Paul and Marg's Adventures

Today was the day the sun stands still (Winter Solstice). Even though it was Monday the Church of God here in Bimini celebrated Christmas with a parade with drums, horns, flags and dancers. I must say, I enjoyed the feel of this parade and the spirit of Christ and Christmas in it even though it sounded foreign in form and substance.

The plan is to leave for Lauderdale tomorrow morning. BACK IN THE USA – Yeah!!

Every day brings a new adventure – and today was no exception. This afternoon we walked through the (basically empty) Bimini Bay housing development over to the ocean side of the island. First stop, a beautiful infinity pool – what a spectacular sight – the pool appears to go on right out to the ocean! Too cool to swim as there is still a very brisk wind from the west. We followed the rocky edge of the shoreline right out to the sand beach at the end of the development. It’s absolutely wonderful being outside so much  – I really feel “alive” and so much a part of the  living world – surrounded by sky, ocean, wind, rock, sand, shells, natural plants –  spectacular, natural beauty!

Everyone is talking about the weather. Yesterday and particularly last night was “heavy”. Tom and I checked the lines about 8pm and our bowline could have been played like a violin string. Needless to say we added two more lines to share the load – total 3 lines on the bow, 3 lines on the stern and 2 “spring lines”  (in the middle). This morning the wind had settled down and the sun (as usual) was out. We made pancakes and went for a walk into town. The marina we are at is part of a resort, retirement community and they are now building a casino. I included a few pictures to give you an idea of the place. We also met one of the owners and chatted. Everyone is super friendly!

On our walk we checked the ocean, met some locals, bought groceries, and had take-out and ice cream. I also found a potato grater to make Latkies – made ME happy. Tonite we will watch “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks and eat popcorn.

It rained today and blew up to 31Kts. It got so bumpy on the dock we were on we had to move to the inside – no easy job in these winds. Turned out that was about the only thing we did today except sleep, read, eat and play on the computer. We will watch a few movies tonite and make popcorn. Glad we are in “safe harbour” – it was a nasty day!!!! Tomorrow looks about the same.

We missed what they call the “weather window” to cross the Gulf Stream. The Stream runs north through the Florida Strait and when the wind blows out of the north (against the current) the waves get close together and in what they call “elephants”. Today the wind was blowing to beat the band (25MPH) out of the north and the forecast for the next 5 days is for more of the same so, “who knew” we would be spending 5 days in Bimini but here we are……enjoying!!!!! Even tied to the dock we are rocking like Led Zepplin.

The good part is, even in “crappy” weather the sun shines all day and it is 84F. Just have to forget about going to Florida and live in the moment. We will be working on that……..went out for dinner and had Grouper – my favourite.

We left Nassau at dawn and motored up to the Northwest Channel Light (see picture) the deepest part of the ocean to the Bahama Bank (average depth 12ft). We anchored on the Bank, but it was a bit bumpy so we pulled anchor about 4:30 and then arrived in Bimini (Bimini Bay Resort/Marina) around 10:30. Made it to the pool by noon!!!  You may notice from the pictures there is NO one here. A huge resort but we were the only ones at the pool. The recession in the US (Florida) has hit hard here. A guy dropped by the marina with lobsters so what the heck, why not? Then the sky lit up like a proverbial Christmas tree (see pictures)….hope the weather is good tomorrow for crossing the Gulf Stream to Key Largo.

Another slow day just soaking up the beautiful weather and island. They don’t call it Paradise Island for nothing. We tried to connect to the internet but that was just a lot of frustration so we decided to just live the moment and go for a walk and inhale the beauty. The pictures are just some of the foliage that intrigued me –  a little taste of summer for our friends in Canada.

I felt really tired today – don’t really know why but I was as lazy as an old dog. Didn’t really do much until noon. Marg and I walked over the bridge to the fish market and bought lobster and hog snapper (like a red snapper). We did laundry and read a little in the cockpit – it’s a pretty nice marina/place to hang out and read. – it was Sunday so it’s ok to rest.

P. S. Happy Birthday Bruce!

The weather is starting to build so we got up early and left for Nassau (40 mile trip). Jimmy will return to Lauderdale tomorrow and we will wait out the weather which is coming our way. Nassau is a nice place to wait with lots to do. They are having a Wahoo (fishing) Tournament this weekend so that should be interesting. We also got a chance to visit and trade stories with Brad and Joanne from sailing catamaran Malolo (we met in St. Augustine while waiting for parts). Should be here Sunday, Monday and maybe leave Tuesday depending on the weather…..

We left our anchorage in Farmer’s Cay about dawn (6:15) ahead of low tide and made our way on the outside (ocean side) hoping for a good day of sailing but the wind just didn’t happen. We motored for a while then put up the sails but would only make about 3.5-4.0 knts. We read slept and enjoyed the day and finally started the engines and made our way to Highbourne Cay Marina (about 40 miles south of Nassau). This is a one of the nicest marinas in the area …..about a hour after we arrived 2 mega yachts arrived. Looking forward to Nassau and connecting with some sailing friends we met in St. Augustine.

