Jazzy Lady's 2019/20 Cruising Adventure

*This post starts while on the last full day of our trip, and ends a few days after our arrival home.

Well, it’s Kimbo here, as Guest Blogger and enthusiastic 🇧🇸Bahama Mama🇧🇸of the past 5 incredible days aboard Jazzy Lady!
👩🏻‍🦱 ☀️ ⚓️ 🕶 🐬 🗺
We arrived via Toronto to Nassau, and then caught a rickety 16-seater plane on Pineapple Air from Nassau to North Eleuthera, where we then got in a van with a dozen various locals (including a huge dog, a baby in a portable car seat, and a guy drinking a beer!); all bound for Spanish Wells, where Meg and family had spent the last 2.5 weeks. Jasper handled each leg of the journey like a champ, with every aspect being a “first”. First two flights of his life in one day!
When we saw Annie, Alistair & Mark waving madly at us from their dinghy, Little Lady, at the mouth of the marina - we knew we’d arrived at the right place, and it was a beautiful thing.
The small ferry left us and our bags at the tall docks, as Mark and the kids clamboured up the dock ladder and tackled us with hugs. 🤗 🤗 🤗
We dinghied down the channel, as Jazzy Lady came into view, and with it - Meg, too. She was a wonderful sight to see!
Before long we were off on foot from where the boat was docked, and we strolled through the town of Spanish Wells, shopped at the sizable grocery store and had our first toes-in-sand beach experience of the trip; and Jasper’s first time frolicking oceanside. The water of the Bahamas is known for its light turquoise colour, due to the shallow depths between the many islands and the nearly white sands beneath. It was breathtaking from the air, but being on the edge of that water, with the warm breeze and sounds of the surf was truly magical.

Having returned home 3 days ago - I look back on our trip as a thrilling whirlwind of activity and adventure; even when we were at sea for a 7-hour stretch one day, to get from tranquil Alabaster Bay (middle of Eleuthera Island) to Rock Sound, where Meg and the kids are now anchored until Mark's back from a work turn.
Much respect to Mark and to Meg, especially, who does the grinding and winding to adjust the sails, generally, and and while tacking - it's even more intense (most times with swearing involved!)! We were in winds of up to 34 knots if I'm recalling that right, and the boat was wildly rocking, constantly. My sea legs were tried and stayed true - with ginger ("Gravol" lite) tablets to keep Aaron, Megan and me from succumbing to seasickness, and actual Gravol was given to the kids, who were all knocked out cold for 1.5hrs on 2 separate occasions in 6 days. Along the way we saw a total of 5 dolphins just off the bow, and left them leaping at our stern; watched pelicans soaring while we walked on the beach; saw live jelly fish, star fish, urchins and many schools of tiny fish skirting atop the calm waters we anchored in!
When we dinghied to shore, each time was a new adventure. Twice we had beaches all to ourselves and once we had to share one with maybe a dozen other people, with loads of space between encounters!
We ate Conch Fritters with happy hour libations in Spanish Wells, had freshly-speared Crab (x2) and Lion Fish (x3) in Alabaster Bay, thanks to Mark for the catching and cooking and to Meg for the cleaning and filleting - off the stern stoop! The discarded Lion Fish innards almost immediately drew the attention of a Barracuda, only 5 feet below the surface, I'd say! We couldn't take our eyes off of him, it was an intense lurking and I guess a bit of a feast for him!!
We made trips on foot to places called: The Glass Window; The Ocean Hole; Cathedral Caves; and to an abandoned Naval Base that operated, from 1955 - 1985, a submerged sound surveillance system (SOSUS) for monitoring submarine activities during the Cold War. The sight was impressive and eery, and Aaron's research that evening found that it housed approx. 250 personnel at max capacity once upon a time!
All the while, 3 kids laughed, jostled, hugged, SNACKED, played, sang, danced, listened to The Wizard Of Oz audio-book, read to one another, played hide and seek, drew cartoons, talked in funny accents, swung in the on-deck hammock and kept us company in the cockpit! We were a hardy crew, on top of one another and happy to be so for 6 days of memories made on the Ocean blue.
Aaron, Jasper and I couldn't treasure our time aboard Jazzy Lady any more than we do. It was a whirlwind adventure sailing vacation we'll likely not have the chance to do again.
Meg - my admiration and esteem for all you do on board, and all you provide for your family while home-schooling and entertaining Annie and Alistair is beyond measure; I'm just so glad to have experienced it first-hand, to have felt that Bahamian breeze, warm sunshine and salty brine each day with you and yours was a true gift!
We thank you so completely!!! ❤️⚓️🇧🇸
Pic is of Cathedral Caves in Rock Sound

⛵️ Kimbo OUT. 😘