The End of an
Adventure...and the beginning...
We are back in Fort
Pierce. We've been here for a week, waiting for Liz to come and pick up Todd.
For awhile there, we were afraid she'd be waiting for us. When we left Green Turtle
Cay, we headed out to the last islands on the Bahama Bank. We weren't sure whether
to go north or south of the Sea of Abaco, but decided that since we'd never been
to Allens-Pensacola, that would be a good place to anchor for the night.
It was tricky getting in
there. It looks like you have to go past it and shoot back at a 45 degree angle
to hit the channel right, and then when you get
"in" you can't actually tell where the bay starts and
stops...basically it's a reef that defines the southern edge. ..which isn't
great in a storm because it doesn't stop the rollers and the wind. And of
course, that's what we had ...a storm .
It was one mother of a thunder
storm!! And it rocked and rolled all night. The only saving grace was that the boat was rolling so
much, lightning couldn't hit the mast! And there were several other higher
masts n there so we felt pretty safe.
The next day was gray and
gloomy but we needed to move so we aimed for Great Sale Cay. This name
irritates me...I'm sure it's a spelling mistake. Why would anyone name an island
after a retail event and not a marine [as in "Sail" event. Oh, well I
guess spell check didn't work that time. Grrr.
So in Great Sale the
harbour is wide and open. You can see all the masts n the Bay as you approach the
island...it's very low. We powered our
way in there in 25 knot winds and
dropped the anchor as far as we could get in with some protection. Again, huge
thunderstorm. We parked beside a little
Nordic Tug and Fred came over to say hi. We'd been beside him most of our time
in George Town. He was heading home to Virginia.
The next morning the
weather, and several radio conversations said the day would clear up by 11 am
and we'd have good weather for the move to the edge of the back...another 50
miles. We decided to go to Mantanilla Shoal, which made the run to Fort Pierce
60 miles. This meant we could go straight in without having to spend 2 days
travelling the ICW. Hmmm...choices. Everyone else was heading to West End Grand
Bahama, so they could go in at Lake Worth, and then head up to Fort Pierce.
We parked about 10 miles
from the edge of the Bank. This is where the ocean gets deep and the waves
[theoretically] smooth out. The day started
gloomy and bouncy. We must have missed
the memo that changed light and variable to mean 15-20 knots of wind on the
nose! None of the weather predictions were accurate for the last 3 days.
We got up at 4 am and
started to get ready. By 5:30 we were moving off the anchor and heading out
into the ocean. I have a tough time staying oriented when can't see at night, so Rick took the first
hour, when the sun came up and I could see the horizon, it was easier but I
still didn’t have any "landmarks'...just the green line on the GPS.
We had 15-20 on the nose
so we headed more northerly than we wanted and when we caught the edge of the
Gulf Stream we were reaching 8 knots. We were able to sail some of it, but
around 4 pm when we were still 20 miles from Fort Pierce we had to turn south
and get out of it. We were 5 miles north
of our course. Luckily the swells turned with us and we surfed back into the
inlet. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and we caught a small blue fin
tuna...he was yummy !!
As we approached the
inlet, we were in outgoing tide but it was manageable, and we followed a work
barge in. As we passed the sea buoy the engine started to sputter... NOT out of
gas?!?!? Well, it was low...déjà vu all over again??? But it was also clogging
the intake, so we dropped the anchor... it was still daylight so at least we
could see this time. I radioed a securité so everyone behind us would know we were
anchored. Rick and Todd changed the oil filter, filled the diesel and we
started her up again. SO much for "no surprises"
We have been here waiting
for the marina to take care of our motor issue, getting used to land again. And
the car, which has now headed for Canada without us, and as soon as the motor
has been replaced, we will be on our way up the ICW and back to fresh water for
a year of refit, refurbish, rebuild, renew, relax...for us and the boat.
There won't be many more
blogs after this for awhile because we will be working on the boat and working
to replenish the cruising kitty. Will let you know when the Goose has landed.
Joys of being back...Todd bought a drone |
Kids at Navy Seal Museum...they love the obstacle course |
Allens pensacola...Rick swam ashore to explore |
Day at Great Sale Cay...another storm |
Sunrise leaving the Mantanilla Shoal |
This was the only traffic we saw on the Stream...BIG ships crossing our path |
Morning at the dock in Fort Pierce...yes, that's a sunken boat across the channel |
Dinner!!! |
Todd looking for home!! Sunset at Fort Pierce Inlet after motor restarted! |
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