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Port #53: Stuart, FL…An Unplanned Stop

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/13/2015


Day
#255 (Monday): 82.8 miles (3421 total miles)

Locks:
3 (29 total locks)

Bridges:
2 (3 total bridges)

Port
#53: Stuart, FL

Marina:
River Forest Yacht Center

The alarm clock went off at 4:45AM.  The night had been quiet but hot and
muggy.  Luckily I had a battery operated
fan I’d bought for Loop #1.  It helped
cool us a little affording us some sleep.


We were off the free dock by 6:50AM and at the
Ortona Lock by 7:30AM.  The rural setting
continued with some beautiful houses mixed in along the way.

Sunrise at LaBelle
Our next lock, the Moore Haven Lock, was just before
entering Lake Okeechobee.  There was some
canal left to navigate before the lake opened up to us.  Once in the lake, the winds were stiff out of
the southeast making our ride a little choppy.

Entering Lake Okeechobee
I had mentioned to Todd the next lock had some
repairs being done to it by divers.  He
had forgotten with all the other planning that went into the trip ahead as well
as taking care of homeland matters that would be left behind for at least a
month.  I called the lockmaster at the
Mayaca Lock on the northeast side of ‘Lake O’, hoping for no repair work.  Unfortunately, he told be the lock was closed
until 4PM.


We slowed OB’s speed but still came upon the lock
with more than 2 hours to wait.  The
winds had built and the lake was becoming very choppy.  We decided to try to tie off one of the tow
pilings (dolphins).  Because of their
very large size, it seemed tying off the bow anchor-style would give us more
comfort.  The dolphins were too far apart
to tie bow and stern.


It became hard to control the boat.  The line passed over the bow pulpit and broke
off the top of our new navigation light. 
We untied from the dolphin and spent the rest of the time going around
in circles waiting for the lock to open.


By the time the divers were clear of the lock, 3
boats had gathered on the East side of the lock and 5 boats were on our side of
the lock (the West side).  We’d all be
bouncing around for over 2 hours.  Of
course, as luck would have it, the lockmaster brought the boats on the other
side of the lock through first.  So we
danced around a little longer!

The Mayaca Lock on the east side of Lake O.  The dolphin we were tied to is at the right.  We were tied much like the sailboat in the picture but it didn’t work well.

Because of the delay, we couldn’t make the last lock
in the waterway system.  We stopped at a
marina near the lock.  We met two other
Looper boats, one of which had just come back from the Bahamas.  It was nice to be where we could turn on our
air conditioners and take soothing showers before going to bed.

River Forest Marina.
OB slip for the night.

Port #57:Crab Cay…No Crabs, No Fish

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/17/2015

Day #259 (Friday)  45.8 miles (3534.3 total miles)

Locks: 0 (30 total locks)

Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)

Port #57: Crab Cay, BS

Anchorage: Behind Crab Cay and Angelfish Point

The crew had a great night’s sleep with a wonderful breeze coming through the hatches.  We were up and about by 5:30AM and left the anchorage by 7:30AM.  The day was non-descript as we moved around north of Great Sale Cay to leave the Little Bahama Bank and work our way down to the Sea of Abaco.


The Sea of Abaco runs between the barrier islands to the East and Great Abaco Island to the West.  It’s fairly wide but does afford some protection from the prevailing winds.  The water continued to be the amazing turquoise color.


We saw a lot of cruisers heading north.  In a little less than a month now, we would find ourselves on that same path.  Until then, the temperatures were warm, the waters beautiful (although roughed up some with the prevailing Southerly winds) and there were many islands and anchorages to explore.  Our adventure was leading us into the Bahamian way of life.


Our plan was to anchor at Powell Cay, however the winds we from the wrong direction for a comfortable night.  We decided on an anchorage behind Crab Cay and north of Great Abaco Island.  We would be in a spot protected from the all direction except the west.

We avoided hazards along the way like this huge rock outcropping.
We found our way into the anchorage and dropped anchor in a nice, big sand patch.  We were amazed by the big, red starfish moving across the ocean floor when I spotted something that looked really weird.  As our stern swung around, we could make out a huge cable buckled up as if someone had caught it with an anchor.  It looked like it could be a huge power cable or a telephone/cell phone cable running from Great Abaco Island to somewhere.  We decided it would be prudent to move OB away from there before she caught her props up in the cable.


