August 29th

Our niece, Darcie, said the other day, “you sure have had a crappy month! “ Man, was she correct! I have hesitated to write about all of this stuff but perhaps I should put it down on paper, of sorts. So, here goes.

July started off well, with beautiful weather and lovely mornings at aqua-size. At least 2 or 3 afternoons each week would find me driving to Woodstock to visit with Mom. We would go out to lunch, on a good day, or just get some ice cream and sit in the car in a nearby park to watch the geese on days when she was feeling weaker.

On Friday, July 13th, I was awoken by the ringing phone. The nurse was calling to tell me that Mom had had a fall during the night. She had hit her head, had a cut by her eye and quite a bit of blood was found on the bathroom floor. When they found her, she was sitting in her chair in her room. They put her to bed, cleaned the cut and examined her. Previously she had opted for “no heroics” or rather “no treatment” other than antibiotics. When the nurse inquired if we wanted her to be sent to the hospital, I reminded them of mother’s wishes. The nurse then approached Mom and asked the same question. She shook her head no and responded the same way when the question was repeated.

After the fall, she didn’t speak. Did she have a stroke? We didn’t know. Did the fall result from a stroke? Again, we didn’t know.

I visited her that afternoon and she seemed to be trying to wake up. She moved her legs and arms and even rolled over in bed. But she was now unconscious and unable to eat, drink or take medication.

By Saturday morning, the staff was quite concerned as she seemed to be going deeper into unconsciousness. My sister, Karyn, her partner, Lou, and Karyn’s daughter, Kate all came down Sat afternoon/evening. We all talked to Mom, held her hands and rubbed her arms etc but got no response. That night, Karyn and Lou stayed with her, just to monitor the situation. By morning, it was obvious that the end was near. Karyn, Lou, Kate and I were with her as she passed away.

It was a shock but probably the best for her in the long run. Mom had pulmonary fibrosis and would have died a slow agonizing death, feeling suffocated. This was quicker and easier for her. But harder for the rest of us.

A funeral had already been pre-paid in Orillia, ON, so that is where the service would be. Plans were made for the memorial to be held on July 27th. I had found some of my mother’s poetry during one of the moves. I had read the poems, found them unbelievably touching and had put them aside. Now was the time to read them. But, that would mean that I needed to speak at the funeral. Could I do that? I had to.

We emptied her room at Caressant Care the next week and sorted through her belongings once again. Our tiny house overflowed! But, box by box, we tossed, kept or donated items. Some things were put aside to go to the family, some designated by Mom, some that I just knew belonged with someone else.

The memorial went well. It was very difficult to speak, even though I had practiced at home. But, with Karyn’s support, I got through it. I helped her through a poem that she wished to read and we all pulled for Jeremy as he spoke for the grandchildren. It was a difficult, emotional day but family and friends gave us much support and love.

Shortly after that, on Thursday August 9th, I went into Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton for my total knee replacement. The surgery went very well and I was discharged on Saturday. During the weekend, my temperature seemed to fluctuate, with fevers and chills occurring frequently. With the history of infection in the previous knee, I was understandably concerned. My temperature never went above 101 or 101.5 F. Also the pain in that knee was increasing.

On Monday, I tried to call the surgeon’s office – closed for vacation. My family doctor – closed for vacation. Now what? I called tele-health and spoke to a nurse there. She advised that we head to Emergency. So, Monday at 4:30, we checked into ER in Tillsonburg. It was not until 7:30 or 8 pm that we finally went back to see the doctor. He peeled off the special bandage that covered my incision. Immediately, the pain went away. A large blister, of about 1.5 inches across, had burst. There were two other blisters under that bandage as well, the largest being 1 inch in diameter. The incision looked good. But, taking no chances, the doctor ordered lots of blood work. My white count was only 10,500, indicating no infection. But Dr Cluett wanted to talk to a specialist so he called Juravinski Hospital and talked to the Orthopedic surgeon on call. After some discussion, it was suggested that we head to Hamilton.

