Day 82   Boat tales and storm prep

 Seeking Shelter

We’ve been anchored at Little Harbor Cay, but with a storm brewing we’re heading to Marsh Harbor for protection. Chris Parker, our marine meteorologist, is calling for winds and thunderstorms gusting up to 40 mph—time to tuck in somewhere safer.

Boat Projects

The past couple of days have been all about maintenance: patching the dinghy, scrubbing inside and out, and battling the endless salt. Salt on clothes is its own lesson—turns out they won’t dry properly unless rinsed in fresh water, which we’re carefully conserving.

Boat Tales

Since Christmas, our nightly ritual has been cozying up with The Sopranos DVDs. Sometimes one episode, sometimes three, sometimes rewatching when someone nodded off. Many times, I got so wrapped up, I forgot I was on a boat at all. We finally finished the series—well, technically the night before, since we fell asleep and had to rewatch the finale. Now we’re left wondering: what’s next? We’ve got Breaking Bad (already seen), 24, and a few odds and ends, but nothing that excites me. Any suggestions?

Laundry Lessons

After cleaning the conch, I wiped out the bin with a dish towel. That towel went into my laundry bag, and soon everything smelled awful. Steve helped me track down the culprit, and everything in the laundry bag had to soak in Pine-Sol. Two days later the clothes were dry—still faintly Pine-Sol scented and put into a new laundry bag. The towel and one pair of socks (already shrunk to infant size thanks to the Georgetown dryer) didn’t survive.

Night Visitors

Saturday night brought a new kind of excitement: a large, flying black bug dive-bombed me in bed. It fluttered past, tangled in my hair, then crawled along the walls and floor. 

Steve eventually caught it, but I barely slept even with the light on as I was reliving the events. We’ve seen water bugs before, but this one flew—so is there such a thing as a flying water bug?

Shore Adventure

Friends anchored nearby invited us to Pete’s Café last night, about a 2.5-mile dinghy ride. They drove and we went crossing the open channel. It took 50 minutes in swells, foul-weather jackets, and plenty of spray. The ride back was smoother, but still—another adventure logged and grateful for these adventuresome friends!

Typical Bahamian Bar- Pete's



We saw this 134 foot sailboat - a classic!

Stay safe NC friends and family ..thinking of you with the storm on its way!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bahama Bound - Christmas Day

Image
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All! Christmas Underway: One Week Aboard SV Restless Christmas looked a little different for us this year-and that was exactly the point. Steve and I are one week into our winter journey south, leaving our home waters of North Carolina behind as we make our way toward the Bahamas aboard SV Restless .  Steve is a seasoned sailor; I am still fairly new to life under sail. Each day brings something unfamiliar, something beautiful, and something that reminds me just how small - and lucky- we are out here. A Carolina Beach Send off Before we even left, the trip began with family.  My sister and niece were visiting and generously gave us a ride to Carolina Beach where Restless was waiting.  It was so nice to have them there to see us off. We spend Christmas Eve aboard, picked up a mooring ball, and set sail first thing Christmas Day.  There was something quietly special about that- casting off lines while much of the world was openin...
Read more
Image
  January 13 – Day 20 Underway We had quite the storm roll in last evening just as we were anchored. At 1:30 a.m., curiosity got the best of me, so I took a look at what was happening. On Monday, I completed my final work task: dropping off the company laptop. ✔️! Another laundry day—much quicker without all the heavy winter gear. It really makes you appreciate your washer and dryer when you’re carrying laundry in a backpack, walking to a less-than-desirable part of town, and doing laundry to the soothing soundtrack of low-battery smoke detector beeps. Then it’s back to the boat we go. Today was filled with meetings focused on educating everyone about where to go—and where not to go—in the Bahamas. After listening to the briefings, a decision had to be made about when the group feels it’s best to cross the Gulf Stream. There is a heavy weather front expected in the Bahamas on Thursday, so leaving Wed and crossing the Gold Stream isn't necessarily the issue.  The bigger questi...
Read more
Image
   January 8 - Day 15 Under way Our time in Vero Beach was productive -though not exactly thrilling. I'll admit, I rolled my eyes when I was told it would take all day to do laundry and grocery shop…  Turns out..it did. Super busy in that laundry room! While I was buried in laundry cycles, Steve tackled an important project: getting the mater maker fully hooked up and running. Huge accomplishment! Whew - what a relief! All sailors know that water quality equals quality of life, and I am grateful for his knowledge and patience with this stuff. I did get a workout in which consisted of running to the top of the bridge and back to the marina to check on the laundry...then back up to the top of the bridge...and back down again to check the laundry one more time.  Twice was enough! As a brand-new cruiser, I have also discovered a new "toy" I now consider essential headphones. No more WHAT? ICAN'T HEAR YOU! shouted across the boat...game changer! We met another couple head...
Read more