And yes Sam, we have our own personal writer now. I probably wrote those.

March 25th... Black Point, Exumas

(We made the decision to sail here last week instead of sailing south with "Fine Lion" because the forecast called for the possibility of lots of wind this week that would preclude traveling out in the sound. It was the right choice. Since our arrival, it has been windy every day with sustained winds of 20 to 25 knots with gusts in the 30's. Friday the 27th will be the first day calm enough for us to travel, and that wouldn't have given us enough time to do laundry before our guests arrive on the 28th)

(Also ... I need to mention as well that our faulty usb ports have died a slow death and we don't have the ability to upload remotely through the SSB anymore so blog updates will occur when we have internet access. We are in the market for a cheap, small computer if anyone wants to do some research for us.)

After coffee Kathy cleaned out the refrigerator while I finished my book and tied together a piece of net into a bag for lobsters or conch. At about 10am we hauled anchor and made the 2.5 mile trip north to Black Point and anchored off the Laundry.

I made a trip to the government dock to get rid of some garbage and to get load of water. Back at the boat we had some lunch while loading the water and read for awhile.

During the afternoon we cleaned the cockpit which entailed moving everything around to sweep the accumulated dust, sand and salt. Then we washed the cushions and moved the floor grates to sweep and wash under them.

I packed up all of our fishing tackle and moved it along with our snorkeling gear to the anchor locker where we have the space-now that our beer is gone.

We worked most of the afternoon on a job that should be done more often.

By then it was about 4pm and we read (and wove) until dinner time. I got out some frozen burgers and glazed a pan of onions which we had with about our last can of green beans.

We read and watched a couple of episodes of "Cold Case" before bed.

March 24th, 2009

Our friends here, both old and new, are taking off today for Little Farmers which is about 5 miles south. There is a school fair on Saturday that they want to attend...primarily for the native food.

Jeff and Tess stopped by to say good-by before heading out to do some snorkeling on the way. "Solitare" and "Lapidus" left in the mid-afternoon.

Kathy spent the day washing curtains and cleaning. Her biggest task though was to find places for all the things currently located in our garage... which in our case means the starboard berth. It's where we keep everything that doesn't have a real home...insert for the settee, guitar, dirty clothes bag, extra books, packages of paper towels, spare bedding, etc.

We spent quite a bit of time reading and weaving as well.



March 23, 2009 Little Bay, Great Guana Cay, Exumas

It is still windy here with sustained winds of 20 to 25 knots and gusts higher. We're well protected and comfortable.

Jeff stopped over during the morning for a visit. But most to the time was spent reading.
After lunch we went to shore for a walk and to collect palm fronds for weaving. We were luckier this trip and found quite a few of the correct species. On our way back to the boat we stopped at "Solitare" for a while visited with Jim and Nancy for awhile.

We hung out in the cockpit until dark and then cooked some fish and fried potatoes for dinner.

March 22, 2009 Little Bay, Great Guana Cay, Exumas

Today was windy and going ashore meant getting soaked so we just stayed aboard. I cooked some black beans in the morning. Kathy worked on weaving. We both read quite a bit and I fixed our forward nav. lights that didn't come on last week when I tested them.

"Solitare" invited us over for some games after supper so in the afternoon I made a batch of oatmeal cookies to take along.

We were joined again by "Lapidus" and "Inamorata" and played a game like "Catch Phrase" except everything had to do with songs in lots of different categories.

It was fun as usual....

March 21... Little Bay, Great Guana, Exuma

After coffee we listened to the nets and spoke with Barry and Susan in Cuba for the first time. They sounded like they were having a good time working their way along the coast. After 2 years our radio is finally working like it should. In Thompson's Bay I replaced the wire from the tuner to the antenna and it made all the difference in the world.

A little later we loaded up the snorkeling gear and joined Jim and Nancy for a swim. This is a popular anchorage so we didn't expect much but we did see lots of fish. Kathy and I took the dinghy to the south about a mile and we did find one dumb lobster.

After lunch the four of us went for a hike to the Sound side of the Great Guanna which basically means walking over the hill. Four of five years ago someone had the idea to make a marina in this bay and did millions of dollars worth of excavating just behind the beach. There are roads with lots that offer amazing views of both the Banks and the Sound. At any rate, like many development schemes here, they got about half done and quit. We hiked the beach and then followed one of the roads for a ways before deciding that we'd had enough exercise for one day.

