Black Point to Marsh
Harbor 2016
Tuesday, April 12,
2016. 8am. Heavy clouds, looks like
rain, 80 degrees, wind ENE 10-15. We are
still trying to find out why our outgoing email is not working. We called BTC and talked to yet another person
about the problem. She was understanding
and called technical support, who said that it was not a BTC issue if we can
get online and if we receive email. We
called Metrocast again and finally reached someone who at least provided an
explanation. We send out a lot of email
when we update the blog to let people know it has been updated. When the Metrocast system sees those emails,
it thinks they could be spam, and when those emails originate from an offshore
IP address, the system labels that address as a spammer and will not allow any
further emails to be sent. So the
solution is, when over here, I must get onto the wifi email for Metrocast in
order to send out those bulk emails. Not
what I wanted to hear, but at least I know the answer.
10am. We hear from Down Time, Saber Tooth and Greenstone. They are in Cambridge Cay and will be there
until Thursday. We lift the anchor and
head north. As we turn into the south
entrance of Cambridge Cay, the engine begins to bog down. Time to change the fuel filters. The primary filter is only 2 microns and the
good news is it picks almost everything including water out of the fuel. The bad news is it gets stopped up sooner
than a filter with larger “holes” would.
2pm Jaz is already here and
helps us onto the mooring. Nice to have
help in case the engine quits all together, but it does not. 8 boats here
(including 2 mega yachts) and more come in before nightfall. 21.5 miles today. 24°18.17’N
076°32.40W
Lisa went to the beach with Jaz, Down Time (Roger and Connie), Saber Tooth and Greenstone and
folks from the 2 mega yachts. I am nursing
this toe I messed up yesterday and stay aboard.
The cellular booster seems to be working as we have a good signal. Jim and Judy Foster inquired about visiting
us again this year. We discussed some
possible dates and will see if it works out.
Dinner on board and then cocktail hour at 6:30 aboard Jaz (Chris and Margaret) with Greenstone (Bob and Judy), Saber Tooth (John and Nora), Down Time (Roger and Connie) and Lisa
and I. Nice evening and early to bed.
Wednesday, April 13,
2016. Sunny, 75 degrees, wind East
10-12, a few puffy clouds, a beautiful morning.
The wind is supposed to die off completely, but so far has not. Lisa goes with Jaz in their dingy over to see
the new Down Time. It is a 1978 Irwin 52
that Connie and Roger bought over the summer.
Roger buys older boats and fixes them up and resells them. This is another project, but he says they
will keep this one. Green Stone, Saber Tooth and Down
Time have delayed their departure for Eleuthera until tomorrow, so we will
get to spend a bit of time with them today.
I spent the bulk of the day changing the primary filter (Racor) and the
filters on both the engine and the generator.
It has been about 150 hours since the last change and they are obviously
due.
Majestic Phoenix comes
in about 3pm. Nice to see Joanne and
Phil again. Our cell phone booster seems to be working as we get “No Service”
without it and 3 or 4 bars of service with it.
Nice. Jaz comes over to make some phone calls using it.
Jim and Judy Foster called and they will not be able to come
for a visit while we are in the Bahamas.
We will miss seeing them. Maybe
we will stop on the way to New Hampshire from Brunswick for a visit.
6:30pm cocktails and sunset on the beach, then back to the
boat. Down Time, Green Stone and Saber
Tooth are heading to Eleuthera tomorrow morning early. We hope to cross paths again in Spanish Wells
in a couple of weeks. The solar lights on the stern are attracting small fish,
which attracts larger fish and seagulls, which attracts sharks – all right off
our stern! The smashed big toe is doing much better thanks to Nurse Lisa (she
actually is a BSN,RN). Hopefully it will
be ok for a snorkel tomorrow.
Thursday, April 18, 2016.
