Author: jrand

Hello everyone It has been a few weeks since I have updated y’all, so here is the latest news. We tried to go out for lunch at Flo’s Conch Bar, in Little Harbour, Berry Islands one day when the wind finally died down a little. But, just before time to get into the dinghy, a…

Hello all On Jan 30th at about 4 pm, we set sail from West Palm Beach inlet and crossed to Lucaya, Grand Bahamas. The seas were lumpy as usual and we had many encounters with commercial traffic. But, our trusty new AIS receiver gave us the ships name as well as their Closest Point of…

Our time here in the islands is drawing to a close.

We sailed from Nassau on Sunday, the 16th, to Spanish Wells and entered the town the next day. Here we have re-stocked the larder, caught up with friends ashore and made some new friends. The stay here has been longer than we had hoped but the weather does as it wishes.

Hello!

I am sorry for the extended silence from this end. We have been having difficulty making an internet connection. It is usually enough to eventually download messages but not enough to do extended work on-line. Thus, the website hasn’t been updated in forever and I cannot send you any photos.

Hello all

Life has been interesting aboard W4 for the last few days. Remember that old curse ” may your life be interesting”? Well, I would be happier if ours went back to boring.

Our departure from West Palm Beach inlet took place at 0430 on Feb 6th. The seas were calm and it seemed almost as if we were inside a opalescent dome as we couldn’t delineate the sea from the sky. But, soon there were three ships bearing down on us and the AIS system worked well for us once more. With it, Murray was able to ascertain the name of the ship and call it on the radio. Then they agreed on an appropriate action so that we would safely pass each other. The closest ship was only 0.4 miles off our beam and that can be scary unless you are sure what is happening.

Hello

I thought perhaps you might wonder what has been happening aboard W4.

We departed the marina on Jan 26th and made good time down the waterway and all systems seemed to be working. Except for the rain prevention system – it rained hard for a couple of days and these stalwart cruisers carried on. On Thursday, Jan 30th, we arrived in Vero Beach.

We did it! We tossed our lines on the deck and cast off from the dock! The lockers are full and we were only waiting for the spell of below freezing temperatures to abate before heading out. And the next couple of days seem like the lowest temps overnight will be in the high 30’s.

Hello everyone,

The title of this update doesn’t just refer to the 60’s and 70’s music that we listen to aboard but also the action of the boat as we have traveled recently. It has almost been a corkscrew action as the waves lift our stern quarter. Then, dipping the opposite side down, passing under and allowing the starboard side to return to and pass the original position as the boat falls off of the passing wave. The boat has rolled from at least 10 to 15 degrees heeled to starboard over to 15 or 20 onto port. Needless to say, it is an ugly ride and those aboard must hold on tight in order to move about safely.

Hello everyone,

I promised more details of the crossing and here are probably more than you might even want.

We hauled anchor in West Palm Beach on Friday 25th and headed north towards the Flagler Bridge just around 3 pm. A quick radio call informed us that the bridge was broken, unable to be opened and might remain the same for the next two hours. But luck was with us as, after a delay of only 10 minutes, the bridge opened and allowed us to go on our way. By 4 pm, we had made our way to the inlet and the sea beyond. The waves were confused, as usual, and about 4 feet high. Many fishing vessels ( 80 to 90 feet long ) roared past us, causing even more wave action.