Catching up

Windy weather forecast, we left Black Point and headed north to the safety of a small, secure anchorage area, Pipe Creek.  Beautiful.

The nearby island is private, owned by a sheik of some sort.  Talk about a compound!  Besides the mansion, there are several smaller buildings, yachts, 3 huge wind turbines, and beautiful landscaping.

With the winds mostly blocked, it was an ideal afternoon to run off to the leeward side of the island (the protected side from the wind) and have lunch at the Pipe Creek Yacht Club.

Built by cruisers from marine junk, it’s just a spot on the beach.  We did take our picnic lunches there and then posed for the obligatory picture.  Actually, Luke was supposed to be in this picture…he set the camera on a rock (that’s why we’re all looking down) and then thought it set the timer for  10 seconds.  Guess that part didn’t work…

Lead by “I know the way Mr. Win”, we tromped across the island towards the windward side (yes, you guessed it --- the windy side).   No one quite guessed how deep the mud was across a small “dry” creek.  This is NOT the deepest part of the mud by any means!  We were well above our ankles. The unsettling thoughts were "what am I really stepping on?" and "what do I do if it moves!!!!"

But we made it!  The rough Exuma Sound.

Beach treasures!

Luke found a small “hamburger” sea bean.  The sea beans are seeds from trees in Africa.  They cross the Atlantic, landing on the eastward facing shores.  The sea beans are rare enough – this large one is a “heart”.  But the small “hamburgers” are even more rare.  The center is supposed to be a hamburger in a bun.

Marion spotted this Passion Flower on our walk back.

Back at the boat, Smokey is just much more content to sit on the stern of the boat and contemplate the moving water.  She does love to watch it flow, especially if there are fish or moving bits of grasses in the water.  Didn’t think I’d get through a blog post without at least one picture of her, did you??!!

On Sunday we took the dinghies over to Sampson Cay Resort.  They bill themselves as a luxury resort, and it is very nice.  Well maintained, beautiful trails (we forgot the camera…). The dockage is expensive and generally used by the very large motor yachts. They also have GROCERIES.  This year has been strange, changing all of my well thought out schedule for grocery stores.  So, we took advantage of the small grocery section.  Actually, it satisfied all of my immediate requirements and most prices were typically Bahamian,  i.e. twice the US. But I was stunned at 3 of my purchases --- a 2 pound jar of spaghetti sauce   $18 (the liter of mango rum that I bought was the same price!).  A quart of half and half -- $10.  And those little $1 boxes of spaghetti noodles? $4  But I bought them anyway, plus a case of beer $65 (that’s standard).  Gas?  $6.20/gal

On Monday night we invited 4 other boats over for dinner…10 folks total.  It was fun.  Made a big pot of spaghetti, everyone brought something else, and we had a grand time.

On Tuesday we made a 30 minute dinghy ride to the “champagne pool”.  This water is in a protected area, shallow bank on one side and the ocean on the other side of a rocky wall.  The water sprays over the wall at high tide, creating a bubbling effect in the pool on the shallow side.

Of course, we had to trudge through more shallow mangrove waters to get there. At least these were sand and clear water, not mud.

I thought about getting in, but stopped short of the 15 foot deep pool.  So, I'm a wuss.  I love water but don't necessarily need to get into it...

Luke braved the somewhat “refreshing” water and enjoyed it.  That little blue snorkel in the mid/lower right is Luke's.

The water on the Exuma sound side was rough.

After our swim, we took the dinghies over to Compass Cay for burgers and fish sandwiches.

The owner of the island, Tucker, has his pet nurse sharks that wander the waters at the dock.  They are joined by a school of bonefish.

If you “go swimming with the sharks” you earn your tee shirt, proclaiming your bravery.  I tried…I really did.  But the damned sharks just stayed under the dock, in the shade (see that dark blob?).  The water was over my head, so I didn’t really want to waste getting all wet and not even swim with the sharks.

We hiked across the narrow island, past the chicken and rooster coop.

The Exuma Sound side was pretty; nice beach.

Marion and Greg's dinghy went AWOL last night, but fortunately (and very luck!) Luke and Greg located her this morning, about 2 miles from our anchorage, no worse for wear.
The incessant winds have finally begun to die down so we moved from our little secure anchorage in Pipe's Creek back to Staniel Cay, where we can buy internet!  En route we stopped by Sampson Cay again,  this time to fill the diesel, top off our dinghy gas, fill with water, and buy ice.  All the necessities of cruising.  The plan is to run across the Exuma Sound to Cat Island tomorrow based on the currently promised forecast of low winds in the right direction.  We shall see what tomorrow morning's forecast is!

