We arrived in Nassau a couple of days ago. People have said Atlantis is a must see so we docked at one of the slips there and spent a day at the water park. Atlantis had a cool aquarium and we saw manta rays, eels, lobster, jellyfish and all kinds of other tropical fish with a range of colors from blue, green, purple, orange and bright yellow. It was very cool to see them all.
Eels.
Manta ray.
At the water park there was a lot of rides but there was two rides that were basically a straight down body slide. At first I didn’t want to do it, but then I thought, if I’m here at Atlantis, I should just do every ride so here is a video of me going down The Leap of Faith and it was almost straight down into a glass underwater tube with sharks swimming by you. It was so fast, you couldn’t even see them. Now I know what it feels like to be a human bullet.
Another cool thing about Atlantis is its architecture. They put their water slides on giant towers that look like they came out of the Lost City of Atlantis and they make water slides on a temple. Here are a few pictures of Atlantis.
Atlantis.
Atlantis.
Next we are going to Allen’s Cay in the Exuma Islands. There are big iguanas there all over. If I get a chance, I will do a post about that.
We left Bimini at 2pm yesterday and arrived in Nassau at 10:30am today. It was our first overnight passage and all went well. A couple other boats were headed the same direction so we buddy boated with them. It was nice to have other boats to talk to in the middle of the night. They kept on going past Nassau this morning, headed straight through for the Exumas so we said ‘later’ to them (as we will more than likely see them in the Exuma’s in the next month). We fueled up and anchored in Nassau Harbor. We snorkeled off Truansea, to be greeted by Spotted Eagle Rays, a few other fish we have not identified yet and Mark met a barracuda while removing some fishing line off our prop!
I will send pictures another day when we have a better connection!
I have time to do a brief post while waiting for the winds to die down. We have had a great time in Bimini snorkeling, visiting a shark lab, exploring the mangroves, visiting their local museum, the Dolphin House, eating as much Bimini bread as we can…
We left No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay at 3:10am and arrived at Bimini at 2pm. The wind was out of the east to southeast the whole way and we were headed due east so that meant motoring the whole way for us. The winds picked up to 15 knots for a large part of the day but slowed to 10 knots about 2 hours out from Bimini and the seas calmed as well.
Logan steering across the Gulf Stream.
Another sailboat following us to Bimini with one of the freighters we saw crossing behind them.
Amazingly we could see the Miami skyscrapers in the distance for 5 hours. We were out of sight of land for a little over 3 hours before we spotted Bimini. Flying fish accompanied us on and off throughout the day. About half an hour from the harbor entrance to Bimini we started seeing the bluer water and white sandy bottoms.
We picked up a slip at Brown’s Marina and raised our quarantine flag. Mark checked into customs and immigration, then we were able to take down the quarantine flag and raise the Bahama flag.
We had time to explore Bimini a little bit before nightfall. There are beautiful fish around our boat. You definitely know you are in another country. It is a fun island full of interesting people and history.
Yesterday we cruised down to Miami and anchored at Belle Isle. The skyscrapers of Miami were all around us in their vibrant, flashing colors. One of them even had a huge scene of people dancing on it. Very strange to be anchored in a bay with a huge city around us.
Today we topped off with diesel, gas and water then sailed down to No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay. As we were cruising down, dolphins graced us by swimming along for a bit. This was the closest we have seen them. They were about 3 feet from the side of our boat! The winds were nice for sailing today and the boys had fun in the cabin ‘standing straight up’ while Truansea was at an angle. This picture gives you an idea of how much our home tilts!
Cole standing in Truansea while we are heeled over sailing.
After we anchored in No Name Harbor, we saw the manatees again. Truly gentle giants.
Manatee in No Name Harbor.
We headed to shore to do a load of laundry, empty the garbage and take an outdoor shower.
Cold waiting on the transom to get in the dinghy.
Cold holding down the shower pull for Logan. Yes, you can shower outdoors in Florida in the winter!
