After the fiasco in Bimini, we were ready for some smooth sailing and fun in the water. Once we got everything ready, we did an overnight, 110 mile crossing to West Bay, near Nassau, arriving at 8:30 in the morning to a beautiful, calm anchorage. We were one of only three boats in the entire […]
Author: John-Michael
Bimini Blues (The dumbest thing we have done aboard…so far)
I think Kimberly jinxed me by complaining that I always get to write the glamorous entries in the blog. Our return to Bimini was supposed to be an exploration of all the wonderful dive sites we had seen when we first came to the island group in 2001 aboard a Black Beard dive boat. We […]
Island Hopping Back to the U.S.
This entry starts where we left off in The Whale and the Abacos, as we were preparing for the passage south from the Abacos to the northern end of Eleuthera. We slipped from our mooring in Little Harbour early in the morning to beat the incoming weather front that would make the winds higher and […]
The Whale and The Abacos
This blog starts where we left off in “Stuck” in Paradise, as we were awaiting the right conditions to depart Green Turtle Cay, and continue to the southern Abacos. It was the morning we had decided to go through the potentially ominous Whale Cay Passage. The eastern winds had been howling for several days well […]
“Stuck” in Paradise
Sticker Shock in Fox Town We decided we couldn’t continue our passage through The Abacos without a stopover in Little Abaco. The first town we visited there was Fox Town. This is a very small, clean, and friendly village that runs along the shoreline to the Sea of Abaco. They have three small grocery stores […]
Last Days in the U.S. – Islamorada, Tavernier, and Key Largo
Getting to Key Largo The two day journey from Marathon to Key Largo was beautiful. We started out with a send-off visit by our neighbor and new friend, Buddy the cat. He actually boarded our boat in the morning and was scratching on our companionway doors to get in. (We let him in, gladly.) We […]
Florida Keys
Key West After two days at sea, we arrived in Key West from Tarpon Springs earlier than expected, around 4am. We anchored outside the Northwest Channel to await daylight because all the guides tell you to avoid the Key West approaches at night unless you are very familiar with the area. We are so glad […]
What’s in a Name? (Or, Incurring Poseidon’s Wrath)
Boat names are extremely personal, and the source of much discussion and divergent opinions among mariners. All you have to do is mention around a marina that you’re considering re-naming your boat and you will be bombarded with a flurry of “advice.” The suggestions range from the practical to, well, the lunatic. “Make it easy […]
More Upgrades As Time Is Running Out
As we get closer to our departure date, the urgency to complete all those upgrades we had planned is heating up. Here are a few of the ones we have checked off the list. Sea Water Pressurized Faucet – Our boat did not come equipped with a seawater pump at the galley. We […]
Boat Upgrades
While I’m sure this post is boring to most of our land friends, I hope it’s interesting and/or helpful to sailors preparing to cruise. First and foremost, I must give props to the previous owners for doing some outstanding upgrades to the boat, leaving us very little to worry about before we sail off permanently. […]