2-27-2011 NEW RIVER, FORT LAUDERDALE

ROBERT ARRIVES


SUNDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 0 NM

As we lazed around, drinking our morning coffee and watching Sunday Morning, energetic runners raced past the Quest. The kids were trailing the adults but working just as hard and having way more fun.

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?  YOU BET!

After a quick trip to the nearby Publix market for a few needed supplies, we stopped at the Argie Grill for a lunch of great empanadas. The owners migrated from Argentina and establish this little shop to share some of their home country food with us hungry customers.

ARGIE GRILL

LOOKING OVER THE HUGE ARRAY OF ARGENTINEAN EMPANADAS

This afternoon we took the dingy back towards the coast to snoop. We came into the New River from this direction but were too busy trying to maneuver the twisty-turny curves and work our way in with the really “big boats” to really take in the sights. More super boats and fabulous homes lined the canals and we spent lots of time weaving in and out of the water maze. What do these people have to do to make that kind of money?

JUST ONE OF THE MANY LOVELY RETREATS ALONG THE CANALS

ONE OF FORT LAUDERDALE'S FINEST CRUISING HIS BEAT.
IT'S A TOUGH JOB BUT SOMEONES GOTTA DO IT.

Robert made all his flights and was here on the Quest before 6:30, enjoying the warmth. We gave him enough time to slip into some shorts then walked to a dinner overlooking the river. Even though darkness was upon us, boats continued to come up the river as they headed for home after a weekend of play.

ROBERT ESCAPING FROM THE FRIGID NORTHEAST AND THE CONFINES OF THE CAB TOO

2/26/2011 NEW RIVER AND EXPLORING THE SHIP YARDS

SATURDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY; 0 NM

OK, enough already! Where are these mega yachts going when the pass us by heading up the New River? Let’s check this out. We jumped into the dingy and found ourselves weaving through the river and channels among the beautiful homes. There were big boats and small boats tied up to the private docks lining the shores. And then came the ship yards! Ah, this is where all those 100’ to 150’ yachts were heading. These huge shipyards are the home port for many and a spot for maintenance and repairs for others. We were awed! We also saw our first Planeboat (could there be another one?).

THIS IS WHERE THE BIG BOYS LIVE

DOES IT GET ANY STRANGER THAN THIS?

THE BIG QUESTION IS "WHY"?

I had a text from Robert that he may be here tomorrow evening. Guess the lure of warm weather was just too much for him to resist. As an employee of JetBlue he flies stand-by so hope he makes it.

I spent all afternoon working on posting the last week’s Quest Blog. Whew! That was a chore that I was happy to complete. Now that we have Internet access I can keep it up but the next few weeks won’t include any travels. Dan starts his full time schooling Monday morning and will be totally committed for the next two weeks to this endeavor.

Dinner tonight was a quick walk to the recommended ROK BRGR (Rock Burger) where we dined on sublime burgers while watching the Saturday night crowd milling about. We will definitely dine here again during our extended stay on the New River!

2/25/2011 NEW RIVER, FORT LAUDERDALE

FRIDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 0 NM

We waved to “Q’s End” and “Finally” as they made their way out of the New River. Wish we were trailing along with them on their journey to the Bahamas!

Q'S END HEADING OUT

JILL AND RICHARD ON FINALLY WAVING

More bike riding was in store today as we explored our new neighborhood. We found the hardware store and a fabulous marine book store, Blue Water Books and Charts. Walking the other direction we strolled down Las Olas Blvd. and found tons of trendy restaurants and cute shops. We were drawn into a new yogurt shop where you fill your own cup with your flavor choice, add the toppings and pay according to the weight. That would be the weight of the yogurt and not the added weight gain from eating it.

Here we go with another “small boating world” incident. This evening we had a knock at the helm door and found Jim and his wife Pat that we had rafted against at Bobby’s Fish Camp in Bladon Springs, AL. At that time Jim was relocating the Andiamo from her summer home in Chicago to her winter residence in Fort Lauderdale. Tonight he and Pat were going home from dinner when Jim saw Quest and couldn’t believe it. We got them to come aboard and had an enjoyable evening talking of trips and “boating” stuff.

