Spill The Wine Sailing

Making Landfall in the Exumas We’ve been to the Exuma Land and Sea Park once before and since that time we promised ourselves we’d return when we could stay longer. Next Time, I'm bringing a Frisbee! The locals will tell you that every island in the Bahamas has its own personality…. We’ve already found that to be true.   When we brought our dingy ashore, we were met by three local dogs who decided to accompany us on our walk.  White sandy beaches, swimming pool water, and friendly dogs… who can complain?

We decided to call Chub Cay to see if the marina there had slips available as we were leaving Bimini.   We could only reach an answering machine which stated the whole island was closed.  No Joke!    Once there, we could see the serious damage to several of the houses from hurricane Matthew.  We spent the night in the beautiful but “rolly” anchorage, and in the morning we decided to float the dingy and check out the damage to the marina.  We soon discovered they had the entrance roped off with “Closed” signs.  So it was off to Nassau. Four Days in Paradise Island waiting out bad weather We had planned to skip Nassau entirely, but four days of pretty serious weather was headed our way and we wanted to get a slip somewhere.  So, Nassau it was, and really, what tremendous luck.  Last year we had trouble with our starter motor and when I started the diesel in Chub I noticed it didn’t sound right.   Once in our...

Happy to be across the stream It's been a few years since we've been here and it felt great to be back.  We left Key Biscayne at 8:00 a.m. with a 10-15 knot breeze from the northwest.   Surprisingly small waves since there was a northern wind, but that was in the forecast and if the waves had picked up they would be following.   We moved very quickly across the Gulf Stream and pulled into Bimini around 3:00. In front of Stuart's Conch Stand - North Bimini Barb made me bike every street in North & South Bimini... we even loaded the bikes on the ferry which takes you between islands. Barb found the conch stand After biking all of North Bimini we stopped at a conch stand recommended by the dockmaster at Bimini Big Game Club Marina. Cracking the conch for your salad As we waited for our meal, we watched one of the guys crack the conch and take it inside for the chef to use in the stand. "The Boss" making our Lobster ...

Key Largo Sunset - Boy on Paddle Board Barb and I were having our final "Sunset Margarita" talking about our upcoming Bahamas trip when this boy paddles right in front of us allowing me to take this pic..... We looked at each other afterwards and said at the same time, "Now why do we want to leave Key Largo?"

Airing out Spill The Wine's Spinnaker When we thought of the idea of our annual "Teak Week", we thought to ourselves "surely we can do a full maintenance cycle on this boat in a week".... Haven't done that yet... not even close!   Actually, it could be possible but this year we brought on many new projects & upgrades... here's a partial list: New House Battery Bank New 3000W Pure Sine Inverter with Battery Charger (charger to be used as backup) New Engine Start Battery at new location New Shower Sump Pump placed in Bilge with all Air Conditioner drain pans (3) directly plumbed New Microwave New Port Salon Air Conditioner Replacement Starboard Salon Air Conditioner New Bilge Pumps and Floats (Main Bilge and Anchor Locker) New Frigoboat Speed Controller Complete Service of Watermaker  New Mainsail (actually the new one made the trip down from Baltimore... but it deserves honorable mention) New Main sheet Outhaul New (and impro...

Anchored off the Florida Keys seven mile bridge After a very successful shakedown cruise to Key West and back..... we're very nearly ready to be Bahamas bound!

Sure had fun times with sons Jordan and Al along with Katelyn.  Below are some pics of us sailing the Chesapeake and going for crabs afterwards..... this has become known to me as: "T he Perfect Day" Jordan and Katelyn ready for our crab feast Jordan & Katelyn on Spill The Wine On the bow of Spill The Wine Can it get any better???  Doubtful!