DECEMBER 26, 2007

ABOVE:
What the GPS showed after being anchored at night in the current
Our friend Hilda at Christmas
The plane wreck from the surface-if only I could get the pix from below. Watch out for blowfish and stingrays
the water heater I put in at Warderick Wells
The map to the shipwreck


Jack
Today we hiked all over the island (Warderick Wells), and then we went for a snorkel. We have to swim out at the right time, and always watch the current here, because as the tide goes in and out, up and down plus or minus three feet, the current is really intense. Like, as fast as you can swim with fins on, you just barely stay in place, but can’t go past it. Anyway, so we choose our times. Today, the highlight was a reef where we saw lobsters that were around three feet long, by other people’s estimates. I would say that would include the antennas, but either way, that sucker was HUGE. There were a few of them, actually. Pesky nature preserves and their no-giant-lobster-eating rules. Shoot. This was the first day in a while I spent any time in the water, because I’ve been kind of terrified of rubbing salt in my wounds, since my skin has still been a mess, and I regularly scratch it all up still. My latest is that I might be allergic to milk, which I sorely hope is true. If I am, that could mean the end of all this scabby madness. Dare I dream? Never thought I’d be so excited to not drink milk. Anyway, I’m waiting and seeing. And for now, snorkeling. So I’m pretty happy. It’s not gone, but better the last few days. Anyhow. I’m gonna run and go post this. I’ve been online for four hours trying to get Skype to work so I could call the family for Christmas, or December 26th, and Laura’s birthday to no avail. But then, the nice people I just met next to me let me call there, and David too. Pretty nice people around here.

Catching up at Christmas

DECEMBER 25
Jack here. Merry Christmas, y’all. It’s been a few days since I wrote, and I suppose I feel guilty for not having documented the things that have happened since I last wrote, but I’ve been so busy, and no online service. Unfortunately, with my memory, a lot of that detail is probably gone now.

What’s been up? Well, I’ll reiterate the last week if possible, and hope that I’m not rewriting something you’ve read. We left Nassau and headed for Alan’s Cay. We came in in strong winds from the east, and since it was very dark and no moon, we decided it was too dangerous to head in with all the rocks around our anchorage. So we threw anchor outside of the protected shelter of Alan’s. After a time though, it was so rough, we decided we would try to head in very slowly and try to make it. Well, we snuck in, threw anchor again and enjoyed the calm. In the morning we were shocked to see the treacherous surroundings we had barely missed. And had we gone any further before throwing anchor, we would have driven straight into some really nasty rocks too. A narrow miss for old Fiberglass Vengeance. Whew.
We went ashore and took some pictures, walked the island, and explored some ruins. The real highlight though was the iguanas that had taken over. They were EVERYwhere. And not shy either. They bite, I’m told but luckily didn’t experience it. You supposedly get a wicked infection from a bite. There was a house there built of cement that had bad structure supporting the roof, so it caved in. It was tempting to imagine coming back with a few materials on a big raft and fixing it back up. It would be pretty easy, and you’d have this amazing house in this most awesomely picturesque harbor. Except Warderick Wells, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Next we snorkeled at Norman’s which is a bit south. That was another treacherous ride coming in. On the west side of the island, no waves, nice wind, full sail. To enter the harbor though, you have to sail around and enter from the east. Well, in the space of 50 feet the waves grew to about 4 feet. Shortly later, they were 8 or ten feet. Quite exciting, and difficult, but not impossible to maneuver in. They didn’t spook me like they did coming into Bimini. Maybe because I’m more confident, or maybe they just weren’t as confused of seas. Anyway, we were comfortable enough to take a detour out of our way to see another shipwreck we spotted in the distance wrecked on a reef.
Then into the harbor, which was scary because we were counting on these charts with our asses on the line. We ended up finding the opening to the harbor, not more than fifteen feet wide between jagged lava rocks to sailf through. And then: total calm. Pretty cool. Bless the hearts of the people that made the Explorer charts. Without them, we’d be wrecked out on that reef too.
We snorkeled about there, got conch, made conch salad, and then stayed the night. The following day we went to an airplane wreck and snorkeled it. Circled by barracuda, I was glad that I had been putting tape over my earrings, because they’re attracted to shiny things.
The airplane was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. We heard that it was basically all gone, but oh, no. It was a big old double engine prop plane that had maybe seven or ten rows of seats. Through a hole in the roof we snorkeled through to the tail Pretty fat. I took one or two underwater shots, till out of film, but I was absolutely kicking myself for not getting more shots of it. It was AMAZING. And underneath, big ol’ red snapper and a couple big grouper. Maybe two feet. So I go get the Hawaiian sling, kind of a poor man’s speargun, and go fishing. Chase off the barracuda, and try to get over under the wing to take the shot. My wet suit is so buoyant though, and the current crazy strong from the tide coming in that I just couldn’t get under that wing for more than a second before letting go, and floating to the top, missing the shot. SO, I look around for something to hold onto to keep under water for a few seconds. I reach for what I think is a piece of plane structure on the bottom, and happen to notice a pattern in the sand nearby. I realized that what I reached for, and almost grabbed was the tail of an eagle ray about six feet long. OKAY, I guess I won’t grab that. So I dive down, get under the wing, putting my shoulder to it to stay down, and pull back my sling at this big grouper.
BOOM. I shot that sucker, and it puffs up HUGE. What I thought was a grouper was a big, big blowfish, and now it’s racing around under this wing with a spear through it. It’s going crazy, the eagle ray goes crazy, and I’m backpedaling like a madman, and Ruth behind me.
Whew. A minute later, grab my spear that it dislodged, and split. That was exciting. On the way out, I grab a window of the plane that is loose on the sea floor. Cool stuff. It’s on the boat now. I’ll try to post a picture.
Next was Warderick Wells, which is the most beautiful harbor imaginable. A huge sweeping crescent of electric blue water with a wrapping curve of white sand inside it. And the people here: Amazingly cool. Ruth and I have so many new friends, that we’ve made so quickly.
One of them, Chris, we met in Nassau and were hoping to see here. He’s a dog and cat lover and superfunny and cool. He’s got a boat that is an absolute work of art. It is incredible. Three stories, fifty feet long, all wood inside. Picture a wooden socket cover over a socket that is in the corner of a curved wall. Cut just so to fit in the corner perfectly. Everything on this boat is like that. Just incredible. Like a Henderson Castle on the water, but modern.
Anyway, Chris is here with us, and our friend Dan just got in last night. We had a big Christmas feast on the beach with everyone bringing a dish. Amazing stuff. A blast with all of these cool people. It’s weird. It’s not like I’m used to, where out of a hundred people you meet, a few you might pick as friends, and some that you just find to be a royal pain in the ass. Here, the rule is none are a pain in the ass, and most you would pick as friends. Maybe boating just attracts the most laid back, positive, giving people into one place. Like our friend Dan. He just offers to give us a 30 gallon water bladder. (editor’s note: he dropped it off before leaving. I can’t wait to put it in the boat. I don’t know what it costs, but it’s not free. Nice guy. The day we met him, he cooked us pizza, gave us wine, books, and a CD. It’s like everyone’s trying to pay it forward, as they say.
I just found out that Chris is willing to let me give him a circular saw, so I finally get to do something for someone else. I gave him a big hug after he let us use his computer to get a skype call out to my pore ol’ mother. He TOTALLY saved the day, and saved Christmas for me. All I wanted for Christmas was to touch base at home, and I got my wish. I talked to my mom for 20 minutes, and got to tell her to let everyone know I love them. I feel very lucky. Thanks to him, and all of you guys for making me feel that way so much. We’re here now, and Chris just gave me a beer, and we’re going to watch a Sopranos DVD that another set of cool friends lent us. The same people that sent over soy milk when they overheard my complaints of cornflakes with water because I’m exploring a possible dairy allergy.
Oh, and I forgot. Dan and Morningglory stopped by last night with a box of wine and chips and salsa. And then he announced he’s giving us the water bladder. Amazing.

