02/26/2007, Hog Cay, Long Island
Today, we started back from Rum Cay heading north. This is the extent of our trip for this year. Although we were a few miles further south in the Jumentos, Rum Cay somehow seems to be "further away", maybe because its on the path to the Eastern Caribbean. And todaywe turned back, leaving Nahanni and a few others waiting for favorable winds to carry on south. It felt a bit odd but perhaps next year. We have no reason to turn back, but have decided that we want to sail north again this spring. There are lots of places we missed that we want to visit, and, wherever we spend the summer, Estelle will need some TLC. So north it is!! We left Maine on Sept 1, arriving in The Bahamas in mid-December, meaning we spent 3.5 months en route. But we didn't try to make it in a hurry. Our plan is to be back in Maine by June 1, or just over 3 months from now. But by the time we're back from skiing and my Belize trip, it will be mid-March. So that will mean 2.5 months for the trip back. So it's time to plan for it. We will spend another month or so in the Bahamas working our way up Cat Island, Eluthera, and across to the Abacos, then back to the US, probably arriving in Savannah, Georgia in late April. Then we will follow the spring north! Yesterday (Sunday)morning, we went ashore and biked over to the Sumner Point Marina, a bit of a loosely operated affair, and, after chasing off a bunch of barking dogs, we managed to find someone on duty who gave us the password to the wireless internet connection. So we caught up on some of that stuff. I checked out the Charlottetown Guardian and laughed to see the same energy stories making headlines as this time last year and the year before that!!! Then back to the boat for lunch, and back ashore for a bike ride on the other road in the afternoon. This one was shorter than yesterday's road, and ended about two miles out of town at the construction site of a huge resort and marina complex. The site has been cleared and some excavations begun, but work seems to have stopped. Rumor in town has it that they got digging in an area for which they didn't have a permit. But it seems to have all the signs of a lot of Bahamas projects... big start, and petering out into an abandoned project. But I may be wrong. The cleared site is about 2,000 acres... like I said, huge. If it goes ahead, it will transform Rum Cay from the quiet, pretty village it now is into a very upscale resort island. With a population of just 60, it will mean a huge increase just to staff the place. If it doesn't get finished, it will leave a huge scar on the Island. Back in town, we loaded the bikes back on the boat, and dinghied across to Nahanni and had drinks. We toured their very nice boat, a TaShing 40' designed by Robert Perry, a very highly respected designer of offshore boats, and built in Taiwan in the mid-80's, when they still did good work. It is a very nice and strong boat. They plan to head south to Trinidad, across the coast of South America then back up the Western Caribbean, Panama, Guatemala, Belize, etc. next winter. We loaned them charts of the Turks & Caicos as they were headed there and had none and they will mail them back to us. And we will drop off a couple of letters to their daughter in Whistler next week. Then back too the boat for supper of steak, rice& beans, cole slaw and plantain. We are in clean-out-the-freezer mode as we will be leaving next weekend, so the meals will get progressively more unusual as we get further down. And we still have 3 meals of mahi-mahi, a complete roast chicken, and a bunch of other stuff. Just at sundown the ship from Nassau pulled out with the last of the weekend revelers aboard, a much quieter crowd than on arrival. And this morning, the normal quiet descended on the village. Today (Monday) we set out for Hog Cay, just south of Cape Santa Maria off the western shore of Long Island. There seem to be a lot of Hog Cays in the Bahamas. In fact, there is another one less than 10 miles from this one, and at least three others in the Exumas alone. We set out, raising anchor at 8:30 am, and set sail in a 15 knot broad reach with a following 2 knot current! Ideal! This is the same current that last week prevented us from getting to Rum Cay, so today it is nice to have it with us! But as the morning progressed, the wind slowly died. By noon, we had reduced form our 6.5 knots down to 3.5, of which 1.5 was from the favorable current. Just as we were finishing lunch, we were surrounded by a group (is it a pod?) of dolphins. They seemed to come out of nowhere, and swam and dove around our bow. How they avoided being hit by the bow was beyond us. At one count, I counted 18, all swimming and diving around us. They stayed with us in varying numbers for about half an hour, then they were gone as quickly as they arrived. But even at that pace, we were able to round Cape Santa Maria in the dying breeze. However as we approached our intended anchorage, we noticed that remnants of the swell were still making themselves felt. So we altered course for Joe's Sound, a snug hurricane hole into which no swell would be able to find its way. The entrance (no markers of course) is only 14' wide, and at high water it has just 6'. So we proceeded cautiously with Jeannie on the bow guiding me. But I got mesmerized looking at the rocks clearly visible on the starboard side no more than 8' away, and missed her signal. So we slowly eased up onto a sand bank. But I sensed that we could get over it, so I gunned it and we slid over and into the most beautiful anchorage we have yet had in the Bahamas! With two other boats in the anchorage, and a calm night, we quickly settled in with the Rum Punch! So began a perfect evening in Joe's Sound. Tomorrow, my plans are to do some snorkeling on the nearby reefs, and to put on my scuba gear and scrub the bottom of the boat, which is beginning to get a bit dirty. But I am actually pleased with how well it has held up so far. I have taken a few swipes at it with just mask and snorkel, but it needs some serious attention now before it gets worse. By the way, I have had a few comments from doubters about "The Fish". For a picture, go back to the blog entry of that day, and you will see I posted a picture of it when we had internet access yesterday!
