Jan 4
Our highlight today was going to the Jib Room for rib night again. I am not usually a big rib fan, not because I don't like the taste, but because I don't like to have to work too hard for my food. But, the ribs at the Jib Room are fall-off-the-bone tender, so you don't even need to pick them up to get all the meat and leave a pile of clean bones. We again enjoyed the company of Gregg from Argonauta, Guy & John from Sogno Mio, Dianne & Tom from Lark Spur, Jim & Louise from Island Lady, and Debbie & Bob from Mardi Gras. We had an in-the-dark dinghy race back across the harbor when we left. I thought we were in the lead until we got to the lights of our marina and I saw that Jim & Louise had beat us. That's how dark it was. Of course racing through a dark anchorage is probably not the smartest thing to do.
Back at the boat, I stayed up and watched the Rose Bowl game until midnight. Having TV totally controls our schedules. If we didn't have TV, we'd be asleep shortly after dark. With it we stay up until 23:30 or later almost every night.
GPS N 26-32.806 W 77-03.207 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 3693.
Jan 5
We took a walk today to check on the progress of my necklace repair. It isn't done yet, but they promise it will be done when we get back from New Orleans. We also stopped by Buck A Book and donated a few books and DVD's. Then we walked over to Boat Harbor Marina to look for a boat we heard on the radio the other day. Part of the morning radio net is a time when new arrivals can introduce themselves. A boat named Brenda J had introduced themselves a few days ago, and said they were from Poughkeepsie, NY. That's not far from where I grew up and where we spent this past summer. We walked up and down the docks and finally found Brenda J. We introduced ourselves and then went aboard and chatted for about an hour. Ted and Brenda are retired and spend the winter here and the summer in FL.
Tonight we are joining all the folks from last night and a few more from our dock for a potluck dinner up at the pool area of the marina. There are tables and a nice big gas grill that the marina guys cleaned up for us this afternoon. Everybody is fixing a dish and bring what they want to grill. Jim & Louise are on Island Lady, which is a Bertram sport fishing boat. They went out mid day fishing, as they do just about every other day. Late in the afternoon, we got a call on the VHF from them telling us to put our meat back in the freezer. They had caught a snapper, a tuna, and a wahoo and they said there would be enough to feed everybody.
The potluck was supposed to start around 18:30, but several of us started gathering up there around 17:00 and playing dominos. Domino playing is very common here, both amongst the locals and amongst the cruisers. Ben & Sue from Final Approach are the resident domino experts, and tonight they taught us a simple game that Ben called Bar Dominos. You just play on the two ends so it keeps it simple and you can play even while impaired.
At by 18:30, Jim & Louise were back with the fish, which Jim quickly cleaned and threw on the grill. We all enjoyed a feast of fresh fish and many other wonderful sides.
GPS N 26-32.806 W 77-03.207 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 3693.
Jan 6
Barb spent a good part of the day working on a boat project she planned back before we left TX. She took a sunbrella cover that used to go over the instruments and wheel and cut it up to be the edges of a companionway screen. The wheel cover didn't fit anymore since I added the chart plotter at the helm, so it was good recycling of that. We had bought no-see-um screen at a store in TX that sold mountain climbing and camping equipment, and a bunch of little hot dog shaped lead fishing weights for the edges. So, I dug her sewing machine out of the forward head and she measured, cut, and sewed, and now we have a good screen to put over the open companionway instead of always having to have a citronella candle burning. Hopefully the screen will be even better than the candle, although so far we have not had a huge bug problem anywhere we have been. Just the occasional few mosquitoes.
I spent the afternoon watching a project behind us. In 2004, hurricanes Francis and Jeanne wiped out all the marinas here. The one we are in, Harbor View, was rebuilt in early 2005, and is in full operation. The Conch Inn, which is east of us has also been rebuilt, although they are still working on their buildings. Between these two was Mangoes. The restaurant at Mangoes is open, but the marina has not been rebuilt. They cleaned up all the damaged docks, but the pilings are still in place, some damaged, some not. Well, after a year and a half, rebuilding the marina is starting. A tug brought a large crane barge in to start pulling out damaged pilings. They maneuvered the barge up to the end of the pilings where several were bent over at odd angles and lowered it's "legs" which hold it in place while they work. Two guys drove a small boat amongst the pilings and tied orange tape on the ones that were to be pulled out. Apparently they will reuse as many as they can in-place. I asked Troy, the owner of our marina if the noise and disruption of our view would mean we could get a large discount at Mangoes. He said they would probably charge us a 10% premium because they are providing entertainment.