Ruth-xmas in the Exumas

We are staying on this island that is the center of the Exuma National
Sea Park. It is a large area of land and water where it is against the
law to fish or take anything from the land...thus the sea, coral, and
plant life are PHENOM!!!! The other day I went out for a run on their
trails...and I quickly found out these trails are TRAILS. Like,
hardcore steep coral rock, swamp areas, way overgrown paths, beaches,
ruins from 1780, and routes under dark shady palms! I ended up
hiking/jogging (I could barely jog because the trails were so intense) and
I was out there by myself for over 3 hours! Oh my god, it was the
fucking BEST! I totally got lost in it. I'm taking Jack out there
again for Christmas and I am SO bringing the camera. On the hike I saw
numerous native birds, a fucking crazy amount of lizards and iguanas
(like over a hundred literally, darting constantly out of my path), a
snake, and a couple times I spotted
the only mammal native to the Bahamas, whose home is on this island.
It's called a Hutia. It sort of looks like an overgrown
hamster/rat. But still, cool. OH, and I also saw four stingrays when I
was walking over this small "bridge." I watched them swim around and
bury themselves in the sand. It was so sweet! So beautiful, and so relaxing.

Yesterday, while Jack napped, I went snorkeling with two other couples.
They picked me up on their dingy and we sped across the sound into
certain cuts that have a lot of coral heads (and thus a lot of marine
life). I saw the most GORGEOUS coral and the most BEAUTIFUL fish. Some
highlights: I saw a big nassau grouper, a huge redtail snapper, and a
big BARACUDA --those are scary, very very curious fish that give you a
steady creepy stare and follow you around. They have jagged, sharp
teeth...look up some pics of these fish and you can see what I saw!

Every mooring on this anchorage will be taken by the time christmas
arrives. It is filling up fast, and everyone here is wonderful!
Everyone is so laid back and so nice, with great sense of humors and a
great sense of giving and sharing. On Christmas, at around 2 o'clock,
everyone will have a potluck on the beach. Although I will miss my
family and friends greatly, it will still be a joyous time. In a sense
we will still be having a white christmas --the sand here is pure
white!

Before arriving in the Exuma sea park, we spent some time in Allen,
Highborne, and Norman Cays anchored out. Some highlights:
At Allen we saw prehistoric iguanas on one of the islands. They are
very large (few feet in length) and not at all shy...super fast and
they will charge at you! It was sweet. We also enjoyed "sundowners"
(basically cocktails and snacks) with four other couples on one of
their boats.

At Highborne we anchored out of a cold front and fueled up. The next
day we motored down to Norman's Pond - an area I wanted to see because
it had caves in the rocky coral walls. We cut through to the east side
of the islands and endured an INTENSE east wind that had churned up
the waves hardcore. Most of them were literally ten feet, yet they
were still manageable (at least Jack was able to manage them..)
because although steep, they were rolling and far enough apart that we
could ride them. It was like being on a mini rollarcoaster for four
miles!

At Norman's Cay we tucked into a shallow area called Norman's Pond,
which was extremely beautiful. As Jack said, it looked like Gilligan's
Island. The day after arriving, we snorkeled the caves and I walked
inside one. It would take hours to describe how beautiful it was. The
reflection of the sun on the glistening water flickered along the cave
walls like a softly glowing candle. The shapes, textures, colors,
light and shadows were among the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. I
didn't have a camera -- not that I think a camera would catch what I
was seeing-- but I will never ever forget the picture I have in my
mind of those moments. I spent about 15 minutes in one little area
just taking it all in.

The following day, we tucked into a small anchorage at the south of
Norman's cay, where we planned on snorkeling a plane wreck. This one
was just as awesome, if not better, than the first. The plane was
almost entirely intact. The body was partially sticking out of the
water, but the ceiling of the body had eroded so that you could
snorkel THROUGH the body of the plane. That was an amazing experience.
It brought me so close to the fish inside. They were swimming all
around me and some of them even began nibbling on my fingers (I was
wearing diving gloves). The two engine propellars were also intact.
The marine life was extraordinary! The fish were not shy at all. At
one point I had --no question --at LEAST thirty fish swirling all
around me...below me and to all sides of me!
Underneath one of the wings of the wreck, we spotted a couple
groupers and Jack saw a snapper too. So he went back to the boat and
busted out the new Hawiian sling we just bought in Nasseau, hooked it
up, and swam back out to spear some fish! Mmmm dinner! But get this:
first of all, the current was getting stronger by the minute, so he
was having a hard time staying still in the water and getting the
sling to shoot where he was aiming. So in order to improve his balance
he leaned down toward something that looked like a long rod of
steal...part of the wreckage. But as his eyes followed the "rod," he
noticed a certain pattern in the sand and realized it was an eagle
ray! Like, a HUGE eagle ray!!! This thing was at about four feet
across...it could have totally wrapped its "wings" around my body in a
big eagle ray hug. It was just huge. And Jack was THAT close to
grabbing its tail! ( P.S. The tail of the stingray is its "weapon" to
ward off predators or stun prey). Yeah.
That's not all though- Jack eventually finds some stability by
grabbing onto the wing of the plane and aims the sling, pulls back and
BAM! No, POOF! A big, -- i mean BIG --BLOWFISH puffs itself up. It
starts wriggling around with the spear still stuck in it. big and
spikey, churning up sand, and the large eagle ray gets up too ...it
was one of those "GO! GO! GO!" situations where we swam fast as hell
to get out of there! But at the same time, I was sooo fascinated by
the sight, I couldn't bring myself to swim my fastest. Although, trust
me, I swam away fast. Obviously, Jack didn't mean to hit a
BLOWFISH...so we figured it was a bust and went back to the boat.
Fucking inSANE though!!! :) :) :) :)

Poor Blowey :( :( :( :(

The next day we sailed about 15 miles south. We started the motor so
that we could plow through the bigger seas on the east side of the
islands so that we could check out a wreck. During this procedure, we
almost became a wreck ourselves! Bascially, the wreck we saw had
crashed right upon these hard reefs and on our way over there we had
to maneuver around the rocks ourselves, mostly by bottom reading.
There was one point where we had just taken down the sail and as I
hopped back into the cockpit from the bow, I looked out in front of us
and noticed a thick and sharp rock head sticking out of the water
RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. I just started screaming over the sound of the
wind and the water "GO STARBOARD! GO STARBOARD! GO PORT! GO
ANYWHERE!!" I just wanted to holler. Jack was quick in his movements
and he immediately slowed the motor and turned to starboard just in
time to miss it. Wow, that was a close one!