We were invited to "Lapidus" for snacks at 4:30 and were joined by "Solitare" and "Inamorata." We met Larry and Paula at the SSCA Gam last summer, but hadn't met Jeff and Tess before. Our lobster showed up in a dip that Nancy prepared and was excellent. The food was excellent as usual....eventually it started to rain and we all scurried back to our boats to shut hatches.


March 20th... Little Bay, Great Guana Cay, Exuma

After listening to the Nets and a leisurely breakfast we left our anchorage behind Big Galliot Cay for the 12 mile trip north. After 80 miles yesterday... it was a walk in the park. We had made plans to meet Jim and Nancy "Solitare" at Little Bay which is just south of Black Point Settlement. It offers good protection for the northeast winds that are forecast for the next few days.

There were three boats in the anchorage when we arrived so there was lots of room. We had a quick lunch and before long "Solitare" showed up and dropped their new anchor next to us.

We spent most of the afternoon with them catching up on the last three months.

Back at the boat around 4pm we turned on the radio and listened to the NCAA Tournament... and kept it on until after midnight. We didn't get to listen to any of the MSU play by play but the game was updated about every 5 minutes. The play by play was focused on the overtime games that were underway at the same time.

For dinner we made Fish Tacos which consisted of Mahi fingers on Cole slaw with dill tarter wrapped in a tortilla. It was our fist attempt and turned out great.

March 19th Thompson's Bay to Galliot Cay Exmua

We were up at 6am for coffee and listened to Chris Parker at 6:30. The forecast called for light winds with scattered showers and possible squalls...nothing dangerous.

On some days we would delay waiting for wind to sail but this wasn't one of them...We needed to get north. We were underway at 7am with "Fine Lion" close behind. We got a call from "Brilliant" who had sneaked into the anchorage late last night under the cover of darkness. They were planning on following "Fine Lion" to the Jumento's later in the day after reprovisioning.

We had calm sea and no wind while in the lea of Long Island but once we arrived at Hog Cay there is an area where the route takes us just behind a reef where ocean swells are broken into chop. We were taking this chop on the beam so we quickly raised the main for balance. After a few short miles we made it to the Sound where the swells were maybe 6 feet but the period was about 12 seconds... just gently rolling seas.

The wind picked up from nothing to a little ... and we added sail to pick a knot or so of speed during the afternoon. Our plan had been to shoot all the way to Rat Cay where we know that the cut is safe in all conditions. However, we were making such good progress that it appeared that we could make Galliot Cut before dark so we continued.
During the afternoon we listened to updates of the NCAA Tourney. Xm doesn't have the rites to the games proper, but ESPN radio does a good job of keeping up with the games. Broadcasting the close ones live and slipping into normal play by play for a few minutes at a time of high profile games.

We slid by a rain shower at some point and got a little of the salt rinsed from our decks but we really need a downpour to do much good.

At one point we drove through a school of Mahi and had two hit. We lost one hook and the other never really hooked up. There is no room aboard for fish at this point so it was all for the best.

Galliot has the advantage that from there north we can safely travel on the Bank Side of the Exumas.

I had chicken and rice baking during the last hour or so of the trip so when we anchored and got the boat ready for the night dinner was ready.

We listened to basketball until it was bedtime.



March 18th Thompson's Bay, Long Island

I woke up with a stomach ache... maybe too much fun and food last night. We have decided to leave tomorrow morning and have designated today as a work day.

After bacon, cheese, egg and bagel sandwiches for breakfast got to work. My major job today was finishing the repair of the Windbugger. I had glued the propeller together and finished the fairing a couple of days ago and had applied a coat of epoxy primer. This morning I sanded that primer and loaded all my painting stuff on the dinghy and headed for shore to put on the final coat. Having learned for the first coat that thinning was critical, things went much better. It was dry to touch in a couple of hours and I spent the remainder of the morning ... and part of the afternoon, putting everything back together. I re-engineered the system where the two stabilizing lines attach to the boat and hope that I have solved the chafing problem that led to the disaster in the first place.

We had a late lunch and I started the job of rewiring the automatic switch on the bilge pump. Just as I was finishing up... with the cockpit full of tools and the boat a mess, Steve and Kim decided that it was time for a visit. We hurriedly cleared away the tools and picked things up as best we could...

