Virgin Islands

Four weeks ago we left Luperon, Dominican Republic, sensing that many cruisers had become stuck there. To be sure, it's difficult to make one's way east against the tradewinds on the relatively unwelcoming northern coast of the DR.   We sailed at night when the wind and seas calm down, and stayed close to shore to make use of the counteracting cool Katabatic winds that come off the mountains.  We stopped and slept during the day, informing the skeptic officials at each anchorage who came out to Act III via local fishing boats to inquire why we were stopping there and not going on to Samana as our despacho indicated, that, "Bientot no es bueno.  Vayamos esta noche." (Wind is not good.  We go tonight." They were satisfied with the answer; more satisfied with the cold Coca Colas and gifts of small bottles of rum.  We arrived and cleared out of Samana, on the NE coast of DR, in a few hours, although that process involved 2 visits to the boat by officials (more cokes and rum), and a trip to town by Bill, where the commandante's office would not give him a copy of paperwork we needed to officially exit. We were a little concerned that we were being held hostage until it became evident that the office simply had no blank paper to make a copy.

We hurried across the Mona Passage between DR and PR within a good weather window, then checked in and stayed a couple of days on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico in Boqueron, a lovely town mostly used for holidays by locals. From there we made easy short hops along the southern coast of, stopping at Salinas and Puerto Patillas before a good weather forecast allowed a longer passage to St. Thomas, USVI.  For the first time, Bill was off our projected arrival time by more than an hour: we were 12 hours early!  We had expected to motorsail into wind and waves at about 4 kts, but a fortunate wind shift gave us a boost and Bill couldn't keep Act III sailing under 8 kts.  He wanted to go slowly so we wouldn't arrive at a foreign port in the dark, but as we continued to make excellent time, we realized we could make it just at sundown, and dropped anchor at St. Thomas with enough ambient light from the busy town and cruise ships of Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands.

We had not been in touch with Ben and Nikki for a couple of weeks, so when we called them that night to report our location, we were thrilled to learn they were merely 5 miles away from us in Christmas Cove, Little St. John.  We easily got to Soterion the next morning in time to share hugs and wave goodbye before they left with guests for a week.  Bill and I spent that week near Red Hook, St. Thomas, seriously depleting the cruising kitty at Lotus, the local sushi restaurant, riding the $1 Safari bus around the island, and keeping track of the spotted eagle ray that lived in our anchorage.  After many months of Bahamian rice and peas (beans), our mouths welcomed the fine food.

When Soterion returned her satisfied guests to St. John the next week (they already booked a repeat trip for next year), Ben and Nikki hosted us in grand style aboard their beautiful yacht and led us around their stomping grounds in the British Virgin Islands: Hawksnest Cay, Maho Bay, Marina Cay, Trellis Bay, until we stopped at Nanny Cay, Tortola, where we currently sit on the hard putting a new propeller on Act III. We took a hotel room for the night, our first time sleeping on land since leaving New Hampshire.

Some random memories of this month:

* Many small pongas fishing off the coasts at night showi no lights, making them dangerous hazards. Bill fortunately caught a glimpse of light and steered away barely in time to avoid hitting one off the north coast of DR.
* Heidi baked quite a nice spice cake in the uneven-heating galley oven for Bill's birthday. Julia and Jurgen from Norway joined us for his birthday dinner and treated Bill to the traditional Norwegian birthday song, which includes a little dance with hops and spins.
* Sounds of the Seacoast, the chorus which Heidi left to go cruising, took first place at the regional competition in April, proving that Heidi was holding them back :)
* Bill got a perfect shave-and-a-haircut, $11, with a straight razor (!) at Puerto Patillas, where we were driven both ways by a generous young man who didn't think these 2 old farts could walk 45 minutes to the town center. We walked to a restaurant later that night and a passing driver hollered from his truck, "SIR!  HOW'S THE HAIRCUT?  Small town and we stick out like, well, like cruisers.
* Nikki's amazing gourmet dinners and treats aboard Soterion.  No wonder guests come back year after year.
* Nikki and Ben took us to most spectacular snorkling at Waterlemon Cay, near Maho Bay, St. John.  {Photos} In Trellis Bay, Ben led us on two fabulous scuba dives on healthy live coral reefs.
* We can't believe this is our life. Here we finally wake, drink coffee and fall over the side into clear turquoise water to play with the fish.