We anchored outside the harbor that night, but on our way in we saw
our first shark! (Discounting the 10 or so Nurse Sharks, which are
harmful bottom feeding sharks, that we saw in Great Harbor). With this
shark, I spotted his fin sticking out of the water, maybe 100 feet
from the boat. It looked TOTAL Jaws-like. The fin submerged and then
appeared again. It was a dark blue, gleaming, very sharp,
threatening-looking fin! It was so cool!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

sunset.....ruth at the beach club, little harbor cay...bagged wahoo from fisherman at little harbor

coral rock...twisted plant...our first conch salad!...sunset at the berry's

pics galore!

a sand dollar I found.....me sleepily drunk on red wine....my souviniers from great stirrup cay....a water cave outside great harbor cay

Ruth - Dec. 12th

We are in Nassau right now, but should be leaving shortly for the
Exumas. We hear great things about Wardericks Cay and Staniel Cay
(where there is a beach that has swimming pigs!!!) But we plan to
return to Nassau around Christmas because the day after Christmas is
the Bahamian official holiday called "Boxing Day" in which they have this
huge celebration (the type of celebration is similar to mardi gras, in terms of the numerous parades and countless marching bands). They call the
celebration "Junkanoo" and they repeat it for New Year's Day too.
We met someone last week who works on a charter boat. His name is Nathan.
About 2 weeksinto January he will be completely in charge of the boat and so he's
having his girlfriend fly in for that time. He invited us to join them and
take the boat out and go on scuba diving adventures!!! (That means
we'll have access to all the equipment for free...) His name is Nathan
and he is way way cool, so we figured it'd be worth sticking around
for before continuing to go south. The boat is a large catamaran--a two hauled, in this case double masted, sailboat. They usually book about 16 people on board when they take it out, so imagine just the four of us having it to ourselves! :)
The weather here is phenomenal! It's been 75-80 degrees everyday,
70 at night. The sun shines all the time, very bright! We are staying
in a harbor (the longest we've ever stayed in one--usually we anchor
out, sheltered between islands), so there is a constant breeze coming
in off the water. The plant life is tropical and beautiful and the
people just keep getting friendlier and friendlier! We've never been
hassled yet for a thing which we expected after hearing that Nassau
was a very "crime-ridden" city. We constantly run into friendly, easy-going people.

This morning I went for a run (the first in about a week). GOD did it feel good!!! I ran for about 30 -40 minutes and crossed the longest and highest bridge I've ever run to get to Paradise Island, where all the fancy resorts, casinos, and basically upscale shit is. I figured it'd be the safest for jogging, basically. The other runs I've taken on this trip so far have either been on completely deserted islands or MOSTLy deserted islands with a lot of plant and animal life. The best part of a long, hard uphill run is the built-in reward of the spectacular view you get to witness!!! I feel such a strong sense of calm and freedom knowing that the dogs are safe. We have such wonderful friends we can rely on. I feel so fortunate.

It feels great to run. Feels wonderful to stop worrying. Feels good to be able to continue to make plans. I can't wait to explore the Exumas! I can't wait for Junkanoo! I've been writing some pretty fun music since we've been in Nassau. I can't wait to share it with others! :)

Don't kick me, but I AM a bit jealous
of all of you in Michigan experiencing the pure white snow, the
beautiful naked trees, the wet cold slush. It's such a wonderful experience to bundle up in the cold and take in the beauty of winter. And it all makes being inside
with a fire, christmas tunes, and hot cocoa sooo sooo enjoyable. Everyone up there- please make a
snowball for me! And a snowgirl!! On a snowboard!!! :)

Ruth-Sat, Dec 8th

Dear Blogspot,
These last few days here in Nassau have been
absolutely charming! It gives us both a sense of
relief to top off our provisions and take care of
things back in New Orleans via the Internet. We have
been visiting the starbucks across the street nearly
everyday to get online and it’s been helpful. We were
able to charge the boat batteries, stock up on more
water and food, and stock up on everything we need
hardware wise. The best part of our Nassau experience,
though, has been the people we’ve met! Other boaters
and all the locals have been AWESOME and have treated
us so well!
After docking, we soon met Chris who is cruising
alone on a huge Trawler (big powerboat, luxury yacht)
next to us. That night the music of a practicing
Junkanoo band (Junkanoo: the Bahama’s celebration of
Christmas, Boxing Day, and the New Year) wafted over
the marina, so all three of us decided to go out
walking to try to find them. The walk was very nice
and it ended up in a café/bar called Jumbey’s. It is
a very cozy, warm place. We sat together and drank and
talked ALL NIGHT, till at LEAST 4 in the morning. We
all got to know each other, he shared with us some
really key islands to visit, and him and I discussed
running a bit. We all talked a whole lot about dogs,
cats, and raccoons that night (Chris once spent time
raising baby raccoons and releasing them into the
wild). All three of us, at some point in the
conversation, teared up when referring to a particular
special pet of ours that had passed away. (My tears
were for Beau and for missing our dogs, and Jack
teared up about his previous dog Tang). One guy at the
bar had brought his dog and she was running around
being playful and adorable. I think that cheered all
of us up. When the bar closed at 11 we checked out the
bar upstairs and hung out on the balcony that
overlooks part of the harbor. Topics of conversation
included the adventures of cruising we’ve experienced
so far, our reasons for being there and our family’s
reactions to the idea. We eventually headed back to
our boats and Chris was kind enough to give us the
grand tour of his palace. His yacht is gorgeous inside
and out, especially in terms of woodwork. Needless to
say, we were extremely impressed. Jack was especially
fond of the woodwork, good ol’ chap.
What I enjoyed about Chris the most was the fact
that after touring and hanging out on his boat for
awhile, he jumped right on over to our tiny thing
(tiny in comparison with his) and actually came inside
to drink a little more and chill. He even picked up
the ukulele for the first time and Jack taught him a
couple of chords. That was great of Chris to do,
because most people don’t even want to set foot on our
boat, and those who do barely take a peak of the
inside. I guess because of its size. But size doesn’t
matter, b*tch. So that was way cool of him to hang out
with us on our turf for awhile. It was very nice. We
rarely have visitors. Another way cool thing that
Chris did was actually stay an extra day (which is
expensive in a dock like this with a boat like his)
JUSt to hang out with us a little more. We all bonded
very well. We exchanged emails and chances are high
that we will meet up with him at either Norman Cay or
Waldrig Cay near the top of the Exumas.
There is a couple from Ireland docked across from us,
who live on a huge catamaran and work for a company
doing charters and fixing up the boat. They had
Nathan, from Miami, working with them. On Thursday
night Jack, Chris, and I went back to Jumbey’s to
check out a jazz band, and Nathan later joined us.
Seeing the jazz band was great! They played standards
like “Straight, No Chaser,” “My Favorite Things,” you
get the picture. The setup was drums, a bongo and
djembe player, upright bass, keyboard, and a
saxophonist. They were very good and you could tell
they had been playing together and knew each other’s
style. A couple of locals who attended the show got
called up to the stage near the end and sang. One man
and one woman, and they were amazing! During the
show, Nathan encouraged us to check out Potter’s Cay
(about a six block walk from the marina), where none
of the tourists are, a very local spot with a bunch of
little shops that, according to him, serve the best
conch ever!
Well, on Friday night, after we said goodbye to Chris,
we headed down there with Nathan, Michelle and Gavin
(the Irish couple). Nathan was so right!!! Jack and I
even went back there today for lunch and ordered waaay
too much food! It is sooo good! Last night we ate the
conch salad, conch fritters with fries, and a fried
yellowtail (snapper that is). It was soooo much fun!!
We met the fucking BEST people there. I love it when
older folks party it up and live it up with the
younger crowd! We met a local legend named Hugh
Mackie. He is 76 years old but has more energy and
lust for life than even myself! It was nonstop
laughter. One example of a good time was when he kept
joking about his baldness and I joked about him
getting a wig. Before I knew it, he got in his car and
actually came out with the FUNNIEST crazy hair wig! We
had plenty of laughs passing it around and trying it
all on. During that time, Jack was behind me playing
checkers with the locals. Apparently Bahamians have
twisted the traditional rules of checkers and turned
it into their own game. Gavin and Michelle are very
very nice people and a WHOLE lot of fun and laughs.
Just plain great people to be around. I guess it all
comes back to that great, outgoing attitude. They
even bought our food and beers! I am in LOVE with the
local Bahamian beer, Kalick. It tastes similar to a
Miller High Life but much MUCH better. There are no
bathrooms over in the Potter’s Cay area, so when you
have to go (and believe me, you DO after about 12
beers) you have to go behind the buildings into the
ocean! People kept buying us beer after beer after
beer…after beer after beer, etc! It just went on and
on! They wouldn’t stop bringing it too us! It was
great!! J
There are many more people I could mention that
have touched us emotionally with their friendliness
and kindness. All the locals and cruisers have been
sooo sooo helpful. “Everything’s cool” is a phrase
I’ve heard from a number of locals down here since
being in Bimini. It’s kind of like a “don’t worry, be
happy” type of phrase. Every time I’ve asked someone
how they were doing, my response was always along the
lines of “I’m doing great…ALL the time!” The attitudes
are inspiring to say the least. Peter the Harbor
Master -- “and the harbor master too,”(snuck in a
personal joke) – let us stay a night for free. That
saved us 50 bucks! For the record, most marinas cost
us 20 to 30 bucks because of our small boat. I guess
he’s told a couple of people that he really likes our
boat. We’ve gotten the same reaction to our boat in
Great Harbor, where the harbor master, Shaggy (yes his
name was Shaggy!) let us stay three nights for free
because he said he liked our boat! Yeah, that was also
the time that, besides free dockage, we got a car ride
all over the island from Patty and Bonnie, POUNDS of
wahoo from a neighboring fisherman, another fisherman
offered to set up a good lure for us, Patty and John
picked up our tab at the local beach club bar and had
us over for a large and very much in charge
thanksgiving-esque dinner!
We went to a dive shop the other day and bought a
Hawaiian sling for spear-fishing, and aqua shoes to
protect me from sea urchins when we walk rocky reefs.
Nathan has invited us back to Nassau in January when
he and his girlfriend will have the boat to themselves
for a couple weeks. He has offered to take us out
scuba diving! The boat is equipped with tanks, a
compressor, and all the basic gear! Normally a trip
like that would cost a fair amount, but we would get
to do it for free of course. It never stops!
I hope everyone in Michigan is enjoying a beautiful
winter. I hope all your evenings consist of hot cocoa
in front of a warm fire. I hope you’re all making
snowballs or slushballs, snowmen, going sledding, and
enjoying all the fun things that go with the season!
The only music we hear down here at this time is
Christmas music a the stores and restaurants. There is
also a decent amount of decorations and lights
throughout the stores and the city, so I am
experiencing it enough to feel festive. J I will miss
everyone around Christmas the most. I will be thinking
of you!!! Love you. Love you too, Blogspot. Goodnight!

