Dec. 9 – Dec. 23

Saunders Yachtworks, AL

Our 2 week stay is looking like it could turn into a month stay. The manager here told us today not to expect the window till Jan. 6. I guess Santa is too busy making toys to take time out to get our window made. At least we are warm (average temps have been 60-70 degrees) and mostly dry, if you don’t count the rainstorms that have been coming through the last few days.

We rented a car for several days so we could do some sightseeing. One day was spent in Pensacola touring the Naval Museum and lighthouse, another day we went to a beach on the Gulf, drove to Fort Morgan, and even spent 4 hours walking thru a Tanger Outlet mall.

 

Vindicator SB2U. This plane was pulled out of Lake MI in 1990.

Pilots were taught how to take off and land on ships on Lake MI during WWII.

 

 Pensacola Lighthouse

View of Pensacola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

 

 Oil rig in Mobile Bay.

Merry Christmas to all and a safe and Happy New Year!

Panama City FL to Columbus MS

April 17 to May 3, 2015

After leaving Panama City we moved west through the ICW stopping in Mobile Bay for several days. While there a bad thunder storm with 75 mph winds moved through during a sailboat race on the Bay. Several people drowned and 12 boats were capsized. Thank goodness we were tied to a dock and had some land for protection.

Cruising the ICW.

Pensacola FL. Our buddy boat Blue Angel with the Blue Angels flying overhead.

(We were treated to an air show for 30 min. while we were crossing Pensacola bay).

 

We moved up Mobile Bay and spent several days traveling in the Black Warrior River and the Tombigbee River to Demopolis AL. Once there we said goodbye to our buddy boat of the last 6 months, Jim & Sharon aboard Blue Angel and moved farther north to Columbus MS. where Priorities will spend the next 3 months. We will travel to MI for about 6 weeks than come back and stay here with the boat till fall.

Mobile AL

 

The current in the river was pretty strong from all the snow melt

from the north and of course we were headed upstream.

 

 We also had a lot of debris we had to dodge, such as this log or should I say tree!

 

White Cliffs of Epps.

Our last anchorage.

Priorities' new home for the next 4 months.

 

Thus ends another chapter in “Traveling with Priorities”.

St. Petersburg, FL. to Panama City, FL.

April 12 to April 16

We left St. Pete and spent one night on anchor in Clearwater Beach than one night at 3 Rocker Bay near Tarpon Springs. The weather was not to be in our favor to make a crossing to Panama City so we decided instead to cross the Gulf of Mexico to Apalachicola, FL instead. This crossing was 174 miles. We left our anchorage at 11:30 am on Tues. and went all night across the Gulf and arrived in Apalachicola at 7:30 am on Wed.

We moved on to Panama City on Thurs. through the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) and went to a friends dock once we got there. We will spend a couple of days here than move west across the Pan Handle toward Mobile Bay.

 

Stuart FL. to St. Petersburg FL.

April 5 to April 11

This section we traveled thru Lake Okeechobee, using a man made canal that cuts right through the state of Florida. Starting from the east is the St. Lucie River and coming out on the west side in the Caloosahatchee River which ends up in Ft. Myers.

Okeechobee Waterway.

 

 Cows & horses in the front yard??

Lake Okeechobee is the 2nd largest fresh water lake (Lake MI is the largest),

but it's average depth is only 6-10 ft.

 

 White pelican.

 

Once we arrived in Ft. Myers we went to a private dock in the canal system. This dock belongs to a lady who also belongs to the AGLCA and offers her dock with free power & water (also a pool) to any Loopers traveling thru.

Kitty, Sherri, Randy

 

From there we traveled north staying one night near Don Pedro State park where we took our dinghy in and walked the beach and found sharks teeth. The next night we moved on to Sarasota and enjoyed a very calm quite night at anchor. Next we stopped in St. Pete. and anchored by an American Legion (Randy is a member). Tomorrow we will move on north of Clearwater and stage ourselves for a Gulf crossing to Panama City. This crossing is over 200 miles and will take us about 30 hours. So yes this will be an overnight event. We will be crossing with 2 buddy boats, Blue Angel and Radiance. If weather permits we will be leaving Clearwater on Tues. morning and arriving in Panama City on Wed. afternoon.

