Beautiful weather!

Pink Beach in the sunshine

The past couple of days have been glorious in their sunshine, and, most importantly, their light breezes. The wind has shifted, now coming more out of the northeast, so the marina is in the lee, and lovely! The girls slept in late (as planned --- they wanted to relax and revel in the freedom from classes and schedules) while Ron and I did a few errands, boat projects and boat chores. 

Yesterday afternoon, I walked with the girls to Pink Beach, since they were eager to see it for themselves after seeing the photos we've taken. Unfortunately though, the wind was  coming right along the beach, so we all got a bit sand-blasted. Despite the sun, the wind persists in being quite chilly, so we returned to Romora Bay and relaxed around the pool instead! The pool is nestled in on the hillside, facing west, so is rather protected from the northeast and easterly winds, so we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon of sun and reading books by the pool. 

We planned a quiet evening dinner aboard, prepping everything ahead of time so that we could go up to Sunsets, hear the Brilanders, dance and relax a bit before returning to the boat for a dinner of surf and turf. Of course, not everything turns out as planned! It started out as expected here at Romora Bay, dancing and enjoying the music for a couple hours with others here at the marina -- and ended up with another impromtu group aboard for dinner, as we were joined by some folks off a boat from Alaska! From there, we headed en masse to Valentine's, as the resort was hosting a great dance band, called Afro. Again, as always, it seemed that the entire island was out in force, local islanders and visitors alike! It's incredible how busy the island seems these days, with the increasing throngs of folks here on vacation and spring break!! It was a fun, fun night, and we all had on our dancing shoes! Thankfully, though, we headed back before it got too late, back aboard Equinox at decent hour. So the evening simply just wasn't as quiet or sedate as we'd anticipated it would be! But, always fun!

Today was a mix of boat projects amid pleasurable pastimes: Ron arranged for the rental of a golf cart for transportation while we have the girls here (with extreme care to be taken by all when riding!), coordinated with the water-maker folks regarding getting the infamous Clark pump here (private air frieght has been arranged!) before he went out diving with Greg off Karuna. I stayed aboard while the girls walked to the beach again; while they were out I did a bit of laundry, got a pump-out courtesy of the marina, and did other light cleaning until everyone returned.

The entrance to the brightly colored Sip Sip

The afternoon started with Ron and I taking the girls for a tour around Dunmore Town, to show them  a bit more of the island, but also to stop in at Sip Sip, one of our favorites for lunch. We had a front deck table, complete with gorgeous views of the Atlantic lapping up onto the beach; the girls enjoyed it thoroughly! From shepherds pie to homemade fish cakes with mango salsa, lobster quesadilla to grouper, we feasted on local fare that was fantastic!

Dilly Dally, one of the local boutiques

Afterwards, we made a couple more stops, letting the girls peruse the wares at a few of the island stores, getting some fruit and snacks, then stocking up on bottled water before yet another trip with the girls to the beach. Again, it was just a brief beach stop due to the chilly on-shore winds -- so repeated yesterday's agenda of lounging poolside at Romora Bay! All good, all relaxing. While we ladies lounged, Ron stayed aboard, working on coursework to upgrade his scuba certifications, as he's intending to get certified as a Rescue Diver and possibly getting certified as a Dive Master as well. 

Tonight, as the evening chill is descending upon us, we're getting ready to dine at The Landing down on Bay Street in Dunmore Town. I make no assumptions about it being a quiet night, or not! 

The Girls are Here!

The morning today was spent in ...um... recovery mode, as we didn't get back to the boat until the wee hours last night! We danced the night away at Gusty's (love their sand floor!) and enjoyed ourselves completely! And then...rather insanely, we continued the scene at Daddy D's! The latter is a definite disco, complete with DJ and strobe lights, and was absolutely rocking out full of folks! Now, something that I find unique to Harbour Island, and something I really love about it, is that the locals and visitors alike frequent the same nightlife places. It's great! It makes one feel a part of the community, which is a definite plus -- everyone's there, having fun together! So often, resort towns have the "hot" night life places that cater only to the tourists, so it's delightful here to see the whole community in the same  dance tclubs! However, Ron has decided that Gusty's is somewhat seductively "dangerous", since it clearly leads to headaches and hangovers! The Brilanders know how to dance, and have fun!!

