Nassau to Allen's Cay

Left out from Nassau at 10am.. beautiful morning, but soon turned to light rain...We crossed the Yellow Banks at a steady pace... Dwayne watching carefully for the Coral Heads that were in our passage path ... We made it to Allen's Cay with no issues and dropped anchor around 2pm ( Mamma and Cats did better this time... seas were not too bad) Rain had stopped, and little bits of sun peaking out... The anchorage was very crowded.. I think we counted 24 or more vessels. You have to be cautious and make sure there's plenty of room to swing when the wind, current, etc changes... We both swam a little... I swam over to the little beach where the Allen's Cay lizards were...Bunches of them..So ugly they were cute! Well, at least I thought so. The pics I made were taken from the Seaveyor, so no close ups.... Dwayne swam down and checked the anchor... He was not happy with it, so we raised anchor and moved to a better, more secure spot... Recognized several boats at anchor with us... Nimue (we met at Chub) Amyrick, and Julia Maria (we met at Bimini) and several others ....Dwayne and I were having our sundowner and discussing dinner plans...the winds were starting to hit us out of the North, light rain and then the fun began!!!

OK, let me back up, when we came into the anchorage area, there were two basins, one very picturesque and one larger where all the boats were... when we first arrived, there was one sailing vessel, 38' Island Packet and one Sportfish anchored there....As I stated earlier around dusk, Dwayne and I were talking out in the cockpit area and we saw that the SV Island Packet was really hobby horsing due to the North winds coming thru the channel and less than 15 minutes later, we saw the Island Packet on it's port side on the rocks!! Dwayne made a quick call on the VHF to see if anyone had their dinghy in the water ... got response from a fellow named Howard that agreed to pick up Dwayne and they proceeded to dinghy over to the Island Packet to help...where they reset two bow anchors and came back to SeaVeyor to grab another anchor and reset it off of her stern...There was little else that could be done at the time other than lend moral support.. the owner was working as hard as he could to winch himself off the rocks... Around 9pm, he was off the rocks and righted , holed( hole in the hull) Next morning, we met with him, he had made repairs as he could,we did get our anchor back..He was planning on getting back to Nassau, but bless him, he saved his vessel... It just goes to show you how quickly things can change from beautiful to utter KAOS..... As my Captain says.... You can never have too much ground tackle...

The next day was beautiful, but very breezy, strong current... Dwayne took dinghy over to rock shores and looked for some bugs (lobsters!) none to be found there...so we relaxed a little and read... invited the couple from Nimue over for dinner... dinner was wonderful, but winds were really picking up again!! It felt like we were in a washing machine all nite, but we had a secure anchor.... Left out the next morning for Staniel Cay in good weather and not bad seas... We decided to come straight to Staniel and bypass the park at Warderick Wells.. because you can not fish there... My Captain wants to Fish!!!!! So, we will catch it on the way back....Staniel Cay is a very busy little island with lots of cruisers, fishing boats etc.. we plan on exploring today if rain subsides... Don't have many pics of it yet, but more will come.... the pics I posted were from Allen's Cay.. The pic with the lone palm tree was the little basin with the SV that got into trouble later in the evening...

Happy New Year to you all.... Dwayne and Linda

Chub Cay to Nasssau

Sunday December 27th

Good Morning to all, we arrived in Nassau yesterday afternoon from Chub Cay... We had spent several nites anchored out there and decided to come in on Christmas Eve to dock at the Chub Cay Marina... Beautiful facility, not many boats there either, beautiful homes on the shoreline with a private beach ( it's a private island) We stayed thru Christmas Day and were invited to a Christmas get together by one of the original island owners/investors... Very gracious family and met some of the locals too... It was fun and saw a gorgeous sunset from their porch! So, left out the 26th for a half day journey to Nassau.... The Eastern channel , the main thoroughfare, was very active with little boats, big boats, and there were 4 Cruise ships docked.. We are right across from the Atlantis Resort... talk about huge... WOW... we got in after lunch, were starved.. and went on our errand/provision run and just across the marina was a Kentucky Fried Chicken!! I think we actually ran to it!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha!!!!! After filling our tummies with good ole fried chicken, we got a few other provisions and Dwayne found me some dive gear.. those suits really show ALL your curves! But can't wait to try it snorkeling around the small islalnds..

Getting ready to shove off for the Northern Exumas... plan on stopping around Allen's Cay first...I doubt we have wifi access for a while, so it might be sometime before I can update the blog site again...

