Sunday, February 27, 2011
Up at 6am to start stashing stuff and put on the coffee, then I went topside to watch the sunrise and sip some coffee. We were going to release our mooring at 8am but having missed the weather yesterday (on all counts) we figured that we’d need to hear Blue Yonder’s forecast at 8am first to make sure everything was copasetic. It sounded like it was still ESE at 15 knots but the waves seemed a little higher than Wayne liked. Brave heart that he is, we went anyways. He got a little green around the gills when we first went out. The waves were 4-6 ft on the nose until we were able to raise our sails and head off course a bit. Then it got a little better. The winds stayed with us throughout the day and the seas dropped about half way across Exuma Sound to Powell Point.
About 9:30am I was watching what appeared to be a school of flying fish jumping out of the water and flying along next to us. I thought that strange because they’re usually flying out of the water away from the boat, not along side of the boat. As I was watching about 25-30 flying fish traveling next to us I had to point this phenomenon out to Wayne because it was like a bunch of birds soaring along next to the boat. All of a sudden a beautiful Mahi came crashing through one of the waves airborne! A Mahi is a wondrous sight. They have all the colors of the rainbow just shimmering and changing depending on their mood. This one was chasing the flying fish out of the water! We watched him come soaring out of the water through the waves 3-4 times and I just couldn’t believe it! I was laughing and pointing like a maniac and had to yell on the radio to Azaya to keep an eye out because they were all heading up towards them. Right after that, a smaller group of flying fish followed the first and I could only speculate that it was the first Mahi’s mate, also hunting for breakfast, but we never saw this one break the surface.
At 11:00am I saw a tropicbird sitting in the water, then it took off in flight for a bit in front of us, then rested in the water, then took flight again. What a beautiful fairy looking creature with its long white tail. It must be a sea bird day, because later I saw dark birds along the water, then a flock of black and white birds resting in a clump between waves.
To make this a totally strange day, I had the oddest urge to sail naked. Yep that’s right, I said it. I had this over powering urge to strip it all off and sail au natural. The urge stayed with me for about 15 minutes because, what the heck, there’s nobody around us for at least 3-4 miles (Azaya) and not another soul arounddddd….. What a sense of freedom! Talk about letting go with the inhibitions! And, I haven’t had a drink! Wayne decided not to because there are parts of his anatomy that he reallly doesn’t want burned.
We were originally headed for Rock Sound but the sailing was so delightful. The seas calmed to 1-3 ft and the winds were still 10-15 knots. We decided that if the bank of Eleuthera was this calm too, we’d go on to Tarpum Bay and anchor there for the night. We radioed Azaya to see what they thought since they were so far ahead of us and they said it looked good on the bank so we continued on to Tarpum. That will shave another 10 miles off from tomorrow.
It was spectacular to watch the color of the water change from dark blue, to dark emerald green and bright emerald green where there were sandy patches. Parts of the coast of Eleuthera remind me of sailing along Lake Michigan. There’s parts of the shoreline where when we headed to Patti & John’s it was all tree line along rocky coast. That’s how parts of this looked. Large trees, rocky shoreline and not a house in sight. It made me a little homesick to sail the Great Lakes again. The town of Tarpum looks cute from the boat.
Oh by the way – No. I did not sail naked today. I thought that with these hot tropical/subtropical solar rays I’d burn parts that haven’t seen the sun since I was 8 or 9 years old! Had ya wondering though didn’t I!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011 Warderick Wells
Wow it was a warm day out today. We started out in the 80s and got into the 90s. I missed the weather this morning, both Chris Parker and Blue Yonder’s forecasts. I’m not sure why, but it seemed like a day of miscues all around. Then we missed the Park announcements at 9am of who’s leaving and who’s coming. Not a big thing though since we’re not going anywhere today.
