May 9-15, 2010

May 9-15, 2010

Well as you can see it has been quite a while since we had internet coverage. We are still doing fine and having a great time!! We made it to Chub Cay by 2 PM on Mother’s Day and enjoyed brief conversations with our Moms and as you know we had internet coverage at that anchorage - Yahoo!!

We left Chub on Monday morning for New Providence Island at about 2 PM. It was a tough crossing but we made it into West Bay, NP and stayed there for a couple of days because it was too nasty to try and go around the northern coast to get to Nassau. On the crossing, ann was fishing and lost a big one when she set the drag on the fishing pole too tight. DARN!!!! The plan was to get some needed provisions there before going on. On one day (Tuesday), we did laundry by hand in a five gallon bucket - Darrell did! Ann baked two loaves of homemade bread. We also got the oil changed on Alibi and were able to take trash to shore in a dumpster there. Most of the shoreline where we were anchored was private so not much to do in the way of excursions. We did have company from two boats named Aftermath and Lady Blue - can’t recall all four names of the people but we enjoyed some conversation and some homemade fresh bread with them.

On Wednesday, it was deceptively calmer in the morning so we took off for the Exhumas at 0745 AM. It was a tough slog up wind for about 12 hours but we made it to Highborne Cay just after dark. That is the problem……we couldn’t get here any sooner than we did but navigating these waters without VPR (visual piloting reference) is not recommended. We made it safely into a straightforward spot and stayed for 2 nights.

We have been having issues with water pumps since we bought the boat and we think we finally have solved the problems. The original pump had a new pressure switch but still wasn’t working so we replaced it before we left. The NEW pump worked fine before departure but sometime during the first few days started working overtime and we figured out it was losing it’s prime. We kept standing on our heads in the compartment where it lives and working on it. Finally a couple of day ago, we took the elbow fitting loose from the main water tank. We found, as we had in the pre-pump filters, small bits of coral shells clogging the pipe at the elbow. We blew it out and it has been working for the last couple of days - keep your fingers crossed! This is all downplayed about a thousand times - at least Ann’s frustrations with it.

We refueled at Highborne Cay Marina yesterday at around 1 PM and sailed south to Norman Cay. We arrived here about 2 PM after a nail bighting trip into this anchorage at low tide. The waters are strewn with coral heads all over and Darrell was standing on the bow of the boat giving me hand signals on directions to steer the boat. He looked like he was dancing or doing a puppet show with all the hand signals! We have decided to leave here at high tide which in in about an hour.

We went ashore to MacDuff’s Bar and Grill and had late lunch/dinner and cocktails yesterday. We had come here to find out information about flights to Ft. Lauderdale since there is an airstrip on this island. The flights are sporadic and a little costly unless you share the ride with other travelers so we are headed south to make Staniel Cay by Monday to try and get reservations for a week from this Monday for Ann to fly back to do some office work. Between here and Staniel is the Exuma Land and Sea Park that we hope to spend some time ashore exploring.

We hope this finds all of you healthy and happy. We still have not been able to find our friends on “No Agenda” - a trawler that left the USA a couple of days after we did for the Bahamas. They could be stuck in or around Andros with all the winds but we hope to see them in the next few days. Winds are predicted to be down on Wednesday so they may cross to here (Exumas) then.

Oh, I forgot to mention how great Darrell has become at gathering conch and we have both become much improved at cleaning them - we have five in the fridge waiting for me to make him some cracked conch or some more ceviche. For those that don’t know there is an art to getting the muscle out of the shell and not a lot to show for all your effort after you do - but we LOVE conch!

Hugs and Kisses,
DnA and Roxy

Current location is Exuma Land and Sea Park on Warderick Wells Cay in central Exumas - with the slowest internet connection I've seen in a long time!! But I do have internet!!

No pictures today at this speed!