Breeze On

Today was very quiet for us. We spent some time discussing what we want to do about a new dinghy and outboard. Our current plan is to buy an 8 hp 2-stroke engine here in the Bahamas. We can use that on the dinghy we have and then decide what we want to do about a different dinghy. The anchorage emptied out yesterday but six new boats arrived this afternoon.

This morning we dinghied ashore and walked south about a mile to the Office of Tourism. We heard they have wifi!Not only that but comfy chairs and air conditioning! We spent a few hours there and then walked north to Sou'side Bar and Grill, an outdoor bar that also had wifi. We ordered lunch and did a few more things online. Those two places appear to be the only ones in Salt Pond with wifi. That is ok, we like it here anyway. After eating lobster burgers we went to the liquor store/post office and bought stamps, then next door to Hillside Food Supply for some fresh vegetables. We returned to Breeze On and decided to take Chuggernaut to Cruisers's Beach to empty the little bit of water, clean the bottom and check for leaks. The first photo shows the items built by and contributed by cruisers in the area where they gather (George thinks it needs a Pepsi sign). We haven't gathered there with anyone yet, but there is still time. The second photo shows George letting the w...

We decided to stay another day in Salt Pond, maybe even another week. It will all depend on the wind. This morning we finally were able to listen to the cruisers' net on VHF channel 18. It is a brief report of weather and local news given by a woman who lives in a house overlooking the harbor and goes by the call sign, Fairhaven. Up until yesterday we forgot about the net until it was too late. Yesterday we tuned in at 8:30 just as it was ending. She apparently moved the time up to 8:15 a while ago. I guess she provides information for anyone new (like where to dump your trash) when she sees a new boat in the harbor. This morning she said she didn't see any new boats. We listened to other cruisers' nets in the Abacos and George Town. They can be quite useful. After listening to the net we went ashore to pick up a few things at Hillside Food Supply. We returned to Breeze On for lunch and then went back to shore for a walk on the beach on the Atlantic side of the islan...

Boxing Day is a big deal in the Bahamas. Our neighbor, Mike, zipped by in his dinghy this morning to tell us that they have a big Boxing Day celebration in Clarence Town. That is 20 miles away so we would have to find a way to get there and get back. Gail, who took us under her wing at the Farmer's Market, had told us that it is quite acceptable and safe to hitchhike on the island. I would have liked to see the celebration but wasn't keen about hitchhiking. True confession: I have never hitchhiked in my life. Also, it is really windy today. We weren't excited about the idea of going to shore in Chuggernaut in this wind and returning after dark. So, we stayed on board and did boat chores. Ran the water maker, did a bit of laundry and added some foam insulation to the refrigerator. We are still trying to work on the power issues. We are using the main refrigerator again and trying to increase its efficiency. We took the door off of the tiny ice tray compartment to reduce f...

Today was Christmas Day. We celebrated with French toast made with fresh Bahamian bread. Delicious. Later, I baked brownies in tiny silicone muffin cups. We dinghied over to a nearby beach and took a walk. We found a path to a road and walked on that for a while until we noticed the clouds in the sky and remembered we hadn't closed the hatches. So, we turned around and went back to Breeze On. Once again a very unusual holiday but we are so grateful that we can be here on our boat.

Today we went to the Salt Pond Farmer's Market. It takes place every Saturday morning. We were told to get there early because things tend to sell out before it ends. We weren't sure we would make it there at all. It is quite windy again and we didn't know if Chuggernaut would make it against the chop. She did quite well and we didn't even get very wet. The market, although small, was quite nice. A smiling couple approached us as we were walking into the parking lot and asked if we were on one of the boats in the harbor. We said we were and introduced ourselves. The couple took us under their wings and introduced us to a few others. We bought bread, beautiful straw placemats, handmade cards and hot sauce. The sweet rolls had already sold out, darn! We gained some local knowledge and learned that the bay is deeper than marked and we could safely anchor our boat closer to shore (and we did). We were also told about a little lagoon where we might be able to secure our...

