The road to Bimini and beyond,,,,

Here we sit in Bimini and I cannot help but think that time moves so quickly!! We were just here starting our journey through the Bahama Islands and now, we are leaving….. Today, Ray and I rented a golf cart and spent the day zipping around the island from the southern tip all the way up to the Bimini World Resort….(not impressed)!!

We stopped at every local store and bought bread, cake, shirts, bags, drinks and food. Along the way we smiled and waved at the passing people who were in no hurry and always had a friendly greeting for us. I look out at the homes and though there is so much poverty here, I long to call it my home too! The sea surrounds the island bringing glorious breezes that wander down the narrow streets and swirl around my hair with the taste of salt and ocean currents and I long to stop and never leave. The colors of the water never cease to amaze me and the clarity beckons to be explored. This is the first and last stop on our summer sail, so with the island comes a mixture of excitement and closure. I know that our sailboat, Nu Trix needs to point her bow towards the United States and take us back to the reality of jobs and home, bills and responsibilities, but for tonight, we sit on her bow and watch the stars and pretend that we are just starting. This summer I have snorkeled reefs, swam in crystal clear water, explored caves and walked through the past of Loyalist ruins and all with my best friend.

The wonders of the Bahamas are made so much spectacular because I get to enjoy them with my partner…….my salty pirate…..the love of my life!!!
No matter where I want to go, what I want to do, I can always depend on Ray to be right there with me, helping me adjust my mask, pulling the tender behind us if I get nervous about the openness of the reefs, letting me take the helm in heavy seas even though I am not too experienced, pulling me back into the tender when I am tired from swimming and cannot hoist myself one more time…… Ray is my champion, my defender, my biggest fan……..my captain!!! He believes in me when I have given up on myself!! He knows that I can sail Nu Trix, he knows that I feel the ocean’s waves on our boats hull and I need not be afraid.

Ray knows what I am afraid to say…… He knows that I am a sailor!!! I love the ocean, but I respect her at the same time. I once thought that was fear, but I understand now that knowing what the big ocean can do and what my sailboat can handle, makes me less afraid and more willing to go…… go explore, go see, go feel, go be!!!!!  Tomorrow, Ray and I will head back home, but the pull of the ocean will not cease. She will call and call until we can stand it no longer!! Soon, Nu Trix will be back into the dark waters of the Gulf Stream and the current and tropical breezes will take us where they will…… Soon, the land will no longer hold our hearts or imaginations and the sea will win!

Until that time, we will work and plan and scheme…… we will live and we will dream. The greatest realization of all though….. is that we will do it all together!!! My wildest imaginations could not have prepared me for what life has given to me and so with each breath, I breathe thanks and with each day, I dream of what will be…. Life is so good and I cannot wait to see each day and find the new treasures that the world gives!!

Wind to the Exumas

With the toss of the dock lines, NuTrix was off to the Exumas. No more marinas and no more AC for the next four weeks. Of course there would also be no marina bills and AC bills either. Every time we go to a dock, we seem to spend money as if it is water flowing through our fingers! We headed out into the harbor and over to Rose Island for a couple of days.

Rose Island is just east of Nassau and is a beautiful spot for swimming, snorkeling and watching the sunset. Ray anchored us just off of a huge limestone rock but still near to the beach. The surge does tend to rock the boat side to side, but the payoff is a beautiful view of clear water and white sandy beaches. It is also a safe spot with good holding. The next three days were filled with adventures, to far off uninhabited islands… well, far if you had to swim it, I suppose….and snorkeling the reefs, sitting on the beach, listening to reggae music and making many memories!! I love the island even though each afternoon, Nassau businesses charter snorkeling trips and drop off 100 people who Ray refers to as “bobbleheads” because all you can see are their heads above water!

They usually only stay for an hour and then leave us pretty much all alone, anchored in the water to take in the sunset all to ourselves! It is all magical and beautiful, but the Exumas are calling and we finally decide that the weather is perfect for crossing the banks. Sunday morning, we pulled anchor and with Ray at the helm and Robin on the bow, we motored into the wind and towards our destination of Highbourne Cay. The wind wasn’t bad, but it was in our face, so we couldn’t raise the sails. Ray tried to put out the headsail, but we had to bring it back in when the wind shifted more to the east. Robin had never been away from shore before, so she enjoyed sitting on the bow and watching the water turn from a pretty turquoise shade to an amazing color of liquid emeralds. We had reached the “yellow banks” where numerous coral heads lie in wait of yummy fiberglass hulls!! I took watch on the bow and pointed to the large ones that look like dark lines on the horizon. The water was so clear and the corals so beautiful that I couldn’t breathe! Colors, indescribable, danced on and under the water.

NuTrix glided along so happy to be back for yet another journey with us! We finally cleared the corals and Highbourne Cay came into view. We went to the beach on the west side of the marina and anchored for the night. Ray was going to dive the anchor, like he normally does, however, an enormous barracuda decided that he wanted to hang out under our boat. We loaded the tender, “Old Dog”, and headed to the beach for an evening in the water! The sand here feels like powder, it is so soft! Robin could not believe the clarity of the water which looked better than any pool she had ever seen!! We met two couples who were traveling on a large catamaran and enjoyed their company as we all floated around the crescent shaped lagoon. Soon the light was fading and we figured it was time to head back to the boat for some dinner!! Afterwards, we sat on the bow and watched the stars come out one by one until the entire sky looked as if you could reach up and grab a wish! Mesmerizing stars after a long day at sea will put you to sleep very quickly as we all found out! The next day, we took NuTrix into the dock to get some water in our tanks which depletes very quickly out on the hook. We walked around the marina and looked for WiFi but it was only for guests?? Well then!!! The restaurant wasn’t opened for lunch and though the little store had food, it was very expensive. We decided to take some pictures and go watch the sharks at the dock.

