Friday April 30th
travel - Legacy Marina to RPYC
Fort Myers FL
NOTE
click on any of
the thumbnail photos for additional photos
pre cruise photos
|
Travel - Legacy Marina to Royal
Palm Yacht Club - Fort Myers
... the
first leg of our trip this summer is
around the corner to the docks at Royal
Palm Yacht Club for a Kentucky Derby
Party and Fleet -In ... with most
everything on board and stowed we left
Legacy Harbor Marina and were docked at
RPYC by 09:00 am .. we will stay here
until next Thursday morning when we
leave for the Annual Mother's Day Cruise
to South Seas Resort on Captive Island
...
|
Sunday May 02nd
location - Fort Myers FL
|
Travel - Fort Myers to Picnic
Island - Burial at Sea ...
...
our dear friend Nicole recently lost her
husband Ronnie and asked the crew of Dee
Light if we would assist her in
scattering his cremains to the Gulf of
Mexico ... on Sunday we welcomed aboard
Nicole, along with a few family members
and close friends to bid farewell to
Ronnie ... it was a beautiful and moving
ceremony with P/C Wendeborn officiating
and we feel very privileged and honored
to have been a part of it ...
|
Thursday May 06th
location - Fort Myers FL
Thursday May 06th
thru
Sunday May 09th
Dee Light at South Seas
location - South Seas FL
Thursday May 06th
thru
Sunday May 09th
RPYC Mothers Day Cruise
location - South Seas FL
|
Travel - Fort Myers to South Seas
Resort, Captiva Island
.. promptly at 8:00 am our guests
for the weekend, Win and Lars came
aboard and we departed the RPYC docks at
about 08:15 am ... the morning was
sunny and warm and we had a great trip
down the river and up Pine Island Sound
... as the marina had reservations for
well over 35 boats as part of our fleet
for the Mother's Day Cruise we had hoped
to beat the rush and get docked fairly
early ... however as we neared the
entrance channel for South Seas Resort
the dock master advised us that our slip
would not be available until after 11:00
am ... oh well - best laid plans ... so
we slowed to around 10 knots and
leisurely made our way to South Seas ...
as we were entering their harbor we
waved and said hello to our neighbors at
Legacy Marina on BEECH TO BEACH just as
they were leaving ...
.. after docking and hooking up the
power and water we successfully tested
the new Water Maker as this was the
first time opportunity we had to run it
in salt water rather than the
fresh/brackish water we have at Legacy
... hurrah! ... ran great and we topped
off the fresh water tank ...
Thursday May 06th thru Saturday
May 08th ..we have had a
wonderful time on the Mother's
Day Cruise at South Seas with
our hosts and hostesses outdoing
themselves with all the food,
libations and entertainment
planned and executed with
perfection for well over 100
participants ... for more
details and photos check out the
RPYC website:
.. we have had only one minor
hiccup while our guests have
been aboard ... the fresh water
valve got stuck on the front
head and caused a small flood in
the guest bath and v-berth ...
thank goodness we decided to
pull up the yucky old carpet
last fall and install a wood
floor ... in a few minutes it
was mopped up into the bilge
with no soggy feet to worry
about ...
.. 52 points for one word in a
Scrabble Game !!!? ... Win
has got Carol hooked on an
iPhone/iPad App
Words with
Friends
- a version of scrabble
... she can't seem to put it
down ...
|
Sunday May 09th
Mothers Day
location - South Seas FL
BuoyWeather
Marathon to Bimini Bahamas
updated on May 09th 2010
UUUUFFFDDAAA !!!
|
Travel - South Seas to Fort Myers
Beach Florida .. 105 nm ( original
destination Marathon FL - 130 nm )
.. after we bade farewell and many
thanks to our hosts we left the dock at
South Seas Marina at about 09:30 am
...before leaving the dock noticed the
monitor on the Garmin Navigation Weather
unit would not power up and will plan to
check the connections while underway ...
the weather continues to be hot and
sunny ... as we traveled thru Red Fish
Pass around the north end of Captiva
Island the seas were minimal with a few
gentle rollers and a light breeze from
the Northwest ... it was a beautiful
Mother's Day morning and we were making
about 18 knots ... just after passing
the Naples area Carol spotted a large
Sea Turtle directly off the starboard
side of the boat ... at about 11:15 am (
just south of Marco Island .. see track
) the starboard engine raced up in rpm's
and Dee Light immediately slowed in her
forward momentum .. Oh Noooooo! ... the
first mate said what was that?! ... did
a prop fall off ?? .. shaft ?? ..
transmission ?? .. UUUFFDDAA !!!
