Sailing Sirius

Vessel Name: Sirius
Vessel Make/Model: Sabre 34
Crew: Harry Mertz and Fran Pellikan
About: from Castle Pines, CO
Extra:
2011 - 2012 Bahamas pictures: http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/share/p=595301325265875953/l=3801663028/g=2093690028/cobrandOid=1000/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/otsc=SYE/otsi=SAER Pictures of our Fall 2011 ICW trip can be found [...]
20 March 2012
14 March 2012
28 February 2012
07 January 2012
07 January 2012
27 December 2011 | Wardrick Wells, Bahamas
19 December 2011
01 December 2011
26 November 2011 | Vero Beach, FL
12 November 2011
30 October 2011
24 October 2011
08 October 2011 | North Carolina
04 October 2011 | Solomons Islands, MD
29 September 2011 | Galesville, MD
23 September 2011
02 September 2011 | Castle Pines, CO
Recent Blog Posts
13 June 2014

Apr 23 - 29 Getting back to Florida

April 23 – 24

26 April 2014

Apr 14 - 22 Palm Cay Marina

April 14 - 22

20 April 2014

Mar 23 - Apr 13 Heading North

Williams Bay, Little Farmers, and Heddys Land

31 March 2014

Mar 6 - 22 Great Exuma

March 6 - 9

28 February 2014

Feb 2 - 20 Eve's Visit

Feb 2 - 20 Eve's visit

Apr 23 - 29 Getting back to Florida

13 June 2014
April 23 – 24
Rose Island and the Bahama Banks

Finally time to move. Took showers ashore and paid for nine nights. Motored 1.5 hours in light wind to Rose Island which is east of Nassau harbor. It was a little rocking when we arrived but settled right down when the winds shifted to north. We grilled mahi with potatoes and zucchini for dinner. Harry had turned up the grill regulator since it was not getting hot enough. It worked perfectly and we had a delicious meal. Fran also made a rice and salmon salad for tomorrow night’s dinner underway on the banks. Rose Island is a nice anchorage and an easy jumping off point for early in the morning. Spent a quiet night with three sailboats and three power boats.
Got an early start next morning. The wind was light as expected but was supposed to fill in from the east in the afternoon. No such luck. We motored all day at and into the evening. We saw several pods of pilot whales in the deep tongue of the ocean between New Providence and the banks. The tongue was flat as can be, very unusual.
The night was dark with no moon until a sliver rose around 4:00 a.m. We saw a bright set of yellow and white lights which we surmised as a tug towing a barge showing red lights fore and aft. We gave it a wide berth. Since we couldn’t sail, we decided to stop at 11:30 and rest for a while. Of course, as soon as we anchored, a south wind came up and got the banks roiled. We tried to sleep through the uncomfortable motion but gave up around 3:30 a.m. and got underway again. At least we were able to sail. We were very happy to arrive at Bluewater Marine on Bimini at 11:30 a.m. on Friday.

April 25 – 28
Bimini
We enjoyed our stop in Bimini. They had the marina pool filled and cleaned. It was very pleasant to jump in on a hot day which we did several times. It is definitely hotter now than it was in December. We had dinner at the Big Game Club twice. There was a football celebrity billfish tournament going on so the restaurant was crowded. We also tried the Anchorage restaurant for the first time; it was very good with reasonable prices. We bought 2 loaves of delicious Bimini bread and 2 cases of VitaMalt to take home.
Interlude joined us on our last day and we had wonderful conch salad at the Big Game Club. Had to enjoy it one last time; last change for fresh conch.

April 29
Crossing back to Lake Worth, FL
We left Bimini early with Interlude to make the crossing in the daylight. We had light SE winds on our stern. The winds had been S and light for a couple of days so we expected the ocean to be flat. Wrong. Large ocean swells close together on the stern meant constant rolling. Not scary just uncomfortable. Worst crossing for Fran since that motion causes seasickness. Fran spent most of the trip on the cabin floor (most stable spot) waiting for it to be over (11 hours). The last couple of hours were a little better. Very happy to get to the flat calm water of Lake Worth. Had no trouble reactivating our cell phone and checking in with Immigrations by phone. We grilled burger for dinner and went to bed early.

