In the Hammock

Palm Coast, Florida 
January - March 2021

If you were to close your eyes and imagine an idyllic peaceful setting, you might picture yourself in a hammock on a tranquil beach somewhere.

The early inhabitants of northeast Florida had a name for the elevated stands of tropical hardwoods in the surrounding marsh on the barrier islands and coastlands. That name was "hammock," and it meant "a cool and shady place, a peaceful place."

A trail through the hammock

A peaceful place is exactly what we were looking for in the Covid season of 2021. We wanted to be on the boat, but our normal winter destination of the Bahamas couldn’t roll out the welcome mat. So we settled in to the Hammock at Palm Coast. Specifically, the Marina at Hammock Beach Resort. 

What a perfectly peaceful place it was for a few months!  

Hammock Beach Resort -- the resort was more posh
than the marina, but the marina was special too.

Keith's dad and his wife, Miriam came to visit.

It was great to have company to enjoy this part of Florida that we love so much, 

During the high season of Covid, "pivot" was the word of the hour. Everybody's life changed suddenly. In this not-according-to-plan time, we had to shed non-essentials. This made us stop and consider what matters most -- adventures and getaways are great but don't begin to compare with the people we love and, even more, the God who loves us. 

Still, we were tremendously grateful that by the winter of 2021, Plan B allowed us to spend the winter in the peaceful Hammock. 

Cinnamon Beach

~~~~~~~

It's usually through our hard times, the unexpected and not-according-to-plan times, 

that we experience God in more intimate ways. 

Wendy Moore

Complement to the Crew

In January of 2022, our family crew became complete with the delightful addition of little Sylvia. Her arrival ranked as the most wonderful news all year. 

In other news, Pelican spent a few months at the boatyard having the mast compression post base rebuilt and two windows replaced. 

Additionally, a virus called Covid dominated the news and sent us scuttling home to social distance in March. Thankfully we were able to form a quarantine bubble with this little one and her family!

Eatin' Good

Nassau to Lucaya 
March 20-31, 2019

Our homeward itinerary took us from Nassau, New Providence to Lucaya, Grand Bahama. 

Bridge view of Paradise Island, Nassau

In between, off the Berry Islands, lies the blue-water fishing ground where Keith has consistently had the most luck.

Tuna, soon to be tartare

Mahi mahi, many delicious meals off the grill

With plenty of good eatin' to tide us over, Lucaya became a safe haven to ride out a final storm front before crossing the Gulf Stream and ending a delicious cruising season.

At Port Lucaya Marina

Taino Beach, Grand Bahama

Alone But Not

Northern Exumas
March 17, 2019 

You may think that hardly anyone spends the winter in the Bahamas on a boat or that we’re almost always alone. But you’d be wrong. It’s not unusual to share some of the popular anchorages with forty or more boats. 

Sure sign of lots of cruisers

As nice as it is to spend time with friends...we’re always on the lookout for a solitary anchorage. We make a little game of seeking out new places, preferably unknown spots not designated on the charts with a little anchor symbol. We kick back in the cockpit, savor our uninterrupted view, and breathe in the serenity. When we can find our own anchorage with not another boat in sight, it’s a small win. 

But then, out there in the solitude, we’re reminded that we’re not alone at all. The greatest prize is the presence of God always and everywhere with us, filling the air around us, filling the whole earth.  

~~~

I know not where his islands lift their fronded palms in air.

I only know I cannot drift beyond his love and care.

John Greenleaf Whittier

Friends, Fishing, Fun

Great Guana Cay
March 12, 2019

Nothing tastes better than your own fresh catch eaten the same night.  

The best catch!

Unless it's fresh fish caught and shared with friends the same night. We try to meet up with Kim and Cathy every time we cruise in the Bahamas. The first time we met, we were both escaping severe weather in a marina in South Carolina in 2012. Keith and Kim soon discovered that they share a passion for diving and spearing. Cathy and I love beach walks. We caught up with them in the central Exumas and spent a few days enjoying all of those activities, including a dinner channel crabs and Nassau Grouper. 

Channel crabs -- a bit of work to get the meat!

Fresh catch shared with friends. It's better in the Bahamas. 

Adventure Run A-Muck

Thomas Cay 
March 7, 2019

Between this...

And this...

Lay a whole lot of this. 

In order to see the ocean side of narrow Thomas Cay, we only had to traverse a short distance that included an apparently dried swamp. 

Halfway across and fully committed, we found ourselves in muck that sucked us in above the ankles and had a huge appetite for sandals. Wrestling one sandal free meant the next was mired deeper. With each tussle, I felt like I might topple. 

Just a little bit of muck. But enough to strike fear into my heart. Fear of losing a sandal, cutting my foot, or falling headlong into the mire. Once we made it across, after cleaning up in the clear ocean water, it was the only way back. I prayed and asked God to help me be calm and keep my sandals and my balance. The way back across was much easier. This time, Keith held my hand, and even though I couldn't keep my sandals on, I walked in his footsteps, which was immensely helpful. It was a great picture of how God walks with us, holds our hand, marks out the path, and reassures us with His presence. 

