Monday, March 30, 2015

March 29, 2015 Palm Sunday, Marsh Harbor, Bahamas

I spent a beautiful morning at the St Francis Catholic Church in Marsh Harbor for Palm Sunday.  My taxi driver, Rinssor, was at the dock right after I arrived.  The church was on a hill side with 3 wooden crosses on top of rock.  The church was circular with doors wide open in 3 areas.  Their cross with Jesus was made of driftwood.  And their alter was supported by driftwood.  There were about 8 women all dressed in white that were readers, collection basket carriers and ushers that all sat up front. 

We started the Palm Sunday mass by all walking down the hill by the road.   We started the service there, blessed the palms, and all processed up the hill together back into the church singing the whole way.  The choir had about 8 members and would sway back and forth to their singing and could sing LOUD.  And great harmonies with “embellishments”. 

Then when they read the Passion, they had the priest and 2 men singing the entire reading.  It was wonderful to listen to and very moving.  I had expected mass to go at least 90 minutes and Rinssor planed for that.  But it was close to 2 hours.  He had stopped and asked someone outside and they gave him an estimate.  So he left and came back.  Really a nice guy.

When I returned, Dave made and egg brunch using the leftover conch salad in the eggs.  It was fantastic!

Dave spent the day changing oil on the engine, the generator and the high pressure pump on the water maker.  That was an all day job.  I sorted through clothing again to get winter things stored deeper under the v berth.  We will be getting under the part closest to the bow to get bedding out for company.  So that is my chance to store some things.  It’s funny how you start thinking about what can be stored or taken out of that area so it can be done all at one time.  It’s kind of a pain to pull back the mattress and open those compartments. 

I finished chasing the new mildew that was showing up (but not as bad as in Georgia).  Then I put up some Easter decorations.  Just stickers from Walmart I picked up in Palm Beach.  Then I throw them away after the holiday.  No storing decorations on this boat.

Late afternoon, we took jerry cans to a fuel dock to fill.  That is easier than moving the boat, if we need less than 20 gallons.  I didn’t have to go, but it’s fun to hop in and ride along.  You never know what you will see.  It reminded me of when I was about 6-10 years old and always asked to ride along whenever my parents were going anywhere.

We are actually having a cold front this week and had to get out a second blanket so we could leave all the windows open.  Love the breeze at night.   
(OK, just wondering, how do black women wearing white not have panty lines?) 

crab on the line that ties the dinghy to the boat (besides locking it)

he can get "online" easier than we can :)

The light makes it hard to see the hanging cross made of driftwood

alter with drifwood

Preparation for Palm Sunday

beautiful braided palms

procession back to the church

Marsh Harbor

March 28, 2015 Conch Salad, Marsh Harbor, Bahamas

We made it through the night without any other events caused by the wind.  As a catamaran pulled in and anchored near us today, I asked Dave if he had any opinions on the types of sailors that sail different types of boats.  He said he assumes that all the other boaters know less than him.  Not that he knows it all, it’s just “defensive sailing”.  You have to watch out for yourself.  So even though you feel safer in a harbor in strong winds, there are dangers from other boats being so close to you.  It’s a trade off. 

Today was another good organize and clean day.  There are some areas where we tend to just shove things to get them out of the way.  Well, we went through a couple of those areas, got rid of some things, stored others differently, organized, cleaned and replaced as needed.  Wow, I never knew cleaning could feel so good!

I was cutting up an egg carton for the garbage and started laughing because it felt like a craft project.  In Brunswick, GA at the marina, I was invited to join some ladies at the yacht club on Tuesday mornings to work on whatever craft you are into.  I could just see myself carrying in all my plastic garbage and cutting it up and others giving me advice on what they do on their boats :))

We rewarded ourselves with a dinghy ride to shore to get fresh conch salad.  We walked past George yesterday by one of the marinas.  We watched him take the conch out of the shell and skin it to make conch salad, which is what I would call conch ceviche.  We told him we would  be back.  So today we ordered 2 pints of conch salad.  And a couple other people showed up right after us and asked for 2 pints.  So we watched him take the conch from the shell, skin them, chop them up.  Then he chopped fresh onion, green pepper and tomato, mixed them all together and put them in containers.  Then he added some orange juice, fresh squeezed lime juice and a little hot sauce.  So the conch is raw and the lime “cooks” the meat.  With ceviche, we usually let it sit several hours.  But he said you could eat this right away.  Which we did. 

