Sun Cat/Trader Update 3/16/07 Green Turtle

Restaurant and office at Green Turtle Club

Pool - Green Turtle Club

We are presently at Man O War Cay in the Abacos. Its been a wonderful trip so far. We spent approximately 2 weeks at Green Turtle Cay where we were joined by our friends Eldon and  Dianne Morrison. We also traveled to Powell Cay to enjoy the beautiful beaches and went to Spanish Cay to see it. Spanish Cay was a little interesting - There are houses and an airport but we were the only ones on the island except for one other boat and the chef! It was also expensive! While at Powell, Eldon played the great white hunter and opened a coconut for all to enjoy!  Back at Green Turtle we were we were able to enjoy cocktails with Bob and Barbara on Caitlin and Roy and Rita on No Matata.

Pool at Spanish Cay

Tuesday this week we finally got a day we could navigate Whale Cay passage and were able to get in a visit with our friends Bob and Gerry Sylvester on Great Guana Cay. We are presently visiting Neil and Pam Herring at Man O War.

Continuing to have a great time!

Steve and Jean

Sun Cat/Trader Update 3/2/07 - West end to Green Turtle

Hi All,

We are presently in Green Turtle Cay where we have been for several days. From West End, Grand Bahama Island we went to Mangrove Cay where we anchored for the night. The next day we started out for the Double Breasted Cays but the wind turned unfavorable so we anchored in Grand Cay instead. Grand Cay has an interesting settlement with a few stores and restaurants. we did obtain our first loaf of "homemade" Bahamian bread there during a short walk ashore. The next day we went to Crabby Cay where we anchored for the night and the next morning we went over to Powell Cay which has beautiful sandy beaches to explore.

We then went to Green Turtle, anchoring in White Sound which is on the northwestern part of the island. The first day, we took the dinghy over to the Settlement at New Plymouth, a nice Bahamian town, we've also done some hiking as well as visiting with other cruisers and enjoying the pool at the Bluff House. Today we took the bikes and went for a 7 or 8 mile ride over to New Plymouth to play tourist some more and do some more shopping.

Wednesday morning started very rough as we were awakened about 6:15 with a severe thunderstorm with lots of lightening and hail. Several boats claimed they saw a waterspout with 100 knot winds and several others reported winds in the 60 knot range. We heeled over a bit but our new Delta anchor held very well. Unfortunately our friends Don and Scatia on Ka Le were not as lucky as their anchor pulled out and they struck another boat pretty hard. Fortunately there was no major structural damage. They may have been in the waterspout!

Tomorrow and Sunday look like more beach and pool days - this is getting hard to take!

Having a great time!

Crossing the Gulf Stream - Ft Lauderdale to West End and Powell Cay

The trip from Ft Lauderdale to West End Grand Bahama Island is approximately 70 miles. The route crosses the Gulf Stream at an angle that allows us to ride with the current, thus gaining speed and saving time. However, the weather is an important factor since northerly winds or strong winds from any direction can kick up large waves which would make the trip uncomfortable at best and even dangerous.

We determined that Feb 20 would be a good weather window to cross and agreed to "buddy boat" with Don and Scatia Linder on "Ka Le". The plan was to leave at 4 AM, arriving at West End in early afternoon.

All started according to plan. However, when we dropped the mooring at 0400 I discovered that I had no steering! Using the engines to maneuver the boat, we avoided the other moored boats and went out into the river where we anchored to determine the problem which turned out to be that we were out of steering fluid. I put in what we had which corrected the problem and then we had breakfast and waited until 6:30 when one of the marinas opened and we could buy some more. We bought most of their supply, most of which I'm glad to report we still have!

We then set out from Ft lauderdale, getting underway at 0700 instead of 0400. Other than dodging a large ship, the crossing was otherwise uneventful and we arrived at West End, Old Bahama Bay Marina about 1700, too late to check into customs but otherwise fine. We did get in a nice swim in the pool, however.

At West End Marina

Sunset at Mangrove Cay

The next day we checked in through customs, washed the boats and headed for Mangrove Cay where we anchored for the night. There is nothing at Mangrove Cay but it is a good anchorage about 25 miles into Little Bahama Bank.

The next day, we went set out for the Double Breated Cays but the wind came up strong and we opted instead to go into Grand Cay. The settlement was more run down than the other Bahamian settlements we've visited but everyone was very friendly and we were able to buy some fresh Bahamian bread which is always a treat.

