Paradise!

Happy New Year, readers!  Oh...wait. It's already the end of February 😲

So what have we been up to? We spent the last 6 or 7 weeks enjoying the glorious Florida sunshine and visiting with lots of friends and family! 

Sunset at Telemar Bay Marina, Indian Harbor Beach

We stayed at Telemar Bay Marina in Indian Harbor Beach, which is very conveniently located near shopping, restaurants, the beach and - most importantly - hardware stores.  Hardware stores, you say? It turns out there was still a bit more work to be done to get Starry Night ready for our next adventure.  Story of my life....hahaha

The marina was also right next door to Oars and Paddles Park, which was home to a very active community. There were "Mommy and Me" workout sessions in the morning, Danish, German and Canadian national rowing teams in the mornings and afternoons, middle- and high school rowing teams in the evenings, and senior dragon boat outings on the weekends. It was quite the hub of activity!

Danish National Rowing Team launch from Oars and Paddles Park

 

A nice surprise was also waiting at the marina for us when we arrived:  some fellow cruisers that we had met in Deltaville, and also seen again in Solomon's were docked a few slips down! Each time we've met, we've gotten to know them better and are hoping to catch up with them once again in the Bahamas.

Fabulous Day Sail with Friends in Florida

In between our social activities, twice-daily dog walks and requisite appointments, we worked on a couple of important projects. The most important and time-consuming was the installation of our water maker. A water maker converts sea water into fresh water using reverse osmosis (RO).  Our particular model will produce approximately 30 gal/hour, which will considerable ease water concerns while in the Bahamas.  

Installation sounded simple enough: install the pump/control unit, the RO membranes and the piping.   As usual, though, nothing is really simple as it sounds. First, electricity needed to be routed from the electrical panel to the closet where the pump would be mounted. This required removal of 2 refrigerators, the electrical panel and opening every panel in the salon and master cabin. 

Behind the Scenes - Routing electrical wiring and plumbing!

Water Maker Pump and Control System

Next, Steve designed, fabricated and installed the mounting system for the RO filters and flow meter and valve assemblies.

Water Maker Membranes and Flowmeter

Routing the plumbing required drilling holes through the hull, while contorting oneself into small spaces, but did provide an opportunity for us to see what the core of the boat looks like!

Starry Night's core

While Steve worked on the water maker installation, occasionally assisted by me, my primary tasks were to make sure paperwork and vaccinations required for pet immigration were completed, sell our old dinghy and some other equipment we decided we no longer needed, purchase our new dinghy and arrange the logistics for pick-up,  buy and pack our provisions for our 3 month trip to the Bahamas, and identify the source of a leak that was filling our bilge with 3 gallons of water per day. 

I'm quite happy to report that we have now completed all of the major purchases and upgrades that we had planned and we are fully ready for very comfortable off-the-grid living! And even though we still had projects to do and a fair amount of work to prepare for our Bahamian adventure, we really did manage to maintain a nice balance so that we really enjoyed our time in Florida.

Once all of the preparations were completed, our focus shifted to finding a good weather window for the crossing.  Specifically, we were looking for winds of 10-15 knots with no northerly component, and calm seas. It's also important that the weather prediction is stable for a few days.  After consulting all of our weather prediction sources, we decided that our departure date would be February 21.

The 21st arrived and, as predicted, was picture-perfect.

Captain Steve piloting Starry Night to the St. Lucie Inlet

Our crossing was amazing! We were able to sail without motors nearly the whole way, the temperature was beautiful, and the seas were calm. 

We're Sailing!!

Jake Enjoying the Sailor's LIfe*

*Maybe "enjoying" is a bit strong. He braved the elements and stayed on-deck much longer than during our previous sails.

We were escorted out of Florida with some bow-surfing dolphins and accompanied by a stow-away.

Not Your Typical Seabird

The sunset was phenomenal, and although it's hard to see in the photo, the moon and a couple of planets were visible as the sun was setting.  This was merely a precursor to the majesty of the glittering display which followed.  I was once again reminded how much I love sailing at night and why we chose the name we did for our boat. I'm looking forward to sharing this with those who will join us in the Bahamas. 

Sunset in the Atlantic

As the sun rose the next day, we had arrived in Bahamas waters - just in time for my birthday! We sailed on throughout the rest of the day and anchored overnight at Crab Cay flying the yellow quarantine flag because we had not yet cleared into Bahamas immigration.

Sunrise in the Bahamas

Brilliant Hues of Bahamian Waters

We completed our passage to Marsh Harbor the next day - Thursday -  and cleared in ourselves, Starry Night, and Jake here.

We received a friendly welcome from one of the Bahamian dolphin residents, who rolled over to display his belly for my photo!

Dolphin Photo - Possible in the Crystalline Waters

One of the sights we've seen on our walks on the island of Marsh Harbor is the Hurricane Dorian Memorial Garden. Many of you will remember Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 storm which devastated the Abacos in 2019.  What you may have forgotten or not realized is the absolute ferocity of this storm.  Marsh Harbor endured 180 mph sustained winds for 52 hours, with recorded winds as high as 280 mph..

The photo below shows an aerial view of the anchorage where we are, after Hurricane Dorian. The photos below show the remarkable progress which has been made in cleaning up and rebuilding after this catastrophe. 

There is evidence of the storm still visible as you walk down the streets, but Marsh Harbor no longer looks like a war zone. 

Marsh Harbor After Hurricane Dorian

Marsh Harbor, Now

Now that all the paperwork is completed and we can roam the Bahamas freely, we plan to start exploring what the Abacos have to offer. Off-shore fishing for wahoo is on the agenda for tomorrow, and snorkeling the day after that! 

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This is more like it!!