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A good day of following seas to get to Great Harbour and the top of the Berries. Past Great Stirrup Cay, which is owned by some of the Cruise lines and typically have ships anchored there, into the narrow channel into Great Harbour. Winds held us here again for a few days, one rainy day but we were able to bike the entire island and enjoy the beaches (although the wind prevented staying there too long). There is a long abandoned golf club which was frequented in the 60's by the likes of the Rat Pack and other rich and famous. Now you can just walk around and imagine how it was. The marina was a great host with events each evening. Pizza night, BBQ night, movie night... We met more new friends, Steve and Sheli, from Michigan and had a competitive (not really) game night.
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 Our next stop (Feb. 3, 2020) was this small island at the northern tip of Eleuthera which has been mainly a fishing village its entire life. It now has some tourism and most of the establishments are sprinkled around the residential areas and are part of people's homes. Great seafood location and we took advantage of the giant stone crab claws unique to this island. Eleuthera February 4, 2020. We took the 10 minute ferry across from Spanish Wells to Eleuthera where we were met by a local women who rented us a car for the day (arranged by our marina). This island is more remote except for the resort island adjacent, Harbour Island, which we 'saved fo next time'. We drove past the Glass Window Bridge, which is a unique place where the Atlantic and the Bank side meet. The water is wild and dark on one side of the rock cliff and beautiful aqua and calmer on the Bank side. Queens Bath is a short hike to tidal pools and cool rock formations. We made it to Governors Harbor, the original government location of the Bahamas and had lunch. Hurricanes have taken away lots of tourism here in the past 20-30 years including a Club Med we hiked around, which is abandoned but was obviously wonderful in its day. While the communities are relatively poor here, the people, as everywhere we've visited in Bahamas, are very friendly and happy people. Oh, and the beaches and the waters are beautiful here too! Yet another weather event with high winds coming in so we planned a long weekend stay at Highbourne Cay where we could also enjoy Superbowl Sunday. The marina was full over the entire stay and we met some great people and had a ton of fun here. The entire island is a pristine resort with a beautiful 3 mile beach on the Atlantic side plus others on the Bank side, gazebos to enjoy with views, plus bikes all the water toys you can imagine. Good snorkeling around the island too, but you have to watch out for sharks. Got some fishing tips from some slip neighbors and watched football with new friends at Xuma, an outdoor restaurant with a wonderful sunset view. The Exuma Land and Sea Park is a set of multiple islands along a 22 mile stretch, where there are wonderful anchorages, remote bays and fabulous beaches. We got a mooring ball at Warderick Wells and did a lot of snorkeling, grilling, hiking and stargazing. Boo Boo Hill is a high point on the island where people leave remembrance signs. Norman CayDive pictures of the sunken plane in the cove by Norman Cay. Norman’s Cay was used as a stopping point for drug transportation between Colombia and the US in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The operation was headed by Carlos Lehder of the Medellin Cartel. The plane is a remaining relic of the era and the stories of how the plane crashed vary but there is a book you can read and of course Google will give it's opinion on the crash. Anyway we snorkeled the site several times. With the clear water and growing coral and fish, it was a super fun site. As we were anchored in the bay, we took the dinghy around to the Bank side of the island to MacDuffs for a great dinner. The ride home was a bit darker and harder to navigate than we thought. Could have stayed here for a lot longer but again the winds are changing so we have to move to find a safe harbor.
 Staniel Cay is a popular little slice of heaven. A small marina and a couple grocery stores as well as a good restaurant at the yacht club where we had a couple lunches and dinner at. Mark and Sue were able to enjoy Staniel for a day before flying out on a small plane to Nassau. Beautiful beaches, the Thunderball Grotto cave (from the James Bond movie) to snorkel in, swimming and feeding the pigs (fyi, pigs do swim) and can't forget the sunsets. I can take endless pictures of sunsets as each one seems to be the best during the moment. I guess that's the way God intended it. After 3 nights we moved south & found a remote bay just north of Little Farmers Cay on Great Guana Cay. The other 2 boats there were people were met along our travels so just us, HH sunset and beauty.  High winds are back from the west and we luckily made it into Compass Cay Marina, which is one of a handful of protected harbors. We spent 3 days waiting out the weather but had fun hiking and exploring, eating some wonderful fresh fish from the local fisherman and swimming with the nurse sharks. Joe, Karen and Sue spent one of the windiest days hiking to the far end of the island to see Rachels Bubble Bath. With westerly winds, the bath wasn't bubbling that much but it was an adventure. We are surprised by the ruggedness of the islands in the Bahamas. The water color is the most amazing we've seen anywhere in our travels and the beaches are definitely some of the best. So far we love the Bahamas!
