Our 2022-2023 Adventure Begins

 And so it begins!

The first part of each of our adventures is always the most difficult and this year was no different. We drove from Warsaw, IN to our boatyard in Stuart, FL where we offloaded all of our clothing, sheets, towels, and lots of other stuff onto Samba.

Then began the work of opening her up and discovering all the new opportunities that she had in store for us. Over the course of the full week of preparation and provisioning, Jim spent quite a bit of time pretzelled up in some impossibly tight spaces where he worked on pumps, float switches and, yes, toilets that had developed issues.

Groceries in the Bahamas is always iffy. Each island waits on a supply boat to bring the food to it and your options are realllly limited. Therefore, Carol generally buys enough food while in Stuart to supply us for nearly 3 months. This is just 1 carload. There were at least 3 this size. Wow! She also maintains a comprehensive inventory so she knows what she has.

To facilitate stowage, we remove all boxes and vacuum pack all meat before freezing. It really is quite a process and effort, but soooo worth it!

Our River Forest boatyard is small but safe - - that is, as long as you don't go swimming!

We like this yard because it's far from the ocean and a hurricane shelter. Here's what the boats look like when they are "blocked". The keel rests on blocks and the boat is held erect with struts.

The weather for most of this week has been pretty crummy. Lots and lots of  wind and rain! According to our weather router, the "only" day we can cross the Gulf Stream to get to the Bahamas will be Wednesday and that may be a little iffy. Ughhh.

Tuesday morning, Carol made 1 last provisioning stop and then we decided to leave in order to beat some really nasty weather coming our way. We wanted to get to our evening staging anchorage before the nasties hit.

Just a couple of miles from our marina, we had to traverse the St. Lucie lock which had a 14 foot drop.

Notice that the boat is at the top of the lock. Then, notice where we end up.

The St. Lucie River is a direct runoff of Lake Okeechobee and is rich in tannins. Hence, the water is an ugly tea color.

The 14 mile jaunt to our anchorage included a number of tall bridges, some lunch and a final drawbridge in Stuart.

Our staging anchorage at Sewell Point, though not very pretty, was quite comfortable and safe. From here, it's only a couple of miles to get into the Atlantic Ocean.

Tomorrow begins our Gulf Stream crossing to the Bahamas. Wish us luck!

In anticipation of a less than leisurely trip, both of us are taking Dramamine tonight and then again tomorrow morning. The weather forecast is not great but if we don't cross tomorrow, it may be 2 more days or even another week before an opportunity arises. Ughhh.

Thank you Lord for your provision and protection! See you on the other side!