Double Breasted Cays and Thanksgiving

MOVING TO DOUBLE BREASTED CAYS AND THANKSGIVING

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday had squalls and gale force winds, today the sun is out and seas are calm.  Actually, the winds died down yesterday evening around dusk leaving Kathi just enough time to go explore the shoreline at our anchorage.  As I prepared dinner, Kathi swims back with our first three lobster of the season.  She said there had to be a hundred of them along the shoreline.

Wednesday we moved from Grand Cays to Double Breasted Cays; a short trip of about 4 miles.  There are several anchorages to choose from and since we have never visited this group of Cays before we chose the anchorage easiest to get to and centrally located.  We plan to be here for a week or ten days.  Another anchorage close by is more protected but the route into it shows some shallow depths and narrow passage-ways.  We will explore the route by dinghy before we move there tomorrow.

Double Breasted Cays are uninhabited and provide lots of shoreline for us to explore as well as numerous reefs offshore that can be explored by dinghy in calm weather.  This is the type of place we love; isolated, beautiful water, lots of sea life and good anchorages.  Maybe we found our paradise!

After getting Makani anchored we went to check-out the more protected anchorage we want to move to and then for a snorkel.  The path to the anchorage is narrow but easily seen in good light and has plenty of depth for us to pass through as long as we wait for a rising tide.  We decide that we will move on Thursday.  Our first snorkel here is wonderful.  Lots of sea life to enjoy watching and plenty of fish, conch, and lobster to keep us fed.  We bring back 6 conch and 6 lobster; plenty for dinner tonight and a few meals to put in the freezer.

On Thanksgiving Day we moved to our more protected anchorage, Kathi at the helm and me on the bow watching for any shallow coral heads.  The only problem Kathi had was as we went past one of the inlets to the ocean the current from the rising tide pushed the boat toward the shallows.  The route here is only about 30 feet wide with rocky shoreline on one side and a sand bar on the other.  We made it through safely then found our anchoring spot.  Our anchorage can be seen in the photo above.  In the center of the light blue area is a small cay called Sandy Cay.  The light blue is shallow sand.  We anchored just to the south-west of Sandy Cay in the small channel between Sandy Cay and the Cay to the south-west.  

Many people would expect that we would feast on lobster and other seafood for our Thanksgiving dinner.  I’m a traditionalist though; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, biscuits and cranberry sauce for us.  We got dinner started then went for a snorkel.  Since we have all of the food we need for the next few days I took a camera rather than a spear.  I was able to get a nice short video of a nurse shark that showed some curiosity about us.  We came back to the boat and the aroma of turkey greeted us.  The smell of turkey roasting is one of my favorites.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious as expected.  We wish we had some friends of family to share with but for now we will just enjoy each other.  We hope all of you enjoyed a great Thanksgiving wherever you are at.

Friday was a day to explore more of Double Breasted Cays; swimming along the shoreline, seeing the sea-life, and fighting the currents.  We read that this area has strong currents and we found that to be true.  In the center of the “streams” between the Cays the current is too strong to swim against, even with fins.  Fortunately, close to the shoreline, the current is very slight.  Kathi had a surprise when a large nurse shark swam directly beneath her.   After about 3 hours of snorkeling we returned to the boat for a late lunch/early supper of Thanksgiving left-overs.

Saturday is Kathi’s birthday.  Plan for the day is to get 2 lobsters for dinner to go with the steak we have, then give her a sand massage on the beach near the boat.

MAKANI MUSES

Bahamas

November, 2017- May, 2018

Makani saying farewell to the US

This year’s journey to the Bahamas began in Lake Worth, Florida on Saturday, November 18, 2017.  A narrow weather window for crossing the gulf stream  was projected for mid-day Saturday through early Sunday.  After finishing our provisioning on Saturday morning we hoisted the dinghy engine onto its mount on the davits and then raised the dinghy onto its place on the bow.  Seas were projected to be 3-5 feet early Saturday, diminishing through the day to 2-3 feet. 

