Monthly Archives: November 2012

Bimini, First Bahamas Landfall

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By Kevin

At 10:15 pm yesterday we raised our anchor in No Name Harbor and set sail due east for the Bahamas island of North Bimini. 

At 10:30 am this morning, 12 hours later, we tied up to the dock here at Weech’s Bimini Marina. The first 6 hours of the overnight trip were not pleasant. We bashed around in confused 3-4 foot seas as the strong Gulf Stream current collided with swells from other weather systems.

But, the crew were outstanding. Madeline stayed in the cockpit all night and helped with watchkeeping duties when she wasn’t catnapping. Zach played it smart and slept the whole night in one of the foldout salon berths.

Jennifer helmed much of the night and made sure everyone was doing okay in the rough and chilly conditions.

While I threw up.

Now we are hanging out down below on Real Life while it sits in the amazing clear waters of the Bahamas. We’ve gotten some WIFI access and everyone is lounging around sending updates and emails, as around here, you never know when you’ll have WIFI available.

Heading to the Bahamas!

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By Jennifer

As long as the weather holds, knock on wood, we are heading to the Bahamas today/tonight. The seas look calm so we will take this weather window to cross the Gulf Stream to a tiny island called Bimini. Our good friend Captain Gerry will sail with us on our maiden nighttime voyage — thank you!! I hope our family won’t drive him bananas during this 24-hour experience. Poor guy…

Jen’s Bookshelf II

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(Personally rated on a scale up to five stars, five stars being the best)

The Pearl by John Steinbeck. *** Madeline’s required reading for Literature and my first Steinbeck novella. A great read if you are looking to exercise your literary side — lots of symbolism and foreshadowing. (Read Oct. 2012)

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. *** My September book club’s selection. I really enjoyed this book and I can happliy boast I was the only one in the group to finish it. This piece of nonfiction pieces together William E. Dodd’s first year as America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany. The book unfolds the story of Dodd and his family’s time in Germany through a collection of journals, letters and official correspondences. This book reads like “Frontline,” but I really like “Frontline” and enjoyed this book and its insight into this moment in history. I recommend it. (Read Sept. 2012.)

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The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht. ** My August book club’s selection. This book I’ve seen on many book club lists, so I had high expectations. Unfortunately, the book fell well flat of those expecations. I struggled to get to page 100 and went around town begging anyone I knew if they’d read the book and if it would get any better. No one had. Anyway, I slogged through it. I won’t spoil it, but here’s my two cents. The author is a good writer, but she’s like 12 years old if you judge the picture on the back cover. The text is weighed down by too much description. There are too many tangential characters with more really lengthy descriptions. What I found interesting were the stories of the tiger and the deathless man. (Read Aug. 2012.)

wild by Cheryl Strayed. ***** BEST. BOOK. I. EVER. READ. This inspiring memoir can change the trajectory of your life. (Read Aug. 2012.)

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Meet Lynne and Gerry

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By Jennifer

This is Lynne and Gerry, “Captain Gerry,” that is. Kevin met Gerry when Gerry started following our blog. Gerry owns a 42-foot Whitby, a twin of our 42-foot Brewer. At some point during our stay in Fort Lauderdale, Gerry, a retired-Irish Navy officer, offered to help us get accustomed to how this boat sails. He’s been an awesome teacher — thank you! Lynne is a Pulitzer prize-winning AP photographer and works out of Miami. She loves papaya. Gerry introduced Zach to a Cuban Yoyo fishing line and is known for asking me if I have checked the weather reports. Yes. Yes, we are now routinely checking the weather reports… 

 

Meet Jessica and Gia

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Gia_and_jessica

By Jennifer

This is Jessica and her 9-year-old daughter Gia — our boat neighbors at Casa del Sol. Not pictured (sorry!) is Gia’s dad Gordon. They live on “Felicity.” Both Jessica and Gordon work in the boating industry. Gordon is the chief engineer on a mega yacht called “Princess Sarah.” Jessica works as a steward on a different yacht — one of two that the owner operates out of Fort Lauderdale and Detroit. A fun family that cruised on a sailboat for two years when Gia was 3. The couple shared a wealth of information. Gordon is known for his “McGyver” tendencies. 

Dolphin!

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By Jennifer

Coconut Grove Sailing Club marina, Miami — Kevin and I were sitting quietly in the cockpit this morning when a family of dolphins took us by complete surprise. You can actually see the dolphin swimming underwater on his back — he is chasing down a school of fish. Just one of those moments…

Moons over My Hammy

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By Kevin

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We made it to Miami today. Actually, tonight. We grabbed a transient mooring ball at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club on Biscayne Bay at around 6:45 P.M.

With Casa del Sol behind us by noon, we first stopped to fill up on diesel (great job crew!). This was the first time we filled the tank since purchasing the boat in April. We added 31 gallons to top off the 45 gallon tank. Then, we headed south for the 6 1/2 hour sail, averaging 5 1/2 knots (with bursts to 7 knots). We followed the coastline all the way down to Goverment Cut and just kept our depth sounder pinging between 80-140 feet. This kept us less than 3 miles offshore.

The highlight of the trip was certainly Zach and Captain Gerry catching a beautiful 4-5 pound 1-2 pound spanish mackerel, which we grilled up for dinner. Yum. They also had a mahi-mahi on the hook at one point but he gave a good fight and finally broke free.

 

Sea Trials–Woot!

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By Kevin

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Last Monday we took Real Life outside the safety of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway), into the Atlantic Ocean proper and put some wind in her sails. She looked like a beautiful girl gussied up for prom.

This was the first time we’ve put up the sails since our pre-purchase sea trail back in April. And, the first time she’s been out of the ICW since that pre-purchase sail way back when.

It felt good.

The cheerful gentleman you’ll see in a few of the pics above is Captain Gerry. Captain Gerry is a Miami-area delivery captain and former Irish Navy Commander who happens to owns a Whitby 42 (a boat nearly identical to ours). He’s been very helpful mentoring us on handling this 42′ boat.