s/v Kaleo

Monday, February 28th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Imagine a warm, tropical beach with a dense row of dinghies clung to its shoreline like ants on their hill. Now, picture twice that amount of cruisers scurrying atop the sand visiting rows of decorated tables while the sounds of Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffet float over the surf. At each station, eager volunteers are ready to help sign you up for just about any activity you could want at a seaside summer camp.

This is Registration Day and the start of the 31st Annual George Town Cruising Regatta.

Regatta Registration Day

Visiting with Mike and Rebecca of Zero to Cruising

Amongst the scramble, we spent the morning signing up for a slew of activities planned for the upcoming weeks. We’ll post more details as the events take place but we’re teaming up as the “Texas Navy” to participate in Adult Field Day activities like the Dinghy Parade, Dinghy Poker Run and the Coconut Challenge, a series of events involving, you guessed it, coconuts. We’re also putting on our game faces to crew aboard “SYL” in the “Around Stocking Island Race” as well as the “In-Harbour Race”. Each day will also be filled with various info sessions on topics ranging from “Weather” and “Dinghies A to Z” to “Researching the Bucket List” and “Winning Fishing in the Bahamas”. And some nights will be spent at social gatherings on the beach.

Signing the annual GT Regatta Mural

After sign-ups, we boarded “SYL” for a practice run on the race course. Rusty, Matt and Ted ran half the course while practicing key tacks and downwind maneuvers. Though we’ve been sailing at a cruising pace for the past several months aboard Kaleo, it only took a moment to bounce back into race mode as we prepare for the big boat race on Saturday. Rusty piloted “SYL” as Matt and Ted trimmed sails and all discussed the best way to rig the jib for race day. When we were satisfied with our practice, we returned to the harbor planning what dessert to make for the “baking underway” part the race. Yes, there are subcategories of “Best Dessert Baked Underway”, “Longest Fish Caught Underway”, and “Best Photograph Taken Underway” in the Regatta race.

By the time we were back aboard Kaleo, it was time for dinner, showers and winding down for the night.

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Friends, George Town, GT Cruising Regatta Leave a Comment

George Town, Bahamas

Sunday, February 27th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Our last day in Farmers Cay was spent dinghy exploring and lobster hunting. The hunting party was unsuccessful in finding lobster but we did find a huge starfish and lots of sand dollars.

Matt just up from checking a coral head for dinner

An early Wednesday morning had us heading for George Town with most of the time spent motoring into light headwinds. The fishing line was out but again the sea would not give up her bounty.

Arriving in Elizabeth Harbour, George Town, the landscape was dotted with hundreds of masts gently swaying with the ocean swell. The sheer volume of boats and radio traffic was a sure sign that we had arrived.

Our welcome sign from the dinghy dock

George Town is a fabled place for cruisers; a stop for all on the route south and in fact, the final stop for many. It offers great provisioning, free water, lots of marine services, restaurants, an airport and the chance to gather with hundreds of fellow cruisers. With all these amenities comes a different pace from what we’ve experienced while cruising. With different events and activities planned all-day, every day, and over 250 boats in the harbor, GT lives up to its nickname of “summer camp for cruisers.”

Kaleo pulled into the harbor just in time for the 31st Annual Cruising Regatta, a two-week long series of boat races, beach bashes, creative competitions like the Dinghy Poker Run (aka: crisscrossing-harbor-dinghy-pub-crawl) and the infamous Coconut Challenge (more to come on this as we compete), as well as volleyball-, golf-, Bocce Ball-, Ultra Trivial Pursuit- and Texas Hold ‘Em-tournaments. There’s even Tug of War on the beach, a Dance Party with Rockin’ Ron, and a Variety Show (I immediately think “Dirty Dancing” here). In a nut shell, it’s action-packed Adults’ Field Day. Every day. With enough events packed in to make our land-life schedules look downright geriatric.

Our arrival into GT, along with “Storyville” and “Anchor Management” meant the entire “Texas Navy” had been reunited. Just in the few days leading up to the kick-off of the Regatta, we’ve already …

Enjoyed a dinner out with Steve at the Chat N’ Chill on Volleyball Beach for our first night in town. Two full plates of ribs, slaw and fries satiated our need to not dirty our own dishes and Matt’s red meat cravings. After dusk, Rusty projected “Pirates of the Caribbean” on his sail near the beach where we, and many other cruisers, enjoyed the open-air movie.
Explored the “town” part of George Town on Thursday. After walking around a bit, we stepped into the Exuma Market and were giddy at the sight of so much fresh produce and natural foods. Exuma Market is a fully-stocked grocery store that clearly caters to the cruising crowd with its wide-ranging selections and ideal location directly next to the dinghy dock. After a full cart of shopping, we loaded up the dinghy with groceries and headed back to enjoy the bounty. We’re most excited about finding organic spinach and other brightly-colored veggies, all-natural tortilla chips and organic salsas, ground turkey, flat breads, Tika Masala and Pad Thai sauces, and even some high fructose-free cereal.

“Almost” as beautiful to us as the beaches we live on

Met up with Mike and Rebecca of “Zero to Cruising“, fellow cruisers and bloggers who we’ve kept in touch with as both boats prepared and journeyed south. They’ve been in GT for a little while so they generous shared the scoop on where to be for the beach parties each evening as well as where to find whatever we may need during our stay.
Celebrated the return of Linda and arrival of her daughter, Erin, aboard “SYL” on Friday afternoon. We joined Rusty in picking them up from town after their flight arrived. Seeing Linda was like being reunited with a long-lost friend and we were delighted to finally meet Erin. The evening festivities started with mild intensions on Storyville, then quickly kicked into high-gear as the Navy migrated to “SYL”, then to “Guiding Light”, then back to “Storyville” for what turned into the start of “24-Hours-of-Steve” in honor of his upcoming birthday. Though it wasn’t until Sunday, the celebration of all-things-Steve started on Friday night with some entertaining choreography (“The George Town Stance” and “The Bosun Chair Bop”) by the captain of “Kaleo” to the beat of “I’m on a Boat,” of course while wearing our flippy-floppies and swim trunks.
Took it easy on Saturday morning before heading over to Monument Beach for afternoon yoga and retired early with a movie at home.
Attended Beach Church on Sunday morning under the shade trees with cooling sand between our toes. A fellow cruiser gave a nice “sermonette” on opening our eyes and hearts to people we might not normally interact with, much as Jesus did with the tax collector in Luke 19:9. Beach Church is an official church with a statement of faith, pastor and volunteer choir, in which Rusty from “SYL” shares his talented voice. Though the music and style made us thankful for our more contemporary Fellowship Church, it was a blessing to have corporate worship with other Christian cruisers in such a relaxed tropical enviroment.

Heading to Beach Church

Stretched our bodies and our definition of a beautiful yoga studio when Erin (a certified yoga instructor in the States) taught yoga at the Kevalli House. The class was held under private pavilion overlooking the glorious Exuma Sound, with palm trees swaying and ocean waves crashing on the cliffs below.

Christie and Erin concentrating on a balance pose

Erin’s Kevalli House yoga class

Celebrated Steve’s birthday with a Tex-Mex fiesta potluck aboard “SYL” on Sunday evening. Linda made taco soup, Deana prepared chicken enchiladas with homemade tortillas and sopapilla cheesecake, Mili from “Morning Glory” whipped up corn salsa salad, and “Kaleo” cooked up some turkey tacos. Everyone left stuffed and thankful that Steve gave us a reason to get together.

Tomorrow kicks off the Cruising Regatta with Registration Day and we have plans to team up with the Navy to enter a few events. More to come as the events unfold.

N 23° 31.19 / W 75° 45.53

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More Little Farmers Cay

Monday, February 21st, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Sunday dawned with brisk winds, and without CP (no weather reports from him on Sundays), the morning was spent waking up late (8:00) and enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Around lunch, the guys dinghyied down to Cave Rock Cay to get diesel ($5/gal) and gasoline ($5.50/gal), filling everyone’s jerry jugs. After their return and a nap, we motored our dinghy over to the nearby beach for a hike to the Exuma Sound side of the island. Guided by seasoned Farmers Cay cruisers on s/v Solitare, we hiked over sharp volcanic rock and through thickets of briars and mangroves to the expanse of the Sound.

Exploring the Exuma Sound side of Little Farmers Cay

Everyone was on a quest for sea glass, broken pieces of glass that have been polished smooth by the oceans ever constant waves. Not only did we find green, clear, and blue (rare) pieces but also some beautiful shells and fan coral. The highlight of the hunt was finding a “hamburger bean” (with help from the eagle eyes aboard “Solitare”). The “bean” is from a tree that grows on the Amazon river which drops it’s seeds into the river. They float out across the ocean, “bounce” off the coast of Africa, then ride ocean currents up to the Bahamian and Caribbean islands to be found by cruisers like us. The bean can be polished with fine grit sandpaper to create unique jewelry. We also found two “Columbus” beans, a seed from a similar tree carrying the legend that Columbus always sailed with one in his pocket.

