Monthly Archives: May 2014

“North of Cape Hatteras by June 1st”, that’s the boat insurance company’s requirement and what has dictated our end of the season plans.   Saint Augustine, Fl – Cumberland Island, GA – Cape Lookout, NC – Cape May, NJ, 700nm in seven days including stop overs.

The trip to Cumberland Island was a 50nm day sail to the St. Mary’s River which marks the Florida/Georgia border. We’ve been having a lot of luck selecting good weather to sail,  Makai has been performing great and saving diesel. After a week of running around and enjoying land activities everyone was happy to be at sea, cuddled up with their kindle.  Between our library, and ebooks borrowed online from our public library, no one is short of reading material. Everyone has their initial marked with duct tape on the back.  I have an ‘M’ for mom in fancy paisley tape.

We arrived in the anchorage after dark but were ready for an adventure first thing in the morning.  We only had the morning to tour before getting underway again in the afternoon.  Cumberland Island is a barrier island at the southern end of Georgia. Throughout history it was inhabited by native people, Spanish, and English until the middle 1700′s. After the revolutionary war the island was acquired by Nathanael Greene.  Today Cumberland Island is a National Seashore under the National Parks system.  There are ruins, beautiful foliage, beaches and animals to explore. Visitors arrive on a ferry or private boats like us.   The mud flats at the dinghy dock were covered in fiddler crabs.  It was hard to tear ourselves away from watching them go about their work.

We walked along a path with a full canopy of live oak trees dripping with spanish moss and palmetto plants. When the path came near the water Roy went down to the mud to check out the animal tracks. He spotted raccoon and deer tracks.

As we approached the south end of the island and the Dungeness Plantation we started walking on cleared lawns. The mansion was first built by Nathanael Greene’s widow in 1803, and in the 1880′s was owned by the Carnegie’s.  The island is also home to around 200 feral horses who’s ancestors were thought to have been left here by the English in the 1700′s.  These horses are similar to the Assateague and Chincoteague ponies we saw last May in Maryland.

Strolling along the paths, with a little imagination, was a nature walk through history.  Can you just see the girls in southern belle dresses and the boys in suits?

The park ranger said the turkey vultures keep the island clean, but I wouldn’t want to be cleaned up by these bad boys.

Flocks of turkeys wander the grounds. The feather was impressive. I could see our family decorating their hats with these feathers.

We ran across this interesting tree where an oak wrapped around a palm.

The Dungeness mansion and out buildings are made of tabby, which looks similar to coquina. In Saint Augustine we saw coquina, a naturally occurring stone made from shells, limestone and sand.  Tabby is man made using lime from burnt oyster shells, water, sand, and oyster shell pieces, all poured into molds.

This is all that is left of the Dungeness mansion, in 1959 it was destroyed by a fire.

We returned to the dinghy dock by walking along the beach.  It was low tide and the sand was covered with cool things.  We saw several mermaid purses, more accurately described as a skate egg case.

We also came across a whelk egg case. A whelk is a large predatory snail common on the east coast.

The weather was warm, the breeze was refreshing, not too many bugs, very pleasant morning excursion.

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The path back from the beach led us through a maritime forest.  This wooded area is bordered by sand dunes and consists of plants that thrive in sandy soil and salt air.  This beautiful path goes through a camp ground.  Tents are tucked in under the trees and bushes, walking distance from the beach.

Next stop is a two day trip to Cape Lookout, NC.  We are beginning to see shrimp boats along the coast.

We had a great run through the Gulf Stream.  The water temp was up over 80 degrees, the air was perfect, water is clear and blue, and the 2-3 knot current is like getting on a moving walkway at the airport.  Makai zipped along at 7-8 knots and the current boosted our speed over the ground to 11 and 12 knots, YIPPEEE!

Roy had his line out and sure enough, FISH ON!

This mahi mahi was almost free. It weighed in at a mere 5 lbs and was only three feet long.  We were a bit confused after bringing in the mumbo jumbo king daddy mahi in the Bahamas.  Roy pulled this guy right up on the back step where I put a towel on it and picked it up.  Wow, no fight, no adrenalin rush, no blood and fish parts everywhere.

