We went for a long walk around Spanish Wells on Saturday. We walked along the waterfront, out to the Atlantic side of the island, visited a few stores and Martha particularly enjoyed the gardens. We left Spanish Wells Yacht Harbour on Sunday about 11:30am and went about 2 miles out to anchor near the Power Plant Fuel Dock. The plan was to get fuel first thing in the morning and then head over 60+ nautical miles to the Abacos. It was a gorgeous day and we found a good spot to anchor. There were some beautiful homes on the cliffs overlooking the water and you could hear the power plant running in the background. We enjoyed the great weather, calm conditions and another sunset dinner. We've seen a lot of great sunsets and this was one of the best. On Monday morning we prepared the boat for the 60+ nautical mile crossing over deep water to the Abacos. We headed over to the fuel dock when they opened and backed into a high dock near the rocks. It looked intimidating, but the dock hand assured us there was plenty of water. He manhandled the very large fuel lines out to the dock and helped us take on 128 gallons of fuel. Once done, we headed out of the Spanish Wells area and headed to the Abacos. The conditions were perfect with low swells separated by a period of 9 or 10 seconds. This made for an easy passage. We spotted a few boats and cargo ships along the way. The entrance to Little Harbor was easy to transit despite the waves crashing on either side of the entrance. The anchorage we had chosen was loaded with other boats. When we went to the beach, we found out the large group was from the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club. They were on a group outing and collecting firewood for an evening bonfire. After visiting the beach, we headed over to Little Harbor to visit an iconic beach bar, Pete's Pub. It was complete with sand floors and t-shirts hanging from the ceiling. We enjoyed their rum punch and delicious humus with pita. It was another beautiful night on anchor with calm conditions and comfortable temperatures that only vary by 5 or 6 degrees between day and night. The sun is strong however, and the days can seem much warmer. We had another sunset dinner out in the cockpit and enjoyed the surroundings. I took the dinghy over to the island and walked to Atlantic side, about 40 yards (we could hear and see the waves crashing from the boat). The Atlantic side is rough and craggy, a result of eons of wave action and many storms. Unfortunately, the evidence of humans is clearly present with much plastic trash strewn across the landscape. There is truly a major plastic problem in the world. I inflated the paddleboard for the first time this trip and paddled around the anchorage. The water was so clear I could see the chain and follow it all the way to the anchor in 13 feet of water. We spent a while on the beach in the afternoon and in the evening we were invited for cocktail hour with some of the Yacht Club members, on the Commodore's beautiful Fleming trawler. We had a good time socializing and of course they were encouraging us to join the club.
It is now Wednesday morning and we are planning to cruise a little north to another more settled anchorage. The southeast wind is making it a little lumpy here plus we need to see some other areas since our time here is limited.
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I want to give some basic details about how we handle chores on the boat. We provisioned in Jacksonville, but needed to restock. First I have taken some photos of the best ship's store ever, located at Chub Cay Marina. Next time I see a marginal ship's store, I will have these photos to share. Do we cook on board? Yes, way more than we eat out. Here is my big chili project, made one morning while we had time. All those cans and ground beef came in handy to make a complete chili that will last for three meals. Generally, one person cooks and the other washes dishes. Bob is great and resourceful cook. What about breakfast? Standard fare is pan-fried toast and an egg, plus fruit if available. Cast iron is our preferred breakfast pan, but we do have a larger non-stick skillet and an old Dutch Oven for dinner prep. Laundry is an on-board project with our little all-in-one washer/dryer hidden under the stairs. We launder sheets weekly, cramming them in for a wash cycle, then resetting for a 90 minute high heat dry. This is a real luxury that is easily done when we are hooked up to shore power and water at a marina. Clothes are done in smaller loads than at home. Laundry day overlaps to two days because the line-dry items need some time to dry, hung in bathrooms and everywhere. Towels are the easiest load because they get mostly dry in 90 minutes on cotton setting. We are getting pretty good at living "small." Compared to our tent camping days, boating is a breeze especially since we have all the appliances, pantry staples, cleaning and grooming supplies, and clothes on board.
