Ahoy there!

 

We can't believe that we're in the middle of April and still in The Abacos! But this week we WILL be moving, but more of that later.

 

The past four weeks have sped past. After leaving Munjack Cay we headed through the Whale Passage to Bakers Bay . This is a popular anchorage as it is big and sheltered from northerly winds. It seems that hundreds of boats are beginning their trip back to the U.S.A and anchorages are quite busy at the moment, mostly with sail boats and trawlers but we did see a very large ‘gin palace'. This particularly impressed us because at sunset the guests on board gathered in the top deck jacuzzi while the crew brought them drinks!

 

We headed back to Marsh Harbour , the hub of The Abacos, to restock and sort a few bits out. For some reason we had been unable to load our Bahamas phone card to our number so had no credit. A trip to the Batelco (Bahamas Telephone Company) office informed us we had been sold the wrong top up card. We found this bizarre as Batelco is the only phone provider so why do they two systems? Luckily the chap at the phone shop where we had originally bought our chip used our ‘wrong card'in his phone and swapped it for us without charge.

A major source of information for us is the Cruisers Net which happens on the V.H.F. radio every morning at 8.15. They give weather, news, what's happening in the area and an open mike session where you can ask for information. Our fridge/freezer wasn't cooling as low as it should and our manual had some pages missing. Andrew put a call out for any one who had the manual, if he could borrow it and copy the missing pages. Next thing a dinghy pulled up alongside with a copy. It's one of the great things about cruising that everyone is willing to help out. Andrew was then able to deal with the problem and the supply of ice has resumed. There is also a trivia question each day which we sometimes join in with. One day it was on collective nouns – did you know it is a ‘clouder of cats'? Cruisers gave their own suggestions and Andrew chipped in with a ‘potluck of cruisers' and a ‘nag of wives'!

 

A new addition to the Net has been a recipe section. A café owner from Maine has given us some recipes and Sharon gave a couple back. It got us in the mood for cooking! The weather is nice for this at the moment, not overly hot to be stuck in the galley. Apart from improving the vegetable biryani we've cooked Cuban crushed potatoes, chickpea flat bread, aubergine parmigano, Bahamian macaroni cheese and a rather nice version of olive tapenade. Not forgetting Mango Margarita! The internet has been a wonderful source of recipes   and   we've found some really good ideas.

Marsh Harbour gave us the opportunity to stock up at Buck a Book. This is a charity which supports the wild horses of Abaco whose numbers are falling, for more information have a look at www.arkwild.org . They have a turquoise shipping container crammed with books at only $1 each. Cruisers bring finished books and D.V.D's in and there is good turnover. And as they are only a dollar you can take a chance on a book that you may not normally read. We needed to stock up as another strong front was due which would keep us on the boat for a couple of days. This came through with 40 knot winds and pouring rain, but at least it cleaned the boat!

 

Another nice thing about cruising is the people you meet. While in Vero Beach we had briefly met Marie & John on S.V Metalia, home port of Toronto , and they turned up in Marsh Harbour , anchoring next to us. We went over for drinks one evening, and spent far too long on their beautiful boat which they had fitted out themselves from a bare hull. Sharon was very envious of the corian work surface in the galley. The following evening they came over to us. Marie is French Canadian and a gastronome so Sharon felt she couldn't just do peanuts with drinks and so they suffered as the guinea pigs for the chickpea bread – it wasn't bad! They are hauling out to anti-foul but we hope to meet them again soon. Andrew was treated to some real smoked Italian ham and salami which Marie gave him as an early birthday present.

 

Eventually the weather settled so we escaped Marsh Harbour and went to Great Guana Cay. More snorkelling and Andrew used the underwater camera case and took some photos of starfish, he used it again out on Munjack reef and took some nice shots of coral. We saw a couple of strange looking fish hovering by the anchor chain and so Sharon went in the water to have a look and decided they were some form of squid but didn't like to get to close! Settlement on Great Guana is a very traditional Abaco village with pastel coloured houses. We found a new bakery & café where we had lunch. Sharon talked to them about the hot sauce used in Bahamian macaroni cheese and they gave her a pot to try.

 

Sunday 2 nd April saw us back in Marsh Harbour to collect Carole, Rachael & Lucy who were arriving on Tuesday. The harbour was very busy with everyone heading north. Why are we heading south?! We saw another form of entertainment which we had heard of but up until now had not seen - a dinghy drift! The message went out on the V.H.F to gather with drinks and nibbles by the dinghy with the yellow flag. All the dinghies tie together and drift the anchorage as the tide and wind take them – not to be suggested in the English Channel !