A view well worth the hike

Back on Kaleo, we made tacos with homemade tortillas for dinner. While Matt focused on rolling out wheat flour tortillas with a wine bottle as our rolling pin, I got to Skype with one of my dearest friends, Crystal, and with my parents and with Nana who was over at their house for dinner. We even took the laptop out into the cockpit for them to enjoy the sun setting over the island. Turns out, we may need an alternate recipe as the tortillas left something to be desired. They were about as thick as pancakes but they still tasted like tortillas and we figure that’s pretty good for our first attempt. After cleaning up the galley, we wrapped up the night with more family face time (thanks Skype!) with my godmother, Aunt Cherie and Uncle Ruel as well as Matt’s brother, Jeff, and our sister-in-law Mel.

Catching up with mom and Nana. (Thanks for the just-outta-the-shower pic mom.)

It’s Monday afternoon now and we’ve just wrapped up a breakfast and internet party aboard “Kaleo”. The crews of “Storyville”, “Anchor Management”, and “Pipe Muh Bligh” ventured over to catch up on all things digital as we set up a shared internet network with the free WiFi we were able to access with our booster from the yacht club. As of now, we have loose plans to go lobster hunting with Steve and for a hike later this afternoon and, assuming the weather shapes up as forecast, we’ll head toward George Town on Wednesday.

We’re looking forward to reuniting the the rest of the Navy as well as meeting new cruisers and local while there.

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, Little Farmers Cay One Comment

Little Farmers Cay

Saturday, February 19th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Morning came on Friday as scheduled and we pulled up our anchor from Castle Beach and pointed the bow toward Little Farmers Cay.

Sailing south from Black Point to Little Farmers Cay

Our main pulling us through the clear blue water

Moments out of the anchorage we had the sails hoisted and with the brisk 20 knot wind Kaleo was running up to 7 knots under jib and main alone. The wind picked up a little so we doused the jib and ran about 6.5 knots down to the turn into Farmers Cay entrance. We motored slowly knowing it was a tricky entrance and on our first pass in, went south of the channel to stick our keel in the sand. Thankfully we easily motored off the sand bar and into much deeper water.

We dropped the hook near “SYL” and “Guiding Light” just as dark rain clouds developed on the horizon. It didn’t take long for them to break open and drench anything on deck but we were tucked securely below. An hour later, the tide went out and our keel was slightly bumping the sand below and with an even lower tide coming at 3:00 a.m. we had to move the boat. Shane on “GL” and Ted from “Morning Glory” came over to help Matt re-anchor the boat in a deeper spot near the yacht club, which allowed me to stay out of the rain – thanks guys!

Though we had plans to go to Oven Rock Cave, the rain convinced us that tomorrow may be a better day to check it out. So for pretty much the rest of the day, we took full advantage of the free Internet on the boat to Skype, email, and blog.

Saturday, all of the Navy awoke early to listen to Chris Parker and decided about making the run to George Town. The conditions would allow for a spirited move today or we’d have to wait until Tuesday when things are forecast to settle down. In the end “SYL”, “GL” and “MG” decided to make the run but we elected not to as the conditions, while sailable, would have been quite rolly for us. Though we’ll see everyone again in a few days, it was hard to see them go. Everyone brings a wonderfully unique personality to the Navy and it will be different without them for a while.

It was sunny but windy as we dinghyied into Farmers Cay to walk around. A small but quaint community, the little island offers most the things a cruiser needs except fuel and propane. After watching a local named Hall shell conch near the town dock, we stopped into the Lil Harbour Convenience Store and talked with the owner, Tasha. She was in the middle of eating her papaya breakfast and graciously shared some with all of us. She later recruited Matt and Troy to help her fetch a few more ripe papaya from the tree out back. We also tried another fruit she sliced up on the spot that’s a bit like a mild pomegranate though less sweet. She insisted that I try the blood-red fruit from her fingers as it was said to be good for infertility and protects against cancer. Thanks Tasha ;o).

Catching fresh papaya

She even hand wrote a few local recipes that she said we should try aboard our boats. After our fill of fruit and shopping at her store, the group walked up to the Ocean Cabin Restaurant and Bar. A Little Farmers Cay landmark, it’s been progressively added on to over the past 20 years with the help of passing cruisers. The interior rafters dripped boat signs and burgees from all those who lent a hand. Matt helped the proprietor with his website for a bit while we learned more about the history of the island.

The Ocean Cabin

The view of the harbor from the Ocean Cabin

Later in the afternoon Matt and the crew dinghyied up to Oven Rock Cave to go exploring while I took the opportunity to Skype with friends and family. Upon his return, Matt was convinced the the cave was once a pirate’s treasure lair. The entrance was an unassuming but large horizontal crack in a rock wall behind a thicket of mangroves. But upon stepping into the cave, it immediately dropped steeply into the Earth’s belly. At the deepest point was a large pool of water that everyone went swimming in and within the pool were four or five underwater channels that are explorable only with scuba gear.

The beach near Oven Rock

Matt returned to the boat on Steve’s dinghy with ours in tow. Turns out that Matt had just forgot to add oil to the gasoline which would have cause the motor damage had he continued to run it. Thanks Steve for saving us from a potentially ruining our dinghy motor. Have we mentioned that we love cruising with trusted and generous friends?!

With town already covered and sunset nearing, we elected to stay onboard for the evening despite a tempting invite to dinghy up to “Crow’s Nest” for a visit. It was a bit too far for our petite dinghy to travel without getting soaked so we made plans to anchor near them tomorrow.

N 23° 57.79 / W 76° 19.20

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Yoga and Kids’ Church

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

With plans to move Kaleo around to the anchorage closest to town, we got moving early right after Chris Parker’s weather report at 6:30. The day was framed around several trips into town so we wanted “home” to be closer for easier dinghy runs.

After setting the hook in the main anchorage, we jumped in the dinghy and zoomed over to Regatta Point for a 10 o’clock yoga session. Regatta Point is a dock and set of buildings on the south side of town that serves as the headquarters for the annual Black Point Sailing Regatta. But the other 51 weeks of the year it sits virtually unused. The main building has a large, multi-colored deck jutting out over the dazzling turquoise water which made for a serene morning yoga studio. Amy coached us through some poses like “Crow“, where you crouch with your knees pressed against your elbows, raising your lower body up while balancing on slightly bent arms, supporting your entire weight for as long as possible. Everyone was successful but agreed we’d all be sore from it.

After yoga, we spent time chatting with Amy and Dave of “Crow’s Nest”. Hailing from Colorado and Connecticut, they are a fun young couple who are out here for some of the same reasons we are. They remind us of fun, energetic Austin or Seattle-type people who are at peace with enjoying the world on a relaxed schedule, focusing on experiences, not stuff. We hope to spend more time with them as we continue exploring the islands.

Lorraine was still out of conch today and the Internet connection was dismally slow, so the whole Navy gave DeShmon’s (the other restaurant in town) a try. They had pizza on the menu and we split an italian sausage and cheese with Shane while browsing the net. The group made tentative plans for moving the fleet down to the next island of Farmer’s Cay soon.

On the way back to the boat we stopped by the market to see what fresh produce the mail boat might have brought in. The fresh selection wasn’t huge but we picked up a head of lettuce ($3), a plantain ($1) and eggs ($3). Last night we’d promised to bring some Fellowship Church Kids’ Curriculum DVD’s to Miss Sharon, a missionary at the local church. And while dropping those off, we discovered that kids’ church, called TeamKIDS,would be that evening and they would welcome any help. We planned to return ready to hang with the kids and help out.

After putting away the groceries we snuck in a nap, cleaned up the boat a bit and then had dinner before heading back into town for TeamKIDS. A few rain clouds dotted the horizon as we were leaving but they didn’t seem threatening enough to justify shutting all the hatches, (which we would later regret as Matt had to run back to the boat when the sky opened up and poured down). While walking up the dock we ran into Raymond, whom we’d met in church on Sunday, and he insisted on giving us ride to the church. We hopped aboard his golf cart and were chauffeured to the front door of the church education building while he explained a little history of the island. It’s just another example of how giving and gracious the Bahamian people are in allowing us to weave into their community.

Matt in the Church Education Centre with rain clouds forming

The kids’ church classroom

Christie and the kiddos playing “Candy Land”

About three dozen kiddos showed up early with enthusiasm and huge hearts for God for TeamKIDS. From Pre-K to 5th grade, the room was quickly filled with giggling and high-energy as games like “Candy Land” and “Connect Four” kept them entertained until it was time to start. First up, Miss Sharon reviewed the lessons they had gone through in previous weeks and then began with the evening’s lesson on “choosing the right friends.” Sampson was the example story and when she asked who knew anything about Sampson, almost every hand shot up. But these kids knew so much more than the simple fact of Sampson being the strongest man in the world. With answers about his marriage to a Philistine, adding that he shouldn’t have been friends with her, and not being able to eat dead animals, these kids knew their bible stories. It certainly helps that they are given Biblical knowledge as a class subject in grade-school.

