Sailing Miles

We only stayed on St Bart's a few days, and spent much of the time working on the boat. We made it a point to enjoy the island, though. We enjoyed the history and tidy streets of Gustavia, then went to Colombier for a nicer anchorage. We returned to Gustavia for Bastille Day fireworks. A short, but fun trip.

 We said goodbye to the USVI with a beach walk and hike in Leinster Bay, then motored around to Long Bay for a snorkel. Today we leave for St Martin! Whoo-hoo! No anchoring in Leinster Bay, you have to use a mooring to protect the sea bottom I'm the National Park. Boaters pull their dinghies up on the beach. The USVI and BVI are very close here. A glimpse of SV Miles The ruins on top of the hill are "The Big House." I guess this one is "The Small House." We had just rounded "Privateer Point."  We decided not to raise the Jolly Roger. A new island for the SV Miles' crew.

 While we were spending the five nights anchored in our "only one night" anchorage off Lynyard Cay (it was that fantastic!), we went up to Sandy Cay to snorkel twice. Both times were amazing.  I mentioned before that someone said it's the best snorkeling spot in the Abacos.  The good part of hitting it first, is that we did actually enjoy the best snorkeling spot in the Abacos.  The bad part is that it will all be downhill from here. We had learned that the Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park maintains a couple of moorings near the reef.  They were not rated for a 50-foot boat, and besides it is easier to grab a mooring from the dinghy.  We took the 2.5-mile ride on two consecutive days to enjoy the reef. The water is that amazing clear water of the Bahamas.  Heck, I think I've bought bottled water that is not so clear.  We shared a mooring with a family that was taking a sabbatical for a year and cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean on their trawler, Se...

 Cindy and I thought we would go for a snorkel.  The weather was toasty, the water was cool, and we had seen many people diving and snorkeling close to a nearby shore covered in mangroves.  As it turned out, maybe they were looking for lobsters! I think they might want to come to supper tomorrow. If you get tired of staying near the diver-down flag in the dinghy, tow it along. Many small corals lived on the sandy ground, among the sea grass. These spiny guys were under a lot of defunct corals.  Safety? Or parasitic? The rules on lobster harvesting are complicated in Florida.  We will have to study up on catch size and restricted areas before we decide whether or not to take the chicken drumsticks out to thaw in the morning.

After Miami (No Name Harbor), we sailed to Carysfort Reef, where we spent two nights. Really fun, we were more than five nautical miles from land, tucked in next to a lighthouse that was built in 1852, and operated until 2015. We snorkeled, Steve had a cell so he could work, we completed a few boat projects in the plumbing department, and fixed a couple of things that broke. Today we had nice sailing weather, although the seas were a bit big. We sailed outside the reef line, then cut into Hawk's Channel. We got an early anchorage at Rodriguez Key, near Key Largo. Click here to see the full Facebook post.