QUEST'S HOME AT THE SE 3ED AVENUE BRIDGE

2/24/2011 NEW RIVER IN FORT LAUDERDALE

THURSDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 0 NM

With both water and power we were cleaning fools this morning!  Boat washing, windows, mirrors, baths, changing the linens, laundry and vacuuming filled our morning. Dan had to report to a local doctor for the physical required by the USCG to obtain a captains license.

Boats from the recent Boat Show continued to reposition to the boat yards up the river and we were thoroughly entertained by their passage.

THE LADY SHEILA NEEDED HELP MAKING THE TWISTS AND TURNS IN THE RIVER

HERE SHE PASSES THROUGH OUR OPEN SE 3ED AVENUE BRIDGE

Nephew Sam Querrey stopped by before his flight back to CA. He suffered a defeat in the Del Ray Tennis Tournament and was on his way home. Due to a shoulder problem he has decided not to head to Chile for the Davis Cup and hopes to be recovered and ready for the Indian Wells and Miami Tournaments coming up in March. It was fun to catch up with him and hear about his new house.

SAM VISITS THE QUEST

We had a great evening chatting over dessert at the Cheesecake Factory with Jill and Richard in “Finally” and their friends on “Q’s End”. They will head a little north tomorrow and join up with a group for their pending journey to the Abacos.

Image via Wikipedia

2/23/2011 BIMINI TO FORT LAUDERDALE'S NEW RIVER

WEDNESDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 56 NM (6 HOURS)

Once again, Dan successfully maneuvered out of the Bimini marina area and into the navigation channel. We will definitely make other trips to this lovely part of the world.

SO LONG BIMINI!

Not too far out into our journey, Dan pointed out the presences of a USCG clipper. Before long they were intercepting us and asking for information over the marine radio. After establishing that we were probably not drug runners they wished us safe travels and bid us to be on our way. A couple of hours later we were again visited by the USCG. This time we discovered a helicopter buzzing around above us. They too asked a few questions and sent us on. Busy, busy!

USCG CLIPPER CHECKING US OUT

USCG HELICOPTER HOVERING OVER US

This wasn’t a real smooth transit with the wind picking up and the jet stream exhibiting its force. We were glad to reach the Florida coast and enter into the safety of Port Everglades. Holy Moly! We kind of forgot that the Miami Boat Show had just ended and there was a constant stream of beautiful boats coming and going. We followed two huge yachts, one a 120’ and the other 90’, into the New River where we planned to dock for next few weeks.

BIG BOAT ON PARADE

Our home is just before the SE 3 Avenue Bridge with the Riverwalk to our starboard.  The trendy Las Olas area is only a block over and there is a market within half a mile.  Pulling into our “home” we spied a boat (“Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”) that we had rafted to in one of the waterway locks.  Also, Jill from “Finally “ alled out to me while dinking the canals with friends.  We had met them first in Mackinac Island, reunited in Green Turtle Bay and parted in Mobile Bay.  Life is just full of pleasant surprises!

Once Quest was secured and “plugged in” to water and power, we made the call to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to receive our arrival number and instructions to report to the Customs office for a face-to-face clearance. Dan got the bikes down and we rode the 3 or 4 miles to the Port Everglades port of entry office for the passport inspection and our official “Welcome home”.

We also stopped by the Maritime Professional Training school where Dan will start on Monday morning. With everything in order we headed back to Quest for a night docked with water and power!!! Oh, it’s the little things that are soooooo sweet, plenty of hot water for dishes and showers and power on demand.

2/22/2011 BIMINI ISLAND

TUESDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 0 NM

Not wanting to miss a minute of this, our last full day in Bimini, I woke to the sun’s glorious ascent over the azure and turquoise Bahamian waters.

GOOD MORNING!

Dan and I started the morning by setting off for the beach and a shelling expedition. I must confess that we were much less discerning today than we usually are. We returned to Quest with our pockets full and our spirits high.

