Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Update
Well hello from Nassau! We were heading for the Berry Islands when Rich got a craving for some Chinese food....not really-the winds were bitch-slapping our aft so much that we decided to alter course for a more comfortable sail. Actually though we were just talking a day ago that we missed chinese food so we are sitting at the Double Dragon across the harbor from Paradise Island (sometimes a big city can be a good thing). We have been enjoying all the snapper and lobster and Rich just got a huge mahi yesterday. It was the most beautiful fish I ever saw! We will load the pictures. We are thinking of going to Atlantis tomorrow.....Chow for now! Pam
Friday, May 28, 2010
End of the Abacos
We are leaving for Eleuthra in the morning. This will be the end of our Abaco journey and the beginning of our trip home.
We spent a day in Man o War Cay. The day we ended up there happened to be a religious holiday so everything was closed. It was Whit Monday. This island is very religious. It is a boat building island and is renowned for its craftsmanship.
After Man o War we went to Marsh Harbor to reprovision but the religious festivities were still in full swing so everything was still closed. Marsh Harbor was supposed to be the one place we could find things but with Whit Monday everything was closed here too. We did walk around some and find a nice place overlooking the harbor to have a drink. It seemed to be the only place open in town. It was the establishment that oversaw Moorings and Sunsail, yacht charters.
The next morning we left early for Hope Town. We had to arrive there at high tide to make it in the harbor. We made it in with 6 inches to spare under the keel and grabbed a mooring ball for the day and night. There is a lighthouse there that is one of only three in the world that is still manned and hand cranked. There was nobody there so we had the place to ourselves. We climbed to the top and took of lots of pictures. You can see for 13 miles from the top. Pam said she wanted to get a job there doing light house work.
The next morning we left with the tide on the way south and found an anchorage close to Sandy Cay in the lee of Abaco. It was close to a place we wanted to snorkel. We tried to take the dinghy to the snorkel spot but the winds were not helping and were making it a wet rough ride so we gave it up and snorkled near the boat at a small reef we found in the middle of nowhere. The next day we did make it to Sandy Cay and snorkeled. The elk horn corral was amazing. We saw sea turtles and lots of things.
The next morning we found ourselves in the Bight of Old Robinson. There was noplace to find a protected anchorage so we just dropped the hook for the afternoon and went exploring by dinghy. We found a small creek full of sea turtles. There were hundreds of them. The next day we found a blue hole here that seemed to have no bottom. We also managed to find a nice snorkel spot with a lot of lobsters. Mmm.
Tomorrow we will journey to Eleuthera. It is only 50 miles from here. We will anchor at Royal Island for a day or 2 then head for the Berry Islands and then Florida. We will probably be out of touch for a few days.
We spent a day in Man o War Cay. The day we ended up there happened to be a religious holiday so everything was closed. It was Whit Monday. This island is very religious. It is a boat building island and is renowned for its craftsmanship.
After Man o War we went to Marsh Harbor to reprovision but the religious festivities were still in full swing so everything was still closed. Marsh Harbor was supposed to be the one place we could find things but with Whit Monday everything was closed here too. We did walk around some and find a nice place overlooking the harbor to have a drink. It seemed to be the only place open in town. It was the establishment that oversaw Moorings and Sunsail, yacht charters.
The next morning we left early for Hope Town. We had to arrive there at high tide to make it in the harbor. We made it in with 6 inches to spare under the keel and grabbed a mooring ball for the day and night. There is a lighthouse there that is one of only three in the world that is still manned and hand cranked. There was nobody there so we had the place to ourselves. We climbed to the top and took of lots of pictures. You can see for 13 miles from the top. Pam said she wanted to get a job there doing light house work.
The next morning we left with the tide on the way south and found an anchorage close to Sandy Cay in the lee of Abaco. It was close to a place we wanted to snorkel. We tried to take the dinghy to the snorkel spot but the winds were not helping and were making it a wet rough ride so we gave it up and snorkled near the boat at a small reef we found in the middle of nowhere. The next day we did make it to Sandy Cay and snorkeled. The elk horn corral was amazing. We saw sea turtles and lots of things.
The next morning we found ourselves in the Bight of Old Robinson. There was noplace to find a protected anchorage so we just dropped the hook for the afternoon and went exploring by dinghy. We found a small creek full of sea turtles. There were hundreds of them. The next day we found a blue hole here that seemed to have no bottom. We also managed to find a nice snorkel spot with a lot of lobsters. Mmm.
Tomorrow we will journey to Eleuthera. It is only 50 miles from here. We will anchor at Royal Island for a day or 2 then head for the Berry Islands and then Florida. We will probably be out of touch for a few days.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Update
Just a quick update to let ya’ll know that we are doing fine. We stayed in Green Turtle Cay for a couple days. The town of Phillipsburg is on Green Turtle and is an old Loyalist settlement. The loyalists were the early folks still loyal to England during our war for independence. Many left and settled in the Bahamas. Phillipsburg is a quaint little town with pastel colored houses reminiscent of Key West.
After a couple days there we went to Treasure Cay for a night mainly to have access to a grocery store. We bought a few provisions including goat peppers and enjoyed a nice protected anchorage.
The next morning, this morning, we sailed for Great Guana Cay where we are anchored tonight. I broke out the goat peppers and man they are hot. I will bring ya some Allen and Jeannie! They are some mean hot little peppers.
Tomorrow we plan to attend a pig roast at Nippers beach bar and hopefully find another good snorkel spot. Hope all is well back home!
After a couple days there we went to Treasure Cay for a night mainly to have access to a grocery store. We bought a few provisions including goat peppers and enjoyed a nice protected anchorage.
The next morning, this morning, we sailed for Great Guana Cay where we are anchored tonight. I broke out the goat peppers and man they are hot. I will bring ya some Allen and Jeannie! They are some mean hot little peppers.