Most of them were Nurse sharks, but we did see three very large Lemon sharks too!! Before we left, the sky took on an ominous color and to our amazement, a waterspout formed!! It was very large and very impressive. A warning to all mariners was issued and we decided to wait at the dock for a while before heading into the waves again.  Soon the sky cleared and we continued on our journey to another beautiful destination!! Three hours later we tied up to a mooring ball in Warderick Wells, the Land and Sea Park Headquarters.
The Exuma Land and Sea Park was established in 1958 to protect the land and marine environment in a 176 mile area that covers 26 different parks and the surrounding waters. It begins at Little Wax Cay and goes all the way down to Conch Cut near Staniel Cay. The area is strictly a NO TAKE zone and nothing, either living or dead can be collected. The fish and shells are so amazing but can only be captured on a camera. The motto is “Take only pictures, leave only footprints”. When we went ashore, a huge skeleton of a sperm whale greeted us on the beach. Sadly, the magnificent creature had washed up on the shore in 1985. It was found to have been killed after consuming plastic garbage!

When careless people assume that one little bag won’t hurt, everyone suffers especially the animals. We all make a profound difference in this beautiful world, we just need to make sure it is a positive difference! The whale skeleton is quite impressive, though I would rather see a live one out in the Exuma Sound than the remains here on the beach! After taking a million pictures, we went up to the office to check in and get WiFi….. I laugh while typing that last sentence!! WiFi, in the Bahamas is like Jimmy Buffet says about religion and sex…. you just never know when you’re gonna get it next!! We paid our 20 dollars but the speed and reliability was really not worth the time or money!! Next trip, I must buy a Bahamian phone and pay for a month of internet connection. Currently, it is 20 dollars for 200MB which my phone promptly used in 6 minutes and 15 seconds! I am pretty sure there is a picture of me somewhere in the Bateleco Headquarters with “SUCKER” written below it??? But I digress!!!  Here on the island is also a Loyalist Plantation ruin. We dinghyed over to Rendezvous Beach and took a quick swim to cool off before our hike up up the mountain… well really a hill, but mountain sounds more impressive! Robin decided to float around so Ray and I hiked up the trail and found remains of stone walls where a home used to be. Trees and undergrowth covered the area so that it looked like five or six small homes but instead were rooms to a larger mansion.

I snapped away taking in the amazing sights of a home built 300 hundred years ago by the hands of long gone people. I tried to imagine what it must have looked like and I hope to maybe one day find a drawing or sketch that was made before the building commenced.  I understand that not everyone is a history lover, but I just could not get over the age of the walls and how someone had mixed the mortar and carefully carved out a life right on the spot where I was standing. The ghosts of the past just seemed to drift over me and pull my thoughts back to the 1700s when the men, women and children left all they had known to come to this far away paradise. Their excitement, terror, anguish and hope danced among the ruins and was carried by the hot breeze out to sea. For a moment, I was part of their world. For that, I am forever changed!  We made our way back down and took a dip in the cool clear water. We saw a couple of stingrays on our way  back and Ray tried to chase them with the boat, but they were too agile and fast! I had found a piece of driftwood when we were at Rose Island, and I used fingernail polish to write NuTrix 2015 as well as all of our names. Ray and I hiked up to BooBoo Hill and put it among the other driftwood gifts left for the “sea gods” to ensure safe passage on the sea. The view up at the top was amazing and I took many photos of the surrounding area including the vast expanse of the Exuma Sound. BooBoo Hill is so named because a vessel carrying missionaries ran aground on the reef and all souls were lost to the sea. It is said that during a full moon, up on the hill, you can hear the sound of hymns being sang by the lost souls!! Thus the Bahamian word for ghosts…. Booboo!!

Island hopping is an amazing adventure of new places, new faces and always beauty unimaginable! Ray is an expert captain and able to get NuTrix through reefs, shallows and sand bores. A sand bore is a living thing!! It is sand that actually moves and shifts each day. You can see them if you know what to look for! The water goes from 20 feet up to a couple of inches in a very short distance! The water that is usually a dark indigo quickly becomes an exquisite shade of light blue where the sand reflects the light of the sun. Ray sometimes takes the helm with his foot as he stands on the stern of the boat and watches the water. It is quite impressive, at least to me….. cause I am still quite taken with my salty pirate!!

Our next island stop was Staniel Cay. We anchored NuTrix off of Thunderball Grotto. There we said hello to our cruising friends, Duke and Donna aboard S/V Soon Reach. We try to catch up with them when we get to the Exumas. We first met them in 2010 and have kept up with them ever since. They are a LOT of fun and have a big boat with lots of room for sundowners!! Robin had been getting used to her mask and snorkel and she was getting ready to see what all the fuss was about!! We took her to the Thunderball Grotto and swam under the cave entrance into another world. The cave is massive and the fish swim up waiting for a treat. We saw brain coral, snapper, grouper, parrot fish and all kinds of other little fish of every color imaginable. The cave had a large hole in the top that let light filter in and dance upon the limestone rocks that made up the walls. It also let a couple of crazy 20 year olds jump down into the deep water of the cave. Our son, Keegan, did just that back in 2013 when we first brought the kids here. Im sure if Ray had found the cave back when he sailed here in his 20s, there would have been a blood stain or two from him on the cave walls!!! Like father, like son…….. bless their hearts!!!

