We spent the morning waiting out a thunderstorm. You know you have great guests when they are thrilled to watch the storm and not bummed that we couldn’t go anywhere.
After the storm passed, we moved south through the Sea of Abaco. We had planned to go north to Manjack Cay. But the sailing regatta was in that area and would be very crowded. So change of plans.
We stopped at Sandy Cay to snorkel. I got to try out my new underwater camera. We had it sent to Jackie and Brian and they brought if over for us. There was very little current, which made it very comfortable. Jackie and Brian thought this was the nicest place they had ever snorkeled, and they have snorkeled reefs before, not just in SD :)
We saw sting rays, sharks, lion fish, many fish varieties. And we saw clouds of small fish tucked into areas of coral. Also a large variety of coral. I learned that the colors are more true when I am closer. We anchored near Lynyard Cay and made homemade pizza for dinner.
rambutan that we found in Marsh Harbour
it had the texture of a grape and wasn't very flavorful
Our good friends, Jackie and Brian Killion, arrived this morning from South Dakota. They lived in Florida for 3 years and didn’t make it over here. Their vacation time was spent going back to SD. We were really excited for them to join us. They are also sailors and bought our last sailboat, 25 ft Catalina.
Our favorite taxi man, Rinssor, picked up Jackie and Brian, and we met them at the Conch Inn. They guys took the luggage to the boat, and we had Rinssor take us to the grocery store.
Our first stop was just outside of Marsh Harbour at Mermaid Reef. This is a great small area to snorkel. It is in the Sea of Abaco. So there is no current or surge or crashing waves. Very comfortable area with lots to see. Jackie had been a lifeguard, but had never spent much time snorkeling. This was a great place to get her acclimated.
We anchored near Elbow Cay and it’s lighthouse. We made mahi for them that we had caught earlier this year and kept frozen. A few adult beverages were consumed. Great sunset.
We started the day with cleaning the bilge. We are finding a yellow liquid in the bilge. Dave didn’t want to taste it, but it felt salty like sea water and greasy like fuel. And it had a diesel smell to it. He thinks there is a leak in our exhaust, either from a hose clamp or coming from the outside. So he tightened the hose clamps and through hull screws.
We motored to Marsh Harbour into the wind the whole way. We could see boats racing in the regatta that was taking place this week. Today they were racing from Elbow Cay to Great Guana Cay.
We made it to Marsh Harbour about 1:30. The anchoring field looked deserted. The marinas had plenty of boats, but there were only a handful of boats anchored. That was the fewest number of boats we have ever experienced here. I guess everyone is following the regatta.
Dave was ready for a haircut today. We do that off the stern of the boat with a clippers plugged into the Honda generator. Dave does most of it and I give him the finishing touches.
We finished cleaning the cockpit and interior to get ready for guests that arrive tomorrow. Dave replaced the seal on one of the windows/hatches. The one right above the salon table that makes into a bed. Since we will have guests sleeping there, his timing was impeccable.
We stayed at Green Turtle Cay to do some maintenance. Dave changed the oil on the Yanmar engine. He did some outboard maintenance on our Mercury on the dinghy. It had been hesitating occasionally. When I asked what was wrong, Dave said it is constantly bathed in salt water. So it just needs some attention occasionally. He cleaned the raw water screens for the Yanmar and the water maker. Earlier this week, he had pickled the water maker then changed the filters. Dave replaced our flag halyard. He had noticed that it was beginning to fray and caught it in time.
I did the usual floors, heads, galley cleaning, defrost the freezer. We also did laundry for 2 days. Why do I even write this stuff down? It’s like I have to verify that we aren’t just sitting on our butts vacationing all the time.
The mail boat comes into Green Turtle Cay on Thursday. So we went into town for a few groceries on Friday. We had fun visiting with the owners of the store. We told them how we were here in December and heard the Christmas carolers at 5:00am. She said in the olden days, they didn’t play the drums in the morning. They just sang softly as they walked through the streets. The white people went one direction and the black people walked the other. Then the town was surrounded by music from the two groups. They used to do this every morning from November 1 to January 1 at 5:00 am. Now it is for 2 weeks and they are much noisier. She also told us that the community used to roast a wild boar on Christmas day and have coconut pie. You could tell they were nice memories.
Sunday
Today we finally got in the water. There seem to be lots of Florida tourists that like to come to this area. So we went a little further away from our boat where we could be by ourselves. We drifted with the dingy between islands for a long stretch. Dave had to get out his spear when we spotted a grouper. Made for a nice dinner with pasta.
There was a power boat from Key West anchored in front of us when we got back. Dave said in Key West they would charge for the show that the guys were giving him off the stern of their boat. Dave said he has never had to bend over on our boat as much as this guy did. But maybe he’d feel different if he had a thong swimsuit, too. Thankfully, no photos.
