Crimson Kathryn and her crew

We’re making our way south to George Town. After leaving Allen’s Cay, we anchored near Highbourne Cay. There we had a great snorkelling afternoon where we saw some nice coral and lots of fish. We also saw a wrecked sailboat – you could clearly make out the keel, mast, batteries and a sink.

The next morning we pulled up our anchor and headed to Shroud Cay. Unfortunately, the autopilot wouldn’t work and then the engine’s alternator stopped working. We decided to sail past Shroud and go to Waderick Wells Cay instead, thinking we’d have cell service or possibly wifi at Waderick. Well we were somewhat disappointed- we could get a very limited cell signal and were only able to send an email to the autopilot repair guy in Seattle. On our second day at Waderick, Mark figured out what was wrong with the alternator. We had the fan belt break in the engine while crossing to New Providence. Lots of rubber got into the alternator and shut it down. We took the pump for our dinghy and blew out all of the rubber crap and that worked – alternator is working perfectly.

We decided to head to Staniel Cay where we knew we could get cell reception and wifi. We had a nice upwind sail and Mark got the sails balanced so hand steering wasn’t bad. We anchored by the Big Major Spot (where the swimming pigs are) and tried to figure out what was wrong with auto. Well it turns out that the switch and the solenoid for the autopilot were both not working. We had another switch but not a replacement solenoid. Mark has done some bypass surgery and now auto is working again! Yippy – we don’t have to buy a new autopilot!!! Yesterday we also started the water maker and it is working well. So we had a few days of happy repair stories!

We’re hanging out on Staniel Cay today – having some lunch and doing a bit of grocery shopping. We had a day of rain yesterday but today is sunny and hot (sorry). Our next stop is Black Point Harbour!

Well we’ve made it to the northern islands in the Exumas. This first week has been filled with beautiful clear water, sunny skies and a whole lot of wind! January seems to be an unpredictable month down here. One day it’s amazing- sunny, hot and fantastic. The next day there will be winds in the 20 knots and higher and storm clouds can roll in with these high winds.

We left Brown’s Marina in Bimini on Thursday, Jan. 24 with a south east wind (lots of it) and that made it very difficult to get out of the Bimini channel. We were also heading out at low tide (big mistake) and we ran aground many times as we pounded into the incoming waves. All I can say is I hope no one was watching! It took us almost an hour to get away from the channel and into deeper water where we could raise our sails and head north around the island! It was very stressful but we made it and finally got on course to cross the banks heading to Chub Cay. Well the prediction was for the SE winds to change to south and south west but that didn’t happen! We did some hard on the wind sailing and got to within 5 knots of the NW channel (a fairly narrow channel that leads from the banks to the deep waters heading to New Providence) when we decided to stop. We could see lightning in the distance and it was dark so we just dropped anchor in the middle of nowhere! Kind of a crazy feeling but it worked out perfectly.

In the morning, we had a great sail into the west side of New Providence (the island Nassau is on). The winds were from the west and we had an actual “fair wind and following seas” sail! It was marvellous! We anchored in a nice little bay for Friday night and had a good sleep.

Saturday morning brought more wind – lots more wind and again we decided to leave our little bay and head to the northern islands in the Exumas. We made this decision because a very big front was moving in from the Gulf of Mexico (the same front that caused a tornado in Havana) and it was predicted that the northern islands would see less of this front. So off we go into rough seas, high winds and sailing hard on the nose again! It was a fast sail and we made it into Allen’s Cay in the early after.

So here we are – sitting in Allen’s Cay caught between current and wind. We are bouncing and rolling and swinging all over the place but at least our lovely anchor has held fast! Today (Monday, Jan. 28), the front came through and it wasn’t too bad. The prediction was correct – we did see some rain and winds peaking in the 25 knots range. It was all over by mid afternoon and now the winds are dying down.

We have had some excitement at this anchorage. Last night a small sailboat came in and ran aground very close to us. Mark went out on the dinghy and tried to pull them off but it was low tide and it just didn’t work. And today (Monday) another sailboat (38ft monohaul) came into the anchorage. I saw them come in and when I went back up into the cockpit a few minutes later, I couldn’t see them anymore. I figured they left but then we heard a mayday call on the radio. That sailboat was on the rocks in one corner of the anchorage. We got in the dinghy and headed over to them. It was crazy! I’ve never seen a boat on the rocks like that – they had picked up some kind of fender or something. It got hooked on their anchor and then the rope wrapped around their propeller. It was awful. The man was in the water when we got there trying to free his propeller shaft of the rope. He didn’t even have a life jacket on or anything. He wanted us to pull his anchor out into the bay to help him get off but we just couldn’t move his anchor line. After 2 hours of trying to help, we left them there being bashed on the rocks. About 30 minutes after we left, a powerboat from a close marina got them off the rocks and towed them into the marina.

