Tuesday

The Berry Islands


December 14
We motored the entire night, against the wind and the current. Not much traffic, except for the odd freighter or cruise ship. I spent the entire night in the cockpit, sleeping and feeling the windy breeze. For some reason, I was extremely exhausted from my three hour shift at the helm... our routine was a little off, due to the late departure time. In the morning we started to notice the Berry Islands. We were headed for Devil's Cay... which is more in the central Berry Islands. The Berry's are a series of small islands mostly uninhabited between Grand Bahama Island and New Providence Island, where the capital of Nassau is located. We anchored Joana in 18 ft of water, near White Cay. Surrounded by white sandy beaches, deep Blue holes and waves crashing along the rocks, this was one of the most scenic anchorages I had ever experienced. I'm happy we stopped over to the Berry Islands. Our dinghy was never launched at this anchorage, supposedly it only touches the ocean on very rare occasions... looking forward to that moment. You will notice in the picture, some of the other vessels tucked in further West from where we we anchored. We endured a rough night with the wind and surge... we called this spot the 'Rock and Roll Surge Spot'... instead of having a bobbing motion from front to back, we were rocking from side to side. Felt like we were out at sea for the entire night.
.

Saturday

Starry Starry Night

December 12 & 13
Our last two days spent in
Freeport were dedicated to Miss Scarlett B. and her catamaran. We went into town to gather some items to help organize and take stains off of the ex-chartering boat. It was wonderful to see her huge smile at the end of the day, when she started to see results from all our hard work. We also got some free entertainment... Andrew was going snorkeling in order to remove all the barnacles from his bottom hull. He was trying to soften all the shells that were growing on his propeller blades, so he used Ty-D-Bol... a bathroom cleaner to take the growth off. I hope it works! Sunday we just lounged around the boat, killing time and saying our goodbyes to all the friends we made at Bradford Marine. It was somewhat sad to leave Scarlett behind with her Catamaran, she was extremely thankful for all the scrubbing and repairs we did. Spoke with Andrew the super friendly Bahamian… who gave me some very interesting advice about life… I really appreciated his take on things. At 8:00pm we called Freeport Harbour Control and asked to leave the port, we had to wait for 25 minutes. At 8:30 pm we casted our lines from the safe harbor and departed with a light breeze from the East South East. We motored throughout the night, the wind on our nose while watching the lights on Grand Bahama Island fading away in the distance. Some of the cruise ships we could see in the distance were also very well lit, they appeared to be making their way across the Gulf Stream towards the USA. Instead of watching television... we watched hundreds of shooting stars must have been a special meteor shower, the stars appeared to be falling from the sky. It was a breathtaking experience.

Sunday

Scrubbing and Washing the Cat


December 11
Our neighbour, Scarlett has been driving us around into Freeport and Port Lucaya on a regular basis, so today we decided to do a small act of kindness. Assist her in getting the Catamaran all cleaned and free of monkey glue! It wasn't an easy job, scrapping bits and pieces of gorilla glue off the fiberglass decks. Wade assisted in refrigeration and electrical issues... It was a perfect windy day to work outside, the sun was hiding behind all the fluffy clouds. We discovered that this product called "On & Off" works wonders for stains left on fiberglass, and a bottle of 100% acetone removes any glue residue. We volunteered our time to tidy the boat and make it ready to go on the boating market. Anyone looking for a 48" Catamaran... with 5 cabins/heads??? It was a full days of work aboard "Anticia". We are all in need of some well deserved rest!

Friday

Port Lucaya


December 10
I was able to be a hair dresser for the morning! Diane wanted me to put highlights in her hair... so I slipped on the rubber gloves and mixed all the toxic products. It's not easy... after having washed and rinsed, we looked at the results. "not bad." Then I found the perfect WiFi spot, alongside a limestone wall. Scarlett, offered to take us into Port Lucaya for the afternoon. It was nice to see all the shops. Everything is very discounted due to the state of the economy. We were searching for the entrance to Bell Channel, and in doing so we noticed a large Spotted Eagle Ray... it was just gliding in the water with such finesse. Then we meandered our way onto a private beach...catching some rays, and contemplating a swim in the pool. On our walk back, we came across a limo taxi, he took us directly back to the boat. Living the famous life here in the Bahamas. At dusk, we went for a tour of Scarlett's 48' Catamaran Privileg http://www.bradfordmarinebahamasbrokerage.com/bahamas-brokerage-48-Privilege-catamaran.html I wish I had the money and the people to buy this cruising yacht. We might be doing some work on it, tomorrow.




Thursday

Vajoliroja


December 9
We woke up and noticed that a large motor yacht had entered the canal last night. Name of vessel... Vajoliroja! It was suspicious, since we've been noticing many yachts registered in Bikini, Marshall Islands. Diane was very curious and google'd the vessels name and found out that it's Captain Jack Sparrow also known as Johnny Depp's private yacht. How exciting? The boat's name originates from combining the first two letters of each family member's name. His partner, Vanessa Paradis, and kids Lily-Rose and Jack. VaJoLiRoJa! I took pictures... only noticed the crew, no hollywood movie stars in Freeport, Bahamas. The boat is very special! We played Yahtzee & Scrabble in the cockpit to entertain ourselves during the afternoon. Sipping on refreshing lemonade and invited Scarlett aboard. We went for a ride to the Bahamian Brewery, the beer is called Sands. Then we ordered domino's pizza... direct to the boat for dinner! Who would have known they could do such a thing? Watched some downloaded episodes of Two and Half Men and Mercy. Sunday looks like the day we will journey over to the Berry islands.

