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May 26 through 29, 2014

Monday the 26th:

After a day of rest we were on our way by 06:30 Eastern Time Zone.  We traveled 106 miles today in 10 hours.  It was a long day but beautiful day on the water.  Very warm and hazy with a little breeze in the mid 90’s.  We must have seen 50 dolphins following our boat today.  It never ceases to amaze me how fast they can swim; 10 mph jumping the boats wake.  Even the young ones can keep up but they do not jump as high as the older ones.  East Bay and West Bay by Panama City both were calm and Choctawatchee Bay had a light chop.  We got to our anchorage by 15:40 Central Time.  We anchored in about 8 feet of water and  put out 50 feet of anchor rode out.

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5-25-2014: Abandon sail boat by Port St. Joe, one of many we have seen on our trip.

5-25-2014: Restaurant at Port St. Joe Marina.

5-25-2014: Kim Jo IV on face dock at Port St. Joe Marina.

5-25-2014: Sun Set at Port St. Joe Marina.

5-26-2014: Shrimp boat on the canal to Port St. Joe Marina

5-26-2014: Sun Rise while starting up the 5 miles of canal to the GIWW from Port St. Joe..

Tuesday the 27th:

Our anchorage last night was nice after sun down but before that it was a very busy bayou with a lot of boaters and jet skier.  Everyone stayed as long as they could to make the most of the last day of the holiday weekend.  We got going again by 06:30 and had a beautiful day on the water with partly sunny skies and a nice breeze.  The rest of Choctawatchee Bay was very calm and so were the Narrows.  Santa Rosa Sound just had a light ripple and Pensacola Bay, the Big Lagoon, and Perdido Bay all had a light chop and this all made for a very pleasant day.  We got to our anchorage at Ingram Bayou by Orange Beach, AL, by 13:30 and had a quiet afternoon and evening.  While driving through the Pensacola area we got to watch the Blue Angles practice.  I got some pictures but they do not do them justice; they were awesome.  This is one of our favorite anchorages; always so peaceful and beautiful sun sets and sun rises.

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5-27-2014: Blue Angles practicing by Pensacola, FL.

Wednesday and Thursday the 28th and 29th:

There was rain and thunder storms in the forecast for about 10:00 this morning so we were on our way by 05:50 to try and beat the storm.  To cut a little time off our day we changed our way point to R50 on the Mobile Shipping Channel which is just south of Gaillard Island.  We usually set way points just west of Mullet Point and then another one on R60 just north of Gaillard Island on the shipping channel.  It would have cut off ½ hour or so from our trip.  As we got closer to our point Keith noticed a lot of Tow traffic in the shipping channel in the area where we would have entered so we reset our point back to R60.  This route we had less time in the actual channel.  It took us 2 ½ hours to travel from the GIWW, R120, at about 10 mph to the fuel dock at Dog River Marina.  Mobile Bay started out with 2 foot waves with some white caps and about 2/3’s the way through we ended up with 3 to 4 foot waves on our port side and we got rocked some.  It seems that has been our MO this whole season; we rocked and rolled across the Gulf of Mexico twice and the Gulf Stream twice.  This should be the end of rough water.  From now on we will be on the river system and it should go much smoother.  When we got to Dog River Marina we got fuel and a pump-out.  They have flooding here from the east wind blowing the water into the bay at high tide.  The parking lot is full of water.  The area to the laundry and shower building,  West Marine, and the marina offices all have a good 6 inches of water in the parking lots and you have to walk through to get inside.  Usually when we are here, all I need is a small single step, if anything, to get on or off the boat but today we have the 5 step ladder out.  The good news is, we made it here before the storm.  It did not start raining until 14:00.  We will be here for a few days and have some work done on the boat before heading north to Demopolis, AL

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CO’s comments:  Again, the weather forecast was incorrect as far as when the bad weather was going to arrive.  After looking at the forecast and radar we determined we could make it to Dog River Marina and we did.  I think the weather forecasters should open their doors and look outside and communicate with each other across the country like the use to. 

