Gypsy Wind Green Marine

SV Gypsy Wind

Tayana 37' Hull #198

Where We Are and What We're Doing

Gallery...

Something new...a tour!

And an invitation for our dearest friends.  Here.

July 19, 2011 - Gypsy Wind is on her way to Charleston!  767 miles to go to the 'C' Mark...hopefully, there will be smoothe sailing for the next 7 days!

June 24, 2011 - 6:43 PM N14°48.72 W062°29.88

Brad said the winds died down to about 8 knots for a while and they did some motorsailing, but the winds picked up and  they are back under sail and all is going well.  ETA for Grenada- Sunday mid-morning.  I had a million questions but as they head southeast, the satellite coverage has become 'thinner' and the windows much smaller. 

June 23, 2011  - 5:30 PM N16°20.56 W063°21.84

June 23, 2011 - Latest report on Bright Hope

Brad and Art are 100 miles west of St. Thomas in 6-8 foot seas and 18 knot winds heading south (the wind is on the nose).  Chris Parker is expecting the weather to deteriorate.  Satellite phone signal is sketchy; cell is non-existant.  Will add to the update when I get the lastest coordinates and news.

June 20, 2011 - Brad's back to Culeba and prepping for the trip to get Bright Hope to Grenada. 

Gypsy Wind, Louie and Denise are in Salinas holding down the fort.   Me...well, I am still 'grounded' and battling the evil twins.

June 17, 2011 - Windward Point Yacht Club for a wedding!!! 

What a nice, nice wedding!!!  Our friends and family worked so hard to make this happen for us and it turned out just perfectly.  Will elaborate and post pictures later today.  Its nice being Mrs. Hoffman! 

June 8-10, 2011 - Culebrita Island

Now that the rain has stopped and we have good weather coming up soon, we are going to move to Culebrita Island and anchor for a few days.  I'm looking forward to moving a little bit!  Culebra is nice, but we sailors don't like sitting in one spot this long.   Hopefully, there, we will find a few more huge lobster, see some nice reefs and do some serious cooking onboard.  There is a lighthouse there and I expect we will get out and do some hiking, too! 

June 10, Brad and I sail back to Salinas to prepare for our trip back to the states.  I hate I don't get to stay here and visit St. Thomas and the Virgin Islands like we had planned, but maybe after everything is settled at home we can give this another try.  Having a wedding and officially starting a new life together is a good substitute. :) 

Pics from Culebrita forthcoming when we again have internet.

June 5-7, 2011 - Culebra, PR

...rainy, windy and dreary...good days for goofing off on the internet and making wedding plans!  We were able to get MaxSea installed on Brad's laptop, figure out how to retrieve GRIB files, get some research done on new product offerings, etc. 

June 4, 2011 - Culebra, PR

We are back in the Inner Harbor due to weather...or weather expectations, I should say.  There is a low building south of DR that its not clear what it will do next.  Some are predicting it will turn into one of the rare early storms (as in Hurricane) and head east and in that case, we will get to see some serious action.  It seems to have stalled there below Jamaica and DR for the longest time but we're starting to see the rain bands now floating our way.  There are no trade winds right now to steer this beast, so it just sits. 

Its been a busy few days.  We're getting Gypsy Wind ready for the next several weeks of travel.  Its going to be interesting and no time for errors for sure!!!   

We haven't caught anymore giant lobsters but remain hopeful that when we have another sunny day, we'll find a few more!  More later...

May 23, 2011 - Linda and Mike have asked that I post a link for a friend's boat.  Its a NICE one!!!  Take a look...

http://savvysails.com/featured-listing/

May 22, 2011 - Woot Woot Woot!!! There is going to be a June Wedding in Hilton Head!!!!   I'm so excited...

May 18, 2011 ... status quo ...

I can't wait to get back to PR.  Any time Brad says he's working on a 'little project' I have a lots to look forward to!!!  No telling what kind of suprises he has in store for me. ;)

May 15, 2011 - Culebra, PR...Columbia, SC

I’m playing catch-up today and logging all the trips that Brad and Louie made that that I didn’t…<insert very sad and disappointed face here>.   The dates are inversed; the latest is on the bottom of this post.

I am hoping that this part of my life, the missing out on everything we’ve planned and worked so hard for, is almost over. Nobody ever said life is fair and I am not the first person on this earth to have to deal with this stuff.  And in the grand scheme of things, life is good!  It’s been an amazing journey and I am looking forward to picking up on this journey where I left off...with the baggage behind me.  Soon.

March 13, 2011 – Boqueron to El Combate

N17°56.661 W067°11.966 

Sunny, 83° day with no wind.  Brad Motored.  Left at 8 AM, arrived in El Combate at 11 AM.

March 14, 2011 – El Combate to Ensenada

N17°57.819 W066°55.611 

Sunny with winds…lol…ok, I have out of the West-East at 12, but THAT can’t be right.  No wonder he motored!!!

March 17, 2011 – Ensenada to Gilligans Island. 

N17°56.896 W066°52.432

Yes, there really is a Gilligan’s Island.  And I hear it is just lovely there!

March 24, 2011 – Gilligans Island to Salinas

I don’t yet have a Lat/Long.  Brad and Louie stayed several weeks.  Louie was happy because there is a really nice little island just far enough off the main land that he won’t get to it.  There are plenty of mangroves for him to hunt in and space for him to run.  They should re-name that one Louie Island!

The little I got to see Salinas was all good.  We provisioned, did laundry and I got to meet his friend Henry the two days I was there.  Nice, nice people; lovely place.  I am looking forward to spending more time there one day.

Robert and Jan Hoffman, Brad’s uncle and aunt, visited with him the week of April 15-21; I was not able to meet them as I had hoped.  <…again…sad, sad face…> 

April 19-20, 2011 – Salinas to Coffin Island and back.

N17° 53.428 W060°31.719

I wish I’d been there…I hear it was a fun trip!

April 24, 2011 – Salinas to Vieques…WOOT WOOT WOOT!!!

N18°05.402 W065°27.337

Easter Day we (yes, indeed…WE…I managed to get back to PR just in time for my 50^th birthday!!!) left for Vieques. We were hoping for a nice, calm day to motor-sail, but alas…once again the trades that are suppose to lay down every night decided not to lay down at all!  We left Salinas harbor at 6:20 AM.  It was a gorgeous morning and my first opportunity to see the Puerto Rico coastline from the water.  What a gorgeous place!!!  As we left Bahia de Rincon and headed east down the Southern Coast, Brad pointed out the Hurricane Hole near Salinas, Bahia de Jobos.   The ride was peaceful and calm…up until we got from behind the protection of the point closest to Arroya, we discovered that the wind was PIPING and it started getting rough. We made an executive decision to pull into Puerto Patillas  for a siesta in hopes that the wind we die down some.  Brad and I got a lot of anchoring practice there; that was the first time I’ve been on the boat when we actually dragged!  Seems the bottom had so much turtle grass that our anchor didn’t stick the first 3 times we tried.

At 5:15, after some debate on whether to stay or try again, we pulled up anchor and headed out.  Once again, we thought we were in pretty good shape…until we got from behind the protection of the reefs right off of Puerto Patillas!  We nearly turned back, but again, made the decision to head on eastward inspite of having to deal with some very confused seas.  …yes, we should have listened to Denise and turned back, but we were too…well, determined…to get to Vieques. SO…after a long, long trip to Vieques, where we  traveled about 3 times the miles to get about 11 miles east.  LOL…Brad, Art, you guys correct me if I am wrong and I will print a retraction.   We *FINALLY* arrived at Sun Bay at 6:55 in the morning.  Yep, 24 hours later for an 11-12 mile trip.   BUT, it was well worth the trip!  What a LOVELY place!  Our anchorage was perfect!  Complete with mooring balls and crystal-clear water!  We were just a hike down a spectacular beach from town; the Paso Finos were right there in the park where we were able to stop and pet them on the way.  It was just perfect!

 We had LOTS of really nice meals there; Tradewinds has amazing food!  We did some snorkeling, exploring…and LOTS of work on the teak.  We caught a ride over to Isabel Segundo, the biggest town in Vieques, and did some Sea-glass hunting.  We found a neat little house overlooking the harbor (definitely a fixer-upper since there was nothing but cement walls) but it was fun to think about having a place with a nice little internet café and cruiser’s lounge overlooking Sea-Glass beach where we anchor Gypsy Wind!

