November 30, 2011-Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas

Well, we have had better and worse anchorages. The wind picked up at around 10pm last night and we were only partially protected from the NW winds. We ended up getting rolled around by the westerly swells, which made for terrible sleeping conditions. Fortunately, it was only one night.
We left Spanish Cay and sailed down to Green Turtle Cay. The winds were a little lighter today than they were yesterday, so we only averaged about 4 knots, but since we only had to travel 14 miles, no one minded the lack of speed. We anchored in White Sound on Green Turtle Cay, the anchorage is a natural harbor with wind protection from all sides. It will be nice to spend a couple of nights laying low here.
The winds are suppose to pick up tonight and we heard that the anchoring here can be tricky, so I had the pleasure of swimming and checking out our anchor. It was completely buried, as well as half of the chain we have out. Amazingly, that was my first swim in the ocean since being in the Bahamas, and the water was actually warmer than Cape Cod (vineyard sound side) water in the summer. I will sleep so much better now knowing what our anchor looks like down there. If I could only come up with some tricky underwater camera that could show us our anchor from the cockpit, it would prevent a lot of wondering and worrying when my head hits the pillow at night.
We went to shore briefly, the town is at the other end of the island, and we will visit it tomorrow by dinghy. Today we just wanted to stretch our legs, so we went ashore to the Green Turtle Club Resort. We just walked around and hit the small store that they have there at the marina. The only thing we bought was candy. I was so excited to have a snickers bar, you would have thought that I had never had one before, it was great to have some junk food.
This is something that I would like to remember in the future, which is why I am putting it in the blog. I am embarrassed to admit, that today I butchered my first chicken. We are so use to going to the grocery stores back home and buying any cut of meat that we want. I am not a big fan of handling raw meats, so I usually buy the boneless cuts so I can just marinate and cook. Here, you get what they have. While we were at Little Grand Cay they had two kinds of frozen meats for purchase...whole chickens, and ribs. We bought the whole chickens, hence me having to butcher them today. I can honestly say it wasn't that hard, but also not my favorite thing to do. At the same time, I like that I am forced to do things that I would never have chosen to do back home, even if it is hacking up a dead animal.

November 29, 2011-Spanish Cay, Bahamas

We weren't planning on leaving Little Grand Cay until tomorrow, but while we were eating breakfast the wind shifted to the West. We decided we couldn't let those winds go to waste so we hauled anchor and made our way. We figured we would be on the edge of the front the whole day, which meant that we could have been caught in the rain for the better part of the day, but we didn't get one drop. There were a few dark clouds off in the distance ahead of us, but we were fortunate that they were moving faster than us.
As for the trip, it couldn't have been better. We sailed all day with 10-15 knot trailing winds and following seas, no loud generator motor running, no diesel use, and we even made a tankful of water. We ate really well today too, we had lobster salad for lunch, and I made a lobster and corn chowder for dinner. Mom....I think the chowder would have been up to your standards!
To make things even better, we saw a sea turtle, and Chris caught a fish while trolling. It appeared to be a cero mackerel (by comparing pictures in our fish book), it was a pretty good size too, but we decided to let it go. The next fish that lands on our hook most likely won't have the same fate.
We made it to Spanish Cay by 4:30, not bad for sailing in 10 knot winds. We averaged over 5 knots and traveled over 40 miles. This Cay happens to be a privately owned island and you can not go to shore unless you are staying at the marina or resort. We will be heading over to Green Turtle Cay tomorrow where we are welcome ashore.

