Beautiful Bahamas - We're sad to say good bye

We left the Bahamas March 22nd and sailed to Charleston, South Carolina. We will never forget the sights and experiences we had in the Bahamas and plan to return. We can see why some sailors go to the Bahamas and never leave.

Some of the highlights were the crystal clear water, the emphasis on boating, the small towns, the beaches, the experience of being in another country and the people.

One of the best things about the Bahamas is the people you meet. The Bahamian people are incredibly friendly. We met wonderful sailors, too. We had a lot of fun getting to know Hank and Carol from s/v Kismet. We found that friendships develop quickly when you are all new to a country and have so much in common.

We are now at Cooper River Marina in Charleston. It was great to have Fran's parents and sister here to greet us last Friday. We came through some rough weather on the trip so our wonderful relatives helped us start the clean up process.

Having family here made it fun.

We are still here cleaning up and doing minor repairs. We are also working on a new itinerary for the trip to give us more experience with heavy weather before crossing the Atlantic. This little bird joined us for a night on the trip and slept at the navigation station. He was smart and flew back to the Bahamas before the storm!

Hope Town and What to wear?

One of the nicest towns we have visited in the Abacos is Hope Town. It is a tiny place with winding streets and charming cottages. Each cottage has a name. The light house is one of a few remaining that is powered by oil instead of electricity. For boaters it is a relaxing place to stay because the harbor is 100% mooring balls.

A beautiful Atlantic beach is a 5 minute walk from the harbor. A rare sight was seen one day, Al relaxing on the beach, Al relaxing! That's why Al has Frances, to make him slow down every once in a while.

What To Wear?

One of the great things about cruising is the casual lifestyle. However after a few weeks it's nice to get a little dressed up and go out like you would at home. So, how do you do it?

First your outfit cannot include anything that says "boater". No Columbia, Gill or canvas. Put on something shore like, add some accessories and a pair of cute sandles. Your best pair of topsiders is OK since they are in style now. Don't wear these topsiders sailing and mess them up. Put on some make up of course. Hair is the biggest challenge. You are constantly in a damp environment and electricity is scarce. Your best friend is hair products. Bring every imaginable type, you may need to use them all at once. If you have to use the hair dryer or straightening iron they do not take as many amps as you think and the draw is minimal since they aren't run for hours. Bring a bag to shore, not canvas, to carry your cute shoes and hair products so you can spiff up after the dinghy ride in and trip up the ladder or concrete sea wall. Once you are in the restaurant relaxing you will feel just like you did at home.

Island Hopping - Green Turtle, Guana, Hope Town

In Green Turtle we checked out the island, met other cruisers and heard a great band, The Gully Roosters. The band included a man performing Bahamian Rake and Scrape. He was a very energetic guy playing a saw with a serrated knife while dancing arouund! We were told that you would dance to this band no mater what and it was true. It was great fun with locals, cruisers and people of all ages dancing together.

Guana has the cutest beach bar with something for everyone and overlooks a fantastic Atlantic Beach. We will go back there in a few days.

We moved on to Hope Town fairly quickly to enter a local sailing race! All cruisers and live aboards were invited. Every type of boat was in the race including a typical Abaconian sailboat the Abaco Rage. Jade was actually recognized at the "Stand Up" gathering at the Hope Town sailing club for participating in the race.

The Bahamas!!!!

We made it to the Abacos February 22nd. This is Frances relaxing on deck while we sailed across the "Banks". You can see her sun screen method! What do we do with all our spare time? Well for one thing we plan where we are going the next day and how to get there without crashing the boat.

Stepping into the Atlantic here for the first time was exciting. We stayed several days in Manjack Cay. It had trails and a gorgeous beach.
It took a while to get here and was a little tough but it was worth it. Now we are relaxing, enjoying the beautiful clear water and exploring the different islands in the Abacos. We will probably head back to the states near the end of March.

Moving On to the Bahamas

We saw some sights the last days in Key West. There is a history of cigar making, blocks of charming old houses, The Little White House and chickens can be found on any street. It's an interesting city with a lot of history. There is more to Key West than bars and partying! Who knew?