Dwayne and I wish you all a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chub Cay

Tuesday December 22,2009 Chub Cay

We left out of Bimini yesterday morning around 8am and made it to Chub Cay right at dusk last nite and found a beautiful little basin to drop anchor in.. It was a long day to say the least.. Seas were not too bad, 3 footers with wind out of the North ..just overcast.. no sunshine...Dwayne has said we can't post any pics of us until we get a tan...Geez... at this rate... who knows.. maybe a tan by February! Ha!

Woke up early.. still overcast and little peaks of sun here and there.. I decided to be brave... jumped in and snorkeled around the SeaVeyor... What fun...Very sandy/grassy bottom.. no rocks or coral here, but did see a few fish and got some good exercise.. did happen to see a very small lion fish... The water is 8'deep, but looks like we are in a foot of water.. so very aqua and clear.... Dwayne managed to catch a Remora fish this afternoon... It's a species that attaches itself to other larger fish/turtles....nice size fish, but not one to eat! We are watching a front in the distance, believe it or not, we want some fresh rainwater to wash off the salt from SeaVeyor...Hopefully it will come around and give us a little shower...

We plan on staying here thru Christmas , having wifi is nice, and we can communicate with family and friends during Christmas day... Hope to take the dinghy out tomorrow and explore some and maybe my Captain will catch me a grouper... Will attach a few pics..

We also had some visitors this morning... Cute little birds that did not seem to be afraid of us, although they decided it was time to leave when Monkey Butt came out in the cockpit!!

P.S. yes, I know I did not hit the right key for spelling "champagne" , so fire me as a journalist!!! Anyway, look forward to toasting all of our friends and family that support our adventure... I have not regretted one minute... Although, so much more to this than I ever expected....Navigation, weather, ship maintenance, and most importantly, becoming one with SeaVeyor and recognizing every sound she makes... good and bad.

Bimini (cont.)

Sunday Dec. 20th

Wind has died down a little and supposed to lay down a little more tomorrow and Tuesday.. Hopefully, that will give us a window to make it across the Grand Bahama Banks over the next two days... Thought we could make an early morning shove off, but must wait on dockmaster here to come in and check us out..(could not do it today because of power meter, makes sense)

It was very sunny today, just windy still.. Dwayne worked on the boat after a morning brunch of eggs, muffins, and peppered bacon.. First mate is not a bad cook, ya know! After lunch, I walked around the facility and made some more pics... Dwayne ran into another Canadian couple that were coming back from the Exumas and headed towards Florida. They shared with us their travels and likes, etc...They are also traveling on a Cat.. a Lagoon.. Very nice.. She is named "Sabatical"..

Tomorrow we plan to make it at least half way to the Berry's and then on to Chub Cay the next day.. then possibly down to Nassau... My Captain needs some boat stuff.. parts... etc... and that's the most logical place to find a good marine store... They should also have wifi there, so I can update the blog again... the attached pics are some of the resort here... the sweet shuttle driver told me that we missed the "action" by a week. She said the resort would be wall to wall people next week for New Year's Eve.. one of their biggest weeks.. Oh well, don't want to share my champayne anyway.... Merry Christmas to all of you and Happy New Year too.... Dwayne and Linda

Bimini

We were able to find dockage at the Bimini Bay Resort..We were not aware that this was

off season, so there was lots of room! By the time we got settled in and my Captain was happy , for the moment with the lines, it was late afternoon and the wind had really picked up. Winds were very strong thru the nite and continued more so during the day Friday with very strong horizontal rain.. Needless to say, we did not get golf cart and tour Alice town.. not yet..I will attach a pic or two of what it looked like in the bay/channel where we are docked.. So Happy we made dockage here for protection... The winds died down a little early morning, but still very strong... We did get a cart today, Saturday 19th and tour Alice Town. Not quite what we expected, but still interesting... We had lunch at Capt.Bob's and enjoyed grouper fingers and lobster roll... The town is to have a Christmas celebration tonite at the market and we will check it out... As for our departure here, waiting on that safe weather window.. We believe it will be Monday and will head out, possibly, for the Berrys.. The fun thing is that we don't have an agenda and are free to choose where....the when is Mother Nature dependent... We met two very nice Canadian families that have been underway for two months from Montreal!! Now that's a haul..They are out for 5yrs and the other couple are out for 8 years.. they have children on board that they are home/boat schooling..Where we are docked, The Bimini Bay Resort, is awesome.. It's a relatively new marina/resort with all the amenities one could ask for... it's just empty...The staff said their busiest time is June thru September... Go figure.. that's Hurricane Season... They have state of the art dockage, heated pools, shower facilities with teak and tile to die for.... uh, just don't drink the water!!!!!!!!! rum is good......... More news at 11***********

Cat Cay to Bimini

Hi to all,

We only stayed one nite at Cat Cay...the next nite we anchored just off of the shoreline.. I tried to snorkel some... how funny a site was I!!!!! So says Dwayne... But it was fun... Water was wonderful and not cold at all.... Watched a beautiful sunset and had a wonderful meal.. We raised anchor around 8:30 am this morning and headed to Bimini to get a little protection from the front that is coming in for the next couple of days.. Bimini was 8 miles to the NE from our anchorage, and saw a rainstorm come in this am and a water spout... Will try to attach the pics again. Hope to get a golf cart and see the old section of Alice Town this afternoon..

