We left Beaufort this morning but got a late start after I replaced the bilge pump. We also got a call from U.S. Customs who wants us to make a personal appearance in Charleston (on Saturday they said we didn't need to). That makes at least the next couple of days cruising the ICW. We made it to Toogoodoo Creek this evening and should pull into Charleston fairly early tomorrow after a 25 mile run.
Stay the night hear with 5 other boats. Fairly well protected but the holding is only fair. This is the stop at Camp Lejune Marine Corp Base where we watched the air ops on the last run. Wind was 20-25 gusting 30 so there were no air ops. The anchor held well and we got a good night's sleep.
Our trek from the Bahamas to the U.S. ended and Beaufort, SC. The trip was a bit over 450 miles and took 53 hours. We have stayed the last 2 nights (tonight making it 3) at the Port Royal Landing Marina. We stayed here on our way south and really enjoyed it. We were looking forward to meeting a couple we had made friends with last fall, but unfortunately they had taken a trip and won't be back until Tuesday (a day after we leave). We did get to participate in the Friday pot luck, meeting new folks and seeing good people we've met while cruising or here at the marina last year.
While doing checks to get underway tomorrow I found the automatic bilge pump was no longer working (always something). We'll have to delay our departure a couple of hours but should still be able to leave by 10:00 AM and reach our planned destination of Carolina Beach. After that the weather gets real iffy so we may opt to take the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) starting Wednesday Morning.
We left at 8:30 this morning headed non-stop to the USA. We don't know yet where we'll pull in since it all depends on the weather and our stamina. If we make it to St. Augustine FL it will be a 220+ mile trip, but we may opt to go further north.
We left Treasure Cay Friday morning to begin our trek to the states. We went by Cooperstown (on Little Abaco) expecting to get fuel, but the fuel station listed in the guide had apparently closed. We diverted from Cooperstown to Spanish Cay for fuel an ran into catastrophe as we pulled into the fuel dockk. The shaft bearing that keeps the shaft from pulling out in reverse gave way resulting in our shaft separating form the transmission just as we were pulling into the fuel dock. Fortunately the bow line had already been passed to the dock hand so we were able to wrestle her into the pier by hand. It didn't take long to figure out the problem and 3 hours later we had made the repair and were on our way again. Using reverse will be a little risky for the rest of the trip but that won't be a big problem during the open ocean voyage back to the states.
From Spanish Cay we traveled to Fox Town (also on Little Abaco) where we spent the night at anchor. It was Sunday with nothing open in town so we didn't even lower the dinghy into the water. On Monday we left for Great Sale Cay, an uninhabited island, where we're are now waiting for a good weather window to make the 220+ mile journey to St. Augustine Florida. There's no Internet or telephone here so we'll be out of communication for at least 4 days. We'll check in with family and get this last update uploaded to the web site once we arrive in the states and have Internet.
After over a week in Hope Town waiting for the nasty weather to clear we finally left on Tuesday. Our original intent was to return to Marsh Harbor to re-supply but, after checking inventory, we decided to go to someplace new. On approach to Treasure Cay we almost turned around after a call to the marina revealed there were no longer moorings available in this bay. We expected it to be too crowded and the holding was only fair, but we took the skinny channel in anyway just to look around. Boy am II glad we did! This is by far the nicest port we have seen in the Bahamas. The town is nice and clean and everything is a convenient walking distance from the dinghy dock. There is a $10 charge to anchor here but it's well worth it as you get to use all of the marina facilities including the pool. There is a very nice bar and grill on the marina grounds that has something different going every night except Tuesday. On Tuesdays the Coco Bar and grill has a bon fire and life entertainment so we opted to go. The beach is absolutely gorgeous with powdery white sand. For dinner we splurged and had steak and lobster, followed by sitting in beach lounge chairs and watching the bonfire after sunset. On Wednesday there is karaoke at the Tipsy bar and grill (the marina bar). There were very many singers and Gary was given a certificate for a free pizza after doing a little Frank Sinatra. Since we had the certificate we decided to stay one more day to go to pizza night on Thursday (also at Tipsy's). The pizza wasn't half bad.... certainly the best we've had in the Bahamas.
Well the weather finely arrived last night and we had a pretty good blow with some rain. It wasn't nearly as bad as was forecast. For the most part the weather we've had for the last few days didn't warrant paying for a mooring, but we prefer to be on the safe side and plan for the worst. We paid for 2 days on the mooring before payday and then for another 5 days after that (plus 2 more free nights). All was not lost however, since Vicky and I both won playing bingo at Capt'n Jacks on Monday. In all we won enough to pay for the mooring, the bingo, our dinner and drinks, and another night out on 'Taco Tuesday', with some left over. We made a day trip to Marsh Harbor on Thursday to get our immigration permits extended, but it turned out we still had another month left on them. That will be plenty to get us through our stay in the Bahamas before heading back to the states. We're paid up until Tuesday on the mooring, but will be taking another day trip to Marsh harbor today or tomorrow to do the laundry and get groceries.
