BEFORE NEXUS – CRUISING ON OUR 58’ SUNSEEKER – THE BIGGS
6/16/03 – 7/25/03 Ft. Lauderdale to The Acklin Islands – Bahamas
6/16/ – Cruised to Cay Can and anchored for the night. It was a rough night at anchor
6/17 - Cruised to Frazier Hog Cay in the Berry Islands – Anchored in calm weather
6/18 – Cruised to Staniel Cay – Anchored at Big Majors
6/19 – Fueled up and moved to Fowl Cay anchorage. Played on the beach with Isabella and took her on the waverunner. We also fed the pigs on the beach.
6/21 – Cruised to Rum Cay. Isabella loved watching the shark eat a tied up fish. She loved watching the fish under the docks.
6/23 – Left Rum Cay and hit a coral head with the side of the rudder. We cruised to Clarence Town and fueled at Flying Fish Marina. We continued to Fish Cay on the west side of the Acklins Islands. We anchored just south of fish cay. Great weather. No Wind.
6/24 – Cruised south to Datum Bay. We anchored in Jamaica bay for the night. Great weather, no wind.
6/25 – Cruised to Clarence Town again. We stopped and ate at the Grill. They put our name, “THE BIGGS” into fresh cement. We continued to Conception Island. Great weather – flat seas.
We took Isabella to the beach. She rolled around in the sand like it was flour. She LOVED the beach.
6/26 – We took Isabella to the inside lagoon. We played on the Sandbars. She loved looking for fish.
The winds picked up to 30 – 40 knots out of the west while a storm came through. The storm lasted most of the day. In the early evening we took Isabella to the beach in the pouring rain because she was getting very sea sick. We almost flipped the dinghy getting into shore. The winds calmed down that night and it was good sleeping.
6/27 The wind was expected to pick up so we headed back to Staniel Cay. We anchored again at Fowl Cay.
6/28 Mostly cloudy all day with strong winds out of the SE. We moved the big boat over to Big Major.
6/29 We went over to Sandy Cay in very strong winds. DeeDee made an airport out of sand for Isabella. We saw signs for the first time that said the island was private.
6/30 – We met Mike Mann and his wife at Staniel Cay Yacht Club while we were eating. They are the owners of Exuma Markets in Georgetown. The next day we also met the owners of Fowl Cay with Mike Mann.
7/1 – All week almost everyday we have gone to the Marina so Isabella could see the sharks and fish. She gets ecstatic about going to see them and when she sees them. Larry went over to visit Bruce (down Under) on his boat moored over by the Victoria Salvage Ship. We had met him a year earlier at Conception Island.
7/2 Went to Pirates Cove Beach with Isabella. Met the people from “Happy Hour” Got a lot of sun.
7/3 Met Keith and Jill from Minnesota. We talked a lot about dialing out on a boat. Jill left her 15 month old boy home and was dancing with Isabella. Went to Sand Dollar Beach most of the Afternoon.
7/4 – Went to Staniel Cay for the 4th of July Pig Roast. We were planning to take Isabella to the fireworks but she fell asleep.
7/5 Joe and Jazz Beltran came out for the weekend. Had a very full first day. We went to the Grotto and snorkeled the cave for a long time. We then took them to feed the pigs. Then went to Pipe Cay and Sampson Cay. At low tide we went and hung out on the Sandbar at Sampson Cay. Watched Scary movie in the evening.
7/6 – Joe and Jazz spent lots of time exploring on the wave runner. They also spent a lot of time at Sampson Marina. They went back to the Sampson sandbar until the evening.
7/7 – Joe and Jazz left. We cruised to Shroud Cay. We took the dinghy through the mangrove canals and went to a great beach on the sound side.
7/9 – We met John and Linda Coleman on King Conch. They came over for morning coffee with their dog Shelly. Isabella loved seeing Shelly. WE all went to McDuffs together to eat lunch on Normans/s Cay. Later that evening we had drinks with the Colemans.
7/10 – Cruised down to Hawksbill Cay at the northern end. Padded Pigeon cay which was so shallow we had to walk the dinghy past. The sandbar at low tide was incredible. The water and Sand was vast and gorgeous. We took Isabella around to the reef and it was so calm she got to see lots of fish. The sand bar created isolated pools at low tide that we played in. We agreed this was the best place we have been.
7/11 – We cruised back to Staniel Cay to pick up package DeeDee’s mother had send for us.
7/12 – Met Paul, Helga, Paul Jr., Migola, ad Valentina on the boat MoMo. They were a Cuban group of six Bertrams.
7/13 – Sarah and Keith Parnes came in to celebrate their one year anniversary. We went to the cave and did lots of snorkeling. We also did a drift snorkel on the east side of the Grotto Islands.
7/14 We too a long ride to Compass Cay by dingy. We hung out at the Sand Bar by Pipe Cay. Keith pet the sharks at Compass Cay.
7/15 – We spent most of the day at he ocean side beach at Sampson Cay. We went that night to Club Thunderball for Pizza night.
7/16 – Larry took the waverunner all the way up to the sea aquarium by soldier cay.
7/17 – Keith and Sarah left for Miami and we just lounged around all day ad went to jog at night.
7/18 – Went to Staniel Cay to fuel up and left for Bell Island. We anchored between Bell and Cambridge.
7/19 – We took a cruise around Halls Pond Cay by dinghy. We stopped at the sea aquarium off of O’Brian’s Cay. DeeDee ran the path over to the big Bell Rock at the east end of Cambridge.
7/20 We went snorkeling on the reef that runs between the south end of Cambridge and the rocks running west. It was a great reef with lots of life. We saw a huge Sea Turtle.
7/21 – We cruised to Atlantis. All week we took Isabella to the “DIG”. She loved it ad ever got tired of it. She also loved going down the water slides with us.
7/25 – We cruised back to Lauderdale in very light SE seas.
Repairs – Computer board on generator failed, Lost an injector on the Starboard motor, High Pressure switch on the watemaker failed.
