Breeze On

A few days ago I made a batch of hummus. I have always loved hummus and didn’t know how easy it was to make until I tried it last summer. After I started the Zoe program I had to think about what I would eat for healthier snacks this winter. Hummus came to mind. I usually eat it with carrots, which I have always been able to find in the Bahamas.  While we have been anchored here we have either snorkeled or gone for a hike each day. We have enjoyed being somewhere that allows us to get off of the boat even in windy conditions. Nevertheless, we have been here long enough and plan to leave tomorrow and head further north.  The ingredients I use for hummus. At home I make it in a food processor, but that would take up too much room on the boat. Instead I use a bowl and an immersion blender. The lemon crystals work great instead of lemon juice. I also love the freeze dried garlic.  Finished hummus.  Another beautiful rainbow.  Our hike yesterday took us through a sec...

Today we explored a trail across Lee Stocking Island that was new to us. A few years ago I read an article about relationships that suggested couples do new activities with each other. So, whenever George and I do something new—like take a new trail or walk on a different street in our neighborhood—one of us will say we are “keeping our marriage alive.”  Today’s hike was short but the last part was quite steep down to the beach. We slid down in the soft dirt/sand. Fortunately, someone had installed a rope we used as a handhold to pull ourselves back up.  The last part of the trail with the rope installed on the left side.  Beach on the E side of Lee Stocking Island.  George had just finished coming up the steepest part of the trail. If you look on the left side of the photo you can just see two sailboats on the horizon. It is a breezy day and Exuma Sound was quite choppy. We are happy to not be out there sailing with them.  The climate in the Bahamas is arid and...

We set out in the dinghy this morning to find a good spot to snorkel. The areas we thought might have potential turned out to be just grass so we ended up snorkeling around two small islands known as “Tug & Barge”. The tide was coming in and it took a lot of effort to swim against the current between the two islands.  Tug & Barge.  You may notice the resemblance.  Fan coral.  Sponges.  Sea cucumber.  Nurse shark with sharksuckers on its back. I quickly swam back to the dinghy after seeing this, although nurse sharks are slow-moving bottom-dwellers and are not known to be aggressive. 

After two nights in George Town we motor sailed N today to Williams Bay. We had spent two days at Williams Bay six weeks ago and wanted to return for a longer stay. Before we left George Town we ran a few errands and visited our favorite sandbar near Man O’ War Cay. Each night in George Town we would look out at the harbor and be amazed by the two hundred plus anchor lights.  This afternoon—just as we were planning to go snorkeling—clouds rolled in. We checked the radar and saw that a squall was nearby so decided to postpone the snorkeling until tomorrow. A little later we saw two helicopters flying low overhead. That isn’t something we see everyday in the Bahamas.  Another interesting pattern in the sand on the sandbar.  Two helicopters flying low nearby.  The water is so clear here. You can see the individual blades of grass through seven feet of water. 

This morning we raised the anchor and set sail for George Town. We motor-sailed the first two hours until the wind picked up. Since we were sailing downwind we tried to raise the gennaker. The sail was not at all happy so we dropped it and sailed with just the mainsail. There were too many waves and our sailing angle was too low to use our self-tacking jib. Fortunately, we had enough wind to keep the boat moving at six knots.  We pulled into George Town by mid-afternoon. A supply ship was leaving the harbor as we were entering and preparing to drop our sails. In order to give the ship room to pass we sailed beyond the waypoint but, instead of passing us, it turned around and stopped. We weren’t sure what it was going to do next so George hailed it on the radio. The captain told George he was returning to George Town. We waited until the ship got underway again and fell in behind it. The tide was low and the ship left a trail of sand stirred up from the bottom.  George Town is ...

