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| Date |
Day |
Miles |
Hrs. |
Speed |
Arrival
Port |
Comments |
Departed |
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Coral Bay, St. John, USVI |
Departure Port |
5/24/02 |
| 5/24/02 |
Fri |
18.3 |
2.9 |
6.4 |
Crown Bay, St. Thomas, USVI |
Seas
at our back, pleasant jibsail. Took on fuel (61 gal/$103). Recharged
fridge. Started provisioning.
Only challenge…walking four dogs in a crowd. |
|
| 5/25/02 |
Sat |
|
|
|
|
Provisioning. |
5/26/02 |
| 5/26/02 |
Sun |
18 |
3.0 |
6.0 |
At Sea |
Cleaning and prep. Friend Carl Mittelstadt
arrived at 20:00 and we set sail an hour later. Weather calm and
evening
pleasant.
Hoisted the spinnaker. Shortly after that we snagged a trapline
and float. Decided to wait until daybreak to remove it. An hour
later we were approaching a storm front so I went forward to douse
the spinnaker. Before I could it ripped loose from a gust and fell
in the sea. 45 minutes later we had it aboard and stowed. Hell
of a night so far. |
|
| 5/27/02 |
Mon |
154 |
24.0 |
6.4 |
At Sea |
Seas and winds remaining favorable.
After daybreak we hove to and I donned a snorkel to remove the
fouled line. The seas were rough but I was able to cut it loose
and use engines again. We had London broil for dinner. Mmmmm. |
|
| 5/28/02 |
Tue |
152 |
24.0 |
6.3 |
At Sea |
No disasters. All is calm but rolly.
Lasagna for dinner. Mmmm again. |
|
| 5/29/02 |
Wed |
90 |
14.0 |
6.4 |
Grand
Turk, Turks & Caicos |
Arrived
in Grand Turk on a lovely afternoon. Total voyage from St. Thomas
414 miles and 65 hrs. Anchored off
the South Dock and went in to clear C&I.
Afterwords, we returned to anchor off the Town Dock. Dinner was
ashore at the
tiny, local little Poop Deck. Chicken and peas and rice. |
|
| 5/30/02 |
Thu |
|
|
|
|
Explored
Grand Turk by foot and scooter. Lots of trash but extremely friendly
people. Lunch at Conch Café.
Delicious. 3rd wedding anniversary dinner at Turks Head Inn. |
|
| 5/31/02 |
Fri |
|
|
|
|
Freezer
pump died so I substituted the starboard AC pump. Dove the Amphitheatre
with Oasis Divers
while Carl snorkeled it. Beautiful wall and coral, though few fish.
Dove to 80 feet but averaged around 50. Followed by appetizers
at Conch Café and steaks aboard. |
6/1/02 |
| 6/1/02 |
Sat |
78 |
12.0 |
6.5 |
Providenciales,
Turks & Caicos |
Early start for Provo as it is a long
cruise. Weather nice and arrived in time to get a guide into the
marina. Tough getting in touch with anyone due to the Queen's Golden
Jubilee celebration. Topped off fuel tanks for voyage north. Tricky
docking due to wind and dock configuration but ended up fine. Dinner
at the newly refurbished Tiki Hut. Great cracked conch. |
|
| 6/2/02 |
Sun |
|
|
|
|
Had great cracked conch at Sharkbites
and then strolled into town. Once there we rented a Swift for the
day. Explored Provo. Beautiful new homes along the southwest beaches.
Chalk Sound was gorgeous. Overall, central Provo was poor and trashy,
but the perimeter was becoming upscale. Leeward Marina looked like
good spot to anchor out but not to dock. |
|
| 6/3/02 |
Mon |
|
|
|
|
Chilled out today. More cracked conch.
Up the mast for some repairs. Cleaned and stowed the spinnaker |
|
| 6/4/02 |
Tue |
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Carl flew home today. Back to just
the Captain and the Haley girls. |
6/5/02 |
| 6/5/02 |
Wed |
57.2 |
9.3 |
6.2 |
Mayaguana, Bahamas |
Snaked
our way out of Turtle Cove by first light. Great winds and seas.
