Sunday, February 28, 2010 Warderick Wells

Warderick Wells, Exuma Park North Anchorage
24*23.814 076*37.943

Had cereal this morning – first time in a long time & I enjoyed it. After breakfast I decided we were running low on bread so fed the bread starter to make some bread. After that it was time to jump onto the computer to check email and do some more hunting online for boat storage before my time on the Internet expired! It looked like I had about an hour and a half left so I used that up. Then sorted through pictures for Azaya and Blue Pearl and worked on my journal for a while. I’ve been a slacker at times this year keeping up with it.

After the computer work I decided that with the next front coming through I should see about getting the Spartite back down into the mast collar. It keeps coming up, so I keep hammering it down. We can see now why they say to drill screws into the collar and Spartite to keep the wedge in place! After I hammered it back into the collar, Wayne got out the drill and put 2 screws into the collar and Spartite to keep it from levitating back out. Hopefully this will now take care of our leaky mast problem.

It’s windy and cool out today and when Azaya came by wanting to know if we wanted to go hike over to Butterfly Beach in the afternoon, it sounded like a good idea. Today was a terrific day for a hike without sweating! I couldn’t believe the size of some of the solution holes that we hiked around and next to. There’d be no way that you’d be able to take those kinds of trails back home. The warning and danger signs would have to be posted and the insurance would be to high to allow such trails to exist!

Some of the holes were quite amazing in size and depth. You could fall in one and never get back out. Spelunkers would probably love some of them.

We went first to Barefoot Beach and then made it over to Butterfly just before sunset. I wasn’t relishing the climb and path back through the holey terrain in near darkness. Axel went back for the dinghy and Mary, Wayne and I sat chatting, and waiting on the beach for him to return. It was a pretty sunset and after pictures we headed back for the boats.

I made macaroni & cheese with hotdogs for dinner. I’ve got to tell you, I still don’t like the real stuff. I’ll take the Kraft box stuff anytime over the gloopy home made stuff but we make do with what we have and I don’t have the boxed stuff. After dinner, I put together the bread dough to rise overnight then did the dishes.

Time for some reading. There is one fabulous full moon out tonight. Big. Yellow. It keeps winking in and out of the dark clouds giving it a spooky Halloween feeling. A killing moon… I can see I’ll have to get another Internet Connection soon to find out when we have to be back in Michigan. Landlords and Lawyers – hip, hip, hooray… The last day of February with more vicious weather coming this week. Out like a lion and in like a… lion???

Saturday, February 27, 2010 Warderick Wells, Exuma Park North Anchorage

Long/Lat: 24*23.814/076*37.943

This has got to be one of my favorite places. The colors are so magnificent here. You just want to inhale and taste them as well as surround yourself in the hues of aqua, turquoise, royal blues and whites. I could drown in all the colors without ever diving into the water! Such a feast for the eyes and soul… We enjoyed a nice leisurely morning drinking our coffee and looking at the scenery. A bananaquit came by the boat for a sugar handout and of course I obliged. Then we hiked through the mangrove area up to Boo Boo Hill with Azaya to leave our names carved in wood and bone on a pile of driftwood that had been started by so many other boaters before us.

We read the other boater’s names and looked at the many artifacts left behind. Some were quite ornate in design, others simple carvings. The view from Boo Boo Hill is spectacular. It’s the highest point on this island (at 70 feet tall) and you can see for miles in any direction. I know I probably keep repeating myself but this has got to be, without a doubt, the most beautiful and pristine areas in the Exumas. There is no commercial development and the surrounding Cays are not inhabited or are privately owned. Where the Bahamas banks meet the deeper sound area, the greatest diversity of marine life exists, unspoiled by fishing and hunting. It’s one of the things I love about this park. It protects and creates a nursery environment for the marine life thus ensuring future generations of the conch and lobster that have mostly dwindled in the surrounding areas.

From Boo Boo Hill we followed the trail to the Blow Hole and down to Boo Boo Beach and oohed and ahhed at all the large chiton in the tidal zone, along with the various snails and other mollusks and shells. Beautiful fossilized coral and bedding planes from ancient beaches were exposed for us to explore and wonder at, along with so many bivalve shells and sea glass.

When we returned to the boat, I had every intention of swimming in the center of the anchorage on the large white tidal flat of sand to cool off, but once I got on board and made lunch, the only thing I was craving was a nap. Delicious… The tidal flat in the center is exposed at low tide and drops off sharply into the channel that the boats moor in. It’s one of the areas that make the blues bluer and adds to the color pallet that delights the soul. It’s a great area to find sand dollars and pen shells along with other mollusks. The only problem is that you have to leave them. This is a ‘No Take’ zone not only for the sea life but also for the homes that they once inhabited. The good part is that because it’s a “No Take” zone, everyone can enjoy them. Take only pictures; leave only footprints to be washed away by the tides…

After a delightful nap I accessed the Internet ($10/24 hours or 100mbs which every comes first) to check email, pay bills, try and update my blog (yikes there’s a lot to post), get news from home and check in on Face Book. The connection here is very poor. Worse than I remember, and more expensive. But you make do with what you have. I didn’t post all the pictures I could have, because I didn’t know how much time and bandwidth I could use before I ran out of time. We’re also searching for somewhere to leave the boat during hurricane season this year. If we end up in Deltaville again this year, that would be okay - I like it there :) So many things to do and so little bandwidth/time…

Before I knew it, it was almost 6pm and potluck time on the beach. I threw together a chicken salad, we buzzed by Azaya to see if they were going, and then headed to the beach. By the time we got there half the food was already gone but chatting with the other cruisers was fun. One guy named Scott was talking to Axel and Wayne about the Pacific. He’s done two circumnavigations, and asked Wayne what was holding him back? Good question LOL.

During the discussions some of the little Hutia (part of the rodent family – endangered but thriving here) came out from the brush to see if there was anything good to eat. The kids were throwing them popcorn and I found myself feeding them Ritz Crackers that I’d brought with the chicken salad. Around 7:30pm I found myself getting cold, so we headed back to the boat to call it an evening.

Friday, February 26, 2010 Exumas Park North Anchorage 24 23.814/076 37.943

Listened to the weather, coffee in hand and enjoyed the beautiful still morning. It was nice to have a comfortable night in the anchorage once again. Peanut butter & jelly on the last of the homemade bread and fruit for breakfast, as we waited with anticipation for the morning call to “who’s leaving, who wants a mooring for the day” from Warderick Wells. Several boats reported that they were leaving and we’d heard a couple more from last night. Then the good news! Azaya and Kolibrie both have moorings in the North Mooring Field! YAY! I laid in a course from Emerald Rock to Warderick North Mooring and Azaya did the same. It was weird to plot a course for the North Mooring field taking us out and around the sand bars and into the other anchorage. We can look straight across and behind Emerald Rock and see the anchorage about a mile away. But in order to get there with our boats, we need to go six miles out onto the banks and around to get there. Both boats released our moorings at 11:15am and motored out and around the sandbar to the bore and into Warderick Cut to the anchorage. It feels so nice to be back here. Almost like coming home.