.. after weighing several options
(including continuing on to Marathon)
the crew decided that the most prudent
decision would be to make a U-turn and
head back to Fort Myers Beach on one
engine ( 11 knots ) .. the seas, winds
and current continued to cooperate as we
made our way thru Matanzas Pass where
the captain was able to make a
"masterful docking" on the outside dock
at Gulf Marine Ways ...
...
after calling and cancelling our dockage
reservation at Poncho's and
"teleconferencing" with our lead
mechanic Joe at Universal we have
settled in with dinner planned aboard so
as to stay clear of the 2 large guard
dogs that roam the boatyard at night
(and not let Autumn wander too far from
the boat) ... in the meantime we have an
ample 50 amp power connection which
means A/C and refrigeration (along with
the 32 cartons of ice cream in the
freezer) .. in the morning we will have
the boat yard take a look ...
|
Monday
May 10th
location - Fort Myers Beach FL
UUUFFFDDAA !!
dinner at Parrot Key
'click' to enlarge
|
Location - Gulf Marine Ways -
Fort Myers Beach Florida -
this was to be our day to do the
crossing .. UGH !! .. at 07:00 am the
waters here are all but FLAT .. first
thing we called Gulf Marine Diesel (
239-561-9701 ) Wendel Angel and then
took a walk with Autumn and checked in
with David at Gulf Marine Ways ( our
landlord ) .. by mid morning Angel from
Gulf Marine Diesel made it to DEE
LIGHT
.. after a brief inspection he
determined that the Rubber Plates in the
Transmission has failed most likely due
to fatigue ..the coupling between the
engine and transmission will have to be
replaced ... unfortunately it is no
small job but later in the day Angel
called to let us know they would be able
to start the work tomorrow morning ...
once they begin we will have a better
idea of how long it might take ...
... we
launched the dinghy and with Autumn we
headed over to Parrot Cay at Salty Sam's
to grab a bite for dinner ... as we
approached the docks we spotted the US
Coast Guard with two of their launches
out front and Fire Rescue had a couple
of vehicles in the parking lot ... seems
they were attempting to get someone off
a boat but we didn't get any details ...
...
after settling into a nice shady booth
on the deck and ordering a drink we were
approached by Captain Vincent with the
charter S/V ADVENTURE
... ladies, he is the very charming
captain of a lovely sailboat ...
a
Morris Yacht built in the classic-style
in Bass Harbor, Maine ... he will take 1
to 6 passengers and his rates are very
reasonable ... for additional info you
can call him at: (732) 859-9448 ... he
sails daily out of Salty Sam's Marina
...
... the
dinner at Parrot Cay was excellent ...
they are offering some nice sunset
specials during the summer season and we
enjoyed a great Caesar Salad and an
entree of fresh grilled Snapper
over rice and veggies for $12.95 ..after
dinner we were invited for a tour aboard
ADVENTURE
... while walking to the boat we were
told the sailboat usually moored in the
next slip had lost its engine and was
attempting to sail in ... the guys
jumped in LIL DEE
(our dinghy) to help them get in ...
with 3 gals aboard it wasn't entirely
clear if the captain really wanted any
additional assistance?!! ... anyway,
they made it in without incidence ...
