After Jami and Steve left we returned to our routine, which has ended up being an early start of coffee and listening to the cruisers net, spending the day doing something like working on the boat or roaming the beach, then usually having Chuck, our friend from Havre de Grace who is single-handing on Driven, over for dominoes, dinner and Battlestar Galactica (to which we have all become addicted.) A few evenings we have had friends over for cocktails or been invited to visit other boats. We have mostly hung around Hope Town for 2 reasons…we like it here and the weather hasn’t been very good for anchoring elsewhere.
We did make a hop over to Marsh Harbor for a few nights to get re-provisioned in anticipation of the arrival of Lynn’s son’s family, Jeff and Kim and their daughters Kaylee and Caroline. While there, we met up with several of our cruising buddies, including Mark and Willie on Liahona, and Jerry and Laurie on Free Spirit. We also finally reconnected with Kathi and John on Makani; we traveled here as buddy boats but have seen little of them since arriving in the Bahamas. We had a few euchre grudge matches and enjoyed an excellent homemade pizza dinner, Makani’s specialty! Although Kathi may kill me, I have to tell you about her unexpected swim. After playing cards until quite late one night (past midnight, which is definitely a record), Kathi and John left to head out to their boat that was anchored out in the harbour. We were docked at a marina and Coyote was tied to one pier and their dingy was tied to the next pier over. It was very dark and Kathi was apparently gauging the length of the pier she was on by the length of the pier we were on, which was u
nfortunately longer. Consequently, she walked right off the end and plunged six feet down into the water. She quickly scrambled back into the dingy; unhurt except for the shock…it was a chilly, windy night! Being an avid diver and snorkeler, Kathi had declared earlier in the evening that she would go crazy if she didn’t get wet soon…well, that happened much sooner than expected!
So, after a few quiet weeks, Jeff and his clan arrived and we had a great time! Lynn had worried for 2 months about the weather and it turned out just fine. Once again we rented a skiff and were able to easily travel to all the best spots. I was the daytime activities coordinator and I must say that I planned the week perfectly, taking the weather and guest d
esires into consideration. The first day we made the obligatory stop at Nippers on Great Guana Cay then on the Treasure Cay to hang out at the beautiful beach. The following day included a trip to Sandy Cay for some snorkeling and then on to Little Harbour for lunch at Pete’s Pub. We then had two excellent days touring Hope Town and Elbow Cay and enjoying more beaching. One morning we recruited Chuck to help us take the gang out conch hun
ting. We used our foolproof technique of pulling Kaylee, Caroline and me behind the two dingys and quickly found 12 legal-size conchs. When Kaylee and Caroline finally came up for air they both declared it was the best thing they had done yet! It was then back to the boat to clean the conch for dinner. Chuck and I grossed out the group by eating the pistil and all helped to peel and pound the meat. After three days of touring, Jeff decided his
favorite town was Hope Town, his favorite marina was the Treasure Cay Marina and his favorite drinking establishment was Pete’s pub (where all but Lynn and Caroline may have had one too many of the house rum punches!). Caroline was the evening activities coordinator and expertly determined the after dinner entertainment, such as games (Apples to Apples and trivia) and movies (Captain Ron…what else!) We even danced for a while on the boat one night…feed the chickens, girls!! We continued to eat yummy meals of lunches out (treated again by our guests) and dinners of conch, crab and lobster on the boat…the lobsters were the biggest I have ever eaten. Jeff felt confident he could polish off two tails, but conceded defeat after just one! Oh well, the remains became Lobster Newburg for Lynn, Chuck and me. Sadly their visit ended much too soon and we are again feeling lonely on the boat.
We have now fallen back into our routine, except for Lynn and Chuck’
s big adventure. Chuck is a Captain and was asked by a local friend of his to deliver a boat for his boss from Florida to Scotland Cay here in the Abacos. He invited Lynn to go along. This involved being picked up in the boat-owner’s private plane and flown back to Miami. There they picked up the 36-foot Hinkley picnic boat…for those of you who are not involved in the boating scene, a Hinkley is a very expensive make and this one, designed for day trips on the water (like picnics), is worth several hundred thousand dollars. They departed the next morning at 3 AM to bring the boat back across the Gulf Stream and arrived home around 6 PM. It was an unusual experience and definitely a glimpse at how the other half lives!
