Better Off Left Alone

     Update on the photo uploading issue mentioned in my previous blog entry.  It appears that deep in the bowels of the Google sacred castle, there is a dungeon filled with computer gurus who have decided to reinvent the wheel.  They figured a round wheel can and will be perfected.  The google version of the wheel is shaped like a triangle, and the sudden thud heard around the world was the wheel set into motion and landing on one of its flat sides.  Actually, the noise was from Google falling flat on its face!  Many of Google's blooogers are experiencing the same SNAFU that I have experienced and some have tried to circumvent the issue by taking drastic measures only to be regretting their actions.  Some bloggers claim to have email & Facebook addresses for the powers that be, but it's one of those cases where the lights are on but nobody's home!

     Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Mother Nature has flexed her muscle once again here in Paradise.  Today's forecast is to be followed by 5 more days of the same - windy with passing squalls.  Windy is sustained 20 knots and gusting to 25.  Translation:  not a good idea to dinghy ashore unless you like a salt spray shower.  No problem.  Once you get to shore, the passing rain squall will rinse off the salt.  What about the trip back to the boat?  You catch my drift. These next 5 days will not fall into the category of being 315 days.

     As a counter measure to being "trapped" on the boat for an extended period, I have decided to do absolutely nothing today.  Then, when I am totally bored out of my mind tomorrow, I can start a new book or rebuild a few water pumps, or figure out why our VHF radio transmits but does not receive.  The boat list goes on and on and on and.................  Or I can sit and wait out the weather, just like I'm going to wait for Google to return the blogging world to its normal configuration when it was better off left alone.

Plan B

     I was in the process of uploading 5 new photos for the "Big Run Blog" when I received this notification:

"Whoops! You're out of space. You are currently using 100% of your 1 GB quota for photos.

Photos are stored in your Picasa Web Albums account and are included in your 1 GB free quota for photos. Additional storage you purchase is shared between several Google products and is in addition to your free quota."

     I think it's time to develop a Plan B.

M/V Lady Frances

      This is M/V Lady Frances, hailing from Nassau, Bahamas.  She is the backbone of the outter islands and the lifeline to the civilized world.  In the Bahamas she is quite often called the mail boat.  There are many mail boats in the Bahamas.  Most resemble the Lady Francis.  Although called a mail boat, she carries everything and anything.  Remember there are no roads from there to here.  If you're building a house, the mail boat brought the materials.  If you bought a new car, the mail boat brought it.  When the mail boat arrives it's a social event in Black Point Settlement, everybody comes to the government dock.  We always look forward to the mail boat's arrival for she brings fresh produce.

315 Day

     The Bahamas Meteorology Department boasts that the Bahamas are bathed in sunshine for 315+ days a year, and today was one of those days.  So much so that we have started calling those weather perfect days a "315 day".  

       Today was the first day we were able to get the kayaks down and do some paddling.  Until today, it has been too windy to enjoy a good paddle.  Our trip started at 9:30 this morning after a hearty breakfast pizza Sharon made on the grill.  Yea, I get pizza for breakfast.  Our destination was Jack's Bay Cove, just to the south of Plain Bay at White Point.  From Plain Bay it is a 2.5 mile paddle that took us about 1.5 hours to reach the cove.  A slight breeze pushed us down along the west side of Great Guana Cay giving us an opportunity to view all the creatures lurking in the shallow waters along the edge of the cay.  We did see briefly a loggerhead turtle, but mostly small fish.  This was our first visit for this year to the cove.  Compared to previous visits last year, the cove did experience some beach erosion from Hurricane Sandy and it did have a lot of sea grass deposited on the beach.  The return paddle to Plain Bay has us slipping the head breeze by hugging the cliffs where we did find the cave shown in the photos below.  As we crossed Plain Bay back to Big Run, the head wind did not slow us down.  This was truly a 315 day! 

This cave was big enough to  accommodate 20 kayakers!

