Day 34. April 25. On to Tilloo Cay. Miles 5.5. Total Miles 487.8

Day 34

Had a lazy morning and got some chores done - restocked the refrigerator from freezer, cleaned the kitchen, did wash and even took a shower! Sounds like fun?

Bill got his tools and mask and flippers put away and set to reorganizing his supplies. He is still finding "surprises", (usually tools) where he "hid" them when we originally loaded the boat.

Weather still looks good for a Monday crossing, so we sill move today- not far- but will begin our journey south. The outer islands here will provide good protection from the east winds we have been experiencing these past few days.

Left the mooring on a rising tide to hug the shore of Elbow Cay, taking a route similar fo the day we went by dinghy to Tahiti Beach. This ride will be less wet and much more calm!

We pass houses on the bluffs

and the passed White Sound where we had lunch at the Firefly Inn and Resort.

Next we passed between Elbow Cay and Lubbers Quarters Cay. This is where the channel gets real skinny, so we really had to watch our depths. That is why we are traveling at high tide!

At the end of Elbow Cay we came to Tahiti Beach and its large sandbar. Lots of boats and people enjoying the beach here today.

Leaving Lubbers Quarters Cay and Elbow Cay behind we cross Tilloo Cut and begin traveling behind Tilloo Cay.

Tilloo Cay is a narrow 4 mile island running north and south below Elbow Key. Its east shore faces the Atlantic and its shore on the Sea of Abaco offers many opportunities to anchor. The island is mostly privately owned, most of the homes are on the north end of the island, so the further south you go, the more remote the anchorage.

We passed a limestone formation that has a cave carved into it and Scary Castle built by Gary Larson, creator of the Far Side comics.

We anchored behind Tavern Cay in a cove near a home and settled in.

We put the dinghy in the water to explore the salt pond. The Bahamas collected salt from shallow ponds on the islands and had a brisk salt trade with the sailors who passed by.

We pulled over and landed the dinghy near a path that led us to the Atlantic side of the island. We met two other couples from a power catamaran who came to explore also.

We were greeted by the roar of waves and splashes that rose above the island. Glad we weren't out in the Atlantic today.

Yes, Bill did get wet!!!

Here are two videos we took.

Was amazing the old coral formations that looked like sand castles. They were a challenge to walk on. Also the vegetation was similar to that on our beaches, low bushes and vines. Not much soil to hang onto but somehow the plants manage.

Getting our fill of the raging ocean, we headed back to the dinghy and to our boat.

Also enjoyed a beautiful sunset!

June 4-5. Day 63-64. On to Cape May New Jersey. 53.4nm. Total 1534 miles.

Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...

Reflections on the Bahamas

Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...

Day 64-65. May 25-26. On to Peck Lake, Jupiter, FL and then on to Indiantown/ Okeechobee Waterway. Miles 63.5/ 29.1 Total Miles 1122.1/1142.0

Day 64 We started early to get ahead of the holiday boat traffic. Weighing anchor at Lake Sylvia in Fort Lauderdale, we traveled on the Intracoastal Waterway past the iconic Pier 66 Tower and Bahia Mar Marina. We then turned north and passed the older sections of the city - Las Olas( older homes), Galt Ocean Mile (one mile of condominiums on the beach), and the famous miles of beaches on the Atlantic. I used to live here in the early 70's and the biggest change I see is the older smaller homes on the water are being replaced with larger versions and a few more condo towers have been built. As we go further north towards Commercial Blvd, North Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach and its Lighthouse at the cut, there is less reconstruction. The next town we traveled through was Boca Raton with its Spanish architecture, Camino Real and its landmark tower. The sand bar at the cut was just beginning to fill up with Memorial Day revelers as we went by. Next were t...

Crustacean Travels

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