Welcome back to a new year of cruising on My Sharona.. We are happy to be back on the boat.
We arrived in Stuart Florida, on November 1st, where My Sharona has been patiently waiting for us to return. We had a fun summer in Los Barriles, and the boat had some work done while we were gone. A partial new paint job. She is so shiny! We also replaced the world’s smallest dingy with one that will be a bit more comfortable. Also serviced the engines, generator , and my favorite, and new black front Bimini to match the back one.
After checking everything out, we moved down to Sunset Bay Marina for what we hoped was just a week or two so we could get provisioned up and ready to hit the Bahamas again.
This year we decided to try a different route. We usually pop over the Gulf Stream from Ft. Lauderdale to Bimini and straight on down to the Exumas. This year, we decided to head to the Abacos, which is a chain of islands north of Nassau. We planned this especially so we could be there on December 1st, for the Hopetown Music Festival. With this route we can depart from Lake Worth, Florida and make our way towards and around the West End of Grand Bahama Island. That is a shorter Gulf Stream crossing. I was excited by that. We have been to the Abacos before, but never on our own boat.
We went about our provisioning, got everything ready and then….. had to wait for the weather to cooperate to make the crossing. Day after day, week after week went by… nothing but strong winds and difficult crossing conditions. Our Friends Bruce and Debi on “Fast Betty” arrived in Florida and we were excited to have a buddy boat to cross with. We were having the finishing touches done to our Bimini when a marginal crossing opportunity came. Fast Betty is a larger boat with stabilizers (keeps the boat from rocking in rough conditions), so they took the chance to make sure they got across before their friends arrived on the 27th. Good thing we weren’t ready.. we were told it was a very sporty ride.
We made the best of Stuart… it’s a cute little town with lots of shopping, restaurants and a super Saturday Market every week.
We made the best of Stuart… it’s a cute little town with lots of shopping, restaurants and a super Saturday Market every week.
Now it is close to Thanksgiving, and we still haven’t gotten across the Gulf Stream… We need at least 2 days to get to Hopetown by the December 1st. stressing out about making it…
Thanksgiving thoughts helped… looked like we had a small window to try, so we packed up and headed down the Intercoastal Waterway to the Lake Worth anchorage, (near Palm Beach) where we will have to leave very early to give us enough time to make it across before the next front comes in.
Next stop is Spanish Cay, a small beautiful private island where we can check-in for customs. It is a 45 nm run on the banks, so a nice ride. Customs was easy peasy, and they had a yummy restaurant and we had our first Cracked Conch of the trip.
Once we were done with clearing Customs and immigration, we are free to travel to all the Islands. We decided to stop at Green Turtle Cay for a day and then moved on to meet up with our cruising buddies Debi and Bruce on “Fast Betty”. They were waiting for us in Marsh Harbor. Next post coming soon.
The boat looks great ❤️. We love the blog. So great to follow along
The boat is beautiful!! Happy for you guys to have the opportunity to enjoy life cruising around making great memories!
We miss you!!
The boat life looks good on you!
Glad you finally made it. We are still in Austin with our new Grandson, Carson. Be back in LB on the 16th. Love your pictures.
Another awesome adventure 😎 looking forward to the next post !! Safe travels 🚢
Great to hear you get out there!
Were currently underway from Grenada to Bonaire (love Starlink ♥️). And no you didn’t have the world smallest dingy, we do!
We even named her “MiniMade” 🤣🤣
Great to hear from you! Yes I was reading Claudia’s post about night watches😩. Not for me thanks…. Did a few hours on the crossing this year… wasn’t too bad since I knew sunrise was coming soon. Haha.
Enjoy your time there. Merry Christmas!
Love you!! Love this adventure!!
Another wonderful, beautiful, exciting trip you’ve taken us on, Sharon. I look forward to your adventures! Even more fun since I got to be a part of one a few years back!
You’re looking great as usual and always make the best of everything! Love to you and Wayner!
So glad you guys got across in time for the Hope Town Festival! Great to have our cruising buddies back. Terrific photos!
So fun! Merry Christmas Cruisers! 🎄🎁
That’s quite the adventure. Glad you had a nice easy crossing. Thanks for the great photos and update. Miss you guys! 💖
Happy Holidays!!!!
Spent many days in Green Turtle…any site of Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar? If that’s a negative…it’s just as well!!! 🙂
Great travels…missing you guys in LB! 🙂
Best to you both for 2024 ✨❤️✨
No pictures of your new table??????
Haha… check the next posting… We got one there. Thank you so much ! We LOVE it.
Love you guys! So glad you’re having a good vacation.