if I am off a boat. How big, I say 36ft, she says wow that’s a big boat for you and your husband, without mentioning it is a catamaran, we are the smallest boat we have seen in weeks, but perhaps this makes her feel better about the 100% increase in price. I say I will put one loaf back and return the lighter loaf to the freezer. When I get back to the counter she says she is not sure she can let me have the darker loaf (the last one) as it tastes a bit funny. Completely flabbergasted by now, I say fine and put this loaf back and return to her competitor up the road.

Staniel Cay Yacht Club

In the blue shop, the old guy behind the counter is really nice and they have the cereal, fresh bread and milk which I need. The 750g Special K (the only non-sugared cereal) is $7.75 mind, but our only alternative on the boat is porridge and we are conserving gas. He also persuades me to take some locally made banana bread for quite a reasonable $2. I am offered a lift back in a golf cart by a nice young local lady and I compliment her on her town which she appears very pleased by.

We head back to the boat and refill diesel and try to restore some order. We have another pleasant afternoon. I try a snorkel on the reef at the back but am a bit nervous about the local guys in skiffs which go past our boat at full speed regularly even passing between us and the reef. We have a game of dominoes in the cockpit in the early evening as I try to avenge the thrashing in our last game of gin rummy a couple of days before. We are quite thrilled to see an Osprey land on the rocks behind the boat with a large fish which he takes his time eating for the next 20minutes as we eat our dinner watching him.

Osprey lands behind the boat to feed

Osprey close up – taken through the binoculars

Just before dusk, a local guy comes in a skiff and tells use a freighter is coming in this evening and we ought to move to the blue water over the reef from where we are because he might not see us. Kevin points out quite reasonably that there are rocks behind us and to hit us that it would have to go over them. He just repeats that it might not see us. We are really confused by this odd message, there is very clearly no dock capable of taking a freighter north of where we are, there is very definitely not the draught to take a freighter, we are certainly protected by the rocks behind with a visible flashing white light upon it. High water comes and goes with no signs of any big ships coming in, we wonder again why anyone would try to navigate in the dark round here. We put our bimini light as well as our anchor light on when we go to bed. No vessels at all come in that night. We are still puzzled what on earth he was trying to achieve in getting us to move. The charts very clearly indicate this is an anchorage, we are not in the channel, we decide to ignore it as we are only staying one more night.

Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-06-01T17:45:00.000+01:00

Today turns out to be another dull overcast day and we pay for the local Satellite Wifi link up to catch up with the world while we wait for the rain to clear. Ironically on Facebook everyone in the UK is saying how sunny it is back there.

Staniel Cay main street – golf carts are the only traffic here

When the rain clears we make a quick sortie ashore, we are mostly in search of the Island Store as they apparently stock propane. We walk round the attractive looking Staniel Cay Yacht Club, the bar of which is full at 1pm, they obviously have all decided there is not much else to do in the rain but we don’t like drinking in the day time and leave them to it. Staniel Cay is one main street along the waterfront with a few residential roads stretching back. The town beach is very pleasant white sand and there are some brightly coloured holiday rental cottages, an art gallery, school, police station, the ubiquitous Battleco tower and offices. We reach the church at the end of town and have found no store, we get directions from a local guy back to one of the side streets and find two stores which are like outhouses on people’s homes, but these are not the Island store. We ask inside the bright blue store (as opposed to their competitor the Pink store) and we are told to go back to the church, along the shore and over the bridge. We step outside the store and see a huge black ugly looking squall heading this way and decide to go back to the boat.

Happy People marina

The rain is in for a couple more hours and we wait it out on board. Around 4pm, the rain stops and the sky clears and the bay is a buzz with little skiffs and tenders. Kevin ventures across the bay in our dingy and pull up at the Island Store, which from the name we are anticipating to be the main one in town. When Kevin walks in there are only two shelves, obviously not. The lady behind the counter on seeing our small Camping Gas cylinder immediately says, “European Gas cylinder, nope, we don’t have any fittings for those, even if we did we have no gas until next week. You need to go to Nassau for that”. Kevin returns to the boat to report the news, we debate how hard can it be to make up a metric connection when they obviously get enough enquires for them to recognise it instantly. We discuss our travel plans and decide to get to Nassau slightly earlier to get our refill – as a good First Mate I realise the importance of the Skipper’s cup of tea in the morning, not to mention our daily espresso.

Invincible at anchor off Staniel Cay under black clouds

We have another evening on board, as we are reaching the end of our DVD collection now, Kevin has persuaded me to watch the Band of Brothers series (I’m not a bombs and bullets kind a girl). I surprise myself by rather enjoying it though – we have both learned to enjoy each others films on this trip.

Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-05-31T17:03:00.000+01:00

In the early hours of the morning we are awoken by a change in the wind caused by a large area of squalls, unusually approaching from the south west. Unfortunately this causes wind over tide and the shallow water creates steep waves and rock us uncomfortably as we are held into tide the waves slapping with an uneven and irregular wave pattern making sleep impossible. It is still dark though and even this is preferable to trying to negotiate the reef in the dark, so we lay in bed irritable from lack of sleep having taken a long time to get to sleep because of the heat neither of us has had more than a couple of hours.

As soon as light dawns we up anchor and motor the mile to Galliot Cut and pass into Exuma Sound again, which ironically because of the unusual wind direction is flat calm. We have our breakfast on route as we make it up to the nearest cut to Staniel Cay our destination, Dotham Cut. It’s not far in the calm waters of the sound before we have to pass back on to the Bank side as it is known locally, where people usually go to find the calm water. Today it is just short steep waves and we have 5 miles to cross a 2m deep reef in the low grey cloud until we get in to the relatively deep 4m channel to round the natural harbour of Staniel Cay, which should hopefully be calm. We are both not really in the mood for bad weather having had little sleep so we just grit out teeth and get on with it. I am sat on the coachhouse roof by the mast and Kevin at the helm, both hoping this 2m depth (1m clearance for us) is fairly uniform.

We negotiate the channel into Staniel Cay and a motor fishing boat who obviously knows the waters better than us sneaks round the back and pinches our anchor spot just in front of us. It’s just like being in a supermarket carpark! We take a tour of the bay trying to find somewhere else suitable whilst the rain starts in earnest but the anchoring space is quite limited. Eventually we go alongside the motorboat and get the anchor in to a nice patch of sand and it digs in straight away. We both run into the saloon to dry off. We get the last laugh though as the motorboat besides us drags his anchor in the wind associated with the squall and ends up having to go elsewhere. The monohull beside him is also dragging and they go out in the rain to reset. We are the only ones in the small anchor area backed by a line of reef / rocks that is holding, so it looks like we got the best spot after all.

Once we dry off and have lunch we both decide to go back to bed, as it is still pouring with rain. We get a couple of hours of sleep and the weather hasn’t improved when we wake up so we decide to spend the afternoon on board reading and pottering.

Galliot Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-05-30T14:40:00.000+01:00

We took our first passage north in the sheltered waters of Exuma Sound. In the north and east the barrier islands of Cat Island, Eleuthera and San Salvador (the purported first landing of Columbus) provide protection from the Atlantic. In the west an almost continuous chain of 365 islands and islets (Cays) backed by a large area of reef called the Exumas form part of the Great Bahama Bank separating the Exuma Sound from Florida / Cuba. Finally at the north of the Exuma Sound the entrance is closed off for deep draughted vessels by the extension of the Great Bahama Bank containing New Providence island (with Nassau the capital) to join with Eleuthera island at the north. Therefore once you head into Exuma Sound you either have to pass over the reef 2-4m deep beside New Providence or go the very long way round and back down the Sound round Long Island or San Salvador.

