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March, 2011:

Angel Fish Point in the Great Abacos

3-28-11

 

A short motor-sail brought us to Angel Fish Point where we anchored for our stay here. After anchoring in the designated anchorage shown south of Angel Fish Point and Crab Cay on the GPS, Ed and Gary got in the dinghy and took depth soundings with a handheld depth meter, to see if we could safely tuck in a little closer to the rocky islands surrounding us, offering us more protection if the storm that is showing on the radar happens to come our way. Finding success with their exploration, we weighed anchor and moved the boats to the newly charted more protected area. Gary and Ed both got in the water and checked their anchors wearing their snorkel gear. Ed taught Gary how to bury the anchor if it’s not well dug in. Our anchor was dug in well, but if need be Gary knows to free-dive down to the anchor and jiggle the flanges on the butt of the anchor causing it to dig deeper. Ed said sometimes it takes a few dives down to accomplish a good hold, but this tactic works well when needed. “…there’s always one more thing to learn about being a sailor…”

 

This anchorage is one of Ed’s favorites. For one reason, he often catches Caribbean lobsters in the caves near the shorelines of the rocky islands. During lobster season, which it is now, he uses a Hawaiian sling to shoot them. A Hawaiian sling is like a sling-shot with a spear. Gary has never used one before and is anxious to master the skill. The overcast sky today made it not a good day to hunt lobster. The visibility of the water is lower on cloudy days than it is when the sun is providing light into the water.

 

In lieu of hunting for lobster, the guys and Molly explored the shore. Gary said they found the road that connects Little Abaco Island with Great Abaco Island, the same road that goes through Fox Town. They explored creeks and channels and found a good hurricane hole. It’s always good to know where the most protected places are when cruising.

 

3-29-11

 

Personal note: Last night Gary and I were in tears thinking we might have to fly back home because of my illness. I’d been sick for 3 ½ days and was showing slight signs of dehydration even though I’ve been drinking Pedialyte. However, what a difference a day can make, because today I’m better in everyway, except stamina. Once again, we are optimistic that we can continue our journey.

 

The highlight of today was the four (sorry Molly) five of us taking our dinghies to the rocky caves at the tip of Angle Fish Point and watching Gary snorkel and hunt for lobster. With Hawaiian sling in hand he scanned the caves with great expectations. Though he had a blast doing it, he came back empty handed. He reported having seen only one lobster, lying perfectly still on the bottom, only to realize upon closer inspection it was dead, much to his dismay.

 

We motored the dinghies over to the cut between Angel Fish Point and Crab Cay where Gary got back in the water and did a drift-snorkel. Through the cut, the water is only about six feet and at the edge of the cut the terrain progresses deeper. Gary said it was rather neat to see the change in depth but other than seeing a couple mutton snappers, there wasn’t much else to see. From our dinghies, Cheryl and I used our glass bottom buckets to look under the water. I saw a pretty star fish and a few small brain coral heads. This area is really not a great area for snorkeling, but apparently at times the lobsters can be plentiful, so we’ve been told (ED).

 

On the way back to White Swan, our outboard motor on the dinghy quit working (again). Gary was in the process of rowing us back to the boat when Ed and Cheryl saw us and came back to give us a tow. Upon mentally trouble shooting what could be causing the outboard to stall, Gary wondered if there was condensation in the gas tank. He used an extra gas can and his gas filter funnel that we use whenever we fill up the boat and filtered the gas, finding it did indeed have about ¼ cup water in it. Hopefully, the problem is solved. Brilliant!!! He’s not just a pretty face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fox Town on Little Abaco Island

3-27-11
 

Before we left Great Sale Cay this morning, Gary accompanied Ed and Molly to shore and came back having been attacked by no-see-ums. Gary calls me his “fly trap” because usually the insects eat me up and never bother him. When hairy Gary gets bitten by any insect, you know it’s a bad place to be. As appealing as the opportunity to go ashore originally was, I was glad I did not go with them.

 

Today was the first day we’ve been able to turn off the motor and sail with full sails. Gary was in his height of his glory. The wind was 14 knts out of the SW providing a close-reach point of sail. We sailed most of the 28 miles to Fox Town, taking the sails down right before we got to the line of rocks indicating we were near the entrance to go into the Little Abaco Island harbor.

