Week 18-23: Feb. 4, 2009 to Mar. 15, 2009

Parkinson’s Returning to the Bahamas:

Graeme returned to Marsh Harbour on Jan. 25^th, 2009, whereas I stayed an extra week to help my Mom with legalities, thank you notes & simply emotional support after the death of my father on Jan. 23^rd.

Feb. 4th, 2009 (Week 18, Day 119): I returned to the Bahamas with a very heavy heart. I left Ottawa on the same flight as Carol O’Neil &Pat Morden, who were going to be visiting the Joyce’s for 2 weeks in the Abacos. Being a Wed., & a flight with West Jet, it was a direct flight to Nassau, with a 4 hour wait in Nassau before the final leg to Marsh Harbour. But due to high winds the flight was delayed. Nassau airport is a miserable place ; there are very limited facilities, in the boonies, & it is an expensive taxi ride to town. We finally arrived in Marsh Harbour in the dark 2 hours late. Cool temperatures & gale force winds had been blowing for almost a week before my arrival, & many cruisers took up spots at Mangoes Marina for safety & comfort reasons. The winds had been blowing in a direction that made anchorage in Marsh Harbour rocking & rolling & very wet when travelling to shore by dinghy. In the week before my return, Graeme met many new boaters, many of which were Canadian & they too were expecting guests on the Nassau-Marsh Harbour flight. A few of us shared the taxi that had been arranged to pick us up (Vera-- taxi # 138). And not having had supper yet at 2000hrs., a group of us went to Mangoes for dinner & I was introduced to this new group. I ordered grouper which was served with a mango sauce, rice & plantain—yummy! After unpacking , we hit the sack. I didn’t even hear the strong north winds that howled all night.

Feb. 5^th: Cold N to NE winds & clouds persisted all day; the high today was only 66F. There was no favourable weather & sailing reports predicted for a few days, especially for those of us who wanted to leave the Abacos & move on south towards Eleuthera. We were back into sweats or fleece, top & bottom, long sleeve t-shirt & socks. I got an hour long walk-run in to the west end of Great Abaco Island in the morning & grocery shopping & made a few meals for future suppers in the afternoon. There was a great turn out for Happy Hour & meeting of more new folks.

Feb. 6^th: Sunny with cloudy periods today, cool temps of about 69F & persistent brisk winds; although by suppertime the winds had decreased considerably. The talk amongst the cruisers is that tomorrow departure is a possibility to consider. There just might be a mass exodus from Marsh Harbour. I am itching to move on. Hence my morning walk consisted of walking to the Cost Right, a Bahamian version of a Costco, emailing to family of our intentions & doing laundry in preparation for a possible departure. We bar-hopped from Snappas to Mangoes for Happy Hour.

Feb. 7^th: Internet down in the morning until the marina office reset their router. I had a chat with Mom via Skype & also received a voicemail through Skype with Lee; my first experience at doing that---cool! We arranged with Lee to have our 2009 Decal mailed to Erin Joyce in Ottawa & she would bring it to Marsh Harbour when she came for her visit to the Bahamas in March, then hopefully link up with Celtic Cross before sailing back to Florida towards the end of March-the beginning of April, in order to get our new Decal that is required upon re-entering the USA. With water tanks & jerry cans & fuel tanks & containers topped up, we said our good-byes to new friends & we pushed off the dock at 1030hrs. in a low tide & immediately went aground in 5 ft. water; we should have taken heed of this omen for future mishaps that we were to encounter. With the assistance of our jenny we were able to plow through the shallow spot & out of Marsh Harbour into the Sea of Abaco passed Great Guana Cay, Hope Town. The winds were from the ENE 15-20K with periods of lulls & seas of 1-2ft. Temps were a cool 68F & cloudy with sunny periods. We played the jenny in & out depending on the wind strength, manoevering through the shallows of Lubber’s Bank when suddenly were went aground again at Witch Point in 5ft. of water. The GPS had indicated that there was to be 8-10ft. of water. The tide was low but rising, but the winds & seas were pushing us toward shore. It took persistence with the engine for an hour to get off; there was some grinding sounds which was either coral or hard ground. It is all part of the adventure! Once free we motor-sailed past Tilloo Cay & Tilloo Bank with good depths in a rising tide, then towards & around Channel Cay, past Sandy Cay & onto Lynyard Cay. There must be some debris causing the depth sounder to suddenly stop working. With the wind direction we, decided to tuck in here as we would have been too exposed in Little Harbour by Pete’s Pub. Anchor was down at 1730 hrs. Distance=20nm. There was a near full moon tonight & the winds continued to gust all night from the E.

Feb. 8^th: Winds still blowing a good 20K &we can see that waves are periodically crashing over the rocks by Little Harbour Cut. Temps are a cool 66F with highs of only 68F today. We were still able to get Cruisers Net here & heard that a couple of boats we met up in Marsh Harbour crossed the Cut without any problems. Weather tomorrow is predicted to be much the same as today, so we hold up here for the day &try the Cut tomorrow. Lazy day--- reading & lazying around behind the protection of the dodger out of the cool wind trying to catch some sun rays. We tried cleaning the hull at the level of the depth sounder hoping that will do the trick. By evening the winds were down to 10-15K NE & a good sunset & red sky followed by a full moon.

Feb. 9^th:  The waves were not breaking as heavily over the rocks as yesterday as we watched a boat cross through the Cut at 0700hrs. We up anchored at 0745hrs. listening to the Cruisers Net &on through Little Harbour Cut into NE Providence Channel. Winds were NE 10-15K & chop was 2-4ft., increasing as predicted by noon to 25-30K & 4-6ft. seas. We are on a heading of SE on a beam reach at a speed of 5-7K. We played the jenny in & out according to the winds & the sea chop. We saw 3 freighters, 1 northbound sailboat & a huge cruise ship throughout the day. Our destination is Royal Island, a distance of about 50 mi. By 1245 we hit 25nm, the sea was inky  so deep that the depth sounder was not recording, but GPS indicated over 1300ft. I’m not seasick but I’m not 100% either. At 1600hrs. we started to see some land. We can clearly identify Egg Island & Little Egg Island & mad a wide turn around a visible wreck, then on a beat into Royal Island as the sun is setting, dropping the anchor in 14ft. at 1830hrs. off a beach resort, protected from the NE winds. We decided not to enter the Royal Island protected bay due to the lighting, the time of day & that there is a rock at it’s entrance. Distance=57.9nm. Full moon.

