Friday morning we went snorkeling again then we had a great sail down to Salt Pond.
Saturday we went to the grocery store then walked over to the beach.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Long Island
Thursday we woke up to a mirror like calm. Unfortunately, our plan was to sail to Long Island. It turned out to be a day to charge the batteries as we call the days we have to motor. We left with STAR and our plan was to fish on the way over, which we did unsuccessfully. The big excitement of the day was seeing three whales. In the afternoon we anchored at Calabash Bay and went snorkeling and searching for lobsters. Again, no luck, but the fish and coral were beautiful. We had dinner on STAR with LAST TANGO and NUTMEG. The original plan was for everyone to come over to RONDO, but wiser heads prevailed and Gail invited us over to their much bigger and more comfortable boat.
Friday morning we went snorkeling again then we had a great sail down to Salt Pond.
Saturday we went to the grocery store then walked over to the beach.
In the evening we went to the Long Island Breeze Resort (http://www.longislandbreezeresort.com/) for a delicious dinner after watching the sunset.
Friday morning we went snorkeling again then we had a great sail down to Salt Pond.
Saturday we went to the grocery store then walked over to the beach.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Happy Birthday Bill
Monday, Jan 24, 2011
Monday afternoon Tom, Chris, Randy, and Jeannie came over for coffee and sticky buns. It was nice to have guests on our boat for a change. The guys sat out in the cockpit, so there was plenty of room for everyone. For those of you who have not been on RONDO, six people in the cabin would be very crowded.
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2011
Tuesday morning on the radio net Tom announced to everyone that it was Bill’s birthday. He said that if you add up Bill’s age and that of his boat it totals 110. He didn’t want to give away Bill’s age, so he just told everyone that that boat was 50. The radio was busy in the morning with happy birthday wishes and invitations to the potluck birthday party on the beach for Bill and for Gail from STAR who has the same birthday.
When we were getting ready to go ashore Bill looked up and saw a dinghy drifting through the harbor so he jumped in our dinghy to go rescue it. A dinghy adrift seems to travel at about twice the speed it normally travels. He caught up with it, but the wandering dinghy was a heavy whaler and was quite content to go its own way. It was a bit of a struggle for our small underpowered dinghy to convince the other one to follow along nicely and return to its boat.
We spent part of the morning collecting firewood for a bonfire on the beach. While we were on a trail looking for wood Bill and I met some people on a catamaran who will be going to Maine. We invited them to the party and hope to see them this summer. They had guests with them and we invited them too. One of the guests is from Belgium and is involved with a very cool restoration project of a steel boat that once belonged to a famous Belgian singer that was wrecked in New Zealand, brought back to Belgium, and is being restored. He was down here collecting photographs and information about the boat from the couple on the catamaran.
Bill had requested pie for his birthday instead of cake so I spent the afternoon baking. I made an apple pie, a key lime pie, and a cherry pie. Bob on STAR made a delicious chocolate cake for Gail. It seems like everyone else also spent the afternoon in the galley. The selection and quality of the food at the potluck was amazing. Kathleen from WINGS spent the afternoon pitting dates and restuffing them with almonds. Her son had brought the almonds and dates from Bahrain. Patty from LAST TANGO brought Bill’s favorite dessert, lemon squares. There was a huge selection of pastas, appetizers, breads, casseroles, and desserts. No one went away hungry.
After dinner we had a bonfire and Gail led everyone in a session of jokes. The jokes were varied from tame to very adult. The Belgian gentleman had some very funny jokes and was the hit of the party. Skip from RHAPSODY and Mike from ZERO TO CRUISING had some great jokes. A fun time was had by all.
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011
The morning was spent doing errands, along with most of the other cruisers in the harbor. The propane truck has been fixed. Clarence, the driver, probably felt like a rock star he was so mobbed with people. While half the people were busy making Clarence feel popular the rest of us were at the laundry. The workers at the laundry were keeping a list to maintain order and discipline it was so busy. The TV at the laundry was on showing CNN and the snowy weather in the U.S. We were all pretty happy to be frittering away the day doing errands in the warm weather rather than dealing with the snow.
Tomorrow we are planning on heading to Long Island for most of a week with STAR and WALKABOUT so we filled up on water and diesel. This is quite a lot of effort as we have to bring everything to the boat in jerry cans in the dinghy. I hope this answers the question of “what do you do all day.”
Monday afternoon Tom, Chris, Randy, and Jeannie came over for coffee and sticky buns. It was nice to have guests on our boat for a change. The guys sat out in the cockpit, so there was plenty of room for everyone. For those of you who have not been on RONDO, six people in the cabin would be very crowded.
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2011
Tuesday morning on the radio net Tom announced to everyone that it was Bill’s birthday. He said that if you add up Bill’s age and that of his boat it totals 110. He didn’t want to give away Bill’s age, so he just told everyone that that boat was 50. The radio was busy in the morning with happy birthday wishes and invitations to the potluck birthday party on the beach for Bill and for Gail from STAR who has the same birthday.
When we were getting ready to go ashore Bill looked up and saw a dinghy drifting through the harbor so he jumped in our dinghy to go rescue it. A dinghy adrift seems to travel at about twice the speed it normally travels. He caught up with it, but the wandering dinghy was a heavy whaler and was quite content to go its own way. It was a bit of a struggle for our small underpowered dinghy to convince the other one to follow along nicely and return to its boat.
We spent part of the morning collecting firewood for a bonfire on the beach. While we were on a trail looking for wood Bill and I met some people on a catamaran who will be going to Maine. We invited them to the party and hope to see them this summer. They had guests with them and we invited them too. One of the guests is from Belgium and is involved with a very cool restoration project of a steel boat that once belonged to a famous Belgian singer that was wrecked in New Zealand, brought back to Belgium, and is being restored. He was down here collecting photographs and information about the boat from the couple on the catamaran.
