Thursday, February 25, 2010
Moving on and staying put!
This is rather long as I haven't updated it for a week or so....feel free to read it in instalments!
We enjoyed our stay at Highborne Cay, although the weather was so cool that one day I even resorted to wearing cut-off jeans instead of shorts! On our last night at the marina we sat on the beach and toasted the sunset with our neighbours, Ken & Daisy on 'Big Blue'. The next morning they were headed back to Nassau without an engine. Sounds easy in a sailboat, but there was only one weather window in the days ahead, and they had the choice of either too little wind, or too much with heavy seas! They chose the calmer day - we hope they made it into Nassau harbour before nightfall!
We had called a day ahead and been lucky enough to be assigned a mooring ball at the coveted northern anchorage at Warderick Wells, the hub of the Exuma Land & Sea Park. The Park is a protected area of 176 square miles and is managed by the Bahamas National Trust. It stretches 22 miles from end to end, and is made up of 15 major cays and many smaller ones. It also has the greatest diversity of marine life in the Exumas. The moooring area at Warderick Wells is entered from the north, and the twenty or so moorings form a semi-circle in the crystal clear and startlingly blue waters along the edge of a shallow sandbar. The rangers headquarters is based here too. The cost of paradise - $15 a night!
As usual, when the weather behaves, anchorages and marinas empty out and everyone is on the move. So we were pleased to see some of the 'usual suspects' we had met along the way, particularly 'Not-a-Gain' with Mariane & Paul. We had two perfect days of weather here (unusual for this winter). Bill devised a ladder to help us to get back into our dinghy after swimming. This procedure can be difficult, and is always inelegant with the hapless snorkeller ending up flopping onto the floor of the dinghy in a tangle of arms, legs and fins like a stranded whale! We snorkelled past brilliantly painted fish, and dinghied around to deserted beaches with sand like icing sugar, disturbed only by the little paw prints of the Hutia, a round rat-like creature native to the islands. Lying on the beach after a swim we were often serenaded by the beautiful song of the Bahamas Mocking Bird. Birds could also present a small problem in paradise as Marianne and Paul, on Knot-A-Gain, found when a mockingbird and some little Bananaquits flew into their cabin!
On Saturday there was a beach party and bonfire where tall tales of the sea were swapped, friendships made and plans hatched...apart from the usual drinking! A lovely evening, and not too far to dinghy back in the dark! We walked on some of the island's trails over the craggy and pockmarked limestone, and made the obligatory pilgrimage up to the top of 'Boo Boo Hill', named because of the ghostly apparitions of lost sailors who show their faces from time to time....so we were told. It's here, at the highest point on the island, that you deposit a piece of driftwood with your boat's name on it, for future generations to see (or until the rangers burn it all and decide to start the pile again!) If you make it up there, dig around to find 'Southern Vectis'- we scrawled our name about twenty times on a very worn and uneven slab of old boat...not ours! It is here, too, that you will get the only cell phone signal on the island, and that was critical news for us as we had to take part in a conference call to Toronto at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning! Monday was also the day when the next cold front was due! Anyway, we made it to the top of the hill by the appropriate time and all went well, except for the occasional comment by other 'conferencees' complaining about wind noise! If they could have seen Bill and I, clinging together as though in a passionate embrace, but actually trying to listen to a conversation which seemed a million miles away (both in reception quality and also in content!), and also attempting to lessen the wailing of the gale that was blowing (or maybe it was the wailing of the ghosts!), they would have laughed! We did after is was all over! As we clambered over the limestone crags to get back to the dinghy the rain started, and lasted through to the next morning - so we were lucky with the timing of our call from the top of the world.
On Tuesday we decided to make a break for it. The weatherman promised that the winds would calm down for one day and one night before the next cold front came rushing in, so we set off for Staniel Cay, about 18 miles to the south. This is an area that was made famous by James Bond: the 'Thunderball Cave' in the movie lies just off Staniel Cay and you can snorkel through it at slack tide. Another reason to go there was to see the swimming pigs that roam a cay called 'Big Major's Spot' directly to the north of Staniel Cay. This is a west facing anchorage and is very popular when a front is not blowing through. It was deserted that afternoon as 'the crowd' had moved on with the promise of a weather window, and we anchored with three other boats only. Suddenly a dinghy that had been breezing around the bay headed our way, and to our surprise and delight we saw Rob and Laurie (the 'Queen of Florida') waving at us. We had first met Rob and Laurie at Saddler's Point Marina in Jacksonville,just after we bought 'Southern Vectis'. Rob, a very experienced sailor and ultra-sociable Aussie, gave us so much good advice, and we were invited to a lovely BBQ at their house. They have sold up all their land bases (as have a lot of people that we meet afloat....not for us though!) and are on their way to Australia via the Bahamas and Antigua. The good thing about having no real time constraints is that you can take your time and backtrack to places that take your fancy when the spirit...and the weather...moves! They are having a wonderful time.
