On April 29th, once we were clear of customs, we headed up the ICW once again for Fort Pierce. Once again, the wind and weather had made it impossible to sail out in the open waters and we needed to proceed to get the boat back to home port and prepared for Hurricane season.
The trip up the ICW was actually enjoyable. We had to motor the entire time because of the narrow channel but we had a lot of down time to talk about the adventure and all of the things we could do differently or better. As you can imagine, after spending nearly 3 months in our floating home, there are things we would like to modify.
We took 2 separate days to travel up the ICW. We spent the night in Hobe Sound again for our last night on anchor. It was very bitter sweet. We had gotten so good at anchoring. We have our system down. The first couple of times were scary but not any more. Steve always is at the helm, watching the depth and picking the spot based on depth and whether or not there is sand, grass or coral reef. Sand is the ideal surface for good holding. I always stand on the bow and watch for obvious obstacles or problems, count the markers on the chain, (a mark every 25 feet) and act as a hood ornament? He has the ability to launch the anchor from the cockpit or from the bow. Once the anchor is set, he backs up and makes sure the anchor grabs hold. He has a watchman system in the cockpit that has an anchor drag alarm. He can set it so that if the wind changes during the night and the boat moves more than what is safe, an alarm will go off and wake us up. The watchmate also helps with pulling up the anchor because it remembers where the anchor is even if we have moved. It allows Steve to know which direction to move. I stand on the bow and point to where the chain is going and bring the anchor up with the controls on the bow.
When we motored into Harbortown marina, it was such a happy, overwhelming, emotional feeling for both of us. We had help from the dock staff to get tied up. We were welcomed back by many of the friends we have met on dock. We couldn’t believe it that we, two kids from Colorado, came to Florida, bought a boat, took it over 2000 miles to the Bahamas and best of all were able to get back home safely. We both feel so blessed to have been able to accomplish this together. We will add some of our thoughts to this.
The top 10 things we learned about cruising and ourselves!
Fresh Water- Fresh Water while on a boat for extended periods is like Gold! You DO NOT want to run out. You don’t want to waste even a single drop. We are set up with the ability to pump in sea water for all the first washings of dishes, then we can use a much smaller amount of water for the final washing. We did dishes once a day and were able to use as little as 11/2 to 2 gallons per washing. When we did shower in the boat you learn to get wet quickly, shut off the water, lather up and then rinse off quickly.
Weather- Every day we were constantly looking at the weather forecasts. Even if we were not going to sail that day, we still had to make sure that the direction and speed of the wind was not going to mandate that we needed to move or move the anchor. Even though the weather was warm, the wind direction can make life on the boat wonderful or terrifying.
Communication- We learned to communicate even better than before. Steve taught me everything I needed to know to safely help him with the chores and sailing the boat. Many things really take both of us to make the work safer and easier. Two people living in close quarters for extended periods could have problems but fortunately we did very well. We became so much closer than we have ever been.
Provisioning- Provisioning is so important. We were pleasantly surprised at the availability of different items throughout the Bahamas. Overall the items really weren't any more expensive than we expected. Even though things are available, stores are many miles apart and planning is important. Living in the mountains prepared us for this. Our initial provisioning was great, we will keep our lists and use them again.
Patience- Patience has not always been my strong suit. When I plan to do something, I want to get it done! When we first got to Florida, I was ready to GO! Get this show on the road! However, with an endeavor that takes so much planning, I had to learn real patience. Again, everything has to be perfect, weather, Wind, Tides?
God/ Mother Nature- We both had several moments of prayer. Both at Blissful times as well as times of Terror. Certainly both God and Mother Nature (Depending on your be!liefs) Play a big role in allowing us to accomplish our dreams.
Hard Work Pays off- We, Steve primarily has been working and planning on this adventure for more than 20 years. Everything we have done in the last several years has been a move towards making this happen. He has worked hard to provide a boat that is safe and sound and he has worked hard to learn everything he needed to learn to make this happen. If I haven't mentioned this before, I Love my Captain!
Modern Technology- Steve has upgraded our boat with so much Technology! From the Chart Plotter with moving maps and the Radio systems to the Phones and communication radios and other devices! I was amazed to learn how much there is to make safe passages!
Bliss and Beautiful Surroundings- We were so fortunate to see some incredibly beautiful places. I know there are many more incredibly beautiful places that we want to see. One day we will hopefully make it down the Caribbean Chain and onward!
