s/v Kaleo

Monday, April 11th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

The day began, as most, at 6:30 with Chris Parker’s weather report covering the next five days over various regions of the Bahamas.

Flying Fish Marina dock overlooking Clarence Town Harbour

Without turning on the motor, Matt pulled up the anchor and set the sails to gently lift us toward our next destination (a first for us as we usually motor out of a harbor before setting the sails). The light winds moved us along at about 2 knots (pretty slow) but with 38 miles to cover, we fired up the motor to make better time.

By 3:00 we had the anchor down in Clarence Town Harbour and a full to-do list in our hands.

View of the Flying Fish Marina from our dinghy

Christie started the laundry at Flying Fish Marina while Matt refueled the boat. Joined by Mili, Christie explored the government packing house, where once a week the mail boat comes to collect locally grown produce from farmers in the area. On this particular day (and time) it had limited fresh produce (tomatoes, plantains, bananas) for purchase at very low prices.

Government packing house

Matt connected with a Bahamas customs agent to get a 90-day extension on his visitors permit, which was set to expire April 20. (We’re set to explore the islands a bit longer.)

After a productive afternoon, it was time for dinner. Perched alongside the marina is a colorful and quaint waterside grill with a deliciously robust menu and very inviting, breezy patio tables. It was quickly decided that we had a double date night ahead of us.

Our orders arrived and the table was filled with cracked conch, BBQ ribs, grilled grouper, conch burger, Bahamian mac ‘n cheese, fries, coleslaw, mixed vegetables and salad. While we were stuffed to the gills, we made room for their homemade desserts of lemon meringue pie and warm chocolate cake. Delish!

Pausing to enjoy the charm of Clarence Town

We plan to get a few more groceries tomorrow to stock up for our upcoming trip to the Jumentos. This chain of remote islands offers rugged beauty, reefs teeming with tropical fish and adventures well off the beaten path. With no stores nor services of any kind. No fuel. No internet. No cell service. There will be little to none in terms of civilization so we’re topping off our provisions before heading out. We will essentially be off the grid for about a week. We are traveling alongside “Morning Glory” and our SPOT tracker (click the globe icon on the upper-left hand corner of this site) will continuously update our sailing progress.

N 23° 05.9 / W 74° 57.4

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, Long Island 2 Comments

Port Nelson, Rum Cay

Sunday, April 10th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Kaleo motored into Port Nelson, Rum Cay on Saturday afternoon in search of a laundromat, groceries and a smooth anchorage.

Looking out over our back yard

We found one of the three. A fairly smooth anchorage with a bonus, WiFi Internet accessible from the boat (a rare luxury these days). Rum Cay was named because of a legend that a cargo ship full of, you guessed it, rum crashed on the reefs surrounding the island. But, Matt said the water still tastes as salty as everywhere else. Another bonus was running into our friend Shane, on “Guiding Light”, who was already in the anchorage.

The only settlement on the island is Port Nelson, population about 100. We didn’t explore the town but stopped in the marina to inquire about laundry which was $12.00 per load. Housed in a dusty shed, with two working washing machines and one semi-working dryer, we opted out of trying to get our four loads done there. Instead, we took some time to catch up on all things digital and to clean the boat. One surprise about living on the water – dust – the boat collects more dust bunnies than we could have ever imagined so it’s a constant battle of dust particles vs. static cling pads. The static pads are winning this week.

Sunday we joined “Morning Glory” for boat church and listened to a service from their home church in Ft. Lauderdale. It was a thought-provoking service about where we put our ultimate value (Christ or anything else) and conversation eventually turned into lunch. Over lunch we made plans for dinner and then got to our respective assignments.

The guys speared some triggerfish, grouper and snapper and the gals cooked up all the accompaniments. Aboard “Guiding Light” we all enjoyed a feast of fish on a bed of butternut squash filled ravioli, steamed peas, and rosemary bread topped off with good conversation. Then it was time for goodbyes to Shane. We are sailing south to Clarence Town, Long Island in the morning and he is heading north to Conception.

With grateful hearts and full bellies, we buzzed back across smooth waters to our floating home silhouetted by the peaceful moonlight.

N 23° 38.73 / W 74° 50.70

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, Rum Cay One Comment

A Return Weekend in Thompson Bay

Sunday, April 03rd, 2011 / Christie & Matt

We set sail from Joe’s Sound on Saturday morning for Thompson Bay to wait out a little weather and stock up on groceries before we head for the more remote Conception Island.

Our floating home in Thompson Bay, Long Island

Navigating out of the narrow and rocky entrance of Joe’s Sound was just as nerve racking as getting in but it went smoothly and we enjoyed a smooth sail back to Thompson Bay. Once there, we spent the weekend:

Stocking up on fresh produce and hard to come by all natural tortilla chips (it’s the little things in life that are so big out here)
Enjoying being reconnected with our friends aboard “Storyville” (were so excited to see their familiar hull in the anchorage as we returned from the grocery store)
Attending church service at the Assembly of God, where the pastor gave a powerful message on the church’s need to speak the truth
Sharing FC Elevate Family kids resources with the Sunday School teacher who will hopefully use them in her classes and with the local missionary family
Meeting a missionary family from Maritime Ministries who sailed to Long Island and who now live on there with their two young daughters spreading the Word of God
Relaxing aboard “Kaleo” reading, lounging, and studying charts of our next destinations

We plan to pull up our anchor on Monday to head for Conception Island with “Morning Glory“.

