Nassau to Rose Island to Allen's Cay

We arrived safely in Allens Cay Sunday along with our friends on S/V Quartet.  The sail over was more motor than sail with the light breeze and it was hot.  No problem crossing the yellow banks because the coral heads were huge, easy to see and easy to avoid.

We have been enjoying the iguanas, the beach and the snorkeling.  We went to check out another beach and found our friends on S/V Perry.  Paul and Matt found some lobster for dinner and our kids had a little lego party.  4 peas in a pod, can't go wrong with Legos.

Since then we have met another boat named S/V Shamrock with kids the same age as Quartet's.  So the beach is full of kids and lots to do.

This is a very different experience than last year where we met only one or two boat families.  We are all enjoying our time aboard Shambala.

Last night was the first night of the storm system moving in.  We decided to stay here because this is a fairly safe anchorage with good holding in the sand.  There aren't many places to tuck in for weather so we are surrounded by boats.  If weather is coming in it seems to always happen between midnight and 3:00 AM.  Of course the first squall hit about 1:30 AM.  One boat dragged up onto iguana beach, another two went aground, S/V Shamrock almost dragged right out the channel to sea, and one boat anchored in a bad spot with two anchors got in the way of another boat as it was swinging on its anchor, then it dragged and nearly hit S/V Quartet.   They would not re-anchor their boat and kept arguing and blaming everyone else.  They finally moved, Whew!  Oh well.  After the first squall ended everyone was able to recover.

Today and tonight are supposed to also be a bit rough but right now the sun is shining.  This is a beautiful place.

West Bay, New Providence

This has been a nice place to anchor.  The boat rocks at night with the ocean swell coming in but Paul has a trick of springing the anchor to keep us faced into the swell.  Yea!

We have been to Clifton Heritage National Park to visit the beach and tomorrow may try and walk to the ruins.  

Today was a pretty average day for us.  I went for a run early, not on sand but on actual pavement.  Wow! I felt fast (Ha Ha!)

Paul took the folding bike over and rode to the store for provisions and updating our phone with a Bahamas data plan.  

Then we took the boat out to make water.  Since I am new to sailing and have not read much about it I am not familiar with this technique but now know the how and why.  We heaved to. This was a great way for us to make water and stay pretty close to shore.  Paul got to fish, I got to nap and the kids listened to some audio books while coloring and drawing.  

We made it back to the anchorage by dusk.  The sunset was nice and we are tucked back in for the night.  

Overall a great day. 

Our sunset tonight

Berry Islands

Long time no blog.  We left Bimini the same day we arrived and headed straight to the Berry Islands.  Our first stop was near Hoffman’s Cay (pronounced Key).  There are plenty of beaches to stop at and all pretty kid friendly.  I tried running on the beach one morning.  Wow, was that a wake up call.  Running in sand is a lot different that running on the solid ground.  It has been pretty warm and humid so the sweat started dripping into my eyes almost immediately.  Good thing there is cool blue water nearby, but not that cool.  Our temperature gauge reported the temperature about 77 degrees.  

There are fish and corral reefs all over.  Even in the shallow surf where the kids like to snorkel we could see a variety of tropical fish.  Paul noticed a turtle, then two swimming around our boat.  We got some good footage that I can hopefully download for everyone to see.  

We love it here!  Despite the sand war I have on the boat and the humidity, we all enjoy visiting the cool beaches, playing in the sand and swimming with the fishes.  

To keep busy on the boat the kids have been battling with school.  Some days go really smooth, others are a constant battle.  After talking with other cruising families I have realized that this is just the case with about everyone. 

We decided that we like home school because you can wake up whenever you want, you never have to rush breakfast, everyday can be a pajama day, and snack time is whenever you want it.  
There are some challenges.   For Samantha she hates being corrected because she likes to do it right the first time or not at all.  This reminds me so much of myself I have to laugh.  My Mom always said I would have a child just like me…or two.

Nicholas is like me in different ways.  He is very stubborn.  He wants to do it his way, no matter what kind of advice or direction given from anyone.  Not one of my better traits but…

It helps having both of us doing school with each of them independently.

After school Samantha’s favorite thing in the world is watching movies or having books read to her.  She loves to be entertained.  

Nicholas enjoys his legos, playing with Samantha and her Barbies with his Avengers, and going on dingy explorations with Daddy.  This helps everyone on the boat get some time to themselves.  Boy, boy time and girl, girl time is precious.    

They both love to sing.  One day Samantha asked what harmony meant.  Well, then Paul and I started to try and sing together, that was a laugh.  We told her our singing was the opposite of harmony. 

