Now I seek my own volunteer crew or even better... my permanent sailing companion

We again had a day of motoring with just a light headwind. We went out through a nearby cut to the ocean side which gave a straight shot to Georgetown on Great Exuma Island. We were amongst 4 or 5 boats also heading to Georgetown. It's a popular place. There are a lot of anchored sailboats and a smaller number of power yachts about the area. Walter and I took the dinghy to town and got rid of garbage for the first time since Florida and filled the 3 gasoline jugs. Tomorrow we will all go in and actually eat out somewhere and find wifi. I'm not sure if it will be tomorrow but before setting out again we will buy some more groceries and fill the 3 six gallon jugs of diesel fuel. To enter and cruise in the Bahamas you must buy a $300 cruising permit. This also allows you to catch fish. Walter has a big salt water fishing rod and reel and our second time trolling we caught a nice Dolphin today. Not the mammal kind but the fish kind.. also called Mahi Mahi. They are reall...

It was Saturday the 27th that I bought the $15 for 100 megabyte wifi. Later that day Candace and I did go snorkeling once. Well I did anyway...Candace doesn't like snorkeling as it were but prefers to use only swim goggles and no fins. We went in the dingy to the very nearby Emerald Island where there are a couple special yellow dinghy buoys for snorkeling. The edge of the island is undercut and there were a lot of colorful,fish on the shady side especially. Also some coral around the perimeter and a few patches near the island. It was better than I was expecting. Two toes on my right foot which got boo boos a few days back while dealing with a backup anchor were on the mend and my left food was pretty sore in the swim fin. I also got a bit chilled.. Anyway we were at it a bit shy of an hour and had gone around the island twice. We did not do any other snorkeling but other spots sounded more interesting but also had strong currents and you had to know when slack tide was t...

I thought I'd upload one photo to the blog which will maybe no go or use up all my megabytes. 100 doesn't go very far but they generously give you 24 hours to use them... All for a bargain $15 The view from the Park Office/gift shop/museum Posted with BlogPress on my iPad Location: Warderick Wells Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

No photos as Internet is expensive and lacking... I'll eventually add them to the 6 or 7 posts I wrote earlier and am posting now December 27th After 3 nights we moved 20 some miles into the Exumas Land and Sea Park and are anchored near Warderick Wells Cay. There are mooring areas in 3 places around Warderick Wells Cay but we are in the anchoring area. We took the dingy to the Park office/gift shop shortly after we anchored and got a map. Candace got some post cards and I bought a T-shirt. We took a hike to some ruins and across to the ocean side. We saw numerous little rodent like mammals we think were the Hutia. These are surprisingly the only native land mammals to the Bahamas. They look like miniature beavers but without the flat tail. They have just a short tail. They are about the size of a cottontail rabbit. The popular mooring area is obviously the north one as it had quite a few boats moored. We are anchored near the Emerald Cay mooring field and there are only ...

No photos as Internet is expensive and lacking... I'll eventually add them to the 6 or 7 posts I wrote earlier and am posting now December 27th We had pancakes this morning and there were gifts under the little fake tree Candace brought along. I was the only one not baring gifts. It was more candy for all of us from Santa and I got an Asperida embroidered visor hat from Santa but I think Walter had something to do with it ! After breakfast we discovered the mobile service Walter bought at Bimini had already been all used up which is questionable as its only been receiving and sending a few emails from each of us and one Skype call by Walter. Plus a couple of Grib file downloads. Anyway I'm on the boat alone now as Walter and Candace are going to the Marina... After they got back it was bad news on getting access to the Marina WiFi but they mentioned that there Internet was problematic today as well. Later Walter did get the Mobile hotspot working so we were not out of dat...

No photos as Internet is expensive and lacking... I'll eventually add them to the 6 or 7 posts I wrote earlier and am posting now December 27th We again had just a light headwind today so still no sailing. We started out crossing a shallower area of the Bank and were going pretty slow with visual navigation and then Walter started using his horizontal sonar as well. Soon we were back to the more typical 15' or 20' depth. The sun was still fairly high when we arrived to Highborne Cay of the Exumas. We again had trouble with getting the CQR anchor to set. After 2 attempts we went out away from the anchorage with Candace steering as Walter and I worked to swap the CQR for a Rocna type. It set nicely on our first try. We are anchored off the NW corner of Highborne Cay. There are 6 sailboats and one powerboat anchored here tonight. It has gotten windier since we arrived and gusts are likely 15 knots now. Candace brought a little artificial Christmas Tree and set it u...

No photos as Internet is expensive and lacking... I'll eventually add them to the 6 or 7 posts I wrote earlier and am posting now December 27th We set out toward Providence Island this morning hoping to at least motor sail but the wind was too much from the south so we gave up and motored into a light headwind. We were approached by some Bahamian officials. The blue hulled speedboat said 'Security Police' on the side and there were 4 on board. They just asked were we had come from where we checked in to the country at and were we were on our way too. We told them and they waved and said have a good day. We had left one part of the Great Bahama Bank and crossed over what's called the Tongue of the Sea and were again over another area of the Great Bahama Bank. We are 10 miles south of Providence Island bound for the Exumas. Providence is the nearest land so again out in the middle of nowhere in 15' or so of depth. There is no telling how long before we happen upo...

