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Everything looks normal in the morning, another lovely clear day. We listen to the cruisers net and leave at 8:30 at half tide falling to get out the entrance. We follow several other sailboats from Green Turtle thru the Whale passage. The wind is from the SW and Bakers Bay on the N end of Guano Cay looks to exposed although there are a number of boats anchored there. We decide to continue to Marsh Harbor to check our mail. At noon we raise the sails and turn off the engine for a quiet lunch. Shortly after lunch the wind fails and we again turn on the motor. There is no wind and the sun beats down on us, this really is summer. We are sweating when we reach Marsh Harbor. At anchor there is a small breeze from the E and we celebrate our escape with crackers, cheese and rum drinks. The harbor has filled up quite a bit since we left and more boats come in while we sit in the cockpit watching the sun set. After dark we hear the same big motor yacht playing ‘Dixie’ on its horns that we suffered thru at Chub Cay. It may be here for a fishing tournament in Little Harbor this weekend.
We woke up early... We left Black Sound at about 8AM headed for Marsh Harbor. It was a beautiful day. Slight breeze - a sailboat ahead of us, angled off toward Man-of-War, had his sailing spinnaker up - beautiful rainbow of red - white - blues - yellow. We motored and sailed. After arrival we ate lunch and RESTED. As the day went on the wind picked up - Steady 20 - 25 kts. I decided this was a good eve to try the veggie-burger meat in some chili! Wrong - I'm saving it for bait. It's dreadful - the fish probably won't eat it!
We slept well after the excitement of the previous night. The cruisers net said the weather would be good today but a front is expected and it will be windy Friday thru Sunday. The mainsail cover had several rips in it from the storm and we spent the morning repairing it with sail tape. The fabric is a bit rotten but it should be OK if we use it in good weather. I put out the second anchor just in case. We make a list and head for shore. We drop off 2 bags of garbage and the Harbor View dock master Hubert says he will dispose of our used motor oil for us so I will change the oil tomorrow. We walk to the Triple J marine store and renew our sail tape supply and also our postcard supply. At the phone company where Jill was trying to call Chris we meet our neighbors in the anchorage, Peter and Alma who have a motorboat, poodle and parrot. We were anchored next to them in No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne and watched the parrot climb around their boat and squawk. They arrived yesterday for a few weeks and intend to go to Hope Town tomorrow. At the post office there is still no package for us. In the same shopping complex is the Golden Grouper restaurant that we had heard about on the cruisers net so we stopped there for lunch. It is similar to the Dolphin restaurant, a nice clean burger and sandwich place. We wanted to see how the email works at Sapodilla’s but it was closed so we returned to the boat to relax and cool off. The day was hot but there was a breeze blowing in the anchorage. A number of boats came in today and it is starting to get crowded. There were a few clouds in the afternoon but after the sun went down the sky cleared and the three quarters moon really lights up the harbor.
After a quiet night the wind began to blow harder in the morning, 20 Kt from
the SW. At dawn we could here musical instruments being played form a few boats
in the harbor. We slept late and around 10 I ran the engine to charge the frig
and warm the oil up. Everything went smoothly and by noon the oil was changed
and everything put back in place. The engine hour meter read 1422. We tried to
call the Castle Cafe and several other people did also but they apparently did
not open today because of the wind. After lunch I took a nap and we listened to
the Florida radio stations. Around 5 we heard some shouting and saw a dingy go
floating by. Somebody from a neighboring boat jumped in and swam to it. He got
in and started it up and headed up wind to try to find the owners. I never saw
him again. The wind was gusty with some 30 Kt gusts and quite a few more boats
entered the harbor during the day. At sunset we could hear several boats blowing
conch horns.
The wind blew strong all night and we were really rocked to sleep. In the morning the wind was more from the W and continued strong all day. We read and worked around the boat. Several boats left including our neighbors with the poodle and parrot in ’Coursa Avanti’. Jill did the laundry and hung all my unmentionables on the lifelines. We played several games in the cockpit and had happy hour at 5 PM. Around 7 the wind dropped a bit and the moon came up almost full. Should be a quiet night.
The wind blew all night. Yesterday evening we saw a dolphin swimming among the anchored boats. We have 2 anchors down. The boat right behind us is near the channel and several boats have come very near when he swings on his single anchor. He had all bumpers out! I am about finished with "Clear and Present Danger". Good story! On the way in to Marsh Harbor I caught a small fish in the drag line. I let him loose. Today we played 10,000 while the wind was up. The big deed of the day was that I did laundry. I washed everything in our dirty cloths bag by hand! I had cloths hanging all up and down the life lines :). --- Several with LOTS f cloths pins! 2 cloths pins to every sock! Everything was dry by mid-afternoon. The wind gradually decreased. I wrote to Chris and Mom and Daddy. Rich says we may go to Hope Town if the weather allows it. We played Spite and Malice ... Twice I lost!
