SURPRISE !! We are in the Bahamas!

No, I am not kidding! We really are here.  Yes, a bit of a change of plans occurred after I last posted. OK, Here's how it happened.  We woke up Wednesday morning and checked the weather. We were again feeling discouraged about how we would be fighting strong south winds yet again and debating between the ICW and ocean to do it. Then Paul said -we could just go out to the Bahamas- the winds are right for that. So we thought and talked about it. To leave for the Bahamas from the Lake Worth inlet (which is where we were) we would go straight across to the Abacos (the northern Bahama islands). We had previously decided to go further down Florida to cross at Biscayne Bay because our destination was the Exumas-a different part of the Bahamas. We had mainly decided this because we have been told that though the Abacos are beautiful, it is quite a bit colder there so we were choosing the Exumas because they would be warmer to swim in and such. But as we were checking the extended forecast, we were bummed that not only would we be fighting winds still to get to Biscayne Bay; but also, once we got there, the winds were supposed to change and turn North which is not good at all for the gulf crossing.  So we were probably going to get stuck in Biscayne for several days before we could cross the gulfstream into the Bahamas. So, since the wind and waves forecast looked good to cross Wed and would not be good again for several days, we grabbed fuel, filled our water tanks, and took off.  That is very spontaneous for us!  We got a bit of a late start since this was a sudden decision, so it meant we would arrive after dark. But we are getting good at anchoring in the dark I suppose (still don't love doing it that way though).
So we headed out.  The first hour was very rough with waves MUCH bigger than forecasted - from 6-10 feet-I am not exaggerating, instead of 2-3 feet. We hoped it was just at the inlet because some inlets are rough with the different currents hitting each other, but it was really rough.  We decided to keep going for a little while and see if it got better and an hour or two later it did improve a little so we kept going.  It gradually improved over the next few hours, but it was a fairly wild 9 hours to be honest. The waves were probably 3-6 ft most of the day. We got here (The west end of Grand Bahama Island) around 7 pm and anchored and we were so relieved to be done with it.  Now we will still work our way down to the exumas over the next several days and won't have to wait around in Florida.
The gulf stream was pretty cool.  The water looks so dark blue and gets super deep.  It was weird to watch the depth soundings on the chart plotter go from 50 ft to 200 ft, to 1000 ft to over 2500 ft in some points. Crazy.  Now we are here and we can always remember we made it to the Bahamas on 12-12-12.

Late in the day of the crossing, we passed a Carnival cruise ship. That was a little entertaining.
 

 

Now we are excited to be somewhere new. Paul went and cleared us with customs Thursday morning and then we decided to go to the marina nearby for a day to recover from the past 5 days and to take showers, do laundry, etc. We plan to anchor almost all of the time (because it is free and we will run out of money really fast if we go to marinas a lot) but it was heavenly to have a little break and the nice facilities for a day. We do have showers on the boat, but we have not been taking full showers because we need to conserve water as our supply is limited. 

 

 

Once we got schoolwork and laundry and cleaning done, the kids wanted to go play in the water. There is a nice little beach right at the marina. It was very breezy and even rainy off and on but that didn't stop them. They were so excited to get in the ocean.  They found a few fun creatures right off. That was cool.

**This should be a picture of me pulling my hair out in frustration but I didn't take a picture of that.  :)

Our not so good luck today is that our generator broke.  Of course as soon as we leave the country and don't have easy access to parts and such.  There is some new issue -whether big or small-almost daily with this boat.  We know that lots of people have mentioned that owning a boat means always having a project or something to fix, and they were not kidding.  We really have a love/hate relationship going on with this boat. So I don't know if we will stay here and get the part shipped here, or if we are going to sail to a bigger town and deal with it there.  Good thing we don't have any set plan or place we have to be, because plans seem to change daily.
I will try to get the pictures to load and add them soon. I have been trying for 2 days now though, so I am giving up for now.

A LONG, LONG traveling week

 

What a week it has been! We arrived back at the boat around midnight on Tuesday, Dec 4. We were very pleasantly surprised to find the boat in really good condition after it had sat for 5-6 weeks.  We spent the next  few days buying tons of food and provisions, organizing, cleaning and just getting the boat ready.  We found a little time to decorate for Christmas too.  How cute is our little Christmas tree!  It was a goodbye gift from the nicest people at the St. Augustine Marina -Jim and Jan. It is just the right size for our boat. 

 

 

Then there are our Christmas lights. The cute little tree lit up in the galley, and then the party lights we already had up work well for Christmas time.  Aren't we festive?