We left Lake Worth inlet at 12:30pm heading for Memory Rock, our entrance onto the Little Bahama Bank, 54 nautical miles away.  Winds were very light and coming directly at us so we motor-sailed; the sails were up mainly to provide stability against the ocean swells.  We were pleasantly surprised that the crossing was one of the easiest we have done.  Kathi navigated us onto the Banks at Memory Rock at 9:30 pm.  I had napped for as much of the crossing as I could then took over for the next part of the trip.  We decided to head for Mangrove Cay, a tiny uninhabited Cay, 24 miles from Memory Rock.  We reached the anchorage around 1:30am, set our hook and settled in for some well deserved rest.

In the morning, we took care of our chores including getting the dinghy back into the water and remounting the outboard, then did our traditional swinging off the boat and down into the water.  After a nice bath in the salt water we were on our way to our next destination, Grand Cay.

Grand Cays is one of the northern-most Cays in the Bahamas and is a check-in point for customs and immigration.  We have never checked in at Grand Cays before but were told it was an easy process.  The trip of 24 miles took us about 5 hours but the winds had shifted to the north-west at about 12 knots allowing us to turn off the engine and sail using all 3 of Makani’s sails.  After a beautiful sail we reached Grand Cays, anchored, then went in search of the Customs office.  The Customs office was closed (of course) with a phone number to call posted on the door.  We went to Rosie’s Place, the local restaurant, and one of the patrons called the number.  The Customs officer is actually headquartered on Walkers Cay, 5 miles away, but she boated over and we completed the paperwork sitting at a table at Rosie’s place.  The biggest concern in clearing through is wether you will receive immigration stay for 3 months or for 6 months.  If you only receive authorization for 3 months you must return to an immigration office no more than a week before your time is up to request an extension.  Fortunately, we were given a 6 month time-frame.  We are now legal to travel through the Bahamas, spearfishing to our hearts and stomach’s content! 

At anchor in Grand Cays

Grand Cays consists of 5 populated Cays, Grand Cay, Big Grand Cay, Little Grand Cay,, Seahorse Cay, and Felix Cay.  The largest settlement is located on Little Grand Cay with the Government Administration, a small grocery store, three restaurants and a few other shops.  In the recent past, many of the inhabitants worked at the resort on Walkers Cay, about 5 miles away.  Walkers Cay was a hotspot for offshore fishing, boasted a first-rate marina and hotel.  The area was one of President Nixon’s favorite vacation spots.  Hurricanes essentially destroyed the facilities on Walkers Cay which now lie abandoned, eliminating one of the primary sources of livelihood for the locals of Grand Cay.  Today most of the population makes their living from fishing.  Each evening you can watch the small boats returning to the harbor to drop their catch off at the dock for future shipment to Marsh Harbor and the processing plant.

Blustery in the anchorage

  As predicted, the weather turned nasty late Sunday with gale-force winds from the north clocking around to the east.  The winds will persist through Tuesday afternoon so we stayed on our anchorage for the next two days.  We still feel good about crossing to the Bahamas when we did since the next potential weather window isn’t until November 25.   

Regardless of how strong the winds are we can always find a place to snorkel and enjoy seeing the undersea life.  We saw about a dozen lobster but they all looked too small so our conservation ethic kept us from spearing any.  This is just a time to enjoy being in the water again. 

Tuesday brought squalls along with the wind so we decided laundry was the task of the day; wash in salt water, rinse in salt water then hang on deck for a final fresh water rinse. Tomorrow we can hope for sunshine to provide the drying. 

