Thursday, March 31, 2011

Walk into Harbor Town

     We listened to the Net this morning. One of the things that was requested was volunteers with fire department experience and / or donations for the local fire department.  They are running pretty thin on everything after fighting the fire for over two weeks, especially diesel. They were accepting donations at The Abaconion, which is the local newspaper.
     After doing a few things on the computer, I headed into town, where  I met up with Sue from Stolen Moments. We wound up talking for about 45 minutes in the sun.  Then I continued on in search of The Abaconion, which it turns out is about a mile from here.  Not a bad walk if done first thing in the morning, but now unfortunately it was close to 11 am; no shade, just HOT macadam.  I found the strip mall and walked by the store front 3 times as it is also a print shop.  Then it was off to find Maxwell’s Food Store.  I had passed the sign when I was on the main street, but the gal in the print shop gave me a short cut. Unfortunately, I made a wrong turn and walked a few blocks in the wrong direction before finding someone to ask for the right directions. I finally made it to Maxwell’s at noon.
     Maxwell’s is a new, clean, well stocked supermarket. Betty had properly described it as a small Publix, which carries a good variety of meats and produce as well as various gourmet items.  I was thrilled it had clean public rest rooms in which I was able to wash up and cool down.  As I checked out, my bag was heavy and the young man offered to carry it out for me.  I told him I was walking back to the marina and he asked if he could call me a cab.   I was glad to take him up on the offer.  My ride was already waiting outside.
   On my ride back, we talked and I found out that my driver’s brother has lost everything in the fire. The loss of his farm and all his animals has affected his health so much that he has been hospitalized in Nassau. I am really glad we made the donation this morning.
    Dan and Martha joined Betty and John here at our marina's restaurant for a wonderful dinner.  We learned that Jay and Pegg will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. After settling the check, we said our goodnights. 

    Once we had settled in for the night, there was a knock on our hull. Our server, Cloe, could not settle the bill as one of the numbers on the account was off.  It turned out it was Andiamo’s bill and not ours.  I radioed over to John and asked him to come up to speak with her and I returned below. A rather unique note to end the day.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Chores, Chores and More Chores

     Up early and completed the last 3 loads of laundry and scrubbed the exterior of the boat so that Pete could continue with the work.  Quite a few of our dock mates stopped by to offer their boats so that I could keep up my skills or to suggest I was setting a bad example. As for Pete, the business review is next week so things have to be settled on his end this week. As if the laundry and boat washing weren’t enough, I also needed to defrost the fridge/freezer again so I miss the stroll into town with the others. 
     The predicted, winds did show up and due to their direction, we needed to use the main outhaul with the wench rigged to the piling to pull the boat over to the dock.  The winds are steady at 19 directly broadside to our starboard making our embarking and disembarking impossible without the muscle of the wench.  When Andiamo needed to reposition due to the closeness of the anchor to the dock, they needed the bow thrusters to assist in the readjustment of the lines.  These winds are to be with us until Friday.
     During the day we watched the smoke from the fire, which has been burning for the past two week drift just to our south west. By dinner, the wind direction had changed and we were beginning to be in its path. We opted to have dinner at the bar with John and Betty. With only one bar tender and one chef, the service was slow, but the food and drinks were good.
    After such a busy day, I was glad to be heading to the showers and to bed.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

No Storms, but Little Sleep

      The anchor alarm went off at 2 AM. Thirty seconds later the engine was running and we were trying to assess just how far we had moved.  It is really hard in such darkness, with all boats lined up in a row, land about 100 feet to one side and the tide came up since we went to bed.  Pete had kept the anchor watch circle tight knowing we were close to the rocky shore. Visually, it didn’t appear as if we moved that much.  Pete sent me back to bed, but he remained up above on watch for the next two hours and studied the Garmin GPS.  He found out that the wind shift along with the simultaneous current shift popped the anchor and moved it about 25 feet where it re-dug itself in. The storms never materialized.  We only had some winds and light rain and no more trouble for the anchor.
Private home on private island
     Pete checked the time at 6 and found that his cell phone was dying. Since we were planning on leaving at 8, the alarm was set for 7.  We didn’t want to oversleep (a real possibility) we were now up for the day.
     Once the anchor was pulled, we followed custom and cruised past Brunelle to bid farewell as we will not be traveling with them for a few days.  Then Andiamo and we headed north following all the recommended tracks towards Abaco Beach Resort and Harbor Marina.  Today was one of the few days we have encountered where the sun is hiding behind fairly heavy cloud cover.
The gazabo that belongs to the same home
on the same private island
     With Dan’s recommendation, we listened to 68 NET for the Abacos. It is a great resource for the area be they cruisers or service providers.  

