Auntie Em Auntie Em

Docked at:  Green Turtle Bay, Bahamas

Wind wind go away come again another day  -- the boat is rocking and the canvas on the fly bridge is flapping non-stop. We are in the Bahamas,wearing long sleeves and sweaters.  I am not complaining just stating the facts. it is actually a very warm wind.

First thing this morning we drove back to the BTC office to see if the SIM cards were in - no such luck. We are of course on Island time.

Zeke the amazing cart guard dog!

Leaving the phone store empty handed we went down the hill into New Plymouth - about half way down this little hill our senses were assaulted with the smell of home made bread and cinnamon.

The sign says it all McIntosh bakery!!

Lets see you can not get a cinnamon bun in Tuscon, Arizona but you can on Green Turtle Cay in the Outer Bahamas!! Eat your heart out Brummer! We thought of you the whole time we indulged!

 After having that delicious cinnamon bun what better to wash it down with than World Famous Goombay Smash - the longer it sits the better it gets! This was pretty good, several different rums all mixed together with pineapple juice ......breakfast of champions .....cinnamon buns and rum!

The Atlantic today - looks down right mean and nasty.

So, here we sit. The weather is constantly changing and everyone in this marina is checking and comparing notes on the wind. It is what it is - we can't change it and will sit it out here in GTC. As I said before it is not like we are in Little Current or Carrabelle. The people are great , the scenery is beautiful and the food pretty darn good.  Going to try and get a euchre tournament going tomorrow afternoon. Would probably be better served walking into town but then we would have to try the bakery and smash again.

Waiting for the winds to subside!

Docked at: Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas

Talk about an ocean view!

We arrived here Saturday and the winds have picked up, laid down and picked up since then, Sunday we had 50 mph winds and the power was out most of the afternoon. Garth retied the boat and added lines everywhere. The sailboats that were anchored in the harbor all moved in. It certainly beats waiting out the weather in Little Current or Carrabelle.
The internet is sketchy, our phones were put on suspension as soon as we left the States and we are feeling a little isolated. We rented a golf cart to get to town and to explore the island. Our first order of business yesterday morning was to get a phone. We drove to the telecom office and the lady informed us that the SIM cards she received last week were defective so she returned them to Nassau. They are still not back. We gave her our email address and asked her to call the marina when they come in. We are in the Bahamas, things move a little bit slower, life is more relaxed and it is beautiful.
We will go back to town today and see if the Sim cards have arrived.
Our excitement about being in the Bahamas has been dampened by the fact that my Dad is in the hospital. Getting an email to call home ASAP and not being able to call is the reality of being on a remote island. In this day and age one would think that we are all constantly connected but it is not true.  Green Turtle Cay is in the Outer Bahamas, there are five hundred people living here and the only way in and out is by boat. If the winds are too high like they have been since we got here then our only option is to wait. So, we are trying to make the best of  the situation but it is difficult. Being here, but wanting to be at home.
Some pics of our time here so far.

Zeke, the golf cart guard dog.

 Zeke minded the golf cart while we went to McIntosh's Bakery for lunch.

Yeah, another hour another beach!!

We drove by all these shells on the picnic table Sunday and spoke to Robertha about them, she had them all turned down because Sunday is the day of rest and she really did not want to sell any of them until Monday. So, we went back yesterday and they were turned up and she was eager to sell them. Reminds me of the Outer Hebrides where my Mom is from, on the Isle of Lewis to this day Sundays are the day of rest and you don't dare work , hanging out your laundry on a Sunday is a cardinal sin!

The old jail.

The streets are just wide enough for a golf cart or small car.

Bright colors and for the most part very neat and clean.

The main street of New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay

Another shot of the main street.

