Daddy had to go back to work for the week and Cindy needed to return to Montreal, so there was a decision to make about how to get Ambition across to the Bahamas. So Josh and I offered to help. Josh would sail L’Attitude with Therese and I would sail Ambition with Paul-Andre.
The final plan was as follows, move the 3 boats closer to the inlet, anchor. Leave the anchorage around 10pm to begin the crossing. Sail all night across the gulf stream in 15 knots and 4-6 rolling waves. By mid-morning we would see the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas. We would anchor safely in the harbour, clear customs and immigration, and be at the bar in time for happy hour.
Well …. Here’s what really happened.
We moved the boats, as planned, closer to the inlet, our original anchorage idea wasn’t viable so we made a quick plan B. We’d go anchor in a nice, well protected lake. We knew it would get a little shallow coming in, but we hugged the east side like they said we should and it was fine. We anchor. We have dinner and set our alarms for 9:30pm.
Ambition draws less (needs less water to float) than the other 2 boats, so we go first. At one point the depth sounder read 7 feet but we made it out no problem. (I would like to take this time to mention that when Ambition ran aground it’s depth sounder read 6.5 feet, they only need 4.9 feet to stay afloat. But apparently according to my Dad it wasn’t that off.) L’Attitude was next in line. They ran aground. Liberty, who draws the same as L’Attitude, decides that he’s got 12ft of water so he’ll just wake (go by and make a wave) to help get L’Attitude off. Well it worked, but now Liberty was aground … hard.
L’attitude went back to anchor and look at the tide charts (something perhaps we should have done earlier). Ambition came back around to help get Liberty off and then… you guessed it, Ambition also ran aground. We were able to get Ambition off, but unfortunately Liberty had to wait for the tide to finish going out and then come back in.
We all re-anchored and waited from Liberty to float again and for the tide to come up just a little more. Our new time of departure was 3am.
We made it out of the anchorage this time, without any issues. As soon as we rounded the corner to the inlet, the waves began crashing over the bow and they didn’t stop until we were almost in the Bahamas. It was horrible. No one was feeling very good. The worst part for me was that I couldn’t sleep because every time I put down my head the my supper wanted to come up. Things got a little better as the sun came up. At least we could see the waves. The gulf stream was slow going, we were only moving at 3-4 knots, half our usual speed. The wind was 20-25 knots on the nose, with 5-7 foot waves from 2 different directions.
But we made it, the began to see the turquoise water ahead, and a nice sandy beach. We anchored in the middle of the channel, with very bad holding and a surge. We cleared customs in the morning, the only thing we wanted to do that night was sleep. The winds were supposed to pick up even more the following night so we made our way to a dock.
As Josh and I stood there we saw our very first Bahamian fish… a shark, the size of Josh. Welcome to the Bahamas. That night we went to the end of the world, the bar that is. It’s has writing all over the walls, a sand floor, and a fierce rum punch! Finally we were able to relax and enjoy the Bahamas.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Sunshine State
Our run from Charleston SC took us all the way to St-Augustine FL. Through out the night Josh and I did 2hour watches. When we weren’t at the helm (driving the boat) we were trying to sleep on the 2foot wide cockpit seat. Needless to say it wasn’t the best night sleep we’ve ever had. Josh relates it to being up all night drinking with all the after effects without the fun of being up all night partying. When the sun begins to rise, you always seem to get a new burst of energy. It feels like you been up for hours.
Liberty calls around 8:30am to ask if Josh would like a beer. He says sure. Liberty inches closer to us, Benoit gets ready to make the toss into Salsa (the dinghy). 1,2,3 and he throws a perfect shot. The only problem now is how the get the beer out of the dinghy. Luckily the fishing net was still laying around. So Josh fished himself a beer.
Once we got to St-Augustine, a very cute town with lots of Spanish influence, we made our made to Ft-Lauderdale, with a couple of day sails in the ocean. One particular day was very memorable. It was the day L’Attitude passed Ambition!!!
Ever since we got the boat we’ve been trying to pass my dad. Technically we have a slightly faster boat, with a longer keel (the thing under the boat) and a larger main sail with full battens (sticks in the sails that give it shape), plus we’re not weighed down with such luxuries such as a generator, heater or air conditioner. But somehow we still weren’t able to pass him, I guess 30+ years experience has something to do with it.
But the kids are learning. I can’t take any credit for the maneuvers that lead to L’Attitude taking the lead. Once the sails are up and we’re moving, that’s good enough for me. Josh on the other hand wants to squeeze every little bit of power that he can out of the sails. So while I sat there doing a sudoku puzzle, Josh was trimming the sails. He came up from behind him to steal his wind, and pulled ahead!!! Yeah Josh!!!
