April 28-29-30, 2022 Back to Governors Harbour, snorkeling, Ais repair, syphon from gas can to generator

4-28. We were expecting some strong winds over the next couple of days, so we moved about an hour north for more protection.  We anchored on the north side of Levi Island, which is just north of Governors Harbour.  The anchorage was called Tom’s Rocks.  We snorkeled the wall outside of Levi Island, just ok.  

a ray against the sand

our anchor buoy marker underwater, need a longer rope to reach the surface in deeper water

jellyfish

this motor was about the size of a living room couch

Dave spent some time researching our AIS.  It wasn’t broadcasting our location.  He had e-mail conversations with RayMarine, which was very helpful.  He updated the AIS software and it was better.  That lasted for awhile, but he realized he had to replace the AIS GPS, once we’re back in the states.  We can still see other boats and read their information.  But other boats can’t see us.  And friends trying to locate us using Marine Traffic can’t find us.  
We have a “back up AIS”.  The original AIS that we had was damaged by lightning back in 2014.  Dave repaired it.  So we will use that when we are crossing back to the US in shipping traffic.
4-29 Friday We took the dinghy into Governors Harbour today.  It was about 2 miles and about a 20-30 minute dinghy ride.  It was a test run for getting me to church on time on Sunday.  We always check out the boats in the anchorage to see if we know anyone.  We saw the sailboat, Bliss, that was at the Pineapple Cays a few days ago.  
Dave had never been beyond the gas station near the beach in Governors Harbour.  We walked along the highway south into town.   The first stop was the tourist office.  I’m always gathering info for the different areas.  But most importantly, we asked for directions to a bakery I had been at several years ago in a rental car with other boaters.  It was only a few blocks away, but on a side street that I think would have been hard to find.  It was close to noon and there was a line of people ordering lunch.  We weren’t sure what we were going to have, but thought we better get in line.  Besides breads and pastries, they were selling hot dogs that were more like a polish sausage.  Well, that’s Dave’s favorite, so he was in heaven.  As the line moved along, we were able to check out the pastries.  We decided we didn’t need to buy bread, since Dave is into making our own this year.  But we could’t pass up the pastries.  Dave bought one with coconut.   I bought one that was like a Danish, but it had 3 sections, one cherry, one lemon and one cream cheese, the best of all worlds.  The “hot dog” was amazing on their home made buns.  This will be a “must stop” in the future.  
A light rain was just starting as we took the dinghy back to the boat.  
4-30 Saturday Dave set up a syphon system for our Honda generator.  The generator comes with a fuel pump.  He attached the hose needed to go from a spare fuel can through the cap of the generator to refill the generator’s fuel tank as it is being consumed with the help of the fuel pump.  It worked great.  The cap is a little touchy and has to be monitored.  He is going to change that back in the states.  While we are making water, it’s nice to know we’re not going to run out of fuel and shut down the system.  That can damage parts.  

Dave made ciabatta bread today for the first time, AND it was awesome.  He also made souse, a  Bahamian soup made from all kinds of animal body parts.  I agreed to regular chicken meat, not sheep tongue or pigs feet.  I had bought frozen chopped chicken in Rock Sound.  The pieces are chopped, bone and all.  The guy at the check out assured me that it was perfect for souse.  The rest of the soup was chicken stock, carrots, celery, onion, lime juice and hot sauce.  Of course there are many variations, just like chili or curry.  But this is what we see most often in the Bahamas.  And it is often served for breakfast here.  

 

 

 

Dave cleaning the stove top with the shop vac, hadn't thought of that

I did some cleaning and exercised while we were making water.  That’s also the best time to take a shower, since we can replenish the tank.
Today was the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter movie, so we enjoyed watching it tonight.