Feb. 10^th:  No local news, no weather or tide reports. At 1000hrs. we beat in an E wind of about 15K & 1-2ft. seas in an NE direction over Meek Patch Island; some protection with current wind direction. Graeme snorkeled to check the prop & anode--- in good shape. We hope to go into Spanish Wells tomorrow. By evening the winds have calmed & it was very calm & the skies were clear with many stars. Full moon up at 2000hrs.

Feb. 11th (Week 19, Day 126):  Sunny with moderate breeze from the E. We up anchored at 0945hrs. &motored the short distance to Spanish Wells, passing Russell Island on port & Charles Island on starboard. The settlement of Spanish Wells is actually on the island of St. George Cay. We motored through the marked & dredged channel that cuts along the harbour front. Legend has it that the Spaniards filled their water casks from the sweet wells of the island, but when you look at the charts, the surrounding reefs & the history of ship wrecks, one wonders how credible the stories are. It is a serious fishing community since 1648 with a self-supporting infrastructure; 75% of Bahamian lobster annual production &export comes from Spanish Wells. It is a settlement of sturdy, well-built & meticulously cared for colourful houses (pink & white, aqua & white, yellow, very bright blue & white, fuschia, periwinkle &even pink & teal) with real grass, flower beds & trees & even some vegetable gardens. Other cruisers have told us that it is an almost completely Caucasian community, where blacks particularly Haitians are ferried to the island in the morning & off at the end of the work day before sunset; because it is such a wealthy community, it has the attention of the government in Nassau in providing them with much money. We slowly progressed down the cut to the mooring field & picked up a mooring ball at $15.00 per night (or $80.00/ week) by hailing Cinnabar or Bandit on VHF16; 9 in total. Jacques was soon around to collect. On Wed. many business close ½-days at noon; Mon through Sat. they open 0800 to 0900hrs. & close at 1700hrs. & close for lunch at 1200 to 1300hrs.; Pinders Super Market at dockside stay open through lunch. So we hustlelled & dinghied to shore. Computer Concepts at the corner of the main street & 18^th St. is where one can buy internet time at $10.00 per hour or one might be able to negotiate a price if you were to use it everyday for an extended period of time. I was desperate for a connection since I had not been in touch with family for 4 days that I bought time, but it was the lunch hour so we spent time walking the 2.5 mi. pink sand beach on the north side of the island; lovely different shades of aqua, teal & blue, shallow for a great distance out, & refreshingly warm. Food Fair (main & 18thSt.) & CW Grocery (main &10^th) are also places to purchase groceries. Kathy’s Bakery is across the street from Food Fair & the bread here as in the grocery stores is expensive ($5.00-5.50/ loaf). We walked past the cemetery, Admin. Offices, Customs, Post Office, & All-Grades School. It certainly is a bustling community with numerous golf carts, motorcycles & bicycles, cars, vans & trucks, freights, ferries small & large (Bo Hengy II daily run from Nassau & onto Little Harbour = $40.00/per person return), fishing boats & harbour activity. We had a late lunch & a late supper, intersperced with map studying & reading. When the sun went in the air & breeze was cool.

Feb. 12^th:  Sunny, very warm &  next to no breeze this morning. In the morning we filled the fuel & water tanks & refilled the jerry cans at Pinders, then spent the sunny, hot afternoon lazying on the beach. In the evening I happened to check for internet access & was able to pick up an unsecured line with my antenna, so the 2 of us worked away for several hours. It was a very calm night, beautiful moon rising in the night sky, but from just before sunset on the no-see-ums were nasty.

Feb. 13^th: Lots of dew was on the deck & canvass in the morning. It was hot, sunny, cloudless & almost windless day with breezes from SSE at a max. of 5K. It was high tied when we departed at 0810hrs. & the sea was calm, at times flat. It was also hazy so looking out on the Caribbean Sea it was difficult to distinguish horizon from water. We were approaching Current Cut at about noon & had planned to anchor off the beach to the north of the Cut, but a slight current seemed to be with us & it appeared to be high ebb, & a local fisherman encouraged us to go now but not in an hours time, so we proceeded with a 1K current. Current Cut is a deep passage (35ft.) with eddies on starboard & after exiting the Cut it is shallower (7.2ft) on starboard, then it averages out to 12ft. Lower Bogue & Rotten Bay to port looked too shallow at this time of the day & tide, thus we turn south & slide down Current Island anchoring in absolute sandy bottom bay at 1315hrs. in 6.5 ft of amazingly clear water. The rest of the day was simply so relaxing lunching on a hotdog, reading, & swimming to cool down in the refreshing turquoise water. Distance=14.1nm. Very calm, still night with no lights, clear skies & tons of stars. This is the life! It was then that I discovered the no-see-ums bites I had acquired the night prior.

Feb. 14^th:  Happy Valentine’s Day! Sunny, calm morning with few clouds in the periphery only. Winds ESE at 5-8K. We up anchored at 0900hrs.& gently sailed towards Glass Window on an easterly direction averaging 3.5K; it seems to be a calm enough day to view this narrow part of North Eleuthera with the shallow, turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea are on one side & the deep navy blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean come in crashing into the huge rock cliffs with a single lane bridge joining the two separate land sites. We anchored at 1300hrs. in a bay a little ways past Glass Window, had lunch, then dinghied to shore & walked across Queens Hwy. over the rugged & jagged rock formation that had been eroded over thousands of years to capture the Atlantic Ocean coastline of Eleuthera, then up to the bridge that seemed to be still under construction after a rogue wave took out the bridge in 1991. Photos +++. We were the only sailboat around for miles! On returning to Sweet Chariot, we took a dip in the refreshing but absolutely amazing crystal clear turquoise waters here because it was so hot. It can’t get any better than this! Then we up anchored & slid down from Three Sisters Beach to Kravitz Beach for a little more wind protection. Distance= 11.0nm. There was a nice looking resort here with a beautiful sand beach + palms. Being Valentine’s Day, I had stuck a bottle of champagne in the fridge to chill given to us by Maureen & Bryan for that perfect Bahamas sunset night; it was looking very promising to be that perfect sunset with perhaps a green flash as the sky was so clear, but at the last minute a low bank of clouds came across the horizon. Too bad; everything else was perfect & the champagne still tasted the best! Another perfect BBQ night; the 2^nd in a row. During the evening before bed, every so often we gently felt the keel touch the sand bottom---low tide, so we felt it best to up anchor & relocate about 200ft. further out. Another very calm night with a soft fore & aft rolling action of the sea. I have noticed on these nights after a warm day that when first getting into bed the linens feel slightly damp, but in short order one’s body heat rids the bed of that feeling.

