Sailing with Gemini

A lot has happened since my last post and the Internet was not strong until returning to the Abacos. After being in Hope Town for a month we finally got a window to head south to Eleuthra!

We began our trip with a 3 hour sail in the Sea of Abaco to Lynyard Cay where we met up with another couple that we met here along with 10 other boats. We all headed for the beach while I was in search of sea glass with some great finds! We gathered in the evening for a group dinner, bonfire, cooking hot dogs over the fire (have not done this since I was in Girl Scouts), and enjoyed a great evening making new friends on the beach!

The next day the weather conditions looked good for a 55 mile sail south in the open Atlantic Ocean....this means that the winds, seas, and conditions need to be favorable before venturing south. We had a great sail on Tuesday with the winds about 15-20 knots and seas 2-4 feet. We saw hundreds of flying fish, frigate birds, cargo ships, and several sail boats. We sailed for part of the way and then as the winds dropped off closer to little Egg Harbor we motor sailed into Eleuthra past Royal Island and picked up a mooring at Spanish Wells.

The next day we caught a short boat ride across the channel and then a shuttle car ride to a high speed ferry boat where we crossed yet another channel to get to Harbour Towne. What a beautiful island with many resorts and homes that are very expensive! We rented a golf cart to tour the Harbour and each view was more breathtaking with each resort visited. We ate a fantastic lunch at Coral Sands Resort overlooking the beach where the water was crystal clear and the tropical breezes blowing. This was such an idyllic day and the weather was spectacular! We stopped at quaint expensive shops, coffee shop, market with fresh fruits and veggies (yippee!), strolled on the beach, and enjoyed a drink at the Blue Bar at Pink Sands Resort.

Friday the weather conditions looked good again for us to head back to the Abacos leaving from an anchorage at Royal Island. The water was so clear here and I saw several turtles in this harbor. We set sail with 6 other boats early in the morning also heading north. The first half of the trip the winds were light and the ocean quite calm with 1-2 foot seas. By mid-day the winds picked up to 20-30 knots and changed from southwest to westerly winds and the seas also changed to 2 to 4/5 foot swells so we were going fast (7.5 knots) and rocking and rolling...not my favorite sailing weather! Along the way we saw many flying fish and frigate birds while Joe was trolling for fish. He snagged a mahi and brought in a beautiful 3 foot fish. Truth be told this was my first time ever helping with bringing in a larger fish from the ocean! What a day! With the winds heading north, we picked up a mooring in Litte Harbor with safe protection just outside of Pete's Pub.

Last night's dinner at Pete's Pub was excellent and we headed to the beach just in time to see the launch of the space X satellite launch from Cape Canaveral overhead. What a sight when the booster separated in the sky. The end of a perfect day and it does not get any better.

So that was a week packed with sailing, sightseeing, beach combing, meeting new people, eating great food, and having an amazing time! More to come as we head to some of the islands in the Abacos that we have not seen before the Barefoot Man concert at Guana Cay on March 18th. Still having a great time and loving being together with Joe on Gemini!

It has been awhile since my last post as we have been enjoying events that Hope Town offers. For the last week the songwriter's festival has been in Hope Town and we have listened several nights to these talented musicians, some of whom have had hit songs sung by notable singers. They hail from Texas, Nashville, Alabama, etc and have all been brought here to sing and celebrate music and songwriting! Last night it was so crowded at Harbor's Edge that we went back to the boat in the harbor and could listen to the concert on the boat. Since sound travels so clearly over water, we could actually hear everything better and more balanced on the boat. We were serenaded to sleep and it does not get any better than this in life!

The sun is out today and the winds are blowing once again. The locals tell us that this is the coldest and windiest winter that they can remember. And yet, it is still warmer than being back north for sure where you have had some record lows and blows as well. Guess it's all a matter of perspective.

We had one calm day this past week where we headed to Marsh Harbor to restock food supplies, access services not available in Hope Town, stop at the bakery for something "delicious and unhealthy", pick up a few DVD's for movie night on the boat, and then head back before the next blow. The timing was perfect and it was great again to be on the open water with Gemini! Joe and I have both been reading great books, enjoying long walks on the beach and searching for sea glass, meeting new people as there are more who vacation on the weekends, and enjoying the slower pace in life and letting each day unfold as it may. There is a quiet and comfortable familiarity now in Hope Town that is enjoyable and peaceful. Somehow I know that I will miss this luxury when back home with appointments, long "to do lists", should haves and have too, etc. Learning to be in the here and now has been a part of this journey rather than always worrying about what's next. Definitely not easy but this is an important lesson for me to learn after retiring and always living by "should, must, have to, did not do, etc". Retirement teaches us so many things like how to slow down time, take the time to show each other how much you love being with each other, making easy decisions, realizing what is truly important is today, etc. Sorry for waxing philosophical and the islands teach patience for sure.

Missing all of you, our friends and family, and hoping you are managing through this winter and thinking that that spring is ONLY 29 days away!

Well we are still moored in Hopetown Harbor and enjoying long walks on the beach (sunshine, clouds, and wind...who cares), the local coffee shop, stopping at the grocery store for limited items, talking with other boaters on Friday evening Sip, Sip, SOP, and getting into Bahamas time!