By the time we got there, it was close to 11:30PM. The resident checked the incision and said “ there is no infection. We will keep you over night but you can go home tomorrow.” Murray headed out and then the resident came back. “I need to take a sample from the knee.” I started to shake. I had been here once before and knew that it hurt like hell! Over the next hour and a half, he poked 8 needles into my knee while I tried not to scream. When he left, he told the nurse “keep her NPO and set up an iv.” I knew that meant that I would get nothing to drink and it had been hours since any liquid had touched my parched throat. The iv never materialized as the head nurse couldn’t get one started.

Eventually the morning came and people bustled around “getting me ready for the OR”. But I hadn’t been told I was going to the OR. What are they going to do? Take out my new knee? Take a sample? What was happening? I hadn’t signed anything. No one answered my questions.

Luckily, Dr Avram’s ( my surgeon ) resident showed up, checked on me and also said that there were no signs of infection. He would get Dr Avram up to see me as soon as possible and they would send me home.

Now, an iv nurse comes in and sets up my iv. “I am going home” I say. “I don’t know about that. I have an order to set up this iv.”

Dr Avram comes in and agrees that there is no infection and that I am to be discharged. Luckily, her resident, Dr Todd, is still at the desk when they wheel up a stretcher to take me to Xray for a pre-op films. He cancels all of these orders and I get to return to bed. Yeah!

Murray arrives and takes me home eventually. I was never so glad to see my own bed!

Turns out that the fever and chills were caused by one of two other problems – a urinary tract infection ( really helped by not allowing me any liquids for over 18 hours ) or an attack of gout. Both problems reared their ugly heads later that week.

So, that is the account of my crappy month. But, the sun is still shining, I have graduated to a cane and my knee is improving daily. Physio is hard work but necessary if I want to be on the boat this winter. And, I do.

Life is still good!

Heather & Murray
hanging in!

Hello everyone,

This winter, we received an e-mail from Annabelle East, the co-owner of Killarney Mountain Lodge. She invited us to return to Killarney for a weekend to help them celebrate 50 years in business. They were inviting all of the past captains of the Stormy Night along with us, as the dock masters. We had long been planning to return for a visit and this seemed the perfect opportunity. The event was scheduled for the weekend of June 15-17.

With a long road trip ahead, we looked for ways to break our journey. I suggested that perhaps Ottawa could be a wonderful side-trip. Murray scoffed at the idea of Ottawa being on the way to Killarney but soon came around to the idea, especially as we hadn’t seen our grandkids since last fall.

Plans were made and the car loaded up. Oops, there lies another story. After searching for most of the fall and spring, we finally located a newer Volvo V70 wagon, for sale privately. The deal was finalized that week and it was the NEW car that we loaded for our trip.

It was super to see Matthew and Sammy again! Matthew showed me how to play Minecraft and Sammy reminded me how to play with dolls and Barbie’s. Cynthia took me to her favourite consignment shop and my bag became filled with things that I needed to add to my wardrobe. Murray and Jeremy, ably assisted by Sammy, stained their deck one hot afternoon. I visited Matthew’s class and read them The Pig That Couldn’t Swim as well as the new book, Penny Dives In. They responded very favourably and were full of questions about the pigs and the islands of the Bahamas. The three days flew by much too fast.

On Friday, we made the seven hour journey on to Killarney. On the highway heading into the village, we saw a moose and Murray saw a bear ( I missed it! ). The reunions started in the parking lot, moved into our room and the talking seemed to go on most of the night as we all caught up on each other’s activities since we had left Killarney. Unfortunately Maury East wasn’t well but Annabelle, Kate and Jennifer were wonderful hosts. The whole family was also dealing with the imminent demise of a long-time friend, Ann Reid. It was a tough time for everyone as we all had known and loved Ann and her caustic wit.

On the rocks overlooking Killarney Channel, Friday evening we had a fish fry, ably cooked by Steve Tyson over an open fire. Saturday morning, we all loaded onto Stormy Night for a sail out into Landsdowne Channel for a few hours and on into Covered Portage Cove for lunch. The current captains of Stormy Night, Steve & Margaret Colquhoun, made us very much welcome. They had left their sailboat in the San Blas Islands, near Panama and flew up to work in Killarney for the summer. It was slightly intimidating for them, to have all of the previous captains aboard but they handled the trip with aplomb. Saturday night was another wonderful dinner at Killarney Lodge followed by entertainment in the Carousel Lounge provided by Andy Lowe. We discovered that we don’t party quite as hard as we used to! No stamina.