Cat Cay Yacht Club Bahamas

Hello to all... Both of us woke very early this morning... so excited.. could not sleep... we shoved off from Port Everglades at 6:37 am.. This is the first leg of our journey... we have traveled,now, almost 1,000 miles since we left Morehead City, NC...It has been exciting, hard, so many emotions come to mind.. but all worth it.... NOAA said it would be 2 footers,7-14 out of the SE...WRONG... and it was on the nose an honest 4-6ft waves... made for an intersting passage... Needless to say, Mamma and Cats were GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! After 7 and one half hours, we arrived into Cat Cay Yacht Club Marina,, a private island...It is very beautiful.. can't begin to tell you how wonderful the water is .... Did not make many pics yet.. but more will come....SeaVeyor did wonderful....we proceeded to get settled in, got all the salt off of her, and are preparing dinner as we speak..Customs is allowing us to stay for six months to enjoy this journey... as we hunt for lobster and when they run out.. will fish!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are heading to Chub Kay if the weather holds.. if not, we will run to Bimini and explore a few days there while waiting on weather....Now let me explain an earlier sentence... Mamma would not have gotten green, but realized that I needed to secure things a little better below and was worried about the cats and I stayed down longer than I should have....that's what got me! Duh.... live and learn.... Can't wait to see the sunrise here... Made a pic of the inlet here with the little lighthouse... the marina and the SeaVeyor at her dock...and our flags coming in, which were the Bahamina Courtesy Flag and our Quarantine flag until we were passed thru Customs...
Ok... seem to be having trouble uploading my pics... will send these later... sorry about that...
Merry Christmas to all.... Dwayne and Linda

Stuart to Port Everglades

Friday Dec. 11th

Left Stuart under overcast skies..made our way down pass Jupiter and then down to the Lake Park Marina to dock for a couple of hours and run errands. The errands took longer than expected and we stayed overnite. ( weather was iffy too) Next morning made our way down the ICW to the Lantana area and anchored out.. it was pouring rain.. Dwayne got his shower for the day!! Using our little snipe antenna, we were able to find internet access and were able to watch the last episode of "Survior"...along with a wonderful grilled meal!

Waking up Sunday to a beautiful day and continued on down the Ditch (ICW) Can you say mile after mile after mile of Mega Mansions????????WOW...... Not to mention all the bridges we had to wait on... Thank goodness we could drop the antenna for some of these...While sitting at the Sunrise Blvd. bridge, we caught up to the SeaFox, she is a beautiful 58 Katy Krogen ( Dwayne had helped them dock back at Lake Park). They gave us a heads up on some local knowledge anchoring in Ft. Lauderdale... We decided to try this and anchored with them and some other cruisers they knew , for the nite....The couple from "RollsDoc", a 48 trawler, picked us up and dingeyed us over to SeaFox and we all had a great dinner...They filled us in on all of "their" likes and dislikes about the islands and other helpful bits of information..They left out last evening for a nite cruise over... We shoved off this am and are now at Port Everglades at the HarborTowne Marina... doing the last of the last of the things before shoving off in the am....I am so excited!!!!!!

Once over there, I'm not sure how often I will have wifi internet access, but will keep blog updated as much as I can.... and hope to post much better pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've attached a few of the mansions, bridges, etc...and some of the areas where we anchored......even got one of the Good Year Blimp over Ft. Lauderdale area! Look close at the one of the Bascule Bridge up... you will see boats lined up to go under... uh, sometimes it's a little hairy figuring out who thinks they have the right away first!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the one of the Katy Krogen is the "SeaFox" , waiting behind us at the Sunrise bridge in Lauderdale.

Bless you all and Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Linda and Dwayne

Stuart, Florida

Good Morning to All,

We arrived in Stuart on Tuesday afternoon after a short trip from Ft. Pierce. It was sunny, breezy and 85 degrees... wonderful.. When we arrived there was a Sailfish Tournament going on, one that has been going on for 56 years... Awesome Sportfish boats all around.. Each evening they pulled in with their flags flying ( to designate how many catch and releases) The sportfish just to our stern was the SeaCheck, and she was in the lead! I also got to watch them all go out each morning around 6:30 am... They don't have to leave as early as the Morehead City guys since they are right on top of the Gulf Stream here...Anyway, it's been fun watching. Today is the last day of the tournament...

