Monday December 28
I know it has been awhile since the last post but a lot has happened and this is the first time we have been near an internet connection so I will try to catch up.
It was about a weeks wait for weather after Todd Harris arrived on the 16th. The weather was cold and blustery with 20 to 25 knots of wind out of the north which is not good for a gulf stream crossing. We finally got a window where it blew from the north at 5-10 knots with the wind clocking to the east the next day.
We staged ourselves outside of No Name harbor and at 4:30 set out. The seas were settled as we left and as predicted the wind clocked and blew at 15 to 20 knots out of the east. The seas in the gulf stream weren't too bad at 5 to 6 feet and we made it to Bimini at about 3:30.
We anchored off the beach of South Bimini and I motored in to check in. The check in went smoothly and I made it back to Legacy at about 4:30AM. We decided to push on as we wanted to be at Warderick Wells by the 25th.
As we went onto the banks we passed the wreck of the Sapona and continued on towards the Northwest channel light.
At 12:00 AM we could push no more and decided to wait for morning to make our way onto the Tongue of the Ocean. The wind and seas freshened and when we got up at 5:00 AM we found that the snubber had chaffed through and all the chain ( 150') was out and the windless just spun. After much work in the dark we finally got the anchor up and at 6:30AM we were on our way. There was about a 1.5 knot current heading us and way was made slowly.
At about 11:00 AM we finally made it through the Northwest Channel and were in over 2000 feet of water. The wind was out of the East at 20-25 knots and we were able to unfurl the sails and move out at about 7 plus knots just a little to the south of our desired rhumb line. Later that day the seas started buliding and we were in 10 to 15 foot sea. Legacy handled the seas well although the same can't be said for the crew. As we pounded through the seas we disovered that the forward hatch cover wasn't completely closed and both my computers are now toast as salt water got to them. Fortunately Kathleen's Apple is still alive as it was protected in the salon and I am writing this on her computer.
We finally made it to West Bay on New Providence ( Nassau ) at about 10:00 PM totally exhausted and anchored in about 10 feet of water over sand. In the morning we also discovered that the front nav light lens was missing ( probably due to the high seas ), and the mainsail was torn between the sunbrella and the sail fabric. After so much the crew was exhausted and we chose to rest for the day.
The crew woke early and we set out for Allan's Cay. The winds had moderated out of the east and on the shallow water of the banks the seas were somewhat calm and we were able to move at a good pace. Legacy arrived at Allan's Cay at about 4:00PM and we on our anchorage in 12 feet over sand. In the morning we dingied over to Highbourne Cay and were able to get a few supplies and some sail thread and a needle to repair our Mainsail. As we were relaxing on the beach a Seaplane landed with some fishing guests for the marina.
As we returned from Highbourne Cay we dingied close to shore on Leaf Cay and four or five Iguanas came on to the beach. From a distance they looked like small dogs and some of them were at least 3 feet long! Apparently a lot of people land on the beach and feed the lizards and they must associate the sound of an outboard motor with food.
Later that day Todd went snorking and returned with enough conch for dinner. Kathleen made a wonderful meal that was enjoyed by all.
After much research through the Lewmar users guide I found a small sentence that gave me a clue as to the windless problem. When we were on the banks and the anchor snubber let loose the strain on the chain caused the upper nut on the windless to back off and allow the gypsy to slip. After retightening the nut the windless started to perform without slipping.
Kathleen was able to stitch up the mainsail and we able to unkink the sail and the furler and another problem is survived. They say the cruising is performing boat maintenance in exotic locations, and that has certainly been true for this voyage.
In the morning we set off for Warderick Wells ( Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park) with almost flat seas and light winds. Legacy was in rare form and we were able to motor into light south winds at 6.5 knots. As we approached Warderick Wells I was able to raise them and we got a mooring assignment for the same day.
So here we are at Warderick Wells, safely on a mooring ball and taking a day or two rest.
Right now Todd is busy on his computer so I will try to update this post later with pictures. Please forgive the lack of pictures but I need to edit the ones we took to be able to post and Kathleens Apple has no image editing software so please be patient.

