Lets face it, a blog filled with good news is boring. No one wants to read about the great weather we are having, the fresh seafood we are eating, or the wonderful time that we are having with our friends here. If that is all I ever put down, no one would be anxious to log on and check out our blog!I In fact you may decide that you don't even like us much anymore.

I finally have something exciting to tell you about....... We survived our first direct hit by a waterspout/tornado! When you are on a dock and don't plan on travelling any time soon, you really don't pay much attention to weather forecasts or listen to any marine weather on the VHF. We had just finished quite a few days of record breaking temperatures and did know that we would have our first real rainfall since we have been here on Wednesday and then a cold front was suppose to move through on Thursday (American Thanksgiving) which would bring us cooler temperatures by Friday. Since we were having such nice weather, Bruce and I had put up the sails on Tuesday and the bimini and dodger on Wednesday. We luckily decided not to put any of the side panels on as the weather had not turned cold enough to want shelter from the cooler breezes. As is the case most nights, we went to bed with the companion way wide open and the deck covered with various boating paraphernalia. We had the air conditioning on so all of our other hatches were closed and thankfully locked shut. This is not always the case but for some reason, Bruce had checked them all before he went to bed. I woke up about 2 in the morning and there was lightning everywhere. I love a good storm so decided that I would sit in the cockpit and watch the storm for a while. The lightning was so intense, I quickly changed my mind, unplugged the computer and went back to bed. Because our mast is so high, I am always worried about a lightning strike. About an hour later Bruce and I were both up as the rain had started pounding and the thunder and lightning were much closer together. We closed the companionway door as the rain was now blowing in the entrance way, checked for any leaks and once again went back to bed. We hadn't been back in bed very long when we both head a very loud crash. Bruce thought that we had been hit by another boat. We both sprang out of bed. Bruce was just getting his foul weather jacket on to go out on deck when we felt this incredible gust of wind. It felt like the wind was trying to suck Con El Viento right out of the water. We were watching out our windows trying to see if any of our lines have come loose or the poles that we were tied to were strong enough to hold a 18 ton boat, in hurricane force winds, without breaking. What seemed an eternity, but was probably only a couple of minutes, and then the worst was over. Bruce went out on deck and I turned on the VHF and tuned into the local Boot key Harbor station to see what else was happening in the harbor. The chatter was unbelievable. Boats had been knocked over on their sides, losing everything off their counters and out of their cupboards. One boat had come off their mooring ball and was heading toward a cement seawall, bouncing off numerous boats along the way, dinghies were overturned, gas cans. cockpit cushions, kayaks and hatch covers blown off boats. One trimaran in the mooring field flipped completely upside down and still sits that way in the harbor. Luckily no one was on it. On shore, trees were uprooted, lawn furniture tossed into neighboring yards, our shed was completely destroyed and our neighbor's window blew out. The local drinking establishment, Dockside, was completely destroyed except for the bar and many of the pilings that had boats tied to them snapped. This must have been very scary for the people living on boats there. Our boat did not sustain any damage, even the canvas that we had just put up the day before came through it without a tear. The only thing we lost but later recovered was the cushion off of our back bench. Chuck, the owner of the boat beside us, plucked it out of the water for us. We lost all power for a couple of hours but by daybreak it was back on again. The rains lasted all through Wednesday and there are areas still flooded 3 days after the storm. The next morning there were dinghies everywhere picking up debris from the water to return to their owners. We also found out that the winds had hit 102 knots which is about 117 mph, and there were 2 reported waterspouts that hit the area.

Wednesday's weather was really not great for cleanup but everyone pitched in and by Thursday, Dockside was open for it's annual Turkey dinner for cruisers. We had planned a dinner party in the backyard on Wednesday evening as our friend's daughter and boyfriend, who had been visiting for the previous week, were leaving the next morning to go back home. We had ordered a big bag of fresh stone crab, shrimp and steak so instead of having it in the backyard, we moved it onto the boat. It was a bit crowded but we're boaters so we are used to doing things in small spaces! By Thursday we had a lot to be thankful for and we celebrated the American Thanksgiving with 2 of our Canadian friends from Penetang who we met last year around this time. We went to the Island Restaurant where they served us a whole turkey, carved at our table with all the trimmings and then bagged all the leftovers to take home with us for Turkey sandwiches the next day.

Now for all the boring stuff! I can't believe that we have been gone for almost a month. Soon we will be thinking of flying home for Christmas. We still have lots of work to do but it is slowly getting done and we are really not that interested in working everyday, all day. We have a new water heater on order and it should be here by next week so have removed the old one in the meantime so we are back to heating water on the stove for dishes. We are lucky to have the small apartment where we can have hot showers so we are really not roughing it while we wait. Bruce has golfed a couple of times and gone out fishing once. We are walking or riding our bikes everyday and enjoying the warm weather and reconnecting with friends. In the next week or so we will head to Ft. Lauderdale to visit with another friend who is here from New Zealand and hopefully get some Christmas shopping done. It is hard to get in the Christmas spirit here but will still have time to shop when we come home. That's all for now, will blog again when I have more bad news!!

On the water again

We arrived back in Marathon on Monday evening, November the 2nd. We had a long day as we stopped in Ft. Lauderdale to pick up our bottom paint from a friend of Bruce's who drove it down, stopped for dinner and then did a bit of shopping at the Outlet Mall! Our friends Pat and Addison from Three Penny Opera where here to meet us so they came up to the apartment for a visit and we did a lot of catching up!

The boat looked good when we did a quick check on it the next day and after a good washing and a coat of bottom paint, it was ready to splash once again for another year. I wish I could say that the launch was uneventful but as luck would have it, that was not the case! Actually the launch went well but the trip back to our slip did not. Pat and Addison were waiting for us to arrive to catch some lines and help us in, thank goodness, as we usually are on our own! On the trip over, Bruce noticed that the engine was not running well, not a good thing when you do not have any sails on yet! As we were limping along, we called Addison and Pat to come out in their dinghy to assist us if needed. It wasn't long after that, that the engine conked out completely and Bruce was unable to restart it! Now the wind had picked up considerably and we immediately began to drift towards some other pilings close to shore. Just our luck that there is a late hurricane approaching and that was giving us very windy conditions. Pat and Addison managed to make it in just in time before we were on top of them and grabbed our bow line to pull us away. Now imagine this, they are in a little dinghy with a 9.9 engine and we are in a 22 ton sailing vessel, not an easy task for them! Needless to say after a lot of scrambling and much discussion and yelling of directions, we managed to pick up a mooring ball, just in time we were fast approaching a navigational marker! This also attracted the attention of another small boat who also came to our assistance!
Once we were safely secured on the ball, Bruce went to investigate and realized that the bleed screw to the engine was loose. This was allowing too much air to get into the engine. He tight ed the screw, ran the engine for 5 minutes and we continued on to our dock, whew, definitely tooo much excitement for one day!

We are now safely on our dock and have stopped all work for the day. Tomorrow we will get an early start as Bruce did try to start the air conditioners and the pump had seized once again! We thought we had this problem solved this year. We will spend another night in the apartment and hopefully will be on the boat tomorrow night. Never a dull moment in the land of Bruce and Esther's sailabout! Oh yeah forgot to mention between all of this, Lindsay called to say that our new furnace that we had installed right before we left, had stopped working! She managed to handle that one and the house is warm once again. Apparently it was a loose wire!

