Spanish Wells

We were going to wait for high tide to provide a little more distance between our hulls and the reefs, and leave between 10 and 11 this morning. It started to rain around 6:45 and turned into a nearby thunderstorm a little before 7. Several lightning strikes were in the area where we were, 1-5 seconds away. This prompted Ben to check the weather for an updated forecast. 

Yesterday when he looked, it was forecasting calm seas for crossing to Spanish Wells and Nassau for the next several days. Today it was looking like 2 ft for tomorrow, then 5 ft and 3-4 the next day, so we up and left around 8 am. Our crew swap is in Nassau on the 8th- Uncle Paul & Aunt Denise leave and the Grasshoppers arrive, so we didn’t have an option to chance it and wait it out to see if it would change again.

Ben said we would just head to Nassau today (for the next 4 nights), cutting out Elbow Cay, Spanish Wells, and Eleuthera from our plan, which made me sad. Reluctantly, I got ready for the long day of 3 ft following seas, 7 seconds apart. To make it sting a little more, we would be leaving right then, without more time on the beach and without Florence's cinnamon rolls. When I came up to the cockpit, they decided we could likely make it to Spanish Wells today and hang there a day or 2, so that cheered me up a bit. 

Smooth ride to Great Guana Cay. There are lots of big houses on the beach there. We were wondering if they're residences or vacation homes.

Ben called the guy I had in my phone from last time we were in Spanish Wells to see if we could rent a golf cart from him. He said he didn’t do golf cart rentals anymore.

He called and got $1.50/foot at a dock Spanish Wells. We think it may be the same place we docked in 2022.

Had an uneventful crossing from Abacos to Spanish Wells. The 2-3 ft waves were 9 seconds apart, very tolerable. Just a long day- hanging out, napping, playing cards, watching DVDs, snacking, working on the blog and Instagram posts. Underway for 11 hours.

Docked in the same general area as last time, but I think it was a little further east than we were the time before.

As we were tying up, Ben, Uncle Paul, and I were getting eaten alive by noseeums. For the first time this summer, we were forced to eat inside.

Lots of middle-of-night wakings! The tide came in, so our boat was rubbing on the dock, ben went out to fix fenders. Around 3 am, it started raining. Ben got up to close up the cockpit, and saw Uncle Paul heading out to do the same. Much quieter for them due to being plugged in and the generator was not running. Aunt Denise said it was too quiet.

Uncle Paul and Ben walked to get a 6-seater golf cart rented for the day. The shop opened at 8. They got there before Jennifer, the lady who is retired and supposed to only work 2 days a week and now works everyday. 

Ben had a meeting at 10, and it was 9:10, so we all loaded up for a quick trip to the grocery store. Got a few necessities and a few non-necessities. They don't use plastic bags, but green bags that are 100% compostable. We were thrilled to see and use those.

Drove to the far west side of the island and looped back to the dock. Ben got ready for his meeting and everyone else got ready for the beach.

Left Ben at the boat and I drove (on the left side of the road) to the beach. There were 2 wooden swings over the water with a Spanish Wells sign above them, so we took advantage of the photo opp. We walked out falling into almost every hole in the sandy bottom, until the water got to waist level and came back. Moose and Roo resumed their digging and castle making, Bear and I walked around to the south side of the beach and then to the north side, where the winds really picked up and we had to hold onto our hats!

Everyone started getting hungry for lunch. It was time to leave. Aunt Denise mentioned that she saw a sub place on the way to the beach, so we stopped there and brought it back to the boat. 

While we were gone, Ben had his meeting, fixed the anchor roller, put the shower head on the hose at the outdoor stern shower, and replaced the light in our laundry room. He had a very productive morning.

Aunt Denise and I wanted to go shopping for some souvenirs. Everyone else decided to come with us. She got the shirt she wanted and a pretty bracelet she found. I got a sticker for my school computer, an ornament, a sign for my classroom, and some shark tooth necklaces for my prize box at school. Ben and Moose got some UPF shirts they wanted that say Spanish Wells. Bear got a Spanish Wells sweatshirt and a sticker for her computer. Roo got some postcards and bracelets for her and her besties.

We got in the golf cart and waited for Roo to write on her postcards so we could drop them off at the post office. Along the way to the post office, we saw a fire department, so Ben turned around to go back to see if anyone was there. Turns out we turned around in the post office parking lot! No one was at the fire station, so we went back to the post office to mail the postcards. When we walked in, no one was there either. It was just a wall full of PO Boxes. We knocked on the door that said staff only and no one answered. Next door was the administrator office. They were surprised no one was there and thought they were out for lunch. I asked what time it closes, they said 4 pm. It was 2 pm, we decided to drive around and explore the island and then come back and check again closer to closing time.