Making great time until I discovered
the port prop shaft had come out of the coupling. Knowing I would
need both engines to maneuver inside Abraham Bay I hove to in the
bight of Mayaguana and dove to push it back in while Katreena guided
it. Back in business. Unfortunately, arrived in Abraham Bay too
late for C&I. Three other boats on a flotilla anchored nearby
but left at first light. |
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| 6/6/02 |
Thu |
|
|
|
|
Started
trying to clear C&I at
0900 with a 30 minute dinghy ride to town. Told I needed to bring
Katreena. Went back and fetched her and was told the administrator
was visiting her other offices. Strolled into town, being devoured
by mosquitos, to find gas. Cap Brown parted with 2 gallons for
$10. Went back to L. Moon. Returned at 1400 and got my clearance
papers. Took the pups to the beach for a quick play and back aboard
for steaks. |
6/7/02 |
| 6/7/02 |
Fri |
56.8 |
9.2 |
6.2 |
Atwood Harbour, Acklins Island, Bahamas |
Left at first light. Winds almost non-existent
so motorsailed. Hovered at entrance to bay awaiting rain to stop
for visibility. Navigated trhough the reef to a gorgeous and secluded
bay. Took the pups to a lovely beach. They loved it and played
until whipped. Coco proved to be quite the water dog and Callie
tried to dig a hole to China. |
6/8/02 |
| 6/8/02 |
Sat |
65.4 |
10.9 |
6.0 |
Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas |
Left at first light to a beautiful
sunrise. Again, no wind. So the diesel sails are doing all the
work. Flying Fish Marina is open and available so we grabbed a
slip for a couple of nights. New and quiet marina with nice facilities.
Great local dinner at Harbour Rest. |
|
| 6/9/02 |
Sun |
|
|
|
|
Freezer defrost, laundry, cleaning
and generally lazy Sunday. Gray and drizzly. |
6/10/02 |
| 6/10/02 |
Mon |
31.4 |
5.0 |
6.3 |
Rum Cay, Bahamas |
Fueled up (34 gal) and departed for
Rum Cay. Drizzly and cloudy, seas at our back. Hooked a mighty
dolphin and lost it at the sugarscoop. Arrived Sumner Point Marina,
docked alongside. Strolled into Port Nelson with pups but eaten
alive by skeeters. Elegant dinner, as usual, at SPM; only guests.
|
6/11/02 |
| 6/11/02 |
Tue |
20.2 |
3.0 |
6.7 |
Conception Island, Bahamas |
Wind and seas at our backs, motorsailed
with jib to great speeds. Caught a nice blackfin tuna (8-10 lbs)
just outside Conception Island. Beautiful sanctuary. A handful
of other boats. Took pups ashore for serious playing. Seared tuna
with wasabe for dinner. |
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| 6/12/02 |
Wed |
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Lazy day. Dinghied in rough seas to
enter the mangrove creeks. Pretty but little life, until we saw
an eagle and an egret, and a couple of rays scurrying about. Otherwise,
lounged aboard and barbequed some chicky for dinner. |
6/13/02 |
| 6/13/02 |
Thu |
40.4 |
5.9 |
6.9 |
New Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas |
Wind and seas at our backs, motorsailed
with jib to great speeds. Easy anchorage, once again the only boat
in sight. Strolled ashore; tidy, quiet village under the highest
point in the Bahamas. Nowhere to dine so back aboard. |
6/14/02 |
| 6/14/02 |
Fri |
35.7 |
5.2 |
6.9 |
Little San Salvador, Bahamas |
Got lucky again. No cruise ships. Anchored
pretty close in (bumped the bottom at low tide). Took the pups
ashore for playtime. |
6/15/02 |
| 6/15/02 |
Sat |
41.9 |
6.3 |
6.7 |
Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas |
Caught
a lovely dolphin (25lbs...no, no, had to be more like 50, maybe
even 100; had to rig a block
and tackle on the boom to hoist it! Well, it looked bigger...).
Had a close encounter with the Grand Princess cruise ship (politely
radioed
their intention).
Windy
and rolly
in the
anchorage.
