STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
I need to start by saying sorry to Aunt Peggy. I have deprived her of her bedtime stories for sometime now. I will really try to make this a daily thing again like it used to be!
It has been a lot of work and not a lot of play. Wednesday we finally found the right tools to press in the new bearings and wear ring on the jet pump housing on the jet boat. Everything came together nicely and it was a great accomplishment to fix the entire jet drive of a jet boat while in the Bahamas. The owners son and I took it out for a test drive and the thing popped right out of the water and up on plane. It was so quiet and smooth. Shortly after cleaning up our tools we took off for Sampson Cay, which is only a short trip north. Our friends, Beach Girl, were there and it was fun to see them again. I hopped in the water with the third lung to clean the running gear (shafts, props, rudders, etc.) and the owner and his son came in with me. After we were all finished we were swimming around just enjoying the 85-ish degree water and we saw some Jack Crevalle (sp?) swim by. The owner wanted me to try and spear one. I got the spear and swam after them. I got one but he got off the end of the spear. Just like that sharks were everywhere. It was fine because they were nurse sharks for awhile, but they definitely knew something was in the water. I stayed calm and just kept an eye on all of them when suddenly a lemon shark came out of no where and hit my spear with his tail....time to get out of the water. I let the owner and his son get out first and to my surprise didn't see the lemon shark while I was waiting. I am not scared of sharks anymore...for the most part :-)...unless there is blood in the water when we are spearfishing. That is when accidents (feedings) happen.
Thursday I spent most of the day inside the boat. I had to rearrange my crew quarters as Jessie would be taking the top bunk and she needed some drawer space. The owner and his son took off in the dinghy to help the island internet guy fix the internet at Little Hall's Pond, Johnny Depp's private island. I finished up getting the boat clean and then tore it all apart again. I took everything out of the refrigerator, lined it up alphabetically, and entered it in to an excel spreadsheet. I then did the same thing for all of the food in the cupboards and in the pantry. It took me a long time, but I could tell you every detail about all of the food we have on board now. It was also nice to clean the cabinets and fridge shelves. That night I went and hung out with my friends, Val and Nuno, who were in town for a two day charter. For those who forgot they are the crew on the 65' Sunreef Catamaran "Sparrow". I played some guitar, made some mac and cheese and went to bed. Another nice and slow night.
Friday I woke up earlier than expected...about 5:30. My stomach was at hell's gate and wanted to make me pay. After a visit to the head I stayed in bed and moaned. The owners son finally came down around 10:30, curious as to why I wasn't out of bed yet. I moaned and said it has been hell on earth since 5:30. The rest of the day was nothing but rest. I managed to get out of bed around 2:00 PM and lay on the couch and watch the Masters. I was feeling better by the end of the day and was glad because my parents were on their way.
Saturday I got up and started washing the outside of the boat right away. It took most of the morning and after we were done we took off for Staniel Cay. It was only about an hour now until my parents and Jessie would be landing! It was a hot day. Washing the boat was spent drenched in sweat and I had to peel it off my back. I took the scooter down to the airport and to my surprise they were just stepping off of the plane!! We took them straight to the bar and had a nice cold Kalik! Afterwards we came back to the boat and had our opening ceremonies jumping off the top of the boat. While swimming around we noticed that it was slack tide. We hopped in the dinghy and I took my parents and Jessie over to Thunderball Grotto in the dinghy. There were a lot of people there but the west facing wall still proved to be colorful as the sun dipped lower in the sky. We saw a lobster in one of the less traveled holes and the coral was magnificent. My parents last trip to the BVI's was great, but I will tell you that their next trip to the BVI's will not be as great! The water visibility is explained best by the owner, its like a swimming pool. Now that I think about it, that doesn't even do it justice.
After the grotto I took them over to the swimming pigs. I didn't tell them that we were going there, I wanted it to be a surprise. As we idled through the anchorage and up to the beach I kept them occupied talking about the boats. Suddenly Jessie lit up "OH MY GOD THE PIGS!!!" They swam out to greet us but we were snorted at when they found out that we did not come bearing gifts. After the pigs we went out and did a circle around Steven Speilberg's 282' motoryacht "Seven Seas". You can google it (blue hulled 86 meter boat). For our last stop I took them to Sandy Cay, which is one of the many "private beaches" in the area. My dad about lost it, called me a jerk a few times, threw his hands in the air and yelled "I made it!" We walked out on to the tiny little strip of sand that was just starting to present itself with the tide. I think my parents are in love.
That night we had dinner at the yacht club and then went down to Big Dog bar for the band. That was where the party was at. It was a lot of fun, and opening ceremonies were a success.
Now as I write the coffee is on, people are just starting to show their faces, it is already 80 degrees outside, there is not a cloud in the sky, Jack Johnson is well in to his first set on my iPod. Discussion has already started regarding the continuous slide show that is displayed 24/7 on the huge iMac with all of our pictures from last summer and the trip.
"Johnny Depp is a pirate freak I guess, he loves pirates", regarding one of the pictures taken from inside his house
"There isn't much to that house is there?"
"No he's a very simple guy"
"How to you go and buy a fricken island geez"
Sound Waves Out
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 183 & 184: All work, No Play
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
My posts have been a bit scatter brain and short so I am hoping I can slow everything down again and get back to writing. I don't really have any pictures to take because I really haven't taken any.
Getting back to Staniel Cay was great, but the work has been stacking up. I spent most of Monday morning ordering parts from the states hoping that I can get everything in and done before the weekend. Our parts for the jet boat came in and right from the start I did not have a good feeling about it. I am not going to get in to the details of the story as it is a bit of a mess but all in all everything that needed to get ordered to do the project right didn't. I printed out the jet propulsion section of the shop manual but it pretty much got ignored for the first few hours. Now as I write this blog early Wednesday morning we have half of a bearing assembly still in the old jet housing that should have come out as one piece. We are hoping to find a press on the island somewhere that should solve our problems. It really was a stateside project that hopefully can be completed in the islands. What we are doing essentially is replacing the impeller and the wear ring. Simple project right? Well when you decide to replace the jet pump housing itself as well it gets a little more complicated. Did I mention that when I woke up this morning I couldn't even get a full cup of coffee down before I was in frantic work mode? Food didn't come until 8:00 P.M. that night....sooooo bad. That won't be happening again, I can assure you that.
Monday night I got separated from the owner and his son somehow between showers and getting ready. I walked up to the yacht club to wait for them and didn't see them again until later that night. I ended up having a burger and it was good to talk to everyone in he yacht club.
Tuesday I woke up a little late but got right to work. The owner ordered some more parts and then had a few of the local boys over for an afternoon party. While they were on the fly bridge I cleaned up around the salon and galley and did some laundry. I almost missed lunch again. We got more parts in for the jet boat, but are still waiting on a few more. The owner also ordered all new membranes and filters for the watermakers. It just so happened that the guys who work for watermakers are on the island right now. I became good friends with them the night before and the agreed to come take a look at the water maker with me. Well it turns out that the water maker is working fine. We increased the high pressure by 100 psi and were making 200ppm water in no time. The indicator lights dropped over the course of an hour or so but our salinity meter held at 200ppm. So that was a big waste of $2,000. I am not convinced that the water maker is totally healthy and will continue to monitor it. I will also be purchasing a pen tester for the boat so that we can test our own water.
Wednesday morning came early, but after a wonderful night watching John Q and answering e-mails I am ready for a productive day. As Saturday quickly approaches and brings the arrival of my parents and Jessie I want to make sure I can get as much done as possible. There is no wind right now, and dew still occupies the west facing windows. Some rain squalls off in the distance remind me of an approaching front that I have been watching for some time now. It is a weak front though and the winds are looking to be calm by Sunday.
Sound Waves Out
My posts have been a bit scatter brain and short so I am hoping I can slow everything down again and get back to writing. I don't really have any pictures to take because I really haven't taken any.
Getting back to Staniel Cay was great, but the work has been stacking up. I spent most of Monday morning ordering parts from the states hoping that I can get everything in and done before the weekend. Our parts for the jet boat came in and right from the start I did not have a good feeling about it. I am not going to get in to the details of the story as it is a bit of a mess but all in all everything that needed to get ordered to do the project right didn't. I printed out the jet propulsion section of the shop manual but it pretty much got ignored for the first few hours. Now as I write this blog early Wednesday morning we have half of a bearing assembly still in the old jet housing that should have come out as one piece. We are hoping to find a press on the island somewhere that should solve our problems. It really was a stateside project that hopefully can be completed in the islands. What we are doing essentially is replacing the impeller and the wear ring. Simple project right? Well when you decide to replace the jet pump housing itself as well it gets a little more complicated. Did I mention that when I woke up this morning I couldn't even get a full cup of coffee down before I was in frantic work mode? Food didn't come until 8:00 P.M. that night....sooooo bad. That won't be happening again, I can assure you that.
Monday night I got separated from the owner and his son somehow between showers and getting ready. I walked up to the yacht club to wait for them and didn't see them again until later that night. I ended up having a burger and it was good to talk to everyone in he yacht club.
Tuesday I woke up a little late but got right to work. The owner ordered some more parts and then had a few of the local boys over for an afternoon party. While they were on the fly bridge I cleaned up around the salon and galley and did some laundry. I almost missed lunch again. We got more parts in for the jet boat, but are still waiting on a few more. The owner also ordered all new membranes and filters for the watermakers. It just so happened that the guys who work for watermakers are on the island right now. I became good friends with them the night before and the agreed to come take a look at the water maker with me. Well it turns out that the water maker is working fine. We increased the high pressure by 100 psi and were making 200ppm water in no time. The indicator lights dropped over the course of an hour or so but our salinity meter held at 200ppm. So that was a big waste of $2,000. I am not convinced that the water maker is totally healthy and will continue to monitor it. I will also be purchasing a pen tester for the boat so that we can test our own water.
Wednesday morning came early, but after a wonderful night watching John Q and answering e-mails I am ready for a productive day. As Saturday quickly approaches and brings the arrival of my parents and Jessie I want to make sure I can get as much done as possible. There is no wind right now, and dew still occupies the west facing windows. Some rain squalls off in the distance remind me of an approaching front that I have been watching for some time now. It is a weak front though and the winds are looking to be calm by Sunday.
Sound Waves Out
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Day 180 - 182: Back Home
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
The last couple of days at the dock in Georgetown brought nothing but trouble. The power wasn't very good and it screwed up our refrigerator. Our old generator took a dump and the watermaker stopped making good water. We went over to the docks to fill up our water tanks and I took a look at the generator. Raw water was being sprayed all over the generator from a hose connection on the heat exchanger. I replaced a hose which didn't seem to work. The water was being sprayed back into the unit and I really could not see the source. I decided to pull the heat exchanger off and take a better look. I found that a small hole was on the heat exchanger and spraying water everywhere. I found a guy to weld it and got ready to put it back on. I had to drain the coolant in the process and found that it was VERY bad. After not being able to get the coolant cap off due to massive corrosion I decided to pull the whole tank off instead. Upon doing so I was able to get the cap off, being that I had a little better leverage. The tank basically collapsed with rust and I am surprised we didn't have more problems early. We are now down to one generator and hopefully it will be enough. The refrigerator was an easy fix and the watermaker still isn't right.
We went up to Emerald Bay marina for a night and being that there was absolutely nothing there to do, it was a quiet night. We did take the scooters to Big D's bar and grille which was pretty cool. It was another Bahamian restaurant on the beach.
Today we left Emerald Bay around noon and headed for home, Staniel Cay. It was a bit rough out in the sound but once we could get back on the bank we took the opportunity and everything smoothed out. The owners son and I washed the boat in one hour and five minutes and I have to say that is a new record. It feels good to be "home" again as everyone we talked to said hello and welcome back.
I wrote this blog a little hurried and I don't really know what else to say....I am back in range of good internet so hopefully some better posts will be coming soon!
