My mom has once again departed us on our journey and has flown back to the great cheese State of Wisconsin. After we “Dale, Barbara, and Jacques” took the 2 mile dinghy ride to George Town and almost sinking the dinghy upon entering a small Lagoon under a bridge to Lake Victoria. As we approached Lake Victoria it had a strong ebbing current which sucked the bow under.  But somehow I managed to get the bow out of its submarine dive and we made it to the dock wet and salty. My mom made it to her flight and was given free baggage for Christmas from the great people of the Bahamas.

After dropping my mom off my dad and I decided to get some supplies for Dragonsbane. Our objective was to find a VHF antenna and some zincs for the prop as you can see from the pictures below we need to replace. As we searched around George Town we were told to try NAPA store which I thought was the auto parts store but was actual a store called NAPA. Anyway we made it to the store by being picked up by a local man and dropped off. Needless to say they had nether item and I got oil filters for the Diesel instead. The lady suggested Brown Marina Store which was 6 miles away and to just hitch hike our way there. So as suggested I put out my thumb as we walked the road and was shortly picked up by a construction worker building the new hospital for George Town. After being dropped off back where we started my dad suggest we use the dinghy to get to Browns Marine 3 more miles away and against my inner gut I said ok we can try that. To make a long story short we zipped along the interior of the George Town coastal waters and under a bridge that was described in detail by “our local random friend” the store was around the bend to the right but make sure you stay left after the bridge, “not sure what the hell he was talking about”. Guess what? I didn’t see anything and after 1 hour of ducking into bays and coves, 1 inch of fuel in the tank left we headed back to George Town with nothing to show but stress and frustration.

After we returned to Dragonsbane and being drenched from the sea spray during our 2 mile dinghy ride back we cleaned Dragonsbane floors, decks, made fresh water and decided to get a hamburger at Chat and Chills again. After arriving at Chat & Chills and getting to watch CNN for the first time in a month my dad chatted with a guy from Florida and they discuss bio Genetics. Then my dad had forgotten cash so I had to dinghy 1 mile back to the boat to the get cash alone.

Having a few drinks in me made the return beach landing a little rough as I did not have to pull the already beached dinghy any further up the beach or tilt the motor up. When I found my dad he was in the middle of talking to a wedding couple and finding out they were Lisa and Alex who have been married 34 times and where in the process of celebrating another wedding tonight “check them out at www.2people1life.com . So we joined in, ate some cake and drank some beers at their wedding. It was a great time and I followed the dinghy all the way back to Dragonsbane or I drove it or something.

Lisa, Alex, and Jacques

Lisa and Alex cutting there wedding cake

Thanks,

Jacques

Well made another 40 nautical mile trek out into the sea and back gain to a nice place called George Town. Unfortunately the wind was right on our nose with 20 kts, what boring grind it was to pound into the swells and waves for 8 hours. The most exciting part of the trip was the beginning when we made our way through Galliot Cut Cay. The cut was only quarter mile wide between the cliffs and had a 3 or 4 knot current that made the prevailing waves stand tall like a wall of water. The ocean at the cut ripped, swirled and foamed with chop and wind. My dad was at the Helm and as my mom was afraid at the site of the waves I laughed and smiled, told my dad to lay the throttle to the board and giver hell. We powered through the waves and shot out into the Atlantic Ocean at 6 kts. Nothing like a adrenalin rush at 06:30 morning to get your day started. The rest was nothing to note and I was glad to arrive at George Town and have a beer at Chat and Chills.

Location: 23 deg 55.6min N, 76deg 16.6min W

Thanks, Jacques

This morning I went snorkeling in Thunder ball cave which was used in James Bond movie and feed some pigs in the water some carrots. Then we sailed to Black point about 5 nautical miles away. I will try and get some pictures up later.  Location 24deg 10.49min N, 76deg 26.95min W

We arrived in the early afternoon with the sun still high in the sky which was good for maneuvering Dragonsbane into our new anchorage for the night. As I helmed Dragonsbane into the narrow channels the depth was only 6.8 feet deep and Dragonsbane needs 6.5 feet before she hits ground. But because the sun was high I could motor right through the natural channels and between 2 great rocks that opened into a nice anchorage where we dropped anchor for the night.

