Here, There, and Everywhere

We returned to Marsh Harbor once the winds decided they weren’t calming down at Man O War and ended up spending a week at anchor there. We took the opportunity to enjoy Valentine’s day at Snappa’s with a meal I didn’t have to cook and enjoyed the sunset casting a beautiful glow on the harbor as we listened to a local artist belt out songs we knew all the words to. There was some final laundry and provisioning to do the following day in preparation of leaving, and on the 17th we topped off of the fuel and water tanks and headed out. We anchored up on the outside of Hope Town so that we could make the run at high tide down to Tahiti Beach the next morning. We had spoken with Kathy & Earl aboard s/v Seeker about the possibility of them coming over to anchor with us so Dirk could take them out to teach them the correct ways of conch trolling as I think they misunderstood just a wee bit our instructions before. So as not to have Earl end up missing fingers or having prop marks on his forehead Dirk explained that one needs a rope longer than 2 feet tied to the back of the dinghy while trolling with a person in tow. It was a successful trip and the guys came back with dinner in the boat. A quick lesson on cleaning and Seeker took off to make it to Man O War for the night as Dirk & I settled into a quiet evening.

Almost a full moon on our anchorage

The next morning we were joined by Ace & Suzie from s/v Ace’s Wild which are also from Panama City FL. We were all planning on attending the Cracker P’s full moon party that evening so we anchored up at Tahiti beach which is a short dinghy ride across from Lubbers Quarters. Once we dropped the hook at Tahiti we made a bee line for the beach to enjoy yet another beautiful day full of sunshine. First order of business was for Dirk to climb a coconut tree, retrieve two green coconuts and make us a coconut and rum cocktail. Rum in a fresh coconut and Tybee Time at anchor behind

After all it was 5 O’clock somewhere. We ended up playing several games of beach Bocce ball which I had never played before but turns out I really enjoyed. A bit of beach combing, and then back to the boat to clean up so we could make it in time for sun downers at Ace’s Wild. We were joined by Jose’ & Bill from Caper who would end up travelling with us for a couple days along with Ace’s Wild and Big Toot. At about 7 we climbed in the dinghy and headed in to Cracker P’s, but first we made a stop at Hobbs and Heidi’s boat m/v Big Toot. We met them last year and had a blast with them so it was nice to meet up with them again. A bit of time getting reacquainted while the full moon rose and it was off to Cracker P’s for what promised to be a good evening. Ace, Suzie and us having a great time

The following morning my aching head told me that we indeed had a good time. There were places to go and things to see so we pulled Tybee Times anchor and headed to Snake Cay followed by Ace’s Wild, Caper, and Big Toot. We were here last year and the entrance to the dinghy trail has a fairly deep hole where spotted eagle rays like to fly around gracefully and feed. We arrived right as the tide was going out and the current was pretty rough but we found if you stayed close to the wall you could swim upstream than drift back, cross over and do it again and again. We didn’t see as many rays as last year but we did manage to see lots of sea life and it made for a great snorkel. one heck of a starfish found by Dirk

A pretty big Lion fish I spotted

The only photo I managed to get of the Eagle Ray

Snake Cay is a nice day anchorage but not so good for the evening because the holding isn’t that great so after the snorkel and dinghy ride through the marsh we headed back to our boats, pulled anchor and sailed across the bay to Tiloo Cay where it was just us four boats in the anchorage. We decided that happy hour would be on Big Toot because they were the only one that had a boat big enough to hold everyone. We all contributed a bit of food and we had a wonderful spread to choose from.

I love sun downer parties

Lots of great conversation led into lots of jokes and eventually led us to playing charades. Some very hard things were played but yet we managed to get them all and the game ended up in a tie. We women showed the men that we couldn’t be beat. We soon found it late and we all soon departed and headed back to our own boats. Tybee Time as the sun went down behind her

The following morning we picked up anchor and headed even further south to Lynyard Cay which is the jump off point for the crossing to Eleuthera. Thanks to Ace's Wild for snapping this great photo of Tybee Time under sail.

We were due to have up to 20 knot winds so Big Toot headed on in to Little Harbor but due to the tides and knowing that we could not get in we elected to stay on the Outside. Dirk, Ace, Bill & Suzie ended up going conching as Jose’ & I decided we wanted beach time. Several hours later they returned with their limit each. It was a good day not to be a conch. Conch trolling, the art of pulling people behind the dinghy to cover lots more ground while looking for conch.

