George Town to Puerto Rico

Wahoo!

A typical Pacific crossing from Panama to French Polynesia takes 20-something days. So theoretically our seven day passage from the Bahamas to Puerto Rico (or specifically to the Spanish Virgin Island of Culebra) was about a third of a Pacific Ocean passage in time if not distance. Last year, when our longest passage was three days, spending almost a month at sea seemed impossible. Now after surviving seven days, it seems doable - not fun or easy, but at least doable. This is probably not welcome news to our parents, who noticed the unfortunate failed attempt by Rebel Heart.

Wahoo and a mahi--both hit at the same time.

Before we embarked on the so-called "Thorny Path" (so named because the easterly slog from the Bahamas to the leeward islands into constant trade winds from the east is like walking down a miserable, pain-laden trail), we talked to experienced cruisers who had done the trek last year. In addition to providing lots of valuable advice they would say things like, "Better you than me" and  "That was the worst." This is because not only can't you sail very much but you're also motoring and often slamming against opposing wind waves. So when the forecasts showed a very rare reversal of the trade winds due to strong low pressure system coming off of the coast of Georgia, I stopped being so obsessed with not burning diesel and began to appreciate the upcoming opportunity to sail a good part of the way and motor in more pleasant conditions.

Best sushi restaurant within 300 miles

 

Before leaving Georgetown, we had the typical discussions about routes with the other cruisers heading our way.  Everyone had a strategy and an opinion, and they would often change hourly as the forecast changed and predicted winds shifted.  In the end, we ended up having to stay a couple of extra days in Georgetown to fix our heat exchanger on the port engine, so we missed departing with our friends on Halcyon and Waterbug.  But this wasn't all bad as we got to spend a few more days with other friends that we wouldn't see again for awhile. 

On a side note, we really need to get better about bringing a camera when we go places. Matt, Paul (Shambala) and Ernesto (Taia) were fishing in Georgetown when a dolphin showed up and swam with them for 40 minutes. Unfortunately, no one had a camera. After a potluck bonfire on the beach with friends from Shambala, Taia, Good Trade, What If, and Music (again, no pictures), we sailed to Calabash Bay the following morning. The sailing was good and the bay is beautiful but the anchorage was very roll-y and uncomfortable.

We left Calabash Bay on Easter Sunday after waiting for some squalls to pass through. We pulled anchor not really knowing the destination.  We decided to see what the wind would do and either island-hop our way east slowly over the next month or, if the forecast would stay true, go all the way to Puerto Rico. Luckily, the forecast held, and the winds were mostly with us and we made it all the way to the eastern side of Puerto Rico. We flew the spinnaker for a couple days, sailed very slowly for part of the time, sailed very fast part of the time, and ran an engine about half the time. No one got seasick or hurt, our fixes held, and nothing new broke (unless you count Matt almost knocking himself out by hitting his head into the door frame as he rushed to fix the depth instrument as we approached our destination). And we caught lots of fish: 3 wahoo, 1 mahi-mahi, and 1 tuna.

We're relaxing in Culebra for a few days before we head over to Fajardo to re-provision, get a new bilge pump for our starboard engine, and do laundry. From there we'll hit Vieques and then move through the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands before turning south to slowly make our way to Grenada over the next couple of months.

Even more sushi!

The people you meet

We gave the mahi mahi some coconut rum that
worked great to calm it down for a few minutes. This was taken
 after it started wearing off and the fish began thrashing again.

There are lots of great things about living aboard and cruising: scenic views from your home, gorgeous sunsets, the freshest seafood you can get. But the best part for us has been the people we have met. We have made fast friendships that we hope will last a lifetime. Many of the people are from different geographical locations or have had vastly different careers than us, so its always interesting to get together.  So many people have had way more interesting lives than we have. It's both inspiring and (at times) somewhat depressing.

We have also been blown away by the generosity and kindness of strangers (both cruisers and land-based folks). It's enough to bring a tear to the eye of a cynical recovering attorney from the big city.

