Islandia Grabo's Blog

June 21: So we returned to Marsh Harbour and called our favorite mechanic Andy.  He soon discovered we needed a new fresh water pump for the ailing starboard engine.  Easy enough to order the part and have it shipped within a few days to Fort Lauderdale.  Then it took a full 2 weeks to travel to Marsh Harbour via Nassau (piracy is alive and well in the Bahamas!).  Disappointed at first that we’d be dockside for so long, but we ran into old friends and made new friends so all was well.  The part was finally put into place late Friday July 6th.  We left the marina Saturday the 7th.  Went to the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard on the 8th where upon we dismantled the boat to prepare it for being on the hard for hurricane season.  And off we flew to our northern home in Altamont on the 10th.  We expect to be back on the boat early November.

Here’s how we amused ourselves while waiting on a part: Lots of dock doings…

This 120 foot luxury Aries, hadn’t moved since we arrived in January so it caught everyone’s attention when the owners actually showed up and went out for a glorious 2 days.

The owner of the marina, Troy and one of the Aries’s deck hands (along with the crew for one of the charter boats) await the Captain to back Aries into a barely wide enough berth.

Not sure why the owner (to the right) looks so pained.  The Captain did a perfect job.

Re-connected with some friends Tom and Trish who took us out sailing. They were staging their boat in Hope Town for the onset of the 43rd Annual Abaco Sailing Regatta.

No problem adjusting to sailing.

Our host Tom Potter

And Trish Potter.  We later learned they took first place in their division!!! Congratulations Tom and Trish. (And they want us to crew for them next year, what a hoot!).

We had to take the ferry from Hope Town back to Marsh Harbour.  Several passengers decided to go swimming while awaiting the 6:30 departure.

Including Bob.

Not much space between the stern of the ferry and the dock!

Ferry left promptly at 6:30.

Bob talked the Captain into letting him drive for a short bit.

Father – daughter time.

Fellow passengers enjoying the ride.

With our boat out of commission, we took our dinghy on a bit of a jaunt, first to visit friends we last saw in Tarpon Springs (Dennis and Jan on Mother Ocean) and then to watch parts of the second regatta race.  We tucked in behind the islands just outside of Marsh Harbour.  Discovered our dream property:  Main house, funky gazebo, guest house, boat house, beach and Power and Sail Hinckleys!! Sign me up!

Somewhere in the above sail race pictures are our friends Tom and Trish (and the ever present Hope Town Lighthouse).  Next up was the Mount Gay Sponsored after party at Snappas (right next to our marina).

E.T. (Captain of Aries), Jim – sailor on the boat docked next to us for the regatta who told us our friends Dennis and Jan were at a nearby marina, and Dennis.

 

Bob and Jan with new friends Ricky and Alex in the background.

Ricky and Alex

Mount Gay staff:  They handed out free rum punches and beers for an hour!

Bob and Jan

Dennis, Jan, Bob, Trish and Alex

Bob and Dennis.

Full Moon on June 28th.

Drift wood and sea biscuit art – or what to do on rainy days which we had plenty of.

Looking out at the harbour of Marsh Harbour from our stern.  Usually this harbour is packed with boats. For the first time, for us anyway, it was empty!  A sign that hurricane season is approaching and most transients have moved their boats out of the Harbour heading north, or have put their boats on the hard. We made the decision to haul our boat out on July 9th.  As of July 2nd we were still waiting on a part and bemoaning the fact that we would be missing the end of the Regatta’s main party event:  Cheeseburger in Paradise on July 3 at an uninhabited island (Fiddler Cay) near Green Turtle Cay.  So we went up to the pool with drinks in hand to make the most of being dockside.  There we met 4 couples who had just brought their fast power boats over from Florida specifically to go to that event.  After a few cocktails they invited us to go with them.

A bit out of the way, but the folks who invited us aboard went to Hope Town first, had a quick bite and then headed to Fiddler Cay.  It was like being in a time warp.  Had we taken our boat it would have been a 3 day event.  With them, it was just a little over an hour!

I took these pictures from our friend’s boat.  There were probably a 1000 boats there.  We then waded ashore to go to the cheeseburger tents.  But alas, while in line, they ran out of cheeseburgers.  Oh well.  The best part of the day (which I missed filming since I didn’t take my camera with me) was the people watching.  Every shape and size passed by.

Our hosts/hostesses for the day:  Emirce, Pablo, Roberto, and Sarea.  Thank you, we had a blast!

The daily weather pattern:  temps in the 90s, humidity in the 90s and at least one horrific thunderstorm followed by pleasant sunshine.  So I finished writing one book (The Bahama Gem) and started another (The Georgian Affair).  It’ll be part of an eventual Trilogy entitled “Waiting on a Part.”

This picture sums up re-meeting our friends Pam and Graham.  Pam had broken her leg in April, flew home, had surgery, then PT.  She got the green light to return on July 5th.  It was too late for them to take a ferry to their boat moored in Man O War Cay which was good news for us.  We went out to dinner, had them spend the night with us and then we took Islandia over to Man O War the next day.  Bob did an amazing job of negotiating the ultra small harbor of Man O War and rafting our boat to theirs on just one engine. Such a thrill to see Pam back on her boat!  So when we finally did get our boat working on the night of the 6th we planned to make our first stop  on the 7th outside of Man O War to pass along all of our perishables to them.  Had a lovely visit on the 7th.  About 5 minutes after Pam took this picture of us when we were leaving to get back to our boat, our dinghy engine quit.  Had to be towed back to our boat by a good samaritan.  We up-anchored so as to spend our last night on the boat off Tiloo Cay.  Shortly after anchoring we went swimming.  When Bob got up on the swim platform he noticed our dinghy was drifting away.  An inspection of the dangling dinghy line found no problems, the final carabiner which we attach to the towing eye bolt on the dinghy was totally intact.  What the heck??? We’ve towed that dinghy for 1000s of miles, some of that in very rough seas.  Why would it let go under totally placid conditions and how??? No time to ponder that question, Bob dove back in au natural to retrieve the dinghy.  By that time the wind and current had caught the boat and he swam almost a quarter of a mile to retrieve it.  But alas, the engine still didn’t work!  Long story short, a good samaritan boat stopped with two couples aboard, and towed the dinghy back.  Bob used a cleaning rag on the dinghy as a loin cloth but I’m sure the couples on board had something to talk about later on.