7:30am wind E at 15. Sunny, 70
degrees. Greenstone, Saber Tooth and Down
Time leave for Eleuthera. 9am, Lisa Chris and Phil snorkel around the small
islands (One known as Bonsai Island as it has one small tree). 11:30am drop the mooring and head to the next
cay to the south. 12:00pm, anchor down
at Fowl Cay next to Rocky Dundas. Wind
SE at 5-10. Some surge here from the
ocean here. It would not be a good spot
for overnight, but ok for the exploration of the cave at Rocky Dundas. Very neat coral outside of the caves. There are stalactites and stalagmites in
these caves, which shows that the caves were here before there was water
here. 30,000 years ago all of the Bahama
Bank was above water. Both caves are
very neat. The southern one has a shelf,
so at low tide you can actually around in it.
Both caves have holes in the roof allowing a lot of light inside.
There is a crashed twin-engine Aero-Commander on the beach
of Fowl Cay, where there is also an airstrip.
As the story goes, the plane was on the way to Staniel Cay and had to
declare an emergency as the cockpit filled with smoke. The pilot tried to land
at Fowl Cay, but the runway was too short and the plane went off the end and
into the ocean. It was drug back onto the beach, and there it sits. Fowl Cay,
2NM 24°16.48’N 076°32.24’W
1:30pm anchor up and headed 2 miles east to Compass
Cay. 2:30pm anchor down at Compass
Cay. We took the dingy over to the ocean
side of the island to Rachael’s Bubbles.
This is a pond that at high tide, the waves from the ocean breach the
rocks and splash into the pool. The pool
about 100 feet in diameter and is connected by a creek to the other side of the
island, so the water flows and is not stagnant. Compass Cay, 2NM 24°16.34’N 076°31.50’W
3:30pm anchor up and we head north to Warderick Wells with Jaz and Majestic Phoenix. 5:50pm on
mooring #13 at Warderick Wells. Sunny,
wind NE at 5. 80 degrees. We saw another Adagio as we entered the mooring field. We traveled with and Adagio for a time last year.
Dinner on board. 14NM 24° 23.70’N
076°37.95’W
Friday, April 16,
2016. Lisa and Margaret (Jaz) go for a walk on the beach. At 11am, we go for a snorkel at the Coral
Garden by the ranger station. We worked
on the wiring for the cell phone booster and the wifi booster. Jaz
and Majestic Phoenix come for dinner. Benny made Chicken Lillian.
Saturday, April 17,
2016. High winds are predicted as
another frontal passage is predicted.
Wind is ESE at 15-20+, sunny, 80 degrees. Exuma Park is looking for some items like
rope, glue, etc. We go through the sores
and come up with a dingy load of stuff we really don’t need to continue to
carry around. We finished the wiring
project. There is a sundowner-meet-and-
greet sponsored by the park on the beach.
Sunday, April 18,
2016. Heavy rain overnight. Cool,
cloudy this morning, 50 degrees, wind NE 20+. We moved a bit north in the
mooring field where the water is smooth.
We walked to the Blow Holes on the other side of the island.
This afternoon four charter catamarans came in to the
mooring area. There is about a 2 knot
current moving from north to south and they came in with that current. A lack of experience on the part of the
“captains”, the current, and the narrow
mooring field almost lead to disaster.
The four were very close to each other.
When the first cat turned toward it’s mooring, it was pinned against
another boat. The second cat in the line
tried to avoid the first and almost went aground. The third one almost rear-ended the second
one. We managed to warn off cat #4 and
told them to go outside the mooring area and wait until the first three
settled. The park ranger was trying to
give them directions from the park boat, but all the people aboard all four
boats were Italian, who spoke little or no English. We helped get two of the boats hooked up to
their assigned moorings and finally all four were safely “hooked-up”. Exciting afternoon, luckily only minimal
damage and no one hurt.
Dinner on Majestic
Phoenix.
Monday, April 19,
2016. 8:30am went to the Park Office
with Jaz to check out. Sun and clouds, wind NE at 15+, 75
degrees. A huge cat (maybe 70 feet)
comes in, but did not have a reservation and all the moorings were full. He tried to go out of the mooring field
through the south end, but he’s too wide and it is low tide. Maybe if he consulted a chart???? The ranger tried to call on the radio, but
he’s not answering. He finally gives up
and leaves.
