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Craig

From West Palm Beach to Marker 73

The final leg of our Bahamas trip aboard Elske, our 42 foot Grand Banks trawler, began Saturday, July 23^rd, seven weeks after we left her at Soverel Marina in Palm Beach Gardens. We returned to the US on Sunday, June 5 and needed to be back at work on the 7^th. We did not want to travel back through Miami and the Keys and chose to wait until Lake Okeechobee had enough water for our 4'2 " draft. Every day we checked our Iphone app for the Army Corps of Engineers and kept a list of the available draft across Route 1 from Port Myacca to Clewiston. Every weekend we traveled to the East Coast to check on our boat, often staying overnight and exploring  Palm Beach County. Finally I determined that we had about one inch more water than we needed and called my long-time friend, Gary Hudson, to provide crew for the crossing. On Saturday morning, July 23, we left Fort Myers at 6 and traveled with Jackie and Martha Smith, to make the return. After breakfast in historic Clewiston, Gary and I departed at 10:15. Up the intracoastal we went past Jupiter Inlet and on to Stuart and the St. Lucie Inlet. By 3 PM we were headed West and arrived at the St. Lucie Lock. We had to wait for an hour and lost our time opportunity to cross the lake that day and be in Clewiston that night. So we stopped at the Port Myakka Lock, at the eastern edge of the lake and tied Elske between two bollards at the lock entrance. We cooked dinner, watched TV and retired early. Sunday morning found us up at 6 and departing at 6:30. Immediately the water was shallow and we hugged the green markers to port. Out in the big lake we had 5 to 6 feet of water. Ninety minutes later we came to the tough part, a zig zag pattern around the Rocky Reef. We held our breath and slowed to 5 knots. Aground for us is 2.5 on the depth chart and I saw 2.8 briefly and even felt a brief "bump." But that was the worst and we entered the Clewiston Canal, all 5 feet of it. Whew! On our way to Moore Haven we found that lock open and hurried on to the Ortona Lock. There, at 1 PM Sunday, we were told that we had to make the Franklin Lock by 4PM, 28miles away, or miss the last opening of the day. We "streaked " along at 8.8 knots and made it with 15 minutes to spare. From there it was down the Caloosahatchee past good ole Marker 73 and home by 6:30PM. Good friends, the Maxwells and the Ingrahams, met us and welcomed us and we realized that the 2011 Gulf Harbour Yacht Club Abacos cruise was finished. It was fun, and safe, and filled with adventure. We are glad we did it!

David Kelley

Elske is Home

Elske arrived at GHYC at 6:30 pm 7/23/11.

Elske part way home 7/23/11

> Elkse docked at Port Myakka Lock east of Lake O
>

Elske is heading home 7/23/11

After 7 weeks berthed at Soverel Marina. First Mate is good friend Gary HUDSON.

Fwd: LAKE ERIE

 

 

---

From: abjarlet@csolve.net
To: Treadnwater@aol.com
Sent: 7/10/2011 10:06:04 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Re: LAKE ERIE

 

Hi treadwater,sorry we were unable to see you in Lake Erie. I had a change of crew occur in Windsor O.N.,so I had to continue on. Lake Erie sure gave us the toughest day on the trip.

We changed Crews in Myrtle Beach ,Jack, Janice Swick and Linda, replaced by my daughter Sharon & her gilfriend Barb.We just got 10 miles on and had to replace our bilge pump. We had had some salt water leakage and it turned out to be a loose engine filter cap ( which could not be seen when stopped).The girls were a great crew,we continued on to Oriental, where we had to detour off the I.C.W. because of the forest fire. 

Norfolk certainly showed of all cat. of U.S. warships. Visited the B/S. Wisconsin stayed @ the Municipal Harbour downtown .Naval power was sure impressive. Next into Chesapeake Bay,stayed at Solomon Island and then onto Annapolis. Great little town. Visited the U.S. Naval Academy. I am not sure many of us realize the sort of discipline the students go though. 

 Next onto Cape May and lobster dinners,a picture perfect town,with great beaches. Left early on the outside track to New York City .What a skyline; girls took lots pictures.This was special to me,

In 1947 I arrived from England on the way to Canada, AND seeing the Statue of Liberty is always a highlight.

