Basking in the Georgetown Sun

"Lake" Victoria
May 28, 2009

May 26, 2009: We took the dinghy inside Lake Victoria through the narrow opening which only dinghies can access, docking by the Exuma Market.  I made arrangements for us to receive a shipment of mail later in the week.   We explored the rest of Georgetown and  we walked completely around Lake Victoria which is really a pond. I found two laundries 

and we found varying prices of ice from $3.00-4.50 for 10 lbs. We also found a second grocery store about the same size as Exuma Market.  There were several internet places but the best bargain was for $5/day in a green shack.  It also advertised computer repairs and other office services.  There was also a Straw Market

selling hats, T-shirts and trinkets. We had leisurely lunch at the Peace and Plenty Hotel after our walk, but a rainstorm kept there for a while. The conch chowder was excellent;  the Pina Coladas were great again. Marilyn and I "dressed " for dinner.  We had steak, salad and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir wine.  The sunset was beautiful as was the lightning far away. 

May 27, 2009:  We had rain overnight and awoke to it this morning.  It just didn't seem to want to stop.  Finally about 1100 we pulled up the anchor in the rain and moved over in from of the Peace and Plenty Hotel so we would not have as long a dinghy ride to get Marilyn and her luggage to shore to catch her plane.  The rain finally stopped and the sun was coming out as we got marilyn to shore.  We ate lunch again at the Peace and Plenty, saw Marilyn to her cab and on her way to the airport.  We walked around a bit more checking out where we had to go to get diesel for the boat.  The "marina" , used loosely in this case, did not even currently have any diesel.  They hope to have a shipment arrive this weekend.  If not, we have enough to get back to Staniel Cay or Sampson Cay if necessary.   Then it was back to the boat for cocktails and dinner. 

     

May 28, 2009: No rain overnight and sunny skies today.  I did all our laundry today.  Then we went back to the boat, changed to swim suits and went across the harbor to the"Chat and Chill" which is on the beach at Stocking IS.  We ate burgers under the palm trees, waded in the beautiful blue waters and relaxed, visiting with others there "chilling out".  We were basking in the sun and shade of Elizabeth Harbor/ Georgetown and Stocking IS.   

I want to apologize for some of the errors in my postings. When I  "publish" the post, the blogger sometimes splits words in the middle and leaves partially blank lines.  While we are out of the country, I don't have unlimited MB of internet use to continually correct my postings. Please bear with us.    

Georgetown Finally

May 26, 2009

May 23, 2009:

     We awoke to lightning and hard rain so we delayed our departure from Staniel Cay until mid morning after it had cleared off some. It only took us an hour and a half to arrive at Black Point settlement.  After anchoring and eating some lunch, we ventured ashore to explore.  There

was a lot of activity on the government dock which also holds the dinghy dock. Several boats seemed to be preparing for Saturday afternoon races. We went looking for a grocery store run by Mrs. Adderly. We found one but she had no lettuce.  She told us of another store, J & J,  down the road which we got bad directions for from another  2 women ( must have been tourists),so we never found it. We stopped in at Loraine's Cafe to make reservations for the night. whatever anyone needs when visiting Black Point Settlement, you can get from Loraine. She seems to be the hub of this settlement.  She offers free internet  and has 4-5 computers to use, but asks for a donation to pay for the electricity used.  We found the police station with a separate building for the jail.  The school with its  basketball court included several buildings.  The library was next door.   We passed several other restaurants and bars , but nothing seemed to be open. All the activity was down at the dock where a delivery ship came in.  The proceeded to load two pickup trucks onto it.  Women were selling beer and conch fritters at the dock and a teenage boy was acting as DJ.  A group of boys were trying to play baseball on the street using a tennis ball.  We obtained some ice and went back to the boat where we sat in our cockpit to watch the three sailboats race.  Black Point has a huge regatta in August and these sailors are very serious about their sailing.  It was exciting to see them hike out on long boards.   We went back in to have dinner at Loraine's.  I had a delicious lobster; Marilyn had Mahi-Mahi and Charlie had grouper. Even though it was a small place, they also had wine and mixed drinks.  After our dinner, the other bars seemed to be open though we didn't see many customers, but the locals were hanging around.  Back at the boat we took the engine off the dinghy and stowed the dinghy topside.