Bug boat be gone

December 8, 2015

In years past, we have always teased that if we get skunked fishing, we would have to eat Top Ramen for dinner. This year we have seen dozens and dozens of lobsters, groupers, trigger fish, and conch and have made no attempt to shoot them with anything but a camera. That is because we have planned meal after meal and have not had the energy to prepare the meal and end up eating Top Ramen or something even simpler. We have stayed at Manjack because John has not wanted to get too far away from Green Turtle where we can procure medicine or he could go in to the clinic if needed.

guess what this is

The clinic is staffed by a nurse who gathers information and then faxes the information to a Dr.  The Dr. then makes a recommendation for treatment and faxes orders back. We have been treated twice at the island clinics. Once two years ago when John had a leg wound that got infected and three weeks ago when I went in for this same illness that John now has. Both times we were treated immediately, professionally, and the cost was very low (extremely low if you compare it to the U.S.). The biggest problem I have is that the nurses are still very subservient to the Dr. so I can’t tell her what I have and how I want it treated (which 30 years of critical care nursing allows me to do in the U.S.), because she just tells me “we’ll see what the Dr. says”. I also don’t get to talk to the Dr. in person so I can’t tell him/her my diagnosis or treatment either. If I come away without the proper treatment for the problem, then the trip to the clinic was worthless. John and I are extremely reluctant to go to the Dr. even when we are back in the U.S. because 99% of the time, it can be handled at home. However, we aren’t foolish either. If you have strept throat, you need an antibiotic. If you don’t have the right antibiotic, you need to get it. If you go to the clinic and walk away without the right antibiotic, then you should have stayed home and continued the homeopathic cures you have been trying.

Is there a Dr. in the house?

Last night John said he wanted to go in to the clinic so you know he must have been feeling very bad. This morning when he woke up he say’s “let’s move to Crab Cay”. Crab Cay is about 5 hours from Green Turtle Cay. We did some morning chores and hung around long enough to make sure he was not just showing bravado, but really feeling better, then motorsailed to Crab Cay. Within minutes of anchoring, he took a nap. I think he really does feel better, but so do I and my energy level is still pretty low. 

I pretty much know all the great lobster holes near Crab Cay, but we still have two in the freezer and it makes no sense at all to fill the freezer with stuff you can get every day. I do want to get wet and get some exercise and possibly get some pictures for the blog so I don my wetsuit and go looking for action. The visibility is poor so pictures are out, but I do get to swim against the current so I am getting exercise. Then John says “we could have lobster tortellini for dinner” and wham..1 of three (because Kiwi gets her own now). Then home for a very nice dinner of lobster tortellini and the first episode of Sons of Anarchy. 

Chicken parmasean meatballs

We have done a bit of complaining about the weather, but truth be told, it has not been the weather that has prohibited us from our usual activities. It has been a bit windier, but the wind generator is working well.  The sky has been more overcast than not which has caused us to use our generator more as the solar panels haven’t been able to keep up with our energy usage. It has rained some off and on, but that has allowed us to keep up on the laundry and take hot showers. Overall, our biggest limiting factor so far this year has been our energy level. I also need to remind myself that poor weather here still means I am in a bathing suit most of the day and not in snow boots.

Come on out Kiwi

Kiwi seems to be starting to relax more and spend more time with us instead of her hiding spots. She is becoming a lobster monster and greets us when we return to the boat with the dinghy. She expects that we have brought her something. She chases the bat moths in the cockpit at night and sometimes even lovingly brings one into the cabin to show us what a great hunter she is. It is a bit hard to sleep with a 6” moth fluttering about your head and a cat flying about the room trying to capture it. 

Still looking forward to improved health so we can socialize, play cards and games, get seaglass, have picnics and bonfires. Anxious to set up our own golf course and play some golf. We definitely want to do some SCUBA diving and take long walks on dirty scavenger beaches.

Also looking forward to the guests that will be coming.

Snot and Cooties

Our pot of gold is just around the corner

December 3, 2015

So…… if your looking for fun in the sun and stories about 14# lobsters, you might want to skip this blog and wait for the next update. Unfortunately, this one is more about snot and cooties (this time John) and animal (Kiwi) behavior.

