Bahamas 2018 and Home

Alas, the windlass motor fix did not last more than a few times. It stuck on one time and never worked after that. Yes, we're done trying to fix it. Darrell is getting in shape by hoisting the anchor!

We left George Town after a nice visit with Celtic Rover (a boat couple we have been friends with since our Caribbean cruising days in 2012-14). We were on a mission to get back to Farmers Cay by their 5F festival and we made it. About 100 cruising vessels descended on this island paradise. The regatta was well worth getting back for - lots of pictures and video on my Facebook page. 

Darrell made a visit to a couple of lobster spots before we left and was rewarded with at least two nice meals!  It was hard to leave such a lovely island and her warm welcoming people. 

Since we promised folks in Key Largo that we would come back and work by March 1, it was time to begin the journey towards the keys. We stopped at Black Point just a few miles north of Farmers for a couple of days. After that, we decided to sail on by Exuma Land and Sea Park because there is no cellular service there. Next stop Norman Cay!  

We knew that a couple of folks on S/V Ragnarok were at Norman Cay. We had met CJ and Erik in Key Largo in our anchorage at Tarpon Basin. They are on their first trip to the Bahamas and we wanted to hear about their trip so far. Darrell took them fishing one morning (turned into Day) and got to enlighten them on how to catch and clean lobster, lion fish, and conch. It was a bountiful catch!!  Erik caught one of the biggest lobsters we've ever been around. 

We're a little jealous that they are starting off on a journey similar to our Caribbean cruise!  We enjoyed our time with them and will live vicariously through their travels. But alas, we still have a deadline of March 1 to be back in Key Largo and supplies on board are starting to dwindle. 

Next stop Nassau. We had a lovely beam reach for just over 1/2 day sail to make the harbor. The bonus is that we stay at a marina so there is no anchoring!! Yay!  So, it is the 11 th of February and we are in a pickle -- do we use the good weather window that we have for making tracks back to FL or do we make plans and buy stuff to get us through another couple of weeks. The good news is that through this last portion of the travels, Darrell's mom was hospitalized and released. She is fine now but there has been a constant worry that one or both of us might need to make a trip back to Amarillo. Hence worries over always having cell coverage.....

On the return trip, we stopped again at Morgan's Bluff. These people are good competition for my favorite place in the Bahamas!  We had a great 7 hour sail in "robust" seas. 

We had a local giving us a sales pitch for coming back for their regatta in July. It is VERY tempting!!  Prices are reasonable here and the people are lovely!!  

So.....with an excellent wind and weather prediction for westbound travel we left. Starting out, we had lighter winds than expected. We turned onto the banks with the wind to our stern and began making good way towards Florida. We reached the edge of the Great Bahama Banks about 10PM. Within 24 hours, we were at the entrance of Angelfish Creek. We anchored by Pumpkin Cay near Ocean Reef for a couple hours of sleep before continuing the last 17 miles to Tarpon Basin. Ahhhh, home at last!

Southern Bahamas 2018

I never thought there would come a day that I would be glad for Darrell's stubbornness!  Yes, he can be bull headed!!  I guess that we are together today, after more than 20 years because he wouldn't give up. 

Well folks, he didn't give up on our windlass motor. We were told about 7+ years ago that it probably couldn't be rebuilt any more. We have experienced intermittent problems with it but could usually get the thing working. It recently quit in the remote islands of the Bahamas where replacement or rebuilding it was highly unlikely. He decided that it couldn't get more broke than it already was (thanks Captain Al for giving us courage and wisdom in this realm) so he tore it apart. After several attempts to find a replacement here in George Town, Exuma, he decided to try and repair it. My cockpit became a workroom and my lovely varnished teak table became a workbench. The guts of something similar to a starter motor were strewn about and Darrell finally used line off an old scuba dive reel to slip half hitches along the lengths of bare copper wires inside the motor. We painted the rusty outside and added material for an end cap where it was rusted through. The motor now has a permanent umbrella and the exterior parts will have a sunbrella (type of waterproof fabric) cover to try and keep everything dry!