 We had planned to make the trip further east before I had to return to Columbia, but because of the weather, we weren’t able to make that trip.  So, Monday, May 2, bright and early, we caught a ferry back to Fajardo and I flew back home.  <insert another very sad face right here>

May 3, 2011 – Sun Bay, Vieques to Culebra

N18°18.340 W065°17.878

Brad left Vieques at 6:45 AM Tuesday morning; motored around the west end of Vieques, then was able to set sail for Culebra arriving at 1:45 PM that afternoon (that is how it SUPPOSE to work!!!)  I understand it is a beautiful spot and I am looking forward to joining him there soon to see for myself.  He, Louie, Gizmo, Art and Denise have explored and made notes of all the best and most cool places so when I get there, I will get the express tour! 

March 7- 10, 2011 – Boqueron, Puerto Rico

N17 59.280 W 067 14.200

Samana was really a nice place.  I will be planning a trip back there one day.  There was so much left to see and the scenery was just amazing.  Brad found a beautiful beach while making fuel runs to the marina down the way and we spent a few hours snorkeling and walking the beach.  …my first sun burn!!! We hit the mother load when it comes to little conch shells…there were hundreds of them in a pile just waiting for us to pick up!  With no holes in them!  I am sure the local youngsters have been harvesting them to sell to the tourists.  We ended the evening at the restaurant closest to the dock; another ‘Oriental’ style place called Bambu.  It was quite nice and the food was very good (and inexpensive!)  We had a bit of a power outage while we were there but the waiter didn’t miss a lick and came running out with a few candles for us!  It was a nice night! 

We left Samana, DR at 11:30 AM on March 7 with the intentions of making a short stop and catching a nap before we started across Mona Passage.  We had a very pleasant  motor-sail along the DR coastline but found it was more comfortable for Gypsy Wind to be about 2 miles off the shoreline.  The swells were rather large; larger than we were expecting since we had waited for that ‘weather window’ where everything lays down, but it wasn’t too bad!  We found our ‘mark’ for the turn toward Puerto Rico about 2 in the morning…on mine and Denise’s watches…but the wind had not laid down at ALL…and when we made that turn, the swells that didn’t seem so large before became HUGE!!!  Sea-Mountains!!!    And that is about the time I decided I should get some sleep!!!  That was WAY too rocky and rolly for me.  I cannot imagine what it would have been like if the wind and swells had not ‘laid down’!!!

Just before sunrise, Brad got me up so that he could take a break and catch some Zs.  It had settled down just a little as we approached the mid-way point of Mona Passage.  I threw a line in just for kicks (no bites in over 300 miles at this point) .  Just about the time Brad came up from his nap, about 10:30-11ish, the reel started squeeling and line stripping.  I couldn’t get a grip on it and Brad jumped over me and set the drag…and as soon as he did, darn it…the line popped.  As we were shaking our heads and talking about that being the ‘biggest one yet’ we saw our catch jumping then dancing across the water shaking his head go get the hook out!  It was a sail fish that looked to be about 6’ long.  There is no WAY we could have ever gotten that big ol’ boy in the boat with us!  He jumped about 4 times more so we got a GOOD look at him!  Awesome!!!!  Our very first Sail Fish!   In the Mona Passage!  How cool is THAT!!! 

The rest of the trip to Boqueron was very pleasant and complete with another whale sighting!  As we approached land, we could see the rain storms skirting around the edge of the island and just as we came to the markers for the harbor, the rain slid into Boqueron.  We sat outside the harbor and let mother nature wash the boat for us and then she treated us to an incredible rainbow that went from one side of our boats to the other!  We could see where the rainbow touched the water on both sides!  As we  sat there in awe, a second one formed; bigger and brighter than the first!  We sailed into the harbor right under these double rainbows!!!   How often do you get to do THAT in a lifetime!?  I will be posting pictures of THAT for sure!!!

Boqueron is a neat little spot!  We weren’t able to see a lot Monday night when we arrived because we were not able to get off the boat (gotta clear customs before you can leave the boats).  Tuesday morning, though, we got up, went to customs in Mayaguez, checked in then came back and had a very nice lunch with a fellow boat that we first ran into in Georgetown; Dennis and Kiko of Different Drummer.   Turns out, though, that there is only one restaurant open on Tuesdays…then on Wednesdays, THAT place is closed and all the others open. Seems like an odd system.  Apparently, Boqueron is really hopping Thursdays – Sundays every week then they take a couple days off Monday-Tues-Wednesdays to recoup and get ready for the NEXT weekend. LOL  at least t that is the story our cab driver told us!  I guess we have a fun weekend in store for us!   I can’t wait to do some serious exploring! 

March 6, 2011 – Samana, Dominican Republic

N19 11.932 W69 19.827

We arrived in Samana on March 3 at 1:11 PM after a 150 mile trek down the northeast coast of DR.  The passage was good; there was some rocking/rolling going on and the wind was right on our nose the entire trip, but all in all, it was a nice passage.  The coast line here is just incredibly beautiful especially as you approach Cabo Cabron and make the turn to head south toward Cabo Samana.   We made that turn around 8:30-9 in the morning and as we came around, a group of 6-8 dolphin greeted us and put on quite the show!  And in the background, we could see whales.  We were not able to get as close to the whales as we would have liked, but it was still quite a treat to see them frolicking around in that crystal clear water!  We got a few 'tail' and 'spout' pictures but it was hard to catch them out of the water and watch at the same time!

Samana is a lovely town, but as the cruising guide points out, it is not a typical DR village.  Samana has a pretty hefty tourist industry going on.  There are a LOT of resorts in the area (no doubt because of its gorgeous scenery) and Cruise Ships stop here several times a week to give the tourists an opportunity to go whale watching. Because of that, the ‘real’ Samana is hidden behind the newly built ‘tourists’ stores and everyone here has their hand out for whatever they can get from you.  The prices are high here; nothing like Luperon…which I am missing right now.  We were able to find a couple good restaurants, though; both of the had an Asian flair.  Chinese food.  Its funny what you really start to miss when you’re away for so long!  

One of the things I’m enjoying is listening to the music all during the night.  We are anchored close enough to the docks and downtown area that someone with a good arm could throw a baseball over and hit the navy boat. So, we can hear people walking up and down the edge of the harbor, the music, smell the food cooking…its nice!

 There is a HUGE national park further down in the ‘sound’ called Los Haitises National Park.  I understand it is amazing.  I regret we are not going to be able to visit on this pass through as we are wanting to get to Puerto Rico.

There is also a marina just a little further past Samana Harbor that would have been a really nice stop.  They charge only .90 USD a foot for a slip and that includes all amenities.  Had we realized that it was as reasonable as that, we probably would have stayed there instead of here in the Harbor.  After all the ‘unofficial fees’ that we had to pay the local military and government, we may have come out just as good!  We will pay them a visit on the way home, for sure.

This is a really great spot for friends/family to meet up with us. 

March 1, 2011 – Luperon Harbor, Domincan Republic

Its been interesting few days!  We had the opportunity to make acquaintance with a boat from Chile; St. Pauli, with quite the able crew!  We were part of the effort to get her off the reef outside the harbor Saturday night.  What a wonderful family.  And I am happy to report that the damage that we saw when they pulled the boat seemed like nothing compared to what they went through Saturday night.  Whew!!! 

February 24, 2011 – Luperon, Domincan Republic

We are still here  enjoying our time here in Luperon.  We had a few days late last week and early this week that were a little ‘wet’; we had several huge downpours, but no storms as we know them in SC.  The rain  rolls in off the mountains here in Luperon Harbor; you normally have plenty of time to see it coming and get tucked inside someplace dry.  We’ve made it a habit of doing chores and projects early in the day and by lunch time, we’re ready to head into town to do what we need to do.  Normally, we will meet Art and Denise and have lunch for 100 pesos, sit around and talk a while with whomever happens our way, then around 4ish, head back to the boat .  Brad and I rarely make it back without stopping by to say hello to neighbors here in the harbor…or they will stop by Gypsy Wind.  

Debbie, Art and Denise’s friend, made it in Sunday afternoon after a 4 hour flight delay.  Art and Denise spent Sunday in Puerto Plata to pick her up…then spent several hours at the Puerto Plata Airport.  It sounds like they made a good day of it and we are planning to go back to Puerto Plata in the morning to do some outboard motor parts shopping and some sight-seeing.  This is Carnival week here so I am sure there will be a festival going on there!

We were fortunate enough to be invited by Lisa and Cade to take a ride with them up to an Eco-village that someone is building in the mountain outside of Puerto Plata last Sunday.  After an hour at the flea market in Puerto Blanco, we headed out.  Because this is their home, Lisa and Cade invested in a 4-Wheel Montero; a good investment here on the island!  We packed up Teka, Louie and Gizmo (we were dog-sitting for Art and Denise) and made our way the 45 miles to Puerto Plata.   We stopped on the way at a small road-side restaurant (an open shed with picnic tables and a HUGE tin-roof covered shed n the back with fire-pit after fire-pit.  I can’t imagine them having it all going at once, but according to Cade, they fill it up full of chickens and pigs on spits and sell out every holiday.

