2025-12-14 Rain in the Bahamas

Sunday was calm, but we knew the weather was changing, so we made plans to move.   Before we did, there was one more thing Dean wanted to check out, which were some swings out on a sandbar surrounded by deeper water.   We decided to dinghy over, even though it was high tide, so we knew the swings would not be on dry sand.   We were not expecting 4’ of water, though.

Dean is standing on the bottom

It's hard to get into a swing that is 4' tall above ground

 Dean got in and got on the swing, but getting back in the dink was a chore, as with no flippers or ladders, it was all upper body strength.  Didn’t help that Kris was laughing the whole time, making him laugh as well.  It was a good trip, even though swinging was out of the question.

Back at the boat, we got cleaned up and motored over to Royal Island, which has a nice protected harbor for all wind directions.  Found a good spot to anchor.  Spent two nights at Royal Island, just doing nothing.  Winds started from the southwest, and did a complete 360 over the two days.  We also had some rain, so Dean put up our rain catcher during the rainstorm and got soaking wet, but got a bit of water into the tanks.

We saw that NE winds were forecast from all 5 weather models for Tuesday, so we decided to sail down to Hatchett Bay.   All 5 weather models wrong, and had to motor into the winds for 3 hours to get there.  The entrance into Hatchett Bay is narrow, so always a bit stressed motoring in, but all was fine.

We did get shifting winds Wednesday, but also more rain.   Rain on Wednesday night and rain on Thursday morning.  The tanks are full, and we even ran the laundry to use up some water.  We have never seen this much rain in the Bahamas.  

Rain coming down in Hatchett Bay

We got off the boat Thursday afternoon and walked over to the beach.

Signpost by road in Hatchett Bay

Nice beach on the east side

Quite large surf from the strong offshore winds

Cut into Hatchett bay, from Hatchett Bay side

 

Friday we motored 7 miles down to Alabaster Bay.  Winds were forecast to be ENE so we anchored in the northern part of the bay.   Went for a nice long walk over to the abandoned naval station.  Not as abandoned, as they have a desalination plant running there now.   We were last there in April 2022.  Not much has changed, buildings even more run down.  Nice walk.   

 

Run down buildings

Overgrown roads

Nice beach with super soft sand

Nice sandy beach and pretty coast

Trees overtaking the buildings

The forecast was wrong again, and winds slightly south of east, so not a flat calm night, but not bad either.   Saturday we had for the first time in the Bahamas a nice sail.  Even put a reef in.  Sailed from Alabaster Bay to Rock Sound.  Forgot how the boat could really get up and move – hitting 8 knots frequently on the sail, with apparent winds around 60 degrees, and winds 15 to 18 knots.  Averaged 7.7 knots for the 30-mile sail.

Found a nice anchor spot, and relaxed the rest of the day.  More rain forecast, so Dean put up the rain catcher - that should stop the rain if past history is any indication.  We will stay here a bit, maybe get some projects done, as winds are forecast to be quite brisk until next Wednesday or Thursday.

 

2025-12-07 Spanish Wells, Kris's birthday and Egg Island

 

Sunday was a bit windy, but not bad. 

We took the dink into town.  It was pretty quiet, as Sunday afternoons tend to be.  Walked around a bit, dropped off our trash, and then back to the dinghy dock.  Talked to Sam the Conch salad man at the dock.  Nice guy.  Said there were normally around 1500 people that lived on the island, but closer to 4500 now with construction going on the cruise ship docks to the north on Coco Cay and Great Stirrup Cay.  Both these islands are used by cruise ships for day stops for people to get off and play at a nice beach.  

Nice old rock building in town

On the way back to the boat, we dinghied along the shore line to see the sights.  Mostly just iron shore.

Typical iron shore - sharp rocks that are undercut by the water

 

Monday the winds were lighter, so we went and looked at the prop plane that wrecked in the water nearby back in the 1980s.    

The water here is not as clear as elsewhere in the Bahamas, it is more green so we did not snorkel the wreck.   The water is clearish- but not the crystal clear blue we have come to expect.  

The wreck sticks out of the water except for very high tide

You can see the structure still underwater

Back at the boat, we got in the water and gave the underwater hulls a quick clean – some scum, but not bad.  A 3’ barracuda came by to inspect our work, and was not hesitant at all about how close he was to us, but Kris was a bit hesitant and decided to go clean closer to Dean.

Kris noticed our solar did not seem to be preforming well, and we found that one of our panels had become disconnected, so we got that fixed.