N 23° 31.09 / W 75° 08.04

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, Long Island Leave a Comment

A Bigger Catch

Friday, April 01st, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Shortly after spotting and spearing our first few lobsters, Matt landed this colossal crustacean. Weighing in at 8.5 pounds, it was quite the catch that easily fed us a fresh, grilled dinner with enough meat remaining for decadent lobster mac ‘n cheese the next day.

A feast for all

The official weigh-in

Filling the entire grill

Christie holding up more bounty from recent catches

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The Big Catch

Friday, April 01st, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Friday was a fruitful fishing expedition!

To start the day, the four of us tried our luck fishing a nearby blue hole. Mili caught a small snapper, Matt caught two rocks, Christie caught up on some reading, and we all baked in the sun a little too long.

After lunch (not of fish. yet.) and naps (dreaming of fresh fish) it was off to a different kind of hunting ground. Matt and Ted headed to a reef with spears and high hopes in tow while the gals perused the beach cheering them on.

It was Matt’s first time to use a Hawaiian Sling (a slingshot type spear), and with Ted’s coaching, he was able to dive below the ocean’s surface and spear three lobster.

Mighty Matt with just a couple of his trophies

Ted caught two large grouper and two snapper to add to the seafood feast we we’re already salivating over. Ted cleaned the fish on “MG”, Matt twisted the heads off the lobster, and after preparing the catch, we all indulged on some incredibly fresh seafood. From sea to plate in less than two hours isn’t too shabby.

Ted returning his catch’s smile

After dinner, our stomachs did a happy dance as we realized that we had dined on eight lobster over the past four days. A dream come true for the admiral of Kaleo who is quite the vegaquarium!

Conversation drifted along aboard “MG” as we relocated to the trampolines (taunt nets on the front of catamarans) and watched the stars peek out from behind the clouds until bedtime.

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Long Island 2 Comments

The Remote Sound of Joe’s

Thursday, March 31st, 2011 / Christie & Matt

We awoke on Thursday to the same calm from the night before but with Kaleo pointing the opposite direction, having swung in the night with the tidal current.

In full daylight we were able to take in how far removed we were from civilization in our new little cove of the world at Joe’s Sound. Only one currently uninhabited house and a forgotten fishing boat marked that people might have once been around.

Tidal flats just a few feet off from our bow

Both boats, ourselves and “MG”, loaded our dinghies with lunches, water and extra fuel for a quest to find the nearest town, some two miles up the creek. After puttering through crystal waters lined with dense mangroves, we came to a small bridge over a narrow whitewater rapid creek. We could see boats on the other side so we said what the heck and went for it. Swoosh! We caught the current and were hurtled under the bridge without scraping the gnarly rock walls. Exiting the other side, we had to turn sharply to avoid getting the motor wrapped in the mangrove trees trying to ambush us.

We laughed and lunched on the dock before walking a mile to Mrs. Pratt’s Convenience Store to enjoy a cold drink. After talking with her for awhile, she invited us to climb the hill on her property behind the store to take in a view of the Atlantic and cool down in the tropical breeze.

Mrs. Pratt’s hill overlooking the Atlantic

The dinghy ride back under the bridge was just as fun as our little motor crawled up the rapids. Like kids wanting to do the Disney World Log Ride over and over, we turned the dinghy around and ran it again.

By afternoon, low tide had come along forcing Matt and Ted to tow the dinghies by foot through the shallow water. They plodded along, pulling us grateful gals in our chariots, and at times sinking up to their knees in sloshy sand.

Pulling the dinghies through the shallows

On the way back, we stopped off at and walked along the nearby tidal flats where we saw millions of little sea snails left behind when the water receded.

We returned to the boats to find Kaleo a little too close to the shallow water so Ted and Matt reset the anchors, moving us into deeper water. Never to soon to enjoy lobster again, we whipped up a small feast of grilled tails, agave glazed carrots and buttered potatoes. Then it was off to “MG” to make a “cruising bucket list,” those things we want to do before leaving the Bahamas.

The evening’s lobster feast

N 23° 37.67 / W 75° 19.95

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, Long Island Leave a Comment

Driving, Diving and Dining Long Island Style

Monday, March 28th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Before leaving George Town, many cruisers told us it’s worth renting a car to see ALL that Long Island has to offer.

East of George Town and about 300 miles southeast of Florida, Long Island is one of the southernmost islands in the Bahamas’ chain. As its name implies, Long Island is indeed very long, stretching 80 miles with one continuous main road throughout the entire island and just four miles across at its widest point. It has a dramatically contrasting landscape of limestone cliffs, shallow water flats, and rolling hillsides. It’s graced with one of the world’s 10 best beaches and the world’s deepest blue hole (yes, we visited both).

On Monday, we and “Morning Glory” loaded up a rental car with snacks, swim suits and snorkel gear for a full day of touring the island. We pulled onto Queen’s Highway and our first sight was Matt learning to drive on the “wrong” side of the road. Cars drive on the left-hand side of the road in the Bahamas and while the guys did well under these foreign guidelines, they did drift briefly a couple of times to the “wrong” side when wrapped up in conversation.

