Saturday, July 29, 2017

July 20-30, 2017 boat projects at Brunwick Landing Marina

Monday, July 24 we returned to St Mary’s for Dave’s VA yearly physical.  This is a new clinic for him and he really liked the doctor.  He found out he DID have shingles on his forehead, which is what we suspected.  They recommend he see an eye doctor to be sure there hadn’t been any damage to his eye.

Thursday, July 27, I saw a new physician in Brunswick.  Since Dave will return here for his yearly exams, and we weren’t returning to Rapid City this summer, I decided to find my own doctor here.  The office I chose had me fill out all of my medical history online and send it to them to review before they would accept me as a new patient.  That was something new to me.  I guess I passed their test. 

The rest of our time this month was spent on routine things or boat projects.  Here are some of the things Dave worked on.

Dave measured the fuel in our tank after we arrived at the marina.  We arrived at the marina with a low amount of fuel on purpose, which isn’t usually a good idea because you can have crud in the bottom of your tanks.  But we have a good filter system and try to keep our fuel clean/polished.  Dave used our fuel polisher as a pump to remove the rest of the fuel from our tank and put it in the jerry cans.  Then he filled the tank and was able to measure exactly how much it held, which was 58 gallons.  Since we usually use our jerry cans in multiples of 5 gallons, he is just going to figure we have a 55 gallon tank.  Good to know.

The SSB radio was not transmitting as good as it should because the signal wasn't being reflected into space.  Dave had added a bigger grounding plane which caused trouble with transmitting.  That was from running the copper foil earlier this year.  So he disconnected the copper foil and went back to the original system.  He added ferrite chokes to all the wires for the SSB.  It restricts stray radio frequencies.  Once we were back, he ordered SWR meter and a dummy antenna load to be able to test the system.  Now he can monitor the SSB with the meter if there are changes in the future.  We now have excellent transmission power.


The galley sump pump had stopped pumping the last time I defrosted the freezer.  So Dave ordered a kit to repair it.  After placing the repair kit, water was spraying out everywhere.  So Dave watched a Youtube video about putting this repair kit in this pump.  The guy had the same problem and ended up using a sealant to stop the leaking.  Both he and Dave noticed the gasket didn’t have the same holes as the old one.  Both thought it must be an upgrade.  And both put the kit together several times in different configurations and still had leakage.  The video guy used a sealant and said he was going to contact the company.  Dave ended up making his own gasket out of gasket repair materials that he had on the boat.  Now it is working and I will test it when I defrost the freezer again.  Nothing is simple.

There is a cruiser’s net on the VHF radio here 3 days a a week.  I helped start it 2 years ago with 2 other boaters.  So it was nice to see that it was still going.  And I have volunteered to be a net controller one day a week while we are here.  Someone was looking for a couple extra fenders for their boat.  We told him we had a couple in our storage unit and would get back to him.  Well the day we brought them to our boat, one of our 4 fenders was flat.   West Marine replaced the damaged fender, but that got us thinking about hanging on to or spare fenders.  They are good to have in a crowded anchorage if there is rough weather.  Or in a marina if you have someone with sloppy skills in the slip next to you. 

In our heads, there is a “Y valve” that changes the hose from either having your waste go into a holding tank or overboard.  When we are in the Bahamas, it is in the overboard position.  Now I know some of you reading this will go “ewww!”.  But with the tidal motion of the water, the area is constantly being “flushed”.  Plus there aren’t any pump out facilities in the Bahamas.  Of course, you don’t pump overboard if you are in a crowed harbor.

Anyway, Dave was reading that you should occasionally move that valve to keep it free moving.  Salt crystals build up from the combination of your pee and the sea water being used to flush the toilet.  When he did this while we were in the Bahamas, the valve was stuck.  When he moved it, he could tell the rubber seals or o-rings were damaged.  We were able to function as it was, but it needed replacing once he could get new parts in the states. 

