Happy Holidays from Cat’s Paw in the Bahamas

The outgoing tide in Key Biscayne spits us out into the Gulf Stream at 7.4 knots, and so our crossing to the Bahamas begins and ends! It was the fastest calmest crossing that we have ever experienced. It only took 26 hours. The Bahama banks were so flat that we saw the stars reflecting off the water. We arrived in Nassau cleared customs and immigration, provisioned (rum & New Zealand butter) and left Nassau in 36 hours.

We were traveling with another boat, our friends Vic & Gigi on Oconee. We were in the middle of the yellow banks, a patch of water 3 miles wide covered with coral heads 4 to 15 feet below the surface, when Vic radioed us that he had lost his engine. He was able to restart and continue, though the engine kept cutting out every 5 minutes. We slowed and allowed him to catch up and follow us. We told him where to steer to avoid the heads because Gigi was busy restarting the engine and Vic could not see the heads. Once out of the banks Vic changed fuel filters and was good to go.

We were within 3 miles of Norman’s Cay when engine alarms started going off. The engine had over-heated and the alternator had stopped working! Not good! We had to shut down the engine and with wind out of the east getting into the anchorage to the east would be tough. There is no TowBoat in the Bahamas! Vic & Gigi came to the rescue, towing us into the anchorage. Bob on Pretty Penny helped to replace the fan belt the next day.

After harvesting our first conch of the season at Norman’s, we headed down to Sampson Cay for the arrival of our friend, Cindy, and the Christmas holidays.

The evening that Cindy arrived we organized an “Open Christmas Boat” party with Oconee and Pretty Penny so she could get an idea of how we all lived on our boats. The following day, the first order of fun involved a dinghy ride down to Piggy beach to feed the world famous swimming pigs. Poor Cindy arrived for not only the wind, but a day of rain, though after that the weather improved dramatically. We shared a delightful Christmas Dinner with many cruising friends. Boxing Day we took the big boat down to Staniel and anchored right off of the yacht club. At noon we treated ourselves to lunch at yacht club and did some shopping. After lunch Shirley and Cindy spent an hour snorkeling “Thunderball Grotto” where the James Bond movie “Thunderball” had been filmed. Cindy departed the following day with a list of supplies to send back from the states.

After sending Cindy on her way we moved to Sampson Cay to charge batteries and do laundry - $4.00 per wash and $4.00 per dry. We are now in the company of Vic & Gigi on Oconee, Bob & Penny on Pretty Penny and William & Francis on Alexia.

The week of new Years, of course, had to be celebrated at Staniel Cay. And celebrate we did, though not as much as the Bahamians. Those people can party! We participated in events the entire week, donating items for the auction that supports the Cruising Regatta; then buying stuff at the auction. During the auction the residents of Staniel Cay provided free food and drink which will always draw a cruiser crowd. The Pirate Party took place after our bedtime so we missed it. The C-Class Regatta is as fun to watch as it is entertaining to listen to the locals bantering about the race tactics. Just after dark on New Year’s Eve we watched wonderful fireworks that allowed us to retire at our usual “cruisers midnight” of 9 pm having viewed not only fireworks, but a Green Flash1 and a Blue Moon2.

1. Green Flash – An atmospheric phenomenon created by the refraction of light that allow the sun to flash green just as it is dipping below the horizon. The green/blue light of the prism of the sky curves more so it remains visible after the lower frequency light (red/orange) have fallen below the horizon And, no, they are not observable proportional to the amount of rum you have consumed. Briefly, they are caused by the refraction of light at the horizon. The atmospheric conditions were just ideal and we feel we were so lucky to have had this marvelous opportunity so many time through our cruising life. It is something of which every cruiser dreams, but few get to see. There is a scientific explanation that is related in “Ocean Navigator” #83, July/Aug ’97. There are also pictures in Wikipedia. But, scientific or not, they are spectacular to observe.
2. Blue Moon – By definition, a blue moon occurs when there are 2 full moons in a single month. This event only occurs about once every 19 years. By chance, the blue moon occurred this New Years eve, the second full moon of December. What is unique about this is that to actually have a blue moon on New Year’s Eve is a once in about 100 year event.

The New Year brought with it west winds so we have moved to Compass Cay for the first time this season where we were greeted by Wilson who we had met at Sampson Cay nine years ago. We were joined at Compass Cay by Oconee (Vic &Gigi), Pretty Penny (Bob & Penny), Alexia (William & Francis), My Sharona (Wayne & Sharon), Five Islands (Ralph & Karen), and new friends Matt & Tina on Mattina, and Murray & Anne Marie on O-Escapist. A group of us harvested a few conchs on the first day which we shared at a delightful “Happy Hour” on the dock. As Tina on Mattina so aptly shared, cruisers really enjoy making new friends, because we all travel loosely and if we didn’t continually make new friends our circle would dwindle quickly as we take different paths.

