Sand Cay to Great Sale Cay

This was supposed to be Sand Cay to Marsh Harbor, but we know better than anyone, you can’t plan too much on a boat. We left Sand/Double Breasted Cay on Monday March 7th as the winds were continuing to rock us more than we like. We knew that the winds would last for a few days and after Sunday, with 20-30 mph sustained winds, we thought we’d try for a long run to Marsh Harbor. There were a couple items we wanted to pick up before we got too far into the trip. Marsh is about 70 miles, or about 9 hours of cruising. Not bad if the weather cooperates but not fun if it doesn’t. After about 2 hours of washing machine waves, even my iron stomach was crying for relief. Captain rerouted us to a nearby secure harbor in Sale Cay. Once securely anchored, a quick dinghy ride to shore for a dog walk and we all crashed. One of the great things about this lifestyle, if you need a nap, take one.

We headed out later to explore the island a bit. Word is, there is an abandoned missile tracking station on the island and as much as the Captain loves history, we were going to have to find it! No luck on day 1 but day 2 was another story. Steve and I went out to explore the western shore of the island which had a mile or so of empty beach. About halfway through our walk, success! We had found the station ruins. Not much left but broken concrete that has been overtaken by sand, sea and nature. It was still amazing to walk along the floor that still had tile on it and wonder what it looked like in its glory days. What it must be like to be out here so isolated. We left the the beach and headed across the harbor to the Atlantic side to walk the ocean shore. There we discovered a 10’ tall giant navigation buoy that had broken loose and washed away, only to run aground on this deserted island. We walked about a mile down the coast, finding treasures galore. Washed up milk crates, beautiful crab pot floats of varying colors, sea glass of blues and purple and even an old bottle that I’m convinced Capt. Jack Sparrow must have used to hold his rum.

When we returned to the boat, we donned our snorkel gear and with Jake in tow, Steve and I headed to a sunken boat for adventure. Thankfully, Steve brought along his spear and after 20 minutes, we had our bag full of lobster tails. I don’t even think the 5’ nurse shark minded one bit. We also saw a small lionfish that Steve tried to shoot, but missed three times. The lionfish, sneaky little fellow that he is, disappeared after that!


Day 3 of Sale cay was a relaxed day on the boat….for most of us. The Captain never seems to take a day off so for him it was spent fixing leaks, wiring, and salvaging the $100.00  worth of stainless bolts from a washed up wooden platform. For the kids, it was school and for Grandma and myself it was reading and writing for me. It’s been 5 days with no internet. No TV. No contact with the world. Most importantly, no campaign news. Do I miss it? I miss only the opportunity to speak with Brandon, but since he was going to be at sea for about 5 days, I’m probably not missing anything. The quiet is amazing. The stars are amazing. Showing the kids the Milky Way is amazing. Walking the deserted beaches with my love is amazing. No, I’d say I don’t miss a thing. Did I mention this is amazing?

Day 4, we ran out to take some pictures in the morning and heading out for our next destination about 10:00 am. This amazing journey continues!

~Mimzie

Gulf Stream Crossing to Walker's Cay

After months of planning, provisioning and nail biting, we were ready to go. Full fuel tanks, extra everything for the engines and generator, and a couple of good weather windows in the same week made everything come together. Years of living aboard and cruising the US learning what not to do, learning everything we could from every source available was about to pay off. The fantasy of sailing off to foreign shores was about to come true.
We left Vero Beach about 0600 and made our way south to the Ft Pierce inlet. Sunrise over the condos and good light to navigate the turns to get out to sea.

All systems were running well, and the seas were 1-2 feet as predicted, so full speed ahead for Walker’s Cay Bahamas!  What a delightful change, from brown river water to the deep blue of the open Atlantic!  The ocean was empty of traffic and the transition to the Gulf stream itself was a non-event thanks to the ideal weather conditions.
The only indicators telling us that we were in the legendary river in the ocean, was an increase of 3 degrees in outside water temperature, and a shift in our course-over-ground as indicated on the GPS. The clear and sunny conditions were calm enough to set the autopilot to take over steering duties. The Captain was able to doze off on the bridge while Jacob took the watch, to man the helm, watch for traffic, and keep an eye on the instruments.

After a couple hours’ rest, a large auto carrier and a mega yacht were spotted, and set to cross our path, one ahead and one astern. Jacob woke the Captain to relay this information and seek instructions. Tonnage rules has always been our mantra when underway, and these ships being bigger than us, we stayed out of their way. Steady as she goes was the Captain’s order. We passed far astern of the ship ahead, and all vessels continued on their way without incident and with well over a mile between us all.

We had hoped to catch some fish while under way, so we tied a cedar plug tipped with frozen squid to our heavy trolling rod and streamed it in our wake. Switching the lever to make sure the “clicker” was engaged, we checked on it often. We kept an ear out for the buzzing sound the clicker would make when the drag was letting line out. Soon enough, we had a bite! Taking the rod out of the holder, and reeling in, the fish broke off the line. We repeated this process twice more, before running out of trolling lures. First thing on the shopping list is heavier fishing line! (and more cedar plug trolling lures.)

