Abacos, Bahamas For a month February 22 through March 26, 2011

Glad to be at Old Bahama Bay Yacht Harbor & Resort in West End, Grand Bahama Island for two days. This spectacular resort has beautiful white sand beaches and breathtaking ocean views. After clearing in with customs and meeting our new neighbors, Slade & Susan Cargill on MV Sojourner. We fix a rum drink and join Sojourner's crew to celebrate our first ocean crossing.
The next day we check out the pool, tiki bar and beach. We decide to ride bikes several miles to go see where the locals live, work and play. Stopped at a small bakery and ate a mystery meat pocket sandwich. It was really good, I think it was chicken with a brown gravy and spiced up with curry. The lady in the bakery suggested we try a conch salad and gave us directions to a little blue building on the waterfront. I had no knowledge as to how a conch salad is prepared and was curious to find out. We order a conch salad and watch the man in the conch shack clean and prepare the conch. I am guessing that the conch will be cooked and look around for a stove, a grill or a fryer. No cooking here, you eat it raw. This is a great tasting salad. The conch is tender and mixed with white onions, green peppers, green tomatoes and plenty of lemon juice. I added there spicy hot sauce. Just right with with a couple of local Bahamian Kalik beer's.
The housing in this area is scattered with unpainted and un kept run down structures. It looks like a storm came through 5 to 10 years ago damaging everything except the Methodist Church.

Ready to cruise towards the Abacos and anchor at Great Sale Cay and then Crab Cay.  Great Sale Cay is 47 miles to our anchorage. We are cruising in 10' to 12' of the most beautiful sparkling turquoise water. After a couple of hours I spot a school of dolphins. Brandy goes to the bow to shoot a video of the dolphins playing in our bow wake. This is the highlight of our day. An awesome video of the dolphins in this clear water. You can see large starfish on the bottom. We anchor in Great Sale Cay with 15 sailing vessels.
Head out the next morning and run 46 miles Crab Cay. We are the first boat to arrive at this anchorage. Put the dingy in the water to go exploring and visiting the sailing vessels as  they arrive arrive.
Today is a short day only 22 miles to Green Turtle Cay. We pick up a mooring ball in the harbor at White Sound. We take the dingy to Black Sound and visit the town New Plymouth. It is Saturday afternoon and most of the businesses are closed for the evening. We find a bakery named McIntosh's Bakery and it is open. We order a fried conch sandwich and fries. This sandwich is yummy, very tasty. Continue walking the town and taking photos of the pastel colored houses. A dingy ride back to the Bama Belle it is time to get ready for the sunset. A rum drink and some raggae music will get the evening sunset celebration started. We meet our neighbors, Chuck and Bonni Morrell on the sailing vessel "Stat Gazer". We discuss the aproaching windy weather and decide to go around "The Whale" tomorrow afternoon and find a protected harbor. We get around The Whale channel just fine. Pull into the old cruise ship channel, pass up Bakers Bay Mega Yacht Marina and tie up to a mooring ball at Great Guana Cay. This is the home of the well known Tiki Bar Restaurant "Nippers". Dinner is at Nippers with the Star Gazer crew. Nippers sits on top of a sand dune and has an awesome view of the Atlantic Ocean. This is a white sandy beach with the waves crashing against the scattered coral mounds. The Sunday Nascar race is on the big screen TV in the covered bar area. Nippers is alot like The Flora Bama in Alabama but with coral and beautiful clear blue water.
The next day we go on a walking tour of Great Guana Cay. Over the hill is Fishers Bay and a shop called Dive Guana. We stop at a beachside tiki hut called Milos and buy lobsters and conch salad to prepare on the boat.
The next cay is Elbow Cay which has a charming little town called Hopetown and a well protected harbor with lots of mooring balls. Hopetown is known for its friendly people and a beautiful red and white historical lighthouse. We stayed at Hopetown Marina for a week. The local watering hole is a 200 yard dingy ride to Captain Jack's that has a good happy hour every afternoon. It was fun meeting the locals and learning the history about this cool little town. Hopetown was my favorite in the Abacos.
Treasure Cay has one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world. The main attraction here is the beach which extends for three miles in a semi circle. The water is a beautiful emerald green and also has a stunning turquoise blue channels. C.J. and I enjoyed conch burgers at CoCo's the tiki beach bar and restaurant.
After four weeks of cruising, fishing, cooking lobster every way you can and anchoring at beautiful white sand beaches and exploring all the Bahamian scenes with the dingy. It is time to head back to Florida. On our way back to Great Sale Cay, Ruby and I baited up the trolling rods. We were in 20' to 25' of clear water and running at 8.5 miles per hour for our three hour run. Fifteen minutes later the reel is screaming, Ruby says "fish on" it was fun to reel in a 8 to 10 lb cubera snapper. We baited up the rods again. Another fifteen minutes, screaming reels again. zzzzzz zzzzz I love that sound. Ruby reels in a 15lb. wahoo. He was smiling with joy when he said, "That is the biggest fish I have ever caught" this is a fun day of catching fish. We caught another wahoo about thirty minutes later. We were happy to fill our freezer with fresh fish . We anchored at Great Sale Cay along with another Canadian sailing catamarin. We saw a 12' shark swim by while we were anchoring. Ruby decided not to go for a swim this evening. lol
We had fun visiting and enjoying several drinks with Bruce & Val Marshall aboard there Windrush a 36' PDQ Catamarin.
All the sailboats were staying put the next day due to a 20 mph west wind, we have a westerly heading and a 54 mile run to Bahama Bay Resort & Marina at West End. The Bama Belle does fine heading into the wind and swells.
Another day cruising around the resort on bicycles and relaxing on the white sand beach and drinking cold Kalik beer.  Tomorrow the weather is just right for a gulf stream crossing back to Florida.
We head out at daylight with several other boats. We all agree to stay in touch with the vhf radio. The weather is a little breezy at 12mph to 17mph and 3' to 4' swells rock us a bit.  We averaged 9.5 mph and arrived at Saint Lucie Inlet with calm seas. We tied up at Sailfish Marina In Stuart, Fl.