Feb. 15^th: I did not sleep well, waking in the wee hours of the night, & then on & off sleep. Every night I think of my Dad & then I get teary thinking about losing him, even though he is in a better place. Upon rising at dawn I noticed a slight evidence of fog in the low areas of the land; quite pretty in fact. This is the 4^th day in a row that it is sunny, hot, near cloudless blue sky & as yesterday, a deceptive amount of wind compared to the calmness of the water. We up anchored at 0845hrs., sailed towards Gregorytown, the pineapple capital of the Bahamas, but being a Sunday & everything closed, we continued on slithering down the rocky cliffs & shoreline in a SE direction with light winds of 5K from the south, Hatchet Bay & James Cistern until at 1330hrs. we anchored just north of Pelican Cay close to Alabaster Bay. Distance= 15.1nm. We have met no other cruisers & I am getting anxious to meet some people. A very quiet evening & night with light rolling action during the night.

Feb.16th (Week 20, Day 133):  I have titled this day our D-day. In history D-day was a triumphant day; D-day Feb. 16,2009 was our Disaster Day; the day our trip southward ended. It began as a sunny, warm day with a light breeze, but weather predictions indicated a cold front was approaching. We up anchored at 0830hrs. & in so doing noticed a section of the rode of about 18in. had chaffed close up to the chain; the rode must have been rubbing on some coral last night & perhaps that was the unusal sound I heard about 0300hrs.; we will need to change the ends of the rode. We sailed along in a SE direction with a west wind of 5-8K towards Governors Harbour as they have laundry, grocery facilities & government mooring balls if the weather is to turn nasty. We had to keep our eyes open to avoid fishing nets along the way. At 1100hrs. we entered the harbour & easily tied up to the last remaining mooring ball. Distance=8.4nm. We had lunch & were able to hook up to the internet from our location, so did some emailing to family since we have had no access for several days. Laundry was all sorted &all supplies were loaded into the dinghy, then off to shore at 1330hrs. Graeme went & paid our mooring fee of $5.71 in the pink Administration Office, & then up we went to find the Laundromat. It is run by a Bahamian named Emily. Each machine costs $3.00. When we were coming ashore in the dinghy it was a rising tide & the area of beach was diminishing, so at 1430hrs. he went to check on the dinghy, returned & said that he would wait for me at the dinghy. He returned to the dinghy at 1530hrs. I had noticed how the wind had picked up. I returned to the beach with the clean laundry at about 1600hrs. only to discover no Graeme, the dinghy still tied where we had left it, but Sweet Chariot was not in the location we left her, she was listing to port, yet the mooring ball was still attached; the government mooring ball had broken loose from it’s anchor & now Sweet Chariot was beached! The north winds & seas had increased considerably to at least 20K. Suddenly I see Graeme climbing from a powerboat onto Sweet Chariot. They try to free her from a line from the bow but she is too hard aground. Next was taking a halyard from the top of the mast, tipping her to starboard when she came around about 180 degrees but still not free. From shore I could hear a snapping/pinging sound thinking that it was our mooring line that had snapped; I learnt later that it was cleats from the powerboat that were pulled off, & that the mooring line caught around the prop. The wind & sea continued to slam against the hull moving her almost back in the original position. A Bahamian government worker by the name of Susie was trying to console me. Lines were re-established & with persistence Sweet Chariot was freed then towed around the point in the area between Cupid Cay & Laughing Bird Cay where Graeme set the anchor just before sunset. He walked back to where I was hugged me, as I collapsed in his arms & said the rudder is so very badly damaged that the boat is inoperable. We didn’t know what to do, what to think, just couldn’t believe what had just happened, as we stood holding each other crying & trembling. All the town people & cars that lined the harbour road had dispersed. We launched the dinghy in waist high saltwater; Graeme drove it around to the back bay & picked me up & the laundry & we returned to our damaged home. Upon entering the boat now in the dark we discovered saltwater in the bilge up to the floor boards. The mopping up began as we rocked & rolled from side to side often losing our balance & being thrown down, only to discover more areas that were filled with water ie the compartment where I kept my shoes; the shoes were floating in water. Once we had the main cabin cleaned up I insisted that we have some supper, but Graeme was too upset to eat. We had no engine power because a mooring line was still wrapped around the prop; so we were conserving battery power & working with flashlights & a kerosene lamp. We discovered that we had lost our see-through connector at some point through this mishap. At midnight we tried to put our heads down to sleep, I in the V-berth & Graeme in the main cabin, but sleep would not come. And every 30-60 min. one of us had to be up to sponge the bilge; water was either coming in through the stuffing box or slowly down the sides from between the hull &deck due to the degree of heel of the boat during the rescue. The winds were howling from the WNW, the seas were rocking &rolling us so much that we had to hold on from not being knocked off our beds. We worried about the chaffing spot on our rode that we did not change yet, if the anchor were to drag we would be on the rocks that were about 100ft. away where the waves were crashing into. The night light can be so deceptive. Finally Graeme suggested that we both prepare a bag with the belongings we most wanted in case we had to abandon ship; we tied the dinghy up close on port for a quick escape. Daylight could not come soon enough.