Luperon, DR

We expect to be here in Luperon, Dominican Republic for a few days. We are loving it. Great harbor, wonderful people, good prices. Even if the wind dies down or changes direction, we can't leave NOW! Baseball tomorrow: Dominicans against cruisers. Word is the cruisers have no chance; I'm not surprised, DR is a small country from which the US major leagues recruit numerous stars. However, now the cruisers have a secret weapon: me. Yea, right, that should make a difference. What does make a difference is the rule about who buys the drinks. If the winners buy, the gringos usually win by one run. If the losers buy, the gringos usually lose by about 50 runs.

Jam session Sunday afternoon: someone may even be able to produce a drum kit.

This place has that rare combination: lots of soul, but one still feels safe.

"Big Benjamin" (yes, big, tough looking, gun toting) represents the navy and drug enforcement. After we had completed all of our check in stuff at the local government offices, Big Benjamin sternly accosted me, explaining that we should not have left the boat before the navy inspected us. I pointed out that we flew our "Q" flag and waited to be boarded, but no one showed. Then, at his request, we took Big Benjamin and his young uniformed assistant back to ACTIII aboard OUR dinghy. The "inspection" consisted of sitting in the cockpit, sipping cold drinks, asking if we had firearms aboard, and discussing this and that. BB again mentioned that we should not have gone ashore without being boarded first, but it was "no problemo". Then I got the lecture about how the navy was keeping us safe out there, and all for free. I suspected that he was blowing smoke and angeling for a big tip, so I innocently asked how he could have boarded us if he didn't have a boat. He admitted that was a problem, and, besides, he had heard that we had arrived, but he had fallen asleep when he might have been arranging for a boat, and then it was too late. I gave a VERY small donation to the navy, and I took them back to shore. By then we were best buddies. You have to love a port where everybody, rich or poor has some kind of boat, except the navy.

One can get anything done here with the help of "Handy Andy". He and his partner Papo ( my soul mate, as all old Latins seem to be) delivered high quality diesel to our boat at a reasonable price. Papo arranged for a taxi to take us to Santiago to buy a portable generator to replace the unreliable one that we gave to a very grateful Hatian captain of a homemade sailboat that we saw in Matthew Town. ( Sailing these crude engine-less craft across 90 nautical miles of the Windward Passage, and then docking them in an impossible basin that none of the cruisers dare enter, using nothing but poles for the last few yards, is a feat of seamanship I truly admire. The Captain was a smart, genuine guy. No pretensions and no deference. We liked him immediately. I hope he has that generator purring. ) Anyway, Handy Andy is a former New York male stripper. He proudly carries a picture on his cell phone. If a woman cruiser hires him to clean the bottom of her boat, he changes his clothes in the cockpit. One old broad said she asked Handy to come out to her boat to scrub the bottom, and after he changed, she changed her mind, just so he had to change back out of his speedo. We heard the same story from her and from Andy.

Most of the cruisers we have met here arrived some summer years ago to hole up for hurricane season, and they never left. It is that kind of place.

From Heidi:

Backtracking a bit, we stayed 4 days off Matthew Town, Great Inagua, Bahamas, the southernmost island before one heads southwest to Cuba or southeast to Haiti and Dominican Republic. Matthew Town is a "company" town, with Morton salt evaporating and exporting a million tons of crude salt. We joined another cruising family who arrived aboard their 62' aluminum catamaran, Elcie, for a tour of the salt ponds and Great Inagua National Park, home to the world's largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos: about 50,000 birds that have made a 40 year journey back from the edge of extinction. They love to dine on the brine shrimp that flourish in the salt ponds.

We neared Luperon DR as dawn broke the second morning after we left Inagua, and we first sighted the mountains of Dominican Republic, far different from the low-lying cays and islands in Bahamas. Next we got an intense aroma of rich soil and vegetation from many miles offshore. The harbor is well-protected and calm, a welcome relief from the several weeks we'd just spent exposed to winds and surge at anchor.

