May 01

We are still anchored out in Marsh Harbor this morning.  I spoke to Troy at the marina on the radio, and he said he might get us in today, and if not he was sure he could tomorrow.  I told him to call me if anything came open today.  Thinking we would probably not get in today, we went ahead and went to shore to pick up some groceries.  I took my hand-held radio in case Troy called.  While in the grocery store, I heard Troy hail us.  Turns out he can get us in this afternoon, if we don't mind switching slips tomorrow.  I told him that would be no problem and we would be there within an hour.

We finished our shopping and went back to the dinghy.  At the dinghy dock, I found the guy from Joy B trying to get his dinghy out from behind ours.  The tide has gone down some, so our motor is stuck in the mud and the dinghy won't move.  I got in our dinghy, raised the motor, and got it moved aside so he could free his.  I never have gotten this guy's name, but we have seen him off and on since December when we were here.  He was also down in Georgetown.  He is an older guy who single-hands with his dog on a pretty small boat.  I asked him how he had been, and he told me about getting hurt a few weeks ago.  Turned out he had hammock hanging from his rigging, and it broke, dumping him flat on his back on deck.  Unfortunately, he landed on some piece of hardware which badly bruised his tailbone.  He was in a lot of pain for a couple weeks, but is better now.  Just goes to show how dangerous relaxing in Paradise can be.

Back at the boat, we got ready to weigh anchor and move to the marina.  Unfortunately, we have swung around 180 from where we dropped the hook, so it looks like now our anchor is under the boat in front of us, and they are not aboard right now.  As I was contemplating how we could handle this, here they came in their dinghy.  They were happy to start their motor and pull up a little so we could retrieve our anchor.  We then motored over to the marina where Troy met us and took our lines.  The only empty slip today is about a eighty foot one that he would normally use for a large power boat.  We'll probably move to a smaller slip tomorrow when somebody else leaves.

We got the boat secure and then went up to Snappa's for a late lunch.  After that we relaxed aboard and caught up on world news on CNN.  Yes, there is cable TV in the marina.

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.

May 2

This morning we just hung around the boat waiting for other boats to check out and see where Troy wanted to move us to.  There are two sailboats between us and Abaco Freedom, a large charter houseboat that is based here, and they are both leaving.  They left within minutes of each other, and while Ronnie the dock hand was there to help with lines, we moved over two slips next to Abaco Freedom.  We got secure in the new slip and then went to lunch.  We went across the street to Wally's for lunch.  We have heard good things about Wally's from many people, but we never got over there when we were here a few months ago.  The place is a large old house with a big porch out front.  The front yard is full of tall tropical plants keeping the area shaded all the time.  The food was good and the atmosphere was very nice.

We just hung out on the boat the rest of the day.

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.

May 3

This morning we are being entertained by watching the boat next to us replace their diesel generator.  Even a small diesel generator weighs over two hundred pounds, so getting it in and out of a tight place on a boat is not easy.  But, in one day, they had the old one out and on the dock, and a brand new one in the boat and mostly hooked up.  I always enjoy watching somebody else work hard.

Speaking of which, there is a guy here named Brown Tip, who cleans boat bottoms.  I had called him yesterday to have him clean our bottom and install new zincs on the prop shaft.  He showed up about 11:00 and got to work.  We now have a clean bottom and will hopefully make a little better time underway.

We walked up to the marine supply store in the hopes they might have an American flag.  In case you don't know, most boats fly the flag of their home country.  You also fly a small courtesy flag of the country you are visiting.  We also fly a Texas flag.  Well, being out in the wind and sun every day takes its toll on the flags.  We wore out our first Texas flag before we ever left the States, and had our friends from Texas bring us a couple of replacements when we met them in Key West last November.  We didn't think to get a spare US flag though.  The one we have been flying, and the second Texas flag, have deteriorated to the point that it is embarrassing to fly them, so we took them down entirely a couple weeks ago.  Given how flags deteriorate, I thought the local marine supply store could sell lots of US and Canadian flags here.  But, no, they don't carry them.  Guess we'll hoist our last Texas flag before we return to the States.  The Coast Guard should recognize that if we are questioned.

