Update about blog access

I have no idea what this means but Google suggested we let friends know. Good luck with figuring it out...

In 2011, we announced the retirement of Google Friend Connect for all non-Blogger sites. We made an exception for Blogger to give readers an easy way to follow blogs using a variety of accounts. Yet over time, we’ve seen that most people sign into Friend Connect with a Google Account. So, in an effort to streamline, in the next few weeks we’ll be making some changes that will eventually require readers to have a Google Account to sign into Friend Connect and follow blogs.

As part of this plan, starting the week of January 11, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. At the same time, we’ll remove non-Google Account profiles so you may see a decrease in your blog follower count.

We encourage you to tell affected readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they’ll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow.

We know how important followers are to all bloggers, but we believe this change will improve the experience for both you and your readers.

Posted by Michael Goddard, Software Engineer

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May 2015 end on a positive note and 2016 be a better year. May you all find the pot o'gold at the end of the rainbow. HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of our family and friends! Be safe and happy!

December 30

December 30

Today was a great day!  We got up early and watched GMA while Rick made pancakes and I checked emails. Then at 8 am we switched the radio on to listen to the Cruiser's Net. It was good to hear so many names we remembered from last year, and especially Sue the Net controller.

We talked to Saltshaker and arranged to meet them on shore but before we got away Bicher came from Jasmine City [that's a boat] to pick up his generator. He came on board and we had a good long talk about so many things... what a lovely person.

We went ashore to get some much need fruit and vegetables, cheese and bread, and a Snickers Bar!!!

Coming back to the boat was a hoot. We got soaking wet in the dinghy because the waves were so high rushing under the bridge and the wind are still high!

We changed, had lunch and decided we needed to move but first we went back to town to upgrade the phone, and visit some places.  Went to see Cleo, my facebook pal, who owns a spectacular gift shop in the town, and I went to the straw market to see how the ladies were doing. The tent that Sandals lent them when the market burned in the spring fell down and now they are working in the open again. They need a permanent building like Bimini and Nassau have.

We came back to the boat, got soaking wet again and moved it over to Monument where it's much calmer.

I don't know what is wrong with us. We decided that we would re-think the drive lift mechanism....a rope and pulleys...when we got here, so we just tied a rope around it and pulled it tight into a clutch.  But when we... or rather, I, backed up to set the anchor, somehow the rope pulled loose and I managed to get it wrapped around the prop!

Luckily I am so used to screwing up the prop with something that I immediately recognized the sound and threw the motor into neutral!  I am getting quite expert at NOT completely destroying the drive. Thank god we have a line cutter on the prop!!!

So we have had dinner, and we are going to crash. Tomorrow will be a late night, The Aussie kids with the fireworks insist on doing it at midnight, not 9 pm, the boaters' usual midnight. I guess they don't get to stay up too late usually and since they [Tika] and Saltshaker  both bought bags of marshmallows today, I'm guessing that they'll need the extra time to wear off the sugar high!   Ttyl J

yay Georgetown Tuesday Dec 29

Tuesday December 29

It 6:45 am and the bay is very calm...winds are at 10 knots right now dropping every so often to 7-8.  It rained very hard at around 4 this morning and the winds came up but it's still early and the sun hasn't had time to heat up the air.

There are huge rays swimming around the boat, waiting for us to leave them something? It's beautiful here and if we didn't HAVE to get to Georgetown, I could sit here for a few days. But we need bread and fruit and I need a chocolate bar. Beguiler left us a bag of Snicker bites when they left...they are gone, Quentin, sorry. It's been 4 days since my last chocolate...

So we started off and wended our way though Children's Cay, Rat Cay and got to the Rat  Cay Cut, which "everyone" says is the best of all cuts [passages to the ocean, in an east -to-south wind so of course, because we believe what the internet tells us, "we' decided to go out there. The cut is a deep channel 15-25 feet but its only 10 feet wide!  And when "we" decide to go out there was an incoming tide along with the surf ad 20 knot winds. Some fun huh, Bambi?

I got us out and promptly handed the helm to Rick. And we spent the next hours travelling 14 miles in... you got it...20 knots on the nose and HUGE swells. The waves may only have been 1-3 feet but the Swells were at least 6 -8 feet high. Not too bad if you could figure out the rhythm but every quarter mile the pattern shifted. We managed 2.5-3.5 miles an hour...try doing that in your car for a half hour and you'll understand how tortuous it can be.

So not to make a big deal of this but a few days ago, I was trying to hook the bridal rope through the chock and when I leaned over the front pulpit, the boat came up to meet me or rather my ribs, very hard so I have been having a hard time moving around. Ricks back pain pills help a little but I can't drink when I take them...just kidding Barb. It's easier to stand up rather than sit so I spend a lot of time on the helm where I can do two things at once.\

We are in Georgetown and Salt Shaker saw us coming. Daniel and Pace were apparently jumping up and down and screaming when they saw us. We will see them tomorrow Quentin, and Daniel says he'd rather have you here than anything else.

We also made contact with Jasmine City and will deliver the stuff to them tomorrow. Then we will get our supply of fruit veggies and bread and cheese, and begin the process of cleaning and maintaining the systems. 

The anchorage is rougher than we've been in for a while but we are here!

Ttyl

MOnday Dec 28

December 28...Monday

Morning!  Well, two of the boats are gone. The cat that came in late was called "Euphora" and the sailboat that was here first was called "Shoestring".  They were talking this morning at 7 am and Euphora was going to head out the cut and check it out.

 He reported back to Shoestring that "the waves are about 30 degrees off [the track they were heading....that means pounded sideways"] and the winds were 20 on the nose less their speed of 5 knots ...so 15 knots".

