svindulgence.com Blog

We arrived home last night at 12:30 AM. The cat got excited as he recognized the familar smell of home (Ocean and spruce with a hint of woodsmoke). I think he realized that his year on the boat is comming to an end.

The passage from Bermuda was bit rough at times (15 to 20 foot seas in the Gulfstream with 30 knots on the nose). For most of the trip we 20/25 knots on the nose, so it was alot of pounding with boat on its side. The boat held up well with some minor damage (wear and tear stuff).

We arrived at 6AM this morning in Bermuda after a 10 day, 1150 mile trip from Nassau (we took the long way). We had calm winds after the first two days, so it was mostly a motoring trip. The trick was how to get to Bermuda when you don’t have enough fuel. Turns out we found a nice current that gave us a boost and enabled us to make it.

There were a lot of Dolphins and a few whales. We stopped every day for a swim. The only significant event happened on Friday night while motoring towards Bermuda; the prop snagged a drifting fishing line, disabling the engine. Paul and I had to dive on the prop, in the dark with 4 to 5 feet seas. We were successful getting untangled and continued on through the night.

Well….here is the end of our time in the tropics. Lorri and the kids are packing for their flight to Georgia and I am getting the boat ready for an off-shore trip to Bermuda. As you can imagine, things are bit crazy. The contrasts with our last 5 days in the Exumas at Allen key….very relaxing (except for the Lion Fish….my final total is 65 confirmed dead).

While I’ll miss the Bahamas, I am looking forward to getting back home to the states and resuming my life. We are planning on leaving Thursday early. Unfortunately, we’ll have to head out the Western side due to the strong ENE winds in the Bahamas. It will be a bit bumpy for the first couple of days…then the winds will die as we head North and East. The next problem will be fuel.

I will posting position reports via shiptrak.org. To find me, you will need to enter my HAM call sign (KB1LIQ). If needed, I can also be post some messages via 14300.net. You will need to go to the website and click on the “Net Watch database”…when that page opens, click on search database link at the top of the page and enter my HAM callsign KB1LIQ…it should show any messages (e.g. “we are drifting in the Atlantic….had to put the cat overboard” or “we are out of beer” or “a whale attacked the boat and ate the cat”).

We have really been enjoying the Bahamas. I have killed 55 lion fish to date with one assist from a reef shark, one assist from a moray eel, and one assist from a nurse shark. It has really been fun swimming the sharks…though when they start getting frenzied, the fun ends and it is time to move on. Now you may be wondering what do we do these lion fish? We we eat them! We have had lion fish sushi, lion fish ceviche, and lion fish tacos. I think Lorri and the kids are getting sick of lion fish.

We just got back from the Berry Islands where we spent 6 very pleasant days. We came into Nassau for a quick stop before heading to the Exumas for one last visit before Lorri and the kids depart for Georgia and the crew flies in.

I will posting directions on how you can track our progess, as well be making position reports via shiptrak.org.

The first thing I do in the morning is wipe the galley counters down with a disinfectant.  A germ freak, I am not.  But the reality of four people and a cat crammed onto a small boat is this:  the litter box (in the bathroom)  is only three feet away from the galley and it’s proven impossible to prevent the cat from climbing up and soiling the countertops in the middle of the night.  Yes - I am wiping kitty litter off of the countertops every morning.  

The corollary to this is that there is also frequently the stench of cat business wafting in close proximity to galley and salon where we eat our meals.   If the four humans did not smell almost as bad as the bathroom, we’d be pretty miserable.  As it is, since we can shower only once a week or so, and since we wear the same clothes over and over because laundry facilities are rare and expensive, we are able to cope nicely with the medley of aromas that surround us at the dining table. 

I sweep, usually twice daily, our sixty square feet of floorspace below.  It’s good to keep the millions of cat hairs, that hover in the air, circulating. 

Jasper and Georgia are paid to swat flies below decks.  They earn ten cents for every fly they swat.  The most they have earned in one afternoon is $7.40.

We are vigilant in keeping all cardboard off the boat to prevent cockroach infestation.  So far, so good.  Unfortunately, we did not realize that beach sand can be just as invasive a pest.  Despite vigorous shampooing, a tenecious colony is alive and well in Jasper’s hair.

Leaving Staniel Cay tomorrow and heading further up the Exuma chain toward Nassau.  See ya’ll soon.

We went to see some iguanas yestrday. They were big. We fed them Cheeze-its and bits of apple with our freinds on Starry Night. Then we dived on a wreck and I killed a lionfish. My dad killed three and one had its tail bitten clean off by a moray eel. When we got to Staniel cay we saw some huge dog fish and went snorkiling in this cool natural cave.

Okay, I admit it.  I’m counting.  We are in the Bahamas and yes, it really is paradise.  The water is extrordinarily clear – we can clearly see sand dollars on the bottom at least twenty feet down.  The temperature was 88 today, but the ocean breeze kept us cool.  We’ve had moderate sailing conditions and we’ve been meeting friends along the way (also from Maine – what gives?).   We are currently on the tiny island of Little Farmer’s Cay, a remote sandy outpost with houses painted the same turquoise blue as the water.  And we are, at this moment, hanging out at Ocean Cabin, the only restaurant on the island, enjoying the company of owner Terry, while co-owner Evangeline is making our dinner.  We are the only people here tonight – the Bahamas, while chock full of cruisers during the winter, completely clears out by this time of year and both anchorages and islands have been uncrowded, including the popular Georgetown.  I’ve been really enjoying the Bahamian scenery and people.  But, I, like the kids, am a little homesick.  As beautiful as this island is, I asked John today, as we walked around, if it didn’t remind him of Frenchboro in Penobscot Bay?  It did.

So, while we make our way north to Nassau, and wrestle with how to by groceries in grocery stores that have very little on the shelves (see Jasper’s blog – he’s not exaggerating), I feel a little like a horse I road long ago that refused to keep pace the entire ride, until we turned for home – he practically killed me galloping back to the barn.

We are in the Bahamas and, breaking news, there is another kid boat! this brings us up to a startling total of…3. Anyway my father wants to check out every wreck we pass. We checked out a plane wreck and we mistook it for a strange rock. Luckily, we’re coming home in 30 days. I miss the States. This morning we went to a grocery store and they had 1 loaf of moldy bread 7 cans of soda and a can of chef Boyardee spagetti and meatballs cost 6 dollars. The Bahamians like their music REALLY loud.

right  now we’re in bahamas, meating up with the few other kid  boats that there are. the bahamas really aren’t what i thought they would be, for me there’s too much color, scraggly islands and blue  water. some the fish kind of creep me too.  my parents say: you’re going to appreciat this trip some day, and i probably will but i really don’t feel the excitement.