Friday, May 1, 2009

Allans-Pensacola to Grand Cays

4-30-2009 Fernandina Beach, Florida. We left Jacksonville at 6:30am to catch the falling tide. We had an unfortunate departure resulting in some fiberglass crunch to our friends boat from ours. Ed takes responsibility and we our friends will need to have it repaired at our expense. We had difficulty leaving the dock with the steering locked and Ed thinking the wheel was hard-over when it was not. Then the current moved the boat before he could correct and steer it away. We are not happy! Also, a freighter snuck up on us on the way out of Mayport. We didn't hear him on the radio and blowing his horn until he was right on us. Our friends were trying to warn us but somehow Ed missed all the signals with the engine noise, limited visibility forward and no visibility back over the dinghy. Apparently our friends have a picture of us nearly being run over. Anyway, we had a 3 hour motor sail to St. Marys inlet and the harbor at Fernandina where we are anchored for their annual shrimp festival.

4-25-2009 After 44 hours we arrived at Mayport and traveled up stream to Jacksonville, another 3 hours even with the tidal current. We bought fuel and then went across the river to the city center where they provide free docking to encourage boaters to stay and support the local economy. Jacksonville has a wonderful city center with good public transportation, walking lanes on the bridges and beautiful sights.

The crossing was fine and mainly uneventful except for the last gust of wind which forced us to take down our spinaker and then died down so that we motored the final 10 hours. Our average speed was 6.2 knots. We only averaged about 4.5 knots the first day until we hit the gulf stream. The wind was at our back nearly the whole way, if it had been on the beam we would have moved faster as we would have if we had 15-20 knots. But that was not to be and the crossing was very smooth and our timing was good for following the current up the river.

4-23-2009 We are at an anchorage on the west side of Grand Cays staging for the crossing back to Florida. We all swam this afternoon enjoying our last night in the Bahamas for the season. Star Shot left early Friday, motoring in light winds (10Kn). By late morning the winds had built to 10-15 so we decided not to wait for the stronger winds on Saturday and left at 11:45.

4-20-2009 We headed to Double Breasted Cay and then to Grand Cay when the holding was bad at Double Breasted due to the strong tidal currents. We paid only 50 cents/foot at the marina plus $10/day for electricity. Many sports fisherman go in and out here so we saw lots of tuna, wahoo, mahi-mahi and mackeral plus barracuda that they give the locals. We stayed for three days. Two of the places we ate dinner charged only $8 a plate. Freddies was the best because in addition to the ribs he added on two lobster tails plus the beer was cheap ($3).

4-19-2009 Allans-Pensacla Cay was created by the last hurricane which joined the two islands. We arrived there after a few hour sail and then hiked the outer beach by the Atlantic. They had a tree where boaters left signs and floats with their name, boat name and date. Farther up the beach there was a drum set made from barrels and various objects that had washed ashore. We are still traveling with Star Shot, Never Bored and Siya Sinana. We played cards that night, a game they call Peek Peek that I know has a more common name but cannot remember.

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Saturday, April 18, 2009

Great Guana and Green Turtle Cays

We had a very nice Easter on Great Guana Cay enjoying a pig roast buffet at Nippers which is on the ocean side and featured 50s music, easter egg hunting and drinks in multi-colored buildings with two levels of fresh water pools and a beautiful beach. We then went to Nippers near the dinghy dock which had a band plus bocci ball court which we all enjoyed. There we joined up with Gary and Lisa plus George and Penny who came over from Marsh Harbor where they provisioned the night before.

On April 14th, the day after Easter, we went about 12 miles to White Sound at Great Turtle Cay. It is a very nice resort area spread over the bays of the cay and a settlement that has a very old time feel with nice stores, schools and more of the ubiquitous golf carts. We had breakfast at the bakery/restaurant in the settlement then went into Black Sound to Pineapples bar and grill where we did internet and had a snack.

The first night was ok but Tuesday night a storm passed through starting just about 10 while we had Sheila and Chris from Never Bored plus her brother Berk and friend Jim plus Penny and George from Star Shot and Gary from Sia Sinana. We were monitoring the VHF radio and heard that the storm was imminent so we adjourned the party so everyone went home to take care of their boats. Shortly thereafter the rain started and my neighbor asked me to let out more anchor rode because he felt we were to close. It turns out he was dragging because just as the rain started pelting and the wind came up he was screaming at us to start our engine and drive off although his boat "Whiskers" was drifting into us over our anchor but we were holding. He started panicking in earnest yelling out orders, driving his boat crazily while his anchor was still fouled and his rode under his and our boat. Ann would not put the boat in gear with and danger of fouling plus we could not go anywhere as long as his anchor was fouled on ours. Ed managed to pull his anchor up, it had fouled with grass, and throw it clear of our boat. It was woefully inadequate, a too small Danforth versus a good Fortress he also had on the bow. He then proceeded to start to drive on our port side though his anchor was on the starboard side so we screamed at him to stop before he really wound our anchors again or his anchor grabbed pulling his boat into ours. He then almost hit our stern and our davits. Finally he went back to port so Ed jumped in the dinghy went to his boat and asked him whether he wanted assistance with his anchor. Ed then pulled it in for him and after one false attempt at setting it, a friend of his offered a raft-up to his boat which he did with no problem. Yea, because we could finally rest easy.

So today all the boats in the area agreed we had done nothing wrong, that there was no way that our chain could have dislodged his anchor and that we had done the right thing by focusing on the solution rather than the problem including making sure that Whiskers was safely secured for the night. Of course, the 83 year old guy insists that we caused the problem and that his anchor was not the problem. We moved to an isolated spot today and so did he though we aren't enemies we do disagree. Again he insisted on using the Danforth plus is back to yelling at other boats about how they should anchor and how much rode he has out. One has to watch out in crowded anchorages. End of story.

We went to the ocean beach to snorkel and walk today. I went about a 1/4 mile to the reef but saw some pretty coral but no large fish. When I got back to shore, George pointed to Penny and Ann and said go to them they were near the hole of a really large fish. Well, it was about a 4 pound grouper and Ed speared it for a wonderful dinner with George and Penny. He unfortunately forgot to take a picture for the records.

Gary and Lisa started north today while Never Bored with the Nova Scotia fisherman (Sheila's brother and friend) headed back to Treasure Cay. They will join us sometime on Friday after the guys head to Nassau for their trip home.

