We are still in Nassau.  The winds have been blowing and seas have been unkind.  We are in a beautiful marina and we are super happy here.  Although we are eager to get to the Exumas, we are not leaving until this weather passes and we have a good crossing.  Especially after the last 2, we are NOT risking it.  It appears January is a windy month and maybe we are here a bit too early.  Oh well.  At least we found this incredible place to hang out.  The dock is safe and we are watching the weather.  We made friends, of course, with other fellow boaters, who are all moving in different directions.  Our dock mates, Peyton and Jackie, were awesome and we enjoyed lots of meals, martinis and stories.  They are on their way back home to St. Petersburg, Florida.  They were a wealth of info about where they had been and where to go.  Peyton is a seasoned boater who has been to the Bahamas a dozen times.  Andy and I took his advice seriously.   He has been a captain of many boats, he informed me of the importance to keep my emotions under control.  When things are going wrong, I need to remain calm and let MY captain do his job, so he doesn’t worry about me. I can freak out after but not during the situation. The captain has get us through, and does not need any more stress from the crew. Remember my last blog that said people come in and out of our lives at various times and teaches us lessons?  How everyone touches me in different ways?  Well Peyton taught me a leasson and I listened.  I hope the next time I am freaked out I will hear him in my head and keep it together.  Let my captain do his job and keep us safe.

We have had several days of activities. We took a foodie tour with our new friends.  We walked downtown Nassau and we tasted our way through the town.  It was a great day.  We ate Conch, drank rum punch, ate homemade chocolates and toured the Graycliff pirate mansion.  It’s a hotel now and 5 star restaurant.  We saw the oldest homes and had a great young man tell us all about Nassau and the Bahamas.  It was a great afternoon.

 

Andy left for a bike ride yesterday, and 3 hours later he returned exhausted.  His Indian name still applies, Andy, man who goes to far.  I stayed on the boat and read a book.  What a concept. It’s a whole new reality for me.  Honestly, after Andy left I enjoyed the quiet.  At least for the first hour.  By the 2nd hour I got nervous.  He called me and told me he was fine but into the 3rd hour, pure panic.  When he showed up after the 3rd hour I wasn’t exactly thrilled.  He rode WAY to far.  He had stopped and had lunch at a little local food stand, went over the bridge to Paradise Island and walked Atlantis.  He rode these roads with no shoulder and the people here drive like maniacs and they swerve and dart around pot holes.  He was exhausted when he returned and needless to say, I was happy to see him but a bit pissed.  Life with this man just might kill me.

Today we rented a car from the marina.  We drove the whole island.  Andy took me to Atlantis where he had rode yesterday.  We walked the allowed portions of the property and got a feel for the place.  It is vast and reminded me of Vegas.  I can see the appeal to some, but it is totally not my scene.  We walked the marina and saw the mega yachts and found MargaritaVille.  I had a cheeseburger and I felt so happy for something familiar.  It was yummy.  After we walked our legs off, we drove to the West end of the Island and went to Cliffton Heritage park. This is home to the largest underwater sculpture. Andy finally got a long snorkel in. The water is a bit to cold and choppy so I didn’t want to go in.  Not for AQUAMAN however.  He swam way out to the reef, while the lifeguard on the beach and I kept an eye on him.  He took the GoPro and brought back great videos.  I was happy to see him swim and enjoy this place. We had been told that this was a hot spot and something to see.  The weather hadn’t allowed us to go until today.

We are leaving Nassau on Tuesday.  The weather finally breaks and it will be a nice passage to our next spot in the Exumas. We are headed to Highborn Cay and then make our way down to Georgetown.  I will admit I am nervous, but also anxious to move on.      I hope we see the blue, clear water and calm anchorage’s we have dreamed of.  NOT this windy, rainy weather we have had.  So say a little prayer to the weather gods for me.  I am missing my family and friends.  Please stay in touch with me.  Making friends along the way has helped me not feel too lonely.  Thanks to Jackie and Peyton for their friendship.  I know we will see them again as we pass thru St. Petersburg Florida.

We woke up to rain and clouds today.  Maybe I will stay in my jammies and read all day!

Love to all. I miss you!

We are at Palm Cay Marina and Resort in Nassau.  This is away from the craziness of Paradice Island.  I am really glad we choose to come down here.  This place will be home for a while because the weather is not good for our next crossing to the Exumas.  Once we get a clear weather window, we will provision the boat and head to our next destination. We are in heaven here.  This place is just beautiful and totally quiet. Boaters come in and out of the harbor and it’s fun to see all the different style of boats here.  Mostly catamarans and there is a large charter fleet.  Sitting in the bar and restaurant is fun because we hear a lot of different launguages spoken and people are so fun to watch. The beach is perfect and quiet.

