CANADA - SURVIVORS......
15 February 2009
February 15, 2009 Greetings from the HOT Bahamas! Boy, when those cold fronts disappear the weather sure improves- the last few days have been almost windless and the temperatures are up in the 80's. Our wind generator is lifeless and even though it can make some scarey sounds when the winds are howling, we are beginning to miss the darn thing - its a great source of power for our batteries - although we have solar panels charging the batteries, they do not provide as much amps as does the wind generator. Rather than risk losing out on ice cubes or cold beer for the special Sundowner drinks every evening we may decide to fire up our Honda generator.
Trina and Mark (Jim's daughter and her fiance) made it away safely from Norman's Cay on February 12th via a Cessna plane. The conditions were perfect for a great flight across the Yellow and White Banks to Nassau and Mark looked pretty happy sitting up in the co-pilots seat when they took off. We loved having them here for a visit. Although we spent more time in Nassau than we had hoped (gale force northerlies), the time went pretty quickly. Conch cerviche was enjoyed in a very funky Bahama market located under the bridge that goes to Paradise Island, home of Atlantis, money was thrown recklessly at the slot machines of Atlantis and we hopped on and off the Nassau buses, going god knows where, just to save money on a proper "sight seeing trip". It was a very interesting way to explore Nassau - especially with the extremely loud rap and reggae blasting from the staticky speakers at the back of the bus - way cool man. Eventually, our ears ringing, we got off the loudest of the buses and found the bus that would take us back to the peace and quiet of Emerald Seas.
On Sunday, February 8th, the weather allowed us the opportunity to leave Nassau and set sail to Norman's Cay. Sailing was brisk, winds were higher than expected and the swell and sea conditions were moderate. Fortunately, the seas and wind calmed down for the section of the White Bank where the coral heads were hazards to navigation and visual navigation was needed. We skimmed through the danger zone and not long after the winds and seas picked up again and we had a great sail to our destination.
We awoke to a beautiful, windy day. The beaches beckoned and we set off in the inflatable to explore the beaches. The vivid blues of the ocean have to be seen to be believed. Hiking around the beaches, we found shells and lots of juvenile conch. The tide was falling so we were able to explore for hours. When the time came to return to Emerald Seas we discovered that the tide was very low and that our return route looked to be a wee bit shallow. Decision made to try anyway and off we went, motor tipped as high as possible and all of us looking for signs of deeper water - the darker the blue, the deeper the water. Hmmmmm, not much blue anywhere really. Before long, Jim was dragging the boat through the shallow parts while Mark, Trina and I relaxed; a few minutes later and it was Mark relaxing while Trina, Jim and myself did ALL THE WORK........pushing, dragging, coaxing the boat across what now seemed to be a desert..............Finally, deepish waters once again and before long we were back on Emerald Seas. Time for another Sundowner in paradise.
Well, Jim and I are alone again. The empty void in our lives caused by the departure of our loved ones has been filled with more snorkelling, scuba diving and laundry. Doing laundry at the cistern on Norman's Cay is a lot like doing laundry at the side of a river, rinsing, pounding the clothes on the rocks and rinsing and wringing the water out, over and over again. After awhile, one starts to ponder the necessity of clothing at all, couple that with the last few hot days here and we have a new rule. Clothing is no longer optional, it is forbidden!!
We are still awaiting our SSB - once we have it we are sailing south towards Staniel Cay. Life is good!
Best regards and love to you all! Renate & Jim