Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year from the Bahamas

We survived the hurricanes!!

I know it has been awhile since I posted., but we have been moving around alot and not always in a hotspot. We feel we were better off in the Bahamas during these last rounds of hurricanes. Fay came through while we were in Nassau, and as you can see Carleigh didn't fair very well (just kidding). That picture is just of a boat anchored out in the Nassau channel. We just experienced strong winds and rain. After she blew through, we cruised on over to the Berry Islands and anchored out in Little Harbour. The Berry Islands are a cluster of 30 islands and lots to explore. Little Harbour is home to the Darville family, matriarch Flo, her son Chester and his son. Flo has the only restuarant on the Island and you need to radio ahead to place your order for food. She is a lovely lady and great cook. Chester is a character! He came out to the boat just after Clay and I put the hook down and showed us how he wanted us to anchor. Always new methods to learn, but he had us stern and bow anchored down tight in case Hannah blew in. We had put up the dinghy before leaving Nassau, Clay and I wanted to go into Flo's to eat, but didn't feel like getting the dinghy and motor down from the top of the boat. Chester said 'no problem mon', I'll just get it down for you. Normally we have to hook it up to a hand pulley davit, lower the dinghy first then hook up the motor and lower it. Once again, Chester had his own way, he just lifted up the dinghy and flipped her over into the water without getting one single drop of water in the dinghy!!! At least he put a rope on the motor before lowering it. So we went into Flo's for dinner and a wonderful visit in our dinghy then motored around the harbour. The next day, Chester came over on his way to Chub Cay and asked us to watch the place for him, that he was going to Chub for supplies and fuel and would be back in several hours. As it turned out, he came back the next morning, meanwhile, 2 guys dingyed over to Flo's and were snooping around, I told Clay he better go check on them so he wouldn't get fired the first day on the job. They were looking for a cold beverage and food. Clay invited them back to our boat!!!!, and we couldn't get rid of them!!! Finally after they ate all the food, drank our drinks and the bugs got too unbearable, they left. After Chester came back, we headed over to Great Harbour, another island in the Berry's. We had planned on staying a few days, but Mother Nature changed all that!!! Stay tune, I'll catch you up on that at a later date.
I included some pictures of our friends I mentioned in the previous post. Clay is standing with Chris (the Olympic athlete), Tanya and Walker at TPA Marina in Nassau and a conch!.
As always,

The Happy Cruisers!!!
Life is real Good!!!

Pictures from George Town

This are just a few pictures from the July 10th Independence Day. And a few from snorkeling in Fowl Cay in George Town. Like I said they aren't that great. The one with Clay in front of Chat n Chill is a neat spot across Elizabeth Harbour. It is a beautiful volleyball beach and just a great place to hang out. They have all sorts of activities planned there for the boaters. It really gets jammin' during the winter months. We are still in Nassau and just as soon as I can get the pictures downloaded from the new camera, I'll post them. One is going to be of our personal taxi driver. He and Clay bonded as they both discovered they have track in common. Chris qualified for the 1980 Olympics, but due to the USA and Bahamas boycott, did not go. They both ran the 400m, Chris in 45sec. and Clay in 50 sec., but that was in Clay's High School days. Anyway, it's been fun having him for our driver. He's taken us around to several new places here in Nassau. Our friends here at the Marina are saying we are becoming true Bahamians. We are having so much fun. Life is GOOD, cruising is better!!!
The Happy Cruisers

