Saturday, February 19, 2011
Catching up
2-15-11
It's time to catch up...
On 2-4 I took the boat down to Staniel Cay so that I could catch a flight to Fort Lauderdale. It was a rough sail, actually motor sail. Wind on the nose and waves and current to against me to make things fun. I motor sailed along at about 3-4 knots. As soon as I tied the boat to the dock I was informed by the Harbor Master that I could not leave my boat unattended at the marina. I explained my situation and we worked out a deal. He would watch my boat for me, I think he has done this before. Very nice guy though, Chubby is his name. Everybody at Staniel Cay was very friendly and helpful. There was a 3-4 foot tidal current through the marina, lots of fenders and lines were used.
The next day my flight to Nassau was on island time, a few ours late which was okay since I printed the wrong ticket it gave the ticket person enough time to go print another one for me. The plane was a 8 passenger turbo prop that has been flown a lot. When I got to the ticket counter in Nassau I was informed that my flight to Lauderdale had been cancelled due to a mechanical problem. I caught another flight on a different airline and all was good.
Fort Lauderdale was great, even though I haven't been away from the States very long I was amazed at how easy it is to do anything and how readily available anything and everything is. I picked up some stuff that I forgot and picked up some items for Storyville and Kaleo. I had an awesome visit with Deb. It was sad to say goodbye but we have hopefully made a huge leap in repairing our relationship.
When I got back to Staniel Cay Storyville & Kaleo were there. The helped me get my boat out of the marina. Marina's here are not the same as back in Kemah, they are usually just a pier with boats tied everywhere. With my full keel and inability to go in a straight line in reverse I was very glad to have Troy and Matt on the boat. As soon as we got the boat anchored I met the rest of the "Texas Navy"(5 boats all from the Kemah area), which included Rusty & Linda on Sea Y'all Later and Shane on Guiding light. Both of these boats are catamarans. Sea Y'all Later practically treats their boat like a large dinghy. They took us out for a quick sail, then over to visit the swimming pigs and then back to Staniel Cay to vist Thunderball Groto, famous from the movie Thunderball, a James Bond movie.
On the 11th of February we sailed, really motorsailed down to Black Point Settlement. It took just a few hours. The Texas Navy all came down. Where Stanial Cay is about resorts and creature comforts Black Point is more traditional Bahamian culture. They do have a good store, free wifi for a donation and several restaurants they are not as commercial. We all got together on Sea Y'all Later for movie night. They have a projector and pull down screen. It was a fun night!
The next day the Texas Navy moved over to Castle Beach, it is just around the point from Black Point. We moved to get better protection from a northern that was supposed to come in around noon on the 12th. As soon as Storyville got their anchor down Deana was in the water, she checked their anchor and then snorkeled over to check out the fish. She was quickly getting her sling. As I was negotiating my anchor I could tell that there was something good going on there. I dove my anchor and then jumped in the dinghy to see what was going on. Sure enough she was trying to catch a fish or lobster. I grabbed my snorkel stuff and jumped in. I thought I was missing part of my sling so was more of a scout for Deana. i spotted 3 lobsters hiding under a rock and pointed them out to her. She missed her first shot and they all hid. She started looking for some others, I swam around to the back side to see if they were sneaking out but they weren't there. As I circled the rock I spotted a pretty good sized Lion fish and another lobster. I got Deana's attentions and she dove down and took a shot at the fish, not seeing the lobster. She missed the fish but scared the lobster, he ran from the cover of the rock into the open. Deana dove down and took a shot and just missed him. He ran for cover, we both surfaced to catch our breath. As we were doing this he came back into the open. This time Deana nailed him. We both came up yelling for Troy, full of excitement. Troy was talking with some lady on land. She crushed us as she informed us that what we had just done was illegal, there is no spearfishing within 200 yards of a family island, she referred to our fishing permit. The lobster was already dying so Deana kept it was a bit deflating. Deana made some great lobster pizza though.
On the 15th Pipe Muh Blih came back and joined the Texas Navy. They had a great provisioning trip to Eluthera with a fun sail back.