... we
made it back to DEE LIGHT before dusk
and after a dish of ice cream we called
it an early evening ...
|
Tuesday May 11th
thru
Saturday May 15th
location - Fort Myers Beach FL
Dee Light repair started
Thursday at 01:30 pm - "the
part"
aground
Friday
at 10:30 am - "the part"
dinner with Autumn
|
Location -
Gulf Marine Ways - Fort Myers Beach
Florida -
...
well it's not Bimini but we are
still on the water! ... mid
morning Wendel with Gulf Marine
Diesel arrived and immediately began
work on the repairs to our starboard
engine ... in the meantime Howard (
RPYC Management Committee Chairman )
asked Marv to chair the meeting on
Wednesday as he had a conflict and
also asked Marv to attend the board
meeting on Thursday .. so back to
the real world with Howard to get
one of our cars ...
...
as Wendel's business is presently
very busy he was unable to get any
of his mechanics from either of
their offices ( Fort Myers or Fort
Lauderdale ) .. thus he started the
project by himself .. after spending
a short day on Tuesday and a full
day on Wednesday he has accomplished
moving and blocking the SB engine
forward and was able to pull out the
'broken' part by mid afternoon on
Thursday ... the part is now on
order and will hopefully be
delivered "in no time" ...
...
in the meantime we have been
enjoying the various restaurants
located on Fort Myers Beach as there
is quite a variety reachable by
dinghy ... after our first evening
at the Parrot Cay we tried Bonita
Bill's for fresh grouper and some
wonderful onion rings and Nervous
Nellie's which is in the old Snug
Harbor location ... we
also walked down to Time's Square
for an ice cream treat after dinner
... Autumn has enjoyed her evenings
out with us too ... on Thursday we
all took a "trip into town" and
after Marv's meeting at the yacht
club we made a couple of stops
before heading back to Dee Light for
the evening ...
Friday -
David
at Gulf Marine Ways has asked us to
move Dee Light to the inside dock in
the basin as they will be bringing
in some work barges this weekend ...
so first thing Friday morning "the
boys" were at the boat to help move
Dee Light ... winds were calm and
with the help of 3 strong sets of
arms we had the boat soon turned
around and backed into the other
side of the dock ... piece of cake!
......
while we are waiting for "The Part"
we now have Joe with Universal
working on our fresh water pump
which keeps tripping the breaker ...
(and we keep getting these emails
from folks that tell us "well it's a
boat!")
..
Wendel from Gulf Marine Diesel
called at about 10:00 am and said
that The Part ( Coupling ) had
arrived and that he would be at Dee
Light shortly ..
in
the meantime Joe from Universal
arrived and determined we needed a
new fresh water Pressure Tank which
he located, picked up and got
installed ... and in the meantime
Mayer Rubin stopped by and helped
Marv solve a computer issue he had
been dealing with ... by 04:00 pm
both Joe and Rubin were done and
Wendel was still hard at it in the
Engine Room finally calling it a day
around 7 PM after getting the
coupling in place...
recap
of week ..
the
Crew of Dee Light is still
at FMB .. but all is going
as well as can be expected
.. our issue last Sunday was
that we had the 'Coupling'
in the Starboard Engine /
Transmission go out .. to
replace it the Engine had to
be moved forward and
elevated .. UGH !! .. the
Transmission has to be
unbolted and moved back ..
the Coupling had to be
removed and replaced .. the
new Coupling could not be
ordered until it was removed
as the unique to each
Coupling numbers are stamped
on the Coupling .. UUFDDAA
!! .. this is now ( Saturday
) all done .. what is unreal
is that it took our mechanic
( Wendel - Gulf Marine
Diesel ) a total of about 24
man hours to do it .. Wendel
is unreal !! .. anyway the
Engine should be lowered,
moved back and realigned on
Monday and with our next
weather window coming up
next Wednesday we hope to be
on our way again !! ..
|
Sunday
May 16th
thru
Tuesday May 18th
location - Fort Myers Beach FL
Osprey on top of Dredger
engine back in place
Carol's new metal detector
Barb, (Pat) and Jim with their
new boat
|
Location - Gulf Marine Ways -
Fort Myers Beach Florida ..
