Fred flies back to Indianapolis for the weekend

After Diane left we were not quite done with Marsh Harbor. I wanted to get back to Indianapolis to attend my godson Davis' First Communion. The whole family was going to be there from around the country and it just didn't seem appropriate for the godfather not to be there.  After a few inquiries on the web I discovered I could use some old frequent flier miles to cover most of the trip so the reservations were made.
 

Marsh Harbor at Sunrise

Just before I left we had to decide to leave Deb alone on the hook or to put her and the boat in a marina. After looking at the forecast for the weekend we decided that the threat of any severe weather was very low. So we saved the stress of getting in an out of the marina a left Deb on the hook. If things did get bad, we had good friends anchored near by that could help in a pinch. The weather turned out to be pretty good and Deb had a safe stay while I had a very good trip back to Indi.

Part of the winch that didn't go over the side

The only problem came while I was gone was when Deb decided to clean our big winches. After two years it was time to take them apart to clean and re-lubricate them. Deb setup a cloth to catch any parts that might try to jump overboard while she disassembled the many pieces of the winch. Unfortunately she dropped one part, a collet, which found the small hole in her part catcher and over the side it went. In most Bahamian anchorages you would go over the side and look for it. Unfortunately, in Marsh Harbor the water is not very clear, so that was not an option.  I made many calls and inquires, since I stateside, but had no luck getting a part by the time I returned. Debbie tried a call on the morning 'cruiser net'. She asked if anyone had a collet for a Lewmar winch. Believe it or not, a boat less than 100 yards away from where Early Out was anchored had the part and was happy to trade for a bottle of wine. Yeah!

Bakers Bay

Before we left the central area of the Abacos,  we decided to make one last stop at Bakers Bay. We had heard about the ruins of a cruise line island we wanted to see. Also, we wanted to pick up a few sea shells at a little cay that was created when they dredged a channel for the cruise ship.  As it turns out, our friends on Yaquina and Victoria also showed up at the anchorage and we had a very nice get together on shore with a couple of other boats.

Resort ruins at Bakers Bay

The ruins turned out to be very interesting. It was quite a nice resort at one point. After being abandoned for several years, the coconut trees and other vegetation was taking over.

After we were done with the resort we dinghied over to 'Sea Shell Island'. This is where the the debris from all the dredging for the cruise ship channel was deposited. Instead of a pile of muck, it was a pile of shells. Millions and millions of little sea shells. You could spend days on this little island sifting through the variety of shells. We brought a few home.

We hadn't done much snorkeling in a while so after consulting the charts we decided to go look for a reef on the ocean side of  the island. After looking around in the look bucket in some rather rough conditions we founds a spot that looked interesting enough to try. Once we jumped in the water we saw it was a very nice reef with trigger fish, grunts and lots of very nice coral. As we swam through a break between two pillars we were startled by close encounter with a large fish. It turn out to be a four foot barracuda who was napping. Once he figured we were just some pesky divers he slowly swam away in the direction we wanted to go. So I figured it would be nice to turn the tables for once. Instead of the barracuda following us everywhere we would follow one of them.

Well we only followed for a couple of seconds when we noticed another larger fish coming from the other direction. Shark! Shark! I yelled. It was about a 6 foot bull shark coming right at us. We quickly turned around and headed back for the dink. It was only 100 feet away but is seemed like a mile. I swam backwards keeping an eye on the shark while Deb made a beeline for the dink. Apparently the shark wasn't hungry enough and he went on his way. But it sure got our attention. I think we are done snorkeling for the day. Next time we take the spear with us. We did hear that that a couple weeks later there were two shark attacks in the area, so our fears were not unfounded.

Transiting the Whale to Green Turtle Cay

One of the unique things about the Abacos is the morning 'cruisers net' on VHF 68. Every morning from 8:15 to 9:00 or later there is chatter on channel 68, which is also the hailing channel in all the major anchorages. You can hear the latest weather, news and local special events information.  One of the segments covers the cuts, breaks between the ocean and banks. The Whale is one of the more popular cuts since almost everyone going back to the states must go through it. So when we were ready to go, we listened to the weather forecast and the 'Whale Report' and headed off for Green Turtle Cay.

On the street at Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay is a little isolated and has a different feel than some of the other islands. The shops are all very clean and the building front all are painted pretty pastel colors and in good shape. It is pleasant to just walk around. Our friends on Sea Gypsy, Miki and Tom, had gotten a late start this year and were just making their way to the Abacos. They we still at Green Turtle when we arrived and it was nice to catch up with them. They highly recommended a little place for lunch called Laura's Kitchen. When we went ashore looking for internet access at the library we discovered that the library did not open until 2:00 PM.  So we decided to have a nice casual lunch. It was very good. Our last taste of conch burgers before leaving the islands. However, when we showed up to the library to try and get a gulf stream analysis off the web, the library was still closed. Apparently they are only open Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It was Thursday and we were very disappointed because we were leaving the next morning and Green Turtle was basically the end of the line for civilization in the Abacos before we hit the states.

