Our final Port of Call

Return to St Petersburg

We now are on the last leg of the trip travelling a short way up the east coast to cross Florida via Lake Okeechobee to the west coast of Florida and then north on up to St Petes. Travelling on the weekends in most of Florida is dicey. You have every fisherman (& his dog) in small tinnies & wee boats drifting about to huge game fishers at top speed to get to the fish first. Then there are the wealthy boaters who just like to show off burning up gallons & gallons of fuel, passing everyone at top speed; no courtesy slow passes or no wake consideration for floating fishermen. Then there are the family boaters out for the weekend in rented pontoon boats & run a bouts; some know what they're doing & some don't. Because there are so many on the water there is little room for mistakes & you need to constantly watch in front, behind & each side - & let's not forget the jet skis weaving in & out of everyone & jumping every boat wake they can see. Add to the mix kayakers, & stand up paddle boards all in areas with varying allowable speeds such as no wake zones, slow for manatee zones, bridge approaches & it all becomes very busy. Yes there are rules but who's watching – it's safer to stay in a marina or at anchor.

St Lucie Inlet has a stretch called Hells Gate because of the narrow stretch & the conflicting currents but the traffic confusion was the worst part of it. We've been there before so no surprises but one needs to pay attention.

Then after 6000- odd miles we ran aground. We'd popped off the channel to top up with some cheaper fuel & then came back into the channel but misread some other channel markers on the other side of the main channel, realised our mistake & quickly turned out of it. Unfortunately we dug ourselves into shallow, thick mud. We tried to back up & rock using the thrusters & we turned the taps on to empty the water tanks but to no avail. We called the marina we had just left for a quick push off but no boats were available. They called Tow boat US but it would be half an hour away and the tide was going OUT. Some kind souls in a small runabout tried to offer help but they wouldn't have had enough power. Colin made one major, last, ditch big rev & we bumped off after only about 10 minutes aground. One of the good things about having a full keel and protected running gear, so no damage.

We got back into the channel and anchored, checked & cleaned the raw water strainer, it was full of black mud & then we were off again. We arrived in Indian Town – the marina that Colin had taken photos of all the abandoned & dying boats last time through. The place was looking better & we met 2 couples – 2 sail boats (no discrimination)– one called Splash whom we had met in Riviera Beach Marina & another couple on Tis Good who were friends of the couple who got robbed in Bimini. (a small world even when wandering around the oceans).

We crossed Lake Okeechobee -about 25 miles – with good seas & wind. There is a very long canal running on the southwest side of the Lake where we saw at least 7 alligators but no other boats. We spent the night on a free dock at Moorehaven with 2 other Looper boats;1 gold (on their 2^nd time) & 1 platinum (on their 3^rd time ) - Mint Julep & Hallelujah. We all walked up to the local Mexican restaurant (1 of 2 restaurants in a very small town) had a great meal & dodged the thunder storms. The next day we stopped off at another free city marina at La Belle with free electricity & water. This was a small town & we walked in to their local restaurant Forrey Grill with a good menu, good service, good décor & had a great meal. By the end of the night there were 6 boats tied up there in the small 8 slip marina.

The next day we had our worst case of waking. It was in a long, narrow canal passing through farm land, not much traffic & all of a sudden up behind us arrived a 60 ft Hatteras (called Celebrate) doing about 20 – 25 knots creating a huge wake & we believe that if Colin hadn't sighted him just behind us & called on the radio to back off he would have passed at that speed & I hate to think what may have happened. He carried on up the canal with a bow wave of 6- 8 ft and leaving a hole in the back of 4 ft. The damage to the banks from his wash was evident & there are manatees in the canal & other wild life that would have been affected.

We arrived at Kitty's ( a Looper harbour host who had won host of the year for 2015) and this was our third time here. She took us to pick up a few supplies in her BIG truck & then we joined her for docktails. We took her to lunch the next day at a neighbourhood Cuban restaurant where we had 3 meals including drinks for $23.84. The canal into her water way is a little shallow so we had to wait until 2.00pm for the incoming tide. It was another slow day of manatee zones & no wakes before we reached our anchorage for the night in Pelican Bay along with 20 or so other boats. The wind changed during the night but our mighty anchor proved itself once again.

We moved through Pine Sound where we saw 6-7 houses on stilts & stilts where house had once been. Seems a precarious place to build a house – in an exposed shallow sound in a possible hurricane area.

We decided that as a holiday weekend (Memorial Day on Monday) was approaching we would get as far as we could towards St Petes & also out of the mad, boating narrow canals & inlets. This was near Jewfish Island & Cortez Bridge in Sarasota Bay. It was Friday afternoon & already we had seen crazy stuff. Colin called the Stickney Point bridge to have a lift as we couldn't quite make it under. It was 22ft in our book but the waters were high & only showed 19ft on the bridge water level gauge. We got a response from the bridge master that the bridge would raise in 12 minutes but only one span would be raised. OK by us plenty of room to pass through.