So, after a recuperative cold and windy day doing nothing much (napping was high on the agenda), the girls were due in at the airport in late afternoon! We went over to the ferry dock in Eleuthera in Tingum, so that I could grab a quick cab to the North Eleuthera airport (a mere 5-minute ride) while Ron stayed aboard and stayed out of the way of the many water taxis zipping in and out of the dock area. Of course, it's spring break season, so at the airport flights were booked and busy; apparently Nassau was having air traffic issues, as the girls' flight was delayed by a good 15 minutes before arrival. (Usually the small local airlines are very prompt, so it was odd to have it be late!) But arrive they did at long last, and it was fabulous to see Ally again and get acquainted with Rachel! I really missed having Ally at home, aboard! 

The evening was a quiet one, a lovely dinner at Acquapazza, a great restaurant just down island from Romora Bay. Shawne joined us for dinner -- he graciously picked us up so we didn't have to walk in the chilly evening air (definitely cold here tonight!) -- and we all dined on Acquapazza's terrance, enjoying fabulous Mediterranean fare before returning to the boat. We were all exhausted after a long day (due to our late night last night, whereas the the girls were up very early to travel) so we all gratefully turned in early! Tomorrow's another day -- hopefully warmer!! 

Sunshine and happy forecasts!

Ok, it was another boat project day...after another somewhat bothersome night of pesky winds. (Did anyone notice I refused to mention the winds yesterday? Oh yes, they were there and obnoxious -- I was just ignoring them!) In any event, I was very pleased to see bright blue skies and few clouds this morning over coffee from the back deck! Happy happy, indeed! Ron was excited, as winds were diminished (less than 20 kts!) out of the northwest, so went out with Greg (off Karuna SS) for a bit of diving while I enjoyed a bit of puttering about, prepping the boat for Ally and Rachel's arrival tomorrow. 

The guys heading out to dive

Noon came and went, with the boys calling in on the VHF to say that it was probably a good thing I didn't go out with them, as the seas were um....rough and confused. In fact, so rough that Ron said they weren't even going to return at full speed, but rather, they were going to bring Tingum in slow. (Hmmm! Not a normal Captain Ron attitude, so it must have been ugly!) Once they got back, Ron admitted the conditions weren't as rough as last week when he and Shawne went out, but that today's seas were slapping in from all directions, so that the boat swung all over the place in a less than pleasant fashion. Again, glad I stayed aboard Equinox!


The afternoon saw more boat projects; Greg's dionghy was having issues with a leak in one of his pontoons, so we dropped our small boat, Eclipse, in the water so an Karuna  could use that, while Ron and Greg searched out the leaky spot. Funnily enough, Ron and Greg were lucky,in that they found the hole right away...something that had been eluding Greg previously. We then pulled his inflatable onto our flybridge to address the problem, layering epoxy/patch glue over the hole, and leaving it aboard for the night to let it cure. 

Greg's dinghy getting repairs

As evening fell, Shawne arrived as planned, since he'd been telling Ron about some local cuisine that was a must-have. He wanted us to share in the local barbeque ribs on Harbour Island; apparently there's a guy who prepares them every weekend so Shawne and Ron had called ahead to secure some for dinner. They brought them back to the boat, and when they returned, they came with folks in tow...a group of ladies staying here at Romora Bay who knew Shawne from the dive shop. Before we knew it, we had an impromptu dinner party on our hands! (As promised, the ribs were awesome!!) Not only that, we ended up accompanying the ladies to Sunsets for a round of late after-dinner drinks, and then...off to the infamous Gusty's and DaddyD's for late night island dancing and nightlife! I admit, I initially wasn't sure I was up for the noise and loud music, but with Ron's encouragement, I went anyway, and we all had a fun time!

