M/V Tatoosh

     What is 303 feet long and 46 feet wide, has a big brother 416 feet long, has a helicopter, a 40 foot custom power boat, a 40 foot sailboat, a 6 foot deep swimming pool just to name a few and is owned by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft?  M/V Tatoosh.

Upper Photo - note helicopter and the 40 foot power boat that is stowed on the starboard side

Lower Photo - note the 40' sailboat stowed on the port side.

20,000 Pasty White Kids

    Upper Photo - One of hundreds of Man-of-Wars we saw as we crossed the Straits of Florida.

 
      Saturday was the weather window we needed to make the crossover of the Straits of Florida.  Our plans were to go back to Miami to check in, but mother nature said otherwise.  Due to the winds and the ocean surge we were once again required to adjust our heading to another port as with other crossings, this time Port Everglades (aka Ft Lauderdale).  As we approached  Florida's east coast it became quite the spectacle, audibly and visually.  As soon as we got within 20 miles of the coast ,the chatter on VHF channel 16 was non-stop.  Then when we were about 5 miles from the Port Everglades inlet, the boat traffic became very heavy.  What were we thinking of when we decided to return on a Saturday.  Oh, I almost forgot, we are boaters and very weather dependent.  The madness we saw at the inlet continued all the way up the ICW to our anchorage at Lake Sylvia.   

     After clearing customs by phone we had to go to the local immigration office and appear in person.  Off we  go with Rick and Deb in their dinghy to a local marina so that we could catch a taxi to Port Everglades.  The taxi ride and the immigration office was uneventful.  However, what made this most interesting is that it is the start of Spring Break.  Did you ever see 20,000 colleges kids from up north in Florida in February?  Yea - 20,000 pasty white kids.

Lower Photo - M/V Broulee heading for Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale)

Flip A Coin

     It was December 18th that we crossed over from Miami to the Bahamas.  Since that crossing we have had a great time.  We have met some really good people, both locals and cruisers.  Some have become new friends that we will continue to stay in contact with.  While some may consider the Bahamas to be a third world country, and this may be true, we have found the people of the Bahamas to be very pleasant, courteous and very, very happy.  As you pass the Bahamians on the street of the small communities of the Exumas, you are greeted with a hello, how you doing or good day, young and old alike.  It has also been pleasure to cruise through the islands and swim in the crystal clear water and enjoy all the vistas.  We have hundreds of pictures of both the water and the islands.
     Sharon and I have decided, because of future cruising plans, that it is the right time to cross over back the the United States, hopefully this week.  Many of our new cruising friends will be staying in the Bahamas or heading to other countries.  This will make for some interesting happy hours when we catch up with them again.  For us, it's back to Florida where we may visit the Keys before heading back to the Chesapeake for a haul out of the boat at Long Cove Marina for maintenance work and boat upgrades .   Then our plans, which are now set in jello, may include the New York canal system starting in late May.  Previously, we had planned on going to the Canadian Maritimes, so may be we'll just flip a coin!

Fuel Filter

     Big Run is a long range cruiser that can carry 700 gallons of fuel in 2 tanks.  As you use fuel and the fuel levels drop in the tank, and if you are on rough seas, the fuel has more of a chance to scour the walls of the tank and break the crud free.  Big Run was built in 1983 and it's hard to say if the tanks have ever been cleaned which is why we have an ongoing fuel polishing program.  Back on Christmas day I changed the Racor fuel filter, and after 300 hours and 4 occasions of rough seas, the crud in the fuel tanks got the better of the fuel filter.

Boo Boo Hill

          On our way north back through the Exumas, we stopped once again at Warderick Wells.  On our first trip to Warderick Wells, Sharon and I never made it to Boo Boo Hill, which is a special place for cruisers.  On top of the hill is a collection of sign boards bearing the names of boats, and sometime the crew names of those boats, that have stopped by for a visit and to deposit their sign boards.  On our return trip that was our sole mission, to place our sign board on Boo Boo Hill.

Upper Photo - View from the top of Boo Boo Hill

Lower Photo - View of sign boards on top of Boo Boo Hill

Upper Photo - Rick & Deb of MV Broulee after placing their sign board on Boo Boo Hill

Lower Photo - Here I am on Boo Boo Hill adding the finishing touches to our sign using a magnifying glass to burn the boat name into the wood

Compass Cay

     Photos of our anchorage near  Compass Cay.

Bahamian Defense Task Force.