May 23 through 25, 2014

5-23 and 24, Friday and Saturday, Gulf of Mexico crossing:

We got going about 11:00 from Clearwater, FL.  All the wind and wave reports were for calm seas with 1 foot waves but right away the seas were 3 to 4 feet with 10 to 15 knot winds with occasional 5′ footer and only 3 seconds between waves.  This kept up until about 03:00 on Saturday morning; it was a long day and night.  We are kind of getting used to high seas as we have had them so much lately.  Anyway, we made it safe and sound.

Early on, about 13:00, we kept hearing transmission on Channel 16 from the Coast Guard and Tow Boat US.  First we heard that a boat had capsized and sunk and there was one person in the water with only a hand held radio and he didn’t know his GPS location.  Then we heard the person had been attacked by a Bull Shark and he was bleeding; and then we heard he had lost his right leg from the knee down.  There were several boats involved in the search and a helicopter but they couldn’t find him.  About an hour or so later they called the search off after finding out it was a hoax!  Unbelievable someone would do such a thing.  It was a busy day and the start to the holiday weekend.  We heard several more calls for the Coast Guard and all we think were legitimate.  One 51 year old woman was missing after kayaking and they were still looking for her late into the night; we don’t know if she was found or not.  Another person was in the water after their jet ski sunk but the person was saved, and the last one we heard was on Saturday morning and their boat was taking on water and that was all we heard.  These were just the ones we heard; I am sure there were more.  Crazy things happen on the water especially on a holiday weekend and the Coast Guard and Tow Boat US are kept very busy. 

We got across the Gulf as far as Dog Island, just outside of Carrabelle, FL, by 06:30.  We were traveling about 10 mph most of the time but had to slow down some so we had day light by the time we got to Carrabelle.  From there we picked up the GIWW and kept going as far as Port St. Joe Marina on the Gulf, just 5 miles off the GIWW at about Mile 330.0.  We arrived at the Marina by 13:00 after putting 26 hours on the engines and traveling 245 miles.  We were both very tired and got about 3 hours of sleep before going out to eat at Dockside Restaurant here at the marina. We asked our waiter if we were in Central Time Zone yet and he said the Marina is still in Eastern Time Zone but where he lives is right on the border between both zones. He can actually hold his cell phone in one hand and get one zone and hold it in the other and get the second time zone. He said when he first started working at the restaurant he was an hour early because he evidently had his phone in the wrong hand!  After dinner it was an early to bed for a good nights sleep. We will stay at Port St. Joe until Monday AM before traveling on.

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CO’s comments:  After we docked at Port St. Joe I talked to a couple of sport fishermen and they said that the wind and wave forecasts have been way off for the last month.  He also said he never knew what to expect.  I think weather men today rely too much on technology and not enough on the old fashion art of weather forecasting.  As a professional pilot, they got it right more times in the 70’s and 80’s than they did in the 90’s plus when all the new technology came out. 

5-23-2014: Sun Set on the Gulf of Mexico

5-24-2014: Sun Rise on the Gulf of Mexico.

5-24-2014: Good morning. Nice to see day light after a very long, dark, night.

May 14 throuh 22, 2014, Fort Myers to Clearwater, FL

Wednesday the 14th:  Moore Haven Town Dock, FL to Nick and Aline’s in Fort Myers, FL:
It was a beautiful morning that started with a great view of the moon going down.  It was 75 degrees when we got up at 05:30.  We saw 4 more alligators this morning; tried to get a picture but they didn’t turn out.  We went through 2 more locks today; the Ortona Lock and the Franklin Lock.  We made real good time with a bit of a tail wind and averaged 9 knots.  Went 45 miles in 5.5 hours with both the locks and 3 bridge openings. Just visited the rest of the day with Nick and Aline after getting here about 11:45.  It was good to see them again.

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5-14-2014:  Beautiful view of the moon just before day break.

5-14-2014:  Husky on floats on the Okeechobee Waterway.

May 15 through 18-2014, Thursday through Sunday at Nick and Aline’s:
It is nice to just relax and not have to travel. We got caught up on a few things. We took Nick’s car to West Marine, Ace Hardware, and the grocery store to stock up on just about everything. After paying the high prices for groceries in the Abaco I will never complain about prices here in the states again. Went out for some nice dinners and got caught up on visiting.

