TravelStream™ news feed for member outbound5 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/outbound5 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:04:14 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1208609640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1208609640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1208609640/tpod.html Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:04:14 -0400 To the Sea

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Spanish Wells, Bahamas

After roughly a month and a half of exploring the Exumas we set off for the much larger island of Eleuthera. From Highborne Cay, Exuma we sailed to the Cape Eleuthera Yacht Club and Resort which tempted us to visit from the incredible description we read in our guide book. About a mile from the marina entrance we were unable to contact the dock master, but thinking the VHF signal was just acting up, we proceeded into the channel leading to a private cove the resort had created. An absolute ghost town is what we witnessed. Not a single transient motor or sail boat in sight and only 3 small charter fishing boats were tied up. About 40 yards from the set of empty docks we finally get in touch with someone who leads us in. While checking in I asked the woman when the High season was supposed to be, "This IS the high season..." she replies. Somewhere there's a developer and some investors sweating bullets. Other than the initial creepy aura, it was kind of nice being the kings of the castle and having everyone cater to just You. haha. It was actually a little difficult to choose one table to sit at in the empty restaurant. Not sure how fresh the food could have been, but it tasted great and we're still alive! From here we traveled around the corner to a huge bay named Rock Sound Harbour. Rock Sound settlement was real small, but had the largest grocery store we had been to since Nassau! We were awe struck going inside and had a field day going up and down all the isles, making justifications for why we would need this and that. I mean...they had more salad dressings to choose from that the previous stores had items! Michael and Austin renewed our travel visa here and major maintenance on the generator was performed; changed the impeller for the raw water cooling system, changed the oil, created a new gasket for the raw water strainer, and replaced the fuel filter. The funny thing about this town was how Everyone you passed waved to you. While walking home with grocery filled hands we must have head nodded a hundred times to avoid being rude. Governors Harbour was our next stop and we anchored right off of this small beach in front of the town. A nice colonial styled town, with a bakery that sold fresh donuts and an antique library we hung out in while using the internet. It was in this town that I finally convinced myself to see a doctor about my aching foot. I had got a cut on the bottom of my foot a week and half prior, but in the last couple days it had grown severely swollen and was not only hurting when I put pressure on it, but All the time. The constant throbbing was especially annoying at night when trying to sleep. The clinic in this town had one doctor that I had to telephone when I arrived inside. The doctor that arrived in this tiny Bahamian town oddly enough was Chinese. He spoke English pretty well, but I was thinking to myself of all the places to be treated by a Chinese doctor the middle of the Bahamas was not it. After sitting up on the exam table came the worst pain of my life. The nice, friendly, all smiles doctor took my painful to the touch lemon foot and proceeded to squeeze all the juice out, while I grinded my teeth in horrific pain. My foot had in fact been extremely infected and actually did feel better as I limped out of the clinic, little brown bag full of antibiotics and painkillers in hand, an exhausted soldier after a battle, slowly peddling my bike back to the dinghy. It was here we also were lucky to meet a couple from the Annapolis, MD area. They invited back on their boat where we swapped stories and they told us of their world travels as SCUBA diving instructors! Our next stop was Royal Island, at the top of Eleuthera, a nice day sail from Governors Harbour. During this sail we lost two of our best lures to the razor teethed Barracuda that must have been getting back at us for taking their cousin in Exuma. Metal leaders for every lure now. Towards the end of the sail we rocketed through a narrow cut, aptly named current cut, where we recorded 7.6 knots without sail or the motor! Next door to Royal Island is Spanish Wells, where we currently reside at Yacht Haven Marina. Spanish Wells is a prominent fishing community that sends most of its Lobster to none other than "Red Lobster." The locals here have quite the unique accent, a mix between Scottish, Gullah, Southern, and New Jersey if you can begin to imagine that. At one of the restaurants I ordered the turtle, apparently a very common dish here. I made Michael and Austin try it too and we all loved it! Golf carts are the main form of transportation here, most outfitted with stereos, and fishing boats of all sizes line the docks. The season has just ended so the docks are jammed packed with fisherman and mechanics scrambling to get their boats in tip top before the start of the next season. The sight of forklifts and people running around, the sound of power tools and engines, and the smell of fresh paint and fish is quite an experience to behold. The famous, luxurious and touristy Harbour Island is right next door and couldn't be more different. After a ferry ride through an extremely tricky area known as devils backbone, you step off the ferry boat to locals telling you about their golf cart rentals. We asked to see the golf carts and upon scanning them Michael points to a Monster golf cart. Lifted with big, all terrain tires this was a golf cart to the max and our choice as soon as we saw it. Cruising around the town in this thing was a thrill ride especially zipping around corners and down narrows streets. We visited the Pink sand beach and had lunch at the Coral Sands hotel restaurant overlooking it. As upscale and classy as the place was it was hilarious to see a rooster walking around crowing at the different tables. In fact, we saw chickens all over the place and sadly even one that almost crossed the road. A man riding a horse in the ocean, stuffed turtles, and holding the worlds largest coconut were some other highlights before leaving the island.Eleuthera gave us that desired interaction with Bahamian culture first hand. Since the towns were so small, we really stood out to the locals and they were more than happy to talk to us and tell us about their town and the best places to eat, buy fresh bread, and find certain engine parts. It was a really nice change to be able to buy simple food items like cheese and meat! From here our next adventure awaits in the Abacos and overnight sail away.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1208300820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1208300820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1208300820/tpod.html Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:43:13 -0400 To the Sea

