March 13-16 Chub Caye and Nassau

We are situated in a slip in Nassau. Brad, of the "no worries, mon--I can fix your generator, mon" type, is here on the boat. I'm drafting a new blog and eavesdropping...

Chub Caye, impossibly rolly at first, turned out to be a nice anchorage once we got the scoop from S/V Bright Hope from Elkhorn Nebraska, who hailed us on the VHF radio. For you sailors: basically what we did was attach the snubber to port, then ran a line from the port stern cleat to about 50 feet down the anchor chain. This bridle kept us pointed into the swell and settled the boat down quite a bit.

Anchorage at Chub Caye. Not completely disconnected yet, we were excited to see a cell tower in the background.









We awoke Saturday to a bit of stormy weather, a welcomed but brief respite from the sun and salt. Chub Caye is a high end sport fishing resort and yacht club. Recession is evident here as there were not many boats nor people.

Another view of Chub Caye and a shack overlooking the harbour.

We dinghied into "town" as the rum supply is low, but there is not much town and precious little rum. However, with an abundant supply of SIM cards, there is a thriving market for prepaid phone cards. "Just go to the end of the green building and knock on the door, mon".

We felt like criminals and addicts, skulking around and trying to score at the local crack house. Ian made the bold first move...






We explored a few surrounding islands in the afternoon. Many of the beaches here are covered in washed up conch shells…those that have been killed for food and those that died of natural conch causes. The murdered ones have a tell tale hammer hole in the top of them.

Like that shrimp scene from Forrest Gump, conch is served in any way one can think to cook it. I learn that I will have to monitor shell collecting as I can not stop picking them up. Every nook and cranny on this boat is already full and I am only a week into this adventure.

Remote island exploration and the
conch cemetery.

Fabulous starfish were abundant. You have to put them back in the water fast...if they leak out all their water, they float. Who knew?

We weigh anchor Sunday morning around 0800 to make the trip over to Nassau. Winds are brisk, 15-20 knots from the southeast, and well, we’re going southeast. We pounded into the wind and waves for 8 hours. At one point, we are in 7000 feet of water…we feel very small! It was a rough day but we are glad to arrive in Nassau harbour well before dark.

View of Nassau Harbour and a shot of Atlantis property.

Nassau is a busy shipping harbour. We have to call on the radio for permission to enter.

"Enjoy your stay, mon".

Later, same day. Disappointing news on the generator. First, we need a new injector tip, which is conveniently being FedExed from Fort Lauderdale. We are thankful that the plane only makes one stop, in Nassau, so our chances of receiving it are good. The failed compression test is another matter and Brad is coming back tomorrow to pull the head. Boat = bring out another thousand. This is all very frustrating because it's not as if we just put the boat in the water and decided one day to go cruising.

We decided to get off the boat,walk about and go to the market to see what they have, maybe score some vegetables or whatnot. My new foreign food exchange relative comparison model is based on ramen noodles. Angeleconomics. They are 4/dollar here. I think I last saw them in Dallas for 8 or 10/dollar. We are not yet reduced to ramens…tonight I’m making spaghetti and red leaf salad with fresh pear and blue cheese. I bet Craig eats so much salad he is too full for spaghetti!

The walk to the store...a sea of red lights, not what we have in mind!

March 11-13 Gun Caye, Bahama Bank and Chub Caye

Still working that $11 connection, so a couple of shout-outs. First, happy anniversary today to Mom and Daddy Reed! 49 years, and still dancing together at parties! Second, a shout out to Dan and Sue...good to have a Nebraska contingent checking in. Send us your email and potential dates of travel...
We left Bimini Wednesday morning for a 4 hour trip over to Gun Caye, a quiet and deserted island. Prevailing winds still from the east, and well, we're going east. Heavy reliance on the iron jib again...this was expected and will change once we turn south. We dropped the hook and quickly assembled the dinghy for an afternoon of exploration

S/V Lorian, leaving Bimini BlueWater Marina.

A view of Gun Caye and S/V Hakuna Matata and S/V Lorian at anchor.

Unbelievable water...this is looking straight down into 10 feet of water...hard to keep a pool this clear.

Lori and Ian join us for a dinghy ride to explore the beach.