We are now back in Nassau and planning our return trip to Florida. We knew when we arrived here that we would be here for at least a week as the long range forecast called for 5 days of strong winds and high seas. We could have stayed in the Exumas to ride it out but knew that we would be stuck in an anchorage with very little to do whereas being stuck in Nassau offered much more in the form of entertainment. On the Southbound trip, we stopped in Nassau but only for 2 nights and really did not get much time to see the sights and explore the area.

My last blog had us leaving the Exuma land and Sea Park and heading towards Staniel Cay where we would meet up with Brad and Anita Taylor for a few days. We decided to stop in Sampson Cay as we needed to do some laundry, get fuel and fill up the water. It was a great spot to stop as the anchorage was close to the marina, the island was beautiful and it had a great restaurant. One on the hardest things for me on this trip is finding a place to get the laundry done. Most islands do not have any facilities unless you stay in an expensive marina and then you still have to pay for the laundry. Staniel Cay does not even have laundry so that was not even an option. Some islands have laundromats but they are few and far between. It was great to be able to do the laundry at Sampson Marina as most marinas will not let you use the laundry or even walk around the island if you are not a guest at the marina. Not only could I get the laundry done, but I could have lunch out at the same time which was an added bonus. We enjoyed it so much we booked dinner reservations as well. What a great day! This was also the first time we would see nurse sharks close to shore as well as Stingrays. When we returned for dinner, some fishermen were cleaning their fish and throwing the guts and heads into the water. This attracted close to 15 nurse sharks! (pictures to follow)

Staniel Cay was our next stop and we got there only one day ahead of Brad and Anita. It was great to have some company on the boat especially since they stuck to our 5 day maximum stay rule! The weather was of course windy the day they arrived and it didn't take us too long to realize that getting them and all their gear back to the boat was not going to be pretty! Brad took control and before we knew it, he had commandeered a bigger boat to take them to our anchorage for $20.00. What a deal as he guaranteed that all of their gear would be dry when they got there! It was like having Christmas all over again as they managed to bring us treats, steaks, pork tenderloins as well as vitamins and batteries that were hard to find down here. They certainly went home with a lot less stuff than when they came! We ate, drank and had fun for 4 days. We won't mention the Euchre tournaments that Anita and I let the guys win! The highlight, for us anyway, was snorkeling the Thunder ball Grotto, a spectacular sky lit underwater cave featured in several Hollywood films. This was one of the best places we had ever snorkeled and we managed to go twice with Brad and Anita and Bruce and I went again on our return trip. I think being on the boat for a few days also gave our company some insight into the life of live aboard cruisers and dispelled the myths that life on board is all sugar and spice!

The weather improved as the week wore on and the day that Brad and Anita left was probably the nicest day we had since they came, of course! We managed to get all the gear in our dinghy and because the weather was calmer, everything arrived on shore dry. Another weak cold front was supposed to move in the next day so we decided to stay one more day at Staniel and then head straight to Georgetown as we only had a short window after that to get there as you have to go out to the Exuma Sound a deeper more exposed side of the Exumas. In order to get out to the sound side, you have to go through a cut. Many of these cuts are narrow and treacherous with lots of current running through them. They can also be quite rough if you try to go out with the tide against the current. Ideally the weather should be calm and you should try passing through them at slack tide. We decided to go out Big Rock Cut just North of Staniel Cay and take the Sound side all the way to Georgetown in one day as our weather window was short and if we missed it, we would have to forget about going to Georgetown as it would be just too rough for the next week.

Georgetown is a place most cruisers love or hate. We weren't sure what to expect as we had heard so many conflicting opinions. We happened to arrive in Georgetown at the beginning of March Cruising Regatta This is 10 days of various events in which 300 to 400 boats participate! It is all organized by the cruisers and if you wish to get involved is tons of fun. Each morning at 0800 there is an organized cruisers net on Channel 68 on your VHF giving you news, weather and announcements on all the upcoming events. Since it was Regatta week, there were more events than usual. The anchorage is long and narrow and has numerous areas where these events take place. Since it was our first time visiting, it was a bit confusing as to where each event would be. The weather was terrible, winds over 25 knots each day which made getting in and out of the dinghy difficult, and each trip in the dinghy very very wet! Di spite the awful conditions, we managed to get involved in a few activities and had lots of fun. Many of our friends were there which made it even more enjoyable. We were busy from morning til night and decided that it was even more exhausting than having company! The Regatta started out with a boat parade, which was quite comical as 4 boats actually grounded during the parade and had to be towed off. There was a day of registration where you could team up with other crew members and register for things such as dinghy scavenger hunts, dinghy coconut harvest, tennis, golf, beach volleyball, Texas holdim tournament, bridge and trivial pursuit tournaments as well as baseball with the cruisers against the locals. This was a great way of meeting other cruisers and have fun at the same time! We registered for some activities, had fun watching some others (especially the baseball game) and Bruce even came in first in the Golf turnament and won himself a bottle of rum and a regatta burgie. We decided we really liked Georgetown as long as we didn't stay too long as it could become very exhausting!

We left Georgetown before the end of Regatta and before we were totally burnt out and started to head North again after many months of heading South! It turned out to be a good thing as we have been sailing instead of motoring ever since! The cold fronts have been getting fewer and further apart and the days have been getting warmer and longer. We decided as we headed North to stop in some spots that we missed when we made a beeline for Georgetown. Our first stop was Little Farmers Cay. We had heard from other Cruisers that there was a great restaurant there that you should not miss. The entrance is really shallow and as we approached the island, we started to wonder if we were crazy as we were sometimes in less than 6 feet of water and we need 5 feet. We managed to squeak in after hitting only one speed bump! We had radioed the restaurant earlier in the day to make a reservation and at that time had to pick our meal without seeing a menu! Bruce chose the Grouper and I the Lobster and both of us did have the best meal we have had since coming to the Exumas. (in a restaurant that is as we always have great meals on board!)

We also really enjoyed the Land and Sea Park so decided to stop at another Island in the Park and stay for a couple of days. We chose Cambridge Cay as we heard that the snorkeling was good with many different areas to explore by dinghy. We were now travelling with our friends from New Zealand on Sequel 2 and other friends from Burlington, Ontario on Muskoka Moon. There are mooring balls here also and when Sequel went to pick one up, the line got caught in their bow thruster. Bruce grabbed his snorkel equipment and went over to help. As with most problems on the water, other boaters are always ready to assist in any way they can so this problem attracted many other dinghies ready to help. One person on their dinghy recognized Bruce from Nettles Island where we had stayed last year for 6 weeks. It was Mike and Karen from the boat
Exodus. It was great to see them and get caught up with what was happening in their life. Once again, it is a small world! The snorkeling was again wonderful but a bit further from the anchorage and with our 2.5 horsepower engine, it tends to take us a while to get anywhere. We may be looking for a bigger engine and dinghy next year!

We were running out of time with our friends from New Zealand so decided to leave for Norman's Cay as they had a restaurant where we could all go to for a farewell dinner with them before they left to sail back to Florida and then fly back to New Zealand. What we didn't know until we got there was that they were closed on Mondays and guess what day it was! We are boaters however and that means that we have to be flexible as every plan is subject to change. We spent our last night on Sequel and watched them leave the anchorage the next day at 0700. We will miss them but are sure that our paths will cross again in the near future.