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Spanish Wells, Bahamas

Greetings from Spanish Wells!  We left off in Staniel Cay after a great visit with family and the exploration of Thunderball Cave, swimming pigs, iguanas, a Bahamian stern talking too about conch size limits, beautiful coral reefs, fishing, snorkeling and day sailing.  We left March 30th to head to our furthest southern destination, the Blackpoint settlement, but not before rescuing a stranded boater. It really was right place right time for us because as we were plotting our route for the day and contemplating the harsh weather conditions on the way, a couple in a 15 foot Boston Whaler were motoring about 70 yards off our starboard.  All of a sudden we heard this Crack! and their entire outboard engine plunges into the water! Having just gotten back from the marina and still in the dinghy, I motor over to help the now panicked couple.  Actually in the rush over there My engine stalls because I didn't turn the gas switch back on before leaving and so I'm floating not 40 yards from them trying to fill the gas lines once again yelling "I'm on the way." haha  Finally I get there and the husband is bleeding from the leg, looking into the water at his engine sitting on the bottom, thinking "I got the rental insurance didn't I?"  The boat looked like a mess because once the engine fell off, the still connected steering cables had pulled the entire steering assembly to the stern.  After lifting the engine out of the water, miraculously I was able to pull the boat to the shore against the tricky current of Staniel Cay.  Someone else was helping us that day for sure.  As soon as that incident was finished, we made the tough call of heading out to the rough seas and sailing south to Blackpoint.  During the sail the dark threatening clouds that were looming overhead quickly passed, making way for a nice warm sun.  What didn't change were the rough seas.  We battled the waves southbound with smiles on our face, fed from the adrenaline rush of pushing through the elements of nature.  Our anchor spot off Blackpoint that night never felt so peaceful.  The next day we packed all our dirty clothes, basically everything we had brought, into plastic, white trash bags and dinghy-ed to shore.  We must have been a sight to see carrying all these bags down the dirt road, receiving lots of smiles and waves.  After laundry was lunch at the famous Lorraine's Cafe, where Lorraine herself would greet, seat, take you order, and cook your food as well.  Delicious food at that, especially the mahi sandwich. The next day the hunt for lobster was on.  The first couple attempts at catching lobster in our dive bags proved futile, so this day we used our fishing net.  The lobster here were hiding in crevices 25 feet below the surface and repeatedly diving down that deep was absolutely exhausting.  While dealing with the deep water we also had this large barracuda that would hang around.  By now we are pretty used to the barracuda down here and justified there constant presence as mere curiosity as opposed to hostile.  Even so, their jaws always revealing those razor sharp teeth and the way they dart around so fast, makes you pretty leery regardless.  The lobster we so proudly brought to the surface and dinghy-ed back with turned out to be pregnant!  The vision of steaming, hot lobster tail dripping with warm, melted butter disappeared just as quickly as the critter did once we dropped her back in the ocean.  A pretty neat occasion that we have come to witness several times is the supply ship arrival for each small town.  Once a week everyone in town gathers around the dock welcoming the arrival of this cargo ship that carries everything the town needs; food, tools, mail, and other equipment.  Everyone uses the gathering as a social opportunity, catching up with friends and family.  Before heading north again we stopped at White Point which was an anchorage right off of a deserted beautiful beach.  We spent the whole two days there relaxing on the white sand, burying Austin in it, chasing a grouper around with the spear, hunting for conch, playing football, and reading.  At the time, the weather for crossing to Eleuthera was not cooperating with us so while waiting for our chance we decided to head back up to our second stop in the Exuma chain, Highborne Cay.   It was pretty amazing to sail in two days what we spent a month adventuring through.  Halfway between White Point and Highborne, we anchored off of Hawksbill Cay.  We arrived around midday and  decided to kiteboard the rest of the afternoon.  Michael was the first one to go and once off the beach the winds suddenly died allowing the strong current to sweep him away and down the Island!  Austin and I scrambled into the dinghy and quickly found that the engine wouldn't start because the spark plug had fowled.  We then paddled to Respite and while running around trying to find a tool to remove the spark plug, we see Michael still floating ever farther away.  We finally were able to motor over and pick an exhausted Michael up and dinghy back to the beach. So tired after that whole mess we forgot to pull the dinghy back up on shore far enough to keep it safe from the incoming tide.  10 minutes after arriving at the beach we look over to find the dinghy missing and steadily floating where Michael had just been.  Austin then dashed into the water and began swimming after it to no avail.  He then began waving his arms and Michael and I thought we was in trouble so I began swimming after him while Michael untied Respite from the Mooring ball.  Once I got to Austin he says "The current was too strong to reach it", "Jeez Austin I thought you were drowning!"  Both exhausted, Michael comes strolling up with Respite to snatch us up and we proceed to sail after our runaway dinghy.  Quite the day indeed.   We sailed to Highborne Cay marina the next day reeling in a huge barracuda on the way.  After a couple much needed ice cold beers and a great nights rest, we set off for Eleuthera at day break.            The Exumas were everything and more we had heard about them.  I never expected to find such beautiful crystal clear water and a remoteness that made you feel like you were the first one to explore an area.  Jammed packed with wildlife too.  Dolphins would occasionally swim in Respites bow wake,  curious barracuda always a constant presence in the water, iguana ruled islands, conch shells, lobster, and fish galore.  Many times we would dinghy to an absolutely pristine beach and not see a single person the whole time.  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1206821400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1206821400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1206821400/tpod.html Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:24:00 -0400 To the Sea