We had our first real rain storm last night and it was awesome. The clouds blocked the moon and I was disappointed not able to see it in all its red glory.  I saw everyone’s facebook posts, so thank you for posting them!  Life is really interesting for me. I am learning to slow down. I’m not good at moving slow. I am learning that my life will not be the same for a long while.  As I think about everywhere we have been in this last 3 months, I cannot believe how long the list is. I think about our itinerary for the next year. I have a hard time picturing so all the places will visit. It seems undoable, yet if I think about being in Nassau, I never thought THIS was possible. Here I sit in awe and disbelief.  It’s crazy.

The boating community is very interesting.  We traveled around in a motor home for years. We took the kids on lots of road trips across the Western States and Canada.  Campgrounds and Marinas have a similar vibe. People are friendly. You share a lust for travel and most everyone wants to know where you came from and where your going. Stories get told, lives get revealed.  It’s a common thread I have witnessed and I am acutely aware of.  Human beings all want social interaction and love telling stories.  I love hearing everyone’s story.  The other night we were enjoying the sunset from the top deck.  A couple on the boat next to us walked toward their boat but stopped to chat.  I invited them up (of course I did!).  Another younger couple on our dock saw us chatting and they walked down, 1/4 bottle of wine in her hand and already totally smashed. She was hilarious though! 🍷🍷  They came up and we proceeded to talk, laugh, share our stories.  It was fun and they didn’t leave til 10PM!!!!  Way past a boaters midnight of 9PM!!!!  I baked fresh cookies (dough from the freezer) and my boat began to feel like “The Gathering Boat.”  My houses have always been gathering place.  Is the feeling on my boat the same?  Or is that we are just warm welcoming people who attract other people?  I would like to think so.  Everywhere we go, meeting other people feels like a cosmic soulful experience.  Everyone leaves a little piece of themselves in my brain.  They become one with my soul.  They teach me something about myself.  Mostly that we are all having this human experience together colliding together in that moment. I learn to be grateful, empathetic, educated about something they can share, sympathic (A lady was having trouble being away from home and she really needed a girl to talk to! Lol. I got that one!), but mostly happy for each experience.   I have exchanged info with some and others are just a wave, a piece of them in my heart.  Everyone is on their path.  I am just so happy to meet new people. It feels very refreshing.

My husband hasn’t stopped smiling since we left. He has been very loving.  I feel happy he is finally taking care of himself, his passions, and dreams.  I’m just the lucky girl who gets to stand beside him and enjoy this ride. What a life he created for me.  It is surreal.

 

As soon as the sun peaked up we took off this morning.  We could not see the water bottom because the flat light, but Andy said it wasn’t necessary. That’s what the Navionics is for and he charted our exit from Bond Cay, where we had anchored overnight. It was pretty but totally isolated. Not a boat in sight. Not even a passing boat.  We broke ourselves into this whole shallow water, navigating, anchoring, primitive stuff right out of the gate.

We spent the first overnight at Hoffmans Cay.  We approached  the anchorage with me on the bow watching for coral heads and shallow waters not charted.  At one point the sand stirred behind the boat and later Andy admitted the depth went down to 2 ft.  He pressed on regardless and all I can say is that it worked out.  BUT, not what I signed up for.  I was a nervous wreck as Andy maneuvered thru the shallow water, but I maintained (I didn’t freak out) and we anchored just fine. The anchor set, first try. We  BBQ a delicious dinner. Why does food taste so good when your camping out?  Later we noticed 3 sailboats who came in a different cut a few miles from us and they anchored in what I assumed was deeper water.  Made me happy to see boats but they were far. We paddled Andys board, me riding along, to the deserted  beach for a walk and exploring. It was so surreal to be ALL ALONE!!! I know we talk about how cool that would be, but honestly I was a bit nervous.  We slept ok.  Not great but better then I expected because I am not a fan of anchoring, so any sleep is great.  The next day the sailboat people showed up in their dingy to OUR BEACH!!  They went to see the Blue Hole. Which was just a short hike.  Andy made that climb while I sat on the beach.

 

It was a good day!  We spent that morning exploring in the dingy and checking out or path out.  We had to get to our next spot for the night.  So off we went.  Bye Bye sailboats with people I didn’t know but was happy you were there.

 

Next anchorage was Bonds Cay.  It was a similar approach in shallow water but for some reason I wasn’t as nervous.  Again we were all alone.  Like NO ONE!!!! We Relaxed and I cooked the best Macaroni and cheese I have ever made in my entire life.  We watched TV and kept saying  “Where the heck are we?”  The next morning we had to get out of there while the tide was high.   Either transit the shallows with low light of a sunrise or wait for sun and a lower tide.  Anyway, long story, lots of discussion and we left early morning, low light.  We made the pass no problem.  I settled into the queens lounge while Andy drove and we enjoyed drinking our coffee. Feeling pretty accomplished and happy as the boat rolled along for hours.  At one point I thought to myself how awesome that we will be tied up in a marina before lunch time! That means we can go out for lunch!!! Yay!!!  About 2 hours in, all went to hell. By hell,  I mean I was praying to Sweet Jesus to save me now or I was going to die.  The boat listed and rolled. Everything went flying and I panicked.  Heart pumping and me screaming.