Paul loves to fish, so he trolls around in the kayak or in the dinghy looking for dinner or lunch.  Bread baking has been keeping me busy.  Last night my fourth attempt finally turned out good.  Yea!!

We crossed over today to West Bay, New Providence.  Nassau might be our next port before leaving for the Exumas.

The turtle near Hoffman's Cay

My fourth attempt.  French bread!
Still can't beat Uncle Mario's bread.

Bimini - We are here!

As we left Dinner Key Mooring Facility we pulled into their slip for one last pump out and to fill our water tank.  The pump out stopped working just as we started so we had to call the office.  They sent someone out to take a look at it.  His exact words were "well, I don't know what I am going to be able to do."  He hit the thing a few times, then said the same words again.  A couple minutes later he said to give them 10-15 minutes and try again.  30 minutes later it was finally working.  Turns out their tank was full so they had to empty it before it would work again.  This seems to be a common theme in Miami.  If you don't get what you need to first time, be sure to ask someone else.  You are bound to get what you need if you have patience.

Pump out finally working.  You have to keep your finger on the button for the suction.  Really a two person job.

So towards sunset we anchored near President Nixon's old house (we could see the old helicopter pad).  We were surrounded by boats.
We left at 4:30 AM and started our journey towards Bimini along with a few other boats.  Paul calls it the Leisure Navy.  We made it here no problem and are checked in for 120 days.

It is still hard to believe that the ocean is this blue and clear.  Oh! and did I mention it is warm?

Bahama Bound

We are in Miami and had a wonderful surprise visit from my friend Julie and her Daughter Zoe.
Part of our visit was spent in South Beach, definitely a place to visit and the other part at Dinner Key Mooring Field.

After getting the last minute things done our plan is to more over near No Name Harbor to prepare to cross tomorrow.

Weather looks promising and a lot of boats are going to make their way over.

We have been meeting more kid boats this year and are looking forward to having more play time for the kids and the adults!

More soon from the BAHAMAS!

Nicholas is a good reader and loves to read with Daddy.

Julie enjoying South Beach Miami.

Samantha and Zoe playing on the boat. 

Ft. Lauderdale

Our next stop was Vero Beach, also known as “Velcro Beach”.  Probably because it is so nice. This is a beautiful place with moorings and a free shuttle to town.  While there we met up with our friends on Quartet.  We only stayed a day anchored out because we had to get to Stuart for our   mail arriving.  

Along with Crocs we received our Dominican Republic courtesy flag and diesel filters.  While in Stuart we met up with our friends from Ruach II.  They are renting a house for the month while they get a new engine in their boat.  What a treat for us!  Play dates with their kids, pizza movie nights, taco movie nights (any excuse for a movie).  Free laundry, hot showers and a heated pool.

It was time to move on again.  This time our destination Fort Lauderdale.  We discovered during high winds that our wind generator was overcharging our battery.  Hence the trip to Fort Lauderdale to get it fixed.  Seems that not a day goes by that something doesn’t need to be replaced, repaired or maintained on the boat.  

On our way south we stopped at Peck Lake where the kids played in the surf (without life vests, a first).  They came back to the boat covered in sand.  I am the sand police so the kids immediately went to the shower with lots of soap.  Paul keeps telling me I am fighting a loosing battle but I refuse to give up.  I can’t imagine what the boat would look like if I gave up the battle against sand… 

Next stop was Peanut Island in Lake Worth.  This island is small but has beautiful beaches and we were able to break out the snorkeling gear.  The water temperature was warm but I still wanted my shortie wet suit so of course the kids did too.  I think little wet suits are so cute!

Now we are where we need to be for the wind generator.  Fort Lauderdale.  Just when I think I have seen all there is to see in the boating world, surprise.  A mega yacht with a helicopter, with its own cover.  Wow!  There is definitely money floating in the water down here. 

While here we met up with Quartet again.  I think we are going to be seeing a lot of them.  Yea!

Also our friends Charlie and Judy on Tequesta just showed up today.  This will be one of our first times meeting up with them on their boat instead of their house in St. Augustine.  

Party time in Fort Lauderdale.

Christmas in Seattle

Lots of things to do in Seattle

Jumpy Castle place Rules!

Aunt Sara and Uncle Tom have a big dog!

Samantha wins at Monopoly AGAIN!

Helicopter on a boat?  

Samantha catching the rain water leaks in our boat.

Little wet suits...so cute.

Handsome new haircut.

Back to the Boat

Happy Holidays!
We had a wonderful time visiting family in Seattle.  The kids have a whole new set of toys, games, activities to keep them busy for the next year.

Now we are making our way south for warmer weather once again.