And We're Off!

OK – so this is why we’re here. Never mind the fridge that isn’t working again, the water pump that leaks intermittently, the auto pilot and the chart plotter that are goners. We’re sailing, and the sails work!

So we’re ordering a new fridge and auto pilot ($$$$); Jeff already has a replacement chart plotter waiting to be installed, and we’re trying to ignore the water pump, as it still seems to be working. The lack of auto pilot has one advantage – it definitely makes us feel like we’re sailing the boat when we have to hand steer.

We left Elizabeth Harbour yesterday, after 18 days of cleaning, repairing, partying etc., and waiting for a weather window. The wind finally died down to a reasonable 10-12 knots, and we had a calm, downwind trip to the Bahama Bank doing 6.5-7.0 knots (hull speed is 6.5). We harboured in a gorgeous, gin-clear bay off Lee Stocking Island with three other sailboats. Two dolphins greeted us as we came through the cut, swimming alongside the boat in welcome.

This morning, after boiling the defrosted chicken and ribs from the unfrozen freezer, we left the Bank and sailed on the jib down the Bahama Sound (the ocean side) on huge rollers. The wind had picked up to gusts of 17 knots (pretty brisk) – working towards the cold front predicted for Sunday. So we took turns every half hour, as it’s hard work hand steering in the wind and waves. We’ve landed at Little Farmer’s Cay for the night, and plan to sail on the Bank to Staniel Cay tomorrow, where we’ll hunker down for the cold front with attendant heavy wind. It’s great to be moving again – we’re on our way to Eleuthra, new to us!

 

Happy New Year, 2020!

Happy New Year to one and all!

It is my greatest wish that our world leaders and we ourselves can move into this new decade with 20/20 vision about how to treat our planet and each other. It can be a brave new world, or a worse mess than we’ve ever imagined – and I do believe that it’s within our collective power to choose. My New Year’s resolution is to personally try to make the right choices.

On a lighter note – we welcomed in the New Year on Flip Flop Beach, at a boaters’ family bar-b-que. It was a late afternoon and early evening filled with love and laughter – staying cool up to our waists in the perfect turquoise water, while sipping drinks; watching the kids catch hermit crabs and cook bread dough on sticks over a blazing fire; blowing our conch to celebrate the gorgeously setting sun; and generally communing with each other and with nature in this beautiful place. Even the nasty sand fleas didn’t dampen our spirits!

So as we begin this new year, our love and best wishes go out to each of you, for a happy, peaceful, healthy 2020 – may my wish and all of yours come true!

Now This is More Like it ...

We’re starting to feel like we’re on vacation now – most boat parts are working, the cleaning is done, and we celebrated Christmas on the beach with a pot-luck lunch produced by about 150 sailors. Unfortunately all the work of the last two weeks has taken its toll on Jeff, who had to spend most of Christmas day in bed, resting.

Yesterday, I went to the beach, while Jeff puttered on the boat. I started with a yoga class on the sand – amazing to lie there listening to the surf and staring up at the blue sky and the Casuera trees, swaying in the wind. That was followed by some watercolour painting and a fresh conch salad for lunch. Then I took a ukulele class with fellow sailors, taught by one of us – such fun! Back to the big boat for tea and a late afternoon snooze, followed by a wonderful bar-b-que dinner (after three seasons, our bar-b-que finally works again). It doesn’t get much better than this!

It looks like we won’t be sailing for a few days, as our autopilot needs attention, and one of our fellow sailors offered to come by to consult today. He used to work for the company that makes the unit, so he just might know what he’s doing! Meanwhile, we’ll continue to enjoy this beautiful harbour and all the “adult Summer camp” activities with our fellow cruisers. Someday soon, I hope, we’ll be moving on North to Spanish Wells to get our boat bottom cleaned. Then we'll have some sailing adventures to report :).

A Day in the Life (written yesterday)

It’s not all sailing and sunsets … here’s what a typical once-a-week visit to George Town looks like:

10:00 am, after breakfast and listening to the morning sailor’s net, we board our trusty dinghy and set motor for town, in the pouring rain. Ten minutes later, and thoroughly soaked, Jeff fills four large water jugs with fresh reverse osmosis water, while I drop the garbage bags at the little truck left for that purpose, and drag my rolling box filled with laundry to Lee’s laundromat.

As I finish loading the machines, Jeff picks me up and we head to the immigration office to extend our visas for our full visit (unfortunately, as it turns out, a month too early ☹).

I head back to the laundromat to put the clothes into the dryer, then off to shop for groceries, while Jeff takes the first load of water back to Sea Change, and starts filling the tanks.

Then Jeff meets me at the dinghy dock, where I pass many bags of groceries to him, which he ferries back to Sea Change, along with yet another batch of filled water jugs, and unloads it all. I head back to the laundromat to fold the now dry laundry, while Jeff makes a third trip to fill water jugs, and picks up the clean laundry to take back to the boat.

I take a break and get my nails done for the Christmas party tomorrow. Meanwhile, Jeff buys lobster and wine for our anniversary celebration tonight, and then flakes out on the boat, waiting for my call to be picked up. We head back Sea Change, weigh anchor and high-tail it to our new anchorage at Volleyball beach, where there’s a Christmas sing-along in progress.

After stowing all the groceries and clean laundry, the evening is spent in celebrating our 36^th anniversary, the third night of Chanukah, and Christmas eve – what a day!

Rainy Daze at the "Cottage"

We’re going to need a lot of drying out, if the sun ever appears again! Day after day of rain – today quite heavy – and we’re occupying ourselves with indoor jobs (cozy, actually). It looks like cleaning the bilge might fall to me, while Jeff is going to brave the deep blue to clean the underside of the boat. He won’t notice the rain down there 😊.

We have been snatching between-rainstorm moments for some fun – yesterday we dinghied to our favourite Volleyball Beach for a “kosher” pig roast lunch and feeding the sting rays who come up to us like pet cats (they know which side their conch guts are buttered on). Two days ago we hiked over the hill to the gorgeous ocean beach, with its miles of empty, powdery sand and dramatically crashing waves. We never tire of this sight.

Meanwhile, indoors, I’m practicing my uke and choir music, baking, making Chanukah latkes, painting (sample below), writing blog posts, reading, etc. etc. Jeff has a never-ending list of boat jobs he works on when he’s not resting.

Tomorrow we’ll head back to George Town, now that the wind has calmed, to re-provision and prepare for the upcoming celebrations – Chanukah (as of last night), our 36^th anniversary (tomorrow night) and a Christmas day pot-luck on the beach, weather permitting. It could be worse …. Happy holidays, everyone – whatever you’re celebrating in this season of lights.