We had one last stop before Nassau that we wanted to make so after exploring Norman's Cay and Norman's Pond with Muskoka Moon, we headed to Highbourne Cay. Highbourne is a private island with only one marina on it and only guests staying at the marina are allowed to walk around the island or use any of the facilities of the marina. We anchored off a beautiful beach and dropped the dingy to do some snorkeling and lobster hunting. To find out how successful we were, you will have to look at the pictures to follow! As we were heading in from our snorkel trip, a very large (over 100 ft.) yacht by the name of "Bad Girl" was motoring into the anchorage right behind us. The next thing we knew their dinghies were landing on the beach setting up tents, lawn chairs, lights and barbecues for a beach party they were planning that night for their "guests" on board. We also had "guests" on board for dinner that night as it was going to be our last evening with "Muskoka Moon" before we would head back to Nassau and they would head back to the Exuma Land and Sea Park again. After we had eaten and were sitting in the cockpit, fireworks started going off on the beach for about 15 minutes! What a great show and very unexpected on a deserted beach in the Exumas! We later radioed the Skipper thanking him for the light show and after talking to him and telling him we were the Canadian boat in front of him, he informed us that his "guests" were also from Canada, of course he failed to mention their names. I informed our guests not to expect fireworks each time they came for dinner or a visit!

We are now anchored right across from Atlantis and in front on a restaurant called the "Green Parrot". The anchorage has been great except that they have live music every Friday night and it goes on until the wee hours of the morning which is not so great but hopefully we will be gone before next Friday night, In the meantime, we have been busy playing tourist and visiting again with Heather, her husband Mark and their family. We have walked all around Paradise Island and the beautiful Atlantis Resort, eaten at numerous restaurants and plan to explore the downtown area where all he Cruise Ships dock. Everyday there are at least 2 cruise ships in and many times as many as 4 or 5. Nassau has been quite the change from the relatively quiet, uninhabited Exuma Island Chain! Heather and Mark have been great hosts and have opened their home to us to do such dreaded chores as laundry. They are here if we need anything at all and more than happy to chauffeur us around so we can get the things we need that are too hard to do without a car. We are still planning on leaving on Friday or Saturday. Each day has been very windy so may have to wait for the seas to calm down a bit. There are many people hear waiting to do the same trip as us so we should have lots of "buddy boats"!

We are now in Cat Cay waiting to cross the Gulf stream to Miami. I never did get to post this blog before we left Nassau as the Internet was down the last couple of days at the Green Parrot. A bit disappointing but that is just how it is in the islands. On our last day in Nassau, I went to Bruce's cousin Heather's house to have lunch with a few of her friends, get a pedicure, do some laundry and get a few groceries. We had a great day and then we were to meet up with Mark and Bruce for dinner later. Heather brought me back to the boat with the groceries and we were sitting having a drink and deciding where we were going to go for dinner. Mark was too busy to join us as he had a work proposal to finish before Friday and it was not yet finished. We usually like to be on the boat around 4 to 5 p.m. as the current changes about then and the boats all seem to swing differently and sometimes get very close together. We had been anchored in the same spot for a week and felt fairly secure that we would not move as we felt the anchor had been well set with all the high winds that we had all week. This was not in fact the case as this time we seemed to be getting quite close to the boat behind us. This had never happened before so we were paying close attention to it. At first we thought it had to be the other boat that was coming towards us. Before we knew it, we were fending the boat off and trying to put fenders between us. There was no one on the other boat so we were not too sure what to do. As we were contemplating our choices, a man showed up to let us know that the people on the boat were not in town and that he was watching the boat for them. We realized that it was in fact our boat that had drifted towards them and not the other way around. Thank goodness we were on the boat at the time and not out for dinner! We raised the anchor with some help from another boat who had dinghed over and moved to the other side of the channel for the night. Heather had a little bit more excitement then she bargained for, we decided that it would now be impossible to leave the boat to go for dinner so Heather and I went and got Sushi to bring back to the boat. What a mixed up night!

Our crossing of the Tongue of the Ocean was not great. The winds were, of course, higher than forecasted and the waves were over 6 feet with every 5th or 6th wave 10 to 12 feet. We again anchored on the Banks, something we said we would never do again, and once again had a very uncomfortable night! Never say never! As uncomfortable as the Banks are to overnight, we have had two of our best sails crossing them and had a lovely sail to Cat Cay in 15 to 20 knot winds right on the beam. Today is a down day here as the winds are still high and are expected to be lighter tomorrow so will cross then. Today, hopefully I can get this blog posted at the Marina. This is the prettiest island yet but it is all private so cannot walk around or go to the beach. We can however take the dinghy into the Marina, eat at the restaurant and use their Internet (hopefully it is working) . Hopefully this time tomorrow. we will be back in the States!

We are now on Warderick Wells Cay which is home to the headquarters of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. The Park is 22 miles long and 8 miles wide. It includes 15 large islands and many more tiny ones and its purpose is to provide a safe haven and replenishment area for the wildlife native to the Bahamas and to educate the public in saving this beautiful environment. The water here is pristine and has numerous reefs to explore and snorkel or dive on. Fishing is not permitted in the park and if you hike anywhere, you must remain on the trails. Yesterday we hiked up to the infamous Boo Boo Hill where boaters go and leave mementos from their boats. We placed our homemade boat plaque amongst the hundreds of others that were there. There is also a spectacular blow hole nearby which provided much entertainment to the children hiking with us as well as the adults. We have been following the same route of many other same boats, thus we have gotten to know quite a few of them. We have been busy snorkelling, hiking, visiting during potluck dinners at the Park Headquarters and enjoying happy hours on different boats. We will probably leave tomorrow and head to Staniel Cay where our friends Brad and Anita Taylor will join us for a few days on the boat.

We left Frazer Hog Cay for our last really deep water crossing of the Tongue of the Ocean. After that we would be in the relatively shallow waters of the Bahamas Banks. We headed for Nassau where we would visit with Bruce's cousin Heather, her husband Mark and their 3 children. We stayed at the Nassau Harbor Club as we needed to get fuel, refill our water, do some laundry and re provision the boat. Heather and Mark helped us with all of this as well as having us for dinner one night at their place. Thanks for all the chauffeuring around and all your help! We hope to see them again on the way back and have them all on the boat for a sail and a night on the water. Nassau was certainly a change of pace from the quiet nearly deserted islands that we have visited in the Bahamas so far. We couldn't get over how busy it was. The Bahamas has really suffered the effects of the slowing economy as everywhere we go we have noticed resorts that have closed their doors and the ones that are open, have very little visitors which is a shame as they are so beautiful.

We finally got a weather forecast that gave us at least 3 days of warm weather and light winds so we left Nassau on a beautiful day to cross the Great Bahamas Banks and start our exploration of the Exuma Island Chain. Our first stop would be Allan Cay. We had to pass over the Yellow Banks which is a shallow bit of water with numerous coral heads. When we got there, I went to the bow and watched for coral heads so that I could direct Bruce around them. Before we left Marathon, Addison and Pat Chan on Three Penny Opera had given us a pair of headsets to use to communicate to each other when we were anchoring or needed to communicate with each other when one of us was on the bow and the other driving. This has been the best gift ever as we have used them many times and don't know how we ever managed without them! Thank you, thank you Pat and Addison!