2/26/03 – 4/5/03 Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown – Bahamas
2/26 – We tried to leave on the 25th but it was just too rough. We left on the 26th and cleared into Cat Cay. We continued on to Chub cay and anchored.
2/27 – Cruised to Staniel. Came into the Marina one night to fix the generator. (fuel pump wire) Spent most days going to the beach with Isabella. Great weather. Met Andy and Bar from Moxy.
3/7 – Cruised to Atlantis. The windless went dead and the Sat phone went dead. The watemaker plug blew a hole and the bold on the starboard motor which held the crank shaft failed. The kids arrived with Joel and Kaitlin at 10:30 pm.
3/8 - Took Isabella to the Marina pool and she loved it.
3/9 – Cruised down to Georgetown.
3/10 – Took Isabella to volleyball beach with Jason, Mark and Joyce from Izmo. Had cocktails on the Grey pearl with Tina and Braun. Icemaker died.
3/11 – Brandon, Joel, Braun, Mark and Larry went spear fishing over the next few days.
3/13 – Cruised to Staniel Cay.
3/15 – Cruised to Atlantis. Kids went out. It rained all day.
3/16 – Kids flew back to Dallas.
3/18 – We stayed at Atlantis an extra day. The weather was rough and we were waiting for the new anchor winch to come int. We cruised to Staniel and anchored at North of Big Major. Izmo (mark and Joyce) came and anchored next to us. We had drinks on Izmo. (We came on the sound via Highborne cay)
3/19 We cruised down to Bitter Guana and anchored there. IT was very roily, but a great spot. We also had picked up the new sat phone from Staniel Cay.
3/20 – WE cruised down to Black Point and Kept going to White Point. Both were too rough to anchor so we came back to Big Major. Isabella was feverish from teething.
3/22 – We took Isabella to the St. Luke clinic. We then picked up and cruised to Thomas/Pipe Cay with Moxy. (Andy and Barb) Moxy did not stay and went back to Big Major.
3/24 – Cruised over to Staniel Cay and Larry took Isabella to the beach while DeeDee ran. We looked at the boat Touché owned by Manly and Diane. (72’ Princess) The next few days we did the same routine.
3/28 The weather has been great although we had 40 knot winds and poring rain last night. We took Isabella to the Thomas Cay beach and hiked over to the cut. She loved the beach.
4/2 – Matt Smith is coming in so we moved he boat over to Big Major. The last few days another 40 knot front came through and winds are still steady at 25 knots.
4/3 – Matt came in and he helped me braid and splice the snubber line and anchor line.
Andy and Barb from Moxy came over for dinner.
4/4 – We left for Chub Cay in 15 knot following seas. Easy cruise to Chub. We anchored very very close to the beach.
4/5 – We cruised back to Ft. Lauderdale in calm following seas. When we cleared in they gave Matt a hard time over his quick trip in and out.
Repairs – Windless died, Sat phone went dead, watemaker plug blew and the power surge protector shorted out, crankshaft bolt on the MAN engine came loose, and the icemaker died.
6/28/02 – 7/8/02 Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown – Bahamas
6/28 – Cruised to Cat Cay and anchored for the night. (Brandon, Lindsey, Kaitlan, Ashley)
6/29 – Cruised to Nassau and anchored at Green Cay for the night.
6/30 – Cruised to Staniel Cay in a strong head wind.
7/1 – Stayed at Staniel Cay. WE went to the cave to snorkel but the current was too strong. We did a drift dive.
7/3 Cruised to Georgetown.
Lindsey and Kaitland cruised on their own to Oceanside beach, monument beach, and the mangroves areas behind Crab Cay.
7/4 – Went to Chat and Chill and took Isabella to the beach. We also hiked to the monument.
7/6 – Cruised to Chub Cay and anchored for the night.
7/7 – Cruised to Ft. Lauderdale in calm seas.
7/8 – Kids flew home.
4/14/02 – 5/4/02 Ft. Lauderdale to Conception – Bahamas
4/14 – Cruised to Cat Cay in really rough head on Seas. Stayed the night.
4/15 – Cruised to Chub Cay and anchored for the night in very rolly seas.
4/16 – Cruised to Nassau in very rough seas. Anchored off Rose Island at Green Cay.
4/17 – Went to Atlantis.
4/18 – My parents came to Atlantis.
4/20 – We cruised to Normans Cay and Anchored out. We hung out on the beach and Mom snorkeled and rode the waverunner.
4/21 – Late in the afternoon we cruised back to Atlantis. Returned Dad’s cart.
4/23 – My parents left and Howard and Lilia came in. Howard forgot his passport and had to fly to Boca then come out that night. We cruised to Staniel Cay and anchored off the cave.
4/24 – We moved to anchor at Big Major. We stayed for five days in perfect weather. The pig bit Larry on the knee or scraped his knee. Howard and Lillia tubed. We snorkeled the cave. Took a dingy ride to Pipe and Compass Cay. I towed someone in on the waverunner. We went to Say Cay in BIG wind.
4/28 – Cruised to Conception Island in perfect weather. It was dead calm. WE wet to the lagoon. Met folks on mermaid and Bruce on down under.
5/2 – Cruised to Staniel Cay, fueled up and cruised to Allan’s Cay. Stayed the night.
5/3 – Cruised to Atlantis. Stayed for the day until Howard and Lillia left. Then we cruised to Cat Cay and stayed the night.
5/4 – Cruised home and stopped briefly for the air show.
2/1/02 – 3/1/02 Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown – Bahamas
2/1 – Cruised to Cat Cay and anchored out. Isabella’s first trip.
2/2 – Cruised to Staniel Cay. Stayed a few days. Rough weather.
2/4 – Cruised to Georgetown. Stayed in Georgetown for one week. We met Pamela and Allan on Northern Goose and gave them goat’s milk for the baby goat they found. Betzy.
2/10 – We moved the boat over to Elizabeth Island. Pam and Allan took us for a walk on the island. Two German friends of theirs have owned the island for many years.
2/12 – We cruised to Staniel Cay and fueled up and anchored out.
