Jan 1
Well, I wrote the log prematurely. I said we wouldn't make midnight. But, we stayed up until midnight last night, saw some local fireworks, and rang in the New Year with a champagne toast. Milano Myst's adults also made midnight, and we yelled New Year's greetings between the boats. Being the anal boaters that we are, we had our GPS synchronized clocks on, and noticed that the party up at the bar didn't do their countdown to midnight until about forty-five seconds after the event. They had to wait for the song the DJ was playing to end.
This morning, we joined Milano Myst for breakfast at the restaurant to make sure we get our full value for the food-for-dockage deal. We had a leisurely meal, and found out that the marina offers free wi-fi. You just have to ask for the security code. We have been getting by the last few days on a couple of marginal signals that we could pick up. The real club signal is much stronger. Rob and I both brought our computers to the breakfast table to get a good signal and I got the web update published.
The big event today is Junkanoo in New Plymouth. If you haven't been following my logs since last year, and don't know what Junkanoo is, click here for a good explanation. We learned last year that the Green Turtle Cay Junkanoo is one of the best and people come from all around to see it. The parade itself starts about 14:00, but the food booths open around 11:00. We loaded up the two dinghies about 11:30 and headed that way. The public dock was crowded, so we had to offload our passengers and then move the dinghies around to the other side where they would be secure. Rob and I then had to climb across several other boats to get on the dock. When we came back later, somehow there were twice as many boats on the dock.
We walked around the circuit that the parade will take and then picked a place to watch from. The corner we picked was very popular, near the beginning of the parade route. We had plenty of time to hit a couple of food booths for beer, food, and Goombay Smashes from Mary's Blue Bar. Sometime near 14:00 the parade started and we had front row seats. There were not as many people as we saw in Marsh Harbor last year but they were just as energetic, and loud. Once the parade passed our vantage point, we considered moving over to the harbor side of town to catch it all again, but we were all hot and getting sunburned, so we elected to leave.
We got back to White Sound and started preparations to leave tomorrow. That means fill the water tanks, hoist the dinghy, pay the bill, and take showers. The real interesting part of this was paying the bill. It took four attempts to get the bill correct. I don't think it was a conscious effort to rip us off, just ineptitude in the office staff. We learned that Milano Myst and another sailboat between us had exactly the same experience.
At 20:00, there were to be fireworks as part of the official event. We could clearly see them from the marina, and they started right on time, which is unusual on island time. It was a nice show and had an apparent grand finale. We were on the dock talking about our departure plans with Milano Myst, when more fireworks started from the same place. The show went on again for at least as long as the first time, with another apparent finale, which was true this time.
GPS N 26-46.873 W 077-20.196 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 7762.
Jan 2
We were up early this morning because we want to depart White Sound at near high tide, which is at 07:02. We were underway about 07:30 along with Milano Myst and five other sailboats who obviously all had the same idea. We got out of the White Sound channel with plenty of water under us and headed for Whale Cay Cut. The Whale, as it is known locally, can be a tough place to get through depending on the direction of the wind vs. the tidal current and the swell coming in form the Atlantic. This morning there is virtually no wind, and we are approaching it an hour or so after slack tide, so we were pleased to find a gentle swell coming in from the ocean, and no problems at all transiting the cut. The swell combined with a wake from a large sportfish boat did conspire to make the cat sick though.
Our destination today is Treasure Cay. Treasure Cay is really on the mainland of Great Abaco and is not a cay at all. There is a beautiful beach on Treasure Cay. The whole marina basin is man-made, therefore the marina charges boats to even anchor in the basin. They also have four moorings available, and of course slips. We recalled from last year that the slips were pricey, even though it's "off season", and a boat dropped a mooring just as we approached, so we picked up a mooring for $10. Milano Myst elected to get a slip instead of anchoring since with six aboard it's easier to not deal with the dinghy. Once they were in, I remembered why I thought the marina was expensive. Although they charge just $1.25/ft, they have a $65 minimum, and charge $21 to hook up your electricity.
We all got settled and then joined the Milano Myst gang on the beach. We had lunch at the Coco Beach Bar, took a long walk on the beach, and I actually got in the water. People who don't come to the Abacos say the water is too cold here. It's not bath water, but if the suns out, it's quite refreshing.
For dinner we went over to Milano Myst. Carole prepared a pork roast and carrots and Barb brought a potato dish. We ate and visited for a couple of hours, then went back out to our boat for a good night's sleep. The wind had died off so the water was smooth as glass and it was extremely quiet
GPS N 26-40.264 W 077-16.936 Nautical miles traveled today 18. Total miles 7780.
