Marsh Harbour to Cocoa 2016

Marsh Harbour to Cocoa

Sunday, May 22, 2016.  We left the house at 4:00am to catch a 6:45 flight, the first of three, as we flew back to Marsh Harbour from Manchester, NH. Jeff and Carly are with us. While we were home, we attended Jeff’s graduation, went to Carly’s graduation dinner (she is Jeff’s girl friend and also graduated from Emmanuel College).  We did a bunch of yard work at the house and erected two pergolas on the patio. We got back to the boat at about 5pm.  We had dinner at Snappa’s (next door to the Harbor View Marina http://www.harbourviewmarina.com/# where the boat is docked) and early to bed.

Monday, May 23, 2016.  Lisa worked on getting the boat ready for sea.  Jeff, Carly and I went to the bank, the Chemist (drug store), and to Maxwell’s Supermarket to provision.  We had lunch at the Family Café and Carly and Jeff had their first Goombay Punch (softdrink) and their first Bahamian Mac and Cheese (more like a casserole than what we have become used to in the States).  We took a cab back to the boat and we had a full load of provisions.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016.  This morning a diver arrived to clean the bottom and check the zincs.  The bottom was in surprisingly good shape after sitting for almost three weeks.  We took on a full load of water and fuel (11 gallons).  At 2:20pm (high tide), we left the dock.  It is sunny, 80 degrees, wind NE@15+.  Carly took her first turn steering as we rounded Matt Lowes Cay and headed for Tahiti Beach at the south end of Elbow Cay.

4:15pm, anchor down at Tahiti Beach.  9NM today.  26°30.26’N, 076°59.13’W

Jeff and Carly made dinner, vegetarian tacos, very nice.  After dinner a game of rummy and exploration of a bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016. Changed out the VHF radio with the new one we brought with us.  Then listened to the 8:15am Cruiser’s Net (a local VHF broadcast of news, weather, coming events, stuff for sale, etc.).  Clouds this morning, 80 degrees, wind NE.  We all went to the beach.  We did some shelling and looking for sea beans (found none).  Lisa, Carly and Jeff went snorkeling.  Lunch on board.  1:00pm anchor up.  2:30pm on a mooring (one of Truman’s) in Hopetown.  8NM 26°32.26’N  076°57.64’W

Dinner at Capt. Jack’s on the harbor.  More info on Capt Jack’s click on this http://capnjackshopetown.com/

Thursday, May 26, 2016. Sunny, wind NE 15-20, 80 degrees.  We tried to rent a golf cart to go exploring, but were told there were none available until July 5.  We tried every vendor, same story.  A business opportunity is available here.  We walked to the park that has medicinal plants, very interesting.  Then we walked the beach south from Hopetown.  Here we did find a few interesting shells and some sea beans (sea pearls and golf balls).  We had lunch at the Hopetown Harbour Lodge http://www.hopetownlodge.com/ , which is very nice and then went over to the Hopetown Inn and Marina http://www.hopetownmarina.com/ for showers and dinner, also very nice.  After dinner, more rummy and searching for favorite jelly bean flavors.

Friday, May 27, 2016.  Wind SW@15-20.  Murky, very humid, rain on and off all day.  Lazy day.  Everyone slept in, read, played games.  Lisa made Vegie lasagna.  After dinner, we went to Vernon’s Grocery and bought a key lime pie – ummmm.  Played Mexican Train (dominoe game).  Ran the generator for 2 hours and ran the a/c too to help dry out the boat.

For images of Hopetown click on this link

Saturday 28, 2016.  Sunny, 80 degrees, wind SE @ 5-10, puffy clouds.  We visited the Elbow Cay Lighthouse and climbed to 102 steps to the top.  We went into town and did some shopping at Iggy Biggy and Da Crazy Crab.  At 12:45 we are off the mooring (high tide).  At 2:30pm the anchor is down at Fowl Cay.  It is cloudy with rain on the horizon, but it passes us by.  We snorkeled the south side of Fowl Cay and then took the dingy to the north side where the reefs are.  There are also moorings there and we tied the dingy to it and explored the reef.  This is some of the best diving/snorkeling anywhere, beautiful, lots of fish.  Someone on another boat said it is as good as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  It is certainly as nice as anywhere we have been.  We took the dingy over to the north side of the reef to a mooring there.  The north side of this reef had a drop off of maybe 100 feet.  It was getting late in the day and the shadows were getting long which means the predators are out.  We saw 8 sharks along this reef and decided it was time to call it a day.

9NM, Fowl Cay National Preserve, 26°37.92’N 077°03.11’W

For more information click here http://www.bnt.bs/The-National-Parks-of-The-Bahamas/Fowl-Cays-National-Park

It was 5:30pm when we headed back to the boat.  Anchor up at 6:30pm.  Beautiful evening, 80 degrees, wind SE@10, blue sky, puffy clouds.  While underway, Jeff and Carly made dinner, burgers and pasta with peas, mushrooms and alfredo sauce.  7:30pm anchor down at Great Guana Cay.  5NM 26°40.08’N  077°07.14’W

Music from Grabbers on the beach – karaoke night – music is actually pretty good.  Nice night for listening in the cockpit.

