Petit Cay, Berry Islands

We had anchored on the west side of Cistern Cay for protection from east winds after we crossed from Lucaya. At the north tip of these islands is deep water and cruise ships come in and anchor, with the passengers getting a "day ashore" on a tropical island without much commercil facilities. The ships spend the day there, then pull out at night. They look like a city on the water, all lit up. The day we laid over there was wet. I rigged up a funnel to one of the downspouts off the top deck and collected about 5 gallons of fresh water which came in hand to rinse out some clothes and rinse our snorkel gear. It worked amazingly well. Yesterday morning we kayaked over to a "blue hole" at Cistern Cay, not much to see, but a nice beach to explore. We then pulled out and moved to the east side of the Cay, a move of only a mile or so but had to travel 12 miles to get there to go around the shallows. We anchored off Petit Cay for the afternoon and explored the reef there, loads of fish, a grouper I should have speared but no lobsters. we moved closer to the lee shore for the overnight and today will move again south 10-12 miles to Hoffman Cay area. There are a bunch of anchorages there that are supposed to be nice, and a blue hole we can hike to. So far I am really pleased with the kayak. We use it almost every day. It's really a bit quicker on the water than I expected and takes only a minute to convert solo to tandem. The paddles I bought with it are war clubs however. But the price was right and they do the trick for a resistance workout.

Sunrise rainbow at Cistern Cay over the cruise ships

Sunrise at Cistern looking east

Beach near the Cistern Cay blue hole

Thunderheads looking east at Petit Cay sunset

Bow view at anchor Petit Cay

Cruise ships north of the Berry's at anchor

pig tracks and a crab hole

Blooming cactus, ? prickly pear

Berry Islands

Yesterday very early (0230) we departed our anchorage at the Bell entrance to Lucaya/Freeport. The weather window was brief and closed by afternoon and it's about an 8 hour crossing to the Berry Islands. The day before, on Sunday, the Janecek's crossed, and I wasn't ready. It looked like 2-3 foot seas on the nose. I was right. Our crossing was completely uneventful and it's kind of magical at night, looking at the plotter and radar and keeping an eye out for other boats. We had 1-2 foot seas behind us, which is much more comfortable. Cindy slept and I drank coffee. At daybreak, I deployed a couple of lines and as we crossed the break from deep (2000 feet) to shallow (20 feet), picked up a 20# barracuda. Like a big howkie, it is a challenge to get the hook out and kick him back in without getting nailed by his teeth. Anyway, got into a good protected lee part of the island by 1030 for the big winds that kicked up yesterday afternoon. I took the kayak down and got a great paddle in during the afternoon. Today we're going to explore a blue hole and maybe a sunken DC3 aircraft by snorkel then move to the other side of the island tomorrow when the winds will change.

Daddy Brown's Conch Shack at Lucaya

Fish, conch, conch fritters and a conch salad from Daddie Brown. He fried the fish whole.

Beach off our bow at anchor

Looking south from our anchorage

Sunset last evening

Lucaya

The past 5 days we have been at Lucaya, the port area of Freeport. The weather for crossing to the Berry Islands hasn't been prohibitive but there has been lots to do here and it looks like Monday and most of next week will be pretty flat. We have spent some time with the Janecek's. Had happy hour with them and lunch the next day. Yesterday we took the dinghy, long with them, outside the harbor to the next entrance, to the Grand Lucayan Canal, a 7 mile canal that transects Grand Bahama Island. It was dug in the 1960's for the purpose of opening up water access real estate to boost the economy. It didn't work. The canal was completed but the economic downturn in the 1970's blocked the goals. There is big hotel built long it that was never completed and has no windows. Other parts of it are  little spooky with abandoned houses. But it was an interesting side trip. Right now our plan weather permitting is to cross to the Berry's early Monday. It is a 60 mile, 8 hour jaunt south. The wind is supposed to kick up late afternoon on Monday, so we need to leave early, and then it looks like we will get pretty good lee on the west side of the islands. If things go well, will stay there and explore for several days. Boat and equipment is all running great. We hooked up with a different internet access that gives us unlimited data at really good speed, as long as we are within BTC cell tower range and can get their signal, so even when we get to the southern islands we will be able to stream the Wild games.

