Setting Out

BToday we had the best send off ever from Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce.  After waiting here for 6 weeks Sirius was ready to charge into our journey to the Bahamas for 10+ weeks. Decks scrubbed, dingy assembled, engine & hoist mounted, provisions loaded and new home port letters applied- 'Willow Alaska". 

Blue skies, a hefty wind on our stern, We made 28 miles in 4 hours down the ICW  to Peck Lake running the engine under 2,000 rpms with the jib. After getting thoroughly anchored, we ran the dingy over to a sand bar separating us from the wide open ocean. 

This beach is part of a wildlife refuge. I'll attach pics later as this is my first mobile post. (Don't want to loose all this thumb work. ; )

An Interlude

Christmas and New Years back home in Alaska. It's "supposed" to be cold and snowy for Christmas, everyone knows that. Warmed by holiday traditions and closeness to family and friends, we enjoyed our northern interlude. Enroute to rejoin Sirius, we enjoyed a week visiting Nina's mom and aunt Annie in Arcadia, Fl. While there, we were privileged by spending a day at her churches' distribution of food to needy local folks. On an average day, about 400 folks are served; pretty sobering. 

We have been back at the boat for almost a week now, provisioning and preparing Sirius for the months ahead; applying her new registration numbers and home port, testing out the dinghy and new outboard motor, topping up diesel, gas, and water. Nina even went up the mast to install a new halyard. Said she'd rather have me tending the line than vice versa. Then there are the seemingly endless bags of groceries to find storage space for. 

In this photo aboard Sirius, about half the stuff has already been stowed. The rest has to go somewhere!  As always, everything did eventually fit (or squash) in somewhere. We are floating a bit low on the waterline. In the Bahamas, lots of things are unavailable, or expensive when they can be found. We do try to shop some in the local economy though as many of the "out island" Bahamians have very little income and should benefit some from sharing their beautiful home with cruisers. 

Sirius is tied up at the very edge of the marina where the mangroves grow to the waters edge. This location is great as we see lots of wildlife. A family of otters swims and plays around the area, and manatees frequently sun themselves at the surface. Nina saw a mom with two young ones yesterday. 

Small alligators are seen occasionally, though we have seen none. Pelicans, cormorants, and blue herons are plentiful. Then there are the fish, about ten inches long, that jump and splash, and even slap the edge of the boat. We think that they are being chased by something larger??? 

We expect to cast off this Tuesday. A cold front is passing thru with it's northerly winds which will be fair for heading south to Fort Lauderdale. By Friday, the breeze should be more southerly for a crossing to the West End of Grand Bahamas Island. We must start well south of our destination on the other side of the Gulf Stream as a boat going about 5 knots crossing a current of up to 4 knots is kinda' like swimming across a river. The general rule for crossing is to avoid any northerly wind since the north flowing current effectively compresses the south running waves making them very steep and close together. This is very uncomfortable at best and quite dangerous at worst. Having a boat that was designed and built to pretty much take what comes along, allows us to go with a smaller weather "window" than some other boats. It has not been unusual to meet folks who have been waiting weeks to a month to cross. We have always been fortunate to be able to go with no more than a day or two wait. 

It's a "fridged" 44 degrees this am (thanks to previously mentioned cold front), but should be sunny and 66 degrees today, tolerable.