Waiting at anchor in WPalm Beach: Feb 7 thru ??

February 7
Monday, our day to leave the marina and move out the anchorage.  It will be nice to stop paying $70/nite dock fees, but we'll miss the other boaters (and of course, the bathrooms!).  However, the winds on Monday were blowing in excess of 30 knots, and from a direction that pinned us in the fixed pilings that mark our slip.  There's only one way this boat can exit the slip, so we had no choice but to stay another night.

February 8
Thankfully, the winds settled down and clocked around to a favorable direction.  Even so, there is always that damn current that inevitably plays a strong hand in how the boat handles.  Suffice it to say, it took 3 attempts, but we finally got the bow pointed in the right direction, while leaving none of our paint on the dock and avoiding hitting any other boats ... yes, a success!

Lots of lines to detach from our secure holding.

Dan discussing "our exit strategy" with our dockmates!

Once we got out of the slip, we breathed a deep sigh of relief as that's always the hardest part.  We didn't have far to go as we simply motored over to the fuel dock and tied up there to finish a few errands.  For starters, Ed and Connie Dooley, s/v Surprise, two of our favorite people from Brunswick stopped by here for lunch at the Tiki Bar on their way to visit friends in the Keys (smart people ... if it's too cold to play golf in GA, then jump in the car and head towards Key West!).  That was quite fun ... I sometimes worry about how we'll be able to stay in touch with our favorite boaters as all of us seem to maintain a transient lifestyle; so maybe we'll be lucky enough to continue to have encounters like this one.

February 9
We are at anchor in the WPalm Beach channel .... 1/2-mile from the inlet we will take to the ocean when we leave for the Bahamas.  Now the serious waiting begins ... this is the hard part.  You obsess about weather forecasts, unable to stick to just a few sources but instead choose to monitor a half dozen web sites.  You talk about weather windows with other boaters, as everyone else anchored here is likewise waiting for a good window to make the crossing.  You hate using any of the food you've stored; you worry about having to refill on water while waiting at anchor.

Making the choice to cross:  Even though Bahamas is just 50 miles offshore (135 mile to our destination), it's got it's share of potentially dangerous obstacles.  The crossing involves going from shallow coastal waters to very deep ocean water to shallow Bahamian banks, each of which will react differently to changes in wind direction and speed.  2-3ft coastal swells could turn into 5-7 ft waves 60 miles offshore. And there is the Gulf Stream to cross, and it's about 12 miles offshore from WPalm Beach. Since the Gulf Stream (a vertible river of water running from FL to the mid-atlantic states), runs north, you want to avoid any northernly winds because they will push against the current, causing high, rough waves to develop.  A sure way to have a nasty crossing.  Ideally, once a cold front has passed, you allow a couple of days for the seas to flatten and the wind to clock around to the S/SW.  You need a good 2-3 window to cross -- it will take one day to get across the Bahama bank, one day to get to Green Turtle Cay (where we will clear customs) and another day to get into Marsh Harbor (our destination to wait for Mikel Wheeler's arrival).  A front hitting the Bahamas can hang us up for days at any of these 3 points.

Februay 10

I got our taxes done and filed electronically today (thank you Turbo Tax), so we celebrated with bacon and eggs for brunch (usually it's yogourt and ceral).  The only problem with having an out-of-the-ordinarily meal is that none of the supplies are readily available in the refrigerator.  Since the refrig has to be packed "just so" so that everything fits in its unique spot, to locate the bacon and then the eggs requires removing lots of layers from the refrig, mentally remembering how you are going to put everything back again!

Of course, bacon and eggs are stored on the bottom!  Lifting out the white basket of fresh veggies takes you to a layer of cartons of milk, juice, lemonade, and iced tea.  Tucked under the front shelf are two more shelves for cheese, meat, veggies,  At the back of this picture, you can see our tiny freezer. It's always surrounded with bottled beer!  And under the beer is a shelf where I've got 3 dz eggs stored.  Whew!

Our tiny freezer! Right now, it holds two steaks, 6 mahi mahi filets, 4 halibut filets, 3 lbs of grd beef, two lbs bacon, and one kielbasa.  I can make ice cubes, but I can only justify space for the ice cube tray in the freezer the day or two before we go shopping!

Once I've dug all the necessary food out of the refrigerator and pantry, next I attack the locker that holds all our pots and pans (and yes, I bought all my best cookware from home; some boaters use boater-cookware which may nest easily together, but what's the fun in cooking in cheap stuff!).  The stacking method is actually more organized than it looks.  There are 4 big lockers under the cushions in our settee.  I get one for pots, and Dan gets 3 for tools and spare parts.  (However, I've heard from 3 other trusted Bayfield owners that their wives could never allow this ... so the pressure is on for Dan to free up more galley storage for me ... we shall see!)

rain predicted for today and tomorrow.

at least it's 80degrees in the enclosed cockpit.

Now the rain comes and the wild wind blows!

We want this front to move though and bring on our weather window!

Dan watching the storm and studying maps. A captain's job is never done!

Friday - Sunday will no doubt be a repeat of the above.  We'll put the dinghy in the water and go visit our friends in the marina.  Of course, we'll squeeze in another shopping trip as more storage space becomes available.  There are places to explore.  Laundry to do.  Phone calls to make while we have use of a phone (we can suspend service with Verizon while we are gone).

But boat projects are all done; we're cleaned and packed up and ready to go.