We snorkeled around the outside of the cave and saw some impressive coral formations. It is just so beautiful and a must see for Staniel Cay which is why there are always boats moored around the back side of the cave. The next day, Robin and I commandeered a golf cart and explored the island via wheels!! I had to remember to drive on the other side of the road. We laughed hysterically as we bumped along the road looking for a bakery and grocery store and laundry!! We dropped off our laundry and let a nice woman wash, dry and fold it all for us to the tune of 55 bucks!!! WAY worth it!!!! We found the bakery in the kitchen of another Bahamian woman. The US Health Department would have collaboratively fainted had they seen said bakery!! Robin and I threw caution to the wind and bought a loaf of bread, I mean all the other people on the island were still alive soooooo…… We then found the Pink store and the Blue store which were the local grocery stores. Very few choices are available on an out island which is so vastly different from what we are used to in the US!! We got the things we needed though and were on our way. We found the Taste and Sea café and ordered some yummy food!! I was going to get the fish, however, I was told that it was the WHOLE fish and I just cannot eat something looking at me, so I opted for a cheeseburger!! It was divine!!!!  Ray finally caught up to us and we all ended up meeting Donna and Duke at the Yacht Club for a frozen drink! I am not much for rum so I had a pina colada sans alcohol and everyone else had the real McCoy. They were all so pretty and tasted so wonderfully!!! Our bartender’s name was Felicia and she was hilarious! A woman came in and complained that her rum drink didn’t have enough rum….sooooo Felicia made her what she called a “Tornado” cause it was gonna knock her to Oz!!! We all just laughed because people can really be very rude when they have more money than manners!! We finally said good-bye to our new friends and headed back to our boat and our bunks!! The next day we island hopped over to Big Majors, home of the swimming pigs. It was a short hop so after we set anchor, we headed over to see the pigs.

There are two very large hogs and a couple of babies piglets. They readily swim out to any boat in hopes of grabbing a tomato or any other veggie that might be on hand….or IN hand!!! The largest pig tried to get up in our dinghy and when it couldn’t, settled for trying to take a chunk out of my backside!!!! A guy came up in a small flat boat and the pigs high tailed it over to him. He seemed to talk to the larger of the two pigs and then reached and petted the hog behind the ears!!! He grabbed two large buckets and a jug of water and gave both to the hungry mass!! We zipped away with our pictures and my body still intact!!  The beach that we found was called “Pirate Beach” and had an assortment of tiki torches, chairs, flags and wooden structures. There were two couples floating along with noodles and so we joined the hodgepodge group. Boating seems to give everyone involved a common ground to stand on and makes for a fun evening and new friendships. They were all out of Fort Lauderdale and kept us laughing with tales of their antics at sea. The one guy tried to interest Ray in a better tender than “Old Dog”…… but at 12 thousand dollars, we decided that we had all the NuTrix our Old Dog could handle!!! Going back to the boat, we cruised on our “outboard” and called it a fantastic day!! The way sleep comes to you on a boat is amazing. The rocking of the bow and the breeze blowing down the hatches, lulls you into a comatose state quite quickly! Soon all that was heard on board were the dreams of what was to come!!

The next day we pulled anchor and sailed for Little Bell Island which is now called Cambridge Cay?? I guess it sounds more impressive?? We picked up a mooring and I sent off a text to our friends Donna and Duke to come and join us! Life is so much more fun with cruising friends who know the area!! We had never been to this island before but knew that the snorkeling was supposed to be impressive. While we waited on “Soon Reach”, we hiked over to the Sound side and the impressive Bell Rock. It is massive and can be hiked but only when the tide is out. The tide was in!!!

We instead went up the hill on the island and took in a wonderful 360 degree view of the cay (pronounced key). Johnny Depp owns a small cay to the north and we could see the house from our vantage point. We snapped picture after picture and found our way around thick brush to follow trails. It was a nice hike but we were happy to be back to our little beach and the cool water! I spotted a couple of turtles but I couldn’t seem to get their picture!! It is incredible how fast those suckers swim!!! Ray spotted a small shark, but it also was not interested in having its picture taken and swam away quickly. After a while of snorkeling the rocks off of the beach, we saw Donna and Duke come in and take a mooring. We got together and decided to go over to the Rocky Dundas and snorkel the caves. Robin and I went with Donna and Ray and Duke followed. When we got over and jumped into the water, we entered a totally different world. I couldn’t believe how massive and impressive the coral and fishes were! We went into the caves and marveled at the stalagmites and stalactites that formed over thousands of years.

The second cave had formations that looked exactly like mermaids hanging from the cavern walls. I wondered what they did to make Poseidon so angry that he cast them there for eternity. We swam in and out of the caves and took in all the beautiful colors of coral and fish and the water!

The word magical just keeps popping into my head as I look around. There was an enormous and rare Elks Horn coral in front of one of the caves and I didn’t want to leave it until I got at least 100 pictures which I was sure, would not do it justice!! Finally, it was time to get back into the dinghy and head over to the beach. That sounds easy, but when you are in the water, wet and tired, it makes for a comical event. I had bruises on my bruises after trying to climb back in and I dared anyone to take a picture of my million attempts!!! Grace is NOT my name!!! We spent some time on the beach and in the blue hole that came right up to the shore until we were waterlogged and exhausted. The boat beckoned and we heeded the call and fell into a deep sleep, reliving the amazing day and dreaming of the next adventure waiting on us!

