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It is now December and Northeast Florida is dealing with an early cold spell. Our days peak at 15 degrees Celsius and our nights are dropping to a very chilly 0 degrees. Boats have no insulation and are not air tight so the chilly nights really cool down the hull and the deck. The cold air seeps in through any slight opening and whispers its way across our floorboards, giving them an icy feel. Without our little ceramic space heater and our down duvet, we would be freezing. Not good! I praise our space heater often!
Even though it is very cool (for Florida), we have several things to be thankful for. There has been very little rain and very little wind. This makes it so much easier to be cozy, whether we are in the boat or making those late evening walks to the yard bathroom. Also nice is that the sunny days really heat up everything so we are able to throw off our jackets and toques as we work on the boat. And there is lots of work to be done! Our main project, of course, is the boat engine. When the engine was disassembled by our mechanic, that was only the beginning of the real work to be done. Even though most of the parts were ordered over the summer, our engine repair has grown to include the transmission, the muffler and the rudder so a few new parts were required. We are also having existing parts tested, cleaned up and repainted. Other parts, like the prop shaft, are being milled back to true (it had small wear etchings from use over 22 years). There are a lot of phone calls, emails and google searches as we search for parts or services. The good news is that, so far, we have no show stoppers. The bad news is that it is a slooooooooow process.
In between the calls and the emails and the waiting, are we twiddling our thumbs? Hell no! This has been the perfect opportunity to break out our long “to do when we have a spare moment” list.
What else are we doing? Exploring the area and getting in lots of hikes. There are some great state parks and trails around us and it has been a real pleasure to take a break from our dirty dusty boatyard and breathe in the fresh air of the forests and the ocean.
And even in the boatyard, the days are not too bad. Of course, it is very satisfying getting lots of boat work done but it is made even better sharing the joys and sorrows of boat work and boat living with our newfound friends in the boat yard. Although we are not where we would have chosen to be in December, we are exactly where we are supposed to be. And that is pretty all right 😊.
On our way to getting our engine up to snuff, more and more of Wild Horses gets stripped off. It is unnerving but necessary! When our Westerbeke engine’s heat exchanger blew last spring, we knew it was going to be the start of something big. Our engine had failed a few times as we headed south to Grenada and it was the cause of much angst for Captain Mike. Every time our engine had to be fired up (arriving or leaving anchorages, no wind, or wind from the wrong direction), he held his breath. Inlets and narrow passages seemed to take years off his life. The stress was very real. On the contrary, Mike never worries when we are sailing. In fact, that is when he is having the most fun. Strategically playing with the sail trim to get Wild Horses in a strong run while also managing the balance of the boat so that his first mate (me!) is comfortable and happy. He loves it!! Unfortunately, sailing isn’t always possible and the motor needs to be fired up every now and again. Even before our heat exchanger blew, Captain Mike’s main objective for our off season was to feel as confident in Wild Horses when motoring as he does while sailing. From my vantage point, last Spring, it looked like a tall order. Mike wasn’t entirely sure that he didn’t want to just slap a “for sale” sign on Wild Horses. Yikes! Then we found Al from Al’s Mobile Marine Service. A straight-talking guy with a jersey coast accent who overflows with knowledge of marine mechanics and all things boat-related. He came well-recommended and, truly, every interaction we have had with him tells us why people love him and his work. He is doing a bang-up job. All parts of our red Westerbeke engine have been removed and inspected. Parts that test well are being cleaned, serviced and repainted. Parts that fail are being replaced. Every inch of the engine is getting some love.
While we are at it, we had him inspect our propellor and shaft, and also look at replacing our dripless shaft seal (stops water from entering the boat through the stern tube) that sits on the propellor shaft. Getting a new dripless shaft seal isn’t an issue but the propellor shaft was showing some signs of wear. We decided to remove it and get it milled back to perfection. Great! Except, removing the propellor shaft is only possible by first removing the rudder. This is a semi-big job that we could do ourselves (with the help of some awesome friends) and we were happy to do it as it gave us a chance to fully inspect the rudder and to replace the bearings that keep it gracefully steering our boat.
So, that is where we are as of yesterday. We remain high and dry at Green Cove Springs Marina. Our engine is reduced to just its block. Our propellor shaft and rudder have been removed and are lying peacefully on the ground next to our boat. No engine, no rudder, no prop, no sails and no water beneath us. We are stripped bare of steering and propulsion. But, we are headed in the right direction and getting closer and closer to happier times on the water. I see a little bit of stress leave Captain Mike’s face every day. Awesome.