The deep channel leading up to the park feels like an old friend. Last year it was a little scary coming in. “Follow the deep, dark channel past the 3 outer moorings. Go between the red and the green markers, staying in the deep, darker water and follow it in to your assigned mooring” – number 8 this year. Last year the deep channel outside the park seemed foreboding until we turned into the channel and saw the light blue/white color of all the sand and shallow waters. Then that path seemed downright frightening, as I’d had visions of plowing into water that was a foot deep if I left the aqua channel. So many shades of blue…

This year we followed Azaya into the channel. I had to wonder if they’d felt what I’d felt last year coming into this place for the first time. As they pulled up to their mooring, someone was already on it. That boat released their mooring (9) and headed for ours (8). Mary told them that we were heading for #8 – that was ours. Thank you Mary. We managed to come in and hook our mooring – no problem. Ahhhh It’s good to be back. Mary and Axel (Azaya) have the mooring over the shipwreck. There’s a mini-reef growing on it and a ray, shark, and barracuda hang out there. Very cool.

Azaya went off exploring in their kayak and we headed over to one of many small beaches for Wayne to bath. The one we picked was close to the entrance to the park and a sign on the hill said “No Access”. So while Wayne bathed I walked around the point to Turn Around Beach and saw a Bayfield on Mooring Ball 1. I thought it might be Mad Cap and I was correct. After Wayne’s bath we dinghied over to the Park Headquarters. I wanted to use their electricity in order to burn our name into a piece of drift bone I’d found on a beach in Xanadu. That way we could leave it on Boo Boo Hill when we hike up there. I originally thought the bone was drift wood. But on closer inspection discovered it was bone. Wayne agreed – it was bone. He thought it might be part of a whale rib.

Beth & Jim from Mad Cap (fellow Bayfield 36 owners)

Mad Cap Group :)

When we pulled the dinghy onto the headquarters beach – I heard “Kolibrie! Kolibrie!” It was Beth waving to me from the Park Headquarters at the top of the hill. How good to see her and Jim again! They were here with their guests. As we got up to the headquarters they were feeding the bananaquits. I, of course, had to take pictures. We all stood around chatting, feeding the birds and taking pictures. It’s so great to run into Mad Cap and their friends from Ottawa. I like their friends. Just wish I could remember their names! I thought hers was Brenda but it’s Linda (?) and I’m so abashed that I can’t remember his – he was so friendly! Maybe it will come to me! Anyhow, the park office closed and I noticed the tide was coming up making our dinghy rock on the beach. We hadn’t secured it so Wayne went to rescue it, Mad Cap went to continue their walk and I stayed behind to burn our name into the drift-bone. After I finished, I headed for the dinghy wondering if Wayne had left me. He never came back to the headquarters. He was standing on the beach with the Mad Cap group. They were still on the beach chatting with another Wayne and Patti (from Bums rush) so we all stood on the beach chatting some more and taking pictures of conch and a “Colorful Atlantic Natica”. What a beauty the Natica was. It had a colorful and large foot in a beautiful reddish brown patterned, broad, ovate shell. It was just moseying along the bottom in the tidal zone sand. When we picked it up for a picture I couldn’t believe that it could fit it’s entire foot inside the shell but it did. It quickly closed the sturdy operculum (the cover protection of the foot – like a door) for protection and refused to come back out until it had been in the water again for about 15 minutes.

The Colorful Atlantic Natica

A conch strolling along the bottom of the water

After more pictures with the whale skeleton and Mad Cap it was time to head back to the boat and finish making dinner. Chicken Salad with vegis and apple and orange slices with grapes was on the menu tonight. Azaya brought over a wonderful garlic toast; cucumbers, olives and a nut/chocolate mix and we had a delightful evening eating and chatting. I’ll miss them when we go our separate ways.

Axel & Mary from the Sailing Vessel Azaya on their Kayak

On a side note here – I don’t know if I ever mentioned (last year) what killed the sperm whale whose bones are displayed on the beach here. Plastic. Eating to much plastic killed it. Many creatures that eat jellyfish eat plastic thinking that the plastic is their food when it isn’t. It ends up killing them. So a majestic 52 foot sperm whale was killed by man’s careless garbage that was thrown or ended up in the ocean. Actions and consequences. Think about what you throw away and where it’s disposed of

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Emerald Rock Warderick Wells Exumas

Holy Cow Batman!
Last night was exiting. Now we know what a scrambled egg feels like or what it’s like to be in a washing machine! Some times on spin cycle. We started with high winds (consistently in the mid-twenties with gusts up to 37) that switched to the west (our unprotected side). So we were hobby horsing for a good part of the evening. At around 11pm I noticed it started raining. At midnight I decided to go up and catch a fresh water shower. The winds had died down enough for me to go up to the bow so I hopped out of the berth, grabbed the shampoo and went and sat in the rain enjoying the soap and rain. When I got back into the cockpit the rain really started picking up and the winds started to pick up again. I thought “Oh! Rainwater for Tea!” and went and got my bucket to set it out. Coming back out into the cockpit – I lost my footing and went down hard enough for Wayne to hear me and check if I was all right. Bruised butt and elbow, but I was fine.  Thinking back on it I should never have gone to the bow. With soap all over me and in my eyes it could have been a very dangerous situation. Hindsight and all – but I really loved the shower and clean hair. Would I do it again? No… It was a pretty stupid thing to do with all the weather in the area. Right after that we started rocking. I’d gone back to bed and the motion of the waves kept trying to pitch me back out of the berth. I could hear things banging in the boat, then a loud bang and sploosh… There went my bucket that I was using to catch rainwater in. I didn’t bother to get up because I knew there was no water left in the bucket. All the other sounds could wait until morning when I could see again.

     We lay there in the berth until it got light out. Braced and flat on our backs. It was the safest place. We couldn’t be jostled off our feet because we were already off our feet. Wayne’s stomach wasn’t feeling to good most of the day. But I don’t wonder with all the strange motions the boats been going through. I made enough coffee for me. It was work standing there trying to get water, keep my balance, light the stove and keep the flame under the pot without gimbling it (didn’t want it banging into my legs). I was getting dizzy! My glasses were missing from the table and nowhere to be found. They must have gone flying somewhere during the night. This is one of those days where nobody is moving from the anchorages and truth be told, it’d be difficult for us to move if an opening came up in the north anchorage.

We had quite a bit of chaffing on our bridle/mooring line with all the pitching and rolling last night so our chore for the day, after napping, was to put a new line (two) onto the mooring ball. This proved to be no small feat with the waves/current but with a little team work and our engine we managed it (even though the engine didn’t want to start).

After that, I tried to turn on my computer. For some reason I was locked out of it. It wouldn’t accept my password no matter what. I thought Wayne was playing a joke on me. No. He wasn’t. I tried his password to his account. It wouldn’t work. What???? After half an hour of trying to turn on the computer, Wayne’s password finally worked but I couldn’t get to my documents. I finally turned it off, then back on, and my password finally worked and I was able to get into my documents. I decided that I’d better back up everything while I could. I pulled out my portable hard drives and managed to drop one. Oops. Guess I’m not using that one. Hope there wasn’t anything important on it. I couldn’t access it. After transferring pictures, documents and mail to the other hard drive I figured I’d check to see if there was a wireless signal here today. Error with the configuration of the wireless network connection??? Arghhhhhh! I never changed anything! Wreckin! Freckin! smecker! I was getting the message that this wireless system wasn’t the one in charge of this account or some nonsense…

I decided to plug in my sprint card to see if that fixed the error, even though I’d never seen such a thing before. My sprint card was not in its pouch. It was nowhere to be found. This started a serious tearing apart of the boat to find it! Since I haven’t been able to use it in the Bahamas I thought, wellll maybe I stashed it away until we got back into the states. I went through all the likely drawers, bags, and cupboards where I’d stash electronics. It was nowhere to be found. Back to the table and shelves surrounding the table… nowhere. I did find my reading glasses though. They’d fallen off of the nav station into my book bag. I finally found the sprint card on the cushion behind the table. When the little bag had fallen off the shelf, it must have come out and got buried. Search over.