10am off the mooring, wind still NE @ 15+. Foresail out, making 5 knots. Nice sail north
until we get to Hawksbill Cay and turn into the northeast wind to get to the
anchorage.
1:30pm on a park mooring at Hawksbill Cay. Sunny, 75
degrees, wind still NE at 15+.
Hiked across the island with Jaz and Majestic Phoenix
to beach on the eastern side of the island, about 2 miles following a mangrove
creek most of the way. The trail is well
marked with cairns (tapered piles of rocks).
Lisa and Chris (Jaz) hiked to
the top of the hill on the south end of the island. There is a very large cairn there used as a
navigational aid.
Dinner on board – clean out the fridge of leftovers night.
Wind and heavy rain overnight as the front comes through.
15 NM today. 24°28.03’N 076°46.15’N
Tuesday, April 20,
2016. Sunny, wind E at 15+, 75 degrees.
Jaz and Majestic Phoenix meet on Rhiannon
to discuss plans for the next week’s travel.
Saturday looks like a good day for wind and weather to head toward
Spanish Wells (Current Cut) (due north on the eastern end of Eleuthera).
11am Everyone goes for a sail on Jaz. It’s a great sailing boat – 9 knots of speed
in 15 knots of wind. It’s a bit small for
our taste for cruising, but great fun to sail.
12:30pm dropped the mooring, sailing north to Shroud Cay
(also part of Exuma Park). Sunny, wind East at 15+, 75 degrees.
2:30pm anchor down at Shroud Cay. Dream Catcher here. We met them crossing Albemarle Sound in
Virginia two years ago and had dinner with them at Coinjock. They are headed to Nassau then home to the
Chesapeake.
We went with Jaz
and Majestic Phoenix exploring in the
dinghies. We traveled across the island
in the southernmost mangrove river which is wide, but not very deep. When we got to the east side of the island,
we found that the crew of one of the anchored mega yachts had set up a beach
party on the beach – lounge chairs, food, umbrellas, jet skis, paddle boards,
and even drones to play with. Sort of
ruins the mood of paradise.
Dinner on Rhiannon
with Jaz and Majestic Phoenix. Lisa made
eggplant ptarmigan and pasta. Nice.
5NM today. 24°31.88’N 076°47.82’W
Wednesday, April 21,
2016. Wind ENE 20-25. Cloudy this morning, but clearing off later
in the day. Lazy day today. Worked on the blog and started a batch of red
beans and rice. The 4 catamarans loaded
with Italians come in, but here there is plenty of room and we are far
away. Jaz made a vegetarian dinner and we ate aboard Majestic Phoenix.
Thursday, April 22,
2016. Sun and clouds, 78 degrees,
wind East at 20+, saw gusts to 28 last night.
The wind is forecast to ease by tomorrow. Cool overnight, we had to put the quilt back
on the bed. Worked on Jaz’s outboard’s
fuel leak. Looks to be the fuel
pump. We walked the beach and followed a
trail along one of the creeks. We had
dinner on Rhiannon with Jaz and Majestic Phoenix – Jim Bade’s Red Beans and
Rice. Jim was Lisa and I’s Best Man and
passed on 5 years ago. We still miss
him.
Jim Bade’s Red Beans & Rice
Ham
bone
1
½ pounds of ham
4
stalks of celery
3
- 4 cloves of garlic (more if you really like garlic)
2
large onions (Vidalia, red or other "sweet onion) - 3 cups
2
sprigs of fresh parsley
3
cups of pinto beans
pinch
of baking soda
salt
and pepper
4-5
tablespoons of ham or bacon fat
3
- 4 bay leaves
rice
1
cup chopped green onions
Place
3 cups (about 1 and 1/21bs) of pinto beans (dry beans) in 10-12 cups of water.
Add a
pinch
of baking soda (reduces acidity). Salt to taste - generally it is not necessary
to add
salt
if using ham - be careful not to over salt! Let stand at least 12 hours. You
can also
use
canned beans (GOYO pinto beans) - about 3 - 4 cans.