Leaving Marathon headed to Miami Boat Show & Bahamas February 15 to February 22, 2011

This was an exciting day we were moving again and seeing new sites and exploring new places. Our first day back on the water with Bama Belle moving along the ICW again was celebrated with dinner and drinks while watching a beautiful sunset at Loreleis Restaurant in Islamorada Key, Fl. This restaurant is a very popular place to watch a sunset. We pulled up to the dingy dock with about 100 people sitting in chairs in the sand they were waiting for the sunset and watching us dock. These folks would get a good laugh if I fell out of the dingy. lol.... We were tied to a mooring ball at Shell Key and surrounded by mangrove islands and sparkling clear water. This was a small mooring field with only three mooring balls. No other boats were in sight. Today was a 6 1/2 hour run and 35 miles, another awesome day on the water .

Our plans are to be in Miami for the Miami Boat Show on Saturday and Sunday and meet the MV Crawdad Crew with Captain Gloria and Jim Crawford.

A short day with only 20 miles to a protected anchorage in Tarpon Basin at Key Largo. The AGLCA Harbor Host in Key Largo is Captain Sterling and Admiral Judy Kennedy. I have exchanged emails and several phone calls over the last two years with them. We finally get to meet them  and see there newest boat a 38' Marine Trader Trawler which was docked  at there home. We were welcomed with the warmest hospitality and of course a bad ass rum drink. Sterling can make a mean Rum drink. We shared boat stories and lots of laughs. Sterling gave us directions to a mangrove tunnel that you can explore with the dingy.  This is a unique 2 mile narrow waterway through the mangroves. A few places
you have to stop to lift up the branches to get through. I was looking up in the branches over our head watching for snakes.  Thanks to Sterling for the local knowledge we were able to enjoy this unique mangrove tunnel cruise.

