Bahamas!

A dolphin visited our boat and swam with us all day long! So magical!

We have sailed the Mediterranean, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and explored all over the Caribbean from Barbados to the Bahamas. We have seen more marine life and stunning water colors since arriving to these lovely islands a few weeks ago. We keep saying, "Wow"!

Nature's swimming pool! 

Family time!

Steve and Tina captured this lovely pic of our dolphin friend. To see more of Steve's amazing
photography skills, check out his website: www.stevezmak.com  

Tree swing at Chat-N-Chill beach.

We swam all day with our dolphin friend!

We met up with Jared's parents in Georgetown, Exumas who flew in for a week. It was so good to see some family after almost 2 years away. Our friends Steve and Tina also came out and stayed aboard with us for the week. We explored the town of Georgetown, swam with a dolphin right at our boat for a day (it stayed until nightfall, but what an amazing experience), and moseyed on over to Chat-N-Chill beach for a day. That place is tons of fun! Volleyball courts, little beach shack, swings, swimming with the stingrays, treehouse, slacklines, and all sorts of things for kids (and adults) to do. We met all sorts of people and made new friends. We can see why people get stuck here for awhile.

Family volleyball match.

Exploring Georgetown.

Roundabout at sunset, Great Inagua Island.

After sailing around Great Exuma island with the grandparents, it was time for them to return to California. We said our 'see-you-laters' and set off for White Cay with our friends to see the pigs. We sailed north for a couple of hours and anchored off of white cay. The pigs are a bit shy at first, but friendly. After seeing we had some goodies for them, they slowly entered the water near the dinghy. They sat like little puppy dogs, mouths wide open, awaiting the treats. We fed them lettuce, carrots, and apples. Zach brought some cheese pizza and a chocolate chip cookie along for his snack, but they fell out of his bag on accident and the piggies gobbled them up! I hope their tummies were ok after that rich food! When they saw we were out of food, they slowly wandered back to the beach.

The following morning, we dropped Steve and Tina off at a little restaurant on the beach across the bay. Turns out, this was the same restaurant featured in the Fyre Festival documentary. We had a couple of cold drinks while they waited for their taxi.

We were surprised by lemon sharks feeding close to shore, so of course, that distracted us for awhile. They are so swift and graceful in their movements!

Just after sunrise, we exited the cut and out into the ocean for a sail north to Rudder Cut Cay. It is all about the tides and current, here in the Bahamas!

We heard there was an underwater statue that needed to be discovered. Turns out, this is one of David Copperfield's islands. He also owns Musha Cay and a handful of others in the area. If you have a spare $42k, you can rent Musha Cay resort for a day.

We dropped the hook of Rudder Cut Cay and dinghied over to explore the sea caves and the mermaid/piano statues. It's pretty easy to free dive down to the statue. Word on the street is that the original one was stolen a few years ago, so this one they affixed to a concrete block. Another cruiser mentioned seeing a 6' nurse shark in the area, but we didn't see it. As we sailed by Musha Cay, a gentleman came out of one of the remote houses and waved at us. Could it have been the famous magician himself? We couldn't tell from so far away. If so, hello Mr. Copperfield! =)

From there, we moved on to Great Inagua. We anchored off one of the beaches and fed the iguanas lettuce. They are quite a beautiful mixture of pink and green skin, and very friendly.
We made a pit stop at Blackpoint for some of Lorraine's mom's special coconut bread, as well as her coconut raisin cinnamon bread. These made amazing french toast!

Meeting Lorraine's mama and buying some fresh coconut bread!

We spent the night anchored off another beach on Great Inagua. They all seem to have iguanas roaming around, so you can't miss out on seeing them.

They come up to you as soon as you land on the beach. 

Thunderball Grotto was our next stop along the island chain. We spent one night anchored off of the Grotto and then moved around the corner to Big Majors Cay to wait out a blow coming through. The pigs here are famous and know it. They are a bit more aggressive than the shy White Cay piggies, but simply hold up your hands and they will go find someone else that has some tasty morsels for them. We saw lots of little piglets here as well.

Cruisers' beach, Big Majors Cay

Crystal clear water!

Hermes at the edge of the gorgeous water (cruiser's  beach)

Pigs of all shapes and sizes! The little ones were so cute!

Nurse sharks at Staniel Cay.

Fun tree at Chat-N-Chill beach.

Petting the friendly stingrays.