I made some bacon and coconut bread French toast with oranges for breakfast. Then Mary & Axel came by and we went over charts and which paths seemed more viable to get to Spanish Wells from Warderick Wells. It seems that neither they nor I want to go through the “Middle Ground” coral and rock area with their boat problems so I spent the rest of the afternoon putting our course for Rock Sound then on to Current Cut into the chart plotter. I had a problem finding tide charts for Current Cut. I did see where the currents there can run from 10-15 knots at times when they’re at full power and considering that our top speed is 7 and mayyyyyybe 8 knots, that doesn’t look good. Especially after Cave Cut and only running through there at 1.5 knots at 3000 rpms! I need to find some tidal data for that area – to be sure.
The traditional Saturday pot luck on the beach had a great turn out. We met Moondance. They were one of the boats anchored with us at Musha Cay and I remembered her (Harriet) dancing up on deck with her mop in the morning and her dog after the “Music Madness Night”. Then we all moved on to Black Point at the same time. Her husband (Skip) was playing guitar at the party and I learned a new tune called “The Granny Song” that had me in stitches! They, Sangaris (a 42 ft catamaran) and Aquilea a blue Bristol, Azaya and us loved the bonfire. The smoke helped keep the no-see-ums off of us and I also got to meet the Bayfield 29 on the other side of the sandbar. I think they’re on mooring 20 or 21. I just wish I’d have gotten the name of their boat! I love keeping track of all the Bayfields we meet. They had a little travel guitar that was so cute and he was playing with Skip for a while.
I got to chat with 3 of the marines that are here. Officer Ferguson was quite outgoing and it was nice to chat with him and hear his perspective of cruisers, locals, pirates and poachers. He says all of us cruisers are quite safe here, they’re on the job to protect us and the park against all manner of threats and they protect the wildlife from poachers – be it hootia, iguanas, turtles, conch or fish. I’m glad to see them here. I guess they work a month then go home a month (in his case, Nassau is home). They watch for drug runners and protect the boundaries of the park from poachers and keep people secure. The guys were trying to figure out what I was. Hawaiian? Cherokee? I finally told them, nope – Detroitan. They liked that and said “Oh 8 Mile”. That surprised me and I told them yep – I actually lived off 7 mile there for a short period during my young life. The one marine cocked his NY hat and said so if we tell them we know Pat, we’re all cool aye? I said “yuuuup” it’s all dat! And we all laughed and chatted a bit more. They were a nice bunch of guys. I gave Ferguson one of our boat cards so if he ever gets to the states, maybe we can treat him to dinner or something. I hope he doesn’t think this granny was making a pass at him because later I got a wink from him LOL.
I made some bacon and coconut bread French toast with oranges for breakfast. Then Mary & Axel came by and we went over charts and which paths seemed more viable to get to Spanish Wells from Warderick Wells. It seems that neither they nor I want to go through the “Middle Ground” coral and rock area with their boat problems so I spent the rest of the afternoon putting our course for Rock Sound then on to Current Cut into the chart plotter. I had a problem finding tide charts for Current Cut. I did see where the currents there can run from 10-15 knots at times when they’re at full power and considering that our top speed is 7 and mayyyyyybe 8 knots, that doesn’t look good. Especially after Cave Cut and only running through there at 1.5 knots at 3000 rpms! I need to find some tidal data for that area – to be sure.
The traditional Saturday pot luck on the beach had a great turn out. We met Moondance. They were one of the boats anchored with us at Musha Cay and I remembered her (Harriet) dancing up on deck with her mop in the morning and her dog after the “Music Madness Night”. Then we all moved on to Black Point at the same time. Her husband (Skip) was playing guitar at the party and I learned a new tune called “The Granny Song” that had me in stitches! They, Sangaris (a 42 ft catamaran) and Aquilea a blue Bristol, Azaya and us loved the bonfire. The smoke helped keep the no-see-ums off of us and I also got to meet the Bayfield 29 on the other side of the sandbar. I think they’re on mooring 20 or 21. I just wish I’d have gotten the name of their boat! I love keeping track of all the Bayfields we meet. They had a little travel guitar that was so cute and he was playing with Skip for a while.
I got to chat with 3 of the marines that are here. Officer Ferguson was quite outgoing and it was nice to chat with him and hear his perspective of cruisers, locals, pirates and poachers. He says all of us cruisers are quite safe here, they’re on the job to protect us and the park against all manner of threats and they protect the wildlife from poachers – be it hootia, iguanas, turtles, conch or fish. I’m glad to see them here. I guess they work a month then go home a month (in his case, Nassau is home). They watch for drug runners and protect the boundaries of the park from poachers and keep people secure. The guys were trying to figure out what I was. Hawaiian? Cherokee? I finally told them, nope – Detroitan. They liked that and said “Oh 8 Mile”. That surprised me and I told them yep – I actually lived off 7 mile there for a short period during my young life. The one marine cocked his NY hat and said so if we tell them we know Pat, we’re all cool aye? I said “yuuuup” it’s all dat! And we all laughed and chatted a bit more. They were a nice bunch of guys. I gave Ferguson one of our boat cards so if he ever gets to the states, maybe we can treat him to dinner or something. I hope he doesn’t think this granny was making a pass at him because later I got a wink from him LOL.
A couple of the hootias came out periodically to investigate if anyone had any goodies to give them. They’re nocturnal creatures and kind of cute. After checking the table I spotted a little carrot and on accidentally dropping it next to the bushes, cough, cough, one came and got it and ran off with it like it was his most prized possession. That seemed like a good note to end the night on. So we came back to the boat for some shuteye. Tomorrow we head for Eleuthera. The plan is for Rock Sound.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011 Black Point, Great Guana to Warderick Wells
After coffee and garbage disposal we hoisted the main and waved farewell to Jim and Nancy a little after 9am. The sun was shining with wonderful blue skies and we had 10-12 knots of wind from the south helping us to go northward. We were able to contact the park office and get a mooring in the north mooring field. We got #14 in front of the park office (the first one we ever got here actually) and Azaya got #10 (on the other side of the sunken ship this time – last time they had #9).
After we got checked in with Andrew (don’t know where Darcy is) we chatted about routes to take to Spanish Wells with Azaya. We all seem to agree that Spanish Wells is probably the place to go (out side of Florida) for help with their diesel problems. I checked out the wind and waves on Passage Weather and checked email. There were a couple of quick notes from Laura, Steph, Maggie and Pam, then we headed over to Azaya for dinner.
Each time I come here reminds me of how much I really like this place. Wayne asked “more than St. Johns?” and while that is still one of my favorite spots, this one… well there’s nowhere like it that I can think of… Mary made a comment about favorite places. It seems like they’re all places without towns or cities per say – here, Hoffman’s Cay, Musha, Cinnamon Bay, etc… I had never thought about it before. But she’s right. It’s pretty much unpopulated/less stressed areas!
It’s a beautiful night out. It’s not hot. The skies are clear and the stars appear abundantly bright tonight. While it’s dark out, the water is so clear you can see the stingray in the water laying in the sand under the boat. Wow.
After we got checked in with Andrew (don’t know where Darcy is) we chatted about routes to take to Spanish Wells with Azaya. We all seem to agree that Spanish Wells is probably the place to go (out side of Florida) for help with their diesel problems. I checked out the wind and waves on Passage Weather and checked email. There were a couple of quick notes from Laura, Steph, Maggie and Pam, then we headed over to Azaya for dinner.
Each time I come here reminds me of how much I really like this place. Wayne asked “more than St. Johns?” and while that is still one of my favorite spots, this one… well there’s nowhere like it that I can think of… Mary made a comment about favorite places. It seems like they’re all places without towns or cities per say – here, Hoffman’s Cay, Musha, Cinnamon Bay, etc… I had never thought about it before. But she’s right. It’s pretty much unpopulated/less stressed areas!
