Home Sweet Home – A Final Note

Friday May 29th, 2009

It is with mixed emotions that I write this, our final blog entry for our Bahamian Adventure. Although we are incredibly happy to be home, this marks the end of one of the most memorable times of our lives. Two years of planning and 10 and half months of experiencing all coming to a close.

Friends of ours, Mike and Marry, helped us reflect on the trip when we arrived in Chesapeake Bay in April. They asked us “If there was a Rose that we could describe for them, what would it be?”. Well, there were many many roses but if there was one single thing, we both would say that the rose was our relationship. To live on a small boat, secluded for the most part, with all kinds of challenges and come back 10 months later with more confidence in your relationship than when you left, that is truly a “Rose”. We didn’t even attempt to throw each other overboard; not that it didn’t occur to us on occasion.

Mike and Mary also asked, “If there was a thorn, what would it be?”. There were definitely some thorns; most insignificant, but the single thorn would be our dependence on the weather. The constant review of the wind forecasts was draining. Both of us generally try to honour our mutual value of “Freedom”. Well, weather affected our freedom every day. We felt we were constrained on where we could go and when we could go constantly. The possibilities would be endless if only the weather wasn’t a consideration.

The last question was “What were the buds we found along the way?“ There are far too many to include in the blog but here are our top 10:

1. The wide array of wonderful people we met and friends we made.
2. Skipper’s meetings. Tell me again, “How big was that wave?” and “The shark was how long?”.
3. Long walks along the white soft sand beaches.
4. Hiking in the jungle. (OK this one is Al’s not mine) Yoga on the Beach (Monica’s)
5. The colours and clarity of the Bahamian water.
6. Lobster hunting (Al’s) Lobster Eating (Monica)
7. Constantly exploring new terrain.
8. Not knowing what the next day will bring.
9. Constant sunshine
10. Learning – about different cultures, new hobbies, geography, history, oceanography etc. etc.

The picture reminds us of a day that was filled with roses and buds and not too many thorns.

What we appreciate now that we are home.

1. Our friends, family and Fibber, our cat. At least I appreciate Fibber.
2. An abundance of fresh water which means long hot showers, as long as we want and as often as we want. It also means we no longer have to clean the salt off the boat and shine up the chrome everyday.
3. Reliable communications both by Internet and by Phone
4. Electricity – not being concerned that you are using too much just by opening the fridge door. Using the microwave, oven, toaster, hair dryer.
5. Fresh veggies and fruit whenever we want and without hiking or biking miles to find them.
6. Our Car -- Freedom
7. Work – believe it or not, we both missed our work. How crazy is that?
8. Our house, our garden and all our things. Man we have a lot of stuff. It is like Christmas here every time we open up a cupboard or closet finding all the stuff we had forgotten about. Our own laundry facilities.
9. A long run. (Monica’s)
10. Not worrying about how strong and what direction the wind will be later today and tomorrow and the next day and the next day.

OK, I’m done rambling. We look forward to re-connecting with everyone over the next few months.

Weather forecast for tonight, Dark.
No Worries Man.

Trenton, to Fenelon Falls, Ontario

Tuesday May 26th, 2009

Yes, so close and yet so very far. We were ready well in advance to travel up the Trent Severn Waterway on the planned opening day May 15th. However the weather gods were not with us. Since there had been so much rain this spring in Ontario, the opening was indeed delayed. We didn’t know how long it would be but the indications were that it would likely be a week. So we literally abandoned ship in Belleville for 8 days. We left Painkiller in the good hands of Jim and Wilma, while my niece, Lexi and her friend Tyler picked us up and drove us to Peterborough where we had arranged to pick up a vehicle. We drove ourselves home to Fenelon Falls. A bit anti-climatic given we had been away so long. We were surprisingly sad to leave Painkiller behind.

The house was in great shape thanks to the help of our friends and neighbours who watched over it.