At 17:00, we listened to the weekly happy hour show on Radio Margaritaville, which is broadcast live from the New Orleans Margaritaville Cafe. We were particularly interested in hearing what they had to say this week regarding Pardi Gras, the annual Parrothead party we have attended there each of the last five years. We didn't originally plan to be there this year, since we are cruising. However, Pardi Gras is going to be the first large group event held in the city since Hurricane Katrina, and we wanted to support our friends who organize it as well as the city. We know several people who live and work there, and we wanted to do our little part to make the event a success and start the recovery of the tourist trade.
After the radio show, we headed up to Snappa's for Friday night happy hour which includes free food. This weeks food was two inch wide slices of Subway sandwiches. Yes, there is a Subway here. We have not gone in, but it and the KFC we visited a few weeks ago are the only American fast food places here. Three other couples from the dock were at a large table in the corner playing dominos, so we joined them. Tonight they were playing a game called Mexican Train. It took observing for a few rounds to get the hang of it. After a round, Barb took the place of one of the other guys who didn't want to play, and she proceeded to win. Of course nobody believed she had never played before after that.
GPS N 26-32.806 W 77-03.207 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 3693.
Jan 7
We started packing for our trip to New Orleans today. Normally I don't pack for a trip until an hour or so before we leave. This packing is a little different though. The forecast for New Orleans is for lows in the 40's and highs only around 70. Since a lot of our partying will be after dark, the cooler side of that range will be the norm. That means we need to unearth our long sleeve t-shirts and some jeans. What little cold weather clothing we have is in vacuum bags which are packed away in the far recesses of the boat. So it took some hunting to find the right bags, and then unseal them and get the right stuff out.
Late in the evening, Gregg from Argonauta came by to use our Skype connection to call home. We helped him get Skype setup on his laptop, but out in the anchorage he has not been able to get a good enough Internet connection to use it there.
GPS N 26-32.806 W 77-03.207 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 3693.
Jan 8
Today is a field trip day. Along with Debbie & Bob from Mardi Gras, we took the ferry over to Guana Cay. We joked again about taking the ferry when we both have boats, but to take our boats would mean timing our arrival and departure from the marina with the tides, as well as just the hassle of getting the boat ready to sail. Mardi Gras is a sixty foot motor yacht, so in their case, the ferry might be cheaper than the fuel required to go over and back.
When we got to Guana, we walked a few blocks to a place to rent a golf cart. We could have walked to where we are going to have lunch, but we wanted to take a little tour of the whole island. We drove north along what appeared to be the only road, until we came to the end. At this north end of the island is Baker's Bay. Baker's Bay used to be a cruise ship stop. From the water, there is a deep channel that was dredged and marked so the cruise ships could get close. They then would have ferried the people ashore in smaller boats to play on the island for the day. Since even the cruise ships had trouble negotiating the cut between the Sea of Abaco and the Atlantic when the weather was bad, they quit coming here. Now, the whole north end is being developed into a four hundred home development. The homes would all be million dollar plus homes for rich Americans. There would be a golf course and all the other amenities you would expect with this type of development. As we speak, there is an injunction in place to halt construction while the project is reviewed by whoever grants permission to do such things here. There is an ugly war of words going on between a group who claims the development will kill the reef due to the additional stress of runoff, and more people boating, snorkeling, and diving. We have seen the developers story in their ad in the local paper, and they sound like they want to be responsible about it. Also, we have heard that the locals really want it because of the jobs it will bring in construction and support afterwards. Supposedly it is a small group of people who are fighting it. I don't know enough about who's right to pick a side, but it is an ugly fight. Anyway, we stopped at a high point in the road which looks north over the area, and it was beautiful.
From there we drove back to mid-island and over to the Atlantic side to Nipper's Beach Bar for their weekly Sunday pig roast. Nipper's is a neat place, with two small freshwater pools, several decks with tables and along-the-rail seating, a bar and kitchen. It is all painted in bright island colors. And then there is the view. It sits high up on the bluff overlooking the Atlantic and a beautiful beach. There are stairs down to the beach, although we didn't go down there since it would be a long climb back up. We enjoyed the pig roast buffet, which included the pork, rice and beans, Bahamian macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, potato salad, fruit and banana bread. It was an all you can eat deal too, which made it even better. There was a good crowd there, and many folks brought their dogs. The dogs were all little with the exception of one Labradoodle, which is a cross between a standard poodle and a lab. What you get is a dog that looks like a standard poodle with a long curled tail, that you can't keep from fetching things that you throw in the water. The rest of the ten or so dogs were little guys like Shitzu's, Pomeranians, and terriers. Unlike anything you would expect in the States, the dogs were all loose and free to run around and play with each other while their humans ate and drank. After we ate, Debbie wanted a cup of coffee and was directed by the bartender to check in the kitchen to see if they had any made. She went to the kitchen which had an open door, and found they had no coffee made, but the dogs had found the kitchen and were all sitting in there waiting for a handout.
