Cambridge Cay to Eleuthra

Often we make plans and change them on the fly.  Like the day we left George Town, headed for Black Point, and landed in Staniel Cay instead.  And like now....we didn't plan on coming to Eleuthra but here we are.

The day before yesterday we made the short hop up to Cambridge Cay from Staniel Cay and we had another picture perfect day.  We anchored in front of Bell Island in a designated anchorage.  However, given that it's a private island, we chose to respect the owners privacy by staying well offshore.  Oh my it was gorgeous though and made a fabulous backdrop to our already magnificent surroundings.   It didn't matter that we could only look and not touch.

Once we knew our anchor was holding well we set out exploring the Cambridge Cay area by dinghy.   That's when we found "The Aquarium" that we've heard so much about.  Of course we had to snorkel it.  The beach we discovered over that way was stunning as well.  It was definitely a "wow" kinda day.

Yesterday the weather was just right to cross Exuma Sound over to Eleuthra so we changed our plans, again, and headed out at first light.  It was an epic sail!  I can tell you it just doesn't get much better.  The wind and waves, and .... heck ... all the planets in the solar system were all lined up giving us superb sailing conditions.  We anchored in Rock Sound around 4:00 pm. 

Our loose plan is to stay here for a day or two and head up to Governor's Harbour when the conditions are right.  From there to Spanish Wells but...

More about that next time.

This was our anchorage by day. ..

This what it looked like at night

Cambridge Cay 

The Aquarium 

I'm ready for my close up!

Rain?  No problem.   Just sail around it.

Down wind.

Farewell George Town

Now I have to admit, I wasn't sure, in the beginning, if I was going to like George Town with all the activities and tons of boats but guess what? .... I did.....a lot...and, like many others, we'll be back. 

There truly is no place like it.  Picture for a moment a community were everyone was  there for each other.  If anyone was in need of anything there would always be someone more than willing to help.  No one would ever be expected to pay back but instead pay it forward. Sounds great doesn't it? Well, that's the cruising community of George Town and it's like a breath of fresh air. Wouldn't it be nice if it were like that everywhere?

We left yesterday just shy of ten weeks later.  It's sad to leave our new (and some old) friends and all the fun activities but we also look forward to what lay ahead.  We have some really cool plans and interesting places to visit before we head back to Ontario.  Among them are Cambridge Cay, Spanish Wells, Harbour Island, and the Abaco Cays.  

Today we are kicking back in one of our favorite places Staniel Cay (by the way, contrary to what I said in the last post, we bypassed Black Point)  It's a stellar day with perfect weather for exploring and snorkeling.  It just doesn't get much better than this.  Tomorrow it's off to Cambridge Cay but.....

More about that next time.

Sunset overlooking hole2

Art classes at the beach

The art teacher

Chat n Chill beach

Arial view of Chat n Chill 

On our way back ... Staniel Cay 

Fish On

At 0700 this morning we pulled up the anchor.  Leaving George Town in our wake, we left through Conch Cut with dolphins leading the way.  Black Point is our destination today as we start bumping our way up the Exuma chain. 

As usual we had our fishing lines out but, if you've been following, you know the only kind of fish we catch are the frozen variety that you find in the supermarket.  Today, however, we actually caught a small tuna.  I landed the poor thing onto the swim platform then into the cockpit.  We tried to put it out of it's misery by pouring rum down it's throat but that made it worse as it flipped, flapped and vibrated all over the place.  I don't know who was more traumatized. ...the fish or me.  Of course it eventually expired.

We had to get out one of my cookbooks to get instructions on how to fillet this creature.  Together Harley and I worked on it and in the end I think we did a pretty good job; not bad for our first attempt.   By the time we were finished with whole ordeal the cockpit looked like a crime scene.  We spent the next hour cleaning up the blood that had splattered everywhere!

The line is out again but I honestly hope we don't catch another one. 

That's all for now.  We expect to arrive in Black Point around 5 pm today but ...

More about that next time.

Another Big Blow!

If all I wrote about was bad weather everyone would think we had nothing but bad weather!   I discovered that when I did a blog 7 years ago.  Much of the feedback I got was, "too bad the weather was so bad!"  The thing is, the good days outnumber the bad by a long shot but nobody wants to hear about another glorious day in paradise.  So .... having said that. ..... here we are sitting through another big blow! 

It hit yesterday with a bang and, as usual at the start of a blow, boats were dragging all over the place.  Everyone in the harbour was tuned into channel 68 and it was a buzz with reports of boats on the move.  The winds are still very strong and have been ever since.  I'm guessing there were many people sleeping in their cockpits last night.

Thankfully, this time, we are tied to a mooring ball in hurricane hole 2 so we are fine but my thoughts are with all the boats on the outside.  I can't help but recall the events of the last big system that is forever etched in my memory bank.  If you remember Folly dragged all over the anchorage and, believe me, it wasn't pretty.  You may have noticed, I'm still a bit traumatized over that.  LOL.

Looks like by tomorrow the worst will be over but the wind will continue to blow strong for a while after that.   We may not get out of George Town as soon as we thought but as soon as we can we will be heading north. 

But.... More about that next time.

Nice and protected in Hole 2

We like Hole 2 so much we bought the T Shirt.  H2O stands for hole 2  occupant. ..lol

If I can get a picture of the conditions in the main anchorage I will post it here.

You Win Some You Lose Some

So here we are, back in George Town, all settled in and back in the groove.  The trip and the flight over from Florida went smoothly.  It was wonderful to come back and find Folly just as we left her.  A big thanks goes out to Pat and Lynn and all our friends in Hole 2 who kept an eye on her in our absence.