After a couple of days in Hope Town we sailed (mostly) over to Marsh Habor (the 'Big' city). The weather was a little sour here so we didn't leave the boat much, but did make it to Maxwells Grocery. It was described to us by a local as a Walmart sized store. In reality it was a closer match to a Safeway or Albertsons, but was certainly the largest store we've seen in the Bahamas. We were anchored just off the Union Jack dinghy dock, which is convenient to Maxwells, a couple of hardware stores including Ace and True Value, and a couple oof auto parts stores, including NAPA. The holding was between fair and poor and we had a lot of traffic from the ferry boats. At one point we moved up to get further from the ferry dock, but the anchor dragged and we ended up pretty much where we started. There is some weather coming in (lots of squalls in the 40-50 mph range) so we've decided to go back to Hope Town and wait it out on a mooring.
We spent 2 days on a mooring in Hope Town before leaving for Marsh Harbor. Hope Town is a small but attractive port with groceries and fuel available as well as some nice places to eat and have a couple of drinks. Most folks here do their major shopping in Marsh Harbor, about 2 hours away or 20 minutes by water taxi..
This was going to be a long day any way you looked at it, but the heavy swells and light swells made for a really uncomfortable day. The swells were 6+ feet coming off the beam (side) of the boat so there was a constant side to side rolling. Normally we would put up sails to stabilize her a bit, but the wind was to our stern (back) and very light. This makes them just flop around and causes a lot of racket without much stabilizing. We left at 6:30 AM and arrived at our anchorage at about 4:30 PM. At least we made good time over the 70 mile journey and got a good nights rest once we were in the harbor.
Another great sail today with the engine on less than 30 minutes all day to pull and set the anchor. We've been to Highborn 3 or 4 times. The water is crystal clear and the anchorage is well protected from east winds. This was just a rest stop so we didn't even put the dinghy in the water.
Yet another day of good sailing with very little use of the engine. It seems like we're doing a better job of sailing in favorable weather and conserving fuel. We haven't added any fuel since Georgetown and still have over a half tank. Independence burns about a gallon an hour and averages somewhere around 6.5 mph. Do the math and it costs right around $1 per mile when motoring. To lookk at the more positive, that's $1/mile we're not spending when the sails are up.
Spanish wells is more of a rest stop to wait out ther weather for a couple of days. We picked up a mooring ball for 3 nights at $20 per night. We did go into town for some groceries and to fill the gasoline jugs for the generator and outboard. We found the folks here very friendly and accommodating. The gentleman from both days we shopped at Pinder's market they gave us rides to downtown (a sizable walk) and to Jonie and Bubba's for conch fritters. This is the first island in the Bahamas we're seen that is more up to date with nicely maintain homes and a substantial industry base, most of fishing. The island was settled by British Loyalists escaping the U.S. after the revolution. Most of the islands we've seen prior to this were also settle by the Loyalists, but were largely abandoned, with the majority of the current population being made up of descendants of slaves brought over by the loyalists.
Unfortunately the camera is on the fritz since visiting the swimming pigs so we couldn't add pictures.
We left Black Point this morning for a very short run to Staniel Cay to see the swimming pigs a short dinghy ride away. These are wild pigs that will swim up to your boat looking for a handout. We've been told there are a total of 5 female pigs here but we only saw 2. Only 1 swam out to our dinghy, which is fine by me. They are fun to watch and it's a good photo op, but they get a little aggressive and will try to climb into your dinghy if you let them. My understanding is that if a pig gets too aggressive there is a pig roast soon after.
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We had to drive around in the dinghy quite a bit since we weren't sure where the pigs were. The tracks on the beach gave them away...not to mention the big pig under the tree. |  |
The pig was sleeping, or at least
wasn't moving until we yelled SooEee... REALLY.... |
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Pig swimming out to the dinghy. |  |
Pig gets a hitch hiker. |
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More pig |  |
Lazy bird |
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Pig in your face |  |
Birds got the pig's bread |
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Check out the crystal clear water... |  |
...and the pig |
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Vicky feeding the pig |
We opted to stay in Black Point until this morning so we would have a chance to catch up on laundry and change the fluid in the transmission. While doing laundry Vicky met a couple who was having trouble with their refrigerator and their freezer. Both were running warm and they just couldn't get it going. Vicky mentioned that I do all the workk on our refer and offered my assistance. I went over to their boat after laundry was done and found they owner had really figured out the problem (new 'freon' was not gettng in as he tried to charge it. As it turned out, his fitting wasn't letting the freon get from the can into the compressor. As look would have it I had 2 fittings in my spare parts and was able to get him up and running. We found out later they were getting ready to turn back to the states rather than do the Bahamas without a refer and freezer. Glad we could help. They paid for the parts and even bought us dinner this evening. As I say so very often....really nice people out here....
After mulling it over a bit we decided to head back to the Exuma chain and then head north. This gives us more opportunity to duck in to a protected harbor if the weather comes up. The run to Black Point is about 65 miles or 10 hours away.