A driftwood tree, deocrated in conchs.

Conchs live their lives face down in the sand. Eyes, though. Who knew??

We left Gun Caye at dawn to cross the Great Bahama Bank towards Chub Caye and Nassau. To the left is the lighthouse at the narrow cut between Gun Caye and Cat Caye. Image to the right is crossing the bank.

If you are sitting at your desk with nothing to do, burn some company time on the internet, google Great Bahama Bank and have yourself a geography lesson. What I will tell you is this: We crossed over nothing but open water, 12 feet deep, at 6 knots for 10 hours. We stopped for the night right in the the middle of it, tucked in and surrounded by a 1-3 foot deep, horse-shoe shaped underwater reef. No land in sight. Very wierd.

I am content reading and catching up on novels.

Craig provides additional entertainment during the long journey.

Another quick 5 hours today, and we are anchored at Chub Caye. It was a bit cloudy this afternoon upon our arrival, so we relaxed on board and will scout the area tomorrow...perhaps snorkel and see if we can scrounge some lobsters for dinner. We are going to hang here for the weekend and head to Nassau Sunday. We have an appointment with a generator outfit on Monday. Its running, new oil and filters, but slow to start and blowing smoke. "No problem, mon, We can fix that, mon". S/V Lorian tore their main sail crossing the bank...they're up for a repair in Nassau as well.

The Admiral

March 9-11 Passage and North Bimini

We heard a good song on the satellite radio today with a very appropriate line: I'm not calling in sick, I'm calling in gone. We left Monday afternoon and this evening is our first opportunity to connect to the internet. It was $11 well spent...we are junkies jockeying for internet time.

Sunday afternoon, we had an interesting occurence in the harbor. The pumpout boat visits every boat to remove waste. Austin was driving this day. He is the asst manager at the harbor and we knew him from Craig's time on the wall when we first got to Marathon. He was visiting each boat at anchor, in the company of a federal marshal. Instead of doing pump outs, they were on a stealth search for a felon from Utah who had skipped his trial (the marshal is chatty but no further details offered), thought to be hiding out in Marathon. We suggested the pirate boat...turns out that boat, M/V Heller Highwater, belongs to Austin's daddy who used to shrimp and run drugs, but is now too old for both, so he just cruises Georgia to Florida when it is cold.

Pump out boat makng the rounds...and the marshal boarding a sailboat across the way from us.

The passage from Marathon to North Bimini went very well. It started off with a dolphin escort out of the harbor, considered an excellent sign for sailors. The seas were calm with 3-5foot swells, well-lit by a full moon. Winds were east at 15 knots, unfortunately right on our nose, so we motor-sailed. The iron jib is the easiest of our sails to trim! We were accompanied on our journey by S/V Lorian, also a Morgan 41. Lori and Ian are former students of Craig's who have been cruising for a year. It was nice to have someone to chat with on the 20 hour trip.

Our dolphin escort and S/V Lorian.









Goodnight sun, Hello moon.

It was fun to put our new AIS (boat show acquisition) to the test...talk about feeling like a bug on the windshield.

This tanker would have never even felt the fiberglass crunching under his bow....








The AIS shows commercial ship information, as well as closest point of approach(CPA).

The morning after and the approach to North Bimini.

More paperwork, feeling pretty.

Texas flag (required) and Bahamian courtesy flag we raise after clearing customs and immigration.

Bimini Bluewater Marina, our stop for the night and a view across the water.

As mentioned before, cruising is defined as fixing your boat in exotic locales. Well, we have had our first big dose of that. We arrived in Bimini, got checked in and had lunch. After a late afternoon cocktail or two, we are wiped out. But wait, why is the water pump running constantly and we have no leaks?? Uh-oh. We decided the water pump installed in January is bad...we rip it out and replace with the spare, working until 1030pm.

March 8: Color Us Gone...

And we're off! We are outta here Monday afternoon. The dinghy is lashed on deck and jack lines in place (safety lines the length of the boat to which we harness if out of the cockpit on passages). We will weigh anchor around 1pm, run over to the gas dock to top off tanks and then plan to hit the gulf stream around 2pm. It's a 20 hour nonstop ride over to Bimini, so we hope to arrive around 10am...plenty of light to see coral heads and such as we enter the harbour. In honor of the occasion, a new poem:

Twas the night before passage
And all through the boat,
The gear is tied down,
To Bimini we'll float.