The entire day was a fun-filled adventure as we:

Explored the ruins of St. Mary’s, an old Spanish Church from the 1500’s and hunted for a nearby cave. We didn’t find the cave but certainly met our hiking quota for the day.

The old Spanish church in Salt Pond

Drove south to Clarence Town and climbed up into the narrow spires of the Catholic church. From these heights, we were graced with a gorgeous view of the island and surrounding Atlantic ocean.

Hiking up to and through the spires of the Catholic church

Popping out from the church

Dined at the “Hot Spot,” a little out-of-the-way restaurant that had excellent grouper fingers, chicken and pot roast. Randomly chosen because of a sign on the road, we’re glad to have turned down the bumpy dirt road to get there.
Swam and dove into Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest blue hole in the world at over 660 feet. A few miles down a sandy road we pulled off just in front of the beach and donned our swimsuits. In front of us was shallow turquoise water and small reefs surrounding a dark blue circle. Able to wade through shallow water right up to the drop off, it only took seconds before Ted and Matt had swam to the center. About a 45 foot drop, Matt hollered victory cries as he plummeted into the abyss. We shell hunted the nearby beach and then, eager to see more of the island, jumped back into the car to continue on.

Dean’s Blue Hole

Exploring Dean’s Blue Hole

Stopped at another Atlantic-side beach to search for sea beans. Christie won the prize by finding a Columbus Bean and soon thereafter it was off to dinner.
Relished an authentic Bahamian meal, served family style, at Triphena’s Old Thompson Bay Inn. Every Monday night she cooks up a feast filled with robust portions of cracked lobster, conch, and grouper. Complimented by BBQ ribs, fried plantains, potato salad, cole slaw, peas ‘n rice, and Bahamian mac n’ cheese. We sat around the table enjoying the company of fellow cruisers and locals, dining like royalty, and sipping fruity rum drinks adorned with little brightly colored umbrellas. As delicious as the cuisine was, the conversation and unique experience made the night one of our most memorable.

Reflecting over such a wonderful day, we floated back to our boat appreciating the beauty and charm of Long Island.

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, Long Island Leave a Comment

Reality Check in Paradise

Sunday, March 27th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Most of Sunday was spent lounging around the boat and candidly, being pretty discouraged from the watermaker install issues.

For church service, we opted to stay aboard and watched a message from Lifechurch.tv. Appropriately and perfectly timed, the message was entitled “Don’t Lose Heart.”

The pastor spoke about how “no matter what your expectations are for an experience, person, or possession, there are times when it simply won’t live up to what you had hoped. But, that is no reason to lose heart – nor live defeatedly. Rather, in times of discouragement (and in all situations), we are to rely on God to satisfy our needs and expectations.

The encouraging service led us to a long and open conversation about the realities of cruising.

While life on the water is certainly abundant with beauty, adventure, freedom and excitement, it certainly isn’t void of the frustrations that challenge us to question our decision to choose this lifestyle for awhile. In other words, not everyday is spent sipping chilled rum drinks on a soft sandy beach while longingly gazing into each other’s eyes. (Although Matt does have some pretty dreamy blue eyes that match the color of the glorious water that we live on.)

We’ve learned that most tasks take at least three times the effort to accomplish than they would back in our landlife. Just a few examples (of many) are washing dishes, quick trips to the store, cleaning laundry and accessing the Internet.

The latest model of dishwasher aboard Kaleo is either a 5′, clumsy and impatient admiral (my words) or a 6 foot stud (Matt’s words), both of whom are quite accustomed to an automatic dishwasher. (We brought lots of paper goods.)

Just like we aren’t able to effortlessly run to the neighborhood Target or Whole Foods when we need something, we can’t simply walk down the hall to throw in a load of laundry.

Laundry days involve loading up the dinghy (hoping you don’t forget anything) and buzzing in to shore to find the island’s laundromat. Once inserting the $2.50 – $4.00 for each wash or dry (averaging about $20 each visit) and the machines are spinning, we typically go on the hunt for Internet access or play games (which is actually really fun) until we fold, repack, and load the dinghy back up for the trek home. At first, all this was part of the adventure, but now – more than four months in – every time we schlep the overstuffed laundry bag up a dock, we have visions of the GE logo (front loading!) in our heads.

Having an “always on and always fast” Internet connection was just the way of life back in the states. Out here, it’s quite the opposite. We knew access would be more limited and prepared by installing a WiFi booster that we hoped would extend our ability to pick up wireless signals from shore. While it does help in some occasions (I’d rather have it than not), more often the available signals aren’t open connections.

In those cases, we head ashore to find a connection where we’re typically frustrated at the inevitable s-l-o-w-m-o speeds. Often, as you log on (at $4 – $15 based on minutes or megabytes), the startup page reads something to the tune of “you’re in paradise so chill out mon while a page loads and enjoy the view.” Reluctantly, I get the point. But, in the moment, the view only entertains you for so long while you try to complete a bank transaction or send a single email to family and friends. And, while we like chronicling our journey on this blog, the updates are more tedious than we could have imagined. But, we’re trying.

Whew – and you thought life was one big Corona commercial out here.

We’ve come to realize that most tasks have to be prepared for, navigated to and scheduled around in order to get accomplished. Yet, when faced with these momentary burdens, we remind ourselves that we’re living a very blessed life to be experiencing such a beautiful world from our little floating home. (Thank you again, Lord.)

