Breeze On

Yesterday morning George went up the mast to fix a broken wire leading to the anchor light. He had noticed the night before that the light wasn’t working. We both joked that it was my fault it had broken—the day before I had told some friends on a Zoom call that we hadn’t had any major boat issues this year. Although I knocked on wood when I said it, we were jinxed anyway. After that job was done we raised the anchor and motored about 4 miles N to Miller’s Bay. In the early afternoon we dinghied ashore for lunch with Jean and Michael at Chez Pierre. We called ahead for a reservation and submitted our order via WhatsApp. Pierre can be very particular and has been known to turn people away if they don’t have a reservation. We all ordered pizza and salad, which are always excellent. I am sorry to say I neglected to take any photos.  We spent the night at Miller’s Bay because George wanted to run the watermaker and expected the water to be clearer there compared to the water in Thompso...

After a week of E winds we are back to this winter’s pattern of three cold fronts a week, each bringing W winds. We left Emerald Bay this morning just as a front was arriving. The squalls on the radar didn’t look bad so we made the decision to sail to Thompson Bay. We left the marina as it started to rain, but before the wind filled in. We sailed downwind with just the mainsail in 20-24 knots of wind and 4-6 foot seas. We averaged 7.1 knots of speed for the trip and we were frequently moving at 8 knots, even 10 knots at times. It was a bit of a wild ride—we both commented that it felt like an offshore passage.  We chose to return to Thompson Bay because it offers some protection from W and NW winds and we prefer to be here rather than George Town. Also, since George Town no longer allows anchoring in Master’s Harbour our options there are limited. Of course, we could have stayed at the Marina at Emerald Bay but we were ready to move on. I do want to acknowledge, though, that I was ...

For the past two days we have been working on projects as well as relaxing by reading and taking walks. Today we took measurements of the arch and solar panels as part of a project to increase our solar power. We have been rationing our power usage all winter. This week in the marina—with occasional use of the shore power—is the first time we have felt free to leave the Starlink on through the day, as well as use the microwave and Instant Pot. The addition of more solar power might help but it is a challenge to find a way to make it fit. Right now we are just looking at all the options.  The beach at the Grand Isle Resort was one of our walking destinations.  View from under one of the solar panels. The diagonal line on the right is part of the split backstay. It presents one of the challenges in moving the solar panels and/or fitting an additional solar panel.  Another view from under the solar panels. We have thought of turning the panels 90° but they would then hang of...

Our daughter and son-in-law left this morning after a brief, but lovely visit. In spite of the wind being the strongest of the winter so far, we all made the best of it and enjoyed each other’s company. We miss them already.  We spent their first full day driving S toward George Town and Little Exuma Island. In George Town we were hoping to take the water taxi to Stocking Island to take a hike up to the monument. I had messaged Elvis at Elvis Water Taxi the day before to ask if he could take us to that area this week. He said yes. In George Town we walked back and forth several times trying to find his water taxi (the last time we took it he left from the Government Dock, he now departs from Exuma Yacht Club.) When we finally found him he said he couldn’t take us. When we asked why he said it was too windy. On to Plan B—Little Exuma Island. George drove the rental car over the long, narrow, winding road with numerous potholes on the side—not to mention that he had to drive on the l...

We spent the past two days getting ready for the visit of our daughter and son-in-law. Lots of cleaning, baking, and cooking. We cleaned out the aft cabin—which we normally use for storage—so they will have a place to sleep. I had two loads of laundry going by 6 am yesterday morning. The free laundry facility here is quite popular so I wanted to get a jump on it as long as we were awake! Once we were done with the chores today we took a long walk to the Grand Isle Resort next door and then to the entrance of the marina. The waves didn’t look as bad as we expected considering how windy it is right now.  Looking N across the marina entrance.  Looking at the ominous sky to the SE. 

Yesterday we left Long Island and sailed/motor sailed to George Town. The winds were relatively light but we were able to use our gennaker for a couple of hours. Once we arrive in George Town we picked up a mooring ball in Red Shanks. Those mooring balls, which are controlled by the Bahamas National Trust, remain free until mid-February. The mooring balls across the harbor, which are controlled by another group now cost $30/night and $483/month. We saw a few boats using those moorings but also quite a few boats anchored around the mooring field. Overall, there appear to be fewer boats than normal for this time of year.  This morning we dropped the mooring lines and motored four miles to the anchorage outside of town. We dinghied to the dock and walked to the Office of Immigration. When we checked into the Bahamas we paid for a cruising permit for the boat which gave us permission to keep it here for one year. We also had to clear immigration for ourselves and we were given just 90 ...

This afternoon we went to Vantage Pointe for lunch. We had planned to meet Jeannie and Brad, who live on the island, but they couldn’t make it. When we arrived we saw Robin and Sonya from Watercolors and joined them at their table. They had put in a special order yesterday for mutton so George also ordered it and I had a bite of his. It was good! We enjoyed sitting and chatting with Robin and Sonya and would love to meet up again sometime. Jimmy Fox and his family run Vantage Pointe and have made more improvements every time we visit. Jimmy is in the process of paving the walkway and has water available for cruisers to use. He has plans to run the water line out to the end of the walkway to make it more convenient for cruisers. He is talking about adding washers and dryers for cruisers to use. That would be an absolute game-changer for Thompson Bay and we can’t wait!  He even told us that if any cruiser wants their laundry done before the washers and dryers become available they co...