Traveled from Bimini about 80 miles to Chubb Cay, part of the Berry Islands. We anchored with Mark & Sue at Frazers Hog Cay. Highbourne Cay is the top of the Exuma Islands and we had another great weather window to travel and anchor at Highbourne. They have a small marina and grocery so we grabbed a few items to replenish the supply (at a cost...). The serene anchorage changed in the night as a storm came by and it wasn 't one of our better nights sleep. Pulled the anchor early and headed south.
 Jan . 9-11th. Relaxed at in Coral Gables during some high wind days. Errands, naps, pizza, Mexican Train Dominoes night, the Botanical Garden (including the butterfly garden, which was quite cool), then cocktails John and Nancy's, followed by dinner at the Coral Gables Yacht Club. On Sat the 11th, Norman toured the four of us around Miami and Miami Beach before Lees form Ft. Lauderdale. Sunday Jan 12th - Norman & Jody joined for the trip to South Miami and narrative of history and sites. Later in the afternoon we got bikes and rode around South Beach awhile, then dinner at Joe's Stone Crab House and finally Salsa lesson at Mangos. Sun, Jan 12rth, Norman & Jody joined for the trip to South Miami Marina giving great narrative & history along the way. Later in the afternoon we got bikes and rode around South Beach awhile, then Joe's Stone Crab House and finally Salsa lesson at Mangos. A 30 mile trip up the ICW to 17th St. Marina where Joe was attending the Association of Marine Industries Conference and Expo. This was his last meeting as Chair of the organization and we enjoyed hanging out with the Windmill crew and other St. Croix River marina people. Off to the Bahamas With a very short weather window to cross to the Bahamas, we left on the afternoon of the 16th as soon as Mark & Sue arrived. Julie Ulrick came to see us off and we arrived in Bimini in time to check into Immigration. Late dinner at the Big Game Marina Grill. The next morning the weather turned and the winds remained between 25-35 knots with higher gusts. We rented a golf cart and explored the island. Lunch was traditional Bahamian pizza, which is lobster pizza, at Edith's, a very local establishment. We watched the local fisherman shelling a large mound of conch shells. Conch salad is the local favorite here and our goal is to taste test and compare the recipes throughout the islands. Karen's birthday dinner at Resort World, the nice Hilton resort on the island. The Dolphin House The Dolphin House is a local museum that is being built by Ashley Saunders, shown in the pictures and who was toured us through. He started the project from scratch in 1991 and is using only found materials, including making his own cement from ground up conch shells and sand. The dolphin theme came from a special connection he had while swimming with dolphins one day long ago. He collects everything on the island to incorporate into his designs on the house. He is just starting on the 3rd floor and each area has its own theme. He brings in light and fresh air by adding cut off bottles and installing them as windows. Quite impressive and it was fun to talk with Ashley about each artistic piece.