The Exumas form nearly a continuous chain and to gain access to the inside of the Great Bahama Bank you have to pass through one of the navigable “Cuts” between islands. We have chosen Cave Cay Cut being deep and nearest to our destination, though the weather and tide needs to be considered when passing through any of the cuts because of the volume of water trying to pass through with tidal flow standing waves can occur. Luckily the Exuma Sound is a glassy calm on our motor up the sound, but even so swirls and eddies could be seen in the cut when we approached. The cuts look quite narrow as you approach especially to us as we tend to stay well off land on passages. Kevin steered us through and said that he could really feel the current trying to turn us as we passed, that you could not let it go anything except head on into the flow.

Passing through Cave Cay Cut

The light blue shallower clear water can be seen as a band as you approach and again the water clarity in the Bahamas is amazing. I stand at the bow during these parts of navigation looking out for coral heads / rocks etc and was amazed to see starfish, fishes, sea grass in amazing clarity below as we passed. We put our head into the entrance to Cave Cay marina heralded as a ground breaking solar / wind powered deluxe facility in our pilot book. Unfortunately although our book is 5 years out of date it was still not complete and there were no signs of life. However, it looks like it will be really nice and they have a perfect natural hurricane hole in the Cay.

We decided to move further north to find an anchorage on the bank side and are passed by another catamaran going the same way. We pass Galliot Cut and another monohull which has been travelling up the Sound with us also pulls in. We see the catamaran ahead struggling to pass the very shoal area ahead near Farmers Cay, going first one direction than backing out, then trying another tack. It is now 4pm and we decide that grounding out on an ebbing tide didn’t sound like a pleasant way to spend an evening and we anchor alongside the monohull behind Galliot Cay. The water is really clear and there is a small beach which the monohull crew all head off to in their dingy but we are happy snorkelling round the boat.

Kevin snorkelling in the clear water

There is a really strong current flowing even now at the end of the tide and for the first time on our trip the the boat is held into current instead of into wind. Swimming against it is really hard work as we take turns to try to make it to the anchor and then drift back. Again the rays avoid me and as soon as we are back on the boat we can see them gliding by.

Anchored behind Galliot Cay

A quiet night on anchor watching a dvd, the boat turns exactly according to the tide indicator on Kevin’s watch and we get out a torch and go our on deck and can clearly see the anchor chain stretch out beneath the boat. It is so warm when we go to bed that we decide to camp out on the trampoline. I can’t get used to the breeze whilst trying to sleep and leave Kevin to it.

George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas

2009-05-29T14:31:00.000+01:00

We are planning to head north a little further again tomorrow and today about mid morning our Propane cooking gas cylinder ran out. This would normally leave us with about 3 weeks supply but our last fill seemed a bit light so we decided to enquire in George Town again before departing.

George Town, Great Exuma

We went to the Shell petrol station as mentioned in our pilot book, but for the second time in a row they do not do propane but gave us a number of a local man who can collect and refill. We tried the other petrol station up the road, same story but they telephone the guy for us, no reply. We decide we’ll risk it as a couple of our stops before Nassau list having propane, well according to the pilot book anyway.

Public Park, George Town, Great Exuma

We have a bit of a walk around the town and pick up a couple of other bits and pieces but there isn’t a great deal in George Town of interest. We decide to head back to the boat and spend the afternoon doing a bit of reading and fighting with the intermittent free Wifi signal until aggravation wins out and we shut down.

Stocking Island Anchorage, George Town, Exumas

2009-05-28T21:12:00.000+01:00

We headed off to the Exumas markets after dragging out the boxes and boxes of food still on the boat to see what we actually needed to buy. This list amounted to just fresh foods so we headed in, unfortunately there were swarms of small flies in the vegetable section of the supermarket and even things like potatoes and onions were a long way past their best. We did manage to get apples though at a reasonable price for the first time since the Canaries.

Stocking Island – on the way to everywhere

We had a bit of a wander in town and called at the ATM again before heading back to the boat. We decided to reanchor at the other side of the channel at the Stocking Island anchorage so we could go to the Chat ‘n’ Chill bar that evening where the sailing crowd apparently congregate. There were more boats over this side – no doubt for the small amount of extra breeze, it was now sweltering at the town anchorage. We jumped in for a snorkel to cool down when we arrived, then did a bit of reading in the afternoon. I decided to do a reccie for the evening and swan ashore for a look round. There were already a few people in the bar and volley ball pitches and other activities available on shore.

Stocking Island anchorage – Chat ‘n’ Chill on shore

Kevin snorkelling of the boat, Stocking Island

Chat ‘n’ Chill bar

We took the dingy in about 5pm, running it up the beach successfully. Kendal the bar man was friendly and we told him about his namesake in the Lake District, near where we used to live. The owner arrived for his dinner from the grill, he was apparently into Economics and used to live in Chicago and West Kensington before setting up the business back home. Shortly after the crew of another boat arrived, another catamaran from South Africa and we got talking to Lynn. They had also come across the Atlantic last season and headed up the Caribbean but their route was passing the more remote islands of St Helena and Ascension islands. They are debating where to spend the hurricane season and were erring on the side of the Bahamas instead of having to check in and out of each port in the US, which apparently they would need to do. We had a pleasant evening chatting to Lynn and their friend Tom from Florida who was visiting for 4 days. About 7pm they announced they were shutting the bar, I had had only two drinks but Kendal’s rather generous G&T’s were too much for me and I was happy to head back to the boat. We were getting in the dingy when we saw a large stingray gliding through the water literally in the surf of the shore line.

Jo chilling after an evening at the Chat ‘n’ Chill

Sting rays on the shore

George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas

2009-05-27T20:27:00.000+01:00

We depart fairly early but after Geru who are pushing to get the miles in. The clouds are thick and rumbling with thunder and when a brief break in the rain appears we decide to make a run for it. We have only about 20 miles to do to George Town, but it is where all the thunder and lightening is coming from at the moment, so we set off slowly hoping it will pass.

We set off with the rods in the water, but no bites today and we even end up turning a big circle to let the squalls have time to dissipated before we eventually get into the approaches to George Town around lunch. The sun comes out just as we attempt the entrance which from the charts looks terrible, coral heads, submerged rocks, sand banks. It is boater central in the Bahamas with up to 300 boats all hanging out during the season (winter), but when you first look at the chart you can’t imagine how they all get in there, but console yourself it can’t be as bad as it looks. Well in the end after duly following our 5 waypoints from the pilot guide, we arrive into the town anchorage, realising that it really wasn’t that bad actually, though that’s mainly because we are shallow drafted.

