The gangs all here!

                                                                    The Gang's all Here!

  Shortly after completing my last post the sun started setting at 6pm. Between the additional sunlight hours and the sun's ever increasing height in the sky, we've started breaking even on power.  Just in time, Deb flies in with the new starter in a couple of days, so I might not need to fire up the generator too often in the near future.

  Back when the starter failed and I hitchhiked to the shop. The woman that gave me a lift has kept in touch.  She works for a number of car share companies, so I've been funneling her some work, between the people I meet in the anchorage and those I meet through the Facebook Bahamas Land and Sea page, there's always a need for a driver with local knowledge.  She's helped people with laundry, parts, groceries, propane and airport pick ups.  She'll be picking up Deb on Saturday, Henry on Tuesday and my sister, nephew and friend in two weeks. I've also given her some small business suggestions that she can pursue through Facebook and other Bahamas cruising sites.  There are lots of opportunities for someone eager get ahead.

  There are a number of coin laundromats within walking distance of the dinghy dock, I've used a couple of them, but I prefer the one by the grocery store. It's a little less expensive, I can do groceries between cycles and they play re-runs of Gilligan's Island.  

  I headed into town today to get the laundry and grocery shopping done before Deb and Henry arrive. It might have been a little too much to carry all at once, but it's not the first time I've overburdened myself in the hopes of saving some time.  

  I'm always eager to get back to the boat, the city is hot and there's very little breeze in Nassau proper.  Most stores are airconditioned, but I'm afraid the laundromat isn't one of them.  I sweltered in the heat of the day and the dryers, counting down the minutes until the machines were finished.  I ran up to the grocery store once everything was in the dryer, 90 minutes was just enough time to pick up the essential groceries and stop by the liquor store.  I got back just in time to see the last moments tick away on the dryers.  After folding and packing away the laundry I caught a local bus back to the waterfront.  

When I say local "bus", I use the term "bus" loosely.  They're more akin to airport shuttle vans driving around town with the doors open for people to hop on and off.  The driver charges you based on distance, dropping you off at your destination as opposed to an actual bus stop.  I didn't get the impression that it was a government-run operation, it seemed more like independent operators working out of one yard.  Regardless of the ins and outs of the local bus service, I managed to make it back to the dinghy dock and then Island Eclipse before dark.  Only two more sleeps until Deb arrives!!  A visit, I'm so very looking forward too. 

 'She's here, she's here' I sang as I ran through the airport to meet her, not really, but I was thinking it very loudly!  My new friend Cal picked me up at the dinghy dock and drove me to the airport to meet Deb when she arrived.  It had only been 6 weeks or so since I saw her last but it sure felt like a lot longer than that.  Her plane was on time, but so were all the others, so it was a little while before she emerged from the arrival tunnel.  But when she did, it was all hugs and kisses before making our way outside to the waiting car. 

  She'd had a long day that started with the very first UP Express train to the airport, and then her flight so we called it an early night after spending the evening catching up over dinner.

  The weather the next couple of days was fantastic, so she didn't venture far while I installed the starter.  She found her happy place in the shade and read her book in the cool ocean breeze.  Henry would be arriving in a couple of days so we made the most of our alone time, trying to get ourselves back in sync, after our time apart. 

  I was a little apprehensive about installing the starter, not because it was difficult, more the fear of something else failing when I tried to start the engine. I got it installed on the Monday, but I didn't actually try it until after Henry arrived and we were ready to set off.  My apprehension was unwarranted, as the engine spooled up first time.  I've also added a start button to the ignition circuit to prevent problems further down the road.  

  We didn't go far on the first day, a short hop to the small reef at Rose Island.  There isn't a huge fish population inhabiting the small shallow reef, but there's enough to keep you interested if it's your fist time.

  We'd seen a lot of boats anchored on the north side of the island but from our short experience it was less than ideal.  The prevailing current forces the boat broadside to the waves rocking Island Eclipse from side to side throughout the night, fortunately we were leaving for Allen's Cay in the morning, so we'd only have to endure one night of discomfort..... or so we thought.

  We started buddy boating with an Irish couple I'd met in the Montague Bay anchorage while I was stranded.  We'd sailed over to Rose Island with them, now we were off to Allen's, and the next stop on our adventures.

  It was a fantastic sail from Rose to Allen's, and although we gave our friends an ample head start, Zora, a custom built steel cutter, was no match for Island Eclipse. We were an hour or so ahead of them by the time we reached our destination.

  We dropped the hook in the same place I'd dropped it the last three times I'd been here, and although it was all new and exciting for Deb, the Iguanas and I were on a first name basis at this point.  We ended up staying at Allen's Cay for a couple of days, swimming, snorkeling and enjoying each other's company.  We did experience something new this time around, a sea plane landed just outside the Cay which was cool enough to see, but then they motored right up to the beach to unload their two passengers.  Yep, two passengers, a man and a woman jumped out, spent 15 to 20 minutes posing with the Iguanas on the beach then turned around and left.  This time around they didn't leave the Cay for their departure, instead, they threaded the needle between the anchored boats and shore, getting airborne shortly before running out of room.  It makes it hard to take carbon taxing seriously when you see so much indulgence down here, between sea planes, private helicopters and 150' yachts burning more fuel in an hour than we burn in a year.  What difference does our reduction make when so many aren't even taking it into consideration? Do what we can when we can I guess, not sure our drop in the bucket will really make that much of a difference in the long run.  

  Unfortunately our Allen's Cay experience would be cut short as the weather wasn't as cooperative as it had been, a northerly blew through on the second day and although we were fairly protected from the wind, the waves rolled through the narrow gap between north and south Allen's against the tide, making for short, steep waves that had us dancing throughout the night.

  We parted ways with Zora, as we were headed in opposite directions.  They were beginning their trip back to the US via the Abacos Islands, and we were heading south, back to Shroud Cay, the lazy river and the sea turtles!.  On my last trip to Shroud I anchored way, way, way out, on account of the blown starter.  I wanted lots of room to drag between Island Eclipse and the beach.  In the event the anchor dragged I had no way of stopping the boat other than my hopes and prayers that the anchor would dig in again. This time around, we took the the closest mooring ball to the beach Unlike the other places we'd been the waters around Shroud carried their depth relatively close to shore.

  I'd hoped that we'd be sheltered from the unseasonal north wind that kept infringing on the solitude of our experience, but the waves followed the shoreline around the point protecting us, filling the bay with confused seas that rocked us throughout our stay.  

We spent as much time as we could ashore, exploring and adventuring, but even with our daily excursions the seas eventually got the better of Deb and Henry, and although we'd planned on taking Deb further south to Wardrick and Staniel, we eventually thought better of it as the weather continued to deteriorate.

We decided to head back to the safety of Nassau earlier than we wanted to, but as we all know, the weather does the planning, we're just along for the ride.

  It was February 22nd, my 50th birthday that we decided to head back, I got to spend the day sailing Island Eclipse across the bank with my two favourite people, and there was no snow in the forecast for my birthday this year. 

  It was a full days sail back to Montague Bay and the safety of Nassau, the winds began to ease the closer we got, and the colour started to return to Deb and Henry's faces.  No longer sick, the mood aboard gradually began to improve, once we pulled down the sails and dropped the hook there was a sigh of relief amongst the crew as we cleaned up the boat, had a bite to eat and settled into a movie.  And with that, Deb's visit was over, two weeks wasn't nearly long enough, but we tried to make the best of it, even with the crappy weather and unwelcoming seas. She'd snorkeled with the sea turtles, and the pretty fish, swam off the beautiful beaches, explored, adventured and experienced more than most ever get a chance too.

  Deb flew out early Saturday morning, about six hours before our next group of guests arrived, my sister Rebecca, nephew Owen and their close friend Christina would be with us for the following week.  This group was pretty green, having never sailed before.  Beck and Owen had, of course, been aboard many a times but only at the dock, but for Christina it was all new.  I picked them up from the beach with the dinghy shortly after noon on Saturday, by the time we'd gotten them and their luggage safely board, it was a little late to head east so we spent the evening relaxing and watching movies.

  We got an early start the next morning as we pulled the hook and started our day.  Beck and Christina set up some lawn chairs on the aft deck as Henry and I sailed the boat.  It was a beautiful day, with just enough wind to move us along, but not enough to bury the rail and freak out our passengers.

It was early afternoon by the time we arrive at... Allen's Cay...again.  By the time We dropped the hook Beck and Christina had turned a bright shade of red after cooking in the Bahamas sun all afternoon. Owen was eager to explore, so I dispatched the dinghy with Captain Henry aboard to shuttle our guests to the beach while I took the time by myself to do absolutely nothing.  By the time they returned to the boat the sun was starting to set, fortunately I'd already started dinner, so it wasn't long before everyone's bellies were full and they were off to bed.

  The next day Captain Henry ran everyone to the beach again, this time with lawn chairs, snacks and drinks.  They spent the entire day ashore while I used the new dive hookah to clean the bottom of the boat.  It took me about three hours of scrubbing and scraping to remove all the growth, but I was glad to get it done, even more so that I was able to run it off the solar panels without causing any charging deficit to the batteries.  By the time the day was over everyone seemed pretty exhausted. We had a simple dinner and watched a couple of shows before calling it a night.

  The next day we sailed off the anchor and headed silently out of the anchorage with Henry at the wheel.  We headed south from Allen's back to Shroud Cay where there were plenty of adventures to be had.  Once again my sister packed lunches, snacks and chairs for a full day of swimming and exploring.  Henry and I spent most of the day snorkeling where the lazy river meets the sound on the east side of the island.  Turtles, rays and tropical fish are abundant in the still moving waters at low tide.  The waters off the beach are shallow and warm enough to spend the day in without getting cold.  The hours flew by as we indulged in all that Shroud Cay had to offer.

  With unseasonal weather blowing in to the area often, I'm always keen to keep a close eye on the forecast, especially with fresh crew aboard and a flight departure in the not so distant future.  As with Deb's visit the weather was due to turn nasty later in the week so after only 4 days in the islands we thought it best to head back to the safety of Nassau sooner than later.  It was another beautiful sail back across the bank, the girls spent the day on the back deck again while the boys sailed the boat, and made lunches.

Once back to Nassau, Beck and Christina insisted on docking at a Marina for the remainder of their trip to make their exploration of Nassau easier.  We took a slip at Bay Street Marina, just east of the cruise ship terminal.   They only had one spot available and it was three slips in, between two very large, very expensive motor yachts.  there wasn't a lot of room to maneuver Island Eclipse and the tide made it a little tricky, but I managed to back us in almost like I knew what I was doing.  My sister and Christina seemed astonished by my accomplishment, asking where I learnt to do that.  Well I said, "Fake it until you make it", things could have gone either way! LOL

  The Marina had a laundry, pool, showers and a restaurant for us to enjoy during our stay.  While Beck, Christina and Owen explored the town, Henry and I washed our laundry, emptied the garbage, filled water tanks and equalized our batteries.  There's no way I could have afforded a night in a marina at $5 a foot, but for them it was cheaper than the alternative, as it was less expensive than a hotel or an Air B&B.

  Come Saturday, it was time for them to head back to boots, winter coats and the Great White North.  For Henry and I, we were finally free to venture past the safety of Shroud Cay and explore everything else The Bahamas had to offer!!