Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
ABACO ISLANDS in the BAHAMAS
We're finally back on the trail of exploration in the Abaco Islands having traveled 154 nautical miles since Tuesday morning and visiting 5 new anchorages. We've been following the charts as we sail along and identifying dozens of other islands along the way. We're taking shorter trips and spending more of the day enjoying the sights. We're sailing when we can which conserves the fuel and lends to a much more pleasant ride.
There are a few new pics posted as well including our last few days on Grand Bahama Island. We've made so many new friends and find that the longer you stay somewhere the more difficult it is to leave. We will return to Ocean Reef in the future and look forward to crossing paths with the cruisers we met there.
If you have a searchable map handy, look for Grand Bahama's West End, Indian Rock, Memory Rock, Great Sale, Little Grand, Crab and Green Turtle Cays. This the area we're traveling up and down for now. As you can see in the last pic, the water is blue and the beaches are covered in white sand!
Til next time, fair winds to you.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Update from Grand Bahama Island
Hello everyone!
How was your week? What's new? Are you ready for the big game tomorrow, or is it a non-event like it is for us?
We've been learning more about the fishing in the Bahamas and spent a day with local bahamian “Captain Les” on a Reef Fishing trip. We caught a few, while the other couple pulled in the big trigger fish(see pic). There are also several cruiser guys here in the club that like to go out and spear their own lobster. Jim now has a Hawaiian sling and has gone out to watch and learn from Hank just how to do it (see pics). We've grill Red Snapper, Grunts and Porgies(sp?), and tucked a few lobster tails into our freezer!
The weather here has been slightly less than perfect for the past few days, cloudy-windy-cooler temps. This did force us back to work though! Jim has been finishing his work on the reef lines and pecking away at wiping down the bottom of the boat with snorkel/mask and scrubbing tools. I finally have all the exterior trim sanded and taped off, and still need to put on several more coats of varnish before it's done.
We LOVE this place (Ocean Reef Yacht Club), but our month is almost over. Hard to believe how time passes so quickly. We're once again studying all the on-line weather models and planning to set sail again sometime in the next 5-7 days. Our heading will be west around Grand Bahama Island, then east to Great Sale Cay (pronounced key), and then into the Abaco Islands. These are less populated areas and there are fewer provisions, restaurants, etc. from what we have read. It'll be good to get back out there and be on our own again for a while. We'll still be without the phones and dependant upon finding a signal for internet/email for communications. We always have the VHF radio for any day to day needs, just no way to call home with that. They do have internet signal towers and service available so we'll look into signing up for that this week. There is also a "cruisers net" on one of the VHF radio channels where everyone exchanges information and news each morning. They can also provide emergency messaging networks and they announce new arrivals and departures for everyone else around to hear. It should be interesting.
How was your week? What's new? Are you ready for the big game tomorrow, or is it a non-event like it is for us?
We've been learning more about the fishing in the Bahamas and spent a day with local bahamian “Captain Les” on a Reef Fishing trip. We caught a few, while the other couple pulled in the big trigger fish(see pic). There are also several cruiser guys here in the club that like to go out and spear their own lobster. Jim now has a Hawaiian sling and has gone out to watch and learn from Hank just how to do it (see pics). We've grill Red Snapper, Grunts and Porgies(sp?), and tucked a few lobster tails into our freezer!
The weather here has been slightly less than perfect for the past few days, cloudy-windy-cooler temps. This did force us back to work though! Jim has been finishing his work on the reef lines and pecking away at wiping down the bottom of the boat with snorkel/mask and scrubbing tools. I finally have all the exterior trim sanded and taped off, and still need to put on several more coats of varnish before it's done.
We LOVE this place (Ocean Reef Yacht Club), but our month is almost over. Hard to believe how time passes so quickly. We're once again studying all the on-line weather models and planning to set sail again sometime in the next 5-7 days. Our heading will be west around Grand Bahama Island, then east to Great Sale Cay (pronounced key), and then into the Abaco Islands. These are less populated areas and there are fewer provisions, restaurants, etc. from what we have read. It'll be good to get back out there and be on our own again for a while. We'll still be without the phones and dependant upon finding a signal for internet/email for communications. We always have the VHF radio for any day to day needs, just no way to call home with that. They do have internet signal towers and service available so we'll look into signing up for that this week. There is also a "cruisers net" on one of the VHF radio channels where everyone exchanges information and news each morning. They can also provide emergency messaging networks and they announce new arrivals and departures for everyone else around to hear. It should be interesting.
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