2/20/19 Kitten Boat Lift Hog Cay to Georgetown

The kitten from the previous post became our responsibility when Bluejacket and Persephone were the only two boats left at Hog Cay.  We were going in to feed the kitten 3 or 4 times each day.   Our friend D on Southern Cross back in Georgetown was advertising the kitten on the cruiser's net each day but no definite takers.  I finally talked to Ellen at Humane Society of Exuma who said she may have someone to take the kitten.  So, within 15 minutes of that call we had the kitten aboard, the dinghy on the foredeck, the sails up and we were on our 100 or so mile trip back to Georgetown non-stop.  Although frightened at first we learned how easily adapted kittens are.  It ate every three hours - ham, cheese, raw mahi, water, and used the box of sand we had set up in the head while napping in between.  20 hours or so and we landed in Georgetown and sadly met with Ellen.  We knew we couldn't keep the kitten but we both were in tears as it was put into a cat carrier and carted away.

If you would like to donate to a good cause check out the donate button on Friends of Humane Society Exuma on facebook.  Or you can donate directly via Paypal to friendsofhumanesocietyexuma@gmail.com or by snail mail:  Friends of Humane Society Exuma, Inc., 3840 Ironwood Lane, Apt. 206, Bradenton, FL  34209.

Donna and Karen weaving baskets from silver palm fronds.

The kitten is eager to help.

Fast asleep on Donna's lap.

Kitten is as happy as can be.  Donna too.

Table nap

Table kitten

Let me see that camera!

See!  No stress as we motor sail up to Georgetown. 

Relaxed!

Ragged Island kitten laying on the Ragged Island chart.

After leaving off the kitten Friday and getting some supplies we returned to the Jumentoes on Saturday/Sunday.  In order to buy a little diesel for our tanks Jerry ended up spending a couple of hours at the only gas station on the island fixing the pump.  The professional they had flown in from Nassau sure was happy Jerry came to lend a hand!  As were the oodles of cruisers waiting with jugs in hand.
We will be here at Hog Cay or thereabouts for a couple more weeks.

2/8/19

So much to do down here at Hog Cay in the Jumentos! 

We've been snorkeling, walking, doing chores and so much more.  Everyone meets at the beach around 4 pm for a happy hour and we sit around chatting until sunset waiting to see if there will be a green flash. 

After bringing home made bread to the potluck last Saturday we had a request for a bread making lesson.  Karen from Sojourn and Leslie from Now and Zen came over to Persephone - you can see the lesson on Karen's page mccrawsails.blogspot.com. 
Last night's happy hour included music. 

I brought my guitar, John from Sam the Skull brought his, and Chris from Magnolia ran back to get his guitar.  You can see video of that on YouTube. 
Here are the links:  https://youtu.be/qNV3tvb6mhE
https://youtu.be/6cNpf_oVRoM
And today I went to Rita and Will's boat Magic for a lesson on weaving palm fronds to make coasters, trivets, baskets or whatever you want!  Here we are hard at work with Rita teaching.

And sadly, someone from the Duncantown must have figured the beach with all of the cruisers was a good place to leave a kitten.  We are taking turns making sure it has water and something to eat.

2/4/19

After leaving Dave and Lesie off at Staniel Cay to fly back to Seattle we headed south to Georgetown.  We made it before another front came through the area.  Here’s a shot Jerry took of the leading edge of the front as it came through.  See – it’s not all sunshine and blue skies.  After the front came through it went all the way down to 72.

The wind picked up and the mail boats did not make their regular stop here in Georgetown.  When we went to the Exuma Market the produce shelves were bare.  Luckily there’s another grocery store where we were able to buy some fresh vegetables for ourselves and also for Donna and Jerry on Bluejacket.  We were headed south to the Jumentos for the annual February festivities at Hog Cay where Donna and Jerry have been since December.  There are no grocery stores in the Jumentos.  The only settlement in the Jumentos, Duncantown, was ravaged by hurricanes last year (see 1/24/18 post for pictures of Duncantown). 

Our two day sail down to the Jumentos included a nice sunset and 3 tuna.

The first night we anchored on the banks south of Great Exuma.  

The forecast should have made a peaceful night in the protection of Great Exuma but the wind never clocked to the north and we had a bouncy night at anchor.