We went back to the boat and had our conch salad with some crackers and cheese.  This was about 4:00, but ended up being our dinner.  We saved some to make an omelette tomorrow.  Generally, I don’t like raw onion, but this was really good.

While we were watching George make our conch salad, we visited with the others waiting.  2 were pilots that fly charter flights from Ft Lauderdale to Marsh Harbor.  This was the first time that the timing allowed them to actually see the island besides the airport.  I asked their cab driver where the airport was and how long of a ride, etc, because I had a friend arriving next weekend.  He gave us his card and said to let him know and he would pick her up.  Right before they left, I remembered that I was going to call for a cab in the morning to go to church.  So I asked if he could pick me up at the public dock and he will.  We noticed that there were cabs waiting at the dock yesterday.  But if there wasn’t one there in the morning, I would have had to use the hand held VHF radio and call for one on channel 06.  I feel much better knowing he will be there to meet me. 
George cracking the shell to insert knife & cut conch loose

skinning the conch

onions, peppers and fresh conch

squeezing limes after adding orange juice and hot sauce

dig in

March 27, 2015 Marsh Harbor Tour, Bahamas

This morning, we took the dinghy to shore to explore the town.  First we found the public dumpster for our garbage, yeah!  Next we found the only restaurant on the island that served breakfast, or so it seemed.  Then Dave found a tackle shop and picked up some new anchor rode for the dinghy (the rope to tie to the anchor).  The shop was part tackle and part marine supply in a little space above the restaurant. 

Then we found the dive shop and had all our questions answered about lining up diving for our friend, Cheryl, who arrives April 5 for a week.  First of all, Captain Keith asked if my friend was from Canada, because they don’t allow Canadians on their boats.  When I told him she was from South Dakota, then he asked if that was where I was from, too.  Because he thought I was Canadian by my “accent” and was giving me a hard time. 

As we were heading into more of the “downtown” area, we went past the tourist info office.  We picked up a couple maps and found out where the Catholic church was and time of mass (she thought).  Then we found the Mercury dealer and Dave was able to find the CORRECT impeller for the dinghy motor, so he bought two.  Next was the hardware store that refills propane.  We didn’t bring the tank with us, just checking.  I wanted to check out the laundromat.  The washing machines were either $2.50 for normal size and $6.00 for the large machines.  The dryers were $0.75 to start it for 2 minutes and $0.25 for each additional 2 minutes.  So 20 minutes would be about $3.00.   Plus you would have to haul it about 6 blocks from the dock.  So washing by hand on the boat doesn’t look so bad.  But we haven’t tried sheets yet.  Hanging them may be a challenge.  Besides, someone told Dave that the dryers are heated with propane and sometimes they run out of propane, possibly in the middle of drying your load. 

I checked out the Price Right grocery store.  They had a lot of items in bulk, similar to Sam’s Club.  But many individual items.  And a nice produce section.  We may return if we need to restock.  And the prices seemed OK.

We separated at the hardware store.  I went to check out the laundry and the grocery store.  But we weren’t real specific about where we would meet.  Was I to return to the hardware store, or was Dave going to follow me?  We used to rely on our cell phones to find each other.  So after each looking and waiting for the other, we decided we better come up with an actual plan for meeting in the future.  We do have walkie talkies that we may start using. 
for our biker friends and family

We returned to the boat by about 1:00 and were hot and dehydrated.  We didn’t plan to be gone that long.  So it was a lazy afternoon. 