After the excitement of meeting Rob and Laurie, we set off by dinghy to see the famous pigs. We took some bread and other food scraps and threw this into the water as we neared the beach. At this, a half dozen large, pink and brown spotted pigs with extremely prominent ears and long legs adapted for Olympic-style speed swimming, launched themselves from the beach and headed towards us like torpedoes!
Bill was a little slow in getting the boat turned around and we were almost boarded by this frightening barrage of pork! As we sped back to the boat, which,luckily, was anchored some way from the shore, we imagined Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock weaving these dire creatures into a tale of horror and mayhem!!! Luckily it was a starry and calm night and we slept well .....with a board over the hatch to repel all invaders!
Now we are at beautiful Samson Cay Marina. Our reasons for coming here are two-fold: firstly, after one day of calm, yet another fierce cold front with 30 plus knot winds was coming in, and secondly we had an alarm sounding on our engine! We arrived yesterday and had a mechanic on board today. He thinks that he has diagnosed the problem - a problem with the alarm, and not the engine, caused by corrosion on some wires! Bill is supposed to clean the wires up and all will be well! Mike, the mechanic, lives just across from this beautiful marina and used to jointly own it with his friend, Marcus. Mike now runs a salvage and towing business in this area - a very useful person to know! I will put his details in this blog in case anyone reading it should need his assistance: Mike at Overseas Salvage based at Staniel Cay. Phone: 242-355-2140 or cell 242-359-1464.
Back to the usual subject for sailors this year...the weather! A cold front is still with us with 30-40knot winds. Some damage was done to the docking here last night by the wave surge. Two boats at anchor dragged quite dangerously! We have one day of grace coming up tomorrow, before the next cold front arrives on Saturday and Sunday and then, if that was not enough, a huge cold front will come in next Tuesday and Wednesday. All the marinas are full with even experienced 'anchorers' running for cover. So....we will stay put in this lovely civilized spot until we get a weather window of a few days to allow us to get to Georgetown - the cruising sailors' mecca. There isn't much shelter from the 40 knot blows between here and Georgetown - we may not make it. But...on the other hand....we have found a lovely, sheltered and entirely civilized niche, and we plan to make the most of it. There are free showers, there is a laundry area, and a book swap. The freighter arrived last night to stock up the shop, and there is a restaurant where we will meet Tom & Joyce from 'Whispering Sea' for pizza dinner tonight. When the winds go down tomorrow we'll dinghy over to Staniel Cay and explore this lovely area to the full. It's not so bad to be stranded in paradise!
P.S. Bill has just returned from news gathering - the latest hot tale came from a Canadian boat that arrived here last night. He was tied to a mooring ball at Warderick Wells -the Emerald Rock mooring field - and heard a loud snap in the middle of the wild night. Both his mooring lines had snapped and he was rapidly heading for the rocks! He, also, is happy to be here!
We enjoyed our stay at Highborne Cay, although the weather was so cool that one day I even resorted to wearing cut-off jeans instead of shorts! On our last night at the marina we sat on the beach and toasted the sunset with our neighbours, Ken & Daisy on 'Big Blue'. The next morning they were headed back to Nassau without an engine. Sounds easy in a sailboat, but there was only one weather window in the days ahead, and they had the choice of either too little wind, or too much with heavy seas! They chose the calmer day - we hope they made it into Nassau harbour before nightfall!
We had called a day ahead and been lucky enough to be assigned a mooring ball at the coveted northern anchorage at Warderick Wells, the hub of the Exuma Land & Sea Park. The Park is a protected area of 176 square miles and is managed by the Bahamas National Trust. It stretches 22 miles from end to end, and is made up of 15 major cays and many smaller ones. It also has the greatest diversity of marine life in the Exumas. The moooring area at Warderick Wells is entered from the north, and the twenty or so moorings form a semi-circle in the crystal clear and startlingly blue waters along the edge of a shallow sandbar. The rangers headquarters is based here too. The cost of paradise - $15 a night!
