Up early to check the weather. I looks good for traveling back to Florida. The wind hid died down. This was good and bad. Since there was very little breeze in the morning these little annoying insects came out and started biting us. The little buggers are so small that you cannot see them, but you can feel them bite.
We stowed our gear and settled up our account with Sue. She took all of our Bahamas currency and credit cards. I was told to get rid of all the Bahamas money before leaving the country. Banks in the USA will not exchange Bahamas currency for American currency. I am returning to the United States with three US dollars in my wallet. Once we arrive in Fort Pierce, my first stop will be the money machine.
At 8:30 I fired up the Honda, Jerry tossed off the dock lines and we headed toward Angle Fish Point our first waypoint for the trip back to the USA..
Jerry steered as I hoisted the mainsail and the big 155 Genoa filled with wind and drive us along with the iron jenny at 6 plus knots. After three hours of motoring Jerry figured that it was time to calculate the amount of fuel we should have on board if we were to motor all the way to Ft Pierce. We started with 22 gallons of fuel. I figured the fuel we had plus the wind we should get, we would have enough to get home. I thoughtr that the winds had to pipe up soon.
As we left Spanish, there was no wind at all. The Sea of Abaco looked like a giant mirror! The only disturbances in the water was left from our wake
5:00pm We rounded the waypoint called Baracudda Rock. There were six to eight dolphins swimming along, around the boat. The would dive behind the boat and next to the boat. They were so close, you could see their eyes. What magnificent creatures who sailor believes are good luck.
The water is so clear that you can see the bottom in 20 feet of water. No need for a “looky bucket” today. I could see sing rays, conch, sea urchins, star fish and sea grass from the bow of the boat.
At 5:35 the wind started to pick up. I raised the head sail for the second time in eight hours. We were making between 5 and 6 knots.
The sunset was spectacular. Jerry and I both got our cameras out and took photos. The sky was pink, red, orange and the sun itself. A huge round ball falling into the ocean.
I got out the safety harness for the person on night watch to wear. We discussed taking 3 hours shifts. Jerry took the helm at 8:30pm and I crawled into my berth to get some sleep. Jerry let me sleep until 1:00am. The stars were bright and reflected in the water just like the moon reflects in the water when it is out.
It is difficult to keep a sail boat on course when hand steering at night. There is nothing to ‘aim for’ and looking at the compass and the GPS is hypnotizing. Waves slap the hull and rock the boat and you cannot see them. It is a very unusual feeling. We saw one boat about 3:00AM that came very close to us and then when getting close changed course nad headed away. Both Jerry and I wondered who that boat was?
The sunrise was beautiful. We were heading west and the sun came up from behind us. The sun was coming from the same direction as the waves. We were still moving at about 5 knots and still on the banks. We were still in 20 feet of water and had not hit the opean ocean.
We crossed out of the banks and into the open ocean at about 10am. The depth of the water went to almost three thousand feet! The depth gage no longer worked. It send an electronic impulse to the sea floor and the signal bounces back to the transducer. When the returning wave is received, the instrument calculates the depth by the time is takes to come back to the instrument. It was sooo deep that the sound wave kept going down and by the time it reaches the bottom we were long gone bu the time the signal bounced back.
Once we got into the Gulf Stream, the temperature of the water was noticeably warmer than the open ocean. The water also slowed up the speed of the boat if you steered into it. We had and east south east wind and were on a broad reach.
Water Mark was in the open ocean and holding her own. She sails well into the wind. She is a little bouncy off the wind. I was glad that we picked the right weather window. A small sailboat on the open ocean is a storm might not be a lot of fun.
We sailed all day. There were swell of waves coming from behind us. There were also crossing waves coming from the side of us. The sea was a little confused. The wind continued to be steady and we were making about 5 knots.
We sighted land about 3:00pm the tall building on Hutchinson’s Island looked very welcoming. I checked the signal on my cell phone. I was plesently surprised to see a bar. I pushed the button and talked to Sandy. She was at the movie theatre. I told her that we had just sailed into Florida waters and Jerry and I were safe.
At 4:30pm we sailed in the Ft Pierce inlet. Just as we got inside of the break wall at Ft Pierce a huge 40 foot sport fisherman came by us at full speed and created a 6 foot wave that Jerry steered us into. The wave broke over the Water Mark and the splash went 15 feet up into the air. The splash got the head sail wet, the sheets and the dingy that was stored on the foredeck.
What and absolute asshole. If it we not for some fast thinking from Jerry that guy could have really caused a huge problem for boat like the WaterMark.
We have learned that the sport fisherman think they are the kings of the sea and anyone in their way will pay hell. What is wrong with these guys. They are in every port us and down the coast of Florida and are dangerous!
Aa 5:00pm I took down the head sail as we entered the inlet. I then took down the main sail as the wind was being blocked by several buildings.
Jerry handed me the tiller and I made the starboard turn into the Inter Coastal Water Way. We passed Harbor Town, Taylor Creed Marina and finally made the turn to port and tinto Riverside Marina. We traveled 160 miles in 33 hours. We made it safely back to the United States.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday February 25, 2011
Spanish Cay
Jerry and I were up early checking the weather. The winds at night were very stiff and the boat bounced at the dock. Jerry said that he did not sleep very well. At about 1am I got up and tied two additional dock lines to Water Mark. The additional lines helped but did not stop the boat from bouncing. The tied was high at 1am and the waves were breaking over the break wall. The break wall was made of large rocks and the folks that built it built it to work well at low tide. High tide is a different story. The wind blows the waves over the rocks and this makes for a very uncomfortable dockage.
The winds were very stiff today. We decided to take a weather day and prepare the Water Mark for the crossing to Florida on Saturday as the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday looks favorable for a 165 trip.
We pulled “Old Joe” off the transom of the dingy. I put a buck of fresh water over the propeller and water intake. Then fired “Old Joe” up and rinsed the salt water out of the motor. I disconnected the gas line and ran the motor until it ran out of gas.
We then pulled the dingy out of the water and washed it. I could not believe that there was so much green algae growing on the bottom of the dingy. There is also a lot of green algae growing on the bottom of the WaterMark. I used soap and a brush to clean the dingy. Once it was dried, we packed it in the two storage bags and lashed it to the foredeck for the trip across the Gulf Stream.
After the work was done, we had a beer and then rented a golf cart to tour the island. We drove from one end of the Cay to the other in just over one hour. We drove the golf cart down the middle of the run way. No airplanes so we were safe. We saw a restaurant called Wreckers. It looked abandoned. In fact the entire island looked and felt like a “ghost town”. Don Davis spent millions developing the island and must be loosing his shirt. Beautiful luxury homes and condos all empty. Maintained but starting to need paint and care and not getting it.
After touring the Cay, we headed up to the restaurant for our last meal in the Bahamas. Both Jerry and I had grouper. The chef a rotund lady with a tremendous personality had a secret sauce that went over the fish. It was absolutely delicious. It was also very expensive! She would not reveal the receipt to her secret sauce.
We also ordered some Bahamas toast. Bahamas toast is a cross between garlic bread and Texas toast. It is made with sweet Bahamas bread and also was a delicious desert.
With full bellies we headed back to the boat Jerry checked the weather and the forecast still looks good for a crossing to Florida on this weekend.
Jerry and I were up early checking the weather. The winds at night were very stiff and the boat bounced at the dock. Jerry said that he did not sleep very well. At about 1am I got up and tied two additional dock lines to Water Mark. The additional lines helped but did not stop the boat from bouncing. The tied was high at 1am and the waves were breaking over the break wall. The break wall was made of large rocks and the folks that built it built it to work well at low tide. High tide is a different story. The wind blows the waves over the rocks and this makes for a very uncomfortable dockage.
The winds were very stiff today. We decided to take a weather day and prepare the Water Mark for the crossing to Florida on Saturday as the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday looks favorable for a 165 trip.
We pulled “Old Joe” off the transom of the dingy. I put a buck of fresh water over the propeller and water intake. Then fired “Old Joe” up and rinsed the salt water out of the motor. I disconnected the gas line and ran the motor until it ran out of gas.
We then pulled the dingy out of the water and washed it. I could not believe that there was so much green algae growing on the bottom of the dingy. There is also a lot of green algae growing on the bottom of the WaterMark. I used soap and a brush to clean the dingy. Once it was dried, we packed it in the two storage bags and lashed it to the foredeck for the trip across the Gulf Stream.
After the work was done, we had a beer and then rented a golf cart to tour the island. We drove from one end of the Cay to the other in just over one hour. We drove the golf cart down the middle of the run way. No airplanes so we were safe. We saw a restaurant called Wreckers. It looked abandoned. In fact the entire island looked and felt like a “ghost town”. Don Davis spent millions developing the island and must be loosing his shirt. Beautiful luxury homes and condos all empty. Maintained but starting to need paint and care and not getting it.
After touring the Cay, we headed up to the restaurant for our last meal in the Bahamas. Both Jerry and I had grouper. The chef a rotund lady with a tremendous personality had a secret sauce that went over the fish. It was absolutely delicious. It was also very expensive! She would not reveal the receipt to her secret sauce.
We also ordered some Bahamas toast. Bahamas toast is a cross between garlic bread and Texas toast. It is made with sweet Bahamas bread and also was a delicious desert.
With full bellies we headed back to the boat Jerry checked the weather and the forecast still looks good for a crossing to Florida on this weekend.
Thursday February 24, 2011
I woke up early again as is my custom and made a pot of coffee. Jerry does not drink coffee normally but on this trip he would drink a cup of black coffee in the morning.
We needed a few grocery items so we jumped into the dingy. I fired up “Old Joe” and we headed for the settlement called New Plymouth. A charming seaside settlement of about 450 people. It took about ninety minutes to tour and photograph the area. We wandered into an old cemetery. The ground is so hard that many of the old graves are built above ground. The newer graves that are dug with mechanized equipment are in the ground.
We purchased a loaf of raisin bread at McIntyre’s Restaurant and Bakery. Then we were able to find a half dozen eggs at Lowe’s Grocery. With that tour of New Plymouth concluded, we jumped into the dingy and headed back to the boat.
We tossed off the dock lines at 11:45am and set sail for Spanish Cay. The winds were stiff and blowing a good 15 to 20 out of the SSE. I raised the mainsail while Jerry steared the boat. I then put up the head sail. Since the winds were so stiff, I flew the Genoa 110. I was plenty of sail. We were moving along at 6 knots while dragging “Old Joe” behind us.
We pulled into Spanish Cay Marina at 3:30pm. We covered a distance of 25 miles on our trip from Green Turtle to Spanish.
Spanish is a beautiful place when your first see it from the water. It is a private Cay owned by a guy from Texas called Don Davis. Don has a huge house and a 5000 foot runway so that he can land his jet. He also built a hanger for his airplane.
Don hired an American couple named Dan and Sue Keever from Cleveland Ohio to manage the marina and hotel. Since the economy has gone south the real estate developer and mega yacht builder Don is rarely seen on the island. You can see that the resort that he built is in the first stages of neglect. They do not get very many visitors to the cay.
Dan the manager of the establishment told us that his brother was involved with the NASA space program. The last shuttle was scheduled to launch at 4:45pm. Dan told Jerry and me that there was a launch party in the bar. We had a beer on the boat and then headed into the bar to watch the launch. The launch party was great fun. Dan had a lot of inside information about the space program and kept the folks watching he launch informed and entertained.
While at the launch party Jerry and I were invited to join a cruising couple named Stew and Diana for dinner aboard their 42 foot Endeavor names Casual Class. They asked up to bring something so we brought a fresh loaf of raisin bread. The main course was crab cakes, with Bahamas rice and beans. Another cruising couple from England also joined us for dinner.
Stew and Diana have lived aboard Casual Class for 16 years! The boat was absolutely beautiful. Stew has become my hero. Sixteen years living on a boat. They lived on the boat in Virginia while he and his wife worked. They retired a year ago and are now cruising the Bahamas and plan to head to the Caribbean.
After dinner, I got my guitar and played a few songs.
I stayed up late and did not get to bed until almost 10pm.
We needed a few grocery items so we jumped into the dingy. I fired up “Old Joe” and we headed for the settlement called New Plymouth. A charming seaside settlement of about 450 people. It took about ninety minutes to tour and photograph the area. We wandered into an old cemetery. The ground is so hard that many of the old graves are built above ground. The newer graves that are dug with mechanized equipment are in the ground.
We purchased a loaf of raisin bread at McIntyre’s Restaurant and Bakery. Then we were able to find a half dozen eggs at Lowe’s Grocery. With that tour of New Plymouth concluded, we jumped into the dingy and headed back to the boat.
We tossed off the dock lines at 11:45am and set sail for Spanish Cay. The winds were stiff and blowing a good 15 to 20 out of the SSE. I raised the mainsail while Jerry steared the boat. I then put up the head sail. Since the winds were so stiff, I flew the Genoa 110. I was plenty of sail. We were moving along at 6 knots while dragging “Old Joe” behind us.
We pulled into Spanish Cay Marina at 3:30pm. We covered a distance of 25 miles on our trip from Green Turtle to Spanish.
Spanish is a beautiful place when your first see it from the water. It is a private Cay owned by a guy from Texas called Don Davis. Don has a huge house and a 5000 foot runway so that he can land his jet. He also built a hanger for his airplane.
Don hired an American couple named Dan and Sue Keever from Cleveland Ohio to manage the marina and hotel. Since the economy has gone south the real estate developer and mega yacht builder Don is rarely seen on the island. You can see that the resort that he built is in the first stages of neglect. They do not get very many visitors to the cay.
Dan the manager of the establishment told us that his brother was involved with the NASA space program. The last shuttle was scheduled to launch at 4:45pm. Dan told Jerry and me that there was a launch party in the bar. We had a beer on the boat and then headed into the bar to watch the launch. The launch party was great fun. Dan had a lot of inside information about the space program and kept the folks watching he launch informed and entertained.
While at the launch party Jerry and I were invited to join a cruising couple named Stew and Diana for dinner aboard their 42 foot Endeavor names Casual Class. They asked up to bring something so we brought a fresh loaf of raisin bread. The main course was crab cakes, with Bahamas rice and beans. Another cruising couple from England also joined us for dinner.
Stew and Diana have lived aboard Casual Class for 16 years! The boat was absolutely beautiful. Stew has become my hero. Sixteen years living on a boat. They lived on the boat in Virginia while he and his wife worked. They retired a year ago and are now cruising the Bahamas and plan to head to the Caribbean.
After dinner, I got my guitar and played a few songs.
I stayed up late and did not get to bed until almost 10pm.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday February 23, 2011
Jerry and I were up early. We had shopping to do before heading out of the anchorage. We drank a cup of coffee and headed back into the settlement to finalize our purchases.
When we got to Sally’s Boutique, it was closed, Jerry set on a picnic table next to the water. I went searching for Sally. I spoke with a gentleman and he told me that Sally lived directly across the street from here shop. I knocked on the door. No answer. I walked around to the back. Sally was hanging a wash cloth on the clothes line. I greeted her with a pleasant Good Morning. She was still in her night clothes but remembered me from yesterday. I told here that Jerry and I wanted to purchase some items from her for our wives before setting sail. She told me that she would get dressed and meet ma at here shop.
After purchasing the gifts for our wives Sally wished us safe sailing and we headed back to the boat. Jerry hoisted the anchor, while I fired up the Honda. At 9:30am we motored out of the harbor at Man-O-War Cay.
Our route to Green Turtle is north east. Today the wind is very light 5 knots and is directly out of the north east. We had to motor most of the way. Light winds today are good, because we must use the Shale Cay Passage and that will take us out into the Atlantic Ocean and then back into the Sea of Abaco.
It is important to have good weather while transiting Whale Cay passage. If the wind and the tides are opposite one an other, a “surge’ can occur and they are very dangerous. This looks like a perfect day to do the Whale Cay passage. Tommy Aubury told us that the weather tomorrow was going to be pretty heavy. Twenty knot winds are expected.
Since the fishing was good yesterday, I put the line in the water and we fished the entire time we were traveling to Green Turtle and came up empty. Six hours of dragging a line and nothing today.
When we got to Sally’s Boutique, it was closed, Jerry set on a picnic table next to the water. I went searching for Sally. I spoke with a gentleman and he told me that Sally lived directly across the street from here shop. I knocked on the door. No answer. I walked around to the back. Sally was hanging a wash cloth on the clothes line. I greeted her with a pleasant Good Morning. She was still in her night clothes but remembered me from yesterday. I told here that Jerry and I wanted to purchase some items from her for our wives before setting sail. She told me that she would get dressed and meet ma at here shop.
After purchasing the gifts for our wives Sally wished us safe sailing and we headed back to the boat. Jerry hoisted the anchor, while I fired up the Honda. At 9:30am we motored out of the harbor at Man-O-War Cay.
Our route to Green Turtle is north east. Today the wind is very light 5 knots and is directly out of the north east. We had to motor most of the way. Light winds today are good, because we must use the Shale Cay Passage and that will take us out into the Atlantic Ocean and then back into the Sea of Abaco.
It is important to have good weather while transiting Whale Cay passage. If the wind and the tides are opposite one an other, a “surge’ can occur and they are very dangerous. This looks like a perfect day to do the Whale Cay passage. Tommy Aubury told us that the weather tomorrow was going to be pretty heavy. Twenty knot winds are expected.
Since the fishing was good yesterday, I put the line in the water and we fished the entire time we were traveling to Green Turtle and came up empty. Six hours of dragging a line and nothing today.
Tuesday February 22, 2011
Jerry and I were up at the crack of dawn. We jumped in the dingy and headed to the Hope Town Marina for showers. We also used their WiFi network to Skype with our wives. With clean bodies we motored over to the Elbow Cay Light House and climbed to the top. The view of Hope Town from the top of the 100 foot light house is spectacular. We took several photos. It is much easier to climb down the light house steps than it is to climb up.
We then motored “Old Joe” across the harbor and purchased ice and a case of Kalik. The beer is really tasty, but it is also expensive. It cost almost $50 for a case of beer.
With full provisions, we dropped the mooring ball at noon and motored out of Hope Town Harbor. Our destination was Man-O-War Cay.
While on the way to Man-O-War, I dropped the fishing line into the water and dragged the lure behind the boat. At about 2PM Jerry said that the banjo reel was spinning a little. I checked it and sure enough we had caught a fish. It was a Mutton Snapper that weighed about 8 pounds. We pulled the fish out of the water and gave it a shot of rum. The shot of rum quickly kills the fish and keeps it from flopping around in the cockpit of the boat.
We took several photos of the trophy and then looked the fish up in our cruising guide. Snapper is good eating.
At 3:00pm we dropped the sails and motored into the harbor at Man-O-War. We turned and headed to the south end of the little harbor and Jerry set the anchor. We were anchored in about 10 feet of water.
Once the anchor was secure and holding, we had a Kalik and I sharpened the fillet knife in preparation of cleaning the Mutton Snapper. I filleted the fish. We put the fillets into a plastic bag and stored them in the ice box.