I pulled anchor and we scooted up the sand patch about a half mile or so and dropped anchor again.  Well settled, we dropped the dinghy to explore.  The small beach was very rocky and we didn’t take the dinghy in fearing puncturing one of the tubes.  We moved into some of the shoaled areas.  The wind kept a ripple on the water making it hard to see the bottom and explore the aquarium we were in.  After a couple of hours, we headed back to OB and stored the dinghy for travel the next day.

OB anchored behind Crab Cay…with Great Abaco Island in the background.
Happy Captain…
Happy Admiral
Two other boats moved into our anchorage later in the evening.  Both were heading north to cross back to the USA.
Another quiet evening with storms around but never affecting us.

Port #56:Great Sale Cay…Not For Sale!

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/16/2015

Day #258 (Thursday) 55.5 miles (3488.5 total miles)

Locks: 0 (30 total locks)

Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)

Port #56: Great Sale Cay, BS

Anchorage: Northwest Harbor

The crew on OB decided to sleep in after 4 days of travel.  We didn’t leave West End until the checkout time of 11AM.  The weather was beautiful with partly cloudy skies.  We watched rain storms develop around us throughout the day but never had a raindrop hit OB.


The waters were unbelievable.  Neither Todd or I had ever seen anything such an amazing blue and so clear.  Although we could see starfish crawling along the bottom and one large shark as we passed through Indian Pass, there was a constant wind that disturbed a clear view of the aquarium we were in.

The color of the waters in the Bahamas was indescribable…even with the constant winds from El Nino.

We traveled to an anchorage in the crook of Great Sale Cay.  It’s a favorite spot used by many boaters traversing the bank to the Abaco Sea.  OB sat quietly through the night.  We continued to see storm clouds around us but nothing came our way.

Our anchorage in Great Sale Cay.

Port #55: It’s the Bahamas MON!

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/15/2015


Day #257 (Wednesday)  81.4 miles (3433 total miles)

Locks: 0 (30 total locks)

Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)

Port #55: West End, Freeport, BS

Marina: Old Bahama Bay Marina and Resort

The alarm clock went off at 4:45AM.  The first pot of coffee was made and the second perking.  Today would take up deep out into the Atlantic Ocean into an adventure we’d planned four years ago and never realized.


The morning broke with building clouds on the horizon that dissipated as we moved southeast on our route.  We were met with 2 to 3 foot rolling waves that bobbed us around like a cork in the water.  We both were comfortable with the conditions and decided to continue.

Leaving the USA through the Port St. Lucie Inlet in Florida.
As we moved farther out into the ocean, the color of blue became almost indigo.  Absolutely beautiful and indescribable.  The rollers continued throughout the day.

The big blue Atlantic Ocean…so hard to capture in pictures.
We saw a few sport fishing boats, two sailboats, two cruisers like us and a freighter all going in different directions from our own course.  We were alone much like our crossing from Apalachacola, FL to Clearwater Beach, FL. It wasn’t frightening, just sobering to be alone with the sea.

Notice anything different with Charlie?  Me neither.
As we got closer to West End, the rolling waves became ‘confused’ and were coming at us from both sides.  OB was pitching and rolling more, making life uncomfortable.  Todd took OB up on plane for the last 50 minutes of the trip.


When we came into the Little Bahama Bank, our depth sounder started measuring again.  While we were in the Gulf Stream, the ocean floor was so deep the depth sounder couldn’t find it (around 2000 feet).  That part of the trip, the sounder stayed at its’ last measureable reading (496 feet).


Todd had called Old Bahama Bay Marina before we left Stuart.  No one was in the office at that hour so he left a message requesting dockage for the night…and hoped we’d have a dock when we arrived.  The dockmaster had picked up the message and had a dock ready for us, much to our relief!


As we entered the harbor, I hung the yellow Quarantine flag from one of our VHF antennas.  This is a signal to Customs that we have not formally checked in to their country.  Todd had completed forms that were provided online, took them as well as Charlie’s documents and checked in to Customs without a problem.

OB becomes Bahamian…
…she sported the Bahamian Courtesy Flag throughout our time in the Bahamas.
West End Marina and Resort in the far outskirts of Freeport, Grand Bahama
We headed straight for the Beach Bar to test out Bahamian rum and Bahamian beer (Kalik).  The folks were very friendly both behind the bar and customers at the bar.  We found the same atmosphere at the restaurant later in the evening, although it took a couple of hours to get our food.  My conch salad was excellent but Todd’s personal pizza was mediocre at best.


All in all, our first day of our Bahamian adventure was a success!

Port #54: Stuart, FL…It’s Time to Get Excited!

