First Mate Log Excerpts

This blog post is 90% directly from the log. We had crazy weather with hiding from wind to wonderful days fishing and visiting friends. Our first few weeks of the season were a bit of a roller coaster, and the log depicts that better than any flowery verbiage I can throw at you.

2/17/24 Wind SW 7-9knts H73 L69 mostly overcast

Slept like a rock at Mangrove Cay. The boys got a couple small lobster- Mike ate one and Wyatt the other. Otherwise, pork chops, mashed potatoes, salad for supper. This morning hauled anchor at 0900- headed for Great Sale (19 miles). Last year the kids (including Preston) caught several fish and lobster here. We will be able to take dogs to shore- so I’m all for that. Temp is lovely- there have not been any bugs- thank you Jesus! We sailed 3kts for a few hours- Ventolines flew their spinaker as their jib is torn. Now motoring the rest of the way so they can fish. It’s been grand so far. Looking forward to setting foot on some sand and in some sea water. ETA now 3pm.

2/18/24 Wind NNE 15-30kts H71 L68 Overcast Great Sale #2 -> Tom Johnson Sound Great Sale #3

Woke up to wind/squall from NE- NOT predicted. Discussed with Ventolines and made plan to go around the Cay. Initial anchorage was miserable- so glad to get moving. Had a downwind motor sail to begin with then back into the wind as we got closer. There’s a catamaran that seems to be going the same direction. Will watch church when we get anchored. Not sure what the plan will be tomorrow.

2/20/24 Wind NNW 10-15kts H69 L65 Some clouds Great Sale-> Allens Pensacola

Sat out a gale yesterday- 38kts 1-2′ seas. Today we sail!! We have full main and jib making 6kts consistently, we saw up to 7.3 kts with a gust. We are playing with sail trim and have decided the new main has made quite a difference. We haven’t stopped at Allens Pensacola before- so will be nice to have a new spot.

We ended up at Manjack with a ROLLY anchorage for the 2 nights. We were able to run dogs, thankfully. (We still haven’t anchored at Allens Pensacola.)

2/22/24 Wind E 10kts H73 L66 Sunny (Praise be to God!) Manjack-> GTC (Green Turtle Cay)

Nice beam reach to GTC with the genoa. Two trips to fuel dock topping off diesel and gas. (We can’t get Voyager to the fuel dock here, or most places in The Bahamas, so we make trips filling our jerry cans to fill the tanks.) Saw small shark and large ray at the dock. Ran dogs at Manjack this morning. Hoping for a date night. (The adults did go out for supper. We met a fun young woman from the US, Adrienne.)

2/23/24 S winds high teens-24 kts cloudy H74 L67 Rain likely GTC-> Marsh Harbour

*Salty* Passage. 10-12′ seas and sporty through Whale Cut. More weather coming tonight and tomorrow. No one is seasick, thankfully. We are definitely ready and hoping for better weather. We will see if we can visit Bob and Janice (Cronin, from Sturgis who own property on Abaco) while we are at Marsh.

2/25/24 10kts NE H70 Witch Point-> Black Point

Sailing with the head sail at 4kts. Walked about 2 miles on shore on dirt road- was delightful. Janice and Bob Cronin drove us to Abaco Grocery and Maxwells yesterday. Such a blessing to us! Will stay at Black Point tonight and Linyard tomorrow and hopefully ‘Lutra Tuesday. Listening and watching church while underway. Luke 3:7-20 Boys have caught 2 conch, 1 grouper, lionfish and a snapper. Ventolines crew came for supper last night and we played Telestrations.

2/26/24 Light breeze H74 L59 Sunny Black Point-> Linyard Cay

Walked the beach and abandoned House- would love to buy that place. The walls and foundation are alright- plaster has cracked and interior wood is rotting. There’s still a roof. The walls are made of rock. I imagine the foundation is as well. I may investigate….. Listening to Maya Angelou- Letter To My Daughter. Boys plan to spear more fish.

This is how our first 9 days went. Although the weather improves somewhat over the next few weeks, we have other “incidents” that pop up. Stay tuned for that drama!

Slainte’

2024 Sailing Season Opener

January 20, 2024

From our log:

“Crew: Captain Mike, First Mate Erin, Second Mate Matthew, King and Sidney

16th wedding anniversary and splash day! We launched at 0700 and made our way down the ICW to St Augustine. It was an uneventful motor- other than being so cold. (I don’t remember that it was cold, truth be told- just that we were on our way.) We used the vent that Mike rigged from the engine room and that made it tolerable. in the enclosure.

