New Providence to Black Point 2018-2019

New Providence to Black Point

Friday, January 18, 2019. 6:45am Off the dock at Wardles’.  Dalmatian too. Carolyn waves goodbye.  Calm, clear 70 degrees, wind NE@10.

7:15am We are outside Coral Harbour and heading toward a waypoint called Norman’s Stake.  Not that many years ago, it was actually a huge stake sticking out of the western end of the reef at Norman’s Cay.  We listen to Ranger do the weather on Channel 72 (Ranger is Nick Wardle) and say good-bye and thank you for the stay.

We have emailed Exuma Park, and asked Cherry to call to see if we can get a couple of moorings for tonight at Warderick Wells. We have not heard from Exuma Park, which probably means that there are no moorings available there.

We have been sailing southeast with both sails, but as we turn more to the north to keep wind in the sails, the wind keeps going more east.  We take in the foresail, and are now motor sailing with just the main out.  We had no trouble with the main so far today.

11:00am, we got an email from Exuma Park saying all the moorings are full.  We decide to head to Shroud Cay and anchor, and then decide where to go next.  There is a significant front passing tomorrow night and we need to get somewhere protected from all directions.

2:50pm Anchor down at Shroud Cay between the moorings and the shore.  Wind ENE but only 5-10.  48NM today.  24°31.96’N  076°47.83’W

4:00pm  We get a call on the VHF from Exuma Park saying they have two moorings available for us and Dalmatian.  We lift the anchor an head south.  Wind is E@15.

6:30pm It is dark as we approach the North Mooring Field at Warderick Wells.  Brent (Park Warden) meets us at the entrance and leads us to our mooring.  The mooring field is not very wide and it is a bit intimidating trying to maneuver it in the dark, even though we have been here many times. Dalmatian is following us and I am sure it was a chilling experience for them – like sailing blind. The wind is now East at 20 and at full tide is running, so picking up a mooring in the dark was a real test. Fun times in paradise!
7:00pm Finally, we are secure on mooring #17 and Dalmatian is hooked up to #19.

15 additional NM for a total of 63NM today. 24°23.58’N 076°38.11’W

Dinner on board, Lisa made shrimp, salmon, rice and peas for dinner.

Saturday, January 19, 2019. Beautiful morning in a beautiful place.  Clear, 72 degrees, wind S@10. Lisa made French toast with Bahamian Coconut bread with real maple syrup and ham for breakfast.

Lisa went for a swim at low tide.  Our mooring is right next to a coral reef.  We saw 8 eagle rays swim by. She also saw a couple of sea turtles and lots of fish while she was swimming.

4:30pm Cocktail hour on the beach.  It looks like most of the boats attended.  We met Graham and Mary (from Scotland, aboard Barracuda).  They sailed over here from Scotland via Portugal and Mediterranean two years ago.

Bill (Providence) is here. Great to see him again.  There is a family with kids here on Amel and another on Bliss (Harry, DarLynne, Celeste and Eden).  We got a chance to talk to Nicola and Joseph (Park Administrators) about their future plans for the park including a new building which will house the workshop, barracks for the Defense Force and housing for more Rangers and guests here doing research.  The excavation has been done and the building has been purchased, it just has to be constructed.  There will be expanded RO water and diesel generator facilities.  The current office building will also house a store and maybe a small restaurant.  You can definitely see changes here.  Everything is cleaner, the old sailboat on the dock is gone, there is a new warden’s boat, new moorings, and now fees for anchoring anywhere in the park. Everything is ship-shape.  According to Joseph, the park had more than 100,000 visitors last year.  Fund raising has been increased.  There is a big fundraiser at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2. www.bnt.bs/ashore

View from the Park Office, Warderick Wells

We had dinner on board, sausage, peas and rice.

Music for the Sundowner on the beach at Warderick Wells

 Sunday, January 20, 2019. Very windy overnight.  Wind and seas opposed.  At one point, our stern was pointed into the wind. Clear this morning, but still very windy. 

We walked with Dalmation up Boo-Boo Hill.  At the top is a huge pile of driftwood (and some other items), each with the name of a boat and the year it visited here.  The hill is haunted, hence the name, and when the wind is right you can hear the Banshees screaming.  You leave a piece of driftwood with your boat name to protect it from the evil spirits. We found our sign from previous years and will add this year to it and return it to the hill. A couple of years ago, a hurricane blew much of the driftwood down the side of the hill, but the pile is quite large, maybe 6 feet high and 30 feet long.  Someone has also placed a bench here as a memorial. We found signs for friends Greenstone, Saber Tooth and Summer of 42.

Rhiannon's sign on Boo Boo Hill

Lisa is working on updating and repairing other signs in the park, as she has done almost every time we come here.

Bill (Providence) came by to visit.  He brought ice! And borrowed a bottle of rum.

The weather does not look great for the next few days.  Bill could not find his sign from previous years and so had to make a new one.