The trip through Puerto Plata was a lot like being in a larger city in Mexico only the streets are full of Motos; motor-scooter cabbies. They don’t seem to need to follow the same rules as the cars do…but  Cade was quite the defensive driver and he didn’t take out anybody.  There is a lot to see there; I am looking forward to going back tomorrow!

The Eco-Lodge was really neat!  We met the owner/entrepreneur that is putting it together and talked with him for quite a while.  He has several ‘camp-like’ cabins built out of thatch and the sheets of bark from coconut trees on a hillside overlooking Puerto Plata Harbor.  There was no ‘bad’ view anywhere on his property.  His intentions are to make it a ‘self-sustaining’ complex where he offers accommodations to groups who are here to do philanthropy work or to learn the culture but his twist is that he wants to experiment with ‘better’ ways of growing/doing/making/building and transfer what knowledge is gained to the local people here.  He gave us a full tour, including the two small cottages in the lower area of his property that he is planning to sell that come along with the priviledge of gardening and farming a part of the property.  Boy, I hope I have all of this accurately recorded. Just in case I don’t, I’ll let you look it up yourself. His postcard has it listed as www.tubagua.com. 

The drive back was equally pretty; I will tell you, this country side is just beautiful.  I could ride and ‘look’ for days and not be tired of the scenery and the views.

After we got back, Lisa and Cade took us on a little ‘special’ tour of the Luperon Harbor area.  We ended up on the hill that we see from the boat that overlooks the harbor.  From that hill, you can see forever.  It was amazing.  I am planning to walk up there with Louie in the next day or two and get pictures.  I am wondering if I turn and look toward the west if I’m seeing Haiti.  It still amazes me that they are both right here on Hispaniola; next door neighbors.  People are reluctant to even sail westward from here down the Haitian coast

Yesterday, we went to Damasjueguas Falls.  I was not sure what to expect and should have done my research and been more prepared!  We had a devil of a hike…UP the WATERFALLS.  Literally.  You need good shoes (boat shoes or flip flops are not going to work) and strong arms and legs for that one!  We enjoyed it a ton, but as Brad put it…we should have probably walked the beaches a few weeks before we tried that!  Again…omg…the scenery.  And we all survived!  Even though, I admit, there were a few times I was ready to turn around and head back because I didn’t think I was going to be able to do what the Guides were explaining to us…but we all managed to get all the way to the top of Waterfall 12 (thank goodness we didn’t go with the full 27 of them) and the reward was the trip down!  Although, to be honest, even THAT was challenging!  Maybe I’m just getting old. LOL  Denise posted several nice pictures on her Facebook page; you can look for Denise Bright on my friends list.  She is quite the photographer!   I thought I’d be taking a few too, but I know understand why they told we weren’t to take ANYTHING we didn’t absolutely have to have with us.  Even towels and sunglasses were left behind.  And that water is CCCCOOOLLLLLLDDDDDDD!!!!!

Today has been another  nice one; got tons done this morning, then carried in laundry, trash and showered, had lunch…all for 100 pesos.  We DID get to see a side of DR that we weren’t expecting.  While we were having lunch, a group of protestors lit fires in the streets. Right here in Luperon. We thought at first they were burning tires to protest the streets not being finished after a long, long time (maybe a year now for Luperon) but it turns out there is a DR Baseball player imprisoned that they want freed.  I didn’t understand the signs they were carrying and didn’t catch the name, but when I have internet again, I will do a little research.

Sunset.  I hear conks blowing; sounds like fog horns.

February 18, 2011 – Luperon, Dominican Republic

N19 53.996 W70 56.811

Wow!!! I can’t believe its been 12 days since we left Georgetown.  Time really flies when there is so much going on! I hope I can remember what I wanted to say about  the last few days.

We left Georgetown on Super Bowl Sunday…just in time to miss all the Super Bowl Activities (intentionally!).  We anchored off Fowl Cay and staged to get  ready for the passages to get us to the Dominican Republic.  If you are just reading this blog and are puzzled why we would move so quickly through such amazing places, it is because our dogs that are traveling with us required a USDA stamped health certificate to gain entry into the DR.  They had similar requirements in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, too, but with the DR, the certificate had to be stamped by the USDA within a month of your arrival on their island.  LOL…ok, well, DR is a long ways from Titusville, FL…We got Louie ‘certified’ on January 13 while we were in Marathon so his and Gizmo’s Certificates expired on Feburary 14, 2011…according to ALL of the documentation we’ve seen about bringing animals into the Dominican Republic.  Hence, our rushed time schedule. J

Fowl Cay was nice! We left Georgetown early in the morning and were at anchor in Fowl Cay by 2ish that afternoon.  Denise was right; the reefs around that Cay were just PHENOMENOL!  We explored a little, then went back and grabbed the snorkel gear and went for a swim.  Brad venture out a lot farther than Denise and I did and NEARLY snagged a Grouper…they must be hard-headed because the ‘sling’ bounced of the fellow’s head!  Me…omg…I found a spot between two really large reefs that was deep and had a sandy bottom. When I got there, I realized that I had a bunch of Sheep’s Head or angel-fish looking dudes right on my flank.  I stopped there and just floated around and it was like all the fish on the reefs were coming to see ME!  I had fish around me 360 degrees; thousands of them of all different varieties!  It was spectacular!  I can’t help but wonder if it had something to do with the ‘fish’ tee-shirt I had on.  It was like they were all coming to see what a sailfish was doing there at their reef!  Gosh…I need an underwater camera!  I can’t believe we left Brad’s at home.  Darn it.

Anchors were up before sunrise Monday morning with the intention of making a run to Rum Cay.  WELL…ok.  When you are sailing, your plans are very much dictated by the weather, to there will be frequent changes to the ‘float plan’ whether you like it or not.

We had an amazingly good sail from Fowl Cay.  So good, in fact, that we were making such good progress in the direction we wanted to go, we hated to stop there at Rum as we originally planned. So, we decided best to head to Conception instead of stopping at Rum Cay.  BUT…what we did see coming…as we rounded Long Island Sound (the northern point of Long Island) the winds picked up and the sea swells grew taller and the next thing we know, we’re sailing at 7.5 knots on a port tack (the tack that has all the leaks in the boat for us) with the rails buried and something along the lines of 7-10 foot seas.  It was a SERIOUSLY intense sail!  I will tell you, We had a foot of water in the floor of the galley and the head…I try to think of that as a good way to get the floors mopped and not that we are taking on water. We originally had hoped to anchor on the Southwest side of Conception, but as we approached we realized that between the wind, waves and reefs, it probably was NOT going to be the best idea.  So, we turned around and headed around the eastern side of the island to a very pretty anchorage near West Cay.  I’ve not been so glad to see an anchorage in a long, long time!  We didn’t have the time to dive the reefs or swim…I would have liked to, but we had the anchors down no more than 30 minutes when a Nurse Shark swam right under the keel of our boat.  A LARGE one.  10 minutes later, either he swam under again or his buddy was following him!   Looking at the Passages South book by Bruce Van Sant (the ‘bible’ for cruisers down this way) it looks like there is a LOT to see there.   From our vantage point, it looked like an interesting island to explore.  It is on our list of places to ‘linger’ on the way home.

Conception Island – N 23 50.810 W 75 07.285

We were back on the trail before sunrise Tuesday morning.  The winds that were coming from the ESE were then completely calm and the seas were nearly flat.  It was beautiful!  We went from there to Lady Slipper Cay in the Acklins Islands; a nice, long, peaceful and beautiful overnight sail! As we approached Lady Slipper,  we could see that  the water was fluorescent pea-green!  It strikes me as being so odd that  the water color is so different between anchorages.  At Conception, it was the most lovely shade of light turquoise, but just 70 miles away, at Lady Slipper Cay, it was crystal-clear pea-green. I hope my pictures do it justice.  We got there just around sunset Tuesday night.  Because of the forecast, we thought best to stay tucked in there for an extra day.  That gave us time to do some chores, repair some of the damage done the last few legs of our trip (there is always SOMETHING breaking or giving up the ghost on a boat) and do some exploring.  Thursday morning, we left Lady Slipper, made stop around lunch time at East Plana Cay to regroup and determine what our next move should be.  The weather reports had NOT been completely favorable…however, we all suspect we would have been better leaving Lady Slipper Wednesday morning instead of waiting a day but hind-site…well, we all know what good that does you. Originally, our plans were to stop there, take a siesta, then head on to Mayaguana for the night.  BUT…it was just such a nice day…Art and Denise packed up their dinghy and got it stowed on the deck and we made an executive decision to make the 90+ mile overnight run to the Turks and Caico.  Woot Woot!!!  We average 5 knots per hour so when you look at 90+ miles, you are looking at a 16+ hour trip. Non-stop.  Believe me; there have been a few times I’ve wanted to be able to pull over and take a break but you just can’t do that on a sail boat!