It was a very eye opening experience! We could see this rope around the propeller shaft and knew that if it wasn’t removed, there was no way for that boat to get off of the rocks. But the owner was more concerned about the side of his boat hitting the rocks. I’m sure he was in shock over the whole incident and not really able to think clearly. Lots of people came over to help out which was really cool to see.

So, we’ve had enough excitement and bouncing from this anchorage! Tomorrow we’ll make our way south, heading slowly to George Town! Hopefully the January crazy weather gives way to more settled February weather!

Hope you are all keeping warm and safe!

Wow, what a sail we had from Marathon to Bimini. The wind was good from the south east and once we got into the Gulf Stream, we flew up the coast of Florida. We were expecting to take about 20 hours but we arrived at Bimini less then 18 hours later – unfortunately it was at 2 in the morning. Coming into any port at night is difficult and the entrance to the Bimini Harbour is crazy so we decided to anchor about 2 knots south of the entrance. I’m glad we were only there for 3 hours – the wind picked up a lot and it became super bouncy.

We headed into the harbour at first light and man it was a crazy ride. Wind was up to 25 – 30 knots and we rocked and rolled over some large waves. One rocked us so hard that our dishes came flying out of the cupboard (I forgot to close the sliding door) and I had quite a nasty mess to clean up. It was so nice to reach the calmer waters of the harbour and to get on the dock at Brown’s Marina.

We’ve now cleared in and have wifi working. We had our first rain storm since we returned south and it was big one – lots of thunder at one point. Well at least the boat got all the salt washed off! Mark is working on getting the Bahamian SIM card working so we can use the phone.

Next plan: we’ll stay here at Browns for Monday and then head to Honeymoon Harbour on Tuesday. Winds look good to cross over to Chubb Cay on Thursday and we’ll stay there for Friday and check the weather again. We’re making our way down to George Town to meet up with Caroline (who arrives somewhere around Feb. 19). Now it’s time for bubbly and some dinner 😊😊

After nearly 2 1/2 months, we’re finally on the move! All major jobs have been completed and it’s time to see how everything works.

Burnt Store Marina was an excellent home for us while we worked on the boat. It’s a nice marina with super helpful staff and very friendly neighbours. All this being said, it’s still fabulous to be away from the dock 😊.

We headed out on Monday, Jan. 14 at 8:40 am. Our plan was to sail straight to Marathon (a roughly 24 hour passage). The weather and wind was perfect for us – clear and sunny with winds from the north. We basically sailed the entire way. The moon was up for most of the night which made it really nice for sailing.

We arrived at the Marathon Harbour at 10:30 am Tuesday morning to find their mooring field full with waiting lists!!! So we’ve been anchored outside the harbour (it’s a bit rough and rolly but we’ve anchored in worse spots). The hardest thing to get use to is not having wifi 😉! We’ve spent a fair bit of time in the marina’s common area where there is wifi.

In Sept. 2017, hurricane Irma hit the Keys and you can still see damage from that storm. The marina lost a wooden pier that was used for water and pump out and they had some boat damage in the mooring field. The hospital was badly damaged and is being rebuilt. For the most part, the area looks good but there are lots of wrecked boats around.

The weather has been good with no rain (I just tried a new waterproofing spray for our enclosure and still don’t know if it works!). We’ve been checking the upcoming weather and it looks good to cross over to Bimini (Bahamas) on Saturday, Jan. 19. Our plan now is to set sail early Saturday morning and we should arrive in Bimini Sunday morning. The winds look good and it should be a good crossing.

Next blog post will come from the Bahamas! Yippy!

Time is going by quickly – it’s hard to believe we’ve been down south for 6 weeks! Our boat jobs are moving along. The solar panel is mounted and working well. It’s producing electricity even on cloudy days and keeping our batteries nicely charged. Today we turned on the freezer to give the solar panel a big challenge!

Mark has spent some time doing maintenance on both the main engine and the generator. There are a lot of systems on a boat (we one time counted all the pumps and we have well over 20 different ones!) and each system needs a bit of attention before we head to the Bahamas. We’re picking away at all these jobs while managing to fit in some Christmas shopping!

Speaking of Christmas, the Marina has been ringing in the season with lots of events. We went to an open house at the yacht club – free drinks and food!! There was a golf cart parade – all these golf carts decorated for Christmas (see photos below). Lots of people lined the streets to watch the parade (some with wine and other drinks in hand). And last night, the Marina had a boat decorating contest. Man some people went all out for this event! We walked along the dock and had a good look at the boats – very cool!