It was time for a dingy ride into the settlement. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to see everything there is to see. We checked out he Aubury sail maker. They no longer make sails, they make bags, purses. Ditty bags, suit cases out of heavy sail type material. Our next stop was Sally’s Sea Side Boutique. Sally is an older lady in her late seventies. She has beautiful material from Andros (one of the islands in the Bahamas). This was the place, I decided was the best spot to purchase Bahamas souvenirs for Sandy and Patricia.
It was late in the day and I did not have enough cash with me to purchase everything I wanted. I told Sally that I would return in the morning to finish my shopping.
We jumped into the dingy and headed back to WaterMark anchored in the harbor.
We had another Kalik, then Jerry and I prepared the fish. I washed the fish, Jerry cut up some onions and made a salad. I sauted. the onions and then cooked the snapper in butter. The fish was wonderful. The fish was sweet and very tasty.. I did a pretty good job filleting the fish as there were not many bones to contend with while eating the meal.
We then motored “Old Joe” across the harbor and purchased ice and a case of Kalik. The beer is really tasty, but it is also expensive. It cost almost $50 for a case of beer.
With full provisions, we dropped the mooring ball at noon and motored out of Hope Town Harbor. Our destination was Man-O-War Cay.
While on the way to Man-O-War, I dropped the fishing line into the water and dragged the lure behind the boat. At about 2PM Jerry said that the banjo reel was spinning a little. I checked it and sure enough we had caught a fish. It was a Mutton Snapper that weighed about 8 pounds. We pulled the fish out of the water and gave it a shot of rum. The shot of rum quickly kills the fish and keeps it from flopping around in the cockpit of the boat.
We took several photos of the trophy and then looked the fish up in our cruising guide. Snapper is good eating.
At 3:00pm we dropped the sails and motored into the harbor at Man-O-War. We turned and headed to the south end of the little harbor and Jerry set the anchor. We were anchored in about 10 feet of water.
Once the anchor was secure and holding, we had a Kalik and I sharpened the fillet knife in preparation of cleaning the Mutton Snapper. I filleted the fish. We put the fillets into a plastic bag and stored them in the ice box.
It was time for a dingy ride into the settlement. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to see everything there is to see. We checked out he Aubury sail maker. They no longer make sails, they make bags, purses. Ditty bags, suit cases out of heavy sail type material. Our next stop was Sally’s Sea Side Boutique. Sally is an older lady in her late seventies. She has beautiful material from Andros (one of the islands in the Bahamas). This was the place, I decided was the best spot to purchase Bahamas souvenirs for Sandy and Patricia.
It was late in the day and I did not have enough cash with me to purchase everything I wanted. I told Sally that I would return in the morning to finish my shopping.
We jumped into the dingy and headed back to WaterMark anchored in the harbor.
We had another Kalik, then Jerry and I prepared the fish. I washed the fish, Jerry cut up some onions and made a salad. I sauted. the onions and then cooked the snapper in butter. The fish was wonderful. The fish was sweet and very tasty.. I did a pretty good job filleting the fish as there were not many bones to contend with while eating the meal.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday February 21, 2011.
Today the trip home officially begins. I ran to the bakery for fresh bread. We topped off the fuel tanks. At 11am we cast off the dock lines and set sail for Hope Town. I was a little sad to see Marsh Harbor fade into the distance as it was “home” for several weeks and I really loved the town and the people I met. The temperature as we motored out of the harbor was 73 degrees and the sun was shining. Wind out of the East South East at 10 to 15 knots. I was a beautiful day to be on the water.
We sailed the entire distance. As the crow flies it is just under 9 miles. We traveled 15 miles because we had to tack back and fourth four times. The wind was out of the east and we were headed east. We sailed up to the entrance of Hope Town dropped the sails and motored into the harbor. There was a larger boat that was very slow to head into the harbor as it was low tide and the depth finder was reading 4 to 4.5 feet. We picked up a red mooring ball and were nestled in for the night. We jumped in the dingy and did a shore trip. Walked over to the beach on the Atlantic ocean and toured the settlement.
Then back to the boat for dinner. I hit the hay about my normal time.
We sailed the entire distance. As the crow flies it is just under 9 miles. We traveled 15 miles because we had to tack back and fourth four times. The wind was out of the east and we were headed east. We sailed up to the entrance of Hope Town dropped the sails and motored into the harbor. There was a larger boat that was very slow to head into the harbor as it was low tide and the depth finder was reading 4 to 4.5 feet. We picked up a red mooring ball and were nestled in for the night. We jumped in the dingy and did a shore trip. Walked over to the beach on the Atlantic ocean and toured the settlement.
Then back to the boat for dinner. I hit the hay about my normal time.
Sunday February 20, 2011
I was up early and headed off to Mass at St Frances de Sales Church. I walked to the traffic light and then a block north to the Haitian community. There is a church bus stop there and I caught the yellow bus.
The keyboard player was absent. The choir sang all of the songs without any music. Peter the bartender from Mango’s was at Mass and he told me that I should have brought my guitar to church.
After Mass the church bus driver dropped me off at Mango’s. Riding the bus with all of the children was great fun. More kids attend Mass from the Haitian community than adults. I wonder why?
We went to Maxwell’s Grocery store and purchased provisions for the trip back to Florida. Fruit, juice, tomatoes, lettuce cereal etc. We took a cab to and from the store because we had so much food to carry we never would have made it on foot.
I gave Jerry a quick walking tour of the town. We ten dingied over to Jim and Ellie’s boat and had cocktails and snacks.
Then back to Mango’s for conch fritters. No live music this night as Estin was nowhere to be seen. Marsh Harbor shuts down on Sunday and there is very little activity. Then back down the dock the boat and to bed.
The keyboard player was absent. The choir sang all of the songs without any music. Peter the bartender from Mango’s was at Mass and he told me that I should have brought my guitar to church.
After Mass the church bus driver dropped me off at Mango’s. Riding the bus with all of the children was great fun. More kids attend Mass from the Haitian community than adults. I wonder why?
We went to Maxwell’s Grocery store and purchased provisions for the trip back to Florida. Fruit, juice, tomatoes, lettuce cereal etc. We took a cab to and from the store because we had so much food to carry we never would have made it on foot.
I gave Jerry a quick walking tour of the town. We ten dingied over to Jim and Ellie’s boat and had cocktails and snacks.
Then back to Mango’s for conch fritters. No live music this night as Estin was nowhere to be seen. Marsh Harbor shuts down on Sunday and there is very little activity. Then back down the dock the boat and to bed.
Saturday February 19, 2011
At noon Estin arrived for a guitar lesion. Since he is also a cab driver, he had a double duty. The guitar lesson and then taxi ride to the airport to pick up Jerry. We played calypso music for and hour. I had bought his CD from the local souvenir shop and learned the changes to one of the songs he wrote called The Bahamas that was on the CD that I purchased. We had a ton of fun during the lesson. Jim and Ellie even showed up. Jim harmonized to several of the songs that Estin played. 1:30pm came quickly and the guitar lesson ended. Estin said that we needed to head to the airport to pick up Jerry.
Jerry’s flight was 10 minutes late. Estin the taxi driver beeped his horn ar most folks we passed as he drove me to the airport. I talked to a vendor at the airport while waiting for he flight to arrive. He said that everything in his booth was handmade by his wife. I had to purchase earrings that were hand made by his wife out of coconut for Sandy and Patricia. I had a photo taken of the coconut tree that produced the coconuts from which the jewelry was made.
We headed back to Mango’s. Estin dropped us off and said goodbye. Jerry unpacked his gear and we jumped in the dingy for a tour of Marsh Harbor by water.
As the sun went down Jerry and I went to Mango’s Restaurant for conch chowder. Estin was at the bar talking with folks. He asked me to get my guitar and we played pass the guitar. Estin would play a song. Then it was my turn. We had great fun. I stayed up way past my normal bed time of 8:30pm. Finally about 10:30 I creawled into my aft bunk and Jery crawled into the V-berth and we fell asleep.
Jerry’s flight was 10 minutes late. Estin the taxi driver beeped his horn ar most folks we passed as he drove me to the airport. I talked to a vendor at the airport while waiting for he flight to arrive. He said that everything in his booth was handmade by his wife. I had to purchase earrings that were hand made by his wife out of coconut for Sandy and Patricia. I had a photo taken of the coconut tree that produced the coconuts from which the jewelry was made.
We headed back to Mango’s. Estin dropped us off and said goodbye. Jerry unpacked his gear and we jumped in the dingy for a tour of Marsh Harbor by water.
As the sun went down Jerry and I went to Mango’s Restaurant for conch chowder. Estin was at the bar talking with folks. He asked me to get my guitar and we played pass the guitar. Estin would play a song. Then it was my turn. We had great fun. I stayed up way past my normal bed time of 8:30pm. Finally about 10:30 I creawled into my aft bunk and Jery crawled into the V-berth and we fell asleep.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Friday February 18, 2011
I spoke with Jerry Leanderson at 9am via a Skype connection. He is coming to Marsh Harbor to help me sail the Water Mark back to the USA. We reviewed his travel plans. I told him that arrangements have been made to pick him up at the airport when he arrives here in Marsh Harbor at 1:35pm on Saturday. Estin Sawyer the Music Mon of Abaco and taxi driver and I will meet him at the airport.
Jerry had question about Bahamas money. He asked about the currency used here in the Bahamas. Currently the Bahamas dollar and the American dollar are on equal par. In fact the money here in the Bahamas is a mix of American currency and Bahamas currency. You can purchase anything you want with US dollars or Bahamas dollars. If you purchase an item and pay for it with Bahamas currency, you might receive a combination of American dollars and Bahamas dollars as change. Bahamas currency is very colorful. Like in the USA Bahamas bills of all denominations are the same size. The have a 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar notes. There may be larger denominations but I have not seen them.
After talking with Jerry, I moved the boat from where it had been anchored to a slip at Manago’s. I backed the Water Mark into the slip and tied her up. Then connected the hose and washed the boat. It had salt all over the hull from being anchored in the harbor for over a week.
Once the boat was clean on the outside, I focused my attention on the conch that I had soaking in a bucket of bleach. The bottom part of the conch is colorful and clean. The top of the conch was coated with algae. After soaking in bleach for 2 days the algae brushed off the top side of the conch easily. I am proud of this conch and want to keep it as a souvenir. I then wandered into town to buy Sandy a souvenir from the Bahamas.
It feels strange to be at a dock after all those days of anchoring out in the harbor. I guess that strange feeling is the same feeling that you have when you go to New York City. It is crowded. You feel pinned in and cramped.
There is electricity at the dock and sometimes Internet. I booted up the laptop and decided to watch a movie. DVD’s are traded regularly amongst the cruisers. I had traded for several movies in West End and have not had a chance to watch them because of the limited battery power of the laptop. The computer has a 75 minute battery life. Most movies take longer than that to play so I have been reading books. They do not require batteries.
I watched a movie called Godsend. Just like at home, I fell asleep half way through the film. I figured that I could watch the ending in the morning. When I woke up the full moon was shining into the cabin. I fell back asleep watching the full moon.
Jerry had question about Bahamas money. He asked about the currency used here in the Bahamas. Currently the Bahamas dollar and the American dollar are on equal par. In fact the money here in the Bahamas is a mix of American currency and Bahamas currency. You can purchase anything you want with US dollars or Bahamas dollars. If you purchase an item and pay for it with Bahamas currency, you might receive a combination of American dollars and Bahamas dollars as change. Bahamas currency is very colorful. Like in the USA Bahamas bills of all denominations are the same size. The have a 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar notes. There may be larger denominations but I have not seen them.
After talking with Jerry, I moved the boat from where it had been anchored to a slip at Manago’s. I backed the Water Mark into the slip and tied her up. Then connected the hose and washed the boat. It had salt all over the hull from being anchored in the harbor for over a week.
Once the boat was clean on the outside, I focused my attention on the conch that I had soaking in a bucket of bleach. The bottom part of the conch is colorful and clean. The top of the conch was coated with algae. After soaking in bleach for 2 days the algae brushed off the top side of the conch easily. I am proud of this conch and want to keep it as a souvenir. I then wandered into town to buy Sandy a souvenir from the Bahamas.
It feels strange to be at a dock after all those days of anchoring out in the harbor. I guess that strange feeling is the same feeling that you have when you go to New York City. It is crowded. You feel pinned in and cramped.
There is electricity at the dock and sometimes Internet. I booted up the laptop and decided to watch a movie. DVD’s are traded regularly amongst the cruisers. I had traded for several movies in West End and have not had a chance to watch them because of the limited battery power of the laptop. The computer has a 75 minute battery life. Most movies take longer than that to play so I have been reading books. They do not require batteries.
I watched a movie called Godsend. Just like at home, I fell asleep half way through the film. I figured that I could watch the ending in the morning. When I woke up the full moon was shining into the cabin. I fell back asleep watching the full moon.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday February 17, 2011
At noon I met up with a gentleman named Estin Sawyer. Estin is known as the Music man of the Abacos and is a fantastic guitar player. He also drives a taxi cab. We had arranged earlier in the week to meet up so that he could teach me some Bahamas music.
We met at Mango’s. We found a quiet corner and tuned or guitars. Estin began to teach me the calypso rhythm. The song we practiced is called Mary Ann. Estin stared the lesson by showing me how to strum the strings of the guitar and use my finger to hit the sound board and use it as a drum.
After strumming practice I wrote the words of the song down and the cords. He told me to practice the song and that we would meet for lesson number two at noon on Saturday.
Because Estin is also a taxi driver, I asked him if he would be available on Saturday to pick up a friend at the airport who was flying in to Marsh Harbor to help me sail the boat back to the USA. Estin said that he would be available and that we could practice guitar before picking Jerry up.
I returned to the Water Mark. Jim and Ellie my boating buddies had the bottom of their boatr cleaned by a local guy named Brown Tip. The wanted to see if the clean bottom would allow their 36 foot Catalina to sail faster. They also wanted me to watch them sail the boat and to make helpful suggestions as to how they could improve their seamamship skills.
Ellie headed to the bow of FinniIrish to weight anchor. Jim fired up the diesel engine.
After the engine had warmed up, Ellie stepped on the foot pedal and the windlass began to rotate and the anchor chain started to collect in the anchor locker. The windless is a really nice tool. It is basically an electrical powered winch that pulls up the anchor. They use a plow anchor and when it broke the surface of the water, it was full of mud. The mud here in Marsh Harbor makes for great holding.
We used a boat hook to scrape off most of the mud from the anchor. Jim pointed the bow of FinniIrish toward the sea of Abaco and we were underway. Once we cleared the entrance to the harbor, Jim pointed the bow of their boat into the wind and Ellie wrapped the main halyard around a winch and hoisted the main sail. She then released the line that controls the roller furling for the head sail. Jim then turned the boat away from the wind and we were off a port tack. The wind was blowing at about 12 knots and FinniIrish as doing a good 6 plus knots. The sheets that control the head sail were run over the life lines and so we changed the position of the sheets and ran them through the life lines so that they did not chafe on the life lines.
We sailed past Elbow Cay and north toward Man-O-War. Their boat sailed beautifully. FinniIrish is their home. They bought the boat in Ohio three years ago, sold their house and car. Stored a lot of their belongings and set sail for the Bahamas. They have been cruising for three years. They island hope in the winter months and then in June head back to Florida for the summer months. Ellie tells everyone that the dingy is their car.
Jim then came about and we were on a starboard tack headed back toward marsh harbor. The wind was on our hind quarter and still making a good 6 plus knots. The Catalina 36 is a very nice sailing vessel. With a clean bottom it went fast. Jim drives the boat and Ellie does most of the work!
When we returned to Marsh Harbor, we stopped at the Harbor View marina for water. The marina was closed. We checked and the water at the end of the dock it was on. Ellie got her special hose out of the aft locker and I connected it to the hose. She started taking on water. FinniIrish water tanks hold almost 70 gallons of water. It took about 15 minutes to fill the tanks. Jim said that he would return the next day and pay the bill. We think that water costs about .20 cents per gallon. Jim expects the bill will come to about 14 dollars.
Once the water tanks were full Jim motored to the anchorage. Ellie put on here old leather gloves and paid out the anchor rode. Once the anchor chain was laying the on the bottom of the harbor, Jim put the engine in reverse and set the anchor. The holding ground here is excellent. The anchor set on the first attempt. Ellie then made a rum drink, Jim drank a non alcohol beer and they told me stories of their cruise in the Mediterranean aboard a huge cruise ship. This couple loves the boating life style and when they took a vacation last year they left their boat in Florida and then took a cruise.
Jim and Ellie on FinniIrish are like next door neighbors that move. We have been sailing together since West End. After their stay in Marsh Harbor, they are heading south to the Exumas. They were there last year and tell me that the Cay is very remote. Ellie will provision their boat with 30 days worth of provisions before they leave.
I have become good friends with Jim and Ellie and will continue to stay in contact with them when we head in separate direction. They are going south, I will head north. I have truly enjoyed all of the time we have spent together. Jim is a retired attorney and Ellie is a retired hospital administrator.
We met at Mango’s. We found a quiet corner and tuned or guitars. Estin began to teach me the calypso rhythm. The song we practiced is called Mary Ann. Estin stared the lesson by showing me how to strum the strings of the guitar and use my finger to hit the sound board and use it as a drum.
After strumming practice I wrote the words of the song down and the cords. He told me to practice the song and that we would meet for lesson number two at noon on Saturday.
Because Estin is also a taxi driver, I asked him if he would be available on Saturday to pick up a friend at the airport who was flying in to Marsh Harbor to help me sail the boat back to the USA. Estin said that he would be available and that we could practice guitar before picking Jerry up.
I returned to the Water Mark. Jim and Ellie my boating buddies had the bottom of their boatr cleaned by a local guy named Brown Tip. The wanted to see if the clean bottom would allow their 36 foot Catalina to sail faster. They also wanted me to watch them sail the boat and to make helpful suggestions as to how they could improve their seamamship skills.
Ellie headed to the bow of FinniIrish to weight anchor. Jim fired up the diesel engine.
After the engine had warmed up, Ellie stepped on the foot pedal and the windlass began to rotate and the anchor chain started to collect in the anchor locker. The windless is a really nice tool. It is basically an electrical powered winch that pulls up the anchor. They use a plow anchor and when it broke the surface of the water, it was full of mud. The mud here in Marsh Harbor makes for great holding.
We used a boat hook to scrape off most of the mud from the anchor. Jim pointed the bow of FinniIrish toward the sea of Abaco and we were underway. Once we cleared the entrance to the harbor, Jim pointed the bow of their boat into the wind and Ellie wrapped the main halyard around a winch and hoisted the main sail. She then released the line that controls the roller furling for the head sail. Jim then turned the boat away from the wind and we were off a port tack. The wind was blowing at about 12 knots and FinniIrish as doing a good 6 plus knots. The sheets that control the head sail were run over the life lines and so we changed the position of the sheets and ran them through the life lines so that they did not chafe on the life lines.
