Marsh Harbor in 2017

2-24-17     It was a groggy morning for me, I’m not sure if it was the late night rain shower that roused me from bed as Karen remained sleeping or the thought that we’d be moving to Marsh Harbor this morning. We had a nice damp breeze blowing this morning that made exercising ashore a muddy messy affair. I got it done and when returning to Mango I felt better especially after I smelled the sausage and eggs Karen was cooking. Breakfast, of course was great.

The damp breeze that was blowing would be from the exact direction we need to travel to our next anchorage, thank goodness it’s only 3.56 miles. Karen and I were worried a little thinking the anchorage would be loaded with boats due to it being Junkanoo weekend. Marsh Harbor is a very large anchorage so we knew there’d be plenty of room but we always worry. We made the harbor entrance in a half hour and could see that there was plenty of room. Anchor was down by 11:15 and we toasted with lunch and the beer of wife beaters, PBR. We laid down for a nap afterwards, Fracas informed us to come over for dinner at 3:30 so we could make the Junior Junkanoo at 6:30. Fracas also invited Mark and Linda off of S/V DevOcean. Mark and Linda are friends of the Fracas crew from Canada. We met Mark and Linda in 2015 down in Georgetown Bahamas when sailing with Fracas, any friends of Fracas are friends of ours.

Before Karen giving me a haircut

Afterwards

Before we knew it all of us were aboard Fracas catching up on things. ML made a great dinner per usual and as the sun set we were on our way to see our first “Junior Junkanoo”.  I thought we’re going to be late for the 6:30 start but should’ve known that it’s 6:30 Bahamian (Dykstra) time. So after much confusion with the bartender Karen asked for a Rum and Coke which consisted of 95% rum and a splash of Coke, I asked for a Spiced Rum which consisted of the same size cup with 100% Spiced rum with a little ice. Needless to say by the start of the fest I was feeling warm all over. It was explained to me that soda products are more expensive than alcohol products here so they skimp on the Coke, the opposite of the states. The 6 of us had a gas as we watched children from pre-school ages through high school dressed very ornately jerk and dance to the beat of the music being pounded away on small drums up to those that were made of 55 gallon drums with the ends cut off. Very cool.

Left to Right. Mark, Greg, Me, Karen, MaryLynn, Linda

One, Two, Three Princess

We made our way back to our boats at shortly before midnight tired of standing and even more sleepy considering we’ve been in bed by 10 PM every night for quite a while.

2-25-17     It was another groggy morning for me, Karen was up sitting on the back deck watching the harbor come alive and start moving. I could hear the gulls excited about something they found and decided it was time to get up. I lazed around the morning listening to the “Cruiser’s Net” and was informed spring is here as the Tropic Birds are nesting near the point of the harbor. Good to hear especially since a few days it was warmer in Chicago than the here in the Abacos. 

Pre School Junkanoo

School Age Kids

Great Costumes

Very Ornate and Colorful

We all went to Maxwell’s grocery shopping shortly before noon and picked up a few groceries. Maxwells is the Costco of the island and you can get just about anything you might need grocery wise. Prices are normal for down here and it doesn’t take long to spend $100 and walk out with 2 grocery bags. We walked back to Mango and put groceries away and ate lunch. Our post lunch time consisted of a nap prepping for a late night Junkanoo.

Karen was the kitchen bitch this evening as she made dinner for us and the crews of Fracas and DevOcean. All aboard Mangowe were having a great time eating the appetizers Linda and ML brought as we got to learn more about the crew of DevOcean. Mark was a Rescue Diver in the Canadian Military and Linda’s also ex-military. There is one story about Mark that sticks in my head. It appears that if another boater anchors too close to Mark he takes off all of his clothes and parades around the topsides until the offending boat feels the need to move further away. They have many hilarious stories and do a lot of diving and fishing. They’ve had their share of close encounters with sharks down here and gave us some places to go spear some lobsters. Hope to soon.

