Ocean Stray

The speed of time is different on land, period. We’ve been living in a Grenada house for a month and the daily/weekly sense of urgency we’ve known since 2019 is gone. Without the threat of storms, weather, other boats, emergencies…..I’m honestly grown complacent and I’m looking forward living in the water again next month and resume island hopping.

Anyway, that is my half-hearted apology to myself for not writing since July. Since then, we sailed to St Croix and then down to Grenada in order to beat our insurance deadline of August 15th. A ton has happened over the last 400 miles and several months but all good things. The most important is we because slightly better sailors and we’ve started tacking into the winds instead of motoring. The ride is amazingly smoother and fewer bad things happen. You can see the zig-zag lines from Puerto Rico; that’s us improving our skills! Of course the sail to Grenada was a single LOOONGG sail with much less effort thanks to favorable winds and calm-ish seas.

St Croix was pretty amazing and I wished I would have written while we were there so I could remember the details better. A few memories that stand out include hundreds of these “towers” that dot the hills on the island.

At first glance they looked military but after some investigation we learned they were old Dutch sugar mills. The Dutch built sugar mills in the late 1700’s to grind sugar cane using wind power. Here’s a good link to get more details.

The sheer number of huge iguanas also stand out in my fading memory. Huge.

St Croix is also where got immunized for Covid (required for entry into Grenada) at a Kmart of all places! Yes, St Croix is a LONG way from the continental United States but the US Dollar is their currency, no passport is needed for USA Citizens, they have a Home Depot and a Kmart. Of course they have hundreds of other noteworthy places to take your money, but not many WAREHOUSE FOOD DEPOTS! This place had everything except boat supplies.

Since St Croix is so far south of the other Virgin Islands, it typically receives fewer tourists and feels more like a community than a amusement park. Driving the car on the left side of the road is another charm of the island but we (Kendall) got used to it super quick.

We did some hiking, explored all the coasts and tried to learn as much we we could about St Croix. We also went to the most eastern place in the United States, did a lot of exploring and really had a great time.

While we were there I was convinced this place was my favorite and I wanted to live there someday. Until we got to Grenada….more to come!

Puerto Rico is a gem in the Caribbean and a pleasure to visit. We started admiring the coast and beaches as we approached and soon fell in love with its reefs, mountainsides, waterfalls, history and people. Within a week, we also discovered Home Depot and Walmart and I’m truly embarrassed by the level of excitement I felt visiting McDonalds and ordering Domino’s pizza. We don’t usually take photos to memorialize these dubious moments, but they happen and I wanted you to know what kind of person is writing this! Seriously though, they may have overdone it with the Walmarts.

Speaking of capitalism, I find it interesting how prices go up when the US Dollar is accepted; whether that be food, services or even beer. Puerto Rico is far more expensive than the Dominican Republic though they have similar populations and share some culture and history. Puerto Rico is about 80% smaller than the Dominican Republic so the population is more dense but Puerto Ricans live longer, earn more, have fewer children and have better access to healthcare. Overall Puerto Rico is far more convenient and familiar for a visiting American and WAY easier for American sailors. We checked in electronically and didn’t need government permission to move from port to port.

Before we completely fell into shopping mode, we did explore the island and there’s a ton of stuff to do here. It would take years to see it all but we did what we could in the few weeks we were on the island. Personally, I enjoyed the forts in San Juan the most and visiting Richard (much of the the Kentucky Air National Guard was here at the time).

Wow, I just noticed that I look younger when my white beard and moustache is hidden! We also visited a National Park and its waterfalls and that was a pretty wonderful sight up in the mountains.

In Ponce, PR the Marina was in an awesome part of the island where there were great walking trails, parks and places to meet people and spend time outdoors.

…until the Hurricane swept by of course! It was well south of Puerto Rico but we still felts its winds and overall effects.

As we continue to work out way south, the temperatures are starting to climb. We haven’t seen many days above 90F but sometimes in a tight marina it can get a bit warm. If you look at the movie above, You’ll see that most boats are plugged into the Marina’s electrical grid. This allows them to have hot water, Air Conditioning and all the modern conveniences ALL THE TIME! Unfortunately, North America use 110v 60Hz and our boat is wired like the the rest of the world at 230v 50Hz. In short, we’ve been in the one part of the world where we can’t plug our boat into shore power!

Fortunately, we have an excellent solar and battery system on our boat which allows us to run our AC at night while we sleep. We also have a generator that can power the AC when we need it but neither of us want to hear or smell the generator running. We long for the day where we can just plug up into a Marina and have unlimited hot water and air conditioning. In fact, the closer we get to the equator, the closer we get to the kind of electricity can use!