We went ashore and had lunch at the local yacht club which was nothing more than a wood structure with screens for walls, a bar, and an enclosed kitchen. It was nice to have someone else make my meal and allow myself to enjoy a cold beer that seemed to sink right to my toes. I had for the first time a conch burger which was conch deep-fried in batter and then served on some of the islands local bread and garnished with deep-fried onion rings. I was told their conch burgers where the best and never having a conch burger I will have to say that it was what I thought a conch burger should taste like. It tasted like chewy over cooked meat, but being deep fired made it taste good like it should.

After the adventureous meal we decided to walk to the bakery where a women supposedly made the bread and as we made our way to her house we were passed by many friendly locals in golf carts scurring around the island doing whatever they do. We arrived at the women’s house and was informed that we would have to put in an order for bread and that it would be ready in the morning, but being that we would be moving on in the morning we decided to pass on the bread. We made our way to the local general store that sold groceries and other miscellaneous items. I was told that the delivery ship had been in this morning and the shelves would be freshly stocked, great news! I walked into the store to find very few items and only the basics, milk, eggs, frozen meats, mayo, and some sweets. I think that was it in the store other than engine oil, and some very spare parts for your engine if it was from the 70’s. I also noticed that you could rent VHS videos and that made me chuckle.  So we bought the basics and hiked our way back to the dinghy, zipped out to Dragonsbane and by that time it was dark, time for supper. Seems to me that every little task when cruising is an adventure, don’t you think?

Thanks,

Jacques

The Sunset at anchor during dinner at Exuma

Me at the helm on our way to the Exuma Park

Dragonsbane anchored in the lagoon “the boat in blue” with a squall in the background

The island was crawling with these lizards and they range in length from 3 to 12 inches long.

This is a wreck of a old wood boat that was located beneath Dragonsbane and I was told a shark lived under it, but I didn’t see it.

I carved a peace of drift wood with our boat name and date for my birthday and left it on top of Boo-Boo Hill Exuma Park along with all the other cruisers that have passed by.

At first I thought that this sightseeing would be a little boring and not very interesting at all. After a quick dinghy ride against a 2 or 3 knot current we tied up to the park dinghy dock and went out hiking the many trails on the island. As always I picked a location on the map and planned my attack to achieve my goal of making it to the top of Boo-Boo Hill in good time and little effort. As I hiked and studied the very uneven ground which was made up of ancient lava rock I found each step had to be calculated as the old stones shift quickly under your feet which caused me to worry about twisting my ankle or taking a spill. After working up a sweat I stopped and looked around and saw nothing but rocks, mud, water, and brush. I thought to myself that this was one boring place that reminded me of an old dust bowl town all washed up. But then after letting my eyes wonder around the ground it started to show signs of life and then one lizard and then another and then I could hear many different sounds of birds, waves pounding off in the distant rock cliffs sounding off like cannons. I looked out over the islands and you could see how the land formed out of the ocean. Needless to say I discovered that I need to stop and look at the boring to see the most amazing things come to life. Although I am not convinced that listening to boring people is very amazing yet, just saying!

Location same.

Jacques

We pulled the anchor this morning and headed 30 nautical miles south to a place called Warderick Wells Cay and purchased a mooring ball for $20 bucks for the night and tomorrow. It will be nice because for the first time in a month we will not be anchored. Tomorrow we should see all kinds of animals, and there are many reefs to dive.

But all fun aside after we tied up to our mooring ball we ran into a big problem. Our diesel engine would not shut down when we push the stop button. I tried using the ignition key and turned that to the off position and the engine would not stop. I tried tracing out the wires to the engine from the stop switch but I could not find the source of the problem. Being a diesel engine I never gave any thought to having this problem so I am a little lost on how to jump my kill switch. I finally resorted to cutting off the fuel supply and stopped the engine. Anyway I hope that I can start the dam thing tomorrow but for now I am going to forget that problem and enjoy the island. Tomorrow sometime I will kick the can of problems down the street again!

Location: Lat: 24deg 23.81min N, Long: 76deg 37.93min W

Jacques

We have finally been able to leave Nassau! We decided to sail from Nassau across a very shallow area that was 20 nautical miles wide and was peppered with coral head reefs to make life interesting. Our depth was no deeper than 20 feet and at our shallowest area for 2 miles was 10 feet. I guess that doesnt mean much but our boat draws 6.5 feet and that leaves little room for error. Anyway we made it through the maze of reefs and we did it under sail going 7 knots. I think it was a good first run at visual navigation and look forward to more. We made landfall at a little island called Highborne Island with nothing on it but it gets us out of the wind and waves and thats awesome. Location: 24deg 42.77min N, 76deg 49.79min W

I am feeling much better today and being on a boat that is going up/down nonstop is not the best place to be. Anyway I felt good enough to hike over to the Atlantic Casino and Hotel to check out what the big deal was. I thought the place was a big construction and architecture undertaking which I give props to those that paid for and built it.  Although well walking through the place the flow of building was more like a maze with narrow areas of entry which would make a person think there is no door behind that corner. It did on the other hand have very impressive views but the place as whole fell a little short in my mind for the price one would pay to come stay and play. I guess the silver bullet was the aquarium admission $40 per person so I skipped that and walked the floors and outside area. I then hiked back and made the dingy ride back safe and sound.

Thanks,

Jacques

Hello All:  Barbara here.  It is good to be back on Dragonsbane.  The 70 – 80 degree weather is easy to get used to!   The boat is getting low on provisions, and shopping has been a two day process.  That is, getting groceries.  The local people of Nassau are very helpful.  We found a store well stocked, however Dale and I had to be selective as to what we bought, since we had to carry everything back to the boat via, foot, bus and dinghy. Our first trip to the store was unsuccessful, as the dial-up credit card service was out and we did not have correct Bahamian cash to pay for out purchases.  We went back today, via a lengthy, back roads bus trip.  The bus driver dropped us off right at the door.  Hard to say what and when the bus routes are, as we haven’t found any.  You just tell them where you want to go, and you wind up there eventually.    

Downtown Nassau is gearing up for Christmas, as they are having the tree lighting ceremony tonight.  I’m not sure how that will go as the wind is quite gusty and blowing in over the Atlantic with thunderstorms predicted.   Santa will not let us down, he will be here to collect Christmas lists from all the good girls and boys. 

Unfortunately, Jacques has been under the weather, but is beginning to bounce back.   With high winds and thunderstorms approaching, he will be on anchor watch most of the night. 

A Bahamian Goooodnight,

Barbara

I have read many books on cruising and what makes life fun well doing it. Funny thing is that they fail to mention that keeping your sailboat working well takes hours of work each day. I traded in riding a desk and collecting a pay check which was hard earned to over seeing the systems and health of a 43 foot sailboat for no money,  just experiences as payment. Well I think I should have asked for more money! I wake each morning thinking of ways this or that doesn’t work and then start read manuals, asking questions to the pros who now seem to be just as lost as I am.

 My conclusion is that MacGyver is full of shit and you need more then a Swiss Army Knife and duck tape to fix these issues all though I have used both so far.  I have also realized that when one solution doesn’t solve the problem or the next, or the next, and so on the stress builds and can cause you to drink more RUM. I get the whole drink like a sailor now. Its not that they are alcoholics they just need something to make the day of futile problem solving worth it. I tell myself everyday that well at lest I get one rum and coke with a cigar rotated in every couple days 

That said cheers and goodnight,

Jacques