Bahama 2018 Leg 1

5/9/2018 Wednesday To Lake Sylvia

The weather forecast was for 3 days of good weather before a large area of tropical moisture entered the area with rain and winds. We talked to several other boats that were thinking of crossing, John on Permanent Vacation and Jeff on Rosenante. John had a guest on board with limited vacation and wanted to cross on Friday. Jeff was sailing by himself. We decided to go to Lake Sylvia, check the boat out and wait for the others to arrive and decide on Friday whether we would cross of return to our dock. We took the final provisions to the boat in the morning and stowed everything away. After lunch we found we still had more stuff to take to the boat, so we took one more trip, then returned home and walked back to the boat. We said goodbye to our dock neighbors and left the dock around 2PM. We had an uneventful trip down the river to Lake Sylvia but took 3 tries to get the anchor to hold. We ran the water maker for 3 hours and were delighted to see the water gauge finally register the water production. There are small drips from the fittings on the filter but just a few drops. The first real test of the system since it was first turned on Monday at the dock.

5/10/2018 Thursday Day Sail, Dolphins Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q4qsgjPE8tHTibrF8

We had a quiet night and after breakfast we went out for a day sail to check that everything was ready for the crossing. It was a very nice day with 12 Kt breeze. The highlight of the day was when a pod of dolphins that approached the boat and then swam around us for 10 minutes, playing at the bow while we sailed at 6 Kt. When we got back to Lake Sylvia, our friends were already anchored so we rafted up with them, shared some snacks and discussed the crossing tomorrow. John wanted to leave at 4 AM to make the 4:30 bridge opening and I said I would follow but if we could not make good time in the conditions out there we would turn back. Before dark, we broke up the raft up and anchored and then checked our life jackets and emergency equipment.

5/11/2018 Friday Crossing to West end Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dxUsVHZZbLhejKPJ3

The alarm rang at 3:30 AM and we quickly got everything in order. We did not see any activity from the other boats but pulled up anchor at 4 AM and headed out. When we approached the bridge, we heard John calling us and told him we were already under way. The wind was about 10 Kt from the ENE. A freighter was coming in the channel as we approached it and a couple of tugs were hanging around outside waiting for the next freighter. We could motor at 5.5 Kt but the waves were short, and we were rocking and the engines cavitated a lot. I was thinking of turning around but at dawn I put up the sails and by motor sailing and help from the Gulf Stream we could do 6 Kt without too much cavitating, so we continued. John on the biggest boat quickly pulled ahead and was out of sight. Jeff slowly passed us, and we kept company with Lee all the way across. Around 5 PM we entered the West End channel just behind Lee and were directed to a wide berth on the first pier, all by ourselves. John and Lee were just behind us on the next pier and Jeff was on the other side of their pier. After tying up, the dock hand wanted us to clear customs and register with the marina quickly because they were staying late for us (on a Friday). I grabbed our passports and rushed around to the marina office and then to Customs, but I forgot the boat documentation, so I had to walk back to the boat which was all the way around the marina basin, as far as it could possibly be. Everything worked out and we got all the paperwork, but the customs officer told his helper to inspect our boat. We walked back together, on the way a lady with a cart was selling baked goods. The customs official bought some tarts and I got a loaf of Coconut bread. Back at the boat, the official just hung around and chatted, he was just appeasing his boss and wanted to go home. The bread lady was on the next dock, so Cathy went over and bought us a tart also. At 9 PM we meet at John’s boat and talked about how the get out of the marina and go to Mangrove Cay tomorrow. John and Lee had to back up and possibly into the space where we were, so we had to leave first. John would leave next, anchor in the basin and use his dingy to help Lee get out. Jeff had no problem getting out, but his navigation software did not show the Memory Rock pass, so he would follow us through the pass.

