Treking Back to the Abacos

After two lovely weeks in the Staniel/Compass Cays area we decided to start our trek back to the Abacos. On our northern passage through the Exumas we stopped once again in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, anchored off Bell Island. We spent a nice day exploring the area…including snorkeling in the Rocky Dundas, another hollow island with a cave that rivals the Thunderball Grotto. We took a short hike to Rachel’s Bubble Bath, which is a natural “spa” created by the surf crashing through a little rocky opening and filling a sandy pool with frothy salt water. It was fun trying to stand up against the water surge and being tossed head over heels more than once.


Then it was back to Highborne Cay to await a good day to cross back through the Tongue of the Ocean to the island of Eleuthera. We crossed on a very calm day, motoring directly to Rock Sound. On the way we passed some of the time perched on the bow as the boat rose and fell through the swells…it feels a little like flying since you are hanging out over the water and dropping about 6 feet (imagine the feeling of a gentle roller coaster). We love when the conditions make that a relaxing place to sit.


We had a nice time in Rock Sound sprinkled with a few highlights, like exploring the caverns just outside of town. On the path into the cavern you pass a big blue hole before coming upon a ladder that leads down to the caves. Once underground you can wander through several large caverns with stalactites and long tree roots reaching down from above. It was quite cool and just a little creepy. The cave ceilings were covered with rather large spider webs and you definitely had the feeling something might crawl out of a dark corner at any moment. Friends later told us they found a dead tarantula in there…which I am glad I didn’t know until after we had been there.


Another day we dingied ashore to get a few groceries and, as we were tying up, met a couple from the UK named Helen and Peter. They had just started their global circumnavigation on a sailboat named Common Crossing. In the way of cruisers, we quickly became friends and planned to go for lunch the following day at a place called Da Nort’ Side. This little excursion turned out to be a unique experience. The proprietor is a woman named Rose who picked us up in her beat up old van to drive us to her restaurant on the windward side of the island. She was about a half hour late because she was coming from church and she said the preacher was a little long winded that day. By the way, the Bahamians are very devout people, with seven churches in the Rock Sound area for a relatively small population. We piled into the back of the van by climbing over the seats since the only door that would open was the front passenger side door. On the drive she played loud gospel music from the radio and recreated the sermon for us.


When we arrived at our destination we entered a quaint little restaurant with a sand-floor bar and a separate eating area festooned with brightly colored floral tablecloths and an endless array of beach finds on the walls and ceiling. It couldn’t have been better! We were also joined by the preacher (from South Africa) and a third couple named Kerri and George traveling on a boat named Marquesa (which turned out to be a very serendipitous meeting for us…but more on the later). Rose told us our dining options and proudly declared that we would all love anything we ordered (including a skeptical Lynn to whom she said “just taste it, you will be begging for more”.) Lunch was served about an hour later and was a mix of Bahamian specialties, like grilled whole snapper and their peas n’ rice. We didn’t mind waiting though, since we were seated on her lovely deck overlooking a spectacular and very secluded beach. While eating, Rose regaled us with stories of her children, all very successful people living in other parts of the world. She even gave us all some precious sea beans she found and, when we tried to refuse, sang a little song that went something like this…




“If you love something set it free, set it free, set it free…If you love something set it free, and more will come back to you…”


All in all it was a lovely day that led to more excellent days…which brings me back to George and Kerri. While chatting before lunch, Lynn and I happened to mention some of our boat woes, such as our broken freezer. George asked a few questions about the nature of the problem clearly showing he was somewhat knowledgeable on the subject. He offered to drop by the next day to diagnose the problem and we happily accepted. Well, within about 15 minutes he had identified the cause, which had an easy solution that Lynn could do on his own (we now have a working freezer.) As George was packing up I just happened to mention our inoperative furling main. George felt confident he could fix that too with a few hours of work. He came over again the next day and this time brought his wife, Kerri, along. While the boys worked, the girls chatted in the cockpit. We laughed so much that Lynn said he could hardly hear George talking! Well, he also figured out the issue with the furler and we now have a working mainsail too!!