SHELLING TO MY HEART'S CONTENT

Time to take the bikes down and peddle a while. While heading to the lovely Bimini Bay Resort on the North shore, we stopped off at Stuart for a Conch Salad lunch. Well fed, we peddled on and checked out the beautiful homes and shops at this, hopefully, up and coming resort.

THIS IS "THE" PLACE FOR FRESH CONCH SALAD

CLEANING THE FRESH CONCH

BIMINI BAY RESORT

As we entered back into our Blue Water Marina we were in for a shock. The mostly empty dock from this morning was now full of boats that had taken advantage of the perfect crossing conditions. I think that there ended up being 18 added boats!

A FULL HOUSE AT THE BLUE WATER MARINA

We made our way back to the west shore to enjoy our last Bahamian sunset and were not disappointed with the night’s show. What a great time we have had over here and I am pining to linger a while longer.

DAN'S NIGHTLY JOB

OUR FINAL BAHAMIAN SUNSET

2/21/2011 BERRY ISLANDS TO BIMINI

MONDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 83 NM (10 HOURS)

Due to the many miles that we must travel today, we were off the mooring and on our way just after 7:00 AM. As we neared the exclusive Chub Cay Resort and Marina, I drooled over this lovely island villa. This may be the one!

VILLA ON CHUB CAY, BERRY ISLANDS

The winds and waves were slight and in our favor as we made our way across the Great Bahamas Bank.

We began to see more and more cruisers as we neared the Bimini Islands. Seeing the old wreck we knew we were almost at the end of our day’s journey. Dan expertly maneuvered the shallow channel and pulled Quest up to the dock at the Blue Waters Marina. After docking chores, checking in and marina showers, we walked to the Big Game Club and Marina for an excellent dinner out.

THE OLD WRECK AS WE APPROACH BIMINI

Image by miamism via Flickr

DINNER AR BIMINI'S BIG GAME CLUB AND MARINA

2/20/2011 ANCHORAGE BETWEEN ALLEN'S AND LEAF CAY, THROUGH NASSAU HARBOR AND TO MOORING AT FRAZIER'S HOG CAY

SUNDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TOADY: 64 NM (9 HOURS)

We woke up to the Quest shifting over the sandy bottom at low tide around 1:30 or 2:00 AM. Thank goodness that the opposite also holds true for the old saying, “What goes up must come down. As we finished our night’s sleep the waters did rise again and we were continuing our journey by 7:10 AM.

We slipped through the busy Nassau harbor after requesting permission to enter from the harbor master. There were two huge cruise ships docked and another ship, the Prince Abdul Aziz, that we couldn’t quite figure out. Was it a small cruise ship or some humongous private yacht? I later established the the Abdul Aziz was built for Saudi Royal family in 1984.  It is 482' in length, has a 60' beam, luxuriously equipped for 22 guests and has a crew of 18.

APPROACHING NASSAU HARBOR

THE FAMOUS ATLANTIS RESORT IN NASSAU

MEGA YACHT PRINCE ABDUL AZIZ

THE NASSAU LIGHTHOUSE MARKS OUR DEPARTURE FROM THE HARBOR

After passing through the cut in Nassau we continued on to the Berry Islands where we ducked into Frazer's Hog Cay. We grabbed one of their many empty mooring balls (they were all empty) and went ashore to pay and see about dinner. The place was totally empty of customers but we did scrounge up an employee to accept our mooring fee. We decided not to push the dinner thing and had a quiet meal back on quest and watched the end of the Daytona 500 and the Tennis finals in Memphis. Whoa, guess we may have another impressive young man entering the tennis scene from the Canadian front. Look out Top 20.

QUIET LITTLE FRAZIER'S HOG CAY IN THE BERRY ISL;ANDS

2/19/2011 WRAGAS LEAVES US FOR THE FROZEN NORTHEAST

2/19/2011 STANIEL CAY TO ANCHORAGE BETWEEN ALLEN'S CAY AND LEAF CAY


SATURDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 41 NM

The Wragas were reluctantly packed and ready for their journey back to Vermont. We dinked to the yacht club for a quick “so-long” breakfast before they caught their golf cart ride to the airport. We waved at the tiny plane as it departed for Florida via unknown islands. Their course always depends on who wants to fly to or from wherever.

