January 18 - 25, 2013 An Eight Day Countdown

Friday: Steve and Anita arrived in the evening for only a 1 week visit – not enough time to see all of Grand Bahama Island but we were going to try for most of the hot spots starting with the Port Lucaya Square where they have a live band on Friday and Saturday nights.

Parking is often at a premium.

Saturday was used up quickly driving west to the Mermaid Hole and Suzie's Bargain Store (a strange shopping experience), then east to Banana Bay. We had a terrific lunch there and boy are they accommodating. My crab salad came with black pepper all through it despite my request of nothing spicy in it or around it. I've been told more than once that normal people don't consider black pepper  a spice. I told the waiter I might be able to eat it but they whisked it away and returned it with no pepper. It was delicious, nice and bland. Next stop grocery shopping and sticker shock - $13 for a $5 jar of coffee which I would not let Anita buy.

Mermaid Hole aka Garbage Hole - they used to throw garbage in the hole and it conveniently disappeared but after a few years it started spitting it back out so they've stopped doing that.

Mermaid hole aka Garbage hole

Banana Bay

Sunday: I hope they didn't suspect we were waiting for them to get the dinghy ready for launching but Steve (and Gerry) look pretty happy amongst the mess and Anita was a good sport about painting the bottom (I had a migraine so missed the fun). Beware all who plan on visiting – at least one project will be done during your visit.

Guys are always making a mess.

Anita's expertise in bottom paint came in handy.

 

Monday was mostly sunny so we launched the dinghy and Anita and I had a chance to go snorkeling. A sudden squall ended the trip but we were ready to quit any way – good timing.

 

The launch

On the way to the reef.

This is not the photo I wanted to post but promises must be kept.

 

Tuesday: Chilly, cloudy and very windy so beaching and sailing were out and kayaking was in. Off we went (in borrowed kayaks) to Gold Rock Creek. It took about an hour to paddle to the beach in the National Park and about 45 minutes to get back (tide helped a little). Next time we have to time the journey to the tide. Some of us complained about aches and pains when we returned the kayaks to Johanne and Ken but the beer, rum and wine there might have taken the edge off some of us.

Not much is finer than kayaking through the mangroves.

Straight is better than sideways Gerry.

Day could have been nicer

Wednesday: Bright and sunny with just the right amount of wind so we got Ramblynn ready and set sail. 

Don't they look right at home.

Proof that the ever-elusive sea buoy does exist.

 

Wednesday is fish fry night and everyone has to go at least once in their life. I still have sand in my shoes from line dancing beside the bonfire with Anita.

Steve doesn't look convinced that the fish is edible.

A face only a mother can love - do fish love their offspring?

 

Thursday: A perfect day for the beach so we did a 3 beach tour. Beach number 1 is where we can drive on the beach at low tide, but don't tell anyone, it's against the law and for the first time ever we actually got stuck trying to get back on the road. 

I always say "wow" when we do this.

Anita found the perfect piece of lumber to go under the tire!

 

 

Beach number 2 was at Bishop's restaurant, famous for their cracked conch and after pushing the jeep through the sand we were ready for lunch. 

Waiting for our cracked conch.

Anita beach combing.

 

 

Beach number 3 is our most often visited beach. Anita took the photo of this crab but I can't remember whether it was before or after it jumped at her. I thought it was just a left over moult because it did not run away when we approached – scared the hell out of her when she tried to touch it and it moved! I have to admit I laughed maybe a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot.

 

Steve trying to snorkel, way to go.

Possum playing crab who would a thunk it?

Friday, the last day was saved for lunch at the Garden of the Groves.

At last, a menu just the right size.

Good food, good company.

Which shop, which shop? Oh, let's check them all out

 

Some time during the week Anita got Tony Macaroni to drill a just-right-for-her-mouth sized hole in a conch shell and gave her conch blowing lessons. Some day with a bit more practice the noise will not sound like a sick moose. I have the utmost confidence but am glad I don't live next to her.

Can anyone guess what Steve is doing? No, he's not praying or throwing up. We gave him hands on training as to what to do when the toilet no longer flushes.