Although we gave them lunch, we in no way felt we had repaid George for his help. Not surprisingly, he refused our offer to pay for his services saying he was happy just helping fellow cruisers. He explained that his definition of a successful day is one in which he had fun, felt passionate about something and helped someone out…a philosophy on life I definitely admire. So, now we are looking for an opportunity to “Pay it Forward.”


We continued northbound from Rock Sound the following day and headed back to Royal Island and Spanish Wells. We hopped between these two places for about 5 days waiting for a window to cross back to the Abacos. While waiting, we finally managed to snorkel on the huge reef north of the island on a rare calm day and were treated to a beautiful assortment of vibrant coral and fish (even spotting another sea turtle.)


Another afternoon we were with John from Makani snorkeling in a sandy bay on the north shore of Royal Island. John was hunting and had managed to spear two lobster, a red snapper and a grunt. He asked me to fetch his bag so I was swimming at full speed to the shore. Also swimming directly towards me was an octopus! We simultaneously spotted each other and both stopped in our tracks about 2 feet apart. I’m not sure which of us was more shocked, but the octopus immediately plopped to the sea bottom (which was only about 2 feet deep where we were) and poured himself into a little hollow in the sand, gathering his eight legs underneath his body until he was almost perfectly camouflaged in the sand. I doubt anyone would have spied him if they didn’t know he was there. I was not able to camouflage myself nearly so well, but I suppose I had size on my side. I floated there for about 10 minutes keeping a sharp eye on his hiding place lest I lose him in his disguise. He finally built up the courage to creep out, one leg at a time. He was obviously not completely comfortable with his precarious position and started slowly looking for another hideout. I followed him until he found a rocky crevice into which he completely melded his body until only his little eyes were visible. Nobody would have ever seen him there…it was so cool!


On what was promised to be a “terrific sailing day” we ventured back into the ocean on our final leg back to the Abacos. It did start out terrifically and we were sailing at about 7.5 knots on a beam reach in about 20 knots of wind, with BOTH sails out thanks to George. The wind was supposed to die down throughout the day, but in typical weather prediction fashion, it built up instead. As the wind approached 25 knots sustained we felt we had too much sail out, so we shortened the genoa and started the motor to maintain a reasonable speed. OK, some people like our companions on Makani would have continued to sail, but the seas had also picked up to probably 8-foot swells with a 5-foot wind driven chop, and we just wanted to get there as quickly as possible. So, once again we rocked and rolled uncomfortably for a few hours. And, once again our fridge door popped open and spewed its’ contents on the floor. Thankfully, no broken jar of garlic this time.


Meanwhile on Makani, as Lynn and I were hanging on and complaining about the conditions, John was single handing and fishing (Kathi had to fly home on some business.) In the same 8-foot seas he managed to hook, land and filet a 51-inch Mahi Mahi! The three of us ate two meals and he still has frozen Mahi Mahi for at least two more meals!




Reaching the Abacos felt a little like coming home. We stopped at Lynyard Cay for a few days of sea glass hunting and the usual snorkeling. Then we sought out the protection of Marsh Harbour for what turned out to be the biggest weather event of the season. The wind blew over 25 knots for 5 days, with one day of clocking wind in excess of 35 knots sustained and gusting over 40 knots. That is REALLY a lot of wind! It was certainly not all bad though because we met up with Harriet and Mike on Duel Dreams and Cindy and Jeff on Salty Dog, friends from our first cruise who we have not seen for more than four years. It was fantastic to hang out with them again. We also did some boat chores to pass the time. Once again I attempted to re-stow boat contents so nothing will fly about while underway in rough seas…an endless and never completely successful endeavor. Most importantly, Lynn cleverly fixed the fridge-door-popping-open problem.