After what seemed to be forever the men returned from cleaning the conch at the beach. Of course a lesson on how to make fritters and conch salad was taken and a nice meal was had. The following morning we pulled anchor in order to make it into Little Harbor on high tide and settled onto a mooring ball right in front of Pete’s Pub.

A bit of cleaning up, and it was off to enjoy a wonderful lunch and to partake in Pete’s signature drink the Blaster. The saying along with the drink name is “Why walk when you can crawl” That about sums that up. After lunch we took a stroll on the beach as it was nearing low tide and I scored several pieces of very nice sea glass which I have been practicing turning into jewelry.

Some pendents for necklaces above

Above is the prized piece of glass that Dirk found for me last year in Hatchet Bay that I turned into a necklace.

Later on we were invited to have dinner aboard Ace’s Wild and Ace said to wear something pirate related as that was the theme. If we didn’t have anything he would hook us up. Well since we have been cruising I have had pirate costumes stashed under the v-berth and so it was time to knock the dust off of them and put them to use. We arrived to dinner with our knives drawn and ready to collect our booty.

It was a fun evening yet again eating our fill. Thanks go to Ace & Suzie for a great meal and conversation.

Of course pirates bring their own conch horns for the evening

The next morning it was time to say good bye as we were heading back to Lynyard Cay and Ace's Wild to Hope Town. What a great fun filled week it had been but it was time to move south and tomorrow seemed the day to do it. Apparently everyone else thought so too as there were about 20 boats in the anchorage. Dirk hit the reefs that afternoon and returned home with 1 lobster and one mangrove snapper and after cleaning the catch we hit the beach for some beach combing and returned home with a nice selection of sea glass. We had an early dinner,watched a video, and turned in early as it would be an early departure for us the following day. Up at 5:30 and having pulled anchor we were underway at 6:02 along with 6 other boats taking off at the same time. Once we all made it out the pass we all settled into our own routines, setting sails and kicked back to enjoy the perfect crossing that it appeared we were going to get. We heard on the radio from the boat in front of us that they had spotted whales off their starboard side so of course we scamper about to see if we can also spot them. There ahead off to the right we indeed saw the spray from the blow holes and once I could get a better look I sorted through my books and think that they were dwarf sperm whales as they can be found in the Abacos quite a bit according to the cruising guide. We weren’t able to get close up to them and wouldn’t dare to anyway. I have seen the video where the whale crashes on deck of the sail boat. No thanks…..It was however our first whale sighting and was cool to see. It was a totally wonderful day with what worked out to be a beautiful sail the whole way with only a few minor adjustments to the sails. Once we started to hit the shallow water of Eleuthera Dirk finally got a hit on one of his four fishing lines he had out and pulled in a small Bonito. He got tossed back and and before Dirk could get all the line out again he got another hit which turned out to be a small shark.It took us a while, but we managed to get him off the line and back into the water without injury to anyone. I didn’t realize sharks went for lures but maybe this one struck before he thought too much. By the time we got him back in the water it was time to pull the lines in as we would be making our turn at Egg Island and into Eleuthera. Nine hours after we started we had arrived. A few of the other boat broke off and headed into Royal Island but us and one other continued onto Spanish Wells where we were to pick up a mooring ball. I'm glad we decided to continue on as Bandit, the mooring ball operator only had two balls left and we and the other boat got them. Sleep came early and easy that night and we awoke to beautiful skies, warm weather and are now anxious to continue south. We will be here for a couple days then head on down to Hatchet Bay. We enjoyed it there last year and are looking forward to going back. In the mean time we continue to meet lots of new cruisers and make new friends.

Island hopping and lobster hunting

On the 30th of January we finally left Green Turtle and headed towards the Whale. The whale is a area of the Abacos where one must exit into the Atlantic ocean for about 30 minutes only to veer back into the banks at Great Guana. Unless you have a very shallow draft vessel you don’t attempt the inside but there are several conditions that make the whale a place you want to wait for calm or calmer weather for as there are several reefs that one could get washed onto if not careful. Also if it is rough than it makes for an unpleasant ride. Hey were not here to win any races so we get there when we get there. On the day we picked to proceed through the whale it couldn’t be better, well it could have been if we would have gotten any kind of bite on the lines we threw out. Oh well, maybe on our way down to Eleuthera we may get lucky as there is really no fishing to be done on the banks due to it being so shallow. We ended up in the anchorage outside of Grabber’s,

Sunset from Grabbers beach

a local hangout for cruisers, put the hook down and headed up to Nipper’s for their Sunday pig roast. It’s another local hangout painted shades of pinks, blues, yellows,and greens overlooking the Atlantic with the beautiful shades of water the Bahamas are so famous for.