Still Exploring

Last I posted, we were in George Town and what a wonderful place that is. We celebrated with the Bahamians their 35th Independence Day. They really put on the celebration!!! In Rolletown, they had several Regattas going on. A Regatta is when sail boats go out and race different courses to show how well they can maneuver. They are made up of age groups and boat size. Their sails are very pretty and colorful. Sorry, I don't have any pictures to show. We met a very nice lady named Margaret in town and caught up with her at the celebration. She is suppose to email some of her picts but I haven't received them as of yet. Margaret became Clay's new Bahamian girlfriend and they danced the night away! Several vendors were out with their specialty dishes, conch salad, lobster salad, crab and rice, macaroni and cheese, all fresh and the list goes on. They had a wild fireworks show, bands playing and a Junkanoo parade. The Junkanoo parade is the ultimate Bahamian event to see. They dress up in bright, shiny costumes and dance to their funky music playing all kinds of homemade instruments. Very colorful, loud and FUN!!!
From George Town we cruised on down to Long Island. Docked at the Marina called Stella Maris. On the cruise down, we went through the same waters as Christopher Columbus did in 1492. Pretty cool when you think about it. How we are able to use all the boats instruments today as compared to them using nothing. There is a nice monument up on a rock upon entering where he first reached land at the North end of Long Island. Long Island is 80 miles in lenght and 4 miles in width. Clay and I rented a car and drove to the South end, where we stopped for some lunch at Parrots of the Caribbean. (A take off name to the movie Pirates of the Caribbean), since it was filmed in Salt Pond which is 3/4 of the way down Long Island. After spending a much relaxed time in the Marina, when headed on down the Island in the boat to see it by water, anchoring out along the way. There we discovered a very nice anchorage in Salt Pond where we stayed for several days and on Aug. 1, (the day lobster season begins for the fishermen) we witnessed all the boats taking off. It was like watching the beginning of the Indy 500!! After seeing and shopping all we could we headed out for new waters. We cruised in the same waters where Pirates was filmed, but didn't see any Pirates, anchored out in Conception, a well known area for great snorkeling and diving. Clay and I saw our first shark, not the harmless nurse sharks we swam with, and then came nose to nose and side by side with 2 barracudas! I couldn't get in the dinghy fast enough. At least I didn't drop the camera and took a few pictures. On a more pleasant dive, we saw a peaceful, beautiful turtle with blue markings rested on the bottom of the waters. We stayed real still just admiring it and just as soon as we started to swim off he quickly took off in another direction. They can sense when they think they are being hunted. Turtle soup and other turtle organs are a delicacy over here. (YUCK!) We moved on over to Santa Maria anchorage, named for Columbus and checked out their little paradise Island. The beaches are beautiful and because the island is so small, very quiet. This part of the cruise has all been new waters for us and it is so exciting cruising them and learning the history. From here we headed on back to Nassau. Football season is about to begin and we need to get our boat up to snuff so we can either watch or listen to the Cowboys and hopefully BOTH!!!! Nassau is just a good location to get all kinds of provisions, mail out stuff, receive our mail, etc. So we are here for a couple of weeks to catch the Cowboy games, watch the Olympics and then we are both ready to get out in the open waters and cruise. I did get a new camera, so I'll be back to posting more picts. I have a few, but they aren't the greatest that I'll try to post. Hope all is well with whoever enjoys reading our blog and stay turned for more exploring from Carleigh.
As always, we are the
HAPPY Crusiers!!

Pictures

 

In the Exumas! Happy 4th of July!

It's been awhile since I have posted anything, so I'll try and do some catching up. We have been in the Exumas for nearly 2 months and have been having a wonderful cruise. The Exuma Land and Sea Park is one of a kind so far in the Bahamas. They have several moorings set along for our convenience. Clay and I have been doing alot of snorkeling in these spots. We been to Staniel Cay, Sampson Cay, Compass Cay, Black Point, Farmers Cay, Bells Island, Little Halls Pond, Cave Cay and now we are in George Town.
We swam with the nurse sharks, saw Johnny Depp, his wife/girlfriend, Island, and boat, and Faith Hill's Island. Run into more Texans. Steve Cone (from Texas) owns Cave Cay and the Marina. He's been working on it for 14 years. Clay knows his cousin from Arlington, TX.
George Town is a very nice laid back Bahamian community with just about everything you need. The people here are super friendly. You can anchor out if you want to or come into the Exuma Docking Services. We've done both. The town itself is quite small so you can walk to all the local places. The Straw Market here is much smaller than Nassau's which I like better and the vendors are not pushy!!!! They have an unusual Restaurant row here and they call it the Fish Fry. There are about 7-8 different little shack/restaurants you can choose from, but on down the road apiece we choose the Coconut Cove Restaurant over looking Elizabeth Harbour and had a terrific pizza!!!
My digital camera crashed, got a new underwater digital camera here, so we are going out to take some pictures and see how it works. Stay tuned for pictures,
As always,
The Happy Cruisers

How to make a Fish Taco

This little post might come in handy for some. It's short, sweet and to the point!
To make a good Bahamian fish taco, go trolling in deep waters. Catch your own fish, fillet it, cook it and eat it!!!!. When you start running out of your on food on board, it's time to get out the rod and reel. Not only did we catch this mackerel, but we also caught a baracuda!!! He was 3ft long but we let him go. They have 2 or 3 in Wardwick Wells that are pets and harmless and he reminded me of them and I didn't want him for dinner. Like I said, I'm keeping this post short, but check back soon as I will have more pictures to post. Life is good, cruising is GREAT!!!!
As always,
The Happy Cruisers!

yea pictures!!!

I finally got the pictures up. Noah is celebrating his 2nd birthday with his new pair of crocs, Jacob, (my new first mate) enjoying the boat ride and Ashton seems to be enjoying it as well. The view of the sandy beach was our backyard view in Allen's Cay, (I'll take that more than a pool and hot tub in my backyard anyday!), and then the relaxing view in Sampson Cay.
We are still in Staniel Cay enjoying the people and quiet atmosphere. Clay and I went for our daily walk around town and maybe go back out to Thunderball Cave for more snorkling. We have a string ray swimming around our boat and I've been trying to snag a picture of him. Maybe today will be the day.
Hope you enjoy the pictures, would love to hear some comments via email.
Until later...
The happy cruisers!!