Tonight, we went for a dinghy ride around the harbor to check it out.  We went to the marinas and looked at boats.  We saw 3 dolphins frolicking.   A little one was playing in our bubbles from our motor for a little while.  It was so close that Dave even got hit by it’s spray from it’s spout.  Then we circled the harbor checking out the boats at anchor.
Dave's new friend

About 10:00, the wind kicked up, like we had been expecting.  There were a couple boats sounding air horns and resetting anchors.  Dave watched several people out on their decks checking their boats.  Even if you feel good about your anchor, you never know about your neighbor’s.  If their anchor drags, they could hit your boat.  So if the wind stays strong, it may be a sleepless night. 



Our home at anchor



Thursday, March 26, 2015

March 26, 2015 Marsh Harbor, Bahamas

We’ve been watching the weather this week and it still looks like it will get wild tomorrow.  So we decided to move our boat to Marsh Harbor.  It’s much more protected.  It was only 5  miles across the sea of Abaco.  So we were here by about 12:30.

We decided to pay for a week of wifi to be able to update charts, etc, and research more of the Bahamas.  We are able to check our online weather service, bank accounts, post my blog, etc.  There are two companies that you can purchase their services.  On the cruiser’s net this morning, I introduced myself then asked for anyone to contact me after the net to give me their opinion of the two companies.  No one did.  We decided either the cruisers are older than us and don’t miss the wifi.  Or the younger cruisers have the wifi all figured out and don’t even listen to the cruiser’s net. 

As we entered Marsh Harbor, it was crowded with boats, but still plenty of room for more.  Not like the little harbor on Man O War cay.  We found a nice spot about halfway into the harbor.  There are several marinas in the harbor, so it was nice to stay away from their docks, but still feel protected inside the harbor.  We could see where the public dinghy dock was, but thought we’d check out the town tomorrow, if it’s not raining.

We had hamburgers for dinner, but I decided to sauté some onions to put on them.  Dave was outside in the cockpit working on something.  He said it smelled awesome and he could hear people in other boats talking about them.  When a dinghy of people went by I could hear him saying “move along, there’s nothing for you here, these aren’t the onions you’re looking for” from the Star Wars movie. 

After dinner we enjoyed the sunset from our cockpit again and showered.  Every night at sunset, someone blows a conch shell.  We even heard that in Florida.  Well, tonight in the harbor there were conch shells blowing from every direction.  It reminded me of drive in movies as a kid.  If the film stopped for some technical reason, all the cars would start honking their horns. 

It’s different being in a busy harbor, but it’s also fun to sit and watch the different boats go by.  Dave’s always making up stories about the people on other boats.


March 25, 2015 Boat life Man O War Cay

This morning, the big yacht was still there.  I could see people on the top deck moving around.  At first I thought they were exercising, but without binoculars, I think someone was getting a massage. 

We didn’t think the water maker was very efficient, so Dave checked the filters today for the generator and the water maker.  The generator filter was heavily clogged with sea grass.  We really need to stay on top of that, or other systems are stressed and can fail. 
clogged filter

Dave showed me how to run the water maker awhile back, but this week, I took notes to make my own cheat sheet.  So today I felt comfortable running it myself. 

We decided to stay put another day.  We are looking into buying a week of internet service.  It’s amazing how it has become a part of our lives.  We are OK with not checking Facebook or e-mails for a while.  But we usually read a weather update through our e-mail everyday from Chris Parker.  And anytime you want to research something, you are stumped.  We even rely on the internet for recipes.  I brought a few hard copies and have started putting some recipes into a file in our computer.  But many things we just look up. 

If we can pick up wifi from a local source, it is  really slow.  And the wifi at most marinas has been slow, too.  Dave likes to update charts and other apps as needed.  The last time we had internet, he was trying to download an update for several days with no luck.  It’s easier to be without our phones that without wifi. 

We have filled one tall kitchen garbage bag in 5 days.  That includes any small garbage bags from the heads that can be put in this one.  So we are storing it in our forward head in the shower stall until we can take it to shore.  I think that is a first since we have usually been someplace to drop it off.  Dave’s been looking for a ditch to throw it in, but hasn’t seen one.  The marina on Man O War charges $1 per bag to take your garbage. And I heard on the cruiser’s net this morning that in Hopetown, on Elbow Cay, the garbage truck comes to the public dock MWF for an hour to pick up garbage.  We are collecting food garbage and throwing it overboard.  And I am cutting up and plastic or styrofoam.  It’s amazing how much less space a gallon milk jug takes once it is cut up.  If we were really remote, we would separate all paper and burn it on shore.  Crazy what you take for granted. 
gallon milk jug, could cut even smaller

It rained off and on today.  But we were able to have a nice dinner in the cockpit again.