5/12/2018 Saturday To Mangrove Cay Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2rYNP8BoA3Zz0IZu1

In the morning I tried to check the marina office, but it was still closed. They had a charge on our credit card, so I assumed all was OK. We took off the lines except the last bow line which hung up on the piling, but we eventually shook it free and had an easy exit. Jeff followed a few minutes later. We both set our sails and had a nice beam reach up to Memory Rock. Jeff kept up in the light breezes but when the wind increased to 12 Kt, we pulled away. We waited 5 minutes at Memory Rock for him to catch up and then headed in to the banks motor-sailing. John was delayed because Lee had an engine problem, a broken water pump belt and a leaking water pump. Leo decided to go to Lucya, John still beat us to Mangrove Cay. We decided to meet on John’s boat for more snacks and discussion. I launched our dingy, picked up Jeff and got a ride on John’s dingy lift platform. Jeff was worried about fuel, he had not topped up at West End. John offered fuel from his 350-gallon tank and eventually I donated one of our 5-gallon water jugs to transport the fuel. John would stick with Jeff tomorrow to help him navigate to Foxtown or Spanish Cay to pick up more fuel. We were tired and declared for a lay day tomorrow to recover. We returned Jeff to his boat, then we emptied our water jug into our water tank, John came by in his ‘taxi’ and took the jug, filled it and delivered it to Jeff. An eventful 2 days, I was glad to get to bed with a restful tomorrow.

5/13/2018 Sunday Rest day at Mangrove Cay

John and Jeff left around 8 but not before John blew his big horn to ensure everyone in the harbor was awake. After 2 days of hard sailing, we decided to take a day off, do a few chores and organize some of the supplies we brought on board

5/14/2018 Monday To Great Sale Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WiXOGhUi6OVLClsl2

In the morning things looked good but windy so we decided to move to Great Sale. After breakfast we raised the double reefed main and pulled up the anchor and started out. When we cleared Mangrove Cay and headed East, the trawler anchored near us also left. As the day progressed, the wind and seas built, and we had waves sweeping over the fore deck and crashing on the windows. Spray swept over the boat and everything was wet. Some water came in the starboard hatches. At the half way point, 10 miles in to the 20-mile trip, I was contemplating turning back but we tacked a few times and decided to continue. It did not get any better, but we got used to being swept by waves and finally sailed into the lee of Great Sail and anchored in calm water. The trawler was there along with a sailboat and another power yacht.

5/15/2018 Tuesday Rest day at Great Sale Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/x7uMH3yVncxCW5X02

The wind in the morning was still very strong, the catamaran that arrived after us left before we got up, but the rest of the boats remained at anchor. We had a lazy morning and caught up on our sleep. After lunch we checked the water temperature, 79 deg so we had our first swim in the Bahamas. A few small fish were under the boat and I scraped a few barnacles off, but the hull was mostly clean. The water was not clear, sand stirred up from the recent storms and high winds. A large storm passed behind us, to the East with black clouds and lightning. We saw several funnels develop and descend from the cloud. Very dramatic but fortunately far enough away. Lots of clouds around but also some sunshine which we have not had much of these last few days. The wind moderated through the day and was down to 15 Kt in the evening. We played dominos in the afternoon. Cathy christened the local sea gull ‘Oscar’ and fed him some bread.

5/16/2018 Wednesday Great Sale

It rained periodically overnight, sometimes very hard. The wind dropped in the morning and the rain cleared but there were dark clouds and rain in the area. We slept late and decided to let the weather pass over for another day. We had toast and hard-boiled eggs for brunch, crackers and cheese in the afternoon while playing RummyCub and read and relaxed. The afternoon sky looks better but the wind is up to 20 Kt. Hope it calms down tomorrow so we can continue on.