 

May 24, 2009:  

     Since we had a long trip to Georgetown, we were up at 0600 and underway by just after 0700.    We went into Exuma Sound through Dotham cut and headed for georget

own.  the wind was right on our nose so we had to tack across our courseline again. We also began to encounter scattered rain which became heavy rain off and on the rest of the day. We were very grateful for our cockpit surround even though we kept having to mop up where ran leaked through openings. Just as we were to enter Elizabeth Harbor, the rain went away and we had sunny skies for awhile.  We anchored on the shore of Stocking Island near the Peace and Plenty Beach Club just before 1800 (6p.m.).  We had dinner on the boat. 

May 25, 2009:

     We did not see the sea of boats at anchor in Elizabeth Harbor when we arrived and thought they must be around the corner, however, they are just not here. We turned on the VHF for the Cruiser's Net but it did not happen either.  We went across the harbor to the Georgetown side looking for the dinghy dock.  What we saw was a decrepit dock with timbers missing and no ladders to get out.    We ended up using the Peace and Plenty Hotel dock, going into their bar to buy a drink in payment for the use of their dock.  someone from Chicago who has a house 

payment for the use of their dock. house here helped dock us and welcome us.   They have a great Pina Colada and their bartender, "Dr. of Libations" was very friendly.  We continued our exploration to a nice gift shop across the street from Peace and 

Plenty, then  proceeded down the street to the Towne Cafe for lunch.  this was a very busy place with locals coming in for takeout.  Everything was in styrofoam.  We had some great Bar-B-Q ribs with peas and rice, slaw and another side. We found the Exuma Market grocery store, the biggest on the island and supposedly the best stocked grocery in the Exumas.  It was OK, but not nearly as nice as the Marsh Harbor one on the Abacos.  I don't know how they serve 3-400 boats and the locals during the winter!   We did buy groceries and ice.   The cruising guides say all boats have to check in with the harbormaster and I tried to do so.  I finally found his office which was locked and empty, so maybe this just applies during the "season". We took the groceries back to the boat, rested during the hot afternoon before going to explore

our nearby beach.  We picked up litter along the beach. We had lobster and Mahi-Mahi salad from the leftovers.  We enjoyed the beautiful starry night with a sliver of moon and the twinkling lights across the harbor of Gerogetown.  Summer lightning in the

distance added to our light show.   

Staniel Cay

May 22, 2009

May 21, 2009: We left Sampson Cay about 1p.m. in pouring rain which continued the whole journey and throughout the rest of the day and off and on most of the night. We arrived about 3p.m. but spent about an hour trying to find a good place to anchor. We were all drenched! It is not easy to dry out yourself, wet clothes, and the boat when it constantly rains. We anchored in an area which has strong current. About 7p.m. the anchor alarm kept going off so we pulled up our anchor, a CQR, and Charlie changed the anchor to a fortress which we had bought and had stored on the boat, and we anchored again in a slightly different spot. We were lucky that it wasn't raining during that hour. We then finally ate dinner. I kept checking the chartplotter tracking of our anchor. It was not the normal arc one usually sees but an erratic plot due to the strong effect of the current. However we successfully made it through the night with no more anchor alarm going off.

May 22, 2009: Most of the rain was gone and we had sunny skies most of the day. We went into The Staniel Cay Yacht Club dinghy dock and then went exploring for a grocery store. We had been told to go to the "Blue" store instead of the "Pink" store. We actually went to both and the "blue" store was better stocked which is not saying much as neither had much of what we needed. The small store at Sampson Cay Marina was almost better than either at Staniel Cay. We did stop at a Bread Shop, met Brenda the baker and bought some of her delicious smelling Bahamian bread. We bought some banana nut bread at one of the stores. We wandered around this part of Staniel Cay visiting a boutique near the Happy People Marina and restaurant and also an unopened art gallery housed in a purple one room structure with lilac trim. Back at the Yacht Club we tried their drinks. We visited the dive shop to research about the "Thunderball Grotto" used in the James Bond movie "Thunderball". The best time is at slack tide which today was between 12:30-1:30. So, back to the boat to get our fins and masks ready to go snorkel nearby. Charlie and Marilyn went first. Then Charlie and I traded places. The fish were beautiful as was some of the small corals we saw. The tide began to turn and the current became too strong for me so we returned to our big boat for lunch. Later in the afternoon we went around Big Major Spot to the "Pig Beach" where pigs come off the beach to eat food brought by dingy boaters. We only saw one pig which was sleeping. He finally woke up

and swam out to the dingy for food. We were told by others that there were 5 pigs earlier in the morning.

