Made It

The last post found us in Stuart. We are now in West End, Grand Bahama Island waiting for the wind to settle down. Let me fill you in on what happened and what we saw between MooreHaven and the Bahamas.
Friday 3/23/12     We woke up to find Tourist covered in bugs. Little black ones on the outside and mosquitoes in the flybridge. Not a good start when you're as anal retentive as the two of us are. Anyway we sucked it up and got going. A short distance to the lock and then follow the rim of lake Okeechobee around to Clewiston before heading out into the lake.

Watching the sun rise over Lake O.

A little morning dew along the route.

We continued out into the lake and found the waters very calm. Part way across we started finding ash falling into the boat and the smell of smoke in the air. A quick look to the right (south) confirmed our suspicions. They were burning off the sugar cane fields and the breeze was blowing in our direction.

Smoke from burning sugar cane fields.

Once across the lake we passed through Port Mayaca Lock and on to the St. Lucie lock. The last one for some time to come. We arrived in the Manatee Pocket and topped off the fuel tanks then moved a little further with the intention of anchoring just outside Chapman's where we had last year. WRONG! The anchorage had about 5 boats in it and they apparently had dug themselves holes to float in. We stuck our nose in and quickly lost reading on the depth gauge. A look behind confirmed that we were plowing through mud and the tide was going out. Not a situation I wanted to remain in. We eased our way out and back into the recently dredged channel where there was plenty of water to float our boat. Plan B took us back out near Sewell's Point where we anchored for the night. A great spot from midnight to 6 a.m. when the traffic dies out.

Saturday 3/24/12     Go day! A check of the weather showed 2' to 3' seas for most of the crossing with some 4's as we approached West End. By 7 a.m. we were bouncing like a cork from all the passing traffic. Time to go. We pulled anchor and joined the parade of fishing boats heading out to sea. Some big, some small, all going like a bat out hell to get that first fish. The rocking continued. As we crossed the ICW the water shallows up and the big boats slowed down. In addition they were dredging the inlet so maybe they were just being courteous?

Dredging St. Lucie Inlet.

We made it out the cut and into the Atlantic. Nothing to do now but dial in West End on the GPS and sit back and enjoy the ride.

St. Lucie Inlet

Our view for the next 70 miles.

As we approached West End the forecast was accurate for once and the seas picked up the last 15 miles. We entered the breakwater just before 1 p.m.

Entering Old Bahama Bay Marina on West End.

We circled in the basin for a few minutes waiting on a slip assignment before being assigned C-7.  Once in the dock attendant gave us our paper work for clearing customs which we filled out and then along with $300.00 CASH (no credit cards accepted) I walked over to the Customs Office and checked us in for 120 days. Once that was done it was just a few short steps to the marina office to pay for the slip. Let me just say this isn't $1.00 a foot like back in MooreHaven! While in the marina office I heard a familiar voice come across the VHF. "Kasey's Choice calling Old Bahama Bay." Looks like Donnie & Marilyn made it from West Palm. Back at the boat Pam put the inside back in order while I washed the salt off.

Not long after a guy came around in a small boat selling lobster and conch. We bought 2 from him for $5.00 apiece and later another came by and sold us 5 for $20.00.

Fresh lobster and conch.

Customs office on the left and Marina office on the right.

Tourist (2nd from left) in her slip.

Donnie trying to get Marilyn wet!

Once we were done cleaning up we walked over to the Tiki Hut for a cocktail.

Mary the bartender. She makes a good Cosmo according to Pam.
Our walk back produced some cool pictures.

Dusk @ Old Bahama Bay.

Fleets in!

Sunday 3/25/12     After sleeping like a rock we awoke to find the wind blowing like snot. A look out to sea and the white caps were clearly visible. A few minutes later a 60' sportfisherman went out. He looked like a hobby horse rocking around out there. Looks like we're staying put for another day. Damn the luck! What to do, what to do? Beach?

I think the Abacos are that way!

Donnie, I hope that pile of fur is Chloe!
The beach side of Old Bahama Bay wasn't as windy and made for an enjoyable afternoon while we were stuck in port.

On the Move

Since we came back from our short visit to Illinois we've been busy provisioning, surviving St. Patrick's Day, catching up with our Legacy friends, skyping with the new granddaughter, and cutting the tentacles that have been holding Tourist in the slip. Pictures tell the story.

Draperies arrived and installed.

Batteries replaced. (Before they conk out!)

Provisioning. Hey! How'd that DSW bag sneak in there? Pam!!!

Dinner at Bill & Mary's. Thanks guys. It was great!

Morning  After Hair of the Dog Mimosas & Bloody Mary's

Mixologists Extraordinaire

Rick from Private Affair decided to clean out the cupboards before they left for the season. Good news for the rest of the troops!

Hungry Campers.

Totally unrelated to dinner (I think) the pumpout broke down.

Since we're heading out we put the car in storage.

Then the day came to leave. I wore out 2 butcher knives cutting the tentacles but we got away.

We made it all the way across the Caloosahatchie to Moore Haven.

But not before my Princess caught up on her beauty sleep.

We're now in Stuart hoping that tomorrow will be suitable for crossing over to West End on Grand Bahama Island. Updates from the Bahamas (I Hope!)

It's A Girl!

The heading says it all. Elliette Josephine popped into the world on Sunday March 11, 2012. Her arrival dimensions were 10lbs. 3ozs. and 22.5 inches long.

Elliette Josephine Diercks

Pam says she looks like a girl. I think she looks like a baby! Either way she's a cutie! Needless to say Pam is excited about the possibilities of transforming her into a little priss just like her.