Looking at repair kits vs replacement parts, the cost isn’t that much different.  So he bought both.  He put in the replacement parts and will now have a repair kit for the future.  In all of this, he learned that you need to keep those parts moving to avoid problems.

We picked up a used Portland Pudgy dingy while we were in the Bahamas this year.  This is a dinghy made from a hard repairable plastic similar to kayaks.  We didn’t need a second dinghy, but we do need a life boat if we are going to travel beyond the Bahamas.  The Portland Pudgy has accessories that can be added that will allow it to be a sailboat and a lifeboat.  We really miss sailing for fun.  This will give us a little boat to “play” with when we are at anchor.  There is  a lot of information about making this a life boat, which I won’t go into here.  We were planning on ordering things when we were back at the boat in late August.  But Dave happened to see online that they were going to have a significant price increase in August.  So Dave spent a couple days trying to get a hold of someone on the phone to purchase what we wanted.  Whew, crazy how those things work out.  Only one part was back ordered, and we’ll have to pay the new price when that is charged later. 

Dave is planning to sew a few things this fall.  So he spent some time measuring and ordering material.  We will take our sewing machine to the yacht club building and work on things there with more room air conditioning.

We spent the last few days of the month preparing the boat to be left here for 3 weeks.  We are going to SD, MN and WI to see both sides of our families. 

We will shut off the refrigerator and microwave.  So I have been managing our meals around using what we have onboard.  That also means I have to defrost the freezer.  I sealed open containers of food in ziplock bags or tossed it out.  I thoroughly cleaned the galley.  You don’t want to attract critters while you are gone. 

We’re not removing the bimini and dodger because hurricane’s typically don’t hit this area in August.  They are usually more active last September and October.  But you never know.  Dave put an extra tie around our jib sail vs taking it off.  He put out all 6 fenders and extra spring lines to the dock along with anti chafe gear to protect the lines.  We are on floating docks, so if the tide or surge goes higher, our dock and lines will go higher, too.  The worst case is if there is a 10-12 foot surge, the docks will float off of the pilings.  If there is going to be a hurricane directly in this area, we will change plans and get back here to stabilize the boat further.
piling at end of our dock
chafe gear over the spring line and fender
example of wear from a screw head.  Dave separated the chafe gear to show the wear
 Dave ran both the Yanmar diesel engine and the generator diesel engine.  Then he closed all the through hulls to avoid any water coming in through those fittings.  He flushed the air conditioner.  We will shut it off and run a dehumidifier.  We will open a lot of the cabinetry to help reduce moisture.    I’m sure there are other things, but those are the major projects.

On the last Sunday of each month, the marina has a potluck dinner at the Yacht Club.  On Sunday the 30th, the optional theme was Oriental.  Since we were leaving on Monday, we bought frozen pot stickers.  Only problem was timing the defrosting of the freezer and keeping them frozen before we prepared them for the dinner.  Everything will work out fine.  I will post this before then, so take my word for it.   

Dave's comment on boat work "I'm not sure I would get anything done if I hadn't learned how to swear."

July 19, 2017 Cumberland Island, GA

We drove to St Mary’s today to tour Cumberland Island.  We wanted to go there by boat, but it hasn’t worked out.  So we decided to bite the bullet and take the ferry and tour of the island.  It ran about $80 per person for the ferry, park fee and tour.  Many boaters have told us how they enjoyed touring the island.  And Dave studied Cumberland Island when he was in 7th grade in his “advanced reading skills class”.  He has always been interested in visiting it.

Ann’s car was at a marina in the same area where we had to catch the ferry.  So it was no problem dropping her off.  Now she offered to give us a ride if we need it.  That’s how the boating world works. 

Cumberland Island is along the coast line at the southern border of Georgia.  It is a National Park with only a few private homes and one upscale resort.  The rest of it is park with wild horses and other animals.  The horses are self sustained.  They have no veterinary care and are not fed.  The herd naturally stays at about 150.  The island had 18 miles of undeveloped beach-no buildings or structures.  John F. Kennedy, Jr used to come here for privacy and actually was married here in 1994 in a little Baptist church. 

