Back to the USA

April 23 - May 26, 2015

After anchoring off Man Island in the Exumas for 5 nights, we went back to Romora Bay Yacht Club to await the arrival of our good friends Jack and Carol on Toucana. 

Me, taking pictures on Man Island

Jeff found a homemade vessel - probably made in Haiti. I'll let him fill you in on the particulars.

Hi, Jeff here. Metal frame, aluminum triplex wire coiled to make the hull form, blue tarp wrapped around the triplex coils then filled with two part foam. Get this... the diesel engine says "Thermo-King" on the valve cover. If the guy who built that raft ever gets to America, someone is going to employ one hell of an ingenious mechanic.

Romora Bay Yacht Club sunset

Here comes Toucana the next morning!

Toucana pulled into a nearby slip and we decided to rent a golf cart for the next 24 hours so we could grab some groceries and check out a few shops on Harbour Island together.

We opted to treat ourselves to lunch at the Coral Sands Resort, a great suggestion from Carol. It sounds a little ridiculous given the fact that we have pizza all over the place in the US, but they have the absolute best pizza in the Bahamas! (a very rare treat) This was the first pizza we'd had since leaving the states and it was absolutely incredible. I should have taken a picture of the four different kinds we had... The deck where we sat overlooked a gorgeous pink sand beach and there were plenty of beachgoers lazing there. A local horseman attracted lots of attention! What a neat sight. Carol and I jumped up and took lots of pictures. Jeff insists we were taking pictures of a "stud on a stud". Oh brother.....

After lunch and shopping we returned to the marina and relaxed for a while. Jack and Carol went up to the pool for a dip (it was a HOT day!) and we prepared for our anticipated departure the next morning. We opted for hors d'oeuvres for dinner since we'd all gobbled up every bit of our individual pizzas earlier. I brought some lobster dip and Carol put out her usual incredible spread. We just LOVE this lifestyle and meeting up with our friends from all over. 

Jack and Carol aboard Toucana

We were off the dock at 8:50 on Friday the 24th of April and waved goodbye to everyone there. Back through a portion of the Devil's Backbone, then offshore at Bridge Point to cross back to the southern Abacos. We had a line out behind the boat and around 12:30 we had a fish on! Jeff hauled in the 36" Mahi and poured some vodka in the gills to settle the fish down. Works every time! Thirty minutes later, we had 5 fish dinners in the freezer. 

Thanks for taking our picture Carol!

We encountered some rain which took care of giving the boat a good bath and cooled us down. By 5:15 we were anchored behind Lynyard Cay where there were 8 other boats. It was a comfortable evening and we spent a lazy morning waiting on the 2:30pm high tide we would need in order to make it through the Little Harbour channel to Pete's Pub. Since we had time on our hands we lowered the dinghy and explored the beaches.

Anchor up after lunch and on to Little Harbour where our friends Tina and Ron on Sea Gypsy were moored. We swam and snorkeled a bit to cool off, then headed to the pub for dinner with Tina and Ron. The next day the wind picked up so we decided to stay put another day until it blew past. On April 27th we motored around Tilloo Bank and set the jib to sail on to Hope Town. Amazing how almost all of the boats in the harbour that were on moorings when we left for the Exumas had departed. It's a good thing we had a reservation at the Hope Town Inn and Marina, as there weren't any moorings available! There were a whole new batch of boaters.

It was time to ready for our crossing back to FL so we said goodbye to Hope Town and sailed over to Marsh Harbour to provision. After spending the night at anchor there, we headed north with a reef in the mainsail and around Whale Cay, then straight to Green Turtle Cay and into a slip at the Bluff House. This would be where we would wait out the rain and brisk winds which were forecast for the next several days. Andrew, the dockmaster, remembered us from two years ago and welcomed us back. We were quite happy to see him still there! Our friends Tina and Ron were at a marina nearby and we caught up with them for dinner and music by the Gully Roosters ("the best band in the land" for 37 years) at the Green Turtle Club on Ron's birthday. We dance, dance, danced! We also caught up with boating friends Karen and Chuck who were on a mooring in the harbour. We originally met them in Georgetown, SC on our journey south from Maine in the fall. It's amazing how close this boating world is. 

The weather was supposed to clear the next morning so most of the boats were expected to head out. 

The harbour at Green Turtle Cay

The beach at Bluff House Marina

Nuf said...

Sun setting on the beach at Bluff House Marina

Jeff gave Andrew a tour of our "home". What a great dockmaster

Andrew, helping fellow boaters with dock lines

We met David - a friend of my Real Estate Broker John Barnes

We wanted to stop at Manjack Cay, a favorite uninhabited island of ours so we said goodbye to Andrew and the Bluff House and motored the short 1 hour there towing the dinghy behind. After taking the dinghy to shore it was apparent that someone had been making a habit of feeding the rays there as they weren't afraid of us at all and in fact, swam up to us looking for handouts. One tucked in under our dinghy perhaps for a little shade. We walked the beautiful shoreline and they followed along. Several years ago we found this island to be one of the most beautiful and peaceful places we had seen. It's even more beautiful now with the "welcoming committee" in this little piece of paradise.

After a couple of hours at Manjack, we continued on our way to Great Sale Cay where we would anchor for the night before crossing back to the states. The weather window looks to be a good one.

Our friends Tina and Ron caught up with us there and we spent a lovely evening onboard the Sea Gypsy enjoying hors d'oeuvres prepared by Tina. Yum!!  We always enjoy spending time with these guys and sharing our travel experiences. The next morning they were on their way to West End for a night or two. We spent the next 30 hours crossing the gulf stream to Ponce Inlet and took a slip at the New Smyrna City Marina. It was an easy overnight crossing. The following morning we headed offshore once again and arrived in St. Augustine by 4pm. It was a great 4.5 months in the islands! Time flies when you're having fun...

Ron and Tina on Sea Gypsy

On our way back to EXILE after visiting with Ron and Tina

EXILE

Sea Gypsy

Sea Gypsy

Crossing the "stream" and into the night

Good morning!

Dolphin bow rider in the morning

Dinner at Kingfish Grill, Camachee Cove in St. Augustine on May 11, 2015

We're in St. Augustine for a couple of weeks and hope to catch up with our kids, grandkids and friends in the area, then begin our trip up the east coast to Maine once again. 

Barbara and Bob onboard, then to dinner in St. Augustine

Craig, Judith and Sami out for a spin. Always good to see them!

And as always, some of the local sights here in St. Augustine. I'm practicing with my new camera and hope to post even better shots than in the past. 65X Zoom!

Check out the yellow feet

Most importantly, during our stay in St. Augustine, we spent time with children and grandchildren.

Boy, have they grown since we last saw them in December!

Brooke, the pony rider

Brooke in her fancy car

R.J. (Raymond Jack) with his proud parents Raymond and Rose

"Jack" getting to know Pop

Brooke, "cruisin"

We enjoyed a special evening with our good friends Barb and Ed in their home last night... a wonderful dinner, great conversation and lots of fun memories. Thanks again and we'll see you when we return south (unless you come visit us in Maine!).

Our upcoming plans are to head north back to the comfortable temps in Maine for the summer. Once we complete the last of our "to do" list, we'll wait for our weather window to head offshore to Hilton Head Island. Beyond that, you'll have to wait and see. Have a terrific summer everyone!

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