After all that nonsense, we did enjoy a peaceful sunset. We brought the boat to the Boat Yard and as mentioned at the onset, dismantled the boat to prepare it for being hauled for hurricane season.  So hot!!! But we got it done and flew home July 10th.  Being home has been nice and we’ve already spent a week up on the St. Lawrence River in a rental cottage with dear friends.  We definitely miss Islandia but we’re also happy to be with family and our northern friends.  We’ll be back in November!

After a pleasant anchorage off Lynyard Cay we started a 300 mile round trip adventure circumnavigating Great Abaco Islands via the Berry Islands.  We had fairly calm seas and a nice uneventful 70 mile passage to Little Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands.  Here we are passing the Hole in the Wall Lighthouse located at the southern most tip of Great Abaco.  To get here by car involves a final 10 miles of dirt road requiring a 4-wheel drive vehicle.

We entered the Little Harbour Cay area by midday and anchored off one of the many uninhabited islands for the night.  The next day we moved the boat closer to Little Harbour Cay to go out to lunch at Flo’s Conch Bar.

The chart shows our track coming into the Berry Islands and then retracing our steps somewhat to get closer to Flo’s.  (Flo’s is depicted by the fork/knife symbol).  Note the lighthouse symbol on the end of the island (which is the same sized symbol for the Hole in the Wall Lighthouse).

No wonder we missed the “lighthouse.”  I’d be generous if I said the lighthouse/post was 3 feet tall.

Approaching Flo’s Conch Bar with the tell tale mountain of conch shells.

As is typical of most tropical bars, people leave their memorabilia behind.  This bill traveled quite some distance!

Flo has long since passed away but her son Chester runs the restaurant and in my opinion, served us the best conch and lobster meal I’ve had to date (the rum punch was pretty good too!).

Chester in paintings as well.

Outside the restaurant was an array of animals and birds, including peacocks.

A rooster squawking at the peacock in hindsight.

We were amazed to see this sailboat off of Flo’s dock since we went over a one foot sandbar in the dinghy to get here.  Chester explained it sailed into the bay 12 years ago on a super moon high tide (it draws nearly 6 feet).

With no less than 8 anchors apparently it’s staying put.

Our backyard for the night.

Awoke to the unmistakable shriek of an osprey taking a shore side bath.  This osprey represents the sole osprey I’ve seen in the Bahamas after 6 months (whereas in the US along the coast lines I don’t think you can go 6 seconds without seeing one).

Had a lot of fun exploring this nearby island we dubbed Gilligan’s Island.

Per Guide Book, it’s a well known picnic area.

I almost stepped on this bird.

Then I discovered her egg nearby.

Now she’s back on her egg where she went back into camo mode. (She’s not a killdeer, maybe some sort of plover?)

Lots of sand dollars around the island including this purple one.

More dinghy exploration led us to Devil’s Cut.  Glad we didn’t enter here, looks nasty!

June 11, headed over to Hoffman Cay to find an on island Blue Hole.

Heading into the jungle, well coated with bug spray.

Found it!

We were surprised to see turtles here.  Theory is that they were put there, however, we certainly saw other tropical fish in the hole along with an obvious tidal flow, so there must be a connection to the ocean somewhere.

Bob in a nearby cave that had stalagmites and stalactites.

Next day we explored Ambregris Cay which was so shallow we had to travel almost a mile away from the boat to get there. (The dot on the horizon is our boat).

Scenes from Ambregris.  If we could cut through here, our next destination would only be 11 miles away.  Instead we had to go out and around a series of islands taking about 4 hours. Two hours from Great Harbour Cay Marina our starboard engine overheated (there was a hole in the radiator hosing, and bonus, the impeller burnt out too).  So we limped along on one engine.

The two islands (Great Stirrup and Little Stirrup) on the most northern most section of the The Berry Islands are owned by cruise ship companies.  Passengers are ferried back and forth to the islands and enjoy land based and water based fun.

This giant sand mountain was on Little Stirrup Island, looks like a new beach is being created (there is a beach on the other side).

Trying to make some headway before the next storm.  Almost everyday there is a thunderstorm.

The chart shows a man made cut into Grand Harbour Cay leading to its only marina.

What it looks like in reality.

But there really was a cut.  Such a protected harbor, perfect hurricane hole.  We wound up staying here 3 days and met some fun sailors.

Rounding the last turn leading into the marina.  The round house to the right was a “party” house for the marina.  Along with the new folks we met, we were invited by Kimberly (who works in the marina office) to participate in a going away party for one of the staff members.  Food-drink-music, who could refuse?

Not these guys:  Larry, Sheree, Kimberly, Janice, Marty (Marty turned out to be almost a stand up comedian, had us laughing quite a bit – on the last night he set up an outdoor movie where we watched The Deep.  Commentary by our new friends reminded us of the Mystery Science Theater commentary).

Bob and I, Melissa and Mike.

We spent most of the first day fixing the engine (miraculously we had all the parts we needed) so we went out dinghy exploring the next day.  Lots of beaches sport beach debris art.

And there’s usually a ray lurking about.

Took the dinghy into the nearby settlement.  Had dinner at this restaurant named Until Then.  With only 2 tables, we represented 50% capacity.  Owners were wonderful and served a great meal.

The Bahama Islands are now dotted with these beautiful red flowered trees that don’t bloom until June.

