April 25-27 Sailing and fishing!!

April 25-27

Okay ...my bad...no blog for 3 days...but what a three days! I have no idea what we did on Monday! I'll have to go back and think about that.

Tuesday Ross [Nauticuss] came by and yelled, "Who wants to go fishing?"  Quentin was up and ready to go before Ross got stopped, so he went by himself with Nauticuss and the crew from Amazing Grace.  I had to finish a sign and Rick didn't want to go fishing.

Four hours later they were back. Quentin had a 5.5 lb mahi-mahi and Jim caught one too. Ross lost his, but those two mahi-mahi fed 11 people last night!!

The best part was that Ross made Quentin fillet the fish as well. Ross showed him how to clean it without having to gut it first, and he made Quentin do both of the fish!

Quentin's rod fell apart [sorry, Jack, it just couldn't handle the fight] so Ross gave him a new fishing rod that he can use while we travel home. So Quentin can keep us in fish while we sail.

This morning, Quentin went over to the town side so he could try to get into one of the sailing dinghies, but ended up on the crash boat. The local sailing club didn't have room for him on the Class B boat, but they gave him at-shirt anyway, and told him to find another boat to crew on. He went looking for another boat, and ended up on "Lady Natalie", a boat from the Acklins Islands.

AND THEY TOOK 3RD PLACE IN THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S CUP!!! 

So he will actually get a trophy or something for being on that boat!!! They told him to show up again tomorrow and he can race with them again!!

He's pretty happy about that. So, Granddad if you are looking for racing crew this summer...

Lady Natalie from Acklins Island

 

The crews!

Figuring out which hand to use

Cleaning the mahi-mahi

Using the left-hand

April 16-24

April 16-24

The last week of school was anti-climactic.  There was no interest in the students to enter the Art displays. I hope that some of them will ask in the office about it, and enter some of their work. There are some talented students there. Some of them were actually disappointed to know that I would not be there...probably because they would lose this "free" period.

Quentin didn't end up going to the birthday party. The kids didn't come to school Friday and no-one contacted him or picked him up...but Salt Shaker is here and he had a great time with Daniel and Pace. Also Bahama Mama is back so all the kids hung out together. Saturday morning Rick took him over to the Regatta site and he managed to get into one of the small sail boats and sailed all morning and most of the afternoon with the Sailing Club. I think he will be going out today as well.

We are getting lists ready to start so we can be sure we are ready to head up to the top of the Bahamas and cross over when its time. When I think of all the things we did here last year in only 6 weeks, then this winter seems much longer. The first time we came down, we were exploring; this year we had a definite destination. We also participated in a lot more activities this year.

So, now we are flipping into "going-home" mode. And it's hard to keep up the blog when I'm not sure how many people are still reading it, so if you don't hear from me, it's because nothing exciting is happening. ttyl

One Bahamas

Crew: the other two were students of mine

Only looks like a stormy day...very little rain

Another weekend

Friday was the day Quentin went on his field trip. They had someone come in to the school totalk about this "brand new park" that they were going to on Mariah Bay, but he said they ended up at Sand Dollar Beach, with all the students thinking they were very far away from "home". He said that he knew where they were because of the boats parked right in front of them on the beach of this "brand new park". They ended up eating their lunches at Chat n' Chill and the boater kids he knew were talking to him. So basically we paid $10.00 so he could get a ride to the beach he goes to every day!!

Last night the grown-up Singing Frog came over and we played dominoes until 11 p.m.

Today, Jeanne and I are meeting the Sailing Club to present their "cheque". We were going to the Exuma Foundation Book Fair, but Singing Frog is here for the morning and Quentin may have an opportunity to go sailing with the sailing club, so he wants to wait and see. Overdraft came by yesterday to see if he would be here today, in case they need more "rail meat".

It was a very red sky this morning but we are supposed to have good weather for the next few days. Singing Frog is heading to St. Martin to haul their boat before going home and some other boats are also heading south to get out of the "box"...the hurricane zone. *sigh* Maybe we'll do that next year.