Taking the dinghy outside for our day trip yesterday. It was pretty rough going east, but the return trip with the wind was great

Jeff and Sally Janecek on the Grand Lucayan Waterwaay

Sunrise at our anchorage

Cindy cooking breakfast while I am watching the news

The Janecek's boat, Adirondak, at their relative's dock

In the Bahamas

Lots has happened over the past 3-4 days, since the last post. We made our way to Fort Pierce and en route fueled up at Vero Beach. Then a couple of hours later anchored at Fort Pierce, a nice quiet anchorage in a busy part of the ICW at Faber Cove. The next day was favorable and went outside to the Lake Worth inlet. The plan was to stay outside as much as possible to avoid the multiple Florida bridges that are low and we can't get under. Most of them open on a schedule, so you have to wait for the opening. After we anchored at Lake Worth, I was doing chores in the engine in anticipation of crossing to the Bahamas in the next week or so when I got a phone call. Jeff Janecek was on the phone. He came into our anchorage and recognized the boat. He is the guy we chartered from in the Apostle Islands 15 years ago. We had emailed back and forth over the years and ran into him last fall coming down the east coast for a few days. It turns out he and his wife were going to cross to the Bahamas the next day, crossing to Grand Bahama Island. Our plan had been to go further south and then cross to Bimini with a good push from the gulf stream. Long story short, he asked if we wanted to buddy boat across with him leaving early and we decided to go for it. We were fueled up, watered up and provisioned up, so at 0430 yesterday morning we left in the dark out the Lake Worth inlet for Freeport. It was an 11 hour transit in 3 foot waves but the boat did fine and stabilizers made it reasonable the whole way despite beam seas. The wrist bands I got Cindy for motion sickness worked great and she did great. We called and got a slip at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club last night to clear in. They have customs and immigration onsite. Got that accomplished and this morning got a good hike in, biked to the BTC Bahamian Telecom Company, got the chip installed in my phone so now we have internet. Our Bahamas cell number is 242-439-9102. The wind is picking up over the next few days from the southeast, which is the direction we want to go, so will sit tight here until it lays down. We left the marina mid day and moved a quarter mile down the waterway inside the barrier beach and are at a pretty nice quiet anchorae to wait out weather. Jeff Janecek is tide up at some shirt tail relative's dock a mile furhter down and will probably get together with them tomorrow for happy hour or dinner or something. It was nice coming across with another boat, giving an additional layer of security. Last year we crossed alone both ways. When the weather allows, will head southeast to the Berry islands.

Flat day on the ocean south of Fort Pierce

Lake Worth inlet-Palm Beach skyline

Our anchorage at Lake Worth. Jeff Janecek's boat is the trawler dwarfed by the cruise ship

Sunrise crossing the gulf stream

Snow Moon view from our anchorage tonight

St. Augustine

We have spent the past couple of days on a mooring ball in St. Augustine. Really like this place and have stayed here in the past. We came down on Tuesday from Sister's Creek with no issues. We had stayed there a couple of nights and Cindy got a run in, I paddled and we got a 13 mile bike ride in to the Kingsley plantation, an historic slave plantation on St. George Island. We left Sister's Creek Tuesday morning. The channel leaving St. John's River into the ICW has been rerouted and we had to pay attention to detail, but there was lots of water. Here in St. Augustine we re provisioned and I went to the West Marine by bike and Cindy got a pretty good run in as well as some laundry. We Uber'd to and from the Walmart with a big load of groceries and beer in anticipation of crossing over to the Bahamas in the next week or so. Still have to get south another couple hundred miles for that. The Uber drive that took us to the Walmart was an interesting experience. He lives at Ormond By The Sea, a community 25 miles south of here. I said I had friends with a condo there and he mentioned he new a couple from Minnesota that were his neighbors, in fact he had dinner with them earlier in the week. He said they were from a small town named Ely. It turns out it was Tom and Becky Wetzel. Cindy and I were good friends with Tom in college and he and his wife were long time patients, and I think I delivered some of their kids. Anyway, it never ceases to amaze me what things pop up when you talk to people. Today we are heading south again, probably to Daytona or further depending on time. Things are going well.

Went into St Augustine, and it started raining hard, so this provided a little refuge

Boat coming through the Bridge of Lions

St. Augustine at dusk

Dolpins riding our wake

View of Sister's Creek from the bridge. The estuary in the distance was a good place to paddle.

Black Creek Anchorage

We are moving down the St. John's. Just above Palatka, we tied up to a free dock on Morrison Island, where there was a wildlife refuge, and some trails to hike. It was an early stop on Friday, and Cindy finished the varnishing, while I caulked the cap rails. It was flat and minimal current so I was able to move the boat enabling me to caulk from the dock. When we finished mid afternoon, we hiked the perimeter trail on the island. Saw birds, but no critters, although could hear things scurrying in the brush and ground cover. Not sure I want to know what they were. This country is a little like Jurassic Park. The late afternoon was notable for the bass boat pro's returning for the weigh in at the end of the day. Cindy looked online and the leader is a Canadian from Ontario. Yesterday the weather turned with a cold front moving through. high was 60 and north wind at 15-20 churning up the river pretty good. Initial plan was to pull over at Green Cove Springs where there is a free dock, water and power, but the slips were full and the wind and waves pushing in there would have made it pretty ugly. So we pushed on another 3 miles to our current anchorage in Black Creek, a tributary of the St. John's about 25 miles above Jacksonville. It was quiet and flat, and got in early enough to watch the Wild beat New Jersey yesterday afternoon and did some inside chores. Today will move on to Sister's Creek on the ICW, and anticipate turning south tomorrow heading for St. Augustine, where we may pull over for a couple of days, grocery up and get ready to head for the Bahamas. It's way to early, but early next week looks like a potential weather window to cross over.
Engine Hours 5325.6
Genset Hours 5699.1 