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02/24/2007, Rum Cay, Bahamas
Today was another busy day in Rum Cay. After our regular start to the day at 6:30 am for weather, we had breakfast and planned the day. A few boat chores (cleaning out the freezer and its drains, checking oil levels in everything, etc), I finished reading my current book, Moon Shot, a chronicle of the US space program from the original Mercury program to the Apollo program that landed a number of missions on the moon (remember those names???). In the shifting and rising winds, we decided to re-anchor closer to shore, so we raised the anchor, and I stood on the bow directing Jeannie in between the coral heads until we were nicely tucked in under the lee of the shore. Then, after such an exhausting day, we had a well deserved lunch of tossed salad and sliced turkey. Then ashore for some exploring. We dug the bikes out of the garage (as I refer to the aft cabin where we store everything not often used) and headed ashore. After beaching the dinghy with the bikes, we set off to bike across the island, a distance of about 6 miles. We stopped a local woman (with what I call a "traditional figure") and asked directions, to which she replied "Oh my, it is much to far for you to go!" But she assured us we were on the right road, so we carried on. The only road across the island leads past the airport. And passing it, we were surprised to see a fence, not considering security a big risk in Rum Cay. Later we learned that the risk is from wild cattle that may stray on to the runway. And they can be a threat to bicyclers, too with some very aggressive bulls. We saw some traces (you know what I mean!) of them, but were able to reach the north side unscathed. On the chart, the area is identified as Port Boyd, but all we found was a nice beach and a few tumbled down walls of old homes. At one time Rum Cay had a number of communities and a population in excess of one thousand. Today, all that is left is the community of Port Nelson, where we are anchored, wit about 60 permanent residents. So we walked the beach at Port Boyd, and had it's three mile expanse to ourselves. But we had guests coming over for drinks at 5 pm, so it was time to head back. Back at Port Nelson, the reggae music was still blaring, but the people were decidedly quieter after last night. We stopped and had a drink of orange juice at a bar, then headed back to the boat. We left the bikes on the beach for the night, as we plan to explore the other road tomorrow. Back at the boat we had Belinda, Hillary (daughter) and Chris Gervais from Vancouver over for drinks. We had a great time gabbing about sailing and life in Canada. They had spent a few years in the Yukon, and we found we had some acquaintances in common. So it was fun. Tomorrow we will complete our explorations for Rum Cay, then off somewhere else on Monday... where we go will be dependent on the wind. Tonight the music ashore is sounding like the party is fading, with a lone guitar that for the last hour seems to be stuck on the same three chords.