Apr 14 - 22 Palm Cay Marina

26 April 2014
April 14 - 22
Palm Cay Marina on New Providence
Sailed awhile in light winds then motored sailed with Interlude to Palm Cay Marina on the SE end of New Providence. Nassau in on the huge harbor the runs the length of the north side of New Providence and Paradise Island, home of the Atlantis resort, is across from Nassau.
Palm Cay is a very nice gated community that is still under construction. The marina showers and laundry have not been completed so from 9:00 - 5:00 the cruisers can use one of the townhouses which also has a TV and WIFI. JJ, the assistant dock manager lives on the third floor. It's a little weird but the unit is air conditioned and you can relax there while waiting for your laundry.
Chris and Robin on Cerulean came in on Tuesday from Spanish Wells. The three boats ordered pizza and ate it on the porch of the club house restaurant. The restaurant is only open Thursday - Sunday. There is a lovely beach and pool there.
We used the marina courtesy car a couple of times to go to a nearby grocery store that was pretty good, much larger than any in the Exumas.
Tom rented a car from the marina for $80 a day and we joined them for a ride to the harbor shopping center. We went to the very nice Fresh Market which is similar to Whole Foods. Also went to the pharmacy, liquor store and Starbucks. Later, Tom and Cathy had an adventure driving to the airport to pick up their son, Chris. There were no signs directing to the airport. We joined them for a delicious and reasonably priced dinner at Viola's on Paradise Island. PI was crowded with people and mega yachts.
We said goodbye to Cerulean on Friday. They headed to Bimini in SE wind 15 - 23 kts. It was quite windy and they had trouble getting off the fuel dock when they left even with a bow thruster. We decided to wait for a better day. We heard later that the trip was a little rough and rolly, so we were glad we waited. Interlude was going to head back to the Exumas but with SE winds stayed another couple of days.
Tom rented the car for another half day and invited us along first to the fishing gear store where his son Chris bought a new fishing rod. Then we visited the Cloisters on Paradise Island. Beautiful carved marble columns were part of an Abby built 1200 - 1300s and were brought to PI in the 1960s. Most are completely intact and interestingly the patterns at the top of the columns vary: leaves, flowers, faces, crests, and geometric.
Interlude left on Sunday and it was a little lonely here by ourselves. We continued to monitor the weather for a good window to cross the banks, 120+ miles. The problem is west winds (on the nose) and light winds (no sailing). Meanwhile we continued to enjoy the marina. Took the courtesy car to the grocery store one more time. Did two more loads of wash, including sheets and towels. Swam in the pool. Used WIFI in air-conditioned comfort. Not a bad place to get stuck, especially at $1 per foot per day.