Winding our way into George Town

We drop the anchor in the large bay a fairly uniform 2-3 m deep over bright white sand on the edge of town. The sun is out now and the colours are stunning. The water clarity is so amazing here that we have been looking at fish, star fish, coral and weeds on the bottom in amazing detail. The anchor sunk straight into the fine sand and it definitely wasn’t going anywhere. There are only around 10 boats anchored here and more over in Stocking Island the barrier island protecting the George Town roadstead and another cruiser hangout. This bay is nicknamed Chicken Bay from all the cruisers that pass south of here out of the sheltered water of the Bahamas to realise it is rough out there and come back. Looking around after days and days of rough crossings before us, I wonder actually who the clever ones are…. the Bahamas is definitely our favourite place so far despite timing our visit in the wet season.

Stocking Island anchorage

After a quick bite for lunch we decide to explore in town and take the dingy under the road bridge into the inner lagoon which is very shallow, but has a couple of dingy docks giving good access to town. The town itself has a certain character with its pastel shaded buildings and laid back atmosphere, but has a certain scruffiness too. We find the one supermarket and take a walk round looking at what they stock and just buying in for the evening. We need to come back and stock up for the next 3 weeks tomorrow – stores being few and far between after this in the Exumas.

Invincible on George Town anchorage

There is not much else of interest in George Town, an ATM the only one until Nassau and the first since Turks and Caicos so we get out some cash. We then head back to the boat and enjoy a pleasant evening on the calmest anchorage we have ever been on, not a ripple and really quiet.

Indefatigable (dingy) floating on clear Bahamian waters

Warm Bahamian evenings – 41.6 degrees C in the shade of our cockpit at 6pm!!

Calabash Bay, Long Island, Bahamas

2009-05-26T13:36:00.000+01:00

Having checked out of the marina yesterday afternoon, we’d planned on setting off early to head to Calabash Bay in the north of Long Island in company with Geoff and Ruth and on their boat Geru, a 38ft Prout catamaran. All we had to do that morning was to call our bank using Skype as our debit card had been stopped a couple of times, which we guessed must be a security thing but being unable to get a mobile signal they’d obviously not been able to call. After a 40 minute phone call (thank good for cheap Skype calls!), we’d finally got it sorted. I guess it’s all for our own benefit, though I must say that as our cards have been used continuously abroad for more than a year it’s a bit of a course filter they are using that it was only just getting stopped.

In a flat calm approaching the north of Long Island

Consequently Geru was on the distant horizon when we set out from the marina on a perfectly still day with blue skies and scorching heat. Definitely not even motor sailing today, the sails stayed furled as we motored up the length of Long Island. The consolation for today though is that apparently this stretch of water is world famous for sports fishing, so all four rods were out. I am progressing on my apprenticeship now and am allowed to wind in and deploy the rods and didn’t we get some practice with all the seaweed in the water. As it was a pretty boring motor though it did provide us with something to do as literally as soon as one rod was cleared another one would foul.

Kevin marlin spotting from the bimini

All the effort was eventually rewarded when one of the bigger reels suddenly spun off briefly and stopped. We both looked round to see a now familiar circle of disturbed water behind the lure – the sign of a marlin strike. We could still see a shadow in the water behind the lure, we were still being hunted. I went up on to the bimini to see see if I could see it any clearer. Kevin excitedly ran between the two bigger lures as he saw the shadow move between them to let them off and wind them in to try and tempt another bite. After about 5 minutes of cat and mouse play, the reel screamed again and we were hooked. I put us into neutral and Kevin started the fight, the reel ran off about 100m of line straight off as the marlin ran off. He’d was hooked for 10 minutes or so and Kevin just had it beginning to turn when the line snapped and marlin swam off with the lure. We were both very unhappy to think of the fish having to struggle with the lure attached, though this is the first we have ever lost, we were also pleased to have used the less barbed hooks that with the tension released off the line should soon be dislodged. I still didn’t manage to get a photo despite more tail walking but if anything this one was larger than the last one - 8ft plus.

We rounded the northern tip of Long Island and got another bite, this time some sort of mackerel, but he got off before got him on board. We worked our way round the reef to anchor beside Geru and then got in for a swim straight away as it had been such a long hot day. We spoke to Geoff and Ruth on the VHF, but as the grey clouds were gathering on the horizon and the thunder was getting louder and louder we agreed to stay aboard our own boats and said our goodbyes (they are heading the same way as us all the way to Canada though and much quicker than we have planned).

A quiet early night on anchor as the rain hammered down and the thunder and lightening flickered all around.

Flying Fish Marina, Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas

2009-05-25T16:03:00.000+01:00

We were up early cleaning the boat ready for our visitors and getting ready for our trip to the Blue Hole with Zoe a nice local lady who had offered us a lift. Unfortunately Claudia from the marina arrived at 8.30 with a note from Zoe to say she’d had to cancel because something had come up but she could take us the next day. We had already planned to make tracks the next day – I have a schedule for us now to make sure we make it to Nassau on time. We weren’t keen on a four mile walk in the searing heat with not a breath of wind to go ourselves and no car hire or public transport locally, we decided we’d have to miss that one.

We watched in amusement at the stream of large sports fishing boats / cruisers pulling up alongside us on the fuel dock. Last night a 65ft Betram Fishing boat – 1500 US Gallons, 60ft custom build sport fishing boat 1300 US gallons, Motor cruiser 2000+ gallons, then another sports fishing boat, then another motor cruiser called Enterprise (complete with spaceship logo). Although the marina has four very large fuel tanks each larger than the two that the local petrol station has and one tanker delivery during the afternoon, by the evening they had run dry. We agreed that we could both live comfortably on the profits just for the fuel pumps here. It’s hard to conceive the scale of fuel usage of these boats, but as the only marina between George Town and the Turks and Caicos they obviously get a large proportion of the cruisers passing. I like to amuse myself with counting out the fuel bill in the seconds as these boats zoom by us (£5…£10…) but we sail by for fee, especially as they seem to like to pass very close for a look leaving us 2 minutes later with their wake as beam on swell.

We tried in the afternoon to get beer as we had visitors due, it is obviously a precious commodity on the Bahamas. There are plenty of bars, but the shops don’t seem to stock it and are surprised you’d even ask. We’d been directed to a small hut type bar with no seats on Friday who’d assured us if we came back on Monday when he went to the wholesalers we could get a case from him. On Monday we arrived, someone else was there who looked very dubious about getting us a crate of beer but took our number to call us back. We weren’t too sure about this and didn’t want to be inhospitable so called in at the Winter Haven to get some take outs and goggle at the novel TV whilst we had a beer ourselves.

Ruth and Geoff arrived on time and we had a very pleasant evening sharing cruising experiences – disappointed with the Caribbean compared to the idyllic notion before leaving mostly due to unfriendly locals, really enjoying the Bahamas, very pleased with having a catamaran but also idealising cities and other future treats in the states such as well stocked supermarkets. Geoff and Ruth have a 38ft Prout catamaran and have been cruising 2 years but are on their way back to Canada now to start work again. We found we had lots in common and agreed we’d sail the next leg together to the north of Long Island.

Whilst they were with us, someone from the bar turned up with our crate of beer, delivered directly to the boat, what good service!

Flying Fish Marina, Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas

2009-05-24T19:06:00.000+01:00

On Sunday we caught up with a few internet jobs as we had Wifi, trying to get the blog up to date etc. As I had yet again managed to go out without the camera the night before I made Kevin come for a walk with me in the heat of the day to get the photos we’d missed of Clarence Town the day before.

