Spanish Cay

On Wednesday we traveled from Florida to the West End, Bahamas. We arrived in the afternoon, then took an hour or so to get our travel documents in order. While we waited for Andy to get our documents recorded Dave, Bert and I had to stay on the boat. I think I reported that there were an abundance of no-see-ums that were biting us. We all got thoroughly bitten, I am the only one we had an allergic reaction. My arms, neck, ankles, and elbows are rife with swollen bumps. I look like I have the measles. Did I mention that these suckers itch? I am taking an antihistamine to counter act the itch, it is taking way too long to heal.
On Thursday we sailed to Sale Cay, it was a really nice day, and the sailing was quite easy. The cay is just a jut of land, no inhabitants, a good place to get out of the wind for the night. In the early morning the wind kicked  up to about 25 knots. We determined that the wind was too high and coming from the wrong direction which kept us from traveling. We hung out on the boat all day Friday, the guys read books and I worked on my needlepoint. Today we were able to get out of the cay by 8 am and sailed to Spanish Cay, we got here about 3 pm. We were able to get showers and have dinner on land. I talked to a nurse about my bites (did I mention they itch?) and she said they should be better by tomorrow. I am to take benderyl to counter act the itching. This is not fun!
Tomorrow we will sail to Green Turtle Cay, weather permitting. We are making our way down to the Abaco's, where Bert and I will eventually catch our flight from Marsh Harbor to get back home. This is really a great adventure, but Bert and I are starting to day dream about our own bed, hot baths and plentiful fruits and vegetables.
The weather was sunny today , with a partial cloud cover and bumpy water.These bug bites do not like hot sun. I may not be doing any deck fluffing! We were told that we need to be where we want to be by Thursday because another cold front is moving in which will cause more wind than we want to sail. Ah, the adventure of it all.

We Made It!

We got up at 4:30 and were on the Atlantic by 5:30 a.m. The Atlantic was pretty bumpy, we were thrashed around for over half the trip. The sea did eventually calm down, but we were so happy to get into the Bahamas.We are at a dock at West End, Bahamas. On the other side of the dock is the ocean, so we got out (after pouring champagne) and took a nice long walk on the beach. I am so excited about being here! It was not always easy, but that is part of the adventure.
Tomorrow we will sail a little farther south and secure a mooring ball. But we are happy with our dockage, showers....since it is in the 80's and very humid, it's nice to get that shower. We have encountered "no-see-ums" which are biting like crazy. Bug spray deters them from one spot, but being persistant, they will find the unsparyed area. I hope this is not the norm! I tend to be the bait and everyone else stays bug free.

The ocean was an amazing shade of blue, some things you will never know until you experience it. The only wildlife we saw on the trip over was flying fish. Really! You would see a whole school of fish suddenly fly through the air. Their silver bodies against the back drop of dark blue is unforgettable.

Bahama Bound

We are readying ourselves to cross over to the Bahamas in the early morning. Andy anticipates that it could take us 10 hrs. The decks have been swabbed, laundry has been washed, beer has been secured, and Bert and I have been groomed.
The temperature was hot and humid today, what we had hoped for and expected a week ago. Our drinks have plenty of ice to help keep us cool.
Our phone service in the Bahama's will be expensive, if you need to contact us, please text. I will blog when we have Internet access, which may be more available than we anticipate.

Lake Worth, FL

We sailed the Atlantic to Lake Worth, FL, it was fairly bumpy, but not too bad. We are going to stay here two nights, and weather permitting, we will sail to the Bahama's on Wesnesday.
We are finally warm, the humidity is 90%, quite different from what we have experienced so far. The weather report stated tomorrow's temperature will be in the 80's. Yikes!!!!
Tomorrow we will some boat cleanup, we experienced quite a bit of salt spray while on the Atlantic. As we were coming into shore we have a few dolphin visitors...a very nice welcome.
Bert and I have made our airline reservations, we will be back to IF on Nov. 30th.

Off the Atlantic

Our trip from Fernandina Beach to Ft. Pierce was a very bumpy ride. I was definitely tired of that rock and roll, I have added to my collection of bruises.
We did not see much in the way of wildlife. Bert & Dave spotted flying dish, pretty cool in the early morning light.
We are in the marina, looking forward to showers! I have never showered this
much in my life! What I would do for a long, hot bath! We are all weary of such a bumpy trip, we are discussing the merits of staying here a day.
This marina is a great birding spot, so far we've seen cormorants, herons, osprey and pelicans. The sign on the dock says "manate area". I'm on the lookout.

Fond Farewell

Judy flew home today, my female companionship has ended...I am sad!
A minor accident occurred as we were leaving the boat, Judy got hit in the nose when Andy started the engine of the dingy. Not a very happy ending to a week on the boat. I hope you are doing o.k. Judy.
We didn't leave the marina until late morning, only traveling to Mayport, downriver from Jacksonville. Our plan is to leave first thing thing in the morning and do an overnight sail to Ft. Pierce, FL. The conditions are favorable for the 30 hrs we anticipate being at sea.

Rest Day

We have stayed the day at Fernandina Beach. Kathy picked Judy and I up and took us to the grocery store so we could reprovision. The day was beautiful and sunny. We had Kathy and Buck on the boat for dinner. We had a shrimp boil, cole slaw and the fish Dave caught yesterday. The winds have picked up, so Andy will have to get them back to shore.
Tomorrow Kathy will pick Judy up and take her to the airport. We will get back on the innercoastal and head to St. Augustine. (Jeanne flew out today). So it will be back to the four of us heading south.