Back in the dinghy we saw this sunken airplane left over from the 1980s drug era.

The beach on the Atlantic side goes on for miles and rivals the white sands of Treasure Cay Beach.

Night heron on the beach.

Behind us in the marina were these large stork like birds.  They were rather loud for about two hours every day.

June 15:  We left the Berries and headed across the Northwest Providence Channel to the Bight of Abaco.  This involved 30+ miles of ocean travel.  We had a delightful passage, could have water skied across.  This is what 2000 feet of ocean depth looks like.

Entering the Bight by Channel Rock.  At least this “lighthouse” had some height to it.

Once inside the Bight (or west side of Abaco Island) the most depth we saw was about 20 feet.  With the clarity of the water it felt as if we were gliding by in someone’s swimming pool.

We traveled to Mores Island, an island with two settlements where the main occupation is fishing.  This is the settlement of Hard Bargain.

Instead of cars in the driveways, there are boats.

On shore the ubiquitous Hot Wheels.

Leave it to Bob to find the only car wash.

The ladies on shore were making take out dinners.  We enjoyed them of course.

The men on the pier were quite entertaining.

There is actually no harbor here nor marinas for that matter in the Bight.  Fortunately there was little to no wind so we felt pretty comfortable anchoring here for the night.

June 16: We moved on to the Joe Downer Cays, but with this line of thunderstorms coming at us, we decided to move to a more protected harbor.

We lost the “dodge the squalls” battle and got quite soaked.

We passed by Basin Harbour Cay which sported the only private house (outside the settlements) in over one hundred miles of travel.  The mast represents one of two sailboats we saw outside the settlements.

On the back side of the island we found a fairly protected anchorage among the many small rock islands.

En route to our final anchorage in the Bight, we lost our starboard engine again! Good thing for two engines.  This time the fresh water circulating pump failed.

It was no problem to anchor off Cash Cay.  Took the dinghy ashore for more exploration.

June 18:  Left the Bight and headed back into the Sea of Abaco.  Chart shows us rounding the tip of Little Abaco (also called West End, just like the tip of Grand Bahama Island).

Only, this West End is less than exciting.

Anchored off Foxtown, a small settlement on northern Abaco Island.  Enjoyed yet another wonderful Bahamian meal at Da Valley restaurant.

A nearby fisherman cleaning fish points out to the incoming sharks.

This sea gull thinks twice about competing for the chum with the circling sharks.

Our backyard at Foxtown.  With a bit of an imagination (OK, a lot of imagination), the cloud formation reminded me of a Dr. Seuss leaping reindeer.

Three of five dolphins escorting us out of the narrow Foxtown passageway.

Our original plan was to explore all the northern Abaco Islands heading south back to Marsh Harbour.  We had provisioned for another week or so of island hopping.  But with only one engine we only stopped at one island (Manjack).  We were anxious to get back to Marsh Harbour where we could start the engine repair process.  Manjack deserves a full week to explore.  Lots of mangrove inlets and foot paths on shore, and several beaches as well. We at least explored one of the mangrove inlets.

And anchored off this lovely beach.

June 20th:  We reluctantly headed back to Marsh Harbour using the inside route of the Dont Rock passage (instead of going around The Whale).  I went ahead in the dinghy to make sure there was enough depth.  When the chart reads “shifting sand” it’s hard to trust the depths.  The lowest I saw (at half rising tide) was 4.8 feet.

And just like that, we were back in Marsh Harbour.  No issue traveling 80+ miles on just one engine, but relieved to get back to our dock.

Chart shows our “red track” for the 300 mile circumnavigation.  Next up:  waiting on a part – hope it arrives by July 1.  We’re in a good spot to wait since a section of the annual Abaco Sailing Regatta will take place here in Marsh Harbour.

 

May 4:  Still in Marsh Harbour awaiting parts for the exhaust elbows.  To review, parts needed to be made and were eventually mailed to us (an arduous task in the Bahamas).  They didn’t fit – not our bad – so new ones had to be made.  The company then sent just one – their bad again.

So we flew home on May 11th, still awaiting all the parts.

Got home (Altamont) in time to enjoy a very pleasant Mother’s Day.

Met fellow Loopers Paal and Betsy aboard M/V Eleanor at the Albany Yacht Club.  We first met in Wisconsin (where they live) and followed them on and off to Panama City where they have a condo.  They are on the home stretch now to completing their Loop.

We took them to nearby Washington Park in Albany, NY and enjoyed the remains of the Tulip Festival.

The Erie Canal opened for the season so I joined them in Waterford, NY to go through the first 6 locks.

We were all set to go at 9:30am but had to wait over 2 hours for the owner of this boat (and another one) to move their boats so an exiting tow/barge could exit the lock.

It all worked out.  I jumped off at the end of the sixth lock.  Farewell Eleanor!

Back in Altamont our grandson Clark helps out with watering pansies.

Steph drove down for the weekend of May 17-19 so the 3 grandkids got lots of cousin time in, plus we celebrated Steph’s birthday.

Morning fun with Aunt Jessi.  A few days later we flew to Anchorage, Alaska to visit my sister Deb and her friend Jim.  Jim owns rustic cabins he has built and rents out.

Nice beginning to our trip.  We rented a car in Anchorage and drove 3 hours down the Kenai Peninsula to Soldotna.  We saw this moose halfway there.

View of “A Walden Pond” (name of Jim’s place) from our little cabin.  This was about as dark as it got.  Otherwise lots of daylight!

At the end of the road leading to Jim’s place are two resident eagles.  Got a close up of one of them.

Took a scenic 18 mile dirt road off the Sterling Highway, Skilac Road, to check out the amazing scenery.

Another photographer enjoying the scenery. Spent the next day helping Jim and Deb with some of their building projects.

Bob cutting some planks for the Lincoln Cabin siding.