As the day progressed, the wind went from the south into the west, but did not let up.

5:00pm Rain, several brief but heavy squalls.

The dinghy may have a slow leak, we hope it is one of the valves.  I dug through our spares and found the spare valve and valve wrench, as well as the patch kits and a new can of glue.  I also found the stainless steel ratchet straps I was looking for the help secure the dinghy on the davits.

The cell phone and Wi-Fi coverage here is almost non-existent.  There is one place next to the park office (where there is a cell phone booster) where you can sometimes get a good connection (depending on lots of conditions, including how many people are there trying to do the same thing!). In years past, the park sold internet time, but not now.  Someone once told us you could make your cell phone a hot-spot, put it in a plastic Jiff jar and hoist it up the mast.  Then (sometimes) you could get a signal.  You could then connect other devices to that hot-spot. We tried that today and actually got a connection! It wasn’t fast, and sometimes the signal faded out, but we were able to get our email and some weather information and Lisa was able to pay a bill.

Lisa made some of the lobster and a salad for dinner.  A very nice day in paradise, even if the weather was not perfect.

While on the internet, we were able to print out Chris Parkers email forecast and the 10-day forecast from Weather Underground.  Mariposa has guests on board they need to get back to George Town (about 75 miles south) for a flight out.  This is a different Mariposa from the catamaran we traveled with on and off for a couple of years.  That Mariposa is in George Town the last we heard.

I made chicken, peas and rice for dinner. At dark we had heavy rain.  Hopefully, it is washing a bunch of salt off the boat. The wind is clocking around from the South to the West to the North overnight. Wind is 25+ plus stronger gusts.

Monday, January 21, 2019. Clear, cool and very windy this morning.  Several boats leave and head from Cambridge Cay (14 NM South).  More arrive to take their place and the moorings (both in the North Mooring Field (where we are) and the South Mooring Field) are full.

Lisa worked on more signs for the Park.  I spent the day typing.

Purdy Suite is here.  Doug and Merri came by to visit.  Merri and Lisa compared their crocheting projects.  Merri was making a swimsuit (not suitable for getting wet) out of very fine yarn.

The wind has died down some this afternoon and gone into the NE, a more comfortable direction.

Lisa went kayaking this afternoon, but the wind is still a bit strong and the current here makes it pretty challenging.

I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner, with a tomato, cucumber and onion salad.

Clouds rolled in just before sunset and the wind picked back up, NE@15-25 gusting 25+.  Rolly and bouncy overnight as the tide changes.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019. Partly cloudy, still windy, wind went SE now S.  Between the wind and the full moon, the tidal currents through Warderick Wells mooring field have been wicked.  75 degrees and with the S and SE wind, very humid.

I spent time today working on the blog. I also fixed the door to the generator compartment.  The trim around the door broke and the door would not stay closed.  Nicola and Joseph are coming to dinner, so we picked up and picked up, cleaned and stowed stuff to neaten the place.  I made sausage cacciatore for dinner.

Lisa spent the day making and repairing signs around the park. A lot of work, but she enjoys it.

The wind continues to howl. 20-25 with gusts to 35, so the venue for dinner was changed to the ranger’s house.  We will bring the cacciatore, wine and some Winter Jack.  Nicola and Joseph will do a salad and the pasta.  They picked us up with one of the Warden’s boats at 5:30 pm.  It was a very enjoyable evening and they delivered us back to Rhiannon at 8:30 pm.

The wind continued all night gusting to 40.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Still windy this morning. Partly cloudy 75 degrees.

Wind NE @ 30+. You can see waves crashing over Warderick Wells at high tide.  The island is at least 30 feet high.

Lisa is again working on signs for the park.                                      

Every so often we get a trickle of water running through the engine compartment.  It is not much, but there’s a leak somewhere, so today I will try to locate it.  I took everything out of the stern lockers and checked every through hull and every hose clamp, deck drains, everything.  No leaks.

Next, I checked the sea strainers for both engines (main and generator) I found one loose clamp on the back side of the sea strainer for the generator.

Bill Roy (Providence) came to dinner.  I made Chicken Lillian.  We opened a bottle of the TOFKA Toffee vodka and really enjoyed it as our dessert.

Thursday, January 24, 2019. Mostly cloudy, although it clears later in the day.

Windy SE@10-15.

We went in to the office, Cherry is back,  we had items for her – vitamins-etc. and some condensed milk for ice cream maker we gave her last year.  She has purchased some yarn and brought it for Lisa.  We settle or account.  They gave us a 4 night credit for the 4 days Lisa worked on signs.  We tried to make some calls.  The only place that has service at Warderick is at the stairs leading from the office to the beach.  There is a booster there, but the coverage is not great. And there are always lots of people trying to get a connection.  The park used to have some WI-FI service, but no longer because it was too expensive.