We aimed toward the harbor but the waves were on our beam rocking us violently. We could see the harbor entrance but we couldn’t go straight there, had to zig zag our way. Getting bashed! Once in Nassau harbor we could breathe again.  It took me a while to calm down, my heart racing.  We cruised by Paradice Island and all the cruise ships. We darted around their tenders and slowed way down to take in the sight. I wanted to cry from all the emotions. Tears of relief.

Ok Ok, I have your attention.  AGAIN, this trip is totally Awesome. But man oh man,  it has had challenges. Ups and downs, scared shitless and euphoria.  The ocean changes so fast. We had a bit of isolation and we were ready for civilization!! We pulled into this marina at the West end of Nassau.  Away from the craziness of the tourist and cruise ships.  We picked this place because it was a good price (Nassau is expensive) and it had really nice amenities. It is everything advertised. Happy dance!

Andy and I are now settled into our slip.  All tied up and cleaned up.  We washed the salt off the boat, cleaned up the mess on the inside and put everything back in its place.  We checked into the marina and had the best pizza for lunch. We hugged each other tight. We feel so grateful to be doing this together. Andy kept calm while I prayed to Sweet Jesus and uttered the F Bomb 100 times.  He handled the boat amazingly thru the worst waves I have ever encountered.  I personally think our boat was pushed to the limit.  Andy drove it better then you can imagine. He is my hero. I could just cry!

We are at a beautiful resort marina. It will be hard for me leave. We will stay at least a week and wait out the weather.  We need some vacation time.  Relaxing on the beach, lounge chair or poolside.  We have been on the move.  I’m excited to stay put.  I am actually terrified to think of leaving.  I hope after a week I will be ready to move on.  For now there is a drink with my name on it.  Andy and I are still shaking our heads.  California to Nassau.  Who would have believed it!  Living our dream, rough ocean and all!  We ate some great food and talked to people. We both had tears of happiness and pure shock that we have pulled this off!

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We arrived at Great Harbor Cay in The Berry Islands in the afternoon after our rough crossing and boy, was I was so happy to see that little cut in the rock that we were warned was tricky.  Besides being a tiny entrance into this harbor, I was just blown away at Andy’s navigating.  These new electronics have been worth every penny.  Plus all the research Andy has done on charts and apps for the IPad. We rely on Garmin and Navionics,  and so far, its done us right.  We tied up, I cooked some dinner, and went to bed.   I told Andy, “Just give me some time and space to recover!”   He found people to talk to on the dock while I chilled.  I wasn’t sure I would ever leave this place. I might fly home!!! This picture is the cut in the rock Andy had to find AND get us thru to find the harbor. Amazing!

We pulled into the harbor and were greeted by someone to help us tie up.  That’s a whole new story for me! 11 years at a floating docks with cleats and now I have no idea what they want you to do with your lines. Some are poles, some are boards you tie around. Anyway, we are figuring it out but the help is awesome.

The next morning when I had recovered, Andy promised a beautiful day.  He delivered. We set off on our bikes to a shell beach where we were the only ones for miles. I found sand dollars and small shells. We walked and were amazed at the crystal clear warm water.  We walked and walked, rode to different spots which were equally nice.  Andy swam and snorkeled and I actually got in the water! Shocking!!!  We wanted to go to a beach bar but when we arrived we found it closed.  Bummer, ok lunch on the boat, no biggie.  But first, another dunk in the warm water.  We walked down and found another couple who was also disappointed by the shut down bar/restaurant.  It made me realize we are seriously out of Calif!! A beach like this that was empty!  We chatted with them and then set off to ride back to the marina.  We got back to the boat and had a nice lunch in the marina. The Cafe was open and the sweet lady who ran it cooked me up an amazing burger.  I was greatful. And tired!!

Part 2 of our day brought me back to my to the reality of life with my man. Over the years Andy has coined a few Indian Names. These were thought up by my son one day when Jake was studing native Indians in Junior High.  As a family, we went out for kayaks in our harbor. Easy enough. But Andy/Daddy always pushed the kids a little too far.  He always said “just around the next bend and we will be home.”  The kids would paddle to find another bend, and then another bend.  He did this with bike riding, hiking, everything.  So he became “Daddy Who Says, Just Around The Next Bend.”   He always pushed us and took us too far.  It wasn’t that he was trying to kill us, but none of us could keep up.  As me and Andy were bike riding down a sandy path that supposed to end at a beautiful beach,  I was complaining the he had no idea where he was taking me in my beach path cruiser bike with my smooth tires and no suspension  and  his outfitted for any obstacle. Me sliding out and bouncing over corral as I cussed and he road like nothing on his high tech mountain bike.  This journey, with this man, me trying too keep up and not getting killed.  At the end of the ride we found this beach.  And it was glorious.  I was grateful.  I am being tested.  I have to learn to trust him.

