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.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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
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