Lesson Worksheet for the younger kids

Using a modern-looking felt board and engaging worksheets, Miss Sharon taught us all about how friends can be an influence on you and what to look for in a good friend. As the lesson ended, the kids were invited to join in together for “popcorn prayer” where everyone closes their eyes, folds their hands and prays about something out loud when they feel led. We were expecting crickets. Maybe a kid or two would speak out in the silence, but it was a heart-warming surprise when they were practically talking over each other, popping prayers throughout the classroom with the sweetest sincerity. Thanking God for “food on their tables, clothes on their back and shoes on their feet”, for “parents and teachers”, for “missionaries in far off lands” and for “protection”. We had lumps in our throats when one young boy said “God, thank you for Meez Chrestie and Mr. Mott, that they came here to us tonight” and another little girl thanked Him for “our special guests.” My entire self smiled and it was all I could do to not burst into happy-tears hearing their voices raised in such powerful prayer.

Refreshments of Animal Crackers and chilled Capri Suns were a treat for the kiddos as well as ourselves and we left feeling overjoyed and blessed at the opportunity to have been part of TeamKIDS for the night.

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Black Point Settlement, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends 2 Comments

Becoming Part of the BP Community

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Monday brought strong winds which would make for wet dinghy rides and unpleasant sailing so we spent the morning hanging out on the boat. Just before lunch the winds let up so we grabbed the opportunity for a drier dinghy ride and headed into the beach, then made the 2-mile walk into town. The first stop was Lorraine’s for, you guessed it, Internet and her famous cracked conch. She was out of conch as no one had been out fishing due to the choppy sea state and heavy winds so we opted for her take on wings and fries. Another reinforcement that she’s the best chef in town. We stopped by Adderley’s small market store to see if they may have any fresh produce but the mail boat hadn’t yet come this week so headed back to our anchorage to see what the rest of the Navy was up to.

The 2 mile walk (each way) into town from our anchorage on the south side of BP

From our experience, every anchorage has its trade-offs, but Castle Beach has offered some of the best protection we’ve had yet. It’s a crescent-shaped cove with good water depths, two big beaches and protection from heavy wind and waves in every direction except from the west. What we trade for calm nights at anchor and an uncrowded anchorage is a long walk into town and no Internet on the boat. But we really like the anchorage and it makes the 20+ knot winds seem like no big deal.

That evening, Shane hosted everyone in the anchorage for sundowners and snacks aboard his Lagoon 410. We had the chance to finally meet Ted and Mili, of “Morning Glory”, who we’d been emailing with for a few months. They had sailed into the anchorage a few hours earlier and came to Shane’s boat for the gathering. It was a delight to spend some time getting to know them in person and we’re looking forward to more of it. Their catamaran is the same kind as SYL, a Seawind 1000, so another common bond was formed and we’re sure there will be a race or two between them. No sailor can pass up racing against the same type of boat because it has the tendency to highlight your sailing skills.

We never tire of these evenings in the backyard

The VHF crackled to life early Tuesday morning with an open invite to yoga led by Amy, a fellow cruiser aboard Crow’s Nest. The venue of choice for the morning’s session was outside the laundromat, as the owner, a local named Ida, wanted to join. Ida was in the middle of giving haircuts (yes, the laundromat doubles as a hair salon) so we all perused Mary’s garage sale that was set up out front while waiting for the trims finish up. Mary is an American that has lived in Black Point for the last 10 years but is now planning a move to Hawaii to be closer to her son. Only wanting to take what will fit in her luggage, she is selling the rest and her garage sale pops up at various locations throughout town during the week.

Ida cutting a cruiser’s hair in front of her laundromat

Miss Mary and her garage sale

The sun shined brightly as half a dozen cruisers and three locals stretched out upon beach towels and yoga mats ready to follow Amy’s form. An hour later we were all feeling a little more inner peace and a little muscle burn too. Lorraine’s was next for some Internet but she was still out of conch so we didn’t stay long. We jumped in the dinghy with Deana, who’d given us a ride in, to zip back towards Castle Beach.

Christie warming up on the sidewalk/yoga studio

Lunch and naps aboard filled the early afternoon before we walked back into town to help tutor some local children at the church. A sign was posted at Ida’s laundromat inviting cruisers help tutor school children and with our hearts set on giving back to this community that’s given so much to us, we eagerly signed up the crew of “Kaleo” to help.

Gregory and Sharniece, both about 6 years old, came by the church’s educational center after school to work on reading. It quickly became apparent that they were both solid readers and just needed to practice a little pronunciation and stringing words into more fluid sentences with someone. We spent about a couple hours working on sounding out some words and reading books like,”Miss Spider’s New Car” and “The Pig Did A Jig”. We quickly adapted our Texan “cats” and “bats” to Bahamian “cots” and “bots” to help reinforce their British-influenced English. We had a great time with the kiddos and are looking forward to helping out again while we’re here.

Dinghying back to the boat, we stopped by SYL to say goodbye to Linda, who was flying back to Houston in the morning. She is a key witness in a criminal case that has been going on for a few years and the district attorney called out of the blue this week to say it was time to go court. Another bit of dinghying took us to “Pipe Muh Bligh” where the rest of the crew was cooking up their catch from the day’s fishing trip. Lobster and Lionfish were on the menu and it smelled delicious. They were gracious enough to invite us to stay and join the feast but we just didn’t feel right given all the work they had put into snagging their catch while we were in town with the kiddos. So, Matt cooked us up some turkey burgers back on Kaleo and we made it an early evening. Another fine day in earthly paradise.

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Black Point Settlement, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends 3 Comments

Black Point Settlement

Monday, February 14th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

It was early to rise on Monday morning to tuck into the cove near “Castle Beach”, just two miles south of Black Point Settlement, for the approaching weekend’s moderate blow. As we motored around the point, it became quickly apparent how the beach earned its nickname as there is a picturesque, yet somewhat out of place, white castle standing proud upon the bluff overlooking the anchorage. Though not as large as King Arthur’s, it’s a square castle with four turrets rounding each corner, arched windows and a grand staircase. Only a wind generator spinning like an airplane propeller proves it’s of the modern age.

Sea Yawl Later and Storyville headed to the protected anchorage

The castle on the bluff

While headed toward the anchorage, Christie got creative in the galley and made french toast with the last of our coconut bread. Partnered with eggs, bacon and Mandarin oranges, it was a meal that easily competed for one our the best breakfasts yet. We did the dishes, scouted a good spot for the boat then dropped the anchor. Quickly, the bow jerked the chain taunt giving us the reassuring feeling of our hook deeply wedged beneath the sand on the sea floor. We cleaned up the boat then jumped in the dinghy to head over toward some lobster hunting action. Storyville and Anchor Management were over near the rock cliffs looking for dinner and we wanted to check their luck. Deana and Steve were dipping below the surface with Hawaiian Slings in hand looking for an unsuspecting lobster or fish. A few poked out from beneath a rock ledge and the hunt was on! It took a few shots but Deana quickly speared her first lobster which they would enjoy with warm butter and as a topping on their pizza later.

Steve and Deana hunting for lobster

Dinghying away from the hunting grounds, we stopped at yet another boat in the cove hailing from Houston; Randy, aboard “Mariah”, a single-hander that has been cruising the Bahamas and east coast for the past 20 years. We picked up a little local knowledge about the best road into town then jetted over to SYL to visit with Rusty and Linda as the sun set. We enjoyed their company as we all watched the front blowing in. We could see the rain line and dark clouds marching towards our bobbing boats and at the last minute we left SYL to return to Kaleo still dry. The wind picked up to about 20-23 knots and we settled in for a night aboard. “Ondine” was the movie for the evening and it does not make our recommendation list. Okay at best, we decided to delete it from our hard drive with no intentions of even sharing it.

Regardless of the movie review, we enjoyed being snuggled up onboard while the wind howled outside and Kaleo, chained to the sea floor, bobbed ever so slightly.

On Sunday, the same conditions greeted us but with plans to go to church in Black Point, we couldn’t let a little wind and dinghy sea spray stop us. After a hearty breakfast and dressing in our Sunday best (rare these days), the Navy piled into their respective dinghies and met on the beach. Shane arranged a ride for us into town and the island missionary, Charles, picked us up in his truck. It saved us a couple of miles walk and we all got to mark it as our first time going to church in the back of a pick-up. And certainly a first for sitting in service with sandy feet.

