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Florida & Continuing North

It was time for us to depart Abaco & head back across to the U.S. Apparently everyone else had the same idea (the AIS symbols only show about 1/2 of the boats which were underway).

Halfway across the Atlantic, our tired little friend took a much needed a rest.
Nearing Florida (with our “Q” flag raised) – note the CALM, CALM Atlantic Ocean!!
Our first order of business once in Vero Beach was to replace our genset exhaust hoses – my tape, foil & cable ties just barely held up while in the Bahamas. The new hose is at the bottom of the photo – it turns out the old hose was only rated for water (not hot exhaust water or gases) so it was literally baking apart.
We’re not in the Bahamas anymore 😦
This cute Doggie Library is located next to the Vero Beach City Marina.
Our first donuts in 4 months! From St. Augustine, we Ubered to Parlour Donuts – a new favorite mini-chain expanding in the south with flaky, layered donuts – great flavors without being too sweet.
Springtime – with osprey nests on nearly every marker.
Diane (head of table in right hand photo) & Alex (not shown) invited us to a fantastic gourmet dinner at their condo in Cocoa Beach, overlooking our Twin Sisters (circled). This dinner was years in the making as we passed each other on the Connecticut River 3 years ago, Lori kept in touch & we finally met in person – such is the cruising life! Mike & Ann (seated to the right) we met 12 years ago & frequently meet up, especially as missing cruising since selling their boat, just bought another boat!
Paddlewheel boats aren’t something we often see on the ICW, but this one was being re-located from Florida to North Carolina for the summer.
Passing a dredge is always a challenge, especially at 1′ LESS than a normal low tide. This one used boom anchors (cables I highlighted in yellow) to move back & forth. The operator told us to hug the boom by 15′, then turn sharply around to its stern – he DIDN’T warn me that we first had to go over a shallow 4′ spot (likely formed by the dredging operation, as depth immediately climbed to 13′).

We have now crossed into Georgia, hiding out for 2 days waiting the passing of a nasty front (complete with a nearby tornado warning). Every time our radio blared with an alert tone & “TORNADO WARNING! … evacuate to your basement or strong structure …”, Lori just gave me a dirty look & went back to her beading…

The upcoming week or so shows nearly perfect traveling weather, so we’ll likely “zoom” getting thru Georgia, South Carolina & into North Carolina as springtime is often volatile with nasty thunderstorms & more.

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Getting Our “Glow in the Abacos”

Firefly Sunset Resort on Elbow Cay, our favorite restaurant in Abaco “Get Your Glow – in the Abacos”. They were originally part of Firefly Distillery on Wadmalaw Island (near Charleston) which we visited “a few” times. Not sure who owns this resort now – Firefly Distillery has moved to a large “visitors center” & concert venue in North Charleston & most of their products are mass produced in Kentucky 😦 Although not quite as good as it used to be, Lori still loves Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka!

We had an easy, pleasant 56-mile trip from Spanish Wells, Eleuthera north to Abaco. Unfortunately, no fish caught on the way 😦 We at least snagged the last mooring in Little Harbour (just inside the cut), home of Pete’s Pub.

We spent a few days enjoying Little Harbour & Pete’s Pub.

Our friend kept circling by thinking “Boy, I could really cover some ground in that rig!

Lori found this “black rock” while sea glass hunting & almost threw it back, but she knows her stuff! A bright light indicated it was possibly very old glass back from when pot ash was used to make glass. The glass started off as green and turns black over the centuries.

Gail from Sea Glass Design Sea Glass Design Jewelry was Lori’s lifeline confirming that this is likely 200-year old “Pirate Glass” – such named from the rum bottles made with pot ash, possibly from one of the 1,200 pirates who roamed the Bahamas in the 1700’s,

We enjoyed a little beach bonfire with some other cruisers at Buckaroon Bay on a calm, peaceful night.

We dinghied to the Firefly Resort from nearby Tahiti Beach.

Paradise! interrupted by spending the morning dealing with extending our visa at immigration in Marsh Harbour.

While many buildings in Marsh Harbour have been re-built since Hurricane Dorian, some are still abandoned.

A marina still in ruin – one next door all re-built.

Special Delivery! Last month, we got talking with Ginger (who works at a liquor store in Spanish Wells). When we told her we were stopping at Man-O-War, Abaco, she asked us to “pass a note” to her friend Cassie (who runs this snack shack on Man-O-War). They had temporarily lived together in Spanish Wells after Hurricane Dorian damaged Cassie’s home.

Continuing north thru Abaco, everyone has to pass thru an area called “The Whale”. Whale-sized swells are so prevalent here that a Disney cruise ship port built nearby in the ’80’s was shortly abandoned as often too hazardous for their cruise ships to enter. While most boats need to transit outside of Whale Cay, we with our 3′ draft are able to do the inside “Don’t Rock Passage” which is usually calmer & easier…

While these photos don’t look so bad … let’s just say we weren’t able to take any photos during the worst! Our boat fortunately took the occasional 5′ breaking wave (white curl & all) all in stride. Due to the intricate route thru the shallow sandbars (see the red line), it was difficult to stay on course and keep the waves to the bow or stern (to avoid broaching). Broached is what a 36′ sailboat did the day before (going outside of Whale Cay) & sunk within 30 seconds. Somehow, they were able to swim to their dinghy (they were towing it?) & were fortunately rescued by a 60′ trawler which diverted to save them.

Finally safe at a protected slip at the Bluff House Marina in Green Turtle Cay, tied up for yet another cold front with winds predicted gusting to 40 knots. While we avoid spending money on marinas in the Bahamas, the constant cold fronts & limited all-around wind protected anchorages sometimes force the issue. Here in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay, the anchor holding is the absolute worst of the anywhere in Abaco, with anchored boats dragging during every single cold front.

All of this was worth it for a (hopefully) “perfect” weather window back to Vero Beach, Florida on Easter Sunday. The winds are forecasted to be 8 – 10 knots from our stern, so ideal conditions.