Bimini again

This will be my last post. We are going back to Florida on Saturday and will eventually return to Maryland. I learned yesterday that I have a torn ACL in addition to the torn meniscus. With such a bumb knee I can't continue in the Bahamas, and will need surgery on my knee.

Bimini

We are stuck here in Bimini (western-most island in the Bahamas) because the winds are too strong to go anywhere. The next window of opportunity is on Sunday, which means we are here for over a week. Kathy & Joe have a flight from Nassau on Tuesday, so we're going to try to make it there for their flight.

We are at the Bimini Sands Marina, and it is very pretty here - the picture was taken just a short walk from our boat. There are some interesting things to see on this tiny island. There are actually 2 islands, North Bimini and South Bimini. On Sunday it rained all day, but we went out for breakfast at the little marina restaurant and had French toast made with Bimini Bread (delicious). We also went out to dinner at the South Bimini Beach Club Restaurant - we were the only patrons. (This is the slow time of the year). On Monday we took a bus and then a ferry to North Bimini and walked along through Alice Town, and had lunch at the Bimini Big Game Club - the best mahi mahi sandwiches ever. The ferry picked us up at the Club. My knee is not doing well and I am not able to walk very far.

On Tuesday John, Joe & Kathy walked to the Bimini Nature Trail featuring local flora and fauna, including poisonous trees, a Bimini Boa and an Iguana in cages. Later John and I walked over to the beach in the picture. If I didn't have a bum knee I would have gone in the water - just beautiful. Getting back out would have been tough. Later in the afternoon we attended a get-together for boaters in the Marina - a pot luck - and we enjoyed sharing stories. Most of the other boaters are also waiting for the "window of opportunity" to head on to the Exumas.

Today the four of us we went to the Bimini Biological Field Station Sharklab http://www6.miami.edu/sharklab/ , which is quite interesting. There are post grad-students studing lemon sharks in their natural habitat. We had a guided tour which included walking out in shallow water to view the fenced-in pens holding various sharks. I wasn't able to walk all the way out because the undersurface was very unstable and I would have fallen on my behind, so John helped me back to shore.

More pictures to come.

Ft. Lauderdale to Bimini

We left this morning at 7:00 a.m. The seas were much calmer than yesterday & the day before.

On Thursday we motored from Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale. We went outside in the Atlantic; the winds were strong and the seas were 4 to 6 ft, so it was an uncomfortable ride, but warm and sunny.

We got into Ft. Lauderale around 4:00, and Tony & Lynn came over to the boat from their nearby hotel. (See pic; John is still in grubby clothes.) We all went to a nearby restaurant called Coconuts, which was very good.

Yesterday we did laundry, and maintenance on the boat. It was too windy and rough for a crossing to the Bahamas, so we waited until today.

So now we're finally off on our adventure!

Vero Beach to Lake Worth

Alas, we are back on our way again. Joe & Kathy arrived yesterday, and we left this morning at 8:45, stopping for a pumpout and fueling. Another sunny, warm day. We will be at anchor tonight in North Palm Beach. Gonna cook burgers on the grill. We have enough food & drink on board to last us 2 months -- shopped for 3 days at Publix. I rode one of the motorized carts each day, so now I'm an expert cart driver. Each day I get better & better and have a lot more strength. I have a torn miniscus, and have it attended to in April when we get back to Maryland.

This is a picture of a great blue heron that was cruising the docks at our marina, looking for fish in the water. He was there everyday, so must live nearby. We could get about 10 feet from it and then it would either walk or fly away. It has a fish in its throat in the pic. Yesterday it walked by our boat and I was sitting in the cockpit just a few feet away. As long as I didn't move the heron didn't get spooked.

Still Vero Beach

I'm much better today and, I'm walking with a cane and a knee brace. Will pick up this blog again next week after we get underway again.

Vero Beach

I intended to write yesterday, but had an accident -- fell down the stairs in the companionway and wrenched my knee. Went to the E.R. got crutches because I can't put weight on my right leg. I am positive that its ligament a injury. I have an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist on Monday here in Vero Beach.
There are some positives - it is a balmy 75 degrees every day, so nice and sunny too.
On Tuesday we reached Cocoa Beach and spent the night at anchor. We have seen more dolphins along the way.
We will be here in Vero Beach until our friends Joe & Kathy join us on Tuesday. By that time I may be walking again.
Stay tuned.

St. Augustine to Daytona Beach

Don't know if you can see the fort in the picture to the left, but this is the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine taken from our mooring. The castle was built in 1672 by the Spaniards, and we toured it when we were here 3 years ago. Please see website:
http://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm

It is quite a treat to see it. We didn't go ashore in St. Augustine this time, but it is one of our favorite cities to visit.

Floridians who have swimming pools tend to enclose them with high screened-in enclosures (to keep out bugs and other vermin) . See picture at left. Some of them are 2 and 3 stories high and tend to block out the beauty of the house - of course this is the back side of the house.

We motored 48 nautical miles today, and we are at a marina in Daytona Beach. It reached 70 today but seemed chilly on the water with the stiff wind. Dinner is on board tonight. Our bananas are getting overripe, so I was forced to make a batch of banana dacquiris, which we enjoyed in the cockpit. We don't have the heat on for the first time since Friday - maybe in the morning.

Our plan is to reach Ft. Lauderdale by Friday or Saturday and spend a few days there. We will be seeing Tony & Lynn (my brother & sister-in-law) early next week, as coincidentially they will be staying in a hotel near our marina, before they head out on a cruise ship. On Tuesday Joe & Kathy Burke fly into Ft. Laud to join us. After we provision the boat, we will head down to Miami and then across to the Bahamas.