Feb. 17^th: Despite an almost sleepless night, we survived & made it to dawn. At the crack of dawn more mopping up & cleaning began; I was finding fine sand in the head & on counters & shelves & saltwater in all lower compartments & storage lockers ie the hanging locker, the locker on starboard with all our tins & non-perishable foods, & the locker on port storing many tools. The cabin floors were washed repeatedly. No engine, no power , no refrigeration so the first thing in the morning was to free the prop of the mooring line & hope the engine would run, that the transmission was not damaged; with swimsuit, snorkel &mask Graeme climbed into the cold waters & successfully freed the prop. We could now put the engine in neutral & she ran---hurray for small mercies! Second, was to adjust the stuffing box & that cured the trickling of water into the bilge. Thirdly, was to see if the fridge & compressor would work--- yes!; so the process of cooling it down from 15C began. We tried to eat a simple breakfast but Graeme felt unwell & my stomach ached. We have to keep going as we have a long day ahead of us! During the night the winds had clocked to the NE, but by morning they were now SE to S still at 15-20K, but the seas where we were anchored had calmed down. The sun was shining, but the breeze was brisk & cool; plenty to hang out some of our clothes that were wet of saltwater; don’t know what they will feel like without been washed in fresh water. Mid morning we ventured to shore up to the Admin. Office to see what they would do as far as towing us to a boatyard (the nearest being Spanish Wells, about 50 mi. away) for repairs & to see how much they would compensate us because of their government mooring ball that failed & resulted in this disaster. The Port Officer is Lionel Fernander & it was he that we first had to speak to; he said he was in the midst of doing his report, which would then to go the Administrator Gary Knowles & any further action would be his decision. There is a lovely library on the corner (Haynes Library, 1897) that we stopped in first to see what facilities they had ie email, fax machine. They had very nice computers for public use at the rate of $5.00 per hour; I needed to let my family know of our problems. Because I was used to library services to be free & the emotional strain, on walking out I simply burst into tears. The librarian saw my reaction, put two & two together that we were the sailboat that she & all the town folk saw beached yesterday, came running after us & allowed us to use their computers free of charge to contact the necessary people. With tears streaming down my face & trying to think logically, I wrote my necessary emails, one of with included communication to Tina & Lee in Fort Lauderdale. Then back to the boat where we composed our letters to each of these government officials in written form (no internet access in this location on the boat & no printer on board), & the drying of more clothes. Late afternoon we returned to the Admin. Office & handed in our letters. They mentioned about re-locating us to a more comfortable location but at sunset there was no news. Early supper & early to bed as we were exhausted. The winds & seas had calmed down considerably so we slept well properly & in bed with clean, fresh smelling linen.

Feb. 18^th:  Feeling much more rested on rising this morning. I couldn’t fine the head sink drain plug, so did more cleaning behind the toilet & under the sink finding more sand & saltwater, but no drain plug. After washing up I decided I would put some eye makeup on today, hoping that it would be an incentive I needed to keep from crying. I felt so low, so lonely with no other boaters around. I was having a hard time seeing any positive out of all of this. We are alone in a foreign country; we have no control over anything; we can’t move if we wanted to; one wonders what is going on in the background that we are not privy to. And I can’t help but think of my Dad. But we are alive & we have some where to live. Mid morning we ventured in the Admin. Office seeing the mooring ball out front with the mooring line still attached & the broken end which is usually secured to the anchor system; photos taken. We spoke to Mr. Fernander & made him aware that we were not re-located, that we had given a substantial sum of money to the 3 people who performed the rescue; he seemed surprised & mentioned the damage to the rescue boat would be their responsibility, & that he has calls out to people to tow us but awaiting their reply & ultimately the Administrator’s decision. We then walked up to the Bakery (good variety of breads, biscuits, donuts, tarts & sandwiches, & reasonable prices; white bread=$2.75, whole wheat=$3.25, raisin=$3.50). We walked past the Dept. of Tourism to Burrows One Stop Shop which had the best selection of fresh produce & checked out a few other shops just out of curiosity, & finally back to the Admin. Office. But no new news. We returned to the boat & although it was sunny with cloudy periods, the winds were increasing & clocking SW to W; not a good direction for this anchorage; in fact we felt like a cork bobbing up & down in the ocean. Late afternoon we were back into the Admin. Office; Mr. Fernander was quite aware of the uncomfortable location we were in, but still no action to re-locate us. We walked about the town, up over the hilltop till we could see the Atlantic--- some very nice homes & even construction of a new complex in this area, but the road deteriorated into huge potholes. We hustled back as sunset was soon upon us & as we were dinghing back to the boat one of the rescue guys, Paul Petty, caught our attention. We were to be on VHF tomorrow morning at 0730 with news of a tow. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Feb. 19^th:  Sunny, cloudless blue sky, but the wind is cool, blowing from the SW at 15-20K, so yes we are still bobbing up & down. Paul showed up at our boat at 0730hrs. & said that Danny Colmer , also part of the rescue team, would be towing us to Spanish Wells around 0915hrs. but still to be confirmed by the Admin. Office. Paul, we found out is also on the Port Board, so seems to have some pull about things. We were at the Admin. Office when they opened at 0900hrs. but no confirmation of the tow. No one seems to know the Administrator’s ruling, but he was not in. Instead we left all the details with his Senior Admin. Secretary. The hours tick away; no tow. At noon Paul returns & said he would tow us south to a marina in South Palmetto called Runaway Bay Marina because he didn’t feel right leaving us anchored in this location with no protection. Soon we were on our way under tow in 2-3 ft. waves for 5 miles, which did a number on our mooring lines. They would never survive a 50 mi. tow to Spanish Wells. To get us through the narrow channel into the marina, the tow boat had to come along side us & push us through & to the dock straight ahead, where we had to quickly get a line on the bow & stern dock poles to come to a stop. Looking around one can see that a lot of dredging has been down here. The story of this place is that it was being developed as a marina but the owner abandoned the project due to red tape, permit & money issues. We sighted 2 turtles in the dredged basin. There is an exquisite restaurant with a magnificent view over looking the sea called The Dolce Vita that has WiFi I am able to access; fantastic food, great décor, run be a Canadian (Montrealer) & her husband, the chef, an Italian & the waitress (Johanie). There are some very nice homes along the road that leads to South Palmetto Settlement, an hour’s walk away to a bleak & a basic grocery store. It is very isolated here.

Feb. 20^th:  Light winds from the W in the morning that changed to the N by noon & graying, rain-like clouds, but not enough to wash by. By nightfall the winds were gusting from the N---another cold front. Graeme worked on pieces of equipment that was exposed to saltwater that needed repairing, while I worked on the internet to stay in touch with family & friends & took up a cross stitching project. Our friends Tina & Lee from Ft. Lauderdale so happen to have an old rudder from their Viking 33 they had when in Ottawa. It happened to get moved to Ft. Lauderdale & they were offering it to us. This certainly is a bright light to our dilemma. No contact or news from Governors Harbour. We are now out of their sight in this isolated community. Was this a wise decision to be moved here? We are secure. But we have no phone numbers & are 5 mi. from town.