It’s a beautiful night out. It’s not hot. The skies are clear and the stars appear abundantly bright tonight. While it’s dark out, the water is so clear you can see the stingray in the water laying in the sand under the boat. Wow.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Black Point, Great Guana Cay Thursday, February 24, 2011
Had coffee in the cockpit and listened to the kids on shore collecting for school, and the workers on the government dock waiting for their boat rides to…where ever and chatting with the other men on the dock. Solitaire heard us on the radio and hailed us from the bay next to us. They’re coming to Black Point today. It’ll be nice to see them again. We thought we’d get to see them in Vero Beach this winter but never made it over there so it’ll be good to catch up.
I straightened up and then we showered. I made some chicken salad for Happy Hour and thought it’d be nice to have Solitaire and Azaya over this evening. I’m not sure if we’re going to Loraine’s for her barbeque/buffet or not. We’ll see.
Axel worked on the boat all day and Mary came by and visited a while during that time. I’m not sure if they’re going to try and go straight through to Florida or Spanish Wells or not. If they’re going straight through, there’s no way we can keep up with them. It sounds like they’ll break the trip into segments. Right now the winds are with them and they’d be able to sail the bulk of the way to Florida if the southeast winds continue. Mary is thinking to go to Warderick Wells tomorrow and then on to Eleuthera from there. We’ll see. I’ve always loved Warderick Wells…
We got an email from Harry and Marijka! It looks like the rates for boat storage in Puerto Rico are $13/foot for dry storage and they’re going to check the rates in Grenada too. It’d be nice to catch up with them again. Maybe the rates will be better in Grenada but I’m not holding my breath.
After showers we had tuna salad sandwiches for lunch. Wayne and I discussed our options. It seems like if there’s help to be had in the Bahamas, it will be found at Spanish Wells for diesel engines. There are so many fishing boats that with the fleets the size they have there it would be amazing if they didn’t have a decent mechanic!
Nancy (Solitaire) hailed us when they entered the harbor and got settled in. The Discovery Shuttle launch is set to depart Florida for the last time at 16:43 today so they invited us over for a launch happy hour. Azaya joined us and it was so great to see them again and catch up! It’s weird how it can seem like you haven’t seen someone in ages and yet at the same time it can feel like it was only yesterday! We caught them up on our fine legal system back in Jackson (I say that tongue in cheek of course) and it sounds like their new house in Florida is delightful. We talked about the anchorage at Musha and it sounded like the spot we were at was different from where they tried to anchor. They had a problem with depth where they were.
The shuttle launch was delayed for about 5 minutes but once it took off (there was a computer glitch) we all cheered and looked to the north east to see if we could see any contrails. No such luck but we tried. It was so nice to sit around chatting with Jim & Nancy and Axel & Mary Clare. I couldn’t believe it was after 8pm when we finally left Solitaire! Time flies when you’re having fun. I hope we’re able to catch up with them again in the Abacos.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Georgetown to Musha Cay under sunny skies and light ENE winds 7-10 knots
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
I was up before dawn once again and with coffee in hand and charts, tried to figure out which cut we’d be going into today. Azaya is ready to start heading north (their engine problems and dinghy problems can’t be resolved in Georgetown), and we need to use internet to pay bills. We thought about heading into Farmer’s Cay but the last time we were there, the internet was so slow it kept disconnecting from email and it was difficult to pay bills. So we decided on Black Point as opposed to Emerald Bay (that place can be addicting). We can do laundry, access internet and have some wonderful conch at Lorraine’s Café.
The cuts that we have to enter from the Exuma Sound back onto the Banks are all deep but narrow with swift currents. If the winds oppose the currents a “rage” situation can exist which can be quite hazardous. Because the winds are light today, we figured there wouldn’t be much of a “rage” situation even though we’ll be going in at low tide (against the current) in a worse case scenario. We’re hoping to go in at slack tide but we’ll see. We’ve been through Little Farmers before (love that place) and thought we’d try another spot. We’d like to put in around Galliot or Musha Cay so we’re looking at Cave Cay Cut or Galliot Cut but not ruling out Farmers Cut.
I tried hailing Sea Sharp this morning on channel 16 and 68 several times but got no response. They’re going to Emerald Bay and I said I’d call them this morning to remind them of slips D11 and D13. The currents that run through there can really do a number on the dock lines. It still amazes me how much we hobby horsed in those slips and everyone else was stationary. I hope they remember the numbers.
