It was 6:45 AM, and I wasn't in the mood for this. We were at Exuma Park, going through the morning rituals to slip the mooring and get underway to Staniel Cay. Then I saw it, the bread dough that I had left rising on the cabintop the night before. It was no longer rising quietly in it's plastic bag. It had busted forth all over the top of the cabin. I looked further and saw that the dough oozed over the starboard side and down to the deck, where it mingled ever so slightly with the jib sheet and came to rest against the genoa track. One of the reasons I let my dough rise in a plastic bag is to keep from getting gooey dough all over me and my bowls. I have limited water for cleanup, and this method has been working fine. It doesn't work so well when I forget to place the zipper part of the bag up. Left in an inverted position the yeast and dough expanded against the seam and it gave way. At least it didn't harden. And so I found myself using a spatula to lift and place the mess back into the bag before breakfast. Al started helping, and as we tried to get the dough to cooperate with where we tried to put it, we got the giggles. Bread would have to wait a day longer, but the fish on the banks were in for a treat later in the day. I lowered the bucket over the side and sluiced the deck with seawater to rinse of the last bits, and we were finally able to get underway for Staniel cay.
| bahamas Cruise 09/10 |
|
Comments [0]
12/08/2009, Warderick Wells
We will be leaving Norman's Cay Sunday morning, and sailing south to our next anchorage at Hawksbill Cay. The trip will take two or three hours of lazy sailing, followed by around 45 minutes of hairy eyeball navigation where Al stands on the front of the bow and tries to determine if anything in front of us looks like shallow coral heads, while I drive and dodge left or right or turn around quick as per his instructions. We wear headphones, so it's all done quietly, but it's still a relief when we get the hook down and dug in good. Next we lower the ladder and jump in, cause well, we can. We go look at the anchor and snorkel around looking for a likely suspect for dinner, if we're lucky. Hawksbill is uninhabited so we may be all by ourselves there. We will stay a few days if we are loving the place, move on the next day if we don't. Our next stop after Hawksbill will be Warderick Wells. I may be able to get internet there, if not my next update will be from Compass Cay next week sometime. Update: Dec. 7 / We are at the Exuma Park Headquarters on Warderick Wells. Al saw a whale! We snorkled and saw a herd of spotted eagle rays. There is so much marine life here, we will go to Stancel Cay for water and fuel filters, and then work our way back to here for the rest of our Bahamas time.
| bahamas Cruise 09/10 |
|
Sorry to leave everyone hanging for so long. I have had issues w/ internet connections and my "puter not wanting to connect to the internet after logging onto a network. Who knows, maybe I will accidently fix it somehow. I am on a Norman's Cay computer letting everyone know that we are fine, the comments were great the nutcrackers are in the sewing room closet in the plastic boxes. (good luck getting them out Jenn) and we are having a blast! We were at Berry Island Club (Frazier's Hog Cay) for T day. Caught our own lobsters for dinner. We crossed through Nassau on Monday last and were in Allen's Cay (iguana country) for the last 3 days. Got here this AM and are just lazily working our way down the chain. (yes, there is a little work involved here, but it's the fun kind.) Will try to get the internet back on track, until then, no worrys, and be prepared for a ton of pics and vids when it happens. (James, that was a cool vid, wasn't it?) Love you all, Al and MJ
| bahamas Cruise 09/10 |
|
Boy, have the last few days been filled with adventure, danger, suspense, and of course, lobster. We left Bimini Tues day Am, headed for Frazier's Hog Cay and the Berry Island Club. This route takes us across the Bahama Banks, a shallow Open "sea" with nary a light, Cay, or boat in sight. Most sailors will tell you that they prefer lots of water under their keels; here the average depth was about a foot more than we needed. The sun was shining and the sea was calm as we started out. As the day progressed, the wind kicked up from the east, the direction we were headed. This meant we had to motor into the waves which, because of the shallow depths, were becoming quite large. I've heard one doesn't want to be on the banks when the weather kicks up. Oops, too late. As we had many a mile to cover before the Berrys, we had to anchor on the banks Tuesday night. The wind howled and the boat did a see-saw all night long. We slept in fits and starts, as we tried to will our bodies to stay in our bunks. We hoped that Wednesday would bring an improvement, but it was not to be. We knew we were in store for another night at anchor as we were only able to make about 2.5- 3.5 MPH against the waves and wind. Wednesday night all hell broke loose. The wind was clocked at 30knots, and it rained like the world was coming to an end. The poor boat was rocked to death, and of course Al and I were along for that ride. Al says to say he's not ashamed to admit he was ASCARED! Me too, and we had to check as soon as the three hour nightmare ended to see if we had dragged. Many coral bommies are on the banks and one doesn't stray too far off the beaten path. We hadn't dragged at all, amazing, considering what we had gone through! Now, if that doesn't get your fun factor meter scooting , consider the icing on the cake for Tuesday and Wednesday AM. The engine refused to start. Al thinks there's a problem w/ the fuel prime, and it may have been a result of all the hobby-horsing we did each night. We have never had this problem before, but it's kinda eerie to be rocking at anchor for a few hours in the AM, in the middle of nowhere Ville, while your better half is dismantling the engine, and (being a diesel mechanic) is saying to you "I'm open to suggestions" and "I wish I knew what the problem is." Yikes.
The next morning we flew under jib into Hog Cay, and snorkeling brought us our lobster for thanksgiving dinner, we caught 4 and gave three away, as they were easily four lb tails. This place is great. The Berry Island Club has super food, docks and mooring balls, and sells diesel. (Or will, as soon as the fuel freighter can get here.... Welcome to the islands!) I've been being put on hold for washers, showers, water, fuel, mooring balls and free wifi. They have been so nice about telling me to wait, it will be soon, that I can't be mad. Besides, the snorkeling is awesome. There are hundreds of lionfish here, and as soon as I get my nerve up, I'm going to catch some for dinner. The locals say they taste awesome. Just avoid the spines!
| bahamas Cruise 09/10 |
|
| bahamas Cruise 09/10 |
|
| bahamas Cruise 09/10 |
|