Friends and Family- We have been so fortunate to make so many friends over the years. To have support from our friends and family has helped to make this dream a reality! We are so blessed!
The 5 scariest things that happened
Probably the scariest thing that happened, was during our sail from Governor's Harbor on Eleuthera to Cape of Eleuthera. We had 30 + knots of wind as mentioned previously. Going through the Davis Channel with Coral land mines all around and the 15 foot seas made it very scary. However, we made it!
The crossing from the Abacos to Eleuthera was a crossing that had weather we experienced was not expected but again, We did it!
The Current cut on Eleuthera was scary because of all of the hype that led up to going through it. Steve worked hard to find exactly what time we should go through based on wind and tide. We must have done it all right because it went very well and had no issues. Crossing the bank after the cut was again scary but no problems.
Crossing the Yellow Bank between Highbourne Cay and Nassau. With high seas, strong wind and scattered coral heads to dodge, this was scary but again we did it!
So, we omitted this one earlier because we were a bit shook up. Earlier in the Abacos, just prior to entering the Whale cut, we Ran a ground. We left No Name Cay and headed south across an area that indicated on the charts and chart plotter that there was 15-20 foot of depth. Just as we were almost to the main channel, we ran aground hard. We had winds that were pushing us up on the hard area. We called on the radio for help and no one offered assistance. The winds were pushing us further on to the high area. Steve ended up launching the Dinghy. We dropped the anchor into his lap in the dinghy and he took the Anchor out 50 feet and then came back on the boat and worked to pull us off the reef. It took 45-60 minutes and lots of muscle. At first opportunity, he dove on the keel and everything was just fine. We wrote on our chart and marked this for future trips. So no harm came to us and this never happened again so all is good! We definitely had a plan if we encountered this again!
So, we have made lots of notes and we have thought about what we will do different next year. We would like to spend more time in the Exumas and make it further South. It was just so cool that we made it full circle back to our starting point.
On May 11, 2017 we took Sol Mates out of the water. We left her at Riverside Marina. This is not an easy endeavor. So much goes into preparing for potential hurricane season. It took us the batter part of a week to get things done. We have found that the harder you work on fixing things and preparing for next year, the better prepared you are. This is the first time I have helped steve with this because of work.
We hope that you have enjoyed our Blog! We have enjoyed sharing our journey with you all and will continue to update pictures and maps. BE BOLD, FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!
We took 2 separate days to travel up the ICW. We spent the night in Hobe Sound again for our last night on anchor. It was very bitter sweet. We had gotten so good at anchoring. We have our system down. The first couple of times were scary but not any more. Steve always is at the helm, watching the depth and picking the spot based on depth and whether or not there is sand, grass or coral reef. Sand is the ideal surface for good holding. I always stand on the bow and watch for obvious obstacles or problems, count the markers on the chain, (a mark every 25 feet) and act as a hood ornament? He has the ability to launch the anchor from the cockpit or from the bow. Once the anchor is set, he backs up and makes sure the anchor grabs hold. He has a watchman system in the cockpit that has an anchor drag alarm. He can set it so that if the wind changes during the night and the boat moves more than what is safe, an alarm will go off and wake us up. The watchmate also helps with pulling up the anchor because it remembers where the anchor is even if we have moved. It allows Steve to know which direction to move. I stand on the bow and point to where the chain is going and bring the anchor up with the controls on the bow.
When we motored into Harbortown marina, it was such a happy, overwhelming, emotional feeling for both of us. We had help from the dock staff to get tied up. We were welcomed back by many of the friends we have met on dock. We couldn’t believe it that we, two kids from Colorado, came to Florida, bought a boat, took it over 2000 miles to the Bahamas and best of all were able to get back home safely. We both feel so blessed to have been able to accomplish this together. We will add some of our thoughts to this.
The top 10 things we learned about cruising and ourselves!
Fresh Water- Fresh Water while on a boat for extended periods is like Gold! You DO NOT want to run out. You don’t want to waste even a single drop. We are set up with the ability to pump in sea water for all the first washings of dishes, then we can use a much smaller amount of water for the final washing. We did dishes once a day and were able to use as little as 11/2 to 2 gallons per washing. When we did shower in the boat you learn to get wet quickly, shut off the water, lather up and then rinse off quickly.