2/13 – We cruised to Atlantis. The Turbo on the starboard motor failed and we had to idle in on one motor. It was very calm. We stayed at Atlantis for a week and Isabella really loved seeing the fish at the aquarium. We had the turbo repaired at Atlantis.
2/17 – DeeDee flew to Dallas and Larry stayed to wait for the boat. Larry went to the boat show for the day and flew back at night.
2/20 – The boat was still not fixed so Larry moved it to the Nassau harbor club and returned to Dallas.
2/28 – Larry flew to Nassau and the next day returned to Ft. Lauderdale in 25 – 30 knot winds and very large 10’ to 12’ seas. Cosmo got very sick.
Repairs – Turbo failed.
5/14/01 – 6/2/01 Ft. Lauderdale to Conception – Bahamas
5/14 – Cruised to Cat Cay in very rough seas. Chuck Smiley got very sick.
5/15 – Cruised to Staniel Cay in great weather. Snorkeled the cave.
5/18 – Cruised to Georgetown. Picked up Tony on Saturday to fix the generator.
5/20 – Cruised to Conception Island. Weather was perfect. Snorkeled the wreck. Met Gerard and Martin in Maine in Lagoon. Also had Jacque- the naked family next to us.
5/24 – Cruised to Georgetown. Went to Two Turtles on Friday night. Met Patricia and Clark on Jewel and Maynard and his wife who worked at Emerald Bay. Jacque and Virginia and Gerard and Martin all had dinner with us.
5/26 – Laurie and Chuck left – Lynne and Jan came in – Still perfect weather.
5/28 – Went to Conception Island.
5/29 – Snorkeled at North End. Went to Lagoon. Jewel was at Conception.
5/31 – Cruised to Staniel. Great weather again.
6/1 – Cruised in dinghy and waverunner to Sampson Cay and Compass Cay.
Snorkeled in the cave and went to Sand Dollar beach to get sand dollars.
6/2 – Went to Waderick Wells and snorkeled by the Big Lobster. Packed up and cruised to Atlantis in perfect weather. Cruised home at 10:00 pm after walking through Atlantis.
Repairs – Generator shut off and oil leak, Front head failed, Blower motor failed.
2/26/01 – 3/11/01 Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown – Bahamas
2/26 – Stayed on boat until kids came down in 3/2/01 (Lindsey, Brandon, Joel, Taylor)
3/2 – Cruised to Cat Cay and stayed the night at anchor
3/3 – Cruised to Georgetown. Joel had his mother’s passport and not his. Stayed in Georgetown. The Waverunner sank and broke away from the boat in 50 knot winds. We went to get it at 3:30 AM. Very windy but also very sunny.
3/7 – Cruised to Highbourne Cay in 25 knot headwinds. Stayed the night.
3/8 – Cruised to Atlantis and stayed the remainder of the week. Kids went to Club Rush at night and slept in until early afternoon. I just hung out at the pool and worked out.
3/11 – Cruised to Ft. Lauderdale in calm seas. We arrived at about 3:00 pm and the kids flew out in the evening.
Repairs – Waverunner sank.
1/14/01 – 2/8/01 Ft. Lauderdale to Conception – Bahamas
1/14 – Cruised to Cat Cay and spent the night at anchor.
1/15 – Cleared and cruised to Nassau. We stayed at Atlantis for 10 days while they repaired the elbow connected to the exhaust elbow on the inboard side of the port motor. We met the people who purchased Kavalli. They renamed it the Grey Pearl. Bruan and I wrestled together a little while at the gym.
1/25 – We left Nassau and cruised to Staniel Cay. Mike Tobin flew into Nassau and came with us.
1/26 – Mike and I went spear fishing and caught three fish. He cleaned the grouper and ate it.
1/28 – We watched the Giants lose in the Super bowl after Mike flew home.
1/29 – We cruised to Georgetown in head seas.
2/2 – We cruised back to Cat Cay and anchored out.
2/3 – We cruised back to Ft. Lauderdale in Calm Seas.
2/8 – We stayed on the boat until 2/8. Larry went riding motorcycles with Steve Kidd and Allan up to Palm Beach.
Repairs – Port Motor Exhaust Elbow
8/18/00 – 8/25/00 Miami to Conception – Bahamas
8/18 – We cruised to Cat Cay and spend the night at anchor. (Howard and Lillian)
8/19 – We cruised to Staniel Cay in very flat water. We hit the rudder on the reef coming in at Staniel Cay. We damaged the rudder and pulled the rudder and trim tab away from the fiberglass.
8/20 – Cruised to conception and had great weather. We spent the day with the cat and the dog on the rafts at the beach.
8/22 – Hurricane Debby was coming in and we had to head back. WE cruised to Atlantis and stayed the night.
8/25 – We cruised back to Miami but Debby broke up overland and never hit us.
8/24 – We cruised to Walters and stayed the night. Cosmo left the boat and we lost him for 24 hours.
8/25 – We took the boat to the boatyard for repairs.
6/20/00 – 7/9/00 Miami to Conception – Bahamas
6/20 – Left in the morning and cruised to Highbourne Cay. Anchored off the beach. Great weather – very flat. (Lindsey)
7/1 – Cruised to Little San Salvador. Stopped to eat lunch and went on to Conception Island. Weather was great. We took the dinghy around the entire island. Took dinghy and wave runner into Lagoon and saw many sharks and sea turtles. Jumped wave at the South Beach.
7/3 – Cruised to Staniel Cay. Met Roy and Melinda chartering Absolutlee. Met Don and Faith who were the owners of Absolutlee. Met Mike and Kyle Christina and Mark on Intrinsic. Lindsey babysat on Intrinsic and slept over. Met John and his wife on Zuyderzee. We loved his boat. It was a Neptunas 65’. Lindsey put over 100 miles on the wave runner. We watched fireworks at Staniel Cay yacht Club on the 4th.
7/7 – Cruised to Atlantis. DeeDee and I did the big slide. Lindsey met a friend. DeeDee and I vegged out at the pool. We heard a guy got his arm chopped off at the airport at Staniel Cay.
