Long Island, Day 2

We got up to rain and lots of wind this morning, rented a car that arrived about noon and headed north to check out Long Island. We drove as far north as we could …..the road abruptly ended, then stopped at Cape Santa Maria where it is said Columbus grounded his ship the Santa Maria. Later we had “ linner “ at The Stella Maris Club and checked e-mail…..quite the site……4 of us all on their own laptop checking e-mail……isn’t life grand!!

What great fun at the dock……4 boats all got together and had drinks and telling stories……this is cruising life!!




Today we drove south to Simms and crossed the Tropic of Cancer. We are truly in the tropics now!! Also on this trip we saw “Dean’s Blue Hole” which is a 6000 foot deep hole just off the beach. The colors of blue are incredible and the fact we were able to find some sea beans made the trip worthwhile.




A quick stop at the bakery landed us a fresh baked loaf of bread hot from the oven and a coconut cream pie…….so much for diets!!

Stella Maris, Long Island, South Bahamas

On to Stella Maris, Long Island….. we got information early Monday morning we had better get south or we would be stuck! So we left early for us, although not too soon for the NO SE UMS….and had another good day at sea. We were just ahead of a thunderstorm and a cruise ship until it passed us. The ”Volendam” was so big and so close even I could read the name without binoculars! I could count on one hand the number of boats we have seen the last three days and at least for awhile it was nice to have company! We reached the channel to the marina on the falling tide…and when I say shallow I mean shallow. We were able to clean the bottom fairly well and only got stuck once. Gordon threatened to charge them for dredging the channel!
Anyway, it’s a small marina, awkward to get on and off the boat, but everyone is friendly and helpful. Chip and Kay (BESO) helped us get tied up and it is good to meet up again with friends. It started storming about an hour after getting in so our timing was great, but it’s a bit boring now without TV. We have finally reached the outer limits of Direct TV, so someone keep me up to date on Survivor please!!

Cape Eleuthera, South Eleuthera, Bahamas

We finally got on our way early Saturday morning. Sailed all the way from Spanish Wells to the Current Cut, put the sails down never to go back up. We had a straight on head wind of 5-7 knots all the way to Cape Eleuthera, but the water was smooth. We tied up in the Cape Eleuthera Marina and Resort at 6:15 pm and we were the only boat, other than the owner there. It has come a long way since we were there last year. They now have fuel, water, electric, the Bahamian Coffee Company (Starbucks), “Barracuda’s”(a bar and restaurant), a general store and gift shop, but no Internet!

Gordon and I were treated to a fantastic fireworks display that many cities would envy on 4th of July and a local reggae band. The owner was in celebrating his birthday! Easter morning we had breakfast at the Bahamian Coffee Company before heading out to sea and to Hawk’s Nest, Cat Island.

We had such a wonderful trip south except, still no use for sails, and arrived in Hawk’s Nest at 5:30 pm to a welcoming committee of sand fleas!! I hate those D**m things!! Needless to say, there was no long walk along the beach at sunset with Schooner!! We both agree we won’t make this stop here again.

So much for leaving!

Well, (a deep subject) we went to bed about 9 last night after walking Schooner. Checked with 2 other boaters who were leaving with us....it was a clear and beautiful evening, about 83*, a big bright moon, and winds ESE at 6-8 knots.

Forward...2am.....thunder, lighting, hail, rain and N at 25 knot winds!!! In the rush to close up windows, hatches and the enclosure we both end up soaked and are awake for what seemed like hours!! Now at 6 am we are listening to the weather god and guess what?? The cold front moved farther south and faster than anticipated...duh as if I couldn't have guessed that one!!

So we will remain here in Spanish Wells today and try again tomorrow. Gordon says actually this front will have helped us because we can move farther faster now that it's here today instead of tomorrow....if that makes sense??!!?

Have a Happy Easter if I don't get back with this before then.

Spanish Wells, Bahamas

We arrived here in Spanish Wells two weeks ago. The weather has kept us here in the Yacht Haven tied securely to the dock. We have had winds up to 35knots and some rain.
We have been taking the water ferry to Jeans Bay on No. Eleuthera almost daily where our best friend Perry Neilly picks us up and takes to Current. Gordon has been helping set up a community computer center at the library there. This will eventually provide 4 computers available to the community and Internet services to visitors to Current. Most of my time has been spent visiting our friends and walking the beach with Schooner.



It looks like we will have a decent weather window tomorrow so we will head south to either Cape Eleuthera or Highbourn Cay, Exuma. Hopefully we'll meet up with "BESO" here in the next couple days.