Manjack Cay

From our anchorage in Green Turtle we could see our next destination, Manjack Cay. We were told it had some great snorkeling/spear fishing. We left early so we could transit a little passage in the dink between the inside and the outside where the good reefs were located.

We quickly got settled and headed off to the reefs. We put a few marks on the handheld GPS that looked good on the charts to help us find the spots. The first one was a bust. The second one turned out to be very nice. We jumped in the water, spear in hand this time, looking not only for our buddy the shark but also for dinner. We found dinner in no time at all. We had not done any spear fishing in the Caribbean. Up to this point we had been flying through the Bahamas so we hadn't really had the time to search out good fishing reefs.

When we got in the water we were a bit cautious. This means, Fred goes in first to make sure their are not sharks and then we look around a lot while we are in the water. Anyway, we started swimming around the reef and found several good sized grouper and some hog fish. We decided on grouper and after several failed attempts, Fred came up with dinner. After not shooting  the spear for almost a year, it took a few shots to get back into the swing of things. Debbie did the fish cleaning as usual and we had ourselves a fantastic meal.

Powel Cay

Powel Cay looked interesting enough to stop for a few hours to check it out.  We did not get the anchor to set very well in the a somewhat exposed anchorage so we knew that we weren't going to stay the night.  What Powel Cay offered were some trails along with nice beaches on both sides of the island. We were never really 'beach people' but had recently become interested in beach for the exercise from walking them and for searching for hamburger beans. These small seeds that travels oceans from somewhere in South America and land on the beaches in the Bahamas.  The look like a 1" diameter hamburger on a wheat bun. Two brown buns with a black patty in the center. Some our friends have made jewelry with them. They are hard to find. If you do several hour of beach walking you come up with one or two on a good day.

One of the many starfish we found at Powel Cay

So we hiked the nice little trails and walked the beaches. Enjoying having these beautiful beaches all to ourselves and the clear blue water lapping at the shore. And we did find one bean.

Allans-Pensacola

Allans and Pensacola used to be two separate cays until a storm moved some sand around joining them into one. There is nice, somewhat protected cove on the southern side of the island that provides enough room for at least 10 boats. It took a couple of tries to get the anchor set. So once we were done we both went for a swim to check the anchor and do a little bottom cleaning. After our swim and a shower we sat back in the cockpit and relaxed with a rum punch of some sort. It had been a full enjoyable day and the reality that our trip was coming to end was beginning to sink in. So  we were really trying to soak up every sight and sound we could and enjoy every moment in these beautiful islands.

After cocktails we went to the refrigerator for some steaks that had been thawing and put them on the grill. Sitting in the rail seat on the stern of the boat, drinking a cocktail and grilling dinner is very enjoyable indeed. While not looking at the grill, one can look around the anchorage and watch the setting sun on the water. A very satisfying feeling.

Sun setting over the banks near Allans-Pensacola

While looking around I noticed a fin of a large fish on the surface of the water. It was about the size of a dolphin fin, but not the right shape,  it was more triangular. It also did not go up and down like a dolphin does, it just stayed right at the surface.  I called Deb and told her I think there is a good size shark in the anchorage. Since we never had seen one in the anchorage and we were swimming there just and hour or two before, there was some doubt. So we shut off the grill and went forward on the boat to get a closer look. It would appear and then disappear but is was getting closer to Early Out.  It finally swam right along side the boat and sure enough, it was a 6 foot bull shark, wow!

The next day we went to check out the reefs on the ocean side. It was a nice calm day and again I put a few points in the handheld GPS. After a couple of tries we found a nice reef. Of course we were a very aware of our surroundings given our shark sighting the night before. We snorkeled for about an hour and only saw one pesky barracuda which left us alone after having the spear pointed at his head for a short while. The presence of barracuda usually does not bother us. But this guy was less than 6 feet away which is inside our comfort zone for something that had big sharp teeth and could do some serious damage before you even knew it moved.

After our snorkel we found a  fantastic beach and went for a walk. It felt like we were the only people in the world. Not a soul around not even the slightest sign of other humans. It is hard to find that kind of peace and beauty anywhere, at any price.

Moraine Cay

The next day we decided to check out Moraine Cay. It was about 5 miles away which is a little far for a dinghy ride, so we pulled the hook for a day sail over to Moraine. According to the guide book it really was not a very good anchorage so we planned to head back to  Allans-Pensacola after we were done touring the island.

