It sounds like a broken record, but it was another night of strong wind singing in the rigging. It continued through much of the day today but is finally forecast to start settling down. The long-range forecast, at least as of now, predicts steady wind out of the east for the next 7 days, but not as strong as we’ve been having. That being the case, we intend to pull up anchor tomorrow and sail a little further south (about 10 miles) to visit Black Point Settlement. Don’t know what we’ll find there, so no idea yet how long we might stay. What we have decided however, is that Black Point will be the furthest south we will go in the Exumas for this trip and will be our turn-around point. On our slow trip back north, we intend to visit some of the Exuma anchorages we passed by coming south that weather kept us out of.
Today was spent on the boat all day with Paula baking fudge brownies and making tortillas for sandwich wraps in the morning and Tom getting a head start on the normal prep to prepare the boat to be underway again. It always amazes us how quickly the boat morphs into something more like a beach house when we stay in one place at anchor for more than a couple days.
After making the tortillas, Paula scraped the floury dough scraps overboard, so that they wouldn’t clog the sink’s drain hose (she remembers well Karen’s pasta garbage disposal catastrophe). In two minutes, two four-foot nurse sharks had zoomed in from afar and circled just off the starboard aft of the boat, snarfing up the sinking crumbs. If sharks can smell tiny crumbs from far away, how far away can they smell swimming humans? Hmm. On the other hand, you can catch and eat shark. And if they like crumbs…Tommy promptly put the cabash on Paula’s train of thought.
This afternoon we were treated to watching a kite surfer launch himself and his kite off the transom of the boat anchored right next to us. It’s quite an operation that looks to involve a lot more gear and prep then we thought. Not easy to coordinate keeping the kite aloft while getting onto the board from the water.
Today was now the third day in a row that our solar panels kept pace with all our electrical needs. It was partly cloudy yesterday and today which made it even more impressive. Even so, we have been calculating that we probably want to add one more solar panel before our next trip (we currently have 3). We’re realizing that we will need to upsize our electric dinghy motor which will mean a corresponding need for more energy to recharge a larger dinghy motor battery on nearly a daily basis. Also, on days we run the watermaker for a long time, our existing solar panels just barely keep pace and can’t fully make up the energy used from the night before. Overall however, we’ve been thrilled with how our existing solar panels have performed on this trip. We’ve had to run the diesel generator on only 2 out of the 53 days we been cruising (and for only 90 minutes each time). We’re also now convinced that with one more panel, solar energy can provide us everything we need for a very comfortable existence on the boat. No need for a wind generator and no need to carry fuel for a gasoline dinghy engine.
Tonight’s dinner is boneless pork in rosemary and sauerkraut, mushy peas with bacon, and canned pears.
17 Responses
Paula,
Three foot remoras aren’t uncommon. There are a couple sub species and the great remora gets that big! They can be fun to catch! I don’t know if that means they’ve adopted your boat, but maybe! And no, megaladon isn’t around. They often are found without sharks! As for the question of can you eat them… the answer is yes… but…! They are considered trash fish by most, and smell very fishy but taste a bit mild. I posted a video to you on Facebook messenger about it! This has been fun figuring this out. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did..
black point settlement is vaguely in my mind. what does the guide book say about that location? I’m surprised you aren’t making for Georgetown as your most southerly stop.
Yes – we originally thought we’d end up in Georgetown as part of this trip, but a few variables changed our plan (which was very loose to begin with). First are the wind patterns. While we’ve enjoyed this trip immensely so far, we’ve found ourselves waiting on weather for longer periods than anticipated. Part of that is seasonal (time of year), and the unusual number and strength of fronts this particular year (so we’ve been told). Also, we need to be back in Nassau to meet Glennis in mid-late April. We bypassed a number of Cays on our visit list on our trek down the Exumas because of weather, and would like to stop and see them on the return trip without being rushed. Although the frequency/strength of cold fronts is supposed to be diminishing the further we get into springtime, we did not want to be stuck in Georgetown anxiously waiting on a weather window for getting back to Nassau. Plus, because we have no set schedule, we try to plan our travel days so it’s a nice comfortable ride that involves good sailing. That seems to be the biggest difference (by far) between us and many of the other boats we see, a lot of which are charters. Georgetown will be there next year or the year after.
who is the schvarzta on the bow? Your hair looks GREAT! How do you like being a silver tip?