Right now it is dead calm but we are anticipating the wind to come up and go north which may make for an interesting night. Meanwhile, a band is playing at the resort and we are getting ready to dance.

Thursday 4-16: we danced until the midnight hour then retired to the boat with the sound of thunder. The band calls themselves the Gully Roosters and you could not help but dance. Ed bought their CD which we played as we left the harbor for Crab Cay, a scant 4 miles distance. We wisely closed all the windows and portholes, and brought in the cockpit cushions before hitting the sack. At 2AM we had lighting and a deluge of rain that lasted about an hour but the wind was low so no problem.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

4/1/09-4/12-09 Spanish Wells to Great Guana Cay






















We have been moving quite a bit again. We explored Spanish Wells which is a nice island that is also a fishing village with trawlers having large arms for holding the boats steady in rolling seas while loading lobster from their ocean condos courtesy of the lobstermen. All the fisherman were back because 4/1 is the end of lobster season to allow for all the aspects of breeding and rearing the young and I'm not sure when they molt their shell or at what stages of their growth upto about 36 inches from head to tail.





Spanish Wells is much more developed with close spaced houses, several main streets each bustling with traffic related to the aforementioned suppliers of the Red Lobster restaurants plus guiding most traffic over the Devil's Backbone route to Harbor Island. The traffic includes all professionally crewed yachts plus most of the boats such as ours and two others that used Jacque receiving a discount rate of $50 for cruising boats either power or sail.





We did some snorkeling outside of Spanish Wells but much to our disappointment the reefs were very sandy and white, the coral in poor shape with few fish. We ventured over to the north of Eluethara versus staying north of Spanish Wells, perhaps it takes many trips to find the good spots because many spots are in serious decline supposedly from killer algeas possibly due to coastal nitrate levels.





We stayed three nights in Spanish Wells enjoying ourselves as we waited out a front. We ventured over to Harbor Island with the help of a pilot on 4/4 and traveled with George and Penny of Star Shot plus John and Dottie of Mufasa. Nearly all non-locals hire a pilot because of the coral that you have to weave through and the shallows. Ann was at the helm and enjoyed the tenseness of steering through the Devil's Backbone cut on the way to Harbor Island.





Harbor Island had a resort so again it was s lot of civilization to experience. We enjoyed lunch out at the Starfish Cafe sharing grouper fingers and walked past all the colorful stores of which there were many, quite the bustling place; watch out for vehicles resembling high-power and clearance golf carts for delivering people and goods on the small hilly streets. The island is only about 1/2 mile wide. It has many flowering plants. The West Side faces the large side of Eluethara which blocks all ocean swell though a large wind chop can develop across the bay it has not prevented Valentines Marina from developing a successful restaurant, fuel and moorage business with multiple megayacht and large powerboats. The east side faces the Atlantic but is protected by a coral reef. Dive boats go out from the store at the marina with gear and equipment available for rental and purchase. The beach is clean and several miles long. Many families and couple wander and play coming from the many private homes and rentals above the beach as well as many streets coming from the town which is on the west side. We dinghied from our boats to the dock at either of the two marinas and walked for food, exercise and enjoyment. The walk to the beach only took ten minutes! One could swim out to snorkel but I would not want to hunt fish that far away my dinghy. It provides close storage of prey to avoid attracting sharks as well as a fast water exit strategy.





4/6/09 we arrived at Little Harbor after a long 60nm sail starting at 6:30 am till about 4:30. We are traveling with four boats, us, Star Shot, Siya Sinana and Never Bored. Lisa and Gary are on Never Bored, Sheila and Chris and on Never Bored. We get together for cocktails and games. Petes Pub is here and a small art gallery and you can walk to the ocean side to look for sea beans, sea glass and shells. While here Lisa broke her foot so went into Marsh Harbor for a cast. We all tagged along and explored town
while her foot was set. What a bummer; trying to get in and out of a dinghy and to shore with crutches. She is the mechanic on their boat plus very much a driving force so for her to sit by while Gary does everything is frustrating to her.





4/9/09; We headed to Tilloo Cay near Elbow Cay. On the way we stopped at Pelican Cay Land and Sea Park. We were rewarded with incredible
elkhorn coral, fans and beautiful fish. We saw a group of 5 manta rays which were incredible. The fish were used to being fed by snorkel excursions
from the islands. Tilloo Cay was a busy anchorage as all seem to be in this area due to the cruisers moving north now.





4/10 took us to Hopetown also in the Abacos, a unique little town with lots of golf carts which seem to be of great use on most of these islands.
We have not experienced the golf carts. We did visit the Elbow Cay Lighthouse and were able to visit with the keeper Franklin as he lit the kerosene
for the evening. We climbed the 100+steps and were enchanted by the beautiful view. We also got to stand next to the prisms as they circled around us.





4/11/12-Great Guana Cay is where we are presently. It also has a resort and lots of golf carts; being that it is Easter there is a large buffet
today that we will indulge in and play some bocce ball if we get the chance. Time is getting short here. Our cruising time has gone by quickly.





Happy Easter to all.





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Wednesday, April 1, 2009

3/20-3/31

Well time certainly goes quickly. Another 10 days have sped by. We arrived 3/20/09 at Cat Island at 3:00 and after a 7 hr. motor sail we were ready for some land.
We went into town and scoped out groceries, renting a car, etc. We met a woman at the gas station and were invited to her party and the station owner
agreed to take us to the party and it was wonderful. She is a multi-millionaire with a house on the ocean, a private jet, a fishing boat and captain.
We had a wonderful time. She used to own nursing homes in Florida. The food was incredible. No rides on the jet either.

3/21/09 Cat Island is beautiful but lots of car with a population of 1500. We visited the Hermitage which was built by Father Jerome in the 1940's as his retirement home with stations of the cross and a small chapel; we climbed the 300 feet to the top with an outstanding view. He also built Holy Redeemer church on the island and churches on Long Island and a monastery in Nassau. He was first an architect; a Anglican priest and then a Catholic priest; a remarkable man. We met an islander, Carlton Rolle at church on Sunday and he had served as an altar boy for Father Jerome and could give us further history. We also had a wonderful meal at the Blue Bird diner.