Where do these people come from?

Jack
Wednesday, December 8. I have no idea why I just wrote that. It’s Saturday, I think. Or, they SAY it is anyway. I don’t believe them. I think it’s still today. Whatever it is.
I’m having that weird and wondrous strange feeling you have when you’re hungover. When everything’s kind of in slow motion, and strange, and kind of funny. And all of your nerves are raw from being up late last night drinking Guinness, and playing checkers with old guys named “Telephone,” and Charlie. And Hugh, who became an American citizen so he could fight in Viet Nam and lost some of his fingers. And because all of your nerves are experiencing the opposite of the depressant effect of the alcohol since it has now worn off, you feel excitable, and all of your emotions are cranked up another 75%. Everything is a big deal. Like this morning when we went back to the place we ate last night because the food was so incredible, and a guy asked about my “Lucky” tattoo, and I told him it’s not a nickname, but rather something that’s on my arm to tell you guys how I feel because I have you all. And I told him it just brought tears to my eyes to say it, and it did.

Anyway, here I am again. Still in Nassau. We had expected to pull out the day before yesterday, but Peter the harbormaster said it was okay, we could stay the night at no charge. So naturally, we stayed two more nights. (Oh, quick side note: Peter was quoted as saying he liked our boat, among all the other boats in that marina, all these huge, amazing, expensive boats, and he said he’d like to have one like… ours. The way we set it up. With the solar panels, and all that. How incredibly flattering to me. Of all these boats…) And now tonight, and we told him we’re staying again, because we’re still trying to email home, and make sure our dogs are okay, etc., and he charged us for one night only. People are so amazingly nice here, it’s like the opposite of usual with strangers, it’s like Christmas and everyone’s trying to give more to the person around them than they’re receiving, and you end up with this flurry of abundance and you’re sitting in the middle of it scratching your head, and the only thing that makes any sense is the tattoo on your arm.

Last night, we went to a place called Potter’s Cay, even though it’s still on the island. It’s a few blocks, under the bridge to Paradise Island, which is like the Bloomfield Hills of Nassau. What it is is where poor people hang out, old guys are playing checkers and dominoes, and drawing a crowd, and they even invited me to play and tore me into little pieces in about two seconds. It was sweet. There’s these plywood buildings, like fifteen in a row, 10x10, all touching, with people inside making cracked conch (sliced, breaded, and fried, with French fries), and conch salad and not much else. Conch salad is amazing. I think it may be the best food on the entire planet, and not just because if you eat it it adds 10 years to your life (per serving), but because of how it tastes. It’s made up of:

Conch, raw, sliced, chopped and slathered up with lime juice
Raw onions, slathered up with lime juice
Barely pink tomatoes, maybe a bit green even,
More lime juice
That’s it. And you can get a bit of Scotch Bonnet pepper, the hottest in the world, with a nice flavor, and mix it in, and if you’re totally insane, you can put it in and start to eat without mixing it thoroughly.

But it is, as my mother would say, “a bowl of health.” It is AMAZING. Better than you would ever imagine the sum of these parts could be. The meat, in the lime juice, becomes tender, and is the purest, whitest flesh you can imagine. And the onions react with the lime juice, so you don’t have any of the heat of the raw onion, just the sweet crunch. Incredible food. Absolutely incredible. I think it’s the culinary highpoint of human experience, thus far. Just perfect. Could not be improved. And you get it for 6 bucks or something, and they take a big bowl, and pile it high like it’s a giant bowl of soft serve ice cream. Like three times taller than the bowl it’s in. Just stacked up there, and they’re like “here you go,” like it was just a normal everyday thing. Absolutely incredible.

And there’s few tourists, mostly locals. And you help yourself when you want another beer. You just walk back behind the counters and get another one. The Guinness is the kind we used to get in Detroit but can’t anymore, without the nitrogen capsule, in a bottle, served cold. And it’s 7.5%, and Michelle and Gavin and Nathan keep sticking another in your hand like every two seconds, and then at the end of the night, pick up the check. Something in the water?

I told Gavin about the book “How the Scottish invented the modern world,” and another book “How the Irish saved civilization,” because he and Michelle are from Ireland. And he said “Again?” And then he said “I knew the Scottish had invented copper wire.” I said, “Oh, yeah?” He said “Two Scotsman fighting over a penny.” That killed me.

They’re traveling with our friend Nathan, who lives on the catamaran with them, and helps crew it for diving expeditions. Another great guy, and funny as the day is long. Cool guy. We’re going to come back up in mid January and go out for some dives with him.

Speaking of good people (all I ever get a chance to write about anymore… did I mention that I’m typing on Tom Deater’s computer?), we just had two people come ask us all about our boat. They wanted to know all about how we’re doing it, and that was quite flattering, because the guy had been a captain and lived on a boat for years. Their names were… drum roll… Laura and Peter. (might be a sign, you guys).

Less than ten minutes later, we just had ANOTHER guy stop us and ask us about our boat. He said there’s rough weather coming in, a low (pressure system). 5 minutes into the conversation, he told us he’s going to try to find the GPS coordinates of a free, safe, mooring that he knows of that has no buoy. You dive for it. So in this big city, it’s unused, and he’s going to offer it to us. While he’s paying for dockage.

DOES THIS MADNESS EVER END?

Outta here tomorrow, Dec. 8

NOVEMBER 6, 2007. Jack here.

Wait, December, I mean. Wow, I thought I was doing well when I forgot for the last several days what day it was. But the month, I must be doing something RIGHT.
Okay, this one will be short, and a bit of nuts and bolts to tell everyone itinerary, etc. We’re still in Nassau, and it’s not nearly as bad as people say, but all the stores have to buzz you in and out, and almost every store in a strip mall has its own security guard. Lots of sirens, heard a few shots, I think, but otherwise pretty calm. They locked up the marina the night before last, and walking back from the bar we were trying to get in, and I jumped up on the roof to climb over, and come back and open the door while our friend Chris tried to climb the two fences, one conch-topped, the next barbed wire, but it was about a three story drop on the other side. The security guy came and let us in. He told me later he found my footprint on his car roof. I was careful to use the strong parts to walk on, and did not damage it, but I still felt like a jackass. Have I learned nothing in 38 years? I spose not. Oh well.

