Back in Marsh Harbor

When I last left you readers we had grabbed a mooring ball in Black sound to wait out some weather. I had mentioned how picking up the mooring was a challenge and one of the reasons being is that there was no pendent on the top so you had to snag the whole ball to place your lines through the chain. Well once I got the ball snagged with the hook, I pull it up and there must be 5 different lines tangled in among the chain. None of which we would have trusted to hold us securely in place. Also with the heavy mess of lines attached, it made it impossible for me to run the line in without two hands and I had to keep a death grip on the line due to current and wind dragging us backwards. Here is the ball and you can see the octopus of lines hanging down and onto the bottom. The two lines you see out of the water are our two lines attached.

So I had the ball, Dirk would run up and try passing the line through and by the time he fought with it we had drifted too far for me to hold on any longer. I held on pretty good too and have the bruises to prove it. So we finally did enough go a rounds, that the last time I had the ball Dirk kept the boat in forward gear, ran up and managed to get one line through and tied off to the cleat. I got back on the helm and took it out of gear and returned to help Dirk get the other on. Whew, that was done……Fun, fun…..The next couple days were a wash out due to the winds and rain. At least the boat got a good wash down. On the 3rd day we decided to take the dinghy around the bottom of Green Turtle and go out to Pelican Cay which is a tiny island with a single house on it. The cruising guide shows mooring balls but trust me, no mooring balls were to be seen. We did get lucky and spot the old mooring line while we were looking for a sand spot to throw the anchor out. Dirk dove down and tied our dinghy underwater to that line. There is a large reef and rock system with lots of beautiful sea life. We snorkeled a while spotting a nurse shark asleep tucked in the coral and right by him was a huge sea turtle nestled in some rocks catching a nap also. Hummm , must be that time of day. Dirk of course was in hunting mode as there are only so many lobster days left so he had spear in hand and was at the ready. We spotted a hole and Dirk asked me to take a look and see if I was seeing the lobster he was seeing. Indeed I did so he went down again and when he returned he had the lobster on the end of the spear. It was a Spanish lobster and if you have never seen one, well all I can say is ugly.

But…hummmm looks like dinner to me. I started getting chilled so I crawled back into the dinghy, peeled off my wetsuit and let the sun warm me up again. Before I knew it Dirk was swimming towards me and tossed a really good sized lobster into the boat and before I could really say anything he was gone again. He was in the zone…..One more lobster found its way to the boat and he topped it off by spearing his first fish which was a tasty Amberjack. After that it was time to get out of the water and head back to the boat where fresh lobster and fish were prepared, eaten and then it was early to bed as we were whipped.

The next morning we decided to lose the mooring ball and anchor outside of Black Sound where we met Dawn & Harvey on S/V Sovereign Swan. We ended up taking them with us the next day back to snorkel and hunt as Harvey wanted to bag a lobster before the end of season. We went to the front side of No Name Cay which is right next to Pelican Cay and hopped into the water. We didn’t see as much wildlife but we did see some of the biggest and prettiest Elkhorn coral we had ever seen. Harvey bagged a lobster and we zipped back to the spot where we had had better luck the day before. Nothing was bagged but a nice spotted eagle ray was seen.

The spot in front of Pelican Cay where there is nice snorkeling and lots of sealife