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02/23/2007, Rum Cay, Bahamas
We had a nice evening at Conception, arriving in late afternoon on Wednesday. When we were there previously, there were only a couple of boats. But this time we sailed into the West Bay anchorage where we found about 8 boats anchored as well as a large motor yacht, about 350' in length. Although we feel it was relatively new (less than 10 years) it looked like something out of the early 20th century, with its clipper bow, fantail stern and rakish masts that seemed to be ornamental. But it was very pretty, and we took a few photos. Its name was Haida V, which we thought odd, as the Haida were (or are) an indian tribe on the BC coast. Arriving in late afternoon, we walked on the beautiful beaches for a short while then returned to the boat for our dinner. Then yesterday (Thursday) we set out for Rum Cay, sailing in a 12-15 knot (ideal) following breeze. The anchorage at Rum Cay is filled with coral heads, but our chart showed a sector light as a navigation aid, so we set a course to approach it in the white (safe) sector. As we approached, we furled the sails, put on the motor and headed in. Suddenly, the motor slowed down on its own from 2500 to 2000 rpm. Nothing else. We tried it and it ran back up, but no reason for the sudden change. I checked the engine, all well, and sat and thought. Finally we decided that we had picked up something in the propeller, and slowed and put it in reverse. And sure enough, out spurted a chunk of netting and twine. We had installed a cutter on the prop last summer that is designed to cut things like that, and I think that it did its job, cutting us free of the major part, and leaving only a small hunk wrapped. Problem solved! So we returned to our approach on the white sector, except that we never did find the light. Apparently it was privately maintained and hasn't been operational for a few years. So we felt our way in to Rum Cay between the coral heads that infest the area. In the anchorage we met up with a boat we had been in Calabash with, a Hunter 33, Big Rosie (named after his wife, I think). We had chatted with them in Calabash, and when leaving, we chatted on the VHF that we would give them some mahi-mahi (this was before we began to fish). So when they heard us on the VHF talking with Tabitha, who called to say good-by just as we were reeling in, they reminded us of our promise. So we went over with some fish after we had anchored. The owner was proud to show us his brand new boat, complete with a very impressive list of problems. On board with him were two people, a retired naval captain and a girl from Huntsville Ontario, both of whom had just completed offshore sailing courses and were crewing on Big Rosie through an organization that matches up boats looking for crews and crews looking for boats. They were the marine equivalent of The Odd Couple, and it was a bit unusual chatting over a drink. Back on board, we had another mahi-mahi dinner, this time with a tapanade (olive flavored) sauce. Just as good as last nights. But we will freeze the rest, and take a break for a few days. Today (Friday) we woke to a reggae beat and a ship's horn blasting out! It was the mail boat from Nassau with people aboard come home to celebrate Rum Cay Day. As they sailed close past us (we may have anchored in the channel, but they went around us) the partiers all waved and carried on dancing. On our way ashore, we went over to chat with another Canadian boat that arrived just at sunset. They are from Vancouver. When we told them we were going skiing at Whistler next week, they asked if we would take a note to their daughter who works at Chateau Whistler. We said "Of course!". So we now have a small package for personal delivery to Canada! Ashore the music was blaring by 8:00 am, and we went ashore to "Who Let The Dog Out" blasting out, and immediately bringing to mind Karl Smith in Belize a few years ago. Karl, you would have loved it! Things slowly heated up through the morning, and when we were walking to the local marina, we were picked up by a group of the Nassau revelers. We chatted with them, and when they heard we had fresh fish, begged us for some. So we later brought some ashore for them. At noon, we went into a local restaurant and had a great lunch of we're not quite sure what, but excellent. In the afternoon, the official program began, starting with an invocation by the local minister. It was impressive, with her voice starting at a quiet level, and rising to a crescendo with arms flung aloft. Then we ended the 15 minute invocation with The Lords Prayer. Very impressive! Then a string of politicians (they're all the same everywhere), and an excellent school choir and band, led by a volunteer teacher from Toronto. It was great fun. In the evening when we headed back to the boat, we were serenaded by "Party 'till The Break of Day" blaring across the water. And I expect it will be literally true! But Rum Cay is the nicest Bahamian Island we have visited yet. It is very small, 5 miles by 2 miles with a permanent population of 60, bolstered now by 40 construction workers working on a new resort. Whether or not it sees completion is anyone's guess. It would be a real loss to see the cay change, but if it improves the lifestyle of the residents, then it is hard to argue with it. We were planning to leave tomorrow as there is some heavy weather coming, but now we are thinking of staying here for it. The protection will be pretty good, and we would like to see more of the cay before we leave. Tomorrow will tell the story!