 

While Ed took Molly for a walk, Gary had an interesting conversation with a man at a nearby Anglican church. The gentleman told Gary that the priest who presides over the church, serves two churches and presents sermons at each church every other week. During the priest’s absence, the nice gentlemen with whom Gary spoke does the preaching. Later in the evening, we could hear religious music resounding from the little church as the parishioners sang familiar songs.

 

Gary and I took a quick dinghy ride and cruised part of the shoreline with it’s small houses and businesses along the water’s edge. It looked like someone is in the process of building a gas station. We wondered if they will offer fuel to boaters. There is a small fuel dock already on the shore, apparently operational, because we saw a big power boat go to it.

 

Ed told us about a restaurant called the Boom Boom Room at Fox Town that offers fresh seafood dinners prepared by the locals. Cheryl, as well as myself, were not feeling well today so it was decided we’d wait until our return trip to go there. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do so because from Ed’s description it sounds like an interesting place, though it is not mentioned in any of the cruising guides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Sale Cay

3-26-11

 

Great Sale Cay (Cay, is pronounced Key in the Bahamas)

 

At 8:00 AM we pulled away from the bulkhead in fine fashion as we learned another navigational move purely by accident. The wind was blowing us against the bulkhead and when I tried to steer the bow out into the alley, the wind kept it from turning in that direction. While backing up to give us more pivoting room to make our turn, I noticed while I had the wheel turned toward the bulkhead while in reverse, the bow was turning the direction we needed it to go. So, Gary (Mr. Muscles) and another fellow sailor from the next boat slip, fended (pushed) us off the bulkhead while I kept it in reverse turning toward the bulkhead so the bow would make it’s path toward the fairway. Voila! The procedure worked beautifully and we easily made our way out the marina. (Do you remember the poem, “You Know You’re A Sailor When…”? If not, it can be found in the Archives of our website. The last line of the poem is, “ You know you’re a sailor when you realize there is always one more thing to learn about being a sailor.”

 

In talking to one of Ed’s boat slip neighbors, arrangements were made for another boat to join our flotilla while going through the shallow channel from West End to the east side of the Little Bahama Bank. Their boat draft is 5 ½ feet and the water was skinny for them. Ed continually called out depth readings over the VHF radio, guiding the other captain safely through the channel to deeper water. Once we were through the channel, the other captain decided he could proceed on his own to Mangrove Cay.

 

The wind was light and variable so we motor-sailed a portion of the 48 miles to Great Sail Cay in 8 ½ hours. The average depth of the aquamarine water of the Little Bahama Bank is only 6 to 20 feet and the clarity allows one to easily see the bottom. Occasionally, we saw stingrays as we motored over their domain. Unfortunately, I was sick all day and didn’t enjoy the day as much as I would have had I not been sick. However, Gary had the pleasure of basking in the sites and sounds of the ocean and sky as he manned the helm, totally in his element, “living the dream”.

 

We saw “fish muds” for the first time today where the water appears to be a shoal area, as the color is lighter. Glancing at the GPS and depth meter confirms it is not a shoal, rather stirred up water. According to the cruising guide, there are several theories of the cause of fish muds. The most common theory is they are caused from bottom feeding fish.

 

Great Sale Cay is an uninhabited island. Nonetheless, it is a busy anchorage due to proximity. An 8 ½ hour sail from West End to Great Sale Cay was a comfortable day of sailing, so anchoring here for the night instead of pushing onward to other islands makes a lot of sense. Also, after 8 ½ hours, Molly needs to go ashore to take care of business. And after a hot day at the helm, Captain Gary needed a swim in the cool, refreshing Bahamian water – his reward at the end of a fabulous first day cruising in the Bahamas.

Gary enjoying the clear blue Bahamian water

 

Freeport and Port Lucaya

3-25-11

 

While making arrangements for a taxi to take us to Freeport, Ed decided to take a local young man up on his offer to be our driver, after finding out a taxi would cost nearly $200.00. We paid the gentleman, Kenneth, half the price for a taxi, and ended up tipping him as well because we had such a wonderful time with Kenneth and his cousin, Alvin as our tour guides. Both of these Bahamian men grew up on the Grand Bahama Island and they told us a lot about the Bahamian culture as they pointed out sites of interest as we road around the island. (If you ever come to West End and you want a tour of the island from two very nice gentlemen, these guys love to make a few extra bucks if they have the spare time. Kenneth’s email address is: k.christie1979@hotmail.com  and he said he can be called from the marina office at his local number 242-443-4086.)