The next morning we decided it was time to head back to Marsh Harbor as the fridge needed restocking and the laundry was piling up. Saturday we finally made it to the grocery store where once again the cruising kitty was hit pretty hard. I always liked reading what people paid for things in the Bahamas so I will add a couple if anyone is interested.
1 Vadalia onion $1.77
Fresh Step Cat Litter Scoop 40lb tub $27.49
Nabisco Saltine Crackers box $4.19
Green Giant Cream corn $2.45 per can
½ gallon 2% milk $3.30
Liquid coffee mate 32 fl oz. size $6.79
16 oz package of sliced ham lunchmeat $6.19
Campbell’s cream of chicken soup $1.50 per can
Now as you can see it’s not all bad, but then again some of the items triple shock you like the kitty litter. I guess it’s all relative. Heck I think it might be cheaper for us to cruise as we seem to spend less. When you think about it there are no monthly dock fees, no cell phone, internet, or cable bills. Hummmm, something to think about, but we are keeping a log of all our expenses and will have a good handle on how much it actually cost us to cruise once we get done with the season. To me laundry is the scary number as we spent 22.00 for it today. One of the double loaders was 6.00 and one that held a bit more was 8.00. Dry was 25 cents for 2 minutes. Although when we were at the marina it was 4.00 for wash and 4.00 for dry so I think I did a bit better in town at the Laundromat. Looking forward to getting out of here and heading south which we are suppose to do tomorrow, weather permitting. Yesterday the weather was very windy and the harbor has gotten full of boats looking to wait it out here. The buzz on the radio is that there had been two tornados, one in Luciya and one in Freeport. It doesn’t sound good as we hear there has been loss of life and damage to boats. We didn’t hear the net this morning so we can’t confirm anything. We did hear a call on the radio around seven saying there was a boat on the loose and it had hit another boat but was still heading to the back side of the harbor. Dirk hopped in the dinghy and headed to see if he could lend a hand as we knew the people on the run away boat. When he arrived the owner of the boat that had been hit had managed to get on board as the couple was gone and managed to find another anchor that he threw out. Shortly after the owners arrived and managed to get anchored securely once again. We hear this morning that there was only minimal damage to either boat so that was nice to hear. In winds like we were having last night I can’t imagine leaving the boat unattended. Internet has been sporadic so I don’t know when I will get to make another post once we leave here. Our next stop is going to be down by Lubbers Quarters so we can do some snorkeling and visit Tahiti Beach as I hear it is beautiful, but then again, I find that so many areas here are beautiful. I will update as soon as I can.

A bit of Island Hopping

I think the last place I left you followers were in Marsh Harbor where we had Dirk’s mom onboard for a visit. Well her vacation has ended and after many goodbyes to all the new friends she met while here we took her to the airport on the 13th. With a few delays her plane finally made it in about an hour late and in just enough time for her to make her connecting flight to London from Nassau. We had a wonderful time while she was here and we hope she returned home with some very fond memories. We just wish Mother Nature had showed us some better weather, but what can you do. Here is Anke with Judith and Erik from Bravo on the left & Ellie and Jim from FinniRish on the Right.


With all this bad weather we have been going a bit stir crazy wanting to get off the boat and do some snorkeling, diving, exploring, or just relaxing in a nice anchorage, so we decided to head out to Treasure Cay on the 16th. While parked in the Marina for so long we met Erik & Judy a Canadian couple on their boat Bravo, so Bravo, FinniRish and we all headed out together. If you recall when we first made our initial crossing to the Bahamas our Buddy Boat FinniRish had engine problems and had to be towed in. Well they thought all was well but on the way to Treasure their engine quit again. The fuel filter was changed and we continued on. Soon after they called back on the radio saying they were getting a bit of water in and shut it down to have a look. Turns out it was just a faulty hose clamp so once it was changed we were once again pointed in the right direction. We made it into Treasure Cay, threw out the anchor and we all headed to FinniRish for sun downers. The next day was supposed to be nice so Dirk and I wanted to head to Green Turtle which meant crossing the whale once again. The only problem we had was a majorly sick kitty on our hands. Once the 3 p’s , ( puke, pee, & poo) were distributed randomly about the floor and cockpit I think Butters finally threw in the white towel and surrendered. Either that or he was finally empty…..Ellie & Jim on FinniRish decided to stay behind as they didn’t want to take any chances of engine failure in the whale and Bravo decided to stay behind with them. We however had the urge to get moving and see some of the areas that had to be missed on the way to Marsh Harbor due to our tight schedule. The entrance into White Sound is very narrow and I would hate to meet a large boat in it. We elected to get a mooring ball and hunted about looking for one that wasn’t being blocked by some inconsiderate boater that has anchored. Come on now….If you see a mooring ball, why on earth would you throw your anchor line out 20 feet from it? Guess some people have no clue. We found a mooring and got tied up and settled in as it was suppose to start blowing steady in the night which of course it was right on schedule. The next day we threw the bikes into the dinghy and hauled them to the dinghy dock as we wanted to take a ride into New Plymouth for a look around. We have had several people tell us that we needed to see New Plymouth due to the charm of the town. Not to knock the town, it was indeed charming and sweet with its roads just wide enough for a golf cart to get down but most of the pastel colored homes were in disrepair and at the least needed someone to pull a few weeds. My favorite still has to be Hope Town because of how clean and up kept everything seemed to be. We did hit a few areas on the beach on the ride back to White Sound and ended up having lunch at the Green Turtle Club. I thought I was getting off cheap for lunch having a wonderful BLT on Bahamian bread with a side order of coleslaw that made you feel you got your money’s worth until we decided to split a dessert. $7.95 for BLT and coleslaw, $7.95 for a slice of chocolate mousse. Shouldn’t complain though I guess, we splurged but somehow I feel that the mileage I put on my bike today was for nothing. There’s always tomorrow to work it off. Here is a bit of beach we explored on the way back to White Sound

