S/V Island Rose
Sailing Log

2024 Bahamas Cruise Part 7
Russell Island, Eleuthera to Fresh Creek, Andros

April 8, 2024 Monday
04:30- Coffee. I typed in the log notes into the laptop computer. The engine was cranked to warm up water and charge the batteries. Breakfast was a delicious Sausage and Cheese Omelet with coffee.
08:30- I called Spanish Wells Yacht Haven and confirmed our dockage for 4 nights beginning today. We were set. I called Tripp to let him know and we planned to head that way about 09:15.
Always being short-handed, I went ahead and rigged docking lines port and starboard. It was only 1.5 nm to the marina and high tide was at 10:30 this morning. Perfect!
09:00- Underway out of Russell Island for Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. The route was straight forward and marked with pilings. Reading the water left no doubt where you could and couldn’t go.
09:40- Docked in Slip 30 at SWYH. Leroy, the manager, caught my lines and greeted me. N25° 32.479’ W076° 45.437’. Engine Hours- 1112.4 hrs. Daily Distance- 1.5 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,615.5 nm.
I got settled and took notes and hooked up the power and water. The water meter read 6018.1 so I filled the starboard tank and turned on the air conditioner. I hooked up the battery charger, too, in order to keep the house batteries topped off.
Tripp and I walked up to the dock office and got registered and information. The marina had rented out all of their golf carts so we walked down the street along the waterfront and looked for the gold cart rental place. Along the way, we spotted the fuel dock and confirmed information about it. Soon, we found the rental business and Tripp signed up for a golf cart for one day to start. They assured us that if we skipped a day and came back that they would have plenty of carts. It sure made it easy to get around.
At the East end of the island, we ate lunch at Shipyard Restaurant. We had a great view of the water and reef off of the East end of the island. I got Stone Crab Claws for an appetizer and Lobster Salad over lettuce. It was excellent. We could see the dark blue channel water and the water taxis going and coming to and from Eleuthera.
On the way back to the marina to get our shopping bags, we stopped at the major shipping point for lobsters going out on a freighter. There was a guy on a forklift moving around aluminum box pallets full of bagged and frozen lobster tails. I had seen a row of ice boxes along the outside wall of the warehouse and inquired about getting a few bags of ice. A man directing the forklift driver pointed toward the waterfront to a little office and said to see the man inside. Tripp parked the cart and I went inside to get ice. There was an upright freezer with glass doors that had frozen lobster tails, stone crab claws, conch and more. The small lobster tails were $5 each and the big tails were $20 per pound. Stone crab claws came in 5-pound bags for $125. Wow! It paid for a 20-pound bag of ice and knew we would be back for some lobsters another time.
On the way back nearby, we saw one of the water taxis backed up to the waterfront wall letting off passengers so we inquired about transportation to and from Harbour Island. The guy said that it was $6 per person each way to the Eleuthera dock and then we would have to take a road taxi across the island to the dock that had water taxis to Harbour Island. The process had to be repeated in reverse to get back. The boats ran about every 30-minutes. We had visiting Harbour Island on our list.
Back at Island Rose, I put up the ice and got my tote bag for the grocery store. We rode there in the golf cart paying close attention to the fact that driving was like in England on the wrong side than America. On the way to the grocery, we stopped at gas station and inquired about filling propane tanks. They said that they no longer fill them at the store but an employee that works for them fills tanks at his home after work at 17:00. They said he lived one street over on 14th street and we couldn’t miss it for all of the propane tanks in his yard. We put that on our list for late in the day and headed to the grocery nearby. The store had everything you would probably need to check off your list. I probably bought more than I needed just because it was available. Tripp bought a load, too. Somehow, we strapped on everything and headed back to the marina to stow away the groceries.
Once we packed everything away, we went on a tour of the island and checked out the scenery and businesses. Part of our adventure was to cross over the small bridge to Russell Island and look around. I was interested in the changes and to try and find Jaque and Jean, old cruising folks I had met and cruised with, who had bought a house on Russell Island overlooking the North side of the ocean and reef. I was a cozy two story house with a balcony on the back overlooking the water. We searched every road and side street that we could get to but never located it. My memory had just fizzled enough to vaguely know the spot. In any event, we really got a good look at the island and the development of cottages and scenic views. It was getting close to 17:00 so we had to give up the search and head back to Spanish Wells.
Another stop that I wanted Tripp to see was Budda’s Liquor Store. Tripp was in need of a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka for his boat and we stopped in for that experience, too. To my surprise, Budda had added a restaurant and bar, Budda’s Snack Shop. Since I had been in Spanish Wells in 2019, liquor had been voted legal and the business was fully advertised. Before, he was the only game in town and it was a secret that everybody knew. The authorities just looked the other way. Now, he had to reinvent himself and put in a restaurant. There was other competition in town.
At 17:00, we stopped at the house on 14th Street and got the propane bottles filled. They were returned to the boats. We had some really good conversation with the people at the marina from the other boats. A couple on a trawler from Buffalo, NY met us at Budda’s Snack Shop Restaurant for dinner. Wow! I had a really good hamburger made with Jack Daniels Sauce with shoestring fries. We all told a bunch of stories at the bar. It was a good time.
At last, we made it back to the marina about 22:00 and it had been a long fun day.

April 9, 2024 Tuesday
05:40- Coffee. I went up to the marina showers and got all cleaned up and shaved. When I returned, the Starlink from Tripp’s boat was working so I posted another Part to the log online. Breakfast was two eggs, sausage and toast with coffee.
08:30- Tripp was set to go and we rode down to the golf cart rental business and turned in the cart by using the key drop-box.
Across the street, the small water taxi to Eleuthera was backed up to the dock. We hopped aboard and the taxi Captain call us a rode taxi to be ready when we arrived at the Eleuthera dock. It was a short ride through the channel to the main island. Our taxi was waiting for us when we arrived so we paid our Captain the $6 each fare and jumped in the van. That ride to the other side of the main island took about 20 minutes. The driver was very friendly and another local passenger talked with us and we learned some interesting local information about life there. His favorite pass-time was raising and fighting roosters and betting on them.
We arrived at the dock on the East side of Eleuthera, paid a $15 per person fare and picked out a water taxi that was at the dock filling with passengers. We were the only tourist and the rest were locals. Shortly, we were on our way and the driver pushed the throttle forward to full blast and headed for Harbour Island. It was a feisty ride across the bay to the Public Dock. On arrival, we paid a $5 per person fare and walked through the busy extended dock to the main street. The process of the water taxis and road taxis was a busy business that was continuous all day.
At Harbour Island, we were on our own so we elected to walk instead of renting a golf cart. I saw a sign that read Ministry of Tourism pointing upstairs at a building across the street so we went upstairs and opened the door, stepped inside and told the lady that greeted us that we were looking for a map of the island. She was very nice and produced one for free and showed us where we were in Dunmore Town and a few spots of interest. We thanked her and set out walking the island. We wandered unguided up and down the hills and streets. First, along the waterfront and then up a steep street to a place that I had visited before on a previous trip, The Pink Sands Resort. I was located high up above the Atlantic Ocean. After speaking with the hostess, we were directed to a pathway that led through the shaded grounds passing cottages and villas to the Blue Bar and Kitchen where the open-air atmosphere and friendly staff afforded us with 5-Star service and food. We sat at the bar and had a late 10:30 breakfast, Smoked Salmon Toast- heirloom tomatoes, capers, green spinach leaves, cream cheese, pickled red onion, smoked salmon and Muesli whole grain toasted bread (I chose toasted bagels). The views of a world class pink sand beach and vast ocean reefs are stunning. The property was purchased in 1949 by Bert Malcolm as a couple cottages on some property and by 1951 it had been transformed into an internationally recognized resort. The grounds and cottages are in a perfect quite isolated private setting. I put it at the top of my list of places to experience.
We continued exploring and ended up at an eclectic shop named Dilly Dally. Next door was a little grocery store named Tip Top. The homes date back to the mid 1700’s and some are restored to excellent condition. Everything is painted in bright Bahamian colors. The shops have a whimsical appeal. At Valentine’s Marina we sat at the open-air bar overlooking the boats and yachts with beautiful water views of various depths displaying a variety of colors.
Later, more hiking the steep streets to the Runaway Hill Club and Ocean View Hotel seemed to carry us back in time. We nearly covered every street but know that places were missed. At that point, we were wishing that we had rented a golf cart. It was time to return to Spanish Wells and rest our sore legs and feet.
The process of getting there by water and car taxis was reversed starting at the Public Dock soon we were back at the little water taxi drop-off dock across from the golf cart rental place. It was 15:00 so Tripp rented another golf cart for two days and we took off to the distribution point of package seafood. The little office on the water across from the row of ice boxes that had the freezer with retail seafood was on our list. We bought three small lobster tails at $5 each with a plan to make Grilled Steak and Lobster Shesh-ka-bobs for dinner. We raced to the marina for a nap on our boats.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Dee on Ursa Minor was Net Control. An announcement was made by KPK that the missing sail vessel, Drifter, had been located in the British Virgins safe after loosing electricity and engine but sailed from the Dominican Republic to the BVI safely. Zepher was a Southern relay for the Net and took my report that Island Rose was at Spanish Wells.
The avocados that I had needed to be used so, I made some guacamole to eat with scoops as an appetizer. I took the three lobster tails and some Gulf shrimp with the appetizer over to Isabella to contribute to dinner. Tripp had a whole pineapple and a tenderloin steak, onion and bell pepper, too. After rendering the meat out of the lobster tails, he cut up the meat, shrimp, veggies and pineapple and skewered them alternating for Shesh-ka-bobs. The grill was heated up and nine skewers sizzled as they were place on the rack. They were carefully basted with a mixture of butter, fresh squeezed lemon juice, garlic and pineapple juice. Yum, yum! We had a feast. Three skewers were saved for another day because we had a Chocolate Ice-box pie for dessert. Rich and delicious.
I went back to Island Rose content and tired from a long day.

April 10, 2024 Wednesday
05:30- Coffee. Shower and shave. Made breakfast- 2 eggs, link sausage, blueberry pancake, OJ and coffee.
It was time to wash and dry my laundry so I got there early at daylight.
Later, the engine hours were at 1112.4 hrs. so I changed the engine oil, engine oil filter, 2 each Racor filters, engine fuel filter and gasket O-ring, checked the coolant level and belts, okay. The bleed screw at the top of the engine fuel filter housing had stripped its threads and when I cranked the engine to check everything, it was bubbling fuel out of it. As it turned out, I had to remove the filter and filter cover and bleed screw and gasket to run a bigger sized tap thread through the hole. It was a perfect fit for a ¼-20 thread and short bolt. I had a bolt that I cut to the same length of the pervious one and borrowed a nitril O-ring gasket from Tripp for a good seal. It worked fine when I reassembled and bled the air off of the fuel feed and cranked the engine up. I watched it for a while and verified that there was no leaking.
The next task was to change out the water maker pre-filter for the intake water. It was easy enough and I replace Part #FT-FTC-5 Nominal 5-micron filter. It was pretty funky. I caught it in a small bathroom garbage bag wrapped around the assembly so it dropped into the bag and I could get the nasty water, filter and filter cover out from under the cabinet sink. Easy enough, then put a new one back on and tightened it up. The air would have to be purged by opening the pressure screw on the Clark pump upon the next start-up.
Tripp and I took the golf cart to the gas station on 15th Street to fill Isabella’s gasoline jug. Afterward, a quick stop at the grocery filled my three-item list. We returned to the boats.
I had been wanting to go back to Budda’s Snack Shop and get an order of Cracked Conch for dinner. We headed out in the golf cart and arrived there. I got the Cracked Conch with shoestring fries and cold slaw. Tripp got the Jack Daniels Hamburger. I think the Cracked Conch was the best that I’ve ever eaten.
Once back at Island Rose, I watched the news and called Jane to check on her. Soon, I found myself asleep with the news playing.

April 11, 2024 Thursday
06:00- Coffee. The wind was quite frisky. I got a shower and shaved then made some breakfast. I skimmed through the news while eating breakfast in the cockpit.
Flushed the water maker with fresh R/O water from the port tank.
Tripp and I rode in the golf cart to Eagle Landing Restaurant for lunch. I ordered Fried Mahi and shoestring fries. Very good flavor.
We left the restaurant and headed to the packing plant for a couple frozen lobster tails to go in the freezer for another day and a 20-pound bag of ice for my cooler. That was driven to the marina and stowed away. Afterward, we took the golf cart back to the rental place to return it. The walk back to the marina did us good after a big lunch. We relaxed back at Wreckers Bar at the marina.
I had downloaded the Customs Border Patrol App on my iPhone and needed to set it up so I went back to Island Rose and worked on that filling in the information necessary. In order to complete the process, I had to apply for a Verified Traveler status and schedule an interview with a Customs Agent over the phone. After completing the questionnaire, a message on the screen said that I would be called by an agent within 1-3 days to get approved and receive a Verified Traveler number.
About 18:00, Tripp and I went to Wreckers and ate. We split an appetizer of Fried Calamari. The fish of the day was Yellow Fin Tuna so I ordered a Caesar Salad with Rare Seared Tuna on top. Several of the boaters from the marina were there. We all had become neighbors in the sort 4 days that we were in Spanish Wells. We had fun visiting. The food was good, too. Afterward, I went to Isabella and ate Chocolate Ice-box pie and watched the movie, “Rob Roy”. Fun!

April 12, 2024 Friday
05:15- It was our last morning at the marina. I got up and made coffee. It gave me time to relax and think about the plans. I was hoping that the wind would settle down throughout the day giving us time to move out of the marina, get fuel at the fuel dock and move to a secure anchorage to stage our passage to New Providence Island on Saturday. We had a couple options for anchoring in case a crowd was doing the same. Also, I wanted to get a shower and fill the water tank one last time before settling up my bill with the marina. I needed to turn in my shower key, too.
I went to the showers early and took advantage of the excellent facilities of the marina. Clean.
Breakfast was the usual eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. I filled the starboard water tank and rolled up the hose. The water meter reading was 8073.7. The tide was still a bit low so I wanted to hang around a little longer. I took in the power cord and went to the office and settled the bill. They run an excellent marina.
09:10- Once I moved off of the dock that the wind had me pinned against with the help of Mia and Tripp, Island Rose was underway for the fuel dock, Spanish Wells Marine and Hardware. There was a large vessel on the dock but they called on the radio and reported that it would only be a few minutes longer. I thanked them and waited. About that time, a local water taxi drove up and made a turn, jockeyed his boat back and forth and backed up to the fuel dock about 2 ft. from the big yacht about to leave. There was a vessel docked in front of the big yacht, too. I called on the VHF and asked if he needed me to bring him a can opener but he had a bow thruster and worked the vessel off of the dock. I pulled up into the open space and eased Island Rose up to the dock. A young boy from the water taxi came over and caught my stern line. Thank you. Soon, I had pumped 34 gallons of diesel into the keel tank. I had emptied it back at the slip at the marina before leaving and filled the day tank one last time.
09:40- Underway again out of Spanish Wells. I came out of the inlet in a strong SSE wind and choppy sea heading for Royal Island ~5 nm away. The tide was rising so I had no problem getting across the 5.9 ft. flat just out of the Spanish Wells inlet.
10:45- Made the cut at Royal Island.
10:50- Anchored at Royal Island Harbour, N25° 30.941’ W076° 50.484’, in 8.5 ft. deep. Engine Hours- 1,114.9 hrs. Daily Distance- 8.1 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,623.6 nm.
While we got a little swell coming in through the cut, it was a well-protected anchorage from the SSE wind on the outside. Isabella anchored nearby just a few minutes later and not a moment too soon because a squall came over us and dumped a fair amount of rain on the vessels. Island Rose swung 180° on her anchor and I waited to see where it ended up after the squall and rain were gone.
It was time for a nap down below. The rain had stopped and the sun came out. I had the hatches open and my iPhone just outside the companionway in hopes to keep a signal in case the Customs Agent called for the interview. I didn’t even know if I had the iPhone setup correctly for the Face-to-Face conversation because I had only used such as that a couple time, too much technology!
15:00- I had lost track of time napping but still was awake enough to keep up with the iPhone. I got up to be sure it wasn’t in the heat and thought it might be a good idea that the microphone setting was on. I had no idea where to look in settings for that but fumbled around until I realized that it was in the CBP App and was turned on. By coincidence, about that time, I received an email from the Customs Border Patrol and I opened it up. I had been approved for the Verified Traveler Program and it had the assigned number for me. Okay, that was done. I went into the App and filled in the information to add that to me as a traveler. Done!
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Nothing heard. I switched around and finally found someone on 8.146 Mhz. Rick on C Language took my report that Island Rose was at Royal Island, Bahamas.
It was Pizza Night and Tripp and I made pizzas to eat aboard Island Rose. The sunset was perfect. The weather turned out calm and still. Countless stars danced in the sky. Jane called and filled me in on all that was wrong at home. Things that were beyond my ability to do anything about but, the stars still twinkled and the night air was cool. I had no complaints.
After Tripp went back to Isabella, I cranked the engine and charged the house batteries to at least 92% so that they would support the electrical needs without significant voltage drop until morning. ZZZZzzzzz…..

