Tag: bahamas

New Anchor: Sarca Excel No. 4 (37-lbs) – Research and Selection

New Anchor: Sarca Excel No. 4 (37-lbs) – Research and Selection

anniedike

Ask 10 sailboat owners what is the best anchor and you will get 20 opinions.  One, because we are opinionated (because this is important stuff!) and two, because—as is the case with almost everything in boating, it’s a compromise—it’s hard to say which single anchor is “the best” for any purpose, all of the time.  But, after extensive research, talking with fellow sailors, and watching videos on holding power, Phillip and I have decided to swap out our primary bow anchor, a 35-lb CQR, with a galvanized 37-lb Sarca Excel No. 4.  I wanted to share with you all our extensive research and selection criteria so you could benefit from what we uncovered and share your experience as well with the different anchors you all have used and your experience with them.  Here is what we learned and what influenced our decision to go with the Excel.

First, why were we in the market for a new anchor?  Age was the only factor.  When Phillip and I bought our 1985 Niagara 35, she came with the 35-lb CQR we’ve been hooking on for six years now with never an issue.  

April, 2013, Phillip and I on our first voyage bringing s/v Plaintiff’s Rest home from Punta Gorda,
with her CQR on the bow

In six years of cruising, we have never dragged (that we know of or that was noticeable) and we have never had our CQR fail to set or re-set.  We’ve always felt 35 lbs was a good size for our boat and its weight. And, our CQR actually got the test of a lifetime when we dropped it (unknowingly, but quite luckily) just before the wall of wind that hit the Dauphin Island Regatta back in April, 2015.  The severity of that storm was unpredicted and instant.  While, thankfully, Phillip and I did not get hit with the 70-mph winds that knocked several boats down near Dauphin Island, we did get an unexpected 55-mph on our anchor, with only 125 feet out at the time in Ft. McRee, and our CQR held fast. I captured some footage of that event, well after the worst had passed (we were too consumed with preparing to crank and fight the winds if we did drag to film during the incident). I can assure you, the video does not do it justice, but it’s eerie to watch that footage now and realize 6 people died in those winds that day.  

Footage from Ft. Mcree right after 55 mph winds from the Dauphin Island Regatta storm

For what she did for us that day and every other day we dropped and lived the good life on our CQR, I felt a reminder of that event and a tribute to her was in order.  We are big fans of the CQR model and have no complaints about its performance.  It has simply rusted a good deal over time and is showing its age as we did not re-galvanize it over the years.  In addition, our CQR pre-dated the newer lead-tip technology that dominates the market these days, so we wanted to take advantage of the technological advances while we were in the market for a new anchor.  With that, our research began. 

First, Phillip and I made a list of what was important to us in an anchor:

  1. Holding power (obviously)
  2. Fast, easy setting
  3. Reliable re-setting
  4. Weight 

With 200 lbs of chain already in our bow, we are always trying to reduce weight at the front of the boat, so we wanted an anchor that was, naturally, heavy and strong enough to hold us in all types of terrain and conditions, but one that would do that at the lightest weight possible.  While those four items were our core criteria, now, having reviewed many articles and videos on this topic, I imagine we may add three more items to that list: 1) whether the anchor “looks good” on the boat. There is an undeniable aesthetic element to anything you mount on your boat.  While we want them to sail across oceans and stand strong in the face of a storm, selfishly, we all still want them to look pretty while they do it.  

Don’t all men expect that out of a gal?  I distinctly remember in a blog post from yonder, when Phillip and I were preparing for our very first voyage just the two of us on our boat, I wrote:

I was going to throw lines, raise sails and hold the helm with the best of them. Eat salt for breakfast, lunch a dinner. I imagined myself a real sailor.

Of course, I was going to look like this:

While doing all of that. … Totally do-able.  

Ahhh … Annie from back in the day.  Little Sailor Who Could.  

I mention the aesthetics because one of the primary resources we considered when deciding on the Sarca were videos and insight from a fellow sailor who concluded while the Excel “could be the best anchor on the table” he chose not to mount it as his primary bow anchor merely as a result of aesthetics.  Many thanks to the Captain Steve Goodwin at s/v Panope for putting together his numerous underwater anchor-performance videos and other helpful content for fellow sailors. 

Steve created an ingenious underwater cradle that films the anchors he tests
as they drop, dig, re-set, and drag at various speeds and scopes.

After doing a compilation review of eight anchors (Danforth, Bruce, Super Sarca, Manson, Rocna, Spade, Excel, and Mantus) Steve declined to choose the Excel merely because he did not feel the angular design would look good on his (as he put it) “curvy boat.”  Personally Phillip and I were very fond of the angular design of the Excel, so that worked well for us.  But, in all of Steve’s underwater testing, he found the Excel performed true-to-form time and time again.  

In addition, during his underwater testing, Steve with Sanope also considered and documented whether the anchor pulled up a lot of bottom gunk, dirt, and debris.  I don’t believe that crossed mine and Phillip’s minds initially, but the more I watched the videos, I feel that could be a quality of life consideration, as anchors that came up clean would make weighing anchor much easier. And, anchors that shake bottom gunk likely re-set easier.  

Steve also did a lot of testing with short scope (not recommended for actual anchoring, merely for test purposes only). While Phillip and I try our best to anchor in places where we have plenty of space to lay out our usual 7:1 ratio, I can imagine the more places we cruise, that may not always be possible considering smaller anchorages with more boats, so during our research this seemed to become a more important factor.  Having thoroughly reviewed everything now, I would add the following to our list above:

5. The gunk factor (does it bring up a lot of grass/dirt)

6. Sets well with short scope

7. Aesthetics

And, of course the anchor naturally has to FIT on your bow.  I don’t see that as a factor to consider, but more of an upfront-necessity before the anchor can even be considered.  Case-in-point: as you all know, we are hard-core Mantus fans and use a variety of their equipment—their snubber, their chain hook, their dinghy anchor, and their portable Scuba pack.  Unfortunately, however, the roll-bar models simply will not come up through our bow pulpit, so we cannot use Mantus’s impressive roll-bar style anchor as our primary bow anchor.  While Mantus advised me they were working on a bar-less model, it is not available yet, or I am positive Phillip and I would have either: 1) gone with a Mantus based on their reputation and performance reports from fellow-cruisers; 2) or at least had Mantus high in the ranking for consideration.  You’ll see our bow configuration was one of the biggest hurdles for us on our Niagara 35 as the layout on our bow eliminated some very promising anchors because they simply would not fit.  

But, there are other models that would fit on our bow: a Bruce and likely a Spade, among others.  So, why did we choose the Sarca Excel? I’ll show you.  One of the primary sources for our decision was a fantastic sailor resource that we discovered during this process that Phillip was adamant I share:

Attainable Adventure Cruising: An Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

Yannick, the captain we sailed across the Atlantic with initially, back in 2016, recommended this to us. We’d also heard Andy Schell talk about it on his podcast.  It is a paid blog membership (only $24 a year and worth it 100 times over) with hundreds of detailed and researched posts written by experienced sailors on dozens of topics relevant to offshore sailors. Think: anchoring, storm survival, battery care, solar power, what to look for in a boat, navigation, you name it.  As Yannick explained it (and this rang very true for us): “You know when you put a question on Facebook, and you get all those comments from people who haven’t even tried it.  Then you get the two super long, helpful comments from owners who have actually dealt with exactly what you’re dealing with and they know what they’re talking about?  Only those people post on AAC.”  Done.  With that recommendation and everything else positive we had heard about AAC, Phillip signed us up stat and we have not looked back since.  But don’t take our word for it:

AAC is a fantastic resource. And, while we were researching anchors, Phillip and I were thrilled to find a long, super-detailed review of the Sarca Excel anchor on AAC.  After 46 nights on the Excel anchor in a variety of bottoms, substrates, currents, and wind-shifts, one of AAC’s European Correspondents, Colin, an experienced cruiser, offshore sailor, and Yachtsmen, found the Excel to be well-made, robust and it performed strongly in a variety of substrates while setting fast and digging in effectively. Colin also concluded the Excel held after big wind shifts and on short scope.  He and his crew developed “full confidence” in it as a good, all-around primary bow anchor.  If you are interested in the Excel anchor and want to learn more, I highly recommend joining AAC and reading Colin’s full article.  I cannot share it here as it is proprietary to AAC and well worth the membership to read.  

Mentioned in the AAC article were the videos published by s/v Panope. I’m sure many sailors are very grateful to Steve for his thorough and well-documented video of multiple anchor drops where he lets the anchor set, he motors hard in reverse to test the initial dig and also motors the boat in another direction to mimick wind or current shift. Steve drops with varied amounts of scope and documents the anchor’s performance with commentary underwater. If you are in the market for a new anchor, I highly recommend you watch the entirety of his 40-minute video “Anchor Test Compliation” comparing six different anchors (his Excel underwater footage begins at 19:43 and his Excel re-cap at the end at 37:03).  

As far as research (and proof) of the actual performance of anchors goes, this video is the best educational piece I’ve seen out there. It is also enlightening and very interesting to watch.  Here are some highlights we found from Steve’s documentation of the Excel’s performance underwater:

The Excel dropped and set firmly and quickly every time, often in only about one anchor length.  

To mimick a severe wind or current shift, Steve motored the boat at 3,000 RPM over the anchor in a new direction, the Excel re-set within a few anchor lengths and brought the boat to a complete halt.  

Steve found the Excel held in sand, rock/sand, mud, and many other substrates.