Hawksbill Cay was our next stop. The Exuma charts said that it too held Loyalist ruins, so I was anxious to get there. We picked up a mooring right off of a spectacular beach with a tall hill that overlooked a crescent lagoon. We went over with our chairs, umbrellas, music, cooler and noodles!! The day was spent floating, drinking, listening to music and enjoying each others company! Ray climbed up the hill to the small cairn to take pictures of NuTrix as well as Robin and I way down below in the crystal clear water.

I held my breath the whole time because instead of his good climbing shoes, he wore his flipflops!!! I just knew at any moment he was going to tumble down the steep rocks and Robin and I would have to figure out how to sail home pulling a body behind the boat!! I am pretty sure the Bahamian Defense Force looks down upon such activities!!! Luckily, we did not have to find out because God really does take care of fools and little children!!! After his near death experience, Ray was ready to go explore the Loyalist ruins at the north end of the island. A group of fellow cruisers had left before us on their journey to see the past, so we looked for their dinghy because we forgot the trail map! We finally found them as they were getting ready to head back to their sailboat. They pointed to the trail and were on their way. Robin, Ray and I made our way through the thick brush and found the remnants of a couple of homes as well as a large wall that ran up the hill. Again, there was no way to tell if the rooms were one home or many because the trees and brush grew throughout. It was still impressive and even unworldly to see the stones and wells that were once a hopeful plantation of a large family, all of their animals and sadly, their slaves. I commented that the back breaking work carrying the stones would have been given to the slaves.

 Plantation life was dependent upon slave labor and thus the atrocities of our past, built the homes that would one day fall into ruin like the mindset of  the plantation owners. Slaves would be freed and begin a new life filling the islands with a diverse population of former slaves, landowners who had lost fortunes, pirates and other ragtag inhabitants that sought the obscurity of island life. Looking around at the land that refused to grow cotton, I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if the cotton had taken hold and grew. The islands were once great with hardwood trees and fresh water, but now are mostly barren because when the cotton failed, the landowners turned to logging in a desperate attempt to hold on to their fortunes. Today, the small cays are home to mangroves and salt marshes. Freshwater is scarce and must be made on most of the settled islands.

Looking back, it is easy to see how our future is so determined on seemingly small, at the time, decisions that are made by people not even thinking about their descendants!! We all marveled at the sights and start our trek back down to the beach. The sun was setting lower as we motored across the colorful waters on our way back to the mooring field. We again decided to spend the evening cooling off in the water and listening to Bob Marley. Back to the boat, we settled in for a good night sleep only to have the wind totally die!! Not a breath of air came down the hatches which made for a rocky, sticky semi-sleep!! We all were more than happy to say goodbye to the beautiful island and set sail for Norman’s Cay!! This would be our final destination in the Exumas. The trip was easy, though with absolutely no wind, we motored! After dropping the anchor, we went to the Norman’s Cay Beach Club and had a 25 dollar hamburger!!! It was truly delicious, but 25 bucks!!! It did come with a salad and fries and was quite beautifully plated!! But again… 25 bucks!!! After eating, we went over to a small island with nothing more than a palm tree with a bench underneath. We swam around and enjoyed the cool water while looking at all the construction being done on a new marina. Our Exumas are changing faster than we can imagine!! Soon the large yachts will dominate the landscape and the small sailboats will have to vie for a spot in the water as do the dwindling coral heads. Major money dictates what goes where and when……. People with so much money bribe the government for deeds to land….they dredge the water and promise to “move” the coral heads and reefs so that their mega yachts can dock to get fuel and electricity.

The manager of the club told me that one man’s poison is another man’s bread. I just wonder if he realizes that the fragile landscape of the Exumas cannot handle the jet skis that speed over the fragile coral or the 25 foot tenders that pull skiers through the mooring fields not caring about the rules because they throw thousands of dollars into the Exuma Trusts as if money can regrow coral or bring back lobster that have been harvested out of season!! Money seems to talk very loudly here in the Bahamas, way louder that common sense! I fear that the day will come, when the coral heads are bleached over and covered with algae. The research students who come from America have already found numerous spots where it is happening. These Cays are where I love to spend my summers and it saddens me that the livelihood of the islands depend so much on tourism that the very rich are allowed to abuse the very thing that brings them here.  It is with an anxious heart that we pull anchor and set sail for Nassau. I hope that my beloved cays will stand the test of time and money.

The beauty is unsurmountable and the magic that the water and islands brings are inexpressible. With the headsail puffed full with air, we point NuTrix through the coral heads and towards Nassau. It will be at least a year before we feel the winds from the Florida straits blow us down to the Exumas again. Our next stop is Nassau with a dock and AC and shops so willing to take whatever money we have to give. We will say good-bye to Robin and after provisioning, head NuTrix home. Our adventure is almost complete, but as any trip, with the ending, comes another beginning!!! Beginnings are my favorite because you just never know what kind of story life is going to write!!!…………………

On to Nassau.....

The cool breeze ruffled the sheets waking me up early Monday morning. As my eyes adjusted to the bright Bahamian light, I heard, “Happy Birthday!”  It most certainly was a happy birthday, letting sleep ease off of my mind and dreams of an exciting day fill up the space. Today, Ray and I would cross the Tongue of the Ocean and continue our Bahamian adventure in Nassau. We would also be picking up a passenger, our friend, Robin. The weather could not have been better for our journey across. The mooring ball that kept NuTrix safe for the night, was cast off and away we sailed….. well away we motored with a SE wind hitting us on the bow.

