Friday, January 29, 2016
Jerry's take on Georgetown
We were able to motorsail from Farmers Cay down to Georgetown where we were met by Tammi & Bruce Swart to guide us in through some extreme shallows to a wonderful protected (except from French Canadians) anchorage. On the way in, a Canadian was not sure there was not enough depth for him and he dropped anchor in the middle of a 20' channel. I had to shift to reverse & high power to not run over him. I think I scorched his sailed as I went between him and 2' water, there was less than 4' between boats. Then in typical french, he followed us in and started to anchor between Dos Libros and Encore, which caused me to not only scorch his sails but I singed his eyebrows this time and he anchored ¼ mile away with 10 boats between us. At a beach bonfire at sundown he apologized and said he was not aware we were that close to him or the channel was that narrow, he was just afraid to go further.
Here in Georgetown there are only 175 cruiser boats this year, probably due to bad weather in the states so more will come. The average is 250 and it is called chicken harbor cause about half of the boats have been here over a year. They stopped here on their way south and chickened out. On the other hand it is not a bad place to hang out. They have airlines, banks, drug stores, laundries, grocery stores, hardware, lumber, all marine system repairs and unusually polite and friendly people that cater to cruisers. The main grocery has a dinghy dock with free water that will accommodate 30 or so dinghys. If you can't find what you need you can have it shipped in but make sure of all the cost, like 45% import tax.
Jerry's posts to Staniel Cay
On 1-19-16 we motorsailed on down to Wardrick Wells and anchored in 7' of water
next to the south mooring field. The next morning we dinghied in to our private little sand beach and hiked the macheted trails to the ranger office and to Boo Boo Hill. I felt an affinity for all the signed driftwood on the hill due to my unique sailing abilities. Back on the boat I turned on the watermaker noticing a slight drip from underneath it that turned into 2 or 3 drips so I shut it down and changed the order of things to do today. I had also discovered a design flaw in the Beta engine that allowed the raw water intake to vibrate against the motor mount creating a pencil lead size hole. It immediately went to the top of the list. JB Weld, 2" of 1" hose and two hours and it was marked off the list. We saw a conch moving across the floor of the bay but did not get a pic.
On 1-12-16 decided to head out to the atlantic side and fish our way down to Staniel Cay. About half way out the channel the storm clouds that we were racing to beat, spit out a water spout about ½ mile in front of us. So, not really wanting to see what the inside of a waterspout looked like we did a quick 180' in the narrow channel, tucked tail between legs and tried to see just how fast the new engine could move us. We cleared the channel, put up the fishing gear and settled into a mundane motorsail to Staniel Cay where we could buy a can of sardines to supply the fish for supper. At Staniel we planned to snorkel the Thunderball Grotto but the wind and current were to bad and the forecast worse so we will do it coming back.
1-13-16 we pointed the bow towards Black Point where the best laundry is located. The next day we dinghied in with laundry, to the laundry/convenience store/restaurant/wi-fi and the owner Miss Ida gave me a haircut. I remarked to her that with her entrepreneurial attitude she could be a millionaire if she were in Miami. No reply, just cold silence! The next day when Sally & I were walking we stopped to chat with a girl that had been in the shop. We asked directions to the blow hole and she pointed to a mansion on a hill overlooking both the ocean and Bahama Banks, and said "turn down the path next to Miss Ida's house & cottages". I then learned Miss Ida was a multi millionairess in the Bahamas so I did not go back to the store. It rained for the next two days so I worked on the watermaker. The manual said a slight leak was normal but did not define slight so I kept at it. One of the bars was having a Friday night cruisers party that we were going to attend but Sally started worrying about an approaching front so we headed down to Farmers Key and grabbed a mooring ball at sundown
next to the south mooring field. The next morning we dinghied in to our private little sand beach and hiked the macheted trails to the ranger office and to Boo Boo Hill. I felt an affinity for all the signed driftwood on the hill due to my unique sailing abilities. Back on the boat I turned on the watermaker noticing a slight drip from underneath it that turned into 2 or 3 drips so I shut it down and changed the order of things to do today. I had also discovered a design flaw in the Beta engine that allowed the raw water intake to vibrate against the motor mount creating a pencil lead size hole. It immediately went to the top of the list. JB Weld, 2" of 1" hose and two hours and it was marked off the list. We saw a conch moving across the floor of the bay but did not get a pic.