We walked up to Boo-Boo hill and replaced Rhiannon’s drift wood sign – now updated with 2019.  We also found Saber Tooth, Greenstone and Summer of 42 signs.

After returning to the boat. I tried to find the leak in the tube of the dingy. I was going to replace the valve but when I unscrewed it, part fell into the tube.  I thought it was held in place with glue, but no, just the pressure from screwing the front outside the tube) to the back (inside the tube).  So, it is now almost dark and while we have a spare valve, we hoisted the dingy onto the davits. We are going to Cambridge Cay tomorrow, so we will get a tow to the beach and hopefully fix the dingy.

We know there are going to be break-downs, repairs and maintenance to do when you live on a boat for months at a time.  None of these boats were engineered for the kind of use they get.  On the other hand, those issues, the lack of communication and the weather, it sometimes gets overwhelming and today was such a day. 

We talked about going home for the season over dinner.  Dinner was left over spaghetti and sausage cacciatore.  The wind finally died down to SE@10 overnight.

Friday, January 25, 2019. Up early.  Mostly clear as the sun rises.  The wind is still SE@10.  Talked to Joseph in the Park Office about places to get the dinghy fixed – or replaced. He had several places he suggested calling.  Brett came out in the new Warden Boat and gave me a ride to shore, so I could sit at the bottom of the office steps and make some calls.  Because it is only 8:00am when I get in, there is no one else there (more bandwidth for me).  I was able to get through to SOS Marine (division of LightHouse Marine in Nassau) and while they sell inflatable boats and outboard motors, they do not service (repair) the boats. I called three other places in Nassau (including Harbourside Marine, who worked on our outboard motor) and the story is the same.  No one knew anyone who repaired an inflatable RIB.  I tried three places in Georgetown and Highbourne Marina with no luck.  I know a guy who will totally rebuild an inflatable in Fort Lauderdale and another in Marathon, but that doesn’t help.  Brett gave me a ride back to Rhiannon.

We said goodbye to Brett for now and thanked him, Joseph and everyone else for their help. Where is Bob (Greenstone) when you need a hug?  We dropped the mooring at 9:30am and headed out with Dalmatian.  We said our goodbyes on the radio to Cherry, Nicola and Joseph.  Even though it was very windy 4 of the 7 days we were here, it was another nice visit.  The folks who work here are great, the place is one of the most beautiful anywhere, and the other cruisers we met were very nice and interesting people. Providence is a few minutes ahead of us.  Bill is heading to Staniel Cay for provisions, fuel, water, etc.

11:45am We went around Bell Island and in the North Entrance to Cambridge, ever mindful of Dalmatian’s 7 foot draft. The island is owned by Aga Kahn, a Pakistani religious leader who was educated and lives in London. It has three large houses, a small hotel for guests, a conference center, a large dock and warehouse, paved roads, an electric plant, a RO water facility and a sewer plant, and several beachfront facilities. I always wonder if the average Muslim in Pakistan, who is paying his tithe every week, knows where his money actually goes.

2:30pm As we enter the mooring area, Dave and Alexandra (volunteer wardens here on Banyan) come over to greet us and help us get secured to the mooring.

After lunch, Tom and Mary Lou come over.  Tom and I tow our dinghy to shore for repairs.  Mary Lou and Lisa work on crocheting.  Once on shore, we are able to retrieve the inside-the-tube half of the valve.  We put some butyl tape around the seal on the outer half of the valve and with Tom holding pressure on the inner half, after two tries, we are able to marry the two ans screw them down tight.  Yeah!  We found one other small leak in an abrasion on the top of the tube, but no other leaks. We re-glued some patched on the side of the dinghy where it rubs on Rhiannon’s back stay when being hoisted up on the davits for travel. I also cleaned some very small barnacles off the bottom.  Not many though, considering how much the dinghy has sat in the water so far on this trip.  It is getting late, so we re-inflated the dinghy and tow it back to Rhiannon.  Tomorrow, I will put a patch on the abrasion that is leaking, one that looks like it could leak and an area on the bow where the dinghy rubs on the davits.

There are 8 boats here tonight. Wind N@!), skies partly cloudy.  Squalls and rain on the horizon north and west of here.

Dinner on board – left over Chicken Lillian – it may be better as left overs.

14NM today.  24°18.16’N  076°32.40’W

Saturday, January 26, 2019. Calm overnight.  Beautiful morning.  Wind Winds go East @ 10, 75 degrees.  Lisa went kayaking and then later defrosted the forward refrigerator.  I put 4 new patches on the dinghy, one to cover an abrasion that is leaking air, a second to cover and abrasion so that it does not become a leak and two on the bow to cover an abrasion that is caused by the dinghy rubbing on the davits. I checked all the patches and the valve and there are no leaks.