Sigh. I honestly do not know where to begin. Something akin to “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” is probably closest to the mark (sorry, Charles Dickens, I am sure boat yards were not on your mind when you penned those iconic words!). We have never “lived” in a boat yard before. We have worked on our boat in boat yards, sometimes for very long days. But we always had a home to go back to where we could have a long hot shower, enjoying all the comforts that let you relax. We also lived for a short time at this very marina, Green Cove Springs, last Spring but that was a whirlwind experience of just patching together some semblance of life on land while also working to exhaustion trying to get Wild Horses ready for her summer in Florida. That Spring, a shower of any temperature and even a tiny bit of air conditioning made us relax after each long day. And there were only 10 days of that before we headed north to ever-present air conditioning and comfort at my brother’s home in Belleville, Ontario. This go around will be much longer than 10 days. It will very likely be 6 weeks and, depending on how our engine rebuild goes, perhaps even longer. Yikes! Don’t get me wrong though. Our boat home is quite comfortable. We have unlimited power and water, and having Starlink means that we have unlimited data for streaming. We have our lights, fridge, freezer, and stove all working. And, Florida’s temperatures are far cooler in Autumn so we don’t crave air conditioning like we did in the Spring. We also have our car and the city of Green Cove Springs as well as Jacksonville and St. Augustine to explore. Each city is super close and well-stocked with everything you could ever need at your fingertips. Wondering how we get Ocean on and off the boat while we are on land? Check out this video to see how we do it.
But there are drawbacks. One drawback is that we have to walk to the bathroom when nature calls. Not a tragedy but definitely inconvenient when nature decides to call in the middle of the night. The other drawback is the boat yard itself. It is dirty and dusty. It is loud and there’s junk everywhere. Yes, we have mail delivery, garbage, showers and laundry. The amenities are there but well short of fancy. The garbages are old oil drums set about the yard. The showers and bathrooms are clean but very rough around the edges. Same thing for the laundry room. And life in the yard requires some acclimatization. There are a mix of boats and a mix of personalities and lifestyle choices. A pristine boat sits beside a semi-derelict boat that has been mostly taken over by stray cats (don't get excited. I mean actual stray cats and not the 80’s band). Discarded gear and work materials can be found around many long-term boats. It is not pretty.
A funny thing happens, though, as you settle into Green Cove Springs Marina. You stop looking at the place and you start enjoying the vibe. That vibe? Well, it is a little difficult to explain. It is a little Mad Max in a gated community feel. Green Cove Springs Marina is very special. Of course, “very special” is somewhat open to interpretation, and swings from positive to negative depending on the events of the day.
There is a real cadence and community in this no-rules DIY yard. Some people live on their boats full time in the yard, others are transients like us (working to launch) and a third group live and work close by and just arrive in the evenings or on weekends to continue work on their fixer upper boat. Everyone is hard working, especially the yard crew and marina staff who keep things moving along quite nicely. An aura of respect and gratefulness hangs in the air around here. People tidy communal areas (laundry, showers) when they leave them. There is always a “hello” or “good morning” being thrown about as people pass each other. Tools are readily borrowed and returned, as are extra hands and opinions. And although there is a constant buzz of sanders and work equipment starting as early as 8am, it is quiet as a mouse throughout the yard as soon as dusk sneaks around. Even on weekend evenings, people keep their “sitting around the campfire” chatter and music at a low volume. Yes, we will be here for a while but it will be time well spent. Wild Horses will have a rebuilt engine and many of our little to-do list items will be done. Even better, we will have spent some quality time getting to know some really fine people. Good days, for sure.
Mike, Ocean and I returned to Florida and our lovely Beneteau 473 “Wild Horses” on Wednesday October 23rd. Our summer in Canada had been incredible. My brother’s house is situated just north of Belleville, Ontario and it became our base camp for our summer land-life adventures (thank you Michael, for opening your home to us and being the most fabulous brother ever!!!). We were also lucky enough to find an affordable used Nissan Rogue that could get us around town and to visit family and friends. Perfect! For four months our heads and hearts were exactly where they needed to be whether we were in Belleville or Kingston or Toronto or Ottawa or even New Hampshire. We enjoyed every hug, every bit of news, all the fabulous experiences and so many smiles that really warmed our souls. Heck, we even learned that a couple of die-hard dog owners could fall in love with an African Grey parrot (shout out to our “pretty boy” Rafiki, my brother’s awesome pet bird).
In a nutshell, being able to reconnect with everyone this summer was inspiring. It was a heart wrenching and sad (and frosty!) day when we started our trip south to Florida. And, we were nervous. We had no idea how Wild Horses had fared through the extremely hot Florida summer. Even more worrisome, three hurricanes had crossed Florida this season. It started with Debby (category 1 in early August), then Helene (category 4 in late September) and, of course, Milton, a category 3 hurricane when it hit land. This last hurricane came as close to Wild Horses as I would have ever wanted a hurricane to get. The eye of Milton crossed less than 100 miles south of our boat (by that time it had downgraded to a category 1 hurricane).
Thankfully, our first leg of our trip south was first to go east to New Hampshire to visit our friends Dave and Lisa on Indigo Lady. We had met them and their all-electric catamaran in Luperon, Dominican Republic back in March 2023 and travelled with them extensively all the way to St. Bart’s. There, we said good bye as we continued our journey south to Grenada and they went to St. Kitts. We never would have guessed that, a year and a half later, we would be visiting them on land at their home in New Hampshire. It was a wonderful visit catching up and exactly what we needed to calm our anxiousness about Wild Horses. After a quick but fabulous two days in New Hampshire, we continued our trip south to Green Cove Springs Marina in Florida and to our beloved Wild Horses.
And, yes, Wild Horses was fine. Actually, she was almost perfect. Truly, she was exactly as we had left her, sitting on land in the long-term storage yard, hurricane-strapped to steel bolts below ground, stripped bare of gear and sails, and with our dinghy “Ocean Transport” sitting tarped up and strapped down on her bow. Whew. We climbed aboard and opened the companionway door. I fully expected a waft of mold to hit my nose and to see remnants of bugs or dried condensation on the floors. But no. Her interior was wonderfully mold-free. There was no water in the bilge and no “boat” smell. Just one dead bug carcass laid alongside the bug traps I had put on the floor. Take that bug! You can’t mess with Wild horses! Whew. Our boat was moved to the work yard on the same day. Although we were anxious to get to our system checks, we needed to take care of priority number one which was to get some stairs so Ocean could go up and down the 9 feet to the stern of the boat. Mike was 100% ready to build the stairs, but we got lucky. One of the yard crew wasn’t using their stairs and they were the perfect solution for us. Yes!!
Although all was going swimmingly (all system checks passed with flying colours), the boat needed a little tidying up and organizing before we could move aboard. We spent a few more days at our hotel near St. Augustine and then finally moved aboard exactly one week ago.
How long will it take to get Wild Horses ready for the water and a winter of sailing playtime in the Bahamas? Not sure. We have a list of projects and tasks but the big driver of our schedule is our engine rebuild. Last spring our mechanic had estimated that he would need 2 days to tear down our engine and another 7 days to put it back together. In between that time, our fuel injectors need to be sent out for servicing, which he guessed would take 4 weeks. Ugh, that equates to about 6 weeks in the work yard. To add to the pain, the hurricanes have played havoc with our mechanic’s schedule so he has been delayed in starting the work on our engine. He is currently set to arrive on Tuesday November 5th. So, the six-week clock starts ticking on Tuesday.
Hold on Bahamas! We will get there!! In the meantime, how are we managing life in a dirty, dusty and noisy work yard in hot old Florida? Check out the next post from Sailing Wild Horses to find out! It was all very surreal. There we were, a mere two weeks ago, driving away from Wild Horses as we started our trek north in our rental car. We had only spent a handful of nights away from our boat, our home, in the last two years. Now we were embarking on a four-month trip back to Canada that would have us living fully on land. No more slight swaying of the hull as it rolls against the waves. No dinghy rides to shore. No more making our own water from the salty seas. Weather watching becomes more about staying dry than about staying safe. A new, but familiar, adventure awaited us in Canada. The drive north was easy and, before we knew it, we were at the Canadian border at Kingston. It was a fun conversation with the border guard as we explained our South Carolina license plates and our two-year absence. He briefly eyed the very full car trunk, and our little Ocean in the back seat, surrounded by even more gear, and waved us through with a shake of his head. I am sure he was thinking “these two cannot be making this story up!”