A week later, our friends Richard and Marolyn drove us back to Trenton where we started our journey home again. The trip up the Trent Severn was a bit painful. It should have been a breeze but the conditions and volume of boats made for a slow journey. We only got as far as lock 2 when we had our first delay. There were 5 boats locking through ahead of us and one of them ran aground between Lock 2 and Lock 3. Then another boat called in low water warning just after Lock 3. The combination of these events caused the waterway to shut down for two hours while they investigated. Ironically we had waited 8 days because of high water and now we were stopped because of low water. We actually don’t believe it was low as the boat that ran aground was off the channel and we believe the boat that called in low water was simply reading weeds which tend to throw off depth sounders. It was slow running for the first 3 days as each lock was piled up with boats and several were very slow boats that were crippled by the current coming down the system. We generally travel at 7.5 to 8 knots but needed to wait on a houseboat for 6 locks. The houseboat could only travel at 3 knots with the current. We were finally in a spot where we thought we could leave the houseboat behind and make some time when the Lakefield lockmaster said he had noticed a couch floating up stream and he wanted to get it out of the way for us. Garbage is a rare sighting in these waters but I guess it was Prom Night and some overzealous teenagers decided the couch would make a good boat for a late evening cruise. We spent the next 20 minutes watching painfully as the lockmaster tried to throw a line and bring it in. Finally he came back to the lock for a longer rope and we said not to worry, one of us would push it over to him with the boat. So, Papillon who was also traveling with us that day pushed it aside. See pictures of lockmaster catching the couch. Were we ever getting home?

The highlight of this leg of the trip was arriving at Stony Lake. I likened it to arriving in the Exuma Islands Bahamas. It was magical. I can’t believe that we had forgotten how beautiful our waterway is. If you read my last blog entry, you will know that Al and I were considering taking our boat back to the Erie Canal some year in the fall. Well, that’s not happening. Why would we go any further than our backyard? There is no water that we experienced between Lake Ontario and the Bahamas that even comes close to what we have right here in Ontario. And I’m not biased. Anyways, we were fortunate to have our last night on the boat tied up at the Lovesick Lock all by ourselves. Anyone who has had the pleasure of hanging around there will know how special that is. And no bugs. What a treat!

We made it through the Fenelon Locks on Tuesday around 2:30 and Painkiller was safely tied up at Tim and Jan’s dock by 3:30. Our journey is complete.

One more blog entry to sum it all up coming very soon.

Troy, New York to Trenton, Ontario

Monday May 11th, 2009

Again we have new perspective. The Erie Canal westbound was great. In fact we have talked about coming this way some fall to see it when the leaves are turning as we believe it would be spectacular. We spent 4 nights in Waterford exploring the area and then 3 nights along the Canal. Spring is definitely in the air. The weather has become more seasonal; that is colder than when we were on the Hudson River however the toque has been put away for good.

We left Oswego, New York early Friday morning and although we picked great weather wind wise, as you would expect, that meant fog. Lake Ontario was like glass and about a half hour into our trip the fog patches started. In the middle of the lake, you can’t tell just how good your visibility is, as there is nothing to gauge it with so you are traveling blind. Luckily for us we didn’t see or hear (fog horns) any other vessels. We did have a little stowaway on board. See picture of Lucky Bird who joined us about half way across the lake. He came and explored the boat, sat on the steering wheel for a while, then on Al’s knee and then his shoulder. Lucky Bird was with us all the way to the mainland. As soon as we started discussing customs he flew off. I don’t blame him.

We arrived in Picton Ontario on Friday, cleared customs and are now waiting for the Trent Severn to open up. We had a nice dinner with my brother, Curt and his wife Cherlyn which makes it feel like home. The Trent Severn Canal is scheduled to open on Friday May 15th but because the water levels have been high in Ontario this spring, they may delay. We are so close and yet so far. In any case, my next update will be from home.

The Dismal Swamp, North Carolina to Troy, New York

Thursday April 30th, 2009

We left the Dismal Swamp and Robert, the lock master did not disappoint us. We had a private playing of our own conch shells. Al had fashioned two of them for blowing at sunset and Robert eyed them as we were going through the lock. He played both of them beautifully. While all Al and I can do is make a feeble honking sound he can play a wonderful tune. We’ll have to work on our conch playing skills.

