2017 Life Logs, Day 111: Black Point to Exuma Land and Sea Park
Date: Friday, April 21, 2017
Weather: Partly Sunny; Winds E 20
Location: Warderick Wells South, Emerald Rock Anchorage

The sail from Black Point to the Exuma Land and Sea Park today was delightful. For the whole trip, it was much calmer than out in the Exuma Sound yesterday. The auto pilot was still not totally behaving, so we hand-steered a big chunk of the day. But no one on this boat minds that. For those of you not familiar with the Exuma islands in the Bahamas, the Exuma Land and Sea Park is the jewel for cruisers. The park headquarters is called Warderick Wells and there is a north anchorage close to the headquarters office and three anchorages to the south. All of the park anchorages have mooring balls, but when we arrived in the south anchorage known as Emerald Rock, we anchored next to Sam and Dawn’s friends on Epiic. Dan and Isabella are from Canada and are brand new to sailing. They are in their early thirties, but after experiencing two very successful business ventures, they are now hoping to live aboard and sail fulltime. Sam and Dawn met them while both couples were doing boat work in Charleston, South Carolina. When we anchored, Sam and Piper went over to say hello and then after lunch we all headed out in our dinghies to snorkel. The first stop was very close as it was coral heads just off Emerald Rock. When Mark and I were here in 2015, our friends Kevin and Claire were with us. When we snorkeled Emerald Rock, we saw the most beautiful Queen Triggerfish, but she was nowhere in sight today. But we did see a Nassau Grouper that was fun to follow, Peacock Flounders that changed colors to blend with the background, a beautiful Queen Angelfish sporting her bright blue and yellow colors, and a couple of big spiny lobsters. At least we thought they were big until we went to the next snorkeling spot, Ranger’s Garden, in the north anchorage. Here we got to swim with a beautiful spotted eagle ray and a hawksbill turtle, and we saw the mother of spiny lobsters and the biggest Queen Angelfish any of us had ever seen. And as I was snorkeling back to the dinghy I heard a loud snapping sound in the water. I looked around and found a red lionfish with his poisonous fins spread out. When small fish swam by he snapped those fins together making the loud sound. I have seen lots of lionfish, but never have I seen them hunting before. Ranger’s Garden has beautiful purple sea fans swaying in the current. I snorkeled here two years ago, but somehow didn’t remember the sea fans. They were beautiful.

We returned to the boat to get ready for Happy Hour on Windbird. Dawn and I both have long hair and shampoo and rinse it in the water before getting on the boat to rinse off with the fresh water sun shower. Well, on this day we had company for our in the water rinse-off. There were two big nurse sharks that had been hanging out under the boat all day. These guys are not usually dangerous, but they are sharks and when Dawn got in the water to rinse her hair, Sam was on lookout. And sure enough, one of the big guys starting swimming toward her. So she got out of the water ASAP. I still had to rinse my hair and decided to do it in the dinghy by using the bailer to pour salt water over my hair. That took care of most of the soap so I just had to be in the water for a few seconds before getting onboard. A shark is a shark, and I’m just not comfortable when they head in my direction!

Once we were all clean and dry, Dan and Isabella came over for Happy Hour. We had a great evening together and when they left, Dawn grilled steaks for dinner. The Windbird Resort certainly has the best food in the Bahamas. Thank you, Sam and Dawn.

