Catching Up

The past couple of weeks have been wonderful. We hosted Amie’s parents, Marmar and Farfar for 10 days over the holidays, and we had a blast. The girls were so happy to have their grandparents, and Marmar and Farfar were such great guests. We picked them up from Norman’s Cay on the 22^nd, and they brought over 50 lbs of food! They also managed to pack a ton of Santa’s presents into their bags and spoiled us rotten. We stayed in Norman’s through Christmas with a bunch of our friends on other boats. In the afternoon of the 25^th we all gathered at a beautiful beach for a potluck. It was definitely a different Christmas, but an incredible one as well.

On the 26^th we headed down to Hawksbill Cay with s/v Sheila. After setting the hook before lunch, we spent the afternoon exploring the reefs on the south side. Hawksbill is inside the Land and Sea Park, so no fishing. On the 27^th we continued on down to Staniel Cay for some provisioning.  We explored Thunderball Grotto with Marmar and Farfar on the 28^th, and then sailed about 10 miles south to another settlement, Black Point. Black Point is the second largest settlement in the Exumas, but that is not saying much – its year round inhabitants probably do not count more than 300. We found its reputation as a great place for cruisers to be absolutely true. The Islanders are incredibly friendly, and supplies are reasonably priced. The infamous breads baked by Lorraine’s mother were superb!

On the 29^th we sailed a bit further south to Jack’s Bay and spent the 30^th even further south at Oven Rock. Both offered us solitude and beautiful beaches to explore. Oven Rock also boasts a cool cave that we hiked to, and we managed to spear one lobster and a bunch of lionfish. On the 31^st we sailed north again back to Staniel to prepare for Marmar and Farfar’s departure the next morning. Staniel was crowded with megayachts and we chose to stay on the boat for a quiet night to ring in the New Year. Everyone on board was asleep well before midnight.

The girls both wailed (literally…passersby were concerned) for half an hour after Marmar and Farfar’s plane disappeared into the clouds. We had such fun with them. We returned to Momo and did some organizing before pulling anchor to head south again to Black Point. We knew there was a cruising regatta going on that day at Staniel but neither Amie nor I was too excited to race as we were still wrapped up in the sadness of saying goodbye to Marmar and Farfar. However, our course to Black Point took us right by the committee boat, and at the last moment we veered course to ask when the start was. “The sequence starts in 10 minutes….please join us!” they shouted back.  If this trip has taught us anything, it has shown us that sometimes incredible experiences happen when you least expect them. “Ok, we are in!” we replied. Our dinghy was still towing behind Momo so we frantically stowed in on deck and made preparations below for the race. The race committee was gracious enough to delay the starting sequence a few minutes and we just barely had our act together when the gun went off. We managed a decent start and by the second buoy had worked our way into the lead, but as the race went on we were gradually passed by faster boats. We crossed the line 6^th out of 17, which felt pretty good considering we entered at the last minute, were the only boat with kids, and one of 2 that was crewed by just a couple.. It turned out this was the 40^th Anniversary Regatta, which is a big deal on Staniel. The locals put on a big sit-down dinner, and because we raced, we were invited for free. The food was delicious but nothing compared to the charm and graciousness of the local people and the community. The entire day was one of our highlights of the trip so far, and we are so glad we changed our plans and decided to participate.

This morning we fulfilled our plans to make it to Black Point, and it turns out everyone else did as well. When we arrived at 0930 there were 20 boats here. The sun is now setting and we just counted over 50.  

Momo crossing the finish line

Santa brought the girls wetsuits.

Scouty showing off her muscles.

Marmar in glassy conditions on the bank.

The past 10 days in the Exumas have been truly amazing. We have had very spotty internet and although we have written a few updates, we have not had enough of a connection to post, until tonight. They all seem somewhat outdated so we will attempt to hit some highlights and put up some pictures. 

We (and s/v Sheila) sailed across Yellow Bank to Allan's Cay the day after we cleared customs and immigration in Nassau. We had a wild night as a front came through with gusts to 40 and boats swinging all over the place in the anchorage. We had to keep an anchor watch through the night, so Amie and I were exhausted the next day. We spent 2 days exploring Allan's beaches and reefs, as well as quite a bit of time playing with the resident iguana population. We then sailed south to Norman's Cay. We spent another couple of days exploring this area, where we found the beaches and sea life to be incredible. Actually incredible does not do it justice. We were completely blown away by the natural beauty. The water colors simply can't be adequately described. The beaches are empty and overwhelmingly beautiful. We giggle and feel so fortunate. On our second day there Ted speared 6 lobster, the biggest of which was 44 inches from tail to antenna tip. Our friends on Sheila added 2 more lobster and together with a bunch of Conch collected by new friends on s/v Charlotte, we had a big bbq on a spectacular little beach. It was wonderful.

We then sailed a bit further to Shroud Cay. Here we giggled some more, gasped at the beauty of it all and explored more uninhabited paradise. Yesterday morning we sailed a bit further south to Warderick Wells. This meant we entered the 22 mile long Exuma Land and Sea Park. The bad news is that means no fishing, but the good news is that means more lively and healthy reefs because there is no fishing. We went on a nice hike to see some blow holes and then did some beach going and snorkeling in the afternoon. Again, absolutely beautiful.  Today we sailed a bit further to Staniel Cay and reentered civilization, sort of. We got a few groceries at the small one room grocery store, and then went to sea the famous swimming pigs. We have managed to sail onto and off of our anchor most of the time, and at one point we had not turned the engine on in 5 days. SO MUCH better than the ICW!!!