Feb. 21^st:  This is Day 6 since the boat damage & no more closer to having repairs done let allow what is to happen. I didn’t feel liked getting out of bed this am. We are low of butter, bread & meat, & thought it best to preserve water because there is no source of fresh water here so no dishwashing till supper. The tears are flowing too readily today. It is cloudy with sunny breaks with winds in the am gusting from the ENE to about 10K & the sea appears calm, but by the afternoon & all evening the winds are from the N to NE & blowing 20-30K.  After lunch we walked for 2 hours into South Palmetto & back for some provisions.

Feb. 22^nd:  Before sunrise there was complete dead calmness of air & sea, & hence the no-see-ums invaded in hordes even before rising from sleep. Despite applying products high in deet, the no-see-ums were more than a nosense all day; we were eaten alive. A very slight breeze about noon from SSW that later switched to NE. I seem to have picked up a good internet connection today so worked many hours communication with friends in the Bahamas & in Ottawa & family.

Feb. 23^rd:  Day 8. I didn’t sleep well last night & so had plenty of time to think. Even if it meant hitch hiking, which I have never done or walking, I was going to make an appearance at the Admin. Office in Governors Harbour . Instead Danny who happens to have his crabbing boat located in this harbour, offered to drive me. When I arrived & asked to speak to Mr. Knowles (Administrator) I was told he was in Nassau all day. I made an appointment with the Senior Secretary (Carletta Turnquest) to see him at 0930 the following morning. Mr. Fernander was going in my direction, so after picking up a few groceries he agreed to drive me back to isolation. Danny so happened to be at his boat again & asked how things went & I related my story. He once again offered to drive me in the morning; pick up time 0915hrs. Graeme insisted on buying lunch at Dolce Vita; pricey but excellent. I took the opportunity to work on the internet with power for several hours. Afterwards Graeme got into the water & chiseled away at the rudder that was split open at the top & jammed up in such a fashion that made it impossible to turn the wheel. Grey & cloudy all day with NE winds increasing especially during the night.

Feb. 24^th: S hrove (Pancake)Tuesday.  Although late, Danny did show up & drove both of us to the Admin. Office. We were shown into the Senior Secretary’s office; Mr. Knowles was not in yet. We waited. At 1015hrs. she got a hold of him. He was still in Nassau & would not be returning until the end of the day, but he would see us at 1600hrs. Now to waste the day in Governors Harbour. We walked in & around Cupid Cay, to the bakery, & for some reason I decided to wander into the Dept. of Tourism & ask them if they help tourists in trouble. We met Glenda & explained our dilemma; she made a couple of calls to Spanish Wells for us where Graeme was able to explain our problems & obtained some quotes from R&B Boatyard. She wanted us to let her know about our meeting with Mr. Knowles at 1600hrs. & she would drive us back to the boat. Well that was helpful! We wasted the day as much as we could, returning to the Admin. Office at 1500hrs. Carletta knew that we had been speaking to Glenda at the Dept. of Tourism before we even told her & that we had arranged a ride home at 1700hrs. No Mr. Knowles at 1600, 1630 & 1645 hrs. At 1700hrs. Mr. Knowles shows & shortly we have our half hour meeting with him pleading our case. He stated that he has no funds & is in no position to rule in this situation; he receives the report from the Port Officer & it is presented to the Port Board, but the Port Controller in Nassau (Captain Anthony Allens) makes such decisions. Bureaucracy!!! What a fruitless meeting! What a wasted day! A meeting though is set up for 0930hrs. tomorrow & Carletta is instructed by him to pick us up. Glenda from Tourism is called & she drives us back to our boat, even inviting us to join her for dinner, but we gracefully decline. I did some homework & prepared a list of questions & comments should the need arise depending on how the meeting goes tomorrow. Another poor sleep night.

Feb. 25th (Week 21, Day 140):  Ash Wednesday. Cloudy, gusty winds persist from the NE 15-20K &sea chop was about 1ft. We arrived at the meeting with Mr. Fernander also present &Mr. Knowles came right to the point. The decision had been made that they would look after our tow to Spanish Wells & from there the damage would be assessed; no need to plead my case by asking my list of questions & comments prepared last night. Lets leave now! Let our insurance deal with the Bahamian Government re the cost of boat repairs. We are going to Spanish Wells today! We expressed our thanks & appreciation. Also we walked to Dept. of Tourism & told Glenda the decision; I could not stop hugging her with tears streaming down my face. And again she had a coworker drive us back to South Palmetto to prepare for our departure, which was to be done in 2 phases; 1^st night in Hatchet Bay, then onto Spanish Wells a distance of about 50 mi. The hours ticked away slowly, low tide was soon upon us. At 1530hrs. Leander Cartwright from Hatchet Bay & his crabbing boat, ‘Double Eagle’, arrived with 2 other assistants & by 1630hrs. we were on our way. Of course we had to make a grand exit & go aground at the markers! The skies cleared & the sun came out in all it’s glory; I know this is a sign from my Dad upstairs, a sign of a good omen! It was a beautiful sunset & all the steep, rocky cliffs we had sailed by 10 days ago we were observing from different eyes. In complete darkness it is a very different, unnerving, spooky feeling. We were seeing street & house lights from the small settlements & slight fog as car lights travelled Queens Highway along the hilly Eleutherean coast. The winds were still NE but the seas were a bit higher adding to the erriness of the night. The towboat would every now & again shine a huge spotlight onto to the land to there before your eyes would be a rock faced cay. These guys obviously know the area by heart. Finally approaching 2100hrs. we past through the narrow entrance under tow into Hatchet Bay, went aground twice in the manner in which Leander had to make the approach to the dock, then tied up sideways against ‘Double Eagle’ which in turn was tied to the concrete dock.. ‘Double Eagle’ had been fishing all day; they threw all their catch in the boat freezer, hosed the boat down, then lickety split gone with instructions that 0500-0600hrs. would be go time; fine with us. Grilled cheese sandwiches for supper now 2200hrs., then to bed. One more step closer!