5/17/2018 Thursday to Foxtown

In the morning most of the other boats left and even though the wind was 15-20 Kt we decided to try to move to Foxtown, 20 miles away. We put up the double reefed main and jib and sailed south around the reefs below Great Sale and then East for 24 miles. The wind increased as the day went on, we started doing 5-6 Kt and ended doing 6-7 Kt. The waves were not quite as bad as the trip from Mangrove to Great Sale, but they still frequently swept over the boat and crashed into the cabin windows. Near Foxtown we made a final tack South and the transformation was remarkable, we were still hard on the wind but moving parallel to the waves instead of right in to them. Too bad the entire trip could not be that smooth. A large ketch was anchored outside, and several boats were anchored close to town. We anchored on the east side of town with 2 other sailboats. After cleaning up I lay down for a nap and a minute later we hear Jeff calling us on the radio. He has been here for 3 days and after he does a run in to get diesel fuel, we dingy in and meet him for drinks and dinner. A boat boy meets us at the government dock and helps us with garbage. It is extreme low tide and the ladder does not extend far enough for Cathy to climb up, so he directs us to shore, clears a path for the dingy and helps Cathy wade ashore. He is also ‘helping’ Jeff with a missing stainless nut. Jeff wanted to tip him but only had $10, he was sure he saw the boat boy flash a wad of cash, but the boat boy offered to get fresh fish for the other $5. At the restaurant, they cooked Jeff’s fish and there was enough for all of us. As the sun went down I was surprised to see our anchor light on, I did not turn it on and I thought it was not working but it must be running off the solar controller. I had wired up a switch for that function, but I thought it was not enabled. Something to check when I get a chance. Jeff picked up the tab and we agreed to call each other in the morning and planned to set off to Crab Cay at 8 tomorrow and try to beat the rain and wind later in the day. At the dingy, the tide was up enough that Cathy could easily get in the dingy and we made it back to the boat at 8:30.

5/18/2018 Friday to Crab Cay

It rained all night, on and off, sometimes heavy. In the morning the winds were light, and it was overcast. I called Jeff at 8 and he said he needed an hour to get ready. Our holding tank was plugged up, so I spent the hour unplugging it, fun but we did find a technique that works well. At 9 we pulled up the anchor and Jeff followed us out the channel. There was a bit more wind, right on the nose but the waves were less than a foot and we made good progress under power. We anchored at noon with 3 other boats and as the day progressed, more boats accumulated, including the trawler that was at Mangrove with us. At dusk there were 10 boats in the anchorage, I can’t remember more than 4 when we have been here before. We invited Jeff over for happy hour, I launched the dingy and took 5 gallons of water over when I picked him up. It had rained on and off all day with a few heavy squalls after we were anchored. Picking up Jeff seemed to indicate the end of the rain, it is still overcast but it has not rained since then. We discussed may things and decided to go to Powel tomorrow but since it only about 5 miles we don’t have to get up early.

5/19/2018 Saturday at Crab Cay

A whole night without rain, we are blessed! But the wind was still blowing very hard and the weather app seemed to show the wind decreasing over the next few days, so we decided to wait here in this protected anchorage for another day. Half the boats left, and the other half stayed, a few more pulled in during the day. The sky was overcast but the sun shined through on occasion. Around 11 I went to open the starboard forward hatch to see why it was leaking and I heard Cathy cry out that Jeff’s dingy was adrift. When I got on deck it was travelling quickly down wind. We launched our dingy and quickly as possible, but it was a long way away by the time I started after it. After a chase, I caught hold of the painter and slowly pulled it back to Jeff’s boat. Jeff had been in the process of bailing it out and went back on board to get a pump when it got loose. He thought about jumping for it, but it was moving very fast down wind. When his dingy back, Jeff rowed over to discuss plans for tomorrow. We had lunch and decided to start out at sunrise tomorrow to see how far we could get. Jeff wants to go all the way to Green Turtle, anchor and wait for high tide next day to go in. We want to go the Crab Cay (a different Crab Cay) just 3 miles from Green Turtle, a better anchorage and then move to Green Turtle next day. We hope to get an early start before the winds build up. It worked on Friday! Jeff invited us over for drinks at 5 PM. We dingied over and had a few drinks and then helped Jeff lift his dingy aboard for the journey tomorrow. We probably should have done the dingy before the drinks, but everything worked out in the end. We set the alarm for 6 AM, sunrise is at 6:20 and we will pull up the anchor at 6:30.

