Ok, it hasn’t been “frightful” here, but the weather has certainly been less than “delightful”, as the song goes, especially for the Bahamas. Our families up north in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York City, and Connecticut experienced the first real winter snowstorm last weekend. I’ll admit that I felt a bit wistful as I looked at the photos of the snow. That first snowfall is so beautiful. Especially with precious grandchildren playing it it!
Aaron (6 years old) and Ella ( 2 1/2 years old) enjoying their big snow fall in Delaware.
Caleb, 20 months old, discovered he really likes snow, all 26 inches of it in New York City.
For most of the month of January, we have had the Bahama version of “winter” – very windy, cool temperatures in the high 60s/low 70s, and more clouds than sunshine. Each week brought us several fronts with only 24-36 hours of a good weather window, if that. Since January began, we have only left Hope Town harbor a few times, two day trips (Fowl Cay National Park & Man O’ War), two race days, and one trip to Marsh Harbor for an overnight grocery run. We haven’t even taken the dinghy out for a snorkeling trip. BUT, we aren’t really complaining. On the other hand, what do we do when we can’t swim in the blue water or play on the sandy beaches?? Just like we would do at home as dirt dwellers, we socialize, do our chores, and make the best of the hours of good weather when it happens.
An organized BIG Happy Hour at the Inn and Marina’s pool. Lots and lots of delicious food, much more than “happy hour snacks”, and a chance for everyone to get together in one place. Notice the long sleeves and jackets? It was a very cool evening.
We hosted a few smaller happy hours on Kindred Spirit.
Jim and Gloria (Jimandi), Peter (Navigator), Al, Dan and Marcia (Cutting Class), and Laurie (Navigator)
Marcia, Kayda (Solstice), Al, Dan Charlotte (Swede Dreams), Sam (Solstice) , Magnus (SwedeDreams), Peter and Laurie
Our only look at January’s full moon was on the day before it became full. Too much cloud cover on the 24th.
The full moon tides brought higher and lower tides than typical. From the deck of Kindred Spirit we could see our bicycles (middle pair) on land – it almost looked like they were sitting on the water.
Five of us decided to walk the beach to On Da Beach for lunch on a every windy Sunday. On Da Beach is a cool beach side bar and grill. A great way to spend the afternoon!
Not a bad day for a beach walk at all, but notice the long sleeves again on everyone. Marcia and Muffin walking ahead. Al and Dan behind us.
On Da Beach has a great view of the ocean and great food – grilled Mahi Mahi and Bahamian mac and cheese! And Kaliks, naturally.
Five full tummies at On Da Beach – Dan, Marcia, and Muffin, and Al and me
Whoopee! A slightly calmer day was predicted. Not enough time to get away for a couple of days, but enough time to make a grocery run over to Marsh Harbour.
The compass on our GPS and autopilot needed calibrating, again. They did not agree at all. While we leisurely made our way to Marsh Harbour, we decided to put it through its paces again with a nice long stretch of open water to make our triple 360 degree circles per the autopilot’s instructions. Humph. Didn’t seem to improve it at all. Good news – The next day, the two compass readings were closer than ever before. Is this like restarting your computing after an update?
Shopping time! At Jimmy’s you can buy three bottles of decent red wine for $18. Other cruisers told us about the “Obiwan Kenobi” red wine. AKA Obikwa. Or, as the owner told us, “Obama” wine. The right picture is $130 worth of groceries. I try not to look at the food prices any more.
Much to our surprise, we had really good tv reception in Marsh Harbour!! First time on the entire trip, since September . We enjoyed the morning news as we had breakfast and coffee, but soon learned that tv is still tv. The Florida weather girl is pregnant, the presidential campaigns continue, and the talking heads are still …..talking.
Al has had his eye on the doors for some time. Most of the exterior teak varnish had disappeared before we purchased the boat, leaving the beautiful ( to us) natural gray color. The doors were peeling and were on Al’s to-do list. He decided that while we were hanging out in Marsh Harbour it would be a great time to sand one. Off the door came. Into the dinghy it went.
Al’s latest project – sanding the starboard door. He used his power sander which meant that the generator was running and the power cord extended from the boat out to the dinghy. I held my breath the whole time. He seems to know what he he is doing except when asked what is the next step for this door? The answer, “I don’t know.” OK.
We did find time for beach combing, adding to our collection of sea glass, small shells, coral, and even a few new sea beans. The photos are from different days. One day the sand stretches out before you , and on another day it can be covered in seaweed.
Al has found a variety of “drift seeds”, mostly known as sea beans. He is a true beach comber. The sea heart on the left was found on Green Turtle Cay when we first arrived. This week he found the spherical shaped ones on Church Beach. They are c “sea coconuts”, but are not coconuts. The sea coconut is the seed of a tropical palm called the sleeve palm, busso palm, or troolie palm which grows in the Amazon basin, on the island of Trinidad, and on the Caribbean coasts of Central and northern South America, according to Perry and Dennis in their book Sea-Beans From the Tropics. The little one in the foreground is a “hamburger sea bean.” A lovely little specimen. Eventually, Al will polish them all so they acquire a nice sheen. I hope.
Slip sliding away……. just south of Eastpoint near Church Beach, the winds and waves are eroding the sandy cliff. Over the period of just a few weeks you can see what Mother Nature is taking away, and man is trying to put sand back.
Overlooking the ocean from East Point.
There may be winds, there may be rains, there may be clouds; but it still beautiful here.
A beautiful dawn in Hope Town.
Another glowing sky just before the sun rises over Elbow Cay.
When the sun shines, there is nothing quite as beautiful as the blue skies and the blue waters of the Bahamas. We never get tired of it.
El Niño, Lake Okeechobee, and Our Big Decision (Day 137) – Sailing Belle Bateau
[…] rains and/or winds let up enough for them to get off the boat or take a day trip to a nearby beach (http://blog.kindred-spirit.net/2016/01/28/when-the-weather-outside-is-frightful/ and http://a2baker.com/magnoliablog/?p=5687). Their reports didn’t sound like the paradise of […]