We drove to the east side of the island, looped around to the south side where all of the docks are in the narrow channel. There were pallets stacked high full of goods- we saw TVs, diapers, dry goods, toilet paper, etc. It was then that it clicked for the adults- it was delivery day for the stores. Imagine how long it takes to get anything delivered to the island before it even hits the shelves!

After we crossed over the bridge, we drove around Russell Island. We started off going to the east side and then headed back west. There was an awful noise and we kept thinking something happened with our golf cart. The kids (in their rear-facing seat) said it was coming from a truck behind us. Ben pulled over and a truck passed us. I still heard the noise and it wasn't coming from that truck. Then another truck passed us towing a boat on a trailer and we saw the back driver side tire of that trailer was not rotating, but instead being dragged because the brake was locked up, burning the rubber off the tire and leaving behind a long mark on the road. The smell? I bet you can smell it just from reading that!

We drove to the west, the furthest we could, and found a "Sign your name" sign, so we added a boat sticker to it.

In 2022, we went to a restaurant called Sandbar with Ben's mom, sister, and niece. We remembered liking it, so we were going to eat there again. It had a beautiful mosaic wall on the side of it that Roo wanted her picture in front of, so we had to recreate that photo. On Thursdays, they are only open for lunch, which means 11:30-5. It was 3. We weren't hungry quite yet and wanted to freshen up before dinner, so we left and went back to the boat. 

Ben dropped us off and took Bear and Roo to check the post office- one more time (it was still closed)- then see what the availability was for another restaurant we liked, The Shipyard. He was told they only had one more table at 6:30, so he reserved that for us.

When he got back, we decided to eat at The Shipyard. There was some time to kill, so the kids did some fishing off the dock. The adults moved the boat back a few pilings because another boat was coming in on the dock tomorrow morning and we wanted to be able to get out if it arrived before we left. Then, Bear, Roo, and I played some Farkle with Aunt Denise. We tried cards, but it was too windy.

Shipyard was perfect! Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise wanted to get some appetizers for the table. We all decided on the sticky conch (cracked conch) and conch poppers (conch fritters). Everyone liked them both, which was exciting because last time we came, only Roo tried conch. Moose and Bear refused to even give it a shot.

Our main dishes:

Uncle Paul- Mahi 🐟 

Aunt Denise- Coconut Chicken Strips 🥥 🐔 

Ben- Lobster Mac & Cheese 🦞 🍜 

Lisa- Grilled Pineapple Chicken Breast 🍍 🐔 

Moose- Conch and Chips 🐚 (I wasn't sure he would like this and he ordered it before he tried the appetizers. Our backup plan was for me or Ben to swap him for ours if needed.)

Bear- Cheeseburger 🍔 

Roo- Buttered Noodles 🧈 🍜 

I chose a coconut calabaza grits for one of my sides. I wasn't sure what calabaza was, but the waitress described it as similar to squash, so I decided to give it a try. Boy, was it tasty!!! 

As dinner was finishing up, we got to watch the sunset off the porch. It was the first actual sunset in a few days- as the others previously had been pretty cloudy and obstructed.

On the way home, we drove up to Papa Scoops for some ice cream. The line of golf carts was wrapped around the corner by the time it was our turn! We left our sticker among the other cruiser stickers before enjoying our scoops of ice cream on the way home.

Treasure Cay, Abacos

Up and out around 6:30/45 headed to Abacos and my favorite Bahamas beach, Banyan Beach on Treasure Cay. 💕 

Waves were calm and pleasant most of the trip. They got bigger as we got closer to Treasure Cay, but seeing where we would be ending up made it easier to tolerate. Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise got on the bow to make sure our ground clearance was good as we navigated through some narrow channels. 

Last time we came to Treasure Cay, we cruised around the southeast part of the island to get into a bay on the other side, anchored, and rode the tender in to a tie up point and walked across the street to the beach. We didn't have good charts on that visit because we came over, spur of the moment and just used the old Garmin C Maps from 2018 or 2019. Ben had to guess good routes based on that, knowing a lot probably changed due to hurricanes and such. We were still learning about this boat so we didn’t have a lot of the knowledge or skills we have now, and didn't want to take big risks. With the new charts, we were able to anchor directly in the cove of the beach!