When we dropped the anchor in front of Allan's Cay, we really felt we had arrived. This was our first experience of the inviting clear waters of the Exumas. People have told us how beautiful it is and we have seen pictures of it but nothing compares to actually seeing it. Allans Cay is also home to intriguing prehistoric iguanas. They are protected here and you can go to shore and feed them. As soon as you approach with your dinghy, they come out to meet you. Once or twice each day a fast boat arrives from Nassau filled with tourists who want to come and see the iguanas. You can put food on a stick and they will eat it right off the stick. We spent 3 nights on Allan's Cay before heading to Normans Cay where we would meet up with friends that we had crossed the Gulf Stream with and spent time in Bimini with.

Norman's Cay was very interesting as it had once been under the control of a drug lord by the name of Carlos (Joe) Lehder. Now most of the island is privately owned and it has its own airstrip. It has one restaurant and bar by the name of MacDuffs and to get there you must cross the airstrip making sure to look both ways for landing or departing airplanes! We took a long walk to the top of a hill where there is an abandoned houseboat. Legend has it that this boat used to come and anchor off Norman's Cay and had been warned by the drug lord not to do so. The owner ignored this advice and upon returning to his boat one day discovered it to be gone from its anchorage.

It was later found on the top of a hill!

After 10 days of waiting and hanging out in Bimini, we finally got what we thought was a small weather window to leave. We left Bimini around 11 a.m. with 3 other boats with a plan to stop half way to Chub Key and anchor on the Bahama Banks. We knew that the first 6 miles would be rough but then we would be in much smoother water once we turned onto the Banks. We had one of our best sails ever on Con El Viento as we sailed for about 9 hours straight without ever having to turn on the engine! The winds were behind us which helped to push us towards our destination. The only disappointment was that we never did see the bottom of the ocean. The depth of the water over the banks is only between 14 and 20 feet and because of the clear blue water, people have told us how spectacular it is to be sailing over the banks and be able to spot starfish and other marine life on the ocean floor. Since we were all having such a great sail, we decided to keep going after dark and anchor further than we had planned when we left Bimini, this way we would have a shorter sail the next day to our destination. The winds were also expected to pick up the next day so we figured we could get to our protected anchorage before that happened. Because the banks are so shallow, you can pretty much drop the hook anywhere you choose. You are out in the middle of nowhere and cannot see any land no matter which direction you look. It is a very strange feeling and I was glad that we were with the other boats. The only mistake we made was anchoring on the banks as the waves never settled down and it was quite rough for sleeping. Next time we would probably plan to leave later and sail all night without stopping. This was an option for us but because I hate nighters and had heard how great it was to sail during the daylight hours over the banks, we decided to anchor halfway and sail during the day. We won't do that again as we didn't really get any sleep at night anyway as we were rocking and rolling all night. One of the boats with us broke their anchor chain at 0300 and had to circle around until 0600 when we planned to leave again. Our chain also broke shortly after we went to bed and we had to get up and throw out our secondary anchor. Thank goodness we had a trip line on the anchor and were able to retrieve our brand new anchor once the sun came up the next day and we could see it. Bruce had a heck of a time trying to bring up both anchors.

Our trip from our anchorage on the shallow banks took us through a narrow channel called the Northwest Passage and into the Tongue of the Ocean. The Tongue of the Ocean is a very very deep body of water and we went from clear blue water that was around 30 feet deep to water that was over 1000 feet deep in a matter of seconds. You could actually see the line where the water changes colour to a deep blue and the depth drops off like falling over a cliff. Some areas in the Tongue are over 10,000 feet deep!

By the time we were turning up to where we were going to anchor, the winds had really picked up so we were glad that we had pushed and went further than we planned the first day. We picked up a mooring ball in Frazer Hog Key which is part of the Berry Island Marina. The Marina is about the only thing there is on Frazer Hog. It is run by a young lad named Herbie and a cook by the name of Hilda. On the other side of the Island is Chub Island Resort. A very exclusive, expensive resort and marina. It is too far to walk over to the resort and have not been able to bum a ride over but did talk to one man who got a ride over to get fuel and he told us that it was very dead with very few boats. I have yet to see one boat at the dock in this marina even though we were told when we came in that they had a special on for $1.00 a foot. After a couple of days, we knew why. There is a very strong current running up this channel which makes things a bit uncomfortable at times as the boat doesn't always point into the wind and waves because of the current. The waves hit you from the side causing an annoying rocking from side to side. At night the mooring ball hits the side of the boat for a couple of hours which keeps us awake. I have gotten into the habit of going to bed early, reading for a couple of hours in the night when this happen and then going back to bed again. The first night we were here, on of the boats was anchored and realized in the middle of the night that his rode was wrapped all around the boat and that he was dragging his anchor. He was afraid to start his engine as he wasn't sure if the rode would wrap around his prop. He tried everything to wake the boat beside him as he was slowly drifting his way. By the time they woke us, he was dangerously close to hitting them. He decided to tie a fender on the anchor, cut the anchor loose and pick it up the next day. Luckily this worked and he was able to start his engine without the rode getting caught on his prop. By this time his floodlight had died and he had to try to find the only empty mooring ball in the dark without hitting our boat which he couldn't see too well as our anchor light had burnt out. He has only a 30 foot boat and his girlfriend has only been sailing for 2 months. She had to try to pick up this ball and hold on for dear life as the boat was rocking back and forth. They managed to pick it up only to realize that with all the rocking and rolling, the gas tank had somehow gotten under the plug for their dingy and pulled it out. The dingy was full of water and their engine was almost under water! Joel had to now deal with this emergency! What a night they had, I think Jackie was ready to take the next flight out!

We decided to head into the marina and have lunch. When we got there we were told that there wasn't any power and if we wanted lunch, we had to order it the day before! We ordered lunch for the next day and it was great. The marina has a washer and dryer but we found out that the power is out everyday until 5 p.m. when they start the generator and the place is lit up like a Christmas tree all night. This can't be good for business as most people we see come over during the day and are back at their boats at night. This also means that we have no power for our computers so have to make sure that the battery is fully charged before we bring the computer up to get the Internet. The Internet is not great but we have managed to get our e-mail, check weather and make a couple of calls on Skype. The rest of the day is quite relaxing as it is too rough for fishing and too cold for swimming or snorkeling. I have been reading lots of books and will soon run out of reading material so hopefully we will get out of here soon.

It looks like a nice window is opening up to leave on Thursday and then it should be nice right thru the weekend. We will try to leave then and head to Nassau. We are both looking forward to being in a bigger city, visiting with relatives and other friends we know are there and restocking our fresh food. We have not had bread for a week! Hopefully the next blog will be from Nassau.

