March 16-24, 2018 Abacos, Bahamas

We pulled up anchor in Ft Lauderdale @ 6:15 AM, before day break. We knew our first half hour was moving south in the ICW & we could see Ok because of the city & bridge lights. By the time, (7:15 AM),  that we reached the inlet it was first light, just as planned. We enjoyed a beautiful ride across the gulf stream with only a bit of a swell.  We had forgotten to have our bottom cleaned while in Marathon and we really noticed a slowing in our speed.  We were the lead boat with Confetti and Lauryl Anne following but as the day progressed, we realized we were slowing everyone down and we were under a time restraint so we gave up the lead. We needed to reach West End in the Bahamas by 4:30 in order to check in to Customs. If you don't check in, you can not get off the boat & you need to fly the yellow quarantine flag until you check in. We did not want to make everyone miss check in.  As it turned out, we made it in the nick of time to check in too, so none of us had to stay on our boats.

It was a beautiful afternoon & evening, calm & picturesque. West End was a new stop for us and it was great.  Customs is right on site and the staff was very helpful.  There were picnic tables right in front of our boats, a sand beach & colorful condos. There is a pool and fitness center too that we did not use. Love being back in the beautiful clear azure waters of the Bahamas.

The next morning,  Lauryl Anne in the lead with Confetti & Day Dreams following, left the docks and headed to our first anchorage: Great Sail in the Abacos.  It was a calm day on the Bank.  We tucked in towards the West side of the island. There were only 2 other boats with us.  We explored a bit by dinghy, saw turtles & used our new Look bucket to check our anchor. We hosted cocktails on our bridge to watch the sunset.  We stayed 2 nights but the winds picked up the second day so we didn't explore any further. We did put our kayak together on the bridge.


When cruising like this, flexibility is the key.  We were hoping to explore some of the outer uninhabited eastern islands such as Cabe Cay but in the morning, we found out about an approaching storm. With higher winds forecasted, we decided we needed to find better protection.  All moorings were full in Green Turtle but Confetti found us slips at Leeward Yacht Club in Black Sound, Green Turtle Cay.

We stopped at Cooperstown & anchored for the night on our way to Black Sound.  Confetti & I (Jan) walked the town, it was quite depressed, definitely not a tourist town.  The school looked nice.

To enter Black Sound, we needed mid to high tide for adequate depth, so we timed our entrance for almost high tide.  Leeward Yacht Club dock master, Marvin & James, the general manager helped us tie up. There is a pool, bar, restaurant and even Pickle Ball Courts here.   LYC was another new spot for us and we were impressed. The six of us rode our bikes around the town of New Plymouth & then on to White Sound.  We had stayed in White Sound last year & really liked The Bluff House's Tranquil Turtle.  This year, we enjoyed a drink there & met up with some more Krogen owners, Last Mistake.  The Tranquil Turtle is nestled on a white sand beach on the Sea of Abaco. It is very picturesque.

About a mile across the island, is a beautiful white sand cove where Dave & Mack snorkeled & conched. Later, we all rode our bikes to Pineapple's for Happy Hour but by then it had become quite windy.  We had a drink and then biked inland to McIntosh's for dinner.  It was delicious.

The next day, Trish & I rode our bikes back to town, to grocery shop.  There are actually 3 good grocery stores in New Plymouth.  I proceeded to come down with a rotten cold.  For Happy Hour, Dave & Mack with the help of a nice Bahamian cleaned their few conch they found.  Tricia turned it into great Conch Salad.  We sat up at the Fire Pit but didn't have a fire, it was warm enough & too windy.

We had sat out the storms & winds and now it was time to move. We three Krogens cruised north to a lovely anchorage @ Powell Island.  White sand beaches and just a few boats. Our wlndless decided to die as I was putting the anchor down; it ran slow, sounded strained and the motor got hot.  Then the next day, it decided to spew oil all over the anchor cabinet which I smelled in our bed. Yuck!

We took our dinghies into the beach where there was a nice trail marked by marine flotsam to get us over to the ocean.  Tricia found some pretty shells for her granddaughters. We found beautiful big starfish in the crystal clear water along with many turtles. We enjoyed Happy Hours aboard Lauryl Anne & Confetti.

March 11-15, 2018 our cruise north to Pompano, FL

Cruising north from Marathon on the east coast was something we hadn't done yet.  We like to explore new cruising grounds so we left White Marlin at first light to make our way to Biscayne Bay, just south of Miami, before dark. Our ride was pleasant with a slight swell and pretty blue water. We saw some Man O Wars floating on the surface and a few Dolphins.

Miami

To enter Biscayne Bay, we followed the shoreline, not the channel into No Name Harbor.  Doug checked with Tow Boat to make sure there was plenty of water & we got the OK to go. No Name was too full of boats: 12 of them & some were partying. We decided to anchor outside the Harbor which was fine because it wasn't windy. Anchor was set by 7:20 PM & sunset was 7:35, 15 minutes to spare.