Roy went to work cleaning it and Mahi #4 for this season is packed up and in the freezer.  Come visit, I’ll make you a nice mahi dinner.

We pulled into Cape Lookout just as the sun was setting and the storm was arriving.  The wind whipped up, rain poured down in buckets and temperature dropped.  The anchorage is full of locals ready for Memorial Day Weekend fun in the sun, but this poor guy dragged anchor and got stuck in the sand.  Luckily for $170/year you can get a SeaTow membership for assistance in such situations.

The beaches were beautiful and the wind gave us a chance to fly the kite the Hill family brought to us in the Bahamas.

Roy did a bunch of fishing, we saw a huge turtle, played on the beach, rested for two nights and then the wind came out of the south again.  This south wind is only predicted for two days so we better get going quick.

The first 12 hours didn’t provide enough wind to keep Makai moving toward Cape Hatteras, so we cranked up the engines and motored.  At daybreak we said goodbye to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and set the auto pilot for Cape May.  The last two times we rounded this cape at least one of Makai’s crew was tossing their cookies overboard, today everyone was smiling and happy with the calm weather.

But, this isn’t the tropics any more.  We had our winter canvas windows on, wore sweaters, and blankets, and cuddled up with Topaz.

As the afternoon wore on we approached the Delaware Bay and it happened again.  Arrrrhhh! the flies, the flies attacked us.  Last year when we went to Lewes, DE at the mouth of the Delaware Bay they came in swarms and it happened again.  Inside they swirled around like a tornado over a trash dump, outside they clung to the mast, sail, trampoline, solar panels.  It was horrible. As we entered the Cape May channel, just like at Cape Lookout, a huge storm hit us.  The only bonus to the storm is that wind, lightning and rain blew the outside flies away.  We opened all the windows hoping to get rid of the inside flies, but they were much more comfortable inside Makai than out exploring the beach on their own.  In the morning I used a whole bottle of Windex drowning them where they rested and blowing them out of the air.  Then Roy followed up with the swatter.  Whew, now we only have the acceptable hand full of flies to deal with.

It’s quite chilly for this tropical cruising family.  The air is below 70 degrees and the water is below 55 degrees.  We are wearing long sleeves and long pants with socks.
This morning we heard Ozzy Ozbourne’s “Mama, I’m Coming Home”.  Wow, it’s coming from a Coast Guard ship, USCGC Vigorous was returning from a deployment and we’re anchored a stone’s throw from the base.  This morning we all got to put our hand over our heart for the raising of the colors and watch the Vigorous clean up their ship after a stretch at sea. We do similar things like take the trash out and clean up.

It looks like we’ll be here for about a week before the wind comes out of the south again and we can make our way up to NY Harbor.

We had a wonderful two day crossing from the Bahamas to Saint Augustine, Florida.  Most of the day was spent sailing west into the Gulf Stream with a stiff breeze moving Makai along at 7-8 kts.  As the sun went down we entered the Gulf Stream and headed north making 10 -11 kts with the help of the Gulf Stream’s swiftly moving river of warm water.  The next day the wind decreased and it was apparent that we wouldn’t make it into port by night fall, so for most of the night with the sails down, we along at 1 knot waiting for the sun to come up to safely enter the harbor.

Eric called U.S. Immigration to check in.  They took our passport numbers and directed us to the office where we could have our faces matched to the passports.  The rental car company couldn’t come pick us up until late afternoon, so we did a little sight seeing. I visited Saint Augustine when I was 11 years old on a family vacation and then again a few years ago when the kids and I visited my mother while she was escaping a Buffalo winter.  This is a beautiful place to visit.

Saint Augustine was claimed for Spain in 1513 by Ponce de Leon, the settlement was later established in 1565 and is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in North America.  Entering the harbor you are greeted by Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S., built in 1672. This fort was later occupied by the British, Spain again, Confederates, Union, and finally became part of the United States when Florida became a state in 1845. Castillo de San Marcos is made of a stone called coquina, meaning little shells in Spanish.  Ancient shells fused together, similar to limestone, and was able to withstand the shock of cannon balls without cracking and crumbling like harder other stone might.