The water is just indescribable with so many shades of green and turquoise and blue. The grasses and rocks below looks as if we are boating in some giant aquarium constructed with such care and precision that it makes doubt in a creator, impossible. The turquoise gives way to an unimaginable deep blue that calls so loudly that I want to dive over and swim in its beauty, but good sense and a will to live keep me safely aboard, NuTrix. Our journey will take seven hours, so we crank up the music, I toast up some Bimini bread with butter, throw drinks into the cooler and we let the currents carry us away with the plans that we have made for our island vacation. About 18 miles into the trip, the swells become larger like someone flipped on the wave maker. Once again on the trip, water crashes over the bow and salt covers our boat and sticks to every imaginable surface. I am starting to think that we should have named our sailboat, Margarita, since all we need is someone to douse us in rum!! We see many powerboats coming and going which makes me feel better about the rough seas. Though it has been our experience that powerboats do not answer when hailed?? I don’t know if they just do not turn on their VHF or if they just do not want to talk to lowly sailboaters? I cling to the hope that if I really needed someone, they would answer…..

I had given Ray some time off of the helm to stretch and go below, but when the wind kicked up to 20 knots and the seas became a washing machine, I dared not even try. Going below is NOT a good idea when the boat is rocking back and forth and side to side. The stomach tends to send messages to the brain to abort any and all food whether real or imagined and that is right up there in the top 10 things that you do not want to experience at sea. I’m actually going to say that it is only second to abandoning ship, which is never good. Ray and I actually laughed about the sea conditions as if we had expected anything other than crazy winds and salt spray. We trudged along riding the indigo water as it floated NuTrix up into the clouds then released her to slide down the waves back into the tumble cycle to do it all over again. Ray handed me the binoculars and said that he could see a house. What he saw was actually a ship, not a cruise ship, but someone’s private yacht docked alongside the shore. Where people get all that money is beyond me, which is probably why I do not have said money!!! Anyway, we knew that we were coming up to Nassau so I started to look for Atlantis. The hotel/resort can be seen from 10 miles away! I know that many people love the posh décor of the monstrosity; however, after talking to my friends who live in the Bahamas, I found that the resort does not like locals to come onto the property. I just feel that it is horrid to refuse service to locals while taking away much needed tourism from the island where it is desperately needed. But that’s just me… I thought that I had spotted Atlantis off to starboard, but Ray said that it should be dead ahead. I looked through the binoculars again and realized that it was a different resort which must have been built since we were over in 2013!

I could not believe how humongous it was, rising as if out of the ocean!! Why must all builders try and outdo each other with bigger and more expensive hotels. There are so many small marinas along the harbor that could use an infusion of dollars to help them spruce up and keep up. Sadly our world seems to be taken with the notion that bigger and newer is better. We did learn that the project has been put on hold while investors pulled money. The construction company has filed for bankruptcy in the tune of billions!!! BILLIONS!! I have a hard time wrapping my head around a hundred thousand soooooo……

NuTrix came into the harbor and we called Nassau Harbor Control to get permission to enter. (How cool is that) We passed the old lighthouse to the port and entered in to the hub of the Bahamas. I found out from some cruising friends that the lighthouse is basically for looks as it has a VERY dimly lit light and is extremely hard to see in the dark. Note to self, I am constantly reminded that my “No Traveling at Night” rule is a smart one!! We passed by the cruise ship terminal and came up to the Paradise Island bridges. I have said before that it never looks like we are going to clear that bottom span of the bridge. I audibly suck in my breath because you know, every little bit helps!!! NuTrix passed under and rocked just slightly enough to try and cover her obvious giggle at my apprehension! Boats can be that way sometimes!!  

 I called Harbor Club Marina on the VFH radio for the 100^th time all to no avail…… does ANYONE use their radio in this country??? FINALLY, they answered and told us to come in to slip number 17….. ummmm….. we don’t know where that is and the current is really strong and where do we put dock lines and all…… “Mon, just look on de dock”, we heard over the radio….. OKAYYYYY……?????  But low and behold, the dockmaster was waving frantically and pointing to the right area for us to tie up. NuTrix came into the slip and again gave a little sigh as the engine died and dock lines were thrown over pilings. We had finally arrived at the capital of the Bahamas and the jump off point for my beloved Exumas!!! Ray and I left on June 10^th and it took us almost a month to get into our slip in Nassau. I cannot complain about the delays because each time, we got to spend the day and night enjoying each other as well as some wonderful anchorages along the way. The beauty of the Keys as well as the Bahamas is accentuated by the happiness that comes from sharing and making memories with Ray.  So far this has been a dream trip and I cannot wait to visit the Exumas and touch the history that lies beneath the scrub palms and mangrove trees.

The Loyalist plantation ruins are calling to me and I cannot wait to go explore!!! I think about how 300 hundred years ago, many Loyalist pulled into Nassau and felt the same pull as I do now to go and see what waits beyond the reef covered waters to the east. I will sail over, as they did many hundreds of years ago and touch the same shores, swim in the same waters and venture up into the ruins of their dreams and whisper to the ghosts that it was not in vain……. their spirits live on among the people who call this beautifully magical island chain their home.

Hittin' the waves...

On Friday morning, we left the dock in Bimini for Gun Cay. It was high time to get going with the onslaught of crazy, loud and obnoxious boaters from Miami. I have never heard the "F" word used as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb and preposition, all in the same sentence!!! One "lovely" boater kept whistling for his deck candy to come get him a drink!!! I could have found a couple of things to put in a cup for him, but alas.... young girls in need of a ride home??? They piled bean bags all over the dock, blasted their music, threw their trash all around and proceeded to get quite wasted and more obnoxious than I thought possible. Money cannot buy class, but apparently it can buy a slip at a marina!! With great speed... 4 knots... we pointed our bow toward Gun Cay and away from the Miami sound machine!!

