O beautiful for spacious skies.....

It's hard to believe our latest adventure is over, but we're anxious to check up on the family, spoil the grandkids some, and drive on the right side of the road.  We arrived in Ft. Pierce around 10 a.m. and continued north on the ICW (where's that gorgeous aqua water??) to Vero Beach and the marina (AIR CONDITIONING!!).  The Captain got the spare alternator rebuilt, bought 6 new golf cart batteries (his allowance is already gone for the year), and got in touch with Captain Wade (remember his butt on the bucket during the teak work?) to make arrangements for repairing the compression post.  After a bus trip for some reprovisioning, we called Westland Marine in Titusville to arrange for putting the boat on the hard for new bottom paint and the repair. 

The ICW is quite a change from tootling around the islands, not only for the huge homes but also for the water traffic.  One of the bridges had a work barge parked right in the middle; it looked close, but then the tops always do too.  We timed our trip to Westland carefully, because we had to get through the bascule bridge before it closed for rush hour traffic (which would require us to maintain a holding pattern in the wind-less HOT waterway while we waited).  Our engineers and accountants figured and ciphered till we got to the bridge, confident that we'd made good time.  Imagine our surprise when we found a new high-rise bridge, which required no opening!  The cruising guides haven't recorded it yet (as of 2011), but it was no mirage.  We were also surprised at Westland, since the other times we've been here it was a true working yard with a tiny, dark bathroom/shower facility, an office in a trailer, and no laundry (we had to sneak over the fence to the city marina).  This time we found a huge new facility with large, clean tiled bath/showers, a laundry room, a big lounge with TV, wi-fi and small kitchenette, and new offices. Very nice!

the flanking jet skis look like police escorts for Summer Wind

move that barge!!

the bridge is tall enough now

Neptune welcomes us to Titusville

Westland Marina

We visited our favorite wi-fi spot and bakery from previous trips, Sunrise Bakery, for breakfast, then showed Rusty and Nancy a bit of Titusville (doesn't take long).  Later we called George and Terry, friends from Serendipity's first voyage to the Bahamas, and they picked up Summer Wind and Serendipity's crews for a dinner and swim at their gorgeous home in Cape Canaveral. We caught up on our travels and made plans to spend the night with them as we head out of Florida.

the gang at...where else?....the bar

would you ever leave this lanai??

George, our cook

a.k.a. The Naked Chef

George and Terry in their beautiful kitchen

The saga continues with renting a rental car to pick up a rental car, taking down the sails, stowing the dinghy, removing canvas and covering the boat for its haulout, unloading food/clothes/electronics for the trip to Tennessee, and burning up in the heat!  Summer Wind has left us, headed north for New Bern so they can visit their kids and grandkids and check on their house in Tennessee.  Another chapter is ending....

goodbye to Summer Wind

they're outta here!

Ponderings

Remembering our adventures (with the help of lots of photos) is so much fun, and it's been quite a journey.  This is the first time we've visited both the Exumas and Abacos in the same trip, and we were surprised at the differences.  The people of the Exumas seem to be a little hesitant at first, but so very warm when they decide you're okay.  The hesitancy may be because of the old black/white issues, or it may be because so many tourists have misbehaved that they're suspicious.  The people of the Abacos, a little less hesitant but never quite warming up as much, are very British in demeanor and very polite.  The children both places, without exception, are so well behaved and well mannered.  They always look immaculate in their school uniforms, even at the end of the day (how do they DO that???), and whenever you see them they always say either good morning, good day, or good afternoon, followed by madam or sir.  The gentlemen and young men in the Abacos (especially in Marsh Harbour) say "my lady."  Sigh, swoon.  We sincerely hope tourists don't change these gentle people and their customs and habitat.  They may not have as much materially as some of us, but they're doing fine without it.  Both places are beautiful and we're delighted to have visited them, but our tastes tend more toward the more rustic Exuma Islands.  We definitely plan to return to the Exumas (come join us!), and would like to return as givers rather than takers; we plan to deliver more schoolbooks and would like to contribute in other ways (to be determined).

Mangrove Cay

Our next day was HOT HOTTER HOTTEST.  We made it to Mangrove on smooth, crystal clear water and dropped the hook.  We decided to leave around lunchtime the next day so we could prepare the boat for our crossing and also arrive at the anchorage in the cooler evening rather than the hot afternoon.  The Captain tightened all the rigging, checked the water in the batteries (which were misbehaving a bit even after the replacement alternator was in), checked other fluids, and we lashed everything down since the wind was picking up (defying all predictions).  We left as planned, with the contingency that if the wind didn't die down we would bypass Memory Rock as our last anchorage and continue overnight to the States.  When we passed Memory Rock we were rocking and rolling and figured if we were going to rock and roll anyway we might as well be making headway on our journey.  Thankfully we'd already made the travel preparations for our crossing, so we hunkered down for an overnighter.  We had good wind for the Genoa, but couldn't use the main because of the loose and shaky mast rigging.  We also had to turn on the engine periodically to charge the batteries (but had to keep an eye on them to keep them from overcharging).  Soooooooo, about 22 hours later and with very little sleep, we arrived in the U.S.  But we had a beautiful full moon, very little traffic, and no casualties with either crew or boat contents.

