Good morning everyone!
I learned that my YouTube videos that I embedded in my blog posts do not get forwarded by Mailchimp to my subscribers. You have to click the link to my blog page to see them. Just so you know! Here is a link to my blog:https://marthadoddartist.com/blog/
Here is a link to my YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWlyGGRlXMKucWM_goujf1w
Thursday May 1
So we have had some setbacks, but Marc and Eric are on it! We discovered that the jib was disintegrating in places ( it was the oldest sail) and after efforts to patch it were not giving satisfactory results, Marc has placed an order for a new one. Not sure yet if this will delay our plans to cross to the Bahamas this weekend. It has been a challenge to find a window in the weather, so our fingers are crossed. 🤞
Friday may 2nd
We had a discussion this morning. The new jib sail won’t be done until Thursday, and having it shipped to the Bahamas looks like a bad idea. One, the Bahamians are good at losing shipments, and it would be very expensive to ship. 2, crossing the gulf with a dicey sail is probably not a good idea either. Looks like we are going to sit tight in the keys until it is ready (not a bad place🌅) then pick it up in Miami on Thursday.🤷♀️
Wednesday May 7
The jib is ready early!
We are finally ready to go to the Bahamas 🇧🇸!! We took our dingy to Islamorada, then we hired an Uber to go to a rental car, which took us to Miami to pick up our new sail. Marc and his brother Eric installed the new jib sail this afternoon, and we are off to the Bahamas tomorrow! Wish us safe passage!! 😃⛵️
It was a bit rough when we left this morning. I’m not super prone to being seasick, but when it gets really choppy, sometimes I can feel it! I was really careful to spend a little for no time inside the boat and try to stay outside with the breeze in my eyes on the horizon. I managed to take a nap for a little while sitting half up on the rear bench. We sailed for quite a bit through the morning, but as afternoon came on it appeared that we weren’t really gaining any headway because of the wind direction and the current now we have the Motors on and just finished a nice lunch with Greek salad made by Heidi and Eric. It is 8:43 PM right now and it looks like we’re going to get to South Bimini around 10:30 or 11 tonight. It looks like we’re going to have a beautiful moon for the rest of our voyage.
Marc caught a Bigeye tuna while we trolled across the Gulf Stream . Made it to South Bimini around 10:00pm. The others celebrated with a drink, but I wasn’t up for it, and excused myself and went off to bed.
Friday may 9
Aquamarine waters crossing from south Bimini to grand Harbour cay.
Depth 10-12 feet so no large ships.
New jib sail beautiful. No internet so listened to my playlist Bluetooth to boat speakers. It was super windy, and I was careful to stay above in order to not get seasick. We had a bit of a hard time finding an anchorage after dark, and the anchor kept slipping. Marc decided to get closer to Great Harbour Cay, and I had to make dinner below. The task was a bit dangerous, because Marc had his heart set on spaghetti . Obviously I had to boil a big pot of water while the boat pitched back and forth. I managed to do that without getting burned, but then my stomach was off.
Sunday May 11
We are anchored off Great Harbour Cay, arrived yesterday. My phone signal is weak, so internet is limited.
I took advantage of the cooler morning sun to sunbathe on the front deck.
One of things I like about this new lifestyle is I can forget. What I mean by that, is I can forget that I’m getting older, and live in the “now”, as they say. I can stop being self conscious about my body, as there are few mirrors on the boat. I can view myself through the prism of my sweet husband’s eyes, who often comments on how much he appreciates how I look. I wear what is comfortable in the moment. Laying in the sun I am reminded of what it felt like to sunbathe when I was young. No keeping one eye open to keep track of little ones, no intrusive thoughts of work or tasks waiting to be done. Just living in the now, feeling the sun and the wind on my body.
Monday May12
We checked in with Bahamian customs and immigration this morning at Great Harbour Cay. You have to have a cruising permit to cruise around the Bahamas, and that was $328. Immigration boarded our boat. They wanted to see our weapon, which is a Mossberg 500 shotgun. They checked the registration number against the one that we had provided to them online.
The harbour here has a fueling station (the only one on the island) and a marina where we checked in. We were allowed to wash the salt off our boat, which was much needed. There were a couple of little convenience stores that had not much to offer, but we managed to find a few things – olives, coconut milk, tonic, chips and beer.
Shelf stable milk was over $7 a quart! We can wait for another store, as we have enough powdered milk to make 8 gallons (thank you, Walmart)!
Tuesday May 13
It was raining heavily when we woke, and continued to rain torrents of water all morning. There was thunder and lightning, and at one point a gust of wind whipped our catamaran (which was anchored) around 180 degrees. Around early afternoon it stopped. We sailed around the north end of Great Harbour Cay and found anchorage there. We watched the Caribbean Cruise ships come in that evening and park not for away. They have a resort there with a waterpark, hot air balloon, jet skis, and more. I worked on a sketch of a Lipizzaner horse on a canvas.
Wednesday May 14
We did a little snorkeling, taking the dingy outside the anchorage area, but there wasn’t much to see, and it was a bit rough. There were also lots of tiny stinging jellyfish, looked like short dark brown tubes. The dingy anchor got wedged under a rocky shelf, and Marc had to dive down to free it.