Bill had requested pie for his birthday instead of cake so I spent the afternoon baking. I made an apple pie, a key lime pie, and a cherry pie. Bob on STAR made a delicious chocolate cake for Gail. It seems like everyone else also spent the afternoon in the galley. The selection and quality of the food at the potluck was amazing. Kathleen from WINGS spent the afternoon pitting dates and restuffing them with almonds. Her son had brought the almonds and dates from Bahrain. Patty from LAST TANGO brought Bill’s favorite dessert, lemon squares. There was a huge selection of pastas, appetizers, breads, casseroles, and desserts. No one went away hungry.
After dinner we had a bonfire and Gail led everyone in a session of jokes. The jokes were varied from tame to very adult. The Belgian gentleman had some very funny jokes and was the hit of the party. Skip from RHAPSODY and Mike from ZERO TO CRUISING had some great jokes. A fun time was had by all.
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011
The morning was spent doing errands, along with most of the other cruisers in the harbor. The propane truck has been fixed. Clarence, the driver, probably felt like a rock star he was so mobbed with people. While half the people were busy making Clarence feel popular the rest of us were at the laundry. The workers at the laundry were keeping a list to maintain order and discipline it was so busy. The TV at the laundry was on showing CNN and the snowy weather in the U.S. We were all pretty happy to be frittering away the day doing errands in the warm weather rather than dealing with the snow.
Tomorrow we are planning on heading to Long Island for most of a week with STAR and WALKABOUT so we filled up on water and diesel. This is quite a lot of effort as we have to bring everything to the boat in jerry cans in the dinghy. I hope this answers the question of “what do you do all day.”
Monday, January 24, 2011
Jan 22 - 24
Saturday night we were anchored by the town and were invited to POLAR PACER for a game of dominos. Randy and Jeannie from MUTUAL FUN were there to so it was like old times. Another couple were invited - Jen and Josh from SHELIAK. It was a nice coincidence meeting them as Scott from TAMURE had just posted a comment on the blog asking us to keep an eye out for them. Scott said we would like them, and as usual, he was right.
When we left POLAR PACER the weather was fairly calm but around midnight the wind came up. This was expected as a quick cold front was supposed to be going through. There were a few sprinkles of rain so I closed and latched the hatch above the bunk which was sufficient to keep out the rain. Unfortunately I did not dog the hatch down all the way as it was still hot and the air from the eighth inch crack that was left open felt nice. When the wind shifted the waves picked up to the point that the bow of the boat was buried in a wave, causing an impressive amount of water to be forced into the bunk. The cold shower was a rude awakening. We did not get much if any sleep for the rest of the night. Oh well, we had to be up for anchor watch anyway.
At the crack of dawn Sunday morning we headed back across the harbor to a quieter anchorage. We were exhausted and it was still windy out so we spent the day on the boat.
This morning we needed to run some errands to get ready for Bill's 60th birthday party tomorrow so we went back to town. The weather today is cloudy with 15 - 20 knots of wind with higher gusts. Going into town was fine, the dinghy ride back was yet another salt water shower. As soon as we dragged our sopping wet selves onto the boat we headed back across the harbor to our favorite anchorage by the Monument. We were able to sail across the harbor at over 5 knots with only a reefed headsail.
The afternoon has been spent defrosting and cleaning the fridge and baking bread and sticky buns. I am hoping to bake some pies for the pot luck birthday party on the beach tomorrow but the only propane truck on the island has been broken down since last week, so I hope I have enough propane!
When we left POLAR PACER the weather was fairly calm but around midnight the wind came up. This was expected as a quick cold front was supposed to be going through. There were a few sprinkles of rain so I closed and latched the hatch above the bunk which was sufficient to keep out the rain. Unfortunately I did not dog the hatch down all the way as it was still hot and the air from the eighth inch crack that was left open felt nice. When the wind shifted the waves picked up to the point that the bow of the boat was buried in a wave, causing an impressive amount of water to be forced into the bunk. The cold shower was a rude awakening. We did not get much if any sleep for the rest of the night. Oh well, we had to be up for anchor watch anyway.
At the crack of dawn Sunday morning we headed back across the harbor to a quieter anchorage. We were exhausted and it was still windy out so we spent the day on the boat.
This morning we needed to run some errands to get ready for Bill's 60th birthday party tomorrow so we went back to town. The weather today is cloudy with 15 - 20 knots of wind with higher gusts. Going into town was fine, the dinghy ride back was yet another salt water shower. As soon as we dragged our sopping wet selves onto the boat we headed back across the harbor to our favorite anchorage by the Monument. We were able to sail across the harbor at over 5 knots with only a reefed headsail.
The afternoon has been spent defrosting and cleaning the fridge and baking bread and sticky buns. I am hoping to bake some pies for the pot luck birthday party on the beach tomorrow but the only propane truck on the island has been broken down since last week, so I hope I have enough propane!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Jan 18 - Jan 22
Tuesday morning Gail from STAR and I went to a ladies only clinic on how to play Texas Hold Em poker at the St. Francis Resort. This was a lot of fun. I hope they have a clinic for the guys that don't know how to play so I can convince Bill to go to one of the Tuesday and Thursday night poker games, it only costs $5 to play so it seems like it would be a fun and relatively inexpensive evening out. Tuesday night we went to a birthday party for Michelle from TEXAS TWO STEP who turned 17. As the party was starting the full moon was rising over the monument. She is very luck to have a full moon birthday on the beach in the Bahamas.
The bad news part of Tuesday was our computer crashed.
Wednesday morning we raised anchor, motored over to town, reanchored, dinghied in, then walked to the computer shop to drop off the computer. Then we dinghied back to the boat, raised anchor, motored back to Stocking Island, and reanchored. In the afternoon we hiked to the ocean side of Stocking Island with Bob and Gail and spent the afternoon swimming. The beautiful long sandy beach with sparkling clear warm water is virtually deserted. We saw one person near us and a few people way off in the distance, otherwise we had the beach completely to ourselves. It was a fantastic day for a swim since the temperature was in the high 80s to low 90s.