Strolled
to the "ocean hole" inland salt lake, dined at Sammy's
and added some groceries. |
6/16/02 |
| 6/16/02 |
Sun |
31.2 |
5.0 |
6.2 |
Alabaster Bay, Eleuthera, Bahamas |
Attempted
to find a suitable mooring in Governor's Harbour. No such luck
and blowing too hard for this
anchorage so moved on to Plan B. Alabaster Bay is a lovely spot
and, surprise, has a new, small resort called Cocodimama ("Mama's
Boy" in Italian according to owner Enrico). Walked the little
ones ashore and finished with an incredible dinner ashore. |
6/17/02 |
| 6/17/02 |
Mon |
36.5 |
5.3 |
6.8 |
Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, Bahamas |
Shallow motorsailing. Feared timing
Current Cut for too much head current but only lost 1.5 knots transiting.
Topped off our tanks (17.6 Port, 25.8 Stbd) and tied up for the
night at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. |
|
| 6/18/02 |
Tue |
|
|
|
|
Took the Fast Ferry to Harbour Island
for $20/ea round trip. Beautiful cruise through the Devil's Backbone
and nice stroll through Dunmore Town. Lunch at Harbour Island Marina
and back to LM. |
|
| 6/19/02 |
Wed |
|
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|
Was going to leave at 0700 but decided
to see how a new tropical wave fares. Did boat maintenance inside
while it stormed ferociously outside. |
6/20/02 |
| 6/20/02 |
Thu |
52.5 |
8.0 |
6.6 |
Little Harbour, Great Abaco, Bahamas |
Still
a bit stormy but decided to head out anyway. Had Ansel Roberts
come aboard to pilot us past the
reefs ($30+). He's a 3rd generation Spanish Wellsian and had some
great tales to tell. Seas were pretty rough abeam but the weather
improved as we drew north. Barely got over the channel into Little
Harbour (inches under the keel) and took a mooring. Enjoyed the "show" while
a couple of power boats missed moorings, lost boat hooks and wrapped
dinghy painters around their props. Cheeseburgers at Pete's Pub. |
|
| 6/21/02 |
Fri |
|
|
|
|
Took the pups into the Bight of Old
Robinson for shallow water playing. Back to L. Moon for baths.
Coconut conch at Pete's and dinner aboard. |
6/22/02 |
| 6/22/02 |
Sat |
13.5 |
2.0 |
6.8 |
Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco, Bahamas |
High tide gave us better clearance
outbound. Easy cruise north to Marsh Harbour. Confusion at Boat
Harbour Marina regarding our reservation, but tucked us against
a T-dock in tight quarters. Puppy walks, provisioning and dining
ashore. |
|
| 6/23/02 |
Sun |
|
|
|
|
Overcast; good day for boat cleaning,
puppy washing and laundry. Friend Mike Czysz flew in from San Diego
to join for the final legs of the journey to Florida. |
6/24/02 |
| 6/24/02 |
Mon |
4.6 |
0.8 |
6.1 |
Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas |
Easy pick of a mooring in the back
of the bay. Nice, clear day. Dinghied in and strolled the village.
Lunch at Abaco Beach Inn and dinner at Harbour View Restaurant. |
6/25/02 |
| 6/25/02 |
Tue |
10.7 |
1.6 |
6.7 |
Great Guana Cay, Abacos, Bahamas |
Nice stroll about the island, great
lunch at Nippers. Brought Honey along for nostalgia. Strolled to
the sunset resort for cocktails and found it had been devastated
in Hurricane Floyd. They were still serving drinks but it was a
shambles. Had plans to dine there but dined aboard instead. |
6/26/02 |
| 6/26/02 |
Wed |
3.0 |
0.5 |
6.4 |
|
Moved along to Bakers Bay. Great day
of beachcombing and starfish hunting. Explored the remains of the
old cruiseship village. No facilities here so all meals aboard. |
6/27/02 |
| 6/27/02 |
Thu |
19.2 |
3.0 |
6.4 |
Manjack Cay, Abacos, Bahamas |
Very few boats this visit. Anchored
near the shipwrecks and explored the creeks. The boats were all
gone from the inland marina. Played tag with a small ramora while
checking the anchor. |
6/28/02 |
| 6/28/02 |
Fri |
13.0 |
2.0 |
6.5 |
Spanish Cay, Abacos, Bahamas |
Upscale (expensive) new marina and
restaurant. Good lunch and dinner. Rented a golf cart and explored
the island.
Pretty much unchanged. |
6/29/02 |
| 6/29/02 |
Sat |
43.9 |
6.5 |
6.8 |
Great Sale Cay, Bahamas |
Pleasant sail though mostly windless.