...
it is very quiet here on the beach
on Sunday mornings ... after
breakfast we got ready and took a
drive to Cape Coral for church ...
after the service we ran a few more
small errands with a final stop at
Publix for a few additional cartons
of ice cream (it has been a
stressful week and needed to
replenish our supply!) ..
the
Dredger was launched with the Osprey
right on top of the rigging for the Boom
..
as of
06:00 pm today ( Monday ) the work
on our Starboard Engine is all but
done .. if all goes as planned we
will take on fuel Tuesday am (
Bollards Oil ) and will be heading
to Marathon on Wednesday am .. after
spending the night at Marathon we
are planning to head to Bimini on
Thursday early am ..
we picked up Carol's new metal
detector ....
dinner at the Big Game ( without
Autumn ) .. Packer Bar next to
Parrot Key .. got back just as the
rains came .. hoisted the Dinghy and
what a surprise .. UUUUFFFDDDAA !!
.. no wonder why the Water Maker
intake filter got clogged up ..
cleaned the Dinghy in the rain and
in the dark ..
Tuesday .. "tar balls" found on the
shores of Key West .. YUCK !! ..
however it seems unlikely that they
are related to the Gulf Oil Spill ..
at about 07:45 am the Dredger with
tug docked next to us headed out for
Naples to do a shore restoration
project .. and at about 08:25 am we
waved at Ernie who was aboard the
Key West Express with his Power
Squadron group as they headed down
to Key West for a couple of days ..
.
... at 08:45 am Wendel was at Dee
Light to make the final adjustments
to the Starboard Engine ... while
Wendel was completing his work our
friends Jim and Barb stopped by ...
they were at the yard doing an out
of water survey and sea trial on a
38 foot Sea Ray (see photo of them
with Pat) ...
FINALLY Wendel made some last
adjustments to the engines and
pronounced all systems "good to go"
and by 11:30 am we were on our way
to Ballards OIl Co. for fuel (2.85
inc tax) .. after fueling we
returned to the our dock at Gulf
Marine Ways with everything working
GREAT! ...
we headed back into town to drop our
car at Legacy Marina and planned to
have dinner at Royal Palm YC ... as
a bonus Tonya with RC Media Services
(our wedding photographer) called to
tell us our album had arrived and
she would drop it off at the Club so
we could take it with us on our
voyage! ... it came out
beautifully and they did a GREAT
JOB! ... after dinner Lars and Win
drove us back to the boat and we
fell into bed as we wanted to head
out at first light ...
|
Wednesday
May 19th
travel - Fort Myers Beach to
Marathon
start of a great day
Fort Myers Beach to Marathon
dinner
|
Travel - Fort Myers Beach to
Marathon 124.4 Nautical Miles -
...
up at 0500 and FINALLY on our way to
Marathon ... left the dock at 0630
... 'click' on the orange Click Here
image above for our current position
and to follow our track .. Joel on
Steelin' Time
greeted us good morning as he passed
by our dock on his way to Key West
...
...
we watched the sunrise over the
buildings as we left Matanzas Pass
... unfortunately that was the last
of the sun we saw today as the skies
were very overcast ... however seas
were smooth with calm winds out of
the SE which made for a very
comfortable voyage as we traveled
past Naples and Marco Island ...
...
around 1000 as we were approaching
the northern tip of Cape Sable we
began watching a series of heavy
rain bands on the Garmin unit and
kept an eye on them as they were
moving up from the south thru the
Keys
...
about 1115 we hit light rain and
choppy seas and at 1230 we traveled
thru a particularly heavy band which
gave us steady winds close 25-30
knots ... we slowed our speed a bit
for a more comfortable ride until it
finally began to lighten up after
about an hour ... rain continued to
follow us all the way into Boot Key
but also managed to get most of the
salt and grime rinsed off Dee Light
... forecast for tomorrow is for a
"disturbed weather pattern" with
more rain for the morning ...
a
Shrimp Boat named Miss Suzanne
........
after refueling and straightening up
a bit we headed for dinner at one of
our favorite "fish joints" The
Castaway ... it is a short walk but
we still enjoyed the golf cart
shuttle which picked us up at the
boat ... we enjoyed a great dinner
of fresh grilled Snapper over pasta
and of course, their world famous
Honey Buns which truly melt in your
mouth! ... as Autumn is
entirely worn out after all her
recent activities we left her
guarding the boat (which really
means she will have a good nap on
her favorite chair) ..
returning from dinner we watched a
shrimp boat (Miss Suzanne)
come in on the next dock and our
shuttle driver made the observation
that it had been MANY years since
she had seen a shrimp boat up in
these waters as they normally do not
come up this way?! ...
|
Thursday May 20th
travel - Marathon to Bimini
Buoy Report for today
YEA !!