When we arrived at Gun Cay, we decided to stay put on the boat and eat a simple supper of appetizers. We were planning a very early start and needed to try and get some rest.  Nice music on the stereo, a book or two and some cheese, crackers and olives made for a lovely evening. Soon the bunk was calling and off we went. Morning dawned a new day...... well actually it was Ray's flashlight shining in my face at 3:30!!! Very few things attract a murderous thought into my mind, however, being awakened at 3:30 is among the top three!! Being awakened without coffee is in the top one!!! There was no coffee!!! How Ray is still alive is a testament to my self-control... or the fact that I cannot sail the boat and I needed him to get me to Nassau!! After that, all bets are off!!! But back to the story, we pulled the anchor and set off into the east.

Traversing the Bahama Banks is a lesson in patience to say the least! On a motor vessel, it can be done in as little as three hours but on a sailboat, it ain’t happening quick!! Some people actually stop half way and anchor for the night…… some people would be called Ray and Kim back in 2013, but we will NEVER be called those people again!! When the winds are up and out of the east, the chop is quite substantial and very uncomfortable!!  Also, there are island freighters who cross the banks at night and they are not on the lookout for a 41 foot sailboat anchored up and bouncing around like bobble heads on a car dashboard. This is why at 3:30 am, Ray took his life in his hands and woke me up!! We actually had a pretty uneventful start to our day… night… day??? The winds were down to 6 knots and the seas were choppy but tolerable. I came up topside with my blanket and snoozed as Ray guided NuTrix toward some unforeseen mark on a chart. About two hours into our crossing, it became EVENTFUL!!! The wind increased to 15 knots and the seas kicked up to 3 feet. NuTrix punched through like a champ, but the water spray found its way all the way to the stern and us. We were able to keep up 5.5 to 6 knots because we had an outgoing tide which helped greatly!!  We went an additional 10 hours pounding through waves. It was impossible…. well not impossible, but really improbable for me to try and cook anything or even make coffee..... I know….. the horror of it all!!! We ate Bimini bread with butter, goldfish crackers, an occasional slice of cheese and out of shear desperation, a chocolate cookie!!! Crazy times call for chocolate, people!!!! Finally, we got a small reprieve when the wind lay down and the waves sprayed only around the edges of the boat! We were still making great time and came up to the Northwest Channel Light at four oclock which was 12 hours after we left…. I should amend that to read, we came upon the SITE of the NW Channel Light. The light was taken out by some big boat and has not been repaired. The metal stake is still lurking somewhere under the water, so it is best to stay clear of the GPS marking!! The water turned from a turquoise blue to a deep sapphire in a matter of minutes. Our depth readings went from 20 feet to 600 and then it wouldn’t read anymore. The Tongue of the Ocean is an enormous body of water that plunges from the Bahama Bank  into depths of 7000 feet!!! We were hoping to troll for tuna, but the rolls became quite crazy and it was too hard for Ray to work a line and hold the helm. I have become WAY more comfortable with crossing, but not enough to take the helm and kill us all….. but that’s just me!! From the light to the entrance to Chub Cay took three hours but the water was so pretty that my mind was on that instead of the length of time. I actually saw an enormous sea turtle but he dipped under the waves before I could capture a picture. I have the image put forever in my memory though. Soon, we came upon an massive rock lying directly off of Chub Cay.

It is called Momma Rhoda Rock and looks like a giant sea monster slithering along the turquoise waters, waiting for the unsuspecting sailor to cross its path.
NuTrix seemed to sigh as she glided into the anchorage off of the beach. The area is beautiful with the long sandy beach stretching up to the rocky coast. The water is so amazingly clear that the bottom looks inches below our keel but is in fact six to eight feet. Ray, as always, jumped over to set the anchor while I went to the shower and tried to wash away 15 hours of salt!! Later that night, we were so surprised and very delighted to see fireworks booming over the beach in celebration of the 4th of July!!  Here we were, in a foreign country and watching an amazing display of fireworks heralding the Independence of our country!! Probably because in the 70s, the Bahamas also won their independence from British rule so they know the pride of calling a country their own!! Regardless of the reason, it was an impressive sight with lots of ooohhhsss and ahhhhssss!!!! Ray and I had pasta with meatballs for a quick dinner and fell into a deep sleep after a long grueling day at sea…

We awoke at 9:30!!! The anchorage is quiet and not too rolly. We pulled anchor and set our sights for Fraziers Hog Cay, a mere two miles away. The waters were not too bad and I, again, stood and gazed into the beautiful sea. The coral and rocks looked like I could reach and grab ahold of them, but they lay out of reach. Ray used to sail into Fraziers Hog Cay aboard his sailboat, Breezin back in his 20s. He remarked about how little it had changed in all of the years since he sailed through the small channel. He used to visit an older gentleman by the name of Charlie Albury. Today, when we went to shore, an older man came into the small marina office and introduced himself as Don Mclearny. He knew Charlie very well and Ray was amazed that the man from his youth was still here. The two of them chatted while I tried to get pictures uploaded. 

 
The internet in the Bahamas is very slow!! I was laughing with the young lady who was manning the desk, about the time it takes to upload. I told her that in America we have come to expect everything to happen yesterday. She just smiled and I couldn’t help but think that I really needed to leave my country and find the reality of life…… not quick and over… but spending time talking with new people, looking out over the beautiful waters, fishing, sailing and making memories. Our lives have an expiration date and no matter how much money we have, what we do or where we go……. at some point in time, it is going to end. We often  put this thought away as a morbid conversation not meant to be brought up, but it is not morbid to discuss the truth. Life comes and life ends for every person and the realization of this, in my opinion, keeps us from merely existing and makes sure that we truly live!!!

