There were an average of about 200 boats in George Town while we were there. We spent 9 days there before heading here to the Marina at Emerald Bay.
George Town was nice and we enjoyed our stay. The water is beautiful and clear and we had a good holding spot to anchor. We went to Volleyball Beach one afternoon to participate in a book exchange. I have been reading a new book every 1-2 days and I was need of replacements.
Another day we attended a cruiser-led fishing seminar. Lots of good info, but we mainly learned that our fishing gear was way too light to catch any deep water fish.
The dinghy ride across the harbor was usually a bumpy adventure and on really windy days I let Nick go into town alone. He could zip across pretty fast and I could stay on board and read.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Exuma Park
This place is gorgeous -- a half dozen shades of blue water and many pretty beaches. They have 21 mooring balls in the North Mooring Field -- primo real estate. We got on the waiting list, but couldn't get a good spot. We ended up almost our in the channel with large swells hitting us all night. No one left the next day so we couldn't move inside to a good spot. Bummer!
Instead we moved over to the Emerald Rock Mooring Field. It was pretty nice, but I still envied those folks in the North Field. It was a lot smoother, but a pretty good ride into the North Field where the office was located.
After two night at Emerald Rock, we headed to Saniel Cay. We arrived yesterday and will leave tomorrow.
There is more civilization here than we've seen in a while. We had lunch at the Yacht Club (small and very informal) and walked around the island a little bit.
Directly across from us in Thunderball Cave, where a scene was filmed for the James Bond movie. Nick took a quick snorkel in there this morning before lunch to check it out. Don't know if he'll go back in the morning during low tide or not. If he does, he'll take some pictures.
I'm waiting for warmer water, then I'll be ready for some reef diving.
Instead we moved over to the Emerald Rock Mooring Field. It was pretty nice, but I still envied those folks in the North Field. It was a lot smoother, but a pretty good ride into the North Field where the office was located.
After two night at Emerald Rock, we headed to Saniel Cay. We arrived yesterday and will leave tomorrow.
There is more civilization here than we've seen in a while. We had lunch at the Yacht Club (small and very informal) and walked around the island a little bit.
Directly across from us in Thunderball Cave, where a scene was filmed for the James Bond movie. Nick took a quick snorkel in there this morning before lunch to check it out. Don't know if he'll go back in the morning during low tide or not. If he does, he'll take some pictures.
I'm waiting for warmer water, then I'll be ready for some reef diving.
The Beautiful Exumas
The water got more and more beautiful as we headed to the Exumas. We anchored one night just outside Nassau, then made an early start to Allen's Cay. We spent three nights here, enjoying the clear water. It was even warm enough to swim. Nick donned dive gear and scraped the propeller while I swam around the boat, holding onto a line. There was quite a bit of current there and I would have ended up about 20 miles away before Nick knew I was gone. We spent a little time tooling around in the dinghy, or "Dinky" as we affectionately call him.
There were a bunch of iguanas that lived on the surrounding Cays. Every day a tour boat would come out with a bunch of tourists and feed the iguanas, despite the sign saying, Please Do Not Feed the Iguanas.
Nick buzzed around in Dinky one morning, chasing a small stringray around for a while. I think I was taking a nap, or maybe reading, so I missed out on the stingray.
Our next stop was the Exuma Land and Sea Park.
There were a bunch of iguanas that lived on the surrounding Cays. Every day a tour boat would come out with a bunch of tourists and feed the iguanas, despite the sign saying, Please Do Not Feed the Iguanas.
Nick buzzed around in Dinky one morning, chasing a small stringray around for a while. I think I was taking a nap, or maybe reading, so I missed out on the stingray.
Our next stop was the Exuma Land and Sea Park.
A few Days in Nassau
We had a good day sailing into Nassau, despite the generator from Hell being on our minds.
Winds were just right and we made good time. We saw a large pod of dolphins, then -- lo and beyond -- thar she blows!! We spotted a whale. It was probably a juvenile, but still pretty large. It was a couple of hundred yards away, but we got a pretty good view and a perfect whale tail viewing when he submerged.
As we motored into Nassau, we passed two huge Carnival ships and another huge one from Costa. The harbor was buzzing with catamarans taking cruise passengers our to snorkel and there was lots of parasailing going on out by the beach in front of the Atlantis Hotel. Sadly, Club Med was no longer there. Atlantis had expanded and gobbled up the Club Med real estate.
We docked at Nassau Yacht Harbor Marina so we could find someone to fix the generator. This was Saturday afternoon. Nick got a recommendation from the dock master and Albert was scheduled to arrive at 8:30 Monday morning.