The wind was a little milder today but has shifted from the east to the southeast. It made for a little choppier water, but we decided to go ashore and walk through New Bight anyway. The settlement here is small, without any real significant commerce. We walked a little over a mile to Candy's grocery to pick up some eggs, milk and miscellaneous items. On the way there we passed Lula's Delights. Lula has a small shop, maybe 12 foot by 14 foot,, where she sells homemade baked goods and serves lunch specials. Her special today was fried chicken, but we had already eaten before leaving the boat. She gave us a sample of her coconut pie that was quite tasty. Over a one block stretch there were three small bars, each fairly busy with about a half dozen patrons sitting on the patio. Further down the road we were flagged down by a woman soliciting donations for putting a new roof on her church which we had passed. The roof was destroyed in hurricane Irene in 2011. Actually the whole settlement looks like it's been beat down pretty hard by the last three hurricanes to pass through. The first thing to go always seems to be the roof. Intermixed with the homes, businesses and churches of today are many scatttered ruins from building of years ago. It would have been interesting to have a map to know which ruins were what and how far back they date. After getting our groceries we stopped at Lula's Delights again for something cold to drink. Lula offered up some chairs to sit out front and joined us for some engaging conversation ranging from the weather and storms to local politics. She was quite charming and could have talked all day (I think). Before leaving we purchased a pineapple pie and a loaf of homemade bread . The dinghy ride back to the boat was a little wet with the wind and waves on our nose. There would have been some good pictures here, but we forgot the camera (sorry).
We stayed on the boat most of the day with wind at 20 knots gusting to about 25. I did take a run in to shore for a short time to go to the grocery store while Vicky remained on board. By sunset the wind and chop had settled down for a pleasant evening.
Our trip to Cat Island was going to be a long one (about 75 miles). I had it charted out to reach the anchorage just before sunset if we left early and maintained at least 5 knots. The swells were about 6 feet with wind driven seas on top of that so the ride was a little bumpy. I didn't take a seas sick pill but should have. When we rounded Hawk's Nest Point at the south end of Cat Island the seas were choppy and on the nose due to 18-20 knot wind from the ESE. Arrived at New Bight, Cat Island at about 5:15 PM, well before sunset.
Pretty much all of island is closed on Sunday so it makes for a quiet day. On the cruisers net this morning there was an announcement suggesting we we a get together on the beach tonight for good snacks, a bonfire, and good company.
The get together on the beach was great...probably the largest I've seen yet with 25-30 folks attending. In the entire crowd I only recognized 1 face, but had heard most of the boat names over the nets at Georgetown and here at Long Island. It didn't take long before we were no longer strangers with at least dome of the cruisers there. The gathering went on well after sunset and I had to dingy back to the boat to turn on the anchor light before returning to the beach.
Today we rented a car to tour as much of the island as we could in one day. The rental transaction was interesting. Pressley, the owner, delivered the car (an SUV) to the marina. The rental is strictly cash basis ($85), and there is little more requested of the customer other than name, address and phone number. He didn't even want to see my driver's license. This was also my first experience of driving on the left side of the road. It was a little creepy at first but I soon got the hang of it...except for the damn turn signal switch being on the right. I turned on the windshield wipers every time I wanted to turn.
The pictures below are some of the places we stopped on our tour of Long Island.
We started at the northernmost tip of the island at the Columbus Monument. It was interesting to talk to another cruiser as the raved about how Columbus came here and slaughtered the indigenous Lucayan population. After that coversation I did a little research to find that Columbus only made a short stop on Long Island in search for fresh water. He even made a note in his log regarding the scars he'd seen on the local natives, commenting that he thought they may have acquired them defending themselves from other island tribes seeking slaves. Columbus noted "...they defended themselves the best they could".
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The last few miles to the monument are off pavement on a pretty rugged road. |  |
Once we arrive at the base we hiked up the hill to the monument. The monument can be seen in this picture on the left horizon above the car. The thing on the center horizon is a light beacon for passing ships. |
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There is a small shallow bay to the east at the base of the monument hill. |  |
The path up the hill to the monument was a little rugged and steep, but not too difficult. The posts and chains look fairly new and we could see where the old metal posts had been cut off at ground level. |
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Approaching the Columbus Monument. |  |
Approaching the Columbus Monument. |
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Vicky at the Columbus Monument. |  |
The monument is actually dedicated to the Lucayan people that were here when Columbus landed and also commemorated his landing on October 17th, 1492. Long Island was the third stop on Columbus' first voyage. |
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View from Columbus Monument on Long Island. Fresh water pool. Possibly used by Columbus??? |  |
View from Columbus Monument on Long Island. |
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View from Columbus Monument on Long Island. |  |
View from Columbus Monument on Long Island. The tower on the right is a 'lighthouse' for passing ships. |
Our next stop was the Adderley Plantation. The Adderleys were British Loyalists that were given land by the King when they had to flee after the US revolution. While the island is mostly limestone rock, there were a few areas that could be cultivated. It was very poor soil that was quickly depleted. The loyalists brought slaves here hoping recreate what they had in the colonies, but they were only profitable until slavery was abolished by England in 1834, and failed shortly after.
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There were any plaques or posters to tell us what was what, but we guessed this fireplace and chimney were part of the salon in the main house. |  |
Click on this picture to enlarge it and read about the Adderleys and there impact on the local culture. I was puzzled that the sign did not refer to slaves that the Adderleys brought with them, but rather referred to herdsmen local to the island. |
We spent about an hour in the museum in the village of Buckleys. What they had was good, but I was a little disappointed since it contained mostly accounts of the current culture without much information on the Lucayans and what led up to the Bahamians of today. It largely focused on the homesteads, trades and progression of the regatta traditions. (Pictures were not permitted in the museum)
The 'Blue Hole' at Dean's is boasted to be the deepest blue hole in the world reaching a depth of 663 feet. You are allowed to swim in it (we didn't) and free divers use it to train for world records (That's what the platforms are for). None of the signs or 'literature' I saw gave any indications of how blue holes are formed so if any of you geologists out there know I would appreciate and email.