Also, when Steve reduced the scope, even drastically, all the way down to 2:1 and put 3,000 RPM on the anchor in reverse, the Excel did not budge:

And, a plus, the Excel usually came up from the seabed rather clean!  : )  Interestingly, the “Excel” cutout name on the flukes is believed to be designed to encourage the seabed to release and keep the flukes clean for better setting and cleaner anchor weigh.  Genius!

Here is the entirety of the videos Steve with s/v Panopeproduced:

Encouraged by the positive AAC review, we also ran into a dock neighbor in Pensacola who is an experienced offshore cruiser who had an Excel anchor on her boat and said she had never had an issue with it.  “I drop it; it’s done.  It holds every time,” Kim said, which won me over.  She told us an “old salt” from Australia first told her about the Excel anchor as they are made in Australia by Anchor Right.

The entirety of our research and considerations led us to believe the Excel would be a great all-around anchor for us on our Niagara 35, the next step was to see if it would even fit on our bow.  Ground Tackle Marine, the vendor that carries Sarca Excels and ships to the U.S. included detailed specs on their website for the 37-lb Excel No. 4, which was the one we were considering as it was the closest to our 35-lb CQR.  Boat Project Annie got a little crafty with some cardboard and made—to the best of my ability—a cardboard mock-up of the Excel No. 4, so Phillip and I could test it out on the boat.  



I’m not sure how well cardboard will hold in winds and current, but we’ll have to try it out someday.  ; ) This mock-up proved very helpful, though, as it led us to believe an Excel would pull up nicely through our bow pulpit and ride very well on the bow.  I spoke at length with Nick over at Ground Tackle, who was incredibly helpful and patient with my many questions.  One of which was his recommendation for the No. 4 for our boat (which weighs approximately 15,000 pounds, 7.5 tons dry, likely closer to 18,000 or 9 tons fully loaded, let’s just guess) when the specs indicated the No. 4 only held up to 7 tons. Nick advised the numbers were intended to be “super conservative” and that if we had been happy on a 35-lb CQR previously, the 37-lb Excel would “set faster and hold stronger every time over a CQR.” Knowing the No. 5 would add an additional unwanted 10 lbs to our bow, that did it for me. “No. 4, please.”

Although Nick did not have a record of selling an Excel to a Niagara 35 owner, after sending him photos of our bow pulpit, Nick was confident the Excel would ride nicely there, but he offered to cover the shipping back if it did not.  Nice guy, that Nick.  With a price we felt was very fair in light of the performance reviews, Phillip and I pulled the trigger. 

And, full disclosure, while Nick kindly offered free shipping, we paid full price for this anchor. It was not given to us for free in exchange for an endorsement.

In just a few business days, our Excel arrived snuggled in carpet, foam, and tape!  Our little bundle of joy!  : )

I was pleased to see it appeared my cardboard mock-up had been pretty close to-scale

We were excited to see if she would pull up through the bow pulpit so we tested her out (being very careful not to drop our shiny new anchor to the bottom of the marina – doh!) on the port side while our CQR was still in its home on the starboard side of the bow, and we were thrilled to find IT FIT!!  *Voila*  We knew we were about to have a new anchor on Plaintiff’s Rest!

Getting her up on the starboard side, however, Phillip and I knew would be a small chore as the shackle on our old CQR was toast.  After twenty however-many years of holding, the shackle and pin had fused together and would not budge.  This actually turned out to be a good thing, however, as Phillip and I had been waffling on whether or not to buy a battery-operated portable grinder to make cuts like this, as needed, while cruising.  Yannick had one for our Atlantic-crossing and, while the availability of it to cut a fallen rig off to save the boat is comforting, it actually proved handy on several projects we had to undertake during that voyage.  

I wouldn’t recommend you use it exactly as Yannick is here – that crazy brilliant Frenchman!

So, now, facing a project that required a grinder, Phillip and I were encouraged to bite the bullet and buy one so we will now have one on-board s/v Plaintiff’s Restduring our future travels in case we ever need it for, let’s just hope, some underway projects, but also for the necessary rigging cut if needed to save the boat.  Plus, I had a lot of fun watching the sparks fly as we cut off the old shackle so we could re-attach our 200-feet of chain to the new Excel anchor.  

Ain’t she a beauty?  I love the way it looks on the bow.  A sexy anchor after all!

Or as Phillip said: “The anchor looks good, too.” ; )

The angular design looks good on our boat and the Excel cut-out gives it some pizazz!  Phillip did some research on shackles and we opted to get two _________ to make the 90-degree turn to connect our chain to the anchor then we were ready to …

We were able to give the Excel one test so far out on the hook recently at Ft. McRee.  We put about 100 feet of chain out in ~ 10 feet of water (with our freeboard of roughly 5 feet, that equates to an approximate 7:1 ratio) and revved back harder than we ever had to yank down on the new Excel.  

I will say I’ve never felt the boat stop so suddenly.  The Excel definitely dug right on in and held fast the entire weekend.  Granted, we didn’t have any strong winds, but we did have current shifts, and we never budged on the Excel and enjoyed a stunning weekend on the hook thanks to Sarca. 

And, as we saw in the many Sanope videos, the Excel came up nice and clean when we weighed anchor.  So far, we are incredibly pleased with our decision to go with the Excel! If any of you have experience with an Excel or would like to share some of your own anchor research, please do so in a comment below! Knowledge is power people. And, sharing is caring. If any of you are considering a new anchor, we hope you found this article helpful.  

In the meantime, Phillip and I are excited to start dropping our new Excel in warmer climates. Know that we will be bringing our old CQR with us as a back-up/additional anchor if we need it. We just have to figure out where to put it. I’m thinking the port lazarette, which is a wonderful deep bin of treasures, housing many spares, lines, two anchors, the auto pilot, all the fishing gear, paddles, oars, AND the life raft. I know, right? I love that locker. I’m thinking it will fit there, in the bottom, but that’s on my to-do list! Seeeee? : )

This is our “short list” if you can believe it. Phillip and I are getting pumped about getting back offshore! We will start watching weather windows next week for a good opportunity to start our voyage back south to the Bahamas and beyond. 

Stay tuned!  

Article in SAIL Magazine: $9 for Spam?! Prepping for the Bahamas!

Article in SAIL Magazine: $9 for Spam?! Prepping for the Bahamas!

anniedike

Is Spam in the Bahamas really $9.00?  Find out in the November issue of SAIL Magazine, featuring an article by Yours Truly!  Peter Nielsen over at SAIL asked me a while back for a piece with tips on preparing for a trip to the Bahamas.  So, Phillip and I put our heads together and came up with a few key factors to consider when prepping for the Bahamas and what provisions and supplies we would recommend stocking the boat with.  For us, it all started with the Explorer charts.  Those are a must!  I hope you all grab a copy of the November issue soon and let me know what you think of the article.  Many thanks to the hard-working crew over at SAIL Magazine for putting this one together.  We love it!

And, stay tuned next time as we will be announcing our cruising plans this winter in a fun new video next week.  You’ll never guess where we’re going!!  : D

BV22: Cruising Is About People: Steve & Pat, This One’s for You!

BV22: Cruising Is About People: Steve & Pat, This One’s for You!

anniedike

It’s always the people. When you come to a new place and have an experience you know you will remember for a lifetime, it’s often because of the people you met there.  People you connect with instantly.  People who feel like long-time friends in a matter of minutes.  Phillip and I are always humbled and astounded at the quality of people we meet cruising.  It doesn’t matter if they are dirt poor or filthy rich, big corporate CEOs or car mechanics.  For the most part, cruisers are just quality people, with astonishing stories and experiences to share.  And sharing is what they do best.  Before I dive back into another vivid video from the Bahamas, I had to share this one in words first.  I believe in words.  And, they are the only thing that could do this pair justice.  I give you, Pat and Steve:

“Sailboat coming in from the south.  Sailboat coming in from the south,” we heard his voice crackling over the radio. Phillip and I were just preparing to drop the hook at our first island in the Berries when he reached out to us over Channel 16.  Phillip and I looked around a few times.  There wasn’t any other sailboat that was coming in at the time.  We literally had the place absolutely to ourselves.

“He must mean us,” Phillip said as he picked up the receiver.

“This is the sailboat coming in from the south,” Phillip said cautiously.

“There are mooring balls just a bit further north of you,” the voice said.  “They’re free and good holding.  Hell, I helped drop them.  The sands and strong shifting currents don’t make for good holding here.  You’d be best on a ball,” he said over the radio.

Phillip thanked him for the advice and asked about the Berry Island Club (a place we thought we would go to ashore to grab a sandwich).  We thought wrong.

“Hasn’t been kept up in years.  It just changed owners, but it’s a dust bucket right now.  But, get settled in on the ball, then come ashore to my house. It’s the yellow one on the north end. Feel free to use my dock.  The name’s Steve.  My wife is Pat.  See you soon.”

Phillip and I shared a bit of a what-else-are-we-doing? look and said “Alright, thanks!  See you soon, Steve.”

Just like that, a relationship was formed.  And, I’ll tell you, I am 100% confident I will not meet two people quite like Pat and Steve as long as I live.  They broke the mold and built a new one in its place.  My mind is struggling with where to begin.  I’ll start where we did.

When Phillip and I tied up the dinghy at the little dock next to the “yellow house on the end” and started making our way up the hill Steve greeted us.  He was cheerful, tall, and clad in a hodge-podge of clothes it looked like you would wear to paint a house, oversized and old.  His shoes were duct-taped together.  His hat was dirty and crooked.  And I loved him instantly.  You could just tell from the way he shook your hand, to the way he welcomed you into his home, and told you about its trusses he built back in 1982 that Steve was a man who could care less what you wore, what you owned, or how much money you made.  He judges character by experience.  What have you done with your life and what have you gathered that you can share?  Because boy did they!    Their food, their home, their time, their stories, their laughter, their help, their advice.  Even their toilet paper!  And they don’t have much of that there.  I’m getting ahead of myself, I know.  It’s just so inspiring to meet people like this.  My fingers are tingling.