We picked up our rental car at 8 this morning and went south on Long Island to Dean's Blue Hole. A blue hole is a sink hole filled with sea water. Dean's Blue Hole is over 600 feet deep and is either the deepest or second deepest in the world, depending on what you read. For a while we thought it was going to be a bust. We followed our maps and the signs to get to it. The last faded sign said to turn left so we did. We came to a beach but couldn't see the hole. We decided it was in the left side of the large cove and we set out walking a mile or so. Along the way we had to climb over two high ledges of sharp jagged limestone. We eventually gave up and turned around. We couldn't imagine why anyone would bother to go to Dean's Blue Hole if it was this difficult. As we were driving away George decided to try a different road. Sure enough, there it was in a different cove. Right next to the beach. It was so beautiful. It was rather eerie as we snorkeled over it. We ...

We had been waiting for the wind to calm down a bit before leaving Georgetown and heading for Long Island. It isn't the wind that concerned us but the waves that get stirred up when it is windy. Well, we waited too long. Instead of winds in the low teens and waves of 2 feet that were predicted we had wind less than a knot and flat calm. So, we motored the whole way. The water was fairly shallow (14 feet) and incredibly clear on the way. We could even see starfish on the bottom (shown in the second photo.) After we arrived we took Chuggernaut to the brand new, sturdy dinghy dock. The last one was destroyed during Hurricane Joaquin in 2015. Cruiser volunteers helped to build this one. It even has concrete footings. We walked to Fox Motors to rent a car. They had a sign that said they were closed for the holidays. We walked further to Hillside Supplies, an amazing small grocery store. Lots of exotic foods and so well stocked. We asked the cashier where we could rent a car. She s ...

Breeze On likes to swing at anchor. A lot. The stronger the wind the more she swings. It can be a problem if we are close to other boats in a tight anchorage. Also, the swinging puts lateral pressure on the anchor, making it more likely to drag. Last year I made an anchor riding sail from a kit I purchased from Sail Rite. It is a small sail that is attached to the backstay of the boat and pulled forward. It didn't make a bit of difference in how much Breeze On would swing. so we gave up on it. Last week we were anchored near a boat that was using an anchor riding sail and it seemed to be working. The boat hardly seemed to swing at all. We met the boat owner and asked him about it. He said he rigs his close to the center line (not what Sail Rite instructs) and pulls it as tight as possible. It is a little tricky on our split backstay but George finally found a way to make it work by rigging a block to a cleat at the bow and running a line from the sail, up to the block and back ...

Today's post is written by George. I am actually stealing it from the daily log that he has been keeping. We walked the beach as far as hole #2 today. It was the most walking we've done in a while - probably since the Abacos. And the wet sand made it even harder going. We will probably feel it tomorrow. When we returned to Hamburger Beach we took a quick dip, then returned to Breeze On to clean up. After lunch & a short nap, I took the joker valve apart in the forward head. Waste had been seeping back into the bowl, usually a sign that the joker valve is shot. Since I just replaced it, I hope that is not the case. I cleaned the valve out & it seemed to hold water when I tested it out of place. I reinstalled it & we will see if that solves the issue ( hope so, or I'll be changing the valve again & I did not bring enough spares to change it weekly!) On a positive note, the batteries are charged to 13.5 - 13.6 today! Yeah. I've been putti...

Today, after running the water maker and washing a little laundry, we ventured out in The Chuggernaut to the Chat 'n' Chill. We stayed close to shore to keep out of the worst of the wind and we made it without any trouble. It is a small bar on a good size beach. There are a lot of picnic tables and volleyball courts. There weren't very many people there, although we had been told cruisers congregate at 2 pm. We did have a nice chat with a couple of men who were each single-handing their boats. While grabbing a quick drink inside we talked with a couple who have been renting a vacation home at Christmas time for years. They said the place was "dead" and normally much busier. We left in The Chuggernaut and toured around the inner harbors (called "holes") before returning to Breeze On.