We were dizzy with excitement in reuniting with Mike’s parents that same day, Sunday June 9th, and then with my parents the very next day. All the extra work, costs, sweating (38 degrees Celsius in Florida!!!), worry and travel to get to this point was worth it. We knew immediately it was the right decision for us to point our boat’s hull north for hurricane season and not back south to Grenada. We needed to come home. It is now two weeks after we crossed back into Canada and we are very much settled into our temporary land life. We are staying at my brother’s beautiful country home just north of Belleville. It is a Smart-enabled home so lights turn on as we walk into a room, and off again when we leave. Same thing for door locks. The temperature is custom-regulated and we make demands to Google for everything that we need. It is a bit of a culture shock for our little crew! We even have wheels to get around to visit family and friends. My mom offered her car to us for as long as we need it. Amazing! We are visiting my parents quite often and getting to Kingston once a week to visit Mike’s parents. Every moment is a joy and it is just going to increase throughout the summer. After so much time in third world countries, we had a long list of things to buy, most of which either wasn’t available in the Caribbean or was astronomically priced. Back in Canada, and a purchasing system we are familiar with, we have found great deals on cell phones and a new laptop (which has been limping along since Grenada), boat spares and new clothes. We have also taken care of most of our “necessary” appointments (covid shots, new health cards, dentist cleanings). Soon, we will be extra flush with time and will start to arrange visits with more family and also with our friends.
This blog will take a short hiatus while we have our summer in Canada, but when it starts back up in October, we will be taking you along as we go aboard Wild Horses after her first long, hot summer in Florida. Did our mould prevention efforts do the trick? Despite our efforts to seal off the boat’s thruhulls, have any pests made Wild Horses their home? Did any of the heavy rains or lightening strikes cause any damage? And then there is our poor, disabled engine. Our mechanic will be hard at work to get it back into shape and ready for another winter in the Bahamas, an effort he estimates may take up to six weeks. We are unsure how all of this will unfold, but we will take on that part of our adventure as we have all the others. We are now well-versed in finding workable solutions for puzzling problems, diving into tasks or journeys that seem a bit daunting, and taking real time to share stories and the beauty of life with those around us that really matter. We have learned the art of standing still to appreciate the good moments. Like these days 😊. See you in October!
Want to see where we have been over the last two years? Click on the button below!
When we first arrived at Green Cove Springs Marina, we anchored in the Marina’s harbour with the plan of getting ourselves oriented and ready for Wild Horses to be hauled out of the water. You see, none of this was in our original plan for our first five years living aboard. No, the plan was to stay in the Caribbean for several years. We thought that any trips back home would be done by either Mike or myself, never together, so that we wouldn’t have to figure out the logistics of getting Ocean on a plane or finding a pet sitter. What we didn’t realize back then was how much we prefer to stick together, all three of us, as a family. Hence, the new plan of coming back to North America after only two years. But we were unprepared for this decision so there has been a bit of scrambling to figure it all out. We don’t have a home marina to go back to, we don’t have a car, we don’t have a land house. We loosely tied some ideas together before finalizing our decision but we knew we would have to figure out a lot of things in the moment. And we have. We figured out the ins and outs of our new marina (who to talk to, where to get things, etc), got our rental car, secured our storage unit, and explored the town. We felt fairly comfortable after a few days and knew pretty much how we were going to move forward.
TOn Tuesday May 28, we asked the marina to move up our haul out day from Saturday June 1 to Wednesday May 29. They could easily accommodate us and asked that we immediately move Wild Horses to the wall in front of the “Haul Out Well” so that we could be the first boat hauled the next morning. No problem! Except, there was a problem. We weighed anchored as we normally do and Mike steered Wild Horses into the boat basin through the maze of moored boats. It all seemed so delightfully easy. Then our high-water temperature alarm began screaming. Huh? We were almost docked at the wall so continued the docking maneuver, even with the intense blaring of the alarm. Once docked, the engine was shut down. We secured the boat on the dock wall for the night and then checked for issues around the engine. There was no smoke and no burning smell. All engine parts looked normal. Oh, wait, except our coolant overflow bucket was completely empty. What? It was full before we weighed anchor. A quick look in the mixing elbow and, yikes, there was barely any coolant there. Somehow our engine lost all its coolant in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, one of the tasks we completed while anchored was to hire an engine mechanic. We thought he would be just giving the engine a once over but now realize there will be far more work required. He is a well-recommended marine mechanic and immediately he went to work diagnosing our alarm issue. The prognosis? Our heat exchanger has given up the ghost. This will be a big fix but the good news is that it is fixable. We have scheduled the mechanic to do the work in October, when we return to the boat. We will likely need to stay at Green Cove Springs for six weeks (four weeks longer than our original plan) in order to get the engine ship shape. Then we will, once again, set off for the Bahamas.