We plan on leaving for Bimini at 3am. The weather looks promising for a crossing and there are lots of other boats here staged to cross as well. Hopefully we will be able to send out a post tomorrow night from Bimini!
Sunday evening, 12/02/12 we had our boat denaming and renaming ceremony officiated by Captain Nick Chiappani. The dock had one of their potlucks that evening which completed the evening full of good friends and good food. We appeased the wind gods during the ceremony and installed the lettering on Truansea so she is now official. Our dinghy is affectionately known as Hooky, and although we didn’t put her name on the transom she received a little of the champagne spray as well.
According to tradition, once all traces of the previous name have been removed it is not to be spoken again. As a final gesture on the first voyage with the new name one also needs to sail the boat backward at least one boat length to back over the old name and appease the spirits.
A toast to Truansea during the renaming ceremony.
Logan spraying champagne on the bow at the end of the renaming ceremony.
One of our friends introduced us to a group of his Canadian friends that made their way down the coast to Florida and are also crossing to the Bahamas. We will be joining up with their boats this morning to make our way to Miami again. We will anchor there and wait for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. If the weather pattern holds, we should be good to go Saturday, Sunday or Monday. I can’t believe we are finally ready to go!
We are going to miss all of our friends at Riviera. When we moved in here, they said it was very easy to get comfortable here and it is a hard place to leave. They hit the nail on the head. We are very fortunate to have met them all and can’t wait for our paths to cross with them again.
Boats throughout Fort Lauderdale are beautifully lit up for the holidays.
Boat neighbors, sv Scarlet, all dec’d out for Christmas. Can you believe they had all these decorations on their boat?
Provisioning the boat has been an interesting experience. Needless to say, our water line is lower than it used to be.
Provisioning the boat. IT is amazing how much stuff you can pack in a 37′ boat!
The last boat maintenance has been completed, including changing the engine oil.
Mark changing the diesel engine oil.
We will not have internet access until we get to the Bahamas. Hopefully we will be making a post by December 10th letting you know where we are at!
After spending another night anchored at Lake Sylvia earlier in the week, we were finally ready to take a bigger shakedown cruise to Biscayne Bay in Miami. The winds were forecasted to be from the north at 10-15 knots for the next 3 days which would be a great sail downwind to the bay so we decided to leave last Friday morning (11/16/12).
Logan checking out the mega yachts we pass by.
We are feeling comfortable navigating through the intercoastal waterway now. To get our boat out to the Port Everglades entrance to the Atlantic in Fort Lauderdale, we have to go through the Las Olas Bridge opening and the 17th Street Bridge opening. Our mast is 59′ high and we can not make it under these bridges when they are closed. After we were out of the Port Everglades channel, we headed south, raised the sails and cut the engine. The winds were only 10 knots at best, dropping to 5 at times. Our sails were flogging and the south current against the north wind made an uncomfortable chop so we started our engine and motored. We had a 5 hour journey to make and this was a good test of our engine, especially the new high output alternator Mark put on yesterday.
Mark installing a new 80 amp high output alternator.
We were able to motor at 7 knots and made it to Government Cut in Miami at 2:30pm. We navigated the cut and out into Biscayne Bay then south to No Name Harbor where we anchored for the night. We set the anchor, cut the motor and manatees started surfacing off the bow of our boat. This is the closest we have ever see them and you could hear the big breaths they take, truly a magestic moment.
As we were motoring through the harbor to select a spot to anchor, some kids were waving from the back of their boat. After we finished putting things away on the boat and making sure our anchor was holding, a dinghy motored over with the kids and their dad to say hello. We arranged to meet them on shore in 15 minutes.
Making new friends at No Name Harbor.
We took a walk along the shore with the O’Sheill’s, letting the kids run off some steam, then headed back to our boat where the kids played a game of Clue while the parents kicked back in the cockpit. The kids laughter coming up from the cabin was infectious. They too are taking some time sailing their 37′ Islander with their kids to the Bahamas because as Candi puts it, “Life is short. I want to show my children that life is to be lived everyday. I hope it teaches them that fear is nothing more than a 4 letter word, and there is nothing wrong with watching a sunset instead of a television”. Well said Candi!
