Back to West End - New Years Day

 We departed Lucaya about 1:30PM for a short 32 mile trip back to West End.  It was another beautiful day, only today was tee shirt weather even while sitting on deck. 

Departing Bell Channel



Cap'n Jack



During the return trip, David and I ate the last two bananas, tossed out the peels and within 5 minutes Ryan caught the first fish of the trip.  A king mackerel, which we decided to have for dinner.  I guess there really is something about the "Curse of the Bananas"   Since we had never cooked a mackerel before, David looked up a recipe that was quick, easy and we had all the ingredients for.  It was really good!  Fresh fish just tastes so much better than store bought or frozen.  Mimi doesn't typically eat fish, but even she liked it.






Ryans Catch

Mimi & Ryan - West End Bahams

 



 As soon as we arrived the guys cleaned the fish while Mimi and I prepared the remainder of the meal and got the table set.  At this point we were all getting VERY tired,  the week was catching up with us.  They say that 9:00PM is the cruisers midnight and we were quickly discovering that to be true.....

Happy New Year

We arrived in Port Lucaya Bahamas yesterday afternoon, the entrance into Bell Channel and the meandering ride to the marina was beautiful.  When we arrived we were held at the fuel dock until the dockmaster could determine our slip.  The marina was packed for the holiday and it was like putting puzzle pieces together getting all the boats squeezed in.   I have to say, I was quite impressed with David's skills; they put us in the worst possible slip with the tightest squeeze.  David managed  to get into our space without damaging Fat Bottom Girl or any other neighboring boats.   Let's just say we used our "assets" AKA thrusters......and slid in perfectly.

Entrance to Bell Channel to Port Lucaya Marina

The Ghost Ship

When we were safetly in our slilp,  David was concerned something may be tangled in the aft thruster.   The only way to check it is to dive in and swim to the thruster tube to check.  That doesnt sound like such a big deal, but there has been a cold front in the Bahamas and therefore colder than normal water temperatures.  Even the locals didnt want to do it, and they'll do pretty much anything for a buck.  He made the plunge and fortunately the thruster tube was clear of any obstructions.  Work is done, time to enjoy Lucaya.

Brrrr

After David warmed up and dried off we walked to Count Basie Square, it's full of little souvenir shops, bars and eatery's.  They have the whole square decorated for a big New Years Eve party.   While walking through town, David decided to get into the New Year spirit and had his beard adorned with a few braids and beads.  His new nickname is "Captain Dingles".   I thought he was going through a mid-life-crisis, but was informed by our friend Chris that he did the same thing a few years ago for the 4th of July.   I was getting a little worried about my husbands state of mind.

Captain Dingles

Check out this picture of Mr. and Mrs. Smithwick,  read the sign above their head.  Too funny!

The Smithwick's

We were slipped next to the biggest yacht in the marina, a 4 story monster that looks to be about 200' long. 



Hubert AKA Chucky and Melvin the Crab Man

Melvin the crab-man brought us 15/lbs of stone crab cleaned and ready to steam.   OMG they were absolutely fantastic!  We met Pat & Nicole (not a couple) who stopped by our boat and joined in the crab feast and helped us bring in the New Year.  That's one of the nice thing I'm discovering about cruising, you never seem to meet a stranger.



Yum!



Pat & Nicole

As the midnight hour approached, we all left the dock and went to the square which was only about 300' away (not far to stumble home) to ring in the New Year.  The rest is history......

Happy New Year



Ryan that's a big chew you got there



David & Mimi








Bahamas Bound!

To make the best of the day, we pulled out at the crack of dawn.  We had a beautiful sunrise and it turned out to be a all around fantastic day.  We crossed in gorgeous calm seas with no problems whatsoever,  Fat Bottom Girl is running and handling great.  This is Ryan's first trip to the Bahamas so he has a lot of excitement  ahead of him and he seemed pretty happy just to see the cobalt blue Caribbean waters.  Mimi has been such a big help, I'm so thankful that she doesn't suffer from seasickness like I do.  Yes, it happened again, only very briefly this time; the queasy stomach started shortly after our departure but fortunately only lasted about an hour.