March 24, 2015 Man-O-War Cay

We discussed whether we wanted to stay here a few more nights to wait out the possible bad weather, or move to a more protected area.  Dave has some things he would like to do on the boat, so would like to just stay in one place for awhile.  Being the “social director”, I would be interested in being at another island so I can go to shore and explore while he is working.  But only if it is still going to be a safe harbor.  So there is always a discussion looking at both points of view.  We decided to move the boat to Man O War Cay (MOW) about 10-15 nm south east of Great Guana Cay.  There is a protected bay at the eastern end of the island that we could check out. 

We left about noon since it wasn’t far away.  The water was beautiful again.  Calm and beautiful blue and green colors.  On the southern side of MOW cay is Dickie’s Cay and Dickie’s Bay.  Dave figured this was the perfect place for him to pee overboard.  He tried giving me a lesson on “fluid mechanics and physics” as to why the pee doesn’t hit the side of the boat :(

When we arrived at the eastern harbor about 1:40pm, we went into the narrow channel, turned in and turned right around.  It was super crowded.  We probably would have had to get a mooring ball instead of anchoring.  That’s how they fit so many boats into a small harbor.  We both felt claustrophobic and wanted out of there. 

We moved back west along the southern shore and anchored.  We are more exposed to the south & west, so we’ll decide tomorrow if we want to stay here or not.  We were anchored by 2:00pm.  We took some time to get everything settled, then went to town to check out the island.  As we entered the harbor, we asked some people in a dinghy where the public dinghy dock was located.  They directed us to the dock.  It was a very crowded space where you had to pin ball between dinghies to tie up.  We had a feeling this was the marina’s dock.  So after getting further penned in, we went to shore and asked, and they directed us to the public dock.  Now we had to get out of that mess of dinghies with more tied up since we arrived.  We had to back away from the dock, separate the dinghies behind us, the swing the dingy in front of us to the side and repeat a couple times until we could get out.  Whew!!.

We found the public dock with lots of room to ourselves.  We walked up hill a block to “Queen’s highway” wide enough for golf carts.  We found a hardware store closed a little after 4:00.  Found a grocery store, checked out what they had and that they were open until 6:00.  Walked about 3-4 blocks parallel with the shore, saw a school, post office, a couple churches,  Albury’s wood working shop and many homes.  Back at the marina, we found the only restaurant on the island.  It didn’t open until 6:00 and they don’t sell liquor anywhere on the island.  So no happy hour.  We went back to the grocery store to pick up eggs and bread.  We found cans of Bahamian “peas and rice fixin’s” to add to rice, so thought we’d try a couple cans of that.  We thought the prices were close to those in the states.  The only other store we looked at, on Green Turtle Cay, was much more expensive. 
much better dock. ladder is on other side of Dave that you have to climb
Lignum Vitae tree, the wood is used in boats
Abaco boat, has a mast laying on it, but can be rowed too.  They make them here and race them

Before we left the boat, I started a “load of laundry”.  We put all of our towels and washcloths in the bucket with soap to soak while we were gone.  Back at the boat, we rinsed the laundry and hung it to dry.  Then we had our own happy hour, dinner and showers.  A large yacht, probably 100 ft or more, anchored off shore from us, right in the path of the sunset.  They had a power boat for their dinghy.  We saw someone go over to Marsh Harbor and back in the little boat, about 4 nm away.  Maybe they were picking up the owner at the airport.  Actually, Dave had seen a seaplane land earlier tonight.  Country Western singer, Ricky Young was going to be at a bar in Hopetown on Elbow Cay near here.  Maybe it was their boat. 