Thursday we spent the morning doing some errands (again requiring the whole raising anchor, motoring, dinghying routine) checking on the computer, going to the library, stopping at the grocery store, etc. In the afternoon we went to the beach with Tom and Chris from POLAR PACER. This time there were no other people in view on the miles of beach for the whole afternoon. I guess the people on the other two hundred boats are too busy socializing in the harbor to enjoy the great swimming. In the evening we had dinner on STAR with Sylvia and Ben from WHISPER. Sylvia and Ben spend most of the year at their farm in Iowa (600 - 700 acres of corn and soybeans that they farm all by themselves). They spend the winters sailing on their aluminum junk rigged schooner. They take their farming skills to sea with them and provided the sprouts and basil for the salad.
Friday we had a nice visit with Jeannie and Randy from MUTUAL FUN. It was nice catching up with them as we have not seen them since Lake Worth, FL. We then went for our daily trek to the computer shop. Lunch was at a new place in town, Dennys. It is a little tiny building with picnic tables. The owner is very friendly and personable and the food is very good and relatively affordable so the cruisers are all trying to support him and make his business a sucess. It takes about an hour to get a cheeseburger, but no one here is in a hurry. In the afternoon about 300 cruisers showed up for a tea hosted by the Tourist Bureau. Advertising free food is a guarantee of a big turnout! For a change we stayed on the boat in the evening, and did not move the boat. Tom from POLAR PACER said the other cruisers have been making comments about our using RONDO to go back and forth across the harbor instead of using the dinghy. He came to our defense by explaining that RONDO is the size of a dinghy, and we stay drier on the trip.
Saturday we walked to the first ever Exuma farmers market in Fish Fry Village. After the 1 1/2 to 2 mile walk it turns out it was one booth selling the same produce we bought in town yesterday from the truck next to the dinghy dock. Oh well, it was nice to see a new place. Fish Fry is a series of very small colorful restaurants and bars out in the middle of nowhere. The only place open was the farmers market booth. It looks like it probably comes alive in the evening and is probably a fun place for the locals (people with cars) to hang out.
When we got back to town the good new was the computer was finally fixed
The bad news part of Tuesday was our computer crashed.
Wednesday morning we raised anchor, motored over to town, reanchored, dinghied in, then walked to the computer shop to drop off the computer. Then we dinghied back to the boat, raised anchor, motored back to Stocking Island, and reanchored. In the afternoon we hiked to the ocean side of Stocking Island with Bob and Gail and spent the afternoon swimming. The beautiful long sandy beach with sparkling clear warm water is virtually deserted. We saw one person near us and a few people way off in the distance, otherwise we had the beach completely to ourselves. It was a fantastic day for a swim since the temperature was in the high 80s to low 90s.
Thursday we spent the morning doing some errands (again requiring the whole raising anchor, motoring, dinghying routine) checking on the computer, going to the library, stopping at the grocery store, etc. In the afternoon we went to the beach with Tom and Chris from POLAR PACER. This time there were no other people in view on the miles of beach for the whole afternoon. I guess the people on the other two hundred boats are too busy socializing in the harbor to enjoy the great swimming. In the evening we had dinner on STAR with Sylvia and Ben from WHISPER. Sylvia and Ben spend most of the year at their farm in Iowa (600 - 700 acres of corn and soybeans that they farm all by themselves). They spend the winters sailing on their aluminum junk rigged schooner. They take their farming skills to sea with them and provided the sprouts and basil for the salad.
Friday we had a nice visit with Jeannie and Randy from MUTUAL FUN. It was nice catching up with them as we have not seen them since Lake Worth, FL. We then went for our daily trek to the computer shop. Lunch was at a new place in town, Dennys. It is a little tiny building with picnic tables. The owner is very friendly and personable and the food is very good and relatively affordable so the cruisers are all trying to support him and make his business a sucess. It takes about an hour to get a cheeseburger, but no one here is in a hurry. In the afternoon about 300 cruisers showed up for a tea hosted by the Tourist Bureau. Advertising free food is a guarantee of a big turnout! For a change we stayed on the boat in the evening, and did not move the boat. Tom from POLAR PACER said the other cruisers have been making comments about our using RONDO to go back and forth across the harbor instead of using the dinghy. He came to our defense by explaining that RONDO is the size of a dinghy, and we stay drier on the trip.
Saturday we walked to the first ever Exuma farmers market in Fish Fry Village. After the 1 1/2 to 2 mile walk it turns out it was one booth selling the same produce we bought in town yesterday from the truck next to the dinghy dock. Oh well, it was nice to see a new place. Fish Fry is a series of very small colorful restaurants and bars out in the middle of nowhere. The only place open was the farmers market booth. It looks like it probably comes alive in the evening and is probably a fun place for the locals (people with cars) to hang out.
Farmers Market
When we got back to town the good new was the computer was finally fixed
J&K Productions Computer Shop.
A sad sight today was a Haitian boat tied up to the dock. Apparently 60 people were on this boat when they were found. They were sent back to Haiti via two plane loads. It is disturbing to think of so many people desperate enough to get on a very small rickety looking boat hoping for a better life. The masts, spars, and tiller for the boat still look like the trees they are made from. Several other cruisers also went to look at the boat. We can't figure out how they physically fit on the boat. It must have been an unpleasant and frightening trip. Looking at their boat made us all realize how fortunate we are not only in our well built boats with electronics and charts, but in our lives in general. Hopefully things will improve in Haiti so people will no longer be driven to such extremes to try to find a better life.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Jan 12 - 17
On the 12th we had a busy morning finishing up some grocery shopping, exchanging books at the wonderful little library, and renewing our immigration. In the afternoon we visited with Gail and Bob. The next two days were quite windy (over 20 knots all day and all night) so we stayed on the boat. The first day of being boatbound is okay, but then it starts getting really boring. By Friday night we had resorted to drawing a cribbage board on a piece of parchment paper. I even finished knitting a sock that I have been working on for an embarassingly long time. Saturday it was still windy with some rain in the morning, but by afternoon the wind was down to 15 knots so we dinghied ashore and went for a hike up to the monument, then a walk on the beach. It was still so windy on the windward side of the island that after about an hour we could not see through the salt on our glasses.