Mimi on the approach to Old Bahama Bay in West End

Ryan had poles strung out all day, but another day of no hits ( I forgot to throw out the bananas).   I don't think it bothered him at all, he appeared to be having the time of his life just enjoying being out on the open water.  David seems to have mastered all of the navigation equipment and has enjoyed plotting new way points. 

Still fishing.........

We arrived in West End about 2:30PM which gave us plenty of time to clean up and go explore before dark.  We met a wonderful family from Wisconsin ( the Punch's) who happen to own a home in West End as well.  After a little chit chat we discovered we were both heading to Port Lucaya the next morning. 



Captain Dingles, Jackie & Mimi



We stopped for a quick bite and a cocktail at the pool bar, David ordered conch chowder (which was wonderful), since Mimi had never tried it before he insisted she have a little taste.  With much trepidation, she gave in and loved it.   After a good dinner at the marina restaurant, we called it a night with the anticipation of tomorrows trip to Port Lucaya.

Dock 11 has arrived

What a treat we have ahead of us, our good friends Ryan and Mimi Smithwick came to join us for a Bahamian New Years Celebration. They are our neighbors from our home dock on Lake Allatoona in GA.  It's amazing how your dock neighbors can become more like family than friends.  In a short period of just over two years we have experienced some wonderful times together. 



Ryan & Mimi



Today we traveled from Ft. Pierce Inlet to Lake Worth Inlet. Along the way we were greeted by a couple of HUGE sea turtles and several dolphin.  Ryan is quite the fisherman, and apparently a very superstitious one too.  He saw my stash of bananas and explained the "curse of the banana's" that will totally ruin your fishing trip.   There must be a little truth to this, because he didn't get any hits.  I've been told that if we don't eat all of the banana's by morning, they're going overboard!   Since we can buy more fruit I'll go along with it in hopes of a big fish on the grill tomorrow night.

We safely anchored at about 4:00PM and had a wonderful night of good food, good friends and lots of planning for Wednesday's crossing to West End Bahamas.  

Ryan the "Fish Slayer"

I can't thank David enough for being such a great  husband, my best friend, and for sharing this wonderful new adventure in our life.   He also did something most men wouldn't do, he called our friends Chris and Alyse Caldwell (Captain Chris Yachts) for a well needed refresher course on the electronics, navigation and general advise.  We had information/learning overload on our last trip, and wanted to make sure we had retained the most valuable information.  I'm thankful that safety takes priority over pride or ego.... 



My Guy "Captain Dave"



 Well folks, tomorrow AM is coming early and it's time for lights out on deck!  Keep us in your prayers tomorrow for a safe passage and (lots of fish)!

Back to Reality

We departed West End Bahamas on Wednesday morning at approximately 6:30AM, it was an absolutely beautiful morning!  Captain Alyse decided it was time for me to try and maneuver the boat out of our spot and out of the Marina.  That was FUN, it was even funnier to see the pucker factor on David's face knowing that he was in a situation that he wasn't controlling.  He was a trooper and handled the situation well and was very complimentary of my efforts.   The seas started out very smooth, but slowly progressed throughout the day.  We had rougher seas today than we did yesterday coming in.  The return cruise took a little longer because we didn't return through West Palm, but returned directly to Fort Pierce.  We had the gulf stream working in our favor pushing us North.  We were cruising at about 10 knots for a large period of time without increasing RPM's. 

Sunrise in West End Bahamas

Thursday we decided to do some practice on the ICW.  We left Fort Pierce and traveled about 20 miles North to Vero Beach Marina.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful cruise.  Along the way we were greeted with a few dolphin.  They were so funny just traveling along at the same speed and  were putting on a show.  At one point, it appeared to be a family of 3.  Mom, Dad and Baby....

Dolphin Show

After reaching Vero and doing a little practice in tight spaces and a "kiss N go" at the dock, we returned to Fort Pierce.  It was time for David and I to anchor the boat by ourselves as well as launch the dingy, go for a brief ride and reload her.   There is a saying that has something to do with monkeys and footballs (I think you all know what I'm talking about) that would have applied here.  