We spent a few days hanging out at cruiser's beach, snorkeling the grotto again, checking out Staniel Cay (go swim with the sharks off the marina), and waited for a fridge part to show up from Watermakers air (we replaced the compressor module). After swapping out the parts, we were back in business and made our way up to Little Halls Pond Cay, also known as Johnny Depp's private island. You will know for sure it is his, because of this sign on the beach: "This is NOT Disney. You are NOT welcome". We were hoping to catch a glimpse of our fellow pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, but alas, he was out sailing the high seas during our visit. Right next to his island is a rock known as The Aquarium. This place has the most tropical fish we've ever seen in one place! Wow! We wandered around the other little islands and beaches, and prepped to cross over to the island of Eleuthera the next day.

We sailed about 5-6 hours and dropped the hook in greenish tinged water off Poison Point. The kids built a little campfire and we cooked dinner and made s'mores. We invited the other boats in the anchorage and made some new friends. The next morning was Monday, so we dinghied over to The Island School for a tour. Zach heard about this amazing marine science school and wanted to check it out. Stef ended up with a job offer at the end of the tour (no, she didn't take it,but perhaps a summer position in the future).  Zach  decided to apply to attend their Sophomore year. If you are in the area, please go see all the projects their students are working on. Simply hands-on project based learning at its finest!

The next couple of days were spent adventuring around Rock Sound with our new friends. One of them had a daughter Cadence's age, so she was happy to finally have another sailor girl to hang with.

We saw two of the big Ocean Holes inland, cliff dove, and crawled through Cathedral Cave, winding around the spider webs, bats, and all!

Planning on where to jump off at the Ocean Hole  (closest one to Rock Sound)

Cathedral Cave with the bats

At first light, we sailed back over to the Exumas and anchored off Norman Cay. This is also one of the islands featured in the Fyre Festival documentary. The current here can be wicked, so be sure to set out a 2nd anchor (aka bahamian style anchoring), otherwise you risk the anchor chain messing up your bottom paint when the current is one direction and the wind another.

From Norman Cay, we spent another night at Rudder Cut Cay, and then moved on to Georgetown, as we hopped our way south. We rode out another weather system here for a few days and went to play at Chat-N-Chill beach every day. So. Much. Fun!

Mid-afternoon, after getting some last minute provisions, we set off for Hog Cut Cay. We ended up not liking how it looked, even with high tide (take your dinghy in ahead if you are uncertain of the depth. A portable depth sounder is VERY handy for situations like these).

Sunny on Castle Island.

Shipwreck treasures on Hogsty Reef Atoll (Sand spit)

We anchored off for the night and at first light, went around the long way, around Long Island. It definitely has the correct name. We spent the night off of Castle Island (this beach is really cool and the old abandoned lighthouse deserves a look as well--don't go inside though, its falling apart). Snorkel the reefs there, as you'll see lots of pretty fish and colorful coral.

Anchored off Hogsty Reef Atoll.

We moved on to Hogsty Reef Atoll the following day and had the place to ourselves for the afternoon and evening! This is a truly amazing place, with so much wildlife! We found a few conch and made fritters (freeze them for 24 hours, then you can easily remove them without breaking the shell). You can only visit this place when the sea and weather are very calm. There are over 200 wrecks in the area. Ashore, there are lots of shipwreck treasures like pottery, glass, square nails, and remnants of cargo. We placed these on a flat piece of concrete towards the pillar on the east side of Sand Cay. Please add to these but don't take so that others can enjoy. Some of the pottery is stamped London 1888. You can snorkel some of the wrecks (you'll see at least 2 large cargo shipwrecks and the rest are below the surface). There's nice coral, lots of conch, and fish.

Next morning at daylight, we sailed on to Matthew-town, Great Inagua. We cleared out, got some provisions, dinghy fuel, and then set off on our 5-day passage to Panama! Jungle, here we come!

Next up: we arrive in Panama, haul out, explore the jungle, and prep for the canal transit.

Sailing Venice, Italy

Glass flowers climb the wall of a glass factory in Murano, Italy.

What sailor doesn't dream of sailing their vessel to Venice? It surely is a magical place and there are so many places to explore!

Sunset at sea.

The passage from Pula, Croatia to Venice was about 11 hours from start to finish. We tied up at the marina on Certosa island and set off to check in. There are only two marinas in Venice that are able to take catamarans, and Certosa appealed to us as it is like a nature preserve with all the wildlife and tranquility.

Nature trail at Certosa marina.

We caught the vaporetto (water bus) to the Pl. Roma stop and walked across the bridge to the red building on the right, the State Polizia station. We filled out a one page form, handed over our passports, and five minutes later were on our way. They did not give a Constituto di Arrivo, as we had read about. I guess it is different in each port, but it made for a quick to check out later on.

Checking in with the authorities for passport stamps and boat permit.