I chatted briefly with MadCap and we tried to hail them with our DSC but couldn’t make contact with them using the MMSI numbers so we had to keep hailing each other to chat. Considering we can’t contact Azaya or MadCap using the DSC, but we could contact Blue Pearl, we’re thinking that for some reason we can no longer transmit on our radio – only receive. One more thing to work on but, now we don’t know if our distress button will work or not.
I hope we can catch up with Beth and Jim (MadCap) again sometime on this trip, I love spending time with them. I hope when Jim gets back that they keep heading south and make it to Cuba. I want to hear all about it. It’s the forbidden land for us (as U.S. citizens) but I’m hoping that someday we’ll be able to visit there. Politics in Paradise… the saga continues from the 60s even though THAT situation no longer exists. The ban on Cuba continues to hurt the people that live there and why? It’s ridiculous at this point. Politics, political borders and powerful money interests in Florida … Sigh…
We lifted our anchor at 8am under sunny skies and 83 degrees. The winds were less than 10 knots so it was a motor sailing day. Sid on Quest heard us talking on the radio and hailed us off of Barratera. Colleen goes back to the mainland this Thursday and he’s picking up other guests in Nassau. Hopefully we’ll run into him and Blue Pearl again in the Abacos somewhere. Once again I forgot to thank him for the delicious salmon dinner on his boat.
We entered Cave Cay Cut and felt the current before we reached the cut. We increased our speed through it, following Azaya, and at one point I had our engine revved up to 3000rpms and we were only doing 1.5 knots. It got a little scary as we were pulled one way then the other. We were near the white cliffs one moment then near the rocky black rocks the next. I couldn’t imagine coming in here with strong winds and waves and definitely wouldn’t! Once we got in and anchored behind Musha Cay, we found out that Azaya’s engine cut off right after turning out of the cut. Oh my goodness. Talk about a scary situation. It could have been very bad had the engine cut off while in the cut. Someone was watching out for them on that one. They set their hook just fine though with no engine help in 12-14 ft of water and we anchored in 14 ft next to them.
Musha Cay is private but what a beautiful little island. It looks like they’re building a resort of some sort there and there’s wonderful looking architecture that makes the buildings resemble something found in the S. Pacific Islands with their thatched and palm leaf roofs. We can hear parrots squawking from one of the buildings which add to the tropical paradise flavor of the place.
After making sure our anchors were set (G/T time) Axel & Mary kayaked over and picked me up to do some exploring on the sandbars at low tide. We went over to Lansing Cay and walked around collecting sand dollars and shells in the shallow water. Axel found what he thought was a large conch, then Mary found it too. Initially I thought it might be a different variety of conch or perhaps a whelk. It turns out that it’s neither a conch nor a whelk, but a West Indian chank? We also found several small milky conch shells, some were quite blackened with age but there were some that were only algae coated. We explored some of the marine life – a large nudibranch, a couple of large brown sea stars and a few anemones. Most of the sand dollars we found were dead and bleached a beautiful white. But on the west side of the Cay there were many that were still alive and burying themselves in the sand. Kind of fun watching them. We hung out on the sandbar until sunset and watched the green flash as the sun winked out below the water. It was so quiet and pretty. Kayaking back to the boats was surreal in the calm waters. While it was getting dark out, you could look down in the water and still see the bottom sand ripples in 12 feet of water. At night it’s so clear as night approaches and the light levels drop the bottom is still illuminated but you cant see anything between the surface and the bottom so it appears your hanging in midair in the boat.
As we got back to the boats, music started blaring, quite loudly from two areas on Musha Cay. We thought maybe the resort was now open on the island but there are no people in sight. The music is quite loud, with competing factions – one place is playing oldies and the other, right across from our boat is playing a weird mixture of rap, Cher and Beonyce. Quite strange, but it has me bouncing around the boat dancing to the beat, while making burgers and slaw for dinner. I hope it doesn’t keep up until 2 in the morning!
