Te Amor

We met Jan and Cameron in the Riverside boat yard as we first started working on Amante. They seemed to be from another world with their talk of spear fishing and Jan's long tiny braids. Almost a year later it was a great surprise to be eating dinner on their boat, Ruben sandwiches made of fish that they had speared and other wonderful things. Although they stayed in the Abacos, Cameron's drawing of Amante is framed and hanging in the cabin and Jan's curry ginger squash soup is going to be the winner at any pot luck.

Surprise

It was Whisper, our first boat from long ago in Michigan. It was wonderful to see that she was in good shape and had found a new life here in the islands.

Old Friends

From the top of the Hopetown lighthouse we saw a familiar rear end in the trees.

Hopetown Light

The Hopetown light overlooks one of the oldest Loyalist settlements in the Bahama's. It was built in the 1860's despite the protests of locals who salvaged wrecks. It is one of the last hand wound, oil burning light houses.

Passage

It was a short passage to Hopetown and we found friends in the anchorage. Here's Ginger of Twice in a Blue Moon, relaxing with crew member Michael. Hey Ramone, you too could be a Captain.

Michael's bread pudding

We had dinner on Amante the other night with Michael and Pat of 'Twice in a Blue Moon' and Gail and Bob of 'Star'. Micheal provided the dessert, Bread Pudding hot from the pressure cooker. The dessert was a hit, especially the rum and sugar sauce.

Violence on the Seas

Life aboard a ship can place the sailor under unpredictable and intense stress, leading to episodes of senseless aggression. On Friday, onlookers at the Marsh Harbor public dock were appalled to observe a man in a dingy strike the female occupant with alarming force. Distant observers, who had read too many cheap novels, imagined he snapped, "Straighten up bitch, or I'll hit you again".
Fortunately, this was not the case. Vinnie was starting the motor with a brisk pull and inadvertantly wallopped Maria a good one. As best we can remmember what he actually said was, "Oh dear, oh dear, are you OK?" No damage done, but Maria has been remarkablely agreeable since.

Tree care on the Neem Farm

Freddy, who has worked on the farm since the ground was broken over 5 years ago, provided information about the trees and demonstrations of harvesting.

Neem Farm

Thursday we went to visit the Neem Plantation. Neem trees, which are related to the Mahagoney tree, are native to Pakistan, and are one of the oldest medicinal plants used in traditional Indian medicine. Nick, a Greek Bahamian, imported the seeds and developed a local business growing the trees and producing a vaiety of products using extracts of the leaves, fruit, and bark We've never met a more talented tree. The soil in this area is only a thin layer, 2 - 20 inches over hard coral, making farming a daunting task. The trees are treasured and even named.

The storm

The worst front in several years hit while we were in Marsh Harbor. 40 knot winds (for most of us that just means pretty darn strong) swept the anchorage for more than a day and a half. People were doing the anchoring dance as they broke loose and became a danger to themselves and others. The big event occured when a 50 - 60 foot steel trawler (names and further identifing features will be omitted to spare the real persons involved) broke free and began dragging across the full anchorage. The couple, who were older than we are, were unable to raise the anchor and the boat was blown wildly as the Captain raced in and out of the engine room. Two sailors roared up in a dingy and helped them get the boat under control. Those of us in the near vacinity prepared to get out of the way. Jan on Te Amor pointed out that we all have these horrifing moments of fame, "Sometimes you watch the show, sometimes you are the show". Thanks to Pat Vance on Twice in a Blue Moon for this storm photograph.

Big News

A momentous event occured last week as we were traveling to Marsh Harbor. In picture one, Vinnie looks like a happy and slightly disheveled himself. Picture two reveals that he has achieved PONYTAIL. Please, somebody call Melanie.

Guana Cay (not Guano)

Even as we enter the harbor of small Bahamian towns it is clear, we're not in Kansas anymore. Every house is a different color and no pastel has been spared. They glow in the sun and sparkle against the blue water and skies.

Traveling south

After Junkanoo we left Marsh Harbor and began traveling South through small islands. We traveled much of the time with friends Pat and Michael on Twice in a Blue Moon. Sailing, snorkling, and exploring the islands filled the days and for rare moments of boredom we could always fall back on our favorite activity, boat work.

The Scary Guy

The formal march ended and general dancing began with a visit from the bogeyman, pronounced "the Bunz". Covered in a blanket and fright mask he crawled and jumped down the road. Gradually the children approached, reaching out to touch him and then get quickly out of his reach. The adults found him pretty weird too.

