Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Time flies when you’re having fun.  For the past couple of weeks we’ve put the strong winds behind us for the most part and have had many more calm and sunny days; just the way we expect the Bahamas to be!  

Kathi adds: This is the best the Bahamas has to offer. Calm anchorages, great lobstering and fishing. Swimming naked in bath water temperatures and eating fresh food every night. Not to mention Rumikub, Eucher, and Screw your neighbor (card game, don’t get no ideas) and more games with friends (fellowship).

m/v Knot 4 Rocks

We left Marsh Harbour on Wednesday, March 16; our destinations were the southern Abacos with our favorite anchorages at Armstrong Cay, Lynyard Cay and Cormorant Cay.  Southerly winds were predicted for the next few days so we set our sights on Armstrong Cay and anchored in the early afternoon.  Our friends on m/v Knot 4 Rocks considered joining us the next day but wanted a report on internet connectivity since Lisa needs good internet for her work.  We knew from past experience the internet should be fine but we checked it out, sent them an Email and they would join us the next day.

Kathi adds: Did I mention Lynyard is my favorite place in the Abaco’s? I just have a feeling of energy here that I can’t explain. Yes I love the seaglass hunting here, yes I love Pete’s Pub, but it is more than that. It is the only Pub we go to in the Abacos. This time there were lots of kids and I taught them how to play the ring game and we had a blast. The sculpture museum, the quaint houses, the little birdhouse bookstore exchanges….just everything appeals to me.

After anchoring, our first task of course was to get in the water and go look for lobster. Unfortunately, we were facing low tides which kept us from getting to some good lobster holes and we ended up getting skunked!  Very unusual for us!  

Kathi adds: While at Cormorant, we had a bunch of Bahamian guys come over to the boat. They were individually, but trying to be a group on a paddle board. They were drunk as hell and told us they were drinking rum, but they were playing “king of the paddle board” and falling off and still drinking their drinks. They were all trying to ride the paddle board at once and you can imagine how that turned out. One by one they were falling off while the next guy tried to board. It was quite entertaining and we had some good conversation and entertainment for about an hour. They said they were lobster hunting, but they didn’t have spears or lines, so we just cracked up while they hung on to our boat and tried to stand on the paddle board. Good fun.

The Big Lobsta

The next day, with high tide around 10am we got out early and went behind Armstrong Cay into the mangrove areas to one of our favorite hunting areas.  The area did not disappoint!  Our first stop we got a nice lobster with an 8” tail; then 2 smaller ones.  Our next stop Kathi saw 2 large lobsters under an archway.  She pushed them out to me on the backside of the arch and my eyes opened wide when I saw their size.  I shot the closest one to me and was trying to secure him while the other, larger lobster backed away into a crevice.  Kathi started yelling at me “John, John, get him, GET HIM.”  She didn’t know that I already had one on my spear!  I took the first back to the dinghy and returned to work with Kathi on the second.  Kathi was able to poke her spear into a hole above the other lobster to move him out too where I could get a shot.  His body was so thick that my spear barely penetrated one side of his body.  As I was trying to get ahold of him with my hand he flopped off of the spear and I had to use both my hands to grab him and wrestle him into my chest to maintain my hold on him.  His body was way too large for one of my hands to maintain a firm grasp.  I hugged him against my chest as I made my way to the dinghy.  He may be the largest lobster we’ve gotten; a 7 inch body, 13 inch tail, and a girth around his body of 16 inches!  We arrived back to the boat shortly after noon and showed off our catch to Sean and Lisa who had just arrived.  As an added bonus, all of the lobsters were male; as the season progresses, we try to avoid getting females.

The Big Lobsta

Kathi adds: I didn’t see John had a huge lobster already and was yelling at him to get this monsta lobsta. I had to crawl up on the iron shore to shake him out of the hole and then I saw the wresting match lobsta vs. John. I couldn’t believe how big it was and I wanted to get in and help him wrestle it, but I had about a 3 foot space to dive into so I just watched and laughed.

The Big Lobsta

The next few days we enjoyed hunting with Sean and on Saturday, Lisa was able to join us for a tour of the Blue Holes and swim thru to the north of our anchorage.  We hunted and then picnicked at an old bone-fish camp.  Sunday, a front was to come through with winds clocking to the west, then north, then northeast so we moved to Cormorant Cay for better protection.  The weather continued to dictate another move the next day to Tilloo Cay for several days of protection from east winds.  At the Tilloo Cay anchorage, we saw more boats there than we ever have in the past; for one boat, that turned out to be a good thing.