    We arrived at noon.  It is a very protected deep harbor that had 8 plus feet at the entry even though it was low tide as we came in.  Thank heavens this place has 6 washing machines.  I was able to do 3 loads of laundry.  Again, I had problems with one of the machines, having a restricted water hose which severely delayed the cycles of the machine. However, it got me an extra token from the mechanic for my inconvenience, but it completely messed up my timing between the laundry and cleaning the inside of the boat. When I finally returned from the laundry, Pete mentioned that Brunelle was able to get dockage in the inner harbor at Mango’s and they invited us to join them there for dinner.
    The walk over to Mango’s was really not as long as we thought it was going to be. We donated towards sponsoring one of the high school basket ball players so he could play in a tournament in Nassau, before joining Dan and Martha.   Once seated, they broke the news that Jay and Peg might not be coming.  Room and board was offered on Andiamo. They are waiting for confirmation of just what DB and Natasha really have before they cancel their flights. Once that discussion was tabled we were able to order our drinks and food and enjoy our time. 
   Well, 3 out of the 6 loads of laundry are done and all but the back cabin are in order. A nice walk into town. Pete put in 9 billable hours. Today was pretty productive.  I don’t think we will have any problems sleeping tonight after losing so much sleep last night.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

Monday, March 28, 2011

On the Abacos and Racing Possible Weather Issues

Sunrise and the old saying"Red sky in morning, sailors take warning."
     We left Current Cut anchorage at 7 AM, but the three other boats had already left at dawn and were about a mile ahead of us.  We passed through the cut between Little Egg and Big Egg Island in Atlantic onto Abaco.
This 25' ODay was able to make the entire
crossing doing wing-on-wing.
 Glen, they were fishing the entire way.
     The weather forecast is not the best. Thunderstorms predicted for this area later today with winds increasing.  John has the Sirus Weather and can see the storms that are pounding the Florida coast. In an effort to maximize our speed, Pete kept raising, changing, lowering and modifying our sails while maintaining our course. We started off in the back of the pack.  We knew we would pass the 27 foot Oday, which was sailing wing-on-wing, but we were surprised to pass the 46 foot Oyster, along with 2 other larger sailboats using just their mains.  Pete told Brunelle and Andiamo to not hold back just for us.  We will be ok and prepared, should it become necessary.  We were able to catch up with them before they reached Little Harbor and followed them into the anchorage at Lynyard Cay. 
     After some discussion as to whether or not to stay on the windward side of Lynyard Cay for this possible storm or seek a more protected anchorage, the decision was made to stay put here.
     John and Betty invited everyone over for a pork dinner.  As usual, a great time was had by all and we were home by dusk.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

Sunday, March 27, 2011

A Very Unusual Day

 Presto with designer / owner
 a cat ketch-hull #1
Freedom - a 1922 Trumphy
     The roosters crowed all night. Pete heard the tug start it engine around 2:30, so he went up to check the anchor again and watched the barge depart. Thankfully, our anchor stayed right where it belonged.  Pete did a really good jog on the final setting of the anchor.
    There will be many wonderful memories of the Bahamas, the various water colors, the friendly people, the magnificent scenery, the color and variety of fish. Among them will be the complete darkness of night and the brilliance of the stars.  Even though we were in a fairly bright area here in Governor’s Harbor, as we were lying in bed, I was able to see a couple of shooting stars through the front hatch both last night and early this morning.  It amazes me that quite frequently there are no clouds at night, but they slowly build by 9 in the morning.   Then remain until the sun goes down then dissipate until the morning comes again.
Homes built on the rocky shoreline had steps leading
down to the water. We wondered if it was to get
down to the rocks to find the lobsters???
Presto entering Hatchet Bay







