YAHOO -- Around the Whale and in the Hub of the Abacos

YAHOO!!! Made it around the Whale Cay Passage today. We are currently anchored in Fisher's Bay on Great Guana Cay -- looking forward to the Sunday Pig Roast at Nippers tomorrow.

Manjack Cay was great. So peaceful and beautiful and quiet and DARK. Star gazing was great last night.

We left around 9am this morning and headed out and then around the Whale Cay. The report was 4 - 6 foot rollers but it was not that bad Nothing worse than a rollicking trip to Cape Lookout Bight.

Baker's Bay was a disappointment. It is now the playground of the rich and selfish and piggish. Two mega yachts anchored right in the channel depicted in Steve Dodges Cruising Guide to the Abacos - we sailed between them. They had all their boat toys out -- runabouts, wave runners, skidoos, etc and just being a nuisance. Once passed there we went on into Fisher's bay and dropped the hook. Not too crowded. As usual the hook did not stick at first. I had about 60 feet of chain out and it dragged
slowly. I dumped another 40 feet of chain and then it grabbed aggressively. We backed down and it stuck. I pulled in some chain leaving 80 feet just to be careful.

It is nice here but a bit rolly with several power boats running from the settlement to Bakers Bay and back. Ohh well - not too bad and I think we will still enjoy it.

Yes we will - just invited to Happy Hour on Rachel so got to get ready.

Unfortunately we cannot connect to the internet so no pics or Skype tonight.

Greetings from MANJACK CAY -- ABACOS

WOW Manjack Cay Abacos. This is a MUST stop..

We were going around the Whale Cay Passage today but the seas are too large 6 – 9 feet so we decided to head up to Manjack Cay which is less than 4 miles away. GTC is nice but it was time to leave. Especially since I started cursing the power boats that were waking us unmercifully in the anchorage. I need time to catch my cool again.

I ran into town early for some bread, milk, and OJ. I talked to Sid briefly from Sid’s grocery. I kidded that it would be nice to have a quiet day in town again – after Junkanoo yesterday – and he said no he would like it busier – yep he is a business man. He added that it has been dead quiet from August until just before xmas (when we arrived) and it would be dead again beginning Monday until Easter. I felt bad for them. I heard talk like that yesterday from strangers in the crowd too. It has got to be tough here. Glad I spent some money here now…

We have had a beautiful day up here at Manjack. The wind is light and the sun bright. Hopefully the seas will quiet down overnight so we can get through the Whale Cay passage tomorrow.

We walked around the Island a little. There is a cruisers home near the south anchorage that is very cruiser friendly. They have actually erected a tower with a parabolic WiFi antenna on it into the anchorage to give the passing cruisers FREE WiFi – works great. Thank them for the pictures tonight.

The Island and setting are just beautiful. I know my friends Jim and Barb Thompson would fall in Love with the place. Good anchorage from everything but South West to North West. It is Easy NE today.

I’m hoping for a clear sky tonight because there is NO light pollution. Should be a grand sky for start watching tonight.

HAPPY NEW YEARS -- JUNKANOO GTC

HAPPY NEW YEARS ALL!!!!

It was a nice New Years here. I stayed up till about 9:20pm last night. Although I did get up several times during the night because of a cold front passage and more wind. I was up at 2am and on the deck adjusting my riding sail…

Some boats dragged last night but fortunately none threatened us.

It was still strong wind this morning but we made the dinghy ride to Junkanoo with no problems. The Junkanoo was very nice. Not quite as good as I remembered in 2006 but still very nice and worth the wait. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures we took. It is only a sampling – we took 116 pictures and 30 minutes of video.

The energy is contagious. We would watch them go by then race down an alley way to get ahead and watch them go by again – probably 5 times. At the end all the participants poured into the basketball courts and had a great dance – wow what energy they had.

Lots of foods and drinks available along the parade route. Karen tried some local fare and we each had a Miss Emily Goombay Smash.

It was great fun the parade and just people watching. You see a mix of folks here that I’m sure you could never see anywhere else. Great fun in all.

Happy New Years EVE!!!

Happy New Years Eve!!!!

Boy this has been a lazy day.. Not much happening till 4 pm today when they had the cruisers Hors oeuvres on the beach this afternoon at 4pm.

