March 18, 2015 Bah, dinghy exploring

sunrise

Dave put the 15 hp Mercury outboard on the dinghy today.  We use this when we plan to use the dinghy often and we are leaving it in the water.  The 2.5 hp Lehr is easy to put and take off for short durations.  We figured we haven’t used the Mercury since we left Marathon, FL last May.  Hard to believe. 

Then we put on our swimsuits and t-shirt and coverup and went exploring.  Maybe we’d go for a swim.  We checked out Black Sound.  It is a harbor that has a shallow approach, so we didn’t take our sailboat in there.  The red and green channel markers had arrows on them to tell you to stay between them.  That was new.  We had heard that there will be all kinds of channel markers, if they are even there.  We checked out other boats and just made a loop and left again. 

Then we went to White Sound.  Their channel markers were red and green mooring balls, that looked like beach balls.  There were two hotel/resorts here and a dive shop.  We had heard a lot about the Green Turtle Club and decided to stop there for lunch.  It was an old lodge with wicker furniture inside.  We sat on the screened patio for lunch.  When we left the boat, we thought we’d stop for an appetizer.  So I only brought $40 and no credit cards.  Now that it was later, we decided we wanted lunch.   Most of the lunch items were in the $15 range with 7.5% tax and a 15% tip automatically added.  So I decided against trying the local special drink called the Goombay Smash for $9.  We had an excellent lunch.  Dave had a quarter chicken and fries.  But I had a bleu cheese, avocado and apple sandwich on a grain bread with a walnut mayonnaise with peas and rice.  The peas were pigeon peas, but were similar to a black bean.  The sandwich was supposed to have brie, but they were out of it.  And actually, I ordered a shrimp meal first, but they were out of shrimp.  I guess that’s island life.  After lunch we walked over to the dive shop and picked up some brochures for future plans.   I am so glad we didn’t take any pictures today.  I was a pathetic tourist.  I was wearing the swimsuit coverup that I patched, my sketcher sandals with the big clumsy toes, a wide brimmed sun protection hat, sunglasses with a neck strap, and I had my phone/camera in a waterproof case that floats hanging around my neck.  I am so glad that Dave loves me and that no one knows me here.   

red and green balls for channel markers

When we returned to the boat, I started working on my provisioning list that I want in a spread sheet.  I wanted accurate numbers from when we left.  I am using a sample spreadsheet from someone else.  So it is taking some time to delete some of their items and add some of ours.  I guess I could have had this part done when I had endless electricity and just added the numbers after we left.  Live and learn.  

Dave started the generator and water maker and washed the salt water off of the boat.  When we are out on the ocean, the water sprays over the bow and leaves a salty feeling to everything.  And it’s hard on the metal.

Afterwards, he was refilling the small propane bottles from one of our bigger ones.  We actually won’t use the small ones now for awhile since they are used on the smaller outboard motor and a space heater.  But we can refill the larger bottle when we have access to that.  I decided to get an extension cord and sit outside with the computer while the generator was still running.   Soon after I sat down, Dave accidentally let the propane leak in a big blast.  The smell was awful.  He said it was like taco day at the Zeller house (my maiden name).  Real funny, Dave.

refilling propane canisters

All day we thought we were going to go for a swim.  But now the sun was starting to set.  The water was cool and would have been better if it were sunny when you got out.  Plus it is feeding time for the sharks.  I had read that there were sharks here.  And I heard some people talking at another boat earlier today about seeing a tiger shark in this bay.   Poor Dave, I worried about the snakes and alligators in Alabama and now about the sharks.  I have scuba dived with sharks before, so I guess you just keep an eye out for them because the water is real clear.  I read somewhere else to not get too far from your boat.  I guess we’ll find a nice beach to swim and snorkel. 

Dave went in and checked the hull for barnacle growth.  We are collecting some.  And he checked the zincs.  They looked good.  He saw a stingray under our boat about 2 feet in diameter.  Then we took our first showers off of the swim platform.  We left on our suits, but were able to wash our hair and scrub our bodies using the fresh water hose off of our stern.  We are thinking this will be a nice way to cool off in the evenings before bed. 

Both of us commented on how nice it is to not be on a schedule or have a restricted time.  Each day we can just see what we want to accomplish that day and not try to race from one island to the next.  But we are considering moving south tomorrow.  There is a wicked channel we have to go through, Whale Cay channel.  So we are going to get more info on it and make sure the weather conditions are right.