BYE BYE BAHAMAS

WELL, AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS AWAY FROM SOUTHPORT, WE ARE ONCE AGAIN HOME!!
We sadly departed March 5 by plane and back to reality and airport security! I only set the darn alarm off once with a bracelet!
The day before we left we had a great farewell lunch and rum at Santanas and bid farewell to Kendall,Steve, Mama (shown in the kitchen) and then toured the helo base. They wouldn't let me fly the ding dang thing!

The Bahamas is a wonderful place and the people are soooooooooooo friendly and the fish and rum are mighty fine! Bye Bye Bahamas and thanks to all my friends for following this trip.

SALTY OLD PILOTS

February 25th
LEARNING HOW TO BE A PILOT! LESSON #1 - PUTTING ON THE HELMET
With Chris, as our instructor, we had our first lesson in putting on the latest in night vision goggles. UNBELEIVABLE what they do ……………….just like daylight. Gazed at the stars……….Chris is a chopper pilot (now retired from the Army) and has some great stories about the Gulf War and Afghanistan. We are so very proud of our military and what they have done and continue to accomplish.

From Sandals to Ruins......

February 15, 2010
Another wild ride in a rented car touring the north end of Great Exuma. Our day began by visiting Sandals resort. Four Seasons had started the resort and went bankrupt and was bought by Sandals. They recently reopened the resort and it is beautiful – includes a golf course and full service marina. The economy of George Town is counting on its success as they employ many Bahamians.
Stopped at Pompey’s statue. He was a slave that stole his master’s salt boat and sailed off to Nassau with a number of other slaves. They were apprehended, jailed and routinely flogged. Later by order of the governor they were returned to Exuma. Pompey was considered a national hero for his role in the mini-rebellion against slavery. The picture is all that remains of the old jailhouse at Steventon that was build in the early 20th century.

Tropic of Cancer & Columbus Monument

The Tropic of Cancer runs though Long Island and through the town of Simms.........if you look real close you will see a line!

Christopher Columbus according to some landed at Long Island - and so there is a monument! No one is quite sure of the accuracy but it does attract attention!

We departed Long Island after a two day stay and major refueling and returned to George Town with no major incidents.

Our internet connections are pretty slow. We do have Skype phone (VOIP) and sometimes it works.

Weather is fantastic...........no snow here..........yet!

Hey Mon, Give Me Tow!!!

February 9, 2010 - George Town to Long Island (Stella Maris Marina)
Exumas Docking Service in George Town has been out of fuel for over a week and not expecting any for at least another week………………….and we were sure we had plenty left to make the 2 hour trip to Stella Maris Marina on the North Shore of Long Island (the furthest south full service marina in the Bahamas). Well we were not disappointed they had plenty of fuel but we DID NOT……………….gave out of fuel about 5 miles short.
The good news fist! We were in about 14 feet of water so we could anchor. Bad news - no fuel, no generator, house battery weak so anchor was dragged out manually. Good news - our hand held radios were fully charge as boat radio was inoperative. Good news – Stella Maris responded immediately and sent a dive boat out to help. They had a bunch of divers and snorkelers on board returning from a dive trip. They were about to be put to work in pulling a 36 ton vessel which was not part of their plan.
Bad news – anchor won’t come loose; wind is blowing and we are all rockin’ and rollin’ . Good news – the dive boat captain says he will dive down and pull it up! Well that is so nice of him. As he is about to dive he says “Hey mon, ya know where you are??” – and we look down and spot about 8 sharks circling the wagons! “You are in “Shark Reef”, no dive here!” Good news – took 3 people to finally get anchor pulled up and we got hooked up for the hour ride to the marina. Tow Boat US would have loved this ordeal.
Channel into marina is very narrow and the entrance is even narrower and very shallow with rocks on one side and bulkhead on the other. Good news we missed the rocks – thanks to boat hooks and big fenders. It took 4 guys to get us pulled in and tied up at the fuel dock. The rum, beer and fuel began to flow freely! Feasted on our stone crab claws and all slept soundly.
Lesson Learned – DO NOT TRUST YOUR FUEL GAGE

A Cotton Pickin' Good Time

George Town – Feb 6 2010
Pictures of our 5 Star restaurant and Dee...........picture of the "salt marker" so the ships could locate salt flats.