The Bahamian Holy Bible Mission Church is a quaint, sea-foam green building in front of the biggest beach on Black Point. Traditionally set up inside, it was really nice to go to church and even nicer going with the entire group of cruising friends. The Navy was in for a surprise as Shane, of Guiding Light, was enlisted to give the message for the day. Shane had been to the church a few weeks earlier and had really enjoyed his time there. The pastor, who also happens to double as the town’s police chief, asked if Shane wouldn’t mind giving a message and he gladly accepted. He delivered a powerful message based on the insightful personal relationship book, “The Five Love Languages” and how God shows his love to all of us via the five different ways. Perfectly timed for a Valentine’s Day message of expressing love. By the way if you haven’t read the book, we highly recommended it. Not just for romantic relationships, but to help you understand how all relationships (parent/child, friends, co-workers) in your life express love and the best ways to reciprocate it.

The Texas Navy heading to church

After service let out we all walked down to Lorraine’s for a leisurely Sunday lunch of cracked conch. Have we mentioned this is the most amazing conch to be had?! Delicate, tender, buttery and lightly fried with a side of french fries, it made for the best Sunday meal we’ve had in a long time. Christie and Linda stayed at Lorraine’s to do some Internet items while the rest of the crew walked to a blow hole further down the island. It was a powerful hole with mist and water shooting upward with every crashing wave but the scene was ruined by trash scattered everywhere. Either the blow hole was also the town dump or it happened to be the spot where all the trash from the ocean collected. Regardless it took something away from the otherwise awe-inspiring scene.

Lorraine’s AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS Cracked Conch

On the ride back to the anchorage we stopped to wait for a local guy to back his boat into a driveway. Just as we stopped, the boat came unhitched from the truck and began rolling down the road. Luckily it veered off and into a ditch before hitting Charles’ truck. All the guys jumped out of the truck and helped the local guy get the boat hitched back up and out of the ditch.

Upon returning to our own boats, all the guys lent a hand across the Navy with various boat projects. Shane had a watermaker project to work on, Rusty had a rudder fix to make, Steve a wind generator issue to diagnose. Matt returned home after dark just in time for us to enjoy some dinner and reflect on a really nice day.

N 24° 04.43 / W 76° 23.27

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

Introducing the “Texas Navy”

Sunday, February 13th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Leave it to a bunch of Texans to find each other amongst remote Bahamian islands. A true Texas flotilla has formed with the five vessels Matt and Christie of Kaleo, Steve aboard Anchor Management, Troy and Deana of Storyville, Rusty and Linda on Sea Yawl Later, and Shane aboard Guiding Light.

Storyville and Anchor Management sailing the banks

Guiding Light and Sea Yawl Later rafted up in Staniel Cay

The “Texas Navy” on our way to church service in Black Point

Rusty,the quintessential Texan – warm, outgoing with can-do optimism and a true southern gentleman, first coined the nickname of our group all hailing from near Houston which includes two catamarans, a racer/cruiser, a full-keeled cutter and a ketch.

Beyond our Texas origins, the group seems to share a similar cruising style with each crew member bringing a unique and enjoyable personality, and has formed a strong bond out here. While each crew is still responsible for their own boat, we often confer on destinations, daily activities and swap anchorage and weather info. Days are spent exploring new areas, sharing meals, games and movies together. We’ve warmed to the name so much that when someone wants to hail everyone in the group, they come on the VHF radio with “Texas Navy, Texas Navy, switch to channel 17.” We all switch over and make plans but since VHF is an open frequency (meaning anyone with a radio can listen in), our nickname has become known among the local cruising community. When you introduce yourself to another cruiser around here and mention you’re from Texas, often the first thing they ask is “are you part of the Texas Navy?” And while we’re having a ton of fun together, we’re not an exclusive, members-only club and look forward to meeting others – both cruisers and locals – along our journeys.

As each boat’s cruising plans progress, we may go our own course in time but for now are enjoying each day we’re blessed to spend together.

Category: "Texas Navy", Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends 2 Comments

Cruising With The Texas Crew

Friday, February 11th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Wednesday awoke with warm sunshine and a brisk cooling breeze. The day began mid-morning as we jumped aboard SYL (literally jumped as they pulled up right next to Kaleo) for a day sail to Black Point Settlement, about 5 miles away. Shane and Matt helped Rusty hoist and set the sails as he trimmed them for optimal speeds toward our nearby destination. Soon enough the engines were shut down and SYL picked up speed for a beautiful 7 knot run. Only the whoosh of the wind and the gurgle of the water foaming past the hulls touched our ears.

Gliding in, we tied up at the town dock for a short walk into the settlement. As we moseyed down the single-lane paved road it was evident that Black Point is a true out-island “non-touristy” Bahamian community. Brightly colored buildings lined the street with an occasional small car or golf cart parked at their fronts while women weave native straw work along the streets in front of their homes.

Our destination was Lorraine’s Cafe where an order of fresh baked coconut bread awaited us. Baked by Lorraine’s mother and holding legendary status among cruisers who sail through, the bread is handmade daily and orders have to be placed every morning for your choice of coconut, white, wheat, and cinnamon raisin. We split a loaf of coconut with Storyville (it’s preservative-free so it has to be eaten within a few days) and each had a slice from the still warm loaf right then. The coconuty-carb treat lived up to its reputation and beyond. In fact we already fear the day when we long for Lorraine’s bread when we’re back in the states.

Lorraine’s is a fine spot for lunch and Internet access

The other attraction to Lorraine’s is complimentary WiFi (a small donation is encouraged) while dining on a choice of traditional Bahamian dishes (cracked conch) and classic American choices (cheeseburger). We ordered conch fritters with a side of Internet, giving us time to update the blog, check emails, and other miscellaneous web tasks. Matt spent part of the time trying to fix her second wireless router but without any success. After lunch we stopped by the market to check out the selection but after looking it over, decided to wait for the mailboat to come into Staniel the next day for fresh produce.

Then it was back aboard SYL for the return sail to the Staniel Cay anchorage where we’d greet Steve upon his return “home”. A big thank you to our friend aboard Anchor Management for picking us up some state-side luxuries during his quick trip to visit a friend in Ft. Lauderdale.

Thursday began with helping Anchor Management transition out of the Yacht Club dock where it had been tied while Steve was away out to the anchorage to join the rest of the gang. Matt and Troy jumped on to help him squeeze between a large sport fishing boat and a skinny fairway. They got away from the docks and soon enough Anchor Management was at anchor with the rest of us. Then it was back on board SYL, which has become the gathering place of late, to sail over to Big Majors.

One fun part of going on SYL is Rusty’s dedication to sailing. While most people would have just turned on the motor for the 3-mile hop, we hoisted sails to make a few short tacks out and then back toward the beach. But this wasn’t your average Bahamian beach. It’s home to pigs. And not just any pigs, but SWIMMING pigs. Upon seeing a boat or dinghy coming to the beach they eagerly run into the water and start pig-paddling their way toward you. They’re looking for food and expect to be fed as they circle your boat (or you, if you’re in the water) with mouths open grunting in delight with every morsel you toss them. Shane jumped in the water to get a few pictures while we distracted the pigs with Saltine Crackers.

When pigs swim

After the pigs had their fill, SYL backed away from the beach and we returned to the anchorage just in time for a high tide tuck into Thunderball Grotto. Steve hadn’t seen it yet so we all headed over to snorkel around. The current was fairly swift making the entrance a bit tricky as you had to guide your head in between two rocks about 15 inches apart. Ducking under a last rock, we swam into the grotto cave and were swirled around through the eddies created by the current. There wasn’t nearly as many fish and it was hard work swimming to keep away from the cave walls so we bailed out after about 10 minutes.

An underwater entrance to the grotto

We returned to the boats in Staniel Cay and everyone retired early with plans for an mid-morning move down to Black Point Settlement. That evening Shane delivered freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to each boat in the Navy and as we had just baked a home made pizza, we invited him on board for dinner. That worked out well because we got to have cookies before and after dinner.

Being low on water and close by a marina, we decided to dock at the yacht club to fill up Friday morning. Shane volunteered to lend a hand while docking so we picked him up on the way out of the anchorage. A strong current made pulling in a little tense but everything went smoothly and soon tanks were topped off and we were making our way out of Staniel Cay toward Black Point.

We motor-sailed as far as possible before turning into the wind for the last 3 miles (of 7) toward the Black Point Anchorage. We picked a spot near the Rockside Laundromat dinghy dock to make for a convenient trip into what is said to be the best laundromat along the Exuma chain of islands. Upon walking in, rumor was confirmed as there were plenty off brand new machines in a clean and well organized building. The cost is $3.50 per wash and another $3.50 per dryer and well worth it for five loads of fresh, clean clothes, sheets and towels.

