Great Harbor -Hoffman Cay- Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, Bahamas

Our last night at Great Harbor we were treated to a local fisherman making cracked conch salad right in front of our boat, dinner served! ( see previous pic.). On Saturday the 26th  we made a 36 mile run down to Hoffman Cay were we would anchor for 3 days on the Bahama Bank waiting for a weather window to head out into the Atlantic and cross to Spanish Wells.  The weather forcast looked like  2 footers.  Once we turned South on the Alantic side we hit 15 mile mph winds and 2-3 footers with the occasional  4, very sloppy and some what uncomfortable.  We cut back around Hoffman Cay and in to the calm tourquis waters of the Bank. We spent 3 nights here, with a spectacular beach , a blue hole to hike to, and great views.

On Easter Sunday Tom and Julie on Sum Escape ( our buddy boat) along with new friends on Felix took the dinks 3.5 miles to Flo's Conch Bar for a late lunch of Lobster,  Conch fritters, cold slaw, red beans and rice and a strong rum Punch.  The  drill is you call on the VHF radio about 3 hours a head of when you want to arrive.  Flow's is on Little Harbor which there are only 4 residents on the most beautiful piece of land you can imagine. The other thing you need to concider is the passage to and from Flo's is only navigable at high and mid tides, even in a dingy.  See the next set of pics of me towing the dingy.

On Tue. at 7:15 we headed East to Spanish Wells where we had mostly 2 footers at 3 seconds, a little sloppy. We truly were in the deep blue sea,  at our deepest point we were in over 12,000 feet of water.
About 4 hours into to the 6 1/2 hr trip, I hooked up a 6 ft. White Marlin.  The fight was intense and quick.  The fish pealed of line like nothing I have ever experienced.  I got most of the line back after watching 7 pr 8 spectacular jumps before he doubled back and got slack on the line and he snapped the 50 lb test like nothing.  I will publish pics. Soon.

More pics

More pics

Great Harbour Cay pics.

Change of plans

We  had originally planned on going to Atlantas Marina in Nassau then on to the Exumas and back up to the Abacos.  The winds have kept us held up in Great Harbor Key in the Berry's for the past 10 days.

Our new plans look like we will work our way south on the Berry's to Hoffman Key . We will anchor out a few days and then cross East to Spanish Wheels on Eleuthera.  We will Spend a couple of days there and then work our way North to the Abacos. 

We have enjoyed it here a great deal. Great beaches, bike riding, good access to fresh fruit and veggies . We have had great dingy runs to sharks creek, turtle creak and numerous beaches! We have seen sharks, ray, and turtles.  During yesterday's dingy run we must have seen 30-50 turtles.  We probably put 50 miles on the dingy so far. 

Island life here is very different but wonderful.  It seems like every time you face a challenge someone is there to help. As an example, the dingy motor just stopped. The next day Vincent, the local mechanic came down and cleaned the carb, he then discovered the fuel pick up in the fuel tank had just rotted off so we were not  getting fuel. He made three trips back and forth to the boat, total charge $100. Cody got a major infection in his paw, so the marina called Frenchy who runs the local 

people clinic she was here in two hours and tended to Cody, two days latter after his infection flared up she came back and gave us some antibiotics.  She did this after fighting a brush fire all day that was threatening house.  I ask here what we owed her, her answer was what ever we felt like paying! We had a beer and settled on a price  (cheap) she filled us in on how she ended up here after being from the south of France.  One very unique individual!  

Every day you can order fresh baked bread for 5.50 a loaf. It is then delivered  the next day.  Choices are white, wheat, pumpkin, coconut, or raisin. Tonight is pitza night, so we ordered a pitza which will be delivered at 7:00pm.  Goods are expensive, a package of Romain was 7:50, a gallon of bleach was $9:50. Water is 50 cents a gallon and electricity is 75 cents a kW.  

Crossing and Bimini

Bahamas- We made it!

At 8:30 we headed out into the Atlantic and our little Navy  cross the Gulf to Bimini  (65 miles)in about 6 hours. Seas were 1-2 ft and we  ran at 1200 rpm's As we approached the Gulf Stream we picked up anywhere from 2-21/2 knots of speed.  Water depths approached 3000 feet.  Rather than navigate to a weigh point at Bimini we set our auto pilots to 15 degrees below Bimini and we let the Gulf Stream push us North. With only a few adjustments to the autopilot we arrived spot on!

We spent two days in Bimini at the Bimini Bay Resort, pretty basic but it met our needs and we needed  a break from 3 days of cruising.  We enjoyed a couple of Dingy rides, a lunch out, and a little Island exploring.  We bought a dozen lobster tails for $50 and I bartered for  3 lbs of fresh Mahi, it cost me a bag of ice and 2 Corona Lights.  2 days in Bimini is plenty.