I was up before dawn once again and with coffee in hand and charts, tried to figure out which cut we’d be going into today. Azaya is ready to start heading north (their engine problems and dinghy problems can’t be resolved in Georgetown), and we need to use internet to pay bills. We thought about heading into Farmer’s Cay but the last time we were there, the internet was so slow it kept disconnecting from email and it was difficult to pay bills. So we decided on Black Point as opposed to Emerald Bay (that place can be addicting). We can do laundry, access internet and have some wonderful conch at Lorraine’s Café.
The cuts that we have to enter from the Exuma Sound back onto the Banks are all deep but narrow with swift currents. If the winds oppose the currents a “rage” situation can exist which can be quite hazardous. Because the winds are light today, we figured there wouldn’t be much of a “rage” situation even though we’ll be going in at low tide (against the current) in a worse case scenario. We’re hoping to go in at slack tide but we’ll see. We’ve been through Little Farmers before (love that place) and thought we’d try another spot. We’d like to put in around Galliot or Musha Cay so we’re looking at Cave Cay Cut or Galliot Cut but not ruling out Farmers Cut.
I tried hailing Sea Sharp this morning on channel 16 and 68 several times but got no response. They’re going to Emerald Bay and I said I’d call them this morning to remind them of slips D11 and D13. The currents that run through there can really do a number on the dock lines. It still amazes me how much we hobby horsed in those slips and everyone else was stationary. I hope they remember the numbers.
I chatted briefly with MadCap and we tried to hail them with our DSC but couldn’t make contact with them using the MMSI numbers so we had to keep hailing each other to chat. Considering we can’t contact Azaya or MadCap using the DSC, but we could contact Blue Pearl, we’re thinking that for some reason we can no longer transmit on our radio – only receive. One more thing to work on but, now we don’t know if our distress button will work or not.
I hope we can catch up with Beth and Jim (MadCap) again sometime on this trip, I love spending time with them. I hope when Jim gets back that they keep heading south and make it to Cuba. I want to hear all about it. It’s the forbidden land for us (as U.S. citizens) but I’m hoping that someday we’ll be able to visit there. Politics in Paradise… the saga continues from the 60s even though THAT situation no longer exists. The ban on Cuba continues to hurt the people that live there and why? It’s ridiculous at this point. Politics, political borders and powerful money interests in Florida … Sigh…
We lifted our anchor at 8am under sunny skies and 83 degrees. The winds were less than 10 knots so it was a motor sailing day. Sid on Quest heard us talking on the radio and hailed us off of Barratera. Colleen goes back to the mainland this Thursday and he’s picking up other guests in Nassau. Hopefully we’ll run into him and Blue Pearl again in the Abacos somewhere. Once again I forgot to thank him for the delicious salmon dinner on his boat.
We entered Cave Cay Cut and felt the current before we reached the cut. We increased our speed through it, following Azaya, and at one point I had our engine revved up to 3000rpms and we were only doing 1.5 knots. It got a little scary as we were pulled one way then the other. We were near the white cliffs one moment then near the rocky black rocks the next. I couldn’t imagine coming in here with strong winds and waves and definitely wouldn’t! Once we got in and anchored behind Musha Cay, we found out that Azaya’s engine cut off right after turning out of the cut. Oh my goodness. Talk about a scary situation. It could have been very bad had the engine cut off while in the cut. Someone was watching out for them on that one. They set their hook just fine though with no engine help in 12-14 ft of water and we anchored in 14 ft next to them.
Musha Cay is private but what a beautiful little island. It looks like they’re building a resort of some sort there and there’s wonderful looking architecture that makes the buildings resemble something found in the S. Pacific Islands with their thatched and palm leaf roofs. We can hear parrots squawking from one of the buildings which add to the tropical paradise flavor of the place.