Their beautiful view was of the “live a boards” doing their laundry and showering on their back deck.  We really enjoy just sitting out in the cockpit at night.  We’re so thankful there haven’t been bugs.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

March 23, 2015 Great Guana Cay, Bahamas

Windy day at anchor
There is a “cruiser’s net” on the VHF radio on channel 68 every morning at 8:15.  The further south we go, the better the transmissions.  But we still can’t hear a few of the calls .  They go through the weather, ask if anyone at any of the cuts through the islands can report on the condition of the water in the cuts, announce high and low tide, ask for any safety announcements, announcements of activities in the area, businesses can tell about their business or specials that day, welcomes and departures and recap of the weather.  Then afterwards, people can contact each other for more information.

This morning we heard that a boat in a bay north of us, but on the same island, was hit during the night by a power boat.  It put a hole in the side of the sailboat, and the power boat left the scene.  Nothing was said about anyone being hurt or the boat sinking.  But they wanted to remind people to be sure to have your anchor light on and additional lights if possible, especially if you are in a remote area.  And power boats shouldn’t speed through areas of anchored boats.  Wow, you always think, that could have been us. 

We spend a good part of the morning checking weather sources to decide if we are staying put or moving the boat.  And if we move, what is the wind doing in the next few days so we can look for a safe anchorage.  It could get nasty on Thursday, so we are watching that.

We decided to stay here and do some boat projects today.  Dave started the updates again with the slow wifi that we get here.  Then the wind came up.  So it ended up being a bad day to do the outside projects he had in mind. 

I made a great breakfast, as usual, cleaned the heads and made banana bread.  I had to  rotate between those activities since I didn’t want to be forward very long or have my head down very long with the motion of the boat. 

Computers and and a nap were Dave’s important inside duties today.  Somebody has to do i t.

Nice dinner on the boat and sat in the cockpit until after dark.  THEN turned on our anchor light, a little late tonight, especially after hearing that announcement this morning.


March 22, 2015 Nipper's on Great Guana Cay, Bahamas

Beach day
After a lazy morning, we left the boat about 1:00 for the beach.  We took our dinghy to the next bay over and tied up at Nipper’s dock.  We used a stern anchor on the dinghy for the first time.  It is recommended most places here, but this dock said it was required.  Without a stern anchor, your dinghy usually floats sideways against the dock because of wave action.  With a stern anchor, the boat stays perpendicular to the dock and more boats can get up to the dock to tie up.  So it is a good system.  But you have to be careful not to motor over someone’s anchor line and get it in your prop. 

From the dock, it is about a 3 block walk through the trees to the beach on the ocean side.  Or you can catch a complimentary golf cart ride, which we did because of good timing.  Nipper’s is a beach bar that in on a bluff overlooking the ocean.  

We walked down the beach to the south towards a good place for snorkeling.  We left our pack on the beach with our phones and some money and just trusted that no one would take it.  We thought we’d just look up once and  awhile.  But we wouldn’t have been able to identify anyone we saw from the water.  We left it in front of a home on the beach, so maybe people would think someone was watching from the house. 

We snorkeled south from there following a reef off the shore.  I saw 2 angelfish, my favorites, so I was happy.  The reef consisted of all kinds of coral.  Most of the fish we saw were small.  There was another reef a little further off shore, so we followed that back to our starting point.  We were hoping to see something big on the ocean side of that reef, like a shark or stingray, but no such luck. 

After about 90 minutes in the water, we walked back to Nipper’s.  There were a lot of people there on their multi level decks.  On Sundays they have a pig roast.  It is $26 for all you can eat in a buffet.  It was great!  There was chunks of pork plain with a au jus, BBQ pork, rice and beans, mac and cheese, corn, mixed fruit and a dense corn custard.  Their mac and cheese is made with something to thicken it, because it was dense, too.  It was served more like a piece of cake. 

This was a great place to “people watch”, too.  All kinds of people and all ages.  The music started with what I would call current music, but about 4:30 it changed to “oldies” from the 60”s-70”s. 

