1/21/24

 Happy 2024!  My first post for the year.  I'm going to rewind back to Dec. 19th when I flew out of Georgetown - what a spectacular view of the Bahamas by air!  It was a perfect day for flying.

Above the clouds and the beautiful blue of the Bahamas

You can follow the deep dark blue of the sound on the right side of the photo and follow through a "cut' to the shallow light colored water on the banks side.

Flying above Andros.

I spent the holidays with Mom and Dad in Newfield, NY where it was seasonally warm the entire time I was there.  No snow....until the day before my flight back to the boat.

Dad, Mom and I having a toast on Christmas Eve with my brother Brian's homemade Baileys.

My brother drove me to Pennellville and almost got back home before the snow started.  (He doesn't mind the snow!  Thanks Brian P!). This is the Oneida River and the dock in front of our friends Brian and Debbie Date's in Pennellville.  

This is where we usually spend the summer aboard Persephone.  You can see why we don't winter over onboard in Pennellville, NY.

Brian and Debbie took me to their family distillery, Lock 1 Distillery in Phoenix.  They have a tasting room and kitchen with excellent food!

A fancy drink!

A little fun in the snow before heading to the Bahamas the next morning.  Brian D. got up early and I was at the airport at 4:30 am.  Thanks Brian!

Arriving in Philadelphia from Syracuse just as the sun was coming up and the moon and stars were still visible.  I love flying and always try to get a window seat.  Syracuse-Philly-Miami-Georgetown.  A full day of travel.

As usual, Jerry had the boat ready to go when I arrived in Georgetown and off we went to the Ragged Islands.  Jerry had sailed the 100 miles down to the Ragged Islands the day I flew out and spent a couple of weeks before sailing back to pick me up.  The first video Jerry took heading to Georgetown to pick me up.

And another video on our way from Georgetown back to the Raggeds.

It was a good day for fishing!  We caught a 4' mahi!

We anchored at Johnson Cay for a couple of days enjoying the water and hiking around on the island.

Persephone anchored at Johnson Cay.

You can see the bay where we're anchored at Johnson Cay. A good place to anchor when the winds are from the south but exposed to the N and NE.

2 Hallberg Rassys anchored at Johnson Cay!  Persephone and Tenacious.  A 53' HR with a wonderful family from Seattle onboard.

This video is taken on a hike around the island.  The easterly swell coming in crashes against the rock and the cave underneath has a hole at the top.  We call it a blowhole.

20 pound mahi from the trip down, 2 hog fish, lobster....we won't starve.

Yup...and more lobster.  

We sailed from Johnson Cay down to Hog Cay.   We've been working on maintaining the many trails we and other cruisers have created over the years.  I don't have pictures because we were too hot, sweaty, and dirty as we pulled up grasses, moved rocks and cut branches.  We've been walking about 5 miles each day.

I found a new "baby head" on Johnson and brought it back for the Baby Head Trail on Hog Cay.

Walking and snorkeling are the main activities other than some boat projects.  The weather has been hot, sticky with light winds which we've taken advantage of before the winds started to howl today.

Mutton Snapper!  My favorite and a challenging fish to get with a pole spear.  And more lobster....which we gave to Sam and Cindy on Booke End.  The freezer is full.

Hog Cay has always been a favorite spot because it is remote, beautiful, there's a shelter on shore, it's away from all conveniences, and there are usually at the most 5-10 boats anchored here at this time of year.  Yesterday's boat count was about 35!  We've had that many boats here in the past but only for the big Valentine's Day party in February.  This is the best anchorage in the Raggeds for protection from wind and waves when the wind blows from the NE to the SE.  The forecast is for the wind to be in the 30's for the next couple of days....so maybe that's why so many people here?  

Today's modern cruising boat: a big catamaran.  As far as the eye can see.  Most of these catamarans have watermakers, washing machines, ac and all the luxuries.  Floating palaces that sail well downwind.

This is Susan from C-Language's coconut head that was hanging in the Hog Cay "Yacht Club".  The coconut had fallen - the head was splitting in half for some reason.   I brought it home, glued it up, added a headband and it's back up in the hut for all to enjoy.

Join us in our next installment as we welcome our best and most favorite crew member.  My sister Susan!

Karen & Jerry

SV Persephone

12/17/23

 An update:  Thanksgiving in West Palm with our friends, Ryan and Jerry,  from Zinzi!  Jerra flew in from Denver to celebrate.  And celebrate we did!  With food and games.  Jerra requested cribbage games at least once each day.  What fun!