Now we are back on a mooring in Hope Town, still probably my personal favorite place. It just has the right mix of quaint village and beautiful beaches. We will stay here for about a month with short excursions to other favorite anchorages. In the good news department, Kathi is back from her stateside travels and so we are reunited as our foursome again. And, my sister, Sheila, just sent me a note that she and her husband, Paul, will be visiting at the beginning of April…I am so excited about that. We definitely find that homesickness starts to set in about now so visits from family are very welcome. We are still hopeful that Lynn’s daughters will be coming too.

That’s all for now!

Oh, What Wonderful Water!

People kept telling us how beautiful the water is in the Exumas, and I thought…How can it be any nicer than the blue water in the Abacos? Well, it can, and it is! The water here is almost indescribable. The color ranges from the palest blue to a deep jade with exquisite shade variations depending on the depth of the water. It is so clear you can see to the bottom in 30 feet. On a moonlit night you can still see the sand and grass below the boat. Anchoring is a breeze because you can check that the anchor is dug in from the surface. Snorkeling feels like you are hardly looking through water at all, making all the coral and sea creatures appear clear and bright. Plus, it is probably 5 degrees warmer than in the Abacos, so you don’t squeal every time you dive in. You really can’t get enough of gazing into this deep blue sea.

The islands are more scenic too…literally hundreds ranging in size from a rock to a proper land mass. They are hillier and lined with many secluded beaches or rugged rocky shores. We have really enjoyed arriving at new anchorages and checking out the nearby sights.

When I last left off we were just leaving Eleuthera. We motor sailed across Exuma Sound arriving at the north end of the Exumas to anchor off Highborne Cay. We could see why people rave so much about the water as soon as we came through the cut to the leeward side. We were a little apprehensive about entering our first cut in the Exumas as we had been told to be cautious of the often fast moving current through narrow openings…But, all that left my mind when I saw the stunning, meandering entrance to the Cay. We anchored just off a sandy beach and smiled at each other, feeling very happy to have arrived at our first Exumas anchorage.

Over the next few days we explored the area and did our first snorkeling in the crystal clear water. One excursion brought us to Allens Cay, famous for being the residence of hundreds of iguanas. They range in length from about 6 inches to about 3 feet and live only on this particular island in the Bahamas. Kathi jokingly remarked that it would be a nice place for a picnic as the prehistoric creatures crawled around the beach, with many more rustling about in the bushes.

One afternoon Kathi and I launched her paddle board for a little fun and exercise. It is a great workout (for my much needed core) and we had a blast trying to stay balanced. It really isn’t so hard except that it was a windy day and the water was quite rough, which made balancing trickier. We even attempted to stand together on the board at the same time. After about 20 tries we finally gave up, but laughed and screamed for a good hour!

When we first arrived at Highborne I said to Lynn, “Look, a cruise ship!” He said, “That’s not a cruise ship, it’s a private yacht!” And indeed it was a 200-foot mega yacht anchored off the same beach we had chosen. It’s not often you get to be voyeurs into the life of the very rich, but we did, for three days. We watched in amazement as they shuttled back and forth from the ship to the beach in their half-million dollar Hinkley “runabout”. They would send their staff to set up for an evening bonfire or an afternoon picnic, complete with tents, linen tablecloths and beach games. They behaved like they owned the place with very little thought for their neighbors as they blasted around the anchored boats in their various watercrafts. All weekend they flew people in and out in their private sea plane, sometimes landing right between the sailboats. I really was glad to say goodbye to them when we left. But, I did remark that we didn’t need all that money to enjoy the same sights from our comparatively little boat.

After Highborne we headed to Warderick Wells, the central cay in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, which is a national land and marine protected area. We chose a rather blustery day and had to motor into wind crashing through about 5-foot waves.

