2011-12-31 - in George Town, Exumas

Cruisers fireworks!

Well it is the final year of 2011 - it has been great! Tonight the cruisers got permission to run a party at the Chat 'n Chill bar on the beach.  A lot of cruisers showed up and enjoyed the last few hours of the year.  The funny thing was that we celebrated 'cruisers new year' at 10:00pm as most cruisers probably wouldn't have been able to tolerate the midnight tradition.  To commemorate the New Year the cruisers pooled together their expired flares and got permission for a couple of people to fire them off in a controlled fashion in the harbour.  The interesting thing was that most of the flares didn't really go off.  It was a bit of a shock to me.  All flares have an expiry date and you need current flares to stay in the good books of the coast guard.  I assumed that they would still work and the expiry date didn't have too much effect on efficacy.  Well, like I said some didn't even fire and one of them actually burned through the handle and hurt one of the organizers.  In the cruisers net in the morning, they gave a report of all of the types of flares and which ones typically were fine after the expiry and some that failed that were newer or had just expired.  After the flare demonstration....the party fizzled out and the dinghies made their way home in the dark.  I figured I would stay up until midnight as it just didn't seem right to miss out on the year transition.  By 11:45 I found myself laying in bed as I too was fizzling out.  By 11:50 - both eyes were dimming....by 11:55...probably asleep as I didn't remember seeing that time.  I tried, but after all, I am a cruiser and they don't make cruisers new year for nothing.  Happy New Year!

2011-12-30 - in George Town, Exumas

2011-12-29 - in George Town, Exumas

2011-12-28 - to Georgetown, Exumas



this one did not get away....



In the morning, Connor and I went to say good bye to 'Isla Bonita' and to deliver the dog vitamins to Denzel who lives on the top of the hill.  We met him yesterday and I had promised to bring them along for his dog, Ralphie.  I was very grateful and offered a shell craft that he had made.  We were also thankful to help out and to have something special to bring back to the boat.  We pulled anchor and headed off to Georgetown at 9am.  Dharma was also heading in our direction as well.  I had a line out hoping to catch something on the outside deep water.  It was pretty quiet.  Dharma had asked several other boats if they had caught anything so far.  Not too out there today, they were saying.  Just as we  were heading into Conch Cut, into Georgetown, I saw a school of fish jumping out of the water.  Kerry adjusted the sails and we sailed over the area where the fish were.  Within seconds, something hit the line and started running.  Yikes.  I didn't really want to catch anything.  I pull it in and determine that it is, indeed, a Tuna.  Connor ran in to get our guide book to determine what kind of Tuna it is.  A quick flip through and reading of each attribute, we determined that it probably was a Skipjack Tuna.  Kerry cleaned it and we had a wonderful meal that evening.  It sure beats canned Tuna...but, it's so much easier to open a can!  

Georgetown doesn't seem as busy this year.  Only a few boats were in each area.  We landed near Volleyball beach as this is probably where we will be spending a bit more time. 

Georgetown is a wonderful place for those who enjoy the community of boating.  In the morning, there is a cruisers net on the VHF where they have weather, community announcements, and boaters announcements.  If you need your hair cut, a part for your 1976 refrigerator, help with a engine problem, just announce it on the net and someone will respond with helpful information. 