The Sprint card didn’t make a difference in the setting of the wireless controller. Once again, I turned the computer off. Then back on. The wireless was now acting correctly – no service – but no error message. What a day… Electronic gremlins, waves, wind and no sleep… But we were safely ensconced on a mooring at least so didn’t have to worry about dragging… uhm, I did have the anchor alarm on though – just in case our bridle broke in the wind and waves. Ahhh…. another day in paradise.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Warderick Wells, Exumas Park Emerald Rock 24 23.021/076 37.481

It sounds like we may be in for a rolling night tonight. Chris Parker is expecting strong winds from the WSW and Emerald Rock is exposed from the West and South. When Darcy called for any vessels leaving this morning, the only one leaving is Blue Pearl and they’re on the outer mooring ball that we didn’t want. So we’ll be staying here today and see if anyone leaves tomorrow from the north anchorage.

I made eggs, hash browns and sausage & toast with orange slices for breakfast then we headed over to the park office to drop off the rest of our books that we’d read. On the way back our outboard motor conched out. We had to row the dinghy back. It was quite a chore between the wind and the waves. After we got about 90% of the way back, a neighboring boat, Deb & Jon on Aqua Vita (from Vancouver) got in their dinghy and rescued us with a tow back the rest of the way. When I complain tomorrow about my sore shoulder and arm – you’ll know why! It’s a good distance from the park office to our boat. Deb & Jon it turns out used to own a Bayfield 29 – it was their first boat. They now are cruising about in an Endeavor 35 – a pretty boat. We originally mistook it for a Bayfield when it was coming in yesterday. The front end had a similar look to ours and she’s cutter rigged.

Flex Time is here! They’re on mooring ball 9 in the north anchorage. They heard us on the radio and dinghied over with their guests Pat & Bob to say hi before going hiking on the island. It was good to see them again :) and a shame that they need to leave tomorrow to take their guests back. They have to catch a plane over on Staniel Cay – vacation time is over. Sounds like we’ll catch up with Flex Time at Staniel Cay or Georgetown though.

Wayne’s working on the dinghy motor trying to figure out if it’s the gas or not. It might have been the gas AND the spark plug. When he removed the spark plug it was fouled with carbon. After reassembling everything it started after a few pulls. So we’ll see. In spite of all the breakdowns we’ve had lately it’s nothing compared to our partner boat this trip. They’d been struck by lightening and have had nothing but problems since then. The wind and waves are really starting to pick up. I was going to invite Azaya over but decided against it. I wouldn’t want to go out in it.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Allen’s Cay to Warderick Wells Exumas Park

Made breakfast while we were waiting to hear from Exumas Park. Wayne got the dinghy up on the davits and we headed out of Allen’s on a course to Normans. I followed Azaya and it looks like the chart plotter is working well for them. We got a relay from Blown Away from Warderick Wells. They don’t have a spot in the north-mooring field so we took one by Emerald Rock (about in the middle of the island). After revising our route we headed for Warderick Wells with a course plotted to Emerald Rock (still in the park but the area is open to the West and south - not good protection from the fronts).

We have mooring ball E6 and Azaya has E4. We could hear Blue Pearl switching mooring fields from the south anchorage to the north field on the outer moorings reserved for larger vessels as we headed towards the park. They thought they saw both our boats on one of their hikes and hailed us, but we later decided it couldn’t have been us. We were too far out yet. We did run into them at the park headquarters. We all were checking in at the same time. It was good to see them again. I forgot to tell them how well our new pump was and to thank them all again for their help. It sounds like they’re planning on staying another day though so I’ll have to thank them then. They don’t seem to be responding to their radio. It just got hectic with everyone checking in at the same time and my dropping off a ton of books too.

We had burgers on Azaya this evening and I made some pineapple pudding for desert. We thought they were better burgers than you could get on Norman’s Cay. Definitely! The stars are all out in their wondrous glory and the first quarter moon is lighting up the sandy bottom of this amazing aqua water, even in the dark it looks amazingly clear and aqua right down to the white sand with coral interspersed about and in the sand ripples.

Monday, February 22, 2010 Allen’s Cay, The Exumas

Rollllly night last night…twice I thought I was going to be rolled out of bed. Then I heard something go rolling off the counter and had to retrieve a pan that I’d left out to dry that had ended up from the counter in the galley to the quarter berth.

We hung out on the boat today trying to figure out where to re-anchor with the winds that are supposed to come in tonight. We ended up re-anchoring towards the north part of the anchorage near where we’d anchored last year. Hopefully it won’t be as rolly as last night. The winds are supposed to be from the S.W. and stronger tonight but I think we have a good anchor set here. Wayne made sure to hit a sandy patch for the anchor (there are a lot of rocky spots here too). We called Exumas Park to see if we could get in to the North Mooring field tomorrow & they had no record of my member status. Yikes. I asked if I was talking to Judy and I’m not sure what happened but it looks like Judy is no longer there. Darcy took our two boat names (Azaya and Kolibrie) to put us on a waiting list for tomorrow & we’ll see what happens. Members are supposed to get priority status but with the weather, I don’t think there’ll be a lot of movement. The fronts just keep coming in. It seems like every three days or so, the next front is moving in. What a year for weather. I don’t remember it being like this in the Bahamas last year and the weather in Florida this year was freaky too. Ice on the ICW and freezing temperatures that killed many fish species.

I made 3 loaves of bread and gave one to Azaya. It must be a baking kind of day. Mary made brownies and brought some by in the Kayak as they were heading over to the island. Seemed like a good swap to me LOL! I have three routes plotted into the GPS depending on the weather and whether we get reservations at Warderick Wells or not. The first one to Norman’s Cay – home of the $14 burgers and $6 dollar beers; the second one to Shroud Cay – home of the mangroves that reside in the middle of the island; and the third one to Warderick Wells – if – we are able to get into the moorings there.

It’s a pretty sunset tonight. I love how the various shades of turquoise water manage to stay turquoise, even in the fading light. Time to make dinner – chicken breast marinated in lime, ginger, sesame oil and garlic with a salad and bread. Then for desert – Mary’s brownies!

Sunday, February 21, 2010 Allen’s Cay

Sunny, 70s and winds ESE 10.

After coffee I made breakfast (scrambled eggs, hash browns & sausage) and settled in at the chart plotter to check our course from here to Normans, then from Normans to Warderwick Wells.

Wayne worked on the pump to the head. I worked on staying out of his way while he removed the old pump, put in the new one and cleaned up. Yuk. I grabbed one of the conch shells that we’d found yesterday and went topside to start sawing of the spiral point. Wayne finished the head before I finished sawing the spiral off the shell! I was amazed at how tough the shell was but managed to make a horn out if it as long as I hold my finger over the third spiral hole that was used to dislodge the conch from the shell. I couldn’t get it to blow right then managed a few small toots from it. Glad nobody was listening? Azaya was off their boat working on their dinghy & Kayak.