The Carnegie family had their winter home here for many years.  We toured their properties.  Lots of stories about other inhabitants that I won’t go into.  The tour was in a van with about 8 people on undeveloped roads.  It was from about 9-4:00, which was about 4 hours too long.  I think a combination of tour and time at the beach would have been better.  We would have enjoyed more about the wild life and less about the people who lived there.  Or even more time on the water to see the island from the ICW.  You probably figured out that we wouldn’t recommend the tour, unless you are really into history and who’s who.  If we go back by boat, we’ll walk about a mile across the narrowest part of the island to get to the beach.









July 17 & 18, 2017 Road trip

Monday, July 17, we headed to St Mary’s, about 40 minutes south of Brunswick.  Dave had an appointment with the VA for lab work, which meant fasting.  So afterwards, we went to our favorite local restaurant in Kingsland, an adjoining city.  Steffen’s is like a hometown diner.  Everything is made from scratch, and there are a lot of southern dishes.  Dave had an unusual breakfast that he wouldn’t order again.  It had tater tots (which is what attracted him), lots of vegetables, and a sausage gravy over it all.  I had their Eggs Benedict made with homemade crab cakes.  They were great. 

After breakfast, we hit the road for Green Cove Springs, FL.  It is about an hour’s drive to the southwest side of Jacksonville, FL.  That is where our mail is delivered, to St Brendan’s Isle.  We usually head there to pick up everything that has been delivered since December 2016.  Over the last 7 months, if there was something we needed to see, we could tell St Brendan’s Isle to open and scan the letter for us.  Really a great service. 

We could have had SBI send everything to us in the marina, but it was time to register our boat and dinghy again at the local courthouse.  It was a classic department of motor vehicle two hour fiasco. They didn’t have our Beneteau in their records.  And most of the time was spent trying to register the Portland Pudgy.  And in the end, we realized it didn’t even have to be registered because it isn’t motorized.  We will probably do this on line in 2 years.  Hope it will actually work. 

We were back at the marina in time for happy hour and met some new boaters.

 Tuesday, July 18 I had another massage scheduled.  Penny’s office is near the mall.  So I asked a friend, Nancy, to go with me.  We did some shopping, had lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s in the mall.  Then she did some “mall walking” while I had my massage.  It was a fun girlfriend day.

Sunday and Tuesday evenings are game night in the yacht club.  I get my “game fix” taken care of when we are here.  They typically play dominoes, either Mexican Train or Chicken Foot.  A woman came in that had just returned.  She was visiting with a few people at our table.  I overheard her saying she needed a ride to St Mary’s to pick up their car.  So I chimed in with “how soon do you want to go, we’re leaving at 7:00am tomorrow?”  So we exchanged info and made arrangements to meet in the morning.

July 10-16, 2017 Marina life

Monday
Friends from CO/ND that we met two years ago were here, Kent and Nickie.  They offered to give us a ride anywhere if we needed one.  So I hit them up for a ride to get a massage this morning.  I had seen a message therapist here in December 2014 as a Christmas present from Dave.  She was excellent and really helped.

We spent the week starting on maintenance projects and cleaning.  The free laundry is awesome.  Dave also spent some time on the computer lining up things that we need to order this summer to upgrade our boat. 

Dave and I both had dental appointments this week in Brunswick.  There is a dental office right next to the marina.  We aren’t going to make it back to Rapid City this summer to go to my old practice.  We liked the dentist and the office.  It’s also nice to be established with a local dentist in case of an emergency.  No cavities!!

Saturday, we picked up a rental car.  We need it Monday morning and they aren’t open on Sunday.  We went to our storage unit here in Brunswick.  We just did a quick exchange of a few things.  We are going to tear it apart and reorganize sometime this summer. 