In the meantime, Wild Horses will remain safely on land. We have spent the last week getting her ready to spend her summer stored in “Canada Yard” baking under the hot Florida sun. She has been cleaned and waxed, the insides coated with mildew preventer, and roach traps set about the floor. All our stuff is in a climate controlled offsite storage unit to keep it all safe from mildew and boat smells. Our dinghy was cleaned spotless (this was no small feat for Mike!) as was our anchor. We also ran a “salt away” treatment through the engines for both Wild Horses and for our dinghy “Ocean Transport”. This was tough work with the days hitting 35 degrees and the overnight low never going below 22 degrees. And, yes, we lived on the boat while we worked on it in the boatyard.
We are now done all our work and are very tired. At 6pm yesterday, the crew of Wild Horses squeezed into our packed rental car and drove 2 hours north to Georgia to the hotel we reserved for the night. In three days, we will be back home in Canada. We are three very happy and excited sailors 😊.
What is next for us? Click the button below to see where we plan on sailing next.
We finally arrived at Green Cove Springs Marina last Wednesday May 22. This will be the last stop for Wild Horses for several months. We will have the boat hauled out on June 1, prepare her for a hot Florida summer and then leave her be as we drive back to Canada for a much-needed visit with family. I know what you are thinking – Wild Horses arrived at Green Cove Springs almost a week ago and I am only posting about it now? Yes, yes, yes. It has been a very busy few weeks for us. Since arriving, we have:
But, let’s back up a bit. I am skipping over the last half of our trip to Green Cove Springs and some of the best parts of the ICW! Just over a week ago, we left Titusville and continued our way north. On this part of the ICW (Titusville to St. Augustine), there are very few bridges and even fewer that need to open for us. Not having to call bridge after bridge means that we have more time to look around and soak up the beautiful landscapes that border the ICW. It is a twisty snake-like route that takes us through quiet mangroves (along the Indian River) and in the heart of busy cities (Daytona). And the dolphins. They appear everywhere and all the time, and thankfully so. They offer a wonderful distraction from the constant motoring.
One of our last stops on the ICW before we headed west to Jacksonville was the lovely town-like city of St. Augustine. This is easily our favourite stop on the ICW. Why? It mixes old world charm and a fun downtown vibe. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States and it does a great job creating a historic downtown area that embraces tourists. Cobblestone streets, boutiques, distilleries, cafes and tours. There is something for everyone and the best part is that all of it is just a stone’s throw from our boat.
Oh, wait, did I mention dog-friendly? Ocean was welcomed everywhere in St. Augustine. The three of us shopped together, walked everywhere together, did a rum tasting together (um, well, Ocean was there but not actually doing the rum tasting. She is underage!). And, of course, we dined together. The best was the Barley Republic Restaurant where we could actually order a meal for her off the menu. Plus, she was offered the best seat in the house, right beside the Hostess Table so that everyone could greet her as they arrived at the restaurant. So much fun! We stayed four glorious days at St. Augustine and, truly, it was tough to leave. Our only solace was knowing that we would be able to visit again next fall on our way south to the Bahamas. Now, however, we had to keep moving.
Our last night on the ICW was spent at Sisters Creek, which is just a little northeast of Jacksonville. In the morning, we started down the St. Johns River. This is a busy waterway for cargo ships and we did see a few as we made our way, first, to Jacksonville, and then onward to Green Cove Springs. The weather was lovely, making the trip an easy one for us. Until we got to Green Cove Springs. Yeesh. The wind picked up just as we tried to grab one of the mooring balls in front of the marina. Big wind coupled with a mooring ball attachment that just wouldn’t budge, well, we lost a boat hook, one of our headphones that we use for anchoring and I have a lovely collection of bruises on my arm. 100% yeesh. Anchoring Wild Horses went much, much better 😊. So, there we are. Anchored and preparing Wild Horses for our haul out. It is a super busy time for us, made even more challenging with the high heat and having to use the dinghy to shuttle our gear off the boat. After we haul the boat out on June 1, we will have another week of cleaning up the boat and having it ready for a long summer of Florida heat. We have several busy, hot, and challenging days ahead but we are buoyed by the reward of seeing all our family and friends back in Canada in just a few weeks. Bliss 😊!
Want to know where we are anchored today? Click the button below.
I will admit that when we decided to make the return trip to the US, I said “whew”. In terms of travel, all I could think about was how we would get some great sailing in the Bahamas and then we would plan a comfortable Gulf Stream Crossing, followed by a few weeks of easy motoring in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW). I felt we had earned a bit of an easy run, motoring along and enjoying the inner coastal sights, including the bottlenose dolphins that frequent the ICW in Florida.
