Left click on the pictures to make them larger.

Comments or laughs, email us              

February 28^th, 2008  Boy does time fly.  We left Long Island and headed to Conception Island.    We thought it would be a wonderful day for a sail, but as soon as we rounded Cape Santa Maria, the ocean swells started rolling us from one side to the other. Neither cat was happy. Conception is part of the Bahamas National Parks and is considered a land park unlike the park at the Exumas which is a land and sea park.  The island is deserted and a little out of the way so it was to great surprise when we got there and found18 other boats at the anchorage.  We thought we'd have the place to ourselves. The water is wonderful and the beaches are white as can be with no litter on them.    One boat made a radio announcement for an evening bonfire.  We were horrified.  The Island is a land park and protected, fires are not allowed.  Signs are on the beach.  We are guests in this country and try not break any laws.  We got away from that crowd the next day.  We both remembered reading about how one of the Galapagos Islands was permanently changed when crew from a whaling boat set a campfire and the whole island went up in flames.

Our next stop was Cat Island.  The two felines on-board insisted that we go.  This truly was a wonderful sail.

NAVIGATION HINTS:  During part of the trip we sailed through an area of coral heads.  The cruising guides constantly mention that some areas you have to read the water and have the sun overhead or at your back.  The first picture is one of a coral head with the sun in the right direction.    The dark area is the coral head.  Some of the heads lay just under the water surface and could hurt a boat.  In fact we heard about one cruising boat that hit a reef this season and sank in the northern Bahamas.  OK, back to reading the water.  This next picture was taken seconds later looking back into the sun.    No coral head to be seen - but you know it is there.  Part of the trip planning includes arriving in these areas with the right sun angle.

We got into Cat Island and the old cat was as happy as can be.    She came up to the cockpit, purred and studied the chart of the Island. The island was once a agricultural center.  Farming was started by the Loyalists and the ruins from their plantations are all over the island.    Descendants from these families still live on the island.

The "Hermitage" is a must see.  Built by Father Jerome as a retirement home, it sits atop the highest hill in the Bahamas (206 feet).  He laid every stone by hand and built it as a scaled down version of St. Francis of Assisi Monastery in Italy.  He lived in it after completion until his death 4 years later.    Father Jerome is buried at the Hermitage in an area by its front door.    The entrance to his tomb is a little deceiving.  We found out later that the actual burial site is behind the sealed wall in the back of the tomb and that a cross carved in a walkway stone that we had seen marks the actual site of his body.  He was laid with his feet facing the east.

 February 18^th, 2008  We have been in Long Island for about a week now.  We bypassed Georgetown.  From everything we've heard, it just doesn't appeal to us. Elizabeth Harbor has about 300 cruising boats anchored in it now, with more coming still. We were told that it can hold about one thousand boats, if push comes to shove.  BUT, the town is small (see previous log) and there is nothing to do.  Across the harbor, along Stocking Island, the cruisers have beach bonfires, basket-making, shell identification or what have you (its the social thing).  We are just not into a steady diet of that.  We want to see the islands and meet the people who live here.  So we left Emerald Bay and cruised directly to Long Island. We did listen to the 08:00 Georgetown cruisers net as we sailed by and laughed a bit at all the announcements and organizing. We apologize if we've offended anyone, but we just aren't in to that.

We are into Long Island - lovely place. We are anchored in Thompson Bay near a village called Salt Pond.  We met up with our very good friends and cruising buddies, Jay and Diana on Far Niente.    When we first got here, there were about 40 boats in the harbor; we now have about 10.  The harbor reminds me of Cape Cod with its sweeping and arching shores that protect us from east, south, west and north winds.  The only area that we are not protected is from southwest winds (rare and if at all, short lived).  Jay and Di had a rented car and invited us for a tour of the northern end of the Island.  Since they had to get the car back by 11:00 am, it was a quick tour up the Queens Highway to the Columbus Monument on the North end of the Island.        Wonderful view as we walked down the trail to the car.  Oh, the car was rented but IF you had your own car to drive up to the monument,  it should be a 4 wheeler.  As we where coming in we passed a van coming out, as we left we met them again, changing a tire.  Nancy loved the sign on the windshield of the rental car - a reminder to drive on the LEFT side of the road.     Jay was driving.  I think I could do ok until we came to a round-about.  That would mean death to us all.  Jay has been driving here all the time and now wonders what will happen when he gets back to the states.

One evening, we where invited to Far Niente along with the crew of "Strathspey" (Mary and Blair).    We first met them on the Intracoastal Waterway just past mile marker one. Blair is the one that played the bag pipes on New Years Eve at Exuma Park.  We are really enjoying running into them at one harbor after another.  Great couple.