We went to Home Depot to pick up parts for projects.  One thing was a roll of aluminized insulated reflective tape, similar to what you would use to cover a water heater.  Dave cut it into pieces to cover all of our port holes/hatches.  It will help keep the boat cooler, easier on the air conditioner.  Some people make tents over their boats with tarps or tarp like material for shade.  But when we leave the boat, we would be worried about the wind damaging it.  So we chose to cover the windows. 

Sunday, I was able to drive the rental car to church.  I joined Rosemary and friends at IHOP again for lunch. 

July 8 & 9, 2017 Brunswick Landing Marina

Saturday
We had thought about anchoring in St Mary’s, GA for a couple weeks.  Dave had moved his VA clinic from St Augustine to St Mary’s, GA.  He has appointments July 17 and 24.  We changed our minds and decided to head to Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick, GA.  We will have to rent a car to go to the appointments no matter where we are.

As Dave was raising our anchor this morning, he found clams on anchor chain.  That was something new.  We motored through the ICW to Brunswick, which took about 6 hours to go 35 nm. 
the Sidney Lanier Bridge outside of Brunswick
Once we were settled in our slip, we went to the Yacht Club to check out any friends or changes.  We saw a few people we knew and looked over a few changes.  But basically the same.  They have free laundry here, free beer on tap, free wine MWF for happy hour, and better wifi than 2 years ago.  It felt good to be back.
Syliva from St Paul, MN and me at Happy Hour

We walked downtown for an early dinner at Fox’s Pizza, a local favorite.  Now we’ll settle in for medical appointments and preparing the boat to leave for 3 weeks.  We can also start ordering parts, etc, since we have a mailing address.  That’s something else land dwellers take for granted.

SundaySince my back was still bothering me, I debated about going to church this morning.  It would be too far for me to walk in this shape.  And I didn’t think I could ride a bicycle.  I decided to take a taxi to church and find a ride home.  If my friend, Rosemary, was cantering, as usual, she would give me a ride home.  Plus I figured I could stand out in front of the church with my thumb out.  Surely some good Christian would offer me a ride. 

We sang a song that I wasn’t familiar with, but the words really spoke to me.

Lord You Have Come (Pescador De Hombres)
Lord you have come to the seashore, neither searching for the rich nor the wise,
desiring only that I should follow.
Oh Lord, with your eyes set upon me, gently smiling, you have spoken my name;
All I longed for I have found by the water, at your side, I will seek other shores.

I did find Rosemary after mass.  She was meeting a few people at at IHOP for lunch and invited me to join them.  There were about 6 of us.  And I had met most of them 2 years ago.  It was nice to see all of them again and get reacquainted.  It makes me feel more a part of this community to meet the local people.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

July 7, 2017 anchored in Florida

It was about midnight when I relieved Dave.  I had napped through out the day, so I felt fine taking over.  Plus I planned to nap for 15 minutes through out the night.  I was excited to see that we were near Jacksonville, FL.  We passed thought their shipping lanes, but luckily there wasn’t any traffic at the time.  After we were passed their shipping lanes, traffic picked up.  It helped keep me awake, but we never crossed paths with any of the ships.  I like to check them out on AIS.  It can tell you what type of ship it is, freighter, cruise ship, pleasure.  And you can see where they are from, where they are headed, the name of the ship, how big it is and how fast it is traveling and on what heading. 
we are the large boat (not to size), the pink zones are the shipping lanes, the triangles are other ships on our chart
About 1:00, I was laying down in the cockpit.  I heard something hit the deck beside me.  I thought something had fallen and I was worried it was fall off the boat.  So when I used a light to see what it was, I found a flying fish flopping on the deck.  I tried to get a picture, but it wouldn’t hold still.  Then I helped it back into the water.  Pretty cool.  If it had flown about 12 inches higher, it would have landed on my face. 
flying fish in motion
By about 4:00am, I could see the red lights at Fernandina Beach, FL.  They have a paper mill there and have red lights at the highest point.  About 6:00 am, we entered the channel into St Mary’s inlet.  It’s about 5 miles once you reach the navigation lights, which takes us about an hour.  But I didn’t think I would want to leave the helm and go below to wake Dave once we were in the channel.  That gave him time to wake and get ready before we had to anchor. 
sunrise as we approach the US

We were anchored on the Florida side of the St Mary’s River by 7:45 am.  That was one hour short of 48 hours.  We made really good time. 