Sunday's radio quote for the day "Does anyone know if we need shoes to attend beach church?" The answer is no. The wind was down to mostly below 15 knots so the social scene is back in full swing. We went for a hike in the morning, then Bill fixed the exhaust wrap from the turbo charger to the exhaust elbow on BLESSED SPIRIT. Corning and Tita treated us to lunch at Chat N Chill and also introduced us to Wade and Diane on JOANA. In the afternoon POLAR PACER pulled into the harbor and anchored behind us. It was a treat to see Chris and Tom again. In the evening we went to a potluck.
Monday we took RONDO over to town since it is about a mile and it would have been a long wet ride in the dinghy. Even just using the dinghy from the boat into the dinghy dock was pretty wet. The dinghy dock is in Lake Victoria. To get into the lake there is a tunnel under a bridge. Incoming boats have the right of way. It was so busy that it took four tries to get out as we had to keep circling around to let boats in. While we were in town we went to the library, walked to the pet store (of all places) to pick up an internet card, went to the hardware store, and to the grocery store. The mailboat comes in on Tuesday or Wednesday so the fresh fruits and vegetables were very limited, so we will have to go back in a day or so. Monday night we were invited to JOANA for a visit. Wade and Diane built the entire boat themselves and did a fantastic job. We then went to the dance at Chat N Chill which was a lot of fun. It is very rare that I can get Bill to dance so I made him dance every dance.
View from Monument Hill. The small dark hulled boat is RONDO.
Sunday's radio quote for the day "Does anyone know if we need shoes to attend beach church?" The answer is no. The wind was down to mostly below 15 knots so the social scene is back in full swing. We went for a hike in the morning, then Bill fixed the exhaust wrap from the turbo charger to the exhaust elbow on BLESSED SPIRIT. Corning and Tita treated us to lunch at Chat N Chill and also introduced us to Wade and Diane on JOANA. In the afternoon POLAR PACER pulled into the harbor and anchored behind us. It was a treat to see Chris and Tom again. In the evening we went to a potluck.
Monday we took RONDO over to town since it is about a mile and it would have been a long wet ride in the dinghy. Even just using the dinghy from the boat into the dinghy dock was pretty wet. The dinghy dock is in Lake Victoria. To get into the lake there is a tunnel under a bridge. Incoming boats have the right of way. It was so busy that it took four tries to get out as we had to keep circling around to let boats in. While we were in town we went to the library, walked to the pet store (of all places) to pick up an internet card, went to the hardware store, and to the grocery store. The mailboat comes in on Tuesday or Wednesday so the fresh fruits and vegetables were very limited, so we will have to go back in a day or so. Monday night we were invited to JOANA for a visit. Wade and Diane built the entire boat themselves and did a fantastic job. We then went to the dance at Chat N Chill which was a lot of fun. It is very rare that I can get Bill to dance so I made him dance every dance.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
1/5/11 to 1/11/11
Jan 5 - Jan 11
Wednesday, January 5th we left Black Point in the morning and had a leisurely trip up to Staniel Cay. There was virtually no wind so it was a charge the batteries day. We dropped anchor in front of the yacht club so we could dinghy to the store for groceries. Unfortunately the mail boat had mechanical problems and did not come in meaning there was not much in the way of food available, or propane. We dropped the spare propane tank to be filled they next time propane was available then headed over to Big Majors Spot to wait out the next cold front. We had dinner on LAST TANGO with RHAPSODY, BLUE JACKET, and ITS ABOUT TIME. The next night we had dinner on RHAPSODY, then went home to another night of very little sleep as squalls and thunderstorms came through. We took turns all night checking to be sure the anchor was still holding. When Bill got up just before the sun came up he noticed that a boat was dragging so he had to get in the dinghy and wake them up. Luckily their anchor had caught about 15 feet before they hit another boat so all was well. Mid-morning Skip and Carol came over for coffee and apple turnovers. At some point the conversation turned to charts and the GPS chip that we bought that has all the east coast and the Bahamas does not fit our GPS. Skip only had Florida and Bahamas charts and the chip would fit into his machine, so that worked out well for everyone.
Saturday the weather had calmed down, and the mail boat had made a delivery to Staniel Cay so we were able to pick up our propane and a few groceries before heading further south. This turned out to be one of the best sailing days we have had, perhaps ever. We were sailing fast on a very comfortable beam reach in almost flat seas. The boat felt very solid, steady, and was perfectly balanced. In the afternoon I baked two loaves of bread and a batch of cinnamon buns. It was a treat to bake underway with the boat so stable. Our plan was to pick up a mooring at Lee Stocking Island, but when we got there the moorings were gone. We called RHAPSODY who had been sailing down just behind us and decided to try the anchorage by Leaf Cay which turned out to be a good choice. Skip dinghied over to say hello just as I was taking bread out of the oven. He was very excited about the surprise of fresh, hot bread.
The next day we went for a walk on the beach on Normans Pond Cay, then went for a long dinghy ride looking for good snorkeling reefs. Halfway down the west side of the Cay we found the canal into the old salt flats. We had to paddle the dinghy into the canal as it was too shallow for the outboard and too narrow to row. The mangroves along the canal and in the old salt ponds are the nursery grounds for a wide variety of fish. As we were paddling along schools of fish would swim ahead of us then dart into the safety of the mangrove roots. On the way out the tide was rushing in so it was a vigorous paddle to get back out. As we came out of the canal we saw a large ray swimming by the entrance. We then continued our circumnavigation of Norman’s Pond Cay and returned to the boat just in time to go snorkeling with Skip and Carol. We spent about two hours snorkeling on several different reefs. I had found a clear dry bag for my camera and tried taking underwater photos but they mostly came out blurry, which was too bad as there were lots of fish.
