Derelict Boats, Rocket Launches and Manatees

The launch of the Skylink satellite lit up the pre-dawn sky.

We last left readers with Molly in a broken arm in a beautiful purple cast.  She is doing great, except that the cast can not get wet, and I have to do the dishes every night.  The cast comes off on May 27^th.  What we didn’t mention is that in the initial rough passage on our trip back, one wave knocked our boat around and Molly flew off the couch, breaking a big toe in the process.  Not much you can do about a toe fracture, but she is healing there nicely as well and is still able to go on walks, albeit a little slower than her normal pace.

Melbourne Beach Fish Pier.

 One of our anchorages was Manatee
Pocket, Port Solerno.

Because we took advantage of a limited weather window, we returned from the Bahamas at least two weeks earlier than our original plan.  So, the time to cruise from West Palm to Daytona Beach, where we will pull out of the water on May 9^th, is now three weeks, not one week.  We have used that time to go slowly, and stay multiple days in the same marina or anchorage.  We have visited West Palm, North West Palm, Port Solerno, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Melbourne Beach, Indian Harbor Beach, Cape Canaveral, Titusville and Canaveral National Seashore.

Our dinghy motor conked out in Indian Harbor Beach, but I was happy to row and get the exercise. 

We anchored off a spoils island in Cape Canaveral, which is a major cruise ship port in addition to being home to the
Kennedy Space Center.

We enjoyed our three days at Melbourne Beach, and here we are having cocktails on the bow while awaiting for a 5:30 pm
space launch.

All the beaches in Brevard County are closed to dogs, but many locals including someone in one town office said go ahead.
Tory had quality beach time in Melbourne Beach, Indian Harbor Beach and Cape Canaveral National Seashore.

We met long-term friends Rod
and Sheila Geant in Port Solerno.
Their friend Chris also joined us,
and she had a cast on just like Molly!

Returning from the grocery store in Vero
Beach.

We anchor out more than 50% of the time, but it can be a challenge at times as shore access is often limited (we need it for Tory!) and many otherwise desirable places are overrun with derelict boats.  Old Boats are dirt cheap and sometimes abandoned due to storm,

only to be purchased or commandeered

This boat hasn't moved in a while..   The
liveaboard has added tarps for
additional living space.

by, typically, single males looking for cheap housing.  They flaunt local anchoring limitations, put out every anchor they can find, and stay put for months, if not years, unless their fortunes change.

This boat was likely swamped here by
Hurricane Erma in 2017.

Such boats likely number in the thousands, and the cost of removal and disposal of just one boat, I have read, is as much as $500 per foot.  This means that a typical sailboat might cost up to $20,000 to remove.  The Florida legislature has recently allocated $12 million, but it will require millions more and increased enforcement to truly rid Florida of derelict boats.  Even then, it might only be good enough until the next major hurricane.

Contrail from day-time launch.

One of our bucket list items for this trip was to see a rocket launch. 

While we were able to anchor right off Cape Canaveral, no launches were scheduled at that time.  Earlier, we did see a daytime launch from 25 miles away, interesting, but not too impressive. 

Later we had the chance to witness a 5:42 am launch from the Kennedy Point Marina, about ten miles across the water from the launch site.  It was spectacular although the pictures don't do it justice.  

Shortly after the rocket broke through the clouds it seemed to change projectory, and we could hear the rocket engines for the first time.  Then a large white fireball become visible and grew immensely as the rocket accelerated away.  We speculated that just prior to this, the rocket's first stage broke away, but we later learned it was the sun reflecting off the spent fuel.  Our final picture (these were all taken by Molly!) shows the fascinating contrail visible some minutes after the rocket had disappeared.

 Those of you who grew up in the 60’s will, no doubt, remember the assassination of President Kennedy.  Shortly after that tragic event, President Johnson issued an Executive Order to change the name of Cape Canaveral to Cape Kennedy, in honor of the President who had set the goal of landing on the moon.  This was reversed in 1973 by the State of Florida and Cape Canaveral once again was Cape Canaveral.  The Space Center, however, continues to be called the Kennedy Space Center.

Not sure if you will be able to view this video showing manatees slurping fresh water at the top of the salt water.

Another bucket item on our list was to once again see some manatees.  These strange, large mammals are also called sea cows, although there was a time when sailors thought they were mermaids.  Full-grown manatees typically weigh 800-1000 pounds and swim very slowly.  They live their entire lives in shallow, coastal waters, coming up for air every 5 minutes or so.  They are constantly feeding on aquatic vegetation of all types, often consuming plants equaling 5-10% of their body weight every day.