The next night we all shared a Pot Luck to end all Pot Lucks! Each dish qualified as gourmet and the conversation titillating. The breeze did blow and the temperature was somewhat low, though not as low as in the states! The temps here are predicted to be somewhat low through the month of January, but definitely not as low as stateside. Life is good. The water is blue and the only white we see is sand!

Hope this New Year finds all healthy and happy. We will spend the next few months bouncing around the Exumas with only limited e-mail so we will keep in touch as we can. We do love to hear from family and friends so please keep in touch.

Love & warmth,

Mac, Shirley, Star & Cap't

Cat’s Paw Moves Down the Florida Coast – SLOWLY

Well, as we had planned, we moved down the coast slowly. We actually departed St. Mary’s on October 20 and head to Cumberland Island where we are joined by Bob & Vicki on “First Look”. We all spend the next day exploring the island. During the Ranger Tour, we have our own guide in Bob, who as a hunter is so attuned with nature that we are shown things that left to our own devices, we never would have seen! We see not only horses, but deer, a palliated woodpecker and wild turkey. We also see evidence of wild hogs, and of all things, coyote, who have apparently immigrated to the island in the past two years. This is truly the most magical of all the Georgia coastal islands.

For the next two days, we travel with First Look. Crossing the St. Johns is always interesting and this time is no exception. The currents at the southern entrance to the ICW are actually swirling with dolphins playing on both sides of the boat. We “crab” (move sideways in a forward manner) through the first three markers, as the outgoing current attempts to pull us onto the rocks.

Life on the ICW is never dull! We come to a bridge that appears to be completely blocked by barges. It isn’t till a small powerboat come through that we see the pass. We both pass through with 2’ on either side of the boats. Thank God neither of us were a catamaran; we would not have made it.

Mornings are early, just as the sun is rising. It is a beautiful time of day with mist rising off the water. One day we are even treated to our own private air show.

We watch “First Look” head south, as we pull into New Smyrna to spend time with our friends, Dave and Pam. We celebrate Shirley’s 60th reminiscing about past lives. Wonderful week!
The next week we spend in Titusville visiting with Sharon Kelly. We met her and her husband Brian, who died last year, on our first trip to the Bahamas. Titusville Marina has 40 resident manatees; such gentle creatures. We even see a baby! We have a delightful visit both in Titusville and in Melbourne, our next stop with not only Sharon, but once again with Bob & Vicki. We also meet up with Donald and Betsy, who we crossed with to the Bahamas on our first trip. Donald and Betsy go down to Long Island every year in “Molly Hawk” their 26 foot sailboat.
During this leg we really catch up with lots of folks. We are at Melbourne to attend the Seven Seas Cruising Association annual Gam. Not only do we see the folks we’d mentioned before, but we run into Carl & Kathy Peterson, old BYCY members, and we meet up with Phil & Margaret on “Sunshine”, who we haven’t seen since last year. Wonderful visits with all!

Before departing the area we watch the last shuttle, Atlantis lift off for space which was spectacular even during the day and from 50 miles. We both reflect on the technological progress that our country has achieved in our lifetime. We remember watching the first space shot 90 miles down range.

Our next stop is to visit with longtime cruising friends Bill & Barbara Vermiggilio on “Anatini” who we also met on our first cruise in 1997. They bought a condo in Port St. Lucie and every year on our way south we stop to catch up. This year they entertain us with a dinner Dance at The Sons of Italy. The Italians are really huggers!

We arrive in Ft. Lauderdale to affix the last of our repairs before jumping off to the Bahamas. Las Olas Marina in Ft. Lauderdale has become one of our regular stops. We are 3 blocks from the beach and all of its entertainment, at least for those of us who are people watchers! Bus 40 will take you north to the Galleria Mall and south to Publix and West Marine. Bus 11 takes you east to the unique shops of Las Olas Blvd.

The new thermostat for the freezer is installed the first day we are in the marina – part $190 for a total of $800! We’re in Ft. Lauderdale where labor is $100/hr. Mac contacts the company to replace the timing cover for the engine and hits several snags. Covers are not stocked and take 6 weeks from Japan, even with Mac’s contacts. So the Yanmar dealer here will take the cover off and have it welded, but they can’t get to the boat until after Thanksgiving. So it’s time to go have some fun!