2017 Life Logs, Day 110: Georgetown to Black Point
Date: Thursday, April 20, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny, High Temp Near 80 F; Winds E 17-21
Location: Black Point Anchorage on Windbird

We did indeed leave Great Exuma Island at 6:30 am, headed out the pass into 17 to 21 knots of wind on the beam, and had a rowdy sail northward. Sam had put in one reef and put out the full headsail, so we flew along at 7 knots much of the 53-mile day. The new auto pilot was having a hard time keeping us on track, so we took turns hand steering most of the time. It was great fun to be at the helm once again. It was about 3:30 pm when we reached Black Point and we all busied ourselves doing arrival chores. Sam and Dawn are super organized and have detailed laminated lists of before and after passage chores that make helping out very easy. When all the chores were done, we put the dinghy in the water and Sam and Dawn headed to shore with Piper. I stayed on the boat to edit photos from yesterday’s underwater adventures. When they returned they said they had met some cruisers having happy hour at Scorpio’s and they decided to go back to shore to join them. We all wore our Windbird shirts and I got a photo of Sam and Dawn on the dock. The cruisers were from Michigan and New Hampshire and we had a great time talking with them. And the real plus was that the bar had free wifi so I was able to send a couple of texts.

We leave here in the morning headed for Warderick Wells in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Sam and Dawn are meeting up with friends they met in Florida. We’ll probably be staying in the main anchorage for a couple of days and then either leave for Eleuthera or tuck into another park anchorage to wait out a weather front. When I listened to the weather this morning, weather guru Chris Parker said that next week will offer a little bit of every kind of weather for sailing which will make it an interesting challenge. We’ll keep listening to the weather and adjusting our schedule, but even if we do have to hole up for two days, we can still get to Marsh Harbor in the Abacos on schedule . . . maybe!

2017 Life Logs, Day 109: Snorkel ‘til You Drop
Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Weather: Overcast with Rain; Winds E 15-20+
Location: At Anchor Off Stocking Island, Bahamas

Sam and Dawn know how much I love to snorkel, so today was “snorkel ‘til you drop’ afternoon. In the morning, Sam and Dawn needed to give Piper a bath and then go to town to do some more provisioning. Piper is Windbird’s resident dog and he has adapted to the sailing life very nicely. But salt water and sand require periodic fresh water wash downs. So, after Sam fixed bacon and eggs for us for breakfast, Sam and Dawn took Piper to shore and brought him back for his bath. Then they headed to town and while I stayed on Windbird. George Town is about a mile from Stocking Island where we are anchored and with 15-20 knots of wind, the trip back to Windbird would have been a very wet one with all three of us in the dinghy. When they returned, Dawn fixed ‘walking’ tacos. You crush a bag of Doritos, open it, put in the taco fixings, take and fork and mix everything, and then you have a taco in a bag that you can walk around with while eating it right out of the bag with a fork. It is like taco salad and it is much neater than eating regular tacos. Great idea.

We had planned to go snorkeling after lunch but it was raining. I suggested we go ahead since we were going to get wet anyway and we decided to do it. By the time we got to the first snorkeling site it was just drizzling, so in the water we went. The first stop was Lumina Point where there are a few coral heads not far off the beach. In overcast conditions the colors are subdued, but there were lots of fish and it felt great to be back in the water. I asked Sam to use the GoPro to get underwater photos. He got mostly video, so I can’t post those. You’ll just have to use your imagination. The second stop was a cove with Hole 1, Hole 2, and Hole 3. They are called ‘holes’ because they serve as hurricane holes. Hole 1 has a blue hole with lots of big fish and Dawn found upsidedown jelly fish (Cassiopea frondosa) that were fun to watch swim up from their resting place on the bottom. Dawn had heard that there are turtles in Hole 3, so we went there last but only saw a turtle head from the dinghy—nothing once we got it in the water. It was a full afternoon of snorkeling with three stops and we were finally starting to get cold, so we went to a little nearby beach to walk across a bluff to the ocean side. As we approached the top of the bluff you could see the white sand beach and the ocean showing off the Bahamian shades of blue water near the shore.

We went back to the boat to shower and get dressed in dry clothes, and then we were off again to a little beach restaurant called the Chat ‘n Chill for dinner. The Chat ‘n Chill is nothing more than a little wooden shack but it is a cruiser haven with good food and cold beer. There are picnic tables outside and a volley ball net where cruisers gather to play. We enjoyed an early dinner and then we were off to Honeymoon Beach for a cruiser beach party with live music. Tomorrow will be a traveling day and we will get an early start with anchor up at 6:30 am.