We spent the next two weeks exploring Venice and the surrounding islands. Quite a wondrous place, with so much history and architecture. Definitely take advantage of the family museum pass, where you can visit many of the museums for one low price. The easiest and cheapest way to get around is by purchasing the city unlimited ride pass for 7 days. It paid for itself by the 2nd day, as we were constantly going to different stops around the islands to explore different things. Taking a regular water taxi would have cost 80 euro one way for our family, and the vaporetto was only a few dollars, if you worked out the math.

Lido is a long island, nicknamed the Golden Island, due to the sandy beaches. It has a lot of shops and a large Conad grocery store near the vaporetto station. One main chandlery is about a 45 minute walk, so take your dinghy through their main canal if you want to visit that shop.

Murano is nicknamed the Glass Island, due to all the glass being made there. According to legend, all of the glass makers were forced to move there due to risk of fires in Venice. It is home to many glass factories and you can tour them and see for yourself how the glass is made. They do close down in August, but we were fortunate to catch one of the factories offering tours. There are quite a few art installations of beautiful glass-work all over the island. Popping out from hedges was some green glass flowers, a large blue glass globe was in the town square, and many small details appear along the way as you walk along. The artists have done a brilliant job integrating their glass art with nature.

Burano is the Lace Island, and you can find all sorts of beautiful handmade lace items. It is about a 45 minute ride away from main Venice though, so plan accordingly.

Venice is made up of many islands close together. It sort of resembles a fish, if you use your imagination a bit.

We visited Doge's Palace in San Marco's square, next to the Basilica. This place is huge and you need at least a full day to explore everything.

Long ago, it was a castle with towers and moats. After several fires (700 years ago) it was rebuilt into a magnificent palace, like lace out of stone. Every inch is decorated with either delicate stonework or painted scenes and statutes.

The government was housed here as well and there are many chambers leading through to others. It houses the famous Bridge of Sighs, where prisoners had their last glimpse at the outside world before facing their judgements.

Bridge of Sighs outer view and from the inside.

The time went by so quickly, as we thoroughly enjoyed getting lost around Venice and seeing new sights each day. The kids took an art class with pottery, we got to know a few of the locals, and overall just had a fantastic time. We even met up with a few other sailing families! Such fun!

After eating way too much delicious food and gelato, we found ourselves sailing back into Croatia for navigating south through the islands. We took a week to do this, as we needed to make tracks south to Greece for a quick visit with friends, before heading west to Italy and beyond.

Next up: we sail back through Croatia and encounter the Croatian coast guard while trying to exit their waters.

Zadar and the Sea Organ

Greetings to the Sun solar art (left) and Sea Organ (right)
photo credit: zadar travel (couldn't fly our own drone with the wind)

It sounds like a fairy tale, a magical musical instrument played entirely by the sea. It was brought to life the other day as we sailed by, on our way into the anchorage. The soft whimsical notes drifted out to us and we all fell silent as we enjoyed the melody.

Upon dropping the hook, we went ashore to check it out from land. It truly is a lovely place, sitting in the sun while enjoying the music. Kids jump around on the steps, swimmers splash in the sea, and sunbathers lay out to soak up the sun.

The sea organ is comprised of what looks like steps leading down to the water. It's the clever engineering underneath those steps where the magic takes place. The lower steps allow air and water to flow inside. That water and air is then funneled into resonant chambers under the steps, and pushed out through the channels on the upper stairs. These cause the undulating, wind-chime like notes to be produced. As the sea is always in motion, the organ notes never sound the same, each note completely unique.

The stairs extend for about 70 meters (approximately 210 feet) along the coast. There are 35 pipes of different lengths, diameters, and angles, which were built vertically into the coastline and these slant upwards towards the pavement on shore, ending in a canal. Built into the pipes are whistles (also called labiums) which play 7 chords of 5 tones. Above the canal, there are perforated stone stairs through which the sound escapes as the sea pushes the air outwards. 

It was an idea brought to life by architect Nikola Basic, along with the assistance of a few experts in the field of music and engineering, and is now one of the hottest tourist spots in Croatia.

Our crew playing on the lights.

At night, the place takes on an entirely different atmosphere. Near the Sea Organ, is a solar panel art installation known as Greetings to the Sun. It soaks up the sun's power throughout the day and then puts on a color-changing light show at night. While it was beyond the kids' usual bedtime (sun sets around 9pm here), we went ashore for the sunset and to see this beautiful light show in action. It is an evening we won't forget! Being Friday night, there was an arts and crafts fair, musician stands everywhere, street corn, cotton candy, and other tasty treat vendors, and hundreds of families out to enjoy the evening. Our kids joined in playing with the locals, dancing on the rainbow circle of light, playing tag, and stopping only to eat ice cream before rejoining the games.

I think this is our most favorite place in Croatia, besides the Krka Waterfalls and National Park.

BVI continued: Boat surfing and The Baths!