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02/21/2007, Conception Island, Bahamas
What a day! Yesterday we left Thompson Bay in mid-morning and had a nice sail up to Calabash Bay at the tip of the island. There we anchored off the Calabash Bay Resort, a beautiful facility on a long white beach. It is a very nice resort with fishing, snorkeling, diving, and all the regular water sports. We went ashore and spent an hour catching up on email, then walked around for a bit, went back to the boat to change, then returned ashore for dinner. Watching the sun set from the restaurant across the calm seas was a very impressive sight. And we saw a green flash, a tropical phenomenon that occurs some times just as the sun dips below the horizon. There is a very very short flash of green across the whole horizon. For dinner we had a grilled grouper and a lobster & shrimp pasta. And, of course, Key Lime Pie for dessert! Calabash Bay is a beautiful bay, but it is susceptible to swells from the north, and there was a nice one left over from the winds on the weekend, so it was a bit of a rolly but quiet night. Then this morning, we listened to the SSB weather forecast. 15 knots @110 degrees... exactly where we wanted to go, so dead on our nose. In any case we set out, rounding Cape Santa Maria and sailed to windward. Just as we got off-soundings (beyond the ability of the depth sounder to read, or about 350'), zzzzzzzzing went the reel. As I reached for it I said to Jeannie "If this is another barracuda, I'm giving up fishing!", and a great green and yellow mahi-mahi leapt clear of the water! Stopping the boat is always an issue, so we let the sails fly free and I grabbed the rod. Up on the deck I began to reel in and he repeated his leaping act, clearing the water and twisting wildly. As I got him alongside the boat, thinking he was exhausted, I leaned over, and when he caught sight of me, he was off again! In all it was close to an hour before I could pour some vodka (Thanks again, Sally) down his throat to quiet him finally. On deck, I stood proudly for pictures (proof!!!) of the 4', 40 pound fish. Next job was filleting him. Again, on deck with a large cutting board and a filleting knife I bought in North Carolina, and after it was all over, I had 14 fillets and a very bloody deck! So it's mahi-mahi for a few nights, and some for the freezer. I will also give some away to a boat we were traveling with. We were both anchored in Calabash Bay, and whhen we were ashore we were chatting with them. They were headed for Rum Cay also, and decided to motor into it as they were making no progress under sail. Not only was the breeze dead ahead, but it was also light, and there was an opposing current of 2 knots. So as we fought with the fish, they motored out of sight. By the time we were cleaned up and under way again, it was clear that we wouldn't get to Rum Cay tonight, so we diverted to Conception Island, only 7 miles away. Tomorrow's wind sounds more favorable for Rum, so we will have broiled mahi-mahi (with olive oil, salt & pepper and a salsa topping, rice & beans and a zucchini stir-fry for dinner. Perhaps a bit of grapes and cheese for dessert!And if I dig deep, I think I can find some cold white wine!
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02/19/2007, Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas
Well, the weather relented, and when I woke up at midnight, it was flat calm, and remained so for the night. So instead of the forecast 20-25 knots, we had a peaceful night. This morning I listened to the forecast on the SSB, and things look pretty settled for the week, so we will do a re-stocking today and be off again. Not sure where yet, but we'll head out of here tomorrow and go whichever way the wind looks best. But it is cold today, below 20C, and the wind has sprung back up to 15-18 knots, so we have a wind chill factor!!! In fact, I dug out a sweat shirt, and (ssshh! keep it a secret!) I put on the Espar heater for a half hour. It was mainly that we haven't run it since November in South Carolina, and it's good to run stuff every once and a while, so I ran it for a short while, and it worked fine... and felt good too! So the morning (a calm day) was spent in going ashore for a few supplies, assuming a departure, for somewhere, tomorrow. The picture is of one of the two grocery (and hardware) storea in Salt Pond.
In the afternoon, I did an oil change on the engine. I do one every 100 hours, and the last was Dec 30th. The oil change part is not tough, but the location of the oil filter is awful! it means emptying out the starboard cockpit locker and removing a couple of panels, climbing into the locker, lying flat on my stomach and reaching in across the engine and unscrewing the filter, and trying to catch all the oil that streams out. I managed it with no spills, but I have a very sore back muscle to show for it! Then the fuel filters are changed (all 3 of them), again being careful not to spill any fuel, which can really stink up the boat. All in all, it is about a two hour job that requires tearing major parts of the boat apart and then re-assembling them afterwards. I am not at my social best during these jobs, so Jeannie went for a long walk on the beach with someone from New Berne, and by the time she was back, all was back in order. By then it was time for dinner, and planning tomorrow's trip. We can't decide between returning to the Jumentos or heading back to Conception Island and then on to Rum Cay and San Salvador, areas we have not seen. Decision time will be at breakfast tomorrow once we listen to the weather forecast.
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02/18/2007, Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas
Last night we were invited over to True Love by Frank and Eve, friends from Montreal, for champagne to celebrate the birth of their second grand-daughter. Great fun! The picture shows (from left to right) Frank, Eve, Sue and Eric.