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/14/2015


Day #256 (Tuesday):  16.2 miles (3351.6 total miles)

Locks: 1 (30 total locks)

Bridges: 1 (4 total bridges)

Port #54: Stuart, FL

Marina: Sailfish Marina

The crew got to sleep in since this was going to be a short travel day.  We wanted to be able to get some work done around the boat and prepare for our crossing to the Bahamas.  However, excitement still had us up by 5:30AM.  We were at our final lock by 8AM.

I fixed the broken navigation light as best I could.  The only lid that fit was a Fritos Cheese Dip lid.  Guess what we had for snacks that day!
Our last lock until we get to Virginia.
We took OB into American Yacht Yard to top off her diesel.  It was a short trip from there to our marina stop.

OBs slip among the giants.  The boats in this marina made OB look like a dinghy!
Todd gave OB a quick bath and checked all her fluid levels.  I did some necessary clean up inside and topped off OB’s water tanks.  We looked over the final trip plan to the Bahamas, deciding to go with our original plan of West End, Freeport, BS as our entry point.


One last look at the weather reports and travel tools told us Wednesday was our day to cross.  It did demonstrate Thursday as an option, as well.  It was an early to bed night with the clock set for 4:45AM once again!

Port #53: Stuart, FL…An Unplanned Stop

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/13/2015


Day #255 (Monday): 82.8 miles (3421 total miles)

Locks: 3 (29 total locks)

Bridges: 2 (3 total bridges)

Port #53: Stuart, FL

Marina: River Forest Yacht Center

The alarm clock went off at 4:45AM.  The night had been quiet but hot and muggy.  Luckily I had a battery operated fan I’d bought for Loop #1.  It helped cool us a little affording us some sleep.


We were off the free dock by 6:50AM and at the Ortona Lock by 7:30AM.  The rural setting continued with some beautiful houses mixed in along the way.

Sunrise at LaBelle
Our next lock, the Moore Haven Lock, was just before entering Lake Okeechobee.  There was some canal left to navigate before the lake opened up to us.  Once in the lake, the winds were stiff out of the southeast making our ride a little choppy.

Entering Lake Okeechobee
I had mentioned to Todd the next lock had some repairs being done to it by divers.  He had forgotten with all the other planning that went into the trip ahead as well as taking care of homeland matters that would be left behind for at least a month.  I called the lockmaster at the Mayaca Lock on the northeast side of ‘Lake O’, hoping for no repair work.  Unfortunately, he told be the lock was closed until 4PM.


We slowed OB’s speed but still came upon the lock with more than 2 hours to wait.  The winds had built and the lake was becoming very choppy.  We decided to try to tie off one of the tow pilings (dolphins).  Because of their very large size, it seemed tying off the bow anchor-style would give us more comfort.  The dolphins were too far apart to tie bow and stern.


It became hard to control the boat.  The line passed over the bow pulpit and broke off the top of our new navigation light.  We untied from the dolphin and spent the rest of the time going around in circles waiting for the lock to open.


By the time the divers were clear of the lock, 3 boats had gathered on the East side of the lock and 5 boats were on our side of the lock (the West side).  We’d all be bouncing around for over 2 hours.  Of course, as luck would have it, the lockmaster brought the boats on the other side of the lock through first.  So we danced around a little longer!

The Mayaca Lock on the east side of Lake O.  The dolphin we were tied to is at the right.  We were tied much like the sailboat in the picture but it didn’t work well.

Because of the delay, we couldn’t make the last lock in the waterway system.  We stopped at a marina near the lock.  We met two other Looper boats, one of which had just come back from the Bahamas.  It was nice to be where we could turn on our air conditioners and take soothing showers before going to bed.

River Forest Marina.
OB slip for the night.

Port #52: LaBelle, FL…Dropping Lines to Finish Loop #2

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/12/2015


Day
#254 (Sunday):  44 miles (3381 total
miles)

Locks:
1 (26 total locks)

Bridges:
1 (1 total bridges-these are lift bridges we have to wait to have open)

Port
#52: LaBelle, FL

Marina:
Free Dock – Okeechobee Waterway

It took some time for us to cast off Sunday
morning.  There were last minute things
to accomplish with closing the house for 6 months.  Our neighbors, Karen and Brian, are so very good
to us when we leave.  There’s always
leftover food and garbage to be dealt with. 
They are so gracious to take care of both for us as well as keep an eye
on the house and the pool.  We’ve been
blessed everywhere we’ve lived with caring neighbors, all of which are in our
‘email blog group’.  THANK YOU, Karen,
Brian, Ann, Dennis, Lyn, Kevin, Roger, and Donna.  ALL of these folks have kept an eye on either
our house in Findlay or our current home in Cape Coral.  I can’t say enough about how deeply we appreciate
each and every one of you!

