Wednesday March 2nd 2011

Hello from the Bahamas!!! We spent the last few days in Miami saying good bye to our old friends, and making crossing plans with new friends. We also attended the Coconut Grove Art Walk. They close off a large portion of downtown along the waterfront, fence it in, load it with booths full of all kinds of art, and charge a hefty fee to get in. It also made it very difficult to leave the marina. Most all of the art was too expensive for the average person to buy, but there sure were a lot of people in attendance, each of the four days.

Our crossing group decided that the weather, wind, and waves, looked favorable for Tuesday, February 23rd, so we got busy doing last minute chores: provisioning, getting fuel and water, copying forms for customs officials, and having our mail forwarded. We called back to Olympia, to have them send us our mail, and the gal informed us that we had a large package. We were not expecting a package of that size, so we asked her to open it. Turns out it was a portrait of me, painted by the mother of my old high school boyfriend. She was moving into an assisted living facility, and Mark found it while he was clearing out her home. He thought I might like to have it. Boy! Was I ever curious to see it. We had Matt go pick it up, and then take a picture of it to text to me. What a surprise to see an oil painting of me from 40 years ago!! I never knew it existed. It was very nicely done. I wrote Mark a long letter, thanking him for the portrait, and telling him about my life, since breaking up with him, so I could date Dave. I’m hoping I will get an email back from him, telling me about his life. When the rest of the mail caught up with us, it was not nearly as interesting!!

We also discovered that we needed immigration cards from the US, to get back into the country after we leave the Bahamas. You fill out a form on line, and then set up an appointment for an interview, at the nearest port office, which in this case, is the Port of Miami. We needed to rent a car for the day, and because the Miami Boat Show was in full swing, the cost was double. Ouch!! We got to the port office and gave them our form ID number, and he asked where the second one was. OOPS! Seems that you need a form for each person, not one for the boat. It would take us far too long to go back to the boat and get computer access, so we went outside, and Dave tried for 45 minutes to complete the form on his Blackberry. It kept kicking him out of the site, so we did the next best thing. We asked our GPS to find the nearest Marriott, and she did, .3 miles away. We pulled into the portico, parked, and walked in as though we were already registered guests, then walked to the business area and logged onto one of their computers. In about 3 minutes we were done and on our way back to the port office. We handed the official our second number, and about 2 minutes later, we had our immigration cards in hand. So much for the interview!

The night before departure, we tried to go to bed early, but I really wanted to watch, “The Bachelor”. Darn TV show anyway! I finally caved in about 9:30, and decided I could live without seeing the rest.

At 2:00 am the alarm went off and we scurried about preparing the boat for departure. At 3:00 am we were all ready, except one boat that needed a little more time. They thought we were leaving at 3:30, not 3:00, but at 3:20 am we all cast off our lines from the mooring balls, and threaded our way through the marina, and out through the channel into Key Biscayne Bay. Lucky for us, it was a full moon, so we had a little extra light. Since we came into Key Biscayne the same way we were leaving, we used our GPS to lead the way. All was good until we heard a Coast Guard warning on the radio, that there was a hazard to navigation at marker #1. That was right where we were!! We kept a close watch out, but never saw anything odd, however we did encounter several sailboats that had anchored “in the channel”, that we had to weave around!! The Coast Guard could have also been referring to two of the channel markers farther out that were supposed to be lit, but weren’t! Thank God for GPS. We were able to go to where the markers were marked on the GPS, and avoid hitting the unlit ones.

After passing Cape Florida, we entered the Atlantic, and were soon in the Gulfstream. We had a beautiful crossing. The seas were calm, the sun was bright, and we were able to motor sail most of the way. There were four boats altogether; Journey, Christopher Robin, Anna Livia, and us. We were in the lead most of the way, and got to the channel at Bimini, a little ahead of the others. Rather than wait for Journey to lead us in, since she had been there before, we decided to follow another sailboat just entering the channel. Unfortunately, he was a little too far ahead of us, so I followed the GPS channel. Bad idea! The shifting sands had changed the channel and very quickly we were into shallow water. We tried to avert it, but ended up getting into even shallower water. We were stuck on a sand bar, a beautiful white sand bar, and the tide was still going out. There was nothing we could do but wait for high tide, which wouldn’t be until 11:30 pm. It was now about 2:00pm. We would have a long wait!!