After an exquisite 5 star dining experience which was excellent Bahamian food served up with rum punch by Dee……………….the owner, bartender, cook, waitress and DJ, we headed back to the “Good Ship Lollypop” with John at the wheel. A day in 6 foot seas is not as rough as John’s driving on the “wrong” side of the road. Our rental car had faulty seat belts but other than that and a bald tire and lack of shock absorbers it was a great road trip! If you think some of our Southport potholes are bad, GTI 1 (George Town Interstate 1) gets the prize!
We even had some rain today…………..must be some of that snow that turned into rain here.
We visited the salt flats which in 1700s was a major commodity. The Loyalist had plantations here, planted cotton of which some has survived in the wild. We became cotton pickers today and had a cotton pickin’ good time!!

Kendall -The Best Bartender

Even in safe harbor, docked at marina – nightmares do occur! The plumbing from hell! John had to hire a plumber and five hours later we were fully operational. Highly recommend “Haucky” in George Town should anyone experience such awful matters!
Other than that all is well , relaxing in the sun. Frank has been such a good boy.
Best bartender in Exumas is Kendall at Chat & Chill……….try the “Gomba Punch” – not sure how it is spelled but it sure goes down easy!

Chat & Chill Beach - Georgetown Exumas

Here we are at Georgetown and the beach at Chat & Chill! Same old great bar and drinks and good hamburgers and conch salad. We left Staniel Cay 2 days ago and are tied up here at Exuma Docks. Dinghy over to the beach which is across the harbor. There are not as many boats here as in past years - the economy is hurting he Bahamas.

Recommendation to any boaters leaving the US....SIGN UP FOR SKYPE! It is free and gives you great phone service (VOIP). If someone you are calling does not have Skype, it will cost you 2 cents a minute - or Skype to Skype is free......

The boat (yacht) next to us is 110 ft. Dream on! We are really enjoying this warm clime. Frank is a great little boat dog but I really miss my Bonnie........

PIGS DON'T FLY - BUT THEY DO SWIM

A short dinghy ride from Staniel is a fun trip to see the swimming pigs! The "big" boy will try to jump in the dink so be careful! He will make great BBQ. This picture is from our last trip here as it it pretty windy today so will just hang out here on the boat and at the pool. I am sure this big guy provided a good meal!

The bar here has the best bartender in the whole world.........he can tend 100 sailors and not lose a beat.......remembers everything! However, Staniel Cay Yacht Club has gotten a lot more expensive....wine $9 a glass; slip $2 a foot + $50 a day for electricity. $10 a day for wireless that is sometimes friendly other times frustrating! Still seems to be a pretty popular destination. Lots of good anchorages. The nurse sharks surround us when the fisherman start cleaning their catch. Fun to watch them.

If winds die down and shift to the north, we will head out for Georgetown tomorrow - about 55 NM. signed, Ellie May

Cape Fear Yacht Club Burgee at Staniel Cay YC

HERE IS THE PROOF THAT OUR BURGEE IS STILL AT STANIEL CAY YACHT CLUB............

The Tongue of the Ocean

We departed Andros at 8:15 after an overnight stay at Lighhouse Marina and had a beautiful but long trip across part of the “Tongue of the Ocean” where the water depth is as great as 3000 meters (about 2 miles). The picture depicts a satellite image of the “Tongue of the Ocean.” Docked at Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the Exuma chain of islands. This is Neil’s and my second trip here and John’s third is a well known spot for diving the caves that were used in the filming of Thunderball in 1964. The boat on the T-dock next to us is 145 feet…………..we look like their tender! The last trip to Staniel Cay, Pukanis’ and Wartchows added the Cape Fear Yacht Club burgee to their collection and it is still there amongst the many others.
Today is Sunday the 24th (I think)…..just lose track of time! Just completed by “Chores.” I get the “molly maid jobs.”

