Back to home base for now

We have been making our way back north over the last week, heading towards Ft. Lauderdale. When we are there we can get our engine and generator fixed and then head back down.

We have been waiting for favorable winds so we have been taking our time and enjoying the anchorages along the way. I'll post more about those when we're back to internet.

Eating like the locals

Nurse sharks waiting in the water below. They supposedly won't bother you
 but I wouldn't want to get my toe near one when it's chomping down on fish guts.

It's hard to see the mountain of huge spiny lobster tails on the ground but they're there, along with a few groupers and the pile of shelled conch. $20 a tail is a bargain for megayacht patrons that frequent the area. It's hard work diving for these bugs.

It's strictly bring your own bag. I saw one woman walking around with a lobster tail in her hand because she didn't have a container for it. Good for the environment but bad for your shoes. We settled for some conch to make conch salad and cracked conch. One local woman was eating a hunk of conch raw, like sashimi.

Back in Bimini, the older woman making our conch dinner offered Matt the private parts of a conch. When he said no thank you, she laughed and popped them right into her mouth. Many restaurants advertise it as an aphrodisiac. If it's true, it's surprising that there aren't more little Bahamians running around.

Island time

My name is Jennifer and I'm addicted to the internet. There I said it. Now you can laugh at me for moving onto a boat and sailing away from civilization.

The thing is, when you're in civilization you don't notice that you're addicted. It's just normal to be online all the time, especially when you work with computers for a living. When we were still in the northern islands--near Bimini and Nassau--we had decent internet. Staniel Cay has internet but it's too expensive for our taste (as non-residents) except on occasion. We have 3G temporarily so we can get emails and weather but for the most part, we don't have internet. And it is slow. Here is the message on the login page for the local wi-fi:

Reminder:
This service uses a satellite uplink for all traffic. On its best day, it will seem slow compared to any land-based service. It's 22 thousand miles to the satellite, which means it's 44 thousand miles before your request hits the Internet, and 44 thousand for the data to come back. No matter how you slice it, 88 thousand miles may take more than a few seconds for a response. So remember, you're in the Central Exumas with the most beautiful water and Cay's anywhere on the planet. Fast Internet is available at most office buildings and cubicles in the states. Would you really want to trade where you are for a cubicle?

The secret to happy surfing on a slow network?
1. Click on the link
2. Take a drink of your Kalik [a local beer]
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 above until network appears to have blazing speed.

Hm, good point. So anyway, if we don't respond to you right away, you'll know why.*

*By the way, many of our blog posts have been scheduled when we did have good internet. So even when it seems like we're on line, we're not really on line.

Beaches

There are a lot of beaches in the Bahamas, all surrounded by the clearest blue water you have ever seen. Yes, I am stating the obvious but every day I am surprised that we are able to have a new beach all to ourselves pretty much anytime we want.

There are lots of boats anchored near us, especially here near Staniel Cay but there is still a lot of room to spread out. The boys are still digging holes like mad men but they have added snorkeling to their repertoire.

What do those floating condos run you, anyway?

I spent $27,000 and all I got was this T-shirt. Oh, and
 $27,000 worth of equipment and services.

I have published our boat costs here, for those of you who are interested in doing this some day (and for those of you who are just curious). We will update the page with our monthly costs so everyone can see if our predictions about living more cheaply are accurate.

Does it seem like I have been talking about food a lot lately?

This was our dinner the other day. A grouper, four lion fish, and a slipper lobster made for a "fish feast" as Conrad called it. We only ate the larger lion fish but they want you to kill all you can because it is an invasive species.

Matt managed to clean them without getting stung by the nasty spines. They are very tasty when you bread and fry them (but then again what isn't). Unfortunately, Matt lost the last tip from his Hawaiian sling and there are no replacements to be found anywhere on the island (Staniel Cay). There is a shipment of groceries and supplies to the island every week except that it is three weeks on and one week off and this is an off week. So no chance of replacing it this week.

We have been at Staniel for a bit now because one of our engines isn't working. That wouldn't be so bad because we have another engine but our generator, which we need to "make" water, is acting up too. So we would have to dock with just one engine, which is a challenge for the behemoth that is our boat. We are deciding whether to continue on to Georgetown, head back to Nassau, or go all the way back to Ft. Lauderdale. In the meantime, we are enjoying the view while we decide.

Mmmm, bacon...

Staniel Cay is famous for its swimming pigs. They hear the dinghy motor and swim right out to see what you have for them. These babies are very well fed. We learned that they prefer bread over vegetables and can get very enthusiastic about the food. One grabbed a piece of bread right out of my hand, quick as lightning.