12:30pm We went to the beach by the “blue hole” at the south end of the anchorage. Dalmatian was there as was Hemisphere and Mahi (Carla,           and their grandson       ). We rode over with Dalmatian as we are waiting on the patches on our dinghy to dry (3-4 hours say the instructions).

Lisa rode over in her kayak, towed by Dalmatian’s dinghy along with Mary Lou’s paddle board.  On board we also had an ice chest, an air mattress, 2 different types of blow up chairs.  We were trying to keep up with all the toys deployed by the 150 foot mega yacht Loon on the mooring ball next to us. They have two shade umbrellas and a hot tub on deck, plus a blow up dock/swimming pool that is about 30 feet square with 4 huge blow up lounge chairs, 4 jet skis, 2 paddle boards, a super slide from the 4^th deck to the water, and a 35 foot center cockpit for a tender.

2:30pm The sky is darkening all around us.  We picked up all the toys and headed back to the boats – about ½ mile.  Everywhere in Cambridge is now a no wake zone, but that wasn’t an issue for us towing and loaded as we were.  Also the wind came out of the north, so it was right in our face along with about a 2 foot chop.  Good thing we were already soaked!  We got very close before it started to rain. 

Back on board, warm showers felt great.  The wind came up more and the rain came down heavily for about 1 ½ hours.  The wind was E@20-25 gusting 40+.

5:00pm The rain is letting up, but the wind continues E@15-20+.  Still overcast as it gets dark.  I made eggs and kielbasa for dinner.

Sunday January 27, 2019.

Wind let up to 10-15 and several other boats went for a hike on Cambridge Cay.  The mega yacht next to us departed.

I worked on the dingy – final pressure test and some cleaning. So far, so good.  I washed the stern of Rhiannon and then replaced the stop button on the outboard, the old one was falling apart.

Lisa came back from her hike.  She was so happy with all I had done.  She came on board and she lowered the engine down to the dingy.  Then we realized that the tube was deflated. So Lisa raised up the engine and put it on the holder as I moved the dingy to the back.  So the dinghy is still leaking air. We think it is the valve.  I sprayed everything with soapy water.  The actual valve is the only place with bubbles.  Tom and I will take it to the beach Tuesday morning and replace the valve.  We have a new one that we should have used the other day.  Then we will spray everything again to make sure there are no leaks and pressure test.

Dalmatian came over with their homemade limoncello.  We were supposed to go to the beach for a while but limoncello sounds better. Diner was Hormel Complete meals for dinner.  Lisa through hers out.  We will not use them again. By afternoon, the wind is south at 15 to 20. 

Fairly comfortable here.

Monday, January 28, 2019

5 am wind SW @ 25 G 35 clear

9 am wind SW @ 25+ G 35+ cloudy

10 am wind SW @ 15-20, heavy rain.  Lisa made dams on deck to catch the rainwater into our fresh water tanks.

10:50 am wind N @ 15-25, sky is brightening.

12:30 skies trying to clear but cloud back over and cooled off.

2:30pm Slack tide.  The north wind has us sideways to the current, so it is very rolly.  These new moorings have huge 2 inch pennants with a huge metal thimble (metal part in the end-loop).  To keep the metal from scraping the side of the boat, we pull the loop up on deck and lash it to the cleats.  We had to do this in Warderick, and we do it here.  It’s a lot of work hauling that huge pennant up on deck when there is so much pressure on it from the wind and the tide, so Lisa starts the engine and puts it in forward to take the pressure off while I lash it down.  This is not a good design for boats our size.

5:30pm Benny making dinner. Green Curry Noodle Soup with Shrimp.  The first time we have made this recipe.  It came out very good.

Green Curry Noodle Soup

This is more like a Thai Noodle main dish than a soup. There are some variations for this soup. The original recipe has shrimp, but it can be made vegetarian using shitake mushrooms instead.

12 oz. straight-cut rice noodles

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. green curry paste (using this amount, the dish is mild. 4 Tbsp. gives it a “tang”.

5 Tbsp. makes it a bit spicy)

1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk

2 ½ cups chicken broth

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 Tbsp. lime juice

½ tsp. salt

1 lb. shrimp (large or jumbo, heads and shells removed, deveined)

4 oz. snow peas, trimmed

4 oz. shitake or baby bella mushrooms (if not using shrimp, use 1 lb. of mushrooms

 – you can also substitute some very firm chopped bite size tofu for ½ of the mushrooms)

1 Granny Smith apple cored, peeled, and sliced into matchsticks

Fresh basil leaves

Fresh Cilantro leaves

1 red chili pepper, stemmed and sliced thin

Fill a large bowl with warm water, add rice noodles, and set aside to soak.

Heat oil is a large sauce pan (6 quart or larger)over medium heat until shimmering.  Add curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to smell fragrant, only about 20 seconds.  Also, if the oil is too hot, the curry paste with pop and spatter.

Stir in coconut milk and bring to a simmer.  Add broth, maple syrup, lime juice and salt and cook stirring occasionally 8-10 minutes.

