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The End of Our 2022 Trip

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  Sun Spirit is back at our home marina in Green Cove Springs. The last couple of days of the journey were fairly uneventful - thank goodness as we have had enough drama this year. In St. Augustine we had an electrician come to check our batteries. He and his wife and son have lived on their boat full time for 10 years - anchored in the St. Augustine area. We had the feeling that they do this not for the lifestyle (although they do like it) but more for financial reasons - no rent or mortgage - just boat repairs and upkeep. You see a lot of liveaboards in Florida for this reason. We gave them the wind generator that was on our boat as we have never used it and wanted to take it down so we can move the solar panels to a better location. Now that we are back in our home port there is lots of work to do to get the boat ready to be lifted out of the water and stored on land until we return. When that’s done we’ll hop in the car and head home. Looking forward to seeing our family and fr...
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Grounded!

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We were on our way to St. Augustine on Monday,  having a very pleasant day on the ICW when we misjudged a buoy and just like that we were aground. We tried to reverse the boat a few times to no avail. We finally called Tow Boat U.S. for a tow (we thankfully had purchased a membership). They are like the CAA on the water. Turns out that they were extremely busy that day and couldn’t get to us until 4 pm - a couple of hours after we called. By the time the gentleman came the tide was going down so we had to wait for it to come up before he was able to tow us off what we think was a sandbar. By that time (7 pm) it was too late to make it to our planned destination. Luckily there was a spot we could anchor close by, so we did, had dinner and went to bed. We arrived in St.Augustine this morning and we were able to arrange for an electrician to come and look at our batteries which we think are not quite charging the way they should. We’ll stay tomorrow and then head out on Thursday to th...
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Daytona, Florida

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When we left Fort Pierce on Wednesday we had a plan to get to St. Augustine before the weekend. Of course Mother Nature had other plans - why do we always forget this? The first day was very pleasant as we travelled up the ICW. Sunken abandoned boats are very common along the waterways unfortunately, contrasting with Florida mansions. These little beaches will be packed with boaters on the weekend. We made it to an anchorage near the town of Cocoa Beach. The wind changed direction in the middle of the night and the next day was rough with northeast winds and current slowing our progress. We stopped in New Smyrna Beach at a marina for the night. First time in this town - it has a lot of Art Deco architecture being revived in the downtown area. On Friday we had a short hop to a marina in Daytona. We plan to stay for the weekend to avoid crazy boat traffic on the ICW.  One of the dock hands offered to drive us to the grocery store as he lived in that area. What luxury! Huge selection ...
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Goodbye Bahamas!

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 Our last days in the Bahamas - we travelled to Great Sale Cay on Sunday and put down the anchor for the night - had a nice nachos and beer dinner on Gaya. All the boats that are here are waiting for the weather window to cross the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic back to Florida. Monday was a quick hop to Mangrove Cay. This is a teeny tiny island and the anchorage is only viable in very calm weather.  There were only 6 boats anchored including some friends from Green Cove Springs - Angie and Sam on S/V Nauti Cali. They were going in a different direction the next day however. So dark and quiet at night - the night sky and stars were beautiful. Our last sunset in the Bahamas: On Tuesday morning we left the anchorage at 2:45 am to make the journey back to Florida. The first 4 hours were in the dark, crossing the Bahama Bank. Just as the sun was rising we left the turquoise Bahamian waters and started across the dark blue Atlantic.   It was a frustrating sail/motor - no wind and...
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Manjack Cay

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 Said goodbye to Green Turtle Cay today. The winds have been wild the last few days here but we have still managed to explore the island and get some beach time. Sitting under this palm tree for shade, hoping the coconuts don’t fall. Cats waiting  for a ride: Gunter and I waiting for fresh food to be unloaded and delivered to the grocery store so we can load up the fridge. Sporting our Fifty Point Yacht Club gear and celebrating our last dinner out at the Tranquil Turtle. Hung up our Fifty Point burgee at the Green Turtle Yacht Club. Boaters have been doing this for years - if you don’t have a flag, you sign and put up a dollar bill. We are on the homestretch now - a few more short hops in the Abacos before we cross back to Florida. Today we travelled 1 hour to Manjack Cay. This is an isolated anchorage with no marina, stores, restaurants or small boats - only a few private homes on the island.  Totally different than the last week. Didn’t see any chickens or art, but wal...
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