The next morning we were off early across the banks to the deep water along the east side of the Jumento Cays where we caught 1 skipjack and 2 blackfin tuna.

The usual remote area of the Jumentos had a number of boats show up for the potluck party on the beach.  14 cruising boats total!  The locals from Duncantown arrived at Hog Cay for the party bringing tons of food, speakers, music and a generator.  The population of Duncantown is down to about 20 from the pre-hurricane count of about 60.  Duncantown on Ragged Island is their home and they continue to put their lives back together in their isolated location.  Maxine, who still operates a “store” at Duncantown had huge pots of peas n’ rice, curried goat, goat stew, mac n’ cheese, and more.  With the contributions of every boat it was quite a feast.  A nice get together for the boaters and the Duncantown residents.

 

The potluck was held at “Hog Cay Yacht Club” a thatched roof pavilion the government funded and the Ragged Island locals and sailors built a number of years ago.  It survived the hurricanes!  With a little palm frond gathering a couple of the cruisers here put the roof back together.

Another view of the Hog Cay Yacht Club.  The music and speakers are to the left where you can see Donna dancing with the locals.

The dinghies and the local fishing boats are lined up on the beach for the party.

We plan on being here in the Jumentos for February exploring, snorkeling, walking the beaches, visiting…..and watching the weather.  There are no cays in the Jumentos where we can have all around protection.  The anchorages are exposed to the west – great for watching the green flash at sunset but not so good when a cold front comes through with westerly wind. 

And Duncantown being the only settlement with the only cell phone tower provides the signal for us to be online to write to you from Hog Cay.

Jerry's beach find from one of our walks on the east side of Hog Cay.

Billy Bob Voodoo has a spot onboard with Builder Bob and Mickey.

1/27/19

More videos at youtube from Persephone:
Sailing to Staniel Cay to pick up Dave and Lesie -  https://youtu.be/RmeaIZCwPAYhttps://youtu.be/RmeaIZCwPAY
This one taken on the Exuma Sound between Black Pt. and Rudder Cut Cay with Dave and Lesie aboard - https://youtu.be/yesx-rJ1sYU 

1/22/19

I just realized yesterday that I have been so excited to have guests onboard I forgot to use the SPOT since they arrived!  Dave and Lesie flew in to Staniel Cay from Seattle.  They were the only passengers aboard on the last leg of their flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Staniel Cay.

Dave and Lesie arriving at Staniel Cay on their “private” plane.  When this plane made a stop at Andros in the Bahamas to clear customs and unload supplies Dave and Lesie offered to help unload!

After a short dinghy ride from the airport to Persephone it took Lesie 5 minutes to unpack and start snorkeling.  We’ve never had someone aboard who so appreciates the magnificent snorkel opportunities here in the Bahamas and “Snorkelesie” is on a first name basis with many of the underwater creatures she’s discovered.  “Fat Tony” the barracuda, acting as an ambassador of the harbor, was a favorite who would follow Lesie and Dave as they snorkeled.  She and Dave have spent hours in the water and then paging through our sea life field guides to read about what they found.  The joy and excitement permeates our lives onboard.  It’s been a happy place!  The weather cooperated with light winds.

Can you see Dave and Lesie snorkeling here off the Exuma Sound side of Staniel Cay?  This is where Shark Bite Dave earned his name – not because he actually got bit by a shark but he did see a shark or two and he scratched his back on some coral.  Makes a good story.

Here is a zoomed in picture of the Seattle Snorkelers.

Dave at the wheel and Lesie reading and watching the fishing lines as we sail on the Exuma Sound from Black Point to Rudder Cut Cay.

2 Mahi on board on our sail from Black Point to Rudder Cut Cay.

Of course a sail south from the Staniel Cay area included a stop in Black Point for Lorraine’s Mom’s home made coconut bread.  She saw us approaching and invited us into her home full of sweet, fresh baked aromas.  A dozen loaves of a variety of bread were displayed on the kitchen counter.  Lorraine’s Mom makes bread every day!  We left the kitchen with 2 loaves of coconut bread and made it to Lorraine’s deck at the café in front of the house.  We sat down and Jerry pulled out his leatherman and proceeded to cut slices.  Yum!  Lorraine’s Mom (her name is Peermon but everyone calls her Lorraine’s Mom of Lorraine’s Café) came out to the deck to join us for conversation.  Nice!  And walking down the road toward the beach an approaching car stopped in the road.  Lorraine heard we were visiting with her Mom and she saw us coming down the road so stopped to say hello as well.  THIS is why we love the Bahamas and Black Point.  The people are wonderful!