7/9 We cruised home. – Great Trip.
5/25/00 – 5/29/00 Miami to Staniel Cay – Bahamas
5/25 – Left and stayed at Cat Cay overnight. (Brandon, Lindsey, Matt & Kelly)
5/26 – Cleared customs and cruised to Staniel Cay. We stopped in the tongue of the ocean and swam with a huge pod of pilot whales.
5/27 – Went snorkeling around the southern island. Went wakeboarding all afternoon at the beach just north of the Pig.
5/28 – Went to the Cave late morning then went to the ocean side to do some spear fishing. No luck.
That evening we went wakeboarding again until sundown.
5/29 – Cruised back to Miami. Again we saw the pilot whales and we stopped to swim with them. We stopped at the west end of Nassau for lunch.
Repairs – Port anti-freeze leak, Inverter went out, water maker would not turn on or off.
4/28/00 – 5/6/00 Miami to Compass Cay – Bahamas
4/28 – Left Fischer Friday evening and had a fuel leak at the spin on fuel filters. I lost the bolt trying to fix it and we had to come back on one motor.
4/29 – Drove to Diesel Tech to get a new bolt and we tried to leave again at noon. When we took off, the hydraulic pump for the tabs stopped working. I came back and did it manually, but it was too difficult and returned after a 3rd attempt to go.
5/1 – Got the pump fixed and took off again. We anchored at Chub Cay for the night.
5/2 – Cruised to Highbourne Cay and fueled up. We then went to Compass Cay. It was our first time.
5/3 – We were blown away by how the colors of the water were.
5/4 – We took a dinghy ride south to Pipe Cay. The water was some of the best we have ever seen.
5/5 – We went North to Waderick Wells. We found a great quiet anchorage between Waderweck Wells and Hog Cay. On the 1st day coming to Compass, we also stopped at Hawksbill Cay. It was a great anchorage at a long beach.
5/6 – We cruised all the way back to Miami. Tough start but great weather and a great trip.
Repairs – Fuel leak, hydraulic trim tab pump.
3/3/00 – 3/9/00 Miami to Georgetown – Bahamas
3/4 – Guy arrived in the morning and we cruised to Staniel Cay. We had a fuel leak on the injector pump on the port motor. (Brandon, Joel, Alex, Guy, Little Alex)
3/5 – Cruised to Georgetown. The oil pressure tube on the generator was leaking so we stayed at Exuma Docking Services the first night.
3/6 – We hung out on volleyball beach and moved the boat to the anchorage that afternoon.
3/8 – Cruised to Staniel Cay and hung out and snorkeled the cave.
3/9 – Cruised back to Miami. We went to South Beach. Met Mo at the nightclub. We hung out on the beach. Me, Alex and Guy went to bed while Brandon, Joel, and Little Alex stayed up.
Repairs – Generator oil pressure, Port motor injection pump.
1/27/00 – 2/6/00 Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown – Bahamas
1/27 – Left to Cat Cay and stayed the night. (Matty I. Mike Tobin and Veronica)
1/28 – Cruised to Nassau. Very rough seas and we stayed at Atlantis. Walked through the aquariums.
1/29 – Cruised to Staniel Cay in head seas. It was cold but we all went to snorkel the cave. DeeDee drank tequila and was up all night and had a tough night. We hung out in the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.
1/30 Mike, Veronica and Matty went with Larry to see the pigs. We cruised around the islands a lot. We went to the Super bowl party at Thunderball that night but only made it to halftime.
1/31 – Cruised to Georgetown. Hit Chat and Chill right away.
2/1 – Matty and Mike went spear fishing and got two lobsters. They cruised around on the dinghy all day.
2/2 – Mike, Veronica and Matty all flew out. Freddy Sidi was supposed to come in but missed the plane.
2/4 Cruised to Cat Cay. Had to stay in Cat Cay until Sunday 2/6. Came home early in 10 foot seas out of the North. Went to Fischer Island to close on the slip.
11/18/99 – 12/5/99 Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown – Bahamas
11/18 – We stayed in Ft. Lauderdale waiting for the cockpit cushions to be completed.
11/24 – We gave up waiting for the cushions and left for Nassau. We met Walter and Audacity for Thanksgiving.
11/26 – We left for Georgetown. We had good weather.
11/27 – In Georgetown we met Jack and Linda on Sea Venture. We filled up their water tank before we left. We also met Shane and Paula on Laughing boy. They were from Key West and going back to work for a while. Met Cathy and Dick on Mariah. Played lots of Volleyball.
12/3 – The wind was blowing hard. We stayed until Friday and then went to Nassau to meet the crew on Audacity for Hamish’s Birthday.
12/5 – Cruised back to Ft. Lauderdale.
Repairs – Generator Seawater pump went out
10/1/99 – 10/9/99 Miami to Hoffman Cay – Bahamas
10/1 - Picked the boat up from the boat yard at Richard Lomans.
10/2 – Stayed on the boat in Miami and worked on the boat.
10/6 – Cruised to Hoffman Cay and stayed for a few days. The wind was very strong and it was very rough.
10/9 – Cruised back to Miami in very rough seas.
Repairs – Port fuel pump sprang a leak
9/7/99 – 9/12/99 Miami to Cat Cay – Bahamas
9/7 – Picked up the boat from Ft. Lauderdale boat yard. Headed to Boca Raton for trade show.
9/8 – Had to cruise back to the boat yard because the ram on the trim tab blew out. They replaced it and we headed back to Boca Raton.
9/9 – Dr. Dehmel and Coleman and Company met with Leanne and Larry at the Hotel. That night we headed down to Miami.
9/10 – We picked up April in Miami and cruised to Cat Cay. We went around to dollar harbor and we wake boarded and hung out.
9/11 – We cruised to the Sapona wreck and snorkeled the wreck. The girls got very wasted and we went to jump off the back of the wreck. We cruised to Cat Cay and spent the night after dinner.
