That morning when I left Fernandina Beach it was flat calm and the sun was still just below the horizon. Just a mile or 2 along the “ road “ is a shallow part but this time I had enough water under the keel due to the high tide. The whole day all went fine and I made good progress.
No the sails were not used at all, the iron sail had to do the job.
Around 16.00 lt the anchor was down at the beautiful anchor near Pine Island.
With me there were 4 other boats there on anchor The next morning I first thought to stay where I was but the day was nice and the wind calm so up came the anchor and I went underway again.
Near st. Augustine I dropped the anchor only to wait for the bridge to open again and to eat some lunch. At 12.30 the bridge opened and I passed it. At 16.00 I was near a shallow part again but now it was oke now because they were dredging. Just after that passage I found a spot what looked oke for me to spent the night . At 16.25 the anchor was down.
The next morning the sky was grey and it was raining. Always before I go underway I check the engine and so I did it this morning also and saw there was something wrong with alternator . The bold that holds it tied to engine had come out. Oke time for a repair. It took me about two hours before I had it fixed. I tried two things before at the third time using 3 seconds gel glue and you know what it worked perfect. Luckily I had just bought it.
At 10.00 I was underway again and by that time it was dry and the sun was out. During that I checked the engine every 10 minutes but all was oke . At 17.00 the anchor was down near Daytona beach and a beer was out.
The next morning the weather was again rainy with a grey sky and more bad weather was underway. I went that day – November 12 , 2023 – only till New Smyrna Beach and at 12.00 the anchor was safely in. Due to bad weather with lots of wind and rain I stayed a few day. But I managed to get diesel from a nearby gas station and groceries at the supermarket . My little bicycle made overtime. I also visited the local pub / brewery and there I had a nice chat with the local beer brewer.
On November 18 the anchor was up and I was heading for Titusville where the anchor was in around 15.30 that day. I stayed 3 days there at anchor.
I Titusville is the American Space Museum . It is just a small museum but very interesting . And while I was there , there was a men from the museum who could tell me a lot about all the space programs. Once Titusville must have been a nice village with a nice downtown but now there is a highway in both directions running straight trough the village.
On 21 November I passed the lock at Cape Canaveral and was heading out on the ocean direction Bahamas.
The first day out the passage was a bit of a rough one but it was good sailing and Mylady was dancing along , she real enjoyed to be on the open water again and yes her skipper was not much different. The passage was only 2 days and the second day the wind was light. I had my very big genua out and for the first time in several years that sail was up again and made that we made nice gently progress.
I made landfall at an anchorage in the north of Abacos and on 23 November at 17.00 the anchor was in. The next two days I sailed further south. Only at a nice cove on the north side of Green Turtle cay I stopped for 2 day’s. And there I made my first fire for the season . The first fire just for the fun and the second night I burned my garbage .
On November 27 I arrived in Marsh Harbour where I checked in and did some shopping for fresh groceries and had my small propane bottle refilled. And I tried to get a SIM card for my mobile at the new BTC office ( Batelco ) but they had none and had not a clue when they would get more. But they found out that a shop “ Dockside “ near the water front had sim cards. And yes they did and they were of a great help with the setup of the mobile .
On November 29 the anchor was up around coffee time. There was a nice wind and I had a nice sail al the way to the south part of Lynyard Cay.
This is a very nice spot with two small beaches, good holding for the anchor and a small trail to the other side of the island. I stayed on the good spot nearly a week. I did some boat jobs – yes a never ending storey – , every day I took a dive , walked on the beach and made a nice fire to burn my trash .
This was the whole storey up till now.
Sail Mylady 