Back in the good ole USA, HOORAY

We love to travel, and we love to come home. It is like some weight is lifted when you check back in. I have always had that feeling, especially when I flew for the Air Force. There is no place like home/USA. It took over a half hour on the phone to get our clearance number, so we could lower our yellow Q Flag or Quarantine Flag. We now have 24 hours to present ourselves to the Immigrations office here in Palm Beach. At least we can get off the boat now, if we want. The crossing was a motor sail, and we hit 12 knots speed over the ground or SOG in the middle of the Gulf Stream, with a 20 degree correction. DK called me as we approached the harbor and said Carleen had called Customs, and if we did not clear by 1600 there would be no clearance given until Monday. As my blood pressure rose, he said April Fool. What goes around comes around. I am thinking about how to get him back. Nanc and Joe are in the cockpit talking and watching the world go by,an we decided it is five o'clock somewhere; actually it is right here and the Mount Gay is smooth going down My brother Ed had a bone spur removed from his neck the day before yesterday and is OK. They went in thru the front of his neck. Between him and Nanc, I have a lot of trouble sleeping. Happy Easter as DK and Carlene tie up to the stern for a drink. Life is good. S

Bimini Sunrise on April Fool's Day

I told Joe and Nanc a Hurricane was coming. S

Bimini Wednesday

We departed Chub Cay at sunrise 0700 and motored on a mirror sea to Bimini and tied up at 1920. We got into shallow water about 10 miles out and touched bottom,then again as we entered the harbor here. Both times the chart plotter was showing over 10 feet of water. Raised the tension level the last hour. We ate at the Anchorage restaurant this evening and had a good meal. Carlene and DK were an hour behind us and anchored at Cat Cay for the night, about 10 miles South where we touched bottom. We brought Joe here to have one more experience. He spent part of the day on the fore deck acting like Leonardo de Caprio. We will meet Aviator in the ocean tomorrow morning. They will weigh anchor at 0630 and be here around 0800 about 4 miles off the coast. We will take on fuel and leave around 0745; the fuel dock opens at 0700. We have off loaded all the trash and are ready to return to the ole US of A. S

Tue and Cindy and John Hawkins have gone

Actually we left Devil Hoffman Cay with Aviator this morning, after spending a rolly, windy night, after a cold front passed thru. Cindy and John are spending another week there, and we are now at Chub Cay waiting to cross the Great Bahama Bank to Bimini tomorrow . Another change in plans; hey we are now retired. We will cross the Gulf Stream from Bimini to Lake Worth/ Palm Beach the following day to clear customs prior to Easter. We are afraid everyone will take vacation, and we would be stuck on the boat until Monday if we wait. The weather looks promising, according to Chris Parker, to make it across on Thursday. We will work North and try to see the Shuttle go up on Monday. We departed at 0730 on a rising tide to cross a sand bar and sailed to Chub in 3+20. Nanc, Carleen, and I walked the beach while Joe and DK went snorkeling and caught 4 lobster and a grouper. I saw two sharks, a barracuda, and two rays. Nanc already had steak thawing. "Good chuck wagon" tonight as Marty Kable says; steak and lobster. Well, I now have to take Nanc out with her lookie bucket to see what is under the sea! The meal is now over; it was super, and the full Moon on the water is impossible to describe. S

Sunday, Atlantis, and Joe is here

Joe arrive yesterday and I gave him the the quick tour of the facilities, especially the aquarium while Nanc swam in the ocean and the hot tub. We dinged to Columbus Tavern last evening, about a 15 minute ride thru wind and waves, but no one got wet. We talked well into the night and started rigging to go to sea this morning. Water is on and the weather is checked. The conditions are on the limit, and we will try it and turn around if we need to.I took some pictures to share. We will be out of touch for several days at Devil Hoffman Cay in the Berrys. S

Friday night in Nassau

We are moving to Atlantis tomorrow, since they have a vacancy. Joe should arrive around 1430, and we will show him around town and Atlantis. We rode around the harbor in our dingy (car) and saw the new Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas. It is noticeably larger than the other cruise ships docked near by. We went to Columbus Tavern and made dinner reservations for tomorrow night to give Joe a taste of the good life. We had a lady, Carolyn, whom we met in Marsh Harbor two Sundays ago and drove us to church, to dinner last night with her friend Kendal. They were lovely folks who live here in Nassau, and she is studying for a second career in law. I have had my second scuba tank filed with air, so Joe and I can scuba dive in the Berrys on the way home. The weather looks good for a departure to the Berrys on Sunday and then on to Freeport on Tue/Wed and somewhere in Flordia Thursday/Friday. I check the weather first thing in the morning on our high frequency single side band radio (HF/SSB). Chris Parker is located in central Florida and most cruisers listen to his forecasts. He is absolutely the best. Remember, I was a pilot for over 50 years and have had a lot of briefing in that time. I then get National Weather System Marine forecast. I also down load Underground Weather on the computer, and then I check Intellicast for their radar presentation. Then I try to decide who is right. Chris normally wins. I received an e-mail this evening from Harry Richards who informed me that they will try and launch the Shuttle on April 6. Be nice to be around and see that. Still thinking how to make it work. Anyway, I will top off the water and fuel tanks tomorrow and fill the 60 gal water bladder on Sunday to tanker water to my friends who are at Devil Hoffman Cay and should be low by now. I have put extra varnish on some of the teak and fixed all the little things, polished everything I can reach, and we are now ready to start back. S.

Lobster boat surprise

We moved off the anchor into Nassau Harbor Club Marina. It makes it easier for Nanc and gives me peace of mind in this crowded anchorage. The boat does funny things with the wind blowing one way and the tide moving in another direction. Tied to the dock you can sleep like a baby with the gentle rocking and air conditioning. You got it, it has finally gotten really warm or almost hot. We know the dock master, Peter, who is a super guy from Holland whom we met last year. We have dinghied over to Atlantis to try to slip there for the weekend, but there are not any slips available for Sat night due to Spring Break and a concert. We shopped for some food items yesterday at a market just across the street , renewed the rum supply (very important), and bought 6 videos for late evening viewing. Avatar, I am too old to appreciate most of it. I understood the message. Don't cut down trees that many things depend on for a life. Brave Heart...? Academy Award? Tonight is Nine, wait for my review. We toured down town today and bought two swim suit cover ups for dining room table cloths. They look really nice, better than place mats. Prior to that, we rode the bus down town for $3 for both of us and toured Fort Fincastle. Then we stopped at Cafe Matisse for a drink and rest stop for Nanc. OK, lobster boat. Since I had rum for the sunset, I was in the cockpit as a runabout moved by holding up lobsters as the sun was setting. We bought two lobster and a hog snapper for $36 dollars. He cleaned all of them. Too much; however Nanc pointed out that a dinner downtown for two would cost over $80 bucks, I guess I made a deal. We had steak and a baked potato as the sun set, and wished all of you were here with us. There is still time and three sleeping spaces available. Just send an e-mail. We hope to start North for home on Sunday, after eating our lobster and Hog Snapper. Life is good, don't spend it all making money you will never spend on yourself. S