Yesterday we moved the boat from the anchorage just off Russell Island to the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. It was a short trip of a few miles. We planned to get fuel at the Power Plant fuel dock, but apparently they had a power outage yesterday and did not open the fuel dock. We should be able to get some on Monday morning when we leave to cross over to the Abacos. Spanish Wells on St. Georges Cay is a very popular area at the northern end of Eleuthera Fortunately we did a little food shopping yesterday for produce and bread as it is raining right now. The rain is strong and steady enough to wash most of the salt off the boat. Rough weather conditions cause the boat to be covered in salt, so everything you touch leaves salt on your hands. I did a thorough cleaning while at Chub Cay, but one good splash from a wave gets salt on everything. This is a nice little marina with a variety of boats, including some good sized yachts. There is also a fishing fleet just down the waterway from us. Leroy is the dockmaster and well-known by the regulars. He was very helpful getting us tied up and secure. There is a popular restaurant on site that we may try for lunch or dinner today.............after the rain stops. It was another beautiful sunrise in the Bahamas..........the best way to enjoy my morning coffee. The plan is to walk around the island this afternoon and do a little exploring. Tomorrow we will go back out to the anchorages and choose a spot that is protected from any wind. We continue to meet many nice cruisers enjoying their Bahamas adventure and quite a few "Loopers." These are cruisers that are working to complete "America's Great Loop." Not all "Loopers" come over to the Bahamas, but we have crossed paths with quite a few. We have met a lot of Canadians that have made their way here trying to escape the cold and snow. Our slip neighbors here are from Ottawa. We've met others from Quebec, Montreal and Toronto.
On Wednesday morning I walked to the beach to see the sunrise. I have always enjoyed sunrises and the peace and quiet of the early morning. I see a lot of them since I am an early riser. For our last night at Chub Cay we decided to have dinner in the restaurant. Everyone said it was very good and we thought we should give it a try before leaving. Martha had the Mutton Snapper and I had the Captain's Platter that included Snapper, cracked conch and lobster bites. Both meals were good and we were glad to sample the restaurant before leaving. Our waiter was Charles, and he has been at the resort for 27 years. He is originally from Nassau, but since being at the resort he has seen it go through multiple bankruptcies and new ownership. All of the employees at Chub Cay were very nice and seemed to enjoy their jobs. We took a few night pictures as we headed back to the boat. The marina is very pretty at nice when the boats have their lights on. The underwater lights are really nice in the Bahamian waters. We left the marina around 9:30am to cruise over to Spanish Wells, about 65 miles. As we were leaving the slip, we had to hold up for a while as the mega yacht Odessa was turning around in her slip leaving no room for us to pass. We knew conditions would not be ideal. As we headed out the marina inlet the water was calm and we looked back fondly on the resort. The further we went, the worse things got. It was not as bad as our crossing from Florida as the swells were more rolling versus choppy waves. Some swells were 8 to 10 feet high, which may be the highest we have ever experienced. I tried various speeds to determine what was the most comfortable. The area we crossed is called the Tongue of the Ocean and has depths in excess of 10,000 feet. We passed a few boats heading both directions. The whole trip took 5 hours and we were very happy to again see the turquoise waters as we entered the Spanish Wells area. There are a lot of boats anchored in various locations around here. We chose a spot off of Russell Island near the Sandbar Bar and Grill. It is right on the beach and we took the dinghy over for their Thursday night Wine and Sushi Special. It was a fun little jaunt and a good "island life" experience. We have reservations at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven for Friday and Saturday nights. Windy conditions are expected and we wanted to be in a protected location. We also wanted to have some time to walk around the town