Today we took a short dinghy ride to the beach next to our anchorage. It is apparently called Hamburger Beach after a colorful building that was once a hamburger stand, now closed due to storm damage. We had heard there were hiking trails to beaches on the other side of the island and to the monument on the hill. We set off on a trail but ended up in what looked like the property of a private residence. We returned to the beach and asked some people there about the trails. They directed us farther down the beach by the hamburger stand. We saw Jean and Michael behind us so waited for them. It took an hour of walking up and down then back up again on steep, narrow, very sketchy trails. A couple sections hugged the edges of cliffs. Finally, we made it to the monument. The views were beautiful. We all decided to take the trails down to the beach on the return trip. Down to the beach, along the beach and then back up across the island on a different trail. The return trip was just 15 m...

Just in case you are curious about his new haircut. I will try to send two photos.

After two days of not leaving the boat we finally ventured out thanks to Elvis's Water Taxi. Elvis is a lovely local man who seems to keep quite busy ferrying people around this very large harbor. Have I mentioned that Elizabeth Harbour is HUGE? It was so choppy on the harbor that waves were crashing over the bow of his boat. While we were in town George got the shortest haircut of his life. We both actually like it, though. We also dumped our garbage, walked around, stopped in a few shops, bought a few groceries and ate lunch. We got a kick out of their system to handle cruisers' trash. There is a very small dump truck parked near Exuma Market. Taped to the driver's side window is a sign with the prices ($2.00 for a small bag, $3.00 for a large bag). The window is open about an inch. You drop your money through the opening and leave your bag(s) in the bed of the truck. After a few hours in George Town we took the water taxi back to Breeze On. We actually had a bonus to...

We left our anchorage at Big Galliot Cay before sunrise yesterday morning. The night before, we were awakened by some loud booming noises. George got up, thinking it was something with the anchor chain. When he got out to the cockpit he saw a very nice fireworks display. We had a perfect view off the stern. Then, back to bed. Our 40 mile trip to George Town was an easy motor in light winds and a gentle swell. We decided to veer off to port about 45 degrees for several miles to avoid running right into what looked like a nasty squall. By the time we got near it had dissipated so we got back on course. George Town is located on Elizabeth Harbour, which is absolutely HUGE. It is over 5 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide. The harbor runs northwest to southeast. Great Exuma Island is on the west side and Stocking Island is on the east. There are several anchorage on both sides. We pulled into the first anchorage on the eastern side, Monument Beach. George Town is on the western side, but s...

We left Black Point Settlement early this morning to travel 14 nm to Big Galliot Cay. It was a calm morning of motoring on Exuma Bank with fairly light winds. There were small squalls on the horizon and I found them refreshing when we passed through them. We needn't have left so early to travel that distance but the batteries were really low and I wanted to get the engine started to charge them up. We are still having issues with the batteries and working on getting them figured out. We were hopeful that the new solar panel would solve the problem but it hasn't. By the time we get it sorted out we should know quite a bit about marine batteries. The anchorage at Big Galliot Cay is quite nice. There is a lovely little beach nearby. There is good protection from north through southeast winds and the holding is good. The Big Galliot Cut that will take us out to Exuma Sound is just at the end of the island. We plan to go through it tomorrow morning on our way to George Town, arr...

The first thing we did after arriving at Black Point Settlement yesterday was gather up the dirty clothes, towels and sheets and take them to the laundromat. This laundromat is well known and very popular with cruisers. The owner even does haircuts! George was counting on getting a haircut here. Unfortunately, the owner was off the island so the haircut will have to wait. The laundromat was open and there were two other cruising couples inside. They told us to go to the restaurant across the street to purchase tokens. Four tokens for two loads of laundry cost $15.00. That seems pretty standard for the Bahamas. While we were there we had a nice chat with the other couples. We used the wifi and returned today to use more wifi. When we returned to our dinghy today there were 3 nurse sharks swimming around they dock. We think they were hanging around to catch some scraps of fish being cleaned by a fisherman. George assured me they aren't aggressive. He even had the courage to go fo...