April 13, 2024 Saturday
05:20- Coffee. Breakfast was an egg, sausage and toast with coffee.
07:20- Underway out of Royal Island. Once out of the inlet channel, I raised the 1st reef mainsail and rolled out the foresail. Island Rose sailed along Royal Island, around the Southern end of Little Egg Island in 12-15 kts. North breeze and 1-2 ft. seas. Once clear of the scattered coral heads, I turned on a heading of 245° M. for New Providence Island making 6.1 kts.
Shortly, it piped up to 15-20 kts with 2-3 ft. seas. I rolled in the foresail and set the staysail maintaining 6.3 kts. speed.
11:00- Position was N25° 18’ W077° 08’, ~29.3 nm to West Bay. Seas 3-4 ft. sloppy but making 5.6 kts. I heated up 2 slices of left-over pizza in the oven for lunch. Yum! Afterward, Cat Naps.
13:00- N25° 12’ W077° 18’, ~18.6 nm from West Bay. I finally got a weak cell signal as I approached Nassau about 8 nm offshore. The telephone number for Lighthouse Yacht Club and Marina at Fresh Creek, Andros did not work but I found a website that allowed me to email them and request a couple slips starting Sunday. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
16:10- Anchored in West Bay, New Providence Island, N25° 01.372’ W077° 32.964’ in 8 ft. deep. Engine Hours- 1,125.6 hrs. Daily Distance- 51.8 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,675.4 nm.
I had thawed out chicken wings to combine with some Tripp was cooking. We planned BBQ Wing Night with a salad aboard Isabella. I eventually had to move because my anchor was slipping. I had let out an additional 20 ft. of chain the first time but that didn’t work so I moved and reset. Finally, that worked and it caught some sand.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Jay on Minx was Net Control. I reported in that Island Rose had recently arrived at West Bay. Planet Waves caught my light transmission and relayed for me. Propagation was very light. At the end of the Net, I came through with another report confirming.
Just before sunset, Tripp came over and picked me up. He had been dragging his dinghy around behind Isabella so there really wasn’t a need for me to unload Aphid. I handed a big bowl of salad, Ranch dressing and my seasoned chicken wings in a Ziplock bag and jumped in the dinghy. We slowly rode about 50 yards to Isabella.
The sunset was nice. Our dinner turned out perfect, too. By the time we got through, it was getting late. I returned to Island Rose and called it a night.

April 14, 2024 Sunday
05:00- Coffee. Looked at the weather, charts, emails and YouTube videos.
Breakfast was the usual special- egg, bacon, toast and coffee.
07:55- Tripp called and was rehashing the weather report. Our plan was to depart at 08:00 but he seemed to have concerns. To me, it was just another day in 15-20 kts. I think he reluctantly came around to the fact that sitting in West Bay was not such an interesting adventure. The weather forecast was pretty much the same for four days.
08:10- Underway out of West Bay bound for Fresh Creek, Andros, ~23 nm away. NE wind 15-20 kts. Seas 3-4 ft.
I really didn’t know what to expect upon arrival at Fresh Creek except that we would have a rising tide nearing high and there was a shallow draft spot in the approach channel to the harbor. The tide offered 1 ½ -2 ft extra water over the shoal area at the time of our arrival. I had reservations about the swell rolling into the entrance as the wind began to move toward East. The butterflies inside of me were the lure of the challenge. It would be fine. There was a reef on either side of the entrance channel that would probably break up the waves. At worst, I would kiss the sand bottom. I hoped.
Tripp had read that the marina was closed and the Government Dock could only accommodate a few boats. The rest of the dock was reserved for the Mailboat. There was a report that a couple moorings were there but that was sketchy and anchoring was not advisable due to strong current. If there were other vessels already there, we would be screwed. At worst, we would just have to leave and travel 25 nm to the North to Morgans Bluff. The seas were nice and sloppy in the Tongue of the Ocean. Island Rose did not like the mixed following seas and wind on the stern. I hung on.
11:15- I still had ¼ tank full of fuel in the day tank but went ahead and made the 1st transfer of diesel from the keel tank to the day tank so that I wouldn’t have to contend with it while negotiating the entrance channel to Fresh Creek.
It was wickedly rollie from the mixed swells pushing Island Rose around. I got the docking lines and fenders ready in case they were needed in a hurry. As I approached, I put out a security call on the VHF that Island Rose was inbound Fresh Creek.
11:50- Pucker up time! I entered the channel through the reef. It was marked well on the chart plotter. I was glad the tide was up about 2 feet because I went over a shallow area that at low would have kissed the bottom of the keel. Once inside the reef the swells settled but the current was dragging me in faster that I liked. Still, steady focus and determination held me on course and all was well as I motored passing the wreck of Lady Gloria beached to port as a reminder of the dangers of missing the channel and by the Lighthouse on the South side of the channel as well.
12:10- The marina was deserted and posted, “No Trespassing”. There weren’t reliable moorings but a catamaran was anchored or moored in the entire space of what was the mooring spot. The Government Dock was empty and upon my approach, I saw a guy fast walking along the long concrete dock. I turned Island Rose around into the wind and current and came alongside. Leon, the dockmaster, caught my lines and secured them to huge bollards on the beat-up concrete dock. He was very helpful and told me that it was okay to be on the Government Dock until Wednesday afternoon but both our boats would have to move to the smaller dock just in front of the bridge across the channel behind us. The Mailboat would arrive at high tide on Wednesday and leave at high tide on Thursday. We would have to check-in at the office on Monday morning about 09:30 to show our Cruising Permit and Passport and pay $7 per day dockage. No electrical and no water was available. Leon was very helpful and gave us his phone number if we needed anything further. He would help move the boats on Wednesday. Perfect! N24° 43.505’ W077° 47.336’. Engine Hours- 1,130.3 hrs. Daily Distance- 25.5 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,700.9 nm.
It was worth the challenge of getting here. I enjoy going places that are off of the beaten path.

S/V Island Rose
Sailing Log

2024 Bahamas Cruise Part 6
Georgetown, Great Exuma to Russell Island, Eleuthera

April 2, 2024 Tuesday
05:15- Coffee. Weather check for the next week. 2 over-easy eggs, link sausage and Blueberry pancake for breakfast. Sadly, loaf of Coconut bread molded and was beyond saving.
I loaded Aphid onto the foredeck and secured her for offshore travel. It was a struggle with my rib hurting but I managed. I knew that I had to make water for both tanks, so I got the valves open for the intake and brine water discharge ahead of time. There was a SSE wind at 10-12 kts. so I would be on a starboard tack heading for Cat Island across the Exuma Sound and would have to be careful not to heel over too much exposing the intake sea chest to air bubbles going into the water maker. Not good. It was going to be a challenge to raise the sails and fish at the same time. When the reel starts screaming, you don't have long to release all of the sheets, turn the boat to a near stop and haul in the fish. At times, if the fish is a big one, that can take 30-minutes or more. Managing the luffing sails and the fish, plus positioning the boat, is a big chore for one person but with sore ribs, well.....
07:30- Underway out of Georgetown for Hawks Nest, Cat Island ~45.2 nm away. I texted a message to Elizabeth Harbour Moorings through Dockwa that I was vacating mooring #49. On the way out of the harbor heading for Conch Cut, I turned into the local Cruiser Net on VHF 72 at 08:00. When the Departures Section came on, I waited for a turn and reported Island Rose departing. It had been an enjoyable stay even with the Volleyball and the bruised rib.
Low tide at Conch Cut was about 09:20. The cut was relatively smooth. After I cleared Conch Cut, I turned into the SE wind and raised the 1st reef mainsail and rolled out the staysail on a heading of 030° M. There was plenty of wind but I didn't want too much sail area up in case I caught a fish. I had the motor running to charge the batteries and run the water maker.
09:00- I turned on the water maker and the sample tested 277 ppm, excellent. I let out the fishing line and started fishing. The speed was about 5.9 kts.
11:00- I made a sandwich and sat in the cockpit with some Fritos to go with it. I was about half-way through with my sandwich when the reel started to scream. I quickly pulled back on the fuel, put the boat in neutral and released the staysail all the while line was peeling off of my reel at smoking speed. The rod was bent over and I turned to port downwind. The lifeline gate was open on the port side and the gaff was there, too. I got the rod out of the holder and began to fight. The fish had stripped off about 300 ft. of line and I put my thumb on the line occasionally to slow down the payout of line until it burned my thumb then I would let off. Soon, I had the fish stopped but it wasn't coming my way. I knew it was a big one and a war was about to begin. It was pulling the stern of the boat around. Steady she goes, I would win and then the fish would win. For a long time, we were at a standstill. The weight of the boat began to wear the fish down. I began to pull up on the rod and reel it back down. The fish was way back there because I saw dark blue break the water but I couldn't tell if it was a sailfish or Mahi. Gradually, I worked it toward the boat. About 200 ft. behind the boat, he exploded out of the water, Bull Mahi and big! My ribs on the left side were killing me but I was determined. Slowly, I worked him closer keeping the boat turning with my foot on the wheel so that I could keep him on the port side. Tripp was way ahead of me by this time but he turned around and came back watching in the binoculars. About 100 ft. from the boat, he dove straight down. I just kept steady tension on the line and didn't give any away. As he came back up, I reeled. We were both worn out. He broke the water again with all of his colors showing then made a break around the stern of the boat for the starboard side. I tried working the rod over and around all of the obstructions at the stern to switch sides but it as too hard to hold the rod. I worked my way back to the helm and put the boat in gear steering with my foot and turned the boat to port making a circle to get the fish back in my favor. Then, there he was, all 5 ft. of him with his colors changing like a neon sign. I positioned him alongside the port side of the boat with the gaff in my hand. I had put on my fish gloves during the fight so I could grab the wire leader and get him close enough to gaff. I eased the gaff into the water beside him, and then, he exploded again. I hung on and he settled back down again. Then, he won. He won! The bait just fell out of his mouth and he slowly drifted from the boat and swam away. It was too far for me to get the gaff in him. Today, he was a better man than me. I just shook my head and threw out a "Dammit!" It was over and I was worn out trembling. I called Tripp on the VHF and said, "It's over", he said, "Reel him in, did he run?" "No", I said, "he's gone. The bait came out of his mouth." At N23° 49.867' W075° 41.280' in 6100 ft. deep blue water a 5 ft. Mahi swims free. It was still fun and I was glad that I had a witness. It had been a nearly a 45-minute battle. I was hurting in a big way. I sat in the cockpit and ate the rest of my sandwich and Fritos and collected myself. Afterward, I let out the line and set the rod up again. It was about 18 nm to Hawks Nest anchorage. I was underway again.
I switched the water maker to the starboard tank as the port tank was full. I needed a rest and took two Tylenols and a Meloxicam. It was just a beautiful day.
14:00- N24° 02' W075° 36', ~9.9 nm to the anchorage at Hawks Nest, Cat Island. Speed was 6 kts. Seas 2-3 ft. Wind SE at 10-15 kts.
15:10- Tripp hailed me on the VHF and let me know that he had a Mahi onboard and we would be having fish for dinner. It was a celebratory occasion. I was very happy for him and couldn't wait to hear the story. He was about 1 nm behind me and Hawks Nest anchorage was about 3.4 nm ahead.
16:00- Anchored at Hawks Nest, N24° 09.484' W075° 31.393' in 9 ft. deep. Sand bottom. Engine Hours- 1073 hrs. Daily Distance- 46.8 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,462.5 nm. Isabella was only 1.1 nm behind me bringing home supper. Soon, he anchored next to me.
We made a plan to cook Fry Mahi aboard Isabella with French fries and Sugar Snap peas with mushrooms on the side. The food was great. I got to hear the whole story on the fish catch and got to hear mine. They both were memories not to be forgotten. We talked until 22:00. I had to get back to Island Rose and get a shower with hot water. Then, ZZZzzzzz.....

April 3, 2024 Wednesday
05:30- Coffee. I worked on keeping the log up-to-date and, later, got the log posted. Cranked the engine to bring the batteries up and make hot water. Breakfast was a Sausage Mushroom and Cheese Omelet. I enjoyed it in the cockpit feeling a steady trade-wind breeze.
Tripp was busy working. I took the time to contact my credit card company and get some things straight. That lead into listing all of the Apps and sights that I used for credit payment so that I could correct them when the time came.
11:00- Tripp came by and we took the dinghy to the beach. We set and anchor ashore in the sand and walked into the old Hawks Nest Resort. It's a very cool place. Developed for people to fly in to the airstrip and chill out in the rooms or cottages or sports fishermen to come to the small marina and fish the Exuma Sound. They hold fishing tournaments there. The restaurant opened at 12:00 so we had time to walk around and visited the office/gift shop and marina and fuel dock to talk with folks.
Back at the restaurant, we sat at a table outside under a fan in the shade. Everyone working there was very polite and welcoming. We were the only customers in the restaurant because there wasn't a fishing tournament happening at the time. I ordered a Bahamian Tuna Salad Sandwich made with homemade bread and served with French fries. It was excellent. A refreshing pineapple juice on ice quenched my thirst. Tripp ordered Grilled Mahi Sandwich with fries and a couple Kalik beers. It was a relaxing experience. The whole place is just unique with an Old Bahamian flare.
We walked back to the dinghy and headed back to the boats.
12:55- Underway out of Hawks Nest heading for New Bight, Cat Island, ~10 nm away. I plotted a route and rolled out the headsail making 6.5 kts down wind with a little motor to charge the batteries at a low rpm. The wind and seas were with us.
15:40- After a nice sail, we arrived at New Bight just off shore from the Batelco tower and anchored at N24° 17.092' W075° 25.079' in 9 ft. deep. Engine Hours- 1076.5 hrs. Daily Distance- 10.1 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,472.6 nm.
It was a bit bumpy but was a good spot with sand bottom and good holding. I let out 80 ft. of chain rode.
I put on my bathing suit and a soiled t-shirt for the wet dinghy ride to and from the beach. The waves were breaking on the shore and we surfed to a stop and the transom was pooped twice before we could get out of the dinghy. It flooded the dinghy but by pulling the plug at the stern, it emptied the water out. The anchor was planted in the sand on the beach. We set out on the long walk to the top of Comer Hill, elevation 206 ft., the highest in the Bahamas, known as Mt. Alvernia The Hermitage. It was where Father Jerome built a stone Catholic church. After a long hike up the grade of a paved road past grazing goats on the side of the road with kids and roosters strutting, we came to the beginning of the creation of a hand sculpted coral stone entry arch. A sign indicated the location and information of the place. A marked side trail pointed to the path up a steep climb of stone makeshift steps and the structures of the Stations of the Cross. It humbled us. The further you go in Stations, the heavier the burden and climb. At the top was a replica of the Tomb of Jesus with a roll-away stone. Finally, the church stands in all its glory with vast views of the Exuma Sound and Bahamas. It is a most impressive structure complete with a prayer alter and modest living quarters where the priest lived. It is one of several coral stone churches that he built in the Bahamas after they were destroyed in 1908 by a devastating hurricane. The construction of the church at New Bight was started around 1937 and took several years to finish. When I signed the book at the Alter, I added a note indicating a prayer for a friend, Ray Hulse, and left the memory of him there. It was a fitting place for me to leave his memory in such a beautiful place with spectacular views of the Bahamas. We left with reverence and walked an easier side road back to the arch beginning.
The sun was hot baring down on us on the downhill hike back to the beach. The dinghy ride back to the boats was rough and wet with the pounding of the waves shaking my ribs. I was glad when we arrived at Island Rose. I sat in the cockpit recovering with a nice view of the church high on Comer Hill what seemed so far away. The white paint on the tops of the conical caps of the towers gleamed in the sunlight. There was no mistaking where it was.
The sunset was next and provided a quiet moment of reflection. The sky glowed bright orange and the firry ball radiated so bright that it was hard to look at it. I wished for a Green Flash but moments before it touched the water, it formed stripes from thin ribbons of clouds and gave it the appearance of Jupiter. A haze muffled out the orange glow and the now red ball sank into the Exuma Sound until it was gone. I tried not to blink until it was gone and did not see the Green Flash this time. A group of sea birds flew across the horizon line heading for parts unknown. The day had turned to night right before my eyes. Some days are more special than others and this was one of those special days.
Dinner was left-over Shrimp and Crawfish Creole and Rice. Boz Scaggs music played on the music box. Afterward, I got a complete sponge bath to get the sweat and salt off. ZZZzzzz......

April 4, 2024 Thursday
05:15- Coffee. I sat on the settee in the main cabin, ribs hurting. There wasn't a cell signal to allow me to check the weather Apps. The wind was developing a SW component to it and that made it bumpy in New Bite.
I listened to the book on tape, Trustee From the Toolroom by Nevel Shute. By lunch, I made a Chef salad. The anchorage was tolerable. I was fixed on the story of the book on tape all afternoon. Sitting still listening to the book gave my ribs a rest.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Larry on Myra was Net Control. I reported Island Rose was anchored at New Bite, Cat Island. Zepher gave me a relay and Cookie Monster confirmed by report.
The engine had been cranked and running to charge the batteries and make transmitting on the SSB easier. The voltage of the batteries being above 12.5 V. made the portable freezer hold the coldest temperature.
I touched base with Isabella and all was well. We decided to tough it out at New Bite instead of moving 4 nm to Old Bite for more comfort. That made it so we didn't have as long a day travelling on Friday.
I had a couple pieces of chicken thawing out for dinner while I listened to the final chapter of my book. Knorr Chicken Risotto with Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots made a great dinner. Yum!
Afterward, I watched the documentary movie, Buena Vista Social Club on AppleTV. The wind and seas had calmed. ZZZzzzzzz........