Monday we moved the three miles to Lee Stocking Island for the tour of the Marine Research Center. The researcher leading the tour is studying corals and showed us the tanks where he is doing experiments. At the end of the tour as everyone was getting in their dinghies to head back to their boats one of the two Jack Russell terriers that live on the island jumped off the dock to chase the first boat. The man in the dinghy fished him out of the water and handed him up to Bill who was still on the dock who carried the dripping wet unhappy dog back to the researcher who had forgotten to put him inside before people started leaving. This dog is obsessed with dinghies and if he is out chases them as they leave the dock.
Tuesday morning (1/1/11) we decided to head for Georgetown even though the wind was right on the nose since we were getting short on food. We had enough on board that we would not go hungry, but the selection was getting very limited. Even though we had to motor it was a beautiful day and there were about 15 other boats headed in the same direction. Our GPS charts end just before Georgetown so we have to use old fashioned paper technology. We followed our own course in, but I have to admit it is reassuring that the boats with the electronics were right ahead and behind us, so I guess we did okay. In the afternoon we went to the grocery store and filled up 4 jerry cans of fresh water, a noteworthy and exciting event in the life of a cruiser.
Wednesday, January 5th we left Black Point in the morning and had a leisurely trip up to Staniel Cay. There was virtually no wind so it was a charge the batteries day. We dropped anchor in front of the yacht club so we could dinghy to the store for groceries. Unfortunately the mail boat had mechanical problems and did not come in meaning there was not much in the way of food available, or propane. We dropped the spare propane tank to be filled they next time propane was available then headed over to Big Majors Spot to wait out the next cold front. We had dinner on LAST TANGO with RHAPSODY, BLUE JACKET, and ITS ABOUT TIME. The next night we had dinner on RHAPSODY, then went home to another night of very little sleep as squalls and thunderstorms came through. We took turns all night checking to be sure the anchor was still holding. When Bill got up just before the sun came up he noticed that a boat was dragging so he had to get in the dinghy and wake them up. Luckily their anchor had caught about 15 feet before they hit another boat so all was well. Mid-morning Skip and Carol came over for coffee and apple turnovers. At some point the conversation turned to charts and the GPS chip that we bought that has all the east coast and the Bahamas does not fit our GPS. Skip only had Florida and Bahamas charts and the chip would fit into his machine, so that worked out well for everyone.
Saturday the weather had calmed down, and the mail boat had made a delivery to Staniel Cay so we were able to pick up our propane and a few groceries before heading further south. This turned out to be one of the best sailing days we have had, perhaps ever. We were sailing fast on a very comfortable beam reach in almost flat seas. The boat felt very solid, steady, and was perfectly balanced. In the afternoon I baked two loaves of bread and a batch of cinnamon buns. It was a treat to bake underway with the boat so stable. Our plan was to pick up a mooring at Lee Stocking Island, but when we got there the moorings were gone. We called RHAPSODY who had been sailing down just behind us and decided to try the anchorage by Leaf Cay which turned out to be a good choice. Skip dinghied over to say hello just as I was taking bread out of the oven. He was very excited about the surprise of fresh, hot bread.
The next day we went for a walk on the beach on Normans Pond Cay, then went for a long dinghy ride looking for good snorkeling reefs. Halfway down the west side of the Cay we found the canal into the old salt flats. We had to paddle the dinghy into the canal as it was too shallow for the outboard and too narrow to row. The mangroves along the canal and in the old salt ponds are the nursery grounds for a wide variety of fish. As we were paddling along schools of fish would swim ahead of us then dart into the safety of the mangrove roots. On the way out the tide was rushing in so it was a vigorous paddle to get back out. As we came out of the canal we saw a large ray swimming by the entrance. We then continued our circumnavigation of Norman’s Pond Cay and returned to the boat just in time to go snorkeling with Skip and Carol. We spent about two hours snorkeling on several different reefs. I had found a clear dry bag for my camera and tried taking underwater photos but they mostly came out blurry, which was too bad as there were lots of fish.
Monday we moved the three miles to Lee Stocking Island for the tour of the Marine Research Center. The researcher leading the tour is studying corals and showed us the tanks where he is doing experiments. At the end of the tour as everyone was getting in their dinghies to head back to their boats one of the two Jack Russell terriers that live on the island jumped off the dock to chase the first boat. The man in the dinghy fished him out of the water and handed him up to Bill who was still on the dock who carried the dripping wet unhappy dog back to the researcher who had forgotten to put him inside before people started leaving. This dog is obsessed with dinghies and if he is out chases them as they leave the dock.
Tuesday morning (1/1/11) we decided to head for Georgetown even though the wind was right on the nose since we were getting short on food. We had enough on board that we would not go hungry, but the selection was getting very limited. Even though we had to motor it was a beautiful day and there were about 15 other boats headed in the same direction. Our GPS charts end just before Georgetown so we have to use old fashioned paper technology. We followed our own course in, but I have to admit it is reassuring that the boats with the electronics were right ahead and behind us, so I guess we did okay. In the afternoon we went to the grocery store and filled up 4 jerry cans of fresh water, a noteworthy and exciting event in the life of a cruiser.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Jan 1 - 4, 2011
Corning from BLESSED SPIRIT was our New Year’s hero. When we left the yacht club after dinner we found that our dinghy was deflated on the beach. I guess the festivities were too much for it. Corning and Tita gave us a ride out to our boat and in the morning Corning picked Bill up and gave him a ride back in with all of his dinghy repair tools. Luckily it turned out that one of the valves had loosened up so it was an easy fix.
New Year’s day we had a fast sail up to Pipe Creek. The first part was fun as we had to sail through the boats tacking around waiting for the start of the Cruiser’s Regatta. We went through about an hour before the race started so we weren’t in the way of a race. The entrance to Pipe Creek is tricky. We made it in okay with only one small bump into the sand. In the afternoon we went for a hike on Thomas Cay. The next day we spent quite a long time snorkeling. There are some very pretty coral gardens and we saw a lot of fish. In the afternoon Bill sorted out the fishing gear which we have never really looked at and have only the vaguest idea how to use.