No photos as Internet is expensive and lacking... I'll eventually add them to the 6 or 7 posts I wrote earlier and am posting now December 27th We are anchored on the west end of Chub Cay. There's a little marina here and a few houses. I hear a generator perhaps for the community? There is a water tower (rusty) and radio tower with a lot of antenna and dish arrays on it. I suspect I'll be able to email again on Walter's hotspot but no blogging. Two 30some foot catamarans motored to this anchorage and now we are 3 boats. The 2 cats know each other and seem to both have families. They are still flying their yellow quarantine flags. Both launched their dingys and motored around briefly for no apparent reason. Restless kids perhaps? I'm pretty sure there is no customs and immigration here on Chub Island so they can't legally go ashore. We all took a swim and I toweled off and changed to dry shorts. When I returned to the deck I noticed Candace and Walter ...

No photos as Internet is expensive and lacking... I'll eventually add them to the 6 or 7 posts I wrote earlier and am posting now December 27th After a second night anchored just west of North Bimini we continued eastward. We went south a while to a charted route just south of Turtle Rocks. We were able to motor sail with just the Mizen and Genoa for a while with the light east wind. As we headed east we furled the Genoa. The light east wind calmed to nothing as we motored through the day across the shallow Great Bahama Bank. As sun set we moved about a quarter mile off the charted route and dropped our anchor. It was strange to see no sight of land anchored in just 10 or 15 feet of water. Posted with BlogPress on my iPad Location: Great Bahamas Bank

No photos as Internet is expensive and lacking... I'll eventually add them to the 6 or 7 posts I wrote earlier and am posting now December 27th The Gulf Stream crossing was about as calm as could be. Winds were zero to 5 knots on our stern. We put out the U.S. Ensign and raised the quarantine flag as we approached the Bimini Islands. The sun set with a couple miles to go. We anchored in 14 feet of water a few hundred feet from the west shore of North Bimini fairly close to the channel between the North and South Bimini's As I write this, Walter and Candace are clearing us in to the Bahamas and I'm waiting to come pick them up when they return. Walter talked about getting a SIM card for his mobile hot spot so I might be able to email but I'm sure posting on my blog will be when ever I manage to find wifi.? Likely uploading multiple blog posts. It's calm here exposed and open to our west but we get swell though perhaps more boat wakes almost constantly. So far ...

It's going to be a relaxing Gulf Stream crossing. Posted with BlogPress on iPhone

We have entered the ocean and are on our way across. I'll be loosing my network soon and will only be able to post on the blog when wifi allows. This should mostly be a motor crossing with light to calm and variable winds. Posted with BlogPress on iPhone Location: S Ocean Ln,Fort Lauderdale,United States

Walter and Candace returned with the transmission parts and some salad items. As Walter began to put things back together the boat had moved into the channel from current and or wind. It sat perfect all might but now it seemed we would need a stern anchor. Walter and Candace took the stern anchor in the dingy and dropped it toward where we wanted the stern. We had to move it a second time and ended up with the boat about where it was last night tucked in the corner of the Y of channel intersection. The Police boat came while we were setting the stern anchor and wanted us to move a mile or so to a better spot to anchor but we had no driveshaft connection. He said he'd be back to make sure we were clear of the channel or would expect us to ca Tow Boat US if need be. They returned in the dark and slowly motored around the corner past us and I guess decided we were ok. Photos wouldn't post last time? Hope they do now. Posted with BlogPress on iPhone Posted with BlogPress ...

Yesterday we had light wind to start and sailed a little although slow. Then it became totally calm and we motored south. We decided rather than pull in near Fort Lauderdale after dark and anchor, we would turn east once south a bit past Fort Lauderdale and cross the Gulf Stream during the night. With our mechanical problems of recent days Walter was shutting off the engine every couple of hours to inspect things. On a routine check about an hour and a half from when we would be turning east he noticed a transmission fluid leak. When a subsequent inspection once we were very near the Port Everglades inlet it seemed to have increased. It was decided to pull in and anchor in the residential canals of Fort Lauderdale. We are at a busy waterway intersection with scenic boat rides, water taxis and private boats. It got quit enough at 11 pm but it's nonstop traffic during the day. It was pretty much the closest anchoring option and really had only room for one boat. In the mo...

The sun just set. Once we are south of Fort Lauderdale, about 2 hours, we will head east across the Gulf Stream. We guesstimate getting to Bimini about 5:30 am. I will continue to create blog posts regularly but can only upload as we find wifi. By for now those who read this. Posted with BlogPress on iPhone Location: Pompano Beach,United States

About an hour after I posted about anchoring a night near Fort Lauderdale it was decided it would be too late and dark to bother with that. Now we are simply motoring south and when we are once down to Fort Lauderdale we shall turn east and head straight across the Gulf Stream during the night. Once across we will head south to Bimini guesstimating arrival early morning 5 or 6 am. Posted with BlogPress on iPhone Location: United States

We decided last night to use today to sail south and then go back inside and anchor near Fort Lauderdale. We had a very light wind and did raise all sails but the best we did was a little over 3 knots though mostly 2 knots. We were quite near shore but perhaps it was partially the northerly Gulf Stream current? After 3 hours or so the wind really dropped of to nothing. At least we can shut down and inspect the flange bolts. As one might expect we at nervous about the bolts loosening?! Dead calm now as I'm about to upload this. Heading out the inlet. While we were sailing. Posted with BlogPress on iPhone Location: N L St,Lake Worth,United States