Tomorrow we were splitting up for a few weeks but wanted to finalize some planning for later in the spring. We are planning to spend some time in the Abacos together before making the trip back to the states sometime in May.

Neither of us was hungry so we had some "not-so-good" leftovers for dinner.



March 17th Thompson's Bay, Long Island

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

After breakfast we packed up dirty clothes and our garbage a set out for shore. We hiked through the scrub to the road where we'd left our rental car and then headed for Salt Pond. Our first stop was at the Hillside market so pick up some bleach and to check our vegetables which are usually better than Harding's.

After a stop at Long Island Petroleum, we went to Long Island Breeze and picked up some tokens for the laundry. Our propane tank was there so we paid for it as well. Kathy stayed to start the Laundry while I returned the car to Fox Auto. They gave me a ride back to the trail that leads to the beach where we had left the dinghy.

I took the groceries and propane tank back to "Sapphire" and then dinghied south to Salt Pond, tying up at Long Island Breeze.

Kathy finished the laundry while we both worked logged in to their wifi system to check email and to check some research on the internet. Jackie made some Irish stew and cornbread for their daily lunch special which was excellent. They were planning a pot-luck deck party in honor of St. Patrick that evening at five as well.

We got back to "Sapphire" at about 3pm just in time to welcome "Fine Lion" to the anchorage. We hadn't seen Kim for a few weeks so we dinghied over to say hello and to hear all about here trip to Colorado.

Back at the boat we put together a pesto pizza with a roasted pepper topping and headed back to Long Island Breeze for the party. As usual we met some new folks and touched base with many whom we've me in our travels. The food was excellent. Mike and Jackie provided conch fritters and made a huge batch of green rum punch. They had their ipod plugged into the little band shell next to the pool as well. Everyone seemed to have a nice time.

We headed back to "Sapphire" before dark and stopped at "Fine Lion" to chat a couple of hours more. They are heading south and we had been planning to join them for a week but there are big winds forecast for the area on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of next week when travel on the Sound will be out of the question. Since we need to be in Black Point on Thursday or Friday, we decided that the safe thing to do was to head north before the winds arrived.

We returned to the boat watched some video before calling it a day.










March 16th Thompson's Bay, Long Island

After coffee I headed to the fuel dock in Salt Pond to pick up a couple jerry cans of diesel and one of gasoline. Since I was there, I loaded 15 gallons of water as well. It was a slow trip back with about 300 pounds of liquids but I got there eventually.

While I was gone Kathy made arrangements for a rental car. Fox Auto picked us up at 11:30 and after completing the paperwork, we headed south. Our first stop was the bank a few miles to the south. We've received notice that our bank cards have been somehow compromised... not here but back in the States, and we needed to make a withdrawal before our cards are voided on Wednesday.

Next on our agenda was a trip to Max's Conch bar for lunch. We ended up staying there talking to some folks who are in the process of building a home here on Long Island-living on their boat while they do so.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent touring the northern end of the island. We drove up to the Columbus Monument and Santa Maria Bay at the extreme northern tip of the Island. The last 4 miles were hard on our car, but it was a rental car.

We returned to the boat around 5pm and had some pork fried rice for dinner...

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March 16th Thompson's Bay, Long Island

After coffee I headed to the fuel dock in Salt Pond to pick up a couple jerry cans of diesel and one of gasoline. Since I was there, I loaded 15 gallons of water as well. It was a slow trip back with about 300 pounds of liquids but I got there eventually.

While I was gone Kathy made arrangements for a rental car. Fox Auto picked us up at 11:30 and after completing the paperwork, we headed south. Our first stop was the bank a few miles to the south. We've received notice that our bank cards have been somehow compromised... not here but back in the States, and we needed to make a with drawel before new cards are issued.

We went to Max's Conch bar for lunch and ended up staying there talking to some folks who are in the process of building a home here.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent touring the northern end of the island. We drove up to the Columbus Monument and Santa Maria Bay.

We returned to the boat around 5pm and had some pork fried rice for dinner....

Mac and Cheese....

Boil macaroni and then let cool.... Usually about two or three cups dry.

Chop and sauté one medium onion and a green pepper. ...I always add some type of hot pepper as well which usually means that I chop about 8 jalapeno rings.