Feb. 26^th:  The alarm went off at 0430hrs. & the hours went by & no Leander. Has he stood us up? At 0800hrs. he shows up, alone! We didn’t say a word as we just wanted to get to Spanish Wells & safely. Cloudy with sunny periods this am & cool winds at our beam still from the NE blowing 15-20K & seas of 2-3ft. & white caps; even a brief rain shower. Sweet Chariot was swaying from side to side, jerking & bouncing & Leander all alone was happy as a clam with his music blaring having to correct his position to ours. At 1030hrs. we were making our approach to Current Cut in these conditions. I was nervous as hell, in fact white knuckled. We couldn’t tell if the current was with us, but we passed through this dreaded cut like silk. Land mass of north Eleuthera was now protection for us from the sea chop & the wind was now more close hauled. We entered the channel into Spanish Wells at low tide, maneuvering around a freighter & to a dock arranged for us by R&B Boatyard at 1215hrs. There were dock hands there to assist our landing since we have nil steerage. I believe I mentioned before that it is very civilized here; most businesses close for lunch between 1200-1300hrs., so we too had lunch. Afterwards we met Robert, part owner of the boatyard; no time frame given as they are busy & have customers booked before us. Breathe easy; we have made it to Spanish Wells safely at government’s expense & we are on island time. A coolish & breezy night with multiple stars in the night sky. We retired to our beds early tonight; I wonder why?

Feb. 27^th:  Sunny with cloudy periods. Winds still from the NE at a very gentle 5-8K & the sun was warm. It was laundry day today, so off to CW Grocery with cart & laundry paraphanalia & backpack with laptop in case I acquired internet access otherwise there was my novel to read. Sue Lynn has 1 washer & 1 dryer at $4.00 each; tokens to be purchased from her during working hours, but machines are in a shed out back opened 24/7. There was a nice enough breeze that I was going to just hang the 3 loads of laundry all around the boat; a juggling act that finished at 1530hrs. And what did you do all day today? It was a magnificent day weather-wise, wasted doing laundry. But the best was when we were BBQ’ing a steak supper, we heard this slap, slap noise, looked up & saw this lone dolphin slamming its tail in the water then leaping 8ft. into the air repeatedly down the length of the channel. It was a sight to behold! More & more boats had been entering the harbour hoping to pick up a mooring, as impending bad weather with winds of 40K are predicted for Sunday night. But tonight was beautiful, calm, & quiet under a star-filled sky.

Feb. 28^th:  Last day of the month. How time has flown yet we did not accomplish our goals. I was off after breakfast to do my hour power walking looking for the 3 churches on the island &  for antennae that may get me internet access. I took in the beauty of this settlement with all the well kept yards & homes, freshly painted gaily in any combination of colours of pink & white, aqua & white, yellow, bright bright blue & white, fuschia, periwinkle, blue & yellow, & even pink & teal. Graeme washed down the boat with fresh water. Because of our location, we met many other cruisers & everyone seemed to know our story & misfortune. Even while I was walking up to the larger grocery store (Food Fair), I met a Scottish couple who have been on the seas for 9 years. It was speaking with other cruisers that seemed to lift me out of the black hole I felt I was trapped in; I couldn’t seem to see any light. After noon, work was started on freeing up the quadrant then trying to drop the rudder, but it was so badly bent that very aggressive tactics would be necessary. And being a Sat. & the end of the day, the next method would now have to wait till Mon. I took Prism & cleaned all the boat chrome, watching even more boats hoping for shelter on a mooring ball. This is where we met up with ‘Alto’, whom we first met way back on the Hudson River. Late in the afternoon I thought I would try my hunches re internet access, & down by Ronald’s Seafood proved successful; there were 28 emails in our Inbox. I even called my Mom on Skype successfully. Another warm & quiet night.

Mar. 1:  Warm, sunny day with little to no wind. Graeme was up early washing the decks & canvass all down again with fresh water. My power walk after breakfast was to the west end of the island to the Public Park & Restrooms--- lovely powdery soft pink sand beach, areas of swings, jungle jims etc. for children, picnic tables, BBQ’s, outdoor shower heads, & clean washrooms separate for men &; women with 2 bathroom stalls & a shower stall; impressive! We must try these showers out; I can’t remember the last time I showered properly. We met more cruisers today. My hotspot was still working for internet access, so we were communicating with Lee 1-2 times per day as to the progress on the rudder. Since noon the winds had increasing from the SSW & by evening they were blowing from the WSW. ‘Alto’ had the ability to print off very detailed hourly weather predictions for a 5 day period from the web site windfinder.com. Revised predictions now had the winds highest north of Spanish Wells at 27 degrees. Nevertheless it howled during the night as we were securely tied up to a dock.

Mar. 2:  Grey & white clouds with sunny periods, but the winds were cold from the NW to N at about 10-15K; we were back into sweats/fleece & long sleeves. My power walk took me in & out, up & down the streets at the west end. We were awaiting the R&B crew to arrive with the aggressive method to knock out the rudder & rudder post with a heavy duty sledgehammer. To my hotspot to email & Skype Mom. When I returned the sledgehammer was in action & with the right heavy duty stainless tube, the rudder & post were freed & caught by a diver in the water. The damaged goods were examined & there was much discussion, but the advice for the quickest & cheapest fix was to get Lee’s rudder from Fort Lauderdale. The necessary info of the air freight company & the info required for the obligatory invoice for Customs was obtained from Robert, then down to my hotspot once again at 1630hrs. to email Lee. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Mar. 3 (Week 21, Day 146):  Brilliant day, sunny with few clouds, cool temps & winds N at 5-10K. My purpose for walking today was to search for someone to cut my hair & to take pictures; I had not picked up my camera since Feb. 15^th.  Joanie cut my hair mid morning; way too short especially at the crown but it will grow. I checked the emails & Lee wrote that Twin-Air Calypso closed at 1800 hrs. on Mon. & they do not fly to this vicinity on Wednesdays. O.K., we will wait. We dinghied over to Genes Bay Ferry Dock on Eleuthera to the liquor store as Spanish Wells is a dry island. Then we went down to the Public Park, walked the beautiful beach around the west end as it was low tide & watched a family jumping from the bridge that goes to Russell Island, then took that long awaited shower; oh my! Cool night with light breeze, some stars & some cloud.

