Sailingdagny

February 2-4 Exuma Land and Sea Park

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Our stay at Warderick Wells Cay was a mix of adventure and the usual boat projects.

Another glorious Bahamas sunrise greeted us that first morning and was followed soon after by a few clouds and a shower: a welcome rainwater rinse to wash the salt residue off of Dagny.

With the windy conditions that followed, it was the perfect time stay aboard and check a few projects off the list. We’d been having issues with our depth sounder for quite a while. A few hours of sometimes frustrating trial and error resulted in us fixing the problem. We are not exactly sure what we did to fix it, but for now it works.

Up until now we had to cautiously approach an anchorage checking the depth with a lead line which is basically a string with knots at measured intervals and a weight at the end. It was state-of-the-art technology used by Samuel Clemens on the Mississippi River, “by the mark twain.” As fun as it was to provide entertainment for the boats anchored around us, having a working depth sounder sure is nice!

The windy conditions also kept us aboard because the outboard for our dinghy was acting up. We decided to save that project for another day. Although a much wetter ride, we are happy to have our kayak as a backup.

With the wind a bit settled the next morning, we kayaked the mile or so to shore to hike BooBoo Hill. Atop this famed hill, many cruisers leave signboard offerings to Neptune for fair winds and calm seas. We had left our boat sign during last year’s cruise and were happy to see that it was still there. We added “2025” to it and also added an offering for Peter’s brother, Chris and his boat, Destiny.

Today the winds were ideal so we had a nice sail south to Staniel Cay. Tomorrow we hope to get the dinghy motor running so we can easily go ashore for provisioning and possibly to the local hardware store. Happy to be on Bahama-time! ❤️⛵️🇧🇸

Sunrise!

February 1 - Hawksbill Cay to Warderick Wells, Exumas

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

On land we use maps to navigate. We identify blue as water and white or sometimes green as land. Navigating on the water is different. We use charts that show land as green and water as white or varying shades of blue depending on the depth of the water.

In the Exumas, we are transiting along the Bank side of the islands. It’s shallow but well-protected from the prevailing easterly winds. The Sound side is much deeper and exposed to winds from the east making for rougher seas.

On the chart pictured, the banks on the left are in varying shades of blue. The lighter blue is deeper water while the darker shades show shallows. The little circles on the far left show where coral heads are to be avoided. The islands are shown in yellow-green.

The white area shows the deep waters of the Sound. The pink dotted lines are common routes between destinations.

There is quite a difference between the Bank and the Sound. The depths on the bank range from 8’-20’ where the depths on the Sound side can be 3000’-5000’.

For now, we are happy to splash around in these shallower waters. ❤️⛵️🇧🇸

January 18-31, 2025

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Do you ever get behind on something and then get more behind and then even more behind? Well, that’s where I am with posting updates of our travels. We’ve been busy sailing, fixing stuff, anchoring, motoring, and sailing some more. We have finally arrived in the Bahamas, and we’ve been here for a couple of weeks!

The winds have been strong and steady so we’ve been making rather sporty, and sometimes salty and quick passages working our way south. Other times we’ve been searching out spots to wait for better conditions. The winds have finally settled down and so have we. It wasn’t until the past couple of days that Bahamas-Time truly kicked in for us.

We are currently in the Exumas, one of our favorite cruising spots. We are primarily on the Bank, or western, side of the islands which are well protected from prevailing, stronger east-northeast winds. It’s not all sailing. We’ve kayaked through mangroves and to sugar-sand beaches. We’ve trailblazed up and over islands to enjoy the beauty of the Sound, or eastern, side to gaze out at crashing waves and endless blue waters.

It was a long and sometimes exhausting journey getting here, but boy are we happy to Be Here Now! ❤️⛵️🇧🇸

January 15, 2025

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We departed Naples at dawn and headed south with the wind toward the Keys. Ideal conditions: fair winds and a following sea. We sailed all day with the jib and a reefed main.

All was well! Life was good! That is until a few miles from our destination. The wind lightened, and when we tried to start the engine, it made a funny noise: the normal whir of the starter engaging was quickly followed by a loud clunk and then nothing. The engine had seized. Peter freaked out and scurried below to figure out what the problem was, and I took the helm.

The initial thought was hydrolock which happens when seawater backflows through the exhaust system and into the engine cylinders. Not good. The combination of big following seas, being heeled to starboard where the exhaust outlet is, and just maybe a little too much stuff onboard which lowers us down into the water more than usual, was the likely culprit.

The fix looked like it might take a while and we were quickly losing our daylight, so I suggested that we stop pulling the engine apart and concentrate on finding the closest anchorage. We did and within minutes Peter had multiple grimy and sooty parts disassembled in his task of finding and draining all the seawater from the engine. Fortunately, our little Yanmar diesel engine is strong and simple and Peter had it reassembled and running again before sundown.

If we happen to meet the designers of the Yanmar 3GM-30 or the 12mm ratcheting box wrench down at Staniel Cay Yacht Club, we will happily buy them a drink.

Still sailing and motoring on. ❤️⛵️

A job well done!

January 1-14 Naples, FL

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What a wonderful start to 2025 we’ve had! It began with a beautiful, 31-hour sail from Jupiter, FL to the Keys. We spent the night at the Channel 5 bridge where the following day we cut through to the Gulf side of Florida. We spent 2 days and nights in Everglades National Park where we enjoyed restful evenings and days filled with wildlife sightings.

We saw our first manatee! As he surfaced, I was able to see his whole face. He took a breath and after revealing his big back and tail, ducked back into the water. We watched for quite a while hoping to catch his next breath, but didn’t see him again. No pictures, but a memory that will last!