On Saturday we decided it was time to shake that mooring ball off and set off for some new scenery so we headed out to Manjack Cay and anchored in the bay between Manjack and Crab Cay. There were several other boats there but it seemed like a nice place to be so after setting the anchor we took off in the dinghy to explore. We headed to the Atlantic side where there was a nice beach for me to do some beachcombing and plenty of rock formations for Dirk to hunt around. We ended up staying for a while and when Dirk returned empty handed to shore he was enthused that he had seen so much beautiful sea life even though he missed snagging dinner. We made our way back slowly through the little harbor behind Crab Cay as the tide was now settling on the low side. At one point we both had to exit the dinghy and drag it behind us. Once we hit deeper water again I hopped back in and Dirk tied himself off so he could slowly swim back to the boat with me in tow while he checked out the sea life on the bottom. The only thing that was abundant was sea urchins and sea biscuits and it was unreal to see how many dead ones were in one area, sometimes there were up to ten. So I got Dirk to retrieve some sea biscuits and we headed back to the boat where Dirk did the task of cleaning the bottom.
Here is one of the sea biscuits Dirk retrieved for me. My hand in the pic to show the size.

Here is a Star fish, AKA Cushion Star. They are all over the place and yes we put it back in the water. I don't believe in killing something just to have a trophy.

It’s been a while since the bottom has been cleaned so it’s nice to have that done. He also tackled the bottom of the dinghy which has become green with algae. That evening the winds picked up as predicted and it was a very rolly evening with us up every so often checking the anchor alarm making sure we weren’t slipping back into that limestone rock wall that makes up so much of the Bahamas. The next morning we pulled anchor and headed back to Green Turtle opting to stay in Black Sound this time. The winds coming down were sometimes clocked at 23 knots right off the nose so it wasn’t bad but as we entered Black Sound it seemed they were funneling down the length which made picking up the mooring ball quiet the challenge but it got done none the less. We will be here for a couple days before we head back to Marsh Harbor where depending on winds and weather we will decided our next course of action.

Hope Town

On Sunday the 7th we decided to head over to Hope Town. The marina was bustling with cruisers packing up and heading out. About 6 to 7 boats left one after the other and we all headed for our next destination. FinniRish and us set our sights on Hope Town and as we left Marsh Harbor it was evident that we were not to see the calm water and mild winds that were expected. It didn’t bother us, but we knew Anke, Dirks mom would be a bit nervous as this was to be her first “rough” sail. She did very well but I don’t think she was having too nice of a day and she would be happy when we arrived at our destination. We had to time our arrival into Hope Town with high tide and got into the tiny entrance with no problems. We made our way through the very tight mooring field, found the mooring ball we had reserved and got tied up and shut things down. This was the first time we had a chance to look around and see just how pretty this harbor was. The pastel colored homes sitting on the water front with the red & white striped lighthouse standing tall. It was Ellies birthday from FinniRish and we headed over to a waterfront restaurant to have dinner and celebrate. Dinner was incredible and we topped it off with a nice desert and conversation. The following day was Dirks Birthday so we woke up in the celebratory mood. Anke had snuck out of her bed in the morning and put some cards and gifts out for him so it was like Christmas. It was a beautiful day so we decided to head over to the lighthouse for a climb to the top.

Once at the top the view was absolutely beautiful with the turquoise colored water surrounding the Island. You realize just how small the area is which makes it that much more charming. This is the view to the right into Hope Town Harbor. Tybee Time is sitting just out of view to the right.