3/22/09-3-24 We attended a march through the town with a youth police cadet corp and a small high school band and people from 3 different churches. We hitchiked
to the parade and met our friends from WindLass and new friends from Star Shot; Penny and George. We all were fortunate to get a ride back to New Bight in the
back of a pick up truck. We do different things here. We rented a car with WindLass for 2 days and investigated different towns from Arthur Town on the north to
Hawks Nest and Port Howe in the South. There were many abandoned homes that were used by former slaves; some people believe that the spirits live in the homes so they
remain to deteriorate. We saw cotton plants along the road and we visited some small waterfront resorts. The people are lovely and kind.

3/25/09-We had a nice last day here and picked some fresh tomatoes. We got propane for the 2nd time as the fitting wasn't tight enough so it all leaked out. Propane is essential for all our cooking. We spent a final night with WindLass which was sad as we've been together for 2 months; and you share so much boating with others. We
unfortunately didn't do any snorkeling on the island.

3/26/09-We traveled to Little San Salvador; a cruise ship island suited for all their needs. The ship was leaving as we came in at 3:00. We are now
traveling with George and Penny from Star Shot which is very nice. We did some snorkeling and the large groupers eluded Ed; I haven't learned to be a good
team fishing buddy; distracting the fish while Ed gets him. There is lots of swell in this anchorage.

3/27-30-We moved onto Rock Sound, Eluethera just as the cruise ships were arriving in the morning. It has more traffic than Cat Island and has more the feeling of
a big city. On Saturday we explored Rock Sound and walked to the Ocean Hole Park in town which is a blue hole. We walked 1 1/2 miles to Aunt Ed's restaurant to find that it was closed so we walked another 1/2 mile to find another closed restaurant. It was a very hot day and we talked with some people that we thought might be at a small bar and it was a birthday gathering and they gave us a beer and a ride into town; we felt very lucky. The people are warm and welcoming. We attended St. Anne's church Sunday and did boat chores as well as on Monday. Sometimes owning a boat is being in beautiful locations to work on the boat. Ed varnished and I removed some rust scrubbed off mildew from the ceilings

3/31/09- We had a 7 hour day of motor sailing to Rainbow Cay, Eluethera. It is the last day of lobster season until August. We had hoped to find some
good reefs to acquire some yummy lobster but we not able to find one. It was disappointing. We will only be staying the day and then doing more discovery
of other parts of Eluethera.

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Saturday, March 21, 2009

3/16-3/20 Clarence Town, Long Island to Cat Island

Upon leaving Clarence Town Mon. March 16 we headed to Rum Cay with WindLass and Yamma also joined us. We arrived after a 6 hour sail with the ocean swells reminding us of small carnival roller coasters; very scary at first but then realizing WindSwept Dreams had no problem in these waves I was able to enjoy the sail in 15K East winds. We were able to hear music on the back deck from the ipod with only the wind providing competition. We only used our jib and it was a great sail. Upon arrival we lowered our dinghy and headed into the town of Port Nelson to check out the local scene. With only a population of 60 we came upon Kays Bar first and decided to save that stop till we had seen the marina. The office was closed but we came upon stone carvings of Neptune and a shower that had carved sealife around it.

We stopped at Kays and met the proprietor, town matriach, author,(Rum Cay, My Home) award winning(2008)director of tourism and hospitality and owner of the town grocery story; 77 yr old Delores Wilson, she was an absolute delight and filled with stories and wisdom. She told of her visits with a Contessa that she took skinny dipping on the island and her visit with Jackie Onasis and stated that she had no idea who these people were except when their crew came into town looking for them and she later looked at the guest book that she requests all visitor sign. We met some other local people and purchased her book.

St. Patricks Day we awoke at 7am to rain and I hurriedly got out a cooking pot to collect free, fresh rain water. I also got out my soap and scrub brush to give WindSwept Dreams a good scrubbing with the added bonus of a hair softening shower for myself. However after a mere 20 min the rain ceased and I went for a morning swim and then took a "proper" shower off the back of the boat that has a fresh water hose with lukewarm water. We headed into town about 11:30 after calling to line up a golf cart to rent for the day with WindLass and Yamma; true to Bahamas style we arrive only to find that the town was out of gasoline fuel till the mailboat arrives on Thurs. and the batteries were dead anyways. We wish we had called the taxi driver that shuttles people around from the bonefishing lodge-next time we will contact George on VHF 16.
Ed and Steve(yamma) find Rueben who promises to get us fuel for our dinghy a $6.00 a gallon(yes they seem to know about supply and demand economics here) so Ed gives him our small plastic gas tank(it is 12:30) but unfortunately they didn't discuss a timeframe for return; perhaps the Admiral will have to be involved next time and we don't see Rueben again till 4:30 pm. I think he must work with Kays restaurant/bar because we ended up having drinks and an absolutely delicious lobster lunch. I asked the chef for her secrets and Delores took me to the kitchen to visit with her daughter, Donna the cook. I learned about making a special spicy salt mixture. If you don't ask it doesn't give people the opportunity to say yes to you. I enjoyed my afternoon with Delores, the matriarch and she took me to her home to see pictures of friends and family and talk about her friendship with Sidney Portier who has the same editor in New York as Delores. She has never met him but they have phone contact and he wrote a
forward to the book. Fortunately we didn't have to worry about supper as Dee from WindLass made a traditional corned beef meal complete with irish soda bread. It is great to have a buddy boat.

Wed 3/18 our final day we took a 9 mi dinghy ride to the north side of this 9m x 5m island to Flamingo Bay to snorkel; it was absolutely beautiful with all the elkhorn coral but unfortunately it was not fruitful for Ed; there seemed to be no lobster, conch or big fish; maybe it has been overfished. Our return trip was directly into waves that had built since our departure at 10am; it was a long uncomfortable ride back. We stopped for a snorkel and WindLass thought we were having problems and it looked to us as we got closer to our boat that we were aground. We thought WindLass was coming in the large boat to give us bad news. Fortunately it was just the angle and color of our boat that blended into the sand and we were fooled.