FYI- next Friday is Earth Day. Here in the Bahamas we are planting trees. You should do something to save the planet at home. Yesterday we bought 3 cheap plastic glasses. We will take them in our packs, so when we order a drink or a pop, we don't need to use disposable glasses. We can keep ours and re-use them. A small grocery bag will keep them from getting anything in the pack sticky or wet.

Good morning!

Getting the dock ready for the regatta

Regatta Point Morning

More boring [but warm] days in paradise

April 10-12

The last few days have been very uneventful. We have been battling strong currents and winds and looking for a calmer anchorage.  Monday afternoon we went to Georgetown for groceries. Sometimes they unload the trucks but don't really get around to stocking the shelves. We went to the meat market in the truck and picked up some chicken legs and breasts. I can't seem to fill Quentin up.  Liz, I hope you are prepared for this when he gets back!

We stayed in Kidd Bay after we got the groceries. It was too late to move by the time we finsihed dinner, although we probably should have moved down to February Point.  I hardly slept for the rolling and for some reason our dinghy tried to stick to the boat all night, so it was squeaking as the rubber sides pounded the boat. I was awake from 3:30 until 5:50 am ...fell asleep just in time to wake up!

We went to school Tuesday and had a good morning. I have added a grade 3 class to the schedule for a couple of weeks but the Grade 3 teacher is an enthusiastic all-round person and will continue with the classes when I am gone.

Today we will power through some more of the school work so he can go and hang out with his new friends. Today we will cruise down the harbour to attempt the spinnaker again.

Tomorrow we have classes again, and Friday I am off because the school is going on a field trip. Quentin will see if he can go with them. It's for Grades 7-11. If not, he gets a free day as well.

Starting Monday I will be running the Cruiser's net for 2 weeks. Someone on another boat today actually read my article in the Waterway Guide and mentioned it on the radio!!

Quentin has been invited to a birthday party next Friday by one of the students in my class. I guess he does math with them.

There are hardly any boats left here now. People are moving south to the lower Caribbean to get away from the weather, or they are heading north for the summer. We will be following those guys at the end of April. It has been an unusual winter here...not at all what we expected. Too short a time with C-Soul and didn't meet up with Modaki. Haven't spent a lot of time with anyone, but made some new friends through the "kid boats" and made contact with some we haven't seen for years.  I feel a bit melancholy. We didn't get to do some of the things we were hoping to do, but it never goes as planned! The boat needs some more repairs ...minor things like new tie-downs for the screens; changing some of the lines; fixing the drive ...again!! And the paint is looking a bit tired. We will do some of that when we come back down in the fall to Florida, getting ready to head out again.

We are looking forward to going up the islands this time and stopping in the places we missed coming down. We are also looking forward to coming home to visit. ttyl

Cat sitting on the post to keep the seagulls off!

Rough ocean yesterday

View of the hurricane hole from the top of the rise to the ocean

Hair washing

Reading 

New style of dinghy

And another one..they missed the masts, but only just!

April ...? Friday and Saturday

Friday, April 8

The day was a bit frustrating because the kids weren't focussed...maybe I do want to work with the younger ones!  I met another person today who will volunteer to do art next year.  She is a graphic designer who moved down from Nassau and her kids go to the public school!  YAAAAY!  Also, this morning I also met an author who had her grandkids illustrate a poem she wrote and had it published on Amazon.com.  The book is called "EWWWW!  BUGS!! And it is fantastic!!!  I talked to her about doing the same thing in the school but having the kids write a story and edit then publish.  Gordon took her into the school to read it to the kids.

Saturday morning Connor on HI5 left.  Quentin went over to Singing Frog and cleaned their bottom, then they left for Lee Stocking Island for a few days with HI5.  They will be back this week and then they leave for the southern Caribbean, so Quentin will be without friends except at school, until we leave at the end of the month.  It has come so fast!

I went to a Yoga class this morning and found out that I am still pretty flexible, but I need to improve my arm strength.