The middle photo is Murray with Rick Embleton, who was captain along with his wife, Evelyn. The far right one shows the new skipper, Margaret, on the helm with Ron & Joan Lee nearby. Ron & Joan were the first skippers of Stormy Night.

Sunday morning came all too quickly. Promises were made to stay in touch better and to make this reunion an annual event. Cars were re-packed, hugs exchanged and we all departed from this magical weekend. Killarney had one more surprise for us though – on the drive out, we got a very good look at a black bear! What a weekend!

Since then, life has gotten back to normal. I attend aqua-size classes every weekday morning. Murray is busy in the garage, building a storage cupboard for George & Barb. The temperatures here have been extremely high and we had an air conditioner installed in Mom’s room at the nursing home. This has made her much more comfortable and able to breath easier.

The surgeon says that I need a total knee replacement on the left. Now we are trying to arrange it for this summer, so that the fall may find me able to climb a ladder. More about that later.

That is what is happening in our lives. We hope all is well with all of you.

Love & hugs,
Heather & Murray
solidly aground

Hello everyone,

And, you are correct, we are home, not on the river. But, I never have enough time to write about this river while we are there.

The St Johns River is the longest river in the state of Florida at 310 miles or 500 km. At it widest point, the river is 3 miles wide. From Palatka to Jacksonville, the river is used extensively for commercial shipping as well as the usual recreation activities.

The downtown area of the city of Jacksonville is 35 miles from the mouth at the Atlantic Ocean. There has been major waterfront redevelopment in this area, with free dockage downtown, along with park lands, walking trails, restaurants and shopping areas. Also right near the water, with free dockage, is the stadium, EverBank Field, where you might see football games or open-air concerts.

As you approach the downtown area, the aroma of freshly roasted coffee wafts through the air from the Maxwell House Coffee factory nearby. The Main Street bridge is a lift bridge but opens on demand. It is very deceiving as, for pleasure boats, it only has to lift halfway. The total lift is for ocean-going vessels. The current can be very swift through the downtown area, so when transiting a bridge or trying to dock at one of the free piers, be aware of the water’s motion. The Florida East Coast railroad operate a bascule bridge just beyond Main Street bridge. This bridge is usually open but, if closed, be very cautious in this area. The current seems to rip through here and boaters have found themselves in trouble quickly.

In fact, when traveling this river, it is much more efficient to use the current to your advantage. Otherwise, you may find your speed reduced by several knots as you try to fight against the water’s flow. Slower vessels often anchor and await the tides turn, before proceeding.

This spring, we exited the ICW and turned into the ebbing current, fighting the stream. But, we only had a few miles to travel to our planned stop for the night. And, on that short journey, we met 5 very large ships! This river can be extremely busy, with ships, tugs and pleasure vessels. Our anchorage is not far from the Navy yard and patrols make sure that we don’t venture too close to their restricted areas.

The next morning, we caught the flowing tide and headed quickly on up the river towards our destination at Green Cove Springs. The current is much reduced by this time but is still enough to cause docking to be tricky. Thank goodness, the dockhands at Reynolds Yacht Centre are very efficient and well trained!

The Shands Bridge prevents our travels further upstream but reports from other boaters have been very favourable. They found many anchorages and lots of wildlife to keep them interested. Skipper Bob has a guidebook listing the anchorages, marinas and towns along with services available at each.

Enjoy this river!

Heather & Murray

The crash of the thunder followed immediately after the brilliant flash of lightning. That was too close! The rain was falling in torrents so heavy that the eaves troughs couldn’t keep up with it. But we were safe and cosy on the Elk’s screened porch, enjoying some of their barbecued pork.

We had finished the closing up of the boat after our 0800 haul-out, showered, bid farewells and headed off down the highway, with a stop at the nearby Elk’s Lodge to enjoy their weekend barbecue. Some of our friends were still working on their boats and we hoped that they didn’t get too drenched by the storm.

The rain continued to be very heavy as we headed northward but slowed and stopped as we neared the Georgia border. On the other hand, the traffic picked up and got extremely heavy, in fact mostly stop-and-go through all of Georgia. Afterwards we found out that month-end is not a good time to travel. This is especially true in the spring as the snowbirds mostly have monthly rentals and often tag their health insurance to month-end. This increases the already heavy traffic on I-95 especially.

