Boating Adventures

We came down here from Bimini yesterday ahead of a front that blew through last night.  I had been here in 1986 on Obsession.  There’s a harbour on the north end that’s full of rays that have been fed for years by visitors.  They approach looking for food. 

Laura is taking lots of pictures, and I’ll post some when we get it together.  In the meantime mine are below.

Tomorrow we’ll head east across the bank.  Weather looks good to stop for the night midway, then we’ll continue on to either Andros or New Providence. 

All is good on board except that I jammed a finger in the windlass last night and mangled the tip.  I won’t post pics.  It’ll heal up OK we all think.  No major pain or discomfort.

We’re anchored here in Bimini.  Gateway to the Bahamas. 

We were a bit concerned about the crossing.  It’s been blowing from the north for a few days, and waves had been high.  But as forecast the wind dropped off and we had a smooth trip across from Fort Lauderdale, about 6.5 hours at 9 knots boat speed.

Yesterday we toured Lauderdale.  I wanted to see if we could get through the Dania Cutoff Canal to New River.  We made it, but not without some work and minor trauma getting under the lowest bridge.  We had to remove spokes from the steering wheel and the knobs from the shifters!

It was fun.

Tomorrow we head east across the Bahama Bank. 

All is good aboard. We packed up the boat on Saturday with a month’s worth of supplies and headed out.  Will be in Ft Lauderdale tomorrow, then heading for Bimini Thursday, it looks like.  Need decent weather to get across the Gulf Stream.  I have a shopping list of parts and stuff to pick up in Lauderdale.

Stuff is put away now.  We’re making use of the storage capabilities. 

As planned I arrived in Indiantown Wednesday and met up with David and Laura, who had arrived from NS on Tuesday. We’ve been getting organized and gathering supplies. The plan is to depart here on Saturday, head for Fort Lauderdale, and watch for a weather window to cross over to Bimini.

I’m excited. It’s nice to connect with old friends, and Laura has food organized for our month in the islands. Another old friend from NS is visiting for a few days in early March. Should be fun.

I’m anchored here for the night.

I haven’t written as I slowed down after getting down from Crystal River. Spent a couple of days in Clearwater Beach, rented a car and visited my uncle, picked up some groceries, and explored the area. I like it. There were smallcraft warnings and the weather was cool, so maybe that kept everyone off the water. Today was a bit of a zoo on the ICW coming down here from Clearwater.

Now I’m headed for Lake Okeechobee. I did that trip 5 years ago on Escapade and enjoyed that segment. The current plan is to be in Indiantown late Wednesday to meet David and Laura.

I’m anchored here in King’s Bay. Tomorrow it’s down to Tarpon Springs to rejoin the Gulf ICW.

The weather has been perfect for traveling. Calm and clear. Tuesday was a straight shot from Carabelle to Steinhatchee, and yesterday I came here. Tomorrow will be another nice day before a system comes through on Sunday.

I took my kayak in to the springs this morning and saw lots of manatees, but didn’t take any pictures. When I returned later in the afternoon they were gone. So no pics this visit. I do have pics of a coal barge going in to the power plant.

There are about 20 loopers here waiting for a weather window to get across the open waters between here and Tarpon Springs. Many are leaving tomorrow, including me.

I like it here. Good anchorage and a few shops and restaurants. I finally met Ted and Sarah from Manatee after five years of occasional spottings.

I’m heading to Steinhatchee from here, leaving early in the morning. It’s about 70 miles straight across. There will be a few of us.

I didn’t quite make it here yesterday. Around dusk it got quite foggy on the cut section. I stopped and anchored in an oxbow, then continued on down to here this morning. Went in to town for lunch.

Tomorrow I’ll noodle over to Carrabelle. There are about a dozen loopers gathering to head across the Big Bend. Looks like decent weather early next week.

In other news, I’ve turned on my satellite tracking. Keep up with me for the next few months here.

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/CW3R

I filled up yesterday near Destin, and realized that I had filled up exactly three months ago in Chicago.

For that three month period I’ve been aboard 7 of 13 weeks.

Total fuel: 306 gallons, 1,155 l

Engine hours: 241

Distance traveled: 1,854 miles, 2,985 km

I usually track furnace hours, but had a glitch with the hour meter after leaving Memphis. It was at 80 hours then, and I’d estimate 40 hours since. That would be 55 gallons. So 250 gallons for the engine.

Here’s to cruising slow downstream!

I’ve been slugging through the sounds against moderate easterly winds. No big deal, but a long way from anything interesting, and generally adverse currents. Ah well. Today I got to go through a ~20 mile cut straight through the swamp to connect two sounds. It’s nice to be close to shore again.

I’m anchored here, sheltered from SE wind.  Tomorrow I’ll probably get to Apachicola and stop for a spell.