The wind continued to blow and we spent another day on the boat.
MOTHER'S DAY: We woke to a lovely morning. The sun is 'glowing'. Yesterday I also took the stove apart and cleaned it. I must have been in a real house keeping mood :). I've been sewing on my cross-stitch. All of the colors I've added are making it more interesting to sew. We are now listening to the "5:15AM Cruisers Net". Rich is taking weather notes... Wind, wind and more wind for the next few days. We will stay on board.
The wind will not stop. It increases and gets gusty during the day. We read and play cards. Several boats re-anchor. In the morning I check the anchors and the second anchor is on the starboard side but I originally set it on the port side. The wind shifted. I try pulling it and it comes up easy but the line is fouled around the anchor. I get in the dingy and reset it and feel much better. We were swinging around on the main anchor and with the second anchor set to the side it limits the swing and we ride the gusts easier. I listen to the weather from Nassau on 93.5 FM at 6 PM and they say the wind will drop and turn to the NW when the trough goes thru sometime tonight. About a half hour later I stick my head up and the wind had gone down considerably. There are a few rain clouds to the NW and N but things are looking better. We saw a small dolphin swimming in the anchorage. The horizon was clear as the sun set behind some low hills. The wind continued to fall and for the first time we decided to bring out the cockpit light and have dinner and play cards outside. Shortly after the sun set we heard another boat talking about the moon and looked over to the E. It was a big orange ball just clear of the horizon. Fish splashed around the boat, possibly attracted by the bright cockpit light.
Reading, listened to cruisers net: An empty sailboat with motor running was found near Carter Cay! :{ No sign of the 50 year old single hand sailor. I wrote to all parents. The winds are 40 MPH, sunny and hot.
The wind died completely during the night and it was eerily quiet in the
anchorage after so many days of tossing waves. We decided to run a few errands
and have lunch at the Castle. We loaded garbage and used motor oil into the
dingy and headed for shore. We dropped off the garbage and walked to the Shell
station, we heard on the cruisers net that they take oil. The attendant outside
did not help but the older man inside was helpful and took our oil. We then
walked to the other end of town and up the old road to the castle. It was still
before noon and we were the second group there. We had a couple of their special
drinks, Castle Creepers. The drinks and food were good and we bought several
gift items at the little store. On the way back we stopped at the small grocery
store at the Conch Inn and bought bread and a few other items. We were tired and
it was a hot day by the time we got back to the boat. After resting for a few
hours Jill wanted to go snorkeling. The Jib Room advertises the Mermaid Reef
as
just a skip and a jump from their marina. We dingied over and walked W to a what
looked like a park on the water. Several people were having an exercise class
there but it looked like part of a resort more than a park. We did not see
anything that looked like a reef but could see buoys to the E so we went back to
the road and walked that way. We passed several small trails that went down the
steep bank to the shore but it all looked like rocks. Then we saw the entrance
with a small sign lying on the ground. the park is private property but open to
the public. A narrow trail leads down to a small beach. A floating sign
announces the Mermaid Reef and says no standing, touching or taking of coral.
The reef is about 150’ off shore in 10-15’. Besides the floating sign there are
several mooring buoys for small boats and one stopped shortly after we started
swimming. The reef is a number of large rocks covered with coral and fans
sticking up 6’ from the sand. I was startled the first time a fish swam up from
behind and passed close below me. Then I realized a lot of fish were swimming
around expectantly. They are used to being feed but we did not have anything for
them. After a short time about 50 fish from 8-20" were swimming around us of all
types. Some were pale blue all over, others were black with yellow stripes. The
most aggressive were large silver fish. Smaller fish kept closer to the corals
and these were also of numerous color schemes. One odd behavior we notices was a
large school of 4" fish would congregate next to a rock packed tightly together
without moving, they just hovered there together unless we got too close to
them. We had a great time swimming around except for my snorkel which did not
work well. It was a cheap last minute purchase and was not worth the price.
After drying off we returned to the Jib Room and had their Bilge Blast drinks
before returning to the boat.