Adult Costumes

More Great Costumes

We were all down below eating Karen’s dinner when we could hear the sounds of cruisers blowing their conch’s signaling sunset. We knew that there was no rush to get to the Junkanoo since it would start on Bahamian time. We all moved into our dinghies and putted over to the docks and forced our way in to tie up amongst all the other dinghies. Soon we were down near the staging area for the participants in the Junkanoo. This is where we lost Karen, ML and Linda as they were in the staging area grabbing pictures with the stars of the show. After being re-united with the girls we made our way in and bought a few drinks and watched people prepping for the show. It was fun to see all the kids having fun just being kids running around without a care in the world. It reminded me of when I was a young, kids were able to run around out of sight of their parents and nobody worried about it. 

The three girls purchased some bling (Flashing Princess Crowns) and soon were acting even more like princesses. Tonight we decided to find an area along the parade route that allowed sitting which made things much better. I was enjoying the rum drinks and really feeling the low thundering beat of the music as the different groups passed by. ML, Greg, Mark and Karen sat while Linda and I snapped the pictures the best we could. During a break in the parade a very cute young 7 YO girl (Marilyn) came up to Karen and ML and in a quiet voice said that she really liked their flashing crowns. ML took her crown and placed it on the girls head and she jumped up and grabbed ML very close and hugged her. The girl then proceeded to hug everyone in our group. She disappeared for a few minutes then returned and after a while we thought we had a new dependent. She was so cute I was starting to think we would welcome her to the family. Soon Linda returned from snapping pics and showed Marilyn how to use her large Cannon camera. Marilyn took the camera and was all over in the parade taking pictures, I’m interested in seeing if she took any good pics.

Beautiful Women

Our favorite little Bahamian Girl Marilyn with Linda

It was getting late as we started moving towards the exit. We gave away most of the noise makers and other bling to little kids along the way as the last group passed down the parade route. I think they saved the best for last, the ornate costumes were very large and I could feel the energy coming from the group and their large drum section or maybe it was the drinks. We made our way back to the dinghy dock. While riding in the dinghies enroute to Mango Greg and I exchanged some bumps along the way honoring Daytona week. Then it was onto Mango for a good nights sleep.

2-26-17     This morning I woke up early to the sounds of anchors being brought up fortunately I was able to go back to sleep. When I did wake up I took the dinghy ashore for a run. I tied up and exchanged morning pleasantries with a local who was waiting for the ferry to come in. The gentleman saw my “Elgin HS Basketball” shirt and asked “Is that Elgin the one by Chicago?” I said yes and we spoke for a few minutes. As it turns out he’s got a friend in Hoffman Estates and goes there 3-4 times a year. Once again, proof that it’s a small world.

Greg, MaryLynn, Marilyn and Karen

Fantastic Floats.

After my run I used the blend-a-wacker  (Tail Gator) to make a smoothy while Karen was finishing cleaning up down below. Last night after hearing two horror stories about loose motor mounts I felt obligated to check mine before I started the motor again. Motor mounts are tight and in good condition.

Tonight everyones going to DevOcean for dinner, we’re bringing the blend-a-wacker and fixings for Pina Coladas. Should be a great night.

Later in the day we decided to go for a walk-a-bout on shore to stretch our legs however everything is closed on Sundays. The only place that appeared to be doing any business is Snappas Bar & Grille so we docked there and on our way back stopped in for some cool drinks. Anyone who’s ever been drinking with me know I like frozen drinks so when Karen mentioned they made Miami Vice I had to have one and highly recommend it. Having somewhat decent internet Karen called and spoke with Sam for a few minutes to catch up on things. We were also able to watch the beginning of the Daytona 500. As I said earlier many boats have left the harbor and when we returned to Mango we had enough bandwidth via the internet to Face Time with Hannah for a bit. Shortly afterwards we were heading over to DevOcean for dinner. The blend-a-wacker went over great as well as the Pina Coladas. Mark put up shades to block the suns heat while sitting in the cockpit. Linda made a great dinner as well as appetizers and soon we were taking the shades down as Linda blew her conch to mark the end of another day.