As the span rose we noticed another large cruiser coming from the other side who hadn't called the bridge for clearance – however we decided it was prudent just to let him on through (obviously he didn't know he had to call or wait for us being the down stream boat). The bridge operator did call him for his name but he didn't respond – they were too busy dancing away up on the helm. After he had completed his pass we moved forward only to find a small 20 ft runabout of about 5-6 ft high coming on through into our track. He could have gone under the side of the bridge that hadn't opened; it was 19 ft. We gestured & called out to him & he said he was sorry he thought the bridge had stayed open for him. We finally passed through but once again glad to leave all the madness behind to find a quiet anchorage for the night. We went into a bay in Manatee River which runs into Tampa Bay. We got a good anchorage until a boat came in and dropped a little close to us & when the wind changed during the night he was only about 20ft from us & obviously had not put down enough chain.

We survived the night, had an easy crossing across Tampa Bay under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge into the Harborage Marina at St Petersburg. We have completed our boating in USA. This is where the boat will remain until it is sold. We will spend the next few days tidying & cleaning before we leave. We would love to think we had a buyer before we leave. We have rented a car and will drive l across the states visiting Colin's sisters, niece & nephews & our boating buddies from last year.

Our stats for The Great Loop plus Florida Keys & Bahamas & back to St Petersburg.

5944 nautical miles including the Great Loop, Florida Keys & Bahamas

Total Locks = 119

Total Bridges + 442

Engine hours 886

Generator Hrs 264

Diesel burned 2300 galls @ 2.58 mpg ( US )

5 Engine oil changes @ 14 Litres a time.

Back in Florida.

Arrived back in the USA, view from
our dock at Riviera Marina Lake Worth,
after a 9 Hr trip back from the
Bahamas.

Super Yacht under wraps

Great line up of Sport Fish boats

The Marina is part of a major
overhaul, new docks, offices,
parkland and beach and
several restaurants to be built.
,

One for you Steve Mason

The landing area at Indiantown Marina, this Marina
is also tidying itself up with nice gardens
and new paint, and still $1.00 a ft.

Still hundreds of boats stored here,
some never to hit the water again.
this is a well used hurricane hole
for storage.

Railway bridge in the up position.

This is near Moorehaven council dock. Met
Platinum Loopers Dave and Barb off
Hallelujah and friends off Mint Julip,
We all went to a Mexican Diner, great
cheap food, and it rained, NO it fairly
bucketed down.

Last Days in Bahamas

Tried to get a photo to show
how rough I was, but too wet
and too dark. 30 to 40 knot winds
and a 3ft slop in the bay. We were in
10ft of water with 100ft of chain with  45lb Plough anchor. The Yacht next to us broke a
shackle and lost their anchor. They saved
themselves in time and sailed out into
the storm, which fortunately eased
shortly after.

We did a Tom Hanks and chattered to these coconut
palms whilst waiting for the seas to abate.

It still looked threatening when we left.

Dawn watching the underwater display.

Crystal clear water, like being in it but not wet

Amazing

Then the wind dropped completely.

Glass water.

The Office

Stormy Weather & Back to the USA

Crossing the Florida Straits & Riviera Beach Florida.

We now had to cross Little Bahama Bank to reach our jump off point from the Bahamas across the Florida Straits & the Gulf Stream to mainland USA. Just before we left I found these names on the charts in The Abacos – Centre of the World Rock, Cooling Temper Bay, & Don't Rock - there are hundreds of weird names & there are thousands of bays, rocks & cays so the pickings start to get a bit thin I suppose. As it was I found at least 3 Mangrove Cays, 2 Sandy Cays, 2 Hogs Cays & many repetitions.

Crossing the Little Bahama Bank started very sloppy after the previous night's storm. We ran in between rainstorms on either side of us & then for the next 18 miles we had calm, glassy, clear water over the shallow 10ft banks. It was like snorkelling on a grand scale from the top of the fly bridge - we could see everything although the fish were very scarce. We passed a sponge fishing boat similar to a prawn boat with wide outrigger poles & nets at the side.

We headed to Memory Rock which in this calm water would make an easy take off point early in the morning with no shoals or rocks in our way & close to the edge of the deep Florida Straits deep blue water. Wrong! The wind began to blow up with a swell of up to 4 ft. Memory Rock really is only a rock sticking up out of the ocean with no protection & we remembered the tropical storms that had been increasing in the last few days – this would not be a good place to spend the night.