Yes, who knew a nearly full-blood Ashkenazi could get so tan! I like the hair color, but even with getting it cut as short as I dared before we leaving it is already a mass of untameable curls. I will look like a wildwoman by the time we return as we’ve been told by the islanders that the Bahamian hairdressers “aren’t familiar with your kind of hair”.
Hmmm … swimming upside down!? They’re probably just waiting until their next treat comes dropping down :-). Love reading about all your adventures and can’t wait to personally hear and see you both again!
We miss you guys too! When we get back I have some new foods to try out on you, Paul, and Marie-Paule and James that I learned to make here. One MIGHT be spicy enough for Paul (maybe). Still think of our Superbowl party fondly!
Paula, I so enjoyed reading this post that Claudia shared with me! Also found your shark interaction interesting; but even though Rich says they’re gentle, I wouldn’t be swimming with them! I just wouldn’t want to be the answer to their dinner bell! I think of you and Tommy and I’m so glad I got to meet you! I look forward to following your adventures!!
Claire Floyd. (Claudia’s twin)
Thank you so much, Claire. We too are so happy to have met you. We really value Claudia and Paul as friends and are so glad to know you as a friend as well!
Hope to see you again someday in St. Augustine.
You both look great in all this pictures. And I’d have been tempted to throw a line at those nurse sharks too, but I’d have been just as tempted to jump in and swim with them! Nurse sharks are just big puppy dogs! They love to be scratched on their heads. Usually very gentle. They are scavengers, crustacean and small fish eaters. Not dangerous! My favorite breed of shark!
Well, now we have pets. Two small ones (about 3 feet). Every time we wash dishes, the little bits of food in the water seemed to draw them. Now I suspect they are staying right under the boat, as everytime I toss the bucket in to get some seawater, they are right there, dashing at it. Same if I try to put the squid lure in the water. Also they are almost always swimming upside down, so you can see that weird ridged oval mouth. Do you know why? Is it because the food we are inadvertently providing (sink treats) is coming from above (our sink drain)?
Upside down? That’s a relatively rare behavior. Sharks don’t usually enjoy that and many species even experience tonic immobility when upside down. In college I myself held nurse sharks upside down to induce tonic immobility so we could study them! When you see them do this, do they do it for long periods, or just quick bursts? I’m curious. I have to believe it’s because they are trying to feed on the bouyant bits of food that you talked about from doing dishes. Weird though! I’d have loved to have seen that! Cool that you got to, though!
This picture isn’t as clear as we’d like, but the wind really ripples the water. This is how they appeared when feeding. We did see them “right side up” but they’d look like this picture when they darted from under the boat to catch falling bits. The area right at the head looked like an oval or slightly tear-drop shaped washboard. The rest of the creature had the normal “dragon-tail” look of the nurse shark body.
Paula.. those aren’t nurse sharks!!!!!! Hahahaha…. they are big remoras!!!! Look at that oval! That’s their sucktion cup! I’ll post pics of one! That solves the mystery! They look like a shark swimming upside down! Hahaha! How big were they? You were lucky to see them swimming alone! They are usually escorting a much larger animal like big sharks, but can be seen alone or in pairs from time to time. I caught one on a rod and reel once! They are definitely a weird fish! Fun to watch though!
Whoa! The picture is spot on, but ours are flipping huge! 3 feet long. Does this mean Megalodon is nearby? One of them chased my squid lure here just yesterday here in the new anchorage. Wait! Does this mean…they’ve adopted C Ghost and are travelling with us stuck to our hull? Can you EAT them?
Thanks Mom. Looking forward to being in a different place tomorrow. Also looking forward to some improving wind conditions.
Great photo Paula! You sure do look like all kinds of happenings on your cruise are keeping you both looking healthy. Stay safe!