Chris is a super cool cat that was in the next slip, on his Selene 53. That didn’t mean anything to me either till we went inside it. It’s GORGEOUS. All wood inside, spacious, gorgeous. Gorgeous. The railings down the stairs are one piece of wood, cut, steamed, and bent around the corner, and the door moldings are also one piece of wood, up one side, over the top, and down the other side, steamed and wrapped. NICE. He gave us apricot beer and Malibu rum after picking up our check at the bar, and then came over for an impromptu ukelele lesson over vodka. We talked of dogs, more than anything, and felt a real connection to this big hearted lug. He’s a friend to dogs, cats, and now us.

We’re hanging with another really cool, really funny guy we went to the jazz band with last night. Who were REALLY good. The sax, the bassist, the vocalists in particular. Even better than the Kalik (beer) and conch fritters.

Oh where was I? Oh yeah. We bought chartbooks for the Exumas and far Bahamas, $55 each, but worth every penny, and will head south off Providence Island, where Nassau is, to the Exumas. This is an island chain that’s about 40 miles away (clear weather ahead, NICE!) that runs south like a backbone for a hundred miles or two. The east side is deep water, the west a couple feet, protected from the cold fronts and prevailing North and East winds, which is always a primary consideration. We’re going to Wardrick(spelling?) Cay, where we can hopefully volunteer a bit of labor in this national park in exchange for mooring and wifi, so we can keep up with the blog and email. Then to Staniel Cay, which is supposed to be pretty amazing. Pigs that swim in the sea. A grotto that has a hole in the top to snorkel in. And bread. Can’t WAIT. So we leave here December 8, after checking our email. Hope to be back on within a week after that, but you never know.

Okay, I have a lot of base-touching to do one on one, and Starbucks is giving me one hour of wireless internet with my purcharse, so I need to make it snappy, pappy. That’s probably about as many of these Starbucks-ized Christmas carols I can stand before I spray this place in some barely used chai latte.

Love you all.

Jack

Ruth - Dec. 4th

I am still wearing the yarn bracelet Caroline gave to me this summer.
I remember once I put it on, planning on keeping it on as long as I
could, and hoping, actually imagining, it would last through our trip
to the Bahamas. I literally fantasized of cruising around the ocean
and drinking and lying on the beaches wearing this bracelet. I even
packed a couple backups that she let me have so that if this one fell
off I would have more to wear during our Bahamian adventures. Every so
often I glance at it on my wrist and it makes me feel close to home
and close to her.
Yesterday we had planned on sailing to Nassau, but the skies were
looking dark, and since it is a 35 mile trek across open ocean (the
Northwest Providence Channel to be specific), we were not up for the
task. I therefore drank an enormous amount of wine, drank myself silly
in fact, and read all day and had long conversations with Jack,
including a literary discussion over the book we had both recently
finished by Hemingway called "The Sun Also Rises." Needless to say,
after hours of gulping copious amounts of red wine, I ended up
sprawled motionless on my back against the life cushions, wrapped in a
fuzzy blanket (that Jack has owned since he was 10) while the fresh
sea breeze blew refreshingly over my face as Jack drove us to the edge
of the Channel. I believe eating an entire package of warm bologna,
dripped with even more ketchup, earlier in the day when I was seized
with the munchies, didn't help the situation.
The day before that, we had anchored the night up at Great Stirrup Cay
at the tip of the Berry Islands. I woke up and paddled the dingy over
to the island and went for a very long and strange run. The island was
completely overgrown except for a trail that led to a lighthouse and
another trail that led to the other side of the island. After
literally dodging rats and rats and lizards dodging me, I made it to
the other side, which is property of the Norwegian Cruise Lines. It
was very strange and creepy to see a beach FULL of hundreds of lawn
chairs, picnic tables, hammocks, concession stand after concession
stand, kayaks, rafts, jet skis, huge beer coolers – all abandoned!
Don't worry, I checked the big coolers, but everything had been
cleaned out. I did, however, take a couple NCL party drink cups as
souvenirs.
The Bahamas are beautiful. Really, very beautiful. Most of the islands
are uninhabited but are hard to explore because they are completely
overgrown with mangroves, palms, vines, and other growth. We saw a
dead raccoon on a reef at Frazer's Hog. Sorry, just remembered that.
That was on Jack's birthday and was the night we found at least a
dozen conch but didn't eat any of them because the fisherman who we
met when we came back shared their huge mama conchs with us. So
anyway, back to how beautiful the Bahamas are: the waters really are
crystal f*ckin clear! The colors are indescribable. The deep blue of
the ocean is like no blue I've ever seen, as well as the aqua blue of
the sandy shallow waters. It's so wonderful to be able to see the
bottom at 30 and 40 feet! Today we took the big trip to Nassau from
Bonds Cay (at the bottom of the Berries). It took us about 8 hours to
cross, and when we were close to the harbor past these huge rocky
reefs, we anchored the boat and jumped in the deep, clear water. We
did this once before traveling from Chub Cay to Frazer's Hog. That
time I jumped butt naked into about 30 –40 feet of water, and the
aqua-blue salty liquid was so clear that the bottom looked like it was
2 inches away. Thrilling! True love to he ocean. True love. I'm
fortunate enough that the salt doesn't bother me either. I've been in
the water nearly everyday for a swim or a snorkel without any
irritation.
Well, we made it here and will be in Nassau for a few days doing some
shopping for provisions, checkin out a museum or two, and maybe even
Scuba Diving! This is all very exciting. I have Christmas lights as my
computer background. I love all my family and all my friends.

Ruth-Dec 1st

is the most amazing experience to look up and see literally
hundreds of bright stars in my field of vision. It is easy to get lost
in this multitude of magnificence. It is equally amazing to dive and
look down and see hundreds of fish. Beautiful, bright fish. Schools
upon schools of striped, fluorescent blue, yellow, silver and red
fish. Swimming and swirling beneath me, curious and unafraid. A very
comforting feeling. This, I experience almost on a daily basis. The
wind, the water, the sun, the life of the sea. The clouds, the stars,
the people. Everything and everyone so refreshing. So revitalizing.
The taste of salt on my lips and in my mouth has so quickly turned
from a foreign feeling to a comforting one. So many people we meet are
friendly, kind, thoughtful, GIVING.
Two days ago (hard to measure, since two days feels like a week), we
docked our boat for a few hours at the Great Harbor Marina at Great
Harbor Cay expecting to pay for water and a hardware part for our
broken grill with what little money we had. By the time we would have
typically left the marina, we had gotten a ride all afternoon from
some homeowners on the island helping us with our errands, the marina
captain told us we could stay a few nights for free and gave us free
water and showers, and traveling fisherman hooked us up with POUNDS of
freshly cut steaks of wahoo! The following day, those same homeowners
(Patty, John, and Bonnie) stopped by our boat and invited us to the
'Beach Club' for drinks. They introduced us to their friends, who were
all wonderful people. They picked up our tab before we could get
theirs. AND they invited us over for dinner. Since our grill was
broken at the time, we were able to cook some of the fish at their
house and they provided numerous side dishes and drinks. It was
incredible. It was like Thanksgiving. We had fried Wahoo marinated in
two different sauces (garlic & herb and mesquite & lime), salad, stir
fry vegetables, hardboiled eggs, and CANABA ROOT, which was made like
mashed potatoes but is seriously way WAY better and probably one of
the best things I've ever eaten IN MY LIFE.
The people of the Bahamas are so friendly and giving! On Frazer's Hog
we ran into a couple guys who had caught about six of seven large
conch. After seeing us hack away at our tiny conch (which was to be
our dinner), they called us over and showed us the best way to pull
the conch from their shell. That was nice enough, but they didn't stop
there. They proceeded to actually make us an entire conch salad…lime
juice, lemon juice, onions, green peppers, salt, hot peppers, and
all! It was the most tender conch I have had so far! They even shared
their Jamaican weed with us (which needless to say, if you're from the
States, you cannot FATHOM the awesomeness of this Jamaican grown bud!)
In ADDITION, they wanted to see if their extra BaTelCo card would fit
in Jack's phone – meaning we would have been able to have cell phone
service anywhere in the Bahamas! Unfortunately the card didn't fit
because of the phone brand. But these guys just wanted to give it to
us, free of any charge. They shared so much of what they had, in
return for NotHiNG. What badasses. Seriously, Bahamians kiiiinda rock.