 

5-15-2014:  I got to help Nick tag this Monarch butterfly from Nick and Aline’s butterfly garden.
Butterfly blog:  http://nickiebodv.blogspot.com/

5-16-2014: Sun set on the Caloosahatchee River

May 19, 2014; Monday, Fort Myers Yacht Basin: A short 10 mile trip down to the marina. Stopped at the fuel dock and got 300 gallons of diesel and a pump-out.  Had a busy afternoon with a list of things to get done; wash boat, wash clothes, walk to Publix, dispose of old oil and get ready for an early morning.  I wanted to get a hair cut but ran out of time.

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May 20, 2014,  Tuesday,  Got going by 06:15.  There was a 70 foot boat that came in late last night that left at the same time this morning as we did.  It was from the British Virgin Islands.  The captain drove it totally with remote control; he was standing on the stern and driving backwards.  It took us 2 hours to get to Mile 0 on the Okeechobee Waterway; the turn off to Fort Myers Beach.  We then headed north up Pine Island Sound to Charlotte Harbor and then on the Sarasota Bay.  It was a beautiful morning and day and we made good time.  The first anchorage we had picked turned out to be way too shallow so we went another 8 miles and anchored by the Ringling Causeway Bridge in Sarasota.  For just spending the night, it is a nice little anchorage.  We went 90 miles today in 10 hours and 20 minutes.

5-20-2014: On the “Miserable Mile” at Fort Myers Beach; last time we were here he sold bait out of his boat and now he has a house on a barge anchored there.

5-20-2014:: Lots of dolphins following our boat again

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May 21, 2014, Wednesday, Clearwater Municipal Marina:  Got going by 06:15 again.   Another beautiful day.  Sarasota Bay was smooth with just a little ripple.  Tampa Bay was a little rougher with a light chop.  We had a lot of “No Wake” zones again today.  We got to Clearwater by 13:30, got 200 gallons of diesel and were in our slip by 14:30.  We got settled in and went for a walk over to Cooter Restaurant for drinks and “Grouper Cheeks”.  We went 63.5 miles today in 7 hours and 15 minutes.  I finally got my hair cut on Thursday.  We plan on staying here for another day before crossing the Gulf of Mexico on Friday.

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5-21-2014: Sun rise on Sarasota Bay

5-21-2014: Our boat on the face dock at Clearwater

CO’s comments:  The guy that was backing up his 70 foot boat by remote control had to have spent at least $25,000 for that system.  The boat was easier to back up and go side ways than it was for him to manually drive it forward.  It takes all the fun out of docking.  I bet if the system quit he would have trouble getting it in by himself manually. 

Back in the USA

5-9-2014, Marsh Harbour Marina to Crab Cay anchorage in the Bahamas:

Friday: Basil could not finish yesterday so he was back before 08:00 this morning. He said he would do his best to get us going by noon.  He finished up our boat repairs  by 10:00.   After paying Basil and the marina we were on our way by 11:00.  We are so glad we are finally on our way back to the US.  We made it through the Whale without any problem with only 3 to 4 foot waves on our starboard side and the wind was on our stern.  We made real good time and got to Spanish Cay Customs by 15:20 to pick up our package and then went another 4 miles or so to our anchorage at Crab Cay by 16:15.  We anchored in about 4 feet of water with 70 feet of anchor rode out because the wind was really blowing hard..  There were 2 other boats in the anchorage with us.

05-09-2014: 60 Foot Trumpy in slip next to us at Marsh Harbour Marina, beautiful old, wood, boat.

05-09-2014: Whale very calm compared to our trip over here.

05-09-2014: Dolphins jumping in front of the boat

05-09-2014: Crab Cay anchorage.

