2023-12-31 Perfect way to end the year - we have arrived in Puerto Rico

Well, it was a 5 day slog, but we made it.   It wasn't a bad trip overall.

We stayed in Cat Island for a few more days.  Took a nice hike up the hermitage.  Built in 1939.   The Hermitage

Had to avoid this guy sunning himself in the road

New little goats - cut and fun to watch

At the base of the road to the Hermitage

Fun to explore

Was not built for Dean size people

Steep walk up to the top of the hill

We were thinking we would be heading out soon to make the Caribbean passage, so Kris started doing some small cleanup to get the boat ready and everything stored.   We have a small storage bag under the doorway to the main salon that had ripped, so she wanted to replace that.  Everything came out, and then she noticed something that looked like it had fallen out of the bag and slid down along the hull.   Had to remove some cabinet framing, but retrieved the item.  - YES   It was the missing brushes that we had for our watermaker.  We had searched the boat multiple times for them last year when our watermaker motor brushes had failed, and we spent a month or more dealing with that.   We knew we had ordered them - but could not find them anywhere.  Now we know what happened to them.

Kris digging into the storage area

The missing parts - finally found.

We had a nice Christmas, relaxing on the boat.  We were the only boat in the anchorage - so was very quiet and peaceful.   Ate chips with dip, and apple pie for dinner.  YUM

Tuesday after Christmas we took a nice walk on the beach.  Nice sunny day

Charm at anchor at Cat Island

Walking the beach

Nice large starfish in the surf

We looked at the weather one last time, and decided to go for it.  Upped anchor at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday the 26th and set sail.  First night and next day was not that pleasant, as winds were supposed to be SSW, but were SSE instead, so bit of a bumpy lumpy slamming trip to weather with choppy seas, but then the wind died down a bit, and the seas settled.  Winds were south, but since they were light - 10 knots and under, we decided to motor sail close to the wind, and head southeast for a while more.

The rest of the trip was pretty much a motor sail, heading SE as much as possible until we got past the Turks and Caicos, then we headed more easterly. 

That is about when we ran out of fresh water.  YIKES  Our freshwater pump had been acting a little odd, and it decided to come on and pump our tank dry, and fill the bilge with fresh water.    About 75 gallons of fresh water was gone. We did not hear the freshwater pump, or bilge, as the engine was on.  No worries, got out the spare fresh water pump we carry, installed it, and made water.  Crisis averted. 😅

Saturday night was the big night when we started heading almost due south to Puerto Rico.  The winds were east, but clocking NE, so Saturday night and all day Sunday had a nice run.

Pretty much this was the view for 5 days - water and sky and nothing else

Had some pretty sunrises

Only had one ship get within visual range the entire trip

Dean on watch

Had about 8 hours of glassy seas where we just motored

Land Ho - Puerto Rico

Out of the 120 hours, we had about 48 that were less than pleasant, with lumpy bumpy ick, but the rest were not bad.  We had 75 hours of motor time, about 32 for each engine.  We knew the winds would be light, and expected to have to motor a lot, but still got tired of listening to the engines.   Nice to sail into Puerto Rico on Sunday - great way to end the year.

2023-12-23 We finally moved, and moved, and then moved some more.

We got a weather break, so Sunday afternoon we left Marsh Harbor.  Part of the reason to leave was that a boat next to us drug in high winds, and when they got it re-anchored, we were worried it would drag into us with the upcoming wind shift.   Felt bad for the two guys trying to re-anchor the boat, as the engine did not work, so they spent 3 hours working on moving it, during the rain and high winds.

Miserable weather to be pulling an anchor by hand and trying to move the boat with a dinghy

So not planned but Sunday afternoon we moved and anchored just outside the busy bay of Marsh Harbor.  As usual our timing was impeccable, and as we were moving we were caught in the largest rainstorm we had the entire week, with 20 to 25 knot winds.  

Poor Dean got soaked at the helm, and Kris not as bad as she hid out of the rain until time to drop anchor.

Stormy skies, dumping rain on us.

After a mostly peaceful night sleep, we headed south on Monday in preparation to leave the Abaco's and head south to Eleuthera Island.   Nice sail south, and pleasant anchorage with a view of the cut we needed to traverse the next day.   We watched two boats traverse the cut while anchored, and it looked bad, 6' breaking seas knocked the boats about quite severely.    

Tuesday morning the cut looked better, and with a group of about 8 boats all had the same thought to leave.  We let several leave before us, then we left followed by our friends on Breathe, and Turnerbout.  The cut was a bit of a challenge, with 4' to 6' swells, with some breaking, but Dean did an excellent job avoiding the  breaking waves, and we ended up with a pleasant sail from the south Abaco's to Spanish Wells in Eleuthera.

Breaking waves in the cut.  Photos never do it justice

Wednesday we  went ashore at Spanish Wells, had a nice lunch out, and got some much needed exercise in.   

Dean by a Christmas tree at the point in Spanish Wells

Kris in her three layers of jackets in Spanish Wells

Christmas décor in Spanish Wells

We at lunch at Buddas, a new place for us.   They had quite the décor inside, with funny signs, and a couple of parrots in a cage as well.   Kris like the parrots as they gave her some wolf whistles when she said hello.