MICHAEL AND BARBARA IN THEIR AIRPORT "LIMO"

After posting the blog for the past week, we made tracks back to Quest where we pulled up anchor and began our journey back to Fort Lauderdale. We saw our first dolphin in weeks just as we passed Compass Cay. He was not much interested in us but we were delighted to see him.

We ran the bank pretty hard until we reached the anchorage between Allen’s Cay and Leaf Cay. We crept in, dropped anchor, evaluated our position and then pulled up and moved a bit to our starboard before setting the anchor for the second time. Leaf Cay is known for its iguana population and, even though we opted not to join those gawking on the beach, we watched the huge reptiles lumber across the sand through our high-powered binoculars. It’s like stepping back in time and seeing miniature dinosaurs.

Image by whertha via Flickr

SUNSET OVER LEAF CAY

2/13/2011 EMERALD BAY MARINA TO STANIEL CAY MARINA WITH THE WRAGAS

2/13/2011 EMERALD BAY


SUNDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 0 NM

Winddddddy! The threatening skies and angry seas kept us at bay. We occupied our day with provisioning and enjoying the lovely Emerald Bay facilities.

We did venture out to do some beachcombing along the beautiful Sandals Resort shoreline but found it too rough and windy for a swim.

MIKE AND BARBARA ON THE SANDALS BEACH

MIKE AND DAN TOOTING THEIR CONCHS

2/14/2011 EMERALD BAY MARINA TO LEE STOCKING ISLAND

MONDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 16 NM

Though still windy, we planned our escape with the rising tide. Dan put her into “super power” mode and charged out the inlet and into the choppy waters of the Exuma Sound. By the time we had reached the passage between Darling Cay and Soldiers Cay we were ready to cut back to the less volatile and more protected waters of the bank.

Once again, we grabbed a mooring ball at Lee Stocking Island (Perry Institute) and dinked ashore to hike Perry’s Peak then snorkel. We found scads of the huge, reddish starfish littering the seabed. At one time I could see five from my position in the water.

MIKE SNAGGING THE MOORING LINE, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

JUST ONE OF THE NUMEROUS STARFISH WE SAW

JUDY AND BARBARA MAKING THE HIKE UP PERRY'S PEAK

2/15/2011 LEE STOCKING ISLAND TO GREAT GUANA CAY

TUESDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 22 NM

After a scrumptious breakfast of French-toast made with island coconut bread, we dropped our mooring and made the quick jog to Leaf Island to look for the iguanas. Almost as soon as we got out of the dingy, two iguanas came to greet us, greedily snapping up our offerings of carrots, broccoli and bread. Next we dinked to Norman’s Pond Cay for a “look-see” before pulling up anchor and moving on.

RESIDENT IGUANA

The pristine waters are a picture in blues. It ranges from aqua, turquoise, sky blue, and near teals to deep blue-black.

THE COLORS JUST TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

Quest made her way past the numerous little cays (touching bottom between Big and Little Farmers Cays) and we anchored off Great Guana Cay. This is the island with the cave that Vic and Marilyn from Whisper guided us to. “Come on Mike and Barbara, let’s go find us a cave”, and off we went. After finding and exploring the cave we headed over to the beach on the far side to look for shells and “stuff”. Unfortunately it was near high tide and the shell beds were immersed. On the trail back to the west side we found this huge spider and web. Kind a creepy! We all snorkeled from the beach nearest our anchorage, finding only a few fish but lots of tiny jellyfish.

BUSY BEACHCOMBERS

WHAT A SERENE SIGHT

THE BIG, UGLY SPIDER

Our sunset was spectacular and we enjoyed our evening anchored aboard Quest with a scrumptious mahi-mahi dinner.

GOODNIGHT

2/16/2011 GREAT GUANA CAY TO STANIEL CAY

WEDNESDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 16 NM

We got our act together earlier than usual and made tracks for Black Point to get some of Lorraine’s mom’s great homemade bread. While at the Black Point settlement, we watched several women plait strips of palm fronds for basket making. The finished roll will be sent to Nassau’s Straw Market where they are turned into beautiful baskets and sold to the public.