9/12 – Hung out the morning and cruised back to Miami. Larry stayed at the boat and the three girls went out.
Repairs – Blown out trim tab.
7/22/99 – 7/29/99 Miami to Georgetown – Bahamas
7/22 – Cruised to Cat Cay and stayed the night. Perfectly flat seas. (Mark & Adam Pearl, Brandon and Lindsey)
7/23 – Cruised to Georgetown with a fuel stop at Staniel Cay. Anchored at the monument. It was us and one large boat only.
7/24 – Brandon and Larry beat Mark and Adam and beach football.
7/25 – Played volleyball with other boaters. We got beat by them 3 out of 4. Adam kept on making fun of the old sailor by repeating “ARRGH” We could not stop laughing.
7/26 – Did lots of wakeboarding in Georgetown. Brandon tried to Slalom Ski and Mark got up for the first time on the wakeboard. DeeDee, Lindsey and Brandon were all getting good on the wakeboard.
7/27 – Cruised to Atlantis. We hung out at the pool. Lindsey met some friends and hung out with them.
7/28 – Brandon and I beat Mark and Adam at Basketball. They gave us five points and let us win.
7/29 – 7/30 Hung out at the pool and the kid s went to the MTV beach party. It was a great trip. All sun and very hot.
Repairs – Outboard bogged down.
7/17/99 – 7/18/99 Miami to Cat Cay – Bahamas
7/16 – Sea Trialed boat with Al Pirez. Props were too light but Al found some fuel leaks and Turbo gasket leaks...
7/17 – AC Power changed water maker oil and Chris came and fixed Salon AC with a remote sensor.
We cruised to Cat Cay in 15 knot head winds. We stayed at the marina overnight and left at noon the next day.
7/18 – We stayed in Miami and went to see the Blair Witch Project. Sad Weekend – John Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash. Danny and Erica were with us.
Repairs – Prop adjustment, fuel leaks, and Turbo gasket leaks. AC repaired.
6/24/99 – 7/4/99 Miami to Georgetown – Bahamas
6/24 – Cruised to Cat Cay – stayed the night at Cat. (Brandon, Lindsey, Leila)
6.25 – Cruised to Staniel Cay Storm came in and we stayed at dock.
6/26 – Cruised to Georgetown. Anchored in front of Chat and Chill. Stayed three days. Went over to the ocean beach for some time.
6/29 – Cruised to Waderick Well. Hiked the island. Anchored at the beach by Emerald Rock. Snorkeled in the park. Did lots of tubing and wakeboarding.
7/2 – Cruised back down to Staniel Cay. Snorkeled the Cave. Spent most of the time wakeboarding. We went to the Thunderball Club on Friday to eat. Spent lots of time wakeboarding again. We also went to feed the pigs.
7/4 All week was great sunny weather. Perfect week. Sunday was cloudy and rainy. We headed back to Miami. We came in the cut just as the fireworks started. This was a great week.
Repairs – Wave runner display died, Generator starter wire, Garage door, Arch lights, Stereo Remote.
5/28/99 – 5/31/99 Miami to Hoffman’s Cay – Bahamas
5/28 – Picked up the boat from Merrill Stevens boat yard. They put on a new prop, new shaft, and replaced the transmission. We left the same day for Cat Cay. It took a while to clear in at Cat Cay and then we cruised to Hoffman Cay.
5/29 – Went to see the Blue Hole at Hoffman’s. It was huge. DeeDee and Larry jumped off the cliff into the Blue Hole. We snorkeled the hole and saw the big grouper fish. Great sunny day.
We took a ride on the wave runner south to see flo’s restaurant. Fun Ride.
5/30 – Cloudy day. We went back to the Blue hole with a hand held depth finder. The hole was about 35 feet deep. We met a group of people from Miami today. We also met an elderly couple on their sailboat Pegasus. I think they were Hal and Nancy. They stay at the Melbourne Yacht Club.
5/31 – We headed home. We had to wait for high tide to get out of the anchorage. When we stared cruising we lost the engines. It took us some time to figure out that the boat yard had closed the crossover valve to the fuel tanks.
Repairs – Fuel valve closed, 24 volt system went dead.
3/5/99 – 3/15/99 Miami to Georgetown – Bahamas
(Danny, Joel, Brandon)
3/5 - Went to Guy’s fight against Tito in Bay St. Louis – Mississippi – He lost
3/6 - We came back to Dallas on a private plane and then we flew to Miami. We got late and left early on Sunday.
3/7 - Cruised to Staniel Cay and stayed the night.
3/8 – Cruised to Georgetown with a couple we met. (Jim and Cathy) Very rough seas – It was their first time in rough seas.
3/9 – It was very windy in Georgetown. The waverunner had a bad relay and could not be used.
3/11 – Cruised to Atlantis in great weather. The garage and trim tab pump went bad. The kids cruised all over Atlantis on the go-peds. The weather was perfect and we mostly hung out at the pool. It was a little boring without snorkeling or the waverunner to play with.
3/14 – Left at 6 AM to Miami. It was good weather. We went to South Beach when we got back.
3/15 – Flew back to Dallas.
Repairs – Fuel leak, Garage door pump, Big Vibration in shaft, Waverunner relay.
2/20/99 – 2/27/99 Miami to Hoffman’s Cay – Bahamas
2/20 – Cruised to Staniel Cay and fueled up. We stayed the night.
2/21 – Cruised to Georgetown. Very calm seas and very sunny yesterday and today. We anchored at the monument.
2/22 – At Georgetown we had the anchor line unbraid and we broke loose. Many people came to help. Bob from Kavalli and Mickey from Discovery.
2/23 – Most of the time we just hung out on the boat or at Chat n Chill. We went over to see Bob’s boat – Kavalli. It is a grey 62 Nordhavn. We met his wife Lidia and their kids Kevin (14) and Allison (6). They home school the kids and cruise all over the world.
2/24 Lynne (guy) and Lois came over from the Sailboat Island Spice lady and had burgers. They were on their way to South America. We also met Kenny from the sailboat Arcadia. He hung out and watched TV with us a lot during the week.
