Oriental, NC!!

 Catching up on the past 3+ days at sea!

Staging at Great Sale, one of the northernmost islands in the Abacos.  Since this is the first opportunity for sailing across to the U.S. in the past while, there are lots of boats staging there as well.  I counted 27 boats in total!

 

We lifted anchor at about 7AM and had the sails up right away.

Leaving the beautiful shallow water as we aim west....

 

We got in the groove for the next few days.  Three days of mainly reading books on our Kindles.  We had the Starlink running in "offshore mode".  We didn't do a lot of "surfing" on the internet since we have to pay for each extra GB we use.  Was nice to have access to real-time weather though!

Not a lot of boat traffic - almost no other cruising boats visible.  We did see a few cargo ships and several got fairly close to us. 

And of course, beautiful sunrises and sunsets!

 

The conditions were - pretty breezy and pretty "lumpy"....big ocean swells and some wind-driven waves/chop.  Not easy, fun sailing, but we sure had a fast ride.

 

This is a snapshot showing us going 12.5 knots - surfing down a wave.  I actually saw 13.5 knots one time but wasn't able to get a photo....that's roaring fast for our boat!

 

 Just a little video to show a bit of the conditions that we had for 2 days....I know, the camera flattens it out a bit but it was bouncy enough that we had to be very careful to hang on to something as we walked around on the boat.

 We ate well though and had a nice visit from a pod of dolphins!

 Arrival to the Beaufort Inlet was good timing as we had the tide running with us.   We heard from Bluejacket and Three Score - both of them traveled over the same timing are staying the night in Beaufort We'll see them soon.

 

 

Always fun to see what ships are over at the terminal in Beaufort.  Side view.

 

And view of the bow as they are loading cargo.

 

As we are avoiding a cold front that sweeps by tonight, we kept on moving up the ICW....passed a few fishing boats.

 

And the usual small craft out fishing in the marsh.

 

Lots of scenery as we travel the last few miles.

Great trip - since Wednesday morning - we traveled 583 nm over 78 hours for an average of about 7.5 knots!  That was pretty cool.  Glad to be tied up at our dock in Oriental.  Time for a much needed nap and showers!!!
 

About 80 miles offshore from Charleston

All is well. Engines off sailing all night. We’re still in the Gulf stream, will have to head a bit west in a few hours to start making our way towards Morehead city. Yesterday we had a bit of an equipment failure. The bottom of the sail appeared to be blowing out of the sail bag. I had heard a strange noise earlier, apparently a large stainless ring that attaches the bottom of the sail to the boom sheared off while underway. Duane went up to investigate and found the broken part on the rooftop. He did a temporary fix by basically tying the sail to the boom with a spare line so it’s effectively got a reef in it now.  He’s already ordered the replacement.  Forecast is for continued winds from the south, so we should have no trouble making it to Beaufort sometime tomorrow morning. Has been a fast trip so far! Not the most comfortable that we’ve had due to constant swells tossing the boat around a bit. But worth it for the fast ride!

About 65 miles offshore of Flagler Beach, Fl

 All is well. Departed Great Sale Cay Yesterday morning at 7 AM With full sails. Had several hours with no engine, but speed dropped to 5 kn so we decided to run one engine on low RPM as usual. That’s probably going to be the configuration for the entire trip now. We are making fabulous time in the Gulfstream with a 3 knot free push. We did our normal three hour rotation for watches, starting at 6 PM. Each time we woke up on schedule at exactly the right times, no one had to wake anybody up for some reason!  We sailed 190 nautical miles in 24 hour so a pretty good day!  That’s an average of almost 8 knots!

 Still not certain whether we will make it to Beaufort before the winds pick up to an uncomfortable level. But will be easy to duck in somewhere like Wrightsville or Carolina Beach if necessary.  

Somewhere out there, Bahamas

 We departed Great Sale Cay around 7am this morning.  We'll be heading towards the Gulf Stream then northbound as far as we can get before a front with strong winds will probably force us to tuck into the ICW for a while.  We have Starlink running so we'll have communication and weather easily.  But we do have to pay for each GB in this mode so I won't likely be posting photos.  The Manta Three Score is traveling in the same direction as us so we will stay in radio contact with them.  I'm not going to fish since the seas are likely to be pretty bouncy for this trip.

Crab Cay, Little Abaco, Bahamas

 We are in a bit of a holding pattern.  The winds/waves to head out to NC are just a little above our tolerance level right now.  So we will wait until around Thursday to head out unless the forecast changes.  Another cold front will approach our path by late Sunday so it looks like we can't make it all the way to Beaufort without tucking in to the ICW.  

Meanwhile, not much happening aboard.  I've made several meals that I've frozen - making it easy to just microwave meals if we're in rough seas.  It also helps use up all our fresh veggies.  If we were boarded by US Customs on our return, we'd have to prove we didn't have any fresh veg from out of the country.   The only fresh items I have now are a bag of peeled carrots for snacking, 2 onions, 2 bananas, 1 apple and a sweet potato.   (I took inventory).

All beautiful and steady here.  Still 20 knots of wind but calm in the anchorage.

 

Crab Cay, Little Abaco, Bahamas

 We decided mid-morning to head on a bit north as the small boat traffic over the weekend tosses our boat around unnecessarily.....first thinking we'd just head to Manjack Cay a few miles north.  We just put up the main sail as we weren't planning on going too far.  Winds were a little higher than predicted and we were having a great sail.  Decided to go on further north to Powell or Crab Cay at the tip of Little Abaco. 

