Ragged islands

After the Island rally we hooked up with a couple of boats who planned to head down to the Jumentos and Ragged Island chain. These are remote cays that stretch south west toward Cuba! In fact Duncan Town the only inhabited island is only 50 miles from Cuba and many cruisers use it as a jumping off point for a trip to Cuba! Not many sailboats go this far south because there is no water, no fuel and very little in the way of supplies, our watermaker made this trip possible!

We left Georgetown and travels south to long island and spent the night at Thompson bay, then left early in the morning and crossed from the banks off of long island to the great Bahama bank by way of the comer channel, a 8 mile shallow (8-10 feet) pass. It was dead calm and the water was like a looking glass. We saw a pin cushion star fish every 50 feet or so, it was a spectacular trip!

We arrived at water cay, the northern most cay at around 3 pm and spent the night there. Water cay is know for its number of sharks because the Bahamian fishermen clean their catch there and the sharks see boats and think food, no swimming there!
We then traveled down to raccoon cay and stayed there for 4 days! Lots of great reefs to snorkel lots of sand dollars under the boat, spectacular beach, and those ever present barracudas and sharks. We ended up getting used to swimming with the barracudas, the sharks were another story!
We then traveled down to Hog Cay, it's a beautiful crescent beach just north of Ducan Town. We spent 2 weeks there! More snorkel, lots of conch, and that's where we found over a hundred sea beans!

The cruisers who have been coming for years have built what they called the yacht club, a shade pavilion made from bamboo, palm stocks, and floatsom! Very cool! Everyone leaves a memento behind in the club and we did too, we found a hard hat on the ocean side beach so we put our info on it and added a Texas burgee!

It was a great trip, the ragged's are really special!

Photos below







Above is the yacht club on Hog Cay beach!





Inside pic of the yacht club!





Just one days haul of sea beans from a hog cay beach!





These are all over the sea floor in the ragged's, the water is 5 feet deep in this pic! Just like bottled water!




Bar b q pit at the yacht club

Bahamas Feb and March

We left dinner key in Miami Feb 4th, sailed across the gulf stream with Two other boats, Stargazer and Casa Blanca. We had a pleasant passage, leaving at 9 am and arriving Frazier Hog in the Berries at 12noon. We stayed a night anchored there and then sailed to Nassau about 40 miles away.
In Nassau we stayed at Yacht Haven marina for two nights and cleared into the Bahamas. We then motored east to rose island where we anchored and snorkeled.
After one night we left and sailed to Allen's Cay, we checked out the igunanas and spent one night anchored there. Weather was approaching so we went on to emarald bay mooring field at wardrick wells, the HQ for Exumas land and Sea Park. Very beautiful. We got to move to the north mooring field the next day before the worst of the weather hit! After 3 days there we sailed south to Musha Cay and spent the night protected from a west wind.
We sailed thru Cave Cay cut into exuma sound the next day and sailed the 50 or so miles to Georgetown! Made it in less than 10 days a new record. We spent two weeks in Georgetown and then took a two day trip to Conception island, a uninhabitated island east and south of Georgetown. Very cool.
Next we participated in a 60 boat rally to Thompson Bay on long island, it's a 80 mile long island just south and east of Georgetown. Had a great time and took a bus tour all around the island. Pics of all of this below!!!!



Our anchorage at wardrick wells, one of our not to be missed spots!





-Anita on our way up Boo Boo hill to check on our sign we left last year. Alas no sign of it!




Lots more boats in Georgetown this year, this shot is off Chat and Chill beach!






Had fun feeding the rays on chat and chill beach, the conch guys gives you bits to feed the rays!







This pic is looking Oceanside at Conception Cay, that's coral down there!








Photo of the boats behind us on the way to Long Island!




Bus tour took us to the museum.








Anita posing in front of Deans Bly hole , worlds deepest at 690 feet!






Catholic church high above clarencetown in long island.





Our tour bus! Only the best here in the Bahamas man!