2/25 – We cruised to Nassau and stayed at Atlantis Marina. It was grand and w just hung out at the pool.
2/27 – Headed back to Miami – perfect weather.
Repairs – Anchor winch failed, starboard fuel leak, and anchor rope broke.
2/5/99 – 2/731/99 Miami to Cat Cay – Bahamas
2/6 – Cruised to Cat Cay in great weather. Stayed overnight on the west side of Gun Cay.
2/7 – DeeDee rode the waverunner and we just hung out. We headed back to Miami.
Repairs – This was the first time the boat turned 2380 rpm since MAN has been working on it since last March.
11/25/98 – 12/1/98 Miami to Staniel Cay – Bahamas
11/25 – Had to stay in Miami for the first few days so MAN could try to take care of the low RPM problem. (Tra and Tonna)
11/26 – Cruised to Cat Cay and anchored out overnight.
11/27 – Cruised to Staniel Cay.
11/28 – Had great weather and went snorkeling along the island and in the cave. The generator died from when I shut off the engine room light. Stayed at Staniel for the few days.
11/30 – Cruised to Cat Cay.
12/1 – Cruised to Miami early in the day. Had to cruise slowly because of the slow RPM problem.
Repairs – Low RPMs and Generator failed.
10/98 – 10/98 NYC to Miami
10/98 – Don’t remember the exact date but we cruised from NYC down to Miami.
7/17/98 – 7/31/98 NYC up the Hudson River and then to Sag Harbor
7/18 – Took the kids, Ronny and his kids, Vito and his kids, all the way up the Hudson River. We hit bottom and had to get towed off a shallow area. We stayed out all day and played with the waverunner.
7/19 – Picked up Roberto, Nia and the kids along with Jennifer and her kids. We ate lunch at Haverstraw Marina and just cruised for the day.
7/20 – We had DeeDee’s birthday party at bluewater grill.
7/22 – Picked up Jennifer and Jimmy and went to SAG Harbor. We played each day with the wave runner and wakeboard. I hurt my lower back real bad and we stayed anchored out.
7/26 – Cruised back to NYC and blew a fuel line on the way. We had to come back at 10 knots and it took us 8 hours to get in. Jan took the kids to Moms.
7/28 – The MAN guys were working all day to correct the low RPM problem. We went to visit my parents during the day.
7/31 – DeeDee went home and I stayed to work with the MAN guys and clean the boat.
Repairs – Low RPM and fuel leak.
7/2/98 – 7/6/98 NYC to Sag Harbor
7/2 – Cruised to Sag Harbor. Steve Hanson took the ride with us. We stopped at his house in Amaganset. We had dinner at Danny and Vera’s house with OZ and Joe Coffee, Guy and Jennifer.
7/3 – Took the boat to Shelter Island. Had a full boat load. Guy, Jennifer, Danny, Vera, Keith and Joanne, Mike and wife, Nicole Miller, Stuart Parr, Gary Zimberg, Steve Hanson, Chris, Jay, and Terri Errico. Went to party at Jennifer’s but no one was at the party.
7/4 – Went to Block island with Jay and Terri Errico, Guy and Jennifer. Had lunch and turned around and came back to Sag Harbor to watch the fireworks. On the boat were Danny and Vera, Keith and Joanne, Guy and Jennifer, Jay and Terri, and LaVinia and Zak.
7/5 – Went to Jeep beach and got Jennifer’s Suburban stuck in the sand until we let air out of the tires.
7/6 – Cruised back with Joe Coffee, Gail, and their friends from Canada.
6/18/98 - 6/21/98 NYC to Sag Harbor
6/18 – Cruised to Sag Harbor via the ocean route and through the Shinnecock Canal locks. Stayed at Mallory Cove West in Sag Harbor.
6/19 – Took boat out with Terri and Jay and Gabby and just hung out on the boat all day. The Jet Ski died on us at the beach.
6/20 – We went to Jeep Beach for the day and hung out.
6/21 – Cruised back via the Long Island Sound.
6/98 – 6/98 Miami to NYC
6/98 – Don’t remember the date but cruised the boat to NYC.
5/22/98 – 5/29/98 Miami to Georgetown – Bahamas
5/22 – Cruised to Higborne Cay. Stayed overnight at Allan Cay. (Allison, Veronica, and Jordon)
5/23 – Cruised to Staniel Cay. Great weather. When at Staniel Cay there was a Barracuda under the boat the entire time. Allison named it “Barry the Barracuda” We stayed in Staniel Cay two days.
5/26 – Cruised to Georgetown – We stopped in Georgetown a few days. Met a guy on a boat called ZinZan from South Africa. He sailed from South Africa to Georgetown. Also met with the guy who owns the bar at Volleyball beach. Well traveled guy. His name is KB.
5/28 – Cruised to Nassau. Stayed in Paradise Harbor Marina. Girls went out tot Atlantis but did not find a good night club.
5/29 – Cruised to Miami. – Girls went out at the Clevelander. Got back in at the break of day. They flew home Saturday morning.
4/30/98 – 5/6/98 Miami to Key West
4/30 – The first two days we stayed in Miami because Larry had the stock Genie promotion being launched for Voxcom Holdings.
5/3 – John Coutris and a client were in town and we took then snorkeling by Key Largo. Dave Paterson was down barefooting and he came with us. That night we went to Shooters for dinner.
5/4 – We cruised to Key West and stayed at the Hilton Marina. We met up with DeeDee’s mother and her friend Lee Brown. We had dinner and stayed a few days. I was on the phone for most of the week.
5/6 – We cruised back to Miami and went to La Entourage for my birthday dinner. We came back for the weekend and DeeDee went to Arizona for Mother’s day.
4/9/98 Miami
4/9 – WE stayed in Miami on the boat and just played. We went rollerblading all over Miami. We also went shopping. It was a very relaxing and great weekend. It was Easter weekend.