Drummers coming though loud and sweaty

Some costumes can weigh up to 250 pounds.

2-27-17     Sometime during the night I woke up to the sounds of the anchor bridle chafing on the bobstay in the building east winds. I got up look out of the ports and noted a large motor cruiser to our port that appeared closer than earlier so I climbed into the cockpit and surveyed the situation. It didn’t appear as though anything imminent was going to happen so I climbed back in bed.

Daylight greeted us with brisk east winds and the sounds of gulls in the distance. Today Karen was sleeping late as I listened to Chris Parker’s weather while playing solitaire. Today and tomorrow are forecast to be pretty much the same. We will need to keep an eye on things for Friday when the next cold front comes through and will bring winds out of the north at 30 knots or so. I’m not sure where we’ll be then but no worries now.

I went to shore with my computer to watch Shaun T instruct me on T-25’s cardio. As I sweat my ass of in the high humidity I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of where I am. I watch a Loggerhead Turtle feed 20 feet or so off the shore in front of me and can view the entire comings and goings of the whole harbor from here, not too shabby.

I went back to Mango and picked Karen up to go and do laundry with ML. I no more than got back on Mango and watched what appeared to be a solitary dolphin breach the surface heading  towards the inner harbor. I had a couple of projects I wanted to complete while Karen was off at the laundry. I wanted to make chafe guards for the bridle out of old firehose, this went better than expected and I was done in no time. I also wanted to fill the drinking water bladder which went empty yesterday, we carry a 35 gallon drinking water bladder which we never completely filled this trip. I was glad it was empty since it means we’re drinking a lot of water even though lately we’re drinking more rum.

View from the top of Elbow Reef Lighthouse
Hope Town

Karen and I atop the Lighthouse overlooking
Hope Town

It was 12:30 or so and Greg gave me the sign that Karen and ML were ready for pickup. Once Karen and the laundry were in the dinghy Karen commented “That place is a shit hole” referring to the laundromat.

Later in the Day we took a ride over to the Jib Room Marina to check things out. Jason the bartender / do everything guy gave us directions to the beach. We followed his directions and arrived at what appeared to be a private beach, we didn’t see the “Private, Keep Out” signs until we left the beach. We stopped back and spoke with Jason about the signs as he sat behind the bar strumming the guitar and singing while serving drinks. Jason said “Don’t worry bout those signs” and I guess we won’t. We had a Jib Room signature drink the Bilge Burner and observed the comings and goings. During our drinks we noted dark clouds coming in quickly and kinda hurried back to Mango before the rain that never came. I’m sure we’ll be back there for lunch or dinner and use of their pool.

2-28-17     A bright sunny day greeted us as Karen was up first, I woke up to the sounds of her making coffee. To my surprise Karen said she’d come to shore and workout to T-25 with me. She normally does her own thing but I told her I was going for a shower afterwards. I think the idea of a workout and a real shower on shore thrilled her and soon we were off and running. 

After showers we were on our way to Maxwells for more groceries with the crew of Fracas. We didn’t plan buying too much but it was nice that Greg brought his little green grocery wagon along to carry most of the heavy stuff back to the dinghies. After arriving back at Mango we put groceries away and ate lunch then a nap was in order, I was out for an hour. Before I knew it we were having dinner on Fracas talking about our next port. It looks as though we’ll be here in Marsh Harbor waiting for the cold front to pass by Friday into the weekend. Not a bad place to wait for weather to relax.

3-2-17     Not sure where the last two days went but they’re gone. This morning we woke up and Karen quickly turned on Chris Parker for weather. There’s a blow coming in tomorrow that will bring winds varying out of the north sustained 20’s, gusts into the 30’s. This wind will continue through next week when the next cold front comes through.