Launching "Little Girl"

The anchor was no problem, but the dingy is a whole other story.  Let me just say that it looks a lot easier than it really is.  I also think because we have a hard dingy VS an inflatable makes a big difference too.  All went well and we completed our lessons without any damage to either boat (thank goodness).  After we finished, we pulled up anchor and headed into the Marnia to end our lessons.  We had our debriefing and ended with a champagne toast.  David and I were both so impressed with our Captains, which we are now proud to call our Friends.

We're here!! Whoo Hoo what a ride....

Our Captains Chris and Alyse arrived yesterday morning at 8:00AM sharp.  We covered safety issues, weather concerns and and created a float plan.  We covered proper line handling techniques and decided we needed fuel for the trip.  After we fueled up, we were off to Lake Worth Inlet in West Palm which was about a 40 mile cruise.  Due to my perpensity for sea sickness, I prepared by taking a dramamine the night before as well as one yesterday morning.  Don't believe them when they say "Non-Drowsy Formula"  they LIE.  The ride was a little rougher than I expected and I felt slightly queezy so I laid my head down only to wake up an hour later well rested and feeling fine.  The remainder of the trip was a great ride, we arrived at the Inlet somewhere around 7:30 or 8:00PM.  It was dark, thank goodness our Captains had a pair of night vision binoculars or we could have been in trouble.  After dropping anchor, we had a nice dinner of Cuban Black Beans, Yellow Rice and Jerk Chicken.  Any nervous anticipation I had about working with new people is all gone, what a wonderful couple!  They extreemly knowledgable and very easy to work with.

We woke at 5:30AM sharp this morning, chugged some well needed coffee and made an action plan.  We had decided yesterday that if the weather held out we would make the crossing today.  It was a beautiful morning, calm winds and seas so it was decided that it's showtime.  David and Chris had anchor duty this morning, becuase Chris and I had it last night.  I really liked that becuase guess who got to drive the boat?  That's right, ME.  I had the wheel all of the way out of the inlet, but gladly handed it over when we hit open water.

It was an absoloutely beautiful day, we had seas up to 12' but our boat proved that she can take that and a whole lot more.  Once again the dramamine kicked my butt and I was down for the count for another hour.  We arrived in West End Bahamas at about 2:30PM.  What a beautiful place!  We were immediately greeted by a local fisherman with an abundance of fresh lobster and a few conch.  We purchased 9 lobster and 2 conch for $34.00 now that's a bargain.  Bet you can't guess what we're having for dinner??



West End Bahamas

Dinner Anyone?

Bahamian Customs Office

We're Official

We'll I guess it's time to get cooking :)

Pre-Departure

Unfortunately the weather has not been as cooperative as we would have liked.  We were scheduled to pull out tomorrow morning to head to West End Bahamas, but instead we'll go to West Palm Beach,  hang out for the night and weather permitting we'll do the crossing Tuesday.  Today we spent most of the day cooking and preparing for our guests arrival.  It's a little strange knowing we will have two complete strangers spend the next 5 days aboard with us.  After we finished our chores, we went to the Vero Beach Rotary Nautical Flea Market and met our Captain's, Chris and Alyse Caldwell.   They seem very nice and knowledgeable, I feel a little more at east and at least we had an opportunity to spend a few minutes with them prior to taking off.

Yesterday I had a close encounter with a Manatee, I had never seen one before so I was pretty excited.  I was walking down the dock with a load of groceries and noticed this very large object floating in one of the slips next to our boat.  Fortunately, I had my camera in my purse and was able to capture a few shots to share with you.    I don't know why, but my gut tells me it was a male and I named him Maurice.

One of the neighbor children fell in the water while feeding him lettuce

Maurice the Manatee

While I was busy with Maurice, David was cruising "Little Girl" back from the Black Pearl Boat Ramp.  She spent about a month at St. Lucie Outboard getting overhauled.  In hind sight, I wish we would have upgraded the old outboard.  She runs good now, but I still feel a little silly spending good money to have a 13 year old outboard overhauled.

We'll I guess I'd better get to bed, we have a busy day tomorrow and our guests will arrive at 8:00AM sharp expecting breakfast.......I want to be fresh and on top of our game because we have A LOT to learn.  Say a prayer and wish us good luck and good weather