 
Good bye Cape Coral home.
Goodbye Karen and Brian…see you in October.

We pulled away from Sea Dock (our home dock) at
11:30AM and officially started the second half of Great Loop #2.  It’s always a little sad to leave our home
and friends in the rearview mirror. 
However, beginning new adventure is exciting and a little intimidating
as well.  This first part of our return
north is all new territory for us. 
Additionally, we’ve never gone as far out into the Atlantic as this
adventure will take us or left the safety of home shores.

Today’s trip was the shortest of the days
ahead.  Todd planned it that way, knowing
we’d be leaving later than usual on a travel day.  All of the waters were new for OB at this
point.  As soon as we passed the power
plant in Fort Myers, it was new territory for us as well.

The first day on the Caloosahatchee River and the
Okeechobee Waterway was pleasant and sunny. 
We spent most of the trip on the bridge (top section of OB) where it was
cool and had a nice breeze.  We were held
up at the Franklin Lock and couldn’t make the Ortona Lock before it
closed.  We planned to anchor in the Big
Bend past the Ortona Lock so we had to adjust our plans.  Active Captain directed us to a free dock
near LaBelle, FL.  It was listed as ‘half
burned down…but the pilings were still adequate’.  We found the dock, tied up to the pilings
just before a rain shower came through cooling things down.  We spent a very pleasant night in quiet, star
lit surroundings.

Scenes along the Okeechobee Waterway.
The free dock at LaBelle…part of the dock was burned away.
Sunset after the storm.

Ports 46-51: At Home for the Winter…And Half Looped!

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 11/10/2014

Day
# 101 (Monday):  52.4 miles (2890 total
miles)

Locks:
0 (25 total locks)

Port
#46: Cape Coral, FL

Marina:
Sea Dock – behind our winter home


Todd
and I were excited to leave Cape Haze the next morning.  We were on our way home to Cape Coral,
Florida.  Of course, our second Loop
didn’t end there.  We’d get back to
‘Looping’ the first of March.  We already
had a planned trip to Key West with OB over Valentine’s Day.  That part of the trip would coincide with Put
In Bay Days in Key West.
Swing Bridge at Boca Grande
Cabbage Key 
Little Shell Island…a familiar anchorage with our little boat.
Charlie navigating the course home
As
we came closer to Cape Coral, one of my good friends from our New Resident’s
group was in contact with me.  We came up
with the idea to have an impromptu ‘Catch the Lines’ party.  The message went out to not only our
Aquaholics friends, but our friends who have relocated from Ohio to the Cape as
well as the Harbor Host for AGLCA.  When
we pulled into our dock we had more than a dozen friends waiting to catch our
lines and welcome us home.
OB comes home!




 Our
trip to Key West took us to Port #47: Fort Myers Beach…

…
an anchorage in Port #48: Russell’s Pass near Everglades City in Everglades
National Park


…and
Port #49: Key West.
AB Marina in Key West Bight.
Good drinks…
…and food.
Mallory Square
Our Put in Bay favorite singers at PIB Days in Key West…Bob Gatewood…
…Pat Dailey…
…Bob Gatewood jamming with Barry Cuda (KW singer)…a first time event.
…AND Mad Dog Mike Adams!
On
our return to Cape Coral, we anchored in Port #50: Little Shark River right
where we had anchored in 2011.

 Back
in the Cape (Port #51), we had more friends visit.
OB back at her dock.
 A
string of bad weather kept us from staying with our plan to leave at the end of
the first week in March.  We were held up
until close to the end of March.  In the
meantime, Todd ordered my Christmas present…150 feet of anchor chain for
OB.  Then THAT delayed us another
week.  When the chain arrived, two of our
Aquaholic friends helped up move the 183 pounds of chain to the dock, stretch
it out so I could mark it in 10 foot sections and then move it onto the boat.  With the chain in place and a window rapidly
approaching, we moved quickly to close the house, ready OB and leave our dock
in 48 hours.