Sound Waves Out
The last couple of days at the dock in Georgetown brought nothing but trouble. The power wasn't very good and it screwed up our refrigerator. Our old generator took a dump and the watermaker stopped making good water. We went over to the docks to fill up our water tanks and I took a look at the generator. Raw water was being sprayed all over the generator from a hose connection on the heat exchanger. I replaced a hose which didn't seem to work. The water was being sprayed back into the unit and I really could not see the source. I decided to pull the heat exchanger off and take a better look. I found that a small hole was on the heat exchanger and spraying water everywhere. I found a guy to weld it and got ready to put it back on. I had to drain the coolant in the process and found that it was VERY bad. After not being able to get the coolant cap off due to massive corrosion I decided to pull the whole tank off instead. Upon doing so I was able to get the cap off, being that I had a little better leverage. The tank basically collapsed with rust and I am surprised we didn't have more problems early. We are now down to one generator and hopefully it will be enough. The refrigerator was an easy fix and the watermaker still isn't right.
We went up to Emerald Bay marina for a night and being that there was absolutely nothing there to do, it was a quiet night. We did take the scooters to Big D's bar and grille which was pretty cool. It was another Bahamian restaurant on the beach.
Today we left Emerald Bay around noon and headed for home, Staniel Cay. It was a bit rough out in the sound but once we could get back on the bank we took the opportunity and everything smoothed out. The owners son and I washed the boat in one hour and five minutes and I have to say that is a new record. It feels good to be "home" again as everyone we talked to said hello and welcome back.
I wrote this blog a little hurried and I don't really know what else to say....I am back in range of good internet so hopefully some better posts will be coming soon!
Sound Waves Out
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Day 173 - 179: Travel
GEORGETOWN, GREAT EXUMA, BAHAMAS
With no internet over the past week it has been tough to keep up. I am not even going to try and recap everyday. Last week we spent a few more days at Sampson Cay. The owners two sons and I still managed to find ourselves at Staniel Cay every night however. With only a short dinghy ride and cautious, now somewhat local eyes and a very accurate gps it was no big deal. Everyone except Dolcetto was still at Staniel and it was fun to hang out with them for the night. We went spearfishing on Saturday by ourselves out in the Sound but had no luck. The owners son had trouble staying down and we had trouble finding the right spots to look. It was funny because later that night we saw Ben at Staniel Cay with 80-some lobster tails...haha.
After one of the owners sons left we took off for Georgetown. It took about 2 and a half hours and we fueled up at Emerald Bay, just north of Georgetown. The owner ran in to some old friends on a 130 Westport. The Chat n Chill Bar on Stocking Island was having their weekly Sunday pig roast and we all decided to meet up there. The pig roast was fun, but nothing special. We stayed on a ball for the next few nights and not much was really going on. The owners son and I took the dinghy all the way to the south end of Great Exuma and checked out some cool little spots. A small tide pool was the temporary home to some crabs and it was fun to chase them around.
The owners son and I moved the boat over to the Exuma Docking Services Docks in Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon while the owner and his girlfriend were at Chat N' Chill. We topped off the water tanks, being that our water maker has been acting up (I am hoping it is the water in Elizabeth Harbor) and got some things cleaned up for them.
Last night we took the scooters about 4 miles north to a really cool place on the bank side (west) of the island called Catch A Fire. The food was great and it was a really cool place to eat.
Today the owners son and I washed, polished, waxed, and even painted the exhaust on the scooters and tore the whole grill apart and cleaned that. We turned the VIP room as I am very anxiously awaiting the arrival of my parents and Jessie next week. The owners girlfriend and the owner went back to Catch a Fire for dinner and as I type the owners son is cooking up a chicken teriyaki mmmmmmmmm.
Hopefully I will have more pictures in the future but with no guests on board I can't pirate anyones camera and I am always scared to take my phone with me on adventures.
Tomorrow we may head a little further down island to Clarence Town, Long Island. As the owner left the boat for dinner he stated that Long Island is only 25 miles away and that is what we are doing tomorrow. While his statement is true I looked at the charts and found that Clarence Town is actually 70 miles away. I guess they call it Long Island for a reason. So who knows what will happen after I deliver that information to him. Check the SPOT!!! The owners son and I are ready to move, but thats not my choice now is it :-).
Sound Waves Out.
With no internet over the past week it has been tough to keep up. I am not even going to try and recap everyday. Last week we spent a few more days at Sampson Cay. The owners two sons and I still managed to find ourselves at Staniel Cay every night however. With only a short dinghy ride and cautious, now somewhat local eyes and a very accurate gps it was no big deal. Everyone except Dolcetto was still at Staniel and it was fun to hang out with them for the night. We went spearfishing on Saturday by ourselves out in the Sound but had no luck. The owners son had trouble staying down and we had trouble finding the right spots to look. It was funny because later that night we saw Ben at Staniel Cay with 80-some lobster tails...haha.
After one of the owners sons left we took off for Georgetown. It took about 2 and a half hours and we fueled up at Emerald Bay, just north of Georgetown. The owner ran in to some old friends on a 130 Westport. The Chat n Chill Bar on Stocking Island was having their weekly Sunday pig roast and we all decided to meet up there. The pig roast was fun, but nothing special. We stayed on a ball for the next few nights and not much was really going on. The owners son and I took the dinghy all the way to the south end of Great Exuma and checked out some cool little spots. A small tide pool was the temporary home to some crabs and it was fun to chase them around.
The owners son and I moved the boat over to the Exuma Docking Services Docks in Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon while the owner and his girlfriend were at Chat N' Chill. We topped off the water tanks, being that our water maker has been acting up (I am hoping it is the water in Elizabeth Harbor) and got some things cleaned up for them.
Last night we took the scooters about 4 miles north to a really cool place on the bank side (west) of the island called Catch A Fire. The food was great and it was a really cool place to eat.
Today the owners son and I washed, polished, waxed, and even painted the exhaust on the scooters and tore the whole grill apart and cleaned that. We turned the VIP room as I am very anxiously awaiting the arrival of my parents and Jessie next week. The owners girlfriend and the owner went back to Catch a Fire for dinner and as I type the owners son is cooking up a chicken teriyaki mmmmmmmmm.
Hopefully I will have more pictures in the future but with no guests on board I can't pirate anyones camera and I am always scared to take my phone with me on adventures.
Tomorrow we may head a little further down island to Clarence Town, Long Island. As the owner left the boat for dinner he stated that Long Island is only 25 miles away and that is what we are doing tomorrow. While his statement is true I looked at the charts and found that Clarence Town is actually 70 miles away. I guess they call it Long Island for a reason. So who knows what will happen after I deliver that information to him. Check the SPOT!!! The owners son and I are ready to move, but thats not my choice now is it :-).
Sound Waves Out.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Day 169 -172: Amazing group
SAMPSON CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Oh boy, I am getting behind again with my journal entries. Lets take it all the way back to Monday.
Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday....hmmmmmm. That seems like a lifetime ago!
I guess I can't really recall what went on during the day. There was some general conversation and hanging out on the docks. It has been a lot of fun to get to know the crew of Dolcetto and a 105' Mangusta also pulled in today with even more crew. We ended up having a great get together with Dolcetto, Platinum, the crew from the fishing boat next to us (names???), the crew from Sparrow (Nuno and Val) and Big Ben on board Sound Waves. It was another great night.
Tuesday the crew of Dolcetto had the day off and they got together with the crew of Platinum and took off in the dinghy. I spent most of the day washing the boat with the owners son and then had a relaxing afternoon talking with the owner on the aft deck watching the people go by. Dolcetto returned to the docks and invited me over for happy hour. We had also met two other sailing groups Jay with his dog George and Sean with his girlfriend........crap I can't remember. The crew of Platinum took over the grill and started making some lamb chops for everyone. It's kind of funny when you have a party with a bunch of yacht crew because they all go in to service mode and help out. It was really neat to see all these young "kids" just doing our thing and helping out. Its what we do everyday. I wish it would have been like that in college! Sean played his guitar and harmonica for awhile and after a great Bob Dylan song with everyone on the docks singing along we decided it was getting a little late to be making that kind of noise on board so we went up to the yacht club.
Wednesday the owners girlfriend was flying in and he wanted me and his two sons off the boat. I don't blame him. If I owned a boat with crew I would want them out of my hair every now and then as well. First I crawled down into the rudder room again because one of the underwater lights went out. I found out that corrosion had gotten the best of it and it needed replacing. I made a quick phone call, left a message, and put my bathing suit on. We launched the dinghy, loaded it with beverages and took off. I was able to raise t/t Dolcetto on the radio and found out that they were hanging out on Sandy Cay. Radio chatter went back and forth as we tried to raise t/t Platinum as well. Half way out to Sandy Cay t/t Dolcetto turned us around on a mission to get more beverages. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around the beach, sitting in the water, listening to music, and relaxing. We raised the yacht club on the radio and placed an order for two orders of fish sticks, two orders of conch fritters, two orders of chicken wings, another case of beverage, and two bags of ice. David Hocher, the owner of the yacht club, was on the radio and his response was "ah yes the essentials, see you boys in 20 minutes"
That night we rounded up the troops. Platinum crew caught a lobster a grouper and a lionfish while spearing earlier in the day and grilled everything up on Dolcetto. Val and Nuno from Sparrow came by with their friend Claire who flew in to visit. Claire was also a professional kite surfer! We were all here. The owners son's and I ran down to the government dock and picked up six palettes of wood. We slowly but surely made our way to the north end of the island in the golf cart and set up a fire pit on a small beautiful beach. We went back and got everyone and made our way out there. What a ball!
Nuno was on the guitar all night, and I will shortly be posting a link to a you tube video of a slideshow with him playing guitar in the background. The night was perfect. After an amazing day out at Sandy Cay, a bonfire on the north end of Staniel Cay lit the sky, with a group of friends that we will never forget, under a set of stars that demanded respect we ended the day with Nuno from Sparrow on guitar playing the song you hear in the link below. The waves in the background set the rhythm as a new group a friends huddled around a dying fire for the last song of the night and a memory that will last forever.
Today we woke up to a rough harbor. It was weird because the wind wasn't very strong. We checked out of Staniel Cay, fired the engines and took off for Sampson Cay. Shortly after tying up we went up and had lunch at the restaurant. I did some small chores after lunch, looked through all of my pictures and videos and let the peaceful afternoon drift away. Now on the aft deck, there is not a breath of wind. A song bird sings it song in a tree just off the docks. The boat behind us has dinner music going as a slight harmonica sound can be heard. There is not a ripple on the water and you can see the fish swimming in the underwater lights better than if you were snorkeling. There is still a glow in the sky from the sun and the only details left on land are the silhouettes of palm trees and boat antennas and masts. The smell of garlic and onion fills the air as the owner works on his famous spaghetti dinner for tonight. Ahhhhhh.......paradise.
Click on this link for a video with Nuno playing guitar at the end of the night:
Exuma Slide Show with Nuno on guitar
Here are some pictures:
Oh boy, I am getting behind again with my journal entries. Lets take it all the way back to Monday.
Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday....hmmmmmm. That seems like a lifetime ago!
I guess I can't really recall what went on during the day. There was some general conversation and hanging out on the docks. It has been a lot of fun to get to know the crew of Dolcetto and a 105' Mangusta also pulled in today with even more crew. We ended up having a great get together with Dolcetto, Platinum, the crew from the fishing boat next to us (names???), the crew from Sparrow (Nuno and Val) and Big Ben on board Sound Waves. It was another great night.
Tuesday the crew of Dolcetto had the day off and they got together with the crew of Platinum and took off in the dinghy. I spent most of the day washing the boat with the owners son and then had a relaxing afternoon talking with the owner on the aft deck watching the people go by. Dolcetto returned to the docks and invited me over for happy hour. We had also met two other sailing groups Jay with his dog George and Sean with his girlfriend........crap I can't remember. The crew of Platinum took over the grill and started making some lamb chops for everyone. It's kind of funny when you have a party with a bunch of yacht crew because they all go in to service mode and help out. It was really neat to see all these young "kids" just doing our thing and helping out. Its what we do everyday. I wish it would have been like that in college! Sean played his guitar and harmonica for awhile and after a great Bob Dylan song with everyone on the docks singing along we decided it was getting a little late to be making that kind of noise on board so we went up to the yacht club.