When Pat came out from the back of the house, she, too, looked like a painter’s apprentice, draped in a stained men’s button-down that was three sizes too big for her, sporting blue pants, and pink Crocs, and I loved her even more.  She was, just, hilarious, is the best word.

“Would you like a Rum And?” She asked me.

“A rum and … ?” I repeated, a little confused.

“Yeah, rum and whatever we got.”

“Absolutely, Pat.”

When we got the truck stuck in the sand on the way to our hot dog party (we’ll get there), Pat plopped down, happily started digging sand out from under the tires, and said: “Well, it wouldn’t have been any fun if we just got there.”  I mean … kudos, Pat.  Well said.

These people just don’t see any point in getting upset or stressed over things they cannot change.  It’s humbling and refreshing.  While Phillip and I have met many hearty, resilient, interesting people in our cruising—Pam Wall is a perfect example—Steve and Pat have a story, a past, a presence, and a perspective that reminds me every day that if I wake up and I’m coherent and breathing and walking, it’s a good damn day!  Listen to this:

Steve was an engineer. He’s freaky smart and can fix, build, and repair anything.  And I do mean anything.  He spent a good bit of his adulthood building and growing a program where high school kids built submarines then raced them in a competition.  Submarines!?  Are you with me?  Steve and his son built their yellow house on the island in the Berries themselves.  From the ground up.  On an island that does not have any running water.  No electricity.  They sailed all of the building materials, including the trusses he showed me, in on their boat.  Mixed concrete by hand in buckets.  Built scaffolding out of trees on the island. Can you imagine taking on a project like that?  Then, when Hurricane Andrew took the roof off in 1992, Steve built it back. When Hurricane Matthew struck in 2006 and tried to pull it off again, he repaired it.

“It would have ripped the whole thing off like a Band-Aid if the porch roof would have gave.  But it didn’t,” Steve said with a wink.  “Cause I used 5200 on it.  Have you heard of that stuff?”

Have I …

Steve, what a guy. And, Pat, her story is even more inspiring.  She was a teacher and helped Steve with the submarine project for many, many years. Before she and Steve began teaching stateside, they (much like Pam Wall) took their two children to live aboard a sailboat, and they sailed around the Caribbean for several years.  Pat home-schooled the children and Steve worked odd jobs to allow their kids a childhood rich with experiences and travel. You can see in this photo a framed picture of their boat behind me and Pat.

Gusto they named it.

“Oh, that’s a great name. Live with vigor,” I said.  “How did you choose it?” I asked Pat.

“A beer commercial,” said Pat as she imitated guzzling from a can.  “When we were thinking about a name for the boat, a Schlitz ad came on that said ‘Go for the gusto,’ so Steve did,” she said laughing.

Pat.  She’s just awesome.  No matter the situation we found ourselves in, she found humor and an entertaining perspective.  I mentioned the stuck truck.  That didn’t phase her.

We couldn’t find a good place to make a fire pit to roast our hot dogs: “Use that old toilet,” Pat said.  “It’ll be a hot dog potty.”  I’m not kidding.

Jostling around in Steve’s Volkswagen creation in the hot, hot sun, Pat was just smiling and cheery.  “We call him Mr. Toad,” she said with a snort.  She’s not kidding.  Steve starts it by touching a wire to the 12V battery that sits behind the passenger “seat” (plastic chairs bolted in) and flicking an “on” button.  I’m not kidding.

 

When talking about the painful root canal Pat had to have a few years back: “We went to Hungary to have them done on the cheap.  Steve and I got the ‘tooth’ for one special,” Pat said with a cackle.

When telling us about the horrific plane crash that almost crippled her and took her son’s life: “He lived more in his 21 years than most do in a lifetime,” Pat said.

I hope your heart is beating as hard as mine right now.  I look forward to every day, every experience, every stuck truck, and every hot dog potty because of the very fact that it is beating.  And because I’ve met people like Pat and Steve who inspire me to keep the right perspective, never sweat the small stuff, and fill every moment of my life with … well … GUSTO!

And, speaking of hearts beating, thankfully, island life requires they be hands-on, hard-working, active people.  At 73 and 74, Pat and Steve are able to walk steep hills all over the island.  They are more mobile and capable than many, many older people I see in the states, and far healthier.  The lifestyle speaks to its own health benefits.  Maintenance of the house, rigging up the solar and sistern, and foraging in the sea for food keeps them fit.  And, Steve is always fixing something, for either he and Pat, or Dan, Donna, or any of their other five neighbors on the island.  Here, Steve is fixing a leak on Dan’s water cistern.

The island has an intermittent population of approximately ten, and eight buildings total, two of which Steve built.  He built Dan and Donna’s house up on the hill which has a stunning view of the entire island.  The four of them come from such diverse backgrounds, with different educations, careers, and socioeconomic status but, as Pat says: “We all have the same view.”

And boy do they!  That’s Steve and Pat’s view!  And that’s Plaintiff’s Rest in it!

Love those people. Dan, Donna, Pat, and Steve are all very good friends who spend a portion of each year together in the Berries where they relax, fish, garden, read, and play dominos together every night.  It was so fun to be invited to their game and learn about all four of them over many-a Rum Ands!

Oh, but the dominos came after dinner, which we shared with Steve and Pat every night when we were in the Berries.  About an hour after we met Pat and Steve in their home, Steve asked us if we wanted to know where the good reefs were on the island.  “Of course,” was our response.  But before we could get that out Steve was grabbing his wet gear.  This is not the kind of guy who just points things out on a map.  “Well, let’s go!” he said to our stunned faces.  “Get your spear!” Pat shouted to him.  “And bring us some dinner.”

Us.  They had already considered Phillip and I as part of their crew.  Having only known us for an hour, we were already an “us.”  It was such a cool feeling.  Steve and his spear then took us out and did, in fact, catch us dinner.  I got to see myself (for the first time in my life) a fish speared!  A lobster stabbed!  Fresh dinner caught right before my eyes!

And, remember Steve is doing all of this at 74!  What an inspiration.  He taught us so much, that very first day, about fish and spearfishing. Phillip was wide-eyed and happily challenged.  I was excited and happily hungry!  Here, Steve is showing Phillip how to look for the lobster’s antennae and hold gently onto the reef to steady his launch.

We were all so chummy by the time we got done spearfishing and snorkeling, it didn’t phase us at all when we dropped Steve and the fish off at his house and he said: “Y’all go spiff up at the boat and come on back for dinner. Bring anything you’d like.”

“We like eclectic dinners!” Pat shouted from inside (because you have to remember there is no grocery store there, they live off the pantry and land).  “We won’t starve!” she promised.  And she was right.  Every night with Steve and Pat was shared over a fantastic, fresh fish dinner, mixed with a fun side of “canned whatever” and rice.  They’ve got lots of rice!  And conch!  Steve showed us how to look for conch that are fully developed and harvest them, and Pat taught me how to clean a conch with my own two hands.

Once that wiggly alien-looking thing was out, she gave me a tenderizing hammer, told me to “beat the shit out of it, then make conch spaghetti.”  You see?  I can’t make this stuff up!  Island people are so resourceful and creative.

And, every night after dinner, the four of us, Steve, Pat, Phillip, and I, would walk up the hill, a pretty hearty but much-welcomed digestif, to Dan and Donna’s to play dominos till dark.

Our experience in the Berries was just … unforgettable. Sure, the island was beautiful. The spearfishing was thrilling. But, as is often the case: what made the Berries our favorite stop in the Bahamas was hands-down the people.  Before we left the island we stopped by Steve and Pat’s place one more time to bring them a little gift, a signed Salt of a Sailor (Pat’s going to love it I’m sure!) and some toilet paper.  They were thrilled!  You have to really scrimp on that stuff there.  It was a bittersweet goodbye, but I’m confident we’ll see Pat and Steve again.  Hopefully in the Berries, and hopefully with a spear in hand.

Steve, Pat—now, two of our absolute favorite people—this one’s for you:

Whatever Phillip and I may do, wherever we may go, I know now, thanks to you, we will GO WITH GUSTO!

BV21: To Harbour Island via the Devil’s Backbone

BV21: To Harbour Island via the Devil’s Backbone

anniedike

High times at Harbour Island High!  These high-flying kite-surfers were also there on a boat at Harbour Island when Phillip and I were there, back in March of this year, only their boat was just a smidge bigger.  Owned by a billionaire.   Yes, with a B.  It’s amazing the potluck of people you meet while cruising.  But, they were super humble and a lot of fun to “hang” with … get it? : )  From Spanish Wells, Phillip and I decided to hire a captain to help us navigate through the treacherous coral-ridden path, known as the “Devil’s Backbone,” into Harbour Island, and we spent a fabulous three days exploring ashore, kiting our a$$es off (with the billionaires!), and hiking the south side with Brett and Kristen from Life in the Key of Sea.  As we share work from our time in the shipyard this summer, it’s also fun to remind ourselves what all of that hard work is for.  Flash back to one of our last stops in the Bahamas this past March with a fun video and photos for you below from our time in Harbour Island.  Enjoy!

