Bright and clear- winds 15-20 knots
02/13/2011, Lynyard Cay on our way to Spanish Wells

It's time to move south! The old dinghy has been sold, most of the bits on the boat have been repaired, my SSB radio has been tested to ensure weather reports are available (thank you Chris Parker!), the pantry is full, and we left Hopetown this morning at dawn in order to get out of the harbour at half-tide.
A brisk sail south to Lynyard Cay in 15-20 knots of north wind puts us in position to set out tomorrow at dawn for Eleuthera.
It will be fun to return to Eleuthera after 35 years! Louise and I had our second marriage aboard a mailboat travelling from Nassau to Eleuthera in December 1976. We spent three weeks cycling the entire island, sleeping on beaches, visiting spots, not a care in the world... no kids, no house, no worries, young love, and had a great time. Many things have changed in our lives, but I still feel just as crazy after all these years....

I'm not sure how the internet will work further south, but we'll soon find out!

Keep warm and have fun!

glen

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Sunny and hot!
02/04/2011, Marsh Harbour

The past 10 days have been ideal weather with a soft eastern wind (great for sailing north-south) and warm temperatures...
Shaun returned to Canada (Ottawa/Winnipeg) and the next day Louise's brother arrived (Andre & Hanny) for a ten day visit.

Louise was determined to show them all of her favourite spots, so we sailed up and down the Abacos, catching lobsters and fish, snorkeling on reefs, bonfires on the beach, great lunches at pubs and restaurants, long walks, loud music, watched movies, watched stars, celebrated both Hanny's and my birthday in grand style ( I can't believe I made it to 60.... ) and returned late last night to Marsh Harbour so they could catch a 5:45am taxi to the airport. A dinghy ride across the harbour in the dark as dawn approaches is quite memorable.

A busy week!

Today is four loads of laundry, refill the propane tank, restock the wine cellar and food locker, put back all of the "stuff" into the guest room, and prepare for the next 8 weeks of quiet times by ourselves.... no more guests expected this year....

Finally fixed the windlass problem properly, and now the watermaker needs a serious rebuild.... never a dull moment!

glen

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Yet another cold front arrives
01/23/2011, Marsh Harbour

We had a wonderful visit with Shaun, who took advantage of the windy conditions to introduce me to the sport of Kite-surfing. This is a very challenging activity which involves launching and controlling an enormous kite which is capable of picking you up and throwing you into the air/water.
We sailed south to Little Harbour, explored the islands, and anchored off of Snake Cay.
The excitement occurred when we discovered the windlass had died, with the result that we needed to haul up the 200 ft. (600 lbs) of 3/8" chain c/w our 50lb. Danforth anchor.
We also discovered that all of our batteries (700 Amphours) were dead, so we were unable to start the engine or generator. Thankfully the sails could be raised and the compass still worked, so with the paper charts we sailed back to Marsh Harbour where we are attempting to figure out what is wrong with our electrical system, and locate a new solenoid for our windlass (which is not available in the Bahamas). Lot's of fun!

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