Internet is at a snail's pace here.........so is life..........life is good......my hair is in pigtails......just call me Ellie May

Lighthouse Entering Fresh Creek

Today was a beautiful short trip from Morgan’s Bluff at the north end of Andros to Lighthouse Yacht Club and Marina. Small resort; bought fresh vegetables raised on the island; went to the Androsia factory which is where they make the only and original Bahamian batik. Of course, we bought stuff! Andros is the only island with fresh water……..wells supply some of Nassau’s water supply. A water tanker makes daily runs from Andros to Nassau and supplies them with 1,000,000 gals. per day.
Yesterday was another story! 6-8 foot seas; wind out of SW at 15-20! In my opinion the roughest ride yet! Added a few bruises to my collection. After about 7 hours of that, we found a sheltered harbor at Morgan’s Bluff; calm protected anchorage. We were the only power boat with all the sailboats. We appeared to look like perfect mariners as we anchored, launched the dink and Capt. John and Neil took Frank ashore. I made drinks! He has really turned into a great boat dog. He misses Kathleen but decided in the rough seas yesterday that I was his “New Best Friend.”
More lobsters on the grill tonight and will try to set the course for Staniel Cay tomorrow……….a pretty long haul.

Great Harbour Cay - Bullocks Harbour

Rented a golf cart and toured the island; lunch, a drink or two and the galley witch did laundry (oh the necessary things I must do!)

Capt. John is hard at work right now plotting our course for tomorrow. Another day another adventure.

Left Bimini Bound for The Berry Islands

Departed Bimini Jan 19 for a beautiful calm trip to Bullocks Harbour – about an 8 hour trek at a slow pace.
En route from Bimini to Great Harbour Cay Marina in the Berry Islands, we encountered some small lobster boats. Then we saw several more and realized they belonged to a “Mother Ship”. Each small boat probably a 21 foot Aubrey had an air pump pumping air down to a diver. This was in about 65 feet of water. They were getting the lobsters out of “condos” which is a 4x8 sheet of plywood sitting on blocks. The diver turns them over and catches the lobsters and takes them back to the little boat. The Mother Ship is a lot like a whaling vessel. We have been told that a rather well known seafood chain (with the word lobster in its name!) gets their supply of lobsters from here. These are not Maine lobsters and they do not have claws, but they are wonderful.
We bought 4 dozen lobsters in Bimini, have consumed some and froze the rest.

Another Beautiful Day in Paradise

Kathleen departed on Continental flight at noon today. Sure will miss her. She missed a great lunch...lobster salad aboard The Office. Executive Sweet joined us for cocktails last night. We had met them in Georgetown 2 years ago and reconnected in Savannah and here in Bimini. Turns out their neighbors in Mt. Pleasant SC had bought our house in Lexington Park, MD, in 1974! Now is that a small world??

We plan to leave here tomorrow and head to Chub Cay and then proceed further south.

The Office Bluewater Marina

It is a good thing that we crossed over from Florida on Friday because it has gotten very windy an we probably wouldn't be able to cross until Tuesday. Yesterday we rented a golf cart and toured the island and checked out the rum punch! Bought huge stone crab claws for dinner.

We are staying at Bluewater Marina. Highly recommend it. $1.00 a ft is a great deal! People are friendly and their economy is hurting like the US. John got the boat washed and waxed and it has never looked better.

Kathleen is flying back to states tomorrow - we'll sure miss her. She has had several promotions and has become the Chief in Charge of sunglass repairs! Only Kathleen would have needle, thread, eye glass repair kit on board!

John, Carol & Neil

Kathleen took the picture so is not in it! See we have shorts on!!!

The Office Made it to Bimini

For those of you that doubt that we are in the Bahamas, please take a look at the picture of John and The Office in the background!! A very hard trip!

A bit of a rough crossing with the East wind but only a couple of hours from Hillsboro Inlet. Beer is good, rum is better and weather is divine!

Already bought 12 lobsters as we docked! That is dinner. Eat your hearts out! Not a care in the world.............but we do miss all-you-all!

Hillsboro Inlet

Arriving at Pompano via Hillsboro Inlet on Jan 12th.

