Allen's Pensacola

1.24.13 This morning we woke up, excited to get to shore for the first time in 4 days. We thought we would have the whole day to dinghy around and explore the island. But a quick check of the wind changed our plans. We needed to head to Spanish Cay today before the wind changed. We opted to dinghy in to shore anyway and spend at least a few hours with our feet on dry land. We took Koa (who was even more excited than us to be on land!) and dinghied in to Allens Pensacola. We found lots of sand dollars and lots of already harevested conch shells. Koa played fetch for a little while and then we all loaded back in the dinghy to go to a small neighboring island. We got very close to the next island and the beach looked pristine when suddenly, the outboard hit bottom. Sean offered to get out and pull us in the rest of the way. When we got to shore, we found most of the same on this island as on Allens Pensacola - lots of sand dollars. But we did find a few medium sized conch. We decided to take three of them back to the boat and see if we could figure out how to remove them and cook them. We headed back to the mothership around noon, put the conch in a bucket of water and started sailing to Spanish Cay. It was an easy jib sail, going 4 knots with the wind on our stern. We trolled, but came up empty handed. We anchored around 3 pm and started working on the conch. Sean took the first crack at it, using a flathead screwdriver and a hammer to bang a hole in the shell and then a knife to cut the muscle attaching it to the shell. It was harder than the book made it seem, but finally we got all three out. The next step was even harder as we then had to peel the skin on the animal to get to the meat. Only problem - the skin didn't want to peel. After about an hour and a very frustrated Sean, we finally had our conch meat. Since the conch weren't really large, we decided to make some fritters. We fried them up and had them as an appetizer to our meal. They were delicious! Better than most in restaurants for sure! Although we had big plans to finish off the snapper for dinner, we all fell asleep by 6:30. I guess the sun really takes it out of you! We will head in to the Spanish Cay marina tomorrow for a night and also to check in to customs.

Great first Bahamian Day!

1.23.13 I finally drug myself out of bed this morning at 0900 and Sean informed me that all the other boats that had been in our anchorage had left. I always get a funny feeling in my stomach when that happens, like we are either getting ready to get caught in some bad wind coming from a bad direction or we are missing some great sailing wind. In this case, it was the latter. I checked the wind and then the charts and saw that this wind was perfect for where we wanted to go. I quickly woke Brad and explained the plan and we were on our way within 30 minutes. We motored the first hour directly into the wind and we weren't sure that we had made the best decision, but when we finally turned the corner and hoisted the sails, I don't think the conditions could have been more ideal! We were making 6 to 7 knots all day and the waves were small so the sailing was comfortable. We were no sooner twenty minutes into our sail that Sean caught a fish! A very large, unexpected Snappper had caught on one of our lines. Sean reeled him in and Brad netted him - he was 25 inches and looked delicious! Our first Bahamian fish!

The rest of the day was uneventful, just wonderful sailing and good company. We covered 40 miles in 8 hours. We would have been there sooner but for a minor incident with the jib. We were right where we wanted to anchor and when we tried to roll the jib in, it wouldn't come! We had to turn away from the wind and go the wrong way for almost two miles before Brad finally got frustrated and just took the whole thing down. We motored back to our anchorage, got the hook down and Brad and Sean fixed the sail issue. We had delicious Snapper for dinner and cannot wait to get the dinghy in the water and go in to explore Allens Pensacola tomorrow!

