Catching Up

Judy was doing a great job on the blog, but when she flew home, I didn't keep it up. Jeanne & David flew down to Staniel Cay mid March, but had to stay overnight in Nassau, because they couldn't make the connection. They met Chris, who had the same problem, and talked to him on the flight to Staniel the next day. Turns out he's a big fisherman, with a boat set up for offshore fishing. He was very friendly, showing dave how they set up their lures for using Ballyhoo, a  bait fish. Later in the week, he invited Dave and me to go fishing. He had the 3 of us trolling with 10 lines in the water, using outriggers and downriggers. We caught 7 Mahi mahi, and 1 barracuda, all good sized fish. So that was a fun change of pace! Dave and I did some snorkelling in Pipe Creek, and found a couple of nice spots. Then on to Norman's Cay, and Nassau. Jeanne flew home, and Bruce Larson arrived for the delivery trip back to RI. We stopped 2 nights in the Berry Cays, then did 2 days and nights of standing watch to arrive in St. Augustine, Fla. to check in with Customs. It was then when we found out the local Customs office was closed Tues. and Wed. Wed. we rented a car to drive to Jacksonville to clear Customs. We left Wed. noon, and went overnight to Beaufort SC. What started off as a nice sail, became a windy ride. At one point we were going 7 knots with just the jib! Both St. Augustine and Beaufort were nice stops, with nice marinas and pleasant small towns near the waterfront.
More catching up in the next post.

The Pink Store and the Blue Store

Staniel Cay is a  typical Bahamian settlement, For groceries you have the pink store and the blue store.

When you talk about a grocery store, The Pink Pearl is about as low key as you can imagine. We went in yesterday and the shelves were basically bare. The supply boat from Nassau hasn’t been in for a few weeks because of the weather.   We bought an onion and 6 cans of tonic. There are actually two grocery stores in town, the pink store and the blue store. I bought coffee cream at the blue store for $7.50. They had some that had an expiration date of January 19^th and even that wasn’t on sale. I think they could use a math consultant down here, as the shopkeepers are challenged by adding up the goods. Is this a sign that I should retire?

Pigs on the blanket

Ok, well the pigs got off the blanket and they went for a swim.  Crazy meeting up with a pig in the dingy. This was at Big Major on Staniel Cay, a Sunday morning swim. We were on our way to snorkel at Thunderball Grotto,
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Crew Change

Leaving the boat feeling refreshed, relaxed and ready for more adventure.  I found my happy place in the Bahamas and will be eager to return to fill in the gaps. I’ll catch up with Double Diamond in the Chesapeake.  David and Jeanne will arrive tomorrow. Next week Bruce Larson will join the crew and ride the Gulf Stream up to the US Coast. Wishing fair winds and following seas to the sailors aboard.

Casino Royale Bahamas Style

The Original 007 Gang at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club 1964

The Bahamian conch as a sex symbol

Party Scene Staniel Cay Yacht Club 2012

Rachel's Bubble Bath

The three dingy’s headed off to Compass Cay for an  afternoon at Rachel’s Bubble Bath

 Patrick brought Champagne, what’s a bubble bath with the bubbly?  We hiked up  a narrow salt water stream bed and at the end it becomes a pool, abutting a rock on the Exuma Sound.

The waves crash over the rock to form the bubbles. We waded around until high tide, and then the waves really came crashing through. ) Need that underwater camera again!)  After an afternoon of soaking, we all gathered on Living Well for an Island Dinner.

A Great Day of Sailing

We are trucking along at 9 knots on a 60 degree reach to Staniel Cay humming.  It’s quite a thrill ride today. Wind and weather conditions are perfect on  the Double Diamond. Andy and I have gotten to be a good sailing team. He was always good, let's just say my skills have improved and we are working well together.

 There is a big” Casino Royale” party tonight at Staniel Cay Yacht Club.

 The theme is James Bond, as the Thunderball Grotto, where we will snorkel this afternoon,  is where the filiming too place for Thunderball, the movie. We heard over the radio that lots of people are flying in  and many of  the Big Boys” are motoring/sailing in. Should be an interesting scene. I think we’re not in the Exuma Marine Park anymore.