We ducked off the interstate as soon as possible and made our way cross country to Columbia, SC and onto Hwy 77 northward to Rock Hill. By now it was getting towards time to find a place to sleep. But, believe it or not, every hotel and motel in Rock Hill was FULL. Back onto the highway we went and drove on to Charlotte NC. By the time we got settled, it was after 10 pm. A very long day and it isn’t over yet. Perhaps dinner might be in order. A fast food restaurant was adjacent to the parking lot so we walked over there. It was not to be quite so easy – the dining area was closed and the drive-through did not accept walk-ups! Back into the car and drive someplace else. Finally it was time to crash into bed.

April Fools Day was very good to us with no tricks being played on route or at the border and we arrived at our own home late that evening. But there the tricks were in evidence. Although our Bell services had been turned back on Feb 1st ( thinking we needed to return home to deal with issues re Mom ), neither the telephone nor the satellite TV worked. Oh well, open some mail and deal with all this stuff in the morning.

It took very little time to un-pack the car and get back into the swing of things at the house. Murray started three major projects at once – the screened porch, the guest bathroom and the new blinds for our bedroom and living room. The money flew out of our bank account as we ordered new toilets, a new vanity, screening and velcro for the porch and cellular blinds.Thank goodness Murray was also helping out at the farm and bringing in some cash.

As Murray heads off to cultivate the fields several times each week, I take the car and visit Mom at Caressant Care Nursing Home in Woodstock. She is having some difficulty accepting her new living situation but enjoys the activities available to her there. Her memory issues are increasing and there have been a couple of unsettling incidents. One Sunday, she visited a couple of other patient rooms until she found one where she could remove the window screen. Then she proceeded to crawl out of the window! Needless to say, this disconcerted the nursing staff. If these incidents continue, we may have to find another facility with more secure accommodation.

So, the bathroom renovations continue, the screen porch project has stalled momentarily and the blinds look lovely. In my spare time, I work on promoting and selling The Pig That Couldn’t Swim and editing the new book ” Penny Dives In “. Murray fills any spare time with painting etc in the guest bath and we have both enjoyed spending some time with family and friends. The doctor just gave us both a clean bill of health. What more can we ask for?

Basically, life is good and we are enjoying our time together. This month we will celebrate our 45th Anniversary! Who’d a thunk it! It seems like only a few years ago that I walked down that aisle in Kitchener towards the man of my dreams.

Hugs to all,
Heather & Murray

Hello everyone

We crossed yesterday ( March 16th ) from Lucaya, Grand Bahamas to West Palm Beach. Departure at Lucaya was at 0430 and we arrived in West Palm just over 12 hours later. The passage was a motorsail, so that was good for my knee as we didn’t have to hand steer. The autopilot drove most of the way and did a much better job than I could have with the sloppy, following seas.

Once we anchored, I called in to Customs and did the phone check-in procedure. Then we have 24 hours to show our smiling faces to Customs/Immigration. I asked the officer on the phone for the address and opening times for the Office. He assured me that they were open on Sat. He was wrong. We landed the dinghy at Riviera Beach Marina, walked down the street and found the Customs and Border Protection office. But, the building was deserted. Perhaps in their offices on the second floor? But, the elevators wouldn’t take us up. Now what?

I called back to the nice officer on the phone. A different person told me that the office is not open on the weekend and that we needed to go to the West Palm Beach airport. A security guard gave us the phone number for a cab company. The taxi driver said it would be $30 or $40 one way. Yikes! We made a deal with him and he would wait for us.

But the office of Customs and Border Protection at the airport was NOT open. Now what? I prepared to once again phone my friendly officer who gives us wrong information. But Murray noticed a sign on the door – for Private Vessel Check-in go to CBP office at 1612 Perimeter Rd, near the Executive Airfield.

So, back in the cab and off we go again. New officer but not quite so friendly. Eventually he tells us that we must wait until Monday and go to the first building that we had visited to obtain our new cruising permit.

Seventy-five dollars for the taxi later, we arrived back at our dinghy and eventually back at W4.

But here we sit until Monday.