Hello everyone, we are now in the Bahamas! Bimini actually and it is as beautiful as everyone said it is. The water colour is an amazing shade of turquoise in the shallower water to a navy blue as the water gets deeper. We left Marathon on Thursday, January 22nd for Rodriques Key. We were not sure when we left if we would cross from there or go further North to a place called Angelfish Creek. It just felt great to be off the dock and moving once again. Once on the hook again, we decided that we would in fact cross from Rodriques, thus taking full advantage of the Gulf Stream and had a very pleasant relaxing day on anchor. Two other boats came in and after talking to them decided that we would all cross together early the next day. We started out at 04:30 happy to have the company of someone else to cross with. We hadn't got very far before we realized that it was going to be an uncomfortable crossing if we continued forward. We decided to turn around and head to No Name Harbor outside of Miami along with one of the other boats instead and wait for better weather. We knew that Rick and Carla from Euphoria were in No Name and we could cross with them when the weather improved. The forecast was indeed better the next day with a lighter NE wind changing to a light East wind. We decided to try it once more with the option again of turning around. The next window would not be until Wednesday of that week so plan B was to head into South Beach and spend a few days there. I quite liked that idea also. We left at 0600 this time which was a bit of a mistake as every fishing boat in Miami also goes out at that time and the wake they create is much worse than anything we could experience in the Gulf Stream!
The first 2 hours were a bit rough but as the winds clocked around to the East, the seas actually became quite flat with waves only about 1 to 2 feet. All in all it was a very uneventful enjoyable crossing except for a small mechanical problem we had about 6 miles out of Bimini. We have always had trouble getting a fan belt for our engine that fits properly and all of a sudden an engine overheat alarm went off. Our fan belt had come off, thus causing the engine to overheat. Bruce changed the belt, let the engine cool down again and we were on our way. We did hear one boat turning around as they were taking on water so we felt lucky that our problem was one that could be easily fixed and that it happened when it did instead of in the small channel coming into Bimini!
We pulled into a dock at Blue Water Resort and Marina, cleared customs without a hitch and now we have begun our Bahamas adventure! There are as many Canadian boats here as there are American boats and we have been busy meeting lots of new friends and catching up with some old friends! Last night we had a big potluck dinner that boaters are famous for having. One of the boats had caught a Mahi Mahi coming over and gave us some to eat and some other boats bought some fresh lobster from a local who also stayed and prepared it for them!
We will probably leave here tomorrow as the weather is suppose to improve for the next couple of days and then another cold front is coming on Friday. We hope to make it to the Berry Islands before that and hide out there before heading to Nassau. We really don't want to be in Nassau over a weekend anyway. We hope to visit with Bruce's cousin Heather, her husband Mark and their 3 children for a couple of days before heading on to the Exuma chain of islands. Not sure when we will have the Internet again, probably not before Nassau. It is better in the Bahamas Dave, and we are having a great time. Talk to you all soon.

Happy New Year everyone! It has been over a month since I have updated this blog but what can I say, time sure flies when you are in the Keys! Hope everyone had a great time over the Christmas holidays. We had a very quiet Christmas and although we had Christmas dinner with friends, Pat and Dave, we missed not being at home (even the snow) and swore that we would never do that again. New Years was a different story as all of the kids drove down to spend a week with us. The gang arrived at 0130 on the 29th of December and we didn't stop until they left on the 4th of January! We had a lot to cram in in a weeks time and wanted to make sure we did as much as we could possibly do! Trevor celebrated his 30th birthday on December 20th and since we missed it at home, we decided to celebrate it one more time in the Keys. We all went to a great restaurant and had a fun night on the 29th of December. The next night we celebrated our Christmas on the boat and then the next night was New Years Eve! We are definitely getting too old for this many celebrations in a row! In between the night celebrations, we managed to fit in snorkeling trips, dive trips, golf games, beach volleyball games, pool time and a day in Key West. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time they left but happy to have all the great memories of a wonderful time!





After the kids left, we had a visit from Dave and Judy Burns. They have a place rented in Ft. Lauderdale for 3 months but couldn't get it until the 7th of January so they came the 5th and stayed 2 nights. It is always great to see friends from home and we took the opportunity to have Dave and Pat over for dinner so we could all catch up on the news from home and the happenings at PCYC .





We are now planning our trip to the Bahamas and hope to leave in the next couple of days. We had hoped to leave last week after a short trip back to Mississauga, but the weather window was too short and we were not comfortable with it, so we signed up for another week at the resort. It has turned unseasonably cold here with temperatures at night dipping into the low 40's . Very unusual for Florida and the folks around here really don't like it much! The weather is suppose to improve as the week goes by and the winds are suppose to turn around and be from the South on Sunday and Monday. We will probably leave here on Friday to head North for a couple of days to position ourselves for an easy crossing to Bimini. We stopped at Costco on our way back from Mississauga and now have a well stocked pantry. Bruce has been busy getting the boat ready for the Bahamas. There is a lot to think about as it will not be as easy to get thinks fixed or to get spare parts once we leave Florida for the Bahamas. Once we start travelling again, I hope to post blogs move often to keep all of our friends and family up to date especially since we will not be able to call home as often as we have. We are also getting really spoiled but being on a dock for so long. We will have to get used to conserving water, fuel and power once we are in the Bahamas. Things are about to change but we look forward to the next adventure and hope to have lots of pictures and stories to share with all of you in the near future. We will miss all of our new friends here in Marathon but know that we will hopefully see them all again in the Spring or next Fall.

Blair and Lorie's new Morgan, they will be heading to Cuba next weekend.

Friends around the dock!

After being away from the boat for 6 months, there is always a transition period where you have to readjust to once again living aboard a boat and spending most of the day with your spouse. This is not always easy but eventually you do and you get used to the bad habits (and sometimes annoying habits) you have picked up by being a landlubber for the last 6 months. I am happy to report that I think we have finally done so (although I still haven't gotten Bruce to hang up his wet towel yet!) He is not writing this or I am sure he would be adding his two cents also, but I am not going to let him!
When we first arrived, most of the other boaters were live-a-boards that either worked in town or spent most of their day at the local pub with their dog and a cigarette in their hands. We really didn't have much in common and had a difficult time meeting new boaters. One day while listening to the Cruiser's Net, Bruce heard a gentleman by the name of Tom looking for other people to join him and go diving. He thought this sounded like a good idea as our boat was not ready to take out yet and he was anxious to get diving again. We tried to meet up with him before going out, but that didn't work out (big mistake), Tom said he didn't mind picking us up as we also had not got our dinghy in the water yet. We hadn't gotten very far in the dinghy when he started to tell us that he was short on cash and had to find a way of making some money as he had lost his check book (we found out later that his check book was his last girlfriend). He then told us that he would like to charter his boat but was having a hard time getting the appropriate licences as he was bipolar and on medication. This was looking more and more like a bad idea! As we were getting out of the dinghy and onto his boat, he told us that we would have to take our shoes off, which we didn't mind until we got on to the boat and saw that the boat was filthy! At this time I was glad that I told him we would bring lunch instead of taking him up on the offer of pea soup that he had made the day before and was still sitting on the stove and remained there all day. He started the engines and told Bruce to throw off the bow line. When he put the boat in gear, I heard him say "that doesn't sound good" and when he tried to put move forward, we didn't move at all except to drift toward another boat. We fended off the other boat and picked up another mooring ball. Tom jumped into the water to check out the problem only to return to say that he would have to put on his scuba gear as the prop was covered in barnacles. We finally got off again and decided to go out Sister's Creek as it would save us some time and it was high tide so we wouldn't have a problem getting out that way. Both Bruce and I told Tom at different times that he could not head straight to the entrance of the Creek as there was a very shallow shoal that we would have to go around first but he assured us he had the depth sounder on and he was in lots of water. I guess you already know what happened as our day just kept getting better and better. We were now hard aground and could not get off by ourselves, we had to call Boat U.S. to come and tow us off. Our day did manage to get better and Bruce did get out diving but we will certainly think twice again before we commit to a day on the water with a stranger!
By the end of November many of the Snowbirds started to arrive along with some friends that we had met last year. It was nice to meet other sailors that were on their boats because they wanted to be, were anxious to meet other sailors and were interested in travelling to other areas. Soon all the docks will be full here with the arrival of our friends Kent and Linda from Ottawa and Pat and Addison from PCYC. The meet and greets have started over at the city marina and we have met other Canadians from Penetanguishene and Manitoba. We have finally got the boat ready to sail and will probably go out for the first time this week as the weather is supposed to hit 80 degrees again by midweek but then turn cooler again by Thursday. We have again been having trouble with our dinghy engine and Bruce has spent many hours working on it with lots of advice from the local inflatable boat dealer. The salt air along with the ethanol in the fuel causes the carburetor to gum up and then the engine will not run. The latest piece of advice from the mechanic at inflatable boats was to boil our carburetor for 20 minutes every three months (seriously). We tried this and it has been running better than it ever has!
The fisherman next door is back finally so we now have a constant supply of freshly cleaned Mangrove Snapper anytime we want. This makes Bruce really happy! Many of the restaurants here are feeling the effects of the poor economy and are offering $5.00 lunches which are just great as you can't even eat at McDonalds for that! This really makes me happy as it means less cooking yeah!
There is less than 3 weeks left before Christmas and we are really having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. It just doesn't seem right to have warm weather and palm trees at Christmas. We have not even started to decorate our boat and have not gotten a tree yet. We did go to see Four Christmases this weekend so that helped get me motivated a bit . One thing that I am not missing however is the crowded shopping malls. We move over to Sombrero Resort next week so am looking forward to using the pool and tennis courts. All of the kids are coming down for a week over New Years and we are really excited about having everyone together for a whole week. Not sure what our plans are over Christmas yet but this will probably be the last blog until after New Years. We are anxious to get on the move again and it is looking more and more like the Bahamas in January but like all of our plans this is subject to change at any time!
Bruce and I would like to wish all of our family. friends and anyone else that follows our blog a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