Clarence Town contains two churches designed by Father Jerome a famous local figure who also built a hermitage on nearby Cat Island. The Saints Peter and Paul Church sits on a hill in the middle of town and is a beautiful building with its twin towers and stark white walls. The town itself is quite spread out but nicely kept and is obviously not Seventh Day Adventist as about 50% of the buildings seem to be bars. There are a quite a few derelict small hut type houses which appear to have been deserted to build the larger replacement alongside and left to the tropical vegetation to regrow. It reminded us a bit of the Highlands of Scotland where the crofts have been deserted and the less attractive concrete bungalows built alongside.

Saints Peter & Paul church

Second Father Jerome church

The view across the bay is stunning and we were pleased to get good sunlight for our photos as we’d had rain and dark clouds again in the morning.

View across the Clarence Town bay

In the afternoon I went to the laundry whilst Kevin did some boat jobs. In there I got talking to a nice young Canadian couple who had arrived shortly after us to anchor in the bay and were the ones we’d heard on the VHF. We were talking for the full duration of wash, dry and another wash as we exchanged experiences having travelled the same route almost. They have also visited some of the places in the States that we are planning and gave us some tips. I invited them to our boat the following evening to meet Kevin.

View from Flying Fish Marina wall to channel

We decided to head out to the Grill again for a couple of beers to enjoy the local atmosphere. Tonight was mostly locals and they were playing dominoes, it could almost have been any local pub back in the UK – especially when the rain started outside!

View across the Clarence Town bay

Flying Fish Marina, Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas

2009-05-23T18:10:00.000+01:00

Another day, another 40 mile sail, this time mostly in sight of land as we made our way along the southern half of the unimaginatively named Long Island. Long Island is nearly 80nm long though, so I suppose the name is apt. We decided that we would make a stop midway at Clarence Town which although has little to offer itself has the only marina / anchorage on this coast.

The sail was fairly uneventful except for a fair amount of big ship traffic which has been picking up on the last few sails with two or three sightings each trip. I guess as there is no route across the Bahamas for them for a couple for hundred miles north from here many need to cut across south of Long Island. We heard one other yacht on the VHF who were confirming a safe crossing with one of the tankers but we couldn’t see them. Ever since we left the BVIs we have been the only yacht around which is a strange feeling after being in company with at least ten other yachts all around the Caribbean until now. However, it is well discussed that there is a dividing line – American / Canadian yachts go south to the Bahamas and other yachts cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean going north as far as the BVIs, but very few go all the way up what is know as the Thorny Path.

We passed down the channel into Clarence Town at about 2pm, with about a 20 knot crosswind. The shoaling natural harbour has every colour of blue and green running across the reef to sand to the shore and is a stunning site. The shore line is also dotted with some luxury (holiday?) homes showing the signs of greater prosperity we were expecting as we got closer to the States. We were directed to a berth in the far inside corner of the marina to give us shelter from the swell, we were told on the VHF it might be a bit tight to get in… a bit tight in marina speak I think means you have to grease the sides of your boat. In a twenty knot crosswind they wanted us to get into a slot at the end of the dock about 1.5 boat lengths off the harbour wall and with a 20ft gap between the telegraph pole stern post and the dock – we are 19.5ft wide. We asked if we could possibly take a berth which was a little wider. There was one at the end of 25ft wide which after a bit re-manoeuvring Kevin comfortably put us into and we were assisted by about 4 guys on the docks. There are only 15 slips and all the others are filled with big sports fishing boats and they are all really friendly and I think a bit curious about this thing with sails that has arrived.

Sports Fishing Central on Long Island

The facilities are excellent, Mario and Claudia the owners are doing a great job of developing the place. We next had a quick walk into town to find a grocery before it shut to get a few supplies. The only one in the town had just two shelves and didn’t quite have all we needed but enough to keep us going until George Town.

Flying Fish Marina and Outer Edge Grill

In the evening we decided to go out for a meal at the Winter Haven Grill we passed earlier. We went for a shower in the immaculate freshly tiled marina showers before heading out. When we arrived there was a group of people having a drink at the idyllic looking thatched beach bar at the back over looking the coast with a stunning view. We got talking to a family at the bar who live on the island. Zoe is from Canada originally but escaped the rat race when she met her Bahamian husband in Nassau and they moved to Long Island. They are both really happy with life on the island and told us how they they didn’t even lock their house when they went on holiday recently. One of the locals helpfully decided to lock it for them whilst they were away, they then had to break in as neither of them knew where on earth they kept their house key as it is used so rarely! Zoe offered to take us up to see the Blue Hole about 4miles away on Monday which we gladly accepted.

Great Beach Bar at Winter Haven Grill

We then went in to the restaurant for some food and found all of the people from the marina were here, obviously the place to be. There were a few other tourists too, including one couple who were bone fishing here, a popular fish which is taken by fly fishing off the shore. The chef was really gregarious and came to each table wearing his big floppy chefs hat, to make sure everyone got their food how they wanted it. I had conch fritters followed by shrimp Caesar salad which was lovely but so large I had to take a doggy bag home with most of the salad. Kevin had chicken wings followed by lobster and New York Strip steak Surf and Turf which he said was one of the best steaks he’d ever had and not bad value at 33$.

Winter Haven Grill

Landrail Point, Crooked Island, Bahamas

2009-05-22T23:00:00.000+01:00

Another day another sail as we push on through the Bahamas, Mayaguana was 260 miles from Nassau, which we need to reach by 15th June, so we are trying to cover the distance into the Exumas group quite quickly to enjoy as much time there as possible. We have decided to do this distance as day sailing which is far more enjoyable though, so tonight’s destination is the west coast of Crooked Island, which with Acklins Island and Long Cay form a triangular archipelago surrounding a large shallow reef.

The Crooked-Acklins-Long Cay Archipelago

The sail was fairly uneventful, Kevin put in the fishing lines although the water was still thick with seaweed as it has been since we left Dominican Republic. We assume it must be the debris from the Sargasso Sea which is mid-Atlantic from here and famous for it’s weed infested waters. We therefore regularly needed to bring the lines back in to detach the clumps of seaweed “catches”. We therefore didn’t leap up quite as quickly when one of the reels ran off until it became clear that it was something far more substantial than weed. Kevin picked up the rod and as soon as the tension was applied a 8ft marlin jumped out of the water behind the boat. I was slightly less excited by the thought of reeling in this monster than Kevin and just shouted “Oh My God!!” in a slightly panicked way, but Kevin was having the time of his life reeling it in. The marlin put up quite a fight, tail walking as it is apparently know in the trade – dancing vertically out of the water on it’s fins. However, after about 5 minutes the fish bent the lure and got away which goes to show it is sporting, the hooks we use are specially designed to give the fish a chance. Kevin was extremely pleased to get that step closer to reeling in a Marlin and was reliving the experience all afternoon and evening….!

The 50 mile sail is complete by about 4pm and we anchor off the beach in front of a row of beach houses. We passed the Bird Rock lighthouse on route which we can see from where we are anchored. Bird Rock lighthouse dates from 1876 and was made from stone quarried nearby. It was built using Fresnel lenses and was only converted to electrical power after over 100 years at which point it apparently became unreliable but it was working when we were there.