2017 Life Logs, Day 108: Back on Windbird in the Bahamas
Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Light Rain; High Temp 78 degrees F, Low 73
Location: At Anchor in George Town, Bahamas on Windbird

Tonight I am back on Windbird in the Bahamas and it is almost as if I never left her. I feel like I am home. Part of that is because Windbird was my home for so many years, but I think it is mostly because Sam and Dawn are so absolutely welcoming. They have had lots of guests during their first three months of cruising on Windbird and it is the little things they do that I imagine make all of their guests feel right at home. They had a Windbird t-shirt waiting for me on the bed and they had Amstel Light in the fridge for me (my favorite beer) that they had thought ahead to buy in Florida where it was available and certainly cheaper than any beer here. Little things mean a lot.

My flight landed in George Town at 12:30 pm and shortly after 1 o’clock I was in town and waiting for Sam to pick me up at the dinghy dock. We took my luggage out to the boat and then sat in main saloon and visited for a bit. It was raining lightly outside, but as soon as it ended, Sam and I headed back into town to go to the store. Unfortunately, the fresh veggies on Dawn’s list had not yet been unpacked, so I bought decaf coffee, almond milk, and more beer from the liquor next door. Sam and Dawn had moved Windbird close to town to avoid a wet dinghy ride with luggage, but when we returned from our shopping trip, they moved the boat back across to a better anchorage off Stocking Island. Rick and Robyn of Endangered Species came over for Happy Hour and it was truly wonderful to see them and catch up on what they have been doing since I last saw them in 2007. When they left, Sam and Dawn took me for a dinghy ride to introduce me to the area and when we returned Dawn magically produced a delicious fish taco dinner. It was a full day, but we continued to do some travel and meal planning for the time I am here. We will stay here tomorrow and on Thursday we will head north to Black Point.

2017 Life Logs, Day 107: Bahamas, Here I Come
Date: Monday, April 17, 2017
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; 70 degrees at Midnight in Atlanta
Location: Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham, Atlanta, GA

I’m on my way to Georgetown in the Bahamas to spend two weeks aboard Windbird with Sam and Dawn . . . with a little built-in overnight stop in Atlanta, Georgia. Windbird’s new captain is a Delta pilot and he arranged the flights. I leave here at 10:10 in the morning and arrive there just after noon. I’m not sure I have ever flown on Delta before, but I should have. I highly recommend it. I haven’t been on a domestic flight in years that has those little individually controlled video screens, but tonight’s flight had them and I watched a movie during the three-hour flight. And the seats were comfortable. Amazing. Since I usually take the el cheapo airlines, I had forgotten how nice flying can be. So thanks, Sam and Dawn, for a nice ride. And Happy Birthday to Sam. I know you celebrated today, but we’ll have to celebrate again tomorrow night.

I am very excited about this opportunity to sail and snorkel once again in the Bahamas. And I’m even going to get to see some cruising friends from our South Pacific crossing. Rick and Robyn on Endangered Species crossed from Panama to New Zealand when we did and they are now spending the winter in Georgetown. So I’m not only going to get to visit Windbird, but Sam says we are invited to Endangered Species at 5 tomorrow. Bahamas, here I come! But since it is already Tuesday, I’d better get some sleep so I can enjoy the trip.

