Navigator Adventures

Sunday: February 15th, Highbourne Cay, Exumas Nurse Sharks in Highbourne Cay These north winds, the polar outbreaks, the major storm systems that have been hitting the east coast from Florida to Maine, have been a big influence on our voyage. We have been hanging here at Highborne Cay Marina for a couple of days because of north winds.   We hung out in Bimini 5 days the second week of February because of a similar event.  We paused at Melbourne the last day in January for another polar outbreak.   We left Hilton Head on the heels of a previous event, and as will turn out, we end up ridding out another one in Cambridge Cay on the 23rd of February.  If we thought we had left these storms behind when we got to the Exumas, we were wrong. That night we arrived in the Exumas, on Allen Cay, the advance forecast had been for the wind to veer from south and bring some high winds out of the north in a couple days.   The prevailing wind in the Bahamas is fro...

Monday, February 9th Up at 5:45 wishing for an early start as we are making for Chub Cay.  We have 100 miles ahead of us and at 8 or 9 miles an hour, we need every hour of daylight we can get.   Still very much dark when I first came on deck.  Sunrise is at 6:57 but nautical twilight is about an hour earlier, so I was expecting enough light to get underway.   Did the engine check, turned on the nav systems, took in the shore power connection and by 6:25 we were underway.    Departing Big Game Marina - following the Pilot Boat Our parting view of Big Game Marina We had waited 5 days in Bimini for the right weather.   We snuck in from Key Biscayne the previous Tuesday, just before the polar outbreak and had to sit out 4 days of 20 - 30 W - NW winds, then another to let the swell die down, tied up at our slip at Bimini Big Game Marina.   Not weather to be crossing Great Bahama Bank! We followed the pilot boat out of the harbor and...

Pine Island at Dawn Even though it is just a week, it seems so long ago!  Back on the morning of the 29th, we woke up anchored at Pine Island on the Tombolo River in Northern Florida - our first anchorage after leaving Georgia - and it was cold,  34 F, again.   So much for Florida being warmer!   The cold was keeping us motivated so by 7:30  we were continuing south .    By 9 we passed through the Bridge of Lions - downtown St Augustine - with lovely morning sun lighting up  Castillo de San Marcos and downtown Flagler college.  As much as we had enjoyed St Augustine last trip, we had no desire to linger any longer than necessary wishing instead for something warmer.   We pushed on, passing Daytona Beach and putting in another long day: 10 hours and 83 miles, reaching Calsita Creek,  just south of New Smyrna Beach by 5:30 pm.   Bridge of Lions Castillo de San Marcos Calista Creek Anchorage On Friday the 30th ...