Bird Rock Lighthouse

After three longs day’s of sailing we both fancied a cold beer but we had none on board, we also needed bread, eggs etc. This time it was Kevin’s turn to adventure ashore, so we dropped the dingy and he motored off round the headland into the Landrail Point settlement, where there is a small boat dock literally bored out of the rock. The town is a settlement of Seven Day Adventists who do not imbibe, so Kevin’s search was not successful. He came back reporting the shocked looks his enquires had produced, though he did manage to get bread. They had suggested the Shark Bay resort the other side of the boat, so he headed off again this time dragging the dingy up the beach. The resort is the ultimate getaway with it’s own airstrip connected by a private plane which can come and collect you. However, it’s probably not the business to have in the offseason within a community of Seventh Day Adventists and the bar was closed, the local nearby reporting that it may well not open that night either.

Invincible at anchor off Landrail Point in view of Bird Rock

We made a cup of tea and a angel hair pasta and prawns with truffle oil for tea and I finished off Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet which I had been reading before we both got another early night ready for another sail tomorrow.

West Plana Cays, Bahamas

2009-05-21T18:07:00.000+01:00

We have a fairly slow departure from Abrahams Bay across 4 miles of shallow water to the west exit with dark patches of coral which must be avoided. The coral heads are just below the surface and are hard enough to hole the boat if hit at speed. We have good light though and pick our way gingerly across, the break in the weather emptying the anchorage as the other two boats head off through the east exit.

Dolphins play off the bow

Dolphins come to visit

Although it is another lumpy sail with lots of passing squalls our journey is much improved by a fleeting visit from a pod of dolphins, the first we have seen for sometime. One even obligingly performs a full somersault just off our bow (I am too slow on the camera to catch it unfortunately). As quickly as they had appeared though they disappeared again.

The slow start means we decide to take the intermediate anchorage rather than press on all the way and so we complete 36 miles arriving to the uninhabited pair of islands the Plana Cays each only about 3-4 miles long and 0.5 – 1 mile wide. The water is amazingly clear, we can see the 20m contour line from the surface as a line of colour change to a lighter blue, the bottom plummeting to 200-800m straight down from here and to over 1000m deep within a mile of the shore. A long white sand beach surrounds the island and it looks amazing.

20m contour line clear from the boat

I am an intrigued by the present of the hutia, a small native Bahamian cat-sized rodent on the east island, however, not intrigued enough to attempt the swell in the tender to go and try and find one as I am not keen on rodents at the best of times and a cat-sized one sounds unpleasant. We manage to find a clear spot to anchor off the beach between coral heads and Kevin immediately gets in to check the anchor / have a look around. He surfaces within a couple of minutes to say he has seen a sunfish, a relatively rare prehistoric looking fish with a large body and small pointed fins, which get their name for their unusual habit of sun bathing on the surface.

Invincible at anchor off West Plana Cays

I get in next and am amazed to be able to see the full length of chain to the anchor from the stern of the boat as soon as I jump in. I snorkel for a while and see lots of smaller fish, but the sunfish has swum off. We are quite excited to be anchored in our first ever uninhabited island with only us in the anchorage. It is quite overcast still and we are pretty tired and get an early night.

Our own desert island

Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas

2009-05-20T18:04:00.000+01:00

Today, the rain finally abated in the early afternoon and everyone started to emerge from their cocoons. Our neighbours on the monohull beside us, Ann-Marie and Larry on Loafer’s Glory II, popped over to say hi. They are on route to Turks and Caicos and then Luperon on Dominican Republic, with the catamaran also in the anchorage, whose son has apparently already arrived before him but they have both been delayed by the weather. We exchange a few tips on places to visit etc before they head off to the shop. We decide to go for a snorkel, the water is an amazing aquamarine blue now the sun is out and it is like being in a swimming pool it is so shallow. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a swimming pool with little stinging jelly fish, but we still have a swim round. We see lots of pits dug by rays and Kevin saw one mdeium sized dark colour stringray but again I miss it, a large barracuda, some conch, sand dollar shells but little else. However it is lovely water clarity and we enjoy getting off the boat for a while.

Abrahams Bay - After

Later, we we are having a drink in the cockpit and Kevin spotted a round shape moving along beside the boat that appears to be a big ray. He is off again before we can get in, just came to torment me I think as I am really keen to see one and haven’t yet.

Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas

2009-05-19T18:02:00.000+01:00

We had been hoping to move on quite soon from Mayaguana, as there is little of interest on this island, however the weather has other plans. Overnight the rain continued and during the day we are treated to amazing thunder and lightening all round us. The thunder is so loud and close that the coach house roof shakes with the force of it. We put all of our electronics into the oven in case of a lightening hit and settle down to read again doing what few jobs are available indoors.

Abrahams Bay- Before

Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas

2009-05-18T14:12:00.000+01:00

We arrived into Mayaguana and the Bahamas about 4.30pm yesterday after completing a 67 mile sail and negotiating the coral strewn entrance to this natural harbour successfully. We dropped our anchor near two other American boats, one catamaran and one monohull in about 2.5m of water, the average depth in this end of the 4 mile long bay surrounded by coral on one side and land on the other with entrances at the east and west ends.

Mayaguana, Bahamas

This being our first point of call in the Bahamas we needed to check in, which has been designated as my job, being more suited to paperwork and being female generally get less hassle from the officials. It was pretty blowy in the morning with grey overcast skies creating a swell across the bay that was creeping over the reef. The government dock is about 1 mile from where we are anchored and we decided that as our tender is at best a wet ride and struggles to get on the plane with both of us, it will be safer and more comfortable if I go alone. I managed to get fairly soaked just detaching the lines from the davits, but have my Kag-In-A-Bag on ready for the deluge so I head off.

I have obviously misunderstood the instructions in the pilot book about how to miss the reef on the way up to the dock and diverted too far because about 200yds off the dock I finally come to a stop, the dingy now barely floating in the rapidly shoaling water. Luckily it is just sand so I bow to the inevitable, take of my flip flops and walk the dingy in. There is a local standing on the dock watching me and as I approach he makes what I consider to be the fairly obvious statement that I have come across the bank. He tells me I needed to have come between the posts (which I had understood to be avoided as reef markers). He turns out to be very helpful and instructs me to moor next to his opening fishing boat along the dock. There are no steps here, but there is a steel hoop to tie up the only one on the pier. I look at the sheer wall which is about my shoulder height dubiously and consider wading back to the steps further up the dock but the fisherman very courteously offers me his hand if I would like it and I scramble up the wall. He is really polite and tells me he lives on the island and grew up here, one of only 500 inhabitants. He offers me a lift but I decide not to trust his courtesy that far and start the ten minute walk to the Abraham Bay settlement.

It is either mangroves or bare earth each side of the road and not particularly attractive, the islands highest point is only 41m high. The Battelco (Bahamas Telecom) buildings are the administrative centre of each island, usually under the Battelco Tower mast and are the first buildings I come to. The Bahamian government crested sign outside declares this collection of three small buildings to the tax office, local court, customs & immigration, telephone service and just about everything else you could need to do I think. I complete the three forms – cruising permit, fishing licence (apparently mandatory) and immigration clearance fairly quickly only to discover that the fees are rather more than I anticipated - 300$US and I don’t have enough with me. Arrgghh! I ask about banks – none on the island (or infact the next three islands) and no they don’t take cards. I bow to the inevitable and head back to the boat.

