svbeachhouse

Category: 2015 Positions

  • Postion Report – Marina Hemingway, Havana

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/02/12 23:22
    LATITUDE: 23-05.35N
    LONGITUDE: 082-29.83W
    COMMENT: Beach House -DOCKED- Havana – Marina Hemingway

    It was a VERY long 13 hour day to move the 88 miles from Cayo Blanco to Marina Hemingway here – 10 miles SW of Havana.
    We have a nice slip and again…lots to tell, especially about our check in process here…
    The Harbor Master speaks excellent English and will try to get us our needed expertise as soon as possible.

    Knowing \”how it goes\” in the land of Manana…we expect to be here at least a few days before heading west.
    All is well, crew safe, tired and sound.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Position Report – Cayo Blanco

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/02/11 21:55
    LATITUDE: 23-12.07N
    LONGITUDE: 081-02.14W
    COMMENT: Beach House -ANCHORED- Cayo Blanco – Havana tomorrow.

    We\’ll update everyone soon in a couple of blogs. So far, we were told we could get some assistance
    in Marina Varadaro, but we are definitely in the land of \”Manana\”. As such, we\’ll move on to Marina
    Hemingway just west of Havana to see if the big city can assist us with our needs. Again, no worries.
    Just want to take care of everything before moving west to Mexico if possible.

    Lots to tell…..:-)
    Remember, we have NO internet but we can be reached on email directly.
    We get the FB notices of post, but can\’t view them till internet happens.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Position Report – Marina Gaviota, Varadero

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/02/06 00:30
    LATITUDE: 23-11.47N
    LONGITUDE: 081-07.62W
    COMMENT: Beach House -DOCKED – Marina Gaviota – Varadero, Cuba

    The weather ruled out the Cay Sal Bank completely and then…..A funny thing happened on the way to Mexico…

    Well, with the Fuel line leak getting worse, the engine kill solenoid on the port engine malfunctioning, the oil temperature sender on the same engine malfunctioning.
    AND, a HUGE cold front coming down out of the Midwest. Discretion being the better part of valor, we\’ve declared a \”pan pan\” situation. That is the maritime term for, \”we\’ve got some problems, but we\’re not screaming for assistance\” (That would be a Mayday – \”help me\” in French). Safety of the crew and vessel come first.

    We needed to get out of the 30 knot gusts and rain squalls that were just starting when we tied up at the dock. We need to have a stable platform to work on some of the issues. The fuel leak is the most important. After a good rocking around last night while sailing, we noticed a big increase in the leak. It\’s a potential fire hazard and the fumes do not make the crew function at their best…:-)
    It needs to be dealt with which I will do here. We expect to be here in Varadero for a few days waiting out the weather. We may need to get the repairs done at Marina Hemingway in Havana..
    90 miles to our west.

    LOTS to tell in the next blog.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Postion Report – En Route Anguilla Cay

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/02/04 17:28
    LATITUDE: 24-41.49N
    LONGITUDE: 078-34.21W
    COURSE: 213T
    SPEED: 7.6
    COMMENT: Beach House – ABEAM Biliie Island – En Route Anguilla Cay – Cay Sal Bank

    We decided to press on as the weather looks good now, but deteriorates in a couple of days.
    We will arrive at Anguilla Cay on the Cay Sal Bank tomorrow, early a.m.

    It\’s flat calm out here on the Great Bahama Bank…so with flat seas and winds expected to arrive on the beam before
    dark, we press on… Very strange to see the sea foam green of the shallow water. We\’ll travel a 100 miles in waters less than 10 feet deep!
    If it was 10 feet shallower. This would be the world\’s largest beach!
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Postion Report – Big Cross Cay, Andros Island – The Adventure Route!…..

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/02/03 19:34
    LATITUDE: 25-07.61N
    LONGITUDE: 078-14.94W
    COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Big Cross Cay, Andros Island – The Adventure Route!

    In a straight line, we came 24 miles today. However, due to the reefs and shallows, it was 44 miles overall.
    We have a nice feature on Nikki\’s Navionics Charts on her IPAD. It gives us depth contours. This was very helpful creeping into our little anchorage here.
    It\’s pretty flat, 15 knots of wind, expected to build up to 20 tonight, but we\’ve a pretty sweet spot at this anchorage. We like to be anchored early enough that if we have to hunt for anchorage, we\’ve got daylight to do it. This trip reminds us a bit of \”over the top\” through the Aboriginal Lands in \”OZ\”. Lots of lore to tell about in the next blog update.
    We\’ll head another 25 miles further south tomorrow, then look for the weather window to jump to Anguilla Cays (if possible) in the Cay Sal Bank.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Position Report – Chubb Cay, Berry Islands – The Bahamas

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/02/01 22:00
    LATITUDE: 25-24.55N
    LONGITUDE: 077-54.57W
    COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Chubb Cay, Berry Islands – The Bahamas

    We had a lovely get together last evening aboard Beach House with new friends Anneke and Tom (from Holland) aboard s/v \”Elisa\”
    They left very early this morning for The Abacos and we left on the 70 mile trip to Chubb Cay in the Berry Islands. We had great wind from dead astern
    all day and with a full mainsail and genoa poled out to windward, we made very good time. We actually anchored in this exact spot last June just before our arrival
    in Ft. Lauderdale. We suspect we\’ll be here tomorrow waiting out the southerly that is expected and then may have a nice weather window to pursue the \”adventure route\” down the west side of Andros Island.

