Great
Loop II Date: 05/09/2015
Day #281 (Saturday) 62.7 miles (3746 total miles)
Locks: 0 (30 total locks)
Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)
Port #64: West End,
Freeport, BS
Marina: Old Bahama Bay Marina and Resort
The morning came ear…
Port #64: West End, Freeport, BS…Last Stop Before the Bank
Port #63: Great Sale Cay…Beginning the Trek Home
Great
Loop II Date: 05/08/2015
Loop II Date: 05/08/2015
Day #280 (Friday) 59 miles (3683 total miles)
Locks: 0 (30 total locks)
Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)
Port #63: Great Sale Cay,
BS
BS
Anchorage: Tom Johnson Harbor
Although there was more to see in
the Abacos, we knew we needed to get OB back to the states and on toward Lake
Erie if we wanted to enjoy any summer at our home dock. Todd’s best calculations had us getting to
Lake Erie and Bay Point by the first of July.
To keep that schedule, we had to head OB back through the track we had
taken to get to Green Turtle. Also, that
schedule didn’t take in any weather delays.
Were we to take more time in the Abacos, we probably wouldn’t get back
to our Lake Erie dock until late August giving us only 6 weeks or so before
we’d store OB on shore and drive back to Cape Coral for the winter.
the Abacos, we knew we needed to get OB back to the states and on toward Lake
Erie if we wanted to enjoy any summer at our home dock. Todd’s best calculations had us getting to
Lake Erie and Bay Point by the first of July.
To keep that schedule, we had to head OB back through the track we had
taken to get to Green Turtle. Also, that
schedule didn’t take in any weather delays.
Were we to take more time in the Abacos, we probably wouldn’t get back
to our Lake Erie dock until late August giving us only 6 weeks or so before
we’d store OB on shore and drive back to Cape Coral for the winter.
We waved goodbye to our new found
friends and had OB underway at 6:30AM.
There was a mass exodus of sailboats both ahead of us and behind us all
day long. We listened to them discuss
where they planned to anchor, changing their plans as the wind changed and
generally happy because they could maintain sailing all day long with no
motoring.
friends and had OB underway at 6:30AM.
There was a mass exodus of sailboats both ahead of us and behind us all
day long. We listened to them discuss
where they planned to anchor, changing their plans as the wind changed and
generally happy because they could maintain sailing all day long with no
motoring.
We watched thunderheads grow around
us but never threatened us. OB arrived
at her anchorage early afternoon. Her
anchor set well and I followed it with adequate chain to allow for wind. Once we were settled, Todd, Charlie and I
took to the bridge to watch the sailors go to different parts of the island to
anchor.
us but never threatened us. OB arrived
at her anchorage early afternoon. Her
anchor set well and I followed it with adequate chain to allow for wind. Once we were settled, Todd, Charlie and I
took to the bridge to watch the sailors go to different parts of the island to
anchor.
 |
| The clouds began forming into thunderheads, as they did everyday. Rarely were we caught in the rain. |
 |
| The cloud formations were always interesting. |
The evening was delightful until
sunset when the bugs came out to dine.
We put all of the screens in place and retired to the inside for the
night. The winds died after sunset and
the night’s sleep began humid and warm.
sunset when the bugs came out to dine.
We put all of the screens in place and retired to the inside for the
night. The winds died after sunset and
the night’s sleep began humid and warm.
 |
| Our anchorage for the night…Tom Johnson Harbor. |
 |
| Even with the ripples from the breeze, the waters were so clear we could see everything on the bottom of the aquarium. Even a small black tipped shark came by to invest us. |
 |
| This was our position on the chart. |
 |
| One of the thunderstorms that formed to the south of us. |
 |
| Another storm to the east of us. |
 |
| A great sunset. |
 |
| Reflection of the sunset on the thunderheads to the east of us. |
Around 1AM the burgee (flag) on our
bow started to rattle. I got up to check
our anchor. The winds had picked up and
we were taking 1 foot rollers from the east.
It was interesting to see all of the anchor lights on the sailboats in a
circumference around the island. I guessed
there were at least 2 dozen sailboats dispersed between the north anchorage,
Northwest Harbor (where we anchored 3 weeks before) and Tom Johnson Harbor (our
anchorage for the night).
bow started to rattle. I got up to check
our anchor. The winds had picked up and
we were taking 1 foot rollers from the east.
It was interesting to see all of the anchor lights on the sailboats in a
circumference around the island. I guessed
there were at least 2 dozen sailboats dispersed between the north anchorage,
Northwest Harbor (where we anchored 3 weeks before) and Tom Johnson Harbor (our
anchorage for the night).
I went to bed satisfied that OB was
holding fast to her anchor. My sleep
continued to be broken by the lurching and rocking of the boat.
holding fast to her anchor. My sleep
continued to be broken by the lurching and rocking of the boat.
Port #62: Green Turtle Cay BS…The Eye in the Storm
Great
Loop II Date: 04/26/2015
Loop II Date: 04/26/2015
Day #268 (Sunday) 17.6 miles (3623 total miles)
Locks: 0 (30 total locks)
Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)
Port #62: Green Turtle Cay, BS
Marina: Bluff House Marina and Resort
More difficult weather was in the
forecast. Todd and I knew we needed to
get through the Whale Passage. We
reluctantly dropped lines and left Treasure Cay for Green Turtle Cay.
forecast. Todd and I knew we needed to
get through the Whale Passage. We
reluctantly dropped lines and left Treasure Cay for Green Turtle Cay.
Our day’s travel was
uneventful. We docked at Bluff House
Marina and Resort once again. This time
the dockmaster had us add an extra line.
The day after we arrived, we found out why. A large storm came through with winds up to
35 to 40 MPH. OB strained at her lines
and bumped abruptly into the ladder at our stern. As she loosened those important two lines to
take another shot at the dock, I tightened them further. We never hit the dock again!
uneventful. We docked at Bluff House
Marina and Resort once again. This time
the dockmaster had us add an extra line.
The day after we arrived, we found out why. A large storm came through with winds up to
35 to 40 MPH. OB strained at her lines
and bumped abruptly into the ladder at our stern. As she loosened those important two lines to
take another shot at the dock, I tightened them further. We never hit the dock again!
 |
| The non-tropical storm…which ended up being windier than the real tropical storm! |
 |
| Sunset after the storm…the sunsets just kept coming. |
Our stay became extended by a
developing tropical weather system between the Bahamas and the Florida
coast. We felt somewhat marooned. Doug and Dahri took us out on their boat to
anchor at Manjack Cay, hoping the waters would be calm enough to snorkel. Unfortunately, the winds kept us from that
but it was fun to get away and see a new landscape.
developing tropical weather system between the Bahamas and the Florida
coast. We felt somewhat marooned. Doug and Dahri took us out on their boat to
anchor at Manjack Cay, hoping the waters would be calm enough to snorkel. Unfortunately, the winds kept us from that
but it was fun to get away and see a new landscape.
We also rented a golf cart for a few
days during Green Turtle’s Heritage Festival.
It was a small festival with lots of music, games for the youngsters,
and many booths with trinkets and food.
Again, it did get us away from the boat for a while.
days during Green Turtle’s Heritage Festival.
It was a small festival with lots of music, games for the youngsters,
and many booths with trinkets and food.
Again, it did get us away from the boat for a while.
 |
| The restaurant, pool and water taxi dock as seen from OB’s bow. |
 |
| Todd and I took the dinghy to the Heritage Festival the opening day. |
 |
| A fishing boat in Black Sound near the festival area. |
 |
| St. Peter’s Anglican Church in downtown New Plymouth. |
 |
| The inside of the church was beautiful and sparkling clean. |
 |
| Loved seeing the British, American, Bahamian and Canadian flags proudly displayed. |
 |
| A cute little bungalow on the main street (Bay Street) in New Plymouth. |
 |
| More houses in New Plymouth. |
 |
| We took the dinghy around on the Sea of Abaco to the Tranquil Turtle (part of the Bluff House Resort). This is where Todd was found in the hammock the first day here the week before. |
 |
| Doug and Coco with a cute little Bahamian girl. |
 |
| The Police Band and solo singer. The folks on Green Turtle really love this band and are very proud of it. |
 |
| This is one of the school girls that really liked Coco our first week in Green Turtle. |
 |
| The school kids playing musical chairs with the Loyalist reenactors. |
 |
| More Goombay Smashes at the Pineapple…where the conch graveyard was. |
 |
| Doug and Dari from All In…a really sweet couple we’ll certainly see again in Florida. |
 |
| THAT’S a Tranquil Turtle in my hand! |
 |
| Think this turtle needs to have a Tranquil Turtle. |
 |
| Dari and I both loved these signs posted right outside of the restrooms. |
The tropical storm became known as
Invest 90L and eventually TS Ana. We did get two days of heavy
rain but no wind to speak of. OB got a
good bath of fresh water and I got a lot of exercise pumping water out of the
dinghy. We did enjoy the delicious food
and exotic drinks at the Bluff House…and it all showed up on our waistlines as
well as the final bill!
