Brunswick, GA

Brunswick, GA

We packed up the SUV absolutely full of boat stuff and headed down to Rhiannon at Brunswick Landing Marina on Monday, November 30.  We spent one night with our friends Jim and Judy Foster outside Baltimore. We would have liked to be at the boat sooner, but we sold the house in Meredith, NH, and moved to a smaller house (we already owned) this summer.  By the time we got the big house cleaned out, on the market, and sold we only had time to move stuff and then head for the boat.  We did not make a mid-summer trip to work on the boat either, and that was a mistake because the week before we headed south we got a call from the boat yard asking “and when did you want all this work done?”  In South Carolina, the gasoline was $169 a gallon. Wow!

They did a good job getting Rhiannon cleaned up and her bottom done, but the exterior varnish was still wet when we arrived and the cabinetry work we asked for was not done.  In all fairness, the undone work was an independent contractor and the yard manager, who was really competent, resigned over the summer.  So, we spent our ten days working on the boat, and had a guy from the yard do the cabinetry.  That was George, who did the fiberglass repair a couple of years ago when we hit the jetty at Jekyll Island.  Quite the craftsman.

We had some canvas work done by Stitches and those folks did a very nice job and were done when they said they would be.  Highly recommend them!

Noah at All Power Pro came to make sure the a/c/heating systems were working properly.  It is nice to find folks who really know what they are doing!  If you need anything for your diesel, a/c, refrigeration, we recommend these folks.  They are headquartered in Fernandina Beach.  www.all-powerpro.com

Outbound (Steve and Deb) were there also.  We traveled with them on and off last winter.  We also met a lot of nice folks at the frequent social activities at the marina. We ate at some really good restaurants – Southern Table (new and right in downtown Brunswick), Foxes Pizza (some of the best anywhere) and BJs Steak and Seafood in Darien (best shrimp anywhere). 

On our dock, we met Don on Mystic, who with a crew sailed directly to Brunswick from Newport offshore; and Rickard and Linda on Wild Goose who left on a two year plan in 1997 and are still “living the dream”; Benito, captaining Privilege IV; Robert on Sea Island Girl, who has written several Bahama cruising guides. Neat folks.

We went to the farmers’ market on Saturday with Deb (Outbound) and purchased more fig preserves for Christmas presents from Maxine.  We have purchased these from her twice before and they are very much like the ones my mom and grandmother used to make.  Ummmm good.  We went to the Yellow Deli with Richard and Lynda (Wild Goose) and bought homemade banana bread, granola and cookies.  Great! Except for one day, the weather was perfect. 

After sitting for six months, Rhiannon needed some attention.  We got lots done and hopefully when we go back in January, we will be able to give her a bath, provision and head toward the Bahamas.

Stitches Canvas:

Repair dodger and bimini as required (zippers, seams, new glass)

New dodger window covers

New sun shades

New cushion for helmsman's seat

Repair cushion - main parlor

New cover for connector window

Re-stitch foot of mainsail, other repairs as needed

New hatch covers

New screen for forward hatch

Brunswick Landing:

Repair previously repaired gelcoat on stern

Clean and paint bottom - Micron Extra Blue

Repair VHF antennae

Repair knot meter

Quote for new lifelines

Clean and polish hull, cockpit and cabin house - all smooth surfaces

Check cutlass bearing

Check packing gland

Service Maxprop

Repair line cutter on prop shaft

Hanging locker in forward head

Shelf in aft cabin

New locker in main berth

 Other:

Revarnish cockpit comings, trim around companionway, companionway boards*

Repairs to interior teak in salon

All Power Pro:

Check and recharge all ac/heat units

Check water through put – OK

Us

New lifelines*

Replace water heater

Replace plumbing for water heater*

Replace rear head macerator pump

Service outboard*

Repair and clean/perserve dingy

New motor mount for dingy motor

Cell booster*

Wi-Fi booster*

Reseal mast boot*

Replace hinges on engine cover*

Dingy seat*

Replace sensor for tachometer*

New flag mount on stern*

2016 Registration for dingy*

Replace engine room blower*

Replace forward shower sump pump*

Revarnish teak around galley sink

Varnish new cabinetry

Bend on both main and genoa

Unpacked the truck and everything stored for the summer

Repaint jerry can boards; new hardware

Replace furling lines and sheet for main sail*

Repaint radar post*
Have (spare) alternator rebuilt

*in progress

On the drive home we again stopped at Jim and Judy’s near Baltimore.  Jim retired about 3 years ago after having built and owned one of the largest Harley Davidson dealerships.  We spent an extra day with them and got a tour of the dealership and his museum.  He and three other guys are contributing their motorcycle collections to this museum, which tell the history of off road motorcycle racing.  Jim has been involved in this crazy activity since he was a teen and recently won the US Seniors Championship!  This is a very extensive collection and quite an interesting way to spend a day.

We are now home and preparing for the holidays.  Our plan is to return to Rhiannon about January 20^th.

Click here for pictures of Brunswick

Green Turtle to Brunswick, GA

Wednesday, May13, 2015.  We rented a golf cart and went exploring.  The north end of the island is lovely, nice homes, Green Turtle Cay Club/Marina, Bluff House Resort.  We had lunch at the Tranquil Turtle on the beach.  Lovely spot and the food was good.  May is an “in-between month” in the Abacos.  Most of the winter people have left and the summer people won’t arrive until Memorial day.  The roads on this end of the island are terrible.  Maybe it’s done on purpose to keep the “riff-raff” away, but many of the roads are more appropriate for four wheeling. 

The south end of the island contains the settlement of New Plymouth, settled by “Loyalists” who left the USA after being “persecuted” because they would not support the revolution against King George.  We have found that both here and in Canada, the history is quite different from what we were taught in school.  We found some fresh coconut and peach ice cream in town. MMMM! Dinner was at Lizards.

Click on this link to see more info on the Loyalists

Click here to see pictures of Green Turtle Cay

Thursday, May 14, 2015.  Today we are going to Manjack Cay to meet Down Time, but we have to wait on the tide.  Black Sound is very shallow in spots, so we will wait until a couple of hours before high tide to depart.  In the meantime, I change the oil, zinc, oil filter and fuel filter on the generator.  We also filled the tanks with water.

At 2:45pm, we leave the dock and go across the harbor to the “Other Shore Club” for fuel. Sunny and 85 degrees.  Nice breeze 10-15 NNE, but hot and muggy out of the breeze. 3:15 off the fuel dock at almost high tide. 4:30 anchor down at Coconut Beach at Manjack Cay.  Down Time here. 6NM 7.5SM today.  26°49.57’N  077°22.52’W

Friday, May 15, 2015.  Lisa and Connie spent most of the day swimming and snorkeling.  We took a dingy for a long ride along the shore.  Many fish, turtles and rays along the rocky shore.  Down Time brought a pork tenderloin and we grilled it.  Also peas and wild rice.  A typical Bahamian dinner.

Saturday, May 16, 2015. Rained heavily overnight.  We left the hatch over the table open and the book Lisa is reading was soaked – water runs out of it when you pick it up.  Hopefully, it will dry out.  She put it in the engine compartment where it is warm and dry.

While the wind has been out of the east (which this island should protect us from), the waves are coming in from the south, so instead of going to Powell Cay, we will head to Crab Cay (better protection). Snorkeling in the morning here along the near shore.  Lots of fish.  Very pretty. 

11:45am anchor up. Wind ESE 10-15, partly cloudy, hazy, 80 degrees.  2:50pm, anchor down at Crab Cay.  Wind has built up to 15-20+, but it nice and flat in the anchorage.  There is a 50+ foot trawler aground on the shoal on the way into to the anchorage.  Problem is it is all rock.  We tried to call him to see if there was anything we could do to help, but he is not answering the radio.  At high tide, he floated off and anchored.  Don’t know if he had damage, still can’t raise him on the radio.

