Author: Pete

Still hanging out in Georgetown after Casey left waiting for my sister Chelsea to arrive! And our new mainsail as well! On our first foray to collect both precious cargo items we were dismayed that both had gotten tangled up in the mysterious web of Bahamian air transport. Chelsea was stuck in Nassau and the sail was AWOL. Eventually we collected both, but had to do some finagling with customs.

Apparently, customs will charge duty on anything non-essential to your boat that is being imported, whether shipped in as freight, or packed in with a visitor. Thus, we had to prove that the sail wasn’t a trivial piece of kit for the boat, that our current mainsail was inoperable and in need of replacement. So we gave our best puppy eyes to an official who didn’t seem like he was having any of it. After we showed him the carnage of the tears and our sad patches he eventually allowed it through without duty. Thank goodness…

After collecting Chelsea we took a hike over Stocking Island. Chelsea related to us her arduous trip from Seattle and as we found a swimming hole on an empty beach and got busy wallowing in the clear water. On the way back to the dinghy we stopped in a stand of long-needled pines and gathered boughs for a Christmas wreath! What are pines doing on a tropical island anyway?

The following day we made a provisioning run to the Exuma Markets, filled water jugs, diesel and gas. Back on the boat after stowing all our goodies, we put up our handsome new sail. Many hands made light work. Wrapped up our sad old sail and tucked her away in the bilges. Poor girl.

The following morning we woke early and motored out of Georgetown heading east. Light winds happily allowed us to sail straight to our destination, the northern tip of Long Island. Chelsea was at the helm for most of the trip and seemed right at home on the boat. The grand, sandy Calabash Bay welcomed us in time for a couple sundown gin and tonics.

Calabash had a little roll to it, so the next day we decided to squeeze through the tiny cut into Joe’s Sound. On charts it looks good once you’re in. The entrance is not too much wider than our twenty-foot beam and it was tense for a minute as we inched our way in with spotters on each bow. Once in, we had cover from the wind but were immediately grounded as we tried to anchor. The current in the narrow sound is fed from the vast shallow areas that drain and fill every six hours. As we engaged our hook, the current swept us right into a sand bank and embedded our starboard skeg in the sand! Rude. After some laps around the deck with our arms waving above our heads, we used our second anchor to kedge off into the deeper channel just meters away.

But the fun wasn’t done. We added a third anchor off the starboard side to hold us against the broadside current. It held through lunch, but the bow anchor pulled through the sand and the boat swung around until it caught on the beam anchor. Fun. So we pulled all the anchors up and moved to a slightly deeper spot in the sound. We couldn’t leave until the next morning because the tide was down, so we had to make the best of it. I tandem anchored our two Danforths off the bow, and set our solid Rocna primary anchor at 45^o off of the bow to hold us against the stupid current. That held overnight. I know because I was up every hour checking the holding. The next morning we spat over the rails and made derogatory remarks about Joe’s Sound’s mother as we exited the narrow cut.

Back in Calabash Bay, the little bit of roll didn’t seem quite so bad compared with the current we’d been battling. We put the dinghy down and ran out into the deep to spearfish. A beautiful finger of coral and rock ran into the sea. We anchored and snorkeled on it in about twenty feet of water. After a few hours we came back with two lobsters and a couple of fish! Being Christmas Eve we made a lobster dinner with some fancy drinks that Chelsea brought fixins for. Stayed up playing games and enjoying the evening. Our multi-colored LED Christmas wreath kept the holiday cheer along with the playlist of Christmas tunes that were played several times over the couple of days. Then we “Sleep(ed) in heavenly peace. Slee-EEEEp(ed) in heeeeeavenly peace.”

In the morning we made lobster eggs benedict and had coffee with real cream! After scarfing breakfast we set in to make a Swedish tea ring to top it off! Ate our faces off, lounged around a bit, then swam to shore from the boat for a Christmas stroll on the long beach.

Back at the boat later in the afternoon we made Polish mushroom soup, broke Oplatec, and had some more fancy Christmas drinks. The ‘Ancient Mariners’ are grapefruit juice, rum, and an allspice dram that Chelsea made. Sat out on the deck and enjoyed our new solar Christmas lights! Thanks Mom!

On the 26^th we pulled anchor and sailed from Calabash to Stella Maris, navigating the broad shallow bay’s narrow channel slowly. Found the only spot deep enough to anchor just outside the marina and plopped ourselves in the middle of it. Not like there was any competition for space. Went in to the marina and walked aimlessly down the coast road. A pickup picked us up and drove us to the only open store. Possibly the only store on the island? We bought snacks and beer and walked back. Not much going on in Stella Maris. Not much going on at all.

And then we said goodbye to Chelsea the next day. Drove her in to the empty marina in the dinghy trying not to soak her clean traveling duds and backpack. Really fun to have her here for Christmas! Thanks Chelsea for coming down to see our floating digs! Christmas wouldn’t have been the same without you!