The trip there and back despite correctly taking the route between the poles is arduous, the dingy can barely keep to the 6ft wide deeper water channel with the prop on the tilted position required due to the shallow water because of the strong cross wind. Kevin is sympathetic and gives me the cash but I realise this is my error for not checking before heading off so off I go back to the office. As the fisherman is not there to help me up the wall this time I have to tow the dingy along from the steps, that done and now fairly soaking wet I start the walk back to the office. I am passed by two trucks, the first smile and wave, the second with two local men on board stop beside me and then drive at my walking pace literally hanging out the windows telling me I am the most beautiful girl they have seen, asking me where I am from, do I need help to find where I am going etc etc. This line of patter is becoming rather a broken record for me in the Caribbean and I am neither flattered nor amused as this is quite intimidating on a deserted road. Luckily the Battelco buildings come into sight quite soon and I see a lady stood outside so I say she is waiting for me. The driver looks round and amusingly says “Oh my god, my wife is watching me!” and drives off rapidly presumably to try and explain! Obviously one of the downfalls of the small populations.

I am feeling quite smug that these guys have been caught out and told off for their behaviour… until that is, the same woman comes into the customs and immigration office and is obviously the head of the office, oops. Another guy come in and asks her how she is, she says she is pissed (from her tone she means angry rather than drunk). I do not look up to see if she is looking at me when she says this. I do not however feel guilty as I was certainly was not doing anything at all to encourage them. I quickly pay the fees to her assistant and depart.

I get back to the boat where Kevin has made me a nice fresh coffee and I get an extra ginger nut biscuit for my efforts. Shortly after the heavens open and I am pleased that I have got that over with but tell Kevin after that intimidation I am resigning that job. The rain does not let up at all day or evening, so we both settle down with a good book listening to the rain hammering on the roof. Reading a book being one of the only four suggestions in our pilot book of things to do in Mayaguana. However, it is quite cosy and reminds me of England!

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-17T14:00:00.000+01:00

We were up early this morning and left the dock successfully between the menacing poles by 7.15am. We then went to the fuel dock and filled up, checked out of the marina. All ready to go, we are then left sat on the fuel dock waiting for the electrician to turn up to disconnect our pigtail adaptor which is wired into one of the pedestals. It is 9am and I am typing this up as we still wait, with 56 miles to go today this is not what we had in mind for departure…

The weather looks good though and we should be able to the clear in to the Bahamas in Mayaguana, then we will day hop to the Exumas island group where most of our cruising will be. The Exumas are 365 islands over 100 miles stretching to within 40 miles of New Providence where Nassau is located.

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-16T13:54:00.000+01:00

Today we were preparing for our departure early on Sunday morning for Mayaguana, Bahamas. We were up early and decided to improve our usual planning by walking the mile or so to the nearest supermarket in the cool of the morning rather than the heat of the middle of the day as we usually seem to manage. Fresh bread and vegetables bought and back at the boat before 9am we got all of our electrical items recharged whilst we were still on shore power.

The Customs & Immigration official came down to the marina and I was able to check us out at the same time as a large monohull who also leaving. They are on route to Fort Lauderdale, via Great Exuma, though because of their draught they were having to leave at 2am to get out of the channel on high water.

I then set about the paperwork for the US visa appointment we have next month as this has to be done online. Many of the Bahamian islands are uninhabited and we are not sure how regularly we will get internet access. So I diligently completed all the questions…are you coming to the US to commit terrorism etc (I suppose if they don’t ask it would be in all the papers when someone did do). We tried to gather what documentation we could to prove that we were intending to leave and that we can support ourselves whilst we were there, just in case we needed anything sending to us which could take some arranging.

Finally, I looked into travel requirements for Cuba which we would like to visit whilst we are in the area. A visa is also required and must be collected in person (as we can’t do postal) from a Cuban Embassy. As luck would have it there is actually an Embassy in Nassau, so we will be able to arrange this while we are there too.

Quiet night in with a game of dominos ready for an early start and our departure for Bahamas.

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-15T13:33:00.000+01:00

Today was a day to catch up on a few jobs, washing the dive kit in between rain showers, cleaning the boat, metal polishing etc.

I spent sometime doing the blog, diligently researching online the names of some of the fish we saw on our dives, so I definitely educated myself with this week’s blogs.

In the evening we went out for a drink at the Shark Bite bar at the far side of the marina which was full of white Scotsmen who were I think here for something on the banking line, Turks and Caicos being another offshore tax haven. After a beer or two we succumbed to a meal out at the Tiki bar again, which was the usual good service and good food.

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-14T14:52:00.000+01:00

Our second day of diving and only 5 onboard today, so just one group of divers diving with Dave. Ironically, we head out to North West point where we moored on our way in to Provo. The North West point of Provo drops off to 2000m deep within a couple of miles of the shore creating an excellent wall dive. The Amphitheatre is a natural overhang of coral from the wall, it was a good dive, lots of different species and looking over into the abyss.

Dive 1: The Amphitheatre

Queen Triggerfish

Shoal of horse-eyed jacks swim close by

The red-striped lobster a local species

Fan coral

Sea Anemone

The second dive site was literally within 5 minute’s boat ride just along the wall of the North West point. The weather however wasn’t quite so good with thunder and forked lightening in the distance amongst grey overcast skies. The second dive called “The Crack” leads through a fissure in the coral, quite easy to find when you know how as a black and yellow striped fibre optic cable is literally laid across the bottom just before it which acts as a landmark. Just like buses, after waiting for for three dives, 3 long awaited sharks appear on this dive, black tipped reef sharks to be exact. The sharks, patrol the shelf as this is where many fish come to feed. This was certainly the best dive we did in Turks and Caicos, lots of life and impressive drop-offs on the wall, though if anything the visibility was not quite as good here.

Dive 2: The Crack

A Black Tipped Reef Shark – at last!

A Green Moray Eel being cleaned by Blennies

Large coral

Honeycomb Cowfish A difficult one to spot – Spotted Scorpionfish

Type of Puffer fish?

After the dive the boat is taken round to South Side marina on the southern coast of Provo. It was good to head across the reef in someone else’s boat and see all the small limestone islets and blue waters. It was pouring with rain by the time we disembarked and we were bused back to Turtle Cove marina, pleased with ourselves not to have chosen South Side marina miles down and unmade road with very little around it.

We dropped our kit back at the boat then went to settle up for our diving. It is pouring down still and we are soaked by the time we get back to the boat, but we enjoy a quiet afternoon listening to the rain catching up on blogging etc (after some prompting from Jean on the comments!). A long hot shower and I am thrilled to realise I can actually use my hair drier as we are on unlimited shore power – the first time I have done this onboard!!!

Sunset and Sinatra evening

A lovely evening on the boat looking at the sunset and dancing to Frank Sinatra in the cockpit, followed by a fairly well matched gin rummy game.

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-13T14:47:00.000+01:00

We are quickly booked in at the diveshop in the morning for our day’s diving and after a short delay for boat refuelling we are heading out to dive number one Pine Cay reef. Dave gives a comprehensive dive brief and we follow Nikki or dive guide in to the water. Pine Cay is located out past the north east of Provo and about a 30 minute boat ride. We have such high expectations of Turks & Caicos diving that we are expecting to be surrounded by large life (sharks etc) on every dive with gin clear waters which unfortunately in not quite the case. It is relatively gently sloping site with fairly abundant fish life and lots of intact large corals though no sharks, turtles or rays, I think perhaps we are getting spoilt to be disappointed!