We sailed past Elbow Cay and north toward Man-O-War. Their boat sailed beautifully. FinniIrish is their home. They bought the boat in Ohio three years ago, sold their house and car. Stored a lot of their belongings and set sail for the Bahamas. They have been cruising for three years. They island hope in the winter months and then in June head back to Florida for the summer months. Ellie tells everyone that the dingy is their car.
Jim then came about and we were on a starboard tack headed back toward marsh harbor. The wind was on our hind quarter and still making a good 6 plus knots. The Catalina 36 is a very nice sailing vessel. With a clean bottom it went fast. Jim drives the boat and Ellie does most of the work!
When we returned to Marsh Harbor, we stopped at the Harbor View marina for water. The marina was closed. We checked and the water at the end of the dock it was on. Ellie got her special hose out of the aft locker and I connected it to the hose. She started taking on water. FinniIrish water tanks hold almost 70 gallons of water. It took about 15 minutes to fill the tanks. Jim said that he would return the next day and pay the bill. We think that water costs about .20 cents per gallon. Jim expects the bill will come to about 14 dollars.
Once the water tanks were full Jim motored to the anchorage. Ellie put on here old leather gloves and paid out the anchor rode. Once the anchor chain was laying the on the bottom of the harbor, Jim put the engine in reverse and set the anchor. The holding ground here is excellent. The anchor set on the first attempt. Ellie then made a rum drink, Jim drank a non alcohol beer and they told me stories of their cruise in the Mediterranean aboard a huge cruise ship. This couple loves the boating life style and when they took a vacation last year they left their boat in Florida and then took a cruise.
Jim and Ellie on FinniIrish are like next door neighbors that move. We have been sailing together since West End. After their stay in Marsh Harbor, they are heading south to the Exumas. They were there last year and tell me that the Cay is very remote. Ellie will provision their boat with 30 days worth of provisions before they leave.
I have become good friends with Jim and Ellie and will continue to stay in contact with them when we head in separate direction. They are going south, I will head north. I have truly enjoyed all of the time we have spent together. Jim is a retired attorney and Ellie is a retired hospital administrator.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday February 16, 2011
At 3:30 the sky opened up and it started pouring down rain. Instantly I know it was raining because the rain was landing on my face and woke me up. I jumped out of my sleeping bag, hit my head on the cabin roof and put in the washboard and closed the hatch. The boat was dry. I crawled back into my sleeping bag and fell asleep. The wind had increased to about 20 knots. The anchor was holding and the waves rocked me back to sleep.
Just after sunrise, I was up again and headed into Mango’s. I needed a shower and a cup of coffee. I still have a key to the shower at the Moorings located at the Conch Inn. My skin was covered with salt from the dive the day before and I could smell myself. It was time to pirate another shower. When pirating a shower, I always show up before the office opens so that I do not have to explain why I am using the shower without docking a boat at their marina.
After taking a long hot shower, I returned to my table at Mango’s. Izzie had the coffee ready and asked if I had talked with Sandy yet this morining. I told here that I would give Sandy a few more minutes of sleep and then try and call. Sandy answered on the first ring. It was nice to talk with here. The connection was good and we talked for almost a half hour.
The wind was blowing at over 20 knots today, the sky was cloudy and I got soaked on the way into Mango’s. The wind was coming out of the NNE and there were white caps on the harbor. Every time the bow of the dingy would hit a wave, the salt spray would splash me in the face and the run down the side of the dingy causing what sailors call ‘wet butt’.
This morning I was prepared as I wore my foul weather gear, both top and bottoms. I avoided the ‘wet butt’, I still got a wet face.
I stayed at Mango for an hour and then headed back to the Water Mark. It was a dry ride since I was going in the same direction as the wind. I had hoped to go lobster and conch hunting with Dirk again but the weather prevented us taking a small dingy the 8 miles out to the reef.
I cracked open a Lee Childs book titled The Hard Way and started reading. I fell asleep about 11AM and sleep until 2PM. The first nap I have had on this trip. I made a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and then decided to clean the conch that I got the previous day.
To keep the conch fresh, I put it in a bucket of salt water. I had seen several locals get the meat out of the conch while at West End and felt confident that I could duplicate their efforts. I was given verbal instructions from Jim and Ellie. They told me to count three rings back from the point and make a small hole that is large enough to get a knife in and then cut the animal from the shell by wiggling the knife. I used a hatchet that I have on board to make the hole. When I first hit the shell of the conch, small pieces of shell flew everywhere. They landed on my shirt, face, arms and legs. I kept at it. Pieces of shell flew again. Finally the hole was large enough to insert the knife. I inserted the knife and started to separate the meat from the shell. I then pulled on the foot of the conch trying to get it out of the shell it would not budge. I got a pair of pliers from my tool bag and grabbed the foot of the conch and pulled. The animal yielded to my maneuver and came out of its shell. I had conquered my first conch. I then cleaned the ‘nasty parts’ from the white meat. Conch is very tough white meat. I then put the cleaned meat into a plastic bag got the cutting board from the alcohol stove and set the plastic bag on the board. I then used the blunt hammer end of the hatchet and tenderized the conch by hitting it about 25 times and smashing it flat. I rolled up the plastic bag with the fresh conch and put it on ice in my small green cooler. I reviewed the conch recipes and tried to decide how to prepare it. I decided on conch salad. The receipt calls for limes, onion, fresh pepper and tomatoes. I had the limes and onion. I did not have tomatoes and I don’t like peppers. I had to make a trip to Maxwell’s food store for tomatoes. I jumped in the dingy and headed for the dingy dock.
It is a short one half mile walk from the dingy dock to the grocery store. I made the trip. Purchased the tomatoes and several other impulse items and headed back to the boat to make the conch salad.
I cut up the conch. I diced the onions and tomatoes. I then cut up two limes and squished the juice out of the skin and onto the ingredients. I then popped open a beer and waited for the lime to cook the conch. There was a lot of salad! I was hungry so after a half an hour, I started eating the salad. I thought that I would only get about half of it eater and thought I would save the other half for the next day. The conch salad was so good, I ended up eating it all.
It was just past dark and I started reading. The wind was strong, but it was not very cold again I decided to keep the hatches open. I the last thing I remember is looking at the moon before the waves rocked me to sleep.
Just after sunrise, I was up again and headed into Mango’s. I needed a shower and a cup of coffee. I still have a key to the shower at the Moorings located at the Conch Inn. My skin was covered with salt from the dive the day before and I could smell myself. It was time to pirate another shower. When pirating a shower, I always show up before the office opens so that I do not have to explain why I am using the shower without docking a boat at their marina.
After taking a long hot shower, I returned to my table at Mango’s. Izzie had the coffee ready and asked if I had talked with Sandy yet this morining. I told here that I would give Sandy a few more minutes of sleep and then try and call. Sandy answered on the first ring. It was nice to talk with here. The connection was good and we talked for almost a half hour.
The wind was blowing at over 20 knots today, the sky was cloudy and I got soaked on the way into Mango’s. The wind was coming out of the NNE and there were white caps on the harbor. Every time the bow of the dingy would hit a wave, the salt spray would splash me in the face and the run down the side of the dingy causing what sailors call ‘wet butt’.
This morning I was prepared as I wore my foul weather gear, both top and bottoms. I avoided the ‘wet butt’, I still got a wet face.
I stayed at Mango for an hour and then headed back to the Water Mark. It was a dry ride since I was going in the same direction as the wind. I had hoped to go lobster and conch hunting with Dirk again but the weather prevented us taking a small dingy the 8 miles out to the reef.
I cracked open a Lee Childs book titled The Hard Way and started reading. I fell asleep about 11AM and sleep until 2PM. The first nap I have had on this trip. I made a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and then decided to clean the conch that I got the previous day.
To keep the conch fresh, I put it in a bucket of salt water. I had seen several locals get the meat out of the conch while at West End and felt confident that I could duplicate their efforts. I was given verbal instructions from Jim and Ellie. They told me to count three rings back from the point and make a small hole that is large enough to get a knife in and then cut the animal from the shell by wiggling the knife. I used a hatchet that I have on board to make the hole. When I first hit the shell of the conch, small pieces of shell flew everywhere. They landed on my shirt, face, arms and legs. I kept at it. Pieces of shell flew again. Finally the hole was large enough to insert the knife. I inserted the knife and started to separate the meat from the shell. I then pulled on the foot of the conch trying to get it out of the shell it would not budge. I got a pair of pliers from my tool bag and grabbed the foot of the conch and pulled. The animal yielded to my maneuver and came out of its shell. I had conquered my first conch. I then cleaned the ‘nasty parts’ from the white meat. Conch is very tough white meat. I then put the cleaned meat into a plastic bag got the cutting board from the alcohol stove and set the plastic bag on the board. I then used the blunt hammer end of the hatchet and tenderized the conch by hitting it about 25 times and smashing it flat. I rolled up the plastic bag with the fresh conch and put it on ice in my small green cooler. I reviewed the conch recipes and tried to decide how to prepare it. I decided on conch salad. The receipt calls for limes, onion, fresh pepper and tomatoes. I had the limes and onion. I did not have tomatoes and I don’t like peppers. I had to make a trip to Maxwell’s food store for tomatoes. I jumped in the dingy and headed for the dingy dock.
It is a short one half mile walk from the dingy dock to the grocery store. I made the trip. Purchased the tomatoes and several other impulse items and headed back to the boat to make the conch salad.
I cut up the conch. I diced the onions and tomatoes. I then cut up two limes and squished the juice out of the skin and onto the ingredients. I then popped open a beer and waited for the lime to cook the conch. There was a lot of salad! I was hungry so after a half an hour, I started eating the salad. I thought that I would only get about half of it eater and thought I would save the other half for the next day. The conch salad was so good, I ended up eating it all.
It was just past dark and I started reading. The wind was strong, but it was not very cold again I decided to keep the hatches open. I the last thing I remember is looking at the moon before the waves rocked me to sleep.
Wednesday February 16, 2011
At 3:30 the sky opened up and it started pouring down rain. Instantly I know it was raining because the rain was landing on my face and woke me up. I jumped out of my sleeping bag, hit my head on the cabin roof and put in the washboard and closed the hatch. The boat was dry. I crawled back into my sleeping bag and fell asleep. The wind had increased to about 20 knots. The anchor was holding and the waves rocked me back to sleep.
Just after sunrise, I was up again and headed into Mango’s. I needed a shower and a cup of coffee. I still have a key to the shower at the Moorings located at the Conch Inn. My skin was covered with salt from the dive the day before and I could smell myself. It was time to pirate another shower. When pirating a shower, I always show up before the office opens so that I do not have to explain why I am using the shower without docking a boat at their marina.
After taking a long hot shower, I returned to my table at Mango’s. Izzie had the coffee ready and asked if I had talked with Sandy yet this morining. I told here that I would give Sandy a few more minutes of sleep and then try and call. Sandy answered on the first ring. It was nice to talk with here. The connection was good and we talked for almost a half hour.
The wind was blowing at over 20 knots today, the sky was cloudy and I got soaked on the way into Mango’s. The wind was coming out of the NNE and there were white caps on the harbor. Every time the bow of the dingy would hit a wave, the salt spray would splash me in the face and the run down the side of the dingy causing what sailors call ‘wet butt’.
This morning I was prepared as I wore my foul weather gear, both top and bottoms. I avoided the ‘wet butt’, I still got a wet face.
I stayed at Mango for an hour and then headed back to the Water Mark. It was a dry ride since I was going in the same direction as the wind. I had hoped to go lobster and conch hunting with Dirk again but the weather prevented us taking a small dingy the 8 miles out to the reef.
I cracked open a Lee Childs book titled The Hard Way and started reading. I fell asleep about 11AM and sleep until 2PM. The first nap I have had on this trip. I made a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and then decided to clean the conch that I got the previous day.
To keep the conch fresh, I put it in a bucket of salt water. I had seen several locals get the meat out of the conch while at West End and felt confident that I could duplicate their efforts. I was given verbal instructions from Jim and Ellie. They told me to count three rings back from the point and make a small hole that is large enough to get a knife in and then cut the animal from the shell by wiggling the knife. I used a hatchet that I have on board to make the hole. When I first hit the shell of the conch, small pieces of shell flew everywhere. They landed on my shirt, face, arms and legs. I kept at it. Pieces of shell flew again. Finally the hole was large enough to insert the knife. I inserted the knife and started to separate the meat from the shell. I then pulled on the foot of the conch trying to get it out of the shell it would not budge. I got a pair of pliers from my tool bag and grabbed the foot of the conch and pulled. The animal yielded to my maneuver and came out of its shell. I had conquered my first conch. I then cleaned the ‘nasty parts’ from the white meat. Conch is very tough white meat. I then put the cleaned meat into a plastic bag got the cutting board from the alcohol stove and set the plastic bag on the board. I then used the blunt hammer end of the hatchet and tenderized the conch by hitting it about 25 times and smashing it flat. I rolled up the plastic bag with the fresh conch and put it on ice in my small green cooler. I reviewed the conch recipes and tried to decide how to prepare it. I decided on conch salad. The receipt calls for limes, onion, fresh pepper and tomatoes. I had the limes and onion. I did not have tomatoes and I don’t like peppers. I had to make a trip to Maxwell’s food store for tomatoes. I jumped in the dingy and headed for the dingy dock.
It is a short one half mile walk from the dingy dock to the grocery store. I made the trip. Purchased the tomatoes and several other impulse items and headed back to the boat to make the conch salad.
I cut up the conch. I diced the onions and tomatoes. I then cut up two limes and squished the juice out of the skin and onto the ingredients. I then popped open a beer and waited for the lime to cook the conch. There was a lot of salad! I was hungry so after a half an hour, I started eating the salad. I thought that I would only get about half of it eater and thought I would save the other half for the next day. The conch salad was so good, I ended up eating it all.
It was just past dark and I started reading. The wind was strong, but it was not very cold again I decided to keep the hatches open. I the last thing I remember is looking at the moon before the waves rocked me to sleep.
Just after sunrise, I was up again and headed into Mango’s. I needed a shower and a cup of coffee. I still have a key to the shower at the Moorings located at the Conch Inn. My skin was covered with salt from the dive the day before and I could smell myself. It was time to pirate another shower. When pirating a shower, I always show up before the office opens so that I do not have to explain why I am using the shower without docking a boat at their marina.
After taking a long hot shower, I returned to my table at Mango’s. Izzie had the coffee ready and asked if I had talked with Sandy yet this morining. I told here that I would give Sandy a few more minutes of sleep and then try and call. Sandy answered on the first ring. It was nice to talk with here. The connection was good and we talked for almost a half hour.
The wind was blowing at over 20 knots today, the sky was cloudy and I got soaked on the way into Mango’s. The wind was coming out of the NNE and there were white caps on the harbor. Every time the bow of the dingy would hit a wave, the salt spray would splash me in the face and the run down the side of the dingy causing what sailors call ‘wet butt’.
This morning I was prepared as I wore my foul weather gear, both top and bottoms. I avoided the ‘wet butt’, I still got a wet face.
I stayed at Mango for an hour and then headed back to the Water Mark. It was a dry ride since I was going in the same direction as the wind. I had hoped to go lobster and conch hunting with Dirk again but the weather prevented us taking a small dingy the 8 miles out to the reef.
I cracked open a Lee Childs book titled The Hard Way and started reading. I fell asleep about 11AM and sleep until 2PM. The first nap I have had on this trip. I made a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and then decided to clean the conch that I got the previous day.
To keep the conch fresh, I put it in a bucket of salt water. I had seen several locals get the meat out of the conch while at West End and felt confident that I could duplicate their efforts. I was given verbal instructions from Jim and Ellie. They told me to count three rings back from the point and make a small hole that is large enough to get a knife in and then cut the animal from the shell by wiggling the knife. I used a hatchet that I have on board to make the hole. When I first hit the shell of the conch, small pieces of shell flew everywhere. They landed on my shirt, face, arms and legs. I kept at it. Pieces of shell flew again. Finally the hole was large enough to insert the knife. I inserted the knife and started to separate the meat from the shell. I then pulled on the foot of the conch trying to get it out of the shell it would not budge. I got a pair of pliers from my tool bag and grabbed the foot of the conch and pulled. The animal yielded to my maneuver and came out of its shell. I had conquered my first conch. I then cleaned the ‘nasty parts’ from the white meat. Conch is very tough white meat. I then put the cleaned meat into a plastic bag got the cutting board from the alcohol stove and set the plastic bag on the board. I then used the blunt hammer end of the hatchet and tenderized the conch by hitting it about 25 times and smashing it flat. I rolled up the plastic bag with the fresh conch and put it on ice in my small green cooler. I reviewed the conch recipes and tried to decide how to prepare it. I decided on conch salad. The receipt calls for limes, onion, fresh pepper and tomatoes. I had the limes and onion. I did not have tomatoes and I don’t like peppers. I had to make a trip to Maxwell’s food store for tomatoes. I jumped in the dingy and headed for the dingy dock.
It is a short one half mile walk from the dingy dock to the grocery store. I made the trip. Purchased the tomatoes and several other impulse items and headed back to the boat to make the conch salad.
I cut up the conch. I diced the onions and tomatoes. I then cut up two limes and squished the juice out of the skin and onto the ingredients. I then popped open a beer and waited for the lime to cook the conch. There was a lot of salad! I was hungry so after a half an hour, I started eating the salad. I thought that I would only get about half of it eater and thought I would save the other half for the next day. The conch salad was so good, I ended up eating it all.
It was just past dark and I started reading. The wind was strong, but it was not very cold again I decided to keep the hatches open. I the last thing I remember is looking at the moon before the waves rocked me to sleep.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday February 15, 2011
At about 9:30am Dirk came by and asked me if I would be interested in going lobster hunting today. I said yes. He told me that he would be back in about 20 for the long dingy ride out to the reef.
He picked me up as planned. I loaded my fins, mask, snorkel and wet suit. Dirk said that we should stop at FinniIrish and ask Ellie for a full wet suit. I agreed. Ellie ran below and produced a really nice full wet suit. We headed for the reef. I was a thirty minute dingy ride through some choppy water. I had to hold on to keep from bouncing out of the dingy. The wind was blowing out of the NNE at about 7 knots and was in our face. It was sunny and warm in the harbor and I did not bring a T-shirt. I was a tad chilly on the way to the reef. When we got to the reef, Dirk used his “looky bucket” to locate a good dive spot. We anchored in sand and swam the short twenty five feet the reef. All of the coral and the vegetation on the bottom seemed to be waving “hi” as we swam around looking for lobster. As we hunted lobster, several schools of barracuda swam buy patrolling their territory. The larger barracuda were in the front of the school and the smaller ones in the back. The barracuda is a bad-ass looking fish. They are long and slender. They are silver in color with some black spots on the sides and lots of teeth in their mouth. Dirk stood his ground and the barracuda school shifted directions. The reef is teeming with tropical fish. I felt like I was swimming around in a salt water aquarium in a dentist’s office.