Add shrimp, snow peas and mushrooms to saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp is fully cooked and pink – about 5 minutes.  If using pre-cooked frozen shrimp, thaw before adding and cook only 3 minutes.

Drain rice noodles and add to the soup.

Let simmer on low for 5 minutes.

To serve, use tongs to divide the noodles among the bowls, then evenly top with vegetables and shrimp. Ladle broth into bowls and garnish with apple, chopped basil leaves, cilantro leaves and chili peppers (if additional “kick” is desired).

Serves at least 4.

It remains very rolly until the tide changes at 9:00pm.

10:00pm The wind has died off, but it remains cloudy overnight.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019. Calm this morning.  75 degrees and mostly cloudy.  We put the dinghy onto the lift lines for the davits, but left it suspended in the water so we can let the air out and change the valve without it sinking.  Tom came over from Dalmatian, and we are able to get the old valve out (we had put it in with butyl tape as a sealer) and put the new one in.  The dinghy now appears to hold air properly – fingers crossed!

9:00am Dave and Alex (Banyan) come by to say so long for now and to collect the mooring fee for the Park.  Hopefully, we will see them somewhere else this season.  Their last day as volunteers is Thursday, January 31.

10:30am Dropped the mooring and head out the north entrance of Cambridge Cay, then through the cut to Exuma Sound, the deep water east of the Exuma Cays.  Cloudy, 75 degrees, wind N@5, seas calm.  As we turn south we hear Bill (Providence).  He is anchored between the Majors.  We also hear Carrie Mae on the VHF and we call to say Hello.  They are anchored at Pipe Creek.  That is supposed to be a safe and beautiful spot.  We have not tried that spot.

1:30pm We are on the fuel dock at Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  We put on 14 gallons of fuel and 93 gallons of water.

2:00pm We are off the fuel dock.  We saw Bill (Providence) while on the fuel dock.  He said the wind is supposed to go back into the NW@15-20, so we decide to go between the majors and anchor (“between the majors” is an anchorage between the islands Big Major Spot and Little Major Spot).  It is protected from all directions, but can get rolly when the wind, tide and surge combine in certain directions. Dalmatian also gets fuel and once they are done, we lead the way into the anchorage.

2:45pm Anchor down between the majors.  Some current running north to south, but very flat in here. Bliss, Providence and 5 other boats anchored here.

Bliss (Harry, Darlynne, Celeste and Eden) came by to visit and we gave them one of the conch horns Benny had made.

3:00pm We get the motor on the dinghy (which is still holding air!) and head into the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  It is very rough in the Staniel Cay channel and waves are breaking over the seawall at the little beach at the yacht club where you can land a dinghy.  Glad we anchored where we did! We pay out bill for fuel and water, drop a trash at the trash trailer.  When it gets full, it is hauled to the dump, where almost everything is burned.  We have 2 big bags of trash because you cannot leave trash anywhere is Exuma Park – you have to carry out whatever you bring in – and we have been in the Park since arriving at Warderick Wells on Friday, January 18.

We visited all three stores on the island (The Pink Store, The Blue Store and Isles General Store)

And manage to find about 75% of what we had on our list.  Not bad for here, especially considering the Mail Boat (supply boat) came Friday, 4 days ago, and the next one is not coming until Wednesday or Thursday of next week.  The shelves will certainly be bare by then.

We had an early dinner at the yacht club.  Bliss was there along with a couple of other boats, but this is as unbusy as we have ever seen the place.  There are no boats in their marina. It faces north and is exposed to these NW winds we have been experiencing.  There are 4 foot waves breaking under the docks!

The food was good, as usual.  Lisa had grouper fingers and I had chicken wings.

The restaurant is now using bio-degradable to go cartons and cups.  Very good for them!

Benny at Staniel Cay Yacht Club

The ride back across the channel is still very rough, but smooths out once across it. When we pass Bliss the girls are trying out their new conch horn.  Not bad, practice will help.

The anchorage is calm.  There are now 28 boats here.  Bliss told us that during the “blow” a couple of days ago (when we were in Cambridge), there were 54 boats anchored here.

14NM today  24°11.51’N  076°27.23’W

Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Clear skies, wind NE@10.  It is nice and flat here and was that way over night.

10:00am Lisa goes to Thunderball Grotto with Bliss.  This is where scenes from the James Bond movie Thunderball were filmed. I am trying to get this blog published. Dalmatian came by, they were in town early shopping. Many boats left heading south to Little Farmer’s Cay for the 5F week-end which actually begins tomorrow with the cruiser’s race.

1:00pm Lisa is back and we get the boat ready to depart.

2:00pm We lift the anchor and head south and west past Staniel Cay to Harvey Cay where we turn south toward Black Point.  There are very few clouds, wind E@10-15, 80 degrees.  Perfect sail down to Black Point.