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Staniel Cay, Bahamas

Hello again from Staniel Cay in the central Exumas!  We arrived here four days ago, and since then have been visiting with our parents and Granny.  They decided to join us down here for a quick stay and get a taste of the island life.  Since the last report from Highborne, we have been sailing south and stopping at many of the small Exumas islands on the way to Staniel.  First stop was at Hawksbill Cay, which provided a wonderfull, calm mooring that felt like we were sleeping on land again; it was so peaceful.  We did our usual hiking excursion all over the island and this was the first island in a protected chain the makes up the National Exuma Land and Sea Park.  This park is protected by Bahamian laws and prevents any harm done to the islands, such as open fires or littering, and any fishing within three miles of the islands.  This protection is nice because the land is pristine and the fish population over the top! It is sure tempting to take our spears to some of the reefs.  We left the following day and headed to the Park Headquarters in Warderick Wells.  This Cay features a semicircle of moorings with a huge sandbar in the middle, which is nice for running around, throwing the football, and just relaxing.  The drop off from this sandbar is so steep that you can run and dive off it into about 12 feet of water.  The area also features plenty of hiking trails all over the somewhat mountainous island.  At the top Boo Boo Hill, there is a shrine dedicated to all the sailors who have visited the area and its filled with pieces of drift wood carved with vessel names.  It also features impressive views over the crystal aqua waters.  Off the coast of Warderick Wells was a ship wreck many years ago, and they say that ghosts still haunt the island... we were looking, but sadly did not hear any spirits.  After leaving Warderick, we traveled on to Cambridge Cay.  This inlet was fairly narrow, as most are down here, but we safely navigated around the treacherous coral banks and made it to a secure mooring.  Soon after I jumped in for a quick swim before sunset.  After surveying the surrounding bottom for potential hazards, I swam to the stern of the boat and saw a large fish swimming towards the boat.  Slowly but surely it made its way closer and closer and got bigger and bigger until I realized it was a shark!  Now I have been on a shark dive with my family so I have seen some in the water before, but when it is just you and the shark, you get a little more nervous about it.  I was out of the water in a split second and was soon watching it swim beneath the boat!  We later learned that some Bull sharks had been seen roaming the moorings looking for scraps from boaters, but to be very cautious because the Bull sharks, unlike the tame Nurse sharks, are known to attack swimmers.  Since then we have been watching over our shoulders for these nasty guys, not wanting to loose a toe!  We soon left Cambridge, and headed to Compass Cay marina.  This marina had a great island feel to it, and was still run by the family who had inherited the island from the Bahamian government years ago.  After setting anchor, we dingyed into the marina for a look around and a cold beverage.  We got talking to some people from Annapolis, and invited us back for some drinks on their 75 foot motor yacht.  Before we knew it, they asked us to stay for dinner!  It couldn't have come at a better time either, because we were getting pretty tired of the pasta dinners.  We ate like kings that night and had a feast of steaks, mushrooms, baked potatoes, and green beans.  The people were very nice and we ended up staying talking till 11 oclock.  It was a great meal and gave us the energy for an adventure the next day  Again there were multiple hiking trails on this island, and one which led to a "bubble bath".  The bath was created by enormous waves crashing on the coral rocks and spilling over into a pool on the other side, creating foamy water with bubbles floating up into the air.  