There was no end to the surprises the Bahamas kept revealing were in store for us.  At Spanish Wells, we were honestly expecting a more industrial fishing town, not many stunning sights.  But, then we got this:

It won the award on Plaintiff’s Rest for most beautiful beach in the Bahamas.  For us, anyway, our first year there having only made it through the Abacos, Eleuthera, and the Berries.  We’re often told the beaches and shorelines in the Exumas are just incomparable, but we haven’t seen them in person yet.  So, until then, this neon-breathtaking-blue beach on the north shore of Spanish Wells will have to do.  C’est la vie.

But, Harbour Island turned out to be a great surprise, too.  Initially, when Phillip and I were planning our route through the Bahamas in 2017/2018, Harbour Island was not one of our intended destinations.  Our (very vague, back in 2017) plan was to tinker through the Abacos, then make our way down through the ragged islands and the Exumas—to the extent we could—before we needed to get the boat back to Pensacola for hurricane season.  When we got to Spanish Wells, our cruising timeline was starting to close for the year.  Currently, Phillip and I are more “commuter cruisers,” who spend roughly half of the year aboard our boat cruising and the other half (broken up here and there) back home in Pensacola working.  Somehow you gotta pay for all this fun, right?

So, we knew our window was closing and we still had on our list: the Berries, the voyage back across the Gulf Stream to Florida, and all of the wonderful cruising we wanted to along the west coast of Florida.  With that in mind, Mother Nature decided to throw us a curve ball.  Around the time we were planning to leave Spanish Wells one of those very common north fronts came through and it looked like it was going to blow for days.

This meant we had one of two options: 1) Run down to the Exumas and try to find a place to hide there for the four-or-so days we expected weather.  (And, many of you who have been to the Exumas likely know—hiding is not a great thing to try and do in the Exumas.  The islands are just so small and sparse, they don’t offer great protection.)  So, we could either race down to the Exumas, try to hide for a bit, hope for a few clear days, then race back to the Berries and onward to home or … Option Two.  Tuck into Harbour Island, which was just a short half-day jaunt over in Eleuthera.  Here is where we were in the Bahamas:

We could then drop the hook there for a few days to escape the coming winds, explore Eleuthera and the Berries slowly, then pick our way home.  As you can imagine, any option with the word “slow” in it is likely the one that’s going to appeal to us.  You just cannot do the Exumas in five days.  I think it’s blasphemy.  Birds would start flying backwards.  Ducks would bark.  Strange things would happen.  I’m sure.

With the Harbour Island decision made, Phillip and I then had to decide whether we were feeling brave enough to navigate the very rocky and coral-ridden inlet to Harbour Island—known locally as the “Devil’s Backbone”—on our own or hire a captain to take us safely through.  You can see here the many, many coral heads that litter the path from Spanish Wells into Harbour Island!  Makes me want to tuck my keel and run.  Yipes!

The cost to hire a captain was roughly $120 (and we added a $20 tip).  While we are in no way made of money, our keel and hull are not made of material that is good to slam into a coral head.  It just seemed worth it to us—our first time coming into Harbour Island—to hire a captain to ensure a safe entry, no damage to the boat, and avoid the immense stress it would put on us trying to do that ourselves.  Now that we’ve been in and out and laid a track, I feel confident Phillip and I could now do it on our own, but we didn’t feel the need was great enough to chance it the first time, in light of the fairly low cost to ensure safe entry with a captain.

There were several captains available to take you most days, either at 9:00 a.m. or around lunch.  The run through the Devil’s Backbone took about 3.5 to 4 hours, traveling as we do at roughly 4-5 knots under motor.  The captain that took us in was very knowledgeable and nice and told us to follow him “very closely.”  He did not tie up to our boat or board, but he puttered slowly in front of us, making sure we were on a safe path, communicating with us often via radio, and he got us in safely.

And, while it was a beautiful day, gorgeous waters, and a successful navigation, there was one thing about the trip that bothered me and Phillip.  When we were envisioning doing the Devil’s Backbone ourselves, both of us had a mental image of one of us standing at the bow, sun directly overhead, pointing out coral heads left and right, giving cues to the helmsman at the wheel.  To be frank, we kind of wanted to gain that experience while following a captain so we knew we would be safe.  Like a test run with training wheels on.  But, here’s the thing: we couldn’t really see the coral heads.  Neither Phillip nor myself could make them out.  Sometimes I would feel like I saw one up ahead and it turned out to be a big patch of black sand or grass.  Then sometimes I didn’t feel like I’d seen one at all, but there it was breaching the surface where I thought there was no coral.

I can’t explain why we couldn’t see the coral heads.  Perhaps it was too early in the day, although it was a very clear, bright day, and we navigated the corally (that’s a word today) section from about 10-12:00 p.m.  Perhaps we just don’t have good coral eyes (another linguistic gem for you.)  Whatever the cause, that part about the trip made us very glad we had hired a captain because he obviously could either see them where we couldn’t, or he just knew the route between them by heart.  (We later learned it is both but mostly the latter).  Either way, it was a beautiful day and a very enjoyable journey.

Once in Harbour Island, the captain rafted up with us briefly to get his fee then sent us on our way.  Phillip and I navigated the shoals (which would later become our kiting ground when the tide was out) to drop the hook behind Harbour Island on the south side.  We took the dinghy over to Man’s Island and snorkeled around, which was really fun.  I saw my first lionfish underwater.  Oh, and sea cucumbers, too!  Those lovable lazy slugs.  Phillip and I were also very surprised to find such a diverse, budding little town ashore with plenty of shops, eateries, nice restaurants, conch salad shacks, clothing boutiques, etc.  There was a laundry mat where we washed all of our clothes and linens for $4/load and wifi in certain places.  I certainly had one of the nicest, most beautiful “offices” I’ve had in a while.  No complaints from this little remote worker!

The north side of the island also promised pretty pink beaches!  While I imagined an entire beach shoreline the color of conch shell pink, that’s not really what we got.  But the sand did have a nice rosy hue to it and—pink or not—it was gorgeous!  One of my favorite parts was seeing the horses walking along the beach.  The locals apparently give horse rides on the beach often to attract tourists (and it works!) but it was still cool to see my favorite animal in now one of my favorite places: the Bahamas.

We also inadvertently ended up dropping our hook next to another cruising couple we had previously connected with on social media: Brett and Kristen aboard Life in the Key of Sea.  We met up with them one of our last days in Harbour Island, hiked the south side, and ate at the famous Sip Sip with a stunning view of the Atlantic shore.  Brett and Kristen were very like-minded and easy-going (as most cruisers are) and we connected instantly.  It was fun to hear the places they had been, their plans going forward, and a lot of the wacky, unfounded questions we all get from people who aren’t cruisers.  Like “How do you feed the dogs?” Kristen told me someone had asked her, as they have two very lovable rescues aboard.  It’s like the ability to buy dog food in advance and store it on the boat while cruising cannot be fathomed.

People are funny!  But we always get a kick out of some of the questions we get, too.  For instance: “What do you dooo all day on passage?” is another one of my favorites.  You don’t have time to think about it, you’re usually so busy fixing things, checking the weather, holding your shift, cleaning, napping, fixing more things, researching, cooking, more cleaning, fixing something else, then it’s all of sudden the next day and you don’t know how it happened.  We definitely had a good time laughing with Brett and Kristen about these shared bewilderments from our followers!

Phillip and I also did some of our best kiting from our entire Bahamas trip in Harbour Island.  Mainly because the folks we kited with made it so memorable.  It’s always the people, am I right?!  Phillip, from our table at a little vegan restaurant, saw someone pumping up a kite on a tiny spit of sand in the harbour.  He couldn’t help it.  That man smells wind, I tell you.  Instantly, he was up, “Check please,” and we were on our way out there.  We met the folks and got to talking to them.  Obviously—when you’re all on a tiny island with no airport—the question of “How did you get here?” often comes up.  The gal with them said offhand “Oh, we’re staying here on a boat.”

“Oh, cool.  Us, too.  Ours is that sailboat over in the distance,” as I pointed.

“Oh nice,” she said (I now know) graciously.

“Where’s your boat?” I asked looking around for perhaps another monohull or cruising catamaran.

The gal got a little quiet and responded, “We’re on the biggest one here.  It’s the Trending Yacht over there.”  And by “over there,” she meant a vessel big enough to block out the sun.  The thing is 165-feet of mega-money.  It is a badass boat.  Fun video for you here:

I mean.  Whoa.  We later learned her dad, who owns the boat, is not just a millionaire.  But a billionaire.  With a B.  Say it again.  Whoa.  Check out more photos, video, and info about the boat and crew and the charters they do at Trending Yacht.

But, the crew (the two guys in the video above and photos below) and the daughter, “Biz” (short for Elizabeth), were super cool and a ton of fun to hang out with.  The crew also told us the owner of Trending is—much unlike most other mega-yacht owners who are total douchebags—very low-key.  He just wants everyone to have a good time, and wants to keep the boat in good working order so folks can appreciate it.  It felt pretty freaking cool to meet my first billionaire!  We had a great time kiting with them several days in the harbour.  The two guys helping Biz learn to kite and crewing on the boat were total adrenaline junkies, trying to loop their kite (which usually ended in monster crashes into the water), hoisting each other up into the air, launching wicked jumps on the kite, etc.  The “Trending Show” was a heck of a lot of fun to watch.

In all, Harbour Island was an unexpected treat.  Phillip and I had never really envisioned ourselves heading this deep into Eleuthera during this trip to the Bahamas.  (We had envisioned ourselves in the Exumas instead.)  But it was just further proof that when we go where the wind takes us (and not try to fight the universe’s obvious coaxing) we usually are rewarded to an unexpected but surprisingly unique and memorable new place.  Harbour Island definitely fit that bill.

