Tag: Bahamas

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

We get to welcome two new virtual crew members this week: loofah3 and vickeysare.  Welcome Aboard!

Summary of Week

The skipper is mourning the slow death of his computer.  It will hardly take a charge to stay alive.  Then when it does come on, it rarely responds to the keyboard.  I will try and get this weeks blog out using the Ipad, but most of the pictures are on the non-functioning computer along with the video clips.

The skipper said that the computer would not even make a good anchor, and then muttered something about float testing the thing.  I do not think the computer is long for this world if it does not get its act together.

The crew continued to lounge and enjoy the Ocean Reef Yacht Club while they waited for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream back to Florida. They moved to West End on Friday and then launched across the Big Pond on Saturday to Stuart.

At the Box Office

This weeks video of Still Waters II crossing back to Florida.

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site.

Tuesday/ Thursday

The crew managed to win a couple of more matches of Bocce Ball with the help of Gwen and Nancy.  They will be leaving the islands as the undefeated World Champions.  Gwen managed to twist the arm of the Resort, so to speak, to give all of the Bocce Ball players a toast.  The resort mixed up some Bahama Mama’s and served them in the VIP room.

Way to go Gwen!

Wednesday, March 14

The skipper rode his bike out and back to the Garden of the Groves this morning. While taking a quick break at the Gardens, two vehicles drove up and parked. The occupants looked like they were dressed up as aliens.

Upon closer examination, they were protective suits to prevent bee stings. The group was in the process of relocating two swarms of bees that they had captured.

 

Reminded the skipper of the time he and his Dad captured their first swarm of bees. The skipper was raising bees in the backyard of his childhood home. One of the bee hives swarmed into the neighbor’s pear tree.

The plan was for the skipper to stand on a 6-foot step ladder holding a Styrofoam ice chest a top of his head. The skipper’s Dad was to hit the limb the bees were on and the bees would fall into the ice chest.

The scene was set-up and the plan was progressing just fine. Except when the limb was knocked by Dear-ole-Dad, the bees did not fall. Dad smacked the limb twice more and the bees did not budge. Well, except a bunch of them that started flying around.

About this time the skipper lowered the ice chest to his side to see what the problem was. He was also providing some coaching to his Dad. About the time the skipper said: “Hit the limb harder.” His Dad clobbered the limb and all the bees fell atop the skipper. He was coated in bees from his head down to about his knees.

The skipper slowly made it down the ladder, then scooped the bees off of him and into the ice chest. He placed the lid on the ice chest, then cut a small hole in the side. The bees that were flying around eventually went into the ice chest thru the hole.

Later that evening the skipper moved the bees to a new brood box he had built. The whole process was accomplished without a single bee sting. And that is how you capture swarming bees in Texas my friend.

Friday, March 16, 2018

The crew made way back to the Old Bahama Bay Marina where they first entered the country.  This allowed them to take on enough fuel to get back stateside and stage for the trip back to Florida.  An added bonus to the stop was running into the crew of Hydrophilic, the first Looper friends our crew made back in 2014.  After docking, the four spent some time  over at the pool cooling off, and then enjoyed a nice dinner at the local restaurant.

Is John rocking that shirt or what?

Saturday, March 17

The crew rose early to get off the dock at sunrise, but they were not the first to leave.  Sometime in the middle of the night, the crew of Hydrophilic slipped out into the dark on their way to Lake Worth.

Our  crew managed to slide out of the marina just as the sun was peeking over the horizon.  Our crew then set a heading of 282 degrees magnetic on the auto pilot and started their eight hour cruise across the Gulf Stream.

The trip across was uneventful, but when they arrived at the Stuart Inlet they were reminded why some people refuse to cruise on the weekend.  It was more than busy and crowded coming into the inlet.  They continued to get waked by both large and small fishing vessels for the first several miles.

When they got to the crossroads with the ICW, the crew headed north and the boat traffic began to thin.  They traveled north on the ICW to Jensen Beach where they anchored for the evening.

After getting settled, the skipper called Customs to check back into the USA.  The individual took tons of information and then told the skipper he would need to go to the nearest Customs Office for a face-to-face meeting within 24 hours.

While the crew mulled that bit of information over, they launched the dinghy and headed to Conchy Joe’s to celebrate a successful Gulf Crossing and Bahamas trip.

Hope you had a good St Patrick’s Day!