Black Point

Delighted with our newly rejuvenated engine and after almost 2 weeks at Staniel, Latitudes was ready to move!  Fortunately for us, friends Marion and Greg and Wim and Dorothy were ready to head to Black Point, home of the Exumas best laundry.  A short 1 1/2 hour SAIL from Staniel and we were already anchored in Black Point, a mere 9 miles away.  Laundry loaded (and garbage), off to the Laundromat we headed.  I won the most loads contest - 5 full loads of laundry.  Boy, is it great to have clean linens, clean towels, and clean clothes.

The laundry here at Black Point is a multitude of things.  First and most important, a good wash/dry for $7 per total load. And how many laundromats have THIS view!

 But Ida, owner of the laundry mat, is quite the entrepreneur.  She does haircuts.  Wim   decided it was time for one.

Ida also will braid your hair and offers 8 minute showers for only $4, fresh home baked cake for  $1/slice, a few marine supplies, gifts (mostly handmade jewelry and baskets), fried conch fritters at lunch time, free internet, book exchange, some household goods, and home made "pies".  These pies are half moon shaped, filled with either meat or chicken, and a lot of curry.  I'm not fond of them, but they are very popular and inexpensive.

With the flush of clean laundry, the group decided to have dinner at Lorraine's.  Lorraine takes orders in advance and serves up dinner later.  Our dinner slot was 5:30, dinner was served at 7:30.  Very typical and lots of opportunity to grab your own beers or make your own drinks.   All is on the honor system.  We had grilled fish, warm potato salad, a veggie or salad (depended on which plate was placed by you), lots of rice with black beans, and warm cake for desert.  Very good.
Lorraine's mom is the island baker.  We ordered a loaf of cinnamon bread and half a loaf of coconut bread before leaving.  Picked them up this morning - yum!!  Not a great picture, as I didn't turn on the flash before asking Lorraine to take our picture, but here is Lorraine's Cafe.

The wind has picked up again.  The forecast of increased winds did influence our decision to leave Staniel yesterday.  Last night Luke turned on our chart plotter and set the drag alarm and radius alarm.  We do this any time that the night is not still.  The chart plotter shows the swing and drift of our boat relative to our anchor.

That little black boat shaped spot is Latitudes.  The anchor symbol is ---- you guessed it! ---our anchor.  The black and red hatch marks are where we have been.  This is good - a nice straight line an equal distance from our anchor.  If we drag away from our radius or swing too far away from it, an alarm goes off, alerting us to come check things.  Luke is a good anchor guy.  Only a couple of times have we actually dragged after setting anchor.

The wind is supposed to blow hard for the next week, so after a day of beach combing here, we will move our boats to a protected anchorage about 15 miles north of here.  Not south like we planned, but it will be for only a week or so to wait out the blow.  And besides, being sailors, we go where the wind takes us!

We are mobile!

The new starter works. It was an exact replacement, fit perfectly, and worked first try. Fixed the problem!  We thought it would, but the confirmation is always nice.  It took Luke a couple of hours to install it, but he did a nice, professional job.  Access is from the head, all power off meant flashlight, headlight.  mmm...old starter, new starter...which shall we use...

The wind has blown constantly at about 20 knots all day, but the waves and rolling of the boat are down a lot.  We met on the boat of our friends Marion and Greg, along with 4 other boat loads of cruisers, for a while this late afternoon.  Always fun.  And this photo was shot before the last 2 folks showed up!

Tomorrow's forecast is for wind again, so we expect we'll still be here at Staniel.

de plane!!! de plane!!!

Boss, de plane brought de part!!!  ok, for those of you too young to remember the TV series Fantasy Island, just forget that part....

The plane did indeed bring the part, the next day after it was ordered!  Now that is how it's supposd to work!  Tomorrow we shall see if it is indeed the right part and if it works.  Today is windy and the water choppy, making for a wallowing boat at anchor.  Smokey has chosen a snug cubby hole to sleep in.  We should do the same.  It will be too windy to move for a couple of days.

One benefit to staying in Staniel for so long is that friends Marion and Greg, from our first year in the Bahamas, have caught up with us here.  We will see them tomorrow! 

Starter progress to be reported tomorrow....

Yes, Virginia, there IS a green flash!

Oh, Yes, there is!!!  At that last moment before the sun finally slips below the waterline, she gives out a  flash of green --- the famous, elusive, but none the less, real green flash.

no part, but a cruiser party

Still no part, of course, so we decided to go for a little walk on the island. Spectacular! The center rocky island houses Thunderball Cave -- used in the movie.

Back at the bar for a beer after our walk, we ran into cruisers we have met in the past.  Always nice to catch up with old friends.  A cruisers cocktail hour was scheduled for this afternoon, at 5, to watch the sunset.