We met one family on the internet who offered up their car before we met in person. Last New Year's we met a family in Eleuthera and spent about an hour with them. This April when we visited Nassau, they generously spent several hours giving us a great tour of Nassau and the island of New Providence.

Chester, Elsa, and Kyle took us all over New Providence. We
stopped next to this airport to see the approaching planes. Kyle's
going to be a pilot when he grows up.

I clicked a couple seconds too soon. It got MUCH bigger.

We hung around Nassau for a couple of extra days waiting for good winds and then blew out of there on the heels of a front that was passing through.  We had a fast and bumpy 2-day sail (with a brief overnight stop near Black Point). The second day was mighty uncomfortable with the wind as far forward as we could go and 6 foot waves on the beam but it took us only 2 hours to complete a stretch that took us 8 hours on the way up. Just as we approached Georgetown, the winds abated a bit and we slowed down slightly to only 6 knots.  But it worked out as we caught a mahi right before we entered Elizabeth Harbour , after we had given up all hope of catching anything.

Here in George Town, Mark and Conrad have attached themselves to the hip of Kyler on Good Trade and his good buddy Derek from What If. Kyler, Derek, kid-at-heart Brit (Halcyon) and the kids from Waterbug have all towed Mark and Conrad around on boards for hours. Mark and Conrad are in heaven and are lucky to have such tolerant teens around.

Charles from Waterbug took some great shots of the boys boarding.

Matt has been tending to boat ills (port radiator leaking coolant, air in the starboard engine system, and water coming in through the starboard transom tread while the bilge pump is currently quasi-operational). None of the issues is critical but we want to take care of them before we start heading south and east to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. As soon as we get everything squared away, we will solidify our route and figure out when our best wind and weather will be. If we can everything fixed in time, we hope to travel with a few boat friends for at least part of the way.

Nya-nya-nya-nya Nassau

Mark, Alexis, Nicholas and Conrad enjoying sherbet in
downtown Nassau. Yes, they voluntarily chose fruit ice cream.

We had passed up Nassau multiple times in our previous trips, avoiding the city based on other people describing the city as dirty, noisy and crime filled.  But there was no escaping it this time. We were meeting friends who were staying in Nassau for a week.  So off we went.

In less than 8 hours, we had had our fill of Nassau and it had nothing to do with the State Department warnings about increased crime in the city. So what was problem? Let me count the ways...

The aquariums at the Atlantis are spectacular.

 

1. (Note to all grandparents, also known as 'our primary audience', we are fine and the boat is fine.) We took  a big breaking wave over the bow as we were rounding Paradise Island to approach the harbor from the west because we are too tall for the bridges on the direct route that boats with normal sized (or no) masts) can follow. The ocean swell was big from the strong northeast winds of the previous few days, but they were mostly following swells, which should have been okay. Or so we thought. We saw some breaking waves off in the distance, but they were closer to shore.  Suddenly a couple of larger swells passed by that had started to hump up and look like they might break, but they didn't. When the next set of swells came through, the faces was steeper and the first one looked like it was about the break. Matt quickly turned the boat to face it head on, causing an uncontrolled gibe in the process (which is not good, but certainly the lesser of two evils). The first swell passed underneath without breaking, but then we were faced with a larger wave that was already had a wall of whitewater coming down its face.  Matt yelled to hold on and the boat pitched up the face of the wave and then slammed down into the trough. We're not sure how big it was but it was several feet above Matt's head and was a scary thing to behold as it came up over the bow and crashed into the cockpit with a roar.*

2. After (what felt like) our near death experience, we motored past several behemoth cruise ships into the crowded harbor as the smell of their exhaust choked the air. We found a spot at the edge of the small and crowded anchorage. Our boat sailed around at anchor with the opposing wind and current (although nowhere as bad as St. Augustine) while tourist boats raced by and threw up big wakes. A police boat came by several times to talk to boats that were in a somewhat arbitrarily demarcated "turning basin" and told us we should move at one point when our boat swung out closer to the channel during one of its weird swings.