On 1-12-16 decided to head out to the atlantic side and fish our way down to Staniel Cay. About half way out the channel the storm clouds that we were racing to beat, spit out a water spout about ½ mile in front of us. So, not really wanting to see what the inside of a waterspout looked like we did a quick 180' in the narrow channel, tucked tail between legs and tried to see just how fast the new engine could move us. We cleared the channel, put up the fishing gear and settled into a mundane motorsail to Staniel Cay where we could buy a can of sardines to supply the fish for supper. At Staniel we planned to snorkel the Thunderball Grotto but the wind and current were to bad and the forecast worse so we will do it coming back.
1-13-16 we pointed the bow towards Black Point where the best laundry is located. The next day we dinghied in with laundry, to the laundry/convenience store/restaurant/wi-fi and the owner Miss Ida gave me a haircut. I remarked to her that with her entrepreneurial attitude she could be a millionaire if she were in Miami. No reply, just cold silence! The next day when Sally & I were walking we stopped to chat with a girl that had been in the shop. We asked directions to the blow hole and she pointed to a mansion on a hill overlooking both the ocean and Bahama Banks, and said "turn down the path next to Miss Ida's house & cottages". I then learned Miss Ida was a multi millionairess in the Bahamas so I did not go back to the store. It rained for the next two days so I worked on the watermaker. The manual said a slight leak was normal but did not define slight so I kept at it. One of the bars was having a Friday night cruisers party that we were going to attend but Sally started worrying about an approaching front so we headed down to Farmers Key and grabbed a mooring ball at sundown
Jerry's Morgan's Bluff to Wardrick Wells
On 1-19-16 we motorsailed on down to Wardrick Wells and anchored in 7' of water
next to the south mooring field. The next morning we dinghied in to our private little sand beach and hiked the macheted trails to the ranger office and to Boo Boo Hill. I felt an affinity for all the signed driftwood on the hill due to my unique sailing abilities. Back on the boat I turned on the watermaker noticing a slight drip from underneath it that turned into 2 or 3 drips so I shut it down and changed the order of things to do today. I had also discovered a design flaw in the Beta engine that allowed the raw water intake to vibrate against the motor mount creating a pencil lead size hole. It immediately went to the top of the list. JB Weld, 2" of 1" hose and two hours and it was marked off the list. We saw a conch moving across the floor of the bay but did not get a pic.
next to the south mooring field. The next morning we dinghied in to our private little sand beach and hiked the macheted trails to the ranger office and to Boo Boo Hill. I felt an affinity for all the signed driftwood on the hill due to my unique sailing abilities. Back on the boat I turned on the watermaker noticing a slight drip from underneath it that turned into 2 or 3 drips so I shut it down and changed the order of things to do today. I had also discovered a design flaw in the Beta engine that allowed the raw water intake to vibrate against the motor mount creating a pencil lead size hole. It immediately went to the top of the list. JB Weld, 2" of 1" hose and two hours and it was marked off the list. We saw a conch moving across the floor of the bay but did not get a pic.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Chicken Harbor- no not US!
Chicken Harbor do we go or turn around?
We left home on November 3 to,begin an adventure we have tried 3 times to experience. And this time we made it all the way to Georgetown.
Leaving Fairhope we followed our familiar route except this time we actually made it to Carrabelle. We had heard our friends talking about crossing from Dog Island and I convinced Jerry to try it and I was not disappointed. While not a particularly interested place to photograph, it was beautiful. The island sits off the town of Carrabelle. Boats line up to make the crossing. We left late that morning. A wire had come loose in the ignition! We tried to crank up up to leave early to leave at daybreak. Well that was not to happen. Long story short after my wonderful captain and repair man had done hours of trouble shooting, it turned out to be a simple wire in the pedestal. Probably was me who bumped something and it came loose.
Off we went and experienced the best crossing we have ever had. The Gulf was like a lake and we motored for 24 hours into St Petersburg marina and mooring field. So began our journey to here.