 

And now they're gone...............   :(

From the cold to the warm

Spent 3 weeks in Ontario enduring xmas, snow, cold, medical appointments but on the bright side connecting with friends and family.  Wish I was in Saskatoon to see the girls doing silly things like the photo below.

My little brother Richard

Silent night - granddaughter Abby, she's a riot.

We're now back on the boat trying to check things off the never ending to-do list. This job - fortifying the piling which was getting worn on one side was not on the list.

Gary (after brunch and 7 glasses of champagne) "helping." Was amusing (to me).

Brrrrrr

It took 6 days but we're back in Stratford. Chilly, overcast most of the way home but driving conditions were good.

Tourist trap called South of the Border in South Carolina

Here's the reason it took so long - a short detour to buy this boat. Some have said "Do you really need another boat?" Apparently we do. Was a great deal until we broke down on the interstate - bearings on one wheel were shot and were smoking. Got that fixed and bought brand new tires too.

Sirius 21

first you dig a hole........

Electrolysis

Definition: Chemical decomposition produced by passing an electric current through a liquid or solution containing ions. (Not the hair removal kind).


We've had problems with zincs disappearing from all the boats and once the zincs are gone any other metal on the boats will start to disappear as well.  Dirty Girl appears to be the culprit.

To save the other boats:

dig a hole and plant Ramblynn's old propeller shaft:

get a well-trained mason (or Gerry) to fill it full of cement:

attach a green wire to the shaft, dig a trench, bury green wire:

 strategically attach said wire to the electrical box by a certified electrician (or Les):

and voila,

Covered the pole with this globe that floated into the bay and put a solar light inside.

Dirty Girl is separately grounded from the other boats which should solve their zinc problem. It also and excellent place to get another line on the boat. Hopefully some day soon we'll figure out Dirty Girl's electrical problem. Any thoughts and/or suggestions are welcome.

PS
It's not just work around here we do have fun too:

Lunch on the beach at Banana Bay with Les and Chris. So sad their trip was cut short  :(

Festival Noel (fundraiser for the National Parks) with Doreen and Richard

Back to Port Lucaya

All week Windfinder and Passage Weather (I've learned not to rely only on Windfinder) have promised that Sunday would be a good day to cross over to the Bahamas, winds were not supposed to pick up on the Florida coast until after 4 and would be OK near Freeport. Once again wrong - they were already strong at 11. We had little choice as the next week was supposed to be really windy and we've been in Florida 28 days. After last minute shopping for perishables we cast off at noon and made our way up the ICW to West Palm. We were lucky we didn't waste too much time waiting for bridge openings but it still took us 3 hours motoring (with our almost brand new motor) right into the wind.

Exiting the channel.

I have come to accept that when I make this crossing the wind report will be wrong and the seas will be high but did mother nature really need to throw in rain? And was that wave that launched itself right over our heads into the cockpit like a giant wall of water necessary? The 3 or 4 other large ones only came to our shoulders, the rest were only 6-8 feet and didn't make it into the cockpit just crashed over the bow and sides. Needless to say we were wet and chilly for most of the 15 hours it took to get to Port Lucaya. 

Around dusk we heard a boat calling the Coast Guard. There were four men in a 31' Contender. They reported that seas were building, waves were stacking and crashing over their boat and weather was turning nasty. They sounded scared. So I'm thinking 4 men making 10 mph, 17 miles off shore are scared - should I be and just too dumb to know it? The Coast Guard kept calling them every 5 minutes, I guess so they'd know what time they sank or something. It was never made clear whether they actually wanted to be rescued or just wanted some hand holding. At any rate they sent a helicopter to keep an eye on them. I wonder how much that cost the taxpayers? I've since found a photo of such a boat and I can see why they could have been a tad nervous - it's a wide open center console fishing boat. We were much safer in Ramblynn.