I stayed behind to watch over the boats and quite enjoyed spending two quiet days on my own with just a few mini advent
ures, which brings me to dingy driving for dummies. Although I have been practicing this year so I would not be dependent on Lynn to get off the boat, I still have to master the finer art of dingy driving. I have been known to take no less than three tries to pull up to the back of the boat on a windy day. I have always had trouble starting the motor, so not surprisingly my first attempt after they had left was unsuccessful. I sat there in the dingy fruitlessly trying to pull the starter cord until my arm felt like rubber and only sputtering coming from the motor. I tried the choke out…I tried the choke in…until after fifteen minutes I no longer had any idea where it should be and whether I had flooded the engine or not. Feeling very frustrated, and cursing just a little, I was determined not to resort to as
king any male for help, not yet anyway. Finally, I tried once again with the choke out and realized that I had not actually been pulling it ALL THE WAY OUT…once I did the motor immediately purred into action. So, after all these months of telling Lynn that we have a crappy motor and having him tell me I just wasn’t pulling the cord hard enough, I discovered my problem. I happily headed over to town where I spent the afternoon combing the beach for sea glass and made a few good finds, including one chunky piece of black glass that is apparently most likely the remains of a whiskey bottle from the 1800’s.
On my way back to the boat, I had a second dingy challenge as I tried to negotiate my way off the dingy dock through a maze of other dingys. I became flustered as I tried to avoid their stern anchors lest they become wrapped around my prop. This caused me to inadvertently gun the engine in reverse, then forward, then reverse again. After playing bumper dingy I was propelled back into the pilings across from the dock. At this point I decided the prudent thing was to shut off the motor until I calmed myself
down and manually navigate myself away from hazards. Of course, all of this was under the watchful eye of my friends from JilliQ and a large group of strangers on the shore. Well, as Jill (from JilliQ) says, “sometimes you watch the show and sometimes you are the show!” Happily, Lynn and Chuck arrived home safe and sound the second night and I was definitely glad to have them back.
Today is a very rainy day, which is good for the locals as they are filling their cisterns with much-needed water. It is also good for us to catch up on relaxation, blogging and other inside activities. I did venture out for some yoga this morning…I have noticed that the past months of acting like I am on permanent vacation is catching up with my waist line…so it is time to stop eating and start exercising…hmmm, wonder what I will make for dinner tonight!
We did make a hop over to Marsh Harbor for a few nights to get re-provisioned in anticipation of the arrival of Lynn’s son’s family, Jeff and Kim and their daughters Kaylee and Caroline. While there, we met up with several of our cruising buddies, including Mark and Willie on Liahona, and Jerry and Laurie on Free Spirit. We also finally reconnected with Kathi and John on Makani; we traveled here as buddy boats but have seen little of them since arriving in the Bahamas. We had a few euchre grudge matches and enjoyed an excellent homemade pizza dinner, Makani’s specialty! Although Kathi may kill me, I have to tell you about her unexpected swim. After playing cards until quite late one night (past midnight, which is definitely a record), Kathi and John left to head out to their boat that was anchored out in the harbour. We were docked at a marina and Coyote was tied to one pier and their dingy was tied to the next pier over. It was very dark and Kathi was apparently gauging the length of the pier she was on by the length of the pier we were on, which was u
nfortunately longer. Consequently, she walked right off the end and plunged six feet down into the water. She quickly scrambled back into the dingy; unhurt except for the shock…it was a chilly, windy night! Being an avid diver and snorkeler, Kathi had declared earlier in the evening that she would go crazy if she didn’t get wet soon…well, that happened much sooner than expected!So, after a few quiet weeks, Jeff and his clan arrived and we had a great time! Lynn had worried for 2 months about the weather and it turned out just fine. Once again we rented a skiff and were able to easily travel to all the best spots. I was the daytime activities coordinator and I must say that I planned the week perfectly, taking the weather and guest d
esires into consideration. The first day we made the obligatory stop at Nippers on Great Guana Cay then on the Treasure Cay to hang out at the beautiful beach. The following day included a trip to Sandy Cay for some snorkeling and then on to Little Harbour for lunch at Pete’s Pub. We then had two excellent days touring Hope Town and Elbow Cay and enjoying more beaching. One morning we recruited Chuck to help us take the gang out conch hun