We returned to the boat After hours on the beach, me thrashed and ready to relax.  But not Mr. Andy. He was excited to be in calm weather and try out his Christmas present.  So he pumped it up and took off.  Me, I’m thrashed!!  But I do love this crazy man.

 

Andys Christmas Present finally pumped up! He never stops!

We spent 3 nights here.  It was a nice place but we also were anxious to get out to the Cays and anchor out.  The last night before we left, our sweet harbor host told us we needed to go get some local Bahamian food.  She made us a reservation. We went to this place that was like a home, not a restaurant,  and they expected us because our sweet host had called and ordered for us. They served us some local food of hog fish fingers, coleslaw, black beans and rice, plantains.  It was yummy and it was a great night off of cooking.  I am cooking a lot and we just don’t have options to anything other then what we brought.  So it was a treat.  Plantains were great!!

 

There was a sunken plane wreck we heard was a great snorkel.  We snorkeled It and it was full of fish.   Funny to think it was smuggling marajuana when it crashed.  Lol. We saw a lone  lion fish and lots of schools. Andy made me get in even though the water wasn’t really very  warm.  Glad I did!

After we snorkeled we set off to journey up the jungle cruise, as it was called.   It was a river thru the mangroves called Shark Creek. It was SHALLOW, even in a dingy.  At one point Andy put his shoes on and pulled us along.  Me not happy,  but going along for the ride.  Of course, I made it clear this was stupid.  We did see some baby sharks, lots of baby fish in the mangroves and we went WAY TO FAR!!!  Until I had a temper tantrum and Andy finally turned around.  Many mosquito bites later,  Andy “daddy who goes to far, just around the next bend” turned around, Or faced death by wife.

 

The dock was full of conch shells.  Andy said I was not allowed to take any.  BOOHOO!  So I took pictures!! Conch fritters were on the menu.  They are just chewy grossness to me. I have had my share thruout the Caribbean.

These days are full. I feel like I am trying to soak up every inch of a place even though we have no actual time frame.  I live with a guy who finds everything there is to do in a place, forms a list and we hit the road running. I hope we find a groove as we go from place to place.  The next few days we will be anchoring out.  We will be in the Bahama banks and they are SHALLOW!!!!  So I am ready to move on but I am a bit afraid.  I will let you know how it goes.  Being somewhere so far from home and no way out!  I am facing lot  of insecurities and also learning to trust. This is what I signed up for!  All good but scary as hell. We set off to Hoffmans Cay tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Cindy’s version:

Today we left Bimini totally excited to move on.  We had everyone say that today was the day,  so we left.  This was our biggest jump in terms of miles, so we got going early.  The day started so beautiful as the sun came up, coffee in hand.  The boat was all wet because it had rained that night.  The sound of rain on the boat is wonderful, but I had wondered how it would effect our crossing.  We woke up to a beautiful white puffy cloud morning.  So off we went.  It started out glorious.  I sat and watched dolphins in the distance jumping thru our wakes.  We rounded the North tip of Bimini and made our turn.  The waves picked up.  Then they really picked up.  This doesn’t usually worry me because our boat handles swell really well.  We are used to West Coast swells and wave that are spaced out 10-15 seconds. We had 3-4 foot swells 2 seconds apart. We were in a washing machine.  Picture getting put into the old style agitation washing machine.  It went all directions and tossed me in all directions.  I am in charge of making sure the boat is all battoned down.  So while under way I always walk around and make sure things are secure and not falling down.  I went into the bow where or master stateroom is and saw water pouring thru the starboard side porthole.  I knew I had shut it!!!  As I climbed up to close it, and waves were crashing and water was pouring into my room, I stepped into a wet puddle of water on the carpet.  Heart pounding because I had no idea how much water had come in.  ARE WE SINKING? OMG!!!  I got towels and soaked as much as I could while getting bashed around, and then accessed if any more water was coming into the boat now that the porthole was secure.  My mind went dark, we have a hole in the boat.  We are going down!   I came up in a huff and reported to Andy that our bedroom is wet!

To make matters worse, we left the bridge window cover on.  It was soaked from the rain.  Andy loves driving the boat from up top.  No biggie, we will let it dry as we go.   But after hours of getting sprayed on the flybridge, he decided it was time to move down to the pilothouse.  The pilothouse is one of the reasons we like this boat.  It is totally cozy in bad weather with big wrap around windows.  I sit in the queens lounge and Andy has a big comfy pilot chair.  In really nice weather we both prefer the wind in our hair and the flybridge also has a queens lounge that looks out for dolphin spotting.  Today, that all just sucked!!