Port #52: LaBelle, FL…Dropping Lines to Finish Loop #2

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 04/12/2015


Day #254 (Sunday):  44 miles (3381 total miles)

Locks: 1 (26 total locks)

Bridges: 1 (1 total bridges-these are lift bridges we have to wait to have open)

Port #52: LaBelle, FL

Marina: Free Dock – Okeechobee Waterway

It took some time for us to cast off Sunday morning.  There were last minute things to accomplish with closing the house for 6 months.  Our neighbors, Karen and Brian, are so very good to us when we leave.  There’s always leftover food and garbage to be dealt with.  They are so gracious to take care of both for us as well as keep an eye on the house and the pool.  We’ve been blessed everywhere we’ve lived with caring neighbors, all of which are in our ‘email blog group’.  THANK YOU, Karen, Brian, Ann, Dennis, Lyn, Kevin, Roger, and Donna.  ALL of these folks have kept an eye on either our house in Findlay or our current home in Cape Coral.  I can’t say enough about how deeply we appreciate each and every one of you!

 
Good bye Cape Coral home.
Goodbye Karen and Brian…see you in October.

We pulled away from Sea Dock (our home dock) at 11:30AM and officially started the second half of Great Loop #2.  It’s always a little sad to leave our home and friends in the rearview mirror.  However, beginning new adventure is exciting and a little intimidating as well.  This first part of our return north is all new territory for us.  Additionally, we’ve never gone as far out into the Atlantic as this adventure will take us or left the safety of home shores.

Today’s trip was the shortest of the days ahead.  Todd planned it that way, knowing we’d be leaving later than usual on a travel day.  All of the waters were new for OB at this point.  As soon as we passed the power plant in Fort Myers, it was new territory for us as well.

The first day on the Caloosahatchee River and the Okeechobee Waterway was pleasant and sunny.  We spent most of the trip on the bridge (top section of OB) where it was cool and had a nice breeze.  We were held up at the Franklin Lock and couldn’t make the Ortona Lock before it closed.  We planned to anchor in the Big Bend past the Ortona Lock so we had to adjust our plans.  Active Captain directed us to a free dock near LaBelle, FL.  It was listed as ‘half burned down…but the pilings were still adequate’.  We found the dock, tied up to the pilings just before a rain shower came through cooling things down.  We spent a very pleasant night in quiet, star lit surroundings.

Scenes along the Okeechobee Waterway.
The free dock at LaBelle…part of the dock was burned away.
Sunset after the storm.

Ports 46-51: At Home for the Winter…And Half Looped!

By on May 12, 2015 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 11/10/2014

Day # 101 (Monday):  52.4 miles (2890 total miles)

Locks: 0 (25 total locks)

Port #46: Cape Coral, FL

Marina: Sea Dock – behind our winter home


Todd and I were excited to leave Cape Haze the next morning.  We were on our way home to Cape Coral, Florida.  Of course, our second Loop didn’t end there.  We’d get back to ‘Looping’ the first of March.  We already had a planned trip to Key West with OB over Valentine’s Day.  That part of the trip would coincide with Put In Bay Days in Key West.
Swing Bridge at Boca Grande
Cabbage Key 
Little Shell Island…a familiar anchorage with our little boat.
Charlie navigating the course home
As we came closer to Cape Coral, one of my good friends from our New Resident’s group was in contact with me.  We came up with the idea to have an impromptu ‘Catch the Lines’ party.  The message went out to not only our Aquaholics friends, but our friends who have relocated from Ohio to the Cape as well as the Harbor Host for AGLCA.  When we pulled into our dock we had more than a dozen friends waiting to catch our lines and welcome us home.
OB comes home!



 Our trip to Key West took us to Port #47: Fort Myers Beach…

… an anchorage in Port #48: Russell’s Pass near Everglades City in Everglades National Park


…and Port #49: Key West.
AB Marina in Key West Bight.
Good drinks…
…and food.
Mallory Square
Our Put in Bay favorite singers at PIB Days in Key West…Bob Gatewood…
…Pat Dailey…
…Bob Gatewood jamming with Barry Cuda (KW singer)…a first time event.
…AND Mad Dog Mike Adams!
On our return to Cape Coral, we anchored in Port #50: Little Shark River right where we had anchored in 2011.

 Back in the Cape (Port #51), we had more friends visit.
OB back at her dock.
 A string of bad weather kept us from staying with our plan to leave at the end of the first week in March.  We were held up until close to the end of March.  In the meantime, Todd ordered my Christmas present…150 feet of anchor chain for OB.  Then THAT delayed us another week.  When the chain arrived, two of our Aquaholic friends helped up move the 183 pounds of chain to the dock, stretch it out so I could mark it in 10 foot sections and then move it onto the boat.  With the chain in place and a window rapidly approaching, we moved quickly to close the house, ready OB and leave our dock in 48 hours.