November 28, 2011

Amazing what a new day will bring! We went to shore today and got to walk around a bit, which was refreshing to see happy faces. We stopped by the small grocery store. When I say small I mean that they only had one freezer the same size that one American household would have in their basement, and a standing shelf that you would find in a 7-11 with one side partially stocked with dried goods. They had a small fridge with grapes and a few sodas...that's it! We decided to wait until the afternoon, when everyone had received their goods from the supply ship that had come in the middle of the night. We actually got to watch the supply ship (who had run aground when he came in last night) unload and leave this morning.
We walked the whole island, the roads were all cement and big enough for one golf cart to drive on. All the golf carts and the one truck that we saw were loaded down with goods from the supply ship. We decided to head back to the boat for lunch, after which Dahlia napped and Deason and Chris went off to snorkel. They came back with what we had hoped would have been part of our dinner. We had read in our cook book that to get conch out from their shell easily that you boil them for 5 mins and they will come out with a fork. Well, Joy of Cooking failed us! That sucker would not come out of the shell.
We decided to go to shore and have dinner there, which was the original plan anyway, but a conch appetizer would have been nice. When we got to shore we did our grocery shopping, and they had a few more items than this morning, but not much, mostly bags of chips. We bought two whole chickens, grapes, and a few dried goods. We didn't need much else. I also found a local guy named Danny who sold us 10 lobster tails for $10, and he agreed to give me conch opening and cleaning lessons tomorrow when we get some more conch! I was psyched for both.
Dinner was excellent, and amusing. We were apparently too early and they had to unlock the door for us. When I asked what they had on the menu the woman said "I don't know, I will have to check and see what she has". She came back and said "chicken, conch, fish, and lobster", I actually felt rude asking what those dishes might come with, so I didn't bother asking. Deason had the lobster, Chris had the fish, and I had the conch. Dahlia shared with all of us, and it was excellent...including the sides. I now have my Bahamas ideal restored, and we are all going to bed with a happy heart and full bellies.

November 27, 2011-Little Grand Cay-Bahamas

We had a slightly better day today. Winds were still ENE 15-25knots, but with our heading we were able to motor sail at a respectable 5+ knots. We even got over 6 knots a few times. We decided to head for Little Grand Cay where the anchorage would provide pretty good all around protection. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is for E-SE 15-20 knot winds, and in this little place we are well tucked in. Our trip took less than 5 hours, and the conditions were similar to yesterday, but mentally I felt a little better knowing that we were actually moving.
We didn't go to shore today, but plan on staying through tomorrow so we can check things out. There is a little village here on the island, and amazingly we have Internet on the boat through the small marina that is here.

November 26, 2011-Mangrove Cay, Bahamas

The kids made a towel fort under the cockpit table to hide from the sea spray!
Amazing how unassuming a turquoise sea can look!
Mangrove Cay about a mile out.


Today was one of those "remind me why we are doing this" kind of days. We decided to leave the dock, for a couple of reasons. The first, because it is expensive to stay at the dock and spending $70/night isn't exactly in our budget. Secondly, we really want to be able to be at anchor, and swim/snorkel and kayak off of the boat. Finally, because of both of these reasons we were getting restless. For the past few days the winds have been out of the N-NE 15-25knots, and today it was suppose to be ENE-E 15-20knots. Everyday we inspected from the shore the surf conditions and each day we said to ourselves that it didn't appear to be that bad out there. With all of these factors we decided that we would shove off today.
We got off of the dock and left the inlet without a hitch, and we entered Goodwill Channel and headed into the wind and outgoing tide. The channel is a narrow 2 mile stretch between shoals. Supposedly, it use to have channel markers, but that was before the hurricane took them away. We left at high tide, just to be on the safe side, because we also heard that the shoals had shifted as well since the hurricane. It turned out to be the easiest part of our trip in hind sight. The rest of the trip we were heading into a 18-25 knot wind, and outgoing tide. We were essentially going backwards. At max speed we hit 4 knots a few times, but we were averaging in the low to mid 3 knot range. We were hobby horsing over the waves and taking a fair amount over the bows. We frequently got spray from these waves that came all the way back into the cockpit. Our planned "easy" 40 mile trip to Great Sale Cay, turned into an agonizingly long 20 mile trip to Mangrove Cay. We tried to sail off a little bit, but it didn't really help all that much. Our boat doesn't sail into the wind very well, and we would have had to sail off considerably, and to tack back and forth to get to Mangrove Cay would have been just as long of a day as it was. We never should have used the beach surf as an assessment tool, of course the waves weren't big from the shore, because the water depth is less than 5 ft for at least a mile off shore. In the channel to Mangrove Cay the waves could build a little more because of the deeper water.
Mangrove Cay is basically just that, a small island of mangrove that provided enough protection from the wind for the night. And I got what I asked for, we were at anchor, Chris went swimming off of the boat, he and Deason went kayaking, and after I vented my childish frustrations to Chris I felt better. I have high expectations of the Bahamas, we have been dreaming of coming here since we bought and moved aboard the boat, and I wanted ideal. Ideal being...calm seas, light breeze, easy sailing, and bright sunshine. The bottom line is that there are going to be great days, or a variation of that, and there are going to be bad days. Hopefully, we will use our brains to prevent as many bad days. I do realize that in the grand scheme of things, it could be much worse.