Thur 3/19,2009 we left Rum Cay at 6:30 am for Conception; although only a 4 1/2 hr sail we were unsure of what we would find weather wise so left early to have time to
continue to Cat Island if necessary. We arrived at 11:15 and all was fine; we took an hour hike around the ocean side Turtle Sound Trail. Unfortunately I had left my sandals at the beginning of the sand so 15 min. into the hike after numerous offers from Ed to retrieve my sandals and a short piggy back ride I succumbed and waited thankfully. It was a very nice trail marked by beach debris of which there is plenty. We came to the end to find a cluster of plastic hats and glass bottles; kinda a piece of sand art. We spent some time in the afternoon snorkeling but were very disappointed. It is a no take area but even if it weren't we saw very few fish. The remoteness that the guide book talks about we believe no longer exists as it is only a day trip from Georgetown-a heavily populated(200 boats) cruising destination. We enjoyed the Ragged Island and the Jumentos much more. We had another evening with Second Chance and WindLass of Dominoes and snacks.

Fri. 3/20 we are underway to Cat Island, the boyhood home of Sidney Portier. There is supposed to be 20-30k winds starting tomorrow and storms till Thurs so we may be in Cat Island for awhile. We are having to motor sail but it isn't unpleasant seas so no complaints.

Hope all our friends and family are doing well; we miss you and wish you were here to enjoy the sunshine, snorkeling,. beautiful turquoise waters, incredible islands and warm 80 deg. temperatures. It think we have found paradise.

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3/10-3/15 French Wells to Clarence Town, Long Island

We have finally accepted that the Weather is the true director of this trip! As much as I the Admiral, and Ed the Captain would like to determine
our destinations and stays we frequently have no choice. Currently we are underway from Conception Island(only a 1 day visit) to Cat Island a motor sail, but a good protected anchorage for the 20-30k winds, high seas, and squalls expected through next Wed.

Tues. 3/10 we had a short 2 hour but wonderful sail from French Wells, with winds from the E 15-20 kph. Our visit to Landrail Point on Crooked Island in the Acklins was very interesting; it is our favorite town in the Acklins. Although the Explorer Guide and the Bahamas Cruising guide say a limited amount about the area we found it to be delightful. We wandered into the Seventh Day Adventist(no alcohol)town about 3:00 to find an extremely well kept town;i.e. houses and yards were well cared for and the 2 grocery stores were very well stocked at least to island standards. We even were able to watch the local news the day the market went up 379 points. We quickly met the son of the matriarch of the island, and were escorted to his mother's home for a visit. It was a delight hearing about the island from Mrs. Marina Gibson who used to run the Gibson Lunch Room but now leaves the running of 2 of the island restaurants to her children. We enjoyed her homemade guava duff as well. I played the keyboard for her although only the keys above middle C worked; she seemed to be pleased just the same. We enjoyed a meal at her daughter, Willie's and husband Andy's restaurant. We enjoyed a family style meal of grouper with Dee and Pete, s/v WindLass and met some fly fisherpeople, Dottie and Fitz; she holds 15 world fly fishing titles(she says in her age group(early 60's); there isn't much competition, they were an interesting couple. Again however it was a visit dictated by the incoming weather according to our guru, Chris Parker who we faithfully tune into at 6:30 am or 8:00 on our SSB; we have found his forecasts to be very accurate. I think our weather forecasters at home should seek guidance from him. After only a day we had to move on due to the forecasted high seas of 8-10 feet resulting in very uncomfortable swells particularly in unprotected anchorages. We were sad to leave Rum Tum Tiger and Shamal(wind in Arabic) friends met in Long Cay, Acklins. One great aspect of cruising is the boating community and often we run into people we have visited with(Dominoes & Dessert on WindSwept Dreams) or Happy Hour. I(We frequently) LOVE meeting new people and entertaining!! I work hard as Friendship Development Director and Communications Officer. I am definitely not Captain status yet but can chart a course competently and use the nav equipment; a big improvement from last year.

We headed to the security of Clarence Town on Long Island; we arrived at 3pm after an 8 hr motorsail(yuk)just as my homemade bread needed to be baked. The Fishing
Captain fulfilled his role and landed a 23" yellowfin tuna and WindLass benefited by joining us for dinner. He also caught a 36" barracuda but we don't eat due to cigutera;which doesn't seem to bother the locals. In under 200 ft. of water we usually catch a barracuda. At 9 am Thur., 3/12 we went to the Luxury of the Flying Fish Marina; internet, laundry, hot showers, fuel, water for our tanks and a restaurant. We spent some of our time doing some neverending varnish work and I scrubbed rust off the stainless steel again. We utilized all the facilities for 3 days and collected more boat cards and made new friends. We also hitchiked to Salt Pond (a mere 20 miles north and 5 car rides)to the marine store and Hardings grocery. On the way back we were very lucky and got picked up by Vincent on his way home from Salt Pond to Clarence Town. He asked if we had visited Deans Blue Hole, a 634 ft. world recognized free diving Mecca and we said we didn't have time a month ago when we rented a car on Long Island. He proceeded to take us there on winding dirt roads and it was phenomenal; it sure gets deep quickly. We weren't prepared for a swim so we have to save that jump for a future trip. I also attended the Anglican church with him on Sunday.

All friends come with varying benefits like free wine, fish fillets, interesting stories and information about other islands and countries. We had never eaten wahoo but 3 new male friends were leaving the next morning and gave me 12 fish fillets along with their extra fruit, vegetables, cheese, etc. left from their 1 week visit. We also met Steve s/v Yamma from London, England and a paid captain, Mark and his wife, Jenny who was cook and cleaner of a 70 ft. motor yacht(Impetuous) along with John their friend from Key West and a professionally trained chef, fly fishing guide(Ennis, Montana/, Florida Keys) who is assisting them in taking the boat on an overnight sail to the Turks and Caicos. Weather dictated that we leave that destination for a later time.. We had a dominoes/dessert party, Sat. even. and enjoyed having John make ceviche out of some of the wahoo they had received and I made a chocolate rum cake. We did so much visiting we never got around to dominoes but it is fascinating learning about other peoples adventures. Steve had sailed across the Atlantic with friends and has been out for 2 years and cruised the Great Lakes in MI last summer. He is a single hander and a former hot air balloon enthusiast. Mark is from South Africa and Jenny from Canada and met in St. Martin(they are in late 30's-youngsters). Cruising has a way of bridging age gaps due to common interest; it is so fun being with people from such varying ages and backgrounds; one of our favorite things about cruising.