Jan 3
We're headed to Marsh Harbor today. We didn't really think we had to time the tide exactly, so we had a leisurely morning and left right after the morning radio nets a few minutes after 09:00. Milano Myst led the way since they want to stop midway and let the kids swing off the halyards into the water, so they can pick the spot. Marsh Harbor is less than three hours away, so we will still be there in the early afternoon. We stopped at the Fish Cays, which are a group of half a dozen tiny islands. We anchored in the lee of the largest one, since there is a good chop on the Sea of Abaco this morning. The kids enjoyed swinging and snorkeling, while we took pictures and watched. Barb worked on removing some rust stains around the lifeline stanchions while we waited. After about an hour we were back underway to Marsh Harbor.
We are planning to go into Harbor View Marina for a few days while we're here. The Milano Myst teenagers are leaving to go back to Canada (brrrr) Friday, so it will be easier to offload them and their luggage at a dock rather than from anchor. We called Troy from the marina as we entered the harbor, and he cautioned us that we may have trouble getting in because it was almost low tide. The marina itself is deep enough at low tide, but getting to it can be a problem. The bottom is very soft mud though, so we hoped we could power through it if we touched. As we approached the fuel dock at the end of the marina, sure enough we stopped in the mud. I powered up to full throttle and was able to wiggle the boat back and forth by turning the wheel all the way from port to starboard over and over again. After about ten minutes of churning up mud, we finally got over the hump and up to the fuel dock. Troy took our lines and suggested we just stay there for a few hours and move to our assigned slip later when we had more water. Sounded good to us, and as long as we were at the fuel dock, we filled her up. Milano Myst elected to not play in the mud and anchored out for the night.
We had a quick lunch and a couple of beers at Snappa's, right next to the marina, and then took the Milano Myst gang on a walking tour of Marsh Harbor. As we exited the marina gate, we spotted Susan from Taxi 53 across the street. We went over and said hi and arranged for her to pick up the girls Friday to go to the airport. There were hugs all around just like last year. We walked from the marina through downtown Marsh Harbor, with stops at the wholesale soda store, Da Bes Yet bakery, the NAPA/True Value hardware store, the grocery store (formerly Solomon's now Maxwell's), a visit with two guys in a pickup truck full of conch, where the kids got to see how they are cleaned and Rob bought some to bring home and make conch salad with.
Being Wednesday night, we are all headed to the Jib Room for rib night for dinner. We dinghied out to Milano Myst and picked up two kids and crossed the harbor to the Jib Room. It was good to see Steven, Jason, and Boo again. The food was good as usual, although I did actually have to pick up the ribs and bite the meat off the bones. Last year the meat just came off with your fork. It was still very tasty though. Everybody enjoyed it and the little kids found some other kids to play with after dinner. We also ran into Bill & Suzie Merrill from Blue Jacket. We had met them in Block Island this summer through our mutual friends Jack & Carol on Reach. Small world strikes again.
GPS N 26-32.815 W 077-03.213 Nautical miles traveled today 15. Total miles 7795.
Jan 4
Today we took Carole and Dayla to find the jewelry store down the street to see if they could get Dayla's watch repaired. They couldn't, but the trip wasn't in vain for me because the store that sells Beer Can Shorts, which I always wear is here. Last year I bought a couple of pairs on sale for less than what West Marine sells them for in the States. Well, they had them but they weren't on sale this year. I still bought two pairs, so I should be set for a year or more while we're out of the States.
The rest of the afternoon was pretty low-key. I made a liquor store run to stock up on cheap rum while we are in the "big city". I was shocked to find the prices had gone up. Don Lorenzo (eat your heart out Jack) was up to $6.20/liter after the quantity discount. Last year it was a little over $4. Still cheaper than anywhere else though. Late in the afternoon, we hooked up via VHF with Gregg & Michele from Argonauta. We knew they were in the area but had been just far enough apart to not make radio contact until today. Turned out they were on their way back to Marsh Harbor from a side trip, so we got together in the evening for a couple of hours to catch up. We hadn't seen them since last year here, but we had been very close to them a couple of times in the Chesapeake, but never quite hooked up.
GPS N 26-32.815 W 077-03.213 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 7795.
Jan 5
I actually did boat chores today. I changed the engine oil and filter, and changed the fuel filter. Marsh Harbor is that last place in the Bahamas that you can legally dispose of used engine oil, so I figured I'd get one more change before having to carry the used oil along with us.
A large brigantine (pirate looking ship) came into the marina today and docked at the fuel dock. It is the Fair Jeanne, a 110 foot brigantine out of Ottawa, Canada. It appears they are stopped here to exchange some passengers.
GPS N 26-32.815 W 077-03.213 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 7795.