It took a few tries for the anchor to hold, so once it did, we started getting ready to go to Florence's and the beach. I checked to make sure she would still be open, and Google said she is open 6 am- 6 pm every day except Sunday. Ben and I were pumped because Florence makes HUGE cinnamon rolls and cookies that we had in 2021 when we were here. The kids didn't really remember being here, so didn't even know what to expect except for sugar. 

We took the Chicken to the beach, pulling it up in the sand knowing the tide was still on its way in, and set the anchor ashore. Moose, meanwhile, acted as if he had never been at a beach before and was frolicking in the waves, getting annihilated with the crash of each one as it came in. We were still about a mile from Florence's, but the water was much rougher, the closer we got to Florence's, and Ben wanted to keep the Chicken tucked away at a calmer part of the beach.

The 7 of us walked a bit on the beach before Ben decided we should walk on the road instead. We trekked up to the road and walked about a mile on the shoulder of the road, having to remember that the oncoming traffic was on the right side of the road, not the left. The only time that was an issue was trying to get through the roundabout. Here, the circle flows clockwise. Such a mind trick!

After about a mile, and Papa D's dump truck passing us several times, we made it to Florence's... only to find out she had left for the day. It was only 4:45. We were disappointed, but the kids were psyched when we stopped at the minimart next door and Ben, Bear, Moose, and Roo each got a Goombay Punch, Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise got one to try, and I took a few sips of everyone's. We got two additional 6-packs of Goombay Punch and a 6-pack of Ben's favorite Ginger Beer for the boat. The guys are going to take the tender over in the morning and get some cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast before we head for Elbow Cay in the morning.

Ben and Uncle Paul decided to walk back to get the tender on their own, so Aunt Denise and I took the kids across the street to the beach to swim and play. We didn't realize we left the sand toys in the tender until later.

At the water's edge, the kids spotted a sea star that was tumbling around with each wave crash. One of them finally grabbed it and we all admired it before throwing it back, but further away so it didn’t have to tumble and crash forever.

When the boys finally came to us with the Chicken, they told us it was tipped on its side and had a ton of water in it when they got back to it. Ben had to pull-start it because the battery got wet. They sat in the tender to let it charge while the kids finally had their sand toys to play with. Of course, it wasn't nearly long enough and they complained when we had to clean up and go.

Aunt Denise, the kids, and I loaded into the tender while it was being tossed around on the bigger waves, and made our way back to the Cartermaran. 

Uncle Paul and the kids swam around the boat at the anchorage to get the sand off before getting rinsed off on the boat and into jammies. House lights along the shore came on, so it was easy to see which homes on the beach were occupied and which weren't. It was cloudy for the sunset, and everyone went to bed pretty early.

End of 2025- Indiantown Marine Center

Woke up and went west through Saint Lucie Lock, marking our last lock of the summer. We'll go through this same lock next year, and that will most likely be our last one on the Cartermaran.

Started on all of our lists right away, while quietly not thinking too hard about the fact that we're leaving and this is almost the end of our boat life for now.

We knew going in that this last leg would be the least exciting stretch of the Loop. And it was. But there were great stops and memories made too. We're ready to leave the boat this summer, as accomplished gold loopers.

Aunt Denise and Uncle Paul met us at the boatyard and we loaded what we could into their car. Then we said goodbye to the Cartermaran for the next 10 months.

It's always a sad goodbye, but just knowing next year's will be different makes this one even harder. Next year we'll be walking away knowing it's the last time she's ours and that the next people to untie her lines will be her new family. She'll become their beloved vessel the way she's been ours. But we're not there yet. And we've got one more summer with her first.

One more summer on the Cartermaran. One more chance to get out there before she becomes someone else's vessel to explore and dream on. We're going to make it count. Bahamas or bust, June 2026.

Locks today: 1

Locks of the summer: 48

Locks of the loop: 162

Great Sale Cay

Boat battery died at 3am. Whenever this happens, everyone wakes up because all of the sounds of the boat turn off. Ben had to start the boat to get the generator to turn on. I think everyone went back to sleep. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Had some big waves at the anchorage and for the first 30-45 minutes underway this morning. I stayed in my bed to help me brace the impacts 😬 I knew I couldn't make a run for the cockpit and just had to wait it out. Ben said it wouldnt be long. Aunt Denise was stuck in the bathroom because it wasn't bad when she went in, but it got so bumpy very quickly. Uncle Paul had to help her walk up to the cockpit couch so she could lay down!