Wednesday the owners girlfriend was flying in and he wanted me and his two sons off the boat. I don't blame him. If I owned a boat with crew I would want them out of my hair every now and then as well. First I crawled down into the rudder room again because one of the underwater lights went out. I found out that corrosion had gotten the best of it and it needed replacing. I made a quick phone call, left a message, and put my bathing suit on. We launched the dinghy, loaded it with beverages and took off. I was able to raise t/t Dolcetto on the radio and found out that they were hanging out on Sandy Cay. Radio chatter went back and forth as we tried to raise t/t Platinum as well. Half way out to Sandy Cay t/t Dolcetto turned us around on a mission to get more beverages. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around the beach, sitting in the water, listening to music, and relaxing. We raised the yacht club on the radio and placed an order for two orders of fish sticks, two orders of conch fritters, two orders of chicken wings, another case of beverage, and two bags of ice. David Hocher, the owner of the yacht club, was on the radio and his response was "ah yes the essentials, see you boys in 20 minutes"
That night we rounded up the troops. Platinum crew caught a lobster a grouper and a lionfish while spearing earlier in the day and grilled everything up on Dolcetto. Val and Nuno from Sparrow came by with their friend Claire who flew in to visit. Claire was also a professional kite surfer! We were all here. The owners son's and I ran down to the government dock and picked up six palettes of wood. We slowly but surely made our way to the north end of the island in the golf cart and set up a fire pit on a small beautiful beach. We went back and got everyone and made our way out there. What a ball!
Nuno was on the guitar all night, and I will shortly be posting a link to a you tube video of a slideshow with him playing guitar in the background. The night was perfect. After an amazing day out at Sandy Cay, a bonfire on the north end of Staniel Cay lit the sky, with a group of friends that we will never forget, under a set of stars that demanded respect we ended the day with Nuno from Sparrow on guitar playing the song you hear in the link below. The waves in the background set the rhythm as a new group a friends huddled around a dying fire for the last song of the night and a memory that will last forever.
Today we woke up to a rough harbor. It was weird because the wind wasn't very strong. We checked out of Staniel Cay, fired the engines and took off for Sampson Cay. Shortly after tying up we went up and had lunch at the restaurant. I did some small chores after lunch, looked through all of my pictures and videos and let the peaceful afternoon drift away. Now on the aft deck, there is not a breath of wind. A song bird sings it song in a tree just off the docks. The boat behind us has dinner music going as a slight harmonica sound can be heard. There is not a ripple on the water and you can see the fish swimming in the underwater lights better than if you were snorkeling. There is still a glow in the sky from the sun and the only details left on land are the silhouettes of palm trees and boat antennas and masts. The smell of garlic and onion fills the air as the owner works on his famous spaghetti dinner for tonight. Ahhhhhh.......paradise.
Click on this link for a video with Nuno playing guitar at the end of the night:
Exuma Slide Show with Nuno on guitar
Here are some pictures:
Sunset at Staniel Cay. Once again the green flash eludes us.
Just another beach somewhere in the Exumas
Out in open water with Big Ben, spearfishing (I'm on the right)
Open ocean spearfishing. Getting ready to dive in about 40 feet of water.
Lobster!! Coming up with Ben's catch so he can stay down on the Hookah Scuba system
The owners son gathering our catch
Out of the water checking out the activities through the glass bottom bucket
My spearfishing partner...Big Ben
Staniel Cay Yacht Club for St. Patty's Day
Staniel Cay Yacht Club full moon rise
t/t Dolcetto and t/t Sound Waves hanging out at Sandy Cay west of Staniel Cay
Captain Alex on the right from Dolcetto and temp first mate Steve on the left
Little bit of guitar on Sandy Cay
Sunset at Staniel Cay Yacht club after an amazing day
t/t Dolcetto and t/t Sound Waves hanging out at Sandy Cay
Sun going down over Sandy Cay
Bonfire on the north end of Staniel Cay with crew of Platinum, Crew of Dolcetto, Jay and his dog George, Big Ben, and Val and Nuno from Sparrow
Nuno, Capt. of Sparrow, on guitar. Love this picture, with the fire in the guitar
From left-ish to right-ish: owners son, val from Sparrow, Steve from Dolcetto, me, Owners son, Nuno from Sparrow and Nuno's friend, Claire
Nuno from Sparrow playing guitar. One of my favorite pictures of the night
One of my favorites. Guitar on the deserted Sandy Cay
The whole crew hanging out on the north end of Staniel Cay
Sound Waves Out
Monday, March 21, 2011
Day 167 & 168: 007 Party!
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Saturday things really started to get a little wild around here. The bar is packed with people and the marina is full. Tonight was the annual Thunderball 007 party at the yacht club. The day was spent in anticipation for the night and not much was getting done. Some people came and hung out on the fly bridge for awhile with the owner and we planned a little cocktail party before the big party. The owner asked if I would put on my full uniform, not only for his cocktail party but for the 007 party as well. I was either going to wear that or my wetsuit, and I wasn't too interested in wearing a hot wetsuit all night. The cocktail party went well and we had a ton of food on board. The owner of the yacht club was on board for awhile and it was heating up to be a crazy night. And a crazy night it was.
It was like a busy night in Chicago. I have started to make so many friends and it was so much fun to hang with all of the locals and some of the other crew that are here.
Sunday I was up fairly early and cleaned up from the night before. The boat wasn't messy at all but it still just needed some general clean up. The owner invited some of his new friends to come on board for a day trip. We fired the engines around noon and took off. The initial plan was to head up to the aquarium for some snorkeling. It was pretty windy and fairly cold and after about an hour of cruising we decided that snorkeling wasn't going to happen today. We decided to head to Compass Cay to hang out for the afternoon instead. Upon arriving at the dock we got word via VHF that the docks were full. We were 0 for 2. Finally we motored back to Big Majors Spot and threw the hook. We hung out for a few hours then took the boat back to Staniel Cay just after sunset. The marina was empty, the bar was empty, and the island was suddenly back to normal again. It was a pretty low key night and other than hanging out with the people from the boat next to us, Dolcetto, it was quiet night.
I'm trying to get some pictures up but the internet has been real bad.
Sound Waves Out
Saturday things really started to get a little wild around here. The bar is packed with people and the marina is full. Tonight was the annual Thunderball 007 party at the yacht club. The day was spent in anticipation for the night and not much was getting done. Some people came and hung out on the fly bridge for awhile with the owner and we planned a little cocktail party before the big party. The owner asked if I would put on my full uniform, not only for his cocktail party but for the 007 party as well. I was either going to wear that or my wetsuit, and I wasn't too interested in wearing a hot wetsuit all night. The cocktail party went well and we had a ton of food on board. The owner of the yacht club was on board for awhile and it was heating up to be a crazy night. And a crazy night it was.
It was like a busy night in Chicago. I have started to make so many friends and it was so much fun to hang with all of the locals and some of the other crew that are here.
Sunday I was up fairly early and cleaned up from the night before. The boat wasn't messy at all but it still just needed some general clean up. The owner invited some of his new friends to come on board for a day trip. We fired the engines around noon and took off. The initial plan was to head up to the aquarium for some snorkeling. It was pretty windy and fairly cold and after about an hour of cruising we decided that snorkeling wasn't going to happen today. We decided to head to Compass Cay to hang out for the afternoon instead. Upon arriving at the dock we got word via VHF that the docks were full. We were 0 for 2. Finally we motored back to Big Majors Spot and threw the hook. We hung out for a few hours then took the boat back to Staniel Cay just after sunset. The marina was empty, the bar was empty, and the island was suddenly back to normal again. It was a pretty low key night and other than hanging out with the people from the boat next to us, Dolcetto, it was quiet night.
I'm trying to get some pictures up but the internet has been real bad.
Sound Waves Out
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Day 165 & 166: Spearfishing with the big boys
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Thursday started out just like any other day. There were a few chores here and a few chores there. Our friends Bushman and Big Ben were getting in their center counsel next to us to head out and do a little fishing. The owner asked Ben and Bushman if they would take all of us with them. I grabbed my gear and hopped on board. We motored out in to the channel and to my surprise started heading for the Exuma Sound. We were going out in to open water! It was a bit rough and once we got in to about 30 ft. of water Ben, who is a huge human being, jumped in to the water. He was using a Hookah diving system so he could go to the bottom and stay there while looking for fish and lobster. A bit hesitant I finally plopped over board and in to the ocean. My heart was racing a little bit as I checked my surroundings and got acquainted with the feeling of being in the open ocean with just a mask and snorkel on. As I floated above Ben who was 30 feet below me I realized how small I am in this world. Bobbing up and down in the waves looking into the blue abyss I was simply a grain of sand on all the beaches of the world. I have never felt so small in my life. As I snapped myself back to reality Ben released his spear into the rocks. Suddenly he was gone too. All I saw was his air hose and somehow this huge man went up under the coral to retrieve his catch. Out he came with a lobster. My job was to look for fish and to retrieve his catch. I took my deep breaths of air and headed for the bottom. Before I could get the lobster in the boat Ben was already stalking his next kill. After one or two lobster or fish we grabbed on to lines that were hanging off the back of the boat and took off. Ben and I flopped like rag dolls as the boat went from one spot to the next. We didn't want to over harvest an area but we also stayed on the move because of sharks. They could sense our kill and unless we kept moving we would get paid a visit from a hungry shark.
This went on for about 4 hours and I must have made two dozen dives to the bottom, anywhere from 30 to 50 feet deep. It was an absolute ball and besides my calves cramping up like rocks after 4 hours of snorkeling it was probably the most fun I have ever had in the islands.
Back at the docks Bushman cleaned the catch and gave us all seven lobster tails that I brought up that day. They were super nice people and it has been so great to get to know them!
The bar was as busy as it has been as it was St. Patty's day and spring break was in full swing. We are finally really getting to know a lot of people and it has been great to become friends with cruiser as well as the locals.
Friday the owner and his kids took off in the dinghy to go snorkel the Grotto and I actually got a lot of things done. David, from the bar came by and helped us prepare our lobster tails from the day before. I took some notes on his recipe and I am excited to try and make stuffed lobster tail next time we bring in a fresh catch. The owner of the yacht club is here with a big crew and they came and had some drinks up on the fly bridge before heading back to shower for another night of fun. Last night was busy but Friday was even more busy. The band was rocking on the dock, the green flash seemed to elude me for yet another night as a cool northerly breeze took away the days heat. Right now I call Staniel Cay my home, and I guess that isn't all too bad!
A lot of cool pictures to come soon!
Sound Waves Out
Thursday started out just like any other day. There were a few chores here and a few chores there. Our friends Bushman and Big Ben were getting in their center counsel next to us to head out and do a little fishing. The owner asked Ben and Bushman if they would take all of us with them. I grabbed my gear and hopped on board. We motored out in to the channel and to my surprise started heading for the Exuma Sound. We were going out in to open water! It was a bit rough and once we got in to about 30 ft. of water Ben, who is a huge human being, jumped in to the water. He was using a Hookah diving system so he could go to the bottom and stay there while looking for fish and lobster. A bit hesitant I finally plopped over board and in to the ocean. My heart was racing a little bit as I checked my surroundings and got acquainted with the feeling of being in the open ocean with just a mask and snorkel on. As I floated above Ben who was 30 feet below me I realized how small I am in this world. Bobbing up and down in the waves looking into the blue abyss I was simply a grain of sand on all the beaches of the world. I have never felt so small in my life. As I snapped myself back to reality Ben released his spear into the rocks. Suddenly he was gone too. All I saw was his air hose and somehow this huge man went up under the coral to retrieve his catch. Out he came with a lobster. My job was to look for fish and to retrieve his catch. I took my deep breaths of air and headed for the bottom. Before I could get the lobster in the boat Ben was already stalking his next kill. After one or two lobster or fish we grabbed on to lines that were hanging off the back of the boat and took off. Ben and I flopped like rag dolls as the boat went from one spot to the next. We didn't want to over harvest an area but we also stayed on the move because of sharks. They could sense our kill and unless we kept moving we would get paid a visit from a hungry shark.
This went on for about 4 hours and I must have made two dozen dives to the bottom, anywhere from 30 to 50 feet deep. It was an absolute ball and besides my calves cramping up like rocks after 4 hours of snorkeling it was probably the most fun I have ever had in the islands.