We walked the rocky beach with Down Time and then stopped to visit with Johan and Sonja on Like Dolphins.  They are from Belgium and have spent 2 years in the Caribbean and are headed to Bermuda and then the Azores and the Mediterranean.  We gave them our friend Jack’s contact info as he lives in Bermuda. 18NM 21.6SM today.  26°55.10’N  077° 35.32’W

Sunday, May 17, 2015.  7:30am anchor up.  Wind ESE 10-15, partly cloudy, 75 degrees.  We have the fore sail out and a bit of engine on so we can maintain at least 6 knots.  2:30pm, anchor down at Great Sale Cay, Northwest Harbor.  We wanted to anchor “outside” where there are beached, but the wind and wave a wrapping around the island and it is very rolly outside the “harbor”.  Sunny, 82 degrees, wind ESE 15-20.  40NM 48SM today.  26°58.72’N  078°12.94’W

Monday, May 18, 2015.  8:20 am anchor up, 75 degrees, partly cloudy, rain showers, wind E10-15.  Fore sail out, making 6 knots.  The VHF is acting “fluky”, sometime working OK, other times little reception and people can’t hear our transmission.  Checked all the connections except the one at the top of the mast.  We don’t have a bosons’ chair on board, I don’t know why, so as soon as we can borrow one we will check the connection.

3pm, anchor down at the northwest corner of Mangrove Cay.  There is some protection here from wind and waves, but not what we were hoping for.  The wind is supposed to die down over night.  We are staged to leave at 2AM to cross the Gulf Stream to Fort Peirce.  There are no beaches here and the only place to go ashore is mangroves and mud.  The water is shallow so we cannot snuggle up to the shore to get out of more of the wind and waves.  Maybe next time we won’t make this one of our stops.  While here, I change out the alternator.  It has also been acting “fluky” and I have a spare on board.  24NM  29SM today  26°55.09’N  078°37.31’W

Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Anchor up at 2am.  Clear, lots of stars! No moon.  Wind E@10.  We head toward Memory Rock, a narrow passage between the “Banks” and the Atlantic.  Our VHF radio is still not functioning correctly.  It sends and receives, but has little range.  Down Time is with us.  His radar is not working, so we are relaying message to other boats with his radio and we are “keeping watch” using our radar.  Our tachometer is still not working correctly, erratic readings.  Checked all the connections and tightened them.

2:45am.  Only Down Time on the radar, and out of nowhere, there is a powerful search light 30 feet off our stern to port.  Scared the _______ out of us.  US Coast Guard.  They asked about our registration, citizenship, how long we had been out of the country and wished us safe passage.  They were in one of the orange inflatables.  They said the cabin was painted with radar absorbing paint and they were being “sneaky” – well I guess! And, they are 20 miles inside Bahamian waters!

5:30am Memory Rock Passage, 8 ½ feet of water, clear, wind East @ 5.  It is getting light in the east.

6:30am West Palm Beach is visible in the distance.  Amazing how far you can see those condos.

7:30pm wind NE@5, partly cloudy 75 degrees, cruise ship crosses our bow heading north, seas 2-4 feet.

10:50am solidly in the Gulf Stream, making 8+ knots over ground, wind north @ 5, sunny with puffy clouds, 80 degrees, seas 2 feet.

12:45pm Fort Pierce visible at 20 miles, still making 8+ knots.

1:15pm 14 miles to Fort Pierce.  Out of the Gulf Stream.  Big grass lines mark the edge of the current. No wind. Seas less than 1 foot.

2:45pm We call Customs and Immigration to check in.  We signed up for the Small Vessel Reporting System back in 2012 before we ever left Canada with the boat, so that a phone call should get us checked back in to the USA.  BUT, since we signed up, our passports were renewed, so that created an issue.  The gentleman on the phone was very helpful, updating our float plan and passport information over the phone.  All done!  Back in the USA legally!  As soon as we finished on the phone a pair of porpoises came along side, each swimming on separate side of the bow for about ½ mile.  Nice welcoming committee.

3:30pm Fort Pierce inlet – followed a huge dredge Newport  into the channel..  A couple of boats moved aside and told him he could “whiz on by”.  He responded that Newport did not do a lot of “whizzing”.  The inlet was very rough, riptides, 6 foot seas, compounded by some sport fishermen that were seeing how fast they could go.

4:00pm Down Time anchored by Harbor Town.  We are going to keep going north in the ICW to Vero Beach.

6:20pm We pick up mooring #22 at Vero Beach City Marina. Sunny, no clouds, 80 degrees, beautiful.  114 NM, 137 SM today.  ICW MM 950.

Updates on other boats crossing:

Down Time crossed with us

Occlusion crossed from Memory Rock (where they anchored overnight) to Lake Worth (West Palm Beach)

Manaña left Great Sale Cay at 6:30am sailing to Port Canaveral and on to St. Augustine

Outbound left West End at 6 in the morning and 10 hours later was in Fort Pierce

Saber Tooth and Green Stone sailed from Great Harbor in the Berry Island to Lake Worth

Kachina, Neverland and Majestic Phoenix sailed from Great Sail Cay to Lake Worth

Thunderheads and lightening in the distance to the north, but no rain here.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015.  We left the propane tank on the dock for “The Grill Place” to fill. Rented a car and drove to Cocoa to see Lisa’s Uncle Franny and his wife Virginia.  He has been having “stroke like” symptoms, loss of use of his left arm and leg, but seems to be doing better now.  The doctors have yet to determine a cause, except they don’t think it was a stroke. Had subs and pizza from the local pizzeria and then drove back to Vero.

TorlaO (Sterling and Kathy) is here.  We were rafted to them the first time we came through Vero.  They are also just back from the Bahamas.  They are now selling their boat (a Saber 42).  When I went to register at the marina office, I heard someone calling our name.  Carrie May is on the fuel dock (Bob and Maria).  We met them in Hopetown. Barefootin’ is also here, recently returned from the Bahamas.  We originally met them Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach.  There are actually two boats named Barefoot’n here and they are on moorings next to each other.  How strange is that? We heard from River House (Bob and Deb).  They have sold their boat (last time we were in Vero we were actually on their mooring) and are living ashore.  We plan to have dinner with them Tomorrow.

Thursday, May 21, 2015.  Picked up the propane tank.  It does not seem like it was filled.  The folks in the marina office said the guy came by and picked up the tank and the money and then dropped the tank off a while later.  We called him and he said he would check on what happened and call back.

Pete Brocker came by and cleaned the bottom of the boat and changed out the zincs for us. Then we drove up to Melbourne to see Lisa’s Uncle George and wife Bev and their new house.  Very nice place. We had lunch at the River Rocks on the Indian River in Melbourne.  The food was very good.  We returned the car and had dinner on the boat with TorlaO.

Thunderheads and lightening to the south of us, but still no rain here.

Friday, May22, 2015.  The guy from “The Grill Place” is at the marina.  He says the tank was filled, but it doesn’t seem so.  He takes the tank and will check it and make sure it doesn’t leak (never has) and make sure it is full.

It is a beautiful day.  Lisa and I take the bus to the beach, visit some of the shops, walk the beach and have lunch at Mulligans.  We walk back to the boat, have showers and pick up the propane tank, which is considerably heavier than it was this morning.

We ride with TorlaO (they have a car here) to Blue Agave on 14^th street for $3 margaritas and some excellent Mexican food. We meet Bob and Deb (River House) there.  Very nice dinner.  We then all walk down the street to the new location for the Blue Star Wine Bar.  This is one of our favorite spots in Vero and they recently moved from the island over to 14^th Street.  Kitty, the owner stopped by to say hi – Bob and his band play here occasionally.  Fun evening.

