Honey Fitz

We have been at the Rybovich North marina and yard which is located in Riviera Beach just north of Palm Beach. There is a larger marina just down the waterway in Palm Beach but that is fancy, for the mega yacht crowd. We came here because a friend had his boat hauled for maintenance and it was a very convenient place to gather and wait the weather out for a crossing  of the gulf stream to the Bahamas. It is important to time the weather this time of year because any winds from a northerly direction in opposition to the gulf stream current can make the passage very uncomfortable if not unsafe.

Earlier last week we had a tropical depression off shore generating large waves and a cold front from Canada adding wind whipped waves on top.
Not a good time to cross, many boats have been sitting it out waiting for a weather window where the winds change direction, preferably to the south and die down a bit.

Our weather window arrived on Tuesday with a wind change from the south and the winds dying down a bit. Our initial plan had been to depart this morning but one of the boats we are traveling with had to be hauled and have the seals to the shafts checked. We decided to wait a day and see if they can get repaired and we all travel together. The weather will begin to worsen late Thursday and into the weekend as another cold front approaches the area and when it will settle down again is unknown. Tomorrow is the day we will cross.

We will make a short trip to the Old Bahama Bay Marina.
This is on the west end of Grand Bahamas. We will stay the night and clear customs departing the next morning. Our goal is to go to Marsh Harbor but we will stop and anchor in Great Sail and Green Turtle Key along the way, hopefully a fun and relaxing trip.

While we were at Riviera Beach and Rybovich we enjoyed the sights and sounds of a busy port and yard. We had great entertainment with the local pelicans.

There was good fishing in part of the marina for the local pelicans and gull who were competing for the local cuisine.

We have never seen this behavior before but when a pelican dives and catches a fish a gull would land on him to grab some goodie if they can.

This ole boy decides enough of this nonsense I am outta here with my fish in my gullet!

He did keep his fish however

So it times to settle down for a nice nap

Seabright is tied up behind NV, an 80' Outer Reef

Our sister ship Copeing is tied up to a dock on our starboard side. We all hope to depart together, our little convoy along with one other boat called My Therapy.

Tied up across from us is the Honey Fitz.










The Honey Fitz served five presidents from Truman to Nixon who had it decommissioned and sold. The new owner is having it restored and you can see she looks great. The hull was completely redone and sparkles while the interior restoration is now underway. The name Honey Fitz is what the vessel was called when JFK used her extensively.