Sunday, May 29, 2016.  We all walked over to the other side of the island to Nippers http://www.nippersbar.com/   Today they have their famous pig roast.  We did not eat, but did each have a rum punch.  It is a beautiful day, 80 degrees, wind NE@10, blue sky with pig puff clouds that may contain some rain later in the day.  Afterwards, we went to Grabbers on the beach on the other side of the island, had lunch and more rum punch http://www.grabbersatsunset.com/cam.cfm

We listened to the music for a bit and then headed back to the boat.  At 2:30pm we raised the anchor and headed north to Spoil Cay. Anchor down just off the beach at 3:30pm.  We spent a couple of hours shelling.  This is land has loads of shells as it sits right in the Whale Cay Cut to the Atlantic.  5:30pm anchor up.  7:30pm we are tied to the dock at Treasure Cay Marina.  What a nice day! More information on Treasure Cay click on this link  http://treasurecay.com/

Spoil Cay 2.5NM 26°04.11’N  077°10.43N

Treasure Cay Marina 8NM 26°40.40’N  077°16.80’W

Monday, May 30, 2016.  Memorial Day. Beautiful morning, wind N@10, sunny, puffy clouds, 82 degrees.  We walked to the laundry to drop off our dirty clothes (it is a wash and fold service here), the grocery (they have a nice one), hardware store and bakery (Key Lime Pie and the world’s best sticky buns).  We washed the boat, checked in at the Marina office (closed when we arrived yesterday).  We took the dingy to the creek just south of the complex.  It was high tide.  This creek goes back a couple of miles to a lake and there are lots of sea turtles here.  As the tide started to ebb, we drifted all the way to the mouth of the creek seeing lots of sealife.  We found a bunch of shells, sand dollars and sea urchins that were not alive along the way, so our collections grew.  Lots of live ones also, but we don’t collect those.  Saw lots of fish too.  We all took showers and then walked over to the beach for dinner at Coco’s.  Beautiful sunset.  When we returned to the boat, we played rummy and had some of the Key Lime Pie.  Another very nice day.  We can see thunderstorms building on the horizon and we can hear thunder.  We get a few rain drops and then it clears.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016.  Sunny, puffy clouds, wind N@10, 82 degrees.  We walked over to the laundry and picked up our “wash and fold”, then checked out of the marina.  Everyone went for a walk on the Treasure Cay Beach and found a few interesting shells.  This beach is supposed to be one of the 10 beat in the world.  We are off the dock at 12:30pm and there are thunderstorms building on the horizon.  Jeff is managing the boat as we head out to Whale Cay Cut and then north to Green Turtle Cay.  The thunderstorms seem to be following us, but by 5:30pm, the time we are tied to the dock at Green Turtle Club, the storms have dissipated. We managed to burst our last piling fender while docking.  These are very large fenders that go between the boat and the pilings on the dock.  In the Bahamas, almost all the docks are fixed (not floating), wood with exposed pilings.  We lost 2 of these fenders, but they are 4 years old, have seen a lot of use, and are out in the sun all the time.  17NM today, 26°46.88’N 077°20.19’W

The GTC facility is very nice.  New docks, pool, beach hotel, but lots of no-seeums coming out of the mangroves here.  One of the fisherman told us the “club” has gone very upscale in recent years.  Previously, it was primarily for sports fishermen.

Click here for more information on Green Turtle Club

Click here for pictures of Green Turtle Cay taken last visit

Wednesday, June 1, 2016.  Sunny, 82 degrees, wind NE 5-10.  We rented a golf cart and went island exploring.  We went to New Plymouth for Carly and Jeff to see the memorial to the Loyalists.  These are people who left the United States after the “civil war” with England and who were supporters of the King.  Their history sounds quite a bit different than the history we were taught.  For more information on the Loyalists click on this link http://www.redcoat.me.uk/bahamas.htm

We had lunch at Harvey’s, new, good food, reasonable.  We drove to the other end of the island, stopping to walk a couple of beaches along the way.  We had a beer at the Tranquil Turtle (beach bar at the Bluff House Resort) and played some bean bag toss.  Back at the marina at 3pm.  Bought 12 gallons of fuel.  Met Dan and Sue on board Scarlet Lady.  They are just coming over to the Abacos and will spend the summer here. We had drinks at the pool bar (2 for 1) and then dinner on board.  A game of rummy to finish off a very nice day.

Thursday, June 2, 2016.  Checked out of the marina and then off the dock at 7:45am.  Lots of biting bugs out this morning.  We don’t remember having this issue when we stayed at the Leeward Yacht Club last season.  It is on Black Sound at the other end of the island.  Sunny, 80 degrees, wind East@10.  Big puffy clouds with the chance of thunderstorms later.

10:15am  Carly managing the boat.  We set up and calibrated the new knot meter.

11:15am we pass by Crab Cay.

12:15pm Lisa on watch.

1:15pm the engine has begun surging and bogging down again. Sails out and slowed the engine and are making good headway.

4:00pm Girl Jane Cut south of Great Sale Cay, we turn up into the wind for the last 2 miles to the anchorage.  The engine is barely running.

