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February 1, 2014
Today at Blackpoint Bev and I went to the beach to show Kathy from Tarsie, Sandy from Hot Chocolate, Linda from Last Flight Out, and Elaine from Silver Lining how we got sea glass in the water. Today, though, was not as abundant as the day before when Bev, Mark, Arne, and I got quite a lot in the water. We had fun anyway. We walked back to meet the guys at Scorpio's.
Later we met Matt and Marty on Runaway. Marty had picked up on something Mark had said and questioned him about it. Come to find out they both worked for ExxonMobil at the same facility in East Millstone, NJ at the same time. Mark had an office there but was rarely at the office and she worked in lab and was there on a more regular basis but they never crossed paths so they didn't know each other. We also lived in the same town, Newtown, which was quite a coincidence. Their daughters went to Pennsbury High School and ours sons went to Council Rock Schools.
February 2, 2014
We went hiking this morning. We had seen this huge mound of sandstone on the island and decided we would check it out. It was the remnants of a marina they were building. We got to it and decided to take a right thinking we would get to the beach but we came to a lake/pond that went out to Dotham Cut, which is an exit from the Bahama Bank into the big water of Exuma Sound . We couldn't get to the beach so we walked back the way we came and went to the beach that we had already been to before. Today is Super Bowl Sunday and we made reservations to have dinner at Lorraine's Café. We should have eaten on the boat, which was my choice, but all the guys wanted to eat out so we did. Dinner was supposed to be at 5:00 and we didn't get the buffet until 7:30. It was good, but we have to remind ourselves that we are on Island Time. It is hard to remember that when you are hungry. The dinner was great but the Super Bowl was a land slide to say the least!
February 3, 2014
Today we did laundry and Mark had an appointment to get his haircut at 8:00 am. The laundry owner also cuts hair. We get there at 8:00 but she is not there and Mark doesn't get his hair cut until 9:30. Another island time thing. I guess Ida, the barber, knew we would be at the laundry for a while so she didn't get in a hurry. We finished up with the laundry and hair then went on another hike at 11:00. I am not sure whose idea this was, but it was too close to lunch and it was way past lunch when we returned. The hike half of us took, was beautiful. We went to a beach that no one had been to and I was lucky to have found a hamburger bean and Mark found 2 heart beans. The rocks and formations were beautiful. We returned to the boat and Bev, Paul, Linda, Mark, and I went swimming off of our boat. It was very refreshing after our long hike.
February 4, 2014
We are still in Blackpoint and this morning Mark and I went to Scandia to get help on finishing making the conch shells into horns. We defrosted the freezer and then went in for a walk. We had dinner at Scorpio's as this would be the last night for all of us to be together. Last Flight Out, Silver Lining, and us would be heading north to the Sea Aquarium and Hot Chocolate, Tarsie, and Scandia would be staying in Black Point or moving farther south.
February 5, 2014
We had anchors up at 8:00 am for our sail to Cambridge Cay. We finally had a good sail! We made it to Cambridge Cay at 12:30, had lunch then jumped in our dinghies to explore the Sea Aquarium. We went to look at the wrecked plane under water but the current and waves were a bit rough so we moved to the Sea Aquarium. We moored our dinghies and through lines in the water to hold onto while snorkeling because the current was so strong. We decided we would come back tomorrow at slack tide (the lack of movement of the water between high and low tide). We dinghied over to some pretty beaches and snorkeled and swam there and the current was less. I saw two sand dollars, my first here, while snorkeling. We couldn't take them as this is the park and everything has to remain the way you found it.
February 6, 2014
Last night was miserable at the Bell Island anchorage. We decided to move to the mooring field at Cambridge Cay and Last Flight Out followed us. After we moored and ate breakfast, Silver Lining met us at the beach for a hike. Last Flight Out quickly moored and came along. Good thing, as Linda found a hamburger bean and Elaine found a heart bean. After hiking we went to Rocky Dundas to take a look at the caves, but the tide was too high and rough so we decided not to go in. We went back to the plane and the Sea Aquarium and were able to snorkel today without any tide. It was fantastic. We were able to swim around the whole island of the Sea Aquarium and also swim with all of the fish in the Sea Aquarium. We were surprised that the fish swam right up to us. It was amazing. We met tonight on Silver Lining for our last night together as they and Last Flight Out will be heading north to Eleuthra then the Abacos before heading home.