Sunday, March 18

The crew travelled a short 15 miles to Ft Pierce City Marina.  From the marina, the crew took a taxi to the Treasure Coast International Airport.  They entered the Customs Office to complete the check in process and were greeted by an empty chair.  There was a button on the counter that read ‘Push for Service.’  Since this was a government operation, the skipper was not expecting much service and he was not disappointed.

The first ring of the buzzer summoned nothing but silence.  The crew could hear people talking and joking around, but no one showed up at the counter.  Two minutes later the automatic lights turned off.  They had come on when the crew first passed thru the door.

The skipper took the lights out as a clue that it was time to push the so called service button again.  This time the skipper held the button down for a pro wrestling ten count.  Amazing enough, a person appeared around the corner and said that they would be right there.  A man then came to the counter, asked why the crew was there.  The Admiral started to answer his question, but once she mentioned the word boat, he cut her off and said: “Let me see your passport.”

He glanced at both passports and handed them back thru the opening in the glass window.  He then dismissed the crew with a: “that will be all.”  The skipper then asked the man if he needed the Arrival Number he was given yesterday because the guy on the phone said that Customs would neeeeed the number.  The man behind the glass then said: “We already have the number.” He then turned and walked away.  The whole evolution took less than five minutes, and half of that was waiting for someone to show up at the window.

I am pretty sure I heard the skipper mumble something like “that is an hour of my life I will never get back.”  I usually hear this from him when something happens that he judges to be a complete and total waste of time.

Boat Name of the Week:

. Calm

pronounced ‘dot Calm’

The skipper saw this boat while taking on fuel at Ft Pierce.

Next Week

The crew will start north back to Jacksonville where they will meet family for the Easter weekend.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins.  The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red

 

 

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

Summary of week:

The crew has not moved during the past week as they sit and wait for the winds to become favorable so they can cross back over the Gulf Stream and return to Florida.

But they did a few shore excursions exploring the Grand Bahama Island.  The voyage of discovery did answer the following questions this week:

1. What is the purpose of a Labyrinth?
2. What is the difference between a Labyrinth and a Maze?
3. When and where was the first Christian Labyrinth created?

At the Box Office

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site.  The library contains videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

The crew spent a relaxing day getting familiar with their new surroundings.  In the afternoon a woman stopped by and informed the crew that there would be a dockside party in honor of the OSCARS at 1800.  With trophies for Best Dressed and Best Guess.

Just before 1800, the crew noticed people dressed up as their favorite actor/actress.  The crew went over to see what all the fuss was about and had an enjoyable good time.  The organizers had a red carpet out that you walked to get to the tables.  The Admiral was selected to be one of the three judges for the Best Dressed trophy.  After the contestants walked the red carpet, this guy won the trophy.

The crew sat at a table with two couples from Canada.  The four folks kept the crew laughing the whole evening.

Monday, March 5

The skipper noticed a guy cleaning conch when they came in the channel on Saturday.  The crew took a short hike to the Williams Beach today in search of conch shells that might have been left behind.  On the way, they found several piles of old conch shells.

But the skipper was holding out for the new and fresh shells.  They found the spot where the guy was cleaning conch but there were only a few good shells.  On the return trip, the skipper found a fresh pile of conch shells.  The Admiral picked a few of the best.  The crew decided to ride their bikes back over and harvest more shells later.

Also, on the way back the skipper noticed a rope hanging from a tree branch, so he decided to take a swing out over the water.

On Monday evenings, the resort provides a free dinner for all the guests.  When the crew asked the OSCAR Party folks about the dinner, the party goers all laughed and made fun of the small portions.  The crew went to the dinner and noticed that the OSCAR Party crowd was in full attendance at the free dinner.  The portions were small indeed, but the draw seems to be the two free Bahama Mamas (rum and fruit juice) that each guest is given.

Gulf Stream Weather Report:

Winds 10-15 mph from NE, swells 10 feet with 10 second period, waves moving from NE which would put them on the beam.

The crew looks for Winds < 10 mph, swells less than 2 feet, and no wind component from the N.

Will continue to wait for better weather window.  Long range forecast shows a window opening on March 17^th.

Tuesday, March 6

The crew played Bahama Bocce Ball with some folks at the Resort.  Bahama style is with no groomed court.  Just find a spot outside on the grass and go for it.  Makes for some interesting games as the ‘court’ was very uneven, rocky, trees in the way, and even a grill in play.

The crew’s team made it to the finals but lost in a close match 9-11.