Rick cleaned out the sail locker and we looked at the Spinnaker but it needs a whole new panel sewn in, so we will have to use the bigger one in light winds...not that there will be any light winds!!

We went snorkelling at the coral heads at Sand Dollar Beach for a couple of hours, and rescued sand dollars and starfish from the low tide.

We are going to power through some of Quentin's schoolwork while Singing Frog is away.  We just heard that there are some new kids Quentin's age that just arrived.

French Grunts hiding in schools under the coral

Puffer fish...very shy, but cute

sea biscuit holding Quentin's hand

Blue-striped grunt

Searching for sand dollars

sand dollar trying to get back to water

The day of the Snake - April ...something!

April 6 morning

Barbra...don't read this!

This morning, Amazing Grace put out a call on the radio for some information on local snakes. Rick called to find out what was going on, and Jim advised that he had a 3-foot snake wrapped around his coffee pot.  Rick and Quentin went over to rescue it...and Jim and Cheryl.  It definitely was three feet and big, but it was not poisonous.  There are no poisonous snakes in the Bahamas, unless someone brings them here.  This one was a Bahamian boa constrictor that likes boats, warm windows and coffee pots.  It's an endangered species so Rick and Quentin took it to a remote part of the island where no one would find it and kill it.

The rest of the day was relatively boring.  I did laundry, and cleaned up the cockpit.  Nothing I tried got the coconut milk stain off the paint so I guess I will repaint the cockpit when we get back to the boat yard.  Quentin made a feeble attempt at some school reading then took off to Singing Frog for some coding lessons.  Skye [the dad] is an IT tech support consultant and is teaching his kids and Quentin and Connor [HI5 is back!] as well how to program...so much for fun in the sun!  Quentin hasn't played volleyball for a for awhile or gone snorkelling.  The kids seem to only swim at the taxi dock and use it as a diving platform, instead of exploring.

Rick and I went over to the outside ocean beach to collect more shells ...for the school kids.  I am attempting to provide them with the material to create art that they can display at the art show during Family Island Regatta.

Thursday, April 7:  Today we are back to school.  Quentin has skipped out on his studies once again because HI5 is leaving tomorrow for the north, so he is spending the morning with Connor. He has to go to school this afternoon, because he said he would!

First four days of April

Four Days of April

April 1, Friday

Happy Birthday, Joe!

We went over to grocery store and picked up more fruit and vegetables. Quentin managed to download all the media information he needs for his next section of English.

Somebody announced on the radio that the Canadian Dollar had just balanced off at par with the US dollar, and every Canadian in the harbour was cheering...until we all realized what day it was. I think it was some mean American.

April  2

Saturday, we called Amazing Grace to see if they needed anything in town since we were going again. They didn't but wanted to know if we wanted to go fishing with them. Quentin was up and ready to go before they got their engine started. Of course, he is like Liz and Rick, there's always one more thing to do before you can leave.

The problem with shopping here is the foods come in on different trucks so you can't actually buy everything you need at one time. The business managers at the grocery store have obviously figured out the psychology of impulse buying. If you need bananas, you won't necessarily buy just bananas, so if they make you shop on more than one day, you will buy more than you need or want every time you go in.

We also called Pearl, who we hadn't seen for awhile, so we met them in town and talked for awhile.

We got back and Quentin was on the beach. Jim from Andante caught a tuna so they divided the fish up amongst the "fishermen" on the boat, and we have a piece to cook!

April 3

Today Quentin went over to Andante and cleaned their waterline. Tom called because Jim had been giving him a hard time about his "Dirty" boat, so he asked Quentin to do it.

We tried the spinnakers today. What a disaster!  We ripped the small one. We caught it on the shackle, so we have to lay it out and put some rip-stop tape on it then get it sewn. Ross says he can fix it!  We tried the big one but for some reason the foil side was completely twisted...[non-sailors --there is a side of this sail that had a hard rod running down it that slides into the strip of aluminium that holds the jib, making it a geniker, not a spinnaker...this is making the explanation worse, isn't it!]