Tomorrow we plan to attend a pig roast at Nippers beach bar and hopefully find another good snorkel spot. Hope all is well back home!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Abacos
Ok, here is the latest: We left West End, Grand Bahama and sailed North to Memory Rock and entered the Little Bahama Bank. It was an area where we went from 1200 feet of water to 6.5 feet of water in about a quarter mile! Once we were on the bank we had to motor since we were nose into the wind as usual. We had a 45 mile motor to Great Sale Cay where we anchored for the night. Great Sale is an uninhabited island and a great anchorage for a pit stop on the way to the Abacos.
The next morning we raised anchor and set sail (motor) to Fox Town on Little Abaco island. Fox Town is more like a village but we managed to find a hole in the wall bar to have a couple Kaliks, the beer of the Bahamas, and meet some interesting characters. David, from the UK, is a retired British Airlines pilot who bought four small islands North of Fox Town and is building a small resort. He is living in Fox Town while the construction is going on.
The anchorage North of Fox Town was in the lee of Hawksbill Cay. It was a very interesting collection of small rock islets amongst larger limestone islands surrounded by shallow sand bars.
The next morning, this morning, we set sail for Allan's Pensacola Cay. This is not to be confused with our friend Allen or Pensacola, FL. Allan's Pensacola Cay used to be two islands but a recent Hurricane combined them and now they are one. On the North shore there is a tree where all the cruisers who come through there hang a piece of flotsom or whatever they can find on their boat and apply their namesake for future cruisers to see. Pictures to follow. We managed to find a sharpie and leave a bit of Lulabelle graffiti.
Tonight we are staying in Spanish Cay at a marina and have the use of wifi for a change. Tomorrow we will visit Powell Cay before going to Manjack Cay. We may be awhile between places where we can have wifi but we are happy to not have any crossings in the near future and we will just be island hopping for awhile. It is only a few miles between islands here in the Abacos so we are in a more relaxed vibe.
Sorry I missed your call Dad, I will see if I can skype call you tonight.
Rich & Pam
The next morning we raised anchor and set sail (motor) to Fox Town on Little Abaco island. Fox Town is more like a village but we managed to find a hole in the wall bar to have a couple Kaliks, the beer of the Bahamas, and meet some interesting characters. David, from the UK, is a retired British Airlines pilot who bought four small islands North of Fox Town and is building a small resort. He is living in Fox Town while the construction is going on.
The anchorage North of Fox Town was in the lee of Hawksbill Cay. It was a very interesting collection of small rock islets amongst larger limestone islands surrounded by shallow sand bars.
The next morning, this morning, we set sail for Allan's Pensacola Cay. This is not to be confused with our friend Allen or Pensacola, FL. Allan's Pensacola Cay used to be two islands but a recent Hurricane combined them and now they are one. On the North shore there is a tree where all the cruisers who come through there hang a piece of flotsom or whatever they can find on their boat and apply their namesake for future cruisers to see. Pictures to follow. We managed to find a sharpie and leave a bit of Lulabelle graffiti.
Tonight we are staying in Spanish Cay at a marina and have the use of wifi for a change. Tomorrow we will visit Powell Cay before going to Manjack Cay. We may be awhile between places where we can have wifi but we are happy to not have any crossings in the near future and we will just be island hopping for awhile. It is only a few miles between islands here in the Abacos so we are in a more relaxed vibe.
Sorry I missed your call Dad, I will see if I can skype call you tonight.
Rich & Pam
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Grand Bahama
We are anchored at West End, Grand Bahama. We had an exiting sail! We were able to sail the whole way and made really good time with the wind just ahead of the beam.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Update
We have changed our minds again due to weather conditions. Instead of heading East to the Exumas we are heading North to the Abacos. The wind has really been kicking out of the East and we are tired of motoring into it. We plan to leave early tomorrow morning and be in West End, Grand Bahama before dark tomorrow. Heading North with the wind on our beam and the Gulf Stream pushing us we should make really good time and will be able to sail instead of motor!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Critters!
The amount of marine growth on the bottom of the boat from spending a month and a half in the waters of Marathon Harbor was amazing. We had a small reef on the bottom of our boat which became evident shortly after our departure from Marathon on our way to Bimini. We were only making about 5.3 knots when we should have been going 7 or so. About 7 miles south of Marathon I dove over the side and found the multitude of barnacles clinging to our hull. I held my breath and cleaned the prop as much as I could but made little headway. It seems like I used to be able to hold my breath longer. I climbed back on board and got underway again but with just a little more speed. I reluctantly decided I should exume the hookah gear from the catacombs of our bilge and do a better cleaning. While we motored along at reduced speed I assembled the dive gear, started the compressor and stopped the boat for an extended cleaning. It was a little unnerving cleaning the propeller in 300 feet of crystal blue water with hands, back and feet bleeding from barnacle scrapes but I got the prop cleaned and we got back underway. A clean prop and a barnacle encrusted hull still only gave us 5.5 knots but that would have to do.
After arriving in Bimini we took a slip at Bluewater Marina. The water is so clear in our slip that you can see fish, starfish, sea anemonies, etc right under the boat. We spent the afternoon cleaning the rest of the hull with scrapers and got it mostly done. One more swim should have it finished.
After arriving in Bimini we took a slip at Bluewater Marina. The water is so clear in our slip that you can see fish, starfish, sea anemonies, etc right under the boat. We spent the afternoon cleaning the rest of the hull with scrapers and got it mostly done. One more swim should have it finished.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
bally who?
Bought some ballyhoo for bait in the morning. The gulf stream is world renowned for fishing. With a ballyhoo at first light I may catch a mahi mahi, tuna or a wahoo.
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