This longing really began in Puerto Real, PR. We had a few hot days and decided to take a trip to Home Depot. By the end of the day, we had an AC solution that lets us plug into 110V marina electricity AND keep our boat cool day or night. Its a bit redneck I admit but its SUPER efficient, easy to break down and plugs right up to 110v shore power.

Of course that’s not the only DIY projects we had. We encountered some engine overheating problems, our anchor windlass decided to stop raising the anchor and our dinghy motor started acting up. Cruising is an amazing way to live and you really get the see the world and meet great people. There’s also a lot of maintenance/repair however and so its often referred to “Making boat repairs in exotic places”

Now that we’ve improved our engine cooling, changed the oil, replaced the anchor windlass, replaced the lazy jacks, swapped the generator’s DC regulator and restored the dinghy’s power we can continue our path east and south! We’re ready for more islands, fruity drinks and sunsets!

The next sail will take us to the US Virgin Islands and we’re looking forward to seeing what St Croix has to offer! Until next time…

When I took Spanish nearly 40 YEARS AGO I never expected to remember any of it let alone actually need it. Ms. Sprayberry never prepared me to explain that “our clutch cone is slipping on our port-side Yanmar Saildrive” en Español! However, I am blessed with enough Spanish to tell Dominicans how much “I like football” , “My name is Steve” and “I don’t like to wash dishes” so I’m ready when those topics come up.

Fortunately, the beauty of the Dominican Republic transcends language. Here’s just one of the photos Kendall took at 27 Waterfalls this week. I mean WOW!

One of our saildrives (transmissions) really is slipping so we’re waiting for parts to be shipped from Miami so we can resume our way south to Grenada. We’ve really got to get a move on before the weather starts to get sketchy! The good news is we get to explore more of the Dominican Republic before we get to Puerto Rico.

We spend our nights in a cushy Marina that’s reasonably protected from the seas, has a great restaurant and free parking for our rental car.

During the day, we can take our $40 a day rental car and explore the island! We’re on the north side of Hispaniola and most people use motorcycles as their primary transportation or you can take a Taxi.

Unlike the Bahamas, the island has actual mountains and rain forests that you can explore on foot, by car, ATV or cable car. Masks are pretty much required here for most things but the enforcement is not consistent.

Isabel De Torres National Park has a cable car that we took to the top of a 2,625ft peak. About 2 1/2 times as tall as Stone Mountain and tall enough to put us in the clouds.

There are some differences in daily life for sure. We’re thankful to be able to shop in a large store again and to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables. We weren’t expecting to see the Navy guarding the in-store bank with a rifle. But I guess we’re happy he’s there?

Masks are very common here so we carry ours around when we travel in populated areas, but there’s so much to see in the countryside.

There are smaller cities scattered around the country and those too simply drip with culture and history.

Did we mention the motorcycles?

The food is great in the Dominican Republic and we can usually get dinner and drinks for under $20. In Luperon, it was about half as much as it is in Puerto Plato with meals costing us less than $10 total!

We hope to have our parts here and back in running condition on June 2 or so. Until then, we’ll just have to make do in this island paradise!

Kendall will post more photos of tour excursions on Facebook but I wanted to jot down some of our adventures before I forgot the details.

“Why have we not spent more time here?” is the question I keep asking myself. Many of us have been to Nassau on a cruise or stayed at an exclusive resort or seen a photo of a pink beach or swimming pig and thought “this is the Bahamas” but it’s much much more.

The facts are easy enough; 12 primary islands with various population densities, airports, stores, car rentals, resorts, terrific restaurants and modern conveniences. These larger islands are 10-40 miles apart from each other so you can easily charter a boat or take a shuttle and get to another large island in just a few hours.

We’re talking about a country that gladly takes United States currency, primarily/exclusively speaks English, has exceptional Cell Phone coverage, Internet access and is located just 50 miles from Miami, Florida. I don’t think you could design an island paradise more convenient to the United States! The weather’s pretty good too! We’ve been living under blue skies and 70-78 degree weather for the last 6 weeks. Average temperature in April is around 74F.

If you’re looking for more adventure, there’s 700+ islands, inlets and cays that are partially populated or contain no humans whatsoever. In fact, there’s more than 180,000 square miles of shallow, sandy ocean available to you and the wildlife that lives there. This is fantastic for boaters as it means we’re never more than an hour or two from a protected, sandy anchorage.