We were watching some manatees thrash around in the water when a tour boat operator came by and told us that they
were mating.  A bull manatee will typically have 6-8 females with him.

While the bull manatee is doing his thing (upper right), the female appears to be either resting or waiting her turn.

Because of the heat we ended up staying at the Kennedy Point Marina as they have a great pool, and we found it a great
place to view a space launch and watch manatees.

The white marks on this manatee were caused by a boat motor propeller blades. 

Manatees are defenseless creatures except they are protected from alligators by their size and ability to hold their breath for up to 15 minutes.  Humans are their biggest threat.  The State of Florida has many protections for manatees as they were on the Endangered Species List until 2017.  These include low speed and no wake zones in known manatee areas and the recent cultivation of new sea grass beds.  There are an estimated 7,500 manatees in Florida.

We have now returned to Daytona Beach, and tomorrow we pull Salty Paws out of the water and begin our slow trip back to Maine with more visits to friends and family.  It has been quite a journey, and time will tell if this was our last trip to the Bahamas.

Tory Story

Tory full grown at 2 years.

Tory at 8 weeks.

So her story begins in 2018, when a deal was struck between Bill and me that I would do the Great Loop, a 6,000-mile boat trip around the Eastern United States and parts of Canada, if we got a puppy when we returned. After all, our boat was named Salty Paws. Bill jumped at this, as he had tried every angle to get me to agree to this trip. You can read about this trip in early entries to our blog. BTW, I loved the trip!

Any boat named Salty Paws has to have a dog.

Before we left for that trip, we had done our research, had decided on a Portuguese Water Dog (we live on the water) and had found a good breeder in Maine. We made arrangements to buy one of the puppies that was born on 2/29, a Leapster.  Covid hit hard in early March, 2020.  We were in Eleuthera, Bahamas, with plans to visit the Abacos, but figured we needed to hightail it home.  We arrived in Fort Lauderdale on March 13, with spring break in full swing. We sped toward home, having to leave our boat in Maryland before Bill and an intrepid friend could retrieve it later in the spring. 

We picked up Tory on in April 2020, just 3 weeks after we got home.

Tory is the lookout on our dinghy.

Tory eagerly comes on any
snowshoe or X-country ski trip.

I swear that Tory is not a “covid” puppy, but she sure made those early days more fun. We were able to participate in a dog training class (outside, masked and spaced-apart) and even some zoom training. Tory is a joyful dog who loves all things. People, other dogs, hiking in the woods, chasing balls nonstop, and snow.   Even though we live on the beach, she has never really loved swimming, but she certainly loves the water, often going up to her chest to cool down after chasing balls, even in the winter. 

Tory was quick to adapt to being on Salty Paws and has already done multiple overnight trips.  She is an expert at jumping into and out of our dinghy or kayak and getting off to boat to a dock.  When underway, she usually curls up in our v-berth or sofa to await the arrival at our destination.She likes rocking and rolling as much as I do!

Tory was a welcome guest as we parked in front of friends'
and relatives' houses on the way down to Florida.

With Tory on board, I agreed to Bill's latest plan to trailer the boat to Florida and spend several weeks in the Bahamas, our third trip there.  Bill spent much of November 2021 preparing Salty Paws for our end of February departure to Florida.  He found a few things to reduce weight offset the 75 pounds of dog food and the new dog stairs to our bow that are now on board.  We finally departed Maine on February 27th.  

It took more than a week to trailer Salty Paws down to Daytona Beach for our launching.   Maybe you read about our road trip in the first blog.  Tory did great.  Apparently, being with us, even stuck in the back seat of a truck all day, day after day, and spending the night with strangers (to her), is reward enough for this loyal pup.

Tory swam from the boat
to join everyone.

Tory loves chasing balls into the water.

We finally made it to the warm, crystal-clear waters of the Bahamas on 3/17. The spectacular Sand Cay was Tory’s first experience in these waters. Bill was able to coax her to swim by throwing a ball in the water.   She learned to jump through crashing waves to get the ball.  As the trip wore on, it got hotter and hotter. We took some long walks on hot marl (coral) and she would often beat us to the beach where we would find her swimming around to cool off.  Not too excited about jumping off the boat, Bill threw her in a couple of times, and she had to swim to the beach.