The drive to Santiago was worth the taxi fare, whether we succeeded in finding a generator or not (we did). As we drove up and down hills away from the coast at breakneck speeds, we passed a zillion motorcycles, tractor-trailer trucks, cows, bicycles, goats, and men riding along the road on donkeys while talking on their cell phones. Laundry dried in the sun everywhere, without benefit of clothespins; clothing hung on barbed wire tends to stay put although perhaps harsh on the fabric. In a whirlwind deal at a traffic light in the busy city I bought 6 pinas (pineapple) for $2.75 from a fruit peddler who just started tossing them beside me through the back window; I'm sure I overpaid as he walked away high-fiving his amigos, but that's what gringoes are for.

The ball game? Bill pitched and fielded respectably, and wisely took himself out of the game after a few innings. The mid-day sun and heat were brutal and there were plenty of williing substitutes--the Dominicans love to play and are happy on either team.

Big Benjamin came aboard today for our check out "inspection". Once again we drank cold sodas in the cockpit while he filled out the paper work, and once again he didn't need to go below to complete his inspection for weapons and drugs. He allowed that the idea that we might be smuggling drugs was pretty funny. "At your age? In this nice boat from NH, USA..ha ha ha." Of course he is right, but should we be insulted that we fit his stereotype so closely?

Departing for our next anchorage along the DR north coast this evening. Then another day or two or three or... depending on weather to our final DR port, Samana. We'll wait there for a weather window to go through the Mona Passage between the DR and Puerto Rico so we can have an easy trip on the south (Caribbean) side of PR. It could be a couple of weeks before we have internet again. Until then, smooth sailing, literally and figuratively, friends. And don't forget, we love it when you post comments on our blog.

[PHOTOS]

George Town Exumas & Paula

We've been busy for the past 6 weeks with wonderful guests and spotty internet connections, so haven't posted. The priorities when we DO have an internet connection are to first download weather info, then research whatever we need to repair or replace aboard; there's always something.

Bill wrote about Paul and Mary Beth's visit, where we cruised the Exuma Cays, Bahamas, from north to south, looking for bonefish, and exploring the exceptional beaches we find every mile. On the last day of their visit, coming into George Town, the supposedly-repaired-in-Fort Lauderdale roller-furler for our genoa jib fell apart. This large sail provides the main power to move the boat and is a beast to manipulate even in calm conditions, so the roller-furler is a huge safety feature, not just a nice gadget. The good news is Hood agreed to replace the furler at no cost, and we happily emailed the address of the George Town Exuma Market to the Hood guy in Tampa Florida. Locals said four business days from Miami for FedEx packages to arrive. Since my great friend Paula Hudson traveled two days from Montana to spend two weeks with us, we didn't want to delay her cruise, so we headed north from George Town with the genny lashed down on deck, and the staysail rigged. With occasional assist from the engine, we made good time on all our sails.

We first visited Little Famer's Cay, a quiet cay with 55 residents and few services, and were pleased to hear the All-age school fair, listed in our cruising guide as the next-to-last Saturday in March, was delayed a week, so we happily dinghied ashore to find the school, which currently has 10 boys enrolled. (Photos) Paula spent about $10 at the hoop toss trying to win some shampoo, and I became the Woman's Musical Chair Champ We were hot and dusty when we returned aboard, so rewarded ourselves with fancy strawberry margaritas, made in the blender Paula carried with her across the country.. (You may recall my dismay at a previous school fair where I did NOT win a blender.) The drinks were complete with little umbrellas that Paul and Mary Beth had brought on their visit. (Here I'll say "thanks" again to our guests for bringing us the supplies and parts we requested. We know it's tough enough to pack for a cruise without having to find space for an outboard propeller or airport-security-no-no spear tips.)