Nothing Should Be Easy...

...according to Captain Ron, because then, there'd be NO challenge, NO sense of accomplishment!! Nope, nothing should be easy or straightforward -- and aboard a boat, it usually isn't!! To illustrate this point, we got a call today from Dick, our intrepid water-maker guru who was coming in today on the afternoon flight to repair our water-maker system, with the needed replacement parts in his checked baggage. Except that he couldn't get on the airplane!! No fault of his, but at the airport, TSA refused to let him bring the Clark pump onboard a commercial aircraft, since their x-ray machines couldn't identify/see all the way through the pump! (Now, we're all for security; we're willing to comply without complaint and have done everything and anything that TSA asks of us for the good of all, but clearly security is being tightened these days!) Dick spent a couple of hours explaining everything about the pump to both the TSA and the FAA representative, trying to get the pump cleared, but it was still refused. 


The frustrating aspect of it all (besides the delay in repairs) is that the pump is a part that Dick has brought aboard with him on many other commercial flights in the past, without any issues. So, why now, why TSA suddenly thought it was unfit for commercial traffic is unknown...but, they did. Oh well -- another curve ball! As Dick was quick to point out, at least the part didn't get bogged down in the TSA/FAA bureaucracy, like some poor fellow's life-raft, which apparently was held for over three weeks until they gave it back to the poor guy. (Ok, it's a second-hand story, but again, just showing that plans can go awry, and usually do!!) But in the meantime, until we can figure out a way to ship or airfreight the innocent Clark pump, we're not getting our water-maker fixed here!! Nope, nothing should be easy...and, clearly isn't. Goodness!! 


And our day had started out so well! Ron and I enjoyed the sunshine by bicycling for a good hour around the island--including that BIG hill on the north side of town that sucks the wind out of me yet. (It's getting easier, though!!) Plus, today, I started a "Rooster Count",  just for fun. I think I mentioned in a previous post how plentiful the Briland roosters are around town and along the roadsides, but today, since I hear them all the time, I thought I'd count them as we bicycled. Today's "Rooster Count": 21!! (And no, I didn't count any twice!) Did I mention the island is only 3 miles long? Lots of poultry out there!

One of the many Briland roosters

After our bike ride, Ron and I then took a long, leisurely walk on the shores of the Atlantic, along Pink Beach for another hour. We were simply enjoying being outside today, awaiting Dick's arrival, and getting some exercise. Since I still am not totally up to full speed, stamina-wise, the walking and biking are a big help! It might take a while to regain my former strength, but I'm patient...all in good time! After our walk, we biked back to the  boat, where Ron and I shared a salad lunch aboard, and went through our mail package that has caught up with us. 

The afternoon was a flurry of phone calls about the Dick's flight arrival time, and then his unfortunate situation with the water-maker part. As stated before, nothing is easy, but...gotta go with the flow! SO, in that vein, Ron went out and took out his frustrations by playing a bit of tennis with Greg, while Karyn did more mail-sorting and responded to the incoming correspondence. Due to the surprise change of plans regarding Dick's non-arrival, we re-routed dinner arrangements... so we simply went up to Sunsets and enjoyed The Brilanders playing once again. Always fun!! Afterwards, we bicycled (yet again) to dinner,  just a bit down the road to Ma Ruby's Tingum Village, for a delicious seafood dinner before it was back to the boat, and off to sleep! What will tomorrow bring?

The Brilanders at Sunsets Grille, about to get the crowd dancing!

Gale Force Fun!