Mar 4th (Week 22, Day 146):  The morning started out quite cloudy &  we had decided that since it is Wed. & the rudder would not be arriving till tomorrow, we would take the high speed ferry called Bo Hengy II ($40.00 per person round trip) once it arrives from Nassau at about 1000hrs. over to Harbour Island for the day. The clouds broke up & were less threatening, but the winds were strong from the ENE & were predicted to stay high till Sun. or Mon., which meant the sea would be high & uncomfortable. What a ride! The ferry cruised at almost 30K, quite close to shore that was crashing the rocky shore over to Harbour Island, so lots of sea spray, past the coral heads of the Devils Backbone. We headed to the beach once we arrived about 35-40 min. later; wide, soft pink sand, but very windy today. The kite gliders were having a ball. We walked Dunmore St., lunched at the lovely Valentine’s Resort & Marina, walked into a 1700 RC Church, past the bakery which was closed & had a beer just before boarding the ferry that returned to Spanish Wells at 1540hrs. I prefer the settlement on Spanish Wells, but it was a fun day that we shared with a cruising couple from the New England area. We ended the night differently as well--- we watched a DVD loaned to us by a cruiser.

Mar 5^th:  Sunny with cloudy periods with cool winds from the E. I started a new routine, whereby when we run the engine to cool the fridge & charge cell phones, handheld VHF, & laptops, I worked in Word on my email journal; thank you France & Donald (Alto). Then it was out for my power walk, meeting ‘Whiskey Mak’ on my return route, then at noon a surprise visit from Merril & Cindy (Ambition). I made a Greek pasta salad & hamburger patties for guests for supper tonight. Now the rest of the afternoon is free to email at my hotspot & read. The rudder has arrived & everyone is telling us it is sitting on the harbour dock. But no invoice appeared to be attached to Lee’s rudder packaging, so Customs would not release it to R&B; Robert said he could take care of that problem & he did. No installation today though. Cool & windy again this evening.

Mar. 6^th:  Another day that is sunny with cloudy periods & cool moderate winds from the ENE to E. Again it was email journal writing while engine running, then walk to Food Fair for fresh fruit & veggies that are usually delivered late pm on Wed. I picked up a little bit here. This is an example of prices here: pears= $0.95 ea., oranges= $0.75 ea., green pepper= $0.70-0.75 ea., iceberg lettuce which has been staying well for decent length of time= $2.80. Anti-fouling applied to rudder this pm & scheduled for installation tomorrow. I bought some seafood at Ronald’s; 1 lb. grouper fillet= $9.00 & crawfish (spiny lobster)= $15.00 per lb.; absolutely delicious! We watched another DVD tonight.

Mar. 7^th:  Cloudy morning with winds about 8-10K from E. It was departure day for many boats that were heading further south or planning the crossing of the Atlantic back to the Abacos via the Little Harbour Cut. In fact, the weather window is predicted to hold right through till Mon. or Tues. The rudder installation was coordinated mid morning with a diver pushing the rudder & post up from the water; all was going well until the quadrant was tightened & it was discovered the hole drilled was not a 90 degree measurement, but in fact 30 degree. Now what to do? The only thing was specifically mark where the new hole needs to be drilled, drop the rudder again, weld the old hole & re-drill the new hole, then re install the rudder & the quadrant. In my anticipation that the work would be complete about noon, I started readying for a departure mid afternoon over to Royal Island; those preparations came to an abrupt halt. The skies had cleared by mid morning with winds about 15K. I grabbed my book & went to the bow & laid out in the sun, said some prayers & talked to my Dad. The Sat. work day ends at 1700 hrs. & tomorrow, Sunday, is a day of rest. My prayers were answered; the work was all completed at 1630hrs. Now the settling up of expenses!?! Much to our surprise, the bill which included flight delivery & Custom Duty of the rudder, labour & dockage was very reasonable. Supper was a happy event this evening. A calm night with light breeze & the makings of a near full moon.

Mar. 8^th:  Daylight Savings! There is barely any light at 0600hrs. This is the day that we make our departure from Spanish Wells just a few miles closer before doing the Atlantic crossing to the Abacos. We took a ride down to the Public Park for a shower, lifted the dinghy engine & Graeme did other necessities for departure while I ran down to my hotspot to email family & friends of our plans to move on. The tide was now on the down when we shoved off the dock at 1045hrs. A pair of dolphins ushered us out of channel. It was cloudy with sunny periods light breeze from the ESE, so we had a gentle sail with the jenny fully deployed for the short distance of 3.96nm to Royal Island; anchor was down at 1215hrs. The entrance is well marked with red & green lights, & the anchorage is well protected from all directions. There are 5 sailboats + 2 power boats anchored here. Graeme got his buzz hair cut this afternoon since there was virtually no wind. It was still light at 1900hrs. & I hardly had thought about supper. The wind from E to ESE picked up a little late afternoon, but still a calm & quiet night with a near full moon. Since we have started our journey to go back home & there are 2000 mi. to go, I have come to realize that 10 months is too long a time for me to be living on a boat & we are just in month 6 now, & the lack of consistent physical exercise is really bugging me to no end. But more importantly, I want to thank Tina & Lee for their rudder; you are God’s angels!!! I want to thank all those people who have been emailing encouraging messages to us through this ordeal!!! You have no idea how it has helped me imparticular!

Mar. 9^th:  Winds are as predicted very light, so the crossing will be very slow & a lot of motoring. Hence Graeme has re-thought the plan; we want to arrive with good daylight when we cross Little Harbour Cut where the deep Atlantic waters meets the shallow Sea of Abaco. Rollers are common here & you want to be going with the current. We are now going to leave Royal Island at 1500hrs. & do an overnight crossing of the Atlantic; that will give us several day hours even for a very slow crossing. We had our major meal at 1300hrs. &I pr epared a number of sandwiches for supper &/or when we felt we needed some nourishment. And at 1415hrs. we up anchored & winds increased a little from the E. We fully deployed the jenny as we were on a run sliding down Egg & Little Egg Island, past the wreck, changed our point of sail to a beat averaging 4K. The depth sounder dropped steadily & quickly from 10ft. aqua waters to 40 then 90ft. navy waters; further in the passage it is so deep that the depth sounder does not even register. Absolutely clear sunset at 1910hrs. but did not see a green flash & the moon was already up. Graeme rested from 1900 to 2400hrs. then it was my turn to sleep hopefully as I then had the 2400 to 0400hrs. shift; this is just like being at work. Winds from ENE were diminishing.

