A Study in Contrasts and a Dream Sail in Paradise

(written yesterday)

The night we spent on Little San Salvador was truly a study in contrasts! A peaceful 4-hour motor from Davis Harbor Marina on Eleuthera took us to the tiny Island of Little San Salvador, which belongs to Holland America Cruise Lines. We saw a whole lot of nothing as we moved through the waves – the only boat on the water. Then we arrived at the Island’s beautiful white beach, just down from a striking development of multi-coloured cabanas, a horse stable and a replica Galleon, complete with fake cannons and cannon-blast holes!

A huge cruise ship was anchored far off the beach, just preparing to leave for the day. So we were able to peacefully wander the beach at sunset, visit the galleon and have a look at the cabanas. The next morning, another cruise ship showed up and disgorged thousands of people onto the beach, who presumably spent the day sailing, kayaking, walking the beach, riding horses in the water and on land, exploring in a glass-bottom boat, drinking at the bar in the galleon, and probably having a great time. But we left to sail away again, into the calm of blue water and nothing on the horizon. It was a bit surreal!

Last night in a tiny bay on Cat Island, we checked the weather forecast, and were shocked to see that our satellite Inreach was predicting 5-foot waves on the Sound for next day. Not what we were expecting, for our sail to the bottom of the Island. But another check on the internet predicted .5 metre waves – quite a difference, and a relief!

The internet prediction turned out to be correct, thank goodness – and we had a 3.5 hour dream sail in about 14 knots of wind, at a close reach (for non-sailors, just off the front quarter of the boat). We were actually managing 7 knots of speed for a while – fast, even on the motor! Considering the fact that most of the time on this trip we’ve been motoring, with the wind on our nose, this was a special treat 😊.

Now here we are, snuggly tucked into Hawk’s Nest Marina, safe and dry from the rainstorm that just went through – good timing!

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a very happy Valentine’s Day! My captain and I started off with bacon and eggs (heart-shaped, of course 😊) – and a small gift and very loving card exchange.

Then we dinghied over to the Ocean Hole in Rock Sound, where we were anchored, and saw an example of a geologic anomaly – a 600-foot deep hole fed by underground ocean passages. It serves as a swimming hole for the locals, a feeding ground for hundreds of fish of many varieties, and a tourist attraction for the likes of us.

After a quick shop for groceries at the great local store (full of gluten-free products) we boarded our trusty ship and again sailed the turquoise ocean – this time 20 miles to our next destination, Davis Harbour Marina. It’s at the very bottom of Eleuthera, and our last stop before we head off towards Cat Island tomorrow. We’re really enjoying hot showers with unlimited water and the laundromat here! A Valentine’s dinner of spareribs and fresh corn on the cob, accompanied by Bloody Caesars, finished a lovely day.

The seas have  now calmed a bit, and the next few days will involve a stop at Little San Salvador, and then sailing down the coast of Cat Island to Hawk’s Nest Marina, where we hope to sit out another big blow for a couple of days, and maybe rent a car to explore the 50-mile Island by land. As much as we love sailing, it’ll be good to get off the boat for a while.

A Wild Ride to Governor's Harbour

We slipped our mooring in Spanish Wells early yesterday and headed to Current Cut – timed perfectly to the slack tide, so that we weren’t fighting the treacherous current. No problem – then on to the most beautiful, quiet cove, with not another boat in sight, and a restful evening of home-made fish tacos and “Call the Midwife” on DVD.

The wind was predicted to die down this morning, but when we left for the 20-mile trip to Governor’s Harbour, we discovered that we were bucking 3-4 foot rollers in a 21-23 knot wind! We decided to go for the ride anyway, and it was wild! The wind was on our nose, with waves splashing over the deck all the way to the dodger (windscreen) at the cockpit. For non-sailors, that means the boat was very wet – though the dodger kept us dry (mostly). Unfortunately, because of a leak in the forward hatch that wasn’t the case with the bunk there. Ah well, it’s a boat – it can handle water, and so can we 😊.