Great sailing in the Bahamas? Check. A comfortable Gulf Stream Crossing? Check. Easy motoring in the ICW? Yes but… Then we went aground. Ugh. No, we didn’t exactly go aground in the ICW but turning off the ICW (and the “Bob423” navigation tracks we follow religiously). We went aground trying out a new anchorage in Jensen Beach, which was the first anchorage for us after leaving Lake Worth. Reviews of the anchorage in Navionics were split between “This is a lovely anchorage” and “Don’t anchor here. Charts are wrong!”. So why try an anchorage with this kind of review? It was a good staging anchorage for us and had easy shore access for Ocean. We rationalized that we would approach the anchorage slowly, while carefully watching our depths and we would bail out if anything looked to “skinny” for our 1.7 metre draft. Well, it didn’t quite work out like that. The depths went from 2.5 metres to 1 metre in mere seconds. And the charts were extremely wrong. We went aground right on a sounding showing that the depth should be 2.4 metres. For those new to charts, “soundings” are actual depth measurements taken at low tide. Soundings are generally pretty accurate except for two reasons: The first is at low-low tide (when the tide might go lower than normal due to a full moon or a new moon). The second? Shoaling. Ah, we have a winner. Jensen Beach is adjacent to the St. Lucie inlet which moves the sandy bottom around with each tidal change coming and going from the Atlantic Ocean. Shoaling. Oops. Okay, now we are aground. Out come the tactics. We first try to rev the engine (64 horsepower Westerbeke) in order to maneuver our way out. Nope. Next, knowing that we have a strong westerly wind, out come both sails. The hope is to have Wild Horses leaned enough to one side to release her keel and float off. Nope. Okay, could we perhaps wait for high tide and let the flooding waters lift her keel? Well, that would be several more hours. The only answer was to call for a tow. Thankfully, we bought insurance for this. We have a membership to Tow Boat US. We went aground at 3:45pm, tried our own tactics until 4:15pm, then I made the call to Tow Boat US. The Tow Boat operator was at our boat in 20 minutes and had us unstuck 10 minutes after that. But that’s not all! He then escorted us through the shallow waters to a nearby mooring field. He only left the scene once we were attached to the mooring ball. By 5:15pm, we were enjoying cocktails in our cockpit. So how much did all of this cost us? The annual insurance to Tow Boat US is $250 CAD. That’s it. No additional cost for the on-site towing or escort to the mooring ball. There are no exclusions, excessive questions or delays. Just awesome service from an awesome company. Best money we ever spent on insurance. For me, I would never do the ICW without Tow Boat US. Ever.
The next morning, we moved along to Vero Beach and spent 6 wonderful days at anchor, enjoying great food, shopping, the nearby dog park, and chatting with our fellow cruisers. It was a great stop to rest and relax.
By last Monday (May 13), we were on the move again. First to Eau Gallie for a night and then to Titusville. But what is the fun of motoring along in good weather? No, about half an hour from our planned anchorage in Titusville (beside the Max Brewer bridge), the weather alerts sounded off on our phones. A squall was making its way across central Florida and we were right in its track. Within 15 minutes, the sky darkened to a menacing grey and the winds started to amp up. Mike immediately made the call that Wild Horses needed to turn around and go south. We were minutes from our anchorage but also minutes from the bridge. If the wind increased any more, we could be in danger of hitting the bridge. Turning around was the right call. We motored back on our tracks, into a part of the ICW where there was no traffic, no bridges and enough space to allow us to maneuver without going aground. The wind hit 45 knots. We were leaned over hard, with salty waves slamming our starboard side. Heavy rain meant that we had to rely entirely on our instruments. Wild Horses and Mike are a well-oiled machine and they handled the conditions beautifully. Our only concern was the lightning. One wayward bolt hitting Wild Horses would not just mean that our electronics would be disabled but our engine as well. I believe a few prayers may have been uttered during the ordeal. A half hour later, it was all over. The lightning tracked east, away from us. The rain stopped and the wind died. We motored to our anchorage with calm seas. The only sign of our harrowing time fighting the squall were our frayed nerves and shaky legs. That was just a few hours ago. Tonight, we will have a nice dinner, sleep well and then be up, bright and early, ready to move along to Daytona Beach. Hmmmm, I wonder what adventure the ICW will hand to us tomorrow….? 😉.
