M
12/15/2008

February 15, 2009 Hog Cay. Long Island to George Town, Great Exuma

We hoisted our anchors at about 7:30 this morning and fished our way back to George Town arriving around noon without any dinner. The Sound was almost calm so we motor-sailed to keep enough speed for fishing. (It takes at least 5.5 knots for our lures to have any action on the surface) Barry and Steve both had a couple of hits but we were skunked. After getting organized, I went ashore to pick up 30 gallons of water and returned to make the transfer to the main tank. At about 2:30 we crossed the harbor to the Chat and Chill and spent a few hours sitting around watching people and chatting with folks.

We returned a little early and spent some time reading while our supper marinated. Tom and Susan stopped by for an hour or so and left about dusk. We grilled a flank steak, made some Cole slaw, and split a conch salad that Kathy had purchased on the beach during the afternoon. It was simple meal but really hit the spot. Although our freezer is full, our supply of beef is almost gone and the Bahamas in not the place to purchase beef.

February 14, 2009 Hog Cay

After listening to the weather and a cup of coffee I took the dinghy around the anchorage visiting our friends. "Brilliant" and "Fine Lion" were heading to the settlement of Glenton which is located on the south west corner of the Bay just to our south so we decided to tag along. Glenton Bay is a bone fisherman's paradise and we saw a few boats as we passed. The flats continue for miles. We followed a few stakes to work our way through the beginning of the shallows, but were soon on our own judging depth by the shade of blue. It was a ride of about 5 miles rarely with more than 1.5 feet of water. We found a cement pier and tied up. They told us to just leave our trash by a black box at the end of the pier and they would take care of it.

We hiked down the road to a corner about a half mile away. The same guys drove up to tell us where all the businesses were located. There really wasn't a town but there were two restaurants, a grocery and a liquor store along the road within about a mile. We walked to the grocery and picked up a few items before retracing our steps back to the water. .

Back at the boat we had some lunch and then got our snorkel gear around for an afternoon of swimming. I shot a couple of trigger fish and missed a few more but it was another pleasant afternoon. We did find a great coral reef where I'd like to take Jake and Abby if it works out.

We returned to the boat about 5 and read for awhile before baking some chicken for dinner.

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Miike-Sunny and warm
12/10/2008, Vero Beach, Florida

December 9th... Vero Beach, FL


It was windy this morning but the weather for the next few days is supposed to be worse so my first task of the day was to go back up the mast to attempt to repair the anemometer. Because I had it working yesterday, I was confident that I had broken one of the tiny wires in the process of replacing the cap on the top of the mast.

As it turned out, that is precisely what happened and in just a few minutes I had it repaired and was back on the deck.

Then it was off to the dinghy dock to fill our water containers. I made two trips and hauled about 80 gallons. Tomorrow I'll top off the tank.

Kathy worked on Christmas cards and has that job just about wrapped up.

The afternoon was hot and spent quite a bit of time reading in the cockpit. We were going to dinner at Jay and Di's new condo so I made some bacon wrapped water chestnuts to take along for a snack.

Nancy came out to check "Solitaire" during the afternoon and we returned with her to see Jim and to catch a ride to dinner.

We had a great time and some wonderful food at Jay and Di's place before they hauled us back across town to the Marina.

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Mike
12/09/2008, Vero Beach, Florida

December 8th, Monday... Vero Beach, Fl


That's the Windbugger in the rigging, and a smaller, more modern wind generator in the background.

Today Kathy was feeling fine so we were off to return our rental car by 8:30. On our way back to the boat we stopped to chat with Berry and Susan and to ask if they could drive me back to West Marine this afternoon. It was a nice morning so I decided to get our mast steps out and get some work done aloft.

I went up the mizzen first to remove the old Ham radio antenna that had been tied off for a year. I also tore down the lazy Jacks ( a system to gather the sail as it is lowered) which we never use and are just in the way.

Then it was up the Main. There is a splice in the wiring of our anemometer up there and it hasn't work for a few months. It's not really that critical, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." But it's a nice feature when sailing.

Anyway I was up there wiring for about 2 hours and finally got it working. I also permanently tied up our ssb antenna to free up a halyard. When I climbed down and checked the wind gauge, it wasn't working. I must have broken one of the tiny wires in the process of putting the top back on the mast.

I left the mast steps in place with the idea of going up again tomorrow.

After some lunch, I cut the fuel line, took some measurements and a few minutes later Barry stopped by to take me back to West Marine. Returning with the proper parts, I began what should have been a simple installation. It really wasn't too bad getting it mounted but getting the air bled out of the system proved to be a little tricky. It took me about an hour and I was soaked with gasoline. I was just finishing when Barry and Susan showed up with snacks.

I baked some chicken breasts in orange juiced for dinner but we were so full decided to save them for tomorrow.

We really had wanted to be gone from here by now but the weather isn't cooperating. There are two fronts going through this week with squalls and high winds. Then over the weekend and into next week the high pressure will bring us north winds at about 25 knots for a few days. So we'll just stick around here until we see a possible window.








December 7th , Sunday... Vero Beach, Fl


Kathy woke up feeling horrible and spent the morning sleeping on the couch. In the afternoon she remained on the couch but graduated to reading. After coffee, I put the wind bugger together and hoisted it to its working location in the forward rigging. We didn't have much wind but there was enough to prove that it was working correctly.

Then I went to shore to ferry the groceries that we purchased yesterday out to the boat. It took two trips but eventually everything was aboard.

Getting everything there was easy, finding a place to stow it all took hours. First I took everything out of the lazarette and was able to get a few cases of beer back there.

Next, with Kathy's help from the couch we added everything to our manifest and double bagged all the smaller items.

Then I emptied the garage (starboard berth) and repacked it with our new purchases. Paper products are very expensive ... so we take two large packages of paper towels and two of toilet paper....not much weight but lots of bulk.

By the time I finished it was afternoon. I cooked some lunch and then drove to West Marine to purchase a water separator for our dinghy. Since I didn't know the inside diameter of our fuel line, I'll have to go back tomorrow after I cut it.

Back at the boat we spent some time talking to our family and then listened to the Spartans.

We baked some ham and sweet potatoes for supper and watched a movie before bed.

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