Yesterday George and I were invited for drinks on Jabulani with Libby and Frank. We had met them at Warderick Wells a week ago. Libby and Frank had suggested that Big Majors Spot was a good anchorage to wait out a blow so we weren't surprised to see Jabulani there when we arrived. Libby invited us in order to meet two other couples: Sarah and Dan from Borrowed Horse, and Deborah and Bruce from Fast Betty. The three couples have been wintering in the Bahamas from 8-20 years so they have a lot of experience. We had a great time and received a lot of good suggestions. They poked some fun our our little Chuggernaut. Dan said, "My wife has a blender that is bigger than your outboard." Sarah told George that we must return a second year since the first year is spent just figuring things out. So true.

I haven't yet said much about Staniel Cay, about a mile from our anchorage. We visited Staniel Cay the day after we anchored here. Our primary reason was to pick up the new solar panel. We ordered a new one from Amazon to replace a solar panel that wasn't working. We had it shipped to Watermakers Air in Fort Lauderdale and they flew it to Staniel Cay 2 days later. We picked it up from Staniel Cay Yacht Club the following day. It couldn't have been easier. The whole thing took just a week. While we were there we paid $7.00 to dump our trash (not complaining), ate a delicious lunch at the lovely Staniel Cay Yacht Club, took a walk around town and visited Pink Pearl Supermarket. (In photo). We bought lettuce and carrots there. The lettuce is fresher than what we buy at the Giant back home, probably because the delivery boat had come the day before. While walking along the shore on our way back to the yacht club, George spotted a 5-foot shark swimming by. (Apparently, they ar...

We are sitting at anchor at Big Major's Spot waiting for a cold front to pass. Weather guru, Chris Parker, has been talking about this front for a week. At one point he said it would bring winds up to 40 knots. Yikes! We chose to stay here after talking with some people who have been coming here for 9 years. They said it is a protected anchorage and the holding is good. They were right about the holding, our anchor is really buried. So far, a squall line passed through late yesterday afternoon ahead of the front (photo was taken after it passed). We guessed the winds were in the upper 20's. It is actually rather nice now, light winds and mostly sunny. It is 81 degrees (sorry, everyone back in the States). We decided to stay put because the winds are supposed to pick up again tonight and again tomorrow night. So, since we are happy with the way we are anchored, we will wait it out here. You know what they say about a bird in the hand...

We fired up The Chuggernaut (our dinghy) bright and early this morning for the 20 minute ride to Thunderball Grotto. The movie, Thurnderball, was filmed in the Bahamas and the grotto is featured in the scene where James Bond is lifted by helicopter through a small hole in the top of the cave. We timed our arrival for slack low tide. We wanted to be able to enter the cave without going under water and we didn't want to be swept about by a strong current. It is hard to figure the tides out in the Bahamas but we were lucky and arrived at just the right time. The grotto was really cool. A short, narrow cave opens up into a "room" with a domed top. We could see the hole through which James Bond was lifted. It isn't all that big. I saw a small rat crawling on a ledge, eewww, so we decided to leave before it decided to join us in the water. We exited through a different cave and returned to the dinghy before the current came up. We both enjoyed the experience. Also, my new w...

Well, we found a better way for me to get into the dinghy after swimming. George took one of our dock lines, tied it onto the port side handle and draped it over to the starboard side with the loop hanging overboard. I put my left foot into the loop, kick with my right foot (still wearing a flipper on that foot) grab the line and pull myself up. I then swing my right leg into the dinghy and get in. It works really well. I plan to try it again when we visit Thunderball Grotto tomorrow morning. Speaking of the dinghy, George named it and our little 2 hp outboard "The Chuggernaut". It seemed appropriate today as we were going to and from Staniel Cay. The one mile trip took 25 minutes each way.

We are now anchored at Big Majors Spot, not far from the famous pig beach. Semi-wild pigs live at the beach and are fed by the tourists who come to see them. Today we were among those tourists. When we motored toward the beach we saw that Jean and Michael's dinghy was not pulled up onto the beach but anchored in the water instead. As we got closer they told us why. When they had brought their dinghy up to the beach a pig jumped right onto the bow! As we neared the beach, two pigs started heading right for us. I took a few quick photos and a brief video and we hightailed it out of there. Not taking a chance of a pig jumping into our dinghy. Tomorrow we plan to dinghy over to Staniel Cay and pick up our new solar panel. Yay! We ordered it only a week ago. Not bad. We will most likely stay here a while and wait out a cold front that is predicted to bring winds up to 40 knots. This seems to be a nice, protected anchorage and we like the way the anchor is set.