This is looking to the left showing the entrance to the harbor

Once we were back on the ground we all decided to head back to our boats to actually put on a bathing on and check out the beach. We found our way to the public dinghy dock and set out on our way admiring the beautiful homes and flowers along the way. By far the prettiest island yet. As we entered the beach we were met by hues of blues and turquoise that can only be described as breathtaking with the waves crashing along the shoreline.

Here Dirk & I pose with the tourquoise water behind us

I of course set out on my sea glass hunt as was Dirk and he was finding them left and right. I was having more trouble, but then where he was finding them was further into the surf then I wanted to immerse myself. We wandered down the beach a ways then circled back to make our way back through town stopping at a mom & Pops place to grab a cheeseburger and fries before heading to the local grocery where I got to compare prices. That’s always fun, and I got to see what a $7.00 loaf of bread looks like, I opted for the freshly made Bahamian $3.50 loaf.

Check out these bankers hours.

On the way back to the dinghy Dirk spotted a fisherman cleaning his catch and walked over to see what he had only to return with one and a half pounds of freshly caught and cleaned yellow fin tuna. Ah, something else we can throw into the mix of Dirks Birthday dinner tonight. It was going to be steak and lobster but tuna sounds better now. Ellie & Jim joined us at the boat and we celebrated Dirks birthday with a decent rendition of Happy Birthday and a coconut rum cake I had baked for him. Afterwards Dirk decided he wanted to take the dinghy out to an area he had heard about that had conch. Off he went and when he returned he did indeed have a conch.
He spotted about 11 of them but only one of legal size so he set about cleaning the critter. Very daunting task if you ask me, but he got a book out with step by step instructions and set to work. After whacking away at the shell with a small hammer he came back in the boat to retrieve another. Conch 1, Hammer 0. Mega hammer was retrieved and Dirk evened up the score with the conch losing in the end. The conch got stowed in the fridge, the lobsters were boiled and the tuna steaks were lightly seared in sesame oil all served with melted butter and a sweet soy sauce on the side. Topped off with a nice glass of wine it was a perfect dinner to end a perfect day. The following day we were due to head back to Marsh Harbor as yet another front was moving through and we needed to be back there on Saturday for Anke to fly out. We couldn’t leave Hope Town until about 1 when we had high tide and even then on the way out we were greeted by a rather large sailboat churning up sand trying to find some water under his keel. As we cleared the channel the water was so clear that Anke & I placed ourselves up front looking in the water for starfish and hoping to catch even a glimpse of a dolphin. We have only seen one since we have been here and that was in Marsh Harbor Marina under our boat. I finally settled back and lazed about on the bow of the boat trying to steal a few rays from father sun shine. Doesn’t seem like we have seen him too much lately. Once we got close to the entrance we made a pit stop and anchored the boat near Mermaid Reef. I say anchored but as Dirk found out there is a layer of sand with rock underneath so I use the anchoring term loosely. There really wasn’t any current and the winds were light so the weight of the anchor and the chain basically kept us in place and I would be staying on the boat in case I needed to do anything. Anke had never snorkeled so we put her in a wet suit and showed her how to use a mask and snorkel.

Here Anke is trying to figure how this snorkel should fit.

Dirk and her hopped into the dinghy and headed over to tie up to a mooring ball and to each other.
Anke was very nervous as she left the boat not knowing what to expect but returned with a huge grin and tales of beautiful fish. Afterwards we started up the engine and headed into the marina getting the same slip that unfortunately we are getting use to. We will be having bad storms running through our area soon so we decided to treat ourselves and hook up to cable for the 2.00 a day charge. . Wow, television……It’s been so long but I have to say I don’t miss hearing about all the depressing news that seems to bombard us every waking hour. It will be nice to catch up on some favorite shows or just veg for a bit. Dirk cooked up the conch that evening by chopping it into bite size pieces, whacking it a bit to tenderize it and fried it up after rolling the pieces in Louisiana fish fry and Cayenne pepper. I have to say this is the best way I have had it prepared to date. Once you get past the idea that your eating a large salt water snail it’s really good. Doesn’t look like we will be going anywhere till after Sunday due to bad weather rolling in from the states. We have actually run across a few cruisers that have given up this year and are going home early due to the weather we are having. Dirk and I say that you can’t kill our spirit so quickly although it is frustrating. So forgive the lack of post, but until we do more then congregate at the jib room for steak night and rib night I hate to bore you.