Marathon to Bimini
a
great cruise
our sunset
|
Travel - Marathon Florida to
Bimini - 130 Nautical Miles -
.. we had planned to get up at 05:00
however Marv was up at 02:30 am with
last minute preparations and emails)
... we wanted to get an early start
and at 06:25 we untied the lines and
FINALLY we were on our way to Bimini
.. after the Storm Cells passed thru
yesterday the Seas ( see Buoy Report
) have settled down today .. YEA !!
..
the
water was flat-calm as we pulled
away from Boot Key and remained
relatively calm as we made our way
out to Hawk's Channel ... the few
rain cells that were left over from
yesterday's disturbance stayed well
to the south and east of our course
(with only a few rain drops on the
windshield) and we had a great ride
along the coast of the Keys ... by
the time we reached the Key Largo
region the sun had reappeared from
behind the clouds and all we saw to
the east were big puffy white clouds
in the far distance ...
...
we had a glorious trip across the
Florida Straits as the seas
flattened right out with the breezes
from ESE ... it was a also a good
day for fishing and saw numerous
small recreational boats out in the
Gulf Stream - no doubt getting some
fishing in today as they are
predicting windier weather for the
weekend .... we also saw quite a bit
of freighter traffic and altered our
course a couple of times to stay
well clear of their course ...
...
finally at 12:00 we spotted Bimini
and Cat Cay on the horizon and at
1:20 we navigated the very well
marked entrance channel into North
Bimini (the two sets of red and
green buoys are very easy to spot)
... after calling Bimini Bluewater
Marina we were warmly welcomed by CJ
who assisted us at the dock... we
were docked, tied up and had the
power connected by 1:45 and CJ
(Dockmaster) was kind enough to
deliver all the required Customs
Forms to the boat ... after filling
out all our forms the Captain had
the crew, Autumn and the boat
cleared for cruising in the Bahamas
... |
Friday May 21st
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina
our sunrise
Bimini Bay Marina
aground
aground
the Bahamas beverage
|
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina ..
...
after a very restful night we
enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and
caught up with a few things on the
boat ... around noon we launched the
dinghy and took a ride up to Bimini
Bay ... not much has changed - a few
more homes under construction ..
.the buildings and landscaping look
great and very well maintained and
they are making some new additions
and improvements in Marina Village
area ... we stopped in at their
poolside restaurant Sab,or to
inquire about reservations and then
went on to the deli shop for
pistachio and mango gelatos which
just hit the spot on a warm, sunny
afternoon in Bimini ...
we
wanted to say hello to Antoinette in
the Sales Office who so graciously
showed us around last year but
unfortunately she is now longer
there after the passing of her
husband earlier this year ...
however they did tell us she has
since opened a shop in Bailey Town
... we will try to get there later
...
Marv wanted to check out the
lighting on the wreaked freighter to
take some photos so we took Autumn
with us for the short walk over to
the ocean side beach ... the breeze
was delightful as we watched several
boats coming in for the weekend or
returning from fishing ... as
we walked back to the Bluewater
Marina we decided to catch a ride on
the local tram ($3.00 pp) for a ride
to Ms. Antoinette's Shop ...
while she was in Miami visiting
family her friend Andrea showed us
around her lovely shop - lots
of candles, handmade soaps, pottery,
pillows, jewelry, handbags, etc.-
all beautifully displayed ... Andrea
also has a shop right across the
street and help each other out as
needed ... the tram picked us
back up for the return ride to the
marina ..
after cleaning up and changing
clothes we got back on the tram
headed for Porgy Bay ... we ended up
at Edith's Pizza and Bahamian
Restaurant which is dine-in or
take-away - the dine- in is a
covered open-air deck overlooking
the bay side ... the tables and
booths are rustic (Bahamian -style)
- which generally means pieces of
plywood painted bright colors but
the tables were neatly set with
brightly colored placemats and real
silverware - and the food was
absolutely delicious - some of the
best grilled Grouper we have had!