Cellular and WiFi access has been spotty for the last few days, so we have not been able to upload regular blog posts. This post will cover the last week or so and as a result will be long. On Wednesday morning I woke up, made coffee and went over to the beach to watch the sunrise. There were a few fishermen out on the water indicating that maybe things were getting back to some normalcy after a few days of high winds. A couple of sailboats took off early with some assistance from other boaters. The winds were still giving some of them some challenges getting off the dock. One catamaran and a trimaran had come in during the night and tied up at the fuel dock. This meant that we had to wait until they cleared customs and immigration, and moved off the fuel dock before we could untie and get fuel before departure. Since the customs office didn’t open until 9am, we were going to be delayed until at least 10. I had leant the guy who lost his anchor my spare anchor and rode. He felt bad about me not having a spare, so he borrowed an extra anchor from another boater and returned mine. He held onto the rode until he can get some more chain delivered from the States. Since we were delayed, we had time to get that stowed away. A little after 10am the boats moved off the fuel dock and there was room for us. We fueled up and checked out of the marina. As some of the boats left the marina, one of the ladies on a sailboat blew her conch horn. She and her husband had been at Old Bahama Bay for two weeks due to engine problems and they weren’t sure when it would be resolved. It was a fun group there and we enjoyed getting to know them. We pulled off the fuel dock about 10:40 and began our journey. We were originally going to anchor at Soldier Cay, but decided to change course and go to Great Harbor so that we could top off the fuel tanks and not have to worry about it for a few days. Our route took us down the shoreline of Grand Bahama Island and by the Freeport Harbor. There were quite a few large cargo and container ships coming and going and you could see that the port was quite substantial. We eventually moved further offshore and headed to Great Harbor. The water was fairly calm and made for a nice day. We made good time running between 19 and 20 knots the entire way. The entrance to Great Harbor is a fairly imposing narrow channel cut into the rock. It is about 200 yards long and there is not enough room for two boats to pass. After taking on a full load of fuel, we headed out the narrow channel to anchor for the night. We found a good anchorage spot and settled in for the evening. We took the dinghy to shore, but there was no place to get off and explore, so we returned to Encore, enjoyed a gorgeous sunset and had a good night on anchor. There was larger commercial fishing vessel nearby that was lit up and apparently had quite a few workers on it. We never did figure out what they were doing. We woke up to a nice morning and pleasant conditions. Before leaving the anchorage, I tackled a project I had been dreading. Our temperamental macerator pump had been working intermittently, but now it was not working at all. The pump is used to pump the contents of the black water tank (sewerage) overboard. We don’t ever use the macerator pump in US waters as there are pump out stations at most marinas. There are no pump outs in the Bahamas so you have to be able to pump your black water overboard. The Prestige dealer had sent me a replacement pump and I was hoping to not need it, but my luck ran out. Sparing all the ugly details, it was a big mess replacing this pump and I have no desire to ever do it again. Fortunately, the new pump works. If it did not, we may have had to cut our journey short. A shower along with some disinfecting was required before we could continue the day. As said before, conditions were pretty nice and we were looking forward to a nice cruise around to the other side of the island and down the chain a ways. I had determined a first choice destination and a backup. We had to cruise north for a couple of miles to go around the top side of the island. When we got to that point, the seas got angry and we were back in some rough conditions. We took it slow and continued on, passing by an island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. There were two large cruise ships docked at the island. It wasn’t as bad as the day we crossed to West End, but it was still messy enough to cover the boat in salt water. We decided to go with our backup destination, Soldier Cay. Soldier Cay is a small island with a beautiful little anchorage. We could see the waves on the Atlantic side from the anchorage. Following the recommendation of the written guide, I anchored about a quarter mile off the beach. This turned out to be the wrong decision as we rocked and rolled all night long. In addition, the water was pounding against the hull and really making a racket. The anchor held firm, but it was not a comfortable spot. The other boats there were anchored closer to the beach and may have had better conditions. It’s hard to tell. One casualty of the night was our anchor bridle. The heavy-duty thimble came out of the loop end of the bridle and was loose when I brought the anchor up. Between our very sturdy anchor and the rough wave action the thimble just couldn't hold up. I have now temporarily