     The radio chatter today was unusually interesting.  We could hear VHF radio calls from Florida, not only the stronger base units but also boats.  This “radio skip” included 3 simultaneous Coast Guard emergencies in FL: divers in water, Ft. Worth; unconscious person, Key Largo; boat taking on water, Key West.  Then Pete heard a yacht call in to Ft. Lauderdale,  “Helicopter down, Dinghy launched and assisted 2 people. Everyone is OK.” Then Pete could hear the USCG helo on site calling in.  We could also here Nassau and were surprised to here Forever Young, John and Betty’s friends, requesting entry into Nassau Harbor.
This is the isthmus that connects two larger land masses
better known as The Glass Window.
The little speck on the left is the dinghy
taking the first crew out to the boats.
    We headed out at 8 this morning headed to see the Glass Window Bridge.  It is a natural phenomenon; a natural, narrow, link on the island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Blight of Eleuthera.  Hurricanes and rouge waves destroyed the natural bridge that had formed a window, but a number of highway bridges have been built to make it travelable over the past hundred years. The most recent bridge was a repair made after a rogue wave in the 1990s. We anchored about a half mile out from the window due to the sand bars and were unable to raft for lunch due to the winds.  Dan offered to shuttle everyone to the beach and back.

     You can see in the pictures below that the waves break on the ocean side of The Window first, then crossing the limestone bridge before falling into the Abaco Bight on the eastern side of the Window. This occurs on calm weather days.  Rogue waves have been reported as high as 100 feet. Such high waves have distroyed the natural arch that formed The Glass Window painted by Winslow Homer as well as a number of man-made structures over the years.
 
  
The Atlantic side of The Window















The Eleuthera Bight as seen from sea level

   After viewing The Glass Window, we upped anchor and headed through Current Cut.  We timed it about 1.5 hours after low tide in Nassau so that we would be close to slack tide. Running tide could be as much as 6 knots.  Between the twisty entry into the cut, the narrow channel and the close coral heads, the less current the better.  We went through with about 2 knots against us, but did ok.  We all agree that the USCG does a great job on the aids to navigation in the states.  There are no aids to navigations here in the Bahamas. Thank heavens for great Explorer Charts and GPS Chart Plotters!

     Once through the cut, we dropped anchor for the night.  By sunset, there were 6 sailboats anchored, probably all with the same intentions of leaving early in the morning to make the Atlantic crossing to the Abacos. Someone aboard one of the other sailboats herald the sunset with a conch horn. Daylight has come to an end. Hopefully, it will be a peaceful night.

 
Pekabu, at the end of a very busy day.  Thanks, Martha.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Governor’s Harbor

One of the best types of schools!
      Our 9 AM departure was moved up to 8:30 because everyone was up early.  We were off to Governor’s Harbor, the notorious ‘Worst Holding Anchorage in the Bahamas’, and they are right! We even had first had knowledge from a cruiser just leaving the harbor, who had found good holding, but Pete could not set the anchor in his first two attempts. The third was the charm.   We had dropped anchors around 12:30. One of our problems was that the spot Pete wanted to drop the anchor was where the racing windward buoy was dropped due to the wind change for the youth sailing program. Of course, right after we had secured the anchor and cut the engine, all the racers headed back to land.
    We calculated our fuel and Pete wanted to pick up diesel and gas before heading out since there is a gas station on the main street. 
    When we arrived at the boat launch area of the harbor, a fisherman was selling fish and lobster. The lobsters were huge and the fish were being prepared on the cement.  We had no way to keep them cool until we returned to the boats later.  They were pretty well picked over by the time we finished our hike.
Pete and I had deja vu. . . we had seen this very place
 in Lin and Bruce Alize's blog.
Martha beach combing on a pink beach.
    We all wanted to see the pink beach, which is only about a half mile across the island.  Pete opted to return to the boat with the fuel and meet us there. The beach was beautiful and the access road was right next to the Club Med property.  He was unreachable by radio.  It might have been the height of the hill interfering with signal.  Then we heard Pete’s voice.  He was given directions and took a very big detour, past the town dump.  He heard water so he continued walking.  We sent everyone on their way and I took him back to the beach so that his search was not in vain.  The group found a shady spot to wait and we made the climb over the hill together. 
This original Govenor's home
overlooked both the harbor
and the ocean.
    We chatted briefly with the new owner of the governor’s home, which sits atop the hill.  Club Med is still owned and maintained by a Pennsylvania man.  The islanders are very angry that he has not reopened it.  Its elimination after due to Hurricaine Andrew took with it 500 jobs.
    On our way down to the harbor, I stopped in one of the local shops for a straw basket, while Martha picked up some items for the grandkids.  Then the guys were off to the liquor store while we ladies went to the grocery store.  I was able to get some ice cream and make Pete’s day.
    Once back at the boat, the dock workers continued well past dark, unloading the barge.  There was a basketball game going on real close by, as the ref’s whistle blew frequently. The music beat came from a jivin’ bar and the roosters had no concept of time; they crowed whenever. Otherwise it’s a pretty peaceful place.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Friday, March 25, 2011

