The NYC skyline upon our ominous 8AM approach.

While we weren’t attempting to break our south-to-north trip record … it simply turned out that way. Some places we were planning to linger at, became quick stops as weather was just too perfect not to be underway. Rainy, thunderstormy days to wait in port? Never happened – hardly any substantial rain & not a single thunderstorm (even in the Carolinas where we’re always attempting to avoid severe thunderstorms & tornado warnings every spring). And now that we’re back, I can safely 🙂 say we didn’t have a single engine or boat issue the entire way!

A beautiful, calm travel day like this is hard to turn down.

Mornings like this are worth waking up early for (even for sleepy Rusty).

Anchored off Cape Canaveral close enough to see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takeoff. The (even more spectacular) Artemis II was scheduled to take off just 2 days later, but would it be postponed? We decided to move along (of course it went off on schedule!).

Everything effects our schedule … Being chased by pirates? Just another day in our nomad life – “step on it” & leave them in our dust!

Keeping an eye on this hungry alligator. I think he was eyeballing our stern steps to see if he could swim over & climb up – not a chance buster!

Ahhhh … seems everyone needs a good push once in a while.

Lori likes this form of anchoring – just put down your spuds & no more rocking.

The Navy (along with nearly everyone it seems) are switching to powercats.

Yet another scheduling dilemma … Britts Donuts in Carolina Beach, NC is only open weekends this time of the year. Do we adjust our schedule to arrive when open, stand in line for 45 minutes, just for some donuts??

One advantage of being north early is that marinas in the Chesapeake are just getting going, so lots of available slips. With occasional nights into the 40’s, it was great to plug in for some heat.

With our Safe Harbor Marina membership, we received 11 free nights of dockage this trip. Considering transient boat slips are often going for up-to $220/night, it’s a nice “savings”. But how do we get out of this slip (& how did we get into it ourselves after-hours), both at low tide)?

Getting a head start on summer projects while underway, beginning with our icemaker. While I would never install one, “it came with the boat,” so we have been attempting to keep it going. The company (U-Line), for some reason, paints their ice cube mold with green epoxy, which flakes off on your ice cubes – yuk! Spending $400 on a replacement U-Line ice maker assembly did the same thing after just a year. Researching on-line, I learned this is a common issue. Fortunately, a generic household ice maker assembly (for 1/5 the price) will (almost) fit right in, but the wiring needs to be deciphered, which turned a 2-hour project into a 2-day project with (literarily) sparks flying. In the end, success! Now onto the more serious “boater” projects.

While it is still a bit chilly in Connecticut, we are happy to be secure, plugged in and to be able to ignore weather forecasts for a while. Fortunately, our summer project list is a small fraction of previous years, so hoping for a fun summer!

A beautiful, “see you next year” Bahamian sunset.

A nice surprise to have a perfect 3-day window from Spanish Wells back across to Florida without any waiting or hassles! The 3 days were split up nearly evenly too, at around 80 miles each day. First anchored off Great Harbour (The Berrys), then within a (so-far) failed development near West End, Grand Bahama & finally anchored off Fort Pierce, Florida before going into a marina in Vero Beach for 2 nights.

U.S. Customs & Immigration makes it easy to clear back into the country – there’s an app for that – CBP ROAM. A few clicks & we’re all set.

Stirrup Cay (Norwegian Cruise Line) & Little Stirrup Cay (re-named CocoCay by Royal Caribbean) are both small islands off the northern Berry Islands. Previously just strips of sandy beaches cruise ships used to anchor off of, ferrying passengers back & forth in 2012 when we first went by … are now elaborate destinations with heavy piers for multiple cruise ships, water parks, (tethered) ballon rides, faux lighthouses, artificial lagoons, dozens of bars & more! Not quite a true a Bahamian experience, but …

We’ve learned of cruisers anchoring in a (so-far) failed development called Ginn Sur Mer near West End, Grand Bahama. A few reported being hassled by locals, but sounds like rather than just anchoring for the night, they brought their dogs in by dinghy and/or otherwise walked throughout the area, which while seemingly deserted is private property. This is just the entrance to a series of massive canals all dug from sandstone for their (planned) 5-billion-dollar resort with restaurants, golf courses, marinas, spas, casinos, shops, hundreds of waterfront homes & thousands of condo/hotel units. Since 2008, there is only one model home & these empty canals….. but just wait!

This was NOT our view as we departed from Ginn Sur Mer to cross the Gulf Stream. This was the view as we departed The Berrys headed to Ginn Sur Mer. Yes, we would have loved such a calm crossing, but overall, we had a very good one despite winds out of the W>N.

After a quick stop in Vero Beach to complete a crazy 2-day marina stay with a 1-day rental car rushing about, then a 3-day anchored wait for a windy cold front to pass, we’re off once again heading north. Our trip north should have us arriving in Connecticut in early May.