3. As the sun went down, we continued to swing in weird ways and boats kept whizzing by, causing our boat to rock back and forth for a couple minutes afterwards each time. Club Med or some resort started a very loud beachside party with a yelling DJ, music, and laser lights.

4. At around 10 p.m. when the boys were sound asleep and Matt was nodding off despite the noise from the party, we heard a series of huge explosions that sounded like we were being bombed. With hearts racing from the terror-induced adrenalin surge we stumbled into the cockpit to figure out what was happening. It turned out to be a barge that was about 75 yards away from us setting off an impressive fireworks display. We have never been that close to the staging area of such a big display and we were very happy to be upwind as sparks showered down around the fireworks boat. It looked at one point as if there was a medium fire on the barge and a few shells went off on the deck of the boat. The show went on for a long time and was very, very loud. Incredibly, Conrad and Mark slept through it all.

In the next week, we were chased away from one anchor spot by a construction barge, warned away from a cruise ship by a cranky Defense Force boat, and boarded to have our paperwork checked by the local police. Although they were very friendly and professional, it was still the first time we had been boarded. Several other boaters lamented how much the harbor had changed. Nassau stands in stark contrast to the sleepy islands and settlements to which we have become accustomed.

Despite the dire warning about crime from other cruisers (and a couple of local Nassau residents), Nassau itself seems to us like any big city, except with friendlier people, and plenty safe. Granted, we have only walked through during the day but we have young kids so that's how we roll.

Luckily, any misgivings we had about Nassau were completely offset by the fact that we had a blast with our friends who had come to visit us. They spent something like a gazillion dollars to come and stay at the Atlantis resort. We were very sad to have to say goodbye. As a bonus, they brought a bunch of boat parts with them.

We will start heading south again as soon as the winds turn back around.

Mark chilling in the rapids river.

*In hindsight, we should have gone a bit further south to avoid the area of waves, which were breaking across a shallower shoal area which were marked on the Navionics charts but not on the usually more reliable Explorer charts that we use most for close quarters navigation. We were following the waypoints on the Explorer charts, which are usually the safest way to get anywhere in the Bahamas.  We were lucky that the everything came out okay through the wave hit and the 2 uncontrolled gibes (the second one was after the big wave hit and we were scrambling to get to deeper water) . Water splashed into the cabin from the open cockpit door and came in through some of the hatches but everything else seemed to be working other than our depth gauge. Matt tightened up the hatch handles on those that leaked and fixed the depth gauge a few days later by refilling the mineral oil that had spilled out.

Zen and the art of waiting for wind

 

Little Farmers Cay--One of the friendliest and most
charming settlements we have visited.

Although you wouldn't know it from listening to us at certain times (like when we yell at the boys for quiet when they're going crazy right around the time we're doing something critical like anchoring or maneuvering in tight spaces), Matt and I are becoming more patient.

Shroud Cay has beautiful mangrove-lined rivers but there's
no fishing allowed, which doesn't agree with Matt

We decided somewhere along the way that we should sail more and motor less. It may have been around the time that diesel  prices went up quite a bit. It hurts to pay $700 to fill the tanks and generally we have lots of time with no set schedule. It's not that we used to motor all that much but if winds were light, we would turn on the engines rather than go 4 knots an hour or slower. For reference, you can probably stroll faster than that while sporting a slight limp. Nowadays, we will endure 3 or 4 knots or, preferably, will simply wait for better winds if we can.

That's what we're doing at Norman's Cay now--waiting for good wind and for storms to pass through. We sailed up here from George Town on one slow day and a couple of fast days. On the slow day, it took us over 6 hours to sail 20 miles. In contrast, the next day gave us 45 miles in less than 6 hours. We didn't catch any fish the first day because we were too slow or on the second day because we were too fast. Just call us Goldilocks.

 On our way up, Matt shot some of the Nassau groupers that were taunting him the last time we were at Leaf Cay because it was a few days shy of the start of their season. Matt also got a bunch of other fish and a lobster, most without a spear tip, which somehow fell off after the first fish.