In the last update, Kathi was starting to feel better again and John started feeling punk. We were anchored at Manjack, trying to get our game on. As I improved, John declined. John was the great provider of lobster, hot tea, broth, and comfort when I just wanted to sleep or sit in the dinghy and watch. Now it was John’s turn to be comforted. We went to the ocean side and everything was too stirred up and visibility was zilch so we went to the north shores of Manjack Bay and it was my job to fetch us dinner. John had no desire to get in the water from an energy standpoint nor a comfort standpoint. Unfortunately, I shot a grouper that got caught between two coral heads and needed John’s assistance to bring home the bacon. Grudgingly, John helped me get our nights meal back to the dinghy and I continued to hunt for lobster appetizers. Once we got our groceries, we were both spent. I was determined not to relapse and John was determined not to get sicker. We were both so tired, we put the lobster and fish in the freezer and had broth and went to bed.

Stubborn folks move - We have a break in the weather and we are sitting here taking naps every two hours.  We sleep 18-20 hours a day. We have got to move. Moving will cure us. So we go into Green Turtle Cay to get rid of trash and buy some fresh tomatoes for pico-de-gallo to  have fish tacos. We moved again and anchored at No Name Cay so we could find octopus and seaglass. By the time we anchored, we were spent and ate broth and slept.

John continued to get sicker, but his theory is “all medicine does is inhibit your bodies own abilities to fight off infection”. So he is gargling with hot salt water every 2 hours and having me put a syringe full of hot salt water up his nose to “wash his sinuses”. He is miserable with sinus headache, soar throat, persistent cough and mucous from every orifice above his Adams apple. I however am feeling better and am now anxious to kill something and eat it. John took me out and I was able to get a few lobster and found a good bed of conch. Of course, neither of us have the energy to clean conch, but we marked it on the GPS for future hunts. I have a weeks worth of menus and I chose something grand as all we have eaten for the past month, or so it seems, is broth. Once again, our energy levels are zapped and all I can muster up is some steamed lobster and mac and cheese. Even the “wild” pigs and their cute little piglets can’t draw us out to take some pictures for the blog. 

The winds are in our favor to go to the outside of No Name and do some seaglass hunting, but John has finally gotten sick enough to want to go to Green Turtle and get some medicine. We go into Green Turtle and then return to Manjack due to forecasted winds and rain for the next 5 days. 

At least the sunsets are beautiful

Immediately upon anchoring at Manjack, we go snorkeling on the outside and find hoards of lobster condos.  We only take two and finally take the grouper from the freezer and have fish tacos and fresh pico-de-gallo. John is starting to feel better and it is the first time since we left the U.S. that John and I are sleeping in the same bed. I didn’t want him to get sick and then he didn’t want me to relapse AND it is difficult to get a good night sleep when one partner is coughing all night. It is one thing to have one partner ill and another well, and one can take care of another. Quite another thing to have both ill and not be able to provide comfort for either. Which brings me to animal (Kiwi) behavior………..

Cool Eagle cloud

In the last blog, Kiwi was “making some adjustments”. To tell the truth, I was thinking of leaving her as pig food on No Name Cay. She literally screams from the time we go to bed to the time we wake up. I admit, there was no bed time, eat time, move time, or any time since we have been here, but she was driving us crazy.  Last night when we slept together, she snuggled up between us and slept all night long. I think she just thought it was wrong for us to be in separate beds. Thinking about it, she would run from me (and scream) and then to John (and scream) and she could not figure out why we were not together. In the mean time, while she is trying to escape her HELL, she has found every tiny hidey hole on the boat (see liquid cat on YOU TUBE) and managed to hide the squeaky mouse that we bought for her before we left the U.S. because …well you know….she doesn’t have 5 million toys and a cat tree and scratch rugs over 75% of the boat and a railing of yarn and a jumpy window already…… and she has managed to hide this squeaky mouse where human hands cannot retrieve it, so whenever the boat makes any kind of movement..like when we motor, or sail, or the wind blows, or when it rains, or when it is calm or wheneverthefuck we are on the boat, we hear squeaky mouse. Hopefully, as with all of us, squeaky mouse has a limited life. As for Kiwi, well we will see tonight, because John has taken a nap and I think he is feeling better. I have spaghetti with lobster/parmesean/meatballs planned. Tomorrow, pizza Friday, with lobster on tai sauce. It is so very calm outside with a very light rain. We are very blessed that it has rained all day and again our tanks are full and we have both enjoyed a very long hot shower and filled our wetsuit rinse buckets and have all the laundry done. LIFE IS GOOD.