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Picture of Blue Hole from vantage point. |  |
Vicky wading in the shallows new the Blue Hole. |
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This is either the concrete graves of 3 people or a memorial at the Blue Hole. The markers indicated that there was a 14 year old and 2 young adults that died on the same day (July 30, 2008). |  |
Information sign at the Blue Hole. |
Out last stop before heading back north was the capitol of Long Island, Clarencetown. Actually we just drove around without really stopping. The neighborhoods around Clarencetown appeared to be more affluent than the rest of what we're seen here. You could, in fact, notice increased affluence along the island as you proceeded from north to south, with the northern villages appearing much poorer.
We're in a marina at Stella Maris, Long Island, Bahamas for a couple of nights waiting for a storm to blow through on Friday. We're in a 'slip' without walks on the side so we have to get off the boat by climbing over the bow. Of course Buddy had to investigate the landscape and did well getting off the boat...the first time. Later in the evening when Vicky and I were walking to the showers Buddy decided to follow. This time he didn't make the jump and fell 4+ feet down to the water. Vicky and I were in a panic trying to coax him to a rescue, but he found his own way scaling up a rock wall and on to the walkway in from of the boat. I'm pretty sure this is the first time he's ever been swimming and he handled it like a pro.
We left Georgetown on the 2nd headed for Thompson Bay, Long Island, a 42 mile trip. The wind was supposed to be light and variable so we didn't put up the sails, motoring most of the way. We did get the sails up for the last third of the trip, but probably could have sailed the whole way. I just kept expecting the wind to die down as forecast, but it never did. Thompson Bay was nice enough, but there weren't many boaters left for the season and not a lot was going on. This morning we heard the weather forecast that was calling for heavy squalls on Friday with winds to 40 knots from the SW. Because Thompson Bay has NO protection from winds coming out of the SW we decided to move on. We traveled 21 mile north to Stella Maris. The Marina is a little run down but the new managers have a lot of good things planned as they bring it back to life. As always the folks here are incredibly friendly. Vicky and I decided to make the 1 1/2 mile walk to the store, but got picked up before we were half way there and the same person brought back to the boat after we had done our shopping.
We had planned on leaving in the morning headed toward Rum Cay. The marina there was damaged in a hurricane and is closed, but we've been told you are allowed to tie up there. Unfortunately there is no other protected area on Rum Cay and we wouldn't have time to find other safe harbor in Friday's storm should the marina be inaccessible. Because of this we've changed plans and will stay here until Saturday. Since the wind will going the wrong way on Saturday, we'll skip Rum Cay this year and head north to Cat Island.
Today was the perfect day to take the new tranny out for a sea trial. Everything went perfectly with the shifting being very smooth and the throttle lever easy to move back and forth. In fact... the transmission was completely silent where the old box always had a little whine to it. We are now ready to move on and will likely be heading south to Long Island, Rum Cay befoore making a final decision whether or not we'll continue to the Virgin Islands or keep exploring the Bahamas this year.
We were going to spend the day getting tools and equipment re-stowed and clean up after the transmission job. The boat was stating to look like an auto shop with tools spread all over and mounds of'stuff' pulled out of the lockers to locate special tools needed for the job. Before we got started we decided to make a tankful of water and dive the boat to replace the zinc on the shaft. Our cruising buddy (Harry) from Zydeco offered to assist, but ended up doing most of the work while I watched. Being plum tuckered out we decided to hit the beach today and clean the boat tomorrow. Can you say 'procrastination'?
We hit the beach for several hours and joined in on the volleyball games before heading back to the boat for dinner. When we got back the generator had run out of gas and the water tanks were nearly full.
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Gary on the volleyball court. |
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The man in the center with the ball cap is our friend Fred from North Star. He plays nearly every day. |
March 21nd - Transmission is installed
Over the last few days I have been working to install the transmission and was getting pretty frustrated as it wasn't matching up with the engine. After the third attempt, I pulled the damper off the flywheel and discovered the splines definitely did not match. I double and triple checked with the manufacturer's representative, who was very confident this was the right transmission and it should fit. Either the machining on the transmission shaft was faulty, or there was some form of wear pattern on the (newer) damper plate that kept them from matching. After reassurance from the manufacturer's rep that the warranty would still be honored, I began hand filing the splines on the damper plate to change the shape of the teeth to match the tranny. After 4 hours of filing the fit was near perfect and the tranny was installed about an hour later. Now let's try again and let the cruising begin!!!
The transmission install is going slowly. I've taken it below and attempted the install several times but am having difficulties lining it up. I needed to pull the damper plate off, but had to build an engine support to do that since the motor mounts go through the same bolts as the damper plate cover.
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Engine support built from 4 X 4s and lag bolts. |
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The round disk is the damper plate removed from the engine flywheel. The old and new transmissions are in the background. |
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Working on something major makes for a messy boat. We us one of the seats in the cockpit for a work bench and the dirty rags etc... just keep piling up. |
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The access to the "engine room" is in the narrow passage leading from the main salon to the aft berthing space (bedroom). I spend most of my time here crouched down and on my knees. The foam gardening pads make it a little most comfortable, but turning around and getting into position is still a pain. |
Vicky arrived yesterday after just over a month in the states. She brought the transmission as planned and I met her at the airport to help bring it the last leg. Surprisingly it came through customs without a hitch.