Yesterday we did the harbor shuffle to move the boat to the other side of Georgetown. Winds and waves and weather have kept us busy for almost 2 weeks.
So decision made to move on to Long Island. This was the island who took the hit of the hurricane that came thru the Bahamas in late summer.
As we listen carefully to Chris Parker we listen for forecast to sail south and east. From that position we will make our way to Dominican Republic.
After that we cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico.
pics of sunset full moon rise over Redshanks.
pic of Jerry with our first container of RO water from our boat. What a happy man!
Friday, January 15, 2016
Exumas in the New Year
Exumas in the New Year
January 15, 2016
The Exumas here we come
January 15, 206
This is a summary of our stops
Nassaua
Normans Cay
Bahamas Land and Sea Park
Staniel Cay
BlackPoint
We have cay hopped all the way to BlackPoint. We sit this morning on the porch of the laundromat using Wifi! The wifi is 3G and they think that is fast. It takes an hour to download a couple of pictures.
BlackPoint has a paved road from one end to the other. There are golf cart and cars and trucks. The prettiest scenery is walking to to the top of the hill and viewing the Atlantic Ocean.
We bought fresher backed coconut bread on Wednesday from the lady next to the laundromat.
The picture is for Mary Gregg. The middle has coconut and maybe brown surgar in it. We could have eaten the whole load at one sitting!
We bought a SIM card in Nassau and jerry slipped it in his phone to use as hotspot. Little did we know that all of his apps were set to download and a lot working in the background. It sucked down 75% of a 30 $ card. So he promptly went back to his Tmobile card.
We are finding that we can text and email with TMobile but only able to download one pic at a time. The Bahamas made agreement with Batelco to use their towers. It has helped with cost of data!
Next stop may be GeorgeTown where all the cruisers stop to anchor. Just google it. You can get most anything at Georgetown. The mail comes daily by air. Most islands only receive mail one time a week by cargo ship with the goods they ordered.
That's why we call the USA the land of "plenty"
Georgetown is the jumping off place for the Carribean or it may be the turn around place for many of the 450+ boats who are anchored there.
Van Sant, author of Gentlemen's Guide to Passages South has named the city of Georgetown "chicken harbor" due to so many boats who stop there and turn around.
The snapshot of Garmin chart shows from Biscayne bay to Just north of Georgetown our trip since leaving east coast of Florida.
More to come.
Picture of Encore on anchor in BlackPoint harbor today!
January 15, 2016
The Exumas here we come
January 15, 206
This is a summary of our stops
Nassaua
Normans Cay
Bahamas Land and Sea Park
Staniel Cay
BlackPoint
We have cay hopped all the way to BlackPoint. We sit this morning on the porch of the laundromat using Wifi! The wifi is 3G and they think that is fast. It takes an hour to download a couple of pictures.
BlackPoint has a paved road from one end to the other. There are golf cart and cars and trucks. The prettiest scenery is walking to to the top of the hill and viewing the Atlantic Ocean.
We bought fresher backed coconut bread on Wednesday from the lady next to the laundromat.
The picture is for Mary Gregg. The middle has coconut and maybe brown surgar in it. We could have eaten the whole load at one sitting!
We bought a SIM card in Nassau and jerry slipped it in his phone to use as hotspot. Little did we know that all of his apps were set to download and a lot working in the background. It sucked down 75% of a 30 $ card. So he promptly went back to his Tmobile card.
We are finding that we can text and email with TMobile but only able to download one pic at a time. The Bahamas made agreement with Batelco to use their towers. It has helped with cost of data!
Next stop may be GeorgeTown where all the cruisers stop to anchor. Just google it. You can get most anything at Georgetown. The mail comes daily by air. Most islands only receive mail one time a week by cargo ship with the goods they ordered.
That's why we call the USA the land of "plenty"
Georgetown is the jumping off place for the Carribean or it may be the turn around place for many of the 450+ boats who are anchored there.
Van Sant, author of Gentlemen's Guide to Passages South has named the city of Georgetown "chicken harbor" due to so many boats who stop there and turn around.
