Friday, February 27, 2015
Feb 27, 2015 Warderick Wells
Today Rich and Kathy repositioned the boat at Warderick Wells in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. They were able to purchase some WiFi time, but it won't let them download videos, pictures, or go to social media sites. Darn, I really wish you could see some of their pictures. Anyhoo, they will be posted in the future. At the headquarters office they were able to see a hutia mammal, which looks like a miniature ground hog, is nocturnal, and is native only to the Bahamas. Rich went up to Boo Boo Hill, where boaters leave a momento of their visit and he then went to the blow hole, which wasn't doing anything. He took me for a dinghy ride...Bitts didn't get to go because she pooped down in the cabin, so no ride for her. Tomorrow off to Big Majors...follow us on the SPOT.
Feb 26, 2015 Thursday Shroud to Exumas Land and Sea Park
Did I say "dreams tonight"? It was more like a nightmare. Winds were blowing 30 knots out of the south and this boat was a rockin and rollin! Bitts and I were scared as the dinghy was banging the boat and waves were crashing all around us. It was miserable, so I made my distress, whinny noise and Kathy came to the cockpit. She could see we were scared, so she brought her pillow and a sheet and came on deck. The wind and rocking was relentless and did not stop. Kathy, Bitts, and I did not sleep a wink. Rich was z'd out on his Benadryl. Morning came and winds did not die out. We decided to go to the Exumas Land and Sea Park at Warderick Wells to get out of this weather. Rich went to get the dinghy ready to put up on the davits, and he yelled for Kathy. The dinghy motor was gone!! At first we thought it might have been stolen, but then Rich saw it bobbing in the water behind the dinghy. Apparently the winds were so bad last night, and with the dinghy banging the mother ship, somehow it loosened the attachments and the motor fell into the salt water--not good for the motor I am told. The good news is that it was still attached to the dinghy by the "ah sh_t" line and the fuel line. Rich tied a line around it and Kathy hoisted it out of the water. All this while still in 25-30 knot winds. Rich had the motor apart in minutes and washed it with fresh water, some WD 40, and yes, it started. I was worried I might not be able to go ashore swimming anymore. So we finally took off for a 4 1/2 hour trip to the Exumas Land and Sea Park. It was NOT a pleasant trip with winds 25-30 knots on the nose and 4 foot seas. We picked up a mooring ball at Hog Cay, which is on the lower southeast corner of Warderick Wells. What a great place and best kept secret. Weather protection 360 degrees, so we finally got a good night's sleep and I was back to dreaming about beaches.
Feb 25, 2015 Shroud Cay
I overheard Kathy talking about going back to the beach they took a picture of me when I was a puppy 11 years ago. Dinghy ride and beach...can't wait. First we stopped at a large beach and Kathy let me jump from the dinghy and swim in. Bitts would never had made it that far. Shitz Shu's are not know for their swimming ability...and Bitts has a small, recessed snorkel. I immediately began tearing up the beach and running as far away as I could. I do this on purpose to upset Kathy, as she is afraid I will become a Bahamian dog. Rich is much cooler about it and just ignores me...I always come back. Bitts swam a little and then did some beach combing. We both ran up and down the beach a few times, but then Bitts got tired and jumped back into the dinghy. It was time to go and I pretended not to hear Kathy calling me and I kept running like a bat out of hell (whatever that means) down the beach. So eventually I turn around, and what??? Hey, what's going on here. No dinghy. They left me!! I mean they really left me!! The dinghy was way out there. So I thought about it for a minute and I did not know of a kibbles supply out here, so I thought I better swim like hell out to them. And boy did I swim like I've never swam before, at least 70 yards. Good thing I'm a good swimmer. Rich and Kathy had not seen any sharks, stingrays or even a minnow at Shroud and there were people swimming in the crystal clear water, so they knew I would be okay. Well they must have seen me swimming and they slowed down so I could catch up. Kathy pulled me back into my dinghy and we were off to the Exuma Sound beach side. The channel that goes across the cay to the Exuma Sound is shallow, especially at low tide. The tide was rising, but Rich hit a small sand bar, and oops, we hit the sand so hard that Bitts and I popped out of the dinghy. Of course we were standing on the bow, and good thing we were tethered to the dinghy, so Kathy could just pluck us out of the water. Rich thought we better turn around and explore other parts of Shroud and come back later. So on high tide we tried it again and made it to one of the most beautiful beaches in the Exumas. Bitts and I swam and ran up and down this pristine beach...it wasn't so pristine after we got done with it, but that is what the tide is for. Anyway, I even rolled in seaweed...I don't know why, it just feels good. We got full of sand and salt water, so when we got back to the mother ship we had to get a shower and then dry off. That's our least favorite thing about a day at the beach, but oh those dreams tonight!
Feb 24, 2015 Tuesday Allens to Shroud Cay
This was the absolute best sailing day ever, or so Kathy said. Seas were one foot and winds 10-15 knots with full sails up. The water was mesmerizing tourquoise. Rich took a mooring ball on Shroud with 6 other boats. Kathy said, "This is what you call living the dream". Well it may be Rich and Kathy's dream...mine would be a dog house filled with treats and no rules!!
Feb 23, 2015 Monday Nassau to Allens Cay
We left Nassau at about 7:30 and what a beautiful sail it was. Now this is the Bahamas I remember with beautiful tourquoise waters as we crossed the Yellow Banks. The Yellow Banks are very shallow, 10-12 feet, and Rich had to stand guard at the bow, looking for coral heads. We got to Allens and the crystal blue water was spectacular. This is why we love the Exumas. Yippee, yippee, Rich and Kathy put down the dinghy and we got a dinghy ride to look at the prehistoric iguanas on Leaf and Southwest Allens Cays. As per Rich and Kathy's strict protocol, Bitts and I were not allowed off of the dinghy to play with the iguanas. Rich said they would slap me in the head with their tails, and actually that did not sound like much fun to me. We then went to a little sandy beach where Bitts and I swam and ran in the sand. Tuesday morning we watched speed boats come in from the cruise ships to look at the iguanas, then we were off to Shroud Cay.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
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