Hope you all enjoy the video, write-up, and photos below.  We only have one more destination in the Bahamas to share before we scoot back across the Gulf Stream and start trickling up the west coast of Florida back to Pensacola, in blog time that is.  As I mentioned in the video, in real time, we just splashed back after 4.5 weeks in the Pensacola Shipyard with Perdido Sailor, having accomplished some very awesome and necessary projects on our boat, and we’re now working to prepare our workloads and stock the boat for this season’s cruising.  I will announce our plans soon.  We’ve got something very, very cool in store for you followers.  Stay tuned!

For now, let that Harbour Island footage roll!  Enjoy!

Following the captain through the Devil’s Backbone:

Off on a dinghy adventure to snorkel around Man’s Island:

  

Our favorite time on the boat: Captain’s Hour

Exploring the awesome little town on Harbour Island:

 

The pink beach on the north shore!

Time to get our kite on!

 

The fun billionaire-ess and her cRaZy crew!

Enjoying the little eateries and shops in town:

Hiking and dining with Brett and Kristen from Life in the Key of Sea!

I was completely sober when I took that picture … promise ; )

BV18: Flying the Chute South to Little Harbour

BV18: Flying the Chute South to Little Harbour

anniedike

If there is one thing the steady north winds in the Bahamas are good for, it’s flying the chute, headed south to Little Harbour!  Ahoy followers!  In blog time, we are just wrapping our stay at beautiful Hope Town, Bahamas (where we got lucky enough to snag a ball inside the harbor our first night there!) and sail this badass boat south to Little Harbour.  Under spinnaker!  I mention in the video below another video we put out last year showing exactly how we rig and hoist the spinnaker on our boat for any of you just launching yours (don’t worry, it took us years before we were brave enough).  Here’s the LINK to that trainer video.  Little Harbour turned out to be a fascinating little hurricane hole at the south end of the Bahamas.  We had some friends from Pensacola who were there at the same time on their Katana catamaran, so we got to rendezvous with them at the fantastically-fun and quirky bar, Pete’s Pub, and meet the infamous Pete, himself.  Pete is the son of Randolph Johnston, an American teacher and bronze sculptor who first settled with his family in Little Harbour in the 1950’s.  Some fascinating history there.  Hope you enjoy the video and photos below!

And, we’re off!  After a beautiful few days in Hope Town, we bid that quaint little cruiser’s gem adieu and set our sights on Little Harbour.  We had some friends, Tom and Christy, who were going to be there at the same time, sailing in on their Katana-built catamaran and we were eager to go meet up with them and have a drink at the famous Pete’s Pub!  There’s the Hope Town lighthouse in the distance.  Say “Au revoir!”

Anyone recognize this unique boat?  It’s Mary and Sharon on s/v Tipsy Gypsy!!  We met up with them several times in the Abacos (and both being fellow bloggers, but both partaking in some excellent goombay smashes at the time, we all forgot to take a photo together!).  But, true to boat code, I never forget to snap a pic of a fellow cruiser’s fine-looking vessel on the water.  Look at Gypsy go!  You can follower Mary and Tharon’s adventures here!  https://www.maryandtharon.com

It’s SPINNY time!  We love flying our spinnaker.  Well, I can say that now.  Phillip and I will be the first to admit, we waited waaaayyy too long to break this bad boy out.  I can’t really say why.  We were never in a hurry.  We thought it might have been a huge headache, or we would get it all snagged up and rip it.  Who knows.  We were crazy stupid. But, last summer, when we were planning our adventure to the Bahamas and knew we wanted to enhance our sail plan and sail options, we busted the spinnaker out on Plaintiff’s Rest for the first time (and found out she’s this beautiful red, white, and blue!) and learned how to rig her up and fly her with ease.  While it did take some finagling and some mistakes, we learned, they usually don’t lead to a rip in the sail if you are methodical about it and take your time to follow all of the lines and make sure the sail isn’t twisted as it is coming out of the sock.  Little things like that.  Now that we’ve mastered it, this is probably now our favorite sail on the boat!  Video link for you HERE again on exactly how we rig and hoist our spinnaker on the boat if any of you out there are just getting into it.

Ahhhh … happy place!

As I mentioned in the video, we found the inlet to Little Harbour to be a bit narrow and one you have to “play the tides” to get in and out.  Not a big deal, but we didn’t know when we would be leaving Little Harbour and we wanted to freedom to be able to come and go without having to wait on the tides.  For this reason, we decided to anchor on the outside in the big harbor outside of Little Harbour, and it was absolutely no mistake.  Wait until you see the crystal green waters that awaited us there.  Some of the most stunning we had seen in all of the Bahamas!

Dinghying in to Little Harbour!

This is Tom and Christy’s catamaran that they sailed to Little Harbour on, s/v Odalisque!

Looking out over the harbour.  We didn’t know it at the time, but Tom and Christy told us Little Harbour is a hurricane hole.  They have had winds of up to 130 mph there with little to no damage to the boats inside the harbor.  Good to know when Phillip and I find ourselves back in those parts and need to tuck in somewhere.  We’re happy to play the tide to sneak into a hurricane hole for cover!

Love this gal!  Hi Christy!

I can’t recall if this was the triggerfish tacos or not, but every meal we had at Pete’s Pub was out of this world!

The view from Pete’s Pub at night.  Just stunning.

And, hey hey, if we didn’t meet Pete himself.  A real ladies man, that one!  Heart of gold, too, and with such a neat history and story to share.  We made a lot of fun memories at the pub!

The sunset view on the Atlantic side behind Pete’s Pub did not disappoint either.  Gorgeous colors on the horizon and awesome craggy rocks where the water would splash up and put on quite a show!

After a fun night “on the town,” which in Little Harbour means “at the Pub” (it is the only restaurant bar on the island, but easily one of our favorite in all of the Bahamas), Phillip and I woke to these breathtaking waters right around our boat the next day.  I couldn’t take enough photos.  You could see every blade of grass on the bottom, every link in our chain, every glimmer of the sun.  I could stare at those waters all day long and be in absolute bliss!

One of the very cool things about Little Harbour, that struck Phillip and me, was it’s amazing history.  Not only did Randolph Johnston bring his family here to get away from American consumerism and just the hustle and bustle and noise of life in the states in the 1950’s, they also had to live in this cave for some time before they could complete their house.  But, they worked hard and persevered and the bronze sculpting foundry that Randolph established there back in the 1950’s is still the foundry they use today.  His son, Pete, carries on his tradition and makes some fabulous sculptures that he sells there in the gallery at Little Harbour.  I love when history meets art and makes the whole trip just that much more memorable.  Pretty cool huh!

 

Pete, finishing a very cool bronze sculpted shark!

This was a piece in the gallery that Christy really had her eye on, the evolution of the life of a man from baby, to toddler, to healthy male, to feeble old man, to death.  It really was a very unique piece.  You better get on it before Christy does!  If she hasn’t already!  (And she drives a hard bargain, trust me!  : )

Perfect tagline for not only Pete’s Pub, but just about every little quirky bar in the Bahamas.  You never know who is a millionaire, billionaire, boat bum, river rat, and the best part is no one cares because it doesn’t even matter.  We just “cheers!” and carry on!

 

We hope you enjoyed our trip to Little Harbour.  Next time, we will take you back out into the Atlantic Ocean on our way down to Eleuthra to our most breathtaking beach in the Bahamas (well, consider we haven’t been to the Exumas yet) but the north shore on Spanish Wells made my heart stop.  Thankfully, Phillip was able to get her kickstarted and going again.  He always gets me fluttering.  ; )  Stay tuned!

BV17: Marsh Harbour to Hopetown!

BV17: Marsh Harbour to Hopetown!

anniedike

Enough with this maintenance in Marsh Harbour! It’s time to get sailing and set our hopes on Hopetown. This was one of our favorite stops in the Abacos. Many cruisers live here full-time on a ball in the harbor which gives the place a very welcoming, community feel. There are lots of quirky little shops, beautiful flower-lined roads and bike paths, great restaurants and the stunning Hopetown Lighthouse, one of the oldest manual Kerosene-lit lighthouses in the world. Phillip and I were incredibly fortunate to score a ball in the harbor our VERY FIRST night there (some people have waited years for one) and enjoyed a stunning three-day stay at Hopetown. Enjoy the snorkeling in Marsh Harbour, our sporty sail over to Hopetown, and a bike tour around picturesque Hopetown in the video and photos below.  Stay tuned next time for a trip to Little Harbor, a little-known hurricane hole at the south end of the Abacos where we were welcomed by friends who had just built an amazing little bungalow there. Plenty more to come!

On our way back to Marsh Harbour.  We were thrilled to find that a Delta flight opened up recently from Atlantic directly to Marsh Harbour, so that makes leaving the boat in the Bahamas while we fly back and forth to handle issues at home much easier!

I love the view from a plane window.  So much to see!

 

While we were thrilled to return, after leaving out boat in Marsh Harbour for six weeks while we flew back to Pensacola to handle some work things (and another huge thanks (and yet she still deserves dozens more!) to fellow Marsh Harbour live-aboard, Diane, who sent us amazing photos of our boat every couple of days while we were gone), we had plenty of work to do to open up and clean the boat and re-provision and prepare her for another two months of cruising in the Bahamas.  We spent the first day cleaning her, filling the batteries and propane, grocery shopping, turning the engine over, etc.  And, we were pleased to find our baby was just as excited as we were to have us back and she was full of juice and cranked right up on the first try!  Way to go Plaintiff’s Rest!

We were pleased to find, having left our Kanberra gel bins full while we were gone, that the boat smelled super fresh when we opened her up for the first time in six weeks and there was hardly any mold on the ceiling.  (In Pensacola, pre-Kanberra, we used to have tons of mold that we had to constantly wipe away with Clorox wipes during the summer).  This Kanberra stuff is the real deal people!