BLACK POINT WOMAN PLATING FOR BASKETS

From Black Point we made the short jaunt to Staniel Cay. Here we dinked to the yacht club for lunch and met boaters from Albany, NY and Weston, VT. Too, too funny!

Staniel Cay is the home of the famous Thunderball Cave (think James Bond). We all snorkeled in and around the cave, catching glimpses of Angelfish, Jacks, Rock Beauty, Damselfish, Tangs and electric blue coral. It was another splendid day on the waters.

We had a reality check when we heard that the overhang on the right side of the barn had collapsed on the little tractor. Thanks to Brenda for calling the office and to everyone there that we can rely on to assist us in setting things right. The good news was that it wasn’t the house and we now have the opportunity to be proactive and have that roof raked to prevent possible damage. Funny, those things don’t seem to pop up here in the Bahamas.

2/17/2011 STANIEL CAY TO CAMBRIDGE MOORING THEN ONTO COMPASS CAY MARINA

THURSDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 16 NM

We passed up Compass Cay our first pass and grabbed a mooring ball at the lovely Cambridge Cay in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. First we dinked to Cambridge Cay and hiked to the other shore for a quick “look-see” before doing some serious snorkeling at the aptly named “Sea Aquarium”, just off O’Briens Cay. This snorkeling site was crowded with eager Sergeant Majors that wanted to swim right with you, checking you out as you observed them. We saw some Nassau Groupers, Angelfish, Parrotfish, Damselfish, tons of these little neon blue guys and oh so many more.

MORE SCAVENGING

BARBARA IS ENJOYING THE STUNNING OCEAN VIEW

With our snorkeling cravings sated, we moved on from the park and covered the 4 miles back to Compass Cay Marina where we were welcomed back with hugs and handshakes. We introduced Mike and Barbara to the resident Nurse Shark then walked over to the sound side of the island for shelling and lazing. Since the tide was coming in and the wind and waves were rather fierce, we didn’t do any swimming. Dan and Mike did find rope and shells for their newest craze, sea junk jewelry. They really have made some splendid pieces for “lucky” Barbara and me.

MANLY SEA SALVAGE BRACELETS

MY BRACELETS ARE A LITTLE MORE "REFINED"

2/18/2011 COMPASS CAY MARINA TO STANIEL CAY

FRIDAY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 9 NM

The hike to “Rachael’s Bubble Bath” was on our agenda this morning. After petting the Nurse Shark, we set out on the well marked trail. Up hills, down to the rocky shore, through the lush vegetation and, finally, we arrived at the calm swimming hole. Again, the guys picked up sea junk and even found some of the much sought after sea beans that wash up on the shores after their long journey across the sea from Africa. Dan also gathered some empty but otherwise undamaged conch shells to make more conch horns. Quite a successful jaunt.

MIKE PETTING THE RESIDENT NURSE SHARK

It was now time to move on back to Staniel Cay where Barbara and Mike will fly out tomorrow morning. As we entered the bay, we let the Wragas off on the dingy to make one last snorkeling expedition to the Thunderball Cave while Dan and I anchored. Oops! Low tide and a depth of 3.8’ introduced “our bottom” to the sandy bottom of the bay. Thankfully we didn’t get stuck and were able to get ourselves repositioned and anchored for the night.

A BIG RAY SWIMMING RIGHT OFF OUR PORT SIDE

When the happy snorkelers returned, Dan and Mike took the dingy for one last attempt at fishing. They got drenched in a rainstorm but caught and released three yellow tail snapper and one grouper. They were damp but happy boys.

Dinner was at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. We had to place our order by 5:00 and our dinner reservation was at 7:00. We gathered at the bar for a pre-dinner drink and at 7:00 PM they rang the dinner bell. Everyone ate at the same time (about 18 diners) and the delicious food was served promptly. It worked like clockwork. This was Mike and Barbara’s last night for they fly out of here on a tiny Watermaker flight at 9:00 AM in the morning to start their journey back to the frigid Vermont.