Today we took a break and went to Sand Dollar beach for sundowners (cocktails) and socializing.
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Dinghies coming into the beach for 'Sundowners' I think we ended up with about 8 dinghies this evening. |
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Sundowners on the beach make for an enjoyable time where we get to meet with new cruisers and join up with friends. |
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There is usually a good spread of food at the beach. Pickin's were a little light this trip but everyone still had plenty. |
The process to remove the transmission went really well. We were able to slide the shaft back without loosening the packing nut, so everything went well without taking in any water. After disassembling the transmission it became pretty clear that rebuilding was not an option. The clutch plates were gone and there was some wear on the gear surfaces. Rebuilding would only be a temporary fix and I couldn't guarantee it would even make a trip back to the states. End result...I ordered a new transmission that Vicky will be bringing with her when she comes back from the states. It is under 50 pounds and can be brought as checked baggage.
I went to a meeting on the beach yesterday about heading south to the Dominican Republic and on to the Caribbean. There are about 8 boats going next week when and if the ocean swell calms down. At this point we're not committed to making it down there this year, but will discuss it when Vicky gets back. If we don't go, there are still lots of Bahamas spots that we want to explore, including the Abacos. The Abacos are less primitive and maybe more touristy than where we've been so far, but a lot of folks prefer it to the the villages we've been to so far.
I haven't been running the SPOT locater for the last couple of weeks since the anchor hasn't moved for a month. Once I get the transmission in and start moving we'll put in new batteries and turn it on.
I've spent the last couple of days trying to figure out why the boat's transmission was taking longer and longer to go into forward. The verdict is in....broken transmission. Reverse works fine, but unless I want to back up all the way to the states, I have to either rebuild or replace the transmission. Now that's no easy task out here. Forget that the parts will have to come from the states and shipping will be a killer. The part that makes me really nervous is pulling the transmission while the boat is in the water. When I pulled the transmission last summer (should have rebuilt it then), the boat was on dry land. This time I have to do it in the water (no simple trick). The nervous part is where I have to loosen the packing nut on the shaft (that's the thing that keeps the water out), so I can slide the shaft back enough to pull the transmission. While the packing nut is loose, water will be pouring into the boat's bilge by the bucket loads. The trick is to have everything ready so I can slide the shaft back and tighten the packing nut quickly. Once I get the transmission out we get to do it again so I can pull the shat back into it's forward position and lock it down while I'm working on the transmission on the bench. Wish me luck.
Hooray....Vicky's Mom is doing much better and I just bought the plane tickets so Vicky can come home on the 18th. Hopefully we'll have everything in ship-shape when she gets here.
The dinghy has been giving me trouble the last couple of days, not being able to run at an idle when in gear. It made for some pretty interesting docking. After pulling the carburetor and cleaning it the dinghy is running fine. A good thing since parts are hard to come by out here.
I haven't gone out with the camera since walk about and have pretty much stayed on the boat except for the usual errands (gas, garbage and groceries).
Today was the coconut challenge for Regatta (of course I didn't bring the camera). It's made up of 3 events with teams of 4. The first event involves teams with there dinghies (no motors). Each member is allowed one swim flipper to 'power' the dinghy. When everyone is ready (or not) 1000 coconuts are dumped into a lagoon and the team that gathers the most wins that round. The second event is the coconut toss. A timed event, 2 team members hold a large trash bag to catch coconuts. Another (the tosser) has his/her back turned to the catchers, and the fourth team member passes coconuts to the tosser. Last year I was the tosser in this event and one of the catchers quit looking up when the stop whistle was blown. My las toss ended up hitting him square in the head. (They wore helmets this year). The last event was tossing coconuts over a volleyball nets into/around a circle. This year I was a spectator but it was still fun.
Today is a gorgeous day with very light winds and only a few clouds. Maybe a little warm, but drop it 10 degrees and I would probably complain it was cold....go figure.
This morning I attended Beach Church. This is a non-denominational church service on Volley Ball Beach next to chat N Chill. The services I have been to have always been nice, with volunteers to lead the church, volunteers to provide the message (sermon) and a volunteer church choir. There are no collections...just a group of Christians gathered in fellowship to praise God. Afterwards there is always coffee and treats to gather around while you me with other cruisers. I told the choir leader Pam that I would participate in choir next week.