Anchored with a half dozen boats and enjoyed the sunset. |
6/30/02 |
| 6/30/02 |
Sun |
47.8 |
7.0 |
6.8 |
Old Bahama Bay, Grand Bahama, Bahamas |
OBB Marina jam-packed. Had to hover
in the basin awaiting a slip assignment. Local friend Reg Smith
took us to dinner at a distant restaurant, the Bonefish. Good dinner. |
|
| 7/1/02 |
Mon |
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Explored OBB and West End. Reg tracked
us down and took us to Freeport. Did some shopping but then the
skies opened up. We had lunch at Pusser's Pub and Reg started a
tour of Freeport, but the torrential rains cut it short. Dinner
at OBB. |
7/2/02 |
| 7/02/02 |
Tue |
60.0 |
9.5 |
6.3 |
West Palm Beach, Florida |
Easy,
lazy cruise across the Stream. Almost no wind, saw at least a
dozen boats heading East. Tucked
into Palm Harbor Marina. Stateside again. Doug & Deb joined
us and we went to Outback for dinner. |
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| 7/3/02 |
Wed |
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Mike headed to the airport and we explored
Climatis street. The gang showed up and we went shopping with the
Garcia family; the boys (Doug, David, Pat) went shooting while
the girls (Deb, Glenna,
Barbara, Katreena)
went to the new City Place shopping center. |
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| 7/4/02 |
Thu |
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The Garcia clan cruised Honey Moon
to PHM and tied up next to L. Moon. We explored the exhibits, dined
at Tony Bahamas and then watched a great fireworks show from the
foredeck of LM. |
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| 7/5/02 |
Fri |
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More shopping, playing and laziness. |
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| 7/6/02 |
Sat |
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Great
cookout at Doug & Deb's.
The pups played their little tails off on the sandspit. Nice, lazy
day. |
7/7/02 |
| 7/7/02 |
Sun |
41.2 |
7.8 |
5.3 |
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
Lost the port shaft coupling once again,
just after clearing the Flagler Bridge. Anchored out and repaired
it, not getting underway until after 10:00. Rough, rainy cruise
north against the Stream. Dodged sportfisherman and dive boats.
Realized I wouldn't arrive before the marina closed so I tried
to hail them by VHF and cellphone. No luck. Ended up grabbing a
mooring by the Las Olas Bridge. |
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| 7/9/02 |
Tue |
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Rented a car and did some shopping. |
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| 7/10/02 |
Wed |
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Pups
got a professional grooming today and then we headed back to
the Garcia's for a "pewter party".
The girls did their party while the boys went to the Ale House
for grub and grog. |
|
| 7/11/02 |
Thu |
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A little more shopping and exploring.
Dropped off the spinnaker for repairs. |
7/12/02 |
| 7/12/02 |
Fri |
57.9 |
10.2 |
5.7 |
Barnes Sound, Florida Keys |
Nice day for a cruise, sunshine and
breeze. Sailed outside and down to Biscayne Channel. Saw a baby
sea turtle swimming out to sea off Hallandale. Cruised by Stiltsville,
down Biscayne Bay, under the Card Sound Bridge (cleared again!)
and anchored off of the Crocodile Sanctuary on Key Largo. Nice
sunset and pleasant evening, except for nasty horseflies attacking
with a vengeance. |
7/13/02 |
| 7/13/02 |
Sat |
49.6 |
7.5 |
6.6 |
White Sands, Grassy Key, Florida
Keys |
Another pleasant day. Cruised down
to Islamorada, anchored off Lorelei's and had lunch with St. John
friends Dan and Mary Davis and her brother/sil. Back aboard and
into White Sands.
Med-moored to our own dock. Home, sweet, home. |
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| 7/14/02 |
Sun |
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L. Moon is sitting higher on her lines
as I offload the goods of passage. |
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| 7/15/02 |
Mon |
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More offloading...how did we end up
with this much stuff? |
7/16/02 |
| 7/16/02 |
Tue |
15.5 |
2.4 |
6.5 |
Marathon, Florida Keys |
Cruised
out the Seven Mile Bridge and into LM's temporary home at Marathon
Marina. Journey's end…until
the next one. |
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