Phase 3:  Bimini to Exumas - updated 2/03/2023

Crew:  Eric Brinsfield and Cathy Brinsfield

Current Location:  Black Point Settlement, Exumas

I have lots of photos, but reviewing, editing and uploading takes lots of time and bandwidth, so I am still a bit behind.  The last few days have been really nice.  After a few days in Warderick Wells, an overnight in Big Major next to Staniel Cay, and several days of exciting sailing, we are anchored at Black Point, where we caught up on laundry and ate lunch at Lorraine's.  Tomorrow, we plan to sail over to Cat Island, where we have never gone before.  Black Point is a very nice quiet stop with plenty of room to anchor.  It is protected fom the E, SE, NE, but you can experience some swell if you anchor too far out and the winds are S or N.  Not a god place for a W wind.  Lorraine's restaurant is the famous stopping point with great food.  They cater to high speed tour boats for lunch, but she has added a new dining room on the water that is used by cruisers and locals.  The old building provides a buffet for the high speed tour boats, so we did not have to eat with the gang.                  

Click on links below for photos (some may be missing for now)

See lower sections for the earlier phases of the trip.  

Phase 2:  Cruise to the Exumas in the Bahamas 

Crew: Eric Brinsfield and Cathy Brinsfield

Phase 2 covers our journey from Jacksonville, FL to Miami, FL.  Phase 1, shown in the next section, covers the trip from Norfolk to Jacksonville prior to the holidays.  

I am a little behind on my updates and I still need to provide more detail, but I have added some quick notes about where we have been and where we are going. 

From Daytona to Fort Pierce, we have seen a rocket launch, my glasses broke, I ran hard aground while anchoring, I kedged myself off the mud using my manual override on the windless, we squeaked through bridges that were breaking everywhere, we made it to Fort Pierce, my glasses are fixed, my water maker is unwinterized and functioning, we had lunch with Jim and Sue Currie, and had a wonderful stay in Fort Pierce.  

We are ready to move on to Lake Worth tomorrow, then onto the Miami and the Bahamas.  

Links to Daily Photo Galleries - most recent first:

Phase 1:  Norfolk to Jacksonville, FL

Gwynn Sullivan crewed with us from Norfolk to Jacksonville Beach.  She is home safe now back in Virginia Beach.  Big thank you to Gwynn.  We miss you already.  

We had a successful trip down the coast, mostly with offshore hops, to Jacksonville Beach, FL.  We took the ICW south from Norfolk to Coinjock (where we met Lee and Dani on Etoile de Mer).   From Coinjock we sailed to the north end of the Pungo River after a passage across the Albemarle Sound, Alligator River, Alligator-Pungo Canal (where we saw a bear), and anchored in the upper reaches of the Pungo.  From the Pungo we pressed forward to Beaufort, NC. In Beaufort, we bumped into old friends from the Bahamas, George and Bev on Breeze On.  Because so many boats are heading south, we spent 2 days at Homer Smith Marina and 1 night at Morehead City Yacht Basin.  I recommend both marinas.  Great service.  

From Beaufort, we headed offshore Charleston.  I met up with old Duke friend Laura Moore and Gwynn visited with her brother and family.  After a few days, we took off to Hilton Head at Skull Creek Marina.  Then we took an overnight run to St. Simon Inlet to Brunswick, GA.  In Brunswick, we met up with old Raleigh friends Cheryl and George, who happened to be driving through, met George and Bev on Breeze Up again, and spent some time with new friends Lee and Dani on Etoile de Mer.  We also saw lots of familiar boats in Brunswick Landing.  

After a few days, we made the final stretch from Brunswick to St. John's Inlet and Pablo Creek to Palm Cove Marina.  This was the roughest day from a waves standpoint, but nothing like what we expected.  We beat my estimated arrival time.  

Flight Risk will stay in Palm Cove Marina for a month or so.  Cathy and I will return home in mid-December by rental car for Christmas with family.  After the holiday, we will drive back and start heading further south in Florida.  

When the time is right, we will cross over to the Bahamas.  We want to go back to the Exumas to explore what we missed last time and return to some of our favorite spots.  

To see daily photos, check the links below to open a gallery in a new page.  Just close the page when you are done. 

Links to Daily Photo Galleries - most recent first