Thursday May 15
We left Great Harbour Cay for the Abaco Cays. We left at first light. The Cruise ships, one named the Adventure of the Seas, were coming and going. First sight of land was the south end of the Abacos lighthouse. It was a very long day . We anchored at Lynyard Cay around 5 pm. We jumped off the boat into the crystal clear waters and had a nice swim.
Friday May 16
We left Lynyard Cay for Marsh Harbour in the Abaco Cays. We anchored in the harbour near the public dingy dock, then went ashore for dinner. We had great dinner at Wally’s, but expensive. We ordered the local fish, which they said was hogfish. What we got might have been snapper, but we are pretty sure it wasn’t hogfish. Still it was a good meal. The menu said the tip wasn’t included, but the waitress put an 18% tip on for herself anyway . Some people would have missed that and she would have been double tipped. It wasn’t the first time we ran into this. The manager removed it for us so that we could tip the way we wanted to. It was the last night with Eric and Heidi, as they were flying out from Marsh Harbor to Miami, and from there back to Switzerland.
That night the bands were playing very loudly until late at night. It was not my kind of music, it was obnoxious and more noise than music. We ordered drinks at the bar, and I learned that is best to stick to beer in places like that – My martini looked like a martini, but sure didn’t taste like one! The young Bahamain lady bartenders ignored us completely, and we were finally waited on by the male manager. I found, over time, this happened in many of the places we visited, and I don’t know if it was racially motivated, but it sure seemed that way. When we were waited on by older ladies, they were very nice, and the men were all very nice, very friendly, and accommodating.
Saturday May 17
We brought Eric and Heidi to the fuel dock where they took a taxi to the airport.
The town is still recovering from Hurricane Dorian 4 years ago.
We went to Maxwells to shop for groceries. Huge place. Found a quieter place at Parrot Cay to spend the night.
Sunday May 18th
We hung out at Parrot Cay, and I found time to work on a commissioned portrait of Barbara Hilliard, a long time client from Naples Florida. It was a bit on the warm side, and at first I felt a bit nauseated from the movement of the boat at anchor, but as it got calmer and flatter, I did better, and got quite a lot done.
Monday May19th
We dropped anchor in the morning in Marsh Harbour and took the dinghy to the public dinghy dock. We looked for a place to do our laundry, which was a challenge. Most of the street signs were missing since Hurricane Dorian came to the Bahamas 4 years ago. We passed a cemetery dedicated to the ones lost in the Hurricane. The island clearly has not fully recovered, with the streets and sidewalks in disrepair, and there were many abandoned homes and businesses. It was brutally hot, and we were on foot. We found the laundromat eventually, and went on to find the post office. It was a long walk away, and there was only one in town. The post office was in a fairly new pink government building that housed not only the post office, but the Prime Ministers office. It stood out against the poverty and disarray everywhere else. We entered the post office, and were greeted by lovely air conditioning, and three very nice older Bahamian ladies. We were the only customers, and they all were eager to help.
We began the long walk to the grocery store, again Maxwells, and the sun was beating down on us. We attempted to find a place for breakfast, but the options were dismal to none. A man stopped and offered us a ride in his older car, which we gratefully accepted. Although his skin was very dark, he was clearly caucasian, and spoke with a thick Bahamian accent. He told us he had lived his whole life in the Bahamas.
He apparently was going to Maxwells to shop as well, and we thanked him for the ride.
We filled our shopping cart to the brim, and made the decision to hire a taxi to bring us back to the dock. There was no Uber available, so we called the Lady With a Rose Taxi service. She arrived in about 10 minutes, and for $10 she took us to the dock. She was very friendly and told us she had 6 cars in her fleet.
We took the dinghy with our groceries back to M&M, when we had a bit of bad luck. We still had to go back and do our laundry. We loaded up our laundry into the dinghy, and Marc attempted to start the Mercury outboard. Nothing. Marc tried again and again, yanking with all his might, sweat pouring out of him. He finally gave up, and we ended up paddling to the dock.
We made our way to the laundromat, lugging our laundry along with us, as it was just a few blocks away. The building was old, but clean, and the machines were surprisingly modern. You filled the machines you wanted, then went to a counter with a tiny window like a bank teller window where you slid your money. The machines were activated from behind the window, where I could barely see an older Bahamian lady sitting in air conditioning.
Marc and I still hadn’t had anything to eat that day, and decided to go look for a restaurant . We found one nearby called the Creole Café. It was dark inside, and there were hand painted murals on all the walls depicting mermaids and leaping fish. The tables were all empty, but there were three locals seated at the fully stocked bar, who turned to look at us as we entered. The bartender was a young Bahamian woman with bright orange hair who stared back at us without a smile. She eventually took our order, taking her time even though she clearly wasn’t busy. I chose the fried shrimp, and Marc an order of sweet chicken wings. I have to say the shrimp were pretty good, but Marc was wishing he had ordered something else.
We decided again to hire a taxi, as we were now lugging beer, as well as three loads of laundry. We tried again to start the Mercury outboard, to no avail. We paddled back to M&M, and pulled anchor and headed to Loggerhead Point. After enjoying a cold beer, we layed down for a much needed nap. Fortunately for us, the hatches capture the breeze beautifully, and we were able to rest comfortably.
Well, that’s enough for now!
More later,
Martha and Marc