This trip has been so amazing for Ray and me. I have learned to take the helm in heavy seas; I have learned to trust that just because I do not know something, Ray does. I have learned to take a breath and enjoy the moment. I sit here on my boat tonight with the breeze kicking up our American flag off of the stern and I think of what it represents….. Liberty…. which is what I am finding this summer!!! Liberty from the status quo, liberty from my fears, liberty from all that would hold me back from finding my place in this beautiful world….. I have seen so little of the Earth that I call home, but the places that I have seen are simply amazing. Everywhere I go, there are people who also call this world home and that gives us all a connection.  I take in the culture, the rhythm of the language that is English, but isn’t at the same time. There is so much to see and so much to do and I find that my time here is getting shorter and shorter. Tomorrow I will see my 47^th year come to an end….. it seems like I am still 18 with the world laid out at my feet, but here I am with so much more behind me than ahead. I have had such a charmed life and though I do not know why I have been so blessed, I will take it!!!

Tomorrow our adventure continues to Nassau. We have a seven hour crossing through the Tongue of the Ocean and though I will be nervous, I refuse to be scared!!! Ray and I press on towards more excitement. It can only get better and besides, if something is going to happen, it is going to happen out there!!!!

A Pirates Life.....

You cannot come to the Bahamas without hearing some crazy tale of buried treasure. The waters here and all down into the Caribbean are said to be filled with gold... a bounty just waiting to be discovered, to be possessed. Ray and I came to the Bahamas last Friday. We had an amazing motor/sail across the Gulf Stream.  There was barely any wind and the sea was a mysterious calm! All around, clouds hid the sun as if playing a game of cat and mouse with our sailboat. I commented a couple of times how it felt as if time itself was weaving in and out of the stream. In the cockpit, with nothing around but sea, it could be 1715, 1815, 1915 or 2015.... who was to say, as the ocean takes time as she will, pulsing back and forth with tides, pulling water along from tropical ports to icy coasts in far reaching latitudes. And we ride on her currents, believing that she will take us where we need to go, where sailors long gone from the Earth, rode her currents to the sunny shores of Bimini years before we took our first breath. It is here that I dream of treasure. Each time we snorkel or dive, I am sure that we will find a piece of the past that will cement our future. As I sit on the sailboat after a long day of swimming, walking and exploring, it hits me!!!.... I have truly found my treasure in this life. He walks with me, dives with me and explores with me. Our life together is more than a pirates booty.... it is my reality and I get to keep the pirate!!!!

The anchor dropped into Gun Cay on Friday afternoon.
My pirate donned his snorkel gear and dove into the cool and clear water to check our anchor. I watched him from the deck, looking out for a non-existent shark or barracuda. After making sure that Jaws was not anywhere near the Gun Cay lighthouse, I too jumped into the water and just like that, the long day crossing was forgotten! Ray and I showered off in the cockpit and then enjoyed the Mahi-Mahi that we caught coming across the stream. We caught two smaller fish and one large bull dolphin that weighted around 20 pounds. As one heck of a fish tale....

Ray and I were sitting in the cockpit when we heard a BAM!! We both jumped and turned around to see our rod, reel and rod holder fly off of the boat. We thought for sure that a shark was the culprit until we saw a HUGE bull dolphin (mahi mahi) jump up out of the water with the line still attached. I yelled for Ray to turn around and he just looked at me like I was crazy. "Are you diving over and chasing the fish", he asked?  Well I would have.... maybe... probably not!!! That was a 250 dollar rod and reel. I think a fisherman up on the coast of England will one day find a really nice pole floating up the beach!!! haha   But back to our dinner.  I love the grill attached to our railing.

Without heating up our galley, we can have a really nice meal!! We chowed down on our yummy catch and then cleaned up the galley. We decided to listen to music and play some scrabble, but after Ray's attempt at the words, "doller", "rully" and  "rivit" I decided it was time to hit the bunk!!
The next day we awoke to cloudy skies, but we decided to take our time before pulling the anchor and going the two hours into Bimini. I made us coffee and we sat in the cockpit watching the beautiful colors of the water turn with the dancing of the suns rays. Ray thought he heard a rumble of thunder but we weren't sure if it was just the building crew on Cat Cay. Nooooo, it was thunder!!! All at once, a storm of biblical proportion hit our little anchorage. The winds picked up to 30 knots and lightening was hitting everywhere, except thankfully, our boat!! We went below and waited out the storm which turned into a day long affair. Later that evening, the clouds parted long enough for the sun to dip into the ocean.  I never tire of the view!!! After a day of doing nothing but enjoying each other's company, we fell into a wonderful sleep, rocked by the gentle waves of the ocean against our hull.

Sunday dawned and we  pulled anchor and headed into Bimini! When Ray and I first sailed into Bimini back in 2007, we had to use the range markers on the shore and pick our way through using our eyes to judge the bottom depth. It was a lesson in panic for me as the current runs strong and the shore and rocky bottoms are so close. We made it then, but now with big money coming into port, a dredging project has been started. There are big green and red buoys lining the entrance all the way into the harbor by the docks. Oddly enough, we have seen two large boats try to go across the brown brown run aground spots. I guess big money does not constitute knowledge... go figure!!! Coming through the channel, in a no wake zone, we were passed from behind by a boat that I'm sure cost more than our boat, dinghy, house and two years of my salary. Ray had to quickly maneuver our sailboat to try and take the wake on the bow instead of broadside. We didn't have room to fully turn, with the shallow water so close, so we were pretty much knocked down. I grabbed the railing, but things below tumbled in the thrashing of the giant waves. REALLY..... We made it safely across the Gulf Stream only to be in peril by another boater. Again, just because someone can afford a boat, doesn't mean they know what the heck they are doing. It gets really scary sometimes!!