Joe took me out for a great dinner at the Abaco Inn for Valentine's Day where we enjoyed the sunset and high winds on the ocean side and cool breezes in the Sea of Abaco for a very spectacular view. To all of you, hope you had a fabulous Valentines Day with those you love.

Heading off for a long walk today and hoping to be able to move this week and begin to head south to Royal Island and Eleuthra where the beaches are pink!

More to come when we get on the move and hopefully this latest storm blows through once again! We are definite growing weary of these blows that come through every 2-3 days this year. Oh well, it could be snowing and 10 below so probably no sympathy from all of you.

Until the next post....

We have been moored in Hope Town Harbor for the past week enjoying sunshine, ocean breezes, beaches, looking for seaglass, taking walks on the beach, eating healthy, meeting up with old sailing friends, reading, and just plain enjoying ourselves! A storm is expected this weekend and we plan on joining many at the Hope Town Inn and Marina for the Super Bowl. Whatever your favorite team might be, we hope for a competitive and close competition and of course, judging the best new commercials. Budweiser is always one of my favorite!

We are both doing very well and hoping for milder weather and seas in February to be able to head further south to Eleuthra. The picture for this blog is the Hope Town lighthouse that still uses kerosene and is manually lit each night. It is a beacon that guides sailors to safety and away from danger.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Super Bowl.

We are spending the weekend in Marsh Harbor and then tomorrow we head to Hope Town, one of my favorite stops. We took a long walk on the island today and saw some beautiful homes and private beaches. Last night we took our dinghy to the Jib Room for dinner, music (rake and scrape), and then a limbo contest. Regardless of how limber you may be, no one can compare to Desmond who goes under the limbo stick that is lit and once under lights his cigarette! We have video footage that I cannot post on this blog but captured a moment to share. He was absolutely amazing and the music was awesome Bahamian infectious, gotta move music.

Have also been working on polishing the stainless since the boat was very salty from the trip around the Whale passage and Sea of Abaco. This coming week should be much calmer with sunny skies so time to keep moving while the weather is good. We are fully supplied with food, water, clean clothes, and ready for an easy sail with our job unfurled hopefully.

Hope all of you survived the blizzard of 2016 and the snow is melting and making everything much easier back home. Thanks for your comments to posts as Joe and I look forward to hearing from you as well.

So it has been 5 days since our last post as I have not had consistent internet access on my iPad or computer. We are now finally in Marsh Harbor in the Abacos and have had some exciting sailing adventures. On Monday we tried to cross the Whale Passage twice, once in the AM during high tide where the seas were 4 foot swells and getting higher and then again in the afternoon during low tide where we hit 6-7 foot swells and were not even in the Atlantic Ocean where there was no protection against the swells and waves. Thankfully Joe decided to turn around the second time as I went down below when the swells were 4 feet and higher to ride out the seas. I had never experienced 6-7 foot ocean swells in short duration and trust me everything below is rocking and rolling as cabinets open, things fly off shelves even with a fiddle.

So back to Green Turtle Cay where we passed the time doing laundry, taking hikes, getting the boat ready with more fuel in preparation for when we could make the crossing. Tuesday was more windy weather and white caps on the water so we did not venture out of White Sound. We met a lovely couple and their two children from Montreal yesterday who decided to follow us when we decided to cross the Whale Passage to get to Marsh Harbor. The photo was taken at the marina at Green Turtle Cay to provide a flavor is the bright pastel colors found throughout the Bahamas!

This morning Joe was listening to Chris Parker on short wave radio who indicated that today would be a good day to cross the Whale Passage before the next storm Thursday afternoon. We got everything ready to go to sail in 45 minutes this morning and by 9:30 am were on our way once again. This time the seas were much calmer and it was an enjoyable motor sail until we got to the Sea of Abaco where the winds picked up above 30 knots so we reefed the mainsail on a close haul. Then when we turned into the wind in the Sea of Abaco it was very choppy with white caps (because the wind was above 15 knots), the wind was on the nose, and the highest we saw was 40 knots of wind with some pounding. The Whale Passage was actually smoother than the Sea of Abaco, which is typically calm! We finally came into Mangoes Marina to wait out the next storm predicted to start tomorrow afternoon. Gemini is in safe harbor in a marina and we celebrated our crossing with a great dinner at Curly Tails!

Joe is such a great captain and I am learning how to be a good first mate! Had my first lesson in reefing the mainsail today so in the future I know how to perform this function. Sailing has taught me so much including facing fears and learning how to overcome them as well as when to make decisions not to place the boat or crew at risk. Tomorrow we will resupply the boat with fresh food, take a long walk, get to sleep late and make a hearty breakfast, and enjoy the warm weather and new friends at Marsh Harbor.

I have learned that everyone has their jobs to do on a boat and we count on each other to be there when needed for those jobs. Checking everything twice, making sure that certain functions are methodically managed, learning how to stow everything, and always prepared for what could happen (ditch bag, life vests, life lines, important documents in water tight bags, closing hatches and checking twice, etc) makes a difference. Lessons in sailing apply in life and taking nothing for granted is part of sailing. Learning to appreciate everything... a long hot shower, fresh food, clean laundry, sunny and clear days, a ship shape boat where items are stowed consistently in the same place, purging what is not needed, and more have taught me that we have so much more than we really need. Four months on board a boat and everyday is still different and exciting! Who would have thought?