We picked up a mooring for two nights and explored the island. There are lots of trails and we chose the most popular one that crossed through a desert-like area to the top of Boo Boo Hill where we were treated to a spectacular view of the surrounding area. The name of the hill comes from a legend that a ship sunk off the nearby reef. All aboard perished and their bodies were never found. Their ghosts now haunt the island whose calls can be heard at night from the top of the hill. On the way back we stopped at a Blow Hole where the underground wave action causes wind to puff in and out…you can’t help saying “whooo!” when a big gust blasts out at you.

Later that night Makani came over for our usual dinner and games and spotted a Nurse Shark under our boat. He circled there for about an hour. I was wondering why he chose to hang around our vessel when I remembered that I had actually chummed the water. Earlier I had prepared beef stew and washed the drippings from the meat down the drain. I estimate it was no more than a quarter cup of blood that he smelled from who knows how far away…amazing.

Next stop was Sampson Cay just north of Staniel Cay, where we are still anchored. We love it here…definitely our favorite place in the Exumas…so far! But I think it will be hard to beat. We are located amongst many large and small islands with no end of spots to explore in and out of the water. We have dingied up to Pipe Creek to snorkel in lots of lovely reefy areas, or down to Staniel Cay to tour the town and get provisions.

We have been snorkeling almost every day, either hunting or just enjoying the underwater panoramas. Our friends from Havre de Grace, Joe and Carol on Just Ducky, spend the entire season anchored in Pipe Creek just north of where we are. They know all the good spots to snorkel and kindly shared their secrets (about which we have been sworn to secrecy.)

Joe came diving with us three times when the conditions were calm enough to get to the outside. There we found at least 10 lobster and caught 5 so far. Well, to be honest, John and Joe have done the lobster catching. This involves diving 10 to 15 feet and holding your breath for at least 30 seconds while you search under any little cave where the lobsters hang out. If you find one, you then have to dive back down, grab a rock and manage to fire a spear one-handed from your Hawaiian sling before he retreats too far into his hidey hole. Then you wrestle him back up to the boat. I don’t really like this part, but I do like the results! After catching four 2-pounders and up (Joe speared a 6-pounder!), we have been feasting on lobster many nights, finding lots of new ways to prepare the crustacean. Like Bubba on Forest Gump, we have had steamed lobster, lobster with drawn butter, grilled lobster, seasoned lobster, lobster newburg, lobster stew…..

I love to snorkel! Sometimes I feel like I am wandering through an underwater sea garden with pretty little crops of coral and a wide variety of fish swimming about. Just one small coral head will offer a little vignette with a huge diversity of sea life. When I find one I just float on top and gaze at it, like looking into an aquarium. Exciting sightings so far include a Sea Turtle, several large Manta Rays (they have huge heads and Lynn says they look like a 747 as they glide past), Southern Rays, Puffer Fish, Queen Trigger Fish, lots of gorgeous Angel Fish and other little vibrantly colored fish, and a Shark!

Sharks are plentiful around here and gather where there is food (near a dock where fishermen toss the carcasses of cleaned fish or under our boat where I have inadvertently chummed the water). We have fun watching from above the water. But, the other day we were snorkeling and a shark passed me about 20 feet away, probably looking for dinner. It was either a Caribbean Reef Shark or a Nurse Shark, both are non-aggressive. Nevertheless, I would have been alarmed if he was coming towards me, but since he was swimming away Lynn and I took a good look before prudently heading in the other direction.

Another snorkeling adventure was exploring the “Thunderball Grotto” on nearby Staniel Cay. Used in a scene from Thunderball, a 1960’s James Bond movie starring Sean Connery, it is a rock with underwater tunnels leading to a big cave in the center open to the sky. We watched the movie before going and discovered that it is now quite outdated and pretty hokey. But the real thing is very cool inside where tons of fish are used to being fed and will nibble at your fingers looking for a treat. We had about 20 minutes to look around before a boat dropped off about 30 tourists who quickly filled up the area. It made me realize how fortunate we are to experience all we do without being bothered with any crowds, any other people at all for that matter!

