Treasure Cay to Seaspray, Elbow Cay

March 15,

I have just realized that I have not been posting our tracks since we left Stuart, Fl.

Here are the 4 jumps that we have done so far

The winds blew yesterday as expected so we spent a lazy day.  The afternoon was taken  up by another long walk on the beach with Allan & Bev.  There was a kite surfer out on the ocean and he was having a great time.

 We saw him airborne a few times.  This was  followed by a gourmet lasagne dinner aboard C’est la Vie.

This morning we waved bye to “Dagny” as we left the harbour at ¾ tide.  We planned on arriving at Seaspray Marina which is just down from Hopetown on Elbow Cay.  The entrance here only has 3 ½ ft at low tide so we had to come in near high tide.  The wind was blowing 15 – 20 as we were docking and these slips are very narrow.!! A bit of a challenge but the dockhands here know what they are doing.

After our arrival, we rented a golf cart and took a tour of the area ending up in Hopetown.  A quaint little village with many colourful rental accomodations.

 The town surrounds a large anchorage which was completely full.  On the headlands is he Elbow Reef Lighthouse which was built in 1864. Today, it is the only active hand-wound, kerosene burning lighthouse in the world and among the few manned light stations in continuous operation since it's original construction. 

Just off the coast is a reef.  You can just see the breakers on it.

There was even a CiBC branch.  Doug Morrison, maybe you can get a transfer.  The hours should suit you.

Well,  off to get ready for cocktails and a meal out tonight.  We will see what tomorrow brings.  The weather report indicates that we may have to leave the Bahamas earlier than planned but that is boating!

Treasure Cay

Monday March 13, 2017

Our entertainment this morning was watching the catamaran across from us winching a person up to the top of the 100’ mast.  At least they had an electric winch.  Do not think that I would want to be the person going to the top.

We were pleasantly surprised when Allan Grey and Bev Bethune showed up to say hello.  They have been cruising the Exumas for the winter.  The last time we saw them was in Cape May on the way down.

Carter would like this as a dinghy

Dinner on Seas the Day with Chuck, Sylvie, Alan and  Bev.  We elected to extend our stay here one day as the winds are expected to blow 20 – 25 .

Beach on Treasure Cay

I guess we will go for another walk on the magnificent beach here which has been rated in the top 10. 

Green Turtle to Treasure Cay

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Following C'est La Vie acrosss Sea of Abaco

Well, Green Turtle Cay is lovely.  Friday, we rented a golf cart and took a tour of this very small island.  A trip to the Bluff House for a drink at the Tranquil Turtle, then all the way into the main town.  Chuck was driving of course and the Admiral and I were hanging on in the back.  As we drove along there was a magnificent view of the Ocean.  The colours, aquamarine and blue are simply spectacular.  It certainly makes it worth the trip here.

A very nice Ocean Alexander 112 arrived at the end of our dock.  I want to be the Captain!  He was leaning over the rail on the second deck with his Yacht Controller in hand as the 6 crewpersons rush around getting the fenders and lines ready.  Then a simple push of the button and the bow and stern thrusters leap into action to bring the yacht to the dock.

We followed this boat out yesterday as he had to leave on high tide.  He draws 6 ½ feet.  This was a lot less scary than when we arrived at low tide and I was seeing 0’s on the depth sounder.  This marina had some of the best dockhands ever.  As we were casting off, the Admiral was having some difficulty in getting the lines off the post.  He jumped on the boat and had it taken care off quickly and we were on our way.  A very nice 12 miles run to Treasure Cay.  The wind was blowing around 12 – 15 and we were a little concerned as we had to take a short jump out to the ocean but it was not bad at all.

Seas the Day at Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay is a resort with a lot of 2 story condos/timeshares  around it.  We are going to go for a walk on the beach this pm then a drink at the beach bar.  Dinner will be on C’est La Vie tonight then Seas the Day tomorrow night

Treasure Cay

.

Weather is lovely, around 80F with a 10 kn breeze, very comfortable.

We will be here for 3 nights then a jump to Seaspray for the next two nights.

That’s all for now.

Bahamas!