Mar 23 - Apr 13 Heading North

20 April 2014
Williams Bay, Little Farmers, and Heddys Land
March 23 - 27
Motored in light wind to Rat Cay and took the inside route to Williams Bay on Lee Stocking Island. We were the only boat here; what a change from Georgetown. Peaceful and quiet. Grilled ahi tuna for dinner, watched the sun go down and star watched on the foredeck, all in wonderful solitude.
Had hoped to sail to Little Farmers but motored again in light wind on the nose. Arrived near slack tide as planned to pick up a mooring off Farmers Cay Yacht Club. The six yacht club moorings were filled by the end of the day. There are other moorings there but they are not to be trusted. We have heard many tales of dragged moorings; one boat even dragged out the cut to the ocean side while the crew was asleep. Stayed a second night through the west winds and light showers. We walked into town but the store and Brenda's food stand were closed. Walked to the Sunset Bar on the bank side. The banks were rough with 15 kt west wind. Tuesday 3:00 - 6:00 is happy hour and we had $3 strong rum punches and free conch fritters. We were the only customers in the place. We had dinner at the Yacht Club.
Wednesday brought 15+ kt winds from the NE. The anchorage was a little rough and the current was holding us crossways to the wind which is never comfortable. We needed to wait until afternoon to move to get a high tide and travel north from the anchorage.
We watched a large catamaran try to anchor and then try to pick up a mooring in the fast current. They finally snagged the ball from the stern but then it got stuck in the middle between the two hulls. It took a long time for them to move the ball outboard and then then forward. While they were working on moving the ball, the mooring dragged (not a yacht club mooring) and they did not notice for a bit since they were focused on the work at hand. They looked up just in time before hitting a large trawler.
We left on half tide and rising to get over some shallow spots charted at 4.9 ft. The lowest we saw was 8.2 ft. We motored to Heddys Land, a nice spot recommended to us. It was fairly flat in NE / E winds.
Nest day, we went ashore to the small beach and walked a path to the ocean side. Huge wave waves were rolling in with 20+ kt east wind. Waves crashing against a rocky wall sent high plumes of water that could be seen from the west side anchorage. We found a small corner of beach that contained lots of sea glass. Our best find yet.
The winds started to go a little more SE and the anchorage got a bit rougher. We thought it would be OK to stay the night. It got rougher yet; still safe but we ended up sleeping in the main cabin which is midship and rocks less than the V berth.

Blackpoint and Staniel Cay
March 28 - April 3
Blackpoint
Friday morning Harry woke up Fran saying "we have to move". Not scary just too rough. We had a quick breakfast of cereal and started the engine at 7:00 a.m. It was a quick downwind sail to Blackpoint. About 40 boats are here. We have been here so often and like it so much it feels like a second home. Something new: Captain Joe on Glory Days has been running a cruisers net on the VHF for about a week. Met Captain Joe who is a retired school teacher and plays guitar. One evening he played at Scorpios during happy hour to the delight of all.
Another week in BP doing the usual: laundry, BBQ at Lorraine's, happy hour at Scorpios, pizza at DeShamone. Reconnected with some of our friends. Ben from Loon is here and Cerulean came up as well. Also Rejoice, Sans Cles, and Allure.
A highlight was attending Gethsemane Baptist Church. It was a happy upbeat ceremony with lots of singing. Lorraine's mom read a bible passage and gave a spirited sermon. Lorraine led some of the hymns. As visitors, we were asked to introduce ourselves. Captain Joe also attended.
We rented a golf cart for the afternoon to explore the failed marina and resort south of town. It would have been nice had it been completed to have a marina nearly to weather out fronts. There was a lot of excavation done and the large equipment is still there rusting away. There are large signs showing the layout of lots, restaurants and hotels. In another way, it is good that this has not completed because it could change the down home feeling which is what we love about BP.
We reluctantly left BP for the season full of water, mom's bread, local tomatoes and Lorraine's guava duff.