Monday
We decided to move south and get away from the tourists. We went to Allens Pensacola. We had 25 knot winds with gusts to 30 all the way. That’s what you call a salty ride. We found two deck hatches that leak.
Tuesday
This morning we hiked across the island to the ocean side. When we left our boat, we stopped at a neighboring boat to compliment them on their anchoring. We see so many people that don’t have a clue about anchoring. They were from Argentina. Dave practiced a little Spanish, but the wife spoke very good English and would translate to her husband. I really need to learn more Spanish so Dave doesn’t have to do that for me some day.
We hiked through the trees and bugs to the ocean side. It was great to find a deserted beach. They have what they call a “signing tree” that has spread to several trees. People bring anything kind of object and leave their boat name and or their names on it and hang it. We did see one sign from someone we met earlier this year. We also found a lot of sea glass.
We thought we would go snorkeling this afternoon, but the rain moved in again. We figured we were about 200 miles north of the Tropic of Cancer for the Summer Solstice. That’s the closest we have ever been to the sun this time of year. Earlier this year, we were south of the Tropic of Cancer, but so was the sun. So there you are. In case you need a reminder, the Tropic of Cancer is the northern most latitude that the sun will travel.
somebody's strange sense of humor with the beach garbage
this is where we docked the boat in the bay. People collect the garbage in the area
trail through dense trees
turtle tracks to a nest
several signing trees
saw a sign from First Love, who we met in January
all found on the beach today
Wednesday
Today we sailed, then motored, to Green Turtle Cay. We hit some heavy rain today. Gave our boat a good washing. We taped the two windows that leaked where the window meets the deck. We still had water come in one of them. Upon further inspection, we determined the seal was torn. Put that on the project list.
We went into Green Turtle for dinner. First we stopped at the New Plymouth Liquor store/bar/restaurant. It’s a little place, and the first place we stopped at when we first arrived in the Bahamas 3 years ago. It was St Patrick’s Day and we joined the parade. Then we went to Sundowners on the water and had dinner, chatted with the owners and the wait staff. The young guy waiting on us enjoyed sharing and learning card tricks. Then we talked him into singing for us. He had a great tenor voice. Fun night.
torpedo hanging from the ceiling
I wasn't focusing on the video because he was self conscious of me videoing him. So sorry for the blurry video. Just listen.
We woke up to rain this morning. We thought we were going to have a 20% chance of rain and would play in the water all day. NOT. Now the forecast says 20-100%. Dave could see a string of showers coming our way on the radar. So we settled in for another boat day.
Early afternoon, we heard the wind pick up and could see a water spout off to the east. We went outside to watch and saw several form and dissipate. We even saw 2 at the same time. Interesting.
I sent a photo of the water spouts to our weather guru, Chris Parker of Marine Weather Center. He put my photo on his Facebook page. Then Ken Goodings of the Caribbean Navigator put my photo on his Facebook page. As I was looking at my Facebook, I came across my photo. That was a surprise, but fun to see.
We made bread tweaking a few things. Always trying to improve it. We added more sugar and salt and baked at a higher temperature. Not good, they burned on the top and were dry.
We had breakfast on the boat before going into town today. Dave pulled right up to the fuel dock today. I climbed up the wall and headed back to the grocery store. Inez was there today and was SO tickled to meet a friend of Gloria’s. She gave me a big hug and said it was just like hugging Gloria. We visited a while about how they have known each other for years and she misses her. She was glad to hear that Gloria convinced Mike to build a home in Florida.
Mary and Inez
Mike and Gloria
They did have milk today. I decided to also pick up eggs, more carrots, and some juices to make a rum punch on the boat. Mix is not cheap here. You usually pay about $1 per can of any soda or juice. None of those 3 12 packs for $10 sales. Dave was in the mood for grilling chicken. All they had were big packs of chicken wings, about 30 for $20. We decided that was still cheaper than going out for chicken wings.
It was less than 5 miles to Double Breasted Cay, so we headed out about noon. It’s only about 2 miles as the crow flies, but 5 miles to go around the rocks and stay in deep water. What a beautiful anchorage!
As soon as we were settled, I hung up some clothes that have been soaking overnight. Then we hopped in the dinghy to explore the area. There are lots of fun beaches and little rocky areas. We had a few birds trying to keep us away from their nests. We had to watch the tops of our heads from being attacked. There are some shallow areas where Dave may try bonefishing. You fly
fish just for the fun of the fight, then release them. We saw an eagle
ray, turtles and a shark. And lots of mosquitoes back at the boat.
We anchored near Lynyard Cay and made homemade pizza for dinner. 