Shortly after, the rest of our group arrived and we told them via radio, about the change in the channel, which was not well marked. We watched as they passed safely by, and asked that they send someone out to help us. As the afternoon passed, we had the opportunity to help several more boats who did not want to end up where we were. Two of them missed the channel completely and were headed for the sand bar on the other side of the reef. We watched it about to happen, and tried to get their attention on the radio, telling them to “turn left now!!” They finally heard us, but not before they bumped. Luckily they were able to back off and turn left.

About 4:00 pm, a speed boat came out from the harbor to assist. His name was Orlando. By this time, Dave had already set an anchor out 200 feet at a ninety degree angle to the boat, so that we would be able to “kedge” directly toward the beach, and the deeper water, as the tide came in. It would also keep us from going farther onto the sand bar and away from the reef. Orlando confirmed that it was the right thing to do, and that there was nothing he could do at this time. He told us he would come back about 10:00 – 10:30 pm, and check on us.

As the afternoon wore on, several more boats passed by, and some stopped to see if they could help, but there was nothing they could do. One man said he would come back out at high tide, around 11:30, and escort us through the channel and into the harbor. Yeah! As the sun started to set, another boat took a wrong turn and was grounded also, but after the tide started to come back in, he was floating again in no time. We slowly lost almost all water beneath us, and the boat gently laid down on her side. We were thankful that there was only sand, and no rocks. It is extremely difficult to walk on a boat at a 40 degree angle, and even more difficult to try to get down inside the boat. I tried going down the companionway ladder, lost my footing, and ended up doing a monkey swing, and smacking my head into the mug holder on the wall.

Dave did an awesome job! He worked so hard getting the heavy anchor and line into the dinghy, in rough current, and getting it set just right. Then as we slowly started getting more water under us, he would use the windlass to take up any slack in the line, and slowly start turning us, and dragging us, toward the deeper water. He now has bruises all over his shins and scrapes on his knees for his efforts. I was so proud of him!

Once the water finally started getting deeper, it seemed to go more quickly than when it went out. We were finally upright again, and when we finally had a little water under the keel, the surf would pick the boat up and then slam it back down on the sand. The boat would make a big thud and then all the rigging would rattle and shake. This went on for quite awhile, but it did allow Dave to get the boat turned in the right direction, and we would inch closer and closer to the deeper water.

Our greatest fear was how we would make it through the channel in the dark, without running aground again. When 10:30 passed and there was no sign of Orlando, we became very concerned. We were close to being totally afloat. Dave kept kedging, and all of a sudden he yelled, “We’re afloat!! We have to go NOW!!”. Luckily, we already had the motor running, so I put it in gear and headed toward the beach. Unfortunately, the moon was blocked by clouds, so it was very dark. Dave turned on our spotlight and lit up the beach, and we used it to guide us into the harbor. I said a few thousand prayers! Our friend on Journey had arranged for us to be able to tie up to the gas dock when we got in, so he and some dockhands were waiting for us. Talk about scarey, I’ve never attempted docking in the dark. We had to try twice, but finally we were in and tied up at 11:50 pm. We thanked all of the helpers with a beer (the usual form of payment in the Bahamas), and had a beer ourselves. Then off to the showers before going to bed. We slept well that night!!

The next morning we had several couples stop by the boat and thank us for helping them through the channel, and check to see how we were doing. We were the talk of the town! When Dave checked in at customs, they asked how we were, he said we were much better now that we weren’t on the sand bar anymore. They said, “Oh, you’re the ones!”, and gave us a permit for 150 days. The day before, everyone in our group that checked in only got 90 days.

We spent the rest of the day checking out Alice Town. It has one main street, that is just wide enough for two vehicles to pass, but if you are a pedestrian, you better get out of the way! They drive on the opposite side of the road and most of the vehicles are golf carts!! Most of the people on the island are very poor, and their homes are in bad shape, but they are happy. All of the shops are tiny one room buildings. But, they do have an ice cream truck, just like the old days, and with quite a variety for sale. You can hear the music it plays, all over the island.

