Category: Cruising 2017

I am grossly delinquent in my posting.  Sorry about that, but we have been pretty busy.  We are currently in St. Augustine taking a day off from chores and playing tourist.  Tomorrow we’ll be moving north again.  We plan a night in Jacksonville, then Fernandina Beach.  We’ll be in Brunswick, Ga for 2 nights then on to Isle of Hope and Hilton Head.  We’re planning 5-7 days at Hilton Head before continuing north. Continue reading 6/24/17 Crossing the Stream and Heading North

It has been wonderful having friends and family visit us.  As I’ve said many times lately- I love Tim, but after 6 mos of 24/7 togetherness, it is wonderful to see new faces and hear different stories.  Kitty and Bill Chalfont, friends from Clear Lake Shores, spent 3 days with us.  Then my nephew and his wife, Jessie and Mackenzie Turner, stayed on the boat 5 nights. Continue reading April 28, 2017- Friendly faces in the Abacos

The wind continues here in the Bahamas.  Last night we had gusts to near 40 and lots of rocking at the dock.  With this weather, we have not wanted to venture out in the boat.  But we really needed to get out and DO something.  We had talked to boat friends, Rob and Kim about taking the ferry to Man-O-War Cay, but decided to instead on a road trip. Continue reading 4/16/2017 Wind = Road trip, laundry,reading, and chores

Wind, wind and more wind.  It seems like everyone here has been talking about what a windy season it has been.  Marinas are filling up as cruisers haul anchor and head to a dock to ride out the predicted winds.  Forecasts have been calling for 15-20 knots at times and 20-25 knots at others.  This weekend we are predicted to have gusts in the low 30s.  It’s not undoable, its just uncomfortable.  We’re glad to have committed to a month here at Mangoes.  I have no problem sleeping at night tied up to a sturdy dock.  Some people are not finding dock space available except at much higher resort prices.  Booking for a month dropped our rate considerably and we know we have a slip to come back to if we decide to island hop for a few days.

We had 3 wonderful days with Bill and Kitty.  I can’t express how nice it is to have faces from home visit.  When you are with one person for 24/7 6 months running, there’s not much more we can talk about.  So having fresh ears and voices with news from home was a real treat.  Add a bit of wine and it’s a party.  Bill and Kitty arrived on Sunday early afternoon and we took them out for a stroll of Marsh Harbor.  Because of the winds, we left Subject to Change tied up at Mangoes and took the ferry across to Elbow Cay.  It’s only about a 20 min ferry ride over.  Hope Town is the largest settlement on Elbow Cay and is famous for its lighthouse.  The lighthouse was built in 1863 and is one of the last that is kerosene-fueled.  It has a glass fresnel lens.  Maggie climbed to the top with us and crawled out to the walk to look over Hope Town Harbor.   Unlike Marsh Harbor, Hope Town is a quaint resort community with very few cars.  We also found the first sign of recycling since arriving in the Bahamas.  The small elementary school had a display outside encouraging recycling plastics and glass.

The wind decided to give us a break on Tuesday so we untied Subject to Change and headed northwest to Great Guana Cay.  We dropped anchor in a protected cove just west off Settlemet and Orchid Bay Marina.  As we motored into the cove, we spotted Lucy, home to Long and Day our buddies who crossed the Stream with us.  It was great meeting up with them and hearing of their adventures.   Guana has one of the smallest settlements in Abaco.  The 2010 census reported 127 people living on the island.  The north side of Guana lies along the Atlantic and has a magnificent wide, beautiful beach.  It also has the world famous Nippers Beach Bar.  Nippers is known for its Sunday Pig Roast, AKA  Spring Break for 60 year olds.  Well, we missed Sunday (whew!), but we did make it for lunch. My $16 Cheeseburger in Paradise was only made special by the amazing view of the ocean beach.

And now it’s back to just Tim, Maggie and me.  Bill and Kitty flew back to the states on Wednesday morning.  We’re catching up on chores and chillin.  Our other cruising friends from Green Turtle, Rob and Kim, are at the marina next door, so we’re looking forward to spending some time with them.  Tonight a guy who has spent several months cruising Cuba has offered to give a presentation at the pool about his travels.  We’ll head up to hear him and meet more of our dock neighbors.  Should be interesting.

We are in the Bahamas!!!!  Yes the water is as beautiful as people say it is.  It is clear, amazing shades of blue, cool and refreshing and it goes on for ever. Continue reading 3/31/2017 Mangoes Marina, Marsh Harbor, Great Abaco Island

Sitting in a room with mustard colored walls, a queen bed and kitchenette supplied only with a single cup coffee pot.  It ain’t much, but it is or home for a little over a week.  We are at the Travelodge in the great City of Okeechobee, one of  the few hotels in town that will accept dogs.  Subject to Change is in the yard at River Forest Marina in La Belle. Continue reading 3/17/2017. Okeechobee on the hard.