Back at the boat to spend the hot afternoon, I took a picture to show the view from our “waterfront home” for the last week.

Smokey was content to just take a bath.  She’s adopted  a gray mat, making it harder than ever to see her.

Finally, evening and the beach.

We watched the sun set and saw the most beautiful, clear green flash we’ve ever been witness to.  A fellow boater got a fantastic picture of the flash.  I'm going to get a copy of that and will post asap!

Good night, sun!

 Monday ---- no part, no update from UPS, but the dealer has offered to reorder our part and reship.  It's a start.  Internet at the anchorage has gotten marginal, so we wait.

&%#**)*%*!!!!!

Yes, you guessed it.  Seems that the distributor shipped the starter to the wrong address. When they realized it, they did an "intercept package" order.  In the meantime, UPS decided that they didn't have a proper address (no clue if that would be the wrong or right shipping address) so they've sent US a postcard to VA to ask where to ship to!  aaaggghhh!!!!!  Of course, nothing happens on the weekend.  So, we shall enjoy our paradise at Staniel Cay for a few more days.  We did get more fresh groceries today (oranges!  lettuce! sour cream! tomatoes! BLUEBERRIES!), another bladder of water, and ransomed a bottle of vodka.  Tomorrow we shall dinghy around and sight-see.  The anchor is probably set under 10 feet of sand by now and growing coral....

No part

We left early this morning to dinghy the 10 minutes to town for various errands.  Among our plans were another bladder of water to help fill our tanks and to see if the mail boat brought in fresh vegetables.  The water was completely calm and flat - you could see the starfish on the bottom.  I did check the prices of wine and booze while Luke checked on the status of the flight that would hopefully bring in our starter.  Neither had luck.  Well, I could have, but paying $45 for a $10 bottle of wine just isn't something I'm willing to do!  Luke could learn nothing about the flight details.

So, off we trotted to the government dock to see if the mail boat had arrived.  It was supposed to arrive on Wednesday but was running a tad late.  These cargo boats carry everything and anything.  If you order it from another island or the US, it arrives on the boat.  If it's food, it arrives on the boat.  It's amazing to watch the unloading, folks standing around with their golf carts, waiting to take home their newly purchased goods. The crane lifts one pallet at a time off the boat, sets it on the dock, people empty the pallet, and it's handed back on board.



We watched in vain for anything that resembled fresh produce.  Still determined, we left the dock and set out for the more distant of the 3 grocery stores on the island.  On the way we passed one of the many cotton plants on the islands, still growing from those seeds planted many years ago by Loyalists.  After the revolution, they were given land in the Bahamas to live and grow crops (didn't work). Luke is reading "Winds from the Carolinas" by Robert Wilder, recommended as good historical fiction about the Loyalist influx after the American Revolution.

A bit further and we crossed the bridge over the canal, the end of the little waterway where the government dock is located.

No, the grocery store hadn't gotten their fresh produce yet, but they did have some apples and lemons, which we bought.  The owner said that last week there were 40 cruisers lined up at her door when they reopened after putting out produce!

Our intention was to fill the water bladder again, but as we returned to the dock we could see the darkening sky as a cold front approached - quickly.  We decided to make a run back to Latitudes, and a good thing we did!  The clouds flew across the banks.  Our run got us back just in time to close up the cockpit before the wind suddenly changed from 0 knots to about 18 knots and light rain began.  It has spit rain and howled wind ever since then.  Luke called and found out that our part didn't arrive yet anyway.  So, hopefully we can pick it up after the 10 a.m. flight tomorrow, fill up the water bladder, and find lettuce and oranges.  The winds are supposed to die almost completely after midnight.  On the positive side, I did get a lot of knitting done! Also, Luke dodged a major bullet -- he managed to unclog a clogged macerator (part of our toilet flush system) with a few well placed taps with a hammer rather than "digging in"!

Piggies and water

As a follow on to the last blog, friends Martha and Bill caught this great picture of Latitudes under sail, reefed main, full jib,  heading into the anchorage.

Now safely at our anchorage in Staniel, we have been doing fun things.   The swimming piggies at Big Majors have friends this year – chickens.  Ol’ McDonald of the islands….

Those pigs are still big, 400 pounds or so, and they ARE scary when they take to the water and come towards the dinghy, expecting scraps.

The dock at Staniel still has at least 8 nurse sharks lolling in the warm, relatively shallow water.

And a view of the  waterfront of Staniel –

A nice rain squall produced enough water to rinse off Latitudes and to produce this spectacular end-to-end rainbow.

And, Martha and Bill caught this dramatic picture of the rainbow also, this time including Latitudes.