There are fish of every color and size. Zebra fish, angle fish, parrot fish, sting rays, and small sharks. There are many that I cannot identify. I must say that the barracuda do not bother me, but sharks do. Even the little ones I want to stay clear of. We dove for several hours. Then in a grassy bed I saw my first ‘wild’ conch, I held my breath and dived the 10 feet to the bottom of the bank and gathered in my first conch. It was just sitting on the bottom waiting for me. I picked it up and swam it back to the dingy.
As I tossed the conch into the dingy, Dirk beckoned me to swim in his direction. He had a lobster spotted wide out in the open on a grassy bottom. He told me don’t miss as I pulled back the handle on the Hawaiian sling. I aimed for the head and the spear went right about one inch. I missed and the crazy thing did not move as I reloaded the Hawaiian sling. I took careful aim. Cocked the Hawaiian sling and the spear went just to the left of the critters head. I missed again! I then grabbed the spear and tried to drive it through the lobsters head by hand. The spear slipped off the carapace and then the lobster quickly swam into a hole in the reef. He was safe. I missed a great dinner. Dirk tried to coax him out but he kept crawling deeper into the reef.
On the dingy ride back to Water Mark, Dirk told me that he was a retired Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot. He served all over the world. The last eight years of his service was spent training younger Black Hawk pilots. He said that it was the best job in the world.
After returning to the Water Mark, I peeled off the full wetsuit put my conch into a bucket of sea water, dried off and took a nap. I was exhausted but elated. They say that if you do not dive you miss half of the Abacos. I have been lucky and been able to dive on the reef twice.
He picked me up as planned. I loaded my fins, mask, snorkel and wet suit. Dirk said that we should stop at FinniIrish and ask Ellie for a full wet suit. I agreed. Ellie ran below and produced a really nice full wet suit. We headed for the reef. I was a thirty minute dingy ride through some choppy water. I had to hold on to keep from bouncing out of the dingy. The wind was blowing out of the NNE at about 7 knots and was in our face. It was sunny and warm in the harbor and I did not bring a T-shirt. I was a tad chilly on the way to the reef. When we got to the reef, Dirk used his “looky bucket” to locate a good dive spot. We anchored in sand and swam the short twenty five feet the reef. All of the coral and the vegetation on the bottom seemed to be waving “hi” as we swam around looking for lobster. As we hunted lobster, several schools of barracuda swam buy patrolling their territory. The larger barracuda were in the front of the school and the smaller ones in the back. The barracuda is a bad-ass looking fish. They are long and slender. They are silver in color with some black spots on the sides and lots of teeth in their mouth. Dirk stood his ground and the barracuda school shifted directions. The reef is teeming with tropical fish. I felt like I was swimming around in a salt water aquarium in a dentist’s office.
There are fish of every color and size. Zebra fish, angle fish, parrot fish, sting rays, and small sharks. There are many that I cannot identify. I must say that the barracuda do not bother me, but sharks do. Even the little ones I want to stay clear of. We dove for several hours. Then in a grassy bed I saw my first ‘wild’ conch, I held my breath and dived the 10 feet to the bottom of the bank and gathered in my first conch. It was just sitting on the bottom waiting for me. I picked it up and swam it back to the dingy.
As I tossed the conch into the dingy, Dirk beckoned me to swim in his direction. He had a lobster spotted wide out in the open on a grassy bottom. He told me don’t miss as I pulled back the handle on the Hawaiian sling. I aimed for the head and the spear went right about one inch. I missed and the crazy thing did not move as I reloaded the Hawaiian sling. I took careful aim. Cocked the Hawaiian sling and the spear went just to the left of the critters head. I missed again! I then grabbed the spear and tried to drive it through the lobsters head by hand. The spear slipped off the carapace and then the lobster quickly swam into a hole in the reef. He was safe. I missed a great dinner. Dirk tried to coax him out but he kept crawling deeper into the reef.
On the dingy ride back to Water Mark, Dirk told me that he was a retired Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot. He served all over the world. The last eight years of his service was spent training younger Black Hawk pilots. He said that it was the best job in the world.
After returning to the Water Mark, I peeled off the full wetsuit put my conch into a bucket of sea water, dried off and took a nap. I was exhausted but elated. They say that if you do not dive you miss half of the Abacos. I have been lucky and been able to dive on the reef twice.
Monday February 14, 2011
This day started well before dawn. As has become my custom, I brew a pot of de caf coffee and drink the coffee while I watch the sun rise. I was a beautiful sunrise today, sign from heaven that the weather today would be good. I wore two layers as it was somewhat chilly and damp.
About 8am I jumped into the dingy. Fired up “Old Joe” and headed the 500 yards by water to Mango’s. I was Valentines Day and I was anxious to Skype with Sandy. We have not been able to talk over the weekend. Wanted to tell my Valentine that I loved here and missed here being here. Not me being there in the cold and snow.
We talked for a long time. I used the iPod for awhile so that she could see Mango’s and the surrounding harbor. When the WiFi connection between the iPod began to fail, I switched back to the laptop. I can see Sandy with the laptop. She cannot see me. The laptop that I have does not have a web cam. The iPod does.
We talked for a long time as I sipped coffee watching Sandy sip coffee. It was like we were having coffee together with 3000 miles separating us. Thanks, Tim Byrners-Lee for inventing the Internet. Before the communication boon created by the Internet, folks in the Abacos depended on the mail boat that came just once per week to the larger settlements.
I have noticed that Marsh Harbor has a diverse population of blacks and whites. The little racism that I see here is imported from the USA by some of the visiting yachtsmen and their mates. The blacks and whites here in the Bahamas get along really well. Both races have generations of families going back to the days when the Cays were settled. Now intermarriage is common place. The mixed race children are called “Conchie Joe”.
I then headed back to Water Mark and spent the most of the rest of the day reading and finishing Clive Cussler’s, Flood Tide. Once again Dirk Pitt saved the day and got the girl.
At 7PM Jim and Ellie came by and asked me to join them for a Valentines Dinner. I oblieged. We first went to Mango’s. We waited 90 minutes and did not get served. I appeared the night staff was totally different that the day staff and I did not know any one. After giving up hope that we would be served, we headed over to Curly Tails which is one building east of Mango’s. They were totally booked. We could not get a table. We then back tracked to Scuppers. There was a piano player and we listened to him play old Billy Joel songs while we ate.
I crawled into the aft birth at about 11PM. I could not believe that I stayed up that late. I was a little chilly so I put in the wash board and slid the hatch closed for the night.
About 8am I jumped into the dingy. Fired up “Old Joe” and headed the 500 yards by water to Mango’s. I was Valentines Day and I was anxious to Skype with Sandy. We have not been able to talk over the weekend. Wanted to tell my Valentine that I loved here and missed here being here. Not me being there in the cold and snow.
We talked for a long time. I used the iPod for awhile so that she could see Mango’s and the surrounding harbor. When the WiFi connection between the iPod began to fail, I switched back to the laptop. I can see Sandy with the laptop. She cannot see me. The laptop that I have does not have a web cam. The iPod does.
We talked for a long time as I sipped coffee watching Sandy sip coffee. It was like we were having coffee together with 3000 miles separating us. Thanks, Tim Byrners-Lee for inventing the Internet. Before the communication boon created by the Internet, folks in the Abacos depended on the mail boat that came just once per week to the larger settlements.
I have noticed that Marsh Harbor has a diverse population of blacks and whites. The little racism that I see here is imported from the USA by some of the visiting yachtsmen and their mates. The blacks and whites here in the Bahamas get along really well. Both races have generations of families going back to the days when the Cays were settled. Now intermarriage is common place. The mixed race children are called “Conchie Joe”.
I then headed back to Water Mark and spent the most of the rest of the day reading and finishing Clive Cussler’s, Flood Tide. Once again Dirk Pitt saved the day and got the girl.
At 7PM Jim and Ellie came by and asked me to join them for a Valentines Dinner. I oblieged. We first went to Mango’s. We waited 90 minutes and did not get served. I appeared the night staff was totally different that the day staff and I did not know any one. After giving up hope that we would be served, we headed over to Curly Tails which is one building east of Mango’s. They were totally booked. We could not get a table. We then back tracked to Scuppers. There was a piano player and we listened to him play old Billy Joel songs while we ate.
I crawled into the aft birth at about 11PM. I could not believe that I stayed up that late. I was a little chilly so I put in the wash board and slid the hatch closed for the night.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday February 13, 2011
As is my custom I woke up before the crack of dawn. Made a fresh pot of coffee and watched the sun rise. Once the sum was up, I pulled the generator out of the storage locker and checked the gas. The gas tank was full. I pulled the starter cord and the generator came to life. After the generator ran for about 5 minutes, It made a funny shuddering sound and stopped. I check the gas again. The gas tank was full. I then did what the directions say to do and checked the oil. It was low. I remember reading that some generators automatically shut off if the oil is low. I filled up the oil pan. Pulled the started cord and the generator once again came to life. When the generator is running it is very noisy on the boat. So what I have been doing is start the generator, check that it is working properly and then head for shore in the dingy.
This morning I headed to the Moorings since I have a key to the shower. Once I was showered, I returned the wet towel to the boat with my shave kit and dressed for church. I then jumped into the dingy and headed to the dingy dock.
Once on land, I made a sign that said MASS and started walking toward St Francis de Sales churck. When a car would drive by I would flash the MASS sign at them. As I was walking down the street, I met and old lady named Jaunita. She told me that she was born in Nassau and has lived here in Marsh Harbor for 40 years.
After a brief conversation she invited me to visit her family this afternoon.
I ten continued walking down the main drag toward the church flashing the MASS sign at every car that drove by. The third or fourth car stopped it was an old Buick. There was an older gentleman driving and a younger gentleman in the passenger seat. They asked me where I was headed. I told them St Francis. They said in unison jump in they would be happy to give me a ride. I introduced myself. The drivers name was Vernon. The passengers name was Harold. Harold told me that Vernon was the Methodist minister and that they were on their way to Cherokee for a congragration gathering. Vernon it turns out is also the owner of Vernon’s Grocery in Hope Town. He asked me if I was planning on visiting Hope Town? I told them that I would be there next weekend. Vernon said to visit his store for supplies.
I didn’t expect to get a ride so quickly. Needless to say I was 30 minutes early for the liturgy at 9am. I wandered around the church grounds and took photos of the rock gardens and the cross commemorating the death of Jesus on Calvary. About twenty minutes to nine, the congregation started to arrive. I think that there were over 250 people at this liturgy. The absolute highlights of the liturgy were the wonderful rhythms and the Caribbean sound that came from the choir. There were twenty-five women and girls and one lone male tenor who sang like Pavarotti.
After Mass, I asked Fr Roger if I could take a photo of him vested. He said yes. Fr. Roger was the priest that said Mass last Sunday in the playground at Hope Town. I told him that I planned on seeing him in Hope Town next Sunday.
Fr Roger has both a car and a boat. He uses the car to travel from Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbor to say Mass on Sunday. He uses a boat to get from Marsh Harbor to Hope Town to say Mass.
After Mass I asked an American boating couple how they were getting back to the harbor. They told me they were in a church van. I was told that the van was full and I need to take the church bus back to the harbor. I climbed on the yellow bus. It was full of kids from the Haitian community. I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures of the kids. They asked me if they could take a picture of me. I now have about twenty five photos of me on the school bus with the kids. Each child had to take my photo. I gladly obliged them.
The bus stopped first at the Haitian community and most of the kids got off the bus. The bus driver then drove me to the harbor and dropped me off.
I jumped into the dingy and headed back to the boat to get my computer. My next stop was Mango’s to Skype Sandy.
I was able to contact Sandy on here cell phone. She was having lunch with cousin Suzy. The connection was good but there was a lot of background noise and it was difficult to hear. After two minutes we told one another that we loved each other and hung up.
I ordered a cheeseburger in paradise and started updating the blog.
This morning I headed to the Moorings since I have a key to the shower. Once I was showered, I returned the wet towel to the boat with my shave kit and dressed for church. I then jumped into the dingy and headed to the dingy dock.
Once on land, I made a sign that said MASS and started walking toward St Francis de Sales churck. When a car would drive by I would flash the MASS sign at them. As I was walking down the street, I met and old lady named Jaunita. She told me that she was born in Nassau and has lived here in Marsh Harbor for 40 years.
After a brief conversation she invited me to visit her family this afternoon.
I ten continued walking down the main drag toward the church flashing the MASS sign at every car that drove by. The third or fourth car stopped it was an old Buick. There was an older gentleman driving and a younger gentleman in the passenger seat. They asked me where I was headed. I told them St Francis. They said in unison jump in they would be happy to give me a ride. I introduced myself. The drivers name was Vernon. The passengers name was Harold. Harold told me that Vernon was the Methodist minister and that they were on their way to Cherokee for a congragration gathering. Vernon it turns out is also the owner of Vernon’s Grocery in Hope Town. He asked me if I was planning on visiting Hope Town? I told them that I would be there next weekend. Vernon said to visit his store for supplies.
I didn’t expect to get a ride so quickly. Needless to say I was 30 minutes early for the liturgy at 9am. I wandered around the church grounds and took photos of the rock gardens and the cross commemorating the death of Jesus on Calvary. About twenty minutes to nine, the congregation started to arrive. I think that there were over 250 people at this liturgy. The absolute highlights of the liturgy were the wonderful rhythms and the Caribbean sound that came from the choir. There were twenty-five women and girls and one lone male tenor who sang like Pavarotti.
After Mass, I asked Fr Roger if I could take a photo of him vested. He said yes. Fr. Roger was the priest that said Mass last Sunday in the playground at Hope Town. I told him that I planned on seeing him in Hope Town next Sunday.
Fr Roger has both a car and a boat. He uses the car to travel from Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbor to say Mass on Sunday. He uses a boat to get from Marsh Harbor to Hope Town to say Mass.
After Mass I asked an American boating couple how they were getting back to the harbor. They told me they were in a church van. I was told that the van was full and I need to take the church bus back to the harbor. I climbed on the yellow bus. It was full of kids from the Haitian community. I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures of the kids. They asked me if they could take a picture of me. I now have about twenty five photos of me on the school bus with the kids. Each child had to take my photo. I gladly obliged them.
The bus stopped first at the Haitian community and most of the kids got off the bus. The bus driver then drove me to the harbor and dropped me off.
I jumped into the dingy and headed back to the boat to get my computer. My next stop was Mango’s to Skype Sandy.
I was able to contact Sandy on here cell phone. She was having lunch with cousin Suzy. The connection was good but there was a lot of background noise and it was difficult to hear. After two minutes we told one another that we loved each other and hung up.
I ordered a cheeseburger in paradise and started updating the blog.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sunday February 13, 2011
As is my custom I woke up before the crack of dawn. Made a fresh pot of coffee and watched the sun rise. Once the sum was up, I pulled the generator out of the storage locker and checked the gas. The gas tank was full. I pulled the starter cord and the generator came to life. After the generator ran for about 5 minutes, It made a funny shuddering sound and stopped. I check the gas again. The gas tank was full. I then did what the directions say to do and checked the oil. It was low. I remember reading that some generators automatically shut off if the oil is low. I filled up the oil pan. Pulled the started cord and the generator once again came to life. When the generator is running it is very noisy on the boat. So what I have been doing is start the generator, check that it is working properly and then head for shore in the dingy.
This morning I headed to the Moorings since I have a key to the shower. Once I was showered, I returned the wet towel to the boat with my shave kit and dressed for church. I then jumped into the dingy and headed to the dingy dock.
Once on land, I made a sign that said MASS and started walking toward St Francis de Sales churck. When a car would drive by I would flash the MASS sign at them. As I was walking down the street, I met and old lady named Jaunita. She told me that she was born in Nassau and has lived here in Marsh Harbor for 40 years.
After a brief conversation she invited me to visit her family this afternoon.
I ten continued walking down the main drag toward the church flashing the MASS sign at every car that drove by. The third or fourth car stopped it was an old Buick. There was an older gentleman driving and a younger gentleman in the passenger seat. They asked me where I was headed. I told them St Francis. They said in unison jump in they would be happy to give me a ride. I introduced myself. The drivers name was Vernon. The passengers name was Harold. Harold told me that Vernon was the Methodist minister and that they were on their way to Cherokee for a congragration gathering. Vernon it turns out is also the owner of Vernon’s Grocery in Hope Town. He asked me if I was planning on visiting Hope Town? I told them that I would be there next weekend. Vernon said to visit his store for supplies.
I didn’t expect to get a ride so quickly. Needless to say I was 30 minutes early for the liturgy at 9am. I wandered around the church grounds and took photos of the rock gardens and the cross commemorating the death of Jesus on Calvary. About twenty minutes to nine, the congregation started to arrive. I think that there were over 250 people at this liturgy. The absolute highlights of the liturgy were the wonderful rhythms and the Caribbean sound that came from the choir. There were twenty-five women and girls and one lone male tenor who sang like Pavarotti.
After Mass, I asked Fr Roger if I could take a photo of him vested. He said yes. Fr. Roger was the priest that said Mass last Sunday in the playground at Hope Town. I told him that I planned on seeing him in Hope Town next Sunday.
Fr Roger has both a car and a boat. He uses the car to travel from Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbor to say Mass on Sunday. He uses a boat to get from Marsh Harbor to Hope Town to say Mass.
After Mass I asked an American boating couple how they were getting back to the harbor. They told me they were in a church van. I was told that the van was full and I need to take the church bus back to the harbor. I climbed on the yellow bus. It was full of kids from the Haitian community. I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures of the kids. They asked me if they could take a picture of me. I now have about twenty five photos of me on the school bus with the kids. Each child had to take my photo. I gladly obliged them.
The bus stopped first at the Haitian community and most of the kids got off the bus. The bus driver then drove me to the harbor and dropped me off.
I jumped into the dingy and headed back to the boat to get my computer. My next stop was Mango’s to Skype Sandy.
I was able to contact Sandy on here cell phone. She was having lunch with cousin Suzy. The connection was good but there was a lot of background noise and it was difficult to hear. After two minutes we told one another that we loved each other and hung up.
I ordered a cheeseburger in paradise and started updating the blog.
This morning I headed to the Moorings since I have a key to the shower. Once I was showered, I returned the wet towel to the boat with my shave kit and dressed for church. I then jumped into the dingy and headed to the dingy dock.
Once on land, I made a sign that said MASS and started walking toward St Francis de Sales churck. When a car would drive by I would flash the MASS sign at them. As I was walking down the street, I met and old lady named Jaunita. She told me that she was born in Nassau and has lived here in Marsh Harbor for 40 years.
After a brief conversation she invited me to visit her family this afternoon.
I ten continued walking down the main drag toward the church flashing the MASS sign at every car that drove by. The third or fourth car stopped it was an old Buick. There was an older gentleman driving and a younger gentleman in the passenger seat. They asked me where I was headed. I told them St Francis. They said in unison jump in they would be happy to give me a ride. I introduced myself. The drivers name was Vernon. The passengers name was Harold. Harold told me that Vernon was the Methodist minister and that they were on their way to Cherokee for a congragration gathering. Vernon it turns out is also the owner of Vernon’s Grocery in Hope Town. He asked me if I was planning on visiting Hope Town? I told them that I would be there next weekend. Vernon said to visit his store for supplies.