As usual, when the weather behaves, anchorages and marinas empty out and everyone is on the move. So we were pleased to see some of the 'usual suspects' we had met along the way, particularly 'Not-a-Gain' with Mariane & Paul. We had two perfect days of weather here (unusual for this winter). Bill devised a ladder to help us to get back into our dinghy after swimming. This procedure can be difficult, and is always inelegant with the hapless snorkeller ending up flopping onto the floor of the dinghy in a tangle of arms, legs and fins like a stranded whale! We snorkelled past brilliantly painted fish, and dinghied around to deserted beaches with sand like icing sugar, disturbed only by the little paw prints of the Hutia, a round rat-like creature native to the islands. Lying on the beach after a swim we were often serenaded by the beautiful song of the Bahamas Mocking Bird. Birds could also present a small problem in paradise as Marianne and Paul, on Knot-A-Gain, found when a mockingbird and some little Bananaquits flew into their cabin!
On Saturday there was a beach party and bonfire where tall tales of the sea were swapped, friendships made and plans hatched...apart from the usual drinking! A lovely evening, and not too far to dinghy back in the dark! We walked on some of the island's trails over the craggy and pockmarked limestone, and made the obligatory pilgrimage up to the top of 'Boo Boo Hill', named because of the ghostly apparitions of lost sailors who show their faces from time to time....so we were told. It's here, at the highest point on the island, that you deposit a piece of driftwood with your boat's name on it, for future generations to see (or until the rangers burn it all and decide to start the pile again!) If you make it up there, dig around to find 'Southern Vectis'- we scrawled our name about twenty times on a very worn and uneven slab of old boat...not ours! It is here, too, that you will get the only cell phone signal on the island, and that was critical news for us as we had to take part in a conference call to Toronto at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning! Monday was also the day when the next cold front was due! Anyway, we made it to the top of the hill by the appropriate time and all went well, except for the occasional comment by other 'conferencees' complaining about wind noise! If they could have seen Bill and I, clinging together as though in a passionate embrace, but actually trying to listen to a conversation which seemed a million miles away (both in reception quality and also in content!), and also attempting to lessen the wailing of the gale that was blowing (or maybe it was the wailing of the ghosts!), they would have laughed! We did after is was all over! As we clambered over the limestone crags to get back to the dinghy the rain started, and lasted through to the next morning - so we were lucky with the timing of our call from the top of the world.
On Tuesday we decided to make a break for it. The weatherman promised that the winds would calm down for one day and one night before the next cold front came rushing in, so we set off for Staniel Cay, about 18 miles to the south. This is an area that was made famous by James Bond: the 'Thunderball Cave' in the movie lies just off Staniel Cay and you can snorkel through it at slack tide. Another reason to go there was to see the swimming pigs that roam a cay called 'Big Major's Spot' directly to the north of Staniel Cay. This is a west facing anchorage and is very popular when a front is not blowing through. It was deserted that afternoon as 'the crowd' had moved on with the promise of a weather window, and we anchored with three other boats only. Suddenly a dinghy that had been breezing around the bay headed our way, and to our surprise and delight we saw Rob and Laurie (the 'Queen of Florida') waving at us. We had first met Rob and Laurie at Saddler's Point Marina in Jacksonville,just after we bought 'Southern Vectis'. Rob, a very experienced sailor and ultra-sociable Aussie, gave us so much good advice, and we were invited to a lovely BBQ at their house. They have sold up all their land bases (as have a lot of people that we meet afloat....not for us though!) and are on their way to Australia via the Bahamas and Antigua. The good thing about having no real time constraints is that you can take your time and backtrack to places that take your fancy when the spirit...and the weather...moves! They are having a wonderful time.
After the excitement of meeting Rob and Laurie, we set off by dinghy to see the famous pigs. We took some bread and other food scraps and threw this into the water as we neared the beach. At this, a half dozen large, pink and brown spotted pigs with extremely prominent ears and long legs adapted for Olympic-style speed swimming, launched themselves from the beach and headed towards us like torpedoes!
Bill was a little slow in getting the boat turned around and we were almost boarded by this frightening barrage of pork! As we sped back to the boat, which,luckily, was anchored some way from the shore, we imagined Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock weaving these dire creatures into a tale of horror and mayhem!!! Luckily it was a starry and calm night and we slept well .....with a board over the hatch to repel all invaders!