 

We decided we were ready to go and get on with this plan on Saturday, Dec. 8.  We left at 2 pm and headed out to the ocean and went south.  The plan: to work our way down the Florida coast to get to the right spot to leave for the Bahamas.  We have to cross the gulf stream and since it has a strong north current, you have to start south when going to the Bahamas.  It will take at least 3-5 days to get down to Biscayne Bay which is where we want to be to head for the gulf crossing.  We decided that we would go out in the ocean so we could go day and night and try to just get the long trip over with.  We now have our new record of 60 hours straight we spent out on the ocean. At night, we did night watches in 3 -3 hour shifts; Paul and I would trade off and each have one of the kids rotate the watches with us so we always had 2 people up and watching.  It went well and the kids have been a lot of help. The weather has not been helping us make very good time, however, we have had a south wind much of the time which has slowed us down. By Monday morning, the wind was really strong and we were going straight into it, and it was getting old!  We tried tacking at angles but still didn't make much progress.  Then, by Monday afternoon, the waves got a lot bigger so we were really rocking around, and we had some lightning and a bit of rain. Yes, our favorite. We decided that it might be a good idea to come into the next inlet, and anchor a night and see if the intracoastal waterway (ICW) might be a better option.  The next inlet was pretty far, and with our slow progress, we didn't get to Ft. Pierce and anchor until 2 am (Tues. morning). Luckily, the anchor went in easy and we got some good sleep and some relief from the major swaying.  That was nice.  Tuesday, the forecast was still for some strong south winds and some occas. thunderstorms, so we stayed on the ICW all day today.  That was a good move we think. It has good and bad points.  It was a nice break from the swaying because it is very calm, and we made better time too, but it is a pain at times to  have to keep such a close watch on the shallower waters and to have to wait for draw bridges to open for us often.  We made it to North Palm beach this evening and are anchored here.  It doesn't really work to go down the ICW when it is dark. But now I am glad we decided to anchor and not to go out on the ocean tonight, because soon after we anchored here, it started pouring and it has been pouring and tons of lightning the past couple of hours.  I am very glad I am here and not going through this storm out in the ocean right now.
Anyway, it has been a pretty exhausting few days.  We keep just trying to think about how nice it will be when we get to the Bahamas, and I am trying to learn to be patient.  I can't control the weather and some of the other boat issues we encounter, so we are just plugging along.  Some of this stuff is very challenging but I know it is good for me.  Learning to do new things is good for me right? Like trying to anchor in the dark (done it twice now), trying to navigate in the dark or in stormy weather, making dinner while the boat is totally swaying like crazy- wish I had a picture of that, it was probably petty entertaining to watch, etc. Anyway, we know that this adventure is a lot of hard work, and just hope we can learn and grow as we go through it. :)

 

OK, so I will end with the positive.  Yes, there are some real challenges to this, but there are some amazingly cool things too.  Like this. Sunday afternoon, we had calm seas and sunshine and were loving it and then, the coolest thing happened. We see dolphins really often, but usually they don't come super close to us but we had 4 dolphins come right up to us and swim with our boat for a few minutes- right at the bow. It was the VERY coolest thing! I even got it videoed but it is not loading with our slow internet connection right now.  Hopefully I can add it in later. I'm just feeling lucky to get any internet connection I can right now out in this anchorage in the middle of a storm, but it is a little slow. Anyway, today, we saw lots of dolphins on the ICW too and they came close too.  That was fun.

 

So we have another day or so until we get to Biscayne Bay -depending on the weather. We will see how it goes. Then we will watch for the right weather for the big crossing.

A busy month home

I can't believe it has been a whole month.  We have been much busier than I thought we'd be and the month home has flown by.  Now we are counting down and getting ready to get back to the boat.  This past week I have been getting excited about getting back to our boat life though I will miss everyone so much.
So what did we do while we were in Utah?  Good question.  I think I will make a list, because lists make me feel like I am so productive. Here goes:
*Dehydrated about 4 bushels of apples (or maybe 3 bushels and a peck)
*Went to a movie for the first time in four months
*Sewed curtains for the boat (hope they fit)
*Helped remodel my parent's bathroom (painted walls, painted cabinets, new flooring, new fixtures, new molding, etc )
*Helped Emily to arrange and take 4 finals for her online high school (all A's-she rocks!)
*A huge sprinkler re-do project at our Heber home - long story regarding changed property lines that I won't go into because it makes me grumpy to think about.
*Went to a BYU football game (we've missed those) and hosted our favorite Martin family from Las Vegas for a weekend.
*Went to the shooting range.
*Went on motorcycle rides (Will was kind enough to let us borrow his Harley)
*Went on four wheeler rides with the kids
*Went to the Temple three times
*Got Jack ready for a mission -HUGE ( Dr. appts, Dentist appts, wisdom teeth out, mission prep classes, paperwork, Bishop and Stk. Pres. interviews) It is all done!
*Visited Temple Square to see the Christmas lights
*Played with friends and family
*Thanksgiving with both our families
*Cooked and baked most of the stuff we were missing on the boat
*Got to play in the snow
*Lost my tan (after about the first week back to Utah-pretty pathetic)

Here are a few pictures of some of our activities of this past month:

We had a big snow storm in early November and the gang had fun playing in it with our limited supply of snow gear.  Cold!

