We're Baaaaaaack!


Click here to see where Rickshaw is currently

Since our last blog we have finally arrived home, well, to Florida at least. We planned to get to Bimini on Tuesday and cross the Gulf Stream on Wednesday. On the way to Bimini Rickshaw started having a problem with her port engine. Rick was fairly certain it was a fuel problem so we headed to the marina at Bimini expecting to try to find a mechanic the next day.

But did we have a stroke of luck! As we turned the corner into the marina there were 2 DeFever boats and a SOB (some other boat) traveling together on their way to the Bahamas. We knew the DeFever owners and, in fact, one of them is probably the best mechanic around. He has helped us out on several occasions. Turns out that the lousy weather that was keeping us in Nassau was also keeping them in Florida. It was pure luck that we were in the same marina on the same day. Steve came over the next day and determined that we needed to replace the fuel pump. Rick had several spares aboard so they installed a new one in about 2 hours. Thank goodness for friends!


Since it was our last night in the Bahamas and the first night of their 2 month trip, we all took the little school bus (really) to the restaurant and bar which was located a few miles down the road. Of course, we took advantage of their Happy Hour and did some dancing to the tunes of a local band and all of us had great fun.

We started the crossing at 8:00 am on Thursday and it was a great trip. Well, at least it was until we were about 12 miles south of Lake Worth when 'it' hit the fan around 3:30. We ran into a terrible thunder and lightning storm. We had 30-35 knot winds on occasion with some 7-9 foot seas. We couldn't see very far which was a bit nerve-wracking because there are a lot of big container ships that run north and south there. We wouldn't have seen them until we were on top of them not only because of low visability but also because the storm took over our entire radar screen. We felt like a cork bobbing in the ocean. It lasted about 45 minutes but Capt. Rick did a grand job of keeping us safe and sound, if a bit wet! We went into the Lake Worth anchorage and decided that it was Miller time. Phew, that was no fun.

Yesterday, Friday we left Lake Worth and have started our trek north. We are currently about 35 miles south of Cape Canaveral. We are all anxious to get home and get off the boat for a bit. Right now we are thinking that it will take us about 2 weeks to get home, arriving around the 12-14th of June.