On the boat again

As most of you already know, we are once again continuing our voyage on Con El Viento. We left home on November 3rd for a much easier and quicker trip by plane to Ft. Lauderdale. After a brief stop in Ft. Lauderdale to pick up our bottom paint which arrived by car courtesy of a friend of Bruce's who drives down each year and spends the winter there, we were once again on our way to Marathon. As we headed South to the Keys, we both felt that it seemed like only yesterday that we had put the boat away for the summer. We were never more acutely aware of how quickly time really does pass by!



We spent the first 4 nights staying with Gale and Mary, friends that we rent our dock from in Marathon, and after spending so much time in their spacious brand new house, I wasn't sure how I was going to adjust to the confines of the boat again!



When we summerized the boat in April, we left it thinking that we would probably return once or twice during the summer to check on it but those plans never materialized therefore we were very anxious to get on board and to see how it had summered! There were a few surprises but all in all the boat did not look too worse for wear. We have already started a list of things to do differently when we put the boat away for next summer. The real test would be done once it was put in the water and we could check all of the systems that couldn't be started until then. Since we were not allowed to do any work on our boat in the yard, we had a fairly easy first few days as the bottom was painted and then dropped in the water by Marathon Boat Yard. We were happy with their service but found their prices a bit high so will probably check out a couple of other yards next year, especially those that let you do your own work on your boat. Once the boat was in the water, our work began and we had a very busy week ahead of us.



Once the batteries were charged, the engine started the first time and we left for our dock at Gale and Mary's. The first order of business was to start up the air conditioning as it was stinking hot and anyone that knows us, knows how much we love our air conditioning! Without it, we would be miserable . Unfortunately, it didn't work. The pump had seized and had to be taken out and fixed. As it was an old style pump, it weighed a ton. Bruce was not doing any heavy lifting as he had hernia surgery before coming down, so it was up to me to help him get it out and fixed. We lubricated the pump and got it working again but had to put it in twice as the first time we reinstalled it, we screwed up the electrical. This job took all day to fix but we now have air conditioning, yeah!



The first few days flew by as we plugged away at all the chores that had to be done, the boat had to be cleaned, inside and out, the new enclosure put on, the sails brought in for repair, everything had to be unpacked again and put away, beds had to be make up, suitcases unpacked, food had to be purchased, barbecue and instruments had to be reinstalled, systems had to be checked and the list goes on and on! We were so overwhelmed at first we didn't know where to start but eventually you get through it. Each task seemed to take longer than planned, not one thing seemed to go off without a hitch and everything cost more than we planned. Some would say "that's boating", but it can be very frustrating at times. There is still work to be done but we are not feeling so overwhelmed anymore and we are now working at a slower pace.



Talk about costing more than we planned, since we had to have our sails checked over and a few minor repairs done, we called around to a couple of different places. Most had gone out of business and there was only one place that would do work on sails. After telling us that she charges $100.00 an hour and if we didn't like that we would have to take them to Ft. Lauderdale, we had no other choice but to leave them with her. The bill was $500.00 dollars for work that would have cost us at the most $200.00 at home! I also decided to have our comforter dry cleaned as according to the tag, it could not be washed. I sent it with Bruce when he was out doing some errands and asked him to drop it off at the cleaners on his way. He returned with the comforter as apparently they wanted $95.00 to clean it! Even to him that seemed a bit steep! I threw it in the washing machine as I didn't really have anything to loose and it came out beautifully! We also had to purchase a new starting battery, ours was 8 years old so it was due, and the pump to our forward head had to be replaced. We were glad to have the car for a week with all the running around that had to be done.



We are now settling back into our routine of coffee and a bike ride in the morning. It feels good to be back and hope to start up our social life again after a week or so of solid work! We still haven't put the sails on as Bruce should not be doing any heavy lifting for another week or so, but once they are up, we look forward to getting out on the water for the first time. We are just about ready for company, any takers?? our plans are to stay here until around the 15th of January and then who knows...

We are now in our final week of our 11 month adventure and it is hard to believe that it is coming to an end. It seems really strange to be preparing the boat for summer storage instead of winter storage. We are newbies at this so we have been trying to gather as much information that we can on the best things to do to prepare your boat for the summer sun, high heat, and hurricane season! The last thing we want is to come back in the fall to a real mess. The sails are now down, the dinghy is out of the water and we continue each day doing a few things towards getting the boat ready for Monday's haul out. This will also be my final blog entry for this season. I have never been a journal keeper or enjoyed writing much so I have to say that I am glad to stop for the next few months! I am proud of myself to have kept it up all year and hope that you all have enjoyed sharing the adventure with us.