 

Jack was really a trooper for the wisdom teeth fun. He didn't complain and did everything I told him to. He was such a good patient.

 

He is going to be a great missionary. We are getting excited for him.

 

Thanksgiving day was a lot of fun.  We started the day in Nephi with a family football game that morning, had a family talent show (per Jaci's awesome idea) and did some karaoke together.  And of course had an amazing meal thanks to Grandma and Wendy.

 

 Then we headed up to Midway to see my family to have dessert-yummy pies and for the kids to make their annual gingerbread houses with their cousins.

 

 

 

A visit to Temple Square with the Rasband gang

 

 

 We had some really awesome weather while we were here.  Other than a couple of days of snow early in the month, it was so nice and not to cold. We were thankful for that, because, after living in Florida, we had become babies about being cold. This was taken just a few days ago.  Who would have thought the weather would be good enough in late November to take off the shirts?  This is Noah and his buddy Daniel (our niece Jessica's son)  They had a ball throwing their shirts for some kind of game.

 

More good weather fun.  The kids had a big battle in Grammy's backyard and it was quite the set up with the playground and tree house as bases and shields, sticks, and the works.  They had a ton of fun.

 

 

Now we are counting down. One more day in Utah and then it is back to the boat.  The plan now is to scrub and clean the boat, buy supplies, and watch for some good sailing weather and set out.  Wish us luck.

On the road...again

 

No, this does not look like Georgia or Florida.  We have been on the move the past week and a half.  We decided that since we still had a month left of hurricane season, we would come home and see the family for a break and be home for Thanksgiving.  The kids wouldn't let me write our plan on the blog because they wanted to surprise some of their friends when we got home, so now it is safe to write. So anyway, we left Georgia just before the big storm hit (we secured the boat really well before we left and it is ok-so we hear). We drove across the country...again.  If you had told me a year ago that I would drive across the country 2 times with my family in a four month period I would never have believed it. We used to think that driving to Las Vegas was a big road trip.  We drove 15 hours the first day, 12 hours the next, and the next was about 8 when we added in a side trip to the grand canyon. It was really cool, but we didn't stay long because it was freezing!!! Took a few pictures and headed to Las Vegas.

 

 

 

We stayed a few days in Las Vegas with our favorite Martin family. It was beautiful and sunny and the kids were in heaven. They took us shooting and the kids loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

While we were at the shooting range, we noticed that Jack, Em and I were matchy.  It happened often while we were in Florida. We would notice that Em, Lucy, and Noah were all wearing the same colored clothes unintentially, or me, Lucy, and Emily, or whatever. It was funny. I think maybe from living in such close quarters our brains were thinking alike.

 

 

We also went to an orchard and picked apples and had some yummy donuts and fruit. It was just a lovely weekend.

 

 

Next we headed up to Nephi to stay with Paul's family. Again, it was beautiful and sunny and we had a ball. We played outside, went on four wheeler rides, raked leaves and  really enjoyed ourselves.

 

 

Halloween was a great day.  More great weather, four wheeling, picking apples, making cute halloween food, etc.

 

 

 

 

We even got to carve pumpkins.  Lucky us.

 

 

Since we hadn't had a chance to plan costumes, our family helped us throw together these. Em and Lucy threw on jammies and robes and put curlers in their hair, and Noah borrowed aunt Wendy's cowboy toys and they were set. It was easy for me and they had a great night trick or treating with their cousin Silvi.

We then made the final leg up to Midway/Heber to see my family and some friends. It was great to see my family and the kids all had a great time playing with some friends they have missed dearly. Sadly, I didn't manage to get any pictures  of all that excitement. It has been very fun and very busy this past few days. We are loving having a chance to get some things done here and to see our very awesome families and friends. It is also nice to sleep in normal beds and not bump our heads as we walk through a house  for a change. This experience helps us to be thankful for the little things. :)

Sailing to Georgia

 

The time to leave Florida had arrived so Paul and the kids left the marina late afternoon on Sat, Oct. 20. I, sadly, didn't get to sail with them because I had to drive the car up to Georgia. I stayed with a friend that night and drove up the next morning since it is only a two hour drive. Paul and the kids sailed all night and arrived to St. Simon's Island late Sunday morning. I was so proud of them!  They sailed 17 hours straight-through the night.  They rotated night watches (Paul and Lucy together, then Jack and Emily) every three hours.  I feel kind of jealous.  I think it sounds pretty amazing (and a little scary to be honest) to be out in the ocean in the middle of the night. They took lots of awesome pictures as they watched the sun set.  They also saw a huge manta ray jumping out of the water a few times and I was a little jealous again. Who knew manta rays jumped out of the water?