Heavy rain and thunder overnight.  Then the wind shifts to the north and it is cooler and dryer afterwards.

Saturday, May 23, 2015. Dropped the mooring at 7:45am and made our way to the fuel dock for fuel and water.  Sunny, wind SE@5-10. 8:30am underway north on the ICW.  2pm wind shift to NE and building 15+.  Looks like rain behind us – but it does not catch up with us.  4pm anchor down south of Cocoa along east shore of Indian River (west shore of Merritt Island) between  R86 and R88.  Anchorage is called Georgiana, deep almost all the way to the shore, which is unusual for the Indian River. Wind E@15, sunny, clouds dissipating. MM903 47SM  38NM today.  28°17.38’N 080°40.94’W

Sunday, May 24, 2015. Anchor up at 8:40am.  80 degrees, partly cloudy, wind East @ 15, rain can be seen north of us. Motor sailing at 6+ knots.  Cocoa @ 9:25am.  12:30pm Titusville, cloudy, threatening rain.  Wind east @ 20-25.  1:15pm Haulover Bridge, rain shower.  1:25pm Mosquito Lagoon, clear, wind SE 10-15 and we are sailing.  3:30pm Indian River North, sunny, 85 degrees, wind E@10, motor sailing.  Lots of butterflies.  5pm New Smyrna Beach, Coronado Beach Bridge (they would rather it be called the George Munson Memorial Bridge).  The channel from here northward toward the Ponce de Leon Inlet looks like Rout 128 in Boston at rush hour – lots of boats.

5:30pm anchor down in Rockhouse Creek.  7 big power yachts are rafted together here and many other smaller boats beached or anchored.  It is Sunday before Memorial Day and all the “backyard trailer boats” must be on the water.  There is also a steady stream of boats coming through this normally quiet anchorage.  It is high tide and they are cutting through from the inlet.  There is a big party with a band across the ICW at one of the homes on the shore.  Ominous rain/storm clouds moving in.  One of the power boats in the raft is trying to compete with the band on shore with their stereo.  Can’t imagine how loud it must be aboard!  61SM  49NM today.  29°03.65’N  080°55.93’N  2 bridges today, both on request.  

Monday, May 25, 2015.  Memorial Day. Sunny, 78 degrees, hazy on the water, almost low tide.  Lots of small power boats out already picking the best spots to beach their boats for the day.  Anchor up at 8:30 after adding some fuel from the jerry cans to the tank.  We pass the Ponce deLeon Inlet at 8:50am, almost dead low tide and still plenty of water as long as one minds the buoys, not the chart (the channels at the inlets shift continuously).  Daytona Memorial Bridge at 10:20am.  Main Street Bridge at 10:30am.  No waiting at either – actually sailed (literally) right through.  There are lots of sunken and wrecked boats here – not sure why.  We see divers pumping out a large sail boat that recently sunk.  The tachometer is working again ???????  We will still order a new sending unit.

We see the Goree Challenge, which is a boat that is being rowed from The Canary Islands to New York City to publicize the need for a cure for HIV/Aids. Wow- rowed! Click on this link for more info:  www.goreechallenge.com

2pm wind has died completely – looks like rain, but does not.

4pm wind SE@15+ sailing again

6pm we are tied to the dock at River’s Edge Marina.  Paul (dock master) and Laurie (girlfriend) are here to take our lines and welcome us back.

65SM  52NM today. 29°53.12’N  081°19.37’W

4 bridges all on request because of the holiday – no delays.    

Tuesday, May 26, 2015.  Lisa and I walk to the Hair Loft (next to West marine and Winn-Dixie – about ½ mile) for haircuts.  This is where Lisa got her hair cut short on the trip south last year.  We stopped by West Marine and continue to be amazed at their high prices.  Not sure how they are going to stay in business.  There is a farmers’ stand next to the marina and we pick up a few fresh vegies and a watermelon.  Down Time’s home slip is here and Roger and Connie show up this afternoon and give us a ride to Home Depot and Walmart for some supplies.  We then went to dinner at Urban 40 – a house turned into a restaurant – food was great.  We actually turned on the TV and watched a movie (Wild Hogs) and then the news – first time for that in a while. 

Our son, Jeff, is home from his semester abroad in France and we were able to talk to him.  It will be great to see him and James when we get home in a week or so. Our other son, Jacob, and his wife Betsy are moving to Utah. We may not get to see them before they head west.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015.  Lisa and Connie made a run to Winn-Dixie and I worked on the blog.  Lisa and I walked to the Sailors’ Exchange and bartered for a boson’s’ chair.  He would not come down on the price until we were ready to leave. $15. We also went to TPH (The Parts Store) and got a new cap for the heat exchanger on the main engine.  The spare I have is the wrong size, but the correct part number.  Dinner at Hurricane Patty’s.  I had shrimp n’ grits, Lisa had crawfish.  Both were very good.

Thursday, May 28, 2015.  We depart Rivers’ Edge at 8:40pm.  Untide helps us off the dock.  They are from New Zealand and are living aboard.  We make tentative plans to see them again at the free dock in Jacksonville.  The tide and wind are against us off the dock, but we get off OK.  It is 75 degrees, partly cloudy, wind East at 10-15.  We make the Bridge of Lyons at 9:30am.  At 10am we are past the inlet and moving north on the Tolomato River.  The tide is running out and is against us here and it is slow going.

4pm, we are crossing the St. John’s River and have to dodge a large container ship.  Now we are finally getting some help from the tide, but it is the end of the day.  Sister’s Creek Bridge at  

4:15pm and then we are at the free dock.  Several Boats there, but no Untide.  We know they were ahead of us because they passed us during the course of the day.  They are a trawler and faster than we are.  As there is a lot of daylight left, we continue on.

5pm, we enter the Fort George River and at 5:30pm, we anchor close to the Kingsley Plantation House.  The plantation is now a National Park.  We have to wait on the tides tomorrow (high being late in the day), so we will visit the Park tomorrow.  Nice area. Only one other boat here, but a lot of smaller boats farther up river at the beach. 49SM  39.5NM today. 2 bridges today, one schedules (Bridge of Lyons) and one on request (Sisters’ Creek).  30°26.45’N  081°26.28’W

Friday, May 29, 2015. Beautiful morning.  Wind NE @ 10-15, sunny, 80 degrees, puffy clouds.  We went ashore and got an ipod-like device at the visitors center and did the walking tour of the Plantation.  Very interesting.  The tour is all about plantation life and the life of the slaves and the owners, specifically the Kingsley Family.  The tour takes about 1 ½ hours and was well worth it. The plantation is part of the much larger Timucuan Preserve. For more information click on this link:  www.nps.gov/foca/

Anchor up at 1:30pm, ½ hour past low tide.  4pm we pass the “skinny water” at G1 south of Fernandina Beach with no issues.  The least amount of water we saw was 11 feet staying to the “green side” of the channel.  4:14pm, pass Fernandina Beach in a rain shower, but decide to continue on the Cumberland Island.  As we turn north into Cumberland Sound, we are making 8.4 knots with the tide.  Nice, but we are not going that far.  5:30pm anchor down at Cumberland island.  The sun is peaking through the clouds and it turns out to be a nice evening.  There are five other boats here.  You may remember that when we were in Vero Beach there were two boats named Barefoot’n there.  We saw one on a mooring in Fernandina and the other one is here.  We had dinner in the cockpit watching a pod of porpoises.  Nice evening.  27SM  21.6NM today.  No bridges.  30°46.12’N  081°28.28’W

Saturday, May 30, 2015.  Today we explored Cumberland.  This is our second visit and we still sound lots to see and do.  It was showering off and on all day and once, while we were at the Dungeness Ruins, a whole herd of the wild horses came by.  It soon started raining again, and we saw that they were headed to shelter.  How do they know it is about to rain.  We also saw a mare and a new fold.  There was a yearling with her also.  We wonder if the yearling could be the same animal we saw as a new fold when we were here last year.