Dive 1: Pine Cay

Blue-striped grunt fish

Angelfish (?) over coral

The Indo-Pacific Lionfish intruder Blue-striped grunt fish in front of fan coral

After the first dive, we motor back towards base enjoying delicious snacks provided of fresh local pineapple, celery, carrots, crisps etc. The second dive is back in the large bay outside the entrance to the marina, a site called Grouper Hole. Unfortunately we are in group 2 again and group 1 sees the much awaited turtle and sharks, but we don’t. However, we do see the biggest barracuda I have ever seen within about 10ft right under the boat as soon as we descend, which is frankly as close as you would want to get to something with as big a mouth as that!

Dive 2: Grouper Hole

Two Great Barracuda – each 4ft long (honestly!)

Kevin just hanging around

Nassau Grouper

Black Triggerfish – very prevalent locally

Tiger Grouper

We also find out that the beautiful lionfish pictured above is actually an intruder from Pacific waters believed to have been accidentally released into Caribbean waters through the Florida aquarium trade. The lionfish feed on juvenile and small fish species and are such voracious hunters with no natural predators that they are threatening the the ecosystems in the area. Some areas such as Belize have apparently even put a bounty on them on $50 a fish. Dave is a well informed and conscientious dive guide and has started hunting them on his dives and other local schools have done the same, a shame for him that there is no bounty here. He has apparently killed 162! However, there is still a way to go as we still saw 5 on our dive this afternoon with Nikki.

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-12T13:55:00.000+01:00

Today we had to return the car by 11am, so I decided to get up early and do a run to the coin laundry that we saw the day before in downtown Provo (as it is known locally). It was definitely a locals place and seemed to be as much about catching up with the neighbours as doing your laundry. Although I felt a bit of an outsider I wasn’t made to feel unwelcome and took the opportunity to knock off a few more pages of Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, the 1344 page epic I am currently wading through.

We went to Provo Turtle Divers based at the marina in the afternoon to enquire and hopefully book in for a couple of days of diving. At 124$ per person per day for two morning dives it is not exactly cheap, but we decided to make the most of diving here having heard many recommendations.

A quiet evening in ready to get up early to sort out our diving kit to be ready at the shop for 8am for our days diving tomorrow.

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-11T21:58:00.000+01:00

We have a great night’s sleep in the marina despite the wind, Invincible is actually more stable than ever before trussed up between the posts. We decide we will hire a car for the day, do some grocery shopping and see the island. We have learned that the apparently great value 95c / foot at the marina is slightly misleading, as you are charged $5 per day for water and 15$ per day for power regardless of whether you are connected to it or use it! We go to remonstrate with Carol at the office and she is extremely hard faced about it (talking to the other cruisers they have all done the same to no effect). We point out we cannot even connect to their power with our European sockets. She helpfully says she will send the electrician to help, the very nice guy from Guayana does the work and then tells us there will be a $40 charge added to our bill, in three other marinas we have had such assistance, never before have we been charged. We do get as far as ringing the IGY marina just opened at the north east of the island intending to leave, but that is only part built yet and we decide we have invested so much here we may as well carry on. We can have unlimited showers and power usage as the daily rate is about what we would use in a week which is just as well as the marina showers are not in use. So Kevin washes the boat again.

I go to the car hire place on site, it is $59 a day for a car plus 10% tax, plus $15 insurance. I look on the internet and ring Avis they will hire me a car including everything for $59 and pick me up in 15 minutes to collect it, deal done. Avis are not usually the cheapest but even they are better than those business within walking distance of a marina with marina tax added. A nice guy from Haiti collects me and we drive through the plush Grace Bay area of Turks and Caicos where all the posh new apartments, hotels and shopping arcades are. I am soon equipped with a little lavender Daewoo and just about work out my way back to the marina. I spot a sign at the nearby cinema for the new Star Trek film and realise what my evening will be when Kevin spots that one….

Kevin and I then set off to the nearby supermarket that we spot on the way. The fruit and veg look the freshest we have seen in months and the range is great, though it is not the cheapest we buy lots. We even manage to buy some truffle oil and Angel hair pasta, which Jean introduced to and we have been trying to find since. We go back to the boat, quickly unpack and make a lunch with our buys before heading out. We drive through downtown Providenciales (the main town is named the same as the island), it lacks any character at all, lots of widely spaced malls with big carparks in front, no feeling of a town centre at all. The architecture is modern, concrete and characterless. There are bizarrely barbers everywhere, they must be a well dressed crowd in Turks and Caicos.

We drive down to South pier trying to look across the inner reef between the Turks and Caicos island group. There is a large limestone quarry on the way and the route is very industrial, the run off from the quarry makes the water look almost fluorescent and is not the idyllic looking tropical scene we imagined. Further down the road when we can see south there is a far more natural looking bay with lots of little islets and well landscaped villas.

Fluorescent looking waters near the quarry

Looking south over the inner Turks and Caicos reef

We decide to drive through to the North East point and see the new IGY marina, we drive the length of the Leeward Highway through the centre of the island (only 12 miles long), just peeking over the brow of the hill on the left through the centre of the island you can see the locals houses which are rather less plush than the large villas we have seen so far down the unmade tracks. The marina is mostly constructed, though the surrounding resort is unfinished. They still have a number of big motor yachts in though, it did look a more appealing entrance than Turtle Cove, though less sheltered because of it.

New IGY marina

I drive Kevin through the plush Grace Bay area next, there are quite a few jewellery shops, restaurants, etc amongst the big developments, the lands are landscaped and it looks much more finished than the many incomplete developments elsewhere. Finally we pull in at Princess Alexandria beach for a closer look at the long sandy beaches we could see on the way in. The sand is amazingly fine and water crystal clear. The protective reef all along the shore makes for great snorkelling and a gently lapping waves on the shore and we see a few holiday makers enjoying the sun despite the squalls offshore.

Jo on Princess Alexandria beach

Looking out at the squalls over the lovely clear waters

We are still early for Star Trek, so we have a coffee at the coffee shop by the supermarket, where it seems the local ex-pats all meet up in an afternoon. Finally I succumb to the inevitable and take Kevin to the cinema to see his Star Trek film and surprise myself by enjoying it too.

Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-10T19:55:00.000+01:00

We wake up early and see a liveaboard dive boat has joined us on a neighbouring buoy for the night. We decide to make a move before anymore arrive and ask us to move on. We take the long route around the reef which extends to the east of North West point. We have booked a week at Turtle Cove marina to allow us to go diving with a dive school together here as the diving is supposed to be world class in Turks and Caicos. I radio as requested when 10 minutes away to get the free pilot service the 1.5 miles across the reef into the entrance. Although we have a booking we still have to provide all of our details over the radio. I ask ahead which side-to we are going to be moored in order to get lines and fenders ready. I am told bow in, starboard side to, we follow the marina’s powerboat all the way in, it is pretty shallow in spots and we wonder about the larger monohulls and even superyachts coming in, though apparently they do.