After making sure our anchors were set (G/T time) Axel & Mary kayaked over and picked me up to do some exploring on the sandbars at low tide. We went over to Lansing Cay and walked around collecting sand dollars and shells in the shallow water. Axel found what he thought was a large conch, then Mary found it too. Initially I thought it might be a different variety of conch or perhaps a whelk. It turns out that it’s neither a conch nor a whelk, but a West Indian chank? We also found several small milky conch shells, some were quite blackened with age but there were some that were only algae coated. We explored some of the marine life – a large nudibranch, a couple of large brown sea stars and a few anemones. Most of the sand dollars we found were dead and bleached a beautiful white. But on the west side of the Cay there were many that were still alive and burying themselves in the sand. Kind of fun watching them. We hung out on the sandbar until sunset and watched the green flash as the sun winked out below the water. It was so quiet and pretty. Kayaking back to the boats was surreal in the calm waters. While it was getting dark out, you could look down in the water and still see the bottom sand ripples in 12 feet of water. At night it’s so clear as night approaches and the light levels drop the bottom is still illuminated but you cant see anything between the surface and the bottom so it appears your hanging in midair in the boat.
As we got back to the boats, music started blaring, quite loudly from two areas on Musha Cay. We thought maybe the resort was now open on the island but there are no people in sight. The music is quite loud, with competing factions – one place is playing oldies and the other, right across from our boat is playing a weird mixture of rap, Cher and Beonyce. Quite strange, but it has me bouncing around the boat dancing to the beat, while making burgers and slaw for dinner. I hope it doesn’t keep up until 2 in the morning!
Friday, February 11, 2011
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; 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. 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! 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 :) 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 2, 2011
My little ground hog's Birthday :) Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tanner’s Birthday today – Happy Birthday Tanner AND Happy Ground Hog day to everyone else
I went into Georgetown with Mary Clare and Colleen this morning. We visited the straw market, gift shops and the government dock. I took pictures of the boat that the 70 Haitians came over to the Bahamas on. My goodness… The desperation they must have felt to begin the trip on such a boat. I can’t imagine fitting 15 people in that boat let alone 70 people. From what I understand, they were just piled up on each other. My heart goes out to them. From what I understand, the Bahamian Government is just going to send them all back after processing them. I don’t know where they’d even house 70 Haitians here to process them… Wow… We never did see the people, just the boat that they came over on. I hope that the Bahamians let them stay or that they at least see if they can find somewhere else that they can go…
After wandering around, we had lunch at Pets Place and ran into Sea Sharp (haven’t seen them since Charleston last year), Lydia (Flying Pig) and met the folks from s/v Rhapsody (they’re going over to Cat Island from here). This is a small little place that a lot of people love to come to for the food and the internet. While ordering our food at the counter we saw one young man that was thoroughly enamored with the waitress. He told us “I’m going to marry her”. He was totally captivated by her the entire time we were there (which was lengthy). His eyes never left her and he had such a goofy look on his face. It was cute.
While it took a while to get the food, it really was worth the wait. It was quite tasty. I got their club sandwich, Colleen got a shrimp wrap and Mary got a tomato/cuke salad. I think we were all wishing that we’d brought our computers for the internet, but on the other hand it really was entertaining to watch the love sick young man making moon eyes at the waitress and her ignoring him yet smiling.
We picked up some seafood at the Beauty Salon. Yep, the Beauty salon… Lobster tail 2/$10; Conch $3. Some of the locals, bring their fresh seafood catch there so I guess the ladies can kill 2 birds with one stone. Get your hair done and purchase fish for dinner too. Exuma Market was well stocked today since the Mail Boat had arrived yesterday. The Mail Boat tends to bring most things that the island needs so when it comes in, everyone is scurrying to unload mail, food items, mechanical items, and just about anything you can think of that comes to the island.
I made fish cakes, salad, and pineapple pudding for dinner. It was nice to have the gang over here for sun downers and dinner tonight. It’s just so dang easy to have it on their boat because it’s bigger but we all managed to fit below at the table. The fish cakes turned out great and I don’t think anyone minded being my guinea pig for a new recipe.