We all dove into the pool, and it was extremely refreshing after the three hour hike to the bath.  Later the next day, we did some kiteboarding close to a sandbar off the marina.  The wind was blowing 15-20 kts, and was great for kiteboarding.  Austin was tearing it up out there, as was Brayden until he lost a part to his kite, which soon sent him flying through the air 7-10 feet.  It was hilarious from my point of view in the chase dingy, seeing Brayden fly once with the board, then a second and third time just being launched through the air!  I quickly raced over to him, as quickly as you can with a 5hp, and loaded up the kite and board, while Austin was doing circles around us.  The current proved to be pretty wicked though and was sucking us out fast.  We finished short after Brayden's incident, and relaxed the rest of the afternoon on the sandbar located in the middle of the harbor.  Next stop was at Sampson Cay, just further south of Compass.  This marina was very high class and every boat was at least 55 feet, with a couple over 150.  We grabbed some lunch and then headed off to find some conch for dinner.  We scoured the water and found a bunch of conch shells.  We cleaned them, and fried the conch, using bisquik pancake mix for the batter and some herbs and spices for flavor, into some fritters, which were delicious.  Left there a few days later and headed to Staniel to meet up with the parents.  We cleaned up the boat and waited for the parents to arrive, but we quickly were ordered to leave the marina because of a strong west front soon to blow through in two hours.  Everyone at the dock was told to leave, and it was a mad, frantic dash to get out before it blew through.  As the dark clouds rolled in and the wind picked up, everyone was trying to seek shelter somewhere.  We ended up finding a spot not too far away in between two islands, providing decent protection from the strong west winds.  We waited out the storm for the night, as the parents arrived shortly after we had left.  The next day turned out to be gorgeous, and gave us time to anchor back closer to where the parents were staying.  Over the time we spent with them, we got to do some fantastic snorkeling in Thunder ball Grotto, featured in James Bond film.  An absolutely amazing cave that you had to swim under huge boulders to get to.  Once you surfaced inside the cave you find yourself in a dark enclosure, with light rays through cracks in the ceiling creating a surreal atmosphere.  We explored all around Staniel and Sampson Cay in the rental boat and again dove for some conch.  The conch we found were a little too small the keep, and after some harsh words from some local Bahamians,  were given some we could cook up. We went out for a nice day sail and threw out some lines in hope of landing a dolphin, but had no such luck.  In fact, a whole school of these yellow and blue accented fish swam right along side the boat, basically teasing us, before diving down again into the deep blue.We ventured over to Big Majors Island, and saw the infamous swimming pigs!  They came right up to the boat, wanting only one thing: food.  We went on shore to find about seven little piglets playing in the bushes, and tried to coax them out for a closer look.  These pigs were actually pretty aggressive at times and one even bit Brayden on the leg after he was teasing them with the bread.  Overall we had a great time seeing our parents and granny, ate fantastic meals, and got some great time on land for a good change of pace.  We are anxious to get back out on the sea, and keep the journey going strong.  We are off to do some much needed laundry in Black Point, and then venture down to a huge beach for some kiteboarding, praying the wind is right.  From there we are off to our southern most destination, Georgetown, on Grand Exuma Island.      Michael Pitcairn
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1205032620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1205032620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1205032620/tpod.html Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:17:36 -0500 To the Sea