After that it was definitely bath time! Wayne & I dinghied over to Allen’s with our shampoo and soap and jumped into the water. We brought Joy Dish soap for Wayne – it’s supposed to suds in saltwater but it didn’t suds up too good. Wayne has good oils! We found that Head & Shoulders seems to suds up better for Joy (for bath purposes). It feels good to have clean hair again. I’d brought a liter bottle of fresh water to rinse off with so our hair feels soft again :)

Next chore was to burn our flammables so we collected all our smelly burnables (most from working on the head) and headed over to Allens with Azaya to have drinks and a fire before heading over to the Pirate Party. Cavu thought it’d be a great idea to throw a Pirate Party for the kids on the boats so I’d brought a baggie of penny candy for the kids (hey someone has to bring treasure). It was wonderful as we pulled up going Arghhh Maties! A little girl came up to our boats (Azayas kayak & our dinghy). She’d been digging in the sand looking for treasure. Mary asked “did you find the treasure yet?” “nooo.” I said “Arggh matey! I found some!” ohhhh can I see? Aye matey! I whipped out the baggie of candy and her eyes got huge! Ohhh, she squealed, can I show my mom? Mary told her we dug it up on the other beach next to the iguana beach. I gave her the bag and she went racing over to where her mom was talking to Cavu! Mom! Mom! Buried treasure! Look! Buried treasure! It was a blast watching her. She was so excited! After tasting some of Cavu’s conch salad and mango chutney and chatting with some of the boaters we headed back to the boat in twilight.

I made salmon and salad for dinner and put together my bread dough to rise over night. Now a little reading before lights out.

Saturday, February 20, 2010 Allen's Cay - 24 44.431 076 53.020

What a beautiful day. The sun was lighting up the aqua greens and blues of the water and you could see the white sands on the bottom of the anchorage with the juvenile conch moving along at a slow and steady pace.

We had some fruit (grapes, oranges and bananas) for breakfast and hung out watching the powerboat tour pull up to Leaf Cay to feed the iguanas and take pictures of us. I have recently figured out that we are doing what they’d like to do. Therefore they take pictures of us. We are part of the scenery of their vacation. Look at these pictures honey! Iguanas and pretty sailboats.

Wayne got the dinghy down and fixed our fuel valve. Then we dinghied over to Allen’s Cay. On the way there – we must have hit a rock because the lid to the motor came up along with the built in gas tank in the engine. One of the bolts broke loose and we had gas leaking into the engine and into the boat. What a mess. We hooked it all back together and left it to evaporate while we looked for conch and took the trail up to see the Cairns. What a spectacular view looking out west over the Great Bahamas Bank (the way we came to get here from Nassau). You could see for miles. Nothing but dark aqua water, wispy clouds, and a few sails on the horizon heading to an island somewhere down the chain. Turning around and looking east we could see Azaya, Blue Pearl, and Passport in our anchorage. I took some pictures of the boats from the top of Allen’s Cay and could see Pam, Glen, Charlotte and Mike (Blue Pearl and guests) on the beach at Leaf Cay. Charlotte & Mike are the people that brought our macerator pump over with them.

I had packed some grapes for the iguanas in my backpack so we headed over to Leaf Cay and met up with Azaya on the way over there (Axel got their dinghy fixed too). We all chatted and fed the iguanas. I got some great shots of Charlotte feeding the grapes to the iguanas. She was so funny. She was training them to roll over, and telling them to stay, play dead, sit, etc… It was great. She had the iguanas dancing around and was great fun. After that Blue Pearl headed back to get ready for their trip to Normans and we (and Azaya) went over to SW Allens (Lone Palm Island) to look for conch and wade. We met some young people there (Canadian Bahamians) and their guests and took pictures of them then continued our search of the sands and rock for conch. Axel found a couple that were keepable but we didn’t really have any luck this time.

While we were conching I spotted thick, black smoke on the horizon. We turned on our radios and found out a supply freighter heading from Nassau to Haiti was burning on the horizon. Boats were racing to the area to give assistance and they were sending a plane and helicopter. The boats name was CJ – Mary said it was one of the freighters we saw at Potters Cay. There were Bahamians and Haitians on board that had all jumped overboard safely and were picked up by the boaters that went racing over to them and were going to be taken to Eleuthera. I’m not sure what all they were carrying but the smoke was incredible. A dense black color that rose from the water and billowed outward and upward. It was good to hear that all aboard were rescued with no fatalities!

On the way back to the boat I wanted to stop by and meet the people on Passport. We’re anchored next to them and when we were initially anchoring I was worried we were to close to them. It’s a pretty Tayana. So we stopped by to say hi and introduce ourselves to IB and Rebecca then continued back to the boat. I’d just finished taking off my wet, salty clothes when I remembered that I was going to go over to Blue Pearl and check out his chart plotter and help him figure it out so figured I’d better head over there when IB came by to invite us for conch salad. He came by Azaya’s to invite them too and supervise the first killing and cleaning of their conch. Axel had the conch out in no time & of course had to slurp down the clear tube – the aphrodisiac. It’s a right of passage & IB did the same. After the conch was de-shelled and cleaned, Mary bruised it and turned it into cracked conch while Axel and I worked on his chart plotter. A couple from Cavu came dinghying by and I heard Kolibrie. That made me swing my head around and I called to them – Kolibrie? They came by and said yes we saw Kolibrie over there and wanted to go visit them. We don’t know them but know the boat. I told them I was Kolibrie and they said the german hummingbird? Yes. Sprechken see duch? Nine. They wanted to have sundowners on the beach but I bowed out and they went over to meet Wayne. I think they were German looking for another German. They were funny and quite happy go lucky. Before I knew it, it was time for me to dinghy back to our boat and grab some fruit, cheese and crackers before heading over to Passport. Axel has a route charted for Norman’s Island & his chart plotter is a nice Garmin. The software looks very good!

We spent a nice evening on Passport chatting. Rebecca made a delightful conch salad and we found out that we were looking for conch in the wrong place this time. The cut where they went was a “choose which conch you want” kind of place and I guess they have about 20 that they’re keeping in a net for eating. Mary’s cracked conch was wonderful once again. I think her recipe is terrific (powdered egg, powdered milk and Ritz crackers) and I brought a fruit, cheese and cracker tray. We watched another pretty sunset from Passport and didn’t return to our boat until it was way dark.

It was overall a delightful day!

Friday, February 19, 2010 Nassau to Allen's Cay

Nassau, New Providence to Allen’s Cay; 36.5 miles Anchored in 7.5 feet
25 04.717 x 77 11.618 to 24 44.845 x 76 50.293

We hailed Nassau Harbor Control and got permission to leave the harbor after fueling up. Fueling up was massive confusion. We went to fuel up at the Hurricane Hole Fuel Station and a power boat jumped in front of us and cut us off so we decided to go on to Brown’s which had boats lined up to get fuel, then over to the far one where we had stayed at and anchored at last year. There was a line up there too. So we headed back to the original one between the two bridges and waited for the powerboat to pull out. It was kind of neat because I sort of drifted into their dock sideways. I’m not used to that happening. It felt like I had bow thrusters or something.