A delightfully warm Thanksgiving is shared with Bob & Penny on “Pretty Penny” and Clay and Rita Kay of “Carleigh”. Thanksgiving is all about enjoying friends and family. The group that has been here for the holiday, including the afore mentioned, as well as “Independence” and “My Sharona” all get the preverbal weather window and head off to the Bahamas on Sunday.
Still awaiting repairs, we share time with cruising friends, Ike & Barbara on “Carefree”. They have cruised this area much more than we and share secrets. We soak up the knowledge. We all watch the Dolphins loose miserably to the Buffalo Bills. Guess we’ll have to find a different team to follow to the Super Bowl, which is always an event in the Bahamas.

Barbara & Ike depart on Monday and we jump on the Water Taxi for the day. We get a tour of Port Everglades, the ICW and the New River without having to navigate the boat. At the Port we saw the largest cruise ship ever built. It carries 6000 passengers and 2000 crew. The ship left on its maiden cruise that day. We take note of gossipy tidbits about many of the outrageously ostentatious estates along the river. Tour guides keep us entertained with a string of one-liners. We even return to the boat, dress for dinner and enjoy the sunset on the river, Christmas lights and a dinner out! It’s fun being a tourist.

Vic & Gigi on “Oconee” join us mid-week. It’s great to see them. We met them last year at Sampson when they were cruising on “Gigi’s Island”. We spend time catching up and meeting friends of theirs. We hope to cross together as soon as our boat is up and running and we all get our weather window.

Cat’ Paw Throws Off Dock Lines

. . . well, at least sort of!?!? We left Brunswick Landing Marina at the end of September traveling Jekyll Creek at the high tide. Jekyll Creek is one of the spots on the ICW known for its shoaling. Lack of funding has left the creek with 3½ feet of water at low tide. Since that part of Georgia has an 8 foot tide, we just wait for half tide or better to travel through.

We really relished our first night at anchor. Watched birds feeding at dusk; porpoises feeding as the sun rose. One boat anchored alone with all of nature’s wonders. Times like that on a boat are exceedingly special, particularly when you’ve been at a marina for 3 months.

To back up in time, the summer had been a busy one. We began with a quick trip to St. Pete that was incredibly busy - accountant, doctors, re-arranging our storage unit and shopping.

We had the cabin soles in both heads (bathrooms) torn out down to the stringers, and a totally new shelving unit built in the engine room, all done while Mac replaced our old, tired windlass (a mechanical thing that helps lift all that heavy chain off the bottom). Mac also installed a new hot water heater as he discovered a leak in the old one while the shelving unit was being replaced. Shirley made new cushion covers while we were off the boat. During this time we stayed at Shirley’s cousin Hap’s house. He was wonderful to offer to share his river house, but it was still a long month away from our home.

After moving back home we took a marathon (8 day) road trip to the Eastern Shore and DC to see family. Spent a wonderful weekend at Bruce and Inan’s on the Eastern Shore; got to see Shirley’s brother, Nat, as well as lots of cousins and her 93 year old uncle. We snuck in a lunch with cruising friends, Sue & Marshell s/v Serenity in Oxford while on our way to St. Michael’s. Next we toured DC & Bethesda while visiting with more of Shirley’s cousins, Lisa & Al and their kids, Andrew & Jenny, who are now both in college. Definitely a whirlwind trip which we had planned to be longer, but it just didn’t work out that way. We did get to spend a delightful night with Lew, Alyson & Carolyn, s/v Aly Cat in Fayetteville on our way back. We really had planned on a trip of twice the length to visit with more friends and family, but boat projects loomed.
Upon our return, Shirley pulled out the sewing machine to repair the cover for the dinghy and our shade awnings. She also touched up the paint on the hull and the name. Mac installed an upgrade to the solar panels and began checking systems for our departure.

Lastly we traveled back to St. Pete to see friends and do the last doctor visits. Our friends Chris and Harlow hosted a marvelous party for our joint anniversaries as well as Cindy’s birthday. We, of course did not get to see everyone we would have liked while we were in town; it always seems the work out that way.

The boat was hauled at St. Mary’s Boat Works for a bottom job and some minor repairs. We are now provisioned and just waiting for a weather window to head south. We plan to head slowly down the coast of Florida, visiting friends and seeing the sights before we cross to the Bahamas.