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Highborne Cay, Bahamas

Hey there, Sorry, haven't been around internet for a while! Currently, we are in Highborne Cay at a nice marina.   The furthest south we got was roughly 8 miles from here, Normans Cay, which was amazing.  We had to back track somewhat because we needed a good charge on our batteries, as well as some water.  I think we left off at Port Lucaya...so I'll begin with the journey from there to Nassau.  We left Lucaya, being there what seemed like an eternity around 11am on a bright sunny day.   Leaving the inlet we had entered a week before, we were amazed at how much it had changed from the violent washing machine we had known.  It was an extremely calm ride out, passing a dive boat and some catamarans tooling around the entrance way.  We threw a fishing line off the back as is customary before a long haul, yet still the sharp hook wielded nothing more than some green seaweed.  About an hour into the passage we decided to cut the engine and Really sail, hearing nothing more than salty ocean against Respite's hull.  Really relaxing.  The weather throughout was great.  A little wavy during the night, but everything seems to amplify when darkness takes over.  We must have seen twenty cruise liners leaving the Nassau area, almost in a huge lighted parade, with some cargo ships here and there.  We had learned the lesson of preparing the cabin for rough seas, so this time we made sure to bungee down cushions, stow books, cups, and spices, and secure our main storage area.  The cabin after this trip looked night and day from the Gulf cross, granted we didn't have crazy weather.  One incident that occurred while crossing was this huge rogue wave that crashed against and on top of the port side deck spilling water into the cockpit.  I was behind the dodger, they don't call it that for nothing, and was spared, but Michael on the other hand was not.                                   During the day in Nassau, Michael and Austin went to Atlantis to ride the slides, etc and I simply just crashed on the couch exhausted.  I didn't really have any desire to do anything but finally sleep for an hour or two, but it was great because around 6pm time I took a cab over there to meet up with them for dinner.  They showed me the huge aquariums and we walked to marina docks staring at the huge motor yachts backed into their slips.  We had pizza from this Italian eatery...so good!  Jamaican Jerk Pizza!  We left the next morning early and who did we see while leaving....Local Knowledge!( My Granny's old sailboat.)  We were minding our own business cruising down the waterway on our way to the outlet, when this dinghy starts racing towards us!  I thought, shoot did we have to clear customs or something here? What's going on?  As the crazed man on the dingy got closer we noticed Local Knowledge painted on the side of the tender!  We talked to him for as long as we could being that we were in a narrow channel and told him that we we're going to meet up with our Granny and parents in Staniel Cay at the end of the month.  I think he said that was his plan too, so we'll just have to see.                                  When crossing over to Allens Cay, our first spot in the Exumas, I really got the sense that we had Made It.  We were dipping the toe rail, blazing through this aqua green crystal clear water that we had been dreaming of since this idea came about.  This was it!  There was a whole fleet of sailboats heading to the Exumas, quite a sight and it was fun trying to trim the sails to get an edge on the boat next you. There were a couple spots where we had to dodge these huge coral heads that hide right beneath the water.  Michael likes the ride on the bow as spotter, I love to man the helm, and Austin likes to relax while relaying what Michael and I are saying to each other, so we kept those positions in these areas.    Allen's Cay was a little tricky to get into.  You squeeze through two areas of rocks and whip around the corner to find the shallow anchor spot having to dodge the other boats already there.  It took a lifetime to anchor since the bottom was really loose sand.  Michael ended up jumping in and pushing the anchor in the sand for it to bite.  Since it was so loose we decided to use two anchors just in case and man was it a good idea.  That night we had the strongest winds we've ever been in!  35-40 knot winds just screaming by.  The constant howling tested our nerves and didn't let you sleep for long..  During the night we had to wrap a line around the top of the bimini to keep it from blowing away.  Constantly you wake up from the rocking boat, thinking "I better check to make sure the anchor didn't slip."  So you stumble out of bed, climb up on deck, and use a flashlight to spot where everything is.  Thank goodness we stayed put, because having to re-anchor in the pitch black, with the wind and rain beating  against you would not have been fun.  The main attraction at Allen's Cay is the iguanas.  Now, when I heard that there were some neat looking iguanas that you could feed, I was thinking maybe a few.  When we pulled our dinghy up on the beach, no less than 45 iguanas sat there starring you down, wondering how long it would take for the lettuce in your hand to make it to their mouth.  They were pretty brave, coming within a foot to grab a piece of lettuce.                             The next stop was Highborne Cay, which has a great beach and is where we first encountered "trash fish."  Austin first saw these fish while swimming back to the boat after setting the anchor.  They were just resting right up under our hull and about 3 feet long.  Apparently they'll eat anything you throw overboard and some say good to eat.  Now I don't think we eat them but there pretty fun to mess with.  Norman's Cay is the furthest South we've made it and probably the best place we've been too.  We were there for 3 days before coming back to Highborne for water and a battery charge.  While at Normans, we hiked around the entire island, exploring some caves, walking on a land bridge accessible only at low tide, and visting the ruins of Carlos Lehders house.  Carlos in the 70's ran a huge drug operation from this island, taking advantage of the airstrip and isolation it offered.  If you've seen the movie "Blow" you know what I'm talking about.  After his operation was busted, his house, the workers houses, and dock were all left to decay.  Fun to explore!   We finished off the day by treating ourselves to a meal out at the only restaurant we've seen in a little while.  MaGruffs was the name of the place and man was it delicious.  Tomorrow we'll be heading off again making our way to Hawksbill Cay.  I know this one was long and we thank you for reading.  We will keep you posted as we have internet.  All the best, Brayden, Michael, and Austin
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1202912580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1202912580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1202912580/tpod.html Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:11:19 -0500 To the Sea