April 5, 2024 Friday
04:45- Coffee. It had been calm all night but the wind was starting to increase and I heard an occasional sprinkle on the cabin top. My ribs felt better when I was sitting up.
Later, strawberries were pulled out of the portable freezer and a frozen Gatoraid bottle of water to make room for two more mottles of water to freeze. I had run out of supplemental ice for the refrigerator box and needed to make more ice. I had been saving empty water bottle for that.
Breakfast was a bowl of cereal with strawberries. I cranked the engine to give the batteries another boost.
07:00- Made the 2nd transfer of fuel from the keel tank to the day tank.
07:40- Underway out of New Bight for Little San Salvador Island ~38 nm away.
08:30- Got hit by a heavy squall that blew hard and dumped heavy rain on the boat. It lasted about 15-minutes and passed by. Island Rose got a good freshwater washing.
10:40- The little bowl of cereal that was breakfast didn't seem to last me and my hunger took over. The seas were 3 ft. with 20 kts. of NNW wind. Of course, This was my route line so I had to fall off of the wind and seas and tack out into the Exuma Sound. The depths dropped from 70 ft. to over a 1000 ft. in less than ¼ nm and the seas began to widen and spread into 3 ft. swells but it was still sloppy. It was too rough to trail a fishing line. I went below while Mr. Happy steered and put the left-over Chicken Risotto with Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots into the fry pan, heated it up, scraped the food to one side of the skillet, cracked and egg into the other side and whipped it up a little then blended the whole thing together into Chicken Egg Fried Rice. Now! I ate it in the cockpit out of the pan with a spoon. Delicious!
Afterward, I tacked the boat on another heading off of the wind on a port tack and pinched up to continue onward for Little San Salvador, Half Moon Bay, ~25 nm away.
12:00- The weather was subsiding and I had made it back to my route line and tacked to line up with it. ~20 nm to go to Half Moon Bay. I let out a fishing line and trailed a bait about 150 ft. behind the stern.
13:30- I eased over to the edge of the ocean shelf, N24° 25' W075° 47', and hoped for a fish.
The reel screamed for a short-period and I stopped the boat and grabbed the rod out of the holder but by then the fish had gotten off. I continued on my course.
15:30- Called Isabella on the VHF and suggested dinner aboard Island Rose. I got out a couple steaks to thaw and put two baking sized potatoes in a boiler and turned it on. My intention was to let them cook about half-way boiling and then wrap them in aluminum foil with bacon and salt and cook them on the grill the rest of the way while grilling the steaks for dinner. Tripp had volunteered to bring pasta salad he had made. Now!
I rolled my line in and quit fishing 2 nm away from the anchorage.
16:00- Anchored at Half Moon Bay, Little San Salvador, N24° 35.028' W075° 57.892' in 14 ft. deep. Engine Hours- 1090.9 hrs. Daily Distance- 43.7 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,516.3 nm. We had a NW breeze with good protection. No Cruise Ship was here but a huge Mega Yacht was and the grandkids had the toys out. I just wish the parents and grandparents would teach them what the word "courtesy" means. You don't ride jet skis in circles around anchored boats.
Tripp came over at 18:30. I had the steaks seasoned and the potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil with a dribble of bacon grease and course ground salt inside. We visited and watched the sunset while I cooked the steaks and potatoes. We ate the pasta salad with ribeye steaks and baked potatoes. Everything was great. We had picked a good spot to settle for the night. We talked about a plan for the next morning and tentative ideas for the next several days. Weather was always the main driving force.

April 6, 2024 Saturday
05:20- Coffee. Bill paying and emails.
Breakfast was eggs, link sausage, toast and OJ.
A cruise ship had shown up during the overnight silently anchoring about ½ nm away. There were tender boats shuttling people to the island to play in what was once a vacated silent facility ashore. A second ship was coming in on the horizon. It was time to leave Paradise.
The engine had been running to charge the batteries.
07:00- I started making water, test sample was 290 ppm. It was about time to change the intake prefilter on the water maker. I plotted the route to just above Tarpin Bay in Eleuthera Island. By then, the second cruise ship had anchored next to the first.
07:30- Underway out of Half Moon Bay. I turned in the direction of deep water and hit the autopilot button so Mr. Happy could steer. There was wide open ocean in front of me. I needed to adjust the route on the Chart Plotter and fine tune it where it passed through Davis Channel. I sat down at the companion way at the new Garmin Radar/Chart display and began adding turns to the route through Davis Channel. Wham! Crunch! The boat came to an abrupt stop and the engine strained to crunching sounds as it pushed. I jumped up knowing that Mr. Happy had hit a reef and the boat was pointing directly at the shore. Jagged reef lay before me and land was a stone throw away. I immediately threw the shifter into reverse and gave the throttle all the rpms the engine could take and more. The rolling surge would lift Island Rose and she began backing away with crunching noises through the steel hull. I looked behind me as I came off the reef and saw more jagged coral just below the surface. Shifting to forward and pushing the throttle all the way up, Island Rose sat still trying to regain motion just as the back of the keel kissed the reef, she moved forward and I steered for deep water. She was free. I looked back to shore and two workers that had been operating a track hoe were standing at the shore in amazement. There were probably 1000's of passengers from the two anchored cruise ships watching, too. Screw You! Shit happens! The VHF crackled with Isabella calling. We switched to Ch 72 and I explained the situation. I looked below to see if the red light of the bilge pump was on and it was not. I slowed down to Tripp could get up close and look at the waterline at the bow of Island Rose as she lifted in the swell. Nothing, "Looks clean". I was glad she was made of steel. She probably had some cosmetic gouges in the keel. Some lipstick in the boatyard would take care of that when I got back home. Coral rock is mean. I checked the bilge pump light again and went below removing a floor board and looking for water. Nothing!
Back at the helm, I had some serious words with Mr. Happy! In fact, he wasn't to blame because I was the one that set the autopilot. It just didn't engage and I didn't confirm it. It was a routine that I did every day and had become complacent.
I touched the autopilot button and heard the beep and set the course. Mr. Happy steered just fine. It was all my fault for being distracted. I would have to dive down on Island Rose in the evening once anchored and take a look. She's a Good Ole' Boat.
08:20- N24° 35' W076° 02', on a heading of ~270° M. All was well. Making 6.5 kts.
09:20- 3rd transfer of fuel from the keel tank to the day tank.
11:40- N24° 45' W076° 19', ~29 nm to Pineapple Cays. I checked the charts and refreshed myself on the current flow at Current Cut. The current floods to the East and ebbs to the West so we wanted to arrive on a falling tide. The tide at Current Cut usually follows the Nassau tide tables by 1-2 hours so I had a clue when was good to arrive at the cut channel. We needed to be at the cut before 15:00 on Sunday.
12:45- Entered Davis Channel from the bottom end. There was a fair current running against me slowing me down. That was a good indication of what was happening at Current Cut, too. I was very clear from the water color as to where the channel was and good width to the opening. The speed log for the boat wasn't working but the GPS speed was enough to give me speed over the ground.
13:35- N24° 54' W076° 16', turned on a heading of 024° M. I rolled out the foresail to get some speed. There was still some current against me. I was making about 6 kts. ~16 nm to Pineapple Cays.
14:20- Shut down the water maker and fresh water flushed it. Both water tanks were full. I called Spanish Wells Yacht Haven Marina and talked to Leroy (242) 333-4255, to make reservations for two slips starting Monday through Thursday night. He took down the info and put us on the stand by list and said he would call back on Monday. He said that he thought it would be okay. I got the impression that he had to wait for the boss man to get there on Monday to approve it.
16:30- Rounded up to wind, rolled in the foresail with plenty of pain in the ribs and dropped the hook in 8 ft. deep behind Sheep Cay in the Pineapple Cays. N25° 08.680' W076° 11.295'. I put out 75 ft. of chain rode. We were in the lee of the island. Engine Hours- 1,101 hrs. Daily Distance- 51.2 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,567.5 nm.
After I got the boat set up and the notes recorded, it was time. I had my bathing suit on and got out my fins, gloves and mask. I took the foresail sheets and hung the lines port and starboard along the boat in the water. The boarding ladder was lowered with the extra step attached by rope lines to extend the bottom of the ladder. I wasn't sure that I could even get back aboard with the pain in my left side. I put on the gloves and mask and went to the stern of the boat. Once I had the fins on, I jumped in the water. The buoyancy that held my ribs in place felt good as long as I stayed still but I had a job to do. The bottom of Island Rose needed an inspection. I swam alongside the boat with the jib sheet in my hand. Once I was at the bow, I used the lift of the waves to assist me. Up and then down, on the upstroke, I took a breath and on the down stroke, I dove under. I couldn't hold my breath long but I was able to look starting at the bow, leading edge of the keel and under the keel plate from bow to stern, port and starboard. It took several times because I hurt and was getting tired. I returned to the bow by swimming on my back with my fins kicking. That gave my ribs some relief but I could feel and hear them clicking as I move. Clicking like broken ends clicking! Oh crap! I didn't think it was that bad. Maybe not, just hurting and needing rest. This task had to be done to know what was damaged and how much. I dove on the depth log and speed log about ¼ the way back from the bow on opposite sides. The depth log was fine but the speed log was smashed. In any other vessel, that might have been a disaster but when I built Island Rose out of steel, I cut out the locations for the speed and depth logs bigger than necessary and welded in place a ½" thick steel donut with the right size hole for the instruments and big enough in diameter to leave a flat surface inside and outside for the flanges, gaskets, nut, etc. to mount them. The donut was mounted and angled so that it corrected the curvature of the hull plate to a horizontal plane with the Earth. The difference was faired with filler to create and even flow of water over the instruments. On the inside, a 4" stand pipe with top flange and removable top plate was welded to the hull to house the instruments and make a water tight seal in case of collision with something. On the top plate was a welded fitting so that a seal-tight connector was tightened with the wire passing through it making it water-tight. It was a plan from the beginning and now I was glad it worked. I would wait until haul-out in Biloxi to fix it. Everything else, while very ugly and scratched and gouged was easy for me to repair back in the boatyard. A little grinding, makeup and lipstick would have her back in good shape. She's tough!
I couldn't get back up the ladder at the stern. I was done for. Normally, it was an easy task to get back up the ladder. I threw my gear into the cockpit at the cost of pain in my side. Tripp had seen me in the water and came over in his dinghy to help. I tried climbing up on the foot of the motor and over the stern but couldn't. It was too painful and I had no more strength. I swam to the port side holding the handles on the tube while Tripp tied off the painter to Island Rose. When I stretched out in the water alongside the inflatable dinghy and threw my leg up on the tube, Tripp grabbed it. I reached out with my right arm, good side, and he grabbed my hand and pulled as I tried to wiggle onto the tube. I had made it but couldn't finish the task no matter how hard Tripp pulled me. My scrotum was hung on the mount for the oar lock. Suddenly, all the pain in my ribs was forgotten. It took a bit of wiggling and adjustment but I finally rolled into the dinghy. At that point, all I had to do was stand up and get aboard Island Rose from the side deck at the gate. Easy enough! I timed the lift of the swell and stepped aboard. Thanks to Tripp for the help, otherwise, I probably would have really hurt myself more getting up that ladder.
I stripped down in the cockpit and took everything to the shower for a fresh water rinse to the gear and swimsuit. For me, it was a full hot shower and shave. I felt a whole lot better.
Later, I was able to catch the sunset just as it was ending behind Sheep Cay. It was pretty. I checked my navigation lights at the masthead and at the deck level and checked the steaming light, too. They all worked and survived the jolt of the reef. The anchor light worked, too. I was happy. I sipped on iced pineapple juice in the cockpit and chilled out.
I made a few contacts with friends and family back home through phone and text.
Dinner was late but delicious. I made Italian Shrimp and Veggies in a Pink Champagne Cream Sauce over Pasta. Oh boy! A couple Oreos for dessert for my sweet tooth completed the meal.
I called Jane and got caught up on home. All was well.
The voltage of the house batteries seemed a little low for the monitor to be showing 91% SOC. I checked the water in the cells and the connections at the terminal posts. The water levels were fine. The connections all seemed to have good dielectric grease on them and were tight. I loosened them a little and wiggled the wire lugs and retightened them. The battery monitor did funny stuff when I accidentally loosed a positive lead too much and it shut down the power for a second. I scrolled through the menu on the monitor and everything came back up but the SOC went from 91% to 66%, humm...... I couldn't figure the house bank voltage was still at 12.5 v and the start battery showed 12.8 v because I had switched to it during the day and charged it for 3 hours. When I cranked the engine, the charging went to 35 amps flowing to the battery bank so I decided to run it for awhile and send some juice to the batteries.
The day tank gauge read ½ full so I transferred some of the last of the keel tank fuel into it for the passage tomorrow. We had to go about 30 nm to Current Island and make it through Current Cut before 15:00 and head for Russell Island to anchor. It would be a pretty long day. I topped off the day tank for piece of mind. I was hoping not to have to retrieve a 5-gallon jug of diesel from the foredeck rail.
I left the engine running with an alarm set for midnight. As best that I could get comfortable, I slept.

April 7, 2024 Sunday
I had a fitful night trying to stay comfortable. Sitting up, on my back, slumped over with my head on the main cabin table on a pillow, nothing seemed to work, yet, somehow, I got a little sleep. I had turned the engine off at midnight.
05:15- Coffee and a breakfast sandwich. The house batteries were acting up. The voltage would not hold and the SOC would not get much over 75% when I ran the engine until midnight to keep the freezer cold. I had a long motoring day across the Bank to Current Island so I hoped the batteries could top off and stay charged. Otherwise, in Spanish Wells, if we got on the Yacht Haven dock and had 30-amp shore power, I could shock them back to life with my charger set to equalize and get the sulfite off of the lead plates. It had worked before.
I studied the weather and charts. It was looking better long range. The starboard water tank was still over ½ full. The port tank was topped off with R/O water.
I plotted the straight-line route to Current Island and then to the Cut and to Russell Island.
07:15- Underway out of the Pineapple Cays heading for Current Cut and Russell Island. I slipped through Sheep and Round Cays and got on a heading of ~305° M. for Current Cut, ~33 nm away.
13:30- Made it to Current Island WPT, N25° 22.969' W076° 47.332' and turned to starboard following the recommended route along the island to the Cut. At the Cut, I turned to port as a 3.5 kt. current swept me through the channel. There are two ways to approach the Cut from the East side, one being straight forward and one offset to the South and to the island, then turning to starboard and following the island closely to the Cut and making a hard turn to port. The advantage is that if it happened that you had the current somewhat against you, the straight forward route would be slow and the offset one would lessen the time travelling against that current. I had always taken the offset route and wanted to keep in practice for there is a skinny spot of about 6.5 feet there. The tide was still up 1/3 and I had extra water this time but at extreme low, it wouldn't be advisable for a keeled sailboat.
Tripp had taken the straight-forward route and was well over 1 nm away from me most of the day but as we entered the Cut, we converged and he followed me through with the current.
13:45- Came out of the Cut and turned on a heading of ~346° M. heading for Meeks Patch and Russell Island which was ~8.9 nm way.
Once clear of the spotty reefs and weed areas, I turned to starboard even more and left Meeks Patch to my starboard on the way to Russell Island.
15:25- Anchored at Russell Island in 7 ft. deep. N25° 32.313' W076° 46.241'. Engine Hours- 1,111.5 hrs. Daily Distance- 46.5 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,614.0 nm. Sand and weed bottom. There was a short red line on the chart that indicated a prohibited area so I had to follow a pocket of 7 ft. water beyond the indication on the chart. I think the prohibited area was because of a dock nearby and some kind of factory processing plant up on the hill from it. Wind was N at 10 kts. Thin high clouds began to cover overhead. I got out a small package of ribs to thaw.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Jay on Minx was Net Control. I got a relay from Bob on Zepher and reported Island Rose recently arrived at Russell Island in the Bahamas. Isabella reported in as well.
I put on a book on tape while I prepped dinner, Grilled ribs, doctored up Pork and Beans and a Garden Salad. Eating in the cockpit and watching the sunset in an easy breeze is wonderful. After dark, I went below and listened to my book. I felt better, too. A good night of sleep would be great.