2011-12-27 - in Little Farmers Cay, Exumas

In the morning we moved the boat to the other side of the island to get out of the waves.  We tucked ourselves in and decided to stay put for another day.  One other boat Polarka from Quebec had raved about this little spot.  We figured we needed to go and find out why they enjoyed it.  We pulled our dingy on the beach and made our way up the hill to the road leading to town.  As we approached the town a man was welcoming us to the island and wanted to show us around his garden.  He grew cassava, watermelons, peppers, and even more exotic varieties that I can't really remember.  He gave us samples of a few things and even a leaf or two to prepare tea with in the morning.  He introduced us to his wife who was, unfortunately, suffering from cancer in her neck.  She was a lovely woman who made straw items for selling and he made shell art that he had on a table along with her straw items.  We ended up being a good customer for them that day, as we bought a few items that were lovely.  He had a dog with him that he had taken in as the owners weren't taking care of him - Ralphie, was his name.  I had a bottle of dog vitamins on the boat that I asked if he would like them for Ralphie.  I would bring them back later.  We headed to town and went to Brenda's Restaurant.  They walked out and rustic table and we gathered around a few plastic lawn chairs to have dinner.  Connor was hopeful for a 'soda' and all they had was VitaMalt.  When he asked about the soda..she said, "all we have is something with Malt and Wheat."  yummm.  nothing quenches the thirst like Wheat.  Well, it turned out to be quite nice.  Dylan chugged it down and we ended up taking one back for later. 

2011-12-26 - to Farmers Cay, Exumas

We headed out from Staniel today and ended up at Little Farmers Cay.  It was a great day for sailing.  As soon as we turned and were on the banks...the engines were off and sails were up.  It was nice to have the engines off and the wind going in the right direction.  We brought the chairs to the front deck and the autopilot took us most of the way.  We blew bubbles and danced and then arrived at Little Farmers after a couple of hours on the water.  We decided to stay aboard for the evening and played cards.  By 7pm we were all quite tuckered and ready for bed. 



2011-12-25 - in Staniel Cay, Exumas

Dylan's new best buddy!

Merry Christmas everyone! 

Today, we had an early start.  At 4am, Connor knocked on the adjacent wall and said, "Dylan is awake".  I am pretty sure he woke up first, pinched Dylan and ran back to bed to wake us up.  He has been pretty excited about the morning, what child isn't.  We 'happily' got up and enjoyed the Christmas morning.  The packages that Santa left said, Ft. Lauderdale as our address and then stroked out to read Bahamas.  Connor thought that was great.  The jolly man also left a mess in our cockpit...footprints, carrots and hoof marks - all to add to the magic of the morning.



Santa had addressed this one to Ft. Lauderdale....then we moved. 
He managed to find us!

 After a full morning of trying to get skype to work (no luck)....we headed to Thunderball Grotto for some great snorkeling.  We didn't even go inside this time as the current was ripping through and you couldn't really get in.  Lots of fish, colourful coral were there to see outside.  It was a nice way to spend Christmas day.   Later, in the evening, the club put on Christmas dinner.  It was a lovely night.  A lot of the other boaters and families signed up and enjoyed the festivities as well.  Most of kids were falling asleep or sleeping by the end.   The dinner began at 7:00pm, a time when most boaters are already thinking about sleeping.  We are finding that we are getting up very early, as the sun is coming up and winding things down early, when the sun sets. 

We are missing everyone at home and hope that they all had a wonderful day!



 

2011-12-24 - in Staniel Cay, Exumas

How cool is this.....Santa arriving by boat (Hi-5 in background)

It's Christmas eve and we are all very excited for tomorrow.  Today, the Staniel Cay Yacht Club put on a very nice Christmas party for all of the kids in the area.  It was really nicely done.  They had crafts with lots of ladies helping out with that, a pizza/ice cream party (what a treat!), visit from Santa himself with gifts for all of the kids.  It was so nice to have something like this prepared for the kids.  The adults spent a few good hours at the bar while the kids enjoyed some holiday fun.  In the evening, we all went over to Dharma to enjoy a Christmas eve party.  We had 7 adults and 8 kids on board...oh, and one dog!  The kids kept track of time and encouraged an early night as Santa was on his way, of course, and we wouldn't want to miss out.  A quick check on the NORAD website when we got back to the boat confirmed that Santa had not yet crossed the Atlantic...just enough time to brush teeth and tuck into bed.  Tomorrow is Christmas....I hope Santa finds us!

Wonderful helpers assisted with the crafts!