Starting back in Naples, we arrived in a pretty good wind and anchored the first night before our extended stay at the Naples Yacht Club. Our small but mighty dinghy was able to pull us off the shoal we landed on trying to find the way into the anchorage. Fortunately all turned out well and the anchorage was beautiful and the surrounding homes were Very impressive! We docked in Naples and flew home. Tom McCarthy joined Joe for the trip from Naples to Marathon. Weather didn't cooperate so they made a dash before the extreme high winds kept them in port. A bit of a rough ride for them but they got to explore Marathon and Key West.  Wonderful Christmas at home with the immediate and extended family. Then the whole family plus Emily arrived in Miami around 8:30 pm on Dec. 27th and drove to Marathon. A late nightcap on the back deck under the beautiful Christmas lit Faro Blanco lighthouse. The next day we headed out late morning, under the bridge to the Sombrerro lighthouse to snorkel. Waves got increasinnly larger as we went out and by the time we moored, we had good 4'er's. A bit challanging to snorkle and/or be on the boat so we headed back into the gulf for a boat ride. We got back in and brought Nora swimming - she loved it! Happy hour on the back deck and went to the only place we could get in for dinner, Seven Mile Cafe. A Greek place with no Greek food left (late night rush the night before) and ok food but an interesting experience. Game night (Bang - a family fav). Kids took the car to Key West as the winds were very high. Joe & Karen got Nora! Afternoon dinghy rides and after some rain we all went to Keys Fisheries for dinner, then more games. December 30th - winds mostly down so we tried for a sandbar on the Atlantic side but still too rough so we cruised and anchored in the Gulf again. Swimming, paddle boarding and relaxing. Emily got stung by a jelly fish (but was alright after an hour or so). HH on boat with some photo shoots followed by a delicious dinner at Keys Lobster & Steak. December 31st - Jacob and Emily left early and the rest of the crew spend a relaxing day reading, swimming and hanging out. The early seating for the New Years special dinner at Faro Blanco was at 5 o'clock so afterwards we had plenty of time to people watch, play games and wait for the famous 'Anchor Drop' at Faro Blanco, which was of course right off our back deck. The music and party were also very close so we just danced on the dock! We all made it to midnight, with the lucky exception of Nora, who slept through it all!. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Jan. 1, 2020. One last day with the family here so we did on more day of cruising the Gulf area, site seeing, swimming and paddle boarding. Weather has been unusually hot for Dec/Jan so we have been very lucky. Next front arrives tomorrow and will stick around for awhile. Jan. 2nd - Sadly said goodbye to the kids and Nora. A couple days in port to reorganize, work on the equipment and get ready to depart Marathon - now a forever favorite place of ours with so many great memories!  Ray & Michele Lee arrived late on the 4th, just as the weather changed and the wind went a little crazy. No worries, we went to Key West via car. Great pizza place at the Southern Most Cafe, then watched the Vikings game - well most of it (it was too stressful for some of us...). Another dinner at Keys Lobster and Steak - now Joe's favorite on the island.  Well... sort of looks like Christmas. Santa is here in Fort Myers at the Edison Ford Winter Estate and the decorations are beautiful. We spent a night at the Landings Marina and visited with John Deverell and then anchored at Fort Myers Beach to see the annual Christmas Boat Parade. Thousands of people show up for this parade (and party) and the boat decorations are very well done. Next time we'll be more prepared and decorate and participate in the parade! Weather is absolutely perfect as we listen to the Vikings game on Sunday afternoon. After a follow up visit to Cortez , we said goodbye and headed south, ending up at Boca Grand Marina. We made some new friends along the way, a dolphin family, who traveled with us for a bit. Boca Grand is part the barrier island of Gasparilla We were so sad to miss our family for the first time on Thanksgiving but feel so blessed to be able to spend it instead with our dear friends Bill and Jodi Defiel and their long time friends Bob and Lynn Ackerman. What a fabulous weekend. Weather was 70's and sunny every day and we filled each day with fun activities, great food and tons of laughter. Our home base for the weekend was Pier 77 Safe Harbor Marina, which is brand new, clean and well run. Bob and Lynn hosted us for a crab dinner on Thanksgiving and provided toys and a great location to have fun and relax. We got to experience Sarasota one night at Marina Jack where a friends band was playing and we dined and danced. Marina Jack is a great marina, (a Suntex Marina), right in the heart of Sarasota, It's was a great place with lots happening. We are so very thankful for all of these blessings, opportunities, old friends, new friends, and our supportive families. Thanksgiving Day! Sarasota - Marina Jack & Long Boat KeyAnna Maria Island Cortez - We met this wonderful little fishing village when we came to Yacht Solutions/Cortez Cove Marina to have our boat's injuries repaired. After almost 3 weeks there we were hooked on this place. First of all, the boatyard, Yacht Solutions & their people were the best. The village is vintage and has several commercial fishing operations and some of the best local fish restaurants you can imagine, the outdoor seating, local music playing kind of places. The place started to feel like home and we were sad to leave when we were finally able to. While in the area, we were able to meet up with our friends, Bill & Peg Chamberlain for dinner, who we know from our early boating days and trips to Lake City, where Bill used to run the marina. We had planned to stay the 2-3 weeks at Bill's marina, Riviera Dunes, but only ended up there one night so we could get the boat hauled out and repaired. Riviera Dunes is a beautiful marina in Bradenton with lots of amenities. We wished we could have spent more time there but at least we got to spend some time with Bill and Peg. Cortez is right across the Intracoastal from Anna Maria Island so we got to enjoy much of the island and it's great beaches, eateries and sunsets.  Meeting new friends along this journey is really the best part. While here in Cortez we got to hang out with what I like to refer to as our Canadian Hallmark friends, Catherine and Chris, and we also got to catch up with Jody and Norman, who we traveled with on the rivers.