Once in Ft-Lauderdale, we had marina reservations somewhere up the New River. It looked like a small little river to the middle of no where. It couldn’t have been further from no where. It was small alright, but it was lined with boats as far as the eye could see, not just little boats either some where well over 100ft. We crossed them towing a 135ft boat down the river, one boat in front and one almost buried behind. It’s too difficult to maneuver such a large boat thru the tight corners so they just have it towed.
The river brings right through downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Unbelievable. The marina was fantastic. We rented a car to get around easily so we could reprovision, again. Nothing a couple trips to Costco, Walmart and the grocery store can help. We luckily found time to visit Mimi, a close family friend of Josh. Mimi, her son Patrick and his wife Maria also came to visit the boat. I was nice to meet Mimi after hearing so many nice things about her, she really is a riot.
At all the marinas and along the ICW from North Carolina, you see signs warning you about manatees. We never saw any. However in the last marina we were at we saw some on numerous occasions. They really are huge and slow moving. You would never call it a beautiful animal, but it was cool to see none the less. They tell you not to feed them or to give them fresh water. One day a worker at the marina was feeding a mommy manatee fresh water from the hose. You could see her putting the hose in her mouth, and if you looked carefully you could see the baby. She was so close that I touched her. You could see along her back where she’d been cut by props. They sleep on the surface of the water at night and are very hard to see. That’s why there are strict speed limits.
Liberty calls around 8:30am to ask if Josh would like a beer. He says sure. Liberty inches closer to us, Benoit gets ready to make the toss into Salsa (the dinghy). 1,2,3 and he throws a perfect shot. The only problem now is how the get the beer out of the dinghy. Luckily the fishing net was still laying around. So Josh fished himself a beer.
Once we got to St-Augustine, a very cute town with lots of Spanish influence, we made our made to Ft-Lauderdale, with a couple of day sails in the ocean. One particular day was very memorable. It was the day L’Attitude passed Ambition!!!
Ever since we got the boat we’ve been trying to pass my dad. Technically we have a slightly faster boat, with a longer keel (the thing under the boat) and a larger main sail with full battens (sticks in the sails that give it shape), plus we’re not weighed down with such luxuries such as a generator, heater or air conditioner. But somehow we still weren’t able to pass him, I guess 30+ years experience has something to do with it.
But the kids are learning. I can’t take any credit for the maneuvers that lead to L’Attitude taking the lead. Once the sails are up and we’re moving, that’s good enough for me. Josh on the other hand wants to squeeze every little bit of power that he can out of the sails. So while I sat there doing a sudoku puzzle, Josh was trimming the sails. He came up from behind him to steal his wind, and pulled ahead!!! Yeah Josh!!!
Once in Ft-Lauderdale, we had marina reservations somewhere up the New River. It looked like a small little river to the middle of no where. It couldn’t have been further from no where. It was small alright, but it was lined with boats as far as the eye could see, not just little boats either some where well over 100ft. We crossed them towing a 135ft boat down the river, one boat in front and one almost buried behind. It’s too difficult to maneuver such a large boat thru the tight corners so they just have it towed.
The river brings right through downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Unbelievable. The marina was fantastic. We rented a car to get around easily so we could reprovision, again. Nothing a couple trips to Costco, Walmart and the grocery store can help. We luckily found time to visit Mimi, a close family friend of Josh. Mimi, her son Patrick and his wife Maria also came to visit the boat. I was nice to meet Mimi after hearing so many nice things about her, she really is a riot.
At all the marinas and along the ICW from North Carolina, you see signs warning you about manatees. We never saw any. However in the last marina we were at we saw some on numerous occasions. They really are huge and slow moving. You would never call it a beautiful animal, but it was cool to see none the less. They tell you not to feed them or to give them fresh water. One day a worker at the marina was feeding a mommy manatee fresh water from the hose. You could see her putting the hose in her mouth, and if you looked carefully you could see the baby. She was so close that I touched her. You could see along her back where she’d been cut by props. They sleep on the surface of the water at night and are very hard to see. That’s why there are strict speed limits.
Once uppon a time came a fish
In Charleston SC, we were tied up to the Mega Dock (yup that’s it’s official name), it is 2500ft long. There were so many huge boats there. Some even had golf carts that went with them. Crazy! Needless to say L’Attitude felt a little small. It didn’t matter though, we didn’t stay long. We had some ocean sailing to do, finally.
We left first thing in the morning. We got out into the ocean and there was no wind. Who would have thought of the ocean as flat and calm. We put up the sails anyways (it makes the boat look prettier) and motor sailed. The wind picked up enough to keep the sails full but not enough to keep us moving at a good speed.
As we made our way, we were almost 40 nautical miles (nautical miles are just over 1.2 regular miles) away from land. At 2 different occasions, we were visited by little birdies. I don’t know how they made it out so far. One kept sliding on the deck as the boat heeled.