 But as Shoestring replied, "that's too much pounding to travel 35 miles in a day...we're slow" [oh yeah, we hear ya'] so they are staying inside as well. We will likely catch up to them later. 

The Montreal cat "Belle Vie" is still sitting here...the dog had to go to shore again. This dog is a huge black lab. I can't imagine how much fun it is for him/her to be stuck on a boat and not allowed to swim. We watched him/her sitting on the bottom step waiting to get his/her feet wiped off before being allowed up on the deck. Right now they are running a generator which is like listening to a lawnmower running over uneven ground.

So after breakfast we headed out and ran the VPR gauntlet down to ...where are we?  Oh yeah, Lee Stocking Island.   It was a 5 hour run to go about 7 miles. @5 on the nose for us too and pounding into the southwest swells. We heard Euphora call Shoestring about an hour ago. They were coming back inside!! Go figure!!!  Shoestring is down at Rat Cay. We considered going that far...another 3 miles bit decided that this little bay here was secluded and protected enough from the swells s we dropped anchor around 12:30. We have no intention of testing the ocean today.

We dropped the anchor three times, only because we wanted to get far enough into the little bay to get out of the rocking.  Then we watched some HUGE stingrays...at least 8 of then, swimming around the boat so Rick went into the water to "check the anchor" and follow them around.

After lunch we both went into the water for about 2 hours checking the shoreline and the rock formations.  This is beautiful little bay.  There is a tent on shore and after we anchored a couple of sea kayaks came into the bay an up to the shore. SO did tour boats all afternoon! Everyone was getting off, going ashore up the hill to see the ocean?

The unfortunate part is that 1] we are just inside the bay and out of sight of the cell tower, so I will send the phone up the mast to se if I can get internet.

2] As we anchored and got settled anther cat pulled in behind us. Sigh... no cockpit privacy ...oh, well...

3] We went in just a little too far before low tide and we are probably going to be sitting on the bottom for part of the night...rats... not like we've never done that before. And the sand underneath us is very clean, no rocks, so we will be fine.

Hey... sending the phone up the flag halyard worked!!! Who knew!!

Oh cool, a shark just swam past us...not a nurse shark, so no swimming tonight!

Tomorrow will tell us if we can get to Georgetown. Winds are down to 10 knots in here but who knows what the ocean still looks like.

Have a good sleep! We will!

December 27

December 27

This morning for some reason we had a clear view of the tower to Little Farmer's Cay and I was able to post.  Who knew...but the anchorage was so rocky I couldn't type!  SO at 8:45 after breakfast, we left. I'm sort of glad Quentin missed this part of the trip. When we can only do 2 miles an hour because of the wind and waves, we get frustrated, then we get pissed off, then we get angry...at whom?? If he had been with us, making his irrelevant trivia remarks  [Did you know that there is one person in the world who can lick his elbows...DO I CARE ????], we would probably have taken his head off a few times.

Today we are in Rudder Cut Cay anchorage. It's the center one just below the Guana Bar mark. We aren't alone. As we were coming in a cat going north passed us. About an hour later, they [4 adults, a kid and a dog from Montreal... all of them, not just the dog] they came back and dropped their anchor right between us and an American boat that was already here. The anchorage is small and shallow and since we already hit bottom in Hetty's Land, we stayed away from the American boat and not in too deep, but we are still in 3-5 feet of water at low tide.  These guys took the dog to shore ....a private island with LOTS of no-trespassing signs, and then pulled up their anchor and moved even further in between us. Crap...no swimming naked today!

We passed two open cuts to the ocean and the waves are still wild out there...not kidding..."Perfect Storm" wild. This is a very calm anchorage. The winds are supposed to die down tomorrow and we will finish the inside route. We have to VPR most of it all the way to Lee Stocking Island, the last big islanad before Great ExumaVPR means Visual Piloting Rules...Rick gets to stand on the bow and direct me through the coral heads. It's better than going outside!!! That will put us down at Rat Cay Cut, which means only 14 miles out on the ocean to Elizabeth Harbour and Georgetown. If the damned weather predictors would sort out their predictions, we would know for sure what to expect. Passage weather tells one thing and Windfinder predicts something else altogether, so you average it out and make it 10% worse and that's what you get. I need to get a good ocean weather text book and do my own predicting. Lost the one Rick bought me when we were coming up from Grenada. Brian Reis told me about one from Amazon.com. Think I'll order it when we get to Georgetown.

So, 4 pm and another cat came in and dropped anchor behind us...no sitting naked in the cockpit either ...jeez! If it wasn't so late we'd leave and find a better anchorage. 

Luckily I cooked tonight's dinner last night, so this afternoon we'll just drink rum and listen to the stereo. [My sister gave me a bag of Welch's juice freezies for the kids. We didn't have the freezer working when the kids were here, but now it's working and they make awesome ice cubes!]

I will sit and draw; he's working on the log book and sorting out the photos. When it gets dark, I'll heat up the dinner and we can watch some more TV.  Rick downloaded the first season of "The Blacklist" while we were in Ft. Pierce. It's not bad. Love James Spader. I already know that he's her father but that makes all the innuendoes more interesting.

So happy birthday, Anja and Happy Saturday-After-Christmas everyone; enjoy the leftover turkey and stuffing.....Mmmmm boy do I miss stuffing... and bread....and Christmas cake...and Christmas pudding. Carmel sauce on rice cakes just doesn't cut it. Think I'll have another rum. Tty

Christmas Day con't

December 25 cont'd

This morning we woke up and decided to go for breakfast at the Yacht Club.  By the time we were finished and got moving it was 10 am.  It would have been about 10 miles to go out around Harvey Cay and down to the mark but we took a shortcut through the sand bores and cut 5 miles off the trip. I wondered how many people in Staniel were taking bets we wouldn't make it through the shallows!  Still, pounding into it, it took two hours to get down to Blackpoint. This time we used the storm jib...much better in strong wind.

