Hope You Had a Happy Valentine’s Day

Yesterday we celebrated a lovely Valentine’s Day, beginning with a breakfast of bacon and heart-shaped French toast on the boat, and ending with a gorgeous dinner at St. Francis resort – crab salad and conch chowder, rack of lamb and all the fixings, and tira misu and cheesecake for dessert – yummm!

In between, we dinghied all the way across the harbour (first time) to do errands in George Town, including contributing to the library fund-raising to build a new roof on the local library. The sailors here are very active in contributing to the welfare of the local community.

Then back to fun ‘n games on the boat to prepare for the Regatta costume party (“under the sea” theme) – for which I created an octopus top hat J. Granddaughter Stella called in the middle of that, and I was able to show her my creation on What’s App – she got quite a kick out of seeing her aging grandmother making such a fool of herself!

Regatta continues through next week, then our friend Susan comes to join us, and we start some serious sailing again – possibly Long Island, Conception Bay, Cat Island. Until then, the pics and stories will be frivolous – but what’s life without a little of that?

Hangin' Out at Red Shanks

So the wind’s back to blowing stink and we’re sheltering in beautiful Red Shanks Harbour with only about 7 other boats. It’s an hour motor south of George Town, and either people don’t know about it (and we’re not telling) or it’s too shallow for most boats. We only draw 4.5 feet – so shallow water works for us. Given that now there are about 200 boats in Elizabeth Harbour, this is a relatively very quiet refuge.

 It’s also enforced relaxation! There’s really not much to do here .... Jeff got a few light boat jobs done before lunch, while I had a phone meeting with Schulich. Then we dinghied to the near-by beach – quiet mangroves on our side, and crashing surf as you walk over the hill. We did laps on the beach from one end to the other for about a mile. Finally, we got back in the dinghy and I drove us around the bay looking for sea turtles (with no luck). Back to the big boat for tea, hanging out in the sun, watching the sunset and cooking a lobster stir-fry dinner. Life could be much worse!!

Tomorrow we head back to George Town for the annual Cruiser’s Regatta – races, contests, variety shows, etc. I may join the conch-blowing contest again, and perform with my tambourine as part of a group in the variety show. Hardly riveting excitement, but after last week’s sails with guests on 4–foot rollers, and lots of Schulich work since then, a pleasant break from the action.

A Wonderful Week with Anne and Reg

Instead of trying to describe the amazing week we've just had with our friends, Anne and Reg, aboard Sea Change, I'll just let the pictures tell the story. We had a truly wonderful time together, which included a bit of everything good around here, and even the weather cooperated, for a change!

Sadly, they leave tomorrow - but we'll do it again.

Last Night in Staniel Cay (written last night)

Tomorrow our friends, Anne and Reg, join us on Sea Change, and the plan is to head to the 5F Regatta at Little Farmer’s Cay with them. This will be a big weekend of sail racing and partying – famous throughout the Exumas. 5F stands for the First Friday in February Farmer’s Cay Festival, and we’ve missed it every other year, so we’re really looking forward to being there. The entire harbour here has emptied out, and we assume they’ve all headed to the festival. Hope we find a spot to anchor!

Meanwhile, we’ve been readying the boat for our guests, and enjoying the last bit of our stay in Staniel with a snorkel at Thunderball grotto yesterday. A beautiful painted sunset finished up our 

day ...

I’m not sure if I’ll have time to post another blog entry this week, until after next Friday – so I’ll be back then.