Wednesday morning at daybreak we headed across the Bahama Bank on our way to the Berry Island (96.5 miles).  We cruised for 9 1/2 hours and arrived at Great Harbor Marina.  What a day, dead flat seas, sunshine and not even a breeze!  For most of the trip we cruised in about 9 feet of water to a maximum of 40 feet.  You could clearly see the bottom at 35 feet. I caught  a 2 1/2ft barracuda trolling at 8.5 knots. Yesterday we took the dingys out and  took a long cruise down the coast and then cut in and cruised through the mangroves for a couple of miles.  It opened up to the most beautiful water and sand you have ever seen !!!! Brigitte's Birthday was yesterday and we were treated to a Marina Barbecue.  A lobster  dinner was $15 and chicken, ribs , or steak  were $10 with 2 sides
 I will try to load pictures but Internet is iffy at best.    

Islamorada to Pumkin Key

We spent 8 days at Plantation Harbor in Islamorada, we dingyed to restaurants and biked all around the Island. We also provisioned for 2 months in the Bahamas!  We are riding low in the water!  We also spent a lot of time caring for a very sick Dog and going to the vet.  Cody developed stress colitis. He was going from both ends, he has lost 3 pounds and on Saturday we thought we might loss him. He turned the corner late Saturday night and Sunday he started eating again.  We took him to the vet today and they released him for travel to the Bahamas.  He is starting to act like his old self again, let's pray he continues to get better.

 We left at 10:30 this morning and ran the outside down Hawks Channel, we cut back inside at Anglefish Creek and are currently anchored behind Pumpkin Key, about mid way between Islamorada and Miami. Weather permitting we will run 52 miles across the Gulf Stream to Bimini in the Morning with our new friends Sum Escape and Job Site.  Tentatively we will Run 90 miles on Wednesday from Bimini to the Berry Islands and will stay a week at Great Harbor. Next we will be in Nassau for three nights.  We will either turn right and go to the Exumas or left and go to the Abacos, either way we have reservations in Marsh Harbor, Abacos April 15- May 15.  Then we will start for home. I will blog as I have Intranet.

Cheers Scott, Brigitte, and Cody

Plantation Key and Islamorada, FL

Saturday we left  Faro Blanco and headed out into the Atlantic, we cruised out about 7 miles offshore hoping to catch some big fish! Didn't happen. About 15 miles from Islamorada we turned into Hawks Channel and low and behold I hooked up a nice sized Spanish Mackerel, we now had fresh fish for dinner!
We got into Plantation Marina, filled up with fuel, and got tied up by 4pm.  Saturday nights sunset was spectacular! The picture was taken right off the back of the boat. This marina is part of the cities, Founders Park.  The facilities are terrific, besides the usual there is an Olympic size pool, tennis courts, baseball fields, dog park and a beautiful  beach.  It is a great place to hang out waiting for a weather window,  it is supposed to blow hard (22-27 mph) again until Friday.  Our slip is well protected so we should be fine!

Today after some morning chores we were off on our bikes to check out the area, Islamorada has nice bike lanes.  We road 5 miles one way to a favorite water side establishment, The Lorelei, for lunch and a beer. Tonight will  sear some tuna steaks on the grill and watch another sunset!
Cheers

Getting ready to leave Marathon!

The past week here has been fabulous!  After returning from Soren's B Day, we have kept busy provisions the boat for the next  2 1/2 months.  Key questions, like how many rolls of Marine toilet paper, Bloody Mary mix,  bottles of booze, etc. do we need.  We hear that US domestic beer in the Bahamas can go for $60/ case.  For our MN boater friends Karen and Reed met us for lunch on Tuesday, thank you for drivin over to see us.

Sunday night the Ocean Reef Yacht club moved in OMG!  Mostly 70- 130 foot yachts.  The most expensive was reportedly 25 million. Several had 34 foot Boston Whalers with Triple 300's as tenders. The attached picture of the power cat is 86 foot in length and a 34 ft beam!  Spot the captain on the bridge and you can see the scale!

We have enjoyed great biking out on the Flagler railroad trestle, we could see a 10 foot shark in the water 30 feet below us!  Swimming  at the  pool and just chill'n has been great.  Last night the Marina threw a great  hospitality night with free apps and drinks!

Our rigid plan of infinite flexibility is as follows.  We should leave Marathon some time this coming Sat. - Monday weather dependent,  still messing with Northerly winds blowing through. We will head to Plantation   Key just North of Islamorada and stay there until around the 14th.  We will be traveling with new friends DeVere and Carrol on Work Site ( 48 ft Sedan Bridge) and Tom and Julie on Sum Escape (47 ft Grand Banks).  Our plan is to catch a weather indoor and shoot straight to Bimini, then work our way down the Berry Islands to Nassau.  We will spend 2 nights at the Atlantis Resort and Marina and then head south to the Exumas and Stanley Kay.  We will then turn North and cruise up the Abacos to Marsh Harbor. From there we will follow the Islands north and then West to Freeport where we will cross back to  Stuart FL.  We will head across Lake   Okeechobee to Fort Myers and then home late May.  Our Proposed loop from Florida around the Bahamas and back to Stuart should be about 600 miles!