The rest of our time has been spent playing cards, reading on the boat, swimming, napping, doing boat chores, meeting and chatting with cruisers and locals, and simply enjoying life. The weather has been fantastic. This has been an unusual winter with very few cold fronts. There has been hardly any rain and the temps are in the high 70s to low 80s. We have had mostly wind out of the east, which is perfect for anchoring in the Exumas. We just had a front over the last few days that brought higher wind (20-25 knots) and for a while it was out of the west, which meant we rocked and rolled in the harbour for about a day. No problem, we just went ashore and played some cribbage for the afternoon! It is calm again and we are not expecting another front for at least a week.

I continue to feel so very lucky to be doing this. And not only that, but I have a wonderful husband to enjoy it with.

Another Memorable Ocean Crossing to Paradise

As planned, we left Lynyard Cay in the Abacos at 6:30 AM, along with Makani and Smiles, and passed through the Little Harbour cut headed to Royal Island, a small piece of land just north of Eleuthera. This is a 50-mile jump in the Atlantic Ocean from the northern Bahamas to the central Bahamas. Once again the water is very deep (10,000 feet) and it is important to choose the window carefully to avoid nasty conditions that make the trip uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the sea state was not calm (as was predicted), at least for the second half of the day.

Until about noon, we flew our reefed genoa (big headsail) in about 20-knot wind. We were plowing through the water with a very comfortable wave height and direction. About an hour off shore we spotted a group of about 10 dolphins. Is that called a pod? If I had Internet access I would google it for accuracy. Anyway, they were joyously (at least it looked joyous) leaping clear out of the water in unison. They did that about 10 times headed straight for our boat. Definitely the most spectacular sighting to date…I loved it! If I happen to be a sea creature in my next life I definitely want to be a dolphin. I sat back in the cockpit feeling exhilarated and thought, this is perfect…fantastic…then the wind changed direction.

As the wind shifted to the north (NW or NE, I don’t remember) the water began to build, until we had short, choppy 5-foot waves hitting us almost broadside. Yuck. This causes the boat to pitch and sway very uncomfortably. Every so often, when the wave direction was just right, the boat would rock violently sideways (OK, violent is a little harsh, but I can’t think of a better word.) I happened to be below decks for one such surge at the moment when our upright fridge door flung open and all the contents flew out onto the floor. On top of the chaotic heap of food was a broken bottle of garlic that scattered finely minced bits of the malodorous bud over everything. I admit that witnessing this caused a few four-letter words starting with “F” to involuntarily leave my mouth. I set about cleaning up the mess, which under the conditions was wiping off the garlic as best I could and throwing the fridge contents into any available container. Garlic may smell good when cooking, but it definitely smells very bad on the floor of a boat that is pitching and rocking in the sea. A half hour later I emerged from the galley to get some fresh air and decided that if that didn’t make me sea sick, nothing will.

Meanwhile, Lynn had resorted to hand steering because the autopilot was struggling too much with the wave conditions. This made the going smoother since Lynn is better able to anticipate the wave movement and correct accordingly. We spent the next three hours in this way till we reached the cut through the Egg Reef that would lead us to shallow, calmer water close to the Eleuthera coast. This is a very narrow cut so we were a little tense as we traversed it for the first time. About 30 minutes later we were comfortably anchored in Royal Island Harbour. We were beat but very happy to have arrived. After an hour of scouring the floor and wiping all traces of garlic from the fridge contents, I was finally able to relax in the first of many little private paradises.

We spent a day just chilling out in Royal Island. There was once an attempt to grow pineapples on the island and the remains of the plantation still stand. We wandered around the stone ruins and then across the island to the windward side. There is an incredible, pristine reef there that is apparently fantastic snorkeling, but unfortunately the wind conditions were not conducive to that activity.