I went into Georgetown with Mary Clare and Colleen this morning. We visited the straw market, gift shops and the government dock. I took pictures of the boat that the 70 Haitians came over to the Bahamas on. My goodness… The desperation they must have felt to begin the trip on such a boat. I can’t imagine fitting 15 people in that boat let alone 70 people. From what I understand, they were just piled up on each other. My heart goes out to them. From what I understand, the Bahamian Government is just going to send them all back after processing them. I don’t know where they’d even house 70 Haitians here to process them… Wow… We never did see the people, just the boat that they came over on. I hope that the Bahamians let them stay or that they at least see if they can find somewhere else that they can go…
After wandering around, we had lunch at Pets Place and ran into Sea Sharp (haven’t seen them since Charleston last year), Lydia (Flying Pig) and met the folks from s/v Rhapsody (they’re going over to Cat Island from here). This is a small little place that a lot of people love to come to for the food and the internet. While ordering our food at the counter we saw one young man that was thoroughly enamored with the waitress. He told us “I’m going to marry her”. He was totally captivated by her the entire time we were there (which was lengthy). His eyes never left her and he had such a goofy look on his face. It was cute.
While it took a while to get the food, it really was worth the wait. It was quite tasty. I got their club sandwich, Colleen got a shrimp wrap and Mary got a tomato/cuke salad. I think we were all wishing that we’d brought our computers for the internet, but on the other hand it really was entertaining to watch the love sick young man making moon eyes at the waitress and her ignoring him yet smiling.
We picked up some seafood at the Beauty Salon. Yep, the Beauty salon… Lobster tail 2/$10; Conch $3. Some of the locals, bring their fresh seafood catch there so I guess the ladies can kill 2 birds with one stone. Get your hair done and purchase fish for dinner too. Exuma Market was well stocked today since the Mail Boat had arrived yesterday. The Mail Boat tends to bring most things that the island needs so when it comes in, everyone is scurrying to unload mail, food items, mechanical items, and just about anything you can think of that comes to the island.
I made fish cakes, salad, and pineapple pudding for dinner. It was nice to have the gang over here for sun downers and dinner tonight. It’s just so dang easy to have it on their boat because it’s bigger but we all managed to fit below at the table. The fish cakes turned out great and I don’t think anyone minded being my guinea pig for a new recipe.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 Great Exuma Island (Georgetown)
It was another lazy day at anchor. After coffee and the morning Georgetown Net on channel 72, I put together a breakfast of bagels with pineapple cream cheese, oranges, apples and bananas. Wayne took his INR test and everything looked good.
We dingied over to Georgetown to get water, fresh produce and drop off garbage then we dinghied back across to the Monument Beach anchorage. It was calmer out this morning so we didn’t get to wet on the ride back from Georgetown. It’s always a challenge to see if we can stay dry and keep our goods that we buy dry too
Mary Clare and Colleen came by in the Kayak to see if I’d like to join them for a beach walk. Sure! Of course I’d like to so I climbed into the Kayak with them and we were off to the beach to look for shells.
I made some chicken salad and we had wine and watched a beautiful florescent pink and orange sky as the sun set below the horizon. Sunrise and sunset can be such special times. They're like the beginning of a new adventure or the end of a day well lived or wasted (depending on the events of the day)... It was a nice lazy day spent with my honey and friends.
We dingied over to Georgetown to get water, fresh produce and drop off garbage then we dinghied back across to the Monument Beach anchorage. It was calmer out this morning so we didn’t get to wet on the ride back from Georgetown. It’s always a challenge to see if we can stay dry and keep our goods that we buy dry too
Mary Clare and Colleen came by in the Kayak to see if I’d like to join them for a beach walk. Sure! Of course I’d like to so I climbed into the Kayak with them and we were off to the beach to look for shells.
I made some chicken salad and we had wine and watched a beautiful florescent pink and orange sky as the sun set below the horizon. Sunrise and sunset can be such special times. They're like the beginning of a new adventure or the end of a day well lived or wasted (depending on the events of the day)... It was a nice lazy day spent with my honey and friends.
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