S/V Island Rose
Sailing Log

2024 Bahamas Cruise Part 5
Georgetown, Great Exuma

March 29, 2024 Friday
06:00- YouTube videos in bed. Wind N at 20 kts.
07:00- Coffee in the cockpit. Nice sunrise!
08:00- Cruiser’s Net for Georgetown was on VHF 72. Tina on Silent Flight was Net Control. I put out a call for an HM-135 Microphone with cord for an ICOM 802.
08:30- Cruiseheimer’s Net on 8.152 Mhz. Very heavy static. C Language came through loud and clear as the Bahamas relay. I got a relay from a boat in Key Biscayne and reported Island Rose in Georgetown for a few days.
There was a lot of activity on VHF 68 which was the local Cruiser’s choice hailing channel to communicate with other boats. I listened to the chatter while I typed on the computer and posted the log.
I ate lunch and Tripp texted me to plan a dinghy ride ashore at 15:00 to the Chat and Chill Bar on Stocking Island. Later, we heard on the radio that Chat and Chill was closed on Good Friday. I suggested it would be a good time to hike on Stocking Island and the beach on the Atlantic side of the island since the seas would be high and crashing on the shore in the high winds. Tripp came over and picked me up in the dinghy and we went ashore at Sand Dollar Beach. There was a marked spot along the tree line that was a trail. We took that one and headed across the island through the dense stubby trees and tropical plants. An obvious trail had been kept trimmed that wound through the cover. It was just wide enough for one-person width. When we came to a fork in the trail, we turned right as it led up a hill and over the ridge to the ocean and beach. When we came out into the open a clearing had been made on the edge of a cliff looking down at the coral rocks and crashing repetition of waves. Vast ocean expanse was before us and the beach was to the left reaching as far as one could see down the island. We were at a dead-end and had to turn around for the beach was many feet below us. Back at the fork in the path, we took the other turn and were soon at the beach on the other side of the huge coral rocks now towering above us. The shore had formations of fossilized bacteria call Stromatolites more than 1 million years old found only at Stocking Island and Australia. The surf rolled in and the white sand beach was soft and deep. We stayed at the water edge to have firm ground to walk on. Some spots had accumulations of tiny shells of all types. We walked well over a mile and decided to take a trail into the high ground in the brush and hopefully get to the Monument atop a high hill. The path was rugged and steep but when we got to the top, there were several piles of rocks in the shape of pyramids called Cairns. They go back to ancient times and were used for markers, landmarks or memorials but it wasn’t the right hill because the Monument was on the next hill high above us with a deep valley between us and it. The terrane was very steep and precarious. We passed on getting to the Monument and decided to keep walking down the path to the Elizabeth Harbour side to the beach and work our way back toward the boat hopefully finding trails in the thick cover. Eventually, we did find a trail that led to Honeymoon Beach but that wasn’t going to get us back to Sand Dollar Beach. In fact, we were blocked by getting directly to our destination by a big lagoon and hills of thick cover with no trails. We had to backtrack all the way back out of Honeymoon Beach Trail. At one point, I was walking looking down at my feet to see every step and not to trip on the rugged coral rocks and cutoff stumps when I looked up and a man was in front of me. It startled us both and we laughed. I jokingly told him and his wife that we had been in the brush trying to get out for seven years and never expected to ever see a human again. We all laughed at the sarcasm and carried on. Eventually, we found a trail back to the ocean side and had to walk all the way back the way we originally came. I was spent by the time we got back to Sand Dollar Beach and we were glad to see the dinghy there. After a ride in the dinghy along the shore by Chat and Chill, we returned to our boats.
It had been a long walk and exploration. I started my dinner, meatballs in tomato sauce over spaghetti pasta. Yum! Watching the sunset and listening to Island Music was great. The wind generator and solar had supported all of the systems and topped off the batteries. I was a happy camper.
It was getting late so I washed my legs and arms with a washcloth and crashed in the main cabin.

March 30, 2024 Saturday
06:30- Coffee. I used the hair clippers to trim my beard and moustache. The wind was still turning the wind generator. Weather check on my cell phone weather Apps and studied the Explorer Charts. Breakfast was 2 patty sausages from my local Wilson’s Meat House, 2 Maine blueberry pancakes, one over-easy egg and Maine Maple syrup with a few Maine blueberries on the side and coffee. That was a great breakfast! I cooked two extra blueberry pancakes and wrapped them in aluminum foil for another day.
The wind had calmed down so I cranked the engine to get the batteries up a little. I ran it until 11:00. Made the 1st transfer of fuel from the keel tank to the day tank. I got quite a lot of computer work done.
Ate left-over Meatball and Pasta for lunch. Tripp came by and picked me up. We were on a mission to get a few marine supplies and then go into Kidd’s Cove for shopping and groceries. It was a long haul and rough going to Crab Cay and searching for Brown’s Marina but we found it. I bought some electrical tape, a can drink and a dive flag.
At Kidd’s Cove, we went under the bridge at Victoria Lake and docked at the dinghy dock. Tripp went to eat a bite and I went on a mission to get gifts. The Sandpiper Gift Shop didn’t have Androsia Batik fabric and neither did the Peace and Plenty like the guidebook sail. The Straw Market was open and I found two grass-woven tote bags with lining made of Androsia Batik fabric material. They were just what I was looking for. I went back to the restaurant and found Tripp so I sat down and joined him. I ordered a Lamb Gyro and water. After we ate, we went to Exuma Market for groceries. They had restocked some of the shelves and I got several items that would be useful. At the check-out, I bought two 10-pound bags of ice.
We hauled everything back across the bumpy Elizabeth Harbour into the wind and mixed seas and stowed the payload on our vessels. The next stop was Chat and Chill. There were quite a number of people there. After a beverage and looking in the gift shop, we sat at a picnic table by the Volleyball Nets and watched a few games. Several of the people left and they needed two more players so Tripp and I volunteered. I was reluctant because I hadn’t played in 55 years. The ball came to me a couple of times and I made a play but one time I hit the ball with my hands and it hit the end post and came back over me. In my attempt to chase it, I fell to the sand stretched out and landed on my fist in my upper left rib. It knocked the wind out of me but I shook it off and kept playing. It was hard to breath deep and I figured that a rib might have gotten bruised. Luckily, the ball didn’t come to me again before our team won the game and the teams dispersed. I sat at the picnic table until Tripp finished his beer and we decided it was time to head back to the boas. It was after 17:00. The dinghy ride wasn’t too rough because we were in the lee of Stocking Island but I could feel every bump in my rib. At the boat, I got aboard and headed below to rinse off with fresh water and sit in the cockpit and chill out. I took it easy. My plan was to cook something easy to thaw out, shrimp.
The wind was steady and keeping the wind generator whirling out electricity. By the time the sunset came, clouds had begun to move in and made it uneventful. I chopped veggies while rice cooked in a pot. Soon, the galley was full of flavors and smell of spices. Before long, I was eating Shrimp and Crawfish Creole on Rice. I love it! I finished off the meal with two Oreos for dessert. Afterward, I turned out the cabin lights and played the Eagles, “Long Road to Eden” while sitting in the cockpit. There was a universe of anchor lights over Elizabeth Harbour. Before I turned in, the clouds moved on by and revealed a Universe of stars to blend in with the anchor lights. The day had been full of fun and adventure. There was more on the agenda for the next day. I had to switch to the port water tank but I was pretty sure I could make it last until Tuesday morning. By then, I would have to depart and make water out at sea. I needed to sleep off my sore rib. I took two Tylenols and hit the sack.

March 31, 2024 Sunday
04:30- I had gotten up about three times during the night trying to get comfortable. It was still dark outside but I had to make some coffee and Coconut bread to just change things up. My left side was hurting and the two Tylenols had worn off. I sat up with pillows behind me in bed and tried to enjoy the coffee and bread. On YouTube, I found some videos about Androsia and Batik processes on cloth that distracted the pain I was feeling.
Later, I found that sitting upright in the navigation station was comfortable. It was going to be uncomfortable but I would have to tough the day out if I was going to do anything like go to the Pig Roast at noon at Chat and Chill.
Breakfast was a Sausage Mushroom and Cheese omelet. Nice!
Afterward, a quick shower helped.
Somehow, I unloaded Aphid off of the foredeck and mounted the 2 hp motor on it. It was ready when I needed it.
Worked on the log desperately trying to get it caught up.11:30- I took two Tylenols and headed for Chat and Chill in Aphid. I dropped by Isabella to let Tripp know that I was heading to the Sunday Pig Roast. He had to finish a chore and then get a shower. I told him that I wanted to take my dinghy so if I started hurting, I could leave anytime and get back to the boat. I went slow in Aphid so that I didn’t shake my ribs. It was going pretty well. I arrived and threw the dinghy anchor onto the sand beach and walked to the establishment. It was about 11:50 and there was already a line of about 30 people waiting for the 12:00 lunch call. I bought an iced pineapple juice and a Pig Roast Ticket, $28. While standing in line, I met some people from Georgia and talked. I made it up to the serving line and got a plate, Grill Roasted Pork pieces, Mac and Cheese Bahamian Style, Pigeon Peas and Rice, Glazed Carrots, KB’s Slaw and a couple pieces of Pork Crackling. I put KB’s Goat Pepper Sauce on the pork and Mustard Sauce on the side. Man! It was a nice plate of food and I enjoyed eating every bite sitting at a picnic table in the shade and talking with folks. I had totally forgotten about my sore ribs. About 13:30, I decided to head back to Island Rose. The wind had cranked up and I had to motor into it and the waves. I went slow but Aphid pretty much can only go slow. Tripp passed me on the way ashore but I told him people were saying that they had sold out of Pig Roast tickets and were only serving the regular menu items.
Back on Island Rose, I took it easy and worked on the computer listening to music.
18:30- I started dinner, Pork and Stir-Fry Vegetables on Rice. Tripp called and told me about the Pot Luck Event on Flip Flop Beach. He said there were about 100 people there. I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to baby my rib bruise and really didn’t like crowds that big. He said he took a family pack of Grilled Chicken Wings and they lasted 5-minutes. He had earlier gone down to Chat and Chill and found out they had started serving Pork Roast again but he got in the food line of about 50 people and by the time he realized that the ticket line was at the bar, he switched. Once he got to the bar, they said that they had run out of tickets but he could have paid cash at the food service buffet. It was too late to get back in line again because he had to get back to Isabella and cook the wings for the Pot Luck Event.
Later, after he started leaving the Pot Luck Event, he ran out of gas in his dinghy and got help from and Englishman that was Captain for a group on a big vessel. Tripp was having a bad luck streak.
I finished up my meal and ate in the cockpit. There was enough left over to put some away in the freezer. I listened to Jesse Cook, Tempest 25, and enjoyed the breeze.
I had finished catching up on the log and was able to post another segment on Sailblogs.com. I had a couple Oreos for my sweet tooth and couldn’t wait to take two more Tylenols before bed.

April 1, 2024 Monday
April Fool’s Day!
05:30- Coffee and Coconut bread. Studied the Explorer Charts. Later, I made a big breakfast.
08:00- I listened to the local Cruiser Net on VHF Ch 72.
After the Net, I figured that it was best to get an early start to Georgetown. The wind and sea were light so I wanted to take advantage of it. I loaded the garbage, the collapsable water jug, gasoline can and my backpack with the portable VHF radio and took off in Aphid. I went slow and took it easy on my ribs. About ¼ nm into my journey to Georgetown, the motor sputtered to a stop. I pulled the start cord a couple times and worked with the choke and it ran about 15 seconds. I checked the oil level through the sight window and it looked okay. If low on oil, the sensor will not let the engine start. A couple boaters in dinghies stopped and asked if I needed a tow back to my boat but I was texting Tripp for help to let him know that I was broken down. I looked in the fuel cap and while there was a little still in there, I went ahead and filled it with gas. I was about to start it when, by habit, I looked at the side of the motor and realized that the slide lever for the fuel was on “off”! Keep it simple stupid! I slid the lever to “on” and pulled the start rope. The motor took off and ran perfectly. I dinghied over to Isabella before Tripp could get in his dinghy to come help and let his know the situation.
It's a long way across Elizabeth Harbor in a dinghy with a 2 hp motor but I made it in short-time. I pulled up to the water dock and filled my jug then moved to the regular dinghy dock area and tied up. I grabbed my backpack and garbage. There was a truck parked behind Island Boy Café with the name L&S Garbage. You can throw your garbage in the back of the truck and pay by putting your money through the space at the top of the driver side window and letting it fall onto the seat. The pay scale is posted on the window. What an ingenious business idea! Your garbage can also be taken to the Government Dock for free but you either have to dock and go ashore to the dumpster or carry the garbage to the location walking from the dinghy dock behind Exuma Market.
I walked around town and checked everything out to see what had changed since the last time I had sailed to Georgetown. Most of the stores were closed for the Monday after Easter is a holiday. Exuma Market was open until 15:00, so I got what was on my list and checked out. The line was very long for check-out but pretty quick. Everybody had the same idea to get there early.
I carried everything back to Aphid and got underway. The wind was about 10-12 kts. on the nose so it was a slow wet ride back. Eventually, I made it and managed to lift the jug of water up onto the side deck and put away my groceries. At the grocery, I thought a whole chicken would be good to cook in the pressure cooker but it cost $26, that was a small young hen so I passed.
For lunch, I made a plate of Nachos and ate them in the cockpit. A couple of Tylenol were needed to ease the soreness in my rib.
I thawed out some port tenderloin that I had brought and planned to cook it in the pressure cooker. It was time for a nap.
14:30- I woke up and decided that moving around would be better. Tripp was still in town and so I jumped into Aphid and motored along the beach heading South. I went beyond a big structure pavilion that looked to be part of the Moriah National Park on Elizebeth Island. It was a long way so I turned around and headed back to Sand Dollar Beach at a meeting sight. I landed Aphid and tied her up. A shelter was built there with lots of boater decorations and big timbers for seats. A couple picnic tables and firepit (still warm from previous parties) looked like a good setup. Nearby, I discovered the Art Trail and walked it looking at all of the art created for anything and everything natural and beachcombed debris. Some of it was very impressive. I got a kick out of it and ended up at the oceanside beach. Just cool! I made my own stack of coral rocks on the side of the trail and placed a black rubber snake I had found on the top. Ha! I took a bunch of photos of the best art and then returned to Aphid.
On my way back to Island Rose, I stopped by Isabella because Tripp’s dinghy was there. He was making water and charging batteries. We chatted and planned to have dinner aboard Island Rose.
Back at Island Rose, I prepped the veggies for dinner, a small cabbage cut into ¼ wedges, potatoes, and carrots loaded into the pressure cooker with two small chunks of pork tenderloin, onion, celery garlic and one package of onion soup mix with 2 cups of water. After closing up the pressure cooker, I put it on a small burner and let it do its thing. I prepped cheese and mini bagel chips and a bowl with some Cheddar Goldfish.
The engine was cranked to heat water and make electricity for the house battery bank.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Lots of static. I got a relay with Zepher and checked-in Island Rose at Georgetown, Great Exuma. I heard Blue Highway in the everglades loud and clear.
After 40 minutes of cooking, I depressurized the cooker and put in the potatoes and carrots. After 10-minutes up to pressure, I brought the pressure down again and added the cabbage for another 10-minutes. The meal was done.
Tripp had arrived and we went over the charts for the next few days based on the weather reports. The sun went down and the Conch Horns blew while we served our plates. The pork was super tender and juicy and cut with a fork. The carrots, potatoes and cabbage had a great flavor. It was a meal fit for a King. There was enough left-over for another single meal and I saved the juices to make gravy to serve over rice another time. Tripp had stopped at a roadside lady selling pastries and sweets. Her name was Lady J. He bought some Guava Duffs, a local favorite according to the lady. He brought it to the dinner and we split it. Wow! Very sweet and tasty. I liked it, sort of a lady finger cake with sugary Guava Cream Sauce over the top. My sweet took cried out for more.
We listened to the Eagles music and watched the anchor lights as it got dark. It was an enjoyable end to the night.
21:00- Tripp headed back to Isabella and I finished the last of the clean up before getting a sponge bath in the shower. I stacked all of the pillows behind me and sat up in bed to rest for the night. Two Tylenol and ZZZzzzzz……

S/V Island Rose
Sailing Log

2024 Bahamas Cruise Part 4
Staniel Cay, Exumas to Georgetown, Great Exuma

March 21, 2024 Thursday
05:00- Coffee and email and text in bed. It was a chilly 71° F. I looked at the weather. In Maine, it was 27° F. with snow and cold for the week. Humm….I think the Bahamas was nice.
Later, I made breakfast- 2 over-easy eggs, bacon, and toast with coffee. I cranked the engine to give the house batteries a boost.
At 08:00, there wasn’t any activity at the pavilion where the bread lady comes so I gave her a call and she said that my loaves (3 ordered) would be reserved and she would be there at 11:30. I was very thankful and texted Tripp to be sure and pick me up so we could get them. Afterward, I caught up on the news and rejoined the world of insanity.
The mast winch that I had worked on wasn’t to my liking and seemed stiff. I took it back apart and cleaned it better with the WD40 spray and scrubbed the teeth on the inside of the drum. It helped some. I still had not gotten a response from Tripp so I called him. He had been busy with the install of his solar panels and the wiring and noticed his phone was off of roaming. He never had gotten my messages. In the meantime, I got a text from the bread lady that the loaves of bread I ordered would be at the Yacht Club at 11:00. Perfect!
The wind was picking up and the wind generator was putting out power. The water was still smooth. One of the things that was on the list was to go and snorkel Thunderball Groto at low tide, approximately 12:30.
11:00- I caught a ride with Tripp and we went ashore. After an inquiry from a lady at the hotel, she went in the back of the restaurant at the Yacht Club and a lady named Maydon was with her. Maydon made a quick call on her phone and in a little bit, a young guy on a bicycle showed up to deliver the three mini-loaves of Coconut bread. Maydon talked with me for awhile and I discovered that she was from Black Point and Lorraine was her sister. She said her mother was the one that cooked the bread and that I could get a big loaf of bread when I got to Black Point. The three loaves were $18 so I gave her a $20 bill and said we were even. She was a nice lady. She worked as a cook in the Staniel Cay Yacht Club kitchen and said she was making French Onion Soup for tonight’s “Soup of the Day”.
Tripp had walked a gas jug to the fuel dock and filled it. We put everything in the dinghy and walked the roads exploring again. At the shipyard, we talked with a guy that was working on one of the Family vessels named Slaughter and another named Tida Wave, both famous vessels that raced in the National Family Islands Regatta in Georgetown every year. Both were hauled out of the water. They were getting ready to take them to the big races the last of April.
When we returned to SCYC, we ate lunch, Seared Ahi Tuna on a salad with fresh avocado. Tripp got Mahi Tacos with fries. Yum!
Back at the boat, it was nap time as the wind generator and solar panel had kept up with the refrigeration and freezer.
Later, I called Jane and talked a long time.
17:15- Doo Dah Net on 8.146 Mhz. Unfortunately, I missed the Net.
I watched the news on my App while heating up left-overs of Lamb and Cabbage with Rice for dinner.
Later, more Internet research until ZZZzzzz……