By sail and by gulf stream
We plan on 6 knots.
The wind is cooperating...
But will fishes be caught?

When what to my wondering eyes should appear?
Custom and immigration forms.
Will you fill these out, dear?

We prepared and then struggled
Against the recent bad storm.
But in 20 hours it's Bahama landfall,
This is my new norm.

The Captain is cured.
The Admiral is glad.
Come hell or high water,
By July, Trinidad.

March 5: Waiting on Weather

Here we are in Marathon, along with many other boats, waiting for a weather window to cross the gulf stream and anxiously checking offshore weather reports for news that the winds are shifting to any direction but north. The latest indicates that this might happen Sunday or Monday. We spent a few days in the harbour on a mooring ball ($20/night) and have now moved to an anchorage (free) just outside the channel marks to Marathon Marina and the harbour.

Mooring balls are usually (in the USA, anyway...) screwed into the sea bed and have tethers on them. To get on a ball, approach into the wind (Admiral), coasting up to the ball. Use the boat hook to grab the tether (Captain) and with quick speed and mighty muscles, pass a line from the boat through the tether and tie it off.
Images of the mooring field at Boot Key Harbour in Marathon.

Images of the anchorage outside of the marinas.

This boat reminds us of the movie Dead Calm.

Pirate Test.

What is the best evidence of potential piracy here?

A. Distressed and bombed out boat with old tires for fenders

B. Pirate on deck

C. Pirate flag
D. All of the above

So, we are looking forward to our trip and in the meanwhile, preparing to live at sea. Now that we are away from the marina, I had an excuse to put the WonderClean to the test. Guess I'll have to write a separate entry about that, but here is a link to see what it is:

http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1600&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C127%2C284&KickerID=77&KICKER

Works like a champ but we will still visit laundromats for sheets and towels. I have to admit some hesitancy in hanging dainty bits on the lifelines, but then again, if that gives some passing fisherman a thrill, well, he needs to come out of his cave more often.

Since the definition of cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places, at least we are well on our way with that. More boat parts, you ask?? Well. About a month or two ago, for unknown reasons, perhaps age, we threw a fan blade on the AC/heat blower in the salon. Craig shimmed the unit with a paint stirrer stick to reduce vibration. Monday night we threw 2 more blades. Now it is a problem as we figure the fan will become unbalanced and bomb out in some exotic and hot locale. (Think: crazy international shipping rates, delivery schedule and customs). Much internet searching, phone calls to every dealer up to Ft Lauderdale and a 6 mile hike to every AC, marine dealer and marine salvage yard in Marathon ensued in an attempt to acquire just the part (squirrel cage fan...like a hamster wheel). No luck. One must order the entire blower/motor/fan unit. $565. Plus we were against a wall, balancing delivery with our anticipated departure. A three hour install, given tiny screws and about 2 inches around the unit in which to work. After ordering the blower, we continued the search in a refusal to give up and there it was. Some kinky online outfit that specializes and sells every size and rotation of 'squirrel cages' one could possibly want for $24 plus shipping. The new motor, though, is whisper quiet.....
The Admiral

March 2: A Day in the Cruising Life

Last night the cold front and north winds that will keep us in Marathon for a few days blew in. The seas get very rough when the north flowing gulf stream collides with high winds from the north, so we will wait until the winds veer around again, hopefully Saturday. Last night gave us sustained winds of 25mph and gusts to 40. We are in a mooring field at Boot Key Harbor, swinging on a mooring ball with 200 other boats. Very cold. 65F. Feels like it might snow to me.

I woke up this morning. I do not have a job and after some withdrawal the last couple of days, I find myself completely over the blackberry. After listening to the local cruisers net on the VHF radio (new arrival introductions, weather, local information and swap meet) and lunch, we went off for a few errands, sans automobile. We dinghied into the marina and then we walked to the hospital where Craig had surgery to clear our tab. Then we walked to Home Depot to pick up some towel hooks and water filters. Then we walked to the liquor store to replenish the rum supply. Then we walked to the grocery store for a few items. And then we walked home, toting the purchases. This took about 3 hours.