Once the water smoothed out, everyone just hung out and recovered while we were underway. We anchored at Great Sale Cay. (As a reminder, "Cay" is pronounced "Key".) Looked for a beach to play and swim. Took the Chicken and walked around on shore. Lots of tiny snails, a blue crab, sand biscuits, and lots of glass, plastic, and random trash. It was overcast, so not too hot. The water was pretty shallow and very warm so we didn’t get in past our ankles. 

Rode the tender to what we thought was a sandbar, but turned out to be something else we couldn't figure out. We made Moose attempt to touch the bottom while holding onto the side of the tender and he couldn't, so we turned around.

Moose and Ben took the Chicken out for a spin. Everyone took showers, then we had dinner, and played Kids Against Maturity which is always good for a laugh. Tried to plan the next few stops along the way south. (Treasure Cay, Elbow Cay, Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, Nassau, and make it to Atlantis early on the 7th.) Reserved Atlantis Marina slip for June 7, 8, 9.

Got another sunset, but this one was cloudier. Still, we love watching them!

Bahamas-Bound

Met Uncle Paul & Aunt Denise at Safe Harbor a little after 7 am. Took one last run of trash from unpacking yesterday. We were all onboard and ready to fill up when Safe Harbor opened. Filled up on diesel ($5.90/gal) and water and were on our way. Got to Lake Worth Inlet around 8:30 and were on the open ocean by 9 am. Arrived shortly before 4. (3:48) Not too bad. I thought it would take much longer!

Wave prediction was 1 footers, with peaks at 2 feet, 8-9 seconds apart. We couldn't have asked for much better for this crossing. When the waves were causing beam seas, I was feeling a little sick, so I took a dramamine just to be safe.

Uncle Paul had lines trolling behind us. Caught something big, but it got away after quite the fight. He thought it was a shark or wahoo by the strength of it.

Everyone napped on and off. Rolliness of waves decreased as the day went on. No dolphins to welcome us in this time, so the beautiful Bahamas blues took over as the welcoming committee.

Docked at West End. Surprisingly, we still had time for Ben to get to customs, come back to the boat, and have us fill out papers before they closed. He said we would go anchor out since we got everything done, if he can just pay a landing fee, which he could, so we did!

Found a spot just to the north and made dinner while the kids swam, teathered to the boat and each other due to the very strong current. After dinner, it was time to fish. Bear, Moose, and Roo caught at least 1 fish each. They caught yellowtail snappers, grunts, squirrel fish and threw them all back after the never-ending photos they requested with each catch.

We watched the sun go down and then went to bed. Most of us were asleep by 9!

Staging

Got up at 7, drove back to North Palm Beach. Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise had the kids showering and fed before we got there. Shout-out to these two for always being ready to feed, babysit, house, drive around, and entertain all of us- even the dogs!

Ben dropped me off to get all of our stuff packed and ready to go to the boat while he ran a few more last minute errands. He wanted to be on the boat by 11, hoping to get to the lock by 1 pm. (We thought the water level in Okeechobee was low enough to only open every 2 hours, but it turns out it was opening on demand, so that didn't even matter!)

Unloaded our stuff, the dogs, and Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise's bags from the truck and Aunt Denise's car. Uncle Paul drove our truck back to their house to keep while we are gone.

We were on the boat at 10:40, underway soon after, and at the St Lucie Lock at 12:50. A westbound boat was in the lock, so we just had to wait for them to finish and exit. 

We entered with a smaller boat and had no trouble getting the lines and setting up. While we were being lowered, Bear asked if this would be our last lock on Cartermaran. I said it most likely was, and then that was all I could think about. Got me feeling all the feels. I may or may not have teared up a bit about it, thinking back on all of the locks on our adventures and how much we grew and learned together in short spurts over the last 5 years.

On the Okeechobee Waterway, there are houses the closer we get to Stuart. Both times we've gone through here previously, and again today we saw kids wake boarding or tubing behind boats. Moose asked me today if that was safe. I told him I can't imagine this area is gator-free because it is still fresh water, possibly brackish. I said I definitely would not let my kids in the water here and left it at that.

Got in the ICW and went downstairs to complete some chores. Ben left the air conditioner on for us so we could get things done without feeling like we were going to die in the heat and humidity. #coloradoproblems

Bear and Roo helped me make the other 2 beds. Then, all 3 of the kids put their clothes away and we tidied up the cabin a bit more, little by little until the wakes from other boats made it too hard to get things done.