Ok, now that the Olympics are over, the new sport is watching the wind indicator....yay! Now it's 28.8 knots, now its 33.1...wait, 35.7!! Do we have another gust higher? You bet!! This blasting wind is beyond repetitive: relentless, and really, really tiresome. I think we speak for the entire southern part of Florida and the Bahamas when I say “Ok, El Nino can take a break!!” (We’re actually tired of hearing about El Nino, and hearing of its effects...because we’re experiencing them! We already know!!) The cold fronts continue!

Waves from the 30 kt. winds rolling in under the

 outermost marina pier -- note the sand-colored water
from all the wave action and turbulence

Ok, all crankiness aside, we’ve actually had a nice day, in spite of the winds. We went out to breakfast at Valentine's, a neighboring marina resort, as a break from the routine. Actually, that's something we’ve rarely ever do, since having coffee and breakfast aboard on the back deck is always such a lovely treat. Except for today -- we didn’t even feel like making breakfast! So, getting off the boat was the treat, and it’s a good thing we did, since when we went past our center console, which was tied up on a finger pier closer to shore, we’d found that Tingum's stern line had snapped in the wild waves washing into the shallower waters. Thankfully, we must have come by just after it happened, because no damage had occurred yet, and we were able to immediately re-secure the starboard stern. Whew! (Ron had actually gone out to check on Tingum earlier in the morning, and it was fine then -- which only illustrates the reason why you need to keep checking on things!) As it turned out, another small center console boat in the marina got caught under the pier at low tide after being tossed about in the wild waves, and was rather badly damaged. And even worse, a boat in a neighboring marina sunk right in its slip...definitely not what you like to see happen. So, being aware and alert was a necessity.

The odd thing about being off the boat during a windy spell, is that you feel the need to get back on as soon as you can, so that you can keep an eye on things! Which is what we found ourselves doing after breakfast jaunt, of course. Equinox was riding the winds well, but then again, we’d prepared for the winds with extra lines. As stated, we’ve been diligent in checking both boats, looking for line chafe, etcetera. And it's paid off, since March has certainly come in like a lion in my book -- will it go out like a lamb?? We can only hope, although I’m not sure I want to know, the way the winds have been behaving! But, then again, it’s all relative of course! I shouldn't complain, as we’re riding the winds and wave much better than the poor sailboats here at the marina, which are really getting tossed about in their slips. I’m just grateful that the girls haven’t arrived for spring break yet!! 

In mid-afternoon, we got off the boat yet again to take another bike ride around island, and Ron scored a major coup in finally finding a milk crate for the back of his folding bike. He'd been looking for one for quite some time now, after seeing other boat folks biking merrily along with crates mounted on the rear racks of their bikes. In contrast to our somewhat cumbersome backpack, the crate was clearly an attractive alternative for lugging our groceries home from the market. And now, Ron has one of his own, much to his delight! 


From there, we stopped in at Sip Sip for a (celebratory) drink and enjoyed another quick chance to get out of the winds. Everyone has been walking around bundled up in sweatshirts and wind-breakers today, even the locals, who were also saying they've never seen such an ugly winter. We later heard on the evening Florida news (via the sat TV) that this winter has been the "2nd coldest winter" in 60 years, or some such statistic. Ok then, it isn't just our imagination!! It's been brutal everywhere! 


Ron and I tucked in for the evening, reveling in the slightly diminished winds, and enjoyed the sunset amidst the broken clouds on the horizon. We had a carnivorous dinner of lamb chops, royal rice and steamed broccoli, along with a couple of glasses of red wine. Not anything overly exciting, but...just the stuff that dreams are made of: being aboard our own boat, dining, in a beautiful Bahamian location! We'll sleep well tonight!

Another busy day in paradise!

Winds are picking up again (hmmm....getting tired of that refrain? So are we!) with the forecast for gale conditions to be in effect by evening. Before that happened though, Ron and I spent the morning adjusting the lines on the tender, adding an extra portside springline to secure the boat against the incoming winds, and securing any loose items aboard. We tied down a thin plastic cover over the electronics just for extra protection from any driving rains, but we'll see how well it fares....we fully expect it to be shredded if the wind really blasts us, but it was worth a try anyway!