Sea Rat and Seadacious splashed Thursday. Sea Rat is hunkered down at Fernandina as they don’t have an enclosure. SeaDacious is here in St Augustine for a few days. We are waiting for a new Starlink Cable and a few other items- most important being coffee. Looks like moving on Thurs the 25th- again on the inside.”

This was the start of our trip to the Bahamas. We made it to Vero Beach on the 27th where we waited for a replacement Starlink. It ended up being sent to SD and we had a heck of a time getting it sent to us. Our dear son-in-law Jon sent it to our oldest son’s friend Brady in Palm Coast, and he ended up delivering it to us. What a mess. But- we have realized we are safer and better able to do all the things with it, so we delayed our crossing.

On the 12th we moved to Ft Pierce then Jensen Beach the 13th. In Jensen Beach we had a delightful German meal and that’s where Brady delivered the Starlink.

The 15th we were FINALLY on our way across the Gulf Stream. We headed south then across from West Palm Beach inlet. It was roughly 22 hours of miserable conditions. There was nothing unsafe, but we rank it in our top 5 uncomfortable passages. Little did we know it wouldn’t get better for quite a while. Most of our passages and anchorages would remain rolly and nauseating for the next few weeks. Notable thoughts from the log; “M and Mike stood watch from 1900-0400……. I was grateful to be in bed as we were all seasick…… M did is first tack on his own and learned a lesson about over steering…… Dogs did well.”

We had finally made it, after a few setbacks. Next up: how we spent our first weeks back *home* in The Bahamas!

Stay tuned!

Slainte’

St Augustine Shenanigans

Once stateside, we made our way to the St Augustine area. We were expecting a visit from friends from South Dakota.

Mike on the shore of the Matanzas River.

We anchored near Ft Matanzas and explored there for a day. This area is a National Monument. There us a ferry service that runs several times a day. There is no fee, but an advance ticket is required as the boat fills up quickly. The dogs weren’t allowed, so we left Matthew with them as he wasn’t even slightly interested. There isn’t a great deal to see, but we enjoyed the brief tour, nonetheless.

The fort was completed in 1742 and protected 300 acres of seashore. There were previous watchtowers in the area, as early as 1569. The Spanish built the tower that still stands, today. The area, as well as St Augustine 15 miles to the north, played an important role in early American history.

Later, we took the dogs downriver a little and let them run on the muddy beach. It was good exercise for them despite needing to be bathed before they could get back on the boat.

There was a blow expected and we weren’t sure where the safest place would be. St Augustine is rather wide open despite how popular of a port it is. We called around, then followed the suggestion from Jodi Argo Schroath in the ICW Mile by Mile Guide and decided on Marineland Marina. It’s inexpensive and pet friendly. There’s also wonderful access to the beach and nature trail. The downside is it’s not really within walking distance of anywhere. Don’t expect Enterprise to pick you up- I could expound on how I know- but just take my word for it.

We did eventually get a rental car and were able to get our van from St Marys. This enabled us to provision and the guys got haircuts. We planned to stay for about a week, and that would make the visit with Lynn and the kids more manageable. We would have preferred to be in St Augustine for convenience, but this ended up being a great place to stay.

Lynn’s birthday coincided with their visit. She and I both enjoy tea, so I made a reservation at a little place called The Chatsworth. They serve High Tea a couple times a week and I jumped on it. We had a few teas to choose from, then sandwiches and desserts. It was very fun. We both got a little dressed up and bought new Panama hats for the occasion. She hadn’t been to St Aug before, so we walked St George Street and went through a couple of the quaint neighborhoods. It was a delightful trip.

Mike took the boys fishing one day as well. They went offshore a little way with a guide. Most of what they caught was red snapper, which is restricted. They didn’t get to bring anything home but had a fun day anyway.

After Lynn, Kadrian and Kyrihn went home, we continued north to Cumberland Island. As we have mentioned previously, it’s one of our all-time favorite places. We adventured a little further this time and anchored near Plum Orchard. We were able to tour the mansion and walked across the island to the beach. It was a longer walk than we thought, about 6.5 miles round trip, but it was to be our last beach day of the season, so we did it anyway.

On June 8th, after a couple days, the Ventolines crew went on to Brunswick and we went to St Marys. The 2023 sailing season was coming to an end.

Next up: our shore leave. Land life is just as adventurous for us, but it’s altogether different. We still have a hard time sitting still and you’ll see what we buy to help our gypsy itch.

Slainte’

Making The Turn North

As with all good things there comes a time to say goodbye. Well, not yet.

Crooked Island would be the furthest south and east we have traveled to date aboard Voyager. Every season we say we will go into the Carribean, and so far, the Bahamas have kept a hold of us. We aren’t complaining. We definitely want to spend more time on Crooked and Acklins, and the Raggeds but maybe next season, 2024, will be the one we push further.

When we left Crooked Island, with tears in our eyes, and the Lighthouse on Bird Rock to our stern we made our way west, back to Long Island. We anchored at Gordon’s Beach and had refreshments at the new (to us) establishment there. While I had been back in South Dakota a few weeks before, the rest of the crew had driven to Gordon’s and knew what is offered. We had also visited back in March of 2020, the day the Island was locked down for covid, but there was no place of business at that time. The beach here is outstanding! Long and white and just as beautiful as you can imagine a beach to be. Jennifer and I walked the beach and the guys hung out at a table on the beach, enjoying the serenity.

From Long Island, we made our way north through the Exuma chain, visiting some of our favorite places. If you’ve been there, or heard anything about the Exumas, you know that Staniel Cay Yacht Club is a must stop. Also, Black Point for Lorraine’s Mom’s (her name is Peermora) bread. We stopped for the first time in the Land and Sea Park and made a trip up BooBoo Hill to leave our sign.

We enjoyed a day, actually Mother’s Day, at Normans Cay. We anchored around the cut last time, and snorkeled Pablo Escabars wrecked and sunken plane the last time we were here. We believe we had the most expensive meal we have ever paid for there for our Mother’s Day dinner. But the moms were happy!

Staniel Cay Yacht Club. I’m sure there’s pictures of Jimmy Buffet if you look close.

The next place of interest was the eastern most end of Chubb Cay. There’s a network of lagoons where the turtles, sting rays and other sea life are abundant. We took a dingy excursion and got a few on film. It was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, our gopro is an older model and the pictures and videos are of poor quality.

Making our way west, we anchored on Mackie Shoals, which is 40 miles from Bimini in open water and is 16 feet deep. It feels a little odd and can be quite uncomfortable in the wrong conditions. We then made our way to Bimini. We have stayed at Bimini Blue Water Marina a few times. There’s a pool and places to eat nearby. However, Jennifer and my favorite part is the sea glass from Radio Beach. It’s the most abundant of anywhere we have been! We could spend hours collecting glass. Well, we did spend hours collecting…. This was our last stop before heading back to the states. Matthew and I negotiated for an extra day, as we weren’t ready to go, none of us were, really. But we only had a day left on our visas and cruising permits. We weren’t going to risk it.

Almost immediately after leaving Bimini we saw this huge waterspout.

Seeing an American city in the distance was a little shocking after the peaceful and tranquil scenery in The Bahamas. But it was time to be stateside. Our Bahamian flag was a little battle worn but made for a cute cape for our Bahamian Potcake.

“A Salty Piece of Land” in honor of Jimmy Buffett

Crooked Island, The Bahamas

Bird Rock Lighthouse

Many years ago, 2005 to be exact, my mom bought the book, “A Salty Piece of Land” for me as a gift. I hadn’t read any other Jimmy Buffett books, but this seemed right up my alley. There was a lighthouse and beach on the cover, totally disregarding the always sage advice to not judge a book by its cover, I knew I would enjoy it because, duh, the king of the beachbums had written it. I had yet to fall in love with the ocean and sailing, although I had always been somewhat smitten. I loved this adventure. As with many others, I knew Jimmy Buffett for his music and until now, hadn’t realized he was an author.

This is Elbow Cay/Hopetown Lighthouse

Obvious difference in lighthouses.

Now, in 2023, I was standing and admiring the lighthouse which he had written about so many years before. The cover of the book is deceptive. It actually shows the lighthouse at Hopetown, another Bahamian landmark. All this time I had thought the book was about that lighthouse. I recommended the book to a friend, our buddy boat First Mate, Jennifer and she pointed out it was actually the Bird Rock Lighthouse at Crooked Island. We all became enamored with this lighthouse and were so sad that it is in such disrepair. We have done a little searching and have yet to find an organization that is interested in updating it. It’s a beautiful structure.