But the exciting part [and not in a good way] as we approached the cut between Staniel and Bitter Guana we heard a distress call on the radio. A boat with three people, two adults and a child had capsized going through the cut and needed help.

We listened as Staniel Cay organized three planes and some fast boats to locate them. One of the huge mega yachts, Morning Star, sent its tender out to help in the search and by the time we actually got to the opening [we had no intention of trying to help...we would have been in the way, and just added to the problem --8 foot dinghy with a 5 ph motor?!?!] the Morning Star tender had located and rescued them!! They had been in the water for about an hour by the time they were found.

Watching the opening as we went by we wondered who in their right mind would go out on the ocean on a day like this! The seas were forecasted to be 8-12 feet. The waves were coming into the cut against the outgoing tide so the waves were even bigger and the winds were still at 20 knots.  There's a description many sailors use to describe the sea state when you don't want to go out on the water...they call it "elephants dancing". As we passed the cut, it looked more like dinosaurs dancing!  Are ya' nuts???

We already know that the open ocean is not going to calm done until Monday or Tuesday, so until then we will amble our way down the inside and get as close to Georgetown as we can before heading out one of the cuts to get into Elizabeth Harbour.

So we continued on to Blackpoint. Rick is desperate for some fruit. I know we will be able to get lots in Georgetown but right now we could manage on the tins of pineapple and apple sauce that we have.  Being Christmas day I wouldn't think that the stores in this community would be open. It isn't a tourist place, just a little town on a little island and I would hope that SOMEONE would want to keep Christmas as a holiday!

It took two tries to find and anchor spot that would hold. IN the middle of the attempt, Rick switched anchors from the Bruce to the fortress. We sat in the harbour for about an hour. There were a couple of Canadian boats in there and we saw Whitebird again...the boat from Morgan's Bluff. A few people were moving between boats but no-one seemed to be going ashore to the dinghy dock. There were no cars or people on the beach or on the roads, so we decided that we should keep going. We lifted the anchor and headed down to Whitepoint, a couple of miles down the island. WE looked at Jack's Cove but it didn't look deep enough close to shore for protection, so we went south of the Whitepoint beach to Hetty's Land, another small bay.  We only saw one fast boat heading across the bay while we were anchoring He was heading to Farmer's Cay

We got in and anchored surprisingly easily. The sand is so soft, the anchor sank! We swam to shore ... about a ¼ mile and walked the beach .There is so much plastic washed up I was collecting little piles to make sure it didn't go back into the water, while Rick looked for shells. We put on our sandals and walked inland looking for signs of iguanas but only found little trails from curly tails and one track that might have been a snake. ~~~~~ We couldn't see the ocean side but w could hear the surf. NA speaking of dinosaur... there were bird tracks on the beach that looked they were from a pterodactyl an ostrich!

                                                              

After dinner the winds picked up and the waves for some reason started changing direction. W e got tossed all night because they were not the same direction as the wind. But it was a clear night and the full moon was amazing. We could see the beach and all the colours of blue water. It was beautiful.

Boxing Day

December 26

This morning, we have to wait until the coffee is cold to drink it, the anchorage is so rough. From the boat, I can see waves hitting the ocean side of the island and rising up over the 20 foot hill we climbed yesterday. I guess this another day NOT to go out there!  SO we will up anchor and go another 10 miles or so down the inside to find another anchorage that is not as rough as this one, and spend the day waiting for the ocean to settle. It is so rough that the internet signal from Farmer's Cay won't hold long enough to connect.

Or maybe we'll just stay here for the day...

We went back to shore and climbed further up the hill so we could see the ocean....Perfect Storm waves out there as far as the eye can see. WE didn't want to fight our way through the scrub palms and almond bushes so we didn't get any closer. We found one with yellow-orange fruit but we can't remember what manchonielles [poison fruit] looks like so we left it alone!

We spent the day lounging and I cooked Christmas dinner today..chicken sweet potatoes and beans.

Internet still not working ...rats... and no phone service but I can send messages????

December 25

December 25, 2015

This is a special post for my family:

From 1967 until 2004, except for probably 5 years, I had spent every Christmas with a very special family...my second mother, Aunt Muriel and my Greenwood cousins. Christmas at her house was like being in a Victorian novel. My Aunt loves Christmas and no-one does it as good as she did (No, Julie... you are a close second, but...) Dickens couldn't have described it better! And the best part was the feeling of joy, fun and love that permeated. I began living there when I was 17, going to university. My aunt and uncle always made room for people who couldn't get home for Christmas; whether they were from Britain, USA or the other end of the country.

As her kids and I acquired spouses and children; and when my brother Ted and his family were back in the city, they were added to the mix. The dining room seem to grow to accommodate everyone. It was almost mandatory that we all be there, and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. I miss you, Auntie Em, and all the wonderful memories you made for me. Thank you!

Her daughter, cousin Carolyn , inadvertently created a new tradition one year by announcing that everyone should come out to the Schultz house in the country on Boxing Day to snowshoe. From that one suggestion, we made Boxing Day our day for friends and family. Our extended families were huge! There were times when there were 50 people there through the day, and lots of our friends found out that they already knew each other! Everyone we knew was invited to snowshoe, play road hockey, or just eat and be merry! And we did every year for 15 years!