Day light Saving Time caught us starting a bit late today.  We left the dock at Ft Myers around 9 am with a goal of getting to River Forest Marina just east of La Belle this afternoon.  We want to be at River Forest tonight so we can be hauled out first thing in the morning.  Our fingers and toes are crossed that we only will need our props to be balanced.   Continue reading 3/12/2107. Okeechobee Waterway

Today we are tied back up at the Marina at Edison Ford.  Tim is walking to the hardware store that’s about 2 miles away while I rinse the boat and take care of the blog. Continue reading 2/23- 3/7/2017. Sarasota plus and now back in Ft. Myers

Today is a rain day and it is also moving day for us.  We woke to a long line of  rain heading toward the west coast of Florida.  So far it hasn’t been too heavy and it is not accompanied by high winds.  It’s just been a steady light rain.  Ok, not the best conditions for moving, but very doable for us especially since we are only moving from the mooring field to a slip.  The rain is very welcome in Florida.  It has been exceptionally dry here and this rain will soak in and help a lot.  We actually welcome it as well.  The boat is in need of a good washing and the rain will help rinse the salt off .

We’ve been on the mooring ball for a week now.  It’s been a good test of the fridge/freezer since Tim replaced the defective diode and it’s given me time to practice my dingy driving skills.  We’ve also been trying out “cruising” recipes.  As we head to the islands, we expect to be eating more meals from cans and have limited access to fresh veggies, fruits and meats.  We’re pretty familiar with canned veggies- not the greatest, but we can handle them.  It’s the canned meats that we are more unsure of.  As a kid I remember Mom making mac and cheese with canned ham and sometimes using Spam.  Tim doesn’t have memories of that delicacy, so we decided we needed to try it out before we planned meals around it.  We decided to make a boater’s version of mac and cheese.  Tim grilled 1/2″ slices of spam on the Weber while I made basic mac and Velvetta cheese with cooked cabbage.  Keep in mind that one pot meals are the norm here on Subject to Change.  This dish would provide carb, dairy, veggie and protein.  We cubed the grilled Spam and mixed it in.  The Verdict:  not bad.  Grilling the Spam reduced some of the fat content while adding a depth of flavor.  🙂   Yes, we could survive with Spam if needed.  If any of you readers are planning a stay with us- BEWARE!

We also had another road trip this past week, going back to Ft. Myers.  Maggie needed her final shot and Heath Certificate for the Bahamas and we needed to pick up a package sent to The Marina at Edison Ford.  While we had the car we made a run to Trader Joe’s to load up of goodies.  We had hoped to make a Walmart stop too, but ran short on time.  That will have to wait.

 

 

While in Sarasota, a Must Do, is to see The Ringling Bros. Circus Museum.  Maggie stayed on the boat when Tim and I took the bus for a short ride up to the museum.  Part of the displays is a scaled miniature circus complete with all the tents, animals, clowns, acrobats, vendors, circus goers, chairs, anything and everything one would see at a circus.  It was amazing the detail put into this exhibit.  They had original billboard and posters on display and some of the original carriages used by the circus.  In its  hay day, the circus employed 1,300 workers.  It traveled from town to town by train, setting up in 150 towns a year.  Most of the shows were for one day only.  The publisizers would head out about 2 weeks before the circus to plaster the small towns with posters and billboards announcing the coming of the circus.  The food wagons would be the first to set up, getting 3 meals a day prepared for the rest of the workers.  They’d also be the first to breakdown and move on for the next show.  It was quite an organization.

 

One of the great things about Sarasota has been seeing old friends and meeting a lot of new ones.  On our first day here we met Steve and Barb Sipe on Maerin, a Solo 43 when they helped us string our lines through the mooring thimble.  Shortly after we were greeted by our first DeFeverites- Peggy and Hans Bjarno on their Albin 43- Aqua Vitae.  Yes, they are in the DeFever club despite not having a DeFever.  They are DeFever wannabes.  We are moored very close to Rock and Louisa with their dog, Maggie, who we met in Houma.  And friends from Carrrabelle, Peter and Helen Hoyt on their DeFever 40 are also here.

A real treat was having Capt. Don and neighbor, Mark visit.  Don helped captain Subject to Change when we brought her from Madisonville, La. to Texas 2 years ago.  In fact, this week is the anniversary of when we first brought her home.  Don called Tim to find out where we were because he was on a delivery from Miami to Texas.   He decided to spend the night here at Marina Jack before jumping across the gulf.  Don lives straight across the bayou from us and Mark is his next door neighbor.  So Tim, Maggie and I dinghyed in to meet them for dinner.  A cool surprise was that the boat he was delivering is a sister boat to ours.  It is a 49′ 2002 DeFever, just one year off.    Beautiful boat, of  course, and it will be moored on Clear Lake too.

This next week will be DeFever week for us.  The rendezvous officially begins on Friday, but boats are arriving daily and we are enjoying meeting other owners.  This is our whole reason for staying so long in this area of Florida and we’re really looking forward to learning and getting to know others who have been out cruising their boats.