But I have forgotten to mention a major accident here last week. A 60' yacht was lost just south of here when they mistook a set of reefs for the entrance to a small harbor on the west side of Long Island. The crew are safe, but the boat is a total loss. There are virtually no navigation aids in this area, and the charts, although helpful, are far from precise. In this particular case, there are what appears to be two entrances to this harbor, but the northern one is filled with reefs, and has no channel. Apparently they had set their GPS waypoint for the entrance off their charts, and mistook the northern one for the southern one, as they are separated by only half a mile. It serves as an expensive warning to us for the need to use real care in navigating and use your eyes as well. These reefs would have been very visible, so they must have relied totally on their electronic navigation and ignored what they were seeing as they sailed in. But I guess that is understandable, as there are no navigation aids t go by, and many of the cuts are quite narrow. In any case it is a sober reminder to the rest of us. Last night the first of two cold fronts came through bringing the winds with it, so that by morning it was back up to 15 knots out of the north and bringing the morning temperature down to the low 70's. But by noon, it had recovered to a nice mid-20's, although the wind rose with it. With winds at a steady 25 knots, with gusts up to the low 30's, we pretty much stayed put on the boat, as did most of the boats. The danger is not only that we might drag, but that someone might drag down onto us. So its safest to stay put until it subsides below 20 or so. To pass the time, we had a breakfast of French Toast, then I was able to catch up on some small jobs, and Jeannie baked bread, a first on the trip. So lunch was salad (with a dressing made with garlic, worcester sauce, balsamic vinegar, raspberry jam, sugar and some olive oil) and warm bread. Delicious. Then we turned our attention to dinner, and with plenty of time, I decided to make Beef Burgundy (I have tried spelling the proper name, and can't get it right. You know what I mean!). ANd just at sunset, the second front came through, bringing squally winds and rain and a 40 degree wind shift, pulling it to the north. That will make our anchorage a lot more comfortable, as it reduces the fetch considerably. But it is forecast to blow all night, and drop only to 20 knots tomorrow, not subsiding until Tuesday morning. So it was a quiet day with lots of reading done, and some great eating! Tomorrow we will need to get a bit of exercise to offset today!
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02/16/2007, Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas
Here's apicture of Debbie and Cav on the beach from yesterday.
Today we hitch-hiked north to the town of Simms where there is a small marina. It is about 20 miles from Thompson Bay but we made it in three drives and were there as quickly as if we drove. The marina is mostly used by dive boats out of the Cape Santa Maria Resort (which owns the marina) and a few fishing boats. We had a look at the marina and spoke with the manager and all looked good. So we walked across the road and stood there for two minutes when we were picked up and driven all the way back, except for two short stops. The first was at the local Scotia Bank, so I took the opportunity to get some cash. The second was to pick up another hitch-hiker. The other hitch-hiker was not so lucky as us. The driver was looking for him as he had promised to do some small jobs for him, but he had failed to finish them, so it was comical to listen to his excuses as he was chewed out. But it was all very friendly. We got let out just by our dinghy and were back aboard for lunch, a 40 mile round trip in just over two hours. Over lunch, we decided to leave the boat at Stella Maris when we are away, so we called back and arranged it in the afternoon. It is not only cheaper than others, but has good protection from the weather, and crime is non-existent, so it will be safe. Of course we have to get from here to Nassau, and the resort have a small plane that will take us. They need to know our weight and other surprising details, but all is booked! So we are all set. This evening we went ashore with a number of other boaters to the Thompson Bay Inn, which is really just a roadside restaurant, for dinner. They serve a buffet on Friday nights that has gotten good reports, so we headed in for a nice evening. Unfortunately we got caught in a squall and accompanying downpour as we headed in, so everyone was soaked when we arrived, but we quickly dried out and had a great evening, meeting a number of new faces. A cold front came through during the day, so the wind has been clocking all day, but not very strong (
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02/15/2007, Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas
My last posting was dated February 11th but should have been February 13th. Can't keep track of the days! But we did coast in to Thompson Bay at dusk on Tuesday and settled in. Yesterday (Wednesday) we decided to have a slow day as we have been on the move pretty well continuously for a couple of weeks. And by 10:00 am, we had a plan for the day. The plan was to head south on Long Island about 12 miles and have lunch, stop at a liquor store for some wine, and return. But with no car, that meant hitch-hiking. So we left the boat at 11:30 am and set out for shore. Tying the dinghy to the public wharf, we set out for the main (only) highway and stuck out our thumbs. And as we expected, the first vehicle (a half-ton truck) stopped. So we hopped in for a short ride, as he was only going a couple of miles to the next wharf. Then we tried our luck again, and were passed!! We were shocked until we realized that they were a couple of American tourists who would have no idea of the local culture. So we got a lift with the next truck, and were seated at Max's Conch Bar, about 12 miles south of our anchorage, by 12:10 pm! We had a great lunch of conch salad and crack conch. Max's is an outdoor restaurant (the picture is of Max's). I have no idea what he does if it rains. There are a few seats in a small cabana, but other than that, it is pretty exposed. But we had no problem. He has satellite TV and we watched the weather from the US weather network showing snow storms all through the north-east. So I had a beer (something I never do at lunch) to celebrate our weather here. And it was a hot sunny day! Then we got out on the road, and the first car to go by had just pulled out of Max's... his wife, the manager of the local Royal Bank. She drove us as far as the liquor store where we bought 4 bottles of wine (cheaper than on PEI) and six beers (about the same price as PEI). Then back out on the highway with our thumbs out. And the first vehicle to go by stopped as usual. It was a young lobster fisherman who drove us to within 2 miles of our dinghy. We had a great chat with him. In fact, it turns out that he was with us in the Jumentos, and even got some cooking oil from Tabitha one night. At the time they were worried at such a strange request in the night, but he said they had left in a hurry when the weather forecast changed, and needed the oil to fry some fish. When he dropped us, we didn't even have time to get our thumbs out when we were offered another drive. And that took us back to our dinghy by 2:30, having hitch-hiked 12 miles each way, had lunch, shopped and returned. We couldn't have been any faster if we had our own car. But it was Wednesday, and the supply boat was in, meaning the stores (both) would have fresh produce in, so we went back ashore and walked the 200 yards to the store. And again were offered drives both ways. In the evening, we watched a boat we have met and sailed with a number of times sail in and anchor next to us. We had been planning to have our friends from Tabitha and Debi-Doll over, so we also asked Frank and Eve from True Love (out of the Royal St Laurence Yacht Club in Montreal) over. So we had drinks for 10 that night. I have been experimenting with rum punch, and have come up with a good recipe, so they were served, and well received all round. We sat in the cockpit and watched yet another beautiful sunset as we discussed the merits of various different rums (about which I know nothing). Today (Thursday) was another beautiful day, with light winds. And as we have not made any plans for cruising, we slowly eased into the day. In the local vernacular, it is called Liming... doing whatever comes to mind, when it seems to be a good idea. At one time it seemed that if we were not doing something every moment of the day, we were wasting time. Now, passing 20 minutes chatting to a passing dinghy seems like a natural part of the day. So we had breakfast (I slept through the weather net, but will get an email summarizing it later in the morning), read for a while, did a crossword, and discussed the day. We finally decided to go ashore and do a bit more grocery shopping. The party last night was hard on the cheese and cracker inventory, and we could use some more fruit, and fruit juice for the rum punches so we headed in. It is time to decide where we are leaving the boat when we go skiing in early March. We have a Bahamian cell phone that, surprise, doesn't work all that well. From the boat, I can see the cell tower about 2 miles away, yet I have to be up on deck to get any signal, and then it is only fair at best. I don't think the tower is working. But it works if we go ashore and stand on a hill near the dinghy dock. So we made a few calls, and found that the closest marinas would cost us more than the air fare to Vancouver, so we will do some more looking. Then we came back to the boat for lunch and talked to Cav and Debi on Debi-Dol and decided to go snorkeling on the east side of the island. As the wind is normally from the east, and today it was very light out of the west, it was a rare opportunity to swim that side in calm seas. So we walked about a mile across the cay and put on our snorkel gear and headed out. In the calm seas we swam about a half mile out between huge coral heads rising from the bottom about 25' deep to just below the surface. It was beautiful and fun to swim among the towering heads with their fantastic shapes and colors, with fish (but no lobster) everywhere. I didn't bring my spear, so didn't plan to try for anything, but should have brought my camera which I haven't been using enough. Next time! By the time we got back to the boat it was late afternoon, and showers took us into the sunset time and supper was finishing the Spaghetti Bolognese. Tomorrow we will do some more investigation of where to leave the boat when we go skiing.
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