Day 57. May 18. On to Norman's Cay. Miles 29.7. Total miles 801.8

Day 57

Change of plans. The weather presents us with two good travel days in a row, so we opted to not stay another day in O'Brien's Cay, but will leave for Norman's Cay so we can stage for a big water crossing to Nassau Monday.

We loosed our lines and took the channel around Bell Island, in between sand bars and back out to Exuma Banks. The seas are calm and wind light on this sunny day.

Was interesting to read about Aga Khan who owns Bell Island. He built his house, beach pavilion and also built his own cell tower. Cell service in the Exumas is scanty at best!!

Heading Northwest past the northern islands in the Exuma Land and Sea Park, then finally leaving the park and turning further east to make our way to an anchorage off the west shore of Norman's Cay.

Norman's Cay is infamous as it was once owned by a "business associate" of Pablo Escobar, well known Colombian cartel leader. A sunken plane off the south coast of the Cay hails back to the days when drugs were ferried in and out of Norman's.

We anchored just off the beach with three other boats. After making sure the anchor was set, we launched the dingy to explore the partially sunken plane and the nearby marina.

The marina is partially finished and houses a few mega yachts, and also has a small restaurant on the beach just down from where we anchored. Should be real nice once completed.

From the marina we took the dinghy in search of the sunken plane. Having gotten directions from a passing boater, we located the wreck easily, especially since there were 15 people snorkeling all around it! We tied up to a charter boat and begged off a snorkel mask, so Bill could see the wreck. He got some good pics.

Gumby wanted to snorkel also but the mask was a bit big!

The wreck is in about 8-10 feet of water and has been in the water since the late 70's early 80's.

Is amazing how mother nature reclaims tht which invades the sea!!

We then returned to the boat to clean up, have dinner and finalize the route to Nassau for tomorrow.

Enjoyed a beautiful sunset!

Have been remiss in not mentioning how the Bahamian is lit up with stars at night!!!

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...

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...

Day 121-122. 2nd year. September 21-22. On to Chicago and returning to Hammond Harbor. Miles 26. Total miles 4116

Woke to prepare for a short trip to a mooring can in Monroe Harbor, Chicago. Will meet up with Bill’s cousins to take them on a boat ride down the Chicago River. As we leave Hammond, the Chicago skyline is very visible on the horizon on this hazy morning. The seas are calm and winds light as we traveled with only a few tugs as our company on Lake Michigan. The closer we get to Chicago, you could recognize some of the more unique skyscrapers along the skyline. We hooked up to a mooring can in Monroe Harbor with the help of Capt Val from her Harbor tender. Soon afterward, Bill’s cousin Mike and his wife Karen, and cousin Ron were ferried to the boat and we made ready to take the boat ride down the Chicago River. We left the harbor, past the lighthouse and turned north to get to the lock at the entrance to the Chicago River. Had to wait for a boat to lock through ahead of us, then we proceeded into the lock to lock down about 3-4 feet i...

Crustacean Travels

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