Author Archives: Randy

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About Randy

Airline Captain, USCG 100 ton Master with Radar and Towing Endorsements, former “Coastie”

Satellite view of Pilots' Discretion track into White Sound, Green Turtle Cay

The Sea of Abaco – by Randy

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Since leaving the Old Bahama Bay Marina at West End on Grand Bahama Island, we have been exploring the Abacos.

Our first day out, we transited the Little Bahama Bank, passing just north of Mangrove Cay to anchor in Northwest Harbor at Great Sale Cay (a run of 47 nautical miles) The entire day we cruised across unbelievably clear waters without seeing another vessel. When we got to Great Sale Cay, there were two other cruising boats already anchored but there was plenty of room for each of us to find just the right spot with good holding and clear water beneath us.

After spending one night at Great Sale Cay, we elected to proceed northeast to Double Breasted Cay. We had read in the various cruising guides that this was indeed a special spot worth the slight detour north of our originally planned route. Entering Double Breasted Cay requires weaving through a very narrow passage as you wind your way around a series of coral heads and sand bars. Although Navionics has taken some heat in the past for the accuracy of their charting data in the Bahamas, it is my opinion that they have made great strides to address the issue with their current generation “freshest data” package. We found the information on our Raymarine E127 chart plotter regarding Double Breasted Cay to be precise all the way in and it was indeed helpful although the area clearly demonstrates why a mariner needs to be able to read the water visually while cruising in the Bahamas.

Once securely anchored, the boys set out on their first snorkeling trip at Double Breasted Cay; they swam from the back of the Pilots’ Discretion over to Sand Key where they saw all kinds of marine life. It was here that they saw their first Bahamian shark, a 4 foot black tip. In addition they got a good look at a barracuda as he swam under our boat. We enjoyed Double Breasted Cay so much that we elected to spend two nights there before heading south down the Sea of Abaco for Green Turtle Cay. The run to Green Turtle Cay was just over 60 miles and since we ran a portion of the trip at 25 knots , we were pulling into White Sound in the early afternoon.

October is the slowest time of year in the Bahamas and as a result, many of the resorts and marinas are closed. We are staying at the Green Turtle Cay Club, a beautiful resort in White Sound. The docks are open but the restaurant and bar as well as most of the resort facilities are closed. That said, the staff that is here ( they have a maintenance staff doing facilities upgrades) has been super helpful. I had been here ten years or so ago by air and it is clear to me that they have done a great job of upgrading this great facility over the years.

Maptech Raster Chart Entering Double Breasted Cay

Maptech Raster Chart Entering Double Breasted Cay

Radar Return Approaching Great Sale Cay (Grand Bahama Island on the Right)

Radar Return Approaching Great Sale Cay (Grand Bahama Island on the Right)

Navionics Vectar Chart Entering Double Breasted Cay

Navionics Vectar Chart Entering Double Breasted Cay

Snorkling, Double Breasted Cay

Snorkling, Double Breasted Cay

R&R Starfish Old Bahamas Bay

We be on island time now mon! – by Randy

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Thursday Oct 16, 2014

Yesterday we had an enjoyable crossing of the Gulf Stream and are now savoring our first day in the wonderful country of the Bahamas.

PD crosses the Gulfstream

PD crosses the Gulfstream

The weather models were showing relatively benign sea conditions for our crossing yesterday with 3-5 ft seas. There was a forecast for a line of squalls to develop over the Gulf Stream late yesterday afternoon with steadily steepening seas but after reviewing the available data, conferring with our weather Guru, Chris Parker, and taking a look at the NexRad radar on our chart plotter, we made the determination that we could make the crossing safely by staying in front of the developing line of inclement weather. Originally, we had planned on crossing at 8 knots (our most economical speed) but given the potential for developing weather we increased our speed to 17 knots to stay at a comfortable speed for the sea conditions and stay in front of the line of weather that showed ominously 3-4 miles astern of us as we worked our way across. In the end, we did have to alter our course slightly to avoid a couple of thunderstorms but other than a few minutes of moderate rain with a few 5 foot waves we had a smooth crossing.

The customs and immigration procedures at the Old Bahamas Bay Marina could not have been more convenient. When we called in by radio (Channel 16, then switched to channel 10 ) we were told that Customs would not require us to tie up at their dock first but rather, sent us to our assigned slip and requested that the Captain report to the Customs and Immigration office after the Pilots’ Discretion had been secured in her slip. The paperwork was routine (helped significantly by the fact that the first mate, my wife Theresa, an immigration attorney who is type A,  had converted all the Bahamian Customs and Immigration documents to fillable PDFs and had them completed before our arrival). Our Cocker Spaniel, Patton, was also pleasantly surprised when our concerns about bringing him ashore were completely dismissed by the Customs Officer. A very quick glance at his forms and veterinary health certificates and he was welcomed into the Bahamas.

R&R OBB hammock

R&R Old Bahamas Bay Hammock after clearing Customs & Immigration (blue building behind them across the bay)

R&R Starfish Old Bahamas Bay

R&R Starfish – Homeschooling recess in Old Bahamas Bay, Bahamas

The boys could not believe how clear the water is here and when we turned on our underwater lights, they thought we had changed them somehow because in Tarpon Springs they illuminate an area about 3 ft astern of the Pilots’ Discretion while here in the Bahamas, the water is illuminated for about 50 ft astern. After a day spent relaxing and home schooling we will head out tomorrow to begin our exploration of the Abacos. First stop, Great Sale Cay then on to Green Turtle Cay.