South Miami Harbor












Gaffed rigged schooner coming out of Government Cut Miami











Cruise ship moving out to sea down Governement Cut










Coast Guard Protecting the cruise ships in Miami Harbor
Dec 12

We had to leave the harbor here at No Name as the were closing the harbor to allow the parade of boats ( a Christmas type boat parade) so we went to South Miami Beach. It is a wide open anchorage with plenty of room and a Publix supermarket just 3 blocks away from the dingy dock- so much for the good news. All Sunday go fast boats and PWC's were tearing up and down the harbor creating much rock and rolling. Monday was much more peacefull.

December 15.

We moved back to day to an anchorage outside of No Name and are waiting for a friend to join us who wishes to cross over the Gulf Stream with us and experience the Bahama's for a few weeks. The plan is to leave very early Thursday morning ( weather permitting ) and cross over to Bimini. We've got our fingers crossed!!

December 7, 2009




Homes along Lake Worth













Lake Worth Beach










Another view of the anchorage at Lake Worth












North Bound Sailboat on ICW







Sailing Vessel Bounty at her mooring at lake Worth.

We left our anchorage in Hobe Sound this morning and we are now in Lake Worth right near the outlet to the Atlantic. The distance was only about 14 statute miles but it was also five bridges. We left at about 0930 and got here at 1300. The weather is warm and sunny and there is a light breeze blowing at about 5 knots.

We can tell we are making progress as we are anchored in 15 feet and I can see the bottom, the water is definitely getting clearer!

We will leave at 0600 tomorrow and we should be in Miami by 1900 as we plan to travel the Atlantic. WE will bypass about 18 bridges and the concrete canyon 9 an area just north of Fort Lauderdale where the wakes bounce back and forth from all the stinkpotters who have no consideration for anyone else. Hopefully we will be able to post more day after tomorrow once we get to No Name Harbor.

Friday December 4, 2009



Regatta on Indian River on the way to Hobe Sound





The Pelicans look like Pterodactyls in flight













If you can see the birds legs the water is probably pretty shallow!!











This is the ultimate-- having your cat tied up outside your house on the ICW











These fallen trees look like dominoes fallen.

Friday December 4, 2009

Here we still sit on a mooring ball in Vero Beach. Tuesday and Wednesday we rented a car and got most of out long range errands done. Tuesday we drove to Miami (Key Biscayne actually) and set up our mail forwarding. Our snail mail address is

260 Crandon blvd. suite 32
box 224
Key Biscayne, Florida 33149

We also went to Sam’s club to finish provisioning on paper products and such. Legacy has enough toilet paper and paper towels to make it through to our return. (In Georgetown toilet paper (when you can get it) is $5.00 a roll. We also stocked up on canned goods and coffee and other staples.

Our plan to be to leave in the morning for the next leg but the wind is roaring right now and the rain is falling in buckets so it looks like we might be here till Sunday or Monday.

I got the outboard motor’s oil changed yesterday and wanted to change the oil filter. On our Mercury 4 stroke the filter is situated so that you cannot get your hands around it and it is too small for even a small oil filter wrench to tighten. I went on line and discovered you need a tool from mercury that looks like a giant socket that fits on the end of the filter to take it off. I ordered one and found out it is not in stock and won’t be available for at least seven days. I went ahead and changed the oil but the filter will have to wait.

I have looked at the next legs and the plan is to move from here to Hobe sound ( 40 statute miles) , Then to Lake Worth, and out The Lake Worth inlet to Key Biscayne where we will wait for a weather window to cross to Bimini.

It is important that when we cross the Gulf Stream between Key Biscayne and Bimini that the wind have NO north component. Any wind with a northern component will cause very rough, steep and lumpy seas of 6 to 8 feet high. So we will wait for a front to pass and give the seas 24 hours to calm down before we cross.