The next day we explored for part of the day with the O’Sheill’s, touring a lighthouse, walking through the woods, swimming at the beach, cracking open a coconut and watching the local raccoons.
The weather for the following 2 days was forecasted for winds from the north at 10-15 knots. We decided to head back to Fort Lauderdale the next morning.
We pulled up the anchor just after dawn and headed out around the southern tip of Key Biscayne and up the coast instead of going back up through Government Cut. The winds were light and continued to pick up throughout the day. When the winds reached 10 knots we hoisted the sails and beat to windward for a while. Making headway against the north wind was slow and the winds kept picking up so we again decided to motor since we had a long day ahead of us. We were glad we did as we were not able to make as good of time as we made on the way down.
The boys love the big waves and as they put it, they ‘defy gravity’ in the v-berth. When a big wave comes along and they are in the v-berth, it sends them airborne which is great fun in their book. Every now and then we make them come back in the cockpit to make sure they are not getting seasick.
Logan enjoying the waves on the way back to Fort Lauderdale from Biscayne Bay.
Mark put out a line on the fishing pole after we were underway and while I was at the helm in some pretty good swells, I heard a zinging sound coming from behind me. It was a fish on the line. Everyone took turns reeling in our first tuna. Gaffing it and bringing a fish on board a sailboat in swells was a bit of a challenge to say the least but we had fish for dinner.
Little tunny we caught on the way back to Fort Lauderdale gave a good fight!
Emergency communications was one concern we had not yet addressed until a friend introduced us to Andy Cool, the owner of Explorer Satellite Communications. Andy gave us a great deal on one of his SAT phones. We tested the phone on the way back from Miami and programmed in several emergency contacts and the Coast Guard’s number into the phone. It will be a great peace of mind to have two way communication via satellite if the need should ever arise.
Testing out the Immarsat, IsatPhone Pro we picked up from Andy Cool at Explorer Satellite Communications.
We were all happy to see the 4 smokestacks at Fort Lauderdale in the distance at 1pm. By the time we made it to Port Everglades and back to our slip it was 3pm. It was a great shakedown cruise with a few more items added to the list to complete before our crossing.
We enjoyed fresh tuna for dinner. Some we made on the grill and the rest we added to a jumbalaya mix complements of our friend Kurt. Thanks for sending the Slap Ya Mamma mixes Kurt!
Our friend Lee came out to our boat yesterday and today. We have been replacing a homemade navpod with the real deal. Monday when Jason from Nance and Underwood came out to work on our reefing system we discovered one of the supports for the running rigging was missing where it attached to the base of the mast. It had broken at some point in the past. Lee welded a new support back in place returning the brace to its former strength.
Lee adding a brace at the base of the mast.
After two days we completed the work on the new navpod. We relocated the auto pilot to the port side of the cockpit. I had to have a new bar fabricated to hold the navpod. The work was done by Stuart at JTL Marine Engineering. He did a great job bending the new bar for us, it was a prefect fit. Lee was a big help working on the navpod and moving the autopilot to say the least. It was like the cavalry had shown up when he arrived with a welder and tools in hand.
Relocating the autopilot.
11/12
This morning Cole caught a Checkered Puffer Fish at the dock. He was using a piece of shrimp on a jig head. The puffer had 4 little bony teeth, 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom and he puffed up when we took the hook out to let him go. They are very comical looking fish.
Checkered puffer fish.
Christine splicing the anchor line.
Yesterday, Christine finished whipping the anchor line and we started provisioning for the trip. We bought about $300 worth of canned goods at Wal-Mart. The boys wrote the names of the contents on all the cans just in case we lose the labels in the bilge. We completed the task of clamping 2 boards between the stations where we will attach extra fuel and water jugs.
Logan and Cole helping each other on yet another boat project.