Crossing the Stream

1.22.13 We left West Palm around 0900 yesterday morning, filled our diesel and water tanks and headed out through the cut. The ocean was relatively polite with only small waves, although it was relatively choppy. We opted to head out three miles right away to check out the Gulf Stream and see if it was passable. We had discussed our options on Sunday and decided that even though there was no wind in the forecast, we would go out to the Stream and if the waves were calm, we would go ahead and cross to the Bahamas. If the Stream was churned up at all and looked questionable from the North winds we had been having, we would head South to Miami. I think we all thought we were heading to Miami that day.... But, the weather cooperated and we started our crossing. The day went well, although as predicted there was no wind so we motored the whole way. The only bad weather we had came right after dark (of course) while I was on watch. Brad and Sean had gone below to get some rest while I took the first shift. Suddenly a downpour hit, sheets and sheets of rain for thirty minutes, being blown in one me from all directions. Brad offered to come out and keep me company but there was no point in both of us being miserable, so I stayed put. Luckily, the rain didn't bring wind so the Stream didn't get too angry, although the waves picked up a bit. We hit the edge of the Bahama Bank around 10 pm, just North of Freeport. We had always planned on going in by Bimini which is much farther south after crossing over from Miami. It wasn't until Sunday that we suddenly decided to just cross from West Palm and head to the Abacos. For those of you who had previously read our blog, you will remember that we didn't enjoy the Abacos very much and had quite a bit of trouble anchoring there. We were, in fact, not planning on ever going to the Abacos again, but with North wind in the forecast for the next week, they were our only hope of crossing. Everything was going great until the wind picked up around 2 am. Brad and I sat in the cockpit while the waves built and the wind got colder. By the time the sun came up, our destination was in sight, but the it seemed that it was going to be quite the motor bash to get there. Sure enough, as soon as we turned towards Grand Cay, we were going nowhere...literally less than 1 knot. After a few minutes of this, we decided we weren't going to make it and turned around, raised the sails and headed to a different island south of us. Once we raised the sails, we were flying! The wind was so strong, the waves were large and we were being pushed at right around 7 knots directly towards our new destination. We made it there in no time at all, got the sails down and the anchor set by 11:00am. We had breakfast, made sure the anchor was holding and then left Sean to anchor watch while Brad and I passed out cold.

First of Many

1.18.13 We made it safely to West Palm Beach yesterday afternoon before the sun set and had the anchor safely down in one of our favorite anchorages, along with about 30 other boats. Sean caught a spanish mackerel yesterday while we were motoring so he made up some ceviche and we dug in for some celebratory appetizers and sundowners. We knew that there was an impending storm coming our way with strong winds and rain and as we settled in for the night, we could see the front rolling in.

With so many boats in our anchorage and not having anchored much on our new anchor, we were starting to get a little nervous. Brad let out a bit more anchor line and we sat back and waited. As the wind piped up, we went below decks to stay dry and warm but kept a close eye on the GPS and the boats around us. With winds gusting into the twenties, we knew we wouldn't be getting much sleep. We each took a turn overnight, staring at the GPS and making sure the anchor held. Sean had the last shift and by the time Brad and I were awake this morning, he was outside fishing and had already caught a fresh snapper and a catfish! It is pretty chilly this morning and the wind is supposed to stay strong for the next few days, so I think we will hunker down here for a few days, get some things accomplished and wait to head farther south.

And so it begins...

1.17.13 We are finally underway!! It took us two weeks longer than we expected to finally leave the marina, due to unforeseen engine problems and dinghy troubles. We left Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce on Tuesday, 1/15 and anchored just outside of the marina for two nights. We were waiting on a few parts for our engine but didn't want to continue to pay marina fees. With our new dinghy outboard ready to roll, we figured we could just dinghy in to land to pick up the parts as they came in. The first night started out a bit bumpier than we had expected, but we were happy to see that our new anchor dug right in and held tight through the blow. Halfway through the evening, the wind died down, but at least our wind generator had had time to run and keep the batteries fully charged through the night. Our newest crew member, Sean has made it his personal mission to make sure we are stocked in fresh seafood for this trip. We have been fully outfitted with poles, gaffs, lures and various other equipment that I have no idea how to use in the hopes of landing enough fish on this trip to not have to buy much at the grocery store. So far he has caught five small catfish and an eel. None of these were large enough to keep so we threw them all back and hope for bigger and better in the future. After a last minute run into town for groceries and a stop at West Marine and with the engine parts in hand, Brad and Sean left town and headed back to the boat in the dinghy...only it wouldn't start. After making a few calls and imploring the advice of some other boaters, Brad finally got the outboard started and made it back to the boat. We think it was just some bad fuel and after we filter it hopefully the problem will clear up, but we weren't happy that our new used outboard was already having trouble. Once safely back on the boat, we hoisted the outboard and readied the boat for the start of our voyage. Which brings us to today. We pulled anchor this morning before sunrise and were well on our way down the ICW when the sun finally peeked through the clouds. We were hoping to sail offshore but with the wind coming in from the SW, it would have been right on our nose. We hope to make it to West Palm Beach tonight and recheck the winds from there. Hopefully we will be able to make it outside from West Palm down to Miami sailing on the outside by the end of the weekend. Now that we are underway, spirits are high and we are looking forward to being in the Bahamas! PS - Sean just caught a Spanish Mackerel! We have our first fish meal ahead of us!

