Green Turtle Cae

We made it!  What a beautiful place.  All the houses are painted bright pastels. The people super friendly.  It's nice to be in the Bahamas.  After checking in, we did a walk about the island.  There are many properties for sale from $500,000.00 to a couple of cool millions. The beaches, wow!

The the name of the town is New Plymouth, it has the gov. docks and offices, the grocery and hardware stores.  You can rent a boat, kayak, golf cart or just hoof it. 

On the Bahama Banks

Heading to our Second Waypoint and a place to anchor out overnight Mangrove Cae.  The water is so blue, clean and clear!  As we are not checked in you cannot go ashore or fish.....soon!

Centre of the World Rock, Large Coral head, full of Comorands

What a beautiful sail.  We headed to Crab Cae for our 2nd night out.  Next Stop Green Turtle Cae!

Crossing the Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream Very Calm...Nice!

About 10 am in the morning.....just like glass!

Half Ways Across the Gulfstream and Heading to our first Way Point! Memory Rock!

We headed back to Lake Worth Inlet last Tuesday and anchored for the night.  We got up very early on Wednesday (15th) and headed out around 4:00 am.  We had another sailboat and a catamaran with us.  Chris and I went first as our boat is the smallest.  I was in my harness and tethered to the mast with my giant flashlight.....it's dark and there is makers that are burnt out.  Not a good thing to hit in the dark.  The waves were there but I needed to practice riding the waves.  I just did not want to get wet!  It was rough, seas were about 3 - 4 feet with 10 seconds.  But not as rough as last week.  As we got closer to the gulf stream the seas laid down more.  We had some sail up but with the wind on your nose we had to motor on through.  It will take us about 3 days to get to Green Turtle Cae.  This is where we will check into the Bahamas.

Lantana Beach and Ocean Conditions

Chris and I went for a long walk to see what the Beach looked like and what had the last cold front had done to the Gulf Stream. It was windy and cool.  This is a very pretty area.

High Waves and Rip Currents

Elephants on the Horizon (Gulf Stream Waves)

A Wannabe Sailor

This winter a lot of the Floridian Beach have disappeared due to high winds, lots of cold fronts and those wonderful tropical depressions.  Lots of money is being spent to preserve and replace the sand.  There is so many regulations now that some beaches will remain just eroded away!

A Night with Family in West Palm Beach

Date Palms at Night!

Chris has lots of family along the way.  We do not always get to see everyone but it was special to see Dave and Gloria and Dave's friend Lenny.  We had a wonderful evening taking in the sites of downtown West Palm Beach and had a wonderful Japanese supper!!

Chris, Me, Dave and Gloria

Food for Thought

Heading to Lantana Blvd and the ICW

We know of a wonderful anchorage to hang out for the next week to wait out the weather.  There are about 7 bridges to go through.  Timing and Tide is everything.  Remember, the bridge openings are on the hour and half hour and geared for power boats.....sometimes you have a few miles between bridges.

A sunken sailboat along the way!

A little Wind and a Jib can help you along the way!

The Key Lime House one of Florida's Oldest Fish House and Restaurant. Very Sailor Friendly!

Plan B and Who Said There is No Money in Florida?

Well, after listening for the weather forecast for the next week, we decided to do the ICW and head further south but not too far as we want to get back to Lake Worth Inlet for the next weather window. 

Now this one came with its own Helicopter!

The High End Sailboats

Now if you had just a few million to spend.  The boat yards were full of mega yachts and such. Just makes our boat look like a toy! compared to these.

Valentines Day

It is a romantic kind of day! My honey and I stuck our noses out of the Inlet to the Ocean.  Yuk! the seas were rough and another huge rain storm was on its way north.  We went out with 3 other sailboats.  The smart thing to do is to turn around and head back in.  We made it back to the anchorage just as the rain poured down.  Good thing, the boat was washed of all its salt.  Time to go below and come up with Plan B and finish reading that novel!!!

Doing the ICW to West Palm Beach, Florida

We finally left Nettles Island and headed south down the ICW to Lake Worth (West Palm Beach) a weather window to cross was available and we wanted to try it!!! Here are a few sites along the way!

Heading Under the Fixed Bridges

Nice Catamaran but the sky turned ugly!

A Rain Storm Upon Us!  It rained for 2 days!

Cold Fronts in Florida

As like anywhere we have Cold Fronts down here in Florida.  Grab that sweater and the wind can blow.  The sky can be just beautiful though.

Provisioning the Boat

It's time to plan what one will eat for the next 3 months and where are you going to stash all your groceries. On every sailboat there are different hiding places.  The trick is to remember where you put it.  Chris and I did the BJ's Wholesale (similar to Costco), Winn Dixie and Publix.  Now the decision is what to eat.  In the Bahamas food can be expensive and if you have that favorite snack bring it!

I also remove as much plastic and cardboard as I am putting away the groceries.  This makes sure that you have less trash to take to shore.