St Augustine: Preparation

9 Nov 16 – 6 Dec 16

On our way to St Augustine to our boat Vagabund

Looking forward to a new sailing season and meeting up with old friends

19th Nov 16

Vagabund is a sailboat again!!

The mast was placed in position today

Almost ready to go!

 20^th Nov 16

Our new bigger headsail is up

23rd Nov 16

Ready to go and not ready to go into the water

A problem with the engins:

Electrical......

Know there is a reason why we have to be patient!

24th Nov 16

St Augustine lights
Tuesday night we went with Brett and Gideon of Panache and Andre and Allison of Rat Catcher to The White Lion for their half price chicken wings. We dine in view of the lights and walked around amongst the lit buildings.

The 3 million brilliant lights were officially lit in St Augustine at 18h30 the 19th November till the 31st January 2017
“The Nights of Lights celebration was chosen in 2011 and 2012 by National Geographic as one of the ten best holiday lighting displays in the world.

“Nights of Lights in St. Augustine traces its origins back to the traditional Spanish practice of displaying a white candle in windows during the Christmas holidays. Candles in the window allude to the fact that Mary and Joseph could find no inn that would give them shelter. When the Spanish put candles in their windows, they were symbolically making room in their homes and hearts for Jesus. It also reflects the welcoming attitude of the holiday season, showing that guests are welcome to the home. The stunning lights reflect the city's 450-year history and illuminate the beautiful cityscape for lasting holiday memories. The city of St. Augustine has been celebrating Nights of Lights for 21 years.”

The dazzling lights along the bay front

The main plaza, called the Plaza de la Constitución, have lights draped around every tree.

The Guilded-Age Hotel Ponce de Leon, now the campus of Flagler College, is outlined in lights.

 The Guilded-Age Hotel Ponce de Leon, now the campus of Flagler College, is outlined in lights.

28th Nov 16

We are back in the water!!


Zack managed to start the engins manually

While we are waiting Zack join his partners of Tecroveer on a business trip in the US

For me a few days alone on the boat

30^th Nov 16

Tucson, Arizona with Tecroveer

The team

Standing on top of a 75m diam BNR reactor roof is a first for Zack.

1st Dec 16

Feeling thankfull

Hubby is back on the boat

.

Passage from North Florida to Bahamas

6^th - 8^th Dec 16

Crossing from St Augustine to Green Turtle Cay in Bahamas.We departed St Augustine at 7am Tuesday 6 December and arrived Thursday noon.

The Southern component to the wind lasted long enough to allow us to cross the Gulf Stream relatively peaceful. The final section of the crossing was with almost no wind and flat sea. We dropped the sails and motor the rest of the way to Green Turtle Cay. We enjoyed being offshore and not seeing land for a few days. Slowly finding our salty sea legs again.

Lion bridge closing behind us

Our first sundowner after crossing the Gulfstream in calm waters

Dolphins welcome us back in the clear waters of the Bahamas

Entering Whale cut at Green Turtle Cay

Anchoring in front of the historic town New Plymouth to clear customs

9^th -12 Dec 16

Sitting out the cold front at Black sound

Exploring the historic little town of New Plymouth in Green Turtle cay

On the dock at Donny's Marine for the same prize as a mooring

Eating Conch burger and fries at Plymouth Rock Liquors and Café

If you have forget your glasses!

Passage from Bahamas to BVI

Monday the 12^th December  to 19^th Dec 16

In the Bay in front of New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay one of our South African buddy sailors Andre and Allison on Rat Catcher managed to catch up with us just before our departure to the BVI.

A quick hallo and good buy to Andre and Allison escalated into a detail passage discussion.

Andre agreed to assist with the daily weather updates on our passage. Thank you weatherman.

At sunset we sailed into the Atlantic Ocean through a choppy Whale cut.  Soon after all the excitement of our departure the full moon slowly made her appearance as we were settled into the rhythmic swells of the North Atlantic Ocean. The Southerly Breeze gently helping us along.

Photo of Predict weather with the different route options.

A Northerly route option was selected that covered a longer distance  but more sustainable winds. The first leg of the 1100nm passage is Eastbound hopefully making enough East before the next cold front. As the cold front set in we bwill use the Northerly winds to propel us down South.  The distance that needs to be covered in a relative short weather window gap requires motor sailing.

After overcoming the opposing currents of the first day we managed to settle in to a steady Easterly progress. Some days we managed to motor sail up to 180 nm with the 8 to 10 kts Southerly breeze.

Thursday morning Zack picked up a dead flying fish from the deck. He rigged the fish with a circle hook and a few hours later managed to catch a 20kg White Atlantic Marlin. Unfortunately the fish damaged its spilled stomach during the fight and we could not release her.

A wrestling contest before the fish was on the boat

Sashimi for lunch.

Thursday the wind start to veer. Change from South to Southwest. And then WSW.  Flying our new screecher for the first time we still managed to keep up our Easterly progress with the lighter wind.

André of Ratcatcher confirm the weather each day with a sms to our satellite phone helping us to make the call when to start heading South.

Friday morning the wind died down from the West. All the sails was dropped and we motored further East prepping Vagabund for the blow that is going to set in with the approaching cold front.  All loose objects in the cockpit were stowed away. Dinghy was tilted and tied up against the stern steel frame. Food was prepared for the next few days. 

The rolling clouds gave us an early warning as the cold front approaches.  Soon after the smiling sea had a serious frown complemented by 30 to 35 knot wind gusts. The music at this party stopped and the new DJ in charge turned the whole party into a more headshake rock and role show. Vagabund responded beautifully with seawater washing regularly over the saloon windows.

We flew a small headsail and the mainsail with two reefs.

On Saturday at 19h00 we reach the  64deg30W and allowed Vagabund to get a sniff of her new cruising grounds as we rounded her bow towards the South. With the North winds at a steady 20 to 25 knots the sea build up wave heights of more than 3m.

A Egrit decided to take a break from the wind and sea and join us for a while.

Sunday afternoon we started to slow Vagabund down to time our arrival for early the next morning at Jost van Dyke in the BVI’s.

The water depth changed in a few miles from 6000m to 50m as we approached the banks of Jost van Dyke.  Suddenly we picked up a large vibration on the starboard motor.  We have picked up some lines of a loose floating buoy. The motor was shut down to avoid any  damage.  The 25 knot Easterly assist us in sailing through the cut but beating into this wind with only one motor was not possible.

With humor we discussed the problem and solution:

We ended up sailing across the Sir Francis Drake Channel tacked and managed to gain enough ground to make the entrance of Great Harbour of Jost van Dyke.  The fun part now was to sail onto a mooring buoy in a field filled up with boats in a strong breeze. Something we have not done since our RYA training at Sail Due South and certainly not in a catamaran.

We took down the headsail, and sailed into the harbour with the mainsail. Zack timed the swing into the wind perfectly allowing me to pick up the mooring ball. After securing her we looked with pleasing smiles at each other. Jaco you have taught us well.

Zack used the opportunity to cool down by diving into the warm tropical turquois water to cut the mooring line around the prop. Wala!!! We have a starboard engine again with no damage.

Thankful that we are safe and sound in the BVI’s. Clear in at customs, a well deserved meal at Foxy’s and then sleep for a few hours.

The season lies ahead of us with one bay at a time.