Staniel Cay
April 4 - 5
Had a nice downwind sail to Staniel Cay and anchored west of Thunderball Grotto. Went ashore looking for our mail which we had forwarded to the yacht club. We were expecting the boat registration stickers for Sirius and the dinghy but they had not arrived. Visited all three grocery stores for fresh provisions since the supply boat had just been here. Scored yogurt and cottage cheese from Isles General! We are now well stocked for a couple of weeks.
We were surprised to see a 100 passenger cruise ship docked at the yacht club. The Blout ship cruises various locales including Belize and is managed out of Rhode Island. This trip is out of Nassau through the Exumas. Strange to see these cruise ship people wandering around the island.
Stayed a second night. Still no mail. We had a wonderful four course dinner at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Our friends on Interlude are at Blackpoint and will be joining us up at Cambridge for the next front. By now the fronts should be less to none but they have continued at almost one per week. I guess this is payback for our trip two years ago which had very few cold fronts and the ones we had were weaker than usual.
April 6 – 11
Cambridge Cay
Checked again for our mail at Staniel but still not there. Tom and Cathy will check when they come by in a couple of days.
Winds predicted to be east at 10 kts. We had ESE at 5 kts or less so we had to motorsail the entire 3 hour trip. Happy to see 6 open moorings when we arrived; they were all filled by evening with one catamaran anchored. Tony on Inspiration is now the park host. Our friends on Seas the Day came in and snagged a mooring. Good to be here secure for the next blow. We heard from Ben on Loon that he is on a mooring at the park headquarters, Wardrick Wells. Interlude joined us the next day and had to anchor since no mooring balls were available.
We stayed six nights through the cold front and several very windy days after. Walked the beaches, played Mexican Train aboard Seas the Day, seared ahi tuna for happy hour. Jan surprised us by making (and having Mark deliver) some delicious pecan cinnamon rolls (her mother’s recipe). YUM!
Seas the Day went back to Staniel to pick up parts for their watermaker. Our mail was finally there, so they forwarded it to Vero Beach city Marina.

April 12 – 13
Shroud Cay and Normans Cay
An easy sail north to Shroud Cay with Interlude. We took Tom’s dingy across to the ocean side via the salt creek which is really cool. Nice trip on the high tide.
Next day was another easy sail north to Normans Cay. We all went to lunch at the old McDuff’s Restaurant with is now the Norman Cay Beach Club. No menus. Tom and Cathy had hamburgers that turned out to be $25 each; rather steep even for the Bahamas. A small glass of ice tea was $4 with no free refill. We split a Caesar salad with a nice piece of grilled mahi which was also $25. Lunch was good but overpriced. The restaurant and beach are nice but not a five star resort. We had intended to stay two nights here but it was noisy due to construction on the runway. Also Interlude was rolling too much for comfort so we moved on.

Mar 6 - 22 Great Exuma

31 March 2014
March 6 - 9
Emerald Bay
The forecast called for good wind from a fair direction for us to sail to Emerald Bay with a chance of afternoon showers. So we left at 7:00 a.m. with Cerulean and had to motorsail in very light wind for the first half of the trip. Finally we were able to turn off the engine and make about 5.5 kts. and very full now due to a cold front expected tomorrow. By the way, a cold front is not cold temperature-wise in the Bahamas but the winds clock around and you need to be in a place protected from all directions. We brought our drinks to a cruise happy hour and horse shoe game on shore. Dale, the manager, surprised us by bringing in delicious leftovers from a wine tasting at Sandals. Afterwards, we visited Ben on Loon who has been here close to a week.
One of the many nice things about the marina is free laundry. Fran tried to get an early start on Friday but it was already full (4 washers, 4 dryers). Sue on Sans Cles was next in line and she was kind enough to let Fran have one of the first two available washers. So Fran did four loads, one load at a time. Other nice things about the marina are free WIFI and free, nice showers. Went to dinner at Big D's with Cerulean and had delicious gilled in foil grouper and a very nice fresh conch salad. Great location - right on the beach.
Saturday, went to lunch at the Grand Isle Resort with Ben (Loon) and Sue (Sans Cles). Walked the beautiful white sand beach including the stretch owned by Sandals. The marina and Grand Isles Resort were owned by one company but they were sold off separately. Grand Isles still has a deal that for $35 per person, someone staying at the marina can come and use the infinity pool, beach chairs and towels. It is a gorgeous resort where the $500K+ villas are owned individually (not time share) and can be rented out. Back at the marina, we finished the day in the air conditioned club house playing Mexican Train with Cerulean and Ralph and Staci on LaSala.
Did one last load of laundry Sunday morning. Spent the afternoon lounging by the pool at Grand Isles. The pool was great - very relaxing. We met the Canadian owners of one of the villas and the owner of 40% of the villas, Peter Nicholson who also owns half of the Sunset Bar on Little Farmers Cay. This was a fun, relaxing stop.