Wednesday

Island Tour

December 8
Remember how I mentioned about Scarlett, the Irish lady who owns a Catamaran in Bradford Marine? Well, she came up to the boat and offered to bring us into town to show us Port Lucaya. Twelve noon we jumped in her car and began our Grand Bahamas Island tour, with an Irish tour guide. It was brilliant to see all the pastel colored building, again! The police department was painted light blue and the bus stops were bright pink. Scarlett was an excellent guide with excellent local knowledge, considering she’s only been on the island since June. We ate a traditional Bahamian lunch: conch fritters, rice, and peas. Conch is such a delicacy!! I can’t wait to start snorkeling and diving to find our own Conch shells. Port Lucaya is very dependent on tourism, yet still stunning. Scarlett took us to a City Market to purchase some fresh fruits, meats and dairy products. I was shocked at the sheer size and volume of items found in the grocery store, here in the Bahamas. After dropping our produce off on the boat, we went for a second ride towards the West End of the Island to notice the diversity. They have an abundance of small and tale Pine Trees, some of which have been damaged from hurricanes and others that are still thriving. The West End is a genuine depiction of the Bahamian way of life. I’m happy we toured the Island. Guests came aboard for dinner! Always fun to make conversations with other sailors.

Repairs


December 7
Today the winds were light and favorable for us to relocate to the Berrie Islands or to Port Lucaya, but instead we chose to stay right where we are. In any matter, Joana needed some attention today. 1st item on the list was the aft head, which broke earlier this morning. Thank god I wasn’t on the throne when that occurred. I’ve been well trained to run to shore and only use the head incase of emergency! So, I guess the day started on a shitty note especially with the head having to be taken apart. Then came the 2nd item on the list, which was the jib furling line. It broke during the night and we had to replace it with something stronger and longer. Last, but not least the switch for the cockpit mood lighting was not turning off. Wade had to replace the switch due to corrosion. It was an interesting day… all the repairs were done! We have a functioning head. Phewf!

Bahamas


December 6
Twelve consecutive hours of very well earned rest, it was nice to sleep after that crazy sailing journey. I woke up in a boat surrounded by turquoise blue waters in the Bahamas. Quickly looked out the port hole to check if I was dreaming, but I wasn’t. French toast for breakfast, and quickly got down to working on desalting Joana. You would not believe the amount of salt that has accumulated everywhere around the boat. Wade hooked up the hose and I noticed that they didn’t have a meter attached to monitor the amount of H20 we consume… however; they charge us a flat fee each day for the use of water. My shoes, jacket, clothes, glasses and even my gloves were covered in salt. Finally fixed the sail grommet for one of the reefing lines, you’ll notice Mr. Alarie working very hard in the picture. The steering fluid pump is still not cured yet… it needed to be re-aligned once again. Since everyone had recovered from being on the water, we went for a walk around Bradford Marine’s boatyard… met a few folks along the way. Scarlett from Ireland who owns a 1992 Catamaran over 40 feet & she’s working really hard to fix it up. We dropped some chocolates off to Thurbur, the dock masters who assisted us in our arrival yesterday. Discovered the internet hot spot near the captain’s lounge… I’m sure I’ll be spending most of my time updating the blog from here. Then we met Kevin one of the wonderful security guards who provided us with local knowledge of Port Lucaya and some of the amenities around here. I don’t think we will be re-locating to Bell Channel, the prices are so much more expensive over there. The weather is hot, the winds are loco, and the people are enjoyable.

Monday

Tug O' War

December 5
The winds continued to increase from 25 knots to 35, 40, 45 and a few times it gusted up to 5o knots. It was looking like a blistery storm. Wade decided that we were going to slow down our boat speed by heaving to. Picked up some speed to do the turn, and then drifted for almost 2 full hours. We waited until the winds diminished to 35-40 knots until we continued the crossing. Just from studying the explorer charts, I knew that it would be physically impossible for us to enter Bell Channel into Port Lucaya. So, instead we quickly changed our course towards Freeport, Grand Bahamas Island. We needed to call the Harbour Controller on channel 14 for permission to enter the harbour. The VHF radio wasn't working at all on the US frequency... so we had to pull out the owners manual to find out how to change it to International. This tiny little button on the radio says (UIC) meaning USA/International/Canada button. Switched it to Int'l and then received a response from the harbour controller for permission to enter into Freeport. We wanted to clear customs and then wait for the winds to die off until going to Lucaya. That didn't quite work out...
We took down the sails, started to enter into Freeport and then had no idea where to dock. We spotted a local waving to us and trying to give us hand signals/directions. Approached close enough to get clear instructions and then proceeded to a boatyard called Bradford Marine! On shore two individuals were ready to receive our lines. That sounds all fine and dandy, right? Well... it was still blowing 35 knots of wind inside the basin. We got the bow line thrown to them... and shortly after the midships line. The two guys were pulling and tying the lines... for almost 30 minutes until they finally had us alongside the dock. It was like a big tug of war with Joana. I was beyond the point of exhaustion. We waited for the customs and immigration officers to come aboard and stamp our passports. That went very smooth! Many of the managers and dock masters came to welcome us to Bradford Marine... it was difficult to keep up with all their names. After entering into one of the Islands of the BAHAMAS, we showered in fresh water... consumed some food and then went for an afternoon nap. We all lived to tell the tale about our Gulf Stream crossing! Finally livin' on island time... also known as paradise. Stay tooned for many more adventures to come...
natalie