February 7, 2014
Today Mark and I went back to Rocky Dundas to swim into the caves. It was a little un-nerving to me, but we did it. Before going into the caves, we saw some fish hanging out at the entrance. One being a lionfish. They are an interesting looking fish and are not from this area so there are no predators to take care of them except humans. They are poisonous and also a delicacy. After we swam the caves we went to visit with Julie and Mark on Rachael and decided that we would go on a drift snorkel. Julie said she would show us where to go if she could go along. Her husband doesn't enjoy snorkeling. So we went this afternoon. We went when the tide was coming in, then went slack, then we drifted back when the tide went out. We snorkeled for close to 2 hours. It was a great swim!
February 8 and 9, 2014
Today we returned back to Black Point. We did some laundry we forgot about earlier and provisioned some and then just relaxed on the boat. There were only 23 boats in the harbor versus the over 100 that were her for Super Bowl. It was a much more pleasant and quiet time.
February 10, 2014
Today we went to Lee Stocking. We decided we would stay here for a few days or so. We dropped the dinghy after we anchored and went to the coconut palm beach to hunt for palm fronds so we could finish some baskets we had started weaving but ran out of the palm supplies. We were able to find what we needed and went back to the boat. We swam and cleaned some on the bottom of the boat. The boat has some furry green growth on it that we need to clean off. We stopped by Emerald City to give them our boat card. We met them on the beach. We had been right next to them in Cambridge Cay. They are from New Mexico and they are only in the Bahamas for 3 months.
February 11, 2014
We listened to Chris Parker Weather today and much to our dismay, had to leave Lee Stocking Island to go seek shelter due to a front coming through with strong winds. We decided instead of going to George Town that we would go to Emerald Bay Marina for 3 days then make our decision as to where to go from there before heading back to Georgetown to meet our next set of guests. We arrived at Emerald Bay shortly before lunch. The marina is far from full, however, our row filled up as the day went on with others seeking shelter from the approaching front.
February 12, 2014
Today at Emerald Bay Marine we didn't do a lot but hang out on our boat weaving our baskets and meeting with boaters on our dock. We had a pot luck dinner and met lots of fellow cruisers and shared stories. We all had a good time.
February 13, 2014
The front rolled in at about 1:30 am. Lots of rain so we were up closing the hatches, portals, and companion way. The front cooled it off a bit so we were able to sleep well after closing up. I did laundry since it was free and visited with Jane from FlexTime and played Mexican Train with Robin from Cookie Monster, Francie from Barefootin' and Ana another cruiser. Then we had a get together on Andiago with John and Laurie and Marie and Ken from Tempest.
February 14, 2014
We are leaving the marina today for Lee Stocking. We will meet some friends there and then return to Georgetown next week.
- comments
Dottie Giersch Never a dull moment for the two of you and the rest of the gang. However, I am curous about all THE BEAN collecting you are doing. You know what beans do to you don't you? Enjoy the weather because we sure have had lots of snow and ice this year. More than in 3o years! UGH!
Irene Vuich Wow, if we had to write down everything we did in 4 trips to the Bahamas, we would have 1/4 of what you guys are doing! Keep it up. As Dottie G. said, you would not believe the SNOW! 12 inches here in FFHBR. I (Irene) spoke to Mark's brother, wife and friends from Syracuse yesterday. I guess you know about the water problems? No damage, they got everything fixed under house. Anyway, they mentioned that they are going to GT next week to meet up with you. I told them it's "camp for Adults" and they will have a blast. Was wondering if you are getting involved in running any of the events? I hope the BIG boats from TX are there. They usually put on a Mardi Gras event with costumes, king cakes, rum punch, etc. Of course, it's been a while and things have probably changed over the years. Have fun with your relatives, I think they'll be down there during Regatta Week! Lots of peas and rice...they used to have a contest to see who could eat the most! Irene