The day was so beautiful I decided it was a good day to dinghy around and get some errands done while taking some pictures. Now understand that the Bahamas pretty much shuts down on Sundays, so the streets and stores I took pictures of were pretty much empty. Just the same it made for a nice walk. (You can click on the pictures for a larger image. Then press the BACK button on your browser to get back to the web page)
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The dinghy dock at Exuma Market. This dock can become quite crowded on most days except Sunday. Exuma Market provides free water here (It's 20 cents a gallon or more elsewhere). The front dinghy on the right is filling his jerry jugs with water. Ater a few windy days the line to get water can get really long. |
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The welcome to Georgetown sigh is found as you walk up
the dinghy dock into town. The other side says "Welcome to the
Exumas" The two bicycles belong to cruisers in the harbor. They announce almost daily that anyone is welcome to use them and will give out the lock combination (nice). They also offer up a 2 person kayak for anyone to use. |
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The parking lot at the Exuma Market is usually pretty full, but they're closes on Sundays. The selection here is better than the other market but the prices are a bit higher. I usually buy here just the same since the market provides free water to the cruisers, which is a great service. |
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Right across from Exuma Market is the Georgetown Liquor store. Liquor prices are a bit steep in the Bahamas so you're better off to bring your own from the states. |
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Also across from Exuma Market is Scotia Bank. They have an ATM here that will provide cash in either U.S. or Bahamian dollars. There is a local ATM fee of $3.00, but by the time your bank adds their regular and international fees you pay about $5.00 for a withdrawal. I use this bank the most simply because it's closest to the dinghy dock. |
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The local 'highway' crosses over the Lake Victory entrance/exit. This is the exit looking out toward the Kidd Cove anchorage. |
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A short walk down the road there is a Shell gas station. They sell both gas and diesel and have a small dinghy dock, making it the most convenient spot to get my fuel in jerry jugs. |
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Top II Bottom is probably the coolest store in town. It's much like the general store, from days past, carrying everything from pots and pans to boating equipment and hardware. They can be a bit pricey though. Last year we bought a cedar plug fishing lure here for $30. The same lure sells for under $8 in the states. |
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Regatta Park is directly across from Top II Bottom. It's not used during the Georgetown Cruisers Regatta, but it was full of booths, food and music during the art festival last year. |
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We used the stage in Regatta Park last year to lay out our sail and make some repairs with a sewing machine. We brought our generator, but it turned out that the electrical outlets worked so we didn't need it. If you look closely you'll see there is still a Christmas tree on the stage. |
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Public Library: A library card costs $3 a year and gives you access to s decent selection of books and a book swap section where you can bring your old books and exchange them for 'new'. I have no idea why I can't seem to hold the camera straight. Maybe I'm lining it up with the bottom step....or Maybe it's the rum :) |
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The larger building in the center with the pillars is the Government Building. On the first floor you will find the post office. Using regular mail to Georgetown can be a very slow process, often taking weeks for mail to arrive from the states. Last year we ordered a part for our outboard and never did receive it. We were able to track it to delivery in Nassau Customs, never to be seen again. |
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The smaller wing on the right of the Government building is the police station. Fortunately I have never had any dealings with them so I can't describe the inside. But that's okay...... |
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Peace and Plenty is a restaurant and bar that have good food and a Rake and Scrape each week. Rake and Scrape is an eating and dancing event that features ribs (I think). I haven't been to one yet. |
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St Theresa's Catholic Church is across Lake Victoria (from the dingy dock). It doubles as a hurricane shelter for the local community. |
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Shop Rite is a bit smaller the Exuma Market but the
prices are usually to be a little lower. I tend to use Exuma
Market
since there is no dinghy dock at Shop Rite, and because Exuma Market
provides free water to cruisers at their expense. (water ain't
cheap in the Bahamas) The upper floor on the Shop Rite is the local Masonic Lodge. |
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Across from Shop Rite is the vacant lot where the propane truck pulls in on Wednesdays. The line of cruisers with their empty tanks can be quite long. I'm usually not there early, so can wait up to an hour to get my tanks filled. Did you know that propane draws flies? They seem to love it and swarm around the tanks as he's filling them. (You can see the dinghy dock in the background in the center of the picture) |
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At the end of the lot where we get propane there are recycle bins that take glass, plastic and aluminum cans. Which reminds me...time for a recycle run. |
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Eddie's Edge Water is a popular restaurant and bar that also has a weekly Rake 'N Scrape. It's also the only place in Georgetown, that I know of, that provides free WiFi Internet. It's a great place to grab lunch, have a beer, and update the web site. Perhaps the beer accounts for my lousy typing....nah.... |
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To end a beautiful day I decided I might have something other than hot dogs for dinner. The dish I made was beef, tomatoes, and peppers like I used to cook at Harry's Cafe when I was a kid. |
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The dinner was really good (if I do say so myself). I usually add green peppers as well, but just didn't have any. The actual color of the dish was much nicer than the picture shows. |
Not much to enter today. I took the dinghy to town to toss a bag of trash and get some gas for the dinghy and generator. It was calm on the way over but the wind picked up and it started getting rough on the way back. I watched a movie in the late afternoon and then cooked up a pork chop, mashed potatoes and asparagus for dinner. The wind is coming up tonight at about 20 mph. That's not too bad, but the direction it's coming from makes the boat into a rocking horse. I could move for more protection, but the anchor is set really good and I hate to mess with it.