We continued along Big Major Spot finding another smaller beach to stop at and explore. We passed the Fowl Cay Resort and continued our circumnavigation

of Big Majors Spot. We cleaned up and went to the Cafe Thunderball for a dinner of Bar-B-Q ribs and chicken. We met many other sailors up there including a couple with a Tayana 42 with a center cockpit. They are on their way back to Tortola where they used to live. We also met a local author who lives in a house on the top

of the hill above the Cafe Thunderball. Marilyn and I both bought books from her. So ends our exciting busy day. The picture at the top is of the anchorage from Cafe Thunderball. Blue Horizon is the middle boat.

We plan to proceed 10 miles to Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay tomorrow and then to Georgetown the next day.

Exploring Warderick Wells and Sampson Cay

May 21, 2009

May 19, 2009:  Charlie and Marilyn snorkled  from the dinghy during slack tide for a short time.  They saw a green turtle and some tangs.  The water was rough or they would have gone further from the dinghy and seen more.  As usual, it was tough getting back into the dinghy.  We went back to the boat to change clothes for hiking.  We went on the BooBoo Hill trail.  They had identified many of the native plants and had informational signs all

 along the way.  We learned that there are three types on mangrove tree here:  white, black and red.  At the top of Boo Boo Hill, many boaters had left a sign with their boat names and dates they had been there. I am including a picture.  

The view from the top of the hill of the waters around the cay were beautiful.  We also hiked to see some of the blow holes along the east coast of Warderick Wells Cay.  At the time, they were not blowing water but air.  It was enough to blow off Marilyn's hat. The holes do not have to be very big.  storms were accumulating and we got back to the boat just before the deluge.  Charlie took a beautiful picture of the sunset.

     

May 20, 2009:   After checking out from Warderick Wells, we had a brisk sail to Sampson Cay. Since we were trying to go almost directly into the wind, we had to 

tack across the course line.  The winds were 15-10 so we made good time arriving about 3 in the afternoon (1500).  We opted to stay at the lovely marina here so we could plug in and do laundry. They also have a nice ( expensive) restaurant. Marilyn and I explored the lovely paths and beaches before dinner. We all had Bahamian lobster which was delicious.

May 21, 2009: We woke to rain clouds which soon began to drop rain on us.  Marilyn and I had decided to try to do laundry before we left, thinking it would take 2 hours but the Marina restaurant was using the washers and dryers, so we had to wait our turn.  Then the dryers were not very efficient so they have to be run twice for the T-shirts and sheets.  When we leave, we will go to Staniel Cay which is only six miles further south.  If the rain stops, we will try to do some grocery shopping and eat at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for dinner.    We will stay there for 2 nights which should allow us to explore and snorkle the Thunderball Grotto at slack tide tomorrow.          

Continuing southward in Exumas

May 18, 2009

Saturday, May 16, 2009, we had a short but delightful sail from Highborne Cay to Norman's Cay. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get there going at or over 6 knots. We had started out almost at noon because we went into the Highborne Cay Marina for ice and water, etc. Once we got to Norman's Cay we called for dinner reservations at the Norman's Cay Beach Club or McDuffs. There were only three boats anchored off Norman's. We dighnied ashore for a delicious dinner among the locals. It was quite busy from construction crews doing some building on the Cay.

Sunday, May 17, 2009: We had another wonderful day of sailing in 15-20 knots of wind to Hawksbill Cay which is the upper border for the Exumas Land and Sea Park. After lunch we went ashore to explore. The sand here was very fine and off white almost more fine than sugar. I climbed up a hill to a pyramid made of loose stones. It gave me a beautiful view of most of this Cay. All of us climbed up over a smaller hill to see the inland pond caused by a creek from the Bahama Bank. There are some ruins of a Loyalist Plantation but we couldn't find them near where we were. We had dinner on the boat as the Cay is uninhabited. There have been scattered showers the last few days and we have been caught in a few.