Back to Sunday … Joined by “MG”, the day wrapped up with a walk along the beach and down a little conch-lined path to a fresh water well. We then ventured down the road upon Old Thompson Bay Inn and met the owner, Triphena, who enticed us with the upcoming Bahamian menu for Monday night. On the way back, we picked tamarin seeds from their trees by the roadside, snacking on a few (they taste like tart ‘n tangy Mexican candy) as the peaceful evening sunset dipped below the horizon.

Lifting fresh water from the well

Returning fresh water to the well

Picking tamarin seed snacks

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Water, Water Everywhere …

Saturday, March 26th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

… but none we can make.Yet.

First thing Saturday, we moved a little more north along Long Island to Thompson Bay and found ourselves a deep and sandy spot to secure our hook.

Christie and Mili headed in to town to explore the local farmer’s market, check out the grocery store and hike across the island to beachcomb along the Atlantic side of Long Island. With the gals off the boat and with room to work (visualize tools everywhere and our home in disarray), the guys excitedly jumped into the watermaker install.

Matt working to hook up the pump motor

After hooking up the pump motor and a few calls with the factory, it became apparent there was a problem. Our power source, a Honda 2000 generator, couldn’t start the motor even though the watermaker is designed for this exact generator. Joined by Ken, a certified electrician from a neighboring trawler,” Barbara”, we double checked our wiring, ran multiple tests with different generators and none solved the problem.

In the meantime, Christie and Mili had hiked in a few extra miles all over Salt Pond (the town) tracking down parts that we ultimately wouldn’t end up needing. Frustration started to settle over “Kaleo” as we had hoped this would be a near-seamless install. But, who are we kidding. It’s a boat project after all.

Matt talked with the company’s co-founder a few times and was assured that they are willing to do whatever it takes to get it up and running. The only problem is that shipping a new motor out here is much more complicated than simply making a parts exchange back in the states. It’s a multi-week ordeal involving air freight, customs, duty fees, etc. Not to mention the time it will take for all this to happen and we’re not keen on returning to George Town to wait again. The builders are looking into how we might fix it out here and we’ll go from there.

Ted and Matt discussing the install

Frustrated at having waited in George Town for an extra few weeks and now still without a watermaker, we cleaned up then joined Ted and Mili aboard “MG” for dinner and a distracting game of Mexican Train. “MG” said they are happy to make us water anytime and we truly appreciate what a blessing they are to us. The dinner, game and company were the high points of the day but we returned to Kaleo exhausted and still a bit deflated.

N 23° 31.09 / W 75° 08.04

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Leaving for Long Island

Friday, March 25th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Thursday was spent prepping the boat, and ourselves, to leave Red Shanks for our Friday sail to Long Island.

Kaleo resting at anchor before we left for Long Island

Our hearts were heavy as Friday would bring the start of diverging routes among The Navy.

Steve on “Anchor Management” is heading on a fast track to Puerto Rico. Us, more leisurely, to Long Island. And “Storyville” was planning to play in Red Shanks a bit longer. “Pipe Muh Bligh” was undecided and with “Morning Glory” already in Long Island and “SYL” on their way to Turks and Caicos, our time together, at least for now, had come to an end.

On Thursday evening, everyone piled on “Pipe” to enjoy sundowners and talk about the fun we’ve had together over the past few months. Though we’ll see “Storyville” and “Pipe” again at the Family Island Regatta in a few weeks, Steve is staying in PR once he gets there. Before we knew it, the sun had set and with plans to leave at first light it was time for bed.

A few grateful tears, strong bear hugs and a melancholic ride home from Troy (our dinghy was already stored on deck), and we waved goodbye to great friends who have become family on the water.

So with heavy hearts we settled into bed awaiting the 6:30 a.m. beep beep beep of the weather radio alarm.

Daylight on Friday morning came quickly and along with Steve, we pulled up the hook and motored out toward the mouth of Elizabeth Harbour. Troy woke up to radio one last “be safe out there” and other than talking with Steve on the VHF, the world was silent.

Exiting the cut, we hoisted sail and for the first time, pointed our boat in a different direction than Steve’s. He headed northeast and we southeast.

Drifting over the ocean’s surface

Halfway there we passed over the Tropic of Cancer. We now officially live in the tropics.

Matt is always going forward to adjust the sails

While sailing toward Indian Point on Long Island, we talked with “Morning Glory” who was already there to make plans to anchor near each other. We dropped the hook, caught up with them and dinghyied to a nearby beach to hunt shells and stretch our legs.

Christie hunting for sea beans and shells

Returning to the boats, Ted happened to dive his anchor only to discover it was barely holding on to a small rock ledge. Further investigation revealed ours was too! When we had set the anchor and backed on the chain the boat jerked so hard we thought it was buried deeply in the sand. Turns out it just happen to catch a rock ledge on the scoured rocky bottom. The next two hours were spent racing sunset as we motored north looking into alternate anchorages. Just after dark, we found a spot, though a bit shallow, with decent anchor holding so we settled in for the night.

Ted and Mili joined us for spinach lasagna aboard and we all agreed that visually checking the anchor should be the first priority each time we set the hook. The keel softly touched the sandy bottom a few times at low tide in the night but it was good holding helping us to sleep soundly.