Today we are headed 35 miles in 4 hours to Boca Chita Key in Key Biscane Bay near Miami Beach. I guess by now you can tell we are traveling at warp speed. Yeppers, at this speed you do not miss anything. The water is emerald blue and the lite winds made for a smooth day of cruising. We can see the Miami Skyline in the distance. This is a great view and I am delighted and thankful to get to experience this  awesome site. Boca Chita Key is a Federal Park that is located on a barrier island about 7 to 8 miles from Miami. The Ocean on one side and Biscane Bay on the other. The park has a rectangle turning basin that you enter from the bay. There is room to tie up 40 to 50, 40' boats boats along each wall. We were told that on weekends this place becomes "Little Havana" and the music would be blaring. This is one of my favorite places so far.

We are headed to Haulover Park Marina in North Miami Beach for 3 days to attend the Miami Boat "Show. This is the largest boat show in the world it is unblievable. We got to see every type of boat and equipment imagineable. Took a tour of a 130' Wesport Yacht that is priced at 12 million. lol lol A mega yacht at its best. Lots of fancy cars too. Rolls Royce, Lamborgina and my favorite Bentley.
We joined our looper friends Jim & Gloria Crawford for drinks and dinner at a waterside restaurant in Miami Beach. This is a happening place with a swimming pool and boats docked all around the restaurant. It was nice to have such good friends with us to have dinner and discuss our travels and adventures. We will say goodbye and head towards Fort Lauderdale in the morning.

Went to Walmart to get provisions for a month long visit to the Abacos. This took more than one shopping cart. I hope we can find a place to store everything. I already had 10 cases of beer and wine stored in the lowest place on the boat. We were getting ready for alot of sunset celebrations and looking forward to having C.J. meet me in the Bahamas.

We get into Ft. Lauderdale 30 minutes before dark and anchored in Lake Sylvia. We are surrounded by multi million dollar mansions. This is a mile from The Bahia Mar Marina that has lots of Mega Yachts. I am checking the weather websites and NOAA to get a current weather report. We want to make the 79 mile crossing to West End, Bahamas in the morning. The gulf stream is on my mind. I am thinking what is it going to be like? Are the waves going to surprise us and kick our butt or have we made the right decision? I have been trying to find a buddy boat to make the crossing with us. After 2 weeks and no buddy boat I decided we would go on our own. Most boats were waiting to cross in 2 to 3 weeks. We have all the safety equiptment and a EPHIRB. We should be good to go. The weather forecast is 5 to 10 knots of wind from the South East, seas 2' to 3' and swells from the south. This sounds great. And for the Famous words "Yah But", there is a hazard warning for the gulf stream 5' to 7' waves. This does not make any sense. I decide to get ready to cross in the morning and wake up early to check the weather again. Ya Hoo, the gulf stream warning says, NONE. Conditions are just right. We pull out of Port Everglades at 7:00 am after watching a beautiful sunrise. Chart plotter says 79 statue miles and 9 hours to West End, Bahamas. About 20 miles out we found a buddy boat. The cruise ship "Discovery" is running on our same compass heading and a mile away. Cool Buddy Boat...the AIS says they are going 18.30 knots. The seas are laying down to 1' to 2', we are getting a push from the gulf stream and the south swells are helping to boost our speed to 11 to 13 miles per hour. This turned out to be a nice day to cruise in 2000' of water. I am grateful and thankful that my prayers for calm seas were answered. Arrived at Old Bahama Bay Marina at 3:00pm. We averaged 10 miles an hour for 8 hours. We tied up and checked into customs they gave us a 90 day cruising permit.

Marathon Florida for a Month January 19 to February 15, 2011

I am going to start a little bit ahead of the last post on our fishing adventures, and pick up where I left off! The journey that would be made from Little Shark River down to Marathon, Florida where we would stay for a month was a little over 7 hours away. The arrival into Marathon Marina and Boat Yard was great! The Dock Master "Judy," and Charlies friend Bob Ryals from Orange Beach, Alabama, were at our spot on the wall eager to help get us all secure. You always appreciate the help of others when it comes time for docking in a new place. Now, its time to meet friends, friends of friends, and the new neighbors that we would have for the next 30 days. Just ahead of us would be Peter and Anna Gulick on MV "Blue Yonder," can't forget there cat Moby either! They are also friends of the MV "Crawdad," that we had been traveling with. Later that evening we would go to MV "Dahlin," that is owned by Bob and Susie Ryals for a cocktail. Just down the dock from MV "Dahlin" would be another boat from Alabama, MV "Shell Cracker," that is owned by another one of Charlies good friends, Robert Paulk!