5:30pm Anchor down at West Harbor, Great Sale Cay.  Sunny, wind east 10-15, puffy clouds.  We can see rain to the south over Great Bahama Island 10 miles away. Dinner on board.

56.8NM today  26°58.67’N  078°12.99’W

Friday, June 3, 2016.  Sunny, 80 degrees, wind SE@5-10.  Changed both the Racor and the engine fuel filters.  The generator seems to not have this issue, but it uses much less fuel than the engine.  It’s fuel filter is clean.  Put 12 gallons of fuel in the tank from the jerry cans and cleaned the floors and the rugs.  Lisa, Jeff and Carly went for a swim.  The water here is a nice color blue, nut always seems stirred up – lots of sand mixed in.  Jeff and Carly made tacos for dinner.

Carly and Jeff have been learning to blow the horns made from conch shells.  We gave them one when they came on board, and we have three others as well.  The tradition is that it is blown when the sun sets.  In many anchorages and marinas, you will hear these at sunset. 

At 8:00pm, we serenade the sunset, raise the anchor and head for Fort Pierce.  It is 82 degrees, wind SE@10, clouds and rain building to the south.  We are motoring west toward the USA.

11:30pm Thunderstorms in the distance, Jeff and Carly on watch.  We are doing 2 hour shifts on the wheel, 2 hours in the cockpit, then 4 hours off.

Saturday, June 4, 2016.12:30am The engine begins bogging down again, but we now have good wind and are making 6-7 knots sailing, so we elect to continue.

3:30am We pass Memory Rock and we are off the banks.  We can see ambient light from Florida and from Freeport in the distance. 

4:30am Memory Rock West waypoint.  The wind has died down to 4-5 knots.  We turn the engine back on, but can only make 4-5 knots.

8:30am We are halfway across the Gulf Stream and the engine dies completely, won’t restart. Called TowBoatUS. Sails up, making 2-3 knots.

12:15pm Sunny, 85 degrees, no wind.  We are just bobbing around in the Gulf Stream. TowBoatUS arrives and we get towed 40 miles to Ft. Pierce and then north in the ICW to Vero Beach.  We had talked to the marina and they were able to put us on a facedock.  Glad we paid for unlimited towing!

8:00pm and we are safely on the dock.

We called Customs and Immigration to check in.  We are members of the Local Boaters and have filed a float plan, so the phone call should have done it for checking in.  We even had Jeff and Carly added to the Float Plan.  Turns out that Jeff and Carly are not members of the Local Boaters Option, so they will physically have to go to the Fort Pierce Airport and check in.

Dinner on board and then early to bed.  136.8NM today  27°39.44’N  080°22.20’W

Sunday, June 5, 2016. Murky and humid, 80 degrees.  We called Hazel and she is going to drive here from Boca for a visit.  She arrived with her sister Rose and we all went to Mulligan’s for a late lunch.  Great to see her.  Talked to Pete Brocker, who lives here at the marina.  He dives and does various service on boats here.  He is a good diesel mechanic, and he agreed to come by tomorrow and see if he can figure out our issue with the engine. Jeff and I checked all the lines to make sure we do not have a leak that could be sucking air into the engine and then changed the Racor fuel filter and the filter on the engine – again.  No water or significant residue in either filter.  We went to Cravings for ice cream.

Monday, June 6, 2016.  Rain over night.  Murky and drizzle this morning.  We picked up a rental car and took Jeff and Carly to Fort Pierce Airport to check in with Customs and Immigration.  I took a copy of the Float Plan and the whole process took 5 minutes.

When we returned to the boat, I checked all the fuel lines and pulled the inspection ports on the fuel tank.  When I opened the inspection ports, there was a bunch of hard black pieces of junk on top of the fuel tank, and in it as well, blocking the fuel intake.  We had this issue 3 years ago and Sailcraft in Oriental, NC, fixed it by cleaning the fuel, the tank, the lines and putting two new large inspection ports in the tank (the tank has 2 compartments). The gasket sealer they used on these new inspection ports had hardened since then and was flaking apart.  That is what was in the tank and on top as well.  Pete cleaned the junk out of the tank and the lines and primed everything and the engine started and ran. Great! Pete also checked all the fuel lines, the lift pump and the high pressure pump.  He cleaned out the tank.  Dinner on board and then Mexican Train.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016.  I went to AutoZone and bought gasket material and Permatex 2 sealer.  Pete came by and made new gaskets for the tanks and reassembled everything.  We bled the fuel lines and started the engine and it runs fine.  We started and ran the generator.  Hopefully, this fixed the problem.  We had dinner at Taki, a sushi and Thai restaurant.  The food was very good.  Pete and Carol joined us.  A game of Mexican Train followed. A very nice evening.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016.  Up early. Left the boat at 7am to take Lisa to the airport in Orlando.  She is flying home to relieve our son James of house/dog sitting duty.  Out house sitter we had for the winter is leaving for a visit to her native Japan.  Back to the boat by noon and Jeff, Carly and I went to the Southern Comfort Grill for a late breakfast.  Good food and reasonable prices. Rain off and on all day, heavy in the afternoon. Some boat chores and a game of rummy. An early evening.