On the third we headed out to Black Point, luckily it was fairly calm so we could go out through Thomas Cay Cut instead of backtracking. Bill decided to try his hand at fishing for the first time. The lure he used was hunter orange and looked slightly like a squid sort of thing. He let out a couple of hundred feet of line and hoped for the best. We talked about what to do if we actually caught a fish and what we know about fish. We realized that the only one we could reliably identify and that was good to eat was a Mahi Mahi. Anything else we would have to throw back, assuming that a fish was dumb enough to be outwitted by our very rudimentary fishing skills. We decided that we would have to buy a book on fish even though we had very little expectation of catching anything. At about that time the reel started spinning. I dug out the autopilot and set that up while Bill reeled in a beautiful Mahi Mahi. When they are alive they are a gorgeous neon green color. Bill brought it to the boat, poured some alcohol into its gill, and it quickly faded to a dull greenish yellow color. Cleaning and filleting it was a challenge in Rondo's tiny narrow cockpit, especially with the auto pilot pushing the tiller around as Bill was trying to lean over it to cut up the fish. After about a half an hour of cleaning it, then cleaning up the cockpit, we had enough fish for several meals.
Tuesday afternoon we went ashore at Black Point. The laundry was busy so we went for a walk to the Garden of Eden where we had a tour along with another couple of cruisers. Willie Rolle, who is the owner and creater of the garden gave us a wonderful tour. The garden is made up of pieces of wood that he has found in the brush. He only picks up wood that has already fallen and that is not rotten and that resembles something. He has an incredible imagination and vision. He tries to have two of everything. For example, an eagle on a tree and an eagle in flight. Without Willie’s guidance it would be difficult to see all of the shapes in the garden. He compares it to looking at clouds and seeing different animals. He also has an impressive garden. Because we are not familiar with the plants in the Bahamas it looks like some shrubs and weedy looking trees among the rock, but he grows coconuts, tamarind, guava, papaya, grapefruit, apples, grapes, and sea grapes along with peas, aloe, lettuce, and many other types of fruits and vegetables. All of this with virtually no soil. Willie is very generous, part of the reason he created the garden was to give the cruisers something to do besides go to a bar. While he was pointing out his various trees he gave us a coconut that he knocked down from the tree with a long stick, some tamarind, a guava, and some lemon grass.
Wednesday’s goal was laundry. The Black Point laundry is a destination in itself. The reason most of the cruisers come to Black Point is for the laundry. Ida has a clean, well run, big laundry with new machines and her laundry probably has the best view of any laundry in the world, and it has a dinghy dock.
New Year’s day we had a fast sail up to Pipe Creek. The first part was fun as we had to sail through the boats tacking around waiting for the start of the Cruiser’s Regatta. We went through about an hour before the race started so we weren’t in the way of a race. The entrance to Pipe Creek is tricky. We made it in okay with only one small bump into the sand. In the afternoon we went for a hike on Thomas Cay. The next day we spent quite a long time snorkeling. There are some very pretty coral gardens and we saw a lot of fish. In the afternoon Bill sorted out the fishing gear which we have never really looked at and have only the vaguest idea how to use.
On the third we headed out to Black Point, luckily it was fairly calm so we could go out through Thomas Cay Cut instead of backtracking. Bill decided to try his hand at fishing for the first time. The lure he used was hunter orange and looked slightly like a squid sort of thing. He let out a couple of hundred feet of line and hoped for the best. We talked about what to do if we actually caught a fish and what we know about fish. We realized that the only one we could reliably identify and that was good to eat was a Mahi Mahi. Anything else we would have to throw back, assuming that a fish was dumb enough to be outwitted by our very rudimentary fishing skills. We decided that we would have to buy a book on fish even though we had very little expectation of catching anything. At about that time the reel started spinning. I dug out the autopilot and set that up while Bill reeled in a beautiful Mahi Mahi. When they are alive they are a gorgeous neon green color. Bill brought it to the boat, poured some alcohol into its gill, and it quickly faded to a dull greenish yellow color. Cleaning and filleting it was a challenge in Rondo's tiny narrow cockpit, especially with the auto pilot pushing the tiller around as Bill was trying to lean over it to cut up the fish. After about a half an hour of cleaning it, then cleaning up the cockpit, we had enough fish for several meals.
Tuesday afternoon we went ashore at Black Point. The laundry was busy so we went for a walk to the Garden of Eden where we had a tour along with another couple of cruisers. Willie Rolle, who is the owner and creater of the garden gave us a wonderful tour. The garden is made up of pieces of wood that he has found in the brush. He only picks up wood that has already fallen and that is not rotten and that resembles something. He has an incredible imagination and vision. He tries to have two of everything. For example, an eagle on a tree and an eagle in flight. Without Willie’s guidance it would be difficult to see all of the shapes in the garden. He compares it to looking at clouds and seeing different animals. He also has an impressive garden. Because we are not familiar with the plants in the Bahamas it looks like some shrubs and weedy looking trees among the rock, but he grows coconuts, tamarind, guava, papaya, grapefruit, apples, grapes, and sea grapes along with peas, aloe, lettuce, and many other types of fruits and vegetables. All of this with virtually no soil. Willie is very generous, part of the reason he created the garden was to give the cruisers something to do besides go to a bar. While he was pointing out his various trees he gave us a coconut that he knocked down from the tree with a long stick, some tamarind, a guava, and some lemon grass.
Wednesday’s goal was laundry. The Black Point laundry is a destination in itself. The reason most of the cruisers come to Black Point is for the laundry. Ida has a clean, well run, big laundry with new machines and her laundry probably has the best view of any laundry in the world, and it has a dinghy dock.
This is the view from the window at the laundry.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year
We had a nice surprise Christmas Eve. A couple of boats full of people came zooming up to the boat asking us what we were doing here. It was the whole Johanson family who were here for the holiday. They kindly invited us for dinner and to stay for the Christmas service. We had a wonderful evening and are very grateful and honored that they included us.