Place
4 - 5 tablespoons of ham or bacon fat in frying pan. Cut up ham into 2 inch
cubes
and
render (brown) in the fat. Also cut as much ham off the bone as possible. Place
rendered
ham, ham bone, and beans in a large pot.
Dice
4 stalks of celery (including tops).
Chop
garlic cloves.
Dice
onions.
Chop
parsley.
Sauté
vegies in grease from rendering the ham until soft. Put vegies in with the
beans. Add bay
leaves.
Cover with water.
Cook
over very low heat for 3 to 8 hours - stirring (especially the bottom of the
pot!)
every
20 minutes. Add water as required to keep mix liquid.
Cook
rice according to package directions.
When
done, if gravy isn't thick enough, crush some of the beans on the side of the
pot and mix in.
Add
salt and pepper to taste (usually doesn't need any).
Serve
over rice with French bread. Sprinkle chopped green onions over the
serving. Serve with Trappeys Hot Pepper
Sauce (hot peppers in vinegar) or other hot sauce on the side.
Enjoy!
Friday, April 22,
2016. Anchor up at 8am. Partly cloudy, wind SE 10-12, 75 degrees. Wind was very strong overnight, but eased
about 4am, currently SE at 15-20, so the sail will be all downwind. 10:30am anchor down at Highborne Cay. Wind still SE at 15-20. Jaz and
Majestic Phoenix already here. 11:30am, we dingy in to the marina for fuel
and water (in jerry cans). We visit the
store for some groceries. The marina, store
and restaurant are very nice, but expensive. Dockage is $2.75 a foot plus water and
electric. At 3pm, a seaplane lands in
the anchorage with passengers for one of the mega yachts anchored here. Dinner on board. 15 miles today, 24°43.01’N
076°49.84’N
Saturday, April 23,
2016. Anchor up at 8:30am. Partly
cloudy, 75 degrees. Wind has gone South
at 10. The wind came up again at 10pm
last night and another night of rocking and rolling in the anchorage, but it
looks like the wind has finally let up. Both Shroud and Highnorne allow the
waves and surge to “wrap around” the south end of the island, which means the
waves come at you from the south and the wind is coming from the east. The boat sits facing the into the wind (or
the current) when on a mooring or at anchor, so we sat facing east with waves
coming at us from the side (south), which makes for a very uncomfortable night
with the boat rolling from side to side.
10:45am We are motor sailing with only 8 knots of wind from
the south (right on our stern as we continue north). We pass Beacon Cay and head north across the
Banks (avoiding the many coral heads). We are out of the Exumas and headed to
Current Cut on the east end of Eleuthera.
It is similar to going through the Annisquam River or Woods Hole –
narrow cuts with a lot of current as the tide moves through – so, you try to
time it so that you pass through at slack tide.
Ideal time today is about 5:30pm.
1:30pm Passing Finley’s Cay, which is a huge sand bar
(called a sand boar in the Bahamas) south and west of Eleuthera. Sunny and a
few cumulus clouds forming in the west.
Thunderstorms are predicted. Wind
South at 10, 80 degrees, sailing making 5 knots. Heard Saber
Tooth on the VHF, but couldn’t raise them.
Jaz caught a 3 foot barracuda, but released it. They also saw a
porpoise, which are few in the Bahamas because there are few fish that they
feed on.
2:30pm Heard Down Time
on the VHF, they are going through current cut.
We are about 18 miles away.
2:50pm Wind down to less than 7 knots and we are only making
2 knots headway. Sails in, motor
on. Hot today, 85 degrees.
5:30pm Current Cut more or less on schedule.
6:00pm Anchor down east of Current Cut (north side) with Jaz and Majestic Phoenix. 48NM
today. 25°24.70’N 076°47.46’W
Saber Tooth, Greenstone and Down Time are anchored behind Meek’s Patch, an island just south of
Spanish Wells). We hope to see them
tomorrow. They have been cruising
Eleuthera since we last saw them in Cambridge Cay. Dinner on board. Thunderstorms dissipated, but we did get some
rain overnight. Interestingly enough,
the wind was from the south when we entered Current Cut and from the west on
this side.