Jerra made scrumptious tacos for dinner one night.

This is the night we put on our fanciest clothes and Ryan and Jerra took us out on the town. Here we are at  rooftop place overlooking a marina and the ICW.   Next stop: a fancy Italian restaurant where we stuffed ourselves.  Thank you Ryan and Jerra!  And then we walked around West Palm and found a place that sells homemade ice cream!  Just what we needed to end a perfect evening.

Ryan and Jerry working on Ryan's lower unit of his outboard motor.

Thanksgiving dinner with Ryan and Jerra

Right after Thanksgiving dinner we said goodbye, hugs all around, then hauled the anchor.  We headed for the ocean.  We usually leave West Palm and sail for 48 hours nonstop to Georgetown in the Exumas.  This year, because of the wind, we sailed across the Gulf Stream on toward Chub Cay and anchored for the night.  The next morning the wind picked up and we headed for West Bay on New Providence where we stayed for 2 days waiting for the wind to clock around.  Here's a video of sailing from the banks to West Bay.....

It's a good thing we stopped at West Bay because we had a chance to get in the water and look at Persephone's bottom.  It was covered with growth!  We spent an afternoon scraping and cleaning the bottom of the boat making it smooth and slippery for efficient sailing.  Who wants to sail around with something akin to a carpet attached to the bottom?

We left West Bay when the wind was from the right direction.  A little light but as long as it wasn't from the direction we were trying to go.  We left at 9:30 pm and sailed all night in the shallow beautiful waters under a full moon south of New Providence towards the Exumas to anchor at Pipe Creek for the night.  Here's a video taken in the morning........

Our last leg of the trip from Pipe Creek to Georgetown involved catching dinner!

This Big Eye Tuna provided enough tuna steaks for about 10 dinners!

We anchored near Monument Beach in Elizabeth Harbor.  Georgetown.  Here's looking down at Persephone from the monument erected on the highest point of Stocking Island.

We're early - there are usually a hundred boats in this same picture.

Every day we have been walking on Stocking Island for exercise.  Walking the beach on the sound side, on the Exuma Sound, has been brisk.  The winds, which have picked up a couple of days after arriving, spray salt water mist on us as we walk along in the sand.

Jerry waves from the top of the next "up and over" between the sandy parts of the beach.

The interesting limestone shoreline...

I framed Jerry

The "inside" or the harbor side of Stocking Island....

Our walk involves dinghying to the beach on the harbor side, finding a trail to hike over to the sound side and then turning north or south.  After 2 or more miles we find another trail to come back to the sound side and then a walk back to the dinghy.

The prevailing wind is from the east so the sound side is usually windy and the harbor side hot and humid.

We have enjoyed the warmth, walking, visiting with friends old and new, swimming and just relaxing with books and games onboard.  In a few days I'll be leaving Jerry aboard Persephone while I fly back to NY to spend Christmas with family and friends there.  

Wishing you a healthy, happy, peaceful holiday season.

Karen & Jerry

11/17/23

 Looks like I haven't written here since we put the mast up in Kingston, NY on the Hudson River!  Those of you who clicked on the SPOT link in the top right hand corner know that we're well beyond Kingston!

We had to motor sail through a bit of fog on the Hudson River.  

Fog on the Hudson

We can see other vessels (such as the tug and barge) on our radar and chart plotter but not with our eyes until they are close.

Here's what it looks like from under the dodger as we try to navigate in the fog with the chart plotter and radar that shows on the iPad screen you see.  Also necessary: the autopilot remote and the instruments showing water depth, wind speed and direction and our speed.

Navigating the Hudson in the fog.

By 11 am or so the fog clears...

Bear Mountain Bridge on the Hudson River

Our stopping point for the night: the George Washington Bridge.  We've never anchored here before.  Nice view of the George Washington Bridge and NYC beyond.

George Washington Bridge with NYC in the background at sunset.

George Washington Bridge at night.

We made our way through NY Harbor the next morning and onto Atlantic Highlands, NJ where we met up with the original owner of our boat, Marianne, and enjoyed dinner with Marianne, Richard and Richard's sister Diane.  The next morning (like 3 am)  we were on the ocean heading to Cape May.

NY City just before sunrise.  A tug and barge pass by headed north.

NY City at sunrise.

Our view of NY City as we head to the Verazzano Bridge.