Our next stops included Pensacola, Destin, Apalachicola and Carrabella before we started our Gulf crossing. |
| | 11.1.19 . Day trip (by car due to bad weather) to Muscle Shoals/Florence with George Liar our tour guide. George had 50 years in the music industry in M.S and was a wealth of knowledge and connections. Saw the recording studios & Music Hall of Fame, then a performance by Peanut Montgomery, one of the original local backup artist. Check out documentaries on Muscle Shoals & its importance to the music industry. |
October 24th-28th. We arrived back to the boat in Green Turtle Bay with friends Bill & Chris and left on a beautiful warm afternoon to find a remote bay in the Kentucky Lake to anchor. We explored the shore via dinghy and grilled while taking in the sunset. The next days were very wet and after a night at somewhat remote (and super 'southern' friendly) Cuba Landing we traveled through what we later found out to be part of Tropical Storm Olga. It actually was not too bad while going through it as the river bluffs must have been protecting us some, but as we traveled for the next few days we saw extensive damage throughout the region.
Clifton Marina (Clifton, TN) hosted a Halloween Costume Party on Saturday with music and dancing. The 8 Loopers in attendance (& not in costume) got to be the costume judges, which was quite difficult as the locals went all out. We all danced the night away - or at least until 10 pm or so, which qualifies as late when traveling on the river. The new owners of this marina are doing a fabulous job and we highly recommend this as a stop if in the area.
This area of the river sees up to 25' of flood waters and most of the banks are either reinforced or eroded. The majority of houses are set on some level of stilts (if not high on a hill) and some are actually 1.5 floors. We wonder about those that build in this area but were told that this is the best recreational area between Nashville and Memphis so people will do whatever it takes to enjoy the lake area.
The next lock on the Tennessee River forms Pickwick Lake and this was a 55' lock up. Just after this lock we pulled into the beautiful marina of Grand Harbor with several other Looper boats. Happy hour was hosted by the boat Wine R and then we joined the other Loopers for dinner at the Aqua Harbor Grill .
Bill and Chris and Joe and I went to Shiloh National Park and the Civil War Interpretive Center in Corinth (at least the part we could get to among all the storm debris). Corinth, MS was a very important Civil War area as the 2 sides were trying to control a key RR intersection there and the battle of Shiloh was the result of that control. Abe's, a local haunt, was entertaining for lunch. A no thrills diner with great fried food that runs more people through its doors than most restaurants 5 times its size.
Clifton Marina (Clifton, TN) hosted a Halloween Costume Party on Saturday with music and dancing. The 8 Loopers in attendance (& not in costume) got to be the costume judges, which was quite difficult as the locals went all out. We all danced the night away - or at least until 10 pm or so, which qualifies as late when traveling on the river. The new owners of this marina are doing a fabulous job and we highly recommend this as a stop if in the area.
This area of the river sees up to 25' of flood waters and most of the banks are either reinforced or eroded. The majority of houses are set on some level of stilts (if not high on a hill) and some are actually 1.5 floors. We wonder about those that build in this area but were told that this is the best recreational area between Nashville and Memphis so people will do whatever it takes to enjoy the lake area.