Invest 90L and eventually TS Ana. We did get two days of heavy
rain but no wind to speak of. OB got a
good bath of fresh water and I got a lot of exercise pumping water out of the
dinghy. We did enjoy the delicious food
and exotic drinks at the Bluff House…and it all showed up on our waistlines as
well as the final bill!
 |
| The final dinner at the Bluff House. |
Views of Hingham & Hull
Our docking situation definitely improved this year owing to now having the T-dock of “I.” The “T” is the end dock and, unlike a slip, which has boats on either side, the “T” is on the water.That translates into 270 degrees of spectacular unrestr…
Port #64: West End, Freeport, BS…Last Stop Before the Bank
Great Loop II Date: 05/09/2015Day #281 (Saturday) 62.7 miles (3746 total miles)Locks: 0 (30 total locks)Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges) Port #64: West End, Freeport, BSMarina: Old Bahama Bay Marina and ResortThe morning came early with little …
Port #63: Great Sale Cay…Beginning the Trek Home
Great Loop II Date: 05/08/2015
Day #280 (Friday) 59 miles (3683 total miles)
Locks: 0 (30 total locks)
Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)
Port #63: Great Sale Cay, BS
Anchorage: Tom Johnson Harbor
Although there was more to see in the Abacos, we knew we needed to get OB back to the states and on toward Lake Erie if we wanted to enjoy any summer at our home dock. Todd’s best calculations had us getting to Lake Erie and Bay Point by the first of July. To keep that schedule, we had to head OB back through the track we had taken to get to Green Turtle. Also, that schedule didn’t take in any weather delays. Were we to take more time in the Abacos, we probably wouldn’t get back to our Lake Erie dock until late August giving us only 6 weeks or so before we’d store OB on shore and drive back to Cape Coral for the winter.
We waved goodbye to our new found friends and had OB underway at 6:30AM. There was a mass exodus of sailboats both ahead of us and behind us all day long. We listened to them discuss where they planned to anchor, changing their plans as the wind changed and generally happy because they could maintain sailing all day long with no motoring.
We watched thunderheads grow around us but never threatened us. OB arrived at her anchorage early afternoon. Her anchor set well and I followed it with adequate chain to allow for wind. Once we were settled, Todd, Charlie and I took to the bridge to watch the sailors go to different parts of the island to anchor.
|
| The clouds began forming into thunderheads, as they did everyday. Rarely were we caught in the rain. |
|
| The cloud formations were always interesting. |
The evening was delightful until sunset when the bugs came out to dine. We put all of the screens in place and retired to the inside for the night. The winds died after sunset and the night’s sleep began humid and warm.
|
| Our anchorage for the night…Tom Johnson Harbor. |
|
| Even with the ripples from the breeze, the waters were so clear we could see everything on the bottom of the aquarium. Even a small black tipped shark came by to invest us. |
|
| This was our position on the chart. |
|
| One of the thunderstorms that formed to the south of us. |
|
| Another storm to the east of us. |
|
| A great sunset. |
|
| Reflection of the sunset on the thunderheads to the east of us. |
Around 1AM the burgee (flag) on our bow started to rattle. I got up to check our anchor. The winds had picked up and we were taking 1 foot rollers from the east. It was interesting to see all of the anchor lights on the sailboats in a circumference around the island. I guessed there were at least 2 dozen sailboats dispersed between the north anchorage, Northwest Harbor (where we anchored 3 weeks before) and Tom Johnson Harbor (our anchorage for the night).
I went to bed satisfied that OB was holding fast to her anchor. My sleep continued to be broken by the lurching and rocking of the boat.
Port #62: Green Turtle Cay BS…The Eye in the Storm
Great Loop II Date: 04/26/2015
Day #268 (Sunday) 17.6 miles (3623 total miles)
Locks: 0 (30 total locks)
Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)
Port #62: Green Turtle Cay, BS
Marina: Bluff House Marina and Resort
More difficult weather was in the forecast. Todd and I knew we needed to get through the Whale Passage. We reluctantly dropped lines and left Treasure Cay for Green Turtle Cay.
Our day’s travel was uneventful. We docked at Bluff House Marina and Resort once again. This time the dockmaster had us add an extra line. The day after we arrived, we found out why. A large storm came through with winds up to 35 to 40 MPH. OB strained at her lines and bumped abruptly into the ladder at our stern. As she loosened those important two lines to take another shot at the dock, I tightened them further. We never hit the dock again!
|
| The non-tropical storm…which ended up being windier than the real tropical storm! |
|
| Sunset after the storm…the sunsets just kept coming. |
Our stay became extended by a developing tropical weather system between the Bahamas and the Florida coast. We felt somewhat marooned. Doug and Dahri took us out on their boat to anchor at Manjack Cay, hoping the waters would be calm enough to snorkel. Unfortunately, the winds kept us from that but it was fun to get away and see a new landscape.