Filling the batteries.  Ours are Trojan wet cells that we have to fill with distilled water about every 30 days – 6 weeks.  I always laugh because Phillip looks like a coal miner when he does it!

We were thrilled the find our fancy wine bags were still in tact!

It had rained a good bit in Marsh Harbor while we were gone, which was actually a good thing because it kept the bilge flushed out and fresh.  We emptied her one time down to bone-dry to watch anew for any possible new leaks.

Then after all that work, it was time to go snorkeling in Marsh Harbour!  I got some great footage of the fishies and plant life in the video.  Hope you all enjoyed it!

Post-snorkel meal at the Jib Sheet.  Oh yeeaaaahhhh!

We packed away our Bahamas courtesy flag while we were gone.  She was only a little tattered from her first six weeks in the Abacos!

Back to our happy place!  Sundowners and read-time in the cockpit of Plaintiff’s Rest!

I made a new friend at the marina, too.  This amazing Labradoodle was so cute.  She would sit in this chair, looking very much like a human being, and watch as people walked by.  She was darling!

Sunrise over Harbourview Marina!

Time to de-dock (that’s a word in Annie land) and get this boat moving over to Hopetown!

It was a great day sailing, with winds of 18-20 kts.  On the nose, but we’ve got much better at reefing down our offshore 90% working jib (“Wendy”) so now anything up to 20 kts is still comfortable for us on the boat.  That did not used to be the case with our 135 genoa!

Following our waypoints on the Explorer charts to a “T.”  I love those charts!   They make cruising the Bahamas, even with a six-foot draft effortless.  Just follow their lat and lons and play the tides and you are golden!

We couldn’t reach anyone via the radio to see if there was an open ball in the Harbor at Hopetown (we were pretty sure they’re wouldn’t be as folks had told us cruisers covet those balls and hold them often for years), so we dropped the hook on the outside and dinghied into the Harbor to get a lay of the land.  It was kind of nice, too, to traverse that narrow inlet for the first time in our tiny little rubber boat, not the big beauty!

And, we totally scored!!  After talking to a few boats, asking around about a potential open ball (and having a few of them lightheartedly chuckle at us), we were finally sent to a guy named Dave on a catamaran who unofficially monitors the balls, and he got us in touch with this amazing guy, Truman, who runs the balls at the Harbor, and as luck would have it a couple was leaving that afternoon, so we were going to spend our evening ON THE BALL!  Phillip and I knew exactly how lucky we were and we were super excited!  But, the ball would not open up for a another few hours, so we headed to shore to grab a bite and explore!

And Hopetown, of course, did not disappoint.  Stunning Atlantic shores, crystal blue waters, stretches of white stunning beach.  It was everything we hoped it would be (no pun intended … okay maybe just a little one ; ).

We ate here at Brandon’s Bar on the beach, an awesome little salty lunch spot overlooking the Atlantic Ocean!

Pensacola representing!

These pictures don’t really do it justice.  But the sunsets and sunrises in the Harbor at Hopetown were breathtaking.  It was all you could do to just sit and watch and look around.  Something about all the boats floating around you and the colors on the water were just mesmerizing.

Time to go see what this lighthouse is all about!

Beautiful little flower-lined streets guided us along the way.  One of my favorite things about the Abacos are all the rich, luscious colors that greet you just walking the streets.  All of the pathways and roads are also very narrow, which means no freaking stink-pot, tank-sized SUVs.  Thank goodness!  Just little golf carts and foot traffic.  I have to say there is no part of me that misses the consumerism and traffic of the states.  None.

Helllooooo.

You cannot NOT go to the Bahamas and NOT get conch fritters (three times at least to compare at different places! ; )

There’s the lighthouse!  One of the last remaining manual, kerosene-lit lighthouses in the world.  This beauty was completed in 1864 and used to guide ships around the treacherous Elbow Reef.

We signed the book!  S/v Plaintiff’s Rest was here!  101 lighthouse steps we never fear!

Isn’t the view from the top amazing?  The striking colors of the water is always what catches my eyes and breath when we view the Bahamas from up high.

Got myself a little Hopetown Lighthouse trinket (and proceeds for buying this beauty go toward lighthouse preservation and restoration).  Cute huh?

Then it was time to explore more of that awesome little island.  We rented bikes (24 hours for $24, very reasonable) and spent the next day and a half biking around Hopetown.

It was even cooler to see the lighthouse from our ball in the Harbor after we had walked all the way to the top and saw the view from up there.

We left this little thank-you note and our “ball fees” ($20/night) on Dave’s catamaran, along with a bottle of white and one of my books as big thanks for his help in enabling us to score a ball our very first time there.  We certainly enjoyed our time and can easily say Hopetown is one of our favorite stops in the Abacos.  But, gees, it’s hard to even pick favorites.  There are so many.  Hope you all enjoyed the video and photos.  Next time, we will take you to Little Harbour at the south end of the Abacos and Pete’s Pub!  Stay tuned!

 

 

BV16: Leaving our Boat Behind: In Another Country, In Another’s Hands

BV16: Leaving our Boat Behind: In Another Country, In Another’s Hands

anniedike

Pffhhhhh … I have to let out a long huff even as I read that.  It was so hard to leave our boat behind.  I feel like I’m still apologizing to her, but I also feel like (or hope at least) that she understands.  Somehow we have to pay for all this Bahamas fun, and more importantly, pay for all the work and maintenance she requires.  B.O.A.T. right?  You all know what that stands for.  So, we had to leave our baby behind for a bit (January 21st – March 10th) during our Bahamas trip and fly back home to Pensacola so Phillip could handle some things at the office.  While my job, thankfully, goes wherever we go (HaveWorkWillTravel! : ), his does not, although he is able to do a good bit of work remotely via emails and phone calls.  Although it may not appear from our photos and posts, we do spend about 30-40% of our time while cruising working remotely.  We are incredibly thankful for our phones and laptops and the internet which allows us to do that.

While we were planning our trip to the Bahamas, Phillip and I knew that we were going to have to leave the boat there for some stretch of time to fly home for a bit, so we chose Marsh Harbour because it is a pretty protected harbor with a marina where we could keep the boat tied up secure for a month or more and it also has an airport for flying to/from the states.  While Marsh Harbour was a solid choice and proved a good decision, we did not know at the time (back in November when we were making plans) there was another good option in the Abacos: Treasure Cay.  It’s amazing the things you learn when you actually go somewhere and start talking to the locals.  While at Treasure Cay, we learned from some other cruisers who were staying there that they offer a November-through-February special, offering cruisers a monthly rate at the marina for only $500.  Five.  Hundred.  I know.  Don’t ask me what we paid at Marsh Harbour.  But, we didn’t know about the Treasure Cay option, and we had to make a decision ahead of time.  But next time … Treasure Cay is a fabulous (safe, protected) place to make “home base” while cruising the Abacos.  Several cruisers we met booked a month or two there while they sailed around and gunk-holed all the wonderful islands in the Abacos, knowing they always had a safe place reserved for them at Treasure Cay so they could duck in and hide when the northern fronts came fast and fierce.  The next time we do the Abacos, if that deal is still running at Treasure Cay, we will likely do that.

But, we were very pleased with the staff and amenities at Harbourview Marina.  The dock master, Ron, and owner, Troy, were exceptional.  They are very hands-on and they make sure every cruiser feels welcomed and has everything they need for a comfortable stay at the marina.  Ron helped us dock up to the fuel dock and move to our permanent slip in some pretty heavy winds and he was very calm and competent and made sure our boat never suffered a scratch.  He also checked on us every day as he walked the docks to make sure we had power, water, wifi and knew how to find groceries, restaurants, a cab, etc.  We learned when we returned to Marsh Harbour in March that Ron had also boarded our boat many times while we were gone to adjust the lines to make sure our boat was always floating safely right in the middle of the slip and that none of the lines suffered any chafe.  That’s service.  Troy was also a pleasure to work with and the minute we told him we were planning on leaving the boat for a month at the marina, he immediately asked how to get access inside in case he needed to check the batteries or bilge or move her in an emergency.  You could tell these were “boat people” who truly cared about boats the way we do.  Troy, Ron, and the entire staff at Harbourview, we can’t thank you enough!

Here is a pretty cool video, with some great drone footage, showcasing the marina at Harbourview:

We got a very good slip, too, at the marina that was seated back away from the T-dock (where the winds cause the boats to romp around a bit) and was wedged in between some monster yachts, which also helped to block her from wind.

Phillip and I were also happy to find we were surrounded by several long-time Marsh Harbour liveaboards who would be living aboard their boats while we were gone, walking the docks every day, and who said they would keep an eye out for our baby while we were gone.  To Dave on Southern Heat, if you’re reading this (you and Rocket Man!), thank you!  Dave is actually a fellow writer and wrote a rather harrowing account of his own passage across the Gulf Stream in his book Summer Heat.  But, I must share a story with you all that showcases how generous and compassionate cruisers really are.

Our last day aboard the boat (January 21, 2018) we were doing all of our final checks, cleaning things, packing, etc.  My last chore was to empty the fridge, and I hate to see food go to waste.  So I shoved all of our very enticing fridge food (think half-empty jars of salsa, mayo, and other condiments, some cheese, butter, milk, sodas, etc., I think there was even some salad stuff, carrots, cucumbers, etc.) into a trash bag (making it even more enticing) and began knocking on nearby boats to see who wanted to be the winner of my food charity for the day.  While I tried, first, the several boat owners we had already met (so I wouldn’t seem like such a crazy person), for whatever reason, that morning they were all off and away, their boats locked and empty.  So, I started knocking on new boats!  And, the first boat-owner to heed my call was the infamous Bob aboard he and his wife’s beautiful trawler, Islandia.