Off to town for a bit of groceries at the Blue Store (the Pink Store was closed), plus a bladder full of water.  We have a new system this year – a 50-ish gallon water bladder that sits in the bottom of the dinghy.  Fill up the bladder, motor sloooowly back to Latitudes, use Luke’s rigged-up pump to send the water upwards into one of our water tanks, and Presto!  A full water tank without the carting and lifting of heavy 5 gallon jugs.  Worked  perfectly!
 

We met up with our mechanic heros in town and had them over for sun downers – great to get to know the patient wives and the hard working husbands better.

 Tonight we were invited to Martha and Bill's boat for dinner - and it was wonderful; we enjoy spending time with them.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.  We did see our first green flash of the season!!!

The spare part is en route to Ft. Lauderdale, home of the little airline that brings people and freight to Staniel.  With a lot of luck, our starter could arrive on tomorrow's flight.  A lot of luck.

Dead in the water...

Well, not us exactly, but Latitudes.  Dinghy hauled, boat readied, boat started, and then a strange whine from somewhere and the acrid smell of  electrical burning.  THAT will get your attention!  We immediately shut the engine down.  Luke checked and probed for a while.

And then a most wonderful thing happened!  Cruisers on a nearby boat had heard our distressed discussion with friends on the VHF radio (all cruisers listen to all conversations - it's expected and accepted).  They just happened to be retired auto mechanics (had an auto business) and offered to come over and help out. They were the Click and Clack of the boating world, if you ask me!  They spent almost 6 hours of their day in paradise to help Luke locate the problem - a fried starter for the engine.  They could take a starter out, disassemble, clean, reassemble, reinstall, faster than Luke could have found the right page in the manual. These guys were absolutely great and you can't imagine how much we appreciated their efforts.  The starter couldn't be repaired so we now have a new replacement on order.  Not an easy task from the Bahamas.  Great buddy Peter, back in the USA, came into play now.  He and wife Phyllis researched our necessary piece, did all of the legwork, and sent us the info.  They made it so easy to place the order from here and arrange shipping!  Thanks!  Now the starter is coming into Staniel Cay in a few days (or so is the plan).

But, that left the problem of getting from Warderick Wells Cay to Staniel.  Well, we ARE a sailboat, but the channel out of Warderick Wells is narrow and tricky.  The nice Park Warden offered to give us a tow into deeper waters outside of the park entrance.

He waited until we got the sails up before leaving.  A nice sail down to Staniel, with a little maneuvering back and forth to get to the proper place, an amazing dropping the anchor while still under sail with the main, and we are securely here in Staniel.  Staniel has internet (200 Mb for $10), phone coverage, a few groceries, a bread lady, fun bar, and is a place we like to wander.  We will be here a while as we wait for our part to arrive.

Little Smokey is forever finding new places to sleep.  Occasionally, I panic as I can't find her, but here she is, quite content.  By the way, those are my hats, not Luke's, that she's so comfortably bedded down on...

Oh, this is also the home of the famous swimming pigs - big creatures who swim to the dinghies or boats to beg for food.  They are scary.  Anyway, we should have tourist and pig pictures tomorrow.

Warderick Wells, Exuma Land and Sea Park

So, off we go, to explore the park.  Much to our amazement, the high tide was very high!  This was between us and our goals.  So, first, Luke, bathing suit held high, waded across to check the water level.

Then the girls, again, pants held high, waded across.  Luke snapped the girls as we, too, held out pants high to cross.

Off to Boo Boo hill, home of hundreds of visiting boater's driftwood plaques.  It's said that a missionary boat crashed near to this site years ago, and the howls of their ghosts can still be heard at night (we don't go up there at night....)

Hark! Something in the distance!

oh, just a rainbow over the anchorage field.

A cruisers cocktail party in the evening  brought out the local hutias.  Rodents, they look like a cross between rats and hamsters, about the size of rabbits.  Not afraid of much of anything, they scrounge for food and steal the toys from the only dog on the island.  The hutias were introduced to the island as an experiment years ago when they were considered endangered.  With no natural enemies on Warderick Cay, these rascals have multiplied like crazy and are now endangering the natural grasses and trees of the island.

Today we took the dinghies to the Pirates Lair, a spot where pirates once hid their boats and hid out for a while.

The pirates got fresh water from a freshwater lens, described below.

And here it is...

ugh....

Down the beach, this sand crab. (I'd love to take credit for this picture, but Bill contributed this one!)

Up a steep incline to a Loyalist ruins area

Then home to Sweet Smokey who desperately needed a good belly rub.

Dinner with Martha and Bill.  We have planned to leave tomorrow at 9 a.m, but the wind has suddenly picked up and is howling.  We shall see...