Breeze On

We left our anchorage at Spanish Wells yesterday at 9:30 am with a planned destination of Governor’s Harbour. As George was walking to the bow to prepare to raise the anchor he saw a small squid on the deck! We have no idea how it got there. I am not aware that squids jump or fly like flying fish. Maybe a large bird dropped its breakfast. In any case, the trail of ink makes us believe it was alive when it landed.  We timed our departure from Spanish Wells to allow us to arrive at Current Cut around slack tide. Another boat in our anchorage left an hour before us and headed toward Current Cut. We watched them on AIS as they went through the cut. Their speed went from six knots to ten in the middle of the cut. No thanks. That much current can make the boat feel out of control. By the time we arrived, a bit earlier than planned, we had about one knot with us. Not quite slack tide but much more reasonable. We had a nice breeze of 15-20 knots for our sail across to Governor’s Harbour. T...

Our Thanksgiving dinner at the Shipyard restaurant didn’t turn out quite as we had planned. We had made reservations for 3:30 thinking they would still have plenty of food at that time. Also, we thought we had reserved turkey dinners. When it came time to place our orders, though, the waitress told us they had only two orders of turkey left and they were both dark meat.  Since dark meat is not my favorite I decided to let someone else enjoy the meal. Instead I ordered the catch of the day. I was not too disappointed since the food was good and the company was even better. We shared the meal with Kelly and Howard from Sunsets and Kathleen and Timoko from My Grace.  Yesterday we snorkeled in the morning and went to happy hour in the afternoon. Tomorrow we plan to start moving further south.  View from the Shipyard during an unusually low tide  They really love to decorate for Christmas in Spanish Wells

We set out in the dinghy again this morning, this time with a camera. Our first destination was a mangrove creek with a small harbor at the end. At the entrance the harbor a 100+ft mega yacht was tied up to a dock. The yacht must back down the creek to get to the dock. Next we drove by a sport fishing boat with a hailing port of Marsh Harbour. The boat appears to have gone through hurricane Dorian. There are holes in the cabin top and console on the fly bridge as well as marks all over the port side. On our way back we saw a dolphin with a large fish in its mouth. It would come up for air and toss the fish. Quite a sight! Last evening we were sitting in the cockpit after sundown. I looked up and saw the brightest meteor I have ever seen. Amazing! Mega yacht in a small creek Boat from Marsh Harbour Dolphin with a fish

Today we left the marina and motored a whopping .7 miles to an anchorage just outside the Spanish Wells channel. We are only about .25 miles from our former slip, as the crow flies. Before we left the marina we walked to the Food Fair grocery store and bought a few things. The store is as large as the Food Lion we have at home. They have a spot in the bread section where local bakers can sell their products. I bought three guava cupcakes. On the  way back to the marina we saw several of the “lobster hotels” the fishermen use to catch spiny lobsters. The hotels are not traps, just a place the lobsters like to hide. The fishermen drop the hotels, mark the GPS location, then return later to catch the lobsters. After we were anchored we went exploring in the dinghy. We forgot to take a camera so we plan to go back and take photos of a few of the interesting sights we saw.  We have reservations at The Shipyard restaurant for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. If the weather co...

We have spent the past two days catching up on sleep and boat chores. The night before last I slept for 11 hours.  Even with that nice long rest I still had to pace myself when doing the laundry, hand washing the salty cushions and stowing the cleaned enclosure panels. Putting away our cold weather necessities gave us so much satisfaction.  We met some of the other cruisers here and joined them for happy hour at Wrecker’s. One cruiser arrived alone in his 30-foot boat yesterday after sailing offshore from Brunswick, GA.  He plans to sail alone around the world. What an ambitious adventure!  Today we assembled the dinghy, wiped down the stainless steel, reorganized the garage, and cleaned the cabin. We took a break in the afternoon to take a dip in the pool—very refreshing! We plan to leave the marina tomorrow and anchor nearby.  A lovely spot for a break

We arrived at Yacht Haven Marina in Spanish Wells around 9 am this morning. Our trip from Cape Fear was 566 nautical miles and took 95 hours. I am not going to lie, I am exhausted. I have been pacing myself since we arrived and I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep.  I felt sad when we passed by Abaco last night. We usually stop there first and like so many of the places we have visited there.. They were devastated by Hurricane Dorian this fall and we thought we wouldn’t be very useful to the residents trying so hard to rebuild. We took a photo just before sunset of what was most likely Green Turtle Cay in the distance. We thought we were looking at a sunbeams through a squall. As time went on, though, what we thought was a squall ended up looking much more like smoke. They burn their trash here in the Bahamas and we know there is a lot of debris left from the buildings that were destroyed.  The sailing conditions yesterday through this morning were great. The wind was ...