 

The view from the top of the fort looks over the mooring field where Makai is waiting for us, as well as the Bridge of Lions.

The Bridge of Lions was finished in 1927 connecting the mainland with Anastasia Island. A pair of Medici Lions guard the entrance.  This bascule bridge opens regularly to allow sailboats to pass into the south end of the river.

We showed great restraint walking along St. George Street.  This walking street is several blocks long, lined with shops full of brightly colored trinkets and restaurants with live music and delicious smells.  The kids spotted dream catchers and thought of our friends on the Leopard Catamaran DreamCatcher. Hi Jeanette, Ken, and Beth

Once we got the rental car all kinds of adventures were open to us.  Like lunch at Panda Express.

This light house on Anastasia Island in Saint Augustine was built in 1874 and is still used as an aid to navigation for mariners.  We watched its light during the night before our arrival.  There are many lighthouses along the eastern shore, each with unique tower and light patterns.  Saint Augustine’s sister light house is Cape Hatteras, check out our  Outter Banks post to see if you see the difference. It might be hard to see from this angle, but they both have black and white stripes, only Saint Augustine is red at the top and Cape Hatteras is black.

Mears must be a popular family name here on the east coast.  In Florida there is a Mears transportation company with buses and taxis, Mears Marina in the upper Chesapeake Bay, and Hank Mears was a Saint Augustine Lighthouse keeper.

The water outside of Saint Augustine is very shallow with breaking waves for at least one mile from land.  The channel markers aren’t even posted on the charts because the sand shifts so often that the markers are moved regularly.

We climbed the 219 steps for a spectacular view.  From the lighthouse we could easily see the Bridge of Lions, Castillo de San Marcos and Makai in the harbor waiting for us.

The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park was an interesting mix of history, science and wild life.

While there are tales about searching for the Fountain of Youth for thousands of years across many cultures, I didn’t see any real evidence that this is what brought Ponce de Leon to Florida’s shores.

I’m sure the spring they found here was an asset for their new claim.  The Timucua people had already been living in the northern part of Florida for nearly 200 years before the Spanish claimed ‘all they can see’ and beyond.

Spanish Moss is plentiful in the south eastern states.  It grows in long drapes over live oak and cypress trees.  The kids like to wear it like an old man’s beard.

The park is also home to a muster of Indian Peafowl.  The white ones are simply the product of recessive genes. This guy spent quite a bit of time with his feathers fanned out and even vibrated them a bit to attract the attention of a peahen.

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All of these military exhibits like to demonstrate the use of gunpowder. We learned a bit about cannons and plugged our ears for the demonstration.

The kids put themselves back in time to do a little exploring in a dug out canoe.

My boy Roy turned 13 today, May 14th. We discussed what he might like to do.  Since we had our fill of beaches, snorkeling and fishing, Roy decided to do something a little crazy for his birthday.  He started with the new Captain America movie and then a little miniature golf.

The day finished up with Chinese food in the captain’s lounge watching River Monsters and finally lemon cupcakes on Makai.  We now have a teenager on board.

The original plan was to stay for two or three days and then continue north, but a weather system came through bringing wind out of the north and thunder storms so we decided to live the good life.  We had showers, laundry, tv, a rental car, access to stores and west marine, and a beautiful waterfront to walk along.  Now lets get a few projects out of the way.

Our VHF antenna was worthless. We could only hear people in the same bay as us if they were using their radio on high power.  In fact our hand held radio received transmissions better than Makai’s big radio.  Before leaving the Bahamas, Eric ordered a new antenna and cable to go with it.  After half a day at the top of the mast the little 18 inch antenna was replaced with an eight foot whip.

He finished the installation just in time to avoid the cold front.  This season we’ve been able to see the fronts pass by.  They look like a huge band of black clouds that passes over head.  On the other side of it the air is much colder and brings wind and rain.

Last year we noticed our propane tanks were getting old.  They’re in great shape but the inspection date expired and U.S. fill stations don’t want to fill them without a visual inspection.  Having the car is great because a 5 mile ride down the road is a breeze.