Dec. 6

Today we left Vero (Velcro) Beach. We were up early and stowed the dingy outboard, the dingy, put away the generator and generally got ready to move. We were the center boat of out raft and had to get our starboard and port partners to participate in the untying as they would then need to raft together after we had left. Just as all was prepared two vessels came in to the fuel dock were we were going so it was a case of hurry up and wait. Finally the stars aligned and we were able to get to the fuel dock for fuel (for the generator), water, and a pump out. At 9:40 we were able to cast off and head out.

The weather today was O.K. Mostly cloudy, and 15 to 20 knots of wind out of the east, which would have been great on the outside. We were able to motor sail a portion of the time but had to furl our sails to get through the Fort Pierce bridge. Just as we approached the bridge we had a problem with our jib furler and I had to go forward to give it a hand. (Another catastrophe avoided).

As we were going through Jensen Beach there was a sail race going on and also a few sailboarders (boy can those things move in 15 knots of wind!!!).

We are now anchored in Hobe Sound, just off the ICW, and boy does the new Manson anchor we got work well. It set the first time and set fully – no muss no fuss. Normally in 15 to 20 knots when we try to set the fortress it can be a trial to get a good anchor set. Hopefully the windless will have no problem retrieving it in the morning.

Tomorrow we will either move to Lake Worth and stay the day or continue outside to Miami depending on the weather.

Nov 20

Vero Beach Anchorage

Boats rafting

Rowing for the dingy dock

As we were leaving the marina there was a manatee just behind the boat as we were making our way out of the slip. They are about the ugliest animal I have ever seen and I cannot believe that in the old days sailors often mistook them for mermaids!

We left the marina at 09:15 as the drawbridge doesn’t open until 09:30. I had to rush a little to make the bridge opening and was doing about 6 knots to try to get there. I was chastised by a local police officer about leaving a wake as I made it through the bridge without a second to spare. The canal is a manatee zone and they are very serious about controlling speed through the canal.

The wind started to kick up to 13 knots and I was hoping to get some motor sailing done but just as we made the turn back onto the ICW the wind dropped to only 5 knots. Later in the day the wind picked back up and we were able to make good time to Vero Beach and were assigned to raft to Vannam a 40 foot island Packet.

No one was home to help us raft to our assigned spot and just as we after making our approach and I had boarded Vannam the wind took us as Kathleen was trying to handle the lines and very soon we were through the eye of the wind at 90 degrees to Vannam. Fortunately some kind soul in a dingy gave us a hand and we were rafted on to Vannam and the mooring ball for the night. After all was said and done the dropped to almost nothing and it would have been so much simpler if it had only happened sooner.

So here we are in the Vero Beach anchorage and we will probably stay here at least a week as we wait for mail and other things to catch up with us.

Nov. 19^th

It was a beautiful morning, sunny, mild, with a slight breeze so we decided to leave New Smyrna and continue our odyssey south.

The first few hours passed and we saw these boats off the side of the marked canal. ( It looks like someone forgot to check their seacocks) We then entered a leg of the trip that is probably the most boring as it is almost 20 miles down the Mosquito Lagoon, with nothing but day markers to denote any progress. We then made the turn to Haulover Canal and things became a little more interesting.

As we exited the canal there were a couple of dolphins playing and they surfaced underneath a seagull who took great offence at this underwater disturbance and the dolphins that were taking his fish.

The Titusville swing bridge was next and there was a big pile up of boats as the bridge was held closed for an ambulance. It was amazing that there were no accidents as there were about 6 sailboats and 5 big power boats all in a small area waiting for the bridge. The rest of the trip to the marina here on the canal was uneventful and we even made it through the Christa McAuliffe draw bridge with out having to wait. We took on 165 gallons of diesel and our fuel and water tanks are full.

Tomorrow we will make the trip to Vero Beach (sometimes called Velcro Beach) that is a nice city with a very convenient bus system ( from 8 to 5 excluding a lunch break you can board a bus that will take you anywhere in the city) and a lot of cruisers stop here to re-provision and prepare for the final push south. We will probably be spending some time there also as we need to wait for some mail to catch up and we also need to do some last minute provisioning

Nov. 16

Fernandina was lovely but it was time to move on in our migration south. We upped anchor and set out for St. Augustine at 0745. The weather seems to be getting warmer as we were in shorts and tees last night. As we entered the St. johns River we spotted a large Navy ship in dry dock there. Below the St John’s river we approached a massive dredge operation. There was a barge being towed with equipment and a fixed dredge with just enough room for us to get by when he lowered his shovel boom.