05-09-2014: Sunset at Crab Cay, our last one in the Bahamas

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5-10-2014, Crab Cay anchorage to Great Sale Cay anchorage in the Bahamas:

Saturday;  We brought the anchor up by 09:05.  I had been driving and Keith has been taking the anchor up but it was very windy this morning and almost low tide with less than 3 feet of water under the keel so I brought the anchor up this morning and Keith drove.  It was full of sand and grass, huge clumps of grass.  When we started we had 2 foot waves on our Port beam at a 45 degree angle and by the time we got to Great Sale Cay anchorage we had 3 foot waves at the same angle.  It was a very windy day.  We went through Girl Jane Cut again but this time it was just after low tide.  It had started to rise but we hit some depths of 1′ below our keel where last March we went through at high tide and had nothing less than 4′ below our keel.  Note to self: Never go through Girl Jane Cut at low tide again.  There was about a 36 foot cabin cruiser in our anchorage when we got here and he had been here for a few days waiting for the winds to calm down.  I don’t think he understands that the winds never calm down in the Bahamas.  Keith advised him to get going in the morning and at least go as far as Spanish Cay as the weather is only going to get worse after Sunday.  Had a quiet night and an early to bed as we are planning on leaving here by very early tomorrow and make it all the way to Lake Worth, FL.

5-10-2014: Centre of the World Rock 

5-10-2014: Great Sale Cay anchorage

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5-11-2014, Great Sale Cay anchorage in the Bahamas to North Palm Beach-North Lake Worth anchorage:

Sunday: We are back in the States!  We had a big day ahead of us so we went to bed early last night.  I had a hard time sleeping knowing what was ahead and I was up by 03:00.  I got coffee made and got dressed and ready before waking Keith at 03:30.  We had our anchor up and were on our way by 04:30.  We broke another one of our rules; never travel at night.  We made good time and got to Memory Rock in 5 hours and from there we headed out into the Atlantic.  This was one of the roughest trips we have had so far.  We had 4 to 6 foot waves and following seas.  We got shook up pretty good but we made it in one piece.  We went 120 miles in just under 13 hours and our engines ran perfect.  We had a great time in the Bahamas but it was so good to finally get back to the US.

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5-11-2014: Crossing the Gulf Stream, all you see is a whole lot of sky and water and waves. 

5-12-2014; Lake Worth anchorage to Pendarvis Cove anchorage in Stuart, FL:

Monday; HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!

Slept in this morning and didn’t get going until 09:30.  Had trouble getting the anchor up again.  We think it is because of a few reasons; a little too heavy,especially when it is packed with mud,and not the correct rollers. We decided we will live with it.  Only had a short day of 36 miles and we anchored out in Pendarvis Cove in Stuart, FL.  Had a quiet night and got caught up on a few things.

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5-13-2014;  Pendarvis Cove anchorage in Stuart, FL to Town Dock in Moore Haven, FL:

Tuesday: Got an early start as we had a long day planned and wanted to get  to our destination and tied up before it started to rain.  Had trouble with the anchor again this morning.  It keeps slipping and Keith had to tighten it again.  It also came up full of black mud.  We went through 3 locks today;  St. Lucie Lock, Port Mayaca Lock, and Moore Haven Lock.  At both St. Lucie and Port Mayaca we saw alligators.  It took us 2 hours and 41 minutes to cross Okeechobee Lake which had a moderate chop and was a piece of cake after the Gulf Stream.  We stayed at the Town Dock in the City of Moore Haven.  This was the first time we were on ground since last Friday morning. It is very warm here and we were both exhausted after the long day.  Keith rinsed off the boat and I did paper work.

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CO’s comments:  I really like this anchor.  All I have to do is figure out how to adjust the anchor rollers so that I am not pulling at a 90 degree angle for the last 10 feet of rode.  We had a wonderful time in the Bahamas, met some great people, and found an excellent mechanic.

Marsh Harbour Marina

 May 6, 7, and 8-2014, Tuesday through Thursday: Our part arrived via FedEx yesterday afternoon about 15:00. When Basil, our mechanic, went to pick up the part on Tuesday morning, Customs said we still owed $1500 duty for the part. Basil was i…

May 1 through 5, 2014, still at Marsh Harbour Marina

5-1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 -2014, Thursday through Monday: We are still waiting on our part.  First we were told it was sent Fed Ex overnight last Wednesday the 30th but it was not.  The excuse was that all the parts did not come into Fort Lauderdale and they are waiting on those parts.  The latest now is everything was sent by Fed Ex at 16:00 Friday the 3rd.  Fed Ex doesn’t deliver on weekends so our part should be here on Monday sometime.  I still haven’t been able to get a tracking number from anyone so I do not have a lot of faith that it will be here on Monday.