There were maybe 10 boats in the Farmer's Cay harbor, including the nice family we had met earlier on Sea Fever, their home-built 32' yawl, with 11" draft. Garth and Lilly, with daughters Rose and Isabelle led us on a hike to an underground cave with a salt-water pool, where we swam before picnicking on a nearby beach, (photos) then they then joined us that evening for my birthday party dinner with specially-made carrot cake that Paula and Bill arranged for us at the "Yacht Club". The girls made me a beautiful card and read me a lovely poem about friendship, and they gifted me a wonderful book of short stories about small boats. I'll always rememer that fine celebration.

We moved on to Staniel Cay expecting to amaze Paula with the wild swimming pig experience. You recall the pigs made me squeal and leap away (to the middle of the dinghy) when they aggressively tried to climb into our dinghy, while snorting and showing their long canine teeth. This time many cruisers in dinghies were dumping food on the beach for the pigs, and the pigs could barely walk, let alone swim out to get our lousy lettuce. Staniel Cay is one of the more developed areas, and we whined about the extra noise and bustle. It takes very little time to get spoiled by peace and quiet.

We sailed back south to Black Point Settlement, Exuma's second largest community, for what we heard through the cruising grapevine would be a big Easter celebration. Ever'ting's relative, but it was a busy day in town for sure. Paula and I offered to lend a hand on Saturday, and were assigned the task of tearing the raffle tickets out of their books of 20, and putting them in the Wash-Wizz (hand laundry bucket that spun with a handle) for the drawing later that night. Small town, small festival, so we figured we'd kill a half-hour on the job and meet some locals. Three hours later, we were still folding tickets into small packets (don't know why, they just insisted the tickets had to be folded small.) Turns out they'd sold nearly 4,000 tickets, not the couple of hundred that made us pity the small festival, and feel certain we'd win the roaster oven. Jeesh.

When the sun went down, and the basketball game between Black Point and Nassau finished (the first to reach 21 points wins the half. If they had a clock, the game would be timed. Black Point lost.) the Junkanoo began, led by The Valley Boys from Nassau. Bill, Paula and I boogied down the street with a spirited mix of locals and cruisers, with Bill playing our dinghy whistle along with the band. Paula and I were hugely impressed with the local girls' high fashion and colorful, elaborate hairstyles. We can't figure where they're getting the clothes...there are no shops in sight. The guy with the sound system picked up and left for no clear reason sometime after the basketball game, so the raffle drawing was postponed until the next day, we think. Paula arranged if we won anything it would go to Tiny, our co-folder from Black Point, who would love the roaster oven.

We had a rip-roaring sail back to George Town on Easter Day, then said farewell to Paula on Monday. leaving her somewhat soggy at the dock since the wind had picked up to nearly 20 kts, and hasn't abated until yesterday.

That's the outline of major events, but the best parts are really the smaller adventures: walking deserted roads to find the local dumps, where we can leave our trash for free, instead of paying $5 per bag at the marinas or casually shampooing your hair in the ladies room of the bar to conserve our onboard water. (We have the luxury of a watermaker, but that takes energy, which we'd rather use to make ice for the blender drinks) At Black Point Paula and I visited the "famous" Garden of Eden driftwood scupture garden, lovingly built over many years by Mr. Rolle, whose wife and daugters were happy to chat with us when we self-consciously began roaming in their yard to admire the plants and scuptures. We offered a small donation, and then received a handful of home-grown peppers and tomatoes, so then we returned later to gift some Scrubbies that Paula had made (she left with 15 or so...sailing is made for crocheting. Remember Mary Beth and I crocheted string tote bags with the 6 brand new balls of twine we found in a vacated, decaying drug-runner's home on Norman's Cay.) I'll never forget Paula trying to give me a much-needed haircut in the George Town basketball park, only to march me across the street to Hot Steps salon, with the towel still around my shoulders when she determined I had too much hair. Another great moment was spying a whole basil plant floating on our way into the George Town dinghy dock, rescuing it with a fresh water rinse and having a local fella in the liquor store offer to find us some dirt. Honest, only dirt.