Our dinner last night at Rollezz Villas Beach Resort was outstanding. All four of us—Dawn, Ray, George, and I—were happy with our meals of grilled grouper (2), blackened grouper, and cracked conch, along with traditional Bahamian side dishes. We split two pieces of chocolate pecan cheesecake and George even raved about the delicious coffee. The sun was setting as we got into our dinghies to head back to our boats.  This morning George and I dinghied through nearby Joe Sound. We saw four turtles and three spotted rays. The shy turtles were too fast for photographs. Later on we took a walk on the beach. The beach at Old Bight is our favorite beach in the Bahamas. It has beautiful white sand that is just firm enough for walking, it is relatively flat, and goes on for miles.  Some of our friends moved on to different places today.  We think we will relocate N to another anchorage tomorrow and then cross over to Exuma mid-week but our plans depend on the weather, as always....

This afternoon we weighed the anchorage and sailed four miles S to Old Bight. The wind is forecast to shift to the SE early tomorrow morning and the protection from that direction is better in Old Bight. Also, we were ready for a change of scenery. Our sail to Old Bight was delightful, if short. We have plans to eat an early dinner at Rollezz Villas Beach Resort with Dawn and Ray later today. The resort is very friendly to cruisers, which isn’t always the case.  Earlier today George and I went ashore in New Bight to hike to the Hermitage on Mt. Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas at 206 feet. It was built in 1939 by Monsignor John Hawes—known locally as Father Jerome—-out of local stone. It is reached by climbing steep stones steps with hand-carved depictions of the Stations of the Cross. I didn’t stop to take pictures of these because I was focused on maintaining my footing.  Yesterday morning we walked with several friends to the New Bight Market. It is a great store...

Today we did our laundry at the nicest Bahamian laundromat yet. Gilly’s Laundry Depot in New Bight opened last year and everything about it is pristine. We thought we had read it opened at 8:00 am so we got arrived at 8:30. When we got there we saw that it wasn’t supposed to open until 9:30. So, we sat down on the porch to wait. While we were sitting Denise—who owns the restaurant, Hidden Treasures, and also works at the Tourism Office—arrived at the Tourism Office and called over to us. We chatted for a few minutes and she mentioned that her restaurant—which used to be on the beach but burned in a fire last year—was now located a mile down the road. She offered to pick us up if we wanted to eat there. A few minutes later the owner of the laundromat arrived and opened up for us. He said he was driving by and saw us sitting on the porch so he opened up 45 minutes early. The people here are just so nice. Dawn and Ray came by while our clothes were drying and we decided to make arrangemen...

After a rolly—but not terrible—night at Calabash Bay we weighed anchor and set sail for Cat Island. We started out motor sailing but we were soon able to turn the engine off and enjoy a great day of sailing. Just as we were approaching our waypoint where we would turn toward the bight of Cat Island, a large pod of dolphins joined us and swam alongside for quite a while. We estimated that there were somewhere between 12 and 20 dolphins swimming in the bow wake, alongside and sometimes under the boat from one side to the other. They seemed to be having a great time and we certainly enjoyed watching them.  After settling in at New Bight our friends from Cambridge, Dawn and Ray, joined us for sundowners and a few games of Mexican Train. It was great to catch up with them.  You may notice in this video that the color of the water changed from a darker blue at the start to a lighter color at the end. We were traveling from deeper water to more shallow water as I was filming. 

This morning we woke up to an anchorage that was even calmer than yesterday. We raised the anchor after breakfast and motored 25 miles north to Calabash Bay, at the northern end of Long Island. Calabash is beautiful but notorious for being rolly much of the time. Since it is at the end of the island, waves (swell) can wrap around and come into the anchorage. It has been rolly off and on but we are going to tough it out for one night and continue north to Cat Island tomorrow.  This afternoon we dinghied to shore to take a walk on the beach. We had a brief chat with Matt and Marty from Runaway on the beach, finished our walk, then returned to the dinghy. The waves that were causing the anchorage to be rolly were breaking on the shore. George and I were doing well getting the dinghy back into the water until one large wave broke over the bow of the dinghy and all over George, who was pulling the dinghy at the bow. No problem, George just changed clothes once he returned to Breeze On a...