On the 16th we decided that we needed to dinghy South of the anchorage to see if we could find another place to spearfish. We have decided that a Family island means an island with a town or settlement. We found a pretty cool cave that 3 dinghys could easily fit into, very shallow and the coral put off this really neat blue color. We found a likely spot for some fishing and all dove in. Shane was the first to get a lobster, I will call it an average size. While he was calling Troy over with the dinghy I was battling it out with a MONSTER lobster. It was him or me. It took three shots, all direct hits but I finally bagged him. I was wearing a dive belt today with 5lbs in it. Between the dive belt and carrying the lobster out of the water I was struggling as I swam over to the dinghy. Stacy from Pipe came over to check out the lobster and all I could say was take my weight belt. This made life a bit easier. I put the monster in the 5 gallon bucket and climbed on the dinghy to catch my breath. By this time Deana had also got an average sized lobster. I dove a bit more, shot a lion fish and then called it quits. Renee from Pipe also got a lobster but it was a baby. Everything looks bigger under water. Last night we all gathered on Pipe for lobster dinner. It was a great meal.
2-16-11
Anchored at Castle Beach, Great Guana Cay
Slept in this morning, skipped the weather report, wasn't feeling too great. indigestion or something. My stomach was upset all night so didn't sleep very well.
Sent a nasty email off to the wind generator place, it is still not working properly. I am very frustrated with my Air Breeze. I gave myself a haircut this morning, still not very good at it. Storyville said I have patches in the bacg of my head. I will get them to fix it up some. Went in to town to do some laundry and get on the internet. Just did one load, $3.50 to wash and $3.50 to dry. Still better than Staniel Cay. The internet was really bad today. I could not get on at Loraine's Cafe and at DeShaMon's it was very slow but did have a good cheeseburger. I am trying to find a reasonably priced marina to keep my boat for hurricane season, dry or wet storage doesn't matter.
2-17-11
Anchored at Castle Beach, Great Guana Cay
Dropped some dinghy fuel off for Storyville as well as some empty water jugs. I put 12 gallons of water in my tank today.
Went to Yoga, Kaleo was there as well as Crow's Nest(Dave and Pam). Pam led the class. It was low key and good to get some stretching in. Then headed over to Loraine's cafe for some internet, still searching for a place to keep the boat during hurricane season.
There was a big get together at regatta point at 4:30. Pot luck and good conversation. Sea Y'all Later showed the movie Captain Ron on his sail with his projector. A pretty good get together.
2-18-11
Sailed from Castle Beach to Little Farmers Cay
Had a really good sail down, wind was from the right direction at about 17-20. I was cruising along at 6.5 knots.
When I got to Little Farmers I decided to come around to the Sound side of the island , tucked in between Great Guana Cay & Little Farmers. There is a lot of current that comes through here so I decided to pick up a mooring ball. Not a fan of strong current & opposing wind. I also came here in search of good wifi. The wifi is not that great, it is free but I get kicked off about every 5 minutes and at times it is slow, kinda like 56k dial up.
Yesterday afternoon and evening it drizzled some and then had a few squalls roll in.
I met my neighbors on the next mooring, Jim & Nancy on S/V Solitaire(www.nancyjim.org). It is a small world, we have mutual friends in Sonny & Kay on S/V Valentina who are in Columbia right now. They also informed me that I can get NBC, CBS, ABC & Fox on the TV here. Not sure if that is a good thing?
It's time to catch up...
On 2-4 I took the boat down to Staniel Cay so that I could catch a flight to Fort Lauderdale. It was a rough sail, actually motor sail. Wind on the nose and waves and current to against me to make things fun. I motor sailed along at about 3-4 knots. As soon as I tied the boat to the dock I was informed by the Harbor Master that I could not leave my boat unattended at the marina. I explained my situation and we worked out a deal. He would watch my boat for me, I think he has done this before. Very nice guy though, Chubby is his name. Everybody at Staniel Cay was very friendly and helpful. There was a 3-4 foot tidal current through the marina, lots of fenders and lines were used.
The next day my flight to Nassau was on island time, a few ours late which was okay since I printed the wrong ticket it gave the ticket person enough time to go print another one for me. The plane was a 8 passenger turbo prop that has been flown a lot. When I got to the ticket counter in Nassau I was informed that my flight to Lauderdale had been cancelled due to a mechanical problem. I caught another flight on a different airline and all was good.