March 10 - 22
Georgetown
What to say about Georgetown? It is known as Chicken Harbor or Adult Daycare. It refers to Elizabeth harbor which is huge, about 1 mile across and 4 miles long. Hundreds of boats are here at any given time during the season and many spend the entire season here. The island is Great Exuma which is referred to as the Mainland by other Exuma islands. GT is a good size town and cruisers can get what they need here or sent in. There is a nice grocery store, a few tourist shops, produce stands, 2 laundromats, several good restaurants, pharmacy, etc. A great new addition is a deli that sells sliced to order lunchmeats and cheese, frozen fish, deli salads, fresh rolls and brownies. They are a little ways out of town, but they pick up cruisers three times a week in a pickup truck. The prices were reasonable and everything looked very fresh. What a treat; we visited twice to stock up. There are cruiser activities of all sorts that you can participate in or not such as volleyball (Harry played twice) and basket weaving (Fran learned). Texas Hold Em is also big and held at the St. Francis Hotel twice a week. Fran made it to the finals table once!
Since another cold front was coming, we took a mooring ball for a week on the east side of the harbor near Volleyball Beach. Our friends Tom and Cathy were on a mooring nearby. Ben came along and also picked up a mooring. It is a pretty spot for GT although we did get wakes during the day.
We joined the library, run by volunteers, for $3. Some books are available to keep and others you can check out with no time limit. We checked out Out Island Doctor which is a great autobiography of a man who retired from teaching in Indiana in the 1940s and settled in the Bahamas. He became a medical practitioner (not an MD) and traveled by sailboat to remote settlements to treat the people. His adventures are amazing and it is interesting to read how primitive the settlements were 60 years ago.
The front blew in as expected. One of the city mooring west of us dragged (that's not supposed to happen) into another boat. They put out a call for assistance and immediately about a dozen dinghies were there to help get the boats apart. Then the boat that dragged, Walkabout, from Carbondale, CO, tried to pick up a mooring near us and was having difficulty with the high winds. Harry got in our dinghy and helped them secure their line.
The main reason we go to GT is to renew our immigration. For some reason, they only give you 90 days when you enter even if you ask for more. And the places to renew are Nassau and GT but nowhere in the middle. No problem getting the renewal for 60 days.
We participated in a St. Patrick's Day potluck which enabled Harry to have the traditional corned beef and cabbage. Fran was assigned dessert and made a delicious key lime pie thanks to an easy recipe from Cathy.
Moved the boat to Monument beach. Interlude introduced us to Jan and Mark on Seas the Day and we joined them on their large catamaran for happy hour and Mexican Train. Jan lent Fran a book and CD, A Cup of Yoga which is a fifteen minute easy to do anywhere, even a boat, routine. Fran has been doing it daily ever since.
We also met Jim and Nancy. They are on a nice large catamaran that they bring down to the Bahamas for the owners. They own a canal boat in France. They showed us some pictures of their trips. We are interested in chartering a canal boat.
Our next to last day in GT, we met Cerulean on shore. They are staying at Emerald Bay marina on the north end of the island and had a rental car for the day. We went with them to the deli which had a few more things this time including frozen mahi mahi and ahi tuna. We had lunch at the Wildwood Café which was a nice change of pace from the typical Bahamian dishes. The dinghy ride back was terrible, directly into the wind, but we managed to stay mostly dry with our ponchos.
On our last day, we swam at Flip Flop beach and had happy hour there later with Interlude, Seas the Day, and others. GT has a lot to offer but it is time to move on and slowly make our way north towards home.

