Publish Date: Sunday, March 29, 2009
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
We’ve now been back in the U.S. for a couple weeks, and it’s been quite an adjustment for all of us. Don’t get me wrong: The United States is wonderful for many reasons. But after three months in the Bahamas, it takes a little getting used to.
Let’s start with the water. As I’ve written before, the water in the Bahamas is unbelievably clear and fresh. One night, when we were anchored in about ten feet of water with a full moon overhead, I could see the anchor chain laid out on the bottom for 75 feet, by moonlight. The water here in the Intracoastal Waterway, on the other hand, is, well… brown. We anchored in eight feet of water, and I couldn’t see the bottom. I could barely see the anchor snubber where it attached to the chain! I won’t run the water maker because of what I can imagine it sucking up. *sigh*
Now let me move on to the availability of, well… everything. In the Bahamas, we were fortunate to find any fresh produce, and we certainly didn’t have access to fresh dairy products. Here in the U.S. we are fortunate enough to have access to amazing food — the abundance is almost overwhelming. We walked around Whole Foods and Publix like kids in a candy store. We had fresh half-n-half in our coffee — what a treat! And that’s just the food; Don’t get me started on Costco and Home Depot. Wow!
But the most significant difference we’ve noticed is the overall pace of life. Things just move fast here in South Florida, as they do in many metropolitan parts of the U.S., and we’ve been a little bowled over by it. We got used to the relaxed and slower lifestyle prevalent in the Bahamian islands, and the accelerated pace here in the U.S. has taken some getting used to. I think we’re almost aclaimated again, but it hasn’t come without some sense of loss.
Hi all of you – Since Dave has the latest blog (march 29th) we decided to respond here. Wondering where you are and if you are making your ocean run to New York. Give us a call or an updated blog. We notice that David is far more current on his blog than certain other members of the family who will be nameless!!
Lots of love, The Mccormicks
David, is everything ok? Your back already. What happened to Alyas updates, my 5 year old son loves them. please let us know, my wife and I follow your adventures every week. How’s the the boat holding up?
I noticed the crew’s posts (as blogs) are becoming few and far between as your videos and general information, frankly the web site reads more like a vacation diary than it does a purposeful cruise. After all, three months in the Bahamas is hardly a world adventure – whom are you guys kidding here – yourselves maybe!
The cruise route map on the web site is very small and seemingly not in real time anyway but it looks like the crew will be spending spring in Florida – geez – another tough part of cruising isn’t it?
I don’t know, I have this funny feeling your cruising will go on a few more months and you’ll be packing it in. Seriously do you think following the eastern US coast line a few miles offshore and hanging in the Bahamas for a few months is preparing you for crossing a major Ocean. Convince me!
Hi Johnathan,
Yes, my crew (family) and I have all been unproductive on the web site during the last several weeks, which makes it look like nothing is happening. In reality, just the opposite is the case: we’ve been so busy with a series of cruise- and life-related tasks that we have fallen behind on our blogs and videos. We’ve recently been discussing amongst ourselves how to be more consistent with our updates. I’m also working on some software and communications automation to update our map and location in near-real-time. Juggling this is all part of the adventure!
As far as the journey itself, we are pretty much on track with our plan. We wanted to spend the first year close to the U.S. for a variety of reasons:
We do not have a ton of cruising experience, so we think this is a prudent approach to ensuring the safety of our family, and the success of our voyage. So far, so good on all of these fronts. We will cruise the northeast U.S. and Great Lakes this summer, and then head for Central America this fall, scheduling a Panama Canal transit in the winter. Our “shake down” cruise through the Bahamas this winter gave us invaluable experience, as will our summer cruising up the east coast and on those small oceans known as the Great Lakes. Yes, we realize none of this is the same as crossing the Pacific, but it all contributes to our experience so that we can take that next step.
So bear with us as we figure out how to cruise, home school, blog, predict the weather, produce videos, maintain the boat, and create a web site experience that is worth following. We’re committed to doing all of this, and we’re confident we’ll get better and better as we go. Thanks for following along so far, and we hope you continue to do so!
Sincerely,
David
David
Too nice a reply to Jonathan’s post, I think your planning is very prudent, but I have to say that since your are so close you are missing a very fine cruising area of the US. The northern gulf coast (panama city to pensacola) the whitest beaches and some of the clearest water. Also it is a little more laid back than South Florida.
Good Luck
Bill
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your comment. We would like to cruise the west coast and panhandle of Florida at some point — we’re just having trouble fitting everything into our route. Kathryn spent a week cruising the west coast when she took the Sea Sense women’s boating class (out of Sarasota), and she really enjoyed it. I’m sure we’ll get there, but it may take us a few years to make it happen. Thanks again!
David
Hi David,
I agree with Bill, too nice a reply to Jonathan’s post but that’s not the reason for my comment.
I am very excited to hear that Three@Sea will be making the trek north to my life’s cruising grounds. I have spent close to 30 years (since I was 7) cruising the waters of Georgian Bay, the North Channel, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and can’t wait to read about your travels on our fine waters and learn how your trusty Nordhavn handles the big lakes. If anything is included on your lake adventure, come to Canada and take in Northern Georgian Bay and the North Channel. I can almost promise you won’t be disappointed.
As a Nordhavn Crusing Dreamer I enjoy reading the material at Three@Sea and am excited to hear that the updates could become more frequent.
If you are interesting in some local lake knowledge don’t hesitate to drop me a line.
Happy Cruising!
Cheers,
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your comment. We’re very much looking forward to cruising in Lake Huron this summer. I grew up on Harsens Island, which is about 30 miles south of Port Huron, Michigan, on the St. Clair River. One of my favorite childhood memories was a boat trip to Tobermory that we took with some friends — us in our 24′ Chris-Craft, them in their 22′ Sea Ray. Lake Huron was wild and beautiful, and Georgean Bay was amazing, even though we only scratched the surface. We’re all looking forward to exploring this part of the world on Three@Sea this summer.
David
+1 on too nice a response – jonathan is jealous me thinks and can only snipe from his computer to feel better.
now if you want a more relaxed way of cruising in the us of a, i hope your travels take you to beautiful maine.
if you have not visited please do. it’s the way life should be.
Guys and gals,
I don’t think “Johnathan” was trying to snipe at David and frankly a few of you should be called out for promoting David to give a curt response. Rather David seemed to have the maturity to address Johnathan’s observations and most importantly responded to his call for “convincing”.
He (Johnathan) was surely convinced since he let the subject be and obvious to all he must be a regular reader to have noticed David and families’ blog entries have diminished.
Please do not turn this wonderful site into a “hate blog” just because a reader posted a factual observation and an opinion, especially this one who specifically asked to be corrected with his “convince me instructions. His post seemed as legitimate as the site itself.
Have a great day everyone.
Kyle
(Pittsburgh, PA)