Now remember the roller-furler was supposed to be waiting for us at the supermarket when we returned to George Town but, alas, it had only been shipped the day before, not 2 weeks before, and should arrive in 4 days (Friday.). Our major entertainment over the next week--better than TV--was watching the Fed-Ex tracking page come up on the computer each day showing our package traveling from Tampa to Miami to Memphis to Delaware (huh? for 3 days!) to Memphis to Miami to Nassau, then receiving a post that it was waiting for us to pick it up at the counter in Nassau. Adding to the suspense, midway through the adventure, the address listed on the tracking page changed to Georgetown, Kentucky. The story has a happy ending as a local man named Latroy retrieved it in Nassau, got it to the market, and the jenny is smartly furled as we speak.

Our guests have been terrific about learning to sail, as well as putting up with the somewhat fussy habits we have aboard a sailboat: put your toilet paper in a can; no daily showers, and then you might shower on deck; wash dishes with salt water (with fresh water rinse...don't worry); keep your dork light handy, especially for reading in bed, save your paper towels if they're pretty clean (paper products are expensive and sometimes hard to find); try to sleep through the various clinks and clanks through the night, hoist and launch the dinghy at every anchorage; shoe-etiquette (wear on deck to avoid toe-stubs and remove below to limit dirt and sand); wet dinghy rides; brush your hair on deck (you have NO idea how much hair and skin accumulates inside a boat); and I'm sure many more that we don't think about any more. I trust the reward of powder-sugar beaches with warm, crystal clear turquoise water, gentle rocking to sleep, no bugs (!), and remarkably friendly Bahamians makes up for the hardships.

Tomorrrow, 4/19/2010, we head east from George Town, bound for the British Virgin Islands to visit Ben and Nikki. We'll stop in Puerto Rico, but not tarry, as we must be ready to leave the hurricane belt by the beginning of June.

Highbourne Cay to Staniel Cay: March 07 through March 10, 2010

Today: March 10, 2010: Staniel Cay Yacht Club, Staniel Cay, Exhumas, Bahamas: N 24 deg, 10.345' W 076 deg, 26.750'

This log covers March 04 - March 10, 2010 (Nothing particularly interesting happened on March 5 or 6, we were just hanging out waiting for the bad weather to pass.)

Fionna, we know you are following our blog, so this one is especially for you.

If you read our last blog, you know that getting out of our slip on Highbornd Cay was tricky. Your Uncle Matt was betting that there would be at least one minor disaster before we managed to pick up our friends Paul and Mary-Beth who were arriving at Island World Adventures on Saddle Cay from Nassau by speedboat after taking a big plane from NH to Fort Lauderdale Florida, and then a small plane from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau. There were plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong, so Matt thought he had a pretty sure bet. Here's how it all went.

First, leaving the slip on Friday, March 5:

Since we were in the biggest boat in our group of slips, and we were in the tightest spot, and we were the first to leave on Friday morning, the other skippers helped with lines and stood by to learn from our mistakes. We were extra careful, controlling our bow with a warp led around a piling and back to our port bow cleat, tended by Nana; and controlling our stern by a line around another piling and back to our port sheet winch, tended by me. Nana says the anchor just kissed the starboard outer piling. No harm at all.

A few miles later we were safely anchored off Long Cay, where Nana and I launched the dinghy and I motored the mile to Island World Adventures on Saddle Cay, met Paul and Mary-Beth who had arrived on a speed boat from Nassau exactly on schedule. I thought about my bet with Matt when I limited myself to one 151-proof rum punch before we motored the dinghy back to ACT III. With Mary-Beth, Paul, their gear, and the dinghy motor safely aboard, I announced that Matt had officially lost his bet. Just to be sure, we sailed to Norman's Cay, anchored, snorkeled, beachcombed, and found some very interesting critters, including an octopus in a hole in 6 inches of low tide water who seemed to be intent on attacking Paul. Back on ACT III, we grilled steaks and watched the sun set. Another perfect day in paradise.