Now we are at beautiful Samson Cay Marina. Our reasons for coming here are two-fold: firstly, after one day of calm, yet another fierce cold front with 30 plus knot winds was coming in, and secondly we had an alarm sounding on our engine! We arrived yesterday and had a mechanic on board today. He thinks that he has diagnosed the problem - a problem with the alarm, and not the engine, caused by corrosion on some wires! Bill is supposed to clean the wires up and all will be well! Mike, the mechanic, lives just across from this beautiful marina and used to jointly own it with his friend, Marcus. Mike now runs a salvage and towing business in this area - a very useful person to know! I will put his details in this blog in case anyone reading it should need his assistance: Mike at Overseas Salvage based at Staniel Cay. Phone: 242-355-2140 or cell 242-359-1464.
Back to the usual subject for sailors this year...the weather! A cold front is still with us with 30-40knot winds. Some damage was done to the docking here last night by the wave surge. Two boats at anchor dragged quite dangerously! We have one day of grace coming up tomorrow, before the next cold front arrives on Saturday and Sunday and then, if that was not enough, a huge cold front will come in next Tuesday and Wednesday. All the marinas are full with even experienced 'anchorers' running for cover. So....we will stay put in this lovely civilized spot until we get a weather window of a few days to allow us to get to Georgetown - the cruising sailors' mecca. There isn't much shelter from the 40 knot blows between here and Georgetown - we may not make it. But...on the other hand....we have found a lovely, sheltered and entirely civilized niche, and we plan to make the most of it. There are free showers, there is a laundry area, and a book swap. The freighter arrived last night to stock up the shop, and there is a restaurant where we will meet Tom & Joyce from 'Whispering Sea' for pizza dinner tonight. When the winds go down tomorrow we'll dinghy over to Staniel Cay and explore this lovely area to the full. It's not so bad to be stranded in paradise!
P.S. Bill has just returned from news gathering - the latest hot tale came from a Canadian boat that arrived here last night. He was tied to a mooring ball at Warderick Wells -the Emerald Rock mooring field - and heard a loud snap in the middle of the wild night. Both his mooring lines had snapped and he was rapidly heading for the rocks! He, also, is happy to be here!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Landfall in the Exuma Islands
There was a general exodus of boats from Nassau on Sunday. The Nassau Harbour Club Marina had filled up over the previous couple of days with boats seeking shelter from the strong cold front which hit yesterday with 30-40 knot winds and squalls. But by Sunday, miraculously, things had settled down, and Chris Parker, our radio weather guru, gave out the 'all clear' for a couple of days at least! So,together with buddy boat 'Knot-A-Gain' we headed south-east from Nassau for a 29 mile run to Allan's Cay, a group of islands in the northern Exuma island chain. The water was fairly flat, and we had a comfortable passage. We had heard from other friends that the anchorage could be very busy...and it was. By the end of the day there were 18 boats anchored between the three main cays which make up this anchorage. Allan's Cay's claim to fame, apart from being a good spot to snorkel and fish in pristine clear turquoise waters, is that two of the islands are home to a large colony of rock iguanas. There are large numbers of these prehistoric-looking creatures scuttling along the sands, particularly when food of any sort is on offer. Although there are signs requesting visitors not to feed the iguanas, they expect to be fed! They also have poor eyesight and may nip your ankle if you are not paying attention!
We spent two nights at this anchorage. The first night was calm, and the day that followed was a perfect, sunny warm day - for once! We swam, dinghied around the islands, and fished. Bill caught a mutton snapper, and we ate it for lunch! At sunset we invited Marianne and Paul (Knot-A-Gain) and Frank and Mary-Pat (Yolo) on board to celebrate the end of a perfect day. Well, the day may have been perfect, but the night at anchor was not. A large motor yacht had slipped in late in the day and anchored near us - we were nervous as this anchorage is fairly restricted, surrounded by sharp coral heads, and the holding is not that good. By the middle of the night the wind had come up, and all the boats were rocking and rolling on their anchors. We learned later that one boat's owners sat up most of the night watching with angst as the catamaran next to them crept ever closer as the boats all swung with the tide and strong gusts. At first light the large motor yacht slid out of the anchorage....and we followed shortly after. The seas were very choppy and the wind was howling as we headed just around the corner to Highborne Cay Marina. We had already made our two night reservation, as I had just finished a book by a previous manager of the Cay (it is a privately owned island) called "Life on a Rock", and I wanted to see some of the things she had written about. This is a lovely little marina, and has been upgraded since the book was written. It is fairly tricky to figure out the entrance in rough weather, and we were relieved to get tied up. There is a well-stocked shop (for the islands, that is!) and there are some lovely beaches. Yesterday we followed some of the walking trails mentioned in the book and just enjoyed our calm haven as the cold front churned up the water on the shallow banks to the west of the island. Today the cold front is lingering and so are we. We plan to spend $4 each on a shower (for 4 minutes of water use!), and also go on another walk south from the marina. We are also planning the next part of our trip as we have been promised three days of good weather, starting from Friday! It's all subject to change, of course!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
'Around Nassau town we did roam...."