That's one reason not to swim with them. Another reason is all the stingrays swimming around looking for leftover snacks. There are some roosters and other poultry milling about too.

We saw one climb on top of a kayak with a college-age girl paddling. Matt was very disappointed that it didn't capsize. Because he's a terrible human being. Not me, though. Nuh-uh.

Catch some rays

These stingrays are always around our boat. You can't tell how big they are from the picture but most of them are at least four feet in diameter. When we were cleaning fish, we got a lot of these and nurse sharks. That's why when Matt catches a fish, he holds it out of the water. We also had a remora on the side of our boat. I don't know why the boys don't want to swim off the side of the boat.

Lobster dinner, lobster salad, lobster sushi...

Conrad spotted these guys just walking together along the bottom of the reef. We shouted at Matt, who skeptically swam back over from the other side of the reef. While Matt got the first one, the second one conveniently stayed put.

We thought that they must have lived most of their lives within the park boundaries, where they are protected, and then wandered across the border to where we were. They were probably caught unaware, kind of like those American hikers that unwittingly crossed into Iran and were seized.

It is ironic that Conrad spotted them because he hates lobster. He tried one of these just to be sure but as soon as it went into his mouth he got a panicked look in his eyes and looked for somewhere to spit it out as soon as possible.

Each tail must have been at least two pounds. We were eating leftovers for two days afterwards. Bahamain-world problems--how to use lobster leftovers.

Making room for what's important

This fish mobile made the cut and is hanging in one of the cabins.

Today we are Miss Minimalist's featured 'Real Life Minimalist.' If you came here from there, thanks for checking out our site.

When I was growing up, I had collections that I kept in shoeboxes: stamps, rocks, coins, beads, jewelry, you name it. I wanted to keep everything and I wanted to have everything.

I spent hours poring over catalogs and magazines collecting pictures of all the things I would buy when I grew up. People are probably wired to want to acquire and hang onto things. As long as you're not eligible for an episode of hoarders, it is completely normal.

Over the years, my priorities began to shift. I came to value freedom over possessions. Buying less stuff meant having fewer things to worry about, less space for storage, and more money to do things. To me it is not just having less for the purpose of having less, it is making room for what is more important to me (family, time, and experiences). As we pared down our possessions to fit onto our boat, it was easier for me than for Matt. But in the end we fit easily onto the boat and we don't miss a thing. Except unlimited hot water showers.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Iguanas

These guys are near Allan's Cay. Dozens if them will come right up to you when you get to the beach. It's kind of disconcerting. You're not supposed to feed them or let your dog eat them, as they are endangered and all but clearly people do (feed them).

Crossing from Florida to Bimini

This video shows a glimpse of our crossing from Key Biscayne to Bimini. There were breaking waves of 6 to 8 feet. Not the most comfortable ride, but it was a much shorter trip because of the good wind.

When we got to Bimini, another boat expressed surprise that we would come in with such big wind and waves. I guess because if anything went wrong, the boat would crash into the rocks. The alternative seemed to be what four other boats from No Name did and come in with flat water and almost no wind, probably motoring the whole way. We would rather sail.

And yes, Matt starts talking about pooping and clogging toilets at the end. So much for an idyllic sailing video. Boys.

The family that lives on a boat together, stays together--a lot

A day at the beach (still at West End) with kids from another boat.

Being on a boat with no place to go is like putting your family in a crucible. Any quirks or issues that irritated you even a little before are magnified a thousand times when there's no physical escape.

When we first moved aboard and I started to spend all day with the kids, I thought I had made a big mistake with this whole living aboard as a family thing. Before when I was at my desk at the office, although I often wanted to be somewhere else, I could concentrate and complete tasks in relative quiet most of the time. Even though I was a cog in the wheel, I felt like I was accomplishing something.

After we moved aboard, the days were filled with school, parks, walks, reading aloud, and games of chess that devolved into crying, interrupted by constant refrains of "Mom! He hit me!" and other such classics. In other words, a normal day in the life of a stay-at-home homeschooling mom with two young sons. All with the backdrop of paradise. However, I was not used to it and frankly wasn't sure I could do it. Matt was occupied with boat-fixing activities. There was stress related to the boat work taking much longer than we anticipated and costing a lot more.