We spent the morning reading and refueling… We heard on the cruisers net the price of diesel in Marsh Harbour and it was cheaper here so I refilled my Jerry jugs. I needed gas for the dinghy and the Green Turtle Club was still out. It was $6.50 a gallon at the Bluff House but only $4.11 at the “Other side marina” in Black Sound so I went there. Now as I filled up I asked to verify the counter was reset to zero so I could calculate the oil additive correctly and it was still set to 7 gallons – hmmm. Then once I cleared it I pumped 5.5 gallons and they said it was $30 dollars -- hmmm let’s recalculate that – now $22.66. Well it was right in the end but I had to “dog” the transaction.

Spent the afternoon reading and being perplexed. Another gentle cold front was coming through and the wind had clocked to the west. Unfortunately I was not pointing like the other boats. After some circumspection I realized I was in the outflow of a lagoon and as the tide went out the current was affecting me more than the light wind thus why I was pointed differently then every one else – wheeeeew thought I was dragging…

The cruisers hors douveres was nice but very limited selection. In fact more cruisers than selection for some reason and only half the crowd that was here for xmas. I suspect many have traveled on and only a moderate few have remained for Junkanoo tomorrow – a compromise because the weather will probably keep us from round the Whale until Sunday or later. Ohhh well – I want to see JUNKANOO!!

Supposed to be fireworks and a bon fire on the Green turtle Club beach tonight but I suspect I’ll be sound asleep by 9:30pm. Maybe I’ll wake up for the fireworks..

You all have a GREAT New Years Eve!!!

Chicken Souse -- Very GOOOD!!

Not much happening today.

It was an easy morning with an early light rain shower. Then a heaver shower but very brief. There is a mild cold front coming through today but no strong winds.

We headed into town around 10am and headed to the New Plymouth Liquor/café for our date with David's special chicken souse. Ohh it was good as usual. We walked around town trying some avenues we had not tried before to just soak up the atmosphere. It was delightful especially because of the cloudy skies and cool temps. We also picked up some fresh vegetables -- ouch on the prices!!

Back on the boat we just turned it into a library for the better part of the day. Me reading some Clive Cussler - Golden Buddha and Karen knitting and reading Michael Connelly - The Closer.

Just a couple of boats came in today and none left. I suspect more will arrive tomorrow for the Cruisers New Year's hors d'oevres at 4pm and then for the Junkanoo on New Years day.

Because of the mild weather there has been a lot of small boat traffic. That is a bit of annoyance because most boats here will not show any courtesy for the anchored boats and just wake us terribly - even the US visitors who come her for a vacation and know better. Ohhh well just part of the scene here.

Interestingly the Green Turtle Club has run out of gas and still the power boats burn it like there is no end. One could go to the Bluff House but it is $5.50 gallon there!!! I've got half a tank yet so we will just conserve. Ohh I asked the clerk at the little mini market/gas station on Green Turtle Club when more gas was expected and she just shook her head no and smiled. They really don't care.

The Gulley Roosters are featured at the Green Turtle Club tonight "Number one band in the nation (Green Turtle cay)" actually the only band in Green Turtle cay. We will stop over for a listen and push the cruisers midnight tonight - 9pm.

Just another Lazy day in the Abacos

Just another lazy day in Green Turtle Cay.

I was up early - couldn't sleep - I think it was 5:30am and pitch dark outside with a celestial sphere of stars . No moon that I could see and the light pollution was minimal.

I got up and sat in the cockpit to watch the sunrise from the very beginning. Really cool. You first heard the roosters crowing in the distance but no perceptible change in the lighting. Then finally just a slight brightening in the East which grew brighter ever so slowly. Then the stars started to disappear as the brightness increased. Then after awhile a yellow glow appears on the horizon but still no sun and the few clouds all show a brightening red hue on their undersides. Why don't we
watch this more often?? Hmmmm took nearly 80 minutes - I guess that is why.

It was really pleasurable because the wind had finally died and there was just less energy in the atmosphere.

I had a light breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee. I listened to the BASRA weather and position reports at 7am, the WRCC net at 7:45am and the Cruizenheimers net at 8:30. Truly a lazy start to the day.

