While we were waiting for the taxi, the anchor drift alarm kept going off and I contacted Bob to let him know. We had anchored near a small rocky island, so I was quite concerned. Bob said it was probably OK and due to a wind change. I did a visual check as best I could in the rainstorm.
The next day, they were able to finally get their bearings. and see where they had been. We went into George Town to the straw market, another shop, and the supermarket – about all there is in George Town, besides a liquor store, a hardware (everything else you can fit in a small store), and filling station. Jim bought a Hawaiian Sling Spear to try spear fishing at the hardware store.
Tuesday we left Elizabeth Harbour and George Town and went to an anchorage off Hog Cay near Long Island, and stayed till Thursday. We went snorkeling and Jim was able to catch two small lobsters, a grouper, a trigger fish, and a yellowtail snapper. All good eating. We feasted Wednesday night on all but the Grouper.
Osprey nest on pole neatrthe old resort on Hog Cay
Hog Cay is privately owned, so we weren’t able to explore the island much. There is an old resort there that we could not determine if it was still operational or not. It appeared that there were two caretakers living there however. There was no dock, but a small private airfield to service the resort.
By the old resort, there is a large population of "Whistling Ducks." I was not able to get a photo of them.
We had nice quiet evenings at anchor both nights and bright sunny days. We all made improvements to our tans. (Mindy was surprised to see how tan I was when she arrived. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tan.)
We were expecting the weather to be rough, so we returned on Thursday to George Town. We were also expecting a couple of parts, a new clutch/ pully assembly for the water maker and an exhaust riser for the generator. The part for the water maker was important so we could make our own water. In the Bahamas, water is at least 50 cents a gallon at marinas because it is all produced by reverse osmosis. The only place it is free, was the Exuma Market dock, but you have to take jugs to be filled. Bob had made 9 trips the day Mindy and Jim came so that we had full tanks while they were here.
Our neighbor Martha had taken the parts to the FedEx office in Kilmarnock on Monday and shipped them to Dania, Florida, where they then transferred to a company called Reggie Air that then flew them to George Town. We found out they had arrived Tuesday. We couldn’t believe they could arrive so quickly. It was $280 total for shipping, $82 for customs, and $70 for a rental car to go pick it up. At least we got to see a little of the island. But the good news is we have water!
Jim, with Bob’s help, were finally able to get the old part off and the new on after working on it Thursday and Friday. They had needed an angle grinder, so Bob put out a call on the morning Cruiser's Net asking if anyone had one to lend. Before we knew it, we had five offers. Thanks to the Captain of Pirate and his angle grinder, we made water for the first time Saturday morning.
The lack of having a reliable supply of water was the only thing keeping us from exploring some of the remote islands for more than 10 days without having to get water.
We had planned to attend the opening ceremony for the George Town Cruisers Regatta here Friday night. However, due to a weather forecast that said the winds were going to pick up, it was cancelled. It was to be held Saturday night instead. In the meantime, we had decided to go to the Emerald Isle Marina, on the north end of the island, for the night and also to be closer to the airport for Jim and Mindy, so we missed the party. Jim and Mindy had an early flight out Sunday morning. Luckily, we realized that there was a time change Saturday night, otherwise, they might have missed their flight.
Saturday morning, Jim, Mindy, and Penny, hiked to the monument atop Stocking Island to take some great photos of the Elizabeth Harbour. There isn’t a better place to take them, unless you are in a plane. The trail, while mostly easy and sandy, switched to steep rock steps carved in the hill. Somebody had added ropes to help make the climb easier. It had turned cloudy, unfortunately, but still beautiful shots from there.
This is a bench on the top of Stocking Island where people have engraved the dates of their engagements and weddings on that spot. If you are looking for a memorable place to do either, there are still places on the back to engrave your names and date - just take your own tools!
Short and Long angle views of the Pretty Penny in the harbor
A special thank you to Meegan, who came to spend time with her nieces and nephew, so Jim and Mindy could make the trip. She has had her yearly “kid fix” and can return home and back to school and work. Thanks to Amanda, Jake, and Becky, for being the great kids they are for Aunt Meegan too.
Our friends on Belleza, Brenda and Grant left Tuesday for isles South. We don’t expect to see them again this year in the Bahamas. They hope to make Trinidad and leave their boat there and go back to Vancouver for the summer, returning back after hurricane season next year. We hope to make a trip to Vancouver this summer for a short visit. We have certainly enjoyed their company along the way.
1 comment:
Mom, you ought to plot where you've been and where you're going on Google Maps. It's free and easy. Just go to maps.google.com, click the My Maps tab, type in a unique name for your map like "pretty-penny-cruises" and make it public, then look on the right and you now have toolbar that lets you place pins on the map, draw lines and shapes, and annotate the journey. Then, we might even be able to find a way to put this on your blog as either a static image that one clicks to see the real map, or just a link. I can help with putting the connection on your blog.
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