Feb 21 - March 5 South to Long Island

27 March 2014
Feb 21 - 26
Heading south: White Point, Rudder Cay, Lee Stocking, and Rat Cay
Sailed to White Point with 2 other boats, Loon and Truant. We were invited to happy hour on Truant which is a beautiful Cabo Rico 47 sailboat. We had a nice visit and Mark played guitar for us. He asked Fran to bring her ukulele next time.
Sailed for the first 1.5 hours to Rudder Cay and then motored through some thin water at high tide. Lowest we say was 6.6 feet; we are at least 5.75 deep. Loon was behind us but Truant went on the ocean side with his 6.5 foot draft. We passed close by Mosha Cay which is a beautiful private island with pretty tropical painted houses. We anchored off a pretty palm treed beach on Rudder Cay, also private. We explored a couple of caves by dingy and saw the submerged mermaid and piano place there by David Copperfield. Visited with Penny and Bob on Pretty Penny. Had happy hour again on Truant and Fran and Mark played music together which was lots of fun.
Next day was an easy motor trip on the ocean side with light wind on the nose and a 12 - 18" waves. Exited Rudder Cay cut one hour prior to low tide so the cut was flat and entered Adderly cut one hour after low tide so again that cut was flat. If you enter with opposing wind and current, the cuts can be nasty. Timing is everything. Made our way along Lee Stocking Island to Williams Bay. We have visited the abandoned ocean research center on our last trip but did not go further south to Williams Bay. It is very pretty here. Robin and Chris on Cerulean were there waiting for us. Loon came along too while Truant went to the marina at Emerald Bay. We walked up the ridge for a wonderful view of both the ocean and banks sides. We visited a couple of nice beaches and saw some very large (5') rays along the way. We all had happy hour on Cerulean.
Tuesday morning, Fran started batch #3 of homemade yogurt. In the afternoon, motored with the high tide through the narrow and shallow channel to Rat Cay. Ben on Loon went to Emerald Bay. We first anchored in an area where the current was causing the boats to roll uncomfortable. We went around the corner to a better spot. We were treated to a nice pasta and salad dinner aboard Cerulean. Wednesday we took the dingy about 1.5 miles to Barraterre which is a small community not much visited by boaters due to the very shallow waters around it. We had a nice lunch at The Same Ole Place, bought some fresh local produce, and bought a locally sourced and made basket and necklace. Everyone we talked to was very friendly. Back at the boat, we stowed the dingy for an ocean passage to Long Island.