our travel beacon

lookin pretty scary after an all-nighter

land ho (I think she's on the beach)

the homes are a teeny bit different than the ones in the Bahamas

The exit

Summer Wind and Serendipity planned to visit three anchorages on our way back to the U.S.  The first was Great Sale, where we arrived at our anchorage after a Great Sail.  It was warmer than it had been for the past few months, but there was a little breeze (if you held your mouth just right and stood on your left foot and crossed one eye).  The trip was fairly uneventful, but we did feel (and hear) a BIG thump while under sail.  We were afraid we'd hit something (like a submarine or a huge whale) but didn't see anything around or behind the boat.  We speculated about all the possibilities but didn't know the truth till we dropped the hook and went below.  The bathroom door was about 1/2" off, the floorboards were loose, and the rigging from the mainsail was loose.  Turns out the compression post that supports the mast had crashed through its plate and took a downward journey.  Thankfully, it's repairable and didn't cause a trip cancellation....we just can't shut the bathroom door or use the mainsail.

Summer Wind in a gorgeous sunset

Last beach day

Our last time together with September Song and Tide's In was a beach day at Allen's Pensacola.  They're headed to the U.S. at a much faster pace than our sailboats, and planned to do a long haul to St. Augustine (plan was later changed due to winds and weather).  We played on the beach with the girls (Cassie and Godiva), created Wilson with a coconut and some other beach finds, and did a little reminiscing about our months together in Paradise.  It will be strange traveling without our social chairman (Bob), our travel coordinator (Stephanie), our nurse (Pam, who dispensed jello and pudding shots in medicine cups) and our conscience (Stephen, who tried desperately to make us behave....till he didn't).  It was a great beach day with a gorgeous sunset, complete with a goodbye conch chorus from all the boats in the anchorage.

watching for huge orange starfish, huge turtles...I'll miss this gorgeous water

last beach day for the gang

soaking the shells in the "looky bucket"

the sun sets on our last night together (waaaaah)

goodbye September Song and Tide's In -- we'll miss you silly kids!!

 We'll miss our companions, and hope to see them soon and travel together again.  It's so nice to get to know and enjoy fellow boaters and friends.  We've had  buckets of fun and made some great memories.  We love you guys!

Winding down

Even though we'd planned to cross to the U.S. almost two weeks earlier than we did, it's still hard to believe it's time.  We spent a last day at Marsh Harbour, where we re-watered, re-laundered and re-rummed.  Tide's In, Summer Wind and September Song stayed in the marina for engine repair (Summer Wind) and to welcome the Gypsies, who came to visit and recharge the party batteries of the group.  Check out September Song's blog for a recap of their return to Nipper's.....Stephen has finally come out of his shell!

September Song, Tide's In and Serendipity anchored at Baker's Bay for a final delicious dinner of the mahi caught in the Exumas, and we also tried the recipe for Bahamian baked macaroni and cheese.  We cajoled the cook at the bakery in Marsh Harbour into giving us the recipe, so we managed to add several fat grams and calories to our dinner on September Song.  Pam brought her now-famous jello shots for dessert, and we managed to dispose of them with great haste.  We bade a sad farewell to the Gypsies, and Tide's In and Serendipity left for Green Turtle the next day after some shelling on Shell Island, created by dredging for cruise ships to enter Baker's Bay.  Even though the cruise ships have discontinued their trips to Baker's Bay and Shell Island, the island is still inhabited by some very noisy and territorial birds.  They'll let you take shells, but you will NOT get close to their nests!

Green Turtle is a small Cay, with resorts and homes on one end and the settlement of New Plymouth on the other.  The homes and resorts are fairly elaborate, and the houses in New Plymouth are quaint but there seemed to be more in need of repair than in other villages we've visited.  The museums are in older homes, and the displays are most informative.  The historic pink jail was complete with gallows, what must have been miserably hot and airless cells, and steps to nowhere.  We traipsed through the village and made our way to Pineapples, a small bar/restaurant on the end of town.  It's small, but the food is good and the salt water pool is inviting.

a few fixer-uppers (the houses, not the people)

wish we'd read this at the beginning of the trip!

interesting campaign platform

now THESE are banker's hours!

stencils all around the house

steps to nowhere, gallows on the right, and cells in left background -- at least the jail's a cute color

Jaybird, Pam and Stephen at Pineapples

cute little rental cottage

we surely will remember these shores

the Green Turtle Cay fire department

 

 We enjoyed a lovely happy hour(s) on Tide's In.  The sunsets were different than what we were used to since there were homes and foliage in the background, but still amazing.

Pam's treasure trove, displayed on Androsian fabric

gorgeous sunset

After a rainy day of reading and boat chores, we spent the third day catching up on wi-fi and laundry, then had happy hour(s) on Serendipity.  That silly Stephen insisted we crash a wedding after dark, so we boarded their dink and headed out to capture the reception.  But the wedding bonfire had already been extinguished, so we aborted our stealth wedding mission and rested up for September Song and Summer Wind's arrival the next day.


We were forced to revisit Pineapple's with the new arrivals, and the food and beverages were at least as good if not better than before.

cheers!

colorful bartender in a colorful place