5/20/2018 Sunday to Manjack/Crab Cay Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/myuPcK3ek3mo9egl1

A quiet night, no rain and the wind was not howling and the sea of Abaco looked decent to make progress, but it was directly into the wind. When the alarm went off, we got to boat in order and had a simple breakfast of fruit and breakfast bars. We pulled up the anchor at 6:25, it was well dug in. We watched Jeff pull up his anchor, alone, without a windless, soon we were off downwind to the exit of the anchorage. Another catamaran left at the same time. Conditions starting out were not too bad and we could do 4.5 to 5 Kt. After an hour we were down to 4 Kt with occasional wave groups slowing us to under 3 Kt. Several sport fish boats passed going the other way and created big waves. When we got closer to Manjack, the wind seemed to ease up with fewer whitecaps. Jeff was a couple miles behind us and we gave him coordinates for the turn to the anchorage. There were already 8 boats anchored and Jeff was about 30 minutes behind us. Several boats left during the day and several more anchored, so we have quite a crowd here. The water maker prefilter was leaking a bit, the input and output fillings had stopped leaking, but the filter body had a slow leak, so I unscrewed it, replaced the filter, lubed the threads and screwed it back on. I was surprised that the filter was black already, but we had run it on the New River and Lake Sylvia. I washed and dried the old filter, but it still looks dirty and smells a bit. We ran the water-maker for 3 hours and I could not find any leaks, YEAH! The water temperature was 78 deg and I took a nice swim and nocked the last few barnacles off the boat, the bottom is in good condition and they slipped right off. Only a few small fish under the boat. I took a shower on the back of the boat and felt much cleaner. Jeff went exploring in his dingy and then dropped by for happy hour. We plan to leave around 11 tomorrow to catch the rising tide into Black Sound at Green Turtle, only 4 miles away, an easy voyage for once.

5/21/2018 Monday to Green Turtle Cay Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/lO1DSUDAGrtkbZLA2

We slept late and there was no Cruisers Net in the morning. At 11 we pulled up the anchor and motored to Green Turtle. The wind was 15-20 Kt but we were sheltered enough that we still made good time and entered the channel to Black Sound on a rising tide with plenty of depth for Jeff. We looked around at the moorings and found one with a name and phone number ‘Phil Roberts’. The sound was almost empty of moored boats but there were a fair number at the various marinas. We heard John on Permanent Vacation call while we were trying to pick up the mooring, but we could not make contact. After lunch and putting everything away, we took the dingy over to Jeff who was at the dock at the Other Shore Club. The gas dock was closed but the Pineapple Bar was hopping. We had a beer and got rid of out garbage. Jeff tried to wash the salt off by jumping in the pool, but it turned out to be a salt water pool. A couple of the locals had a conch salad bar and were doing a good business shelling conch and chopping and mixing conch salad. We walked into town and found most places closed due to Whitsunday holiday. We asked and found that only a few restaurants would be open, Harvey’s would open at 5 so we walked around to the Blue Bee Bar and had a round of Goombay Smashes. Our boat card was still stuck to the rafter where we put it 2 years ago. Jeff played basketball with one of the local children in the park across from the bar while Cathy and I used the swing set, (second or third childhood). We took our picture in front of a sign “Beware of attack rooster”. Back at Harvey’s we found it was Pizza and Wing night and they were doing a brisk business in takeout Pizza. They still had the regular menu, Cathy and Jeff had cracked conch and I had the Mahi, the food was excellent as always. We walked back to the Other Shore Club and took our dingy back to the boat. I made another trip back to Jeff to deliver some detergent because he got oil in his bilge. I signed up for OII internet service because it had the best signal here, $40 for 2 weeks. The service was intermittent, it went out at 10 PM and seemed to drop the connection occasionally but I left the laptop running overnight and it pulled down a bunch of podcasts for me.

5/22/2018 Tuesday Green Turtle Cay Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1I2KD6QAQ2WfBgQu1

The fuel dock opened around 9 and I went in with the gas jugs and got 21 gallons of gas and ferried it back to the boat. I returned to the dock, Jeff was having a wide-ranging discussion with Kevin, the dock master and we found out he will be playing at the Bluff House in White Sound tonight. We walked into town to find a few repair items now that the stores are open. Jeff found some parts to fix his flag halyard and a new Bahama ensign, I found a replacement lantern, the nice one I had and used as an anchor light blew off one night at Great Sale Cay. Back at Jeff’s boat I helped him go up the mast to the first spreader and attach his flag halyard. Back at our boat for lunch and then worked on email, the website and uploading our pictures. The OII Wi-Fi worked fine this afternoon. A short downpour passed thru around 2 PM but otherwise the weather was great. At 3 PM we cleaned up and took the dingy to Jeff’s boat, walked to the Wrecking Tree bar for beer and to use their WI-FI. Around 5 we walked back to the dock and took our dingy out of Black Sound and into White Sound to the Bluff House marina. There were only a few other people there and we had the bar to ourselves. People started to filter in and after a drink we grabbed an outdoor table near where Kevin was setting up. We had conch fritters, I had the strip steak special and Cathy had fish. The food was very good, and Kevin’s music had people jumping. We left around 10:30 and felt our way back to Black Sound.

