Back From the Bahamas and Heading North

After we left Green Turtle Cay for the second time in the Bahamas we headed for Spanish Cay. Spanish Cay is a private island owned by someone who lives in Florida. There are not many houses on the island and only one marina. There were not many boats in the marina but they said their busy time is after school is out for the summer. We walked around in the surf at low tide and found a couple of shells and a baby hermit crab that attacked Ginny. Not much to do on the island so we relaxed for a day and then moved on to an anchorage at Great Sale Cay.

Great Sale is about 1/2 way between Spanish Cay and West End (where we departed from to Florida). The wind was low and the anchorage was beautiful. There were at least 25 boats anchored. I know you have heard my stories about how much I love to anchor (NOT) and this was not much better. We were doing fine until about 3:30 A.M. when the wind shifted and we seemed to be pushed very close to one our neighbors, so we decided to reset the anchor in the dark (who said I was smart). We did fine and the anchor was holding but we were not going to sleep so we waited until first light or a little before and then pulled anchor and left our running mates to wonder what the heck happened. Actually we did not get very far away and they called on the radio. We told them we would me meet them in West End. The day was perfect and we got to West End in the early afternoon.
If you read the blog when we came to the Bahamas we stayed at West End and had fresh lobster from a local fisherman. We found the same fisherman and we all bought more lobster that we cooked on "Something Special". We arrived in West End on Thursday and the weather looked good to cross back to Florida on Friday so we were up at the crack of dawn and left at 6:30 A.M. The ocean was calm and we make very good time. We came into the Lake Worth Inlet which is very wide and easy to get in so we liked that. West Palm Beach is the first city you see and there are some very large ships and houses to look at, much like Fort Lauderdale.
We went to North Palm Beach to the Old Port Cove Marina. The marina has floating docks which are much easier to tie to because you don't have to worry about the tides. We stayed at the marina for three nights. We walked to dinner the first night and had a nice meal in a local Italian restaurant. The next day I rode the bike to West Marine to pick up some things for the boat and on the way back I stopped at the Honey Baked Ham store an bought a ham bone and some beans for soup. We cooked the soup for several hours but it was not quite done by dinner so we decided to have it the next night on the dock. A very nice couple next to us offered us a ride to Publix to shop and we accepted her offer. We spent a lot a money on groceries but we were pretty low on everything.
Our last night as a team was Sunday night because Sid and Evelyn were going to go to stop in Stuart the next day, then fly back home to take care of some business and see the family. We had a very nice happy hour and then we ate the bean soup on the dock. The next day we hugged Sid and Evelyn goodbye and then "Passport" and "Brown Eyed Girl" went to Nettles Island Marina which is just past Stuart but before Fort Pierce. John and Mary had been in contact with Greg and Kate from "Grianan" where they keep there boat in the marina and have a lovely condo close by. Greg met us at the dock and invited us all for cocktails at their condo and then dinner at Shuckers. They have a great place and quite a view of the Atlantic. Greg and Kate invited their boat neighbors Jan and Bob on the "JANY K". Jan and Bob have traveled the East Coast several times and were quite a wealth of information about marinas and sights to see. We left Nettles today and headed for Vero Beach for a couple of days.

 Walking in the low tide at Spanish Cay

I found a young conch but I put him back to grow up

The hermit crab that attacked Ginny

The docks at Spanish Cay

The restaurant at Spanish

Leaving Spanish Cay (the rocks are actually the breakwall)

John putting the dinghy down at Great Sale to check his anchor

No, he is not throwing up but looking through a bucket with a clear plastic bottom so he can see if his anchor is set. He looked at ours also.

Some of our neighbors at Great Sale

The last sunset picture from the Bahamas

Sunrise the next morning as we were leaving Great Sale

Look at all of the lobsters

The fisherman cuts the tails off before selling them to us

A freighter crossing our path on the way to Florida

The Carnival cruise ship Fascination

our AIS shows the ships name and course

Our slip at Old Port Cove Marina

Leaving Old Port Cove on Monday

A nice golf course in the Intracoastal

What a big house

Not sure which lighthouse this is but it was pretty

The view from Kate and Greg's condo

Our dinner at Shuckers

Leaving Nettles Island

On the way to Vero Beach we stopped at this place in Fort Pierce for fuel