Home, and then Back to Da Islands…

Good To be home even if for just a short time…

First thing on the menu… Wayne’s 69th Birthday!

Another big reason for the trip home… The Songwriters Music Festival.. Combustion Music, out of Nashville, brought some amazing talent again this year to support our local charity, The East Cape Guild, which sponsors deserving school children with scholarships. Our 2nd year event, and we couldn’t miss it.

Also happy to be able to see family and friends!

Brittany with Grandkiddo’s and Nephew Jonathan and Alana.

Quick trip, and time to head back to the boat… We decided to make a stop at Disneyland!! I worked at Disneyland at the Emporium store on Main Street USA. in 1969-1972. Wow! I hadn’t been back in about 30 years..

On to Da Bahamas … Heading back to Spanish Wells for a bit.. time to bring My Sharona back to Florida.. We will make the crossing from Spanish Wells to the Abacos, and then spend some time checking out this area. We usually cross from the Exumas to Florida, so this is new to us.

Scott and Susan joined us for a week of fun.. hoping we have a weather window for them to cross with us to the Abacos..

Elbow Reef Lighthouse remains the only active and manned light station in the world that has not been electrified: the lens is hand-wound by a keeper and fueled by kerosene.

Said goodbye to our fun guests, and now it’s time to concentrate on getting back to Florida… Although weather better, it looks like we may be in for a bit of wind… We have a crossing opportunity coming up and we have decided to take it.

Happy to be able to say hello to our Hopetown friend Cha! I was the biggest loser in Bingo

We will head to a little island called Great Sale Cay, which feels like you are in the middle of no where! It’s a great stop on your way back to Florida, and about a 75 mile run, but because this is all on the great Bahama Bank, it is mostly a shallow and Smooth ride. Once at Great Sale, we will put our anchor down for the night. On a normal trip, we would continue on to the next stop, West End on Grand Bahama Island, which is at the edge of the shallow bank and then when the weather is calm, we would jump off the bank and across the Gulf Stream towards Palm Beach.

Because the weather was changing, we decided to get up at 1am at Great Sale Cay, and head across to edge of the Bahama Bank. That will be 5-6 hours in the dark (which I’m not a fan of) timing our entry to the Gulf Stream at daybreak… then continue on another 6 hours to Florida.

It’s pretty dark at night… really have to rely on your radar and instruments .

A few days in the Marina, organizing, and a quick trip up the Saint Lucie River to River Forrest Yachting Center, where we will store My Sharona for the summer.

Always interesting going through a lock system. A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways.

After that, we pulled into our summer storage yard, and put the boat away for the summer.. Since it is up the river and inland a little bit, she should be in a safe spot for hurricane season.

Thanks for checking in.. See you next season. Here’s a few video clips of our recent travel.

Click here to watch video.

Here is a link to my other videos. https://vimeo.com/showcase/11210958?share=copy

Cathy Carlson

June 4, 2024 at 3:56 pm

Wow! Meandering through the Bahamas! So nice!

Tanis Rovner

June 4, 2024 at 2:03 pm

Great post and photos! It reminds me of my sailing chapter and the first time I locked up the Columbia River. I radioed ahead and asked the lockmaster for some tips. He leaned over the side and yelled down, “Don’t tie up to the ladder!” Good advice 😅