In the meantime, the marina had to move us again.  The 100 footer needed more room and the marina needed to sell some fuel.  Everyone thought we would be gone by the weekend, including us.  It was a very windy day and the wind was pushing us into the dock.  Jason towed our bow with the dinghy, there were about 6 or 7 guys on the dock pushing our boat out, plus 3 guys on the stern of the 100 footer ready in case we ran into their back end.  Keith used our starboard engine and bow thruster and we barley got away from the dock with about 4 inches to spare before hitting something.  Due to the wind and with only one engine, it was also challenging to put our boat in the new slip but Keith did a great job.  We are more protected here and away from all the commotion on the fuel dock.  The marina owners have worked with us through this whole ordeal and we would like to thank them for everything they have done.  Last Saturday we went to Steak night thinking it would be our last time but we went again tonight, hopefully for the last time for real!  It rained most of Saturday night and during the day on Sunday.  Didn’t do much of anything.

5-5-2014: Well, it is Monday and guess what?  No part.  It is still in Fort Lauderdale and they would not send it until they talked to Keith personally.  So, Keith made the call; they wanted more money.    Jermain, from Marine Gear and Power in Fort Lauderdale, promised he would bring it to Fed Ex himself.  Later this morning I did receive an email with a tracking number so now we wait.  The dinghy is cleaned and up on top and as soon as our part gets here and put back into the boat we are heading back to the US.  The sooner the better.

CO’s comments: The CO has no comment at this time.

April 26th through 30. 2014

4-26 and 27-2014,Saturday and Sunday: On Saturday we were tired of hanging around waiting for our boat part so we put the dinghy back in the water and did some more snorkeling.  It was a hot, sunny, perfect day.  We are both getting better at…

4-21-2014 thru 4-25, 2014, still at Marsh Harbour Marina

4-21, 22 & 23-2014, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday:
Monday was a lazy day, didn’t do much of anything.  Mike from Casey Dee and Bob and Sherry from Wind Song II left Tuesday morning.  The Whale has calmed down and quite a few boats are leaving.  We rented a car for 24 hours starting at 12:30 today.  This afternoon we drove to Treasure Cay and see the sights.  Beautiful beach and enjoyed a good lunch.  We were not too impressed by the marina, especially for the price they charge per foot.  We were glad we did not  take the boat there.  On Wednesday morning we drove to Little Harbor, Pete’s Pub and Gallery, and had lunch.  We really liked this place and will probably bring our boat here sometime.  Their gallery was excellent with some of the most beautiful sculptures I have ever seen.  I really liked “The Old Man in the Sea”; it was huge and cost thousands of dollars.  I would have bought it (LOL!) but we don’t have room on the boat for it.

CO’s comments: They only use 12 gauge shotguns with slugs here for boar hunting and they consider it a delicacy.  I would like to try it sometime.  At Nippers on Guana Cay, they have a wild boar roast every Sunday.

4-22-2014: The beach at Treasure Cay

4-22-2014: These Curly Tail’s are found on all the Cays in the Abaco.  Thought you would like this Austin.

4-23-2014: Our day at Little Harbor.

4-23-2014:  Unique speed bumps at Little Harbor.

4-23-2014:  View on the drive up to Little Harbor.  We were told that this is good boar hunting land.  Boar and birds are they only thing they hunt here on Great Abaco Island.