... along with fresh baked bread,
salad, green beans and peas and rice
we just had to try their pizza and
we can highly recommend the conch
pizza - also delicious
with a home-made crust!
As
a side note ... before leaving the
States we had been hearing some
negative reports about Bimini and
"the locals" - we are happy to
report that we have found Bimini and
the people very friendly and helpful
and in general have found the
overall area cleaner with more
remodeling/construction going on
since our last visit ... the
adjacent property to Bluewater is
the Big Game Marina which has been
in bankruptcy - they have just
completed extensive renovations of
the docks and resort with the
restaurant and rooms scheduled to
reopen the weekend of May 27th .. we
hear the new owner is Guy Harvey
(the marine artist and
conservationist) ... |
Saturday
May 22nd
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina
aground
again
finding
treasures?
|
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina ..
winds have been picking up from the
NE throughout the day ( 4 to 6 just
West of Bimini ) .. combination of a
high moving into Florida and a
Tropical Low that is East of the
Bahamas .. we did a number of
'things' around the boat .. ran the
water maker and filled the fresh
water tank ..
in
the afternoon we took a walk on the
beach again ... Marv to "experiment"
with his camera on the freighter
wreak again and Carol to try out the
new "detector" (which will take a
little getting used to) ...
on the way back we stopped at the
local museum which has some nice
exhibits depicting of the history of
Bimini ... great photos of Ernest
Hemingway with his family,
bootlegging during Prohibition,
Chalk's Airlines, etc. ...
this being a Saturday the main
street of Alice Town was very busy
with traffic (if anyone remembers,
this is the street where the closing
scene in "Silence of the Lambs" with
Anthony Hopkins was filmed) ...
it
was a lovely evening with a nice
breeze so we dug out the folding
chairs from the cockpit storage and
decided to have dinner on the bow
tonight with the aqua and turquoise
waters at our feet ... after dinner
we walked over to the beach with
Autumn to catch the sunset ...
mostly obscured by clouds but still
managed to show us a brilliant
magenta finish to the day ...
|
Sunday May 23rd
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina
Bimini
Wesley Methodist Church
Kalik at
Bimini Sands Marina
|
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina ..
on Sunday
it was another sunny and breezy day in
Bimini as we took the short walk up the
hill to the Bimini Wesley Methodist
Church overlooking the ocean in time for
their 11:00 am service ... since
it was Pentecost Sunday the service was
conducted by Randy McCurdy who is the
Director of Youth Ministries based in
Nassau ... we were also treated to the
baptism of baby Alejah Lanai Culmer
( she didn't make a peep the entire
service! )
later in
the afternoon we took the dinghy with
Autumn to the Bimini Sands Marina
located on South Bimini ... we grabbed a
couple of cold drinks from their
cafe/ship store and walked over to the
pool to enjoy our drinks at the shady
bar area where several marina/resort
guests were spending the afternoon
around the pool ... the grounds
are very nice and well-kept and from the
other guests we learned there is a great
sushi restaurant not far from the marina
...
...
around 6 pm a few scattered showers
moved thru so we elected to have dinner
aboard again tonight but it ended up
being nice enough to enjoy the evening
on the bow of the boat ...
|
Monday May 24th
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina
sunrise
|
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina ..
it
is a Bahamian Holiday today - Whit
Monday or Pentecost Monday
celebrated the day after Pentecost
and is determined by the date of
Easter .. it is pretty quiet here
this week however they are expecting
a crowd for the upcoming Memorial
Day weekend ...
we
took the dinghy up to Bimini Bay
Marina again and took a look at a
very large construction project
which is underway on the north end
of the island but didn't have a clue
as to what they are building ...