We began the trip with 5 balls, two of each
Tory destroyed, and three got lost on the boat,
assuming she didn't drop them overboard.
Fortunately, Tory found a tennis ball, which
she is always inviting someone to throw.

As our trip wears on, the weather heats up and Tory’s hair continues to grow, she is clearly hot and tired.  We will be back on the road in 1 ½ weeks and home in 4.  We have loved having Tory along and have earned our name, Salty Paws.

At two years old, Tory has earned her own name as a Portuguese Water Dog. We’ll see how she does in the frigid, murky waters of the Maine waters.

Tory will often sleep with a ball in her mouth.

Bill tried to get Tory to jump in the water on her own, but in the end had to throw her in to swim to shore.

Charlotte and Tory became buddies in the Bahamas.

We had many walks on the Pink Sand Beach on Harbour Island, and Tory would frequently get in the the water to cool off.

One of our many walks in the Bahamas.

Tory ran ahead and jumped in the water after one of our long walks.

Tory joined us on the bow for our daily cocktails.

Tory also serves as lookout on our kayak.

Here Tory was mesmerized by the two dolphins swimming near Salty Paws.

The Devil’s Backbone and Goodbye Bahamas

 

Molly and Tory on the Pink Sand Beach of Harbour Island.

The Devil’s Backbone is a 6-mile passage that we needed to cross in going from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island.  All the guidebooks and chart descriptions strongly recommend hiring a local pilot to steer your boat through the passage that is lined with reefs, coral heads that rise close to the surface and often crashing surf on both sides of the narrow channel.   The recommendation also includes the need for flat seas and a high sun in the sky in order to see the coral heads.

We had 4 days in Spanish Wells, plenty of time to mull this over.  Molly was inclined to pay the $150-$200 for a pilot, but I wanted to do more investigation.  All the locals we talked to second the advice to hire a pilot, but I did read one blog post that suggested otherwise.  The blogger noted that his pilot followed the magenta line on the navigational charts and that depths were never less than 8 feet.  He speculated that the guidebooks were just supporting the local economy and that one was really paying for the chance to talk with a local on your boat.

The boat in the background left is one of the several
large fishing boats in Spanish Wells.

As I dithered on the pilot decision, we enjoyed our time in Spanish Wells, a bustling community of Bahamians and the fishing capital of the Bahamas.  We were told that 75% of the lobster tails used by Red Lobster restaurants comes from here.  [Bahamian lobsters do not have claws.]  The town also has a large American-style grocery store, which we put to good use.  Everyone was very friendly and the dock owner where we stayed even introduced me to his mother so I could sit on her porch and use the Internet.

This yacht did have a pilot lead it through the Backbone.
The inflatable slide might have cost as much as our boat!

In the back of my mind, I was thinking that boats up to 150 feet long, 30 feet wide and 7-foot draft take the Devil’s Backbone, and here we are on a 25-foot with 8.5-foot beam and 2-foot draft.  I finally spoke with a Canadian who lives part-time in Spanish Wells and has a center console fishing boat similar in size to Salty Paws.  He stated that we will have no problem doing the Backbone on our own.  That settled it for me, and I plotted our course on two separate chartplotters to have redundancy.

This is our route
through the Devil's
Backbone.  Green indicates
cruising at less than 10 mph;
red less than 5 mph.

We departed shortly after dawn on Saturday (April 9th) in less-than-ideal conditions but with the plan to turn around if it gets dicey.  Both engines were running in case one fails, and I turned on our 3^rd chartplotter to add another depth sounder that Molly can easily monitor.  We were both super alert as we entered the Devil’s Backbone.   The water was too choppy to make out any coral heads, but the depths were a comfortable 10 feet, and in an hour, we were through the Backbone without incident.

Here Salty Paws is anchored off the beach on Man Island.

The next five days we anchored in three different spots in the sound off Harbour Island.  We found a great beach on Man Island to take Liz and family to for a day and also got to do some extensive walking from Harbour Bottom to the Glass Window, a bridge that separates the deep blue ocean from the aquamarine, shallow bank and which we had visited two years ago just before COVID cut short our last trip to the Bahamas.

The Lighthouse at Ocean Tally with the best looking bar in the world, but, alas, it is no
longer open to the public except as a B & B.

Here is the natural pool below the Lighthouse at Ocean Tally.

The Glass Window bridge used to be a natural arch between Eleuthera and North Eleuthera.  On the left are the deep blue
waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and on the right on the Bahamian waters on the Eleuthera Bank.

View from near the Glass Window Bridge.

