Saturday- Early Afternoon

We are all busily preparing for tomorrow. Yes, it's departure day. Our time in the Bahamas is almost over. Mike has worked on an engine. Terry and Tony worked on getting the jack lines up. We've been to the grocery and the laundry. The watch schedule is up.

The ditch bag is being prepared.

Terry is giving mini-seminars.

The current talk is on safety for lines that hook to the jack lines. Terry shared that the older models can be hazardous in that they do not release quickly with the clips on them. After the talk, some crew members went back to working on their PDFs.

Hopefully, we'll all be ready tomorrow morning by 6 AM. We hope to be long gone by then. So, dear readers, no messages for a while after early tomorrow.

Man Overboard Drill

While we were underway, Susan was kind enough to make us pancakes once again. She also made apple compote.

And, yes, they were very yummy.

Then, as we approached Treasure Cay, Terry announced that it was the perfect time for a man overboard drill. 

As you can see, we had great spotters, great boat hook users, and excellent pilots. No one ran over Skipperina ( our MOB bottle), and she was rescued each time she went out.

Saturday Morning

It's an incredibly beautiful morning here in Baker's Bay. The sun is shining. The breeze is blowing. And...the fisher folk are on the move!

Wow! That is some fleet coming out of that resort. They just kept coming....at high speed...churning up the waves. We started to rock and roll. Terry called for hoisting the anchor NOW! And, we were off to try to not rock and roll so much.

Meanwhile, looking around, we spied an incredible rainbow. It was so gorgeous, and you could see it from end to end.

And, on our port side, there was an incredible yacht.

I took this picture so that I could tell everyone what I found at the end of my rainbow. But, even better, look at all the toys on this boat. It even has a slide!

Friday Afternoon

It's been a fun- and action-packed day for the crew of LUX. Our beautiful clouds over Hopetown ended with a rainstorm. After the rain, we took off for Fowl Cay. Those who wanted to snorkel took off in the dinghy. They had a great time.

Mike stayed at the boat. He snorkeled around, looking for stuff to clean off the bottom and the props. During his boat bottom survey, he saw a big manta ray. It was right on top of the anchor.

The other interesting thing of the day was terns. We kept seeing an incredibly green/teal colored bird flying around. Carol thought it was a parrot. We eventually discovered that it was just terns! Their bodies and wings were reflecting the color of the water. It was truly amazing to see them. We probably would never had figured out that they were terns had one not flown right by the boat before turning green!

After snorkeling, we moved to Baker's Bay. Terry wanted to try it out as an anchorage. The most interesting unknown about this bay is that it is home to a marina frequented by LARGE fishing boats. Although, to be fair, there were some smaller boats as well. In fact, it was just like a boat parade. And all of them were in a hurry to make it back by whatever time they thought they all had to be in. So, they went barreling by. And, just now, the helicopter was arriving as well. There must be a really great happy hour in there at 5:30! Not a mast in sight, though. So, it is probably not the place for sailors. We'll just be hoping they all don't feel the need to go fishing at 5:30 AM!

About the Stove

Back to the stove. It appears that it is not happy unless its guts are hanging out.

The burners just don't want to stay lit. So, another day- another project on LUX.

Meanwhile, the pancakes are almost ready. So, we are off to breakfast.

Friday Morning

Today in Hopetown, you get a buffet for the sky. These shots were all taken within a minute or two around the boat. The different cloud formations are all amazing.

Meanwhile, in the water around LUX, two dolphins came to visit.

As you can see, I was a little late to actually catch the dolphin. But, everyone else on deck saw it, too. So, this is what you get. Susan reported that the dolphins actually came up and kissed the boat! Too bad I missed that shot.

Inside, it's business as usual.

Terry has taken apart the stove for a look see. But, he left the top burners going. So, we still get coffee. And, Susan is cooking pancakes. It's another great day in the islands.

Thursday Evening

We've just had a great day. We took the boat shuttle over to Hopetown, and we wandered about. We visited shops. We had lunch at Cap'n Jacks. Peggy has part of her fish Reuben left for tomorrow's lunch! It was yummy. When we got back, we all relaxed. Susan, Peggy, and Gee headed off to the pool. It was COLD in that pool. But, the hot tub was a different story. We stayed in the hot tub until we looked like prunes!