We have put on many miles over the past 3 weeks since leaving the Dismal Swamp. From there we stopped in Norfolk and Portsmouth then straight to Solomon’s where we stayed for a week, plugged in as the nights were a little chilly. We had wonderful weather on all our crossings. That would be the advantage of not being in a hurry. We wait patiently for the right weather. And the right weather certainly hit us as we arrived in New York Harbour. The past 7 days have been sunny and for the most part HOT. We have experienced summer temperatures in the high 80’s and low 90’s. This has made the Hudson River a delightful experience. Although we cruised the river last summer, we had a different perspective this spring and were in awe of how beautiful the Hudson River is. We are ready to make our way across the Erie Canal which opens tomorrow.

Fernandina Beach, Florida to The Dismal Swamp, North Carolina

Monday April 6th, 2009

We are twenty eight miles away from the top of the Dismal Swamp, where we look forward to being greeted by lock master Robert, the expert on all things “Dismal” (see blog input Norfolk to Carolina Beach in October 11th, 2008 for more insight on Robert). We have traveled almost 1000 miles up the eastern seaboard in the past 3 weeks. It has been a great trip; much nicer than the trip south, down the same coast, last fall. I attribute that to expectations being set at the right level. That is we knew what to expect this time round and we know we can’t go swimming. The only thing missing is the friends we made along the way south. Of course there are new friends in most every port but some that we met going south will be forever part of our fond memories.

We have been following spring weather up the coast. It has been quite noticeable ever since we left Florida. Starting in Jekyll Island Georgia where the vegetation was quite full but you could feel it was early in the season. Jekyll Island was our first stop in Georgia. It is quite beautiful and we spent 3 days there cycling around the island and enjoying the scenery including the ship wreck in the picture. We wouldn’t want that happening to us but it makes a great picture. We skipped over Georgia on the way south and were glad to have seen it going north. The highest tide changes on our trip were there, up to 9 feet. The water rises and falls 8 to 9 feet about every 6 hours. It is quite a feeling to set your anchor in 12 feet of water and then find yourself in 4 feet of water not long afterwards. It’s no wonder so many boats go aground. Of course that is nothing compared to the Bay of Fundy where the tide rises and falls 40 feet in 6 hours. That is just crazy and we are not boating there ever.

The next area where we noticed spring conditions was Myrtle Beach. The blossoms were just coming out on many of the trees. It has been a constant theme up the coast. We’ve seen tulips starting to pop out and we have seen them done for the season. Along with the spring conditions has come the pollen. We are now dealing with pollen and salt. It coagulates on the boat in little clusters. Salt and pollen … Yuk!

We have had a few adventures on the way. Navy War Ship 51 was doing maneuvers as we traveled through Camp le Jeune which is a military training area. We were lucky to get through the ICW just before target practice started. Little boats were buzzing by securing the area and war planes up above checking on traffic and reporting our position to the war ship. Thankfully they are very thorough at making sure us pleasure boats are clear of their activities before they commence their practice.

Our other excitement was the Albemarle Sound. We had been told last year that it could be “treacherous” in a big wind. Given all the waters we have traveled since leaving last year, it really didn’t look too bad but we respected the warning and waited out gale force winds before crossing. Well the warnings were well grounded. We went out in about 20 knot winds and the waves were square, short and probably 5 to 6 feet high. On the positive side, it was clear and sunny so although it was uncomfortable and cool it was not as bad as it could have been. I have now bought flannel pjs and a warm toque given that we are traveling in the cooler weather. I’ve only worn the toque once and Al, who shaved his head, needed it one morning. Back to the Albemarle Sound, the other issue with that leg of the trip was the crab pots. At the mouth of the Pasquotank River, the traps are arranged in a checkerboard formation and are often dark colours; green and black being the worst. So, not only are you dealing with square waves, you need to go through an obstacle course of crab traps. When we finally arrived in Elizabeth City, Al helped another boat tie up at the dock. They had been towed in from the mouth of the river (about 12 miles). It was no surprise to hear that his prop had caught a crab trap and thus disabled his engine.