Today, we left the harbor to check out two wrecks. The first was a
shipwreck 4 miles north of the harbor. We dinghy'd over to that one
and took pics. The corrosion was atrocious. We don't know the history,
though we'd like to find out. The second expedition was a plane
wreck!! It was fully sunk! It was phenomenal! The wings were still
fully attached as well as many of the other plane parts. The propeller
was stellar. It was a haven for mad amounts of fish, including these
light blue/aqua type fish that I don't know the name of but would like
to find out. Beautiful. Jack saw an angel fish! Red and white striped.
I almost ran into a small jellyfish on my way back to the boat.
Exciting! I love snorkeling sooo much It is freedom! Tomorrow we are
planning on snorkeling this reef near where we are anchored. We are on
the south side of great stirrup cay. It is supposed to be great for
lobstering.
Oh, I saw my first sharks the other day! They were Nersharks, the
harmless ones, bottom feeders, although they have been known to bite
when prodded with (of course who wouldn't bite when prodded)> But
seriously, they were BEAUTIFUL! Tanned colored, and fairly big!
Biggest fish I've ever seen so far, at least. Longest maybe seven feet
long? I saw at least twelve of them swimming around the dock at the
marina near dusk. Late afternoon and dusk is when the sharks like to
eat so we will stay away from reefs around that time. Excited for
tomorrow! Snorkeling will be the ultimate, hopefully I will run on the
island? I will have to dingy in though, so we'll see. The other half
of the day we plan on sailing south along the outside of the berry
islands, in the deep water of the ocean. Maybe we will troll…we have
P-LENTY of wahoo bait given to us as a gift specifically for bait so
that should be great for pulling up a large fish! Yay! This is the
sweetest and the best. I'm so happy and seriously Jack is the SHIT
cause he spent so much time trying to fix our propane valve that broke
because the tiller whapped it hard in strong winds. And he did it! He
never gave up , try after try, when the glue didn't work , nor the
Teflon, or the JB Weld, nor the fiberglass…then he finally sawed the
pipe and clamped it on to the propane tank tube. Man, he is the shit.
Tonight he cooked up some of our gift wahoo…I don't know how he
seasoned it but it was the tastiest, most tender, fish I've ever had!
The thickest and purest piece of meat I've ever had. He sautéed onions
and green peppers and threw them on top, and added corn on the side.
Oh man, that man can cook. And fix things! My man! I am so fortunate
to be sitting here on a beautiful cozy boat, our wonderful home, with
a belly full of pure fresh ocean fish, listening to the halyard
occasionally slap the mast in the wind and the vhf cord strike back
and forth inside the mast. It has become such a beautiful sound to me.
A lullaby to fall asleep to as the water sways the boat, rocking us to
sleep! Stars shining celestially above me, snorkel gear and wetsuits
in the cockpit waiting to be used tomorrow, towel hanging, drying.
Wonderful Jack asleep on the comfy foam cushions we made our bed.
Plenty of water, plenty of food, plenty of gas, full battery, plans to
go to Nassau soon. I feel very free!

A Plane Wreck

This was AWESOME. Tons of fish swimming inside and around a plane wreck in about 12 feet of water. Gorgeous, clear water, plane fairly intact. We took a few underwater photos. Maybe we can get them developed somewhere and up online before we return... I realize you can't see it so well from this one. Lionfish down there too. Very poisonous/dangerous but beautiful. I wish we could find out the story of this plane. I grabbed a small hunk of the wing to bring anyone who is interested. Chris Lison and Mary Lee and Vincent come to mind...

Fiberglass Vengeance, Indeed

Encasing oreos in epoxy resin. Stir crazy, with too much time on my hands. Like "The Shining," only the snow is melted, and 400 feet deep, and you're floating in it.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BAHAMAS, STAYS IN THE BAHAMAS

December 4, 2007

12-4-07
Nassau. Finally. Only 35 miles away, but a bit of a tough slog, even with the wind behind us. The boat is very difficult to steer when the waves get large, and they probably weren’t more than three feet, and far apart (swells, as they say, as opposed to steep, breaking waves) they were confused, and coming from a few directions. I get a bit nervous when out of sight of land on all sides, especially when we get storm clouds driving around in glorified lightning rod. I start imagining a lightning strike, and then what we’d do with a hole burned through the boat, and the VHF antenna fried to a paste. We almost broke down and bought a Batelco cell phone tonight, but at a dollar a minute to the states, we can’t afford it. The mooring cost $43.75 for the night, and $6.00 mandatory charge for water, even though we arrived full, and don’t even have a hose. So we just got done taking the showers of our lives. About $3 worth each. Oh, well, better than $75 next door.

Speaking of that, my skin is doing WAY better suddenly. I think having it turn totally reptilian for about a week might have helped it after all. It’s weird though, when I’m not covered in Vaseline from the waist up, I feel all my skin crinkle up when I move or twist. My skin was like that of Adrian Vandenberg, guitarist for Whitesnake- that is, the texture and color of an orange. Kind of interesting in a creepy way, but what the hell, I’m a creepy guy.

We’ll probably do all of our shopping (maybe buy a radio!) tomorrow, benadryl, Vaseline, the works, and go to Starbucks of all places, because they have free internet if you buy coffee. Works for me. I get to post about a week’s worth of blogs, and a ton of pix. Kool and the gang. Tonight we spent $16 on a smallish pizza and two cokes. Then another $8 on two blizzards at Dairy Queen. Yeah, I know. Chains suck. I hear that, but after cold canned beans for a while, you start to smell pepperoni and ice cream from a few miles at sea. Shoot, we’ve only been gone a couple weeks! I can’t imagine how we’ll be fiending for movies by the time we return, and the soft, and demure looks of Cash, and the twinkle in Mickey’s eye. Ahh, me.

Where was I? Oh, yes. Tomorrow’s the big day. We get to write to you all. Maybe even hear from some folks. Maybe if you got my message, you might have sent an email from your phones. Then I can “text” you, kinda. That would be cool to talk a bit live-ish. And I can address the lawsuit with Hammerman and Gainer (the State Farm people I worked for that screwed me out of my millions).

Who knows? Sky’s the limit. We went to a video store in the same strip mall tonight, and they had bootlegged every single movie they had. Rentals, $5. Sales, $6. All of the Faces of Death series, other horror/super morbid shit, and tons of Kung Fu, and then the video library of Sidney Poitier. That was pretty much the extent of it. There were a couple of oddballs, two documentaries- one of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings, and one about the rush into the war in Iraq. It had a pic of Noam Chomsky, so we got that in the hope that the most intelligent man alive might be featured. We also noted to the clerk that all of their movies were stolen, and asked if they wanted to burn what we had, and maybe work out a trade. The guy suddenly got very hush hush, and asked that we return tomorrow and discuss it. Like everyone doesn’t know what’s up. That was kind of hilarious.

