Keys!!!

So far so good. Shake down cruise 2.0 is going well but not with out a few wrinkles. We are now on day eleven of a nineteen day cruise, currently in Marathon Key, Florida. We left The Bluffs Marina in Jupiter, Florida heading for Ft. Lauderdale with our good friends Mary and Brant. A bit of deja vu, as our auto pilot failed just as it had done on our way to the Bahamas. After eight hours of seven foot swells we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, at least we had the wind at our stern and following seas. We lost the sunny weather the next day but were compensated with the addition of Blake and Brittany to the Independence crew. We took advantage of our extra time in port to cruise the Intracoastal Waterway on a friends 86 foot boat ‘Tortuga’, hit the gym and scootered around town to check out the local watering holes and restaurants. Sadly, Mary and Brant left us at this time to return to Lake Tahoe, California and we continued on south to Miami. We anchored in Biscayne Bay that night with amazing views of the Miami skyline in front of us. The next day we stopped at Rodriquez Key where we anchored out again and even put the tender in to check out a local bar. We scrapped our dive the next day due to poor conditions and headed south to Marathon Key, where we are now. Blake and Brittany disembarked yesterday to continue their travels in Nashville, Tennessee and now we are two again. Kappy and Mark are due in on Monday and until then we are busy with scrubbing the hull, replacing zincs, re-provisioning, updating the log, and hopefully checking out a couple of good watering holes!

Larry at the helm entering the busy channel in Ft. Lauderdale

Crew shirts were given out today!

Brittany, Blake, Brant and Mary…shake down 2.0 crew re-hydrating at a Ft. Lauderdale pub

Thank you Suzanne for a great cruise along the Ft. Lauderdale Intracoastal on The Tortuga

Ft. Lauderdale scooter rental

Seven foot swells look good on this guy…at least we had the auto-pilot that day on our way to Miami

Miami city front

Dolphins welcomed us into the Miami harbor

Miami sky line in the distance as we enter Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay crew, Blake, Brittany and Larry

Almost sunset at our anchorage in Biscayne Bay

The Independence at anchor at Rodriguez Key

Sunset aboard the Independence with Blake and Brittany in Marathon Key

Channel markers for the entrance to Marathon Key

Message in a Bottle

While at Green Turtle Cay we took the golf cart exploring and stopped at a beautiful beach just minutes from the marina. As Larry walked toward the water something caught his eye. In amongst the sea weed, drift wood and general flotsam and jetsam, he spied an old wine bottle. Oddly enough, the bottle was sealed and appeared to contain something other than wine. On closer inspection the bottle held a bit of money, a hand woven friendship bracelet and a very faded note. Over the next day or so our friend Chris sat down with that faded note and patiently restored the text…

‘Ciao, Bon Jour, Ola, Hola, Hello. I hope this message in a bottle finds you in good spirits and good health. We, the four member crew of the sailboat ‘Quiet’, are curious where the wind and waves will carry this message. So if you some how find it let us know. We are in Grenada right now in the Caribbean Sea and will be leaving to sail across the Atlantic Ocean soon. If you find this message you are surely blessed.’

Below this note were a few gmail addresses that we unfortunately could not decipher, along with a sail boat drawing with the funny disclaimer ‘not drawn to scale’.

Wishfully, I would hope that this post some day, might make a connection between the Independence and Quiet. If anyone out there knows of a four person crew on the sailboat Quiet, please give them this web address. We owe them a bottle of wine!

The beach where the bottle landed at Green Turtle Cay

Larry with his find

The contents of the bottle; the original faded note, the reconstructed version of the note, the dollar from Trinidad & Tobago and the bracelet

The bottle as Larry found it

Bahamas!!!

And we’re off!!! Heading out the intracoastal to the Bahamas.