November 25, 2011

We are still at the marina, but we are going to try to leave tomorrow. It might be bumpy, but we are ready to move. Even though the marina is nice, it was not our Bahamas plan.
Closer to our Bahamas plan, we had a coconut feast today. Deason and two kids (the family happens to be from Mass, and keep their boat in Hyannis....small world) from a boat nearby gathered quite a few coconuts. We extracted the milk by using a screw driver and hammer, and then whacked at the thing with the hammer until we could peel it and get at the nut for the meat. It is much harder than it looks, but well worth it. Especially, because we know from watching "Castaway" that we can survive on coconuts, and fish if we can catch some. Hopefully, it won't come to that, but if Tom Hanks could do it so could we!
After dinner, we bought some fresh baked bread from a local woman who had come around with a cart. I won't mention how much I paid for the bread, but it was still warm and smelled so good that I probably would have paid more than I did.

November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving! We decided to stay at the marina for a few days. We woke up at 5am and the NW wind we had hoped for had already gone past and the winds were N-NE. If we had gone, it would have been rough out of the inlet, and we would have had a 20+ knot head wind for our 40 mile trip to Great Sale Cay. Rather than fight for it we gave in and stayed. Unfortunately, there are no good anchorages that can protect us from these North winds, so we are sort of forced to stay here, not that I am complaining. This front seems to be moving quickly, and it looks like we will have good winds by at least Sunday.
The good part about us staying, is I got to cook the Thanksgiving meal I had hoped to. If we had gone, I probably wouldn't have managed it. I am still getting sea sick, unless I spend all of my time outside while traveling. It would have been impossible for me to cook while we were underway! Its amazing the havoc a fetus can wreak on a grown person.
As for the rest of the day, we swam in the pool, walked on the beach, and caught up on some sleep. I love the turkey coma! And Uncle Bobby....you were right! As much as we miss all of our friends and family, Thanksgiving does taste the same......if not better in paradise!

November 23, 2011- West End, Bahamas

We made it! It was actually uneventful....in a good way! We hauled anchor at 3am, and had to go through one opening bridge in Ft. Lauderdale before heading out of Port Everglades Inlet. The wind was still out of the SE 12-18knots, and the first few hours of our trip we got bounced around a little, but nothing like last week. It really wasn't bad at all. The moon rise was at about 4:15 am and then dawn came shortly there after. It was a beautiful sunrise.
We were able to motor sail with the SE winds helping us along and we averaged over 6.5 knots. At about midday we lost our wind, and had to drop all the sails, but it was absolutely beautiful out. I can't even describe the color of the water, it was over 1500 ft deep, but you could still tell that the water was crystal clear even with it being such a dark blue.
Deason, Chris and I all made messages in a bottle that we tossed into the Gulf Stream. Hopefully, someone finds them, and not someone who might want to charge us for littering. Other than that, the crossing was pleasant. Although, we didn't catch any fish while trolling a line the whole way across, nor did we see any dolphins, whales or sharks. I was a little disappointed at the lack of marine life that I had expected to see. We pulled into West End by 3:30pm, and decided that we would stay at the marina. It made it easier to check in and we got to go for a swim in the pool. Win...Win! Chris got to go for a swim in the harbor too, after he dropped the diesel fill cap into the water.
We will be up and out early, we are hoping to make Great Sale Cay. A new front is suppose to move through this evening bringing more North winds, which could make tomorrows trip a little nasty. Here is to hoping that front stalls over Florida!

