March 16, 2016 Abacos to Eleuthera passage and Current Cut

We left our anchorage at 5:30 am in the dark.  Thank goodness for radar.  We motor sailed to Eleuthera, about 50 nautical miles south.  Since there were light winds, Cheryl and I spent some time below logging the food she brought aboard. (I have all of our food logged in an app on my phone called What’s on my Boat.)

We made pretty good time and were at Egg Island by 2:00.  We talked through our options of where to anchor and what our plans were for the next couple of days.  Funny how part of our plans involved where we could dispose of our garbage.  We decided to skip Spanish Wells and head towards Current Settlement, anchor, and go through the Current Cut tomorrow.  Dave had fishing lines out and had caught a Mackerel as we were heading to Current Settlement.  As he brought it in, he noticed that the tail had been bitten off and there were teeth marks on the side.  He brought it on board and wrapped it to clean it later. 


 
 
 
 
 

The Current Cut sounded like it was tricky.  You have to time your pass with the tide and the wind and it’s best to go through it at slack tide. When we looked at the tides, we decided the best time to go though the Current Cut was today.  High tide was at 5:30pm and was going to get later by an hour every day.  We figured that slack tide was 2 hours before high tide which was right now.  So we went for it.  We had Cheryl out on the bow watching for deep water.  Dave was following our chart plotter and I was following Bluechart Garmin on my phone.  I also relayed anything Cheryl was trying to tell us.  Our pass through the cut went well. Yeah team! 

We anchored off of Current Island south of the cut.  We helped Dave clean the fish and thought it was a Spanish Mackerel.  It was about 3 ft long and we think we had 2-3 pounds of meat. We had a fantastic dinner and pigged out eating the whole fish! 
 

March 15, 2016 Passport Rescue

Dave and I set alarms to get up at 4:30 am to leave for the Eleutheras.  Before we even got out of bed, we decided it would be easier to get Cheryl’s passport from Ricardo than to replace it.  So we slept in and later headed back north.  We caught up with him at Elbow Cay.  Dave went to his boat to get the passport and the Immigration documentation. 

We decided to anchor and go into Hopetown for fuel, lunch and a few groceries.  We left Elbow Cay and went back to Lynyard Cay by sunset.  We anchored just north of the Little Harbor cut to head out to the Eleutheras in the morning.

new fuel tank at the marina dock

Cheryl learning our anchoring system

March 14, 2016 Change of plans with new crew

Dave listened to Chris Parker’s weather this morning and even talked to him.  Sounded like it we were going to have very light winds for the next week.  So if we were going to go south, we would probably have to motor to get anywhere.  We are ok with that since we’re ready to move on.  But Ricardo likes to sail and conserve his diesel.  So we went over to their boat with charts this morning to discuss our plans with them.  We wanted to move further south today to position ourselves to leave early on Tuesday for Eleuthera.  They could follow us, or meet up with us later.

We all decided to move to Sandy Cay to snorkel, which was only about an hour away.  When they didn’t follow us, we talked to Cheryl by VHF radio.  To make a long story short, we went back to their boat and helped Cheryl move aboard our boat.  If you know Cheryl, and want more details, you can contact her.  She will regroup on our boat and decide on her next adventure.  We know we will have guests when we get to Georgetown, Exumas in April.  So she will make arrangements to fly somewhere by then, if another option hasn’t presented itself.  We are calling her “rescue crew” like a rescue pet. 

We motored to Little Harbor and anchored by 6:00.  Cheryl and I took the dinghy into Little Harbor. The art gallery we wanted to visit was closed, but we peeked into the windows and saw many of their bronze castings about town.  We checked out the ocean side on a boardwalk that crossed over to the ocean.  We then walked along shore in the harbor looking for parrots that we had heard about on the cruiser’s net.  There was a happy hour gathering of people on the beach.  We talked to the first person we met about the parrots and I recognized his voice.  It was Gordie who gives the Little Harbor weather report on the cruiser’s net.  He said the parrots were probably roosting for the night.  He thought we should come back about 8:00 in the morning and he gave us a few places to look for them. 

