January 2008

Hello all,

Here we sit with another cold front whistling through the rigging. George and Barb lucked out for their brief visit, having good weather the whole time. They flew into Staniel Cay on Monday, the 14th, and departed on the 19th with direct flights to and from Ft Lauderdale. We managed to move around some, visit other anchorages, meet cruisers at a beach party and get a visit to the Sandcastle. We snorkeled, shelled, walked through towns and enjoyed some of the local fish. All in all, a good time.

And, it has been quiet otherwise with not much excitement. That is a good thing as excitement usually spells a disaster to recover from. Friends sailing a catamaran on the Tongue of the Ocean while making passage from Miami to Nassau, lost their mast, rigging and sails. Luckily no one was hurt when a shroud broke, the mast broke loose from the deck and plunged into the deep. They have opted to continue their cruise while sails and new mast are built. This morning we awoke to find them anchored nearby. The moral of the story – examine your rigging yearly to find crevice corrosion early and replace suspect fittings.

Another cold front is expected in a couple more days – our third in the last week. They are not too rambunctious fronts but do make us think about finding a safe, comfortable spot for the bumpy nights. Barb can testify to the broken sleep achieved in a bumpy anchorage.

When we can, we get into the water and Murray is becoming a real “dead-eye” shot with his spear. A few more lobster await in our freezer. Beach walks also take up most afternoons as we search for those shells or beans missed by the previous walkers.

The cooler weather encourages me to do some baking and yummy biscuits graced our plates this morning. When it is very warm, I don’t feel like turning the oven on and heating the boat even more. Then we make do with store-bought bread, tortillas or crackers with our meals.

Our computer problems continue, with the serial to USB adapter causing the most trouble. Sometimes it takes me a half hour to get the computer to find the GPS connection to the computer through this adapter. I cleaned up the hard drive, removed a bunch of programs and created more space. Then defragged the hard drive. This has helped some but has not resolved the problem. Another friend is sailing over from Florida soon and bringing another adapter with him. Hopefully, this will resolve the problem.

So, that is it, life aboard. Pretty boring , huh? Sometimes……..

Hugs to all, Murray & Heather

Hello all,

Bright and early on Dec 31st, we motored out of Nassau harbour, heading for the cays of the Exumas. We had given up waiting for the wind to switch around so that we could sail the course. Crossing the Yellow Banks was no real problem as we had a favourable tide to give us those additional feet needed. Murray only had stand at the mast to keep watch, looking for shallow coral heads, for approx an hour.

Norman’s Cay was our destination and we dropped the hook off of “One Palm Island” before 3 pm. Lots of time to break out the cocktails for our quiet New Years Eve. In the morning, we headed out for our first snorkel of the season. Murray scouted an area, dove once and shot a lobster right between the eyes. The two of us checked out a few more coral heads and saw some very pretty fish but nothing edible. After a walk on one of my favourite deserted beaches, it was time to rinse off, clean the lobster and think about dinner.

A cold front came through the next day and the wind howled in the rigging. We snuggled below, read books, played computer games and watched movies. Because of the wind strength, we had loads of power from the wind generator.

Jan 4th found the wind still quite strong but switching more southerly tomorrow. If we wanted to sail south, this was it. We hauled anchor and headed for Big Major Spot, near Staniel Cay. The wind was still 25-30 knots and the short choppy waves washed over our boat frequently. I took refuge under the dodger and it broke MOST of the waves. But, not all. Eventually, we had to close the companionway as sea water was sloshing down the stairs. It was a fast trip to Staniel, taking us 5.5 hrs in total for the 43 nautical miles.

The freight boat arrived the next morning and we visited Isles General Store and stocked up with fresh vegetables and fruit. A trip to town isn’t complete without a Klick ( Bahamian beer )at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. They have free wifi there, so I caught up on my banking etc.

The 8th was a lovely day for a sail, so we hauled anchor and headed south to Little Bay, Great Guana Cay. Friends there own a castle which they built and called appropriately Sandcastle. They invited us to a dinner party they were hosting and we got to meet up with old friends and make some new ones. Another lovely morning dawned and we went beachcombing on two different beaches. Not too many shells found but many sea beans, plastic fishing floats and small line floats. All in all, another good day.

The weather continues to be windy with another cold front maybe headed our way next week. Brrr, we need the water to warm up again as it has dropped 4-6 degrees in the last while. I know, we are whimpy as it is still 72F or 24C. Lots warmer than Georgian Bay on a good day! Tomorrow we will head around the corner to Black Point to do laundry at the prettiest laundry around. And the only coin laundry between Nassua and George Town. Then, maybe back to Staniel as they just announced a barbeque on the beach in town later in the afternoon. It is a busy social calendar!

That is all of the news from here. Not much exciting happening and that is probably a good thing. Hugs to all and stay warm,

Heather & Murray