There have been so many moments and experiences over this past week that simply can't be captured in words. At least by my words. It felt like it took a long time to get here. Not just the past 2 months of sailing, but the past years of planning and a decade of dreaming. This past week has finally started to make sense of all of that. Ah-hah...this is why we did it.

Nassau

We had a great 32 hour crossing to Nassau with s/v Sheila. We pulled anchor in Miami at 0800 yesterday and had 10-15 knot northerly winds to cross the Gulf Stream. Things got a little bit exciting as we crossed the middle of the stream, but Momo rode everything well and carried us along at better than 7 knots. We reached the Grand Bahama Bank just after 1600 and had somewhat rough conditions with fairly big waves going over shallow water. After we were about 10 miles onto the bank things smoothed out considerably. We had a nearly-full moon and despite the wind building a bit before midnight, we did all we could to slow the boats down to 4 knots so that we would not reach the far side of the bank before daylight. After midnight things calmed again, although a front passed over around 0300 which brought increased wind again briefly. By daylight the wind had subsided once again and we had a smooth transition over the Northwest channel and onto the Tongue of the Ocean. It was a beautiful day today and we motor-sailed the last 50 miles to Nassau, reaching the harbor at 1500. Customs and immigration went smoothly and after an early dinner we are all off to bed. Pictures to come soon. 

Miami

We had a great sail from Fort Lauderdale to Miami today. The wind was around 10 kts on the beam and the water was clear and beautiful. We managed to catch two fish. We threw the tuna back because it was tiny, but we kept the mahi-mahi which fed both the crews of Momo and Shiela tonight for dinner. It was delicious.
We are planning on crossing to the Bahamas tomorrow unless the forecast changes overnight. Once we get there we are unsure of our internet capabilities, but it is likely our posts will be more infrequent. We will be sure to check in when we get a chance.

Fort Lauderdale

After a long and tiring day yesterday, we successfully got a new passport for Lucy. In the end the process was not too bad, although it did involve a lot of waiting. The girls were incredibly patient and well-behaved. We also accomplished our last bits of provisioning for the Bahamas and just managed to return the rental car before they closed. When we got back to Momo we were pleased to see our friends on Sheila were anchored right next to us.
Today we sailed with Sheila down to Fort Lauderdale. We (along with seemingly hundreds of other boats in south Florida) have been monitoring the weather closely. For the past week and a half it has blown pretty hard every day from the East (making the Bahamas directly upwind). However, things appear to be changing and there will likely be a mass exodus of boats heading to the Bahamas over the next several days. We hope to be one of them. Our plan is to sail outside to Miami tomorrow and then head across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas on Sunday or Monday. We are currently thinking of heading just north of Bimini and then across the Grand Bahama Bank and then to Nassau, where we will officially check into the country. This roughly 36 hour crossing will put us only a day's sail from the Exumas. Everything is subject to change and we will continue to monitor the weather closely.

This girl loves the beach.

Santa on Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Scouty had no hesitations giving Santa a hug.

Boca and beyond

We are currently anchored in Lake Boca Raton. Each of the past three days we have made about 15 - 20 miles of southerly progress, winding our way past incredibly posh neighborhoods and through far too many bridges. We had a wonderful evening with Aunt Lynne again last night, and it was fun to pull the dinghy up to the dock at her condo. Today we rented a car to do some major provisioning for the Bahamas and tomorrow morning we drive it down to Miami for our passport appointment. We are hoping we can convince them to give Lucy her passport tomorrow, but we have no idea if that will fly. If so, we are looking at crossing to the Bahamas soon as there seems to be a weather window early next week. If we can't get the passport we will have to make new plans.
Tonight we went to the Boca Raton holiday parade. It was quite the spectacle and the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Immersed in Aunt Lynne crafts

The girls were completely enamored by Aunt Lynne

Scouty working on her rock climbing skills while opening the advent calendar

Momo in Lake Boca Raton

Taking in the holiday parade

Momo passing under the Ocean Ave Bascule Bridge (photo by Aunt Lynne)

Heading south (photo by Aunt Lynne

Water pumps and Xmas decorations

They call it (Vero Beach) Velcro Beach for a reason - because most people have a hard time leaving. We, on the other hand, were able to pull ourselves away but regretted leaving about 10 miles into the trip.  Our raw water pump had been starting to fail over the past week.  Ted would come up out of the engine room reporting 1 drip every 4 minutes.  Given the problems we have faced recently, I didn't think this was too bad! However, after sitting in Vero for a few days, the drip increased to 1 drip every few seconds.  Not wanting to risk water getting into the engine, we dropped anchor in Fort Pierce to inspect things further and make a new plan.  Luckily, Ted was ahead of the game and ordered a replacement pump to be delivered to Aunt Lynne.  Even luckier, the part was delivered on Saturday instead of the scheduled Monday.  Even luckier still, Lynne offered to deliver it to us today.

So, today, we had a wonderful time making Xmas decorations with our ever-so-crafty Aunt Lynne while Ted successfully replaced the water pump. Tomorrow, we will try to head south again, for either Peck Lake or Lake Worth.

Painting shells

Here they are decorating plastic bulbs with paint and/or filling them with shells, painting shells and painting wooden ornaments.  Lynne thought of everything! 

We now have a new raw water pump.
(Thank you Lynne!!!)