We have settled into an evening routine and turn on the generator for 2 hours to top off the batteries and run our bigger power-drawing appliances: water-maker, ice-maker, water healter and A/C if needed (not today!), +/- blowdryer and microwave (cheating with potatoes).

All's well with the world.
A.

February 27: We Are Outta Here!!

After a tough month of radiation for the Captain, it is time to get this mission off the ground and for us to get underway. If anything, this episode has strengthened our resolve to go now. We can never say enough to express our gratitude for the support and prayers we have received from our family and friends. Craig is healthy, strong and 100% cured.

This week has been, and Jimmy Buffett says it best, a tumultuous uproar as we prepare to set sail for the Bahamas: provisioning, last minute "can't live withouts", engine/generator maintenance and preparation, turn the rental car in, got to the bank, etc. etc.

One "can't live without" splurge was new linen for our stateroom. That comforter was too heavy and scratchy, and girls, you know there was just too much blue going on in this boat for me. Now, I'll admit some degree of excitement that Key West has in addition to my K-Mart limitation in Marathon, a Sears. Woo-woo! I gave it a half-hearted attempt, but a girl has to draw a hard line prior to unemployment, so an Angela internet power search ensued, and voila!

A 100% cotton matelasse..in cayenne, no less. With matching shams. And a throw pillow. OK, and midnight blue sheets with a stupid high thread count. But no flowers or petite english ivy...I was pushing my luck with the shams.

I did hit K-Mart and Publix on a massive provisioning mission. Things can certainly be had down island, in many places very inexpensive, and part of the point of the trip is to enjoy new cultures, but the Bahamas are crazy expensive. We thought it a good idea to stock up to save money and until we get a feel for foreign markets. While I was doing this, the Captain got down and dirty in the engine room, changing oil, filters and other man stuff to prepare us for the journey.

For the first time, I was the woman you hate to be behind in the checkout line.

Fun with the Food-Saver. Vacuum sealed for freshness!

The Captain and the Admiral each do our part to ensure the health and well-being of the other.

Today we pulled our lines on board and headed out of Key West to head north before making the passage across to the Bahamas. It was a beautiful day but the 15knot winds were right on our nose, requiring use of the "iron jib" and many tacks to make progress north. We made it to our old favorite anchorage, Bahia Honda, to spend the night. We will proceed to Marathon tomorrow to visit with friends. Following that, we will continue north the Key Largo or thereabouts, looking for our weather window to cut across the gulf stream.

The Admiral

February 21-23 Jeff Marker Visits Hakuna Matata

FJM (Fabulous Jeff Marker), a good friend and colleague from the Captain's corporate days, winged into Key West for the weekend to help with the healing process and relax for a few days. He arrived Saturday afternoon, and we immediately returned to the boat for cockpit refreshments. Jeff was quick to get into a Key West state of mind. We took him down to Mallory Square for the daily sunset party and then a "Duval crawl" along the main drag of Key West. I could not get the boys to hold hands but entertained myself by dropping a few paces behind to watch tourists looking at them...

Image to the left is sunset from Mallory Square.



Image to the right is one of the artists on Mallory Square, a potential career opportunity should 401Ks continue to vaporize.







Sunday, we geared up for a day of fishing and adventure on the high seas. As it turns out, we had lots of adventure but no catching. Just after leaving the channel marks to our marina, Jeff spotted something in the water which turned out to be a school of stingrays, gliding along at the water's surface.

Look closely! They are quick and shy!!










We sailed out to our sweet spot (see prior posts) and fished all day long with nary a bite. Turning back towards home port to get in the slip before dark, we were surprised to see a Coast Guard launch speeding our way, lights flashing! They pulled along side and informed us of their intent to board our vessel for Coast Guard safety inspection. Thank heavens for my compulsive captain! They were quite austere until it was established that there were no weapons aboard (would a Texas girl's makeup count??), and then they went through the inspection. No deficits on Hakuna Matata. They were very friendly and even let us take a photo to document the occasion.

The answer to your question is:
50 caliber.









Monday we did the Conch Train tour through Key West...100 points of historical and architectural interest! A great visit. Thanks for coming to see us, Jeff!
The Admiral