19) Freeport
Saturday, March 28
We left Morgan's Bluff at 6:30 am and watched the sunrise on the Tongue of the Ocean. Kim put his fishing line out and instantly caught two baracudas and a Skipjack that was missing it's tail. Probably a baracuda tried to eat it.
Threw the baracuda back and filleted the Skipjack.
The sea state was calm and light winds. We thought we would get in around 8:00 pm, just after sunset. And once again the current was on the nose and with the light winds we slowed down to 5 knots. Slowly we made our way. 87 miles! We called the marina to let them know our ETA and they told us to tie up on the fuel dock and they will get us in a slip in the morning.
All was good. Watched cruise ships and freighters pass by. I baked chicken in the oven for dinner. Kim crushed cans to reduce our trash. Read a book to pass the time. Sunset around 7:30 pm and at 8:00 the wind jumped up to 15 knots heeled us over. It caught us off guard. We quickly reefed both sails to set us upright. We started moving at 7+ knots. Instead of midnight we were looking at it would be now 9:30 pm. Awesome! The waves started picking up the last two hours. Pulled into the channel at 9:30 pm and tied to the fuel dock. Whew! Glad that was over!
Sunday, March 29
We got into our slip around 8:30 am. It is so nice to be tied up as the winds starts to pick up. We are here for at least a week. Need a weather window to finish the 111 miles to Fort Pierce, FL.
The marina is so nice. Pool, restaurant, 1.7 miles to the grocery store. We walked to the store to get a few things. Came back to wash the salt off the boat and vacuum the inside. Winds are blowing at 15 knots with gusts of 20+ inside the marina. Can't imagine being out on the water where the winds are gusting at 30+ knots and waves are 4-5'. Yuck!
Monday, March 30
Winds are still howling. So glad we are here and not out there on the water.
Today we walked to the Straw Market which is only 1.6 miles away. Love the walk in the sunshine. We also walked to the beach.
We ate dinner at Pisces, the restaurant at the marina. The Chicken BBQ pizza was amazing!
Tuesday, March 31
Kim replaced the water pump this morning and then we went to the pool in the afternoon. No body was there but us. The pool is right outside the restaurant. The restaurant opens at 4:00 so that's probably when people start to show up because the bar will be open. Lots of coconuts in the trees.
Wednesday, April 1
Happy April Fool's Day!
Walked to the Straw Market again to book the Jeep Safari Tour. We were able to get the last two seats for Friday. Yay! Walked around the Straw Market looking for a beach coverup I saw two days ago. At one point I had 5 women, who were working their shops, helping me. Never found it so obviously someone also thought it was cute.
Ate lunch at Rum Runners Bar & Grill. Sat in the square and listened to a guy play a steel drum while people watching. Had a coconut drink and then walked home. Good Day!
We saw the smoke trail of the Artemis ll as it launched for a hot moment.
Thursday, April 2
Nothing exciting today. Rained a bit in the morning. I did laundry. Kim did small boat projects. Clean up leftovers for dinner. Tomorrow we are going on a Jeep Safari Tour of the island. Looking forward to that! Also, we may have an upcoming weather window to cross back over to Florida. Monday-Tuesday is looking good. We have a slip in Fort Pierce, FL for a month once we cross. Looking forward to getting back in the States. Bahamas has been fun but there's nothing like home.
Nothing exciting today. Rained a bit in the morning. I did laundry. Kim did small boat projects. Clean up leftovers for dinner. Tomorrow we are going on a Jeep Safari Tour of the island. Looking forward to that! Also, we may have an upcoming weather window to cross back over to Florida. Monday-Tuesday is looking good. We have a slip in Fort Pierce, FL for a month once we cross. Looking forward to getting back in the States. Bahamas has been fun but there's nothing like home.
Friday, April 3
Off to a fun day! Got picked up by Mario in the shuttle bus at 8:20 am. Picked up 15 Canadians from Quebec who made the trip more lively. Got to the starting point where the Jeeps were located. There were 2 manual Jeeps and the rest were automatic. Then came the question from Mario, "who will drive the pink Jeep?". I say, "Is it automatic?" And Mario says "yes". I say "we'll take it". Kim's face says 'What the hell? Why?'. I said "Sarah would love it"! Kim shakes his head and proceeds to the pink Jeep.
I forgot to say that the people in the other jeeps were Canadians from Quebec who mainly spoke French. On the shuttle bus they sang songs in French, just living their best life!
Driving on the left didn't seem to be a big problem. Our guide in the front Jeep kept us informed as to what lane to be in as we drove. We went to Lookout Point. Super windy today. Then to the Garden of the Groves. They had turtles, ducks, birds, waterfalls and small little garden areas to sit in.
After the gardens we went to the Tiano Beach. Ate BBQ chicken for lunch and the drinks were only $5.00! Kim was concerned when we left that he would not be able to find our Jeep. :)