Oh…before I go on…Did I mention the bird that joined us in the overnight trip from Conception to Lady Slipper?  It flew up beside Gypsy Wind during my watch; scared me to death!  It looked at first like a giant bat!  After I figured out it was a bird (*whew*) and it figured out it could hitch a ride, it sat on the bow pulpit for 35 miles of the trip!  I back-winded in the light breeze and knocked our passenger off so it decided to ride with Art and Denise on Bright Hope the remainder of the trip!  I named it Albert.  Brad made a couple of lobsters scream while we were there…and nearly got us another grouper…but there were a couple NICE sized barracuda there that were equally as interested in making him THEIR dinner.   That is a really pretty spot.  We never saw any other people but there are a few cabins around and fishing boats were anchored.  My understanding is there is a family or two that occupy those islands and that there is a market on Acklins Island, but we did not venture that far into west.

SO…our Thursday morning before sunrise departure from Lady Slipper Cay turned into another 90+ mile overnighter.  And it was NICE!  By this time, Brad and I were getting a much better handle on how to sail Gypsy Wind to get good speed so we had a blast racing Art and Denise (they probably didn’t even notice we were trying to out-do them).  OH…and when we left Lady Slipper, our bird buddy, Albert, followed Art and Denise out of the anchorage!  He didn’t  land on our boats again (that we saw) but he followed us way beyond Mayaguana!  I think we may have lost him in a squall.  And there were several of those… we got separated from him between Mayaquana and  North Caicos.

One thing that Shel told me once…the STARS…omg…you can see forever out here.

Friday afternoon, around 3:30, we finally made our way onto the Caicos Banks and found a spot to relax for the night.  We ended up at South Side Marina off Sandbore Channel.  It was quite the find!  Simon, Bob and Sharlin were the most gracious hosts to us!  And they were all just a wealth of information!  We did laundry, had happy hour with their other patrons, did a little laundry then, at 5 AM Saturday morning, they were there to cast us off for the next leg of our journey.  How many marina owners do THAT for you!?  We will be going back there to spend some time with them.  And to spend some time seeing the Turks and Caicos. That is one place I was personally wanting to explore but due to our tight schedule, was not able to on this trip. It is on our ‘on the way home’ list of things to do.

Saturday’s sail was most interesting.  We had a light breeze coming right off the bow…which is really frustrating and we’ve had WAY too much of that on this trip!  Simon recommended we stop at Ambergris Cay (Big Ambergris) to take a break and get some rest but because the weather was so nice and sailing was pleasant and we were making good time, we chose to go on to Big Sand Cay for the night.  After dodging a few squalls, we got there after sun-down and anchored.  NOT the best of anchorages for us, for sure!!! We had huge rollers…just huge.  The sea was going one way, the wind another and apparently the current could not decide between the two.  LOL…and because we could not arrive in Luperon in the dark we had to stay there until 2:30-3 the next day!  We had a nice break, though; had a chance to clean up, cook something for the next overnighter so that we weren’t starving all night again!  Brad and Art found a way to change our orientation on the anchor so that we weren’t rocking and rolling so much; they took a 50ft rode and hooked it to the anchor chain then brought it back to the wench.  They cranked it in so that we were pointing into the sea swells.  That SURE made life easier. The boat only bobbed up and down then; not side to side AND up and down as it had done all night! 

The leg from Big Sand Cay to Luperon was very nice and without any serious issues.  We were all very tired, though…that made it a long, long 79+ miles.  When we left the island, we saw Albert again and thought he would  be coming with us. We had a wonderful sail; we sailed all but the last 3 miles into the harbor.  Of course, my watches are always exciting…I had a flying fish try to clear the stern of the boat and miss-judge smacking me right in the ear and then sliding through my ponytail and down my neck out to the other side of the boat.  THAT sure got my attention…I will be more careful about drifting off in thought when I’m on watch.  Seems every time I do, I have some strange bird/fish experience. LOL

Luperon – Domincan Republic N19 53.996 W70 56.811

We pulled into Luperon as the sun was rising. As I’ve said before, every place we go is even more incredible that the places before.  This harbor cuts inland some.  As you come into it, you pass cliffs with blow-holes where the surf shoots out like a gieser.  We can see the mouth of the harbor, the blow-holes from where we are anchored.  Looking around us, there are mountains rising up from the shore; the clouds roll down the mountains and make incredible sunsets.  Even the rain storms are picturesque rolling down the mountains! 

We’ve made some acquaintances here already.  Lisa and Cade on Sand Dollar; Dennis on Island Maiden…Steve and Annie at Steve’s Restaurant in town.  The village is full of life and color.  We’ve made several treks through exploring and still have not seen everything.  There is a lot to do here and I’m not in any hurry at all to leave!  The food here is incredible. The first night we had dinner at Puerto Blanco; it was pricey, but very nice! The last two days we had lunch at Steve’s which is just about enough to keep you good for the rest of the day!  They offer free internet as long as you eat there, so its worked out well.

Anyone that wants to spend a few days here in DR…email or call!  Denise and Art have a friend arriving on Sunday that will be with us for 2 weeks.   We wil most likely be pulling up anchor and jogging south-east down the coast from here and are expecting to be in Puerto Rico in the next 30 days.  BUT…I will not be disappointed one bit if we stay here in DR longer.  I love it here.

February 6, 2011 – George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas to Fowl Cay, then to Rum Cay, then Provo in theTurks and Caicos

This has been a good few days!  Brad now has the Dutchman System fully installed which should make handling the mail sail MUCH easier and yesterday, he was able to acquire a brand new Autohelm; same model as the  spare parts supply that came with Gypsy Wind and has it installed already! We are packing up and getting ready to pull anchor for a short sail to Fowl Cay where I understand there is great snorkeling and should be some lobsters to be snagged up off the bottom.   We’re going to use this as a ‘shake down’ since we’ve been anchored since Jan 30 here in George Town, then before the sunrise tomorrow, we will be taking a long hop to Rum Cay.  The cold fronts are starting to come less often now so the NE winds we need to move South are few and far between.  We’re expecting, from Chris Parker’s weather forecast and Art’s GRIB files and modeling software to be able to get at LEAST to Provo with this front moving in on Tuesday....it would be GREAT to make it all the way to DR, but I expect we will need some rest between those trips.

We’ve met some wonderful folks here in George Town, both in the harbor and in town.  And it is just lovely here.  Just gorgeous.  I am planning to make one last trek up to the Monument and take a few pictures before we pull out.  For some reason, I never seem to have a camera when I see the pretty stuff!

February 5, 2011 – George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas

We are anchored in Elizabeth Harbor at Hamburger Hill off Stocking Island.  We took a quick tour of Stocking yesterday to see what else is there.  St. Francis Marina, Chat and Chill on Vollyball Beach…lots here to keep us entertained.  There are three anchorages or hurricane holes in Stocking Island.  We took a look at those and found a friend’s boat; a young couple that I met in Titusville 2 years ago and whose boat Brad painted for them before he left Titusville.  I do not know their names, but when I met them, they had a little guy; not even a toddler at the time.  It was neat to find their boat tucked away safe and sound in a good spot.

February 4, 2011 – George Town, GREAT Exuma…not Grand.

We’re still here patiently waiting for a weather window that will take us further south. But, hey!  Not a bad place to wait it out!  There are 221 boats here as of this morning; LOTS of people make their way down to GeorgeTown and stick out the winters here.  This week has been just lovely.  75-78 degrees; a nice breeze all the time…and sometimes its downright windy.

This morning was interesting!  I was having my coffee around 7 and heard a whirrrrr outside and went to investigate.  There was a tug with a HUGE barge stuck right out in our ‘back yard’. I took a few pictures and Brad and I started to realize how seriously stuck this barge was.  We the Tuc, Jake Express, on VHF and asked if it would help if we moved our boat and he was MORE than happy to hear from us and immediately started steering in our direction…which meant we REALLY had to hustle to get 75 ft of chain and an anchor up and get ourselves out of his way!  Once they started in this path,  the barge freed up and he was moving really fast!  All the boats south of us had to move SERIOUSLY fast to get out of his way! It was quite the spectacle! I have pics of THIS one…and of the amazing sunset last night.  Check the gallery.