A few days ago George noticed a small tear where the jib enters the track. This afternoon, when the wind was light, we unfurled the jib, lowered the jib halyard a bit, and used the hot knife to cut off the torn area. The thinking is that cutting it off will help prevent the tear from continuing up the sail. When we get home we will take the jib to the sailmaker for a more permanent fix.  We are now in Thompson Bay, Long Island after arriving here yesterday afternoon. We had a very rolly night at Water Cay and were happy to leave there yesterday morning. We definitely prefer getting up at 2:00 am to make the 100 mile trip to and from Hog Cay—bypassing Water Cay—if the tide will allow it. This time the tide in Comer Channel was too low to enable us to do that.  This afternoon we enjoyed a late lunch at Tiny’s with Jean and Michael. George is looking forward to the leftover pizza he brought back to Breeze On.  Torn area of jib where it enters the track.  Unfurled jib be...

We left Hog Cay early this morning and set sail for Water Cay, 50 miles to the north. As we were sailing in the deep water on the east side of the island chain we noticed an interesting looking bird flying circles around us. While we had the Starlink on I used my Merlin app to eventually identify the bird as a brown booby. The bird stayed with us for quite a while, occasionally landing on the water and floating around before taking flight again. It was eventually joined by two other brown boobies.  We spent most of yesterday working on chores, then going ashore for the gathering in the late afternoon. Although there were just six of us there, we enjoyed the easy time of socialization.  Brown Booby as it flies around our boat.  Pretty clouds as we motor back to Breeze On (foreground) after last night’s gathering at the tiki hut. 

Yesterday we took a hike on a new-to-us trail with Dee and Ron. We had seen a map of a trail that crosses the island then loops around to the south end of the island and back to the starting point. We were able to find our way across the island to the eastern side but after that we lost the trail. After spending some time walking over rough rocks trying to find the trail we gave up and returned the way we came.  Today we walked again on the new “ridge” trail with Dee and Ron. The SE wind made the harbor rather rough—for this anchorage—and landing the dinghy on the beach was challenging. As soon as I got out of the dinghy a wave crushed over the transom into the dinghy. It was all worth it, though, the views from the trail are stunning.  Interesting little cove on the east side of the island.  View looking north.  We trekked across some of these rocks looking for a trail. George and Ron walked ahead to see if they could find anything.  Large crowd at the tiki hut...

Yesterday was haircut day on Breeze On. Now we each have a short haircut that should last quite a while. After haircuts we went snorkeling. We both decided it was worthwhile but far from the best snorkeling we have done. As always, we met with other cruisers at the tiki hut in the late afternoon.  Since the no-see-ums were out in force George and I opted to come back to Breeze On before sundown. We were treated to a green flash when the sun went down and could hear the cheers from the other cruisers who were still at the hut.  Standing in front of a salt pond with our new haircuts. It was a bit breezy today.  Schoolmaster snapper (with white stripes), surgeonfish and blue tang, triggerfish (on right), grunts (bottom right) Queen triggerfish Sea anemone Surgeonfish (top), French Angelfish (middle), grunts (bottom) Gray snapper Brain coral

Today we participated in a cleanup of one of the beaches on the east side of the island. It is disheartening to see the quantity of plastic that washes up onto the shore of beaches in the Bahamas. When we are alone on the beach the thought of picking up trash feels overwhelming. When we pick up plastic with cruisers from three other boats, as we did today, it feels more manageable. The project had been started a few weeks ago by cruisers on two boats with children. They collected the plastic into a large pile. Today we returned to continue the job and focus on some of the smaller pieces of plastic—so many bottle caps!  Pieces of wood were added to the now two piles and they will be burned when the wind dies down, possibly tomorrow.  This beach looks so much better now that it has been cleaned up.  View as we walked back to the west side of the island. Breeze On is second from the right. 

It’s been 2 1/2 weeks since we last visited a laundromat. I have been keeping up with the clothing by doing hand wash once or twice a week. The sheets and towels are another matter. Two days ago we decided to return to Hog Cay in the Ragged Islands. That meant it would be at least another week before we visited a laundromat. For that reason I have decided to wash the sheets and towels by hand. We do have an extra set of sheets for the v-berth but I don’t like getting too far behind on the laundry. In other words, I don’t want to walk into the laundromat with four loads of laundry to do.  Our decision to return to Hog Cay has a lot to do with the cold fronts coming through every few days. They make it difficult to travel anywhere without protection from west winds. Hog Cay is far enough south that any west winds will be light and not cause too much chop in the anchorage. At least that is what the forecast predicts.  We set our alarm for 2 am yesterday morning and were on our wa...