The next day we set out on a short 10-mile hop to the next small islands to the east, Russel Island and St. Georges Cay. We moored inside the small channel just off the picturesque little town of Spanish Wells (actually a large town by Bahamian standards), which turned out to be a new favorite. The waterfront is lined with pastel-colored houses and all sorts of boats docked along the bulkhead. This is the fishing center of the Bahamas so it is quite a bustling place. We rented a golf cart with Kathi and John and toured from one end of the island to the other. As with most places in the Bahamas, the locals are incredibly friendly and everyone waves when you pass by. We stopped at beautiful Russel Beach that lines the entire windward side with soft, pink coral sand. We also had lunch at The Generation Gap, feasting on the delicious homemade potato salad.

One of our primary concerns was to find a spot to watch the football games on Sunday. Since Spanish Wells is a so-called dry town, there are no bars where you can normally tune in to sporting events. The boys were especially anxious since both the Ravens and 49ers were playing in their respective semi-final games. We were finally told that the local kids would be setting up a TV at “Members Only” down by the park. At first I thought that meant you had to be a member to attend, but it is really just a tongue-in-cheek name for what turned out to be a makeshift camp in the woods.

On game day we loaded our football-watching paraphernalia (beer, snacks, chairs, blankets) in the dingies and went in search of Members Only for some tail-gating, which I guess is more aptly called transom-gating in this case. We found the spot and were quite impressed and somewhat amused! The island kids had set up several wooden buildings fully equipped with stove, sink, ratty old chairs, a stage with drums, and a variety of decorations strewn about (not to mention old bottles of booze and such.) It would have been a great place to watch the game, but alas, nobody actually showed up with a TV. So, we went to Norma’s Takeaway instead, the only other place showing the game. It was actually quite comfortable there with a picnic table and now old-fashioned tube TV set up behind the little restaurant. Unfortunately, one of the other patrons was getting progressively more inebriated and louder as the night wore on. We finally left part way through the second game when we couldn’t take it anymore (now you know why I say “so-called” dry town.) As it turned out, neither team won so that takes the pressure off trying to find a place for Superbowl!

We left the next day and made a short hop to anchor on the western-most tip of Eleuthera. The 15-20 knot wind was perfect for sailing with a nice beam reach all the way. This took about twice as long as motoring, but we would sail at 5 knots instead of motoring at 7 knots any day. We were accompanied by another group of 5 dolphins on the way who swam alongside the boat for a bit before heading off…I even heard one calling “eee…eee…eee” when he crested the surface.

Current Cut is another very narrow cut that has quite an extreme current running though it…hence the name. We chose to anchor on the east side and wait for the next day to pass through this area with a more favorable current direction. For the remainder of the day we walked across the island to check out Current Settlement, consisting of a few houses, a general store, a library, a post office and a playground. On the way we were stopped by some local residents who offered us directions and invited us for cocktails! Lynn also chatted with the women in the general store (well, he was flirting really…does that surprise anyone?) Back at the boat we topped the day off with a little skinny dipping and an al fresco shower…another private paradise. I so often feel very privileged that we have access to these stunning places all on our own, like long gorgeous beaches with nobody on them but us and spectacular sunsets with only a boat or two to add to the beauty.

Passing through Current Cut the next morning we registered a maximum of 11.3 knots travelling with the current. This is only a little more than 13 mph, but feels really fast in a sailboat. Just after you get through the cut you need to make a 90 degree turn while still in the current and pass within about 100 feet of the rocks to stay in the channel. Needless to say, this was an exciting way to start the day! We then motored 40 miles to Rock Sound with the wind right on the nose. After we dropped the anchor we reconnected with Smiles who welcomed us with a happy hour on their boat.

Rock Sound is the Eleuthera equivalent of Marsh Harbour, much more industrial than other places on the island. We have been spending most of the past few days dealing with what seems like endless boat repairs. I would like to report that our boat woes have ceased since fixing the battery bank in Beaufort, but sadly that is not the case. I don’t mean to start whining again, but I think it appropriate to impart a true picture of all aspects of the cruising experience. As I have said before, it is definitely not all pina coladas on the beach.