We have really enjoyed our time in Marathon and have made some great new friends with whom we have shared some wonderful times with. We had been out to Sombrero Reef 3 different times snorkeling and diving. Once on Euphoria with Rick and Carla and twice on our boat when Leanne came to visit. We had quite the exciting day with Rick and Carla. We had decided to go diving early so that we would be sure to get a mooring ball and also because Rick rented his equipment so we wanted to make sure we had lots of time as the equipment had to be returned by 6 p.m. Rob and Susan from Mandate were also joining us so the boat was very full with 6 people, 3 who had all of their diving equipment and the rest of us with all of our snorkel gear and food etc. We managed to get it all loaded by shortly after 9 a.m. and quickly got off our mooring ball. As we were motoring very slowly out of the harbor and picking our way around all of the other boats, we somehow got into shallow water and you guessed it, grounded ourselves. This was really quite funny as we had often joked about the first time we had talked to Rick and Carla was when they were hard aground along the ICW. After that first day, it seemed everyday that we talked to them or saw them, they were once again on the bottom or had been on the bottom at some point in that day. It got to be a daily ritual and we often joked about it with them so it only seemed right that the first time we went out with them that we were stuck in the muck so to speak. They knew just what to do and there were lots of other boats around to help us out, but no matter what we did or how hard we tried, we just couldn't get free. We had resigned ourselves into thinking that we would have to wait for the next high tide which was about 4 hours away and started to get the cards out when all of a sudden we looked like we were moving and sure enough, we were free at last. Our diving day was not ruined after all and we had a fantastic day even though it was shorter than we hoped for!

Here we all are trying everything we possibly could to get the boat off the bottom!

Bruce (the heaviest) on the boom!

Susan hanging off the side

Highlights of the last month have been a visit for a long weekend by Bruce's daughter Leanne, lunch with some old friends from Naples Stefanie and Jim Curland (Bruce and I worked with Stefanie at Nordair and Canadian and they are now living in Naples Florida), a visit from Bob and Mardi (Salty Lady) who drove down from Nettles Island for a visit and stayed overnight, many potluck dinners with our friends Rob and Susan (Mandate), Norm and Paula (Madame) and Rick and Carla (Euphoria), bocce ball tournaments, baseball games (apparently I was the best 2nd base player they ever had, maybe the years of playing catch with my now brother-in-law finally paid off, who would have guessed!) and last but not least eating lots and lots of fresh fish caught by the owners of the boat beside us, Chuck and Barbara.

As much as we have enjoyed the last year, I am really looking forward to becoming a landlubber again for a few months. Bruce is looking forward to improving his golf game in the coming months and I am looking forward to long, hot showers, a toilet that never has to be pumped out, doing laundry whenever I want and only one load at a time, a dishwasher and spending time with my friends and family again. I am not looking forward however to driving again in traffic, yard work, having to wear makeup and do my hair every day and just generally the rat race of city life again! I am sure that when November comes around, we will be ready to continue our life as cruisers once again.

Out for a day of diving with Leanne and Bruce

Visit with Bob and Marty (Salty Lady)

A great catch of Tuna

Chuck and Barbara (boat next to ours)

Dolphin

Bruce was washing the boat one day and left the hose over the side while scrubbing off some dirt, you can image his surprise when he went to pick it up and a manatee was beside the boat having a drink of fresh water!

Big smile for the camera! I think he was pretty happy to have gotten some fresh water.

Some pictures of our last week in Marathon, lots of get togethers to say goodbye to all of our new friends!!

Mary and Gale's new house on Sister's Creek. Picture is of Mary and Dave though, don't know where Gale was at the time.

A very fun evening of dinner and dancing at a great Italian Restaurant! Ken and Angela won the prize for being the best dancers. Bruce and I realized after seeing all of the great dancers that we should probably take some dance lessons before next year. This place was like dancing with the stars there were so many great dance couples.

Time sure has a way of flying by! I can't believe that we have already been in Marathon for over a month. I thought that by now we would have been getting a little bored with sitting in one place and that the time would seem to go a little bit slower but so far that has not happened. It is hard to believe that in a little over a month, we Will be putting the boat away for 6 months. It really seems surreal looking back at how quickly the year has gone by, but then I think of how much we have done in the last year and it seems we have done sooo much in only one year!
When I was home at the end of February, I talked to our neighbors Casy and Nancy and they told me that they were heading to Marco Island in Florida in March. I mentioned that if they had a chance, they should drive down for a visit. Sure enough, we received a phone call that they were going to take a drive down and have lunch with us! It was great to see them along with their friends who they were visiting in Florida. I only wish they could have stayed a little longer with us. It was a long day for them as the drive here from Marco Island is over 3 hours! Lindsay however missed them at home as Casy has been helping her keep our driveway shovelled and there was quite a bit of snow while they were gone so........ she actually had to do it herself! (Can't believe that I forgot to take a picture of them on the boat!!)

Bruce joined the golf course here for a couple of weeks (thanks to our friends Dave and Pat who are members) and has golfed a few times. We have seen Pat and Dave a couple of times since we have been here and look forward to spending more time with them before we leave but with their busy social life and our busy boating life, it can be difficult to schedule a time!

Great dinner at Dave and Pat's!!

Our friends from Ottawa, Kent and Linda, took possession of their new 41 foot PDQ power cat and called to say they were heading to the Keys for the March break along with their daughter Sophie. Bruce's sister and brother-in-law also arrived the day after Kent and Linda so we all got to spend some time together. We had a great time and a very busy few days! Kent and Linda had us all for dinner and invited us out for a day of snorkeling on the Sombrero Reef. It was Bettyann's first time snorkeling and we were all amazed at how well she did! It is never too late to try new things and she had lots of fun and was quite proud of herself. It was a treat to be on a catamaran as it is a lot easier to get in and out of the water with all your gear. Thanks Kent, Linda and Sophie for a great day!

Bruce's school of snorkeling

Tons of yellow tail snapper
The proud skipper and his crew!
First and second mate (Linda and Sophie)

They say that it never rains but it pours and it was very true this week. For months we have been following Rick and Carla on a boat called Eurphoria. We have talked to them on the VHF many times, followed them while travelling in the ICW and talked to them often by phone, but as Bruce puts it, have never touched them! We have been trying to meet up and have a chance to meet them in person and you guessed it, this week they pulled into Boot Key Harbor and we finally got the chance to meet them. It felt like we already knew them and since we had already been planning a fish fry on our boat with Kent, Linda, Sophie, Ray and Bettyann, we invited Rick and Carla to join us. Bruce ordered 5 lbs of fresh mangrove snapper from the fisherman next door, who catches it in the morning, cleans it when he gets back and hands it over the fence to us. It doesn't get much fresher than that! Rick and Carla will be staying here for a month so we should have lots of time to get to know them better.

Kent, Linda and Sophie
Bettyann and Ray
Rick and Carla (Euphoria)

We had a great week with Bettyann and Ray. Bruce and Ray golfed at Sombrero Golf Course, we spent a day in Key West, visited the beach, ate at a few restaurants in town and of course shopped a bit! Bruce, Ray and Bettyann also golfed at a par 3 course in Key Colony which I think was the first time that Bruce ever golfed with his sister! Not sure if she beat him or not??

My sister and her husband were suppose to come from Denver for Easter but unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute. Neil was coming to Miami on business and they hoped to stay for the weekend and drive to the Keys. Neil's meeting in Miami ended up getting cancelled and so did the rest of the weekend. We were quite disappointed but there is always next year!

Jim and Karen left yesterday morning so we are once again on our own. We have been travelling with them for almost 6 months so it seems quite strange to look out and not see their boat close by. They too will be by themselves for a couple of weeks until they meet up with the other 2 boats in Georgia.

