BAHAMA BLUES TO BAHAMA BOUND!

The first hop along the coast was an overnight sail to St. Augustine, Florida. This historic town is the oldest in the US, established by the Spanish in 1565. Arriving early Tuesday morning, January 30, 2007, Tantara anchored in the river just in front of the Castillo de San Marcos fortress, north of the Bridge of Lions. Ever ready to see new things and explore new places, Julie and the kids were soon ferried ashore to the fort for an afternoon tour and a trip to the visitor’s center for further information.

Wednesday, Julie and the kids were ferried ashore again for an afternoon tour of the shops along Saint George Street, the oldest street in America. Steve stayed on the boat to finish some projects.

On Thursday the Captain joined the crew for a shower at the marina and a tour of the Colonial Spanish Village. Unfortunately, we suffered a little mishap while riding the dinghy to the marina. Opposing current and wakes from a tugboat pulling a sideways barge in the river proved quite rough for our little vessel resulting in a very cold and wet crew upon arrival. Thankfully, we were able to use the marina dryers in the laundry room to dry our clothes while we showered.

The Colonial Spanish Village was an educational living history experience where we watched people in period costumes demonstrate colonial skills in blacksmithing, leather work, calligraphy and cooking. After a delicious lunch of empanadas, pico de gallo, sausage rolls and freshly baked rolls at the Spanish bakery, Steve stepped over to the fort for a check on Tantara. With alarm he noted that another catamaran’s anchor had lost its hold and the boat was pressing on the bow of the boat anchored next to Tantara. While Julie and the kids continued their tour, Steve returned to Tantara with the hope of assisting the neighbor in peril and protecting Tantara. Before Steve regained Tantara, TowBoatUS had arrived and was beginning to tow the errant catamaran off of the neighboring boat.

Friday morning we pulled in Tantara’s two anchors and went to the marina for diesel and water. After letting Julie and the kids off to do more touring in town, Steve found a safer anchorage area and stayed on the boat to keep watch and work on projects. That morning, Julie and the kids toured the Governor’s House museum where we learned about the four hundred year history of St. Augustine. At lunch we walked to a college hangout called Schmagel’s Bagels across the street from Flagler College where we ate grilled sandwiches in the courtyard and watched college students and tourists strolling along the street. After lunch we took a tour of Flagler College, formerly the grand Ponce De Leon Hotel, built in 1887 by railroad magnate Henry Flagler. We admired the Tiffany stained glass windows, intricate tiling and fine art that lined the walls of the graciously gilded building.

After the tour, Julie discovered a used bookstore near the college where she found the St. Simon trilogy by Eugenia Price about the St. Simon Island lighthouse near Brunswick, Georgia. We had an opportunity to tour that lighthouse during our time there and it captured Julie’s imagination. The books will be fun to read.

Saturday morning we pulled up the anchor and headed out into the Atlantic for an overnight cruise to Fort Pierce, FL. Winds were favorable all night and we did little motoring. As we approached Fort Pierce in the morning, Steve checked the weather and the crew conditions and decided to continue sailing on to Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, FL. During the day, while sailing, we enjoyed listening to the History of the World B.C. conference recordings that we purchased from Vision Forum (www.visionforum.com). We arrived in the north anchorage about 4:30 Sunday evening, February 4^th. We were tired but grateful to be further south and closer to our goal of crossing to the Bahamas. We rested all day Monday.

For over two weeks we have been anchored in Lake Worth as we continue our preparations for our passage to the Bahamas. We have been waiting for a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream, winds from the south with calm seas. It has been a strange waiting game, not knowing our exact date of departure, a time of building anticipation mixed with days of frustration that give way to the “Bahaman Blues”.

We have accomplished many important things during this time. Steve figured out how to hook up the modem to our single side band radio (SSB) so we can send and receive email. He has also checked in with the Cruiseheimer Net that transmits every morning on SSB. The generator needed a new battery and relay replacement. We received a package of mail and more navigation charts via Steve’s Aunt Sue and cousin David. We enjoyed a brief lunch visit with them one day too. We have visited West Marine at least ten times in two weeks, checking off spare boat parts, island cruising guides and more navigation charts from our provision list. We bought ventilation mats to fit under our berth mattresses after we discovered we had a problem with moisture.

Julie has strolled the aisles of Publix grocery store almost daily, checking off more items on our list of provisions. Our time here has tested the patience of the kids most of all, as Mom and Dad have had little time for fun. They have been diligent in their studies, keeping up with our home education schedule. They have simple faith that someday soon, Lord willing, they will jump into that blue Bahaman water and be able to try out their new snorkeling gear. They have jumped in the cool waters of Lake Worth a couple of times, and Steve made the plunge to check on the hull and saildrives.

Sunday, the 11^th, we were able to visit Cornerstone Presbyterian Church and appreciated the Biblical preaching the pastor offered. Wednesday, the 14^th, we motored over to the nearby North Palm Beach Marina for fuel and water and to inquire about laundry facilities. We learned we could wash our clothes there only if we checked into the marina overnight. Steve surprised us all with the announcement that we would be tying up there for the night. After clothes were washed and the Tantara’s entire stinky crew had taken wonderful showers, Steve took Julie out on a date to a nearby Italian restaurant. She felt like royalty. One night in a marina was enough to boost our morale and lift us out of our “Bahaman Blues”.

Saturday, the 17^th, we walked a couple miles to a shopping mall where we treated ourselves to Mrs. Fields cookies and Rachel and Emily stocked up on beads and embroidery thread at Michael’s craft store. A local health food store was having a “tasting fair” where we got to sample some interesting snacks and drinks. Apparently Steve was anxious to sample a certain health tonic and helped himself, which caused a stir among the ladies behind the counter. It seemed strange to walk to the huge mall in Palm Beach Gardens with expensive cars breezing past us. This is a world for fast cars and busy people, not for pokey pedestrians like us. When the sidewalk abruptly ended and we found ourselves picking our way through the immaculately manicured shrubbery, shopping bags and backpacks in tow, we learned on another level what it means to be a cruiser.

Sunday, the 18^th, we stayed on the boat for worship time together because the wind gusts in the anchorage were reaching 30 mph. We have started to memorize the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy. We are meditating on the meaning of the “Sabbath” and how we can practice that in our cruising lifestyle.

We anticipate crossing the Gulf Stream Tuesday night, on the 20^th and arriving in Port Lucaya Wednesday, the 21st.