We’ll be heading home for Christmas on Dec. 19 and can’t wait to see everyone!

We’ve now been at Burnt Store Marina for a week and we really like it here. This Marina is very different from our east coast experience in 2017. This Marina is very relaxed and there are lots of live aboards here, so we don’t feel like we are all alone. We have some boat neighbours – Ron is on our starboard (right) side. He is from California and has been in Florida for 6 years. Our port (left) neighbour is from Spanish, Ontario and his son will be visiting soon. There are other people on our dock, including a young family who are getting ready to head to the Bahamas.

Boat jobs are continuing. Unfortunately, we’ve had some additions to our list since we launched. Both of our heads (toilets) had leaky handles (now fixed!), we had a problem with the propane system, and our fridge stopped working! Mark has fixed the propane and we are just waiting for the part for the fridge – luckily we had the freezer as our back-up (with a minor issue!).

We have about 3 more weeks here before we head back home for Christmas. Lots of work to do but we are looking forward to seeing everyone!

Well you can probably guess from the title that we have launched and moved to our temporary home, Burnt Store Marina. It’s now been almost 3 weeks since we arrived in Florida and lots has happened in that time. We’ve worked harder in our retirement than we did while working – well physically anyhow.

Our bee situation has been resolved with lots of effort on our part (and a lot of wasp spray). We spent about 3 days hacking away at the hive inside our mast. Mark cut more holes in the mast so we could get a bit better access to the hive. Using some pieces of our old stays, we poked away at the hive until we felt pretty good about the amount of material we’d removed from the mast. The mast was lifted into place on Tuesday, Nov. 20 and when it became vertical, a very large mass of hive fell out onto the ground- yippy for us but not so much for the guy holding our mast. He had beehive all over his shoes!😊

I think I’ve already mentioned that we are replacing our rigging. Mark removed the chainplates (long stainless steel plates that connect the stays to the boat deck) and we took them to the St. Peterburg’s rigger we have been working with to have them recreated. This was supposed to take about 2 days and instead it took 2 weeks!!!! We had to drive up to Clearwater on Tuesday morning to pick up the new chainplates and then install as many as possible so the mast could go back up that afternoon. And of course, it rained – the only rain we’ve had since arriving in Florida – when the deck has holes in it where the chainplates go. But we made it and both the main and mizzen masts are still standing 😉.

So what’s next – we have more rigging to do. The mizzen mast rigging will now be replaced and there are a few rigging parts on the main that need to be replaced. Our new solar panel needs to be installed – very exciting! We also have more boat jobs (the never ending story for a 38 year old boat!) that we will pick away at until we head back home for Christmas. Lots of fun!

It sure is great to be back on the water and living aboard again. Happy days. 🌴⛵️⛵️🌴😁

It’s hard to believe we have only been here for a little over 1 week! A lot has been accomplished in a short time but we still have a ways to go. Our launch date has been moved to Wednesday, Nov. 21 – we just couldn’t get all of the rigging pieces together for our first launch date.

Mark did a great job removing the chain plates from the boat but we are waiting for the new ones to be created. It only took us 2 days to make the new stays for the boat – some are completed but some are waiting for connector pieces. We’ll finish these ones once we have all the parts.

Our bee situation seems to be under control – I decided that we needed to be more aggressive with these guys so we bought some bee/wasp spray and taped up the entire mast. All holes were plugged and taped and it seems to have done the trick. We’re now working at scraping as much of the hive out of our mast as possible – not easy! The mast doesn’t go back up until Nov. 20, so we have some time to continue our battle!

This bee invasion has created quite a mess inside our boat. I have cleaned parts of this boat that I’ve never cleaned before. I’ve washed the little drapes and the cushion covers (thought they would follow apart or shrink, but they didn’t and they look great), plus washed virtually every surface (some much pee poop!). The floors still need to be done but I’m waiting for the installation of the new chain plates to complete this job.

We’ve met some really nice people at the boat storage. It’s a much nicer atmosphere here than on the east coast (we were working in a marina that was mostly power boat for rich people – no one was around). We met a couple from Boston area who are selling their boat and just getting it ready to move up the coast to Sarasota. We met another couple who have an older Whitby 42 (that’s pretty cool) and we’ve compared notes! The yard has been really good to help us with the bees and other things.

The Airbnb we are currently living in is very nice. Lots of room and fairly close to the boat. With the delay of our launch, I had to find another Airbnb to stay in for a week (our current place was booked) and this one is even closer to the boat!

Well, I’ll leave you with some photos of our work over the last week and a photo of Caroline’s art installation at the Warehouse. They had a (maybe) final show last weekend (Nov. 10 ish) that was very successful.