looks very industrial? ... we also
popped in to the marina at the
Bimini Big Game Bar and Grill
where they are putting the finishing
touches for their grand opening this
weekend (
www.TheBigGameIsOn.com)
the restaurant and pool area
looks very nice - we will need to
definitely come back when they are
open! ... we also stopped by
the government dock to check out a
couple of HUGE buoy markers ...
|
Tuesday
May 25th
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina
what a day
plane crash
dinner at
Bimini Bay
|
In Port
- Bimini Blue Water Marina .. ( Diesel
$4.35 and Gasoline $5.05 ) ..
... we
spent our last day in Bimini relaxing
and getting the boat ready to depart in
the morning ... we stowed the dinghy on
bow and Marv cleaned up and rewired the
connections to the Garmin unit on the
dinghy that had been loose ...
... we
made reservations to have dinner at the
poolside Sabor Restaurant in Bimini Bay
and after checking out at the office at
Bluewater Marina and chatting with the
staff we asked them to call us a cab to
take us up to Bimini Bay ...just as we
stepped onto the curb to wait for our
taxi we heard a terrific explosion and
as we looked to the north we saw a huge
fire ball light up the sky ...
immediately after that several young
boys came running down the street
yelling that a plane had crashed on
Radio Beach! ... piecing together
bits and pieces of info it seems a local
pilot by the name of Jimmy was flying
very low over the island and doing some
fancy maneuvers ( seems this was his
usual custom ) ... as he was was nearing
the island he clipped a power line with
a wing which caused the crash and
resulting fire ball along with a power
outage to the south end of Bimini ... we
watched in awe as everyone gathered to
the beach to see if they could assist
and watched several people take to the
water ... there were 2 people aboard the
plane (the pilot and a young woman) ...
unfortunately there were no survivors
and everyone is in shock and very upset
as we understand the young woman was
from a local family ... our prayers are
surely with them tonight ...
...
after dinner we called our original taxi
folks and since it was a lovely evening
we took a walk up to the main gate to
wait for them ... unfortunately (maybe
due to the airplane accident) they never
showed up - however Seymour with the
Security Office was kind enough to call
Scooper Taxi and eventually we made it
back to Bluewater where we found the
power had been restored ... |
Wednesday
May 26th
travel - Bimini to Nassau
to Bimini
Biminis
solution to the Gulf oil problem
|
Travel - Bimini Blue Water
Marina to Nassau to Bimini .. i.e. we
returned to Bimini ..
... we headed out at 06:30 am bound
for Nassau and navigated the Bimini
Channel into the deeper water ...
at 0700 just as we were about to
begin our route thru the cut at
Triangle Rocks we had an issue with
the Port Engine .. our first
dreaded thought was that the Port
Coupling went out as we had just had
that problem with the Starboard
Engine .. we turned the boat around
and headed back to Bimini on one
engine and were re-docked at
Bluewater by 08:00 am .. after a
trip to the engine room we
determined that the throttle linkage
on the Port Engine was apart and a
small fitting had come loose... all
was not lost however as Marv was
able to reconnect the fitting
... now all we needed was to find
the right material to secure it so
it wouldn't come apart again until
we could get a new fitting ... a
walk to the local hardware store was
in order and while waiting for them
to open (at 10:00 am) took a walk to
take a few more photos of the Plane
crash area ...
at
the hardware store
Marv
found a section of heavy fishing
line (actually a coated leader) and
was able to make a temporary fix
using the line and a couple of cable
tie wraps ... after the "surgery"
was completed we tested out the port
throttle and felt confident that we
could leave for Nassau in the
morning ... at that point our
Captain/Lead Mechanic put away his
bailing wire, rubber bands and
chewing gum and took a well-deserved
nap ...
we
ended the evening with a short walk
up to the Anchorage for an appetizer
plate of fish fingers, conch
tenders, conch fritters and cheese
sticks before getting the boat ready
for our early morning departure
...
|
Thursday
May 27th
travel - Bimini to Nassau
what a day
I can see
land
our Spot
Tracker
full moon
over Potters Cay
|
Travel - Bimini Blue Water
Marina to Nassau ..