Waterfront at Grand Cay

Beach at Powell Cay

The next day we set out east again, stopping at Crabby Cay for the night and then going on to Powell Cay. Powell is not inhabited but has great beaches and nice walking and we enjoyed an afternoon and evening there immensely. The next day we headed for Green Turtle Cay .

Our posts after this will be based on the periodic updates which we send out more or

On the beach at Powell Cay

less once a week.

January & February, 2007 - Stuart to Fort Lauderdale

We flew back to Florida the first week of January to resume our cruise, flying into Orlanda and then visiting our friends the Murrays in Daytona. When we arrived at the boat it had not been launched and we asked them to do over a few things, with the launching occuring later that afternoon.

As we backed the boat out of the travel lift, the starboard engine sputtered and died which suddenly made docking an interesting challenge! Once docked, investigation revelaed that the person who had polished the fuel had left the valve to the starboard engine closed. The engine fired back up quickly once we opened it, much to my relief.

Stuart sailfish fountain - Stuart bills itself as the sailfish capital of the world

From there, we went to Stuart, Fl where we spent several weeks doing maintenance and getting the boat ready for the Bahamas. We were able to ride our bikes around town quite a bit and did a lot of walking. One morning we awoke to find our dinghy had been stolen. With help from the Harbormaster we were able to recover the dinghy but the motor was gone.  As a result, we now have a new Yamaha 4 HP motor for the dinghy.

Jean at "confusion corner" a traffic circle with a railroad
track running through the middle

The mooring field at Stuart

Later in our stay there, we were visited by son Bill and were also joined by our friend Paul Kelly who traveled will us down to Ft Lauderdale with stops in Palm Beach and Lake Santa Barbara.

We stayed in Ft Lauderdale for over a week, tied to a mooring ball at Los Olas marina. The marina is 2 blocks from the beach and is one of our favorite stops. Our freinds Doug & Maggie Bauer joined us there for a few days and we had good visit with them. We then prepared to cross to West End, Grand Bahama island on the first day the weather was good.

Typical property on ICW - note no one in sight enjoying it

Sun Cat at the mooring field at Los Olas

Fall, 2006 cruise - our first on Sun Cat

September was a blur of activity. How do you start a trip south? DO a sailboat race to Nova Scotia! So, labor day weekend son Steve and I raced with a friend, Paul Morin on his Sabre 38. We didn't finish well primarily because we put too much faith in the weather forecast, but had a good time anyway. I then flew to Charleston for the survey and sea trials on Sun Cat and also worked to finish preparations for renting the house. The third week of September we took Trader out of the water and winterized her and assembled the gear we would eventually take to Sun Cat.

On September 27 we left Portland in a (full) mini-van, arriving at Sun Cat, which was at Isle of Palms, near Charleston the next day. The next 5 days were full of developing some understanding of what we had bought, equipping and provisioning the boat and preparing to head further south.

Sun Cat is a 1987 (0r 1988) Symbol 41 trawler. She is at least 41 feet long, 14.5 feet wide and draws about 4 feet of water. She is powered by two Caterpillar diesels which deliver 210 horsepower each. We cruise at about 7.5 knots and top speed is 10-12 knots. For her age, she is in really good shape. The former owners appear to have taken good care of her and there was much new equipment and furniture, all of which was good quality.

After nearly a week at Isle of Palms, we started south, stopping at Lady's Isle marina near Beaufort, SC (we hear it is unfortunatly now a condo project) and then going into Shelter Cove Marina in Hilton Head where the boat would spend a month. Son Bill and Stephanie met us there and stayed with us a week until we left to go for a previously planned 2 week trip to Hawaii.

Shelter Cove Marina

Brunswick Landing 

Frederica River anchorage

The square at St Augustine

St Augustine

Isle of Hope Marina


rina

When we returned, Son Stephen met us and spent a week or so with us. Among other things we replaced the entire exhaust system and the anchor windlass. We also got in a little beach time and other recreation while he was with us.

We left Hilton Head in early November, stopping at Isle of Hope, Walburg Creek, the Frederica River, Cumberland Island, St Mary's Jacksonville Beach, St Augustine, Daytona and Vero Beach before leaving the boat at Ft Pierce to go back to Maine for Christmas on December 18. While we were away, Sun Cat got a fresh coat of bottom paint, new through hull fittings and new alternators.