Osprey

 

White Heron 

Sun Shine Bridge, Tampa Bay

 

Bahamas to Stuart FL.

March 31 to April 4

Our final days in the Bahamas we spent traveling and anchoring by several Cays. The weather held out for us keeping the winds low and the sun high.

Green Turtle Cay

 

 Our last day traveling on the Sea of Abaco.

 

 The water was 14' deep here.

 

We spent 12 hours and 100 miles crossing the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Stuart FL. yesterday afternoon. The crossing was very uneventful (thankfully), with 2-3 foot rollers which were hitting us on the side of the boat but not too uncomfortable.

It was a bittersweet time for us seeing the States again. We had to say goodbye to crystal clear water and a laid back way of life. Once we hit the St. Lucie inlet that laid back life went right out the window. There were dozens of sport fishing boats and others zigzagging everywhere enjoying the day. Along with that were the noises we had grown used to not hearing, like trains, sirens, and the good ole Beep-Beep of some truck backing up. On the bright side we were back to our home country and also the use of internet and phones. It was great being able to talk to family and friends with no time limit.

After anchoring we shared a bottle of champagne with our buddy boat Blue Angel (Jim and Sharon) for safely completing our Bahamas trip and celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary.

Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas

March 23 to March 30

 

Our stay in Marsh Harbour started out very hot and humid with temperatures in the low 80’s. The marina has a pool and we took advantage of it. We met up with a few old friends we had travelled with before and made some new ones who are in the process of doing the Loop. On Fri. the 27^th there was a big storm that came thru. The winds were clocked around 40 mph with gusts higher. Boy were we glad to be tied to a dock. A sailboat dragged anchor in the bay near us and was pushed up against some pilings. The wind blew all night and the next day.

Walk way from road to Conch Inn Marina.

 

 

One of our daily walks took us to a castle which was built in 1940 by Dr. Evans Cottman. Dr. Cottman was a doctor from the US and traveled all thru the Abacos by sailboat treating the Bahamians.

 

Flowers along the road.

 

On another walk we went to the other side of the Island to another marina and resort. WOW talk about the lifestyle on the other side of the “tracks”. Dockage at this marina costs $3.25 per foot a night (we have a 45’ boat - you do the math), plus they charge for electric and water.

Abaco Beach Resort

(gulf cart parking)

The pool is just a little bit different then the one at our marina.

 

The parts came in for the generator and everything is working great (thanks to our personal mechanic Randy). We are moving north today to Bakers Bay for the night, the Whale Channel tomorrow and if the weather holds hold we will be crossing to the States on Thurs. or Fri.

 

 

Marsh Harbour to Marsh Harbour

March 15 to March 23

We left Marsh Harbour and travelled to several anchorages and stopped at 2 towns, (Treasure Cay & Hope Town).

Turtle Cay (one of our anchorages)

 

Treasure Cay is very American with lots of condos and villas to rent, 1 grocery store and a couple of little gift shops. There is a well protected harbor to anchor in and a beautiful sandy beach.

 

Hope Town is larger and still has a lot of Bahamian charm left. It also has a very well protected harbor, with one of the few remaining lighthouses that still uses oil to light it. There are 2 grocery stores and lots of restaurants and gift shops.

From lighthouse looking over harbor and Atlantic.

From lighthouse looking over Sea of Abaco and Priorities.

(That's what most of the anchorages look like.)

 

 Most of the houses in Hope Town look like this.

 

 

Now we are back in Marsh Harbour this time at a dock instead of on anchor. The solenoid burned out on our generator (it was replaced only 3 months ago) so we need to order another one. It was a good time to come into this harbor because the winds were predicted to increase for the next 2 days any way. While we wait for the part it will give us a chance to check out more of the town and we will also have internet so it’s great catching up with the outside world.