N 23° 20.20 / W 75° 07.60

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends Leave a Comment

Navy Dinner in Red Shanks

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 / Christie & Matt

To celebrate Christie and Steve’s return to George Town, and with the Texas Navy starting to take diverging routes, everyone gathered at a restaurant in Red Shanks to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company.

A Texas-size celebration

Ted had made reservations for 11 and we upon arriving, we were greeted with a large pre-set table with lit candles, linen tablecloth and napkins. “SYL” had arrived a few minutes early and was thoughtful enough to assign seating for the two guests of honor. Hand drawn on little napkins were “Steve from Anchor Management,” “The Admiral” and Matt’s sign “The Admiral’s Servant.”

Christie’s place card

Matt’s place card

As we sat down, the chef/owner brought out complimentary conch fritters to start the evening. Rum punches and Kaliks (Bahamian beer) were lifted as we toasted to our friendship and soon enough the table was filled with cracked conch, cracked chicken, garlic shrimp, and New York Steaks with steamed broccoli and honey-glazed carrots.

The food and service were top notch and the evening was spent over vibrant and engaging conversation. On the dinghy ride home, we stopped to say farewell (for a couple weeks) to “SYL” who left for Turks and Caicos this morning.

We’ve spent the past couple of weeks waiting in George Town for our watermaker to arrive and it should finally be here on Thursday. Once picked up, we’re looking forward to setting sail for Long Island on Friday.

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, George Town, Red Shanks One Comment

A Week in Waiting

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 / Christie & Matt

The blog and Kaleo have been pretty quiet the past week while Christie flew to Houston to reprovision on family time and a few things that aren’t readily available out here.

She left on Sunday morning and after another Bahamas church service (just as long but without the shouting), I returned to an empty hull. All our stuff was there but the warmth, energy, and emotion that fills Kaleo was noticeably missing.

Knowing that a ship without its Admiral is like having a compass that doesn’t point north, the Texas Navy stepped up to help me through the week. From breakfast on “SYL” to dinners aboard “Morning Glory”, I certainly wasn’t lacking for wonderful and filling meals.

This week highlighted the bonds made while cruising as each boat we’ve spent time with supported, encouraged, and anticipated Christie’s return with me. I am continually amazed by how much everyone cares for each other and will stop at nothing to lend a hand, cook a meal or bring a smile to your face.

While counting down the hours until Christie’s return, I:

Enjoyed ice cream at the laundromat a few too many times
Crossed some boat projects off the list like replacing the toilet pump, preparing for the watermaker install, wiring water tank monitors and reorganizing the lazzerette
Hiked to some ruins on a nearby cay with Ted and Mili and unsuccessfully searched for caves on another cay

The ruins of a kitchen on Crab Cay

Hiking the ruins on Crab Cay

Finished two books and slept in a few days
Gorged myself on manicotti during “Italian night” aboard “Pipe Muh Bligh”
Crafted, with the help of Ted and Mili, a spray shield for the dinghy to help keep us dry on high wind days
Met and hung out with Rusty’s brother Jim and his two daughters, who were all a fun addition to the Navy. The girls kicked transom at Mexican Train and Jimmy, in chorus with Troy, serenaded us all with sailor songs on the guitar

Troy and Jimmy playing sailor songs

Appreciated the gracious nightly invites to dinner aboard “Morning Glory”
Attended “boat church” aboard “MG” with the entire Texas Navy where we sang worship songs, spent time in prayer and watched a Lifechurch.tv service

“Boat Church” aboard Morning Glory

“Boat Church” parking lot

Helped Mili on “MG” sew an anchor riding sail, which when hoisted on Kaleo should reduce swinging at anchor

Matt and Mili working on the anchor riding sail

Took full advantage of Skype by getting to talk with Christie a few times each day

While in Texas, Christie told me of her quest to stock-up on some of our favorite foods, boat parts, pampering and pick up a few requests for the Navy. Coming from a close-knit Italian family, most of their time was centered around meals of grand proportion with lots of conversation and laughter. One night (as most) the family got together at Christie’s parents’ house for a full-on Bubba Gump-style Shrimp Fest featuring boiled, grilled, and kabobed shrimp with every combination of zucchini, carrots, garlic, pineapple, potatoes, chicken, sausage and more. Breaks from these culinary feasts included road tripping to Dallas with her Mom and Nana to visit friends, dine at her favorite restaurants, and, in her words, “get put back together” at a few salons.

A round of reprovisioning

When I met her at the airport, the porter happily handed off the 3 giant bags and 1 box, weighing in at 50 lbs each. I was impressed that Christie was able to pack everything so efficiently and then get the freight down to George Town. “SYL” was kind enough to help with the pickup by staging their big boat near the dinghy dock to save us from the 30 minute dinghy ride with all the extra weight. We jumped on board, unloaded the dinghy and were back anchored in Red Shanks before dark.

It was announced on the radio upon pulling in that “the Texas Navy would like to welcome the return of Admiral Christie,” and we all (myself especially) were ecstatic that she was home.

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Family, Friends, George Town, LifeChurch.tv, Red Shanks One Comment

Retreat to Red Shanks

Thursday, March 10th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

All the activity and action from the past two weeks’ Regatta had taken its toll and we were looking for a great place to relax.