We also rented a golf cart for a few days during Green Turtle’s Heritage Festival. It was a small festival with lots of music, games for the youngsters, and many booths with trinkets and food. Again, it did get us away from the boat for a while.
|
| The restaurant, pool and water taxi dock as seen from OB’s bow. |
|
| Todd and I took the dinghy to the Heritage Festival the opening day. |
|
| A fishing boat in Black Sound near the festival area. |
|
| St. Peter’s Anglican Church in downtown New Plymouth. |
|
| The inside of the church was beautiful and sparkling clean. |
|
| Loved seeing the British, American, Bahamian and Canadian flags proudly displayed. |
|
| A cute little bungalow on the main street (Bay Street) in New Plymouth. |
|
| More houses in New Plymouth. |
|
| We took the dinghy around on the Sea of Abaco to the Tranquil Turtle (part of the Bluff House Resort). This is where Todd was found in the hammock the first day here the week before. |
|
| Doug and Coco with a cute little Bahamian girl. |
|
| The Police Band and solo singer. The folks on Green Turtle really love this band and are very proud of it. |
|
| This is one of the school girls that really liked Coco our first week in Green Turtle. |
|
| The school kids playing musical chairs with the Loyalist reenactors. |
|
| More Goombay Smashes at the Pineapple…where the conch graveyard was. |
|
| Doug and Dari from All In…a really sweet couple we’ll certainly see again in Florida. |
|
| THAT’S a Tranquil Turtle in my hand! |
|
| Think this turtle needs to have a Tranquil Turtle. |
|
| Dari and I both loved these signs posted right outside of the restrooms. |
The tropical storm became known as Invest 90L and eventually TS Ana. We did get two days of heavy rain but no wind to speak of. OB got a good bath of fresh water and I got a lot of exercise pumping water out of the dinghy. We did enjoy the delicious food and exotic drinks at the Bluff House…and it all showed up on our waistlines as well as the final bill!
|
| The final dinner at the Bluff House. |
Alaska 2015 – Ketchikan to Petersburg
May 9, 2014
The day was spent sightseeing around Ketchikan. A surprise from previous visits was the $5.00 per person charge to even walk the outside grounds at Saxman Village and still not be allowed inside the longhouse, which is reserved for cruise ship passenger shows. Completing provisioning and purchasing Alaska fishing licenses took part of the afternoon. That evening we met up with Mike and Susie Miner (Seeker), Tucker’s and Johnson’s for dinner at the Cape Fox Lodge.
May 10, 2015
Steel Tiger and Spirit left City Floats shortly after 0800 and headed to the fuel docks. Our preferred fuel dock was unavailable due to a fuel barge offloading fresh fuel, so we used Petromarine. Prices were surprisingly close to those we paid in Anacortes for similar quantities. Spirit took on 635 gallons of fuel. By 0900 we were all underway once again under clear skies. Heading north up Tongass Narrows, past Caamano Point, we followed the shoreline up Clarence Strait until turning in at Meyers Chuck. By this time the clear skies had turned into rain, the public dock was full and the anchor would not set. Since we suspected the art gallery would be closed this early in the season we agreed to continue on to Santa Anna Inlet. The Meyers Chuck dock has been transferred from the state to Wrangell Borough, which now must repair/replace the dock. Wrangell’s intentions are to start charging for moorage July 1 at the rate of 0.20$/ft/night, which is really nominal. The rain quit as Steel Tiger anchored first and Spirit rafted alongside. The prawn pots were set and we enjoyed the now sunny, but breezy weather.
May 11, 2015 – Santa Anna Inlet
The morning check of Spirit’s prawn pots yielded about 7 dozen large spot prawns and great quantities of squat lobsters, with Steel Tiger’s pots doing about the same. Even though there is not much meat on each squat lobster, only about the tip of your little finger, the meat is tender and sweet. We cooked everything up and had a feast on the back deck of Steel Tiger.