We came into Bimini Blue Water Marina. I like this marina because it is clean, there is wifi, the bathrooms are always clean and there is a pool!!! Summer rates are only a dollar a foot plus electric and water. Water is very expensive!! We use the marina showers and try to conserve water just like we do on the hook. We do not spare expense for our AC though!!! I love the wind through the hatch when we are out on the hook, but at a dock it is HOT!!! Plus everyone around can see in and hear when the hatch is up and that's kind of creepy!!  Bimini is a charming island but I have become saddened by the amount of trash that seems to pile up year to year since we have been coming over. The beach over the hill from our marina was so strown with litter that we could not go into the beautiful water. The stench was so appalling to the senses that even standing to watch the sunset was a hardship. I do not know what the answer is, however, it seems that with all of the money being dumped into resorts on the northern tip, someone could come up with a plan to clean up the island. Glass bottles, empty cartons, spoiled food items and an array of cans are haphazardly tossed to the delight of a million flies. Bimini deserves so much more. The people are so friendly and I always feel safe walking around, even hitching a ride. I just wonder what my favorite little "island in the stream" will look like in five years without someone to intervene on her behalf!

Ray and I like to walk up to the Big Game Club and have fish fingers and peas and rice. Their prices aren't that outrageous but it is definitely cheaper to find a little Conch Shack up the road. We tried to get to Joe's Conch Shack but he wasn't opened. Ray had found us a ride with a local who just happened to be going our way. Jason, a friendly young man with a roomy golfcart, told us of another conch shack... "just up the road, mon"... which meant another mile!! We got out and offered money and he said he would come back and we could pay for round trip service. I guess island time caught up with him, because we didn't see him again!! haha....

 The shack was just that... a shack on the water, where fisherman throw their catches of conch and large snapper and grouper onto the attached dock. Ray ordered a conch salad and I got a water. I am not a fan of chewy snails, but that's just me. We watched as a man filleted a humongous grouper then two large snapper. He wasn't selling though which was okay with me because I didn't even see the snapper at first because they were covered with black flies. I'm sure the plague or cholera was looming around on those pieces of fish?? Ray says they were just fine, but I'm not buying it!! It was nice seeing the little community though. Older gentlemen and women sat around under the shade of a giant seagrape tree while the little kids ran splashing into the shallow water or shooting hoops on the adjacent playground. It was an enchanting afternoon, then we had to get back to our marina!! We started walking and walking and walking!!! It was, we were told later, about two miles and it was also 98 degrees!!! What a lovely evening stroll... HA!!! I am definitely getting some exercise much to the protest of my out of shape muscles.

The next day, we paid our marina bill and headed NuTrix to Gun Cay. The crossing to the Berry Islands is 12 to 14 hours depending on the wind... which is forever in our face!!! We usually leave from Gun Cay around five in the morning which means we need to hit the bunk early. I wanted to go over to the "sting ray" beach and snorkel around so we put our dinghy engine on and off we went to see some ocean life. Along the way, we spotted a nurse shark who did not want her picture taken. I tried and tried but those suckers are fast. We anchored just off the beach and jumped into the cool water. We were not there for two minutes when we were surrounded by stingrays. They were beautiful but they wanted food.

We didn't have any with us, so one of the rays tried to eat our GoPro!! haha....On the video, he looks angrily at Ray before flying away through the water. We swam around for a couple of hours then decided it was time to head home. When we are on the hook, the cockpit shower is so convenient! We can get all the salt off and not have anything to wipe down later like we do in the bathroom (head).  Sleep came quickly until about two thirty when a thunderous storm came rolling across the banks. The wind blew and lightening illuminated the island with its quick burst of fury. Usually storms pass quickly, however this one did not get the memo and lasted for over an hour. At five we were up again, to start our crossing though I didn't have a good feeling with the thrashing of our bow against the waves. I actually texted my brother and asked him to get the sailingweather.com forecast for our area. It said that the winds were supposed to be SE (big surprise there) and the waves less than two feet. The weather lied!! We started out and it wasn't too bad until about four hours into the day. The waves built to four to six feet and the wind was blowing at 12 to 15 right in our face.

The bow started to plunge deep under the waves and water crashed over sending salt spray as far as our cockpit.  We were knocked down to 2 knots and we still have 53 miles to go!! At that rate we would make the Tongue of the Ocean at 9:30 pm!! That is NOT a body of water to mess with especially at night with no way to see the waves. We had the option to anchor for the night and ride it out or turn around and go back. Ray and I discussed each option and then we both decided that this is our vacation and there is no need to beat ourselves and our boat up in such crazy seas. Ray turned us around, we threw up the sails and booked it back to Bimini!! It only took two hours to sail back with the wind off our stern and the waves pushing us along!

We will make it over but until then, we continue to enjoy our summer. Today, we are planning to go to the Shark research center and maybe tomorrow go snorkel the Sapona wreck. Some friends from Key West are coming in on Sunday and if the weather doesn't cooperate, we will be able to visit with them as they are staying at the same marina. All in all, this has been a wonderful adventure! I am looking forward to getting to the Exumas, but the most fun is being with Ray. We figure out each day together, explore together and say goodnight to each day together!! I couldn't ask for more, but it seems that I continue to get more and more each day. What a beautiful world this is!! I cannot capture the clarity of the water with my camera and I cannot capture the pure joy in my heart with words on a page!! Life is good here in the Bahamas.