The first entire day in Marathon, would be spent exploring the place. Boot Key Harbor is known for its mooring facility! This is an awesome sight to see 260 boats all on mooring balls. We would take our adventure by dingy around the harbour and into Sisters Creek then back to the marina where we would watch the sunset with Jim and Gloria on the "Crawdad."

Spending a month at the marina almost got back to life as usual! The occasional trip to K-Mart and the Grocery store. Going out to dinner or lunch from time to time. Remember! I did say almost!

There is never a dull moment! There is always invitations coming and going! You could be invited for just about anything. It may be with just one other person or a whole group! We had the pleasures of being invited to a happy hour get-together at Sunset Grill. Sunset Grill has a pool that is located right on the water at the foot of the Seven Mile Bridge! We were able sit in the pool and watch the sunset! Another great place that we would be invited to go to is Burdines. This is a restaurant on top of a marina. Burdines is known for its french fries! Believe me, they are awesome, food is great too. The "Loopers," in the marina also had a great pot-luck gathering at Dockside Marina.

A trip to Key West, was also in the plans during our stay! We decided one Friday morning to catch the bus and go to the Southern Most City In The U.S., Key West. Another reason for us to go there was to make a stop at the West Marine, on Stock Island to pick up a chart book that we needed to have in order to get to the Bahamas! We would get to Key West, and hook up with our friends on the MV "Stella Maris," at one of the local bars just off of Duval St. We would spend a lot of the day with them and their friend Anita. Near the time of sunset, everyone walks down to Mallory Square. Here is where the sunset is celebrated everyday! You will find mimes, street performers, and people selling arts and crafts. The view watching the sun go down is amazing! Of course, now that the sun has set, it is now time to find the bus and go back to Marathon!

Other days would be spent going for walks, bike rides, or even rides in the dingy! We took our bikes on a little over a 2 mile ride down the old section of the "Seven Mile Bridge," to Pigeon Key. On the way down the bridge, the water was so clear, it was like looking through glass! We were able to see the turtles, devil rays, shark, Permit, and the Tarpon. We had spoken to people that have been going out on this bridge for years and have never seen the water this clear!  We went down onto Pigeon Key and took a tour of this small island and went through the museums. This would be the island that the workers stayed on while they were building this huge seven mile long bridge. Another day we took the dink over to Banana Bay Marina and found our "Looper" friends Steven and Linda from "Yesterdays Dream." We had a great visit with them and a fabulous $4.99 hamburger and fries at the marina restaurant.

As the time was getting closer and closer to depart from our remarkable stay in Marathon, the time had come to keep a close eye on the weather. In order to cross the Atlantic Ocean over to the Bahamas, the weather has to be just right! This means that there can be no "N" factors in the winds. No part of the wind can be coming from any bearing that would have north in it, such as:  NNE, NW, ENE and so forth! Watching the weather from nine days out, we may have a window in sight.

Keeping an eye on the weather we are now seven days out from our possibility of making the crossing. Everything still looks like a go. We have now made the decision to leave Marathon a few days early.

It was time to say "Good-Bye," again to our many new friends that quickly turned into family! We are very fortunate to have met all of these great people! We are hoping to meet you all again somewhere along the "Loop".

Bob and Susy Ryals   MV "Dahlin"
Robert Paulk    MV "Shell Cracker"
Peter and Anna Gulick   MV "Blue Yonder"
Bill and Mary Russell    MV "Harbour Reach"
Paul and Cindy    MV "Bulldog Sally"
Craig and Danielle Parrent    MV "Negotiator"
Jim and Karen   MV "Lilac"   (Karen, Thank you so much for the going away breakfast!!)
Carol and Bill Yancey   MV "Tennessee Rover"
David and Brenda Bell   SV "Wind Spirit"
Darrel and Susan    MV "Present Moment" and to the many many other great people in Marathon that we have met!

