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January to March, 2010
After waiting a month in Vero Beach, Florida, we finally had a very nice yet short weather window to cross the gulf stream into the Bahamas. On Monday, January 18th, we topped off our fuel and left Vero Beach, Florida exiting the Fort Pierce Inlet onto a peaceful Atlantic Ocean. With light winds and low seas, we had a pleasant and easy gulf stream crossing. The next day the winds were too light to sail so we motored during the day, but the winds picked up enough that we were able to slowly sail all night and the next day. We arrived Green Turtle Cay in the afternoon on Wednesday, January 20th and dropped our hook for the first time in about a year. The next day we checked into customs and immigration and then left Green Turtle for Marsh Harbour about 3 hours away to meet up with friends. We spent about a week in Marsh Harbour visiting with our friends (Dave, the other Dave & Camilla) and waiting for the cold fronts to pass so we could move further south. The delay allowed us the time to have our friend over for dinner, have a few cocktails and blow a conch horn ... check out the pictures below.
We had a great time in the Abacos, however, weather dictates our life to a great extent and we got a great weather window so we headed south. We had a great 24 hour sail down to Cambridge Cay and did a little fishing along the way. To make a long story short, it was my fault. While reeling in this nice size fish, Rankin was providing excellent instructions. He told me to keep slack in the line and don't lift the fish out of the water, so what did I do just what he told me NOT to do .... how embarrassing. The line immediately broke but not before we got this shot. Just a reminder of the one that got away.
We arrived at Cambridge Cay in the Exumas on Thursday, January 28th and grabbed a mooring. Shortly after our arrival, we joined up with more friends. Walt and Pat from Centime which you may remember we've cruised with for many years and Carl and Carrie on Sanctuary. We met Sanctuary in Annapolis, Maryland; they were part of a cruising community in Annapolis and we'd get together for pot lucks and happy hours during our stay there. It was great to see and began cruising with Centime and Sanctuary in the Bahamas. We (Heart of Texas, Centime and Sanctuary) spent only one night at Cambridge Cay. No one really likes to pay mooring fees and there were sharks nearby another reason to move along. So, Friday, January 29th, we sailed to Black Point Settlement where we ate pizza, played bocce ball on the beach and even went to the Garden of Eden.
We didn't stay at Black Point Settlement long only for a couple of days then off we went this time in different directions. Sanctuary stayed at Black Point. We cruised along with Centime to George Town, Bahamas making a few quick stops along the way. We arrived in George Town, Bahamas on Thursday, February 4th just enough time to clean and provision the boat before Dan and Lani's arrival. Dan and Lani arrived in George Town on Sunday, February 7th and we spent the next week snorkeling, playing Texas Hold'em, enjoying a little resort/marina time and celebrating Valentine's Day. A great time was had by all!
Dan and Lani returned to New York and Centime (Walt & Pat) headed north. We decided to head further south this year to the Ragged Islands. These islands are located in the most southern part of the Bahamas. We've wanted to visit this chain of islands since our first visit to the Bahamas in 2003 but never had the opportunity. It was now time. We hopped down to the Ragged Islands in between cold fronts and arrived at Man of War Bay off Raccoon Cay on Wednesday, February 24th. Our plan was to explore many of the bays and cays in the Ragged Islands, however, weather did not cooperate. We experienced one cold front after another and though we didn't experience the cold weather like the east coast it was still windy and cold even in the southern Bahamas. We stayed hunkered down during most of our stay, but Rankin did manage to spear a grouper on the first day grouper fishing was permitted.
After spending a little over three weeks in the Ragged Islands, we got a weather window for our sail to Key West, Florida. We left the Man of War Bay, Raccoon Cay on Saturday, March 6th and had a nice weather window arriving in Key West, Florida on Tuesday, March 9th. We sailed during most of this trip crossing the Great Bahama Banks and cruising up the Old Bahama Channel a channel which runs between the Bahamas and Cuba. We didn't stay in Key West long because we had another weather window for our sail to Bradenton, Florida located on the west coast of Florida. We left Key West on Thursday, March 11th and arrived in Bradenton on Tuesday, March 16th after ducking into the Boca Grande Channel due to a strong cold front and cruised the remainder of the trip in the Intracoastal Waterway. The real work begins now. Check out our next adventures by clicking on Molly's Travels or Ecuador and Galapagos Another option is to take a look at What's Happening to get the latest scoop or just relax and spend a little time clicking around. |
