Project, Exploring, and Free Diving, OH MY! E06

Waking up on March 2, man one really doesn’t know what a good nights rest is unless you have stayed in the anchorage we did the other night, wow. We had woken up around 6:50, and took the dogs for a short walk on the beach, met up with greg and Christina on the beach and chatted some more about our sailing destinations and about the area, those guys know so much about everything, learned so much. Then went back to the boat and we started some projects. 

First thing we got to work on was switching out the head sail. The wind was pretty light so we decided to take down the head sail to put up a smaller headsail. With the winds in the Bahamas, you can’t have full sails up otherwise it makes life very uncomfortable for everyone aboard. Plus with sails as big as those on the far side we move pretty fast no matter what. 

Anyways while we took down the head sail, papa was making huevos rancheros for the hard working women. We took a break to gorge ourselves and by the time we were done the wind had picked up, so that project had to be put on hold. However we had a couple more projects to take care of, so that was fine. The sail slides near the top of the mail sail had broken off after the beating we took on the crossing, so those needed to be replaced. The bottom had to be re-scrubbed, make it smooth for the future sailing we will accomplish. And finally we needed to replace our exhaust hose. 

Luckily before we left Key West we ordered a new hose, because the one we had in was starting to deteriorate pretty quickly, I had already cut off the end a couple of times and already it was leaking again. We didn’t happen to have any sail slides on the boat, so I went around to the neighboring boats asking if anyone had any extra slides and wax coated twine to sew and a big needle. Thankfully the sailors around us were some of the nicest people I have met and they were pretty much throwing supplies at me, I said I had what I needed and they sent me off with parts anyways. After a couple of different kinds of slides we found the perfect ones, sturdy and reliable, and I got to work on sewing them onto the sail. 

While I was taking care of that, Sascha was in the water wiping the bottom and getting in a small swim workout.Completing those jobs we went inside and Papa was preparing all our tools and everything we needed in order to replace the exhaust hose. A hack saw, flatheads, wrenches, headlights for the small spaces we were working in. I ended up working in the back locker in the cockpit, and Sascha and papa were working in the back cabin under the bed where the hose attached to the engine. 

First thing we did was take off the hose clamps, and saw off my end of the hose, and Sascha worked on sawing off that end and pulling the hose through. Pretty easy stuff, just messy. Then we worked on putting the new hose through the spaces in each locker. Took a little bit but we eventually got the hose through and connected on my end, then we needed to connect the hoses together, but that was for after lunch or our snack. We received a message during our snack that papas package had arrived at the post office in town, so he left to go do that while we cleaned the inside of the boat and organized. 

With the dogs on the boat it makes upkeep a little more difficult, lots more hair and lots more dust. Then by the time we were done, papa was ready to be picked up and it was time for a beer. It was also time to say the job was done, because somehow we lost our hacksaw. I mean really, how does one lose a hacksaw on a boat? Not really sure but we made it happen. So while papa was gone I borrowed one from Greg and finished up with that so all we had to do was add goop tomorrow. 

It was time to take a shower, or an ocean rinse after a couple days of holding off. We had decided to buy a solar shower because we rarely use our power to heat water, so to have some hot water to rinse off at the end of the day was really a godsend. Which it was!

I had gotten on the radio to call Greg to ask for the weather reports that he had, and Jerry from Free Spirit answered instead. He invited us over for happy hour and to go over the report. And OF COURSE it was my turn to make dinner so I got left at the boat and papa and Sascha went over to chat. For dinner I used one of the cans of chicken we have and some veggies, and made a Thai stir fry with rice. I was waiting so long to have dinner that I ended up just eating before they got back. Then it was movie time and we all passed out before it was done, man being on a boat can be really exhausting sometimes. 

March 3, Hello world, it ended up being a pretty rocky night last night, again, but we got all the sleep we could.  Today first thing we or I did was bring the dogs to the beach, they woke me up around 7 am so that was fun. On my way back to the boat I said goodbye to our friends Greg and Christina on Whisper, Jerry and Liz (Massachusetts) on Free Spirit, and Edmond and Laura (South Carolina) on Waypoint they were heading out to Bimini to fix some engine problems and then across to Florida for the summer. 