    Enjoy the Super Bowl…we haven\’t decided yet if we\’ll go into the restaurant and watch yet or not. It\’s a bit blustery…..:-)
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Position Report – St. Georges Cay, Eleuthra – The Bahamas

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/01/29 22:30
    LATITUDE: 25-32.45N
    LONGITUDE: 076-45.36W
    COMMENT: Beach House -DOCKED-St. Georges Cay, Eleuthra – The Bahamas

    We left on the falling tide from Little Harbour on Great Abaco at 0710 am this morning. The day turned out to be great sailing as we covered the 58 miles.
    In about 8 hours. The winds were 13-20 knots from the NNE with a 2 meter swell. We needed propane and want to do a bit of marketing before heading out so we
    took two nights here at Yacht Haven Marina (where we appear to be the only boat!). Tomorrow, we\’ll take the Ferry from here to Harbour Island which is the supposed posh spot of the island. It takes the route of the \”Devil\’s Backbone\” which is shallow, winding and full of bommies. As such, we\’ll let them do the driving.
    They\’re fast and it\’s about 15 miles each way.

    The weather should lighten for the next few days, but then seems to come back strong off the coast of Central Florida. We\’ll keep an eye out.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Position Report – Little Harbour, South Tip of Great Abaco Island – The Bahamas

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/01/28 18:02
    LATITUDE: 26-19.60N
    LONGITUDE: 076-59.92W
    COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Little Harbour, Southern Tip of Great Abaco Island

    Yesterday, we rented bikes and took a tour of Elbow Cay including a nice stop off at Sea Breeze Marina (lunch) and the pink sands of Tahiti Beach.

    We\’ve been under the influence of the weather that has hit the Northeast USA hard. We\’ve had strong northerlies which should turn more to the NNE
    tomorrow and back off a little. It should make for a brisk sail to Eleuthra where we will stay on the west side at Spanish Wells. It\’s a long day tomorrow,
    about 63 miles or so. We\’ve moved 15 miles to the south of Hope Town today through the shallow Abaco Sea. Glad to have that behind us and get closer to Eleuthra
    for tomorrows sail.

    We have internet today, but tomorrow we will only be back on email.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Position Report – Hope Town, Elbow Cay – Abaco Group – Bahamas

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/01/21 21:55
    LATITUDE: 26-32.25N
    LONGITUDE: 076-57.55W
    COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Hope Town, Elbow Cay – Abaco Group-Bahamas

    We\’ve caught up on the position reports as of this notice….

    Marsh Harbour is a bit industrial and just a \”marketing stop\”. As such, we moved over late in the day
    the 7 miles to Hope Town with it\’s famous \”fresnel light\”. One of only three that are non electronically operated (we think?) on the
    West Coast of the America\’s. Someone has to re-align the lens every two hours. The entrance here was another very shallow affair where I saw
    as little as 2 feet 6 inches under the hull briefly. This means our daggerboards have left their mark in the sand….(at negative tide!)…:-)

    This is a classic \”Hurricane Hole\”, founded in 1785 by \”Loyalists\” from South Carolina. The locals sound like a cross between the British and \”the old south\”.

    Blogs soon, we\’ll try a few photos if the internet here allows.
    Scott and Nikki

  • Position Report – Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco Island – Bahamas

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2015/01/21 18:29
    LATITUDE: 26-32.85N
    LONGITUDE: 077-03.38W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 5
    WIND_DIR: NNW
    CLOUDS: 50%
    VISIBILITY: 12
    BARO: 1015.5
    AIR_TEMP: 27.2C
    COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco Island – Bahamas

    With Mike Lonnes\’ help kicking my brain, we found that we had blown a fuse which fed the main battery bank alternators to
    our \”house\” battery bank. We changed the 160 amp! fuse and we\’re back in the battery charging business again.

    We had a lovely motor boat ride in flat calm seas inside the reef except where we had to go outside at Whale Cay (and it was still calm).
    As Marsh is closer than Hope Town by a few miles, we decided to stop here as it\’s the Capitol City of this part of the Bahamas.

    Almost all our teething issues are resolved. A few left including a small oil cooler/sea water leak (port engine) and a small coolant leak (starboard engine).
    Both very resolvable issues.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki