Snorkeling in the park Jan 31st. 2010

Captains note:
Today was one of those days you read about in magazines. The water was calm the wind mild and the sky was as blue as blue can be. The temp was in the mid 80s what more could you ask for. Well we found one more thing to delight in, a reef full of exotic tropical fish and all kinds of coral. Jane ,Liz and I joined the crews from a dozen other boats and snorkeled for an hour enjoying one of the most awesome sights I have ever seen in my life. Do I sound excited? you bet I do. This is what we have traveled all those miles to experience.
This evening we have invited two couples from other boats to join us for cocktails and munchies and we will sit and enjoy the sunset and the full moon rising over a little piece of Heaven here in the Bahamas.

BOO BOO HILL

It's Sunday in the sunny Bahamas and the front we have been hearing about sputtered out. Other than 15-20K winds and a few sprinkles we have had sun & cool breezes. Yesterday we left pretzel on board and took the hiking trail to Boo Boo Hill. (Peter keeps calling it Boobie Hill...but that is another story.) The hike took us over limestone rocks that looked like a moonscape, through "Banshee Creek" (a tidal creek where the mangrove trees are trying to survive), and through a palm tree forest. We finally emerged on top of the small hill to the most beautiful scenery, truly what you would see on a post card. We could look in all directions over the anchored boats, see the Exuma Islands both north & south, and open ocean east & west. Peter carved our name on a piece of mahogany and we left it on the hill with about a hundred other ships signs. The tale of the haunting is tied into this custom. If you leave your sign on Boo Boo Hill it promises good weather and the haunted souls will leave you alone. It must have worked because the front never appeared and we heard no voices last night, full moon time. At 6PM we packed our cooler with munchies and drinks, put Pretzel in her pack, and headed off to the beach for happy hour and a bonfire. We met loads of boaters (about 26 boats anchored here) and even had a sing song. By the time we returned to Kinvara no one was hungry enough to fix dinner. We were full of beer, wine, and munchies. Today we plan to be lazy, trade reading books in the park office, and then have a pot luck dinner with 2 other boats later. Life is good right now! We can not post pictures on this internet connection but will do so when we can.

Exumas Land & Sea Park, Warderick Wells

We left our very pretty marina at 8AM this morning in 15-20K winds. Our weather router told us to go today or be stuck another 2-3 in Cape Eleuthra. We had to sail across Exuma Sound (really deep ocean water) and encountered rolling 4-6' waves. It was not the most comfortable ride and somewhat stressful but we finally made it here by 1:30PM. It was the longest 30NM we have sailed. Our depth meter read 138' before it went off the chart and started flashing. We travelled over waters that were 1000+ meters deep. Given each meter is apx. 3 feet that is abysmal!!! Our Internet connection is the park's satellite & somewhat slow so no pictures today. It is just beautiful. Everything on land and sea is protected so we sit on a mooring ball. they don't allow anchoring. We are happy with that because there is a front coming through tomorrow again. Pretzel is only allowed on the beach....no trails so she will get left on Kinvara a few times. There is a place here called Boo Boo Hill which is supposed to be haunted by souls from shipwrecks. So tonight, a full moon night, we will listen for the singing voices one should here. More to tell tomorrow.

Cape Eleuthra

Pictures worth a thousand words!

Kinvara was up early today after a calm night's sleep and underway by 7:15AM. We had our course charted and needed to pass through Davis channel which has a few shallow bars so we wanted to catch the mid tide time. The entire trip was 25NM but we had an east wind and the current with us so we could travel at 7k SOG most of the way. We arrived at Cape Eleuthra Marina by 10:30AM under sunny skies and calm winds. This is a very pretty place on the tip of Cape Eleuthra with ocean surrounding us on 3 sides. There was laundry done (again), a quick walking tour, Liz went to a hydroponics research institute down the road to get some fresh organic greens, and Peter and Jane had the best hamburger loaded with everything. We haven't had one since last summer so it was a real treat! The rest of the day was spent on the private beach then gin & tonics while watching the sunset. Tomorrow we hopefully travel southwest for 30NM to the Exuma Land & Sea Park and hold up while another front passes through Sat-Sun.

Last day Governors Harbor

Everyone on board had a great nights sleep..calm seas & winds. We woke this morning to beautiful sunshine (much to Patricia's chagrin) and sat in the cockpit to enjoy morning coffee and tea. Peter dropped the dingy at 10:15 and we motored Patricia & Willy ashore to get their cab for 11AM. Hopefully their 12:30 flight to Nassau and the flight back to London goes well. Miss you already!! Hopefully you have some fond memories of our cruise to nowhere!! Peter and Jane continued to the laundromat....big and very clean! They then made it to the bakery (again) and ended up at the Buccaneer for coffee and wi fi. Jane could not connect last night with her wi fi card. She thinks Verizon found out she was using it abroad and shut her down!!! Today is a lazy day in the sun. Liz stayed on the boat to rock at anchor and suntan on the bow. Pretzel is keeping her company. We have great pictures of the last supper last night and will post them when we get back to wi fi.

Governors Harbor Tuesday, Jan 26th

We stayed put last night thanks to our lightweight fortress anchor and a little bit of underwater cable keeping us well positioned in the center of the harbor. All crew up and ready to go ashore by 9:30AM. Liz, Pat, & willy walked the town a little and found an Atlantic Beach front to explore. Peter went to the police station to report the underwater cable "fix". It turned out to be a multi million dollar telecommunications cable crossing to Nassau!! They called in a local to come to our boat to free it.

Our hero of today is a young local Bahamain, Sean (his grandfather came from Ireland), who came back in the dingy with Peter accompanied by his most beautiful 2yr old daughter. Well Jane went into grandmother mode and had a blast playing while the boys freed the anchor from the cable. Sean also found our boat hook which took a dive yesterday while trying to unhook the anchor from our dingy. When Sean lay our boat hook over the edge he got a shock and told us we had a short on the boat. Well this is what has caused our red LED navigation light to remain lit all the time. Sean fixed that also. After a nice chat on board Peter settled up with him and took them ashore. Then he and Jane hauled anchor and moved Kinvara as close to the shore as possible to get away from the cable and prepare for a possible squall that night. Once our anchor was set we went to shore for lunch with Willy & Pat and a walk around the little town. Hopefully now the problems are solved (for a while anyway).

We were hoping to get lobsters for dinner but they were sold out so we settled for chicken curry.

That night we were facing south in 15-20K winds. By 3:15AM Jane woke to rain and went to check all the overhead hatches. The wind was blowing hard and Kinvara shifted completely around to the North. the winds stayed strong for about an hour. Jane and Liz sat up for a while checking our position to make sure Kinvara stayed put. By 4AM it was all over and we went back to sleep.

Hatchet Bay to Governors Harbour

After spending some time exploring the area of hatchet bay Jane and I returned to the boat to do some laundry in our bucket washing machine and take care of other boat tasks. Willi, Patricia and Liz explored more of the island and returned to the boat at 3.30 with rum, wine and a bag of cooked crab claws. When the gang returned to the boat Patricia and Liz decided to have a swim off the boat. Suddenly Patricia called out that she had been stung by a jelly fish and the whole crew went into medical mode. Jane got the medical book out and within a short time Patricia had consumed Advil, Benadryl, Mojitos, Wine, had been sprayed with vinegar and other anti itch and anti everything else that could be dreamed up. Oh by the way her arm was red and swollen. The captain excused her from galley work for the evening.
The crew prepared an exquisite meal of cracked stone crab claws with freshly baked brown bread( Captains creation) followed by New York strip steaks and salad. For desert we had chocolate rum cake. Life is not all bad on board the mother ship KINVARA.

We dropped our mooring this morning at 10am and headed out to rough seas and high winds. 3 hours later we dropped anchor in Governors Harbour. It was not a pleasant crossing and we were all happy to be in the shelter of the harbour. Dropped anchor and had lunch. After lunch we realized we were drifting and decided to re-position the anchor. We almost had it back on board when we snagged an underwater cable and we could not free ourselves. Willi and I deployed our secondary anchor and we will wait until the morning to find a diver to free us. Once again the crew prepared another delicious meal and copious amounts of wine were consumed.

Hatchett Bay, Alice town, Eleuthra Island

Friday morning Kinvara was ready to leave the dock by 7:30 AM. We had to fuel up with diesel first so our exit was 8AM. Finally on our way to Eleuthra Island. Originally we were going to the Exhumas but the wind and wave action was better for Eleuthra. It also seemed more convenient for part of our crew to return to Nassau for their flight next Wed. The weather is beautiful, sunny with 10-15K winds. Arrival in the little harbor was apx. 3PM. Peter and Willy immediately took the dingy around to check out the facilities & find internet. Liz and Pat went swimming while Jane sat with Pretzel. The day ended with gin & tonics, pork chops on the grill, and an early bedtime.