We returned to the boat for dinner.  Before we went to bed, Cheryl realized she didn’t have her passport.   We planned to leave for the Eleutheras in the morning.  So before going to bed, she did some checking into where there was an American Consulate in the Bahamas to replace it.

March 13, 2016 Hopetown church and Back Point Cat anchorage

This morning, Cheryl and I went to two church services.  First we went to the Assembly of God service at 11:00 am.  We had met Kerline a couple weeks ago at the Hopetown Inn and Marina.  She had invited us to her church.  We saw her again yesterday and she invited us again.  We sat in the last row in their small church with a dozen pews on each side.  After the service started, a women tapped us on the shoulders and asked if we were guests of Kerline’s.    Kerline had told her she had invited 2 women, but she couldn’t be there today because of work.  The lady was the minister’s wife and wanted to welcome us.  I said “yes, Kerline invited us.”  And Cheryl said “how did you know it was us?”  That got a laugh out of her because we were the only white people in the church.  Then later, they had us stand and introduce ourselves and where we were from. 

Most of the service was in Creole, a local language based on the French language.  There was a lot of wonderful singing.  During their “meet and greet”,  EVERYONE in the church walked throughout the church hugging each other with a welcome or bless you.  I think we both had hugs from everyone present. 

We left early at about 12:15 to be able to attend the Catholic mass.  People had been coming and going through out the service, so it wasn’t too noticeable.  We stopped at Vernon’s grocery store for fresh made coconut bread and locally made guava coconut jam.  Then we headed to the Catholic mass that is held in a park on benches under a tree.  There were a few women there that I had met in the past, and it was fun to visit with them again.

After church, we headed back to the boats to catch the high tide.  There is a shallow channel between Elbow Cay and Lubbers Quarter, and Ricardo’s boat has a deeper draft than ours, 5 1/2 feet.  When we got back to the boat,  I handed the dingy over to Dave so he could attach it to our boat and pull it behind us.   Both boats picked up anchors and sailed south to Black Point Cat, about 10 nm miles south.  We wondered if it wasn’t supposed to be Black Cat Point.  Half way there, Dave noticed that he had left the dinghy motor down and it was dragging in the water.  He usually tilts it so it is out of the water.  Then he studied it a little longer and realized the motor was still running!!  I must have left it running when I handed over the dinghy.  I don’t know why I didn’t turn it off.  But Dave didn’t even notice that it was still running.  Now that is a quiet motor on that 15hp Mercury.  Dave pulled the dinghy up close to the boat and climbed into it while we were still moving.  He turned off the motor, tilted it out of the water, and climbed back onto the boat.  I just wish I would have taken a picture.

After anchoring, we took the dinghy and checked out the sea life along the shore.  We saw several large starfish and one small conch.  We got out and walked a shallow area.  We checked out a sailboat that had wrecked on a beach.  Then we found small coral, sponges, sea urchins, sea anemones, and sand biscuits.  We used our clear bottom bucket to check things out underwater. 

We went back to our own boats for dinner and an early bed time.  This was the first day of daylight savings time.  It really wouldn’t have mattered if we hadn’t set an alarm to go to church this morning.

March 12, 2016 Rake and Scrape band at Hopetown Inn and Marina

We spent the morning working on some paperwork printing, signing, scanning, sending via e-mail.  We were able to pick up wifi on the boat from shore.  Then I needed to unpack my suitcase of winter clothes and store them again.  We lifted up the v-berth mattress to put away my winter clothes and the bedding we used for company in February. 

About 2:30, Cheryl, Ricardo and I decided to go to shore.  The Hopetown Inn and Marina was having a special buffet lunch and a “Rake and Scrape” band performing form 12-4.  We didn’t plan to eat there, we just thought it would be fun to check out the music.  Ricardo took the shuttle across the harbor to check out the town.  But Cheryl and I sat back, had a drink and played cribbage.  The Rake and Scrape band mostly lip synced with recorded music.  They danced to the music and added percussion with a saw and a metal tube that looked like a cheese grater.  It was pretty lively and fun to listen to and watch them perform. 

