Port Charlotte-Ft Lauderdale - Nov 23-Dec 14

In April, after an amazing time in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas, we crossed Lake Okeechobee to return to the west coast of Florida where we stored the Pura Vida at Safe Cove for the summer. Our hopes were to return to the Abaco Islands again this spring, but Hurricane Dorian hit hard in September, leaving total devastation in the Abacos.  Our hearts and prayers go out to the people who literally lost everything.

On November 21, Sheli flew to Orlando to visit her friend Karen who lives in The Villages.  Steve flew to Punta Gorda on November 23 to prep Pura Vida dos for launching.   Karen drove Sheli to Safe Cove on November 25 to join Steve where he had the boat launched and ready to go.  We spent 3 nights at Fisherman's Village Marina in Punta Gorda where we cleaned the boat and had some engine maintenance done.  Our friends Larry & Carole Poll came for an afternoon cruise where the dolphins gave us a fantastic show.

On Thanksgiving morning, we left the dock and cruised to Cayo Costa where we anchored out and enjoyed grilling a yummy steak dinner.  (no turkey this year!)  The next morning we cruised to Fort Myers Beach where we took a mooring ball for the night.  We were able to use the car of our friends Todd & Star to pick up needed parts for the generator.

Saturday morning, with the generator back in action, we headed south to Marco Island. The day on the Gulf was so beautiful that we stopped on the way, dropped the anchor and enjoyed lunch and a swim before continuing on to the harbor of Marco Island where we anchored out for the night. It had to happen sooner or later, after 10,000 miles of cruising, we ran over our first crab pot float. Captain Snorkel went off the back of the boat with his mask and a knife to cut the line off the propeller.

December 1 was a big travel day. The weather was predicted to get windy over the next few days so we traveled 100 miles to Marathon Key where we took a slip for 2 nights at the Marathon Marina.  The winds did pick up, so we were very happy to be at this marina which gave us good protection.

On December 3, the winds died down allowing us to cruise 30 miles to Islamorada where we anchored out for 5 nights.  We spent 3 nights in Barely Basin and 2 nights in Snake Creek. The name Snake Creek may sound nasty, however it was a beautiful location with no snakes, just manatee and dolphins! Our days were filled with many dinghy explorations of the beautiful waters in the area.  A highlight of our stay was meeting up with Kyle Bradley who Sheli works with at Ironwood Golf Course.  Kyle was in Islamorada participating in a sailfish fishing tournament.  We were able to join the crew on the Challenger as they arrived back in the harbor after a day of fishing.

As much as we hated to leave Islamorada, it was time to begin working our way north. On December 8, we cruised 70 miles to Prime Marina in Coconut Grove. This is the same location we stayed when we did the Great Loop however the marina itself is new as the old marina was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The next morning we cruised across the bay to the Marine Stadium Anchorage.  This is an amazing anchorage offering spectacular views of downtown Miami.

The next 3 nights we spent at Bill Bird Marina near Haulover Pass just north of Miami. The night we arrived,  we enjoyed dinner in the adjoining park at "Food Truck Tuesday." Every Tuesday local food trucks offer a variety of tasty foods in the park.  On Thursday we took the bus to explore the sights and sounds of South Beach Miami. We saw many Art Deco hotels, walked the huge beach, checked out the fancy shops and had a yummy Cuban lunch.

On Friday, we traveled 20 miles up the ICW to Fort Lauderdale.  We docked the Pura Vida at Brian Keenan's home where we will leave the boat while we fly home for the holidays.

We had a wonderful 3 weeks of hot and sunny weather.  Awesome!

Fisherman’s Village with Karen

Larry, Sheli & Carole on dolphin duty

Captain fix it! New impeller needed on the generator.

Dinghy parking for lunch at Hog Heaven

Islamorada sunset

Captain Adorable 

The Challenger - our friend’s fishing boat

Sheli & Kyle

Hello down there!  (View from Tuna Tower)

Sunset at Snake Creek anchorage 

Hello Miami!

Beautiful evening overlooking Miami

The stadium at Marine Stadium anchorage 

Miami sites

Bill Bird Marina - Art Deco style

Day off for the Captain. Taking bus to South Beach

Merry Christmas from South Beach!

Treasure Cay-USA - Apr 21-24

By sunrise Easter Sunday,  the winds had calmed down. The winds were predicted to remain low for the next 4 days before picking up again. So, we decided this will have to be our weather window to work our way back to southern Florida. We departed Treasure Cay and once again made our way around “The Whale.”  Twenty two miles later we set the anchor off Manjack Cay. The popular anchor spot was not up to the Captain’s standards for wind protection so we did some recon on the dinghy and found a spot in the next bay over. Here we could drop the anchor 100 yards off a stone cliff which blocked the winds. Perfect. 

Monday was our last “Bahamas vacation” day before our long hard push back to the States. We traveled a short 8 miles to Powell Cay. We spent the day enjoying a beautiful beach and swimming in the amazing Bahamian waters. 

Tuesday the real journey began. The winds remained low, we set the autopilot and cruised all day long in clear, 10 foot deep water. We traveled 72 miles to Mangrove Cay, a small island off the north coast of Grand Bahama Island. After a short, restless night the captain pulled up the anchor by 7:00am. We set a waypoint for St Lucie Inlet near Stuart, Florida, 96 mile distant.  We “crabbed” our way across the 1/2 mile deep Gulf Stream where we recorded one of our highest water temperatures of the trip. Crazy.