Sunday, April 24, 2016.
8:30am. Wind North@10, Sunny, puffy clouds. It was rocky in the anchorage for a while
last night, but the wind died off completely overnight. Anchor up, heading north to Spanish Wells.
10:30am On the dock at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. They have almost completed the rebuilding of
this facility, new docks, electrical, water, condos, restaurant, laundry, admin
building, showers, nice! Sunny, 80
degrees, wind NW at 10. Jaz, Majestic Phoenix, Aurora (met in Warderick
Wells) here along with several other boats. Aurora
is leaving with a couple of other boats for Royal Island (10 miles east) and
then Nassau and back to the US. Leroy
(Dockmaster) and his brother Treadwell are here to greet us and remember us
from last year. We met Dennis and Bart (Lighten Up – a 65 foot sportfish) and he
gave everyone some Mahi, Nice!
12 NM today. 25°32.47’N 076°45.36’W
We walked with Jaz
and Majestic Phoenix up to Budda’s
for dinner. Since last year they have
added a floor (used to be gravel) and another covered seating area (also with a
floor). It is 2 for 1 happy hour and some of the patrons a very happy! Click on
this link for more info on Budda’s https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g5785959-d6725864-r241899648-Budda_Snack_Shack-Spanish_Wells_Eleuthera_Out_Islands_Bahamas.html
Greenstone, Saber
Tooth and Down Time come in to
the mooring filed at the east end of the island.
Monday, April 25,
2016. Partly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind NE 10-15. We rented a golf cart and
go with Majestic Phoenix to Pinder’s Gas Station to get propane tanks refilled.
They cannot refill them and we find out later that someone complained about
safety concerns around the process Pinder’s uses to refill the tanks. So, they have suspended operations. That’s an issue, because most of the stoves
on the Spanish Wells and neighboring Russell Island are propane. We then went to Spanish Wells Marine to get
fuel in the jerry cans and then to the grocery.
It’s a good thing we rented a 6 passenger cart, because we had us, Majestic Phoenix and Jaz and all our groceries to carry back
to the boat. We also visited Kathy’s
bakery (acrtoss from the grocery) for Bahamian Bread and carrot cake. Afterwards, we sat by the new pool for a bit
and then Lisa, Majestic Phoenix and Jaz all went exploring in the cart. I stayed behind and replaced a faulty 110
volt outlet in the cockpit. Jaz had dinner on Majestic Phoenix and we went to The Shipyard to meet Greenstone, Down Time and Saber Tooth. We also met John’s daughter Elise, who is
visiting (Saber Tooth).Very nice
evening. We stopped at Pappa Scoops on
the way back to the boat for ice cream.
Tonight’s flavors are Vanilla and Red Cream Sherbert.
Click here for more info on Papa Scoops https://www.facebook.com/Papas-Scoops-228516510493302/
Tuesday April 26,
2016. Sunny 70 degrees, cool NE wind
15+. Chores today (laundry, boat bath,
interior cleaning). Took the cart on a
tour of Russell Island and went to lunch at The Sand Bar where Lisa and I met Jaz (Chris and Margaret), Majestic Phoenix (Phil and Joanne), Down Time (Roger and Connie along with
Connie’s sister Carla, and parents Roy and Billie), Saber Tooth (Nora and John and John’s daughter Elise), and Greenstone (Bob and Judy). Quite a loud
group.
After lunch we did some shopping on the island and stopped
at Delroy Sweeting’s Ponderosa Shell Shop.
We met Delroy last year and since then he has gotten in to
photography. He is doing a Spanish Wells
calendar, photos to frame and notecards, beautiful stuff, as is everything in
his shop. Well worth the stop if you are
in Spanish Wells. Click here for more
info on Ponderosa Shell Shop https://www.facebook.com/SpanishWellsPonderosaShellShop/
Dinner and a movie (Captain Ron) on board Majestic Phoenix. Ice cream at Papa Scoops, which is only open
in the evenings. Tonight’s flavors are White
Chocolate and Cherry. Ummmm!