Gulf Stream Weather Report:

Winds 9-18 mph from S, swells 7 feet with 14 second period, waves moving from NE which would put them on the beam.

Will continue to wait for better weather window.  Long range forecast still shows a window opening on March 17^th.

Wednesday, March 7

The crew decided to visit a Botanical Garden on the Island today.  It was a short and easy six-mile bicycle ride to the Garden of the Groves.  The gardens are spread out over a seven-acre area with meandering paths that wander around.

At one end of the gardens, the crew found a Labyrinth that was a recreation of the first Christian Labyrinth built at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres, in 1201.

Labyrinths differ from a maze in that a Labyrinth leads to the center of the project, while a maze is more like a puzzle with many dead ends.  The Labyrinth is a Sacred Path with a purpose: a meandering path we all walk to connect to our deepest selves, to each other, and our God.

After enjoying the Gardens of the Groves for a few hours, the crew rode their bikes back to the boat.  On the way, they did make a stop at a Wendy’s to get a burger and frosty.

Gulf Stream Weather Report:

Winds 17-24 mph from WNW, swells 6-7 feet with 14 second period, waves moving from NNE which would put them on the beam.  Winds will begin to clock around out of the south over the next few days, but will not provide an opportunity to cross back to Florida.

Will continue to wait for better weather window.  Long range forecast still shows a window opening on March 17^th.  Looks like the best day to travel might be 19^th.

Thursday, March 8

Kinda strange day.  The high today was only 68.  With the wind blowing it actually felt cool.  Hope that is the worst of winter here in the Bahamas.  The crew took the time to find the Port Lucaya Straw Market to browse the locals wares.  They then found the  local grocery store and did some re-provisioning since they will not be getting out of here any time soon.

When they arrived back at the boat is was time for another round of Bahama Bocce Ball.  The crew managed to beat the Monday champs in the first game.  The team called for a rematch for a winner take all game to crown the weekly champ.  It was a close match tied at the half way point 6-6.  Then our crew’s team pulled away to win the crown, 11-7.

Gulf Stream Weather Report:

Winds 10-14 mph from NE, swells 5-6 feet with 10 second period, waves moving from NNE which would put them on the beam.  Winds will begin to clock around out of the south over the next few days, but will not provide an opportunity to cross back to Florida.

Will continue to wait for better weather window.  Long range forecast shows a window opening on March 17^th.  Looks like the best day to travel still might be the  19^th.

The Admiral has been busy increasing her trove of beach treasures.  She has gathered a nice array of conch shells, sea biscuits, sand dollars, and a few star fish.

Boat Name of the Week –

Next Week –

The skipper continues to monitor the weather and wave heights to cross the Gulf Stream.  The winds will clock from the north to the south during the next week.  However, the wind will remain high and keep the waves in the Gulf Stream greater than 5 feet.  A window does seem to be opening starting on March 17th.  That is still a ways off but does look promising.  Late in the week it should be clear what day the crew will cross.

Some have asked what the crew’s criteria for a good weather window looks like:

1- Locals say not to cross with any North wind component because of the wind over current issue with the Gulf Stream (WNW, NW, N, NE, ENE) stacks the waves up more square than rolling and is a rough ride.

2 – look for winds less than 10 mph

3 – look for swells < 2 feet with period > 4 seconds

4- also, with the winds blowing hard out of the north, it is wise to allow the waves a day to calm down before crossing, even if the wind speed is low

Another question is how do you determine your heading to make sure you arrive where you want to:  (For starters, Assume the Gulf Stream is 2.5 knots)

1- calculate the distance from inlet you are leaving from to your destination

2- divide distance by your avg speed to calculate your passage time

3- multiply passage time by 2.5 (Gulf Stream)

4- the result is your offset distance the Gulf Stream will push you North

5- measure south of your destination by your offset distance and place a waypoint

6- make your heading the waypoint south of your actual distinction and the Gulf Stream will push you North to your inlet

For example:

1- Lake worth Inlet to West End is 64 miles

2- 64 mi/9 mph=  7.1 hours for a transport time

3- 7.1 hrs x 2.5 mph = 17.75 miles

4- offset distance = 17.75 south of your inlet destination

5- measure south 17.5 and place waypoint

6- your resulting heading you will steer should be about 262 M

If you steer 262 M, the Gulf Stream will push you North (17.75 miles) so that you arrive at the Lake Worth Inlet.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins. The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

We have two new virtual crew members to welcome aboard this week.  Jim R. and Hannahhal.  Glad to have you aboard, hope you enjoy the beaches of Treasure Cay.