Kenneth and Alvin with the Glenns

 

Both Alvin and Kenneth are single men in their late twenties. Kenneth has done various jobs around the island, like working at the marina, and construction. Presently, he is in the sea fishing charter business. Alvin has his pilot’s license but isn’t flying right now, and he too is in the sea fishing charter business. It was a windy day today and they didn’t take fishermen out, so that is why they were free to escort us to Freeport.

Resort at West End, Grand Bahama Island

Kenneth also informed us of the amenities at the resort of Old Bahama Bay that are available at no charge to the boaters staying at the marina. By walking to the Tiki Bar on the beach at the resort, you can sign out a Hobie catamaran, bikes, or kayaks to use while staying at the marina. (Interesting that the marina didn’t tell us about these amenities.)

 

While driving us around the island, Kenneth and Alvin informed us of the industries supporting the local economy. Tourism is number one, accompanied by Polymers-a factory making Styrofoam cups, the Bahamian Brewery, the Fuel Depot*, the container ship port, a stone company, the Grand Bahama Shipyard, and numerous marinas. *We drove by the Fuel Depot seeing the huge columns of storage tanks of oil on one side of the rode and gasoline on the other side of the road. We also saw the enormous tankers off shore “off-loading” into pipes in the water that pumps the fuel to the depot. I never thought about how the process of getting fuel to the island is done before, and I found it to be fascinating.

International Bazaar at Port Lucaya

Other points of interest shown to us were the Customs Office, the Courthouse, various stores, hotels, resorts, 2 hospitals (health care is free to the Bahamians), schools, churches, restaurants and eateries.

Glenns and Byers at Port Lucaya

Alvin and Kenneth escorted us awhile at Port Lucaya, pointing out various places we might want to explore and then they left us to wander on our own for an hour before meeting us at a designated spot. Port Lucaya is where the big cruise ships bring their guests to enjoy an open-air market with all the touristy shops, restaurants and bars. Cheryl and I found a few items to purchase, helping the local economy. While waiting a few minutes for our fabulous tour guides to meet back up with us, we watched the entertainment at the square. The guys especially, enjoyed the Bahamian lady singer teaching tourists coaxed to the stage how to do a special dance she was singing about. The back side view from where we were watching gave the guys a splendid view of all the “shakin’ goin’ on”. Boy, could one of the girls shake her bootie!

By the time we rode back to the marina, we were feeling pretty comfortable with Kenneth and Alvin, and we asked them lots of questions about the local culture. They felt comfortable enough with us, that they even drove us through the “slums”, a place most tourists don’t want to see. Obviously, we are not like “most tourists” and we all wanted a real taste of what it’s like for everyone, rich and poor, to live on the island. We also rode through the posh area of new development at Old Bahama Bay, where the “rich Americans” are building fabulous homes overlooking the ocean. Kenneth told us Lady Gaga had stayed at one of the homes recently. I asked if she presented herself in one of her wild getups or if she dressed in normal attire. Neither one of the guys had the opportunity to see her. Ed asked if word got around the island quickly when someone famous comes to the island, and of course the answer was yes. Kenneth told us he has taken John Travolta and his son out to fish many times. In fact, he said he was preparing the boat to take the Travoltas out, when John’s son died. (Side note: Speaking of the rich and famous, when we were anchored at Lake Worth, Ed pointed out to Gary the home of the famous golfer, Jack Nicolas. We were anchored practically in his back yard. Little did we know when we were anchored at the same spot for almost a month in January, we were neighbors to such a celebrity.)

On the trip back to the marina, we talked to the guys about their “broken English”, only spoken to fellow Bahamians. When they speak to tourists they use proper English grammar, well spoken and courteous. We coaxed them into telling us about some of the local slang used commonly among the Bahamians and these are some things we learned: When a Bahamian can’t remember a word, they say “timgum” for the word they can’t remember and keep going forward with the conversation. In other words, they don’t let the lack of remembering a word interrupt the flow of the conversation, and they don’t belabor over conjuring up the word like we Americans do. Every Bahamian uses the phrase, “Mudder sick it” which is used to express frustration.  “Mamadoo” or “Gussymae” is their term for, shall we say, a fuller figured woman.  Our favorite phrase is “Conchie Joe”, referring to a white Bahamanian.  My new nickname is Conchie Jean. 