Departure date was set for February 15, 2011, and travel 35 miles to Shell Key to tie up at a mooring ball for the night!           

Marathon, Florida Enjoying the Fishing and Marina Life For A Month at Marathon Marina

We are having fun meeting the most interesting people. Everyone is friendly, laid back and will help out in most any way they can. The group gatherings, pot luck cocktail dinners, sunset watches and colorful cruising conversations are a way of life for the boating community in the marina.

If you would like to view our pictures online you can find them at :
http://picasaweb.google.com/CharlesCrawford2/MarathonFl0118To13111?feat=email#

Our favorite tackle shop is "The Tackle Box" in Marathon. One of the owners Debbie Woodring has helped us buy the right tackle and shared her local angling knowledge. We have bought live shrimp, rigged ballyhoo and frozen squid. We have taken our neighbors from the marina fishing several times. We are having fun catching grouper, trigger fish, mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, hogfish, porgys and a few mystery fish. Grouper season is closed. and of course the grouper are hitting our bait.We are releasing all the grouper. While trolling in 400 feet of water with two lines out we had a knock down on each rod. Baited up again and got another short strike. We saw a small sailfish beside the boat. The weed line was crowded with Man-o-war jellyfish. The large sea turtles were eating the man-o-war jellyfish. Our guests of the day were AGLCA Loopers Jim Crawford from "Crawdad"and his son in law Joe Prast. Peter Gulick from the "Blue Yonder" got the comedian award for the day. We all caught fish and enjoyed the day.

The manatee's cruise around in our marina. Yesterday we had a mother and baby manatee along side the boat. They were a big hit with everyone.

The bigger boats with underwater lights will turn them on at night. The lights attract lots of small fish and an occasional big boy will come streaking by to catch a snack. I am still waiting to see a tarpon cruising the lights.

Ft Myers to Little Shark River 1/15/2011 - 1/18/2011

From our departure from Ft. Myers, would be taking us to Naples. We would have a great push from the current today, therefore, we were making really good time. At this speed, we would be reaching Naples around 1:00, Charlie and I decided that we could make it to Marco Island before dark. We decided to anchor in a place called “Factory Bay.” This would put us in the back yard of several great big mansions. Off to our right we noticed another boat with a “Looper” flag on it. Therefore we went to investigate to see who the were, and where they were from. This happened to be a boat that looked exactly like the MV “Stella Maris,” a 42’ Grand Banks. Her name would be the MV “Crawdad.” Oddly enough their last name would be “Crawford,” Captain Gloria, her husband Jim and their dog “Boo Boo.” We were invited on board, had a very nice chat, then we all decided that we would get up early in the morning and run to Little Shark River, located just inside the Everglades National Park.

Anchors were pulled up at 7:30, and we headed to Little Shark River. We made this run out in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was very unusual for the gulf, they were like glass! We would arrive in Little Shark River around 4:00 pm. Another new experience for us. We would “raft up” to the MV “Crawdad.” Now, what this means is that one boat would anchor, then the other would anchor in the opposite direction. The anchor chain would be let out to the point that the were side by side. Once we were side by side the two boats would be tied together. This made it great to be able to visit each other! You just stepped over onto the other boat. Jim and Gloria’s dinghy would be in a position that they would not be able to get it down, so we all hopped in our dink. The main purpose of this adventure would be to find the dog a place to relieve himself. All we could find in mud and mangroves. “Boo Boo,” he really wasn’t thrilled with this idea, so we headed back to the boats. Jim and Gloria invited us over for dinner, these always turn into pot luck type dinners. The Crawford’s made a very good shrimp scampi with spinach noodles! WOW!! In the morning we would be greeted by a not so good weather forecast. Strong storms were headed for us, along with 40mph winds. Time to untie the boats and get them separated. The rest of our stay in the Everglades would be very wet, and very windy! Time to head to Marathon!! Our new buddy boat the “Crawdad,” and the “Bama Belle,” are heading to the Florida Keys early in the morning!