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.