Saturday started out with rain showers but quickly cleared. We came ashore to walk around, found the internet cafe which opens at 11AM (island time), a grocery store, clothing store, and hardware. Each store would fit into a walk in closet but they are fully stocked with most anything you might need. Liz, Patricia, and willy are walking to a beach and Peter and Jane are doing laundry on the boat. The laundromat was full (everyone does laundry on Sat.). Peter got updates on weather through the SSB radio with Chris Parker, our weather router. We have no phone or internet service on the boat. This blog is brought to you courtesy of "da spot", the local bar and grill. The roof is made from palm fronds and the walls, well there are none!! Welcome to the islands. It's not Cub Med but we are finding fun. Tonight it's dominoes and Willy's mojitos.

Wednesday in Nassau saw the crew up by 8AM and busy reorganizing the boat to accommodate 2 more adults. Our friends, Patricia & Willy Simon were expected from London in the afternoon. Peter decided to change the oil & filters, Jane started cleaning heads & cabins, Liz did the re-provisioning and menu planning. Laundry was a joint effort done by 10 AM. Peter called a fellow Black Rock graduate (high school folks!) in Nassau, Ian Kelly, who stopped by the boat at 1PM and took Peter for lunch. Liz went downtown on a "jitney" (local bus) and Jane sat with Pretzel reading her book. Our friends came walking down the dock at 4:15, ready for their boating experience. We chatted for hours, had a wonderful dinner of fresh wahoo (local fish) very like a swordfish and hit the beds early.

Thursday the weather prediction was good so we planned to leave by 8AM to head to the Exuma's Islands. Willy left at 6:30 to get his Internet fix at Starbucks across the street. Peter, Jane, & Liz got everything ready for departure after plotting our course. By 7:30 we were ready to roll. "Jane, start your engine!!!! NOTHING!!! &%@#$*!

A very nice cruiser 2 boats down (engine mechanic) came over and told us our starter battery was dead. Five years old and time to change. Well, it was a good thing Peter used that battery to drain the oil yesterday. Better it died in Nassau than an isolated island! So P eter & Willy went on a hunt for a new battery, Patricia took a swim, Liz took a shower, and Jane sat and stewed about not being able to leave. By 11AM the new battery was in place and we were never so happy to hear the sound of an engine starting. But the decision was made to stay in Nassau since we did not have enough daylight to get to Norman's Cay (pronounced key) safely. So Peter stayed with Pretzel and chilled, Jane & Patricia, Willy, & Liz got another jitney downtown and browsed the stores. We bought a rum cake to bring back for dessert!

Tonight we decided to celebrate our engine restart with dinner out at Luciano's of Chicago Restaurant (in Nassau of all places). It was a beautiful spot, sitting outside on their patio with lights in the trees. Great service, great food, great company. The day ended with a spectacular fireworks display coming from a barge near Paradise island, the very posh Atlantis resort across the water. Michael Jordan( huge basketball star) is having his golf invitational golf tournament this weekend and this was the start of his "party". The fireworks rivaled what we see in Disney each night!!

Tomorrow we have decided to go to Eleuthra Island instead of the Exumas. it is closer and has 3 airports and a fast ferry for Patricia & Willy to get back to Nassau next Wednesday. We have been told it is beautiful. We have been warned to not swim with any jewelry (shiny) on because it attracts barracuda!!! The girls have decided to stay in the dingy and use the glass bottom bucket to see the bottom!

Willy did decide for a quick dip in the marina pool before bedtime though!!

The Kinvara crew! after dinner (& a few drinks)

Arrived in Nassau

We left Bimini Island yesterday at 7:30AM and experienced rough waves coming out of the harbor hitting us on the starboard beam for about 2-3 miles. We then turned ESE across the Great Bahama Bank. What an experience that was. You can see everything on the bottom--even in 12' of water. There were some shallow depths with only 5' under the keel but most of the way we had depths of 12'. It was a beautiful sunny day with little wind so we motor sailed most of the way. We travelled for 9 hours before dropping anchor. Now this was not the nice little anchorage one would envision. It was on the Bahama Bank, no land in sight, in 10' of water, 1.5 miles off the charted course. People typically don't travel the Bahama Banks at night because it's shallow and has no navigational aids. So we literally anchored in the middle of the ocean rolling on the waves. Today we were up early pulling anchor at 7AM. We had an uneventful day and arrived in Nassau by 3:30. It was impressive going past 4 cruise ships and Paradise Island, where the exclusive resort Atlantis is. We are expecting company from England tomorrow. They will stay for a week while we sail to the Exumas islands. We will add pictures and more info tomorrow. BTW my Verizon air card is working for Internet on extended network. Anyone know how much this is going to cost us??????