St Augustine Light

We had a strong following current and were able to make good time as we were able to make St. Augustine by 4:00 PM. We had a little trouble anchoring north of the Bridge of Lions as the wind, current, and bottom conspired to prevent the anchor setting the way we wanted it to. We were anchored just offshore of the old fort and it was a little rolly. There was also a loud rock band playing but we were both so tired that we both went to sleep early.

Nov. 17

Kathleen and I decided to move on rather than stay on the hook at St. Augustine so we pulled the anchor and left through the Bridge of Lions at a 7:20AM opening.

Just outside of Saint Augustine we spotted a large congregation of seagulls and we were happy they chose to roost here and not on our boat ( imagine the cleanup!)

We were pushed along most of the morning by a following current and made it to Matanzas inlet just before high tide. The inlet is famous for shoaling and at a few points the water depth dropped under 8 feet. The channel markers were not where they were on the chart but we honored the markers, rather than the chart and made it through. There is an old Spanish Fort here and on our way back we will have to stop and take the tour.

The ICW passes by a lot of houses and there are a lot of homes with docks. This one home in particular had an unusal boat docked out back.

The rest of the day was uneventful until we were stopped by the local law enforcement. It appeared that they were checking all out of state boats to ensure that the heads were not discharging overboard. The sheriff that boarded us was very pleasant and informed us that Florida law required the Y valve to each head to be tie wrapped in the appropriate position.

A stork doing its thing along the ICW. I wonder if the local law checked his sanitary arrangements?

Even with the stop we made New Smyrna ( just off the Ponce Inlet) and are anchored above Sheephead Cut for the night. Tomorrow we hope to be at Merrit island at Harbourtown Marina off the Canaveral Barge Canal. Last year we were able to witness a space launch from here and it was absolutely spectacular.

New Smyrna Anchorage

Nov 13,14








Factory Creek oyster beds seen at low tide

Here you can see the tidal range here in Fatory Creek

We moved to an anchorage in Factory Creek today as it looks like it will be a few days before we get a weather window for Fernandina. It has been a blustery few days as the weather has turned pretty nasty, it is cold, rainy and we have winds of above twenty knots. A good time to hunker down and wait. Saturday the 14^th the weather has moderated and if tomorrow looks good we will be leaving. I dingied into the marina to go to Publix one last time and tonight we will secure the motor and dingy and prepare to leave at 0dark thirty tomorrow as NOAA says the weather should be perfect.

Nov 15

We upped anchor at 0640 and got a bridge opening through Lady Island bridge. There is a no wake zone south of the bridge for the first mile or so and we had to throttle back to 3 knots. As we entered Port Royal sound we passed Parris Island ( a Marine Corps Training Center. The sun was out, the sky was clear and the wind was out of the Northeast at 3 to 5 knots. The seas were smooth with only about a 2 foot swell running about 10 seconds apart. All in all it was almost like being on the ICW. We even had snags to dodge. .

We spotted several logs floating in our path as ran along the 3 mile limit ( they must have been uprooted by the high winds on the 13^{th )}.

Last year as we went outside on the reverse course at night we had to dodge a lot of very large ship traffic. This year during the day I understand why. Savannah Ga. must be a large ship terminal as there were around 6 large tanker, container, and cargo ships clustered around the outside of the channel entrance


Last year as we went outside on the reverse course at night we had to dodge a lot of very large ship traffic. This year during the day I understand why. Savannah Ga. must be a large ship terminal as there were around 6 large tanker, container, and cargo ships clustered around the outside of the channel entrance. Needless to say we did a lot of dodging to get through the area.

The sea remained calm and the weather warm and comfortable. Later in the the afternoon we spotted several pods of dolphins, one group of which decided our wake was a playground. The water was clear and we could see them swimming up and then jumping through our wake.