Inside Budda's.  Not busy when we got there, but was filling up by the time we left

The talkative parrot

Kris got a kick out of this sign.  One of many funny signs.

After lunch we hoisted anchor, and headed to the fuel dock to top off with diesel fuel.   The fuel dock caters to larger boats, and the dock is quite high.   There are 60 steps to the top of the hill, and a short ride via golf cart to the office to pay.

The dock is quite high.  Kris needed a boost from the boat to climb up and onto it.

Looking down on Charm from the top of the steps

Thursday we headed further south along with Breathe and Turnerbout, for a somewhat choppy sail.  Winds were NE around 18 to 25 knots.  Breathe and Turnerbout stopped at Hatchett Bay, while we continued on.  We wanted to be further south, as a possible weather window to head to the Caribbean would be occurring, and we wanted to be further south to take advantage of it.   

After one night at anchor at Alabaster Bay, we headed south again on Friday.  Had a pleasant sail in 8 to 20 knot of ENE wind.  Then we got to the south end of Eleuthera, and no longer on the bank sailing, but exposed to ocean swell.  Not just ocean swell, but confused choppy steep swell.  The next 6 hours were not pleasant.  Sailing at 45 to 50 to the apparent wind in up to 25 knots with 2 to 4 foot seas that were short period.  We took water over the bows many times, and even took a couple up and over the cabin onto the dodger.  We did 94 miles in 14 hours, for an average of 6.71 knots, which is pretty darn good for going into the wind.  Needless to say, a very salty boat and crew were quite happy to drop anchor in New Bight on Cat island finally at 9:00 that night.

Saturday was a recovery day, as now we are positioned for a run to the Caribbean.  Kris did some engine maintenance to make sure they were all ready to go for the long run.  Dean washed down the deck, and polished some stainless.  A load of laundry finished the day.   It was finally a sunny day, which we have had too few of, but winds still high, but at least below 18 knots.

View of New Bight on Cat Island.  You can actually see some sun

End to one of the most pleasant days we have had in the last month.

2023-12-17 Week of sitting on the boat with high winds.

We left Hope Town, and had a pleasant sail over to Marsh Harbor.  A whopping 7.5 miles.

Winds projected to build, so wanted a place with good protection, room to swing and good holding.

We have an issue with the dinghy chaps, that when we go a bit faster in the dink, the chaps trap water and funnel it inside the dinghy - not good.   So Monday morning Kris took the chaps off and did another modification. Then we took the dink for a motor into town to test it. 

Kris working on dinghy chaps

Much better, but still need to change a couple of things.  We got rid of our trash and went for a short walk in town then back to boat.

Then on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - we were on the boat.  Winds were NE 20 to 30 knots.  Cloudy and rainy.     Kris got out the Christmas decorations and built our "tree" and hung ornaments.

Green line wrapped around mast support post makes our tree.

On Saturday, winds were down to only 20, and the sun peeked out, so we went to town, got some groceries, and back by 10:30, before the rain came.   

Sunday, woke up to 30 to 40 knot winds.  A large catamaran had drug, and was pinned against a derelict dock.  We got in the dinghy, and went over to see if we could help them, but they were OK for now, and were going to wait for the winds to die down this afternoon and then try to move.  We got completely soaked going the 1000' from our boat to them in the dinghy.    With 30 plus knots of wind, the anchorage has 1' to 2' short chop.   We are quite comfortable on the boat, there is a bit of movement, but not bad at all, since we are facing into the wind and chop.

Pictures never do it justice, but there is a lot of wind and chop.

So what do we do when we cant get off the boat?  Well, Starlink has been great - we spend a lot of time on the computer.  Kris did some banking and paperwork clean up.  Then she started playing some computer games.  She likes to play Escape room type games with puzzles to solve.   

Dean has been alternating between reading and computer time.  It is easy to go down the YouTube rabbit hole and spend hours on pointless videos.  Dean also make brownies - which is what we did not need since we have been sitting on our butts for a week, but they do taste good. 😁 

Every night we have been watching a couple of episodes of "The Crown".  Good series so far, but now on the third season and it is getting a bit old.  Unfortunately, once we start a series and get this far into it, we feel compelled to finish it no matter how bad it gets.  We never said we were smart.

2023-12-10 Made it to Bahamas - strong winds determining our travels

We had an uneventful crossing to the Bahamas.  Winds lighter than we would like, so had to motorsail.  Very glad we came over when we did, otherwise we would have had to wait a couple weeks for a good window.

Breathe crossed as well.   We checked in at West End, with no issues.

Charm and Breathe at dock at West End, waiting for the office to open so we can check in (note the Manta power cat in the background)

Kris's birthday was on the 4th.  Dean made homemade cinnamon rolls for her birthday treat.  After  a low sleep night, and waiting for customs to open at 9:00 in the morning, it was the perfect pick me up.

Wonderful birthday present - hot fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast

As soon as we checked in, we left and headed across the bank, wanted to make Great Sale Cay for the night.   We got in about an hour later than wanted, so it was dark, but felt safe dropping the hook for the night.  Got a good nights sleep.   