The first picture here (the rainbow) inspired me to just carry the camera around a bit this morning and take a few pictures: (click on the pictures to enlarge; then click the 'Back' button on your browser to return to the journal)
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Someone announced over the radio that folks should come up and see the rainbow. At one point you could see it from end to end. We got a little rain with it but it was worth it. |
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This is the Chat 'N Chill bar and restaurant on Stocking Island, across from Georgetown. We spent most of our time anchored off of Stocking Island pretty much in front of this place. |
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This is the grill at Chat N Chill. They cook up a great pig roast on Sundays with all the trimmings. On other days of the week they have a good menu that includes burgers, conch burgers, chicken and ribs as well as KB's garlic slaw and Bahamian macaroni and cheese. |
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Volleyball Beach |
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Volleyball Beach |
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Volleyball Beach |
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Volleyball Beach |
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Checkerboard table at Volleyball Beach |
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Nightime in Elizabeth Harbor (Georgetown). It took me a dozen or more tries to get this picture with my cheapy camera from a rocking boat. It doesn't do the real thing justice but will have to do. Each of those lights is the anchor light on a boat. This was taken from just one direction but there are a lot more boats. Roughly 280 boats are anchored in the harbor now and more are on there way for the Cruiser's Regatta that starts next week. |
Okay so I didn't get the teak oiled. Nope...didn't get the boat organized either. I did however get the new membrane in the water maker, which was about a 3 hour job. It's working great pumping out 20 gallons per hour. I also helped a friend make airline reservations on the Internet. He has to fly back to the states due to an illness in the family. Today I went with him to help put the boat into a slip while he's gone and I'll water his plants for him as long I'm here.
This morning was fairly busy. The weather had settled down enough to dinghy across the bay into town. After making a stop at the ATM I got the empty propane bottle filled and filled the 5 gallon gas can for the generator and water maker.ks waiting to get filled. When filling propane tanks, the truck shows up every Wednesday at around 11:00. There's a line of folks with their propane tanks waiting to be filled. Some of the tanks are the fancy fiberglass ones that you can see through and know how full it is, others are aluminum, and others are like mine...the kind you take to the bottle exchange. I saw a first today when a rusty old tank ruptured on the bottom while being filled. It must be the norm as no one ran for cover and the propane guy just picked it up and carried it away from the truck before coming back to fill the next tank. The trip did have a bummer factor as the hand held VHF radio broke away from my belt clip and is probably somewhere on the bottom of the bay. With necessity being the mother of invention, I finally took the time to repair the charging base on our other radio so I can still go mobile. I like this radio better anyway.
As the sun went down I made dinner (sort of). Not as elaborated as last nights salisbury steak with all the fixin's...just hot dogs and chips. What can I say....I like hot dogs. I'll try to make up for it tomorrow,
I'll go to the marina in the morning to give my friend a ride to the market where he'll take a taxi to the airport. Other than that I don't have much planned.
The wind will be howling again today and the water is too rough for a dinghy ride. That makes it a good day for boat chores. I've already adjusted the main sail cover so I can close it completely. I had earlier slid it back to take some slack out as it was flapping in the wind pretty bad. Unfortunately, I slid it back too far and couldn't zip it closed completely. It's a much nicer fit now. The boat cabins are pretty unorganized with item strewn about so today will be a good day to tuck things away. Of course once I do that I'll never find anything again. If I don't run out of time and get really ambitious I'll clean and oil some of the teak in the interior.
I plan on replacing the membrane on the water maker with a new one in the next day or so. We had purchased one before leaving not expecting the used membrane to work. It actually is making good water, but the thoughput is only about 12 gallons per hour when it should be at 21 gph. I announced over the cruisers net this morning that I would make the used membrane available and was pleased and surprised to hear from a boat whose membrane is shot so he can't make water. It was a little amazing that someone in the harbor was in need of the same model/size of membrane I was giving away, but I'm glad he can use it. Making 12 gallons per hour is better than no water at all.
Well we survived the night just fine (Buddy and I). The higher the wind got was 38 mph. The worst problem I had was a boat anchored too close to me. It looked okay when they were beside me before the wind started, but I had 200 feet of chain and line out and the other boat had less than 150. When the wind closted around the other boat was just 60 feet off my stern for pretty much the whole night. If my anchor had broken loose there wouldn't have been enough tie to react, so I stayed up all night with the motor running most of the time so I could veer away if the anchor started to drag. Even at that I'm not sure I could do much. In that kind of wind you can't simply pull the anchor in and reset it. Someone has to drive the boat into the wind while the other half hauls in the anchor rode and chain. Unfortunately my other half is 3000 mile away. My plan was to just cut the anchor line and go set the secondary anchor away from the other boats. I could go back for the primary anchor the next day as I had its location marked in the GPS. I finally got to bed at around 9:00 AM when the wind had shift enough so the other boat was no longer directly behind me. Once I had a couple of hours of sleep I went to shore and watched the volleyball games, had a rum punch and a burger.
I spent most of the day preparing for the upcoming 4 days of wind. The forecast calls for increasing winds starting tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon and not letting up until at least Tuesday. They'll hit 30 at about midnight tomorrow and slowly clock around from the SW th the NE. I ran the water maker for a little over 2 hours so I'll have about 50 gallons. I added some diesel in case I have to run the engine to counter the wind and then checked the anchor. I let out 10:1 scope (or about 200 feet) of anchor chain and rode. Then I dove down to the anchor (about 18 feet) to make sure it was set well. As long as I was in the water I went ahead and scrubbed the starboard (right) side of the hull. It had nothing to do with the wind...but I was there. Finally I prepped the second anchor in case I have to use it if the primary anchor breaks free. There's not much left to do but straighten out the boat and secure loose items tomorrow.
Vicky made it to Vegas okay yesterday and was able to see her Mom. She's having a rough go of it but seems to be making some headway now. We've talked a couple times on the phone using either Skype or the Bahama cell phone (which is $$$). I have to be careful about the minutes I use as I won't be able to buy a refill card for a few days. I did go to shore to by some Internet time (I can use it from the boat), so we'll have email and shaky Skype to communicate if the cell phone runs out.
