Wednesday 26 April 2017

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