The George Town Cruising Regatta is in full swing right now and yesterday was the "around the island" race.  Harley and Pat were fortunate enough to be invited to crew on Triad and it was a great day.  It became even better when Triad came in first!  Believe it or not, they crossed the line 1 hr. and 3 min. ahead of the second place boat, came in first in class, and first overall.  This will mean nothing to our non-racing friends ..... but Triad has a PHRF rating of -30!  Well done!

We left the awards ceremony in great spirits but, due to much carelessness on my part,  I ruined the mood by dropping my prescription glasses in the water.  Now, if this was the first time I've done this it might have been excusable but sadly it is not.  The first time I lost them I was exiting Adamant 1 after happy hour one evening.  It was twilight and the bottom was just barely visible.  Harley jumped in and saved the day.   This time ..... not a chance.  It was dark and, besides that, the water at the dinghy dock is gross!

First thing this morning, determined to retrieve them, I headed into town.  Understandably, Harley had no sympathy for me.  I got myself into this mess so it was up to me to get myself out of it.  I donned my mask and snorkel and after a few silent prayers I jumped into that icky water.  (Anyone who has been to the dinghy dock in Lake Victoria knows what I mean.)  It took a few tries but I got them!  I also have a few scrapes on my backside from brushing up against all the growth on the underside of the dock!  Yuk!  I will staple my glasses to my head if it means I will never have to go through that again. 

Today is the last day of Regatta so tonight promisses to be a festive one.  That will be it for us as far as George Town is concerned.   It's time to move on.  From here we will start heading north to Abaco on the first weather window.  We plan to spend our last month or so there...

...but...more about that. ...next time.

Our Island Hopper Plane

Triad crossing the finish line

Triad at anchor

The happy crew!  First place!

The sun setting at Chat n Chill during closing ceremonies. 

Worth the Effort

No doubt about it...our life is anything but boring.  The trip home was lively, eventful, and precious beyond compare.  We are so glad we made the effort to make it happen.  It was kinda like a love fest that lasted 8 full days and we lapped it up.  We hated to leave but we have this other awsome life to get back to.

Happily leaving winter behind, we left yesterday, February 25th, to start our drive south.  The 2 day trek took us through three of the four seasons, which I always find facinating.  Every couple of hundred miles we took off another layer of clothing.... stopping before we got arrested of course.  It's unbelievable to think that we can do what took 4 months by boat in just 20 short hours by car. We've done this drive many times in the past but never has it felt so easy.

On Tuesday February 28th we will be back on Folly like nothing happened but the joy of seeing our mom's and the grandkids will no doubt stay with us for quite some time. 

Tomorrow we will leave our car at Westland Marina in Titusville, Florida where we plan to bring Folly in May.  Our flight back to George Town leaves from Ft. Lauderdale so we still have some details to sort out but ....

More about that. ... next time. 

Sophie and Nolan xoxo

Gogo's palace 

We don't see these in the Bahamas 

From Harley's mom's back porch.  Georgian Bay is in the background. 

The weather when we arrived.

Watching spring arrive as we drove south.

Bracing Ourselves for Winter

With a beautiful sunset  to the west and a brilliant full moon rising in the east, the beach wedding was everything Joanne and Bruce had hoped for and more.  The happy couple exchanged their vows with us and about 20 other new friends as their witnesses.  The weather was perfect, the guests were fun, the food was great, the champagne was flowing, and a good time was had by all!  I feel very lucky and honoured to have been a part of this very special day.  Thanks Joanne and Bruce for inviting us!  It was beautiful!  Plus.... we had blast and met some very interesting people.

One of the couples we met were Tom and Judy on the go-fast trimaran "Triad".  Harley had been admiring this racing machine for days and saying how he'd love to go for a sail on it. Well, didn't Tom mention that he was looking for crew to go out for a sail the next day!  It was as if Harley willed it to happen.  Of course he jumped at the chance.  

The next day was perfect and they sailed back and forth in front of the anchorages at a staggering 20 knots!  I'm sure it was quite a spectacle because people were standing on their decks and trying hard to capture videos.

Pat and Lynn were out in their dinghy taking pictures and Harley mentioned to Tom that Pat would've loved to join them.  No sooner said than done.  They stalled the boat into the wind and let Pat jump aboard.  Pat and Harley came back from that experience with permanent grins on their faces that I'm  sure will reappear every time they talk about it for years to come.

Since then Harley and I have been taking it easy and trying to get our head around the fact that we are going home for two weeks.....to the cold.....and mountains of snow.  I check facebook every day and every day I see pictures of snow and read reports of yet another "snow day".  YIKES!  I'm not sure I'm ready for this.  My body has adjusted very well to this climate and I'm not sure how it's going to like this.  Well on a positive note....there won't be any mosquitos or noseeums.

Our main purpose for going home is to pick up our car and drive it down to Florida were we plan to take Folly in May.  We have so much extra stuff on the boat right now and there is no way we'd be able to get it home on a plane.   Besides, this is also a good excuse to see our beautiful grandchildren that we miss like crazy.  We will only be home a week before we have to start driving south again.   It will be a busy two weeks but.....

More about that next time.

The ceremony on the beach.

The conch horns are blown at sunset.

The first dance.

Hanging around at the beach.

I love boat kids.

Oh to be that flexible.

My first hamburger bean.

This is our house taken two days ago.

Our car is under there somewhere.

"Triad"  getting ready to go.  (picture courtesy of Lynn Lortie )