We met a couple in Marsh Harbor and were invited aboard the ir beautiful sailboat. They asked about our plans and timeframe. We discussed the weather patterrns andnour passages in that direction. We get the same answer from everyone. Why go anywhere else? You are in the best place that you can be in the Bahamas right now. You are in the beautiful Abacos.
So, after we have made our way furthest south that we can get we realize that we are not leaving the Abacos. The wind continues on from the south and makes it nearly impossible for us to go the 50 miles we need to do with the wind in our nose, no where along the way for refuge and our motor is too small to get us there any faster. We will stay in the Abacos.
After Marsh Harbor we sail on out. We are tired of the city and are ready to move on. We head south down to Tavern Cay. We have a real nice sail, wind is great. We find a pretty spot to anchor. We are close to a house on land and are able to hail up a free wifi connection. Super! It is turning dark. Time for dinner and turn in for the night.
Morning comes and there are signs of a huge storm coming. We have a sail to fix so we pull out the repair tape that our wonderful friend Cindy Kruse has sent with Rachel for us to use. We clean the sail area to be repaired with alcohol and then apply the tape. We have a hand awl and thread and Mark sews the areas that need extra reinforcement to be strong. It all worked out well and we are feeling better about having the sail for use.
After the last couple of rains, Mark has taken out the windows one by one and put more sealant behind the windows. We will put them to the test now. Here it comes! He is headed out to the cockpit with a bar of soap and shampoo to take a shower in it. That's the way it is done here for cruisers.
The rain starts and it is heavy. I move about inside the cabin checking out every little place that we had drips before and arranging bowls beneath. But after a bit I realize that many of the big leaks that we had before, that were drenching our beds, are no longer there. Halleluah! Mark, has showered and has now rigged a system to collect the water so we can use it for dishes, showers and filter for drinking. It is raining so hard and long now. He looks so clean, cool and comfortable. I think it is my turn for a shower. I come out the the cockpit. It is raining so hard and so long that I got to wash with soap, shampoo and condition my long hair. I could have even shaved. There was so much rain coming down.
We ended up collecting 20 gallons of water.
We jump into the dink, freshly showered, packed up for our adventures and motor out. We are on a search for some hiking trails. We have called ahead on channel 16 to Cracker P's to get some information from them. Cracker P's is a local pub here that advertises on the Cruisers net in the morning on channel 68 at 8:15 along with other businesses in the Abacos. They are located next to Lubber's Landing and both are on the island called Lubber's Quarters.
We pull up to their dock and tie off. The place is extremely cute, sitting high off the ground with a beach in front. There is tropical forest behind the building that is crisp and bright green from the fresh rain. We go up to the open air pub and look around. In the back the wife of the couple who owns the place is painting on driftwood. Sailboats, mooring balls, birds all beautiful for the walls and swing seats. She gives us directions for the hike, warning us of mosquitoes and some mud that we will have to go through. No problem, we can handle this. Ha!
We head on in and it is the most beautiful and lush forest you have seen, with a neat little path carved out and trees arched overhead. It is all straight out of a picture book. We went in about a half mile and I have never been swarmed and eaten by mosquitoes like this since Montana when I was a litlle girl. We were swatting and shooing them away and finally we came to the mud. It was more swamp like and I decided we were going no further. I turned around and ran back out of there as fast as I could. We were covered in bites and itching like crazy people.
We hopped back into the dink and motored over to Tahiti Beach. It looked clear of bugs and is said to be one of the most beautiful beaches here.
We saw a stingray, collected sand and shells and walked around a bit watching the waves crash on the back side with the Atlantic. What a beautiful day.
That night we have dinner and blog and facebook a bit. The lights are on in the cabin and we are attracting these flying ant looking nats. They don't bite but they are so numerous. Mark has 12 of them on his screen alone and they are all over the headliner. Eew. I turn out the light, sit far from him and just relax. The bugs here are determining what I will do. If they leave me alone, I am okay with that.
Goodnight all.
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