Friday January 30th

The crew waits on board while the captain goes ashore to meet with the customs officials. Weather conditions look better than anticipated and we hope to cast off as soon as he returns.

All is well and the winds are with us so we put up all our canvas and steer a course for Green Turtle Cay. We are able to average over 7 knots. It is another good day of sailing.

Arriving at Green Turtle Cay we decide to anchor rather than dock as it is Mediterranean docking and Argo does not like to back up in the best of conditions. Even in this protected bay the waters are choppy. The captain goes ashore and brings the new crew aboard. Welcome!!

Thursday January 29th

Half of the crew had slept above board and woke to a heavy dew this morning that left everything very wet.

The anchor is pulled up and Argo is under way by 7:00. The water is amazingly clear and it is strange to be able to follow the chain of the anchor and see exactly where it has dug into the sand. It is like looking inot a huge swimming pool with a sandy bottom.

Pirates, pirates!!! ..... or are they just fishermen(don't see any fishing gear) that want to sell or purchase something!?!? The three men in the small boat look less than friendly, so we decide not to take any chances and as they motor along parallel to us for half a mile, we prepare for the worst by getting out the protection BAT. Eventually they vere off and leave us in peace. Welcome to the Bahamas.

The day delelops favourably and improves with every mile. It is the kind of day that dreams are made of, with blue skies, steady balmy breezes, sparkling clear waters, and no one else in sight. We put up all our canvas and spend a few hours of happy, pure sailing under ideal conditions.

A welcoming committee of dolphins comes to greet us and slip and slide along beside us for several miles, calling out to us as they jump in our bow wake. It is a photo opportunity that doesn't come along often and the crew takes full advantage of it.

Unfortunately we are not going to be able to reach Marsh Harbor or Green Turtle Cay today, so we opt for the Marina at Spanish Cay. It is a privately owned islandset 19 km northwest of Green Turtle Cay. This island was named after a pair of Spanish galleons that sank offshore during the 17th century. Originally owned by Queen Elizabeth II, the island was purchased in the 1960s by Texas-based investor (and former owner of the Dallas Cowboys) Clint Murchinson. After his death in the early 80s, two successive Florida conglomerates poured time, money and landscaping efforts into developing the island as a site for upscale private homes. Today, guest of the inn and local residents putter along the island's paved roads in electric-powered golf carts ......... so says Frommer's ....... and the island does not disappoint. The brochure says 'Discover Paradise on the island' and the crew heartily agrees that this is certainly a little slice of heaven. We taste our first Conch Fritters(which melt in the mouth) while soaking in the hot tub with a glass of wine. Why didn't anyone tell us about this place before!!!

The quarantine flag is hoisted on Argo and although we are permitted the freedom of the island, the customs officers will arrive in the morning at 8:00 to check passports and pass us officially into the Abacos, Bahamas.

We will reluclantly leave Sp[anish Cay in the morning for Green Turtle Cay.

Wednesday January 28th

After a restless night, the crew is up early and ready to go by 6:00. Unfortunately the dingy snagged a stationary pole on the way out of the slip and this meant that we needed to anchor just outside the marina and make some adjustments to the dingy, delaying our departure by another hour.

We are surprised that there are not more sailboats heading out this morning to make the crossing as there have been very few opportunities to make the journey to the Bahamas this month.

The two sailboats that do leave the harbor at the same time as Argo are both smaller vessels and both end up turning around after finding the conditions too rough for them even today. Argo on the other hand seems to revel in these conditions and this is where she shows her true colours. She may be moody & skiddish when it comes to entering a boat slip, but give her some open water and a choppy sea and she will not disappoint!!!

Thank goodness for Gravol.

We motor-sail with the Stay sail and average just over 6 knots for most of the crossing. The waves are large(size varying according to which crew member you are speaking to) and the boat is saturated in salt. Some of the waves breaking on deck MUST have been in excess of eight feet!! The seas calm down as we leave the Gulf Stream and approach Westend on Grand Bahama Island.

Our first sunset in the Bahamas is beautiful and we stop for a meal and a short reprieve from the
weather. The crew celebrates crossing the Gulf Stream but then decides to motor on a bit further in the dark to Mangrove Cay where we anchor for the night.

Tuesday January 27th

We leave Peck Lake at 8:00 and prepare for a busy day with SEVEN bascule bridges to pass under. Our timing is good and we manage to make most of the bridge openings we had hoped for and only need to put the anchor down once when a bridge was not able to open on schedule. We were also delayed at the third bridge as another sailboat had been pushed up against it by the current when the bridge was closed and we watched as it was safely towed to shore. The Jupiter Inlet area is very tricky with lots of current and strong winds.

We make it to the Lake Worth area and our jumping off point for the Bahamas by 2:00. We plan to stay at the Rivieria Municipal Marina in order to prepare Argo for tomorrows crossing but the current is so strong here it is impossible to manoeuver into the slip provided. We opted for the more expensive location of Sailfish Marina where the slip is at least large enough to accomodate Argo's bulk.

Sailfish Marina is located on Singer Island, a manicured, prosperous, residential oasis. We enjoyed walking around the island on its cobbled footpaths which weaved through well cared for parkettes. The marina/resort is hopping with activity and there is a popular restaurant and live entertainment as well as a small craft market. We do find the charge of $3.00 a foot a bit excessive though, especially when we realize it would have been cheaper to rent a room at the resort!!