Jan 6
We had another lazy day in Paradise today. We hit the grocery store for some provisions, the marine store for some motor oil in quarts instead of gallons, and I dropped the gallon of used oil off at the Shell station.
I got a call on the VHF from another boat named Royal Serf. They had crossed from Florida a few hours after us, and we had heard them on the radio and seen them up in Green Turtle Cay, but had not met. Fred asked me if MoonSail was a Catalina Morgan 38. I replied yes. He asked if we were from Kemah, TX. I replied yes. So far I just thought he has seen us in Green Turtle. Then he asked if we had a cat named Bemdat. I replied yes, although now I was a little confused. He replied that he had been following our website for a year and half. Cool. He will be at Boat Harbor for a while, so we told him we would be there in a day or two and we would meet.
Our evening was steak night at the Jib Room. Milano Myst declined to do steak night, but Gregg and Michele from Argonauta joined us there for a great meal. These are one pound steaks, cooked as you like them. We also got to spend some more time with Bill & Suzie from Blue Jacket, whom we met in Block Island last summer.
We have learned that our new dinghy light definitely floats. The dinghy light attaches to the top of the motor with a big suction cup. The first one I had was not buoyant and fortunately I never tested it, but it broke internally and had to be replaced. The second one did the same thing, and I'm not sure if it was buoyant or not. The latest one, is advertised to be buoyant, and it is an LED bulb. Well, either the suction cup isn't as good, or the top of the motor has gotten too many irregularities, because the light has fallen off three times. We have gotten to practice our light-overboard drill each time. The first two times were easy. The last time took three tries to snag it. This couldn't possibly have anything to do with the number of Bilge Burners consumed by the dinghy operator.
GPS N 26-32.815 W 077-03.213 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 7795.
Jan 7
Today we are leaving Harbor View Marina and back tracking a little to Guana Cay. We have been to Guana twice last year, but we did it via ferry from Marsh Harbor because we were too lazy to move our boat. This time we are taking our boat and we will pick up a mooring at Guana. Guana Cay has two anchorages. The main harbor is small and shallow. Fisher's Bay is just north of that and is deeper. Both have moorings owned by Dive Guana. We were planning to go to the inner harbor, but after talking to Troy of Dive Guana and Gregg from Argonauta on the radio, we decided the low-tide depth in the inner harbor might be a problem for us, so we went to Fisher's Bay instead. The first mooring we tried to pick up didn't seem to have a pennant on it, so after two tries, we moved to a different one, which we got with no problem. Milano Myst got the furthest mooring out, although after getting it, they noticed that it's very short pennant was frayed. So they moved to the one we gave up on, and found that there was indeed a good pennant on it, but it was hanging straight down along the mooring chain, which we had not seen. Gregg & Michele from Argonauta were anchored nearby and they picked us up in their dinghy so we didn't have to launch ours. On the way to shore, another boat came in and yelled to us to please help them pick up a mooring. The couple on board consisted of the boat owner driving, and a guest who had no clue how to pick up a mooring on the bow. So we went to the mooring in the dinghy, I got the pennant, and as the boat approached the guest tossed me a bridle line. I got it through the pennant and tossed the line back to her. By then the owner was on the bow and he secured it. We proceeded to shore and headed for Nipper's.
Nipper's is known for a lot of things, one of them being the Sunday pig roast. We hiked up to Nipper's, perched upon the eastern shore dune overlooking the Atlantic. We ordered a round of nippers, the house rum punch, and got our token for the buffet-style roast pork meal. The meal was as good as last year and we were stuffed. The buffet is an all-you-can-eat deal, but one loaded plate will fill most people up. After we ate, we went down to the beach with Milano Myst and the gang from Spoony, another boat with kids. The kids all played while the adults chatted and walked the beach. We spent several hours here until we noticed that the sun was getting low in the sky. Not only do we need to head back to the boats before dark, but we need to be at Grabber's, formerly known as the Sunset Beach Bar, to watch the sunset with a Guana Grabber (another run punch).
Gregg & Michele left early, since they are sailing back to Marsh Harbor for the night, so Milano Myst is going to shuttle everybody back to the boats. While Rob took Carole and the kids back to Milano Myst, Barb and I got grabbed at Grabber's. The tide is low now, so to launch the dinghy Rob had to walk it a couple hundred feet off the beach. We knew we would have to walk out there to meet the dinghy when it came back. We saw the dinghy coming back towards shore, so we started wading out into the water to the point where he could pick us up. When the dinghy got close, it was Daniel (the eight year old) driving, not Rob. This was his first solo drive. He stopped before grounding, Barb got in, and then I hopped up on the bow of the dinghy, raising the stern, so we could back into the deeper water. Daniel drove us back to MoonSail, standing up like a professional.