     We left Black Point Settlement on the 11th of February for Little Bay because of an expected blow to come through on Saturday/Sunday.  We managed to get one of the better anchorages within Little Bay and rode out the blow for a couple of days.  Then on the 15th of February the Bahamian Defense Task Force arrived.  They slowly dispatched a dinghy which made a quick run over to Black Point.  After about an hour the dinghy returned to the area but did not stop at their ship.  Instead, the dinghy came into our anchorage and headed  to a neighboring sailboat, but nobody was home.  Next the dinghy made its way over to our boat, Big Run.  After a few quick greetings, we were informed that they would be boarding our vessel for an inspection.  Four of the five dinghy occupants boarded our boat but only the officer in charge came into the boat for an inspection.  We presented our cruising permits, passports and immigration papers to one of the junior officers while I gave the senior officer a tour of the boat.  Fifteen minutes later they all piled back into their small dinghy and proceeded onto the next boat.    We watched the task force dinghy makes its rounds through our anchorage for about a half hour, most of the other boaters had  left in the dinghies to go elsewhere.  It was then that we realized that of the 15 boats there, we were on the only boat to be boarded by the Bahamian Defense Task Force. 

Above photo - HMBS Yellow Elder at anchor just outside of Little Bay.

Thanks Willy

  On Great Guana Cay is Black Point Settlement.  This is a very small community but one of the nicest we have seen.  Within the community of Black Point is a place called the Garden of Eden. It is one man's dream, Willy Rolle.  His passion is to find hidden treasures within the landscape of the island.  These are not treasures of gold or precious gems but simple items that most of us would overlook.  He will find tree trunks, tree branches or even rocks that  bear  a resemblance of something.  It's like looking at the clouds and seeing a dog or a person's face.  Willy's front yard is decorated with these items and from the looks of it, he has been at it for many years.  Then we got a tour of the back yard where we were treated to many different fruit bearing trees.  We even had the chance to sample some of the different fruits of Willy's "garden".  This was one of best experiences we have had with the local people of the Bahamas, one that we will treasure for a long time, thanks Willy. 

A view from the road of Willy's front yard

A sample of  Willy's visions - a goat's head.

A papaya tree in Willy's backyard

Sunrise Or Sunset?

Bahama Mama

     While we were at the Little Farmers Cay Festival we were introduced to a local wood carver, Fleether  Tinker Jr.  also known as JR.  We enjoyed his work very much and we like to collect items from different areas, so we purchased a Bahama Mama.

Above photo - JR is "autographing" the Bahama Mama we just purchased.

Below photo - This is the Bahama Mama on the boat in a temporary location.

And I Still Don't Believe It!

     Next to Staniel Cay is an Island called Big Major Spot, and on that island is a local attraction.  When I first heard about this, my curiosity went through the roof.  How many opportunities do you get to see swimming pigs?  And I still don't believe it!   (Don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge the photo and return to the blog by hitting the back button.  You have to see the enlargements!)

Left photo - Charge of the pork brigade!

They lay in the shade on the island until they hear your dinghy motor.

Right - It's an amphibious assault!   The pigs will actually swim out to your dinghy for food.

Left - Having overshot the first dinghy the pigs turn on the second dinghy.
Note - to the left of the pigs are small fish jumping out of the water. 

Right - Success, the second dinghy has food.

Left - Mrs. Big Pig gets upset as Sharon's food supply is exhausted.

  

Right - Sharon retreats to the water after Mrs. Big Pig steps on Sharon's  foot.

Left - Captain Rick (M/V Broulee) steps in to protect the women as Deb (M/V Broulee) photo documents the action and Sharon watches from the water.

Right - The only injury suffered in the scrimmage was Sharon's foot and her pride.  The only thing Sharon could say was " My dad would want to know why I was feeding pigs while being barefoot?"

NOTE TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS - SHARON IS OKAY!

5 Fs

     On the First Friday of February at Little Farmers Cay there is a festival.  The locals from the island are joined by Bahamians from other islands as well as cruising visitors for food, music, dancing, contests and Class-C racing.  It is known as the 5 Fs (Farmers Cay, Festival, First Friday in February.

The unofficail start to the festival.  This is a common sight in the Bahamas - the mail boat.  But this one is differnt, the Captain C.  She makes a grand entrance which you can hear for a mile away, the music is blaring and she is bringing more party revelers.

On Friday is the BIG Race, for all the marbles and the bragging rights for the next year.  Six boats entered for this year race.

And this year's winner is Team Thunderbird!

And now for a little fun.  The best Male Legs Contest.  Yea, that's Bob.  He finished second only because he lacks good dance moves.  But it wasn't about the dancing it was about the legs.  I was robbed.

And then there was the Best Male Butt Contest.  No, Bob did not enter this one.

One of the local young boys having fun with Deb's (M/V Broulee) digital camera.

This sail boat had catastrophic failure on the first day of racing and had to be retired.  Here, the boat is being loaded back onto the mail boat.

As the sun was setting on the opening day, this cruiser played Amazing Grace on his bag pipes while we enjoyed dinner at the waterfront restaurant.

The Exuma Community Youth Band was brought for the festivities on day 2, Saturday.