Today the crews of Mango and Fracas took the ferry to Hope Town for the day. Karen and I were  there in 2015 and enjoyed ourselves, Fracas crew has never been there. It’s a beautiful place to spend a day or more. We would like to our boats there and grab a mooring ball but it’s a popular place that’s first come first serve. We thought it stay put during the unsettled weather. We really enjoyed the Elbow Reef light house which lays claim to being the last kerosene man operated light house. The beach behind the Methodist Church has soft white sand and we soon hopped the water to cool off a bit. I soaked up the water listening to the church bells playing music for the noon hour as the waves rolled in off the reef in a picture perfect setting with many shades of dark blue contrasting the white sand.

A view of the light house over the
Morning Glory's

Greg checking sand quality and Sea Bean
locations

After a bit of browsing the shops around the town we settled on Harbor House Inn for lunch on the beach and a dip in their pool. I had the Bahamian Brown Bag Chicken which I really liked the combination of Tabasco and Catsup, their rum punch was not to shabby either. After laying on the beach chairs watching the waves roll in for a few under the umbrella I thought of a nap but it wasn’t meant to be. We returned to the town dock to catch the crowded ferry back to Marsh Harbor. I sat on the stern of the ferry with the locals catching the cool breeze and sights of the area.

After the ferry landed we had a 30 minute hike back to the dinghy and a short ride to Mango. We have new neighbors, one boat a little close for our comfort but we’ll see what happens. Karen’s threatening DevOcean’s tactic to walk naked on deck to make them leave. I don’t think it’ll come to that, we’ll know more in the fullness of time.

3-3-17     6 AM and Karen woke up to the sound of rain, with my ears I woke up feeling the rain. Karen was busy closing the ports looking outside to see if it was necessary or not. It became evident shortly thereafter that things needed to be closed. Some reported 1/2 inch of rain during the downpour. After it had rained for a bit and rinsed the salt off the deck I diverted water on deck into the water tanks below. I’m not sure how many gallons we caught but it all adds up.

Bahamian Livestock enjoying the day.

The weather reports called for the real wind to start shortly after noon so Karen and I ate breakfast and went into shore for showers since we’ll probably be cooped up on Mango for the next day or so. Shortly after we for shore in the dinghy another shower set Karen and I to pre-soak. We made the best of it and were soon shaved and under hot showers. After leaving the showers I found Karen sitting with a bunch of locals whose work as divers stopped for the day because of weather. We made it back to Mango before the blow started and installed the cockpit enclosure.

The wind started with enough rain to make things wet at 1 PM with the temperature dropping 10 degrees and a wind gust up to 31 knots. Karen being bored went below and started cooking chocolate chip cookies and stuff for dinner. I sat above decks and read and watched the boats around us. Currently all is well with all boats in my vicinity staying put where the anchors landed.

Karen making busy aboard Mango with
gluten free Chocolate Cookies

Miami Vice, Keep them coming.

3-5-17     Today is Sunday March 5th and Karen and I haven’t left Last Mango since Friday morning due to the strong winds. Forecasts tell us that the winds will remain 20 to 30 knots until Tuesday. This is not why Karen and I came down here but we’re making the best of it. 

Our days usually start off by listening to weather starting at 6:30 AM and then the Cruiser’s Net. No Chris Parker weather on Sunday so we listen to the Cruiser’s Net to gain our info. All reports from the net came back with high seas and tough conditions, not that we thought anything would be different. 

One interesting thing on the Net is the discovery of a Homing Pigeon that lost its way. One of the Cruisers found the pigeon (now named Rebecca) and tracked down the owners via the leg band. It turns out Rebecca is from the Miami area and somehow lost her way, according to the owners she needs a lift back to Florida and once there and released she will find her way back home near Miami. We’d love to give her a lift back but aren’t heading to Florida yet. I’m sure another boat will give her a lift back to the states.

Cholera Cemetery / Memorial

Bread Fruit Tree brought by Captain Bligh
in the voyage of 1791

I’m taking what is sure to be a wet dinghy ride to shore this morning to get some exercise and give Karen some “Me Time”. It wasn’t too wet for me being the only one in the dinghy and T-25 felt good “Afterwards”. MaryLynn and Karen went ashore with Greg’s assistance as we stayed with the boats to make sure everything stays in place since winds are still gusting to the 30’s.