An Addition to the Crew

While we’ve been away from cruising, the most wonderful thing happened: Sean and Maggie added a new crew member, Bjørn, to the family. He’s the sweetest, most adorable Little Mate to be found anywhere. 

Over the past winter, the Captain and First Mate of Pelican stayed in the home port to help show him the ropes. (We had the privilege and joy of taking care of him two days a week. The best adventure!) 

Now it’s time for this crew to cast off the lines. We were able—just barely—to tear ourselves away from our Little Mate for a shortened cruising season, our next Bahamas adventure. The crystalline waters and secluded coves are gifts of God's handiwork whose beauty feeds our souls. The even better gift is connecting with old and new friends. Then heading back to our home port to be with friends and family there, especially the new crew member who's stolen our hearts. 

{And on this date thirty-seven years ago, the two of us had our first date. Another pretty good gift!}

~~~~

"Though I have seen the oceans and mountains, though I have read great books and seen great works of art...there is nothing greater or more beautiful than those people I love."
~Christopher de Vinck


Follow us in real time:
Pelican Path

Southern Adventure

 Hammock Beach, FL and Argentina
January - March 2017

The winter of 2017, we docked at the Marina at Hammock Beach to have new bimini built by Cooper’s Canvas. The project would take several weeks with an uncertain completion date. That ruled out a Bahamas crossing, but using our boat as a floating condo lacked the element of adventure. We’d felt the draw of other kinds of travel, so we broke up the winter with a three-week trip to Argentina. Keith spent countless hours researching and creating the itinerary, and what an unforgettable adventure it was! 

The Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires

Street tango performers - passion in motion

Impressive buildings abound in Buenos Aires

The much visited grave of Evita Perón 

On a day trip to Uruguay via ferry, overlooking historic Colonia Sacramento

Street scene with color and personality, Colonia Sacramento

At Iguazu Falls 

A broader view of the immense falls - we couldn't capture it all!

We visited several wineries in Mendoza, and every one was also an art gallery

The cross-country double-decker bus trips were amazing. We reserved the front seats above the driver. Attendants served dinner complete with wine.

 

Elephant seals on Península Valdés

Magellan penguins, also on Península Valdés

Our itinerary

Sisters, Sisters!

November 11-15, 2016
Hammock Beach at Palm Coast, FL

We’d been waiting for this a long time. Eleven years ago, my three sisters and I went to New York City on our first Sisters Trip. It was so much fun we said we should do it again. Soon! We had no idea it would take more than a decade—or how our lives would change between then and now. Finally we made it happen in Palm Coast, Florida, staying at the condo building next to the marina where Pelican is docked.

L to R: Jeanne, Joanie, Joyce, and Jan

Yacht Harbor Village, next to the marina

The pool at the condo

Even though the weather didn’t offer up iconic warmth and sunshine, making us reach for our jackets, we were able to do everything we wanted: sightseeing, walking the beach, seeing the super-moon rise over the ocean, soaking in the hot tub, eating out, shopping.

At Flagler College in St. Augustine

In the rotunda of Flagler College

Soaking in the rays and wind at the beach

Rest from sightseeing

We even bought the matching T shirts.

These three were there from the moment I first became aware. They helped me learn how to share, how to love, how to be part of a family. They got me into and out of trouble. They were fiercely loyal growing up and have been strongly supportive ever since. It was a gift to reconnect with my dear sisters and enjoy concentrated time for deeper conversation, sharing each other’s hearts, praying about each other’s burdens.

In honor of our mom, who was an expert seamstress and taught us all to sew, this quote describes our sisters’ bond:

“We are more than just acquaintances...

it’s as if we are cut from the same fabric. 

Even though we appear to be sewn 

in a different pattern, 

we have a common thread that won’t be broken—by people or years or distance.”

Splashed and Settled

November 4-10, 2016
St. Marys, GA to Palm Coast, FL
And we’re off…it’s another new snowbird season on Pelican. On October 6 when Hurricane Matthew blew through, we wondered if that would be the case this year.

Last-minute touch-up

Ready to splash

View of the beautiful Georgia marsh

“The storm” is still a frequent topic of conversation here. Our boatyard was spared by the timing of the hurricane. It hit at low tide, and just two feet of water flooded the yard. At high tide, with the seven-foot tidal range in southern Georgia, the storm surge would have floated all the boats off their jack stands.

Once we splashed and moved south, storm damage was unmistakable. The fearsome force of the surge snapped docks like popsicle sticks and tossed boats like toys. Fernandina Beach Marina, a favorite of many boaters on the northern edge of Florida, is closed indefinitely. St. Augustine was hard hit. Dozens of boats were carried into the marsh and stranded, while others fared worse or sank. Marinas that are up and running are filled to capacity.

Stranded

Not the prettiest or quietest anchorage ever

Happy to be under way

We’d made reservations last spring at Hammock Beach Marina in Palm Coast or we might have been turned away. Our project this fall is to have a new Bimini made with a frame that will accommodate solar panels, giving us the luxury of more electrical power at anchor. We’ll settle in here while the work is done.

The Marina at Hammock Beach Resort

Settled in for a while