Great Sale Cay to Green Turtle Cay

OH DARK THIRTY at Great Sale Cay

Saturday March 3rd
Time travelled:      6.05 hrs.
Nautical miles       54.7 nm
Docked at:           Green Turtle Club Resort and Marina

We were up at OH DARK THIRTY, we didn't sleep very well because the flags were snapping and it was really hot. The wind had picked up significantly during the night.  Garth pulled up the anchor and it was surrounded by a huge amount of clay and weeds, while he took a break I got the boat hook and successfully knocked off the majority of the clay. We were outta there. The ride was a lot smoother than we had anticipated.  However, at one point Jim from Sweet Pea radioed to the rest of us that he was having power issues and was running his generator in order to keep his GPS going. Garth immediately checked the GPS for the closest marina and kept it in the back of his mind, John offered a few suggestions to what he thought it may be.  We plowed on through. Then - here we are in this huge ocean and what do we see but a fishing boat heading right for us - Garth got on the radio and said "there is a lot of room out here" he kept his course and we had to throttle back, he zoomed on right across our bow......some people!! The name of the boat is Free Willy and the captain has blue eyes and takes milk in his coffee - that's how close we were!!  Just kidding, but it was too close for my comfort level!

LAND HO - GREEN TURTLE CAY

We arrived into Green Turtle Cay just after noon and the wind was really blowing. Once secured to the dock Garth rinsed all the salt off the boat and we took Zeke to the beach.
The have a special here that you pay for your dockage and the food you charge to your boat is then deducted from the dockage at the end of your stay. So at roughly 2 dollars a foot we have $106.00 to spend at the restaurant and bar- not a lot when a Caesar salad is $14.00, cracked conch dinner (a local specialty) is $18.95 - Garth has been enjoying Lobster & Crab omelets and Eggs Benedict - the wind needs to die down so we can move on otherwise they will have to roll us out of here.

WOW

Jim figured out his power issue and all is well.

West End to Great Sale Anchorage

 Friday March 2nd

Time travelled:     5.5 hrs
 Nautical miles:    48.5 nm
 Docked at:         Great Sale Anchorage

Algonquin in the Bahamas

We left West End on Friday  following all the sail boats - sail boats have a larger draft than power boats so if they make it through the skinny water then we can make it through too.  Jim from Sweat Pea went over and talked to them earlier so we knew they were pulling out around 9 am. We all hauled in our power and water so we were ready to go.

Following the sailboats -  with Passport on your far left

Bye Bye -thanks for your help!

We had a lovely run and arrived at our anchorage about 2 o'clock . It was simply beautiful, everyone got in their dingies and we had cocktails on the beach. In Marathon they call it dinking and drinking! By the time we made it back to our boat there were 15 boats all anchored.  Sid and Evelyn dinged over for a game of euchre. Sid was looking for revenge but it wasn't meant to be. Evelyn and I beat them 4/5 games!

Captains meeting?

Craig testing the waters or maybe the beer just tastes better when you are standing in the ocean!

We even had cheese and crackers thanks to Dale!

Sweat Pea & Passport at sunset.

WE’RE IN DA BAHAMA’S

 Time travelled:    7 hours
 Nautical miles:    73.5
 Docked at:         Old Bahama Bay Marina, West End, Grand Bahamas

It is hard to believe that we are here!  We keep pinching ourselves to see if we are awake and yep it is true, we made it across the Straights of Florida in our own boat. WOW!

We were up at 5:20 for our scheduled 6:15 departure. I walked Zeke and Garth started bringing in the water and electricity.  Something Special and Brown Eyed Girl were both up and at em.  When I came back with Zeke Sid said that Brandy IV was on their way back in. It was too rough for them to proceed. Passport, the other boat that left early was hanging out there waiting for the three of us to come out and assess the situation.  We all decided to go for it.  We passed Rita and John on their way back to port. Our first obstacle was a huge Carnival cruise ship coming into Port Everglades, once we got past him a container ship entered. The sun was rising over the horizon and I started to recite “red sky at night sailors .....you know the rest of it and the red sky in the morning is not good, it was a beautiful red sky . I was envisioning us returning to Customs to explain the situation and get an extension on our cruising permit. 

OK, you can go first!

Here comes the container ship.