On Sunday, we headed south by dinghy, through the Flagler Bridge to some free docks with trolley service to Publix. Once we cleared the bridge, in front of us was a crowd of huge motor yachts. It was almost time for the Boat Show! Dodging between vessels, dipping past docks, finally we found a small dock where we could tie up briefly, got to the grocery store, bought fresh vegetables and fruit and headed back to the dinghy. Luckily we arrived before they had completely fenced us in and were able to retrieve the dinghy and head back to W4. If it had been a few days later, we couldn’t have done it at all.

Once we are checked in, we will boogie north to the marina and start preparing for summer storage. Until we get back there, we won’t have access to the internet as we are not going to re-activate the MiFi for such a short period.

Hugs
Heather & Murray

Hello everyone,

Perhaps you have heard on the news that Prince Harry is visiting the Bahamas. Yesterday, he stopped by Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, for short visit. He arrived in a Royal Bahamas Defense Force boat and it tied up at the pier while Prince Harry did a “meet & greet” with some important local officials. There was a small group of schoolchildren, a band and the rest of the onlookers to cheer them on.

We had taken our dinghy in about an hour before and were some of the earliest people awaiting his arrival. Four American friends joined us for the experience. Another group of dignitaries were put right in front of us, blocking our view. But, Prince Harry came to shake hands with them and we were very close to him. In fact, I even got to shake his hand! I just thrust mine out and he grasped it and shook. My closest encounter with a royal!

Not much time elapsed after Prince Harry’s departure before the next cold front hit with a vengeance. The wind is howling through the rigging now but we are safe and secure here on a mooring ball. This wind is supposed to last the entire week with a break perhaps over the weekend. That may be our opportunity to jump across to the US, right from here. We will monitor the situation and not take undue risks, so don’t worry about us.

In the meantime, I continue to get book orders and have only 10 remaining in inventory. We need to re-order in the US.

Murray went diving with friends recently and came back with two lobster and two conch. Some nice dinners aboard. While he was in the water, I did our laundry at an outdoor washer/dryer. It is just a lean-to, with the two machines, no place to sit and no shade. It cost $16 but I did get two loads done in about 3 hrs. Gosh, I miss the convenience of home!

Take care and we will stay in touch.

Heather & Murray

This past fall, we purchased an unlocked Novatel 2372 MiFi. This unit connects to cell phone towers and gives you Internet access.

The advantage of the MiFi over a rocket stick or air-card is that it creates a wireless hot-spot and allows up to 5 devices connected at the same time. This hot-spot has an advertised range of 30 feet but the signal seems to extend further than that and we have been able to allow a neighbouring vessel to connect through our MiFi by giving him the code.

Initial set-up in the US was slightly tricky, as we didn’t want a contract. But we did manage to get a pay-as-you-go T-Mobile card and 30 days or 1 G for $30. Once that was working, we never lacked for internet access, unless we were anchored a long ways from civilization.

In the Bahamas, we spent some time at the Batelco office in Lucaya and were lucky that we landed there. The only places where we could get the system set up initially, were Freeport/Lucaya or Nassau. Perhaps next year, it will be simpler, especially now that we have learned some of the tricks.

Cost in Bahamas is the same as the US – 30 days or 1 G for $30. With places charging $10/day for wifi access, that is a deal. You need to purchase a data sim card, which will give you a phone number for your device. Bring both the device and your computer with you to the BTC office. The technician will create a new profile, under Internet settings. The APN is internet.btcbahamas.net and authentication is none. You will receive some messages from BTC, asking to send a confirmation and then to remove and replace the battery.

Once your MiFi is up and running, to renew your service, you need to have MORE than $30 applied to your account/phone number. That extra amount can be as little as $1 and you can transfer money from your Bahamas cell phone to another number ie your MiFi number. My plan, for next year, is to top-up my Bahamian cell phone with $100 and transfer funds as needed to the data card. Top-up cards for cell phones can be purchased anywhere, whereas not every BTC office has the ability to re-charge your data card. It is confusing, but seems to be the case.

When you have the funds transferred, through your MiFi landing page, text this message to 5000 – Data 30D . You will get a confirmation request and once that response has been sent, your renewal takes affect.

If we are anchored some distance from a cell phone tower, we place the MiFi unit in a bucket and hoist it up the mast. As it is a wireless device, it can go as high as necessary but seldom needs to go above the spreaders.