Monday, May 18, 2009: We got an earlier start today as we sailed to Warderick Wells which is the headquarters for the Land and Sea Park. We picked up a mooring in the northern mooring field near the Park Rangers office. Just as we were leaving the Ranger's office to go back to the boat, the sky opened up and we were drenched by the time we arrived back at the boat by dighny. At least it cleaned some of the salt off the boat. We plan to go snorkling tomorrow and to do some of the hiking trails on this cay.

I may not be able to add as many pictures as we have been due to AT&T sending us a message that we are exceeding our usage of the computer aircard. We also won't be able to open those lovely attachments you all send us. We will have to share all the pictures when we return.

From Nassau to Allen's Cays to Highborne Cay

May 15, 2009

May 13, 2009: We were ready to leave Atlantis in Nassau but when Charlie tried to start the engine, the boat did not respond. Charlie spent several hours trying to identify and fix the problem: checked the grounding, wiring, starter solenoid ... all to no avail. We envisioned a need to have the Yanmar dealer send us a part from Florida. So we had to stay at Atlantis another day. We contacted the Marina office for an electrician. The electrician was out of town but could come first thing in

the morning. Later Charlie asked if they could find another electrician who would be available the same day. They said someone would be there after 3 p.m. I went to another larger grocery store via taxi which cost me $28.00 round trip! I also included a trip to the drugstore. Once I returned from my shopping, I went to the pools to relax with Marilyn who was already there. A nice frozen Pina Colada hit the spot! Charlie was waiting for the electrician but he joined Marilyn and me later. The electrician had found a obscure starter relay ground connection which was causing the problem. We enjoyed the beautiful pool until it closed and then had a light pizza dinner before retuning to the boat.

May 14, 2009: We finally left the Atlantis Marina about 8:30 and proceeded to Hurricane Hole Marina for fuel. We had to wait until another boat fueled up and washed his boat off. We finally left that dock about 9:30 and proceeded out the east entrance to Nassau to Athol Island and Porgee Rocks. The wind was 20-25+ knots from the ESE as we headed to Allen's Cays group, our first stop in the Exumas. It was a wild ride with rail in the water. We had to tack across the rum line (course line) because the wind was too close to the intended track. It was too rough for me to fix lunch so we had peanut crackers and sodas for lunch. We saw land by 2:30 p.m. We arrived at the entrance way point at 3:30 and were anchored by 3:50. On the way there we dodged a wide rainstorm, but scattered showers found us just after anchoring and prevailed throughout the night. About 1:45 a.m. the anchor alarm went off. I was worried about our swinging and hitting a catamaran behind us. The current was affecting us more than the wind. I got Charlie up about 2:15 a.m. to deal with it because the alarm kept going off. We pulled in some of the chain but Charlie said it was tight so seemed to be holding so we backed down on the anchor at 60 ft of chain and let out 30 more. I was still concerned about the catamaran behind us when the current switched so I stood anchor watch until 7 a.m.

May 15, 2009: After a leisurely breakfast, we took the dinghy off the forward deck and put on the outboard preparing to go ashore Leaf Cay and SW Allen Cay to see the iguanas. There are few places left where the iguanas live naturally.

We explored several of this group of cays. We saw several of the iguanas fighting for supremacy. After a late lunch, we prepared to proceed down to the next cay, Highborne Cay, which took us about an hour to reach and anchor. We had to dodge the reefs as we entered along a beautiful beach.

Exploring Nassau and Atlantis

May 13, 2009: 

  

May 11, 2009:  We arrived in Nassau Harbor about 6p.m. See the picture of the Paradise Island lighthouse and Atlantis in the background. and were docked by 6:30 at Atlantis Marina 

on Paradise IS.  After showering and cocktails, we set out to explore and to find some dinner. Atlantis reminds me of Disney World but reminds Charlie of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. 

     May 12, 2009:  I got up early to do laundry and then washed down the boat. 

 Charlie went exploring, bought post cards, and mailed them.  Marilyn Friend and I took a ferry across the harbor to Old Nassau where we wandered around a bit.  The traffic was horrible with narrow streets and bumper to bumper cars and trucks.  We purchased some island outfits as well as some groceries and a sixpack of Kalik before returning to Atlantis again by ferry.  The ferry tour guides are all free lance depending only on tips but are very entertaining and informative.  We rejoined Charlie and ate lunch before going in search for the underground aquarium.