We enjoyed the rest of the evening listening to Radio Margaritaville and watching the stars. Being a night with no TV, we were in bed about 20:30.
GPS N 26-40.055 W 077-07.128 Nautical miles traveled today 9. Total miles 7804.
Jan 8
Our plan today was to go to Hopetown. But, there is a cold front coming, and the timing of it's arrival seems to be unsure, based on my three sources of weather info. Since Hopetown requires a high-tide arrival and departure, and the weather may turn ugly before we can leave, we decided to bypass Hopetown and go straight to Boat Harbor Marina. Another plus of going there tonight is that we can watch the BCS Championship game on TV. Since we don't have to worry about tide timing, we loitered around Fisher's Bay until almost 11:00. We dropped the mooring and headed south along Guana Cay, past Man Of War Cay, turned the corner around Matt Lowe's Cay and headed for Boat Harbor. Boat Harbor is only about a half mile from Harbor View Marina by land, but an hour or more by boat. Not only will it be a great place to let the front pass, but it will be a head start when we head south from here.
We got tied up in Boat Harbor, right next to Royal Serf. Fred helped take our lines and we introduced ourselves. Milano Myst came in a few minutes behind us and tied up next to us. We are on the far side of the marina basin from the office, so it was a fair hike to check in. On the way though we saw a number of boats that we met last year. We got checked in and were surprised by the dockage rate, although the water and electricity are metered, which makes it work out pretty even with other marinas. And, it is a full resort, not just a marina.
There is a free happy hour party sponsored by the marina at 17:00, which we were at, of course. The Milano Myst kids stumbled into a short SCUBA lesson in the pool to see if they were interested in it, and of course they took to it. The price ended up being that they all got to the free cocktail hour after the food was all gone, but Mom & Dad got a drink and met with friends of theirs who stay here all winter.
Back on the boat, Barb cooked us a proper dinner, while Rob & I worked out his internet connection and cable TV quality. We are concerned about the TV since we want to watch the BCS Championship game. Since I was pulling for the Gator's, the game turned out great.
GPS N 26-32.756 W 077-02.688 Nautical miles traveled today 13. Total miles 7817.
Jan 9
I took a walk this morning to get some clips to make flag handling easier, and to obtain ingredients for a rum punch recipe passed to me from Dick on St. Jude, who runs the Cruisehiemers SSB Net every morning. The ingredients were grapefruit, pineapple, and orange juice, gold rum, coconut rum, and apricot brandy. Where we are now in Boat Harbor adds at least a half mile to the walk to town, so I got my exercise. I found the clips I wanted at Standard Hardware, which was the closest of the four hardware stores in town. The grocery where I got the juice was just around the corner, and the liquor store was on the way back. I had taken our large canvas bag to tote the goodies in, so with that over my shoulder I headed back. That will be my exercise for the day.
I mixed up a gallon of the punch and gave it a sip. My initial impression was a little too grapefruity for me. I can tell this will have to become a long term research project to come up with the perfect recipe. I will keep detailed records of the research and keep everyone posted.
I spent some time chatting with Fred from Royal Serf. He stopped by to get a picture of the cat. He is a cat lover and used to have a cat similar to Bimmy. Bimmy of course enjoyed the attention as he usually does any time somebody spots him in the cockpit and says how pretty he is.
This evening is the annual Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club Chili Cook-off. We attended this event last year and had a good time. For the $5/person admittance for members, we got an open bar and dinner of our choice of thirty different chili entries, salad, cornbread and desert. We met a number of folks we hadn't seen since last year and caught up. There is a large community of boaters who spend the whole season in Marsh Harbor. Since we spent a couple of months here last year, we met quite a few of them, especially when we joined the yacht club.
GPS N 26-32.756 W 077-02.688 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 7817.
Jan 10
I was up early enough this morning to listen to Chris Parker the weather guy at 06:30. After his forecast I asked him when we might have good weather to make the large jump south to Eluthera from the Abacos. It doesn't look like that will work until Monday or Tuesday, so it looks like we will be "stuck" here for a couple more days. The problem is the seas are expected to be over ten feet in the open water between Abaco and Eluthera, so we'll wait.
We had lunch at the restaurant here at Boat Harbor. It was quite nice, but expensive, as we had thought it would be. Won't be doing that everyday. I installed the new clips I bought yesterday on the flag halyards. This will make putting flags up and down much easier, and it will especially be easier to pick and choose which of the "decorative" flags we string together.
GPS N 26-32.756 W 077-02.688 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 7817.