Working on the solar panel connections

Tuesday we sailed around the island to the East side, and anchored near Shark Creek, as the winds were turning to the south.  Passed the cruise ships at Coco Island in the north and then had to tack several times going into the wind, but we wanted to sail, as it has been too much motoring lately.  We spent a pleasant night protected from the south winds.

Two large cruise ships docked at the island

Wednesday we got up early, and motor sailed for about an hour, and then ended up dropping sails, as they were just banging around.  Motored the 61 miles to Spanish wells. Motoring was good, as the batteries needed to be charged up.

Thursday was Kris’s birthday.  We met up with our friends Sojourn who were also in Spanish Wells and went out for a nice lunch.  We had brought them a replacement windlass motor from the states with us, and they bought us lunch as a thank you, which was super nice of them.  We went to the store, and then back to the boat for the evening.  Tried to find some small ice cream for Kris’ birthday treat, but she had to settle for M&M’s back on the boat.

Our friends boat on left Sojourn with moon rising

Lunch out with Sojourn - thanks Karen for the photo

The anchorage in Spanish Wells gets a bit of commercial traffic that passes very close at times

Some Christmas decorations in Spanish Wells

Friday Sojourn left, as they need to renew their fishing license, and they are headed to the Ragged Islands.   We headed over to Egg Island, as winds were forecast to be very light for the next two days.

We did a bit of explore at Egg Island in the dinghy, and walked the shallows during low tide. 

Dean walking the exposed sand at low tide 

This sand dollar was on "dry" land, left a track as it was moving along

Saturday, Kris went for a kayak in the morning, and we had a nice snorkel in the afternoon.   Nothing outstanding, but sure nice to get into that clear water.

Kris heading out in the kayak

Large starfish in the shallow lagoon

Charm all alone at the anchorage in that pretty blue water

Nice fish - not good at identifying fish - sorry

Not a lot of fish, but some coral and sponges

This small barracuda followed us for a bit.

2025-11-30 We are in the Bahamas

 

Apologize, a wordy blog, but not many photos.

Sunday we had a leisurely morning, and then we checked the weather.   We both had the same idea – hey, it looks like we could make the crossing to the Bahamas today.  Wasn’t the plan, we were thinking of heading down to West Palm Beach and then crossing, but we have learned to go when the weather dictates. 

So we upped anchor and headed south, planning to exit at Stuart.  Kris looked at the charts and since we had never used the Stuart inlet, checked online sources, and it did not have favorable reviews – lots of shoaling.  We decided to motor south to West Palm, and exit there. 

We pulled in for fuel at Stuart to top the tanks off at a place we have found usually has cheaper priced diesel, and we asked the dock hand about the Stuart inlet.  He said should be no issue, but call TowBoatUS.   We should have thought of it.  After fueling we called TowBoatUS on the VHF, and got a “no issue” from TowBoatUs, and then on our way out we passed a sheriff boat, you yelled over to us – “No worries on the inlet, it is good, you should be just fine”.  Guess even the Sheriff follows other boaters on the VHF.   We thanked the Sheriff, and decided to head out at Stuart.   

Which meant we had to apply for our Bahamas cruising permit online before we left cell service areas.   Kris got on the computer and started working.   She got the permit OK, and by then Dean had done a great job navigating the inlet – which was no issue after all.  We then proceeded to head south, hugging the coast, as we still needed to change both our cell phone plans to a cheaper plan, as in the Bahamas we would be using Starlink for data and Wi-Fi calling.  Only need a phone plan that lets us Wi-Fi call and is cheap.  Kris spent the next two hours changing over both phones, and with that done, we made a left-hand turn and headed east. 

Large cruise ship all lit up at night, passing close behind us, note the calmish water

Saw a lot of ships during the overnight crossing, but no close calls.

Had a very calm crossing, no real wind, so motor on the entire way.  Gulf Stream only had about 1 foot seas, and after that the seas were almost flat.   Finally, a little wind about 6 hours out of our destination to Great Harbor Cay in the Berry Islands. 

We arrived around 2:00 in the afternoon, so anchored and took the dink into check in.  They told us they needed us to bring the big boat in, so we went back, upped anchor and took in the big boat to the marina dock.  Talked briefly to the Customs lady, and she said she had to go to the office to get some papers and would be right back.  2 hours later, she returned, and we were able to check in.  Bummed, we were given only 90 days of immigration, as others checking here got 120 days.

At 4:45 p.m. we left the marina dock, and headed back out to anchor.  The noseeums were terrible at the dock, so happy to be away from them at anchor.   