Summary of week:

1 – The crew took a day trip to Treasure Cay to go take in the sites of one of the top ten beaches in the world on Tuesday.

2 – On Thursday, they took the southern route back to Great Sale Cay.

3 – On Friday, they turned south around Mangrove Cay and transited the Grand Lucayan Waterway thru the Grand Bahama Island.

4 – They completed their travels at the Ocean Reef Yacht Club where they will begin their wait for the next weather window to get back state side.

This week’s adventure did answer the questions of:

1- Who were the next people to try and make a go of it in the Abaco’s?

2 – When did they arrive?

3 – How long did they last?

Click on the link to read the day-to-day travel log.  This includes weather report, sea conditions, captain’s log, and a summary of the day’s experience.

At the Box Office

This week’s video shows the crew on a trip to Treasure Cay via bicycle, ferry, taxi, and foot.  Still Waters II is shown as she transits portions of the Grand Lucayan Waterway and eventually pulls into safe harbor at the Ocean Reef Yacht Club.  Enjoy!

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site.  The library contains videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

New Plymouth was founded in 1786.

The new settlers to the Abaco’s were loyalist from the United States who did not want to be under the new government formed after the British surrender during the Revolutionary War.  The first 600 persons left New York in 1783.  In all, about 2000 folks migrated from the US to the Abaco’s in the 1780’s.  However, they quickly learned that the limestone islands were not easy to farm.  By 1790, only 400 of these loyalist remained in the Abaco’s, mostly those that did not have enough money to leave.

New Plymouth was the main community for those that remained.  The people made their living by farming, fishing, and wrecking.

Monday, February 26

The crew decided to go explore the Gillam Bay and walk the beach around the south end of Green Turtle Cay.

 

 

 

 

This is a well visited area so the shelling was not all that great.  However, the Admiral did manage to find several sand dollars.

Tuesday, February 27

The crew decided to take a day trip over to Treasure Cay.  The beach is supposed to be three miles of pristine white sand with great views of the turquoise waters in the bay.  The day started with a bicycle ride into New Plymouth.  Then a ferry ride over to the Treasure Cay airport ferry dock 6 miles north of town.  A taxi ride delivered the crew to the Treasure Cay Marina and then it was only a short walk to the beach.

The crew headed north along the beach and found a nice place in the shade to take in the sights.

In a short while, a most interesting lady showed up in the same area.  There was a broken plastic chair beside where the crew had sat down.  The woman began repairing the broken leg with duct tape.  After she got settled in her beachcombed chair, she sat about preparing to complete a painting she had been working on.  Her son was going to be sailing by later on his boat named Osprey 007.  She was going to paint his sailboat into the bay today.

The woman, named Elizabeth, was an art teacher from Canada.  Her and her husband escape the frozen tundra every winter by visiting the Bahamas.  When in Canada, they live near the end of the Trent-Severn Waterway with a view of Beausoleil Island in the distance.  You may recall, the crew spent a few days docked at Beausoleil Island when in Canada during the summer of 2016.  This is another one of Elizabeth’s paintings.  This one shows her dock with the Island in the background, and is titled: Tea on the Dock.

After enjoying the beach, the crew headed to the Coco Beach Bar to have lunch.

As they waited for the food to arrive, a storm began to brew on the horizon.  With the sun still shining to the southwest, the sun rays reflected the turquoise water color up onto the clouds which made for a colorful cloud cover.

After lunch, they walked around town some more and then headed back to Green Turtle Cay by reversing their trip over: Walk, taxi, ferry, and bike ride back to Still Waters II.

Wednesday, February 28

The crew met another interesting couple the other day.  They sail on a catamaran named Sabbatique.  They have been living aboard for about two years.

But most strangely enough, Kevin and Monique grew up in a small town in Mississippi, named Picayune.  Just so happens that the Admiral has relatives that still live in Picayune.  The couple also has lived in Atlanta, same as our crew.  It is a small world.  The two couples hit it off amazingly well and decided to have dinner together.  Kevin and Monique offered to take everyone by dinghy over to White Sound and eat at the Bluff House.

It turned out to be a beautiful night for a late dinghy ride with the full moon lighting the way.  The food was good and the conversation and company were exceptional.  The crew was having so much fun they forgot to take a picture of Kevin & Monique.  The Admiral solved this problem by pulling this photo from Monique’s facebook page.  The wonders of modern technology.