Rockside Laundromat is the best in the Bahamas

The group all ended up at Lorraine’s (right next to the laundromat) for lunch and more Internet time. After folding what was dry and stringing some line-dry items over every available spot in the cabin of Kaleo, we headed over to SYL for sundowners, Linda’s 15-bean soup, a few rounds of “Catch Phrase” and the movie “Kate and Leopold.” We had another fun and relaxing evening and while dinghying back, we’re greeted with the sounds of “This is how we do it” drifting over the water from the nearby Bahamian bar. The water was glass (the calm before tomorrow’s storm) and we could see the waves in the sand on the sea floor lit by the moonlight.

Sunset off Black Point

Category: Bahamas, Black Point Settlement, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends One Comment

Pipe Creek, Compass Cay & Thunderball Grotto

Tuesday, February 08th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Plans had been made the previous evening to take SYL up Pipe Creek, an area they can easily access with their shallow draft while most people have to visit by dinghy. Rusty and Linda were kind enough to host everyone aboard and show us around these new-to-us islands.

We threaded through Pipe Creek toward Compass Cay and enjoyed lunch underway. Left-over spaghetti with Linda’s homemade sauce, fresh coleslaw made by Shane and Christie’s Reese’s Chocolate bars for dessert. It turned out to be one of the best cruising days yet as we:
Pulled right up to the “jetsam beach,” a place where people had collected all the things jettisoned from boats and other stuff floating around and made an island monument. There were old life jackets, conch shells, shopping carts, signs and sail pieces, and even a guitar signed by no one famous. One especially cool feature of going on SYL is that they can beach their boat (it’s a catamaran), so we just pulled up a few yards from the beach and walked down the swim ladder to the beach front.

The “Texas Navy” at Flotsam Beach

Motored over an area of the sea floor that was covered with dozens of starfish, each seeming to twinkle in their own underwater way. Everyone was on deck yelling, there’s one, there’s another, ohh there’s a baby one …Too beautiful to pass by, we stopped to snorkel and Matt dove off the boat and pulled one up from the bottom on the first shot. Officially named “Lone Star”, we kept him onboard in a salt water bucket until we go back to our Staniel Cay anchorage where he was released near the boats for someone else to discover.

Matt diving for “Lone Star”

“Lone Star” shining out of the water

Headed into Compass Cay to find the sharks our chart books talked about. We pulled in and tossed bread off the back which attracted swarms of fish and about a dozen nurse sharks (bottom feeders that don’t favor humans for snacks). They were so close that we could touch them despite screaming the whole time, half out of joy, half out of fear. Their skin was like wet leather and even though they’re benign bottom feeders, their beady eyes and slithering motion made them seem all shark.

Christie and her new friends

Cruised back to Staniel Cay by way of the Exuma Sound where Matt and Rusty rode on the bow and discussed boat design. Matt is really enjoying Rusty’s company and wisdom not just about cruising but about life as well.
Snorkeled Thunderball Grotto, an amazing partially submerged cave featured in the James Bond movies, “Never Say Never Again” and “Thunderball” as well as the film, “Splash” . It was so surreal snorkeling through an underwater tunnel into a huge rock room with reef fish swimming all around you and the sun lighting the water through holes in the cave roof. Looking up at those holes inspired Shane and Matt to figure out a way to jump through them into the cave. They climbed up to the top from outside the cave and when all was clear below, jumped through an 8-foot hole encircled by jagged rocks plummeting down to the water about 25 feet below. A thunderous splash would accompany each landing as the cave walls were doused with water from the resulting waves and a few seconds later each guy would bubble to the surface with a grin bigger then the Cheshire Cat. We wrapped up our underwater adventures with a little more snorkeling through the giant fish bowl filled with parrotfish, triggerfish, sergeant majors and brain coral.

Christie gliding through the Grotto

A brightly colored grotto resident

Matt swimming into one of the underwater entrances to the grotto

Peace to all our fishy friends

The evening wound down with an excellent steak and fish dinner prepared by Shane aboard his catamaran, s/v Guiding Light. Since he and SYL we’re rafted up (tied together swinging on just Guiding Light’s anchor) it was an easy step across to watch “The Illusionist” on the projector screen aboard SYL. There was no need for the A/C tonight as a cool island breeze whispered through the boat as seven content sailors relaxed after a hard day’s work.

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

Dinner & A Movie Aboard SYL

Monday, February 07th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Matt awoke for the usual routine of listening to Chris Parker weather then did a few dinghy trips in for gasoline (for the generator) and jerry cans of water. While he was out, Linda came on the radio to invite us, Storyville and Guiding Light over for spaghetti “lupper” (lunch/supper) around 2:00 and for a movie aboard SYL.

We spent the rest of the time before lupper walking through “town”, taking in the sights and sounds of Staniel Cay. Envision paved one-lane roads turning through small hills with modest but brightly colored houses perched here and there. You can hear the wind blowing through palm trees, the sounds of the ocean and the occasional whine of a golf cart motor (their main mode of transportation) passing by.

Christie at the entrance to the yacht club

The main reason for the trip was to check out the three grocery stores and pick up some freshly-made coconut bread. Each building is a converted small house with its room holding about a dozen shelves (see pictures and prices below). Despite their small footprint, these three stores (the Blue Store, the Pink Store nearly next door to each other and the Isles General Store further down the 2 mile island) were fairly well-stocked with basic staples (e.g. flour, sugar, canned goods) and quite a few luxuries (e.g. ice cream and sodas). Our overall preference is the Blue Store as it seemed to have the most fresh foods, was well organized, and stocked and was within easy walking distance. The biggest delight was how friendly and helpful the proprietors were. In each store we were told that if something wasn’t on the shelf, they would try and find it. Another cruiser told us how the owner of the Blue Store sold her milk from her own personal fridge. Everyday we are reminded just how warm, caring and giving the Bahamian culture is and we are even more grateful for being here.

An idyllic place to rest on the way back from the store

Soon enough it was time to head to See Yawl Later, where we were greeted by the always delightful Rusty and Linda and a spaghetti feast to rival the best of them. Everyone enjoyed an excellent meal with real plates, settings and cloth napkins in an air conditioned cabin. Real settings alone are impressive but with the A/C we could hardly believe that we were at anchor near a beautiful island instead of their land home.

Linda’s fresh bread made aboard SYL

The meal turned to dessert, a fabulous Sopapilla Cheesecake made by Deana, and then it was on to game time. Out came “Catch Phrase” and the teams were split girls vs. guys. A few practice rounds to get the hang of it and then everyone was shouting clues and trying to avoid the dreaded buzzer. The girls nearly ended up winning with a two game lead but some quick mime work by Troy and creative clue giving by Rusty, Shane and Matt and the boys ended up winning.

The sun was setting and Rusty said it was the perfect time to watch a movie. He set up the projector and we were ready for watching a movie on a 60″ screen that pulled down from the cabin top. Aboard Kaleo we watch movies on our 15″ laptop screen so this was really “going to the movies”. The group’s choice was “Wind” (awesome sailing movie – surprise, surprise) and we all settled into a relaxing evening.

It was such an enjoyable day and we’re both delighted that SYL has joined us in the anchorage.

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends, Provisioning One Comment

Super Bowl Sunday at Staniel Cay

Sunday, February 06th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

It was Super Bowl Sunday and while we’re not the face-painting sort of sport fans, we were all about finding a fun place to meet up with our cruising crew.

Bougainvillea along Staniel Cay

Staniel Cay was the spot so we pulled up the hook early at O’Briens Cay and got underway. This meant navigating back through the small cut we had passed through yesterday, but this time with some current and sun in our eyes. It was just as nerve racking as the first time but we went through easily and set course for Staniel Cay.

It was a beautiful morning as we drifted along clear blue waters and only got better by hearing “Storyville” hail “Sea Yawl Later” on the VHF radio. Rusty and Linda, aboard Sea Yawl Later, are good friends whom we met in Kemah just days before leaving the dock. Through our early-on engine issues, weather decisions and times of discouragement and celebration they have been only a phone call, email or facebook note away. We have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for them and truly feel “home” in their presence. They had scooted passed us in Florida while we were in Houston for Christmas and we’ve been on a quest to see them ever since. Well, it turned out they were headed for Staniel Cay that afternoon as well so we were overjoyed to meet up with them again!

We knew Staniel was getting close as a stream of boats were all headed in the same direction and every time we looked behind us another few had joined the pack. Seems like most cruisers in the area were on their way to catch the big game. This proved true as we pulled into the anchorage to see boats coming and going, at anchor and tied to every dock around, with dinghies zipping about like hummingbirds on Red Bull.

Staniel Cay is home to “Thunderball Grotto” made famous by the James Bond movie “Thunderball”, “Never Say Never Again” as well as “Splash”. Kaleo motored passed the grotto and we threaded through the intricate web of boats in the anchorage to find ourselves a spot with plenty of room. It took a few tries to really get the hook set well but once it did the boat jerked back on the anchor chain like an excited puppy on a short leash.

Naps were in order first, then it was into town to check out the scene. As we came up on deck, country music started to drift across the waves getting louder and louder. A little puzzled, we looked around to see which boat was playing it, but most near us were empty (aka their dinghies were gone). The volume grew as we spotted a pink spinnaker sail puffed up like a hot air balloon on the southern horizon. We’d been on the lookout for a pink spinnaker as that was what Sea Yawl Later was flying and when old school country tunes came upon us we knew it was them!

Rusty and Linda know how to make a Texas-size entrance. They came sailing into Staniel with a huge PA style speaker on deck, music blaring and sails full. Overcome with excitement, we couldn’t wait to see them. As Rusty wove through the boats like Sea Yawl Later was on rails, Linda came on the VHF with “Kaleo, Kaleo where are you?!” A quick VHF exchange and they were dropping the hook nearby.

While they settled into the anchorage, we and Storyville, headed toward town, spotted a few Southern Sting Rays on the way and tied the dinghies at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Stepping onshore was like stepping into the quintessential tropical movie scene. Jimmy Buffet warbled over the speakers as folks in swimsuits and flip-flops sipped rum punches and Kalik beers perched atop brightly colored stools at the outdoor bar. Local kids ran around the palm trees entertaining themselves, oblivious to the many travelers who had come to see the paradise they call home. From super yacht owners to local fisherman, the whole gamut was here and enjoying island life to the fullest.

After talking with a few folks about spots for the Super Bowl we started walking down a one lane road towards “town.” Golf carts are a popular mode of transporation around here and a few came humming by, drivers offering friendly waves and smiles. We drifted past a few rental cottages (www.stanielcaycottages.com) and the Taste and See bar that had 6 big screen TV’s tuned into the pre-game shows. Remembering it as a potential spot for the evening, we walked down to the bakery (a little yellow house with a plywood sign that says “Bread”) and by the church. Vibrant red and orange Bougainvillea were along every corner and just as brightly painted houses were a warm reminder that this is what we have been sailing toward.

After checking out the area, we decided that Staniel Cay Yacht Club would be our place to catch the game and more importantly, visit with friends so we walked back to get a table. Walking in we were consumed by the burgees (boat flags) hung from every inch of the ceiling and yacht name plates and conch shells perched on every shelf. After waiting around and helping the waitress set-up the dining area, we were rewarded a prime 7-person table right in front of a TV. Kaleo, Storyville, See Yawl Later, and their buddy boat Guiding Light now had a place to gather for the game. Matt and I held the table while the restaurant/bar started to fill up with cruisers from every destination. We talked with folks we’d met in Nassau, Allen’s Cay, Warderick Wells and Emerald Rock. Our crew arrived and after a warm round of hugs we all swapped stories, shared pictures and happy hour until the game started. The evening was spent cheering on the teams, enjoying the Bahamian dinner of roast beef, BBQ chicken, cranberry rice, corn on the cobb and fresh salad with lemon and ginger dressing, finished off with homemade lemon meringue pie and chocolate cake. Whew!

The crews of See Yawl Later and Kaleo

Burgees hung from every rafter at the yacht club

We were near sensory overload after having not seen TV nor being around that many people in months so after the game, we retired to Kaleo for the night. The night was topped off with a Packers win that made us smile as my brother, Casey, has been such a die-hard fan for as long as I can remember and Steve from Anchor Management was all about the Green and Yellow :o).

N 24° 10.53 / W 76° 26.93

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

Emerald Rock and O’Briens Cay

Friday, February 04th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Turns out Warderick Wells had more for us to see before we would continue on southward.

Christie enjoying the sun on the floating dock

Planning to be at Bell Island by noon, we dropped our mooring ball at Warderick Wells and motored out towards open water. The wind was blowing at about 18-20 knots (a bit stronger than forecast) and almost dead on the nose. When combined with 3-4 seas it made a very uncomfortable ride. Waves were coming over the bow and the wind would blow the water, soaking the jib. After about 30 minutes of bashing toward our destination, we conferred with Storyville on the VHF and decided to turn in for Emerald Rock. Everyone agreed that the sailing wasn’t particularly fun and we weren’t interested in getting beat up all day. So, both boats picked up a mooring ball at Emerald Rock, which is only about a half mile from Warderick Wells and shares the same island.

With boats secured, we packed lunches and headed for the beach. Morning slipped leisurely into late afternoon as we lounged under a canopy of shade trees surrounded by waves gently lapping toward us in front and rocky cliffs leading to hiking trails behind.

In need of a few more cold drinks and to square up our additional night on the ball, Christie took the dinghy out with Deana and started to get comfortable driving it on her own. Later on, Matt said he knew we were having fun as he heard the dingy motor rev to full throttle in no time.

During the day we had spotted a floating swim platform tied to a mooring ball just off the beach and agreed that it was the perfect spot to watch for the green flash at sunset. The invite was passed to a few other nearby boats who quickly joined us. Troy brought his guitar, new friends were made and we all enjoyed the impromptu concert. Though the green flash was elusive, sunset was gorgeous and the company was superb. After dark, we and Storyville stayed on the dock till way past Matt’s bedtime. But it became one our favorite cruising nights so far, as the conversations turned to life, living and doing it all unconventionally. It was fun looking back on the start of the day to see how not sticking to a schedule or plan led to some of the best times yet.

Saturday morning, CP (Chris Parker) gave a clear forecast and the conditions looked benign so we dropped the mooring ball early and picked up where we left off yesterday. The sea was calm and we were back on our way to Bell Island. After dropping the hook and surveying the anchorage we decided it really wasn’t a great spot and decided to look for another. It was a small area right in front of a private island that we weren’t allowed ashore and there wasn’t any snorkeling nearby so plan b was in order.

The next spot on our list was O’Brien Cay but first we had to pass through the most narrow cut yet. Kaleo had to be guided through a narrow underwater ditch about 20 feet wide, with rocks on one side and a shallow shoal on the other. The depth on the chart showed only about 2 feet under the keel. Storyville, who has a much shallower draft, was kind enough to go first and check the depths. After an “all clear” on the VHF from them and with Christie on the bow to watch for underwater obstructions and give guidance accordingly, Matt motored us slowly through the cut. Shouting directions like “A little to port, not so much, ok, forward, back toward starboard” we snuck through the cut unscathed and a lot more confident for having done it.

A bit later we dropped the hook next to a deserted but private island and had lunch on deck. With dinghies packed with snorkel gear, we scooted toward the Sea Aquarium Coral Garden marked on the chart. A few minutes of mental coaxing to brave the relatively cold water and we dove in to be instantaneously surrounded by Sargent Majors (little yellow striped fish). The water was alive with vibrant and curious schools of reef fish scurrying to our swim pace throughout the coral. A stingray hovered near the sea floor and neon blue fish darted back and forth each time we kicked a flipper. The natural wonder quickly erased our cold water worry and click, click, click, went our new underwater camera. Most of the time the fish were so thick that we could barely get a picture of each other underwater without our photogenic little friends taking up most of the frame.

Christie pointing out reef fish

The local residents of the Coral Garden Sea Aquarium

After our fill of snorkeling the reef, we set out to find a submerged plane nearby. About 200 yards from where Kaleo was anchored we spotted a buoy marking the site of the plane silently rusting away under the water’s surface. It was a little too creepy to fully dive in but we hung over the dinghy, tucking slightly underwater to see the fuselage and wings resting upside down, a telltale from some fateful event.

The rusting hulk of the sunken plane

After getting cleaned up we made plans to cook Chicken Vindaloo aboard Kaleo for Deana and Troy. After dinner and mapping out next route, it was off to bed with plans for an early departure toward Staniel Cay to find a spot to watch the Superbowl.

24° 23.07 N / 76° 37.48 W

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

Nassau to Allens Cay

Saturday, January 29th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

We wrapped up our last couple of days in Nassau by topping off our provisions, taking advantage of inexpensive internet service, visiting with friends, and treating ourselves to a night of Domino’s Pizza (somehow managing to pass on the goodness of Dairy Queen that shared the same building)! I know, who’d a thought a Domino’s and Dairy Queen combo existed in the Bahamas! Well, we serve a very good God.

Kaleo under full sail toward Allens Cay

On Thursday, Matt woke up at “Chris Parker” time of 6:30 to confirm the forecast for the day. Chris Parker is one of the cruisers’ weather gurus who broadcast on single side band (SSB) radio every morning, Monday through Saturday. So, with the weather confirmed for a cloudy yet benign day ahead, we prepared to set off for Allen’s Cay, about 35 nautical miles away.

The crews of Storyville, Anchor Management and Kaleo had a quick huddle to plan our approaches to getting out of the marina as we expected it to be pretty tricky to maneuver out of the narrow fairways with the increasingly strong current.

Back at our respective boats we said a prayer for smooth exits, then watched as Anchor Management backed out seamlessly. Storyville followed without a hitch and we were next up. We used a stern line to pivot our back end out of the slip and lined up with the exit. We narrowly missed kissing a piling with our bow, then scooted forward inches from the edge of a dock but our prayers were answered as we left safely and unscathed.

Motoring out of Nassau Harbour ,we pointed southeast for Allens Cay and fell in line with at least 10 other sailboats headed in the same direction. We didn’t stay in line for long though as we hoisted Kaleo’s sails and were quickly gliding past many of them at 6+ knots (under sail alone). We’re getting a better understanding of how to trim our sails for the various conditions while navigating to a destination. Most of our sailing on Kaleo in the past had been where ever the wind would take us as opposed to trying to get somewhere specific. We’re learning.

Our buddy boats, Storyville and Anchor Management, sailing toward Allens Cay

After a beautiful, albeit mostly cloudy, sail the whole way we arrived at the entrance to Allen’s Cay around 3:00 p.m. to find a very crowded anchorage. It took a little jostling and jockeying for position but we found a spot that seemed to work. After dropping the hook (anchor), Matt and our friend Steve from Anchor Management jumped in the dinghy and with snorkel mask ready to peer through the pristine waters to checked to confirm that the anchors had been securely set.

On Allens Cay beach with Kaleo in the background

Then, it was off to the beach on Leaf Cay where an endangered species of iguana’s roam. While they are friendly (will come right up to you to be fed), they weren’t blessed with beauty. Upon hearing boat motors the iguanas come out from all corners of the brush to the beach in search of generosity from their visitors. Though signs clearly state “don’t feed the iguanas” and that they could bite, every cruiser on the beach had some form of produce to offer them. A few were quite aggressive and even charged Matt as he made his offering. After our fill of iguana watching (and running from), we wrapped up the evening with a little more dinghy exploring and then hung out aboard Storyville for awhile.

Matt feeding one of the iguanas

The next morning we decided to stay at Allen’s Cay one more night and took the dinghy a few miles down to Highborne Cay for a beach picnic. While the picnic was a treat, the ride there and back were very very very wet in 1 to 2 foot seas. In Kaleo, that’s no big deal, but in our little dinghy it means we get pounded by every wave and soaked with sea spray. Note to future cruisers: if possible take a dinghy out for a ride on a rough day before you purchase it. We would have reconsidered our dinghy decision based on the ride to Highborne Cay.

We returned to the boats to find even more vessels had crowded into the anchorage. Kaleo and another vessel were dangerously close to drifting into one another and based on the French/English screaming and cursing from the other boat’s crew, we decided to move. As a side note, all of our experiences with other cruisers have been great. The lady (using this term loosely) on this vessel, a Canadian flagged sailboat, was rude, mean and crass. We were really surprised by her attitude, not only toward us but several other boats in the anchorage.

As we moved Kaleo farther up in the anchorage, three additional boats sailed in to find a spot for the night. With these new arrivals it looked like it would be a long night of worrying about all the boats swinging. For non-cruisers: Each boat lets out a certain amount of anchor chain and each boat then swings around their anchor based on wind, current, etc. But each boat swings a little differently e.g., sailboats go first with the current while powerboats go more with the wind. And if boats are too close together, there is risk of hitting each other when the tides or wind change.

Around 11 p.m., both tide and wind changed and in fact went in opposite directions. Meaning the powerboat near us was now less then 20 feet away and we were getting closer!

Matt had to start the motor to back away from the boat. This went on for about a couple of hours until the captain of the powerboat woke up and he and Matt worked out a plan to prevent a collision in the night. But it still meant that Matt had to stay up in the cockpit all night watching the other boat in between 20 minute naps. No one said island living would be easy.

Just after first light, we pulled up anchor and got out of there, heading for Shroud Cay. On the radio that morning our buddy boats relayed similar stories of close calls and someone on watch all night. Turns out parts of paradise are getting too crowded. So, we’re moving on … to Shroud Cay.

24° 44.94 N / 76° 50.29 W

Category: anchoring, Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Friends One Comment

More Nassau

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

We’ve extended our stay in Nassau by a few more days to wait out weather that would make for rough and rolly sailing. Think: your house on a wet, salty Tilt-a-Whirl for 6+ hours. So, we have taken the time to explore more of the area and to give one more shot at trying to resolve our customs issue.

Atlantis. Nassau, Bahamas

Monday started early with Chris Parker’s 6:30 weather report which forecast the above conditions. With this information, we went back to bed for a little while and then leisurely cooked breakfast. Next up, we decided to venture out to find some Badedas bath soap (foams and lathers in sea water) which was recommended by Christie’s friend’s parents at dinner the other night.

While the grocery store didn’t carry it, Badedas was easy to find at the pharmacy. We’ll let you know how our first salt water bath goes (the idea is to get clean in the ocean, then rinse off with fresh water to help conserve water onboard). The pharmacy was very well stocked with many brands we recognized, but as with the grocery store everything was about twice as much.

Badedas sea-foaming soap

We then walked over to Paradise Island to check the dominant feature of the Nassau skyline, Atlantis Resort. While we can see it directly across the harbor from our marina, it was about a 3 mile walk each way and crossing the 70′ high bridge connecting New Providence to Paradise Island gave us a gorgeous view of the horizon and made our boats look like little rafts down below.

Nassau Harbour

Paradise Island was lush and well manicured, a stark difference from the parts of Nassau that we’d seen thus far. We walked through all the areas of Atlantis that non-guests are permitted, but opted out of the $39 per person charge to see areas like the aquarium and beach. No biggie as we’ll soon be diving into into the live aquariums of the Exumas.

Ben & Jerry’s at Atlantis

One thing we didn’t want to miss was the Dale Chihuly glass instillations within the Atlantis Casino. The Temple of the Moon and Temple of the Sun were as intricate and elegant as we had heard. Well worth the trip over.

After lunch back on the boats, the guys headed out to find some new batteries for Storyville. A few hours later, they returned successfully with plans to install them the next day.

Everyone went back to their respective boats to get cleaned up, eat dinner and then met back at Storyville for movie night. We all sat in the cockpit and watched “Inception” while enjoying popcorn. The movie was a great mind-bender and kept us up past our bedtime. At midnight it was back to Kaleo for another rolly night from the high winds and rushing current through the harbour.

Tuesday started with another trek to the customs office that involved a 15-minute walk along a street with no sidewalk and then a 25 minute jitney ride to the south side of Nassau. While we appreciated getting to see new areas of town, we may have been able to come up with a better way to spend the morning. We entered the refunds department expecting more of the same run-around and bureaucracy, but feel like finally may have made some progress. Matt met with a very helpful official who asked a few questions and then said our check would be mailed to the States in about 5-6 weeks. He also called the harbor office to point out that this sort of thing shouldn’t be happening as it’s a great inconvenience to visitors. That was refreshing to hear and we left knowing we had done all we could do to get a refund.

The main Nassau customs office

We spent the rest of the afternoon resting (Christie), doing some boat projects (Matt) and caught up on a little laundry (both of us).

Same drill tomorrow. We’ll start by checking the weather and then make plans based on the forecast. By the looks of it today, the winds may pick up even stronger (possibly to 50 knots in some areas!) so we may be Nassau bound another day. We’re so close to the more remote tropical islands and are really ready to dive off the boat into our new back yard!

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising One Comment

The Grocery Game

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011 / Christie & Matt

How much would you expect to pay for your average bag o’ Hersey Kisses in the Bahamas?

Well in Nassau, the correct answer would be $7.49

Produce in the Bahamas can be expensive

Today we made our first Bahamaian grocery trip to the City Market about 1/4 mile down from the marina. We needed a few items and were also curious about the prices as we had been cautioned to “bring as much as you can from the States because it’s so expensive in the Bahamas.”

For the most part, that is good advice but here in Nassau, we found that while on average, prices were about double that of typical grocery stores in the states, there were a few things that were on par with the states or a bit more and some that were alarmingly higher. For example, the almond milk that we drink was only $.30 more than what we pay in the states and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was still about a buck a box. On the flip side, items like cereal were $6-$10 per box (and we’re not talking the family size) and a 24 oz jar of peanut butter was $13.39. Toiletries were all around very expensive as toothpaste was $4.79 and boat-friendly toilet paper was $7.59 for a four pack.