Missed Opportunity

I could not resist taking this picture of the gulls on the ramaining pilings of the old pier
as I headed in to get my internet card from Dingles Motors.
     Pete, once again, started work early today.  I started some chores on board when the Dan announced that the group was going to hike over to the other side of the island to snorkel and try to catch lunch.  The walk was a good 2 miles each way.  As much as I would have loved to try out my new camera, I was not up to the hike with my cold.

Brunell at anchor in Rock Sound
    While I was busy updating our blog, they had quite an adventure.  On the hike over the restaurant proprietor, offered them a ride. She had to do it in stages, but the six of them received partial rides out to the east coast.  She started the lunch and continued with her errands while they snorkeled.  They were served the lunch she had prepared for them (no menu, but good food) as well as for another couple from another boat. Then they had to hike back across the island.
Yep, that's Pete all curled up working on the generator.
     Once Pete finished work for the day, we emptied out the back lazarette and Pete went in to work on the generator, which quit on us over two weeks ago.  This is the first time we had to work on it.  Thankfully, Pete had emailed Rob, our mechanic, so the repair went quickly and without a hitch. The water pump impeller was in pieces when we took it apart.  Thankfully, we have a couple of spares onboard, along with quite an assortment of other items for such impromptu repairs.
DB and Natasha, Dan & Martha's son & daughter-in -law
Always a great spread!
   







     We joined everyone aboard Brunelle for heavy appetizers and farewell to DB and Natasha.  They will be heading to the airport at 6 tomorrow morning.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Thursday, March 24, 2011

The Friendliest of People

     Pete started work bright and early this morning with a pre conference call at 7.  When the “fleet walkies” announced, “a group was heading into town to explore and grab lunch at “Sammy’s,” Pete was ready for a break, so we joined the group. Dinghies were tied to a 10’ high pier, which thankfully had ladders on the side. However, the wind and wave action made thing a little challenging.
 Partial view of the Blue Ocean Hole
     We headed in search of the “Blue Ocean Holes,” which are common on Eleuthera.  As we walked, a car stopped. The woman asked if she could help us.  She worked for BaTelCo and gave us directions. John jokingly asked if she could help with the cell phone service.  She explained that her company had just been bought and the service interruptions that people are experiencing are current “industrial disputes.” As we walked, everyone has either waved, said “hello” or honked and waved as they went by. Out of all the places we have visited, this has definitely been the friendliest

Everyone on the overlook at the Blue Hole.
      The blue hole looked like a quarry. The fish and other marine life are definitely salt water based.  The plaque nearby stated that it is source is unknown. It is said that Jacques Cousteau was unsuccessful in seeking its source. There was a ladder, so it is permissible to swim in these blue holes, but the cruising guide has warned about diving deep and being trapped in the caves.  Apparently, some local teenagers drowned in the caves a few years ago.

Cotton in its natural form.
      Lunch was very good, but longer then Pete had planned. The grocery store is a mile down the road.  Since there is nothing I need that badly, I opted to return to the boat with Pete, while the others continued exploring. I was able to download all the pictures and work on them before dinner. The Goosebumps picture wasn’t quite a spectacular as it looked in person, but it was definitely aqua.