Thursday, March 1

Sabbatique shoved off the dock headed to Treasure Cay, followed shortly by our crew.  The two crews hope to cross paths again in the spring and summer as they cruise the east coast.

 

Our crew has headed back towards Great Sale Cay where they hope to make it to Freeport before the predicted high winds this weekend.  A look at a few islands as the crew heads back.

Then the sunset to bring the day to a close at Great Sale Cay.

The reflection of the sun on the moon also made for a great moment as the moon came up over a few sailboats also anchored.

Friday, March 2

The crew woke with the winds building and the waves starting to slap the hull.  The crew weighed anchor and started the 24 miles towards Mangrove Cay.  When they arrived, the crew turned south along the west side of Mangrove Cay.

After another dozen miles, the crew approached a rare navigational aid in the Bahamas.  This aid happens to be named Cormorant Point.  Interesting enough, there were two Cormorants sitting atop the poles when the crew went by.

Then after just a few more miles, the crew reached the north entrance to the Grand Lucayan Waterway.  This is a manmade canal thru the middle of the Grand Bahama Island.  The developers hoped to build homes along the waterway, but by the looks of things, the developers ran out of money before they finished.

But more importantly for the crew, the north entrance is only about 3 feet deep.  The crew needs 4 feet to safely navigate the entrance.  The crew arrived about two hours after low tide on a rising tide.  This gave them just enough water to float into the main canal.  The skipper was busy silencing the low level alarm because much of the marked channel was only carrying 4 feet of water.

After transiting the waterway, the crew found a spot to drop the anchor for the evening.  The spot was well protected from the 20 mph winds that blew all night.

Saturday, February

 With strong north winds blowing, the crew was not sure what to expect when they exited the waterway.  Luckily, they would only be travelling about a mile offshore on the leeward side of the island.  The waves turned out to only be 1 footers, so the ten mile ride to the Ocean Reef Yacht Club was fairly calm.

Next Week –

The crew will stay at the Ocean Reef Yacht Club until a weather window opens to allow them to cross back over to the states.  Looking at the long range forecast, the first weather window does not look to open till March 17th.  The wait begins.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins. The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red

 

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

I would like to take the time to welcome our latest virtual crew member aboard, Gary G.  Gary was friends with the skipper’s brother back in the 70’s and 80’s.  Glad to have you aboard Gary!

Summary of week:

This week the crew left the West End and made way to Green Turtle Cay.  Along the way they anchored out three nights:

1 – Great Sale Cay, in the Little Bahama Bank

2- Angelfish Point, at the tip of the Great Abaco Island

3- Manjack Cay, at the north end of the Cay

They ended their travels at Green Turtle Club on the Green Turtle Cay.

This week’s adventure did answer the questions of:

1. What is a Bank?
2. What is a Cay?
3. What happened to the indigenous people of the islands?

Click on the link to read the day-to-day travel log.  This includes weather report, sea conditions, captain’s log, and a summary of the day’s experience.

At the Box Office

This week’s video shows Still Waters II cruising east in the clear waters of the Little Bahama Bank and four dolphins swimming in the bow wake.  In addition, there are photos of the anchor spots she stopped at along the way.  The clip ends with a pic of a shark that swims by the boat every afternoon.  Enjoy!

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site.  The library contains videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Monday, February 12, 2018

The first order of business to cruise the Bahamas was to find a way through the shallow waters since they do not mark the channel in these waters.  Luckily for the skipper, a boater in the West End gave him a copy of The Cruising Guide to Abaco.  In the back of the book was a Brief History of Abaco.  The history talks of Columbus’ encounters with the indigenous people, the Lucayan Indians.  He described them as gentle and kind.  The Spaniards enslaved the Lucayans to work the fields in Cuba.  By 1550, the Lucayans fell victim to this new way of life and were wiped out.  It would be another 200 years before another permanent settlement was established in the Abaco’s.

Also, in the book were waypoints, direction of travel, and a distance.  Armed with this information the skipper was able to plot a course to Green Turtle Cay thru the shallow crystal-clear water.

The Bahama Islands are surrounded by 1-2-thousand-feet-deep Atlantic Ocean.  The deep blue color you see on the picture.  The land mass abruptly rises to the shallow waters (5-10 feet deep) that are called banks, the light turquoise color you see surrounding the land masses.  Then every so often, limestone rock surfaces above the water.  The small land masses are called cays (a low island made of sand or coral) and the larger ones are called islands.