I didn’t expect to get a ride so quickly. Needless to say I was 30 minutes early for the liturgy at 9am. I wandered around the church grounds and took photos of the rock gardens and the cross commemorating the death of Jesus on Calvary. About twenty minutes to nine, the congregation started to arrive. I think that there were over 250 people at this liturgy. The absolute highlights of the liturgy were the wonderful rhythms and the Caribbean sound that came from the choir. There were twenty-five women and girls and one lone male tenor who sang like Pavarotti.
After Mass, I asked Fr Roger if I could take a photo of him vested. He said yes. Fr. Roger was the priest that said Mass last Sunday in the playground at Hope Town. I told him that I planned on seeing him in Hope Town next Sunday.
Fr Roger has both a car and a boat. He uses the car to travel from Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbor to say Mass on Sunday. He uses a boat to get from Marsh Harbor to Hope Town to say Mass.
After Mass I asked an American boating couple how they were getting back to the harbor. They told me they were in a church van. I was told that the van was full and I need to take the church bus back to the harbor. I climbed on the yellow bus. It was full of kids from the Haitian community. I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures of the kids. They asked me if they could take a picture of me. I now have about twenty five photos of me on the school bus with the kids. Each child had to take my photo. I gladly obliged them.
The bus stopped first at the Haitian community and most of the kids got off the bus. The bus driver then drove me to the harbor and dropped me off.
I jumped into the dingy and headed back to the boat to get my computer. My next stop was Mango’s to Skype Sandy.
I was able to contact Sandy on here cell phone. She was having lunch with cousin Suzy. The connection was good but there was a lot of background noise and it was difficult to hear. After two minutes we told one another that we loved each other and hung up.
I ordered a cheeseburger in paradise and started updating the blog.
Saturday February 12, 2011
I woke up at 3AM. The wind was cold and now coming directly out of the north. I warmed up a cup of coffee on the butane stove. I learned from Sandy how to heat up day old coffee. While the coffee was heating up I checked the painter to make sure that the dingy would not get blown away in the stiff wind. I then made sure that the anchor was holding, drank the coffee and then crawled back into my sleeping bag and was rocked to sleep by the waves.
At 9AM Jim and Ellie slowly dingied by me and said that they were headed back to shore to return the rental car. We arranged to meet about 10am at Mango’s for breakfast.
After breakfast Jim and Ellie headed back to FinniIrish. I stayed at Mango’s and connected to the Internet. The connection worked. I tried to Skype Sandy. She did not answer. I then Skyped her cell phone and left her a message that I was safe in Marsh Harbor. I carefully checked the weather and caught up on a few emails. It was now raining, damp and cold on the covered patio at what has become my table at Mango’s. It was time to try and add photos to the blog. I downloaded several applications, Flickr and Picasa. Picase somehow took all of the photos on my laptop and automatically organized them into folders. I then created a slide show and presto. Somebody other than my photos appeared on the blog. I think I finally figured out how to get them off but am not sure.
If you see a really nice slide show in the blog they seem to be photos of the Bahamas, just not mine.
Buy this time it was 3pm in the afternoon and my feet and hands were freezing. I put on my fowl weather gear, jumped in the dingy and headed back to WaterMark. I heated up a pot of coffee and let the butane stove drive the cold and dampness out of the cabin.
About 4pm the rain stopped. The wind was still blowing 17 to 22 out of the north. I studied the way that WaterMark sails when laying at anchor. She will sail 45 degrees to the left of the anchor placement and 45 degrees to the right of the anchor placement. This means that during a strong wind the boat sails ninety degrees. I know that she sailed but not that much. The previous time that I observed this characteristic of WaterMark carefully was when she was anchored in Safety Harbor, North Captiva Island, Florida. I studied her then from the shore. This time I was aboard and watched the compass rose.
The mom and pop bakeries here in the Bahamas make a wonderful sweet bread. (I split a loaf with Jim and Ellie.) Since the bread was fresh, I cut off two slices and made a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It was delicious mainly because of the bread.
I then spent the rest of the cold rainy afternoon playing guitar.
Its now 8:30pm and I am ready for the 20 knot wind and waves to rock me to sleep. I am confident that the anchor is set and I am safe here in Marsh Harbor.
At 9AM Jim and Ellie slowly dingied by me and said that they were headed back to shore to return the rental car. We arranged to meet about 10am at Mango’s for breakfast.
After breakfast Jim and Ellie headed back to FinniIrish. I stayed at Mango’s and connected to the Internet. The connection worked. I tried to Skype Sandy. She did not answer. I then Skyped her cell phone and left her a message that I was safe in Marsh Harbor. I carefully checked the weather and caught up on a few emails. It was now raining, damp and cold on the covered patio at what has become my table at Mango’s. It was time to try and add photos to the blog. I downloaded several applications, Flickr and Picasa. Picase somehow took all of the photos on my laptop and automatically organized them into folders. I then created a slide show and presto. Somebody other than my photos appeared on the blog. I think I finally figured out how to get them off but am not sure.
If you see a really nice slide show in the blog they seem to be photos of the Bahamas, just not mine.
Buy this time it was 3pm in the afternoon and my feet and hands were freezing. I put on my fowl weather gear, jumped in the dingy and headed back to WaterMark. I heated up a pot of coffee and let the butane stove drive the cold and dampness out of the cabin.
About 4pm the rain stopped. The wind was still blowing 17 to 22 out of the north. I studied the way that WaterMark sails when laying at anchor. She will sail 45 degrees to the left of the anchor placement and 45 degrees to the right of the anchor placement. This means that during a strong wind the boat sails ninety degrees. I know that she sailed but not that much. The previous time that I observed this characteristic of WaterMark carefully was when she was anchored in Safety Harbor, North Captiva Island, Florida. I studied her then from the shore. This time I was aboard and watched the compass rose.
The mom and pop bakeries here in the Bahamas make a wonderful sweet bread. (I split a loaf with Jim and Ellie.) Since the bread was fresh, I cut off two slices and made a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It was delicious mainly because of the bread.
I then spent the rest of the cold rainy afternoon playing guitar.
Its now 8:30pm and I am ready for the 20 knot wind and waves to rock me to sleep. I am confident that the anchor is set and I am safe here in Marsh Harbor.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday February 11, 2011
This morning at 8AM I jumped in the dingy and headed to Mango’s to get a shower and then use their WiFi connection. Ronelle the dock master and new friend, told me that I would have to talk to Lisa the office manager to get a shower. I walked into the marina office and asked Lisa if she would be kind enough to give me the key to the shower. She asked if my boat was tied up at the marina. I told her that it would be next weekend. I was here to investigate the facilities. She told me that the showers were reserved for the folks tied up at the dock. She continued to say that boaters are very particular about who uses their showers. She said that they would not want me as a person without a boat tied up at the marina using their showers. Now I have heard some bullshit in my time and delivered a bit, this was the best yet. I needed a shower and would not be denied.
I walked next door to the Moorings, walked into the office and politely but urgently asked for a key to the showers. The lady behind the desk asked me if I was on a Moorings boat. I was three years ago with Sandy and the kids in the British Virgin Islands so I told the lady yes. Without reservation, she gave me the key to the shower and told me to return it when I was done.
Once showered I headed back to Mango’s to connect to their WiFi network and Skype with Sandy. Mango’s wireless router was down. I could not connect to the Internet. This was very frustrating as I like to connect with Sandy every day to find out what is happening at home and let her know that I am OK. Without talking with Sandy, I jumped into the dingy and headed back to Water Mark.
At 9AM Jim and Ellie my boating buddies arrived in their dingy to pick me up. We then went to the Car rental store. Our plan was to rent a car and tour the Abacos by land.
We rented a two thousand something gray Dodge Caravan. The car rental place advertised that they had car rentals for $65 per day. When we arrived all of the $65 cars were magically gone! The Caravan was $85. Split three ways, it was affordable.
Jim handled the paperwork. I checked the van out to make sure there were no major problems like dings and dents that we would later be blamed for causing.
When the paperwork was complete and I was satisfied that the van was OK Jim got behind the wheel and drove toward the stop light in town. The stop sign is the major landmark and navigation point here in Marsh Harbor. Jim turned left and we headed toward the south end of the Great Abaco Cay.
The southern most point easily reachable by car is called Sandy Point. Since 1992 there is a paved 2 land road from the northern most tip of the cays to the southern. After driving through what looks like a jungle for forty five minutes, we stopped at Cherokee Sound.
Cherokee Sound is recognized as the village with the longest wooden dock in the Bahamas. The dock is 770 feet long. It was first built in 1942 to enhance the unloading of cargo that came on the weekly mail boats. The dock has been totally destroyed many times from hurricanes over the years and the locals always find a way to pay to rebuild it. There are about 200 people that live in this rural water based community. We walked to the end of the long dock and took a few photos. We met several of the locals and heard the history of Cherokee.
We then continued south to the “end of the line”. Sandy Point is the only settlement on the West side of the cay. All other settlements are on the east side. We ate at Nancy’s Sea Side Inn. Nancy cooked us a real Bahamas lunch. She served us, peas, fried plantains and fried chicken. The lunch was good. The atmosphere on deck of the restaurant overlooking the water was great. We talked with several locals while we ate. A very extroverted fisherman/diver told us stories of his days fishing around the various Abacos Cays. My two favorite stories: Story number one was that he was out fishing and crawfish by the millions marched by him. He calls it his marching crawfish story. Story number two was his marching grouper story. He said that another time while he was diving the water instantly got dark. When this happened is scared him. Then he noticed that he was diving in the middle of a huge school of grouper. He was only able to spear several but had a great day fising.
Then six ladies in about their seventies from the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club showed up. The atmosphere at Nancy’s instantly changed. The fisherman telling the stories was disappeared. Most of the local residents hanging around vanished. Margo the Commodore of the yacht club and here cronies took over the place.
Jim and I saw a television news broadcast that Mubarak of Egypt had resigned and eighteen million Egyptians were protesting in the streets of Cairo. After watching a little TV new for the first time in a month, we paid out bill and left too. We then headed back to Marsh Harbor and the famous stop light. We then started driving to the northern most tip of Little Abaco about a sixty mile trip by car. There are five very rural communities that you pass as you head north to the tip. Some of the houses in these rural communities are perfectly maintained, most are not maintained very well at all.
The northern most tip of Little Abaco was very windy. This is the place where the Sea of Abaco meets up with the Abaco Bight. The wind was clocking around to the north and it was cold. I took 15 minutes to explore the northern most tip of Abaco.
Ellie drove as we headed back to Marsh Harbor. On the way back we got off the main road onto a two track looking for an old Lucayan Indian site and the ruins of an old sisal mill. Sisal is an agave plant that yields a stiff fibre traditionally used in making twine, rope and also dartboards. I walked quite a distance down the grassy two track to a huge opening. The opening had a rock bottom. That was it. I was not sure if I was looking at the Indian ruins or the remains of the old sisal mill. I took a photo and will try to figure it out with the help of Google Earth after examining the photo. I did see a raccoon and lots of local birds on the trail.
We got back to Marsh Harbor just before dark. Since we had a car, we stopped at the local grocery store purchased a few heavy hard to carry items and headed back the dingy that was tied up at where else Mango’s. Jim did not return the car because it did not have to be returned until Saturday morning. Jim and Ellie dropped me off at the WaterMark and headed back to FinniIrish for the night.
I removed the Plexiglas washboard and opened up the boat as I had locked it due to the fact that I was planning on being gone all day. I was really glad that I closed the boat before heading out on our land adventure. While we were touring the Little and Great Abaco Cays, there was a heavy tropical rain in Marsh Harbor. Had I not closed the boat up, I would have had a cold wet boat to spend the night. Instead it was warm and dry.
I fired up the laptop Sandy gave me and updated the blog for as long as the battery power in the computer lasted which was about one hour.
Again about 8:30PM I crawled into my aft berth. The wind was increasing in strength from 15 to 20 plus knots and clocking around to the north. WaterMark was rocking and rolling at anchor from the waves caused by the north wind. I was rocked asleep listening to the wind blowing he flags and halyards.
I am flying an American flag off the backstay of WaterMark. A Bahamas courtesy flag is flying from the starboard spreader. Off the port spreader, I am flying a State of Michigan flag over the Conch Republic burgee from last years trip to Key West.
I walked next door to the Moorings, walked into the office and politely but urgently asked for a key to the showers. The lady behind the desk asked me if I was on a Moorings boat. I was three years ago with Sandy and the kids in the British Virgin Islands so I told the lady yes. Without reservation, she gave me the key to the shower and told me to return it when I was done.
Once showered I headed back to Mango’s to connect to their WiFi network and Skype with Sandy. Mango’s wireless router was down. I could not connect to the Internet. This was very frustrating as I like to connect with Sandy every day to find out what is happening at home and let her know that I am OK. Without talking with Sandy, I jumped into the dingy and headed back to Water Mark.
At 9AM Jim and Ellie my boating buddies arrived in their dingy to pick me up. We then went to the Car rental store. Our plan was to rent a car and tour the Abacos by land.
We rented a two thousand something gray Dodge Caravan. The car rental place advertised that they had car rentals for $65 per day. When we arrived all of the $65 cars were magically gone! The Caravan was $85. Split three ways, it was affordable.
Jim handled the paperwork. I checked the van out to make sure there were no major problems like dings and dents that we would later be blamed for causing.
When the paperwork was complete and I was satisfied that the van was OK Jim got behind the wheel and drove toward the stop light in town. The stop sign is the major landmark and navigation point here in Marsh Harbor. Jim turned left and we headed toward the south end of the Great Abaco Cay.
The southern most point easily reachable by car is called Sandy Point. Since 1992 there is a paved 2 land road from the northern most tip of the cays to the southern. After driving through what looks like a jungle for forty five minutes, we stopped at Cherokee Sound.
Cherokee Sound is recognized as the village with the longest wooden dock in the Bahamas. The dock is 770 feet long. It was first built in 1942 to enhance the unloading of cargo that came on the weekly mail boats. The dock has been totally destroyed many times from hurricanes over the years and the locals always find a way to pay to rebuild it. There are about 200 people that live in this rural water based community. We walked to the end of the long dock and took a few photos. We met several of the locals and heard the history of Cherokee.
We then continued south to the “end of the line”. Sandy Point is the only settlement on the West side of the cay. All other settlements are on the east side. We ate at Nancy’s Sea Side Inn. Nancy cooked us a real Bahamas lunch. She served us, peas, fried plantains and fried chicken. The lunch was good. The atmosphere on deck of the restaurant overlooking the water was great. We talked with several locals while we ate. A very extroverted fisherman/diver told us stories of his days fishing around the various Abacos Cays. My two favorite stories: Story number one was that he was out fishing and crawfish by the millions marched by him. He calls it his marching crawfish story. Story number two was his marching grouper story. He said that another time while he was diving the water instantly got dark. When this happened is scared him. Then he noticed that he was diving in the middle of a huge school of grouper. He was only able to spear several but had a great day fising.
Then six ladies in about their seventies from the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club showed up. The atmosphere at Nancy’s instantly changed. The fisherman telling the stories was disappeared. Most of the local residents hanging around vanished. Margo the Commodore of the yacht club and here cronies took over the place.
Jim and I saw a television news broadcast that Mubarak of Egypt had resigned and eighteen million Egyptians were protesting in the streets of Cairo. After watching a little TV new for the first time in a month, we paid out bill and left too. We then headed back to Marsh Harbor and the famous stop light. We then started driving to the northern most tip of Little Abaco about a sixty mile trip by car. There are five very rural communities that you pass as you head north to the tip. Some of the houses in these rural communities are perfectly maintained, most are not maintained very well at all.
The northern most tip of Little Abaco was very windy. This is the place where the Sea of Abaco meets up with the Abaco Bight. The wind was clocking around to the north and it was cold. I took 15 minutes to explore the northern most tip of Abaco.
Ellie drove as we headed back to Marsh Harbor. On the way back we got off the main road onto a two track looking for an old Lucayan Indian site and the ruins of an old sisal mill. Sisal is an agave plant that yields a stiff fibre traditionally used in making twine, rope and also dartboards. I walked quite a distance down the grassy two track to a huge opening. The opening had a rock bottom. That was it. I was not sure if I was looking at the Indian ruins or the remains of the old sisal mill. I took a photo and will try to figure it out with the help of Google Earth after examining the photo. I did see a raccoon and lots of local birds on the trail.
We got back to Marsh Harbor just before dark. Since we had a car, we stopped at the local grocery store purchased a few heavy hard to carry items and headed back the dingy that was tied up at where else Mango’s. Jim did not return the car because it did not have to be returned until Saturday morning. Jim and Ellie dropped me off at the WaterMark and headed back to FinniIrish for the night.
I removed the Plexiglas washboard and opened up the boat as I had locked it due to the fact that I was planning on being gone all day. I was really glad that I closed the boat before heading out on our land adventure. While we were touring the Little and Great Abaco Cays, there was a heavy tropical rain in Marsh Harbor. Had I not closed the boat up, I would have had a cold wet boat to spend the night. Instead it was warm and dry.
I fired up the laptop Sandy gave me and updated the blog for as long as the battery power in the computer lasted which was about one hour.
Again about 8:30PM I crawled into my aft berth. The wind was increasing in strength from 15 to 20 plus knots and clocking around to the north. WaterMark was rocking and rolling at anchor from the waves caused by the north wind. I was rocked asleep listening to the wind blowing he flags and halyards.
I am flying an American flag off the backstay of WaterMark. A Bahamas courtesy flag is flying from the starboard spreader. Off the port spreader, I am flying a State of Michigan flag over the Conch Republic burgee from last years trip to Key West.
Thursday February 10, 2011
The roosters started crowing early this morning. My feathered friends were up at 4:30AM. So was I. It was difficult to sleep with the cock-a-doo-dle-doo of the roster on shore.
Once it was light, I studied the books Jim gave me on electricity and boats. Interesting reading most of it applied to much bigger boats. I learned from the reading that the electrons flow from the negative side of the battery to the positive side in a DC system All I really wanted to know was how long the battery would power the cabin lights on this little boat. I am not sure how to calculate the amp hours because there are so many variables. I wish Shane were here to make the calculations. Tonight I will conduct and experiment. I will turn on the galley light see how long it stays on, that is if I can stay up that late.
At 9AM I jumped in the dingy. I checked the gas level. It was on empty. I hoped and prayed there was enough fuel in the tank to get me to the gas dock. I also noticed that “Joe’s” line that connected to the gas tank was leaking fuel into the water. Not good for several reasons. The plastic ties used to hold the gas hose on to the fitting that goes into the motor were somehow leaking (probably because of age). I pulled up to the gas dock and the guy playing the saw at last nights limbo party helped me fuel the tank. In addition to playing the saw, Jason is the marina manager. A man who wears many hats here in the Bahamas.
With enough gas in the tank to get “Joe” to the Outboard Shop, I headed in that direction. The motor started slowly and then worked beautifully as the dingy jumped up on plane. When I arrived at the repair shop I was told that the part had arrived. They told me to come back later in the day and the motor should be repaired.
I walked to Mango’s and ordered coconut French toast for breakfast. Hooked up the laptop and used their wireless Internet connection.
I Skyped with Sandy and we talked for almost a half and hour. God I love that wonderful woman.
With my “work” at Mango’s finished, I left my computer in the marina office and hiked to the Bank of the Caribbean. I was short of cash and after talking with Sandy realized that there was money in our account.
To enter the ATM at the bank, you must swipe your ATM card. It took me about five tries to get the door to open. International ATM transactions here in the Bahamas are private.
I then purchased Sandy another post card and hiked to the Post Office to mail it off to here in the USA.
I wandered into Maxwell’s to purchase some fresh fruit and then shared a taxi ride back to Mango’s with an older grump from Grosse Pointe. This guy might have been wealthy, but the lines in his face showed that he was not a happy guy for most of his life.
Once at Mango’s I hailed the Outboard Shop on the marine VHF radio and requested a ride back to the shop. Ten minutes later the book keeper showed up in here Toyota Camary.
They told me that “Old Joe’s” cracked coil had been replaiced and the motor was working fine. I paid the bill and walked up the dock to where the dingy was tied up.
The winds were piping up and there were small white caps in the harbor. “Old Joe” started on the first pull of the starter cord. As I headed back to Water Mark, the winds were right on my bow. They were blowing at about 20 knots and the waves were splashing over the bow of the dingy and getting my clothes soaked with salt water.
I wanted to give “Old Joe” the full throttle and test the repair. It was so windy all I could do was to duck the monster splashes coming over the bow.
“Old Joe” was repaired and I had to go slower than ever before because of the wind and waves. Maybe that grumpy old guy from Grosse Pointe had a point.
As soon as I reached WaterMark, I change into dry clothes, a bathing suit and old t-shirt. With dry clothes, I watched as WaterMark sailed at anchor. I was really proud of the newly modified ground tackle. The winds were clocked this afternoon by one of the boaters anchored here it he harbor at 32 knots. Stiff wind and the anchor held! I sat in the cockpit and read the Clive Cussler book while dozing off from time to time. At about sunset, I headed back to Mango’s to get some ice.
The winds are dieing down. The anchor has held. Just after returning from Mango’s, I talked with Jim and Ellie. Ellie was worried that the anchors might drag and kept a keep eye peeled all day long. Thanks Ellie.
I updated the blog and headed for the aft berth. I watched stars again as I drifted off to sleep.
Once it was light, I studied the books Jim gave me on electricity and boats. Interesting reading most of it applied to much bigger boats. I learned from the reading that the electrons flow from the negative side of the battery to the positive side in a DC system All I really wanted to know was how long the battery would power the cabin lights on this little boat. I am not sure how to calculate the amp hours because there are so many variables. I wish Shane were here to make the calculations. Tonight I will conduct and experiment. I will turn on the galley light see how long it stays on, that is if I can stay up that late.
At 9AM I jumped in the dingy. I checked the gas level. It was on empty. I hoped and prayed there was enough fuel in the tank to get me to the gas dock. I also noticed that “Joe’s” line that connected to the gas tank was leaking fuel into the water. Not good for several reasons. The plastic ties used to hold the gas hose on to the fitting that goes into the motor were somehow leaking (probably because of age). I pulled up to the gas dock and the guy playing the saw at last nights limbo party helped me fuel the tank. In addition to playing the saw, Jason is the marina manager. A man who wears many hats here in the Bahamas.
With enough gas in the tank to get “Joe” to the Outboard Shop, I headed in that direction. The motor started slowly and then worked beautifully as the dingy jumped up on plane. When I arrived at the repair shop I was told that the part had arrived. They told me to come back later in the day and the motor should be repaired.
I walked to Mango’s and ordered coconut French toast for breakfast. Hooked up the laptop and used their wireless Internet connection.
I Skyped with Sandy and we talked for almost a half and hour. God I love that wonderful woman.
With my “work” at Mango’s finished, I left my computer in the marina office and hiked to the Bank of the Caribbean. I was short of cash and after talking with Sandy realized that there was money in our account.
To enter the ATM at the bank, you must swipe your ATM card. It took me about five tries to get the door to open. International ATM transactions here in the Bahamas are private.
I then purchased Sandy another post card and hiked to the Post Office to mail it off to here in the USA.
I wandered into Maxwell’s to purchase some fresh fruit and then shared a taxi ride back to Mango’s with an older grump from Grosse Pointe. This guy might have been wealthy, but the lines in his face showed that he was not a happy guy for most of his life.
Once at Mango’s I hailed the Outboard Shop on the marine VHF radio and requested a ride back to the shop. Ten minutes later the book keeper showed up in here Toyota Camary.
They told me that “Old Joe’s” cracked coil had been replaiced and the motor was working fine. I paid the bill and walked up the dock to where the dingy was tied up.
The winds were piping up and there were small white caps in the harbor. “Old Joe” started on the first pull of the starter cord. As I headed back to Water Mark, the winds were right on my bow. They were blowing at about 20 knots and the waves were splashing over the bow of the dingy and getting my clothes soaked with salt water.
I wanted to give “Old Joe” the full throttle and test the repair. It was so windy all I could do was to duck the monster splashes coming over the bow.
“Old Joe” was repaired and I had to go slower than ever before because of the wind and waves. Maybe that grumpy old guy from Grosse Pointe had a point.
As soon as I reached WaterMark, I change into dry clothes, a bathing suit and old t-shirt. With dry clothes, I watched as WaterMark sailed at anchor. I was really proud of the newly modified ground tackle. The winds were clocked this afternoon by one of the boaters anchored here it he harbor at 32 knots. Stiff wind and the anchor held! I sat in the cockpit and read the Clive Cussler book while dozing off from time to time. At about sunset, I headed back to Mango’s to get some ice.
The winds are dieing down. The anchor has held. Just after returning from Mango’s, I talked with Jim and Ellie. Ellie was worried that the anchors might drag and kept a keep eye peeled all day long. Thanks Ellie.
I updated the blog and headed for the aft berth. I watched stars again as I drifted off to sleep.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday February 9, 2011
This morning I woke up at 4AM. Rain was gently falling on my face. It was raining through the companion way and onto my head. I quickly got the washboard and closed the companionway and slid the hatch closed. Crawled back into my aft berth and fell asleep.
The second time I woke up the sun was shining. The sky was blue and the boat was washed. All of the salt on the deck and bright work had magically and with out work vanished. Thank you God for the lovely boat wash!
I cracked open a new gallon water jug and made coffee. I then grabbed the small gas can and tossed it into the dingy and headed to town for gas. Tied up at the dingy dock and walked to the Shell station. Gas is currently $5.15 cents per gallon. The small can holds two gallons.
With fresh gas, I pulled the generator out of the storage locker and filled it up with gas.
I then set the generator on the Plexiglas washboard and pulled the starter cord. The generator started on the first pull. My goal was to charge the battery so I attached the 12DC cord to the generator and the battery paying close attention to connect red to red and black to black.
I checked the volt meter and it was reading 10 volts. I let the generator run for about and hour and then checked the volt meter again. Nothing registered on the volt meter. The lights on the boat would not work and the GPS Chart plotter would not work. I was horrified then started troubleshooting the problem. I connected the volt meter to the generator. It turns out the positive goes to black and negative to red. When I worked on the generator several years ago, I must have crossed the wires. (The generator I bought from Terry Harder in 1997.)
With the backward wiring figured out, I jumped in the dingy and fired up the 5.5 HP Evinrude Fisherman and putted toward the end of the Harbor to The Outboard Shop. The old motor that I call “Joe” starts easily and runs slow. Then all of a sudden the motor increased in speed and I was on plane. This burst of speed lasted about one minute then back to the slow speed.
I talked with the manager last week and he said that he thought he might be able to fix the motor. After I tied “Joe” up to the dock I found Jason and explained the problem. Then a guy on the next dock yells “How you gonna connect your computer to that one?” Jason just laughed because the motor was made 15 years before he was born. He had never seen a motor that old!
He put “Joe” on a stand and removed the cover. Then he removed the fly wheel. There were two cracked condensers. He repaired them and then noticed that there was a carbon build up under the condenser. Jason told me to come back in a couple of hours and he will have figured out how to repair “Joe”. The office manager drove me into town. I found a wireless connection at Mango’s. They told me that I could use the Internet, I just had to buy something. I ordered a Kalick and got the password.
Just as I booted up the computer, Sandy called me on Skype. She told me that Patricia is running in a race in Orlando. She told me that the folks at the nursing home needed my approval to continue to treat Mark’s broken hip. We talked for over and hour! I then called the Masonic Nursing home in Alma.
The lady that wanted to talk with me was in a meeting and could not be reached by phone. I told her that I was calling from the Bahamas on a computer and did not have a phone number for them to return the call. She got the administrator out of a meeting. I gave her my approval to treat Mark. She reviewed all of the treatment plans for Mark with me.
While sitting at Mango’s I caught up on email. I also met several of the locals. Izzie the waitress and the lady that gave me the password to the wireless network, She introduced me to the dockmaster Ronell. Ronell gave me dock pricing. Ronell introduced me to Doug.
With the business of the day concluded, I grabbed the VHF marine radio, turned it to channel 16 and hailed The Outboard Shop. They said that they would send a car for me so that I could get back to the dingy.
Once I got there they told me that they needed a part for “Joe”. The part was at Green Turtle Cay and they could have it delivered tomorrow if I wanted to continue with the repair. I told them to order the part. Jason said that he put a band aid on the motor and is should run better until the final repair. I jumped in the dingy and pulled the start cord. “Joe” fired up on the fist pull. I idled out of the dock and into the harbor twisting the accelerator handle from start to fast. Old “Joe” responded. The dingy jumped out of the water and was on plane. It feels like you are flying over the water when the dingy is on plane even if you are only going 15 mph.
I headed back to WaterMark to get ready for dinner. My boating buddies on Jim and Ellie on FinniIrish want me to join them for dinner at the Jib Room. They picked me up in their dingy. On our way to dinner, we stopped for cocktails at Happy Times.
Happy Times is a 40 foot Manta Catamaram. It is captained by Mike a retired IBM exec. It is crewed by Cheryl his wife and Mickayla their daughter. I first met them in West End when we were all on a weather hold. Mike and Cherly sold their home in Atlanta and are out to see the world starting with The Bahamas and then on to the Carribean.
Cheryl made fancy snacks. Ellie made guacamole. The conversation focused on the location we had visited and out favorite and least favorite places.
Then after cocktails it was off to dinner at the Jib Room. It was a rib buffet style. After dinner, the marina manager Jason put on a show. He and his buddies played Bahamas music on a tape recorder. They accompanied the tape with rhythm instruments. Their instruments were saws. Carpenters saws strummed on the teeth side of the saw with screw drivers. They would change the pitch of the notes by bending the saws as they were played. I was fascinated. They let me play along with them for a song.
Once the ‘saw band’ concluded, one of the guys set up a limbo pole. I have not seen a limbo pole since Sandy set one up at one of Shane’s birthday parties when he was in elementary school. Of course all of the folks at the buffet had to test their flexibility by trying to make it under the pole. Three feet was the extent of the visitors ability to make it under the pole. One of the saw band guys was able to limbo under the pole at one foot. Then at the one foot level, he lit the pole on fire and while manipulating himself under the pole lit a cigarette. This got a huge round of applause from the crowd.
Once the limbo concluded, the music started. Folks started dancing. Jim, Ellie and I headed for the dingy and the dark ride back our boats.
I tried to play a few Bahamas songs that I had heard on my guitar. Then I crawled onto the aft berth and fell asleep watching the stars.
The second time I woke up the sun was shining. The sky was blue and the boat was washed. All of the salt on the deck and bright work had magically and with out work vanished. Thank you God for the lovely boat wash!
I cracked open a new gallon water jug and made coffee. I then grabbed the small gas can and tossed it into the dingy and headed to town for gas. Tied up at the dingy dock and walked to the Shell station. Gas is currently $5.15 cents per gallon. The small can holds two gallons.
With fresh gas, I pulled the generator out of the storage locker and filled it up with gas.
I then set the generator on the Plexiglas washboard and pulled the starter cord. The generator started on the first pull. My goal was to charge the battery so I attached the 12DC cord to the generator and the battery paying close attention to connect red to red and black to black.
I checked the volt meter and it was reading 10 volts. I let the generator run for about and hour and then checked the volt meter again. Nothing registered on the volt meter. The lights on the boat would not work and the GPS Chart plotter would not work. I was horrified then started troubleshooting the problem. I connected the volt meter to the generator. It turns out the positive goes to black and negative to red. When I worked on the generator several years ago, I must have crossed the wires. (The generator I bought from Terry Harder in 1997.)
With the backward wiring figured out, I jumped in the dingy and fired up the 5.5 HP Evinrude Fisherman and putted toward the end of the Harbor to The Outboard Shop. The old motor that I call “Joe” starts easily and runs slow. Then all of a sudden the motor increased in speed and I was on plane. This burst of speed lasted about one minute then back to the slow speed.
I talked with the manager last week and he said that he thought he might be able to fix the motor. After I tied “Joe” up to the dock I found Jason and explained the problem. Then a guy on the next dock yells “How you gonna connect your computer to that one?” Jason just laughed because the motor was made 15 years before he was born. He had never seen a motor that old!
He put “Joe” on a stand and removed the cover. Then he removed the fly wheel. There were two cracked condensers. He repaired them and then noticed that there was a carbon build up under the condenser. Jason told me to come back in a couple of hours and he will have figured out how to repair “Joe”. The office manager drove me into town. I found a wireless connection at Mango’s. They told me that I could use the Internet, I just had to buy something. I ordered a Kalick and got the password.
Just as I booted up the computer, Sandy called me on Skype. She told me that Patricia is running in a race in Orlando. She told me that the folks at the nursing home needed my approval to continue to treat Mark’s broken hip. We talked for over and hour! I then called the Masonic Nursing home in Alma.
The lady that wanted to talk with me was in a meeting and could not be reached by phone. I told her that I was calling from the Bahamas on a computer and did not have a phone number for them to return the call. She got the administrator out of a meeting. I gave her my approval to treat Mark. She reviewed all of the treatment plans for Mark with me.
While sitting at Mango’s I caught up on email. I also met several of the locals. Izzie the waitress and the lady that gave me the password to the wireless network, She introduced me to the dockmaster Ronell. Ronell gave me dock pricing. Ronell introduced me to Doug.
With the business of the day concluded, I grabbed the VHF marine radio, turned it to channel 16 and hailed The Outboard Shop. They said that they would send a car for me so that I could get back to the dingy.
Once I got there they told me that they needed a part for “Joe”. The part was at Green Turtle Cay and they could have it delivered tomorrow if I wanted to continue with the repair. I told them to order the part. Jason said that he put a band aid on the motor and is should run better until the final repair. I jumped in the dingy and pulled the start cord. “Joe” fired up on the fist pull. I idled out of the dock and into the harbor twisting the accelerator handle from start to fast. Old “Joe” responded. The dingy jumped out of the water and was on plane. It feels like you are flying over the water when the dingy is on plane even if you are only going 15 mph.
I headed back to WaterMark to get ready for dinner. My boating buddies on Jim and Ellie on FinniIrish want me to join them for dinner at the Jib Room. They picked me up in their dingy. On our way to dinner, we stopped for cocktails at Happy Times.
Happy Times is a 40 foot Manta Catamaram. It is captained by Mike a retired IBM exec. It is crewed by Cheryl his wife and Mickayla their daughter. I first met them in West End when we were all on a weather hold. Mike and Cherly sold their home in Atlanta and are out to see the world starting with The Bahamas and then on to the Carribean.
Cheryl made fancy snacks. Ellie made guacamole. The conversation focused on the location we had visited and out favorite and least favorite places.
Then after cocktails it was off to dinner at the Jib Room. It was a rib buffet style. After dinner, the marina manager Jason put on a show. He and his buddies played Bahamas music on a tape recorder. They accompanied the tape with rhythm instruments. Their instruments were saws. Carpenters saws strummed on the teeth side of the saw with screw drivers. They would change the pitch of the notes by bending the saws as they were played. I was fascinated. They let me play along with them for a song.
Once the ‘saw band’ concluded, one of the guys set up a limbo pole. I have not seen a limbo pole since Sandy set one up at one of Shane’s birthday parties when he was in elementary school. Of course all of the folks at the buffet had to test their flexibility by trying to make it under the pole. Three feet was the extent of the visitors ability to make it under the pole. One of the saw band guys was able to limbo under the pole at one foot. Then at the one foot level, he lit the pole on fire and while manipulating himself under the pole lit a cigarette. This got a huge round of applause from the crowd.
Once the limbo concluded, the music started. Folks started dancing. Jim, Ellie and I headed for the dingy and the dark ride back our boats.
I tried to play a few Bahamas songs that I had heard on my guitar. Then I crawled onto the aft berth and fell asleep watching the stars.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday February 8, 2011
Again I was up before sunrise. Actually it starts getting light about one hour before the sun rises. The roosters in Hope Town are cock-a-doodling. The harbor is very peaceful. After sunrise, I jumped into the dingy and headed to the marina office. They have a very good Internet connection there and I wanted to get my email. Sandy sent me a message that I needed to call the nursing home where Mark Uhl is recuperating from a broken hip. The doctors wanted to change his medication and needed my approval. I used Skype to call the nurses station. When I finally go through to the nurse, she told me that they were going to keep Mark on the same medication and just increase the dose. Again the self abusive behavior is disturbing to his care givers. They just cannot get him to stop hitting himself in the face.
I tried to Skype Sandy, but was unable to make a connection. I think that it was too early for her. I sent here a love email instead.
When I returned to the boat to stow all of my gear for the ten mile trip to Marsh Harbor, a sailor named Dirk came by in his dingy. He asked me if I would like to go lobster hunting before we took off for Marsh Harbor. I told him that it had been at least 40 years since I last hunted lobster. Dirk said great. Lets go. I quickly jumped into my bathing suit and gathered my dive gear. Dirk told me to put the bottom part of the wet suit on while moored because it was going to be too rough to put on one we got to the reef.
I wiggled into the wet suit. I tossed my fins, mask and snorkel into the dingy along with my Hawaiian sling.
Dirk put the motor into forward and we headed out of the harbor for the reef. When we got to what Dirk thought would be a good hunting ground, he tossed out the anchor. We suited up and jumped into the 75 degree water of the Atlantic Ocean. As we swam over the reef, the tide surged back and forth giving me the impression that the fan coral and the staghorn coral were waving at me. I waved back.
