January 14th, 2020
58
I'm fifty eight and the family cards are as daft as ever - the buns were very tasty and a good warm up for the cake!
January 14th, 2020
WINDY
Sunrise on a windy wet morning in Georgetown - a beautiful start to the day
January 14th, 2020
Georgetown
We are in mourning for Livvy and Adam have left us after a month of cruising. The boat feels very empty but good memories remain for we had such a lovely time together.
We are anchored in Georgetown which isn't our favorite but it does offer a great logistical base. Yesterday was taken up with postcards, victualling, fuel, sorting our wifi, laundry and a haircut.
We entered the sound four days ahead of Liv n Adams flight due to a forecast of prolonged heavy winds. Very glad we did too for it's been blowing old boots and the only thing to do was bunker down. As such an epic run of scrabble ensued, lots of cooking, swimming, a spring clean and a few other jobs.
Georgetown is a haven for cruisers some of which come here for months. As such it's a great community with a morning radio net that ties them all together. Its run by Bill of 'Charisma' who has the most amazing radio voice. It's not really for us but they have dog walking, water aerobics, talks, poker club, kid's corner and much more.
Our preference is to anchor away from the fray off Elizabeth Island which is the loveliest spot and a safe deep anchorage. One of the highlights of our stay is that we met Paul and Melanie who own part of the island. They arrived on a yacht eighteen years ago and have since loved and developed their forty acres it into a stunning little haven.
They gave us a tour and it was so nice to spend time with such an inspirational couple who have overcome huge challenges. They even made their own harbour with marina pontoons that can take a large yacht - the mind boggles. We wandered along two miles of paths and were fascinated by their off-grid lifestyle. They joined us for an evening on Pearl the next day where we got to know them better and welcomed a bowl of lemons straight from their garden.
As ever Pearl looks after us and keeps us in comfort. We daily thank our lucky stars for having such a lovely boat. The plan, having topped up with stores, is to head off to some remote anchorages. It's still blowing with heavy seas offshore so today we plan on making Rudders Cut which we know and seems a safer option than many of the other cuts (entrances).
I few days to regroup feels in order - the picture was taken from the top of Paul and Melanie's hill.
December 24th, 2019
Walk Ashore
December 24th, 2019
Eagle Ray
December 24th, 2019
Christmas Eve
Its Christmas Eve and we are busy making decorations, playing games and supping on dizzy juice. I have just hauled the mobile up to the top of the mast and have a signal which I hope is reliable enough to update the blog.
This comes from Warderick Wells in the Bahamas and its lovely for many reasons including being the centre of the worlds oldest Land and Sea Park. As such the snorkelling is amazing - we spent half an hour in the company of four huge Eagle Ray the other day.
Liv and Adam have settled into life on board as we relax in our little bit of paradise. We have been here for just over a week thanks to a lot of strong winds and a couple of fronts that have passed through. One of the unique aspects of Warderick Wells is that it has all round protection and good moorings which makes it stress free in these turbulent conditions.
This amount of time in one place would usually have us itching to get on but I am pleased to report that this is not the case. Firstly, we needed a break from the relentless pace of the last few months and secondly there is plenty to do here.
The Island has good walks, the snorkelling is amazing and of course we have lots of games, books and the odd job to keep us occupied. It's been good for the soul.
The plan is to set sail for Black Rock on Boxing day so that we can do the laundry, get rid of rubbish, buy some fresh and have a few beers in the bar.
To all that we know we wish you a fantastic Christmas and will be toasting you on the day.
December 12th, 2019
BAHAMAS
Well, the time has flown and here I am feeling guilty once more for the lack of Blog updates.
This comes from the Bahamas where Olivia and Adam are joining us for a month as of this afternoon. As such the morning has been chocker with jobs and getting the good ship Pearl gleaming. All very exciting.
The trip here was fun and eventful with a lumpy force seven off Cape Canaveral followed by a dream night sail down the coast with a fresh offshore broad reach. On closing Miami we saw a fleeting bubble of light air about to cross the Gulf Stream and decided to grab it.
It was a bit of a rough and tumble crossing but Pearl took it in her stride and delivered us onto the Grand Bahama bank for a night sail. Pool table would be the most apt description for the conditions and so I commissioned the water maker to keep awake.
On clearing the bank, we had another force seven but being up the chuff it gifted us a romping sail to Palm Cay Marina. We cleared customs and emigration feeling light headed from lack of sleep and a bit shell shocked at the dramatic change induced over the last sixteen days taking us from snow to shorts and sun cream.
The next day we ran around doing some shopping for fresh food, organizing a Bahamian mobile and bought a spear gun. With six days in hand we rattled over to Shroud Cay to drop the anchor and recuperate. As Tracey said it felt like jetlag and so the first day was spent dozing between reading Agent Zigzag which is the most amazing book. We also started watching Game of Thrones to find ourselves completely hooked.
Shroud Cay is one of our favorite spots and so it was a joy to putter into the mangroves to observe turtles, lemon shark and sting rays.
December 2nd, 2019
UPDATE
As much as anything this is a holding message to let you know that I am aware of being behind on the Bog. It's mainly due to being completely occupied on the wheel from before dawn to after dusk on the ICW. Whilst hard work this made for a great trip south to Charlestown in four days including managing to get under the Socastee bridge which you might recall trapped us for a week last year. From Charlestown, we motored to St Augustine which is a lovely city that was set up by the Spanish and don't you know it. Indeed, there are parts where you wouldn't know that you weren't in Spain.
I had planned to update the blog there but suffered technical issues to the site which have now been sorted. St Augustine was great fun and very busy for I had to write a couple of columns for Yachting Monthly, service the engine and assist Tracey as she managed taking on three months of stores in preparation for the Bahamas. The undoubted highlight was celebrating our first 'Thanks Giving' with Ian and Michele off the good ship Mahina. They are house sitting a lovely property and so we all mucked in for a team cook which produced a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
Still feeling like a python we made for Ponce de Leon Inlet where we rode out a front last night. Which brings me to today; we left before dawn and are rattling south for Miami with 25-30knts aft of the beam. I can see some of the huge NASA buildings on Cape Canaveral and all is well in the world with a coffee in hand and sunrise bringing colour to the ocean.
This a picture of a stunning sunset in Beaufort on the ICW. Once we stop again I will add more.