After 8:00, Dave called the Customs and Immigration to check back in to the US.  We had registered a Float Plan with them online when we left.  And we updated it before leaving the Bahamas for our return.  So we were able to call in, rather than go in personally, to check back into the US. 

We spent the rest of the day sleeping and eating and making phone calls and checking the internet.
every sunset is different

July 6, 2017 day 2 of passage to US

I was up about 1:00 am to relieve Dave.  He said he had only seen one ship all evening.  He hit the bed and I took over.  We had 2 ships pass behind us, not even close enough to be concerned that they may change course and cross paths with us. 
it was hard to take a selfie in the dark
beautiful full moon to guide us
the moon looked orange as it was setting
About 4:00 am, the wind was becoming very light.  So much that the sails were flopping and not helping us much.  Dave could hear them luffing.  So he go up, helped bring in the sails, and we motored on towards the Gulf Stream.  Then Dave went back to sleep.

I always enjoy seeing the sun come up.  Dave says that always puts him to sleep.  So our rotation works for us.  Dave was up by about 7:00 am and I hit the bed.  I was up again about 10:30 and it was calm enough to cook breakfast.  We were now in the Gulf Steam and were traveling at 10 knots. 
sunrise, my favorite time

We had a boring day at sea.  Dave likes being at the helm.  So I layed down most of the day and read or napped.  I usually make the meals and clean up.  It was actually calm enough to keep up on dishes.  Sometimes you just have to leave everything until you have anchored. 
it's hard to capture the beautiful blue water of the Gulf Stream
Dave took this and said to caption it "as the boat is going down"
beautiful clouds and calm water
actually too calm, hard to sail
I heated the casserole about 6:00pm for dinner.  Our propane tank ran out in the middle of warming it in the oven.  So Dave had to change the connections to the other tank while we were under way.  It was about 9:00 by the time I went to sleep tonight.



Happy Anniversary to Janice and Jim, my sister and brother-in-law.

July 5, 2017 Passage from Abacos to FL/GA border

We were up in time to listen to Chris Parker’s forecast at 6:30am on the SSB radio.  At the end of his forecast, he asks if any “subscribing vessels”, those who pay for his services, want any advice.  He couldn’t hear what we were saying very clearly.  But he picked up where we were, where we were heading and when.  Then he gave us a great route, with latitude and longitude coordinates for entering and leaving the Gulf Stream.  He also thought now was a good time to leave.  And by the time we hit the coast of the US, the storms would be further south of us.  Good news!!
sunrise at Manjack Cay

We left at 8:45 am after a decent breakfast and finalizing everything.  I did a rough estimate of the distance and came up with 340nm.  We have traveled 100-120 nm in 24 hours.  But with the Gulf Stream, Dave thought we could make the trip in 2.5-3 days.  I was thinking at least 3.  Brian and Jackie Killion have our “float plan”.  We contacted them to let them know we were heading out and when to expect us to arrive at the Florida/Georgia border-St Mary’s inlet. 

We have gotten into the rhythm of being together during the day, resting as you want to.  Then Dave takes the early into late evening watch for 4-5 hours.  Then I take the early morning into sunrise watch for 4-5 hours.  Then we start over being together during the day.  We seem to sleep better than when we tried 3 hour watches on and off. 