Feb 27 - Mar 5
Long Island
Got and early 7:00 am start. The narrow Rat Cay cut was calm and flat as was the ocean for the first several hours with a SW wind 10 - 12 knots. Wind built during the day, contrary to the forecast, and waves built as we got further from the lee of land. Fran was a little seasick with the rolly action of the waves on the aft quarter. Other than that, the sailing was wonderful and fast. Cerulean is 10' longer than Sirius but with the lighter winds we lead most of the way until we changed to a faster windward tack. We abandoned our original landfall of Calabash Bay which is open to west winds since the wind continued to blow strong from the SW. We sailed another 2.5 hours to Thompson Bay which was enough of a different direction that the boat was not rolly and Fran felt a lot better. Altogether we sailed 60 miles in 10 hours. We were rocking a bit in the anchorage but not too bad. Went to bed early.
Next day, winds from the west had us bouncing pretty good until 5 p.m. when the winds finally clocked to NW and we were protected by land. Actually had a breaking wave come in our forward hatch and soak our berth with salt water. Yuck. Luckily we have a spare set of sheets.
Saturday, we visited a small farmers market. Not much produce there but we did by some locally made jam and delicious banana bread. Our friend Robin bought a lovely straw handbag. Had lunch at the Island Breeze. IB is owned by Mike and is very friendly with a nice dingy dock open to cruisers to access not only his resort but also the town. He has shower and laundry facilities. Mike does it all from running a morning cruisers VHF net to the cooking and serving. Bought a few groceries at Hardings, a nice grocery store. Sunday we took a picnic lunch to a nearby ocean beach. Found the usual plastic trash but no sea glass or sea beans. The plastic trash is not from the Bahamas but from commercial ships.
Long Island is indeed long, about 90 miles. With Cerulean, we rented a car for two days to explore. Day 1: Started our tour on the north end which is not very populated; there are many small settlement to the south. We took a very rough dirt road to the Columbus monument which has a spectacular view of the north end of the island. There is also a pretty little beach there and a large salt pond. Followed a similarly rough road to the Adderly plantation ruins but could not locate them. Later we found out that the ruins are overgrown and difficult to reach. Had a very nice lunch at Cape Santa Maria resort, a very high class facility. Also visited the Stella Maris resort, an older but still nice resort. Climbed their lookout tower to get a great view of both sides of the island. Drove into the Grotto Bay resort which is small and seemed empty although it had beautiful tropical landscaping and some vegetable plants in stone troughs. Finished the day with rum punches overlooking the sunset from the deck of the Island Breeze.
Day2: Started at the tourist office to get some ideas and directions. Stopped at a small museum that had interesting pictures and artifacts. Not very much was said about the past history. Most of the black people here are descendants of slaves brought here by the Loyalists during the American Revolution. The building itself was quite pretty (opened in 2002) with nice landscaping. We drove past other nice houses with landscaping. The reason I mention the landscaping is that the norm in the Exumas is for the homes to be surrounded by rocks with little soil and whatever happens to grow there. Stopped at a general store "All Under the Sun" which did have a little of everything: computer supplies, jewelry, boating supplies, housewares, etc. There was also a small coffee café where we enjoyed lattes which we hadn't had since Nassau.
On to Clarence Town, the main town, on the ocean side. The marina there had several large fishing boats and a mega yacht. We had conch salad for lunch from the local stand. We also bought some fresh product at a warehouse where produce is gathered for shipment to Nassau. WE climbed to the top of the tower of the beautiful Catholic Church that overlooks the town. Had to squeeze up several wooden ladders to get there but we were rewarded with a fantastic 360 degree view. We talked awhile with a visiting priest, Father Greg Lyttle, from New York. There is no full time priest assigned there.
Drove through a huge area of abandoned salt ponds once worked by Diamond Salt. The processing plant was in operation from 1968 - 88. Supposedly there is a pink sand beach nearby but we did not find it. Next was the biggest attraction on Long Island, Dean's Blue Hole which is 600+ feet deep and is connected to the ocean. Free diving competitions are held here. We snorkeled over and around the hole to see many different fish and coral along the edges.
Hurried back to take showers - wonderful, long, hot showers and Island Breeze. Went to dinner at Chez Pierre and had the best meal we ever had in the Bahamas! The chef is from Canada and trained in France. We had delicious greek salad, French bread (of course), seafood pasta, and cote-de-rhone wine. It was so worth the drive on another rough road.

Feb 2 - 20 Eve's Visit

28 February 2014
Feb 2 - 20 Eve's visit

Blackpoint, White Point, and Little Farmers Cay

Daughter Eve was scheduled to arrive in Staniel on Feb. 2. It was very windy so we decided to change her Flamingo Air ticket to fly from Nassau into Blackpoint instead. No problem making that change the day before. No additional charge. It's the Bahamas, man. Lorraine lent us her truck to pick Eve up at the airport; it is walkable but raining today and then there is the luggage.
Feb. 2 was also super bowl (sorry about those Broncos) and there were about 100 boats crowded at BP to watch at one of the three restaurants / bars. Eve had been traveling about 12 hours so we decided to have dinner aboard. Eve brought goodies from the U.S. including gummy bears, sugar free chocolate, a Mexican Train domino set and a foot pump for the boat. It was like Christmas.
Did some laundry the next day which was very bad timing as many boats were doing the same. I didn't do too badly by getting there fairly early in the day but by the time we left there were people standing in line waiting for dryers. Purchased raisin and coconut bread from Lorraine's mom and fish from a local before heading south.
Boats were rocking side to side (worst motion) at Jack's Bay, so we continued on to the north side of White Point. Nine other boats were there but there is plenty of room. Went ashore to a nice beach and gathered firewood for an evening campfire. There was another fire down the beach by a group of French Canadians. Mike and Ken from Kona Loa came over to join us and we all enjoyed toasting marshmallows. We had enough wood for a second fire the next night.
Cerulean came down to join us at White Point and for our evening campfire. Robin brought the most delicious no-bake cookies. How wonderful to be with friends sitting by a fire and looking up at the many, many stars.
We had a nice sail with Cerulean south to Little Farmers Cay for the 5F festival: First Friday in February Festival at Farmers. The festival started years ago (30 +) as a homecoming celebration. LFC is a family island and will always be locally owned by the families that have always lived there. The homecoming is when family members who have moved off-island come back and visit and party. Terry Baines of Ocean Cabin opened it up to cruisers by having games and music for them, including the ever popular hermit crab races. It has expanded in recent years to include a jam session at the Farmers Cay Yacht Club and Bahamian C-class sailboat racing. The anchorage was full of cruising boats participating in the celebration.