While Charlie found a pool to lounge by, Marilyn and I toured

 yet another underground aquarium.  They are a special attraction here and beautifully done.  We all enjoyed cooling off in one of the many pools at Atlantis.     We had a lovely and memorable dinner at Cafe Martinique.  

 

Heading for Nassau

May 11, 2009

        Continuing May 9, 2009 events.  We did get checked in.  we took the dingy off the deck of the boat, put the engine on and went to North Bimini to explore for several hours and to find some lunch.  The first problem was to find a dingy dock.  None were apparent.  We also noticed that several of the marinas were closed.  We stopped to tie us at the vacant and closed Big Game Marina and Hotel, but discovered that it was locked up and we couldn't get out.  A guard said that it was in bankruptcy and we couldn't tie up there.  Charlie took the dingy to a small

beach next door where two dogs objected to his beaching the dingy.  The owner was nice enough top allow us to keep it there.  We noticed that many establishments had closed.  We needed a grocery store for sandwich meat and a place to get lunch.

      A young man named "Bossie " told us of a place on the beach and said to tell owner "Bossie sent us".  We expected a nice deck but it was merely a building with a serving window open to the beach with a table and an umbrella.  We met a man who was sitting wanting for his wife and grown daughters to finish wading at the beach.  His wife flew them over to Bimini for the day.  He was an amateur photographer and also owns a 44 ft. ketch which recently came off anchor and went aground where it was stripped by scavengers.  We enjoyed talking to them while we waited for conch salad and conch fritters to be made.  We enjoyed delicious frozen Pina Coladas while waiting.  It was sunny and hot walking around N. Bimini.  Marilyn and I finally found a grocery with some sliceable ham.   Hemingway's favorite bar, The Complete Angler"  burned down several years ago.  The Bar at the End of the World wasn't open yet when we left N Bimini.  

     Back at our marina  We also got some water which we are drinking up quickly due to the hot weather.   We had cocktails and dinner on the boat.  It seemed a better idea due to the lack of viable restaurants.

     May 10, 2009;  we got up about 6:30 to try to leave early.  The dingy was back on top of the boat; we bought ice, paid our bill and left about 8:15 (0815).  We took a southern route  going through a cut between Gun Cay and N Cat Cay.  We had to motorsail since the wind was under 10 knots.  Later in the day a breeze came up but it was on our nose.   We stopped west of the Russell Beacon ( which did not light up at night)  just south off the recommended

 course in 14.5 ft of water.  We were about 2 and a half hours from the NW Channel light.  The anchor held well through the night but we were rocking up and down a lot. The picture shows what it looks like all around the boat. No land in sight.

     May 11, 2009:   We had the anchor up and were on our way by 0700 proceeding to NW Channel light and Nassau.  We are currently in route having just gone by Chub Cay.  I think I am using their cell phone tower to get online.  We tried to get online last night at anchor but no site was found.  We plan to go into the Atlantis Marina on Paradise IS where we will rest for a day, do laundry, get groceries again and explore.  Wed. we will go to the Exumas.  We are still planning our route.

Safely in Bimini, Bahamas

Miami skyline

May 9, 200

     May 8, 2009:  We got up early to prepare for the crossing.  It was a beautiful day, sunny but without much wind.  We arrived at a fuel dock but had problems getting anyone to come down to fuel us up.  We had radio one marina and evidently gone to another marina's dock which had not opened yet.  After fueling we proceeded to Miami and Government cut.  As we arrived to the Cut, a cruise ship tender told us we could not go out the Cut and motioned for us to go up the ICW.  I tried to explain that we were going into the ocean.  He was insistent so I called the Coast Guard to find out what was going on.  Evidently when they have 2 cruise ships docked in Govt. Cut, they close the channel.  We had to backtrack south and go out Fisher Island

Cut;  so we did not get out into the ocean until 11.  We raised our sails but had to motorsail to make Bimini in daylight.  It was a smooth crossing with waves of only 2 feet if

that. In the Gulf Stream they say the water is a deep blue; note the

picture.   We arrived about 6p.m. We had tried to call several marinas in N. Bimini (Alicetown) by cell phone and radio to no avail.  Finally the marina on South Bimini answered confirming that the way into Bimini was still via the two small range markers.  Charlie's chart by Navionics incorrectly showed  red and green buoys at the entrance.  We docked at Bimini Sands Marina.  Maybe all the other marinas had closed at 5p.m. but this one had boats coming in as late as 7:30 with dockhands helping.  It has docks with a large turning basin in front of two-story condos.  So if you come by boat, you can dock your boat in front of your condo.  We can also clear customs at this marina.  We will have to dingy over to Alicetown but it is a short trip. cocktails were followed by dinner under a full moon.