Sascha and I also took a ride over to Peeps to say hello and what’s up, and to ask if they wanted to do happy hour later, which they did. Our next stop was Oyster, Elizabeth and Scott, because the day before we went over to chat and the idea of going free diving for lobster and fish on a reef close by came up, so we wanted to make sure that plan was still a go, which it was. We then headed back to the boat, it was time to finish up our project from before. 

After some yogurt for breakfast I got to work adding a fiberglass pipe to attach the two pieces of the exhaust hose, with goop and hose clamps. What can I say, I have a way with clamps. So that mission was accomplished and I ended up with hands covered in what I can only say was tar. As for clearing in, papa took the dingy soon after to a marina around the corner, while Sascha and I rinsed down the boat. After a week of traveling and salt spray the deck was almost white from the salt. She needed it. 

We were working on our Youtube, trying to finish it, but it takes time, when papa got back. The marina had told him that it would be $1500 to clear in there, which was outrageous, but it was also a very very exclusive mega yacht marina, and one of the part owners was tiger woods. So that was a no go, and they told him that he could clear in at the airport. So we dropped him off just as Oyster came over to see if we still wanted to go to the reef. We gathered up all of our gear and headed out to meet up with our friends. Dingying over there it was kind of worrying, the water is so clear here that you can never tell if the water is shallow or if its deep, or if a coral head happens to be just below the surface of the water. 

Eventually we made it to where they were tied up to a mooring and after their comments on how it looks, we couldn’t wait to jump in. AND WOW, I mean WOW, when I say my breath was taken away, it was taken away. I have never seen waters like this, so clear, so beautiful and colorful. The Vibrance of the coral and the clarity and visibility of the waters accidentally made us forget what we came to do. Explore and bring back dinner. The later of which we did not accomplish. I saw hogfish, coral fish, snapper, yellow tail, a small turtle, a reef shark, and hundreds of little reef fish. We even saw a couple of huge grouper but we didn’t have our Hawaiian sling on us and by the time we went back with it, they were gone. I have videos that I will be watching forever. 

We needed to head back after a little while because Sascha was cold and because papa probably needed to be picked up at the beach, who know show long he was waiting. Turns out it was only 15 min, and he brought bad news. Well, not bad news, just not the news that we were hoping. He said that it wasn’t possible for a sail vessel to check in at the airport, that all of us needed to take the dingy to the marina on the other side of the anchorage and meet with the customs and immigrations official. So we loaded up the dingy and headed in that direction.

It was about a 15-20 min ride over there, but it wasn’t a bad ride. The houses were stunning, and were still massive even with how far we were from shore. Guess that’s just how the other half lives. Arriving at the mouth of the channel, we were already overwhelmed by yachts bigger than our neighborhood block. I mean even the small ones were bigger than our house and yard, and school put together. Whats the point? I have no idea, money laundering, just stupid money, but they sure are pretty to look at from afar. 

We pulled up to the dock and headed up to the dock masters office, and were told that we had to wait for the immigration official. Which ended up being close to an hour wait for him to stamp our passports and make sure we were legal, then another hour and a half wait for the customs official to show up. The customs official gave us our fishing permit, our entrance permit, the dogs okay to be with us and just stamped a bunch of papers. And he was a very strange man, he told us that the ‘Meyers’ name was bohemian and that a guy with the last name ‘Meyers’ was the owner of all KFC franchises in Nassau and a couple restaurants as well. And that his son died last year, it was an interesting convo for sure. 

Took so long that we missed out on happy hours. Gosh darn it, but we rescheduled for tomorrow so that’s forgivable. Heading back was the same, about 20 min and dark so not much to see. We got back to the boat and I rinsed off all our dive gear while Sascha made grilled cheese and tomato soup, we called mama and chatted for a while and then headed to bed for an early crash. 