2017 Life Logs, Day 105: Change of Plans for Today
Date: Saturday, April 15, 2017
Weather: Clear and Sunny; High 60, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

We had a change of plans for today. I went to Zumba class, went to get my car washed by Sam’s Scout troop, rushed home to get ready to go whale watching, but when I got to Heather and Jed’s they were in the middle of a panic about how much work they had to do before they leave for Washington, DC, on Monday morning. So, we divided the work and got it done. I took the inside jobs, mostly laundry, Heather worked in the garden, and Jed shoveled and delivered the mulch that arrived this morning to Heather in the garden. I took one break to go with Ollie to watch him biking, but otherwise it was wash, dry, fold all day for me. We opted for sushi for dinner and then I came home and started packing for my trip. Packing is easy when you can take a big piece of luggage, but there is not room for a big suitcase on a boat. So I am trying to fit snorkeling gear and clothing for two weeks into a carry-on size bag. I think I’m almost there. Tomorrow morning I need to be at Heather and Jed’s by 8 am for the big Easter egg hunt and then in the afternoon we head north to Worcester to see the circus. We are all looking forward to that.

2017 Life Logs, Day 103: Goldpebble Overnight
Date: Thursday, April 13, 2017
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 62, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Ollie has been asking to spend the night, so I invited all the Goldpebbles. And tonight was the night since they do not have school tomorrow. It is the start of their spring school vacation. Heather had an evening speaking engagement, so I picked up Ollie and Jed picked up Jonah and took him to soccer practice. Then Jed brought Jonah to my house and we had dinner together. Sam was in Boston today, so he was not here for dinner. Last week the third and fourth graders from his school went to see the Red Sox play the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they didn’t get to see the game as it was it was rained out. Today was the make-up game, so they returned. Unfortunately, they had to leave before the game was over and the Sox were trailing 3 to 1. They didn’t get to see the eighth inning when the Red Sox made three runs which won the game for them. Sam said they found out on the bus ride home and were really excited that the Red Sox won. But it was a later return than expected as traffic was heavy and one of the busses broke down. So this evening, Jed went to a soccer planning meeting and Jonah, Ollie and I picked Sam up at 8 pm and then came home for an Easter Egg hunt in the dark. The Goldpebbles went to bed later than usual, but they were happy little boys. There were Legos in the hidden eggs and they will get to play with those when they get up in the morning. We also have plans to decorate eggs in the morning and then just spend the rest of the day playing. Or maybe not. Jed and I talked at dinner about driving to the Outer Cape to try to get a glimpse of the North Atlantic Right Whales that have returned to the Cape Cod Bay. Scientists estimate that there are only 524 of these seriously endangered creatures left on earth and much of that population arrived here this week. Evidently you can watch them from shore. But it is a long ride and we’ll have to see if we can convince the boys that sitting in the car for a great deal of the day is what they want to do. We are all driving to Boston on Sunday to see The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus and then on Monday, Heather, Jed, and boys drive to Washington, DC, to visit with Grammy Goldstone while I fly to the Bahamas. So much time and so little to do!

One last thing . . . not only are the North Atlantic Right Whales here on Cape Cod, the osprey have returned from their winter down south. I saw my first ones today as I drove the beach road to Woods Hole to pick up Ollie.

2017 Life Logs, Day 104: Fun with the Goldpebbles
Date: Friday, April 14, 2017
Weather: Clear and Sunny; High 57, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Despite my attempts to cover the bedroom windows so no daylight could seep through, Sam was up at 6:30 this morning and at 7 am, I felt a little tap-tap on my shoulder as Ollie was attempting to wake me up. So all of us were up and going strong by 7 am. Since the boys got to bed an hour late last night, I had so hoped they would sleep in, but no such luck. Despite the early rise, we had a great morning together. While I fixed breakfast, I let the boys have tablet/phone time and then we switched to Lego fun. The boys each spent time putting together the Lego kit they got in their Easter eggs last night. They are amassing a collection of Star Wars microfighters that we keep here, so after assembling the newest additions, they waged battles. When their interest in that started to wane, we turner out attention to decorating Easter eggs. I bought a sugar crystal egg decorating kit, but that turned out to be too difficult to be fun. Instead, each Goldpebble developed his own creative decorating style and we ended up with some very colorful eggs. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of the decorating as I was way too busy helping with the process to stop and take pictures, but I did get some photos of the final products.