Elliette joins her brother Franklin (aka Oscar) in what will most definitely be a dynamic duo of terror for their parents. Oscar is already as quick as a cat and he's only walking on his knees. He can disappear in a nano second and stays out of sight until you hear a crash. I'm guessing the first words he says will be No No Franklin.

Giving baby sister a kiss.

In other news Pam had a follow-up check on her breast and all looked good. Again I say I was in the wrong business!
We'll be heading back to Tourist this week-end and prepping for our trip to the Bahamas. Of course prepping for Pam means getting her hair and nails done!

Company and Adventure

Ft. Myers has done a great job with their downtown area over the past few years that we've been wintering here. Almost every weekend there is something going on in the downtown area. Bike night. Old car night. Art walk, and  music walk just to name a few of the activities.

Last week we strolled downtown with visiting friends Frank & Peg to check out the old cars. Frank recognized most of them. Something about parking in his youth? Me, not so many unless I read the vanity license.

This one I recognize. My first car was an identical 1967 Mustang that looked just like this one except for the wheels. Wish I still had it!

While Frank & Peg were here we took a ride out to Captiva Island to visit Frank's nephew Sean Kelly who runs a small charter fishing operation on the island. Our intent was to meet him and go for lunch somewhere on Captiva. Sean had other plans. Before we could object (yeah, right!) we were in his boat and heading towards Cabbage Key for lunch. We cruised over the shallow water of Pine Island Sound and around North Captiva Island before arriving at Cabbage Key.

Sean and Pam. Not a good hair day!

Homes on the lower end of N. Captiva. Powered supplied only by sun, wind, & generator with all access by either boat or small plane.

Cabbage Key Restaurant.

Dollar bills hanging inside Cabbage Key. Reportedly $67,000.00 worth which they donate to various charity's once a year.

Picked up a hitchhiker while we were going slow.

We had a great unexpected day on the water. Sean kept us off all of the shallow spots on Pine Island Sound where the average depth is only 4.5 feet! If you need a guide for the area Sean's your man.

While Frank & Peg were in town we visited the Shell Factory in N. Ft. Myers. Interesting is the best I can say. I've seen a million of these tourist traps and this ranks right up there with the best of them. I will say that lunch at their restaurant was good but I think we were there over an hour before I saw a shell.

Stuffed animals in a shell factory?

Even Elvis was looking for shells!

Pam found a pirate that she tried to run off with but he wouldn't budge!

We finally found the shells!

Before our guests left town we got cleaned up to head downtown and have dinner with some of Frank's relatives.

As usual my eyes are closed when posing for a picture.

One of the nice things at Legacy is the annual appreciation party put on by the marina. This year it was a western theme with an assortment of barbecued meats, baked beans, and salads. Needless to say a good time was had by all.

Harbor master Eric and part of his harem!

The highlight of the night is the drawing for free stuff. Eric is being assisted by his two daughters and office manager Sheila. I was the big winner of 25' of dock line!
All too soon it was the weekend again. Saturday morning started early since I had to take Pam to the airport to catch a flight back home for an Oscar fix.

My Princess waiting patiently for her flight.

Once Pam was through security I headed back to Legacy to go with Donnie inland to Turkey Creek to pick up his brother's boat and bring it back to Ft. Myers Beach. The boat fired right off and we departed around 9:30 a.m. but not before my back decided to go out when I bent over to pick up a dock line.

The wind was picking up but locking through wasn't a problem. It was an uneventful ride across the Caloosahatchie as we passed through 2 locks and only needed one bridge to open for us. We passed by Legacy after lunch and we noticed the wind picking up in intensity. The boat was running good and we continued on towards the gulf and Ft. Myers Beach. As we passed under the Sanibel bridge we were feeling good about the time we were making and started calculating exactly what time we would arrive at the dock. At the same time the wind on the open water was kicking up 2 to 3 footers with occasional 4's. Still no problem since we only had a few miles to go before we would duck in behind Ft. Myers Beach.

Oops! Half way between the bridge and Matanzas Pass the engines quit. Now we quickly became a cork bobbing around in the open water. We both figured it must be a fuel issue and went down to investigate. Of course by now we had turned broadside to the waves which tossed our 37' boat from side to side. To gain some stability Donnie went forward and let out the anchor (not as easy as it sounds in these conditions) which quickly set and pointed our bow into the waves. Somehow he then crawled into the engine room and managed to change the racor filters. Meanwhile I'm getting in touch with TowBoat US to arrange a tow if needed. Fortunately one of the engines fired and we were able to pull in the anchor and limp towards Matanzas Pass. I called TowBoat again and advised them that we were underway. We made it into the marked channel and were feeling good about our chances to make it all the way when the engine sputtered and died again. Crap! This narrow channel is busy and no place to be floating powerless. To complicate things the local Pirate Ship was heading our way. Donnie went back to the engine room while I hailed the Pirate and advised them of our situation all while we were drifting towards the edge of the channel and very shallow water. After bouncing off the "Resume Normal Speed" sign we quickly dropped the anchor to keep from grounding. At least it was calmer in this spot and we were now out of the channel.

Donnie worked on the problem with no success and I reacquainted myself with the TowBoat dispatcher. We waited and watched as boats came and went through the pass.

Donnie waiting patiently.

The Big M Casino boat passed by while we waited.

Help is here!

Underway again.

The TowBoat captain did a great job of getting us to our destination and in spite of the wind was able to get us into the dock without bouncing us off the dock. The unlimited towing feature on my Boat US membership came in handy as there was no charge for this tow. Without it the cost would have been in the hundreds of dollars.
Pam made it home safe and sound too making it a great day!