March 1-2, 2000
Yesterday was one of those special days. We stripped the sheets off the bed and rounded up all of the dirty clothes, threw them in bags and headed for the laundry machines. Dinghied over a mile or so, walked up a steep incline with the bags and were told there wasn't sufficient water for the machines to run. This was at Club Thunderball. OK, no big deal. We did find that they had a book exchange, we checked them out, picked out a few and went on our merry way back to our boat. These trials and tribulations are not so hard when encompassed by blue skies, white puffy
clouds, turquoise water, white sandy beaches and 80 degrees. On our way back to the boat, we stopped by some new acquaintances' boat named Chanticleer. Phil and Debbie were going snorkeling at a spot they found and would we like to join them in a couple of hours? We think we would! It turned out to be a really cool reef full of corals giving life to many different species of fish, most of which I couldn't identify. I could identify the moray eel, barracuda and sea urchins. The eel was poking his head out of a hole and Phil tried for at least 5 minutes to get me to see it without getting too close. I finally spotted him and he was STARING at me. Not at us. But at me. Spooky. When Phil shouted that there was a barracuda in the water, Debbie came tearing back to the dinghy and was up and over in a second flat. I was in the dinghy warming up and I grabbed my gear and was back in the water in 2 seconds flat. Being that I can count the numbers of times I have snorkeled on one hand, ignorance is bliss. Phil wasn't afraid so I wasn't either. There were some lemon sharks that they had seen the day before but they weren't at home today. They're pretty small so I don't think they would have bothered me, either.
Today was a quick motor (no wind) to Little Farmer's Cay. We made it before noon, got the dinghy together and went exploring. It looks like Hurricane Floyd did quite a job here. There are some houses that are falling apart and a couple that look like they got stopped mid-construction. It's fairly shallow around here so we took the dinghy over to where we will exit tomorrow. Destination: Georgetown. It will be a long day, 40 miles, which will take us 9-10 hours. This is where we will do laundry, go to a real grocery store, play volleyball and softball, see Eric and Susan and wait for my mom to arrive on the 7th. There are some 429 boats in Georgetown for Regatta. I don't know who actually counts the boats but someone apparently does. The harbour is supposed to be huge with never-ending cocktail parties and fun. We haven't seen Eric and Susan since around Christmas and it will be great to see their smiling faces and suntanned bodies.
March 4, 2000
The sail over (motor, actually) was calm and beautiful. We arose at 5:30am and were underway at first sun, 7:00am. We needed the sun to help us through the shallows and fortunately for us, high tide was at 7:00am. We had a little mishap, right away, before even getting out into Exuma Sound. We went hard aground, missing the deep water by about 5 feet. We were hard aground on coral, too, not sand. And at high tide, we had no hopes of waiting it out for higher water. Bob did his magic and got us off in about 15 minutes. It was a pretty tense 15 minutes, though. There is no one in these small cays that will come and tow you off. It's a real problem here, especially for boats with as deep of a keel as ours. In any case, we were off and running and arrived way ahead of schedule, due to a favorable current, about 1:00pm.
Bob and I anchor and lift the anchor using Icom walkie-talkie units. At this particular time, Bob was at the bow and I was at the helm. He was giving me very distinct instructions as he was raising the anchors. "Forward slowly." "Neutral." "To the right." "More right." "Reverse fast." I then repeat each instruction back to him as I start the task. After a "reverse", he came on and said "more neutral." There's a long pause and I get back on and say, "we're as neutral as we can be." He meant to say, "more forward."
After setting the anchor, Susan came over and we had a big hug and nice reunion. Eric was out spear fishing and came later as his eyes focused on his boat and then drifted over to the new boat next to him, Mutual Fun. He gave off a few big yelps and sped over to the boat. More hugs and smiles and a nice catch-up. We showered and went over later for cocktails on their boat, "Elysia" and Dillon and Elizabeth of "Greensleeves" came along with 2 other couples. Had a nice time and then went for hamburgs.