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Monday, March 9, 2009

ACKLINS EXPLORATION

We have lived the gypsy life the past week exploring Long Cay, AlbertTown, Camel Point, Datum Bay, Acklins and today we are headed to French Wells.
The winds have continued to be strong in the 20-30k range from the E/SE which has made for beautiful sailing with very little motoring which is the way we love to do things.
The Byte of Acklins live up to their reputation in our Explorer chart books of being remote and not a particularly favorable cruising ground because
of the low water depth. Yesterday we had to stop enroute to Datum Bay and drop anchor for several hours. The water depth 6.2 ft and at many times we were
bumping along instead of sailing along. We need 5 ft. of water in order to stay afloat; so we had a nice lunch and a nap and waited till the tide started
to rise. The boat has been getting a good fresh water bath this week with the frequent rain storms which are mostly in the evening which is fine with us.
The days however have also been a bit overcast which causes concern for us because we like to use our solar instead of our generator or diesel engine to recharge with.
Sometimes our evening are not as peaceful as we would like with the generator providing our background "music" if you can call it that. Fortunately we have headphone for our ipod and I have my keyboard with headphones so we do have options.

The towns here are very small. The grocery store; if there is one on the island consists of about 150 items at most and to our standards looks like a house in disrepair.
However we make a point of visiting the store as the store owners are VERY FRIENDLY and know alot about the islands. We are also finding that it is a VERY SMALL World in the Acklins as many of the islanders seems to be related. The Acklins certainly maintains their reputation for being extremely friendly people. Hitchhiking here is no problem in fact you don't even have to put out your thumb; they stop and ask if you want a ride. Ed and Pete enjoyed a ride in the back of a pickup on Wednesday in Spring Point which is the town near Camel Point in Delectable Bay where we anchored. Dee and I rode in the cab and had a very interesting chat with Ferguson(45 yrs) about the resort he has been trying to build for the past 5 years alone, harvesting cascarilla tree and exporting to Europe for the making of root beer, perfume, cigarettes and to sweeten foods. We were thrilled to visit the local store and talk with some of the children who all wear uniforms to school and say "Yes Sir, Yes Ma'am", they are very polite. I like to question the children as to their georgraphy knowledge of the location of Oregon; it is surpising but very few know where it is but they usually know about California.

We spent a nice night in Datum Bay before heading north to French Wells at the southern end of Crooked Island. The wind angle was perfect such that with 15-20 knots of wind we averaged 7K with highs of 8.2K. Whooeee! As we passed Albert Town on Long Cay the fishing reel made that sound as a fish began stripping line. After about 15 minutes we had a 44" MahiMahi along side. It was a terrific iridescent blue color which changed when we brought it on deck. We've enjoyed several meals already, including one with Pete and Dee, the rest is in the freezer.

We made such good time that we anchored outside of the French Wells cut waiting for the tide. Pete and Dee made it in with no problem however we went a little off and wound up on the sandbar which required us to take down the dinghy to help push us to deeper water. Finally, we were free, went through to the anchorage which had high current and poor holding so we went back out and anchored in sand offshore. In sand we trust our anchors no matter the type they all hold.

Today we dinghied up Turtle Bay Sound following the stakes to a little dock where we decided to not walk the 2 miles to the settlement and not continue all the way into Turtle Bay because the tide was starting to turn and parts of the "trail" are only a couple feet deep which not being from around these here parts concerned us. We saw mangroves, tropical birds and had a beautiful ride. We then stopped at the beach and walked for about an hour before heading home for an early dinner of MahiMahi. Later we went back to the beach for a little rock etching to put our names with others at the rock pile. We also followed a cairn trail and found a well. We didn't see pollywogs because it was getting dark but they are a sign of good water. We watched the sunset on the beach and that was it for 3-9-2009.

The agenda for tomorrow is some snorkeling followed by moving the boat about 8 miles north to Landrail Point on Crooked Islands northwest shore.

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Saturday, February 28, 2009

Feb 28, 2009

One more day and grouper season opens. We are on the way to the Acklins, a group of three including Long Cay, Crooked and Acklin Islands. They are considered "out islands" given their remoteness from the major chains. We hope that their reputation for snorkeling results in many fish dinners. Rest assured we will be trying for more fish and lobster, something we haven't done since returning to Long Island from the Ragged Islands and Jumento Cays about 10 days ago.

While in the Ragged Island our dinghy tried to escape on its own; it was 9:00 pm when we realized that it was no longer tied to the back of the boat. Ann had decided to take it to the beach for a 8:00pm walk but the engine wouldn't start so I pulled her in and failed to notice that the line was just tossed around the cleat instead of being secured down. Fortunately the evening had little wind and we had the help of our 3 other boating friends and located it in about 10 min. It is frightening thinking of not having your vehicle that enables trips to other boats and to shore for walks and breaks from the boat. There are many advantages to traveling in a group; you really depend on others and they also depend on you.

Our stay at Long Island has been eye opening in that this island has a great mixture of supplies and remoteness. We've toured the island by car with Pete and Dee from WindLass seeing great churches in Clarence Town and the Columbus Monument at the north end. At the south end we took a tour of Hamilton Caves which was very interesting. Ann especially enjoyed the bats, cochroaches and termites that we saw; there were many shrill sounds coming from her. Today and yesterday we moved from the salt pond area around the great shallow areas west of the island to the southwest corner. Tomorrow we will push on to the Acklins. We plan to continue traveling toward the Turks and Caicos providing that the weather cooperates and our boat is ready and willing. It is hard to believe we have been gone for 3 months. We will probably be back to Oregon the middle of May.

While in Thompson Bay, Long Island we are sorry we have been remiss in doing blog enteries. We have been busy catching up with friends, doing laundry, going to restaurants,updating our accounts and taking care of business via internet, doing boat projects like varnishing the teak and reprovisioning our food supply with fresh fruits and vegetables and getting gas for the dinghy, diesel fuel and water. We actually spent more last month for water than fuel. Water was .30/gal and we needed 120 gallons. We managed to use only 4 gallons of water a day while in the remote Ragged Is and Jumentos. It is also amazing what you can make with canned foods. Ann can be a very creative cook using salsa and a can of corn along with some leftovers to make soup and it was very good. Very little food goes to waste on the boat.