repaired it, but I don't expect the repair to survive in rough conditions. The company has said they would replace it for me as it shouldn't happen. We had a nice dinner in the cockpit and enjoyed another beautiful Bahamas sunset. The blue underwater lights work really well in the clear water and our solar LED light does a nice job on the cockpit table. It was a little calmer in the morning and we decided to move to the original anchorage from the previous day, a popular area near Hoffmans Cay, about 6 or 7 miles away. The seas were rolling a little, but the swells were much more gentle. We enjoyed looking at the rocky shoreline and came upon the entrance to the anchorage after about an hour. it was good that the conditions were better, as the Seakeeper quit working again, this time with an overheating issue. It may be another pump problem and not one that I think I can fix. I am losing faith in this very expensive option. The annual service was completed as necessary and it has been totally unreliable since then. The first repair was expensive and I suspect this one will be as well. We arrived in this very popular anchorage and found a spot among ten or so boats. The adjacent anchorage has about 15 boats. Besides being a nice protected area, Hoffmans Cay is home of the famous Blue Hole. It is a popular attraction that we took some time to see. We took the dinghy to the beach and followed a trail to the Blue Hole. It is a round very deep body of water in the middle of the island. You can jump from the cliff into the water, but we chose not to do that. After the hike back to the beach, we waded in the water for a bit before returning to Encore for some afternoon rest. Friday night started out fine and then got much rougher as the wind changed direction. There was a lot of noised from the waves lapping against the hull and the winds were brisk. We were again in a spot with little protection. I was up all night checking our position, but the anchor held very well in the Bahama sands. Most of the boats headed out in the morning. The big 53’ Jeanneau behind ran aground as they were going out. It was low tide and I knew they might have a problem as went over that spot the day before and only saw about 6’ of depth. They were towing a large tender with a 250hp engine. After 30 minutes of pushing and pulling, they finally got loose and headed out the inlet. We left about 30 minutes later and had a moderately choppy cruise 25 miles down to Chub Cay Marina. it was a nice day and we took it slowly. There were many islands with rocky shorelines and a few with homes on them. I imagine some of them are private islands. We didn’t see any other boats until we got near the marina and then all of sudden we had quite a traffic jam. There is a narrow and winding entrance to the marina and a 65’ yacht was waiting just outside for two boats to depart. We waited as well and had to move out a little bit due to the wind and waves pushing us around. Once the two boats cleared the channel and the 65’ yacht started in, we began our entry until a sportfisher boat zoomed ahead of us. We were planning to top off the fuel tanks and of course the sportfisher was heading to the fuel dock as well. This delayed our arrival at the dock and was a little frustrating. I hate to generalize, but it seems that the sportfisher boats are the least courteous out on the water and don’t care much about anyone else. I think it is the nature of the tournament type of fishermen and this one helped solidify that reputation. We were able to get our fuel and directions to our slip. We chose to come here due to the forecast of high winds over the next few days and it is a convenient location. As Martha scouted the marina, she decided she really liked the place and wouldn’t mind staying a while longer. it really is one of, if not the finest marina we have ever stayed in. The floating docks are great, the facilities are beautiful and the infinity salt water pool overlooking the beach is fantastic. It has a Tiki Bar that you can swim up to and get drinks and food. We also spent time in the hot tub relaxing. The place is expensive, but I think you get your money’s worth. The place is loaded with very large yachts and huge sportfishing boats. The resort is isolated here and as a result, they have a small village where the employees live. They have a little bar there called the Nauti Rooster and we had dinner there on Sunday night. It was a short walk from the marina and we enjoyed seeing the chickens and roosters running around and crowing. Just as we finished dinner, a big rain and wind storm came through. Fortunately the resort offers complimentary transportation, so our server immediately called for a car to get us back to the marina. They really do go the extra mile to make everyone feel welcome here. Before leaving, Martha had to get a picture with the bronze pelican in the background.