We visited quite a few of these remote locations but we found we prefer to be closer to people. In fact, the lightly populated islands appeals to us the most. These are sometimes called family islands and the hospitality is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Small, family-owned restaurants are scattered across these smaller islands and they’re openly welcoming and friendly. The owners are always there and often fill the role of chef.

Some of these places are actually inside houses and they’re happy to show you how they prepare the food.

On Blackpoint, we wanted to get some of “grandmas” coconut bread so we knocked on the door and she invited us into her kitchen to choose the loaf we wanted.

If you want to see nature, they have that covered too. Locals are there to take you out to dive locations, caves, blue holes or wherever you want. If you already have a boat, you can just meet them and they’ll “call” the turtles, the sharks or the stingrays. We’re not even kidding; they’ve been feeding these wild animals so long that they’ve learned their distinctive calls.

This kind of relationship with nature means you can simply walk into the water to see or even pet wild animals.

Turtles are a little more shy so you’ll need some food for them.

I think our favorite place so far has been Chat N Chill near Georgetown on the Great Exuma island. Order a conch salad and ask to keep the scraps. Walk past the pile of conch shells with your scraps and stingrays swim right up to you.

Chat N Chill is a great place to hang out, grab some food and drinks and meet locals and other visitors. They have a pig roast every Sunday and the place gets pretty wild. Sunday afternoon, the water got pretty dangerous with the wild boat activity FAR TOO CLOSE to shore!

In the end, it’s the people you meet that make it special I think. We drank with a large group of rowdy folks from North Carolina but there’s common ground wherever you look. We did hang out with quite a few other cruisers which makes sense as we share similar interests (and problems) so it takes little effort to bond with them as you explore an island or region.

Of course if nature or isolation is your thing, you could never see it all in the Bahamas. We found some terrific blue holes but there’s over 150 documented holes above and below the water line. There’s also countless blowholes, caves, natural baths and geological sites.

We will continue to work our way south in May but we still have a few weeks to explore these islands and I wanted to capture some of our experiences before we left. If you’re looking for an island paradise that’s close to home, the Bahamas are an often overlooked gem.

What an amazing place! There’s a tremendous amount of history and heritage for an island only seven miles long with 1500 residents. Bimini shares many of the same historical footnotes as other Caribbean islands; indigenous people discovered by Christopher Columbus (and then enslaved), Juan Ponce de León searches for the Fountain of Youth and eventually Ernest Hemingway comes to fish. But Bimini also has unique distinctions like the underwater “Bimini Road” , a rich American historical tie with Prohibition and several native endangered species of reptiles and fish. The people are incredibly inviting and you never feel unsafe or accosted for chicklets or $10 photos.

The outer part of the islands have the beaches, waves and sunshine you’d expect from an island. Inside the protected harbors and anchorages, the pristine water hides nothing. Tarpon, other bonefish, rays and nurse sharks can be seen any time of day. From the dock or boat, you just look down as if you’re standing on the top of the worlds clearest aquarium.

Obviously, we arrived via boat so there’s specific rules and observations that must be followed. For the Bahamas, you can only enter if you have a pre-approved Health Travel Visa. You get this by taking a rapid Covid Test in the states and completing an application. Once the Bahamas approved this, you can sail into the port with your quarantine flag flying and then visit immigration and customs.

We were granted a 3 month cruising permit which includes a fishing permit. We’ll likely head out to the Berry Islands this week to meet up with some other cruisers we met. Our goal is to get the Exumas soon and spend as much time as we can there before we have to head south to avoid summer hurricanes. Kendall is already acclimated to the islands. Right now she’s off paddle boarding with our boating neighbor and her hair has already made the transition!

Don’t think I’ll manage a hair transformation but I do look forward to getting a little more active and becoming a little less pasty white!

Prodesse Quam Conspici is the motto for Miami University but that can be challenging these days with Snapchat, Facebook the whatever TikTok is. In fact, I broke that motto just now by Googling it and pretending I know what it means and by writing these blog posts. I like the idea of capturing our sailing adventures in case someone has any interest. More importantly, I want to capture it before my aged brain decides to flush it with all the other important things I need to remember. Its beyond me why I can remember every line to a Monty Python skit, but I can easily forget a person’s name or the appropriate times to use (or refrain from using) sarcasm. At any rate, I intend to honor Miami University’s motto by continuing to document our travels and “to accomplish without being conspicuous”.