March 4, Ahhhh today is the day papa leaves, wuttttttt. Woke up a little later than usual, like 7:30, papa had made coffee so we were all outside chatting about coral and how we would leave the anchorage, and discussing the boats that had just left and how they were getting beat by waves and the wind. Fun stuff. Sascha took the dogs to the beach while papa and I chatted about when the boat was made and how it was made, and how it can withstand anything. He started making breakfast for us, while I worked on the Youtube and asked more questions about the boat. Sascha came back and we gorged on a veggie omelet with goat cheese, yah goat cheese, eating like royalty over here. 

So anyway civilness was short lived because Sascha got in trouble for not telling papa that the hose clamps on the rudder shaft were not tight enough so he didn’t get any small ones, so we had to go around and take smaller ones off the exhaust hose and switch them for bigger ones or just use one instead of two. This project took forever, about till the time that papa had to be dropped off which was 1:30. 

Then it was time to take an ocean bath and organize while papa packed. And now we have a solar shower that heats up with the sun, really nice when you don’t want to use the batteries to heat water which we never do. Anyway it was time to take the dogs to shore, luca couldn’t stop whining and papa needed to go to the airport, so we took to the dingy and went to shore…but then with all the excitement papa forgot his bad…haha very forgetful these days he is. 

A cab was waiting for him after he got back and took him off. The rest of the day we worked on our video, which we finished, and tried to upload but our wifi ran out, of course, so that put a stop to that. Then we called ‘Peeps’ who told us to come over to discuss weather and plans. Before doing that we decided to finish putting the last clamp on the rudder shaft, there was still a tiny leak that we couldn’t have. 

Finishing up we grabbed our tablet and a glass of wine and headed over. They told us that their plans had changed. Unfortunately for us, we had wanted to buddy boat to highborne key and then down to Staniel Cay, where our dad would fly into, buttttt of course that wasn’t happening now. Their plan was now to sail to the east side of Nassau and then over to Eluthra, which was not what we had in mind. 

So for now we are stuck, which is exactly what papa had in mind, pretty sure.We left back for the boat and let the dogs go to shore, and then called mike to ask for advice. He mentioned going to the other side of the island to rose kay or down to shroud, but both of those options didn’t give us much protection from the strong souteast winds that were coming. Decided it might be best for us to just stay and catch up on our videos and social stuff. Bed time!

March 5, woke up, cleaned, and made coffee and breakfast, looks like another slow day. Planning on doing laundry and putting up the dog netting. The laundry was interesting. We have one plastic bucket on the boat so that was the wash bucket. Separate the colors and add water and soap. The soap we use is an eco friendly laundry detergent. Not the best detergent in the world because they have to use different ingredients obviously. So I went to washing in the bucket. Something that would have made this easier would be a washboard, but we don’t have that aboard. 

ALSO something we forgot to add to our grocery list was clothes pins. Haha go figures right, so what I had to do was run a rope around our cockpit through the stainless rods holding up our bimini. It’s funny, good thing mama wasn’t with us because she would have died, she hates looking like a gypsy, but I would consider us gypsies about now. 

While I was  working on laundry, Sascha was setting up the dog netting. Previously papa had had the netting made for Sascha and I for when we were little and running around the boat deck. However he never set it up, the trip we were supposed to take for it never ended up happening so it was never set up. The netting is only tall enough for between  the deck and the first safety line. And was secured to that line by a thin rope. Unfortunately there was only enough rope to finish one side of the boat. Good thing it was the side of the boat that the dogs hang out on. 

So we finished that up and went for a swim with the GoPro, we wanted to get some footage underwater “working out”, something that’s harder than it looks. And in the middle of it all a barracuda showed up! I forgot to take off my jewelry and was wearing my silver necklace so I got out as fast as I could. Wasn’t looking to lose a nose today. Then we took the dogs to shore and stopped by our neighbors boat. Mark and Ronit from ‘Liora’. They are a very nice couple from New Jersey, and have been sailing on this particular boat for 2 years now, but around the Caribbean forever. They invited us over for breakfast, something that we could not refuse! Also they told us about a wifi box we could purchase in town, so we decided to go to the market and to the cell store the next morning!

Stay tuned for more!