We went to town around 9:30am to go to the cruisers book exchange at the library - it still wasn't open. The hours are Mon, Wed, Fri 2pm - 5pm and Sat 9-12am except holidays. Ohh we'll - we took the time to wander around town to the housing that is less traveled. You could hear voices coming from the small rather plain homes. I felt like a voyeur so we went back to the main roads. Down to the Liquor store/café and left reservations for "Dave's famous Chicken Souse" for Tuesday - tomorrow. It
is only served on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Then back to the boat to relax.

I went to the Green Turtle club to top off the gas for the dinghy and get another 12 gallons of diesel for the big boat. They were out of gas -- no idea when next shipment would be but had diesel at $3.74 a gallon - damn it was 3.48 a week ago Sunday. I wonder what changed?? Paying with the credit card was a pain. The clerk had to call it in and that took 3 phone calls. Then as they were trying to give her the confirmation number she kept asking to repeat because she couldn't hear well - her
tunes were playing and she wasn't about to turn the volume down - oh well it is their island.

Mid afternoon we went back to the library. Hooo ray it was open. They had a great selection of books to chose from. The exchange is 1 for 1 so we got 5. Then back to the boat. While traveling in White Sound the water was very calm and clear and suddenly we motored over a group of 5 manta rays swimming in formation. Probably 4 -5 foot wing spans - really cool.

Ohh this place cleared out this morning. There was less than 10 boats here by noon. Because of the mild conditions most had left to get around the Whale cut and on to Fisher's bay or Marsh Harbour. There was still a contingent of boats that left on Saturday/Sunday up at Manjack Cay having a great time - we should have went there. many will be returning tomorrow so we will probably just stay put here and enjoy our Chicken Souse and read some of these fine books we picked up today. Plans??? Just
another lazy day in the Abacos.

Finally - Anchored again

Free Again!!! Damages (costs) were not bad. We actually found our way to eat and drink our entire dockage fee almost to the penny. The only disappointment was the fixed electricity usage of $19 a day for 30 amp service. Over at Green Turtle Club they meter your usage and you pay just for what you use. The other thing was that at the Bluff House you see the entire fetch of the prevailing East winds and it is noisy at night with the waves slapping the boat. The Green Turtle club is under the lee of the prevailing East winds and you do not have that problem. Thus is the $.50 cents per foot ($1.75 at Green Turtle Club) worth it???? Maybe when you factor in the cost of electricity. I’ll find out next trip here when some guests arrive and I bring them here.

We left the dock this morning. I thought about going up to Manjack Cay where several boats went yesterday but the scuttlebutt on the radio sounded like several were returning, We decided just to leave the dock, run about 300yds away, and drop the hook in a primo spot. We want to stay until Friday -- Junkanoo on New Years day – THURSDAY.

Now leaving the dock was not easy. I was on a T-head with pilings on the other side – sort of like a canal. I was deep into it – 3 boat lengths empty behind me and I could not go forward. I was nervous about backing up that far so I got Bill and Brian from the New Bern contingent to handle my dock lines to keep me straight. John on Chanceux had just left to round the Whale --- gutsy on his part.

Well I backed up with no problem and did not need the line handlers. Felt pretty good till I cleared the T-head and tried to turn into the wind – didn’t work. Well I had plenty of room so I went with it and just turned around the long way – no one the wiser but you and me.

We went into the anchorage and turned 3 times like a dog in a couple of places and finally dropped the hook. The new hook -- I’m using a 45lb CQR now. We backed down and I laid about 70 feet in 10 feet of water. She grabbed first time without a blink and nearly jerked me off my feet. I love it when a plan comes together. We set it and it looked fine.

After some relaxing and cleaning up and re-launching the dinghy I decided to try my Anchor Sail rider I had built in North Lake Worth. We were dancing on the anchor and the wind generator kept quitting. It took a bit but we got it up and trimmed. We still dance a bit but not as much as before and the wind generator has run all afternoon. I love it when it works!!!

After lunch we took a long probably 3 mile dinghy ride to Fiddlers Cay and the nice beach there so Karen could do some shell hunting. Found some nice ones. We were there a couple of hours. I was a little nervous about the long dinghy ride to and from because this is a seldom-used path and little help would be available. Ohhh just remember that the camera and handheld are in the dinghy – still. Got to take care of that right NOW. Light rain showers have been coming this afternoon…

Got em.. Still dry too.

We are trying for an internet connection here on anchor but it is not working. Signal strength looks good but no connection. I promised pictures but it will have to await a little longer. I’m sending this blog via the SSB radio.