The Waterfront

After a strenuous marching tour of the town, the adults fortified themselves with a beer and the children recharged with a Red Bull. They then proceded to march back through town again.









The break at the docks allowed some aspiring musicians to compare instruments and technique.

Queen of the Dancers

It was hard not to take hundreds of pictures of the beautiful lead dancer. She made it back and forth across the town several times, still dancing and stylish.
















She was followed by other dancers in shimmering, sparkling, spangled costumes.
































and people playing drums.

Good seats

These kids found a great place to see over the crowd.

The Celebration begins

Green Turtle is a small Bahamian town, but it fills up for Junkanoo with people lining the streets and sometimes blocking the parade route.

Junkanoo backround

Junkanoo is a Bahamian celebration with roots in West Africa. Slaves taken to the USA maintained some of their native music and dance in the Gullah culture of the Carolinas and Georgia. During the American revolution, British loyalists and slaves left the US and settled in the Bahamas where Gullah culture and language can still be found.

White Sound

We found a good anchorage then set off with Pat and Mike of Twice in a Blue Moon and great anticipation for Junkanoo.

Leslie and Bill of Manjack Cay

Goodbye friends. We hope that the year brings you many many good things and that we see you again.

Goodbye to Manjack

We have stayed too long and settled in too much. Occasionally we look around and wonder, how did we get to be a part of this community? It has been wonderful to be here and already it will be hard to leave. Squalls are coming and today we are heading to a nearby island, Green Turtle Cay to anchor in a more secure harbor and go to Junkanoo, a local celebration which is rumored to feature costumes, dancing, druming, and the local beverage - a rum called Fire in the Hole. We will know more soon.

Learning a trade

When we came to Manjack we had heard about catching lobster and cleaning conch, but were functionally illiterate in these skills. Some of our time has been gainfully spent learning from everyone. We've had lessons in using a Hawian Sling, catching lobster, cleaning conch, and catching fish. Thanks to Emily we also have learned about baking bread without an oven. This is Lancy, about to demonstrate conch cleaning. Did you know that those shellfish have faces, sort of?

Flora and Fauna

There are some lovely plants and creatures here. Green herons, curly tailed lizards, and beautiful little birds in green or yellow, Grass quits and Banannaquits. The lizards and birds can be quite friendly. Here Lulu is serving breakfast for two Grassquits.

Morning walk

We have stayed here at Manjack and joined the island lifestyle. Each morning we check the weather and then gather at the house for the morning walk to the beach and beach combing. The other time has been spent sailing, snorkeling, enjoying the water, and of course a little boat work.

Christmas Eve Dinner

We expected to celebrate our first Christmas away from family and friends alone, sharing a cold can of pork and beans. It would have been a suitable penance for running off. Leslie and Bill however invited us to their Christmas Eve celebration and we found ourselves surrounded by wonderful people and great food on a veranda overlooking the harbor. They had met us for the first time only a few hours before.

Manjack Cay at Christmas

Yesterday, 12/23/05, we cleared customs at Spanish Cay and we are now LEGAL. We've anchored at Manjack Cay in a lovely bay. There are 4 other sail boats here and the owners of a home on the island, Bill and Leslie, have invited us all for Christmas Eve dinner pot-luck at their home. The sign just off the dock says, "Yes Tresspassers". We will celebrate tonight and be moving the boat tomorrow in preparation of the winds predicted for Christmas Day.

Double Breasted Cay

After a long day sail down Florida's coast, miserable gulf stream night crossing, and another all day crossing Bahamian waters, we were extremely grateful to have a calm, beautiful anchorage. Our thankfulness was further enhanced after we ran hard aground in the shallow channel at sunset and had poor preformance by the transmission while anchoring. It was time to rest and relax, and so we did.





The water was the crystal aqua green seen at only the better hotel swimming pools. Although noted as a major thourough fare on the shark highway, we missed seeing any, although another sailor did catch a lemon shark there towards the end of our stay.









The weather was "unsettled" and so we cleaned out the boat, did some laundry, walked on small islands, and puttered about in the dingy. After almost a week of this leisure it was time to hit the road and find customs.