When we got back to the marina, Kenneth and Alvin joined Gary for a cold drink aboard White Swan and looked around the boat since they had never been on the inside of our model. Interestingly, they have never sailed on a big boat before, just the small Hobie Cats.

Gary went to the Tiki Bar with Ed and Cheryl and another couple the Byers had met moored next to Lady Bug. I started feeling badly around 3:00 while in Freeport, and chose to stay aboard White Swan.

Postscript: 3-26-11 AM I’m still not feeling well but our plan is to go on to Green Turtle or Marsh Harbor and see if this is from something I ate and dissipates or if it’s a relapse of c.diff. If I’m still sick by the time we get to a port that has an airport, we’ll fly back home. Dang!!! We are hoping “this too shall pass”.

We Made It To The BAHAMAS, Mon!!!

3-24-11
“LIFE IS HOW YOU LIVE YOUR DAYS, NOT THE AMOUNT OF DAYS YOU LIVE.” Jean Glenn 3-24-11
  

 

The fear of the unknown is one of the great paralyzers of life. When I think of the first sailors who sailed beyond the horizon, in uncharted waters without GPS, I think of the courage it took for them to continue on their journey. They had to have had a more in depth vision in their minds, to go far beyond what they could see with their eyes. Back in that day, some called it stupidity. The wise called it adventure. Today we crossed a rite of passage for sailors. We are no longer “pond cruisers”. For the first time in our sailing experience we have been out in the ocean far enough to see nothing but the sapphire ocean kissing the baby blue sky, 360 degrees. A sense of freedom and awe embraced us.

 

Following Lady Bug out the Lake Worth Inlet 3-24-11

White Swan is welcomed by the Sunrise over the Atlantic as she takes her maiden voyage to the Bahamas.

Gary and I anchored White Swan near the Lake Worth Inlet at Singer Island last night. Ed and Cheryl took Lady Bug to a boat slip at a marina near the inlet, so they could do what they needed to do ashore before leaving for the Bahamas. We met this morning at the turning basin and headed out the inlet by 7:00 AM.  As we went out into the Atlantic Ocean, we were greeted by a welcoming sunrise, reassuring us it was going to be a beautiful day.

As we anticipated the day, the excitement of taking our own boat to the Bahamas for the first time was exhilarating. As I said before, “There’s nothing like doing anything for the first time.”

We went out the inlet at low tide, making an easy exit. The wind was out of the west, helping us as well. The wind remained W to WSW from 10 to 15 knots, providing us with more speed as we motor-sailed across the “stream”. Steering up to 20 degrees off course, kept us on the rhumb line on our GPS, as we followed Lady Bug to the Bahamas. The larger swells in the middle of the stream, necessitated keener attention at the helm. The feel of the wheel as we steered was similar to what we experienced in the BVI (British Virgin Islands) when we chartered a sailboat there and sailed around the north side of Tortola in the open sea.

Three hours out, we could no longer see the buildings on the shore at Palm Beach. We spotted the water tower at West End from ten miles out on the other side. We had no sight of land for around five hours (thus our rite of passage). It took us 9 ½ hours to make the crossing.

Watching the depth meter while getting closer to the Bahamas was interesting. It went from 599 feet ( which is it’s max) to 126 feet as we crossed the bank and quickly dropped into the 20’s. While we were out in the stream, the GPS showed the deepest water was 2585 feet.

Yellow Quarantine Flag above US Flag

Raising the Bahamian Flag after clearing customs

As soon as we were “on the bank”, we lowered our sails and raised our yellow quarantine flag. The quarantine flag had to be flown until the captain (only) goes ashore to clear customs. Then the flag is taken down and the Bahamian flag is raised above the US flag.

Ed called the marina on the VHF radio and made docking arrangements for both boats. While listening to the marina’s instructions on where we were going to dock, we kept looking for an open slip and found none, only to realize they were putting us at the bulkhead in the middle of the fairway. I was at the helm, as Gary has to be the muscles to push us away from what ever I might be getting ready to hit, when at the last minute I realized what was happening. I’ve never docked White Swan in such a tight place before and luckily had no time to think about it and panic. Amazingly I maneuvered her around and with the help of the dockhands and Gary, put her right into place beside the bulkhead. My head swelled 10 times it’s normal size as my ego rejoiced at my skills (a.k.a. luck).