Columbus monument at Santa Maria point, northernmost in long island.








One of the views from the monument!






At the finale party of the rally!






Back bay at calabash Harbour where we anchored for a night on our way back to Georgetown.

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Bradenton to Marathon!

Discovery is in Georgetown and we finally have good Internet so here goes a quick rundown on events from Jan 7th when we left Twin Dolphins headed south!

First leg was from Bradenton off shore to Venice where we spent a couple of days waiting for a weather window to Marathon!




Then it was up at dawn and a straight thru sail to marathon! Made it in 30 hrs!

Spent a few days in marathon again waiting for a weather window! Hit our favorite spots!









While in Marathon caught Eric stone at his new home base!





Caught this Bonita on the way to Marathon!






Had lunch in marathon at keys fishery, had company !






Dinghy dock at boot key Harbour marathon !


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Bradenton to marathon 200 +NM!

Well that was fun, we left Twin Dolphins Friday Jan 10th at 8 am, sailed off shore to Venice, spent a couple of days at Crows nest marina, left there Sunday morning at about 9 am, motorsailed south in some lumpy stuff, 15 knots of NE wind and some big leftover swell from the cold front that passed the day before. Wind settled and the seas improved and by nightfall the wind filled in from the east as expected and we spent the entire night sailing only on just the headsail at 6.5 knots. Wanted to sail because of all the crab pots we would encounter off of the coast and Florida bay. When morning broke on Monday we were just a couple of hrs from the real skinny part leading to seven mile bridge. We brought the headsail in at 9 am and motored to and thru the channel. Caught a nice Bonita on the way! Managed to get a mooring ball at boot key and we will rest up prior to heading north to dinner key! Some pics below




Gulf was calm as we left Tampa bay!






Discovery on the face dock at crows nest marina in Venice.




Dolphin statue in wood at the beach park just steps away from crows nest.





Water color of the marina in Venice.





Day trip downtown Venice beach!






One that did not get away!





Lunch at keys fishery in marathon






View from discovery looking out on a packed boot key Harbour !

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Finally on the move!

Discovery had finally broken the roots it grew in Bradenton and headed south! We said our goodbyes to all the friends we made at twin dolphins marina these past 6 months, and slipped away under calm cloudy skies. We motored down the manatee river then out the south west channel and into the gulf again! 6 hrs of motoring in flat calm water brought us to the framiliar confines of Crows Nest marina in Venice. We will wait here for the south winds to switch to north and provide us with a good run down to key west! The hopefully up to dinner key to wait for a chance to cross to the exumas!

Some pics from today's trip






Flat like a bath tub today in the gulf!





Discovery on the face dock at Crows Nest Marina in Venice!





Beach park is just a block walk from our boat, love this wood sculpture of a Dolphin at the beach entrance!



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Bahamas here we come

It's early January and Discovery
is now ready to head south and east to stage for our crossing to the Bahamas!

We have finished all the prep to the boat, we have made runs to Costco (see below) and Walmart to put on enough food,supplies and beer for the expected 4 months down island! Now all we need is a decent weather window to make it around the keys and back up to dinner key where we will set off to the Exumas!





Discovery will sit a few inches lower in the water after we find room for all of this!




Can't have too much toilet paper in the Bahamas!


We hope to finally say goodbye to

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Discovery crew does early Xmas

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December 2 Anita and I left Discovery in her slip at Twin Dolphins marina and flew first to Little Rock to finish my dental implants, then to Chicago to spend 2 weeks with family in Illinois! All our kids joined us for the last 4! Days in downers grove Illinois at Anita's sister Marty's home. We had a early Xmas present exchange and a birthday party for our grand daughter Edolie!
Pics below






The tree







Edolie opening her presents














Edolie at her birthday party, our daughter in front of the tree, and our son playing wee golf!


We will be flying back Monday December 16 and will begin planing our passage to the Miami area and our anticipated crossing to the Exumas this winter sometime in January!


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Location:Downers grove Illinois