So we’re continuing our push to the Caribbean after spending a couple of months in Ft Pierce, FL. The waters of Ft Pierce were exceptionally clean due to the RAGING tides that swept through 18 hours a day. Boat carnage is the best description as we personally witnessed two spectacular boat crashes that resulted in destruction but no injuries. Sadly, we only have photos of aftermath as no one at the dock had the willpower to retrieve a camera instead of watching.

We saw 3 accidents in total and I think I better understand the panic described in an active shooter situation where the victims freeze helplessly because their brain can’t process what’s happening. I felt that same helplessness although in a far less lethal situation during these accidents with time flowing at half-speed. As I looked around afterwards, I noticed others on the dock were in the same shocked, cameraless pose; some with phones clutched in their hands hanging by their side. I like to think that if there were a life in danger, we would have snapped out of our trance and sprung into action and so I’ll cling to that thought!

For all its wrath, Ft Pierce was one of our most favorite stops because of the friends we made and people we met. Shaun and Van are brilliant doctors who are smart, incredibly happy, work out regularly and look fantastic. Among other skills, Van is exceptional at opening coconuts and taught us a couple of methods that have dramatically reduced the amount of blood required to open them. Of course I still manage to open them in an effeminate way with miniature tools but I’ll embrace that part of me for now and take this time to admonish dated macho notions!

My point is that Shaun and Van are tremendous fun and now great friends. I hope they won’t mind me showing this unflattering photo to illustrate the point and deflect your attention from my coconut opening photo.

We hope Shaun and Van will join us somewhere warm again so we can show off our island skills and pay then back for all the meals. We were fortunate enough to sit at their table many times and we strive to return the favor.

So now we’re in Miami after motoring through the Biscayne Channel past Stiltsville.

Its an amazing place built in the 30’s and then upgraded in the 40’s and 50’s. It became less frequented in the 70’s and 80’s after hurricane damage and in 2003, a trust was formed to help protect them.

There are seven remaining and you can see all seven (4 up close) by driving through the clearly marked Biscayne Channel.

I doubt we’ll be able to do any sight seeing while we’re here due to the planning, errands and health tests that must be completed before we can cross over to Bimini. We hope to grab some Cuban food while in Miami and I’m sure Kendall will take plenty of photos. Until then, here’s a parting shot of Miami from our mooring.

We’re in Ft Pierce, FL and gearing up for the Bahamas! January here gets up into the 70’s and down in low 50’s so its very pleasant and we’re able to knock out some of the remaining boat projects before we leave the United States.

We’ve sailed twice since our last post, but I’ve been unable to write down my thoughts over the last month due to recent events and overall family health. I’ll try to summarize things very briefly with a positive spin. Kendall’s arm is healing nicely, her family seems to be recovering from Covid, a service is planned in Memphis for Kendall’s grandmother Nini, the Nation is working to heal itself from division and vaccines are being distributed worldwide. When I say it like that, things don’t seem so bad!

Kendall and I were able to spend time with family in November and we flew out to see Haley’s new house in California over Thanksgiving. We’re so very proud of her adulting skills!

We returned to the boat with newly reupholstered cushions, a repaired generator and recruited Russ to help us move the boat to Florida. Russ was awesome as usual and shared his vast experience with us.

We watched a few rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, flew in the kids for Christmas and had a really nice December! Of course it always degrades into a lan party with this bunch of nerds.

It was a wonderful month and we managed to visit NASA, finally get to the Star Wars Experience at Disney and enjoy lots of visits from family and friends.

Our good friend Ron helped us move the boat down to Ft Pierce and I’m super thankful as the tides here RAGE about 16 hours a day. I honestly don’t think we could have docked the boat without his help. I only wish we could have caught some fish. We ran 2 lines out the entire trip and never saw a strike. In fact, between Cape Canaveral and the Fort Pierce inlet, we only saw a couple of dolphins and a turtle. Ron was able to catch a crevalle jack from the dock but we got nothing while at sea.

Now we prep to leave. My new passport should be here soon, we’re trying to get our Florida Drivers licenses, hopefully get FL car tags, drop off the jetskis for consignment, get the dog vaccinated, the boat in order, Covid tests and then we can leave for the Bahamas. We have much to do in the next few weeks but we have a plan!

We look forward to warm water, having you guys onboard for snorkeling and beach time and being somewhere like this!

We’ll also try to get the drone charged up and working again! See ya!