Finally have an Internet connection and there are two mechanics on the boat getting the starboard engine 'fixed'. Water maker is now operating so it looks like we may depart to Bahamas tomorrow.

Thank goodness for Jerry and Trish Miller for providing us with transportation. Their condo is within walking distance from the boat.

Sunny Florida

We have had no Internet for the past few days. Managed to get in last night and write a quick blog and immediately got cut off!

Here we are in Pompano....came from Cape Canaveral yesterday to Hillsboro Inlet; started out with coat, gloves, the whole winter wardrobe and started shedding layers around Palm Beach! Even pulled out the flip flops! Beautiful sunny run 2-4 foot seas. Most exciting thing was the sailfish we spotted.

We will try to leave for Bahamas tomorrow...........that is if one of the engines gets fixed and the watermaker makes water. water is very expensive in the Bahamas.

Spent one night at Cape Marina in Cape Canaveral, dinner at Rustys (very good restaurant)and headed out for the 100 trek to Hillsboro Inlet yesterday.

Today was an all time first! I dragged Neil to the grocery store....his reason for wanting to go was to get beer! Kathleen had the laundry duty and John dealing with the engine and watermaker people!

We hope the Polar Bears are happy and are sure there is no global warming!

FLORiDA AT LAST--brrrrrrrrr!

We finally made it to Florida today. St. Simon Island GA to St. Augustine. Plan to stay here for a couple of days to thaw out! Leaving GA in a frosty 20 degrees, one engine conked out in the channel. I thought it just got too cold and rebelled but Capt. John said that was not the case - and with his expertise, it got turned on and we hit the road or should I say the waves! 4-6 foot seas, wind NW about 15-20 and VERY COLD. Arrived here about 2:30. We were on the whale watch for the North Atlantic Right Whale which is migrating but did not see any.

Kathleen has been promoted from Swabbie Apprentis to Crab Pot Lookout (Crabby for short) and to Chief Whale Lookout today (Whalie for short)! Plenty of BIG WATER today and we are glad for a safe port and internet connection at last! At least I have my iPhone and have been able to connect except for a couple of times offshore.

While staying in Savannah for 2 nites at the Hyatt Docks (never stay there again, we had no internet service or anything else and $3 a foot! That it why we could not BLOG to all you all.. However, restaurant choice it wonderful! Had lunch at Paula Deens (Lady & Sons) and it was EXCELLENT. 60 bucks for 4 for lunch in a tourest trap is a bargain. FOOD IS FABULOUS- just good 'ole Paula Deen, butter, butter and more butter.

We are wondering if the world is upsidedown with this cold weather! Are we going the wrong way? Should we be going North?

Good Night Mr and Mrs America and all of he Ships at Sea...............

CHARLESTON CITY MARINA

Well here we are in Charleston! Capt. John, 1st Mate Neil, our Swabbie Apprentis, Kathleen Shirkey and moi, The Galley Witch.

Departed Southport in what we called an Artic Freeze........the Polar Bears are quite content today. Underway at 8:30, rounded Caswell Beach and set the course for Charleston. Arrived in the Channel about 3:15 with the US Coast Guard chasing us out of the Channel due to tight security around a BIG SHIP! Blue light, guns the whole thing. Cold but pleasant trip with a few elephants on the horizon - also some lions and tigers and bears! Was rough way out there, but we hugged the coast about 4-5 miles offshore.

Now it is wine time and Swabbie Kathleen's famous frozen lasagna! Tomorrow, Capt. John may give her a promotion. Will try to get to Savannah and Wet Willies.

Picture is from Harbour Island on our last cruise to Bahamas in 2008

Provisioning The Office

Here it is January 2nd and we are freezing here in Southport! Neil and John have filled the big freezer to capacity; refer is full and we are hot to trot to warmer clime! I for one have packed tooooooooooo many clothes and Neil has very few (that way I can use his locker! Capt. John has installed a new refer and ice maker (most important for those cool Bahamas drinks), water maker is almost operational. Water is very expensive in Bahamas and so is fuel.

We plan to get underway around 9AM on Tuesday the 5th and head for Charleston