Train crossing the river

Then they raised the bridge

Undergrowth on Morrison Island

Hanging moss

Our dock at Morrison Island

Bass Pro Rapala Boat. They all had advertising on their sides

These guys drafted us as we went down river into the wind

Bass Tournament

Yesterday morning we left our pleasant quiet anchorage on the upper St. John's and headed north, down river. We accumulated a mass of water hyacinths on the bow overnight. A beautiful cloudless day about 80 degrees and flat water. On the previous trip we had wanted to visit Glen Silver Springs, an artesian formation on the west side of Lake George. The weather was never conducive, but today was perfect. Cindy and I anchored outside the creek a half mile or so and kayked in. The new kayak is going to get a workout. It's not bad, with 2 paddlers, it moves pretty well. The springs were gin clear, as compared to the tannin stained water of the river. The waterway between the springs and the lake was full of pontoons and bass boats, but I didn't think too much of it.
after a paddle around the springs (and getting kicked out of the no paddle zone, there was no sign), we loaded up and headed down river to an anchorage we had liked in the past. Mid afternoon, the bass boats came flying by us for an hour and a half. High speed, guessing 70 mph or so, by the dozens, and all going the same direction, and all with advertising on the sides. Cindy googled it and it was the first day of the Palatka Power Pole bass tournament, and they were all heading for the weigh-in in Palatka. It goes on through the weekend. We had considered stopping at Palatka for a day, but I guess not. Today we'll move just an hour or so to I hope is an open dock at a wildlife refuge on Morrison Island where I can caulk the cap rails and Cindy will put the last coat of varnish on the doors. Mechnically all is going well.

Water hyacinth mass on the bow

Flat day on Lake George

Turkey vulture heaven

These guys flew by most of the afternoon, only the back 2 feet of the boats were in the water

Clear water in the springs

Paddling through the spring entrance

Back on the water

We got back to the boat last Tuesday a week ago, January 29. The trip wa interesting from a weather standpoint. Got a ride to Duluth with Laurie Hall. Sh dropped us off at Barry's where we visited for a couple of hours, then Mike and Shirleen picked us up, went to lunch and then they dropped us off at the airport. The weather was pretty ugly, big northwest winds and temp -20. The flight was delayed to de-ice and then delayed again on landing in Minneapolis, waiting for a gate to open up. Our connection ws tight. The flight attendant gave us good direction to the connecting flights gate and we ran, made it by just a couple of minutes and amazingly so did our luggage.

When we got to the boat, all was well, except for the ongoing midge hatch, which continued from our fall experience. Lots of clean up, and birds et the midges so we had to clean their messes up as well. We had an Enterprise rental for 4 days to provision with. We bought a ton of groceries, beer and tequila in anticipation of heading for the Bahamas over the next several weeks.

Last Friday we took the rental car to Eric and Shawn's new house in Clearwater. We got the tour and went out for supper at a great Mexican place with good beer before returning to the boat in Sanford that night. They have a great pool. It's a nice house.

We have been doing a ton of boat chores and maintenance. I took the alternator to an rebuild shop in Orlando. After three trips, an hour and a half round trip each, got it right and installed. It's charging like it is supposed to. I hosed down the boat a couple of times to get rid of most of the bugs and bird excrement, then sanded and stripped the teak doors to the salon and pilot house. Cindy then varnihed them and the cap rails and all looks beautiful. More importantly they are now better protected. The only remaining issue is our satellite TV receiver. Direct TV insisted w get an updated receiver, but it needs a part to connect to our dish which tracks the satellites as we move. I can order it off Amazon the next time we will be in a marina, and in the mean time, the old receiver works fine.

We ordered an inflatable kayak and yesterday afternoon inflated it and I went for a paddle. It's not what I am used to but will do, and I think it will be great to fish out of. Anyway, we are on the move again and it is nice to be out of the marina and back on the water. Currently about half way between Sanford and Lake George on an obow of the St. John's River all by ourselves, except for the ospreys.
Engine Hours 5311.7
Genset Hours 5690.7

The new kayak

The boat under cover 

Cindy is varnishing cap rails

Duluth airport-the jetway accordian attachment wouldn't connect

Manatees are the shadows in the center
We saw several yesterday