We stay warm under the dodger with our "ghetto blankets".  We clamp these blankets to the back of the dodger and turn on the furnace below.  It gets nice and warm as we sail out on the ocean to Cape May.  Not too pretty but cozy.

From NY to Cape May, NJ to the Chesapeake.  Mostly motor sailing as our priority was to arrive further south for warmer temperatures.  Heading south from Norfolk we cross the Albemarle Sound and on to Belhaven, NC and Oriental, NC where we met up with our single hander buddy, Captain Bob and then to Donna and Jerry Luh's.

Crossing the Albemarle Sound....

Another first: anchored at Belhaven, NC.  We stopped to see our good friends Chris and Gosia who were working on their catamaran.  Nice visit!  Hope to see them again this season.

Bob and Jerry Luh come aboard Persephone for some apple pie!

Jerry borrows a bike from the "Waterway Provision Company" in Oriental and made a trip to the local grocery store.

One of our favorite things to do: playing cards with Jerry and Donna.

You can count on a beautiful sunrise at Donna and Jerry's place.

If you ever are near Oriental you MUST stop and see Barry and his wife Sam at Aggie's Restaurant on Route 55 in Bayboro (not far from Oriental).  Barry not only is an amazing, kind-hearted, fun-loving person, they make THE BEST steak sandwiches ever (the special sauce is a must).

It was hard to move on when the weather was so nice in NC and so many friends to visit but we had to keep moving.  From Beaufort, NC to St. John's River with plenty of wind this time.  

We only needed the jib on the sail from NC to FL.  You can see the "whisker pole" we used to hold the jib out with the wind right behind us. 

We had at least 20 knots on the stern the entire way!  On this leg south we slowed when passing the entrance to Charleston Harbor.   Our friend Ryan (whom we met in the Bahamas in 2020) wanted to come out the inlet and sail with us to FL.  When we arrived and anchored at Blount Island, Zinzi rafted alongside and more of our friends we spent time with in the Ragged Islands came out to meet us. 

From L to R: Ryan, Brandon, Dustyn, Karen, Jerry, Conor and Toby.  (Sad to miss: Conor's wife Stephanie and Ryan's wife Jerra who had to work).  Ties that bind: we met when we were "stuck" in the Ragged Islands during Covid in 2020.  Fond memories.

Our visit was short as an opportunity to head south came up and we had to move on.  Zinzi (Ryan's Sabre 36') and Persephone had a beautiful sail to Ft. Pierce.  You'll have to click on the link for the YouTube video of this sail.  Too big for blogspot:  Slow Sail to Fort Pierce, FL

More videos of our sail with Zinzi to Fort Pierce.

And even though Ryan put up his spinnaker (we left ours back in NY) we ended up arriving in Fort Pierce first.  Ryan had to sail along shore because while he sails he is working as a computer coder and needs to be within cell phone range.  He has single-handed Zinzi all the way from Maine to FL while working every day!  Crazy!  Talk about multi-tasking.

Ryan puts up his spinnaker, passes us, and then goes below to go back to work.

Our friends Dale and Roni drove up to Fort Pierce to have rotis from Calypso Cuisine.  A roti is an Indian type of wrap.  A roti starts with a bread wrapping made with a layer of mashed yellow split peas and spices.  They take a ball of dough, poke a hole in it, add the split pea mix, seal the hole and roll out the dough and fry it.  Our rotis were filled with our choice of a curry, potato, meat stew.  Chicken, goat, shrimp, duck, beef were the choices and you had to make sure to ask for boneless if that's what you wanted.  Indians traditionally leave the bones in and pick them out as they eat.  These roti in Ft. Pierce were excellent and a first experience for Dale, Roni and Ryan.

Having our rotis aboard Persephone.

Next sail was on the weekend from Fort Pierce to Stuart.  Ryan sailed in the inlet well ahead of us.  It was a weekend and he didn't have to work!  Nice visit with Aunt Susan and Ken here, tons of rain and wind as a low pressure system came through.  We borrowed Dale's van and finished provisioning.  What a luxury to be able to use a van to gather supplies!  Thanks Dale and Roni!

2 propane tanks, 4 jugs of gasoline for the dinghy, food....here the dinghy is about half filled.

We'll be headed further south this weekend.  A day sail to West Palm Beach.  Plans are to have Thanksgiving in West Palm with Ryan and his wife Jerra who is flying in from Denver.  Then on to the Bahamas where I will fly out to spend Christmas with family back in NY.  

Hope you are well and looking forward to hearing from you!

Karen & Jerry