Tuesday evening our guests arrived and it was great to see them and catch up with all the news from home. They had stayed on the boat before and remembered all the systems well. Our first stop in the morning was Fishers Bay and a visit to the infamous Nippers bar. The beach here is wonderful and Rachael & Lucy went for a long walk while the rest of us drank beer and rum & cokes! We were introduced to Li'l Foot, a great dog owned by a sea captain. Li'l   Foot spends a lot of time on the fishing boat and needs his sunglasses on!

 

The next day was back through the Whale Passage to Munjack Cay for a couple of nights where we had promised everyone swimming & snorkelling. The weather held and everyone got in the water. We took the dinghy out to the reef. Andrew and Rachael were in control (loosely) of the dinghy when we were trying to photograph a rather nice starfish. Whenever we got near it they let the dinghy drift back towards the mangroves. At one stage another chap came over and asked if we were okay or involved in an eco-tour! Eventually we got to the reef and Andrew took the girls reef snorkelling and they saw lots of coral and fish.

 

We had hoped to go to New Plymouth but the forecast was for a very strong front to come through and we didn't want to get stuck the wrong side of the Whale so we headed to Treasure Cay. This is a small anchorage, in fact we anchored four times in different spots before we were happy, but it is very sheltered. Carole & the girls kindly went off to shop while we eventually settled the boat down. The following morning we had a squall go through and a downpour but then the wind died and the sea was like a mirror. We decided lunch out and went to the beach café and had a very nice meal. The beach at Treasure Cay is beautiful, a three mile bay of white sand. Stuffed after lunch we walked along the beach and drew sand pictures.

 

The forecast for the next couple of days was not good, a very strong frontal system was coming through that had already caused extensive damage and deaths on the U.S. mainland but we had to move to get our guests back for the flight. We left early Monday morning (Rachael & Lucy were still in bed!) to an eerily flat sea and quiet. We then saw the squall line and the radar showed it coming through to us. As the front reached us the rain was so heavy visibility went down to three hundred feet and the winds reached gale force 9, over 40 knots. Thank heavens for the autopilot! Fortunately the shift in wind direction and the heavy rain had flattened the sea so we did not have huge waves. Paragon is well suited to this weather and we had a fairly comfortable ride considering the conditions, although Lucy might not agree! Our guests took the sensible option, lying in bed reading & eating ginger biscuits while we were on deck getting soaked! Our original plan had been to go to a marina in Hope Town but we didn't relish docking in these winds and were worried about getting stuck there, so we diverted to Marsh Harbour . By the time we arrived the winds had dropped a bit and everyone stared at us as we came in – no one was meant to be sailing today!

We really wanted our guests to see Hope Town so suggested the ferry for Tuesday. Sadly the winds were still 25 knots plus so we stayed on the boat and waved them off for the day, even the dinghy ride was a challenge. That evening was their last and despite the wind we were all determined to have a meal out. We put on the bright yellow foulies for the trip to the dinghy dock and would have got soaked if we hadn't! We had an excellent meal at Curly Tails and Rachael & Lucy finished a chocolate fondue between them! Carole generously treated us poor cruisers – thank you very much! Back at the boat the alarms were set for 5 a.m. as check-in at the airport was 6.30.   It's always sad to see guests leave and we hope to see more soon.

 

The weather stayed windy until Friday evening limiting trips off the boat but the time has been put to good use. Carole had told us that people had looked at the website (www.goatboat.co.uk) and were disappointed to find nothing there but a home page so since Thursday we've worked practically non stop on it so it should be up and running soon! There will be additional photos, all the old round robins plus links to different sites – not all of them nautical! We will publish the new round robins on it as well. Your feed back would be appreciated.

 

Most businesses have been closed for the Easter weekend and so on Tuesday we will be out & about doing the last of the laundry and last minute shopping. Hopefully Wednesday, if the weather holds, we will start our journey south. By Friday we should be in the Eleuthras and then through The Exumas to Turks & Caicos. We have decided to then jump from there to the British Virgin Islands , a four day passage, as this will save us quite a lot of time and mileage by passing the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico . We will then be able to spend a little time in the B.V.I's. Although our insurance gives us until 1 st July to get to Trinidad & Tobago we are conscious that the hurricane season officially starts 1 st June and we would like to be fairly along our path. We have no idea about communications at this stage, our Bahamas phone should cover us all the way down to The Exumas but we don't know about internet access but please send us some so they are waiting for us at least at B.V.I.

 

We hope that you all had a lovely Easter break and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards

Sharon & Andrew