A little catching up to do

Tuesday the 23rd Dirk and I decided to get the bikes off the boat and take a drive into town and have a look around and run a few errands we had to take care of. We needed some groceries so we hit the Price Right Grocery and was prepared to be shocked by the prices that we had heard so much about. I have to say I didn't get the shock I thought I would. I’m guessing that some people don’t shop at Publix in the states. Yes the prices were more expensive but not outrageous. Peanut butter was about $5.50 a jar, cereal was somewhere around $5.00 a box, fruits and veggies just slightly above normal, and canned veggies were about $1.60 a can. All this I can handle and I actually expected it. On the way back to the boat we stopped by the local conch man and bought some freshly made conch salad.

Wednesday morning was spent madly dashing about doing my last bit of cleaning and getting the boat ready for the arrival of Dirks mom. About 4 pm we got on the radio and hailed a taxi for 5:15. Where else can you hail a taxi on the radio....The gentleman was waiting for us as we were going up to meet him and he took us to the airport and said he would come back to pick us up after his moms arrival in an hour. As Dirk was trying to pay him he said no, wait till I pick you up later. Geeze wouldn't have that happen in the states. Anke arrived safe and sound and mother and son had a happy reunion and as promised our taxi driver returned to take us back to the marina. That evening the winds picked up and Anke's first evening was a bit rolly but she didn’t seem to mind. I think the fact that she had been awake for 22 hours straight had something to do with that, but what a way to break her into boat living.

Mother and son catching up
Friday the 26 we were actually having a decent day weather wise so we decided to sail over to Man O War for a day outing. This was Anke’s first experience with sailing and we celebrated with a champagne toast all around.

Here is Dirk with our buddy boaters Jim & Ellie from FinniRish

Jim & Ellie from FinniRish joined us on our boat and we managed to get a free mooring ball for the day in front of Dock & Dine restaurant. We walked the island which seemed to be so much cleaner then Marsh Harbor visiting a few gift shops before heading back to Dock and Dine for a wonderful lunch. We did hit a small grocery and found that $9.00 box of cereal I had heard about. You better like cereal to pay that much for it and quiet frankly I like my cereal but not enough to pay that. After lunch we headed back to the boat as we needed to get back to the marina before the bad weather came in for the evening.

Here is Anke getting use to her sea legs seeming very comfortable

Saturday we relaxed on the boat and that evening we headed to the marina for steak night. The next day we attended a marina pot luck brunch that one of the other boaters put together. I'm guessing that if you cant go out and enjoy the islands that you might as well do some cooking and eating. There was a huge turn out and it was nice to sample so many wonderful dishes that were put together. This was Ankes first potluck and she thoroughly enjoyed herself.

On March 1, Monday we had another beautiful day, one out of so many bad weather days that we decided to take a day trip to Great Guana Cay about a 1 1/2 hours away. We know a couple next to us with a 47ft Vagabond and so it was decided that FinniRish, and our boat load would join them on their boat for the trip over. What a nice relaxing trip it was just sitting back and spreading out on the large decks in chairs and enjoying the sunshine.

We docked the boat and the first order of business was to get ourselves to Nippers for a celebratory drink.

The beach was absolutely beautiful, offset by the colors of Nippers, it just seemed to fit. After wetting our palette we walked the beach and it seems everyone came away with some prized items found.

I started my sea glass collection and came away with some beautiful pieces to add to it. Once we couldn’t stand it any longer we meandered back down the hill and ended up at Grabbers, another bar and grill for a wonderful lunch. Dirk has grown very fond of lightly seared tuna and was rewarded with a great lunch himself. We took our time eating as we noticed when we walked past the boat on the way to lunch that it was sitting on the bottom. Low tide was indeed very low today and many of the boats in the harbor were sitting on bottom, so we had time to kill. Once we were afloat again we all piled on board and made the trip back to Marsh Harbor Marina.

Today as I write this we again are having yet another front pass through. The winds are howling 30 knots expected to rise and then we shall be hit with another cold front by morning. After speaking with some of the other cruisers we are finding that any safe Harbor is a full harbor and its hard to move about and go where you want. Perhaps we will see a change in the weather soon as I keep being told, "This isn’t the Bahamas we are use to." Perhaps we will be able to release the grip of this harbor soon and be able to do some island hopping.