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.
Monday, May 25, 2009
YIPPEEEE!!!!!!!
Rickshaw, along with Tide Hiker have left Nassau! After spending 12 very soggy days in the Nassau Harbor Club Marina we were more than ready to get on our way. We have been anxiously watching the calendar as insurance dictates that we be at or north of Savannah, Georgia (32 degrees north) by June 15. The next two days look great weather-wise so we will be back in Florida late afternoon on Wednesday hopefully. It will probably take us 5 or so days to get up the coast of Florida so we should be in good shape. After that, we will be making a bee-line back home.
We have had such a great trip but it has been long and we both look forward to seeing our friends and family again. It will also be nice to be on land and leave behind the rocking and rolling that we have experienced for the last few weeks. It is funny that sometimes when we are sitting at a restaurant or shopping at the grocery we have moments when feel we are still rocking. Guess it takes a while for the brain to catch up...or maybe it is the rum punches!
As a matter of fact we are currently rolling pretty well where we are. We arrived at Chub Key in the Berry Islands, about 40 miles NW of Nassau, today at 2:30.
To see Rickshaw's location at Chub Key click here. The little "A" in the exclamation point is where we are anchored. At the zoom level Rick selected, you can see Andros Island to the SE and the apex of the Tongue of the Ocean near the top left. That is where we will head tomorrow morning to get back onto the Bahama Banks heading for Bimini. You can zoom in or out to get a perspective of the Berry Islands in relation to the rest of the Bahamas.
As we were heading NW today a large thunderstorm developed SE of us and we were hopeful we'd get into the anchorage before it hit. It turned out that the storm passed south of us, but the wave and surge action is making the anchorage quite rolly at the moment. Perhaps we'll have another rum drink. Rick is making water here as we found the tap water quality pretty poor at Nassau Harbor Club. They say they drink it all the time, but Rick uses his water meter to test the quality before putting it in the tanks, and at that marina it showed the dissolved solid content to be about 3 times what normal city water contains. He made water there instead of using the tap, and the quality was much better. Anyway, thank goodness for the water maker, as it has performed well while in the islands. Tomorrow we'll leave for Bimini, about 10 hours to the west across the Bahama Banks. Then Wednesday we plan to cross the Gulf Stream, and let the north-bound current carry us up to Stuart, FL. That will be a very long day as well.
At any rate, we will continue to blog as we make our way home. We hope to see you all soon.
Rickshaw, along with Tide Hiker have left Nassau! After spending 12 very soggy days in the Nassau Harbor Club Marina we were more than ready to get on our way. We have been anxiously watching the calendar as insurance dictates that we be at or north of Savannah, Georgia (32 degrees north) by June 15. The next two days look great weather-wise so we will be back in Florida late afternoon on Wednesday hopefully. It will probably take us 5 or so days to get up the coast of Florida so we should be in good shape. After that, we will be making a bee-line back home.
We have had such a great trip but it has been long and we both look forward to seeing our friends and family again. It will also be nice to be on land and leave behind the rocking and rolling that we have experienced for the last few weeks. It is funny that sometimes when we are sitting at a restaurant or shopping at the grocery we have moments when feel we are still rocking. Guess it takes a while for the brain to catch up...or maybe it is the rum punches!
As a matter of fact we are currently rolling pretty well where we are. We arrived at Chub Key in the Berry Islands, about 40 miles NW of Nassau, today at 2:30.
To see Rickshaw's location at Chub Key click here. The little "A" in the exclamation point is where we are anchored. At the zoom level Rick selected, you can see Andros Island to the SE and the apex of the Tongue of the Ocean near the top left. That is where we will head tomorrow morning to get back onto the Bahama Banks heading for Bimini. You can zoom in or out to get a perspective of the Berry Islands in relation to the rest of the Bahamas.
As we were heading NW today a large thunderstorm developed SE of us and we were hopeful we'd get into the anchorage before it hit. It turned out that the storm passed south of us, but the wave and surge action is making the anchorage quite rolly at the moment. Perhaps we'll have another rum drink. Rick is making water here as we found the tap water quality pretty poor at Nassau Harbor Club. They say they drink it all the time, but Rick uses his water meter to test the quality before putting it in the tanks, and at that marina it showed the dissolved solid content to be about 3 times what normal city water contains. He made water there instead of using the tap, and the quality was much better. Anyway, thank goodness for the water maker, as it has performed well while in the islands. Tomorrow we'll leave for Bimini, about 10 hours to the west across the Bahama Banks. Then Wednesday we plan to cross the Gulf Stream, and let the north-bound current carry us up to Stuart, FL. That will be a very long day as well.
At any rate, we will continue to blog as we make our way home. We hope to see you all soon.
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