The day held such promise

Started the day at 7:00am, peeling five pounds of shrimp and building 26 kebobs for a New Year's Eve dinner tonight.  As soon as they were marinating, we left for Driftwood Marina.

Our home away from home the last few days.

By the time we arrived, Marquesa was on a huge fork truck coming up the road!

Do you think she looks smaller out of the water? I don't. That girl safely carried us to the Bahamas and back!

 

It's a little unnerving seeing your boat suspended mid air and

negotiating an S curve around two buildings...

 

Getting her into position for splash down :)

 Donnie's admiring her pretty bottom (job)

They removed the sling, and all was looking well... then the problems began.

The first problem we noticed is that Windy has a busted wing.

After the holiday I'll have to contact the manufacturer to

order a new blade.

The news is not good when Cap'n comes crawling out of the hatch.

The second issue is that the cockpit filled with water over the

summer and if you look closely, below the strap, the cockpit 

table has some serious water damage.  It's an easy fix; just some 

sanding, staining, and varnishing. However, it seems some

electronics may have possibly been knocked out.  The 

glow plug for the starter appears to not be working.

I offered my assistance, such that it was.  I sweet talked 

Bessie, then beat her fuel pump with a brass hammer, but

the engine would not turn over.  We called in reinforcements,

and got the C team.  No diesel mechanic was on duty because

New Year's Eve Day is a major holiday in the Keys.  This guy

and Donnie bled fuel lines, fuel injectors, removed things,

replaced things, and sprayed it with starter fluid. Nothing. Nada.

I was hoping three heads were better than one.  Nope.  Eventually

there were eight heads involved, all scratchin' and discussin', but still- zip.

Bessie would not fire up, and that's not like her at all.

The one bright spot of the day was in between

various engineers and mechanics offering their assistance,

Cap'n and nephew Derek got the brand spanking new

jibsail threaded into the roller furling.

The new jib is bigger and better than our last one, for sure.  Doyle

sailmakers did a beautiful job on it.  It has that crisp, 'new' sound to it.

Like the sound of about 24 crisp new one hundred dollar bills.

Too bad we were dead in the water...we were eager to go sailing

to try this new puppy out.

In the end, by about 6:00pm, Cap'n had to admit defeat for the day as the no-see-ums were about to carry us off yet again.  We bought all the men involved a 12 pack of Heiney's and a 12 pack of Land Sharks, Courtney and I treated ourselves to key lime pie dipped in chocolate and frozen on a stick, and we called it a day.  

We met up with the rest of the family, and grilled the shrimp kebobs, made some coconut brown rice and garlic bread to go with it, and feasted ourselves on that and shrimp cocktail.  I went back to the boat to get more clothes and toiletries, as we will be camped out on Dave and Diane's couch another night.  Donnie joined Bryan and Larry next door for some guitar pickin' and grinnin' and eventually the fam all scattered to parts unknown.

Unlike year's past, we are not going down to Key Weird to bring in the New Year.  Once you've seen the transvestite get dropped in a giant ruby red Dorothy slipper at midnight, and you've heard thousands of drunks yelling "woo hoo" for the umpteenth time, the whole scene just sort of loses its pizzaz ;)  I'm just trying my best to stay awake until midnight!

So, all in all, the day was not a total loss, but we didn't end up where we had hoped.  We're considering getting a tow to the ocean, raising the sails, and sailing her over to Banana Bay tomorrow ....the only problem with that is tides, currents, wind direction, and the Seven Mile Bridge- where we generally stall out and the sails flog as we go underneath.  I vote for a day at the pool at Banana Bay, and we tackle the whole mess after New Year's Day.  We won't find a diesel mechanic tomorrow anyhow.  It's Cap'n 's call; I'm just gonna go with the flow.

Meanwhile, Willis is chillin' at Mamaw and Pap's condo just fine.  To be honest, he threw a bit of a hissy fit earlier this evening when he found out he was not allowed to go to the Kit Kat Lounge tonight to bring in the new year.  After a time out in Mamaw and Pap's bedroom, he got over himself.  Thank God he's a pretty good 'go with the flow' kind of cat. God love him.  Happy New Year, y'all!