As dusk was approaching we ran into a vast area of sea grass. Even though we were more than 3 miles off shore and in 60 feet of water it looked like we were going through a swamp with the tips of the grass above the water. The grass extended from horizon to horizon and I was worried that the fresh water intake would get fouled. We arrived at the channel to Fernandina at about 2300 and started in. I noticed a green light in front of us that at first I thought was a channel marker until I realized that the light was about 50 feet up in the air and then I noticed it was moving relative to the other lights. I slowed down and as I got in behind the light it turned white. I realized it was a sail boat with his mast top tri color on! As I fell in behind suddenly the white light went our and there was a tense few minutes as he turned on his deck navigation lights. We finally put the anchor down at 0030 in the area between markers red 8 and red 10 and settled for the night.

Pictures from Fernandina anchorage

Nov 9-12

Here we sit at the dock at Lady Island Marina. As soon as I got all the repairs made and the boat squared away the weather as turned really dirty. Right now the wind is howling at 20 to 25 knots, it is overcast and rainy and the seas on were we need to go have gale force warnings. Judging by NOAA it looks like Saturday at the earliest to move on to Fernandina. The good news is that there is a hardware store, Publix and other things within walking distance. Yesterday I walked to Publix and picked up some groceries.

The people here are really cooperative and we will be sorry to leave. It will definitely be a stop on the way back. We will leave the dock today to anchor in Factory Creek and wait for the weather to cooperate.

Lady Island Marina Office.

The anchorage just off the marina

In the Begining

My hope is that this blog will be a journal of our wanderings as we sail the good ship Legacy ( a Caliber 40 LRC) from our summer dockage at Sea Harbour Yacht Club to the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and to the Dominican Republic. Come along with us as we follow our path to the sun and away from the cold breath of winter. Kathleen and I will endeavor to post daily although we will not always be within reach of internet connections.


Legacy at her berth at Sea Harbour

Sunday October 25
Today we are resting after a day of working with the good folks here at the Sea Harbour. While Kathleen assited in triming some of the shrubs and such I worked with a group building a shaded area on D Dock. It is amazing the talents that were shown and at the end of the day ( literaly) there was a structure that any one would have been proud to have had a part in. ( for pictures taken by Lynn Moore go to the following link http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1Absmjho5csWNC)

Oct.25, 2009
We had a nice Bon Voyage dinner with Larry and Julie and her brother, Wally and Kelly, and Sam and Barb ( LIz-- an inside joke). There was good food and good conversation and all too soon it was over.

Nov. 2, 2009

We left Sea Harbour Yacht Club at 7:04 AM and proceeded to cross the Neuse River towards Adams Creek. The weather was cold and overcast and the Neuse was a little bumpy. As we turned into Adams Creek things started to settle down and we were able to motor sail most of the way down. We stopped to take on some diesel (60.1 Gallons) and were on our way again. I chose not to fill both tanks as the fuel was a little pricey.

When we arrived at the Bogue Sound the wind started to pipe up out of the North at 10 to 15 knots so I unfurled the Jib and we motor sailed which was helpful as we were bucking about a 2 knot current . At Swansboro we avoided a faux pas as there was a red buoy on our port side. As I moved to pass it on our starboard I realized it was not an ICW marker and was able to quickly get back into the channel. Wheww!!!! The rest of the day was uneventful and we were able to make Mile Hammock Bay and were ready to drop the anchor. We were about 80 feet away from some dipstick who informed us he had 120 feet of chain out( an 8 to 1 scope ) and felt we were too close. As we were anchoring in 13 feet of water ( a 5 to one scope which is more than enough in the good holding here) I was more that happy to put as much distance as I could between him and I. We finally got settled at about 17:30 so we made 64 statute miles in 10 hour for an average speed of 6.4 statute miles/hour which I think is pretty good time considering we were stopped for about 45 minutes getting the diesel.