-out

Sitting Waiting Wishing for Wind


December 4
Early in the morning, we studied the weather on NOAA and PassageWeather.com to see if it would be suitable to leave later this evening for a crossing to Grand Bahama Island. The winds were predicting 15-20 knots from the South East (beginning around 9pm, possibly later.) Wade made the decision that we would leave later tonight… attempting to stay at dock as long as we possibly could. Wade went to ask the dock master for permission to stay at our slip until 5pm. He said “that’s not a problem”. It was a full day of preparations to get S/V Joana ready for the ocean again. We went to Publix, the common grocery store here in Florida to purchase more fresh produce and frozen items. Extra little items needed from West Marine, since they don’t have any in the out islands and then the rental car needed to be returned. Still many other things needed to be secured until we were ready to hit the high seas. Once all the required work was done, we rested and waited for the tide to come up, the sun to set and the winds to start blowing. At 5:15pm we casted our lines off from the dock, waved our goodbyes and prepared for the unknown. The sunset was very spectacular, just as we left Dania Canal. However, the “no-see-ums” were fierce all throughout the Mangrove. Thank god for bug spray!! We hoisted the main sail just before exiting the Port Everglades area. Lots of constant commercial traffic in this port, we must have seen two or three coast guard vessels, two cargo ships, three tug boats, two cruise ships and maybe a few power yachts/ sailboats all transiting in or out of the port. After having passed all the chaotic traffic... we ate dinner in the cockpit and decided on watch schedules. I was scheduled for 2am to 5am! Headed to the forward berth to rest and pray for a good sail across the Gulf Stream. Let's just say that around midnight... I had my head elevated on the starboard side of the boat and my feet pushed up against the port side of the v-berth. A little awkward! Went up to begin my night watch and noticed that the wind was quickly picking up, the seas were building and we were hand steering the boat. (It was too hard on the autopilot.) At this point in the crossing we were approximately half-way at 45 Nautical Miles under our belt. I got a few good salt water splashes from head to toe. Constant reminders of the unpredictability of the ocean. The ride was rather realistic, wild and somewhat crazy! Throughout the passage Diane was consumed by seasickness and nausea, while Wade was at the helm and possibly contemplating his decisions. I couldn't leave the cockpit in case I was needed for something, but the presence of the ocean was still very apparent. Every once in a while, a huge rogue wave would dump buckets of water into the cockpit! There is something about being on the open water that makes you feel so small and vulnerable, yet very much alive!!

Sunday

Welcome To The Swamp


December 3
I went to the marina to grab a bagel for breakfast, and that's where we chatted with our catamaran neighbours, Bob and Tina from Denver, Colorado are also headed to the Bahamas for Christmas. They are tied up here in Ft. Lauderdale until their water filter/maker is all repaired. Talking about the holidays... this lounge is festively decorated with lights, wreathes and poinsettias. Wade was checking the weather this morning on the internet and then announced to me that we were going to the Florida Everglades for an airboat ride. I took a quick shower, went back to the boat to grab my camera... and headed for a long car ride towards Billie's Swamp Safari. I wasn't very thrilled about the potential to see snakes and alligators. Either way, we went for a smooth airboat ride... into the Swamp! Spotted a few alligators, birds, and fish. Then we proceeded to an indoor theater to watch a snake show. Doesn't sound very much exciting... but it was rather educational and visual. Hans was our host from Venezuela, he was extremely knowledgeable about snakes. The entire day was filled with new information. Our last ride was on the Swamp Buggy Eco-Tour... that was identical to Jurassic Park (the movie). When we came back to the boat... I was ready to crash. T'was a really full day in the Everglades.

Wednesday

Up!


December 1
I'm very thankful that I'm not afraid of heights! Today, I had to go up the furled jib to repair one of the jib sheets which had started to unravel. I had to burn the ends and do some whipping, it took me a little while to adjust to the Bosun's chair. We ate lunch! Then I was sent up the mast to do some sanding of sharp aluminum edges. Once I was hoisted 75 feet up in the air... I realized that it wasn't sharp, it was all bent. Came back down to gather more tools, and a pashmina scarf to wrap around my waist for back support. This time I got to the top of the mast and the tools were too large to help in re-bending the metal. It was crazy!! Thank god we had mini radio's to communicate with the ground crew... otherwise it would have been tough to yell down below. I did three trips up and down the mast, until the problem was all fixed. During my maintenance on the mast, I had a small audience watching from all around the marina. Let me just say, that going up a mast is nothing like going rock climbing. The AT(air traffic controller) device was very useful for the controlled decent down the mast! Hopefully, I'm not scheduled to do anymore maintenance up there for a long while. Another project: the hard bimini is interfering with the boom sheet at times. We went to Home Depot to find a homemade solution... PVC hose for the plumbing section. I'm sure that it will help from any chaffing that might occur. It's still nice and hot... a cold front is supposed to arrive tonight, and perhaps early tomorrow. Freeport is on hold until further notice.

Tuesday

Venice of America

November 30
The hydraulic guy came aboard to look at the steering system, for an assessment of the needed repairs. The pump had to be removed and taken into a specialist. In Fort Lauderdale, the weather is incredible = scorching hot! Diane and I de-salted the foul weather gear with fresh water. Diane sewed another fender cover and then we scheduled a pick-up from the rental car agency at 2pm. They rented us a Nissan Versa, a very lightweight car... compared to Ms. Frizzle [my solid Volvo back at home.] We went to a store called Sailorman... well stocked with old items. We found a 2008 yachtsman guide to the Bahamas for $10, better than the 1996 one! Then we went to a gigantic West Marine store... I found some really good finds. Foul weather pants, shirts and flip flops... many things were on sale. We also went to the grocery store named Publix! Then we had an ongoing fight with the "no-see-ums", also known as Sand flies which are such a nuisance. Especially next to the large mangrove. Spotted a few night crawlers... cockroaches, while watching our episode of House. I hate them very much, but I only see them in the evening... we've been dusting boric acid around the boat to kill them off. Hope it starts to work. Beside the few bugs, the weather is spectacular and the marina staff are friendly folks!

Twelve Years Ago


November 29
Another uneventful night watch... the only thing I encountered during my three hour shift was a tug boat pulling a barge. Since the moon was lighting up the water, from a distance it looked like the barge had military tanks on it... however I discovered that it was probably large tractor trucks. I got up at 9am and was briefed on all the commotion that occurred earlier this morning... a plane crashed and the coast guard were searching for survivors. I could see the orange zodiacs bouncing around near the coastline. Reminded me of my days working for the Guard back in Canada, how much I miss cruising at 40 knots. It was almost 10am and we were beginning to enter the channel into Ft. Lauderdale. It was like one BIG deja vu.
April 30, 1997... Aboard sailing vessel Ballotin, we crossed the Gulf Stream from Bimini Island, in the Bahamas over to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We stayed at the Royale Palm Yacht Basin Marina... in the Dania Canal. Only 12 years later, I'm returning to the same port! I noticed some nice and improved cruise ships... docked in Port Everglades. We pulled into the the Dania Canal and noticed the depths starting to drop quickly. We tried contacting the Royale Palm Yacht Basin and then spotted a marina named Harbour Towne Marina... shouted to the dock master and pulled into their fuel dock. This might be our home for the next week... until the steering fluid pump and sail grommets are all fixed. The facilities are excellent... free breakfast, WiFi, showers and laundry! Later in the afternoon we went for a short walk to visit the marina I had stayed over a decade ago. I remembered it like it was yesterday. We had endured a tornado rip... and rented a gray car. Still can't believe I'm in the state of Florida.

Joana Times Two


November 28
Big breakfast! Organized the boat for another overnight sailing hop to the area of West Palm Beach, Lake Worth area. As I mentioned before, we met another sailing vessel from Canada named JOANA, registered in Quebec. Marie and Cathy sailed on the Picton Castle Ship for many years and now they owned a mini steel ship of their own. They had many questions for Wade about everything! We invited them aboard for a tour of the home built masterpiece... they really enjoyed some of the design features. Handed them a boat card and by 11am we asked if they could assist us in our departure. The crew from Joana gave us a little push, and off we went. I drove the boat out of the canal and noticed one of the casino cruise boats calling us on ch. 16. They wanted to insure that we knew they were leaving the dock, too. All was fine... we were making good speed and we passed them. Once we got on the Atlantic, the winds were light and we decided to pull out the jib and not even bother with the main sail. The sun was burning hot... I had to go below to put my shorts on. The sail was beautiful... generating lots of solar energy, but not much wind power. Wade noticed that the steering fluid pump is leaking every 5 minutes... and the company is located in Ft. Lauderdale. The plans have changed... pushing further south to the Port Everglades area... instead of Lake Worth. Our expected arrival should be near 12pm on Sunday. My shift is between midnight and 3am!!

Friday

West Marine

November 27
Finally, enjoyed a shower in Cape Canaveral. Went around to Cocoa, FL looking for some stainless steel hardware pieces, and then went to West Marine for some electronic charts of the Bahamas, a courtesy flag, and a new starting battery for the Volvo engine. Came back to the boat, Diane was finishing up some laundry and baking cookies. Geez, this is a good life! Headed back out for some more shopping to West Marine for a new fishing rod, and then headed to Walmart for some fresh food. It was a day spent on the road or inside a store. Arrived back... hung out at the laptop to update my blog... and in the process the convection microwave stopped working in the middle of our dinner time. It too needed a rest / cool down. Things are back in operation and we are sheduled to eat chicken wings, squash and green beans. Talk to you all soon.

Walk On The Moon


November 26
An early start in Cape Canaveral, we called enterprise rent-a-car, and got a Chevrolet impala for two days. Today we were determined to visit The Kennedy Space Center!!! With the help of the GPS we drove to Merritt Island and found our way to the NASA space center, where we toured around for the entire day. From 11am - 5pm! It was so big, that we needed to take tour buses to visit all the various locations. Most of the pictures depict our experience at NASA. The vehicle assembly building, launch pad(s), Apollo missions, the space garden, memorial park, and an IMAX of walking on the moon, narrated by Tom Hanks. After spending the entire day looking at space shuttles, it made me think of becoming an Astronaut. They say that the average astronaut is 32.5 years old, is married, has two children, one dog, and a corvette. Based on the facts I will have to find myself a husband, bear kids, buy a dog, own a corvette and wait another 9 and a half years. That is a little too "hardcore" for me. I'll pass on the astronaut career for now. We came back to the boat to a tuna cassarole and then watched The Good Wife. Natalie signing out from Cape Canaveral.





