Chris and Kim Brand cruised Florida and the Bahamas from August 2001 to September 2002. This site documents our adventures.
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Chris and Kim Brand cruised Florida and the Bahamas from August 2001 to September 2002. This site documents our adventures. |
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| Index: | ||
| Current News | ||
| Bahamas Adventures | ||
| Florida Adventures | ||
| Contact Information | ||
| GingerParticulars | ||
| Brand Adventures Home | ||
| Essays and Pictures: | ||
| Photo Gallery | ||
| Audubon's Shearwater adventure | ||
| Steel vs. limestone | ||
| What we eat | ||
| We made it! | ||
| Aground again | ||
| Poetry |
We are back in Florida! Our Bahamas adventure has drawn to a close and we are reveling in visits with family and friends. We are both suffering from a bit of culture-shock and are reeling with the prospects of starting shoreside life anew. We had plenty of time to think while on the boat, but some things had to wait until we were ashore again.
Our last installment was made just before we left San Salvador and a great deal has happened since then. What follows is a summary. More detail will be available soon in the adventure logs.
We were delayed waiting for weather in San Salvador until the morning of August 11th. We spent most of that time anchored near Cockburn Town and even enjoyed the company of another cruiser for a couple of days. In search of a vacant Flame Helmet shell for Kimberly we encountered our first and only octopus of the trip.
Given that:
In Georgetown we finally caught up with Kenn and Angela Colvin on their 43' Gazelle Silhouette. We hit it off instantly and found that we had many common interests and experiences. We tarried there, visiting with old friends and making some new ones. Doug on the Colvin Junk Daystar organized a Colvin Junk regatta, which was greatly enjoyed by all (the pictures will be posted here soon).
Our business in G'town completed, we sailed to Staniel Cay in one marvelous day. No new speed records, just 75+ miles dawn to dusk including running Galliot Cut. After a couple of days in Staniel, we took the old DECCA channel across the banks to the South Bight of Andros. That trip was slow and frustrating. Most of our progress was made in thunderstorms (Chris getting soaked at the helm), but Andros was certainly worth it.
Lisbon Creek, Gibson Cay, Fresh Creek, Conch Sound...Cuban Emeralds, Bahama Yellowthroats, Bahama Swallows, Black-cowled Orioles feeding young Shiny Cowbirds...Bonefish, sharks, tiny baby barracuda...Caribbean Pine, Pine Pink Orchids, laden avocado trees...batik, basketwork, woodcarving! The people were warm and welcoming and the biota was richer than any other island we had visited so far. We swam in blue holes and bushwhacked through poisonwood (searching for the elusive Great Lizard Cuckoo). We loved Andros and it is high on our list for places we want to visit again.
Despite the obvious attraction of lingering in Andros, we were anxious to get home and be reunited with family and friends. With tropical activity heating up (Isidore was just forming) and a good forecast for our crossing, we decided to violate time-honored sailing superstitions and depart for Florida on a Friday... Friday September 13th. The passage was perfect. We cleared the worrisome Northwest Channel light in good daylight, left the banks north of Bimini and were in the Gulf Stream making good as much as 10 knots toward West Palm Beach by sunrise. We tried to visit Ginger's builder in North Palm Beach, but finding him not home we made Jupiter by late afternoon. Once again, Ginger proved outstanding on this downwind run, averaging 6.2 knots over 26 hours.
We rested and visited with Jack and Liz Hailman in Jupiter for a couple of days. They did a great deal to make our whole adventure possible and it was wonderful to celebrate its closure with them. Then we struck out to cross the state via the Okeechobee Waterway then up to Apollo Beach via the Gulf.
Light winds and impatience made the choice to run the engine some each day easier (despite being unused for weeks, Beet always starts right up), although we still managed sailing about half the distance. We started the first day just before noon and made Stuart easily before dark. The next day we motored to the lake and then sailed across and around the rim canal to Moore Haven. Alva and a visit with Tom and Jean Colvin was our next stop. We stayed with them a couple of days and decided that the best place to care for Ginger would be Glades Boat Storage, so Kim's parents agreed to come and pick us up and we left Ginger at the Colvins'. We will return to take her to Glades by mid-October.
We are excited to be back and are looking forward to re-establishing ourselves here among the landfolk. Ginger, dear as she is to us, is for sale. She is an unusual boat with a lot of personality - ultimately a very fast and capable cruising boat. It is a rare boat that is so tough, forgiving, and as comfotable sliding over a sandbar on a spanking reach in three feet of water as weathering a squall in miles of open ocean. We will not be able to use her enough over the next few years, and steel boats like to be used and maintained regularly. We are looking for a couple or singlehander more interested in adventure than gadgets who will appreciate her and take her out where she belongs - cruising.
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