Kalliste's Journey: December 2014

The Berry Islands

We said good bye to Terry & Jeannie in Delray and headed to Lake Boca Ratan to anchor for the night and ready ourselves for the crossing to the Bahamas. Terry suggested we head out the Hillsborough Inlet to avoid having to travel further down to Fort Lauderdale. Details of Hillsborough Inlet is not provided in the ICW cruising guide due to the fact that the markers are are not permeant and are moved to accommodate for the shifting bottom. Terry provided us with the most recent soundings and placement of the markers which made transversing the inlet a breeze.

Thank you Terry & Jeannie for a wonderful time in Delray!

Sunrise heading to the Bahamas

We made it!

Thank you Jim & Deb for the Champaign

Perfect dive!

We are anchored in Bullock Harbour, Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands

Mail boat comes in once per week to and brings fresh fruit, vegetables, supplies. This delivery is the last before the Christmas & New Years holidays. The ship will not be back for almost 3 weeks. There is a flurry of activity all day long to unload the boat and load into cars and pickup trucks.

Paul samples his first Kalick

We discover a plane wreck off the beach at Bullock Harbour

Hannah and I enjoying the ride

And she swims! I'm keeping a close eye for barracuda!

R Kalliste' anchored at Saddleback Cay - very tricky anchoring!

Beautiful beach almost to ourselves

It's difficult to capture the beauty!

Christmas morning Santa and his Reindog come deliver a present of Conch shell full of chocolate!

Hannah sporting her Christmas scarf receives her new Christmas stuffy.

We sail past Enchantment of the Seas, 302 metres in length

Sailing past

Barracuda!

Sending this one back

Amberjack with a fight!

Paul wins and we have dinner!

Paula gets a new washer and dryer for Christmas! Yep thats a bucket, plunger and some clothes pegs!

We are heading further south and will make a stop at New Providence Island overnight then head to the Exumas and hope to meet up with Don and Ann at Black Point. Then on to Georgetown to meet up with family and friends who are flying in for a visit.

We pried ourselves away from Vero Beach

We now understand why cruisers sometimes never leave. But we finally removed the line from the mooring ball. It was time to go! We said good bye to Gerald. We fully enjoyed our visit and can't thank him enough for his friendship and for touring us around.

Gerald trying out the elevated captains chair. He approved!

Our Christmas Tree decorating party.

Tis the Season

We presented Gerald with the flag of New Brunswick. It was one of the many treasures we found on board as we brought his Katie (our R Kalliste') back to life.

Vero to Delray

Miniature tall ship anchored along the ICW

Another absolutely beautiful sunset

Some examples of southern architecture as seen from the ICW:

And then there is the contrast. It is no wonder some in Florida are not friendly to cruisers. We have seen many abandon boats along the way.

Then there is the wild life - often difficult to capture on film.

Osprey enjoying lunch.

We have heard that the further south you go the larger the boats and the younger the wives. So fae at least we've seen plenty of examples of the former.

Terry & Jeannie:

You meet the nicest people when you cruise. We met Terry and Jeannie several years ago on our first trip across Lake Erie to Ashtabula Yacht club. And have enjoyed their company on both sides of the lake. Each year the AYC and Port Stanley Sailing Squadron race one way or the other. Next year the LEIR (Lake Erie International Race) will celebrate their 50th. Terry and Jeannie have their winter home in Delray Florida and we have tied up to their guest dock.

Our tour of Delray: