Home at Last

July 24, 2009

July 18-19, 2009 ( Sat. and Sunday)

     We left Fernandina Beach about 11:30 after fixing the pin which holds the gooseneck of the boom to the mast.  It had worked its way out of the fitting. Luckily we did manage to get it back through and a new cotter ring to hold it in place.  We refueled in Fernandina and were on our way to Port Royal Sound and Beaufort, SC.  It was a stormy passage with high winds and little wind. The rain seemed to be going in the same direction we were.  It didn't stop until after sunset.  We were glad for the low winds which helped make sure we did not arrive at Port Royal Sound in the dark.  However the boat rocked back and forth all through the night making it impossible for me to sleep when off watch.  Charlie did manage to get more sleep than I did. We arrived at Port Royal Landing Marina about 10:30 Sunday morning.  We took showers and were met by friend Marianne Mikell who took us to Cat Island's British Open Pub for lunch.  While Charlie rested at her home, she and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie.  After a pizza dinner I fell asleep and slept for almost 12 hours.

July 20, 2009   (Monday)   

     While Charlie did some errands such a going to West Marine and the liquor store, I did laundry at the marina.  Marianne met us after working.  She and I went to Walgreens and Publix.   We enjoyed dinner at Plums on the beautiful Beaufort waterfront. Since we wanted to get an early start for Charleston the next day, it was an early night.     

July 21, 2009 (Tuesday)

     We were up at 5:30 a.m. and underway by 6:15 so we would get to the Lady Island Bridge at Beaufort before 7 a.m. It closes between 7-9a.m.  we were through the bridge before 6:45 and on up the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) .  We went down the St. Helena River and out into the ocean heading to Charleston.  The winds were light most of the way until we got closer to 

Charleston, but were almost on our nose so we were motor sailing.  We arrived at Charleston Harbor Marina mid-tide which made getting into our slip the hardest job of the whole 4 month trip.  We were successfully docked, tied up, and plugged in by 5:p.m.  We called Mike Messinger to see if we could get a ride home.  After cleaning up we first went to the Charleston Yacht Club's monthly member dinner.  It was  great to see our friends and we had to eat out somewhere as we had no food at home.  Mike ran us home after dinner where we found our home intact waiting for us.  It was nice to sleep in our own bed.  

July 22-23, 2009

     We spent the next two days unloading the boat of clothing and food.  We also started the mail and went to the grocery store. So we are now back home in Charleston getting our land legs back and plugging back in to land-based activities.  It was a great and memorable trip.   

Back in USA

July 17, 2009 (Friday)

     

July 14, 2009 (Tuesday)

     We left the dock at Conch Inn Marina at Marsh Harbor, Abacos at 10a.m. after refueling.  We left the Sea of Abaco via North Man-of-War Cut and we were on our way back to the USA.  The winds were very light, under 10 knots most of the way.  They even dropped to under five knots for much of the time causing us to use the engine much of the way.  We did our usual 3 hour watches.  Chas had trouble sleeping when he was off watch.  I caught him taking cat naps while on watch during the day, but I was also in the cockpit, so it was OK.  Once we were in the Gulf Stream we got a boost of 3.8-3.9 knots speed.  We originally planned to go into US at St. Augustine, but the Gulf Stream helped to push further and we landed (intentionally) at Fernandina Beach at 5p.m. (1700) on Thursday July 16, 2009.  We called the US Customs number to check in using the US Customs Return Decal and discovered that it meant nothing. The agent in Jacksonville even asked Charlie what it was!   They sent a customs officer out to the boat and he checked us in.  This enabled us to leave the boat and go ashore for dinner.  Due to the Customs, we have no uncooked meats or fruits and vegetables on the boat.  We learned about this the last time we checked in with Customs (2007).  They confiscated all fruits, vegetables and meats we had provisioned with before leaving the Bahamas.

     Somehow today we will need to get some provisions and maybe a stop at a Walgreens to refill prescriptions, which will probably require us to get a cab to and from.  In the meantime we are enjoying  charming Old Fernandina Beach while we are here.  After dinner at the small French restaurant last night we stopped in at the Palace Bar which has been here since 1903!  It was Ladies' Night with a two person band.  The ladies were there and the men followed them. We were the oldest persons in the place, but we had a good time.    

     We will stay here today to rest up from our non-stop trip from The Abacos.  Then we will proceed north.  I'm not sure what our next stop will be.  I hope it will be Beaufort and then Charleston.  If so, we could be home on Sunday.         

Heading for Home

July 13, 2009 (M0nday)

July 11, 2009 (Saturday)

     The Regatta race was from Hopetown to Marsh Harbor.  The day was nice and sunny with winds 8-12 knots.  Mike Messinger dropped off our dinghy at the tow line and swam back to the boat.  We had a good start on the race and using our staysail had a good first leg, we even poassed some boats.  We had a good sail along the whole course and crossed the finish line before boats that were usually in front of us, but unfortunately due to the handicapping changes, we did not win a prize when our time was corrected.  We still felt good about our sail.  Buena Vida crossed the starting line with it's beautiful blue spinnaker with the white palmetto on it flying.  I think they had their spinnaker up the whole race.  It was a beautiful site.  They were also disappointed to only win a third place today.   It still was a lot of fun and very exciting for us. After the race we took a slip at the Conch Inn Marina and turned on the AC and refrigerator. We ended the night at The Jib Room with a nice steak dinner.  

July 12, 2009 (Sunday)

     Everyone on our boat slept in.  After a leisurely brunch, we went over to Mermaid Reef to snorkel for a while.  We stopped at the Jib Room Bar for a frozen drink to cool us off.  After cleaning up we had a lovely dinner at The Angler Restaurant at the Boat House Marina.  

July 13, 2009 (Monday)

     Our guests packed up, did a bit of shopping and left for the airport.  We took the boat over to have the holding tank pumped out.  We were charged $1.00 per gallon!  The guy has a monopoly here as there is no other provider and most boaters just dump overboard. However Hopetown asks that we use holding tanks though they also have no pumpout service.   I did laundry and some grocery shopping.  We pulled dinghy engine back on  the big boat and deflated the dinghy, bagging it and leaving it on the deck.  Charlie filled our water tanks and plotted our course.  We are preparing to take off tomorrow morning about mid-tide for home. We plan to head for St. Augustine which should take us about 48-50 hours.  We plan to rest a day and then head northward to Brunswick, Beaufort and Charleston.  

 

Abaco Regatta Time

July 10, 2009   Happy Bahamian Independence Day,  their 36th year as independent.

July 6th, 2009  (Monday)

    The race today is from Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay.  We had to attach our dinghy to a tow line so it could be towed to Great Guana Cay.  That was not an easy task! We were given 21 more handicap points after the last race.  Storms clouds were s

cattered all around and we had pretty good winds.  WE are now more proficient on the boat and have refined some skills.  It was about a 13 nmile race.  as we went around the last mark before the finish line, a terrible storm hit the regatta with 35 knot winds and heavy rain. the storm was making waves in the Sea of Abaco.  After finishing the race we tried to anchor in Fisher's Bay but the anchor kept dragging.  I was able to call Orchid Bay Marina and obtain a slip for the night.  We were glad for that as the winds stayed near 20 knots all night long and it would have been very rocky on Fisher's Bay and the anchor might have pulled out. We rented a golf cart which allowed us greater motility and less tired legs and feet! We visited Grabber's and enjoyed their pool mid-afternoon.  We met some multihull sailors who told us that "No Limits" barged a boat today in their own fleet.   The party was on the street by the "Old Fig Tree".  We had free rum drinks for an hour and the junior sailing programs was selling burgers. The prizes were awarded.  Two Charleston boats won prizes today. "Tohidu" won a first in the PHRF fleet and "Shenanigan" won first in the RTIA fleet.   We moved from 5th to a 4th place finish in our fleet even though we were about a minute late at the start due to congested traffic. "Buena Vida" had a steering quadrant break and were waiting for parts to be shipped so they could compete again.  Charlie was also able to talk to the Regatta committee Chair ab

out what "No Limits" did on the first race.  I told her about what the multi-hull sailor told me that they had done today.    We later went to Knippers and again to Grabbers.  Charlie and I went back to the boat but Sylvia and Mike partied some more at Knippers.  

July 7, 2009  (Tuesday)

     We sailed back to Marsh Harbor and anchored. We got a few groceries and some more liquor supplies.  It was hot and humid again!  The party tonight is at Snappas restaurant, as short dinghy ride from the boat.  The music was so loud that we left to get dinner at Mangoes Restaurant next door.  Since the second band at Snappas was even louder, we just went back to the boat. 

 

July 8, 2009 (Wednesday)

      We anchored the dinghy in Marsh Harbor and proceeded outside of the harbor for today's race.   The winds looked favorable and no storms were apparent yet.  We got another slightly late start but did well on to windward using our staysail + main and jib. Charlie was keeping the boat "in the groove" for it's highest performance.  We learned a little about strategy as well this race  (not sure we would remember it without having Sylvia coaching us).  One of our competitors was 8 minutes ahead of us at the last mark but we made up 2 of those minutes on the last leg.  This race was 10.3 miles.  I made big salads with left over cracked conch, grouper fingers and chicken fingers for a late lunch.  The party tonight is as Mangoes, another short dinghy ride.  After one hour of free drinks, the prizes were handed out.  We won a third place so we now have a plaque with one of Pete Johnson's bronzes on it. We were thrilled! 

I was off talking to someone when it was announced and did not even know about our winning until later. Buena Vida, now repaired, also won a 3rd place in PHRF class.  Tohidu had to cut away their spinnaker during the race so they had trouble competing.  They have also lost their transmission.   We ate dinner at Curly Tails Bar and a storm which had been lingering finally broke while we were waiting for our order.  We had not closed the boat when we left so it was a bit damp in places though not as bad as I had feared.  We were up at 2:30 a.m. dealing with a dragging anchor, pulling it up and resetting it.  We had had problems with the windlass when setting it that afternoon.    

July 9, 2009 (Thursday)

     Sylvia was coughing and becoming congested so we decided to skip today's race.  The winds were supposed to be very light, the race long and it would have been even more stress on her and all of us.  The winds ended up a bit higher than predicted but we sailed and motored to Hopetown , got into the harbor safely and on a mooring ball. Sylvia slept the whole trip and several more hours.  Another storm was threatening most of the afternoon and we feared that the racers were right in the middle of it.  I went to Lighthouse Marina and did laundry. Tonight's party is at the Hopetown Lodge which overlooks the Atlantic.  It is a beautiful place with a pool and huge deck with an ocean view. Free drinks again for an hour, awards were made and everyone kept partying.  We finally met the Capt. of "Already Gone" the Island Packet almost T'd that first day.  He went to the organizers after the awards and complained about what  "No Limits" had done the first day.  They told him that they had disciplined "No Limits" and talked to them about their behavior.  That was gratifying to all of us.  He is out of West Palm  Beach.  He got a second place prize on the race that we had gotten a third. We went to eat dinner at Capt. Jack's restaurant.  

July 10, 2009

     We decided to stay here in Hopetown to explore.  The party tonight is at Cracker P's which is about 5 miles south of here.  We would have had to leave here and anchor out in Lubber's Quarters overnight.  Sylvia had not had much opportunity to explore Hopetown.  This would also  allow everyone to sleep late today and take it easy. I will have time to update the blog. We had a leisurely lunch at Harbor View Restaurant.  Tomorrow will be the last race of the Regatta and will take us from Hopetown back to Marsh Harbor.        

            

     

Great Guana Cay, Marsh Harbor, Regatta Time

    Nipper's Pig Roast on Great Guana Cay

Sunday, July 5, 2009

 

June 28, 2009 (Sunday)  found us going to Great Guana Cay to go to Knipper's  Sunday Pig Roast. It took us about 3 hours to get there.  We tried to anchor in  Fisher's Bay but ended up picking up a mooring ball.  The wind and waves were rough on the Sea of Abaco side.  We dinghied ashore and walked to Knipper's where it was sunny and hot.  It was very cr

owded and several had their boats along the shore.  We enjoyed ourselves and saw friends, Bob and Chris, from 2007 from the boat "Leap of Faith". She makes jewelry out of sea glass. Knipper's is a place where everyone acts young no matter how many years olds they are. The beach was crowded but we walked along it and into the water.  

June 29, 2009 (Monday)

     Back to Marsh Harbor.  I needed to see a doctor about an infection.  It was raining much of the day, but late afternoon I found a clinic and went.  Then off to the pharmacy for medication. We went to Curly Tails bar for a drink and to try to use their internet but the storms had knocked out their wifi.  We ate ashore and then back to the boat.  

June 30, 2009 (Tuesday)

     We had to get ready for our guests who will be crewing with us in the Regatta, but it stormed all day long, so we got little to nothing done.

July 1, 2009 (Wednesday)

     We did groceries and a trip to the liquor store.  I did laundry.  We moved the boat to a marina so it would be easier to get our guests on board that night.  Unfortunately, they had a plane delay which made them miss the connection so they could not fly into Marsh Harbor until the next morning from Nassau.  It seems that we have rain and thunderstorms daily.  

July 2, 2009 (Thursday)

     Our guests arrived after breakfast.  We got them on board the boat, unpacked their things and got them settled.  We filled the water tanks and took on fuel.  We left Marsh Harbor just after noon heading for Green Turtle Cay.  It took us about 6 hours.  We went through the Whale Cay Cut  and anchored outside of the Settlement at Green Turtle Cay.  many boats had already arrived for the Regatta and the Stranded Naked Party at Fiddle Cay on July 3.  We ate on the boat.

July 3, 2009 (Friday)

     The Stranded Naked Swimwear company has a party on Fiddle Cay which is the next cay north of Green Turtle Cay every year the day before the Abaco Regatta begins.  Everyone is invited and they all come!  It is a HUGE Beach Party with free cheeseburgers and beer and rum drinks from 11a.m. until about 3:30.  Families also attend.  I don't think I've ever seen more good-looking bikini-clad women in one place.  We saw a number of Charleston racers at the party.  Registration for the Regatta and the Skipper's Meeting was held at the party.  We took the boat up to Fiddle ( about 3 miles) and then took the dinghy in to the party. After returning to the big boat, we moved it back to Green Turtle Cay and reanchored.  We went into Green Turtle to walk around a bit and to the Sundowner's Bar.    

July 4, 2009 (Saturday)

      The Abaco Regatta begins.  We had to leave our dinghy anchored in the harbor while we raced. The races were to begin at 11 a.m.  All the boats had to go past the Committee boat before 11a.m. as a way to check in.  We successfully did this and practiced some tacking and jibing with our experienced crew members:  Sylvia Galloway and Mike Messinger.   We were waiting for the races to start when the skies opened up and hard cold rain poured down for about an hour delaying all the races.  All the boats just sailed or motored back and forth waiting for the rain to stop.  Meanwhile we all got soaked!  Finally the races began about 1230. We had spells of good wind and then almost no wind and finally a little wind again .  We were able to use our staysail to give us a boost and also put up the whisker pole.  Sylvia served as an excellent coach for us as to when to tack to get the best position and wind.  Mike was excellent on the whisker pole and great on tacking.  I don't have the strength to pull the jib on a tack without a lot of winching which loses much time critical in racing.  We almost had a terrible collision when a boat from a higher class barged in between us and an Island Packet just as we were rounding a mark.  If Charlie had not made an emergency jibe which caused us to pull a dorade off, the Island Packet would have been rammed by this other boat barging in.  We were so shocked and shook up we did not think to file a protest at the time.  Unfortunately this boat "No Limits" won first in its class.  We did well with Sylvia and Mike's help.  We came in 5th in our class.  A big party was held at Green Turtle Cay that night including free rum drinks.  Food venders were selling dinners.  There was a live band and they had a Junkanoo walk out ( somewhat like Mardis Gras march) with big drums and wild costumes, head dresses and masks and hats.

July 5, 2009 (Sunday)

     After a leisurely breakfast, we left Green Turtle Cay and sailed back through the Whale Cay Cut ( calm)  to Treasure Cay.  As were were approaching Treasure Cay, the skies again opened up with a violent rain storm, drenching us again.  After finally arriving into the Treasure Cay harbor and anchoring , we attended  another party this evening on beautiful Treasure Cay Beach.  Again this evening, we have had numerous rain showers.  Tomorrow we have our second race which will be from Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay.  

Marsh Harbor and Hopetown

Hopetown Lighthouse
June 27, 2009 (Sat.)

June 24-25, 2009

    We spent these days trying to provision, go to the bank, get groceries and liquor as well as find a replacement for our dinghy pump.We went to every hardware store and marine store in MarshHharbor that we could walk to. Chas bought two different pumps but the fitting would not fit the dinghy, so we will limp by with our old one which he can get to work after a fashion. I did go to the grocery.  The very fine store Maxwells evidently burned down last year so there is only Price Right now.   I also did 3 loads of laundry between showers.  The conch Inn usesd to have facilities but now send it out at $12/load.  I took a cab back to the Conch Inn so the clean clothes would not get wet in the dinghy. laundry cost about $15.  We ate at several restaurants: Mangoes, Curly Tails, and Snappers.  While eating lunch at Snappers, we saw a boat with Mt. Pleasant on its stern so Charlie went to check it out.  Turns out that the boat is from Charleston Harbor Marina where we keep our boat and is on our same "C' dock.  He and his family are here on vacation as well as planning to sail in the Regatta.It is such a small world sometimes. We were docked nest to several multiple-masted sailboats which were taking out groups of boy scouts and one of girl scouts for a week

We invited several skippers and mates over for cocktail hour the last night which was their layover day.  Two of the boats had been built by their skippers.  The scouts come from all over the US.  Another of these boats, a big cat,  was in Little Harbor while we were there.       

  

June 26, 2009 (Fri.)

     We left Marsh Harbor and sailed over to Hopetown on Elbow Cay.  The winds were light but it still took us less than two hours. We entered this lovely harbor and picked up a mooring ball as they do not allow anchoring in the harbor.  We met the Drums who have the cat "Reverie" that we had seen in Spanish Wells and Harbor IS. They were anchored outside of the harbor in water too shallow for us.  They came into the harbor and picked us up to go to Harbor View restaurant overlooking the harbor.  After lunch they went back to their boat and proceeded to Marsh Harbor.  Back on our boat, we kept waiting out threatening rain showers all afternoon.  We enjoyed watching them fire up the famous red and white striped lighthouse.  We ate grilled grouper, a gift from the Scout boat next to us at Conch Inn Marina.  

June 27, 2009

     We went ashore and explored Hopetown.  We had been here two years ago.  We walked along the beach stopping in Hopetown Lodge for refreshments before walking back to the center of town.  The houses on Hopetown are all colorfully painted and are usually named something clever. There are a couple of small grocery stores and a seafood mark

et.  We enjoyed walking along the streets before arriving at Iggy-Biggy, a store next to Capt. Jack's restaurant where we had lunch. I had stone crab claws and Charlie had conch. We also saw some boaters we met at Sampson Cay in the Exumas shopping today. We also ran into them at harbor IS and marsh Harbor at the grocery store.   Back to the boat to run the generator for the refrig/freezer.  We are enjoying the breeze on the boat as it  is very hot today.  No rain yet.  

    We plan to sail to Guana Cay tomorrow for Knippers Sunday Pig Roast.  We will probably anchor out in Fisher's Bay.  We will meet the Drums again there.  I don't know if we will stay another day there or not.  We have to be back in Marsh Harbor on Wed. to pick up our crew members for the Abaco Regatta   I'd like to visit Man-of-War Cay if there is time.  

Harbor Island, Eleuthera

June 20,2009

June 17, 2009:

   We met Little Woody, our pilot on the seast end of Spanish Wells at 0945.  He led us through the Devil's Backbone, a collection of reefs off the north side of Eleuthera IS.  It was a beautiful and peaceful journey since we let him worry about not hitting the reefs. He pointed numerous landmarks such as the caves the first Loyalists lived in after their boat crashed up on the reefs. The Loyalists were the first settlers of Eleuthera.  Woody left us in the northern part of water off Harbor Is as he had to pilot the delivery barge back to Spanish Wells.  He had met this boat at 6a.m. to pilot it into Harbor IS.    We anchored between Ramora Bay Marina and Valentine's marina.  A cat, "Reverie" which had been in the Spanish Wells Marina was also there. Rick and Cindy Drum are from Singer IS, FL.  We all went ashore where we rented a golf cart and went exploring the island.  We tried to eat lunch at Sip Sip but it was closed.  They recommended we go down a bit to Pink Sands Hotel's Blue Bar.  We got lost trying to find it but saw many nice houses and bungalows which Pink Sands rents.   The bar had a lovely view of the Pink Sands Beach.  We even saw a young man riding a horse in the surf!  After lunch we continued to explore the island.  Everyone seems to have a golf cart so they 

buzzing around everywhere. Some are somewhat personalized as some of my pictures show.   It was terribly hot so we went back to the boat to rest.  Little Woody had brought the stone crabs with him that morning so we invited the Drums for cocktails and stone crab.  Little Woody dropped by the boat about that time so we invited him aboard.  He had just guided another boat over to harbor IS and saw us anchored. He felt badly that he had not been able to visit with us during his piloting.  He had also given us a little homemade carrot cake and english muffins for which we thanked him.  He was born and grew up in Spanish Wells.  He has been a pilot for about 14 years, but has been a captain for much longer although he looks about late 40's.  He was a delight to have on board. We even talked politics a bit.

June 18, 2009

      We took the cart this morning so I could do laundry.  The laundramat had only 2 washers and dryers functional.  It rained quite had this morning.  We picked up the Drums at noon and went to Arthur's Bakery ( it closes at 2) and then to Sip Sip restaurant which was worth the wait.  I had lobster quesedia (sp) and Charlie had snapper.  This place also overlooks the beach.We walked down to the pink sand beach after lunch.  The beach is wide long and beautiful. We did some more errands and explored the ruins behind the Harbor IS Marina.  The ruins are of a huge house which must have been qute grand.  It was never rebuilt.  They call it

"the haunted house".  There is a nice restaurant in from of it on the waterfront named "Aquapazzo" with a beautiful view of the sunset.  Harbor IS has many old well kept homes along the waterfront.  Many of them have names attached.  the one pictured is called "Blue Dolphin"and is decorated with blue dolphins.

Along the Ocean side are many newer homes up in the trees above the beach. The economy in Harbor IS seems to be thriving.  It is a very busy place with many tourists as well as locals.   The Drums invited us over for salad and pizza on their boat that night.   

June 19, 2009 (Fri)

     Charlie and I visited with the Drums trying coordinate traveling to The Abacos on Sunday. They were going back to Spanish Wells and we were staying at Harbor IS and exiting on the south end instead of getting another pilot to guide us back through the Backbone.   We went ashore to do some grocery shopping and to try to get online.  It was pouring rain again most of the morning.  We had lunch at Valentines which has a dinghy dock: good cracked conch and good conch chowder.  The Drums left for Spanish Wells in the afternoon.  We finally got online at Arthur's Bakery but they closed a 2 so we went back to the boat.  We ate dinner at the Aquapazzo and used the dinghy to get there.   The food was great, the view of the sunset was spectacular.

         

June 20, 2009

    Via e-mail we discovered that the Drums had had engine problems on Friday and were waiting for a mechanic in Spanish Wells on Monday so they would not be sailing with us to The Little Harbor.  We hope to meet up with them later in The Abacos.  We did some more errands, bought beer, ice, etc before returning the cart and returning to the boat.  We ate lunch at Angela's Starfish restaurant.  We hope to go fill the water tanks at Valentine's Marina.  They are the only marina with RO (reverse osmosis) water in Harbor IS.  Then we will move the boat to the south end of the island so we will be closer to the South Cut that we will exit from tomorrow morning at high tide.   We may use the dinghy to explore a bit later this afternoon.  

Governor's Harbor and Spanish Wells

June 16, 2009

June 12, 2009;

     We left Cape Eleuthera with wind under 10 knots.  We sailed wing on wing for awhile proceeding to Governor's Harbor.  It looked like we were going to have a storm, but it missed us. There were scattered squalls all around us.  Governor's Harbor is a big open harbor with no dinghy or other usable docks.  One has to dinghy into the beach and wade ashore as it is quite shallow.  We arrived on a Friday which is when they have their famous Bar-B-Q and Fis

h Fry on the causeway beach between Gov. Harbor and Cupid Cay.  The music was playing and the crowd was gathering.  We just followed the sound and the cars.  Loc

als and tourists all come.  We left about 9;30-10p.m. but it went on until about midnight. We met two families from Houston area and one from Pittsburgh. 

 June 13, 2009:

     When we went ashore to search for grocery stores, we met a couple originally from Canada who had started a junior sailing program at Governor's Harbor.  They teach the children to swim and to sail opti, sunfish or lasers. The age range is from 8-17.  We went exploring to two grocery stores and eventually found the bakery.  We also found an excellent liquor and wine store which enabled us to restock our wine "cellar".  We made several trips 

back and forth to the boat at anchor. Governor's Harbor has some nice big homes, a restored library and restored Methodist church.  We  went back ashore to eat lunch at The Buccaneer, a favorite local spot.  We were told of the beautiful beach on the ocean side where Club Med used to be, but it was uphill amd then down again and about a 3-4 mile walk.  As the temperature was in the 90's, we decided not to do that.  Later in the afternoon, we did take the dinghy about 2 miles north of the harbor to explore a beach.  We discovered two , substantial concrete docks, now abandoned. Since the water off the beach was very shallow for a long way out into the water, they were not good swimming beaches. The beaches in this area are also very rocky.  That night there was another function with music and Bar-B-Q and probably a sports match as we could hear the whistles blowing.  We could see the cars and lights from our anchorage. Since our dinghy is still leaking air,  we put it on top of the boat before our journey to Spanish Wells.

June 14, 2009

     We left early so we would arrive at the Current IS Cut at high or slack tide.  Trying to figure out just when that would be was a challenge.  Everything is based on the tides in Nassau, but there is not chart telling you what the difference is from one site to another.  Charlie guessed by what the tide was supposed to be a Royal IS.  We did a pretty good job as there was very little current going through Current Cut when we went through.  Evidently the current can be as much as 5-6 knots through there.  Safely through we proceeded on to Spanish Wells.  The entrance channel to Spanish Wells is very narrow and very short.  It is less than 1/2 the size of Shem Creek.  It is also about as long as Shem Creek but is very shallow and has many shoaling areas.  We arrived at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven marina.  We met the couple next to our 

dock. They are on a 37' Pacific Seacraft which they bought in Puerto Rico.  They are taking it to the Chesapeake  though they are from San Francisco.  It poured about an hour after we arrived making it even more muggy.  

June 15, 2009

     We rented a golf cart to use to explore Spanish Wells and Russell IS.  Most of the houses here are one story block covered with stucco or concrete, and all are painted bright colors. They each seem to have a garden.  There are several marine stores here but they still have very little inventory. We also discovered that Spanish Wells is liquor-free. We found one big grocery

and another smaller one near the docks.  There are no laundramats so I wont' get any done here.   We had lunch at the Anchor Snack Bar.  There don't appear to be many real restaurants here. Spanish Wells is smaller than Mt. Pleasant Old Village ( or Zionsville old village).  I amazed at how small it really is. It reminds me of an inland lake village.  We saw bigger houses on Russell IS.  There is a nice small public park with a sandy beach at the end of Spanish Wells.

June 16, 2009

     I rained most of the night and very hard early this morning for two hours.  Rain kept threatening for several more hours  so we got a late start on further exploring .  We went to buy some meat, lettuce and water at the larger grocery.  Spanish Wells has well water and it is not very good.  They do not have reverse osmosis water so we will not fill our water tanks here. We got in touch with a pilot to take us through "The Devil's Backbone" which is a chain of reefs on the way to Harbor Island.  One hears the pilots being hailed constantly on channel 16. They are in high demand especially right now as there is a tuna fishing event being held here. One of the pilots also catches and sells stone crabs.  We ordered some and I waited until late evening and he never returned with the crabs.   Charlie left me waiting for the crabs while he went to the small public beach to take pictures.  We were both hoping to visit the park before dinner.   We tried to go to dinner at a restaurant we saw that was opened for lunch but found that it was closed.  We went instead to Norma's Take Out which is the local hamburger joint where everyone hangs out.  Most call their order in and go to pick it up.

     We will meet the pilot, Woody, tomorrow at about 10 a.m. and will follow him through the reefs to Harbor Island.      

Cambridge Cay and across to Eleuthera

Cambridge Cay sunset
June 11, 2009

June 8, 2009:

We headed for Cambridge Cay which is a part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We were approaching it by going around Bell IS. Unfortunately, we arrive at Bell Is and the location of a dangerous rock about low tide and could not get around it safely. there were shallow sand bars in front and it looked too shallow to go around at that time. By the time we could go around, the light was not good for safe navigation, so we anchored off the Bell IS house with it's own

beach and float. That night we had terrible rain storms all night long. Due to the

storms, it was pitch black outside. There were three large houses of steel or concrete and glass on this island, but evidently no one was present as there were no lights at all visible. We could see a freight boat anchored some distance from us.

June 9, 2009.

Near high tide this morning we went past that rock and safely around Bell Is to Cambridge Cay where we picked up a mooring ball. There were many beautiful beaches and rocks nearby to explore. We took the dinghy to one beach and discovered a path to the beach on the Atlantic side. It was also beautiful and had some reefs right at the beach which I snorkled. Although there were 8 boats on moorings, we had this beach all to ourselves. We explored several others before retuning to our boat. That evening we had a gorgeous sunset and no rain overnight!

June 10, 2009

We were off by 0900 on our way across the Exuma Sound to Powell Point on Eleuthera. We had absolutely no wind...under 3 knots the whole way so we had to motor across. We did not even run into

one of the rain squalls we could see out there. Someone

we had met told us that the Cape Eluthera Marina at Powell Point was very nice so we got dockage there. It is fairly new and clean, much like Bimini Sands or Sampson Cay. They have condos with docks in front of them. They have a nice restaurant/coffee house/bakery. There is also a small store on site. The manager used to be at The Bitter End in the BVI. The Amway family evidently bought this

island and is slowly developing it well. They even have recycling! We treated ourselves by eating out. It was very hot when we arrived so it was nice to plug in and have some air conditioning, but it cooled off some by night.

June 11, 2009

We are staying another day here at Cape Eleuthera. Charlie changed the oil in the generator and hopefully fixed its small fuel leak. We will probably try to go exploring in this area. They have two nice beaches and some snorkeling areas nearby. We met a nice couple with their children who were recently evacuated from Madagascar. He was a medical officer for the Peace Corp. They are cruising before relocating back to Pennsylvania. We had then over for cocktails tonight after another rainstorm.

We will go north to Governor's Harbor tomorrow. We hope to have some wind. Currently it is still under 5 knots. We will probably go to Spanish Wells after that.

Staniel Cay and Sampson Cay again

Staniels Cay Pirate Trap beach
June 7, 2009

June 3-5, 2009

     We fueled up at the Farmer's Cay Yacht Club and exited Farmer's Cay cut which had high standing waves and a very brisk current.  Once clear of that we proceeded to Dotham Cut back to the Bank inside and to Staniel Cay.  We stayed at Staniel Cay for several day exploring its beaches.  We did find a better grocery store on the South Staniel Cay.  It had much better

produce that the two smaller stores near the Yacht Club.  When the fishermen were cleaning up their catch that evening, we saw many sharks and a ray waiting to eat the leftovers.  We rented

a golf cart for a day and further explored both N and S Staniel Cay. the beaches on the Sound side had reefs offshore. I had a delicious Conch burger at the Yacht Club.   We ate dinner there one night, too.   I had rack of lamb and Charlie had cornish hens; both were delicious. We met several couples vacationing there.  One was from Indianapolis, Decatur township.  the other was from Texas.  We also went to the Cafe Thunderball Friday Bar-B-Q and met several Germans, a Canadian and a transplanted German now living in Norway.  They were on a Moorings charter with a captain out of Marsh Harbor in the Abacos but exploring the Exumas.  We traded book

recommendations.  Charlie took their picture but he cannot download his pictures onto my computer and his is nonfunctioning at present.  We found two unusual beaches on Staniel Cay.  One is called Pirate's trap beach near Cafe Thunderball and another at the southern entrance to an inlet on the sound side of the cay called Jessie's Kitchen area.  During our stay at Staniel Cay thunderstorms were scattered but prevalent daily causing us to close up the boat and then open it up repeatedly. June 5 is the Bahamas Labor Day.  Unfortunately rain at Staniel Cay dampened the festivities somewhat.  There was a Regatta in Long Cay to which many in Exuma go to see.    

June 6-7, 2009

      We left Staniel Cay and went north to Sampson Cay again.  the marina was full!  So we had to anchor out not far from the marina.  We went to shore to do laundry, get on the internet and to attend their Saturday Beach Bar-B-Q.  The interior beach at Sampson is beautiful.  It almost drys to sand at low tide.  We met several interesting couples while there.  Two were on their way to Georgetown.  They were from Ft. Lauderdale and Stuart, FL

 cruising in large motor cruisers.  Another couple is from Dallas and on a 66 ft. motor cruiser in the marina.   One of the nicest things about cruising is the people you meet along the way.  They always seem to enrich the experience.     We are again ashore amid storms.  We came to buy some groceries of which they have a small but very good selection here.  If it clears up we will probably go exploring nearby beaches via dinghy. 

     We will leave here tomorrow and go further north.  We haven't made up our mind just where we will land tomorrow.     

June     

Saying goodbye to G'town and traveling North

June 2, 2009

May 29-31, 2009

    We continued to further explore Georgetown and Stocking IS.  We took the dinghy to the Peace and Plenty Beach club on Stocking IS.   It was very attractive place which could accommodate large crowds during high season.  It also had some trails one of which led to

the ocean side of Stocking IS where we found som

e reefs just offshore during low tide.  It also had wide sandy beaches and some lagoons.  We spent several afternoons exploring these pristine beaches on the ocean side of Stocking IS.  

The Exuma Docking Services  still had no diesel but we went over to fill our water tanks.  Saturday we invited the couple on the boat anchored near us for cocktails.  They are Brits who bought a Benateau 50 in Tortolla and are taking it back to the states.  On 

On Sunday we went to the weekly Chat and Chill Pig Roast where 

boaters and the locals all gather for a feast. Chat and Chill has three volleyball courts.  I can imagine that during the busy season, all three are full.  They also have a totem pole of city/cay signs showing distances to various destinatons. Someone had put up Charleston, SC.  

June 1, 2009:

     We left Georgetown and Stocking IS early monday morning heading north to Little Farmer's Cay.  there was very little wind and we were only making about 3 knots. they the rain began so we took down the sails and motored the rest of the way. Just as we arrived at Lttle Farmer's Cay, the rain stopped.  We picked up a mooring ball between Little farmer's C

ay and Great Guana Cay.  We went into the little harbor to pay at Ocean Cabin where we were entertained by the owner Terry Bain and friend Samuel. Terry is a descendent from one of the original families here. We discussed world problems and philosophy for an hour or more.  He made me his Ocean Cabin speciality drink which was a blue as the water here in the Exumas. Amazingly I guessed the 5 ingredients he used correctly.  It was delicious: made of coconut rum, rum, pineapple, grapefruit juice and blue curacao.  Terry is a character as his sign on the Ocean Cabin Restaurant reflects.  When the wind picked up we hurried back to the boat.

June 2, 2009

    We further explored Little Farmer's Cay.  We visited the Farmer's Cay Yacht Club, which is quite nice.  It is run by the Nixon's who have been married for 50 years an d he is one of the original families who settle here.  We plan to get fuel from there tomorrow before we leave.  We walked around several of the beaches, both sandy and rocky, and saw their airstrip.  We ordered conch chowder and cracked conch at Ocean Cabin.  Terry had to crack and tenderize the conch but it was delicious and quite tender.  The chowder was good too with lots of conch in it as well.   We may explore the Great Guana Cay beach later this afternoon

and may have dinner at the Yacht Club.  We feel we are helping their economy which is dire need of help.   

Basking in the Georgetown Sun

"Lake" Victoria
May 28, 2009

May 26, 2009: We took the dinghy inside Lake Victoria through the narrow opening which only dinghies can access, docking by the Exuma Market.  I made arrangements for us to receive a shipment of mail later in the week.   We explored the rest of Georgetown and  we walked completely around Lake Victoria which is really a pond. I found two laundries 

and we found varying prices of ice from $3.00-4.50 for 10 lbs. We also found a second grocery store about the same size as Exuma Market.  There were several internet places but the best bargain was for $5/day in a green shack.  It also advertised computer repairs and other office services.  There was also a Straw Market

selling hats, T-shirts and trinkets. We had leisurely lunch at the Peace and Plenty Hotel after our walk, but a rainstorm kept there for a while. The conch chowder was excellent;  the Pina Coladas were great again. Marilyn and I "dressed " for dinner.  We had steak, salad and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir wine.  The sunset was beautiful as was the lightning far away. 

May 27, 2009:  We had rain overnight and awoke to it this morning.  It just didn't seem to want to stop.  Finally about 1100 we pulled up the anchor in the rain and moved over in from of the Peace and Plenty Hotel so we would not have as long a dinghy ride to get Marilyn and her luggage to shore to catch her plane.  The rain finally stopped and the sun was coming out as we got marilyn to shore.  We ate lunch again at the Peace and Plenty, saw Marilyn to her cab and on her way to the airport.  We walked around a bit more checking out where we had to go to get diesel for the boat.  The "marina" , used loosely in this case, did not even currently have any diesel.  They hope to have a shipment arrive this weekend.  If not, we have enough to get back to Staniel Cay or Sampson Cay if necessary.   Then it was back to the boat for cocktails and dinner. 

     

May 28, 2009: No rain overnight and sunny skies today.  I did all our laundry today.  Then we went back to the boat, changed to swim suits and went across the harbor to the"Chat and Chill" which is on the beach at Stocking IS.  We ate burgers under the palm trees, waded in the beautiful blue waters and relaxed, visiting with others there "chilling out".  We were basking in the sun and shade of Elizabeth Harbor/ Georgetown and Stocking IS.   

I want to apologize for some of the errors in my postings. When I  "publish" the post, the blogger sometimes splits words in the middle and leaves partially blank lines.  While we are out of the country, I don't have unlimited MB of internet use to continually correct my postings. Please bear with us.    

Georgetown Finally

May 26, 2009

May 23, 2009:

     We awoke to lightning and hard rain so we delayed our departure from Staniel Cay until mid morning after it had cleared off some. It only took us an hour and a half to arrive at Black Point settlement.  After anchoring and eating some lunch, we ventured ashore to explore.  There

was a lot of activity on the government dock which also holds the dinghy dock. Several boats seemed to be preparing for Saturday afternoon races. We went looking for a grocery store run by Mrs. Adderly. We found one but she had no lettuce.  She told us of another store, J & J,  down the road which we got bad directions for from another  2 women ( must have been tourists),so we never found it. We stopped in at Loraine's Cafe to make reservations for the night. whatever anyone needs when visiting Black Point Settlement, you can get from Loraine. She seems to be the hub of this settlement.  She offers free internet  and has 4-5 computers to use, but asks for a donation to pay for the electricity used.  We found the police station with a separate building for the jail.  The school with its  basketball court included several buildings.  The library was next door.   We passed several other restaurants and bars , but nothing seemed to be open. All the activity was down at the dock where a delivery ship came in.  The proceeded to load two pickup trucks onto it.  Women were selling beer and conch fritters at the dock and a teenage boy was acting as DJ.  A group of boys were trying to play baseball on the street using a tennis ball.  We obtained some ice and went back to the boat where we sat in our cockpit to watch the three sailboats race.  Black Point has a huge regatta in August and these sailors are very serious about their sailing.  It was exciting to see them hike out on long boards.   We went back in to have dinner at Loraine's.  I had a delicious lobster; Marilyn had Mahi-Mahi and Charlie had grouper. Even though it was a small place, they also had wine and mixed drinks.  After our dinner, the other bars seemed to be open though we didn't see many customers, but the locals were hanging around.  Back at the boat we took the engine off the dinghy and stowed the dinghy topside.

 

May 24, 2009:  

     Since we had a long trip to Georgetown, we were up at 0600 and underway by just after 0700.    We went into Exuma Sound through Dotham cut and headed for georget

own.  the wind was right on our nose so we had to tack across our courseline again. We also began to encounter scattered rain which became heavy rain off and on the rest of the day. We were very grateful for our cockpit surround even though we kept having to mop up where ran leaked through openings. Just as we were to enter Elizabeth Harbor, the rain went away and we had sunny skies for awhile.  We anchored on the shore of Stocking Island near the Peace and Plenty Beach Club just before 1800 (6p.m.).  We had dinner on the boat. 

May 25, 2009:

     We did not see the sea of boats at anchor in Elizabeth Harbor when we arrived and thought they must be around the corner, however, they are just not here. We turned on the VHF for the Cruiser's Net but it did not happen either.  We went across the harbor to the Georgetown side looking for the dinghy dock.  What we saw was a decrepit dock with timbers missing and no ladders to get out.    We ended up using the Peace and Plenty Hotel dock, going into their bar to buy a drink in payment for the use of their dock.  someone from Chicago who has a house 

payment for the use of their dock. house here helped dock us and welcome us.   They have a great Pina Colada and their bartender, "Dr. of Libations" was very friendly.  We continued our exploration to a nice gift shop across the street from Peace and 

Plenty, then  proceeded down the street to the Towne Cafe for lunch.  this was a very busy place with locals coming in for takeout.  Everything was in styrofoam.  We had some great Bar-B-Q ribs with peas and rice, slaw and another side. We found the Exuma Market grocery store, the biggest on the island and supposedly the best stocked grocery in the Exumas.  It was OK, but not nearly as nice as the Marsh Harbor one on the Abacos.  I don't know how they serve 3-400 boats and the locals during the winter!   We did buy groceries and ice.   The cruising guides say all boats have to check in with the harbormaster and I tried to do so.  I finally found his office which was locked and empty, so maybe this just applies during the "season". We took the groceries back to the boat, rested during the hot afternoon before going to explore

our nearby beach.  We picked up litter along the beach. We had lobster and Mahi-Mahi salad from the leftovers.  We enjoyed the beautiful starry night with a sliver of moon and the twinkling lights across the harbor of Gerogetown.  Summer lightning in the

distance added to our light show.   

Staniel Cay

May 22, 2009

May 21, 2009: We left Sampson Cay about 1p.m. in pouring rain which continued the whole journey and throughout the rest of the day and off and on most of the night. We arrived about 3p.m. but spent about an hour trying to find a good place to anchor. We were all drenched! It is not easy to dry out yourself, wet clothes, and the boat when it constantly rains. We anchored in an area which has strong current. About 7p.m. the anchor alarm kept going off so we pulled up our anchor, a CQR, and Charlie changed the anchor to a fortress which we had bought and had stored on the boat, and we anchored again in a slightly different spot. We were lucky that it wasn't raining during that hour. We then finally ate dinner. I kept checking the chartplotter tracking of our anchor. It was not the normal arc one usually sees but an erratic plot due to the strong effect of the current. However we successfully made it through the night with no more anchor alarm going off.

May 22, 2009: Most of the rain was gone and we had sunny skies most of the day. We went into The Staniel Cay Yacht Club dinghy dock and then went exploring for a grocery store. We had been told to go to the "Blue" store instead of the "Pink" store. We actually went to both and the "blue" store was better stocked which is not saying much as neither had much of what we needed. The small store at Sampson Cay Marina was almost better than either at Staniel Cay. We did stop at a Bread Shop, met Brenda the baker and bought some of her delicious smelling Bahamian bread. We bought some banana nut bread at one of the stores. We wandered around this part of Staniel Cay visiting a boutique near the Happy People Marina and restaurant and also an unopened art gallery housed in a purple one room structure with lilac trim. Back at the Yacht Club we tried their drinks. We visited the dive shop to research about the "Thunderball Grotto" used in the James Bond movie "Thunderball". The best time is at slack tide which today was between 12:30-1:30. So, back to the boat to get our fins and masks ready to go snorkel nearby. Charlie and Marilyn went first. Then Charlie and I traded places. The fish were beautiful as was some of the small corals we saw. The tide began to turn and the current became too strong for me so we returned to our big boat for lunch. Later in the afternoon we went around Big Major Spot to the "Pig Beach" where pigs come off the beach to eat food brought by dingy boaters. We only saw one pig which was sleeping. He finally woke up

and swam out to the dingy for food. We were told by others that there were 5 pigs earlier in the morning.

We continued along Big Major Spot finding another smaller beach to stop at and explore. We passed the Fowl Cay Resort and continued our circumnavigation

of Big Majors Spot. We cleaned up and went to the Cafe Thunderball for a dinner of Bar-B-Q ribs and chicken. We met many other sailors up there including a couple with a Tayana 42 with a center cockpit. They are on their way back to Tortola where they used to live. We also met a local author who lives in a house on the top

of the hill above the Cafe Thunderball. Marilyn and I both bought books from her. So ends our exciting busy day. The picture at the top is of the anchorage from Cafe Thunderball. Blue Horizon is the middle boat.

We plan to proceed 10 miles to Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay tomorrow and then to Georgetown the next day.

Exploring Warderick Wells and Sampson Cay

May 21, 2009

May 19, 2009:  Charlie and Marilyn snorkled  from the dinghy during slack tide for a short time.  They saw a green turtle and some tangs.  The water was rough or they would have gone further from the dinghy and seen more.  As usual, it was tough getting back into the dinghy.  We went back to the boat to change clothes for hiking.  We went on the BooBoo Hill trail.  They had identified many of the native plants and had informational signs all

 along the way.  We learned that there are three types on mangrove tree here:  white, black and red.  At the top of Boo Boo Hill, many boaters had left a sign with their boat names and dates they had been there. I am including a picture.  

The view from the top of the hill of the waters around the cay were beautiful.  We also hiked to see some of the blow holes along the east coast of Warderick Wells Cay.  At the time, they were not blowing water but air.  It was enough to blow off Marilyn's hat. The holes do not have to be very big.  storms were accumulating and we got back to the boat just before the deluge.  Charlie took a beautiful picture of the sunset.