Breathe approaching the anchorage behind us, during beautiful sunset.

Next morning we moved further north in the anchorage in preparation for some strong winds coming.  We went ashore to a small beach area for a walk.  Found quite a bit of trash.   Saw a pretty blue bottle in the water.  Joked that it was probably Pepto Bismol and it was

Bottle says "Leche de Magnesia"   - wonder how far it floated to wash up on this beach.

Charm at anchor in Great Sale Cay.   Look at the clear water.

We found some trash, and decided to make a trash man.   Jason even found a steel tank casing from 1947.  

Monica and Dean with our "Trash Man"

That evening the strong winds started, and lasted all night, but we were quite comfortable at the anchorage.   In the morning, had a nice sunrise greet us as we got up.

Nice sunrise

We motor sailed east to Crab Cay, just for the night.  Went over to Breathe for a nice dinner.

Next day was a big jump, as once again strong winds forecast. We decided to take the opportunity with some lighter winds to head SE and made it through Whale Cut.  This is a path where you go through a cut to the ocean and then back in to make it further south in the Abaco chain of islands.   It is very uncomfortable, and can be dangerous in strong easterly direction winds.   Since we are going to have strong east winds for the next week, it would be our only chance to get south for  a while.  So motor on for 46 miles.  The cut was bouncy, with large 4 to 6 foot rollers, but not dangerous, and we made it to our anchorage in Hope Town on Elbow Cay before dark.

Next day we went to town with Breathe and Turnerbout.  Nice walk in town, and on the beach before going to a nice lunch out at Cap'n Jacks.

Nice beach walk.   Piper, Aaron and Julie from Turnerbout, Dean and Kris, and Monica and Jason from Breathe.

Hope Town is a cute small town, with lots of small well kept homes off narrow pathways.  Many pretty flowers and shrubbery.

Back to boat, did laundry, and worked on our stove again, as the lighter function has stopped working again.   Looks like the electronic control module is out, so we will just use manual lighters again.

We will leave today, and head to Marsh Harbor which has good protection from winds, to wait out a week of strong winds, cloudy weather and rain.   

2023-12-3 Heading south, wrapping up projects

Due to the Thanksgiving weekend, we could not order our replacement engine parts for the one broken part until Monday, so paid to have overnight shipping (ouch).  Kris worked on finishing the cover for the outboard.  Dean worked on finishing the door trim for when we installed the washing machine.  Needed a sunny day where we could open all the hatches, and the smell of bondo and paint was quite strong.  

Can't tell now that we had to take off the door, trim, dig out old fill and sand down honeycomb to get the washer in.  All pretty again now.

Also replaced some rusty cable clamps on our steering quadrant. and added a hydrofoil to our outboard.

New hydrofoil for outboard.  Helps to get up on plane faster

Old rusty clamps on steering cables

New clamps, and steering cable lubed

Tuesday we went to town, got some groceries and stopped at the dive store and got another weight belt, as we only had one.  We received our parts for the engine on Tuesday and Kris had it back together quite quickly.  Running good now.   

That night we went to dinner with our friends Scott and Tina who used to own Sangaris and Robert and Lana from Sandbox.  One of the best parts of cruising is meeting up with friends, and one of the worst parts of cruising is always saying goodbye to them shortly after. 

Good looking group out having a nice dinner

Wednesday we left Vero, and stopped in Stuart to fill our diesel tanks, and then on to anchor for the night in Hobe sound.    Lots of sights to see on the trip down.

This racing trimaran has seen better days.  Broken mast destroyed a lot of the boat.

Left early the next morning, and went under the many bridges down to West Palm Beach.  

West Palm is a mix of mega yachts and cargo boat docks

We anchored south, near the downtown section of West Palm.  Lots of mega yachts and expensive homes.   Dean jumped into the water, as it was finally clear enough to have some visibility and scrubbed the hulls and replaced our zincs on the sail drives.  Unfortunately also quite the current, so rigged a line for him to hold onto while he scrubbed.   Hard work, but hopefully the results were worth it and we will be faster.

Dean holding on and scrubbing the hull

You can see before and after scrubbing.   Just a lot of slime but no barnacles, so that is good.

Our friends Monica and Jason on Breathe,  came in later in the day and anchored nearby.   Friday we went to town, and wandered around and had a nice lunch out with them.

Enjoying the art work in West Palm

Near the waterfront is a large park.  They have several sand sculptures that are worked on each evening.  Fun to see.

Center of park is largest sand sculpture of Christmas tree.   Still a work in progress

Spent some time goofing off - good fun

These were lit up for night, but still pretty in daytime.

We were not the only ones out enjoying the day.

Next day, back to town, as there is a very large farmers market.

We went early to avoid most the crowd.

A surprising amount of produce - but expensive

Lots of arts and crafts as well.

Bought some goodies at the market, but then went to the grocery for a final stock up before heading to Bahamas.  

Dean stayed up late to watch for for the Starlink rocket launch.

You can see the orange glow in the sky - that's the rocket.

We will leave tonight to motor sail to the Bahamas.  Unfortunately winds will be lighter than desired, but should be a calm trip.