Our second tie to Crooked Island was from the South Dakota blizzard in October 2013, Atlas. During that storm I read the book Plunge: Midlife with Snorkel by Mari Anderson and Fritz Damler. Mike read the book shortly after. During that rare October blizzard when we were without electricity for several days, our horses walked over fences into the ditch of the interstate and Mike had to pull a sled with hay to feed them that we both began to long for a simpler life.

All that to say, Crooked Island had been on our radar for years before we actually got there. Our first anchorage was on the east side of Long Cay, where we dinghied and walked the short distance to old and mostly abandoned Arthurs Town. We saw 2 people and 3 dogs, goats and salt ponds with hundreds of flamingos. There were maybe 5 homes that looked occupied, but no one there presently. There was a huge water desalination station. When the town was booming, there were reportedly 3,000 -4,000 people populating the tiny island. This was incredibly hard to believe. We did see evidence of the first jail in the Bahamas here, though. There were many signs geared towards tourists and a school that had been suddenly abandoned due to a storm in 2015. Notebooks, posters, class attendance records were scattered across the floor. The doors hung askew, and goats had obviously taken up residence when the weather becomes such to make them seek shelter. It was a sad sight.

When weather cleared and made the trip north to Crooked more pleasant, we dropped the hook off the western shore, near Landrail Point Settlement. There was so much here I wanted to see from the book Plunge. The friendly family that runs Gibson’s Restaraunt #2 (formerly Gibson’s Lunch Counter), the airport where the Venezuelan pilot unexpectantly landed, the first post office in the Bahamas and pub where Fritz would have impromptu gigs with fellow islanders. The beaches where Mari picked up many treasures that became a part of their house were also to be explored. Besides that, the fishing and snorkeling are reportedly outstanding! Acklins, Crooked and Long Cay are on the shipping route from Europe to Panama. This is why the post office was so far from the larger settlements in the Bahamas. These islands/cays would have seen heavy traffic when shipping was more prominent. From this anchorage is where we made our way out to Bird Rock Lighthouse.

The season was quickly coming to a point where we needed to either extend our visas or head out of the country. We always say we are going to make our way beyond The Bahamas but have yet to do so. This little island country that is so close to the States but seems worlds away has grabbed our hearts over the years. Each time we come we explore a new area and fall in love with the people and islands all over again.

Because of this, we had only a few days to explore. However, we now know we want to spend much more time here, just as we said about our beloved Cat Island. I think these will be places we head directly to in this next season. Then, if we decide to go further into the Carribean we are close enough to do that.

We have more pictures and details in our IG posts if interested. But, suffice it to say, Crooked Island has our hearts. Below are links to the books mentioned. Of course, if you’ve been with us long, you know that at least one of us (it’s me) is a fanatical reader. So, there have been other book recommendations along the way but, these 2 in particular are special for inciting our interest in this beloved island.

I’ll end here, with Jimmy’s own words:

“And if you do decide to wander, please leave a tiny bit of room in your heart for me. For if I live in your hearts, I really have not died”
― Jimmy Buffett, A Salty Piece of Land

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Cat Island Part 2: Sidney Poitier

Right- Sidney Poitier. You know the actor? He’s from Cat Island.

So, while we definitely did not meet Mr Poitier since he passed away last year, we did make the aquaintence of a special little girl who we would call Sidney Poitier, aka Sidney Potcake, aka Sidney Bean.

From my journal April 15, 2023

“Nine days in New Bight. It has been very nice. Moving to Old Bight, now. We will be heading to GT tomorrow. While here, we went to the Hermitage, got provisions at the best store we’ve been to since Maxwells, did laundry, went to Greenwood Resort for lunch, then the healing pond. Had lunches and suppers and beers and ice cream. Met lovely people, as always. We will anchor near the Rollezz Resort tonight. The biggest event while in New Bight is having Sidney Poitier find us. Obviously not the deceased actor. We now have what looks to be a Dorgi Potcake aboard. She may still go to Ventolines, but for now is Voyager crew. She’s 3-4 months old and an absolute sweetie (when she’s not a veloceraptor).”