The dockhands in Beaufort, NC gifted us with the first y’all we’d heard in over six months. I was surprised how refreshing and comforting it sounded and we’re very happy to be in warm weather again. The past week has been glorious with temperatures in the upper 70’s, blue skies and all doors and windows open to the sea breeze. Its unseasonably warm right now and we’re taking advantage of it while we wait for “Eta” to blow past us. The storm is already picking up the seas and they’re expected to get much worse over the next few days. It’s not all ocean breezes and rainbows!

Aside from rainbows and breezes, we’re working with a local shop to get some generator parts ordered and we’re knocking out some smaller boat projects. In short, we don’t have many new photos or recent adventures to share. I still work 8-4 every day and we still have daily chores and tasks as everyone else only with a few twists. This week for example, we were visiting with another boat and our smoke alarm went off (small cooking accident) and then Mocha fell off the boat into the water!

We’re still on track to be in Florida in November and December but after that plans get a little fuzzy due to Covid. We’ll post updates as we continue our trek.

Until next time!

Wow, so many great things have happened in the last few weeks that I’ve not had enough time process them. Interesting enough, our great month started with a problem!

We arrived in NYC to find we had a leak in a sail drive that required the boat to be hauled out. Once the boat was out of the water, the mechanics found the port drive shaft was damaged and both props were wobbly. This could have created a nightmare situation for us since marinas normally charge daily “rent” for boats that sit in their yard potentially doubling the price or a repair. However, the marina in NYC was super nice and waived all “rent” charges!

So we left the boat to get repaired, rented a car and drove to Kentucky where Chris and Renee opened their house to us. They welcomed us with cookouts, evening board games, weekend video games, axe throwing and even more family showed up later on!

We had an absolutely amazing time.

Along with Brad, we got to see ALL our Dunlap nephews and Brandon’s beautiful Sophia.

Kendall had some annual doctor visits to knock out in Georgia so she spent a few days down there visiting.

After that, we visited with Kelly and Jason for a short bit and then headed back to the boat.

We had an amazing time and felt our batteries were charged up for the coming adventure south. Instead of ineptly describing the trip, I’ll just show you some highlights.

So we’re back in the saddle with newly restored sail drives, line cutters, fresh oil changes, a clean bottom <g> and a STRONG desire to be in a warmer climate!

We’re in Ocean City, MD waiting for a weather window but this is a gorgeous location and I’ve love to spend a summer here. It’s too bad we have to move on but we’re far happier in 70+ degree weather and must continue to head south. I’ll stop for now and get back to planning this week’s sail but I hope to get more time this week to post some of the great things we found in Maryland.

If I told you there’s a quiet, protected place you can stay in NYC for free, would you believe me? It’s more or less true since the Port Washington mooring fields are free the first night but technically this harbor is about 1/4 miles from the edge of NYC in Manhasset bay.

Its actually an incredible place with multi-million dollar homes lining the west side of the bay and marinas/shops/condos lining the east side.

If Covid wasn’t a risk, we’d take a train and venture into the city itself. Instead, we hit the town when it’s not busy to pick up food and supplies and walk the dog. Port Washington is a super friendly place with a few great delis, Indian and Mediterranean restaurants, grocery stores, West Marine and even a Target.

Its been a while since I stepped into a department store so I was thankful to find a replacement windbreaker and some shorts. I am SOOOOOOOO ready to get further south and wear shorts 24X7 again.

We’ve got to hang around here a little longer to get the boat hauled out for repairs. Somewhere between Maine and Onset, we developed a leak in the saildrive (Engine transmission) and so a little salt water is mixed with the gear oil. We motored from Massachusetts to New York using only the starboard engine to avoid damaging the gears but we really need to get the seal replaced. Both sides need an oil change but the Port engine need a new seal pronto.

Since the seal is underwater the entire boat has to be removed from the water and placed on blocks to replace a $75 part. The logistics is more complicated since only a select few marinas have a lift wide enough for the haul-out. In fact, we’re still working on a repair date with 2 local shops and we hope they can knock this out next week so we can continue our path south.

Until then, we’ll keep working to improve things on the boat. Kendall’s nearly done with the cockpit cover and it looks fantastic! Its dry up there now and much warmer than before so our passages will be more comfortable and safe.

With any luck, we’ll be able to leave here in a week or so to continue our way south THROUGH New York City. We’re heard that we can anchor right outside the Statue of Liberty and so we’re going to make an attempt to do that and enjoy the scenery for a few hours. Of course we’ll take photos along the way and maybe (finally) test our drone out if the weather’s calm.

Its been a great stop here in New York. We’re not exactly sure where we’ll be next since our travels depend so much on the weather but I hope its this calm and peaceful.

Until next time!