Argo's lines are checked, decks are scrubbed and gear is stowed, all in anticipation of tomorrow's crossing. The weather window is small and is only expected to last for 2 days so we are anxious to catch this opening and plan to leave at the break of dawn.

Monday January 26th

It would be easy to linger in Vero Beach, what with the free bus shuttle into town and all the other features, but we deraft from Orion and are on our way by 8:00. As we leave the anchorage, we spot for the first time, two boats that we had encountered on the first leg of our journey; Dawntreader, who we came across hard aground in the Dismal Swamp, and InTransition, from Elizabeth City.

The day is sunny and warm. Our luck is holding.

The crew elects to stop at LobLolly Marina & Condo complex, but after negotiating the narrow entry and safely tieing up at their T dock, we find that the complex is under construction and there are no amenities on offer - no showers, no laundry and really not even a washroom. We decide that this really isn't worth the $2,00 a foot that was being charged, so we untied, turned around, and anchored at Peck Lake which was directly across from the complex. It was beautiful! There was easy access to the ocean and we went for a lovely stroll along the beach.

The boat anchored next to us, Zingeroo, was from Thunderbay Ontario and after a brief discussion it was discovered that the captains had several friends in common. It is truly a small world.

The evening is so pleasant that half the crew sleep in the cockpit.

Sunday January 25

We leave the peaceful anchorage at Cocoa around 7:30 and travelled for several hours without seeing much other boat traffic. The ICW is quite wide here and there are many lovely houses far off in the distance. The day is once again sunny and mild, a perfect day for motoring. We manage to capture some of our dolphin sightings on film today.

Just before noon, there was a huge crunching sound from Argo's hull as she passed over an Oyster Bed that was right in the middle of the channel. Fortunately it sounded worse than it actually was, at least for Argo, we're not prepared to comment for the Oysters!

Traffic picked up in the afternoon and as we approached Vero Beach there was a buzz of activity with jet skiers, fishermen, waterskiiers, and Sunday Cruisers all out on the water enjoying the beautiful day.

We arrived at Vero Beach Municipal Marina by 3:30 and prepare to hook onto a mooring ball. The dockmaster informs us that there is another boat already on the mooring ball and we will be sharing with it. So, instead, we raft with the other boat, Orion, and save ourselves the trouble of snagging the mooring ball, which is a relief to the deck hands.

Vero Beach is sometimes referred to as Velcro Beach, as so many sailboats have a hard time leaving this comfortable anchorage, and we can certainly see the attraction of this location. The price is unbeatable, allmost laughable at $12.00 and the harbour is very protected and secure. A boat could easily weather any storm comfortably here.

Saturday January 24th

I will begin by saying that this is the first time we have had an internet connection for almost a week so we have some catching up to do. Fortunately Louie maintains a detailed daily journal, so I will be able to refer to it when my memory fails.

We woke up early, 6:30, and rushed off to the New Symerna Beach Farmers market which is held every Saturday on Canal street, just one short block away from the marina. The locals had informed us that this was a market that should not be missed and we were not disappointed. After purchasing fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, pounds of fresh baked goods, bags of produce, and reluctantly refusing the delicious boiled peanuts, we rushed back to the boat in order to cast off by 8:00.

Cocoa is the destination for today and there is a secure anchorage mentioned in the boating books which we hope to reach by mid afternoon. But first there are a series of bridges for Argo to navigate through: 2 bascule, 1 swing, 1 train. Passing by Cape Canaveral, we can see the big shuttle buildings.

The day is fair and sunny, a perfect day for motoring. There are so many dolphin sightings, a pod of more than 30 at one time. After enjoying an idealic sunset, the crew retired early in anticipation of another early start.

New Smyrna Beach

Kaching$$$, Kaching$$, Kaching. That is the sound of money being poured into the bottomless pit that IS Argo's HOLD.

After receiving the final bill for repairs to Argo's transmission, the crew dulled the pain with a bit of wine and headed off to bed early.

Everyone was up before the sun this morning and eager to depart. We left Palm Coast Marina behind at around 7:30a.m. It was icy and cold but the forcast promised a sunny and warming day ahead.

The trip down the ICW was fast and pleasant. We travelled with a swift current and had speeds of 8 plus knots. The sun was wonderful and it was good to be on the move once again.

There were many dolphin sightings, with some of them swimming alongside the boat to keep us company. Signs indicated that this is also an area to cautiously watch out for Manatee as well, but not one was spotted. So the score is: Dolphins - plenty
Alligators - three
Manatee - zero

New Smyrna Beach Municipal Marina is our dockage for tonight and we are once again relying on the kindness of strangers and have imposed on the local real estate agency which has allowed us to do some quick blogging in their offices.

We plan to get an early start tomorrow after checking out the local farmer's market which takes place on the main street of downtown New Smyrna, starting at 7:00a.m.

Tomorrow's destination will be an anchorage somewhere beyond Titusville.

Thursday January 22rd

Diver arrives to work on boat from the bottom.


Diver disappears.


All heads down examining the inner workings of Argo.

The repaired transmission is loaded back on to the boat.


Crew celebrates with a huge meal of bacon and eggs, yummmmmm!!!

Saturday January 17th to Wednesday January 21st

While waiting for a vital part for the transmission, we rent a car and tour old, historic St. Augustine, the Kennedy Space Center, and of course, the Outlet Malls ......



WASTING


AWAY

AGAIN

IN

MARGURITAVILLE
(better known as Palm Coast Florida)