April 23 - 25, 2017 major storm

well thankfully we grabbed a mooring ball when we did, we knew it was coming

we spent Sunday morning cleaning the deck and the dinghy with salt water, so when we got the 3 inches of rain it will wash the salt off and we will have enough water collected for drinking and

washing our salty dock lines

…. the boat shuttered many times and we figured it was gusting 40 knots .. Modaki sprung a few leaks, some we knew about and thought we had fixed them (leaks on top not bottom)

the worst winds came after dark at about midnight when the wind shifted to the west

in the morning the sun shone and it was all over, but still windy, no boats where moving

… Joe put all our lines in the clean fresh water in the dinghy for a soaking

we washed our snorkelling gear and life jackets and hung them to dry

the wind pulled apart some seams in the bimini and the dodger, so we fixed them also

we got a surprise visit from the US Coast Guard, they are here to help the Bahamian Government,  they did not board us, but they did board a few US boats on mooring balls

…they where anchored outside and registered 41 knots around midnight and a few Cays north of us

registered 61 knots, and in Eleuthra 100 knots with a water spout

as I said I'm glad we are on a secure mooring ball, Donny told us that every November he changes the chains and tackle on his MB's

I don't know what this vine is but it is beautiful

boat chores done and off to Gillam Bay

we where here 6 months ago and this is new since then

lots of corrosion

back to fixing the water leaks, stanchion base in the v-berth,

drinking water intake opening, companionway hatch, again etc.

well we are getting down to the last of our canned goods, I love these and saved them for 

the last two weeks on the boat

Green Turtle Cay Restaurant and Marina, the bar is lined with

one dollar bills with cruisers names on them

unfortunately our Canadian dollar bill is missing, but we did bring a loonie with a hole in it to

hang onto our Bahamian dollar, we added 2016 and 2017 to the bill

every wall and ceiling is covered with bills

this is where I do my blogging on the north side of the Whale, the wifi is fast and I get to enjoy all the orchids and flowers in bloom, and some times I have the Bahamian Hummingbird come for a visit

Well it looks like I'm finally up to date with the blog, we are spending the night at anchor in

White Sound and then heading to Munjack Cay for a few night

before May 1, we will be back in Black Sound, Green Turtle Cay to get Modaki

ready for hauling May 8

 … we are coming home  ...

April 15 - 22, 2017 part two orchids, stingrays and Sax Man

we wanted to go to the north end of Munjack, and it is too far for us to dinghy

… Modaki in the back ground … this is a tricky place to anchor and the first time

we dropped the anchor, Joe pulled it up immediately, we nearly dropped it on a tree trunk and root,

also the winds had more south in it and it was quite choppy, so we decided to not spend the night here

this is the area that the Tourist Cruising boats bring their guests and feed the rays and sharks

we saw 7 rays

this guy is about 4 feet and came within inches of my toes, they are use to tourist bringing food to feed them..

I'm not that comfortable with Rays after my experience about 5 years ago in Bimini

the tourist boats are beginning to arrive and I know the sharks will

be soon arriving also, but we left, we where not comfortable with our

anchoring spot

some one has gone to a lot of work making picnic tables between trees on shore

even including the kitchen sink

the chores are still continuing, I finished up painting the v-berth

it was time to take my orchids and lilies to their summer home

the goats are new to Bill and Leslie's homestead

Leslie with my mini orchids hanging in the tree, lilies in the vinegar bottle and

fruit cake as a thank you

Joe is cleaning all the rigging, with kerosine and greasing them

… then we headed back into Black Sound, thunder storms are predicted with high winds

its Friday night and we head to the Sundowner Restaurant to listen to some music,

on the way we saw this 20 ft tree in full bloom of yellow flowers with these green pods

Cinnecord Tree, used to feed goats and sheep

Cassava Plant, it is a root crop like potatoes

and this beauty.. a young Cassier Tree

this house will qualify as a Tiny Home

inside Sundowners Restaurant

Beauty is only a light switch away

waiting for the musician to arrive, around 7pm the place was jumping with

cruisers

Sax Man, he was very good, we understand that he plays every Saturday night

we will be back again

April 15 - 22, 2017 Munjack Cay part one

the winds are now going to be east for the next week, so we headed back up to Munjack Cay

and took a walk to the other side of the island, the path is one mile long, winding around and around, thru Poison Wood trees and some marshy area

it was a hot day, but the No Seeums are not around

finally the beach

and we are once again the only walkers, we found some Sea Beans

in one area where the beach is narrow, a lot of trees have been up rooted during storms

we figured we walked about 5 miles today

the next day back at the boat we decided to do some

house keeping and sort out our first aid kit and medicine cabinet, we are getting organized to head back home, we also had to wait for high tide to do the dinghy drift up a creek

between Munjack Cay and Crab Cay is a creek/river, it is about 200 feet at the mouth and

gets shallow and narrow

the tide was coming in and just about high tide, so we shut off the motor and

drifted, this way you see more of the wildlife

on the way in we counted 25 sea turtles from 1 ft to 3 ft 

and the water gets green and the mangroves take over the creek

on one of the side paths we come across some boats at a dock, we are sure that they can't leave until

extreme high tides, and the mangroves are taking over all the side paths

because these Cays are so close together, there are many beaches to walk

one of the land crabs, trying to hide on us … he needs to work better on his hide away

a walk around to the ocean side

this year we have been seeing a lot of bamboo in shore, not to sure where it is coming from

some ancient trees

 I made Cracked Conch, for a snack .. so good

another few days have come to a close ….forest fires still burning