Yesterday we arrived at Dollar Harbor, a little sheltered area in the middle of tidal flats, at dead low tide and were unable to enter. We then continued a little farther and anchored out against the shore. Today we continued on towards South Point where we anchored about noon after starting at 6AM. The reason we started so early is that we were concerned that the weather might change forcing us to continue all day to the Acklins which we were prepared to do given the early start. We received the forecast via SSB enroute and decided to stay overnight. The wind is expected to begin clocking (a clockwise rotation) mid-day Sunday which will be just fine for our trip to the Acklins (they lie southeast of Long Island) but would not be good for this anchorage. We have these type of little decisions quite frequently.

Beachcombing today yielded many pretty shells and a sighting of 7 flamingos and a man catching and releasing 3 bone-fish and he was a fishing guide on the Deschutes River in Bend; what is the chance of that! The beach was otherwise deserted until some folks showed up with 3 ATVs from the town of South Point. Otherwise it was paradise.

Our weather has been pretty mixed with some rain which the islanders need for recharging their cisterns and watering their plants. We've had a lot of wind lately in the 20 knot range which kicks up the seas such that people tend to stay put which is fine. Ann organized a great beach party in Thompson Bay, Long Island which was attended by about 50 people. We have made so many friends that we will see on and off as long as we are cruising.

Yesterday we said goodbye to two boats we cruised with from Georgetown to the Ragged Islands and Jumentos for the past 31/2 weeks and Long Island, plus another boat we had met in Normans Cay and shared an day of snorkeling and cleaning conch; we met up with again in Long Island. Plus there were other friends we had met up with in other places. So currently we are cruising with WindLass, Pete and Dee who we met last year and met up with in Georgetown. They had met two other boats near Key West and made the crossing to Nassau together and traveled together from mid Dec. until now. It is hard leaving people behind but we keep up with some people through our single side band on a station called Cruiseheimers at 8:30 every morning and we can keep track of other boating friends along with making contact with them through the net. Ann is the primary user of this connection; she has also been the one getting up at 6:30 am to listen to the weather reports from the guru Chris Parker.

So what else do we do, you might ask. Ann is quite the baker and has taught other cruising ladies the fine skills in bread baking, caramel roll creation plus learned to make tortillas from another friend. Ann also enjoys attending the local church service and getting to know the owners of the restaurants and people in the town. Any new person seems to be a friend quickly with her. We also have dominoes and dessert here frequently; she has earned quite a reputation as a baker. Dominoes is the main game but the other night we had a singing contest with the judging based on team effort and lyric knowledge, surprisingly the quality was not horrible. Nearly every night we get together with other boaters. It is amazing that the people at home that we have lived next to for 20 years have never shared a drink or meal with us. H..ere we know people for 2 hours and we get together with them; just a different way of life. We have also found that our cabin makes a sweet dance floor for two, very romantic! It is quite amazing this life without the big screen and cable, we tend to read and interact with others instead of gluing our eyes to the newscasts and sitcoms. I think we are more content not knowing what is going on in the states; ignorance is bliss. We enjoy hearing personal news from home so don't hesitate to email us. We can't always respond quickly but will do the best we can.

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Sunday, February 8, 2009

Feb. 8-Racoon Cay-House Bay

We moved to the other side of Raccoon Cay to House Bay to gain protection from the 16 kph east winds. We are still traveling with 3 other boats, WindLass, Kokomo and Poco Loco. It is a nice calm bay that provides us with opportunities to work on boat projects; including varnishing, shining stainless steel, doing laundry by hand in very minimum water and our usual cooking. We carry 150 gallons of water using about 3 per day. Ed and I are also cutting each others hair. With the remoteness of these islands we are learning to do many things and depend on

We enjoyed a hike on Raccoon Cay yesterday venturing to the ocean side of the island to observe the 6-8 foot waves and thankful to be in our bay. I'm learning to hunt for hamburger and heart beans. I also look for palm fronds so I can continue my basket weaving. Wow do baskets take a long time to weave. I'm also enjoying doing some cake baking for our group evening gatherings to play dominoes, exchange books, watch a movie or just visit and watch the sunset.

Snorkeling has been an event almost daily for the past 4 days with Ed honing his hunting skills. No longer is he satisfied with his mole catching abilities but he is now a food provider. I also participated in the food capturing.
We both really enjoy lobster which lurk in the holes around reefs. Ed is very adept at diving and peering into the holes or spotting an antenna protruding from a rock and uses his Hawaiian Sling to spearfish. Normally I'm a bystander but yesterday as a very large lobster was escaping from the other side of the reef I alerted my hunter and he brought up the lobster. He caught 3 lobster yesterday. He now has the title of "Great Hunter" in the group of 3 other boats that we are traveling with.

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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Man of War Bay, Nairn Cay

2-03-09
We moved over from Double Breasted Cay this morning due to the forecast for north winds as did 8 other boats. This is one of the few anchorages protected in north quadrant winds which we expected today and especially tomorrow. Indeed the wind has shifted to 330 degrees, tomorrow we expect 15-20K winds.

We snorkeled today. I said that I would not spear any fish today, that i was only after lobster but, my resolve melted when I spotted a nice hogfish, said to be "outstanding" and possibly one of the best fishes anywhere. Yesterday I speared, or should I say slung speared, a nice margate which is rated "good" for flavor having somewhat a fishy taste. We had it for two meals today so you know it was not too bad. Tomorrow we will eat the hogfish. Mmmmm.

The area we snorkeled today had a forest of elkhorn coral (resembles antlers) and there was a carpet of 6-9" yellow grunt plus myriad other species. It was fantastic and we are enthused to go out again tomorrow.

2-01-09 Ragged Island
We went to a superbowl party at a bonefishing lodge they are building in Duncan Town. We had no idea that there would be so many people and so much good food (lobster, conch, chicken) plus munchies bought by the cruisers. It was a great game too. We got back to the boat around 10:30, one of the locals lived near the dinghy beach and gave us a ride. No one would let us walk to or from, they simply go out of their way to make us feel welcome.

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Sunday, February 1, 2009

Duncan Town, Southside Bay

We moved to Southside Bay, Ragged Island (22d10'N,75d43.5'W) on the 29th anticipating a cold front (temps in the high 60s) bringing north winds of 25K on Saturday the 31st of January. This is one of the few places in the Jumentos and Ragged Islands offering protection from the north and east though not from the south and west.

