Greetings and Happy New Year from Daufuskie Island, SC! Captain Bill and I are preparing for the next step of our Let’s Dance journey - - this time south to the Bahamas! October found us back on land after a five month odyssey that we’ll never forget. Fall was a blur of holidays and celebrations with family and friends, all too short, but welcome nevertheless.
Since the first of the year, we’ve been as fiendishly busy as elves with a deadline to provision the boat for the upcoming jaunt. While we understand that the Bahamas are not a retail wasteland, we want to have as many of the basics covered before leaving Florida as possible. You’ve never seen so many lists – inventories of parts, filters, canned goods, fuses, spices, ink cartridges and even toilet paper. (The previous owner left many, many rolls of TP onboard, and while we didn’t count at the beginning of last summer’s voyage to Maine and back, we discovered upon our return that we had 39 rolls left!)
After numerous trips with supplies, Let’s Dance was finally prepped and ready to head south. First Officer Rick Cohen and newly enlisted Medical Officer Dr. Bernie Mansheim joined Captain Bill for the non-stop run to West Palm Beach last week. Forty-eight hours of smooth as glass seas led to eight hours of continuous pounding by 5 to 6 foot waves. Some rockin’ and rollin’ for sure, but Captain and crew were all smiles upon their arrival in port. I stayed behind to wrap up loose ends here and will join Bill next week.
Now comes the fun part – a volley of routine maintenance to get Let’s Dance in prime form – new paint for her bottom, snappy covers for the Love Me Tender and forward hatches, and yet more provisions bought and stowed. Then it’s off we go to parts south. Our plan takes us across 60 miles of Atlantic Ocean to Bimini, then south to the Exumas. From there we will work our way north to the Abacos and then back to the US – perhaps to Florida or directly to South Carolina. We’ll go with the flow…
We’re excited about exploring new venues – Bill has SCUBA gear on board and I have a raft and girly pink snorkel to watch from the ocean surface. Sun block, hats, fishing rods, blender – we’re good to go. So ‘til then….
Let’s Dance…Carol & Bill