The next day, Saturday, we sailed to Warderick Wells Cay, Exhumas Land and Sea Park. You can check our previous blog about this wonderful place. Since we were members, we got a choice mooring. Saturday night is the weekly cruisers party so we swapped food, drinks, and tales with fellow cruisers, many of whom we had met on other cays. There were a few children there, Fionna, just a little older than you, cruising with their families. One family had sailed from Holland three years ago and are just now getting ready to end their adventure. When you are a little older we want you to join us for a few weeks, or maybe a whole summer. I'm pretty sure you will love it. We gave Paul and Mary-Beth the use of the dinghy for all of Sunday, and they had a great time snorkling our favorite spots and hiking the trails.

The next day, Monday, we sailed twenty miles or so to Compass Cay and anchored in a beautiful lagoon protected from the weather. Paul wanted to fish for bonefish, and this looked like just the right spot: shallow Mangrove swamps with lots of rays and Nurse sharks around. No luck catching bonefish, but we discovered that the near by marina (we went there by dinghy) had a resident population of lazy, friendly Nurse sharks and about 100 of the biggest bonefish Paul had ever seen. Alas, fishing was not allowed, so all Paul could do was look and wish. Looking from the dock into the twenty feet of crystal clear water was like looking into a giant aquarium. Back aboard ACT III we grilled burgers and spent the night. We spent all of Tuesday exploring beautiful Compass Cay. It is privately owned and maintained by a local Bahamian who inherited it from his parents. He is doing a wonderful job of preserving it and protecting the wildlife. We gladly paid the eight dollar fee for the privilege of landing our dinghy and exploring the island. Paul tried his luck at bonefishing again (no luck) while Heidi, Mary Beth and I hiked the island, seeing lots of birds, lizards, and endless beautiful beaches and ocean. Paul picked us up with the dinghy and we rode back to the main dock seeing lots of big sting rays in about four feet of water. The Nurse sharks at the dock are so friendly and lazy that people can swim with them and feed them hot dogs. Just don't put your finger right in front of their mouths!

On Wednesday we decided to sail the Exhuma Sound to Staniel Cay. We were the only boat out because we had twenty knots of wind on the nose and 5 to 6 foot seas. It was fun to see the depth suddenly drop from 90 feet to over 3000 feet. We had a rip roaring close hauled sail: just the way you like it, Fionna. I remember how you went up on the bow with your Mom and Adam and sat in a bean bag chair yelling "woopee!" every time a cold wave came aboard and hit you in the face. None of our crew were that brave, even though the water was warm: they all stayed comfortably in the cockpit. Paul and Mary-Beth treated us to a delicious dinner at the Yacht Club reataurant and we all went to bed happy.

Today started out cloudy, but we took the dinghy to the famous Grotto for some snorkeling anyway. This is the cave where the underwater scene in the James Bond movie "Thunderball" was filmed. The sun came out just as we entered the water, and the cave, which very easy to enter, had a spectacular variety of fish. We had brought along a bag of peas because we had heard that the fish liked them. Did they ever! When we opened the bag under water, dozens of fish swarmed around us, bumping into us and each other in their eagerness to get to the peas. One fish accidentally nipped Mary-Beth's finger, but it didn't really hurt. It was the first time she had ever been snorkeling with lots of fish, and she was very excited.

On the way back from exploring the area by dinghy, we found the famous giant swimming pigs on Big Majors Spot Cay. There were some other dinghies there and the pigs swam out to greet all of us. The biggest one got kind of mad at Nana because we didn't have any food for him, and he tried to climb into the dingy right into Nana's lap! As you know, Nana doesn't scare easily, but that pig made her scream and jump out of the way. It was pretty funny.

Towards evening we took the dinghy around the corner to admire a very well thought out home-built boat named "Sea Fever". Garth, Lilly, Isabelle, and Rose are a wonderful family on an amazing adventure.

Be sure to click on the links to the photo albums because Mary-Beth is a good photographer, and she took some great pictures.

We love you and we miss you lots. Your mom tells us about how you love skiing and that your philosophy of life is to do everything and really live. We are very, very proud of you.