While relaxing and reading in our cockpit, I heard on the radio a sailboat trying to hail a power boat passing by them.  The power boat responded but the sailboat could not hear them.  The sailboat called again saying “Power boat power boat near Tilloo Cut, we are aground can you help us?”  For whatever reason, no response was heard.  I called the aground sailboat, got more specifics about their situation and told them I would come out and see if I could help.  The tide had just started to go out and if they didn’t get help soon, they would need to wait until the next high tide, around midnight.  Our friend Sean was anchored nearby so I went over to him, gave him the info and he agreed to join and help.  I dinghied over to the next boat and told them the situation and they agreed to help also and to get their friends on another sailboat to help as well.  When I got to the aground vessel, it was occupied by a young couple with two small kids.  They had their dinghy down trying to get the boat off the sandbar holding them in place.  I told the captain that the direction they were trying to go would only get shallower; the channel they thought they saw on the charts was non-existent; we would need to get the boat turned back the way they had come.  Three other dinghies arrived, we got a kedge anchor out from their bow, put 3 dinghies with lines to their bow and myself and another dinghy got ahold of their boom topping lift to pull on the top of the mast and heel the boat to the side and reduce the draft of the vessel on the sandbank.  After about 5 minutes of pulling, the boat pulled off the sandbank, got turned around and headed for the Tilloo Cay anchorage where the rest of us were staying.  After they were anchored, the captain and his daughter came over to thank us and give us a bottle of Tito’s vodka.  We let him know it wasn’t necessary but he insisted.  We reciprocated by giving him 3 luci lights (solar-powered lights) for the kids to use.

Kathi adds: good for them and our radio being on, John was a hero in getting 4 dinghies together to save this boat. They did not know what to do to help themselves, but with the experience of many sailboaters, they successfully pulled her off the reef and the kids and parents were fine. I gave the kids some worry stones (cool seaglass pieces) and made a pendant for the wife. Reassured them that sometimes you watch the show and sometimes you are the show, but keep on sailing. Cool couple and great kids. They want to go to Africa next. The 9 yr. old daughter wants to dedicate her life to relief work. Quite the intelligent young lady.

Rocket Contrail

While at Tilloo Cay, a rocket launch occurred from Cape Canaveral and we watched the small streak in the sky going higher and higher.  Another of the pleasant sights to see.

Kathi adds: Seeing launches is like seeing dolphins and lobsta, you never get sick of it. We watch in wonder.

The next week saw us back to Armstrong Cay, Cormorant Cay and finally south to Lynyard Cay.  March 31 is the last day of lobster season and we managed to get some good days of hunting done before then.  Our best day, Sean on Knot 4 Rocks got 3 and Kathi and I got 5.  Fortunately they have a couple of good freezers aboard and we have lobster frozen for future enjoyment.

While we were at Lynyard Cay we got to do a couple days of seaglass hunting.  The ocean swells were pretty large and 2 of our favorite spots were scoured out.  We still managed to have fun and found a few nice nuggets.  Kathi found a nice blue piece and I found a small piece of red.  Whenever we’re at Lynyard we take the opportunity to visit our favorite watering hole, Pete’s Pub.  Sean and Lisa went with us and we had a wonderful day drinking and eating the best burgers in the Abacos.  We always look to see if the T-shirts we’ve hung there in past years are still there and a couple of them were, although faded from exposure and of course we hung a new one with Knot 4 Rocks.

Kathi adds: The reason we eat burgers at Pete’s Pub is because we eat lobster and fish every night. We saw the “Mr. Right’ shirt and the “bust” shirt Scott and Jeanne left there. Good memories. We found several other t-shirts left with good friends and left a few ourselves again.

We moved from Lynyard Cay back to Armstrong Cay as the winds moved from the east back to the south.  Today, April 5, we took a dinghy ride back behind Armstrong and since lobster season is over we saw lots of lobsters waggling their antennae, taunting us.  We also saw lots and lots of turtles; Overall, a very good day.

K adds: Them damn lobster know when season is over. We see more and bigger every day, but won’t take them and I swear they know it. We went from swim thru to swim thru and saw turtles, sharks, lots of lobster and big fish. I came home and swam around our boat and saw the most beautiful wrass and fairy-basslet fish ever. I see things every day that just amaze me. I want to take pics of some things that I know are animals, but look like plastic. The fish that looks like a seahorse. The fish that is totally coral colored, but don’t have an underwater camera anymore…..Should I start a GO FUND ME page? lol.

I want to take this opportunity to wish our friends, Bryan and Hanna on m/v Hanusia, Bon Voyage on a trip they will be starting soon; they are taking the “Great Loop.”  They will leave their home in Maryland, cruise up the east coast, across to the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast to Florida, then back to home.  This is a trip they’ve been wanting to take for a long time.  They’ve been great friends that we met shortly after we bought Makani and were living aboard in Galesville.  A lot of good memories with them including hooking together hoses, along with Mike and Roycelyn on s/v Bon Bini, to run water from the bathhouse to our boats during the winter with snow on the docks.  We wish them a wonderful trip!

Kathi adds: Thanx  to Bryan for all the trips down the ICW so I didn’t have to make them and thanks to Hanna for sharing your house remake so you could sell it and for trusting us to babysit your home more than once and especially for hosting us when our cat was so sick. Also, loved hosting you in the Bahamas. You could not have been better guests. Hope you guys have an exemplary travel through the Great Loop.

My Beautiful Bride

Good day of Lobstering

Sasi on the Edge

Sasi playing Scrabble