I had never met Bob before but he is a cruiser through and through.  “A trash bag full of half-eaten food?  Sure!  We love food!” was his immediate response.  He was a lot of fun to chat with and had actually raced years ago on a Niagara up on Lake Ontario so we gave him a fun little tour of our baby, exchanged boat cards, and asked if he wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on our Niagara while we were gone.  Bob said he’d be happy to and he graciously accepted our food and helped us get off the dock.  Bob’s wife, Diane, was not on the boat that morning but, after returning later that day and finding the food we had left her, she took it upon herself to start sending me pictures and updates on our boat.  These are the kinds of people that await you out there: cruisers who will open their hearts, their hands, their fridges, and their boats to you, for the simple reason that you are a cruiser, too, and we all “get it.”  There are no distinguishing titles, no type of boat that is seen as better or greater than another (not in earnest anyway, only in jest), no importance placed on what we do for a living (or don’t do) or how much money we make (or don’t make) or the types of clothes we wear (or don’t wear!).  We are all just cruisers, owners of boats that cause us lots of angst, cost us lots of money, and afford us the tallest tales and sweetest memories.  Boats equalize people in a way I have never found any other common thread to do.

And this amazing stranger, a fellow boat-owner who knew Phillip and I were anxious to leave our boat behind unattended took it upon herself to send me these numerous email updates and keep a watchful eye on our boat the entire time we were gone.  Mind you, this is a woman I had never met, and these are the actual emails and photos she took the time to send me while we were back in Pensacola and our beautiful baby was staying all by herself in Marsh Harbour.  Not at my request, just of her own accord.  I was shocked and thrilled when I received an email, out of the blue, from Diane just a few days after we left.  And the photos and updates continued to roll in.

Diane, this tribute is for you!

Jan 24th:

Hi Annie, took this picture a few minutes ago.  All is well.  We are expecting quite a blow for the next 4 to 5 days, so we will check your boat every day.  Diane and Bob

 

Jan 26th:

Hi Annie, you guys did a superb job of tying off your boat.  [We subsequently learned this was also mostly due to Ron, who continued to board our boat and adjust lines accordingly.]  The wind has shifted 45° and it’s pretty much been blowing a steady 15 to 20 and sometimes 25 kn.  And yet your boat is right in the middle of the slip looking great!  Bob and Diane

 

Jan. 27th:

Good morning Annie and Phillip, Thanks in advance for the dinner invite.  That will be fun!  Today a rainbow landed on your boat!  Cheers!  Bob-Diane

Later that same day:  Yes, that was so cool that the rainbow landed on your boat. We are in the middle of a power outage on the dock, don’t know how long it will last. Any special instructions for your boat once the power gets turned back on?

 

Jan. 31st:

Hi Annie, so your boat is doing well in strong winds and extreme tides.  Most of the sailboats are aground here.  Once the super moon passes the tides shouldn’t be so extreme.  We are leaving the marina for a week, so I’ll send you another update next Wednesday.  Cheers!  Diane and Bob

  

 

Feb. 7th:

Hi Annie, we are back at the dock.  Your boat is still looking pretty darn good!  Cheers!  Bob and Diane

 

Feb. 8th:

Hi Annie, That’s crazy about 60 mph winds!  Fortunately it’s becoming calmer here.  Winds are slated to hover here around 10 to 15 for most of the week.  I was out on my paddleboard today, so I thought I would snap a shot from a different perspective.  Diane

 

Feb. 9th:

Subject: “Waving at You!”

Hi Annie, you’re too funny, going out to dinner will more than suffice.  We are headed out of the marina for 4 or 5 days, taking advantage of the nice weather coming up.  I’ll be sure to send you an update as soon as we return.  Fair winds!  Diane and Bob

 

Feb. 17th:

Here is your boat on Wednesday and again today.  She continues to look great!  We are headed out for a week so I’ll send you an update on the 24th.  Cheers!  Diane

  

 

Feb. 24th:

Hi Annie, These photos were taken a week apart.  She’s looking fabulous.  We fly home on Feb 27 and return March 7.  I’ll send you another photo on Tuesday before we depart.  Cheers, Diane

  

 

Feb. 26th:

Subject: “Sunset at the Marina”

 

March 9th (the day before we flew back!)

Hi Annie, we were delayed a day getting back due to the snow.  Got in yesterday to very strong northwest winds complete with whitecaps at the dock.  But again you [meaning, Ron] have tied the boat so perfectly it never touched the pier.  Had a gorgeous sunset last night and now the winds are finally abating.  One of our guests may not make it in today so it’s possible we will still be on the dock when you arrive tomorrow.  You must be getting excited to return to the Bahamas!  Diane

  

 

March 10th

Finally it was time for Phillip and I to fly back to the Bahamas and reunite with our beloved boat and I got to wrap my arms around this amazing woman (whom I had never met) who gave me such peace of mind and comfort the entire time we were away from our beloved boat.  (Who did fabulous on her own by the way!  She was charged up, dry, not moldy, thanks to our Kanberra, and ready to crank right up and go!  Way to go little boat!)

Thank you Diane!  You were a God-send.  Phillip and I (and our boat!) will forever sing your praises!  One cruiser to another, we can’t thank you enough!  

Post-Bahamas Podcast – Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcast

Post-Bahamas Podcast – Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcast

anniedike

“Man, y’all are terrible at this!” I distinctly recall saying while talking to Jeffrey in this podcast interview about how our sail skills have improved the more offshore voyages we’ve done.  On the way to Cuba, our friends back home were right: we were terrible.  But on our way to the Bahamas, Phillip and I were much better thanks to our new offshore jib and a newly-anointed Captain Annie!  Ahoy followers!  My first post-Bahamas interview here for you, sharing a few of our fun Bahamas stories and misadventures.  Many thanks to Jeffrey Wetting with Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcast at The Escape Pods for reaching out to me and putting this piece together.  Enjoy!

STBSP ep. 88: Annie Dike, Part Three, Bahamas!

BV14: 3 Kinds of Wind – Sailing, Kiting & Silking – at Treasure Cay

BV14: 3 Kinds of Wind – Sailing, Kiting & Silking – at Treasure Cay

anniedike

What’s that old saying?  There are only three types of wind: too much, too little, or in the wrong direction.  While that is fairly true, thankfully, for us, no matter what speed or direction, we can usually bust out one of our many “wind toys” and do something with it, either go sailing, kiting, or silking! We had wind for all three during our stay at Treasure Cay, a beautiful resort-type island in the Abacos with our favorite stretch (three miles!) of stunning white beach on the north shore. Fun video, story, and photos for you all below from our colorful stay at Treasure Cay!

It really is a treasure!  Treasure Cay was one of our favorite stops in the Bahamas.  It had a very secure, protected marina (they pull a chain across the entrance and lock the harbor at night to make it extra safe) and the staff at the marina were all very attentive and helpful.  Plus, that beach on the north shore is just jaw-dropping.  We saw many locals who walk it every day, one end to the other, which would be six miles total, and which also comprised their complete workout for the day.  Can you imaging your daily exercise routine being so relaxing and beautiful?  Life on the islands is really a breath of fresh air compared to life here in the states.

We also had a fantastic time kiting on the north shore.  Because it curves around on either side, it offered us kiteable (that’s a word in Annie Land) wind from so many directions.  Anything from the north, east, or south was do-able there, which is why we got so much kiting time in.  I literally thought I was too exhausted to give it another go by day three.  I was suffering from “T-rex” syndrome, where your forearms are so tired from steering the kite that you they’re practically useless … much like that of a T-Rex.  And, memes like these always bring me a big T-rex smile.  : )

   

And my personal favorite.  This one always makes me feel better!  You’re welcome!

But, aside from the magnificently-exhausting kiting we did at Treasure Cay, we also had one common theme that seemed to run through every memory.  It’s this little pint-sized ball of cruising energy who originally inspired Phillip and I to travel to the Bahamas in the first place when we heard her talk about her beloved Abacos at the Miami Boat Show as far back as 2015.  Do you know who I’m talking about?

That’s right.  This wonderfully-inspiring woman: Pam Wall.  She had a huge impact on us from the start because I could literally see and hear her passion for cruising each time she spoke about places she has been and her gallant boat, Kandarik.  It amazed me when I learned Pam’s full story some of the horrendous heartbreaking things she has had to endure yet, despite it, she still brings others joy and inspiration and shares her passion for cruising.  And, apparently, I’m not the only who feels this way because we met, independently, three separate cruisers at Treasure Cay who had a connection with, and fond memory of, Pam Wall.  Turns out, she, is the real treasure.

Meet John and Gayle!

This trashy couple.  Ha!  This was a fun moment where we all shared a laugh at what “dirtbags” cruisers are.  The minute we dock at a new place, the first thing we bring with us off the boat is our trash.  We’re real stand-up folks like that.  The minute I sprang on John and Gayle, I caught them in this treacherous act and decided to help!  So, how did we meet John and Gayle and make the Pam Wall connection?  Ironically, not in the way Pam Wall thought we would.  Both while Phillip and I were in the Bahamas-planning stages and when we were actually out cruising in the Bahamas, Pam and I exchanged many emails where we would share with her how much we were enjoying her “Beloved Bahamas!” just as she said we would and she would always, always (if any of you know Pam, you will agree with this) share her many connections and tips on places to go, things to do, good stuff to eat, and people to hug for her.  When I told her we were thinking about going to Man-o-War cay, this was the short list of suggestions she sent me:

I know.  A lot of people to find and hug, right?  That Pammy.  She is so cute.  The funny thing was, we did not end up stopping at Man-o-War Cay but as we were walking the docks (who doesn’t love to do that?) in Treasure Cay, Phillip actually spotted, on his own, a beautiful boat he wanted to point out to me.