Today we sat out weather again but this time in the Dismal Swamp. It is a beautiful area in North Carolina. It reminds us of the river we live on at home. The water coming up from Elizabeth City yesterday was like a mirror (see picture of mile marker). This was a big contrast to the Albemarle Sound a few days ago. We are quite sure the Albemarle has picked up again though, as today there were 3 emergency broadcasts for weather warnings; possible tornados throughout the area from 10 am to 3 pm. We were happy to be at a dock close to a big secure public building, The North Carolina Visitor Centre. Al was confident we would not be hit and would calmly point out the bad weather cells from the boat. I, on the other hand, walked up to the visitor’s centre and watched from the entrance way, ready to duck in at a moment’s notice. All was blasé in the end as the weather right there was fine. A southbound boat came in late in the afternoon and told us that although it had been rough north of here there were no trees down so we need not worry tomorrow when we head northward.

Tomorrow we are off to Norfolk which is the southern most point of the Chesapeake Bay where another adventure awaits us.

Palm Beach, Florida to Fernandina Beach, Florida

Thursday March 19th, 2009

Florida has been very good to us this past week. We had some wonderful weather and really enjoyed being here. We cruised the ocean side from Palm Beach up to Fort Pierce. We then rented a car and traveled across Florida to St. Petersburg where we visited with my mom, Al’s mom, her friend Ronnie, my Uncle Ron and his friend Anne. We were of course very well–fed during our stay. It was short but good to see everyone.

We were fortunate to be in Florida during the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery this month. We ended up anchored about 30 miles south of the launch site but as you can see from the pictures, we had a spectacular show that evening.


From there we made out way to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. This is the northern tip of Florida. Although it is not the prettiest place from the water with its two huge paper mills, it is a fabulous little town with great shops cafes and pubs. This is our last stop before tackling Georgia which we missed on the way down.

Nassau to Palm Beach, Florida

Wednesday March 11th, 2009

The picture is Al trying to get into Senior Frogs Bar in Nassau. Our last stop in the Bahamas.

The weather gods were with us as we left the islands. Of course that depends on how you look at things. Last fall, crossing to the Exumas from Florida, with waiting for the right weather windows, it took us almost a month. So, for our return trip, we were ready a month early and decided we would take the weather windows as they came up. The first was from Highborne Cay to Nassau which was a bit choppy. Ok, a lot choppy but nothing extreme. Two days later, from Nassau we were in Florida within 44.5 hours. The good news is that we made the crossing quickly and with ideal conditions. The bad news is we have now said our final good byes to the Bahamas. Our crossing was ideal. As Al pointed out, and rightly so, you could have taken the dinghy across yesterday. Our welcome to Florida was a huge fin sticking out of the water just outside the Lake Worth Inlet. The water was smooth and you could clearly see this big fin sticking out of the water (see picture which doesn’t do it justice). We knew it wasn’t a dolphin as they usually are up and down where and this was steady in the water. As it moved along you could tell it was quite big as the water rippled when the tail moved from side to side. We thought maybe it was a whale, it was so big. We slowly approached it with the boat to have a good look and he just flopped around and then went under the bow of the boat. It was not a whale but a hammerhead shark which is very distinctive when you look at it from above. He was longer than our boat’s beam which is 13.5 feet. That makes for a shark at least 14 feet long. No swimming in this inlet.

George Town to Nassau

Sunday March 8th, 2009

It’s hard to believe we left George Town almost a month ago. We took our time running the Exuma Islands northbound. Our stops included Children’s Cay, Lee Stocking Island, Darby, Musha Cay, White Point, Black Point, Pipe Creek, Warderwick Wells (Emerald Rock), Norman’s Cay and Highborne Cay. All of which are uniquely beautiful.

We had perfect weather when we stayed at Children’s Cay and Lee Stocking Island (23.45.80’N 76.06.50’W). It felt like the real Bahamas (paradise) again as there were very few boats and the hustle and bustle of George Town was far behind us. It is an interesting area for marine life. We took advantage of the calm water and went exploring with the dinghy. There was a school of what we think were barracuda . There were tons of them everywhere. One, that was almost 3 feet long, jumped out of the water about 10 feet. Then we came upon an area of star fish. The ocean bottom was just littered with dozens of big star fish. No sooner had we left that area and there was a “flock” of sting rays flopping around the water. Yes we are back in the country and away from the city.