I spent a lot of my time laying down in the cockpit.  On my watches, I would be up for 5-10 minutes, check the surroundings and the radar and AIS.  Then set an alarm for 15 minutes and lay down.  Then repeat. 

About noon, we were near Foxtown on Great Abaco Island and saw dolphins.  We don’t see many dolphins in the Bahamas, so we thought this was good luck.  We motored most of the day because the wind was less than 10 knots.  Once we passed the island of Great Sale Dave said “well, we’re done with land for this trip.”.  Sounded strange, but it was true.  We wouldn’t pass any other land until we reached the US.   We were traveling through what is known as the Little Bahama Banks.  The water stays about 15 feet deep until you are about 60 miles from the US. 
hanging a sarong makes a big difference when the sun is on your back

About 4:00 we turned north west and were able to put up sails because of better direction for sailing.  We went from motoring at 7 knots to sailing at 5 knots.  But we had to remind ourselves that we weren’t using fuel.  Dave decided to lay down for a nap.  He had been at the helm all day.  This was actually the first time I had to sit up all day.  He only napped for about 1-2 hours.  Then I made dinner for us and headed to be about 7:00.  Dave was on  watch for the evening.  I missed taking a sunset photo.
pre sunset photo before I hit the sack

July 4, 2017 passage prep at Manjack Cay

Happy Independence Day!!
Not much happening here.  The larger islands have celebrations and fireworks.  They cater to the American tourists. 

We decided to get the boat ready and just head out from here for the states.  The weather will be worse this weekend and next week.  So we thought we should get going while the getting was good.

Dave managed the outboards.  He wrapped the Lehr propane outboard and stored it below.  He mounted the 3.5hp Mercury that we bought with the Portland Pudgy on the mount where the Lehr had been.  Then he took the 15hp Mercury off of the dinghy and mounted it on the starboard side of the stern, it’s usual spot.

Dave used the Airline air compressor to clean the prop and dyna plate.  That is a grounding plate.  He thinks we need to improve our SSB transmission, and he was hoping that would help.   We usually use the air compressor to clean the hull.  We didn’t have to clean the hull once this year because of our new paint job. 

He hung the dinghy on the davits, did all the necessary engine checks, and updated charts.  He checked the bilge one more time.  There was still a little fluid present, so will have to deal with that back in the states.  At least it’s not worse.

I spent the day making food to eat during our passage.  If the weather is rough, it’s hard to cook while underway.  I made a pasta salad with ham and vegetables, tabouli, banana bread, and pudding.  I had made rice to have with beans, but the beans were old and never softened.  I threw out the beans.  Then I made a rice “tin can galley” dinner with enough for leftovers.  I used the rice, cream of mushroom soup, canned chicken, canned vegetables and water chestnuts and cheese for a “hot dish” or casserole.  We’re getting pretty close to the end of our canned goods.  Yippee!!

We spend the rest of the evening putting things away, so they don’t fly around as we’re sailing.  We also made the salon table into a bed to sleep on during the passage. We went to bed feeling ready to leave.

July 2-3, 2017 Killions leave, Green Turtle

Sunday
Rinssor was ready and waiting at the dock at 7:30am to take Jackie and Brian to the airport.  It was great having them join us.  We have been trying to coordinate schedules for 4 years!!

Jackie’s passport expires on July 14, I believe.  They told us they didn’t have any problems with customs.  We had heard horror stories about traveling with less than 6 months on your passport.  Word to the wise.  It can be an issue in some countries. 

I had Rinssor take me to church in his taxi.  Then I caught the community church bus back to the dock.  After I returned, we headed for Green Turtle Cay.  We arrived about 3:30pm and had a relaxing evening.


Monday
My back was much worse today.  I started taking Aleve 3x/day.  Dave was nice enough to do our laundry today.  We will have free laundry once we are back in the states, so we thought about waiting.  But there really isn’t any place to store dirty laundry.