As I said yesterday, it is always something. On my watch last night I tried to motor sail but, even with the motor running, the wind angle wouldn't allow me to stay on course. So, when George came up on deck at midnight we dropped the mainsail. While he was at the mast tucking the sail into the sail bag he noticed the boom vang was loose at the base. He discovered it when he grabbed the vang for a handhold. He went back with a small line and tied it up to keep it from sitting on the deck. When George came up on deck at 8:30 am this morning we decided to try sailing again. I turned the autopilot off, turned the engine on and pointed into the wind. Once the sail was up I turned back on course and turned the autopilot on again. An alarm sounded and an error message came on "No rudder response". After turning the nav system off and on several times it still didn't work. This was not good. It is quite hard and tiring to hand steer the boat through the wind and waves. Not ...

We reached the Gulf Stream at around 7:30 am. It was such a pleasure to finally be warm. We normally expect the Gulf Stream crossing to be the roughest part of our trip. Not so in this case. Because the wind was still very light, the seas were not very big. We continued to motor and exited the Gulf Stream in the afternoon. That is when the sailing became much more challenging. A frontal trough caused the wind, and the seas, to increase dramatically. We were expecting that but thought the wind and seas would be coming from behind. Instead, they were on the beam (side of the boat). We used to like to sail nice beam reach. Not so much when there are 6-8 foot seas hitting us on the beam and rolling us back and forth. Waves were actually hitting us from all sides but one- over the bow, on the stern and many times full on the starboard side. We had water gushing into the small hole cut out for the roller furler line. Fortunately, the wind has finally eased and moved behind us so the sailing ...

We left Cape Fear two days ago to start our passage to the Bahamas. So far we have traveled 292 nautical miles and have a little over 200 miles to go. The conditions weren't bad when we left; the winds were light enough that we had to do quite a bit of motor sailing. During my first night watch the winds picked up enough that I thought we would be able to keep our self-tacking jib filled. I put my headlamp on, unzipped the enclosure to reach the roller furler cleat and, lying on the deck right next to the cleat, I saw a small flying fish. I paused a minute to consider what I should do. The fish was staring up at me and not moving. I wasn't sure if it was dead or alive. I finally decided to try to grab it and toss it overboard. As soon as I touched the tail it started flopping about and wiggled away. I made one more attempt before giving up and leaving the poor little thing to die. Breeze On makes quite a few noises when we are out at sea and we always feel more comfortable when...

Today is the second day of a front that brought high wind to the area. In preparation for the wind George added eight extra dock lines, including two that extend across the empty slip next to ours. George first confirmed with the marina office that no other boat would be coming into that slip! All of the dock lines did the trick and we have been secure, although still heeling a bit, in our slip.  We turned on the nav system a few times to check the wind. We mostly saw sustained wind in the mid-twenties with gusts into the mid-thirties. The buoy at Frying Pan Shoal, twenty miles offshore, was reading mid-forties with gusts into the high sixties. The worst of the front was stalled nearby but it is finally starting to move away. We have plans to leave for the Bahamas late morning tomorrow. We are waiting to give the seas a chance to calm down a bit.  This morning, while doing laundry, we met Anita from a nearby boat, Loon Point. Anita organized a group of us to meet for drinks at...

The new bow thruster battery is installed. On Thursday we tore the v-berth apart, emptied the water tank, moved the water tank, and removed the old battery. Then George put the water tank back in place, put a little bit of water in it, and put the v-berth back together. Yesterday we carried the old battery on to the ferry and rode over to Southport, on the mainland. A driver from Enterprise Car Rental picked us up at the ferry terminal. After dropping the driver at the Enterprise office we drove 1 1/4 hours to Myrtle Beach to pickup the new battery. It was a cold, rainy, and blustery day but we were happy to be warm and cozy in the heated rental car.  After we dropped off the old battery and picked up the new one we stopped at a small, local restaurant in North Myrtle Beach for lunch. Then we continued on back to Southport to buy a few fresh fruits and vegetables before turning the car in to Enterprise. Another driver took us back to the ferry dock and we arrived in time to take th...

The bow thruster battery has given up. I had doubts that the bow thruster was working when I was docking the boat in light winds in Beaufort. I asked George to go up to the bow and make sure it was working. He said it was but it just didn’t seem to have any power. The wind was pushing the boat against the dock when we left the slip in Beaufort. The bow thruster didn’t turn the boat at all on my first attempt to leave the slip. I had to abort and back into the slip again. On the next attempt George give the bow a big shove and I turned the wheel hard to port while throttling up. We turned but the stern hit the dock (fortunately they have bumpers installed) and that stopped my turning momentum. I tried again and, although the stern hit the dock again, I was able to turn enough to get out of the slip and down the fairway. We would normally have place a spring line on a piling to assist with turning and keeping us off of the dock but there was no piling there.  When we arrived at Bald ...

We have been to Bald Head Island twice before but never explored much beyond the marina. Yesterday we walked through the community surrounding the marina and this morning we rented bikes and explored the rest of the island. It is a really lovely vacation spot with mostly large, upscale houses. When I say large, I mean large enough for extended families or groups of families. The island is two miles from the mainland and is accessed by a ferry that comes at least every hour. There is another ferry that brings vehicles over, mostly working trucks. Residents get around the island by golf cart. George discovered yesterday that there is a surprisingly large grocery store on the island. Great news!  We won’t have to take the ferry to the mainland to stock up on fresh foods.  Our bike ride this morning was delightful. The bikes were very comfortable with fat tires. We no longer own bikes but if I did buy one, I would want one like these.  Riding through the wooded area of the is...

