Home Sweet Home

When we last posted, we had arrived at Fernandina Beach after a 36 hour, windless trip from Fort Pierce. We like Fernandina Beach. It’s a picturesque town with lots of shops and restaurants. We are not really big on shops, but we do like restaurants and that is one of the reasons we stopped there. We had made reservations at Le Clos, a favorite of ours. We started with Escargots and Claudia had the Ahi Tuna while Peter had the seared duck breast. We washed it all down with a good pinot noir and followed with coffee and a créme brûlée. Sadly, the next day was Sunday and we learned that Fernandina Beach is an old-fashioned kind of place that shuts down on Sunday. Few restaurants open. We had hoped to have lunch at Kelly’s; it used to be known as la Bodega. We enjoyed dining in the open courtyard when it went by that name and we hoped to find Kelly’s as good. Alas! It was closed.

We met some really nice folks who were traveling on a 35 foot Pearson yawl (Anne and John) and their friends on an uncharacteristically navy blue hull Island Packet ( Dennis and Julia). We hope to see them again on our next cruise. Then small world that it is, we saw some folks from Colorado sporting WKU T-shirts.

The trip to Brunswick was largely windless although we were able to get a boost from the wind for a few hours. We passed under the Sidney Lanier Bridge and called the marina. What a welcome! One would think that we were long gone and considered lost! We motored past the shrimp boats and tied up to the same dock we had left, albeit on the other side. It was good to be home. It only remained to do a few boat chores and we could get in the car and head home to Kentucky. We did have two must dos. The first, a tradition, was to head for Fox’s Pizza Den the night of our arrival. The second, there was happy hour at the Oyster Shak the following Monday and several dozen oysters on the half shell.

The drive home with a stop at Harry’s (Whole Foods) in Marietta, GA was long. Arrival at Woodside meant stopping along our drive every few feet to remove fallen branches from the road. We arrived after the Redbud blooms but the Dogwoods and spring wildflowers were still in bloom and everything was green.






Our pooch was glad to see us and we more so to see her. So now we're CLODS (Cruisers Living On Dirt) and planning for next season begins. Meanwhile, the adventure continues!

Goodbye South Florida

We left Ft Lauderdale after a very pleasant stay. Our trip to Ft Pierce was a combination of motoring, motor-sailing and sailing. The wind was very light when we left but it picked up later in the morning and came out of the East. As the day progressed, it clocked around to the south and was on our stern. We were able to sail, wing and wing (mainsail to one side of the boat and jib on the other). Since we had caught a tiny bit of the northbound Gulf stream, we were able to make more than 6 knots (6 nautical miles per hour). Sixteen or seventeen hours later and we were tied up in our slip at Ft Pierce.
Peter had extolled the food at Chuck’s, a popular local restaurant right on the water. Claudia’s sesame seared tuna was as good as he promised. We discovered a new restaurant, Yellowtail Grille and Raw Bar. The raw oysters were far too expensive but the menu offered a creative assortment of dishes. Since Moules Marinières is one of our favorites Peter had to try their version, Thai Ginger Mussels; mussels steamed in white wine and herbs with the addition of ginger and coconut milk. This was definitely an original iteration of a classic dish. Claudia’s Sashimi Tuna was outstanding! How can you improve on something like that? Well, instead of wasabi, try wasabi cream sauce.
After a 38 hour windless trip, from Ft Pierce, we arrived at Fernandina Beach at 9:15 PM. There wasn’t a breath of wind the entire trip until we turned into the entrance channel. Suddenly, there was a 10 knot breeze from the south. Where was that when we needed it? By the time we got all the way in and had to turn into the ICW to get to the marina, it was pitch dark. We’ve been to this marina several times and should know our way in. Believe me, things look different in the dark. We tried following the chart plotter, but it was confusing since it was oriented north up and we were headed south. So directions were turned around. Finally, after doing several circles while reviewing our progress, we arrived at a point where we didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t seem to find the next red flashing beacon which was opposite our marina. So, more circles. We could see that there was a marina opposite our position, but we failed to recognize it as our destination. Things look different in the dark. After hailing some people in a passing dinghy, we established that we were, in fact, at our marina. Of course, it was late, so there was no dock hand to help us with our lines.