The rental car came in handy once again, Eric spent a day helping a neighbor find new batteries for their boat. After a few trips to West Marine and an excursion to Jacksonville, they were in business.  Meanwhile I lifted the Hobie, removed the trampolines, and restitched along every seam.  Over time the thread rots and the stitches disintegrate, one of the tramps was held together by little more than the grommets around the edge. Unfortunately, I was half way through the three seams on the second tramp when my needle hit a grommet, threw the arm off to the left and snapped a metal piece in the machine.  I can order a new piece, but it means I never finished the job.  Eric bought new line to tie them down with and it took the rest of the day to tighten them down.

This week is an art and music festival at the waterfront. These young guys did a great job with old time surf music, no vocals, just jam’n guitars.

The marina is also home to two Spanish Galleons, El Galeon & Nao Victoria. There are also a pirate cruise and a harbor sailing cruise that sail by a few times each day.

Within walking distance is the Lightner museum displaying exhibits from the Gilded age.  The museum started out as the Hotel Alcazar in 1887, built by railroad magnate Henry Flagler.

Walking through the rooms it was fun to imagine the beautiful clothes and parties this hotel hosted.

Back to 2014, how about a trip to Costco.  Oh yeah! we loaded up on grapes, cashews, and juice.  Somehow a few hundred dollars later we escaped with only one cart load.

Our week is almost over, better get that last minute haircut.  We got tips on how to apply the fancy colors into that pretty blonde sister hair and trimmed several inches of dry abused hair off the ends.

 

Now we’re making our way to Cape Hatteras.  Check out http://passageweather.com/ and the maps for the western north Atlantic, Florida to Cape Hatteras.  Over the next week we’ll try to stay in the Gulf Stream, keep the wind to our back, and keep warm.  The guys were complaining that it was getting cold so they had to put on a shirt.  Wait until they’re north of Cape Hatteras, then they’ll be wearing a jacket and hat too.

Last week was a quick trip through the Abacos.  This island group is the northern most in the Bahamas and looks very different from the Exumas where we spent most of the winter.  The islands are more forested with tall pines as well as low brush and instead of a sandy bottom that gives the water a swimming pool appearance, the bottom is covered with grass which makes it look dark.  Luckily, the water is still clear and warm.

We buddy boated with Dream Catcher.  The girls had fun playing, we shared a few great dinners, sunsets, and beach time.  These islands are lined with beautiful houses, boat docks, and occasional towns.  We had a bit of fun on the Hobie sailing between anchorages with the three boat fleet of Hobie, Makai and Dream Catcher.

Hope Town has a protected harbor filled with moorings and lined with restaurants and docks. The red and white striped lighthouse was built in 1862 and was one of the last operational kerosene lighthouses in the world. We went into town and strolled along looking for lunch.  The crew had cheeseburgers and I had jerk chicken and conch fritters.

The beach houses and little hotels were beautiful but we’re still happy to be on Makai.

Eric quietly turned 50 with cupcakes and friends over for sundowners and a movie.  May 4th was Star Wars day, so we watched the original from our youth.  Ok, say it slowly: may the force be with you / May the 4th be with you.  Get it?

A little Northern wind was expected so we moved over by Marsh Harbor.  The first night we anchored on the south side of the island for protection and the no-see-ums got me.  Little did I know that their bites would produce 2am hives.  The next day we went around into the harbor on the other side of the island and got hives at 1am.  One of them nailed me on my upper lip and it swelled up like Daffy Duck, oh boy.  The upside to Marsh Harbor is a fantastic grocery store and other such provisions.

By now we were getting sick of towns and wanted to get a little snorkeling in.  Fowl Cay on the other side of the channel had some over the top great reefs.

We could see ‘forever’, the water was warm, the reefs were huge and full of fish.

Topaz always snorkels with us.  She could see the fish in the water and spent her time scrambling around after them.

One of the reefs was shaped like a mushroom surrounded by white sand.

The coral was all very healthy like this beautiful stag horn coral.

This area is also a preserve so the fish are gigantic.

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The reefs were only a 100 feet away from each other but their structures were very different.  One was a long bar, another a mushroom, others had tunnels.

