Bahamas Days 5-8

Left Bluff Harbor on Monday morning and headed back.  The original plan was to go on around  to the south, towards Marsh Harbor and Hopetown.  The weather and seas were not conducive to this, so the decision was made to head back towards the west end. The weather forecast for heading back to the good ole USA was going downhill quickly after Thursday. We have known other boaters/loopers who got stuck in the Bahamas for 1-2 weeks just waiting for good crossing weather.  We didn't want to take that chance.  So, Monday nights stop was an anchorage at Allan/Pensacola Cay.  We had a little trouble with the anchor rope while setting anchor.  The rope got wrapped around the port prop.  Early in our looping days, the guys purchased a small air compressor and a hookah apparatus for just this instance.  To date, it had not been needed, but it worked perfectly on this occasion.  It will come in handy for barnacle scraping, propeller maintenance and anything requiring underwater breathing.  Once we were successfully anchored, there was snorkeling and dinghy riding and beach walking and resting, etc. 

The hardest part of this whole thing was getting the straps on right. Jim was a big help with that.

First time underwater breathing.

Preparing to pull anchor.

We left Tuesday morning headed for Great Sale Cay. A different anchorage this time.  More snorkeling and dinghy riding. ALL 4 of us got in the dinghy and headed for shore.  I found a dead conch shell up on the beach and brought it back to the boat.  It was really hot and the conch really smelled.  On our way back to the boat Jim tried to swish out the contents with sea water. It has been soaking in soap and water ever since.  Hoping it smells better by the time I try and take it home to the grandsons.

The captain and his crew.

We headed for West End on Wednesday morning. Once there, we walked over to the beach restaurant, had an early supper and generally enjoyed the scenery the rest of the day.  Weather forecasts called for 2-4' seas, with some reaching 5' and 11-18mph winds from the SSE, so we were ready to set sail Thursday. 

Thursday morning we took on some extra fuel. We put Jim to good use, once again.  Shortly after we were headed back to the U.S..

THe sunrise as we pulled away.

Pam sent this. Had to share.

Seas look pretty calm, right? Wrong! Most of the way we were in 2-5' seas with about a 4 second period between waves. It was rough. Tim drove 99% of the way back. About 8 hours. We all settled in for the ride. 

Palm Beach

VERY large container ship. Passed within .9 miles. 

'Shopping' at K-Mart! Never a dull moment with this crew!! :)

Both Tim and Jim took lots of pictures in the Bahamas and Tim's going to upload some when he gets a chance. We're happy to be back. 

Bahamas - Days 1-4.

It's been awhile, but with very spotty internet and being busy there's not been time to catch up.

We left North Palm Beach at 0500, last Thursday. There were initially 5 boats in our group, but we soon picked up a couple more once we got through the inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived at West End, Bahamas at 14:30 (2:30). The weather and sea conditions could NOT have been better!  1-2' seas and enough breeze to be comfortable all the way across. (We have come to miss the white canvas on Ju-Li IV. Maggie Mae has black canvas and there's a big difference in heat absorption, as you can imagine.) The group of boats we were traveling with stay in touch with one another on VHF channel 69.  Having a spare VHF on board, we were able to listen in and still monitor the hailing channel (16). There was quite a bit of useless chatter, but several boats were trolling for fish and at least 2 were successful. One caught a good sized dolphin (mahi-mahi) and another a sailfish. The dolphin was cleaned, filleted and refrigerated. The sailfish was released. Come to think of it, we never did see the pictures of the sailfish. Hmmmm.... 

We stayed at Old Bahama Bay marina in West End. Their complex consists of a small marina operation, beachfront property with pool, restaurants/bar and about 10-15 condo style facilities. A nice place. We spent some time at the beach, playing in the water and on the kayaks and paddle boards. Did a little snorkeling, although not much to see. Had good seafood for dinner, and retired to the boat. 04:30 wake up had made us all a little tired. Still watching Breaking Bad. Interesting, albeit very dark...

Our view from our slip at Old Bahama Bay Marina.

Jim trying his hand at paddle boarding. 

Tim's turn. Joe going under to snorkel.

Blackened grouper. Yum!

