Blogs from Exuma, Bahamas, Central America Caribbean
Georgetown Winter 2010/2011
Published: April 18th 2011Central America Caribbean » Bahamas » Exuma » Georgetown
April 18th 2011
Georgetown, Bahamas 2010-2011 After arriving in Georgetown on December 5th, we quickly settled into our new routine of living at anchor in Elizabeth Harbor. This harbor is made up of 6 or 7 different anchorages, each with its own personality. We prefer Volleyball Beach anchorage because it is at the heart of the cruising activities. Because Double-Wide draws less than 4’, we are able to anchor very close to shore. Our life at anchor is strictly, “off the grid”. We must depend on our battery bank to power the electrical appliances we use, including radios, PC, cell phone and lights. We have several ways to replenish the batteries. Primarily we depend on our solar panels, then our wind generator and finally, we have a 4.2 kw generator that can power a battery charger. The daily routine ... read more
April 10th 2011
ok ca fait un bay mais je n'avais pas de bon reseau internet depuis un bout. je vais faires plusieur blog d'ici les prochains jours. Nous sommes rendu en jamaique et nous avons passe par Cuba donc beaucoup de photos a montrer et de chause a raconter. Voici le dernier segment des Bahamas et nos visiteurs. Pour commence j'aimerais vous remercier d'etre en aussi grand nombre a nous lire et a nous regarder. Vous etes une cinquantaine inscrit plus les non inscrit. Vous pouvez ecrire vos comantaires sur le blog mais c'est pas evident. Vous pouvez m'ecrire sur smaille27@yahoo.com Nous nous sommes rendu a Georgetown et avons retourné sur nos pas pour accueillir notre visite. Geneviève ma cousine et Martin que nous avons voyagé de Staniel Cay a Nassau. Ensuite les deux Soeurs Lynda et Shirley, ... read more
Winter 2010 - 2011
Published: April 6th 2011Central America Caribbean » Bahamas » Exuma » Stoking Island
April 5th 2011
We find it hard to believe that the last entry to our Blog was December 2010 in Port Lucaya. So much has happened since then. The two big events were, I had a small stroke (totally recovered), and spent some time back in Canada, and the other event was we bought a houseboat in George Town Bahamas. Here’s a summary of our winter. We left Port Lucaya on December 15th, about 11:00am and sailed directly to Nassau. Our route took us from Lucaya to Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Ship Island) down the Berry chain of Islands, then across to Nassau, arriving at daybreak the next morning. In Nassau we stayed at Harbor Central Marina until December 23rd, when our son Steven and his fiancée Audrey arrived. We moved over to Atlantis Marina ,and treated them to ... read more
We made it to Georgetown!
Published: March 22nd 2011Central America Caribbean » Bahamas » Exuma » Georgetown
March 22nd 2011
So Janice and I are in Lorraine's Internet café at Black Point. Janice is working on e-mail in the room next to the Café and I am in the café reading my book and watching CNN. It's late in the day and the café is starting to fill up with people coming in for dinner. Lorraine is not what one would call a gourmet cook but what she makes she does well, primarily deep fried or hamburgers. In fact she is responsible for Bob swearing off deep-fried conch and fries (a result of overindulgence). But I digress; I am sitting quietly one ear to the reports on CNN of the Japanese earthquake and the other to the variety of discussions going on at the tables waiting for dinner. Then I hear a voice, a very familiar ... read more
March 13th 2011
We left the Emerald Rock mooring field at the Exuma Land & Sea Park on March 5th in some strong winds. Winds were 18-22 knots with gust up to 27 knots. We got up to a hull speed of 7.2 knots a few times but averaged 5-6 knots. We made a quick stop at Sampson Cay to pick up diesel as we had heard it was a marina with easy access. It worked out well and we were even able to find some carrots and green pepper at the shop for a reasonable price. As we know fresh produce will be the hardest to find as we travel farther from Nassau we took advantage of buying them when we see them. We left the marina headed for an anchorage at Big Major near Staniel Cay about ... read more
Why We Service the Through-Hulls
Published: March 23rd 2011Central America Caribbean » Bahamas » Exuma
March 8th 2011
Every year we go through the contortions to service every one of the too many through-hull fittings on I Wanda. You want for them to move firmly but easily in case you need to close them. Some of these fittings are used fairly regularly, but others have stayed in their position between servicing most all the time. We had noticed over the past few days that we had to empty the bilge more often than usual, so we were watching and keeping tabs on the bilge levels. One culprit we have had in the past is a leak or loose fitting on a fresh water hose. If the fresh water pump is left on you can empty a LOT of fresh water directly into the bilge. I decided to check the fresh water tank to see ... read more
March 4th 2011
Just a real quick update. We are now at a mooring at Warderick Wells in the Exuma Sea & Land Park. The wind has really piped up so waiting for it to calm down some. This is a nice place to be "stuck" as they have plenty of trails to explore and it is a beautiful location. We have wi-fi but not much bandwidth so not adding any photos at this time. We also do not have any cell service so can't even get any text messages. We plan on moving south again on Sunday based on the weather predictions we heard today. As soon as we can will put up a full blog entry and photos. Just using this method to let everyone know we are doing fine and where we are located. Best wishes ... read more
March 3rd 2011
Since our last entry we have left the Bahamas capital city of Nassau and are now in the area of the Bahamas called the Exumas. They are as beautiful as everyone said they would be. It is hard to believe there are so many shades of blue and that the beaches can be so white. Everyone told us that you would learn to read the color of the water which is critical as that helps tell you the depth of the water. We still are beginners, but we are starting to get the knack of it - as an example today we were sailing in 10 foot of water and then all of a sudden we came to a very definite line of dark blue that indicated that the water was much deeper. The ditty “water ... read more
February 28th 2011
Our youngest daughter lived on board with us for three years and was fond of calling George Town, Exuma “camp for grown-ups” because there are so many activities to choose from and the pace can be the opposite of the usual laid-back and relaxing cruiser style. Cruisers here seem to fall into two categories-- you love it for all the things there are to do and the convenience of services, or you hate it because there are too many boats, too much radio chatter, just too much. So where does the crew of I Wanda fall? In both camps, actually. We find that we enjoy George Town very much indeed for its wonderful services, yet we like to escape too for quieter places. Exuma Markets has been the cruisers’ best friend for as many years as ... read more
Florida to the Bahamas
Published: February 27th 2011Central America Caribbean » Bahamas » Exuma » Georgetown
February 26th 2011
I can't believe that four months have passed since we left Guatemala. We left in early November as planned and made our way up the Central American coast to Isla Mujeres, Mexico which was our last port before sailing to Florida. Hurricane season was not techically over at that point, but if you wait until the season is over it becomes very difficult making your way north when the "Christmas winds" set in and the northers start rolling though. Luckily no hurricanes threatened and we made it to the Dry Tortugas of Florida by mid November where we stayed a couple of days before sailing to Key West. Being in the U.S. with the boat was definitely a new experience for us. The U.S. is the land of plenty and believe me I couldn't wait to ... read more