Jim standing inside on the floor in need of flooring.

Deb inside what will be the bathroom.

A group effort, but by the end of the day, the floor was in!

Memorial Day weekend decoration on the tool shed.

Deb in front of our cabin to the right.

View from our cabin, a bull moose across the pond.

Bob and Jim working on the board walk.

Deb’s turn to cut planks. Next up was a trip with Deb to Steward for a 5 hour boat tour of Resurrection Bay.

Hearty sailors.

Saw lots of whales.

Deb the rebel.

Birds, sea lions, loons, harbor seals and mountain goats, oh my!

And glaciers of course.  Great trip!

Next day we drove to Homer to take a float plane tour.  Stopped several times along the way to check out the scenery.

Checked out the marina on the Homer Spit first.

Someone has a sense of humor….

This boat is actually inhabited.

And on to our adventure.  Basically we went up the Kachemak Bay to the west, veered east and then south over glaciers and then circled back over the Homer Spit to the man made lake adjacent to the airport that is a dedicated lake for landing float planes.

And back to the dock.  Amazing trip!

Scenery on the way back to Soldotna.

Visit to Kenai where our brother in law Bob has cousins.  Small world – they live about 15 minutes away from Jim.  They fed us a delicious salmon dinner (that cousin John had caught of course) and then took us to see the sights around Kenai.  This is the mouth of the Kenai River.

Bob with Bernie and John.

A Russian Orthodox Church dating back to the 1870s since being used for services today.

Got up at 4:30am to capture the sunrise – but alas – fog!!!

Saw three moose on our way back from errands on May 30, a mom, son and daughter.

Then they wandered over to Deb and Jim’s place.

The inside complex of boardwalks connecting the cabins.

Sadly we had to depart.  On the drive back to Anchorage we stopped at a game preserve and enjoyed seeing the animals there.

Not to worry, there was fence between us.

The end point of Turnagain Bay.

Farewell Alaska!

So back to Altamont.  Clark really enjoyed his hat from Alaska…

And helping Ga’Bob out with backyard projects (a storm blew over this tree which didn’t hit anything!).

Took a day trip to Concord, Mass (which is ironically where the real Walden Pond is located).  Steph’s grandmother in law passed away last month and a celebration of life was held at the church she and her late husband went to. I took the girls to a local playground during the actual church service since it was going to over an hour long.  We were the best dressed folks at the playground.  Good to see Steph, Byron and Byron’s family even though it was a funeral.  Elinor Malcom was a wonderful lady and it was a pleasure to have known her.

And back to the Bahamas on June 5.  The second, rebuilt exhaust elbow had arrived. The clamps didn’t fit but Bob and our mechanic Andy found a way to make it all work.  Finally – engines running on June 6!!

Fueled up on June 7 before heading out.  There was a ferry boat to Baker’s Bay next to us.  The tall gentleman on board (not a great photo) is Michael Jordan!

June 7:  Spent the night off Lynyard Cay (near Little Harbour where Pete’s Pub is located).  Nice anchorage.  Next up:  Our trip to the Berry Islands about 70 miles away.

It’s been awhile since I last posted – so just a heads up – this is a lengthy posting.  The condensed version is that we noodled around the islands to the north of Marsh Harbour until April 3, then flew to Fort Lauderdale for our niece’s wedding held on April 7.  Bob hand delivered one of the original exhaust elbow parts to DeAngelo Marine in Fort Lauderdale.  Since our boat is so old, replacement parts didn’t exist.  But with the old part, this Marine shop was able to create two new elbows.  We expected to be back in business by April 23. Nope, the delivery process was a week longer than expected and when the mechanic tried to put the new parts in, they were off by 1/4 of an inch.  Doesn’t seem like a big deal but it was like putting a square peg into a round hole.  They simply didn’t fit.  Long story short, we are now awaiting new parts….again…And so it goes….it’s a boat!

 

The grocery store here in Marsh Harbour is about a mile away.  Along the way there are a few patches of trees and bushes that attract hummingbirds.  On one of my walks I saw nearly 2 dozen.  I’m gathering it was a migration phenomenon since I haven’t seen any as of late.

This is one of four boats making multiple trips back and forth to the Baker’s Bay Resort, an exclusive Golf Club and Resort for the rich and famous.

And every once in a while some dolphin pass by.  We’ve also had turtles and rays at our stern.

We spent Easter Weekend in Guana Cay.

Some of the scenery and signage along a back road.

These ladies were definitely in the Easter spirit.  They organized a morning full of activities for the local and visiting kids including an Easter Egg Hunt and sack races.

The owner of the local road side restaurant, Edmund Pindar, came over to show us his lobster haul for the day.

Needless to say, we put in an order for dinner later in the day.

Back to the Orchid Bay Marina, there was a weekly farmer’s market going on.  Nice to get some fresh vegetables!  Local artists also sell their art work and jewelry.

I put out my painted sea biscuits/shells and actually sold quite a few.  The proceeds along the ones that didn’t get sold were later donated to the ECC (Every Child Counts) gift shop.  Most of the items for sale at the gift shop are made by the kids, buy many people contribute items to be sold as well.

March’s Blue Moon as seen from Nipper’s Bar.

Next day we went to Treasure Cay and took another dinghy ride up the nearby creek.  This time we saw a baby hammerhead shark which at first looked like a torpedo.

Then we crossed back over to an anchorage near Baker’s Bay on Guana to meet up with friends Pam and Graham.  The last time we had our two boats together was in 2013.  So great to see them again. We originally met them at our marina in Clayton. We returned to Marsh Harbour since I flew to Fort Lauderdale on April 3.  Bob came along on April 5 after he and our mechanic Andy pulled off the exhaust elbows.

Scenes from nearby nature preserves in Florida.  So many birds were nesting!

Reptiles too!

When we left the reserve it was quite a few hours later and the sun was directly overhead.  All the wood storks were shielding their offspring.