The fuel dock that Mary and Axel went to had run out of fuel just as they pulled up and they had to go to a different dock, and Pam and Glen ended up coming over to the Esso at Hurricane Hole too. Originally we’d heard that at this ESSO you could get free water and they had the cheapest prices. When Mary called, they told her that there was no water at the fuel dock, which was why we decided to move along. When we pulled up there though, I was told we could get water there. So we got fuel and water but had to pay cash. For some reason our credit card wouldn’t work there. None of our credit cards worked there. Interesting. But we got fuel, water and dropped off our garbage.

It was a terrific day for motor sailing. The winds were light 5-8 knots from the NE on our beam and the dolphins gave us an escort once we were out of the harbor. It’s incredibly lovely. The water is so calm that the turquoise seas are like lake water. There’s no swell. The sky is Crayola blue with white coma clouds and rows of stratocumulus hovering over the sea green/aqua water. You can hang over the side of the boat and look down 20 feet to see white sand. I spotted several starfish. We put two lines out hoping to catch dinner but didn’t get a nibble.

I got bow watch crossing the Yellow Banks. That area is known for rocks and coral heads. As you approach the trouble ones, they appear as large dark blobs close to the surface of the water. So I got to tell Wayne where to go heh heh heh… No, seriously – to the left hon; okay – back on course. The Yellow Banks are about 4 miles long and it was a nice day for bow watch :)

We pulled into Allen’s Cay around 4:30pm. There were already 6 sailboats in here. We pulled in to where we anchored last time but a boat was already there so went back closer to the entrance next to a beautiful Tayana 42 called Passport. It’s a lovely boat! We ended up having to set the anchor twice. The first time we hooked a rock by the corner (Azaya checked for us with their glass bottom dinghy). So while we felt firm, once we turned with the tide, we’d have probably broken loose – it was a little rock. Azaya and Blue Pearl dinghied to shore to see the iguanas and I’m getting ready to put something on for dinner. Don’t know what yet – time to look and see what’s good.

Thursday, February 18, 2010 Nassau Harbor, New Providence Island

Wow – last night we really had the winds again. 20-25 knots and I’m sure some gusts to 30. I got up several times to make sure we were secure. The winds started settling down throughout the course of the day and it’s pretty nice now as I write this.

We went into town with Mary & Axel (Azaya) to do some grocery shopping & Axel picked up a GPS and software from Island Marine Electronics. He actually got a good deal – probably better than if he’d bought the stuff in the states. There’s a good grocery store here so I picked up some fruits, veggies and other items. I found some polarized glasses at the pharmacy to replace the ones that went overboard. They’re not as good as the ones I lost, but hopefully they’re better than nothing to see the coral heads in the water. We hung out at Starbucks for a bit then went over to the marina to find Blue Pearl and their guests – the Inmans. They’re the ones that brought a macerator pump to us and it came from the Olympics! I’m going to have to use indelible ink to draw on the macerator – a maple leaf flag to commemorate this historic event – before Wayne installs it.

It was a nice day to walk through the town. It was cool and sunny and periodically the smell of barbeque or conch frying from the street venders would come wafting my way. With the winds settled down you could look down into the turquoise water and see the bottom sand again – very pretty, transparent water. You could see the garbage that others had thrown into the water. Bottles, alternator belts, plastic bags, cans, and clothing makes you want to go swimming aye? The dinghy ride back to the boat today wasn’t as wet as the ride yesterday! I noticed that with the winds down the boats all seem to be drifting closer together. I didn’t realize how much the wind had kept us all lined up.

Mary had mentioned that she can get the Internet on her boat so I brought my computer up top and was able to connect too. It was a slow and faint signal, but I was able to jump on briefly to check email and post a quick note on facebook. Maggie, while no longer traveling with us, is having quite an adventure of her own – I may have to expound on it at a later date but suffice it to say – I think that her and Jonathan (Guinevere) should be keeping a blog! It would be humorous and well written!

Steak and salad and the last of my homemade bread for dinner. Tomorrow we need to gas and water up then check out of the harbor and head for Allen’s Cay. From there the plan is Norman Island and Warderick Wells next.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Nassau Harbor Anchorage New Providence Island 25 04.722/077 19.690

After breakfast Mary & Axel (Azaya) came by and picked us up in their dinghy to go ashore. They brought us a present - a new flag to replace the one damaged in the gale! It looked like their anchor had dragged during the night and they had to re-anchor before we headed into town to look for charts and parts. I was amazed that with 4 marine stores, a dive shop and a marine electronics store – none had an electronic chart on CDs. That was a shock for me. I thought that we’d have a problem getting a part for our Mercury Outboard (the gas hook-up on the motor broke) and they’d have no problem with the charts and it was the reverse. The proprietor at Island Marine Electronics was very helpful and patient and we thought that Azaya would be able to get a GPS with a chip for the Bahamas but the one we were looking at was already sold. We went from shop to shop trying to find options for the charts and will see what tomorrow brings.

We picked up another yoyo – Bahamas Style I think because it didn’t have the snubber or tie on for the boat. They called them hand lines at the store. We also found our macerator pump in one of the marine stores for $239 – over a hundred cheaper than in Freeport. Good to know in the future if the new one coming in with Blue Pearl’s friend fails.

We met up with Pam & Glen (Blue Pearl) at Starbucks and met Sandy from Endoxy – a boat that they’d met in Florida. Endoxy is staying at the marina we were at last year. I think we’re all heading in the same direction in roughly the same time frame. Pam’s video of the dolphins that we saw coming here from Xanadu is spectacular! She managed to capture about 8-10 of them swimming under their boat!

The winds picked up today and I think we had some very strong gusts. There were consistent winds from 15-20 and our wind generator was singing quite loudly all day as it kept our batteries charged. Wish I could get an Internet connection on the boat. I may have to lug my computer to shore somewhere to get a hookup.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Pictures to come later no bandwidth

Hoffmans Cay (N25 36.807 W077 43.958) to Nassau, N. Providence Island (N25 04.722 77 19.690)

Got up a little after 6am and watched dolphins swimming around the boat in the twilight. I could hear them blowing out and taking in air before I could ever see them. Three of them were moving about the anchorage. I sat topside watching them before putting the morning coffee on to perk. Then I turned on the SSB receiver to pull in the morning weather at 6:30am.

We weren’t sure whether we were going to stay another day here, mosey further down to another of the Berry Islands, or head over to Nassau. After listening to the weather, it sounded like today and tomorrow was pretty much the same. Winds 15-25 knots with 6-8 ft seas today and pretty much the same tomorrow. So we decided to head out today. At 9:15 we hauled in the anchor and said goodbye to a beautiful little anchorage. I would definitely come back to this one! It’s a little over 38 miles from here to Nassau so we’ll probably be there by 3:30 or 4:00 pm with the sails. Blue Pearl pulled out about 45 minutes before us. Then Azaya followed us out.

The morning gave us decent sailing with some scattered showers. We put out a fishing line to see if we could catch dinner again - but never caught anything. We’re still after the allusive Mahi or tuna! We got the boat up to 7.7 knots at times. Then the afternoon brought in some squall lines that had us heeled over pretty good. I could hear things crashing below decks. Oops. Guess I didn’t stash everything as well as it should have been. Went below and tidied up. When the squall hit us at 12:15pm, our speed went up to 8.71 knots and our rail was almost in the water. I could hear things crashing below deck again and thought Phooey! I’m going to wait to get in to pick up this time. I didn’t know a Bayfield could move that fast under sail. We had too much sail out with these squalls and had to haul some in.

It was a boisterous ride with the waves, I would say, at least 8 ft in some places. I was very glad to turn the helm over to Wayne - To be sure. My wrists were tired of holding the helm and keeping my balance at the wheel. The wave height and winds were supposed to decrease (Yah like I really believed that though) as the day went on, and of course, they increased. Our flag broke loose and the halyard for it was thoroughly wrapped up with the lazy jack lines. Another flag bites the dust – the grommet tore loose from the flag. After getting permission from Harbor Control to enter Nassau harbor (they monitor channel 9) we found the channel markers to enter. Coming in to the harbor was like surfing sideways while trying to drop the sail. It was an invigorating ride LOL but we made it in. Blue Pearl found the marina that they were going into and hailed us that if we wanted to come in there that the marina monitored Channel 72. We scouted out the anchorage near the cruise ships then further in near the dinghy dock and decided to check out that anchorage (before the first bridge). It looked decent so we pulled in there to anchor at 3:30pm and Azaya pulled in next to us. After anchoring a boat came by to tell Azaya that we shouldn’t anchor there. Basra and the freighters use that as a channel. So we reanchored.

Wayne cleaned up the lines and mess topside and I took care of the inside. Axel came by for a short visit after that and we talked about the ride over. Then I reheated the left over spaghetti and made a salad for dinner. We’ll hit the stores and try and catch up with Blue Pearl tomorrow.

Monday, February 15, 2010 From Great Stirrup/Goat Cay (25 48.846 077 54.082) to Hoffmans Cay (25 36.823 077 43.985) ~20 miles

A great fishing day aboard Kolibrie!

We got the anchor up at 8:50am under mostly cloudy skies and headed over to Hoffmans Cay. The winds were light and on the nose so we motored and put a fishing line out. I made some fried egg sandwiches and went below for some juice when Wayne called out we got a fish. We pulled in the line and had a fish that tried to eat our cedar plug (that was to big for it). After Wayne got it in the boat and put out the line again we decided that we needed to find out what kind of fish we caught, so he went below to grab the book to identify it. As soon as he went down stairs, SNAP! The line tripped again indicating we caught another one!

He scurried back up and as he hauled this one in, there was no need for identification on this one. This one was a barracuda with big, sharp teeth! It was twice as big as the first fish we caught! So we had two fish flopping around in the cockpit, with me on the helm seat trying to steer the boat, talk on the radio to Blue Pearl and Azaya – “We caught a fish! We caught a fish!” “We caught two fish! We caught two fish!” The first fish was a mackerel. It reminded me of a tuna but it was skinnier with a broken line and dots on an iridescent side hooded in a blue/green color. It was a pretty fish. Wayne had to work to get the hook out of both fishes mouths very carefully – especially the barracuda! He then took them up front to fillet them for dinner. We measured the barracuda at 33.5 inches and figured it was safe to eat. Ciguatera is something we don’t really want. We didn’t think to try and weigh it – I guess if it’s 5 lbs or less, they’re pretty safe to eat. We figured that since we caught the first fish, that the meat for dinner would be on us tonight.

After anchoring we all dinghied over to Hoffmans Cay in Blue Pearl’s dinghy to find the Blue Hole. [This was a day of dinghies not working. Azaya’s didn’t want to work going over to the island and ours didn’t want to work coming back from their boat after dinner.] The hike to the Blue hole was straightforward. Pam read that the second beach had a trail leading to it and the directions were very good. As you come out of the jungle type vegetation, it’s abruptly right there. You look down from a drop off that would make a terrific cliff diving area into the Blue Hole. The water looks quite deep enough there right up to the edge of the circular shaped pond (hole).

There was a trail descending down the limestone rock, to the hole that led to a system of small caves and crevices filled with stalactites and stalagmites that had been mostly broken off and missing. A fish came looking for peas or nuts (we didn’t have any) then swam off. It must have correctly decided that we weren’t going to feed it. The place was incredible. I couldn’t believe that someone didn’t own it and charge people to come down here to swim, etc…

After taking in our fill of the Blue Hole we went back to the beach and Pam & Glen (Blue Pearl) had brought a bottle of Champagne to celebrate… uhm… another island! So we toasted to another island and enjoyed the scenery and the company of each other – Blue Pearl, Azaya and Kolibrie. Pam claimed the small tidal sandbar for Canada so I broke out in the song “Oh Canada…”

We waded around for a bit. Then headed back to the boats to meet over at Azaya’s for happy hour, appetizers, fish, and peas and rice. We really enjoy the company of these two boats. They’re fun people. Coming back to the boat we noticed how dark it was. There were a billion stars visible and no other lights around except for the lights on our boats. I was grateful that Mary had a flashlight she could loan us. Our engine conked out on us about 25 feet away from their boat and we drifted to the beach before we could get the oars attached to the dinghy. It was a long row back in the dark against the wind. I’ll have to remind Wayne tomorrow when he wonders why his arms are so sore :)

Yesterday and today was "write love on your arm" day to promote awareness of depression/suicide. This Love picture is for you Alli... to your cause.

Xanadu

Xanadu is an interesting place with good boat rates and it’s a very good hiding place from the weather. It offers a very protected harbor from storms as long as you get into the channel before the weather hits. The channel is narrow and we were watching the waves crashing over and into it the evening before the storms hit (Friday night). Exiting the channel this morning the water was pretty benign. The depths at the entrance were in the 7-8 ft range and there’s a rock that’s visible near the entrance so you need to hug starboard exiting the channel. Anyone wanting to come into the harbor should note that the marina does not monitor the VHF though, so you need to call ahead or just take a slip and go to the office and let them know you’re there (but if it was like us – everyone will know that you’ve entered the harbor).


We released our dock lines at 6:30am during twilight and are transiting the N.W. Providence Channel, heading for an anchorage in the northern Berry Islands. Sunrise was beautiful. It was a whispering shimmer of red and purple veils. It’s said by the cruising books that the Northern Berry Islands, aside from cruise ships that do day trips, are untouched little Cays. Some of the older movie stars used to hang out here (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Shirley MacLaine, etc.) but those days of grandeur have long since passed for these little Cays. We’re looking to put in to an anchorage this evening behind Great Stirrup Cay or Little Stirrup Cay depending on how much daylight we have. Both are supposed to be lovely. We have a 60-mile day so if we can do 6 knots an hour we should be able to put into the anchorage in 10 hours.

Not only is today Valentine’s Day, its also Chinese New Year. This is the year of the Tiger. In particular, this is the year of Gēng-yín (Metal Tiger). Gēng is the seventh of the ten celestial stems and Yín (Tiger) is the third of the twelve terrestrial branches, thus February 14th 2010 marks the year of the Tiger with its association to bravery. The fact that the date of Chinese New Year varies within a lunar month is a clue that it's linked to the new moon. A rough, and almost infallible guide is that the Chinese New Year date falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. The winter solstice always falls on December 21st, the next new moon is January 15th, and the second new moon February 14th 2010. So Happy New Years to all you brave hearts and Happy Valentine’s Day to all lovers!

Blue Pearl was the first to spot a group of dolphins this morning! The dolphins were amazing! Jumping, splashing, and swimming along and under our boat, it felt like we had a vanguard of sea mammals escorting us out into the N.W. Providence Channel! It was exhilarating and wonderful to stand on the bow trying to film them as they swirled along and under me!

