Home!

June 11- 14, 2014

The good times weren't over yet as we started the last leg of the trip home.  We stopped in Charleston, SC and spent the night with the Warrs. It was Randy's first night on land in a real bed in months. As always, Cate and McLaine entertained us and we had a great dinner with Emily and Phillip. Then it was on to Myrtle Beach where we picked up another crew member, Sue Sisson.  Sue is one of my DZ sorority sisters from years ago.  She is an experienced sailor so was a good addition to our crew.  We spent the night in Wilmington and made it back home on June 14th after traveling 1,750 miles and 116 days. We were met by Doug and Linda Fletcher and Lynn Brown who brought a bottle of champagne to toast our homecoming.  Now looking forward to being on dry land for awhile with plenty of day trips with friends and family this summer...as well as planning our next nautical adventure!

Zac Brown's song, Knee Deep, sums it up perfectly:

"Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere

Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair

Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair

Sunrise there's a fire in the sky

Never been so happy

Never felt so high

And think I might have found my own kind of paradise"

Calm morning on the Waccamaw River, SC

Rainbow in Bucksport, SC

Our Charleston friends, Cate and McLaine Warr

Grady's Charleston friend, Hula Warr

Our good friend, Sue Sisson

Sue at the helm.  She said the trip down the ICW was the dream of a lifetime.
We agree!

After 116 days, the Atlantic Beach Bridge in sight!

Home Sweet Home!

Continuing North

May 27 - June 10, 2014

One of our first stops was at St. Augustine Marine Center to get some work done on the boat. We rented a car and drove to Fort Lauderdale to visit Mark and Pixie Mothena who are always our wonderful Florida hosts. After we got back to St. Augustine, we found the boat was not going to be able to be put back in the water until Monday so we headed to Atlanta and had a visit with Brad and Amanda. As it turned out the delay wasn't so bad since we got to visit with friends and family. Our next stop was Fernandina Beach for what we had expected to be the night but...the next morning we had a dead battery. As luck would have it, we could not get a battery in Fernandina and had to stay there for three days. While Randy dealt with the battery  issues, I explored Fernandina Beach with shopping, lunch at good restaurants, a trolley tour and a pedicure so my time wasn't wasted.  We've had very little bad weather or rain until one afternoon we ran into quite a storm with almost zero visibility and lots of lightning. With the GPS we were fine and passed through it to calm water and blue skies.We anchored for a couple of nights with beautiful scenery and enjoy taking a dinghy cruise in the evening and have been able to get some close up pictures of egrets and other birds.   But we continue to enjoy the beautiful scenery, seeing dolphin again since there are not many in the Abacos , and all the beautiful birds. Every night the sunset is beautiful and we really should get up early more often because when we do, the sunrise is always amazing.