     Looking back at my time in town today, I think I must have said “Hello” or waived to at least 35 or 40 people. I know that doesn’t seem like much, but there are probably only 150 people in town, and I was only in town for about 2 hours! I am smiling as I write this.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Eleuthera, Here We Come

You can see the bottom at 20 feet under aggitated water
     We pulled up anchor at 9 AM.  There was no breeze, so the waters were perfectly calm and you could see straight to the bottom.  It is always such a marvel to look out at the water and see the clarity, the color, and vibrancy.  We headed south through the Highborne Cut, where the race was running. Even with the agitated water, you could still see the bottom.
Brunelle traversing the Cut
     There is a BeTelCo tower on Highborne.  Pete has had decent service from this tower as we passed this area in the past.  I tried last night for a couple of hours, but my telephone would not connect.  His phone rebooted twice during the night and numerous times this morning.  I have no idea what is going on with that tower.
We were reminded that not all vessels are on the water for
pleasure; some are here to work.
Betty was enjoying the view
from the deck of Andiamo.

Brunelle as she approached Powell Point, Eleuthera
  






Her sails and hull turned
aqua from the reflection.
    













  Once clear of Highborne, we crossed over into very deep waters of Exuma Sound and remained there until we approached Powell Point on Eleuthra.  As we approached, the water changed from a very deep bluegreen to the aquamarine.  I went forward to the bow to take photos of Andiamo and Brunelle. In an effort to capture some of the other colors I spanned to the right and caught another sailboat, which caught the reflections of the water on her hull and sails, making her all aqua. I think I know the name of the boat, (Goose Bumps) but I don’t have her card.  Hopefully, we will come across her in the near future so I can forward her owner’s the picture.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Highborne Cay and the Green Flash

     The wind gods were kind this morning.  It was relatively calm, which gave us a window to repair the jib. The parts were waiting at Nassau Harbour Club Marina last week when we arrived, but it has been too windy since then to unfurl the jib to access the repair. The actual repair only took about 15 minutes and we are now back in full sailing mode.   
Magic
Mary Jean II
    Departure time was scheduled for 11 AM for our fleet, but we needed to top off our fuel before heading out. After topping off water, we had the marina read our meter and run the bill.   However, no one could enter or exit the marina until both of the 200 foot boats exited.  It is still impressive to see them maneuver with the bow thrusters to stay in the center of the channel once they make the turn from the inner harbor.  I would have like to have seen Magic make the turn in the inner harbor before coming out of the harbor.  Mary Jean had to make the turn before she backed into her slip so she simply motored out.  The pictures just do not do justice to their size. Oh yea, word has it Mary Jean II is a charter at $380,000/week.
    Now back to my real world . . .once the big boats had cleared the harbor, we were able to leave.  Our plan was to top off our fuel at Hurricane Hole Marina.  As we approached their dock, a large yacht was pulling away. However, we were waived away as another large fishing boat was “in the que.”  We called Nassau Harbor Club. Unfortunately, he had 2 large boats waiting for fuel, so we tried Brown’s and got lucky to find only one boat at the dock with room for a second. By the time we completed our fill up, Brunelle and Andiamo were just passing by in the channel.
     We headed southeast towards Highborne Cay.  The heavy seas that were predicted were nowhere to be found. We had a favorable breeze, about 10 knots from the north. We were able to actually cut our “iron jenny” and simply sail for a while.  We were able to drop anchor at Highborne Cay around 4:30.  Dan made the rounds doing anchor inspection. Andiamo seems to be most successful with her 2000 RPM reverse once the anchor was down.  Tonight, for the first time, we saw the green flash at sunset. I was uncertain of what I was going to see.  It was the last moment, rays of the sun as it sets changed from yellow to a slightly greenish tint; and then it was gone.
    Martha had baked one of her delicious Key Lime pies.  We were invited to share dessert with them and their son and daughter-in-law after sunset. We thanked them, but declined due to my cold.  We used the time instead to catch up with our kids.  It is such a great feeling, when we talk to the “kids” we feel the same way today as we did all those years ago when they would tell us of a grade they received or the goal they scored. No let me amend that.  .  . It is an even deeper, better feeling.
~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete