Saturday, May 8, 2010 – Great Harbor Cay near Hawksnest Cay in Berry Islands

It was another lovely morning as we left the dock at 7 am. The problem with the 400-gallon water maker appeared to have been solved as it had been making water all night long without any leaking issues. Gale and Mark had four fishing lines in the water by 8 am and between 8:30 am and 10 am, they caught two dolphin fish (mahi mahi) and three barracuda. They put the mahi mahi on ice but the barracuda were sent back into the ocean. Catching the dolphin fish was very exciting, however, since we didn’t have room to keep any more fresh fish on ice, they decided to take the lines out of the water. Our fresh grilled mahi mahi lunch was fabulous!

Shortly after 4 pm, nearly a dozen large dolphins joined us as they played and swam at Adventure’s bow. It was amazing to watch them glide so effortlessly – spinning, rolling, jumping and putting on quite a show for us.




After our 90-mile passage, we reached Great Harbor Cay in the Berry Islands and set the anchor at 6:30 pm very near Hawksnest Cay. The dinghy was lowered into the water and everyone changed into their swimsuits. The daredevils, Diane and Gale,
jumped off the bow of Adventure and swam to the back of the boat where we all climbed aboard the dinghy. Since it was getting close to sunset by then, the no-see-ums were out in force but we all enjoyed a walk – or run in the case of the two Lucys – on the beach before returning to the boat.

A lovely dinner of fresh mahi mahi was shared on the outside upper aft deck as the stars came out.

Friday, May 7, 2010 - West End, Grand Bahama

Anyone who has owned a boat knows what B-O-A-T stands for: Broken Or About To!! Yesterday morning as we got underway, there was a problem with a clog in one of the heads. It turned out that a metal toilet paper roll holder had been dropped into the head and flushed into the system. Fortunately, Captains Mark and Jim were able to clear the blockage without having to take everything apart. Today, the original plan was to leave early in the morning and head for our next port, however, when the captain and crew checked the water makers neither the 400-gallon-per-day nor the 800-gallon-per-day water makers were working. This equipment hadn’t been used since the Holts had Adventure in Rhode Island last summer. Adventure has a 500-gallon fresh water holding tank, but with five adults aboard and fresh water at a premium along the way, we wanted the water makers to be functioning.

Mark, Jim and Gale worked all morning troubleshooting the problem and replacing parts. They were able to get the 400-gallon water maker up and running but did not have the time or energy to tackle the 800-gallon. Working in the engine room was very hot and humid and by the time they were finished at 1 pm, the men were all pretty tired. It was decided that we would stay put one more night and enjoy the afternoon in this beautiful paradise.

After a few snacks, the five of us put on our swimming suits, grabbed our snorkel gear and jumped into the dinghy. We had a wonderful afternoon exploring a nearby island and snorkeling at two different locations. We saw stingrays, sharks, barracuda, small colorful reef fish, lovely coral, starfish, sea urchins and other interesting creatures. What a way to spend an afternoon!!








Back aboard Adventure at 5:30 pm, we all took advantage of the shower facilities at the marina. Mark and Jim worked some more on the 400-gallon water maker before dinner. The seals that were replaced this morning were leaking so they put in another set and hoped for the best. As Gale was grilling chicken, a local woman came by selling freshly baked bread. We ended up buying two loaves each of her white bread, cinnamon raisin bread, coconut bread and banana bread. For dessert, she sold us one of her pineapple pies.

After dinner, it appeared that there were no more leaks. We relaxed and enjoyed the movie, Meet the Parents.

Thursday, May 6, 2010 - Stuart, FL to West End, Grand Bahama

The adventure aboard Adventure begins!!


After spending a month in Iowa finalizing the sale of our townhome, moving Gale’s parents to Apple Valley (an assisted living facility in Clear Lake), seeing our physicians, eye doctors, dentists, and chiropractors, visiting our children, grandchildren and some of our other relatives, and taking care of some legal business, we loaded up the rental car on Tuesday, April 27th, and headed for Stuart, Florida, to meet our friends, Mark and Diane Holt, aboard their motor yacht, Adventure.

We took four days to make the trip with stops in Iowa City to see our son, Kelle, for a few moments between classes; an overnight stop in Des Moines with Jess, Joe, JT and Jake Spalding (our daughter and her family); an overnight in Aurora, Illinois to spend time with Dan, Julie, Kevin and Justin Thul (our son and his family); an overnight in Memphis, Tennessee, and a visit to Graceland; and the last night on the road in Georgia.


We arrived in Stuart around 4 pm Saturday afternoon, unloaded the car and relaxed aboard Adventure.