It has been a long time since we last updated you on our big adventure. We spent December, January and February at Longboat Key in Sarasota. It is a lovely Marina but you do need a car to get around. The Marina has a shuttle to a very nice shopping area St. Armand’s Circle. There were also some good restaurants, one that we liked in particular was Cha Cha Coconuts. Great coconut shrimp and chicken wings!

Christmas was spent with Fred and Liz in St. Pete’s Beach. Sandy’s sister had arrived from London so it was quite a party. We had Christmas crackers after dinner which had whistles and song sheets included. There were lots of laughs as Jennifer tried to conduct us!!

New Year’s was spent with Fred and Liz joining us on the boat for a quiet celebration.

Bill was able to enjoy quite a few games of golf with the Zick’s ,while Jennifer,Sandy and Lesley enjoyed some shopping.

We all flew back to Canada Jan. 12, Lesley and Jennifer to Toronto and us to Montreal.  Lesley then travelled on to visit with their brother while Jennifer had to go back to work after a 3 month Sabbatical cruise.

After a hectic week of Doctors and Dentist appointments and a lovely dinner hosted by Betty Thompson allowing us to see everyone, we returned to Sarasota.  Shortly after, we were joined by Bill’s sister from Vancouver. 

The Picture

Yes Carter I did anchor

As Chuck was planning on doing a shakedown cruise on C’est La Vie before our trip to the Bahamas, we took the opportunity to give Marilyn a cruise down to Pelican bay on Cayo Costa where we had anchored earlier.  A good trip with the exception that in trying to take a better picture of the Osprey nest on one of the channel markers, the draft of the boat exceeded the depth of the water.  Our membership with Boat US paid off and two hours later we were back underway.  Now we were in a rush as we wanted to get back to the marina before dark.  Would you want to back in a 17’wide boat into a 19’ slip in the dark?  All’s well that ends well.

SUNKEN BOAT ON WAY

During this period, Patsy and Stu Taylor were visiting with Fred and Liz.  We were able to get together and even played a game of golf with Stu while Sandy, Patsy and Marilyn did some shopping.  Dinner that evening at Mattison’s in downtown Sarasota which is a great place.  Good food and good  music.

Lise and Ian joined us on board for 2 nights. It was good to see them and needless to say after about 6 months, there was a lot to catch up with!! Lots of giggles too!!

We also had been invited to Chuck’s in Naples for a visit so Sandy and I piled into Fred’s car and off we went.  A relaxing time for two evenings with good wine, good home cooked food and Sambuca.  Monday am we were on the road as Chuck had a trade show to go to.

Fast forward to the end of February.  We left Longboat Key and took the Intracoastal back to Pelican Bay anchorage.  We had arranged to meet with Jeannie and Rusty Thompson but that was in jeopardy as he was having problems with his generator and the boat was for sale.  Everything worked out as all of their company checked out that morning so we had a lovely evening and a leisurely morning as I had to wait for a higher tide to get out,

We then progressed to Legacy Harbor in Fort Myers where we met up with C’est La Vie.

The next day was a  5 hour run to River Forest on the Caloosahatchee river.  We were up early the next morning for the long run to Stuart.  The wind was blowing 20 with gust to 25 so it was not a smooth run across Lake Okeechobee .  We finally arrived in Stuart back at the Sunset Bay marina.  We had scheduled to be there a maximum of 3 days to allow for acceptable crossing conditions.  Unfortunately, that turned into 5 days as the wind howled from the north, not conditions to cross the Gulf Stream.

The weather finally broke on Wednesday and off we went.  We made good time crossing to West End at 20 Kn.  The admiral would have liked a smoother ride but you cannot always get what you want.  After checking through customs, we elected to proceed to Spanish Cay to try to get back on our schedule.  Smooth cruising across the Abaco sea and we made the marina by 5:30.  Altogether a 160 Kn ride.  A long way!!

We are currently in Green Turtle Cay at a lovely resort.  This afternoon we will be renting a golf cart to explore the Island then off to Treasure Cay tomorrow.

ROWERS PRACTICING WHEN I NEEDED TO MAKE SPEED

RESTAURANT ON WAY TO FORT MYERS

We will try to make the blog more frequent so that Carter stops bugging Chuck but doubt that it will be as frequent as the trip south.  Short one crew there is more work to do and less time to compose.

We hope this finds everyone well and healthy. Spring is just around the corner so better weather is coming.