So here are the bird nerds:  my sister Denise, cousin Jeannie and me.  The bride and groom to be joined us for dinner too which was delightful.

The bride to be, our niece Riva and our daughter Stephanie.  The girls had quite a list of errands to run ahead of the rehearsal dinner.

Meanwhile there was beach time for our son-in-law Adam and grandson Clark.

Me and the Groom to be, Tom Frezza.

The mother of the bride, my sister Debbie, flanked by her man friend Jim and best friend from elementary school, Claire.

Discussion between Jeannie and Adam.

No question about lineage!  Riva and her mom, Debbie.

Our daughter Jessi.

Niece Claire and Stephanie.

Wedding Day.  Since the wedding wasn’t until 5pm, there was plenty of pool time for Clark and Gramma.

And walking time with Grandpa.

Our lovely daughters.

The Officiant happily announces Mr. and Mrs. Frezza.

Three sets of cousins and siblings.

The Bride and Groom still looking great at the end of the wedding, seated on the wedding trolley back to the hotel.

Mrs. Frezza at brunch the next day.

And a little more pool time for Riva’s twin sister Rose and Clark.  Many of us hung out at Riva and Tom’s home while awaiting planes and trains to various destinations.  Riva and Tom flew off to their honeymoon in Mexico the next day.

And we returned to Marsh Harbour.  Since our boat was now out of a commission I took some time to explore other areas around the marina.  The above picture is the former castle home of a doctor who practiced in the area in the 50s.

Being retired on a boat that’s  not moving gave me ample time to do some art work and to start writing some novels, something I’ve always wanted to do.  I painted this drift wood plank to represent our journey.  To the left are the 1000 islands, then the rivers/ocean leading to the Bahamas, then the Abaco Islands.  I used coins to represent the 3 countries we passed through and all the states we went by in the river systems. (And all the money we spent along the way!).

And it’s not all pretty.  The leaks in the exhaust elbows made quite a sooty mess in the engine room.  We finally cleaned it up.

And then there are the endless boat jumbies.   For no apparent reason, after our boat had been sitting still for 2 weeks, the ground to the toilet’s flush switch decided to come undone.  A simple fix but difficult to get to.

Confirming that yup – once again, it’s always a bad ground!

Fixed!  (And quite thankful the problem was discovered before a contribution was made to the toilet!!!).

Almost daily, friends started heading north to make the long trek back home to various ports along the Atlantic Inter-Coastal Waterway.  Here we say good bye to Dave and Camilla.

This classic Abaco Dinghy is owned and operated by the captain of a 100+foot Cheoy Lee Motor Yacht in our marina.

And just like the time we were stuck in Charleston for weeks back in 2014, we’ve begun to name the sea gulls.  Frank and Lola are visiting today.

We’ve had lots of wind and storms blow through the month of April.  Off in the distance is a water spout.  Fortunately it fizzled!

On my way to the grocery store I noticed one of the few stop signs had been run over and then hung back up.

On closer inspection it turns out that a very ragged electrical line was used to hang it up.  And it remains in this state a week later.

More friends leaving for their journey north, Robert and Corrine aboard Happy Heart. Gloomy start but the sun came out about an hour later.

April’s full moon makes a nice mast head light.

And back drop for a sea gull.

On April 29 we took a ferry over to Guana Cay and were met by Quinn Sale.  I had made arrangements for her to make a necklace out of some sea glass I found and it was finally ready.  She took us on a great golf cart tour of the island and then had us over to her beautiful house her husband built.

Heading north as far as we can go before being confronted by the guarded gate for Baker’s Bay Resort.

When the resort bought more property on the island they were obligated to build a public beach access.

The basketball court they built has a twelve inch concrete slab which doubles as a helicopter landing pad.

Scenes of the beach looking west, north and south.

And then opposite, we took a small road leading to the ocean side.  Interesting bench addition!

Hurricane damaged ocean side homes. Still not repaired after a decade or so.

A new spin on lawn ornaments.

Quinn dropped us off at Grabber’s Beach Bar.  We noticed a mega yacht in the nearby anchorage.

Heading back on the ferry.

Back at the marina, the Sport Fisher owner next door to us let me climb up his tuna tower.  And then he gave us enough Mahi Mahi that he caught that day to feed four people!

Great views of the full moon from atop the tower.

Bob looking up.

And so here are the infamous exhaust elbows that don’t fit.  It’s been quite an adventure in learning patience as we await the new ones.

And happy 4th birthday to our little Sophie (photo courtesy of Stephanie) on May 3!

 

 

 

 

 

After St. Patrick’s Day we anchored out for 2 nights to do some dinghy exploration as well as a visit to Pete’s Pub in Little Harbour.  The first chart below shows all the tracks of our recent outings with guests and then on our own.  We are currently docked in Marsh Harbour  (MH) – center of chart where all the green triangles are piled up on our boat’s red icon.  It’s approximately 40 miles from Treasure Cay (NW  upper most track) to Pete’s Pub (Southern most track).   We came back into MH for three days of wind and rain, then went out again to the Bight of Robinson, Sandy Cay and Snake Cay for more dinghy exploration.  In the next two charts you can see lots of little dots along the eastern shores where there are plenty of uninhabited sandy beaches and mangrove channels.

 

March 18 – Our back yard when anchored out at Snake Cay.

Found a beach littered with discarded conch shells.  This is pretty typical.

Found a cluster of sea stars – one for each of our grandchildren.

Mega morning.  Mega yacht Short Game (100+feet) makes a nice backdrop for the sunrise.

Bob checking out a conch for conch horn potential.

Islandia is a long way off across the turquoise Bight of Old Robinson.

Took a mooring in Little Harbour to visit Pete’s Pub.

Pete’s Pub is known for its open air restaurant and personalized hanging teeshirts.  We found one to commemorate our niece Lindsay’s upcoming birthday.  Happy 25th to Lindsay in advance!!