This morning we still have some scattered showers and a lot wind. I booked the slip for three more nights as it looks like the winds will be too strong to leave for our next location. On Saturday, February 10 we made the crossing from Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach to West End on Grand Bahama. We had mixed emotions as we like the marina there, but we really wanted to get to the Bahamas. The weather forecast was a bit vague about the sea and wind conditions, but we decided to try it anyway. We left the dock around 9:00am, got fuel and were on our way at 9:30. The most critical piece of crossing preparation is to consult various weather resources and determine whether the conditions will be favorable or not. They were generally pretty vague. They certainly did not indicate that it was a great crossing opportunity, but none of them indicated that it should be avoided, The ICW down to Peanut Island was fine and inside the inlet was ok. Once we got into the inlet things became much rougher. We had to dodge a few fishermen in the middle of the channel and head for the open sea. A large super yacht was headed out as well as a pilot boat going out to meet an incoming container ship. We kept trying various speeds to see what was most comfortable and caught a few items that were bouncing around the boat. We had secured things pretty well and made sure all the cabinets were locked. Anything on a counter was placed on the floor. We were able to maintain a speed of 10 to 12 knots without shaking the boat apart. Anything faster resulted in some very unpleasant pounding. Halfway across the 55 mile route we were able to open up and began to make 16 or 17 knots. The seas weren’t flat, but the were calm enough to get up on plane and make a little time. We passed a few sailboats and catamarans along the way as well as a smaller SeaRay power boat. As we got closer to West End, the conditions worsened and we had to drop our speed back to have a little more comfortable ride. We kept a very straight course into West End and found the narrow passage into the marina. You really can’t see it until you get pretty close to it. Martha drove the boat while I went up to the flybridge to put up our “quarantine flag.” It is a yellow flag that you must show until you are checked in. We waited in the turning basin until they called us on the radio and gave us our slip assignment. At 2:30pm we got tied up on the fixed dock and were relieved to have made it in without incident. Martha did get a little sick along the way, but recovered quickly. Due to the conditions we never ate lunch. It was really too hard to move around the cabin during the crossing and fixing lunch was not possible. Next time we will fix sandwiches in advance. We knew to do that, but forgot during all the departure activities. I had filled out the Customs and Immigration paperwork online the night before, so getting checked in was pretty easy and quick. We went back to the boat, took down the quarantine flag and put up the Bahamas courtesy flag indicating that we were checked in and had our cruising permit.
About a dozen boats crossed that day, and we all had the same experience. They also had the same reaction to the weather forecasts and determined that it was ok to make the crossing. In the long run, most everyone was glad they did it despite the rougher than expected conditions. The Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina are isolated on the west end of Grand Bahama Island. There is no town nearby, just the resort with a restaurant, pool and beach. It is very picturesque and the water is so clear you can see the bottom. A little while after arriving a 6 foot nurse shark swam through the marina. That was quite a sight. We saw her the next day as well. We met a few of our boat neighbors, walked the grounds a little and called it an early night. It had been a pretty exhausting day. We have continued to meet other boaters in the marina. Everyone has been stuck here due to very high winds and unfavorable cruising conditions. The winds have been blowing strong for a couple of days, but should start slowing down tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. We walked in the water on the beach, but it was too cold to swim. The pool is cold as well. Many of us spent Sunday evening in the bar watching the Super Bowl and trading our boating stories. One boat has been here for two weeks due to various mechanical problems, another lost their anchor during the crossing and another had to be towed in for 10 hours from another anchorage due to a mechanical issue. These kinds of things happen to boaters and you try your best to avoid them, but sometimes it is completely unavoidable. I walked to the beach on Monday morning to watch the sunrise and enjoy the quiet. The rest of the time has been spent cleaning the boat and socializing with the other boaters. We would like to be out cruising the islands, but when you look at the angry sea, you realize how good it is to be safely tied up at the dock. We think that Wednesday