4-24 and 25-2014, Thursday and Friday: More lazy days, waiting on our boat part.  It rained most of the afternoon on Thursday.  Now we are told our part will not be here until Monday because of the holiday
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Still at Marsh Harbour Marina

4-15-2014, Tuesday: Basil, our mechanic, came early this morning and it took several hours for him to get the transmission oil cooler core out.  He took it, along with 2 older ones we found in the boat, back to his shop to pressure test them all.   Our friends from Wind Warrior came in this afternoon.  Their company is flying out of Marsh Harbour tomorrow morning.  Wind Warrior and Casey Dee are kinda like our friends from Roy El; they know every body!  There were several other sail boaters here at the marina and we had a big get together at the pool, drinking “Bilge Burners” and having a good time.  It was good for the CO to try and forget our boat problems.  Basil, our mechanic called back later and said that all 3 oil coolers had leaks.  He is going to try to fix them and will get back to us.

4-15-2014:  Jan and Ron from Wind Warrior

4-15-2014:  Semper Fi; Mike from Casey Dee and Keith

4-15-2014:   CO and XO

4-16-2014, Wednesday: Rib Night at Marsh Harbour Marina.  Several boaters got together again to enjoy the ribs and the entertainment.  Most are winding down and preparing to return to the US and/or Canada as soon as the weather permits. 

Bad news on our transmission oil cooler core unit. After conversing with a company in the states it was decided it can’t be fixed. We have to send the old one to a company in the State of Washington to have a new one built. Contrary to what we were told last November by the company who sold it to us, we did not get a new one installed at that time; it was rebuilt. Very frustrating.

4-16-2014: Enjoying Rib Night at Marsh Harbour Marina, Jib Room as well as the live entertainment.
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4-17-2014, Thursday: Everyone at the marina had a get together at the Jib Room for “Happy Hours” from 17:00 to 19:00. There was a special on some bar drinks and we all brought hors d’oeuvres. There was a big turn out. After we went over to Jan and Ron’s sail boat for a quiet, enjoyable evening.

4-18-2014, Friday: Couldn’t get a car for today so we went for a sail with Mike, Sherry, Bob and Charles (Sherry’s dog) over to Guana Cay and had lunch at Nippers. It was a nice enough day with just the right amount of wind so we sailed all the way over there without the engine running; Mike had two sails up. If was very peaceful and quiet ride. It was awesome. We got over 5 knots with just the sails and that made Mike very happy. We had a good lunch, took some pictures, checked out some of the shops and headed back to Marsh Harbour. We had stronger winds on the way back so we only had the small sail up and also the engine running; I am told it is called “motor sailing”. When we returned we had drinks on Bob and Sherry’s sail boat.  My first sail and it was a great day.

4-18-2014:  Bobbie with her new friend, Charles

4-18-2014: On the Casey Dee with sails up.

 4-18-2014:  Mike and his crew; Keith and Bob

4-18-2014: Keith and Bob up on the bow of the Casey Dee with sails up.

4-18-2014: Lunch at Nippers on the beach.

4-18-2014: Sherry, Charles, Bob and Mike enjoying the ocean view.

4-18-2014:  Bob and Sherry from Wind Song II

4-18-2014: Nippers at the beach on Atlantic Ocean; a Post Card compliments of Sherry.

4-19-2014, Saturday: Rain and thunderstorms all day. I didn’t even leave the boat.

4-20-2014, Sunday: Happy Easter! We are still here and will be for a while.

4-14-2014, Back at Marsh Harbour Marina

Monday: 
Got going by 07:30 on our way to Treasure Cay. About one half hour out our oil pressure dropped on our port transmission so the CO turned the port engine off. When he went down to the engine room and checked there was no transmission oil in the port transmission cooler. We called Marsh Harbour Marina to see if they had a mechanic and a slip for us and they did. We limped into the marina on the starboard engine and they tied us up at the far end of the gas dock. The mechanic can not come until tomorrow. This is very frustrating because this is the same transmission oil cooler core that we replaced, new, last November.

Later in the afternoon we went down to the bar for a while. We met this guy from Canada who made his own sail boat. It is 55′ long, very wide, all welded steel, and very heavy. He had 10 ton of lead in his keel alone but we can’t remember how much it weighed overall. He was very interesting to talk with and he also had a great sense of humor. Also ran into Mike from Casey D, the marine, and talked with him about our boat problem. He said he knows of the mechanic and heard he is very good.

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4-14-2014:  Leaving Elbow Cay

4-14-2014: Sail boat from Canada; he made it himself and it was a labor of love.