On the way back to Rhiannon in the dingy, we saw Summer Wind.  It is the 39 foot Bahamian “Smack” that we met at Spanish Wells.  The caretaker couple (Dennis and Ali) are taking it to Newport for the owner.  Great to see them again.  Beautiful Boat.

Sunday, May 31, 2015.  Anchor up at 6:45am. Although we do not have very far to go to Brunswick, where Rhiannon will spend the summer, high tide is at 8am and we want to get by Jekyll Island with as much water as possible under the keel. It is sunny, with very thin clouds, wind East @ 5-10 (NE overnight). 8:15 Cumberland Dividings.  Although the charts and electronic charts are incorrect here, if you follow the channel markers there is plenty of water. If you follow the chart plotter, you would be about 20 yards up on dry land. Because we have been running against the tide all morning, we don’t make it to the south end of Jekyll Island until 10:50am, well past high tide, but make it past the skinny water with no problems.  At one point, the depth meter was registering 4.8 feet, but we never really touched the bottom.  It would not be possible to pass this spot at low tide.  The tides here are 6 feet, so there would only be 2 ½ feet of water here!  11:00am, we pass the north end of Jekyll Island, and our jetty is fully exposed (very rare).

At noon, we are on the fuel dock at Brunswick Landing Marina. Cherrie is there to help us with lines and welcome us back.  We are assigned to Dock 13, which has a brand new bath house facility and is close to the club house, laundry, etc.

Click on this link for pictures of this leg of the trip.

Our slip mate is a catamaran Angel Louise with Ed and Sue aboard.  They have been traveling by boat for 8 years now and have been across the Atlantic twice.  Very nice and interesting people. 33SM, 27NM today. 31°09.45’N 081°29.96’W

We will spend the next week getting Rhiannon ready to “rest” for the summer meeting with the yard manager Jim; the diver, who will keep her bottom clean; a guy to do some varnishing; and Ruth and Michelle from Stitches, who will do some canvas work for us.  The marina is now doing “Meet and Greets” with free wine and beer on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays and we meet a lot of folks.  Tuesday night we went to dinner in Darien at B&J Steak and Seafood with Mike and Linda on Casa del Mar.  B&J is supposed to have the world’s best shrimp and we are believers.  Friday, we had dinner at Basil with Gil and Hope (Sweet Surrender).  Friday is the night everything is open in town late including all the galleries.  Saturday, we loaded up the rental car and drove to our friends (Pam and Jerry) in Oxford, MD.  A very nice visit.  Sunday, June 7, we finished the drive to New Hampshire.  Lots of traffic everywhere, long day, but great to be home!

Nautical Miles since leaving Oxford, MD last fall 2,891.1 – Statute Miles 3140.3

Total Nautical Miles on the adventure since leaving Penetanguishene, Ontario, in 2012 – 8,805 – Statute Miles – 10,297

Marsh Harbor, Great Guana Cay, Hopetown, Treasure Cay, Great Guana Cay, Green Turtle Cay

Saturday, April 25, 2015. Jim and Judy arrive at 2pm.  We leave the dock at 2:30pm and head to Great Guana Cay, Orchid Bay Marina.  It is sunny and the wind is SW. We arrive at 4:30pm.  Lisa made dinner on board.  The marina only has a minimal sea wall and the swells are coming over the sea wall and it is bumpy in the marina.  8NM, 10 SM today.  26°39.80’N  077°06.65’W

Sunday, April 26, 2015. Partly cloudy, 85 degrees today.  The marina has a very friendly dock master named McKenzie.  Today, he fell off the dock into the water while helping a boat into a slip.  He is very good natured and was laughing about what his children will say when he gets home.

Today is the “pig roast” at Nippers on the beach.  Not a real “pig roast”, but a buffet, music, etc.  People come from everywhere each Sunday.  This is one of the events Jim and Judy do not want to miss while here. Jim bought a bunch of Nippers T-shirts for folks back home.  He and Judy hogged the dance floor for a bit and all the youngsters were amazed at their dancing.

More info on Nippers click this link

Afterwards, we toured the island by golf cart. While at Nippers, someone took our golf cart (probably by mistake, they all look alike). So, Jim borrowed one that was where we had parked ours.

Lots of building going on.  A resort/marina/residential complex at Bakers’ Bay on the north end of the island (very exclusive – you can’t get through the gate unless you have property there). When Jim returned the golf cart to the rental agency, they said “no problem, mon, they all come back here eventually – it is a small island!”

Dinner was at the restaurant at the Marina.  Very nice and the food was good.

Monday, April 27, 2015.  Cloudy and the wind is again SW blowing at 20.  We leave the dock at 10am, say good-bye to McKenzie, and head to Hopetown.  We are on the dock at Harbor View Marina at 12:30pm. The wind is supposed to build out of the northeast.  Robert, the dock master here is very helpful and the marina/resort is very nice – 2 pools, restaurant, bar, cottages, hotel – all almost new.

Tonight is bingo at Capt. Jacks.  Jordan, our waiter, remembers us from the last visit (with Kachina and Majestic Phoenix).  We didn’t win anything, but had snacks for dinner and it was fun.  13NM, 15.6SM today.  26°32.29’N 076°57.69’W

Tuesday, April 28, 2015.

We walked the town and had lunch at the “Sugar Shack”.  The weather clears a bit and we  meet Pearl (Val and Lisa) – and some of their friends - and Down Time (Roger and Connie) at Capt. Jacks’ at 6:30 for wing night.  It rains during the evening and the restaurant put down the curtains to keep the rain out, but by the time we leave it has cleared and cooled off.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015. Weather threatening.  Wind NW 20+.  We decide not to try to cross to Marsh harbor today.  We talked to Robert (dock master) and he will make sure Jim and Judy are on the 8am ferry to Marsh Harbor tomorrow morning.  Their flight is at 10:30 so there should be plenty of time to get from the ferry dock to the airport.  Robert says there is always a line of taxis waiting at the dock.  Today we walked the town and the beach (Judy picked up a bunch of beach trash from the NE wind) and then had a late lunch at the Hopetown Harbor Lodge, a very nice resort that has the harbor on one side and the beach on the other.  It is an older establishment, but has been updated and is one of those spots you would definitely come back to. At the north end of the “road” there are two nice chairs for boat watching as they overlook the harbor entrance.  Someone left a big industrial mix-master there as a mooring.  We also saw the memorial garden and a cemetery where over 100 people are buried from the cholera epidemic in 1850.

Thursday, April 30, 2015.  Everyone is up early.  Jim and Judy are shuttled by Robert from the marina over to the government dock where they will catch the ferry to Marsh Harbor.  It looks like rain, but it doesn’t.  Cloudy and murky all day. The wind is still howling 20-25 from the NE.  The “sub-tropical depression” is forming over Cuba and headed this way.  We dropped laundry off  (they will do wash and fold). We went to the pool with Down Time and Pearl (Val and Lisa).  We met Pearl originally at Big Majors in the Exumas - the night with two birthday parties on Pirate’s Beach – one of the parties was for Val.

After dinner on board, Down Time came over and we tried to make Bruce’s (Island Time) rum punch.  It was good, but we forgot the lime.