March 22, 2024 Friday
05:00- Coffee. Reading my book in bed. The wind was steady and kept my batteries from totally depleting their power. It was just the beginning of much stronger weather forecasted for tonight.
07:30- My second cup of coffee was accompanied by a big slice of Coconut bread. Yum! I studied the charts and fine tuned the tide clock with the local tide for reference. That was vital in helping determine current flow in the cuts between the cays. It was a little over 8 nm to Black Point Settlement anchorage at Great Guana Cay and from there about 13 nm to Galliot Cut near Cave Cay. Galliot Cut to Conch Cut into Great Exuma was about 33 nm.
I cranked the motor to charge batteries again and help have higher voltage when trying to transmit/receive on the SSB radio with the Net. In fact, when the motor was running the computer in the wind generator would detect the output from the alternator and think the batteries were charged and shut off. That helped because when running the wind generator produced interference noise in the SSB radio.
I cooked an over-easy egg, bacon and warmed Coconut bread for breakfast. Wow!
08:30- Cruiseheimer’s Net on 8.152 Mhz. I could barely her Net Control. There was a tall BTC tower ashore that may have caused the interference. I made contact with a relay and reported that Island Rose was at Staniel Cay hunkered down for the weather.
I settled into the cockpit listening to music and catching up on emails and texts. Afterward, I studied the Explorer Charts for distances, possible stops and routes to cover the most places in the month that was left. It was a beautiful day except the wind was really piping up for the big blow tonight. Reports from people that I knew in the Abacos and Great Harbour indicated that it had already hit the fan there.
After lunch, Tripp and I conversed by text and he picked me up and we returned to Isabella. I was there to help uninstall his water maker Clark pump and membrane module to see why the installation had not produced water. He suspected a bad membrane. He had a new replacement membrane that he brought in case. The unit was bolted on the back wall bulkhead of a wardrobe locker in the aft cabin and the fastening nuts and washers to the bolts were on the other side in the cockpit locker. His job was to wrestle the heavy unit out of the wardrobe locker after disconnecting all of the hoses and loosening the bolts. My job was to get in the cockpit locker wadded up in a pretzel and get the nuts and washers off of the bolts. It was a struggle but the unit came out and we put it in the cockpit so that we could see better. I feared the old membrane would be nasty and stinky water would get in the wardrobe cabinet and it would be a mess to change the membrane in a confined space. Tripp disassembled the pipe fittings and pipe from the Clark pump to the membrane tube and took the end off of the tube order to pull out the old membrane.
The unit had been purchased online from a guy that said it had only been used on his boat as a requirement in order to sail in a race from San Francisco to Hawaii and then removed so, it was slightly used. When Tripp removed the end cap, we discovered why it didn’t work. There was no membrane in the tube. It was removed and reassembled for storage after the race.
Tripp slid in the new membrane and replaced the end cap and pipes refitted and tightened. I had wanted to be there for another reason. I wanted to see the process of changing out the membrane because my water maker was exactly like his. After another struggle and a few choice words of wisdom thrown around, we got it reinstalled and hoses hooked back up. Tripp had been waiting a long time to be able to make RO water. When the unit was cranked up and flushed with the New Startup Procedure, the proper steps were done to get sample water and it made excellent water that tested 180 ppm. He ran a hose from the product water point to his water tank and ran the unit for 4 hours filling his tank. It was a success.
The wind was gusting 25-30 kts. but be cooked a couple of Pork Shoulder Steaks on the grill and potatoes and green beans down below. We had a celebratory dinner aboard Isabella.
20:00- The wind was streaking across the water even though we were behind the island. It was time for me to get back to Island Rose. Tripp gave me a ride and I settled in the main cabin. I watched a goofy movie, The Waterboy, from my Apple TV linked to the television monitor. Yep, it was a stupid movie.

March 23, 2024 Saturday
04:00- The wind was screaming outside and the spare jib halyard was slapping on the mast spreader. I had to stop it so I grabbed a bungee and went out in the blowing mist and secured it at the foredeck. Back to bed for a little more sleep. My wind generator had kept the house batteries at 97% overnite.
05:00- Coffee and Coconut bread and reading in bed. Later, I made some bacon, two over-easy eggs and Coconut bread in a bowl for breakfast.
Engine check was all okay. I cranked the engine to heat up water for a shower and started the water maker. There was 7 ½ -gallons in the starboard water tank and about 28-gallons in the port tank. I wanted to fill the starboard water tank and keep my batteries up in case the wind let up so I left the engine running at about 2000 rpm. The engine doesn’t use a lot of fuel running that low of rpm. The sample test water was 212 ppm. Excellent.
It was time for a good shower and wash a few items of clothes in the sink. The wind switched to South and blew at a sustained 15-18 kts. It was bumpy on the mooring but secure.
After an hour, the batteries were 100% and I turned off the motor to see how the house load pulled down the batteries with the water maker running and wind blowing the wind generator.
I worked on the log on the computer for a couple hours and the State of Charge on the batteries was still at 99% with the wind generator working in wind that was blowing like stink at this point. It was raining off and on with a little thunder and lightning. I heard a girl scream like she maybe had seen a shark or something. Then, she screamed about three more times. What the? It was 17:00, and I was still working on the log at my navigation station. The weather piped up about time the girl had screamed. Suddenly, the wind made a loud whirling sound and blew so loud that I couldn’t hear. The boat shifted violently and heeled over so far to port that it threw me out of the navigation seat. Everything that wasn’t secured was flying to the floor including my laptop computer. The port rail was in the water and it was pouring rain blowing through the hatches, ports and companionway that were open. Just as quickly, the boat went upright and heeled over to starboard creating the same mess. Pots and pans that were in the drying rack hit the floor with the starboard rail down in the water. Island Rose righted back up and made a circle around the mooring ball. All I could think of was water spout! Lightning popped and it blew for nearly 20 minutes super hard raining Cats and Dogs with whiteout visibility outside. I managed to get the ports, hatches and companionway closed up. Tripp sent out a text and said his wind instrument registered 55 kts. Wow! He had experienced getting blown over, too. I couldn’t find my glasses. After 15-minutes searching, they turned up behind the portable freezer under the main cabin table. Wow! I had experienced similar weather in the spring of 2023 in Marathon on a mooring when I photographed a double water spout go by the mooring field.
When the cell service stopped and then came back on again, I called Tripp and we hashed out the events. He had watched beanbags on the Catamaran between us fly off the boat and into the water drifting away. We agreed that it must have been a water spout. Finally, the weather settled down. We later learned from boaters that were anchored in Big Majors anchorage that a boat had suffered a lightning strike.
18:30- I cooked Stir-Fry Vegetables with Chicken on Rice for dinner. Very Good!
Later, I watched my News App to catch up. I had to finally turn it off. What was the World coming to be? I went to sleep.

March 24, 2024 Sunday
00:30- Just like the forecast predicted, the weather had lightened up and then at midnight was supposed to be a few hours of heavy weather. It hit again very fast and hard. It wasn’t like the last one but it rained and blew hard and whipped through pushing Island Rose all around. It only lasted about 5-minutes and then it was calm. A storm cell had moved through like a squall. I got up out of bed and picked up a few things that hit the floor. I had left the dirty dishes in the sink so I cleaned them up. When it seemed to be over with, I crawled back in bed. ZZZzzz…
06:00- Coffee and Coconut bread. The boat was rocking bow to stern pointing into a West wind and with 2 ft. fetch from the West. The wind generator was holding the batteries level at a good percentage.
Another cloud line was passing over with bright moon and not as strong as before, playing out.
07:20- Here comes the sun! I made more coffee and cooked breakfast- over-easy egg, bacon and toast, something different! Ha! I worked on the log on my laptop but the touch-pad broken from the crash yesterday. I taped the cracked glass with clear tape and made about ½ of the functions work, at least the most important ones.
11:20- Tripp had texted me wanting to know if I wanted a ride ashore for lunch and a walk around. Oh yes! I was tired of being on the lurching boat. It was a rough ride going in between the ragged stone wall that made a jetty for the dinghy beach. We surfed through the opening and tied up.
At the SCYC bar, we got lunch, Tempura Chicken Sandwich topped with Asian Slaw and French fries. Yummy!
Trip had forgotten his shoes and went back out to Isabella to get them. I waited ashore but when he was coming back and made a U-turn to return to his boat, I knew something wasn’t right. After he got back ashore, he was disgusted because he had lost his iPhone in the water. We walked around but the BTC (Bahamas Telecom) store was closed on Sundays and the grocery stores were, too. I had wanted to find some cilantro. By 14:30, we returned to our boats with ice and no cilantro. I worked on the log again. I was making some progress when I heard the putt putt of a dinghy motor. When I looked outside, Tripp was alongside the boat in his dinghy. With him, he had his iPad and the App to find his phone. He had located it on the bottom of the water between the shore and his vessel. He needed help letting me drive the dinghy while he dove to the bottom to retrieve the iPhone. I jumped aboard and we rode on the path he took from shore to his boat where it was lost. A blue ball represented us on the map and his iPhone was marked where it was still sending out signal. Once we were over the location in dark blue water, we tried to hold the position of the dinghy over the spot but the current was strong. I threw out his dinghy anchor and let out the line. It was deep. We were in the blue channel that leads to the cut at Staniel Cay and the sandbars were on both sides. The anchor caught and we swung around. Tripp put on his fins and mask and dove in. He took a deep breath and went under following the anchor line to the bottom. When he came back up, he said that it was too deep and he never made it to the anchor much less saw the bottom. The second try failed. The clarity of the water was stirred up from the current. When we tried to pull up the anchor, it was stuck. It was a new Mantis dinghy anchor. We motored against the line but it was tight. We tried pulling in every direction and had no luck. I tied a life jacket to the bitter end of the line and we went back to Isabella to retrieve a scuba weight and another line. The trick was to make a loop at the end of the second line and attach the scuba weight to the loop. Feeding the bitter end of the anchor line through the loop let the weighted look slide down the anchor rode and over the shank of the anchor. The idea was to pull the shank with the new line and the anchor line slack to pull the anchor backwards and free it. After several tries in the increasing current, we had to quit and tied the orange life jacket back onto the bitter end of the anchor rode to let it float. We made a plan to come back and try when the wind, waves and current were settled. We were in worse shape than when we started. The iPhone was too deep in coral rock and the dinghy anchor was stuck down there, too. A stroke of bad luck had bitten Tripp. About that time, a motor boat with a guy and lady were coming pretty fast into the harbor. The boat had two 250 outboards on it. I waved my arms and caught their attention and indicated to slow down and come to us. The lady was out on the bow and told the guy to stop. Tripp said he needed help getting his anchor unhung and asked if they could tie off on the bow cleat of their boat and get the anchor up by pulling on it. It was either going to come up or break the line. One big pull with all of that power got it loose. When the lady pulled up the anchor, we could see that the shank was bent but easy to straighten for two old metal fabricators. We thanked the couple and returned to our boats.
I got back to the log and computer for the rest of the afternoon but was worn out.
For dinner, I looked up a Taco recipe for Ground Beef Street Tacos and chopped up the toppings, seasoned the meat and cooked it. I loaded mini-soft corn taco shells with everything and put sour cream on top. I ate five of them. Great meal!
The sunset was perfect as the weather had cleared and a big full moon rose in the East behind Staniel Cay and the SCYC. Anchor lights shone atop the vessels in the harbor. The breeze had clocked to the North and the islands protected us in the harbor. I had some instrumental soft music playing and enjoyed the evening. To the West, the sky glowed orange. It was nice. The lights of the docks at the marina ashore glowed and reflected in the water. What an adventurous day!

March 25, 2024 Monday
04:30- Coffee and reading in bed. Later, I made a mushroom, ham and cheese omelet with more coffee to drink.
The weather was mild with a 10-15 kt. NE breeze. Sea was 1 ft. There was a full moon setting in the West and afterward, a bright sunrise. Very nice! I programmed in the Chart plotters the route to Black Point Settlement ~9 nm away. Transferred fuel from the keel tank to the day tank to top it off. It was at about ½ full before topping it off.
09:00- I dropped the mooring line and got in line at the fuel dock. It took about an hour to get my turn. Tripp got a SIM card for his old iPhone at the BTC store and headed back to Isabella. When it was my turn at the fuel dock, I topped off the keel tank with 17.6-gallons of diesel.
10:00- Underway out of Staniel Cay heading for Black Point. 1st reef mainsail and full staysail. I sailed for Great Guana Cay in 15-20 kts. NE. Made water on the way with the water maker.
12:00- Anchored at Black Point Settlement. N24° 06.049’ W076° 24.170’ in 8 ft. deep low and 75 ft. of chain out. Engine Hours- 1046.5 hrs. Daily Distance- 10.6 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,358.1 nm. Isabella anchored next to me. I set the anchor alarm at 200 ft. because from my GPS at the navigation station to the anchor was about 100 ft. away.
Made contact with Isabella. Tripp wanted to go with me ashore for lunch and to do the laundry. We took his dinghy to the dinghy dock at Lorraine’s Café and walked next door to Rockside Laundry. After a bit of figuring out the system for tokens and getting laundry done, two separate transactions with two separate people, we left the laundry with a young lady to wash, dry and fold at $10 per load. We had to get enough tokens to do the job from a different lady and give them to the other one. Mine took 2 tokens for washer and 1 token for dryer, $14.50 plus $20 for the labor. Okay, that works for me. I told them to be sure when I got back to the boat with the laundry that I wouldn’t find a pair of panties mixed with my clothes. That had happened to me in Georgetown one year and they got a big laugh out of that story. We walked next door to Lorraine’s Café and found Lorraine in the kitchen. I inquired about her Mom and making some Coconut bread and she directed me to their second café at the dinghy pier out back. She said that they had fresh cooked Coconut bread that her Mom made this morning and served lunch too. The main restaurant was closed for the day because it wasn’t busy. We went to the café and got the last two of three loaves of bread and ordered lunch. Fried Calamari appetizer and Cracked Conch Po-Boy sandwich with a Caesar salad. Wow! It filled me up! We had to walk for awhile to burn off some of the lunch.
I found a couple bell peppers and salsa dip at Adderley’s Friendly Market. By the time that we got back to the laundromat, the clothes were nearly done.
It was a wet ride back in the dinghy to the boats. I had to hand wash my shorts after I got back and hang them on the life-lines. I got out a couple Ziplock bags of chicken wings for dinner. Nap time!
Oh boy! I got up feeling sour. I made some iced Ginger ale and had a party in my stomach. Cleaned house on my plumbing. I had to call Tripp and cancel dinner. It’s not good to eat a load of fried food and then walk around in the hot sun.
I fell asleep on the main cabin settee. ZZZzzzz…..

March 26, 2024 Tuesday
05:00-I woke up feeling better. Coffee and Coconut bread. Reading in bed. Finished my book. Later, I took a hot shower and cleaned up. It felt good. I was feeling 100% better than last night.
Breakfast was 2 over-easy eggs, bacon, Coconut bread heated up in the oven and more Coffee. That perked me up, too. There was a nice trade breeze blowing. Several boat loads of local workers raced out of Black Point heading in the direction of Staniel Cay. They were in open motor boats. It was a daily routine.
I checked the weather forecast as I finished my coffee in the cockpit.
08:30- Cruiseheimer’s Net on 8.152 Mhz. Dee on Ursa Minor was Net Control. There was a report that the Francis Scott Key Bridge going into Baltimore Harbor had been hit by a container ship at 01:00 in the morning and it collapsed the entire bridge. Sad day for Baltimore and the famous bridge. I reported in through a relay with C Language that Island Rose was in Black Point.
I worked on the log and had to re-educate myself in basic manual keystroke commands because the finger pad wasn’t totally working. I managed to get on Starlink WiFi and post the first two parts of the ongoing log of the journey. Tripp called and we decided to go ashore and get a bite to eat. I was much better than last night. We ate at the BPYC and I got a hamburger and fries. It was very good. Afterward, we took a walk trying to find out what we saw on the beach for businesses across the anchorage to the North and East. We should have had a map because we took the free $100 self-tour of the island. The long way, until we found the short way. There were dozens of houses being built. Only a handful seemed to be finished and many looked like the project just stopped. We never made it to where we wanted to go. When we came to a stop sign at the intersection by the beach, we were only a couple blocks from where we started in town. We were tired and stopped at Adderly’s Friendly Market for a refreshment.
We returned back to Isabella and worked on hooking up wiring to a Lithium battery and DC to DC control box to the house batteries. The Lithium battery was charged by solar panels. The project lasted until after 19:00but it worked.
We had a late dinner aboard Island Rose and I boiled potatoes and grilled chicken wings. Tripp brought zucchini and yellow squash and cooked them in a skillet with bacon and onion. Yum! Yum!
After Tripp went back to Isabella and flashed his light at Island Rose to indicate he was onboard safely, I got everything cleaned up and hit the sack.

