Return to Canada

Final Agenda

- lock Argo and move luggage to dock
- ferry to Treasure Cay
- taxi to Marsh Harbour Airport
- small plane to St. Augustine, USA
- small plane to Jacksonville, Florida
- taxi from Craig airfield to Jacksonville International Airport
- Jet to Detroit (first class)
- larger jet to Buffalo
- airporter to Grimsby
- car to Stratford

Talk about fun !!

March 25th - 27th

Life on the hard was a whirlwind, as we prepared Argo for a nine month lay-over on Green Turtle Cay. Cleaning, removing sails, storing the dingy, arranging flights home, e-mailing at Pineapples, bringing down canvas and preparing for a stay in the hurricane belt filled our days from sun-up to sun-down. The days flew by but we managed to complete our work with over an hour to spare.

Tuesday, march 24th

Well, we are dirt dwellers once again. We were up at seven this morning to get out of White Sound and over to Black Sound on a high tide. It was so nice to see six guys waiting for us at the dock as they wanted us to back Argo into the Travel Lift. It all went very smoothly. Argo is behind another boat from Canada - Mskoki - which we had seen in Florida in January. It´s kind of a sad day but we can´t really complain. I just hope it´s not still around -6 when we get back home. Luckily we have four days before we leave as we have lots of jobs to do - remove sails, bimini and dodger, cleaning etc. I´m sure we´ll try to make some time to enjoy some conch fritters and drinks at the pretty little bar at Pineapples. To top off it´s a small world theme, the boat that got hauled after us is from Canada and its captain-Evert, has a daughter that is married to our accountant back home.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Although the winds were really strong today and we heard that people were still unable to get around the Whale, we had a beautiful sunny day here in Green Turtle. We decided to run some errands and here´s how it went. On our way to donate some books to the lovely New Plymouth Library we stopped to talk to the people anchored beside us - turns out they´re Canadians (Newfoundland). While waiting for the library to open we chatted with a mom and her two little boys mailing postcards to grandma - there Canadians (Kingston). Next we dingied over to the Abaco Yacht Yard and started a conversation with a couple getting their boat hauled - they´re Canadian, Midland Ontario. At our next stop the Green Turtle Club Patio we start gabbing with a family of five on holiday - Canadian, from Niagara on the Lake. On our return from Argo we hear a knock on our hull and a fellow on another boat offers us a print-out of the weather forecast - you guessed it, he´s Canadian from Quebec. Like the song says ¨It´s a small world after all¨.

Saturday March 20th

We left the dock by the Sugar Loaves around 7:15 and happened to pass a barge with the ¨grounded yacht¨ we had seen hoisted up its foredeck. At 8:30 we passed Guana Cay and Capt´n Chas decided we would try to go around the ¨Whale¨ today as the weather forecast for the next few days did not look favourable for that passagee. There were large rollers and the wind was right on our nose but all in all it was not a bad trip . We anchored safely in White Sound in Green Turtle Cay by noon. I say safely, that is until a hummungous oil tanker entered the harbour´s narrow entrance and passed very close to us. They yelled at us to move as we were in their channel- who knew- I didn´t know a ship that big would even fit into that harbour. Anyway we decided to change positions- who wants to argue with something that size!!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Unfortuneately for us, but fortunately for the Abacos which is suffering drought, it rained all day . We passed the time walking, picking up supplies and eating! Sadly, Peter , Nijole an Andrew leave tomorrow at noon so we say our goodbyes after another lovely supper together as we will head out early for Fisher´ s Bay on a high tide. A great big thank you to Andrew who helped us out with our computer.

March 15 - 19th, 2009

Monday - Our friends arrived and since it was a beautiful sunny day we motor-sailed over to Elbow Cay to show them Hopetown. We anchored out and dingied into the harbour. Peter enjoyed a swim on the Ocean side, we walked around a bit and then had lunch at captain Jacks waterside patio. Peter bought some fresh grouper to which we added some lobster from marsh Harbour and enjoyed a lovely seafood supper.

Tues. - Another beautiful day so got both sails up and headed over to Guana Cay. Anchored off and Chas dingied Peter and Andrew over to a reef area for some snorkeling but the aquatic life was minimal. The water was extremely clear so we could see the bottom most of the way. We had noticed a nice yacht hard aground on a reef yesterday and unfortunately it was still sitting there today - a sad sight indeed.