Today we are in Marathon. A stop over on on the way to the Bahamas. It is very peaceful and quiet here with tons of other cruisers. They have the largest most "luxurious" dinghy dock we have ever seen.We plan to be in the Bahamas by Monday or Tuesday and are really looking forward to going to places we have never been.

Internet coverage may not be as good in the Bahamas so we will be in touch when possible.

Thanks for all the comments and posts! We are enjoying keeping in touch as we travel.

Stormy Days at Anchor and Something for Katie and Sarah

Thanks for all the comments and wishes for a successful trip. We are blessed with the best friends and family!

We have been having fun in Key West. There are tons of different shops and restaurants. We love B.O.'s Fish Wagon http://www.foodreference.com/html/kbo_sfishwagon.html for fried conch sandwiches and Captain Tony's Saloon http://www.capttonyssaloon.com/ . Everyone you meet here is friendly and happy. The town has such a relaxed atmosphere and it's very easy to have fun!

We have met some other cruisers. One man from Novia Scotia who left for Cuba on Wednesday. Mike Mahoney from St Petersburg is in the boat next to ours in the anchorage.

For a few days cloudy windy weather will keep us close to the boat. The wind generator is working non-stop to charge the batteries, Al is in a man's heaven at the navigation station setting up communications with the SSB radio and Fuzzy the Manatee is studying the weather. Fuzzy says "You can't start towards the Bahamas today".

Meanwhile the boat traffic doesn't let up entirely. The cruise ships dock here daily, the ferry to Ft Meyers comes by twice a day, the Navy and Coast Guard boats continue maneuvers and even the private island, Sunset Key http://www.westinsunsetkeycottages.com/ doesn't look as inviting.

Good Bye Long Boat...Hello Key West

Thursday February 3rd we left sleepy little Long Boat Key with it's small quiet anchorage next to the Historical Village. These pictures are the foggy view of a house on shore and kayaks stored on the beach. There are two restaurants on shore. The Mar Vista http://marvista-restaurent.com/ is our favorite. A great beach is just across the island, too. You can't get into too much trouble in Long Boat!

Once we got out in the Gulf the weather looked good so we kept going to Key West. The winds were light, not much sea at all but very foggy at night. A sad looking crab trap in the fog.

At 3pm on Friday we arrived in Key West. The Mecca for parties on the water. There are cruise ships, Coast Guard Ships, Navy Seals in dinghys, sunset cruise boats, fishing charter boats...you name it, and that doesn't get into what's on land! We are anchored by a private island across from Mallory Squarehttp://www.mallorysquare.com/ where the cruise ships dock. The weather is sunny, warm and windy.

We will probably stay here until Thursday.

We left! Saturday January 29, 2011

The weather was perfect and the boat was ready.

Fran's mom Caroline Bosbyshell helped down below, Fran's dad Bill Bosbyshell performed a boat blessing and we smoothly backed out of the slip. A group was there to see us off and we know that everyone who has wished us well was there is spirit. Fran's parents waved to us from the north Skyway Fishing Pier so we sailed close by to salute with the cannon.

We are now in Long Boat Key at anchor. The weather is still beautiful thank goodness. We are catching our breath, working on a few more projects and saying to each other "I can't believe it".

The next stop will be Boca Grande, Cabbage Key, probably by the end of the week.

We haven't left yet!

We were delayed by a few issues this week but they are worked out now. The weather is looking good for a Saturday departure. According to sailing lore it's bad luck to begin a sailing journey on a Friday.


We managed to fit almost everything on the boat from the storage unit and the van. We sold one car and will sell Al's van Friday. All that's left to do is shop for food but we won't have to buy much thankfully! Fran's mom has been cooking food for the journey and helping us stock the freezer. Matt and Debbie came by last night and gave us vegetables from their garden. We also had so many friends who didn't want us to go thirsty we won't have to buy much to drink!


It's still hard to believe that we are actually going but I do believe it will happen...soon!
Frances

The last week before we leave

It is hard to believe we are in the last week of preparation for the trip. It's amazing to finally be here!

We still have quite a few tings to accomplish before we leave this Sunday the 23rd. Today Al did the most important thing for him to do which was installation of a new inverter for the batteries. The old inverter died last week. Frances ran around doing errands and banking.

This is Al at the end of the day in the engine room finishing up the inverter job.