Turtle Cove Marina

It is gusting 25 knots when we arrive in the marina and the boat points us to a berth between two posts which are only a few inches each side wider than Invincible. Kevin does a great job again and we moor against the short finger against the starboard bow. When we are into the berth we then see that there are warps coiled and hooked on the inside of the posts. Without a line to these stern posts there is too much wind pushing us onto the fender on the finger pier. The bow lines tied by the attendants are doing nothing at all to help, he says we can’t run one across to the empty berth alongside so we start threading round the bowsprit to go across ships and get some more leverage within the berth. There are two attendants on the dock looking at us blankly and saying I should have picked up the lines as we came through the posts! In a 25knot cross wind with one crew on board, he then says we should get our dingy down to fetch them. One of them then asks if he can wash our boat for us, we are not even securely moored up yet and it’s still gusting, there is a hose directly in front of us, I politely decline. We ask why the boat that was there 2 minutes ago to guide us in can’t come and get the lines for us. They reluctantly radio to ask them to come back and we get these lines tied on to opposite hulls and it does a good job of holding us off. However, little do we realise that one of the attendants on the dock is helpfully and completely unnecessarily easing our bowline as we are sorting out the stern lines, easing us off the strategically placed fender keeping us off the protruding post of the finger pier. Arrghh! Luckily the defender strip is in the right place to stop any damage. The skipper is not happy with the performance here and really cannot see when they have 150m of empty alongside berths do they put us in a berth designed for a 60ft monohull, Kevin does ask them this at the marina office but they say they are reserving the space for superyachts.

Invincible snug in her berth at Turtle Cove Marina

There are a couple of yachts in beside us and they shout across about how difficult it is to get in and how little use the attendant were to them too. Almost to demonstrate this a large monohull arrives as we are talking and also have a difficult time of it and they have 4 crew.

Invincible at Turtle Cove marina

We are given the papers to check in to customs and I sit down to fill them in though it seems that the customs official is not around yet. So we decide to go for lunch at the Tiki Bar at the marina whilst we recover our nerves. Lunch is delicious, we both have a burger and feel much better. We head back to the boat to await check in. After a couple of false starts, the immigration guy turns up, I experience the first drive through check-in as the whole process is done through his car window! He does take out his MP3 earphones to speak to me, but then switches up his car radio to make up for it. Consequently I have to ask him to repeat everything he mumbles at me, which doesn’t seem to improve his mood much but I smile sweetly throughout trying to keep things moving and fairly swiftly we are checked in. A German in a 57ft catamaran near us is checking out to go to Mayaguana in the Bahamas and on to Fort Lauderdale, we chat briefly and say we may see him on route. He marvels that we managed the Mona Passage in our “little” catamaran, but is less amused when he hears that our “little” catamaran made it across the Atlantic in only one day more then his big one (on the same route and within a week of each other) and says goodbye quickly.

Tiki Hut Anchorage, North West Point, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

2009-05-09T20:12:00.000+01:00

We make good time in the steady force 6 winds especially once we get behind the large reef which stretches from South Caicos to Providenciales. We can see a blue shadow on the underside of the clouds hanging over the reef, otherwise the only indication of it’s presence is the reduced swell. We are within 8 miles before we see West Caicos which is south of Providenciales but not shown on yesterday’s map.

The squalls then start but we decide to press on to some dive moorings which we will be able to pick up at North West point, Providenciales (left hand red peg) taking advantage of the slightly longer days this bit further north. We finally tie up about 6.45pm by which time it would be pitch black in Grenada, but here it is not quite sunset. A very nice looking resort of thatched huts overlooks us as we settle down to a well deserved hot meal and early night before we move round to Turtle Cove marina (right hand peg) tomorrow morning.

Passage to Turks and Caicos

2009-05-08T20:12:00.000+01:00

We have 177nm to travel to the Turtle Cove Marina in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We opt to leave early evening in order to make an early arrival on Sunday morning. We know we must have planned the weather right as every other boat leaves during the day.

We have to check out and again Roberto, the concierge arranges all this for us. We leave him our passports and he arranges for the immigration officer to stamp them and for the navy and drug agency officials to come by just before we leave.

We have been dreading the moment of departure for sometime as the wind is still very gusty and for some reason we have been put in a triangular shaped end berth opposite a powerboat too long for it’s berth. It is going to be very tight and it is, I give a push with the boat hook to get the bowsprit round the edge of the dock as we are tight against the far side of the channel to turn.

The swell crashes all the way along the channel out from the marina as the water shelves from 200m to 20m within half a mile and we just have to pound our way through it. We get the sails up and breath a sigh of relief when we finally put the wind and swell on the aft quarter, turn off the motor and start to sail. It is still a lumpy crossed sea, we are receiving the full fetch of the Atlantic until we get behind the reef of the Turks and Caicos so we settle in for a long night. There is quite a bit of big ship traffic, one which is on an almost reciprocal course to us, he is going SE and I am going NW, he doesn’t deviate his course at all but we are converging all the time. His lights are confusing because all though he is a 50m plus vessel his lights are close together and forward and with the lack of sleep I can’t work out where he is going. I call him on the radio eventually he replies without giving his ship name, yes he has seen us, doesn’t answer to if we are clear (their radars and tracking are far more advanced than ours) and just gives his course, not wanting to fight him I turn us round his stern.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

2009-05-07T22:23:00.000+01:00

Another day at the marina, we discover that disaster has struck that morning, one of my beloved Crocks flip flops has blown off the dock (we take our shoes off before coming on board). We instigate a search downwind across the marina and to the opposite beach. We do not manage to find the escapee, but do find literally dozens of odd shoes which makes me feel a bit better that it is not just me that has made that error!

I go to do the laundry at the gleaming brand new on site facility. There is an attendant there for service washes, but this would I think be rather extravagant when we are sat there on the boat 4oo yards away not very busy. My Spanish is very rusty and his English nonexistent, so we settle for nods and smiles and he sings loudly to the radio instead whilst I read my book.

Kevin has been looking at the weather and it looks like we can leave tomorrow. We make up the bunks etc in the afternoon and continue with some more planning. We decide to head outside the complex for a last drink in Dominican Republic in the evening. We are a little disappointed to have seen so little of the island as it is one of our favourites so far, but vow to return another time to tour more extensively.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

2009-05-06T22:21:00.000+01:00

Today is another windy day, we decide on a long walk and head along the long beach past all the resorts. There are a few holiday makers on the beach making the most of their vacation despite the crashing surf and howling wind.

We spend the rest of the day pouring over the charts and pilot books trying to put a schedule together for the coming weeks as we have a bit more of a timetable ahead with visitors, visa appointments and hurricane season to think of. We know we need to be in Florida in July which is officially hurricane season but cruising can be possible if you watch the forecasts as hurricanes can be well predicted these days, with up to 4 days warning there is time to get out of the way, especially early season when they are far less frequent. We do have to have a rigorous plan in place though of where to run to from each place visited. As we haven’t actually planned where we are going in the Bahamas before hurricane season starts yet we have a lot to do.

In the evening, we pop over to see Mark and Mimi for a tour of the boat that they are operating, it is a luxurious 72ft monohull with all the gadgets and luxuries. We enjoy seeing how the other half live but are still happy with Invincible. We talk to Mark and Mimi a bit more about hurricane strategies, Mark has been a delivery skipper on the east coast of US for years and is a mine of information. We say our farewells early as it is Mark and Mimi’s first night off in sometime as the owners of the boat have been on board for an extended cruise.