So here is the truth.  In these situations I know its uncomfortable, NOT unsafe, but I also go to the dark side.  Think Titanic.  So my heart starts pumping and I can’t relax. WHY DID WE LEAVE THE STUPID WINDSHEILD COVER ON!!!!  Andy slowed the boat and ventured out with waves pitching and me screaming  “DON’T FALL IN CUZ WE NEVER DID THAT MAN OVERBOARD DRILL!!!  Shit, why didn’t we do that drill!!!!  Me, in a total panic as the boat pitched and my brave hero out in the ocean spray.   It ended fine, of course.  Ok, I AM a bit dramatic.  But honestly, I was SCARED!!  Who knows me??  You can picture it now.  I’m sure you are laughing at my plight. Ok, Andy made it safely back inside and got set up in his comfy pilot house chair and I settled down.  The boat was not sinking either.  At this point I had been down below 5x to check. So I laid down and calmed down.   My AQUAMAN  in his captains chair just where he belongs, and me in my queens lounge, just where I belong. We rolled with the choppy,  shitty ocean.  No clear  turquoise water that you can see to the bottom we had seen so many pictures. We felt jipped!  NOOOO, not for us!  We got choppy soup.

I am tucked into a harbor now.  I am making dinner.  There are a bunch of boats here.  We are safe.  I am working on my attitude.  Can you say TEQUILLA!!!  Went straight to hard.  Wine was not going to cut it.  Andy promises me the most beautiful beaches tomorrow.  He better deliver because I have already scouted out the nearest airport.

Andy’s version:

I sold Cindy a bill of goods. I told her that when shipped the boat to do the Great Loop, we would be on the Intercoastal Waterway the whole way.  Million dollar homes and civilization and grocery stores and calm protected waters.  It will be busy with commercial and recreational boating traffic.  There will always be someone around who could help us if we were in distress.  I told her that if anything goes wrong, we can pull off the ICW and drop anchor anywhere. Call for help.

We got to the East Coast too early to start the loop so why not do the Bahamas in the winter??  Warm Clear water with reefs to snorkel.  Next thing you know we are doing 50 miles across the Gulf Stream, which can be treacherous with the wrong wind.  We picked our day and went for it. It was great.  I expected to see many boats making  the crossing that day. We saw only a freighter and 1 other boat!   Bimini was a bummer getting stuck there.  I couldn’t swim because of the 6-8 ft Bull Sharks under our boat.  I am sure you saw Cindys posts!  It’s insane.  There was not much else to do. I finally got in the water on a 2 tank dive, and it was awesome.  I finally got to swim with my fishy friends and I was happy.  The weather was beautiful, but not for boating.  The next island crossing was 90 miles across the Bahama banks which averages 15 feet.  I talked to other captains in the resort and they told me to take the Northerly Route and then East across The Banks.  Sunday was the best day of the 4 we were there. An 8 hour run. Things started off calm, until we were in 3-4 hours.  Then the wind picked up and continued to pick up. About 4 hours in,  it occurred to me that we are absolutely on our own out here.  No Coast Guard and no one on the radar for 32 miles around us.  No land in sight, and we are 50 miles from anywhere.  My first thought was, Cindy did not sign up for this.  All of our previous boat trips we have had land in sight!

I measure the sea condition by how much  sea spray I get on the top flybridge.  As I was ducking behind the windshield I realized, “I LEFT THE STUPID PILOT HOUSE WINDSHEILD COVER ON BECAUSE IT WAS WET!!!!  It has been getting sprayed for hours. “WHAT WAS I THINKING. NOW I CAN’T DRIVE FROM DOWN BELOW,  AND I AM GETTIN SOAKED.”  I now have to go out on the slippery, pitching deck and get that cover off.  I did it hoping not to fall overboard.  Once that was done we settled in to the cozy pilothouse and pushed the throttles up.  The best thing I did was uprgrade to the newest navigation equipment.  With all the wind current and swell I maintained a course on the proven route within feet and found the small canal in the island that gets you into a natural harbor and our marina.  I am soooooo greatfull that my First Mate did not freak out too much.  I could not and would not do this trip without her.  She is my world.

Today we got to go to one of the most beautiful, seclude beaches that I have ever seen.  Happy now and Cindy and I are laughing about our hairy crossing.  Life is good.

 

Today!!  Yes it was worth the peril of yesterday. Just look at where we are. Just wow! Yes today made it worth it!  Nice bike ride to an empty beach. Just wow!!