5/23/2018 Wednesday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jwWo5xWl3cY3yFJK2

A quiet night, one mosquito annoyed us in the early morning hours. OII Wi-Fi is not working, will not connect to the internet. We waited until noon for enough tide, so Jeff could get through the shallow entrance. Jeff was ready around 12:30 so we dropped the mooring and slowly motored out with depths of more than 6 ft. Jeff followed shortly after and had no problem. We had 14 miles, all against the wind, out Whale Cay Cut and back in side at Guana Cay. The winds and waves were moderate compared to what we have already been through but we all long for a decent sailing day. We envied the several sailboats going downwind the other way, they were having such an easy time of it while we struggled up wind. The anchor went down just before 5 PM but would not hold so we reset, and the second time worked. Jeff came over for happy hour, rum and coke, cheese and crackers and peperoni. We decided to move to Man of War Cay tomorrow, tour the town and take a swim on the ocean side. Then move on to Hope Town the next day, wait out the high winds and rain for about 4 days in Hope Town. If there are no moorings, we will go directly to Marsh Harbor and anchor for the bad weather expected this weekend. I ran the water maker and took a shower on the stern platform, feels good to get the salt off.

5/24/2018 Thursday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MIrgSTc715gPDAj82

There were a couple of quick showers during the night. In the morning I realized that we would get to Man of War at low tide and Jeff could not get in until 3 PM so we decided to go ashore, walk around and swim on the ocean side at Nippers. The island was very quiet and there were only a few people at Nippers. We had a nice swim in the ocean and then a few beers and lunch. We returned to the boats, but Jeff realized he forgot his cell phone, so we went back to shore, and he found his phone where he set it down while untying the dingy. We pulled up anchors and motored past Foots Cay and then because it was the first nice day in a while, we set the sails and tacked towards Marsh Harbor and Matt Lowe’s Cay. We sailed most of the way in 2 long tacks. Jeff started sailing but then went back to motoring and we meet a few miles from our anchorage. There was a large power boat and a sailboat in the anchorage. We had Paella for dinner and went to bed early.

5/25/2018 Friday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xYkW9bvbTuE91WtH2

In the morning we discovered that there was a problem with our radio, we could hear the Cruisers net from Jeff’s boat but could not get it on our radio. The hand-held VHF could pick some of it up if I stood on the cabin top. Cleaning the cable connections did not seem to help. The radio still works for short distances. After breakfast we moved a mile to Mermaid reef, there were a few small boats and one large motor yacht there already. We swam for an hour or so and were surrounded by lots of colorful fish. Most of the small boats left around noon but several catamarans and cruisers anchored near us. Back on the boat, we had lunch and then moved to Marsh Harbor. Jeff went in to town, there was a local band playing, we could hear the music just fine from the anchorage.

5/26/2018 Saturday

It was overcast and windy again in the morning. I hooked up Jeff’s spare VHF radio to our antenna and it could not pick up the cruisers net very well, so the problem is in our antenna. At 9 we followed Jeff ashore to the public dingy dock and walked around town. We visited the hardware and electronic stores but the only place that may have VHF antennas is closed until Monday. We picked up fresh produce and went to the Conch Inn Marina restaurant, formerly Curly Tails, now Blue Hole, had some drinks, lunch and tried to use their WIFI. I did get my emails, but banking, podcasts and picture uploads did not work. We returned to our boats in a slight drizzle and the sky looks like more rain. With the fresh vegitables and even a packet of spinach, Cathy whipped up a nice salad for dinner. The evening was a steady drizzle and we played a few games of RummyCub and then decided to give the air mattress a try. We put the table down, took all the cushions off, unrolled the mattress and tried the electric inflator that worked well at home, but here the small inverter we have would not power it. Then we had to lift the table up again to get at the dingy air pump. We have a bunch of accessories for the hose, but none would give a good fit to the mattress port. We have a backup foot pump for the backup inflatable dingy stored in the starboard aft cabin, so we pulled all the stuff out of there to access the compartments below the cushions and finally got the foot pump to work. It was all worth it, the king size air mattress filled the entire seating area and extended a few inches over the end for more leg support. It is much more comfortable than the cushions that we were using. We had a restful night even though it drizzled, and the wind picked occasionally during the night.