The crew left the West End and headed out to the first waypoint on the edge of the Little Bahama Bank (the small light blue water at the top of the picture above).  They travelled 24.3 nautical miles (nm) to the Mangrove Cay, altered course and headed 22.2 nm for the Great Sale Cay where they anchored for the night.

Along the way they encountered a large pod of dolphins, four of which swam in the bow wake for a little bit.  You can see them in the video.

With the winds out of the east, the skipper pulled up on the leeward side of Great Sale Cay and got as close as possible to get out of the wind.  The crew spent a peaceful night on the hook.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The crew weighed anchor and headed back to the course that the skipper had plotted via the waypoints.  Along the way they began seeing more rocks protrude out of the Bank, until they finally got to where there was an island to starboard with cays to starboard.

One interesting rock was named Center of the World Rock and it is a good landmark to verify your position.

As the crew approached Crab Cay, they once again altered off the plotted course and found a place to anchor off Angelfish Point.  There was a nice white sand beach just off the anchorage.  The crew had another peaceful night on the hook.

 

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The crew made a short run today to try an anchor spot on the north end of Manjack Cay.  The Active Captain reviews claimed that though the anchor spot was close to an inlet, that the cove provided protection from the swells.  Well, this did not turn out to be our crews experience.

The swells were hitting a rock bank, bouncing off the rocks, and then heading towards Still Waters II.  Made for a very long night as the boat rocked in the 1-2-foot swells.

However, the anchorage did provide for an entertaining day.  First there was a large sailboat.  The Admiral was wondering why the sailboat was not moving around because of the swells.  The answer came about ah hour later.  The crew of the sailboat had been in the water snorkeling.  When they got back on board they weighed anchor and attempted to leave.  However, the boat was aground and could not move.  The sailboat crew also had another problem to deal with.  The tide was ebbing, and the water was getting shallower by the minute.  It took the sailboat over an hour to work themselves free, but they finally made it out of the cove.

 

Then there was a 20-foot fishing boat that someone had beached.  They had gotten out of the boat and gone for a walk along the beach.  When they arrived back at their boat, it was high and dry, completely out of the water.  A dive boat with about 20 folks onboard came to their rescue.  They were able to pull the boat off the sand beach and float her back in the water.

Though the entertainment was good, the swells were uncomfortable enough that the Admiral has nixed this anchor spot from any future considerations.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

The crew weighed anchor and made the last run to the Green Turtle Cay where they spent the remainder of the week at the Green Turtle Club.  Upon arrival all was well.

However, before nightfall, the local power plant suffered a trip and was offline.  The resort has an emergency diesel generator to provide power to the resort.  However, the diesel does not power the docks.  The crew has been informed that the plant has a part on order, and the estimated time of arrival is Tuesday.  The rumor is that the plant is running at reduced output due to a cooling water problem.  The part is coming from Germany.  The power plant provides power for the Great Abaco Island and surrounding Cays, so this is having a far-reaching effect.  The power plant has initiated rolling black-outs.  For four hours the marina is without power, and then has power for about an hour and a half.  The locals must be used to the reliability issues of the power plant because almost all homes and business have their own dedicated emergency diesel generators.

Unfortunately for the boats in the marina, the emergency diesel for the resort only powers the businesses and villas.  No power to the docks, except for when the plant is powering the area.

Oh well, such is life in paradise.  The crew will get back to regularly scheduled shark watching.

 

Friday – Saturday

Well the crew has been bitten by some kind of strange bug.  The Admiral showed symptoms first a few days ago, and then the skipper finally caught the bug also.   The Admiral got a rash on her arms and legs.  The rash itched and had little red bumps all over.  Strangely, when she got in the sun, the UV rays made the itch and rash worse.  The skipper now has the rash around his ankles.

Turns out, the crew has sun poisoning.  Yes, you read that right, sun poisoning.  Who would have known that you can get poisoned by the sun?  The remedy is to stay out of the sun.  Not so easy when you live on a boat.  The crew is doing their best to avoid the sun. However, the rash has been slow to go away.  They will continue to stay inside and curtail explorations until the rash disappears.  Seems they are fitting in just fine with the Bahama Culture, just sitting around not doing much, but having a good time.

Next Week –

Looks as though the winds are going to pick back up next week so there may not be many opportunities to move around and explore new areas.  The skipper is thinking they may move further south down the Green Turtle Cay and hang out at another marina until conditions improve.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins. The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red