Cape Canaveral, FL


November 25
It was a damp and lonely night up at the helm, between midnight and 3 am. Nothing very eventful occurred. Winds were blowing 10-17 knots from the North East, completely behind us and making for some 30 hours of motor sailing. I give my respects to the inboard Volvo engine, it deserves a pat on the back and well deserved rest. Our speed over ground was consistently averaging 5 to 7 knots. Fresh water, also known as rain gave our decks a good salt-free rinse, before arriving into port. We had a couple shoals to by-pass before entering into the channel to Cape Canaveral. From the ocean we could see one of the many space shuttle launch pads. Tomorrow we might be going to the Kennedy Space Center for a tour. This port is very wide and filled with Cruise Ships and other large freighters. The marina we are docked at is called "Cape Marine", as we entered into our slip we noticed another sailing vessel named Joana from Quebec. They noticed our boat and we were both amazed that the vessel names were identical. Two girls, a welder from the maritimes purchased the boat with a friend and sailed from Canada to Cape Canaveral, they have been here for the past 15 months. Doing repairs and getting their steel hull ready for the warmer places. Dolphins have been following us... they are even found in the marina. P.S. It's the day before American Thanksgiving!

Wednesday

Jaws

November 24
It took a really long time for us to claim our spot at the fuel dock. The intentions were to depart the marina at 9am and that got prolonged until 10am. No big deal! We're in no rush, right? It's just nice when the winds are in our favour... that's all. Started off with strong 15 knot winds from the NE. The destination for today is Cape Canaveral, FL. For a great portion of the afternoon, I was at the helm and during my time on lookout I noticed a shark fin, right alongside the sailboat. I quickly got up and tried to see if the carnivore would surface again, and lucky for me it did. The fin was rather large, which means that it was probably a big shark on the hunt. Wade and Diane were both taking a nap, and it was too late. That was the biggest highlight of my day. When we passed near Jacksonville, FL we experienced a lot of freight traffic. At one point, the pilot boats decided to play chicken with us, and instead of altering to starboard he cut us off. That pissed me off! Hired pilot boats, not even respecting the collision regulations...? Later in the day we ate lunch and dinner in the cockpit, arranged our night watch schedules and then I went below to rest from 6pm-12pm.

The Beach


November 23
Early this morning I made my way to the WiFi lounge and found an assortment of cruisers. A French family from Montreal with three kids aboard a mast-less catamaran. They are on route to the Bahamas, too! While they were in the lounge the mother was homeschooling them. Brought back some good memories!! While they were sailing from New Jersey the captain and a crew member hit a moving sand bar and the mast broke from the impact. They are on a mooring ball in Fernandina Harbor until the mast is repaired. The second family/couple was from Switzerland, aboard a 40 ft catamaran named "Micro-Megas", Chantal and Freddie have been living aboard for the past two and a half years. Crossed the Atlantic from the Canary Islands - Martinique. Looks like they are returning to the Bahamas and then pushing south towards Cuba. Enjoyed nachos for lunch and then headed straight for a walk to the beach. Stopped at a dive shop for some extra supplies, and then proceeded to walk towards the ocean. Found our first functioning payphone and placed a call to Canada. Attempted my Mom's office (no answer) and then Dad's office (a response.) Temperature was about 22C, unlike 6C in Timmins. On our walk back to the boat, we noticed the Christmas lights, trees and decorations all around the town. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. For dinner we indulged in a roast pork, yams, asparagus, coleslaw and pumpkin pie. Late that evening I had my last warm shower before hitting the salty sea again.

Monday

A Quiet and Relaxing Sunday


November 22
Greetings from Florida! When travelling offshore things get a little displaced around the boat, so I decided to tidy up my quarters. Update my blog, as you can tell, and added more rainwater into the H20 tanks. The weather didn't look very promising this morning, but that changed in mid-afternoon. The sun decided to warm the earth... We slipped on our running shoes, put on our shades and headed for a walk of downtown Fernandina Beach. I took some neat photos of pelicans, buildings and palm trees. We made our way to 10th or 11th street to a store called Freds and Diane found some XXL black yoga pants, that we will be transforming into fender covers. How creative? P.S. This island is incredible... if anyone is thinking of visiting Florida, come visit Amelia Island. A great golf destination, long sandy beaches and friendly folks. For dinner we purchased some fresh Atlantic Seafood: shrimp and salmon. Mark and Ruth joined us from Witchcraft for cocktails and a delicious dinner feast!!

Sunday

Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach


November 21
My night watch was scheduled from 1am - 4am, and things were really nice until I noticed a large black and yellow buoy bouncing up and down just 10 feet to our starboard bow. I almost crapped my pants when we passed beside it. "Holy smokes" is what I yelled to myself. During the middle of the night, our destination plans changed from St-Augustine, to Amelia Island. At 6am, Wade turned the boat around, because we didn't want to enter St Marys Entrance, until we had first light. Once the sun started to rise, we proceeded to make our way between Georgia and the state of Florida. In the distance you could see the long sandy beaches of Fernandina. We wanted to anchor the boat at a mooring ball, but instead we noticed Wade and Diane's friends from Kingston aboard Witchcraft docked at the marina. That is what convinced us to stay for two nights at the marina. Diane docked Joana into our slip, for the very first time. She did an excellent job at bringing her in. The dock master gave us a tour of the facilities at Fernandina Harbor Marina, and I quickly bundled my shower bag and ran for a HOT shower! I took a Phil shower... which means
it's longer than 45 minutes. T'was good. For breakfast, Diane made us some square pancakes... they were delicious! Did I mention that this island is wonderful... it reminds me of Tofino and parts of Victoria, BC. We took a taxi to the grocery store called "Publix", everything was organic and things were much more pricey than "Piggly Wiggly's" found in NC. For dinner we walked up the streets and found a mexican restaurant called Pablo's Mexican Restaurant, we had fajitas and sangria's. Went for a short walk around the tourist shops and made it back to the boat at 6:30pm. I was exhausted and by 7:30pm I hit the hay! Sailors deserve their rest.