4:00pm Anchor down at Black Point, just east of the government dock and about 100 yards out from the land.  46 other boats here including Carrie Mae, Half-Baked (who we met in New Smyrna Beach), Providence, Dalmatian and Southern Cross.

There is a new restaurant and bar at Regatta Point called Emerald Sunset.  The new owners (2 local young men) have fixed up the building, cleaned the beach, repaired the dock. 

We had dinner on board.

14 NM today.  24°06.03’N  076°24.15’W

Thursday, January 31, 2019. Lots of wind from the East.

Somehow, in the recent past, with all the blowing up and then letting air out of the dinghy, we have managed to loose the locking connector between the foot pump and the dinghy.  The dinghy is a fiberglass hull, but the sides are three inflatable tubes (commonly known as a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB)).  The lost connector locks the valve open so an individual tube can be inflated.  We have looked everywhere.  No idea where it is, it is usually with the pump.

Lisa took the dinghy (now that it appears to not be leaking air any more) over to Carrie Mae to borrow their pump to pump it up to the correct pressure.  Nice.

Dinner on board tonight.

Friday, February 1, 2019. Clear and windy, 75 degrees, wind E@15-20.  We went into town to do laundry.  We tied up the dinghy at Miss Ida’s new dock (Rockside Laundry). While we were there, Carrie Mae invited us next door to Lorraine’s Café to join them for lunch.  Lorraine certainly has the nicest place in Black Point, but the service has always been slow.  Slower today than normal.  The food is always good, but if you don’t want to spend 2 hours at lunch, better to wait on a day when they are having their buffet.  We went back and forth between the laundry and Lorraine's to change the clothes from the washers to the dryers.  After that, the food finally came out, and we finished lunch at the same time the dryers were finishing.

We brought Miss Ida some new clippers for her hair cutting business. Benny got a hair cut and then we walked over to Adderley’s Store.  Miss Lillian now has Alzheimer’s and is living in Nassau with a daughter.  The store has some stock in it, but the locals must bulk order their food to be delivered on the mail boat because there is little food in any of the stores here.

We watched as they launched two of the Black Point Class C boats for the races at Little Farmer’s this week-end (Chase and Slaughter).  We talked with Scooter whose family owns Slaughter.  The boats are 17 feet long, but there is no restriction on width or draft.  The masts are between 36 and 40 feet tall.  The all have three sets of sails (small, medium and large) depending on wind conditions.  They can have 2 “hike out” boards (which a just long planks), where crew (as many as 8) sit to counterbalance the boat.

We had dinner on board tonight.

Saturday, February 2, 2019.  It is cloudy and cool overnight.  The wind is E@25-30 gusting 35. At 5:00am it begins to rain hard and it continues off and on until 3:00pm.  We opened the intakes in the deck for our water tanks and filled them all!  The dinghy is full of water, which has to be pumped out.  However, Rhiannon got a nice bath and all the salt washed off.

3:00pm 80 degrees, wind Se@5-10 and the skies are trying to clear.

We did some computer work today (paid bills, caught up on emails) and began assembling pictures for the blog.  That always turns into a chore because we each have a phone and a camera, and we have pictures sent to us via email, messages, facebook, etc.

We heard from Saber Tooth, They are departing Saint Augustine on the ICW heading south with Green Stone and Summer of 42.

Submit departed Jacksonville this morning headed south.

Nightingale went from Spanish Wells to Ship Channel Cay and are trying to get to Warderick Wells today.

5:00pm The wind dies off completely at sunset and the skies cleared.  We were able to see the “green flash” at sunset, the first this trip for Lisa.

Sunday, February 3, 2019. Super Bowl Sunday. Beautiful morning, clear, wind SW@10, 70 degrees. We took the trash to town, then went for a walk with Dalmatian to one of the east facing beaches, south and east of town.  We have been told no one is finding sea beans this season, but we enjoy walking the beaches and searching for sea beans gives the walks a purpose. Lisa found a few nice shells (including a bunch of nice limpets (the ones that look like a Chinese hat with a hole in the middle)) and I found 2 Sea Heart beans, a Coconut Palm seed, a Starnut Palm seed and a Laurelwood seed. 

Beach Treasures

On the way back to town, we met All In (Alison and Bob) and Chanceux (John and Madeline).

We walked all the way to the other end of town to Regatta Point and had lunch at the restaurant and bar there named Emerald Sunset.  We met one of the owners, Poppy, and he told us about all of the repairs, clean up and renovation they have done.  They have done a really nice job.  The burgers we had for lunch were great and the service was prompt.

In the afternoon, we went in the dinghy to the north end of the island .  Mary Lou went with us. There is a creek that runs south from Dothan Cut out to the east side of the island.  There are lots of rocks that keep it from being passable, but the water still flows.  It was half tide, so we had to tie up the dinghy to a mangrove and walk part of the way.  Lots of sea life here and some of the spots along the creek are quite deep. There are small beaches along both sides of the creek where it meets to rocks and the ocean. I found two Sea Heart beans here and Lisa and Mary Lou found some nice welk shells.