Everyone always loves looking at the houses on the ICW as we pass by, commenting about everything from the design to the cost to the size, and more. Roo really liked the Banyan trees we kept seeing, and this one was huge!

Went south to Munyon Island, in North Palm Beach, a great staging area to get to Safe Harbor in NPB to fill up on water and diesel, and have Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise hop on board in the morning for our crossing to the Bahamas. Safe Harbor opens at 7:30 am, so we will be there then!

Road Trippin' and Boat Preppin' for our final Cartermaran summer

May 25 and 26, we (Ben, Lisa, Bear, Moose, Roo, Dixie, & Hattie) were on the road, with just 6 hours of sleep after getting home from planting 105 trees at Carterado. Drove about 2,000 miles from Colorado to Florida in 37 hours. Only stopped for fuel, food, and potty breaks along the way, and a 5 hour nap on the night of the 25th in Clarksville, TN- the same Clarksville on the Cumberland River we traveled through last summer.

Arrived at Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise's right around 9 pm on the 26th. We said hello, had some delicious pepperoni rolls, said goodnight, and went to bed. 

Ben was up and at the boat by 7 am on the 27th to prepare and complete boat projects. Our friend TJ was able to meet him there and help a ton. Uncle Paul went and helped in the afternoon. The next owner of our boat was able to fly out and get to know the ins and outs of her future home.

I had been checking Marv's Weather for the last week to find a good weather window for our crossing to the Bahamas. It was looking like any day Thursday-Tuesday would be good, but as those days got closer, it was narrowed down to Friday, Saturday, or Monday. Friday looked best, but would not give Ben enough time to get his must-do-before-leaving work done. We were shooting for Saturday, the next best day, and figured we would go Monday if none of that checked out for us.

Aunt Denise ran me around town for the items I was responsible for and we managed to check those off the list pretty quickly. Our only setback was the dog food bag that had spiders hiding in the corners of it. Ew. Returned that and added one more stop to our list.

While setting up the appointment for the dogs at the vet, I found out I needed to complete the Click2Clear application for our temporary cruising permit for the Bahamas before we left. I was a little upset because we had logins from the last two times we were in the Bahamas, so I expected most if it to still be in there, but they changed the system and don't use logins anymore. It took several hours to get everything in there. THEN, when I needed some information about the fishing equipment we were bringing with us, the guys were at the boat and I didn't want to bother them, so I made sure everything was saved and hesitantly went on with my day. When I got back to it, it said exactly what I was anticipating it to say- my session had timed out and I had to start again. And then it took several more hours the next day because I wasn't going to deal with it all again right then. That time, it processed and went through without trouble.

I was able to go to the boat on the 28th to check the status of items I had inventoried at the end of last summer and unpack the tubs we'd brought from home, putting away what belonged to me and the kids while Ben handled his own things.

Bear, Moose, and Roo were living it up in Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise's pool ever since we got to their house. The dogs were enjoying their last land moments, not knowing what the future weeks would hold for them.

On the morning of the 29th, Aunt Denise and I took the dogs to the vet for their International Health Certificate.

Cartermaran was scheduled to be put in the water at 2:30 and we planned do our Costco run after that. It didn’t get in the water until closer to 5. Ben had a few errands to run and told me we would provision (get the food at the store for the boat) when he got to Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise's.

Ben and I did the Costco run without the kids, which they were bummed about, but we had to do it quickly so we could put it away and leave the next day. Ironically, this Costco didn't have as much of what we normally get, so the kids didn’t miss out on much. After 6 summers of this giant Costco prep, we really had it down. We spent the least we've ever spent for provisioning at Costco and we're proud of it! We went to Publix for 1 lb packages of ground beef and some of the cereals we knew the kids wanted, but Costco didn’t have. Between Costco and Publix, we spent just over $2,000.

Driving to the marine center, we had a lightning show and knew we would be racing to unload the truck onto the boat before the rain started. We parked close to the boat and made a zillion trips between the boat and the truck, dumping it all as we went.

Food drop:

When we got on the boat, I put it all away, removing all the boxes and extra trash. Ben continued working on his must-do checklist. He said it would take me 2 hours to put all the food away. I didn't believe him, thought it would be less, so I set a timer. It took me 1 hour and 40 minutes. I started clearing off our bed and looking for our bedding, then made our bed.

My favorite part of the start of the summer:

Food away, find homes for the rest:

By the time we were both done for the night, it was just about midnight. We considered going back to Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise's with the kids and dogs, but slept on the boat.