Duncan Town has about 70 folk and it is unclear how they support themselves except for the 10 or so people we've met who fish or run the restaurant and grocery store. The all-age school has a husband-wife team from Guyana who have been here for six years. We were able to use their wi-fi and computers. It seems as if Dell contributed older model computers maybe three years ago. The setup was very nice, more typical of a US library rather than a poor remote fishing village. The basketball backboard was missing the right half, the basketball court right side is all rubble, they are awaiting cement. Still, the people are welcoming, sweet and cheerful.

We walked the 1.5 miles to town for groceries, Sheila's restaurant and use of the internet. There is another cold front expected Tuesday so we will probably be here until Wednesday. We will probably go into town Sunday for the Super Bowl. Some guys are working on a bone-fishing lodge and have a large screen TV.

Meanwhile, we continue to hike the beaches, snorkel, read and watch movies. I guess writing this blog is another way to pass the time. I also have boat chores to do. I am refinishing some of the woodwork plus maintenance coating wood that I refinished last year.

The north winds are here and building as I write but should be done with in the afternoon before going east for a few days. Enjoy.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

1-27-09

1-25-09
We sailed south to the Ragged Islands into Raccoon Cay where we stayed for a couple of days enjoying snorkeling, hikes and the company of our friends.

One set of friends are from last year and we've stayed in touch with them. They met up with two other boats in Marathon, Florida and crossed into the Bahamas and have sailed together since. We joined them in Georgetown, Bahamas as did the fourth boat. It's nice traveling with others, especially when they are familiar with the best spots. Last night we did a turkey dinner together.

Ed has yet to spear a lobster though not from lack of trying. Yesterday he missed a point blank shot and then the lobster retreated to deep into his hole. Today he speared a couple of small reef fish, yellowtail snappers. These were his first victims, he is going after larger game from now on.

1-28-08
We moved down to Hog Cay, about 12 miles by boat due to shoals but really only about 5 miles southeast of Raccoon. Friday we need to be in an anchorage giving north wind protection and so will move again either tomorrow or Friday. Winds could go to 30K early Saturday after clocking (that is clockwise wind shift) from east today, south and west on Friday.

Ed has caught four good size barracuda which we did not keep but we probably will keep the next one. They are good eating and the locals say there is no problem with ciguatera. They question are sanity for not keeping them!

A beautiful day, 80 degrees, 15K winds and perfectly clear. It's nice that the winds have calmed a bit or maybe we're getting some wind break from the cay. Sweet!

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Sunday, January 25, 2009

1-25-2009

1-23-2009
Long Island seems pretty interesting although we only saw several stores and two restaurants before leaving for the Jumento Cays and Ragged Islands. The island is about 95 miles in length with population spread over the entire length but only about 1 mile wide.

The stores were well stocked and nice. Ed was able to buy two new dinghy plugs after dropping one in unclear water and finding that the spare did not fit well.

We went out for family style Bahamian food: conch fritters, mac&cheese (baked to a cake consistency), rice&beans, ribs, chicken, potato salad and a cash bar. There were also three other boats, two with young children on a four year trip, plus a Nova Scotia couple. It was great fun walking the path to and from the beach to the dirt road to the paved road to the restaurant and the normal night time dinghy ride (no moon). We were all prepared with flashlights. It is easy to find our boat at night because we run a string of Christmas lights (LEDs), otherwise you look at the anchored boats and guess.

1-24-2009
7:30 departure for the Jumento Cays, 43nm at 6k = 7hrs. The wind was very light and at our backs making for motor sailing the entire way. We sure hope tomorrow will be better as we have the same distance to the Ragged Islands. (An island is something bigger, maybe 5 square miles, versus a Cay being bigger than a rock). Islands usually offer better protection options too for anchorages.

Ed caught two barracuda but returned them because we do not know whether they have cigautera poisoning in this area. Certain reef fish and their predators can contain this toxin. Maybe we will catch something tomorrow as we run along the Jumentos.

The clevis pin at the clue of the mainsail fell out yesterday, no great trauma as the winds were very light. Ed thinks he forgot the cotter pin in his rush to put the sail on after the sail repair and depart from Nassau. Ed has put in a bolt with aircraft nut temporarily. He saves all kinds of nuts, bolts and screws besides buying two of things when he gets replacements.

Water Cay, Jumentos is a cute little anchorage with good sand but somewhat rolly. Also, fisherman clean their catches nearby so it's not a great place to snorkel unless you like sharkes. We think we will wait.

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

1-22-09

1-17-09
We traveled to Big Majors Cay which features several feral pigs on the beach and a protected anchorage for all but west quadrant winds. Winds were about 20 knots out of the northeast making for a fast broad reach with excellent protection from the Exuma island chain.

Ed put down the dinghy and off we went to feed the pigs, two sows and one piglet, some crackers. Then he thought to head over to Staniel Cay to visit the yacht club but of course picking a rough wet route and not bringing any cash to even buy a beer! Bad captain.

The next day we went to Big Farmers Cay which offers protection from westerlies which were expected over night. This cay was owned by a freed slave woman who then willed it to any and all of her descendants to live on forever. We anchored off the white beach but the holding was poor so we took a mooring ball.

We went for a walk on the island and visited a man who carves small statues of birds and women. Eventually we ended up at the Ocean Beach Club where we had beers and talked politics with Terry (proprietor) and several boaters. It was all very nice and lowest key. Terry, as are many Bahamians, was very tuned into US politics and extremely hopeful that Obama will lead us well.

1-19-2009
We sailed the 36 miles from Little Farmers to Georgetown right into the anchorage in Kid Harbor using the engine only briefly while weighing anchor and dropping anchor. We used the light air symetric spannaker all the way but still have a lot to learn about exactly how to rig and fly it. Several times we had it collapse on us leading to big pops as it reinflated.

We continue to meet new folks, exchanging boat cards, enjoying sundown drinks and appetizers. Otherwise the nights are too long and boring. One can only read so many books.

We spent a day in Georgetown doing boring stuff like a walk, visit to the library, ferrying jugs of water and buying gas. Little did we realize but the wind came up and northwest during the night such that we bobbed up and down all night. Neither of us slept very well after 1:30. Ed feared that we might be moving as night exaggerates distances between boats and does the opposite with objects. In the morning all was fine but we quickly went across the harbor to Sand Dollar beach where it was protected from the NW winds. Ahhh, peace and quiet and we slept like babies that night.