.jpg) |
| Some of our Squat Lobsters |
.jpg) |
| Enjoying prawns on the aft deck of Steel Tiger |
May 12, 2015 – Santa Anna Inlet to Wrangell
The morning check of Spirit’s prawn pots yielded 10 dozen large spot prawns. After processing them, both boats left Santa Anna Inlet at 0800. Our route was through Zimovia Strait. By 1325 the engine was off in Wrangell’s Heritage Basin where we reconnected with the Lennon’s on the Selene 53 “Tranquility”. The balance of the day was spent touring Wrangell and looking for a new trim tab pump for the Grady White, with no success. Larger cruise ships now come into Wrangell, like the “Seven Seas Navigator” with 450 passengers, so there were a lot of people walking around downtown.
May 13, 2015 – On to Petersburg
Slack water in Wrangell Narrows required a 0500 departure from the dock. Under sunny skies and calm seas we had an uneventful transit of Wrangell Narrows and were tied up in Petersburg at 1030 am. We were assigned a slip in North Harbor on the docks which were new last year. The town is preparing for The “Little Norway Festival” or Norwegian Independence Day celebrations, which begin today and run through Monday. Patrick searched for a replacement trim tab pump and actually found one, which was delivered to the harbormaster’s office early in the evening.
May 14, 2015 – Le Conte Glacier
After breakfast and installing the new trim tab pump, a group of 8 of us (Gill’s, Johnson’s, Tucker’s and Jim & Christie Caldwell) headed out on a 4 hour jetboat tour of Le Conte glacier, the southernmost tidewater glacier in the US. On the way we saw a humpback whale. The ice was thick at the upper end of the fjord, so we were only able to get within ¾ mile of the face, but it was still spectacular. There were a number of seals on the ice floes getting ready to calve, which should happen any day. Returning to Petersburg we had “dinner” at one of the celebration beer gardens while some of the contests were still going on. Most of the contests seemed to involve tossing herring into targets. We were still a little hungry, so we hurried to Papa Bear’s Pizza before they closed at 8PM and shared a “Carnivore” pizza.
.jpg) |
| Bald Eagle on a berg – Le Conbte |
.jpg) |
| Le Conte Glacier from 3/4 mile away |
.jpg) |
| The ice floes we pushed through on the jet boat |
.jpg) |
| Curious Seals |
.jpg) |
| Our tour group |
May 15, 2015 – Parade Day
The festival continued with several blocks of the main street blocked off. There were all kinds of food booths, arts and crafts and finally a parade followed by a “herring toss” competition, open to all. Beer gardens were set up in several locations, there was live entertainment in the evening and everyone seemed to be having a great time in the warm sunny weather.
.jpg) |
| School children in Festive Norwegian clothes |
.jpg) |
| The Viking longboat |
.jpg) |
| Herring flying through the air during the herring toss |
We will be in Petersburg until Sunday afternoon, then on to Juneau via Tracy or Endicott Arms, so no internet until May 21.
.jpg) |
| Farewell to Petersburg |
Our Lot in Life
I used the term “our lot in life” in a radio conversation this morning at 5:15 am with a vessel following me out of Bottleneck Inlet where both of us had anchored for the night. In was in reference to the necessity for slow boats to start early in order to put in long miles in a day.
That phrase also describes all of the routing we’ve done since we made the second start to our 2015 cruise after having to return to our winter homeport to deal with our misbehaving electronic compass (it is working fine so far, by the way). The delayed start meant we missed our optimum timing at Seymour Narrows, an early morning slack before the ebb. We like to ride the building ebb down Johnstone Straits. That ebb will add a couple of knots to our normal sedate cruising speed of 6-7 knots.
The week delay meant the slack before the ebb was closer to mid-day. Unfortunately, the relatively stable high pressure ridge off the coast was generating afternoon NW winds of 15-25 knots. When those winds hits the ebb current in Johnstone, the waves build up and you have short steep waves combined with current eddies, an uncomfortable combination.
We chose the more protected channels through, Yuculta, Gilliard, Dent, Green and Whirlpool rapids, as the winds are generally less there. Unfortunately, all of those rapids require timing. We split them over two days, the first 3 on one day and the other 2 on the second day. The travels on the second day, lasting 14 hours, got split into 3 sections with brief interludes between the sections. That was so we could time Whirlpool and then later, Chatham Channel which got us into the Broughtons. It was just our lot in life to have to travel the slower route this year.
Since getting past those hurdles, our pace has quickened. The starts are still early but at least we’re racking up the miles and hope to be in Ketchikan (weather permitting) in a few days.
Friends
When Pam & I pulled out of Ft. Myers I have to say that Boynton Beach was secretly on both of our radar screens. However, it was one of those things that I just didn’t mention to Pam and she didn’t mention to me until well into the trip. …