March 27, 2024 Wednesday
05:00- Coffee in bed. Early morning is a good time for me to collect my thoughts.
07:10- Cranked the engine to charge the batteries. I made breakfast- eggs, bacon and Coconut bread with coffee. Wow! I love breakfast.
Drained water from the melted ice that supplements the refrigeration box. Added some coolant to the engine reservoir. Checked the wet cells of the House batteries and all was perfect.
At about 09:30, I caught a ride with Tripp and we went to the Government Dock. There, I disposed of my trash. We walked to Adderly’s Market and I got eggs, potatoes and onions and then we walked across the street looking for ice. We were told to go to the Yacht Club. Tripp decided to order a 12” pizza and come back by to pick it up on our way back to the dinghy. We went to the Yacht Club and I bought two each 10-pound bags of ice. When we went back by where the pizza place was, it wasn’t ready. I walked everything down to the dinghy and waited. 45-minutes later, the pizza was ready. We went back to the vessels and stowed away our purchases. Tripp gave me 3 pieces of the pizza for lunch. He discovered that it wasn’t even the selection of pizza that he ordered. Island life!
11:30- Underway out of Black Point for Cave Cay. Once out of the harbor, I turned South, rolled out both headsails and took off for my destination.
12:00- Started the water maker to fill the water tanks. Test sample was 244 ppm, okay. Both valves on the tanks were open so that they would equalize and fill at the same time.
I sailed as far South as I could until it was time to turn and wiggle my way through the shallows and over a 5-foot spot into Little Farmers Cay and pass through the channel to the cut. I knew the tide was just after high and there were a couple extra feet of water. Sea swells were 4 ft. in the cut but I stayed well to the inside and followed deep water to the Southwest and back around a spit of sand to Cave Cay. There was a bit of skinny navigation using two conflicting Chart Plotters and real time Aqua Maps App. The water was beautiful with the contrasting depths.
15:00- Anchored at Cave Cay, N23° 54.264’ W076° 16.515’ in 8 ft. deep low. Well protected spot. Engine Hours- 1052.3 hrs. Daily Distance- 18.6 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,376.7 nm. Once settled, I stopped making water and flushed the system with fresh water. I went ahead and prepped the veggies and thawed the Italian Sausage and Linguica for Primavera on Pasta for dinner. I texted Tripp to see if he wanted to come to dinner and he volunteered to bring a Caesar salad. The SE breeze was maybe 10 kts. I put on some Rod Stewart music and ate some cheese and mini-bagel chips. All the ports and hatches were opened for air circulation.
Tripp came by in his dinghy and we went on an exploration of Cave Cay. We went into a cut in the high coral island into a hidden marina. It was very nicely built and empty. There was an air strip and a resort on the island. We explored the South end of the island at Cave Cut and evaluated the current and swell. It was not bad. Low tide was about 17:30, so our departure through the cut in the morning would be good if we got an early start. Further North of our anchorage, we saw caves in the bluff at the water line. Around a bend, there was a big elbow that was a cove with a private beach and a hole in the high coral bluff like an amphitheater. Very impressive. The sun was getting hot blazing down on us with no clouds so we headed back to the vessels for shade.
I studied the chart of Great Exuma and Elizabeth Harbour. I called Tripp and we submitted a request for a mooring ball at Sand Dollar Beach mooring field for Thursday through Sunday departure. That would get us through the nasty weather on Friday and Saturday and we could anchor out as an option after that if we stayed longer at Georgetown. Just before sunset, Tripp came over and we enjoyed the story telling before dinner. The meal turned out Top Notch! There weren’t any left-overs. We had Oreos for dessert.
22:00- We decided the day was done. We made a plan to get started and underway by 07:30 in the morning.
I turned in and got some sleep.

March 28, 2024 Thursday
05:00- Coffee. I changed my bait skirt with a new one because half of the skirt on the old one had been torn up by fish strikes. Engine check- added a cup of oil to the engine. All else was okay.
I made breakfast and ate 2 eggs, bacon and a slice of Lorraine’s Mom’s Coconut bread. It was from the big loaf and toasted fabulous. There was a beautiful sunrise but the colors spelled trouble in the next 24 hours. I enjoyed eating while watching it. There was a slight SE breeze and I could tell in the calm water that the tide was starting to come in. I finished my coffee and set up the water maker for after I got offshore out of the cut into Exuma Sound.
07:30- Underway out of Cave Cay. I had a route to Georgetown in my helm Chart Plotter. It was roughly 35 nm into Conch Cut.
07:50- Made Cave Cut. Incoming 2.5 kts. current but no seas. Nice!
08:00- Started the water maker. Test sample was 264 ppm. I moved out to over 100 ft. deep and let out the fishing line.
08:30- Cruiseheimer’s Net on 8.152 Mhz. Larry on Myra was Net Control. C Language was the Bahamas relay, loud and clear. He caught my short-time report underway Cave Cut to Georgetown.
09:00- I got an email confirmation that my request for mooring at Sand Dollar Beach mooring field with Elizabeth Harbour Moorings was confirmed and I was assigned to Mooring #49. Isabella got confirmation and was assigned #48 in Sand Dollar Beach mooring field next to me.
10:30- N23° 46’ W076° 02’, ~22 nm to Sand Dollar Beach, Elizabeth Harbour, Great Exuma Cay. I was making water and fishing my way along making 5.6 kts. with the motor.
13:00- Turned off the water maker and flushed it with fresh water. Fill both tanks with RO water, port and starboard. No luck fishing!
13:30- Conch Cut made. I followed my Chart Plotter route into Elizabeth Harbour and found the moorings at Sand Dollar Beach, Stocking Island. N23° 30.792’ W075° 44.770’. It was a good secure spot for the heavy weather on the way for Friday. Engine Hours- 1059.8 hrs. Daily Distance- 39.0 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,415.7 nm.
I sent a message to Elizabeth Harbour Moorings requesting to add Sunday and Monday nights to my mooring reservation. When I was catching the mooring, I blew out a fastener on the back strap of my Croc shoe and had to whip a line on the hole and strap to get it back attached. Now! It’s fixed!
Tripp came by and picked me up to go to Georgetown. We zipped across Elizabeth Harbour in the Highfield RIB and the waves just about beat me to death. Lord have mercy on this old man! Into Kidd’s Cove and under the bridge to Victoria Lake and the dinghy dock behind Exuma Market. It was late but we had very little at lunch so we stopped at Island Boy Grill and I got a hamburger with cheese and fries and Pineapple juice on ice with a lime, $26 total. We walked next door at the grocery and got a few items. The check-out line was at least 15 people ahead of us but with three registers, it was not so bad. By the time we got out of the store it was after 17:00 and everything was closed. We knew that the Peace and Plenty was having a Bar-b-Que Buffet and was firing up a big grill so we went there to check it out. They had not even started the grill at 18:00 and we sat and had refreshments to chill out and look at the water and sun going down. There was a nice scene going on but by 18:30, we decided it would be really late for them to get the food ready and we left and walked toward the dinghy dock.
Tripp stopped and bought a case of beer to take back to Isabella. We made a fast ride back in pretty smooth water. I got off at Island Rose and it was in time to stow away my few purchases and sit in the cockpit and watch the sunset. Really nice!
I called Jane and we talked for an hour or more. I resorted to dinner being Progresso soup.
After dinner, I got a shower and cleaned up. It had gotten late so I went to bed after watching a YouTube Episode of Kevin Boothby. We never got a reply on multiple requests to add days to our reservation. Maybe, tomorrow.

S/V Island Rose
Sailing Log

2024 Bahamas Cruise Part 3
West Bay, New Providence Island to Staniel Cay, Exumas

March 15, 2024 Friday
05:45- Coffee.
06:00- Chris Parker Weather on 4.045 Mhz (Stormy). Too much static noise.
Engine check was okay. Engine oil would need some attention after the passage today. Raw water belt would need adjustment after today.
Breakfast was an egg, bacon and toast with OJ.
07:30- Underway out of West Bay.
08:10- Crossed through the Shipping Channel and anchorage for New Providence. Several Mega Yachts anchored there. Heading was 133° M. Allen Cay, Exumas was 41 nm away.
08:30- Cruiseheimer’s Net on 8.152 Mhz. Raj on Rosa was Net Control. I reported that Island Rose was underway West Bay to Allen Cay.
It was another disappointing slog into a 15 kt. wind and a 2 ft. sea. I hoped the wind would let up by noon so that I could regain the lost time. Staysail and motor at 2800 rpm. Speed averaged about 4.9 kts.
12:50- N24° 51’ W77° 14’, ~22.5 nm to Allen Cay. I had tacked my wat through the wind and sea and had to make a zig and a zag in my route line to avoid the two shoaled danger areas on the chart as I crossed the White Bank and entered the Yellow Bank. My last tack to starboard came up short and I had to flirt along the edge of the last of the red area of the shoal but the tide was up and I never saw less than 12 ft. water. Once past the shoal, I fell off the wind enough to fill the staysail and a heading of ~146° M. making 4.5 kts. in the head on 3 ft. sea. There was no getting away from the wind and sea unless I changed destination. Isabella was having the same problem and had taken a long tack out and back but we still were only about ½ nm apart. We plowed onward and at times the piled-up waves would hit Island Rose on her bow and take her down to 3 kts. It sucked! I made an Executive Decision to fire the weatherman and get another one with a better forecast.
14:00- Isabell made VHF contact and informed me that a pin in the pulley for his steering cable had come out and fell into the bilge. He found the pulley but would have to wait to fix it and continue on to the anchorage with autopilot. Bummer. It definitely was a shakedown cruise. His charge controller was acting up, too, though his alternator was still putting out 20 amps, better than nothing.
14:45- Isabella called and reported that he got the pulley and pin back in place and tightened the steering cable so he had steerage back for now.
14:5 3rd transfer of fuel from the keel tank to the day tank. N24° 49’ W077° 07’, ~15.7 nm to Allen Cay. Speed 5 kts. Wind still on the nose and seas 3 ft.
17:00- I had 8.9 nm to go and Tripp had managed to get 6 nm in front of me. He put the pedal to the metal and had taken a MoJo turn on a different tack. My ETA was 19:15, before sunset.
18:45- Anchored at Allen Cay in 19 ft. deep. N24° 45.005’ W076° 50.496’. Engine Hours- 1017.5 hrs. Daily Distance- 51.7 nm Ship Log Total- 66,287.2 nm.
I took a warm shower. Nice. It was time for some music, Joni Mitchell, while I cooked dinner, Ground Lamb cooked with onion, tomatoes, parsley, garlic, carrots, turmeric, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt and olive oil. At the end, shredded cabbage and cooked rice were added. It was a heaping amount and even though I ate a big plate full, there were two bags of left-overs. Yummy! I ate in the cockpit with just the light from the cabin spilling out of the companionway. Anchor lights gently swayed in the ripples as the light breeze blew from Allen Cay. It was perfect protection and cool. I reflected on my life after I finished dinner as if watching a slide show or movie. So many things came to mind and I really went deep into certain things that I could never change. I resolved that I wouldn’t have changed them for if I did, I wouldn’t be in this place at this time. I went to dark melancholy places and pulled myself back up with good times. It was sweet and a moment to enjoy. More locked up stories that might never be told except to myself. Island Rose had taken me so many places. She was fine tuned and a tough vessel. I trusted her and called on her to take a licking when the weatherman missed the forecast.
I needed to rebuild the winch at the mast. It was still and needed to be taken apart. I had new parts and grease. The engine needed a good check in the morning. A little more time in the cockpit and then it was time for bed. It had been a long day.

March 16, 2024 Saturday
05:30- Coffee. Engine check- adjusted level of oil in the drive gear box, added ½ qt. oil to the engine, added 1 ½ cups of coolant to the reservoir, adjusted the raw water belt and cleaned the intake water strainer for the engine. Otherwise, a visual check of all connections and lug bolts was all okay.
Breakfast was an egg, bacon and toast with more coffee.
Couldn’t get Chris Parker Weather on 4.045 Mhz. SSB at 06:00.
I had been whistling Lynard Skynyrd, “Free Bird”, to myself until my tongue was tingling. I couldn’t get it our of my head. It was a good time to check-out the mast winch. When I disassembled it, there was salt and grime in the caked grease. I flushed it with anti-corrosion spray and tried to breakdown the old grease. A mini-wire brush and paper towels got most of it out. Everything seemed to be moving freely. The self-tailing plate and circlip were fine. I lightly greased the gears and bearings with fresh grease and reassembled it. It was still a little stiff but turned better with the winch handle. I still didn’t thing everything got flushed out as I had run out spray. It was good for now and I felt better about being able to get Aphid on and off of the deck when needed. Hopefully, with use, it would free up more.
As I looked at the charts, there were a thousand places to go. Tripp would have to choose. I know that he looked forward to spear fishing but this Cay was a preserve and a few Cays down the chain was the start of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. We planned to meet at 09:00 with his dinghy in the water and go see Leaf Cay and the weird Iguanas.
08:30- Cruiseheimer’s Net on 8.152 Mhz. I caught a relay with Rosa and checked-in Island Rose anchored at Allen Cay.
I called with WiFi to Highbourne Cay Marina and inquired about stopping for fuel, ice and water. They monitor VHF 71 and all was okay to stop in, +1 (242) 427-1003.
11:10- Tripp finally showed up to take a ride to Leaf Cay and see the Iguanas. We rounded Allen Cay and turned to port then went to the beach on Leaf Cay. Iguanas were everywhere. They are some kind of ugly! Weird! More interesting were the little black and yellow birds, Bananaquit, that landed on the dinghy and the motor. They had learned to get a hand-out from the tourist. One would eat straight from your hand. We checked out the deep-water anchorage and surveyed the area. Afterward, we promptly returned to our vessels to depart.
12:00- Underway out of the anchorage for Highbourne Cay Marina to get fuel, water and ice.
13:00- Arrived at the channel to the marina and waited on standby VHF 71 for permission to enter and dock. It was an orderly process. 5-10-minute wait and it was my turn. I went in and the man caught my lines. I got 26.6 gallons of diesel, 30-pounds of ice and various produce and pineapple-orange juice. Very easy and polite people. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars rating.
13:20- Departed Highbourne Cay Marina. I motored out into the open to wait on Isabella and started the water maker. Test was 239 ppm. Made a sandwich and ate it with chips while waiting on Isabella.
14:20- Got going toward Norman Cay heading for the anchorage near Skipjack Point about 8 nm away.
14:45- Stopped the water maker and fresh water flushed it.
16:30- Anchored t Normans Cay near Skipjack Point, N25° 35.974’ W076° 49.486’ in 8 ft. deep sand bottom. 50 ft. of chain rode out. Engine Hours- 1022.0 hrs. Daily Distance- 17.0 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,304.2 nm. Cheers! An ice cold Pineapple-Orange drink was refreshing.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Jim and Laurie on Kismet were the Net Control. I got a relay and reported recently arrived and anchored at Norman’s Cay. Isabella reported in as well, next to me.
I was able to communicate with folks at home thanks to Tripp’s Starlink WiFi. When it started going on and off while I was talking to Jane about flights and meeting times in Georgetown, I got tired of fighting the battle. I turned my phone off. Over and Out!
I made a Garden Salad to take to Isabella for out Grilled Steaks and potatoes with asparagus. Tripp came over in his dinghy and gave me a ride to his boat since he already had the dinghy unloaded. It was Tripp’s birthday so I played the Beatles “Birthday Song”. We had a great meal and Bahamian Rum Cake for dessert. Yum! We sat in the cockpit talking until 22:30. When we returned to Island Rose, I gave him some frozen Maine Blueberries and a bottle of special olive oil from St. Augustine for his birthday present. It had been a great day of fun and discoveries. The sea was calm and there was a light breeze. I was ready to turn in for the night. ZZZzzzz…….

March 17, 2024 Sunday
05:30- Coffee. Drinking my coffee in bed gave me time to read a few chapters of my book. It was an interesting account of covert actions by the U.S. and other countries behind the scenes. Unreal!
The engine was cranked in order to charge the house batteries and the battery for my drill. I fashioned a step out of a piece of teak and affixed a 3/8” line through the holes and made to tie off above the step so that it might be easier to get back in the dinghy when free-diving. Another project was to spray the VHF antenna connection at the back of the ICOM 504 with anti-corrosion spray. It was one of those Gold connectors and was clean anyway. The air filter on the refrigeration fan was cleaned, too. The next project was to cut a 4x4 hole in the sink cabinet side panel to create a vent for the water maker pump. I made it by drilling the 4 corners out with a ¾” paddle bit and using a small pull saw to cut the 4 straight lines on the sides and top/bottom. A black louvered vent was screwed over the hole. Nice!
10:00- Tripp came over in his dinghy and we went looking for reefs to spearfish on. They were few and far but we did locate a spot 200 yards off of the shore. We anchored the dinghy and put on our gear and dove in for a look. Tripp came up with a nice sized keeper conch with a pronounced lip on the shell. After striking out on fish and more conch at a few more spots, we returned to the vessels. I had a big bowl, tomato, bell pepper and Serrano pepper on Island Rose which we stopped and got. On Isabella, Tripp had red and yellow onions. We cleaned the conch and rendered the meat. I cut up the bell pepper, some white and red onion, Serrano pepper, tomato and conch meat and blended it all in the bowl with salt and lime juice. I finished it out with some Mandrian orange. Tripp had some crackers and we ate Conch Salad on crackers for our lunch. Yum! It was spicey with just the small amount of Serrano pepper.
14:45- Underway out of Normans Cay heading for Hawksbill Cay.
16:45- Anchored at Hawksbill Cay. N24° 28.570’ W076° 46.740’ in 11 ft. deep. Beautiful water. Engine Hours- 1025.2 hrs. Daily Distance- 10.1 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,314.3 nm. A huge vessel was anchored about ¾ nm from us and a helicopter flew in and landed on the fore-deck.
17:00- Doo Da Net on 8,.152 Mhz. Jay on Minx was Net Control. I got a relay with Rick on C Language and reported Island Rose on anchor at Hawksbill Cay and Isabella was anchored next to me.
I needed to get out of the sun and get a shower. It was hot during the day but the breeze down in the cabin was cool. I chilled out and then got a shower and washed off the salt water.
There was a nice sunset while I cooked Sausage Black Beans and Rice- chopped onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper and tomato sauteed in olive oil. Chopped smoked pork sausage link browned and strained and added to the pot of veggies with cumin, oregano, black pepper, bay leaf and salt. A little water was added when the Black beans went into the pot and all simmered for 20 minutes plus some. Cooked rice on the plate and the results of the pot were spooned over the rice. Just right! It works every time. Yum!
I listened to Pink Floyd “Pulse” while cooking and eating dinner. Great music! A ration of 2 Oreos for dessert and I fell asleep listening to music.