We left Beaufort, NC yesterday afternoon at around 2:30 with a plan to arrive at Cape Fear sometime between 9 am and noon. About an hour before dinner time we turned the oven on and put a casserole in to heat. Before I left home I made a few casseroles and froze portions for two in small aluminum loaf pans. Of course, since the freezer on Breeze On is barely big enough to hold a couple of ice cube trays, the meals eventually thaw. We have had the casseroles on each of the two overnight passages we have had so far and it is a really convenient way to avoid trying to work in the galley when the boat is bouncing and rolling. The remaining casseroles will have to be consumed soon since we don’t yet have a weather window to cross to the Bahamas. Before we are ready to leave I will prepare some more for our passage.  Before my night watch begins I clip a bag of snacks to the dodger frame. That way we don’t have to root around in the galley in the dark for something to eat and disturb the...

We left Cape Charles at six am Wednesday morning on our way around Cape Hatteras to Beaufort, NC. We were expecting winds in the twenties so we had already put a reef in the mainsail when the wind was light the night before at the dock. We had the current going with us out of the bay which was nice. Our first moment of excitement came as we were approaching the bridge tunnel. I had just handed the helm over to George. There was a cargo ship approaching from behind and the AIS said the ship would cross the tunnel three minutes after us. Although there was room for us both it would be close. George tried to hail the ship on the radio but they did not respond after two attempts. Our main goal was to make sure they saw us. A few minutes later the ship let out a long honk. So, we knew they saw us but weren’t sure what they expected us to do. Our options were limited. If we turned downwind to slow down we would cross their path, not a good option. If we turned upwind we would be heading towa...

It was such a treat to sleep in this morning and eat a leisurely breakfast in the cockpit. While we were eating we heard, and then saw, two bald eagles in a tree overlooking the harbor. It was a bit of a surprise to see them so close to an active harbor and next to a cement plant. A little while later we watched a schooner come in and tie up on the other side harbor. After the rain showers ended we went into town to run a few errands and eat a late lunch in a new little restaurant. We love Cape Charles and wouldn’t mind staying longer but it looks like we have an opportunity to go around Cape Hatteras to Beaufort, NC. We have learned not to pass up a weather window when we get one. We plan to leave at first light and should arrive in Beaufort by Thursday afternoon. We met another couple here who have a similar plan. It would be nice to travel close enough to chat on the radio but they have a much bigger and faster boat, so I won’t count on it.  Schooner arriving in the harbor Anoth...

We had a restful night at Fishing Bay. We were so tired from our challenging sail that we went to bed at 7 pm. We were up again before daylight to head southeast across the bay in a southeast wind. We decided to try sailing, although it required that we travel extra miles tacking back and forth. We had plenty of time so we went for it. Out of the dozen or so sailboats we saw heading south on the bay we were one of three that were sailing. The others were motoring a straight line to their destinations. George and I commented that when we used to day sail and race, tacking was just a normal part of our experience. Now that we are cruising we are much more likely to focus on the shortest way to get to our destination.  We arrived at Cape Charles Town Marina in the early afternoon. After getting diesel (a whopping 6.5 gallons!), checking in, tying up in the slip and showering, we went to eat at the Shanty Restaurant right here at the marina. The food is good and the sunset was beautifu...

One thing I can say about sailing, there are always new experiences. Today’s new experience was rounding up on a downwind point of sail. For all of the non-sailing readers I will explain what that means. The boat rounds up (turns into the wind) when the boat is heeled over (leaning over) so much that the rudder (which is under the boat, is connected to the wheel, and does the steering) can no longer do the job of steering. When the boat can’t be steered it turns into the wind. We have had it happen when we have had too much sail up and are sailing upwind (when the boat it already heeled over). Today it happened when the wind was behind us and we weren’t heeled over.  When we left Solomons early this morning we were expecting winds in the mid-teens, gusting to twenty. When we turned south in the bay out of the Patuxent River the wind was as forecast. Our full main and no jib seemed to handle it just fine. However, the wind started to build to the mid-twenties with gusts to thirties....

We are on our way to the Bahamas once again. We left the slip at 8:15 and were seen off by Dawn, Ray, Sabrenia and Craig. They braved the cold temperatures to wave goodbye and snap a few photos. We expected to have to motor the entire way to Solomons but we were delighted to have enough wind to sail for about an hour. The enclosure (with the newly installed snaps) kept us nice and toasty. In fact, this afternoon it was 77 degrees inside the sunny cockpit and 55 degrees outside! Leaving Cambridge. Photo bySabrenia.  George resting on his off-watch.  The enclosure kept us nice and warm on this sunny day.