Yesterday was another day of wind and a choppy anchorage. It was a bit calmer than the day before but still too choppy for a dinghy ride so we spent another day onboard.  This morning we woke up to a much calmer anchorage and made plans to go for a walk on the beach with friends. By the time we left in the dinghy, though, the wind had shifted and the waves started to build. It was a little challenging getting off of the dinghy onto the ladder at the dock but we all did it without incident.  The air temperature is about 10° cooler than usual and the humidity is much lower. We normally sleep with all of the hatches open—unless it is raining—but the past few nights we have had the boat all closed up overnight. The cooler temperatures and lower humidity made for a very comfortable walk on the beach.  Atlantic-side beach on Long Island.  Walking with friends Marty and Matt from Runaway and Jean from Desiderata II. George is in the middle. 

It has been windy and the harbor is choppy so everyone on the ten boats in Thompson Bay has stayed on board today.  I have included a video (I hope) of the conditions when it was blowing in the mid-twenties.  We have used our time to clean the cabin and cockpit, cook a few things, and do some reading. We may be staying on board another day before it calms down enough for us to venture out again.  Photo from our anchor alarm. Breeze On is represented by the red arrow. You can see that our tracks have formed 3/4 of a circle as the wind has clocked around. The large number two/one indicates 2.1 meters of depth on the chart. We have it zoomed in, that it’s why it looks so large. 

This morning—after almost a week—I decided that the remaining sapodilla was ready to cut. It felt like a very firm baked potato but it had developed a soft spot so I decided to cut it before it rotted. It was delicious. Sweet, with a tropical flavor, and a grainy texture like a pear. I would love to return to the farmers market tomorrow morning and buy more but we are expecting a lot of wind and the harbor is probably going to be too rough for a dinghy ride.  Later in the morning we took another five mile walk to the end of the point with Frances and Laurie from Glory Days. The wind had already clocked around to the south and there was a fair amount of chop in the harbor. Our dinghy ride back to Breeze On was a wet one.  This afternoon a line of strong squalls passed through bringing SW winds of 30 knots. The harbor has no SW protection so the waves became quite large. George commented that it felt like we were at sea. Fortunately, the anchor held and the squalls did not last ...

A cold front is on the way, causing the wind to clock around from NE-E-SE-S-SW-W-NW-N. Once the wind is from the S the harbor will be choppier. We may decide the water is too rough to get off the boat. The strongest winds will be from the NW and, although we believe we have good protection from the wind, we expect the water will be too rough for a comfortable dinghy ride. The temperatures are already a little cooler (upper 70’s as opposed to low 80’s) and the humidity is lower.  This morning we took a walk on the beach with friends Matt and Marty then stopped at Hillside Food Supply for some fresh foods. The supply boat came yesterday so the store was well stocked.  Setting sun over Indian Hole Point. The clouds have rolled in. 

The water in Thompson Bay is a bit cloudy, by Bahamian standards. The silty bottom makes for good holding of the anchor, but not so good for the water maker. We have run the water maker while anchored in the harbor in the past but prefer to use water that is more clear, if possible. The prefilter of the water maker will filter out any silt in the water but we want to get as much mileage out of the prefilter as possible. For that reason, we motored out of the harbor this morning to run the water maker. It has been a while since we visited a laundromat so George filled a bucket for me to use to hand wash a few clothes. When we returned to Thompson Bay we anchored closer to the NW shore in anticipation of the strong NW winds we expect this weekend.  Yesterday morning we took a five mile walk the length of Indian Hole Point with our friends from Runaway, Ursa Minor,  and Glory Days. In the afternoon we met some of them again at Sou’ Side for a late lunch.  Not much of the anc...

After yesterday’s experience with the sapodilla, my expectations for the pomegranate were low. I was pleasantly surprised to find, though, that it was pink inside and did taste like a pomegranate. I am giving the other sapodilla time to ripen and I will keep you posted.  This morning we took a long walk to the other side of the island with Matt and Marty from Runaway and Frances and Laurie from Glory Days. Marty found a hamburger bean on the beach and gave it to me. (I am not very good at finding sea beans).  On our way back we stopped at the property where Club Thompson Bay had been located. Back in the day—before we started visiting the Bahamas—it was the happening place but it is now abandoned. There was once a guava tree in back and we were hoping to find some guavas there but there were none to be had.  My pomegranate.  Atlantic-side beach.  Hamburger bean.