We cleared the George Town harbour after getting fuel and raised the main and jib to a 8 knt SE wind with following seas. If you like to sail that is as good as it gets. This was the first time we were able to sail because we had the wind on our nose every day till now. The cat sailed pretty well in light wind delivering  5.0-6.0 Knts headway with less that 10 knts of wind.  We considered sailing on through the night to the top of the Exuma chains of Islands  but decided to anchor at Farmer’s Cay cut and enjoy the ride again tomorrow.  We swam and Margaret made us a great meal of pork tenderloin BBQ potatoes and salad – another day in paradise!

Spent the day shopping with Margaret in the village. We bought some groceries and she bought a hand woven bag. The lady not only weaves the bag but she finds and cures and colours the grasses then weaves the bag by hand – it takes a lot of work to make a bag. Later we went out for dinner (I loved the Red Snapper)  to celebrate Jimmy joining us for a few days. He want to sail and it looks like tomorrow we will leave to head north with a nice south east wind.

We got up and moved the boat to the dock for fuel and food. George Town is really pretty progressive with 2 banks (RBC, Scotiabank) groceries and a bunch of other services. We met a few Canadians here (from Toronto). The weather here is awesome but we  heard from the Canucks that the mid-west is getting hammered with the first winter storm…..hard to imagine while we have a very hot day here. We got ice and made Caipirinha today  – the lime drink we loved so much in Brazil (a major treat). I was hoping to post this on the blog today but they charge 18.00/hr for internet service here. Needless to say I will wait a few days to get this up on the server. BTW we saw some ads in one of the stores that George Town has some furnished housing which is very reasonable…..($1200/month). We are planning to be here for a few days while we wait for a friend of Tom’s to join us.

We will be heading back up the Exumas and eventually to the US taking our time because of some personal issues that Tom has run into. We hope to get to Key West for New Years.  The Bahamas are so huge and beautiful we don’t mind spending more time here at all..

Here are some pictures of George Town (click a picture to enlarge it – click RSS to get automatic updates to the blog).

This morning we left for George Town. As we left the harbour a ray jumped 4 feet out of the water and made a clean entrance back in – a perfect “10” dive. These are huge fish with amazing ability in the water. I was shocked!! I never imaged they could do this and I can’t even speculate why they would do it, but I am glad I saw it.

We motored down the Bahama Bank from Staniel Cay to Farmer’s cut (20 miles) and then crossed over to the ocean side of the island chain for a 35 mile run to George Town. Near the entrance of the harbour there was a freighter run aground – sort of like finding a dead body as you enter a hospital emergency room. Any way all is well and we have a good anchorage on our very own sandy beach. Tomorrow we will explore George Town.

This one of the last  points of real civilization along the island chain of the Exumas. The people here are friendly and the marina and restaurant are pretty good considering what we have seen. Not much else on the island to do but diving which is excellent and of course some of the best fishing in the world. A lot of people come by plane to get off the beaten track and of course there are the “cruisers” who are passing through on their way to somewhere/nowhere. We keep meeting the people we met at other locations. We will leave for George Town Monday. It is the cruisers’ capital of Bahamas. A lot of people spend the whole winter there – pictures at 11.

I always start a day thinking “there probably won’t be much to write about today”, but it seems that day after day something happens which is really pretty awesome. We loooved Allans Cay but Warderick Wells (Exuma Cay Land and Sea Park) proved to be a step up just when we thought it wasn’t possible. We Swam and hiked and kayaked and had a boater’s “happy Hour party” really awesome…..the pictures tell the story. Next stop Staniel Cay – James Bond “Thunderball” movie site:

P.S. Happy Birthday Bob S.

It was hot last night so we left the hatches open only to wake up this morning with 20+ new no-seeum bites. (worse than mosquito bites)

It was nice to get back out on the ocean today…you miss it when it’s not there for a few days. This next leg of our trip is through the Greater Exumas (see the maps). On the chartplotter picture the longs and lats for the boat (not the crs – Curser)  will give you the exact location to enter into Google Earth. They are a string of low lying islands some of which are park conservation areas. Allen’s Cay although not part of the park system is a natural wonder with Iguanas on the islands. We motored here from Nassau because once again we had wind but it was directly on our nose and the Yellow Bank has many shallow coral heads which have to be manoeuvred around. When we arrived we were amazed at the beauty. We both pinched ourselves…..this is so awesome. The moon came up (almost full) just after dusk…and we pinched ourselves again. I can’t think of anything I have seen more visually beautiful than where we are.

(no Internet for a few days so I am writing this for posting later).

We had an extra day in Nassau because we had a bit of weather to wait out. Mostly hung around the boat and took care of bills and laundry because we had internet and a laundry in the Marina. Hurricane Hole (Marina) is owned by the Atlantis Resort and is only about a block from the complex. Later Marg and I went over to the complex beach and hung around before having pizza. We will be leaving for Allan’s Cay tomorrow early.

I always start a day thinking there probably won’t be much to write about today, but it seems that day after day something happens which is really pretty awesome. The Exuma Park is a bit like Allans Cay in that it is a circle of islands with a shallow sand bottom lagoon. It is a National Bahamian Park. No fishing is allowed. When we arrived a yellow fin tuna swam over and under our boat (they like the shade). Then a Lemon shark came by for a look and later  a Stingray swam by. I am sitting in the cockpit with a satellite internet connection writing this post. We don’t have enough bandwidth (we are sharing the connection) to upload all the pictures we took. They will come when we get a better connection. Should be offline for a few more days unless we connect unexpectedly as we did today.

Blessings, Paul & Marg

P.S. Happy Birthday Bob S.

It was hot last night so we left the hatches open only to wake up this morning with 20+ new no-seeum bites. (worse than mosquito bites)

It was nice to get back out on the ocean today…you miss it when it’s not there for a few days. This next leg of our trip is through the Greater Exumas (see the maps). On the chartplotter picture, the longs and lats for the boat (not the crs – Curser)  will give you the exact location to enter into Google Earth. They are a string of low lying islands some of which are park conservation areas. Allans Cay, although not part of the park system, is a natural wonder with iguanas on the islands. We motored here from Nassau because once again we had wind but it was directly on our nose and the Yellow Bank has many shallow coral heads which have to be manouevered around. When we arrived we were amazed at the beauty, particularly the absolutely transparent greens and turquoise water. We both pinched ourselves…..this is so awesome. The moon came up (almost full) just after dusk…and we pinched ourselves again. I can’t think of anything I have seen more visually beautiful than where we are.

(no Internet for a few days so I am writing this for posting later).

We had an extra day in Nassau because we had a bit of weather to wait out. Mostly hung around the boat and took care of bills and laundry because we had internet and a laundry in the Marina. Hurricane Hole (Marina) is owned by the Atlantis Resort and is only about a block from the massive tourist complex. Later Marg and I went over to the complex beach (on the ocean side) and hung around before having pizza. We will be leaving for Allans Cay tomorrow early. (don’t have the bandwidth to upload the pictures- we are in the middle of nowhere with only a satellite connection and limited bytes. See you in the Exumas!

Today we went downtown to get a few things, did laundry and sunbathed by the pool…..tomorrow is threatening to pin us down with 30 mph winds and high seas (offshore weather report). We have all the time in the world to wait for perfect weather. I am looking forward to a day reading and hanging around doing nothing.

The Ocean is a picture in contrasts and today for us was also extreme contrast. We went from 5 ft of water to 9300+ ft of water and from natural beauty of the ocean to commercial Nassau. The journey is mostly waiting to get there with the occasional passerby and outbursts of flying fish we scared up. They can really fly. Some of them flew for 100 – 150 meters or more. I tried to get a shot but it isn’t easy since they fly fast and away from you.

We arrived around 3pm and still had time for picquata at the green parrot. A diver stopped by with a bunch of lobster so we decided to try one. A nice 3 pounder made a nice snack. After a good feed and a shower we went over to the Atlantis Casino/Resort. I never gamble but I find it amusing occasionally to see others play. They also have an amazing underwater aquarium (the best I have seen). The whole area is pretty upscale – I started feeling like an imposter…….

We left Bimini at dawn and motored down to the Cat and Gun Cay (islands) and cut between them and entered the Bahama Bank. The Bank is a huge area of shallow water we cross before we get to the “The Tongue of the Ocean”. The Tongue is one of the deepest areas in this part of the sea. We motored because the wind was right on our nose and we couldn’t sail. The area is beautiful like a desert under the Ocean. Most of it was under 10ft deep. We got close to the North West Channel Marker and anchored for the night. Seems weird to anchor with 360 degrees of horizon but it is done all the time. When we woke up we had a few boats which had put down for the night on the horizon. Tomorrow we will make Nassau with a 50 mile trip.

The weather is improving and we will probably leave for Nassau tomorrow. Today we are working on a few boat repairs (fixed the helm seat) and went on a walking and tram tour of the island. A few more pictures from the other day and some from today will give you a nice idea of what Bimini is about…….(click the picture to enlarge) (scroll to the bottom and click RRS to be notified when we post new items to this blog.

Our good friend Nalini Almas sent us these paintings of tropical fish which she created. I wanted for all of us to be able to enjoy them. To see the paintings in full size click the thumbnail to enlarge. Thanks Nal for sending them and for your inspiring work……love, Paul and Marg.

Rained this morning but then the sun came out this afternoon and I decided to take a picture-taking-walk. Here are the results. The Island (North Bimini) has about 500 people on it. Seems beautiful to me,