Safe in Nassau

Hi there! Another guest post from Mary. Charlie arrived safely in Nassau yesterday. He’s working on getting his internet/phone situation squared away, so is unable to provide you faithful readers with updates right now, but he wanted to let you know he made it! (He is still reachable by email via his iPod touch and sporadic WiFi if you want to contact him.)

Also, at the risk of completely commandeering this blog more than I have already, I am excited to announce that I purchased a one-way ticket to Nassau and will be joining Charlie for a while starting January 13th. My dear friend from college will also be joining us and we will travel through the Exumas together. I am looking forward to it greatly and will do my best to ensure that a few more photos make it into this blog when I get down there. ;)

-Mary

Safe Sailing, Dad!

Hi there! It's actually Mary posting this time; Charlie is reportedly on his way across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas currently and will be out of touch for several days. In the meantime, here's a photo Charlie sent from his time in Key Biscayne. It's a boat that was reportedly used to transport Cuban refugees to Key Biscayne. 

Yup, still here!

Not a bad day, actually, with delightful weather. Wind is 15 to 20 out of the southeast, exactly the direction I need to go to compensate for the stream. But beating to windward would be a fools errand, and I would likely end up in the Abacos. Tomorrow, in advance of the latest cold front, it swings around to the south, which would be great except for the thunderstorms that are predicted. And since that can lead to reduced visibility, a serious concern given the fast moving ship traffic, I will most likely head out Sunday morning. Sunday has also received the blessing of Chris Parker, the Bahamas weather guru.

I feel a bit stupid, hanging out here for 10 days, but I am in good company, with at least a half dozen boats waiting to cross at this anchorage alone. And, as I have mentioned, this is a very pleasant place to hang out. Been doing a ton of reading, some boat maintenance, and visiting with other folks. Will try and post again before crossing, then will be incommunicado for several days.

Best, Charlie

Still here

Hi everyone,

No Name Harbor is filling up with cruisers waiting for that elusive weather window. I should have gone today, based on how nice it turned out to be, but I didn't know that, and so here I am. Listened to the weather guru, Chris Parker on my new single side band receiver this morning, after getting some much appreciated help from another cruiser familiar with those radios. Chris says next crossing possibility is Sunday or Monday. So, Chris comes on at 6:30 AM, and broadcasts the Bahamas weather, from the perspective of an experienced sailor and a professional weatherman. Plus, he really knows the Bahamas. He broadcasts from somewhere in Florida, and the beauty of it is that you can hear him hundreds of miles away, with the right equipment. Much further than the usual sources. So it was nice to check that out. I will be listening regularly. I sanded and varnished the starboard toenail, which had gotten scuffed up during the storm on the Chesapeake and I also fixed the steaming light on the mast. Did some reading, and also had dinner on Calypso, with Jeff and Wendy. Lovely evening. Stormy weather on tap for several days, but nice and safe in the harbor. I did move, though, due to getting crowded out by later arrivals, who didn't think ahead and account for changing conditions. I am non confrontational, (wimpy) , so I just pulled up anchor and moved to a less crowded area. Maybe they will realize their transgression, but I doubt it.....

Best, Charlie

Key Biscayne, continued

Decided to hang tight this morning. You may have heard about the big storm in the southeast, and the fringes of that were making for uncertainty down here. I would have been unable to get into Bimini due to strong southwesterly winds, and the likelihood of my showing up at low tide. And a night on the banks with a possibly strong cold front did not sound appealing either. So, after digesting the weather reports, I rolled over, and went back to sleep!

Best to all, Charlie

Christmas boat parade

Ok folks, here's something we don't have in Vermont. All of the anchored boats in No Name Harbor have been expelled temporarily to Biscayne Bay for several hours while a procession of highly decorated boats circle thru the anchorage in front of hundreds of onlookers. Quite festive, and noisy. At 9 PM we are allowed back in and I expect it will be a mad rush.

My radio arrived today and I look forward to getting forecasts on it. Tomorrow looks like a potential crossing day, but there are some variables I don't like the look of, so I will assess again in the morning. If I cross to Bimini it would unfortunately be at low tide when I would get there. The entrance is super sketchy in westerly winds and very shallow. An alternative would be to go around the north end of the island, but then I am committed to another 80 miles and a night out on the banks with a potential dose of crummy weather. And to be quite frank, this singlehanding business is hard work and I am not getting any younger! So I will err on the side of caution in the morning.