Saturday

Parasail Above My Head


November 20
Felt weird to sleep in the V-berth again, after two straight days at sea. We looked at the weather and decided that it would be best to leave first thing, rather than stay anchored in the small creek. The winds were scheduled to be 10-15 knots, but actually they were more like 6 knots! It all began with our attempt at trying to rig the whisker pole to the jib. It was too high, too low, rubbing on the life lines... things were all pointing to trouble. We stored the pole and rolled the jib away. Discussed the option of taking out the large parasailor to go downwind. First thing is first, the bag that holds the parasailor weighs 70 lbs, maybe more, the retail value is $10,000 and covers 20,000 square feet. Took it to the foredeck, rigged all the hardware and hoisted the sock that holds the sail. Things kept getting clustered and the sail wouldn't shoot out. So we kept bringing it back down and re-attempting, it was frustrating and some cursing took place. Finally had it all set up... and it was collapsing every now and then because of such light airs. Tonight my shift is from 1am-4am. Not much traffic out on the water... however I almost gave myself a shit attack. One of the yellow private buoys had no lights and zoomed by me. It scared the living hell out of me... I was keeping a good lookout and then out of no where a buoy pops up beside us. The stars are still everywhere and the moon is just perfect right now. Our destination changed in the middle of the night, from St-Augustine, FL to Fernandina Beach, FL. We should be hitting land near sunrise... Amelia Island.







From Beaufort to Beaufort


November 19
Out here on the Atlantic, the stars are very plentiful on the ocean. During my night watch, I can't help but look up at them. I saw a shooting star, it was very long and left a streak of green light. We had to do some motor sailing, because the winds died down to 10 knots. The freighters are everywhere and I had to alter course twice to avoid going on a collision course. Towards the end of my shift, Joana had a speed over ground of 7.2 knots and actually sailing for the first time, wind coming from a 90 degree angle. My shift ended at 3am... we began entering the channel to Beaufort, South Carolina (pronounced "Bew-fort", instead of "Beau-fort"). We went from Beaufort, North Carolina - Beaufort, South Carolina. How ironic? It took us three hours to enter into the Intra Coastal Waterway and begin our search for a good anchorage. We went up a creek and dropped the anchor in the middle, it's so odd to see a windlass to drop the chain. We all indulged in a warm shower, and hung our foul weather gear to dry. Put our feet up, enjoyed an alcoholic beverage and watched Grey's Anatomy!! Can you believe we watched the episode from an anchorage.

All Day, All Night, All Day, All Night


November 18
Finished my watch at 3am and went down below to catch some sleep. Woke up to dolphins chassing us and crossing our bow again, and some flying fish. Still no sea sickness for me. I've never been sick on the ocean, and don't think I ever will. However, that is not the same story for Diane, she hasn't been well the entire way. I was at the helm for most of the morning, early afternoon while the rest were catching up on sleep. The winds are still from the South East and blowing 20-25 knots. For dinner, we had pizza in the cockpit. My night watch shift is midnight to 3am again tonight. A full day of up and down in the waves.

First Day Sailing Away...

November 17
We waved goodbye to all the sailors at Bock Marine, at 9:15am. Diane was at the helm all the way down Core Creek, and took us under the lift-bridge. On our way towards the open ocean, we noticed an island with some wild horses roaming around. We adjusted the wind instruments and then hoisted the main sail! Finally the wind was going to take us where we wanted to go, wing on wing. On our way out of the marked channel we noticed the 47ft U.S. Coast Guard lifeboat. Identical to the ones on the West coast, except they aren't painted red. The winds were blowing 20-25 knots and sometimes gusting up to 35 knots, I could hardly feel the strength of the wind because it was coming from our stern. Met a few sailors along the way, S/V "Seahawk" on a Morgan 41, with six people on board, heading to Charleston, SC. & sailing vessel "Anastasia". Our main goal was to stay 20 miles offshore, and avoiding a large shoal called "Frying Pan Shoal". Just before the sun went down we saw 14 dolphins pacing the bow of the sailboat. They were very playful. At 6pm we began our night watch schedule. Everyone had a three hour watch, and my shift was between midnight to 3am. I headed straight to the sea berth after eating a banana for dinner, slept very well. During Diane's shift the winds increased and we had an accidental jibe which was caused from the auto pilot letting go. I woke up at midnight for my shift and rounded the shoals at approximately 1am. Things because less nerve wracking after passing the shallow depths and reefs.

24 Hours Before Departure


November 16
Small tasks all around the boat, to get it "offshore" ready. Some of which included: laundry, securing the anchors, sealing all the hatches, locks off the liferaft, secured the dinghy on deck, replaced the propane tanks, and provisioned with more fresh produce. While we were in town we went to a fast food restaurant called "Hardees", very similar to Harvey's back at home. The afternoon was basic familiarization with the electronics, radar, laptop with charts, and the autohelm. We finally called "South Bound II" VAX498 a daily weather forecasting service offered by Herb Hilgenberg from Burlington, Ontario. He was very helpful to tell us that we would be better off to head south along the coast, rather than offshore towards Bermuda/ down to the British Virgin Islands. At this point our destination tomorrow is Charleston, North Carolina. A potential 36 hour ETA. Things are looking good for an early departure in the morning.

