January 21st- Green Turtle Cay/ White Sound, Abaco Islands,  Bahamas 

We stayed an extra day anchored off Great Abaco Island to rest up. On the 19th we hauled up the hook and set sail for Green Turtle Cay. It was only 14nm to our destination so no need to leave early. For the first time in a while we had a real sail. The wind was gusting to around 25kts. We were able to make 6 to 7 knots under genoa alone. Even though it was breezy the sea state was pretty good. We made it in to White Sound, without mishap, and picked up S/V Outward Bound’s mooring for a few days. Since I have an aversion to government paperwork, Lynne becomes the Captain for the checkin process. Ivy the GTC customs agent remembered Lynne from last year and 20 minutes later we were flying the Bahamian courtesy flag and officially on vacation in the Bahamas. 

We’ve been relaxing and walking various beaches. Temperatures have been ranging from the upper 70s during the day, to upper 60s at night. It feels great to be back on GTC!

Coco Bay

We saw Turtles, Snapper, Barracuda, Needle Fish, Shark, and Stingrays. Much better than going to an aquarium. 

Evergreen moored at GTC.

January 18th- Great Abaco Island, Bahamas 

We hauled in the anchor at Lake Worth and exited the inlet around 5:00pm. We pointed Evergreen roughly south east to make some distance before the Gulf Stream would start to push us north. This put us directly into the SE wind so we motored. The Gulf Stream was choppy with around 4 to 5 foot seas. Eventually things flattened out a bit and we were able to roll the genoa out when we changed course. This stabilized Evergreen enough that the Admiral was able to cook up some chicken/ vegetable ramen soup. The moon rose and was a bright 3/4 so visibility was pretty good. We crossed onto the Bahama bank (near Memory Rock) around 2:30am. It was a good crossing and we were very pleased to be back in the Bahamas. During the calmer part of the voyage we traded off watches in the cockpit and the off watch person got some sleep. We did this every hour or two. This was a first for us and we felt much better. It took 17 hours to transit from Lake Worth to Great Sale Cay (21 hours if you count the ICW passage from Hobe Sound). 

Sunrise in the Bahamas.

Raising the quarantine flag.

As we were approaching Great Sale Cay I downloaded a weather forecast from our Garmin satellite device. Great Sale has a couple of different anchoring spots that provide good protection from various wind directions. Unfortunately, South West is not one of them. The wind was predicted to turn south west Saturday morning. These things happen. We had a brief meeting. We both felt pretty good and weren’t exhausted so we pointed Evergreen toward a safer anchorage.

Eventually, we dropped the hook in the lee of Great Abaco Island, not far from Cooperstown, around 5pm. In two days we traveled 161 nautical miles over 28 hours. Not bad for a couple of day-sailors in a 46 year old boat.

Today is cloudy, breezy, but a warm 75 degrees. Bahamas!!!

January 16th- Lake Worth/ West Palm Beach FL

We finally untied the lines from Vero Beach. It would have been easy to stay another week. The January weather has not been conducive to boat travel. 

Evergreen making an early departure from Vero. Photographed from SV Voilà.

It turned into a cool, grey, windy, day on the trip down to Hobe Sound. The wind was behind us so that was helpful. We had a quiet night in Hobe Sound but it was largely open to the North wind.

Today we pushed on down to Lake Worth. There are several bridges to contend with along the way. For some reason I thought the Jupiter Federal Bridge was replaced with a high rise bridge. Nope. In the space of 9 nautical miles there are six bridges.

Currently we are anchored near the Lake Worth inlet. We plan on hauling in the anchor around sunset and doing an overnight passage to the Bahamas. That was the best weather situation I could figure out.  We should be at Great Sale Cay sometime tomorrow. Onward to the Bahamas!!

January 14th – Vero Beach FL 

According to my calendar we arrived to the Velcro on November 26th of last year! We’ve been here for a month and a half. Time flies. 

On the Florida intracoastal.

Dolphins playing.

While here we went on a road trip across the state. We celebrated both Thanksgiving and Christmas at the marina. For both holidays we had a boaters pot luck dinner. Both events were well attended and we had enough food to feed an army.

While we were away another boater snapped this rainbow shot with Evergreen in the middle. We are rafted to another vessel. Where is that pot of gold?

We’ve been rafted with several vessels while here. All have been good people out seeking a cruising adventure. 

We’ve been trying to watch the budget so have been avoiding going out to eat much. We did hit El Sids for tacos a few times. I’ll have to get my Ruben from Casey’s when we come back this way in a few months. 

Which brings me to…. We’re ready to go. For the past few days we’ve been getting Evergreen ready for the Bahamas. Tomorrow we’ll head south. If all looks good, we’ll cross the Gulf Stream around Thursday/ Friday. We’ll make a stop at Great Sale Cay to rest up. Eventually we’ll get down to Green Turtle Cay to check in with the customs office. Then, who knows? We’re on vacation.

That’s the “plan”. The crossing the Gulf Stream part is a little uncertain according to the weather profits. We’ll need to keep an eye on wind and waves before crossing. 

Evergreen moored at Vero Beach.

November 14th- Beaufort SC

We debarked from Carolina Beach on the 6th and moored in Beaufort on the 10th. As usual, going through the Myrtle Beach portion of the ICW, was very bland. It’s probably the least scenic part of the trip. On the other hand, the Waccamaw River is always special. We had one day of light rain. Most of the rest of the voyage from the Chesapeake Bay has been mild.

Waccamaw River

Sunrise on the Waccamaw River. Other than reducing the file size for the blog, there was no photo editing done to this picture. Amazing view!

While in transit to Beaufort we made four stops. All were remote anchorages. We were often up and underway before dawn. We crossed through a few shallow spots but are used to the routine. One of my navigation tablets broke down but we have others. I had a new one shipped to Beaufort.

Since being in Beaufort we’ve met up with other cruising friends. The starting coil broke on our outboard motor. Fortunately the crew on S/V Barry Duckworth have the same motor and carry spare parts. With the new part our Honda is back in operation. The Beaufort River has an 8 to 9 foot tide. Rowing in the current is horrendous!

We got our olive oil, sourdough bread, and Tomato Pie. We are ready to move on but are watching a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. We are delaying our voyage a bit as we don’t want to be in Florida until we see how this storm is going to develop.

November 3rd  through 5th- Carolina Beach NC

We had a good run from Mile Hammock to Carolina Beach. It’s a battle to time the Figure Eight Island bridge and the Wrightsville Beach bridge. I particularly dislike the WB bridge due to traffic and current.

We spent a few days in Carolina Beach. We stocked up with all the usual. We enjoyed a few bacon and egg sandwiches from the North End Cafe. The admiral and I walked the beach and watched the waves but it’s not quite the same without our pal.

Tomorrow we’ll shove off for points south. I think we can make it down to Beaufort in five days (with a little luck). We might have some rain along the way but, in general, the weather looks good.

October 29th- Dismal Swamp VA to Elizabeth City NC

We traveled south on the Dismal Swamp to Forbes Bay which was just past Elizabeth City. We didn’t go to shore.

Nice color on The Dismal Swamp canal

October 30th- Elizabeth City to Alligator River NC

Good weather. We had an easy crossing of the Albemarle Sound. We anchored Evergreen for the night near the Alligator/ Pungo canal.

Evergreen on the Alligator River.

October 31st- Alligator River to Belhaven NC

The weather has been really good on this trip so far. We anchored in Belhaven and went out for lunch. Lynne and I split a Ruben sandwich from the bakery. Before leaving Belhaven (the next day) we also filled up Evergreen with diesel and water. We were in the same location last year on Halloween.

November 1st- Belhaven to Cedar Creek NC

We had a late start as the fuel dock didn’t open until 9 am. We still had a productive day. The weather was right for negotiating the Neuse River. We’ve had some rough rides on the Neuse.

November 2nd- Cedar Creek to Mile Hammock Bay/ Camp Lejune NC

Today we had Evergreen moving at first light. It was a long day but we had wind and current pushing us along. Mile Hammock is full of boats tonight. Last count was 14 at anchor. So far the Bay is quiet. We haven’t seen any Marines training this evening.

October 28th- Old Point Comfort to The Dismal Swamp 

We were moving at first light to make the Deep Creek lock for the Dismal Swamp. In Norfolk we were contacted by Warship 55 and altered course to give them sufficient room to maneuver. We were ahead of schedule but were stopped by a railroad bridge in the closed position. At flank speed, we just made the lock for the 11:00 am transit. Five boats in the lock. The most we’ve had. We must be in the middle of the migratory pack. We stopped for the night at the Douglas Road dock. We usually have it to ourselves but we had three boats for the night. I suspect the welcome center is full.

Evergreen tied to the Douglas Road dock on the Dismal Swamp canal.

October 26th- Fishing Bay/ Deltaville VA

Decided to stay an extra day. We filled up with fuel. Fishing Bay Marina charges a $25 facilities fee. For $25 you get hot showers, laundry, and a loaner car. Good deal. We used the car to get a few things in town.

October 27th- Deltaville to Old Point Comfort/ Hampton VA

Rough ride on the Bay. We had to plow into heavy seas to get down the Piankatank River. Upon entering the Bay we made a starboard turn which put the wind and waves on the beam. We were able to sail along at 6 to 7 knots and the motion was much better. The wind died out in the afternoon and we motored the rest of the way. The very large anchorage at Old Point Comfort is as crowded as I’ve ever seen it. We wedged Evergreen into a spot for the night.

October 25th- Solomons Island MD to Fishing Bay/ Deltaville VA

Evergreen crossed the Potomac into Virginia today. Mostly motor sailing. Sunny. Our first stop was Taylor Creek in Deltaville but there were many boats at anchor. Odd since Solomons Island (our last stop) seemed quiet. We decided to move on further up the Piankatank River to Fishing Bay. Fishing Bay is a much larger anchorage. Both spots have a fuel dock but both were closed. We really need diesel before the next stage of our trip so we’ll try to fill up tomorrow. Not very confident that the fuel dock will be open early on a Saturday. I launched the dinghy for the first time and brought trash to shore.