The gals soaking in the sun

Red Shanks is an anchorage about five miles south of George Town but no where near the same pace. As we motored into the secluded cove, only three other boats were around to greet us. As we set the hook, it reminded us of the private protected anchorages that we enjoyed in places like Black Point, O’Briens Cay and Shroud Cay. Surrounded by sandy mangrove covered cays, the water was glass and Kaleo floated without a tug on her anchor chain.

We dinghyied over to “Morning Glory” to relax in the sun, swim, and live the cruiser’s dream. The guys talked boats, solar panels, and other technical topics while the gals played Bananagrams and lounged on the trampolines. All the while, Ted and Mili were generous enough to run their watermaker for us, filling up our empty jugs as we wait for our Cruise RO watermaker to be delivered in the next week or so.

Matt and Ted jumping off “Morning Glory”

A few hours later “SYL” came into the anchorage and joined the afternoon swim and sun while we all made plans for a potluck dinner. Everyone returned to their respective boats to make a dinner dish and wash the salt off. We then headed over to “SYL” to be greeted by a table set with real linen napkins and glassware. A touch that brought the dinner from a cruiser’s potluck to a gathering of friends over fresh fish, filet mignot, chicken and a plethora of delicious side dishes.

Dinner & great company aboard “SYL”

Kaleo quietly floating at anchor in Red Shanks

Sunset turned into twinkling stars and as the night wrapped up, a crescent moon was our street light on the ride home.

N 23° 29.09 / W 75° 44.29

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Exumas, George Town, GT Cruising Regatta, Red Shanks Leave a Comment

Laundry N’ Hiking in GT

Tuesday, March 08th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Certain days are perfect domestic days, and those are usually the ones when the wind is dead so the dinghy rides will be dry.

Monday lived up to its forecast as there wasn’t a ripple on the water’s surface. After breakfast and a visit from the pump-out boat, we met Mili from “Morning Glory” and Shane from “Guiding Light” in town to try out a laundromat we’d heard about. Though it was a long way from the dinghy dock, the owner offered to give us a ride there and back. Bonus is that it is next door to a small convenient store and a deli with an ice cream shop inside. Since cruising is about adventures large and small, we loaded the laundry into the back of a pick-up, jumped in and were off for an open air tour of lower George Town.

Folding laundry at Barinki Wash

Upon arriving, we walked into a brand new, sparkling clean laundromat with row after row of washers and driers that only cost $2.50 per wash or dry. Everyone got their dirty laundry spinning and we headed over to the deli for sandwiches. With a menu like Subway, everyone ordered a sub and grabbed a cold natural tea (a rare treat these days). Mili pulled out Bananagrams and taught us to play this fun, Scrabble-like word game the occupied our time until it was time to switch the clothes into the dryers. A few more rounds of BG, folding clothes over Fox News and then it was back in the truck for the return ride to our dinghies.

While off doing laundry, Steve on “Anchor Management” had been kind enough to fill up and drop off a few water jerry jugs for us. Matt poured those into the tanks, then buzzed back to the dinghy dock to refill them for another round.

After tanks were full it was off to “SYL” to practice making the dessert for the Regatta’s upcoming “Around the Island Race”, in which there’s a “baking while underway” competition. Amy, on “Crow’s Nest”, had passed along a superb bread-pudding recipe that was the basis for our planned dessert. A few hours in the galley under the excellent guidance of Linda and warm Bahamian bread pudding with butter rum sauce was ready for a tasting. Matt and Rusty were our official judges for the night and their vote was cast with two bowls each.

All with full bellies, Rusty flipped on a fun movie, “Keeping the Faith” projected onto their 60″ screen and we settled in for an enjoyable evening. Meeting and cruising with folks like Rusty and Linda, as well as the rest of the Navy, has made this trip even more incredible. The chance to have such strong friendships and be able to enjoy each other’s company nearly every day turns sailing through the Bahamas into truly living among friends and family in the Bahamas.

Refreshed from a peaceful night’s sleep, we enjoyed Christie’s coconut bread french toast and then met up with “Storyville” on the beach to hike Monument Hill. The highest point in the Exuma chain of islands, Monument Hill affords beautiful views of Lee Stocking Island, the Exuma Sound and all the boats anchored around George Town. We took the long trail to the top passing by sandy beaches and winding through dense mangroves to meet Steve at the top. Atop the hill we climbed around on the namesake for Monument, a large concrete tower reaching for the sky and took pictures from every angle. A lone boat was sailing past in the Exuma Sound and we quickly recognized it as “Sea Yawl Later.” Rusty had gone out to test a few sail configurations for the upcoming “Around the Island Race”.

Exuma Sound beach

Climbing down from Monument Hill

Sea Yawl Later sailing in the sound

The north end of Lee Stocking Island

Later in the afternoon, we returned to our respective boats to refuel and recharge. Then, it was off to dinghy explore a nearby anchorage called Red Shanks. Ted and Mili (Morning Glory) were kind enough to lend us their dinghy, which is much faster and provides a drier ride, so we zoomed off to see some new-to-us territory. Though the wind and waves picked up before we made it all the way into Red Shanks, we saw enough to make plans to move Kaleo over after the “Around the Island Race” on Wednesday.

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Church in George Town

Sunday, March 06th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Another windy but beautiful day woke us on Sunday as we made plans with “Morning Glory” to go into town for church.