With apologies to the composer of 'The Sloop John B'!
"We sailed on the sloop 'Southern V'
Grandpa Bill and me
Round Nassau town we did roam
Couldn't go out at nights
Cause the drug gangs like to fight
Kept our money in a safe place 'n
Should've left my jewels at home
So haul up Southern V's sail
See how the mainsail sets (this is an 'in' joke for those travelling with us!)
Should I send for the dentist ashore,
Or spend my money on rum?
But when a filling 'done gone'
There's nothing for it, 'mon'
But to open up wide
For the dentist who did her training 'back home' (Waterloo U.)
We've been to 'Paradise' now, you see,
Ole Capt'n Billy 'n me
Around fabled 'Atlantis' we did roam
The riches did astound us
The casino did confound us
But the mega-yachts in the marina
Didn't make it feel like home.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Riding out the cold fronts
Our stay at Chubb Cay Marina turned out to be longer than anticipated. This was due to the frequent cold fronts that have been sweeping across from Florida, bringing 25 – 30 knot winds and high seas. However, we enjoyed our stay in Chubb Cay very much as we were joined by two other Canadian boats – ‘Knot – a- Gain’, a 37 ft Island Packet from Nova Scotia, and ‘Steel Away’, a steel boat from Port Dalhousie, Ontario. Chubb Cay Marina is in receivership, and we had the place to ourselves apart from a few sport fishing boats and a luxury motor yacht. There was a lovely beach and a beautiful infinity pool, complete with swim-up bar. There was also one far distant shower which actually worked! Each evening we would take our ‘sundowner’ drinks down to the pool and beach, perch on the bar stools beside the pool, and pretend we had waiter service! As the sun sank below the horizon we avidly watched for the famed ‘green flash’, and thought we had caught a brief glimpse of it one time. We were all pleased to be tied up to a dock because many nights the winds gusted to 30 knots and the boats tugged at their lines and bounced against the docks.
There were two other Canadian boats about four miles further on from us, at Fraser’s Hog Cay - ‘Rhama’ and ‘Madcap’. We had thought of moving round there too, but were not sure how secure the moorings were. It turned out they were fine – thank goodness!
We also met Andrea from New Zealand. She is the personal assistant to the owner of the large and luxurious motor yacht in the harbour. We were fascinated to hear tales of how the ‘other half’ lived – private jets, race horses, and houses in every corner of the world !
After four days of strong winds the weather settled, and we set off for Nassau on Monday. We left at 7:30 a.m. and arrived at 2:30 p.m. The seas were fairly flat on the crossing over the extremely deep Northwest Providence Channel, however there was quite a swell in the narrow and rocky entrance to Nassau Harbour. You must call Nassau Harbour Control before entering the harbour, and we could see why! A huge cruise ship towered over the harbour as we entered. Squeezing past this monster in the harbour entrance doesn’t bear thinking about!
So now all the Canadians are together again – tied up snugly at Nassau Harbour Club Marina and deciding whether to make a run for the Exumas before the storm of the decade hits on Friday ( so says Chris Parker, the weather guru we listen to on our Single Sideband Radio), or stay until the beginning of next week and maybe visit Paradise Island and all the ‘delights’ of ‘Atlantis’ – Sol Kertzner’s playground for millionaires and ‘wannabees’!
There were two other Canadian boats about four miles further on from us, at Fraser’s Hog Cay - ‘Rhama’ and ‘Madcap’. We had thought of moving round there too, but were not sure how secure the moorings were. It turned out they were fine – thank goodness!
We also met Andrea from New Zealand. She is the personal assistant to the owner of the large and luxurious motor yacht in the harbour. We were fascinated to hear tales of how the ‘other half’ lived – private jets, race horses, and houses in every corner of the world !