For dinner, we had another salad bar. This time, the theme was tuna nicoise! So, we had potatoes and green beans as well as tuna and lettuce. Dessert was Vernon's key lime pie or gingersnaps and chocolate. Now, we're all tired and ready for bed.

Tomorrow, we are headed to Fowl Cay for snorkeling. Then, we will move on to Treasure Cay.

Wednesday - I'm a Little Behind

Wednesday - It's a Beautiful Morning...for some of us

It is a lovely morning here in Little Harbor. Most of us think that. Mike's roaming around. We can tell that from the drops of blood scattered about. Carol wouldn't know. She's down with a cold. She's having tea in her cabin. Terry has his head under a bunk working on the hot water heater. Peggy is doing cabin maintenance.

But, for the rest of us, the day is comfortably warm and sunny. Tony has left the boat. He's off swimming to the beach. We don't know if that is for fun, or if he's trying to find an exit strategy to escape from LUX earlier than planned.

Susan already has her exit strategy. She bailed out the dinghy first thing. She also ended up sleeping on the settee last night. Seems she did not want to share a cabin with the person with a cold. Peggy has suggested we hang the quarantine flag over the door to Carol's cabin. Susan is resisting that- her belongings are still in there.

Well, the hot water heater is fixed. Terry claims it was suffering from clogged arteries. Mike claims it had kidney stones. Either way, they removed some clogs, and it is back to working as it should. Now, it's on to the dinghy. It keeps filling up with water. And, no, it is not raining. Oh, and they fixed the stove. it had a loose nut- no, that would not be Michael.

Later in the Day

After all the repairs, things really looked up. We played TOURIST! LUX took off for Sandy Cay. It's the perfect place to snorkel in this area. Of course, it took a while to get those wanting to snorkel into the dinghy. Rich thought we were going too snorkel off the back of the boat, so we had to reorganize his thinking. Susan was dithering about going. We finally had to tell her to JUST GET IN THE DINGHY! And, with that, Terry, Rich, Tony and Susan were off. And, they had a great time. Everyone saw lots of great sights, but Tony had the most to report. He saw three fan coral. No, wait! That's not coral. That's a prop! Sometimes you do need to look UP when you snorkel! Then, it was back to the boat. 

Next stop was Tilloo, where some of the crew went to the beach to look for shells. It was a lovely beach, and they had lots of fun. 

One interesting moment for us today was the moment Tony decided to try a man overboard drill using his hat. It wouldn't have been so bad had he not already lost one hat somewhere! He really doesn't have another hat to fall back on.

We also had to (continually) educate the newer crew members on the trouble with salt water. It doesn't dry! So, we don't let anyone into the cabin with salty shoes or bathing suits. Those newbies just kept trying to get by us. But, I preserved the sanctity of the cabin....over and over again! We also spend a lot of time trying to get people to turn off the light. In their cabin. That's not working so well for us.

Finally, it's the evening. We are on the backside of Elbow Cay-- Aunt Pat's Bay. Tomorrow, we plan to go around to Hopetown-- one of our favorite spots. Tonight, for dinner we had the buffet. All the fixings for a grilled chicken salad. Followed by a dessert buffet with pastries, pound cake, fruit, gingersnaps, and chocolate cream cheese. Tonight's drink was pineapple 78- a drink recipe I found and modified. I used pineapple juice, rum, and club soda. It was yummy! Everyone was very happy with their dinner. Or, at least, they did not complain.

Thursday...Another Beautiful Day

It's 7 AM on Thursday

Today, Tony can't find his sandals. This boat is only 40 feet long and 21 feet wide. Yet people can still misplace just about anything. At least once a day, someone will start with, "I can't find......." My theory was that Tony has an exceptional admin who keeps him organized. But, I was wrong. He has an exceptional admin named Frinee AND an exceptional wife named Noreen. After a little searching, the sandals showed up.

We're all up and moving because we all went to bed early last night. A long day of fun and sun will ensure an early night on the boat. We did have a rain drill, though. Peggy felt the rain come in, so she hopped up to start shutting the hatches. Halfway through the task, the rain stopped. But, we did successfully wake up for the alert- all of us except maybe Carol, who is still suffering from airplane malaise! She has a lovely cold, and we are all hoping we DO NOT get it.