“Man, look at that Hinckley!” he said and pointed.  I turned my attention to where he was pointing and it was, sure enough, a magnificent, beautiful boat, but something else stuck out for me.  The name, Ciro.  That’s a pretty unique boat name and I felt like I had heard it before.  My mind started rattling and I thought maybe it had been one Pam mentioned in one of her many Bahamas emails.  I searched around in my Gmail and, sure enough, found that one.  Notice her mention of a Hinckley named Ciro and a lovely couple on it named John and Gayle.  While she had recommended I do that “Gee it’s great to see you again” bit to a different couple, I decided to do it to John.  Phillip and I meandered around and waited for them to step off the boat (carrying their trash of course, cruisers after my own heart!) and I walked up to John, whom I’ve never met before, and said “Hey John!  It’s so good to see you again!  We had such a great time the last time we were together.”  Both John and Gayle gave me a priceless stumped look, and Gayle actually started to give John an even funkier look, and that’s when I cracked and told them my good friend Pam Wall told me to hunt them out and do that.

We instantly connected.  They are lifelong sailors, part-time live-aboards, and John has extensive knowledge in Hinckley boat building and repair.  They were delivering this particularly Hinckley, Ciro, to the Bahamas for the owner and had actually stayed at Pam’s dock in Ft. Lauderdale before making the jump to the Bahamas.  We all had so many wonderful Pam stories to share.  And, we ended up doing “pizza night” with John and Gayle at the Treasure Cay Marina the following night (absolutely delicious) and had them and another fellow cruiser over the next night for happy hour goodies.

Tim is single-handing the Bahamas on his Endeavor.  He had actually saw Phillip and I as we were walking toward Ciro and shouted out: “Hey, I know you guys from YouTube!”  Ha!  Small world.  He’s been a long-time HaveWind follower, so it was fun for him to get to meet us and join the party.  It’s always a party on Plaintiff’s Rest!

So, is this where the Pam Wall connections end?  Heck no!  Meet Steve and Anike!

They had just walked up the beach while we were kiting (it often draws a few curious folks) to ask us about our kite gear and how it all worked and this, of course, lead to a conversation about “What brings you to the Bahamas?”  We found Steve and Anike were actually long-time cruisers.  They used to cruise with their children aboard in the Caribbean on a Tayana 37 and are now on a beautiful Shannon.  When they asked us the same question, “What brings you to the Bahamas?” my answer often starts with Pam Wall, because she is the person who first lit our fire about cruising to the Bahamas and Steve immediately said, “Oh, Pam, isn’t she great?  She helped us get our Tayana ready for the Caribbean.  She may not remember us.  It was back when she was working at West Marine, but please tell her how helpful she was.”

Won’t remember you … Pam doesn’t forget a thing.  Seriously, I can’t remember half the places we’ve been and I’ve only been cruising part-time for five years.  Pam can still tell you every single stop she and Andy made on their many Atlantic circles back in the 80s-90s.  And, she remembered Steve and Anike.  It was starting to get comical sending her texts from Treasure Cay saying “Found another cruising couple who knows you!” But it did not stop there.  The last one was really a surprise.

I was in the shower room at the marina getting spruced up for a hot date on the town with my Phillip (we ate at the Treasure Sands Club that night …. just fabulous, I gained five treasure pounds that night alone that I am still proud of! ; ).  As I was wrapping up in the restroom, Anike came in.  We started chatting again about her past travels and other women who have cruised too.  And I was telling her a little bit more of Pam’s story when another woman came around the corner to wash her hands and asked: “Are you talking about Pam Wall?”

“Yes!” I squeaked, surprised she knew who I was talking about with such little information, and the woman responded: “Oh yeah, we heard about her through the SailLoot podcast.” (Little shout-out to my buddy, TeddyJ, at SailLoot!)  “And I heard your interview on SailLoot, too!”

Turns out it was Kristen from Life in the Key of Sea, another cruising couple I had been following on Facebook for some time.  Mutual followers I guess you could call us.  I did not know it was Kristen at the time because it was a very brief pass-by in the bathroom and we did not bump into one another again in Treasure Cay, but we did in Eleuthera!  And, we got to spend a day dining and hiking with her and Brett.  We then found out Brett was one of the sailors who helped TeddyJ deliver his boat (which was Windtraveler’s previous boat, s/v Asante), from St. Thomas to Florida this past summer.  Fun podcast Teddy put together talking about that passage here.  It is such a small cruising world out there I swear!  Here are some fun photos of Kristen and Brett on s/v Life in the Key of Sea!

I actually took this one of the two of them when we were hiking at Harbour Island:

And Kristen took this one of me and Phillip:

I forgot to get a group shot (we were having too much fun) but this is Phillip, Kristen and Brett looking out at our anchorage where they had dropped the hook right next to us at Harbour Island!

So, you ready to go cruising yet?  Want to meet all kinds of new friends, old friends, re-found friends in all sorts of beautiful little islands scattered out in the sea?  If you’re struggling with how to start, Pam Wall Cruising Consultant, might be a good one!  Love you Pammy!  You’ve influenced and inspired so many!

Some very fun photos for you all from our beautiful stay at Treasure Cay.  Hope you all have been enjoying our Bahamas posts!  Do you feel like you’re there with us?  We do!

        

10,000 Bluewater Miles

10,000 Bluewater Miles

anniedike

Ten.  Thousand.  I almost can’t believe it myself, but that’s my number.  10,025 to be exact.  I’ve been keeping track and when Phillip and I sailed our gallant Niagara 35 back into the Pensacola Pass on our recent return from the Bahamas, it was not only a fantastic feat successfully completing another offshore voyage, it was also a pretty cool milestone for this little sailor, who began sailing only five short years ago.  

Headed off on my very first offshore voyage: April, 2013

Captain Annie at the helm, returning from the Bahamas: April, 2018

Ten thousand … This calls for a ditty, no?

Five years, 5oo HaveWind posts, and one captain’s license later, and I dare say I just might call this little gal a bluewater sailor.

When Phillip first planted the seed, “I’m going to buy a boat and cruise around the world,” I immediately, without hesitation, heartily agreed!  “Not without me!” was my creed.

Our very first photo at the cockpit together during our first voyage.

So, we started boat-shopping and, little did I know, the many, many new, exotic places I would go!  In the bilge, in the fridge, “Get down in the engine room,” he said.

     

So down I went, bumping my knees, my knuckles, my head.  On that boat, I’ve cursed, and sweated, and bled.  There are so many, many things, you see, that have to be fixed, cleaned, fixed again, and re-bed.

 

But the good news is, as long as her hull, keel, and rigging are sound, you can work on her while you sail her anywhere, as long as you don’t run aground!  Because the worst, absolute worst, thing you can do to a boat, is to leave her sitting stagnant, unkept and going nowhere, just sitting afloat.

Not our boat, oh no!  Our beautiful Niagara, with her magnificent thirty-five feet.  She’s often cast-off, sailing away, on a gentleman’s (or perhaps not-so-gentle) beat.

That wise, seasoned boat has taught Phillip and I so much about both her and the sea.  Because out there, and you may not believe me, but she feels really rather small to me.  The time that she grows, seems unwieldy and impossible to stop, is only when we are approaching a treacherous dock.

But out there, in bluewater, while romping and running, she seems so agile and nimble.  Like a horse at the derby, impossibly stunning.

That’s where she and her crew love most to be — moving, gliding, slipping under sunsets at sea.

 

My heart and courage exposed, this amazing man and boat have challenged me, to push myself, try harder, learn more, travel further, set myself free!

So I did.  I changed my career, my address, my focus, all so I could head out to sea.  And the rewards have been limitless: Cuba, the Bahamas, Mexico, France, the Florida Keys!

 

All connected by big, brimming, bodies of blue, just waiting to challenge and test you, too.  Each passage, each mile, will teach you something new.

Forty-six hundred of them took Phillip and I all the way across the Atlantic, with a hearty, hilarious French Captain named Yannick.

But the Gulf of Mexico, never to be out-done, over and above the Atlantic, has, thus far, won.  The Gulf has handed us our most trying times, tossing and bashing us to windward, threatening to snap lines.

Thankfully the storms and rough seas generally do not last.  You just have to ride it out, get the boat comfortable, and usually in twenty-four hours or less, it will pass.

And soon you’ll find yourself motoring without a lick of wind, albeit across the most beautiful glass you’ve ever seen.

And you’ll make the mistake of asking Mother Nature to blow.  Just a little.  Like ten to fifteen.

Or seven and a quarter, perhaps, just enough so we can be #spinning!

While a perfect passage (in our world, a nice downwind run), from shore to shore is admittedly rare, the toying, tempting promise of it is what makes us accept the dare.

Because when you get there, no matter how near or far your “dream there” might be, it’s an incredibly cool feeling to have the honor to say: “We sailed here, you see.”

And for Phillip and I, I believe one of our most memorable offshore voyages will forever be: Cuba.  Because it was a trying, eye-opening, exceedingly-thrilling passage where we bypassed the Keys.  And Phillip and I both felt great pride in telling people: “We sailed six hundred nautical miles, here to be.”

Hope you all have enjoyed this little sailor’s first 10,000 nautical miles here at HaveWind.  Here’s to the next ten!  Cheers!