Well the crap is going to hit the fan sometime but we don’t want it to be anytime soon! So we’re looking for some help from our friends who have experience with a marine head (that’s the bathroom on a boat):
1. How does one know when the holding tank is full?
Any other advice is most welcome
Boat work, Andy’s place and yard, etc. He is the guy who currently owns the boat. His place is on the main street (Queen’s Highway). It’s a big two story with columns still in progress. You can see it to the right of the church in my first post. Between the church and the Homecoming place on the shore. He’s a heavy machine operator and has been really accommodating.
The guys ground out some soft spots, holes and cracks. Going really well! We are learning to manage the heat by finding ways to stay in the shade. The mast will be in the shade around 4:00 for example. Today we go back and work on the inside patching holes, checking electrical stuff, etc.
Last night we had a visitor. Andy’s employee Frankie, who helped to crane the mast to the ground yesterday, came by for a visit. We had invited the guys but only Frankie made it. He seems a hardworking family man with some great stories about life here. For example, in the recent decades, folks left the island in search of work. He indicated that that anyone who wanted to be a professional such as a teacher or lawyer would have to go to more developed places like Nassau or Freeport or Abaco. Not a lot of jobs here. The market farms and the local dairy are all closed! Folks do have their own kitchen gardens here and there.
It’s Wednesday and we got up at 6:00. If you know Carleen, you’ll know that she loves early mornings but doesn’t do them well!! But thankfully there was freshly-brewed Muskoka coffee and an incredible view. No wind at all! Of course that brings the biting sand flies. We call them No see-ums or midges. Little bastards.
Last night we roared back into Rock Sound (in our “not so Grand Cherokee” which had lost most of its exhaust system on the drive down island earlier) and stopped at the boat to put a few things away. It happened to be supper time and Andy’s friend Gino, a builder by trade, had his conch fritter stand set up. We ordered some conch fritters (battered deep fried conch) and 1 conch salad. While he made the conch salad for us he was kind enough to show me how to prepare it. Delicious! A young man who happened to be there who is a diver showed me how to get the conch out of the shell. If you don’t do it right, they won’t come out. Gino had a bunch of big conch in the back of his truck. They only take the big ones and leave the young ones to grow. Our salad and fritters was $17. I added a bit of fried rice with okra and tomatoes mix and we ate it all back at the house. I have a video but it doesn’t want to load yet. Maybe later.
Back to today…
The guys were gone to by 7:30 in our loaner rental car (?). It was hilarious as Jim tossed Paul the keys as he volunteered to drive. Both got in and started laughing. It’s a right hand drive Honda. So Jim drove instead. I believe they made it.
I stayed to wash cushions and the main sail along with some bedding from the boat. Just after I’d finished, a little dark ray swam by. Hopefully the video works below!
I’ve also included more pics of our place. It’s called Blue Ocean. The big concrete porch is to protect the house from big storms from the west.
Our aquatic visitor. It was pretty shy… As I waded in to film it, it began to glide away pretty quickly.
I’ve awoken to a view of beautiful Rock Sound, the cool refreshing breeze blowing through the -thankfully- screened windows and the sound of birds chirping.
Yesterday: Good flight on our little plane. Our pilot was Steve – funny enough, I’ve watched his videos on YOUTUBE. He posts as Stevo Kinevo! Not too bumpy. It’s an hour and forty minutes to Rock Sound from Ft. Lauderdale. Jim said, “Watch, the water is becoming lighter” once we crossed over the Gulf Stream into the warm, shallow Bahamian waters.
Our rental home host Peter, arranged to have a Jeep for us at the airport and he met us there as well. We were able to bring most of the gear but a second load flies in today to another airport in the north part of the island.
Peter led us to our house. Folks drive on the left hand side of the road here by the way. The house is called Blue Ocean and is right on the Sound. It’s charming and is a couple miles south of town. Very laid back. More like a home than a sterile rental.
We unpacked, then shopped for some groceries. Back to the house, then off to see our boat….
First impressions were not great as the poor thing is in need of a good clean and the grass is growing around it. That is OK. The current owner made sure that she survived Hurricane Matthew back in October and really, she’s been on the hard since May, so I was not too surprised that she needs some love.
Jim and Paul had a look at the bottom. Going to be some work but also should be OK. Today we begin…
Last night we went to a local restaurant called Sammy’s for supper and man was it good! Our waitress was our cook as well. Forgot to ask her name. Jim had a mixed meats platter with chicken, ribs etc. Paul had grouper creole and I had cracked conch (pronounced “conk”). All Excellent and included choices of sides like fried plantains, peas and rice, etc
So…big day today. Must get at it. I have included my view out of the bedroom window below.
Cheers….
So we are sitting in the tiny yet beautiful passenger lounge at Watermakers Air at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport waiting for our 1:00 flight. We are taking a whack of gear with us to Eleuthera and Watermakers has been great in helping us get our stuff to the island.
More later once we are to Eleuthera. By the way, It’s sunny and 26C here.
It’s Day 3 of our adventures and we’ve ended up in Thomasville, GA. Down I-75 we had two really great days of driving, only got lost separated in Detroit, broke our mast support and lost one trailer tire! What day was it? Yup, a Friday.
On Day 1: Smooth sailing at the border. Then Paul in the truck with the boat, and Jim and I in the Civic split up to enjoy various parts of the metro Detroit freeway system. It was fun to play “Where’s Paul” on the VRS (walkie talkie) radios and then we remembered he had no way to text us! But miraculously, we all ended up on I-75 southbound in Toledo with Paul getting there ahead of us. (He was first, he told me to say that😀)
After our happy reunion, the rear mast support looked like it had cracked. It was good times watching the mast slowly slip off to starboard at 70 miles an hour. Pulled into the Casino at Toledo to fix it. Sadly, no time to go lose any money.
Night fell in Ohio but it was clear and crisp. No snow but freezing and windy. The guys drove in the truck and I zoomed ahead in the Civic. Then a trucker flashes his or her lights behind us…a lot! I drop back to have a look as Paul sped up a little! He says truckers are taught to do that….but we don’t have that many wheels, or axles! Anyhew, I see some sparks from the left trailer tire area and tell them “You may have a tire going”. We pull way off onto the thankfully frozen shoulder. Well, the tire wasn’t going, it was gone! Nuts and all. Crap. So Paul put on his truckers coat with that high visibility tape and Jim strapped on his headlamp and got to work. They put a new tire on and I’ve basically driven behind them all the way here.
So, do you start a journey on a Friday? Hell yes! But be sure you have tools and warm reflective clothing!
I’m off to see if this motel has a palm tree. The pics are backward in order. You’ll notice we stopped at the Kentucky Artisans Centre in Berea. Wonderful place. See ya down the road.
Not a lot of sailboats anymore at this show but we were able to climb around on some monohulls and a trawler (!). We also picked up our new primary anchor (Rocna 15Kg) and some other goodies. Got to chat with Sheryl and Paul Shard from TV Show “Distant Shores” a bit and enjoyed their presentation about cruising the Bahamas and the Caribbean. A nice way to spend the afternoon with our buddy Paul.
Counting down now….
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Sewing bits and pieces onto Leftovers’ main sail by hand to make a second reef point or what I call looking like”a Jimmy Burrito!”
Leaf Cay, Bahamas 2020
No they didn't capsize!
Leftovers on Fanshawe Lake
Thunderstruck at anchor, North Channel 2020
Trailer Tri Adventures 