Happy to have the dolphin follow us again

Glad to be up early this morning

Thankful for GPS

Goodby Abacos

May 18 - 27, 2014

After I got back, Captain Hondo had decided that the weather window for crossing looked good for the next few days and decided we should take advantage of the good weather and leave soon. We went to "Wallys", a great restaurant in Marsh Harbour and then to Guana to say goodbye to people we know there.  We left very early on Wed, May 21st and had a little bit of misunderstanding about the sea conditions in the Whale Passage. This area is similar to two inlets which must be transited in order to avoid shallow waters as we left Guana for Green Turtle.  As we approached the Whale, there were 2-3' swells, no problem for Loon and her crew.  However, as we got farther out (about a mile into the Atlantic), the swells became 7-8', still no problem for Loon, but a little "sporty" for the crew. Grady and I hunkered down holding on inside the cabin and Randy was driving from the bridge. He and the boat were able to handle it better than Grady and I.  After that bad experience, the weather couldn't  possibly have been any better.  We spent Wed night at anchor at Great Sale Cay and all went well until the next morning when we were pulling up the anchor and after much work Randy could not get the anchor loose. He kept working at it and finally got it up and discovered it was jammed into a six-foot root and had to break the branches to release it.  The final stop before crossing the Gulfstream to Florida is West End, a small village on the western tip of Grand Bahama Island. We had stopped there on the way in to clear customs but this time discovered it is a great resort. We would've been happy to have stayed there a little longer. The water was unbelievably clear and we could see literally hundreds of starfish in 15 or more feet of water. That same day we saw sea turtles, schools of flying fish and one shark. In West End we met four wonderful little boys who went fishing for starfish and a conch shell for me. We have found the children in the Bahamas to be so polite and appreciative.  On our next trip we plan to take some things for the children.  They would be so thrilled to get clothes, shoes or anything from the States. The resort had rental bikes and Randy borrowed one to go to the store a couple of miles away which involved ending up at the West End police station!  He parked the bike outside the store (which was really not much more than a shack) and someone came in to say that the police had taken it.  The store owner thought it was a misunderstanding and called the police station to bring it back but they didn't see it that way.  They claimed the bike was parked illegally in the road and later one of the policeman said he thought a local had "borrowed" the bike while Randy was shopping and then parked it in the street. The owner and Randy went to the police station where things were very testy with the police and Randy wisely knew to keep his mouth shut this time!  They finally released him and the bike (which had a $200 deposit from marina) and followed Randy back to the resort in the dark with the admonishment to be more familiar with the local laws when he visited again! We left West End at 6:30am on our 60 mile trip across the Gulfstream to Palm Beach, FL.  The winds were light and variable and the sea was 1-2'.  Since the conditions were so pleasant, we fished along the way and caught two dolphin.  We crossed Lake Worth Inlet about 3pm and docked at North Palm Beach Marina for the night.  Back in the USA!  I didn't expect to be saying this but I told Randy with the weather so nice  we could travel outside in the ocean rather than in the ICW which is what we did the next day and it was as calm as a lake! Now we are back in the ICW and heading North...

Like a lake

Grady doesn't want this trip to end!

Peanut Dolphin

First catch.  Nice gaffer dolphin

Pat's dolphin putting up a fight

One of many starfish

Anchor in a root

Sunrise leaving West End

Happy Memorial Day!

Trip Home

May 5 - 18, 2014

I headed out on May 5th and, after a trip where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, made it to RDU a day late. Sue and Verne Sisson have kept my car and are so nice to provide shuttle service to and from the airport. I got to Greensboro as soon as I could and picked up Hunter at day care. I stayed there for two nights and enjoyed every minute with sweet little Hunter!  From there I stopped to visit my aunt and uncle in Clarksville, VA and then on to Hampton. After a good visit for Mothers Day, I left for Atlantic Beach and saw our house for the first time since February.  After life on the boat, it seemed very spacious and I really enjoyed all the amenities such as a dishwasher, laundry room and large shower!  But, I was still happy to be going back to the Abacos and get to enjoy that life for a little longer!

Meanwhile....While Pat was back in NC for two weeks, Grady and I left Treasure Cay and went to Guana Cay.  We anchored in Fisher's Bay just a short dinghy ride into the white sandy beach at Grabbers Bar & Grill.  Each day we soaked up the sun, laid in the hammocks by the beach, and sipped Guana Grabbers.  The pool was temporarily closed for repainting so we cooled off by floating around in Fisher's Bay.  I met new people each day some were cruisers like myself on their own boats or ones they rented, while others were staying in houses/condos.  Everyone had a story to tell...and so did I...imagine that!  After about 10 days the pool reopened and I was the first to jump in!!  I was soon joined by my Bahamian friend Weggy, who spent countless hours in the hot sun scraping, sanding and painting the pool.  We both enjoyed a frozen Grabber and the cool water.  Unfortunately that was our last day in Guana as we began the long journey back to NC.  

Worth the trip to see this face!

Very serious show on TV

Love the Abacos but...there's no place like home!


My typical day on Guana!