Back in Marathon :)

Let's rewind a few days...and they have been marathon days at that...only to finally end up in Marathon, Florida- hooray!

The night before the night before Christmas, I caught Willis staring longingly at our Christmas tree.  He was waiting on the presents to be opened so we could start packing to head south. 

Like clockwork, Santa Claus came and lucky for Willis, he was a pretty good cat.  He got treats, a new collar with a bell (so Mom and Dad can hear him when he comes crawling in the boat after a night out with One Eyed Jack and Peg Leg at the Kit Kat Go Go Lounge), kitty treats, and medicine to keep the sand fleas away.

It was a wonderful Christmas, complete with traditions.  Each person gets a new 'charm' for their stocking, and a new ornament for the tree. As the kids get married and leave home, they are given their box of ornaments to hang on their own tree.  We also had the grandkids over Christmas Eve for hot chocolate, Christmas cookies and presents, and we finished the night with National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation-before Santa arrives :)  We baked our usual hundreds of cookies (molasses, homemade oreos, peanut butter kisses, sugar cookies, red velvet cookies, cut outs, and m&m cookies, and two batches of rock candy), and trayed them up to give away to friends and family.  We've been quoting lines from Christmas Vacation for days!  I heart Christmas.

By Christmas afternoon, the log cabin was empty of children and grandchildren, so I set to work tearing down the tree and stowing all of the decorations. Donnie finished up winterizing the Love Shack and the hot tub.  And then, the snow started to fall overnight.  We were in a blizzard warning, which seemed more serious than a winter storm warning, so it looked like we weren't going anywhere on December 26th.  In the end, it worked out well, as we spent that day packing all of our needed belongings for the next four months.  Willis was helping, of course.  By evening we had the fridge unplugged and cleaned out, a warming light set up in the crawlspace, the fire in the woodstove and burned out and by 2am I finally cleaned the entire house top to bottom, and fell into bed for a few hours.  AIS was set for 6:30am on December 27th.

 

Though we had snow all day the 26th, it certainly was not a blizzard.  We only got about 5-6 inches, but it was blowing and drifting.  We had no trouble leaving the next morning; just put the Jeep in 4WD and away we went...with a howling Willis.  There's two times the furry beast howls- when he gets put in his cat carrier, and when he is seasick in the moment just before he throws up!  Otherwise, Willy T doesn't even meow.  But at 6:30am, stuffed in his carrier, he howled and cried all the way to Pendleton.  We stopped for coffee, and by the time we got on the interstate, he got out of kitty hell.  He quickly found his perch, and contentedly rode all the way to Georgia.

We always stop in Valdosta, GA, for our first night.  We made some sailing friends at Banana Bay last year, George and Desiree Lesko, and this fall, they bought their first home in Valdosta.  They offered for us to spend the night with them.  We were eager to see their beautiful home, as we've been following their Fix It projects and renovations on FB.  We were served wine (much appreciated after a long day in the car), and had chocolates on our pillow.  Very nice :)  I left them some mango jam (a Keys specialty, made by yours truly) and we left the following morning.

Well, we met some other sailing friends when we were in the Bahamas last spring.  We got stuck in Nassau for five days waiting on a weather window to make the crossing back to Florida.  While in Nassau, we met Carl Dirkes, who was playing some jazz guitar in the cockpit of his sailboat.  That was all it took for Donnie and he to forge a friendship.  They ended up entertaining the other boaters holed up at the marina in Nassau with a poolside concert.  Carl suggested we make a stop in Orlando at his home on our way south...so we did!  Carl plays in several bands, and is an unbelievable talent- on the sax, keyboards, guitar, and who knows what all else the guy plays.  He's crazy good...and so the boys talked shop in his studio, and Donnie had a serious case of guitar envy :)  Two hours later, we were back on the road...bound for Marathon.

We finally had some blue sky and sunshine, so Momma K busted out her polarized bifocal sunglasses...a Christmas gift from me to me.  It sucks getting old.  Bifocals. Really???

We hit Hwy 1 in Homestead just as the sun was beginning to set. Not gonna lie, after eight months of hard work and two days in the car, with a Willis AND his litter box, it was a beautiful sight...