After we moved down to Southern Ontario to follow our daughter and her family, I got re-acquainted with the rest of my siblings as adults. We had many stressful times dealing with the death of Mom and Dad, and almost losing Joe, but we had lots of good times together.  Having grandkids made Christmas even more special, so thank you Liz for giving us three great kids!

 If I could scoop all of you together I would keep you all with me. I miss you guys and know that you are all in my heart.

I know that I am spending Christmas in Paradise with my best friend and the love of my life, but I miss you all so much and ...there's no place like home!

December 24

December 24 "Christmas Winds"

Doesn't that sound romantic or intriguing? Doesn't it make you want to hear more?  Christmas Winds SUCK! They are flippy, gusting from 15 to 30 out of the east to the south, push up the waves to 2-4 feet  and seem to follow the tracks in the Explorer charts, which means that if you are heading down the island chain you pound into them.

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone.  I doubt very much that I will be posting in the next two-three days, depending on where we are.

OK, today we left Wardrick Wells anchorage and made for Blackpoint, but once again the "Christmas winds" were on the nose straight out of the southeast and we were not capable of making the 22 miles before everything closed on Christmas Eve. 

Here's the thing: Staniel Cay is VERY commercial so they are open today and tomorrow to cater to us tourists, which we didn't expect, so we got here as early as possible to get some fruit and fuel.

BUT for all it's touted to be Staniel Cay has NO banks or banking machine so if you didn't get enough cash in Nassau...guess what? Oh, and most of the stores only take cash, but the Yacht Club will give you a cash advance on your credit card.

It also has the worst freaking docks I have ever seen. I cannot get back on the boat until the tide comes in because I cannot reach it. When I am on the boat, the dock is over my head. I managed to climb up the docking pole and squirm my way onto the dock on my stomach but I cannot get back down because the tide has gone out even further than when we got here. We are paying $2.00 a foot for this!

AND there is no shower facility. The only consolation is that no-one else here has had a shower either...oh, wait, they all own mega yachts so they probably have had a shower!

PLUS you have to pay for the internet separately!! So I will post this from my own phone.

We had to pre-order dinner but I decided that it would be my Christmas present and his. We aren't sure where we will be tomorrow so thought a good dinner today was in order.

OK so Merry Christmas. A great DAY with your family and friends wherever you are. 

December 21-23

December 21

Still sitting in Allen's Cay. There's not much we can do with the winds so high... 25-30 knot and there are lots of boats coming in here to get out of it... even bigger than us!  A couple of huge cats... one from Australia and 2 from Canada ... the Aussies waved but the Canucks weren't so friendly. So we sit, swim and wait.  We didn't do too much swimming because the surge coming through was very strong.

December 22

We left Allen's Cay at 7:30 am and headed out... what were we thinking??? We got as far as Oyster Cay by 11:00 am and decided that we had been beaten up enough and went in. Oyster is the bottom of Highbourne Cay so we made, what... 5 miles??

 Around 3 pm the winds died a little so we decided to take off.  We  figured we could manage Shroud if the winds were down, but it's not the winds...it's the seas pushing us back. We made it as far as Shroud Cay and got there in the dark.  We passed two mega yachts anchored out. One had one of those coloured lights that change colour on the back. We couldn't tell if he was moving, swinging or what 'til we got close enough. Not nice!  We headed for shore until we hit 5 feet and dropped the anchor. Very rock and rolly, but we held well.

December 23

We decided that if we were going to be rocked like that we might as well try to make some headway, so we took off  at 7:00 am again. It was just too bumpy out there... winds gusting to 25 knots on the nose. We tried to put up the jib and tack but for every mile we made we lost it when we had to tack, so we thought we would go into Wardrick Wells.

The other deciding factor was ... I hit something and the prop stopped right in the middle of a tack. Rick didn't hear it because he was trying to tighten the jib sheet,  but I did and felt it. I dropped to neutral right away, and he looked under the boat to see what it was. There was a big piece of blue cloth wrapped around the prop. I put it in slow reverse and it let go a bit, then slow forward and it fell off, but it still didn't feel right. It turns out that we ran over our folding bucket and ate it. It was tied to the front stanchion [that's the steel frame at the front of the boat] but the wind picked it up at one point, ripped the handle off and threw it under the boat. We weren't sure what we had hit until later when Rick dove on it and saw that it was the remnants of the cloth bucket. He pulled out the bits left around the prop.

We got into Wardrick around 4 pm, threw down the anchor and ate spaghetti noodles again.

Wardrick was rocking and rolling as well. There was no place to get out of the swells and the wind was still up. There was no weather information from Wardrick and we couldn't get the internet...and yes I am in the middle of NOWHERE!

Quentin went home Dec 18

Friday Dec 18

So this morning we got up and got Quentin's packs sorted out. He stuffed his pockets with all of his Rubik's cubes and skylanders that wouldn't fit in his two bags.  I don't know how he managed to not pass out in the heat He wore a sweater and long pants and his jacket to the airport. His pants are now 4 inches too short and we measured him last night ...5'7". Grown a tad!  

His computer bag must have weighted 40 lbs and didn't quite fit in the required measuring cage but it was staggering to see the number of suitcases and oversized bags some other people managed to carry on.  It cost an extra 25.00 US or Bahamian [same thing] for his checked luggage... what a rip-off Air Canada is!

We went out front of the marina to catch a cab. We didn't want to put out the marina staff so we didn't bother to get her to call one, and we ended up paying $45.00 to the airport...scenic route...She told us when we got back that it should only have cost us $35.00 [and we didn't tip the guy...he owns the cab...not like he's forking it over to a company.] |In fact he told us there is no income tax here... what you make, you take home.

