Snorkling

Today we took some of the cruisers to a near by reef for snorkling and fishing. It was a bit rough so I did not get in but Rob says it was very beautiful down there. Lots of smallish fish were speared so tonight is a fish braai on the beach.

Boat Fish Party

Last night we invited all the cruisers in the bay to a party on our boat, we had 20 people and John, a local chap, cooked all the fish he and others had caught that day. We had a blast and ended the evening with a play put on by Mimi and Richard (seasoned actors). A comedy about a couple who keep forgetting everything, a wonderful performance.

Yoga on the beach

This is our Yoga spot, a pink and yellow rickety structure on the beach, 1 level up. Its just perfect, Debby and I have had great classes with Jennifer from yacht 'Gitana del Mar' Thats her in the photo with Debby and I. What a venue!

Andros Island

On Sunday we crossed a windy rough sea to Andros Island. A large island where all the vegetables and Citrus are grown for the Bahamas. We are anchored in Morgans Bluff and calm protected bay, wonderful. There are about 10 other yachts here and we had a communal supper on the beach last night. Everyone including the locals are so friendly.

Today started with a yoga class on the beach, given but Jennifer who is a yoga teacher from one of the yachts. Then we walked for an hour into the main town and got a lift back in a car full of Conch shells. The chap just saw us walking and stopped and insisted we get in..its too hot to walk man!

Rob borrowed a hull scraper and cleaned the hulls and I did my two laps of swimming around the boat. We are all nicely tired.

rescue of boat

We anchored at Berry island club, near Chub cay and the wind blew all night, 22 knots. There was no protection from the wind so the men stayed up till 3am to check that the anchor did not drag. It didn't! When the sun rose we noticed a rubber duck washed up on the shore and the motor on the water line. Rob got onto the radio and asked who owned the boat, its name was on it. They collected the very worried captain who had lost his tender boat during the strong winds. Amazingly they put it together and Rob flushed the engine and it started working again. The Captain was close to tears so happy to have his tender back in one piece.

Manatee

We saw a Manatee in the marina at Berry, Grand Harbour Cay. So cute, he was inquisitive and came up to my hand for a scratch. So cool to see it so clearly.

The other is a pic of Debby admiring the wonderful blue sea.

Fishing again

Rob and Lionel both had a chance of bringing in a fish. We caught 2 Baracuda and 1 Skipjack tuna. Both good eating.

Bahamas 17 April 2011

Tomorrow we leave for the Bahamas, a group of very flat islands near Florida. Our first stop will be Bimini island to do the customs registrations. Then to Great Harbour Cay, Harbour island, New Providence (Nassau) and then the apparently very picturesque Exumas in the south.

Will report on all of this soon!

New river big Boats

This is our spot on the New River. This big beauty came past today. Never a dull moment here, always something happening on the river.

Lionel & Debby

Lionel and Debby Daniel have joined us from Cape Town for 2 weeks on the boat. Here Lionel is helping Rob put up the Fairy lights. They give a wonderful calm light on the boat. All ready for the Bahamas on Sunday.

Family

This week we celebrated Howard's Birthday with a freshly baked chocolate cake. Then Stacey paid us a visit with her daughters and father Arno Wolffs.

Good family time.

Cleaning

Today was cleaning day, we scrubbed the boat from top to bottom, Rob outside, me inside. Every surface is covered with a fine layer of mould. There are lots of mould cleaning products here as its a continual problem from the high humidity. I defrosted the freezer, cleaned the fridge.
Now we are stocking up with food and drinks for the 2 month trip to the Bahamas. Should leave on Saturday if the weather holds.

No internet on the boat so I sitting on a bench in the park, near the boat, where there is free wifi!

Happy Dog

While the race was on a couple came paddling past with 'Napoleon' the small dog on the bow. He was panting and Rob offered them a stop. He was very happy to be out of the sun and have his yellow life jacket off. Made himself at home in the shade.

New River

We are on the New River again, same spot as last year. Its good to be back in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida.

Today there was a fun event on the river, sponsored by Red Bull. The home made water crafts ended their 1.5 mile race right near our boat so we had a great view. Two boats sunk completely, one was called 'the Coast Guard'

Birthday treat

This was my birthday treat! A pot of crabs. Not a delicate meal, you end up with crab and sauce all over from cracking the legs. Sounds like a horror movie.

They were very tasty!

Impeller problem

Well the engine stopped pumping water again and we stopped for Rob to replace the impeller. Thats the old broken one next to the new one, it pumps the water into the engine.

Another good repair job done by Robert.

Stop overs

The Palm trees are on a golf course we slept next to on the 30th. The unusual thing was some golf carts had dogs running along side, dont think any SA golf course would like this.
The city lights are of North Palm Beach where we anchored to see Mike and Lynne again. It was a flat calm evening with sirloin steak on the braai!

March 30 2011

Here she is going back into the water. Once in the water the one engine started but would not pump water. Rob eventually got it pumping, after what seemed ages as we hung on the straps of the hoist.

This is the cooling system for the motor so must work.

We headed off straight away for Fort Lauderdale, with a few stops planned along the way.