Some had those big stag horn corals and others had schools of fish.

Next was Guana Cay. Disney’s cruise ship used to anchor here, they called it Treasure Cay, to treat their passengers to private beach parties. Instead Makai and Dream Catcher rafted up so the girls could visit each other at their leisure.

This is where we said goodbye to Dream Catcher.  They are on their way to Maryland to start their summer projects and adventures.  We’ll meet up with them in a few weeks. Makai continued on, two more stops before leaving the Bahamas.  While we’re underway I usually cook.  Today I made corn muffins, a loaf of bread and bagels.

Allans Cay was an interesting stop.  This must be a boater’s favorite stop with trees dangling all sorts of junk and strange collections of trash put together to look like a club house.

After a few attempts to find the path, Eric finally made his way through the jungle to the other side of the island.  He was in search of the ruins of a 1960′s missile tracking station.  We met a Bahamian boater who said he remembered coming here as a kid and it was a busy place.

Roy loved it because it was a fisherboy’s paradise.

One throw of the cast net filled his bait bucket with cigar minnows.  Apparently everything in the bay eats these poor little guys. He caught snapper, one after another.  A shark came and took his bait and about 50 feet of line before we cut it.

Marie came to try her luck.  She finally got brave enough to put the bait on the hook, but still needed help taking the fish off.

Besides snapper of all sizes, Roy also caught a Bonefish which is a sportsman’s dream.  Sorry, no picture, it got off the hook right at Roy’s feet.

Roy also caught a puffer fish that puffed itself up while he was getting the hook out, and a few houndfish.

We could have spent the day there seeing what Roy would catch next, but the biting flies were getting bold and we had a long sail ahead of us.  This evening we’re at Double Breasted Cay.  This is our last night in the Bahamas, tomorrow, Saturday, evening we’ll set out for St. Augustine, Fl. The conditions look to be comfortable and we should arrive on Monday morning to rent a car and check back into the U.S. with immigration. Follow us under the ‘Where’s Makai’ link.

Tuesday Saundy and Effie left for the airport bright and early in the morning.  I scrubbed Makai, inside and out, we all went to the grocery store in the car for last minute produce and dairy and then headed off to the north end of Eluthera.

This was a pretty good half way stop before heading up to the Abaco Islands. The wind was from the right direction and the right speed to make for a quick and pleasant trip.  We met Dream Catcher there with plans for and early morning departure to the east side of Abaco Island.

Bull Mahi Mahi (Carlos) – New Providence Channel 52 in., 23 lbs.

Roy was going to fish but complained that we were going to fast. His request to slow down was met with much resistance. Who ever heard of a sailboat trying to slow down?!  After a few strikes on his line and quickly losing the fish because the line snapped or the bait was stripped from the hooks because we were flying at 9+ knots, we agreed to slow down.  The main had to be reefed and the jib rolled in.  But we were still doing over 7 knots. Then came the reel, zzzzzzzzzing!  FISH ON! We rolled in the rest of the jib and eventually dropped the main sail. This fish kept taking line and Roy was afraid he would run out of line on the reel.  For about two hours we bobbed broadside to the wind and swells while the fish took line and while he rested Roy pulled it in.

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Over and over this went on.  Because of previous encounters with rambunctious Mahi Mahi, we practiced our patience. Carlos took the line, Roy brought it back in, Carlos took the line, Roy brought it back in.  Finally Carlos looked like he was just floating along beside Makai and we decided to make our move.  The problem was we couldn’t decide of we should gaff him and then sit on him with a blanket or maybe it was possible to drag him up on the step and sit on him.  After going back and forth on this decision I gaffed, Eric sat and Carlos was too pooped out to fight.  He welcomed the vodka in his gills and prepared himself for dinner. Roy was pleased to catch his first Bull Mahi Mahi, notice how square the top of his head is.

We watched all the boats that left after us and those behind us pass by, but Roy on Makai brought home the prize.  With all the fish in the freezer we happily shared most of this guy with our friends and enjoyed fresh mahi-kabobs for dinner.