After leaving Everglades, we sailed north on a lovely breeze to Naples where we have enjoyed land life with our dear friends, @mlgrond Great meals, wonderful conversation, many walks to the beach, music in the park, and snuggles with their adorable doodle made for an excellent respite from boat living.

As always, there were boat projects to do including engine maintenance, a thorough cleaning, and reprovisioning. We now have enough beer on board to last several months! Dagny and crew are ready for the next phase of our adventure! ❤️⛵️

Happy New Year!

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Miami was aglow last night! Amazing fireworks from multiple places in the city! Happy New Year! 2025 is gonna be great! ❤️⛵️

Merry Christmas from St. Augustine, FL

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

December 24-31

We spent Christmas in St. Augustine. It’s a cute town rich in history including the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the US. We also enjoyed candy canes brought to Dagny by Santa himself, and a family FaceTime including a Christmas piano concert by Lilly.

We departed St. Augustine the day after Christmas and made another 25-hour passage to Cape Canaveral. It was not the most comfortable passage and we were happy to get to the safety of the harbor, even though we arrived before sunrise. Entering an unknown harbor in the dark is not recommended, but we needed to get off the ocean and it turned out fine. LOTS of cruise ships in Cape Canaveral harbor!!

We spent the next few days traveling the ICW down to Jupiter, FL. We found some nice anchorages along the way, but the ICW can be stressful. It’s all hand steering (no autopilot) to keep us in the channel and away from the constant fear of running aground. Then there are the fast boats that zoom by leaving big wakes for us to roll over. It makes for long, tiring days.

Our plan was to stay in the ICW until the Lake Worth inlet and then to head to sea from there, but a broken bridge in Jupiter along with a perfect forecast of calmer wind and waves sent us out at the Jupiter inlet. We are now heading down the coast looking to make landfall south of Miami in about 24 hours. It’s nice to be out and away from bridges and fast boats with crazy drivers! Also, it’s wonderful to be in the warm, sunny, Florida weather!

Happy New Year from Dagny and her crew! ❤️⛵️

Christmas lights at night in St. Augustine

Cristmas morning.

A lady at the grocery store asked where I was going skiing! I wore my foul weather gear because the dinghy ride to land was bouncy and wet!

HUGE cruise ship!There's always something that needs fixing.

We waited for four hours for this bridge to open. It was quite the parade of boats! The bridge was broken and never did open.I made bread while waiting for the bridge to open.JFK's presidential launch

Ocean passage from Jupiter to south of Miami

January 3, 2025

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We had a visitor today! He hung out with us for about 20 minutes. ❤️⛵️

December 12, 2024 Crossing Albemarle Sound

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It’s difficult to write about challenging days. I tend to process the events, learn what I can, then let it go without putting pen to paper.
Yesterday was a rough one. It started off fine with chilly weather and winds that were forecasted to be steady from the NE at 15-20kts making a sporty but doable ride for us and Dagny.
The 20mi crossing of Albemarle Sound requires careful study of wind and waves. As predicted, there was plenty of wind but Dagny and crew handled it just fine. Peter drove as I am not comfortable steering with a large following sea. It’s tricky as Dagny is lifted and tossed before surfing down the fronts of the waves. We made it across the sound without incident.
The trouble came when we approached the swing bridge just off Albemarle. Knowing there would be a wait for the bridge to open, Peter started the engine and we dropped the sails. It’s much easier, and safer, to maneuver in tight spaces with the engine. The problem was that the engine was not working as it should. Peter quickly turned it off so as to not overheat, and we hoisted the headsail to maintain steerage. I took over sailing; Peter went below to check the engine.
Let’s just say it was not my finest hour. I quickly lost confidence in my abilities and, yes, was a little freaked out. I’m not the best at maneuvering under sail in tight spaces and there were 3 other boats with us waiting for the bridge to open. Peter soon realized our problem was bigger than a quick fix so he took over sailing and we made it through the bridge and to the nearest anchorage about 2 miles away. We anchored under sail, something we had done before on our smaller boat but never on Dagny. Another opportunity, apparently, for me to stress.
We dropped the hook and Peter went about diagnosing and fixing our engine problem. It turns out our water pump impeller was shot. After pulling out every tool onboard, he installed our spare. I worked on relaxing, putting sails and gear away, and generally preparing Dagny for the evening.
Not my best day for sure but there are always lessons to learn and opportunities for reflection and improvement. And. Next time I’ll break out the DOTS sooner! ❤️⛵️

Sunrise and sunset

December 8-11 Dismal Swamp

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We got some much-needed rest at the Dismal Swamp Visitors center dock. We also took the time to organize and reorganize our stuff. I’m sure we will organize again and maybe again-again before feeling like we’ve got things where we need them. You wouldn’t think it would be that big of a deal to keep a 33’ boat sorted out, but somehow it’s practically a full time job. We’ll get there. Just gotta remember how we did things last year. We seem to fall back on old procedures and then remember how we had tweaked things to make our lives run more smoothly. Again. We’ll get there!

After leaving the visitors center, we motored downriver to Elizabeth City. It was a cold and VERY rainy day! We were happy to have the new side curtains to keep the cockpit dry, but our aft bimini canvas is on its last legs and will need to be replaced for next season. In driving rain, we docked at the local college free dock. We then dodged a few lingering showers and took a quick walk through the cute town before settling in for the night. ❤️⛵️

Hmm time for new canvas?

New, temporary side curtains are working fine!

The beauty of the Dismal Swamp