Friday, May 1, 2015. The weather is a bit better today.  We fill the water tanks and head out to a mooring in the harbor. We managed to run over the pennant for the mooring and get it wrapped around the prop.  Not good.  Roger (Down Time) brings his dive gear and gets us freed.  Only wrapped – no damage.  Great!  The wind is still NE 15-20.

There is a large sail boat next to us (Notluf) and it is being single handed by a guy named Paul.  Today he is taking the boat out to Tahiti Beach to clean the bottom.  He takes it in a high tide and then when the tide goes out the boat is “careened” (laid over on its side) and he can clean the bottom standing in water only a foot deep.  The boat is aluminum (very strong) and has a full keel, so it is easier to do this than it would be with our boat (wing keel).  Check out the pictures.  Our friends Stan and Judy used to this with their boat (Rhumb Runner).  Paul is going outside all the way to Maine. He will take on crew in Jacksonville and then he says it is about 127 hours straight through.  His masts are too tall for the Intercoastal even if he wanted to travel “inside”.

It is a long dingy ride (3 miles) to Tahiti Beach.  When we get back, a catamaran has taken Paul’s mooring.  When Paul comes in, they guy in the catamaran says it was reserved for him. Paul had already paid for the mooring and they almost never reserve moorings in this harbor (except Capt. Jack).  After some to and fro the catamaran moves to another mooring and we (Roger and I) help the catamaran get his boat secured.  These big cats are almost too big for the mooring field (almost as wide as they are long).

Dinner at the marina restaurant with Down Time.  There is live music (a guy and a guitar). Very nice.  We try the Goombay Smash.  Lovely rum drink.  We picked up most of the tab as a thank you for freeing us from the mooring pennant.

Saturday, May 2, 2015. Rainy day.  Clears some in the afternoon and we walk the beach.  The beach here in Hopetown is beautiful.  Dinner (spaghetti) at Down Time and then Mexican Train.  Nice low key day.

Sunday, May 3, 2015. Partly sunny and very breezy. We walk with Down Time south on the Queen’s Highway to ON-Da-Beach, a nice little beach bar and restaurant about halfway down the island.  Nice spot.  Lunch food was ok.  They make chicken sous (chicken stew) here and many places in the Abacos on Sunday – supposed to be good for a hangover.  We walk the beach back to Hopetown.  After dinner on board, Down Time comes over to finish the Mexican Train game we started last night.

Monday, May 4, 2015. Lisa is doing boat chores and I take the dingy to Capt. Jack’s so I can get on the internet.  My bank does not let me log on using my phone as a hot spot through Bahamas Telephone.  Later in the day, we walk the beach.  It is partly cloudy, but the wind is still NE at 20-25.  The surf is too rough to get in on this side of the island.

After dinner on board, Down Time comes over for a movie night.  We watched Jodi Foster in “Flight Plan”. 

Tuesday, May 5, 2015.  Cinco de Mayo. Cooler – 72 degrees.  Windy, still NE @ 20-25.  Lots of rain.  The “sub-tropical depression” (later to be named Ana) is on us.  We block the scuppers and open the deck fittings and fill the water tanks with fresh water.  Once the rain stops, there is at least 8 inches of water in the dingy.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015. More rain overnight and this morning.  It begins to clear after noon.  The wind hasn’t given up yet, still 20-25 from the northeast.  We decide to wait until tomorrow to try to leave.  I changed the oil in the main engine (still need to do the generator).  I changed the fuel filters and oil filter too.  Lisa went grocery shopping in the afternoon.  Tonight is “wing night” at Capt. Jacks’ and we meet Pearl there.  Jordan , our personal waiter, is there to serve our table. Nice evening.

Thursday, May 7, 2015. The wind has finally dropped a bit and finally changed direction. It is NW @ 10-15.  It is sunny.  We drop the mooring at 9:30am and head to Treasure Cay.  Maybe the storm has finally cleared out.  11am, the wind has perked up a bit and is right on our nose.  The chart plotter has decided to quit working.  Looks like the same issue as last year.  The display is all lines and/or pixelated.  Last time, I sent it to Raymarine and they said they could find nothing wrong. I wonder if all that heavy rain had an effect.  Last time it quit was after a day of downpours in St. Augustine. 1:30pm, we are on a mooring at Treasure Cay.

I took the chart plotter apart, and there is nothing obviously damp. I loosened and re-tightened all the connections and it seems to be working.  I will let it sit apart in the sun on the nav station below and make sure it dries out.

We walked the beach at Treasure Cay, one of the most beautiful anywhere.  We collected some more beach treasures and swam.  Nice afternoon.  Down Time is now in the anchorage too. Dinner on board and movie.

Friday, May 8, 2015. We re-assembled the chart plotter and it still seems to be working.  Then we re-installed it on the helm – still working.  Keeping our finger crossed.  We took the dingy, along with Down Time and their dingy, to a mangrove creek south of the anchorage.  It is high tide and we were able to get a mile or so up the creek.  Beautiful.  Reminds one of the mangrove “rivers” on Shroud Cay in the Exumas – very pristine.  Did a snorkel dingy drift out to the mouth of the creek with the outgoing tide.  Saw fish, turtles, a big barracuda tear into a snapper, anemones, sand dollars.  Nice afternoon.  There is a wrecked tug outside the creek, so we went over and had a look.  It is barely covered by the water.  You would not want to run over that!

Our friend Ann, at home, had surgery today, but is doing well.  We will keep here in our prayers and thoughts.

Dinner on board, then we went over to Down Time and learned how to play “Farkel”, a dice game).

Saturday, May 9, 2015. We dingyed into the marina and took showers, did some internet, went to the grocery.  It is partly cloudy, wind SSE 5-10.  We are off the mooring at 11:50.  Once out of the Treasure Cay Channel, we see rain to the east.  The wind is now SE @ 10-15.  At 1pm, it looks like it is going to storm on top of us, but we make it into Fisher’s Bay at Great Iguana Cay and get the anchor down.  We make a run to the beach in the dingy and meet Down Time at Grabbers Beach Bar for lunch.  2pm, thunderstorms roll through, winds pick up to 20-25 from the south.  We can see the boat and she seems to be riding OK and the anchor holding.  We finally get back to the boat at 4pm.  Lisa makes dinner on board (chicken and vegies in an oven bag).  At 7:30, we meet Down Time and Pearl at Grabbers.  Their signature drink is a “Guana Grabber”, made with rum and fruit juice, of course.  This concoction tastes like it might have some grapefruit juice in it. It is karaoke night.  They had some really good performers! A good time was had by all.  Back to the boat and bed at 10pm.  A late night for us.

Sunday, May 10, 2015. Mothers’ Day.  Lisa’s Birthday. Is is partly cloudy and 80 degrees.  One of the nicest days we have seen in a while.  We meet Down Time, Pearl and some of their friends at Nippers for the Sunday “Pig Roast”.  After the feast, we all went to the beach, and then walked back across the island to Grabbers.  It seems that there are several ferries that bring people from Marsh Harbor and Hopetown to Great Guana for the “pig roast” at Nippers.  Those folks then “stage” at Grabbers while they wait of the return ferry.  So, you see many of the same people at both places.  They are doing “the limbo” and many of the folks here are quite under in influence.  We then went to Down Time with pearl and had birthday cake.  Connie had made a carrot cake for Lisa – delicious!  We gave Pearl a ride back to shore (their boat is in the harbor, not the anchorage) and stopped at Grabbers again (it is on the way).  Back to the boat at 6.  I think Lisa enjoyed her birthday/Mothers’ Day with friends, although she misses her boys and friends at home too.