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I am finding a rhythm.  I am not good at sitting.  I like to be busy.  I need a purpose.  My jewelry business did that for me.  I knew going into this, I would need to slow down and quiet my very ADD mind.  I also knew this trip would cause me to stop, listen to myself and be in the moment.  I have been tired of all the crazy running around and trying to PLEASE everyone.  IT’S AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK!  I knew I would have a big adjustment that would probably cause me anxiety . The first weeeks in Fort Lauderdale were full of appointments and people and I didn’t have a chance to decompress.  We are now someplace very quiet.   I am finding myself looking around and feeling a little anxious as I expected I would feel.  I wake up every morning a little anxious.  It passes once I’m up and moving.  But not having an addenda or schedule is creating space for me to ask myself simple questions.  “What do I want to do today, or how should I start my day?”   I only have myself and my sweet husband and it’s AWESOME!!!!  I brought my yoga mat, weights, bands, TRX.  We were so busy in Fort Lauderdale we did not even have time to work out, or the energy.  Now that we are here and its quiet, I am enjoying a slow start and I’m enjoying the self care.  Morning stretches on the bow of the boat, we did a full workout that Mike wrote for Andy (Thank you Mike Wunch!) and walking the island.  I am sore!  It feels awesome.  Some people might think we are weird hippee freaks from California watching us do yoga on the bow.   I don’t care!  Our boat still says Channel Islands Ca, and that gets a lot of attention.  It’s awesome, the setting is God gift!

The purpose of writing this down and sharing this with everyone is for me to release my anxiety and trust that we will be fine.  Doing this trip is not for sissies.  There are a lot of unknowns and although I feel we are totally prepared, I am afraid something will go wrong.  I am sure something will go wrong.  I am a type A control freak.  So being here has taken me way outside my comfort zone.  Although I am 100% on board, I am still anxious. So I am leaving it here, right now as I type my feelings, and trusting. It took great lengths and courage to get here. So today I am going to learn to flow, slow down, get out of my head, breathe, be in the moment and be in gratitude. All these things I know, now need to practice.

There is such Joy in watching Andy. He is finally living his dream and I am lucky to be on this journey with him.  I love seeing the smile on his face and the absolute awe that we have gotten this far. I hope we continue to find bliss as we move on. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to die down and we have 90 miles to the next island.  I trust we will ge there safely and it will be everything we have read and researched. Right now he is on his first dive of the trip. Aquaman really needed to get wet and I am happy for some solitude. I had the morning to again get real with myself as I went thru sun salutations on the bow of the boat, wind blowing and challenging myself to keep the flow going. I feel energized and ready for the next Island.

Are we stuck in Bimini? Yes! Are we miserable? NO! We made the decision to come over to Bimini on a clear, beautiful weather day knowing that we might not have another good weather day until the weekend. But we were ready to leave Fort Lauderdale and all the projects. We made some friends on the city dock and again, we had to say goodbye. We felt blessed our first stop here was so good and welcoming.  And we felt so happy to get a lot accomplished while here. But I started to feel like if we didn’t get going we would get sucked into dock life again.  You get comfortable and make friends.  It makes it hard to venture on.

Bimini is cool.  But not a lot going on here.  There is no swimming in the harbor because the bull sharks come in to chow down on all the fisherman’s catches.  I wish I could post the first video I took.  It was hilarious but I was cussing a lot!  Need to edit me out!  It’s been fun watching these huge sports fishers come in at the end of the day, crew on deck, they start cleaning and filleting the catch and the bull sharks move in.  It is something to see.  It’s become a nightly event.  Wine or cocktail in hand everyone meandering around the wood fixed docks and watch the show.  The best still was the old, local stoned guy.  He was hilarious.  The boats that come in are loaded up with guys and they either take their fish to the carving station or do it right from the back of their boats. Crazy!

 

 

Speaking of sharks. Today we decided to go the Shark Research Lab. We had seen UTube videos on this place and we really wanted to check it out. Total dud! We hit a bad day because they were filming something on the beach where the pens are. Proudly something for funding, or who knows what!  There was a huge group.  A very nice research girl just talked and talked. All of us who came just wanted to see baby sharks. So I was disappointed.  As was everyone else. Better luck next time. Cute baby lemon shark was all we saw.

 

We arrived in Bimini yesterday afternoon after a very uneventfully smooth crossing. We tied up at the dock, high fived each other.  Said a few “Holy F$%, I cant believe we are here!”  We checked into immigration and sat on the boat in a bit of shock and total gratitude. We have had a few really good weeks in Fort Lauderdale where we enjoyed the city and took advantage of lots of services. (There will be a whole post about that, but for now its all BAHAMAS!)  After we removed our yellow flag we jumped on our bikes to stretch our legs and get SIM cards. The store was closed. Oh well, tomorrow. We cruised the island, its small and returned to the boat to just chill. We walked the docks and I am not joking when I say the shakes appeared and they were HUGE!!!! Not your little reef sharks and nurse sharks. This friendly old (and a little wasted) guy said “I’m not being prejudice, but don’t jump in that water cuz them bull sharks like white meet!” Cracked us up! The dock is pretty empty except a few fishing boats that go in and out and a few local, long timers on mega yachts. One gentleman on a boat named Vison is super friendly. He lives here on his boat and does eye exams for the locals and cuts glasses right on his boat. They let him stay for free! He loved chatting, Rum and coke in hand, telling stories and local knowledge. He and his wife and a 13 year old live on this old Hatteraus that one time cruised Jackie Kennedy Onassis. It has a lot of history and is quite a boat. As the evening went on and the sun set we drank some docktails, cooked a yummy dinner (why does everything taste so good on a boat!) and am in wonder and awww! We are REALLY doing this! We are really HERE!! Holy moly! Now we have to find some water to swim in that has less shark infested.