Unique bird on Moraine Cay

Moraine was unique in that there was some development on the island. A little cove had been created with a stone jetty and a good size dock was in place. Also, a couple of houses were in the process of being built. It was a very small island with no great beaches, but we could see why someone would want to build a house here. In the little cove were lots of bait fish. Living off the bait fish were pelicans, gar fish, a unique bird that looked like a heron but had some colorful marking on it and a 5 foot ray. We just sat there for some time watching all the activity in the cove.

Allans-Pensacola to Great Sale

We spent a couple more days in A-P enjoying the beaches and snorkeling until our friends Jim and Loraine on Yaquina joined us. We were planning on crossing over back to the states with them.  The day after they arrived the weather looked good to head over to Great Sale where we would wait for a weather window to go up to Charleston.

The wind was a pleasant 15 knots, but the direction was right on the nose. Since it was only 30 miles to Great Sale, we were in no hurry to get there so we sailed upwind almost the entire way. It was the most fun we had going upwind in a long time. The water was flat and boat was moving well. We did have to tack about 20 times throughout the day, but this is great exercise so we really don't mind cranking those winches.

Great Sale to  Charleston

After talking to Herb, the weather router,  we decided to take a shot at crossing even though the forecast was just a little questionable. Some people like to wait and wait for the perfect forecast. We have a great deal of confidence in our boat and our skills now. So if we do run into some weather we know we can handle it. One of the other boats in the anchorage organized a local net on the radio and we all talked about if we were crossing the next day or not. Of the ten boats on the net only Early Out and Yaquina said they were going the next morning. By late the following afternoon all the boats on the net had left to cross the gulf stream. There are a lot of people that sound very impressive when they talk about the weather. Providing entire analysis of fronts moving and wave heights in the gulf stream and the effect of the jet stream. But when it comes right down to it, if it looks good go. If there is a hurricane coming or some other big weather pattern you'll hear about it.

Our last sunset in the Bahamas with Yaquina in the foreground
 

Our passage to Charleston was uneventful. We sailed for most of the first day and had some fun fishing before we left the banks. The barracudas and sharks were pretty active and all we got mostly was some mackerel heads.

What is left of probably a 24 inch mackerel

Once we got into the gulf stream our speed really picked up. Our strategy was to get to the western edge of the gulf stream and ride it up. It turns east about 80 miles south of Charleston where we get out of it. We found a sweet spot about 10 to 15 miles from the edge that gave us a 4 knot boost! On a long passage like this that is huge. Our friends on Yaquina were without a autopilot so we did the leader thing again. During the night it made it much easier for them to steer by just looking up at our stern light instead of having to stare at the compass constantly. It was a long three days for them, but they were very happy when we arrived in Charleston.

We kept in touch with some of the other boats that left Great Sale the same day we did. On one of the night watches one of the other boats got on the radio and said there was going to be an lunar eclipse. So Deb got out the camera and got some good shots.

Lunar Eclipse while on passage to Charleston

Charleston

We timed our entrance to Charleston well. The current was slightly with us and we were hooked to mooring ball well before the current was pushing hard against us. We went to the City Marina since it is central to everything  and reasonably priced. Our friends on Yaquina called the Customs Office and they offered to send someone out to the marina. This was unusual since the standard procedure was to check-in by phone only with customs and then got to the nearest immigration office to show your face and passport. This is usually the nearest airport which is kind of a hassle when you don't have a car. Anyway, two customs officers met us at the dock and they couldn't have been nicer. The were able to take care of both customs and immigration. Piece of cake. Speaking of cake...

We arrived in Charleston on Debbie's  birthday. Luckily we have some friends, Greg and Carol, that live nearby and they were able to bring a birthday cake! Happy Birthday Deb! We had a nice celebration dinner and some birthday cake for desert. Can't  remember the last time we had cake.
Happy birthday to Deb,  with Carol and Greg

The next day Carol and Greg came out to the boat before we cruised around town to the various boating stores. Shortly before we left Greg and I were out in the cockpit and Greg smelled something funny. I figured it was a big harbor, must have been coming from shore or another boat. Well I looked down at the deck plug where the wires for the wind generator run through and there are sparks and smoke coming from it. I quickly turned off the wind generator. No change, still sparking. Opened the lazzerette to see if something is burning down below, nothing there. Greg pulled the wire out and that should have been the end of it. Well something shorted in the control and meter box and now the full 660 amps from the house battery bank was running through a 12 gauge wire. Needless to say, it vaporized the rubber insulation and turned red hot. Melting everything is touched. The battery shutoff would not stop the current flow. Now smoke was coming out the lazzeret and fire was coming out of the control box. Debbie sprayed the fire extinguisher and I tried to cut the hot wires as fast as I could. As I was hacking away at the wires with a wire stripper I was also looking at our diesel fuel lines. The red hot wire runs right next to them. If I has seen any diesel come out of those lines we were off the boat and that would have been it. Fortunately I got the wires cut after Debbie found my wire cutters and nothing serious happened. But it was very very close. Thank goodness Carol and Greg were on board to help!