Tonight is rib night at the Jib Room.  I know I've said it before, but I'm not usually a big rib fan because I just don't like to have to work hard for my food.  But their ribs are so tender that they just fall off the bones.  It's also a neat place and good people that run it, so we were there.  We had spoken to Dave & Sue from Pirate's Hideout earlier in the day, and they are going to be at rib night too, so we will actually meet them face to face.  We went over there about 17:30 to enjoy happy hour and Dave & Sue showed up a few minutes later.  We enjoyed their company, and in the course of the evening, we found that they met Wayne & Nancy from Dances With Dragons back in Ft. Pierce last November.  They were in the marina at the same time we were, but we had not met them.  We filled them in on where DWD was now.  Another small world deal.

The entertainment tonight is Brown Tip doing rake and scrape.  Yes, same Brown Tip that cleaned the boat bottom the earlier in the day.  He cleans boat bottoms by day and does rake and scrape in the evening.  I don't recall if I explained rake and scrape before, but it is basically accompanying a song by scraping a knife along the blade of a carpenters saw.  The other entertainment is fire limbo.  They set up a regular limbo pole, and a number of tourists (read white, unbalanced, inflexible people) enjoyed having a go at it.  Then a local moved the pole down to about eighteen inches off the floor and proceeded to amaze us as he went under it.  Then they introduced the "fire" part.  They had a different pole that had a surface soaked with lighter fluid and set ablaze.  At about the same eighteen inch height, the guy did it again with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.  As his head passed under the fire, he lit the cigarette.  I was impressed.

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.

May 4

We didn't do much today.  We did another interview with Radio Margaritaville this afternoon.  We recently got an e-mail from a person we don't know back in Texas, wondering when our next one would be.  He had heard us on RM and found our website.  I really get a kick out of getting notes from strangers who are following us.

We took a walk to Buck A Book today also.  We donated a couple of DVD's and books, and picked up some new ones.  We had lunch a Sapadilly's across from the marina.  We had drinks here on our previous visit, but never ate here.

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.

May 5

Today was a fun day.  I walked down the street and rented a car for the day.  When we were here in December, we never did venture out of Marsh Harbor proper.  I came back to the marina and we called Dave & Sue from Pirate's Hideout to see if they wanted to join us.  The said they did, and could be ready in half an hour.  We quickly went down to Sawyer's Beverages and picked up two cases of Pepsi, and then hit the liquor store for rum and beer.  Might as well get these heavy items while we have the car.

We then picked up Dave & Sue and headed south.  Our plan is to go to Pete's Pub in Little Harbor for lunch, see the bronze gallery, and then go down to Cherokee the next town south of there.  We got to Pete's about 11:30 and were able to claim four of the nice chairs on the deck alongside the bar in the shade.  As we were driving in, we saw Synchronicity on one of the moorings.  We had met Gordon & Leslie down in Georgetown and enjoyed their company.  I didn't remember what their plans had been after they left Georgetown, so it was a surprise to see them.  We hailed them on the radio, but they didn't have their radio on.  However, they came ashore for lunch shortly after we got there.  Synchronicity is a Manta 42 as is Pirate's Hideout, so Gordon & Leslie enjoyed chatting with Dave & Sue about  boats.  We now have met eight Manta 42's on this trip.  We ended up staying there visiting until 15:00.  Before leaving Little Harbor, we went over the dune to the ocean side for a look see.  We collected some sea glass and marveled at a huge telephone pole (longer and fatter than your average telephone pole) that had washed ashore.  I sure wouldn't want to find a huge pole like that floating just below the surface while out in the ocean.

After Little Harbor, we continued south past the Abaco Club at Winding Bay (a large exclusive development) and to the community of Cherokee.  Cherokee is a small town with very nicely kept small houses.  The streets through the house were concrete and appeared to only recently have been paved.  They were very narrow, as if designed for golf carts, but there were no carts to be seen and lots of cars around.  We didn't get out, but just drove around the town and then headed back to Marsh Harbor.