Kathleen made a very good dinner and we are all set to do it again tomorrow. We need to make another 60+ statue miles again to get to Southport so we well turn in early to be ready for the challenges of tomorrow.

Nov. 3, 2009

At 6:45 we left Mile Hammock Bay the last of about 30 boats headed for Southport. The tide was high as we left so we didn’t experience the low water we saw in this area last year. For the first two hours we had a nice following current and we were moving along at better than 8 knots. Farther on a pod of river dolphins were playing in our wake and it was fun to watch as they would swim through our wake. At the Wrightsville bridge there was a major traffic jam as about 15 boats all waited for the hourly bridge opening. We pointed our bow into the current and were able to stay virtually motionless as we waited. After we made it through the bridge they had to close it for emergency traffic so the jam of boats sort of thinned out. At G155 about a mile from snow’s cut the water got really thin but we were able to make it through. After Snow’s cut we had a nice ride down the Cape Fear River and made Southport at 4:45 P.M. We stayed at Village Harbor Marina where Bill was very helpful in assisting us in tying up to the floating dock. After a shower we had a nice supper at the Dead End Saloon right close to the marina ( they had a special - ½ off on bottles of Budweiser).

Nov. 4-5, 2009

We decided to go outside from Southport to Charleston so at 9:15 A.M we cast off and headed out. The day was nice on the Atlantic. We had a nice sail as the wind was 7-15 knots on a run and the waves were only 2 to 4 feet. That night the wind died and we had to motor and at about 3:30 the wind started to gain speed and was dead behind us. As I was in a hurry to get to Charleston we continued to motor. We arrived in Charleston at 9:15 A.M. and anchored in the Ashley River. I immediately went to sleep and Kathleen read.

Nov. 6, 2009

We stayed at anchor here to R&R and I attempted to get the generator running. It looks like the carb has a problem as I could get it to run for a second or two by dropping a small bit of gas in the cylinder through the spark plug hole, but it would only run for about a second. Talked to Honda service and they suggested carb cleaner, unfortunately I have none so the repair will have to wait till we reach Beaufort S.C…

(Picture from Charleston City Marina. Note there are some BIG boats that dock here.)

Nov. 7, 2009

We left Charleston at 8:45 A.M as the Wappoo Creek Bridge does not open from 6AM to 9 AM. We got to the bridge at 5 till 9 and made the bridge opening with time to spare. Going down Elliot’s cut was a gas as we had about a 5 knot following current and were doing 11 knots for a short time. As we cannot make Lady Island bridge in Beaufort by 4;00 PM we decided to anchor in the South Edisto River about 35 miles from Beaufort. If the weather stays nice we might stay on the hook an extra day as some of our errands in Beaufort will have to wait until Monday anyway.

Nov 8, 2009

About a mile after raising anchor we ran into a group of dredges headed up river from us. In this case it was an example of the golden mass rule: He with the most mass rules!!! Needless to say we got out of their way Pictured below is just one of the three barges being towed up stream.

We arrived in Beaufort, S.C. today at about 1:00 PM and are now lying at anchor in Lady Island Creek. Tomorrow we will take a slip and complete running a few errands. We need some provisions and I still need to get the generator running. It was a really pleasant run today even if it was only 4 hours. The weather was warm ( in the mid 70’s) and the winds were very light at only 3 to 6 knots.

Just Past Brickyard point about 4 miles from Beaufort. We are starting to see some palm trees.

Lady Island swing bridge—Beaufort S.C

Nov. 9, 2009

We took a dock today at Lady Island Marina and the folks here are very helpful and friendly. It will definately be a stop as we return in the spring. It is located on Factory Creek just off the swing bridge and is well protected from the wind. I worked on the generator today at as they said in the Frankenstein movie " IT"S ALIVE". I got some carb cleaner and used on the carbureator and after a little coaxing got it started and running. So one thing is checked off the must do list. Tomorrow i will need to look at the GPS. It is intermittantly giving the message "position lost". I believe I have a problem in the cable and will have to splice out a bad section. Oh well the to do list just gets longer, never shorter, but as Scarlett O'hara said ' Tomorrow is another day"