I put away the camera shortly after this photo because the waves were really rocking the boat as we prepared to enter. We had radioed Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor about 30 minutes before and were told to go into the B dock where someone would meet us to help with the lines.

Once we got to the point to where the waves were actually breaking (not even to shore yet), things got a little hectic. Jared was at the helm and I was making sure we were in the right position to enter. You have to go straight and then turn 90 degrees fairly quickly. We tried timing the entrance in-between the breaking waves but they were seconds apart. Camera went away as I needed to hold on with both hands, we were rocking and rolling that bad. The most scary experience was right after we turned 90 degrees. A wave broke and we were caught in it. Scared that it would push us sideways into the shore, we had that motor full speed and just prayed we wouldn't be pushed too far. The boat rocked WAY over so that the deck was under a bit, but she rolled right back the other way and righted herself. I looked back at Jared as we cruised into the spot behind that little jetty and were safe from any more waves. Whew! What relief. Here is a photo of Jared right after that (we were celebrating the fact we did not run aground)!

See the waves coming in behind him? We are still rocking a little, but not as bad. #tensemoments

Nothing was marked, but we figured the staff member waiting at the end of one of the docks was our guy. So, we turned in and he told us we would need to tie the dingy to the bow and back the boat in to the slip. Ok, fine. I took the helm for a bit while Jared moved the dingy and then I handled the lines while he backed into the slip. It took us a few tries; the swell was still coming in (we were the first dock and the swell came right in and pushed us around.

Finally, we were tied up and hooked up to shore power. By this time, we were dripping with sweat  and spent a few minutes hovered over the AC vents in the boat. I took out our cruising guidebook and noted that the marina closed at 4:30 pm.
Oh crap, that's in 2 minutes, we have to go check in!

We scrambled up and out of the boat and over to the marina office. Once settled, we grabbed our shower gear and headed off to the marina showers. We had been showering off the boat, but let me tell you how awesome a real shower feels. We were feeling pretty darn great after that! Dropped off our stuff and decided to check out the area and find a place for dinner (our first meal out since being on the boat).

We ended up at the marina restaurant and watched another beautiful sunset. Island sunsets just can't be beat! You'd think we would sleep like babies that night with the AC and all.
Nope.
The swell coming in was causing the lines to slowly loosen--more like jerking around. The boat would move one way and then jerk hard as the lines grew taut, and then slam back against the fenders and the dock. Jared was afraid this might cause damage to the boat, so we added a few more lines to tighten things up. Finally, after that, the boat was snug as a bug and we could finally get some sleep.

Woke up around 7 am the next morning to eat breakfast and a mug of coffee before heading out to find a taxi. We needed to check out by 11 am, so we were pressed for time.

Let me just say that taxis are easy to find because they are everywhere! They are also MUCH more affordable than back in the states. For example, a ride from one end of the island to the other was $4 per person!

While chatting with our various drivers throughout this trip, we learned that the government sets the rates, there is a taxi union, and that most of them are self-employed and have other jobs as well. All of them were super knowledgeable about the islands, always friendly, and loved to share information.

We walked out into the marina parking lot and met our driver, Mr. O, who gave us a great tour as we drove to the The Baths. He said he'd meet us in 2 hours to take us back to the boat to check out. Perfect!

We had forgotten to bring our nature permit with us, so we had to pay the entrance fee, which wasn't that much, $6 total!

This is an awesome little hike. Immediately on the trail, huge boulders surround you. Nowhere else have I seen cacti growing among ferns. The ferns seemed to wind their way around the cactus like a feathery scarf. We had the entire place to ourselves, save for a couple of employees getting ready for a big rush of tourists later that morning. We came out to the beach and turned left to enter The Baths.

Magical. That is one word that comes to mind. Wandering through the twists and turns is just an amazing experience. The light dancing upon the water and splashes of light dancing off of the boulders is just spectacular.

Out of The Baths and onto the beach at Devil's Bay! Stef is looking on, wishing she could snorkel!


By this time, we had about 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet Mr. O at the top of the baths. We turned around and just as we were heading back through the caves, we were faced with a huge group of people. So grateful that we had this entire experience to ourselves. Definitely bringing the kids back when we are cruising this way!

We headed towards the beach bar to get an icy blended, when we discovered they wouldn't open for another hour or so. Oh well, back up to the top.

Gorgeous view and a pool to cool off in!

After a fantastic ice-blended drink, we headed back to the marina to check out.

Leaving YGYH was much easier than getting in. The waves were still breaking but not as close together. We headed out in-between the waves and out into the beautiful turquoise water, pointing the bow towards Marina Cay. Little did we know that we had stowaways on board...but that's for the next post.

Such a beautiful color!