Brad and Amanda

April 30 - May 4, 2014

Brad and Amanda arrived as planned on Thursday and we had dinner waiting for them aboard Loon.  They surprised us with personalized shirts so now we look like the yachts where the crew always wears the boat shirts.  They did a great job of designing the shirts and they are available for anyone who wants to be part of Team Loon!  With uncertainty as always about the weather, we decided to head for Guana the next day since the weather looked good. We spent a great day at Grabbers and showed Amanda some of the hot spots.  Friday we spent most of the day on the beautiful Treasure Cay beach and Saturday rented a golf cart and visited some other areas of Treasure Cay and spent part of the afternoon at the beautiful Treasure Sands pool.  All too soon, their visit came to an end and they are on their way back to Atlanta as I'm writing this. It was so great having them here and we look forward to their visit to Atlantic Beach on July 3rd. I leave tomorrow for a visit back home where I plan to see Scott, Jessica and Hunter in Greensboro and my mother and sister in Virginia.  I will be back for almost 2 weeks and this time will be able to get back to Atlantic Beach for a few days too.  Looking forward to seeing some friends and my house again.  Randy and Grady will be anchored at Guana and Marsh Harbor during this time getting Loon ready for our return trip.  We'll be heading back to NC the end of May but I couldn't wait that long for a visit.  It's been wonderful and the time has gone by so quickly, it's hard to believe we've been in the Abacos since March 23rd.  

Team Loon

Captain "Loony" pondering our next destination...

Relaxing day at Grabbers on Guana Cay

The REAL Grabbers experience.  In the pool with a frozen Grabber!

Sassy pose on beautiful Treasure Cay beach.

Pat & Amanda with members of the Royal Bahamian Band.

Poolside bar at Bahama Beach Club...where we are now members. No fee required for membership, just a valid credit card.

Oil change day.  It takes a skinny guy to get to the oil filter.  Brad fits nicely!

Grady enjoyed Brad and Amanda's visit as much as we did

Dinghy excursion around Treasure Cay.

Hate to leave...but we'll be back next year!

Exploring

April 20 - 29, 2014

We left Treasure for Marsh Harbor to pick up supplies and get Grady groomed. Randy rode his little "clown" bike all over Marsh Harbor and came back loaded with, among other things, a piece of hose, groceries, and an anchor for the dinghy.  While he waited for me to get Grady from the groomers, he entertained (or was entertained by) three Bahamian boys who had the day off from school.  They stay around the public dock to help boaters hoping to get tips.  They were very interested to hear about life in the States especially NBA players and our highways. The only American fast food restaurant in Marsh Harbor is KFC and Randy gave them all money for lunch at KFC when we left. While in Marsh Harbor we also snorkeled and went to the Jib Room for rib night where we were entertained by a Bahamian limbo dancer. From Marsh Harbor we continued on to Little Harbor which is the farthest south we've been in the Abacos. It was well worth the trip and an especially beautiful area. The harbor we were in had lots of sea turtles and

crystal clear water. The restaurant there Pete's Pub is an interesting place. All open air with only sand floors and decorations of hundreds of t-shirts hanging from the ceiling and we were happy to see a NC State shirt someone had left behind. You have to see this place to appreciate. Also there is a foundry where the original owners son, Pete, makes bronze sculptures.  We bought a small piece although some sell for five figures and are amazing. The work is beautiful but the facility and equipment hasn't changed in the last 50 years.  We had met a couple, Bev and Chas, from New York earlier in our trip and ran into them at Little Harbor and spent a lot of time with them for the next few days. Yankees and Southerners mix well in the Abacos. We snorkeled one day right off the beach and Randy finally saw what I love about snorkeling with unbelievable coral, fish, and turtles.   After a few days we started back and hit some of our favorites from other trips, Tahiti Beach, Cracker P's and Guana. While in Treasure we met a girl who told us about collecting sea glass and we walked a lot of beaches looking for sea glass and have started a little collection. As I write this we are returning to Treasure Cay for one of the highlights of the trip when Brad and Amanda arrive tomorrow! The only thing better would be if Scott, Jessica and Hunter could be here too!  

Sea Turtle beside our boat in Little Harbor.

Searching for sea glass.

No sea glass to be found today!

The beginning of our sea glass collection.

Hundreds of T-shirts but none hung more proudly than this Wolfpack jersey! 

The "famous" Pete's Pub in Little Harbor.

One of the many bronze castings by artist sculptor, Pete Johnston

Bronze casting for sale in the gallery for $25,000!!!

The family truck!

A little cultural exchange going on!  Very nice and polite young men.

This guy was amazing!  He had to dislocate his knees and ankles before this feat!

Speed Bumps....Little Harbor style!