After four days of strong winds the weather settled, and we set off for Nassau on Monday. We left at 7:30 a.m. and arrived at 2:30 p.m. The seas were fairly flat on the crossing over the extremely deep Northwest Providence Channel, however there was quite a swell in the narrow and rocky entrance to Nassau Harbour. You must call Nassau Harbour Control before entering the harbour, and we could see why! A huge cruise ship towered over the harbour as we entered. Squeezing past this monster in the harbour entrance doesn’t bear thinking about!
So now all the Canadians are together again – tied up snugly at Nassau Harbour Club Marina and deciding whether to make a run for the Exumas before the storm of the decade hits on Friday ( so says Chris Parker, the weather guru we listen to on our Single Sideband Radio), or stay until the beginning of next week and maybe visit Paradise Island and all the ‘delights’ of ‘Atlantis’ – Sol Kertzner’s playground for millionaires and ‘wannabees’!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
We made it!
We are now in the Bahamas! We left Miami on Tuesday morning and were passing Bimini by 5 p.m. There was a mass exodus from Miami that day as the 'weather window' was very narrow. We crossed with Delta G. and decided to carry on as long as we could before anchoring on the Bahama Banks overnight. The crossing of the Gulf Stream was very peaceful...for which we were very grateful! We carried on until around 11 p.m. and anchored about a mile south of the main boating channel. We slept well and, after a leisurely breakfast, left at around 8 a.m. headed for Chubb Cay. Despite a short, sharp squall (not in the weather forecast) and 25 knots winds we made it to Chubb Cay marina by 2 p.m. Now we are waiting to do our customs and immigration check in to make us legal. The sun is shining and the sea is blue. More anon.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Waiting and waiting....and waiting for a 'window'!
We've been in Florida for a month now and haven't got very far! We're now at a dock in 'Dinner Key Marina', Miami. When we left our dock at Fort Lauderdale we spent a very peaceful night at lovely Lake Sylvia, and took the dinghy up to eat yet more oysters at the 'Southport Raw Bar'. The sunset was beautiful that evening and there were only six other boats at anchor around us. The next day we set off down the coast to Miami - we can't use the Intra-Coastal Waterway for this part of the trip as our mast is too high for one of the bridges. It was a peaceful trip. We hugged the coast, and the beach scene at Hollywood Beach and South Beach was quite fascinating - high rise buildings of every shape and size, and people to match! We anchored for two nights just north of Miami's 'Government Cut' beside Venetian Causeway. There is a large anchorage here and boaters can use the facilities of the Miami Yacht Club for a small fee. We had a drink there one night and took the dinghy up to the South Beach area the next day to do some provisioning. After three nights at anchor we decided to head to Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. We spent some time here last year and enjoyed exploring the area. 'Dinner Key' is a large 600+ boat marina situated where the old Pan-Am Clipper flying boat basin was in the 30s - 50s....when flying was for the lucky few, and everyone wore their best clothes and drank martinis at take off! No $6 plastic hamburgers and warm water.....and no waiting for hours at check-in for the pleasure of being thoroughly (and I mean THOROUGHLY!!) frisked!
There has been a big change here since last year - and for the better. The old anchoring field, which was full of rotting and abandoned boats, has been cleaned out, and now this area has become a wonderful mooring field. There is even a tender to pick you up or drop you off at your mooring! Our friends, Wendy and Tony from Delta G., came in on Saturday and have taken one. We, however, are luxuriating at a dock....and pleased to do so at the moment as the strong winds and now torrential rain of a cold front have made the moorings seem a little less attractive at the moment!
On our first night here we had dinner sitting on the sidewalk of a restaurant called 'Greenstreet' at the corner of Commodore and Main. What attracted us to this restaurant was the large board which advertised 'Ladies Night - free champagne'. The waiting staff just wouldn't stop pouring the stuff....even Bill qualified to get the free drinks! So we sat on our plush velvet couch looking out at the Friday night scene (which was very lively and young!) and watched the full moon rise over Coconut Grove. It was very pleasant! Yesterday we met my Isle of Wight schoolfriend, Sue and her husband, Jean, at Monty's Raw Bar and ate my favourite delicacy of this area...stone crab claws! (The crabs 're-grow' the claws evidently!) Now we are in a holding pattern waiting to go across to Bimini and further, to eventually end up in Nassau and the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas. I am writing this in the library as we cannot get any internet on the boat still. Bill has just arrived here from a shopping expedition soaked to the skin! A huge storm has been raging for about an hour now and the rain is torrential and tropical! It doesn't look as though it's going to let up for days!!! Maybe 'Southern Vectis'will float away without us. Or maybe we will take off for the Bahamas tomorrow. Who knows!
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