We ended up all at Snappa's for the Friday happy hour with free food.  Being Cinco de Mayo, they also had free margaritas for a short time.  A couple from another Manta 42, Paragon, is supposed to join us.  We were enjoying the drinks and food and were entertained by Brown Tip doing his rake and scrape thing.  After awhile, Dave went to check on Paragon because they had not shown up.  They are over in the Conch Inn Marina next door.  He came back without them, but with a large hunk of tuna in a Ziploc bag.  Turned out a sport fish boat next to him in the marina had a great day fishing and they gave him several bags of fish.  He brought us one to thank us for taking them on the ride today. 

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.

May 6

Today was a run around town day.  We left the boat at lunchtime and went to Jamie's Place, another local restaurant that everybody recommended last time we were here, but we never got to.  We had a very nice lunch there.  We also discovered they are an ice cream shop.  Good thing I didn't know that back when we spent six weeks here or I wouldn't have lost that weight that I did.

After lunch we stopped at Abaco Gold to look for a new chain for my necklace.  The one I have had for four years now kinks easily when I sleep, and it has lost some links as a result.  Back in January, Abaco Gold fixed the old one for me, but it has already lost another link, so I want to replace it with a heavier one that won't kink.  We looked at several.  The selection was limited because I need a twenty-four incher to get around my fat neck.  We did find one though, and it was 25% off the marked price.

From here I walked into town to find an ATM, while Barb started a couple loads of laundry.  I couldn't find an ATM that dispensed US dollars, so I just got enough cash to last for the next week.  In Georgetown the ATM's dispensed Bahamian dollars or US dollars, but I checked three here and they all did just Bahamian.  The problem is you cannot exchange any left-over Bahamian dollars in the States, so we don't want to have any left when we leave next week.

For dinner we grilled half of the fresh tuna that Pirate's Hideout gave us last night.  Barb also took her first shot at making Bahamian style macaroni and cheese.  We spent the evening enjoying TV. 

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.

May 7

Sunday only means one thing in Abaco.  Nipper's pig roast is happening on Guana Cay.  Guana is about eight miles east of Marsh Harbor, and would be an easy sail, but being lazy, we hopped the ferry at 10:30 instead of moving the big boat.  This is what we did back in January too.  At Guana we walked up the hill to Nipper's, which is on the east side of the island overlooking the Atlantic.  We quickly found Dave & Sue from Pirate's Hideout, and Don & Kim from Paragon.  We found a good table to sit at and enjoyed a couple of drinks before lunch.  In the course of the conversation, Don mentioned "friends from Texas that they met in Ft. Pierce".  I asked if it was Wayne & Nancy from Dances With Dragons, and Don's jaw dropped.  Dave was also amazed, because he didn't realize that Paragon had met Dances With Dragons too.  This small world stuff is getting weird.

We enjoyed the pig roast lunch, which is a buffet consisting of the roast pork, rice & peas, mac & cheese, baked beans, potato salad, bread, beets, watermelon, and a cabbage salad.  You can get seconds, but I loaded up enough on my first plate to more than fill me.  We spent a couple more hours drinking, talking, and people watching.  We have repeatedly heard that you will see nipples at Nipper's on a hot Sunday, but I didn't see a single one.  There were quite a few scantily clad ladies, some that shouldn't have been, but at least until we left about 16:15, all clothing stayed on.

We took the 16:45 ferry back to Marsh Harbor.  While on the ferry awaiting departure, we were entertained by a young boy who would ride his bike down the dock, hit a small ramp at the end, and got into the water bike and all.  That bike probably won't live through the summer with all that salt water exposure.

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.

May 8

We planned to leave the marina today, but you know how those plans go.  Usually our plans are dictated by weather, but this time it was just my bad memory that will keep us here one more day.  It occurred to me late last night that in the week we have been here, mostly sitting on our butts, that I have not changed the engine oil and filters, a task that needs to be done before we go on.  Also, Barefootin', another boat we met in Georgetown is due to arrive in Marsh Harbor today and we would like to see them, so that's a good excuse to stay another day too.

I changed the engine oil and filter, changed the fuel filter, cleaned the raw water strainer, changed the engine zinc, checked the raw water impeller, and topped up the coolant.  I want everything to be in order for our return Gulf Stream crossing in a few days.

We are going to get together with Bobby and Francie from Barefootin' this evening.  I am going to publish this now though, because my good wireless connection (that I actually paid for) expires at 15:00 today.

GPS N 26-32.846 W 077-03.579  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4367.