will be a good day to head out. I can already tell that WiFi and cell coverage is going to be spotty at best during this trip. We will do the best we can to keep the stories and pictures flowing. A little update since the last post. We spent five nights on the mooring ball in Vero Beach. They don't take reservations for the balls, so it was easy to keep extending our stay and was very affordable. The first couple of days were beautiful, although a little cooler than we would have liked, making it an easy ride to dinghy dock when we wanted to go ashore. We took a long walk to the beach and enjoyed the neighborhoods with the big live oak trees and typical Florida architecture. I turn 68 on Sunday, but I felt like a kid hanging out in this retiree mecca. There are quite a few elderly folk. On Monday we used the free bus to do some food shopping thinking it may be the final provisioning opportunity. Publix was really busy and the aisles were packed with shoppers. They should really consider enlarging their aisles in the stores that are used heavily by retirees. It was pretty slow going for me who likes to zip through the grocery store. The bus was convenient for the shopping, but there is only one bus and the route is an hour long. We loaded everything on the boat and prepared for the coming weather. Our mooring ball neighbor flew his drone and got a picture of both boats together before the winds moved in. When the wind started to change, the boats swung and the stern ended up very close to the mangroves. Fortunately the depth was sufficient. It was so windy on Tuesday that we didn't even get off the boat and kept the dinghy tied up on the swim platform. We had sustained winds of over 20 knots and gusts close to 40. It was pretty noisy with the waves lapping up against the hull and impressive that the mooring balls held everyone in place. Wednesday was a little calmer. Martha did some laundry at the marina and the Seakeeper technician came out to the boat to finally repair the Seakeeper. After lunch we took the bus down to the beach to see how rough the waves were and for Martha to look through some of the shops. There was some heavy surf. Glad we were not out in the ocean, but it was a nice Florida winter day. Warm in the sun, but cool in the shade and still a little breezy. It took another night for the winds to die down and we decided to leave early on Thursday morning. The water was calm, so we untied the lines from our neighbor's boat at 7:45am and headed to the fuel dock for a fill up and pumpout. We got there before opening and before the other boats that were planning to leave. It was a pleasant trip down the Indian River. We had to line up for a couple of bridges and wend our way through some construction. This segment of the ICW has numerous spots that require no wake speed. That coupled with slow passes of sailboats and trawlers kept us on our toes. We dreaded going through the Jupiter area, but it turned out to be a non-event, though slow. We had a lot of obnoxious traffic to deal with on our previous trips through the area, but not as much this time. There is a major bridge construction project going on and everyone has to go slow and stay aware. We tested out the Seakeeper during the trip and it worked fine......Thankfully! We arrived at the Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach about 2:15pm. Just before arriving it started to rain a little, and then just as quickly it stopped and the sun came out. We got tied up in slip number 86, next to a Swift Trawler from Montreal and among a number of large sportfisher boats. After checking in at the office and getting our complimentary bottle of wine we took some time to relax and wind down. A little later in the afternoon, one of the sportfishing boats came in. Our Canadian neighbors asked them about their catch and were given a couple of large kingfish that the fishermen didn't want, which they cleaned and cut into steak-sized portions. They offered us some and we all went up to the marina grill to cook the fish. It was all unexpected and the first time we ever had kingfish. It made for a very nice surprise meal. The boat went out again early this morning. It will be interesting to hear what they catch today We are now staged for a crossing over to the Bahamas, maybe tomorrow. I have completed the online cruising permit process and paid the $300 fee. The only thing in our way now is weather. Conditions are not predicted to be perfect, but perhaps possible. We will make a final determination in the morning. The Lake Worth inlet is just a couple of miles south and then it is 55 miles over to West End on Grand Bahama Island, a typical travel day as far as distance is concerned. We knew that we may have to wait for a crossing opportunity ("weather window" in boatspeak), but my well-documented lack of patience makes waiting a challenge. We don't want to put ourselves in any danger, so we will carefully evaluate the conditions. If we decide to cross and things look bad as we proceed we can always turn back and try another day.