It was almost dusk as we started back. Mary Lou was feeling poorly.  We think maybe she had too much sun and not enough fluids today.  Even though we are surrounded by water, this is considered a semi-desert climate and the sun can be quite hot.  Easy to get dehydrated.

When we got back to the boat, we got cleaned up and pretty and set off to Scorpios’ for dinner and to watch the Super Bowl. It was very crowded and very loud. We shared a bar-b-que chicken dinner (with salad, roasted corn and Bahamian mac-and-cheese) yum!  Rum punch were 2 for $7.  Zhivago (the owner) was passing out free popcorn and carrot cake cupcakes. We sat at a table of 20 people, including Alison and Bob (All In).

The Patriots are leading 3-0 at the half.  We walked to Emerald Sunset with All In.  We saw Poppy and ordered rum punches.  He also brought out some free conch fritters, which were very good.  The bar was full (one of the Class C crews was there), but the deck was fairly empty, so we were actually able to hear some of the commentators during the second half of the game. A few other couples came over from Scorpios during the second half. New England triumphed 13-3 and we headed back to the boats.

Midnight by the time we got back – very late for us.

Monday, February 4, 2019. Bright, sunny, dry wind – beautiful.

Dalmatian left early and headed to the south side of Black Point. The wind has gone more to the north and while light, it is going to get stronger and more uncomfortable here.

We went to shore and saw Miss Francis.  Lisa brought her some sewing needles for making her baskets, hats and purses.

We got some ice at DeShamone's and then back to the boat.

11:00am We lifted anchor and headed to the south side of Black Point, an area called Little Harbor.

12:10pm We anchored 100 yards off the beach near the pink house in 10 feet of water.
2.4NM 24.04.80'N  076.23.20'W

2:00pm We head in to the beach, then walked across the island to a beach on the eastern shore (the Sound side of the island).  As soon as we get there, Lisa found 2 Sea Heart beans. I found a hamburger bean.  Lisa found one spot on the beach with lots of nice shells, mostly intact (not broken).

 


This side of the island was set up for a couple of housing developments.  The pink house was the model home for this development, The castle (house which looks like a medieval castle) was the model for that development.  It looks like they dug out what we presume was to be a marina, but it too was never completed (or connected to the ocean). According to what we could find out, this one was started in 2006.  All the roads are done, the lots leveled.  When the developer pulled out, they left a road grader, a roller and a truck, plus several trailers of materials (which have now all been pretty much stripped).  The development with the castle was started in 2001.  Both houses are occupied.

5:00pm We head back to the boat.  There is a sun down cocktail party and bonfire going on on the beach, but we decide to opt out.

Lisa made steak, mashed potatoes and peas for dinner.

We talked to Nightingale, they are in Cambridge Cay.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019. We some a decent internet connection this morning, so we spent the morning doing computer chores.

At noon, it is another beautiful day, but the wind continues to howl out of the northeast.  We go for a walk with Dalmatian to the top of the hill (or at least as far as the road goes). No more roads to the south on this island, which leaves about 8 miles of uninhabited island – until you get to the very southern tip by Little Farmer’s Cay – there a few houses right on that southern point.

We explored yet another beach on the Sound side.  Someone named this one “flip-flop” beach.  There is a small grotto here with hundreds of flip flops. We only found one sea bean, a Laurelwood seed, but we did find a few nice shells.

On the way back to the beach, we found a plant with Sea Pearl pods.  It is a vine actually growing in and around another bush. We weren’t sure that’s what it was, so we gather a couple of the seed (Pearls) and took a picture of the seed pods. Once back at the boat we check the Little Book of Sea Beans and the pictures in that look just like what we found.  The most common color of Sea Pearl is grey, but there are other species that are different colors – there are orange.

All In has been having a problem emptying their holding tank.  They think that maybe the macerator pump is bad. (Been there done that!)

Lisa and Mary Lou went for another beach walk and Mary Lou found her first Sea Heart.

6:15pm, We meet All In at Dalmatian for dinner.  Alison had made a salad and Lisa made spaghetti and meat sauce.  Mary Lou had limoncello.  Ewe brought some of the TOFKA toffee vodka for before dinner drinks. We brought our spare macerator pump along for All In.

Very nice evening.

Summer of 42 is still in Vero waiting on a weather window, so we ordered another macerator from Amazon to be delivered to Vero and Summer of 42 will bring it over for us.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019. 8:00am The wind built overnight, NE@15-20g25, partly cloudy, 75 degrees.

Lisa and I spent the morning inventorying and organizing the food on board.  We still have quite a lot, even though we brought less than last year.

All In’s sewage problem was not fixed by the new macerator pump.  After checking all the hoses, it is discovered that nothing is coming out of the tank. Tom (Dalmatian) came over to assist. We tried everything we could think of to clear the clog (plumbers’ snake, a vacuum hooked to the hose, using a pump to force air in to break up the clog.  The tank is (of course) very difficult to get to.  Additionally , it looks like all this plumbing was replaced and the new plumbing has 3 90 degree angle fitting between the tank and the macerator pump. That in itself is a “no-no”, especially on a boat.  We cannot get anything around the 90 degree corners and into the tank to clear the clog. It appears that something in the bottom of the tank (sludge).  The tank is absolutely full, so there is no way to add anything to help break up the sludge.

After making a bunch of calls, All In found someone in George Town who can pump out the tank and (hopefully) fix their issue.  Now all the have to do is get there.  To get to George Town, at some point, you have to go outside (to the Sound on the east side of the Exuma chain).  With this east wind howling, it would be almost impossible.  There is nothing between the Exumas and the Azores (3000 miles to the east) and the waves will be huge.

3:00pm Nightingale comes into the anchorage.  Great to see them again! While the guys are trying to figure out All In’s plumbing issues and trying different ways to clear it, the girls are gathered on Rhiannon.

Dinner on board tonight.

Thursday, February 7, 2019. Beautiful, clear morning, 75 degrees, wind still out of the east at 15-20.  Still very rough on the east side. Several boats a waiting all along this island chain for the east wind to die down so they can head to George Town and beyond.

At some point, All In got caught sideways while retrieving their anchor. They do not have a windless and have to do this by hand, ugh! The chain got caught in the anchor roller and the support for the roller got severely to the left.  Bob cut the anchor loose and later cut off the bent part of the roller support hoping to be able to still use the roller itself.  Well, it sorta works, but not in these winds. They currently have a 40 lb. Rockna anchor and 80 feet of chain out. Now we have to figure out how to get this anchor and chain up so they can go get the sewer problem fixed.  Perhaps they can use the primary winch to help raise the anchor, nut it will have to be after this wind lets up.  I also suggested that they tie a float on the end of the chain and one of us other boats could pick it up and retrieve the anchor using our windless.

We all have issues while we are trying to cruise and live on these boats.  Sometimes it is not easy.

We are hoping the boats queued up in Vero and Lake Worth can make it across soon.

1:00pm We meet Dalmatian and Nightingale for bocce ball on the beach.  A good time was had by all.  Someone built a bar out of pallets, and tables and chairs out of scrap wood and cut off pieces of pilings.  There are several boats’ dinghys here on the beach. 

All In comes by.  They have been out walking the beach.  Alison found 2 Sea Hearts and and 1 Hamburger bean.

I walked around the area a bit and found another vine with a couple of Sea Pearl pods still attached.  Most of the pods had already opened, but we did not find any beans on the ground.  We found two that were open, and we kept two beans and gave Alison 2 for her collection.

We had an early dinner on board.

5:30pm We met at the beach for a “dinghy drift”, where you tie all the dinghys together and then drift wherever the wind or current takes you.  Today, it is more of a “dinghy anchor”, because this strong wind would blow us way out onto the Banks in no time.  We brought a conch horn Benny made for the kids on Piper. Also attending were Nightingale, All In, Dalmatian, Nuage, one boat we did not get the name of, and Rhiannon. It was fun, but it was chilly when the sun went down.  There was a conch horn concert at sun down.

Near: Libby and Grant (Nightingale)
Far: Tom and Mary Lou (Dalmatian)
at the dinghy drift

Sunset at Little Harbor

Friday, February 8, 2019. Dalmatian and Nightingale walk over to the north side of Black Point to the laundry. Lisa and Alison went to town in the Dinghy and I went over to try to help figure out All In’s anchor issue. We can try a couple of things when they are finally ready to head to George Town. The mail boat has come in, but while there are more supplies in the stores, there’s not a lot.

While Lisa and Alison were in town, they saw Ciro (John and Gayle), Lisa spent the morning with Samuel and Miss Francis while Alison did laundry. Lisa brought pizza back from DeShamone's.

Dinner on board.

Saturday, February 9, 2019. Another beautiful morning. Clear, wind East at 15-20 (still), no let up.

We walked the beach directly across from the anchorage with All In.  No sea beans here today.  I can’t believe how many have been found (that we know of)!  On the way back we found some Bay Bean pods that had opened.  These grow on a vine that grows along the beach almost every where in the Bahamas and Florida.  Alison gathered most of the ones, but we did find a couple.

We stayed in for the evening.  Lisa cooked the last of the lobsters we had in the freezer from Bimini, with new potatoes and a salad.  Great meal!

I put a new double bridle on the anchor and filled the gasoline tank for the dinghy.

6:00pm The wind is building again.  Rain off and on and wind gusts to 35 overnight.