Back at the docks Bushman cleaned the catch and gave us all seven lobster tails that I brought up that day. They were super nice people and it has been so great to get to know them!
The bar was as busy as it has been as it was St. Patty's day and spring break was in full swing. We are finally really getting to know a lot of people and it has been great to become friends with cruiser as well as the locals.
Friday the owner and his kids took off in the dinghy to go snorkel the Grotto and I actually got a lot of things done. David, from the bar came by and helped us prepare our lobster tails from the day before. I took some notes on his recipe and I am excited to try and make stuffed lobster tail next time we bring in a fresh catch. The owner of the yacht club is here with a big crew and they came and had some drinks up on the fly bridge before heading back to shower for another night of fun. Last night was busy but Friday was even more busy. The band was rocking on the dock, the green flash seemed to elude me for yet another night as a cool northerly breeze took away the days heat. Right now I call Staniel Cay my home, and I guess that isn't all too bad!
A lot of cool pictures to come soon!
Sound Waves Out
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Day 161 - 164: Another Day
SAMPSON CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Lets catch up shall we:
Sunday the owner wanted to try some fishing. We got a hold of one of the locals that offered to take us out in to the Exuma Sound and try our luck. The owner decided that we would take the big boat. We got out about a mile offshore and the depth sounder was reading 1,800 ft. We motored up to Compass Cay, the start of the land and sea park, turned around and motored back. We kept our depth between 1,800 ft. and 60 ft. (all within a quarter mile path) and caught.......nothing.
Once back at the dock the owner advised us to just do a wash down. He likes using a PTFE non-skid cleaner on the aft deck so while the owners son was on the bow rinsing the owner and I started washing the aft deck with the non-skid cleaner. About mid-way through the owner decided that it was best just to do a full wash. That consumed the remainder of my day. That's alright though because I really enjoy washing the boat. It took me a few hours but I took pride in making it perfect. I even snuck a comment from one of the boats across the marina "Man, that guy really can make a boat look good." I put a smile on my face and kept scrubbing like I never heard them. I had to re-do the aft deck because the non-skid soaked in to our deck and made the stainless look horrible. It was O.K. with me, I wanted to make everything look good, it just took a lot more water to get the suds out of the deck than what I wanted.
While washing the deck I made friends with the crew of a 62' catamaran next to me. They were just finishing up a charter with some French guests. The owner was from Israel the stew was from Scotland and the captain was from Portugal. The boats hailing port was Belize, but they had just recently brought her over from Spain........phewww. I hung out with them that night and it felt really good to hang out with some new people and talk yachting a bit.
Monday I got up and began preparing the inside of the boat for the arrival of the owners brother and his wife. I was sidetracked however when the garbage compactor decided it wasn't going to work anymore. Thankfully the owner, his son and the son's girlfriend took the responsibility to get the guest room ready while I tore apart the compactor. I checked this, looked at that, punched one thing, and tweaked another...nothing. I checked the power at the source and to my surprise I had 110V. hmmmm...... I plugged the unit back in and ...it worked. I told the owner I fixed it and when he asked what was wrong I said "Well the chromium go-faster blew a fuse and the widget producer wobbled loose." He gave me a confused look and I answered his blank stare with "I don't know, I think the plug just came loose." So it took me awhile to track that down but at least it was an easy fix and we didn't have to fly parts in from the U.S.
The owners brother arrived and the remainder of the evening was spent with them. The owner of a 160' Trinity has gotten to know the owner and he is a riot:
"You like the master suite?" Says the Trinity owner
"Yeah wow this is great, what are these twelve foot ceilings?" says my boss
"I have no idea, you like wine? Wanna see the pool?"
"Wow this is huge what is it a 500 gallon pool?"
"I have no idea. Lets go for a boat ride"
He was so hyper, quick sentences, and ...weird haha. We got some good laughs out of it.
Tuesday,
The owner took his brother out fishing on the big boat and while I charted a magnificent grid pattern over the shelf we still came up empty handed. I don't think my grid pattern had anything to do with it but oh well. I guess no one is catching a dang thing right now. We took the boat up to Sampson Cay for the night. I was eager to give the boat a rinse right away and get the dinghy in the water while everyone was up at lunch. They insisted that I go to lunch with them. It took so long. The bahamas are slow but this was crazy. It took forever to get a drink, to get our food, and it even came down to the point where I said "Listen I have a lot to do can you just bring the bill to the boat when you are ready." About an hour and a half later the bill came. haha. We bought some fresh lobster and grouper and cooked it up on the grill that night, and after I was done with dishes and dinner clean up I went straight to bed.
Wednesday we got up and prepared the boat the head for the snorkeling place known as the aquarium. The V-berth AC has been out and after a brief inspection and some complex "wire wiggling" I somehow managed to fix the unit. Again...I have no idea. :-)
We motored up to the aquarium and I had everything ready to go for when we got there. They had a quick lunch on the grill up on the fly bridge and took the dinghy in to snorkel. Only three people went in and it was a quick trip.
I gave the boat a rinse when we got back and the owners son and his girlfriend went out with our new friend, Joe to catch some conch. They came back with six and as I sit here and write my eyes are watering as they cut up onion for a conch salad.
Sorry for the quick and poor blog, I just wanted to get all caught up.......
Sound Waves Out
Lets catch up shall we:
Sunday the owner wanted to try some fishing. We got a hold of one of the locals that offered to take us out in to the Exuma Sound and try our luck. The owner decided that we would take the big boat. We got out about a mile offshore and the depth sounder was reading 1,800 ft. We motored up to Compass Cay, the start of the land and sea park, turned around and motored back. We kept our depth between 1,800 ft. and 60 ft. (all within a quarter mile path) and caught.......nothing.
Once back at the dock the owner advised us to just do a wash down. He likes using a PTFE non-skid cleaner on the aft deck so while the owners son was on the bow rinsing the owner and I started washing the aft deck with the non-skid cleaner. About mid-way through the owner decided that it was best just to do a full wash. That consumed the remainder of my day. That's alright though because I really enjoy washing the boat. It took me a few hours but I took pride in making it perfect. I even snuck a comment from one of the boats across the marina "Man, that guy really can make a boat look good." I put a smile on my face and kept scrubbing like I never heard them. I had to re-do the aft deck because the non-skid soaked in to our deck and made the stainless look horrible. It was O.K. with me, I wanted to make everything look good, it just took a lot more water to get the suds out of the deck than what I wanted.
While washing the deck I made friends with the crew of a 62' catamaran next to me. They were just finishing up a charter with some French guests. The owner was from Israel the stew was from Scotland and the captain was from Portugal. The boats hailing port was Belize, but they had just recently brought her over from Spain........phewww. I hung out with them that night and it felt really good to hang out with some new people and talk yachting a bit.
Monday I got up and began preparing the inside of the boat for the arrival of the owners brother and his wife. I was sidetracked however when the garbage compactor decided it wasn't going to work anymore. Thankfully the owner, his son and the son's girlfriend took the responsibility to get the guest room ready while I tore apart the compactor. I checked this, looked at that, punched one thing, and tweaked another...nothing. I checked the power at the source and to my surprise I had 110V. hmmmm...... I plugged the unit back in and ...it worked. I told the owner I fixed it and when he asked what was wrong I said "Well the chromium go-faster blew a fuse and the widget producer wobbled loose." He gave me a confused look and I answered his blank stare with "I don't know, I think the plug just came loose." So it took me awhile to track that down but at least it was an easy fix and we didn't have to fly parts in from the U.S.
The owners brother arrived and the remainder of the evening was spent with them. The owner of a 160' Trinity has gotten to know the owner and he is a riot:
"You like the master suite?" Says the Trinity owner
"Yeah wow this is great, what are these twelve foot ceilings?" says my boss
"I have no idea, you like wine? Wanna see the pool?"
"Wow this is huge what is it a 500 gallon pool?"
"I have no idea. Lets go for a boat ride"
He was so hyper, quick sentences, and ...weird haha. We got some good laughs out of it.
Tuesday,
The owner took his brother out fishing on the big boat and while I charted a magnificent grid pattern over the shelf we still came up empty handed. I don't think my grid pattern had anything to do with it but oh well. I guess no one is catching a dang thing right now. We took the boat up to Sampson Cay for the night. I was eager to give the boat a rinse right away and get the dinghy in the water while everyone was up at lunch. They insisted that I go to lunch with them. It took so long. The bahamas are slow but this was crazy. It took forever to get a drink, to get our food, and it even came down to the point where I said "Listen I have a lot to do can you just bring the bill to the boat when you are ready." About an hour and a half later the bill came. haha. We bought some fresh lobster and grouper and cooked it up on the grill that night, and after I was done with dishes and dinner clean up I went straight to bed.
Wednesday we got up and prepared the boat the head for the snorkeling place known as the aquarium. The V-berth AC has been out and after a brief inspection and some complex "wire wiggling" I somehow managed to fix the unit. Again...I have no idea. :-)
We motored up to the aquarium and I had everything ready to go for when we got there. They had a quick lunch on the grill up on the fly bridge and took the dinghy in to snorkel. Only three people went in and it was a quick trip.
I gave the boat a rinse when we got back and the owners son and his girlfriend went out with our new friend, Joe to catch some conch. They came back with six and as I sit here and write my eyes are watering as they cut up onion for a conch salad.
Sorry for the quick and poor blog, I just wanted to get all caught up.......
Sound Waves Out
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Day 159 & 160: Party On
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Friday was a fairly lazy day and as I planned to wash the boat I was called off by the owner. Not much else got done and the day slowly passed. That night we made steaks and potatoes on one of the grills at the marina then headed up to the bar. Some spring breakers had started a game of beer pong and it was amusing to watch them try and fight the wind as they shot. They were pretty annoying I do have to say. We nicknamed one of the guys Justin Beiber because of his hair style with his nice khacki shorts, a nautical like belt, his light blue button down shirt tucked in tight with his boat shoes on....something you'd expect to see in harbor springs michigan not from a kid from NC state on spring break. They were all pretty cocky and wanted to challenge us in every little game like we didn't stand a chance against them. It was pretty annoying to have to play big brother for the female guests we had on board as well as they were relentless!!! All in all the night was fun though.
Saturday we decided to head back to Staniel Cay for awhile and other then moving the boat I was granted a full day off for the most part. I watched some of the coverage on Japan and lazed around most of the day. Dinner was spent up at the yacht club and after watching a special on Charlie Sheen I went to bed.
Sound Waves Out
Friday was a fairly lazy day and as I planned to wash the boat I was called off by the owner. Not much else got done and the day slowly passed. That night we made steaks and potatoes on one of the grills at the marina then headed up to the bar. Some spring breakers had started a game of beer pong and it was amusing to watch them try and fight the wind as they shot. They were pretty annoying I do have to say. We nicknamed one of the guys Justin Beiber because of his hair style with his nice khacki shorts, a nautical like belt, his light blue button down shirt tucked in tight with his boat shoes on....something you'd expect to see in harbor springs michigan not from a kid from NC state on spring break. They were all pretty cocky and wanted to challenge us in every little game like we didn't stand a chance against them. It was pretty annoying to have to play big brother for the female guests we had on board as well as they were relentless!!! All in all the night was fun though.
Saturday we decided to head back to Staniel Cay for awhile and other then moving the boat I was granted a full day off for the most part. I watched some of the coverage on Japan and lazed around most of the day. Dinner was spent up at the yacht club and after watching a special on Charlie Sheen I went to bed.
Sound Waves Out
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Day 157 & 158: Tidal Current
SAMPSON CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Tuesday night turned out to be a lot of fun. Rock, the harbor master is good friends with the owner and we were hanging out with him at the bar. We started conversation about the lemon shark that has been in the marina for a few months now. He has tried to catch it but hasn't had any luck yet. We decided to go back to the boat and see what we could catch. We chummed the water and sure enough nurse sharks and lemon sharks came in to the glow of our underwater lights. After about 30 minutes the owners son hooked the lemon shark. What a fight!!! It took off in to the middle of the harbor, turned, and swam right back at the boat. Unfortunately it wrapped itself around a pylon and snapped the line.