Further south of the restaurant is this beach that goes on for miles.  I found several pieces of sea glass here.

Heading back north to Snake Cay one travels by this welcoming home and tower on Channel Cay.  It has an outstanding view of the ocean to the east and the Sea of Abaco to the west. Would love to be in that tower on a Full Moon rise night.

Sunset off Snake Cay.

March 23:  Back to the other shoreline of the Bight of Old Robinson.  Bob enjoyed reading while I went beach combing.

Then we went out looking for blue holes.  You can see the abrupt change in color.  It’s not very wide, but at one point our depth sounder read 60 feet.  It is said that there are underwater tunnels way down deep that connect with the ocean.

Bob looking back at the blue hole while I looked for a plaque.

Sad plaque – unfortunately 3 young men lost their lives in the tunnels here.  I’m happy to just look at the blue holes from the dinghy.

Took advantage of the flat seas to explore more beaches.

Low tide scenes.

Next day we explored some of the channels through the Mangroves near Cormorant Cay.

We saw dozens of turtles and one small shark.

March 26:  Calmest morning yet.  We are anchored in 10 feet of water but it looks like only one foot.

Out on the paddle board I discovered a grouping of coral heads with 4 turtles on it.

This turtle actually came over to me, maybe he thought the paddle board was an exotic turtle?

And off they go – they swim really fast.  Aesop’s fable would have been quite different if the hare and the tortoise were in the water.

Sting ray dead ahead!

Turns out to be a pretty big spotted eagle ray.

Reaching for the stars.

In two feet of water – you have to be careful where you paddle so you don’t disturb the sleeping rays.

Headed back to MH after lunch to get ahead of the next cold front.  Within hours it went from no wind, hot and sunny to gusts of over 30 knots and nasty skies.  Noticed this boat in the harbor.  Fun name.  Can’t identify the flag country (second boat we’ve seen with the earth from space on it). Maybe it’s just a universal flag?

At just about sunset we were surprised to see a pelican!  No big deal to see pelicans in the US, especially Florida, but we’ve never seen a pelican in MH.

This sea gull landed on its head when it was scooping up some fish.

But the seagull quickly flew off when the pelican tried to scoop him up.  We will be dockside for a few days waiting out the weather, then back out for more exploration.  Next up – first week April flying to Fort Lauderdale for our niece Riva’s wedding.

 

Feb 25-26:  After Steph and family left on the 24th, we stayed at the marina and prepped the boat for leaving it for a week to fly home to Altamont, NY.

Feb. 27 – Left mid morning,  nice view of Shell Island and the northern part of Great Guana Cay.

Good view of Treasure Cay Beach and also Gun Smoke Creek.

Landing briefly at Fort Lauderdale before continuing  north.

So great to see our grandson Clark!

Jess and Clark listening to Anna (friend of Jess) play songs for Clark.

The next maestro?

 

Of course, no trip to upstate NY would be complete without a nor’easter.  I set out the ruler during the storm – 14 inches by the end!  Had to dress up the snow with a cheerful bouquet.

Got a chance to visit family in Rome, went to a bunch of MD/DDS appointments, filed our taxes and then enjoyed dinner with Margie and Bob Miller.  Bonus for the evening was Margie giving Bob a haircut.  Thanks Margie!

Also had a chance to meet family friend Lindsay’s new baby.  Welcome Alexandra Marie!!

We flew back on March 7, in time for yet another Nor’easter.  This one delayed us in Washington, DC for over 12 hours so we had to overnight in Fort Lauderdale.

March 8:  Made it back to the marina a day ahead of our next round of company.

Niece Lindsay (right) and friend Rachel (left) visited us in the Bahamas in 2014.  So happy to have them back again.

Gearing up for lunch at “On Da Beach” restaurant.

Getting in some well deserved relaxation time.

We did have some stormy weather – but that was no problem.

The sun came back out soon enough.  Here’s Lindsay trying to sound off a conch horn.

No golf cart rentals!  Had to wait for the courtesy cart to take us into Hope Town.

As promised, the new Lizard House has been restored in Hope Town.

The 4 of us posing by the mileage sign we made for Rome, NY.  One of our many common bonds is that all 4 of us graduated from the same  high school in Rome.

Two must do things in Hope Town, sit in the white chair at the end of the pathway, and pose in front of the Lighthouse.

Rachel showing off “her” boat.

New hat selfie.

Crazy waves at the Nipper’s Bar Beach.

Back at the marina the Nurse Sharks appeared after a fisherman finished cleaning a rather big fish.

And then a squid/cuttlefish? came by.

Sunsets are truly remarkable at the Sunsetter Bar at Orchid Bay Marina.

Finally the seas were calm enough to anchor off Shell Island.  We gathered a million shells and then the girls had a chance to enjoy their flamingo floats.

Lindsay sporting the beach towel Rachel gave her for Christmas.  Besides her name on the towel, at the bottom it says Bahamas 2018.  Nice gift!

Heading back to the marina we put a message in a bottle:  If found – send beer!

We actually launched two of them.

March 15:  Back at Marsh Harbour, our last sunset with the girls who left on the 16th.  We were trying to create a green flash.

St. Patrick’s Day Cruiser’s Parade.  This has become a growing, annual event.  It’s billed as the World’s Shortest Parade.  It goes about 3 blocks with several stops in front of the local liquor store and restaurants for free shots.  This guy did an Irish Jig for the entire parade.

Phyllis, marina owner’s mother – directing traffic.

Various patrons and parade participants. And then there was another parade of the contestants for Miss Abaco:

One of them will be selected to go to Nassau to compete for Miss Bahamas.

And then back to Snappas for some green and not green beer. Hope everyone had a nice St. Patrick’s Day.  I’ll being doing another posting for March 18-26, probably tomorrow!