Leaving Bimini

Today we have the weather window to leave Bimini, head south, and cross the Bahama's bank. We will travel about 56 NM then anchor then Tuesday continue on to New Providence Island (Nassau). We are going to anchor in a little cove southwest of Nassau town. Here are some pics of Bimini.

North Bimini Island, day 2

Everyone slept through the night until 7:30-8:00. It was warm waking and sunny! Shorts and t-shirts were the days dress. After having a leisure coffee Peter cooked Irish breakfast for the girls. We then packed for a dingy ride and dressed for a beach somewhere. We motored about 2 miles north along the shore and came upon a new Bimini Bay resort and marina. It is well planned and beautiful but very empty. At $2.50 a foot it doesn't compare with our dock for $1.00 a foot, including hot showers. We then headed south again and pulled up on a beach to see a boat builder, Ansel. It turns out he is famous on the island for being a champion bonefish fisherman, which he makes his living on. He also makes Bahamian bonefish boats which can motor in 6" of water. He had one in progress and one finished. They were beautiful and Peter was extremely impressed with his skills. He told us a story about Martin Luther King who visited the island on many an occasion and liked to go bonefishing with him. On one of his visits (3 days before he died) MLK wrote the sanitation workers speach while in the bonefish boat with Ansel anchored among the mangroves in a secluded section of the island. Many other famous people have visited with Ansel and he hand made a shell necklace for Queen Elizabeth on her visit to the island. We were captivated by his work and his stories and as we were getting ready to leave Ansel came to us with 3 dishes of freshly made conch salad. Our first time eating it and it was delicious!!
All along the shore we saw piles of conch shells and before we left we picked out a few to take home as souveniers. We only found one shop on the island that sold souveniers carved from these shells, of course we had to buy one.




After the boat building visit we dingied further down the channel, pulling up onto a soggy sandbar. Peter reached into the water and pulled out an enormous sponge! Liz took a walk on the sandbar while Jane waited in the dingy with Pretzel. (She doesn't like to get her feet wet.)









We then motored to the end of the island, found a beautiful beach that stretches the entire east coast of the island. Bimini has 3 main roads running the length of the island and you can walk across it in 5 minutes. A very nice first day!!

Alice town, North Bimini Isl., Bahamas

We have arrived! After much anxiety about crossing the gulf stream we set off from our Miami marina at 6AM, in the dark, and proceeded to watch the most glorious sunrise as we headed east toward North Bimini Island. The weather was the warmest yet so our cockpit was very comfortable. Everyone had their coffee or tea and we settled down into our routine. Winds were blowing from the east, on our nose, so we were motoring. The waves were coming from the north so the mainsail was deployed part way to stabilize us. Waves were running 1-3' and we were a little rolly but still comfortable. Peter went below at 7:30 to contact friends on the SSB. Jane was on the helm with Liz when they spotted a change in the water ahead. It looked like it was boiling!! We suspected it was the west wall of the gulf Stream...and we were right! Once "crossing over" the waves slowly became stronger, 2-4 feet, but Kinvara handled it in stride. Our rum line was 95' magnetic but we set our course at 118' magnetic. Once we got into the gulf stream, the northerly current started to push us north until eventually we had crossed over our rum line. Then, as the current decreased closer to Bimini, we came back onto the rum line. The only variance we had to make was to avoid a large oil tanker crossing our bow. About 6 miles off Bimini we could see the islands, the water turned dark blue, and the waves decreased 1-2 ft. As we approached the channel to the harbor the water was crystal clear and shallow. Liz was kneeling on the bow and Jane standing on the life raft while Peter watched the depth and GPS tracking. We came in at low tide and at one point had 1.6' under our keel. We really have to learn to "read the water". There were a few boats anchored outside the island, we suspect to wait for a higher tide to enter. We were tied up by 2PM and Peter cleared customs by 3PM. We were waiting for a clearance form for Pretzel to be faxed from the Bahamian Dept of Agriculture but it didn't arrive in Solivita until yesterday, so right now pretzel is illegal!!! We will get it faxed to us in Nassau when we get there.
So here we sit in North Bimini Island, probably until Monday, then head directly to Nassau. It's not the exotic island paradise one would think of where we are docked. This is a small working island with tiny houses, many homes & businesses are closed up. The people are so friendly and helpful and it's a time to catch our breath, get a few jobs done, and relax. More tomorrow.