We went into "Wendy's" [ugh] for a drink while we were waiting for boarding. Quentin sat there dazzling a few people with his Rubik skills, [I watched people watching him] and we waited. Finally we let him go through security when there were no other people around so we could watch, in case they stripped him of his cubes, but he managed to pass the scrutiny machines and gave us the high sign as he put his shoes back on and went up the escalator to the departure lounge.

We hung around until the plane was scheduled to take off but there was nowhere we could watch so we guessed, then when we went back in and the Air Canada counter was dark.  We figured all had gone according to plan so we fond another taxi and left. There's no public transportation out there but this time the taxi only cost $35.00[US] and the driver didn't talk.

The dock we were at was right inside the marina... going in I had to make three left hand tight turns and I was thinking "what part of 'hard to manoeuvre' didn't she understand when we called in?" |but I was more focussed on the task at hand...getting to the dock; getting Quentin to his plane with all the necessary permits!

So, today, with the winds up and pushing us against the dock, when we got back, I knew it was going to be tough to get out of there. While we were gone they put a huge 65 foot cat beside us! He stuck 15 feet out past the end of the dock. [And we didn't fill the whole slip!] When he heard our engine start he started pulling out monster fenders and lining the front of his boat! I said to him, "What?? You don't trust my driving??"

The dock hands tried to pull us out to turn us around but we wouldn't work against the wind, so I had to back her along the wall, out past the big yachts in the slips, and turn her in the first corner. I felt a bit smug, seeing the looks of surprise on the mega cat guys watching me with their mouths open...even the "eye candies" in the "almost-bathing suits" looked surprised that I [an old lady] could manage to back it up. Got lots of high signs and waves too, from the big boat owners as I passed. [They were also relieved that I didn't hit them!]

SO we went to Rubis's fuel dock then headed out the channel. We passed lots of boats coming in I guess people were getting ready to go "home" for Christmas.  They were all calling marinas for berths.

When we got out to Porgee Rocks, we had a "discussion" about whether to keep going or to anchor close to Nassau. In all honesty, I was expecting a call from someone to say Quentin was still t the airport and we would have to go back to get him...I AM NOT neurotic! I needed to be parent for him on this end and it's my job to expect or anticipate the worst case scenario.  I called Liz and she couldn't find him, but by 5 PM I knew he was safe, so we settled in for the night.

 It is 5:30 pm and we are sitting in Bottom Harbour just outside of Nassau, pitching and rolling [ok, slightly, but still...]. And we are having a drink while Rick records the day's movements and I try to write this without dropping the computer because the boat is rocking in the swells.

We are anchored with four other boats, one of which is Dos Libras...remember them?  We gave them some lifejackets in Georgetown last year and we met them in No Name Harbour again. Rick wanted to head out over the banks tonight but it was already 4:30 pm and the sky was clouding over so it would be dark earlier. This was a better decision than heading out over the banks and anchoring again in the middle of nowhere.

Saturday 19-Sunday 20

December 19

We got up at 6:00 am to get started across the banks. AS we were hauling up anchor and turning, Dos Libras called and said that there was a huge blow coming in and they were staying put 'til Monday. We told them we were heading to Allen's Cay, and she said..."make like a bunny and run fast"

We got out past our waypoint, turned down and the winds were pushing finally! We started out with 13-15 knot winds and we made it 28 miles in 5 hours. We were doing anywhere between 4-6.5 knots. For some reason the GPS's were reading 6-8 knots but ya' just can't trust technology anymore.

At one point there was a fabulous rainbow that stretched across the banks behind us...Full colour and so bright that it actually reflected on the water surfaces which was amazing because the waves were 2-3 meters. It lasted a very long time! I was hoping that it was another sign that we were going to have a better luck...NOT

By the time we were half way over the winds were up to 20-25 knots and we had a helluva time getting the jib [we only sailed with the jib] in because the winds were at 30 coming into this anchorage.  We couldn't get it in all the way and had to rig up some extra blocks and lines to stop the ropes from rubbing on the shrouds [for you non-sailor: the wires that hold up the mast.] It actually wore partway through the starboard line so we'll have to replace that one

Someone was in our spot!!! Some little Canadian sailboat called Yo-Yo was anchored right where we like to put the hook down. We tried to anchor in there as well but the anchor wouldn't hold so we moved up to the other end between Allen Cay and Leaf Cay. There is lots of room in between the islands and we have both anchors out. The winds are running between 28-35 mph but we are holding well. 

We spend the rest of the day reading, watching the GPS to make sure we weren't moving and listening to other boaters discuss moves.

I made soup for supper and we watched all the current NCIS Rick had downloaded before we left the marina [using their Wi-Fi] and some Modern Family.

Sunday Dec 20

Last night was restless, waking up every hour or so to check t see if we had dragged at all ... but w were good.  The winds are still up around 30 knots.

Rick remarked this morning that it's a good thing Quentin went home from Nassau because we won't get out of here until Monday or Tuesday and he would never have made his flight out of Georgetown. We still have 100 miles to go. We might not even be there by Christmas Day. And I'm not sure you will be reading this before Christmas

The winds continue to clock 27-35 knots, so we are staying put until they die down and we can move on safely...or at least comfortably. We are well-stocked. And we are only 5 miles from a marina if we need anything. I just wish the phone would work in here! I can see the BaTelCo tower from here! But the phone says there is no service...GRRRRRR!

Merry Christmas!!

In case I don't get back to the internet before, hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year,
much love to all,
Susan & Rick

k

December 17, Thursday must be Nassau

 So, I'm wondering what we did to piss off Poseidon/ Neptune or just the universe in general.