 

I haven’t had a lot of time to sit and think. Our days have been really full. Even though we did a lot to the boat before we left California, it has been project after project. The condition of the boat post shipping just added to the list and cost. I knew that we had weeks of organizing and provisioning. Added to that, we got here right during the holidays. But fortunately,  we found people to help and stores with inventory. SHOCKING!!  We found that in California we couldn’t get anyone competent and things just got left undone. We had new electronics installed and it took months to finish and things still didn’t get resolved. Totally frustrating! This new life in Fort Lauderdale is eye opening to the boating world here. There is a store for every imaginable service. People even specialize in just one part on a boat. We met a guy who works only on heads! HEADS!!! Who knew! There is everything from small mom and pops to huge boater warehouse and consignment. We have had a ball shopping and buying everything we couldn’t find in California. The boat has a beautiful new shine. This 20 year old boat has a shine like a brand new one. Our new dock mates are envious. We keep telling them its just a phone call and few boat bucks! (Boaters understand that term) As of this morning, we have a clean boat inside and out. Everything has a place. I hope I can remember where I stowed things. It might be a scavenger hunt but, everything is put away!  I woke up able to breath this morning. Not anxious and not a huge list of To-Do’s.

So what happened to all our STUFF??

As I reflect on last year and begin this new year I can’t help but reflect on STUFF! Why on earth do we all collect so much STUFF! This process of moving onto our boat and selling everything we couldn’t move onto the boat (we did store a few things I just couldn’t part with) made me a little sad. I have spent a ton of energy on my stuff. I love stuff. Old stuff, new stuff, pretty stuff and basically all stuff! I spent tons of time and energy buying old stuff and making it new. I have bought a ton of dishes and platters for tons of holidays and parties I hosted. God forbid that I used the same theme every year and just used the same stuff from the year before. MORE STUFF! For me, this has been a sport! I was a great entertainer and hosted a gazilian events, birthday parties, most of the holidays, a wedding, a funeral and Friday’s night swim parties as the kids grew up. Our home was the Gathering Ranch!  As I type this a little tear is in my eye. Because as I sit on my small new home, my boat, I wonder if I will miss being the “hostess with the mostess” or will I be releaved.

We parted with lots of stuff.  Family and friends hit the lottery as we purged. We sold really nice stuff for pennies on the dollar. We gave a truck load to charity. The kids got a lot and were set up with household things and furniture.  I brought just enough on the boat to host a small group of fellow boaters that we meet along the way.  We have already had some locals over for docktails.  I am looking forward to living with less and actually using the things I have. NO more stuff! When I start getting the urge for a new platter, blouse or decoration,  I will STOP, BREATHE, EVALUATE, and really ask myself do I need it or just want it.  It’s very liberating. And while I write these feelings down I am releasing them.  It was HARD!!!! No joke.  I cried a lot and questioned what I was doing. I was afraid I was making a mistake giving everything away. Now as I sit and reflect on the weeks and weeks of work it took to get here, I am grateful for the experience. I am lighter and freer. Now all I have to do is learn to quiet my mind and be in the moment. This next year will be about living with less. Living with my eyes opens to the world as we travel.  I will embrace the fact that I might not have the latest, greatest, prettiest _____________.  I will learn to appreciate what I do have. TIME on this planet and connection to people. I also want to thank Debbie Northcut for coming to my rescue with a truck. She loaded it up to the max and hauled it away for the the charity thrift store that she runs in Tehachapi.  She took all the stuff that I couldn’t find a home for or sell.  It was A LOT!!!

Thank you Debra!

My word for 2019 is Present. I want to be Present in every moment!

We are waiting for a weather window to head the Bahamas. This next week is not looking so good. So patience. In the mean time we will enjoy all that Fort Lauderdale has to offer.

Things I’ve learned this last week:

-I’m going to have bad hair everyday! Guess I’ll live in a hat.

-That everyone you meet on a dock is friendly and has a story. We certainly do!!

-There are tons of boaters here in the east coast ICW. Very different then the empty harbors of Oxnard. Although the last few years that has changed as we saw more boaters and more recreational paddle boarding and kayaking. They don’t know to get out of the way either. We love using the horn and scaring the Jesus out of them.

-I have learned to expect the unexpected.