Sunday

Hillbillies Everywhere...

November 14
This morning I learnt a few life lessons about marriage(s) and money, the topics were interesting and hopefully I remember these stories for a long time to come. I may not be getting married for a little while. I did some reading on the new “Boom Break”: a device used for the main sail, to prevent the boom from breaking and swinging from one side to the other. We performed a short training session to test the apparatus, found a few items on the deck that have potential to be ripped out, but hopefully our set up will not allow for that to happen. Did one load of laundry and in the meanwhile a soap opera occurred just outside our port holes. It included a few hillbillies from Tennessee, a $500 sailboat, a common-law relationship gone wrong and a bunch of spectators. When I return to Canada… I will elaborate more on this story. It’s priceless! Wade and I took out the large scale charts of the Atlantic Ocean and attempted to make a small offshore sail plan for our estimated departure at 9am on Tuesday. Hopefully making landfall in Antigua, Dominican Republic, Charleston, S.C. or the Bahamas, the voyage is 100% dependant on the winds and the current. I am extremely happy to be heading to a southern place, but a little concerned about the unknown destination and location where we will clear customs. Ever since the weather has cleared, I noticed a dozen boats of all sizes starting to travel south on the Intracoastal Waterways. For dinner we had planned for steak, but they were still frozen, all of us were hungry, so we went to a restaurant. “No Name Pizza” some of you might be laughing at this, because of all our no name products over in Canada. However the name originates from an Italian man who came over to Beaufort to start up a pizza shop. The agents kept asking the man what he wanted to call the restaurant and the Italian replied by saying “no name, pizza!”, “no name, pizza!” they must have had a big language barrier and the man didn’t want his restaurant to have a name… he just wanted it to say “pizza!!” The gentlemen’s wrote on the papers “no name pizza” and that is how it remained for year and years. P.S. the pizza was tasty.

I Love Fish

November 13
The salt water pump was dismantled and taken to the mechanic’s house to be examined. Diane and I cleaned off the rust from the bolts and pieces below the pump, applied a rust remover and then painted over the nuts and bolts. The spare bump which was already aboard was replaced, and we did more trials to see if the salt water is flowing… and it is doing a fine job! Signed out the “Bock Mobile” again today, and went to a department store, where I got a $5 watch to tell time and we got some fresh fish: a dozen shrimp and two fillets of Grouper. Shortly after our arrival back at the boat, the mechanic had already finished repairing the old salt water pump. The only thing holding us back is the weather and a few spare parts from West Marine. Dinner was fantastic!!! Grouper fillets, broccoli salad, rice, shrimp and pumpkin pie. I am eating extremely well aboard “Joana”. Toodles

The Salt Water Pump

November 12
The rain has now turned into a light mist. I prefer this rather than the loud pouring rain. Today we tested the Volvo Penta inboard engine, during our daily inspection Wade noticed that the salt water pump was leaking. Quickly we stopped the engine and narrowed the part that we needed to replace, rushed to find a diesel mechanic and coordinated to get the piece fixed. This pump might delay our departure until further next week; it was the original pump of 1992 and needed replacing. Now that the rain has started to diminish, I went for a tour of Bock Marine to observe all the fishing boats, sailboats and power boats that are on the “hard”. After our tour, we decided to sign out the “Bock Mobile” which is a courtesy vehicle. We went with another couple from Ottawa, Canada: Jim and Laura who just purchased a 40ft sailboat. We drove to Morehead City and Beaufort to get groceries, parts from West Marine, and a fillet knife. I’m very excited to be able to catch big fish on the open ocean, I noticed a few big fish lures and maybe I will attempt at making my own from plastic bags. In the evening we had spaghetti and pumpkin pie for dessert… since the American thanksgiving is approaching next week. Watched Grey’s, Bones and the Mentalist, I am very spoiled on this large sailing yacht.

IDA Equals Rain

November 11
Today in the USA it's Veterans Day and over in Canada it's Remembrance Day, my thoughts are with ALL the soldiers. However, hurricane IDA is creating lots of rain for us here in Core Creek. With Joana's new hard Bimini we have been harvesting rain water into 6 gallon jugs and relocating the H20 inside the water tanks. We transferred a total of 200 gallons of rain water into the tanks. We filtered the rain water three times and it looked crystal clear. In the early morning we inventoried all the canned goods on board, which will most likely be our offshore food. I tested my foul weather gear, my built-in harness and PFD. It’s been a really slow day. They are predicting to have 9 inches of rain in the next two and a half days. Noticed a few boats going down the Intra Coastal Waterways (ICW) motoring down and heading south. Our sailing destination is still unknown. Wade and Diane are looking at various locations including the Bahamas, Cuba and if our offshore route goes bad we’ll be making land fall back to Florida. The options are all dependent on a five day weather window. of good weather.

Thursday

Arrival in Beaufort, North Carolina

November 10
Flew from Toronto to Washington-Dulles International Airport, had a connection from Washington to Charlotte, NC where I had two hilarious flight attendants: Georgia and Vivi. They made for an enjoyable flight. When I arrived in Charlotte the airport was full of rocking chairs and it was so odd to see those inside a terminal. Finally, my flight to New Bern, North Carolina, a thirty minute flight and then I met Wade and Diane. We went to get a few provisions and then drove to Bock Marine, which is approximately 9 miles North of Beaufort. Sailing Vessel "Joana" is looking really good. This is the official website of the 53 ft sailboat. http://www.joana.ca/

Friday

Living Off The Land

They say that the people of the bush have been around for the past seven thousand years. Where the forest is abundant with plants and animals, and the seasons come and go. The people of the land harvest what they need, week to week, from season to season and from year to year. This is a short summary of my experiences of living from the land.

