Jane and Bob's Lifelong Dream!: March 2018

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Spanish Wells

We left Chubb Cay on Sunday and headed for Spanish Wells. We debated whether to make the trip on to Nassau or stop. We are so glad we chose Spanish Wells. Some fishermen told us there was nothing here...nothing.....? I think they had it confused with Spanish Key. This island is delightful and the marina is charming. Just what you would picture a Bahama Island to look like! Our cruise over was another long day, but not as bumpy as previous runs.....we did have "rollers" but all in all it was never too bad. (Nothing moving around cabin, etc) I have begun to gauge good runs and bad runs based on how much stuff flies around the cabin while underway! 😁😁

Spanish Wells is on the north edge of Eleuthera Island, about 35 miles northeast of Nassau.
This island has a substantial grocery story (Food Fair) which we can easily get to on foot, but we rented a gold cart for a few days, as Bob loves to roam around in it. We will have to live in a "golf cart community" when this trip is over, he has decided! He has also decided that the ideal temperature for his comfort is 75 to 80 degrees....and if it has to vary 5 degrees he would prefer 85 over 70.....so this golf cart community obviously will be in the south somewhere!! and you thought I was the sun worshipper😎. (I think Key West changed him...for the better! haha)

The grocery store here features anything you think you might need (better selection of items than I can find "up north Michigan")...and if you get there on a day when the supply ship comes in, you have even a better selection! I am impressed by the produce and the prices of the produce, but other items I am glad we are stocked up on.....like paper products. We have bought eggs ($4.50 doz), milk is $4.50 for 1/2 gal....and the granddaddy of them all...PEPSI (which is like crack for Bob, so it is a MUST PURCHASE) is $9.80 a 12 pack! I told him he would be better off drinking rum! Although I think the alcohol is quite expensive also compared to what we are used to.....luckily I have that stocked up also. Bob did have Pepsi stocked up, but not enough to support his "habit".

I discovered a seafood market(??) which is a huge cooler in the corner of a hardware store across from the fishing docks, and I purchased stone crab claws at $15 a pound. They are absolutely the BIGGEST claws I have ever seen....each claw is about the size of my hand!....which means when I crack them open to get the succulent meat out, huge chunks come out instead of the tiny little bits you would get out of a "normal sized" claw. I am getting about a tuna can size full of meat out of every claw! so yummy.... I was paying $35 a pound in Key West and decided the price and effort wasn't worth it for as little meat as I was finally able to eat. These definitely are worth it, so I picked up another package this morning.

Speaking of the golf carts.....we were following a lady in hers and she speed around a corner in front of us, and out fell a couple dozen eggs (at $4.50 a dozen).....she stopped and picked them up and I suggested if she hurried home she could still have them scrambled! She said "of all things to fly out of her cart, it had to be the eggs! People here are very friendly and the homes mostly all seem to be well kept. We have met several American families who own property on the island as vacation homes. Since we have been in Bahamas we have never once felt unsafe or threatened. The natives tell us the only island that you need to be careful on is Nassau. If a native does something bad on one of the other islands, they send them to Nassau to go to court and/or jail......and then when they get out....they are NOT welcomed back to their island.....so they stay on Nassau! (sounds like a sanctuary city!) thus the higher crime rate, etc in Nassau.....because that's where the criminals are!! Before we got here, other cruisers told us to lock our dinghy and motor up and not leave things unattended.....but since we have been on Bimini and now Eleuthera we have not once even locked the boat door when we leave! And unlike Bimini the natives here are much friendlier.

I want to post some pictures of Chubb Cay and some from here, but the internet is not cooperating with transferring the files, so those will have to wait until later. (using the emojis instead🏖)..feeling internet savvvvy !!

Some have inquired about the costs of dockage.....we have found it to be about $4.00 a foot, but then on top of that is the added electric and WATER charges. We have stopped making the boat a 48 (LOA) and say it is 45 feet (which the model clearly states it is, so we really are not fibbing) and we are cautious about using the air conditioning......luckily with the exception of a couple days in Chubb, the weather is cool enough to have windows opened and air off. Those days added approx. $60 a DAY more to charges of $200 a day to begin with. (and the water charges topped out about $40 a day, we are now more conservative) We had hopped to anchor out more, but we knew coming in here that the wind and waves were going to be blowing all week (which they are) and that we would probably be here till the weekend (which we will be). We are just grateful that there is potable water available, as we were also told (??) that most places don't have any... (and we are extremely grateful that pump outs are not as scarce as we thought....so we take advantage of those whenever available. All in all, we have really been enjoying this part of our journey and I am now confident in Captain Bobs abilities to navigate us thru some pretty shallow waters....if I was driving, we would still be stuck on several sand bars and shoals and reefs (as I constantly question WHY he is going in the direction he is, when it looks to be sooo much closer to just go directly in.... I guess some of us have different talents than others....mine lately seem to be beating Bob shamelessly at card games!🃏

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

THE BAHAMAS!