We walked t the P.O. For 2 weeks we have bee waiting for the package from the parents - still not here. It's been 2 weeks... must be lost :(. We turned in our oil at the Shell in town (for disposal). We did a little window shopping. Then we walked up to the Castle for lunch. I bought a pink/purple beret - its handy for wet hair :). We got a cup (glass and cooler) and more post cards too. Oh, and "Castle Coozie". We stopped at Little Switzerland on the way back - Its like a souvenir shop and department store. We got a T-shirt for Jim and more post cards. The castle drink is called Castle Creeper. Soo good and strong! It's like Goombay Smash. We stopped at the grocers and got ice also. We returned to Phoenix and took a reading/nap time out. Then we dingied to the Jib Room and walked down the hill to the right and found the Mermaid Reef. It's only about 75 yards off shore. I wish I knew the names of all of the fish that we saw! We swam around in the warm water for an hour and then went back to the Jib room for their Bilge Blast. They also have a Jibberoo. We got home about 7:30 - had soup of supper and played cards. Rich is Spite and Malice champ. It only makes me more determined! We saw a small sea turtle and a dolphin in the harbor today.
There were several weather forecasts, the cruisers net seemed to think the 10-15 Kt forecast was the correct one but even before it was over the wind was 20 Kt from the N. We decided to have lunch at Mango’s and try the mail again. After lunch we called my parents and got Jim at work. He has already sold his boat, what a dedicated employee. We stopped at a little ice cream shop ‘Kool Scoops’ for ice cream cones and meet several other cruising couples there and watched CNN for a while. We stopped at the grocery store and while I was looking at the Miami Harold another customer came by and gave us a day old US News. Back at the boat we relaxed and read for the rest of the day.
Cool breezy morning. We awoke to sunshine and breeze and cool temps. 70°ish ... beautiful.
| VHF channels from "Cruisers Net" | |
| 06 | Taxi |
| 20 | Bahama Air Sea Rescue |
| 65 | Dolphin and Whale Research |
| 68 | Hail |
| 80 | ER rescue |
There will be a fund raiser for the Abaco wild horses next Tuesday in the Jib Room. They will have a horse movie and pictures. Want $10 donations.
The wind continued to blow all night but not too strong. The rattle in the mast after being quiet for a few days started up again. I tried climbing on the boom and fishing in the main halyard opening but could not feel anything moving around inside. It must be higher up than I can reach. We will try for very quiet anchorages from now on. The sky was alternately clear and cloudy and it rained for short periods several times. The wind remained gusty and we had a quiet day at anchor. We noticed a sound like a heavy truck engine or an airplane in the distance. Eventually we noticed it was our neighbor with a wind generator, The noisiest we have seen yet.
I just came in from helping Rich (by holding pliers). He was trying to find where a bicycle chain is inside our own mast! It's probably way high up and can't be accessed from the boom. When Summerfield's Boatyard restrung a new halyard they left it in there. Sometimes it is noisy.
Yesterday we called Mum and Dad. They are fine. It's been over 2 weeks and the magazines they sent us never arrived. Mum did receive the Mothers Day card that we sent here :). We had lunch at the Mango's Restaurant - real good. I had Quesadilla - chicken. Good salsa. We went to Triple J and tried to find Happy Cs who have a missing cat. We could not find them. Later we were told at the post office that they were in town putting up flyers. I wanted them to be aware that they could inquire at the local police station. I'll try to call them on VHF. While at Kool Scoops we remembered that we had not mailed all the post cards and letters we've written in the past week. Rich ran back to the P.O. We bought replacement diesel oil for Phoenix and coco and lunch meat at the Island Grocer. At Kool Scoops we had delicious ice cream and visited with a few other boaters from 'Oriental' (GA or S.C.) Mary and Allen and a four others. We watched CNN together. "US has withdrawn aid from India for firing off 2-3 atomic tests". We put down a second anchor before we left yesterday.
Oh, yes, Mary told us that while they were visiting on shore with a couple they had just met at White Sound, that couples anchor was dragging and only came to a stop 8' from their boat when it caught on an old mooring block! Today its real windy. "Raging Seas" is the forecast. We are staying put. plenty to do ! :)
Another windy day, the wind turned slightly NE and gusty. Most people stayed at anchor and so did we. We read and played cards. Jill won at RummyCub but lost at spit and malice.
For 2 days we stayed on the boat because the wind (and rain) was powerful. Today we played Spite and Malice. I'm never winning again! ha, ha. I did win at RummyCub. (Once) :).
I worked long and hard on the X-stitch. I'm modifying it so that I can give it to Mum and Dad. Will I finish it by Christmas? :)
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