Now that the boat is heading to its waypoint 25 hours away, what do you do? You fish, of course. Josh and I put out our trolling line all the while having a discussion about what the right speed is to fish at. Like either of us knows anything about fishing. We now know what is a good speed to catch fish at is, 7 knots. All of a sudden I feel something tug on the line. I try to reel it in but I can’t do it. So I pass the rod to the muscle on board. I, in the meantime, take the radio and proudly announce that I caught a fish. After my very bold statement, Josh says, I don’t think there’s a fish at the end of the line!
But he was wrong. There was a fish … a very big fish hooked on our line. I ran around the boat getting stuff ready to get the fish. I got the net, the fish book (to know if we could eat it or if we should let it go), the camera (so people will believe that we caught a fish) and the bottle of rum. Why the rum you ask? Apparently it will kill the fish if you pour it down its gills. It seemed a little more humane and less messy.
At this point the fish is at the boat and we can that it’s huge. I’d say that it was at least 1 meter long, no fish stories! Josh somehow manages to get the bugger into the net, which is not big enough, and tells me he’s ready for the rum (not so calmly though). I put the camera down and reach for the rum, unscrew the cap, lean over the fish with his many sharp little teeth, and begin to pour. What happened next was over in a blink of an eye. The fish shook, got off the hook, out of the net and back into the water. We were so close to having mackeral for dinner.
We left first thing in the morning. We got out into the ocean and there was no wind. Who would have thought of the ocean as flat and calm. We put up the sails anyways (it makes the boat look prettier) and motor sailed. The wind picked up enough to keep the sails full but not enough to keep us moving at a good speed.
As we made our way, we were almost 40 nautical miles (nautical miles are just over 1.2 regular miles) away from land. At 2 different occasions, we were visited by little birdies. I don’t know how they made it out so far. One kept sliding on the deck as the boat heeled.
Now that the boat is heading to its waypoint 25 hours away, what do you do? You fish, of course. Josh and I put out our trolling line all the while having a discussion about what the right speed is to fish at. Like either of us knows anything about fishing. We now know what is a good speed to catch fish at is, 7 knots. All of a sudden I feel something tug on the line. I try to reel it in but I can’t do it. So I pass the rod to the muscle on board. I, in the meantime, take the radio and proudly announce that I caught a fish. After my very bold statement, Josh says, I don’t think there’s a fish at the end of the line!
But he was wrong. There was a fish … a very big fish hooked on our line. I ran around the boat getting stuff ready to get the fish. I got the net, the fish book (to know if we could eat it or if we should let it go), the camera (so people will believe that we caught a fish) and the bottle of rum. Why the rum you ask? Apparently it will kill the fish if you pour it down its gills. It seemed a little more humane and less messy.
At this point the fish is at the boat and we can that it’s huge. I’d say that it was at least 1 meter long, no fish stories! Josh somehow manages to get the bugger into the net, which is not big enough, and tells me he’s ready for the rum (not so calmly though). I put the camera down and reach for the rum, unscrew the cap, lean over the fish with his many sharp little teeth, and begin to pour. What happened next was over in a blink of an eye. The fish shook, got off the hook, out of the net and back into the water. We were so close to having mackeral for dinner.
The ICW continues…
I have never seen so many beautiful summer houses. They line the entire ICW. They’re about the only things to look at, well that and dolphins. Our days are long and are beginning to get a little monotonous, not that we’re complaining. It’s too bad that we are on such a tight schedule, we don’t get to visit the places we see. Sometimes we manage to get to where we’re going before the sun sets.
Like in Georgetown, SC . A quaint little town with manicured lawns and big overhanging trees. As we tied up to the marina, the guy working there saw us checking out the shrimp boat next door. He mentioned that the boat had just pulled in and should have fresh shrimp. I’ve never seen Cindy move so fast, she grabbed her wallet and took off down the street. We all picked up some fresh shrimp. I opted for the real real deal, I bought them with the heads still on. I had no idea that shrimp heads had a spike on them. Nor did I know that when you take their heads off there’s a green goo that spurts out. Oh the things we are learning!
It’s simple life when the excitement of your day is shrimp
Like in Georgetown, SC . A quaint little town with manicured lawns and big overhanging trees. As we tied up to the marina, the guy working there saw us checking out the shrimp boat next door. He mentioned that the boat had just pulled in and should have fresh shrimp. I’ve never seen Cindy move so fast, she grabbed her wallet and took off down the street. We all picked up some fresh shrimp. I opted for the real real deal, I bought them with the heads still on. I had no idea that shrimp heads had a spike on them. Nor did I know that when you take their heads off there’s a green goo that spurts out. Oh the things we are learning!
It’s simple life when the excitement of your day is shrimp
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