 

 As we got further north out of the protection of the little cays, the wind really picked up!  At a constant 30 knots, we turned into the wind and put 2 reefs in the main. Quite a fun ride!  (Note the TWS of 33 knots!)

I made a little video of the swell coming in off the Atlantic....I don't think the video really shows the "roll" but you get the idea.  We were traveling north and the swells were from due east.

 Uneventful sail otherwise.  We decided to go on to the protected anchorage at the tip of Little Abaco.  Winds are still 20+ so it's nice to have a calm anchoring spot.

 

 

 I had the breadmaker going during the sail.  Since we're getting ready to hop off to the US, I'll put one in the freezer to have for sandwiches on the way.

 

We will likely move west over to Great Sale on Tuesday and depart for home on Wednesday.

 

 

 

Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

 Another semi-lazy day....we did some minor cleanup on the boat.  It's hard to keep things very tidy without unlimited fresh water.

In the afternoon we took the dinghy over to New Plymouth to get rid of some garbage and another nice walkabout.  At the public dock there was a crowd (maybe 10 folks) waiting for the ferry dressed in Sunday best.

  

Along the waterfront.

 

Walking thru town, sweet houses along the way.

 Following the road around Black Sound, at the other public dock this dinghy caught our eye.  If you zoom in you'll see it's made of thick clear acrylic.  Out in open water the view down must be amazing!

  

Tucked back in the cove and very protected, Donnie's marina is full both the docks and the mooring balls.

 

Then we walked over to the large Abaco Yacht Services boat yard in Black Sound.

 Was good to stretch our legs....on the way back a nice local man named Craig stopped his golf cart and picked us up.  Like many Bahamians, he drove slowly and entertained us with some colorful stories on the short ride back to the public dock.  We got a few more groceries and "used up" all our Bahamian currency since we won't likely spend any more cash as we will be departing soon.

Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

 Another day in a holding pattern.  Pleasant weather locally.  Windy but sunny enough to charge the batteries well.

I did 2 big loads of laundry which dried almost instantly in the sunny breeze.  We just did some chores and enjoyed the day.

Ross on Kohina invited us over for sundown...the only photo of the day.  Ross solving all the worlds problems!

 We'll likely remain here for the next several days to wait for a weather window to head back to the US.....

Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

 Still hanging out at Green Turtle Cay....the waves are running about 8-10' in the Atlantic so we're making no moves to cross back to the US any time soon.....

Winds are steady from the east and we're fairly protected where we are anchored.  

Mid-morning we took the dinghy down to go over to Kohina and talk with Ross about a problem he has with one of his engines. Duane thought he might have a part to help him.  Here they are in deep discussion- Duane is sortof invisible down in the engine compartment! 

 

 Ross has a replacement part being shipped but they measured and discussed a "patch" that could get him running in an emergency while he waits on the proper part.  

After they determined a particular bolt size/thread that would possibly work, we left, swinging by to visit/introduce ourselves to another Manta anchored nearby - Three Score.  Note the choppy seas and angry sky....not the greatest but not dangerous.

 

 

After a bit of discussion, we all decided to head over to New Plymouth for some lunch and a little walk.  Michael and Anita from So. California.  (They keep their boat on the east coast in the summer).

 

 Lunch at Pineapples was as usual...not too busy....

Fun getting off the boat again....

After lunch we took a nice walk into town.....not quite as scenic as some parts of the island.

 

But everyone is pleasant and helpful. We just wandered around the side streets.

 

And stopped by the old jail.....they'd put a "prisoner" in one of the cells since we'd been here a few years ago, haha.

We did stop by the hardware store and got a particular bolt for Ross to try and temporarily fix his engine while he waits on the correct part to come from the US.

Uneventful evening with winds not as strong as predicted.

Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

 We did manage a very nice long walk before the strong winds really set in.  We took the dinghy over to the very nice Bluff House/Tranquil Turtle dinghy dock.  Pretty little beach there.

 

Walking up the steep hill there are some cute little colorful cottages.

 

At the apex of the "Bluff" - the view back to Sojourn at anchor.

 

Walking along the road overlooking White Sound.

 

Wandering along the side streets.  There are some houses with stunning views!

 

And lots of normal "Bahamas houses".

 

The marinas at White Sound were busy.

 

Up and down the hills - the roads were cut thru rock in some places.

We made a long loop back to the Tranquil Turtle just in time for lunch.  I had my first (and probably only) mixed drink of the season - a yummy frozen pina colada.....we had a nice lunch but just as we were finishing we saw the gust front of an approaching rain event....so we quickly paid our tab and scooted back to the boat for a blustery afternoon and evening.  

We did hear a couple of boats on the VHF during the evening in a bit of distress with the high winds.  We were not near them to offer assistance.  I believe everyone eventually got settled for the night of 30+ knot winds.
 

Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

 I'm not gonna lie....the weather is a bit depressive....just too much wind from the wrong direction this season....

The view most of the day on the boat with intermittent showers.  We had planned on a bit of a shore walk around New Plymouth but ended up just staying on the boat.

 

In the late afternoon the wind died and the sky did eventually brighten.  We'll get ashore tomorrow.....we will likely be here for about a week waiting on the strong east winds to abate so prepare for me to whine about it daily, haha.