The snapshot of Garmin chart shows from Biscayne bay to Just north of Georgetown our trip since leaving east coast of Florida.
More to come.
Picture of Encore on anchor in BlackPoint harbor today!
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Our first Gulfstream crossing
December 31, 2015
til January 6, 2016
who would have thought we would have been staging for our crossing today.
we crossed Biscayne Bay and anchored. i promptly began preparing tuna salad, chicken salad and potato salad. while the distance to first bahama island is 54 miles who wants to be down below cooking!
we left the bay at 3:40 am and headed out. soon we found it would be a motor not a sail. We arrived at Cat Cay at 2 pm. we decided to sail on thru to the bahama banks where we spent days motoring in 10 to 15 ft water. you could see the bottom. None os this brown bay water anymore!
we arrived at Andros island check in at 11:20. I said to Jerry maybe they are still at church!
he rode the dinghy ashore to the prescribed place which was closed.
pic
he called me and asked me to call customs. when she answered I told her we were there to clear customs. she said no problem! Well Jerry sat there waiting and at 1:30 he said call again. this time the customs agent said “you will have to bring your boat to the dock” i replied “there is no dock”. I summoned Jerry to return and we hastily decided to leave. we were hoping they did not see Encore on our stern.
We crossed the tongue of the ocean. Yes it really looks like a tongue as you see in pic.
Arriving in Chubb Cay we took a slip with multimillion $$ fishing boats. next day the manager took Jerry to the airport to clear customs. All went smooth and we headed out for Nassau since strong cold front was about to arrive.
pic
Chris Parker the weatherman every cruiser trusts said “you must be in port by evening. We arrived safely in Nassau harbor and have been here since. We are anchored off Paradise Island in front of mansion that may be log to Oprah!
Today is Wednesday January 6.
My sister asked me today how have I managed on the boat that long and I responded not much choice.!
Cat Cay entrance! we made it
We hope to have a SIM card to insert in computer to get 4G LTE. We have 3G but it will hardly open a web page. So my blog and Jerrys emails should be more regular!
People ask…are you having fun? I say Its an Adventure of a Lifetime.
Seeing Jerry raise that Bahamas flag after all the work he did is a mountaintop experience for me.
til January 6, 2016
who would have thought we would have been staging for our crossing today.
we crossed Biscayne Bay and anchored. i promptly began preparing tuna salad, chicken salad and potato salad. while the distance to first bahama island is 54 miles who wants to be down below cooking!
we left the bay at 3:40 am and headed out. soon we found it would be a motor not a sail. We arrived at Cat Cay at 2 pm. we decided to sail on thru to the bahama banks where we spent days motoring in 10 to 15 ft water. you could see the bottom. None os this brown bay water anymore!
we arrived at Andros island check in at 11:20. I said to Jerry maybe they are still at church!
he rode the dinghy ashore to the prescribed place which was closed.
pic
he called me and asked me to call customs. when she answered I told her we were there to clear customs. she said no problem! Well Jerry sat there waiting and at 1:30 he said call again. this time the customs agent said “you will have to bring your boat to the dock” i replied “there is no dock”. I summoned Jerry to return and we hastily decided to leave. we were hoping they did not see Encore on our stern.
We crossed the tongue of the ocean. Yes it really looks like a tongue as you see in pic.
Arriving in Chubb Cay we took a slip with multimillion $$ fishing boats. next day the manager took Jerry to the airport to clear customs. All went smooth and we headed out for Nassau since strong cold front was about to arrive.
pic
Chris Parker the weatherman every cruiser trusts said “you must be in port by evening. We arrived safely in Nassau harbor and have been here since. We are anchored off Paradise Island in front of mansion that may be log to Oprah!
Today is Wednesday January 6.
My sister asked me today how have I managed on the boat that long and I responded not much choice.!
Cat Cay entrance! we made it
We hope to have a SIM card to insert in computer to get 4G LTE. We have 3G but it will hardly open a web page. So my blog and Jerrys emails should be more regular!
People ask…are you having fun? I say Its an Adventure of a Lifetime.
Seeing Jerry raise that Bahamas flag after all the work he did is a mountaintop experience for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)