Wednesday some guys from Big Sampson came down to help us with the cutlass bearing. The owner and I turned on the Hookah Lines (Brownies Third Lung...like scuba diving) and jumped in to help. We spent over an hour working the bearing back in but did manage to fix it. The sharks were very curious about the hammering noises we were making but never came very close to us. While I was holding a block of wood it slipped and sliced my fingers. I pulled a huge piece of wood out of my thumb and kept working. The sharks did become much more active and more frequent passes, but nothing was aggressive and there was never a threatening situation. The afternoon was spent napping and then we whipped up a good BBQ Chicken salad for dinner.
After dinner we heard some ruckus up at the bar and walked up to check it out. There were a couple of people up there and they were all wasted. One guy had a harmonica with him and it was fun to mess around with it and make up our own songs. Back at the boat we chummed the water to watch the sharks again and a very large lemon shark (6-7 feet) came in. It was really cool.
Thursday we took the big boat up to the aquarium for some snorkeling. While we were en route I got all of the Brownie's Third Lung stuff laid out and everyones mask and snorkel ready to go. We tried an unconventional method to anchoring as most big boats are supposed to pick up a mooring ball a mile or so away and then dinghy in. The current was ripping and I was a little nervous to put people in the water. I put out a 100 foot catch line just in case. Sure enough we ended up having to launch the dinghy and go pluck people out of the water. Everyone was safe and it was a less than pleasant afternoon at the aquarium.
Here are some pics!!!
Tuesday night turned out to be a lot of fun. Rock, the harbor master is good friends with the owner and we were hanging out with him at the bar. We started conversation about the lemon shark that has been in the marina for a few months now. He has tried to catch it but hasn't had any luck yet. We decided to go back to the boat and see what we could catch. We chummed the water and sure enough nurse sharks and lemon sharks came in to the glow of our underwater lights. After about 30 minutes the owners son hooked the lemon shark. What a fight!!! It took off in to the middle of the harbor, turned, and swam right back at the boat. Unfortunately it wrapped itself around a pylon and snapped the line.
Wednesday some guys from Big Sampson came down to help us with the cutlass bearing. The owner and I turned on the Hookah Lines (Brownies Third Lung...like scuba diving) and jumped in to help. We spent over an hour working the bearing back in but did manage to fix it. The sharks were very curious about the hammering noises we were making but never came very close to us. While I was holding a block of wood it slipped and sliced my fingers. I pulled a huge piece of wood out of my thumb and kept working. The sharks did become much more active and more frequent passes, but nothing was aggressive and there was never a threatening situation. The afternoon was spent napping and then we whipped up a good BBQ Chicken salad for dinner.
After dinner we heard some ruckus up at the bar and walked up to check it out. There were a couple of people up there and they were all wasted. One guy had a harmonica with him and it was fun to mess around with it and make up our own songs. Back at the boat we chummed the water to watch the sharks again and a very large lemon shark (6-7 feet) came in. It was really cool.
Thursday we took the big boat up to the aquarium for some snorkeling. While we were en route I got all of the Brownie's Third Lung stuff laid out and everyones mask and snorkel ready to go. We tried an unconventional method to anchoring as most big boats are supposed to pick up a mooring ball a mile or so away and then dinghy in. The current was ripping and I was a little nervous to put people in the water. I put out a 100 foot catch line just in case. Sure enough we ended up having to launch the dinghy and go pluck people out of the water. Everyone was safe and it was a less than pleasant afternoon at the aquarium.
Here are some pics!!!
Motoring up to Sampson Cay with VPR on the bow
Up on the bow watching for the nasty stuff that props don't get along with. It was all beautiful
Spotted Eagle Ray taken somewhere between Staniel and Sampson
This appears to be a nurse shark.
Sound Waves Out
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Day 155 & 156: Sampson!
SAMPSON CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Monday was a slow start to the day. Once everyone was up and about we made our way towards checking out at Staniel Cay. The owners son and his daughter hopped in the dinghy and followed behind us as we pulled away from the dock. There was not a hint of wind in the air. We took the shortcut up to Sampson Cay and the water never got deeper than 12 feet. It was glass calm and as I hung over the bow pulpit an eagle ray soared beneath the boat as we idled past coral heads and white sand. The water was so calm and clear that snorkeling would have been a waste of time. The bottom was in HD. I could almost see the sergeant majors dashing from reef to reef as we sped past.
Upon pulling up to the entrance to Sampson Cay I suggested that tonight would be a perfect night to stay on the hook. The owner loved the idea, we picked our spot and set the anchor. Shortly after setting the hook we took the dinghy in to Sampson Cay marina and had a light lunch. After lunch we went for a long dinghy ride and almost made it to Hall's Pond (Johnny Depp's island). We surfed some lazy swells in a cut on the dinghy and actually got a pretty good ride on an 8-10 foot swell one time...in the dinghy! Don't worry we watched the swells for about 10 minutes before driving in to them and none of them were even coming close to breaking. We washed the water line once we got back to the boat and found that the aft cutlass bearing on the starboard shaft has slid its way out of the strut. This is a big deal, especially considering we don't have the tools to fix it. We put together some ideas to get it back in place but still managed to find a guy to come look at it on Wednesday. After our bottom inspection we went in to the marina for dinner. It was a nice peaceful night.
Tuesday I got up and got the Brownie's Third Lung ready for our trip up to The Aquarium. We had a great breakfast and hopped in the dinghy. It was about a 20 min ride as it was just off of Depp's Island. It did not look like he was there as he was not flying his black pirate flag. We picked up a ball at The Aquarium and dove in. The pull cord for the Third Lung broke so we were stuck with basic snorkeling for the day. We swam all the way around the island and I have to say that it was quite breath taking. The coral was amazing, the fish were everywhere, and the water was clearer than a swimming pool. I will get pictures up soon.
Once back at the dock I got the Third Lung up and running again, rinsed everything down, and put it all away. That took me just about the entire evening.
We had a great pizza up at the restaurant at the marina and as I write this blog we are all standing up from dinner "Let's get together and feel alright" is playing in the background and because it is $2 beer night and free water at the marina the bar is actually really busy. A new reggae song comes on the radio and while I don't recognize it the locals sitting up at the bar start singing along as the cash register opens and slams shut again. "The ring toss" game outside just started as the owner tries his best to land the ring on the hook. I can tell he is getting close, I've heard it hit three times in a row now...no luck yet.
Tomorrow may be the Thunderball Grotto, maybe a beach day...who knows, I can't make those kinds of decisions this far in advance...too stressful.
Sound Waves Out
Monday was a slow start to the day. Once everyone was up and about we made our way towards checking out at Staniel Cay. The owners son and his daughter hopped in the dinghy and followed behind us as we pulled away from the dock. There was not a hint of wind in the air. We took the shortcut up to Sampson Cay and the water never got deeper than 12 feet. It was glass calm and as I hung over the bow pulpit an eagle ray soared beneath the boat as we idled past coral heads and white sand. The water was so calm and clear that snorkeling would have been a waste of time. The bottom was in HD. I could almost see the sergeant majors dashing from reef to reef as we sped past.
Upon pulling up to the entrance to Sampson Cay I suggested that tonight would be a perfect night to stay on the hook. The owner loved the idea, we picked our spot and set the anchor. Shortly after setting the hook we took the dinghy in to Sampson Cay marina and had a light lunch. After lunch we went for a long dinghy ride and almost made it to Hall's Pond (Johnny Depp's island). We surfed some lazy swells in a cut on the dinghy and actually got a pretty good ride on an 8-10 foot swell one time...in the dinghy! Don't worry we watched the swells for about 10 minutes before driving in to them and none of them were even coming close to breaking. We washed the water line once we got back to the boat and found that the aft cutlass bearing on the starboard shaft has slid its way out of the strut. This is a big deal, especially considering we don't have the tools to fix it. We put together some ideas to get it back in place but still managed to find a guy to come look at it on Wednesday. After our bottom inspection we went in to the marina for dinner. It was a nice peaceful night.
Tuesday I got up and got the Brownie's Third Lung ready for our trip up to The Aquarium. We had a great breakfast and hopped in the dinghy. It was about a 20 min ride as it was just off of Depp's Island. It did not look like he was there as he was not flying his black pirate flag. We picked up a ball at The Aquarium and dove in. The pull cord for the Third Lung broke so we were stuck with basic snorkeling for the day. We swam all the way around the island and I have to say that it was quite breath taking. The coral was amazing, the fish were everywhere, and the water was clearer than a swimming pool. I will get pictures up soon.
Once back at the dock I got the Third Lung up and running again, rinsed everything down, and put it all away. That took me just about the entire evening.
We had a great pizza up at the restaurant at the marina and as I write this blog we are all standing up from dinner "Let's get together and feel alright" is playing in the background and because it is $2 beer night and free water at the marina the bar is actually really busy. A new reggae song comes on the radio and while I don't recognize it the locals sitting up at the bar start singing along as the cash register opens and slams shut again. "The ring toss" game outside just started as the owner tries his best to land the ring on the hook. I can tell he is getting close, I've heard it hit three times in a row now...no luck yet.
Tomorrow may be the Thunderball Grotto, maybe a beach day...who knows, I can't make those kinds of decisions this far in advance...too stressful.
Sound Waves Out
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Day 154: Hard Aground!
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
I woke up this morning before everyone else and cranked out a couple of small projects. I caulked up the hardware on the fly bridge door as it all leaked during our rain storms yesterday. It's a new door and the guy that put all of it together didn't bother to seal the hardware.
Shortly after everyone got up we launched the dinghy and took off for an afternoon adventure. We went around to Big Majors Spot and fed the pigs. They were absolutely huge and it was hilarious to see them swim out to the boat.
After we got our fix there we headed back south to another island south of Staniel (Great Iguana or something??) to feed to Iguanas. They were also huge. As we pulled up to the beach we spotted one sunning itself. It was about 4-5 feet long. As soon as we started throwing bread one iguana after another came out of the bushes. All in all about 8-10 iguanas came out to say hello. We sat with our feet in the water sitting on the dinghy for about a half hour before we took off to head back to Staniel Cay. We motored up the little creek that is just to the east of the airport and relaxed a little more. The creek was beautiful and the sun was hot.
A light lunch up at the yacht club led to a nice nap back at the boat. The owner had some Bahamian friends on board and was cranking the stereo but I still managed to pass out. I woke up to the owners son asking if we should go help a sailboat get off the reef.
Earlier in the day a sailboat ran hard aground on the reef just outside of the marina. Two small dinghies were attempting to pull them off but it just wasn't enough. The boat had been on the reef for about four hours now as they had to wait for the tide to come up. We decided to go help them with our 215 hp. At first the guys in the small dinghies were trying to tell us what to do and while we listened to them for a bit I knew that it wasn't going to work. After a failed attempt the guy said we had to try again and we had to do it this way and make sure we do this and that. Finally I said if this boat is going to get off this reef before dark everyone needs to just calm down and think about what we are doing. The current was pushing hard on the starboard beam and I knew we had to find a way to get the current to work for us instead of against us. The owners son and I blocked out the two idiots in the dinghies and started talking to the couple on board. We got them calmed down and ran through a simple game plan with them. Sure enough one tug and they were off. As we headed back to the boat the sailboat fouled their anchor road and before they knew it the swift flood current had them right back on the reef...even worse this time. We went back out and despite the two idiots in the dinghies we managed to channel the couples attention on board and made another game plan. We yanked them right off first try again. I wanted the couple to stay calm on the boat and told them as soon as we pull them off to remain calm and take their time. We held them in tow for about 20 minutes while they got situated and had them come up to us before we released their lines to them. They thanked us and took off for their anchorage for the night.
Now we are getting ready to have a great spaghetti dinner on board and boy am I hungry!
Sound Waves Out
I woke up this morning before everyone else and cranked out a couple of small projects. I caulked up the hardware on the fly bridge door as it all leaked during our rain storms yesterday. It's a new door and the guy that put all of it together didn't bother to seal the hardware.
Shortly after everyone got up we launched the dinghy and took off for an afternoon adventure. We went around to Big Majors Spot and fed the pigs. They were absolutely huge and it was hilarious to see them swim out to the boat.
