First Year Sailing

March 2019: Spring Break in Bimini and Water Spout!

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Makenzie and some of her friends from college asked if we could take them to the Bahamas on Aventis for their spring break – of course we agreed!

So, we leave the dock and head down the ICW to Port Everglades channel.
We are going to sail down to No Name, spend the night there, and get up early the next day to sail to Bimini.
Photo Credit: Joffre DiSabonti
We sail past Miami on the way to No Name.
The girls decided to get sun burned on the first day!
We make it to No Name in time for another beautiful Key Biscayne sunset.
The kids also had a chance to swim!
Ashley enjoying a sundowner at sunset.
Shannon, Mak, and the boys relaxing at No Name, watching the sun set.
Makenzie’s friends, Regan and Liam, photobombing Shannon and Ashley at No Name.
Liam, Sydny, Regan, Makenzie, and Keef enjoying their first night on the boat at anchor.

Early the next morning, we set sail for Bimini, about 45 miles west…

Watching the sun rise…
You can just barely make out Miami behind us.

We had a great sail over to Bimini – perfect conditions.

We sailed with no engines the entire time, making a great 7 knots in 13 knot wind speed. Super fun!!!
Mak, Caper, and Chance on sail to Bimini.
Caper and Chance usually hung out with Shannon at the helm.
But they also liked stretching out on the sunbed!
Ashley taking a break from the helm to enjoy the sail.
Before you know it, we are at Bimini!
Loving the crystal clear beach at Bimini!
Ashley and Shannon at beach in Bimini.
Of course, we took the kids to Sherry’s for lobster, conch, wings, and ribs.
They also loved how Bimini has popup bars on the beach. They found this one right next to Sherry’s.
My 3 Daughter’s food truck on Bimini!
Possibly our next venture???

During our stay at Bimini, the kids rented a golf cart and found lots of other spring breakers to hang out with on the island. The trip was going great until an afternoon storm passed over on the second day.

Big storm coming at us.
Who knew what it would do???
A water spout (like this one spotted a couple of weeks later) popped up and hit our boat.
We were hanging out with the kids on the boat, when all of a sudden we heard a loud roar. Before we knew it, Aventis broke off the dock (the cleat on the dock was actually ripped off the dock) and we went spinning. Luckily our bow cleat held us so we didn’t end up on the rocks.
Photo Credit: Steve Irby at Chubb Cay
Just glad we didn’t end up over in the shallows!
The storm ripped our shore power cables apart.
And bent our bow cleat, causing some fiberglass damage in the process. Luckily, we were all safe and the damage to the boat easily repairable.
The storm was short lived and we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves again.
We sailed down to Gunn Cay, an uninhabited island.
Beautiful anchorage all to ourselves.
So of course, it was time to snorkel and explore the island!
Mak and her friends snorkeling over to the island.
Ashley snorkeling to check our anchor.
Mak, Regan, and Sydny snorkeling at Gunn Cay.
Mak and her friends found a newly wrecked boat. Wonder if that happened the other day when we got hit by a water spout?
Notice Aventis in the background? 🙂
Shannon and Ashley zipping around Gunn Cay in the dinghy.
Nap time after snorkeling and island exploring.
Even the dogs were pooped out!
Before you know it, the week was up and we sailed back to Fort Lauderdale.
The next morning, the kids flew back to Appalachian State University. Ashley followed the next day, once again leaving Shannon, Caper, and Chance at the boat to make repairs and get the boat ready for our next adventure.

Coming up in April 2019: Getting a watermaker, drone footage, window issues, and another trip to Bimini

February 2019: Addie’s Birthday Trip

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You will never guess what Addie asked for her birthday last month…
All she really wanted was to go see Frankie Valli perform live at the Hard Rock Hollywood Casino!
What 14 year old wants to see an 84 year old perform??? Addie is so cool!
So, Ashley and Addie came back down to the boat for a long weekend.

Ashley and Addie at dinner at Hard Rock Hollywood before the Frankie Valli show.
There is Frankie Valli in the middle on stage.
Ashley and Addie had a great time at Frankie Valli.

The next day, we sailed down to No Name to hang out for the night. Addie had a great time swimming!
Can’t ever get tired of the sunsets at Key Biscayne.
Way off in the distance you can see what is left of Stiltsville.

Before you know it, our weekend is over and Ashley and Addie are heading back to NC.

Back in NC, Addie performed for her school talent show…

This song means a lot to Addie.
Notice the video behind her? We shot that on our sail to No Name.
Thanks Kathy Meredith for helping Addie with this song!

Meanwhile, back on the boat, Caper and Chance are helping Shannon…

Chance and Caper helping wash the boat.
Caper chases the water coming out of the hose and Chance licks the water off the deck!
Shannon spent about a week installing a safety net around Aventis as well.
We did mention that Caper and Chance are Portuguese Water Dogs, right?
Caper has a very strong desire to jump in the water, plus they both run around the boat a lot, so the safety net should keep them from jumping or falling off the boat most of the time (fingers crossed).
Shannon’s office on Aventis.
Caper says “stop working and take us for a walk!”.

Coming up in March 2019: Spring Break in Bimini and Hit by a Water Spout!