Tempus Fugit in Clearwater Florida

Saturday the 28^th:

We left Ft. Myers about 7:30am and traveled to Clearwater 138 miles arriving about 1:30pm at the Municipal Marina.  We ran off the coast of Florida all the way to Clearwater in seas less than a foot light winds and about 86 degrees with more crab pots than we could count even with a calculator. This is my third time at this marina once in the Meridian and twice in the Carver. Capt Keith performed one of his exceptional tie-up jobs as the boat will be here until May 9^th. Keith headed home on Sunday for another commitment but will return on Tuesday May 8^th.

I plan to spend the week plus in Clearwater staying on the boat (some light maintenance) and exploring the area. Frankly I plan to do more exploring than working. More area updates later.

Some facts to date:

We have traveled 2544 Miles to date since leaving Lakewood on the 21^st of March. We have consumed 4677 gallons of fuel to date with about 143 engine hours. I have seen 39 sunsets from the boat and all have been special in their own way.

Sorry no Pictures today

Capt Dan

On the west coast of Florida

Friday the 27^th

We left Islamorada and traveled to Ft. Myers about 165 miles. It was a cloudy day and looked like rain but it never did in fact the sun came out later in the day.  We cut through the keys at Channel Five and ran slow for about an hour as it was shallow. In addition there is a tricky zig zag route as we ran the markers strange as it seemed in the middle of nothing but water there is a wicket that needs to be run.

A number of Dolphins followed us in our stern wake for 30 minutes and seemed to welcome us back as well as wink at us as they played in the wake. They were on both our port and starboard side.

Naples from the water

We arrived at Salty Sam’s Marina about 4 pm tied-up the boat and headed to the airport via a cab to check-in with customs and legally be back in the states. The check-in process was uneventful and consisted of handing our passports to a lady that disappeared and re-appeared five minutes later and only asked us “where did leave the Bahamas from”.

Capt Dan

Back in the States

Thursday the 26^th:

We left chub key about 7:30 and decided to head to Islamorada Florida and arrived at 3:00pm. The original plan was to travel to CAT CAY on Thursday and cross on Friday however the weather forecast was 2-4 feet waves and wind out of the east on Thursday with a Friday’s forecast of 4-6 and winds changing to the northeast. So we made the crossing on Thursday it was uneventful as the auto pilot steered the boat with the exception of a traffic jam mid way across that forced us to maneuver around a cluster of sail boats headed west.

It was good to get back and have cell phone service but the water was nothing like what we saw over the last 4 weeks. Islamorada is a very nice small marina in the keys servicing the “sport fisher” and a small transient group of boaters. It was nice to have shore power without a meter as well as all the water we wanted again without a meter.

The above picture is our slip at Islamorada

Capt Dan

week up date

Wednesday the 18^th we continued our stay at Sampson Cay and spent an exhausting day on a small beach on the west side of the island. Lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (which Joyce prepared prior to our short dingy ride to the beach. We returned to the boat to enjoy yet another great sunset.

Thursday we traveled a short distance to the national park at Warderick Wells and anchored on a “mooring ball” inside the park. The park has strict rules of no fishing or picking up any shells inside the park. We were entertained by watching some fish and hiking some trails although Joyce and Keith did more hiking than me.  I did manage to make it to “BOO BOO Hill” where you can look out and see both the bank side and Ocean side of the island.

We left the park Friday and headed to Compass Cay for an overnight in the marina and a chance to feed the sharks one more time. Lunch was at the marina under a small grass roof with the only item on the menu a cheeseburger, but it tasted great as all the food has in the Bahamas. We sat on the dock in chairs and watched another water sunset.

Saturday we traveled to Staniel Cay but only stayed long enough to have lunch. The wind was starting to change to the west and with no break wall at the marina they said we would have to leave early on Saturday. We decided to head back to Sampson instead of heading out in the morning.  We spent the rest of the day and Sunday watching the wind blow and rain shower.

Joyce caught a boat shuttle early Monday morning to Staniel Cay; she flew back to Houston via a connection in Ft. Lauderdale. It was sad to see her go but she needed to get back. With Joyce’s departure it has shifted Capt Keith and I into a delivery mode of getting the boat back to Houston. We moved the boat to Highbourne Cay Marina later Monday morning in some very rough conditions.  Good thing it was only 49 miles but it felt like a 100.

Tuesday we stayed at Highbourne waiting on the wind to die down and doing a couple of boat repairs. Tuesday night was one of the best sunsets we have seen in the Bahamas; no clouds so we got to see it “all the way to the water”. The sunset was followed by a fresh fish dinner of Mahi Mahi and topped off with a desert of “Guava Duff”.

Wednesday we traveled 88 miles and are tied up at Chub Cay Club Marina. We plan to go to Cat Cay tomorrow and lord willing make the Gulf Stream crossing on Friday.