The Pigs at Big Majors Spot
The pigs at Big Majors Spot coming out to visit us
Motoring up the creek on Staniel Cay
Earlier in the day a sailboat ran hard aground on the reef just outside of the marina. Two small dinghies were attempting to pull them off but it just wasn't enough. The boat had been on the reef for about four hours now as they had to wait for the tide to come up. We decided to go help them with our 215 hp. At first the guys in the small dinghies were trying to tell us what to do and while we listened to them for a bit I knew that it wasn't going to work. After a failed attempt the guy said we had to try again and we had to do it this way and make sure we do this and that. Finally I said if this boat is going to get off this reef before dark everyone needs to just calm down and think about what we are doing. The current was pushing hard on the starboard beam and I knew we had to find a way to get the current to work for us instead of against us. The owners son and I blocked out the two idiots in the dinghies and started talking to the couple on board. We got them calmed down and ran through a simple game plan with them. Sure enough one tug and they were off. As we headed back to the boat the sailboat fouled their anchor road and before they knew it the swift flood current had them right back on the reef...even worse this time. We went back out and despite the two idiots in the dinghies we managed to channel the couples attention on board and made another game plan. We yanked them right off first try again. I wanted the couple to stay calm on the boat and told them as soon as we pull them off to remain calm and take their time. We held them in tow for about 20 minutes while they got situated and had them come up to us before we released their lines to them. They thanked us and took off for their anchorage for the night.
Hard Aground on the reef just outside of the marina
One of the many nurse sharks at the marina at Staniel Cay Yacht Club
Now we are getting ready to have a great spaghetti dinner on board and boy am I hungry!
Sound Waves Out
Day 153: New Guests
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
I got up Saturday and said goodbye to the owners brother and immediately started to turn his room over. The owners daughter was coming in later in the day and I had to get everything ready.
Our parts for the underwater lights were coming in with her and before she got here I wanted to make sure I had everything ready to go. I contacted the electrician in Key West who worked on the lights with me, as well as the electrician in Nassau. Upon the arrival of our new guest we were also greeted with heavy rainfall. It was good because the island really needed it and for the Bahamas the rain actually lasted pretty long. It rained on and off for about an hour before the clouds finally gave way to the sun again. As soon as the rain stopped I got down in to my hole in the rudder room to start on the lights.
I disconnected all of the lights and disconnected the AC input side running to the ballast. Doing this isolated the ballasts themselves. I could then check the resistance on both the input and output side of the ballast. I did this because the owner wanted to make sure that one of the ballast or lights wasn't shorting out. All seemed fine and I hooked everything back up. I hooked up the new contactor down in the engine room and after a skype conversation with the electrician in Nassau to confirm everything I was ready to try the lights. They worked!
I scrambled out of my work clothes and ran up to the yacht club and I still beat the dinner bell.
As I sit here on the aft deck on Sunday morning writing this blog the American flag slaps against itself and sailboat rigging of a nearby sailboat slaps the mast of a trimaran that is actually out of Saugatuck (I met them it is the Van Howe's who I actually talked to two summers ago in Michigan about my sailing trip down here. They run a sailboat charter in Saugatuck.)
The water down here is more magnificent than a clear blue sky. The turquoise blue waters of the sandy shallows are scattered with dark shadows of nurse sharks and sting ray going about their normal day. A dark patch runs for about a hundred yards as a coral reef lines the bottom and eventually becomes a small island which protects our harbor. Off on the horizon a mega yacht is on the hook probably enjoying a nice breakfast or getting ready for a morning dive. Sailboats scatter the leeward side of every island as almost any place out of the wind and current proves to be an excellent anchorage. The Van Howe's are weighing anchor right now as they head off to their next destination in paradise. The owner said it himself last night, "I think this is seriously a little bit of heaven." A fresh easterly breeze pulls on the dock lines and white caps can be seen in the distance where the islands peel away and give way to the ocean. Its gearing up to be another busy day in paradise as people make decisions whether they should stay another day or head to the next destination, snorkel the grotto or head over to the aquarium, or should they just find a deserted beach with not a footprint and waste another day away.
Sound Waves Out
I got up Saturday and said goodbye to the owners brother and immediately started to turn his room over. The owners daughter was coming in later in the day and I had to get everything ready.
Our parts for the underwater lights were coming in with her and before she got here I wanted to make sure I had everything ready to go. I contacted the electrician in Key West who worked on the lights with me, as well as the electrician in Nassau. Upon the arrival of our new guest we were also greeted with heavy rainfall. It was good because the island really needed it and for the Bahamas the rain actually lasted pretty long. It rained on and off for about an hour before the clouds finally gave way to the sun again. As soon as the rain stopped I got down in to my hole in the rudder room to start on the lights.
I disconnected all of the lights and disconnected the AC input side running to the ballast. Doing this isolated the ballasts themselves. I could then check the resistance on both the input and output side of the ballast. I did this because the owner wanted to make sure that one of the ballast or lights wasn't shorting out. All seemed fine and I hooked everything back up. I hooked up the new contactor down in the engine room and after a skype conversation with the electrician in Nassau to confirm everything I was ready to try the lights. They worked!
I scrambled out of my work clothes and ran up to the yacht club and I still beat the dinner bell.
As I sit here on the aft deck on Sunday morning writing this blog the American flag slaps against itself and sailboat rigging of a nearby sailboat slaps the mast of a trimaran that is actually out of Saugatuck (I met them it is the Van Howe's who I actually talked to two summers ago in Michigan about my sailing trip down here. They run a sailboat charter in Saugatuck.)
The water down here is more magnificent than a clear blue sky. The turquoise blue waters of the sandy shallows are scattered with dark shadows of nurse sharks and sting ray going about their normal day. A dark patch runs for about a hundred yards as a coral reef lines the bottom and eventually becomes a small island which protects our harbor. Off on the horizon a mega yacht is on the hook probably enjoying a nice breakfast or getting ready for a morning dive. Sailboats scatter the leeward side of every island as almost any place out of the wind and current proves to be an excellent anchorage. The Van Howe's are weighing anchor right now as they head off to their next destination in paradise. The owner said it himself last night, "I think this is seriously a little bit of heaven." A fresh easterly breeze pulls on the dock lines and white caps can be seen in the distance where the islands peel away and give way to the ocean. Its gearing up to be another busy day in paradise as people make decisions whether they should stay another day or head to the next destination, snorkel the grotto or head over to the aquarium, or should they just find a deserted beach with not a footprint and waste another day away.
Sound Waves Out
Friday, March 4, 2011
Day 152: Compass Cay Day Trip
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Today we were forced to move on the dock as they are doing some work on the docks and the barge had to come in to our slip. The owner figured since we have to move we might as well go somewhere for the afternoon. His brother was flying out of Staniel Cay the following morning so we couldn't go anywhere overnight. We headed north to Compass Cay to see Tucker and have a great burger. The wind was howling and we lost a bow cushion just before we turned in to the channel to Compass. We got the cushion back and it was a good man overboard drill. The channel was a bit tricky but we got to the dock O.K. and met back up with our old/new friends from Seque. We walked down to the beach on the Exuma Sound side of the island and boy was it rough. The burgers were good and the dinghy ride was fabulous. We took the dinghy up to the north side of the island and went to the bubble pool and blow hole. The windward side of the island was wicked but the leeward side of the island was calm. We blew through the islands weaving in and out of sand bars and dodging coral heads. A quick trip up a mangrove creek rounded out the day and we lifted the dinghy and headed for home (Staniel Cay). The tide was out on the way out and I am pretty sure we tapped the bottom a few times. The entire approach in to Staniel Cay was accomplished seeing 0.0 ft. on the depth sounder. We never felt the boat hit but I wouldn't be surprised if the props got a little polished up in the sand.
The owners son and I washed the boat top to bottom as soon as we got back to the dock and then headed up to dinner at the yacht club. We later took the scooters out for a ride and had a ball. The runway was closed and riding up and down that was so much fun. It was fun to cruise around the island and as soon as we were as far away from the little lights that there are on this island we shut the scooters off and stared at the stars. With a new moon they were unbelievable.
Tomorrow the owners brother is leaving and his daughter is coming in so the morning will be spent turning rooms over and doing a little cleaning. The wind is hopefully going to loosen its grip soon.
Sound Waves Out
Today we were forced to move on the dock as they are doing some work on the docks and the barge had to come in to our slip. The owner figured since we have to move we might as well go somewhere for the afternoon. His brother was flying out of Staniel Cay the following morning so we couldn't go anywhere overnight. We headed north to Compass Cay to see Tucker and have a great burger. The wind was howling and we lost a bow cushion just before we turned in to the channel to Compass. We got the cushion back and it was a good man overboard drill. The channel was a bit tricky but we got to the dock O.K. and met back up with our old/new friends from Seque. We walked down to the beach on the Exuma Sound side of the island and boy was it rough. The burgers were good and the dinghy ride was fabulous. We took the dinghy up to the north side of the island and went to the bubble pool and blow hole. The windward side of the island was wicked but the leeward side of the island was calm. We blew through the islands weaving in and out of sand bars and dodging coral heads. A quick trip up a mangrove creek rounded out the day and we lifted the dinghy and headed for home (Staniel Cay). The tide was out on the way out and I am pretty sure we tapped the bottom a few times. The entire approach in to Staniel Cay was accomplished seeing 0.0 ft. on the depth sounder. We never felt the boat hit but I wouldn't be surprised if the props got a little polished up in the sand.
The owners son and I washed the boat top to bottom as soon as we got back to the dock and then headed up to dinner at the yacht club. We later took the scooters out for a ride and had a ball. The runway was closed and riding up and down that was so much fun. It was fun to cruise around the island and as soon as we were as far away from the little lights that there are on this island we shut the scooters off and stared at the stars. With a new moon they were unbelievable.
Tomorrow the owners brother is leaving and his daughter is coming in so the morning will be spent turning rooms over and doing a little cleaning. The wind is hopefully going to loosen its grip soon.
Sound Waves Out
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Day 151: SCYC
STANIEL CAY EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
Last night was a lot of fun. We had dinner at 7:00 up at the yacht club. If you have ever been to the Bahamas or other islands you will know how the dinners work around here. We walk in and everyone is around the bar having drinks and chatting. Someone rings a bell, we all cheer and just like that the bar is empty and everyone sits down for dinner. We have to order before 5:00 and there is only one sitting for dinner. Everyone eats at the same time and then thats it. We hung out for the rest of the night at the bar, met some people that flew in on a Jimmy Buffet type waterplane and while we told them to come meet up with us today we never saw them.
The owner knows a lot of the locals and it was good to get to know a lot of them. Wade is going to take us out to get conch and lobster then he takes us to the beach and makes us lunch. I am really excited to do that someday soon. A front just came through and while today was sunny the wind is still fairly strong. Its looking like it is going to be pretty windy until Sunday.
Today we took the scooters around the island which is a pretty cool place. Art Wertz (blackhawks and Binny's in Chicago) is building a house up on a hill and it was cool to run in to him today and see the house. It is absolutely amazing. The rest of the day was fairly lazy and other than crawling down in the rudder compartment to caulk up the wiring for the underwater lights not much got done.
Dinner at Staniel Cay Yacht Club is on the agenda again for tonight.
Just another day in paradise
Sound Waves Out
Last night was a lot of fun. We had dinner at 7:00 up at the yacht club. If you have ever been to the Bahamas or other islands you will know how the dinners work around here. We walk in and everyone is around the bar having drinks and chatting. Someone rings a bell, we all cheer and just like that the bar is empty and everyone sits down for dinner. We have to order before 5:00 and there is only one sitting for dinner. Everyone eats at the same time and then thats it. We hung out for the rest of the night at the bar, met some people that flew in on a Jimmy Buffet type waterplane and while we told them to come meet up with us today we never saw them.
The owner knows a lot of the locals and it was good to get to know a lot of them. Wade is going to take us out to get conch and lobster then he takes us to the beach and makes us lunch. I am really excited to do that someday soon. A front just came through and while today was sunny the wind is still fairly strong. Its looking like it is going to be pretty windy until Sunday.