Just before midnight we passed a cruise ship just sitting in one place, they do that at lot.  I don't know if it was the same one or another but less than an hour later there's a Royal Caribbean coming at us, fast, and apparently intends to kill us. They have the whole %#@*ing ocean and they're on a collision course! I woke Gerry up (why does this sort of thing always happen when I'm on watch?) and he decided we should slow down so it could cross in front without taking us out.

The rest of the night was kind of boring until of course we tried to find the sea buoy (couldn't, I don't think it has a light on it) but finally found the correct red marker (of course there's no light on the green one) to guide us into the channel. Once again confirming that coming into port in the daylight is oh so much more preferable.

A nice surprise in Port Lucaya - customs and immigration was just one person so check-in was pretty quick. A not so nice surprise - cruising permit price has doubled (to $300) since last year! That's the way they do it here - business is slow so they raise the prices to make up for it. I can't believe they don't realize that doing so will more than likely worsen the situation - duh!

Only 2 hours and $20 later (at the laundromat) everything that got salt water on it is now nice and clean, too bad the rest of the boat isn't - yet.

and we're still here.............

Will the madness never end? OK that's a bit melodramatic. The engine is finally in, the boat is in the water (today) and everything seems to work (knock on wood). The boat is in complete disarray, cockpit lockers having had to be emptied (into the main salon), aft cabin likewise and a goodly amount of supplies/groceries had just been dumped on the V-berth and any vacant floor space not near the engine, not to mention the items we were taking back to Ontario from the Bahamas. I didn't have my camera with me today or there would be photos of the carnage.

We began to put the boat back in order, which included putting the jib sail back on its roller. A simple job yes? No. We had sent the sail out for repair and reinforcing but the professional sailmaker didn't take into account that when he put a patch over the part that goes into the track it cannot be thicker than the track will allow. We discovered this just as the sun was going down today, Friday when we darn near killed ourselves trying to winch the sail up. The repair shop is not open weekends so I had to take the patch off with a razor blade while Gerry held a flashlight. Either that or delay our trip (again) on the off chance that someone could patch it without increasing the thickness.

Instead of rushing around like idiots trying to leave tomorrow we're aiming for Sunday.

Many many thanks to Jean and Rick for putting up with us for so long!

Once again... the glam side of sailboats

Still waiting for mechanic Bill to show up so decided to do what we could to get the project a little bit further. As far as I'm concerned this project was misrepresented. I heard "Hey honey can you help me push a hose through?"  There was no mention of the other 2 hoses, where they were situated (in the bilge!), nor that the 3 old ones had to be pulled out before the new ones went in.

If this space looks like a large accessible area - you are oh so wrong. You have to either kneel or lay on your stomach on this hard hardwood and watch you don't hit your head on entry and exit.

So here I am trying to pull out a giant exhaust hose while Gerry pushes from the other end. This thing has been in there for years and is wedged in and around a myriad of other hoses, wires, etc.  and does not want to come out. A quick job was turning into a long long job and disgustingly filthy, but there is more filth to come. We finally get it out and he now tells me there are 2 others. These are smaller but equally wedged and equally stiff. One good yank gets one out of hole but no one had told me it had "stuff" in it and the "stuff" sprayed all over the place - all over my arms and face - good thing I was wearing black. Needless to say I was much more careful with the last hose. Time for a break so I get cleaned up as best I can without any water and spy a big box of disposable gloves - why didn't I think to put a pair on? 

Back to work, wearing gloves. Gerry once more in the back locker me in the bilge - thought I had graduated from bilge rat. All 3 new hoses had to be pushed through the hole that Gerry could not see so it was quite the trick getting them all through. I carefully fed the exhaust hose up the middle of the bilge but the smaller ones needed to go up one side. I swear I did this carefully - I did not want to be blamed for something getting pulled off or broken and yet suddenly there was liquid gushing and the smell!! A hose connected to the holding tank was putting water into the bilge - just great!  Such a lovely smell and of course it's a T fitting right between the openings under and to the right of the white pipe you can see in the photo. Just barely accessible but Gerry got it fixed, we think.

Gerry trying to find exactly which of the T connections is leaking.

So what should have been a quick half hour to hour job took half the day.