Another beautiful white-sand, crystal clear blue water and sky Bahamian Beach - This one on Conception Island. Yaaawwwnnn.
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Finally. Here is definitive proof that Santa Claus spends the off-season in the Bahamas - washed up on the beach along with all the other flotsam, jetsam and miscellaneous sailors. By all appearances he has just arrived from the frigid north and really needs to work on his tan. At least I got this pic before he changed into his Santa Speedo, though. Wouldn't be pretty.
My travels since Georgetown have been pleasant and relatively uneventful. The weather behaved itself for over a week and only now has a front found its way into the waters. It and its 2-3 "reinforcing fronts" will stir things up over the next 2-3 days before leaving us with another high pressure pattern and possibly some resilient trade-wind conditions. That would be nice as I am ready to start working my way north and east to get ready for the jump back to the States in a few weeks.
I have visited Rum Cay and Conception Island this week and arrived here at the southern tip of Cat Island two days ago. There is a somewhat laid-back resort (Hawk's Nest) here that is very welcoming to us transient types. They have an open wifi system, cold beer and great cheeseburgers. Nice. What more does a sailor need?
I'll move the boat over to New Bight, approximately 8 miles across a large bay, this afternoon and position the boat to be safe in the NW winds which should fill in after the front passage. I have protection from the current (pre-frontal) SW winds although it is a bit rolly. When the winds clock later this afternoon, however, it would get pretty bouncy where I am now anchored.
In the meantime, the bread is on its first rise and I will soon row in to the resort to post this.
I am currently reading "The Odyssey". It seems to me that I was supposed to read it way back in high school but I am not remembering too much of it - must not have gotten to it at the time. Quite a story. I do have two observations:
1. I really need to stop reading books with frequent storms, shipwrecks and drownings while I am preparing for long ocean passages.
2. I have always just gotten in the dinghy and rowed to whatever destination. In the Odyssey, they always "smite the foam with their oars". This sounds way cooler and that's what I will do from now on.
Best to all.
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I passed! I am now an official Ham (General Class) and will have my call sign in a week or two. It's nice to know that it is still possible to get a few of the old brain cells lined up and firing in order.
I would like to say that it was easy but the fact is that I had to study hard - a difficult thing to do when there are far more fun activities calling. It just seemed wrong, somehow, to have my nose buried in technical manuals, doing study questions and trying to learn the often arcane terminology and facts. Jimmy Buffett has never sung songs like "Ham Radios in Paradise" or "Let's get Drunk and Propagate" or, for that matter, "Transmitting Away in Margaritaville". He never wrote them - and with good reason. Studying radio manuals does not fit the idealized (albeit mostly mythical) image of the debauched, irresponsible life of sailors in the tropics to which we all aspire.
There will be value, however, once the HF radio is installed in KR. Long range voice and digital communications will be possible from virtually anywhere in the world including, and most importantly, while at sea. The digital capabilities allow e-mails to be sent and received and a broad variety of weather products to be downloaded. And all of that is free with the Ham License - once the rig has been purchased and installed, that is. I have been mercilessly picking the brains of the currently radio-endowed cruisers in the harbor and feel that I now have a good handle on the right radio gear for KR as well as clear direction on the best way to install it and the antennas and ground plane required. It will be a less expensive project as well as a much easier installation than I had feared.
Chris Parker, our weather guru from Florida, is visiting Georgetown this week. He presented his annual Georgetown weather seminar today for everyone in the harbor. There is no more clear an indication of the importance of weather forecasts to us boat people (as well as our respect for Chris) than the large crowd at the sessions today. He packed 'em in. I learned a great deal.
Despite our repeated requests and on-our-knees pleading, however, Chris was unwilling to commit to changing the rather festive weather patterns that we have been enjoying - always reminding us "not to shoot the messenger". Pretty wimpy. He did say (in weather forecaster's double-talk) that it "appears" that the "tropical jet stream" caused by "El Nino" conditions that has been funneling one front after another through the Bahamas is starting to dissipate. He claims that the weather for the next few weeks will finally become more normal. I think that he is just saying that to allow him to enjoy his time and rum drinks here and escape intact before we learn the truth. We'll see.
There is a front going through tonight and another, stronger one arriving Tuesday (pretty much the every 3 day routine that has been typical this year). After that things look better.
I am mentally ready to leave Georgetown. It has been fun. After filling fuel and water tanks KR will be ready as well. Hopefully the Northwest winds predicted to follow Tuesday's fronts will be our ticket to the islands SE of here. I'ld like to get those big white cloth-like things (whatever they're called) out and moving the boat again.
Internet will be less readily available once I leave Georgetown so posts to this blog will be a bit more sporadic.
Best to all.
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