Wednesday evening, our group bought fresh lobster and conch, from the fishermen on the dock. So, Thursday morning we got a lesson in how to clean and prepare lobster, from Gerard and Louise on Christopher Robin. She then made a marinade to soak it in and we returned it to our refrigerator. The marinade was made from olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, worstershire sauce, tobacco sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and garlic.

We then walked across the island and went swimming in the ocean. It felt soooo good! A little cool, so it felt very refreshing. Most of the ladies went beachcombing, but I stayed in the water and picked up shells with my toes. At long last, Dave dragged me out of the water and we walked back to the boat to prepare for our evening feast. At 4:00 pm, one of the ladies instructed all of the women in how to prepare a conch salad. Which means that you cut the conch in tiny pieces and then add tomato, celery, peppers, lime and lemon juice. The conch is not cooked, you eat it raw! I think it is an acquired taste, but they eat it everywhere in the Bahamas.

The real hit of the night was the lobster. We cooked it on a charcoal grill, and it was fabulous!! We rounded the meal out with the conch salad, a pasta salad, rice, beans, pumpkin bread, and brownies. Yummy!

On Friday we went with another group of cruisers to breakfast, and had the best omelet I have ever had! I’m not sure why it was so good, but it just had a little sweetness to it. One of the women said it was probably made with fresh from the chicken eggs. Maybe so! I don’t think I’ve ever had eggs that fresh.

After breakfast, we joined the group on a trip to the Shark Lab on Bimini’s south island. We had to take a ferry across the bay, then a bus to the lab. It is a privately owned research facility. The woman in charge is a working on her PHD from the University of Miami. It is a three year project, and she has about a half year to complete. She has several volunteers that work with her. She is studying the effects of a change in environment for the Lemon Sharks in Bimini Bay. A new resort is being built, that has destroyed a large portion of their breeding grounds, so she is studying their effect on this species. It was fascinating! She took us out to their holding pens in the lagoon, and showed us how they handle the sharks. When they are flipped over onto their backs, they go into a trance like state and will not resist. The researchers can then make an incision and insert a tracking device, before sewing them back up. They need no anesthesia, and the sharks feel nothing. When they are flipped back over, they swim away easily. These yearlings were about 2 feet long, and really cute. They are more scared of us, than we are of them, and will not bite unless they are provoked.

A year or so ago, the TV show “Mythbusters” went to the shark lab to find out the truth to the rumor that a drop of blood will attract sharks. They started with a drop of human blood, and got no reaction from the sharks. When they used a drop of fish blood, the sharks and many other fish, were instantly attracted.

When we arrived back in Alice Town, we tried to go swimming again at the beach, but it was too wild. We opted instead to rent a golf cart and see the rest of the island. We drove all the way up to the Bimini Bay Resort. It is a gated community built around a marina that housed mega yachts. This is where all the rich people live. They have their very own white sand beach to swim at that looks like they rake every day. No garbage anywhere. The homes, of course, are gorgeous.

That evening we discussed our plans to leave the next morning, and about 8:15 am, we cast off our lines and headed out of the harbor. A short time later, we passed through a narrow channel between some rocks and onto the Bahama Bank. This is a shelf on the ocean that is about 57 miles from west to east and about 187 miles from north to south. It is also only 10-20 feet deep, and has the clearest turquoise water imaginable. We sailed about 45 miles across, and then anchored for the night in the middle of nowhere. No sight of land anywhere! After nightfall, the water was a little rougher than we would have liked, making it difficult to sleep.

At the crack of dawn, we were on our way again, but the water and wind was making it pretty rough the entire day. We were just like a big old rocking horse, going up and down the waves. Thankfully, neither one of us got seasick. The rough seas slowed us down more than we would have liked, so we into Frazier’s Hog Cay, just before sundown. We were just very glad to be there!! There is not much here: a dock, a mooring field, a restaurant and bar, and showers(of a sort). Mostly, it is a rocky island with scrubby vegetation, that is a way station for cruisers.

I spent the next morning writing this blog entry, while Dave tinkered with the boat. It took far longer than I had anticipated. Later in the day, we met up with all the other cruisers on the porch of the Berry Island Club, the only establishment for several miles. Everyone looked at the weather forecasts and made decisions on where they were going next. We will have a one day window of opportunity, before the next front comes through, so we decided to go to Nassau, with a group of 7 other boats. We made plans to leave at 7:00 am the next morning.

