So it's been just a little more than three months since the last posting. I guess time flies when you're having fun!
So, the short of it; we've made our way down the ICW from St. Augustine, finding our way to Hollywood Loggerhead Marina. Staying here for a couple months, for repairs and to visit friends and family, we left for the Bahamas from Biscayne Bay at No Name Key on January 27th. The crossing was made to Bimini in a long daysail with a few boats in the group taking advantage of the weather window.
Having met with some friends who we left back in St Simons Island, GA and getting into the groove of the Bahamas, overall our time in Bimini wasn't without challenges. For example, we lost our brand new GoPro camera when we tried to do some snorkeling with a new friend. We felt a little ripped off by the local computer supply shop owner. We snapped our dinghy sheer-pin in the middle of the night crashing our dinghy into the beach (ocean side).
Needless to say we were completely ready to leave Bimini and put this behind us. Trouble is, we had 15+ knots of wind and steep waves on the nose for the first 80 miles of our trip to Nassau. As such, we continued to have little mishaps along the way. For example, we left the forward hatch open in steep waves allowing for a large amount of water to enter the v-berth soaking our bed, and some clothes. Adding to that, I hadn't changed the Fuel Separator filter and Fuel Filter for more than a year, and just when we needed it most, the engine lost power forcing us to sail in large tacks before anchoring for the night.
Luckily, we are seeing the brighter side and I feel like the trip is going to start shaping up famously soon. We spent a nice evening at anchor in West Bay, where I checked out the keel and did some swimming around the boat. Everything looks good, and the small crack in the aft end of the keel looks completely manageable.
I'll be adding some pics to this post, so check back.