Reason To Celebrate

     Early Saturday afternoon we arrived at Black Point Settlement in the Bahamas.  We were quite surprised to find an empty harbor.  The lack of boats here in the Exumas is probably due to it being early in the season, Hurricane Sandy and the persistent blow that has been plaguing the Bahamas since this past Tuesday.  If we didn't have the weather window that we did on Monday and Tuesday, Big Run would still be sitting in Miami. 

     One of the first things we did when we got to Black Point was to launch the dinghy and dinghy over to the government dock so we could go for a walk.  We decided to walk over to the east side of the island and check the beach to see the effects that Hurricane Sandy had on the beaches.  As we walked through the town we noticed that the homes had weathered the hurricane very well.  A few missing shingles but no extensive damage for an area that experienced 105 MPH winds.  The beaches were actually in very good condition also with little or no beach erosion.  Despite the blowing winds and spray from the surf, we did a little beachcoming.  Sharon was on the hunt for sea glass, and I was looking for small pieces of drift wood  and fishing buoy floats.  I found one nice float to add to the S/V Meant To Be collection and we both managed to find  about two handfuls of nicely  "polished" sea glass.

     On the bright side of all these winds is that our wind generator is producing electricity very nicely, thank you very much. Before retiring each night I check the battery charge state.  Last night it was minus 60 amp hours.  This morning when I checked the batteries it was minus 67 amp hours.  In 9 hours we had a deficit of 7 amp hours.  Thanks to the new refrigeration system and some stout winds we have reason to celebrate.

The Bahamians love to express themselves with brilliant colors.  (Black Point Settlement)

    

Stay

    Our first year in the Bahamas, we were given 30 days on our cruising permit at the Bimini Immigrations Office and spent the last 10 days of that initial permit trying to get an extension, which we did receive while in Georgetown.  Last year, our second trip to the Bahamas I sweet-talked the young lady at the Bimini Immigrations Office into giving us 120 days.  We also needed to get an extension for that permit because our transmission died  when we were attempting to cross the Tongue Of The Ocean while heading back to the United States.  This year, our first time checking in at Nassau, the officials, one customs agent and one immigration agent, came to the boat at the marina and granted us 180 days.  They don't want us to leave; we may have to stay!

Diesel Engine

       Last Thursday, as Sharon and I studied the latest weather forecast we noticed a weather window of opportunity for Monday and Tuesday to cross over to the Bahamas.  All of our sources confirmed the same prediction, low winds.  Low winds translate into a good sea state for Big Run.  Usually, we don't give any credence to weather predictions over 2 days out, but we still had to prepare.  Thursday afternoon I started  doing maintenance work when I noticed our water maker was throwing a hissy fit.  After a few phone calls to the local watermaker dealer and Rick (M/V Broulee), we decided to head north back to West Palm Beach area where a very reputable watermaker dealer is located.  Well, there goes the crossing opportunity out the window.  As we traveled north I worked the phones and was able to get a different dealer in Ft. Lauderdale to look at the watermaker on Saturday.  What was thought to be catastrophic failure may have been operator error.  Chalk that one up to the learning curve.  We did manage to salvage the trip to Ft. Lauderdale by buying diesel fuel from Peterson's Fuel Barge for $.50 a gallon cheaper than the marinas' advertised price in Miami

      Back in Miami on Sunday and all was a go for a crossing Monday morning for the weather window got even better.  Monday morning the anchor was hauled by 6:10 a.m. Last year we hauled the anchor by 4 a.m.  But this year was going to be different.  Last year we traveled to Bimini and checked in.  This year our plans was to do an overnight crossing to Nassau.  Travel time was estimated to be 26 hours.

Inbound freighter as we exit government cut in Miami.