The 11:00 p.m. service at Mt. Olivet Baptist had very enthusiastic singing and an uplifting sermon. The congregation was very welcoming. All in all, a great Christmas Eve, although we did miss our friends and family at home.
Christmas day we headed back to the Wardwick Wells because a cold front with high winds was predicted. There was no room at the inn at the north mooring field, so we went to the south mooring field, through the very narrow, tricky, winding south entrance. The chart is noted as having strong currents. This was a bit of an understatement. The standing waves made me nervous. Usually Bill drives the boat through the tricky entrances as he enjoys this type of thing. For some reason I ended up bringing the boat into the harbor. This was a do it yourself heart stress test. Since I didn’t have a heart attack my cardiovascular health seems to be very good.
When we made our mooring reservation we were invited to the Christmas Day potluck at the ranger station on Wardwick Wells. At first we were not going to go because I did not have time to cook anything between our 2:00 arrival at the mooring and the 2:30 start of the potluck. Around 2:30 we decided to go late on the theory that all the food would be gone and we could visit with people guilt free. By the time we put the dinghy back in the water and dinghied the three miles to the north mooring field in our very slow dinghy it was well after 3:00 when we got to the party, where there was tons of food left over, so we had a nice meal. There were probably 50 or 60 people at the potluck, many we had not seen in quite some time. One man remembered meeting us five years ago at the Black Point laundry.
At sunset that night Bill spotted a ray swimming by the boat. A few minutes later we saw two large rays jump out of the water. These animals are big - it is quite impressive to see them launch their entire bodies four or five feet into the air. They land with a loud crash - I guess given their body shape belly flopping is their most likely landing option.
The weather reports were accurate for a change. The winds were out of the west to northwest for three days with wind speeds ranging from 20 to 30 knots, with higher gusts. We made a good choice on where to be, the mooring field was protected and mostly calm; about a 1 foot chop. This is probably why the pirate’s used this little harbor as an anchorage.
The first day we had a wet dinghy ride in to shore and went for a hike over to the other side of the island where big rollers were breaking on the beach. The second day was too windy to go ashore at all. By the middle of the day we were so bored we were fighting over doing the dishes, not about who had to do them, but who would get to do them.
Besides being bored we were also sleep deprived from the noise of the wind and the mooring ball smashing into the hull. No matter how many times Bill adjusted the halyards and the mooring pennant as soon as the wind direction changed slightly or the tide changed new or different things would rattle and bang. At night everything seems twice as loud and alarming as it does during the day. If you would like to know what it sounded like find a group of small children and a very large drum. First, provide the children with musical instruments, not the kind you buy, the kind you make. For example: a comb covered with tissue paper, a playing card clipped to bicycle spokes, some wire stapled to a board, a piece of chain link fence to rattle, a pencil to run up and down a spiral notebook - you get the idea. Second, give the children some candy bars and coffee. Third, climb inside the drum. This is what it sounds like: whir, moan, rattle, splash, creak, BANG, rattle, rattle, splash, creak, whir, BANG, moan, splash, splash, rattle, rattle, creak, BANG. The novelty soon wears off, but remember you are inside a drum and you cannot get out.
The third day the wind had calmed down a little bit so we decided to walk to the park headquarters to pay for the mooring. The distance from our mooring to the headquarters is about 3 miles as the crow flies. We are not crows. Most of the trails do not connect with each other, they end at beaches, so we had to cross the island, walk on a beach, find the next trail, follow it on a very winding course, then walk along the next beach, then repeat. The views are gorgeous, especially from the hills where every color of blue shows in the water and contrasts with the wide sand beaches.
One of the hardest parts about hiking is our inability to reliably identify young poisonwood trees. The older trees have scabby orange-brown sort of bark that is easy to spot, but the younger trees look suspiciously like the vast majority of the other trees to us. We usually sort the trees into very broad categories of “looks like a palm tree (probably safe to touch), poisonwood (don’t touch), might be a poisonwood (don’t touch).” This puts most of the trees into the don’t touch category, making walking through the denser areas tricky and leads to some strange looking body contortions of ducking and weaving between tree trunks and branches.
After our two hour hike we had a short picnic lunch before hiking back along the eastern side of the island. This trail is only a trail in the vaguest sense of the word. It is mostly just a hike along rocky outcroppings with the occasional cairn to reassure hikers that they are still following the coast in case the occasional drenching by salt spray was inconclusive. The first hour was fun, the last hour or so of the hike made us aware that our physical fitness plan of sitting around on the boat for days on end eating mostly carbs, then going for a four hour hike may have to be revised.
Finally a calm day! We decided to head down to Staniel Cay for the New Years festivities. We left the mooring field by the relatively wide and easy north entrance and headed down the coast. After being holed up because of the winds it seemed ungrateful to wish for wind again, but when we were trying to sail in 5 knots of wind we were tempted. We anchored just off Thunderball Grotto, so it was very easy to dinghy over to go snorkeling. We brought bread crumbs for the fish. As soon as Bill opened the bag hundreds of fish swarmed around him. I wish I had brought an underwater camera, all I could see were colorful fish and some swim flippers, they completely surrounded him. We swam through the tunnel of rock into the grotto surrounded by fish hoping for more treats. The top of the grotto has holes in it letting shafts of sunlight into the crystal clear water. It is like swimming in an aquarium overfilled with decorative fish.
We have had a great couple of days enjoying the many activities at the Yacht Club (pirate’s party, auction, complimentary cookout). Where we are anchored we had a good view of the racing for the local A-class sloops, LADY MURIEL and TIDA WAVE. Our friend Corning was lucky enough to be picked as crew for one of the races. We enjoyed hearing about his part of the winning team over dinner as we celebrated the new year. We even stayed up later than the cruiser midnight of 8:00. We stayed up until 9:00, on the theory that in much of the world it was 2011 already so we could go back to the boats in good conscience.
