Back in the USA

Sunrise behind Megerin as we leave the Bahamas

Ray studying the charts before we leave Bahamas

May 19, 2012

As I prepared to write this blog entry I looked at my last one and realized the date was all wrong - I must have "island brain",  a common affliction among cruisers - we never know what day it is !  Many people think that  means we are doing something right if that happens - I hope so.

Anyway, we left Hopetown and spent about 10 days in the town of Marsh Harbor, generally enjoying company of friends like Pat and Debbie from "Miss Grace"& John from "Sojourn", stocking up at their wonderful supermarket, Sandy getting a "day of beauty" (I wish) at the lovely local salon, and waiting for the weather window again.  When it did pop up it kind of surprised us, and we made a quick decision to leave on May 1st and quickly get into position.  This meant a short day to Green Turtle Cay where we could get last minute wifi to double-check on weather forecast,  then a 12 hour sail to Mangrove Cay, which is uninhabited but we can hear NOAA on our VHF.  This period is kind of lonely, as we just see water and occasionally another boat - we missed our boating buddies Wind Dust.  Friday we got up at 4 AM and motored across the banks of Abaco, and headed across the ocean for Ft. Pierce, FL. But changed our minds as it was easier to direct the boat toward Palm Beach and actually a shorter trip, which was fine with us.  The seas were mild but so was the wind, which meant  we motor-sailed the whole way - never seeing one other boat (except for some big ships).  About 5 miles off the coast of Florida I turned on my iPhone and - WOW - a signal (way to go, AT&T).

Friends Pat and Debbie from "Miss Grace"

To answer some frequently asked questions :

1) Weather window - As a sailboat, we would like to use the wind.  Since we were heading west, we would not want a wind coming from the west - you cannot sail into the wind.  So we were looking for a southeast wind.  North winds are usually not good for crossing the gulf stream, as they create turbulent seas competing with the north-bound current.  We also like winds 12-20 knots.  And no storms, please.
2) Our speed is generally 5-7 knots if not running into wind, waves or current.  A 60 mile trip could take 10 hours or 14 hours and you never know if the conditions are exactly as predicted.  So, to avoid landfall in the dark we frequently leave in the dark to arrive with light.  This year friends of ours with experience  left from Ft. Lauderdale to go the Bahamas, calculating it would take them 10 hrs. but the weather was wrong and it took 18 hours, causing them to arrive at night with no one to help them at he dock, etc.
3)  We have a gas stove with 2 propane tanks which we can refill, water tanks that hold a total of 220 gallons of water.  We treat the water with a marine chlorine product and it lasts us about 3 weeks, although we never just let it run, etc.  Navy showers.  We have 2 sleeping cabins and 2 heads. Our engine is a Perkins and we hold 57 gallons of fuel, and burn 1.03 gallons/hour.

The crew arriving to Megerin in Lake Worth,
 Jane and Charlotte were great dinghy drivers

We had a big surprise waiting for us in the US.  Erin, Mark and two of their children, Charlotte and Jane were headed to Delray, FL, for a tennis tournament the next weekend.  So, we stayed in the area, met up with them and they got to see our boat for the first time.  What a great Mother's Day.
Presently we are in Ft. Pierce and I am flying to Pgh. Monday to be there when my mother has her cardiac cath.  Ray will stay here and when I get back we will go up the ICW to Brunswick, GA, to leave it there until November.

Everyone have a great summer and fall!

Charlotte, 14, relaxing on Megerin.  She played in her first international tennis tournament and was probably the youngest player there. She is one gutsy girl - not to mention beautiful!

Jane ,11, blowing the conch horn - she won the contest!

Charlotte and Jane being "Bow Princesses"

Mark and Erin - she is wearing the headphones we use to communicate when we are anchoring.

A truckload of conch for sale along the road in Marsh Harbor.  They will clean them for you, a hard job.
Conch is actually not our favorite but is fascinating to watch them get the critters out of there.

Before we left Marsh Harbor we attended and an agricultural fair meant to encourage Bahamians to grow or buy local produce, as it is so expensive to ship.  A high school "Junkanoo" band provided great entertainment.

Hopetown, Abacos

Playing bingo at Captain Jack's in Hopetown

We had intended to be in Hopetown for Easter week-end but some nasty weather was predicted to hit the Abaco's, which were north of us, so we elected to stay put in a very safe harbor on a place called Royal Island.  The cruising guide described it as the place to go to hole up for refuge.  However, there is nothing ashore and as Easter week-end was coming up I really wanted to be able to talk to our families.  And when I checked my iPhone I could get a signal so called my mother using "World traveler ATT minutes" and found out she was in the hospital.  She needed a pacemaker, which was done and she feels better than ever.  Jim was home for Easter so that was a lucky thing.   We spent 6 days at Royal Island, but having communications was wonderful.  There were a lot of other boats and we made some friends and took turns having happy hour on each other's boats as there was no beach to go to.  Ray and I  both got some boat chores done and I actually did a lot of cooking.  For Easter brunch I made a new recipe of ham/egg/pesto cups - delicious.  But no chocolate bunnies.

Typical lane in Hopetown - most people use golf carts or bicycles.

View of Hopetown harbor from lighthouse window during our evening tour

When cruising on a boat a favorite pastime is listening to the VHF - everyone eavesdrops on everyone else!
So Ginny and I made up names for each other and had a secret station to go.  However, our cover was easily blown - the other boats recognized our voices and just scanned their radio until they found us.
It is like an old-time party line so you have to be careful what you say!
It was a 10 hour motor sail to the cut into the Bahamas.  "Cuts" are where the ocean and the Sea of Abaco meet and can be dangerous to go through in the wrong conditions, mainly high winds against a high sea.