I spent some time on the computer, but ended up taking a nap because it felt better to lie down.  Late afternoon, we decided we should go to shore for a few groceries and fuel so we could head further north in the morning. 

Dave wanted to drop me off for groceries and pick me up at the dock after getting fuel.  We were afraid both places were going to close at 5:00 and it was 4:45.  I was hesitant because of my back, but agreed.  Getting in and out of the dinghy went ok.  The grocery store is about one city block from the dock.  When I reached the store, I found out it didn’t close until 6:00.  So no hurry.  I was fine until I reached to a shelf just above the floor for a gallon of milk.  That almost made my back spasm.  The store owners were very helpful.  After I checked out, they found me a chair and let me wait there in the air conditioning for Dave to find me.  Pretty soon, he showed up.  The fuel took him longer than he thought.  So he was glad I waited inside for him instead of at the dock. 

Once back at the boat, we moved to Manjack Cay, only about 5 nm away.  It is a much quieter anchorage.  Without a town or marina, there aren’t any power boats zooming past your boat.


July 1, 2017 Hopetown, Elbow Cay


Jackie shared another yummy recipe with us.  She called this quick eggs benedict.  We melted cream cheese and the rest of the soft goat cheese that we had in a frying pan.  Then we poached eggs in the cheese and served it over hash browns.  YUMMY!!

Jackie and I planned to spend the day in Hopetown as tourists as the guys went fishing.  Brian took us to shore by dinghy.  We made our first stop at the light house and we all 3 climbed it.  The view from there is so beautiful. 
view to the west off from the light house
zoomed in on our boat in the center

this is a 360' photo that Brian took with his camera
Then Brian dropped us off at the dock for town so we could shop.  There are about 5 gift shops in Hopetown.  So we had fun browsing through them.  Jackie wanted to pick up a few gifts and mementos.
we met Kerline last year and she remembered us
beautiful flowering bushes on this island

We ended up at the Hopetown Lodge and had a late lunch at the Reef Bar overlooking the Atlantic ocean.  After lunch we walked on the beach then met the guys at the dock in town. 

From the Reef Bar at Hopetown Lodge

enjoying a beer on the beach
The guys spent the day spear fishing.  They didn’t bring home dinner, but had a great time.

We had to move the boat back to Marsh Harbour today.  Jackie and Brian were flying out of there in the morning.  It took about 90 minutes to move the boat, so I started dinner on the way.  We had mahi again along with some Irish sausages that we saw in Hopetown.  We also had a salad and pasta.  The high light of dinner was the dessert.  We picked up one of Vernon’s famous key lime pies with meringue.  He makes them everyday.  We actually had a piece as soon as we returned to the boat and the rest for dessert. 

The rest of the evening was spent packing then enjoying the evening in the cockpit.

June 30, 2017 Fowl Cay and Elbow Cay


We moved the boat to the west side of Fowl Cay.  From there, we took the dinghy to the east side to the Land and Sea Park to snorkel.

We stopped at 3 different areas.  There wasn’t as much sea life here as Sandy Cay.  But the different coral formations were interesting.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Back at the boat, we grilled chicken and had a late lunch before sailing to Elbow Cay.  We enjoyed the sail with several tacks.  It felt like the old days on Angostura Reservoir where we all gained experience sailing. 

We decided to go into Hopetown after anchoring.  We walked around the town and hit a couple places for a traveling dinner.  We first stopped at Wine Down Sip Sip.  We remembered that they had a good happy hour.  BUT, they don’t have it on Fridays :(  We still enjoyed their “conch flitters”.   They are shaped like a patty instead of a ball.  We also had their beef patties that are similar to empanadas.  Our next stop was Captain Jack’s.  Their deck is out over the water in the harbor.  We enjoy watching the boat traffic.  And you can see the lighthouse.  The guys had chicken souse (we’ve had better).  Jackie and I shared a seafood platter with shrimp, conch and mahi.  And we were back to the boat before dark.