Today we took the scooters around the island which is a pretty cool place. Art Wertz (blackhawks and Binny's in Chicago) is building a house up on a hill and it was cool to run in to him today and see the house. It is absolutely amazing. The rest of the day was fairly lazy and other than crawling down in the rudder compartment to caulk up the wiring for the underwater lights not much got done.
Dinner at Staniel Cay Yacht Club is on the agenda again for tonight.
Just another day in paradise
Sound Waves Out
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Day 149 & 150: Paradise
STANIEL CAY, EXUMAS, BAHAMAS
We had the electrician look at the underwater lights early Tuesday morning in Nassau. I found that we blew a solid state contactor but we brought him in just to confirm. The electrician found a contactor that would do the job and replaced it for us. Shortly after we pulled out of Hurricane Hole in Nassau, fueled up and left for Highbourne Cay. It was a nice ride and the seas were fairly flat. About 30 minutes out of Highbourne the owner found a coral head and dropped anchor. He wanted to see if I could find any lobster and dive down with the spear and get some. He and his brother and I all got in the water. We were in about 20 feet of water and other than the small coral head the sandy bottom was as bare as a desert.
I dove down and looked around but other than getting looks from about five nurse sharks I did not spot any lobster. We continued on our way and pulled in to Highbourne in late afternoon.
We took a golf cart around the island and there wasn't much to see. You can tell that they are trying to develop the island for tourism however as the marina was very nice and they were building very nice cottages up on a hill.
That night we took the gulf cart to the middle of the island and shut the lights off. The stars were incredible. There was no moon and not a cloud in the sky. The lights from Nassau were barely even visible on the horizon. The stars dominated the sky.
We also ran in to the crew from the mega-yacht Seque. They were very nice and it was good dock conversation.
On Wednesday we got up and took off for Staniel Cay. The weather was already starting to turn as I was expecting a cold front to arrive later in the day. The ride down to Staniel Cay was very nice and despite the increasing winds out of the northeast due to the approaching front the seas were calm as we were in the lee. Shortly after arriving to Staniel Cay it got cloudy and we don't expect to see the sun again for a day or so. The underwater lights are broken again, and while I am pretty sure I know what is wrong it will be until Saturday to get parts from the United States.
Sound Waves Out
We had the electrician look at the underwater lights early Tuesday morning in Nassau. I found that we blew a solid state contactor but we brought him in just to confirm. The electrician found a contactor that would do the job and replaced it for us. Shortly after we pulled out of Hurricane Hole in Nassau, fueled up and left for Highbourne Cay. It was a nice ride and the seas were fairly flat. About 30 minutes out of Highbourne the owner found a coral head and dropped anchor. He wanted to see if I could find any lobster and dive down with the spear and get some. He and his brother and I all got in the water. We were in about 20 feet of water and other than the small coral head the sandy bottom was as bare as a desert.
I dove down and looked around but other than getting looks from about five nurse sharks I did not spot any lobster. We continued on our way and pulled in to Highbourne in late afternoon.
We took a golf cart around the island and there wasn't much to see. You can tell that they are trying to develop the island for tourism however as the marina was very nice and they were building very nice cottages up on a hill.
That night we took the gulf cart to the middle of the island and shut the lights off. The stars were incredible. There was no moon and not a cloud in the sky. The lights from Nassau were barely even visible on the horizon. The stars dominated the sky.
We also ran in to the crew from the mega-yacht Seque. They were very nice and it was good dock conversation.
On Wednesday we got up and took off for Staniel Cay. The weather was already starting to turn as I was expecting a cold front to arrive later in the day. The ride down to Staniel Cay was very nice and despite the increasing winds out of the northeast due to the approaching front the seas were calm as we were in the lee. Shortly after arriving to Staniel Cay it got cloudy and we don't expect to see the sun again for a day or so. The underwater lights are broken again, and while I am pretty sure I know what is wrong it will be until Saturday to get parts from the United States.
Sound Waves Out
Monday, February 28, 2011
Day 148: Atlantis
NASSAU, NEW PROVIDENCE ISLAND, BAHAMAS,
Bimini Island proved to be a fun night and it was much more happening than the last time I was there. The marina at the Big Game club was just about full as the sun surrendered to the horizon. I got up the next morning and caught up with some fishermen before they left the docks at 0800. I met them the night before and they said they would give us some tips on fishing around here. They set me up with some pretty good rigs and techniques and I was on my way. Skipper was the resort charter guy I'm pretty sure, and Mike was also a local to the area. I'm pretty sure I met the owner of the whole resort as well haha. They were all very nice and helped me out so much.
We pulled back from the dock around 1000....dead low tide....and idled back in to the bright turquoise water. We tried our luck at fishing for an hour or so but only came up with one barracuda. For the next 50 miles the water under the boat would barely reach any higher than 10 ft. and there wasn't a hint of land in sight...The Exuma Bank. It got a bit rough, as I was afraid it would, and after clearing Mackie Shoal we found ourselves in 3-4 footers. It was no big deal just a bit bumpy. The wind was ripping right on the nose. I was very nervous that these waves were going to turn even less friendly when we hit the deep water off the Northwest Channel. Our destination was Chub Cay however and I knew that even if it was really rough we wouldn't have far to go. To my surprise the waves laid down once we hit deeper water and looking back to past experience in the Bahamas this makes sense. They didn't get any taller or shorter they just spread themselves out and became more of a swell. With the weather forecast for the following day promising heavy winds the owner decided to continue on for two more hours and head to Nassau. A slight turn to starboard is all it took and we were on our way.
We got in to Nassau just before dark and I found my post dock duties diminishing as the owner immediately hired two Bahamians to wash the boat who were waiting eagerly for our business. I was exhausted and took a quick power nap. I got talked in to going up to Atlantis for dinner and a little gambling. The place was packed with tourists!! Dinner was great at Nobu, a sushi place, and the gambling was fun, even though I came out with no winnings. It was very nice of the owner and his brother however to give me a little bonus pay to use for gambling. I tried to refuse the small bonus but he insisted and it was so nice of them to consider me and make sure to include me in the nightly activities. I was very grateful for that.
Today (Monday) I cleaned out under the engines, got the weather report, and drifted off to sleep on the couch. I was granted the relaxation and I took it. The sun is absolutely blazing hot, there is not a cloud in the sky, but the wind is holding us at the dock.
Tomorrow we plan to attempt to make it to Staniel Cay but if it is still too rough we will wait for our variable and light forecast for Wednesday.
Sound Waves Out
Bimini Island proved to be a fun night and it was much more happening than the last time I was there. The marina at the Big Game club was just about full as the sun surrendered to the horizon. I got up the next morning and caught up with some fishermen before they left the docks at 0800. I met them the night before and they said they would give us some tips on fishing around here. They set me up with some pretty good rigs and techniques and I was on my way. Skipper was the resort charter guy I'm pretty sure, and Mike was also a local to the area. I'm pretty sure I met the owner of the whole resort as well haha. They were all very nice and helped me out so much.
We pulled back from the dock around 1000....dead low tide....and idled back in to the bright turquoise water. We tried our luck at fishing for an hour or so but only came up with one barracuda. For the next 50 miles the water under the boat would barely reach any higher than 10 ft. and there wasn't a hint of land in sight...The Exuma Bank. It got a bit rough, as I was afraid it would, and after clearing Mackie Shoal we found ourselves in 3-4 footers. It was no big deal just a bit bumpy. The wind was ripping right on the nose. I was very nervous that these waves were going to turn even less friendly when we hit the deep water off the Northwest Channel. Our destination was Chub Cay however and I knew that even if it was really rough we wouldn't have far to go. To my surprise the waves laid down once we hit deeper water and looking back to past experience in the Bahamas this makes sense. They didn't get any taller or shorter they just spread themselves out and became more of a swell. With the weather forecast for the following day promising heavy winds the owner decided to continue on for two more hours and head to Nassau. A slight turn to starboard is all it took and we were on our way.
We got in to Nassau just before dark and I found my post dock duties diminishing as the owner immediately hired two Bahamians to wash the boat who were waiting eagerly for our business. I was exhausted and took a quick power nap. I got talked in to going up to Atlantis for dinner and a little gambling. The place was packed with tourists!! Dinner was great at Nobu, a sushi place, and the gambling was fun, even though I came out with no winnings. It was very nice of the owner and his brother however to give me a little bonus pay to use for gambling. I tried to refuse the small bonus but he insisted and it was so nice of them to consider me and make sure to include me in the nightly activities. I was very grateful for that.
Today (Monday) I cleaned out under the engines, got the weather report, and drifted off to sleep on the couch. I was granted the relaxation and I took it. The sun is absolutely blazing hot, there is not a cloud in the sky, but the wind is holding us at the dock.
Tomorrow we plan to attempt to make it to Staniel Cay but if it is still too rough we will wait for our variable and light forecast for Wednesday.
Sound Waves Out
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Day 147: Bimini Island
ALICE TOWN NORTH BIMINI ISLAND, BAHAMAS!!
Finally we did it. I woke up at 0630 this morning and finished some last minute tasks. Everyone else was up around 0730 and we fired the engines. I checked the weather one last time and it looked perfect. We tossed the lines pulled back from the dock and headed for the ocean. It was only 0800 and the sun was already hot on the face. There wasn't a hint of wind in the air as we idled our way towards an open horizon. I couldn't believe we finally made it to this day. It has been a month in Ft. Lauderdale of nothing but work. We completed so many tasks, as my last blog posts indicate, and the owner said the boat is in the best shape it has been in for awhile now.
We cleared Port Everglades and the water was glass calm. We left a trail of foam on the water as our prop wash said goodbye to the United States. Next stop, Bahamas. The day went perfectly. We tried our hand at fishing but had no luck.
A year and a half ago I pulled in to Bimini Island in a 34' sailboat, just starting the adventure of a lifetime. The water was so clear it put a swimming pool to shame. The greens and the blues reflecting from the shallows hurt your eyes they were so bright. This time around??? Well Besides the awesome part of being on a 74' luxury motor yacht it was just as stunning. The gulf stream came to an end. Land presented itself on the horizon and the depth of water went from 1,500 to 100 feet in less than a football field. Bimini Island is less than a half mile wide and only about four miles long but it is absolute paradise. Sergeant Majors swarmed the boat as we tossed bits of Bimini Bread over board. I put the hammock out and took a little cat nap as the guests took a stroll around the island on the scooters. The rest of the day was spent lounging around up at the Bimini Big Game Marina bar.
I wonder.....holy shit this is awesome....I'm not wondering anything!!!!
I will get pictures up when I can!
Sound Waves Out
Finally we did it. I woke up at 0630 this morning and finished some last minute tasks. Everyone else was up around 0730 and we fired the engines. I checked the weather one last time and it looked perfect. We tossed the lines pulled back from the dock and headed for the ocean. It was only 0800 and the sun was already hot on the face. There wasn't a hint of wind in the air as we idled our way towards an open horizon. I couldn't believe we finally made it to this day. It has been a month in Ft. Lauderdale of nothing but work. We completed so many tasks, as my last blog posts indicate, and the owner said the boat is in the best shape it has been in for awhile now.
We cleared Port Everglades and the water was glass calm. We left a trail of foam on the water as our prop wash said goodbye to the United States. Next stop, Bahamas. The day went perfectly. We tried our hand at fishing but had no luck.
A year and a half ago I pulled in to Bimini Island in a 34' sailboat, just starting the adventure of a lifetime. The water was so clear it put a swimming pool to shame. The greens and the blues reflecting from the shallows hurt your eyes they were so bright. This time around??? Well Besides the awesome part of being on a 74' luxury motor yacht it was just as stunning. The gulf stream came to an end. Land presented itself on the horizon and the depth of water went from 1,500 to 100 feet in less than a football field. Bimini Island is less than a half mile wide and only about four miles long but it is absolute paradise. Sergeant Majors swarmed the boat as we tossed bits of Bimini Bread over board. I put the hammock out and took a little cat nap as the guests took a stroll around the island on the scooters. The rest of the day was spent lounging around up at the Bimini Big Game Marina bar.
I wonder.....holy shit this is awesome....I'm not wondering anything!!!!
I will get pictures up when I can!