The four of us decided to take Sunday off and we headed out in the dinghy to have lunch at Shrimpers and then a tour around the St. Lucie River. We found a sandbar where many boats were anchored or pulled up on the beach enjoying the sun and the sand. It was a picture perfect Sunday afternoon on a Florida beach.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent provisioning for our two-month adventure. Diane and Maureen tackled WalMart on Monday to get the groceries and spent nearly $1,000 on food items. Mark and Gale handled the matters of picking up beer and liquor, stopping at West Marine for some boat items, and a couple of other stops for miscellaneous provisions.

On Tuesday, Gale and Maureen drove to Indiantown Marina to get a few things from Blue Heron that would be needed for the trip. Blue Heron looked a little sad and kind of dirty but we waved goodbye and promised to return as soon as we could. Mark had to travel to Miami for a meeting on Tuesday morning. On his return trip, he picked up Ron Daniels at the airport. Ron will be driving the Holts’ vehicle back to Iowa when we leave the marina on Thursday. Wednesday morning found the guys out fishing while the girls did some last minute errands. Our hired captain, Jim Mobley, from Gulfport, Florida, arrived about 5 pm on Wednesday evening.



After a very busy three days, we were ready to depart!! Up at 4:30 am Thursday morning, we left the dock at 6 am en route to The Bahamas. It was a lovely morning, the seas were calm and the sky was clear. The temperature was already 75°F and it was humid.





The 80-mile passage could not have been any more enjoyable or relaxing. To top off the day, we made it to West End, Grand Bahama, at 4 pm and found a nice marina in a beautiful setting. The water color and clarity was amazing!! Clearing customs was no big deal – we had all the paperwork done and the cruising pass in hand by 5 pm. We took a walk over to the fish cleaning station and talked to a visiting sailor as he cleaned his tuna and dolphin. Soon, a local guy and his cooler filled with illegal lobster approached us wanting to sell his catch. The lobster season closed on March 1st and the fines are hefty for catching, selling or possessing the critters. The man left his cooler and walked off asking us to keep an eye on it. It wasn’t long before the Fisheries official came over to see what was up. We don’t know if he ever got his man, but we were glad that we hadn’t bought any of the lobster!!






On our walk around the marina, we noticed a small boat full of conch and a couple of guys going from boat to boat selling their harvest. Platinum and his buddy, Joey, were quite friendly and very accommodating. We asked Platinum if he would clean out the meat and just sell us the shells which he was happy to do. After we soak them in bleach, we’ll use them to help toast the sunsets. We continued our walk to the restaurant and ordered our meals. The service was a bit on the slow side and Maureen had to go back to the boat before the food arrived. She had been fighting a cold and runny nose all day and the combination of cold medicine and a couple of glasses of wine had done her in!!

Friday, April 2, 2010 - Clear Lake, IA

It was cooler and not very sunny this morning. We spent some time taking care of business on the computers and by 11 am we were ready to get Lucy out for her promised walk. About a block away from home, it began to rain so we quickly retreated and made another plan. Today was Gale’s mom’s birthday and Gale’s brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Judy, had arranged to have a nice lunch sent to his parent’s house from Starboard Market, a great deli in Clear Lake. After our meal of hot soup, fresh sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit and cake, Gale and Maureen headed over to Apple Valley to pick up Pat (Maureen’s mother) and take her to Mason City for a doctor appointment.

After our trip to Mason, we dropped Pat off at Apple Valley and were back home by 3 pm. At 4 pm, we were finally able to do our walk and let Lucy run, sniff and play. Our neighbors, Tom and Kathy Langlas, had invited us over to their condo for wine and cheese at 5:30 and we enjoyed visiting with them and sharing a few laughs and a lot of stories. Back home at 7:30 pm, we popped a frozen pizza in the oven and watched the movie “2012.”

Thurs, April 1, 2010 - Clear Lake, IA

Today is Maureen’s birthday! We started the day very early by driving to Mason City. Maureen had an appointment at the eye doctor at 8 am and Gale needed to pick up the Ford Escort at Tires Plus. We each ran our errands and worked on our moving tasks. Gale was expecting someone from Des Moines to stop by and look at the jet ski around lunchtime, but that person never showed up.

After a little nap, we drove over to Mason City to pick out new eyeglass frames for Maureen. Back in Clear Lake at 3:30 pm, we stopped at Gale’s parents’ home to pick up their car and clean it up. At 5 pm, we picked up Maureen’s mother, Pat, and drove to Gale’s parents home for a joint birthday celebration for Maureen and Mary (Gale’s mom). Mary’s birthday is tomorrow.