They were kind enough to take their big boat, making it a drier ride than if we had taken our dinghies. We arrived at the Baptist church, just before 11:00 with plenty of time to choose our seats. At 2:00 service finally wrapped up and we walked out having experienced a church service like never before.

Service started somewhat like any other we’ve attended, singing worship songs and a welcome from the pastor. Then began the “praise and worship” part of the service in which two congregants came up on stage and belted out hymns to a beat and volume that nearly split our ears. Passionately singing and shouting to the Lord, these ladies didn’t drop their voices a decibel for the next 45 minutes.

Just when we thought service might let out, another preacher took the stage. With a voice that made the previous singers seem like church mice, he ranted and raved about reconciliation for another hour. Every time the preacher would reach a crescendo, signaled by his pointing Heavenward, the drummer would beat the bass drum to drive it further home

Then, while the preacher reached tears, the drummer would rat-ta-ta-tat on the symbols making it sound like rain was falling in the sanctuary. Exiting the stage, the preacher passed off the mic and service ended as benign as it started. Though not a church we’ll attend again, we commend the Bahamians for such passionate and vocal worship.

Stomachs growled as we walked back toward the dinghy dock and the smells from Denny’s Snack Shack were too overpowering to resist. The four of us ordered hamburgers and Grouper sandwiches and sat down eagerly awaiting our warm meals. We forgot to account for the Bahama’s restaurant style and about an hour later our food arrived.

It was 4:00 by the time we made it back to Kaleo so we hung out on board, cooked an early dinner and like evening past, headed to bed early.

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In-Harbour Regatta Race

Saturday, March 05th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Recharged and ready for the day, we enjoyed a warm and filling breakfast of Migas, then dinghyied over to “Morning Glory” and “Sea Yawl Later” who were rafted up together.

The “SYL” crew ready to race

It was the Regatta’s “In-Harbor Race” Day and Matt was crewing aboard “SYL” with Ted from “Morning Glory” under the trusty Captain Rusty.

The guys prepped the boat and soon sailed off leaving the Admirals aboard “Morning Glory” to cheer on the team and enjoy some girl time.

The In-Harbour Race is two laps around a race course marked by large floating buoys and involves sailing both up and down wind. This type of course means that each boat/team will have to make multiple tacks and jibes in order to successfully run the course, which translates into a lot of work for each crew member.

Three fleets of mono-hulls started, then the gun sounded for the multi-hull race as five catamarans sped toward the start line (in a sailboat race the boats are already sailing and can cross the line after the gun but not before, so each team tries to time it as close as possible).

“SYL” crossed the start third in their class and were disappointed as their start had given the leader at least 20 seconds on them. Over the next hour, boats of all sizes and colors battled for the best time on the course.

At one point, “SYL” was neck-in-neck with two other cats, “Guiding Light” and a St. Francis 50, “Penelope”, but in the end, the St. Francis pulled away from “SYL” and “SYL” shouldered in front of “Guiding Light.”

Once more around the marks and “SYL” was third cross the finish line with country music blaring from the loud speaker. Each boat has a (PHRF) rating to help level the playing field, otherwise it would be no contest for the 33 foot “SYL” to compete with the 50 foot St. Francis, as the bigger the boat, the faster it can typically go. The official results won’t be released until the Friday night results party but according to our calculations we think “SYL” came in first or second place.

If there was an award for having the most fun underway, the guys on “SYL” would taken top prize. Their music filled the harbor and had other racers dancing on deck while the guys practiced their “Wind”-inspired choreographed race chants and stance.

The Texas Navy at the Regatta Post Race Party

After the race, we napped and then headed up to the post-race party at St. Francis Resort where “all the racers tell stories about how well they did.” After spinning a few yarns and talking with others, we dinghied home as Matt grumbled about his sore back, neck, shoulders and arms, all from grinding on the winches. He won the prize for first one to bed and soon thereafter, we we’re both sound asleep.

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Exumas, Friends, GT Cruising Regatta, Racing Leave a Comment

Domestic Wednesday

Wednesday, March 02nd, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Even living in earthly paradise requires household chores and Wednesday was a perfect domestic day as the harbor was glass-like without a ripple of wind on its surface.

It’s these type of days that make for the driest and fastest dinghy rides into town, so we took full advantage of it.

The day started off a little rough as Christie took a tumble out of the companionway and smacked her check on the winch. She recovered quickly but will suffer a bruise below the eye and lost a little skin from her leg. But she toughed it out and bounced up to head out for beach yoga taught by Erin. We’re so enjoying her company and yoga expertise.

Matt took the time to do another round of water with the jerry jugs (have we mentioned that were really excited for the watermaker). After yoga, we both headed into town to have the propane tanks filled, get gas for our outboard motor and grocery shop before the winds picked up and the forecast storm settled over us.

Getting propane George Town-style was a new experience as about 35 cruisers and locals all gathered in a dirt parking lot a half hour before 11:00 to wait for the propane truck to arrive that comes every Wednesday. Nearly on time, it lumbered into the lot ready to distribute its payload to our awaiting bottles. Another hour later, our tanks were topped up and we were off to the Exuma Market for some fresh produce.