We left O'Brien Cay this morning and motored 10 nm to Fowl Cay. There are no fowls to be seen but there is one abandoned plane on the beach. We read that the plane overshot the end of the short runway on the island. We dinghied a long mile over bumpy water to Compass Cay where we planned to visit the "Bubble Bath". It is a pool where waves from Exuma Sound crash over the rocks creating a bubble bath effect in the pool. To get there we had to beach the dinghy, walk over some rough terrain and cross a stream twice. After all that we decided it wasn't very impressive so we took a selfie and left. Later, after we finished some boat chores, we dinghied over to Rocky Dundas (not sure what Dundas means but it is a big rock) and snorkeled. Not as many fish as we saw at Sea Aquarium but there was lots of really pretty fan coral.

We left Warderick Wells on Sunday to sail further south, choosing to go the "inside" route via the shallower, but calmer, Exuma Bank waters. We anchored at O'Briens Cay near the Sea Aquarium snorkeling spot and Little Halls Cay (aka Johnny Depp's private island--no sign of Johnny yet.). Sea Aquarium is aptly named. Snorkeling there really does seem like being inside a tropical fish aquarium. Thousands of colorful fish all around. The Sargent Major fish (thank you Stan and Essie for the card identifying fish in the Bahamas) are so tame they swam right up to us. We suspect they must get fed, even though it is against park rules. Sea Aquarium is located next to a small island. The current flows one way around one end of the island and the other way around the other end. George discovered that the hard way when he nearly got swept out to sea! After that we made sure to stay near the middle of the island where the current wasn't as strong.

Going swimming or snorkeling from the dinghy can be fun. Getting back into the dinghy--not so much. We brought a small 2-step rope ladder with us that we thought would work as our dinghy ladder. We didn't think to try it out on the dinghy before we left home. When we tried it after we snorkeled the other day and couldn't make it work. George was able to use his fins to kick up onto the side of the dinghy and the pull himself the rest of the way. I have tried that before and wasn't able to do it. After I wasn't able to get in using the ladder I tried using the outboard as a step. I had heard about doing that from other people. The problem was, our dinghy is rather small. After I hoisted myself up by stepping on the motor I became wedged between the motor and the side of the dinghy. I was stuck. I eventually got free and maneuvered my leg over the motor. Not before cutting my knee, though. There had to be a better way. I had seen a video of a woman doing a backwards some...

This park is exactly what I imagined when, over two years ago, I thought about sailing to the Bahamas. I cannot say enough how beautiful it is here. Since we arrived we have snorkeled at three locations and hiked to the top of Boo Boo Hill (named because it overlooks the site of a shipwreck--during full moons the ghosts are said to make noises that sound like "boo boo"). There is much more we could do here but we have planned to move on tomorrow to another site within the park's boundaries.

We left Ten Bay yesterday morning and had an almost perfect sail south to Rock Sound, Eleuthera. Beam reach to broad reach in twenty knots of breeze. We anchored near Wild Orchids restaurant and used their dinghy dock to drop trash, buy a can of diesel and some ice. We returned later to eat a very nice dinner at Wild Orchids and use their wifi. We had intended to stay in Rock Sound a few days. The town has the reputation of being a great stop for cruisers. We decided to take advantage of the wind, though, and leave early this morning for Warderick Wells, Exuma. It was a fast sail over rather lumpy water (2-3 foot swells, increasing to 4-5 feet). We followed our friends, Jean and Michael On Desiderata, all the way. George radioed the Exuma Land and Sea Park to reserve a mooring. Since it is early in the season we had no trouble. This place is very popular in the high season. I can see why. Wow, is it ever beautiful here. Clear, turquoise water, white beaches and lots of small, uninh...