5/27/2018 Sunday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MIzgdzbDJf3jlqBn2

In the morning it was still drizzling but the wind was moderate. We slept late, luxuriating in the air mattress. Cathy made eggs with ham and onions and toast. We read and rested for the rest of the morning. Around 1 PM, Jeff came over and we talked about his plans and our plans. It stopped raining for a while as we discussed the world’s problems and then when we decided to go in to town, it started raining. Jeff headed in to talk to some people who would watch his boat while he flew home. We waited for a break in the rain and waited and waited. Finally, it slowed a little and we took the dingy in to ‘Colors’, a small bar on the waterfront with a mix of locals and yachties. It had nice tall ladders up to the deck which made it easy for Cathy. We ordered drinks and conch fritters. Cathy had a bowl of Conch Chowder and I had the Shrimp Scampi special, both were very good. I tried their special drinks “Prime” and “One Drop”. While we ate the sky opened up and it rained like mad. But the WIFI was very good and we both got a lot done, finally. When the rain slackened there was 3 inches of water in the dingy and I took a plastic cup and bailed for 5 minutes to get it dry. Back at the boat, Jeff came over with some thin sliced beef that we cooked on the grill, Cathy made mashed potatoes and peppers and onions. Along with red wine, it made a very nice dinner. The sky is still overcast but the rain has stopped, and the forecast is for only a slight chance of rain tomorrow, can’t wait.

5/28/2018 Monday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KpifTxKn7Tg5OH662

We decided to stay another day and get the laundry done. I moved the boom, so it would not shade the solar panels, the batteries were down 60 amp-hours, they are normally down 36 amp-hours in the morning. We dingied in to the Conch Inn Marina but they only do laundry for people staying at the marina. We meet Jeff at the community dingy dock and he said he took his laundry to Harbor View Marina. We walked there and just after entering, the guy who picks up and delivers the laundry drove up and we both gave him a bag of laundry which he said would be ready by 5:30. Cathy and Jeff went to a coffee shop for something to drink and to use their WIFI. I walked to the marine store, they had antennas but no cables or an antenna with cable, but it needed the connector soldered on. Jeff wanted a cable to secure his dingy like I have, and I found a few parts to make one. I walked back to the coffee shop and found them engrossed in their iPhone. The same building has the Eddie Minnus Family art gallery. It was closed when we were here 2 years ago, and it was closed now but the dentist office on the first floor had patients waiting on the porch. I got an iced tea drink at the coffee shop but could not get my phone to connect to their WIFI. We decided to walk to the “Castle in the Sky” and then have lunch. I noticed the art gallery was now open and we went in, one of his relatives was running the gallery. A few paintings of local scenes were priced from $20-40K, along with small prints for $5 and a small selection of his CDs. I bought 2 CDs. We walked up to the Castle and had to ask directions but eventually found the right road. It is now a residence and looks in better condition than it did the last time we were here. We walked to the marina on the south side of town and had drinks and lunch, fish tacos and fries. They had good WIFI there and no password required! The sun finally came out and we put up the umbrella for shade, almost a first for this voyage. We waited a while and started back around 4:30 to pick up our laundry. At the marina, the door was locked, they close at 4 and our bags of laundry were by the front desk. O well, we will pick them up tomorrow. On the way back, we stopped at another Seawind, an 1160 model, the guy on board said the owner bought it a few weeks ago. Back at the boat, the batteries were full after being down 60 amp-hours in the morning due to all the overcast yesterday. We saw the almost full moon through a break in the clouds, a good sign.