      Just after exiting government cut in Miami, the Coast Guard announced they were closing government cut due to inbound cruise ships, a common practice by the USCG and without warning.  We cleared that obstacle by 5 minutes.  One hour into our journey we found ourselves in the grip of the Gulf Stream.  The Gulf Stream is a northbound flow of water in the Florida Straits.  When you have any winds with a northerly component, the Gulf Stream can get a little bumpy but today it was very manageable.  So, between a strong drift north by the current and the northwest breeze, our first 20 miles were a little bit of a challenge.  Six hours into the crossing both the current and sea state started to relax its grip on Big Run.  By 2 p.m., we had crossed the Florida Straits and were just south of Bimini on the The Great Bahama Bank.  For the next 9 hours we experienced almost dead flat calm conditions, barely a ripple on the water as we crossed the bank.  In the photo below you'll notice a near "lost horizon" condition, where the horizon between the water and sky merge to the point of being invisible.

Traveling the The Great Bahama Bank, twenty miles from anywhere, a weary traveler takes a rest on our pulpit.

     By 11 p.m. we arrived at the Northwest Channel, the upper reach of the Tongue Of The Ocean. This was our next crucial point in time. The Tongue Of The Ocean has been our second arch nemesis, next to the Albermarle Sound in North Carolina.  As we entered the deep water of the Northwest Channel, we found that the water had been tamed by the lack of winds.  Again, dead flat calm conditions.   We felt like we were in a dream, perfect conditions for Big Run. No hobby horsing by the bow of the boat, no pitching side to side as the boat was rolled by beam seas.  What a ride!  Conditions were so good we had to throttle back so as not to arrive at the Nassau marina before they opened.  This was the ultimate crossing.  As a matter of fact, from the time we entered the Great Bahama Bank to the entrance to Nassau Harbour, the only way you could tell the boat was moving was by the low rumbling sound of Big Run's diesel engine.

Sunrise on The Tongue Of The Ocean.  Note the inbound cruise ship on the left heading for Nassau Harbour on the right.

The old and the new.  Lighthouse at Nassau Harbor entrance overshadowed by Atlantis looming in the background.

A Crowning Moment

      Enough is enough.  It's time to get out of dodge, or in this case, West Palm Beach, Florida.  By this time on Sunday, Sharon and I had enough of marina life.  But there was one problem.  The weather in central Florida is still being influenced by Hurricane Sandy, and the cold front that kept Sandy out of Florida.  Since late Saturday, the winds have been pounding Big Run on the port beam with 20-25 MPH winds sustained.  We had to secure Big Run in the slip with two more lines, for a total of 12 lines.  With the winds on the port beam, it was going to be difficult to back Big Run out of the slip.  If we were to attempt to release from the dock in a haphazard fashion, the winds would have slammed Big Run into the pilings on the starboard side.  Sunday was spent preparing to leave the marina on Monday morning when we anticipated light winds early in the morning just before sunrise.  Another challenge caused by Sandy was the extreme high tides.  Sunday morning the water was over the docks.  Monday morning's high tide was predicted for 9 a.m.  Early Sunday afternoon, during low tide, we managed to get off the boat.  Sharon went to the office to pay the bill while I disconnected the utilities - electric, water and cable.  We also had to reconfigure all the dock lines.  The bow lines, which had been set up for the strong northerly winds on Friday, were changed over to single lines.  The port bow had been secured with triple lines, and the starboard bow was double for the storm.  Once converted, all the lines were set up for quick release from on the boat for Monday morning as we would not be able to get off of the boat due to high tide.  By 3 p.m. all of the preparations were made for Monday morning.

     We were that anxious to get out of the marina, we didn't need an alarm clock Monday morning and were up by 6:30 a.m.  We discussed our plan and set the wheels in motion at 7:00, just barely enough light to see the channel out of the marina back onto the ICW.  Our plan was to remove all dock lines on the starboard side of the boat.  Then, slowly work the boat back an extra 10 feet by pulling on the port stern line and then letting out some slack on the port bow line.  Once we had the boat moved back as far as possible, we had to release the one all important line, the port midship line which keep us tight to the port side pilings.  Once the midship line was release, we had to work quickly.  On cue, I released the bow line, and simultaneously Sharon released the port midship line while maintaining tension on the port stern line.  I quickly went to the pilothouse to put the transmission in reverse.  As designed, the lines released, and Big Run very gracefully backed out of the slip without leaning on or rubbing a piling while the winds were blowing at 20 MPH on the port beam.  As I continued to back Big Run away from the marina, Sharon was responsible to retrieve the dock lines that had released from their dock cleats and pilings and fell into the water.  Although the lines were still attached to the boat, Sharon had to accomplish her mission quickly to keep the lines from fouling the prop.  By 7:10 a.m. we had Big Run turned around and heading out the channel towards the ICW.  Thanks to some creative docking line design we looked like we knew what we were doing.  Too bad nobody was watching.  Definitely a crowning moment. 

Tired Of Waiting

      "If you're waiting on me you're wasting time".  This is something I have told Sharon on a few occasions.  I'm always ready.  For the last 5 days I have been waiting on a woman, not Sharon but Sandy.  For the last 5 days we have been wasting time in a marina in West Palm Beach, Florida.  It all started last Saturday or Sunday when a yet to be named unorganized cluster of storm cells reared their ugly heads into a tropical depression well south of Jamaica.  At this point in time we were moving south on the ICW through Florida.  On Monday, as the predictions started leaning on a northerly track, we called the marina that we had previously booked for Wednesday night for other reasons, plan A.  The marina said they had a slip for us if we decided to come in on Tuesday.  Our original plan, Plan A, was to stay at the marina Wednesday night, go to the U.S. Customs & Immigrations Office on Thursday morning for our Local Boaters Option (LBO) interview and leave late Thursday morning for points south, Miami.  The LBO is a program designed to reduce the amount of hoops we, as boaters, experience when we return to the U.S. from foreign waters.  More on that next Spring when we return from the Bahamas; back to Plan B.  Late Tuesday afternoon we arrived at the marina, after the office staff had left but a few dock workers stayed on to catch our lines.  On Wednesday, Sharon went to the office to do an official check in when she was informed that if the winds from the storm exceeded 45 MPH sustained, the marina GM would shut down the marina and all boats would have to leave.  Now think about that decision, the storm is approaching, the winds would be at 45 MPH sustained, probably gusting to 60 and I would have to leave the marina when the GM orders us out.  In your dreams!  Fortunately for the GM, the winds never reached 45 sustained or I would have had to break the GM's little stone cold heart and stay nicely tied up to a rock solid concrete dock.  Friday was a day mainly spent in the pilothouse watching the events of the storm unfold around us.  One boat broke free from its mooring and drifted towards the marina but was snagged by a anchor line that the owner of a large catamaran had deployed to keep his boat from pounding the dock because of the northerly winds.  That was the highlight of the day as the owner of the drifting boat and the marina's dockmaster went diving to free the boat from the anchor line.  The boat was freed from the anchor line and was never seen again.   Rain squall after rain squall came through the area, the winds reached 40 MPH sustained with gust to 55 MPH. The eye of the storm passed 190 miles to the east of us on Friday.  Today, Saturday, Hurricane Sandy is on her way north, but I find myself still having to wait as her winds continue to buffer us from the west.  This is our third hurricane while on the boat.  There was Hurricane Earl in 2010, Hurricane Irene in 2011 and now, Hurricane Sandy in 2012.  For Hurricane Irene we were on the hook and the other two hurricanes were rode out in marinas.

     The eye of Hurricane Sandy passed just to the south and east of our cruising grounds in the Bahamas, the Exumas.  We did hear from Frank and Peg, who have a home at our favorite Bahamian anchorage,  They are doing well and everybody is okay.  They did experience 105 MPH winds and their home was not damaged.  Now, if we can get rid of Sandy I'm ready to get back on track.  I'm tired of waiting.