We did it! We got out of the harbor and made the crossing to the Bahamas (and back…of course). After three days preparing, fueling and provisioning the Independence she was ready to leave her slip at the Bluffs Marina in Jupiter, Florida on the morning of Saturday, October 13th, 2018. A few days prior to our departure our friends at Nordhavn offered to provide us with a licensed Captain and we said “of course and thank you!”. So, our sturdy crew, of two Captains (Larry and Dan) and Chris Adams (fearless member of the Tuesday Night, LLC mountain bike club) and myself left the harbor and made the crossing in approximately eight hours. We docked at Old Bahama Bay Marina at West End. The crossing was relatively uneventful with minor issues relating to our auto pilot navigation system (ultimately resolved on our return crossing). Larry and Dan discussed the finer points of the navigation systems and Chris and I learned the art of chart reading and plotting along with the handling and use of lines and fenders. Eventually, we all had time at the helm to keep a watchful eye on that gorgeous blue-green water. We checked in with immigration at the customs office and stayed the night at Old Bahama Bay. The next day we navigated a very shallow area (a different kind of cardio workout) by Memory Rock into the Little Bahama Bank. A five hour cruise brought us to our anchorage at Great Sale Cay. There we learned anchoring techniques, laying chain and diving the anchor. The following day (another five hour cruise) brought us to our final stop at Green Turtle Bay Marina in the Abaco Islands. Captain Dan Collins left us on our own at that point…thank you Dan, we all learned so much. The remaining two days were spent exploring Green Turtle Cay by rented golf cart and our tender. I can’t say enough about the amazingly friendly people of the Bahamas, the beguiling wildlife and the gorgeous views, sunrises and sunsets. Hopefully the following pictures will give you an idea of how special and lovely the Bahamas are. The return trip was played in reverse, with repeats at Great Sale Cay and Old Bahama Bay. The return crossing was a bit more ‘active’ as the swells were about five to six feet and the weather was getting a bit on the windy side. Larry did an awesome job and got us back to the slip in seven hours. Thank you Chris for helping us shake-down the Independence. We look forward to more cruises with you and Sue!

The middle of no-where and he lands on Larry! Photo Chris Adams

Old Bahama Bay Marina, West End, Bahamas

This Manatee welcomed us to Old Bahama Bay, West End. Photo Chris Adams

We made it! Eight hours & all checked in with customs & Immigration & flying the Bahamas flag. Photo Dan Collins

The conch alive & well inside his sunset colored home

Our slip for the night at Old Bahama Bay Marina with the customs house in the background. Photo Larry McCullough

On our way to Green Turtle Bay

Captain Dan & the sunset at our anchorage at Great Sale Cay. Photo Larry McCullough

Make it so

The to do list grows as we sit in Tiburon, California eagerly awaiting each trip back to The Independence, now in a hurricane hold in Jupiter, Florida. But slowly each of the items is getting tended to and crossed off that list. The arch has had a hinge installed so we can pass underneath the Chicago Bridge in the Intracoastal Waterway. The tender has been purchased and installed on the fly bridge’s aft deck. Bottom paint, zincs, line-cutters, water-makers, stabilizers, converters, yacht-controllers; each checked, the list is getting smaller. The boat is getting lower in the water as we jam must-haves and can’t-live-with-outs into free checked bags and purchase galley items and bed linens, NO, I have not purchased throw-pillows as I believe our boat came with no less then twenty. The name has been placed on the stern. Boat calling cards were made and printed…yes, this is ‘a thing’. One of the most satisfying items completed was having our first dinner party and overnight guests. Nothing says welcome aboard like a couple of chilled Don Lorenzo’s and some hot chicken curry. Next up on the list…getting out of the harbor!!!

Hauled out in Cracker Boy Boat Yard. July in Florida…90 degrees plus on the blacktop.

Hinge installation in the fly bridge arch

Gene ready to install the line-cutters.

Our new tender.

Our first overnight guests help us celebrate naming the boat.

Our first dinner party on the boat.

You bought a boat?!?

When our friends and family heard we bought the boat many were surprised. After trying to sell a second home for a few years and finally succeeding, I believe many thought we would just like to enjoy that sense of accomplishment…a very sensible reaction I might add. The purchasing of the boat was pretty straight forward; walking aboard many times and looking at this and that and then a sea-trial and a haul-out and dinners and more talking and more looking…finally some check writing and a few tequilas at the local bar. So, now we are boat owners and I can share the layout and specs of the boat to anyone who might be interested. I have posted more photos in the images location.

The Nordhavn Sales Brochure Hull No. 1 - our boat

Dreams do come true...

When I met Larry, over twenty years ago, he told me about a dream of his to find the perfect boat and do a trip called The Great Loop.  Well, as of April 2018, we are the proud owners of hull number one of a 59 foot Nordhavn, Coastal Pilot.  This is a trawler-style boat that has a semi-displacement hull, meaning we can go a bit faster then your average trawler.  We had not intended to purchase a boat at this time, but sometimes you just have to ride a wave that seems to be taking you to your ultimate dream destination.