Grate about one pound of cheese... good cheddar is the best but here we use the yellow stuff.

Mix up two eggs ....and stir in one can of evaporated milk.

Combine the macaroni, cheese (reserve a little for the top) and vegetables and transfer everything to a 9 by 13 baking pan that is well greased.

Pour the custard mixture over the mac and cheese mixture.

My best guess that it cooks for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees....when it's about half done and the custard is cooking through, I add the reserved cheese to the top and then sprinkle about half cup of bread crumbs on top of that.


This is a combo of about 3 different recipes-feel free to experiment.



March 15, 2009 Thompson's Bay, Long Island

Since we have decided to stay here, we slept in until 7:00, (actually, Mike did not get up until almost 8:00-unheard of!) and did not get up to listen to weather. The weather will be.

We read, did crossword puzzles, etc. until Mike decided we should take the Windbugger propeller to shore to paint it, and then go hiking to look for the "proper" palm fronds for weaving. We also needed a good walk. The walk to telephone pole 108 is about a mile and the walk to the ocean is about the same, so it is a nice hike. The lost, or maybe not, goats bleat at you as you walk through the woods. It was pretty hot today in the stillness of the woods, but we found some great palm fronds and a great ocean breeze to cool us off before our hike back.

Mike retrieved the propeller, which was "almost" dry and we dinghied back to Sapphire to have some lunch. If anyone were watching, they may have wondered at the man holding a propeller up in the air in his dinghy-does that help balance?, gain speed?...hmmm. No, it just wasn't dry.

After lunch, Kathy worked on polishing the stainless (which does rust) for hours, while Mike cooked some pork, that needed to be cooked, into pork-fried rice. That is for lunch tomorrow because tonight he is cooking some Mahi and has made some into seviche-YUM. We had dinner in near darkness in the cockpit, and then watched the shuttle launch. It mainly looked like a REALLY bright cloud from here, but it was still very cool. (Still, not as cool as seeing it close.)

March 14, 09 Thompson's Bay, Long Island

Sorry, sorry, sorry, about not being diligent about Davey's birthday. I have been negligent about the proof reading and I always add the birthdays. It is all my fault. I have received two (expensive) phone calls to chastise me for my negligence. (I also think I missed Pam and Carter's birthdays-sorry)

We were up at 6:30 for the weather and got the boat ready for travel. Kathy leaned down to start the engine as I went forward to hoist the anchor. For some reason I went back to the cockpit and we decided to stay here for the weekend. We have four or five repairs to make and it may be best to just get them done.

Kathy started cleaning and cleaning and cleaning ...and I removed everything from the Lazarette, sorting things that hadn't been used in a while, throwing away some junk, and organizing others. (Kathy takes over) We glued the broken part of the Windbugger propeller together, which took a long time. (I am not sure if Mike told about the Windbugger coming unhooked and blasting itself around the boat and one part into Elizabeth Harbor, where he jumped in the dinghy to rescue one half of one half of the propeller blades.? I must add that we are lucky some part did not go through our dodger!)

We finished our work in time to listen to the abysmal Michigan State game. I'm sure we should have just kept working. We listened to some of the Purdue/Illinois game, until we were sure of the winner, and then watched a few episodes of the last season of the "Sopranos".




March 13, 09 Thompson's Bay, Long Island

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVEY!!!!!!

After breakfast we headed to Salt Pond, which is the name of the settlement here, to get rid of some garbage and to do a little grocery shopping. It is about 3 miles away by dinghy, but with the wind out of the east it's not a bad trip.

Or plan was to stop by Long Island Breeze for a pizza to take back to the boat for the game but their power had been out and the cook had been sent home until noon.

We returned to "Sapphire" for the pre game show. It was the Spartans first B 10 Tourney game. The game was close for the first half but they got it together for the final 20 minutes and slowly pulled away for the win.

Kathy worked on the dishes while I lined all the necessary clamps and tools to glue the wind bugger's propeller back together. It took all four of our hands but the glue job went well and seems at this point to be a success.

While on deck I working I noticed that the SSB antenna was disconnected. With further examination, the wire that attaches the antenna to the tuner was corroded to the breaking point on bottom end and had come detached at the top. With a little work we had things back together in better shape that they've been in a while.