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New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States

               Since officially leaving Charleston February 2nd, we have been traveling down the Intracoastal Waterway for about a week making sure that everything was working as it should.  A couple minor problems with the alternator were sorted out with the help of Errell Steele of Beaufort, SC.  Definitely a lifesaver and we appreciate your help help Errell.  Also to Port Royal Landing Marina who made us feel more than welcome during our stay.  If ya'll are reading this thank you and we'll definitely be back.  The restaurant next door by the way has the best food and a club sandwich that was big enough to fed the three of us.  Our daily routine has been waking around 6:20am, making coffee, and pulling anchor by first light; usually around 6:45am to 7:00am.  On the way someone will be making breakfast, most commonly  a grits bowl that consists of instant grits, cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs, and some chalula hot sauce all mixed together.  Its fantastic.  Austin doesn't really like grits so he's more of a cereal and powdered milk kind of guy.  Powdered milk....not too bad.  Our refrigerator is pretty small so we don't try and keep many perishables.  Lots of pasta and tomato sauce, as well as velvetta shells and cheese.  Canned chicken is good for chicken curry and hopefully fresh fish will soon to be on our menu most days.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are eaten mostly for lunch and not only to save space but because they stay fresh longer, we use flour tortillas instead of white bread.  To mix it up a bit we've tried putting Cinnamon sugar on the PB&J and it turned out great.  I'd write that one down.  St. Simons, Ga. was our last stop on the Intracoastal before heading for our first overnight passage.  None of us had done one before so we were a little on edge for a while there.  Sailing through the sun setting is almost like driving a car while slowly closing your eyes.  There's nothing you can do once your miles away from shore, but to face the inevitable, looming darkness and hope you did your chart plotting correctly.  After a couple hours though it turned out to be the best experience.  You really begin to seep into a relaxed state as you stare off into the far horizon off city lights back on shore.  You can't see anything, so your mind isn't racing, thinking about the buoys to the left, the birds diving to the right, or the never ending trail of jellyfish passing by.  Just the tiny city lights and the moon light against the water.  Actually, the lights of a huge cargo ship or a tug boat are pretty scary, but once there gone its ok.  This wasn't what we were expecting leaving St. Simons that morning.  Over the VHF radio a distress call had been made to the Jacksonville Coast Guard regarding a 37 foot Sea Ray motorboat taking on water.  The standby and calling channel for marine vessels is 16, so we overheard half of the rescue operation.  I say half because we were only able to pick up the Coast Guard operator speaking.  Apparently there were 7 passengers aboard and the C.G. was asking anybody in the surrounding area to assist. We then proceeded to save 7....nah just joking we weren't anywhere close but we would have. haha  From St. Simons we traveled straight to Daytona Beach through the inlet to New Symrna.  You know your in Florida when you see shuffleboard tournaments and manatee warning signs.  From here we will be heading down the Intracoastal to Cape Canaveral and then another overnight, hopefully to West Palm Beach.  Then on to Fort Lauderdale for the Bahama crossing.  Well thanks for reading, we'll be putting up pictures regularly as well as updates when we have Internet access.  Hope all is well back home and take care.Brayden, Michael, and Austin
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1203729960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1203729960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1203729960/tpod.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:19:13 -0500 To the Sea