We trekked back to Sandy Cay – another jumping off point not as close to the deep water but with more protection & 2 other boats for company. This added another 8 miles to our already long day of 87 nm. We 'took the tourist route' as Bob from “Knot So Easy” would say.

We got hit by a storm at 2.00am & another at 5.00am. We stayed up running the engines & left as soon as it was light passing through a narrow channel over shoals & shallow water to enter into a better than hoped for crossing over the Florida Straits. It wasn't until a couple of hours out of Lake Worth Inlet that the sea chopped up with a strong cross current & gusty winds & the afternoon thunder storms surrounded us. We made it to Riviera Beach Marina without a shower hitting us & enjoyed a long & settled night of sleep only after Colin had called Customs to declare our arrival & make arrangements to report in personally the next day.

Next day after misdirections of where to report (by customs) we took a taxi not to the international airport but to the General Aviation area because the normal reporting office at the overseas cruise ship terminal next to the marina was closed for the weekend. We met at least 4 other couples who also had to report so there was a case for the office to be open. It cost $120 cab ride to fill in 2 small forms with information that Colin had given the day before – but we had to be ID personally with our passports. We had to redo our small cards because we entered a date as 27 Feb 2015 (which was on our passports) as 27/02/15. This customs guy along with many others in the same dept. is slowly rising to the top of his profession by being pedantic &/or giving out incorrect information. Ho Hum – as one American said to us “anything to do with the government expect complications”. All of our American contacts outside these have been friendly & courteous. Tomorrow we head out on the return trip to St Petersburg.

Last Days at Bahamas

The Abacos

We left at 6am to take advantage of the calmer winds – and it worked for the first couple of hours. Then we had a very rolly 6 hours in a north to nor easterly swell & chop although we were assisted by some current for part of the way. We reached a good anchorage in Lynyard Cay just after midday& settled in with 15 other boats.

Next day we anchored at Sandy Cay, & tied to the dinghy moorings placed there especially for snorkelling. A good spot but a strong current which we have found in many of the spots. We upped anchor & zig zagged our way between shoals to Matt Lowe's Cay. This is a private island with 3 manicured, sandy, palm lined beaches & an internal canal & docking area. You can't see either that or the house complex but it is indicated on the chart. (We would buy that one). There was a large sport fishing tournament (tag & release) on that weekend & we counted the Sports Fisherman boats (60 – 70 footers) returning to base that evening & there were well over 30+ . Thankfully we were on the other side of the island so avoided their wakes.

There was an unsure forecast for the next couple of days so we headed for Leeward Yacht Club Marina in Green Turtle Bay. It would have to be one of the best ones we've stayed at ; - most reasonably priced @ $1.25 a foot (plus elect & water as they do in the Bahamas) laundry, cheap food & drinks at Lizard Bar & Grill, a pool, & showers & everything clean & tidy. Each town or bar has signature drinks such as goombay smash & turtle delight (usually rum based) so we try to support the local economy & sample a few as we go.

We cycled into New Plymouth town next day & it is delightful – all pastel coloured houses (Victorian style), neat, spick & span lining the waterfront & harbour. It was Sunday so most things were closed but we found some home made ice cream and watched as the local ladies walked to church in their best dresses – didn't see any men with them. We did get to see the bronze sculpture garden in memory of the Loyalist settlers. Unfortunately, the museum, rich in the area's history, was closed & Monday was also a holiday.

We made our way north hoping to find more snorkelling spots (of which there are plenty) but wind & strong currents limited where we could go. Our anchorage at Manjack Cay revealed a ship wreck close to the beach & out of the current that turned out to be a great snorkelling spot with a variety of fish, some in huge numbers making their home in the rib cage of the sunken boat. We swam through schools of tiny fish like whitebait – so many that at first they seemed like floating sea grass. I was reminded of catching whitebait in the river when we were about 10 years & whitebait fritters, We had a comfortable although windy night.

Crab Cay on the northern end of the Great Abaco Island was our next anchorage out of the south easterlies that got stronger as we moved north. We had high winds most of the night and then one of those unpredicted tropical storms hit us at 6.am with wind gusting up to 35 knots, heavy rain & lightening for over 2 hours and it was northwesterly – a complete change. However our anchor held in this south easterly anchorage with a howling northwesterly but we did keep a long watch & got very wet. A neighbouring sailboat was not so lucky he lost 2 anchors, we hoped to recover them for him but conditions were too trickey. The forecast for the next 2 days is much improved & is the best weather for crossing the Florida Straits through the Gulf Stream for the foreseeable future. So a fast 140 nautical miles back to theUSA.

New Plymouth,Abacos

Where we stayed, top marina Highly recommended

What a great little town, didnt see
one piece of litter, clean and tidy.
Every home was beautifully painted
and businesses were well run. Just a
pity we arrived on a holiday long
weekend, lot of things closed. 