I delivered the boys home mid-afternoon, stayed with Jonah and Ollie while Heather and Sam made a quick trip to the farm store to get a hummingbird feeder and a few other items to celebrate spring, and then headed home in time to get ready for my 5 pm exercise class at the gym. I talked to my sister Patsy earlier today and again tonight to check on my brother-in-law Joe’s progress. He had a knee replacement this week and was doing great, but then overdid it and has to stay in the hospital over the weekend to get the pain in control. The hope is that he will stabilize by Monday and get to return home, but there is the real possibility that he might have to go to a rehab center for a few days. I do hope I know what is happening with him before I leave for the Bahamas on Monday evening.

And speaking of the Bahamas, there are so many things I had hoped to get done before heading south, but I think they are not going to get done. I have to make a decision tomorrow to either stay home and get things done or go with Heather and gang to the Outer Cape to look for North Atlantic Right Whales. If you had to make a bet, what do you think I’ll do?

2017 Life Logs, Day 102: On the Other Side
Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 72, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

First, I just have to say that today was the first day that I really felt like spring is here. I opened the door this morning and warm, not cold air, rushed in, early in the day. The high temp today was in the 70’s. Unfortunately, tomorrow the high will be back in the 50’s, but today was delightful and a reminder of what’s to come.

The second thing is that my 83 year-old brother-in-law Joe (in Nashville) had knee replacement surgery yesterday and today he is doing great. He’s still in the hospital but will probably get to come home on Friday. Way to go, Joe!

And now about today. I had a 10:15 am appointment with my chiropractor for a ‘tune-up’—just making sure my body is in alignment. I needed a little adjustment, but not much. So that was good. The chiropractor is in Mashpee where there is a small shopping area. I have been searching online for a few things I need for my trip to the Bahamas, but my online search has been frustrating and not fruitful. So I thought I would check out the stores in Mashpee. After about 45 minutes I aborted that mission and decided to head across the bridge to the ‘other side’. Living on the Cape is a little like life in the 1950’s. That’s great most of the time, but not when you need specific clothing that really fits. I was looking for a new pair of sneakers for my very wide feet and Columbia ‘quick dry’ capri pants. And as long as I was going to “’he other side’, I decided to make a stop at Costco to pick up ingredients for granola. I went to Costco first, quickly got what I needed plus a new bathing suit, and then headed to the Wrentham Outlet Mall. On my way there I was listening to WGBH public radio out of Boston and there was my daughter in an interview talking about climate change. I know she is my daughter, but she is brilliant speaker on behalf of science and it was a real treat to get to hear her. And I also heard a promo for a public television program on tonight on endangered wildlife in Puerto Rico. More about that later, but now back to shopping. When I got to the outlet mall, I went straight to the Columbia store and very quickly found exactly what I needed, plus a couple of things I didn’t need, but wanted. I then went to the Naturalizer store and immediately found the Ryka sneakers I wanted plus another pair of summer shoes. Wow! It took way over an hour to get there, but within 30 minutes I found everything I needed and more. Driving to ‘the other side’ was certainly worth it. And I came home with so many packages that it felt like Christmas. It was a good day.

When I got home I got a Skype video call from Justin, Ziggy, and Coco. I got to see Ziggy riding the bike I got him for his birthday last week. And I got a closer look at Coco’s new puppy, Bluebelle. And then tonight I watched the PBS Nature series episode about endangered wildlife in Puerto Rico called Viva Puerto Rico. I had hoped to record this to send it to Justin and family, but I have never done a recording on my system and ended up losing TV and had to call Comcast for help. Thankfully they are willing to give free advice to idiots, and they were able to help me get things back on track. Tomorrow Sam, Jonah, and Ollie come to spend the night. Friday is the start of their school spring vacation week. We’ll decorate some Easter eggs on Friday morning and then head back to their house in the afternoon to launch into some outdoor spring activities.