We are now in the final weeks of our trip and I am sure that they will fly by. We are looking for a couple of boats that will be visiting us in April. One from Naples, Florida who we have not seen for quite a few years but all worked together at Nordair and then Canadian. They hope to be hear around the 2nd or 3rd of April. Our friends, Bob and Mardi, hope to be here around the second week in April when they get back from the Bahamas. It will be great to hear all about the Bahamas from them. Bruce's daughter, Leanne, is coming the weekend of the 4th of April to do some diving with her dad, so before you know it, the month will be over, the boat put away and we will be back home once again for the summer.

Happy Easter everyone!

We have made it to Marathon, Fl. It was somewhat of a milestone when we set our anchor just outside of Boot Key Harbor on the West side of Boot Key. We had always said when we left home in June that we hoped to make it as far as Marathon so when we actually arrived we felt like we had accomplished what we set out to do this year and if we never went any further, we would be happy!
We left our anchorage in Biscayne Bay after a nice week not only weather wise but also fun spending time around the South Beach area of Miami and visiting with Dave and Judy and Kent and Linda. By the time we left our anchorage the boat was in need of a good wash, the water tanks needed refilling and the head needed to be pumped out. We found out that you could go into Miamarina at Bayside and pay a flat fee of $25.00 for a 3 to 4 hour stay. We decided to do that and spent a good part of the morning working at cleaning the boat and getting it ready again for our next leg of the the trip. Bruce and I also fit in a trip to Starbucks to get on the Internet and check out mail, pay a few bills and make a few skype calls to family and friends. We then treated ourselves to lunch and some shopping before heading back to the boat for a short trip to No Name Harbor in Bill Baggs Park. For some reason right now, I can receive e-mails but neither Karen and I have been able to send any mail. We are working on the problem and hope we can get it fixed soon. In the meantime, we are receiving your e-mails but unfortunately cannot send back a reply!
While heading over to No Name Harbor, we started getting worried that we wouldn't be able to find any room in the Harbor to anchor for the night as we had stayed longer at Bayside than we had planned and it would be getting dark by the time we made it to our anchorage thus leaving us little time to get to another find another before dark. We looked at our charts and found another anchorage close by so decided to stop sooner and avoid the danger of not finding another anchorage before dark. I think it was a smart decision as the next morning when we arrived in No Name Harbor, we found it to be a lot smaller than we pictured it to be and already fairly crowded with boats. By late afternoon, we were all crammed in like sardines and any late comers were out of luck when it came to finding a spot to anchor. It ended up to be a beautiful spot and we decided to get our bikes out and do some exploring. The park takes up 494 acres at the southern tip of Key Biscayne, has a working 19th century lighthouse and one of the top 10 beaches in the U.S. It was a beautiful sunny, hot day and after a great lunch in the harbor we decided to check out the beach. It truly was one of the nicest ones we have been on so far. Because of the natural reef in front of the beach, the water is really calm and there were no pebbles, rocks or seaweed, just a beautiful hard sand bottom! We probably should have stayed a few more days, but we were anxious to make it to the Keys. We weren't sure how we were going to get out early in the morning as the harbor was so crowded that we were sure another boat had to be on top of our anchor. We did however manage to leave without hitting anyone on the way out (mostly due to my good driving abilities).
By that evening, we were anchored beside Key Largo just in front of Rodrigues Key and enjoyed a swim in the blue, clear, warm (27 degrees) water. We decided to stay there an extra day to take advantage of the nice weather and water so Bruce could get his tanks on and clean the bottom of ours and Jim and Karen's boat. As the water gets warmer, we get more and more growth on the bottom of our boat and Bruce could notice that it was slowing us down when motoring or sailing. Jim put on his snorkel and cleaned along the waterline and Karen and I helped from the dinghy. With all of us working, it didn't take long to get the job done and Bruce said it really came off easy just using a brush. We finished just in time for lunch and of course an afternoon nap for Bruce!
We had a great sail the next day on our way to Marathon. It was an easy 50 miles and the wind was from the Northwest. We probably sailed for about 5 hours, which is a record for the last few months!! We were unable to get a mooring ball inside Boot Key Harbor so we anchored on the West side of the island for the night. The next day we took the dinghy into the city marina and put our name on a waiting list for a mooring ball. Unfortunately before we were assigned a ball, the weather turned very windy and it was out of a direction which made it quite uncomfortable on anchor. Since there was no where else to go, we just toughed it out and ended up spending 2 fairly uncomfortable nights with high winds and thunder storms. We got in touch with Dave and Pat (Dragon Wick) and they told us about a friend of theirs that had a couple of docks to rent. She got in touch with them for us and to make a long story short (as Lilliane would say) we are now in front of their house on their dock which is only about 2 doors down from Dockside (the dock we had originally booked for January and February) and have all the amenities we would have in a Marina. The place is fantastic. We have taken our bikes out again and plan to call this home for a couple of months. We were sure glad to get this place but unfortunately not before we lost our anchor again for the second time since we bought the boat, Bruce fell overboard while climbing onto the boat from the dinghy (just a few bruises) and we broke our davits while trying to raise the dingy. It was definitely not one of our better days!
We realized once we were finally settled that Bruce had let his health insurance lapse and the only way to get insurance again was to return to Canada. I was planning on coming home for a few days anyway, as Bruce and a few of the guys were planning a trip to Miami for golf, so we moved our trip up a few days and we both flew home together. I immediately went up to Sault Ste. Marie to see my mom ( who is turning 80 years young on the 28th of February) and we had a good visit and I was able to spend a nice couple of days with her and my sister and take my mom out for her birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!!!
I came back to Mississauga in time to do spend some time with Lindsay and take her shopping for her 20th birthday on March 8! Can't believe my baby is getting so old! I was not able to see too many people as my car broke down and was in the shop for the entire week. They still have it and no word yet on when we will get it back. There is no rush now that we are back on the boat. I met up with Bruce in Ft. Lauderdale on Monday night and we drove back to Marathon together. As I was saying, we will be here now until we put the boat away some time in the second or third week of April. We had planned on leaving for the Bahamas but decided that it would just be too rushed and we didn't think we wanted to do that. We will probably plan 2 to 3 months in the Bahamas next year when we have more time to enjoy it. That decision made, we were able to have some company here. Bruce's sister and her husband are coming for a week in March as well as my sister and her husband are planning on coming for Easter weekend. Leanne hopes to come for a couple of days of diving with her dad and we hope to meet up with friends that are planning on coming to the Keys in March and April. It should be busy and the time will pass quickly. It is hard to believe that we have been on the boat for 9 months already and that we are quickly coming to the end of this adventure. We have pretty much decided to leave the boat here in Marathon for the summer at the Marathon Boat Yard. We now have to figure out how to summerize the boat as opposed to winterizing the boat! Any suggestions or helpful tips are always appreciated! Any visitors are also welcome, just make sure to reserve early as we are already getting booked up!



South Beach, here we come!

Heading into Miami.

Sailing in the Keys!

Need your boat moved to Europe, this is the boat that it will be loaded onto and moved for you!

Private boat docked at someones house, makes ours look really small!

Salty Lady, our friend's boat registered in Sault Ste. Marie. They are in the Bahamas now but hope to meet up with them again in the Keys in April.

Visit with Steve, Shirley, Mark and Carol just before leaving Nettles Island