Our current guest list is empty. Robin M stayed a while and on the day she left, Brenda and Joe came aboard for a couple of days (THEY GOT ENGAGED WHILE WITH US!) – so it has been fun. Now we are back to being just the two of us – no schedules, no expectations until we head back to Connecticut for Meg’s graduation on August 17! Yes, we miss you. We miss our kids and our grandson. We miss our parents and friends. We stay in touch so that we know you are good and you know that we are still doing OK!
At the end of last week, we were dealing with our anchor’s windlass (electric contraption for dropping and lifting the anchor and chain). Our last attempt at correcting a malfunctioning windlass was to get it rebuilt in Nassau. The newly rebuilt motor was kind of a Frankenstein since it was pieced together from 2 different motors. This cost a few dollars and worked for exactly 30 minutes. We dropped anchor in Montague (near Oprah’s house) and hoisted it manually since the motor died. Having been less than successful in finding good assistance in some of problem areas (lights, watermaker, windlass etc.) we thought it was time to “pull the plug” on the Bahamas, head to Florida to find better problem solvers and then perhaps, make our way up the East Coast over the next couple of months. Our first stop after Nassau was back in Great Harbour Cay Marina. We made it to the marina before the sun was completely gone on Friday night and when we started to look around on Saturday, we decided it was way too early to leave the Bahamas! We will be in Great Harbour a few days and probably pay a little more to have a new windlass motor shipped over – or find a different solution – but we are not on a schedule and have no commitments until Meg’s August event. So instead, we are enjoying the area (swimming, biking, exploring ruins, snorkeling, drinking) and meeting a lot of great people from all over. Each with their own stories. When you see a picture of us holding a coconut drink on the beach, you may understand why we cannot leave yet!
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“We travel not to escape life, but so that life will not escape us.” It’s been a month since our last blog, and we’ve been busy and happy. Luckily, we found someone who could weld the broken engine mount bracket for us, and we sailed back to the Exumas. The winds have been very cooperative over the last month or so, and we’ve used very little diesel, something we are pretty proud of. We hope that, once we no longer have a schedule to follow, we’ll go only where the wind takes us and use no diesel at all! Before we left Nassau, we had some excitement when our dinghy decided to take its own moonlight tour of the Nassau waterfront. Bob and I hopped into the kayak the next morning and began scouring the south shore. Luckily, a cargo ship had picked Pudge up and delivered her safely to the Royal Bahamas Defense people. We got to take a fast ride back to Blue Bonnet in a police boat to pick up the Pudge’s documentation. Everyone was very nice and super friendly. The police told us that this happens often, so we didn’t feel too bad. Once back in the Exumas, we visited Norman’s Cay, snorkeled on a sunken drug airplane, and had a cheeseburger and beer at MacDuff’s. One of my favorite parts of the trip was our time in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. We hiked up Boo Boo Hill, snorkeled on several reefs all around the park. At Shroud’s Cay, we met a solo sailor named Bob who taught us the domino game Mexican Train. I am now addicted. At Shroud’s we jumped off a small cliff into a strong current that pulled us out towards the sea, dumping us on a sand bank before deep water. Another stop this month was Staniel Cay. We snorkeled the Thunderball Grotto (yes, the movie was shot there) and went to see the swimming pigs. Both Robins agreed that the pigs were kind of sad. So many tourists throwing food at them and chasing after the piglets. Although there was supposed to be a keeper there watching out for the animals, we didn’t see anyone. Just last year, seven of the wild pigs died suddenly. It is thought that they ingested too much sand while rooting on the beach for tourist food. The local folks and tour companies make a lot of money from these pigs, so I don’t see anything changing for them soon. One striking thing about this month’s voyage has been the number of mega-yachts we have seen. One of the captains told us that the boats have rerouted from the BVIs. Not only are the ports down there still far from being whole, but sunken boats pose a hazard to travel. SO MANY PEOPLE!!! Hopefully, we can find some spots that are not so crowded. Now we are back in Nassau. We’ve re-provisioned, watered up, and are getting ready to take off. We’re hoping to find a fishing spot so that Robin M. can catch something big before she goes home on April 12. Bob’s been chatting with some local fishermen, and they’ve given him a few tips. Wish us luck, and we wish you a happy and warming spring! Enjoy the most recent spate of photos below. |
AuthorRobin and Bob recently quit their jobs, sold all their belongings, and headed south to begin a new life on the sea. Check back here to find out how life adrift is going. Archives
February 2019
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