No Name Cay is a nice pleasant anchorage in good weather just south of Green Turtle Cay.  On the outside (the Atlantic Side, as opposed to the inside, the Sea of Abaco side) are some beautiful reefs very close to shore and some very nice spots to find seaglass.  When we first came here years ago, we took our cat, Indi, for a walk on the beach.  To our surprise, a rather large boar came trotting up to say hello.  Indi cowered down by a tree while the pig put its large muzzle down and sniffed her.  Fortunately she did not react and the pig soon moved on to asking us if we had any food.  We were unsure how wild the pig was so we moved quickly down the beach and the pig went in search of food elsewhere.  Well, it appears as if the locals have turned the island into a pig retreat.  Last year we noted about 5 pigs on the island and this year… we saw 7 pigs and 9 or 10 piglets on the beach.  Signs on the beach say “Bring food and water.”  We wonder how often a pig roast occurs…

Makani Update

November 26, 2015; Thanksgiving

During this past week we have experienced one of the longest stretches of windy weather that we have ever seen in the Bahamas.  The winds have been blowing 20-30 knots constantly and with frequent gusts in the mid to upper 30s.  The forecast is for this weather to continue until Sunday before moderating.  We are not complaining though; seeing the snow and ice storms that is occurring across the States. Also, we had looked at long term weather predictions and pretty much knew what was in store for us. The good news is it has rained some every afternoon so we are able to keep our water supply topped off and take hot showers.

The weather has reduced, but not stopped, our snorkeling excursions.  For a few days in this past week however we have been to tired to do much of anything.  Kathi has been struggling with some type of cold or flu or infection since early November. We even considered staying in the U.S. until she felt better, but the stubborn nurse wanted to be in the Bahamas for her birthday. After we used our entire supply of Nyqil, Alka Seltzer Plus, Loratadine and 10 days on Augmentin and Erythromycin eye ointment, she started to feel a bit better so she decided to clean the bottom of the boat. She worked for two hours the first day AND then cleaned and polished the stainless.  I was so happy she was feeling better and her energy had returned. After we went hunting the next day, she worked for another two hours cleaning the bottom. This is not an easy task. It requires a lot of diving and breath holding and elbow grease. That night Kathi started feeling punk again. Over the next few days the virus or bacteria returned with a vengeance. She woke up with sore throat, matted eyes, ear aches, and a persistent cough. She dug through our first aid kit and found a few more packages of things that would control the symptoms, but finally relented and allowed me to take her into the clinic at Green Turtle Cay. She had been sick for 23 days and was worn out. Unfortunately, the Doctor would not prescribe any more antibiotics because it was “too soon” since the last dose. He did give her more medications that somewhat control the symptoms. She has read 12 books and has watched most of seasons I,II, and III of Downton Abby.  Normally she would be going stir crazy, but she doesn’t even have the energy to complain. I’ve managed to fight it off until two days ago. I don’t have all the symptoms that Kathi has (knock on wood), but it sure does zap your energy. 

 It hasn’t all been snot and cooties. Yesterday was Kathi’s birthday.  We celebrated with steak and fresh-caught lobster. Today we are anchored at Manjack Cay in the northern Abacos.  People who have one of the houses ashore, and also have a cruising sailboat invited everyone in the anchorage to their cottage for a Thanksgiving potluck.  Unfortunately we had to decline because of our illnesses and not wanting to risk spreading the cold or whatever it is among others.  We are cooking a traditional meal aboard, turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, etc so we will not go hungry!

