May 1 - 5, 2017 preparing for haul out

a nurse shark just swimming in the shallows

we met the Cheemaun, (Trimaran) 2 years ago on the ICW,

they are from Midland, Ontario

in the last blow of 41 knots we lost our wind direction indicator

we did bring a spare with us this year, but won't install it until we return in December

both sails are washed and off, Joe is cleaning and waxing the stern

we took some time out to visit the Albert William Lowe Museum

Mr. Lowe was also a boat builder

the museum talked about the fish industry, making sisal ropes, boat building etc.

a lot was on the Hurricane of 1932, that only left 3 building standing in New Plymouth

the kitchen was in a different building away from the main structure

there was a very large fire pit and a smaller one for baking (right)

we are in Black Sound on one of Donnys Mooring balls, to get the boat ready for haul out

there is another front coming and the place is getting packed, Donny wanted us to come to the dock, at the same price as a MB, so he can put much larger boats in our place

.. here he is moving a Catch into the dock

then he went to pull a power boat that went aground

and helped him get attached to one of his MB,  these power boats are close to 8 feet off the water

and it is difficult to grab the floating lines

we had a very quick T n L and rain storm, about one inch in 1 hour

Friday nights is Happy Hour at the Liquor Store,

we can buy your own wine etc. .. they open it and give you a nice glass

to drink from, plus they serve snacks

our New Zealand friends from sv Five Flip Flops

one of the churches runs a camp for the local kids, kind of like our Brownies and Bay Scouts

here they are playing Musical Chairs

game is over and this young lad had the best seat in town

the local newspaper for the Abacoes

we made the front page

I'm in the yellow top and hat, Joe is blue hat and colourful shirt, along with 

our friends from Banyan and Escape Velocity

April 26 - 30, 2017

this vessel called Assignation was parked at the dinghy dock, if this is the dinghy, I wonder what the

mother ship looks like

Eddie makes the best Conch Salad in the Abacoes

here we are getting our last take-a-way for the winter

supper tonight was one of our favourite .. Curry Chicken

Abacoes is full of these Black Butterfies

the spring flowers are all in bloom on the beaches

exploring another beach

a float

this area is so much like the Bruce Peninsula, minus the sand

gas and diesel jugs melted together

one area in Munjack Cay is full of these huge holes, we understand they

are the homes of Land Crabs, and they hide from the sun in the day and do their

feeding at night

Italy has invaded the anchorage area, 4 Cats came full speed and surrounded us

there was lots of singing and partying going on

Kapok Prickles

I finally found one, they are from Mexico, Central America, Carribean or West Africa

they are like the thorns on trees, but actually called Prickles

we finally got to hang up my hammock

we had about 5 days of sun and high winds, so starting at 11 until 1:30 

we super charged, de-sulfinated and equalized the batteries

next year we will do this only once a month

it was too windy to get off the boat, so we started to get the boat ready for storage

.. Joe is cleaning and greasing all of his tools

this picture is for Richard and Ella, back home ….  Viking Lady

the sails are being hand washed, dried and packed away

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  ...