I took a picture of the perfect anchor set.  Not to brag but one that showed up on the GPS without current.  Number 1, drop the anchor.  Number 2, drift back to a scope of 7:1 or 10:1 (storm).  Number 3, set the anchor.  Number 4,  swing with the wind.   

Another day we rented a car with Jay and Di and toured the southern end of the Island.  I swear that this place has a church for every resident but one of the most picturesque was a Catholic Church at Clarence Town. It was built by Father Jerome in the early part of last century.   

Along the way we stopped at one of the Blue Holes on the Island.  This one is 663 feet deep and of course Nancy had to swim in it.  In about two steps the water goes from 1 foot to 663 feet.      Just think of the monsters that live in that deep hole.

The flowers here are different than those in Maryland,  Oklahoma, or Texas (Baja Oklahoma)    

The west shore is like the swells and waves of the north shore of Hawaii. 

Valentines day is a special day on the Islands.  It is a big deal for them.  So we got in on the celebration and reserved dinner at a local bar/restaurant.      It was the best meal I have had in this world.  I mean that.  For those that don't know, Nancy and I have traveled a lot, from South America, Central America, South Pacific, Europe, southeast Asia and this was the best meal I have ever had (OK, the Peking duck in Beijing was good).  The meal started with a platter of potato salad, coleslaw, tossed salad, then Baby Back ribs, then baked chicken, then pork chops, then crab claws and legs the size of Alaska King Crab along with plantains and rice.     Nancy is holding one of the crab claws.   After all of that, dessert was, Strawberry Ice-cream,  3 layer white cake with pineapple rings and strawberries.   We rolled back to the dinghy.

FROM THE FRAGMENTS OF MY MIND:

This is a British Commonwealth,  yet I saw a sign that celebrated the 4th of July.

They drive on the left side of the road with left hand steering in most of the vehicles.

They go to Florida to shop.  56% of every dollar spent here goes back to the states.

There is no income tax.

The temperature is in the low 80's all the time.

A cold front means that the temperature may drop 4 degrees. The locals are wearing winter clothes.

We have never turned on our air conditioner. 

We are sitting at anchor, watching fireworks on shore and listening to "Freedom is just another word ..............".  Barbra Streisand just sang "Somewhere"  "take my hand and I will lead you there....".  Different word meanings while cruising.

February 9^th, 2008 We have moved a little further south.  We are at the "Marina at Emerald Bay".  It is probably the best marina in the Bahamas.  Free wi-fi, free laundry in commercial sized machines, free shuttle to the shopping center and a shower supplied with all the soap, conditioner, lotion, shaving cream, mouth wash, hair dryer, cotton balls - everything that you would find in a 5 star hotel.  The marina is part of a resort development along with 4 Seasons Hotel.  There is a golf course with lots available for mansion building.  We are on a dock that goes with a lot next to us.  Its for sale if you want it.    Yes, you too could build your dream home here and have your boat in front of it.

Getting here.  We left Little Farmers Cay (pronounced "key") and went out through the cut into the Exuma Sound.  The cuts can be a little dangerous to run but we picked a slack current and calm winds and went through with no problem.  (It's that planning thing)  We had heard other boats that went through the cut without planning and called back on the radio saying "don't come out on the sound,  the whole crew is sea sick!!!!"  We had 3 to 4 foot ocean swells on the nose and a wind that kept varying  because of rain squalls in the area.  We had a perfect day for the trip although we motored the whole distance because of the winds.  As we approached the entrance to the marina, we saw Mahi Mahi jumping in front of the boat.  My fishing pole was not out.  We first went to the fuel dock and put in 88 gallons of diesel and 2.8 gallons of dinghy fuel.  That 88 gals was used in about 7 weeks time since we left Nassau.  We carry about 180 gallons of fuel, so we had a lot left.  I like that.  We then went to our slip.  Price of fuel here is not cheap.  Diesel is $4.56/gal. and gas is $5.21.  The fuel is brought in by a little delivery ship and it is not a regular delivery.  We know of two marinas on the island that do not have any fuel.  One time the ship was here but would not deliver because of the weather.

The first thing that Nancy did when we got here was get the shuttle to the stores and bank.  She got some cash, fresh vegetables, and rum.  Now we were set for the night.  At 5:30 pm the cruisers from the marina got together for tale swapping and food nibbling.   

Today we did some laundry in the big machines.  That allowed us to wash our rugs and big towels (along with our regular clothes) without having to do so many loads on our boat and save having to make the extra water and run the generator.  We also went back to the shopping center and did some more provisioning.  We took our time going through the store and got some interesting things.  One THING is that root that cooks up like a potato.  Nancy likes it.  We also went to the beach (about 200 feet from the slips across from us) and got caught in the afternoon rain.    Those houses in the back ground are built or being built on the resort golf course.  We then did one more load of laundry and saw a double rainbow arching across the sky, ending at the entrance to the marina.  What a way to cap off a wonderful day.