...
we couldn't have asked for a better
day! ... after leaving (again) at
06:30 am we made our way back onto
the Bahama Bank with smooth seas all
the way ... on the Garmin unit we
watched a couple of large rain cells
on either side of our route ...
eventually they moved in opposite
directions and finally dissipated
altogether ... at 10:30 am we
reached the NW Channel and the
Tongue of the Ocean (with depths
over 8000 feet we watched as our
depth finder got stuck at 117 ft)
... as we passed Chub Cay at 11:15
am the waters remained very calm
with seas never more than 2 feet the
entire time ... a very comfortable
trip ...
...
at 1:30 pm we reached Red Buoy "No
1" marking the entrance to Nassau
Harbor ... we called Nassau Harbor
Control for permission to enter and
were advised to "stand by and clear
the Channel" for the Seaboard
Freighter that was entering directly
behind us .... since the freighter
is quite a bit bigger (and heavier)
than Dee Light
we nimbly made our way over to the
side of channel until they were well
past us and we were given permission
to continue on our way ...
at
2:00 pm we are finally docked at
Atlantis on Paradise Island - a
little later than anticipated but
"better later than never" ...
as a couple of boater friends have
reminded us "what's a couple of RTPs
(return to Ports) when there's so
much good fun to be had along the
way!" ... and "probably going
to be a great vacation, the best
ones usually start out with the most
trouble" ... we plan to stay until
at least Wed. June 2nd when a Marine
Max Group is expected to arrive ...
dinner at The Point .. full Moon
over Potters Cay ..
walk thru the
Atlantis
Marina etc .. had a great evening !!
..
|
Friday
May 28th
In
Port -
The Atlantis Marina, Nassau,
Providence Island
Dee Light
The Atlantis
Bananas Foster
|
In
Port -
The
Atlantis Marina,
Nassau, Providence Island
( 242-363-6068 )
... another beautiful day with light
winds and temps in the mid 80's -
what a great day !! ..
in
the morning while we had the outside
of Dee Light cleaned we used
the time to catch up on the domestic
chores inside of the boat ie.
vacuum, garbage detail, etc. .. we
have not had the opportunity to
really wash down the boat since
leaving Fort Myers ... Mario did a
wonderful job for us and when he was
finished she just sparkled!
and she's "lookin' pretty
sharp for an older boat" ...
in the afternoon we walked over to
the Water Park for a leisurely float
on the Lazy River ... it was so nice
we ended up making the loop twice
... finally decided to call it quits
and headed to the bar for a cold
drink ... not very busy so we had a
chance to chat with the bartender
and talked about the Gulf Oil Spill
- seems they are also worried about
the future impact if it comes here
and are beginning to make plans to
eventually cope with it ... the
economy and people here are so
interconnected to the sea ...
in the evening we walked up to the
Marina Village and stopped to chat
with a group of boaters on
Devil Dogs
from the Marco Island area ... they
have 2 dogs hence the name of the
boat and the black terrier was in
doggy quarantine this evening for
trying to jump ship earlier .. they
have recently purchased the boat and
would like to take it up to
Tennessee ... on the way to dinner
we noticed the new yachts that had
arrived and admired all the floral
arrangements, balloons and uniformed
staff as they waited for their
guests to arrive for the evening's
festivities ...
ended up on a couple of barstools at
Bimini Road Restaurant where we
enjoyed a nice Caesar salad while we
visited with a young honeymoon
couple from California ...
afterward we took the glass elevator
up to Cafe Martinique to be served
coffee in a silver coffee urn and
Bananas Foster prepared for us at
our cocktail table in the lounge all
the while listening to some great
live music ... oh - life can be so
"civilized" ...
|
|
|
NOTE
- this is
the End of
Log A
.. "click" on
Log B
to continue with our cruise
|
|
|
Links to
Log A or
Log B
or
Log C
or
Log D
or
Log E
or
Log F
or
Log G
or
Log H
or
Bahamas 2010 Main Menu
|