 Change crews 30 miles North on the Hudson, Winter Harbour. New crew son David and grandson Harrison,with friend Miles.Up the Hudson in heavy rain. Missed the military establishment due to heavy rain. Radar on to find entrance to the Erie canal.This was a visit everyone should make; very friendly people ,old towns it was visit in the past(most of trip was at 10mph). Lots debris caused by heavy rains. Arrived the Niagara River and followed under the International Bridges.This was Blue water not muddy like the Erie Canal.

Into Lake Erie and good weather, decided to push onto Astabula O.H. Next day as per forecast the wind came and the next 65 mile was unpleasant. Next into Detroit and Windsor. Changed Crews, Jack Swick again and Vern Kettlestayed at the Lake view Marina (had a nice restaurant,noticed the fuel price 25% more per gal. Boat has averaged .9 miles pg. Cleared Canadian Customs & checked out with U.S. Customs and border protection,as we were clearing the U.S..

 Onto the St. Clair River. This was a first time look at the Oil refining and chemical industries on both sides of the border. Seemed like one of the more prosperous places on the trip. Lots of million dollar homes. Onto Goderich O.N.(salt mining capital of Canada).  Over nite there and had lunch at Tobermory,at new restaurant Crowsnest (1st day open 2hrs for service) Overnight  at Lionshead, Bruce Pen.. Georgian Bay Friday July 1st Canada Day, lunch at Hope Island and home port midland at3.00pm, in time fo the Fireworks Display later at9.30pm.

Altogether a great trip with the GHYC to the Bahamas with great memories & a very interesting trip home. We averaged apprx 110 miles per day or more. 

 

Perhaps you could pass the info to the blog. Pictures from crew to come. Again sorry we could not see you,if you would to visit us in Midland,we would be pleased to have you here-large house lots of room. All the best. Alex Jarlette.                                          

----- Original Message -----

From: Treadnwater@aol.com

To: abjarlet@csolve.net

Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 9:43 AM

Subject: LAKE ERIE

Don't know what your progress is, but wanted to keep in touch and hope to link up when and if you visit the Lake Erie Islands.

Keep in touch.

Craig and Mary Lou Anderson

 

ELSKE is not home yet

As of July 1, ELSKE remains in West Palm Beach at Soverel Marina.
Lake O remains too low to cross.

Home Sweet Home!

Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward pulled in to our Gulf Harbour Marina slips this afternoon.  The day was gray, rainy, and long, but otherwise uneventful.  I think we are the last of the original GHYC Abacos cruisers to return.  We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back again.

Cheers, Gail B. 

INPUT FROM BAHAMAS

I hope you got inputs from the group as requested. I know I should have sent earlier, but until we were on our boat this weekend I sort of put it off. There wasn't much I would change, and I think it was well thought out and planned. Must have been, since we hit out ports as planned and were home on the planned date.

 

Some thoughts;

    1. I personally would like to have a few planned events. I know this is hard to do from a distance, but with a lot of new members on board this might have moved the group closer together. Dock parties are always good mixers, A possible group outing one day might have been fun. We did get together a couple of times, but I think we may have left a few people out. The birthday party was a fun evening, and the pizza party the last night was fun...however again we missed a few couples.

 

        2. I would encourage boat owners to invite GHYC members to go with them. Many may want to only have one couple on their boat, but we should encourage larger crews. We do this on the rental trips, why not on our own boats. For one it cut our cost in half...not big deal but a $5000 check helps. We are all getting older and extra crew helps in marinas and emergencies. Dave and Marilyn are a great crew, but I know GHYC members would be just as much fun.

 

        3. I think we have an opportunity to manage our fuel costs. Gary putting together a fuel plan to be sure we get fuel was good, but I think we can negotiate pricing with our volume...trawlers not included. 3000 gallons at a stop has to worth something and would guarantee fuel availbility. This would also allow us to better plan our fuel stops so as stagger arrivals. Each captain will have to calculate his fuel plan ahead time and submit it. We stretched our use so as to buy at freshest and lowest priced locations. Running at few less knots can save a lot of money and be part of the trip planning.