When we left Bimini Monday, we bobbed half way across the bank in no wind. We even stopped the boat half way so Quentin could swim in the middle of the ocean...no panic ... it was only 15 feet deep.  We decide to anchor there because it was calm and we don't really want to go at night if it's not necessary. We were half way, as I said.

The next day we experienced the same minimal/ no winds so it was motoring again. We came off the banks and into deep water...1000+ feet, so there was no place to stop. OF course that meant another 20 miles because it had taken all freaking day in no wind!!!

 As we approached Morgan's Bluff on Andros Island  at the end of the afternoon, the winds came up to 12-15 on the nose [that means whatever direction we chose to go the wind comes from that direction]and because we were trying to get into a narrow unmarked channel with rocks on both sides.  There was a lovely calm harbour, and we dropped the kayak so Q could go off kayaking.

IN the morning we let him swim for a while, because it was only 20 miles down to West Bay on New Providence and we figures that we could decide from there whether to go to Nassau or Coral Bay Marina. Well, the next morning we called information to find that there in fact is no coral bay Marina sow e had to go to Nassau and what direction is the wind coming from??? Yup...16 miles took us 6 hours. AND the only Marina we could get into is $3.00 a foot!!! But we need to be at a dock so we can catch a cab in the morning to get Quentin to the airport. We will be leaving here at 9 am because I KNOW what "island time" is like. If I thought it would help we'd go there tonight to sleep. Do I sound a little aggravated?  Next year when we do this, we will leave in November to get down here before the "Christmas Winds" start and we will NOT BE ON ANYONE'S SCHEDULE    but our own!

OK, but back up. In Morgan's Bluff harbour, when Rick pulled up the anchor, there was a gold chain wrapped around the float ball...bonus! Not sure if it's real gold but...and I said "thank you" to Poseidon!

Quentin found an enormous starfish and had a great time photographing it and snorkelling in the bay.

When we got here and I opened the email, there was a note from Waterway Guide that they were publishing my article on the iguanas AND paying for it! Inspiration to create more.

There were three cruise ships in the harbour when we went through. I think Quentin finally was speechless ...the size was mindboggling! 11 stories high and 119 rooms down each side that he counted. We didn't even mention the inside cabins.

So yes, Barb, I may sound like I'm not having fun, and no, it's not because we can't swim naked with Quentin around.[Thanks for that image, LIZ] I wish Quentin was staying with us. I miss my family at this time of year. I'm sad that we won't be with y'all at Christmas. I am nostalgic for Thunder Bay, even though I'm not fan of snow; Christmas there was magical, especially spending time with our neighbours and family there too. This is the first year I don't seem to be inspired to write a Christmas poem. [Be careful what you wish for].

I miss our sailing buddies, C-Soul and Pearl, Beguiler and Magic, Anneteak and Modaki and am not sure that we will be together at Christmas in time for a dinner. I'm not sure that with these winds WE will be there. I know that there are people in the anchorages at Georgetown who were there last year and we will renew acquaintances, but Jasmine City and Nauticuss and Amazing Grace are not going to be there, either.

It's hard to be happy ALL the time, y'know.  Besides if nothing went wrong, how boring would THAT be!

So Rick and Quentin have gone off to the bank. I have just finished this and my invoice to WWG, and will try to figure out what to have for supper. This won't be easy... we are 50 feet from a restaurant called Crocodile's, and I have discovered that beer does not affect me, even the locally brewed Kalik which is WAY cheaper than the imported stuff. And it's hot and I'm tired of cooking. We had fried chicken and hash browns and veggies last night. The night before, we ate bacon and eggs and beans and before that I made chicken Parmesan and spaghetti. So, do I rate a night out y'think?

I will tty before we leave here just to confirm Q is on the plane. Now it's time to check and see where the wind will be tomorrow. Any guesses???

Sunday Dec 13

Sunday Dec 13

Well, THAT was a waste of time!!!!
We left the dock at 9:30 am because [first mistake] the mega yacht beside us said, "Oh, the forecast has changed ,... winds are supposed to settle ."
We couldn't get on the internet to confirm because our data n the phone wasn't activated and the Internet here is iffy at times.

So, we took their word for it and left.

OK...let's think about this...they can do 20 knots and were heading out to Chubb Cay with two whopping 300 horse diesels, and bow thrusts. [Also a cook and captain....don't care if they were from Parry Sound] We can manage 3-4 knots under motor and we have a dinky 30 hp diesel. Not a good comparison.

We got about 15 miles out and realized that we can sail this at 8 knots but not in the direction we want to go. The small sailboat ahead of us called when we tacked to say, "Don't go that way. We are going down to top of Andros and across the sandbank. It will be better." Did we listen ...no [second mistake].Consequently we went 7 miles too far south of our course in no time. Every hour we tacked back we lost 3 miles.

So here we are less than ¼ the way across...it's dark...20-24 knots of wind on the nose and rough waves in shallow[ I mean 7-feet-shallow] water so we dropped the anchor and watched the stars for about an hour while we ate, then tried to sleep..."tried" being the operative word. We bounced and slammed all night.

This morning the winds were still 20-25 knots on the nose. We could make 2.5 knots and with 45 miles to the next mark that would be another 20 hours and then another 10 miles to an island.

I made an executive decision and we are back in Bimini waiting for this to calm down!

So as soon as I can get on the internet I will check weather AGAIN, and see what we are up against. Coming back we still sailed at 6 knots through two squalls and made it back in half the time. Luckily there was no fuel use...just time wasted! Grrrrr!

I'm going to have a shower and a nap, then I'm going to help Quentin recreate his files and make supper for tonight and tomorrow. It looks like tomorrow may have better conditions, but it will be an all-nighter probably if we can't sail fast enough to get to Chubb or down Andros on the Tongue

Thursday Dec 10

Hi There!