We hiked another mile past the Glass Window Bridge to the Queen's Bathes.  Tory was first in.  We didn't see any royalty,
but the main road on each island is called the Queen's Highway.  Kate and William had been in the Bahamas the week before.

Molly, Liz, Matt, Charlotte and Bill.

On Thursday (April 14th) we pulled in to Romora Bay Resort and Marina for our 4-day stay, only two long blocks from the inn where Liz and family would be staying.  We walked to the inn to drop off the pail and shovel set we bought for Charlotte and picked up their golf cart.  That afternoon Matt, Liz and Charlotte landed at the North Eleuthera airport, a direct flight from Atlanta, took a short taxi ride to the ferry dock opposite Harbour Island, and crossed the sound on the ferry.  Their ferry dropped them off right next to our boat, and their Harbour Island adventure began.

We repeatedly heard that Harbour Island is called the Nantucket of the Bahamas.  That may not be the best analogy, but it is a bustling place, with hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists and golf carts everywhere.  There are numerous restaurants, three major marinas, many resorts and a beautiful, pink-hewed sand beach on the ocean side of the 3.5-mile island.  Much of the island caters to revelers, and we were fortunate to be south of the hustle bustle.  Romora Bay has a beautiful pool along with easy beach access on the oceanside.  We made extensive use of both and also made two trips on our boat to Man Island.  It was a great time with Liz and family.

We walked right off Salty Paws to the beach on Man Island.

Matt and Liz in the surf on Pink Sand Beach.

Charlotte seemed to spent more time in the pool at Romora than sleeping. The first boat
on the background right is the top of Salty Paws.  

The Miles family did a lot of smiling.

Charlotte discovered Shirley Temples on Harbour Island and particularly liked the cherries.

We had our own dock space, where we could hang out.  Charlotte and Tory became buddies.

We frequently monitoring the weather forecasts, and Monday, April 18^th, was the only day over the next 10 days with light winds predicted.  I didn’t want us to be stuck in a harbor or anchorage that could jeopardize our plan to fly out to San Francisco from Atlanta for our nephew Max Webster’s graduation from Berkeley on May 14^th.  We decided to go from Harbour Island to West Palm in one day, 245 miles in all.

This shows our route from Harbour Island
to West Palm Beach.  The lines in white
indicate a speed over 20 mph.

Our departure routine began before dawn.  I prepared the boat, while Molly walked Tory.   Unfortunately, during her walk she tripped on a speed bump and fell on her wrist, which she thought might be broken.  She wrapped her arm and wrist, and I helped her with a makeshift sling.  She was still game for departure, but in some pain. 

We departed shortly after dawn.  The Devil’s Backbone passage was uneventful and soon we were in open ocean with a few thousand feet below our keel.  The 5-foot swells and southeast wind are off our starboard stern.  We were able to cruise at 20-25 mph, which we needed to do if we were to reach Florida by nightfall, but we had an uncomfortable 30-mile crossing until we get partially in the lee of Great Abaco Island.  The seas then began to flatten and the winds lessen. 

Going WOT (wide open throttle) keeps us around 25 mph, but eats up our gas, and after 150 miles we limped into Lucaya, Grand Bahama, with our tank indicator blinking near empty.  We refueled and checked out of Bahamian Customs, which is a new procedure imposed upon the Bahamas by the US Government so that there is a record of departure.  In an hour we were back on course for Florida.

Salty Paws anchored off Peanut Island,
a great island park.

Photos don't adequately
capture the rich blue of the
Bahamian ocean waters.

We had less than 100 miles to go.  We could tell when Salty Paws entered the Gulf Stream as the water temperature increased from 78 to 82 degrees.  The conditions were ideal.  At 5:30 pm we saw the condos of West Palm.  Then, 6 miles from the Lake Worth Inlet, our low oil alarm went off on the main motor, no doubt the result of 11 hours at WOT.  This forced us to slow down and putter into the Lake Worth inlet on our small kicker motor. As we were approaching the inlet we got a weather alert of severe thunderstorms with winds of 60mph and half dollar sized hail. We could see the lightening nearby, but fortunately the storm moved south.  At 7 pm we anchored off Peanut Island in West Palm.  All is well, except for Molly’s wrist.

Molly was given a choice of cast colors.  Her
selection goes well with the boat!

The next two days involved two medical visits for Molly.  She does, indeed, have a broken wrist, but is in great spirits and glad to be back in the States.  Tomorrow we will slowly begin our trek north.