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.  

2023-11-26 Projects - success and failures

We spent all Sunday and Monday morning in Cocoa Beach.   Sunday we decided it was time to work on hooking up our Starlink system.   We had to pull a wire from the bimini top down into the boat.  All went well

Starlink dish mounted on top of bimini arch

Once the wires were inside the boat, then came the hard work of converting it over to a 12 volt system (to save power by not using inverter)

We put the components needed behind the TV cabinet.  Tight space to work in.

Dean trying to work inside the cabinet

Several wiring projects needed to be done, and all went well, until Kris started making up some RJ45 connectors.   End of day, frustration, and hunger all added together.   One small tantrum later, and we stopped the project until we could get some different connectors that would be easier to wire.

Kris, right before tantrum stopped work

Monday we headed to town, to get some supplies from the hardware store.  Plus we just like the hardware store in Cocoa.

We liked this sign outside a bar

Nice mural in Cocoa

The Travis hardware store in Cooca is a huge store, and some what a tourist stop as well.  Very old store,  With many additions over time, making wandering the store quite fun.

Dean on an outside bridge that goes from one part of the store to another part.

After our trip to the hardware store, we upped anchor and headed south for about 10 miles, as the winds were changing, and needed better protection for the next few days.  

Our anchorage at Dragon Point had good protection.  We went ashore and went for a nice walk and had lunch out at Wendy's.

Saw this Gopher Tortoise in the park on our walk

Saw a man out herding his chicken away from a busy road

After lunch, headed back to boat, and on our way we say a dinghy drifting along with no one in it.  So we grabbed it and tied it up behind ours at the boat.   Called a local marina that was upwind from us, and let them know.  Luckily the people who lost it called the marina later, and they let them know we had rescued it, so they motored over in their boat and got it.  They were a family of four with two young kids, and very happy to have their dingy back.

Our dink, and one we saved 

Our friends on Sojourn had been heading south steadily, and finally got close to us.  They were heading to Vero the next day, so we did as well.   We met up in Vero Beach, rafted together, and had a nice Thanksgiving meal a day early with them.  Karen did a wonderful meal.  Kris made apple pie, and also had Meriwether - a couple on a smaller monohull join us.  Nice night.   Sojourn headed out the next morning, as they were going to head south, and off to the Bahamas as they wanted to catch the brief weather window that looked like a decent opening for the trip.

Duane and Karen on Sojourn - casting off early morning.

Thanksgiving day, Kris decided that she would work on the Starboard Engine. She had put in new glow plugs and cleaned the injectors on the port engine - and it was working great, so since we needed to put in one more glow plug on starboard, she decided to remove and clean the injectors on that engine as well.    All went well, until a nut was quite sticky.  Called in Deans help, to use two wrenches, and unfortunately - we still broke a piece.   Its Thanksgiving weekend so nothing open, in person or via internet.  So pretty much decided to stay in Vero Beach, on the mooring until we can get a replacement part.

This is supposed to be one part, not three separate pieces.  

With it being Thanksgiving weekend, we would have to wait until Monday to order the part so it time to work on other projects.   We decided to head to town and ride the bus to Home Depot, to get a better wrench for when we install the new part.  Vero Beach has a great free bus system.    We get picked up right at the dinghy dock.    To get to Home Depot, we do have to take a transfer.  

Waiting for next bus at transfer station

We had a nice lunch out - and no - not burgers.  Went for Chipotle this time.

Waiting for bus back.

We had several packages on order to arrive in Vero Beach.  Quite a few came in on Friday, so we started projects.  

Kris got the wiring done for Starlink - much easier with correct parts, and it is up and running now off of 12 volts, versus the 120 volts that Starlink comes with.

We know it looks messy, but behind TV cabinet is our Starlink, two routers, VHF controls, and storage for miscellaneous electronic stuff.

Dean had rewired our old lights for LED, and they worked great, but the switches on the old lights lets a bit of stray current through, so the LED lights would sometimes glow faintly when power was off.

Old light with LED light strips.

We have been looking for new ones, that are about the same dimensions, to hide the mounting holes in the ceiling.  Found some, and Dean hooked them up.

New LED light in bathroom

Dean  also put a water filter under the sink as we noticed some debris in our water after filling up from the dock

We made another bus ride to town - as Kris messed up and got the wrong size wrench - or maybe it was intentional so she could have lunch out again . 😁

We have a few more projects to work on while we wait on parts and packages. Then we will head south and make the Bahamas crossing.