Lots of Love and big hugs,

Papa

Highbourne Cay: March 1 - March 4, 2010

March 4, 2010

Highbourne Cay, Exhumas, Bahamas: N 24 deg, 42.6' W 076 deg, 49.3'

Knowing it was going to blow hard from the W and NW Tuesday March 1 through Thurs. March 4, we left the Land and Sea park on Monday. We had an easy sail through the sound north to Highbourne. Although we had made reservations several days in advance, we got the last available slip: the smallest and most difficult to get in and out of. Wind and tidal current were gentle when we arrived, so docking was easy. Matt, I know you are betting that we won't manage to pick up our guests at Saddle Cay tomorrow without incident, so you'll want to check the photo of our tight spot on the dock on our web album.

We've had a great time with our friends Norman and Barbara aboard Blown Away. We first met them in Bimini. They have explored both the civilized and remote areas of the Bahamas many times before so they have a wealth of information, and they are good company.

Highborne is a private island, but they welcome a small number of cruisers. The fees are a little steep, but the slips are well protected, the staff is great, and the bathrooms are clean. Water is scarce so showers are four dollars for four minutes. Thank goodness for our watermaker.

The best parts of Highborne are the beaches and the ocean. Stromatolites are the oldest fossil remains yet discovered, 3.5 Billion years old, and Highborne has them. There is a large population of resident sharks (I think they are Nurse sharks) near the fish-cleaning station. We counted thirteen. Most of them have names and are tagged. We were assured they don't care about swimmers, so we had a nice swim at the beach about 100 yards from the sharks' hang-out.

Highborne was once, like Norman's Cay, a haven for drug lords. When they were eventually killed with help from US troops, somebody started a plantation for growing Aloe plants. The plants thrived, but the growers neglected to check on the cost of shipping to Miami, so the business went under after the first harvest. Heidi scored a survivor, and now has a plant aboard to take care of. Does she really need one more project? Maybe yes, when we eventually run out of her eight cubic feet or so of nylon net for scrubbies; which, by the way, are rapidly becoming world-famous among cruisers. Heidi sends "thanks" to Polly for supplying her with turquoise net so she can make Bahamian flag colored Scrubbies.

Check our web album for a photo account of our quest for the famous Highborne Spring, and a picture of the Highborne Bus Stop.

We have a good internet connection here, although it isn't free, of course. It was great to be able to have Skype conversations with friends, and especially great to see Matt and Josh and Jim on a video call. Thanks for getting the camera and making that happen, guys. Matt, you look great.

We had an informal skippers' meeting on the dock today trying to figure out how to get out of here tomorrow without having the wind blow us crashing into other boats. All skippers agreed on one thing: ACT III is in the toughest spot. We'll have lots of other cruisers helping with line-handling, so I don't expect any real difficulty, in spite of Matt's dire predictions.

Well, time for a beer and a look around. We may not have another internet connection for a week or so; we'll update you then, friends. (You'll have to wait until then, Matt, to find out who won your wager.)

Happy sailing everyone.

Bill

Paradise: aka Warderick Wells

02/28/2010   
Warderick Wells Exhuma Cays Land and Sea Park: N 24 deg, 23.622' ; W 076 deg, 38.100'


176 square miles, no houses or resorts, only the park headquarters.  No fuel, fresh water or bathrooms.  Just unspoiled nature, well-kept but unobtrusive trails, a few bouys to secure dinghies while snorkleling in the crystal clear water, and excellent, well-protected moorings.  Everyone respects the rule: Take only photographs, leave only footprints.  We have been here a week. Every time we think about leaving, another front comes through, it blows 35 kts and we say, "Maybe tomorrow."  Ben, this is one of those times that we are greatful for our watermaker.  Our fast dinghy (motor finally humming like a sewing machine and pushing us along at 20 kts --not bad for 9.8 hp--) is perfect for exploring all the little cays and beaches.  Heidi and I have of course discovered a beach just big enough for a picnic for two naked people. (Don't worry friends and family, no pictures.)