Upon arrival, we congratulated Captain Ed, for a perfectly sailed route to the entrance of the Old Bahama Bay Marina on West End, Grand Bahama Island. We decided to celebrate by having dinner at the restaurant at the marina. Afterward, we toasted with champagne and strawberries aboard Lady Bug.

Celebration Dinner at Old Bahama Bay Marina

 

Gary’s lifelong dream became reality today. I’m so grateful I got to share the experience with him. Aware that not everyone gets to see their life’s dreams become reality, we feel blessed and are thankful to God for the day.

Lake Worth at Palm Beach Gardens/North Palm Beach

3-22-10
 
 

Lady Bug going through bascule bridge at Jupiter

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, always a pretty site

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We deliberately chose today to travel to Lake Worth, instead of yesterday,because the wind has lessened, making an easier day of navigating through all the many bridges of today’s section of the ICW.
 
 There is one bridge, Donald Ross Bridge, that is just far enough away from the preceding bridge that we missed the scheduled bridge opening by about five minutes. Gary chose to lag behind and make circles in the waterway, rather than tangle with the cluster of boats awaiting the opening nearer the bridge. We’ve found in so doing, it makes a less stressful wait.
 
 
Other than the one hang up at the Donald Ross Bridge, our travel today was uneventful…in other words, a nice day. Both Gemini’s pulled into the North Palm Beach marina to refuel, fill the water tanks, pump out the holding tank, and get rid of a week’s worth of trash before going to the north end of Lake Worth to anchor.
 
 
The forecast looks like we might have a weather window to go across the Gulf Stream on Thursday, day after tomorrow. In preparation for the possibility of a crossing, Gary and I went to the nearby Publix to re-provision fresh fruits, veggies and meat. We have enough dried and canned goods on board to last us six months probably. We also went to our favorite French Café and picked up a loaf of multi-grain bread. While there we sat and enjoyed almond croissants and a glass of iced latte. Yum!

Tomorrow I plan on going to the marina to do laundry while Gary goes with Ed to West Marine to buy more fishing lures. 

While at the laundry, I’d like to get as many pictures posted to our website as I can, since I’ve finally caught up on writing the blogs.

While we are in the Bahamas, our only means of communication will be via e-mail. It’s our understanding WiFi is not available everywhere in the Bahamas, but we will post blogs and check e-mails whenever possible.

You can always see where we are by going to the SPOT link, as SPOT will be on whenever we are moving and will continue to transmit anywhere we are. Hopefully, the next blog you read will have been written in the Bahamas.  SO EXCITING!!!

Five Pleasant Days at Peck Lake

3-17-11 to 3-21-11

Short walk to the ocean, via path from Peck Lake

Ah yes, the ocean at the end of the path at Peck Lake

Peck Lake is about 20 miles north of Lake Worth (where we anchored for most of the month of January, when I had MRSA). The charm of Peck lake is it’s protected anchorage and close proximity to the ocean. It is so close, we can hear the ocean from our boat. What a pleasant sound, and it’s the only anchorage we’ve found with such an amenity. For that reason, this anchorage quickly became one of our favorites. According to the forecast, it looks like it will be at least a week before we will get a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream, so we opted to stay here for awhile before going to Lake Worth, using the inlet there to make our crossing to the Bahamas.

Gary coming from a swim in the ocean

Man of War on the beach looks like a beautiful bubble, but it's poisonous.

After White Swan and Lady Bug were securely anchored in a shallow part of Peck Lake, the five of us (Ed, Cheryl, Gary, myself and Molly) went to the beach on the ocean side. There are two paths from Peck Lake that cut through the Hobe Sound Preserve (which is approximately ¼ mile wide) allowing access to the ocean’s beach. There is a water shuttle from a nearby community continually making rounds to bring people back and forth to the entrance of the path. The beach is several miles long, accommodating the small groups of visitors. Gary and I went to the ocean everyday. Gary went early in the morning for his power walks and then accompanied me later in the afternoon for a less vigorous walk and time sitting on the beach. I enjoyed getting my feet wet while walking the shore with Gary. He enjoyed an occasional swim in the ocean.

Much of our time at Peck Lake was spent with each boat’s occupants doing “their own things”, but we had happy hour on Lady Bug the first night we were here, and Cheryl prepared a delicious dinner for all of us the next night. She realizes I’m not up for reciprocity quite yet, but our time to host gatherings will come. We also went to the beach together a couple of times. Occasionally, Gary went with Ed to walk Molly. 