Bahamas ....everything we expected and more.  So much more to explore.  We’ll be back! ❤️😎

Another pretty day on the Sea of Abaco

Manjack Cay sunset

Powell Cay local

Mangrove Cay - last night in Bahamian waters.

Tilloo Cay-Treasure Cay - Apr 18-21

Thursday morning we traveled 6 miles north and dropped the anchor off Tahiti Beach on the south end of Elbow Cay. 

Once again, we were greeted by a shark. Argh! We took the dinghy to the point on Tahiti Beach, where we enjoyed the beach and lunch from the Thirsty Cuda - a floating “food truck.”  Fun!  We had another great evening with multiple ray and turtle sightings. It just never gets old. 

On Friday the winds were forecasted to pick up for a couple days, so we opted to head for a marina.  We cruised 25 miles back across the Sea of Abaco to Treasure Cay Marina located on Great Abaco Island.  As predicted, the winds were whipping and docking the PV2 was challenging. In a marina, sometimes you watch the show, sometimes you are the show! It was our turn to be the show. After a couple attempts and nearly losing the first mate overboard, we were secure in our slip. 

Whew.  The winds continued thru the night and brought in a good hard rain. (Free boat wash!) The award winning Treasure Cay Beach is located on the north side of this peninsula which was protected from the southern winds. Wow, wow, wow....beautiful!

Tahiti Beach 

Lunch from the Thirsty Cuda 

View from Cracker P’s

The beach at Treasure Cay

Sometimes you’re the big boat, but not this time!

Goodnight Treasure Cay

Elbow Cay - Little Harbour - Apr 16-18

Time to continue south just a little further. Tuesday morning we left Hope Town and cruised 16 miles to Lynard Cay.

As the crow flies, our anchorage for the night was only 12 miles away but due to having to zigzag around shallow banks, we put 16 miles under the hull.  The shoreline in the area is more ocean eroded rocks and caves than sandy beaches. In fact, we found many Sea Biscuits evidently deposited on the rocks during storms. Strange site! 

Wednesday morning we had planned to move 3 miles south to Little Harbour located at the southern most point of the Sea of Abaco. Upon reviewing depths and tides, we opted to leave the mother ship where she was and took the dinghy to visit Little Harbour.  The small harbor was very beautiful with both beach and caves surrounding it. Lunch was a hoot at the iconic Pete’s Pub. Toes in the sand, cheeseburger and coconut cracked conch in paradise. Favorite lunch stop of the trip! By mid afternoon we were back on PV2 and headed north.  We traveled a short 8 miles to Tilloo Cay.  As we were dropping the hook, a large shark swam up to help the captain check the anchor. No diving over this anchor! This cove also offered many ray, jellyfish and turtle sightings.

A sea biscuit stuck on the rocks

Fun stuff!

Little Harbour-Oceanside 

Pete’s Pub

Boater memorabilia hung everywhere 

Speed bump Bahama style

Rays in our anchorage 

Man-O-War Cay-Elbow Cay - Apr 13-16

Saturday we cruised a short 5 miles from Man-O-War Cay to Marsh Harbour.

Marsh Harbour is the largest town in the Abacos. It is located on Great Abaco Island. It was time for provisioning so we anchored out in the harbor for 2 nights. Besides stocking up on supplies, we enjoyed dining at the local restaurants and a small amount of shopping therapy for the first mate. The highlight of our stay here was a fabulous dinghy adventure to stunning Matt Lowe Cay and snorkeling Mermaid Reef. 

Monday we crossed back to the barrier islands to Hope Town located on Elbow Cay.  Hope Town is a picturesque settlement and is home of the famous red & white Elbow Reef Lighthouse.  This is one of the few manually operated, kerosene lit, fresnel lens lighthouses remaining in the world.  Climbing to the top of the lighthouse was great exercise and was well worth the climb. The panoramic view from the top was awesome! 

Cruising the shore of Matt Lowe Cay

Just outside Marsh Harbour

OK...which one of you guys bit Sheli’s finger?

Still got all 10!

Where’s Nemo?

Hope Town: Typical dinghy dock

View of Hope Town Harbour from top of Lighthouse 

Hope Town Inn & Marina 

Green Turtle Cay-Man-O-War Cay - Apr 12-14

On Friday morning we departed Green Turtle Cay with calm winds. Our next leg south required low winds as we needed to travel Whale Cay Passage. Traveling “ The Whale” demands cruising a short distance outside of the barrier islands around Whale Cay due to a shallow bank that extends all the way from Whale Cay to Great Abaco Island. (too shallow for our boat)  With the wrong winds, this area experiences conditions known locally as “a rage”.  No one should attempt to transit this area in a rage. Our passage was smooth and easy. 

Just south of Whale Cay lies Great Guana Cay where we pulled into a cove, dropped the hook and took the dinghy to shore. We walked across the island to the famous Nippers Bar & Grill located on the Atlantic for lunch. Upon returning to PV2 and reviewing the weather, the Captain decided to move 5 miles across the Sea of Abaco for better wind protection for the evening.

Saturday morning we crossed over to a beautiful cove on the northeast side Man-O-War Cay. Another great day! The turquoise waters continue to amaze us.

Checking the depths around our anchorage 

Nipper’s Beach Bar & Grill

View from lunch at Nippers

Dinghy dock at Great Guana Cay

Great swimming day

Such clear water!

Our backyard at Man-O-War Cay