Noon in Hopetown

We are at the Harbor Inn and Marina in Hopetown. We had the shuttle take us over to town. We walked around, and some of us bought souvenirs. I won't spoil the surprise, but someone is going to get a great souvenir from the Bahamas. 

This morning, before we took off, we saw a rainbow in the clouds

And now, this afternoon, it is raining. As the sign says, you can't get the rainbow without the rain. So, we'll sit it out here at the dock. It's a great view, so I don't think we'll mind!

Susan and the Internet are NOT Friends

Susan, one of our crew this time, has been desperately trying to send email home to her family every since we started on this trip- and, yes this is only the second day. But, like any good family member, she promised to send out regular news. However, her phone's internet access does not seem to find Bahamian Internet digestible. Yesterday, the phone refused to see the internet. Today, she got on-line, wrote a LONG message, and she attached a picture. So, it would not send it.

Mike's favorite Bahamian story is about one local beer-Kalick. What does this have to do with Susan's saga? Well, Mike told me that he read a sign that said the Bahamian Internet was VERY slow. So, you should click and drink a Kalick while you wait. After three clicks and three Kalicks, the internet would seem to go really fast-- or else you just wouldn't notice!

So, Susan has NOT been drinking her Kalicks. She is very frustrated with her inability to send messages home. I just thought the nicest thing to do would be to assure all her family- who, of course are reading this blog-- that Susan is having a great time. She misses you. She loves you. BUT, she really is enjoying the trip. See for yourself.

Doesn't she look like a real boater? And, she is doing just fine.

She is also working hard at learning boat skills. Here you see Susan learning to tie a bowline knot. She even learned to tie it behind her back! Yay! We're having fun here on LUX. And, from Susan-- Having a great time! Wish you were here!

We're in Man O War Cay!

Well, we made it from Marsh Harbour over to Man O War. But, it was an adventure! First, leaving Marsh Harbour couldn't happen until we rounded up all of our LUX stuff. Hmmmm. We came down with 24 washcloths. When we got here, we had 2. It appears that moving linens around the different charter boats doesn't always result in a return of the same amount to the same boat. Likelwise, our charts were missing. They were in the charter office. And, LUX had been crossed off on the cover. But, they did leave the label that said do not remove from boat. Hmmmm... Also, our gas can for the dinghy was not our gas can. We know that because the gas can in the dinghy had a square opening. Unfortunately, our engine on the dinghy required a round connection. And square pegs do not fit in round holes. Hmmm... And, it did not have LUX written on it. Ours did. At least when we had ours. And, the grill was incredibly dirty. So much for clean up after charterers. 

On our way over,  we ran into a rain storm!

So, we just waited outside the entrance to Man O War until things settled down.

We took off the minute the rain stopped, and found ourselves here at the Man O War Marina. And, of course, we had to celebrate.

As you can see, we celebrated in our usual style. Tonight, it was frozen piña coladas. And, of course, we had appetizers.

We are very thankful that Noreen (according to Tony) INSISTED that he bring this wonderful sausage and the fabulous crackers. It was a great treat along with some Colby cheese.

It was really appreciated by the crew.

As you can see, the crew couldn't wait to get to it. And, before you knew it, the plate looked like this.

Now, we're having dinner at the Dock and Dine restaurant here in Man O War cay. Another great day here in the islands.

Still in Marsh Harbour

I am reduced to sitting at the wheel in order to do today's blog. It's been like being in a hive of manic bees today. Everyone is rushing around trying to get LUX ready to leave port. We want to go to Man of War cay today, so everything has to be shipshape. That means dinghy repairs, provisioning, and some electrical stuff.

It is 1 PM, and the decks are being cleared. Peggy is putting away everything in the cabin. So, we might yet be free of moorings!

Really early lunch

As usual, we are on a really crazy schedule. We flew out at 6:10 AM, so we were ready for lunch at 10:30. We had the opportunity to eat at the Island Grill. And the food was great.

We'll fly out to Marsh Harbour at 11:45. Next step in our adventure.

On Our Way

We're in the Miami airport. Next stop-Marsh Harbour.