The Novatel 2372 MiFi unit costs about $150 but I was able to purchase a re-furbished unit for less than $40.

The availability of free internet access in the US and Bahamas has been disappearing rapidly. With a MiFi unit, you have safe, secure and reasonably priced internet access, all without the danger of taking your computer ashore in a dinghy.

Hello everyone

We departed the Berry Islands on Feb 8th, headed for Nassau. On the way, Murray caught a lovely mahi mahi, about 36 inches long. It was incredible to see the shiny golden fish leaping and spinning on the end of our line. He tried hard to shake the hook but Murray managed to land him safely in our cockpit, where his bright colours faded quickly.

In Nassau, we anchored across from Nassau Harbour Club and loaded all of the laundry into the dinghy. Murray dropped me off at Nassau Yacht Haven for the laundry while he obtain fuel to top up our tanks. Just before everything was dry, the rain started. A deluge!! Mur had gotten drenched already and we sat waiting for a break in the rain, before making the dash to our boat. With clean sheets and a gentle rain splatting on the deck, we slept well that night. In the morning, bright and early, we walked to the nearby grocery store. There we found empty shelves, empty freezers and few staff. But there were enough fresh vegetables to re-stock our larder, so we just made do with what was available. While at the mall, we stopped by Logo Book Store and spoke to the woman who buys the children’s books. We showed her “The Pig That Couldn’t Swim” and she was quite impressed with the quality and subject matter. In fact, she took some books on consignment.

Back at the boat, we hauled anchor and motored to Shroud Cay and anchored again for the night. Our friends on MarNel had returned from the Berry Islands to West Palm with a broken watermaker and arrived back in Nassau that evening. By radio, we arranged to meet at Norman’s Cay the next day. It was a slow drift northward to Norman’s but we had all day to cover a few miles. After a visit with other friends, we donned dive gear and headed out. In just 30 minutes, Murray got a lobster, a fish and two conch! Food for several days. MarNel showed up later that afternoon and we fed them a dinner of grilled mahi mahi.

The cold front was expected soon and the winds built from the SW, causing the anchored boats to ride up on their anchors or even spin around them as we did. With the wind and current opposing, the boat developed quite a heel, even while we sat still. The cold front hit in the dark, of course. I got up at about 11 pm to use the head and checked outside, just in case. There was a boat right beside us! Only feet away! What the heck? I called Murray and looked up the name of the vessel that had been in front of us ( I wrote it down earlier ). When I called him, he said that he was going to put out fenders and monitor the situation. What??? And he never called us to inform us???? Perhaps he couldn’t read our boat name in the dark? His anchor chain appeared to be passing about midship below us, therefore he was unable to haul anchor. So, we said that we would. By now the wind is blowing 30 to 35 knots and it is very dark. But, we did a super job. Murray hauled anchor while I kept some forward motion by going into and out-of gear. Then we headed away from everyone and dropped the hook again. It caught immediately and we were back in bed, with the drag alarm re-set for our new position. In the morning, that vessel dragged once again and tried once more to impact us. Fiberglass magnets must be installed somewhere aboard.

The wind finally abated but we had had enough of Norman’s Cay. Both MarNel and us hauled and sailed off on Feb 13th, further down the Exuma chain. Shortly after 1 pm, we dropped the hook outside Sampson Cay. It was a glorious sail with the winds picking up so that we had a double reef but MarNel needs lots of wind to move that big cat. They were charging along but we still beat them in by about 30 minutes.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we joined some friends for lunch, at Sampson. That lunch went on for hours as we caught up on past adventures and future plans. MarNel went into Pipe Creek the next day while we proceeded to Staniel Cay and Big Major Spot.

In Staniel, I made contact with Bernadette Chamberlain to discuss the next book and whether she has time to work on those illustrations. We also delivered more books to the Yacht Club and some to Isles General.

Now another cold front is expected this weekend and we have taken shelter in Oz, our old hang-out. The lovely sand beaches beckon and I try to swim each day. Early next week, we will head to Black Point for laundry and to re-connect with friends ashore before turning northward once more.

That brings you all up-to-date with happenings aboard. Hopefully all is well with you and yours.