 

Yikes. living on the edge

 

 

 

It's getting darker...

and darker...

 

pretty moon

 

They hung out in the cockpit most of the time and even splept a lot of the time there. They said it got pretty cold.  How cute and cuddly is this?

This is our new spot in Georgia. St. Simons Island, GA (just a few minutes from Brunswick). This is the Golden Isles Marina.  It is really pretty here.  Look closely and you can see the gang at the BBQ pavillion. We had a yummy little BBQ picnic.  Challenge for the day: can you pick out our catamaran in the picture? Yes, it is very hard to see but is possible. :)

 

 

 

Last days in Florida

 

Time to catch up again.  Here is the past week and a half in the life of the Coltons.  We went to visit another fort -Ft. Matanzas. It is just south of St. Augustine and it is a small fort, but we really liked it. It is on a little island (Rattlesnake Island--no we didn't see any snakes) so we got to ride a little ferry over to it as part of the tour. It was cool.

 

 

Ferry ride to the fort.

 

 

Cannons at a fort are always a bonus.

 

 

Some other misc. stuff happening for our last week in Florida.  The kids decided to have a sleepover outside in the cockpit.  They liked it so much that they had to do it a second night. 

 

 

Then, of course Noah wanted to do school in the sleeping bag and I thought well, if it will motivate him and he will have fun then why not. A perk to homeschooling huh? Anything to make schoolwork a little funner.

 

 

And of course, Noah had the idea to make the cockpit into a fort. Kids can make anything into a fort!

 All you need is a few clothespins, a towel, and ta-da!

 

More miscellaneous: the latest hobby has been Harry Potter.  Since I have been reading the books to the kids, Noah started playing Harry Potter and his nice sisters joined in.  Here they are with their coolest wand poses.

 

 

This is them hanging out in the whomping willow. This is an awesome tree that Noah loves to hang out in.

 

They have been having various Hogwarts classes for their harry potter playtime. This one was Care of Magical creatures- a few crabs hanging out in the mud worked well for that class.

 

 

You can't read the papers sadly, but they say that this is the wand shop. We all got to buy awesome wands from Noah and then the kids spent lots of time running around casting spells on each other.  They have had a ton of fun and it was a good diversion.

 

 

Another diversion.  This weekend there was a big sailfish tournament at our marina.  LOTS of big, fancy fishing boats came into town for this big fishing contest.  It has been busy and bustling here.  We woke about 5:45 am both Friday and today to the big boats heading out for the fishing fun. Then they come back to the marina around 5 pm . It is like watching a parade coming by. There were 26 boats involved.  It was fun to watch them.

 

If you can tell, the small white flag on the right is what they put up if they caught a sailfish that day.  It has a picture of a blue sailfish on the flag.  We would count the flags as they came by to see how many each boat caught that day.

 

This boat caught the most for the day--5 flags.  There were also prizes for catching mahi mahi and wahoo too.  It was cool to see some of the fish they caught when they were cleaning them.  The sailfish are catch and release only so they measure the fish and take pictures before they release them, but the other fish were cool to see. It sure has been busy around our marina lately.

 

 

So, finally, the time has come to say goodbye to Florida. Our permit to be here expires soon, so the plan is to go up to Georgia, get the boat settled there, and wait one more month while hurricane season finally finishes up. Then we will head to the Bahamas.  That is the current plan anyway.  It has been a crazy few weeks with kinks coming up with both our short term and long term boat plans and it has made us a bit crazy.  Some days we are ready to leave for the Bahamas now and get on with it, other days we are ready to sell this crazy boat.  It has had its challenges, but has been so amazing too.  So I will end this post with a few more random pictures of St. Augustine that will remind us of the wonderful memories of this place. By the way, the people here are wonderful. Everyone here has made us feel so at home and even though we feel like it is time to move on, it was a little sad to go today too. 

 

 

 I finally have a couple of pictures of all of us on the boat. Yea!

 

We love this crazy motel.  We went by it whenever we walked to the beach and we thought it was very unique and awesome! It doesn't make sense decoratively with the magic hat and rabbits and then there are flamingos by the room doors, but it is a one-of-a-kind.

 

Yes, it is very scary, but I don't want to forget my crazy, wild hair. It has been rather entertaining at times to see what the humidity will do to my hair. This humidity has been one of our bigger adjustments.  The way everything feels damp and you have to put everything (gum, crackers, anything crunchy, paper) in baggies or it gets soggy, so different from Utah.

 

We will never forget the amazing wildlife here in Florida.  That has been our favorite thing. The turtles, birds, fish, dolphins, manatees, etc.  We love it all. 

 Now on to the fun in Georgia.