It is 5:31 am there are thousands of no-see-ums out here. Pisses me off that bugs are allowed in paradise but what can you do...

The rules have gotten tougher here and only one of us was allowed off the boat to go to Customs and Immigration. I was elected. My name appears first on the registration. I had to get directions b because I couldn't remember where it was and a couple of locals had no idea either! So it took a while to get there. It was not a big deal except that I forgot how slow island time can be. They were busy watching Jerry Springer while they were processing me.

The forms the marina attendant gave us were incomplete... they should have been on long paper and the bottom was missing. No biggie... but I missed a lot of spots and felt like an idiot when she kept correcting me. Then I had to walk down to Immigration at the police station which was further down the road. The officer was a complete sweetheart but when it came to Quentin's letter, she was not happy. It was not notarized, so we may have to make sure there is a new NOTARIZED one when he comes back. She asked me to bring Quentin down to see her so she could be assured that he wasn't here under "duress". When Rick asked him if he knew what that meant, he said, "sort of forced to be here? Absolutely not! I love it here!"  Good answer. She was happy with that and we stood and chatted with her for another 20 minutes.

So we wandered down and got the phones hooked up and he has his own phone so we can keep track of him. No-one has implants here for kids...hmmm...Liz, can you get one for him for Christmas??

After that we went over to the beach for a couple of hours so he could scour the beach for sea glass, his new passion?? The supply boat doesn't come in until tomorrow afternoon so no bananas or bread...we wait until then.

We went for dinner at Big John's dinner/ bar/ we sat on the patio and watched the little fish swimming around. They hide there until they are big enough to catch and cook! A shark swam through but I guess they weren't big enough to register on his food meter or he wasn't hungry. I had a chicken salad; Q had a burger, but he did eat some of Rick's Wahoo! And we came home with pound of fish for tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will get supplies, change the fuel filter [oh yeah, he found them!!] and get rid of the contaminated fuel. Then I want to go up the hill to visit the dolphin house and Thomas Saunders, the man who makes turtles out of conch feet and coral bits.

Tonight we will just listen to the bar music and mellow out! ttyl

Yay! We made it!

Wednesday Dec 9 7:30 pm

We made it over !! We are anchored off Bimini's Paradise Point. We didn't get over early enough to try to get into the channel and to the marina, but we will tomorrow morning.

We might have made it earlier but...yeah here it comes...motor problems!! Likely bad fuel but a couple of times the engine cut out completely and it was running really smoky a few times during the crossing. The night before we left, Rick put in some fuel from an old diesel jug. It probably had something in it. We never had any issues all the way down from Fort Pierce. I think we'll throw THAT jug away. I think he thinks we're going over the edge of the universe and he has to have as much backup as possible. !

Of course the key to fixing this is to change the fuel filter of which we purchased a whole box. Did we bring them with us?  "We" don't remember. "We" will check in the morning.

Where we are sitting really isn't an anchorage...just the beach, but it is shallow and good holding. We are on the same spot as we were on last year when we came over, only because he can't remember how to erase our GPS marks, lol

So Quentin had a great ride. In the morning, he sat on the front getting soaked by the waves. Later on in the morning we saw a Man-O-War jelly fish...just one. We figured it's either a scout or it jumped the starting pistol. Last time we crossed the ocean was covered with them but that was end of February.

In the afternoon, a pod of dolphins chased some flying fish across our path. They weren't much interested in us. They were feeding.

The crossing in the morning was choppy. NOAA called for east winds 5-10 and 2-4 foot seas with a 7 second period. But the seas were very confused and sloppy. IT was a shorter period when you could actually calculate it.  The waves ranged from nothing to 6 feet.  If what we had was 2-4 feet, tomorrow should be glass. The conditions were nothing like predicted on either the weather radio or Passage weather.

Of all the boats anchored in No Name Harbour, none of them came out to cross over. One of the boats, Dos Libros was one we met last year. We gave them some old lifejackets for their dinghy.  They remembered us. Actually she said, "Are you the same OtherGoose..?"  Seriously???How many have you met?

There are some boats that have common names...we know of 3 Kokopelli's ...well, 2 now. One was destroyed last year. Dos Libros is another, although you'd not expect it to be common. We have even seen 2 more Amazing Grace's but OtherGoose??? Anyway they are waiting for another couple to meet up with them before they come over.

We had snacks all day long, so at supper I made bacon and eggs, or tried to. Quentin had the last two eggs from the first carton and when I opened the second carton it was full of maggots. I had just noticed a small n the pantry that afternoon but it was too rough to try tracking it down.  This carton of eggs was the double wrapped plastic carton called "Cage Free" from Publix...so be warned you shoppers of Publix.  If they are free range, the eggs aren't being checked properly!!

Rick tossed them overboard and I'm sure that's what brought all the little fish to the boat...yummy juicy maggots... And the conch and crabs will make short work of the eggs.  We ended up with bacon and salad.

We were all in bed by 8:30 last night and asleep by 9:00 or so.

This morning the sky is streaked with clouds and apparently a thunderstorm passed to the north of us this morning. We are going into the dock at Brown's Marina. There we can change the fuel filter and have a shower , go to Customs and check in and then get this phone activated so I can send this.  So if you got this, all is well!

Tuesday cont;d

Tuesday cont'd

So we languished here all day. Mostly I worked on my files and Rick did small jobs to fix little things. We checked out the weather a couple of times to make sure they weren't going to change the forecast. It still looks good for tomorrow.