The next lock on the Tennessee River forms Pickwick Lake and this was a 55' lock up. Just after this lock we pulled into the beautiful marina of Grand Harbor with several other Looper boats. Happy hour was hosted by the boat Wine R and then we joined the other Loopers for dinner at the Aqua Harbor Grill .
Bill and Chris and Joe and I went to Shiloh National Park and the Civil War Interpretive Center in Corinth (at least the part we could get to among all the storm debris). Corinth, MS was a very important Civil War area as the 2 sides were trying to control a key RR intersection there and the battle of Shiloh was the result of that control. Abe's, a local haunt, was entertaining for lunch. A no thrills diner with great fried food that runs more people through its doors than most restaurants 5 times its size.
The Mississippi is indeed mighty. When we arrived back at Grafton Harbor to continue our journey, the river was at flood stage and the current was running between 7 and 9 knots and in most of the 220 miles we traveled there tons of logs, missing or underwater buoys and of course so many tows. While we managed to dodge the visible logs, the underwater logs got us and we will be under repair in the Kentucky Lakes.
We spent the first night at Hoppies in Kimmswick, MO, about a 65 mile rainy journey with 2 locks. Hoppies was virtually destroyed in the spring floods but they have a very rustic barge to tie up to, which is the only place to stay for several hundred miles. The town is historic and of the 157 residences, we think at least half own small businesses in town. There is a festival in this town about every weekend and they do it up right. We enjoyed Levee High Apple Pie at the Blue Owl, which has been featured on the Food Channel, Oprah and a few other notable places.
Day 2: We left Hoppies at sunrise with ice covering the boat and fog on the river. We wanted to make it at least the 160 miles to the Ohio River to get out of the flooded Mississippi. (The next marina facilities were about 225 miles.) We dropped anchor just after turning onto the Ohio River, which was a welcome relief with its clean water & slow moving current.
Day 3 - Up the Ohio to the Tennessee River, and through the Kentucky Lock and Dam. We are experiencing different types of Dams called Wicket Dams which during the high water you just drive right over. At low pool, they manually pull up the walls spans to make the dam. We waited 4 hours at the Kentucky Lock and Dam, which is a 57' rise to the Kentucky Lakes. Luckily the weather was great and when we finally arrived at the Green Turtle Bay Marina we were greeted by a nice bunch of 'Loopers' and attended our first 'Docktails', a regular event hosted by Loopers and marinas.
The next leg of the trip included all 5 Riley brothers (Mark, Bill, Dave, Jon and Joe) in and out of various ports between Milwaukee and Grafton, IL, (just north of St. Louis) while Karen got to enjoy some special time with Nora at home. Chicago had a big welcome with fireworks over Navy Pier. The guys made it through a total of 450 miles, 8 locks, tons of bridges and a bunch of tows/barges. Beyond the basic travel facts, as the author of this page (Karen) I am unaware of any of the events that occurred while this crew was aboard. I guess what happens on the boys trip, stays with the boys...
Anyway, they all survived somehow and the boat will remain in Grafton Harbor until early October when we are able to continue down the river.
Anyway, they all survived somehow and the boat will remain in Grafton Harbor until early October when we are able to continue down the river.
8.29.19
Said goodby to our home port, Sturgeon Bay, WI. After a 3-day weather delay we caught a brief window to leave Sturgeon Bay and headed out with our initial crew. Cruised into Manitowac and dodged a thunderstorm then back into some pretty good waves to Sheboygan. Arrived in Milwaukee on 8.30.19 for our annual Labor Day weekend with the kids and a few of their friends. Weekend included repeated harbor rides, great food and a day trip to Port Washington.
9.3.19 . Work week in Milwaukee to finish boat prep.
Said goodby to our home port, Sturgeon Bay, WI. After a 3-day weather delay we caught a brief window to leave Sturgeon Bay and headed out with our initial crew. Cruised into Manitowac and dodged a thunderstorm then back into some pretty good waves to Sheboygan. Arrived in Milwaukee on 8.30.19 for our annual Labor Day weekend with the kids and a few of their friends. Weekend included repeated harbor rides, great food and a day trip to Port Washington.
9.3.19 . Work week in Milwaukee to finish boat prep.
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Karen and Joe
Home Port: CenterPointe Marina, Sturgeon Bay, WI
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