I was able to make Vicky's airline reservation last night and she was off to the airport this morning. Her Mom went into emergency surgery a few nights ago so we've been peddling as fast as we can to get to Georgetown where they have regular flights. We tried to get a flight out of Farmer's Cay, but they only have flights twice a week and the Tuesday flight was full (puddle jumper).
We have a big wind (30+ knots) coming through on Saturday and Sunday. It's hitting pretty much all of the Bahamas so there's no hiding from it other than finding an anchorage that's sheltered from the wind direction. Unfortunately the wind starts out from the south in the evening and slowly clocks around to the north by morning so what might be a good anchorage to start won't be at the end. I'm staging to 'grin and bearit' with the south wind, but will be better placed for the stronger north wind on Sunday and going forward. We'll let you know how it turns out.
We arrived in Georgetown, Bahamas tonight after a full day of wind and waves on the nose. It was a little rougher than we usually take, but Vicky needed to take a a flight out tomorrow back to the states. She's going to miss the big blow we're expecting on Saturday and Sunday.
Before leaving Black Point we were able to get a Bahamas phone chip (SIM) so we have an emergency number and can make local calls. We also walkked across the street for a still warm loaf of fresh coconut bread.
We pulled into Farmers Cay after a short sail from Black Point. It would have been too long of a run to Georgetown, and the wind is up making for a rough passage in Exuma Sound. We took a mooring ball rather than anchor so we could get a good nights rest preping for tomorrow's run. It is actually the same mooring ball we had last year when we were here for the 5Fs festival.
Black Point is our destination for today. This is the largest settlement in the Exuma Islands including Georgetown. There is a dingy dock at the laundomat we can pull into that puts the phone company, groceries and Scorpio's Bar in easy walking diistance. We'll do the laundry then drop be Scorpios for a beer and some Internet access.
We did some walking trails this afternoon to explore the island, making our way to Boo Boo Hill for a great view of the oceans (and rough seas). There is also a small blow hole on the east shore. We missed a marker on the path and sort of took a deter along some pretty jagged rocks before reaching the begining of the trail and starting over. Eventually we got there. Of course we forgot the camera, but some fellow cruisers had theirs and graciously took our picture for us. The second picture is a pile of driftwood or other 'boards' with boat names on them that cruisers have taken to the top of Boo Boo Hill. This is the only activity sanctioned by the park where you can take something on the trail and leave it.
We arrived in Warderick Wells at about 1:30 PM yesterday. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for sailing with winds 15+ mph at our starboard quarter. We sailed the whole way making speeds of 7.5 to 9.2 mph (I still don't work with knots). The wind is forecast to really start blowing tonigh and for the next 5 or so days. Being the cautious types, we are tied to a mooring ball in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. The water in the bay here is nice and settled, but it's horrid once you leave the protected water.
What a ride!!! We left West End Bahamas at about early on Thursday (Feb 7th) and didn't stop until dropping anchor at Highborne Cay 32 hours later. In that time we traveled 206 miles...a good stretch on a sailboat. We'll spend a restful night here before heading to Warderick Wells where we can grab a mooring ball to ride out a night of forecast wind..
We got underway from Vero Beach, FL at about noon on Tuesday the 5th and sailed overnight across the Gulf Stream. It took 24 hours, but 2 hours of that I was helping out the Coast Guard after seeing some distress flares shot off about 2 miles from our boat in the middle of the Gulf Stream. The Coast Guard called off the search when it was reported that the flares were shot off by accident. My guess would be that someone was fooling around and shooting off expired flares to get rid of them (there were 4 flared shot off 10 or 15 minutes apart). There were no boat lights when/where the flares went off , but after 2 hours, when the search was called off, a boat appeared with their nav lights on.
What a spectacular sight!!! While anchored in Eau Gallie (north of Melbourne, FL) we were able to see the launch of a NASA communications satellite on a Saturn V rocket. It was a night launch a quite a site, but (as usual) the camera battery was dead. One day I'll get a decent camera...promise...
The anchorage here in Eau Gallie is nice. It's right off the town pier behind the library and conference center. We stayed here last year for the Melbourne GAM (a meeting of cruisers), but on the other side of the bridge because it was so crowded.
Today we had a wonderful visit and meal with our friends Mark and Arlene. They drove up from there temporary home in Ovieda to vist as we passed through. As an added treat their daughter Meagan and her boyfriend Danny joined us two. We've known this family since our daughters were in grade school together and over the years they have become dear to us. It was great to see them again.
You know...there just has not been much exciting to write about over the last few months. We arrived in Jacksonvillle, FL on November 4th where all we did was make arrangements for doctors appointments and wait. It was all routine stuff, but the wait between appointments took us 11 weeks before we got done. All too boring to write about. The one good thing to write about is that we were able to put in a water makke (de-salinization unit) while we were there in JAX. We can now make our own water while in the Bahamas and Carribean inster of hauling to the boat in the dinghy 15 gallons at a time...yeah....
Anyway... we got off to a really late start this year not leaving Jacksonville until January 27th. We're racing down the east coast as fast as we safely can and should be able to make some interesting entries from here on out.
On a side note I would like to extend our many thanks to Mike P. at the NAS JAX marina, who let us use his car many many times during our stay there to make store runs and get to our appointments. We couldn't have done it without his generousity.