In the meantime, we walked across the street to a shopping center that had a Domino's Pizza and Dairy Queen store. We hadn't had pizza in quite a while, so it was a nice treat. The next morning we took a taxi to the grocery store and stocked up on a few things.
Albert arrived Monday morning, took a look a the generator and said he'd be back later that he had to get some more information. Finally at 2pm he told us he couldn't find the tester he needed so he couldn't help us.
Thankfully, we had emailed the guy who sold us the generator and he gave us a suggestion. Water had backed up through the exhaust hose the night the waves pounded us and got into the oil. Nick had changed the oil a couple of times and it still wouldn't turn over.
A few shots of WD-40 and starting fluid helped unclog and clear out the exhaust and -- voila! -- we had a working generator again.
We would leave Nassau the next morning to head down to the Exumas!
Winds were just right and we made good time. We saw a large pod of dolphins, then -- lo and beyond -- thar she blows!! We spotted a whale. It was probably a juvenile, but still pretty large. It was a couple of hundred yards away, but we got a pretty good view and a perfect whale tail viewing when he submerged.
As we motored into Nassau, we passed two huge Carnival ships and another huge one from Costa. The harbor was buzzing with catamarans taking cruise passengers our to snorkel and there was lots of parasailing going on out by the beach in front of the Atlantis Hotel. Sadly, Club Med was no longer there. Atlantis had expanded and gobbled up the Club Med real estate.
We docked at Nassau Yacht Harbor Marina so we could find someone to fix the generator. This was Saturday afternoon. Nick got a recommendation from the dock master and Albert was scheduled to arrive at 8:30 Monday morning.
In the meantime, we walked across the street to a shopping center that had a Domino's Pizza and Dairy Queen store. We hadn't had pizza in quite a while, so it was a nice treat. The next morning we took a taxi to the grocery store and stocked up on a few things.
Albert arrived Monday morning, took a look a the generator and said he'd be back later that he had to get some more information. Finally at 2pm he told us he couldn't find the tester he needed so he couldn't help us.
Thankfully, we had emailed the guy who sold us the generator and he gave us a suggestion. Water had backed up through the exhaust hose the night the waves pounded us and got into the oil. Nick had changed the oil a couple of times and it still wouldn't turn over.
A few shots of WD-40 and starting fluid helped unclog and clear out the exhaust and -- voila! -- we had a working generator again.
We would leave Nassau the next morning to head down to the Exumas!
Finally Crossed the Gulf Stream
After several days of aggravation and expense, our generator finally started working again.
December 26, 2011, we make our first attempt to cross the Gulf Stream. The winds were so strong our of the South we were afraid we'd end up in Bermuda instead of Bimini, so we decided to try again when the weather settled.
We got lucky on December 30 and the seas laid down. There wasn't much wind and it was pretty fluky, changing directions all the time. Perfect for motoring across the Gulf Stream. We left at 4 am and were docked in Bimini by 2pm.
The Bimini Sands Marina was pretty nice. Floating docks, electricity, and free wi-fi. We ended up staying almost a week. We met a very nice couple of the sailboat next to us and enjoyed spending some time with them.
Then we headed out across the Bahama Banks. The water is shallow and there is no land in sight for many miles. We anchored (literally) in the middle of nowhere in 10 feet of water. It was bumpy during the night, with no land to buffer the waves. We heard and felt them pouding through the night.
Finally, daylight arrives and Nick is ready to make his coffee. He goes to crank up the generator and NOTHING happens. Oh, yes, our generator with just over 200 hours decides to quit again.
Luckily, our next stop was Nassau and we thought a generator mechanic should be available.
December 26, 2011, we make our first attempt to cross the Gulf Stream. The winds were so strong our of the South we were afraid we'd end up in Bermuda instead of Bimini, so we decided to try again when the weather settled.
We got lucky on December 30 and the seas laid down. There wasn't much wind and it was pretty fluky, changing directions all the time. Perfect for motoring across the Gulf Stream. We left at 4 am and were docked in Bimini by 2pm.
The Bimini Sands Marina was pretty nice. Floating docks, electricity, and free wi-fi. We ended up staying almost a week. We met a very nice couple of the sailboat next to us and enjoyed spending some time with them.
Then we headed out across the Bahama Banks. The water is shallow and there is no land in sight for many miles. We anchored (literally) in the middle of nowhere in 10 feet of water. It was bumpy during the night, with no land to buffer the waves. We heard and felt them pouding through the night.
Finally, daylight arrives and Nick is ready to make his coffee. He goes to crank up the generator and NOTHING happens. Oh, yes, our generator with just over 200 hours decides to quit again.
Luckily, our next stop was Nassau and we thought a generator mechanic should be available.
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