Fort Lauderdale was great, even though I haven't been away from the States very long I was amazed at how easy it is to do anything and how readily available anything and everything is. I picked up some stuff that I forgot and picked up some items for Storyville and Kaleo. I had an awesome visit with Deb. It was sad to say goodbye but we have hopefully made a huge leap in repairing our relationship.
When I got back to Staniel Cay Storyville & Kaleo were there. The helped me get my boat out of the marina. Marina's here are not the same as back in Kemah, they are usually just a pier with boats tied everywhere. With my full keel and inability to go in a straight line in reverse I was very glad to have Troy and Matt on the boat. As soon as we got the boat anchored I met the rest of the "Texas Navy"(5 boats all from the Kemah area), which included Rusty & Linda on Sea Y'all Later and Shane on Guiding light. Both of these boats are catamarans. Sea Y'all Later practically treats their boat like a large dinghy. They took us out for a quick sail, then over to visit the swimming pigs and then back to Staniel Cay to vist Thunderball Groto, famous from the movie Thunderball, a James Bond movie.
On the 11th of February we sailed, really motorsailed down to Black Point Settlement. It took just a few hours. The Texas Navy all came down. Where Stanial Cay is about resorts and creature comforts Black Point is more traditional Bahamian culture. They do have a good store, free wifi for a donation and several restaurants they are not as commercial. We all got together on Sea Y'all Later for movie night. They have a projector and pull down screen. It was a fun night!
The next day the Texas Navy moved over to Castle Beach, it is just around the point from Black Point. We moved to get better protection from a northern that was supposed to come in around noon on the 12th. As soon as Storyville got their anchor down Deana was in the water, she checked their anchor and then snorkeled over to check out the fish. She was quickly getting her sling. As I was negotiating my anchor I could tell that there was something good going on there. I dove my anchor and then jumped in the dinghy to see what was going on. Sure enough she was trying to catch a fish or lobster. I grabbed my snorkel stuff and jumped in. I thought I was missing part of my sling so was more of a scout for Deana. i spotted 3 lobsters hiding under a rock and pointed them out to her. She missed her first shot and they all hid. She started looking for some others, I swam around to the back side to see if they were sneaking out but they weren't there. As I circled the rock I spotted a pretty good sized Lion fish and another lobster. I got Deana's attentions and she dove down and took a shot at the fish, not seeing the lobster. She missed the fish but scared the lobster, he ran from the cover of the rock into the open. Deana dove down and took a shot and just missed him. He ran for cover, we both surfaced to catch our breath. As we were doing this he came back into the open. This time Deana nailed him. We both came up yelling for Troy, full of excitement. Troy was talking with some lady on land. She crushed us as she informed us that what we had just done was illegal, there is no spearfishing within 200 yards of a family island, she referred to our fishing permit. The lobster was already dying so Deana kept it was a bit deflating. Deana made some great lobster pizza though.
On the 15th Pipe Muh Blih came back and joined the Texas Navy. They had a great provisioning trip to Eluthera with a fun sail back.
On the 16th we decided that we needed to dinghy South of the anchorage to see if we could find another place to spearfish. We have decided that a Family island means an island with a town or settlement. We found a pretty cool cave that 3 dinghys could easily fit into, very shallow and the coral put off this really neat blue color. We found a likely spot for some fishing and all dove in. Shane was the first to get a lobster, I will call it an average size. While he was calling Troy over with the dinghy I was battling it out with a MONSTER lobster. It was him or me. It took three shots, all direct hits but I finally bagged him. I was wearing a dive belt today with 5lbs in it. Between the dive belt and carrying the lobster out of the water I was struggling as I swam over to the dinghy. Stacy from Pipe came over to check out the lobster and all I could say was take my weight belt. This made life a bit easier. I put the monster in the 5 gallon bucket and climbed on the dinghy to catch my breath. By this time Deana had also got an average sized lobster. I dove a bit more, shot a lion fish and then called it quits. Renee from Pipe also got a lobster but it was a baby. Everything looks bigger under water. Last night we all gathered on Pipe for lobster dinner. It was a great meal.