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For the last few weeks, we have been carefully eyeing the weather for a possible window to make our run to the tiny island of Bimini on the outer edge of the western Bahamas and then across the Gulf Stream to Florida. Bimini is the first Bahamian island that we visited on our trip south and it holds a special place in our hearts. This time around it would be our last Bahamian island, at least for the next six months. After waiting out some strong winds over the weekend, we could finally see the weather window we were hoping for. Starting Tuesday April 30th, we had a forecast that called for good wind for a sail to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands, then calm seas for an overnight stop on the Mackie Shoal and, finally, by Thursday we would be in Bimini. Even better, Friday May 3rd was looking ideal for a fast sail from Bimini to West Palm Beach, Florida. Our cruising permit for the Bahamas was set to expire on May 14 so the timing was perfect. Our departure from New Providence was wonderful. The wind was in our favour and several of our dock mates came out to say goodbye and to wish us safe travels. This is one of the things we love most about this sailing gig. Everyone we meet becomes new friends. It is a strangely small community, geographically spread across the world but, as soon as you meet someone, the sharing begins. Cruisers just love to help each other out and to pass along whatever tip or tricks they have learned along the way. We all seem to know that cruising guides, navigation apps and Facebook only tell part of the story and each one of us has to piece together our own understanding of a passage or anchorage or gear or whatever. First hand knowledge from another cruiser is gold. In fact, the most recent example of this sharing happened in New Providence. We were rafted up with “Cookie Monster” a beautiful monohull owned by a guy from New Jersey. For fifteen years, he has been storing his boat at Green Cove Springs (where we will be storing our boat for the first time this year) and he gladly shared great tips for summarizing the boat. We are used to winterizing a boat but this “summerizing” thing is its own beast! Interestingly enough, we had first heard of “Cookie Monster” through a cruiser named Rooster that we had met in the Raggeds. Yup, “Cookie Monster” and Rooster. These are our peeps 😊.
The trip to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands was a fun motor sail made even more fun when we caught our first ever Mahi Mahi. Barry from Caretta had given us some great info about fishing gear over the past week and it really paid off. Even more fun was that we caught the Mahi using an old lure of my dad’s. Sometimes it really does take a village 😉.
We only spent one quick night at Chub Cay and were very happy to move on the next morning. Chub Cay offers a wide-open anchorage with good holding but it was very rolly the night we stayed there. We had a strong southeastern wind forcing the sea around the island’s southwestern tip and it caused the ocean swell to slam at us broadside. Thankfully a fellow cruiser stopped by (more of that cruiser sharing that we love) and suggested we set up a swell bridle to reduce the roll. It worked perfectly and gave us a chance to sleep well.
We were up fairly early on Wednesday morning for a long trip to the middle of nowhere. Well, not exactly. We were headed for the Mackie Shoal. This is a known sandbar along the Bahama Bank where, in settled conditions, cruisers can drop anchor for the night to break up the 82 nautical mile trip from Chub Cay to Bimini. It is a wonderous treat. There is no visible land as far as you can see. Just stars, our boat buddy Caretta and that beautiful blue Bahamian water.
Thursday morning, we weighed anchor just before dawn and were underway to Bimini. Last time we were in Bimini we stayed at the Bimini Blue Marina (highly recommended!). This time, we opted to anchor off the western shore. The next day was to be our Gulf Stream crossing day so we wanted to easily weigh anchor at first light rather than try to read the shallow water at Bimini’s narrow inlet. We were excited to be headed to Florida but sad that this would be our farewell to our fabulous friends on Caretta. We will be pointing our bow north to make our way to Green Cove Springs, Florida while Caretta is going south to the Florida Keys and then on to their home port in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We have sailed together for about 15 months now so the whole crew of Wild Horses (Ocean included) is feeling a bit melancholy about moving along alone. All is not lost though! We have plans to meet up again in the Fall and to spend next winter in the Bahamas together. Yay!
On Friday morning (May 3rd), we waited for the sun to make its appearance and then quickly took Ocean into shore for her morning business trip. Next was to weigh anchor and get the sails out. The seas were calm and the wind light, making for a very comfortable journey. And we were fast! The Gulf Stream gave us an extra 3 to 4 knots most of the day, allowing us to arrive at the Lake Worth Inlet a few hours earlier than planned. We were finally back in North American waters after leaving Grenada on October 28th. We are now looking forward to an easy and slow trip up the ICW to Green Cove Springs for our planned haul out of Wild Horses. We are targeting our arrival there for the 3rd week of May.
We have a Garmin InReach that keeps our tracks up to the minute (Recreation Plan). Check out where we are right now by clicking on the button below.