I finished the work on our engine hoist yesterday. Essentially, I mounted an L-shaped bar upside down and next to the outboard on the stern. The bar rests on a flange that allows it to rotate the outboard over the side of the boat and be lowered to the dinghy using an old mainsheet pulley system that we brought with us from Idaho. A couple of U bolts keep the bar firmly against the stern rail but not so tight that you can’t rotate the bar. At $85.00 it was a low-cost, low-tech solution to moving our outboard to and from the dinghy.
Logan tries out the outboard hoist.
Last week we replaced our anchor chain, which was only 27 feet long with 70 feet of new chain. Christine used her braiding skills to splice the rope rode to the chain. The combination of 2 boat lengths of chain and our new Rocna anchor will help us rest easier when we are at anchor.
The door of the anchor locker was another project, which took some time to find a solution to. When we bought the boat, it had a windlass mounted to the locker door but the door wasn’t mounted to the boat. My solution, was to cut the door in half, hinge one half for access to the locker, then permanently mount the other half with the windlass to the boat. Since the windlass would be putting a great deal of strain on the door, its attachment needed to be robust. I used 2 stainless steel bars through bolted to the deck and a piece of aluminum angle iron to anchor the door at 3 points on the deck and to keep the door from flexing when you walk on it.
Top if anchor locker.
Inside of locker showing reinforcements.
In all we are pretty close to being done with all the work we need to do in order to go on our cruise. The projects have taken longer than I expected them to take. It’s hard to believe that we have been working on the boat for almost 2 months now. The upside is we have addressed all the areas of greatest concern and we have learned a great deal about our boat in the process.
There is a lot of different things to living on a boat. When you want to turn on a light at home, you just flick on the light switch, but on a boat you go to a big control panel that turns on everything on whatever area you want on the boat. For example you turn on cabin lights at the control panel then you can go and turn on the lights. You also can’t leave them on for long because we have a very limited amount of power in our batteries.
This is the control panel where you turn on areas of the boat you need power to.
Another thing we have to conserve on is cooking because we only have a small gas tank so we can’t run the stove for a long period of time. As you can see, we only have 3 cupboards so we have to pack all our food in very tightly. We store food in other compartments that are not meant for food. We also do not have an oven on our boat so we have something called an Omni Pot. It acts just like an oven but you put it on the stove top or grill top because we have a grill on the back of our boat. Our refrigerator is not exactly how it would look at home. It’s more like a cooler sitting inside a counter top.
Kitchen on Truansea.
Refrigerator
The Omni Pot that takes the place of a stove. We can cook breads, cakes, casseroles, etc. in it.
We also have limited water. Our tank is only 70 gallons. To use water, we go to our control panel and turn our water pressure on and then we go to the sink and turn the water on. A water pump from the tank pumps the water to the sink. When we brush our teeth, we only turn the water on for 3 seconds or less.
We have 2 air conditioners on our boat. It is rare to have 2 on a boat and in other parts of the country it is rare to have any. We can only use them when we are hooked up to shore power. We are hooked up to shore power by a big, thick cord that runs from a plug in on our boat to a special plug in on the dock. Also on our control panel we have a DC side and an AC side. We can only run AC when we are hooked up to shore power but we can run DC when we are not but we can’t use much because of our limited battery power supply.
If you want to know anything else about living on a boat, let me know.
The Everglades is a vast area of swamps and marshes. There are a lot of hammocks. Hammocks are a group of trees that are home to many animals. There are 3 kinds of mangroves. A white, a black and a red. We saw all 3 of them. We also went on an air boat ride. They are powered by fans and go pretty fast.
Plume hunters used to come to the Everglades to shoot birds for their feathers to put on lady’s hats. They do not do it any more.
More than 30 different species of birds have been recorded here. There are bald eagles, osprey, Roseate Spoonbills, brown pelicans, egrets, herons and many other species.
The Everglades are from Lake Okeechobee to the southern tip of Florida. Florida gets lots of hurricanes that will destroy some of the Everglades.
We went to an alligator farm. That is where we took the air boat ride. We got to hold baby alligators. Luckily their mouth was taped shut. Its belly felt like a snake.
Truansea 