Lantana-Ft lauderdale-Miami

We had a beautiful evening at anchor in Lantana. It was calm, quiet, warmer, and we were the only boat there. We did keep the heater on during the night though. It was predicted to be in the high 30's but never made it that far.

Tuesday morning we pulled anchor by 8:15 and were on our way. The ICW trip to Ft Lauderdale only had about 12 lift bridges to go through. We actually timed them well and only got stuck at one bridge for a half hour waiting for the next opening. We seemed to be ahead of the crowd of boats heading south. We thought we had seen large houses so far but travelling through Boca Raton and Ft Lauderdale all we could say was WOW!!!! Houses and mega yachts just got bigger and bigger as we moved further south. Kinvara pulled into Las Olas Municipal marina (no anchorages in Ft Lauderdale) by 1PM. Liz and Jane quickly got the water taxi for a 2 mile ride down river to hit the Bluewater Book Store to get a cruising guide for the Bahamas and one last trip to Publix grocery store. peter was busy on the phone with customs & Immigration to make an appt in Miami to apply for a Local Boater registration card. This allows us to phone in when we return to the US for clearance instead of appearing at the office. Our appointment was made for 1PM Wednesday so it was an early night to get up and head to Miami the next morning.

Kinvara was underway by 7AM to make the first lift bridge opening at 7:15. We then motored 2 miles downriver for the next bridge opening at 7:30AM. As we passed through and began to head out the ocean channel a large Bahamas cruise ship was docking. Talk about Karma. We started to get excited about the reality of finally getting there!!! Today we had to go the ocean route for 20NM because there is a 56' fixed bridge in the ICW which we can't get under. Conditions were good. North winds 10-15k and following seas of 3-5 feet. It was a little rolly after doing the ICW for so long but we needed to get our sea legs back. We pulled into Miami Beach Marina (think South Beach) by 11AM. peter and Jane left at 12:30 in a taxi to get their customs card and Liz left to do laundry and walk around. Little Pretzel stayed at home and slept the afternoon away. So now it's after dinner and Peter is copying some of our important documents for back up, we have the quarantine flag ready to fly (Bahamas courtesy flag waiting also), fueled & watered up. Every inch of space is full of food supplies, chips, crackers, beer, Coke, and anything else people told us to bring. The freezer is full to the top with meats for about 70 meals for 2 people. We will hit the bed early, be up at 6AM, and head out of Miami Harbor toward Bimini Island. the wind is switching east (On our nose) but the waves are calming down and it's our best weather window until next week. We will be able to blog only when we can get a wireless connection (no wireless air cards there!) but you can always check the blog for our GPS location under "Where is Kinvara". Hopefully our next blog will be from the Bahamas.

Ft Pierce to Lantana mile 1031

We got an early start today at 7.30. It was not as cold as previous days so our spirits were much higher. We hope to make it to Ft. Lauderdale, mile 1064, by early Tuesday so the further we get today the shorter the distance tomorrow. Once again we had N, NW following wind gusting to 20 at times and for most of the day following seas. We set the jib early and within the hour we also set the main, which combined with the engine, pushed us at 9+ mph for most of the day. Some of the areas we passed were beyond belief. The houses were incredible and in some places the boats were equally incredible. Of course Palm Beach and West Palm Beach were the most incredible. All you can say is WOW over and over again.
We arrived in Lantana and set anchor by 5 0'clock. Chicken on the grill with potatoes and veg. for dinner after a nine hour 67sm day was just what the doctor ordered. It is nice to realize that we only have 33sm to go to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow. We hope to be there before noon time to take care of some business and to pick up some books for the Bahamas. We are hoping that we will not have to use the heater for too many more nights, The weather forecast predicts warmer days ahead. I talk to Dave and Trudy every night at 8 on the SSB and they keep our spirits up with reports of sun and fun. We can't wait to join them in the next few weeks.
Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow and the adventure continues.