Best to all, Charlie

Rap music impressions

Package came but post office won't  look for it til tomorrow. Oh well. Nice day. Lugged more groceries one mile back to the boat.

Oh yes, rap music. An approximately 80 foot motor yacht pulled into the anchorage and he is obviously an aficionado of high volume rap. If he plays this rubbish for very long I may have to call the park authorities. High volume expletives, monotonous droning beat, absolute excrement to my ears. This is an excellent example of why I dislike South Florida so much. You have a pretty nice place like Key Biscayne and then some jackass has to come in and inflict himself on everyone else. Excellent news, he is pulling up anchor. Yes, he is leaving! There is justice after all!


Charlie

First world problems

Rather frustrating as I try to pull together some loose ends and watch another potential weather window slip away. I gave up on finding the radio I want for weather broadcasts and ordered one online. Decided to have sent general delivery to the big post office here on Key Biscayne. Called the post office and checked their website to see if any issues. Could not get an actual person to talk to after exhaustive trips up every branch of the phone tree. Placed order anyway. Walked into town and stopped by the post office. They inform me that they are one of the post offices that no longer does general delivery. But they will keep an eye out for it anyway and give me a call if they catch it. Meanwhile, I get an email from the vendor that says it will be delivered by 8 PM. Great! They didn't tell me next day delivery could be that late. It will be interesting to see if I get it. I really want this radio, which receives single side band and allows me to get forecasts when out of range of cell service, VHF, or FM radio.

Will update tomorrow,  Charlie

No Name Harbor

Here I am at Key Biscayne, probably as far south as I will go in the US. Don't you love the name of this harbor? Talk about lame, but hey, it resonates with me regardless. I might be stuck here for a few days. Strong and or contrary winds look to predominate for a while. Being old and singlehanded makes one conservative. But this is not a bad place to be marooned. Will probably get to meet up with other Bahamas bound folks.

Best, Charlie

Not so secret anchorage

Here I am, in a 20 acre lake in North Miami Beach, surrounded by high rises. I am the only anchored boat. Talk about a fishbowl! 
Came down from Palm Beach, outside on the ocean to Ft. Lauderdale. Saved a ton of time an hassle, by avoiding bridges. Very pleasant outside there today. And I must say, the Lake Worth inlet is about the easiest on the east coast to negotiate. Straight, wide, deep, and short. Takes about 5 minutes and you're through.

Hope to get out of here relatively early and go visit a favorite, No Name Harbor. Brilliantly named, no? Windy and rough forecast means I will probably have to wait a few days for a crossing opportunity.

Cheers, Charlie

Laundry day

Yes, I know. Pretty mundane stuff to be writing about. But you can only ignore the laundry for so long. So I schlepped it over the bridge to a lower rent neighborhood where a laundromat was conveniently situated.And now I can live with myself again, for a few days at least.

I also spent a bunch of time enrolling in a supplemental Medicare policy. And you thought cruising was exciting. Later, I lifted the dinghy out of the water and set it on the foredeck, something I always do before going out on the ocean. I had noticed that the dinghy was acting sluggish, and had suspected that the bottom was getting pretty foul. Indeed it was! It was it's own marine laboratory, with a thick growth of all manner of marine organisms. There followed a good hour and a half of scraping, scrubbing, and sluicing the remnants off of the decks.

And that concluded another day of cruising!

Best to all, Charlie

A 3 mile day

Pulled the anchor at sunup and headed down to the harbor here at Palm Beach. Topped off fuel and water tanks, and reanchored in a rather sketchy place with ver few viable boats. Floating derelicts in other words. This is a common problem here in Florida as I believe I have mentioned before.

Managed to acquire the cruising guides I was looking for, but I struck out again on the oil filter. Sometimes it is the simple things that are really frustrating.

I thought briefly about sailing across to West End tomorrow, but after studying the charts and guidebooks, am realizing it would probably be better to cross from Miami to Bimini. I want my Bahamas cruise to start in the central section and save the more northerly Abacos for the spring. Hoping to go further south, on the ocean, on Tues.

Till then, Charlie