Sound Waves Out
Friday, February 25, 2011
Day 143 - 146: This is it
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL USA
Holy cow I didn't even have time to blog all week. My work log is topping 70 hours for this week and the boat is finally in tip top shape. The owner is on the boat with his brother as well as his son and we are on schedule to pull away from the dock at 0800 tomorrow morning and finally head for the Bahamas.
Lets take a look back at this weeks projects:
Re-build aftercoolers
Replace check valves and test fuel issue
Sea-trial the boat
Finish installation on pilot house door hardware
Clean air conditioning strainers
Fabricate tv cover as well as runner for fly bridge deck
Get the bottom cleaned and zincs changed
Organize all freezers and fridges in galley, on aft deck and on fly bridge
Fix all camera systems on board
Fix all step lights and replace burnt out bulbs
Organize the hundreds of items that were ordered over the past week
Wet sand paint spots and replace covers from painter
Clean all canvas on the boat, dockside
Fill propane tanks for flybridge grill
Hardwire ships computer to router
Replace all lights in salon to same wattage
Fix cold water knob in the master bedroom
Fix the day head
Rent a carpet cleaner and clean all carpets on board. Pre-soak, wash, rinse, water rinse, apply scotch guard
Clean entire inside of boat and all heads
Clean and/or replace all air filters on board
Clean all shower sumps
Power wash and acid wash bottom of dinghy
Wash and lift dinghy
Wash entire boat
Polish all stainless
RainX all windows
Wax aft deck fiberglass
Provision
Clean oil spill pan for hydraulic davit pump
Wash, polish, wax and lift scooters
Being that I don't feel like giving a detailed description of the above project list, I thought I would just spit it back out on to paper. The owner and his friends just left for dinner, the divers just finished up changing the zincs, and I am absolutely exhausted. I am going to sleep like a baby tonight, but with a 0600 alarm in order to get everything else squared away that the owner wants to get squared away before we leave, my nap won't last long. Exhausted. With promises of fun times and relaxation on the horizon I think everyone forgets that this is my job and I'm not on vacation. Anything that needs to get done on this boat will most likely go through me...I guess I will hope for relaxation though.
We plan to do some fishing in the stream tomorrow and possibly either stop in Bimini or go all the way to Chub Cay, depending on how long we fish for. With no real bait I am not too hopeful on our chances to catch anything but we will see what happens. I would imagine we will be in the Exumas within the next few days.
This little boy is going to bed..
Bahamas Bound....finally
Sound Waves Out
Holy cow I didn't even have time to blog all week. My work log is topping 70 hours for this week and the boat is finally in tip top shape. The owner is on the boat with his brother as well as his son and we are on schedule to pull away from the dock at 0800 tomorrow morning and finally head for the Bahamas.
Lets take a look back at this weeks projects:
Re-build aftercoolers
Replace check valves and test fuel issue
Sea-trial the boat
Finish installation on pilot house door hardware
Clean air conditioning strainers
Fabricate tv cover as well as runner for fly bridge deck
Get the bottom cleaned and zincs changed
Organize all freezers and fridges in galley, on aft deck and on fly bridge
Fix all camera systems on board
Fix all step lights and replace burnt out bulbs
Organize the hundreds of items that were ordered over the past week
Wet sand paint spots and replace covers from painter
Clean all canvas on the boat, dockside
Fill propane tanks for flybridge grill
Hardwire ships computer to router
Replace all lights in salon to same wattage
Fix cold water knob in the master bedroom
Fix the day head
Rent a carpet cleaner and clean all carpets on board. Pre-soak, wash, rinse, water rinse, apply scotch guard
Clean entire inside of boat and all heads
Clean and/or replace all air filters on board
Clean all shower sumps
Power wash and acid wash bottom of dinghy
Wash and lift dinghy
Wash entire boat
Polish all stainless
RainX all windows
Wax aft deck fiberglass
Provision
Clean oil spill pan for hydraulic davit pump
Wash, polish, wax and lift scooters
Being that I don't feel like giving a detailed description of the above project list, I thought I would just spit it back out on to paper. The owner and his friends just left for dinner, the divers just finished up changing the zincs, and I am absolutely exhausted. I am going to sleep like a baby tonight, but with a 0600 alarm in order to get everything else squared away that the owner wants to get squared away before we leave, my nap won't last long. Exhausted. With promises of fun times and relaxation on the horizon I think everyone forgets that this is my job and I'm not on vacation. Anything that needs to get done on this boat will most likely go through me...I guess I will hope for relaxation though.
We plan to do some fishing in the stream tomorrow and possibly either stop in Bimini or go all the way to Chub Cay, depending on how long we fish for. With no real bait I am not too hopeful on our chances to catch anything but we will see what happens. I would imagine we will be in the Exumas within the next few days.
This little boy is going to bed..
Bahamas Bound....finally
Sound Waves Out
Monday, February 21, 2011
Day 140-142: The Race is on
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL USA
Saturday and Sunday went by nice and smooth. I finished some small projects, but nothing serious. There really wasn't much to write about. I feel like the boat is getting closer.
Monday morning I went and picked up the owners son at the airport. Jack, our diesel mechanic, showed up to finish the work on the engines. We wanted to make sure everything was put back together perfectly before starting the engines. Shortly after getting back from the airport Jeremy showed up and got right to work on the pilot house doors. After a few lightning fast hours the starboard engine turned over. We bled the lines, cranked it, bled the lines, and just like that she lit up like a Christmas tree. Everything sounded great and we ran the engine up to 2100 rpm's. We shut her down and got to work on the port engine. Meanwhile Jeremy finally had the door hardware for the pilot house doors latching and locking. We tweaked them a little here and there and other than a few more adjustments that I have to make tomorrow they are on and functional! It has been since Sarasota that we have been trying to get those dang things on so it was such a relief.
Not too long after the port engine fired up and everything seemed to be running great. On another good note we cracked off the fuel check valve on the starboard main engine and noticed that it may be our problem to our fuel draining out of the racors. We switched the check valves from port to starboard and will see if the port side racors begin to drain. In the meantime we will be ordering a new check valve as we are certain that this is our problem.
Jeremy looked at our air conditioning units and we found that one of the compressors is in fact failing. We will be ordering a new one immediately and that has now become our main priority.
Jeremy, the owners son and I flipped the boat around at the dock. We can now lift the tender that has been sitting in the water for a month now. The bottom is filthy and it is on tomorrows agenda first thing. We finally got a good quote to put down a runner on the fly bridge deck. Hopefully we will be moving forward on that tomorrow as well.
The race is on and hopefully by this time next week I will be writing from somewhere in the Bahamas. It was very encouraging to me today to hear the engines fire again, and I even went for a mini boat ride...I pulled the boat out of the slip, spun it, and backed it back into the slip. I still remember how to drive a boat too!!!
Tomorrow we lift the dinghy and wash it. I need to install a fuel lift pump on the port engine still as there is a temporary bypass valve in place right now for todays activities. Once we get the air conditioners squared away, finish a few small projects and give the boat a good scrub inside and out we will be ready!!
Sound Waves Out
Saturday and Sunday went by nice and smooth. I finished some small projects, but nothing serious. There really wasn't much to write about. I feel like the boat is getting closer.
Monday morning I went and picked up the owners son at the airport. Jack, our diesel mechanic, showed up to finish the work on the engines. We wanted to make sure everything was put back together perfectly before starting the engines. Shortly after getting back from the airport Jeremy showed up and got right to work on the pilot house doors. After a few lightning fast hours the starboard engine turned over. We bled the lines, cranked it, bled the lines, and just like that she lit up like a Christmas tree. Everything sounded great and we ran the engine up to 2100 rpm's. We shut her down and got to work on the port engine. Meanwhile Jeremy finally had the door hardware for the pilot house doors latching and locking. We tweaked them a little here and there and other than a few more adjustments that I have to make tomorrow they are on and functional! It has been since Sarasota that we have been trying to get those dang things on so it was such a relief.
Not too long after the port engine fired up and everything seemed to be running great. On another good note we cracked off the fuel check valve on the starboard main engine and noticed that it may be our problem to our fuel draining out of the racors. We switched the check valves from port to starboard and will see if the port side racors begin to drain. In the meantime we will be ordering a new check valve as we are certain that this is our problem.
Jeremy looked at our air conditioning units and we found that one of the compressors is in fact failing. We will be ordering a new one immediately and that has now become our main priority.
Jeremy, the owners son and I flipped the boat around at the dock. We can now lift the tender that has been sitting in the water for a month now. The bottom is filthy and it is on tomorrows agenda first thing. We finally got a good quote to put down a runner on the fly bridge deck. Hopefully we will be moving forward on that tomorrow as well.
The race is on and hopefully by this time next week I will be writing from somewhere in the Bahamas. It was very encouraging to me today to hear the engines fire again, and I even went for a mini boat ride...I pulled the boat out of the slip, spun it, and backed it back into the slip. I still remember how to drive a boat too!!!
Tomorrow we lift the dinghy and wash it. I need to install a fuel lift pump on the port engine still as there is a temporary bypass valve in place right now for todays activities. Once we get the air conditioners squared away, finish a few small projects and give the boat a good scrub inside and out we will be ready!!
Sound Waves Out
Friday, February 18, 2011
Day 139: Dockwalk Party
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL USA
Jeremy showed up today with the new hardware for the pilot house doors. We worked on those dang things most of the day and they still aren't right. There is not a lot of space for the new latch as it is much larger than the old latch. The latches hit very hard and we are having trouble making them actually catch and shut. We modified the doors for most of the day, drilling holes, grinding tracks, and cursing a little bit here and there :-). They still aren't right but I hope to tackle them tomorrow and finish this project once and for all.
We also finally got the handle off of the ice maker on the aft deck. All of the set screws that hold it in place were locked up big time. After ruining a few hardened drill bits we finally got a carbide grinder in there and it did the job. Now we just have to re-tap the hole and get a new set screw in there. The reason we took the handle off is because it was very loose.
There was a dockwalk party going on in Miami tonight for the Miami boat show. www.dockwalk.com I got talked in to going down and was excited as it was an event for captains and crew only. It was at Waxy O'Conners in south beach Miami. I was a little disappointed that we didn't go down and look at the boats, but whatever. The party was alright but it wasn't worth the trip all the way to Miami that is for certain. I would have been mad if I didn't go though so it is what it is.
The boat is really close to being ready as most of my big projects are coming to an end. After sea trial on Monday will be a huge step towards getting off the docks in Lauderdale and heading for the Bahamas.
Here are some pictures!
Sound Waves Out
Jeremy showed up today with the new hardware for the pilot house doors. We worked on those dang things most of the day and they still aren't right. There is not a lot of space for the new latch as it is much larger than the old latch. The latches hit very hard and we are having trouble making them actually catch and shut. We modified the doors for most of the day, drilling holes, grinding tracks, and cursing a little bit here and there :-). They still aren't right but I hope to tackle them tomorrow and finish this project once and for all.
We also finally got the handle off of the ice maker on the aft deck. All of the set screws that hold it in place were locked up big time. After ruining a few hardened drill bits we finally got a carbide grinder in there and it did the job. Now we just have to re-tap the hole and get a new set screw in there. The reason we took the handle off is because it was very loose.
There was a dockwalk party going on in Miami tonight for the Miami boat show. www.dockwalk.com I got talked in to going down and was excited as it was an event for captains and crew only. It was at Waxy O'Conners in south beach Miami. I was a little disappointed that we didn't go down and look at the boats, but whatever. The party was alright but it wasn't worth the trip all the way to Miami that is for certain. I would have been mad if I didn't go though so it is what it is.
The boat is really close to being ready as most of my big projects are coming to an end. After sea trial on Monday will be a huge step towards getting off the docks in Lauderdale and heading for the Bahamas.
Here are some pictures!
Dockwalk Party: South Beach, Miami
Wednesday Night Poker at Waxy's in Lauderdale
Sunset from the aft deck of Sound Waves in Ft. Lauderdale at Bahia Mar marina. Avante V in the picture.
Sunset looking over what I call "the big boy dock" at Bahia Mar marina. Average sized boat on the dock on any given day I would say roughly 140'
Full moon rising up over the ocean and Bahia Mar
Sound Waves Out
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