This is just a gorgeous place to be.  We did a bit of exploring Wednesday, then some snorkeling yesterday.  Today, we found the Chat and Chill café and then checked out the hurricane holes around the corner from there.  There was a nice path leading to the other side of the island and I was not prepared for the amazing beach we discovered over there.  Omg.  Spectacular.  And, of course, neither Denise or I had a camera so before we leave, we are going to take a ‘photo tour’ and try to do this place some justice.  You could spend a winter coming down the Exumas and not see it all.  I remember Katherine telling me how beautiful Green Turtle Cay is years ago (its on the east side of this batch of islands across from George Town). If you are going to head south and not go further than this, take your time.  Look at EVERYTHING.  Every little Cay is different; every settlement has its personality.  Don’t miss any of it.  If we had not been under a time schedule, we would have done that. We rushed through and then have not been able to catch our weather windows; in retrospect, we could have taken our time, seen more, relaxed more. We’ll be catching what we missed on the SLOW trip home.

No lobsters yet.  Brad saw a nice Squirrel fish…my most entertaining sighting was a family of squids. I pointed at them, they pointed back at me then held some of their arms up like they were being arrested. When I got a little closer, they had no patience with that and went squirting off but just far enough they could keep a couple of really big eyes on me. LOL  Cute! We’ve seen ballyhoo, tons of little tropical fish you’d see in an aquarium, a few stingrays, a couple of nice grouper that just happen to be out of season (darn it).  We are hoping to move over to Fowl Cay later as we understand there is good diving and snorkeling there.

The market area is nice here! You can find most anything except Mercury and Perkins parts.  There is a nice NAPA store about 3 miles north of George Town; also a lumber yard, a couple other things that just don’t seem like they should be where they are.  Most anything you might need is here; pricey, but you can find it.  My quest is to find some ant hotels for these little fellows that decided to hitch a ride so I will be going to Top II Bottom tomorrow morning; if they don’t have them, I’ll be shocked.  I’m hoping there is still some fresh produce at the market.  I am missing my ‘green stuff’…broccoli – 5.95 a head; green beans 6.95 a lb…ouch!  Cabbage, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery seem to be reasonable.  I spotted brussel sprouts and fennel that I think I’m going to take a loan out for before we leave.  I can have 2 brussel sprouts a day for a month.  LOL 

There are several Tayana 37s here.  We introduced ourselves to Dream Catcher’s owner, Paul, and had a chance to check his out. He has an ’85 Mark II.  It’s a lot different than our CT; most notably, the cockpit size and interior layout.  We seem to have a lot higher combing in the cockpit but less sitting area.  The outside is a little different, too.  Our bash rail does not go the full length of the boat and is lower.  The Mark IIs that are here have a bash rail that blends in with the carved teak accent pieces and most of these have that area painted a different color.  I enjoyed seeing his interior; it is nothing like ours.  I read later last night that every Tayana 37 seemed to have a unique interior. Seems the Ta Shing boat yard sometimes thought they knew better than Mr. Perry on some points but they also made them based on their client’s specs.  …and we needed to bring our cruising spinnaker…darn it. Maybe if someone were coming to see us...

January 31, 2011 – George Town, Grand Exuma, The Bahamas

North 23°31.777 West 075°46.187

George Town is awesome!  Looks like we will be here for a while, too; as the weather is not cooperating with us and we do not know when we will get the opportunity to get to Dominican Republic.  Leaving Galliot Cay through Galliot Cut was quite the experience!  I thought that might be what ‘confused seas’ looked like but Brad said those seas knew EXACTLY what they were doing!  It was all Louie and I could do to stay on the boat!  Gosh!  The boat that left ahead of us, Maggie M, was tossing so much that we could see her decks when the waves picked her up.  Art and Denise had an even MORE interesting time; the back end of their dinghy came off the davits while they were being tossed around so they had to rescue their dinghy AND try to stay in the boat.  I am glad it was only a very short distance we had to go through that mess…not something I want to make a habit of!

Exuma Sound is a lot deeper than what we’ve been sailing in the last few days.  There were pretty large sea swells that knocked us around from time to time, but overall, it was a nice day.  Still a little chilly in the wind; it is blowing predominately from the NE; not the best direction for us when we’re trying to head south.  We arrived here around 3:30 Saturday afternoon; in time to join the cruisers here for a happy hour on the beach and meet everyone.  This is a very nice community; Elizabeth Harbor is FULL of boats anchored; all doing the same thing we are. 

Yesterday, Sunday, we went into Georgetown to do some exploring and had lunch at a nice spot – Club Peace and Plenty.  Everything was shut down yesterday; there was hardly anybody around, so I was rather surprised today when we carried our laundry in to see that it is a bustling little town full of cars and people.  Last night was fun; they had music on ‘Hamburger Beach’ which is right in front of where we are anchored.  There’s a lot of talent here anchored with us!  Most notably, Callie from Serenity.  She performed several of her own songs and she was INCREDIBLE!  What a voice! 

After our laundry duties, we had lunch at Eddies Edgewater Café; another amazing meal…and I am stuffed.  Tonight will be a nice R&R night; maybe we’ll make it a popcorn and movie night. 

January 27-28, 2011 – Staniel Cay then to Galliot Cay – Happy Birthday, Art!!! Motored from Emerald Rock; weather was gorgeous!

North 24°10.971 West  076°27.997

After we set anchor, we had lunch for Art’s Birthday at Staniel Cay Yacht Club – Conch Burger and onion rings at Yacht Club then a nice long hike to the grocery stores on Staniel Cay. I finally got to see some SEA CRITTERS!  When the fishing boats come in at the Yacht Club, the Nurse Sharks and Sting Rays come in, too, for their free meal! There were maybe 20 swimming right under the ‘cleaning table’ so I got a really good up-close look at them! Afterward, we checked in on Rich and Danee, then took the dogs for a happy hour walk on the beach.  Later, we had popcorn and Captain Ron since Denise had never seen it.  This morning, Jan 28, we will be going to Thunderball Grotto then to feed the swimming pigs. I will take pictures or borrow some from Denise.  We will be pulling up anchor around 11 to head to Galliot Cay and prepare for the trip to Georgetown when the weather window opens.

January 25-26, 2011 – Exumas Park, Warderick Cay, Emerald Rock anchorage to wait out severe weather

North 24°32.,081 West 076°37.467

Checked in at 3:30PM and took short hike around after checking email at the Headquarters building.There are little birds there that will come up and eat out of your hand!  Next morning, we took a long hike to Boo Boo Rock and Boo Boo Beach, then Denise and I snorkeled on a reef while the guys worked on Art’s 9.9 outboard.  It is not pumping and needs parts.  LOL…the blow holes at Boo Boo Rock really DO blow!  It blew my hat right off my head!  The view from Boo Boo Rock was spectacular. This may be the prettiest place I have ever seen.  It was just amazing.  I understand Cambridge Cay is even prettier than Warderick from listening to others on the VHF.  Maybe we will stop there on the way home.

January 24 - 25, 2011 –  Norman’s Cay – Weather Vane Working

North 24°36.143 West  076°49.207

McDuffies Bar and Grill was closed on Mondays.  Darn it. Hiked around Norman’s Cay to look at ruins of drug lord’s ‘village’; apparently,  We found a fixer-upper that would qualify for Brad’s standards to work on; nothing left but the outside timbers!  It is a strange island; you can tell at one time there was a lot going on there, but now, its like a deserted war-zone looking place with a little small resort that looked like it was deserted in a hurry without putting everything away first.  The chair cushions were blowing around, the kayaks and sailing toys were strewn about, etc.  But, there WERE people there working; a generator running, planes coming in and out…

January 23, 2011 – Leaving Nassau for Allen’s and Staniel Keys, Exumas

The front that put us in Nassau passed over with a vengeance last night and we’re greeted this morning by cool, brisk winds blowing about 15 knots from the NE.  Looking around the anchorage, looks like several boats got moved around during the storms. In fact, one is propped up on the bridge; looks to be grounded.The rest of our neighbors seem to be missing altogether! It really was a roller coaster ride; I am just glad WE didn’t drag! I must be getting used to it because I slept great even with the anchor chain making a racket all night.  According to Wonderground weather, we had sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h) and gusts up to…well, ok, that doesn’t make sense that the gusts are less than the wind speed.  Looks like the high is going to be mid 60’s, today, though.  Yuk. 

We are pulling up anchor now to head toward Allen’s Key and then on to Staniel.  Next update, along with lots of pictures of giant iguanas will be added when we reach Staniel Key in 2-3 days.