Spanish Wells and Home

We crossed from Eleuthera in 25knt winds and 4 to7 foot. We passed thru Current Cut, (properly named) doing 10 knots, running with the current. At Spanish Wells we picked up a mooring and planed on exploring. But the reefer came on and it was not putting out any water, so Mac went into the engine room to prime the pump. Getting that done he noticed that the shelving unit in the engine room, that holds spare parts, the refer compressor and the pump for our watermaker had collapsed. Needless to say, there was no exploring done that day. Mac did a temporary fix and we went ashore to find a carpenter. We found one and said he would come on Monday. So we moved to Spanish Wells Yacht Haven Monday AM. The carpenter showed up that afternoon. Inspections were made and he said he would be back on Tuesday. Tuesday came and he called the dock master and told him to tell us he could not do the job. So onto carpenter 2. He came and said the job was too big for him. So onto carpenter 3. No show. The dock master then contacted carpenter number 4. He came Friday afternoon and did a temporary fix which should hold til we get to Brunswick where the entire shelf will have to be re-built.

After the contact was made on Tuesday and things were set for Friday we decided to take the fast ferry from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island. This Island is a combination of gift shops, restaurants, colonial homes and two marinas, which are totally unprotected. Many early loyalists built this charming town. We meet up with Lou, Aly and Caroline off of Aly Cat to have lunch. We all decided that we all have had way too much Bahamian food! Then we all toured the island for the rest of the day. Shopped. Walked the pink beaches. (The coral actually makes the sand pink.) We had to be back on board the ferry at 3:30. We had some time to kill so we went to a resort, Rock House and had a drink.

On our way back to Spanish Wells we decided that we had not seen all of Harbour Island so we decided that since we had nothing to do Thursday that we would return and see the rest of the Island. We toured and meet the folks from Aly Cat for lunch at the Rock House. What a great lunch and fabulous atmosphere. Rooms here rent for $400 to $1200 per night with a three night minimum.

We left Spanish Wells on Sunday, headed for Sandy Point, Abaco, we thought… The trip was not bad, except for the thunderstorm that surrounded us. Even with radar, we could not run from it; going back was not an option, it was traveling from whence we came so we just rode it out for 1 ½ hour. We realized by then that we might get into Sandy Point by dark, but it was going to be a long day and we had to leave by 4am to get to Lucaya at a reasonable time. Also, if there had been any more problems daylight entry into Sand Point would not happen; not an option that we could accept, so we altered course for Lucaya. Throughout the thunderstorm, whenever there was lightening we thought of our friends Harold and Val on La Buena Vida who got struck by lightening crossing the Gulf Stream :(

The night crossing was one of the most pleasant we have ever completed. Once we braved the thunderstorms, the seas flattened out and we had a moon-lit sky smattered with stars to guide our way. All the freighters and cruise ships were either paralleling our course or opposing it. We arrived in Lucaya by 0900 hrs; a trip well done.

We tour Lucaya, shop for trinkets and enjoy non-Bahamian, wonderful food for the next tree days as we get to know our boat neighbors, William and Francis on Alexia. The squally weather relents for a day and we both decide that this is the day to cross. We have the most delightful daytime Gulf Stream crossing to West Palm Beach. We hop up the coast with Alexia sharing great company and wonderful food at interesting restaurants and aboard both boats. Delightful!

We have been out of the US for six wonderful months, but now it is back to reality for a few months. Boat projects abound and we must mix in some fun! Our phones are up and operational, so feel free to give us a call. Mac: 727-410-4468 Shirley: 727-410-4707

Remember the blog link is http://catspawlog.blogspot.com/.

Eleuthera

This portion has been particularly hard to write. It is amazing the trauma that can be caused from happenstances.

Eleuthera has yet another all together different flavor than other Bahamian island groups. It definitely has more litter than we have seen on any of the other islands. It is an island of its own.

When we first arrived in Eleuthera, we briefly checked e-mail ($5- ½ hour!) and discovered that our friends Richard and Sandra had just flown into the island. We spent a wonderful day with them exploring the island and ended our visit with the most spectacular Italian dinner to be imagined.
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We were holed up in Governor's Harbor, Eleuthera for the blow from the low. The holding there is incredibly poor so we had laid out 125’ of chain and we stayed close to the boat for the first day. The next day we rented a car with Harold & Val on La Buena Vita to tour the island. Came back and our boat was not there!?!? It was not quite out of the harbor. Thank God for Mike & Kathy on CGull Seeker, and Bob & Megan on Destination who were on board re-securing our anchor. We did not venture far from the boat after that.