Our latest issues are a furling headsail that will not unfurl due to an as-yet undiagnosed problem with the controller, and a stopped up head. Lynn has successfully cleared up the latter…I know that most of you landlubbers would consider the head problem to be a bigger crisis, but we would actually be happier if we could fix the furler since without it we have no mainsail. And no sooner had Lynn fixed the head than our freezer, holding about 500 dollars’ worth of meat provisions decided to conk out. We had lined up a local refrigerator repair guy to look at it “first thing” this morning, but in true island fashion, he has not shown up and it is going on 12 PM. We are starting to lose hope that we will get the freezer fixed, so our back up plan is to divvy up the frozen goods into our other small freezer and Makani’s freezer and to eat a lot over the next week or so!

At the moment we are trying to track down a pesky leak under our galley sink. Oh well, these are just small glitches in the daily activities aboard Coyote. But they are frustrating and I feel badly for Lynn because he works so hard to keep our boat ship shape. On the upside we worked on installing the water maker throughout some of our more lengthy delays and it is now chugging along producing 30 gallons of fresh drinking water each hour it runs. I complained about the hefty price tag when Lynn wanted to buy it, but I am now forced to admit that it is truly a very nice luxury that I am quickly realizing I would not want to do without (kind of like a freezer on board that I am soon going to have to do without)! We have even been supplying Makani with fresh water 10 gallons at a time, which is a fair trade for the air they will be supplying us for diving.

So, that brings you all pretty much up to date. So far the weather has been fairly good for travelling, usually in the mid-70s but somewhat windy. At least we have had no significant cold fronts, which is unusual for Bahamas in the winter. We are now waiting for a good weather window to cross Exuma Sound to Highborne Cay. Then we will island hop for about a month checking out the Exumas. It is much more secluded there and we plan to spend our time snorkeling, diving, exploring the islands and just enjoying the experience. We are still traveling with Makani, which means our evenings usually start with a delicious dinner followed by a grueling euchre match. More on the Exumas in the next blog!

The Beginning

I am going to flash back for a while in this blog to give you an idea of the trials and tribulations we encountered to get where we are now...

We finally set off on our Bahamian cruise on November 5th after being at home in Maryland for a year and a half. This being our third trip there was a little less fanfare than in the past. I guess people are getting tired of saying goodbye! That said, Lynn’s family was again totally enthusiastic about the journey and had a special pre-Christmas gathering before we left (including really nice gifts). Then most of them showed up on the morning of our departure to see us off, with only a few tears shed. Our friends Chuck, Dave and Darlene were also there to wave goodbye.

It felt great to finally be underway again. It was a beautiful, sunny day as we travelled down the Chesapeake Bay…no wind for sailing, but that meant calm seas. We arrived at our first stop on the West River (just south of Annapolis) where we joined Kathi and John on Makani. We were invited to dinner with their friends Bryan and Hannah, and Mike and Roycelin. It was a lovely evening. The only mar in an otherwise perfect day was that the generator refused to start, despite the best efforts of Mike who kindly came over to Coyote to lend a hand. We thought it was probably a battery problem, but opted to stick around Galesville for an extra day to check it out…but more on that later…

While on shore the next day, Lynn’s nephew KC called. He was on his boat and happened to pass Coyote at anchor. What a coincidence! I had been feeling bummed that we had already been delayed just one day into the trip…but, decided that we were meant to be there to see KC. Later that day we worked on the generator some more and managed to get it started, so we concluded there must be a battery issue and that it was OK to set off again the next day.

We had an early, pre-dawn start followed by another beautiful day on the bay. That night we stopped at a peaceful anchorage on Mill Creek, just south of Reedville. We retired early after dinner on Makani. It was on the third day that we first noticed the engine acting strangely. It was fine at low RPMs, but seemed to be struggling at higher RPMs. We limped into Norfolk late in the day and anchored at Hospital Point.