We decided to fish and put the Cuban Yoyo out using a silver cedar plug with a yellow hula skirt. We didn’t get a nibble. So, we switched to the pink lure that we caught the barracuda with last year. No nibble. So Wayne put out his fishing pole too. We heard that if the fish see more than one lure that they’re more likely to bite. Sometime when we weren’t looking, Wayne’s pole disappeared. So, yup. I’d say that they’re more interested when there’s more than one to pick from. We’re now out a purple plug and a fishing pole with 60 lb line… Are we the fishermen or what! No fish for dinner and some fish is saying look what I brought home for you honey! Wayne says that he invented a new form of catch and release.

10 miles or so off of Little Stirrup Cay, you could see large cruise ships before you could see the trees on the island. It seems bizarre to me that the cruise ship dwarfs the island. I’ve heard that the cruise ships like to anchor off of the island and drop people off for a day of sun and fun there. The islands are so lovely that the cruise boats use them in their advertisements. “Come to the Bahamas Mon – for pristine, unspoiled beauty”. They have their own little beach side resort just for the cruisers on their ships complete with personal watercraft, etc… and the sailboats become part of the scenery and entertainment for the tourists to buzz and snap pictures. Someone made the comment that we’re doing what they’d like to do. Hence we become fair game for the passengers. I don’t think I’d mind the pictures, but I wouldn’t like the wake from the little buzz boats and PWCs coming to close to our boat. It looks like we’re heading for the other Cay – so we shouldn’t have to worry about the Slaughter Harbor crowd.

About 5 miles away from the anchorage Mary called to say their engine quit. We hung back and Blue Pearl went on to scout out the anchorage. Azaya’s fuel filter was clogged and/or their fuel gauge wasn’t working correctly. After a clean filter and some new fuel, we were both on our way again. It’s funny because right after we got going again we’d pulled in our fishing line and we came up to a circle of birds in a frenzy. We could see could see tuna jumping out of the water. I was fit to be tied because we couldn’t get our lure out fast enough to do any good. Se la vi. Pulling into the anchorage was problem free. We just checked out the depths around both sides of Blue Pearl then dropped the hook right before dark. It’s very scenic here. I made a conglomeration of beef, chicken, mushroom and onion spaghetti for dinner. It was actually tasty.

February 14, 2010 Happy New Year! Happy Valentine's Day! Xanadu to Great Stirrup CAy

Not only is it Valentine’s Day today, it’s also the Chinese New Year. 2010 is the Chinese year of the Tiger. In particular, this is the year of Gēng-yín (Metal Tiger). Gēng is the seventh of the ten celestial stems and Yín (Tiger) is the third of the twelve terrestrial branches, thus February 14th 2010 marks the year of the Tiger with its association to bravery. The fact that the date of Chinese New Year varies within a lunar month is a clue that it's linked to the new moon. A rough, and almost infallible guide, is that the Chinese New Year date falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. The winter solstice always falls on December 21st, the next new moon is January 15th, and the second new moon February 14th 2010.

Hopefully by the end of today we will be anchored safely in the anchorage of Great Harbor or Slaughter Harbor on Great Stirrup Cay or Little Stirrup Cay. Our plan was to leave bright and early at first light and I'd be surprised if there were any kind of internet signal there so I'm posting this ahead of time to wish everyone a Happy New Years! annnd a Happy Valentine's Day!

Saturday, February 13, 2010 Xanadu

Wow! What wicked weather last night! The winds really whipped up and had our boat heeling over at the dock. I was wondering what the winds were doing and figured they were in the 40s to 50. I was shocked to learn that we had gusts up to 73!!!  Mary (Blue Pearl) took a picture of the wind speed on their gauge! Those are hurricane force winds. I was glad that we were in this little protected harbor and tied up snug. It’s a good thing to keep abreast of the weather and passageweather.com is one of the best sources of wind and waves around for traveling sailboats!

Jonathon and Maggie (Guinevere) ran Mary (Azaya) and I into town today so we could do a little bit of provisioning. What a neat looking little town. It looks like at one time it started to have a bustling little down town area with an International Bazaar but since tourism is down the Bazaar isn’t what it used to be. We went to Cost Right (which is similar to Costco or Sams) and were able to get some fresh produce and supplies. I don’t think they realize how much I really appreciated the offer to run us into town :0) I hope when they get back from their family visit that we’ll run into each other again in the Exumas.

Wayne & Axel went walking the beach and checking out the wave conditions while we were gone. After we got back Glen came by and we went over the best course for tomorrow, then the guys met over on Azaya to talk charts and places and Pam, Mary and I sat around Kolibrie a bit chatting. Then it was back to work time – laundry, showers, etc… and I had to finish making my bread. Yum!

Wayne, Maggie and I walked out to the beach to check out the waves and they were still up on the horizon. I sure hope they settle down tonight – don’t like seeing those “elephants on the horizon”. I plotted two courses into the chart plotter. One course is a little over 60 miles to Great Harbor an anchorage at Great Stirrup Cay. The other course is a little shorter at 57 miles to Slaughter Harbor at Little Stirrup Cay. Tomorrow is Valentines day and The Chinese New Year :) Welcome in the year of the Tiger! We're celebrating by hopefully moving on across the Northwest Providence Channel from Xanadu to Great Stirrup Cay - hoping the seas laid down from those wicked winds last night!

Friday, February 12, 2010 Xanadu Grand Bahamas Island

This is an interesting place. There are a lot of hotels, condos, and new buildings that are sitting vacant. It looks like there were a lot of dreams that pretty much went bust or never came to fruition. It’s sad. I guess everyone took notice of the arrival of our 4 boats last night. Someone made the comment that that hasn’t happened in a couple of years. It says something about the state of the economy here and elsewhere. It feels like we’re in a deserted Florida town. The buildings are here, but the decided lack of people is quite noticeable. It’s almost a ghost town.

We took a walk with Pam & Glen (Blue Pearl) out to the beach and around the hotels and condos this afternoon. There were a couple of ladies selling things they’d made, a couple tourists in a time share condo, and guards protecting the property but we didn’t really run into anyone else.

We all traded pictures with each other and now I’m checking out email, updating my blog and feeding my bread starter. We have electrical power here so I need to make sure I have bread for TOAST! I love this bread as toast – it reminds me of the English Muffin Bread from the BZB back home.

Thursday, February 11, 2010 West End to Xanadu Grand Bahamas

We were able to get a pump-out at the marina this morning. So we have a happy holding tank until we can replace our macerator pump – hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Blue Pearl has some friends coming into Nassau in a week and the offer to bring a macerator pump over from the mainland was generously made and we accepted!

The morning was busy with last minute items. Where are we going? Anybody know? Who’s going? Who’s staying? Last minute showers; farewells to Equus (they’re staying - hopefully we’ll meet again in the Exumas); a pump-out then checkout at the office; have Axel hoisted up the mast to put up an antenna; figure out the weather patterns; figure out where we’re going? Then the exciting stuff like throwing off the dock lines and backing out of the slips (I don’t think any of our boats back well) and heading out and off to Xanadu.