Hugs
Murray & Heather

Hello everyone

It took three tries but we finally made it out of Lucaya and on to the Berry Islands. The first time, MarNel has said that the waves were too high for their boat, a catamaran, heading to windward. But we attempted it alone. After we fell off of the fourth huge wave and everything crashed and banged, we opted to turn around.

The second time, I was extremely nervous. The wind had been howling all day long and the waves were higher than before but the wind was from a better direction. Also we were leaving at 5 pm and traveling all night, in a busy shipping channel. But, everyone else wanted to go and I didn’t want to be a wimp. So, we left. It was not a good thing. The waves were crashing onto the boat and the spray soaked us with each wave. The boat was heeled over too much for me to move from my perch at all. Then the lightning started. I am sorry to report that I had a meltdown and we turned around once again.

But in the morning, the wind and waves were much calmer and off we headed again, motorsailing and sailing when possible. Before sunset we were securely anchored at Great Stirrup Cay. After a great nights sleep, we motored on south again, to Devils/Hoffman Cays and both boats were tucked in before lunchtime.

The winds were predicted to increase after an expected cold front but they will blow from the NE and we have great protection from that direction. Last night, as scheduled, the winds started to howl, blowing about 30 km/hr. That will continue for the next two or three days during which time, we will make water, do boat jobs, bake cookies, watch movies, all the usual stuck-on-the-boat things.

The attraction of the Berry Islands is the abundance of fish. Murray has already catch a little tunny, two cero mackeral and is feeding the other boats in the anchorage. Oh, total boat count is three, but only two are in view. So, very private.

We will stay here for a week or 10 days and enjoy this quiet place before heading further south. If we can, we will skip Nassau, depending on the laundry situation. With full water tanks, Murray and I can do some laundry in a bucket when the wind dies a little.

That is what is happening here, on Windswept IV. I hope the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow and that winter will be short for all of you northerners.

Hugs
Heather & Murray

Saturday morning was spent at the Green Market, in West Palm Beach,
loading up on fresh veggies and pastries. Especially the pain au
chocolat! Chocolate croissants, yumm. The debate continued on the best
time to depart for Lucaya. But, the plan had been made to go at
midnight.

In the afternoon we hauled the outboard and secured it to the stern
rail. The dinghy we would haul out later, when the wind died a little.
It was whistling in the rigging, just a little too much for a large
rubber sail aloft! By late afternoon, we hauled the anchor and headed
closer to the inlet to the sea. Just as we dropped anchor, our friends
called and said “Why don’t we go right now?” So, we rushed around,
hauled the dinghy and stowed everything down below that could move
and/or crash. By 5:30 we were headed out the inlet.

It was starting out to be not a great crossing for me. The wind was
higher than I liked and we were heeled over about 15 degrees. That
means that I stay put, as the stairs to below will be on a steep
sideways angle and tricky for me to use. It was also going to be a
long, dark night with no moon.

But eventually the wind settled down, the boat became more upright, I
could move around more easily, the stars popped out and the glow from
cities in Florida and Bahamas gave us an idea of where the horizon
was. By early morning, we were just off of Freeport and continued on
towards Lucaya, arriving there before 9 am.

Check-in was very painless and both boats headed off to find a spot to
drop anchor and sleep. It took some time to find a spot but eventually
both boats settled in and, after brunch, we snoozed the afternoon
away.

Today, a walk up to the Batelco office was needed in order to get the
MiFi connected here. That took some time but eventually we had
success! And that is what I am using right now, to connect to the
internet. A jitney ( the local bus ) took us to the International
Bazaar in Freeport. Shocked, we noted that most of the stores were
closed. A local woman told us that all the businesses had moved to
Lucaya. She told us all about the last few years and their tough times
as she put a few braids in my hair. Yes, I now have about 10 braids
with beads. Murray will take a photo so that I may send it to you.

So back to Lucaya and walk the market there. Lunch and ice cream, in
that order. Both delicious, by the way. But our long nights were
catching up to us and everyone was fading. It was time to go back to
the boats for another nap.

Tomorrow we will head on to the Berry Islands to fish, snorkel, walk
the beaches and do some shelling. Fresh fish! Another mmmmm.

Take care and hugs from us both,
Heather & Murray
cruising again