5/29/2018 Tuesday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PXWtFODPDhKIoJQH2

The wind was strong all night but no rain and only partly cloudy. Jeff moved his boat further in where some people he meet in town will keep an eye on it. I took 5 gallons of water over and said good-bye and then got our laundered cloths from Harbor View Marina. A large group of catamarans were traveling together and held a race today so they all moved out of the harbor at 9 AM. We left at 10 and with just the jib, sailed the 4 miles to Man of War and found a mooring in the south bay. After lunch we turned on our phones and made some phone calls, the Bank of America online access was locked, and we got that straightened out. The WIFI here is very good, the best reception for the OII Wi-Fi we paid for in Green Turtle Cay. We went in to town and asked around for a VHF antenna and finally found the parts we needed, along with a bottle of waterproofing to keep the rain from soaking through the fabric over the helm position. They only take cash, so we will go in tomorrow morning to get the VHF antenna and cable. We walked around the town for a while and tried to get drinks at the water front bar, but it was closed from 3 to 6 so we walked a little further to a small ice cream shack and had some very good ice cream cups. On the way back to the dingy, Cathy picked up a loaf of coconut bread and we returned to the boat to relax. There were lots of boats in the mooring field but only 4 or 5 were occupied. We took a mooring next to the William H Albury schooner that was being restored the last time we were here. It still does not have masts, but the hull looks in good shape.

5/30/2018 Wednesday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/q9FXL2NfEuLm0eaA2

The mooring owner showed up in the morning and we paid him $20 for the night. He was glad for all the rain we had because the island only has cisterns to provide their water. Each day we had been deflating the air mattress and rolling it up and then pumping it up the next evening. Today we tried separating the 2 halves and moving them below without deflating them. It was just possible to maneuver them down the companion way and put them on top of the main bed. This saves so much work and makes this solution even better. I went in to town around 9:30 and bought the antenna, cable and connectors and also a 10’ length of PVC pipe. A tanker truck on a barge with a tug boat was filling up the fuel tanks at the marina. Back at the boat, a large catamaran went around the mooring field, several men would shout distance to other boats and moorings back to the captain. We watched them approach various moorings and then go on to another When they passed close I told them better moorings were available in the north mooring field, but they said they were on a practice session and not actually trying to moor. We followed them out of the narrow pass to the Sea of Abaco and a few minutes later, we looked behind and the barge and tug were following us. I am glad we did not meet them while negotiating the channel out of Man of War. We set the jib and had a slow but relaxing sail to an anchorage east of Mermaid reef. A few other boats were near us and a lot of boats were snorkeling at Mermaid reef. There was plenty of sun and a nice 15-20 Kt breeze. I checked the water-maker filter and it was almost like new after 9 hours of use. We ran the water maker for 3.5 hours. I worked on the VHF antenna, installing the connectors, crimp on, not soldered connectors. I tried the antenna resting on the roof and picked up a conversation at Little Harbour, so it was working much better then the one on the mast. I lashed the PCV pipe to the solar panel arch and put the antenna part way into the tube with the cable running out the bottom of the tube. The VHF radio could now just pick up the weather broadcast from Miami, so it is working just about as good as the antenna on top of the mast used to work. After all this work, we took a plunge in the water, swam around until we were all pruned up and took showers on the stern platform.

5/31/2018 Thursday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/0QhMoyCCrbFVq9ti1

The wind went down a bit overnight and no rain to wake us up. The Cruisers Net came through loud and clear with our new antenna and we found out that the catamaran rally is organized by “Catamaran Guru” and they are at Tahiti Beach this morning. We motored over to Tahiti Beach and it was crowded with catamarans, monohulls and power boats. The sandbar was filled with small powerboats and dingys. After lunch we rested for a bit, low tide was at 4:20 and I wanted to snorkel at the turn of the tide. We dingied in to the sandbar and walked around, the water was so low that we could not get to the good snorkeling areas, so we took our noodles and cooled off in the water around the sandbar along with dozens of other boaters. Very refreshing with a nice breeze and a bit of cloud cover.