 

During the school vacation week we hosted our daughter Steph, son-in-law Byron and granddaughters Josie (6) and Sophie (3) from Bowdoin, Maine.

Feb. 18:  Quiet time in the morning coloring sea creatures to let her parents sleep in.

First adventure was to anchor in Tiloo Pond for a contrived treasure hunt that Bob and I set up the week before.  A “pirate” ship conveniently anchored a short distance away.

While looking for turtles (which they found) Byron and Josie discovered a bottle with a message in it.

Josie studying the treasure map found inside the bottle.

Off to find the buried treasure…

Josie followed the instructions and dug up the booty under roots that formed an “X.”

A small treasure of coins!

Feb. 19:  At lunch at Cap’n Jack’s in Hope Town.

Up from a fun walk on the ocean side beach.

Busy bee.

Bob contemplates working at the local clinic.

Off to Tahiti Beach for the late afternoon.  Decisions, decisions…

Extreme low tide allowed for long walks in ankle deep water.

Feb. 20:  Another trip into Hope Town via golf cart.  We stopped to post a mileage sign.

Only 1,271 miles to Bowdoin, Maine.

On the Ferry Dock.

And then an ice cream stop on the way back to the marina before departing for Guana Cay.

In the pool at colorful Nippers.

With even more fun on the ocean side beach.

Feb. 21:  Heading in to Treasure Cay.

Sophie at the Coco Beach restaurant.

Josie and Sophie posing at the photo op sign.

Endless fun on the endless beach.

Steph and me.

Looking at the beach from a different point of view!

And more fun.

Feb. 22:  Mural on the way to the ladies room.

Lots of eagle rays in the creek near the marina.

Our first rainy afternoon.  No problem, the kids went swimming anyway while Steph and Byron watched them from the conveniently located adjacent pool bar.

The sun came back out, so back to the beach they went.

Rainbow shots.

Beach signage by Josie, Steph and me.

Sea star discovery.

Josie releasing the sea star back to the sea.

One more search for sea creatures.

Feb. 23:  Back to Marsh Harbour.  Took the kids over to Mermaid Beach.

Sophie busied herself collecting coconuts.

Sounding the conch horn at sunset on the last night with the kids.

Feb. 24:  Packing up.

The girls at the helm.

Waiting for the cab….

And away they go!  The week went by too fast!!! Next up:  Bob and I travel home to Altamont for a week to catch up on visiting our daughter Jess and family, doctors appointments and taxes – oh my!

Feb. 8:  Headed over to Elbow Cay and anchored in Lighthouse Bay.  Great anchorage except for the parade of small boats passing by.  Fortunately after sunset the wakes subside.

Feb. 10:  Anchored opposite Tiloo Pond.  Found a path over to the ocean side.  Ouch!  Nasty coral with no real beach.  The white blotches are parts of a boat that must have broken up off this coast years ago.

Plovers taking refuge inside Tiloo Pond.

Also in the pond – what is very typical here, unfinished docks leading to nowhere.

Feb. 11:  Sunset off Guana Cay.  Looks like the sun is winking at us as it sets.

Feb. 12:  Anchored off Shell Cay which is actually a “Spoil” Island – created when a channel was dredged for the freighters.

And indeed – lots of teeny tiny shells! I had the good fortune to walk completely around the island without seeing one other person – or footsteps for that matter:

At the conclusion of the walk I then had to wade out quite a bit (low tide) so Bob could retrieve me in the dinghy.

Today’s bounty.

Feb. 13:  Back in port to have some engine work done (problems with our inverter and generator).  The mechanic’s son (Liam) was quite charming. (Problems mainly solved BTW).

Feb. 14:  Early morning at the marina.

Briefly explored this small island on our way over to Treasure Cay.

Via dinghy we saw this eagle ray.

Scenes of Treasure Cay beach.

Feb. 15:  Had lunch at Coco’s Bar on Treasure Cay beach.  Noticed this high school class room having their art class and lunch.  Sign me up!

One of the students let me take a picture of her and her art work in progress.  Sadly we began to learn of the details of the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School.  Seems so surreal that something so horrific could be happening so close to us.

Back to the boat we found these minnows on our swim platform.  This represents the most and largest fish we have ever caught.

Leaving Treasure Cay at low tide is not always a great idea since the shoal comes out into the channel.

Anchored off Man-O-War Cay with a mega yacht (Entourage).

Feb. 16:  Mega Yachts Endurance and Allessandra in our front yard in the morning.

Palm trees in our backyard – which was supposed to be our front yard.  Weather prediction was east which made anchoring off M-O-W Cay a good bet.  But of course we awoke to west winds putting us on a lee shore.  Fortunately the winds were minimal.

Back at our marina I finished up an art project of making turtles for our granddaughters who will arrive tomorrow.  The seed pods were given to me by Riva’s fiancee Tom.  These pods traveled all the way from the Amazon and wind up along the coast line of Fort Lauderdale.  All I had to do was add some pepper seed and sea glass for eyes. Can’t wait for the Malcom family to arrive!

Jan 30:  My sister Deb and her friend Jim arrived on Jan 30.  After we had some hull work finished up we took off for Guana Cay and landed at the Orchid Bay Marina on Jan 31.  Very colorful marina.

Sunrise on Feb 1.

Kestrel in the palm tree.

Kitty pool.

Showed Deb and Jim around Guana Cay.  First stop:  Grabber’s Bed, Bar and Grille.

Next up the very colorful Nipper’s Bar.

Deb and I walking along the beach from Nipper’s, heading north. (Photo credit:  Jim Oltersdorf).

Deb and Jim and various beach scenes before returning to Nipper’s.

Interesting way for the dog to look out from his porch.

Back to Orchid Bay for lunch.

After lunch we traveled to Treasure Cay, known for its powdery white sand.  Word of the Day:  Happy!