My fathers’ older sister lives between Lake Huron and Lake Superior in a city called Sault Ste Marie. My aunt and uncle have fifty acres of land in a valley, where they grow many crops and take part in a Farmers Market. Besides their great farming skills, they have been harvesters of the land and trapping on trap lines for the past 40 years. This Fall I was invited to help them trap and hunt for an entire week. Here is a day-by-day play of my week. I arrived on Saturday October 17, 2009 in the Township of Jessiman.

-- October 18 -- My first night was a cozy one, followed by a 6am wake-up on a Saturday morning!! Ate a yummy farmers breakfast, packed our lunches and by 8:30am we were hitting the trails. My uncle had already placed a few beaver and muskrat traps earlier in the week; we stopped along the trail to check them, but no beavers yet. Our mode of transportation in these trails was a 4 wheeler. I never knew its capabilities: mud, sand, rocks, logs, even water... this piece of machinery will ride over anything. We stopped at various points along the trail where we would observe for beaver activity, and set up traps. They tried to explain to me the geography of the area and how the watershed system works in their Trapline of 36 square miles. One major river that runs through is the Aubinadong River, a famous canoe route. We had lunch at this nice little campsite, where we made a fire and drank warm tea. We caught a couple Grey Partridge and ate them for dinner! Called it a day shortly after...

-- October 19 -- After waking up with really sore bums, we all agreed to spend the day around the cabin. Cut wood in the morning and pilled it all up. Skinned two beavers that my uncle had previously caught. The process was fascinating to watch, especially the anatomy of the beaver and the muskrat... and the various knives & tools he used. The smell was a little overwhelming at first, however like everything... you get used to it! We ate lunch, and then decided to launch the small Lund boat, and go fishing. We circled the entire lake and caught nothing! It made for an eventful afternoon, followed by a small ride to check two traps at the other end of the trapline. There it was, the Big beaver. I was a little hesitant to carry the animal up the hill... so I offered to bring the tools instead.

-- October 20 -- I learnt that beavers are primarily nocturnal creatures; they start to be active at dusk and then work really hard during the night. Since it had been 48 hours that the traps were last checked, we had to get back on the trail and do our rounds. We did really well... caught three large bachelor male beavers. Our count was now up to six beavers, only one more to go until we had 70% of the quota. On our way back, we went to check the traps just passed the cabin and I was asking my uncle numerous questions and all of a sudden the trap just set off on its own. It caught us by surprise!! I would never want to get my hand stuck in one of those. However we caught another beaver and a couple of partridge. Yay! The quota was met and we were okay. For dinner we were craving some fish.... so we decided to eat some wild Coho from the west coast, a treat that I brought along for them.

-- October 21 -- A day well spent at the cabin! My uncle took off on the four-wheeler to go gather all his beaver traps, while my aunt and I stayed back all day and cooked, cleaned and did tons of story telling. I almost made her pee her pants twice! We were both laughing all day. I spoke to her about my OE3 course from last year, she really enjoyed hearing about my classes and our experience in growing a garden. Later that afternoon we decided to make some solid handlebars for me to go riding in the wagon... that in itself was hilarious. Our design was solid. In the evening I got my own personal lesson on how to grow all varieties of vegetables, how to graft trees, and how to harvest my own seeds. I took plenty of notes and hopefully I can follow through with their these tips one day.

-- October 22 -- Snowy Morning... It was October, but actually it felt just like Christmas. We woke up to snow everywhere. Considering how beautiful and white everything was, all three of us went for a ride to see animal tracks and and begin setting up the box traps for the martens. Off we went riding in the snow... encountered fox, rabbit, and weasel tracks. The weather was incredibly mild... upon our arrival back at the cabin my uncle was off to gather trees for firewood and my aunt and I made a snowman. Once the wood arrived, we were very busy with splitting and pilling the wood. One of the trees, once was a beautiful pine. It was at least 150 years old. That's Ontario old growth!! I went down by the water for a little walk and bailed all the water out of the boat from the rain and melted snow, on my way there I came across a weasel. His fur was half white, half brown... a small little adorable creature.
-- October 23 -- The snow is still on the ground! The morning was spent skinning the remainder of the beavers. It's a really long job. It's such a process trying to get all that extra fat off the fur. Meanwhile, I tried to attract the Whiskey Jacks to come eat out of my hand... but the birds were too shy. My uncle spent a large portion of the day skinning the beavers. At sundown we brewed some blueberry leaves and tried to make tea. It looked a little dark for tea, and had very little flavor.
-- October 24 -- We pilled wood again, and I packed my duffel bag. We hit the road so we could go eat lunch at Aubrey Falls approximately 30 km's from the Trapline. On our way out we saw some lovely wolf tracks and noticed that one of the beavers had cut a tree that was blocking the road. Lucky for us we had taken the chainsaw and pilled everything to the side. We went to gather some spring drinking water... made a nice stop at the fuel station and indulged warm food. It was weird to be back in civilization again. Shortly after, my dad was already waiting to pick me up alongside the highway. That was the end of my one-week stay on the trap line. I had a fantastic learning experience, great laughs and wild food, all thanks to my aunt Lucille and uncle Jean-Guy.