ting. We used our foolproof technique of pulling Kaylee, Caroline and me behind the two dingys and quickly found 12 legal-size conchs. When Kaylee and Caroline finally came up for air they both declared it was the best thing they had done yet! It was then back to the boat to clean the conch for dinner. Chuck and I grossed out the group by eating the pistil and all helped to peel and pound the meat. After three days of touring, Jeff decided his
favorite town was Hope Town, his favorite marina was the Treasure Cay Marina and his favorite drinking establishment was Pete’s pub (where all but Lynn and Caroline may have had one too many of the house rum punches!). Caroline was the evening activities coordinator and expertly determined the after dinner entertainment, such as games (Apples to Apples and trivia) and movies (Captain Ron…what else!) We even danced for a while on the boat one night…feed the chickens, girls!! We continued to eat yummy meals of lunches out (treated again by our guests) and dinners of conch, crab and lobster on the boat…the lobsters were the biggest I have ever eaten. Jeff felt confident he could polish off two tails, but conceded defeat after just one! Oh well, the remains became Lobster Newburg for Lynn, Chuck and me. Sadly their visit ended much too soon and we are again feeling lonely on the boat.We have now fallen back into our routine, except for Lynn and Chuck’
s big adventure. Chuck is a Captain and was asked by a local friend of his to deliver a boat for his boss from Florida to Scotland Cay here in the Abacos. He invited Lynn to go along. This involved being picked up in the boat-owner’s private plane and flown back to Miami. There they picked up the 36-foot Hinkley picnic boat…for those of you who are not involved in the boating scene, a Hinkley is a very expensive make and this one, designed for day trips on the water (like picnics), is worth several hundred thousand dollars. They departed the next morning at 3 AM to bring the boat back across the Gulf Stream and arrived home around 6 PM. It was an unusual experience and definitely a glimpse at how the other half lives!I stayed behind to watch over the boats and quite enjoyed spending two quiet days on my own with just a few mini advent
ures, which brings me to dingy driving for dummies. Although I have been practicing this year so I would not be dependent on Lynn to get off the boat, I still have to master the finer art of dingy driving. I have been known to take no less than three tries to pull up to the back of the boat on a windy day. I have always had trouble starting the motor, so not surprisingly my first attempt after they had left was unsuccessful. I sat there in the dingy fruitlessly trying to pull the starter cord until my arm felt like rubber and only sputtering coming from the motor. I tried the choke out…I tried the choke in…until after fifteen minutes I no longer had any idea where it should be and whether I had flooded the engine or not. Feeling very frustrated, and cursing just a little, I was determined not to resort to as
king any male for help, not yet anyway. Finally, I tried once again with the choke out and realized that I had not actually been pulling it ALL THE WAY OUT…once I did the motor immediately purred into action. So, after all these months of telling Lynn that we have a crappy motor and having him tell me I just wasn’t pulling the cord hard enough, I discovered my problem. I happily headed over to town where I spent the afternoon combing the beach for sea glass and made a few good finds, including one chunky piece of black glass that is apparently most likely the remains of a whiskey bottle from the 1800’s.On my way back to the boat, I had a second dingy challenge as I tried to negotiate my way off the dingy dock through a maze of other dingys. I became flustered as I tried to avoid their stern anchors lest they become wrapped around my prop. This caused me to inadvertently gun the engine in reverse, then forward, then reverse again. After playing bumper dingy I was propelled back into the pilings across from the dock. At this point I decided the prudent thing was to shut off the motor until I calmed myself
down and manually navigate myself away from hazards. Of course, all of this was under the watchful eye of my friends from JilliQ and a large group of strangers on the shore. Well, as Jill (from JilliQ) says, “sometimes you watch the show and sometimes you are the show!” Happily, Lynn and Chuck arrived home safe and sound the second night and I was definitely glad to have them back.Today is a very rainy day, which is good for the locals as they are filling their cisterns with much-needed water. It is also good for us to catch up on relaxation, blogging and other inside activities. I did venture out for some yoga this morning…I have noticed that the past months of acting like I am on permanent vacation is catching up with my waist line…so it is time to stop eating and start exercising…hmmm, wonder what I will make for dinner tonight!
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