January 21, 2011 – Crossing the Tongue of the Ocean to Nassau, Bahamas on New Providence Island

North 25°04.727  West  077°19.639

Chris Parker’s Broadcast at 6:30 is the new morning ritual.  And on Friday, he told us that we best make our way somewhere protected because there was a front coming through that would hem us in at Morgan’s Bluff for 2-3 days if we did not.  Bummer.  I am disappointed we did not get to spend time there, but we will stop in on the way back home.  We pulled anchor and made the 25 mile crossing of the Tongue of the Ocean to Nassau, Bahamas.  We are in the harbor between Paradise Island and the mainland. It is quite the contrast to Morgan’s Bluff.  The trip over was fun!  We had HUGE swells, but the sailing was great!  We had the wind off our starboard bow and for us, that was not the best angle since we cannot point as tightly as Bright Hope, but we averaged 5.5 knots and at times, were getting 7.5 and more out of Gypsy Wind!  …it was like a roller coaster ride.  The swells were hitting us across the bow so the teak decks got a really good dose of sea water.  We got a few good doses, ourselves, too!  I looked up once to see a wave that was MUCH taller than we were just in time to see it break.  It didn’t drench us, but we got a little shower.

Oh, yeah.  On our chart, there was this big, mysterious, giant pink circle that had no explanation.  Art’s chart showed it as a Mine Practice Area.  We sailed right through the middle of it. Hopefully, they do not have mines out there that stick to fiberglass! 

Brad put out a line as we sailed and around 1:30, got his first Dolphin. J  Looked to be about 12 lbs or so; it was neat!!!  Of course, this happened at the time we were screaming along at 7.5 knots and hanging on to the wheel with everything we had so we had to do some scrambling to get it reeled in and on the boat!   We have decided that Dolphin like pink and Tuna like blue/black.   The Tuna was not too large; maybe 5 lbs.  Denise and Art graciously offered to cook the ‘fixings’ for us if we brought over the fish and we had a really wonderful dinner on Bright Hope; complete with brownies for dessert!

The approach in to Nassau got a little interesting. We discovered, as we attempted to lower the main sail, that a rope tied to the very top of the sail managed to wrap itself around a shroud.   Not a good thing when you’re coming in to an anchorage full of boats with 20 knot winds! We were able to anchor off the beach in the mouth of the harbor, fetch Art off his boat, hoist Brad up the mast with the Spinnaker Halyard and he was able to cut that rope.  HOWEVER, in the process, the Spinnaker Block jammed and then we had BRAD stuck up there.  I will tell you, this cruising business is NOT for the faint of heart!!!  We finally came up with a plan; we lowered the main, sent the main halyard up to Brad, he switched out the halyards on the bosons chair somehow…I guess he was just clinging to the mast…and then we were able to lower him down.  

 It took us about an hour to find an anchorage that we would actually ‘stick’; the bottom here in the harbor is hard rock in a lot of places.  We did, however, finally find a nice, sandy spot and we are stuck really well.  Louie and I are looking forward to being on terra firma soon.  Poor Louie hasn’t been on land since we left Boot Key.  3 days now. J  Sounds like the front that we are here to avoid has broken up.  If so, we will be leaving tomorrow but if it does materialize, we will stay here in Nassau until it blows over. 

***HAPPY TO REPORT*** Not been sea sick even once!

NOT so happy to report...looks like the Lift Pump did not completely fix the 'making oil' problem with the engine.  Brad is going to call the local diesel shops here and price out the fuel injector for Perkins 4108s but he is expecting it to be mega bucks. Bummer.

January 19 - 20, 2011 – The Passage – From Boot Key to the Grand Bahama Banks on to Morgans Bluff, Andros Island

Anchorage – North 25°10.626  West  078°01.742            Morgan’s Bluff -  North 25°10.626 West 078°01.740

Whoa!!!  Our first overnight passage!  It couldn’t have been a prettier night for it, either!  The moon was gorgeous; nearly full which made it much easier to keep our ‘buddy boat’ in sight.  We started out at 12 from Boot Key and headed out north of Sombrero Reef and headed due east. The winds were S-SE at 15-20 and it was a pretty rough ride.  As we got approached the Gulf Stream, 3 PM, the sea swells grew to 3-5 ft which made for quite an  interesting ride.  Brad sent me down to take a nap around 6:30 and took the first watch.  I am amazed I was able to sleep; it felt like I was being tossed around in the v-berth like a rag doll. J  When the sun went down, the wind and seas laid down quite nicely. At 10:30, he got me up for my first watch…alone.  I was nervous about it, but my only real job was to keep Bright Hope in my sight and keep the boat moving as efficiently as I could.   We were motor-sailing at 6.5-7 knots.  On Brad’s second watch, just as I closed my eyes to nap, I heard a hugh ‘WHOOMP’ and rushed up to see what was going on.  Brad had let out the head sail and we were FLYING!  It was just beautiful sailing! Huge full moon, it looked like Bright Hope was ahead of us sailing through a bowl of water with diamonds on top!  It remained perfect sailing and calm seas the entire trip to South Riding Rock.

Unfortunately, our third boat, Dolphin, our buddies Rich and Danee did not make the crossing with us.  We were able to talk with them last night and are hoping that we will be able to meet up with them somewhere down the island chain.  They will now have to wait for the next weather window for their crossing and they will most likely go north of us to Bimini and then start working their way down south.

As we passed that mark and set our new course to North West Channel, it became so calm that we decided to motor sail and make some time.  AND…of course, the Perkins from Hell decided NOT to start.   First time ever.  It seemed like it was not getting fuel.  Brad took it apart, found that the fuel filter gasket was not properly seated and got us going again.

We debated on continuing on to Nassau; another overnighter, but agreed to  make it easy on ourselves and get a good night’s sleep so we anchored at  North West Shoals where it was shallow and out of the path of traffic.  It was flat calm and the moon was just incredible.  After battling with the Windlass (apparently a bad breaker caused the ‘good’ side not to work, so Brad had to manually drop the anchor then fix the Windlass), we cooked a nice dinner and hit the sack early to catch up on our sleep.

The following morning, Jan 20, at 8, as we pulled up anchor (manually) we discovered that the Perkins from Hell was NOT fixed after all. K  It is quite unnerving to me, btw, to hear that engine ‘not starting’…werrrr, werrrr, werrr, werrr, werrr, *cough* *cough* *cough*.  Every time it happened, my heart would nearly stop.  To make it more exciting, we were sitting on the edge of a shoal that quickly went from 8 ft to something more like 2 in a matter of 10 ft, if that!  After pulling it completely apart again, Brad found that the secondary fuel filter had the same problem as the primary and after an hour, he had us going again.  Whew.  J

Morgan’s Bluff is a small fishing village on the north tip of Andros Island; Andros is the largest of the islands in the Bahamas chain.  They are known for their produce and Andros supplies water to the rest of the Bahamian islands.  Lats and Atts had an article on Morgan’s Bluff just recently and we decided that would be a more interesting stop than going to Nassau.  The trip down was just gorgeous.   I don’t think I’ve ever seen the ocean so flat; it was like glass.  Imagine 1500-2000 ft deep water with absolutely no waves.  We motor-sailed the entire way and made it to the harbor at 3 PM in time to clear customs.  BUT, since we ARE in the islands now, remember that old thing about ‘island time’…the customs office there was closed.  BUT, there was a bar open. J  One of the patrons of the bar, Shalome,  was kind enough to call the customs office at the Airport and let them know we were there and wanted to check in.  The Customs and Immigration officers, both very nice ladies, drove back over there to Willies Water Lounge and we cleared with no problems at all.  It worked out well because by the time they got there, they had a third boat, Bula Bula, to check in and we had a couple Kaliks at Willie’s while we waited!

The US has a military presence there on Andros.  The Cruising Guide has the advice…Don’t ask, it’s a secret.  If you see them, get out of their way.  J  Something about ‘AUTEC’. 

January 18, 2011 – Leaving Boot Key Harbor…finally!

We are making final preparations to leave City Marina for South Riding Rock before 12 this afternoon.  Chris Parker is on the Single Side Band channel now answering questions for cruisers planning to make trips to and from everywhere from Maine to Mexico.  Looks like our weather window is going to be more favorable for sailing than we thought; we should have 15-20 knot winds early, then it lays down around the time we reach the Gulf Stream and will be on our stern pushing us through the stream at a pretty fast clip.  We’re expecting to make 5-7 knots average on the crossing.  Some of the boats traveling with us are slower, some faster, so we will have 12 or so boats strung out over many miles but someone should be within sight or at least radio-shot at all times.   I am so ready to go.  This is a lovely place, but 13 days in one spot is more than long enough!