Our next stop was Jim & Elaine's place on their canal, behind their house in Pompano Beach.  We had to be creative in our tying up on his boat lift but with Jim's help, it worked great.  We had visited Jim & Elaine a few times here but always by car so it was fun coming by boat.  I couldn't board the boat without help but we didn't spend much time aboard anyway. They treated us to dinner at Seafood World & then at Zuckerelli's, both were delicious. Such wonderful friends!

We left Deaton's to find a place to anchor where we would meet Lauryl Anne & Confetti to stage for our crossing over the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.  We hoped to anchor for the night in Lake Sylvia but it was full of boats, 15 of them.  Confetti was already docked at Coral Ridge Yacht Club and right next to that is an anchorage called Sunrise Bay.  Sunrise Bay was empty and a great spot.  Confetti opted to stay on the wall at the Yacht Club and Lauryl Anne joined us in the anchorage a few hours after we arrived.  First night, we had a pre Captains meeting aboard Lauryl Anne then the next day, we tied our dinghy to Confetti & walked 2 blocks to Publix & Starbucks.  Later in the day, Doug & I walked a bit farther across Sunrise Bridge to the beach on the ocean, which was busy with beachgoers. That evening, we attended the Yacht Club Cruisers Dinner.

March 1-10, 2018 Marathon, FL

Mark, Lori & Mike

Dale & Terry

Rhonda & Bruce

Our time in Marathon was filled with lots of fun events: potlucks, a trivia night, a Margarita tasting party, walks on the beach, bike rides, dinghy rides, campfires and dinners at Castaways, Burdines & KK breakfast @ Sunset Grill.  New friendships were made & old friendships were refreshed.

Doug, Mike & Jan

Amy & Bob

We just had re-watched Jaws
the day before we found this

On our dinghy ride, we cruised by this house on it's own private island, which we had seen last winter.  It looks a bit different this year after Hurricane Irma, all of the sub base washed away exposing the foundation.  Gives you a visual insight into the power of the storm.

Deep fried Key Lime Pie

Manatees love fresh water

White Marlin sunset

Feb 11-Mar 1, 2018 Marathon, FL

For the last 3 winters, we have been spending a month at White Marlin Marina in Marathon.  We weren't sure what we'd find upon arrival this year due to Hurricane Irma passing through here last September.  Of course, we should have guessed that Annabella & Sue would have it totally under control.  They began to set up the workers prior to the hurricane hitting and then they fed & housed them while they were working. So the Marina actually looked better than the year before.  They have a new beach/sunset area where some of the dock was washed away. The fire pit has been improved & enlarged with pavers.

A welcoming party was on hand when we pulled in, some old friends from years past: Amy & Bob, Rhonda & Bruce, Terry & Dale, Mark & Lori, Mike & Deb, Bill & Grace. That's another nice feature of this marina, the same boaters tend to return each winter.  We also had Lauryl Anne down the road from us at Marathon Marina.

A few days after arriving, we rented a car with David & Tricia & headed to the Miami Boat Show.  The traffic is always a concern but David handles it well.  We arrived right on time but then the shuttle bus we took from the parking garage, got lost with us on it and it took a very long time for us to get to the show.  The lines were long for will call, where John Gear so nicely had left us tickets.  The lines actually were not moving so we ended up buying discount tickets through L.A.'s insurance broker. We enjoyed seeing Larry's new KK, "Together" and chatting with John, Bill, Jennifer & Tom.

David, Tricia, Doug & I decided to act like tourists and go to the Dolphin Research Center. The Dolphins were so fun, skillful & beautiful.

On one of the beautiful clear calm days, a group of us from White Marlin took off in our dinghies and cruised to the big sand bar on the ocean side not too far from the State Park beach. This year the  water looks great: clear & blue and the sand rippled under our feet.

We really loved using our new E-bikes in Marathon because it made that long, straight, windy 7 mile ride from our marina to Lauryl Anne's marina quite effortless. One of our nice calm sunny days, we rode to Marathon Marina to play on David & Tricia's water toys.  We practiced on the Stand Up Boards (SUB's) and kayaked around the bay.  After all the exercising, David took us for a dinghy ride to check out Boot Key Mooring field which took a major hit in the hurricane, sinking many boats.  Surprisingly, the mooring balls were all back in place and there were many boats moored on them.  We did see salvaged damaged boats mostly clumped together near the old bridge but some were scattered throughout the harbor.  There were new roofs & buildings under construction and a few buildings still in bad shape.  All in all, we saw much progress almost daily in restoration & clean up.

Our only visitors this season came by boat, we were glad to see Jim, Elaine & Toro.  Last year they also traveled by boat from Pompano Beach but this year, it was a bit rougher cruise but they made it with no problem. We took Deaton's fast boat to Key West for the day, a great cruise with great company.