Yahoo, visitors.   Eric started working with Greg and Saundy sometime around 1993.  When Eric directed me to the hidden ring as his proposal for marriage, Saundy shook her finger at him and made him get on his knee.  Saundy and Greg are Roy’s Godparents, Greg was Roy’s Scoutmaster, for several years in a row we joined the Hill family on Thanksgiving road trip adventures, and we were very happy that they could share our adventure with us.

They all arrived late on Easter Sunday, we wrapped things up at the marina and then spent most of the day on Monday traveling to Hawksbill Cay. We took them to our favorite places on this cay.

The windward side of the island has sparkling clear water, sand crabs, and room for Topaz to run.

We took them for a second opinion on the ‘Space Trash’ Eric found a few months ago.

Non-space quality screws were found but we quickly overlooked them so we could continue calling it space trash.

 

A quick trip to the Russell Ruins where British Loyalists settled after leaving the newly formed United States was also in order.

There isn’t much left of the place except for a few walls and paths.

The walls are very low, sandstone and conchs plastered together.

The jungle has taken over but we can’t help but wonder how these people survived.  We saw a few holes that could have been used as cisterns for water since springs and wells are unheard of in the islands.  Also, the coral sand doesn’t support crops.  I suppose if you can survive on coconuts, conchs, and curly tail lizards you could survive.

Saundy and I tried out the selfie pose my kids are so proficient at.

We motored most of the way to Hawksbill Cay before the wind picked up.  Then the rest of the day proved to be windy, choppy and uncomfortable.  But with so few days to explore the areas we spent weeks at, we all got in the dinghy and went exploring.  Next stop was the sand bar on the north end of the island.  The ride up there was really wet.  The waves poured into the dinghy like a waterfall.  For the first time ever we got to the point where everything was floating and something had to be ‘done’ about the situation.

The water was shallow so everyone got out and walked while Eric zipped along with the drain plug open.  After just a few minutes of planing, the dinghy was drained and we could continue on.

It was late in afternoon but the sandbar was spectacular as usual.

The day was ending and everyone was happy that our travels will be shorter for the next week.

It may be a little late, but I don’t think Jesus would mind of we hunted for Eggs a few days after Easter.

I (I mean the Easter Bunny) managed to hide over 50 filled eggs on the outside of Makai.  There were eggs hidden in the sails, anchor locker, under lines, and under Hobie paddles.

They found eggs in the dinghy, sunshades, and cushions.  Great fun was had by all and the Easter Bunny was very happy to be able to stump all those big kids.

Since they brought their snorkeling gear we better get to seeing the underwater sites.

I just can’t get enough of the corals and fish, colors and textures.

Schools of fish are especially interesting to watch.  They peck at the coral for snacks, scoot into caves and holes, and move this way and that in response to our disturbances.

Even though I know the lion fish has his face on a WANTED poster for devouring more than his share of the reef, he’s still beautiful to watch.  He just floats around with his poisonous spines displayed for everyone to see.

Coral heads are an oasis in the expanse of sand and grass.

Sometimes the smallest sea star can have the most brilliant colors.

 

These big days of activity always make us look forward to evening.  They’re sitting around snacking on ‘land’ meat while Roy dreams of leaving the Land and Sea park so he can troll for the prized Mahi Mahi just like the pillow Marie is holding.

I guess if they can’t go fishing they can at least blow their conchs for sunset.

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Our next adventure was up the river in Shroud Cay. Half of us sailed/paddled the Hobie up the river and the other half took the dinghy.

Marie and Effie started out on the Hobie but couldn’t keep up with paddling the surf boards and ended up being rescued by the dinghy which towed them the rest of the way. On the way back Greg and Spencer took the surfboards paddling and riding the current back.  They made it at least half way before the rest of us caught up.

Little girls on big surfboards can be towed standing up.

Isn’t this just the most beautiful river EVER!

At the other end is a shallow sand bar facing the Atlantic Ocean.  We spent hours soaking, playing and the kids tried to surf five inch waves in ten inches of water.