I guess the crime here is supposed to be really bad, which explains why we had to get buzzed into Radio Shack, and there’s a guard on the sidewalk, and watching the door of Domino’s. What I couldn’t understand was why there were 7 people working in this tiny Domino’s, and we were the only customers. No wonder their pizza is overpriced.


The place here has a pool too, so we plan on soaking up about $6 of its water tomorrow too. Big day planned, that.

Maybe we’ll try to get the fridge looked at, or at least call someone. We have it running off of shore power now, to see if it will cool down at all. Keep your fingers crossed, eh?

Okay, gotta run and drink some water. I have water on the brain right now, in the best of all possible ways.

Talk to you all tomorrow, I hope.

JL

DECEMBER 3, 2007 and some more pictures from Great Harbour

December 3? 2007
Sitting here in the inside of Bond’s Key, Ruth just woke up. There’s some sweet tune (for the first time today) on the radio. We were trying to get am 1540 to get a weather forecast, but all we can get is right wing bullshit, trying to convince everyone that the emperor is dressed to the nines, and we need to protect against people stealing his clothes. THEY’RE EVERYWHERE. Even here, in the Bahamas, where no one lives. We’re five islands away from any life. Maybe 8 miles. 2 and a half feet of water between all of them, no fish even. Maybe a conch? No. Round where it’s deeper, possibly. It’s barren in here. We heard it might get windy, so we aren’t leaving for Nassau, even though it’s only 40 miles. You never know, especially in the dark. We snuck out into the Northwest Providence Channel to see what it was like. It was cool, three foot waves, very far apart, which you hardly know are there, but we decided to stay around just in case. On the way back in, we anchored, and here a LOUD sound off to our larboard. That’s port, or left, or whatever. I guess there’s a reef real nearby, and the waves breaking over it. Not on the chart. Whew, that was close without knowing. Okay, we wait.

We had about six pounds of fish and bunch of turkey when we cleaned the fridge, plus cheese, a bit of celery and oranges and sauces. The oranges and sauces will keep. We have a shitload of fish and some turkey and a few celery stalks. We think we can do it.

We’re running out of Vaseline to put on the keel winch and other vital parts of the boat, since we’re putting it all on me to keep my skin from falling off. All at once anyway.

Every 3rd, or maybe 2nd song on the radio is actually a thinly disguised advertisement for Bahamanian tourism. Right now it’s “Bonefish Paulie, like U.S. president Nixon, he’s legendr-ee.” True story.

Someone's been using the bow of the boat to go to the bathroom. We won’t discuss that further.

DECEMBER 2, 2007 and five more pix

December 2, 2007

So far, have seen: flying fish, a ray, 1 tiny lobster, 1 tiny squid, brain coral, sea fans, sea cucumber, jellyfish, nurse sharks, crabs, a sailfish, dolphins (not mahi-mahi, but porpoises) swimming with our boat, and many, many conch and more conch shells than I could ever imagine existed thusfar on the planet.


Okey doke, here we are on our way down to the bottom of the Berry Islands, (another place in the Bahamas where the license plates are numbered, all less than about 500), and we anchored for the night, since it’s low tide, and dark. That after one of the most incredible sunsets ever. Except for the last 6 or so. They are amazing here, I guess because it’s the sunset over the sea, but the clouds do these weird things at that time, like light up fluorescent pink and orange, and even the vapor trails behind planes turn into a scorching, luminescent pink color for the length of them. It’s a trip and a half.

We were, and are, on our way to Nassau, to do a few things. Buy groceries, of course, buy water, of course, but probably bump up on some propane, since it’s $125 a cylinder to refill, and takes some considerable time, buy a Batelco phone, (Bahamas Telephone Company, of course), buy some chain for the anchor line to add to what we have, and other sundries and supplies. But while we’re there, we have something else to add to the list: the fridge took a shit. It was cooling everything to 60 degrees, while running nonstop. Not encouraging. It was destroying our batteries, so we pulled out what we had, threw it in a big bin tote thing, and will eat what we can in the next 12 hours, and then try to get the fridge fixed in Nassau. It was a red sky tonight (sailor’s delight), so we’re hoping for good weather, and we got a secondhand report from another dude on VHF, but other than that we have no firsthand weather info, so we are going to leave with a bit of caution. It’s 35 miles to Nassau. That’s the crime capital too (as many murders this year as Detroit, I think, and only four miles across). We have to lock the place up tight. I spose I’ll tote our huge filet knife, just to be sure.

I found out something about my skin. For the last week or so, it improved rash-wise, but got really dry. So I put moisturizer on it. Then it was still dry, so I slathered on more. By the handful, all over, several times a day for several days. And my skin just got drier, and scalier, until it got puffier than Sean Combs, and very, very reptilian. It was also kind of painful, and it would sting like hell, especially where my skin had started splitting, like where my joints were, like under my armpits. Super gross. So I kept adding more and more moisturizer. Good plan, right? Wrong. Turns out I was putting some kind of body wash WITH lotion on it, not lotion. Yeah, SOAP. I was putting soap all over myself and letting it sit, over, and over and over, without washing it off. “Hey honey, will you do my back again?” So that happened. Yeah, I know, I’m a genius. I grabbed this stuff in the supermarket, and it looks like a lotion bottle, and says “with moisturizers,” etc. Hey, I was thinking about more important things. Funny, once I had decided that’s what it was while walking quickly through the supermarket, my brain just wouldn’t consider anything else till I was reading the label one day out of boredom.

The bugs here are not nearly as bad as people said (cross my fingers). But they are tiny, barely visible, and bite HARD. When you got ‘em, you got ‘em.

I really dig this ukelele. They are easy to play and fun and sound great. Whatever you play sounds awesome. My kind of instrument. I’m digging the clarinet, but I don’t know much about how to maintain it (where and how to grease, etc.) and I’m afraid this saltwater environment is hard on it. It’s squeaking like a bastard half the time, and it’s only partly because I suck at playing it.

Something cool that happened in Great Harbour. The people there are the nicest in the world, or rather, are supposed to be, and I think I believe it. It started with us going in for water at the marina. Upon arrival, I asked this cat, who I now know to be named Shaggy, how much the water was. He said $.30 a gallon, and I should just let him know how much we used, on the honor system. I asked how much for a well for the night, and he said a buck a foot (so for our boat, $25) and I said we probably wouldn’t be staying. He said “aw, what the hell, no charge.” We could stay for FREE. Then he tells me where the free, unmetered water is. Then that night, this guy Ray we met caught all these wahoo at 400 feet deep, and gave us a steak. Then another. Then another. Till we had several bags of fresh fish. The most tender you’ve ever had. Several pounds of it. We’ve had it almost every meal since, including huge hunks of it as sushi. Wowee.

We heard there was a hardware in town, so we started to walk. A block along, we get picked up by these two ladies, Patty and Bonnie. They offer a ride to the hardware. We took it, and then we realized the part we needed to fix the grill (tap and die) was not to be had on this tiny island, so we decided we’d just stop at the nearest grocery. They insisted on waiting for us to return us after. But the stores wouldn’t take credit cards. So we had to get money. We made about three trips to places to try to get a check cashed, AFTER they had to take us back to the boat for our passports. Finally, the Post Office would, but there was an hour delay. They took us home, fed us chips, and then took us back. And THEN grocery shopping. We spent our $80 getting the smallest amount of food you can imagine, but hey, we were glad to have it. AND we had our water.

They dropped us off, and then Shaggy says to us we can stay a couple more nights if we like. Free water. Showers. Toilets. Hurrah!

Did our good fortune end there? No. The following day, Patty and John and Bonnie stop by to invite us to happy hour. We go, and they end up picking up our check, and we all go to their house and cook up wahoo, eat a salad, deviled eggs, cassava, vegetables, and vodka tonics. Then they sent us home with all the food in their fridge, because they were leaving in a day to fly back to Florida.