Finally.....

1.10.13 Happy New Year and welcome back! I know we are glad to be back up and running; it has been a long and winding road for us to be able to get back out on the water, but we have finally made it! Since it has been quite some time since our last blog, I will keep this as brief as possible, but we are very excited about some of the new updates to the boat so we want to share everything with you! We have spent the last year and a half working towards refilling our cruising kitty, both in West Palm and then in Corolla, NC. Although it took longer than we had planned, we finally saved enough money to be able to make the necessary repairs to "All In" and get her back on the water. We spent the summer in Corolla, NC bar-tending and while we were gone, we hauled "All In" out of the water and left her on the hard for hurricane season. This was our first time being off the boat in two years and definitely our first time leaving her on the hard for an extended period of time. We thought we had sealed her up nice and tight and taken care of all the necessary things, but when we returned, she was a hot mess! Mildew had taken over the boat completely and the two cushions we had left on had mildewed as well. We spent the next week using various cleaning products and lots of elbow grease to clear out all the lockers and scrub away all the mildew. Although it took some time, we soon had her back in shape - unfortunately, we couldn't say the same for our cushions. New upholstery was something that had really needed to be done since we bought her, but we had put off due to monetary restrictions. Even though we weren't equipped for the large sum it cost us to have the salon reupholstered, it was now a matter of necessity so we bit the bullet and now have brand new cushions!

We put in lots of work while she was on the hard including: - Removing all the sole (the floor panels), sanding them down and applying coats of polyurethane - Applying teak oil to all the wood belowdecks - Sanding, Priming, and Painting the Hull - Epoxy repair to gashes in the stern - Installing new batteries - Replacing our entire head system - new hoses, new holding tank, new macerator - Rewire the running lights Here are a few before and after pictures:

We also gave our dinghy a much needed makeover with some fiberglass repair work, some patches and a coat of bottom paint. We also purchased a used 15hp Honda outboard, not as powerful as our last one, but also not as heavy - which is important since we will be removing frequently with the multiple deep water crossings we have coming up. Although the list may not seem impressive to you non-boaters, let me just tell you that we put in lots of hours and lots of heavy labor to get these things accomplished. It is all very tedious, especially when you have no idea exactly what you are doing! I will give credit where credit is due and say that Brad undertook the new head system project and did an excellent job! It was a lot of hard work and a lot of him standing on his head to get into the tiny crevices. We finally were able to put her back in the water and into a slip. We were so excited just to have her back in the water and we could almost see the Bahamas materializing before us....until we realized how much work we still had left to do. We spent the month of December making last minute changes, stocking the boat, and making minor repairs. We were in West Marine at least once a day and everyone knew us on sight. We did buy a brand new GPS which we are super excited about and also a new Rocna ancor, arguably on of the best on the market at this time. After a week trip to spend Christmas with my family in VA, we were finishing up the last of our To Do's and finally invited our friend Sean (the best man in our wedding) to join us aboard. He will be traveling with us a for a month or so and helping us with our deep water crossings. It seems everything is finally falling into place and we cannot wait for the voyage to begin!