Doing the cruiser’s weather window Cha-Cha in North Palm Beach

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Ryan and Ronan at Pirates Cove

Ryan and Ronan at Pirates Cove

October 11, 2014

We have enjoyed the last week working our way east and south to be in position for our Gulf Stream crossing. After departing Indiantown marina on Monday, Oct 6, we proceeded to Manatee Pocket in Port Salerno, FL where we anchored for two nights. Manatee Pocket is one of my favorite stops along the east coast of FL because I spent several months there while attending Chapman’s School of Seamanship where I earned my 100 ton masters license over 10 years ago. The spot provides easy dinghy access to several very good restaurants as well as any imaginable marine service. After leaving Manatee Pocket, we traveled south on the ICW, anchoring one night at the north end of Lake Worth in Palm Beach. It looks like there will be a brief acceptable weather window for our crossing to Grand Bahama Island this coming Tuesday but we are balancing that opportunity with the requirement to get a couple of electrical issues dealt with prior to leaving US waters. After what has generally been a quiet tropical storm season, there are a couple of potentially troubling tropical depressions developing in the Caribbean, one in particular may have the potential to close our weather window just as we get our electrical issues straightened out.  Such is the life of a cruiser, a different but welcome adjustment from my professional life where everybody was focused on making the airplane move within 14 minutes of scheduled departure.

The good news is that we have found wonderful facilities at the North Palm Beach Marina so any weather delay will be handled at a modern, well equipped marina. Dockmaster Chris Pignataro and the entire staff here have been extremely helpful, the location is central to many good sources for provisioning and just to make it that much better, they were nice enough to put a Ruth’s Chris Steak House (Theresa and my favorite steak house in the world) right down the street. When the weather breaks and the boat doesn’t we will post again from our first Bahamian port of call.

Week 1

One week in

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October 1, 2014

We have been underway for one week and we are all beginning to settle in to our cruising routine. We have tried to break up long days of cruising with either a day at anchor or a short leg to keep from working the crew too hard. So far the crew is performing beyond the Captain’s most optimistic expectations. Ryan, Randy and Patton all got a very close look at a 3′ stingray as he cruised silently a foot or so off the beach in Pelican Bay the other night. Leaving Pelican Bay, we had planned on transiting one set of locks on the Okeechobee waterway and then tucking into a quiet cove in Rialto for the night. As is often the case with cruisers, flexibility was required because the cove we planned on anchoring in had been marked off with no anchoring signs. Not to worry, we motored on and found a quaint little harbor in LaBelle where the boys met their first “boat kid”, Nina an 8 year old fellow Calvert home schooled little girl who is living aboard a 45′ Catamaran.

Boat kids in LaBelle

Boat kids in LaBelle

After a quiet evening in LaBelle we pressed on through two more sets of locks. The boys are becoming old hands at dealing with the lock transits and all of the lock tenders have been very complimentary about our crews performance. As I am writing this we are tied to the dock at Roland Martin’s Marina in Clewiston, FL. We got in last night in time to watch the Giants win the National League Wild Card game in Pittsburgh so the Giants fans aboard are indeed happy. Today we will cross Lake Okeechobee and spend the night in Indiantown on the east side of the lake. Not much of a hurry on our transit at this point as the weather window for crossing the Gulf Stream is looking like it may not occur until at least early next week.

October 3, 2014

We left Clewiston yesterday and crossed Lake Okeechobee, transiting the Port Mayaca lock on the eastern edge of Lake Okeechobee around sunset. It has been amazing to watch how quickly the boys have gotten into the routine and duties of very capable deck hands.

The lock tenders at Port Mayaca were so impressed with how they handled themselves that they rewarded the boys with a sack of ice pops as we cleared the lock.

Ronan Franklin lock

Ronan at the Franklin lock

Deck Hand Ryan making preparations to lock

Deck Hand Ryan making preparations to lock

(Lake Okeechobee Waterway Locks)

We continued east to the Indiantown marina to spend the night. We are going to spend a couple of days in Indiantown, taking care of boat stuff and getting ahead of the home schooling program. At this point it looks like we may have to wait until later next week to get a suitable weather window to cross over to the Bahamas so we are truly getting ourselves adjusted to the concept of island time. In the meantime, we are respectfully steering clear of our local Okeechobee Waterway neighbors like the Alligator below who has been loitering about just off our starboard side.

Alligator off our starboard side

Alligator off our starboard side

 

Week 1

Week 1

Theresa & Randy at the helm

We are underway!

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Saturday September 27, 2014 0800


( The boys cast off)

The day has finally arrived and we wasted no time as everyone was up early, eager to get underway. We left Port Tarpon Marina with a full contingent of marina neighbors aboard our friends Bob and Dietland Coan’s Sea Ray to escort us out of the Anclote river.

Bob, DeeDee, Bruce & Myra escorting us down the Anclote River

Bob, DeeDee, Bruce & Myra escorting us down the Anclote River

(Pilots Discretion underway at 29 knots)

Once clear of the Anclote we turned south and headed down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) for Venice. As it turned out, nature wasted no time providing us a spectacular preview of the the wonders that await us in our new world of cruising.


(Dolphin in our wake)

A pod of dolphins took up station on our bow wave less than an hour into our trip and the boys got a front row seat as the dolphins took turns gliding just below the surface in front of our anchor and then breaking off to jump clear of the water and trail us in our wake. We did have a brief encounter with a few afternoon thundershowers while crossing Sarasota Bay but that really only served to give us a free freshwater wash down.

The first days run was completed in 10 hours after which we dined aboard and all hands slept like logs, exhausted but full of anticipation for the journey ahead. I am putting up a screen shot of our route with this post and we will create a subcategory within our blog to archive each days travel so that you can reference each leg of our trip as your curiosity warrants. Thanks to all of you that have sent along well wishes.

Pilots' Discretion track on day 1

Pilots’ Discretion track on day 1

The crew of the Pilots’ Discretion
Randy, Theresa, Ryan, Ronan and Patton