Thursday, June 9, 2016.  Nice morning, 80 degrees, sunny, few clouds, wind SE@10.  Rain predicted for later in the day. Filled the boat with water and fuel.  Made a trip to Sturgis Lumber and filled our spare propane tank.  We made a last run to West Marine (replacement cabin fans) and to Home Depot (to replace flashlights that died) and to the grocery.  Returned the rental car and made the boat ready for an early departure.  Carly made tortellini for dinner.

For more information on Vero Beach click on this link http://www.verobeach.com/

For more information on Vero Beach City Marina click on this link http://www.waterwayguide.com/wg/featured-marina/vero-beach-city-marina

Friday, June 10, 2016.  6:45am off the dock.  75 degrees, partly cloudy, wind south@5-10.

Making almost 7 knots going with the tide. 

8:15am clearing, wind now NW@5-10, a nice dry wind.  I think we just passed through the front that has been lingering and causing all the unsettled weather.

9:45am  MM930, there are dolphins swimming alongside the boat, very cool.  They continue to follow is for at least a mile.

10:45am the engine is surging and bogging down again.  Same symptoms we have experienced three or four times on this trip, even after all the checking and cleaning.  I talked to a guy named Ron at Anchorage Yacht Basin (at the south end of Merritt Island – the closest place with a mechanic) and he said the best guy around to deal with this would be Frank at MarinePro in Cocoa.  That’s another 20 miles.  I called Frank and talked to him at length.  He agreed to meet us on the dock at Cocoa Village Marina if we make it that far.  I called the marina and they have room for us.

1:15pm the engine dies and will not start.  We drift to the side of the channel and drop anchor.

We called TowBoatUs again.  While waiting, a Coast Guard small boat showed up to lend assistance.  Not much they could do.  I finally managed to get the engine started and we limped into Cocoa Village Marina.  In the meantime, I had talked to a guy named Frank at MarinePro.  He actually met us on the dock.  He checked everything again.  What we found was about a teaspoon of those black pieces from the tank in the top of the Racor filter housing.  Apparently there is a check valve in there to keep the fuel from flowing back towards the tank and larger pieces of junk can get wedged there before the fuel actually flows through the filter!  Who would have guessed? While all this is going on, we discover a broken engine mount.  Frank is coming back on Monday to replace all four mounts and re-align everything.  Jeff and Carly walked over to Cocoa Village a returned with a Pizza from Ryan’s.  When Jeff was traveling with us in 2012, he ordered a large pizza from Ryan’s and when he went to pick it up it was a 36 inch pizza!  This time he only got an 18 incher (they actually do not make the 36 inch one any more).

Saturday, June 11, 2016.  Carly and Jeff go to the beach with Carly’s godmother, Tiffany, who drove over from Orlando.  I spent the day working on this blog.  We had dinner at the Americana Pub in the Village.  The food was good, but not great.  Ice cream at Ossorio completed the day.

Sunday, June 12, 2016.  George Major drove down from Melbourne to visit.  His wife Bev could not come as her brother is in the hospital and she went to see him.  We went to Walmart to pick up some charging cords for the phones – first time in one of those in 5 months – didn’t miss the crowds.  We made a stop at Ron Jon Surf Shop (the original) to replenish our wardrobe and then went to Ryan’s for pizza.  Nice afternoon.  Great to see George.  Back to the boat and a game of rummy before bed.

For More information on Cocoa Village click on this link http://www.destinationmainstreets.com/florida/cocoa-village.php

Click on this link to see the latest pictures

Black Point to Marsh Harbor 2016

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.

Click on this link to see pictures of Black Point to Marsh Harbor 2016

Click on this link for more pictures of Current Cut to Marsh Harbor

Click on this link to see some great underwater shots by Phil on Majestic Phoenix.

Black Point to Georgetown to Black Point

Black Point to Georgetown to Black Point

Wednesday, March 30, 2016.  Partly Cloudy, 80 degrees at 8am. Wind NE @ 20. We walked to the beach on the Sound side of the island with Jaz and Stella Maris, looking for sea beans and shells.  Sea Beans are actually beans that fell from a pod in South or Central America, found their way to a river and out to sea, where the currents carry them along to far away places.  They have a very hard shell and are light so you tend to fid them in the flotsam at the top of the tide mark.  The most collectable are hamburger, purse and heart beans. All of these are dark brown. Hamburger and purse beans are about an inch in diameter, with a dark stripe in the middle so they look a bit like a hamburger.  The purse beans look the same, but are fatter.  The heart beans are generally shaped like a heart and about 1-2 inches across.  It is good luck to find one and if one is kept on the boat, it is supposed to keep the boat from sinking.  Janet (Stella Maris) found a heart bean right away (her first sea bean), but no one else found any on this beach. 

We all had lunch at DeShamons.  Before our sandwiches arrived, we had to hurry back to the boats to close them up as they sky got very dark and you could see lightening and hear thunder.  We made it back to the restaurant just in time for the food to arrive, but it never did rain.  In the afternoon, we visited “The Garden of Eden” and were given a tour by Willie.  He finds pieces and decides what they look like, then displays them in on his property.  It takes some imagination (and maybe some rum) to be able to see what Willie sees in his “statuary”.  He also does “pot hole farming”.  The land is basically rock, and wherever there is a pot hole to collect water, he has something planted.  Quite an amazing garden.