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Freeport, Bahamas

Well we finally made it to the Bahamas!  We arrived on the 22nd into Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island at around 8:30 a.m. and had an incredible experience crossing the Gulf Stream.  After leaving Delray Beach, we headed to Fort Lauderdale to have a decent angle, heading slightly East/North East, in order to avoid fighting the Gulf Stream current too much.  We stayed at a wonderful marina located right on the Intracoastal, so we could have easy access to the inlet when ready to depart.  The marina was HUGE and the boats, actually MEGA yachts, dwarfed Respite.  I think the largest had to be close to 200 ft, and there were about four or five of these, and the others ranged from 50-150 feet!  Respite was definately the smallest, but the funny thing was that we had a number of people take pictures of her. I was shocked at first, wondering what the people we doing getting so close to her.  So after a couple of long bike rides to good ole West Marine, we finally had all the supplies needed to cross.  We met a couple that were leaving the same day as us and decided to try and stay in radio contact with them throughout the trip.  They had come all the way down from Canada on their hand built sailboat, that took him 15 years to construct; and we thought we had put some time in!  So the day came to cross and we left around 12:30.  We had initially planned to go into West End, but the inlet was fairly shallow and difficult to navigate so we just decided to go a bit further to Port Lucaya.  Leaving the inlet out of Fort Lauderdale proved to be more wavy than expected, and the bow of Respite was just punching through the 4-7 swells and proved to be a rough start.  Once through the inlet we hoisted the sails and got up to a good cruising speed of 6 to 7  knots.  About an hour or two after setting sail we saw the Canadians we met in the marina sailing off in the distance and talked over the VHF for a bit with them.  They had a little different sailing strategy than us so our paths quickly widend while they headed SE and us E NE sailing close hauled.  The first couple of hours went great and besides the 4-6 foot swells, everything was going good.  We put out a couple of rods in hope of catching some fish, and we actually landed a small tuna. aAs soon as we got it by the boat, however, the fish spat the hook out and darted back into the blue sea. Pretty disappointed, we figured it would have been a chore to try and clean it in the seas we were in, and plenty more fishing to come.  About an hour later, we saw a storm about to come through, so on went the rain gear and life jackets.  The winds picked up and we took in one reef of the main sail.  By the way the boat was heeled over to the toe rail most of the whole trip across, and you get pretty used to standing at crazy angles. The rain passed over in about 30-45 minutes and was not nearly as bad as it had looked.  After the sun went down the moon came out and lit up the water beautifully.  We took turns at he helm, each lasting 2 hours.  We were very glad it is warm down here cause about every couple of minutes you pierce through a big roller and get a shot of salt water to the face!  First couple of times were abrupt, but soon it becomes very common almost funny.  Around ten at night, we noticed that the bilge pump was working quite a bit and pumping out ALOT of water.  I managed to climb inside to the front of the boat and notice that as we punched through the waves, a surge of water would pour down the inside of the bow of the boat. .  The boat was steadily getting heavier in the front and something needed to be done to limit the water getting in.  Austin and I clipped into the jack lines and battling the waves, we made it to the bow to realize that the anchor locker was completely full of water and was over flowing into the front compartments of the boat.  We used the forward cabin's v shaped plywood to try and deflect the water from entering the anchor locker.  Securing this board was a crazy endevor.  Austin and I went to the bow again and pumped out as much of the water as possible before we latched the board down with some ropes, all the while waves crashing over the bow.  It was pretty discouraging though after pumping like crazy, and then have a huge wave just fill it up in one big crash.  Once the board was secure, it limited the amount of water pouring through the front and we were good to go once again.  The winds stayed pretty constant throughout the night around 15 knots with gusts of 20 knots.  At around 2 a.m., I wake up to the sound of the engine dying... not such a good sound to wake up to.  After taking off the engine cover and doing some surveying we discover the coolant leaking a bit, so we thought maybe the coolant was too low and shut down.  The engine was too hot to check the coolant at the moment so we continued on with the sails and did not loose much speed, about a knot or two. The only real worry was how we were going to get through the very narrow, rock-lined inlet once arriving at Port Lucaya.  Around 4 or 5 am we could see the lights from Grand Bahama Island, a very good sight,and we sailed around Free Port, dodging cargo and cruise ships.  Soon the sun rose around 6:30 and we could see the inlet in the distance.  As we neared the entrance, we decided to take another look at the engine to see if we could get her running, even though the seas were still 4-6 feet.  The coolant level was fine and so I figured maybe the fuel filter was clogged and changed it.  She cranked right up thankfully and we took the sails down.  At about 8, Brayden navigated us through the  inlet and finally we were in some calm water!  We put up our yellow quarantine flag, required for visitors who have not passed customs and immigration yet, and headed for the marina with smiles from ear to ear, extremely glad to be there!  We pulled into the slip and was greeted by the staff with customs and immigration papers. Since we had an hour before the office opened, we went poolside for some breakfast.  There was nothing better than a prepared meal after the LONG night on the sea.  After breakfast Brayden went and dealt with customs as Austin and I washed and cleaned the boat.  Everything that wasn't securely tied down had fallen and seat cushions were everywhere.  While cleaning we met a lot of our neighbors, who were really nice, asking how the trip across was.  We even got invited to a BBQ later that night, and even though we were extremely tired, we thought we could get some great ideas of where to cruise.  The BBQ was great and we got alot of good information on which places were the highlights for some people.  So currently we are just working on sealing up the anchor locker, changing the oil, blowing up the dinghy, and other small tasks before heading down to the Exumas.  From here we head to the Berry Islands, about 50 miles south of us, to spend a week before heading to Nassau.  From there we will begin our journey through the Exuma Chain. We are really excited to start kiteboarding and diving with the air compressor.  We got some great tips on spear fishing, and are very eager to try our hand at it as well as find some conch and lobster.  As soon as we get some more pictures we will put them up, hopefully of our catches! We are extremely excited that we finally made it down here after going through some much during the refitting, researching, and planning stages.  Definately ready for all the fun advetures that await us!   Thanks for reading,Michael   
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1203293220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1203293220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1203293220/tpod.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:46:58 -0500 To the Sea

