Our thanks to Brad Condon for this sunset photo from Belhaven, NC. Belhaven is A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR!
Click Here To View the VA to NC Cruisers Net Marina Directory Listing For Belhaven, NC
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Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club is a premier yacht club in the Abacos and A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR! If you cruise to Abacos and Marsh Harbour area, you should consider joining this great group of like minded cruisers.
We are currently experiencing a problem with our web site domain name. In the short term you can access the Club web site using the following sub-domain name: We are sorry for this inconvenience and expect to have the situation remedied shortly. Best regards Scott Coles Commodore Pro tem Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club. |
At the Moore Haven railway bridge. The good news, the bridge was open, not always the case. The bad news: almost completely blocked with water hyacinth.
A “modest” size clump goes floating by.
A view at the Indiantown railway bridge (near the marina); not as dense, but enough loose ones floating around to mess up the engine water intakes. After passing through such an area, suggest you check the engine strainer basket at any sign of the engine(s) running warmer than usual.
A close up of one of the densely tangled patches.
The hyacinths will come and go but the appeal of the Okeechobee will remain. It is like a step back in time, a true time-warp, across central Florida. On a power post along the St Lucie stretch, we spotted this eagle, who had certainly spotted us too.
Just east of the Moore Haven lock are these intriguing cedar sentinels.
Enjoy the Okeechobee
Greg Allard
Just came across the lake and to Fort Myers on June 21 and 22. Lots of water hyacinth along the shore, but none at all in the main channel or in the locks. Probably varies day by day.
The South Carolina barrier island just 30 minutes from Charleston may just be the area’s best-kept secret and, of course, is home to CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Isle of Palms Marina.
Isle of Palms Is the Coastal Getaway of the Summer | Southern Living by Tara Massouleh McCay
Southern Living
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers Net Marina Directory Listing For Isle of Palms Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Isle of Palms Marina
If you are concerned about lightning strikes, these two articles will be of interest. Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe.. $5 a month or $42 for the year and you may cancel at anytime.
Click here for Lightning Master Strikes Back
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe.. $5 a month or $42 for the year and you may cancel at anytime.
When all else fails, try journalism.
Click link for How Fidel Castro Invaded Cuba in a Yacht Named ‘Granma’ by Peter Swanson
TopSide Marinas is a family owned marina company that is looking to buy and operate marinas – they are not a broker – and they would love to meet marina owners who are ready to sell. TopSide Marinas is A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR!
TopSide Marinas recently acquired its third marina, North Point Yacht Club, located on Lake Belton in Temple, TX. The team saw great potential at this marina and the beautiful Lake Belton.
Click here for details:
TopSide Marinas Acquires North Point Yacht Club on Lake Belton (Temple, TX)
Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for once again sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruises. These photos and descriptions will have you aching to follow in Meander‘s wake! For more this excellent photography, type Allard in our Homepage search window for letters from previous cruises.
Greg Allard
May 30, 2022, 11:31 AM (2 days ago)
Hello everyone – Here is our third Letter from the Bahamas for 2022.
“In reality, you don’t ever change the hurricane. You just learn how to stay out of its path.”
– Jodi Picoult
The photos and the definitive explanations accompanying each of of them of this sojourn through the Berry Islands are non-pareil!
Thanks for your generosity in sharing them!
AVC
Along with Watch and Warning designations, these alphabetical listings, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee and Zulu, are used to indicate the anticipated severity of an approaching storm. And while the port restrictions are directed primarily at commercial traffic, the same port conditions allow recreational boaters to gauge the level of risk from the storm. Obviously, the further along the alphabet, the more severe the forecast for a given port or coastline. The official hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30.
HURRICANE SEASON PORT CONDITIONS AND CATEGORIES
Port Conditions are set by the Captain of the Port and are used to alert the maritime community to changes in port operations needed to prepare for the storm’s arrival.
PORT CONDITION WHISKEY: Gale force winds (34 knots or 39 mph) are predicted to arrive within 72 hours. Port Status: Open to all commercial and recreational traffic.
PORT CONDITION X-RAY: Gale force winds are predicted to arrive within 48 hours. Port Status: Open to all commercial and recreational traffic.
PORT CONDITION YANKEE: Gale force winds are predicted to arrive within 24 hours. Port status: Closed to inbound traffic and vessel traffic control measures in effect on vessel movements within the port.
PORT CONDITION ZULU: Gale force winds are predicted to arrive within 12 hours. Port Status: Closed to all inbound and outbound traffic.
PORT CONDITION RECOVERY: The storm is no longer a threat to the area, however, some damage may have occurred and response and recovery operations are in progress. Port status: Reopened to outbound traffic at the completion of the port survey. Vessel traffic control measures remain in effect on vessel movements within the port.
Our thanks to Perry McDonald for sharing this sad, but hopeful, news with us.
 | Marv’s Weather Marv’s Daily Virtual Buoy Weather & Tropical Weather Reports | |||||||||
By now most of our current email subscribers to Marv’s Weather Service have received the new, reformatted newsletter and seen the new website; now we would like to give you quick update on what has been happening ‘behind the scenes’. Beginning late last year Marv began working with Pierre Narath in an endeavor to make the weather site load faster, mobile friendly and less labor intensive to produce. With the onset of Marv’s cancer diagnosis we needed to step up the pace considerably and the site was developed into what you see today. Sadly, Marv passed peacefully in his sleep on May 22, 2022 but he was able to favorably review the site before that time came. With the help of Pierre and Buoyweather.com we are so pleased that Marv’s legacy will continue to be of service to our cruising community and that his mission of keeping pleasure boating safe and comfortable carries on in his name.
Blessings, Carol Market and Family We will try to have our buoy and tropical reports updated twice a day.
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Marvsweather.com has been sharing (as a free service) via email our offshore daily | ||||||||||
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In Rochester, New York, a little wooden box lay forgotten on an estate table sale; a knickknack bought by a Florida tourist more than a century ago.
A souvenir box made in Mauchline, Scotland, depicts a banyan tree on Pitts Island, now known as Munyon Island, near North Palm Beach. That’s Singer Island beyond. PHOTO BY GINGER L. PEDERSEN
A souvenir of Florida’s nearly forgotten past
Ginger L. Pedersen for Palm Beach Florida Weekly
Although focused on maritime workers, this safety guide has ideas for use on private vessels.
Maritime Safety Guide
Lanier Law Firm
Coastlines Georgia is the official quarterly publication of the Coastal Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Click here for: Coastlines Georgia
Cruisers Net has long advised navigation of Oregon Inlet only by shallow draft vessels with current local knowledge.
Oregon Inlet unnavigable by most vessels: Army Corps
CoastalReview.org
Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for once again sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruises. These photos and descriptions will have you aching to follow in Meander‘s wake! For more this excellent photography, type Allard in our Homepage search window for letters from previous cruises.
Hello Everyone – Here is our second Letter from the Bahamas for 2022.
Several of you did not receive the photos with the last Letter. It may have to do with the capacity of local internet service; if you do not receive the photos, please let us know.
This from a recent news report from the Bahamas:
“He said as he approached Grand Bahama, he realized his fuel was almost empty and immediately knew he was in “problems.”
-Andrew Rolle, a Bahamian, upon being rescued after several days at sea, when he ran out of fuel.”
It is a rare cruiser to the Bahamas who doesn’t at some point realize that he is “in problems”, an appropriate Bahamian expression if there ever was one. Stuff on boats always seems to fail no matter how much rigorous preventative maintenance has been done. The worst situation is breaking down while in the open ocean.
This young Bahamian, Stephen, found himself “in problems”. Fortunately he was not far from help. While in our dinghy, we came upon him in his disabled boat – the outboard motor would not run. We took his boat in tow, and learned that he was from a fishing boat named My Rebecca from Nassau, and they were going for conch. They hoped to take 7,000 conch to market.
A couple of days later, at the mouth of the entrance cut into the harbor, we saw the fishing boat Stephen was working on, anchored with the stern placed in very shallow water near some rocks – a strange place to anchor. We went over, and Stephen explained to us that the propellor shaft on the boat, which connects the engine and goes through the bottom of the boat to the propeller, had broken. They had ordered and received a new shaft, and they installed it, which explains why the aft end of the boat was in shallow water – to allow them to pull the shaft out of the boat while the crew was standing on the shallow sandy bottom. When they installed the new shaft, they found it was too short, so they were waiting for a shaft extender piece to arrive. Incredibly resourceful.
Five fishermen live on this boat. They had their laundry out to dry.
Yet again, a few days later, we found My Rebecca tied up at the government dock. The man in the red shirt is the diver – he is the one who retrieves the conch from the bottom, breathing compressed air from a pump on the surface. Stephen Sands, whom we towed in, is in the rear of the small boat.
Stephen wasn’t so anxious to have his picture taken but eventually agreed. On his arms were tattoos with the names of his three children: Stephenelle, Stephenique and Stephanos. In the rear pocket of his jeans was a flask of something, likely needed to survive on the cramped quarters of the old fishing boat.
In our last letter, you met Alvin, who found a perfect hose for a repair on our boat. This is Alvin’s son Quincy – Alvin’s second youngest of his nine children. Quincy has a full row of beautiful gold teeth on top. He is a smart, affable young man with a good sense of humor. He has solid experience around the water, which shows as he assists boats entering the marina, and helps them to safely and securely dock their boats – which is quite an art. A bad dock-hand can cause damage to a boat in an instant. Quincy just had a new daughter in Nassau, and he flew there this week to see her for the first time. This highlights one of the realities of the Bahamian economy – many families are split when (usually) the father has to travel to a distant island for work. Moving between islands is expensive – usually by local small aircraft.
We explored the sand flats off the west side of Great Harbour Cay. The water is shallow, especially at low tide, and there is much wildlife: sting rays, fish, conch and juvenile black-tip sharks about 2-3’ long. Barbara is in the dinghy behind me. Our friends who were with us said that they wondered if she was paddling away…
This year there was an abundance of these beautiful Cushion Sea Stars, which can grow up to 20” across. It has a thick body and knobby spines which form geometric designs. Some are tan; this one is orange-brown. We don’t keep them and it was returned to the water.
One of our favorite adventures while at Great Harbour is to do a “dinghy expedition” a number of miles south to an island called Money Cay. Legend has it that a hermit found a trove of money there, years ago. The entire area has to be one of the most spectacular places on earth. Pristine beaches, sparkling water and total solitude. One day we saw a local fishing boat there, but the majority of time we are totally alone.
It’s a bit of a challenge to reach Money Cay – you can go there only on the top half of the tides over the sand flats. Otherwise there is barely enough water to float the dinghies, let alone run them at any speed.
In this photo, our friends Jim and Ellen have just explored a secluded bay. The water under their dinghy is about 12’ deep. Both of our dinghies are equipped with bimini tops to provide shade from the Bahamian sun.
Here is a Queen Conch, with the most exceptional range of colors we have seen. This one is live – you can see the little critter poking out. We took its picture and returned it to the water.
This is the same Queen Conch as shown in the prior photo, and how it looks in its normal place on the bottom. The sea growth on the top of the outer shell serves as camouflage, making it difficult for most predators to find them. They use a big single claw to drag themselves across the bottom looking for food.
One day while exploring some remote islands, we spotted this bonefishing boat in the distance. The man standing on the platform at the rear of the boat is Percy Darville, one of the most famous bonefish guides in the Bahamas. He is 69 years old, and has served as guide to Jack Nicklaus, who has been a regular at Great Harbour.
Percy is using a long pole to push the boat through the flats while his client, standing in the bow, scans the water for the elusive fish. Bonefish are between 1′ to 2 1/2’ long and live in the shallows; they are considered a premier gamefish, and give the angler an extraordinary fight. It has been said that if a bonefish were as big as a battleship, it would take a battleship to land it. All bonefish are returned to the water, both out of sportsmanship and since they are difficult to eat because of……
Barbara anchors the dinghy, ready to explore a new cay we just landed upon.
Since our first letter, we have received several questions about how the Bahamas may have changed, post pandemic. Masks are to be worn any time you are inside (except while eating), and it is enforced. We met one cruiser who was asked to leave a food store because he had no mask. All of the dockhands, even outside, are masked.
Diesel fuel at our marina is now around $7.50 a gallon, about average for the Bahamas.
There is a good deal of construction going on here, mostly higher-end vacation homes for foreigners. But the economic downturn and possible recession have appeared to put many of those plans on hold.
There aren’t really food shortages, just gaps in time as to when the food is available. The mail boat came in again yesterday (on-time two weeks in a row) so the stores should be re-stocked by now. Few are going hungry but people often run short of things they would need.
While cruising on a boat, approaching storms may soon get you “in problems.” But it’s all worth it to be in such a beautiful country.
_____________________________________________________________________
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson
Best regards to you all.
Greg and Barbara
Copyright Greg Allard, 2022
Final 5/20/22
Charleston County Parks, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is proud to announce the return of Summer Entertainment Series beginning in June. Fun for kids and grandkids at James Island and Wannamaker County Parks.
Charleston County Parks’ Summer Entertainment Series is back in June
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A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, historic Edenton always has an exciting calendar of events! Edenton is at the mouth of the Chowan River on the northwest shore of Albemarle Sound.
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Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Edenton Harbor City Docks
A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Dowry Creek Marina is owned by the Zeltner family who want to roll out the red carpet to transients, doing whatever you might need during your visit. This highly praised and transient friendly marina lies off the AICW/Pungo River north of Belhaven, NC. This review of Dowry Creek Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is reprinted from Bob Sherer’s review on Bob423.
Click Here To View the Cruisers Net North Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Dowry Creek Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Dowry Creek Marina
The Gulfport Historical Society offers educational activities for kids of all ages and the City of Gulfport, home to Gulfport Municipal Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, located on the northern shores of Boca Ciega Bay and easily accessible from the Western Florida ICW, just north of Tampa Bay.
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Gulfport Municipal Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, and the City of Gulfport always have a full calendar of events for all ages. Located in the heart of downtown, the marina and harbor, found on the northern shores of Boca Ciega Bay, are easily accessible from the Western Florida ICW, just north of Tampa Bay.
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Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Gulfport Municipal Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Gulfport Anchorage/Mooring Field
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