The fishing at Norman's Cay has been pretty sparse. Matt got a decent sized lionfish. He would have shot another one except that a large bull shark showed up. Other than that, there is plentiful conch and Matt traded a beer for a lobster from a thirsty fisherman.

 

While we wait, Matt is fixing various things. Since we filled up with fuel in George Town, the galley had been smelling like diesel and we feared that there was a leak somewhere, which could mean ripping apart the guts of the boat. Fortunately, Matt discovered that there were several bolts missing from an attachment point for the tank gauge. If you looked carefully through one of the screw holes, you could see down into the tank and see diesel sloshing around. We think maybe the holes used to be blocked with the crud that falls from the galley (thereby allowing us to not notice it was actually a hole) and became unblocked when we fueled up, allowing fumes to waft up. While digging through the big box of random screws and bolts, Matt found a package with 3 bolts that fit perfectly and matched the 2 bolts that were installed.  Why these bolts were apparently purchased but never put in is but another mystery. After bolting it all up properly, the smell disappeared.

Conrad fishing with his bamboo pole spear, just like Dad

Safety measures

We finally used the new asymmetrical spinnaker we bought over 6 months ago. The spinnaker was just one of a number of purchases we have made that were somewhat "unplanned." From my perspective, that meant that I wasn't considering them in the costs of the boat and was surprised and unhappy to find out that we had to spend the money.

I think Matt, on the other hand, has all along harbored a secret mental list from which he reveals new projects just slowly enough to prevent a nervous breakdown on my part. Because mental healthcare is expensive. We always need  a fill-in-the-blank item "for safety" because that's the easiest way to convince me to spend money on boat things in the face of mounting costs. My philosophy generally is to keep it simple and to get by without if we can.

Safety is why we bought radar (to see approaching storms so we can avoid them), the new spinnaker (to sail fast enough to avoid bad weather), deck lights (to be able to adequately see the deck at night while underway), a satellite phone and myriad other smaller purchases that are more obviously safety-related (motion detection lights/alarms, pepper spray). Now that the purchases are made and the pain of spending the money is a distant memory, I can appreciate the safety aspects of our purchases. There just better not be too many more.

As we were leaving Long Island to head back to George Town, the wind dropped to under 10 knots and our heavy boat slowed from a tolerable 5 knots to 4, then 3, then 2-something. Another boat was steadily gaining on us and I said (a few times), "Maybe we should put the new spinnaker up" (easy for me to say as Matt would be doing the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively). Finally, Matt reluctantly gave in and put up the spinnaker. As soon as the sail filled with air, our speed went from under 3 knots to over 6. We pulled away from the 2 boats that were about to pass us and they never got close again. We were flying and it was exhilarating.

We haven't used the spinnaker for safety yet but did put it up, nothing broke or ripped, and it worked better than expected.

After a few days in George Town enjoying volleyball and the company of friends, we are headed north towards Nassau to meet our good friends from Michigan. We're looking forward to seeing them and they're probably looking forward to some warm weather.

Long Island, Exumas

One of the caves near Thompson Bay

Although we weren't planning on it, we ended up leaving for Long Island on the same day as the rally of 70 or so boats from George Town. The winds were excellent and the seas would have been fine if we had gone downwind towards Thompson Bay with everyone else. Instead, we decided to sail northeast to the northern part of Long Island so that we could troll along the deep water line.

Lots of bats.

It was an uncomfortable sail and we had to keep reducing sail to slow ourselves down so that the mahi might actually bite. We struck out on the fish and worse, when we got to the anchorage, it was too wavy and shallow for us. So without even dropping anchor we turned around and headed south, almost to Thompson Bay (where everyone else had been kicking back for hours while we got knocked around). We anchored near a nice spot by Chez Pierre and then headed for Thompson Bay the next day.