Wednesday, April 27,
2016. Sunny, cool, 70 degrees. Wind NE at 10. Majestic
Phoenix headed to Nassau this morning, then back to the US. Saber
Tooth and Greenstone headed the
same direction. Elise (John’s daughter,
Saber Tooth) is flying home from Nassau.
Down Time is staying in
Spanish Wells for a few more days to visit with Connie’s parents. Jaz
and us are off the dock @ 8:30am headed for the Abacos. Once we clear the headland , there are big
ocean rollers and a chop on top of that.
Wind NE at 10 and we are motor sailing.
2pm Wind has gone into the east and the chop has
subsided. The rollers are probably 10
feet but widely spaced so the sail is more comfortable. We are sailing at 6+ knots.
4pm Little Harbor in the Abacos. Can’t raise Pete’s Pub on the radio to see if
there is any room inside the harbor and it is low tide anyway, so we can’t get
in (only 4 feet at the harbor entrance at low tide. The anchorage outside the
harbor is very rolly from the ocean waves and surge, so we head a couple of
miles north to Laynard Cay. As we
approach the anchorage, 3 sailing charters come in. They are milling about, weaving in and out of
the anchored boats, trying to find a perfect spot. There is 5 miles of beach here, so not sure
why they are trying to anchor close to others.
They manage to cut us off twice, so we circle out and wait until they
get settled.
5pm, anchor down and we are in the Abacos. Many boats are
here, but little wind and no waves, nice and flat. Jaz already here. We met Pushkar, a nice young couple out
cruising for the first time. Providence and Carrie Mae are here. We met
them last trip. 56NM today. 26°21.43’N
076°59.14’W. Dinner on board.
Thursday, April 28,
2016. Sunny, wind SE at 10. 75 degrees. Perfect. We took the dingy over
to Jaz and then took Jaz over to
Little Harbor. Lisa has been wanting to
visit here because the sculptor Randolph Johnston, who worked primarily in
bronze. He set up his foundry and studio
in the out-of-the-way spot. His son Pete
and grandson Greg are carrying on the art.
Click here for more information http://www.petespub.com/
We walked across the island to the beach and found some sea
beans.
Jaz found 2 hamburger beans and one purse bean and we sound a couple
of golf ball beans and a hamburer bean.
The pub is a neat spot, but we opt to head back to the boat. We lifted the anchor at 2pm and travel 10
miles north to the north end of Tiloo Island.
4pm anchor down. 10NM today. 26°28.23’N
076°59.54’W. Dinner on board with
Jaz.
Friday, April 29,
2016. Sunny, wind esat at 5-10. 75 degrees.
Another beautiful morning. 11am,
anchor up and heading a few miles north to Hopetown. Our VHF is acting up again. For some reason it does not like channel 68,
which is the primary channel used in the Abacos. We have a new radio ordered, so when we come
back to the boat after Jeff’s graduation, we will install it.
1pm, on one of Truman’s moorings in Hopetown. Jaz
is already here. His outboard has
completely given up. Hopefully, he can
get a new fuel pump for it. We had lunch
at Capt. Jack’s, went to the grocery. Lisa
and I went for a long walk on the beach – all the way around the north end of
the island. Didn’t realize it was 2
miles! We found four more golf ball
beans, but in tough shape, one hamburger bean, one Sea Pearl and one Beach Pea
(aka Bay Bean). We managed to hitch a
ride with one of the locals (Mary) in her golf cart on the way back.
We found Pink Sands (aka Sands Grapefruit Radler) Beer at
the local liquor store. Bought a
case. We bought a buch of stone crab
claws from a local fisherman and split them with Jaz for dinner. Yum!
10NM today. 26°32.28’N 076°57.62’W
Saturday, April 30,
2016. Cloudy, murky morning. Wind south at 15. Humid, 80 degrees. Breakfast at Capt. Jack’s. Reasonably good food and excellent wifi. Walked the beach, paid bills, worked on the
blog. Walked the beach, then checked out
some of the shops. Tried to have dinner
at the Abaco Inn, but they are closed because they are hosting a wedding. Tried the Hopetown Inn and Marina, but they
too are closed because of a private function (fishing tournament). We wound up back at Capt. Jack’s. Turns out this is the farewell dinner with Jaz.