Weather- Every day we were constantly looking at the weather forecasts. Even if we were not going to sail that day, we still had to make sure that the direction and speed of the wind was not going to mandate that we needed to move or move the anchor. Even though the weather was warm, the wind direction can make life on the boat wonderful or terrifying.
Communication- We learned to communicate even better than before. Steve taught me everything I needed to know to safely help him with the chores and sailing the boat. Many things really take both of us to make the work safer and easier. Two people living in close quarters for extended periods could have problems but fortunately we did very well. We became so much closer than we have ever been.
Provisioning- Provisioning is so important. We were pleasantly surprised at the availability of different items throughout the Bahamas. Overall the items really weren't any more expensive than we expected. Even though things are available, stores are many miles apart and planning is important. Living in the mountains prepared us for this. Our initial provisioning was great, we will keep our lists and use them again.
Patience- Patience has not always been my strong suit. When I plan to do something, I want to get it done! When we first got to Florida, I was ready to GO! Get this show on the road! However, with an endeavor that takes so much planning, I had to learn real patience. Again, everything has to be perfect, weather, Wind, Tides?
God/ Mother Nature- We both had several moments of prayer. Both at Blissful times as well as times of Terror. Certainly both God and Mother Nature (Depending on your be!liefs) Play a big role in allowing us to accomplish our dreams.
Hard Work Pays off- We, Steve primarily has been working and planning on this adventure for more than 20 years. Everything we have done in the last several years has been a move towards making this happen. He has worked hard to provide a boat that is safe and sound and he has worked hard to learn everything he needed to learn to make this happen. If I haven't mentioned this before, I Love my Captain!
Modern Technology- Steve has upgraded our boat with so much Technology! From the Chart Plotter with moving maps and the Radio systems to the Phones and communication radios and other devices! I was amazed to learn how much there is to make safe passages!
Bliss and Beautiful Surroundings- We were so fortunate to see some incredibly beautiful places. I know there are many more incredibly beautiful places that we want to see. One day we will hopefully make it down the Caribbean Chain and onward!
Friends and Family- We have been so fortunate to make so many friends over the years. To have support from our friends and family has helped to make this dream a reality! We are so blessed!
The 5 scariest things that happened
Probably the scariest thing that happened, was during our sail from Governor's Harbor on Eleuthera to Cape of Eleuthera. We had 30 + knots of wind as mentioned previously. Going through the Davis Channel with Coral land mines all around and the 15 foot seas made it very scary. However, we made it!
The crossing from the Abacos to Eleuthera was a crossing that had weather we experienced was not expected but again, We did it!
The Current cut on Eleuthera was scary because of all of the hype that led up to going through it. Steve worked hard to find exactly what time we should go through based on wind and tide. We must have done it all right because it went very well and had no issues. Crossing the bank after the cut was again scary but no problems.
Crossing the Yellow Bank between Highbourne Cay and Nassau. With high seas, strong wind and scattered coral heads to dodge, this was scary but again we did it!
So, we omitted this one earlier because we were a bit shook up. Earlier in the Abacos, just prior to entering the Whale cut, we Ran a ground. We left No Name Cay and headed south across an area that indicated on the charts and chart plotter that there was 15-20 foot of depth. Just as we were almost to the main channel, we ran aground hard. We had winds that were pushing us up on the hard area. We called on the radio for help and no one offered assistance. The winds were pushing us further on to the high area. Steve ended up launching the Dinghy. We dropped the anchor into his lap in the dinghy and he took the Anchor out 50 feet and then came back on the boat and worked to pull us off the reef. It took 45-60 minutes and lots of muscle. At first opportunity, he dove on the keel and everything was just fine. We wrote on our chart and marked this for future trips. So no harm came to us and this never happened again so all is good! We definitely had a plan if we encountered this again!
So, we have made lots of notes and we have thought about what we will do different next year. We would like to spend more time in the Exumas and make it further South. It was just so cool that we made it full circle back to our starting point.
On May 11, 2017 we took Sol Mates out of the water. We left her at Riverside Marina. This is not an easy endeavor. So much goes into preparing for potential hurricane season. It took us the batter part of a week to get things done. We have found that the harder you work on fixing things and preparing for next year, the better prepared you are. This is the first time I have helped steve with this because of work.
We hope that you have enjoyed our Blog! We have enjoyed sharing our journey with you all and will continue to update pictures and maps. BE BOLD, FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!