Happy New Year!
The 11:00 p.m. service at Mt. Olivet Baptist had very enthusiastic singing and an uplifting sermon. The congregation was very welcoming. All in all, a great Christmas Eve, although we did miss our friends and family at home.
Christmas day we headed back to the Wardwick Wells because a cold front with high winds was predicted. There was no room at the inn at the north mooring field, so we went to the south mooring field, through the very narrow, tricky, winding south entrance. The chart is noted as having strong currents. This was a bit of an understatement. The standing waves made me nervous. Usually Bill drives the boat through the tricky entrances as he enjoys this type of thing. For some reason I ended up bringing the boat into the harbor. This was a do it yourself heart stress test. Since I didn’t have a heart attack my cardiovascular health seems to be very good.
When we made our mooring reservation we were invited to the Christmas Day potluck at the ranger station on Wardwick Wells. At first we were not going to go because I did not have time to cook anything between our 2:00 arrival at the mooring and the 2:30 start of the potluck. Around 2:30 we decided to go late on the theory that all the food would be gone and we could visit with people guilt free. By the time we put the dinghy back in the water and dinghied the three miles to the north mooring field in our very slow dinghy it was well after 3:00 when we got to the party, where there was tons of food left over, so we had a nice meal. There were probably 50 or 60 people at the potluck, many we had not seen in quite some time. One man remembered meeting us five years ago at the Black Point laundry.
At sunset that night Bill spotted a ray swimming by the boat. A few minutes later we saw two large rays jump out of the water. These animals are big - it is quite impressive to see them launch their entire bodies four or five feet into the air. They land with a loud crash - I guess given their body shape belly flopping is their most likely landing option.
The weather reports were accurate for a change. The winds were out of the west to northwest for three days with wind speeds ranging from 20 to 30 knots, with higher gusts. We made a good choice on where to be, the mooring field was protected and mostly calm; about a 1 foot chop. This is probably why the pirate’s used this little harbor as an anchorage.
The first day we had a wet dinghy ride in to shore and went for a hike over to the other side of the island where big rollers were breaking on the beach. The second day was too windy to go ashore at all. By the middle of the day we were so bored we were fighting over doing the dishes, not about who had to do them, but who would get to do them.
Besides being bored we were also sleep deprived from the noise of the wind and the mooring ball smashing into the hull. No matter how many times Bill adjusted the halyards and the mooring pennant as soon as the wind direction changed slightly or the tide changed new or different things would rattle and bang. At night everything seems twice as loud and alarming as it does during the day. If you would like to know what it sounded like find a group of small children and a very large drum. First, provide the children with musical instruments, not the kind you buy, the kind you make. For example: a comb covered with tissue paper, a playing card clipped to bicycle spokes, some wire stapled to a board, a piece of chain link fence to rattle, a pencil to run up and down a spiral notebook - you get the idea. Second, give the children some candy bars and coffee. Third, climb inside the drum. This is what it sounds like: whir, moan, rattle, splash, creak, BANG, rattle, rattle, splash, creak, whir, BANG, moan, splash, splash, rattle, rattle, creak, BANG. The novelty soon wears off, but remember you are inside a drum and you cannot get out.
The third day the wind had calmed down a little bit so we decided to walk to the park headquarters to pay for the mooring. The distance from our mooring to the headquarters is about 3 miles as the crow flies. We are not crows. Most of the trails do not connect with each other, they end at beaches, so we had to cross the island, walk on a beach, find the next trail, follow it on a very winding course, then walk along the next beach, then repeat. The views are gorgeous, especially from the hills where every color of blue shows in the water and contrasts with the wide sand beaches.
One of the hardest parts about hiking is our inability to reliably identify young poisonwood trees. The older trees have scabby orange-brown sort of bark that is easy to spot, but the younger trees look suspiciously like the vast majority of the other trees to us. We usually sort the trees into very broad categories of “looks like a palm tree (probably safe to touch), poisonwood (don’t touch), might be a poisonwood (don’t touch).” This puts most of the trees into the don’t touch category, making walking through the denser areas tricky and leads to some strange looking body contortions of ducking and weaving between tree trunks and branches.
After our two hour hike we had a short picnic lunch before hiking back along the eastern side of the island. This trail is only a trail in the vaguest sense of the word. It is mostly just a hike along rocky outcroppings with the occasional cairn to reassure hikers that they are still following the coast in case the occasional drenching by salt spray was inconclusive. The first hour was fun, the last hour or so of the hike made us aware that our physical fitness plan of sitting around on the boat for days on end eating mostly carbs, then going for a four hour hike may have to be revised.
Finally a calm day! We decided to head down to Staniel Cay for the New Years festivities. We left the mooring field by the relatively wide and easy north entrance and headed down the coast. After being holed up because of the winds it seemed ungrateful to wish for wind again, but when we were trying to sail in 5 knots of wind we were tempted. We anchored just off Thunderball Grotto, so it was very easy to dinghy over to go snorkeling. We brought bread crumbs for the fish. As soon as Bill opened the bag hundreds of fish swarmed around him. I wish I had brought an underwater camera, all I could see were colorful fish and some swim flippers, they completely surrounded him. We swam through the tunnel of rock into the grotto surrounded by fish hoping for more treats. The top of the grotto has holes in it letting shafts of sunlight into the crystal clear water. It is like swimming in an aquarium overfilled with decorative fish.
We have had a great couple of days enjoying the many activities at the Yacht Club (pirate’s party, auction, complimentary cookout). Where we are anchored we had a good view of the racing for the local A-class sloops, LADY MURIEL and TIDA WAVE. Our friend Corning was lucky enough to be picked as crew for one of the races. We enjoyed hearing about his part of the winning team over dinner as we celebrated the new year. We even stayed up later than the cruiser midnight of 8:00. We stayed up until 9:00, on the theory that in much of the world it was 2011 already so we could go back to the boats in good conscience.
Happy New Year!
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