March 18, 2024 Monday
05:00- Coffee. Reading in bed.
06:00- I cranked the engine to charge the batteries. They were really low.
Breakfast- egg, smoked link sausage and toast with OJ.
07:30- Underway out of Hawksbill Cay heading for Wardrick Wells Exuma Land and Sea Park Headquarters ~13.1 nm away.
09:00- I was 6 nm out from the Exuma Land and Sea Park and tried to contact on VHF 09. I did get a scratchy answer, I wasn’t sure that I got an acknowledgment. Isabella did make contact and got confirmation that we both were on the list. We still weren’t sure that we had a mooring and we wanted one for two nights due to approaching weather.
10:00- I called on VHF Ch 09 and talked with ECLSP and was directed to the Emerald Rock mooring field. I was told to pick up a mooring and report my location to the office.
10:20- Caught a mooring at Emerald Rock mooring field. No number was on the mooring. Isabella caught one next to me. N24° 22.811’ W076° 37.882’. Engine Hours- 1029.5 hrs. Daily Distance- 14.4 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,328.7 nm.
I kept the engine running to keep charging the house bank.
Tripp came by in his dinghy and picked me up to go pay at the Headquarters Office. Cherry was at the desk. I paid for one night on anchor at Hawksbill Cay (part of the park) and two nights on the mooring at Emerald Rock. I added a donation to the mix to help out the cause and it was accepted with a smile. The T-shirts were sparse but I found a long sleeve sun shirt that I liked. We returned to our boats for lunch.
I cranked the engine again and added more power to the batteries. They needed about 15% more charge. A ham and cheese sandwich with Fritos was a perfect lunch. Nap time.
Tripp picked me up and we dinghied to Whale Bone Beach. Took a long hike to Boo Boo Hill and posted a plaque for Isabella. After a long search through the piles of plaques, we located three of the four pieces of Island Rose sign and took them back to the boat to glue them together and reenforced and repaired/updated it in order to return it tomorrow.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. (switched to 8.164 Mhz.) KNC got my relay from Desadarado II that Island Rose was on a mooring at Wardrick Wells. I reported for Isabella, too.
I was able to get a weak cell signal and send out a few texts to family and friends. Got out a couple of steaks to cook dinner on Island Rose and made a garden salad, mixed veggie and mushrooms sauteed with olive oil and sherry. Tripp brought cooked cabbage and the stories. We had a fine meal in the cockpit. The sunset was a big orange ball sinking behind the other boats anchored out. It was a fun night.
Later, I sat up and read my book. ZZZzzz……

March 18, 2024 Tuesday
04:30- Coffee. I sat up in bed and read more of my book. It captivated me. I had turned off all but the anchor light and refrigeration during the night to conserve power. The batteries were at 85% so at 06:00, I cranked the engine at 2000 rpm and made hot water and electricity for the batteries.
Later, my breakfast was a Bacon Mushroom and Cheese Omelet that I ate in the cockpit while watching what little sunrise through the heavy cloud cover that I could see. The seas were building with the wind out of the South and the bow of the boat bobbed up and down. The center of the vessel was the best place to be. I saw my prospects for returning the repaired and updated Island Rose sign back to Boo Boo Hill fading. Rain! Wind clocked to the West. There was no protection from that direction.
09:40- Out of the West, it came with a fury. While I was reading, the wind suddenly cranked up to 25 kts. and the seas to 3 ft. Rain streaked and my line to the mooring thimble caught on the anchor making popping noises. I was afraid it would bend the retaining pin for the anchor or cut the lines. There was no choice. In just my bathing suit, I took off my glasses and ran out of the companionway in the blowing rage. Working my way forward on the lurching side deck and to the bow, the rain stung as it hit my bare skin. Luckily, the pin to retain the anchor was not bent and I pulled it out. Peeling back the windlass canvas cover, I let out a couple feet of chain to slack the anchor. The extra line from the bow pulpit to the anchor held the anchor from dropping out and allowed me the ability to control lift it out of the roller and raise it up out of the lines that were snagging on it. I tied it off tight and watched as the bow moved the load from the starboard to port lines and cleared the anchor. All was good. I had forgotten about the stinging rain as my task was priority. I covered the windlass and put the bungee cord back over it then retreated for the cockpit. My swimsuit was dripping with rain water and my hair and body had been power washed. I stripped down naked and went below. In the head, I wrung out my washed swimsuit and took a towel to dry off. No sooner had I settled back did the rain and wind abate. The seas calmed and all was well.
Later, I heard a roar outside and looked out of the companionway. A single engine sea plane landed near me. A guy in a dinghy had come out and was waiting for it and a passenger exited the plane and onto the floats. By that time, the plane was stopped and the dinghy pulled up and picked up the passenger and headed ashore. Shortly, it started sprinkling again and the sea plane reeved up the engine and took off, flying away. Cool! Life in the Bahamas.
I called Isabella on the VHF Ch 16 and wanted to see if he was up to going back up Boo Boo Hill with me and returning the repaired sign and look once more for Blessed Spirit’s sign. Corning had wanted me to try and find it and bring it back to him. Tripp was up to the task and came over to pick me up.
We tied the dinghy to the dock and hiked the trail up the steep hill to Boo Boo Hill. I carried the battery powered drill and Phillips driver bit with me with the restored sign. There were some stainless-steel screws in the upright board that use to hold Island Rose’s plaque on it and I backed them out with the drill. I picked a spot on a heavy duty 2 x 6 treated post with several signs on it and S/V Isabella had left a space under her plaque big enough for mine. I climbed up the mountain of signs in a heap and securely screwed the repaired and updated Island Rose 2012, 20113, 2019 and 2024 sign to the post. It was a perfect spot. All the while I was mounting my sign, Tripp was digging through the pile where the pieces of Island Rose were found and looking for Blessed Spirit ’08. I had found it in 2019 with mine and mounted it next to Island Rose back then. Corning had texted me wishing that he could get it back if it was found. Finally, Tripp commented that he was all the way down to coral rock and no Blessed Spirit. It was a gallant effort. Flipping over one last piece of wood before quitting, he said, “Hear it is! I found it!” Sure enough, he had Blessed Spirit in his hand. I brushed it off and slipped it in my backpack to return it to Corning. Our mission was accomplished.
We hiked back down the hill and across the mangrove sand flat to the beach and Park Office. I had requested a bag of ice if possible before we set out on our walk and Cherry came up with a 5-pound bag of ice cubes. I thanked her and paid for the ice. We jumped in the dinghy and made our way back to the boats.
Lunch was a pot of heated up Sausage, Black beans with veggies and rice. Yum!
I studied the charts and old logs for Pipe Creek. It looked good and was only 15 nm away.
More reading and falling asleep as the breeze blew and increased.
16:25- Another squall hit raining cats and dogs with gusting wind over 20 kts. out of the North. Thunder could be heard, too. Tripp and I had planned a pizza party aboard Isabella but the weather was not cooperating. I was glad to be on a mooring with an oversized new pendant. Island Rose was getting a good fresh-water washing.
18:30- I hailed Tripp on the VHF and reported that the weather would be cancelling the pizza party. I would have to go for it alone. I put on some music and pulled out the crust. The packaging had already popped open and I had put it in a Zip-lock and it was swelling up. I pushed the dough into a ball and worked it trying to spread it out into a flat circle on the pie pan. It had other ideas because after I had thinned it out in a circle and turned around to cut a few more veggies, I looked back and it was in a ball again. I finished making the fixings and pushed out the dough again. The oven was already hot and I slid in the crust and cooked it about 6-8-minutes to get it started and set the shape. When I got it out, it was brushed with olive oil, spread with marinara sauce, sprinkled with Italian cheeses lightly before adding shrimp, bell pepper, red onion, white onion, Serrano pepper, Italian sausage, tomato, more cheeses, oregano and basil. It went back into the oven at 450° F. for 8-10 more minutes. Bingo! A fine pizza dinner. I listened to music and ate. Later, reading a few chapters in the book put me to sleep. ZZZzzzz….

March 19, 2024 Wednesday
04:40- Coffee. I had a weak signal on my iPhone outside in the cockpit. The early morning stars were endless. A North breeze blew at 10 kts. and the wind generator did its work.
I researched the weather to confirm Tripp’s comment on the weather the night before. It was true that starting on Thursday night, we would have strong weather for several days. Each day the forecast was from a different direction and over 20-25 kts. We need to get to another place to hunker down. The problem was that nowhere was a perfect spot for everyday within our distance of travel. Little Farmers Cay had moorings and could be reached before Thursday afternoon. I texted Tripp for a look at the option and waited for a response. I didn’t want to talk about it on the VHF for everybody to hear.
I made more coffee and cooked an Onion, Bell Pepper, Ham and Cheese Omelet for breakfast. I had < 1/4 tank of fuel in the day tank so I went ahead and made the 1st transfer from the keel tank to the day tank. I needed to make water with the water maker after getting underway and fill the starboard tank that I had been working from. It was down to 5-gallons in it but the port tank was ¾ full.
Engine check- I saw threads of shredded belt on the raw water pump and took off the alternator belt to get to the raw water belt. Apparently, just a thread from the side of the alternator belt had raveled off and hung on the raw water pump. I inspected both belts and they were fine, readjusted them and tightened everything back up. Oil level for the engine and drive gear box was fine. Coolant level was okay, too.
08:40- Underway out of Wardwick Wells. I rolled out the jib and motor sailed to make electricity and water. Started the water maker and the sample test was 233 ppm. The wind held up all the way to Staniel Cay. We had hoped to get a mooring at Little Farmers Cay but Tripp was unable to reach anyone by phone through his Starlink that could give him good firm info. The other option was to anchor at Black Point. He did manage to get in touch with Staniel Cay Yacht Club by iPhone and they had some mooring vacant on a first-come first-serve basis. I found them on Dockwa but was only able to get on the waitlist for the dates I plugged in. We headed for Staniel Cay and crossed our fingers.
12:05- Caught Mooring #9 at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. N24° 10.332’ W076° 26.901’. Engine Hours- 1038.6 hrs. Daily Distance- 18.8 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,347.5 nm. I called in on the VHF 12 and reported to let them know I had signed in on Dockwa on the waitlist. Tripp caught a mooring just ahead of me with one boat between us. The wind and current were strong and I just about broke my back trying to catch the mooring pendant. I got it on the third try. We were in a good place for the upcoming storm. I shut down the water maker and flushed it with fresh-water. The starboard tank was over ½ full (about 18-gallons).
Tripp have me a ride ashore in exchange for a beer each trip to the Yacht Club Bar. Deal! I loaded my garbage and backpack and we headed ashore. After checking in and getting rid of the garbage, we immediately melted into the scene. It was crowded at the bar but we found two stools. I bought Tripp a beer and ordered me a Tonic water on ice with a lime. The place really hadn’t changed since my last visit and I liked that. We ordered lunch, Mahi Sandwich (fish of the day).
It was time to explore so after a stop at the gift shop for shirts and watching people wading with a pile of friendly Nurse sharks accumulated by the Conch cleaning station, we charged onward. Staniel Cay Laundromat and Liquor Store was on the left. The dive shop was further down on the right. A turn to the left there got us to Burke Grocery and we found good produce, onions, tomatoes, Pineapple juice, spices, canned chicken breast meat and the like. We had a load, so it was time to return the provisions to our boats. When we got back to the SCYC office and dinghy beach, I got two 10-pound bags of ice.
After stowing away the goods, we took a ride via dinghy to the end of town and motored up a channel that went to Illes Grocery. I bought a dozen eggs, WD40 spray and a red bell pepper, $26. Ouch! We had been told about a Seaside Bakery that sold Coconut bread cooked by Loraine’s Mom on Black Point and sent over daily (weather permitting) to a pavilion by the waterfront near the dive shop. It was a must on my list to get some fresh Coconut bread.
Later in the afternoon, we gathered our laundry and carried it to the laundromat. The lady was closing up for the day and said that she wouldn’t be open again until Saturday. Dang… struck out! We returned back to the bar and had beverages. I drank iced Pineapple juice and bought Tripp a couple Kalik beers for the dinghy rides. For a snack, I ordered some Fried Grouper Fingers to split. More visiting with people and relaxation.
We were back at our vessels before sunset. I cooked a small serving of Shrimp with Mushrooms in Champagne Cream Sauce over Pasta. Yummy! Music filled the cabin and the sunset was fine. I had taken a bucket bath when I got back to Island Rose and it felt good to be clean. Also, I got a text from Ken and Amy on S/V Nancy. They had made it to the Bahamas and were in a marina for the storm. A power vessel had dragged on anchor and hit them the night before with no damage to S/V Nancy. Thank goodness! It had been a long day. ZZZzzzzz…..

S/V Island Rose
Sailing Log

2024 Bahamas Cruise Part2
Marathon, FL to West Bay, New Providence Island, Bahamas

March 8, 2024 Friday
07:00- Coffee. Cereal with strawberries. I switched from the starboard RO water tank to the port tank to save the product water in the starboard tank for flushing every 3-5 days or until I made water again. The port tank had blended water in it from Clearwater Marina.
Tripp called and said his refrigeration was not keeping up and he would have to charge the freon. He had everything onboard. His rudder was bouncing up and down from ¼" of slack space between the rudder and the hull. It was making bumping noises and causing his rudder post stuffing bearing to leak a little. He planned to dive under on the rudder and shim between the space with this donut shims made from composite material. Fun! Fixing things on the fly. Sailing!
08:30- Cruiseheimer's Net on 8.152 Mhz. Raj on Rosa was Net Control. I checked in Island Rose as anchored at Marathon. I heard Planet Waves check-in from the Palm Beach area and said they were heading to the Bahamas. I checked-in Isabella, too.
The engine check was all okay. I called Safe Harbor Marina in Marathon and managed to secure dockage for both of us. We booked it through Dockwa and got confirmation.
I called John Davis and Sheilla on Planet Waves. We had a great talk and brought each other up to date. Hoped to meet in the Exumas. I had been running the engine for about 1 ½ hours to bring the batteries up in the 92% range but no longer needed it with the marina reservation and shore power there.
Called Jane and chatted. Roof was leaking around the fireplace so it needed sealant at the flashing and sealant under the screws in the metal roof.
I took a nap while I transferred fuel from the keel to the day tank. It filled the day tank nearly full.
12:00- Underway off of the anchor for Safe Harbor Marina for fuel and dockage.
12:35- Docked N24° 42' W081° 06.757'. Diesel- 32.4 gallons. 30 lbs. of ice. Engine Hours- 968.5 hrs. Daily Distance- 1.2 nm. Ship Log Total- 65,981.8 nm. Black gnats were bad. Moved to the outer T-dock and tied up. Checked in at the marina office and made my way down to Lazy Days South Street Restaurant on the premises for lunch. Coconut Shrimp Appetizer and Hogfish Piccata Sandwich with French fries. Afterward, I returned to Island Rose and got a shower while doing laundry. Afterward, Tripp and I caught a cab to West Marine and the grocery to punch out our list. Later for dinner, we settled on Lazy Days Restaurant again. Appetizer- Sesame Crusted Tuna (rare) with seaweed salad, pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce. The main entrée was Grouper Lorenzo- pan seared grouper filet topped with Stone Crab Cake and lemon cream sauce. Baked potato and Ceasar salad. That meal did me in. I bought a shirt on the way out but when I got back aboard on Island Rose at the end of the dock, I realized the shirt was the wrong size so I had to walk all the way back to the restaurant and exchange it for the right size. ZZZzzzzzzz........

March 9, 2024 Saturday
06:00- Coffee and breakfast- egg, bacon, toast and Mandrian orange. Afterward, I tried to get to the laundry and wash my sheets but there were four loads ahead of me.
I went to the office and got a 10 lb. bag of ice and stowed it in my little Igloo.
At Isabella, we were able to log on the Bahamas Click 2 Clear website and register as a user. An email confirmation came through and that is as far as we could proceed until further notification that we never got. Very confusing.
10:30- Underway out of Marathon bound for Bimini, Bahamas. Once East of Washerwoman Shoal, I turned on a heading of 102° M. with the mainsail and staysail out in 15 kts. SE wind. Sunny sky. 2-3 ft. seas.
13:10- N24° 37' W080° 58', ~112 nm to Bimini WPT. Speed was 4.9 kts. Changed heading to ~070° M.
15:40- N24° 42' W080° 43', ~97.9 nm to Bimini WPT. Speed was 4.9 kts. Wind was 10 kts. SE. Heading was 073° M.
16:30- The speed had dropped as well as the wind and Island Rose was only making about 3.5 kts. and ½ of that was the Gulf Stream current. I cranked the engine and proceeded at 5.5 kts. and charged the house battery bank.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Jim on Kismet was Net Control. I reported that Island Rose was on passage Marathon to Bimini at position N24° 45' W080° 36'. ETA was late Sunday morning. Speed was 5.7 kts. Wind died so I was motoring. Isabella reported in as well.
19:00- N24° 50' W080° 24', ~79.7 nm to Bimini WPT. The wind freshened and I shut down the engine. The batteries were back to 100% charged. Speed was 5.9 kts. The stream was helping a little more. I cooked a steak on the grill and potatoes and sautéed zucchini and onions.
19:30- N24° 51' W080° 21', ~76.5 nm to Bimini WPT. Turned to port on a heading of 052° M.
21:00- Contact with Isabella via VHF. N24° 59' W080° 12', ~64.8 nm to Bimini. Cat Nap rotations.