Since I had a new Hawaiian sling, I was anxious to use it. Dirk saw some tentacles pointing out of a hole in the coral. He stuck his Hawaiian spear into the hole hoping the lobsters would come our and play. When they did, he surfaced and told me that they were baby to adolescent lobsters and they were not worth taking. We moved on. After an hour in the water, I started to get cold. I only have a half wet suit. Actually the sleeves are short and so are the bottoms. The suit only keeps the core of the body warm once the water seeps into the wet suit.
As soon a I got back into the boat, Dirk started waving at me and told me to bring the dingy to were he was. I fired up the motor and two minutes later, I was next to Dirk who was still in the water. He asked me to retrieve a flash light out of the dingy and hand it to him. I did. About five minutes later, Dirk surface with the biggest lobster that I have ever seen. Dirk told me to let him know when I was ready to head back. He said that he could hunt lobster all day.
Once I warmed up, we made one last dive. I saw a huge fish. This fish I thought was soo big, that it would have been able to feed 6 people for several days. The fish I spotted was very colorful and looked to me like it mite make a really good meal. I cocked the Hawaiian sling took aim at my prey and let the spear fly. It hit the fish in the back of the head. The fish started wiggling and convulsing in protest to the spear through its body.
I was really excited. My very first kill with a Hawaiian Sling.
Dirk and I surfaced at exactly the same time. I showed him my fish. I was multi colored with pink, turquoise, yellow and blue. Dirk said that it was a parrot fish. He told me that they are beautiful, but terrible tasting and it could make you sick if eaten and to throw it away. I did as he told me but reluctantly.
Dirk then found hiding in one of the cracks the largest lobster I have ever seen! This monster must have weighed close to ten pounds. It must have taken Dirk at least ten dives to spear and capture the lobster.
I took several photos of this beautiful creature as proof he existed before making its way to Dirks dinner table.
With the days lobster hunting a success Dirk dropped me off at my boat. I was empty handed by very pleased with myself for at least shooting a fish with my new weapon.
Once I returned from the hunt, my boating buddies were packed and ready to shove off for March Harbor.
I was just about 1:00 PM, I had less than 15 minutes to stow everything. I took a quick shower to wash off the salt water from my wet suit and body. Then motored back to Water Mark. I fired up the Honda and let it warm up for a few minutes, I tossed off the mooring ball. The trip from Hope Town to Marsh Harbor is just about 10 miles. I made this trip in just over two hours.
As I was motoring into March Harbor, Ellie and Jim were calling me on the marine radio. I was behind schedule and they were worried about me. The trip took a little longer than expected because I had to motor most of the way as the wind was blowing out of the NNW and Marsh Harbor was NNW. I did not mind, because the battery needed charging and the trickle charger from the motor helped charge the battery.
When I turned into March Harbor, I saw lots of boats and asked Ellie and Jim where they had anchored. They said in the same spot as before. I followed the track on the GPS right to them. I anchored next to them. There was a boat from Canada on the starboard side of Water Mark. I set the anchor and turned on the Anchor Drag alarm. This guy from Canada was freaking out. He kept yelling at me that I was anchored too close to his boat. I could not believe it. I was at least a football field distance away from him. But he kept yelling. At first I could not hear him because he was so far away. Finally I got the message and moved so that WaterMark was anchored away from the crazy Canadian.
I tried to Skype Sandy, but was unable to make a connection. I think that it was too early for her. I sent here a love email instead.
When I returned to the boat to stow all of my gear for the ten mile trip to Marsh Harbor, a sailor named Dirk came by in his dingy. He asked me if I would like to go lobster hunting before we took off for Marsh Harbor. I told him that it had been at least 40 years since I last hunted lobster. Dirk said great. Lets go. I quickly jumped into my bathing suit and gathered my dive gear. Dirk told me to put the bottom part of the wet suit on while moored because it was going to be too rough to put on one we got to the reef.
I wiggled into the wet suit. I tossed my fins, mask and snorkel into the dingy along with my Hawaiian sling.
Dirk put the motor into forward and we headed out of the harbor for the reef. When we got to what Dirk thought would be a good hunting ground, he tossed out the anchor. We suited up and jumped into the 75 degree water of the Atlantic Ocean. As we swam over the reef, the tide surged back and forth giving me the impression that the fan coral and the staghorn coral were waving at me. I waved back.
Since I had a new Hawaiian sling, I was anxious to use it. Dirk saw some tentacles pointing out of a hole in the coral. He stuck his Hawaiian spear into the hole hoping the lobsters would come our and play. When they did, he surfaced and told me that they were baby to adolescent lobsters and they were not worth taking. We moved on. After an hour in the water, I started to get cold. I only have a half wet suit. Actually the sleeves are short and so are the bottoms. The suit only keeps the core of the body warm once the water seeps into the wet suit.
As soon a I got back into the boat, Dirk started waving at me and told me to bring the dingy to were he was. I fired up the motor and two minutes later, I was next to Dirk who was still in the water. He asked me to retrieve a flash light out of the dingy and hand it to him. I did. About five minutes later, Dirk surface with the biggest lobster that I have ever seen. Dirk told me to let him know when I was ready to head back. He said that he could hunt lobster all day.
Once I warmed up, we made one last dive. I saw a huge fish. This fish I thought was soo big, that it would have been able to feed 6 people for several days. The fish I spotted was very colorful and looked to me like it mite make a really good meal. I cocked the Hawaiian sling took aim at my prey and let the spear fly. It hit the fish in the back of the head. The fish started wiggling and convulsing in protest to the spear through its body.
I was really excited. My very first kill with a Hawaiian Sling.
Dirk and I surfaced at exactly the same time. I showed him my fish. I was multi colored with pink, turquoise, yellow and blue. Dirk said that it was a parrot fish. He told me that they are beautiful, but terrible tasting and it could make you sick if eaten and to throw it away. I did as he told me but reluctantly.
Dirk then found hiding in one of the cracks the largest lobster I have ever seen! This monster must have weighed close to ten pounds. It must have taken Dirk at least ten dives to spear and capture the lobster.
I took several photos of this beautiful creature as proof he existed before making its way to Dirks dinner table.
With the days lobster hunting a success Dirk dropped me off at my boat. I was empty handed by very pleased with myself for at least shooting a fish with my new weapon.
Once I returned from the hunt, my boating buddies were packed and ready to shove off for March Harbor.
I was just about 1:00 PM, I had less than 15 minutes to stow everything. I took a quick shower to wash off the salt water from my wet suit and body. Then motored back to Water Mark. I fired up the Honda and let it warm up for a few minutes, I tossed off the mooring ball. The trip from Hope Town to Marsh Harbor is just about 10 miles. I made this trip in just over two hours.
As I was motoring into March Harbor, Ellie and Jim were calling me on the marine radio. I was behind schedule and they were worried about me. The trip took a little longer than expected because I had to motor most of the way as the wind was blowing out of the NNW and Marsh Harbor was NNW. I did not mind, because the battery needed charging and the trickle charger from the motor helped charge the battery.
When I turned into March Harbor, I saw lots of boats and asked Ellie and Jim where they had anchored. They said in the same spot as before. I followed the track on the GPS right to them. I anchored next to them. There was a boat from Canada on the starboard side of Water Mark. I set the anchor and turned on the Anchor Drag alarm. This guy from Canada was freaking out. He kept yelling at me that I was anchored too close to his boat. I could not believe it. I was at least a football field distance away from him. But he kept yelling. At first I could not hear him because he was so far away. Finally I got the message and moved so that WaterMark was anchored away from the crazy Canadian.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday February 7, 2011
Hope Town, Elbow Cay, Abacos Bahamas
Today was a very laid back day moored in Hope Town Harbour. The winds were a little stiff at 15 to 20 knots out of the SSE. Nobody wanted to go anywhere. I did laundry this morning. I talked with Sandy on Skype. Paid some bills online, read part of a Clive Cussler book called Flood Tide. After a short nap, I jumped into the dingy and went into the village. Then hiked the short distance to the Atlantic Ocean and took a long walk on the beach. I was a little home sick today. I don’t miss the cold and the snow, but I really miss Sandy.
After walking on the beach, I bought a fillet of Wahoo from a local vendor went back to the boat and cooked up the fish. This is a very tasty fish. It is light white meat and when it is freshly caught and immediately cooked, there is no better meal to be found in the Bahamas. I had never heard of Wahoo until this trip. Now it is one of my favorite fishes, the other is Trigger fish. Again light white meat that when fresh and cooked properly is totally delicious.
I also cut up a potato and made kettle fried chips.
It is almost 8PM and I am ready for bed. The wind was strong today and even though I was not a sea, the wind seems to tire me out.
Today was a very uneventful and restful day (in paradise)..
Today was a very laid back day moored in Hope Town Harbour. The winds were a little stiff at 15 to 20 knots out of the SSE. Nobody wanted to go anywhere. I did laundry this morning. I talked with Sandy on Skype. Paid some bills online, read part of a Clive Cussler book called Flood Tide. After a short nap, I jumped into the dingy and went into the village. Then hiked the short distance to the Atlantic Ocean and took a long walk on the beach. I was a little home sick today. I don’t miss the cold and the snow, but I really miss Sandy.
After walking on the beach, I bought a fillet of Wahoo from a local vendor went back to the boat and cooked up the fish. This is a very tasty fish. It is light white meat and when it is freshly caught and immediately cooked, there is no better meal to be found in the Bahamas. I had never heard of Wahoo until this trip. Now it is one of my favorite fishes, the other is Trigger fish. Again light white meat that when fresh and cooked properly is totally delicious.
I also cut up a potato and made kettle fried chips.
It is almost 8PM and I am ready for bed. The wind was strong today and even though I was not a sea, the wind seems to tire me out.
Today was a very uneventful and restful day (in paradise)..
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday February 6, 2011
A routine has defiantly developed. I’m in my aft berth by 8:30PM and 9:00PM and then up before the sun rises. I put coffee into the percolator and brew up a pot of coffee. I sit in the cockpit and watch the sun rise. This mornings sunrise with the light house in the background was picturesque.
I wiped the dew off the boat. This is the only way to clean the salt off the boat after sailing into a new port. This task takes about 10 minutes. The salt coats the bright work and fiberglass. It wipes off easy with a boat towel.
I then jumped into the dingy and headed for the marina office. There are showers, electricity and an Internet connection available to boats moored in the harbor. I took a shower. Warm fresh, soft water is a rarity here in the Abacos.
I then Skyped Sandy. She told me that Mark Uhl my foster brother is in a nursing home. He broke his hip after being pushed down by another client in the group home. Surgery was required to repair the hip. He has now been placed in a nursing home until he heals. Poor Mark. He is non verbal and cannot talk. He just hits himself in the face with both hands. This self abusive behavior causes great concern to his car givers. It has been one of the most difficult concepts to digest. Mark has been beating the shit out of himself for over 30 years. My conclusion is that for him pain is pleasure. At least this is a way of rationalization this behavior.
Sandy told me that they were expecting a heat wave in Michigan and the temperatures we ging to soar into the 30’s. Sandy asked me about the weather here. I told her that is was in the high 70’s and low 80’s. She told me to enjoy the weather. I will.
After talking with Sandy, I put on my cleanest pair of shorts and gulf shirt and headed into the public town dingy dock. I was told that there was a Mass here on Sunday and I was determined to attend. I asked a volunteer fireman where the Mass was to be held. He told me that it was in the park. He called several people on his radio but he was unable find out the time. Back in the old days it was always at 11AM but in the past year the time had charged several times. This caused some confusion.
I finally talked with a girl who was part of a group that was obviously headed to church. Everyone iin the family was dressed in their Sunday best. She told me that the Catholic Mass would start at 12:30PM. It was 11AM and they invited me to attend the Metodist church. I thanked them for the information and declined the invitation.
I explored the village waiting for Mass. At 12:15PM I walked into the little playground where the Mass was to be celebrated. When I arrived the portable alter had been set up on the sand between the Lignum Vitae tree and the swing set. Four park benches were used as the pews. There were about 20 people that attended the liturgy. Most of the attendees were women in their 80’s. There was one married couple in the 40’s and one little boy sat in the tree. Because the service took place outside in a public play ground, some of the (Methodist) kids were playing on the teeter totter and swings. Every so often a car would drive bye. Then the people would also wander by. This was one of the most unique Masses I have ever attended.
The priest vested outside behind the altar. I really enjoyed all aspects of this experience. In fact I think that this is how it all started and it was fun!
I scouted out several locations to watch the Super Bowl. I think that I will check them both out as they are close to each other and make my decision at game time.
I did wander into the five start hotel here. They are charging $100 per square. This was a little rich for my blood so tonight for the game, it will either be the Harbours Edge or Captain Jack’s. Which ever location has the best TV arrangement.
I have learned that the first Europeans that came to the Abacos were the Spanish. History has it that they were not impressed. The islands were too small. They wanted property that was much larger, like the size of Cuba. They did however manage to shanghai all of the local Indian population into slavery.
Next came the French. The island was deserted. They did not last long. I guess because they dislike warm weather and have a likeness for cold weather. I think the French j focused on and headed north to Canada.
The local pirate in these waters was called “Vain the Great Pyrate”. He was based at Green Turtle Cay. Sometime in the early 18th century he was run out of the Bahamas by the newly appointed governor. No one knows were he went. He must have retired from piracy.
The current population is descended from the folks who were loyal to King George III of England and moved here in the late 17 hundreds. I seems that 10 to 20 percent of the folks living in the USA during the time of the Revolutionary War did not support the cause for independence. After the patriots won the war, these folks in many cases were run out of town and ostracized from society.
They had to go someplace and so about 2000 came here. Most of the loyalist came here to farm. They were disappointed and only about 10% stayed here. Those sho stayed learned to fish and farm. The land is not large enough to support the population by farming so they had to learn to fish to survive.
Wyannie Malone, a widow form South Carolina was the founder of Hope Town. Up until WWII this was a very remote. Then the lumber industry discovered the Abacos. The lumber barons built roads, brought cars to the islands and a modern infrastructure began to develop.
Then the yachtsman discovered the Sea of Abaco. So now in addition to lumber, tourism is one of the main industries. What is sad is that most of the cottages, villas, and rental condos are empty. I am dumb struck at how many of these homes are vacant. Most are for rent, however no one is renting so they sit vacant.
I watched the Super Bowl with my boating buddies at the Harbours Edge Bar and Grille. They had Super Bowl specials and it was fun.
Glad that Green Bay won the game.
I wiped the dew off the boat. This is the only way to clean the salt off the boat after sailing into a new port. This task takes about 10 minutes. The salt coats the bright work and fiberglass. It wipes off easy with a boat towel.
I then jumped into the dingy and headed for the marina office. There are showers, electricity and an Internet connection available to boats moored in the harbor. I took a shower. Warm fresh, soft water is a rarity here in the Abacos.
I then Skyped Sandy. She told me that Mark Uhl my foster brother is in a nursing home. He broke his hip after being pushed down by another client in the group home. Surgery was required to repair the hip. He has now been placed in a nursing home until he heals. Poor Mark. He is non verbal and cannot talk. He just hits himself in the face with both hands. This self abusive behavior causes great concern to his car givers. It has been one of the most difficult concepts to digest. Mark has been beating the shit out of himself for over 30 years. My conclusion is that for him pain is pleasure. At least this is a way of rationalization this behavior.
Sandy told me that they were expecting a heat wave in Michigan and the temperatures we ging to soar into the 30’s. Sandy asked me about the weather here. I told her that is was in the high 70’s and low 80’s. She told me to enjoy the weather. I will.
After talking with Sandy, I put on my cleanest pair of shorts and gulf shirt and headed into the public town dingy dock. I was told that there was a Mass here on Sunday and I was determined to attend. I asked a volunteer fireman where the Mass was to be held. He told me that it was in the park. He called several people on his radio but he was unable find out the time. Back in the old days it was always at 11AM but in the past year the time had charged several times. This caused some confusion.
I finally talked with a girl who was part of a group that was obviously headed to church. Everyone iin the family was dressed in their Sunday best. She told me that the Catholic Mass would start at 12:30PM. It was 11AM and they invited me to attend the Metodist church. I thanked them for the information and declined the invitation.
I explored the village waiting for Mass. At 12:15PM I walked into the little playground where the Mass was to be celebrated. When I arrived the portable alter had been set up on the sand between the Lignum Vitae tree and the swing set. Four park benches were used as the pews. There were about 20 people that attended the liturgy. Most of the attendees were women in their 80’s. There was one married couple in the 40’s and one little boy sat in the tree. Because the service took place outside in a public play ground, some of the (Methodist) kids were playing on the teeter totter and swings. Every so often a car would drive bye. Then the people would also wander by. This was one of the most unique Masses I have ever attended.
The priest vested outside behind the altar. I really enjoyed all aspects of this experience. In fact I think that this is how it all started and it was fun!
I scouted out several locations to watch the Super Bowl. I think that I will check them both out as they are close to each other and make my decision at game time.
I did wander into the five start hotel here. They are charging $100 per square. This was a little rich for my blood so tonight for the game, it will either be the Harbours Edge or Captain Jack’s. Which ever location has the best TV arrangement.
I have learned that the first Europeans that came to the Abacos were the Spanish. History has it that they were not impressed. The islands were too small. They wanted property that was much larger, like the size of Cuba. They did however manage to shanghai all of the local Indian population into slavery.
Next came the French. The island was deserted. They did not last long. I guess because they dislike warm weather and have a likeness for cold weather. I think the French j focused on and headed north to Canada.
The local pirate in these waters was called “Vain the Great Pyrate”. He was based at Green Turtle Cay. Sometime in the early 18th century he was run out of the Bahamas by the newly appointed governor. No one knows were he went. He must have retired from piracy.
The current population is descended from the folks who were loyal to King George III of England and moved here in the late 17 hundreds. I seems that 10 to 20 percent of the folks living in the USA during the time of the Revolutionary War did not support the cause for independence. After the patriots won the war, these folks in many cases were run out of town and ostracized from society.
They had to go someplace and so about 2000 came here. Most of the loyalist came here to farm. They were disappointed and only about 10% stayed here. Those sho stayed learned to fish and farm. The land is not large enough to support the population by farming so they had to learn to fish to survive.
Wyannie Malone, a widow form South Carolina was the founder of Hope Town. Up until WWII this was a very remote. Then the lumber industry discovered the Abacos. The lumber barons built roads, brought cars to the islands and a modern infrastructure began to develop.
Then the yachtsman discovered the Sea of Abaco. So now in addition to lumber, tourism is one of the main industries. What is sad is that most of the cottages, villas, and rental condos are empty. I am dumb struck at how many of these homes are vacant. Most are for rent, however no one is renting so they sit vacant.
I watched the Super Bowl with my boating buddies at the Harbours Edge Bar and Grille. They had Super Bowl specials and it was fun.
Glad that Green Bay won the game.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday February 5, 2011
Hope Town, Elbow Cay, Abacos Bahamas
Once again I woke up at 5:30AM and was unable to go back to sleep. It seems that when you go to bed at 8:30PM, it is easy to wake up before sunrise. I perked a pot of coffee and sat in the cockpit waiting for the first signs of light in the east. The stars were still out. I was excited. Today, again was a travel day for WaterMark and FinniIrish. We planned on weighing anchor at Man-O-War and traveling to Hope Town. While it was still dark, I programmed the route to Hope Town into the GPS.