November 22, 2011

Dahlia stubbed her toe and this was the only acceptable bandage for her!

We decided to come down to Ft. Lauderdale, and 40miles and 20 opening bridges later we made it. The trip over to West End, Grand Bahama will be slightly longer, but we will have light winds and the current behind us pushing us over there.
When we got to Lake Sylvia to anchor, we had some company. Craig and Marie from "Sail On" were here. They are the couple who we first met in Block Island, RI. It seems like we met them forever ago.
It also seems like a lifetime ago that we were here. This was our very first anchorage, our first trip off the dock, and I feel like we have come along way. Both in distance and experience. Not that we are all that experienced now, comparatively speaking, but from when we left the dock last year we have come leaps and bounds.
When we anchored here last year we set the anchor on the first try. I got nervous thinking that we were too close to another boat, when really we were probably over 200ft away. I made Chris move us to another spot where we had trouble setting the anchor because it had spun around and was landing upside down. I was nearly in tears and begged Chris to come up and set the anchor himself. Obviously, he couldn't do that because someone had to pilot the boat, but I was overwhelmed and wanted to give up. We ended up getting the anchor set, and the 2 mile trip plus the anchoring felt like climbing Mt. Everest. Now after traveling up and back down the East Coast it seems like a lifetime has gone by, and that Chris and I have become completely different people because of all the trials and tribulations we have overcome. Here is to more adventures....big and small!

November 21, 2011

We have been doing the same old...same old for the past two days. Although, we did finish installing the water maker and got it running. I say "we", but it was really all Chris' doing. I provided the moral support, and watched for leaks (thankfully nothing leaked)! We can now make 16 gals of water and hour!
The weather continues to look good for a Wednesday crossing, we are still undecided on if we will go from here or head down to Ft. Lauderdale and cross from there. We will check the weather in the morning and decided after that.
We had an amazing last meal at Marsha and Barry's, and Marsha made Deason a special dessert (strawberries and whipped cream...his favorite), that quickly got out of hand. Although, anyone knowing the Rust family wouldn't be surprised! They had whipped cream hanging off of their noses in no time.
We have said all of our goodbyes, and we are sad to be leaving, but very hopeful that we will be able to make it to the islands this time.

November 19, 2011

The winds died down a little bit today, and the sun was bright and strong. It was warm enough for Dahlia to run around in her underwear for the better part of the morning. We also got some small projects done on the boat, and hit West Marine again for a couple more replacement filters for the water maker.
It looks like we might have another weather window coming up this Wednesday, hopefully the forecast holds and we can cross. We are thinking about heading down to Ft. Lauderdale and crossing from there. It makes the crossing a little longer, but we will have the stream with us instead of heading into it, plus we have a few more wind options from there. The cat doesn't point into the wind that well, so if the winds remain SE at least we can sail from Ft. Lauderdale, whereas from here we would have to motor right into it.....yuk!
Barry, Marsha, and Debra (Barry's niece) braved the elements to come out to the boat for pizza tonight. There aren't many people who would volunteer to get into an inflatable dinghy to go have dinner! Deason went to get them and the pizza, he really likes the responsibility of being able to drive the dinghy on his own, and he does it well. It was really nice to have people out on the boat again!

November 18, 2011

We moved back to our original anchorage in the northern part of Lake Worth, where it is only a short dinghy ride to my Aunt Marsha and Uncle Barry's place. It is not a bad place to be while we wait for this weather to pass. We swim in their pool, and if we show up at meal times they feed us well. We are like their stray dogs! Marsha is an excellent cook, and if we don't leave soon we will start feeling the effects of it on our waistlines. Although, I have a better excuse for a growing waist line than Chris does.
The weather has been as forecast, after midnight last night it really started to blow. It was definitely gusting over 25 knots, and the boat was getting jerked around pretty good. I have good faith in our anchor and it has held us in stronger winds, but it is still hard not to worry or lose a little bit of sleep when the winds are high. The kids however, sleep through anything!
The winds remained strong though out the day, and we spent it baking and sleeping. Who doesn't love a good banana chocolate chip bread when it is nasty outside? Deason baked it from scratch all by himself, it came out fantastic!