Remember the Twin Palm Beach Resort in the previous post? Well, Jennifer and I got dropped off there to go get a rental car from Gilberts. We hadn’t walked too far when this tiny puppy came running down the deserted road towards us as if her little life depended on it, and it likely did. And us, being us, picked her up and loved on her skinny little body. We proceeded down the road, looking for whom she might belong. We came across a young man with several other larger dogs, mostly Belgion Malanois type dogs and a bearded collie. Now, understand, potcakes are the norm. This wasn’t unusual. This little thing did not fit in his pack. He was doing some bait fishing in the lagoon nearby and said that yes, “the little weinie” is his. He thought she was funny and claimed to have just gotten her.

Let me paint a quick picture. The dogs are all very skinny. Two are younger than a year old, the mama is obvisouly lactating and he says she’s pregnant again. They all are covered with fleas and ticks. He doesn’t look to be in much better shape.

So, we put the pup down and are walking away when the older pups, then the mama go after the tiny puppy. Like seriously, goes after her. It’s become obvious to us that she does NOT belong here. I grabbed her and Jennifer asks how much. She was also eyeing the grey, mangy dog that looks like her Charles. However, she offers $20, he takes $40. We say, “done” and suddenly we have a Royal Bahamian Potcake (look it up, it’s real).

Right. Now we have A LOT of explaining to do back at home with our husbands. But honestly, we tell ourselves over and over, who could have left her there??? She is roughly 3lbs of skin and bones. She is covered in not only ticks and fleas, but serious scars from injuries. Her coat is sparse and coarse. She does indeed look like she has some dachshund or corgi in her, with her short little legs and long body. It goes without saying, we were already completely smitten with her. We really have no plan beyond getting her away from her previous home.

We continue our walk to the store to get the car. Another SUV, as she knows we are going to the healing pond- therefore another adventure. All the while planning how to explain this spontaneous new addition to crew. But, who’s crew? Is she Ventolines or Voyager? (We did also purchase a large bag of dog food and took it back to the man with we then found out, 8 dogs….)

We eventually make it back to the beach where the rest of the family is to meet us. Both dingies arrive at the same time and all at once the questions are yelled. “What is that?” “Take it back!” “Is that a puppy?” So, we told our story and no one could blame us for picking her up and running with her. But, neither of the men were especially wanting her on their boat. Her ears were so full of ticks you couldn’t see past them. They were everywhere, as were the fleas. Matthew went back to our boat to get tweezers and the flea and tick treatment we still had on board from when King was a puppy. We gave her the first dose and we all took turns plucking ticks from her skin. It was heartbreaking. She was exhausted. We called home to our vet and good friend, Lynn. She advised us on how to proceed and tell her age. She was between 3-4 months old and could safely be given the treatments. She also recommended making a Seresto collar from the ends of the big dogs, which worked well. Her pale gums showed she was anemic from all the parasites and she was incredibly malnourished. Lynn made suggestions for all of this. We can’t thank her enough!

Later, we were having supper at the fish fry and met another couple who had a chi-yorkie puppy. She just happened to have a Bahamian worm medicine that she shared with us. We bought puppy show and gave her table scraps, as this was likely the kind of diet she was used to- scrounging. So, Sidney Poitier as we had come to name her, was well on her way to becoming a healthy puppy.

We have tried at every stop to find a vet to look at her and give her shots. However, the out islands don’t have one in residence. They come for a day or week, here and there, but never where or when we are. So, as soon as we make landfall in the US, she will have all that to look forward to. By the time you read this, it will have happened.

So- her she is. Introducing our Royal Bahamian Potcake, Sidney Poitier. We have said repeatedly that she knew what she was doing when she ran to us! She has hit the jackpot when it comes to a dog’s life, regardless of who’s boat she ended up on. But, it can be confirmed that she is officially a Voyager crewmate.

Royal Bahamian Potcake:

The potcake dog is a mixed-breed dog type found on several Caribbean islands. Its name comes from a traditional local dish of seasoned rice and pigeon peas; overcooked rice that sticks to the bottom of the cooking pot is commonly mixed with other leftovers and fed to the dogs. Wikipedia

Height: 2 ft. (Adult, At the withers)

Lifespan: 10 – 12 years (Domestic)

Mass: 24 – 60 lbs (Adult)

Coat: Smooth, short coat, little or no undercoat

Color: Brown, black, white, red, cream, yellow, particolour

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