Melbourne to Ft Pierce Florida

After having a very nice dinner at the dockside tiki bar & grill last night we settled down to a very cold night. Liz Murphy (Peter's cousin) retired with pillows packed against the hull for insulation in her forward bunk and a hot water bottle for extra warmth. She was very surprised to find that we had one. (standard equipment in our house) The wind was blowing all night and we woke at 3:30-4:00AM, noticing the heat had gone off. Peter was up, turned it back on, and cranked the temp to the top. It ran continuously until Jane got up at 6AM. Last night the record for coldest night was broken with the wind chill this morning at 22'F.
We left the dock by 8:30AM, heading south, leaving our destination up to the day's progress. We had the north wind behind us so our jib went out and we travelled most of the day at 9.2mph over ground. It was still cold in the cockpit but the sun helped to make it more tolerable. We passed some magnificent homes along Vero Beach.











Eleven miles later we called it quits in Ft Pierce. Peter got a local to take him to top up our propane and then he and Liz walked to West Marine and the grocery store. Dave & Trudie, if you read this, we have coffee and wheat thins to bring to you. That will give you an excuse to slow down and find us in the Exumas!!!

Behind our boat is another little island that serves as a rookery for the sea birds. We saw the same thing in New Smyna Beach but did not get a picture. It's fascinating watching the birds circle this place for an hour before nesting for the night. It's quiet too!! Leaving early tomorrow for Lake Worth. Our plan is to get to Ft Lauderdale by Tuesday. It's 100 miles from here. Not as cold tonight so we are hoping for warmer days ahead!!

Canaveral to Melbourne

Christa McAuliffe Bridge crosses into NASA...named after the teacher in space who died in the Challenger explosion. Christa was a year ahead of Jane in her high school and her college. This bridge spans the Canaveral Barge Canal between the ICW and the ocean.

Kinvara got underway today at 9:30AM, passed through a lift bridge, a lock, and 1 more lift bridge before entering the ICW south again. Once there the north winds were behind us so it was easier. However we were dressed in many layers, rain gear, and cockpit enclosure closed but still cold. We could see our breath so we knew it was colder than any day we had moving south. The further we got the colder we got until we were so cold we could not contemplate another 2-3 hours. So after 4.5 hours and 26 miles we pulled into Melbourne Harbor Marina, plugged in, and turned on the heat. After sandwiches and soup for lunch we settled down for the power nap. Peter's cousin, Liz Murphy, and Jane took a walk through historic Melbourne for an hour or two. A computer check of weather showed the temperature to be 36' at 2:30. It will be around 28' overnight. Florida has had a cold spell for a week. Plants and palm trees are dying as well as animals...turtles, armadillos, manatees, etc. We hope to leave in the morning by 7:30 and move as far as we can. There are only 2 lift bridges to move through. It is suppose to be sunny so we will have more warmth inside our cockpit enclosure. Don't know where we will end up so check in tomorrow.

Peter and cousin Liz staying warm.

Pretzel's "igloo".

Preparations

It's countdown time. Only 4 days until we plan to push off the dock again. Peter has been busy taking care of boat insurance, fixing our pool leak, and paperwork for the Bahamas. Jane has been making lists and menus for provisioning. She spent the morning at the supermarket and the afternoon organizing supplies on the dining room table. Tomorrow is BJ's Day to get meat for the freezer. We are bringing enough for 70 dinners so we will have to eat out and catch some fish along the way. We have 3 people on the boat for 4 weeks and 5 people during one of those weeks. We are still expecting some deliveries of medicine, cruising guides, and Irish brown bread mix so if they don't arrive by Friday then we may have to delay leaving.

Our dining room table made a good lay out for supplies. Our freezer is full to the top with meats and Jane gave up one clothes locker for chips & snacks. We have been told by friends already there that they are hard to come by and if you get them a bag of chips can be $6. Beer is also expensive so we are going to learn to drink rum...pain killers baby!!! If Pretzel gets too demanding we might give her a sip as well.

A new decade

Happy New Year

So today is January 1, a new decade, and we are preparing for our next trip to the Bahamas. Peter's cousin, Elizabeth, arrives Tuesday and we will head to the boat on Friday the 8th. Hope to be on our way to Miami on Saturday the 9th. and crossing to the Bahamas during the next week. We will update our blog during the week as we provision, check systems, and get ready for departure.

Our New year was spent in Florida with friends at a street party in our
development, dancing, eating, and having fun! We even had a ball drop at midnight!

We had a wonderful trip to Colorado and spending Christmas with Sarah and Natalie.

We visited Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapaho ski areas and took a ride to Loveland Pass which marks the Continental Divide through the rocky Mountains. It is a beautiful area but pretty darn cold. We're glad to be sailing to warmer weather.