Wed. - The weather was very unsettled and windy so decided to drive down to the far end of the island to Pete´s Pub at Little Harbour. The Jimmy Buffet song Margueritaville immediately comes to mind when you first see this beach bar. We enjoyed a nice lunch there and then toured the art gallery, famous for its wax castings in bronze by Randolph Johnston, Pete´s dad. Walked over the dunes to the ocean side to view the breaking surf.

Tues. march 10th, 2009

Well today we said goodbye to Junior and the crew at Sea Spray and headed out foe Matt Low Cay where we anchored for the night. It was a wonerful afternnon so we swam off the boat and enjoyed a beautiful sunset later. We look forward to meeting up with our friends from Stratford, Peter, Nijole and their son Andrew. We´ll anchor in Marsh Harbour for a few days before they come and then tie-up at the dock at the house they are renting at Sugar Loaf Creek.

Sat. march 2nd

Well today we learned a wealth of information about the history of the Abacos from our visit to the Wyannie Malone Museum during Hopetown Heritage day. Men women and children were attired in the clothes of the 1700´s. Numerous photos, models, maps and artifacts provided an interesting learning environment. Three rooms in this small but well thought out museum are furnished with tools, furniture etc. donated by the first loyalists descendants. Of course there were tables of Bahamian food to sample as well as local arts and crafts. Tuesday we will leave Sea Spray and anchor at Marsh Harbour for a few days.

Wed. March 4th

Today we rented a golf cart with our dock neighbors Dick and Ann on Raggety Ann and went to listen to a male choral group called the Sherwoods from Cornell University NY. Almost all the members of this group are 70 plus years old and have been singing together since their glee club days 50 years ago. They did alot of the old standards mixed in with some humerous numbers and joke telling. Their concert was in support of the Every Child Counts group that started the only school in the islands for children with disabilities. A group of 14 girls from the school did a great job signing the song From A Distance.

When we got back to Sea Spray it was Bahamian buffet night so we sampled many delicious dishes, including a few new to us items like fried plantain and a bread pudding desert called Duff. Needless to say way ate far too much.

Feb. 28th

Well, mother nature provided a gorgeous sunny day for the Hopetown Volunteer Fireman´s Fair. Since the government provides no funding, the proceeds from this annual event plus private donations keep this little islands fire brigade (two small trucks and one boat) operating for another year. The area around the post office and docks is festooned with colorful flags, bake sale tables and all sorts of games for young and old. There is also a great selection of silent auction items to bid on as well. We of course gravitate to the food section and try out some rum cake, pink fudge and a spicy Bahamian chicken dish called souse. Before they can begin their in water demonstration, the fire rescue crew is called to rush an injured young man over to the Marsh Harbor government clinic - they are the para medics here as well. On their return they demonstrate their skills at dousing a small pre-set boat fire in the harbor. It was touch and go for a few minutes until their on board pumper started to work. As an added highlight the USA Coast Guard helicopter did several hover-overs. We finished off the afternoon by relaxing with drinks at the scenic Ocean side bar at Hopetown Harbor Lodge.

Feb 22nd

Hey Dude, Surfs Up! Well we opted to stay at Sea Spray today and watch the surfing competition at the ocean just over the sand dunes. It was a fundraiser to send local surfers to the national competition in Nassau . Most of the surfers were males between 13 an 30 although there was one female and a couple of older guys.A prerequisite to being an island surfer seems to be to have a tattoo on your back and actually most of them were pretty nice looking.You get a totally different perspective when you watch them through the binoculars. The waves seem a lot bigger and you can see how much work it is just for them too get out there in the first place. It looks very exciting but I think I´ll stick to beach combing!Saturday is the Hopetown Volunteer Firefighter´s Fundraiser so we´ll report on that.

Feb. 18th - 21st

This week we learned something about island banking. First, there are no bank machines, second, the bank is only open once a week for a few hours and thirdly, have plenty of ID for any transaction. So the result is we´ll have to wait for another week to get our hands on some cold hard cash. We did however enjoy a nice lunch at Captain Jack´s waterfront cafe which has a wonderful view of the Hopetown harbour and lighthouse. Yesterday we walked over to Tahiti Beach and were amazed by the number of beautiful homes along the way. Many of these homes are for rent at this time of year and you and thirteen friends can enjoy the stunning Bali Hai, with its personal concierge, chef, boat with captain, lap pool , hot tub, tennis courts etc. and all for a mere $25,000 a week. The fishing, party boat left today for Florida and we certainly enjoyed the fresh fish they gave us from their catch. We can see Jr. setting up the band for tonight so it looks like Chas will have to forgo his nightly scrabble match. We will let you know in our next blog whether we stay on Elbow cay tomorrow and watch the surfing competition or travel to Guana Cay for the Pig Roast.