3/7/98 – 3/14/98 Miami to Staniel Cay – Bahamas
3/7 – Cruised to Cat Cay and stayed the night. Very rough head seas. (Lou, Jim, Danny, Ritchie, Brandon, Jimmy)
3/8 – Cruised to Chub Cay and anchored out. Snorkeled at the Momma Rock. Towed a sailboat in with a broken rudder.
3/9 – Cruised to Highborne Cay. Very rough seas. WE came into Valentine and a major storm was following us as we tied up. We went to the beech by dingy. It was very very cold.
3/11 – Cruised to Allan Cay and stayed the night. Snorkeled a drift dive.
3/12 – Cruised to Staniel Cay. We met people from Nexus and went to the pig roast at club Thunderball. Did a drift snorkel at the last island. Snorkeled the cave. It was very cold. The kids spent the afternoon doing timed races around the islands.
3/14 – Cruised from Staniel Cay all the way to Miami.
Repairs – Lost the anchor at Chub, lost both portable VHF radios when the waverunner was turned over.
2/17/98 – 2/20/98 Miami to Harbour Island – Bahamas
2/17 – Left for Cat Cay and stayed the night.
2/18 – Cruised to Spanish Wells and A-1 took us over to Valentines Marine. We took turns and jumped waves at the inlet for a long time. Larry Lost control in the whitewater and the wavrunner got rolled along with Larry in the waves.
2/19 – We were on the way to snorkel when we got a cal from Don Mclellan that the FTC had closed down the company. We headed back but the water plug on the salt water pump popped out of the port motor. Larry had to stick the handheld VHF antenna into the hole to stop the leak. We got into Miami at 11:00 PM.
We went to the Miami boat show before we left for this trip.
Repairs – Sea water pump on Port Motor
1/19/98 – 1/25/98 Miami to Staniel Cay – Bahamas
1/19 – Stayed in Miami until Paige came in on Tuesday morning and then we left and went to Allan Cay. Very calm seas. (Guy, Tra, Paige, Christa)
1/21 – Stayed in Allan Cay in morning and then cruised down to Staniel Cay. Stayed in Staniel Cay Wed and Thursday. We went to snorkel the cave and took turns riding the waves on the waverunner. Went to thunderball club to eat dinner and met Ruth the bartender. Snorkeled the shallow airplane. Great day of sun.
1/23 – Cruised to Nassau and stayed overnight. We went to Atlantis to see the aquarium and had some drinks.
1/24 – Cruised to Cat Cay and anchored overnight in dollar harbor. Tra was almost taken out to sea on the waverunner at night because it would not start.
1/25 – Cruised to Miami to watch the Superbowl. Very rough seas.
1/9/98 – 1/11/98 Miami to Cat Cay – Bahamas
1/9 – Cruised to Hobe Sound. We went to Admirals cove. Did not stay, came down to Ft. Lauderdale. Got stuck on sandbar at Peanut Island in West Palm Beach. Went down to shooters for dinner and stayed overnight tied up to a dock at an office building across from shooters.
1/10 – Cruised to pier 66 for breakfast and then to Cat Cay. Very rough seas – Vito got sick. We had to use handheld GPS because the Northstar was in repair. Had Ebb and Doris over to see the new boat and gave Vito seasickness Medicine from Belgium.
1/11 – Cruised at 7 AM to Miami. Just hung out and watched the NFC and AFC championship games.
12/27/97 – 1/4/98 Miami to Hopetown – Bahamas
12/27 – Cruised to Cat Cay. Had to replace shore power switch which went bad when my cleaning guy sprayed water into it. Got Amy in with a cancelled passport. Rough Crossing. (John and Gina, Rick and Amy)
12/28 – Cat Cay to Hopetown. Bad weather but a good trip. Had heavy rain all night.
12/29 – Met Paul and Marie from Toronto. They came with us to Green Turtle Cay. We went into the black sound and went to eat in town. Weather was bad all day. We cruised in pouring rain but was not bad when we were shopping in town.
12/30 – went to the beach and snorkeled at the Lodge.
12/31 – Watched movies all day for nine hours and slept through New Years Eve.
1/2 – cooked on the boat and had Paul and Marie over for dinner.
1/3 – Cruised from Hopetown t Port Lucaya. Stayed overnight in Port Lucaya.
1/4 - Cruised to Miami in 5 to 8 foot following seas. Lost GPS and the porthole popped open in the master stateroom. Strong 25 knot winds all week.
Repairs – GPS failed, Hatch ripped off.
12/8/97 – 12/13/97 Miami to Abacos – Bahamas
12/18 – Went to Cat Cay in the afternoon and stayed the night.
12/9 – Cruised to Hopetown in the Abacos via the Berry Islands and Hole-in-the-Wall. Stayed for two nights in Hopetown.
Took dinghy to the beach – Great reefs right off the beach. Stayed at Hopetown marina on south Side.
12/11 – Cruised to Great Guana Cay. Stayed on west side of Settlement. We went to Nippers which had a great view of the beach. (3rd largest barrier reef in the world)
12/12 – A strong front was coming in so we left earlier than expected. We cruised to Great Sale Cay with a short anchor stop at Great Sale. We played on the waverunner and watched all three Godfather movies.
12/13 – We left Great Sale at 7:30 am to Miami. Seas were very very rough at 10 feet or better and we had to travel west to the Florida coast and then follow it south. It took nine hours to make the 135 mile trip.
5/17/97 – 5/26/97 Miami to Little San Salvador – Bahamas
5/17 – visited my Dad after he had his heart attack on the cruise ship.
5/20 – Cruised to Cat cay and stayed the night.
5/21 – Cruised to Highbourne Cay, fuel up, and stayed in Allan Cay and watched lizards on the beach.
5/22 – Cruised to Little San Salvador, took SeaDoo to the TeeCay with DeeDee. Great Weather and Great Beach.
5/23 – Cruised to Staniel Cay. Snorkeled thunderball cave. Got caught in the current after a barracuda stalked us.