A few days of mess and lots of head scratching and we have a temporary fix in place to get us home where we can order a new motor for it. For those who don't know what an important piece of equipment a windlass is, consider the following. A 44 pound anchor on the bottom of the sea bed (buried in sand) attached to 5/16" chain - usually say about 75 to 100ft of scope out. Every time we change locations, this comes back on board and goes back out. Yes, we are both capable of lifting and pulling all this in but it takes its toll on our worn out old bodies. So yay!!  The windlass is working once again!!!

The fact that we have a windlass is especially nice since we are expecting a big wind event here. In fact, the hardest non hurricane blow I think we've ever endured on the boat - sustained winds in the 30 knot range and gusts into the 40's (multiply mph by 1.13 or 1.151 depending on the source).  Weather has been less than cooperative for the second half of our trip. Between wind and several days of rain, it has been hard to get much done outside on the boat. No, I'm not whining because we could have been at home in the keys where it has been an unusually cold winter. Argh!  A hot, hot summer - a hurricane - then a cold and windy winter!  Mother Nature, give it a rest please!!

Alas, our fun time in the Bahamas is quickly coming to a close. We promised our employers that we would be back in place to drive the dive and snorkel boats by the beginning of March. Attempts to verify that Darrell still has a job have been fruitless. We will return to the keys as promised but the wanderlust bug has bitten us again. Who knows how long we will be able to keep the travel fever in check.....

From Farmers Cay, Exumas and South

We sailed to Farmers Cay on December 12.  We have been there before and LOVED it. We sure weren't disappointed this time either. The people there are so warm and friendly. We were invited and attended an awards presentation at the school. Of course we also enjoyed the bounties of the sea!  Darrell caught 3 large lobsters, one large lion fish and a small Snapper. We stayed 3-4 days but when a good weather window opened for moving south, we took it. 

We had a glorious sail to George Town on December 16. About 7.5 miles from entering the harbor, Darrell caught a wahoo. Nice!! We have a few items to take care of before our holiday guest arrives - Captain Jim Fagan. There are not near as many boats in the harbor as we are used to seeing!

It's amazing!!  You sit in an anchorage and think you are all alone but then you get to thinking about cruisers that you have met and you feel like you know everybody. We are in George Town and I can count 3 boats that we know, 2 boats that we are expecting and one or two more that we hope to meet up with. Darrell played volleyball and Texas Hold 'em poker here. We even thought we heard a boat we knew from Grenada hailed on the radio today - thinking about you today, Pierre-Yves and Mireille from Umido!!

We have had such a wonderful time meeting people from all over!!  And seeing some we haven't seen in a long time!

George Town is always busy with something to do. Water aerobics, shopping, regattas, and many others!  Darrell got to play Texas Hold'em a few times in George Town and was the tournament winner one night!!!  While here, we added to our crew list!  Captain Jim Fagan flew in on Christmas Eve. We always look forward to seeing him!!  

Christmas Day we had a potluck lunch with several other boats. We had a total of twelve at our table. All the tables at Chat n Chill beach were full and the total count was somewhere close to 150 people.  Good times and great food!!

The following Saturday, we had the right wind direction to sail to Long Island. It was a beautiful day with about 10 knots of wind. On arrival in Thompson Bay, we had four friends dinghy over to welcome us to the harbor and enjoy a few cold beers over stories to catch up!  Of course it's always great to meet up with fellow cruisers we have met through the years!!  We got to show Jim a few sites on the island, thanks to Alibi II (Bill & Bess)!  

On New Years Day, our guest, Jim Fagan left. We had a wonderful time during his visit and we're all always sad for him to go. We will meet up again in Key Largo in a couple of months. Next trip to the Bahamas, we hope to get Wayne and Sherry on board for a visit!

Happy New Year to everyone!