After a tour of the gift shop, we resumed our golf cart ride. We went south this time to see what was there. We found the Orchid Bay Marina which is a nice marina, restaurant, and gated housing development that occupies the southern end of the island. Not sure how this place came to be without the fight that Baker's Bay is getting. Or maybe this place is behind the opponents of the other? Pure speculation on my part there.
We went as far as we could go on the road before we came to a security gate for the development, then turned around and went back to "town". We dropped the ladies at the Sunset Beach Bar, which is right near the ferry dock, and Bob and I took the golf cart back. We walked back and joined the ladies at the bar, and we all enjoyed a few Guana Grabbers. We had heard about Guana Grabbers on the morning radio net most days. Part of the net is that local businesses can make announcements/advertisements. This bar reminded me a little of the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the BVI. We had and hour and a half to kill before the next ferry, so we relaxed and chatted and watch some of the other people which included a few interesting characters who apparently live here and maybe work here.
At 16:45 we caught the ferry back to Marsh Harbor. The ferry to Guana departs and arrives at a dock at the marina right next to ours, so unlike the ferry we took to Hopetown last week, there was no long walk or taxi ride required for this one. Back at the boat, Barb made a casserole with the left over fish from our potluck dinner the other day. She is becoming a master at whipping together dishes that can never be duplicated again. So far, they have all been very tasty.
GPS N 26-32.806 W 77-03.207 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 3693.
Jan 9
The entertainment of watching the crane next door resumed today. After pulling a few pilings that were at the far end of the marina, they moved the barge around to the far side from our perspective, and started pulling some out there. Most of the damaged pilings are on the shore end of the marina. As they pull some out, they move the barge a little and get more. As of lunchtime today, they have the barge right in the middle of what was the marina, parallel to the shoreline. It will be interesting to see how they maneuver it around as they get closer to our side. There is just a seventy foot wide fairway between the two marinas.
I visited the liquor store today primarily for beer, but I have been stocking up on rum too, since we probably won't find it any cheaper south of here. When you buy six bottles at a time, you get a 20% discount. So this time I decided to sample some rums I don't normally get. One of them is Fire In De Hole Erotic Rum. Now, I'm not exactly sure what makes one rum more erotic than the next, but we're going to find out.
This evening we had a wonderful opportunity. Eileen Quinn is a cruiser who is also a singer/songwriter. Her songs are about the cruising life, and can bring tears to your eyes. Sometimes from laughing so hard, and sometimes because they touch you much deeper. Well, Eileen and her husband cruised into Marsh Harbor over the weekend, and she put on an hour-long show over at the Jib Room. The Jib Room is not usually open on Monday's, but they opened up the bar and allowed Eileen to setup in the corner of the room. There were easily over a hundred people there. I have heard of Eileen for years, through other cruisers and mentions in the cruising magazines, but I had never heard her music. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, chatted with Eileen and her husband a little afterwards, and bought her CD's. We also had the opportunity to meet a number of other cruisers who we have heard on the radio while here, but had not met yet.
GPS N 26-32.806 W 77-03.207 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 3693.
Jan 10
Today's major boat project was stowing the dinghy before our trip to New Orleans. I don't think security is a problem, but I'll feel better with it on the davits, and the motor locked to the rail. Besides, it has developed a water leak between the inflatable tube and the hard bottom, which requires bailing a significant amount of water from it each day. So, with it out of the water, I don't have to worry about that. It has been in the water for a few weeks now, and it is pretty amazing how much stuff was growing on the bottom already.
One of the things that cruisers do for one another is mail delivery. To mail a letter from the Bahamas to the States would cost more than $.39 and take about two weeks to get there. So, each morning on the radio net, they have mail call. Anybody going back to the States, or Canada, or the UK is asked to take mail with them and mail it when they get there. We announced yesterday and today that we were going to the States, so this afternoon we had six or seven visits from people with mail. I was surprised how much there was. We have not mailed anything in months since we do everything electronically.
This evening we went to a chili cook-off, hosted by the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club. There were about twenty chilies, salad and rolls, and an open bar for two hours. All for five bucks. Gotta love it. There were about a hundred and twenty people there. Many we knew and we introduced ourselves to many more. There was enough chili to go around and seconds for those who wanted them.
We have an 07:00 flight tomorrow to start our journey to New Orleans. We fly from Marsh Harbor to Nassau, Nassau to Cincinnati, and then Cincinnati to New Orleans. Our favorite taxi driver will be picking us up at 06:15. So, it's an early night.
GPS N 26-32.806 W 77-03.207 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 3693.