Welcome to the Bahamas!!

TRIP FACTS AS OF JANUARY 3, 2011:

Days gone from Virginia:   78 
Days in Bahamas:  16
Miles travelled since October 18, 2009:  1309.6
Things overboard .... -0- at this point..including each other!!
Times heads overflowed while sailing:   4  (3 portside/1 starboard side) ... we think they're fixed!
Visitors from home:  1 ... yeah Stephanie!!!!
Times we think about/talk about our friends:  Countless


December 17, 2009:  0400:    Finally, after what seemed like forever in Fort Lauderdale we positioned ourselves on a mooring ball by the Las Olas Municipal Marina for a 4 AM, yes, 0400 departure through Port Everglades and onward into the Straits of Florida and the infamous GULF STREAM.  David has sailed the GS before but I've only heard stories.. some good, some not so good, so we were anxious to get across.  The weather/winds can't be coming out of the North since the GS flows northerly.  Don't ask my how/why..it just does. 

If you've never seen the color of the GS it's impossible to describe.  The closest thing we've come to is the color of the Skye Vodka bottle.. almost like cobalt blue.  It was beautiful!!  The seas weren't that bad and we settled into a comfortable rhythm and settled back and motored the whole way.  I've never seen FLYING FISH but believe me when I tell you those little suckers can go about 20-50 yards skimming the surface.  Amazing to watch.

 We didn't see one ship until we got close to the West End of the Bahamas!! when we saw a US Coast Guard Cutter and a trawler named "Chief's Lady" .. more on them later.  We watched the color of the water change from cobalt blue to aquamarine in front of our eyes.

If you've ever seen pictures or been here you'll know what I mean.  I've taken some pictures of the beautiful colors I'll add later.  So, we get to the West End to clear Bahamian Customs/Immigration only to find out the toilet/head on the port/left side (which happens to be my side) has flooded!!!  NICE.....
It was bad enough having to spend time cleaning up the water but because we had provisioned for 4  months, we had supplies ( in freezer ziplock bags in plastic bins) in the bilge.  So we had to empty out the bilges,  use clean water with lysol and bleach to clean the bilges.  This wouldn't have been bad except I had a killer headache, the starts of seasickness I'm convinced, and we were both bone tired.
Long story short, we cleaned the bilges and headed to the beach bar for CONCH SALAD and a rum drink.  AHHHHHHHH, the sand was warm, the sunset beautiful and we finally where here.

The next morning when we getting ready to leave we bought fresh, warm Bahamian bread from the bread lady and met Tom and Liz Fieldstead from Hilton Head, on Chief's Lady.  Tom is the retired Fire Chief from the Island thus the name.   We didn't have time to chat but exchanged pleasantries and said we'd see each other along the way.

December 19th:  Underway for Great Sale Cay:  First lesson learned here is that CAY is prounounced KEY.  We made it to Great Sale and anchored out in this protected harbor.  I've already talked about the color of the water....here's an example.  This boat was anchored behind us towards the opening of the harbor:

December 20 and 21st:  Underway for Green Turtle Cay:  Three years ago we anchored out at Green Turtle.  The town is New Plymouth and is a quiet village with very narrow streets.  Golf carts are the favored form of transportation and during the holidays, Christmas and JUNKANOO (more on Junkanoo later) residents decorate their carts up and have a neat parade.  Once we got anchored up we took the dinghy over to “CHIEF”S LADY” and talked with Tom and Liz, the couple we talked to at the West End.  One thing lead to another and we have quickly become good friends.   After much discussion and checking the weather we both decided we would leave Green Turtle on he 22^nd.  We had to get to Marsh Harbor to be able to pick Stephanie up and they needed to get to Treasure Cay to get ready for their kids, so the decision was made to take off early on the morning of the 22^nd. Here are a couple of pictures of the harbor and the streets so you can get a feel for what it’s like.