Supermoon over the ocean

 
 

 

Supermoon behind Lady Bug 3-19-11

One night while I was talking on the phone to our boating friend, Pat, she told me to go out and look at the moon because it was a “supermoon”, which happens only once in every 18 years. The moon is closer to the earth than usual and looks larger and that is why it’s called a supermoon. I wanted to see it shine over the ocean, so Gary and I hopped into the dinghy, in our pajamas, and went to the beach. It was worth the effort and there were quite a few people on the beach enjoying the spectacular view.

 

 

Gary and Ed fished every day, usually with Molly as company. The first time Ed caught a fish and put it in the boat, Molly hid behind Gary, as close to the bow of the dinghy as possible, and as far away from that fish as she could get. Gary’s first catch “got away” because he couldn’t get it in the boat without a net. The next night, he caught a small puffer fish and they came back to White Swan to get gloves and pliers to take the hook out of it’s mouth. (I couldn’t watch…poor little guy. He probably died or is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome from the ordeal…the fish, not Gary.)

Molly stayed aboard White Swan while the guys caught those floppy ol' fish.

While fishing with Ed and Molly the last night we were at Peck Lake, Gary caught a flounder big enough to keep so he cleaned it and it is in the fridge, awaiting our pallets. When Gary put the flounder in the dinghy, Molly was okay until the fish started flopping, at which time Gary had to catch Molly to keep her from jumping off the bow of the dinghy. Ed and Gary hurriedly motored the dinghy to White Swan to show me the flounder and they decided they better leave Molly with me. I enjoyed her company and cute doggie antics while the guys finished their fishing for the night. Thus ended our relaxing, pleasurable stay at Peck Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jensen Island

3-16-11
 
An uneventful day motoring almost 38 miles down the ICW brought us to our evenings anchorage, Jensen Island.  Gary and I had never anchored here before and it was fun to check it out.  After traveling on the boat for 7 ½ hours, it was nice to go ashore and explore the park that is south of the two bridges at Jensen Island.
 
 
The first place found to possibly land our dinghies had a no trespassing sign posted, so we went further up the beach and found a lovely shelter with benches that invited us to shore.  The small park had nice walking trails through a hammock with occasional informational signs along the way.  There was an Indian camp, an enclosed area inhabiting owls (we didn’t see any), a place where they bagged oysters used to facilitate new oyster beds, and an extended boardwalk through the mangrove swamp.
 
 
The walk through the park was the highlight of our first full day cruising with Ed, Cheryl and Molly.

 

Cruising Again, March 2011

We Are Cruising Again

3-15-2011

After my extended illness, we think it is safe for us to venture out again aboard White Swan. With a backup plan for treatment if I have a relapse, and the necessary provisions aboard, we left our home port on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 1:00 in the afternoon.

Pat and Tom

Doug

Matt

Jim and Sarah

Boating friends from Telemar Bay Marina gathered to bid us bon voyage as we haphazardly left our boat slip. Sailing out on the open sea is no big deal (unless unexpected foul weather comes upon you or something breaks on the boat), but getting in and out of boat slips can present a challenge…especially when you have an audience. Oh well, we left Pat and Tom, Doug, Matt, Anna and John something comical to talk about at happy hour. Fortunately, Jim and Sara didn’t wait for us to leave and went to have their lunch at a nearby restaurant after biding farewell to Ed and Cheryl aboard Lady Bug, thereby missing our “eventful” departure. (Sometimes things are too complicated to explain, and are just better off left unsaid… Let me suffice to say, we did not leave the boat slip with grace or dignity.)

Ed and Cheryl own the other Gemini in our marina and they along with their doggie, Molly, are one of the two couples we traveled with the last time we tried to go to the Bahamas. The two Gemini sister-ships are once again going to travel together with the same destination in mind, the Bahamas.

Our first day’s agenda was to travel to Sebastian and anchor there for the evening, so we were in no rush to get an early start. The 20 mile trip took a little over 4 hours of motoring. It was a nice, easy trip down the ICW. We noticed more water fowl this time than what was present in late December and early February when we traveled this section of the waterway. Other than that, the ambience of the waterway, with it’s little islands throughout this section of the ICW, remained just as enchanting as always.

We caught up with Lady Bug in time to go into the anchorage together. Ed, Cheryl and Molly went ashore for awhile, but we chose to stay aboard White Swan and have a relaxing evening before a long travel day tomorrow.