Sunrise 

It was lumpy getting out of the channel. (not as bad as Lake Ontario though) The further we got away from Dollardale the better it got.  We started in three footers with a short period and ended in one footers with a longer period.   I am glad we have stabilizers on the boat! I gave Zeke a half a gravol so he just curled up on the couch and rode out the waves in la la land.  I think he comes from a line of Portuguese Land Dogs instead of Portuguese Water Dogs! 

Sid took the lead as it was more comfortable for him to run faster – he spotted land at 12 o’clock.

Something Special  Bahamas Bound

Zeke in a drug induced slumber & Garth just plain tired! 

Quarantine Flag up entering West End, Grand Bahamas

 By 1:15 we were docked. The dock hand gave us a ton of paperwork to fill out, landing cards and a marina registration. The captain is the only one allowed off the boat so Garth had to walk across the way to customs, he said that all they really did was scan the paperwork and collect the $300.00 entrance fee. They gave us a ninety day cruising permit and a fishing license.

We rinsed the salt off the boat and went for a walk....it is beautiful. The beach has white white sand and the water is a gorgeous turquoise.

The boys on the beach

We are off tomorrow to an anchorage with four other Looper boats, Something Special, Brown Eyed Girl, Passport, and Sweet Pea. From there we are heading to Green Turtle Bay Marina where we will stay put for a week. 

The stress free way to get to the Bahamas by sea.

It has been a long exhausting day but I must say we both feel a sense of accomplishment having landed here today!

Bahamas Bound

 Docked at: Las Olas Marina,  Fort Dollardale

Another day of getting ready!

Garth hooked up more anchor chain, cleaned the bilges, pumped out the holding tanks, filled the water tank got the rental car and went to Boat Owners Warehouse. He bought yet another courtesy flag and a new bell! Seems silly to have a bell on a boat but it is a safety requirement and our clanger fell off the other day. I washed the deck and went grocery shopping . Tomorrow is Zekes day - vet check and a grooming appointment. While he is getting clipped we will go to immigration and check out of the USA.  Busy couple of days - all of the "fixing" we needed to get down has been completed - amazing.

Our first order of business tomorrow is to drive the boat under the Las Olas bridge to get diesel and our last order of business is a Bahamas Bound Boaters meeting at 5ish.  I think we will be leaving first thing Thursday morning. Our destination: West End, Grand Bahamas.

I received this picture today from my brother, he and his family are skiing in Quebec and came across a run named --- ALGONQUIN or en francais - L'ALGONQUIN !!  Helps reinforce that we made the right decision to run away from winter when you see them all bundled up.

I'm guessing it is Jane, Michie and Meg - I hope you guys did the double black and not the green!!

Once we are in the Bahamas our cell  phones will be turned off so we do not incur roaming charges. We will have internet when at a marina so will post as often as possible.

Waiting for Weather

 Docked at: Las Olas Marina

Well, we finally stopped celebrating! Just kidding.

 On Sunday we cleaned the boat and did laundry. Bud, the best carpet guy in South Florida came by to template the bathrooms and he is going to try and have them ready before we leave. We walked Zeke down on the strip and took in all the sites.  Had docktails at five, one boater had just returned from the Bahamas so we were all ears. About 8 we got a knock on the hull and it was Sid -  does anyone want to play euchre "YEP" - we grabbed a sandwich, opened up the table, got the cards ready and started playing. Evelyn and I cleaned their clocks!
Today, Dave came by to assess the fender holders, he will return them tomorrow with new name plates, the man came to fix the blind , Garth got the generator going, turns out there was another fuse up on the top that he did not know about. Bud called, the carpet was ready - he came by, installed them and they look great! We had another 5 pm docktail meeting and another boat came in today - so there will now be five boats going across. Probably will not all be together because we all run at different speeds but at least we will know that someone else is close by.

The weather has changed again , looks like we may be able to leave on Thursday -which means we have to get Zeke clipped, a vet check, do some grocery shopping, get cash, go to immigration and check out plus buy yet another US courtesy flag - this is number 4!! They keep blowing away!

Stay tuned - the weather may change again and we could still be sitting here this time next week.