The last hundred miles always seems the longest.  Even Willis came up front asking Dad, "Are we there yet?"  We arrived in Marathon just in time to celebrate Christmas with Donnie's family.  They had gotten back from the airport with his nephew only an hour ahead of us.  So we had Mamaw and Paps (Donnie's parents who winter in Marathon), Donnie's sister, Diane and her husband Dave (who live here in Marathon), Diane's son, Derek and his wife Courtney, and her daughter Meagan with her husband Jay and their two kids, Jackson and Reece.  Throw in Dave and Diane's two dogs, Meg and Jays two dogs, a Willis T Mac and two little ones, and it was a houseful!!!  It was fun to have everyone together for Christmas.  Have I said I love Christmas?!

We got an early start the next morning, which brings us to yesterday, Saturday Dec. 29th.  We had lots to accomplish to make it to "splash time" (launching) in just two days.  Doesn't she look beautiful???  It took us some time to find Marquesa at Driftwood Marina, as she was in the back forty in the weeds up on jack stands.  Thankfully, they had whacked them down pretty good so we could get aboard.  First on the to do list was to locate a power source and water.  We found power by running several extension cords together, but water was foraging for buckets and lugging buckets of water back...did I mention they had us in the back forty already?  The front gate was locked, and there wasn't a dock cart to be found anywhere.  Paps and I finally located a POS wheelbarrow, with a cracked front end and a half flat tire, and we made do.  True to traditional pink and blue, I tackled the inside of the boat, and Donnie went to work on the outside. Donnie did some grinding and sanding on the hull, to prep for another coat of bottom paint.  He decided we needed to raise the water line an inch, as we sit mighty low in the water all weighted down and provisioned for cruising!

I tackled our stateroom first, thinking we might be able to sleep on the boat that night.  I was pleasantly surprised to find very little mildew down below.  Still, top to bottom, the interior needed washed down with bleach water- every compartment, every surface, and every nook and cranny.  After that, I had to oil all the teak inside. It was an OCD's dream day.

When the teak is oiled, I love how it casts a warm glow down below.  It's very cozy and reminds me of being in our log cabin back home (which I hear is now snowed under and the driveway is drifted shut- sorry I'm missing out on all THAT fun.)

 

The wall hanging in our stateroom reads, "God gives us Hope, like an anchor He holds us firm, and brings us to safe harbors."  Perfect.

Once all of our clothes were unpacked and stowed, I tackled my least favorite job on the boat- the head. (insert scary music here).  Nearly three hours later, it was all clean, smelling fresh, and its cabinets were filled with all of our essentials.  There's ALOT of teak to oil in there.  And if you are a guest on Marquesa, there is NO PEEING STANDING UP- just so you know.  Quite honestly, I prefer you pee off the stern if you feel the need to dangle, otherwise, jump in that great big ocean out there- even better.  Good talk.

We got the mainsail hanked on and set up, and intended to tackle the jibsail next. But, by this time of day, it was nearly 6pm, and the no-see-ums were out in full force, just eating us up.  It was all we could do to beat them off and get the boat locked up.  You had about five minutes bite-free, but the minute the scent of the bug spray wore off, there were in full assault combat mode and we were clearly out numbered and ill equipped.  We waved the white flag, locked up the boat and called it a day.  

This morning we started our day off at the Home Depot and West Marine, in search of some much needed supplies for today's to do list. Donnie needed another gallon of bottom paint (only $150- ouch.) at West Marine.  While he pondered the virtues of copper ablation, I fell in love with the most awesome clown bike ever.  It weighs next to nothing, has even smaller wheels than mine (seriously, the size of dinner plates) the frame is in the shape of a triangle, it has a rack on back to mount my milk crate for hauling groceries, and best of all, instead of a bike chain it looks like a fan belt.  That's genius, as the salty air is hell on bicycle chains.  I want one. But it's $600 dollars.  A new clown bike for me was not budgeted in this year's boat fund...we shall see (insert sweet smile, beautiful green eyes and batting eye lashes here).

