Bahamian Independence Day!

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Geo: 24.8641, -76.1627

We were in Rock Sound for the fireworks and celebrations. Interestingly enough, the party begins the night before so that they can have fireworks at midnight to welcome the 10th of July right from the start!

Sorry if the first few pics are repeats.

Bad wifi...the fact that I got pics uploaded is impressive!!! 😉

July 6th, 2014 - Cat Island for 10 days and now Eleuthera!

Hello everyone!

From picking up our package in Georgetown, Great Exuma, we sailed over to Cat Island to meet up with Bliss II again. It was 40 nautical miles (nm) across the Exuma Sound to Cat Island (Hawk's Nest Point - the southernmost point of the island). It was a good day of sailing and we were there in nine hours. From there we made our way north, anchoring at several towns along the way. (New Bight, Arthur's Town, Orange Creek and Bennett's Harbour)

Three new blog entries have written descriptions, so please take a look-see over there: http://blog.travelpod.com/members/inspiration38 (most recent listed at right)

After our visit to Cat Island, we made the 60 nm jump to Eleuthera. We are now in Rock Sound, Eleuthera, which is a wonderfully protected harbour. As soon as we dropped anchor here, we were hailed on the VHF radio by the only other boat in the harbour. It turned out that we had met them in Georgetown. More about that on the blog.

Tony and I are both happy and well. Our days are spent exerting most of our energy towards rehydrating as it is so hot that we probably run the risk of dehydration while sitting absolutely still!! It is HOT!!! Even the water temp surpasses the air temp in certain harbours! I swim everyday off the back of the boat and have now started "jumping" (circuits of jumping in, getting out, standing on the edge of the boat in the wind, and then jumping again when I start to dry off) which is cooler than simply swimming, because it takes being OUT of the water to get the relief from the heat! The warmest water we've experienced so far was at Orange Creek (name of town - we weren't swimming in a "creek"😉, Cat Island, where it was actually uncomfortable to be in the water!

This is definitely "off season" for this type of cruising in the Bahamas. Today, the other boat left for Governor's Harbour (our next stop too) and we are now the only boat here in a harbour that typically sees 40-50 boats at all times during the winter months. The locals in town know exactly who we are and have all been super friendly, welcoming us, and stopping to chat. The tourism industry, however, does not stop here during the summer months. Visitors still arrive by plane to the larger islands, cruise ships are still coming into their usual anchorages and ports, and I've heard that the Abacos (our next destination after Eleuthera) sees many Floridian power boats during people's summer vacations. Many of the resorts in the Out Islands close for the months of Sept. and Oct. They consider those two months to be the real "off season".

Plan A has turned into Plan...G (or is it H, or I?). Since we have enjoyed the Bahamas so much and decided not to rush through, we've decided (for the time being) that heading back to Florida for the "dirty" months of hurricane season is our best option. I'm happy that we will explore the Abacos on our way to Florida. It will be nice and warm in the 'northern' Bahamas now. (It can be rather cool there in the winter months.) Then, being back in Florida will give us the chance to re-provision the boat, do some repairs, and perhaps even be hauled out to spruce up the bottom of the boat. Please realize that I try to give you an idea of what is next, but we could change our minds about this in a heartbeat. None of our "plans" should ever be considered final until we confirm that they've been done!!! 😉

Today, we ran all of our errands and did all of our chores so that we are ready to move again in the next few days. We are topped up on propane, diesel, and RO water. Laundry and groceries have been done. The interior of the boat has had a thorough tidying and cleaning.

The rest of the afternoon we've enjoyed just sitting back and relaxing. This is the cruising life. Many chores are more difficult, or are at least more time consuming, but once they are done, we are still here in paradise! I just love this lifestyle!!! 😊

Wishing you all a very happy summer!!! Enjoy the warmth and the boating season that is upon you!

Love and Kisses!!! xo

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