We then made our way to Darby Island and Musha Cay (23.54.50N 76.15.50W). Musha is rumoured to be owed by David Copperfield. You and 19 of your friends can stay there for a mere $325,000 a week. You must rent the island in its entirety with a minimum of 3 night say. It’s very pretty but $325,000 per week, give me a break. The picture is of Goat Cay a bit south of Musha. It may be hard to see but there is a little shark fin sticking out of the water. We didn’t notice the shark when we took the picture but when we were looking at them later we saw it. Al and Dave from Zing went diving not far from here. I doubt they would have done so knowing what was lurking in the water.

We had been cooking Bahamian style this particular week. Cracked Conch, Lobster Fritters and Bahamian Mac’n Cheese. Any of you who have experienced my baking should be sitting now as I actually seriously contemplated baking bread. Our friend Jan had given me a starter in George Town and the recipe. But, when Al read the instructions he just had to raise his eyebrows and I knew he thought it would be too much for me. I was reminded that I can’t even bake cookies from pre-made batter. However the Mac’n Cheese was good.


Our next leg was up to White Point (24.02.00N 76.22.30W) and then abruptly to Black Point (24.05.50N 76.24.70W) as we experienced our first really bad swells. We had a comfortable night’s sleep until about 3:00 am and then the wind must have changed and we had these big rolly swells come through. By 6:00 am we were pulling anchor. As Al says (coined from Chris Parker) “if you are going to be uncomfortable, you may as well be underway”. This was just the first of a few uncomfortable nights given the swells and the wind direction. Nothing dangerous mom, just big rolls through the night which made it uncomfortable. Just north of Black Point we stopped to see the Iguanas (endangered species) on Bitter Guana Cay (24.08.50N 76.25.00W). Only one came out, but he was a big guy.

The Pipe Creek/Staniel Cay (24.13.75N 76.29.84W) area was our next stop. We stayed for about 5 days. It is really pretty there with lots of sand bars to explore at low tide. We found some huge and amazing shells however there were creatures living inside so back to the ocean they went. We met some wonderful people, Tom and Nancy on Putterby who welcomed us to the area. They have a friend that owns and island and Nancy gardens there so she gave us fresh Basil which we savoured for a few days and some tiny Bahamian green peppers that Al loved but made my eyes water just getting within 5 feet of them.

Our last stop before leaving the Exuma Islands was Highborne Cay (24.42.00N 76.49.50W). Here we were welcomed by flying rays in the harbour. Actually just one ray but he jumped out of the water twice as we were looking for a spot to anchor. No exaggeration he was probably close to 5 feet wide and jumped 4 feet out the water with a huge splash when he landed. Al went “bug” hunting with Bob on Flextime and brought home two more lobster. We are up to about 30 lobsters since arriving. Al has paid for his fishing gear many times over.

We left Highborne for Nassau and arrived back in a city. It was sad to leave the Exuma Islands but we have met up with some friends Ellen and Randy on Kwanesam which have made Nassau lots of fun. We are now waiting for the right weather to get to the Barry Islands and slowly make our way to the US again.

Good Bye George Town

Wednesday February 11th, 2009

We have now been back in the George Town area for almost a month and it is time for us to start saying our good byes and slowly make our way north. We have been very happy to be here playing volleyball and bocci ball, participating in beach yoga, enjoying the sun and eating fresh lobster, all while we hear about the record snow and cold temperatures back home. We certainly picked the right winter to be in the south.

Long Island

Monday January 12th, 2008

Just before New Year’s we took advantage of a calm weather window and made our way southeast to Long Island a 5 hour cruise for us. We are now south of the Tropic of Cancer which is the tropics as opposed to the subtropics.. Long Island is 80 nautical miles long and 4 nautical miles wide at its widest point, thus the name, Long Island.

We woke up New Year’s Eve morning to a spooky ocean view (bank side). It was dead calm. See the picture of the only other boat in the harbour we were in. It was spooky and beautiful at the same time.