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Delray Beach, Florida, United States

      Almost there!  We are currently in Delray Beach, Florida a days trip from Fort Lauderdale, which will be our jumping off point.   Navigating this area of the Intra Coastal has been pretty tricky, especially when anchoring for the night.  We draw 6 feet so many marinas around here won't take us, whenever we want to refuel and plug in for the night.  Its alright though, we finally found a great place tonight and we're pretty exhausted after the weekend.  Motoring through Palm Beach on a weekend was insane!  So many yachts everywhere.  It was lifestyles of the rich and famous right in front of us.   The boats just got bigger and bigger, along with the houses!   You know there big when you have to question yourself on whether it's a country club or a house.  There was also a fishing tournament going on, so you have these huge sports fishing power boats racing by you one after the other.  It was a pretty exciting and stress full day all at the same time.  It would have been fine if our boat was racing around like these cigarette go fast boats, but we were motoring at about 7 miles an hour haha.  Felt like we were riding a bike on the Autobahn.  Anyways, our last couple meals have been pretty good.  Last night we had a southwest chicken, rice, and corn mixture.  Doesn't sound like much, but with some spices and hot sauce, it turned out great.   Penne pasta, grilled chicken with marinara sauce was for dinner the night before last and and prior to that was Bangers and Mash.  We tried fishing at our last anchoring spot, but couldn't get anything!  It was even worse because about 50 yards off the boat, pelicans were having a field day diving and getting their dinner.  We'll get ours soon enough.  The weather down here is amazing!   We're all getting pretty tanned now and t-shirt and shorts are finally a steady attire for us.   From here on out we're looking for a weather window that is looking like Wednesday through Friday.  Until then, we will do our last food shop and attain some last minute bits of hardware we need.  Keep your fingers crossed for good weather and South winds! 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1202778120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1202778120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/outbound5/1/1202778120/tpod.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:07:23 -0500 To the Sea

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New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States

Great marina.  Came in through Ponce de Leon inlet after heading out from St. Simons.  first over night journey.  25 hours straight.
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St. Simons, Georgia, United States

Heading offshore from St. Simons, Ga to St. Augustine, Fl 
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Port Royal, South Carolina, United States

Getting alternator fixed.
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