Jaz came by after an early dinner for a game of Mexican Train.

Thursday, March 31, 2016. Wind still howling.  From the east today 20+.  Sunny, 85 degrees.  Lisa spent the better part of the day cleaning and cooking.  I went into town to use the wifi at the laundry to make some plane reservations.  We plan to fly home from Marsh Harbor (in the Abacos) for Jeff’s graduation, then fly back with Jeff and (girlfriend) Carly afterwards.  We will spend a couple of weeks in the Abacos, then bring the boat back to Brunswick, GA, where she will spend the summer.  The internet at the laundromat was not working, so I walked down to Larraine’s café.  Lorraine has remodeled the inside of the café (very nicely done) and added a big deck outside.  Lots of people here doing the same thing, so it is slow going. 

When I went back to the laundry to get the dingy, Miss Ida was in a panic because one of the pipes on her reverse osmosis water system had burst.  It was spraying water everywhere and she did not know how to shut it off.  I helped her close valves and turn off pumps and we finally got it stopped.  Both of us were soaking wet.  Her husband is going to come by this evening and replace the broken plumbing.

We met lots of people at Scorpios for happy hour and then had dinner at Lorraine’s.

Friday, April 1, 2016.  We spent the morning updating our float plan with US Customs and Border Patrol so we can get back into the US with Jeff and Carly aboard. Not an easy web site to navigate.

Anchor up at 11:40am.  Sunny, 80 degrees, wind SE at 10-15.  Stella Maris left at 10am headed to Lee Stocking Island.  They are trying to meet up with some German friends who are leaving Georgetown headed north. Arrive at Little Farmer’s Cay at 3pm and pick up a mooring on the east side of the harbor.  Very protected here, but the moorings are sketchy.  Jaz here also.  Visited Ocean Cabin (restaurant) to pay for Jaz’s mooring and met Terry (one of the owners).  He spent 9 years working in Liberia (oil field work) and came home to by this restaurant with wife Earnestine (who prepares the food).  We walked up the road to JR’s.  He’s a wood carver and has some beautiful pieces, but they are pricey.  He is actually the nephew of Willie (Garden of Eden on Black Point) and also does “pot hole farming”.  He, too, has an extensive garden with all manner of fruit trees.  The “dillys”  (sapodilla) are ripening now and are very sweet, like a sweet fig.  Click here for more information on the sapodilla https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manilkara_zapota 

The tamarind trees are everywhere and also their fruit is ripening. Click here for more information on tamarind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind

We had dinner at the Ocean Cabin (conch chowder and grilled grouper).  The food was the best we have had on the trip so far. 

Click here for more information on Ocean Cabin http://www.oceancbn.com/default.cfm

When we got back to the boats, Jaz was aground on the sandbar just west of the moorings.  The deepest part of Jaz is her rudder and that is what’s stuck.  Luckily no damage and the tide is on the way in.  Chris and Margaret move everything they could forward and the rudder popped out of the sand.  Only 8 NM today.  23°57.86’N  076°19.09’W

Saturday, April 2, 2016. 8am. Sunny 80 degrees. Showers occasionally.  Chris and I check the depth on the other moorings and then moved Jaz to another mooring in deeper water.  We heard from Greenstone and Saber Tooth.  They are anchored on the west side of Little Farmers!  We pick up Jaz in our dingy and head around the northern tip of Little Farmers to Ty’s Grill on the western shore where we met Bob and Judy (Greenstone), their guests Dave and Janet, and John and Nora (Saber Tooth).  Lisa presented Judy with a throw she had crocheted for her as a remembrance of best friend who has recently passed on. Very nice lunch and great to see old friends.

3pm, off the moorings and Jaz and us head south to Rudder Cut Cay.  It is a very circuitous route dodging the coral and sand bars.  Both Musha Cay and Rudder Cut Cay are private and owned by the magician David Copperfield.  He has turned Musha Cay into a resort.  You can stay there for $37,000 per night, including dinner.  I don’t know if that includes a magic show.  It is a beautiful area.  David even commissioned a statue of a mermaid and a grand piano and had them sunk off shore so his guests would have something special to see. Nice.  It’s not like there’s not enough beautiful things to see here!  There are security cameras everywhere, so it’s not very inviting to go ashore on these two islands.  As we pull into the anchorage, Outbound is here (Steve and Deb).  They spent the summer in the slip across from us in Brunswick. Outbound and Jaz came for cocktails and we had a gorgeous sunset – then the mosquitos came out in force.  Most of these island have little fresh water to breed mosquitos, but this one must have a pond.

8.2 NM today.  23°52.26’N  076°14.32’W

Sunday, April 3, 2016. 7:30am, pc, 75 degrees, wind SW@10.  We awoke to the sound of Outbound hauling his anchor.  The wind/current/?  had shifted during the night and we were very close to Outbound.  A short time later, Jaz is also underway.  The wind has gone a bit west and it is very rough in the anchorage.  It is 80 degrees, wind SSW at 10-15.  We stow the dingy motor (it has a mount on the rear rail when not in use), raise the dingy, put 11 gallons of fuel in the diesel tank and at 8:45am we are under way heading south to Georgetown.  At 9:15 we are through Rudder Cut and into Exuma Sound.  There is what’s called a “standing wave” at the cut.  When the wind is blowing one direction and the tide is moving in the opposite direction, rip currents build up and the waves seem to stand still and keep growing larger over time.  The one today was only a couple of feet.  At the “whale” in the Abacos, there have been standing waves reported of over 10 feet – a wall of water!  As we turn south, the fore sail is out and we are making 6 knots.