More info on Grabbers click this link

Monday, May 11, 2015.  Lisa went snorkeling a couple of times today with Connie (Down Time).  I spent most of the day working on this blog.  I hate when it gets so far behind. Tomorrow we will leave early and cross the “Whale Cay Passage”, where you have to actually go out in the Atlantic to continue the trek north.  Even tho’ it is a short run, it can be very hazardous.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015.  Rain overnight, but the wind has subsided at bit. Anchor up at 8am.  Sunny and puffy clouds.75 degrees, wind SE 10-15.  8:45am, we are in the “Whale”.  The wind is East @ 15.  There are 3-4 foot rollers plus a 1 foot chop from the opposite direction.  Interesting.  Manageable.  10am, we are through the “whale” and can see Treasure Cay Beach ahead of us (although that is not where we are going).  1am, On the dock at Leeward Yacht Club, Black Sound, Green Turtle Cay.  82 degrees, wind SE 10-15, still only puffy clouds. 

Lisa and I did laundry, had lunch at Lizards (Restaurant/Bar by the pool) – very nice – food was very good.  Showers and early to bed.

17NM  19SM today.  26°45.72’N  077°19.47’W

More info on Green Turtle Cay click this link

click on this link for pictures for this posting - lots!

Hopetown to Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbor

Sunday, April 19, 2015.  Lisa and deb (Outbound) went shopping.  Kachina and Majestic Phoenix departed this morning.  Hopefully, we will see them again. We then went to the beach.  Outbound and October Moon are already there.  The beach here is beautiful and there are only a few people.  Fran (October Moon) gets knocked down in the surf and lost her prescription sunglasses.  We had a bunch of people looking for them to no avail. Lisa met two people (Cindy and Jean) vacationing here from Ohio, who are crafters and are on the beach looking for sea glass and other materials to make jewelry.  They have been coming here for 17 years and have rented a house.

Dinner was at the Harbor’s Edge Restaurant.  It was the most expensive restaurant we have eaten in here and the food was OK.  I had wings and a Caesar salad and wings.  Small salad and the wings are the smallest I have ever seen.  Lisa had nachos.  While they were tasty, it was the smallest portion I have ever seen.  Mike and Fran said they had only been there for lunch and the prices were more reasonable and the portions larger.  They did have live music and the view is great.

When we got ready to leave, Lisa met with Cindy and Vicki and they were going to out boat to view each others handy work.  Lisa made a necklace out of sea glass and seizing wire this afternoon that came out great.  When they got to the dingy, it was stuck under the dock (tide came in). Mike and Fran’s was stuck also.  Steve went over and freed the dingy for the girls.  Later, he gave me a ride back to Rhiannon.

Nice evening all around.

Monday, April 20, 2015. We are off the mooring at 9:30 and head to the Lighthouse Marina fuel dock.  We had called ahead and the attendant said it was empty, so off we went.  Just as we got there one of the big charter catamarans tried to cut in front of us onto the dock.  He was yelling that he needed water.  The attendant told him he would have to wait his turn and the catamaran motored off not to be seen again. We filled with fuel, water and ice and are off the dock at 10am.  It is partlyt cloudy and 85 degrees.  The wind is S to SW at 15+.  We were heading over to Great Guana, but everything we read says don’t go there if the wind is South or Southwest (no protection).  We opt for Treasure Cay with much better protection.

1:30pm, we pick up a mooring at Treasure Cay.  It is development with golf, condos, houses, timeshares, and a great beach.  It looks more like something you would see in Florida, as opposed to what we have seen so far in the Bahamas.  Outbound arrives a few minutes after we do.  Shine (Scott and Lynn) are here!  We traveled from Atlantic Highlands (Sandy Hook) to North Carolina with them in the fall of 2012.  They stopped in New Bern, NC and bought a condo.  They come by the boat to say hello.  Great to see them again!

18NM, 21.4SM today.  26°40.26’N  77°16.93’W

Jim and Judy Foster called and they are going to come for a visit.  We traveled with them our first year heading south (Tug-a-Long).  Last year they came for a visit in Marathon.  They will fly into Marsh Harbor on Saturday.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015. Wind out of the SW, 85 degrees, very humid, looks like rain.  We walked over to the beach and met up with Scott and Lynn and had a late lunch.  Afterward, we are back at the boat for the rain and are trying to find some boat insurance that will allow us to leave the boat in Florida at a reasonable price.  A catamaran comes in with 19 people on boat – 4 adults and 15 scouts.  They are sailing for a week.  Neat experience for them.  They are all from the Boston area. Dinner with Outbound at Tipsy’s (the bar at the pool).  Pizza and burgers.  Food was OK. We gave Steve and Deb a ride in as they are having fuel line issues with the outboard on their dingy.  Another spare to add to the list (hose from the tank to the outboard). Still overcast and looking like rain.  Wind has died completely. Rain overnight.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015.  Outbound left for Green Turtle today.  October Moon is leaving from Hopetown for Green Turtle.  We heard from Tintean, who we traveled with north last year and they are in Green Turtle.  Popular place.  Lisa and I went shelling this morning and got quite a nice collection of small sand dollars and some other shells suitable for making jewelry.  We had dinner at Coco’s on the beach and when we left we forgot the shells.  When Lisa went back to get them, they were gone.  Could not have been 5 minutes.

At 6pm, low tide, we took the dingy up the creek and then walked over to the beach and looked for more shells.  Found quite a few sand dollars and others.  There was also a guy throwing food to flying seagulls, hundreds came! Dinner on board and rain again over night.

Thursday, April 23, 2015. 10am, we drop the mooring at head for Marsh Harbor, PC 80 degrees, wind NE @ 10.  1pm, our macerator for the rear holding tank is not working.  This is the unit that grinds up the waste and pumps it over board when we are at sea.  1:30pm we are on the dock at Harbor View Marina in Marsh Harbor. 

After checking out the macerator pump, one of the screws that holds the pump to the motor is sheared off.  It either happened when the yard in Canada installed the pump or came from the factor that way.  It is also leaking.  I was able to tighten up the other three screws and the pump seems to work.  I will call Jim Foster and have him add a new pump to the list of spares he is bringing on Saturday.

We went to Snappa’s for dinner.  Lisa had fish and I had a chicken kabob.  Both good.  After dinner we took a walk to see a bit of the town.  Not a lot close by the marina (other than restaurants and marinas), but we did find a place to buy ice cream!

Friday, April 24, 2015. Today Lisa spent the day cleaning the interior of the boat and re-storing items that we had taken out, but could be stored so there will be more room when our guests arrive tomorrow.  I went on errands – walked to the hardware store – there are three large ones here, the bank, the liquor store and the grocery (Maxwell’s – it is the largest and best stocked we have seen since coming to the Bahamas). Took a cab back to the marina.

Marsh Harbor is a city and there are lots of cars and traffic.  It is the largest place we have been in the Bahamas (we by-passed Nassau). There is one main road where everything is located and would remind you a bit of Marathon.

Saturday, April 25, 2015. This morning we gave the boat a bath and filled the water tanks.  Jim and Judy Foster arrive this afternoon and then we will head over to Great Guana.

Click on this link to see the latest pictures.

Black Point to Hopetown

Black Point North

Sunday, April 5, 2015. Easter.  We spent Sunday afternoon looking for another conch shell which could be made into a horn.  Greenstone has 4 on board – a bass, a baritone, a tenor and a soprano (sound based on the size of the horn).  We found a nice one, but it will have to be really cleaned.  Dinner at Scorpios’s with Down Time – hamburgers – been a while since we had one of these.  There is supposed to be a gospel concert at the school across from Scorpio’s, but it is late starting and it is looking like rain, so we head be to the boats.

Lady Francis (the “mail” boat) came in and has been here all week-end.  Someone said the captain came home for Easter.