 

I look forward to another extended cruise next year and will make it part of 2012 planning. The thought of an early May Keys cruise might be under discussion. Dennis Little has suggested a panhandle cruise, and we did visit a number of ports in that area when did the loop. The gulf crossing is the only tough part. An earlier season cruise through the ditch and up the east coast could also be a possibility.

 

There also is more to see and due in the Bahamas and that area.

 

Lets hope Cuba opens up in our lifetime.

 

Again great job and thank you for all your efforts.

 

Craig and Mary Lou

Back in the good old US of A.

Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward are happily docked behind Linda and Steve Evens' condo on Hibiscus Island in Miami Beach.  We are having a great time drinking lots of wine and catching up with each other.  We plan to head out tomorrow morning for Marathon Yacht Club.

Cheers, Gail B.

Last Morning in the Bahamas

We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise on our last morning in the Bahamas.  Will get photos on the website soon...

Cheers, Gail B.

Cat Cay Yacht Club

Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward are at Cat Cay Yacht Club on North Cat Cay.  We covered 114 NM from Nassau today (Saturday, 25 June).  The weather was beautiful and the seas flat. 

I have a few more photos for the website, but the CCYC internet service has SmugMug blocked.  I can't even look at photos, let alone upload any.

This will be our last night in the Bahamas.  Plan to cross the Gulf Stream and back to USA waters tomorrow.

We have checked and the fuel barge will be outside Mia Marina tomorrow from 9 AM to 1 PM.  We plan to leave here around 8 AM so we'll arrive in Miami with plenty of time to fuel.  Then we'll go to our friend's home for the night.  Linda and Steve Evens have a condo on Hibiscus Island with two empty slips.  It is always great to spend time with them.

Monday we'll cruise to Marathon Yacht Club.  Have dinner at Keys Fishery.  Then back to Gulf Harbour on Tuesday, 28 June.

Cheers, Gail B.

Julie's Abacos Photos

Just received some great photos from Julie Allen.  Thanks!  I have posted them on the GHYC website.  You can get to them from the home page or the extended cruising page.

Anyone else wanting their yacht club photos on the GHYC website please let me know.  You can either email the photos to me or I can send you instruction on how to directly upload them.

Cheers, Gail B. 

Nassau

Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward are back in Nassau.  Claude and JoAnn have left for the airport.  JT is having some A/C work done on Salty Lady.  Camille is making dinner reservations.  David is cleaning the outside of Tonto.  I'm doing laundry both on Tonto and in the marina laundromat.  

Our current plan is to travel to Cat Cay tomorrow.  Then cross the Gulf Stream on Sunday.  Right now thr forecast looks good.

Cheers, Gail B.

Warderick Wells Cay

Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward spent yesterday at the Exumas Land & Sea Park at Warderick Wells Cay.  Claude, David, and I snorkeled the Ranger's Garden and Emerald Rock.  The Ranger's Garden was beautiful, but had quite a current running through it.  Was a good leg workout!  We then went to check out the Emerald Rock snorkeling.  There was one very nice coral head with beautiful colors and a great variety of coral and fish.  JoAnn, Camille, and JT toured the park via dinghy.  The views were great everywhere you looked.  After snorkeling, Claude and David hiked to Boo Boo Hill.  The GHYC 2004 cruise sign was still there, but our burgee was gone.

Camille and JT came over to Tonto for dinner.  We grilled steaks, baked hasselback potatoes, tossed a salad, and drank red wine to celebrate Claude and JoAnn's last night on Tonto's Reward.  Great dinner and very fun evening!

Cheers, Gail B.

Staniel Cay

We have had a great time at Staniel Cay.  Exploring by land and by sea.  We bought fresh bread at the Yellow Bakery and groceries at both the Pink Store and the Blue Store.  Definitely a colorful place.  In the afternoon we took the dinghy to Big Major's Spot and saw the swimming pigs.  While Claude, Joann, David, and I were there they just waded in the water.  I am sure they wanted us to feed them, but we don't feed any wild animals.  David went back the next day with Jim and said the pigs were actually swimming -  not just wading.  Yesterday morning Claude, David & I snorkeled Thundercloud Cave.  Really interesting and lots of great coral along the rock just outside the cave.  Then we picked up JoAnn for another dinghy outing.  Took lots of photos of the clear aqua water, blue sky and beautiful cloud formations.  Checked out Sandy Cay and stopped for lunch at Sampson Cay on the way back to Staniel.