While here, we have been preparing for our jump off to the islands...It finally sinks in that you are "cruisers" when you make two trips to Wal-Mart , 5 full shopping carts! I would have bet the farm that we could not have gotten all those supplies on the Seaveyor, but heck, we have room for more!!!!!!!!! She is an awesome vessel that was designed perfectly! Go Don and Janice( original builders/owners) Dwayne has been busy with maintenance, oil changes, filter changes, engine checks, generator checks,etc...

We are leaving today for Palm Beach for one more parts stop and few more provisions..... waiting on a good weather window, which we think we will have first of week and then our jump off. Our current plans are to arrive in Bimini, then to the Berrys, and then down to Exumas... The Seaveyor is loaded down with lots of things from all of our friends.... Soula just sent me a huge box of Baclava(probably spelled that wrong) it's the wonderful Greek pastry that she makes each year around the Holidays... still have lots of Feta Cheese... and all the fun things we were given at take off and along the way... Thank you all... And remember, we love company, you'll just have to share the berth with a cat or two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've attached a few pics of leaving Ft.Pierce, some of the Sportfish guys, etc...

Daytona to Ft. Pierce, Florida

Good Morning to all!

I keep thinking, Who Stole the Sun???Our trip from St.Augustine to Daytona was cold,wet, windy. We dropped anchor just south of one of the Daytona bridges for the nite... What a ride.. but my Captain had us secure with the anchor! Got up the next day and weather was still nasty... Decided to shove off late morning and headed towards Titusville... wish I had more pics to post but not much to see in the wind and rain... although the porpoises and ospreys were plentiful... A few ospreys posed nicely for me , but the porpoises have not been as cooperative.. I'm usually getting their tails!!!

Made it to Titusville just before sunset.. we actually did see the sun poke through the clouds! Still cold and breezy.. We anchored out just across from the Titusville Marina... Not a bad anchorage... to our surprise and delight, we heard chatter on the radio that there may be a rocket launched that nite....NASA did launch one around 8:47 pm.... what an awesome sight!! And then to hear the sonic boom about 3 minutes later... WOW... it was like having front row seats!!!

Next morning we shoved off for Melboure, made it in to anchor again just south of Melbourne's bridge for another good nite of rest...still cool and windy..can't remember the last time I wore shorts and a tee-shirt!

Along the way we pass other cruisers that we have seen at anchor or along the ICW.. The Seaveyor is a little faster than most!! I keep their names and descriptions in my daily journal in hopes to be able to know who they are, etc in the future..

Can not begin to explain to all of you what an adventure this is.. The ICW is challenging! I'm really learning a lot and , well, still have work to do on my knots,but trying to do my part each time we anchor and dock... My Captain runs a , uh, TIGHT ship, ha, if you know what I mean..

But each and every day that I learn something new, I'm proud!!

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise at our anchorage in Melbourne, made a pic and then it turned cloudy again... had a little rain along the way to Ft. Pierce...We decided to dock at Ft.Pierce instead of anchoring out... catch up on emails, etc, provisions, etc....Met a nice cruising couple that were docked next to us and they delighted us with their travels and adventures... It finally felt like Florida last evening...no sweater or jacket!!!!!!!!!!!! Woke up this am to a nice , warm, sunrise... but, alas, it's pouring out as I type this...But it's warm!!!!!!!! and expected to clear up.. We will shove off soon for the Stuart area,it will be a short run... From there... we may cut over or may cut over from Miami.. my Captain is not certain yet....

So, more to come! sorry for sucy lousy pics... But hope to do more in better weather..

More news at 11.............

Jacksonville/St. Augustine

After leaving beautiful Cumberland Island, we made our way to Jacksonville, took care of a few errands, and made our way to St. Augustine, Florida. We sat out some of the iffy weather at Oyster Creek Marina, located up the San Sebastian River... we were very protected and the staff here were great!! Got a few more projects done and errands..Hope to visit the historical downtown area this evening...and then off again in the am... The photos that I attached is a beautiful osprey just outside of St. Augustine, The Bridge of Lions (which is under construction/repair ), and the famous Cross... another Bald Eagle (little far away) and the St. Augustine Lighthouse... The weather was iffy and little grey and foggy, but... what the heck... made the pics anyway...take care!!

Cumberland Island Sunset

We took the dinghy back to the Seaveyor after walking the island and enjoyed the rest of the warm afternoon...and a beautiful sunset....

Cumberland Island (cont)

Hey again, you can only post so many images at a time.. here are a few more!!