So we sat on the boat and unstitched that foil strip, and now it works like a spinnaker. Stephane told us to wait for him today and he will show us the RIGHT way to set it up!

We all went for dinner at St. Francis Place. Quentin had pizza! He said it was good, but it had pepperoni on it. He ate it anyway.

April 4

I feel like I am missing something today, so if it's anybody's birthday I have forgotten, Happy Birthday and Sorry!!!

We heard that there was another ugly snow storm in southern Ontario. I'm ready to come home but not to that !!! The water here just got much warmer and the dolphins are finally back!

tty

End of March

THURSDAY March 31

This is the end of the 4th month in the Bahamas...one more to go. It has been very different from last year. I have done much more than last year and much less.

Much more community stuff: Art in the schools had been fun and rewarding. Working with the kids was great, and while I can't remember their names, I do remember their faces and art skills!  Being able to talk to all the teachers on the island was also a great treat. I certainly admire their stamina and persistence.

We got to know more members of the community this year and had the opportunity to interact with them.  Spending more time with Cordell was great. We got to see more of the island and learn about its people. We learned how things work, from so many different perspectives.

We also had much more interaction with the boating community and met more boaters this year. This was partly due to Quentin, who interacted with all of the "kid" boats.

Getting involved with the Cruiser's regatta meant being involved with more boaters as well. And apparently OtherGoose is quite the stand up, or should I say, sailing comedian now. No matter how many times we try to play down our racing, people erupt into laughter remembering our "antics".

Seeing all the friends from last year was a treat too, like going back to the cottage and seeing all the neighbours.  You might not spend time with all of them but you know that they are there. This is very much a community, and it's sad to hear everyone saying goodbye and heading out for the summer.

What I am NOT doing is swimming and generally exercising enough. It has been too cold to swim or a long time. It has been too windy to snorkel on the reefs because the wave action beats you up! We've gone snorkelling a few times but not to places where we used to go. We can do that on our way home. When I am running back and forth between the schools I am walking a lot but it has been 2 weeks since I was at school.  I keep thinking that I have put back the weight I lost last year but my clothes still fit the same. I just don't feel as energized. Every morning there is water aerobics or yoga but I have to monitor Quentin's progress, so I can't go to the beach and leave him on his own.

Tuesday morning I spent a couple of hours with Jim and Cheryl. She felt much better and is still in pain and anxious about hurting her arm, but thinks she'll live now. We checked on Jasmine City; Rick opened some hatches to cool down the boat. Later, we closed them up and went to the other side for the afternoon, trying to get some groceries and download some weather information. We keep hearing rumours of a low system that will push through here bringing dangerous winds. It was a quiet night for all of us, because Singing Frog kids were very tired and so was Quentin. They had been watching movies again, very late.

Wednesday we opened up Jasmine City again to air it out. Unfortunately, I spent most of the day on the computer. ..well, not really. I got a lot of writing done. 

Jim [Amazing Grace] brought us a huge bag of Mahi-mahi because his refrigeration quit and it thawed out. So we cooked it all on the BBQ [which works with the small propane bottles!!] We gave some to Stephane and Angelica when they got back so they wouldn't have to cook much. We ate the rest. It was delicious even without spices, because I never know what to put on fish, and I like it naked when it tastes good.

So today, Thursday, I will do some small laundry jobs. Or maybe just go to the Laundromat.  When Quentin gets his essay cleaned up, we will go to the other side to top up our data and he can download all the information he needs to complete the next section of English.

We have a few more thins we want to get done before we leave at the end of April. We still have to check out the spinnaker...if we EVER get low winds! We need to check the boat over for any small items that need to be fixed or altered before we head out.   But today we are going over to town so Quentin can get the next section of English done. He is supposed to listen to the radio, watch TV and read a newspaper for three days and track the same story in all three media. What part of TRAVELLING did ILC not understand???? So he will look up three different streaming media on the internet and try it that way.

So ttyl