Jack's Bay Cove, Blackpoint, Cambridge, Wardrick Wells, Thunderball Grotto

Had a s-l-o-w sail north to Jack's Bay cove with Ben on Loon. Landed on the little beach and walked a short distance to the ocean side but no real path. A small cove on the ocean side bounded by huge rocks was lovely except for the volume of plastic trash that collects there. Plastic trash is a problem on all the ocean side beaches but some areas seem to collect more than others. No sea glass or sea beans though. Swam off the beach on the banks side in warm water.
Stopped in BP one day to do laundry and get some fresh groceries. Would have stayed longer but needed to get an all-around protected spot for a coming cold front.
Sailed north to Cambridge which is a lovely protected anchorage within the Exuma Land and Sea Park boundaries. It stayed pretty flat even through the highest wind and rain. Two years ago on the ocean side beach, we had constructed a swing from a washed up plastic ladder step. Sad to see it was no longer there but instead a swing made from fishing net. Two hammocks also made from fishing net were still there from our last visit. During the windiest weather we stayed aboard and had fun playing Mexican train dominos and working crossword puzzles. It is great to have Eve with us; she has been cruising with us for the past 20 years.
When the weather calmed down, many mooring opened up at the Exuma Park headquarters at Wardrick Wells. The water there was warm and calm. We took our dingy over to the coral reef and were able to see to the bottom clear as can be. The next day we took our completed boat sign up to Boo Boo Hill and we attended a cruisers happy hour on the beach. By now you get the drift that happy hours are a major component of cruising. We met a family with a unique cruising cadence. They spend three weeks of every month at home and work and one week on the boat, moving it from New England to the Bahamas and back with the seasons. A lot of traveling!
The next day was again very calm and we motored back south on the banks as flat and calm as we have ever seen. A perfect day for snorkeling at Thunderball Grotto. Fran took a few videos and pix with her next underwater camera mask which worked well. We enjoyed a nice dinner at the Staniel Cay Yacht club.

Blackpoint

Had a nice sail to BP after going ashore on Staniel for groceries and gas. By visiting all three stores, we were able to get most of what we needed.
Lorraine had planned a special Valentines BBQ but it was postponed due to the weather driving off most of the boats. Lucky for us because we attended the rescheduled event and it was delicious and included ribs and steak. Next day we went to Scorpios for happy hour and were treated to a large fruit and veggie tray; most likely another holdover although everything was very fresh tasting.
Eve and Fran visited Penny on Pretty Penny to see her sea glass jewelry and a demo of her techniques. We are inspired to make some pieces when we get home. On Eve's last evening we went to Lorraine's to hear Mark on Truant play guitar. We have video of Lorraine joining in on "This Land is Your Land" with words changed to fit the Bahamas.
Borrowed Ida's truck to take Eve to the airport. We had intended to rent a golf cart from her but she said "just take my truck". The people here are so friendly and generous. Sorry to see Eve go but we consider ourselves lucky to have more cruise with her.

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