All for now and sorry for no pictures, but the internet is so slow here they will have to wait until we get home.

Later Dan    

Paradise and heaven collided today head on.  We had a truly wonderful day exploring all the Exumas had to offer.  The wind continues to blows out of the east at 20+mph which has kept us in port at Sampson Cay.  The wind and waves are a bit much to be out in the big boat as well as the dingy.  So today we decided to hire “Fat Cat”, a local Bahamian guide and his 17 foot Boston Whaler to take us on a tour of the islands.

Fat Cat met us on the dock this morning at 9:00am.  We immediately headed south to Big Major, a cay where there are a dozen or so swimming pigs.  Yes, swimming pigs.  And we are talking about some big pigs; 600+lbs.  We fed the pigs some apples, potatoes and bread.  They swam right up to the boat.  Once the food came out, the pigs about tried to get in the boat.  It was amazing and very entertaining.

After our encounter with the local hog population, we turned around and headed north to Compass Cay.  Compass is only about 4 miles north of Sampson Cay and has a very nice marina along with a very friendly nurse shark population.  We met the local folks and walked over to the beach where we took a long walk on the powder white sand overlooking the turquoise clear water of the Atlantic Ocean.

Upon our return to the marina, another boat had arrived and began to feed the sharks.  They had chopped up some squid and then got into the water to feed at least 20 to 30 sharks all about 5 to 7 feet long.  We were all glad to be standing on the dock during the feeding, but the sharks were very docile and ate the food without showing any aggression.

From Compass, we continued our travels north into the Exumas Land and Sea Park, a national park that is strictly protected.  You cannot fish, collect shells or remove anything from the park.  They ask you only take pictures and leave only footprints and bubbles.

Once in the Land and Sea Park, Fat Cat took us over to a mooring ball along a small reef.  He took out some bread, tossed it into the water and immediately the surface came alive with the most beautiful and colorful fish you have ever seen.  We enjoyed our own little, private aquarium show.

We then took another short 15 minutes boat ride over to “Rachael’s Bubble Bath”.  This is a natural coral divide between the Atlantic Ocean and the sound of the Exuma Bank.  It is very hard to describe, but the general principle is that the waves hit this natural coral rock and the water blows into the air and washes onto the sound.  So you can sit on the sound side in a beautiful pool of water and have the fresh ocean water wash over you.  Another really neat experience.

After our excursion to the Bubble Bath, we were all getting hungry as it was now just after 1:00pm.  We headed back over to Compass Cay for cheeseburgers and an ice cold Kalik beer.  We sat and talked with the locals for while and enjoyed the idyllic location and scenery.  After our bellies were full, it was hard to get going again as the wind kept the temperature at a perfect 75 degrees.

As we headed back to Sampson, Fat Cat stopped the boat and donned some snorkel gear.  In the water he went.  After about 5 or 10 minutes, he came back with 5 giant conchs.  He tossed them in a bucket and said that would be our dinner tonight.

Once we arrived back to our marina in Sampson Cay, Fat Cat asked that we provide him with a bell pepper, an onion, tomato, 4 limes, an orange, and some salt.  We watch as he went about making us fresh conch salad.  Capt Keith tried to learn how to extricate the conch from his shell and then the process of cleaning them.  Fat Cat made it look very easy, it was anything but.

Fat Cat had quite a group of onlookers as he cleaned the conchs and prepared the salad.  Of course, we all dined on the conch salad for dinner.  It was very, very good.

Today was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.  We had such a nice day and enjoyed the local color that Fat Cat provided, the stories and all the people we met along the way.  We have found the Exumas to be everything we expected and more.  The water is simply amazing.  Pictures and descriptions cannot command the full array of color that only your eye can see.

Until tomorrow, paradise and heaven have collided on the stern of Tempus Fugit.

Monday blog;

Saturday we stayed in Highbourne marina. It was sort of a work day if you could call it that; where we did laundry and some boat cleaning. The marina had a nice beach just a two minute walk from the boat so l did a little “baby necking” on the beach as I struggled to keep my head vertical while sitting in a Adirondack chair .  The longer our stay the more fun it becomes just relaxing and trying to come up with words to describe the color and beauty of the water and beaches.

Sunday we decided to head south to Sampson Cay Marina we ate lunch at McDuffies via a dingy ride from the Tempus. We all had a Mahai Mahia sandwich which was so simple yet elegant in its own way.

McDuffiess is a lone beach place hidden by vegetation with no land marks just next to a Carlos Leddor a drug lord who used the landing strip to swap drugs for cash. It is still active today as a way for folks to drop in for lunch and or visit with Salt the local dog.

We have been gone 26 days and traveled 1867 miles.

The two pictures today are from Sampson Cay one of the sunset the other the sunrise.

More tomorrow

Dan