Many of our old friends who left Miami a week after we did because they were waiting for calm conditions to cross the stream have caught up with us here.  Since we will be going north again to pick up Paul and Mary Beth on Friday, March 5, we expect we'll meet a whole new batch of south-bound cruisers.  It seems that many people are content to just cruise the Exhumas and then go back to Florida, and why not, the Exhumas are paradise.  I think we'll have to follow the rule that our friend Dirk who single-handed from Germany (See Heidi's previous posts) adopted: anchor off, dinghy ashore; if you see a footprint, leave.  Even with that rule, we are going to have to impose some limits on ourselves.  Fortunately we have to meet Paula in Georgetown March 23.  Eighty nautical miles in three weeks: we should be able to pick up our pace enough for that!


Tomorrow we really will shove off for Highborn Cay, 25 NM north so we can prepare to meet Paul and Mary Beth.


We miss you all.


Bill


Click here for more pictures   http://picasaweb.google.com/heidiberger2/WarderickWells#

Norman's Cay

This post begins at Norman’s Cay, Exumas, Bahamas (25 deg. 35.40' N; 076 deg. 48.08’ W)and continues to Warderick Wells, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, (24 deg.23.06’ N; 076 deg. 38.01’ W )

I am thriving in the cruising lifestyle. My body aches are minimum and my clothing feels looser although I eat all the chocolate I can find. A cruiser in Bimini recently told Bill, "You can tell this suits Heidi...see the look on her face."

A few things I didn't plan on:

1. Sweeping my entire floor by hand with a dustpan and broom on a regular basis because the 1-gallon shop-vac hogs battery power, so is saved for...

2. "StoreBags,” that you suck the air out with aforementioned vacuum, are excellent for saving space and keeping linens and (only recently necessary) unneeded winter clothing dry, and are greatly amusing to use. Downside is they turn a soft bundle into a hard packet, making it more difficult to stuff into a locker. ZipLoc vacuum bags are also good for an evening’s entertainment.

3. Our freezer, never used before this journey, can chill to minus 20 degrees! If we had a blender, we could make fancy blended drinks with umbrellas (if we had umbrellas). I tried to win a blender at the school fair (see last post from Bimini) but, alas.

4. I’m learning to barber and Bill looks remarkably respectable when we go to customs. I’ve only cut my bangs when they interfere with spotting markers on the water, so I’m getting pretty shaggy, and one of these days must work up the nerve to self-style or find a groomer in an anchorage or town.

5. We have a baby monitor aboard. This is not sweet surprise news to our families that we’re “expecting”, but Bill’s clever solution to hear the high-pitched anchor alarm from the cockpit while he sleeps. I hear it just fine without amplification, but the monitor is extra precaution.

6. I am terrifically busy and waaay behind on making Scrubbies. Today was typical: Wake early enough at Norman's Cay to hear Chris Parker's SSB weather report at 0630 hrs., keep VHF radio on to hear mooring ball assignments for Exuma Park at 0900 hrs, so we know if we'll be moving today (yes, we will.). Stow our snorkling equipment and other items which leak out of lockers and bins at each stop, lift the dinghy engine back aboard to the stern (don't tell anyone, but Bill towed engineless dinghy 20 miles today in light winds instead of deflating and lashing back on deck). Leave the anchorage slowly, sitting on deck watching water carefully for shallow coral heads. Once in deep water, I had time to get naked for the first time this year, mend a couple of things, sew ties on hand towels for the galley and take in the waistline of some pants...again...before I had to get un-naked and go back on deck to watch for shallows as we enter Warderick Wells Harbor. As we approached the cay, we saw the most amazing line of deep blue turning to turquoise where the water depth went from 900’.to 30’ in less than 5 seconds. On the way to our mooring we got a dinner invitation from a boat we knew previously, then when we dinghied ashore to check in and hike about 30 minutes to the top of Boo Boo Hill to see the panorama of cays, we met some folksaboard Tamure (they did a four year circumnavigation in the 80's with their two children) who invited us to drinks before dinner, and who already knew we were having dinner with Sparrow. (Note: we’ve lived in Newmarket over 12 years and haven’t been into a neighbor’s house yet.) So after “showering” I made some salad and put together a bag of ginger beers and rum for Dark & Stormy drinks. Then we fell into bed at 2100 hrs. after delightful times aboard both vessels.

Life is sweet and I love you all!

Heidi