Friday morning we waited for the gas dock to open and got in line for fuel. We were probably underway by 08:45. Our destination Friday-Great Sale Cay (pronounced key). Three of the five original boats that came over with us did not have to stop for customs, as they had been to the Bahamas within the past month, and were cleared. We and one other boat (named 'Go') needed to clear customs, so we stayed overnight and left together Friday morning.  About 2:30, we decided to drop anchor and do a little snorkeling. Both boats stopped. We cooked and ate hotdogs/polish sausages and jumped in the water.  As we were traveling with the wind, there was no breeze, and believe me, it was hot! The water was refreshing!  We played for about an hour then got underway again. Go headed to the north end of the cay and we headed to a cove on the south end. There were 5-7 other boats already anchored when we arrived. Getting the anchor set was no problem and I got busy making dinner while the guys did guy stuff. Thank goodness for our generator! Makes food prep easy and being able to run the AC when we need to is the best!

Saw my first waterspout while waiting for fuel Friday morning.

A little sparrow hitching a ride. So strange to see out in the middle of miles and miles of water.

Close to where we snorkeled Friday.

Jim and Joe 

Joe

Large ship on the horizon. 

The Captain, working on his tan.

Saturday we traveled to Green Turtle Cay and stayed at Bluff House Marina. We remained there 2 nights. While there we played on the beach, rented a golf cart on Sunday to take us around the cay, down to Historic New Plymouth for ice cream and sightseeing. The cay is small, as are many of the islands in the Bahamas. There were two ducks living at the marina, aptly named Port and Starboard. We made friends with them with old, moldy hotdog buns. They came back Monday morning for breakfast. We needed fuel before taking off, so Tim made the necessary arrangements.  Fortunately we were close enough to the fuel pumps that we didn't have to move the boat to take on fuel. Unfortunately the pumps were not working very well and taking on 100 gallons took about an hour. More time to feed wheat thins to the ducks. :) 

Heading into Green Turtle Cay.

Entering Bluff Harbor.

Sunday around noon. Most streets wide enough for 2 golf carts or 1 car. 

Can you say 'retired'? Bluff Harbor private beach. Jim has sunburned knees as a result of this little nap.

My view. Sorry about the knee :(

South end of cay.

Port and Starboard

Jim in the dinghy.

Tim's turn.

Joe at the 'helm'. Isn't the water amazingly clear? And this is in the marina!

One day while resting at Bluff Harbor, Tim decided to wet a line. He caught a fish aptly named a sergeant major fish. No kidding! Anyway, it wasn't a keeper by any means, so he decided to throw it back. Problem is he tried to throw it through a closed eisenglass. Guess they were so clean he couldn't see them. It made for much jocularity!!

Tim's fish.

Day 5, Hoping to depart tomorrow

Its mid-day Wed. The UPS truck is scheduled to arrive by 4pm, hopefully carrying the transmission cooler we need for the starboard engine. The weather continues to look promising enough for an early morning departure. There are 3, maybe 4 other boats crossing to the Bahamas tomorrow, so we should look like a caravan. That is, if we all travel at relatively the same speed, of course...

The meeting with Customs and Immigration went smoothly, once we found it. Since we had a rental car for 24 hours, we ate 3 meals out, (2 at iHop), did a little shopping and not much sightseeing. Tim said we'll get a better look at Rush's house when we pass by Peanut Island, on the way to the inlet, in the morning. Jim and I did some laundry. All 3 of the guys installed new tubes in our bicycles. I made banana bread and took a loaf to our new friends, John and Barbara. She brought us pinto beans the night before to eat with our Chipotle dinner. Jim finished the stairs yesterday. They look fantastic! 

No more varnish. Completely sanded and oiled.

Had to include this picture of Elisha enjoying his birthday cupcake at Great Grandma June's house. She loves It when his family comes to visit!

This picture makes me laugh out loud. Such fun!

Jeremiah helping his Papa in one of their gardens

Working on replacing tire tubes. Tim's been working on his tan ;).

Jim, talking to Ruth. You know, I think they must like one another =D. When Tim and Joe finished this bike, Tim left to take the rental (grey Fiesta) back, Jim and Joe did bike number 2. 

Found a really small plunger that we need for the aft cabin shower drain periodically.  We almost got it to stick on Joe's head. Makes for a good photo op, regardless. He's a good sport!

So, assuming our part comes, we depart in the morning between 0500-0600. We will likely be out of touch, since cellular rates are high. I will hopefully get lots of pictures and load them up whe we are back in US waters/range. Please pray for our crossing, our health, Maggie Mae's mechanical well being and good seas! Thank you and we'll see you when we return!!