This is where the real adventure begins. We were up before sunrise in Port Canaveral yesterday. It is a very busy place. We watched a number of cruise ships depart on Friday evening. An NCL ship had quietly slipped into the harbor overnight and another one came in as the sun was rising in the background. It's amazing to watch these behemoths stealthily enter and leave the harbor. We travelled about 64 miles to get from Cape Canaveral to Vero Beach and have now moved more than 200 miles south of Jacksonville. After going through the Cape Canaveral Lock and a couple of drawbridges that we had to have opened, we joined the Indian River and were back on the ICW. The Indian River is a long body of water that passes by Cocoa Village, Eau Gallie, Melbourne and Merritt Island on the east side. It was nice and quiet in the morning. Once we got to Melbourne the Saturday afternoon boat traffic made an appearance and the waterway became really busy. Boats darting all around, fishermen everywhere, pontoon boats out enjoying the beautiful day. We were constantly changing speed to keep from swamping all of the smaller boats. The jet skiers loved to see us coming as they enjoyed jumping the huge wake our boat produces. A lot of cruisers avoid being out on the water on the weekends. I can understand why and may take that attitude next time.
We arrived at the Vero Beach Marina around 2:15pm and got our mooring ball assignment, lucky 13. This is a very well known mooring field among the cruising crowd. It is protected and calm on all sides. This is especially important considering the rain and winds expected over the next few days. We think we may just stay here until it all passes over. The Vero Beach Marina does something unique, rafting as many as 3 boats on a single mooring ball. Most places only have one boat per ball. We are rafted up with a couple from New Hampshire that have been here for a month on their catamaran. They are planning to go to the Bahamas as well. I was very curious as to how this would all work, but so far it is very nice. The catamaran had all of their fenders out and we were tied up in no time. Sometimes you feel a little isolated when anchored out or on a mooring ball, so it is nice to have neighbors. They are very friendly and very helpful. We had them over at cocktail hour to sit on the flybridge and socialize. The weather was perfect! Comfortable temperature and no bugs. We are enjoying the boat the way it was meant to be enjoyed. The fuses that I ordered from Defender were here when we arrived. Defender provides excellent service and carries a huge inventory. I installed the fuse and now our bow thruster is back in operation. I learned a few years ago that when you replace an item, buy a couple (or a few) so that you have spares for the next time. I'm hoping we can get some service on the Seakeeper this week, and then we will have everything working...................until the next thing breaks.
We had a very nice cruise, taking it fairly slow most of the way. We stopped at a marina to top off the fuel tanks as we knew that we would need every bit on Friday. Passed a few dolphin as we neared St. Augustine. We were able to get a mooring ball right in front of the fort and had a great view of both the town and the inlet to the Atlantic. We used the dinghy to get to shore, which allowed us to walk around and then have dinner with Martha's friend. We have been to St. Augustine many times, having vacationed at the beach there with my parents when the boys were young. My parents honeymooned at the old Flagler Hotel before it became Flagler College. We left St. Augustine at 7:30am following a number of sailboats heading south. The inlet had some good size rollers as we entered the Atlantic, but things calmed down quickly and we had a great cruise to Cape Canaveral. There were some good size swells, perhaps 5 feet or more, but they were far apart and quite gentle. Cruising in the ocean doesn't provide much scenery, but it does allow us to travel in a straight line and maintain speed. The water became even more calm as we neared Cape Canaveral. We could easily see the Vehicle Assembly Building and rocket gantries from miles out. Cruising through Port Canaveral we saw a variety of government and commercial vessels. At least four huge cruise ships were docked and taking on passengers. We docked on the fuel dock at Cape Marina, right across from the pier that services the SpaceX reusable rockets. We watched one being removed from the landing barge. Before a beautiful sunset, all of the cruise ships departed after blowing their horns. The Disney ship played music as they left the port. Tomorrow we will travel to Vero Beach and try to find a safe spot for some lousy weather coming on Sunday.
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