The Crossing

Well, another learning experience. The winds did not follow predictions and we spent about 12 hours crashing into waves and wind before reaching the banks in the early morning. It was unpleasant but not dangerous. Perhaps the low point came when we found that water was leaking in from the anchor locker, flooding our beds, filling the bilges, and generally making a mess of everything.

Preparations for the crossing

We traveled south to Manatee Pocket to finish up provisioning and to see friends Pat and Mike and their kitties on "Twice in a Blue Moon". Ginger and Oliver are an inspirational example of cat adventurers and we hope Ramone and Ubu are paying attention. In less than a day we were down to Lake Worth and then late in the afternoon we were heading for the gulf stream.

Back in the boatyard

By early November, we were back to Riverside Marina, where Amante first found us, to do more boat work. Every morning and evening, an army of turkey buzzards soared over the marina. We wondered nervously why we were so popular but enjoyed seeing the huge birds dance in waves above us.

Not being slaves to labor, we took off for 8 days to surprise the family at Thanksgiving. Nicholas managed the secret keeping and logistics beautifully. IT WAS A WONDERFUL TIME. Unfortunately we left our pictures there.

Back in the yard we were able to work long days on the boat, catching sunrises and sunsets in the puddles and masts. We had a small community of other land bound sailors for kvetching, celebrations, and assistance. Thanks to Goat and Tia for kindness, dinners, and the wisdom of the boat yard.

We scheduled the boat launch for a day with gale force winds and generally miserable condtions, but were not deterred. It was more exciting than desired, but successful.

Traveling back to Florida

After weeks of slogging down the "ditch" in cold weather, we made the trip from North Carolina to Fort Pierce in less than a week of off shore jumps. Each time we sailed for several days and a night or two, then would rest for a day before heading off shore again.

We came into Fernandina Beach in a sleepy daze to wonder what that sail boat is doing on land. Not a happy moment for someone, but magical to see a boat serene in a meadow.



Most of the time ocean sailing was very peaceful, and we had only dolphins, stars, and the moon for company. Around the large harbors, however, the shipping lanes provided encounters with enormous boats moving on their ominous missions. We stayed out of their way.

Life with family

When we left house and jobs to live on the boat it seemed that we would also be leaving family and friends. One of the best discoveries about this life on the east coast is that they have joined us. Here are Maria's brother Joe, his wife Angie, and the amazing Karl and Katherine in Baltimore. We look back through our pictures and remember visits with people we love.

Dolphin olympics

We hosted 4 episodes of the dolphin Olymics just off the bow of our boat. 4 or 5 dolphins would charge towards the boat and then race just ahead, diving down and braiding back and forth, sometimes making 360 degree rolls. They could have been challenging us or competing against each other. We managed to stay on the boat and politely decline their invitations to come in a play.





Sabin took a photograph of Vinnie and I on the bow for the first dolphin event. The boat was left to steer itself and we were the fans in the bleachers.

The fleet

We left Beaufort in a fleet of three for the all night sail to Fernandina Beach. Micheal on Pagan Chant and Sabin on Kayess also wanted to miss the long and winding waterway of Georgia. It was great to have company through the night.

Back In Beaufort SC

We had a long sail off shore from Georgetown to Port Royal sound inlet and then up the river to Beaufort. It has become one of family favorite meeting places and Maria's parents and her Aunt Suzanne from Oregon came to enjoy gracious Southern living and some good meals.

Too many sunsets

It seems that there are too many pictures of sunsets and sunrises, water and clouds. But these things are the focus of our attention now, especially since TV, movies, and other entertainments are gone. They are the pictures of our life.



Our wake in the Dismal swamp









Ocean sunrise after an all night sail. "I never saw the morning till I stayed up all night."

Waccamaw

At Beaufort NC we again attempt to sail off shore. After leaving the channel before the sun came up, we found that large waves and strong winds were against us and we turned back to plod down the ICW. Fortunately, this included a return to the Waccamaw River which is isolated, peaceful, and lovely.



The river winds past small, mysterious inlets and forested banks. It has a beauty that can't be captured in a photograph but it surrounds you in strange other world.

Sunset on the Alligator

The nasty weather on the Alligator river was redeemed by a beautiful sunset.

Alligator River

Unfortunately, despite all our travel, the winter weather hounded us. The cold and storms discouraged night sailing off shore and we plodded along on the winding shoaled ICW. Travel down the Alligator River was cursed by cold, constant rain, and strong winds. The land was desolate and undeveloped, but lovely in its own way.