Street in New Plymouth, Green Turtle

Beach on Atlantic Ocean side



New Plymouth Harbor



December 22^nd:    We both left Green  Turtle early in the morning to be at a certain location right at high tide.  “Don’t Rock” is named that way because it’s the “short cut”  that saves boats from going around Whale Cay.  Whale Cay opens to the Atlantic and if the winds are not right you either 1: don’t go, 2: take a chance and battle winds and sea state.
As David approached “Don’t’ Rock” it was clear that the swells from around Whale Cay were probably going to be a hazard so he decided to go ahead and go around Whale Cay.  There were several other boats, sailboats, catamarans and a small troller, ahead of us so off we went.  When you hear people talk about boats “surfing” down the face of a wave….yep….here’s what  Tom and Liz looked like from our cockpit.  NO KIDDING, after we were able to talk we decided the rollers must have been at least 12 to 15 foot rollers with breakers close by.  It was pretty amazing!!   Once we got thru Whale we headed for Marsh Harbor to pick up Steph and they went onto Treasure Cay. 

Surfin' at Whale Cay .......

Looking UP at Chief's Lady........Whale Cay

After 45 minutes of Whale Cay we both went out seperate ways and we got tied up at the Harborview Marina to patiently wait for Steph’s flight only to be disappointed because of all the snow and backed up flights in the States she didn’t get in until the 23^rd.     We took advantage of the time to clean the boat up and get some rest.  It also gave me a chance to find  GEORGE, the conch salad maker, next to the Marina.  What a treat, fresh conch salad.  We had picked some frozen conch up in Green Turtle so George explained to me how to make it.  TASTY!!

December 23^rd:  Happy 28^th Anniversary to us……Stephanie finally made it in.

December 24^th:  Christmas Eve .. no tree, no decorations!!  Christmas in the Bahamas is something hard to figure out.  There were some decorations but for the most part you really couldn’t tell.  Bahamians really celebrate New Years with a huge celebration called JUNKANOO.  It’s similar to Carnival in Brazil - lots of brightly colored, homemade, costumes and LOUD, LOUD drums and whistles.   When we were in Green Turtle we got the privilege of waking up at 5:30 AM to hear them practice on their drums as they marched up the street next to the harbor.

If you’ve ever read anything about the Abacos which is where we are, you may have heard about Pete’s Pub in Little Harbor.  Pete’s parents were artists who found their way to Little Harbor, set up a foundary and started a small art colony.  Pete opened up a Pub as well as a small outdoor restaurant and mooring balls.  If no one is at the bar everything is on the HONOR SYSEM.  There’s a jar behind the bar to leave money for your drinks and your mooring ball.  We didn’t make it down there when we were here for sailing school three years ago so David thought it would be a good thing to take Steph so off we went. 





Welcome to Little Harbor and Pete's Pub........




The Infamous....Pete's Pub - complete with t-shirt ceiling!!




View of the harbor...very small.


















We only spent one night there because the winds were going to shift and we needed to get to Hopetown on Elbow Cay.

December 25 thru 28^th:   Got into Hopetown thinking we would only spend one night there and then head over to Treasure Cay and meet up with Tom and Liz so they could meet Steph.  Not so.  The winds trapped everyone there for three days with gusts up to 40 knots.  But we all hunkered down for lots of reading and playing cards.  Steph, by the way, is the World Champion Rummy Player.  We were anxious to get back to Marsh Harbor with no delays since her plane was leaving at noon on the 29^th so we left Hopetown on December 28^th.




Steph all bundled up reading ....


December 28^th thru 30^th:   Stayed tied up at the marina back in Marsh Harbor, got Steph on the plane December 29th and waited for our mail…which never showed up, by the way.  I think we’re getting used to “Bahamian time”…which just means don’t get in a hurry because nothing ever happens like it’s supposed to. 

December 31^st thru January 3^rd or 4^th or 5^th…who knows.  We’re anchored  here in Treasure Cay Resort.   The sand at the Resort Beach is quite frankly, hard to do justice to with words so  I’ll just let you judge for yourself…..




Beach at Treasure Cay Resort

 New Years Day we all jumped on the Green Turtle Cay Ferry and went back to New Plymouth for JUNKANOO.  The sounds/noise level and atomsphere are hard to describe so here's a picture.....

That brings us to New Years in Treasure Cay and at this point in time, no plans for where we’re going or how long we’ll stay once we get there.  We will be doing some fishing and snorkeling/diving with Tom and Liz but after that we’re not sure.   I’m sorry this update is so long and I promise to keep them shorter.  Until then,  we hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and celebrated the New Year with friends and family. 

P.S.  Today is Jan. 3rd...we're still waiting for our mail.