Just as the sky was turning light, I made a batch of pancake mix and cooked myself a huge pancake. I still had a little butter left from the Florida provisioning so I buttered up the huge pan sized pancake and then covered it with Log Cabin syrup. The pancake was better than you would get at IHOP. (Sorry Marty)
Once the sun was up my first order of business was to change the oil in the Honda. The oil had not been changed since starting and the Honda was due. I crawled into the dingy and positioned myself carefully so as not to loose the oil plug by dropping it into the water. I carefully removed the oil plug and drained the old oil into a used and empty plastic milk jug. I let all of the old oil drain out of the motor. I then carefully replaced the drain plug. This was the hard part of the job. I did not looses the plug or spill much oil into the water. I congratulated myself on a job well done and heated up another cup of decaf coffee.
I then pulled up the anchor and tied off to a mooring ball that was close to the boat waiting for the proper departure time. At 9:30AM I started the Honda, threw off the mooring line and motored to the harbor entrance. FinniIrish was just motoring out of the Harbor at the previously appointed time.
I followed FinniIrish from Man-O-War Cay to Hope Town. This trip was 5.3 miles. Once into Hope Town Harbor, Jim and Ellie jumped into their dingy and helped me pick up a mooring ball. Seems that the harbor is so small and the number of boats so large, that they had to go to a mooring ball system to keep boats from dragging anchor and crashing into one another at night. The cost for a mooring ball is $20. Quite expensive, but then it comes with a hot shower. And hot showers are a luxery.
Once the boats were secure, we motored into see the dock master and pay the mooring fee. With the business part of the day concluded, we motored to the other side of the harbor and walked the quaint streets of Hope Town. Like Man-O-War this Cay was originally founded by Loyalists in1785. The main street of Hope Town is wide enough for one gulf cart to pass through. Small Toyota trucks have a problem but can make it down the “Queens Highway” if there are no pedestrians. The cottages are beautiful! Many restored. The prices for these quaint cottages starts at about $500k for a dump and one million plus for a restored home. Some are large type bed and breakfasts and other small homes owned by the locals. I saw a place that Sandy would absolutely love. The price tag was $2.4 million. I guess that I won’t tell here about it.
We wandered through the streets looking for the best place to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. We found a place called Capt Jack’s that said it had 4 TV sets. I could only see two, but the owner Capt jack said that he would be bringing in more for the game. Once the batteries in the computer got enough of a charge I was able to boot the IBM laptop. I then Skyped Sandy’s cell phone to let her know that I was in a new port and that I was safe. I also told here that there was a Catholic Church here and that I would be able to attend Mass on Sunday.
I ordered a BLT and a Kalik (Bahamas Beer) and fully charged the batteries in the computer and the iPod. The batteries were finished charging about the time we finished eating. Once our bellies were full, we wandered over to the ocean side of the Cay and walked along a spectacular beach.
All of the Cays here in the Sea of Abaco have an Atlantic Ocean side and a Sea of Abaco side. The distance between the two bodies of water is a short walk. Looking out over the Atlantic Ocean, you see turquoise blue water. It will change colors based on the bottom. There are coral reefs on the ocean side. The reefs are a great place to hunt lobster. The sun was out, and it was down right hot today. I worked up a sweat on the hike.
After the hike we dinged back to the boat and I tried to take a nap. It was impossible to sleep, so I jumped in my dingy and motored over to the showers. The water was warm and soft. A shower feels so good when you are hot and sweaty.
Once I was clean, I hiked a short distance to the candy striped light house that is a major land mark here in Hope Town. The light house was build in 1863 by the British Light House Service. It is still working after 148 years. I climbed to the top and took several photos of the harbor. The sun was setting and the photos should be amazing.
At sunset I jumped back into the dingy and motored back to WaterMark. Again it looks like and early night. I cooked a steak and crawled into my aft berth and fell asleep watching the stars. I wish I know their names. Orion is prominent and easy to identify so is Venus. At sunset the moon looks like a sliver of silver and sets about an hour after the sun.
Once again I woke up at 5:30AM and was unable to go back to sleep. It seems that when you go to bed at 8:30PM, it is easy to wake up before sunrise. I perked a pot of coffee and sat in the cockpit waiting for the first signs of light in the east. The stars were still out. I was excited. Today, again was a travel day for WaterMark and FinniIrish. We planned on weighing anchor at Man-O-War and traveling to Hope Town. While it was still dark, I programmed the route to Hope Town into the GPS.
Just as the sky was turning light, I made a batch of pancake mix and cooked myself a huge pancake. I still had a little butter left from the Florida provisioning so I buttered up the huge pan sized pancake and then covered it with Log Cabin syrup. The pancake was better than you would get at IHOP. (Sorry Marty)
Once the sun was up my first order of business was to change the oil in the Honda. The oil had not been changed since starting and the Honda was due. I crawled into the dingy and positioned myself carefully so as not to loose the oil plug by dropping it into the water. I carefully removed the oil plug and drained the old oil into a used and empty plastic milk jug. I let all of the old oil drain out of the motor. I then carefully replaced the drain plug. This was the hard part of the job. I did not looses the plug or spill much oil into the water. I congratulated myself on a job well done and heated up another cup of decaf coffee.
I then pulled up the anchor and tied off to a mooring ball that was close to the boat waiting for the proper departure time. At 9:30AM I started the Honda, threw off the mooring line and motored to the harbor entrance. FinniIrish was just motoring out of the Harbor at the previously appointed time.
I followed FinniIrish from Man-O-War Cay to Hope Town. This trip was 5.3 miles. Once into Hope Town Harbor, Jim and Ellie jumped into their dingy and helped me pick up a mooring ball. Seems that the harbor is so small and the number of boats so large, that they had to go to a mooring ball system to keep boats from dragging anchor and crashing into one another at night. The cost for a mooring ball is $20. Quite expensive, but then it comes with a hot shower. And hot showers are a luxery.
Once the boats were secure, we motored into see the dock master and pay the mooring fee. With the business part of the day concluded, we motored to the other side of the harbor and walked the quaint streets of Hope Town. Like Man-O-War this Cay was originally founded by Loyalists in1785. The main street of Hope Town is wide enough for one gulf cart to pass through. Small Toyota trucks have a problem but can make it down the “Queens Highway” if there are no pedestrians. The cottages are beautiful! Many restored. The prices for these quaint cottages starts at about $500k for a dump and one million plus for a restored home. Some are large type bed and breakfasts and other small homes owned by the locals. I saw a place that Sandy would absolutely love. The price tag was $2.4 million. I guess that I won’t tell here about it.
We wandered through the streets looking for the best place to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. We found a place called Capt Jack’s that said it had 4 TV sets. I could only see two, but the owner Capt jack said that he would be bringing in more for the game. Once the batteries in the computer got enough of a charge I was able to boot the IBM laptop. I then Skyped Sandy’s cell phone to let her know that I was in a new port and that I was safe. I also told here that there was a Catholic Church here and that I would be able to attend Mass on Sunday.
I ordered a BLT and a Kalik (Bahamas Beer) and fully charged the batteries in the computer and the iPod. The batteries were finished charging about the time we finished eating. Once our bellies were full, we wandered over to the ocean side of the Cay and walked along a spectacular beach.
All of the Cays here in the Sea of Abaco have an Atlantic Ocean side and a Sea of Abaco side. The distance between the two bodies of water is a short walk. Looking out over the Atlantic Ocean, you see turquoise blue water. It will change colors based on the bottom. There are coral reefs on the ocean side. The reefs are a great place to hunt lobster. The sun was out, and it was down right hot today. I worked up a sweat on the hike.
After the hike we dinged back to the boat and I tried to take a nap. It was impossible to sleep, so I jumped in my dingy and motored over to the showers. The water was warm and soft. A shower feels so good when you are hot and sweaty.
Once I was clean, I hiked a short distance to the candy striped light house that is a major land mark here in Hope Town. The light house was build in 1863 by the British Light House Service. It is still working after 148 years. I climbed to the top and took several photos of the harbor. The sun was setting and the photos should be amazing.
At sunset I jumped back into the dingy and motored back to WaterMark. Again it looks like and early night. I cooked a steak and crawled into my aft berth and fell asleep watching the stars. I wish I know their names. Orion is prominent and easy to identify so is Venus. At sunset the moon looks like a sliver of silver and sets about an hour after the sun.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday February 4, 2011
Man-O-War Cay
Took the ferry to March Harbor to get some cash. It seems that the major banks in the out Islands only conduct business one day per week. If you do not hit the right day of the week, you are out of luck. The bank on Man-O-War was open on Wednesday from 10AM to 2PM. I missed the banking hours.
The ferry boat ride was fun. I walked into town. First to the bank for cash. Then to a restaurant for lunch. I had split conch. It was not that good.
Next stop was to purchase a Hawaiian sling. This is a fish shooting rig that looks similar to a spaear gun but is legal here in the Bahamas. Spear guns are not legal.
The last stop was at Maxwell’s Grocery. This is a new facility and it looks like a Walmart at home. It is huge and carries everything that a cruiser needs for provisioning the boat.
I purchased fresh oranges, bananas and a couple of apples.
Before heading back I stopped at the Evinrude dealer to check on an engine repair. Jason the mechanic said that I should bring the motor in on Monday so that they could take a look at it and see if they would be able to repair it. The Joe motor works, it just goes slow. I would like it to go faster like it did when I first started using it. I then hiked back to the ferry docks and took the 4PM ferry boat back to Man-O-War Cay. Upon my arrival, Ellie and Jim invited me to a happy hour. Ellie makes very strong drinks. I can handle only two. Then I am done.g
I then dingies back to the WaterMark and hit the hay. I was really tired from hiking all around Marxh Harbor.
I noticed that the anchor had dragged a bit and tied off to a mooring ball. Crawled into my aft berth and fell asleep watching the stars.
Took the ferry to March Harbor to get some cash. It seems that the major banks in the out Islands only conduct business one day per week. If you do not hit the right day of the week, you are out of luck. The bank on Man-O-War was open on Wednesday from 10AM to 2PM. I missed the banking hours.
The ferry boat ride was fun. I walked into town. First to the bank for cash. Then to a restaurant for lunch. I had split conch. It was not that good.
Next stop was to purchase a Hawaiian sling. This is a fish shooting rig that looks similar to a spaear gun but is legal here in the Bahamas. Spear guns are not legal.
The last stop was at Maxwell’s Grocery. This is a new facility and it looks like a Walmart at home. It is huge and carries everything that a cruiser needs for provisioning the boat.
I purchased fresh oranges, bananas and a couple of apples.
Before heading back I stopped at the Evinrude dealer to check on an engine repair. Jason the mechanic said that I should bring the motor in on Monday so that they could take a look at it and see if they would be able to repair it. The Joe motor works, it just goes slow. I would like it to go faster like it did when I first started using it. I then hiked back to the ferry docks and took the 4PM ferry boat back to Man-O-War Cay. Upon my arrival, Ellie and Jim invited me to a happy hour. Ellie makes very strong drinks. I can handle only two. Then I am done.g
I then dingies back to the WaterMark and hit the hay. I was really tired from hiking all around Marxh Harbor.
I noticed that the anchor had dragged a bit and tied off to a mooring ball. Crawled into my aft berth and fell asleep watching the stars.
Thursday February 3, 2011
I woke up again before sunrise. Made a pot of coffee and watched the sun rise. I have been living with out refrigeration or ice now for almost a week. In the morning I have to have cream in my coffee. Without refrigeration keeping cream from turning to cottage cheese is difficult. At Green Turtle Cay, I discovered Carnation evaporated milk. It does not need to be refrigerated. So far the can that I have has not spoiled. The milk does tend to coagulate around the little opening in the top of the can, and must be cleaned from time to time but the evalporated milk tastes fine. Or should I say better that just black coffee. Man-O-War Cay is beautiful. It was settled by the white Loyalist who left the USA because the were loyal to King George of England and opposed the Revolutionary War. Since today was not a travel day, the boating buddies went ashore for a hike around the Cay. Wow, there are a lot of churches on this island. It must be the buckle of the bible belt here in the Bahamas. Man-O-War Cay is a dry Cay. They do not sell alcohol or tobacco of any kind on the island. This island reminds me of Clebourne County in Arkansas where my friend Phil lives. Everybody drinks, but you cannot purchase the alcohol in the location that you drink it. It works for this island!
At the beginning of the hike, an old lady drove up to out group in a golf cart. She said that here name was Lola and that she was the islands baker. She was selling bread and cinnamon buns from her golf cart. I had to buy the cinnamon buns. Ellie, Jim and I will split them. I have bread on the boat that is getting moldy. That is because the loaves of bread here in the Bahamas are huge. I bought a loaf of raisin bread and wheat bread in West End. The raisin bread is almost gone. The wheat bread is moldy. It is nice to be able to split large quantities of food so that it does not spoil. I’ll feed the moldy loaf to the fish.
After the hike, I bought some carburetor cleaner for the “Joe Motor” on the dingy as it has been running in a sluggish manner the past few days.
There were lots of fish swimming around the dock. I returned to WaterMark to fetch my Pocket PoPeel fishing rod. It had a lure on it that Bert gave me in West End. The lure did not work. I would stick it in front of the fishes noses and they would not bite on the hook. I noticed a tackle shop across the street. Went in and purchased a hoot for 22 cents. I rigged the line and realized that I had no bait. I asked the waitress in the restauerant if she would be kind enough to give me a little piece of conch for bait. To my surprise, she gave me a fairly large piece of battered conch. I cut it up into smaller pieces and carefully baited the new hook.
I dropped the hook into the water in front of the fishes noses. This time is scared them all away. Once I dropped the hook into the water, the fish were gone. They swam under a large cabin cruiser. I waited. The fish finally returned. They looked at the bait. They smelled the bait. They bumped the bait. They did everything except take the bait. They would not bite. I came up empty handed. The good news is that I still have left over conch that I can use for bait tomorrow. I must start learning how to catch dinner.
We also learned that our boating buddy group will be loosing a member tomorrow. Lee and Janet on Passage are turning around and heading north and then back to the States. They actually had planned to leave this afternoon. Lee asked me to give him a hand with the dock lines. When we attempted to move Passage backwards she would not move. It was low tide and the boat was stuck on the bottom. There are about 3 feet of tides here and Lee being form the Great Lakes was not accustomed to the tidal action. Low tide made it impossible for him to leave today.
We met for a cocktail hour on FinniIrish, then, for the last time the group of five headed into the restaurant for dinner. We plan on staying in touch with one and other and emails were exchanged.
We plan on meeting tomorrow morning for coffee to send Passage off about 8AM. The tide will be up and Passage who draws 5 feet should be able to get out of the slip and out of the harbor into the Sea of Abaco with out any problems.
I then climbed down the steps on the dock and jumped into the dingy. Started the motor and made the long dark dingy ride back to WaterMark. Actually it is a good thing that the motor runs slow as it is pitch black and navigating with a pen light in my mouth in the darkness is difficult. Going slow is important because it gives you time to see and react and be able to dodge the other boats that are anchored in the harbor.
The “Joe Motor” bit me today. As I was pulling the starter cord, the cord jerked back and cut the skin between the index finger and the middle finger on my left hand. This happened because I was using 2 hands to pull the cord instead of just one. The cut hurts. Salt water makes the cut hurt even more, however the salt water will make it heal faster.
It is 8:30PM and as soon as the blog is updated, I am ready to crawl into my bunk and go to sleep. This anchorage is very dark and very quiet. The only noise I hear is a slight breeze and the small waves lapping against the hull of the boat.
At the beginning of the hike, an old lady drove up to out group in a golf cart. She said that here name was Lola and that she was the islands baker. She was selling bread and cinnamon buns from her golf cart. I had to buy the cinnamon buns. Ellie, Jim and I will split them. I have bread on the boat that is getting moldy. That is because the loaves of bread here in the Bahamas are huge. I bought a loaf of raisin bread and wheat bread in West End. The raisin bread is almost gone. The wheat bread is moldy. It is nice to be able to split large quantities of food so that it does not spoil. I’ll feed the moldy loaf to the fish.
After the hike, I bought some carburetor cleaner for the “Joe Motor” on the dingy as it has been running in a sluggish manner the past few days.
There were lots of fish swimming around the dock. I returned to WaterMark to fetch my Pocket PoPeel fishing rod. It had a lure on it that Bert gave me in West End. The lure did not work. I would stick it in front of the fishes noses and they would not bite on the hook. I noticed a tackle shop across the street. Went in and purchased a hoot for 22 cents. I rigged the line and realized that I had no bait. I asked the waitress in the restauerant if she would be kind enough to give me a little piece of conch for bait. To my surprise, she gave me a fairly large piece of battered conch. I cut it up into smaller pieces and carefully baited the new hook.
I dropped the hook into the water in front of the fishes noses. This time is scared them all away. Once I dropped the hook into the water, the fish were gone. They swam under a large cabin cruiser. I waited. The fish finally returned. They looked at the bait. They smelled the bait. They bumped the bait. They did everything except take the bait. They would not bite. I came up empty handed. The good news is that I still have left over conch that I can use for bait tomorrow. I must start learning how to catch dinner.
We also learned that our boating buddy group will be loosing a member tomorrow. Lee and Janet on Passage are turning around and heading north and then back to the States. They actually had planned to leave this afternoon. Lee asked me to give him a hand with the dock lines. When we attempted to move Passage backwards she would not move. It was low tide and the boat was stuck on the bottom. There are about 3 feet of tides here and Lee being form the Great Lakes was not accustomed to the tidal action. Low tide made it impossible for him to leave today.
We met for a cocktail hour on FinniIrish, then, for the last time the group of five headed into the restaurant for dinner. We plan on staying in touch with one and other and emails were exchanged.
We plan on meeting tomorrow morning for coffee to send Passage off about 8AM. The tide will be up and Passage who draws 5 feet should be able to get out of the slip and out of the harbor into the Sea of Abaco with out any problems.
I then climbed down the steps on the dock and jumped into the dingy. Started the motor and made the long dark dingy ride back to WaterMark. Actually it is a good thing that the motor runs slow as it is pitch black and navigating with a pen light in my mouth in the darkness is difficult. Going slow is important because it gives you time to see and react and be able to dodge the other boats that are anchored in the harbor.
The “Joe Motor” bit me today. As I was pulling the starter cord, the cord jerked back and cut the skin between the index finger and the middle finger on my left hand. This happened because I was using 2 hands to pull the cord instead of just one. The cut hurts. Salt water makes the cut hurt even more, however the salt water will make it heal faster.
It is 8:30PM and as soon as the blog is updated, I am ready to crawl into my bunk and go to sleep. This anchorage is very dark and very quiet. The only noise I hear is a slight breeze and the small waves lapping against the hull of the boat.
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