The next morning we had a mobile mechanic come on board to check the engine (yes, there are mobile mechanics!) I probably should have recognized the omen when we woke to fog as thick as pea soup and the outboard rip cord broke in Lynn’s hand. Anyway, just like going to the doctor about a pain that disappears in his office, the engine seemed to work perfectly well when Bryan was on board. We chalked the problem up to crud in the fuel that must have worked itself out. As an afterthought, we mentioned our generator issue. He took a look and discovered that we had water in the engine that appeared to have backed up from the exhaust. I now understand that this is a VERY BAD THING. Apparently diesel engines do not like water. Bryan gave it a valiant effort, but was not able to fix it. In the end we had to replace the generator.

Then, on our way back from getting the generator installed, our engine started acting up again. After a second sea trial we determined that the transmission was not behaving. This required a very laborious removal of the transmission (definitely not an easy task in the confines of a boat), a rebuild, and a re-installation. Happily, our engine was purring when the task was done.

As you can imagine, all of this took some time to resolve and we were stuck in Norfolk for four long weeks (a place where 4 hours is probably too long). There were a few silver linings to the delay, like meeting some very nice people at the marina we were using as our temporary home, particularly Mark and Nadine from Belgium. They were on a custom catamaran and had crossed the Atlantic Ocean five times! They were worried about getting their 63-foot mast under one of the ICW bridges. When I asked what they would do if the mast was too tall, they responded in their French accent, “well, den we will just go to Bermuda!” Now that’s being flexible. We also really enjoyed meeting Bill and Amy and their 3 year old son, Finn, who stole my heart. I think he liked me too because he wanted me to take him to the head, which his parents said is an honor he usually bestows only on his grandparents.

Other nice memories included wandering around the historic part of Portsmouth (the rest of the city is not very nice), designing a mermaid ring that Lynn bought for me (to cheer me up I think), a day trip to Williamsburg, a nice Thanksgiving Day dinner hosted by the marina, and a quick visit back home to take care of a few things. But, I have to say we were very glad to say goodbye to Norfolk when we were finally on our way again…we were starting to wonder if we should just call it quits.

The remainder of the trip down the ICW was much like the previous five trips...this part of the coyote adventures is definitely getting old. There are some things I still like though. I can never get enough of the dolphins swimming alongside the boat and love to watch the pelicans skim just a few inches above the water. One highlight was accidentally bumping into KC (again!) as we were anchoring in Adams Creek. He just happened to be at his property in NC and looked across the water to see us coming around the bend from the Neuse River. This second coincidence was pretty unbelievable…I am still wondering when we will see him next!

There are a few ICW stops I always enjoy. We stayed over in Wrightsville Beach to visit with Lynn’s grandson, Ryan, who showed us around town and his college campus. We also stayed at David (Lynn’s brother) and Gini’s beautiful home in Beaufort SC, where we had a very nice Christmas. We spent some of that time working on the boat…specifically replacing our entire battery bank…problem #3, I hope that means we are done!!

On December 29th we were underway again, leaving the ICW from the Port Royal Inlet just south of Beaufort for a 48-hour off-shore cruise to the Fort Pierce inlet. The conditions were great and we made excellent time, arriving at our destination in Stuart Florida on New Year’s Eve, just in time to celebrate with Kathi and John and their friends Dean and Nancy. Of course we were so beat from the ocean hop we barely made it to 8:00 PM and snored through the ball dropping at midnight. We stayed in Stuart for a few more days waiting for the window to cross to the Bahamas. During that time Dean and Nancy very kindly drove us around town to get re-provisioned.

So, that brings us back to the last blog and finally reaching the Bahamas…and it is the end of my whining. Tomorrow we pull anchor at first light to head out of the cut from Little Harbor destined for the island of Eleuthra…this will be all new territory for us, so exciting and a little scary. Time for bed now to be ready for tomorrow’s adventures!