Bright and early the next morning, we left the mooring field and headed for Nassau. It was a little more choppy than the forecast had called for. We were back to being a rocking horse. We had our staysail up to begin with, and after several hours, we were able to raise the mainsail. The last few hours were on calmer seas and it was quite enjoyable.

Around 2:00 pm, we were granted permission to enter Nassau Harbour. We passed by the cruise ship docks and past some incredibly big yachts, before finding the marina that we would be staying at. Fortunately, I was able to get the boat into the dock without any trouble. As we were tying the boat up, I announced to those on the dock to greet us, that it was Dave’s birthday. Of course, everyone broke into song! I’m determined he’ll have a great birthday!!

After checking in, I headed for the swimming pool. AAAAHHHHH! So refreshing!! After lounging around the pool for awhile, I took a shower, and then we made plans with the others to go have a birthday dinner at “the Poop Deck”. After a short walk, we all had a drink at the bar while waiting for our table. There were twelve of us! When we were all seated, Dave wanted a picture of the group, and a gentleman from the next table offered to take it. Yeah! Soon afterward, the waiter delivered a “Happy Birthday” shot to Dave, courtesy of the guy who took the picture. We then enjoyed a great meal and learned more about our new friends. I can’t believe how many people from Ohio we have met! We also found out that our new friends, Gene and Gail on Nightingale, are friends with Howell and Jo on Why Knot, the couple we spent so much time with in Fort Pierce!! Both couples are from Port Aransas, Texas. We then went back to the marina for a good nights sleep.

During the night the winds picked up and the rains came pouring down, which helped clean the salt off the boat. This morning we went to Starbucks, yes, Starbucks, so we could try to get online. Later, we took the bus in to town to go to the straw market. There were 10 of us, and right after we got on the bus, another bus pulled diagonally in front of the bus, blocking both lanes. He was angry that all 10 of us had gotten on his bus. He refused to move. Cars began honking, but he still would not move. Finally, our bus driver drove up on the shoulder to try to move forward, but he cut him off again. After a few more minutes, the other driver finally gave up and moved on. Our bus driver then gunned it, and sped past the other bus. It seems to be a very competitive business!

Traffic moves very slowly in Nassau, so it took us awhile to get into downtown. Once there, we got out and began walking the main street towards the straw market. We passed many “tourist traps” along the way, including duty free liquor stores with cheap prices on Rum. The straw market itself is one giant tent with about 10 aisles. Each aisle is crammed from top to bottom with tourist stuff, and every ten feet is a new salesman trying to get you to buy the same stuff from them. Crazy!! Dave bought a new wallet and a t-shirt. I bought a Bahamas beach bag with a parrot embroidered on it. We also bought 5 ripped off copies of current movie hits, and prayed they would work on our DVD player.

Next stop was for something to eat. We found a small café that was fairly crowded, so we figured it was probably good. Dave had grouper fingers and I had chicken fingers. Both were very good! After that we stopped in a linen store that had a lot of nautical décor. I found an oval mirror surrounded by metal shells that I thought would look good in the aft head(bathroom). Our last stop was at the liquor store where we picked up some coconut rum and some 151 rum. We then caught a bus back to the marina.

Tonight, we went to the casino at Atlantis, the big, very expensive resort on Paradise Island. As long as you are willing to gamble, they will let you in. Otherwise, the resort is off limits to the public, unless you are paying a fortune to stay there. Or, you can pay $40.00 each to tour their aquarium only. So, we hit the casino instead and found to our surprise that they do not charge for the aquarium at night, so we ended up seeing it for free!! It is all based on the lost city of Atlantis, so the super large tanks all have pieces of the ruins in them. They have all sorts of fish to see, as well as humongous manta rays, and even some jellyfish tanks. We then spent several hours in the casino trying to recoup money we have spent on our boats. Everyone was impressed with the Dale Chihuly glass that is on display throughout the resort. Amazing!

Hope all is well at home. We heard there was more snow in western Washington! Our weather of course is fabulous, however, the winds and waves play havoc with trying to plan sailing days. We know we will be here in Nassau for the next 4 days, as nasty high winds are predicted from the North. I will try to blog again from one of the outer Exuma islands, but it will depend on where we get our next internet connection. Until then, stay safe and healthy!

Love & Hugs,

The Admiral