Already, since 6 AM, we have added two new projects that would be NICE to get done before we leave, but it does not seem like it is going to happen.  That nasty smelling stuff in the shower pan occasionally is proven to be sea water.  The through-hull for the sump pump is right at the water line now that the boat is packed up and when we rock and roll, well, in comes the water.  Brad has now removed the calcium and salt build-up so at least it is cleaned out for now, but I am on Shower Restriction on the boat until it is fixed.  Bummer. J  Luck thing we still have our shower cards for the Marina!!!  I get one final very hot and lingering shower before we leave.  Seems the emergency sump is also below the waterline. Duh.  Alternator Belt is now tightened; we are getting ready for the daily trip to West Marine and All Keys Diesel for those last minute spare parts to carry with us. Note to self…LABEL MAKER, CARGO NETTING AND LIME AWAY from Kmart!!!  I guess I need to get my walking shoes on and head out!!!   

Once we leave here, we will be in transit overnight; we have only until Thursday noon to make the passage to Nassau.  We are heading to South Riding Rock to Northwest Channel Light then to Nassau.  No stops, no anchoring, no sleep. J  Unless the weather goes to hell in a hand basket; then we anchor on the back side of Andros and wait it out.  Friends and family will not hear from us until Thursday, earliest.  Blog will be updated as soon as I am able.

In yesterday’s post, I failed to mention the talented musicians that are here with us at Boot Key Harbor.  The kids on Drifter..Christine is the only one who’s name I caught, were amazing Saturday night, as were all who took a turn to entertain us.  Apparently, Christine was at one time associated with a Led Zeppelin tribute band; she shocked us all with their rendition of Dazed and Confused…omg, that young lady has an incredible voice!!!  And who would have ever thought I’d have the  chance to play zils with a Dave Matthews song!?  And I did so with GREAT skill, if I must say so myself!!!

Those of you that are reading this blog and tracking our progress, please book-mark the link as I will more than likely remove it from the navigation on the website for privacy’s sake when I publish again.

January 17, 2011 – Boot Key Harbor City Marina

…our first severe weather announcement…and it sounds nasty!  Storm is in Hawks Channel moving toward us.  I guess we’ll now be able to check Gypsy Wind for leaks. K As of 10:53, Looks like it has now blown over the Gulf and its going to be a pretty, but windy, day.

National Weather Service in Key West  has issued a special  Marine Warning from 7 Mile Bridge 20 miles north.  Capable of producing water spouts, moving NE at 15 mph.  Gusty winds in excess of 60 mph, dangerous lightening…includes the community of Marathon…strong winds from this storm will likely produce localized damage to trees and some buildings.  And now my weather bug is chirping.

We’ve hung out here for the last 12 days which has been a good thing for us.  Rich and Danee arrived on Sunday, January 8^th, so our ‘flotilla’ is now complete.  We’ve spent our time making repairs, finishing projects, etc.  For the record, anybody that thinks cruising is an EASY and RELAXING life, should come spend a week or two with us!!!  You’ll be surprised how busy we have been!

This is our first rainy day.  At least its not COLD and rainy! Apparently, there is a warm and cold front colliding that is causing storms and nasty weather.

We thought we would be leaving at noon today, but the official prognosis from Chris Parker, the weather expert down this way, is that even though the wind is turning from NE to SW later today, there will be squalls and the wind will not be turning until late this afternoon, so earliest ‘wise’ time to leave would be midnight.  Tomorrow, the wind will be lighter, but so will the possibility of gusts and squalls.  The group of us that are going, up to 12 boats now, agreed that there is no sense in getting all beat up if you don’t have to. J We may end up motoring more, though; when the winds die down, they’re expecting 3-5 knots instead of the 10-15 knots if we were to leave tonight.  I think I’ve seen enough wind. J  I know understand what the term ‘blowing like snot’ means.  Most of the time we’ve been here in Boot Key it’s been somewhere between NE 10-25 knots; maybe laying down a little around 10 AM, but pipes up again promptly at  2 PM.  We’ve had to wear foulies just to motor in to shower! 

The first order of business when we got to Boot Key was to get the diesel engine repaired.  On the trip down, we were changing the oil, putting in 1 gallon and taking out 2 after running for 8 hours or so.  We made a lot of phone calls coming down the ICW and the general consensus from the experts we were able to reach was that we had a bad Lift Pump.  We were able to get that ordered from All Keys Diesel and they were able to get it to us the following day.  Brad made the repairs and in the process discovered the source of the oil leak; there was a bad oil sending unit that he took out of the mix and replaced with a plug.  He also took out about 10 additional connections and 6 extra feet of hose that we couldn’t figure out why they were there.  When all was finished, we went from leaking about a pint every 4 hours to just barely a drip.  We also found that the head gasket is leaking but that is in and he is heading to pick up the replacement this morning.  SO…the Perkins is ready to go!

Every time we start a project, it looks like a hardware store exploded inside the boat. J  The plus side is that every time we put it all back together, it is less to stow! 

We added a Morning Star 30 Amp Solar Charge Controller for the two 130W Sharp Panels.  I am going to get pictures of the Solar and Wind Gypsy Wind today.  We also replaced the wiring with a heavier gauge just to make sure all is good.  Oh, yeah; we got the alternator running, too.

The 6hp Suzuki went to the shop, was repaired to the tune of $250, but it still was not ‘peeing’.  Brad just took it back apart and discovered the impellor was put in upside down.  Hopefully, before I finish this log, it will be repaired and running and peeing like it should. LOL  I thought that was a dumb term, but even the outboard repair guy used that term. Duh.

Every morning at 9, Boot Key Harbor Net comes on VHS Channel 68. They have announcements, Buy/Sell/Give Away or ‘Treasures from the Bilge’ and Trivia.  We were fortunate enough to get a super deal on a 4-person life raft and now have it strapped down and ready to go.  It is good to have it, but I hope that we don’t get to use it. J  We also put together our ditch bag, complete with extra handheld and an EPIRB. 

It’s strange not watching TV…I am nervous about seeing the news again.  The last thing I saw before we were reception-less, was about the red-wing blackbirds dropping out of the sky in Arkansas.  I never did hear what happened with that…

Brad’s spent a lot of time on Dolphin helping out with Rich and Danee’s projects.  They’ve managed to get a TON done over there; installed an inverter, battery charger, 4 solar panels and will be hooking up the Wind Turbine when the rain stops.  I’ve not stopped over there since Saturday, but Danee was doing some serious re-organizing, too! (not easy to do when all the tools and hardware is laying all over the boat) I bet Dolphin looks awesome now! 

January 5, 2011  - Indian Key to Boot Key, Marathon, FL

North 24°42.332 West 081°05.508  http://www.bootkeyharbor.com/

HAPPY49th BIRTHDAY, BRAD!!!! 

We arrived in Boot Key about 1:30; in time to get laundry caught up and for Brad to walk to DMV to get his license renewed.  Whew!!! Just in time!!! J  The weather  was much improved over the last few days but still quite brisk; ‘jackets in the shade’ type of weather.  The trip over was nice; not windy enough to sail but we did get to use the new sails a LITTLE bit. We didn’t push as hard as we had in the past few days so we didn’t have any problems with the Perkins; in fact¸ the oil looked good!  Art and Denise on Bright Hope, an Island Packet 38’ were here waiting for us when we motored ashore.

City Marina here in Boot Key is a really nice anchorage.  The people here are awesome.  There is a West Marine, Home Depot and Publix and a multitude of really cool little restaurants within a short walk.  Cab fare to or from anywhere in Marathon is only 5 bucks.  City Marina has a Tiki hut and has ‘activities’ for us cruisers including yoga on Tues, Thurs and Saturday…pretty cool!  There is a group of musicians here in the harbor called the Barnacles that are awesome.  They play at some of the local restaurants every few nights and when they are not doing that, they are here at the Tiki hut.

January 4, 2011 – Elliott Key to Indian Key

North 24°52.438 West 080° 40.721

Yesterday was a very uneventful ride from Elliott to Indian along Hawk’s Channel.  We started off early; around 7:40 and dropped anchor around 4:30 yesterday afternoon. We motor sailed and covered somewhere around 45 miles.  We discovered a neat little place on the bay side of Lower Matecombe Key called ‘Robbie’s Marina’ where tourist can feed the tarpon (and pelicans that are smarter than the tourists).  We had dinner there; the food was incredible!  We both had Snapper; one with a lobster/brandy sauce, the other with a shrimp/creamy tomato sauce.  UMMMMM.  Good. No TV, no Internet, so it was an early night for us.  If nothing else, I am certainly getting caught up on the sleep I’ve missed over the past 3 years! 

We didn’t run as hard as we have the last few days since we were able to motor sail so the engine didn’t make nearly as much oil as it has the past few days.  We located someone on Marathon that will be ordering a Fuel Lift as soon as we get into Boot Key and give him a call.

We’ve also found that we have an exhaust leak that is pesky but not a real problem unless you want to breathe. J  The Water Maker is working great!!!  It made so much yesterday that when we came down below after we anchored water was splashing out of the tank!  I guess that is a good way to keep the bilge nice and clean!