 
We headed back to the boats about 4:30.  Cheryl made a cheese and broccoli pasta and brought it to our boat.  We grilled chicken and fried wahoo.  I had also made some bars with ingredients given to me by another sailor layered in a glass jar. 

Then we spent some time looking over charts and making short and long term plans for the next couple days and next couple months.  It looks like we’ll be able to do some sailing together. 

Cheryl has been my friend for over 25 years in Rapid City.  We met Ricardo from Brazil this summer and introduced them to each other.  Ricardo wanted a crew member on his boat and she was ready for and adventure.  So here they are!!

March 11, 2016 Marsh Harbor with Friends

We planned a day in Marsh Harbor with Ricardo and Cheryl.  They have been using one kayak to go to shore.  They have a  small dinghy, but haven’t inflated it yet.  Cheryl and I went to the Bahamian Telephone Company, Batelco, to put data on one of their phones with a local SIM card.  Then we walked to Maxwell’s grocery store.  At the deli, we were intrigued by the sign posting the hours for the meat market.

Dave and Ricardo stopped at a boat parts/fishing tackle store.  They also went to an Asian market and found sesame oil that I had forgotten.  They checked out the marinas and boats.  Then we met at a BBQ stand for lunch with awesome BBQ ribs.

After returning to the boat, we decided to move to Elbow Cay.  That evening, Cheryl came over to our boat for a couple games of cribbage.  I loved playing even though she beat me twice.  We were making water, so we let her have a shower on our boat.  They don’t have a water maker, so she has to be more frugal with their water.
 

March 10, 2016 Flights to the Bahamas & Dave's projects

SHORT NIGHT!  I had to get up at 3:30 am for my 5:10 am flight.  Aberdeen’s airport is pretty small, so one hour early was fine.  I was expecting problems with customs since we live on a boat.  But not in Aberdeen.  I didn’t think I was going to get a boarding pass.  The guy checking me in said that his computer was telling him that I needed a VISA since I didn’t have a return flight.  I just said “well, I know I don’t need a VISA”  and he printed them for me.  I guess I used “the force”. 

The flights were all fine.  When I walked out of the airport to find Rinssor’s taxi, he looked surprised to see me.  He thought I was arriving on Friday and already had a load.  So he lined up another taxi driver for me. James was 86.  He and his wife both drive taxis.  He was originally from an island in the south, Mayaguana, but he had to leave there as a teenager to find a wife.  I guess everyone was related to each other :) 
Dave met me at the dinghy dock.  We delivered my luggage to the boat.  Then we stopped at the boat of our friends, Ricardo and Cheryl.  They arrived in Marsh Harbor today.  We visited a short time.  Then we went out to dinner at Snappa’s.  It was nice to visit about the week over dinner.  Then it was early to bed!

Great Sale Island

Coast of Little Abaco

DAVE PROJECTS WHILE I WAS GONE
While I was away, Dave got out the Sailrite sewing machine and did a few projects.  He had made a bag for our spinnaker by hand before we bought the machine.  So he restitched the entire bag.  He also restitched our dinghy chaps.  Several of the seams looked weak.  He also used isinglass to make sleeves for our dinghy registration boards.  We only had them tied on before and they would always flap in the wind.  Our Bahamian flag was looking tattered.  So he took it down, trimmed and sewed the end smoother.  You can’t tell that it is smaller when it is flapping in a breeze or hanging limp.

Dave also worked on the aft head.  The handle to pump out waste had come unscrewed when Dave’s brother was visiting.  Dean had put it back in place, but an o-ring wasn’t centered and was damaged causing water to leak.  So Dave took that apart, placed the new o-ring and put it back together correctly. 

He also did laundry and had to cook for himself again.  Kept him out of trouble.


Thursday, March 10 Flights to the Bahamas