The weekly propane truck

We all gathered at the boat ramp near the end of Lake Victoria

Leaving the market, the sky foretold of a torrential rain blowing towards us. So we hedged our bets, tossed the groceries in the dink and gunned it toward Kaleo on the other side of the harbor. It’s a good 20 minute ride with the dink loaded down and we could see the rain line marching toward us. A quick prayer got us back to the boat just before the rain started and upon arrival, we discovered that all of our ports and hatches had been closed up tight by a helpful elf. Later we learned that Deana had been sweet enough to come over and close the boat up, knowing that we were still in town. The Navy certainly has a wonderful way of watching out for one another.

Just as we handed the groceries into the companionway, the rain reached us and began to rinse the boat of salt and sand. Matt took a break in the rain to scurry over to Anchor Management to lend a hand with a malfunctioning wi-fi extender. While out, the next round of rain found Matt mid-way through the trip and quickly washed him of all the day’s salt and sand as well.

The rain and wind continued as Chris Parker voiced an updated forecast over the VHF, “the rain would eventually subside but the wind would increase.” It’s nice having the weather guru as a neighbor in the harbor. The weather blowing in earlier than forecast was disappointing as the Regatta Kick-Off Beach Bash was planned to start at 5:00. A few brave dinghy pilots headed in for the start of the party but most of us stayed aboard to hear if it was still a go. The rum punches and Sand’s were flowing on time but dinner had been delayed so we could hear the volume increase from the early party-goers but held out in hopes of dinner to accompany the libations. In the end, dinner wasn’t cancelled but Matt took one for the Kaleo team and headed in for a short while to pick up our dinners before bashing back through the 25 knot winds to enjoy dinner together in a warm, dry home.

Beach Bash dinner tickets. (We did get more than ‘a fry’ ;o).

It will be early to rise for the Coconut Challenge tomorrow so we’ll tuck in early for a windy night’s rest.

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Regatta Kick-Off

Tuesday, March 01st, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny and the day began with morning yoga overlooking the Exuma Sound at Kavalli House. Thanks again to our lovely personal yogi, Erin, for taking us through another centering and challenging session in such a spectacular setting.

Striking a pose at Kevalli House

Unstriking pose at Kevalli House

Crouching into Crow

Overlooking the Exuma Sound from Kevalli House

Returning from yoga

While the gals zenned out with yoga, the guys took care of a few errands. Steve lent Matt a hand with our water jerry cans in his much faster dinghy, making what would have been an hour plus trip into a quick 30 minutes (We’re counting down the days until our 20GPH watermaker arrives). With Kaleo nearly topped up with water, it was time to get ready for the Regatta Dinghy Parade and Poker Run.

Upon pulling up to Volleyball Beach, we saw dinghies and drivers adorned with the glitz and glimmer of “Pure Gold,” the theme for this year’s regatta. Gold wigs, anchors, flags, shirts and shorts were all in theme as about 50 dinghies made chaotic circles waiting for the start. There were a few dinghies that didn’t follow the theme but were so well decorated that it only added to the spectacle. There were a few crews of pirates, arrgghhhhing as they jousted with each other and Zero to Cruising teamed up with another couple in full army gear with palm fronds camouflaging their dinghies. All the pageantry signaled that regatta week had officially started and everyone was in it to win it.

Regatta Kick-off with Dinghy Parade

Just after the parade, we teamed up with Steve of Anchor Management to take on the Dinghy Poker Run, a harbor-crisscrossing-card-collecting-pub-crawl. The goal of the Poker Run is to get the best poker hand by drawing one card from each station, each station being in a different part of the island.

At our first station, Eddie’s Edgewater Grill, we drew a 4 of clubs and so began an afternoon of dinghy dashing, in zigzag fashion, to collect our remaining four cards. After Eddie’s, we buzzed back across the harbor (a 10 minute dinghy ride), with salt spray splashing our game faces to Alvin’s Snack Bar, where we drew another club and our next destination of Denny’s Snack Bar. Back across the harbor. Denny’s, like all other checkpoints, offered a Poker Run drink special and after drawing our third club, we took a break to enjoy a round of Bahama Mama Punch. With three clubs in hand, the hunt for a flush was on.

Dinghy Poker Run Second Checkpoint, Alvin’s Snack Bar

Our draw from Alvin’s

Our next stop was St. Francis Resort so it was back in the dink and back across the harbor where luck was with us and we drew the fourth club. Our last jaunt across the harbor to Palm Bay Resort was filled with anticipation, as a flush would surely win us the grand prize of $175. We beached the dink, stopped at the free appetizer station (conch fritters and grouper fingers) then sauntered over to the poker station. We each tried to convince the other that it was their turn to pick the last card but settled for a couple rounds of “Rock, Paper, Scissors-style draw” to decide who would blindly finish our hand. It was as if the room hushed when we reached for the card, and with deliberate hesitation, the card was flipped to reveal a king of diamonds. A collective groan from our team and a round of Rum Punch to lament, wrapped up our almost-win of the Dinghy Poker Run. We were even offered a couple rounds of complimentary colorful Jell-O shots to ease the sting.

Dinghy Poker Run, St. Francis Resort

Our final hand

After a full day of sun, salt and bouncing around in the dink, we skipped the beach-side meet and greet in favor of seafood dinner aboard and an early bedtime. Believe it or not, we’re having to pace ourselves in this jam-packed regatta schedule.