1-22-09
Off to Thompson Bay, Long Island. We linked up with three other boats for a little while at least. We were supposed to leave at 8am but one of the boats ended up with its anchor chain pulled under a coral head so Ed volunteered to see why it was fouled and free it if possible. So while Ann drove Windswept Dreams around because we had already weighed anchor, Ed put on his mask, snorkel and fins and checked it out. His remedy was to have the other boat circle the coral head clockwise which freed the chain. Ed believes that every favor done for another boater results in even greater benefits to us down the road.

The winds were slightly on the nose today with it ending up to be a 7 hour motor sail, especially the last half when the sails were only up because we had not taken them down. Still it was beautiful and calm as we left the Exumas temporarily for the out islands which is a name given to islands more to the west or south of the major chains.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

January 16, 2009

January 16, 2009
Yesterday we dinghied to the northern part of Normans Cay with two couples in their dinghies and then walked the beaches up there where we came upon two guys, their kiteboards, dinghy and tents. They had a bottle of rum and were playing chess while sitting in lawn furniture they found in the trees. For food they were spear-fishing. Canadiens, they are everywhere down here.

We snorkeled one of the channels on the way back taking about six conch. They gave us a conch cleaning lesson on the beach and today Ann and I made conch salad and fritters. Ummmm! Ann says I need to reduce the number of finger peppers.

The wind is about 20K out of the NE and we are holding well in the sand. We may move south tomorrow staying in the lee of the islands. The weather is cloudy and cool (72, don't laugh we are used to hot days) so no one is too motivated to move anchorages if they are in a good one. We will need to do a book and movie exchange soon if this keeps up.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Jan 14, 2009

I am a little forgetful about where we left off because I am not actually able to look at the blog. I will send this in via our ssb (single-side band) radio email.

We planned to leave Nassau last Thursday which would have been the 8th but our sail repair was not finished. We went to a Cruiser's luncheon hosted by BASRA(Bahamas Air Search Rescue Association) to meet new friends and enjoy a meal out. I waited all afternoon for a call on our new Batelco cell phone only to find out that it sent calls but could not receive. So, we did not get our sail back because they could not contact us to tell us it was ready.

Friday jobs included getting and installing the sail, getting the phone fixed and a little last minute grocery shopping before taking on fuel and water. Naturally all this took more time than expected. We were finally ready about 11:30 but we could not get the anchor to come up. So, Ed donned his snorkel gear and found that the chain had wrapped a big old motor. After about 5 dives he unwrapped it. Then we went for fuel and the pump didn't shut off which sent diesel spraying into the air on the side of the boat and into Ed's hair and a little bit into the bathroom. Ed was not happy.

We finally left about 1:30 which was to late for a 6-7 hour trip to Highbourne Cay so we went to Rose Island nearby and Ed managed to lose his foul mood and just in time because Ann was extremely tired of it! Lo and behold, our friends Jan and Wes were back from Canada so we immediately decided to stay a few days with them. Now Ed was elated to spend time with our great friends.

We snorkeled for hours on several days, walked the beach, visited the Lovejoys at their Rose Island House, had a fish fry with Cracky & Tanya. He makes the best Conch salad. Ed is still trying to sling-spear his first lobster, Wes and Jan have been giving us lessons in buddy snorkeling and team work. Wes took one lobster and a grey snapper which he grilled for lunch.

Today, we left our friends and headed south taking advantage of North winds to head southwest to the Exuma chain. Tomorrow we expect more of the same but stronger winds. It was a nice uneventful sail, both of us took naps at different times of course.

We have friends in George Town, Great Exuma hoping we join them to sail to the Turks and Caicos with them. Our only dilemma is that we should not be hurrying to catch them because we are supposed to be relaxing not rushing. There is a plane wreck here to dive and lots of coral but the winds on Saturday may be weak and variable. So, that is our dilemma. Oh how difficult it all is.

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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Junkanoo




These two photos capture a bit of the beauty of Junkanoo. Bear in mind that this group had 1800 members and was one of 7 that boasted this many members plus there were many small groups. These large groups contained bands, dancers, floats and all wore elaborate costumes. The festivities began at 2Am on both December 26th and January 1st ending in late morning or early afternoon. All Bahamians take great pride in this spectacle! The spectators cheer their favorites and hotly debate the winning entrees and contest the judges choices. It is quite moving and amusing!

Rachel and Andrea at Allans Cays








Lots of iguanas populate this lovely group of Exuma Islands. We spent a day here snorkeling and picking up shells on December 28th. This is what the girls had in mind when they agreed to join us in the Bahamas!

December 24-December 30

Our daughters, Rachel and Andrea arrived in Nassau on December 23rd for a week long visit.

We enjoyed Christmas with our Bahamian friends, Diane and Averil and their three children, nephew and friends. Ann went over to their house early to cook with Diane and help her prepare turkey, stuffing and mash potatoes. Meanwhile, the girls and I dinghied to a beach at the west end of the harbour plus visiting the harbour at Atlantis to see the mega-yachts. We then went over for a wonderful Christmas dinner.

Junkanoo started at 2AM, December 26th. I woke Ann (as planned) at 2AM, again at 4AM and finally at 5:30AM we went to see the floats and costumes. What a wonderful parade although the participants were already looking exhausted by 10AM when we left but still had 3 hours to go. This is a competitive event with the big groups having almost 1800 people all in costumes that they began in February.

On the 27th we left for Allans Cays (pronounced keys). The weather was rough but the girls really wanted to be on an empty island group. Unfortunately the trip took nine instead of 5 hours due to the high waves and poor wind angle. Still, we arrived before dark and looked forward to a nice day on the 28th. These cays have a large population of iguanas that we fed orange rinds. Later we went snorkeling on a reef midway between Allans and Highbourne cays. We returned uneventfully to Nassau on the 29th after stopping at Rose Island for another beach walk and some snorkeling.

For our final night we enjoyed the cuisine at the Potter's Cay fish fry which consists of various small shacks that due conch chowder, fritters and fish in a very Bahamian style. After dinner we went to Atlantis resort to look at the beautiful aquarium and the resort.

Andrea and Rachel left on the 30th but we enjoyed their company immensely and will miss them.

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