6/1/2018 Friday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sLihk2bGCLOa75vN2

Today is a holiday, Labor Day, in the Bahamas and all the stores are required to close, the restaurants and bars stay open. After the Cruisers Net and breakfast, we organized the remaining drink supplies and filled the gas tanks. Around 10:30 we pulled up the anchor and motored a few miles to Hope Town. I was surprised that with all the boats at Tahiti Beach and anchored around Elbow Cay, there were only a few boats in the harbor and lots of moorings to choose from. We picked number 186 “Ally-Oop and the owner came by a little later to collect $20 for the night. We took the dingy to Harbor Edge restaurant for lunch, Cathy drove! After lunch we walked around a bit, down “Back Street” that ends at a couple of chairs overlooking the entrance to the harbor, a nice place to relax, look at the water and take a selfie. We returned to the boat for our snorkeling equipment and went to the Hope Town Lodge to swim at the reefs on the ocean side. A notice said that the beach side bar would close at 4:30 for a private event. The weather and water were very nice but there were only a few schools of fish, mostly just one or two here and there. We got back to the bar just as it was closing and managed to get a couple of Pina-Coladas before they chased us away to set up for a wedding (poor guy). We returned to the boat and had dinner and a quiet evening. I laid out the screecher for tomorrows down wind run to Guana Cay.

6/2/2018 Saturday Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/f4WVVgAOqYZ7vK5v2

In the morning I finished raising the Screecher and after the Cruisers net, we took the garbage in, there were a stream of boats bringing bags of garbage, huge piles from the marinas and restaurants. We planned to have breakfast at Capt. Jacks, but they are closed on Saturday, so we took the dingy to the public dock and walked to the Hope Town Lodge and had breakfast at their ocean side restaurant. Then we walked to Vernon’s Grocery Store for a few supplies, bread, meat and fruit. I like his store because it is plastered with hand written witty saying like “Even duct tape can’t fix stupid, but it will muffle the sound”. I took Cathy back to the boat and then went to the Light House Marina for a can of gas. We dropped the mooring around 11 and headed out the entrance. There were several boats anchored outside the entrance and I was amazed to see a very large roll-on, roll-off cargo ship in the shallow area where the boats were anchored. I thought it was anchored or aground but as I exited, it moved around the anchored boats, stirring up the sand and headed in our general direction. It passed behind us and we set the Screecher and sailed north for Guana Cay. It eventually overtook us and then turned for Marsh Harbor. We had a nice quiet down wind sail and anchored in the shallows behind Foot’s Cay all by ourselves. A number of boats anchored by Della’s Cay in preparation for tomorrows Nipper’s Pig Roast. We had a nice swim and then dinner and watched the sun go down. I am a bit concerned that the water-maker is not functioning right, Cathy found strands of something floating in the water that first came out when we turned on the water-maker and the salt content is reading 750 ppm which is safe but higher than it should be and higher than it has been so far.

6/3/2018 Sunday Guana Cay Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y0rWWa6LrkxTcCf42

After a quiet night, we motored the short distance to Guana Cay and anchored. With the wind from the South West, it is a lee shore and the water is a bit rough. At 11 we got in the dingy and went to shore. Nippers was already hopping, and we walked to the beach and snorkel for a while. We only saw a few schools of fish and isolated fish here and there. Lots of people on the beach and swimming and snorkeling about. After changing cloths, we went to the Pig Roast in the dining room, buffet style, all you can eat and a nice variety of pork, rice, beans, mac and cheese, and salad. We had a few drinks, listened to the music and talked to a sailing club group from Leesburg, FL on vacation here. We returned to the dingy and fought the waves out to our boat, then pulled up the anchor and motored across the Sea of Abaco to an almost deserted stretch of the mainland that gave us a protected anchorage from the wind. We had a nice swim and watched the sun go down.

6/4/2018 Monday Lubbers Quarters

Another quiet night, the sky was clear, and the stars really shined in the absence of any city lights. In the morning I called the water-maker guy and told him our problems and he had a few suggestions. I cleaned the strainer and put a new filter in and the system worked fine. Hope it keeps working! We pulled up the anchor and with a 15 Kt tail wind, sailed down wind with just the jib for 8 miles and anchored in the lee of Lubbers Quarters with a few other boats. Most of the boats were on the other shore by Green Turtle Cay. Lots of little boats were at Tahiti Beach, enjoying the fine weather. We swam around the boat for a while.

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