Noon – we are motor sailing, wind has slackened to 4 knots. We are also charging the batteries, which got quite low last night.  Puffy clouds, 82 degrees, almost flat seas.  At 3:15pm, we have the anchor down at Sand Dollar Beach, Stocking Island, Georgetown.  It is partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind NW @ 6. Still lots of boats here, maybe 150 or so, but nothing like at the peak of the season when they had almost 400.  There were two big storms here this winter, one of them with straight-line winds of over 90 mph.  Over 100 boats drug their anchors and went aground.  Many way up the beach.  The big mega yacht with the “super slide” off the 4^th deck is here.  We saw him a couple of times last year and once this year in Nassau.

34NM today.  23°30.86’N  075°44.71’W.  This is a far south and east as we will go on this trip.  We are about ½ mile north of the Tropic of Cancer, 133 NM south of Miami, 305 miles east of Miami.  We are due south of Trenton, NJ.

Jaz came to dinner.  Lisa made cheese raviolis with homemade sauce and salad.  Yummy.  After dark, the fish a jumping where the solar lights in the cockpit cast light on the water.  The night is crystal clear, no ambient light and there are a million stars domed overhead.  The sky is like this in Vermont, where we used to go to ski in the winter.  There is a glow on the horizon to the south.  Aliens have landed???

The wind is supposed to pipe up to 25 out of the north, then northeast tonight. A lot of boats are moving here because it is protected from those directions.  One of the boats is Last Boat (Nelson and Ondra).  We met them in Marathon 3 years ago. You might remember that Nelson and Lisa rescued a pelican tangled in fishing line and with a lure stuck into its beak and chest.  They did a great job removing all that and then the pelican rescue folks came and got the bird.  He recovered and was released. Nice story. Last Boat is traveling with 4 other boats from New Bern, NC. 

Monday, April 4, 2016.  We went over and visited with Nelson and Ondra (Last Boat). It is sunny and 82 degrees and the wind is East at 15-20.  We went to town (a one mile dingy ride across the harbor (but with the wind).  The dingy dock is inside a lake called Lake Victoria and you must negotiate a narrow bridge with a current running to get there.  There is a gas station there for fuel, a liquor store, restaurants, a grocery and most everything you would need.  Tranee’s Hair Salon has fresh fish.  There are stands selling local fruit and vegies. Submit (with granddaughter), Windsome, and Aftermath at the dingy dock.  We also met Capt. Sugar, a local fisherman, who told us the fish we are seeing under the lights at night are Jacks, that are chasing “fry” (little fish) that are attracted to the light.  He said you could probably catch the jacks with a net with a net.

We had lunch at the Red Boone Café.  The burgers were excellent, the internet works, and the ambiance “rustic”.

There are two major breweries  in the Bahamas, Sands and Kalik (pronounced Kă – lick).  Each of them has come out with a “Radler”, which is similar to a “Shandy”, in that they have fruit juice mixed in with the beer.  Kalik’s has lemon juice, Sands has grapefruit juice.  The sands is “Pink Sands”, like “pink sands on the beach”, and is yummy.  Click here for more information on Sands Brewery www.bahamianbrewery.com

Lisa and Margaret (Jaz) walk the beach in the afternoon.  Dinner on board Jaz with Outbound.  Coconut curry fish, BBQ chicken, Caprese Salad (Fresh tomato, mozzarella, and basil (sometimes onion), with olive oil, balsamic reduction, salt, pepper (sometimes on toast points).  We had actually found fresh mozzarella at the Exuma Market (grocery), but it (and all the other cheeses) were unlabeled.

We battened down everything for the big wind that is predicted for tonight.  More boats arrive to hide next to this beach.  Wind is supposed to come NE and E.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016.  Beautiful morning in paradise.  Wind N @10, cool and dry.  70 degrees, sunny.  Wind now predicted to build during the course of the day.  At noon, we met Last Boat, Jaz, Outbound and two other boats on the beach for a walk.  Saw a cave where someone had left mementos and built a fire pit (for those cold winter nights?).  We followed a trail across the island to a beach the sound side and looked for sea beans and shells. We then followed another trail along the ridge line east to another beach. No sea beans, but a beautiful walk.  The wind has built to 20 from the NE.

Dinner on board Outbound, with Jaz.  Deb made baked pasta, very nice.  We brought a salad made from fresh spinach, red bell pepper, onion, cucumber, tomato (nice to have fresh vegies from the grocery when the mail/supply boat comes in).  We added purslane to the salad, which grows wild on the beach and is a bit sour and salty. 

Click here for more info on ‘Sea Purslane”

http://www.eattheweeds.com/sesuvium-portulacastrum-maritime-munch-2/

Wind howling 20-25 NE.  Flat where we are.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016.  Sunny, 70 degrees, wind E @ 20+.  Outbound and Jaz come to Rhiannon to discuss travel thoughts.  Outbound is here until April 28, when Deb flies home and crew flies in.  They would like to go to Long Island, Rum Cay, and Conception Island before Deb leaves – if the wind changes direction.  Also, the Family Regatta is here the last week in April and they want to be here for that.  We can’t stay that long as we have to catch a flight out of Marsh Harbor (north of here in the Abacos) on May 5 and we would like to catch up with Down Time, who is currently with Greenstone and Saber Tooth currently in Cambridge Cay (also north of here).  Nothing is really decided, but at least everyone’s priorities are known.  The Family Regatta is a huge event.  The boats have to be built of wood, canvas sails, and owned and captained by Bahamians.  Sometimes you can get a place as crew if you know the right people. Maybe next year we will plan to be here for that.  There is also a Cruising Regatta in late February that the cruising boats can be a part of.  Click here for information on the Family Regatta

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2015/04/28/photos-national-family-island-regatta-2015/

            We are still smelling an odor from the forward head.  When we check the air vent and the                               charcoal filter, we find it is full of water.  We dismantle the forward berth to check the holding tank beneath and find the tank expanded significantly.  The Y-valve which controls whether you pump he tank out overboard through the macerator or whether it gets pumped out through the deck (to a pump out facility or pump-out boat) is not functioning correctly, which means we were not actually emptying the tank when we thought we were (which may be why the macerator pump had to be replaced).  We got the Y-valve in the position so we can pump out through the macerator.  It will have to be replace d when we can find a new one.  Cleaned everything again…………….

            At 5, we dingied with Jaz over to the St. Francis Yacht Club for dinner and the weekly jam session. The place was packed, but we managed to find a table.  I guess you need to get there a couple of hours early to get a prime table.  The entertainment was good, some excellent.  There was even a “rake and scrape” band playing saws, washboards and the like.  Lisa had a Caesar salad with grilled shrimp, Margaret had the largest BLT we have ever seen and Chris and I had conch chowder and wings.  The wings were just OK and the conch chowder tasted and looked like Campbell’s Minestrone with some conch cut up in it.  The conch chowder we had at Ocean Cabin on Little Farmers was far superior and Ernestine even told us how to make it. 

            We saw some folks we met in Bimini (Abby Singer, Windsome, Southern Cross) as well as Manana (who we met in Brunswick).

           

            Afterward, we stopped at the famous Chat & Chill Grill.  It is on the same little harbor on Stocking Island.  This place was a disappointment.  I am sure some of the issue is the two storms that came through here a couple of months ago.  They had 90 mph straight line winds and over 100 boats went aground.  They were closing at sundown today because everyone went to St. Francis.  The building looks like it is on its last legs and was incredibly dirty – even for a rustic beach bar.  Their location is great tho’ facing the sunset on the beach.

            The temperature is only 70 degrees and the wind and occasional rain make it chilly.  We got back to the boat just as it started.

            Thursday, April 7, 2016. Sunny, 80 degrees, wind S @ 10.  At 10am, we lifted the anchor and moved across the bay to anchor close to Georgetown (about 1 ½ miles). We took the laundry to The Corner Laundry and dropped it off.  They have a wash and fold service that is very inexpensive. We talked to BTC about the fact that we cannot send email via Benny’s email account.  They referred the issue to technical support and are supposed to call us back.  We also called Metrocast in the US and they checked everything from their end and said it was OK.  We refilled the water cans with jerry cans filled at the dingy dock and refilled the diesel from jerry cans filled at the local Shell station.  There is a marina here, but you never know if they will have gas or diesel and the docks are reputed to be “shaky”. 

At 4:30 we met Windsome (Gary and Janet), Southern Cross (Steve), Jaz (Margaret and Chris), Manana (Tom and Ginny) and Outbound (Steve and Deb) at Peace and Plenty for a BBQ buffet and a Rake and Scrape band.  Peace and Plenty is a nice hotel and restaurant facing the harbor in Georgetown.  The BBQ did not start until 7 and the band (which was not a Rake and Scrape) did not start until 8:30.  We left at nine (aka boater’s midnight).  The wind had died completely and the Elizabeth Harbor was like a pond.  The food was good and the company was great!

1.5 miles today 23°30.32’N  075°45.86’W

Friday, April 8, 2016. Anchor up at 8:00am.  Sunny, 80 degrees, wind SSE @ 5.  Jaz has already left and Outbound is staying.  We probably won’t see them again until Brunswick, GA.  Last Boat left yesterday for Nassau, then home to North Carolina. Our batteries are very low.  The solar panel does a good job of keeping up with demand during the day, but we are running two refrigerators and they deplete the house batteries overnight.  The VHF is even complaining.  The chart plotter also will not boot up, but a call to Raymarine and they told us how to reboot the unit.  Working fine now.  They did suggest that we not turn items on until the engine was running, especially when the power is low, so we do not create a power surge. 

8:45am, out of Georgetown (Elizabeth Harbor) and heading north.  Wind SW@5, seas flat.  We left at the same time as a Catalina 47 (High Priority) which has a dark blue hull.  Very pretty.

Noon – sunny, wind NNW@5.  3:30pm – Farmers Cut, by Little Farmers Cay, and we cross from Exuma Sound (very deep water) to Exuma Banks (shallow water).  We take the southern route around Little Farmers.  It is low tide and in some spots on 6 ½ feet of water (we need at least 5).  This is common in the Bahamas. We talked to Stella Maris.  They are still in Black Point and finally met up with their German friends.  They are leaving tomorrow for Black Point, then on to Bermuda (directly) and then the Chesapeake.

5pm, anchor down at Hetty’s Land about 5 miles south of Black Point (Great Guana Cay).  Jaz is here and we are the only 2 boats except for a couple of kayakers.  49.2 miles today. 

24°01.61’N  075°21.61’W

Saturday, April 9, 2016. Sunny 70 degrees at 8am.  Wind went calm overnight.  We walked across the island to the Sound (east) side with Margaret (Jaz).  Chris went snorkeling.  We trekked about a mile through a mangrove pond, and up and over some large rock formations to reach a spot on the other side where flotsam collects.  We’re not sure why, but certain formations of the shore tend to collect large quantities of stuff.  We hope to find some sea beans here, we did last year.  Sure enough, Margaret found two heart shaped ones and I found another.  Legend has it that if you have one of these on board, your boat will not sink.  We saw Stella Maris sail by on their way to Georgetown and were able to raise them on the handheld VHF to say “sayonara”.

Jaz left at noon for Black Point, trying to sail, but the wind out of the north on the nose making it challenging.  The wind is supposed to pick up to 20+ out of the NE tonight and Black point will be an ok anchorage in the wind.

We had lunch and a swim.  We talked to High Priority as he passed by on his way to Black Point. At 2pm, we raised the anchor and headed the 8 miles to Black Point.  Sunny, 80 degrees, wind North at 5.  3:30pm, anchor down at Black Point not too far east of the Government dock.  Chris and I made a run into town to deposit trash, get bread at Lorraine’s mom’s and ice from DeShammon’s restaurant.  We had a couple of those Pink Sands while waiting for the ice machine to fill the bags.

Dinner on board Jaz.  Margaret made vegetarian chili with  sweet potatoes. We made another of the salads like we did on Tuesday, using the last of the purslane.  Plenty more on the beach.  Glorious sunset tonight – more spectacular than usual.

8 miles today. 24°06.01’N 076°24.14’W

The wind came up overnight.  Waves sneaking around the point make the anchorage rocky and rolly.  Wind constant 15-20 from the northeast.  Not very comfortable for sleeping.

For some reason, our VHF is acting up again.  We can transmit 20 miles, but have trouble receiving.

Sunday, April 10, 2016. Wind howling NE20-25+, sunny, 75 degrees.  Lisa’s back has been bothering her for a while, so today is a good day to lay low.  She is making flowers (ala Ember Stokes).  Margaret and Chris (Jaz) come to visit and Margaret makes some flowers also.  I am trying to figure out the VHF issue and work on this blog.  Dinner on board this evening.

Monday, April 11, 2016. 8am, wind still howling.  Gusts hit 30+ overnight.  Chris and I made another trash run, ice, milk, eggs and Miss Ida’s (Rockside Laundry) carrot cake.  Chris wanted a block of ice, so Miss Ida gave us a ride to her house in her golf cart to get the ice from the shed out back. Very nice house.

Anchor up at noon, wind ENE @15-25.  I managed to slam the anchor hatch on my big toe.  Ouch!  That’s why you are supposed to wear shoes on deck!  We head around to the south side of Black Point, close to the beach by the pink house and the Castle (or the house that looks like one).  The VHF seems to be working fine today. Go figure!  1 pm anchor down.

We talked to Saber Tooth today.  They have met up with Down Time (we traveled with them in the Abacos last year) and they are headed to Eleuthera with Greenstone.  They are currently at Cambridge Cay.  We hope to get there tomorrow and see all of them before they leave.  We also talked to Majestic Phoenix.  They are headed to Black Point to do laundry and then may meet us at Cambridge.  Lisle is also on their way to Black Point.  We may also meet them back at Cambridge.

The toe finally stopped bleeding and we kept ice on it all afternoon.  Chris and Margaret went exploring and found a secluded beach.  Margaret found her first hamburger bean.

We talked to Uniden and they could not figure out the issue with the ship’s vhf radio.  They do not repair the radio we have, but it would be nice to find a spare, because when it is working correctly, it has a strong signal and reception.  It also has wireless remote microphone, which we like a lot. Maybe ebay.  Uniden asked if we were running anything that might cause interference.  We did have the inverter on, but can’t remember if it was at the same time we were having the reception issue. We know that when talking to Greenstone at one point, he had his inverter on and we could not hear him. Have to experiment with that.

2.5 miles today  24°04.83’N  076°23.26’W

            By dusk, there were 13 boats anchored here out of the wind and the waves.  This is supposed to die down overnight.  Triumph, who was here, moved over to the north side Black Point, so boats are moving from one side to the other to find the best spot to get out of the wind.

Click here to see pictures of Black Point to Georgetown and Return