2-16-11
Anchored at Castle Beach, Great Guana Cay
Slept in this morning, skipped the weather report, wasn't feeling too great. indigestion or something. My stomach was upset all night so didn't sleep very well.
Sent a nasty email off to the wind generator place, it is still not working properly. I am very frustrated with my Air Breeze. I gave myself a haircut this morning, still not very good at it. Storyville said I have patches in the bacg of my head. I will get them to fix it up some. Went in to town to do some laundry and get on the internet. Just did one load, $3.50 to wash and $3.50 to dry. Still better than Staniel Cay. The internet was really bad today. I could not get on at Loraine's Cafe and at DeShaMon's it was very slow but did have a good cheeseburger. I am trying to find a reasonably priced marina to keep my boat for hurricane season, dry or wet storage doesn't matter.
2-17-11
Anchored at Castle Beach, Great Guana Cay
Dropped some dinghy fuel off for Storyville as well as some empty water jugs. I put 12 gallons of water in my tank today.
Went to Yoga, Kaleo was there as well as Crow's Nest(Dave and Pam). Pam led the class. It was low key and good to get some stretching in. Then headed over to Loraine's cafe for some internet, still searching for a place to keep the boat during hurricane season.
There was a big get together at regatta point at 4:30. Pot luck and good conversation. Sea Y'all Later showed the movie Captain Ron on his sail with his projector. A pretty good get together.
2-18-11
Sailed from Castle Beach to Little Farmers Cay
Had a really good sail down, wind was from the right direction at about 17-20. I was cruising along at 6.5 knots.
When I got to Little Farmers I decided to come around to the Sound side of the island , tucked in between Great Guana Cay & Little Farmers. There is a lot of current that comes through here so I decided to pick up a mooring ball. Not a fan of strong current & opposing wind. I also came here in search of good wifi. The wifi is not that great, it is free but I get kicked off about every 5 minutes and at times it is slow, kinda like 56k dial up.
Yesterday afternoon and evening it drizzled some and then had a few squalls roll in.
I met my neighbors on the next mooring, Jim & Nancy on S/V Solitaire(www.nancyjim.org). It is a small world, we have mutual friends in Sonny & Kay on S/V Valentina who are in Columbia right now. They also informed me that I can get NBC, CBS, ABC & Fox on the TV here. Not sure if that is a good thing?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Warderick Wells Cay
January 31st.
Sailed from shroud Cay to Warderick Wells Cay. It was about a 4 hour trip. Sailed for a bit over half of it. I slowly turned into the wind to reach my destination and decided to drop the sails and motor the rest of the way. I know kinda lazy but what the hell.
Warderick Wells is where the park headquarters are located for the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. It is a no take zone, you can't take anything from the land or the water, living or dead. They have mooring balls and Wifi(100 megs or 24 hours, whichever comes first), what more can you ask for. They do not have any facilities here, no fuel, water, restrooms, trash cans, nothing. What they do have is absolutely gorgeous water and beautiful beaches. This place is a must see!
February 1st.
Walked around the island a bit, discovered Boo Boo Hill. The only place within the park that you can actually leave something behind. It is a tradition to put your boat name on driftwood and leave it on this hill. There are some great views.
That night Storyville, Kaleo and myself worked on our signs to leave on the hill the next day.
Also walked over to Boo Boo Beach.
February 2nd.
Took my sign up to Boo Boo Hill. Went to check out the blow holes but the tide is not right, no water blowing up but the draft was pretty incredible.
Finally got in the water today, took the dinghy out to a small reef. Saw numerous small fish, they folks on Genesis and Pipe Muh Bligh saw a pretty large lobster but weren't able to get dinner since this is a no take zone. After the snorkeling we zipped around some, there is a pretty cool house that is anchored next to the beach, not sure what the story is behind it. Saw some more incredible beaches.
We came back to Storyville to hang out at their own personal beach, literally twice a day when the tide comes in and out they have a beach 20 feet off the stern of their boat. While we tying up to their boat we saw a stingray under their boat. Of course we had to jump in the dinghys and follow it around, While doing that a Nurse Shark came cruising by so we all followed him around for a while. I have some pretty jerky videos but will try to get them up soon.
It has been another great day!
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