Later that afternoon around 4:00, Al and I were debating as to whether we could stay awake long enough to go to a local resort’s dance and fireworks. The band didn’t start until 9:00 and we are usually going to bed by then. We kept saying that we needed to make an effort to go. Anyhow, as we sat on the back deck of the boat contemplating our evening, we could faintly here someone calling from the beach. “PainKiller, is that you?”. There were two people on the beach waving at us. We had no idea what was going on and jumped in the dinghy to see what they wanted. It was Betsy and Donald from the sailing vessel, Mollyhawk. We had met them briefly in Black Point a few weeks ago. They were on their way to a beach party and had room in their jeep for us to join them. The beach party was hosted by some of the locals and there was a huge spread of food and beverages. Fireworks were set around 9:00 as everyone agreed staying up until midnight was a pipe dream. We left the beach party and ended up having a quick drink at a small bar, Midway Inn, and we were still wide awake so made it to the resort party by 11:15 to dance and bring in the New Year to another set of fireworks. It was well after 1:00 by the time we were on our way back to the dinghy. We had to go through the jungle, about a 5 minute walk from the road to the beach to get to our dinghy. We were very happy to have a flashlight to do so. With all the things Al gets me to do, it’s a miracle we are still together. Hiking through a jungle with who knows what lurking in the bushes and trees is bad enough but at night it’s the worst. While there are no venomous snakes here, there are Bahamian Boas so you can understand my reluctance to go in the jungle day or night.


Boas aside, we really enjoyed our stay in Long Island. The people are incredibly generous and welcoming and the beaches are endless. Given how much there is to see on the island, we have made good use of our bicycles here. We did get a little lost the day the picture was taken. Notice the map in my hand. Good thing we brought water with us that day.

We took a road trip one day last week with Betsy and Donald (Mollyhawk) and explored the south side of the island by jeep. It was a whirl wind tour with many many stops, we stopped at a house and ordered bread, picked up beers at Cocos, explored the blue hole at Turtle Cove (see picture), stopped in Clarence Town, had beers with Susanna, the coldest beers on the island (see picture), walked along a beautiful secluded beach, saw about 30 pink flamingos off shore, saw Haitian wrecks in the bay, had beer with Susanna again, had a late lunch at Cocos, picked up our freshly made bread, stopped at Gary’s farm and played with his goats, got back to the dinghy before dark and slept.


We also did some hitch hiking while we were on the island. I’ve only done that once in my life and Al hasn’t done it since he was 18. It was great. We no sooner had our thumbs in the air and we had a ride every time. We met some wonderful local people who were quite happy to tell us about their island. We made it up to the north end of the island to Cape Santa Maria which boasts the most beautiful beach in the Bahamas. I can’t say for sure as I have not seen all the beaches in the Bahamas but Santa Maria certainly is a beautiful beach.

After our viewing of the island by land we decided to take PainKiller up the coast to the North End to see it from the water. We anchored in Calabash Bay just off the Cape Santa Maria Resort and enjoyed the beach and the snorkeling in the area.

After two weeks of thoroughly enjoying Long Island we moved back to George Town. We will spend a few more weeks here and then slowly make our way north.

Christmas in George Town

Monday December 30th, 2008

The holiday season was great here in the Bahamas. In George Town, we joined the adult camp in full force, played volleyball and learned to polish sea beans. We stopped short at the basket weaving. I may take that up when we get back to George Town later in January. The cruisers organized a lovely Christmas Eve party. Lots of nautical Christmas caroling (“Dashing through the water, in a 10-horse open dingy, over the harbour we go, laughing all the way, ha ha ha”). You may need to be a boater to appreciate the carols down here. It was certainly a different Christmas for us with lots of sunshine and palm trees.

One of our objectives was to make it to Junkanoo which is a local celebration that starts at around 3:00 am on Boxing Day. This meant Al and I going to bed around 8 pm Christmas night and then setting the alarm for 1:00 am to catch a 2:00 am water taxi to town so that we could be part of the festivities. It was really worth losing sleep over. Junkanoo is actually a competition and in George Town, there were 4 bands that took part. Each band had elaborate floats, dancers, costumes and a marching band. Actually, the bands were more like a dancing, drumming, acrobatic band then a marching band. It was like 4 mini parades in a row. The energy level was very very high. We caught the water taxi back to our boat and were asleep again by 8:30 am. For those enquiring minds, the tradition is to celebrate in the middle of the night because this was the time that the slaves were allowed to celebrate Christmas. Originally they were only allowed to celebrate once the plantation owners said that they were done their work for Christmas and the slaves had to be back at their duties the next morning. So it was an over night celebration.