Weather Window

     The last sixteen days were spent in Brunswick, GA with Ken & Cindy (S/V Meant To Be).  We were anchored just a short dinghy ride from their waterfront home which includes a deep water dock for their catamaran and a dinghy dock for us.  When we weren’t busy with happy hours, dinner parties, dining out or going to the county fair, we were busy working!  I was waiting for teak deck seam caulk and because the manufacturer botched the next day air shipping, I had plenty of time to help Ken with his projects.  It felt good to be doing house projects but not as good as not having a house and not having to do house projects all year long.  No more owning a house, our next home will be a condo where the landlord takes care of the all problems.  Ken and I did finish a screening project he had started earlier for the screened-in covered porch.  We even had time to work on some of Ken’s boat projects.  One of the boat projects was to add 165 feet of chain rode to the catamaran’s existing chain rode.  Now, the catamaran has an all chain rode of over 300 feet.  I wish Big Run had the same, you never know when you’ll need it.  Sharon volunteered to work at the local humane society where Cindy also volunteered.  Sharon had the opportunity to walk as many dogs as she wanted, but was given strict orders that she could not keep any of them.  Sharon also helped Cindy with a dock decorating project.  Cindy wanted to use the fishing buoys to decorate the dock with what she had found while beachcombing in the Bahamas.  We knew of the project and decided to contribute all the fishing buoys we had stashed in Big Run’s lazarette.

     It was great time, thanks Ken & Cindy,  but it was time to move on.  We did make plans to reunite with Ken & Cindy in the Bahamas, probably at our favorite anchorage, Plain Bay.  Until then, our next destination is Miami and South Beach.  We’ll hang out there waiting to cross over to the Bahamas, but we’ll have to wait for a good weather window.

"Farewell till we meet again dinner" at Driftwood Bistro on Jekyll Island, Ga.  Left to Right - Sharon, Ken & Cindy (S/V Meant To Be) & Bob.   "Flip that Fish"!

Brunswick, GA

     In celebration of our reunion with Ken & Cindy (S/V Meant To Be), Mother Nature provided us with a spectacular "event" over Brunswick, GA.

Swimming Lessons

     After 8 glorious days on the Waccamaw River at Butler Island, we slowly made our way south to Cumberland Island, another one of our favorite ICW stops.  As with previous stops, we have made numerous hikes through the live oaks and on the beach.  I have often wondered what live oaks are called when they die off - Firewood!  Back to the business at hand.  One of the many benefits of Cumberland Island has been the wildlife.  This year has not been a disappointment with the wild horses, turkey and other creatures.  Yesterday was quite a surprise for us as we sat on the boat watching the tide go out, very much like watching paint dry.  Except this paint drying episode had a twist to it.  To the west of our anchorage is a shoal that at low tide is exposed.  At half tide I kept looking over at a formation on the shoal.  Although partially submerged, it kept my interest.  As the tide receded even more, I was drawn into a curious mode and would scan it more regularly with the binoculars.  Although it was only 150 yards from the boat, I was not able to get a good view because of the way the object was laying.  The key word here is laying.  Finally at low tide, when the object was fully exposed I discovered it was an alligator laying on the shoal.  It appeared to have something in its mouth.  Then, all of a sudden as on cue, with a violent lift of its head and partially opening of its jaws repeatedly, the alligator started to swallow its prey.  We could not decide what the alligator was having for lunch but inquiring minds wanted to know.  Off to the dinghy for a closer look.  As I was getting into the dinghy, the alligator must have caught wind of my plans and slowly lumbered into the water.  I was able to get the dinghy close to the alligator, about 30 yards, but I don't think the alligator appreciated my interruption of its lunch and just stared at me.  I slowly backed off and returned to the boat but not before getting a few decent pictures of the alligator in the water.  Cancel today's swimming lessons.

Basking in the sun while savoring lunch

Still working on swallowing lunch, gator needed something to wash lunch down.

The partially open mouth convinced me to back off.

Cumberland Island, GA

Sunset at.....

The Waccamaw River

Sunset on...........