Here is a summary of what has happened this last week. It’s been a lot of unexpected events. But we are rolling with it. And we have had some fun. My niece is in Miami and made us a wonderful Christmas dinner. It was supper appreciated after all the work. And we managed to find a great Mexican restaurant! I was in heaven!

We patiently waited for the call that the ship was in port and ready to offload. We got the call that our scheduled time was 10PM. We had never driven at night, by choice.  There was no “sorry that doesn’t work for us.” Suck it up buttercup. First time for everything. As much as I wanted to opt out, I knew that was not an option. So we did it. It wasn’t hard. It wasn’t ideal but we got the job done and felt totally accomplished after. And frankly proud as hell of ourselves. We slept so good tucked into our bed that first night. I love my cozy cabin. We looked at each other with pride and respect for each other. They threw us to the wolves right out of the gate. No backing out now baby. The whole boat shipping process was stressful for me. Can you say “control freak!” We got little communication from the shipping company about when, how, where, what to expect, or even the whole procedure!!! It was beyond BEYOND frustrating. What we realized during this whole thing was, most boats who get shipped by freighters are using captains. They have unlimited budgets, the boats are huge, expensive and they handle none of the logistics.  But we handled this start to finish. I just wish our sales person was cool. Once she got our deposit she turned into a bitch who would not call us back or answer any of our question. It made it really hard to prepare. Ok so it’s all behind us now. Our boat is here. We survived. Aquaman survived even if a bit bruised. We are here now ready for settle in before our adventure begins.

The last week has been work and more work. I’m trying to unpack and settle in with what I brought. Turns out that it’s way too much. So I am thinning it out more and we will fill the jeep up and store the car until we return next year. So it’s all good. The morning we woke up from our night cruise we started to wash it down. We saw the boat was filthy but we had no idea until the morning how bad it really was. It took several scrubbings with soap, more water and brushing to remove the black soot. It was overwhelming and felt like were getting nowhere. What we discovered under the black soot was orangish/red spots ALL OVER THE ENTIRE BOAT!! Our boat was covered in them. We got out every chemical we had and nothing touched them. Dehydrated, sweaty and hot and in tears, me and Andy thought “what did we do?” Before long people started milling around and we started asking questions. A captain and dock master told us about some chemicals that would remove the spots. But honestly, the thought of removing all of them off a boat 50 ft long with several decks made me want to cry. The end of the story is that we chased around to find these chemicals and Andy went at it, while I dove into unpacking the too many clothes I brought. The chemicals worked and we had a whole new energy. Albeit exhausted!! He went to the task of spot removal while I focused on the inside. I did find a space for everything and I plan on giving more away as we travel. The boat started coming back to life. We loved on it with great care and gratitude for it!

Today we hired a training Captain. Not for boat handling because ANDY has that but for local knowledge, ICW information, bridge openings and how to call the bridges, navigation of the Bahamas, how to read the many different channel markers and what they mean. It was great to have our hand held a bit as we headed out. We did our first bridge, anchored for a bit, and fueled up. We picked his brain and it was great. Today was a windy day here. We would not have choosen not to go out. But we went and came to realize that on this trip we will be going in all weather. We can’t “wait cuz it’s windy.” We gotta go!! It’s a whole new world. It’s a whole new reality. It’s exciting and scary. I guess that’s what made me do it.  I’m honestly going to say, this is going to push me outside my comfort zone.  I can already tell we are in for it! Right now I have a glass of wine in hand, sun is setting. I’m in shorts. The wind feels amazing. My hair is a mess and I don’t care. Life is good. I’m grateful with an edge of scared. I guess that’s what I signed up for.

 

We got a lot done this first week. Many trips to West Marine. The biggest store in the USA. We got the dents removed from my car by a Mobil dent remover. I managed to dent the car pulling into the garage on our last day packing up the house to leave. More grocery shopping and stocking up the essentials. More chemicals. We went to Verizon and got an internet hot spot. Everyday has a list. We found a boat polisher and hired them. Today we have 4 guys compounding and waxing the outside. They are tackling the rest of the spots and bringing AQUAMAN Back to life. It feels like everything we needed to do just fell into place. We called and people answered the phones, showed up and started right away. It feels all meant to be. The stars are aligned. Things are falling into place. I’m starting to feel at home. Starting to realize this IS my new life, my new space, everything is different. Everything is foreign.

We have had some fun. Andy called the Harbor host here in Fort Lauderdale for the AGLCA. Dennis and his wife came to meet us and brought a bottle of champagne and cookies. They were awesome and we appreciated the friendship. We took the dingy down and cruised it up the New River for miles. So many beautiful homes and mega yachts. We found some fun restaurants and sat on the beach watching all the craziness and half dressed women! Andys Christmas present arrived, an inflatable paddle board. And I am typing this on my new IPad. Much easier for me to work with than the computer for syncing photos from my phone.

Andy is plotting our course to the Bahamas. We cannot wait to get going. But we won’t leave until we are ready!