     May 9, 2009:  we plan to check in with customs, explore Alicetown, and plan our route for the next few days.  We are at a marina so we can check in but also because our freezer is still not functioning well.  Electricity supplied at the dock or by the generator will pull the temperature down quickly, but once the compressor goes off, the temperature rises quickly.  I assume that it is an insulation problem, not a compressor problem.     

   

Preparing to go Across to The Bahamas

May 7, 2009 from Coconut Grove, FL::

     May  5, 2009:  we left Marathon by 9a.m. proceeding toward Rodiquez Key.  We had good winds most of the day from the SE.  We arrived at Rodiquez Key off the south end of Key Largo about 6p.m.  There were three boats anchored but by sunset there were nine boats at anchor.  We had our cocktail hour watching the sunset.  One of the boats had a conch shell which was blown to mark the setting of the sun.  We ate a nice dinner and enjoyed the soft breezes. 

     May 6, 2009:  We left the anchorage about 8a.m. but most of the other boats had left much earlier.  Only two other were still there.  We started out sailing with good winds and good speed toward  Biscayne Bay, but as the day progressed, the winds dropped to under 10 knots so we ended up motorsailing.  we arrived at Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove by about 4:15 p.m.  We cleaned off the boat which was covered with lots of salt from the Atlantic Ocean.  After showers we had cocktails waiting for our friend Marilyn to arrive.  Once she arrived, we walked to "The Grove" where we ate at a Peruvian restaurant called "Jaguar".  The menu was interesting and delicious.  We walked back to the marina where Marilyn could finally unpack in the forward V-berth cabin.  

     May 7, 2009:  We all slept late and then had a leisurely breakfast.  We then checked all our e-mails.  My new AT&T air card is making getting online so much easier.  After some other chores, which included cleaning out the refrigerator, we were off to Scotty's on the Bay for lunch.  Marilyn had a conch Caesar and I had Stone Crab Claws.  YUM.                                      

Charlie was tired of fish so he had a cheeseburger. Then we continued to the grocery store,  The Fresh Market, to provision the boat.  Several of our bags on wheels help make this less of a chore.

 We will have cocktails on the boat tonight followed by dinner and get to bed early so we can arise early to start our journey to Bimini.  We can make this trip in a day during daylight from Miami.

May 4, 2009

     The friend, named Marilyn Friend from Oklahoma, decided to stop her flight at Miami instead of going on to Nasaau so we used Sunday to explore Key West a bit more.  We were able to visit Hemingway's home, the Butterfly Museum and eat lunch at Bo's Fish Wagon. We also walked around for about 4 hours going to the "southernmost place" in US and again nto Mallory Square.   

     This morning we left Key West and headed north to Marathon.  We had a lovely day of sailing and had to use he motor for only a little while.  The winds were from the SE at 15-20 knots.  We arrived about 5 p.m. and hooked up to a mooring ball in the Boot Key harbor.  Charlie made a short run to West Marine.  After showers we headed to Dockside Bar and Grill for drinks, dinner and music.  

     Tomorrow we will continue north to Rodiquez Key where we will anchor our for the night. Wednesday we will go back into Biscayne Bay and Dinner Key Marina.  Marilyn will meet us there.  We may take a day to rest, regroup, and reprovision before going over to Bimini. 

      Check back later on this post.  I may have some pictures from Key West and Marathon.       

May 2, 2009

     Sharon has been in Charleston for doctors and mammogram appointments.  She got a clean bill of health.   She also did many errands while there and visited with a fews friends, had a haircut, and went to the Charleston Yacht Club's First Friday.  She also planted a few plants. 

She obtained an AT&T air card so she will hopefully be able to get online easier in the future.  She has added a number of pictures to previous logs so we encourage all viewers to check back posts on our blog. she is flying back to Key west today.

     Meanwhile Charlie has been exploring Key West, taking pictures as well as finishing various projects on the boat. 

     we hope to leave Key West to proceed to Bimini and Nasaau  in the next day or so, weather permitting.