Fast forward a couple months and all that angst seems like a distant memory. We have settled into an easy rhythm where the boat is our moving home and we can explore the world and get to know each other better. Even sailing all day for several days, sometimes in (relatively) rough seas, did not prompt the whining I expected. Every day there is something new for the boys to see and learn and get excited about. It is an amazing privilege to be able to do this with our boys and they are teaching us lessons about a fresh perspective and enjoying the moment. That is not to say that things are perfect. There is still whining and poking (and that's just Matt and me). And we are just starting out so we may feel differently after a year. But I feel like I/we can do this.

Slipper lobster. Not enough for a whole dinner but mighty tasty.

Fine, we'll just have pizza

The unseasonably cold weather means we are making a lot of
pizza, muffins, and cookies. Yes, 70's is cold.

Last night we went to the Berry Islands Club at Frazier's Hog Cay, which reportedly has the best conch salad (sort of like ceviche with conch). Unfortunately, you have to give the proprietor at least two hours notice if you want to order food. The cruisers that were there enjoying their food had not only ordered it earlier that morning, they had waited around for two days for the proprietor to come back to the restaurant. As we stood there--forlornly denied any food--one of the diners exclaimed enthusiastically, "This is the best conch I've had all season!" Matt turned and joked, "Really? You're going to rave about the food right in front of us when we can't have any?" The woman said, "Sorry. But it really is!"

Earlier in the day we had caught another barracuda--a little guy this time. Unfortunately, no eating those guys because of ciguatera.

Today we are anchored at West End on New Providence (the island where Nassau is). There is a nice national park here where we spent the afternoon. We can see this guy's place from our boat. It is all lit up at night and is quite a sight.

We were feeling bad because the cable for our wind instrument severed itself and will need to be repaired (cruising really is fixing your boat in exotic locations). But then we talked to the other catamaran owners that are anchored here (a Belgian family with three boys). They have been here for two weeks, and will probably be here another week, building their own rudders because the existing ones had rusted out. That is impressive anywhere and especially here. Fortunately we are not facing anything as serious as that. Yet. Never say never at this point.

It is unusually windy and wavy here today. When we were coming in, the normally clear channel was filled with breaking waves that we sped down as we entered. We held our collective breaths as we hit the bottom of the surf, hoping we weren't getting dumped into a shallow area on the other side.

We are headed out either tomorrow or the next day for the Exumas, gradually making our way to Georgetown. Internet access has been and will continue to be spotty, so we will update when we can.

Crossing over to the other side

Today we crossed over to Bimini, in the Bahamas. We made great time because of the strong winds. It was pretty wavy but everyone did reasonably well. We caught a big barracuda, which we threw back. The teeth on that thing were scary.

Unfortunately, when we tried to anchor, we snagged an electrical cable. The weight of it burned out a fuse for our anchor's windlass (the motor that brings the anchor up and down) so we had to dock for the night instead of anchoring out. We should be able to fix it tomorrow.

The good news is that no one was injured during the crossing and no damage was done to the boat. We enjoyed some Bimini bread and cracked conch (conch that has been lightly breaded and fried) from a place that the locals frequent.

Bimini

And we're off...

From what I have heard, ER docs or ones that have done memorable ER rotations have seen the gory details of car accidents. As a result, some become very risk averse. They always wear their seatbelts, buy the safest cars possible for their children and never drive on New Year's Eve.

Being in a boat repair marina has had a similar effect on us.

We have seen and heard all the boat-related gore. Two catamarans in the marina had been hit by lightning (twice in four years for one unlucky boat). Boats crash into stuff at what seems like a disturbingly frequent rate. We had our own harrowing adventures coming up the crowded New River and pulling into and out of tight slips. We have had things stop working on our boat for no apparent reason left and right, so it seems like just a matter of time before something we need fails at a critical moment.

Taken by our friends on Waterbug before we left. See you soon!

All this was rattling around in our brains as we departed the marina with the biggest boat by far that we have ever operated on our own. We were headed for Biscayne Bay near Miami to wait for a window to cross over to the Bahamas. The New River was less crowded due to the cold, gray weather but it still had twists and turns and tight squeezes that rival any video game.

 

We made it through without incident, although Matt's knuckles were white through the whole thing.

Out on the open ocean, after calibrating the new auto-pilot, we could finally relax a bit. Winds eventually reached 40 knots but the boat seemed to be able to handle well. After over two months, we were finally OUT. It felt great and the kids handled the trip well (it took about six hours). We will spend the next few days here, enjoying the local State Park and waiting to head to the Bahamas. Track our progress here (under "Our Location").

Are we there yet?