We listened to more Basketball during our afternoon work projects but a dark we lost our satellite feed.

I made sweet and sour pork for dinner which was a little different but tasted ok...

Comments [6]

Dear Carol.et al.

There are a number of excuses for the recent neglect of our blog. First is that in George Town, with 300 boats at anchor, it is difficult to for our radio to "get out." I think that the sheer number of masts tends obstruct our connection.

The real problem though it that the USB ports on this computer are so sloppy that it is difficult to get a good connection between the SSB and the Lap top. When the connection is lost the machine crashes and we have to restart which takes about 5 minutes.

I'm thinking that we need a new computer but it would be so low on our priority list that it probably won't happen. I wish that Kathy would take an interest but that isn't going to happen either.

The other problem is that our internet antenna isn't working. So when we're in sight of wifi stations we can't pick them up with enough strength to get on line.

Anyway. I'll try a little harder to get things out quicker.

Bye

Mike

3/12/09 Hog Cay to Thompson's Bay, Long Island

At around 8am we said good bye Steve and Scott, who were staying here for a couple of days to do some diving and bone fishing, and headed south to Thompson's Bay. More than anything, we need to get a propane tank filled or soon all our meals will be cooked on the grill.

Leaving the anchorage we hoisted both the mizzen and the main for the drive east a couple of miles to the waypoint where we would turn south. Once there we rolled out the jib and took off.. From a mostly horizontal position, I made the command decision to switch to the staysail which made the difference.. We were up-right again and sailing at 7 knots.

We had a great sail south along the Island with over 20 knots of wind and no sea-state. I have found however that when sailing into the wind with the staysail instead of the jib, it's important to reef the main at least once. The full main and mizzen tend to over power the staysail and there is a tendency toward weather helm and some crabbing. We actually go faster with less sail..

Arriving about noon we put the boat back in order, dropped the dinghy, and then I ran the into Salt Pond to drop off the propane tank which we will pick up Monday or Tuesday.

During the afternoon we listened to the Big 10 Basketball tourney and finished the books that we've been reading.

Our anchorage here is huge and the six of eight boats present when we arrived were spaced so that each had a measure of privacy. Three of four boats arrived after us and positioned themselves similarly. Our new neighbors however, decided that they liked the area right next to us. They pulled in and dropped anchor about one boat-length away.. As their rode played out they were not dangerously close, but close enough that we could hear them talking in their cockpit.

So people just don't get it. everyone here has 100 yard spacing except for us.

3/11/09 Conception Island to Hog Cay, Long Island

We left Conception about 8am on a course to the south east to hit Long Island about 5 miles south of the cape. We've caught tuna in that area and will have lots of time to make our anchorage this afternoon. A ten mile diversion is no problem.

About half way across the 15 mile channel Steve radioed to say that Scott had boated one Mahi and lost another bigger one that they couldn't turn.

We were skunked until we got the Long island and turned north following the drop off to Cape Santa Maria. The reel started singing and I saw a fish jump twice off our stern. I was hoping for a tuna. Kathy took over the helm and in about 20 minutes we had what we could now see was another bull Mahi next to the boat. Kathy took the rod while I got the gaff into the fish and into the boat without any of the problems for a change.

About four miles north of the Cape we had another hit, on a hand line this time, but before I could grab it the bungee stretched to the max and the 100 lb test snapped.

Turning the corner and heading south on the east side of Long Island just off our anchorage we hooked another fish. The drag on the reel clicked for about one second and stopped. Then, while I was watching, it clicked again for another second before stopping. I picked up the reel to check and whatever was on the other end took off and never looked back. There was nothing I could do to stop turn it with the tackle aboard. I might be prudent to invest in a larger rig before we make this trip again.

I cleaned our catch on our way into our anchorage at Hog Cay. We were the only boat there and we spent the remainder of the afternoon reading. I needed to make some room in the freezer for today's catch so we got two huge chicken breasts out for dinner. I ended up browning them and then making a sauce with the drippings, flour, a little rum, the juice of one lemon and chicken stock. After dumping the sauce on the chicken I popped it into the over for about 30 minutes. Finally, I added a can of artichoke hearts and put it back into the over for about 20 minutes. WE let it cool in the oven for another 20 minutes while Kathy put together a Caesar salad. We ended up with a great . non-fish meal, the first in a long time.

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