Hippos and Elephants

Well we did it! We went through the Little Harbour Cut to the Atlantic and down to Eleuthra. It was the roughest ride we have ever had going through the cut. Our cruising partners took some pictures of us and I will attempt to put them on here. We have now cruised over to Spanish Wells and will stay one more day before heading further south.

Wicked Wind Witch

For the first time as long as anyone here can remember ………. these winds have been strong and sustained. Meaning, the Sea of Abaco is very rough for any long passages and the Atlantic is not recommended with small craft warnings being posted for a full continuous 2 weeks. Apparently, there are folks still waiting in Florida to cross over to the Bahamas. There are boats in Eleuthra waiting to get here. And there are several boats like us that would like to make the passage South.
The weather here “Barometer Bob” is predicting that the prevailing winds should die down on Tues with a calm day predicted for Wed. We are at anchor in Marsh Harbour and will go down to Little Harbour on Tuesday to await the calm.
Even with the winds of 20-30 knots it is still warm and pleasant on the ‘lee’ side of the islands. Unfortunately, the reefs are on the ocean side so there is not much snorkeling; the water is just too rough.

Hopetown

I guess you have been wondering about us……..we are fine. We have been here in Hopetown along with about 60 other moored and anchored boats. This is a very quaint little town with colorful, picturesque homes. We have taken more pictures and I will attempt to add a few.
It has not been as easy to get ‘connected’ here. Our Cingular card does not want to work even though the company keeps telling my daughter it is set up to work$%#%^!^?? We are looking at getting a small external antenna to strengthen the signals we are able to get.
Anyway, the weather continues to be in the high 70’s but the winds have been ever present. In fact, we are waiting on a favorable wind direction to move on down to the Exumas. We have found several vessels that want to make the trip also but we have had a stubborn front that has been hanging over the area with winds from the Northeast which are not what we want. Yes, I am also learning a lot about weather forecasts.
We finally got to go snorkeling for a little while yesterday. It was not in a coral area however (again because of the winds), but it was a good starter trip. The equipment Denise got us worked out perfectly. I am so glad we have it.
The watermaker is working fine, as well as the freezer. I am glad we have them as well. There are grocery stores available but not with a lot of variety. We are always able to get milk, fresh baked bread, and seafood. There is little fresh produce but they always have limes. And speaking of it – the vodka here is cheaper than at home. And the Blue Sapphire is the same price as Stolys. As soon as we drink up what we have, we can stock up for the trip home.
Would you believe that Jerry was chastised for going too fast in his new red dinghy? Of course with the 15hp motor and the ‘planning’ ability of the dinghy that is not hard to do. Misty loves it by the way

http://picasaweb.google.com/RedeTugo

Ok Folks let me know if this works and I will send more Pictures. The first few are from Charlie's condo on Amelia Island where we stayed for 2 weeks. Then St. Augustine, FL and on down to Lake Worth where we did the crossing.

I know you are probably surprised to hear from us again so soon, but we are ‘connected’ again here at Man o War Cay. This is a little island that was settled by the loyalists from the American Revolution to escape the American 'Terrorist'. It is now a very ‘religious’ crowd that occupies this Cay. There is no alcohol served or sold here at all. We met a couple last year at Onancock, MD who have a home here. There were very helpful in telling us which charts to buy and some of the ins and outs of cruising the Bahamas. We are going to try and reach them.
If any of you are wondering about the weather – I know I did a lot of complaining earlier - today is the first day we got caught in a shower. The rest of the time it has been sunny to partly sunny with temperatures ranging from 69 – 80 degrees. The only change each day is the winds which we use to determine whether to anchor, grab a mooring ball or get a slip in a marina.
All of the islands we have visited so far have been scarcely populated but they all seem to have homes, apts, or resorts for vacationers. You can also charter a boat if you like. What you can see here is nothing like what you see on a cruise ship. The waters are very shallow and there are no facilities for the masses. Cruisers are the life blood and they are very much appreciated.
We are keeping our ears open for another boat to cross down to Eleuthera and into the Exumas. It is about 60 miles further south.
If anyone should need to reach us in an emergency, there is an internet address that can be used - cruisers@oii.net. They give the news, weather, and information to cruisers every morning at 8:15am. But they will relay any emergency message immediately or will even send out an ‘all call’ to get in touch with us. Please be sure to give our boat name.

Everything is Beautiful

Well I guess you all are wondering what we have been doing. We are on a mooring ball here at Guana Cay which is a long slender island with the Sea of Abaco on the south and the Atlantic on the North. We are in a sheltered harbor where we can walk up the hill to Nippers, which is a small resort and bar overlooking the beach, you can then walk down the stairs to the water. The reef runs along the 7 miles of Ocean, this is where a lot of snorkeling and scuba is done. Misty just loves the beach, she ran and ran jumped in the surf, rolled in the sand and had a great time.
One thing we noticed from the very first day is that the 'locals' are so friendly. Everyone waves, just like NC, they are very eager to help if you need it, we have never been afraid or intimidated. And of course 'boaters' are always friendly. There is a 'cruisersnet' that comes on the radio everyday with weather and what is going on at the different island bars, restaurants, fishing, etc. It is a great time!
We rented a golf cart yesterday which is the main mode of transportation for all of the islands. We rode around from one end to the other, there is a lot of property for sale here.
Our dinghy has worked out fine and we are going to take it over to the marina here so we can get ‘connected’.

PICTURES!??

You think we have time to take pictures!!! We anchored one night at the Great Sale Cay The water is so blue and clear, it is beautiful and shallow. We could see the bottom in 10 feet of water and actually watch where we put the anchor. The next night we anchored again at Powell Cay seeking protection from a really strong storm during the night. We were both up and down during the night checking to make sure we did not drag anchor. We did actually start dragging about daybreak so we moved on. However, moving on was a bit more difficult than normal. Our little boat on the GPS was turned around backwards. Typical of Jerry not to want to waist any time…….he was subtracting 180 degrees from the heading and traveling south. Finally, I found the right instructions in the manual and we proceeded to do circles in the water to recalibrate the chart plotter and compass.
We came into Marsh Harbor on Friday for the weekend. We are expecting another storm and are going to loose our 80 degree weather for a few days when the cold front comes through.