Peppermint Sticks Redux

The time has come to say “’til we meet again.” We enjoyed our second stay at Coconut Grove. The people at the sailing club are terrific. We will think of Dwayne and Pat and Lee and Terry and Lauren often and look forward to seeing them again next year. If you like restaurants, the Grove is the place to be. French, Japanese, Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Fusion and more, they’re all here. We ate at George’s the other day. Claudia had Avocado Tartare. We wondered how else you could have avocado. We decided that it was the presentation that qualified it for the moniker. Peter ordered a pan-seared tuna dish. Good fortune decreed that the kitchen had run out of tuna and he had to settle for the best Steak Tartare ever—served with French fries cooked in garlic flavored oil. Superb!
Most of the boats in the mooring field belong to members of the sailing club. We were a bit jealous of them. Most sailing and yacht clubs have reciprocity agreements with each other through national memberships. We were dismayed to learn that our club, Port Oliver Yacht Club, did not have reciprocal agreements with Coconut Grove Sailing Club. Oh well, their loss. They won’t be able to tie up at Port Oliver and join in the festivities on the second Friday of the month. One of the highlights of our recent visit was the moonrise on March 19, when the moon was at its closest point to the Earth in 18 years. It was beautiful!

So now, it’s back to the peppermint stick smokestacks of Fort Lauderdale. We will have to haul out again. Peter decided to inspect the steering gear (taking a hint from our experience on Second Wind). The steering gear was in fine shape, cables taut, attachments free of wear and so on. However, the nuts and bolts that hold the rudder bearing in place are severely corroded, crying out, “Replace, NOW.” In addition, we have had a persistent problem with the seacock that drains the holding tank. Might as well deal with that as well as long as we are going to be out of the water.

 

Long Island virtually begs you to stay forever. It’s not that there is a lot going on; quite the contrary. But the people are friendly and their lifestyle interesting. We drove to the south end of the island where the road literally ends on a beautiful beach that spills into the incredible blue waters of the Bahamas. Not a person insight!
Serendipity was with us when we picked up a hitch-hiker, Ernest Watson.  Ernest owns a little roadside bar and restaurant where we had an ice cold beer while he entertained us with stories about his life. He told us how to hunt wild boar and land crabs. He told us about spearing lobster and fish. He showed us his garden and the kid goat he nursed back to health. Then he told us how to cook it all. We learned that he was going for land crabs that night and that they were a staple item on the menu.   We arranged to return the next day for lunch. The menu—crab and rice, lobster salad and whatever else he thought appropriate (he chose broiled lobster tails!) Real down home Bahamian food!
Another drive took us north. The difference was striking. Where in the South there were many abandoned houses, some in great disrepair, the North had many fine homes with well-kept yards. We stopped for lunch at Max’s (world famous) Conch Bar in Deadman’s Cay. Coming to the Bahamas and not having a conch salad would be like going to Rome and not visiting the Coliseum. When we arrived, the tiki hut bar was crowded with an international set. We sat next to a French couple who enthusiastically recommended the grilled conch.  We watched Max as he expertly chopped and diced the ingredients for conch salad (recipe below) with a razor sharp 12 inch blade, putting Benihana to shame.
The Queen’s highway that runs the entire length of the island is bordered on each side with stone walls in various states of repair. The walls are remnants of the plantations that were established by Loyalists who fled the American colonies during the Revolution.  There are many architecturally unique churches scattered about the island some reminiscent of Mission style and small chapels in Greece. Clarence Town is known for two of the several churches built by Father Jerome in the Bahamas. 
It is somewhat ironic that in spite of our change of plans, fortune brought us to Long Island, our destination when we first set out in December. Now, having spent a few days there we know we want to return next winter.

Conch Salad
Chop and dice roughly equal quantities of tomato, green pepper and onion. Some people squeeze the juice from the diced tomatoes before adding them to the mix (Friendly Joe on Bimini who prepares the best salad we’ve tasted, does this). Some people also chop and dice a bit of apple for the salad. Then, chop and finely dice some raw conch (the quantity roughly equal to the rest of the ingredients so you have about half conch and half vegetables). Squeeze a good quantity of lime juice into the salad. (Personally, we also like to add some lime zest, but that’s not authentic) Some people also add some orange juice to the mixture. A bit of goat pepper (habañero) or other kind of pepper for heat. Salt to taste. Enjoy. We also use this recipe for diced fresh raw tuna and snapper.

Long Island at last!