We left about 5:00 and caught the shuttle back to the dock.  At the dock, we saw someone we had met in Green Turtle Cay.  They were at the parade and we played pool with them.  They were shuttling some people back to a large catamaran and were going to have to make another trip for one of them, Vee.  So we gave her a ride in our dinghy to her boat.  I guess she and Ron captain and crew/cook for charters.  She said they had 8 guests on the boat.  It wasn’t clear if that was their boat and they do that for an income, or if they are just hired by a charter company to captain the boat. 

Once back to the boat, we rinsed the sand off of EVERYTHING on the swim platform.  Then showered off the stern again.  It was nice not to track the sand into the boat.  I enjoyed a beautiful sunset while checking Facebook.  Dave tried to get some things updated, but the wifi was too weak to get much done. 

I had read about Nipper’s and the beach.  It turned out to be a great place to visit.  I was really wanting to go snorkeling, so I was pretty happy.
Nipper's with a pool

They finally caught Dave

Beautiful beach

Nipper's is above the second set of stair in front of Dave

Lots of people just hung out in the water below the bar and could take drinks with them

View from deck

colorful place

lazy way home



Saturday, March 21, 2015

March 21, 2015 Bah-Great Guana Cay


We have noticed that there are fires on the islands almost everyday.  We don’t know if they are burning trash or growth from vegetation.  Sometimes we notice it at night, too.  It reminds you of a campfire, which we like, but Dave worries about it bothering his sinuses.  This morning, I woke up about 6:00 to the smell of smoke and thought about our clothes on the lines outside.  I went out to check them, but they were still damp.  Oh well. 

I stayed up and watched the sunrise.  We listened to the weather forecast and decided we wanted to move further south today.  The Sea of Abaco is between Great Abaco Island and a string of smaller islands to the east.  South of here, there is a shallow area we can’t sail through.  So our next leg involves a treacherous area if the winds are too strong. 

We had breakfast, gathered and folded the laundry (they didn't smell like smoke), and set sail.  I forgot how towels feel when they have been dried on the line.  Whale Cay channel goes between an island and some rocks.  Then we have to sail on the outside of Whale Cay for a couple miles and back in though another channel that has some broken pilings that aren’t is use, so you have to pay attention to where they may be under water.  Pilings are posts that mark channels or are found at docks to support docks and separate slips. 

It was one of the calmest days I have ever seen on the water.  As we approached Whale Cay Channel, about 6 other boats had just come though the channel, some south and some north.  So we watched the charts and made it through and around and back in just fine.  If there are heavy winds, they hit you from the side and rock your boat.  Plus the wind pushes you towards the rocks.  They call this a “Rage” described as “powerful, turbulent and lethal seas”.  So I guess we picked the perfect time to pass through there. 

We were heading south along Great Guana Cay towards the area we wanted to anchor and saw a shark in the water next to our boat.  It was about 8 feet long and the typical shark shape.  Can’t tell you the actual kind unless I spent some time on the internet. 

We anchored in Fisher’s Bay about 3:00.  We had to watch for a sandy spot, not grass.  And there were a few submerged rocks in the area, too.  But we were happy with our location.  We spent a couple hours wrapping up things and checking into a wifi connection, then taking care of some business.  About 5:00 we went exploring into the neighboring harbor and then to the shore in Fisher’s Bay.  We had to get into the water and pull the dinghy up on the shore.  We walked to Grabber’s and sat at a table outside were we could watch the sunset.  They had a small menu and it was rather pricey for what they were offering.  So I had an appetizer and Dave had chicken in a bag.  The chicken and french fries are cooked together  and a sauce it put on all of it.  Interesting.  I decided to try the Grabber’s special rum drink that was $9. But  I stopped with one because of the price and because I needed to get back to the boat without falling into the water. 
Grabber's
chicken in a bag

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the beach and on our way back to the boat. 
love the reflection on the water
our dinghy in paradise
our boat in the foreground





March 20, 2015 Bah-No Name Cay

This morning, Dave was trying to download some updates before we lost our wifi.  They were going really slow.  So we decided to go to shore before leaving and let it run.  We wanted to take a bag of garbage to shore to a public dumpster.  We may have to pay to have someone take our garbage on some islands.  One thing we started this week was  separating our food garbage into a large coffee can.  It is OK to throw that overboard in the Bahamas when you are cruising, but not at anchor.  It helps cut down on the smell of your garbage, too  Then we try to limit cans and we cut up plastic so it doesn’t take up as much room.