While at Thompson Bay, we attended some of the events that were set up for rally participants and other cruisers. We attended an interesting talk by Ashley and Ren Chapman on free diving. They live on a boat called Nila girl with their infant daughter, teach free diving at the blue hole, and Ashley breaks world records when she finds the time. The cruiser's potluck at Long Island Breeze was a good chance to spend some time with fellow boaters.

The beach on the Atlantic side was stunning despite the considerable plastic debris that had washed ashore. The next day, we walked to two different cave systems that housed tons of bats and other creatures. One of the caves had two separate levels. These were much different from the Hatchet Bay caves but just as fascinating. And we didn't have to walk 3 miles each way to get to them (although you would have thought we had from Conrad's complaints). We ended the day with delicious ice cream at the Long Island Breeze.

Sugar cane. Like chewing sweet, juicy wood. Because it is.

As a bonus, we bought some very reasonably priced groceries at Harding's, got hose clamps at Seafarer Marine, and were able to donate some clothing and other items that we had been storing to the local youth flea market scheduled for next week.

We really wanted to get to the Jumentos but the wind and weather didn't cooperate and we would have had to turn around right away to head back north.

Homeschooling update

Yes, he's reading a comic book. It's high brow stuff.

One of the most common questions we get is how the homeschooling is going. Honestly, we won't know how the boys compare to traditionally schooled kids unless they get formally tested because we're not following a regimented program that has its own testing. Instead, we wanted to let the boys focus on subjects that interest them, while trying to make sure they learn the core skills they will need.

Conrad, who would be in second grade, still loves reading and learning about marine life. He gets to see it in real life while snorkeling, fishing, and playing at the beach. He recently picked up the Red Cross First Aid book and is fascinated by it. His American Boys Handy book also gets lots of use.

 

Mark's reading recently took off and he is becoming just as voracious a reader as Conrad. He would be in Kindergarten this year. He has become obsessed with chess and recently legitimately beat me, which admittedly is not saying much because my distracted Mom-brain sometimes makes a lot of mistakes, but it was the first time since he learned to play (I wasn't sure whether to let him win a few when we first started but decided not to).

 

There are days when school is a struggle, even though it is usually only a few hours a day. That's because they are kids and sometimes they don't feel like doing school. Even though much of their learning is self-directed (they get to choose what they read and write for example), I can't quite commit to the full unschooling philosophy, especially when it comes to math. And it's hard to make math fun for most kids. I'm happy to see that as they get better at it, they seem to enjoy it more and are starting to see the importance of math skills in buying and selling, as well as cooking and baking.

 

Here is a list of some of our favorite homeschooling paraphernalia:

Books - We have gone through the first 2 volumes of Story of the World, which they love. We read aloud a lot. We have a few science books with experiments that we have tried. There is a huge variety and number of books crammed into a relatively small space, including many eBooks. We have dabbled in Spanish but it hasn't been a big focus.

Art Supplies - A seemingly endless supply of paper and media fuels their very active imaginations. They have spent hours making rubber band bracelets on their rainbow looms.

Globe

Microscope

Games - Their favorites are chess, checkers, cards (War and Spit), Rush Hour, and Pirate Flux. We also let them play chess and math games on the iPad and one of their favorite apps is a Stop Motion animation program. We also let them play electronic games one day of the week. By choice, they spend time during the rest of the week writing out plans and strategies for Minecraft and Battle Dragons.

Toys - They use their big box of Lego every day. Snap Circuits teaches electronics. Their bunks are half-filled with stuffed animals that they play act with every morning when they wake up. They also put on puppet shows with the animals. Their favorite outdoor toys are nets they can use to collect sea life and lizards. Sometimes a piece of rope or a bucket and shovel at the beach is all they need.

Music - Conrad has been learning how to play the piano. They both love listening to music and making up dances. They have put on several parades where they have fashioned costumes and musical instruments.

Most important, they are with us throughout the day learning about cooking, navigation, systems, sailing, nature, and whatever other topic sparks their interest. They get lots of field trips and are exposed to different cultures, people, and environments.