We did make some trips to the boat stores, but instead of a few little things we were  making new battery cables and buying new fire extinguisher and another pair of wire cutters!

The control and meter box for the wind generator that caused most of the problems

We had a great time seeing Charleston again with Carol and Greg. I even had a fun run in with Ted Turner. I happened to be at a gas station near the marina where Ted was asking for directions to Beaufort, SC. I just happened to be standing next to him with a Beaufort shirt on that I bought in Beaufort, NC. After he didn't get good directions from the clerk he turned to me and asked if I knew the directions and I told him I have never been there before. So Ted says in an elevated voice so everyone could hear, "What the hell you wearing a Beaufort shirt for if you never been there!". He turned and walked away in disgust as I looked at the clerk, shrugged my shoulders and we both chuckled.

Charleston to Beaufort, NC

For the Charleston to Beaufort leg of the trip our buddy Max  from Cincinnati offered to sail with us on this off-shore leg. Hopefully continuing on to the Chesapeake. It was Max that introduced us to sailing on Brookville Lake which was followed shortly by the purchase of our first cruising boat.

After watching our electrical system closely for a few days we felt comfortable everything was operational and safe with the exception of George. We did not have the new control box yet and we were a little gun shy anyway.  We watched the weather forecasts and shortly after Max arrived we had a window large enough to make it to Beaufort. As it turned out, we ended up motoring most of the way which is not how Max had envisioned his first offshore passage, but as he learned later, it keeps things simple while on watch at night.

We arrived in Beaufort to find the anchorage off of town a little more crowed than we expected. However, we found a spot about a 1/4 mile from the dinghy dock which not too bad in good weather. We set two hooks since the current changes with each ebb and flood. It was a short stop since we had what looked like a good weather window and we moved out to Cape Lookout Bight to make things simple for our exit early in the morning. As it turns out our window closed just enough to convince us to stay at the last minute. The weather on the back end of our window that would greet us on at the mouth of the Chesapeake would have been fairly severe. So we decided to wait it out and we are glad we did. When the front came through Cape Lookout it brought 30+ knot winds and some incredible lightning displays. Nothing we wanted to be out sailing in, or worse yet, off Cape Hatteras.

Some wild horses near Beaufort
 

Cape Lookout to Norfolk

Since we did the trip around Cape Hatteras, aka, Graveyard of the Atlantic,  last year and had such a pleasant experience, we were less intimidated by this dangerous stretch of water. But every time I looked at how there was no place to bail out on the charts, the gulf stream on one side and a land mass with no passable inlets in on the other side,  I knew we wanted to be extra careful on our weather forecasting.

Max with the Cape Lookout Light behind him

On the back side of the front we had some north winds which was the way we wanted to go. So we waited another day and and we still ended up with winds and current on the nose until we  passed Diamond Shoals off Hatteras Light.  Fortunately they weren't real strong, so we were able to make decent time motor sailing. With the main up and tacking a back and forth it wasn't all that bad of a ride. We rounded Hatteras shortly after night fall  so all we got to see of my favorite light house was the light.

Once we rounded Hatteras and headed in a more northerly direction we could actually turn off the engine and sail, yeah!!! Max got his first taste of night watch under sail. It is a wonderful experience but the time always goes quickly since there are many thing to check and watch for.

After a relatively smooth evening sail the sun came out and we had an uneventful last leg up the northern part of the North Carolina coast. We were close enough to hear some of the ICW chatter on the VHF. People looking for a slip in Coinjock or the occasional ugly exchange between a waker and a wakee.

Navy Seal Boat up close and personal

Less than 10 miles before we entered the Chesapeake Bay we saw an ominous looking boat coming at us at high speed. We weren't quite sure what is was but they stop right near us and called us on the VHF. It was a Navy Seal boat ready to do some live ammunition exercises and we were in the wrong place. They told us if we would continue on our course that they would commence firing once we were clear. We were close enough when they start shooting to see and hear the practice. Thank goodness they were firing away from us.

Once we got pasts The Cape Henry Light at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay we got another call from the harbor control tower. All they wanted to do was identify us and make sure we weren't terrorist. Once at the mouth of the bay you think your home but is always amazes me how long it takes to get anywhere you can anchor. We ended of at a new anchorage in Willoughby Bay. We anchored off the Willoghby Bay Marina and used them as a base to work from. We knew Max would have to leave shortly so this was a good place to get him to the Norfolk Airport. After one last night on Early Out and a nice lunch ashore Max headed off to the airport. It was great having him along for this last leg of our adventure.