So now we’re happily tucked into a very protected corner in large Governor’s Harbour – the seat of the Eleutherin government - drinking Bahama Mamas and plotting the next leg of our journey. It all depends on the availability of flax seed here. If we can’t get it tomorrow, we’ll need to head to Rock Sound, which has a complete health food section in an amazing grocery store. If it is available, we’ll buy some here, and head to another tiny cove for tomorrow night, before our last stop in Eleuthera at Davis Harbour Marina, our jump-off point across the Sound to Cat Island, for another new adventure.

And We're Off Again!

Sitting at a mooring in Spanish Wells for the last two days, in cloudy, rainy, very windy weather, encouraged us both the start writing.

Jeff is currently writing the story of his hippie days in Stanley, New Brunswick, with wonderful anecdotes about the people he met there, and how they lived together in a lively, if puzzling to the locals, community.

I’m writing a memoir of sorts – with tales about my life adventures and the learning I did along the way.

We’re both having fun, reliving and feeling grateful for the very rich tapestry of our lives so far, and reading the entries to each other. We’ll see what comes of this – we may combine our writing later into a single book of our lives lived separately and then together.

Early tomorrow we’re off on our return Southward  - first through the treacherous Current Cut at slack tide (the only time to go), and then on down Eleuthera, toward Cat and Long Islands, and across to George Town – about 215 miles, at 5-6 MPH. We’re looking forward to that trip, with our newly renovated boat.

Today, we’re heading into town for provisioning, water, fuel, etc. in preparation for the trip. We hope to arrive on time for the Regatta starting on February 27^th, and to celebrate Jeff’s 73^rd birthday on Feb. 28^th.

Ah-h-h - A Perfect Moment

Sorry about the long silence – we’ve been off the boat while it was hauled out for bottom painting. 

We finally got the new fridge installed before we left last Monday, and my captain even spent the day before replacing the water pump and cleaning up the whole plumbing system (my hero!).     

Now, it’s so good to be resting! It’s the perfect moment – we’re back on Sea Change, all cleaned, polished and painted with full water, fuel tanks and fridge. No boat repairs, shopping, cleaning, laundry. We’ve just had a relaxing three days in a lovely airbnb cottage near a sugar-white beach – complete with bikes, kayak, a golf cart, and a bar-b-que on our private deck.  And now I’m writing this in the cockpit at a pleasant mooring, as the wind rages again beyond the tree-line protecting us. 

When it slows down, we’ll begin our journey back to George Town.

While ashore, we explored Spanish Wells and environs in our noisy little golf cart. One day we drove to a near-by Island across a short bridge, and had lunch at the Sandbar, then lay around in their hammock for an hour (tough life!). On the way home, we stopped at our favourite fisher’s place and bought two packages of just-caught filleted red snapper – one for dinner and one to freeze (now that we have a freezer!). Another day, we walked the perfect sandy beach and read under the palm trees.

The only bad news is that we can’t fix the autopilot until we get replacement parts back in Canada – so it’s hand steering all the way back. We know we can do it – it’s just a lot of work. We hope to be in George Town on time for the Regatta at the end of February.

Lots of pics below … a whole week’s worth!

A New Fridge!

Yesterday was epic - we finally got our new fridge installed! We began the morning with Jeff finishing the removal of our old fridge parts, while I emptied the lazarette (large outdoor storage unit, for non-sailors) into the cockpit. Then I crawled into the lazarette and helped guide the wires for the fridge through the holes to where they needed to be connected. Finally, by lunchtime, Jeff had connected the whole thing up, and we had a working fridge – hallelujah!!

It’s hard to describe what a relief that is. A fellow sailor, who helped us when the old fridge conked out last year, told us that he helps people fix their engines, plumbing, electricals, etc. – but no one is ever as excited as when he fixes their fridge.

So while Jeff went through and replaced all of the lazarette contents, I jumped in the dinghy, motored over to the settlement, rented a golf cart (the first one I’ve ever driven – and on the left side, no less), and went grocery shopping at the big store in town. I returned laden with fresh food, that we could now refrigerate, and we celebrated with Mexican burritos and corn for dinner. Today we rest!