End of the day beach scene.

Feb. 2:  Ground hogs day.  Prediction – great weather, no snow in sight!

Took the dinghy out of the channel leading in to Treasure Cay to explore Gun Smoke Creek.  No guns, just mangroves, turtles and sting rays (friends of ours also saw two baby hammerhead sharks!).

 

Small wreck just outside the creek.

On the road again, this time heading over to a small rock called Minos Rock.

Deb and Jim looked for lobster, only saw one which escaped becoming dinner.  They did enjoy a brief snorkel and saw a few varieties of the local fish.

Moved on to Elbow Cay.  Took a slip at Sea Spray marina for the next 3 nights.  Went into Hope Town to show them all the quaint houses and walkways.

Infinity boardwalk overlooking the Atlantic.

Not sure if these shells (?) were dead or alive.  They were pretty well stuck to the coral.  Trilobites?

Intense north winds lashing at the Abaco Inn.

This hermit crab…..

has a long way to go!!!

Feb. 4:  Superbowl Sunday.  We had the good fortune of Jim talking a shuttle driver into talking the light house keeper into opening up the door to the iconic Lighthouse overlooking Hopetown.  (It’s normally closed on Sunday).  Later we watched the Superbowl at the Sea Spray Marina.  Cool place – they gave out shots every time there was a touch down.

Looking down at the Sunday afternoon Sunfish races.

Back down the 108 steps of the lighthouse and headed over to Hope Town Marina.

On the way back we met a very passionate flower child Giselle.

One more walk around Hope Town.

Feb. 5:  Went into Man-O-War Cay, storm clouds looming.

The entry is barely wide enough for one boat.  Got to the dock before a rain squall hit.  Fortunately the rain squalls are generally short lived and we enjoyed a sunny afternoon exploring the town.

Checking out a fixer-upper.

Someone has quite the imagination for what to do with beach debris.  There were several more “creatures” around the property.

Almost every side street leads to the ocean.

A fairly unique hermit crab nicely posing on a white wall.

Nice to see emerald green hummingbirds.

Tiny curly tail.

And a bananaquit.

Bob and I looking at a type of bench called a “Gabby” bench.  Lots of them around the town of Man-O-War.

Feb. 6.  Brief stop at Matt Lowe Cay and then went back into Marsh Harbour for Deb and Jim’s last night.

Feb. 7:  Bob and Jim repaired the transducer on the dinghy (it had fallen off during our crossing over to the Bahamas).  Jim was a big help – thanks!!!

Deb and Jim departed early afternoon on the 7th.  Can’t believe how fast the week went.  After they left we did the usual housekeeping chores and reprovisioned.  Now we are just floating around the Sea of Abaco until Steph/Byron and our granddaughters arrive on Feb. 17th.  Can’t wait!

 

After a few days tied to the dock in Marsh Harbour we took advantage of a nice weather window of calmer seas.  Headed to one of our favorite beaches – Tahiti Beach.

Caught Bob in the middle of a cough, but I liked the clear water as he approached the beach.

I landed on the beach via paddle board.

On the way to the Tiloo Cay anchorage we went by the Barcelona Adventure.  This boat is available for charter.  Its beautiful exterior is mahogany.

The iconic castle house.

After anchoring I went ashore and immediately saw 3 or 4 hummingbirds.  Went back to the boat to get my feeder in the hopes of attracting them to get some photos. Set it up but no luck, at least a bananaquit showed up.

Next anchorage was Aunt Pat’s Bay between Elbow Cay and Lubbers Quarters Cay.  So fantastic to have a morning of no wind! This is a picture of our anchor chain leading to a buried anchor.

This conch was happily cruising along the side of our boat.

Perfect paddle board weather.

Although I did get caught in a random rain squall which only lasted a few minutes.  Bonus was a rainbow off in the distance.  Later we dinghied over to Cracker P’s bar and restaurant for lunch, then headed back to the marina to be ahead of a nasty cold front coming in.

Awakened to howling winds (30+knots) and periodic rain squalls.  But, double rainbows always brighten things up. Strong winds continued for 3 days.

1/28/18:  Winds calmed down a bit but not before a house fire in nearby Muddville (a Haitian Village) spread to several other houses.  No one was injured thankfully but I’m still gathering details as to the extent of the damage.

Rented a car with fellow boaters Frank and Cathy aboard Destiny.  Drove south to Little Harbour, home of Pete’s Pub.  As we approach the Super Blue Blood Moon, the tides are getting extremely low.

Bob and Frank ordering some lunch.

We have left tee-shirts and drawings here in the past but they disappear.  Hopefully this one will last for awhile.

Walking from the Pub over to the beach via one of Pete’s bronze sculptures.

Unrelenting winds and seas abound.

Closer in to shore it was calm enough for this butterfly to land.

We attempted to find a beach known for sea glass but the roads fizzled to impassable, had to turn around.

Drove on to Cherokee Village which has the longest dock in the Bahamas at 770 feet long.

Looks like you could walk right to the horizon.

Pictures of me taken by Cathy Marco.

And here’s the picture I was taking.

Stopped at the nearby Shell Museum.  The curator amused us with interesting stories.

I’m normally not a fan of shell art, but this shell bouquet was pretty cool.

Next we checked out Schooner Bay, touted to be an incredible community of high end houses, shops, restaurants and marina…..

Well, there were a few houses and there was a dock…

and a restaurant which served drinks but no food (although when I asked if there was at least some chips, the waitress whipped up an incredibly good salsa to go along with some nacho chips).

1/29/18:  Back at the marina – another low tide.  All the sailboats are aground.

My new friend George.  He has a conch salad stand right next to our marina.  Every 2 to 3 days when he has collected enough conch, he comes in and makes fresh conch salad.  We’ve become loyal customers! Next up – my sister Deb and friend Jim fly in tomorrow for a week long visit.  Can’t wait!