Monday, April 6, 2015.  Rain overnight and the wind gusting from the south.  Pretty comfortable on the anchor where we are.  8am, rain squalls continue, wind S @ 15-20.  9:30 am, squalls pass to the north and the sun is out.  Anchor up, PC, 75 degrees.  Wind SE @ 15.  We are headed to Cambridge Key – sailing – making 6+ knots with just the head sail.

11am another rain squall.  The wind hits 25 knots and we are moving along at 7-8 knots.  We decide to go around the north side of Bell Island to Cambridge Key.  There is on part of the passage that is very narrow, but otherwise it is OK.  There is quite a complex on Bell Island.  It is owned by Aga Kahn, a Pakistani religious leader.  There is a hotel, 3 large houses, and a support complex that looks like 3 large buildings that look like airplane hangers, and a large dock, water processing plant, sewage plant and power station.  Lade Francis is there as we pass by unloading supplies.

2pm we anchor at the south end of Cambridge Key. Greenstone, Saber Tooth and Liesel are here. Rain squalls are still moving through.  At 7pm, we go over to Greenstone for a “movie night” James Bond Sky Fall.  Good James Bond flick.  10pm, we are back at the boat, and it rains again overnight.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015.  We want to dingy across the “cut” to the north end of Compass Cay to Rachel’s Bubble Bath (a pool where the surge from the waves comes up through the porus rocks like a bubble bath) and to Rocky Dundas (where there are caves to explore).  The wind and waves from these high winds make crossing the cut problematic so we may skip those adventures – save them for another trip.  The squalls are still moving through and the wind looks like it will hang around at least another couple of days.

Lisa went snorkeling this morning with Greenstone and Saber Tooth.  In the afternoon, we walk across the south end of Cambridge Cay to Honeymoon Beach with John and Nora (Saber Tooth).  The Coral Gardens are here, which are excellent for snorkeling. However, today it is much too rough.  As we start back across the island, a squall catches us and we are all soaked by the time we get back to the dingys and then back to the boats.  Dinner on board this evening.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015.  We lift the anchor at 8:55am.  Saber Tooth and Greenstone have already departed heading to Warderick Wells.  We follow.  It is sunny, wind SE 10-15.  It is 2 hours before high tide and there is 9 feet of water at Kiss Rock – the shallow spot in the channel at the south entrance to Cambridge Key anchorage.  It is called Kiss Rock because the shallow spot is right next to a small rocky island and many boats “kiss” the bottom here.

We are sailing with the head sail only, making 6+ knots all the way to Warderick.

At 11:10am we are on mooring E14 in the south mooring field.  Down Time, Saber Tooth and Greenstone are already here.  Lots of boats here today.  Lots of charter boats with lots of people on board – all on the beach or walking around Warderick – looks like South Beach, Miami.  After checking in at the Ranger Station, we dingy over to say hello to Greenstone and Saber Tooth and then head to the south end of the island to walk over to the “Pirates Lair”.  There is another anchorage on the east side of the island called Hogs Cay.  It is narrow and almost invisible from  Exuma Sound.  Pirates used to hide in here and wait on ships coming out of the cut to ambush them.  Someone even marked the pirate camp with a large black “X” in the beach. It is actually a beautiful spot, secluded, safe and has a beautiful beach.  Maybe next time we will stay here instead of on the other side of the island.

We found a conch horn in the surf that someone had started, but not finished.  It is about the same size as the one Roger (Down Time) made for Lisa, so we will finish it and add it to the collection.

Dinner on Board with Saber Tooth,  Down Time came over for dessert (Lisa made rice pudding and Nora made her cookies) – and then a game of Mexican Train.

We heard Kachina today on the radio, and then they called on the phone, which surprise, surprise, actually connected.  Phone and internet service are almost non-existent in Exuma Park.  Everywhere else in the Bahamas, we have ,so far, had at least some minimal service.  Kachina is at Norman’s Cay heading to Nassau, and then over to the Abacos overnight on Saturday.  Hopefully, we will catch up with them again.

Thursday, April 9, 2015.  Dropped the mooring at 9:40am.  Partly Cloudy, wind SE @ 10-15.  1:30pm we pick up a mooring at Shroud Cay.  We managed to sail the whole way. Great!  I don’t know why 150 motor yachts want to be on a mooring designed for a 65 foot boat, but many do.  We just watched one pick up the mooring with the crewman hanging upside down from the bow railing with a boat hook to reach it.  Fun to watch!  Non-sense.

Lisa and I went for a dingy ride.  The guide book says only try to do the mangrove creeks at high tide.  The whole center of the island is mangroves.  Now we know why.  I am sure it is very shallow in the mangroves, but even outside as we toured around the island, there are many places that are not passable at low tide.  We went around the north end of the island to an un-named beach.  It was a beautiful spot – limestone rock about 10 feet high bordering a beautiful beach.  One of the prettiest we have seen.  Back to the boat for sunset and dinner on board.

Friday, April 10, 2015. We dingy across the island through the north river.  We started at 10am, mid-tide.  The “river” comes out on the east side of the island at a lovely little beach.  We then climbed the hill to “Camp Driftwood”, which is not a camp, but was at one time.  Lovely spot where you can see both sides of the island.  As we came out of the “river” on the west side of the island, we noticed a large power boat headed up the “creek” nearest Rhiannon.  The guide book says no motorized vessels except in the most northern “river”, but when we motored over, there is a sign saying 3mph speed limit and no jet skis.  Sure enough we are passed by 2 jet skis going full throttle.  This creek actually runs into the “river”, but also ends on the east side of the island at a “cul-de-sac” where you can walk over to yet another beach – nice.  We finally get back to Rhiannon at 2 pm.  Too much sun!  Saber Tooth and Greenstone are here and soon we see then coming from the north “river” in their dingys.  We get to visit with them for a bit.

Saturday, April 11, 2015.  7:40am, we drop the mooring.  Wind SE 10-15, but it was much stronger overnight.  Sunny, 75 degrees.  Saber Tooth and Greenstone have already departed for Cape Eleuthera and we can see them in the distance.  We are headed for Current Cut on the NW corner of Eleuthera.  8am fore sail out – making 6 knots.

Kachina is in Nassau. Down Time has decided to stay in the Exumas for a while.  Adagio is in Black Point and is meeting Jen’s parents in Staniel Cay on the 21^st for her birthday and Joellen’s.

2:30pm.  The wind dies and we motor sail.  The tack of the main is loose (again), so we tie it down.  We are going to have to come up with a better solution. Somewhere about where we are now, we leave the Exumas and are back in Eleuthera.

4pm, we furl the main.  Motoring, no wind, sunny 85 degrees.  The seas here at the top end of Exuma Sound are rolly.

5pm, we turn into Current Cut.  The tide is with us, so an easy transit.  This is a bit like Wood’s Hole, rocky, lots of current, and you don’t want to go through against the current if you don’t absolutely have to.

5:15pm, we are anchored at North Beach on the west side of Current Cut.  Calm here, no current either. 

To our west is a catamaran that is low in the water and being towed toward Spanish Wells.  Not good.

58NM, 70SM today. 25°24.75’N  076°47.37’W

Rain clouds gathering at sunset.

Sunday April 12, 2015. Showers overnight.  Anchorage is calm.  We are on the west side of Current Cut Settlement and there are some nice houses here along the beach.  We have breakfast and the anchor is up at 10am.  Sunny 80 degrees, wind SE @ 5-10.  Noon, Partly Cloudy, some look like they contain rain.  As we are entering Spanish Wells, we see the catamaran again, still being towed and very low in the water.  It looks like it is being towed to shallow water. 