March 10, 2024 Sunday
02:00- N25° 25' W079° 43', ~27.3 nm to Bimini WPT. Isabella and I had been exchanging hours on watch while the other rested. We had a system of notifying each other in the event of traffic. The cruise ships were pouring out of the Bahamas for Miami and Ft. Lauderdale but we managed. Island Rose was making 8 kts. with sails alone and the Gulf Stream current but I had to crank the engine to charge the batteries even if to run it in neutral. She was pressing forward like a freight train and the ETA at Bimini WPT was before sunrise. That was hours in advance of our planned arrival so I turned to wind and rolled in the jib. That reduced me to staysail and mainsail with the engine at 1100 rpm idle.
Isabella called me to inform me about Cruise ship Carnaval Horizon hailed me to get my intentions. I apparently couldn't hear him on the VHF and returned the call on 16 and 13 but got no answer. I tried the handheld and got an answer. We switched to CH 06 and I could hear him. When I listened on the main VHF radio, it was loud and clear and he could hear me. We agreed that I would stay on a heading of 060° M. at 6.7 kts. and he would take my stern to clear me. I'm sure that I confused him when I turned to wind to roll in the jib. All was well.
02:40- After the cruise ship went by on my stern, I turned up to wind and took in the staysail. My course was corrected to 073° M. and speed dropped to 5.3 kts. That was much better with an 08:00 ETA. Daylight! Time changed Spring Forward!
05:10- N25° 30' W079° 31', ~16.2 nm to Bimini WPT. Speed was 5.0 kts. Sea 2 ft. SE wind at 10-12 kts. Changed course to 055° M. to follow the route line. I turned off the engine. Contact made with Isabella via VHF.
07:00- ~8 nm to Bimini WPT. Mainsail down. Yellow Quarantine Flag raised. Coffee. Pumped out the holding at legal distance to sea.
08:00- I turned to starboard to check out the possibility of anchoring out behind North Turtle Rock ~2.6 nm from our destination. It would give us a change to regroup and maybe Click 2 Clear.
09:00- Anchored behind North Turtle Rock in 11 ft. deep low in a sand patch. 1 ft. sea. N25° 40.109' W079° 18.253'. Wind was South at 10-12 kts. Engine Hours- 978.9 hrs. Passage Distance- 124 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,105.8 nm. I settled in and made breakfast- egg, bacon and toast.
13:00- Napped until 13:00 and called a few marinas after getting the weather. Sea Crest Marina saved us 2 slips and gave me the scoop on getting into North Bimini channel. I worked on Click 2 Clear website on my iPhone until my brain exploded. No answer on the VHF from Tripp. I needed his Starlink on so that I could get WiFi and use my laptop.
15:40- Finally got in touch with Isabella. Discussed the situation and agreed to get into the marina before they closed.
15:45- Underway for Alice Town, Bimini. We followed the deep water outside the sandbar along South Bimini and turned into the channel marked by temporary red buoys (the green was out of position on a sandbar). Once near the shore, we turned to port and followed the marked channel into Alice Town Harbor.
16:40- Arrived at Sea Crest Marina. N25° 43.455' W079° 17.872'. Engine Hours- 979.8 hrs. Daily Distance- 4.1 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,109.9 nm. Some of the boaters docked there caught my lines and helped me tie up. It was good to be docked. I gathered up my paperwork for clearing in Bahamas.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Switched to 8.146 Mhz. Jay on Minx was Net Control. I checked Island Rose in as recently arrived at Alice Town, Bimini. Isabella checked-in too.
The time was getting late but, somehow, we made it to the Immigration Office and cleared in with that process. When I got to the Customs Office, the agents were just leaving but were able to fix my mistake on one question of the Click 2 Clear site and issue me a Cruising Permit for 90 days and a Fishing Permit as well, all $150 total fee. Tripp still had to file the Click 2 Clear process online but was assured he could come to the Customs Office and get his Cruising Permit and Fishing Permit in the morning since he had checked in with Immigration first.
We were both tired but returned our papers to the vessels before heading back out to get a good meal. The Bimini Big Game Club Hotel and Marina had a perfect restaurant. We relaxed in the night breeze and ate a fine dinner. I got Baked Spiney Lobster Tails, peas and rice and a baked potato. Tripp ordered a Grilled Grouper with Lime Sauce and vegetables. We both finished off the evening with Key Lime Pie. Wow! Kool place. A walk back to the marina was tough. Once there, I got a shower aboard and hit the sack. ZZZzzzzz.......

March 11, 2024 Monday
08:00- Coffee. I had slept like a log but woke up during the night with cramps in my legs, toes and fingers. There was a clear sky. The air conditioner had already kicked on and cycled so I could tell it was going to be a hot day. I made breakfast- cereal and peaches.
I was picking up the Starlink WiFi from Tripp's boat and had an automatic connection on my iPhone. Perfect!
I stopped by the office and signed in with Al. The rate was very reasonable. When Tripp walked down to Customs to clear in, I tagged along to clarify what was filled in on the Click 2 Clear to the question about the engine certification document that kept giving me an error. As it turned out, the horsepower of the engine is what you put there. In my case, that would be the number 30. Who knew?
Back at the marina, I got two bags of ice from Patrick at $4.50 per 10-pound bag. I did not have small bills to pay so he said just come by and pay later. Very laid back. I talked with Dan and Amber from another boat on the dock, S/V Odessa Leone. Their boat was steel, too, with a pilot house. He was from Ontario, Canada and had been in the Bahamas for four months. This was the first dock they had tied up to.
The engine check was that I added ¼ pint of oil to the motor and a little coolant to the reservoir. Filled the starboard water tank with marina water.
Tripp and I strolled along the road to the bottom of the island exploring. There was a beautiful beach there. Along the way, we stopped at Big John's and ate lunch, Lobster Tacos, Conch Fritters and Snapper Fingers with fries. Great view and good food. Big John is really a big tall guy that could be a huge NFL player. On the way to the beach, we saw a cluster of small fishing skiffs and a group of men seated in the shade talking. Nice local scene. Further down across the street from the old family compound of the Jack Daniels fame, C.1919, an old guy had a bar-b-que grill with seafood shes-ka-bob sticks that he was delicately tending. We stopped and chatted with him and learned of the Jack Daniels story. I love Street Food so I bought a seafood stick from him. Wow! Lobster and Shrimp with pineapple and tomato. Yummy! Life is good! There was a wall painted with Bimini "Island In The Stream". It was fitting.
When I got back to the marina, I paid Patrick for the ice. No problem mon!
Down at the end of the island where we went there was a propane truck parked in the shade and they fill propane tanks. We were told $15 for small tanks and $20 for big tanks. Pure Lite Gas (242) 808-1130.
Most of the afternoon was spent working on the installation of solar panels on top of Isabella's dodger and snaking 10-gauge wire through the built in wire chase passages. The clearance for wire was tighter than expected but we got it done.
17:40- We paid up our slip and electrical charges for two nights. Island Rose had a $155 total bill with free water, too. Wind was cool ENE.
At dinner, we went back to Big John's. I got the entrée of Fried Filet of Snapper with French fries and mixed vegetables. The fish was Panko crust fried. Pretty good. Our discussion led us to making the decision to give it a shot to make a passage across the Bahama Elbow Bank to an anchorage short of the Northwest Passage. That put us in a place to make a short passage to Morgan Bluff, Andros on Wednesday.
I got back to Island Rose and the Street Food caught up with me. CaBoom! ZZZzzz.....

March 12, 2024 Tuesday
05:00- Coffee. 2 eggs over-easy, bacon and toast for breakfast. I checked the charts and tides. It was an incoming flood tide about ½ way rising. The wind was East at 10 kts.
07:20- Lines prepped for release. Power and water lines pulled and stowed away. Garbage taken out.
07:40- Underway out of Bimini. East wind at 8-10 kts. Rising tide. Heading out the inlet then North around the top of Bimini at North Rocks and ESE for Mackie Shoal WPT. Then, heading for Northwest Passage area ~60nm away.
08:45- Cruiseheimer's Net on 8.164 Mhz. I checked-in Island Rose on passage from Bimini to Northwest Passage.
09:00- North Rock. Turned to starboard on a heading of 109° M. N25° 44' W078° 51', ~33 nm to Mackie Shoal WPT.
09:50- Flushed the water maker.
13:15- N25° 44' W078° 51', ~12 nm from Mackie Shoal WPT. I was dodging the marked dangerous rocks indicated on the Chart Plotter and making about 5 kts. It was 37 nm to the Northwest Passage anchorage. I hoped to pick up speed when the turn to starboard came at Mackie Shoal. Then, I would be off of the wind.
While motor sailing along in the vast emptiness of the Bank, I put together the makings for a Pasta Tuna Salad, white onion, red onion, parsley, bell pepper, Greek olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, cooked and chilled Tri-color Rotini pasta, Zesty Italian dressing, mayo and salt and pepper. It was refrigerated and then I added a package of tuna fish. Yum! It keeps refrigerated a long time.
14:50- 1st transfer of fuel from the keel tank to the day tank.
15:20- Made Mackie Shoal WPT and turned to ~130° M.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. (switched to 8.146 Mhz.) Dee was Net Control. I reported that Island Rose was passage from Bimini to Russel Light. Speed was 5 kts. Heading was ~152° M. 1 ft. sea.
19:00- Anchored in the wreck area near Russell Light between route lines to Northwest Passage in 15 ft. deep. N25° 29.396' W078° 27.247'. Engine Hours- 991.4 hrs. Daily Distance- 59.8 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,169.7 nm. Isabella circled the area with his sonar on and saw nothing near where we anchored. Even though we were out on the Banks totally exposed to a SE 10 kt. wind and slightly lumpy 1 ft. sea, we were protected by the fact that the area on the chart plotter marked with slashes of red lines in an irregular circle marked danger wreck. It was a large spot and we never could see or find evidence of the wreck where we were. It was enough to make people take note and avoid passage. Both of us had our AIS and anchor lights on and two Lucy lights each for safety. A third sailboat, Ruckus, came in an anchored near us. We were enough radar target for any Cruise ship or Mailboat.
Island music filled the cabin as I cooked a hamburger patty and boiled potatoes with Pasta salad on the side for dinner. The welcomed meal hit the spot. Afterward, more music played and put me to sleep. ZZZzzzz......

March 13, 2024 Wednesday
06:00- Coffee. Listened to Chris Parker Weather on 4.045 Mhz. USB on the SSB radio.
I took a fine shower. Wow! Afterward, a route to Morgan Bluff, Andros was created in the Chart Plotters, ~36 nm away. As best as I could calculate, the current at Northwest Passage would be okay.
07:50- Underway from Russell Light wreck to Morgan Bluff.
08:30- Cruiseheimer's Net on 8.152 Mhz. Ann on Bees Knees was Net Control. I reported short-time that Island Rose was underway from Russell Light to Morgan Bluff and that Isabella was alongside.
It was another Bob Seger Day, "Against the Wind".
11:05- Northwest Channel Passage made. Turned to starboard to a heading of ~158° M.
I rolled out a skirt bait behind to try my luck for Mahi or Wahoo. I was entering the Tongue of the Ocean and at the shelf that drops off into the abyss.
Tuna Salad for lunch was quick and perfect.
13:20- My depth gauge had locked up so I turned toward shallower water to get it to reset. As I figured, I caught a fish in the 40 ft. deep water but it was a Spanish Maceral. I threw it back into the sea. Although a tasty fish when fried, it is very boney. He tore up my skirt on my bait. All the same because I wanted to change colors of the skirt anyway. The depth gauge started working again and all was okay. It was ~6.8 nm to Morgan Bluff. No sooner than 30 seconds after I changed the skirt on the rig (purple and pink) did another maceral grab it before I could get to 100 ft. deep water. I wanted Mahi for dinner. I got another strike and it bent the rod over but the fish got off before I could see what it was.
14:25- Made the WPT to turn to starboard for Morgan Bluff ~2 nm away. The entrance was just like the chart plotter said only the buoys were gone. I followed the deep water visually and on the chart plotter.
14:50- Anchored at Morgan Bluff, N26° 10.571' W078° 01.710' in 10 ft. deep.
Engine Hours- 999.3 hrs. Daily Distance- 37.4 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,207.1 nm.
This was a beautiful hide-e-hole.
We took Aphid ashore and explored around looking for the Willie's Bar and the Captain Morgan well where he was supposed to have gotten his water. We found neither. The recent hurricanes must have wiped out the bar.
Back at Island Rose, I had thawed out 2 mini slabs of ribs for dinner. The plan was to pickup Tripp before dinner and he would bring over some black-eyed peas to cook. I had Pasta Salad to go with the ribs. A little later, I got a text from Tripp that he had been watching some boaters dinghy into the beach at the center of the cove and walk up the sandy hill to a little shed built there. He determined it was an establishment bar of sorts. I agreed to pick him up and go check it out.
As it turned out, the little place was a bar and grill named Below Deck Bar and Grill. A few other cruisers were there when we arrived and took a seat. Tripp got a rum punch and I got a tonic water on ice with lime. We chatted with the folks next to us and enjoyed the scene. We were told there were caves nearby that may be where Captain Morgan and his pirates hid and maybe there was a spring or well there but we had to get back to the boat and cook ribs.
Dinner on Island Rose was Grilled Pork Ribs, Pasta Salad and Black-eyed peas infused with onion, garlic, cumin and port trimmings. Wow! What a meal! Music played, we ate and talked telling stories with a great sunset. It was great out in the cockpit in the trade-wind breeze. It doesn't get much better.
After dinner, I took Tripp back to Isabella and called it a night. With the ports and main cabin hatch open and a breeze..... ZZZzzzz......

March 14, 2024 Thursday
06:00- Coffee. Weather check. Cereal with peaches. I loaded Aphid onto the foredeck and put the 2 hp motor on the stern mount rail. The boat engine ran to heat water while I took a shower to get the salt and sweat off of me. The wind was East at 10 kts. Partly cloudy skies but friendly clouds.
I called Jane on Isabella's Starlink WiFi and chatted.
08:30- Cruiseheimer's Net on 8.152 Mhz. Larry on Myra was Net Control. Relay by Rick on C Language, I reported that Island Rose was getting underway from Morgan Bluff to West Bay at New Providence Island.
08:50- Underway out of Morgan Bluff for West Bay about 28 nm away. I followed the bread crumb trail on the chart plotter out of the harbor entrance. Once on a heading of ~120° M, I rolled out the staysail motoring hard pinched to wind making 5.5 kts. in a 1-2 ft. sea. It was a perfect speed for fishing so I let out a line with a purple and pink shirt trailing behind. I was crossing the Tongue of the Ocean where it would be roughly 8800 ft. deep in my location mid-day.
10:20- Ran the water maker on flush for 5-minutes and tested the water, 300 ppm.
10:30- Started filling the starboard tank that was about 18 gallons from full. Port tank needed about 8 gallons.
11:00- 2nd transfer of fuel from the keel tank to the day tank.
11:30- Contact made with Isabella on VHF. I retested the water coming out of the water maker and it tested 195 ppm.
12:00- N25° 05' W077° 45', ~12.2 nm to West Bay, New Providence Island. Speed was 4.5 kts. Wind was ESE at 15 kts. Sea 2 ft. Slogging away.
12:30- Submarine off of my starboard beam on the surface underway heading Northeast.
14:22- Stopped the water maker and flushed it. Rolled in the staysail as I was just too close to the wind for it to do anything.
14:45- Anchored in West Bay. N25° 01.391' W077° 32.930', in 7.5 ft. deep low. Engine Hours- 1006.1 hrs. Daily Distance- 28.4 nm. Ship Log Total- 66,235.5 nm.
I checked the water level on the cells of the house batteries and all was perfect.
Cheese and crackers with an iced beverage. I found the number for the Exuma Land and Sea Park at Wardrick Wells Headquarters on the Internet and called it. They gave Island Rose and Isabella priority on the list for March 18. I looked at the chart and distances and it was possible.
17:00- Doo Dah Net on 8.152 Mhz. Larry on Mya was Net Control. I got a relay with Kismet that Island Rose recently arrived at West Bay, New Providence.
I made a phone call to Jane and between talking and texting, we made a tentative plan for her to connect with Island Rose in Georgetown, Great Exuma. I did some test with my iPhone and WiFi calling using Isabella's Starlink by texting, voice and email to Tripp with my cellular data turned off. I got everything working but didn't know for sure if I was being charged. It was a mystery.
Dinner was Chicken and Vegetable Primavera on Pasta. I was trying to use up some of the produce that needed to be cooked. By the time it was ready, I was able to eat in the cockpit and watch the sun go down into the sea. I listened to Bob Segar followed by Pink Floyd Pulse and chilled out. ZZzzz......