5/24 – Cruised to Waderick Wells state park. Had happy hour at headquarters. Met Gary and Sandy from the Sailboat blue Claw who live in Marathon Key.
5/25 – Cruised to Highbourne Cay and fueled up. We cruised from there to Cat Cay and stayed overnight.
5/26 – Fueled up and cruised home. Helped a sailboat with guys from Dallas seminary into the fuel dock.
Best trip yet. It was great. Met Francisco Grandor and Jose on their 62’ Sunseeker at Cat Cay.
4/23/97 – 4/26/97 Miami to Bimini – Bahamas
4/23 – Stayed in Miami due to very strong winds. (Lindsey and Beth)
4/24 – Miami to Cat Cay – Went snorkeling at Honeymoon harbour and made dinner. Came back to Cat Cay for the night. It was pitch black coming and we had to weave around boats to get back to the marina.
4/25 – Went to snorkel at Turtle Rocks. Winds were out of the east at 20 knots and we snorkeled on the ocean side. Went to Bimini in the afternoon planning to stay but chose to return to Miami. I could not get in the slip because it was too windy. When I left the wind caught the boat and I crunched a small boat at the dock. This night we went to Miami and stayed.
4/26 – Weather was turning bad so we went to Shooters. We came back in a huge thunderstorm. It was pouring rain most of the day.
Repairs – The anchor wheel bolt came out and it dropped to the bottom of the water. The SeaDoo was left at the shop to be repaired.
3/9/97 – 3/13/97 Miami to Harbour Island – Bahamas
3/9 – Miami to harbour Island. Left 7:30 AM and arrived 4:30 PM. Cleared in at Cat Cay on the way and Met A-1 Broadshed in Spanish Wells to pilot us to harbour Island. Stayed at Harbour Island marina and dined at the Coral Sands. (John, Gina, Brian, Sunshine)
3/10 – Followed fish tank dive boat and it was rough! Stayed and anchored at Man Island for the night.
3/11 – Brian and John tried to go dive Devils Reef but lost their equipment when the SeaDoo died and the Tube with all their equipment flipped. We went back to harbour Island and docked again because of 30 knot winds. We met Chester and Brian and John and Girls went to SeaGrape club.
3/12 – Left harbour Island and went to chub Cay in very rough and windy seas. Stayed in Chub Cay.
3/13 – Left Chub Cay and cruised to Miami.
3/1/97 – 3/5/97 Miami to Freeport – Bahamas
3/1 – Miami to Freeport – Port Lucaya at 1:00 AM. (Jimmy, Adam and Mark Pearl, Ritchie, Brandon)
3/2 – Went to Peterson Cay and snorkeled all day – Stayed at port Lucaya.
3/3 – went to Sale Cay and stayed overnight.
3/4 - Went through Grand Lucayan waterway and hit bottom on North Side of waterway. Steering locked up in waterway. Got through waterway and hit 10 foot wave head on. Both GPS and Radar went out. We hit huge wake and swamped boat.
3/5 – We took a plane back to Miami. Had to leave the boat in Port Lucaya and had to fly back props and put props on. Tim from Sunseeker came to bring back the boat. Met Rick who’s family owns Port Lucaya Development.
3/15 – Stayed and played at South Beach with kids and flew back on Sunday.
2/27/97 – 3/1 97 Miami to Marathon
2/27 – Miami to just south of Isla Mirada via the intercoatal waterway.
2/28 – isla Mirada to key marathon
2/29 – Marathon to Key Largo
3/1 – Key Largo to Miami
Bobby Monahan and Cantine
Very rough seas and lots of sun. Stayed on inside. Anchored out first night. Stayed at Fara Blanca the second night. Met George from Boca Raton on his 50 foot SeaRay (Peggy-L) Next day tried to dive at Sombrero key but it was way too rough. We used the SeaDoo to drop off each of us at the Italian Fisherman restaurant to eat dinner. Had to clean out both sea strainers because we hit bottom in Tarpon Basin.
2/21/97 – 2/23/97 Miami to Isla Mirada
2/21 – Miami to Isla Mirada via intercoastel.
2/23 – Isla Mirada to Miami.
(Brandon, Lindsey, John and Gina Coutris)
SeaDoo died and John swam to get it. Brandon and John had to be towed in. Went snorkeling at alligator reef. Saw a nurse shark and many different fish. This was first time to snorkel off boat.
Repairs - Generator belt broke.
2/13/97 – 2/15/97 Miami to Isla Mirada
2/13 – Miami to Ft. Lauderdale to Miami
2/14 – Miami to Holiday Isle at Isla Mirada. Got stuck in the shallow on ICW side and stayed overnight. Next day we hit the same shallow and got stuck again and ruined the water pump.
2/25 – Isle Mirada to Miami.
(Buddy, Michelle, Rick, Lisa)
1/30/97 – 2/2/97 Miami to Nassau - Bahamas
1/30 – Miami to Cat Cay
1/31 – Cat Cay to Chub Cay
1/31 – Chub Cay to Nassau
2/1 – Nassau to Cat Cay
2/2 – Cat Cay to Miami
Mark and Dianna Leopold
First trip to the Bahamas. We went to the wrong side eat Cat Cay fuel dock and got stuck in the shallow. We met neat people from Holland. Doris and Ebb Mast. We looked at Pictures of the storm.
Repairs – DDEC batter system want down and we bent the SeaDoo Ramp.
1/15/97 Miami
1/15 – Had trouble with the DDEC system so we could not take our first trip to the Bahamas. We stayed in Florida and cruised up to Ft. Lauderdale.
Mark Dorfman
12/31/96 – 1/5/97 – Clearwater Texas to Miami
Trip to bring boat to Miami from Texas
12/31 – Clearwater Texas to Grand Isle, Louisiana
1/1 – Grand Isle to Tiger Pass, Biloxi Mississippi.
1/2 - Biloxi to Panama City, Florida
1/3 – Panama City to Clearwater, Florida
1/4 – Clearwater to Marathon Key, Florida
1/5 – Marathon Key to Miami Beach, Florida.