Today was spent with laundry, grocery shopping and porthole cleaning. The mother is coming in 3 days, hopefully without her white gloves. Can't wait to see her.
March 5, 2000
Great day in Paradise. Started out with the chore of defrosting the fridge. We had about 4 inches of ice caked on. We poured buckets of cold water over the ice and chiseled and eventually the glacier came off. Our generator is on the blink and good old Dillon from "Greensleeves" offered to fix it, trading us water for the labor. We gladly took him up on that. He worked on it for a couple of hours and found out that we need our alternator rewound. Whatever that means. That will be tricky to get done from Georgetown.
At 2:00pm we went over to the volleyball courts and played a few fun games. Then, the "professionals" came over. They were telling us how to hit the ball and where to stand and reading off these stupid rules.
Bob starting kidding around with them and kept on about it, without being too offensive, as only Bob can do, until we decided we weren't having fun anymore and sat out. A few minutes later, the other guys whom we were having fun with piled onto the court and so we rejoined the game. This left only 1 "professional." So, I said, "good we don't have to play with these rules anymore and the "pro" said we did and I said, "why?' and he said because this was a "pro" court. Bob says, "so, who doesn't want to play by these rules?" and 11 people raised their hands and the guy says we have to and Bob says, "this is a democracy" and the guy walks off the court in a huff. These people are drop dead by-the rules fanatics. This being Regatta week, everyone is all into it. So, we go back after the game and tell the story to Eric and Susan and they were so happy that we came and are stirring up trouble. Can you imagine all of these rules and regulations, playing in sand with some 600 people in Georgetown, Bahamas? Well, we probably didn't make any friends today but we sure had a good time. After volleyball we had dinner with our friends at the Chat and Chill Bar and Grill. A good day was had by all.
March 19,2000
What a busy day! First of all, I slept the whole night through without coughing my guts out. We got up and watched "Elysia" and "Vagabond Tiger" raise anchor and head south. A few minutes later we heard them consulting on VHF about an approaching rainsquall. Bob and I took the big boat closer to town, where the fuel docks are. It was too windy and too shallow to tie up to the dock so we borrowed some jerry cans and poor Bob made 5 trips filling two, 5 gallon cans each time. After, he had to change the oil. That wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't misplaced this little plastic bags with gaskets inside. We looked everywhere for over an hour. He had to go all through the dirty bags with the dirty oil containers and black paper towels and through garbage. I helped him look but I was also cleaning below. When I got done cleaning, I decided to think like him and figure out what he did with this little baggie. I decided that he put them in between his baby finger and ring ringer of his right hand and while putting other stuff down into the storage area, he dropped the baggie. Therefor, the little baggie must have fallen down to the right in this storage area. Sure enough, that's exactly where it was. I think that's pretty scary that I can think like Bob better than he can. Living in these close quarters is doing something to our heads. I wonder if he can think like me better than I can. I don't want to know.
We have moved our boat to a little island called Red Shank. It's about 3 miles south of where we were. We just needed a little change. We left about 4:30pm with only 2 hours of sunlight. Unfortunately, we had to watch for coral heads to our right and to our left. And unfortunately, the direction we had to turn into right before the coral heads was due west, right into the setting sun. Unfortunately, I could only see about 30 feet in front of us, standing way out on the bowsprit. And, unfortunately, instead of turning the volume on Bob's walkie-talkie all the way up, I must have turned it all of the way down. By the time I saw the coral heads and Bob heard my screams, we were over them. We bounced along them for awhile until Bob got his volume turned up and I could direct him which way to turn. When "Elysia" called us later and we told them about it, Bob told them that they would have to redo the charts because there weren't any coral heads there anymore. We had a nice, quiet evening. We ate our dinner out in the cockpit with the full moon.