We made it....we are in the land of super HUGE yachts and beautiful turquoise water. We crossed from Islamorada on Saturday, March 17...St Pattys Day. By looking at us you would think we drank green beer all the 110 miles across. At least I was a little green in the face by the time we arrived. A lot of rocking and rolling took place. The boat does great, the crew grips the railings and ignores the items flying around the cabin. I only have myself to blame for not securing the items above the stove. A tray fell and cracked the ceramic glass top...now comes the impossible task of trying to replace a marine grade, 25 year old, foreign model, of which the company is no longer in business. Also this one has 4 burners...A real rarity for today's models...but as the captain said...how many burners HAVE you used?..he has a point there. The unit is still functionable, so this will be a job for the future.

We arrived and cleared customs (absolutely no problems there, not too many questions and pay your cash $300) at Bimini and spend 2 nights there before heading out on the 100 mile trek to Chub Cay. Once again another white knuckle trip..this time with trays, etc better secured. The water did get a little better the closer we got to the island and we docked at the resort.
This is a stunning resort AND the only thing on the island. A large marina with lots of sport fishing boats and then the mega yachts probably are what supports this place...we had a nice visit with a crew member and a nanny off one of the palaces....they told us the owner flies in supplies as needed. Bob might need to ask them to included some Pepsi next flight!....Jane is all set, as they do have bar service...complete with a swim up bar in the pool.

While we were in the pool, other loopers came in..one boat from Charlevoix, and one from Canada. We discovered the Canadians were loopers we partied with in Mackinac city last July...and our connections in Charlevoix (our friends, the Centers) are always a reference to strick up a conversation with the couple on "Winndecks". Perhaps i will host a docktails get together as it appears we will all be here for a few days as the winds are getting stronger. This is why lots of boaters wait till April to come over.

The boat next to us gave us a baggie full of fish that we grilled for dinner...doesn't get any fresher than that!! From the ocean to mouth in less than 5 hours...yummy..not a bad place to be "weathered in"

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Rainy Days and Mondays......

We left Key West and headed to Faro Blanco Marina in Marathon. It is a beautiful marina with a pool (just us old folks in their pool) and a great onsite restaurant. Good thing, as there isn't much around it commercially "out the gates". We did enjoy the Marathon Seafood Festival on Saturday and the day before, on Friday, we took a taxi cab to....PUBLIX! Our favorite place in Florida, or so it seems that we spend the most money there! While we were at Faro Blanco they had a "offshore boat rendezvous". These are the sleek looking ones that go fast! I asked one driver how fast they went and she said 80 to 100 mph and they were one of the SLOWER boats....some go 180. I told her "we go 8 to 10"!!

After a great few days there we were off again.....destination Islamorada. It is a village encompassing 6 of the Florida Keys, known for their coral reefs. We had a great day on Sunday weather wise, but in addition to dodging the never ending crab pots....we now are dealing with very shallow water. Capt Bob is constantly watching the depth gage and often we are digging up the bottom.....thankfully it is sand! Here we are at Plantation Harbor, which is in a city park. We were lucky to get in, as we are now finding it more and more difficult for a transient slip, as this is where the hurricane damaged a lot of marinas that are still under repair. AND thankful we were to be in a protected area because on Monday quite a storm came thru... High winds, waves, thunder and lightning....lots of rocking and rolling and lots of rain. But as typical Florida, Tuesday (today) is just as sunny and bright as usual and a great temp....We rode our bikes down to "Rain Barrel" a small artisan village and I even got my picture taken with "Betsy" the lobster... Its fun to play tourists! I guess that is what we are, although it feels like we are "almost" locals!!

We plan to move up the keys (perhaps Key Largo) a little more before crossing to the Bahamas....The wind has not cooperated with our original plans to be there by now. Winds are typically higher this time of year, so we are just waiting and watching....Capt Bob does a good job of the watching part. I do a good job of the waiting...get a good book to read and enjoy the sun!

Saturday, March 3, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY WEST

March 1, 2018....As we prepare to wrap up our month long visit here in Key West, we want to post some pictures of our favorite memories....there are also some we have no pictures of...(thank goodness!) We really have become Key Westers......Jane would opt to stay another month, but Capt Bob is ready for the Bahamas.....next part of this amazing journey....