Here are some other staples and what they ring in at:

Cherry Tomatoes -$2.89 each
Wheat Thins – $6.59
Limes – 2 for $.98
Mayo (16 oz jar) – $3.59
Organic Baby Spinach – $4.99
Bottled water – $9.99
Pretzels – $4.59
Dozen Eggland’s Best Organic – $3.65, Bahamian brand eggs – $1.67

One surprise was the availability of a wide range of organics, from milk to mac n’ cheese (Annie’s brand) and even Boca Veggie Burgers. We expect prices to get higher as we move further south to more remote islands and have provisioned accordingly. A few things that we already wish we would have brought a bit more of are healthful cereals, granola for yogurt, healthful cookies and chips, dry roasted sunflower kernels and of course more produce, but we look forward to transitioning to more local fare as we go.

Here’s our master provisioning list for download in case it may save other cruisers some time (less for our food choices, more for the template shared with us).

That’s it for now. It’s off to cook some of this food for dinner.

Category: Bahamas, Boat Life, Cruising, Provisioning 5 Comments

Getting to Know Nassau

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Refreshed from a good night’s sleep, Nassau welcomed us on Friday with warm sunshine and the hustle and bustle of city life humming on the waterfront.

Conch being cut from its shell

Christie has a Bahamian friend from grad school who grew up in Nassau and whose family still lives here. She connected us with her dad who not only owns a marina and marine store but who also is incredibly knowledgeable about Nassau and the islands as their family has rich history throughout the area. We started the day by walking to their marina to meet up with him and were welcomed with offers to help in any way.

It was decided that we would move our boat, as well as our friends’, Storyville and Anchor Management, to Bayshore Marina. It was time to move the herd, but we had to act quickly as the tide was was starting to go out which creates a very fast moving current in Nassau Harbour. Moving the boats turned out to be quite the rodeo, but thankfully no one was hurt and we were all soon tied safely to the docks.

After getting the boats secure, it was time to explore a little of Nassau. The first stop was the Bahamian Telephone Company (BaTelCo) office to get a SIM card for our cell phone. Skype and email are still the best ways to keep in touch for us because the mobile rates are quite expensive but we now have a Bahamian number as back-up. ($15 for the SIM card + a $50 card of minutes at $0.60 – $.70/minute to the states). We also discovered complimentary (with purchase) WiFi at the Esso gas station and cafe across the street from the marina and at the Starbucks down the road.

We then took a jitney (bus) to the harbor customs office to try and resolve being overcharged when clearing in. It was 3:30 and we learned that the office closes at 4:00 so we were on the run from the jitney stop to the office to try and make it in time. We made it with 15 minutes to spare but the officer we spoke with told us to come back on Monday to deal with it. After explaining to him that we wouldn’t be here on Monday, he said that the harbour customs office didn’t have the right forms and that we’d need to go across town to another customs office. Making it clear we weren’t leaving until something was resolved, he made a few calls and had the form faxed over, explained to us what we needed to fill out and signed the form. Frustrated, but with some progress made, we walked back to the boat with plans to turn the forms in at the main office the next day, which was open until noon.

That evening our friend Jen’s parents picked us up and took us out to dinner at The Green Parrot. We all enjoyed a delicious meal in an beautiful outdoor courtyard while laughing and conversing over boating, their family history, our adventures in cruising, Texas and the beauty of the Exumas. It was a special treat to meet friends in Nassau and to hear about their home islands.

Saturday morning started with Matt and Steve, from Anchor Management, heading out to find the main customs office and another BaTelCo office to get Steve’s SIM card. Half of their day was spent walking and hopping on different jitneys migrating their way through the maze of Nassau to the main customs office on the other side of the island. Once found, they discovered that while the office was open until noon, the “refunds department” was closed until Monday and none of the officials on duty were willing to accept the paper work for the refunds office. Once again we were frustrated by all the hassle and inaccurate information. Someone in the office (not sure if he worked there or not) told us that we can email the forms in. We’ll give that a try but who knows how long it will take or if we’ll ever get the refund. At this point, we’ve given the effort enough of our time and will hope for the best with emailing as $150 is a pretty significant amount for us. The guys then hit up the local mall to get Steve’s SIM card and then took another few jitneys back to the marina.

Back at the boat, the whole crew, Troy, Deana, Steve and ourselves headed out to see Potters Cay Fish and Produce Market and whatever else we could discover. At the market we enjoyed a lunch of fresh conch salad (raw conch, cucumber, green pepper and onion, with various citrus juices and spicy chile), conch fritters, peas ‘n rice and plantains, and then shopped for fresh produce while Deana snapped some photos of our explorations.

Produce stall at Potter’s Cay, under the bridge from Nassau to Paradise Island

Next, it was on to the check out the Straw Market and cruise ship wharf, which turned out to be as touristy as we expected, but we dipped into a few shops and enjoyed a rum tasting while taking in the sights. Touristaville wasn’t quite our scene so we jumped aboard another jitney and made our way back to the marina. We wrapped up the day with topping off our diesel tanks, chart swapping with Steve, dinner and catching up on the internet.

The northerner that we have been waiting out in Nassau should pass by Sunday afternoon so the plan is to head to Allens Cay (pronounced Key) bright and early on Monday morning.

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

Boot Key Harbor Life

Monday, January 17th, 2011 / Christie & Matt

Since our last post, we’ve been enjoying the warm weather of the Florida Keys, prepping for our trip to the Bahamas and meeting new people in the “neighborhood.”

Kaleo at anchor in Boot Key Harbor, taken by our neighbors aboard SaltyPaws

Regardless of our plans for the day, each morning at 9:00 a.m. we tune into the cruisers’ net on VHF channel 68. The net is a radio gathering of all the boats in the harbor and are moderated by a net controller. These organized sessions are intended to welcome new arrivals, bid farewell to those departing, share information and local announcements (like yoga at 10:00 at the tiki hut, SSCA lunch at Hurricane’s), allow other boaters to request help on a projects, routes, etc. and facilitate a “treasures from the bilge” exchange, (a buy/sell/trade/give-away session). They wrap up with a challenge (trivia) to try to stump the harbor and any final business. All very informative, entertaining and a great way to start the day.
On the net we heard about the weekly “meet and greet” for Wednesday evening. Everyone brings a dish into the marina and we all spent some time getting to know each other. It was there that we connected with Deana and Troy on Storyville and Steve on Anchor Management who are also from Kemah and are headed to the Bahamas on the next window. We’ve enjoyed getting to know them, are looking forward to making the crossing together and hanging out once we’re in the Bahamas. Watch out lobstas, Deana’s got her Hawaiian Sling ready for ya.
While the boat is stocked to the brim with provisions, we have been taking advantage of the convenient walk to the grocery store to pick up some fresh foods.
There’s also a West Marine within walking distance, so we stopped in to get a Bahamas courtesy flag (a boat must fly the courtesy flag of the country it is sailing through) and a few other final items.
Saturday evening we stopped by the cruisers’ concert (heard about it on the net) to listen to our anchorage neighbors Bentley and Jim, on SaltyPaws, play for the crowd and Troy, on Storyville, who belted out a few acoustic solo sessions for the gathering.
It wouldn’t be cruising without a little boat work which included Christie going up the mast to replace a flag halyard and shipping home our spinnaker sail (a large downwind sail that takes up a lot of room and rarely gets used) as well as replacing the fresh water manifold, remounting the WiFi antenna, changing the oil, zincs and fuel filter and adding straps to more easily lift the dinghy’s outboard motor. Ah, we even used a marina cart to haul that sail to the post office where Christie managed to hitch a ride on the cart part of the way (we looked like quite the sailor bums down the sidewalks).
We got geared up for going under with new fins, masks, snorkels and a wet suit from a nearby dive shop.
Our digital camera was lost to the depths of Marathon Harbor after a slippery mishap handing it down from the boat to the dinghy. It was painful to watch it sink (like a brick) but thankfully we had just ordered an all-purpose (waterproof) digital camera so the memory capturing will continue uninterrupted.
Much of our time has been spent watching for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas and preparing for the actual passage. We’ve been doing our research as Kaleo will have to cross the Gulf Stream. The first big leap in getting to the Bahamas is crossing this “ocean river” that runs northward with at least 2 knots of current. The Gulf Stream can either be a benign and helpful current or a rough and hard sail in heavy seas. In planning the crossing you have a number of factors to consider: wind speed, wind direction, sea state, optimum crossing angle, vessel speed, day or night voyage, season of the year and preferred arrival destination. Whew – lots to align for an ideal crossing.
Two afternoons have been spent meeting with other Bahamas-bound cruisers to swap weather notes, GPS waypoints (specific points along the route we sail towards), anchorage and check-in information. While about 12 boats attended the meeting, the final count for tomorrow’s departure will probably be 6-8. While we are all taking the same route, each vessel will leave at a different time depending on their boat speed. The slower boats leave first, the faster ones last. Kaleo is right about in the middle. We’re as prepared as we’re going to be and are ready to head out tomorrow.

Category: Boat Life, Cruising, Florida, Friends, Passage, Route 3 Comments

s/v Kaleo

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