Looking back though our car ride, we did enjoy seeing the Preacher’s Cave where the Eleutherian Adventurers lived for two years when their ship was lost on the reef of the Devil’s Backbone. This is a large cave with holes to the sky. To imagine living there and living off the land for two years is mind-boggling.

One other noteworthy sight was the Glass Window where the cobalt blue of the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bight of Eleuthera with its myriad shades of emerald and turquoise. The first bridge was natural until the ocean eroded a hole in the iron rock. In 1991 a rogue wave picked up the man-made bridge and moved it 7’ to the west. In 1996, two people were washed from the bridge during a hurricane.

Also of interest was the surfer’s beach. It is on the East side and was discovered by a surfer in 1962. The beach, with its East view offers some of the greatest wave in the Bahamas. When we were there the surf was breaking at 8 to 10 feet. The surfers have erected a beach hut, life guard stand on the beach and an observation hut half way up the 100’ hill.

Right now we are sitting in the rain in Spanish Wells at the north end of Eleuthera. We have gone into the marina to have some structural carpentry work done in the engine room. (We had a shelf pull away from the bulkhead on our trip up here.) Then we will cross back to Florida with a week or so after that, whenever the weather clears. Then it is about 2 more weeks back to Brunswick, followed by a quick (we hope) car trip to St. Pete. (The building with our storage unit that we had rented for the last 11 years as been sold and other folks moved our stuff and we don’t know how that has gone, so we’ll have to see…)

Cat Island (part 2) 2009

Spent 2 hours in Hawks Nest Marina attempting to put pictures on the blog. No band width. Unless we get a really great connection, we won’t be sending pictures until we return to the states!

Cat Island was enchanting. In New Bight we rented cars with Harold & Val on La Buena Vita and again with Bob & Megan on Destination and drove the island literally from one end to the other twice.

We saw more Loyalist ruins than anywhere else in the Bahamas. With some reading we discovered that this was because, when someone died his house was left standing so that his spirit had a place to reside, and a new one was built on the property using a few parts of the old house. This is a part of their religion, Obeah, which they won’t talk about. Many believe that the spirits of the dead still walk Cat Island. We walked an old graveyard overlooking the ocean where a tea set marked a grave instead of flowers.

We explore three delightful old plantations, each unique in its own way. The one that interested us was a home which still had window frames the wood was tongue and grove and was pegged instead of nailed. We also visited one, the Bourbon plantation, which had had a distillery of some sort attached to it. We really enjoy looking at the construction and envisioning what was, and trying to figure out how anyone could survive in this harsh, though beautiful, environment.

We walked up to the Hermitage, the final resting place of Father Jerome, a famous architect as well an Anglican minister and a Catholic priest. From this miniature Church which he built by hand, the hermit, as he chose to be in his later years, could view both the Atlantic and Exuma Sound.

Just before we moved on to Little San Salvador, we anchored in an enchanting bay with a whimsical resort, Fernandez Bay. The snorkeling was wonderful. From there our next hop up the island chain took us to Eleuthera, which is where we currently exploring.

We are now in Eleuthera waiting for the low to clear so wee can begin to head east.

Cat Island

Yesterday, we left Georgetown, Exuma, traveling up through Exuma Sound (big blue water) for our 8 hour trip to Cat Island. The boat rolled with the seas. Cap’t promptly threw up and remained green around the gills throughout the remainder of the trip! The rest of us just held on and stared at the gorgeous, cerulean water, of a slightly different hue than we have observed before. The water of the sound cooled the air significantly.

Last evening we anchored in the bight at the south end of Cat Island; one boat alone. Though we had crossed with 8 other boats, ours was the only one in sight. What a change from Georgetown!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Georgetown and the new friends we made, but a month of the hustle and bustle, organized activities, and continual VHF traffic got old. We were more than ready to leave. (Shirley had even been playing bridge on the beach many afternoons!)

The remoteness of Cat Island is in contrast to the last 4 weeks in Georgetown. We are looking forward to exploring the island. Cat Island is one of the islands that lays claim to Columbus’ first visit.

Due to the remoteness of the island, the internet connection, even here at Hawks Nest, is not real strong, and as we move north don’t know if we will have any connection for the next several weeks. If there is an emergency and anyone need to contact us, please use the e-mail address: wcz8799@sailmail.com. Remember, though that this is virtually a morse code system of sending mail, so please only essentials. We will pick up other e-mail as we have time and WI-FI is available.

If the internet allows, we will also put this on the blog with more pictures from Georgetown. (When we get back to the states, we will figure how to get LOT’S of pictures out!)

Remember the blog link is http://catspawlog.blogspot.com/.