Walking up to lighthouse - it is 101 steps to the top.

View of famous lighthouse from across the harbor.  We are one of the boats anchored under it
and enjoyed looking at it at night - it flashes 5 times with a 15 sec pause.

Example of creative detail found on many of the cottages in Hopetown.  Every day we would take a walk and saw some we had never noticed before.

Sunset behind the lighthouse.

Taken on top of the lighthouse.  We were taken on a tour by the keeper who has to tend to it every two hours during the night.  We watched him light the kerosene lamp and he explained how the weights then rotate the glass lenses. It is beautiful inside and is the only light house of it's kind remaining.

Gorgeous house in Hopetown.  Many are rentals and pretty pricey.

Entrance to the Hopetown Lodge - we had a sunday brunch here with limitless complimentary mimosas - yum.
Atlantic ocean beach is on other side.

The houses are small and painted wonderful colors - described in the guide books as "sherbet colors"

Love these colors - would they work in Pittsburgh?

Eleuthera

March 29th - April 10th, 2012

Leaving the Exuma's we had a day-long great sail northeast to the island of Eleuthera, which is large (90miles long) and narrow with rocky cliffs and bottoms, which can make it hard to anchor.  But with light winds it was not a big problem for us and we went ashore for exploring.  The town of Rock Sound had an "ocean hole" inland which was interesting.  It is sea water but no one, even Jacques Cousteau, has been able to find the bottom.

Eleuthera's people were extremely nice and many times we were offered rides as we walked along.
It is not a big tourist area, as it is pretty rustic in most places - mainly a good place for some serious fishing.
Some of the names I came across in their cruising guide were:  Hammer Head rock
                                                                                                    Devil's Backbone
                                                                                                    Poison Point
 Not a place for sissies !                                                               Starved Creek

                                                                                                                                                             

Ocean Hole

Jesse, Ginny and us at ocean hole

This is the library in Governor's Harbor - the second largest library in the Bahamas.

The inside of the library was beautiful.

The four of us were lucky to go to dinner at Rosie's, an Eleutheran woman who runs a small restaurant on the other side of the island.  She picks you up in her old car & cooks a meal as if you were in her house.  It is a very simple meal and the house is filled with her collection of shells, driftwood, etc. from this beach.  

T

Ray climbing back up to Rosie's from the beach.

The beach at Cocodimama resort on Eleuthera.

Sunset at Governor's Bay - not our boat

The gang arriving to our boat - possibly for happy hour?

View on Eleuthera

Wind Dust under sail

Cruising the Exumas

March 9 - 24

Bananaquit - or known as "sugarbird"

The Exumas are chain of many islands or "Cays" that run Northwest to Southeast.  The body of water on the east side is Exuma sound which is deep blue water.  We cruised down the west side on the Exuma Banks which is more protected but can be shallow and has many reefs to avoid.  So navigation is really important requiring frequent checking of charts and talking to other cruisers.  We feel so lucky to be "buddy-boating" with Ginny and Jesse, as they have done this before.  We didn't go to all the cays - there are a lot! - but feel we saw a lot.  The water color and clarity cannot be beat - just beautiful.

Typical water color

We visited Staniel Cay for a few days and one of the highlights is to go to the beach where wild pigs live in the bushes.

Pig attack !  Going after Ginny and Jesse.

They swim out to get food - i took apple cores and carrots. They have been known to try to crawl from the water into dinghies - I threw my food !

A face only a mother can love.

Going on a dinghy tour of small uninhabited Exuma cays with Ward & Richard, Ginny and Jesse.
We are evaluating the swift water running through the cut.
Some of them are owned by celebrities such as Johnny Depp and David Copperfield, but we did not see those.

Getting ready to snorkel Thunder ball Cave, made famous in the James Bond movie 

A typical street on Staniel Cay.  There are two small grocery stores, this is the "Blue Store"
The mail boat comes every 1-2 weeks to bring fresh provisions and everyone makes sure they get there before they are all gone.  The abundance in the US always amazes us when we get back home.

Ok, enough pigs - How about some crazy people in the water with a bunch of nurse sharks?
The sharks congregate there to get fish carcasses from the fish cleaning stand.

Outside the cave.  We saw some amazing coral and fish but my camera did not work.
Swimming into the cave is easy at low tide but high tide you have to go underwater.  Inside is a beautiful grotto.

One of our favorite places at Black Point in the Exumas was Lorraines.  this is her mother, who makes delicious coconut bread every day.

The "Pink Store" on Staniel Cay.   The stores were very dimly lit to conserve electricity.

Cruisers happy hour on the beach
Very informal, bring your own drink and snacks.

Jesse, Ray, and Mike from "Goose Bumps" at the cruisers happy hour

Girls at happy hour.

An uninvited but welcome guest at happy hour

Another species frequently seen in the Exumas is the mega yacht - owned by billionaires, these babies cost many millions .
And the fuel bills per week run into the many thousands of $$$

 

These mega yachts rafted up together with their toys tied alongside.
Their dinghies probably cost as much as our sailboat.

Windblown ( It never stops!),, sun in the eyes, but having a good time.

Mahi mahi - wish we could catch one half this size.  this fisherman from Michigan did give us a smaller one and fixed it on the boat - delicious

Dinghy landing on Staniel Cay - we are going out to lunch.  Just drive through the stone breakwater and haul it up on the sand.  

Another - and most common way - to get ashore is to climb the ladder.  In this case it is low tide and the ladders have a tendacy to bend inward.  Then you have to hand up or down whatever you are carrying - provisions, garbage, etc.
We also have to take our propane tanks in to have filled periodically - or no cooking.

A happy meal onboard Megerin