Sat. Feb. 21st

There is one thing I won´t miss about Elbow cay and that is the chickens. These creatures are scrawny and tough as nails. They wander the scrub forest that covers much of the island and appear to be at the top of the wildlife pyramid, easily intimidating dogs, cats or any other beast that cross their path. Forget about sunrise as they have a pathetic sense of time, commencing their cock-a-doodle-do at about 4:30 AM. Perhaps cock-a-doodle-do is too generic for these fowl birds as the sound created is somewhat garbled as if someone is choking the living daylights out of them. I´ve been told there is a yearly open hunting season on these wild chickens which is scheduled for two weeks from now. I can´t see myself toting a shotgun around as it would be rather dangerous for the local inhabitants but I have caught myself dreaming of lobbing a few fragmenting grenades in their general direction and watching the feathers fly.

Feb 14th

Happy Valentine´s Day everyone, We hope you have a lovely time with your sweetheart. We were up early today to get a ride from Junior into Hopetown where we and about 50 other people took Froggie´s Dive Shop Ferry over to Man of War Cay for their annual School fundraiser flea market. It was really well attended with ferries coming from all over plus their own locals. It consisted of rummage sale tables, games, , book sale s crab races, etc and a huge food market with homemade wares. We couldn´t resist the rib dinners and fresh conch salad. We walked round the quaint streets of the island which seems to have a fair number of regular residents and a real community feel to it.On return to Sea Spray we had showers and got ready for thee Valentine´s dinner and entertainment. It was well attended as well with the outdoor patio full and people eating in the more formal dining room too.Junior an his band ¨The Islanders¨ provided lively entertainment until about midnight. For the next few days we plan on spending some time doing maintenance the boat.

Thursday Feb 12th

Our blogs will probably become fewer over the next few weeks as we settle in to a relaxing routine here at Sea Spray. We will update occasionally when we visit other islands for day trips or something special happens. Today we did hear of 2 whales beaching themselves at Man of War Cay not far from here. We hope you will continue to keep in touch via email as we enjoy hearing what you are up to as well. We are hoping to add some of the beautiful photos we have taken to the blog as soon as we clear up some technical difficulties. cheers Chas and Louie

Wed. Feb. 11th

Today we got up at 7:30 after having had a great sleep. There is a constant breeze flowing through the boat and we can hear the breakers crashing on the reefs just over the dunes about 200 metres away but we are very protected here at he dock. We went up to the lovely pool area surrounded by palms to do an hour of yoga- believe me it is needed! We follow this up with a lovely walk along the beach where of course we find some great shells. After lunch we decide to go out in the dingy to Tahiti Beach just around the corner. This is a lovely ,calm area where we see people snorkelling and searching for clams I think. There are some absolutely stunning homes in this area overlooking this bay and the ocean. Chas gets out of the dingy in about 2 feet of water and the next thing we know a big manta ray swims by him . Of course I fumble with my camera which I have put in a zip lock bag but do manage to get a shot of it . We pick up about 4 or 5 conch shells with the little creatures still in them. Up until now we´ve only experienced them fried or in fritters !Apparently only native Bahamians can harvest them. We see lots of clams and a few lovely starfish as well. We decide that this yoga, beachwalk, dingy trip and reading by the pool will make up a lovely routine for the next few weeks.

Tue. Feb. 10th

We get up with the sun to take advantage of the tide and head for Elbow Cay. This is a short motorsail of about 2 hours but care must be taken to avoid the numerous shoals. Arrive at White Sound and settle in at Sea Spray Marina. This looks like a nice place to stay for awhile as the facility is first rate and the surrounding area is very pretty. We take the complimentary shuttle into Hopetown and tour this quaint, historic and well kept-up town. The town is vibrant and much of the downtown is vehicle free. Visit the beach, coffee house, cholera cemetery and both grocery stores. The lighthouse and museum are for another day. We were picked up by Junior, the dockmaster at Sea Spray and spent a quiet night on the boat.