The Exuma Islands in the Bahamas are a chain of islands abounding with coral reefs and sandy beaches.  No matter where you go you can find a place to snorkel. 

Off to snorkel!

What it does not offer are many places to anchor with protection from all directions.  After visiting Staniel Cay, Sampson Cay, Black Point, and Rudder Cut Cay we decided to sail to Georgetown with all around protection for the approaching cold front.   So up early and off from Rudder Cut Cay for a brisk sail to Georgetown.

Dave and Lesie on the bow on our brisk sail from Rudder Cut Cay to Georgetown.

2 more mahi onboard from Rudder Cut Cay to Georgetown.

After a dinghy trip to town in Georgetown for fresh produce, gin, and 8 five gallon jugs of water to put in the tank onboard we anchored at Monument Beach.  Guess what Lesie and Dave did as soon as we anchored?  Back in the water!  More snorkeling and hiking.   The beaches on Elizabeth Stocking Island here in Georgetown go on forever!

Here’s our full moon rising from our anchorage at Red Shanks in Georgetown where we stayed when the cold front came through.  (Snorkeling here too!)  The clouds thinned out in time so I could lay in bed and watch the eclipse that night as well.

We will stay in Georgetown for a couple more days before heading back to Staniel Cay.   

Sadly, Dave and Lesie fly out on Friday.  Headed back to Seattle.

Off for another hike/snorkel adventure!

“Snorkelesie” didn’t realize how well she would fit the surroundings here in the Bahamas!  Check out the toes!

What color polish did Lesie apply before leaving Seattle?  Must be Bahama water blue!  

1/12/19

Because we now can have wifi onboard if we're in range of a cell tower.....
Our sail from Georgetown to Black Point today.  This video is taken on the calm waters of the banks after a rough passage on Exuma Sound.
https://youtu.be/wVfm9OTkmyM
And here's the GPS data to go along with the sailing video:
https://youtu.be/vf_dn1k3ikk

Jerry gives Marianne the autopilot a break as he hand steers toward Staniel Cay.

1/11/19

After 3 weeks in NY and Maine for the holidays I returned to the boat where Jerry said he had kicked the dancing girls off the boat for my return.  I had a wonderful time visiting with family and our friends Brian & Debbie and Bill & Laurie while in Pennellville.  I almost stayed long enough to celebrate Debbie’s retirement today.  While I spent time with family and friends Jerry stayed aboard in Georgetown.

He had an interesting snorkeling story to tell.  We often see sharks while snorkeling but they turn tail as soon as they see a human.  This time – not so.  Jerry had just speared his second yellowtail snapper when a 4’ lemon shark suddenly appeared and grabbed the shish-ka-bobbed snapper off the end of Jerry’s spear ripping off its head.  Jerry didn’t know what was happening until it had already happened.  He decided to swim back to the dinghy.  The shark appeared again.  After all, the other half of the snapper was still on the end of the spear!  In an effort to dissuade the shark he punched it in the head on its return but decided a better choice was to drop the spear with the half fish on it.  So back in the dinghy Jerry watched the shark eat the other half of the fish and swim off before getting back in the water to pick up his spear and continue with the hunting and spearing a lobster.

Life is back to “normal” on board.  We made a number of trips to town to buy fresh produce and whatever else we would need for our next adventure: sailing to Staniel Cay to pick up our friends Dave and Leesie flying in from Seattle!  They will be with us for 12 days.

Our friends Jerry and Donna on Bluejacket arrived in Georgetown about the same time I returned from NY.  After a couple of food/game filled evenings with them they continued south.  We will meet up with them in the Jumentos in February.

You will be able to actually see our position change if you look at SPOT starting tomorrow.

Jerry’s first yellowtail snapper and lobster.

Christmas dinner at the Shepard’s in Maine.  Clockwise: Karen, Sydney, Kira, Susan, Tom, Owen, Dad, Mom.

Here’s the kind of excitement Jerry enjoys: fixing Donna’s electric bug zapper racket.