Today while we were watching the water, we saw a spotted ray swim by. The picture didn't turn out so well and he was only the size of a dinner plate but very cute.

Quentin went swimming but the water was colder than expected and there were too many boats coming in and out of the little harbour so he didn't stay in long. As green as the water is it still is not the clear water of the Caribbean so he couldn't see the bottom.  Tomorrow will be better.

I will post until we lose our internet connection tomorrow, ttyl

Monday Dec 7

December 7 Monday

Hoorah! We're in No-Name Harbour! We came all the way down the Ditch, through Miami and it was a very calm, uneventful run until we got to the last bridge and then it poured!!! There was no visibility and we felt our way blindly into No-Name.

The ICW down to Miami is very intriguing and not as scary as everyone predicted. The houses are amazing and the apartment buildings are huge. Any crazy house design can be found here...I don't think there are more than 3 the same. I'd be happy with one of the tiny townhouses that line the canal and have docks in front.

At the Sheridan Bridge, we missed the opening and so we called and told them we would wait until the next opening. As we began circling, we heard the Coast Guard call and ask for a special opening. So the bridge called us to go through the opening at the same time ... yeehaw, we gained a half hour.

We stopped at the dock for the afternoon and went for a walk along the shore. We had a visit from a manatee that was cruising along the wall looking for algae. When he [she] got to our boat he reared up along the back deck catching the fresh water running off from the rain! It was cool!

We went to the restaurant for dinner because we needed to get some heavy food into us so we can sleep early and get up early to cross.  The forecast is for 15-20 knot winds and low seas but lots of rain. We are going anyway, I think. If the latest forecast changes we'll stay here another day.

So we expect that tomorrow night we will be in Bimini. If not, we will post but if we are, don't expect to see anything until I get the Bahamas phone activated a couple of days after we get there.

So ttyl

OK Tuesday at 3:00 am Rick was up ;listening to the NOAA weather...still thunderstorms & waterspouts , short period  4-6 ft seas, and North winds so we will wait 'til tomorrow when the front finally moves away. It doesn't look so hot in the Bahamas either...literally...it's 67 in Bimini and 68 in Nassau.

So we will hang out here for the day..Quentin pressing on with his English, Rick checking out small jobs we can do while we wait for tomorrow's improved weather. The other boats in the anchorage, a huge cat name OZ and a big ketch, [can't see the name] are also waiting for weather...I assume, because they are still sitting here and it's already 9 am.

 

huge manatee

looking for fresh water

listening to Quentin trying to communicate

the coast guard boat that opened the bridge

cool graphic

a dreary day in the Miami cruise ship turning basin

Dec.6 Sunday

Dec 6 Sunday

This is getting old! We are sitting in Lake Sylvia, Fort Lauderdale, listening to the weather station on the VHF. It is 3:30 and we stopped here because by the time we got through the next 5 bridges to the next anchorage at South Lake, we would be in the dark, again. We were going to get a dock at a marina but we can't find one small enough and I was not about to up the NEW RIVER again! The first time was fun but there are 25 knot winds out right now and I didn't want to chance it.

The radio is not telling us anything new except that the weather is stalling over us and Monday /Tuesday may not be our weather window. I am about to say screw it; let's go, but then the coward surfaces. I don't actually care how long we are there before Quentin has to leave, so long as he can GET there in time for a flight.

We stayed in the Ocean Ridge Nature area last night. It is a day use park that can only be accessed by foot, bike or boat. We were there once before.  It has a beautiful floating cement dock that can hold about 3 big boats or several small runabouts. It is very quiet and full of manatees in warm weather; it also has huge spiders hanging in the trees. Quentin was not amused!!  They are called Golden Silk spiders and although the sign says they only grow 1-11/2 inches, these ones were bigger!!!

We left this morning at 8:50 am and considering we went through 14 bridges and got here at 3:00 we didn't do too badly. We made just over 30 miles. But we kept the poor little bat running at 3000 rpm, not what she's used to!  The dinghy up helped a lot and the winds behind meant we could run with the small job at times, but with the twists in the river it got to be a pain so we put it away early in the day.

Tomorrow we will leave here at the crack of [yeah, right] and get to No-Name harbour...only another 30 miles to get to our jump off spot. I find it a bit disturbing that my memory is so unpredictable right now. I know that crossing Lake Ontario last year n October was brutal and it was 50 miles of cold choppy water with an unstable boat [mast lying on the deck] and yet we made it. I remember how I ran through the storm coming back with the boat, sailing all night and trying to avoid the lightening, and thinking the next day, 'wow, that wasn't so bad." But my brain is telling me that I don't want to go anywhere when the weather is not completely calm and perfect. Did those things happen to someone else? Did I just read about them? Why did they not give me more confidence to do thing I know I can do?  Crap, am I getting old???

We did make a vow when we bought the boat that we would never deliberately set out in bad weather...Lake Ontario didn't count...we had no choice. And this is Florida, after all. It can't be crappy weather ALL the time!

So, Rick is putzing around with the equipment. He can't sit still right now but he will want to go to sleep at 6:30. I am watching the cat at anchor behind us because I am afraid that we might be dragging anchor but I am not the anchor setter... I hate anchoring in front of boats. I would rather be behind all of them. And the wind down here is still strong. I remember the night in Georgetown in the storm, when we got far too close to Jasmine City for my comfort zone!! And Stephan's, I'm sure!!

all kinds of tour boats

sleeping egrets out of gator reach

Stork-in-a-tree

Quentin learning to drive

There is another cat here called Adrenaline II [Canadian] Must be from Quebec. I think we might have met it once before but it's hard to tell because some names are so common.

This must be boring so I will quit now.  Hope everyone is well and happy. ttyl