We also decided to go out for breakfast.  We found a place down at the end of “main street”.  We passed a day care on the way there and could here the children singing a song together.  So Cute!  Parts of it sounded like “God Save the Queen”.  We weren’t sure if it was similar or if they just weren’t carrying the tune.  But maybe there is a Bahamian rendition of it since there were a lot of British settlers that came here after the American Revolution, Loyalists. 

We had the specials of the day for breakfast.  I had the lobster scrambler and Dave had the chicken souse with Johnny Cake.  They said he could have it for breakfast, but it looked more like the lunch special to me.  Dave thought souse would be more like a gelatin.  But it was a chicken vegetable soup with clove and vinegar.  There were lots of chicken wings, skin and all.  Dave loved it.  Dave asked the waitress if Johnny cake was like corn bread.  She said “better”.  And it was.  It was moist and sweet and dense.  My toast was made from homemade bread. 
chicken souse for breakfast!
Founder's Park
beautiful bougainvillea everywhere

We left Green Turtle Cay at 11:45 and moved on the next Cay, No Name Cay.  We were anchored in less than an hour.  That was the closest anchorage we have ever moved to.  Usually it’s 5 or 10 or 24 hours away.  Before going to shore, we decided to try washing clothes by hand for the first time on the boat.  We have a 5 gallon bucket and a plunger especially for that purpose.   We put about 8 articles of clothing in the bucket with laundry soap, plunged it for awhile, then let is soak while we went to shore.
laundry
little aggitation

No Name Cay is uninhabited by humans, but there are friendly ferrel pigs.  We have seen pictures of them swimming out to your boat.  So we took our food garbage in a bag and headed to shore in our dinghy.  There was a rented power boat there with about 6 teenagers already on shore.  It looked like a couple of them had some kind of a prodding stick they were poking at them.  But as we got closer, i realized it was a “go pro” camera on a stick.  The latest toy.  No one could get them to come out into the water.  They didn’t look hungry to us, more like they needed water.  So we left the food for them and headed back to our dinghy to find a place to snorkel on the ocean side of the island. 
pig beach
lone pig on the beach. what a life

We had to watch the water for coral and shallow areas.  Then we had to find a way through a bank with crashing waves to get to the outside of the island.  We weaseled our way through where we didn’t see any waves breaking, but we were nervous.  On the outside, there was a reef close to shore and one further out.  We headed along the shore between the two reefs looking for mooring balls to tie our boat to.  But we never did see them.  So we had a fun ride in the rolling waves, some probably 4 feet high. 
I had to stop taking pictures and watch for rocks and coral

We went back to the pig beach and just walked the beach looking at unusual shells.  Then we went back to our boat and did some snorkeling around it.  We checked the anchor and the hull of the boat.  Dave stayed in longer to clean the hull as best he could with out an air supply, only snorkel. 
collection that I left on the beach

I showered on the swim deck, then started the next load of laundry.  I let the second one soak until Dave finished snorkeling so we could add his towel after he showered.  I started dinner while Dave finished rinsing everything and hanging up the clothes.  I had cleaned off the life lines so we could hang the clothes there.  When I have hung swimsuits and towels in the past, I didn’t wipe them off because I knew they would be washed later.  Well now we were hanging clean clothes.  Besides being dirty, I could feel salt crystals on the lines too.  We also have a stretchy line that we can hang anywhere.  So Dave put that up in the cockpit.  It is a braided stretchy line.  And you open the braid and pull a piece of cloth through to hold it instead of using pins.   We hung towels and underwear here because we weren’t concerned about a wrinkled area.  We just read a review about a marina at our next island that charged $20 per load for laundry!

We had a great dinner of leftovers from last night plus a salad.  Then we spent the night reading and blogging (writing, not posting)


laundry on stretchy line (minus the underwear)

laundry on life lines