Gram keeping warm in the cool breeze

Rat Pack keeping warm

We entered the Bahama banks after dark, so we had to use the spotlight to see the shallow, clear, turquoise waters we had dreamt about since leaving the Florida Keys. Navigating carefully to avoid any shoals by a wide margin. Knowing we would not get to the customs office before it closed, we planned to anchor near Walkers Cay and clear customs first thing the next morning. Changing our destination waypoint while underway, at night, in unfamiliar shallow waters, was not taken lightly. Danielle took the helm and steered by the planet Jupiter while the Captain reprogrammed the GPS. Luckily, one of the windshield supports lined up perfectly with the planet and it’s reflection on the water, and made an easy reference point. A slightly shorter course plotted, back to normal.

We arrived at our destination at 1100 at night, with baitfish jumping everywhere the spotlight touched, and got a lesson in anchoring in the turtle grass of the Bahamas. Two attempts with the Bruce anchor, and switched it out for the fortress style. This one grabbed right away, and we also dropped the CQR as a second anchor for a fore and aft Bahamian moor. This style greatly reduces our swing radius when the tie or wind changes. Very important with other boats and shallows nearby.
A well deserved restful nights’ sleep and we awoke to the beauty of the Bahamas! Well worth all the work and preparation! Now on to clear customs so we can explore this amazing island nation!

~Steve

Sunrise over Walkers Cay

Easter

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. John 11:25-26

“A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. If was the perfect act.” –Mahatma Gandhi

He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Matthew 28:6

We had a wonderful week of celebration. Not only was it Easter week, it was Jake’s 15 birthday (another post on that coming). Calls from the kids off at school and time spent with the ones still home, and a wonderful church to celebrate the holy week made for the perfect week.

Here’s some pictures of our time this week. We pray for blessings to all our friends and family.

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Proud Parents

This last week, our son Brandon took the next step in his life. After being voted “Best Dressed” and attending his Senior Prom with his beautiful girlfriend, Kianna, he made his first life decision as an adult and we couldn’t be more proud. Brandon has been putting a lot of time into thinking about what he wanted to do with his future. He has prayed about it. We’ve prayed about it. He has talked to friends and family about it. He had many options, as 18 year olds usually do and it was a tough decision. He was considering the Coast Guard, college to get his degree in teaching and Phys Ed so he could coach basketball, taking time off, getting his Dive Master and Captains licenses, or attending the local Community College for free with his A+ credits.

 

Brandon loves two things (besides his friends and family) basketball and serving the Lord. How does a young man incorporate the things he loves into his future? Well, Brandon figured it out. Last week, Brandon signed his letter of intent to play basketball at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Missouri. God was definitely on his A-game with this one. Brandon has always had a passion for Christ, for as long as we can remember. So last year, when he first began this journey to find his next step, we told him we could see him doing some mission work and somehow involving basketball. It seems that God had it planned out a little differently. By using basketball, God lead Brandon to the ministry field.

Brandon’s new coach, Jack Defreitas, is very impressed with Brandon. “Brandon is an exceptional young man and the perfect fit for our institution and the basketball program," Defreitas said. "Like Brady Johnson, who we signed the week before, Brandon stepped up as a senior and had a very good year. I believe he is just beginning to tap into his potential as a basketball player, but I'm just as excited about the quality of character that Brandon brings to the locker room."

 

 

 

We’re so excited to see where Brandon’s path takes him now. We’re so proud watching him grow into such an amazing man. God is moving in his life and blessing him in so many ways. As parents, it’s a very cool thing to watch our Lord work in our son’s life.

Brandon is now a “Saint”. How many parents can say “Oh my child is just a saint?” We can!   Now he just has one more decision. Whether to study Youth Ministry or Multi-Cultural Ministry. We have a feeling Brandon’s got this no matter what he decides.

Variety is the spice of life

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A Full February - A month in review

For a short month, February was a very busy one for the Miss Daisy crew.

We cruised 270 NM and visited the cities of Key Largo, Miami, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach and North Miami Beach, Little Havana, Latana, and Vero Beach. 

We passed through the cities Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Palm Beach, Brickell, Coral Gables, Jupiter, Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Boco Raton and Lake Park.

We cruised through the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, Maule Lake, Hobe Sound, Indian River and the St. Lucie River.

We went to the beach, watched a rocket launch, took an art class at an art Museum, rode a double-decker bus, did some Geocaching, met up with old friends, made lots of new friends, toured an 800 year old monastery and the Piper Airplane manufacturing plant, Captain got his Scuba certificate, saw The Lego Movie and Frozen at the theaters and ate our way through half the east coast of Florida.

We spent a few weeks at Vero Beach Municipal Marina and quickly fell in love with the city. Our canine security team greatly enjoined the Vero Beach City Dog Park, which happened to be located right next to the mooring field. They made lots of furry friends who they look forward to meeting up with again down the road. The city has an incredibly FREE bus system which you can ride all over town. Did I mention that it's FREE, because it is. They have a wonderful Art Museum that hosts one free Saturday each month. The marina is only a couple blocks from the beach which we didn't take advantage of nearly enough. We'll be back, Vero Beach. Oh yes, we'll be back.

So we're on to March, on to our next adventures. First up is Titusville/Cape Canaveral. Kennedy Space Center is calling our name, so we will oblige.

Until next time,

Safe seas.

Miss Daisy