To get from the anchorage to the harbor and marina, you must go through a narrow cut.  After back on anchor, this larger fuel ship went in the cut - looks like it would be tight for him, but there was plenty of room

Tuesday was a lazy day.  Cleaned up the boat a bit, did some re-arranging of groceries, took naps, read books, and relaxed.

Wednesday more of the same.  Kris worked on financials, did some cooking.  Dean relaxed, read and played on the computer.  We moved the boat to a new spot close by but better for access to town, and some snorkeling we had planned.  Also better for high NE winds coming.  After moving the boat, the engines were warm, so Kris changed the oil on both the engines.

Nice to be back in the sunshine, warm weather and blue water

Thursday was Thanksgiving.   Kris made apple pie in the morning.  Cut her finger only once, so not bad.  Dean had made chip dip, so around 10:30 Dean enjoyed a bit of a snack.  While the pies were in the oven, Kris noticed a small smell coming from the port side holding tank.  Decided to clean the lines, so pumped some water in and then went to empty the tanks using our macerator to pump overboard, and the port macerator would not work.  Dean spent an unenjoyable Thanksgiving, replacing the old macerator with our spare.   Let's just say the boat was not smelling of warm apple pie, but some other odor far less pleasant.

He was done by the afternoon, so we were able to enjoy a late lunch of junk food, soda, chips and dip – without the stinky smell around.

Enjoying a much deserved treat after working the stinky job

For anyone keeping count, in the last month we have replaced the freshwater pump, the seawater pump, and both starboard and port macerators. All of them were of different ages, so no reason for them to all fail within a month of each other.  Gotta love boat life.

Friday the high winds out of the NE started, so it was a boat day for Friday and Saturday while the winds blew.   Lots of reading and playing on the computer.   Ate up all the pie, all the chip dip and were fat and lazy for a couple of days.    Neighbors on the boat Shally kayaked by, and we spoke with them for a bit.

Last of the pie went for Saturday morning breakfast

 

2025-11-23 Final week in Velcro (Vero) Beach

We did not plan on spending so long in Vero Beach.  It has the nickname of Velcro Beach, because you tend to stick around longer than planned, and that happened to us.  With the new hot water tank not due to arrive until Thursday, we had time to do some other projects. 

Apologize for the lack of photos, just busy, and not a good job this week with photos. 

Monday we went out for a nice lunch with Tracy (Phoenix Rising) and Pat who owns Galileo – Pat is no longer cruising but lives in Vero Beach.   

Nice lunch out at Casey's in Vero Beach

After lunch, we went to the local Publix and did some provisioning, and took the bus back to the marina.

Tuesday, Kris started working on modifying the jib sail cover to fit the new jib.  It turned into a 2-day project.  We did not have a lot of material left, so she measured multiple times with multiple fittings to have enough material for the modifications.     

Modified jib cover.  At least the sail is protected now, even if the cover isn't that pretty

She also sewed up some stitches in the dinghy chaps where the thread had rotted away in the sun, and made a new cover for our dingy gas tank to keep it more protected from the sun.  We used the orange Sunbrella we purchased in 1993 for our first cruising boat and still have a bit left.

Restitching the dinghy chaps

We have a bit of orange on every boat we have owned

Thursday, we took out our old hot water tank, which involved draining the coolant on the starboard engine as well as that engine coolant runs through the tank.  We got it all out and got the area cleaned up for the new tank.

Old tank out.  Kris taking off some fittings

Old tank out, and ready for new one to be installed

Friday, our friends on Breathe came back to their boat, and our hot water tank arrived.   We went out to lunch with Breathe, Phoenix Rising and Scott and Tina formerly of Sangaris.  Have a nice lunch at Five Guys – but forgot to take a photo.    After lunch, Breathe took us to Home Depot and to Walmart.   We got parts to install the hot water heater, and many more groceries.

Old tank has stainless cover, new tank plastic cover and much lighter

Back to the boat, and we got the hot water heater installed.  Finished up late Friday night, and got many many groceries put away.  The boat is the heaviest it has ever been, or seems that way, with all the food we have onboard.

Saturday, Breathe once again helped us out by taking us to a metal recycler to get rid of the old stainless steel hot water tank, and a final trip to get even more groceries.  We will be eating good for a while.   After the trip, we cast off lines, said farewell to Breathe, and headed out.  Big THANK YOU to Breathe for running us all over town for groceries and supplies.

Monica and Jason on Breathe

Motored down the ICW to Jensen Beach to anchor for the night.  We will continue south today, and hoping for a crossing to the Bahamas soon.

 

 

2025-11-16 Friends and fluid leaks.