The next stop is Norman’s Cay.  At the beginning of the season this was the first place we spent a week of relaxing and capturing the mood of cruising.  From Shroud the trip is only about 3 miles, but to celebrate exiting the north end of the Land and Sea Park, we decided to take a tack out to sea. This is the exact location where Roy caught a Mahi Mahi last week. After about an hour of trolling everyone wanted to just get into the anchorage and go to the beach.  I told Eric to give me 5 minutes to wrap things up in the galley and then I could help turn the boat around and head in.  At that very moment, zzzzzzzzzing went the reel, FISH ON, yelled Roy and everyone assumed their battle stations.

The Mahi Mahi we brought aboard two weeks ago came aboard after only about 15 minutes.  He was fresh and strong, beat us up bad, and finally made his was to freedom.  Then there was last week’s Mahi that got dragged, towed, and tired out for nearly an hour.  Between his weakened state and the vodka, we managed to keep him for dinner.

Roy names the fish because a local fisherman here said that when he loses a fish it makes him cry like he just lost his girlfriend.  This is Carlotta and Roy didn’t have to cry over her.  She weighed in at 26 lbs and 53 in. from nose to tail and netted two huge baggies of meat.  Luckily we have 3 extra fish eaters aboard and Saundy has fabulous cooking ideas including sushimi.

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Notice how her face is slightly rounded, this is a female.  The male has a very square head and we learned that when they swim along the surface, the head shape makes water spout up which looks like a dolphin.  In Florida the Mahi Mahi is often called a dolphin fish and in Mexico it’s referred to as a dorado.

Whew, I’m always glad when the fight is over.  While I’m waiting with the gaff, my heart races and I can even see my pulse pumping in the crook of my arm. With all that behind us, we went snorkeling on the plane wreck in the middle of the bay.

I’ve found it rather difficult to find information with hard facts on the many treasures we find in the islands.  Google usually results in blog posts from other boaters.  Norman’s Cay has a great book called “Turning The Tide” about a guy who wanted to open a dive shop on Norman’s Cay but spent his time trying to survive Carlos Lehdr’s drug trafficking.

The nosy Sgt. Major fish came to greet us.

They photo bombed many of my pictures and bumped into our legs, maybe they’re used to being fed.

The plane was full of sea life and the water clear as usual.

We’ve seen more airplane parts under water than sunken ships.  Near Musha Cay we even saw a golf cart.  Note to self: don’t fly or drive a golf cart in the Bahamas.

Our last night in the Exumas was near Long Cay.  Makai nudged up close to a private beach but there was beautiful snorkeling behind us.

There was this amazing row of piled up, small, yearling conch running along the length of the anchorage. I’m not having much luck finding out what this behavior is called.  A few months ago someone mentioned that there was a Conch Walk going on in our anchorage, but we never made it over to see what that was all about.  That’s our best guess to what they might call this meeting of the sea snails.

Roy also found a large juicy conch that he planned to eat for dinner.  But after a few days and the overwhelming task of figuring out how to tenderize the meat so it tastes as good as the restaurants, we decided to let it go.

On the way back to Palm Cay Marina we stopped for a quick look at the Iguanas on Allen’s Cay.

With all the tourists that come to visit, these guys have become habituated and see people on the beach as the possibility of an easy salad.

Civilization. We pitched our trash, let Topaz potty on land and then made off to the pool. Look how civilized we are with hors d’oeurves, and sundowners at the pool among the vacant unfinished housing development that promises fulfilling many people’s dreams in the future.

The Hills brought us a trick kite. This is Roy’s favorite new toy, but everyone enjoys taking a turn controlling it.

We have this beautiful place to ourselves.

 The restaurant is closed the first part of the week so we were able to move in with our games and lunch box to enjoy the facilities on a budget. Scanning the menu proved this was the best plan.  The most inexpensive entree is a burger for $20 and a bottle of wine for $50.

This marina is off the beaten path, so taxi rides to the airport are pricey and walking to the grocery store is a bit far.  Luckily it’s easy to rent a car from the marina manager for a reasonable price to take care of business. In the Bahamas they drive on the left side of the road, half of the cars are right had drive, and the other half have the steering wheel on the left.  Good thing Eric did all the driving.