January 3, 2011 - Leaving Lake Sylvia and going as far toward Boot Key as we can.  Looks like it will be a 2 day sail and will be my first over-nighter.

The last two days were spent doing 'projects' and chores as we waited for the wind shift we need to get further south.  The South Easterlies that have been in place since late last week have finally shifted to very light North West breeze and should work to our favor.  Sounds like it should be pretty calm out there, too! 

We have two other boats that will be traveling with us; high tide is at 8:15 this morning and we will need to hit that to get out of this anchorage.

We REALLY got a ton done while we were here!  Most notably...WATERMAKER is hooked up!  Woot Woot!!! The sun and wind now makes our water.  Brad also got the Alternator working, hooked up two more of our panels and charge controller, lots of little things like putting hardware  on where we stripped, refinished and never got to it.

Yesterday afternoon, we got her ready for off-shore travel.  The 9.9 is on a motor mount off the water, fastened and tied.  The Dinghy is now on the bow of the boat where she will ride.  LOL...THAT was a bit of an ordeal; we used the Spinnaker Halyard to get her up there and half-way through the process, the Spinnaker Block broke.  We'll be taking THAT back to West Marine for sure!!!

Wish us luck!!!  Will check in when we get there!

December 31, 2010 – Lantana, FL to Ft. Lauderdale Lake Sylvia

North 26° 06.282’ West 080° 06.679’

Happy New Year to EVERYONE!!!

We had a WONDERFUL cruise down the ICW yesterday.  Its been partly cloudy and we had a ‘spit’ of rain when we started out, but overall, it was warm but breezy.  Winds are out of the SE right now which is great for keeping the cold air up north of us but not the best for going off-shore to Boot Key.  There were somewhere around 20 drawbridges that we had to go through on this leg of the trip.  We fell in behind Steve, Cindy and their Golden named Schooner and that made things much easier; they would get the bridges opened, and we’d ask the bridges to hold for us and follow up the rear.

The ICW through Boca Raton is really something to see.  I think I looked at the patio furniture as much as I did the houses...which were just spectacular.  The YARDS...omg.  Amazing. 

Lake Sylvia is an AWESOME anchorage.  We are right in the middle of Ft. Lauderdale; any and everything is only a short dinghy ride away (but you have to go under a bridge that requires you lay down in the dinghy…)!  I’ve never in my life seen so many huge yachts concentrated in one place!  When they are all lit up at night, it is spectacular!  I didn’t get good pictures yesterday but today am going on a ‘photo shoot’ expedition later today.  Ironically, all of the diesel repair shops we called yesterday on the way down are right across the ICW from us.   We are hoping we will be able to procure a Fuel Lift for the Perkins sometime today if anyone is working over there and from the number of boats they have in the boatyards, I’d say the odds are good.

The ICW through Ft. Lauderdale is laid out in a grid.  The main ICW channel is crossed at nearly every 2-3 blocks by canals that run perpendicular.  From the water, it feels like you’re in Venice, Italy.   When we leave Lake Sylvia and cross over, go to the end of the opposite canal, there is a Raw Bar there that has a dinghy dock that charges 10 buck – which is good for use at their restaurant that day.  Winn Dixie and a million other awesome things are just right across the street from that dock, so we will be going over later this morning to pick up the odds and ends we need to finish up some of our projects.   

It looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day…should be up to 80 later this morning!  We still have winds that are gusting up to 21 mph even here in Lake Sylvia. I think we will be staying here for a day or two longer; possibly until Monday unless we are able to get that part today.  If we do get the part, we may still hold out here and wait for a weather window because there is a fixed bridge in Miami that we are not sure we will be able to get under and would have to go around anyway.

December 30, 2010 – Hobe Sound to Lantana, FL

North 26° 34.907’ West 080° 02.822’

We woke up to 45-50° weather but by the time we anchored at 3:15, it was up to a balmy 74° in the sun.  Finally!!  Warmth!!

There were issues with the Diesel the last two days.  One day, we used oil, the next day we ‘made’ oil; we suspect there is a problem with a fuel pump lift.  Getting LOTS of practice changing the oil and in fact, managed to change it once while we were waiting for a bridge opening; we did it In under 15 minutes. J  We will be stopping for fuel and have a mechanic over on the west coast calling around to find us a part but we don’t expect to find anything until after the holidays so we are going to limp along.  Its not too bad; the engine is running ok, but we are losing pressure as the oil heats up and is thinned out with fuel.  Good thing we brought  plenty with us!

The trip through Jupiter and Lake Worth was neat! There is so much there, unlike the last few beach areas we went through on the ICW which were all pretty laid back and low-key. 

The anchorage southwest of the Lantana Bridge was a nice one; there is a neat restaurant and bar right there on the water that we took advantage of; we had the first of many spectacular fish sandwiches; one of my favorite foods.  We’re already moving this morning heading south to Ft. Lauderdale.  And it is just gorgeous out!  It must be 65° already at 8:15 am.  THAT is more like it, people!!!

December 29, 2010 - from Vera Beach to Hobe Sound

North 27° 01.887' West 080° 06.434

Yesterday turned out to be a gorgeous day starting out at 25° but warming up to nearly 65° by the late afternoon.  We left Vero Beach at 8:55 AM and pushed until 4:20 PM to make anchorage before the sunset. 

On the way out of Vero Beach, we spotted a large school of Dolphin playing in the shallows.  As we passed them, they fell in beside us and were playing along the side of the boat for a while; it was quite amazing! They were coming up close enough that had I been brave, I could have touched them.

We met a lovely couple on a Hunter 38', John and Lynn Frankel.  They had interesting stories about their experience being on their boat in Puerto Rico when Hugo came through.  It caught me by surprise; I did not realize that Hugo had hit so many of those islands on its way up to SC.

Today, we will be pushing south as far as we can and if the weather is favorable, we will be going 'outside' and sail a day/night/day to try to make Boot Key.  If the weather does not suit, we will continue down the ICW to Ft. Lauderdale and go off-shore there.

December 28, 2010 - Vero Beach City Marina

North 27° 39.657' West 080° 22.303'

http://www.covb.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={C75CAE38-03F6-46DE-8F44-07D0EDDD77DD}

After battling 25-30 mph sustained winds and gusts along the lines of 45 mph, this has been a wonderful place to hang out!  We tried to find an anchorage about 3 hours down the ICW from Cocoa Beach before the ICW became so narrow Sunday afternoon, but we weren't able to find a place that had enough water for us.  SO...we dragged the charts and cruising guide out and I got a crash course on how to make sense of them. Just in time. :)  We made it to Vero Beach City Marina just as the sun was going down - around 5:30 Sunday night. 

Yesterday was a nice day; although very cold.  We took Louie on a 3-4 mile hike over to the beach and down the boardwalk then came back and had dinner at the Restauarnat next door. 

Today, we took advantage of the free public bus that stops here at the marina every 30 minutes and made our way to West Marine (go figure) and Publix.  We now have everything we need for the next few projects and for the next leg of the trip.  We will be heading to Ft. Pierce tomorrow morning and if all goes well, we will be going outside and make the run to Miami.   Woot Woot!!! 

December 25, 2010 - Merry Christmas!!! Cocoa, FL

Longitude/Lattitude

North 28° 21.089/West 080° 43.65

We left Titusville at 11 AM and got to Cocoa at 2:35 PM.  It was nice!  A little chilly, but after we anchored around 2:45 and we were behind the dodger, it was really nice!  We made a lot of very, very pleasant phone calls. 

We love you all!

As I type this, the wind is building to an expected gale-force; we may have a storm or two tonight but according to the local weather, it should be clear and cooler tomorrow (record-breaking cold...yuk) and we are hoping to make another 57 miles down the ICW to Ft. Pierce.  As I packed I remember thinking how crazy it was to pack long undies but I've been living in these things!  AND...to my co-workers who gave me the AWESOME goodies just for leaving, there has not been a day yet the blanket hasn't been used and I'm making REALLY good use of my jacket tomorrow!!!  We're saving T-Shirts and Coozies for warmer days!  

December 24, 2010 - Westland Marine, Titusville, FLhttp://www.westlandmarina.com 

Longitude/Lattitude

28° 37’08.00” North/80° 48'06.00" West

Gypsy Wind has been here in Titusville since 12/2 being put back together after her trip from Lake Murray.  She's also gotten a bottom job, transducer and water maker installed and we've managed to fit 3 truckloads of 'stuff' on board and still have room to sit!  

 We've having a Nor'Easter here; its been really windy and cold, but we're hoping to leave the docks today to start making our way toward Miami.