Sunday, we upped anchor and left Eau Gallie and headed south down the ICW to Vero Beach.  Vero Beach has the nickname Velcro beach because everything is so convenient and easy, you tend to stay longer than not.

Our friends on What If also headed to Vero, and got in before us.  In Vero, rafting of boats is normal as there are limited moorings, and they will raft two deep on catamarans, and sometimes 3 with monohulls.   The office told us we would need to raft, and since our friends Monica and Jason on Breathe were here as well, we opted to raft up with them.   

Breathe and Charm rafted together

Monica and Jason have been here a while, and had a vehicle available to them, so Sunday afternoon we jumped in the car with them and What If and headed to town to run some errands.   Hardware and groceries were on the agenda. 

Monday was back in the car for more errands with Breathe.  Stopped and saw the peacock in Fort Pierce.   

White Ibis and one of the Peacocks.

Went out for a nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant.   That afternoon, we helped Jason rebuild a couple of raw water pumps for his engine.  Monday evening we all went over to What If for happy hour or two.  Always enjoyable to spend time with friends.

Ed, Cathy, Kris, Dean, Monica and Jason.   Fun evening

Tuesday was a chilly morning, so we stayed inside where we had our little electric heater going.  Luckily, it was sunny, so the inside of the boat warmed up nicely.  Dean worked in the head and replaced our leaking macerator pump with a spare we had onboard.   Kris made a dessert, that turned out badly, and stuck to the bottom of the pan, so we scraped it out, in crumbles and ate it with a fork.   We were going to take the desert to a Manta get together in the afternoon, but that did not work out.   We did go to the Manta get together, had pizza and treats and it was great to visit with everyone.  Vero Beach marina has a small lounge we were able to use, which worked out great, as it was still a bit chilly outside. 

What If, Skoolz Out, Charm, Scott and Tina who used to own Sangaris, Breathe, Emanual IV, and Clark who used to own Sojourn

We also found a leak in our salt water wash down pump, which also powers our heads, and a leak in our freshwater supply line to the hot water heater.   Dean replaced a hose on the salt water pump, and Wednesday we headed to town to get a new supply line for the freshwater pump.   All these pumps were in our Vberth area.  These trips to town take a bit of time, the bus is free, but to get to Home Depot we have to take the small bus to the transfer station, then the big bus to the Home Depot area.   The buses come by once an hour, so a three-hour trip minimum.

After the fixes, the Vberth was finally all cleaned and dry again – Until – later that night, found that not just the hose on the salt water was leaking, but now leaking elsewhere.  

Kris cleaning up the water leaks - again

Our friends on Sojourn arrived in Vero on Wednesday, and Wednesday night we went with them over to What If, where Cathy and Ed hosted us for a nice dinner.  This is their last season cruising, so What If will be going up for sale, and they are purchasing a home.  Exciting for them, and we are happy for them, but we will miss seeing them on the water.   We will just have to stop by their house on the land.

On What If for nice dinner

Thursday, our new salt water pump arrived and Dean installed that.   Thinking all was good now, we put all the items back into our dry Vberth storage area.  Our new jib had arrived, so we also put that up.  We also had the end of the camberspar rebuilt and installed that as well.   The jib looks great now, and no issues, so we are finally a full sailboat again.   We also installed the new parts for the engine coolant drain - busy day of projects.

New Camberspar end

Sail installed and looks good

Friday morning, Kris ran the engine a bit for hot water and to charge up the batteries.   Later in the day our replacement spare Macerator pump arrived, so she crawled up in the Vberth to put it away and found water in the Vberth again.   WTF?    We searched and searched, but could not find the source of the water.   Then Kris had a thought, and turned on the engine again to heat water, and sure enough, the tank was leaking, but only when heating.  So we are under the Vero Beach Velcro curse – with one more thing to fix before we leave.   We ordered a new hot water tank.

Friday we headed back into town to get some line to make lazy jacks for our new jib.   The old one did not need them, but the new one is slippery and harder to control when we take it down.  That evening we had another Manta get together, as Sojourn was not there for the first one, and neither was Tracy from Phoenix Rising who arrived on Friday.  Had a happy hour outside as it had warmed up a bit.  Good conversations and snacks.

Alex from Moonraker, Tracy from Phoenix Rising, Pat from Galileo, Duane and Karen from Sojourn, Alf from Bilancia, and us.

Saturday, we helped Tracy rebuild a raw water pump – we are getting good at this.   

Rebuilding the water pump 

Dean went up the mast, and installed the new lazy jacks.   Kris took off the jib cover to start working on modifying it, as it doesn’t fit the new jib quite right.

We will be here until our new hot water tank comes in, and we can get it installed.