After spending the last few months kicking around the Exumas, we have finally moved along to the island of New Providence. Our Bahamas 3-month cruising permit expires on May 14 and our move to New Providence marks the beginning of our staged departure from the Bahamas. We are currently attached to a private dock on the south of the island (Nassau is at the top of the island) waiting out some strong winds. Once the weather is favourable, we will head towards the Mackie Shoal and then onto Bimini, before we make the leap across the Gulf Stream to Florida. When we left O’Brien’s Cay and the wonderful “Aquarium”, we sailed to Shroud Cay, just 28 nautical miles to the north. We were here just one year ago and had loved its quiet remoteness. This time around the anchorage is jam-packed full. Yikes! There are at least five superyachts, several dozen charter boats and a bunch of us cruisers mixed in between. Plus, new mooring balls that take up some of the prime anchoring spots. No need to worry though, there is lots of room for everyone. And we are still able to anchor close enough to “The Dinghy Route”. This is the real reason we wanted to come back to Shroud Cay. We had enjoyed it last year and were excited to get to show Caretta this little bit of entertainment that they had missed on their way south. The dinghy route is a narrow, twisty and turtle-filled natural waterway that takes you from the calm “Sound” side of the island, to the sporty Atlantic side. Using the flooding tide, you dinghy through mangroves and along sandstone banks, with turtles, stingrays and an occasional shark swimming alongside. Finally you arrive at the fast current-driven spin cycle called “the washing machine” on the Atlantic side. Our little 15 and 20 horsepower dinghy motors can do little to fight against the current, making our landing on the shoreline more like bumper cars making their final turn.
Although the dinghy landing is fast and rough (due to the strong current), the view is not. We have a beautifully long, sandy, white beach laid out in front of us, and edged with that stunning blue Bahamian water. Not only that, we have beer, beach chairs and a sandbar. Time for some relaxing in paradise!
Don't worry, Ocean got in on the fun! Click the buttons below to see her doing her best to "try" to swim at the sandbar and also how she relaxes after a big day at the beach. After a few days at Shroud Cay, we decided to weigh anchor last Sunday morning and do a quick little motor-sail jump to Highbourne Cay. A strong east wind was forecasted for the upcoming days and although Highbourne Cay is not ideal for big weather, it thankfully provides enough protection from moderate wind and swell. We might be bumped around a bit but it wouldn’t be entirely uncomfortable. While the winds were still light, we opted to dinghy over to Allen’s Cay and check out the iguanas that freely roam about the tiny island. Just as they had last year when we were there, a few iguanas immediately came out to see what we were doing. This time, we came prepared with some lettuce and celery to entice them closer. As soon as the food came out, we had about a dozen iguanas coming towards us. They were definitely not shy once they knew they would be fed!
The first bit of strong winds arrived on Tuesday and although it was comfortable enough on the boat, taking Ocean ashore in the big waves was definitely not so comfy. With even stronger winds arriving on the weekend, we decided to email our friends Carolyn and Nick to see if they had any space available on their private dock on the southern coast of New Providence Island. They quickly confirmed that they had space for both Caretta and Wild Horses. Yay! On Wednesday morning, we weighed anchor and made the 40 nautical mile trip west to New Providence. On the way, we tried out a few new lures and actually got some bites. One got away but a Blue Runner was pulled aboard and will be used for bait the next time we fish (they are apparently edible but not very tasty).
We arrived at the private dock by late afternoon, just in time for the daily happy hour with our hosts and a few other sailors staying on the dock. The camaraderie here is why we loved being here last year and why we were excited to return. Everyone attends the happy hour and brings a little appetizer and their favourite beverage. And then we chat! At the dock this time around were four sailors from Spain, a couple from Florida, a solo sailor from Texas plus Wild Horses and Caretta. We had great conversations with our dock mates, discussing travel plans, favourite cruising grounds, fishing (we need to step up our game!) and just about everything else under the sun. Andy (the solo sailor) even brought out his guitar and sang a few tunes for us. And Ocean? Well, she got to hang around the two other dogs belonging to other sailors plus Yaegar, our host's dog. Every evening was great fun!
Since we had a few days at the dock, we decided to rent a car and tour around New Providence. We got a few provisions, had an awesome lunch at the highly recommended Chives restaurant and saw a lot of the island. Even better, we managed to find a great tackle shop near Nassau so Mike and I could buy some better fishing gear. Hopefully it helps get some fish on Wild Horses!
Although we would love to stay longer, we have a great weather window opening up this week that will allow us to comfortably cross the Gulf Stream. We will leave the private dock mid-week and plan to make our crossing to Florida on Friday.
Click on the link below to check out where we have sailed so far!
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AuthorVictoria is a hiker, dog-lover, blog writer and planner extraordinaire. Oh, yeah and she is kind of fond of living on a boat. Categories
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