View from the top of Nippers

They also have the famous frozen Nipper that will soon make you want to get up and dance. No wonder these places are always so festive, the states need to take lessons from the Bahamians on how to make a drink. They definitely do not skimp on the good stuff…..So after partaking in the all you can eat pig roast we walked the beautiful white sand beach to try and walk a bit of it off before returning and having maybe a few too many of those frozen Nipper’s, They do sneak up on you….The next day we hung around the boat doing some neglected chores, I mean who wants to clean when paradise beckons…and later we took a long dinghy ride over to Spoil Cay,aka Shell Island and found several very nice shells.

On Tuesday Dirk was chomping at the bit to go hunting so we headed out to some reefs and he was more than happy to bag one. On Wednesday we were going to head to Marsh Harbor as we needed to do some re provisioning but not before Dirk took one more look at some promising reefs he had seen the day before. A few hours later he returned with 3 lobsters and a big grin,

he was happy and I was glad. We soon shoved off and made the uneventful trip into Marsh Harbor, set the hook down in almost the exact spot as last year and called it a day. I was surprised to find out that Marsh Harbor now has a new grocery store which upon entering made me feel like I was back in the states. I was so excited with only expectations of finding what I could and making due as is so often the case in the Bahamas. You get what you get and be happy you got it at all. Upon entering I saw every fruit and veggie one finds in the states but also some others that I had never seen before. I spent lots of time up and down the aisles looking at the stuff I was familiar with and daring to try some of the local products. I may be wrong but I think that some of the prices have actually gone down, yes I said down since last year when we were here and lots of the items were very compatible to prices back home. I bought a bag of coleslaw for $2.19 And a large 46oz size of pineapple juice for $ 2.59, a 2 liter of tonic water was $1.89, canned corn on special .79 cents a can and I got tostitoes for 1.99 a lg. bag. Usually chips run 6 to 7 dollars a bag here so we don’t eat them once we run out of what we brought with us. To top it off, no sales tax....Wow. So I stocked up on what I could and hit the liquor store on the way back. I learned last year that beer here is outrageous at about 46.00 a case, but liquor is cheaper than the states, even the name brands. We carry beer from the states where we can fit it in but once it’s gone, it’s gone. Laundry was done the following day and then we took off for the quaint island of Elbow Cay and Hope Town. We grabbed a mooring ball as there is no anchor room and settled ourselves in for a couple days. Super Bowl Sunday we headed out to do a little hunting at the reefs, I say we, Dirk does the hunting as I sit and sun in the dinghy reading or doing whatever. He was happy at the end of the day as he bagged 3 more lobster and 5 conchs. Back to the boat to clean the catch and then over to Harbors Edge Restaurant to watch the game. Neither of us had a favorite team as we really aren’t into football much but it was something to do for the evening. After the slightly disappointing half time show we went back to the boat and turned in early. Monday was a lazy day beach combing and later we had Carol & Dave from s/v Zydeco over for some fresh conch fritters. Carol and Dave use to be our dock neighbors several years ago in Panama City when we still owned our power boat before we saw the light of sailing. They have finally broken free to travel this year and we have run into them on every island we visit which is not unusual at all. You run into the same folks over and over again which makes this lifestyle great. The next day it was calm and Dirk wanted to try his luck again at the reefs taking a single hander along with him that had wanted to go. For those of you non sailors, that means someone travelling alone. I have to give those people credit for having the courage to leave the safety of their dock, travel across the Gulf Stream to explore and travel all by their selves. Normally it is men but on occasion you do find a woman. So Dirk took this guy John out to show him how to find lobster and conch. John didn’t find any but Dirk came back with the biggest one he has gotten so far. The tail alone measured a little over 9 inches. After many photos of his trophy he was vac u sealed and put in the freezer for later consumption.

Here is Butter's checking out Mr. Lobster

We can’t eat lobster every day now can we? So the following day we headed to Man O War with the idea of staying a couple days but Mother Nature had other plans. That evening the winds picked up and we had a pretty rolly night with no let up in the winds for a couple days in sight so it was back to Marsh Harbor to seek some shelter. We have been sitting here for about a week now planning our next move which should be tomorrow. Looks like we may head out of here and head to Tahiti Beach and perhaps Friday catch the Cracker P’s full moon party than make tracks to Little Harbor and wait for a window to head on down to Eleuthera. Once we arrive there the Internet will be less than grand so I will update when I can.