First Pic is Wayne & Glen hoisting Axel up the mast; Second pic - Axel up the mast; Third a successful placement of the antenna :)

It was a cool but beautiful sailing day! Temperatures were in the sixties with partly cloudy skies and a nice moderate breeze! We started motor sailing then ended up cutting off the engine and putting all the sails out on a beam reach. After watching Blue Pearl shake the reef out of their main, we followed suit and managed to get our speed up to 7.69 knots! I thought of Bill when we did this! Back on the Great Lakes when Bill & Holly came sailing with us we were trying to see how fast we could go (Bayfields are not known for our speed) and for some reason I thought back to them sailing with us :) Bill if you’re reading this – you guys would love sailing here! Pam (Blue Pearl) got a lovely shot of Kolibrie under sail that I absolutely love (thanks Pam)

Blue Pearl pulled out first, then Kolibrie, Guinevere, and Azaya. We were all off to Xanadu Channel where there looks to be very good shelter from the weather that’s roaring down from the north. Originally we were looking at the Lucayan Channel but thought we’d be better off tied up in a protected cove for the wicked winds (35-45 knots) that are forecast for Friday night and Saturday. I got some lovely pictures of Blue Pearl and Azaya under sail but Guinevere was way off ahead of us so I didn’t get any of Maggie and Jonathan. Maybe next time :)

 

Left picture: Blue Pearl                                   Right Picture: Azaya

We got in around 5pm – which was pretty good considering none of us were sure where exactly we were going LOL. The entrance was a little tricky and shallow – especially for Azaya who has a 6.5’ draft. This was the depth at the entrance of the channel in one spot but we were on a rising tide and it was all good. We called off depths for each other and managed to find the marina and get tied up for the night. This place (Bahama Bay Marina – not to be confused with Old Bahama Bay where we’d just left) has very good rates - $45/night which includes electricity and water. After checking in and squaring things away, we stood around chatting with each other and watching the sun go down. Then we all separated for our boats for the evening.

Pam took some wonderful pictures of us under sail! I think I have a new boat card picture with an updated picture of Kolibrie! I need to make sure I get the pictures I took to her and Mary in the morning.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 West End, Grand Bahamas

Wow. Good winds last night and today. We’ve had some sustained winds in the 30s and some gale force today. I’m not sure what size some of the gusts were! Mary and I walked out to the rock jetty and a couple of times it felt like I was really fighting the winds and getting sand blasted!


Wayne was trying to see what was wrong with our macerator pump when Mary came by to get me for a walk – we couldn’t get the macerator working to pump out the holding tank on our trip across. It looks like the bolts or something got sheared so we’re going to have to try and find a pump out station until we can get a replacement.

We found a heliport out on the rock jetty, which was unexpected. I got a picture of Mary twirling in the center of it! Touchdown! When we finished our jaunt out to look at the breaking waves, we couldn’t find Wayne or Axel on either of our boats. They were both over at Blue Pearl checking out the weather and charts to see when a good time to leave here would be. We went over the options, and then looked at Glen & Pam’s videos on their blog – very cool! I’ve got to see if I can find a video editor and download Picasa – it looks like a neat program.

We shared some snacks and wine – chips, salsa, cheese, olives, crackers, tuna, nuts, etc… and it looks like if the weather dies down from those gale winds we’ll try and put in to the Lucayan Canal tomorrow. It’s about 33 miles from here and looks protected. We did find a macerator pump in Freeport that we might be able to pick up if we can get a cab into town. We’ll see. It’s double the price that we’d get it for in the states. Yikes!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 West End, Grand Bahamas

I got up early, made coffee and hopped off the boat (with coffee in hand) to do a little walk about and take pictures. It feels luxurious to be able to hop off the boat and go for a walk. After being cooped up for almost 3 weeks onboard, I’m sure Wayne was glad to see me be able to go off for a walk as much as I was to be able to do so. I start feeling trapped & he says its like living with a caged tiger when I can’t get off the boat. Today I could get off the boat! The tigress is roaming the beach, enjoying the view – it’s a feast for the eyes and an uplift of the soul. I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever get over here and being at a dock affords me a sense of freedom to be able to walk off the boat. It’s a rare treat to do that.

It was a beautiful Sunrise looking east and northward from the beach out over the water. The water was turquoise with only ripples to be seen, the sand white, the palm tree leaves blowing gently. The tigress surveying her new domain! Camera in one hand, coffee in the other, I walked from the inlet into the marina to the end of the beach, then back through the grounds of Old Bahamas Bay. It’s a nice resort area with a marvelous pool, exercise room and pretty grounds. After I got some pictures, I came back to the boat and grabbed my shower stuff. I ran into Maggie from Guinevere (they’re in the boat next to us and got in last night after customs closed). We stood chatting for a while & I didn’t realize how long we’d been until Wayne came strolling up to take his shower.

After our showers I took my computer to the work out room to charge up my battery and check out the weather forecasts to see if we should be leaving today for Lucaya or wait. The winds are supposed to be howling later today so we decided to stay put. It looks like the next opportunity to leave will probably be Thursday per the reports on passageweather.com We chatted with Blue Pearl and Azaya to see what they were doing and it looks like we’re all going to stay put for the next couple days. The wind will be on our nose from 20-30 knots and hey – why?

We decided to go for a beach walk and explore the village up the road & Wayne and I brought a bottle of champagne with us to celebrate their first crossing to the Bahamas. We were going to have it last night when we got in, but happy hour seemed like a wonderful idea so we brought the bottle to the beach with us and toasted there to their first crossing, and with our first crossing with other boats :) I must say it was much more enjoyable to be able to look out and see a couple other boats out there with you. I enjoyed the camaraderie and sharing chats on the radio. I was glad to be able to share a toast with these couples on the beach! Then we sat by the pool for a while and continued our walk into town.

Along the way, Glen spotted a man that was cleaning conch in the water near the road and stopped to chat with him. They ended up getting 12 for $20 and Axel (Azaya) got 6 and a lesson on how to get the conch out of the shell. Jereese was very nice to show us and allow me to tape him doing it. Ralph passed by on a bike (Equus) heading back towards the marina and let us know that there was a little grocery store about a ¼ mile up the road. An advanced scouting mission!

We found the little grocery store and Glen & Pam got limes, peppers and onion to make conch salad and I got some bananas and cinnamon bread. Axel wanted ice cream and the cashier said there was an ice cream place called Scoops a block or so back the way we came. We never did find it but a guy wanting $5 to purchase a hamburger sold me a queen conch shell. He later tried to get a dollar from Mary & Axel for a coke to go with the burger but wasn’t very successful.

We were originally going to stay on board tonight – Mary invited us over to Azaya, but the more we thought about it the more we thought why not join them for a cup of wine & see how their first adventure in preparing conch turned out. Pam & Glenn made a conch salad that was out of this world. Axel got to tenderize his conch with first a rubber mallet, then my meat hammer and Pam fried it up to a delicious perfection. They’re a couple of pros right out of the chute! We got to try some of Ralph and Ed’s Mahi that they caught on the way over to the islands – very tasty. We brought a Cani wine, which we never got around to trying. Blue Pearl had brought a red to try out called the “Seven Deadly Zins” and Ed had brought a red wine. So it was a red wine night. We sat around enjoying the company, tasting the food and sipping some wine on Azaya. What a beautiful, wonderful boat. Wayne could stand up in it throughout the entire boat, and I loved the side-by-side refrigerator/freezer lockers and carved/patterned woodwork. It was a delightful evening shared with wonderful company.