We got back to the boatyard mid-morning, armed with a load of crap in the POS wheelbarrow.  Donnie taped off a new waterline on the hull, while I moved my bleach and oiling frenzy into the salon.  By day's end today, the interior is nearly complete, the hull is painted, the kitchen sink valve was fixed, and the bimini and solar panel was installed.  We were still unable to hank on the brand new jibsail as it blew a steady 20 knots out the N/NE all day long, with gusts even higher.  In fact, I don't think it got above 72 today. Tomorrow is 'splash day', which means we will be launching.  I will definitely have pictures, maybe some video, as it's a pretty cool process, actually.  In the morning, I am getting up early to build shrimp kebobs for the family to marinate for dinner tomorrow night.  Hopefully, Donnie will get a coat of wax on the outside hull, and I plan to scour the deck clean of all pelican and seagull poop before we launch.  I am guessing we won't get the travel lift until noon, unless we are first in line.  Once we are in the water, depending on the time, it is then about a 3-4 hour sail down the Atlantic side to Sombrero beach, we go under the Seven Mile Bridge, and up the Gulf of Mexico side to Banana Bay Resort and Marina- our winter home :)  It's a big day tomorrow, and I can't wait!  It still feels like Christmas to me :)

If you're wondering about the furry beast, he has camped out in the comforts of Mamaw and Pap's bedroom in their condo.  It's been a little too cluttered and chaotic to have him on board.  I didn't want to lose him in the boatyard with the seriously homeless and feral riff raff running around there.  Besides, he's not packin' yet, as Mom has yet to make it to the bank for laundry money for me and tuckin' quarters for him.  We'll turn him loose on New Year's Day, so he can celebrate the new year too. G'nite all!

 

On the road again...

Left at 8:00am, hoping to make it to the state line at least.  After nearly 700 miles in just 28 days, and two hard days of packing and cleaning, getting into a full car for nearly 1400 miles does not sound like much fun.

Sassafras is such a good traveler...he settled right in.  The only
problem he had was detoxing from the cigars and Captain
Morgan's from Uncle Danny on Biddi and the Beast!

We finally stopped for the night in Tifton, GA, about 100 miles south
of Macon.  We at least got further than Valdostsa.  Believe it or not,
Willis really does love staying in motels- all kinds of new hiding
places to explore.  He loved the window seat the best. Crazy cat.

He got to catch up on his favorite show, Deadliest
Catch...he misses the boating life already!

And by day two in the car, somewhere in Kentucky, Willis was feeling
like his Momma...we were over riding in the car!

And after nearly 1400 miles, Home Sweet Cabin!

So it's time to get busy with yardwork and more cleaning, and laundry, and making money!  We have a big wish list for Marquesa next season.  For now, it's good to have the girls home for the summer...well, for the time being.  Ellie leaves on Tuesday for a study abroad in Italy for five weeks, and Emily will soon begin her new job as a nanny for two adorable little boys in Fishers.  It will be a busy summer, I have no doubt.  Mr. Fix It already has seventeen voicemails....and that's a good thing.

Thank you all for following along on our sailing adventures, we definitely have more planned for next year.  Let's see, only seven months and twenty-one days!  Signing off for now...G'nite y'all!



Will it EVER stop raining?!

We have been 'in the weather' since our crossing across the Stream and into Hawk's Channel.  It has let up for only an hour or two at a time, otherwise it has been blowing a gale and a deluge.  It has made preparing the boat for storage a nearly impossible task.



Not the sunny skies of Florida we have come to expect!  We got it all
prepped- dinghy and dinghy motor, cushions, mainsail and such all
stowed down below (still wet, of course).  Today was a good
day to give up on the OCPD thing...there weren't enough towels
on board to keep on top of the mess.

Matt was kind enough to offer to ride along, knowing full well it was
not going to be a 'pleasure' cruise.  Always prepared, he
brought his foulies along.

Meanwhile, Willis begged off riding along.  He was sleeping off last night's
drunken escapade with Uncle Danny on Biddi and the Beast.  Biddi
found him passed out in her laundry bag.

Our last time under the Seven Mile Bridge for this season.
We are taking her to Driftwood Boatyard to be stored up
on the hard.  As soon as we crossed into the Atlantic, we
were in a sloppy mess, blowing stink, 3-4's, and
naturally the wind was on the nose.

In spite of the nastiness, Cap'n was loving being behind the wheel.  I,
on the other hand, put on my wristbands, took my Bonine,
and had about a dozen puke burps.  Willis was in good company.

As soon as the next gale blew up, our jibsail finally
blew out.  We babied it the second half of our trip in the
Exumas, so it would get us home.  First it got speared
on the port side spreader, then is started ripping up
the sunbrella seam where it was patched.  I want you
all to notice my ghetto fabulous job of sewing on the
duct tape with fishing line, after I had used up all the
sail tape we had...it was the only thing that held together!

We didn't get to the boatyard until after closing time, because today, Marquesa was travelling only slightly faster than the speed of smell.  The mainsail had already been taken off and stowed down below, so when the jib gave way, we were left with motoring...in a head wind, slamming into waves, against the current and changing tide, all at about 3 knots.  Geeesh!  We were tired and wet when we finally arrived.  Bessie was also worn out...she is not running right, and wanting to overheat.  Thankfully, she also took good care of us to the Bajamas and back.  It's always something with a boat.  No doubt, it is time to get home and make some money, as tomorrow we will continue with the spending.  We plan to be at Driftwood soon after they open, so we will sign a contract, and pay for the haul out and first month's rent.  As we leave the Keys, we plan to stop at Doyle Sailmakers, drop off the ghetto jib and order a new one.  It's only money...

Tonight, we are joining Willis at Biddi and the Beast.  Dan and Biddi graciously offered their second stateroom for us to sleep in.  It will be a long day of driving tomorrow.  G'night y'all!

Cleaning Saturday, 4/29

Today is such a boring blog...the fun has ended and the drudgery begins.  Last night we were invited to Matt and Karie's for fresh Mahi Mahi on the grill- oh my goodness was it ever delicious!  If only we could have caught one ourselves- maybe next time.

We got up and immediately got busy, and it has been a long hard day of cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning.  Every locker, every hidey hole has been emptied out, bleached down, and contents either pitched, packed for home, or repacked for long term storage.  Donnie had the worst job, by far.  When Bessie overheated yesterday morning, we discovered that there must have been a hole in the exhaust hose coming out of the manifold.  Everything that was stored in that deep hatch, all our dive gear, extra line, anchors, crap and such were all covered in soot.  It was a black, greasy mess.   Bless him, he emptied it all out, crawled down in there, scrubbed every last bit, and then did a quick repair with some hose tape to get us to the boatyard.  He will replace the hose first thing in December, when we return.

An equally yucky job is cleaning and tearing down the dinghy.  Mark that one off the list.  Matt came over to help Donnie remove the bimini and dodger, the railing, and the mainsail.  It dried for the ONE HOUR it didn't rain today.  It rained off and on, more on than off, the entire day and evening.  I was down below scrubbing and packing away, and it got very steamy down there!

Biddi came by, and we made plans for dinner.  I had a pound of hamburger left, so she offered up Danny to grill burgers for everyone.  I made baked beans and pasta salad, and she fixed strawberry shortcake.  We are ourselves silly, but we had worked up quite the appetite!

So for tonight, the main salon is all clean, the galley is clean, the stateroom is clean and our clothes are mostly packed.  Tomorrow I have to defrost the refridgerator, clean the head, and sweep the floors, and I will be done down below.  Donnie needs to bring the dinghy on board, and the rails for the bimini and dodger to store down below, clean the cockpit, and then we will be off to Driftwood.  It will take about three hours to get over there, as we have to go under the Seven Mile Bridge, then sail past Sombrero Beach down to Coco Plum.  We have decided to store it 'up on the hard' this time, rather than keeping it in the water.  The best deal in the Keys is $7.50/foot/month.  I'll let you do the math.  Add a haul out to that, and Florida sales tax, and you can see why Mr. & Mrs. Fix It need to get home to start making money rather than spending it!

Let's see, the 'To Buy' list for next year....
      new jib sail
      new roller furling
      new dodger and new wheel cover
      new foulies for Cap'n
      new sail sewing kit for me
      new trolling rod
      50-100' ft of anchor chain
      new lines and sheets for the sails
      new VHS radio....and that's just for starters.  I'm sure there will be more.  A boat always needs MORE of something!

Got to get to bed.  It's going to be a long day tomorrow, and then two long days of driving on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The good Lord willing, and the creek don't rise, we should be back to the log cabin sometime late Wednesday evening.  Willis is ready for the car ride- he loves going to motels.  That means he gets to sprawl in the king sized bed with Mom and Dad...G'nite y'all!

The Crossing, 4/28

We left Bimini Sands South around 9:00am, and motorsailed to the other side of the island to dive the shipwreck Sapona.  It is a concrete freighter that went down in the 1926 hurricane.  It's a landmark to the Bimini Islands, and it has become a colorful dive in about 15-20 feet of water.

You can see Donnie in the foreground heading out with his spear pole.
Unfortunately, he came back empty handed.

We weighed anchor and left for home at 11:30am. It was very cloudy, windy. and threatening rain all day.  The wind was coming from the east, and we were sailing S/SW, so it was a following sea.  It meant for a more comfortable ride, not having to beat into the waves, but it also meant we were hand steering almost the entire way.  Agnes could not keep up, and the waves were just working her to death. 

At about 4:00pm, before we entered the Gulfstream, this little fella landed
on our bow pulpit.  He was our hood ornament for over 14 hours!
I think he is a yellow footed brown booby.  I called him 'little buddy' and
tried to feed him cornbread.  He wasn't interested, it didn't taste like fish. 

He preened himself for about two hours, and rode up there big as you please.
When the sun went down, he tucked his beak under his wing, and slept
all through the night...through a terrible storm, wind blowing,
thunder and lightening and surfing down 8 ft waves.  He never moved.
I would check on Donnie, and have him shine a light on Little Buddy to
make sure he was still there.  At 6:30am, just as we were passing under
the Mosier Channel Bridge in the Keys, he flew off, heading back to Bimini.

We had several freighters pass by us in the Gulfstream once again...

Fortunately there were no close calls this time!

It was Friday night, so it was pizza night!

The ominous sky was a foreshadowing of the night ahead.
As always, Plan Sea was always within a mile of us in the crossing.

I attempted to get a sunset picture, but just then a six foot wave rolled
under Marquesa, and you're seeing the foam.  We were in 4-6's the
minute we hit the Gulfstream, and as the wind continued to build
we surfed down a few 8 footers.  The highest speed we saw on the
chartplotter was surfing at 9 knots.  We were sailing steadily 7-8 knots.

We were hoping to catch a break once we hit Hawk's Channel. The Channel runs south of Miami along the Keys on the Atlantic side.  We popped out of the Gulfstream north of Key Largo. We were crabbing across the stream, heading south west, as it was flowing north.  We had two knots of current against us, so even though the boat read we were traveling at 6 knots and higher, on the chartplotter we were only making 3-4 knots much of the time.  At times it felt as if we could walk faster!  In Hawk's Channel, the wind kicked up even higher, and then the rain came.  We were still surfing 3-4's in the channel in a driving rainstorm.  Cap'n Donnie was miserable.  He was all knotted up all through his neck and back from having to hand steer all night long.  You couldn't sit down to steer, or the rain poured off the bimini.  You had to stand up to see over the dinghy lashed onto the bow, and then lean over the wheel to try to get some protection from the rain.  His foulies have lost their waterproofing over the years, if that's possible.  He went through three changes of clothes trying to stay warm and dry.  I made hot coffee and passed up snacks to help him stay awake.  Little Buddy held on through it all- even in the thunder and lightening.  What a night!

While in the stream, we saw a Coast Guard chopper fly over.  About an
hour later, the search plane was flying low overhead.  We heard the
Coast Guard sending out a pan-pan alert on Channel 16 that they had
received a distress call, but apparently that boater did not have EPIRB.

  

Right at daybreak, at about 6:30am, we approached the Mosier Channel bridge.  The last time we

passed under this bridge was when we came down the ICW.  If you remember, we broke a fan belt, the engine overheated, and Donnie made a quick repair while I continued sailing toward Banana Bay.  Wouldn't you know, this time just as we approached the bridge, Little Buddy flew away, the engine overheated again, and we were dead in the water, AGAIN.  Same place.  Matt circled back

to offer assistance.  Cap'n cleaned a bit of grass out of the intake filter, we backwashed the prop 

which spit out a bunch of seaweed, and we were back underway.  That seemed to have been the problem.  We motor sailed the last 20 miles home, as it was flat calm on the Gulf side.  It was very hard to stay awake.  We were beat, and down to just half hour shifts trying to stay awake.

In all, it took us 23 1/2 hours to sail about 150 miles.

And as we put down the mainsail and motored back into Banana Bay, our
adventure ended the very same way it began...with a rainbow circling
the sun.  I'd say we came full circle, quite literally, wouldn't you?!

Back in Bimini, 4/26

We arrived at Chub Cay Marina shortly after 8:00am this morning, after an all-night passage.  We waited until 9:00 for the dockmaster to show up.  The marina was 90% empty, and they were not interested in renting a slip to us…at $3.25/ft.  Chub Cay is a privately owned island, with its own Yacht Club- all five members…probably the five people who went in and bought the island.  Whatever- it’s the last time we’ll be made to feel inferior for not owning a 100 ft. mega-yacht.  We sailed 8 miles further and returned to Bimini Sands South Resort and Marina, which was our first stop when we checked into the Bahamas nearly a month ago.  They have only five other boats in the entire place, and we pulled in right next to Carl and his brother Chris on Gully Rooster.  Carl was our dock mate in Nassau that Donnie played guitars with a few nights ago.  Small world.  We all have been up all night, and crashed for an afternoon nap. Donnie and I order some mahi-mahi and fries from the pub here at the marina to spend the last of our Bahamian dollars, and then we passed out!

I marinated some pork chops in teriyaki for Cap’n to throw on the grill for supper, and then we tended to a few boat projects.  There’s the usual clean up after an all-nighter, and the roller furling continues to give us fits.  We just need to get through the next two days, then we can pitch it in the ocean for good (we would not, of course, just saying- nothing goes in the ocean from Marquesa unless its organic.  I also put together a homemade pizza to bake tomorrow night while we are underway.  I just about figured all my provisions for the month, the larder is getting low.

Donnie shared a cocktail with Matt and Karie, while I finished a book on the boat.  It looks like we are planning to dive the Sapona, a 1926 concrete freighter that wrecked in the hurricane that year.   After that we will begin crabbing across the Gulfstream.  It will be a much slower trip as the current will be against us this time.  Fortunately, the stream is only about 40 miles wide, so we should get across by sundown.  After that, we’ll pick up Hawk’s Channel for the last overnight run back to Marathon.  There is another weather system building out there.  The resort we are at is so nice, we would have liked to stay another day, but it would not be safe to cross the stream by this weekend, so we are off tomorrow morning.

We were greeted by four big, beautiful spotted eagle rays in the marina…

I snapped about 15 pics in no time!

I have not been this close to a spotted eagle ray before- they are very cool.

Their heads and faces really do look like an eagle.  What a strange creature!

After our chores were done, we decided to go find the nature trail on this island.  It was one of the nicest we have been on.  There were signs everywhere describing the plants, birds, reptiles (yes, snakes, too) and such that you’d see along the way.  Fortunately, I saw no snakes today!

We came upon a ruins on the trail.  It was a 1920’s home built by Peter Cavill, an Olympic swimmer from back in the day.  Though it was badly damaged in the 1926 hurricane, he continued to live there into the 1930’s, until his wife left him due to his chronic alcoholism.  There’s a problem with ‘rummies’ in these islands still to this day.

How’s this for a room with a view?!  It was a sweet sitting spot overlooking the beach.

There are twenty varieties of termites in the Bahamas. What do you see in this nest? 

I see a man’s face!

We also saw wild orchids- too bad they weren't in bloom.

They reminded me of my sister-in-law, Diane's beautiful orchids.

Well, Donnie has been at Carl’s boat the last few hours, playing guitars and swapping stories.  It sounds like things are wrapping up.  We’ve got another long day and night ahead of us, I better turn in.  G’night y’all!