Mar. 10^th:  The winds on my shift were nil to next to nil. Even late at night you could see the flat water, no chop, just long 2-3ft. swells. We were only doing speeds of 1.2 to 3.0K. Lots of cloud cover until near the end of my shift at 0400hrs. so the full moon wasn’t observed at it’s best. Graeme took over while I slept pretty well from 0400 to 0700hrs. Sunrise was about 0700hrs.; there was some cloud cover but the sun rays steaming down through the clouds were spectacular. About 10 mi. from the Cut at 0800hrs. we started picking up the Abaco Cruisers Net on VHF 68. We can now clearly see bottom at a depth of 50 ft. High tide was at 0830hrs. We had a pushing sea with a few breaking rollers when we crossed the Cut at 1045hrs. We down anchored at 1115hrs. at Lynyard Cay; lots of boats here today. Distance= 56.2nmn. We had a good pancake breakfast-lunch. Graeme did some snorkeling to clean the hull of growth & sea grass off the prop. It was lovely, warm & sunny today. Good sunset & clear, star-filled sky with a near full moon.

Mar. 11th (Week 23, Day 153):  Beautiful sunny, warm day with a few clouds & light winds from the E, minimal chop & temps of 76-78F . This weather is to hold like this till Sun. With high tide at 0930hrs. we up anchored at 1005hrs. & passed the shallow waters of Tiloo Banks to Tavern Cay at 1300hrs. We met up with ‘Alto’ in this very serene location. We put the dinghy motor back on the dinghy & motored around the area of Tiloo Cay, Lubbers Quarters, Tahiti Beach. It was the official full moon tonight & a nice E to SE wind tonight.

Mar. 12^th:  Happy Birthday to my sister! And a lovely day it is here at Tavern Cay; so peaceful, near solitude, steady moderate E winds , sunny with a few clouds & warm. High tide today at 1000 hrs. We were on our way to Marsh Harbour at 0915hrs. & passed Celtic Cross going in the opposite direction. We were able to hail Marsh Harbour Boatyard as we were sailing by their premises, but they are unable to repair/replace our cutlass bearing until Mar 18^th, that probably sustained damage when a mooring line got trapped in the prop during our rescue. Once in Marsh Harbour & anchored, we hustled to shore to do laundry & grocery shopping. After supper we were back to shore to Skype Donna to wish her a Happy Birthday, & Mom & check our emails. Beautiful, clear, little coolish night.

Mar. 13^th:  The day started out cloudy, but just as the Cruisers Net weather forecast predicted the sun came out late morning & it became warm. Winds were from the ESE at 10-15K. I worked on this journal in the am while our charging process was underway, then it was to town to do a few errands such as banking & the bakery & of course window shopping. Back to the boat for lunch, then to shore to swap novels with Mangoes & purchase others at Buck A Book (open Mon. Wed. Fri. from 1430-1700hrs.). We walked the docks where Moorings & Sun Sail have their charter boats, then took in the panoramic view of the harbour from upstairs at Curly Tails sipping a rum punch. Threatening clouds rolled in at sunset but that did not deter the conch blowers in the harbour to sounding the sunset. The weekly Friday evening music from Curly Tails was clearly audible from any spot in the harbour, from Happy Hour through to midnight.

Mar. 14^th:  There was a short but good downpour of rain in the wee hours of the morning, just enough to wash some of the salt off the decks. Cloudy with sunny breaks & winds from the SE at about 15K. A weak cold front is expected Sun. night & Mon. We splurged & had a shower in the cockpit this morning after breakfast. After lunch we went to shore to ask directions from Ray at Mangoes on walking to Marsh Harbour Boatyard. Instead Ray drove us there. It is common practice in Marsh Harbour for many businesses on Sat. to close at noon. The boatyard was no exception. Graeme is most uncomfortable now to motor anywhere knowing about the cutlass bearing issue. And the Mar. 18^th appointment is still 4 days away; 4 days that we could have used to visit other Abaco Islands in the vicinity of interest to us. We are hoping to start heading north & make the jump to Florida around Mar. 18-19^th. So today we did some inquiries about taking a ferry to Hope Town & Man-A-War Cay ($25.00 each return trip), & ½ day snorkel tours to the reefs around the Park Reserve near Fowl Cay ($65.00 each); we will think about that. Last dinghy trip before heading back was to Scaggs Fish Market; they sell almost everything but in bulk--- too much for 2 people & for the limited room we have onboard. I did find a package of 3 individually wrapped yellowfin tuna steaks($6.00 per lb.) for supper tonight. They also had crawfish which I may go back & get before leaving Marsh Harbour. It has been an emotionally down day for me today; I really want to be home now. Read & slept till sunset when I should have invited ‘Alto’ over for Happy Hour. As I worked away on my journal tonight, I hear Mangoes having their weekly music show.

Mar. 15th (Week 23, Day 157):  The Ides of March. We were up a little earlier than usual this morning, as I wanted to go to Mass at St. Francis de Sales for 0900hrs. I had to get to Mangoes for the bus pick-up at 0830hrs. Another quick shower then actually put on some decent clothing appropriate for Church & Graeme took me into shore. I & the bus were on time, picking up other customers at several spots along the way. Another enjoyable & interactive service. Also another perfect day in the Abacos; sun, sun, & more sun all day! Winds from the SE at about 8K. We had an early lunch, then over to a small beach till 1500hrs. where there is some snorkeling on Mermaid Reef. Near supper hour we see Celtic Cross motoring into harbour & anchored next door to us. Happy Hour was there until sunset & the conch blowers sounded the sun down at 1918hrs.. While eating supper in the cockpit, we saw the space shuttle launch rising in the NW sky at 1943hrs.---spectacular! I don’t know if our photos will do the sight any justice.

I have actually caught up with our adventures & hope to send this off for the interested to read. I hope never to wait this long to compile a mass email of this length. I do apologize!