March 24, 2000
The trip up the "mountain" was actually a 2-˝ hour jaunt, including a short swim break. It was breathtaking up there, with pictures to prove it. Exuma Sound looked choppy, with white caps and the Bank was calm, flat and beautiful. It felt good to move the legs around and get some exercise. 
We got together with Dylan and Elizabeth for a wonderful cocktail-turned-dinner hour of Bob's special pina coladas, lobster pate, pistachio nuts, fresh baked Italian bread with olive oil for dipping, conch salad and pasta with chicken, peas, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, olives, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Sound like a feast? It was.
March 26, 2000
I awoke to a strange feeling of calm. The howling of the wind through the shrouds has been like an underlying grating on our nerves. But, all of that in warm and sunny conditions. And did I mention the turquoise water? In any case, the wind was gone and we were sitting on flat water in our little anchorage. After my morning routine of tidying up and sweeping out the boat (oh how I've waited to have to clean up the constant accumulation of sand) I got all excited about finally being in calm conditions so I could work on the teak. I got out my equipment and started sanding the handrails, above deck, when Elizabeth called to inquire about Bob's run-in with her boom. That's when I got the idea that we needed exercise so Elizabeth and I decided to go ashore and have a hike. Well, there went my teaking. We had a nice hike through trails leading to the Sound. The waves were a little too boisterous for us there so we hiked a little further down, found a calm little cove and went for a dip. After drying off in the sun, we hiked some more, sat and shared an apple (we're both almost out of fresh food) and went to our separate homes. I then decided to go for another swim off the boat and felt a little guilty when I looked at the water line of the boat and saw a whole garden growing there so I got my snorkel and fins and cleaned the bottom. I noticed a nice little chunk out of the keel where we had apparently had a run-in with coral head. Then I had a nice little swim which Bob thought made a good picture. As you can see, the water here looks like a crystal clear swimming pool. 
At high tide, both boats moved a couple of miles around the corner for more fishing/snorkeling possibilities. As soon as we dropped the anchor, a single-handing female called and asked for help anchoring so I set off in the dinghy and gave her hand. She was with another single-handing boat owned by Paul, who we met in Georgetown. Paul is a doll so I had to stop at his boat and gab awhile. Meanwhile, I hear on the VHF that Dylan has caught a shark. I dinghy back to the boat, which is about a mile away, and by the time I get back there, the shark has gotten off the line. Turns out, Dylan had caught 2 different sharks and they both got away. At cocktails tonight, Dylan described the first shark as at least 10 feet. That put his wife in a fit of laughter as she saw it as about 5 feet. That conversation led to boys and their toys and my engine is bigger than your engine and lots of laughter. Dylan made these incredible conch fritters. Bob says they are the best he's had in then Bahamas. We brought the last of our salsa and chips. Chips run $8.00 per bag here so they were indeed, the last of our chips.
It's so nice here that when you hear that your friend or acquaintance wants or needs something, you remember it and offer it if you can. We have been doing a lot of trading with "Greensleeves" in the nicest way. They knew we were down to our last 3 potato chips, literally, and Elizabeth needed cream rinse and Dylan loves fruit juice so tonight we brought him 2 cans of juice and Elizabeth surprised us with a can of Pringles. They make us fresh conch and Bob saved his salsa and chips for them. It's such a nice arrangement of give-and-take and there's nothing formal about it; it just comes so naturally.
We just talked to our friends from Vero Beach, "Zaftra" and "Goody two Shoes". They are awaiting a crossing and it will probably be tomorrow. They have been in Florida all of this time and will finally make it to the Bahamas. Can't wait to see them.