At 1:30pm we meet Treadwell (Dockmaster) on the dock at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven.  The cruising guide says the marina is being re-constructed, but what is being built is a restaurant and some hotel units, which look like they will be very nice when completed – sort of like those at Staniel Cay.  15NM, 18SM today.  25°32.46’N  076°45.37’W.

It is Sunday and everything except the marinas and the restaurants are closed. We have a late lunch at the Shipyard, a new restaurant at the far east end of the island, very nice.  The food and the view were good. We rented a golf cart and toured the island, as well as Russell Island, which is connected by a bridge.  Spanish Wells is a pretty town.  Russell Island is more rural.

We had dessert for dinner at Anchor Snacks – excellent apple pie ala mode.

Monday April 13, 2015. We made use of the golf cart to run errands – The Ponderosa Shell Shop (Delroy Sweeting) – third generation – bought a beautiful conch horn that his grandfather still makes.  Delroy collects license plates from all over the Bahamas, so if you are somewhere and find one, he will appreciate it.  Pinders Marine and Hardware for epoxy, a plug for the dingy and other stuff they didn’t have.  Allisha was very helpful.  Dave’s Dive Shop for charcoal for the head vent – none, but they did have fresh eggs.  Then the bank, grocery (a good one here), propane, gas, diesel, water.  We had lunch at Buddha’s 9no conch salad – have to come back after 2pm.  Used to be a small “snack shack” in a converted school bus, and then he managed to get a license to sell liquor and open a bar (Spanish Wells used to be dry).  His business now takes up what used to be his whole back yard.  The availability of liquor on the island spawned the Shipyard restaurant and the one being built at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven.  We went back for dinner and Lisa got her conch salad.  Our waitress was Allisha (from Pinders Marine).

The people at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven have been very helpful.  Treadwell is the dockmaster as went out of his way for whatever we needed.  Angie is the secretary, shes about 80, and has been friendly and spent time telling Lisa a bit of the island.

The catamaran that was having issues actually went aground on the east side of Current Island.  They had anchored overnight there (on the lee shore), their anchor drug, and they went aground stern first onto the rocks.  The couple was rescued by the mail boat.  The Catamaran is now sitting on the “lift” at R&B Marine.  The rudders and props and shafts are gone.  There are now big patches in both hulls.  While at dinner at Buddhas, we saw a couple at the next table we recognized from Lorraine’s in Black Point.  Turns out it is their catamaran!  They have not seen the boat since they were rescued.  They said it was seriously taking on water when they left the boat.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015.  We are off the dock at 7:30am with the assistance of Dennis for the next slip.  He and Alli are care taking a Bahamian Smack that has been completely re-done.  Beautiful!  No issues getting out of the convoluted channel heading north. Sunny, 75 degrees, the wind is East at 15-20 and there are big rollers (Kachina warned us) – we are crossing a stretch of the North Atlantic and the water here is 9000 feet deep!

10am - wind has lessened, not as rough, but still those big ocean rollers.

3pm – the tachometer has stopped working.  We were warned that this might happen with the solar panels, as the batteries can get “over-charged”, causing the alternator to shut down.  The tachometer actually runs off alternator.

3:30pm – the engine is stalling.  The last time this happened, we finally had to have the fuel “polished” and the fuel tank cleaned. 

4:14pm – we are through Little Harbor Cut and the anchor is down at Lynyard Cay.  Sunny, 85 degrees, wind E@10-15.

55 NM, 66SM today.  26°21.81’N 076°59.12’W

Wednesday, April 15, 2015.  Tax Day.  Sunny, wind SSE 15+.  Rain clouds to the west of us.Boat chores this morning.  Now that the batteries have been used all night, the tachometer is again working, as the alternator is putting out electricity.  We do have a spre alternator on board, if needed.  We changed the primary fuel filter (Racor) and the secondary (on the engine).  Hopefully, that will “cure” the engine stalling. We also cleaned out the A/C water strainer, as the A/C is complaining.  The generator now won’t start, and we find a lead to the fuel pump that has disconnected itself.  Rough seas causing all this?

We raise the anchor at 12:50pm and head over to Tilloo Pond.  Adagio has told us there are lots of sea turtles there.  We arrive at 2pm, and get an anchor down.  It is a bit choppy, and we decide to wait for the morning to go snorkeling.  We can still see heavy rain to the west, but it doesn't get here.

Thursday, April 16, 2015.  Cloudy at sunrise, but the clouds are dissipating.  Wind SSE@10.  This morning we went snorkeling at Tilloo Pond.  On the way in to the pond, we saw four sea turtles.  Once inside the pond, we “dingy drift”  (hang on to the dingy and snorkel) the entire length of the pond and did not see one turtle.  The water in the pond is murky. Once back to the boat, we showered on the stern and worked on getting this blog updated.

At 2pm, we lift the anchor and head toward Hopetown.  The water is very skinny there and we plan to get through that water at mid-tide with the tide rising.  It is now sunny, 80 degrees, the wind SE@5.  We can see rain in the distance and it looks like we are sailing straight toward it.  It is a convoluted course to get there, around a couple of large sand banks, and as we go, the rain seems to be passing to our north.  We get a couple of sprinkles, but that’s all.  At 4:30, the skies have cleared and as we approach Hopetown, we see Majestic Phoenix anchored.  We call on the VHF and find out they just arrived from Nassau.  Once inside the harbor, we see Kachina on a mooring.  There is no place to anchor here, but lots of moorings and we find one.  Capt. Jack (owns a restaurant of the same name) was going to hold one of his for us, but none came available.  11NM 13.2SM today.  26°32.25’N  076°57.52’W

Hopetown is a beautiful spot.  It reminds one of New England, small quaint wood houses like you would see in Oak Bluffs on the Vineyard.  We meet Phil and Joanne from Majestic Phoenix and Kachina at Capt. Jacks for dinner.  Very nice time.  Trivia night.  Some of the questions were very obscure.  Afterward, we went to Munchies for ice cream.  The whole town closes up at 7pm, except for the restaurants, and even those are clearing out.

Friday, April 17, 2015.  We walk over to the beach (about 150 feet from the dingy dock) and spend some time walking the beautiful beach.  Benny found another sea bean (a sea heart) and gave it to Johanne.  If you have one on your boat, it is supposed to keep it from sinking - one more boat safe!  Then it's on the Capt. Jack's for refreshment. At 4:30, we all met at the light house to climb the 102 steps to the top, then back to the boat to prepare for tonight's pot luck dinner on-board Kachina.

Click this link for more info on Hopetown and the Lighthouse.

Lisa made her carrot, cucumber and onion salad with Chinese sauce - mmmm good.  The dinner was nice, but the rains came, so everyone headed home relatively early.

Saturday, April 18, 2015. This morning, our cockpit is full of people and there are 6 dingys tied to our stern.  Outbound (Steve and Deb) have arrived.  Phil (Majestic Phoenix) stops by to see if we want to rent a golf cart and go exploring, Mike and Fran (October Moon, who we met in Vero Beach 2 years ago) stop by, Child's Play (Dan and Judy, Marshfield, MA) also stop by too.  So does Kachina (on their way to rent bicycles).

Later, around noon, we rented a golf cart with Majestic Phoenix (Phil, Johanne and Cricket) and drove to the south end of the island to Tahiti Beach.  Some beautiful scenery and homes along the way, but the beach was just OK.  The rains came again and we drove the golf cart under one of the newly constructed houses to wait it out.  Then on to On Da Beach for liquid refreshment.  We managed to get back to the boat before the rain started again.  Dinner was with Outbound (Steve and Deb) and October Moon (Mike and Fran), at the Hopetown Inn and Marina. Very nice evening.  We are moored just across the channel from the Harbor Edge Restaurant.  Tonight they have a live band.  Music is good.

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