They are leaving in the morning headed to Green Turtle and then back
towards the US. Showers overnight.
Sunday, May 1,
2016. May Day. Jaz is still here. Decided
to wait until the tide is high this afternoon to try the harbor entrance. Many of the harbors in the Abacos have very
shallow entrances and this is one of them.
We have breakfast with Jaz at
Harbor View. Last time we ate here, the food
was just ok and the prices very high. At
least for breakfast, the prices are reasonable and the food was very good. Jaz
shared sous chicken (a kind of chicken stew) and we had sausage and grits
(yellow grits). Both dishes were
excellent. Jaz went off to church and we walked the
town, had an ice cream and met them after the church service. We said our farewells again, and then watched
them sail away. Such is the nature of
cruising. Hopefully, we will cross paths
with them again.
Dinner on board. Mahi
from Dennis (Lighten Up) in Spanish
Wells.
Monday, May 2, 2016. Another
murky morning, but clears later. Wind SW @ 15-20. Heard from Down Time. They are headed to Treasure Cay. There is
supposed to be a weather front coming through on Wednesday and they are headed
to a safe harbor. Boat chores
today. Changed the oil and filter on the
engine and the generator, changed the primary fuel filter (RACOR), checked and
cleaned the sea strainers for the sea water on both units, put 12 gallons of
fuel in the tank from jerry cans. The
propane has run out, so we swapped that tank for a full one (we carry two).
Engine hours 2035. Generator hours
1013. Propane changed.
Dinner on board.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016.
Dropped the mooring at 9:30am.
Beautiful day, partly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind SE at 15-20. We are headed to Marsh Harbour, only eight
miles and downwind all the way. Very
skinny water as we leave the harbor as it is just past mid-tide and
falling. 11:30am Passed Jaz headed in the opposite direction. They are headed to Treasure Cay, a very
protected anchorage and marina, to wait out this next storm, due tonight. 12:00 noon, we are tied up in slip 28 at
Harbor View Marina. We will leave the
boat here while we fly home for a couple of week’s for Jeff’s graduation from
Emmanuel College in Boston. The marina
next door (Mangoes Marina) has quite a few boats in it (presumably for the
coming storm), as does this one.
However, Mangoes is shallow and at low tide a couple of the sail boats
are leaning over at what must be an uncomfortable angle.
Lisa and I walked to the hardware store and then across the
street to the marine supply store looking for filters for the drinking water
(hardware store had them) and the holding tank vent filters (no one has them). We had dinner at Snappa’s at the foot of our
dock and then walked to Jamie’s for ice cream.
Click here for a map of Marsh Harbour https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1PJyLU3uR9Q97weOaJComvdlfDSU&hl=en
8NM today 26°32.81’N 077°03.21’W
Wednesday, May 4,
2016. Today was spent doing laundry,
cleaning the boat (inside and out) and stowing items out of the way, making
room for Jeff and Carly when they arrive.
I walked down to the marine store to get chemicals for the head. We had dinner on board.
Thursday, May 5,
2016. Today is a travel day. A taxi picked us up to go to the
airport. The flight (Silver Airways) to
Fort Lauderdale was late, but we had plenty of time to change planes. Fort Lauderdale International has grown a lot
(now four terminals). It took forever to
get through US Customs and Immigration, mainly because there were very few
officers working. Then we had to catch
the shuttle bus from Terminal 4 (International) to Terminal 1 (Southwest). The shuttle let us off at the garage instead
of the terminal, so we still had quite a walk.
Once we got to Terminal 1, we had to go through security again, which
was very crowded. Nothing about flying is
fun anymore. Both Southwest flights were
on time, but as always the flights were absolutely full. Our flight arrived in Manchester, NH, at
11:50. Our son James picked us up and we
were home in bed at 2am – long day.
We will be traveling back to Marsh Harbour on May 22.