The mommy arrived right on schedule about 6:00pm. She looked happy and pasty. We'll try to keep her happy but do something about that pasty problem. The dinghy ride from town to our boat is about a mile or so. We have 2 choices: 1. Go slow and get wet or 2. Fly and stay dry. We always choose 2. We have been worried about this for the last couple of days. First mom was laughing and loving it. But that was still in the channel. When we really started to move, she screamed all of the way back to the boat. We were laughing so hard. I fed the mommy some eggs and a bagel (that she brought, a gift from Barry Bagel) and off we dragged her to a cocktail party on "Vagabond Tiger." There she met Eric and Susan and Dillon and Elizabeth and Frank and Dee. Also in attendance was Miss Dixie and Billy Bob, guests of Eric and Susan. And the reason these 2 are so important is: they have decided to get married right here in Georgetown, right here on Eric and Susan's boat, right here next to our boat. We will be there hootin' and hollerin' at 1:30pm today. My gift to them is digital pictures for their computer scrapbook.
Another beautiful, sunny day with fair winds and blue skies. The Regatta continues with many activities to keep us all occupied.
The last night of my mom's visit before she takes this floppy disc home and delivers it to Erin. Today was special because my mom's ankle was strong enough that she could manage to climb a path over a hill to get to the gold on the other side. The other side is Exuma Sound, which looks, for all intents, like the ocean. The waves were very gentle today so we were able to swim and play. The water isn't exactly cold and certainly not warm but the sun was hot and it felt good. At 1:00pm, we met Dillon, Elizabeth and Dillon's mom for lunch in town. After, we did a little shopping and then went to yet another cocktail party, across the harbour. My mom and I left early so we could have dinner and she could pack and Bob stayed to party. All in all, I think my mom had a nice time although climbing around a boat is not for everyone. 
We had a wonderful, boisterous sail from Georgetown to Lee Stocking Island. We left at high tide and arrived at low tide. Oops. Ya know, you just can't have it both ways. So, naturally, we went aground trying to get into the anchorage. We (Bob) got off in just a few minutes so it was no problem, other than spewing diesel all over the dinghy. We backed up and anchored in about 11 feet of water, within eyesight of a bunch of mooring balls, just beckoning us. We hailed "Greensleeves" and found them to be just around the corner, about 2 ˝ miles south of us. They had just caught a monster lobster and would we like to come over and share it? Um, let me think. YES! We dinghied over about 5:30pm and we were a little anxious about the ride back in the dark, with all of the shallows and cays around. We had the most delicious dinner of the largest lobster I've ever seen in my life. We also had baked potatoes, halved with melted cheese and a side dish of fresh conch salad. The lobster was served with melted butter. We didn't have a lot to contribute, since our stores are running low due to coming home, but we did bring a giant bottle of Merlot and some fancy cookies for dessert. The evening was wonderful and the dinghy ride home was magical. The moon had risen ˝ way and was a bright orange. The water was smooth as glass and Bob used the GPS to find our way.
unsuccessfully to use the public phone for Pocketmail and had an even wetter dinghy ride back to the boat. The sail home was really fast. It was a beautiful sail with Elizabeth at the helm and Dylan working the sails and watching for coral heads. Nothing got hit on the way home except Bob. He happened to be standing in the way of the boom when Elizabeth released it and it went flying across and hit him in the chin. We got ice for him fast enough so, although it's still bleeding a few hours later, he doesn't seem to be in pain. Elizabeth felt awful and I will call her on the radio in a few minutes and tell her Bob is fine. 
Dylan and Elizabeth are very capable sailors. They take way more risks than we do but we are old and stodgy. We enjoyed yet another day in Paradise.
ready and headed over to check out our mooring ball, where we'll be leaving the boat while we're home. It's a very skinny opening back into this hole with extremely shallow water on either side of the channel. Bob had been nervous about this entrance ever since we rented the mooring ball but we brought the boat through it beautifully, thanks to that dinghy ride in first. We would have hit the shallows if we hadn't scoped it out first. A short little cat nap, a nice shower, dinner at Chat and Chill and now we are home on our mooring ball in our little harbour. Tomorrow we do banking, laundry and pack. Next day we're off for a new adventure; home.