February 4^th, 2008  We can't believe that it's February already. Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad Aadland and Happy Birthday to Nancy's son, Jon and her brother, Robert. We will be leaving Little Farmers Cay in a few days.  We are waiting for the winds to decrease and the seas to settle.  We will be going to Georgetown on Great Exuma Island.  After a couple of days there we will be going down to Long Island.  After a couple of weeks there we will be headed back north.  Where you ask.  Well, we don't know yet.  We are retired.

The time spent here has been relaxing and interesting.  We have been helping Ocean Cabin get ready for the festival - with Nancy working in the kitchen and bar.  For two days, Nancy peeled sheep's tongue for a soup (souse) that is very popular with the natives.  One night the owners invited us to eat with them and have the sheep's tongue.  Nancy ate it and I had chicken.  Another day we went to Barraterre on the north end of Great Exuma and then rented a car to drive to Georgetown.  The rental cars here are not the best and the first car given to us had a flat tire.  The one we ended up with had a clothes hangar for a radio antenna.  It didn't make any difference since the radio didn't work anyway. Georgetown is the biggest town in the Exuma Islands (which isn't saying much) - basically it is one main street with a handful of little stores.    We picked up our mail, got some cash at an ATM, went to the liquor store and got some food from Exuma Markets (called the best store around).  Its the blue building. 

Back to the 5 F (Farmers Cay First Friday in February Festival).  We had a group of volunteer workers from the cruising boats in harbor who helped out on different activities.  Here's the group at Ocean Cabin.    Joe and I worked on the wet T-shirt contest.    Joe is from the Annapolis area and is a good friend of Steve and Mary Jane from our dock at Herrington Harbour North.  After first meeting Joe here and putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Nancy remembered that we had previously met Joe at Steve's retirement party.  Small world.

The activities started out with a children's treasure hunt.  The local school has less than 10 children enrolled in it and they also joined in.    Each team was given clues and a treasure map - and the games began.  Prizes included candy, school supplies, and the real treat - Ice Cream!  We also had a men's best leg and best bum contest.    The kids went running the other way after this display.  One teen-ager said that he never wanted to get old.  We also had scavenger hunts for the old folks and a egg tossing contest and some more I can't remember.

While we were getting ready for the festival we also has some leisure time.  I helped Khadija with a puzzle.    Nancy was still working in the kitchen learning how to cook Bahamian style.  The Island does not have a police presence here so for the festival the Exuma Police Administrator brought in a contingent to make sure things didn't get to carried away.    Besides the cruisers that came here, people from all over the Islands came to celebrate.  The mail boat was charted by a group from Nassau - others fly in and several locals came via their own boats.  The Mail Boat has 34 cabins in it so those coming in also had a place to stay.  There are no Motels here although there are some beds to rent for $10.00 a night.  Others brought tents or stayed with friends and relatives. The major events for the locals were the Sailboat races, and eating, drinking and dancing until dawn.

BOATING INFORMATION:  We met quite a few couples who had run out of money.  They had been told at the Seven Seas Cruising Association meetings that there were ATM's all around the Bahamas so they didn't bring that much cash.  If you are going to small Islands, don't plan on ATM's.  Most places do not accept credit cards.  Nassau and Georgetown have ATM's but all the places in-between do not.

Back to the story.

Nancy and Denzel drummed up a storm.    Denzel also took us across the harbor to Great Guana Cay to do some cave exploring.  He took us to a cave where we descended 90 feet to a huge cavern that had a salt water pond in it.  Nancy and Denzel went swimming while I stayed dry and pointed the flashlight for them.  The cave is called Oven Rock and I guess there is a map of it on the internet if you are interested.  Just google.

From the attic of my mind.  Just found this picture of our anchorage of a few weeks ago and just thought it looked nice.    Solitaire is in the front middle. Unlike our experiences in the Berry Islands - we are finding good holding ground and easy anchorages in the Exumas.

Cruising kids.  We have met so many young couples that are cruising with their kids.  All are being home schooled.  Most of the families have just put their land bound lives on hold for a year or two and want to build family relationships and have the kids broaden their experiences.  I am amazed at one couple with the cutest little girls.    He is from Denmark and she is from Morocco.  They are taking about a year and a half off from their work, which is clearing land mines around the world.

Another interesting couple we met where Monty and Sara Lewis. The are the owners of the Explorer Chartbooks.  Their charts are the ones to use in the Bahamas.  Behind the festival horn player, they can be seen.  We have the Map Tech chart books (never used),  the Raymarine Platinum Bahamas chart (used a little),  the Garmin electronic chart (not used for navigation, way too many errors) and the Explorer Charts (always used and completely accurate).  We thanked Monty and Sara for their charts.