Today we will be going to Warderick Wells.  Will listen to the park report on the VHF at 9 AM and put Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward on the mooring request list.  Then take off pretty quickly.  We want to have lots of time with good light for snorkeling at Warderick Wells.  Claude and JoAnn are going to jump ship and travel with Salty Lady today.  They want to experience a trawler and the views from a fly bridge.  Also without Linda and Tony, Salty Lady could use a another pair of hands picking up the mooring.

Tomorrow, 24 June, we head from Warderick Wells back to Nassau.  It is the end of a wonderful week with JoAnn and Claude aboard Tonto.  They fly from Nassau to DFW (non-stop) and then on to Austin getting all the way home in one short travel afternoon and evening of travel.

All my photos have been edited and posted to the GHYC website.  Cheers, Gail B.

Sad News

Linda and Tony Smythe, crew on Salty Lady, had to fly out yesterday afternoon.  Linda received a call in the morning that her brother-in-law, age 60, had unexpectently died from a heart attack.  Linda and her family are in our thoughts and prayers.    Gail B.

Compass & Staniel Cays

The Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward cruised from Highbourne Cay to Compass Cay on Sunday, 19 June.  We stopped at Norman Cay with hopes of having lunch at McDuff.  However, they had a private party of  20 or 25 and could not handle any more.  So we had lunch aboard our respective boats as we cruised to Compass Cay. 

Compass Cay Marina has expanded since we were there in 2004.  The marina is larger, they serve grilled hamburgers at lunch time, have several gazebos throughout the island, and a few more rental villas.  Tucker is still in charge and it still has the most beautiful beach.  We hiked some of the trails, toured via dinghy, swam with the sharks, and had a absolutely fabulous time.

This morning, after one more beach walk, we headed for Staniel Cay.  The Yacht Club was very busy and we had to wait for someone to leave before we got out slip assignment.  Then a quick trip to the grocery store and the bakery for more GREAT Bahamian bread.  We dinked around this afternoon.  Saw two swimming pigs at Big Majors Spot.  Tonight we are joining the Salty crew for dinner at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.

Cheers, Gail B.

Highborne Cay

Yesterday, 17 June, Salty Lady and Tonto's Reward cruised from Nassau to Highborne Cay.  It was a lovely smooth luncheon cruise.  After getting settled the Tonto crew walked the East Beach.  It is covered with stromatolites, which are the world's oldest macro fossils.  Then a late afternoon dinghy ride.  We were hoping to see a green flash as the sunset, but there were too many clouds.  So we just saw a beautiful sunset as we enjoyed cocktails and grilled some chicken for dinner.

Today we plan to dinghy to Allen Cay for a little iguana watching.  Then on to Norman Cay for lunch at McDuff in the Norman Cay Beach Club.  We also want to find Octopus's Garden.  The cruising guide recommends snorkeling there.

All my photos have been posted on the GHYC website.  I have not had time to get captions on all of them, but at least the photos are current.   

Cheers, Gail B.

Nassau

Mike and Ann left Salty Lady yesterday morning.  A few chores in the morning...  laundry and grocery store run.  David & I enjoyed some fresh conch salad for lunch.  JoAnn and Claude's flight was on time and they were at Tonto within an hour.  Bernsteins, Welleses, and Tichenors enjoyed a fun evening and nice dinner at the Nassau Yacht Club last night.  Smythe's flight is due in about 9:30 this morning.  As soon as they get aboard Salty Lady we'll be starting up the engines and heading for Highborne Cay. 

--
Gail Bernstein
Email: gcb@austin.rr.com
Cell: 512.659.6674

Texas
1201 Challenger
Lakeway, TX 78734-3851
512.261.0883

Florida
11620 Court of Palms, #703
Ft. Myers, FL 33908
239.985.8578