On the town Dock

The town

Sunday morning and all the churches
were well attended, loved hearing the
singing, and seeing all the ladies
in their Sunday best.

Ice Cream on the Beach, the home behind was
for sale at $329000,Owners home up and
1 bed rental downstairs, fully furnished with Golf Cart.

Memorial for the Loyalist Settlers.

The Town from top of the hill

Even the simplest of homes were immaculate

Opposite our slip.

Eleuthera to Abacos

We left Rock Sound for
the Glass Window Bridge,
these guys escorted us in, you could see them
10 to 15 ft under the boat.

Perfect anchorage

Our chain, on the bottom in 20ft of water.

Says it all, hot walk up
from the beach, but worth
it.

The Atlantic Ocean

A rogue wave pushed
the bridge 7ft sideways,
how high was the wave just to
reach it.

Coming back down to the beach

Through Current channel, fast trip with 3-4 knot tide flow.

Royal Island, anchored here instead of
Spanish Wells, they wanted $2.50 a ft,

Our first look at the Abacoes, that's the
bottom in 20 ft of water.

Anchored at Matt Lowes Key, a very private Island
has its own Marina inside the Island, trees and walls
obscure any sight of property within.
 

Our wonderful Marina, Leeward Yacht  Club
One of the best we have stayed at, only $1.25 ft,
great facility's and Wi/Fi that works. Bar
restaurant with outside dining(and great prices)
yes we even ate there.

Our Slip.

A glass window (bridge )

Eleuthera

Eleuthera is not a chain of cays or islands like the Exumas but one long thin island of 90 miles & narrow; a little more than 3 miles wide at its widest and as thin as 50 mtres at its narrowest point It has a few small islands at the northern end with Dunmore Town on Harbour Is which is a hideaway for celebrities & the wealthy.

We reached Rock Sound after an easy trip across and anchored there for 2 days in flat, quiet, glassy water. We went ashore to feed the fish at the Ocean Hole in a park just outside the town which is connected by tunnels to the sea. Many ocean fish come quickly to feed. I'll always remember this place for the barking dogs at night & crowing roosters in the early morning.

One of our brochures mentioned a garden of sea anemones that dazzled even Jacques Cousteau's biologists. It can be reached easily from shore at a tiny offshore island. We were disappointed and think hurricanes & strong seas have wrecked the garden although we could see evidence of a good concentration of anemones on the western side. The brochure was dated 2010 – things change. However as always the swim was wonderful – all of the waters are clear and warm in the Bahamas – one just falls in.

We stopped to view 'The Glass Window'. This is a now bridged breach at the island's narrowest part. On the ocean side (Atlantic – east) where the reef is not continuous, the waves gnawed at this weak point & broke the island's natural bridge in two. In 1991 the man made bridge over the crevasse was knocked 7 feet to the west by a rogue wave. It has since been repaired & you can easily see the force of the waves still pounding away. From the sea the Glass Window forms a kaleidoscope peephole to look from west to east with deep azure blue on the Atlantic & the turquoise of the Bahamian Sound. We left the main part of Northern Eleuthera via Current Cut. This had to be timed close to high tide at slack water as there was a strong current of 3 to 4 knots, with strong whirlpools which moved the boat around quite strongly, fortunately the sea was calm and an easy exit against the strong current was no problem, thanks to Cummins power.

Our last anchorage on Eleuthera was in an almost enclosed bay called Royal Island where we waited out the night in calm waters with 5 other boats to do the crossing in the morning to The Abacos.

Beauty and the Beast

Well this is the gory bit, don't get
between a huge pig and its food.
The pigs are really quite friendly
actually, you can pat them and
rub their heads, their hair is very
coarse and it feels like tapping
concrete. Dawns claim to fame.

Loved this, advertising hoarding on cemetery wall



Dawn none the worse for wear, dominating
the pool table.

A final get-together with our
boat buddies Brent ( Debbie )
took the photo, on pirates beach,
prior to our departure the next
morning to Eleuthera (55 miles)
away, we were lucky with the weather
and had a v good trip.

Our Anchorage for the night, tough to beat this.

Visited a local park at Rock
Sound, Where the Blue Hole is
situated, this is half a mile
inland and about 600 ft deep.

Feeding the scores of salt water fish.

I could almost live here, lots of greenery,
friendly locals, and beautiful turquoise
water, at 26.5 deg Celsius you could
stay in for hours. Not far away at Harbour
Island at Dunmore town, is the retreat for
many of the rich and famous. About 10 miles from
here members of the British Royal family
have Estates 

A number of cottage's are available to
rent, they are very easy on the eye/