"WHISPER SPORTING HER CHRISTMAS WREATH"

Interesting things which happened since our last update are, going aground heading into an anchorage in Venetian, South Beach, Miami and having a friend come out to help us, he tied our halyard (a line) to his dinghy and when Whisper slid free our friend could not get the line off his dinghy quick enough and his dinghy went upside down throwing him in the water. The Skipper had to get into “Scarlet” our new dinghy and go help, we ended up towing his dinghy upside down to the anchorage and he was on board Whisper. After a lot of maneuvers things got back to normal. Thank heavens going aground is just getting caught in soft sand. You would think that was enough excitement for one day. We had to reset the anchor and Whisper stopped suddenly when we investigated, there was a line around the prop. Vic stripped, got in the water with his snorkeling gear and with a lot of corresponding was able to get it off. We thoroughly enjoyed Venetian. But we set sail for Marathon; it took us two days of really nice winds. The trip was uneventful, except when Vic asked what was trailing behind Whisper wrapped around her rudder, it was a green plastic garbage bag. Luckily Vic was able to get into the dinghy while I took the helm and got it off without incident. Here we sit in Marathon, FL once again awaiting a “Weather Window” to cross to Cuba, sound familiar? We waited in Key West, Fl last year and never got one until it was too late.

We are on a mooring ball here, which means that we have “Whisper” tied on to a great big ball that is anchored in cement. It is great as we can dinghy ashore for washrooms, showers, laundry, library, internet, etc. There are stores and restaurants within walking distance.

We were blessed Christmas with the arrival of our 5th Grandchild. April gave birth to a baby girl 8 lb 11 oz, 20 inches long.


Repairing a sail. I was fortunate enough to meet this Australian Couple - Stu and Lynn. Stu is a master sail maker in Australia. He took my 150% sail and cut it to fit my new furling gear. This may not mean much to some but to a sailor it is the same thing as having a new motor. He told me the sail would pull like a naughty school boy. Can't wait to try it out in a good breeze.














A Narrow passage. We have taken the inside route on our way South towards Marathon. In order to do this, one must have a draft of no more than 5 feet and go through very small cuts such as the one you see below. Total concentration is the most important thing at this time.














Rudolph the Black Nosed Reindeer. We spent the most wonderful week in South Beach, Miami. Not only are the people there unique, but the animals seem to have taken on the same air of being different.














A great sail to Marathon. When you are going South, the best thing you can have going for you is a northerly wind. On this occasion we had three consecutive days of wind coming from the right direction. Although like all Northerlies it is colder than an average day, but getting out there and sailing was more than well worth it.














Marilyn's perfect picture of flipper. I have been out done! Last year I captured a dolphin in mid air, Marilyn has it coming out of the water and going in on the same picture. It is not very often you capture this.














A Visiting Cruiser. This is Corning from the sailing vessel "Blessed Spirit". He lives in Maine and has visited Newfoundland many times. He and his Wife Tita have been in constant contact with us since we sailed in 2007. Perfect sailing couple. He can appear at any time from any direction and always carries a smile.














Shallow water. We are sailing along in waters 8 foot deep. If you happen to loose your concentration, these birds are a pleasant reminder that if you vary a little off course (they are standing knee deep) then you have problems.














We arrived in Marathon on Dec 21st. to be with other cruisers for Christmas. It was a great surprise to find out that the Marina Common Room would be available for Christmas Dinner. The Marina supplied, Turkey, Ham, Mashed Potato and Sweet Potato and each cruiser brought along a pot luck item. With over 200 people we had a huge selection of 100 different dishes. A good time was had by all.

January 23, 2010 Bahamas

This is a typical fence in Bimini. Note the conch embedded in the wall.

Being the social people we are we organized a barbecue and pot luck which went very well.

Now this is a fish. It is a Wahoo. We had some lovely Wahoo Steaks for supper one evening

Marilyn getting sea shells. Water is approximately 78 and air temperature low 80's

This is one of my favorite pictures it shows the distance between the Islands of North and South Bimini. There is just enough room in the cut for one boat to enter at a time. When the seas are running from the NW it is impossible for the boats to get into the harbour

People asks what we do all day, well this is the favorite hobby of most cruisers, searching for Sea Beans. Sea Beans are from exotic islands and rain forests, sea beans drop from plants into waterways, such as the Amazon River. After reaching the oceans through inlets, these tropical seeds drift until they land on foreign beaches. We look forward to showing you these when we return home.

This picture illistrates how clear the water is here in the Bahamas. We gave them an unusual treat a crushed "Ginger Snap" all the way from Purity Factories. You should see the smile on their faces as they at it.

December 17-2009

I celebrated my 64th Birthday on December 16th with a couple from Texas, a solo sailor from Denmark and a couple of Aussies as they like to be called














I even had a Birthday Cake with candles not 64 mind you














Very rarely do I get the opportunity to swim with Marilyn in the ocean but this day was an exception













Since the new court decision in August of this year, boaters as ourselves, can anchor in any waters along the coast as long as we do not interrupt the flow of traffic. This give us the opportunity as you can see, right in the heart of South Beach Miami.













This boat belongs to singer Billy Joel. Note the 200 thousand runabout for fishing tied to the stern. Can anyone tell me why she is called Demolition?
















When entering any large city such as Miami one is always alert because of unforeseen traffic.

Our journey continues south. The weather has been extremely hot over the last 2 weeks. The days are not so bad because we can seek air conditioned places such as riding on the buses or visiting retail stores to get away from the sun but the nights are long when there is not a breath of air. There is a low pressure system on the way. That will be a good thing. It will cool things down. We have spent the last week or so in Miami. First we stayed at the northern end but have moved to South Beach. We have spent a lot of time on the beach and away from the boat because of the temperature. This area of Miami is alive with fast cars, large boats and tall women. It is The Art Deco area of the USA. We have not decided as to where we will spend Christmas. Today Marilyn decorated our 12 inch tree. We hope you and your family's have a great Christmas. Please remember you are celebrating the birth of Christ. The rest is commercialism.

December 1 , 2009

This is our new addition after 20 years it was time to retire our old faithful Roar. We did find a good home and parents for her.














If you like Catfish this is the place for you.














Marilyns most used utensil. The Pressure Cooker, shown here with a chicken. If you don't know how to use one you don't know the true taste of food.













When we are at the entrance to a large port forget the rules. I say the larger boat or tug has the right of way.













This is a painting on a building we noticed in Palakta












Marilyn found turkey for 60 cents a pound so had to buy enough to feed an army. Unfortunately we did have a roaster on board big enough to cook it thus I am disecting it to fit the pressure cooker. We had it for each meal for a week. Thank heavens Christmas is a month away.


Things have been going so well this year we are afraid to mention anything. We are beginning to meet boaters who we have seen before and are meeting people who are doing this trip for the first time, to them we are pro's. It is great to be able to help people who find their new adventure a little intimidating. Our plan is to keep going south until we reach Marathon (one of the southern most Keys). It will take us until Christmas to get there. As long as the weather stays as beautiful as it has been and we have a breeze to carry us along all will turn out good. Hope you enjoy the pictures.