Kiwi is doing a bit of her own adjusting. Between to fowl weather and sick owners, she has not been able to get into any sort of sleep, eat, and be merry pattern. She does not like the noises caused by excessive winds and rain and she can’t seem to dig herself into a hiding place that suits her. She is very vocal when she is not happy and unfortunately she is most unhappy around 4am. Right now we have to excuse her as our own sleep patterns and routines are discombobulated to say the least.

We are thankful to be back in the Bahamas doing those things that we love most. We hope that next week we will have beautiful weather and we can move about and explore some of our favorite islands in the northern Abacos. Sorry no pictures with this post, but we promise lots of pictures next post

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

The weather has turned quite blustery, as was predicted.  The winds are blowing 20-25 knots and are projected to stay that way for the foreseeable future, which in terms of weather prediction is generally 4-5 days.  Fortunately for us, the winds are out of the east and we’ve moved from Spanish Cay to Powell Cay and have a fairly protected anchorage.  

Carl and Annie on Muse

We feel fortunate that we crossed the Gulf Stream and got to the Bahamas when we did.  Long term projections are for windy weather and no good crossing opportunities until around Thanksgiving or later.  We would much rather be here in the Bahamas than waiting in the States for a weather opportunity to cross over.

New trac LED lighting

We met another cruising couple while at Spanish Cay; a Canadian couple who 3 months ago sold all of their stuff, bought the boat and are now full-time cruisers.  This is their first trip to the Bahamas.  They have never spear-fished before so we shared our tools of the trade and went out hunting yesterday.  We came back with 7 lobster and 3 fish (two yellow snapper and one red snapper).  Carl is a natural with the Hawaiian sling and was immediately hooked on the sport.  Annie needs some practice using the pole spear although she got her lobster also.  We cooked the lobster for them last night and discussed cruising plans.  They have family flying into Georgetown in the Exumas for Christmas so they will be heading south as quickly as weather permits.  We have decided to stay in the Abacos as we have family and friends flying in to Marsh Harbor beginning in early February.  Kathi and I had discussed going to the Exumas again this year for December and January but we have heard over and over that “due to  El Nino, this years weather is going to be unpredictable”, so we’ve opted to stay “close to home.”

New countertops

Makani has been working beautifully and we’re pleased with the projects we completed this past summer.  One of our major jobs was replacing all of the fuel lines.  Last year we were having problems with fuel filters clogging which we attributed to the old fuel lines.  We replaced the old 1/4 inch lines with 3/8 inch lines and have had no fuel issues this year.  We also repaired our wind generator and it is helping to keep the batteries at full charge.  Kathi painted our corian countertops to better match our interior and we installed additional lighting which has brightened our home.     

Sunday, November 15, 2015

We left the Lake Worth inlet (West Palm Beach, Florida) at 4am on Thursday, November 12.  Our destination was West End on Grand Bahama Island where we intended to check through Customs and Immigration.  We had never been to West End before so this would give us an opportunity to travel a different route.

The travel from Florida to the Bahamas Banks can often be difficult as the Gulf Stream pushes through the Straits of Florida at 3-4 knots and can build rough seas.  This time, the seas were about as smooth as we've experienced with about 2 foot swells.

Unfortunately, even with the gentle swells, the wind/swells/currents made travel to West End slightly difficult so we altered our course and headed for Memory Rock, our usual arrival point on the Bahamas Bank.  We arrived there around 2pm and continued motor-sailing to Mangrove Cay, a small deserted island, where we anchored for the night just before dark.  The next morning we travelled 8 hours to an anchorage outside of Foxtown on Little Abaco Island where we had internet access and could get updated whether information as well as let people know where we were so they would not call out the Coast Guard to start a search for overdue vessels since we had intended to be in West End the day before.  On Saturday, we travelled another 4 hours to finally reach Spanish Cay where we could check into Customs and Immigration and be legally in the Bahamas.  The overall travel from Lake Worth to our check-in arrival point was about 25 hours.

We're thrilled to be back in the Bahamas!