Oh yeah. And John gave me JB Weld to fix our broken grill part. COULD THESE PEOPLE BE ANY NICER?

Oh yeah. The lady in the post office cashed our check by depositing it into her bank account and giving us cash.

Amazing. Amazingly nice people. Big karmic debts we’re incurring here.

The JB Weld worked fine where the two brass threaded pieces were loose, but then there was a gas valve where plastic met brass that kept leaking. So for that, I made up some fiberglass resin compound, and coated the whole thing. And it still leaked. So I coated it again. And it still leaked. So I coated it two more times. And it stopped, but now would not let any gas pass by because the valve had to be able to open and close. So I sawed it in half, cut the gas hose, jammed the cut tube inside the hose and put a pipe clamp around it. Now it works fine, but practically takes flight from the flames shooting out if it’s up all the way. We’ll have to watch that.

Anyway, before we had a fridge and no stove, and now we have a stove and no fridge. Maybe we’ll get it fixed in Nassau. We’ll see.

Okay, Ruth has been crashed about an hour, and we have to get up and sail to Nassau in uncertain weather, to uncertain anchorages, and navigate through a lot tomorrow. I’m sayin’ GOODNIGHT.

NOVEMBER 28, 2007

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
It’s been some good long time since I gave a damn what day of the week it was, really. Exceptin’ to note whether some store was open or not. Leastways, it don’t never hardly matter what day it is, cuz if the store closed it just figure to set a bit n wait. Whatever it is that you’re seekin’, you’ll get by and by.

Now I’ve been following it a bit more closely, so I can look up tide tables and find out whether or not the water under the boat will turn to sand or not in 6 hours. It’s good stuff to be on top of. That and the weather, but you can’t get the weather here. Ironic, since it’s pretty much the principal thing to preoccupy yourself with on a boat, and is endlessly stressed in every guide, manual, and conversation. So we get here, and there’s no forecast. This place is incredibly isolated. To give an example, we’re on the beaten path, so to speak. There’s no boat within 10 miles on the side we can see, anyway, and haven’t run past but three today who were anchored in a sheltered area, pretty much where we left from. We’re headed north from Little Harbour Cay to Great Harbour Cay. Supposedly there’s groceries, fresh water, and bread to be had. God’s fresh water that our friend at Flo’s Conch Bar shared with us turned out to be not just God’s fresh water, but God’s fresh water that tasted STRONGLY of rubber cement. We used some to bathe after a prolonged snorkel, which yielded 17 large conch in the early stage, but which I abandonded after they were too heavy. Plus, we have no way to cook, which is the other main reason we’re trying to get to Great Harbour. They say there’s a hardware there.

We need one, because the other night the movement of the rudder snagged the line for our propane grill, and I woke up to a funny smell in the cabin and hissing sound of gas. I think I reacted quickly, because the cylinder is still pretty heavy, but I’m not sure. So anyway, the brass fitting is messed up, and I’m hoping to retool it with a tap and die to make it serviceable once again. Besides being dangerous, the other drag of that event was that gas is more of a commodity than I had realized. I checked into it this summer, and heard that propane was easy to come by in the Bahamas. What they don’t tell you is that to refill a propane cylinder it costs $125 and they have to send it to Nassau to fill. They were $15 to fill at Home Depot. Damn. So that is our quest.

Speaking of low tide, we got more than halfway to our destination, and had to anchor due to sandbars in our path, due to the tide. It will be better in the a.m. I finished Feast of Snakes by Harry Crews (intense, sordid, and amoral, and very good) tonight, and am burning through ‘em. We have some enormous snails we got near Flo’s, a couple conch, which is plenty, but are sticking with cold canned food till we regain our cooking abilities. I’m having a glass of wine, and Ruth is making music that only she knows of… for now. Interesting how that pipeline flows, into her head, and in and out through fingers and headphones until it’s done, and then it emerges in fruition. Aye, she’s a clever lass. Me, I’ve been on that ukelele steady, and played one last night that she says was the best she’s heard on the ukelele, or best of something or other. Anyway, I was flattered, and now play it incessantly.

I hope to possibly find a nurse or doctor in Great Harbour, and will ask about my skin. It is against me, in a few ways.

We also need to buy an anchor light bulb, ours crapped out. Luckily we are a million miles from any other vessels or routes and so are without danger in that way. Last night, we ran other lights all night and it ate up our batteries. It is beautiful, and as I said, remote.

We decided against camping on the beautiful white beaches, realizing that in six hours they will be under three feet of water. That there was whatcha call FORESIGHT.

Okay, gotta move around. Getting’ too itchy.

XOX,
JL
P.S., I’ve been introducing myself as Buster, Knucklehead, and other names periodically, so if you found it odd and hard to start using Jack (I would too, I imagine, if I was you), you don’t need to fear, there are many more to pick from. You have my enthusiastic endorsement to call me whatever is most comfortable for you. Unfortunately “Captain Sensible” is already taken.

Bahamanian Graffiti, rainbow out in the ocean,the badass boss at the helm, a wreck, and the toilet from the wreck, still servicable

The Badass Boss

YOU WELCOME

TITLES: in order top to bottom
YOU WELCOME, the sign on top of Flo's Conch Bar, the only building on Little Harbour Island
A picture of the inside of the bucket of the water we got at Flo's. Believe me, it tasted WAY worse than this debris would indicate...
Ukeleles hanging on our wall, from velcro... quick access
Jellyfish
"Mackerel sky, 12 hours dry" as the saying goes
November 26, 2007
WOW, People are really cool here. Yesterday Ruth and I went walking along the beach (really lava rocks) and ended up with about 15 small to medium conchs. We hauled them back, and as we walked up the dock, we saw 6 monsterous conchs that someone else got. We were cracking ours, and then they came over, it was these two cats Stitchy and Ace. I’m not sure if those were their Christian names, but they were cool. They ended up filling a bowl full of conch meat from those conchs, maybe half of their catch, and giving it to us. They didn’t even know it was my birthday. Pretty cool. That, and the loaf of bread was pretty intense.

Later, in the bar, I tried to buy them a round, but the bartenders weren’t charging me. We got talking about needing a phone, and they said they had an extra Batelco Simms card to put in my phone to make it work here. When we tried it, it didn’t work, but that was damned cool of them. We got their numbers, and hope to see them again when we get up to Sandy Pointe, off of the Bight of Abaco in a few days.

Today, we were down on our water after leaving there, and we came to this place called Flo’s Conch Bar on Little Harbour Cay. The only building on the island, I think, except some deserted fort or something up on the bluff overlooking the Atlantic. This is a GORGEOUS place by the way. It looks like some kind of imaginary place. The harbour is small and blue, surrounded by a maze of tiny islands. The sign painted on the roof says “YOU WELCOME.” There are piles of conch shells 15 feet high by maybe 200 feet wide forming the breakwater on the shore. Incredible. Inside we ask the guy, Chester, if they have water to sell. No, he says. But he ends up telling us we can take some from the cistern for the restaurant. We offer to pay, but he refuses. Water costs money most places here, even when it runs out of pipes. And he’s giving us his water. “It’s God’s water,” he says. “I can’t charge you for God’s water.”

Oh yeah. The bad news. The rudder moved yesterday breaking a crucial brass fitting for our stove, so no more hot food till we get that fixed, or buy a new one. We’re hoping to find a tap and die in Great Harbour, our next stop, and get it taken care of. That and some more bread. The new gold standard. In college it was salsa. Now it’s bread and water.

It’s crazy how isolated, undeveloped, and remote this place is. Of the 700 plus islands in the Bahamas, most are uninhabited. The few that have people are full of very few people. Big culture shock. No radio, still broken. No TV. No phones. No credit cards at Flo’s Conch Bar, and we don’t have any cash. Water is even a scarcity. Conch though, are plentiful.