     

May 20, 2009:   After checking out from Warderick Wells, we had a brisk sail to Sampson Cay. Since we were trying to go almost directly into the wind, we had to 

tack across the course line.  The winds were 15-10 so we made good time arriving about 3 in the afternoon (1500).  We opted to stay at the lovely marina here so we could plug in and do laundry. They also have a nice ( expensive) restaurant. Marilyn and I explored the lovely paths and beaches before dinner. We all had Bahamian lobster which was delicious.

May 21, 2009: We woke to rain clouds which soon began to drop rain on us.  Marilyn and I had decided to try to do laundry before we left, thinking it would take 2 hours but the Marina restaurant was using the washers and dryers, so we had to wait our turn.  Then the dryers were not very efficient so they have to be run twice for the T-shirts and sheets.  When we leave, we will go to Staniel Cay which is only six miles further south.  If the rain stops, we will try to do some grocery shopping and eat at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for dinner.    We will stay there for 2 nights which should allow us to explore and snorkle the Thunderball Grotto at slack tide tomorrow.          

Continuing southward in Exumas

May 18, 2009

Saturday, May 16, 2009, we had a short but delightful sail from Highborne Cay to Norman's Cay. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get there going at or over 6 knots. We had started out almost at noon because we went into the Highborne Cay Marina for ice and water, etc. Once we got to Norman's Cay we called for dinner reservations at the Norman's Cay Beach Club or McDuffs. There were only three boats anchored off Norman's. We dighnied ashore for a delicious dinner among the locals. It was quite busy from construction crews doing some building on the Cay.

Sunday, May 17, 2009: We had another wonderful day of sailing in 15-20 knots of wind to Hawksbill Cay which is the upper border for the Exumas Land and Sea Park. After lunch we went ashore to explore. The sand here was very fine and off white almost more fine than sugar. I climbed up a hill to a pyramid made of loose stones. It gave me a beautiful view of most of this Cay. All of us climbed up over a smaller hill to see the inland pond caused by a creek from the Bahama Bank. There are some ruins of a Loyalist Plantation but we couldn't find them near where we were. We had dinner on the boat as the Cay is uninhabited. There have been scattered showers the last few days and we have been caught in a few.

Monday, May 18, 2009: We got an earlier start today as we sailed to Warderick Wells which is the headquarters for the Land and Sea Park. We picked up a mooring in the northern mooring field near the Park Rangers office. Just as we were leaving the Ranger's office to go back to the boat, the sky opened up and we were drenched by the time we arrived back at the boat by dighny. At least it cleaned some of the salt off the boat. We plan to go snorkling tomorrow and to do some of the hiking trails on this cay.

I may not be able to add as many pictures as we have been due to AT&T sending us a message that we are exceeding our usage of the computer aircard. We also won't be able to open those lovely attachments you all send us. We will have to share all the pictures when we return.

From Nassau to Allen's Cays to Highborne Cay

May 15, 2009

May 13, 2009: We were ready to leave Atlantis in Nassau but when Charlie tried to start the engine, the boat did not respond. Charlie spent several hours trying to identify and fix the problem: checked the grounding, wiring, starter solenoid ... all to no avail. We envisioned a need to have the Yanmar dealer send us a part from Florida. So we had to stay at Atlantis another day. We contacted the Marina office for an electrician. The electrician was out of town but could come first thing in

the morning. Later Charlie asked if they could find another electrician who would be available the same day. They said someone would be there after 3 p.m. I went to another larger grocery store via taxi which cost me $28.00 round trip! I also included a trip to the drugstore. Once I returned from my shopping, I went to the pools to relax with Marilyn who was already there. A nice frozen Pina Colada hit the spot! Charlie was waiting for the electrician but he joined Marilyn and me later. The electrician had found a obscure starter relay ground connection which was causing the problem. We enjoyed the beautiful pool until it closed and then had a light pizza dinner before retuning to the boat.

May 14, 2009: We finally left the Atlantis Marina about 8:30 and proceeded to Hurricane Hole Marina for fuel. We had to wait until another boat fueled up and washed his boat off. We finally left that dock about 9:30 and proceeded out the east entrance to Nassau to Athol Island and Porgee Rocks. The wind was 20-25+ knots from the ESE as we headed to Allen's Cays group, our first stop in the Exumas. It was a wild ride with rail in the water. We had to tack across the rum line (course line) because the wind was too close to the intended track. It was too rough for me to fix lunch so we had peanut crackers and sodas for lunch. We saw land by 2:30 p.m. We arrived at the entrance way point at 3:30 and were anchored by 3:50. On the way there we dodged a wide rainstorm, but scattered showers found us just after anchoring and prevailed throughout the night. About 1:45 a.m. the anchor alarm went off. I was worried about our swinging and hitting a catamaran behind us. The current was affecting us more than the wind. I got Charlie up about 2:15 a.m. to deal with it because the alarm kept going off. We pulled in some of the chain but Charlie said it was tight so seemed to be holding so we backed down on the anchor at 60 ft of chain and let out 30 more. I was still concerned about the catamaran behind us when the current switched so I stood anchor watch until 7 a.m.

May 15, 2009: After a leisurely breakfast, we took the dinghy off the forward deck and put on the outboard preparing to go ashore Leaf Cay and SW Allen Cay to see the iguanas. There are few places left where the iguanas live naturally.

We explored several of this group of cays. We saw several of the iguanas fighting for supremacy. After a late lunch, we prepared to proceed down to the next cay, Highborne Cay, which took us about an hour to reach and anchor. We had to dodge the reefs as we entered along a beautiful beach.

Exploring Nassau and Atlantis

May 13, 2009: 

  

May 11, 2009:  We arrived in Nassau Harbor about 6p.m. See the picture of the Paradise Island lighthouse and Atlantis in the background. and were docked by 6:30 at Atlantis Marina 

on Paradise IS.  After showering and cocktails, we set out to explore and to find some dinner. Atlantis reminds me of Disney World but reminds Charlie of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. 

     May 12, 2009:  I got up early to do laundry and then washed down the boat. 

 Charlie went exploring, bought post cards, and mailed them.  Marilyn Friend and I took a ferry across the harbor to Old Nassau where we wandered around a bit.  The traffic was horrible with narrow streets and bumper to bumper cars and trucks.  We purchased some island outfits as well as some groceries and a sixpack of Kalik before returning to Atlantis again by ferry.  The ferry tour guides are all free lance depending only on tips but are very entertaining and informative.  We rejoined Charlie and ate lunch before going in search for the underground aquarium.

While Charlie found a pool to lounge by, Marilyn and I toured

 yet another underground aquarium.  They are a special attraction here and beautifully done.  We all enjoyed cooling off in one of the many pools at Atlantis.     We had a lovely and memorable dinner at Cafe Martinique.