Seven or eight hundred miles of water have passed under the keel since Ponce, Puerto Rico. We anchored at Boqueron to stage for crossing the dreaded Mona Passage. Fortunately it did not live up to its reputation and we again experienced an uneventful crossing. However, on our third night out, still off the north coast of Hispaniola, things deteriorated rather rapidly. Peter was on watch while everyone else slept. He was stretched out on the helmsman’s seat reading by flashlight while Otto steered the boat under full sail. Suddenly Otto jumped out of gear and the boat careened off course. The boat crashed through the waves and became a slave to the wind. Peter’s cursing awakened Al. It was apparent that we needed to shorten  

sail. Thankfully the reefing lines for the mainsail are led back to the cockpit and it was a relatively simple matter to take a reef there. The line for furling the jib is also led back to the cockpit, but it was jammed! This required a trip to the bow with the waves tossing and turning the boat. Al finally worked up the nerve to crawl forward to fix the problem and we could finally reef the jib and the ride became more comfortable and the boat was easier to handle. Claudia slept through the entire episode.
 The rocking and rolling in the anchorage at Matthewtown, Great Iguana, Bahamas were a welcome respite from the 25-30 knot winds of the night before and after 3 nights underway a dip in the clear turquoise water was refreshing. After a good night’s sleep we were again underway. Hand steering this time since Otto was apparently on strike for better working conditions. The next morning brought us back to Clarencetown, Long Island, Bahamas where we first stepped on board Second Wind five years ago. Ironically, Long Island was our original destination when we set out from Brunswick back in December!

The new adventure has begun! We left “Now or Never!” on a mooring ball at Coconut Grove Sailing Club. We met our friend Al at the airport. He had quite a long layover so, of course, we had to take him to “El Atlacatl” in Little Havana to sample the Mariscada. Then we all boarded a plane and headed to Sint Maarten where we provisioned “Second Wind.” Soon, we were on our way to Puerto Rico. The sailing was great! (see below for “what she said”) We turned off the engine as soon as we left the lagoon. The wind was from the NE at 12-15 knots and we were headed straight West. We set the sails and hardly touched them for the next 20 hours—woo-hoo! 6 knots! 7 knots! Even 8 knots! We were cooking in 6 foot seas (what she said below) We set the whisker pole to sail wing and wing as we came to the southern shore of Puerto Rico. By now, we had a following sea with 8 foot waves and an occasional 10 footer. There is nothing quite like looking aft to see a wall of water towering over the transom.
Our arrival at Ponce provided the only real excitement of the 30 hour trip. Since the jib was poled out certain precautions needed to be observed when furling the sail. Even so, the sail got pinched in the jaws of the whisker pole and we had a problem getting the sail rolled up. We started the engine and discovered that we had no steering gear. Yikes! We dug out the emergency tiller and with some difficulty, we were able to pilot the boat into the anchorage where we dropped the hook and rewarded ourselves with a ‘ti punch (basically rum, lime wedge and a bit of sugar).
“What she said” Great sailing my eye! Sure 6, 7, 8 knots. That didn’t change the fact that the boat was bobbing up and down on every 6 foot wave that passed! I spent the next 24 hours curled up in a fetal position in the V-berth.

We’re wrapping up our séjour in the Grove today. The sun is shining brightly and music is drifting across the mooring field from the park adjacent to the Sailing Club. The 48th annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival is taking place this weekend. It is estimated that 150,000 people attend this event to look at and buy art work from over 300 artists from all over the world. I don’t think we’ve ever seen so many people in one place! The art work, from painting to sculpture to jewelry and tapestry, is truly spectacular and truly expensive. The food vendors represent the usual hodgepodge of gyros, hotdogs and hamburgers with a bit of Latin food tossed in--pinchos, chicharrones and empanadas, all equally expensive.

We ate at a Cuban restaurant this week, La Carreta. Claudia ordered a sampler pletter that had enough food to satisfy our appetites for 2 days. In fact, we brought home the leftovers for lunch the following day. Peter nearly always orders picadillo at Cuban restaurants. It’s a very popular dish which consists of seasoned ground beef. His Cuban friend Carlos taught him how to make it several years ago. It’s been a favorite in our household for years. The version served at La Carreta was almost as good as Carlos’ version.

We went to the Barnacle State Park, within walking distance of the Sailing Club. It is the site of the oldest residence in Miami Dade County still standing on its original foundations. It’s a beautiful home that was well thought out by the boat builder who designed it. It’s located on five acres of Florida Hammock right downtown in the Grove. It’s amazing how quiet and peaceful it is there just a few hundred feet from traffic and city noises.

Tomorrow begins a new adventure. We’ll keep you posted.