We bicycled through town again, stopping at the convenience store to see if the promised "Love Wine" was in, but were told once again, next week. They do have fresh coconut water, so if we wanted to make Gully Washes -- coconut water and gin --  we could....but we passed, wanting to try the infamous wine. The store vendor wanted to know how many bottles we wanted (clearly a good salesman!) but Ron hedged a bit, saying we'd try it first, and if we liked it, we'd maybe get a second bottle!! 

After that stop, we did our usual island bicycle loop, down Bay Street along the waterfront and up the "BIG" hill along the north end of the island before meandering to various stores in search of various items: the Pigly Wigly, Johnson's Grocery Store, Casey Snacks, Bristol Liquors, John Bull...we weren't really successful, either. As is common on most out-islands, it's hit-or-miss on what is in stock, or "coming in on Thursday"! Of course, most of our sought-after items are coming in on Thursday. 

The other stop we made was at the hardware store, where Ron picked up the receipt for the two green hoses from the other day....Now, are you sitting down?? The total was $110!! Ron almost fell over...it's understandable how many things are more expensive in the islands due to having been imported, but for two crappy hoses?? Ouch!! I wonder if we didn't get charged for the first hose (defective) that Ron returned...but even then...far more money than we ever anticipated! 

The afternoon was spent doing assorted and sundry boat chores, from Karyn double-checking the lines on Equinox, planning dinner menus, and baking bread (rye bread this time), while Ron went back to the liquor store with our friend Greg, who has a lovely vendor discount, to get us re-stocked on wine. We have our friends from Bermuda, Warren and Christine and their daughters, coming on-island in a couple of weeks, so we definitely will need the wine when they are here!! It's actually serendipity that we're getting together here, as they made their reservations at one of the resorts facing Pink Beach before they even knew we were here! We're delighted that our time tables coincide, nevertheless!! We're delighted to be able to be with them again, especially as the girls will be here!

Another loaf of rye bread cooled and ready for slicing

And, speaking of friends, we are happy to report that the Miles Aweigh made it safely to Marsh Harbor the other night, ahead of the last gale. They are ensconced in port now, awaiting their younger daughter and her friends arrival for a family spring break. It would have been a blast to be in the same port as the Miles Aweigh, but schedules and -- ahem -- injuries prevented that from happening this time. There's always another time, of course. In the meantime, we're just enjoying a quiet night post-dinner, listening to the soft whistle of the wind in the sailboat rigging over in the next slip. Winds are only posting about 15 knots right now, and almost feel somewhat gentle, actually. But the higher winds will be here by morning!!

Oh, What a Surprise...

..."GALE CONDITIONS EXPECTED N OF 25N TUE THROUGH WED". This from NOAA's weather forecast for our area of the Bahamas for tomorrow. Unfortunately, not a surprise, at all, the way the weather has been behaving! Rain, wind, cold....we're SO sick of it, just like the rest of North America. Meteorologists say we have the "Canadian Arctic air mass" to thank. Well, no offense, but the Canadians can keep their arctic air...we don't want it!! What more do they want?? They already got the hockey gold, right? :)

The gorgeous water east of Harbour Island

Nonetheless, today was a lovely day here off Eleuthera...sunshine and quiet waters in the harbour, so still you could hear the roosters crowing all over the island! Ron was eager to dive, not wanting to waste such a pretty day, so by the time I made sandwiches and packed a lunch, Greg had joined us as well and out we went aboard Tingum. It was a bit rougher outside the harbor than anticipated, but nothing that the tender couldn't handle. Looking far to the east offshore, we could see a hint of "elephants on the horizon" -- the telltale ruffle of large waves and swells. But, conditions were so much better than the seas Ron and Shawne experienced yesterday, that we continued south, with a bit of a following sea.

By the time we arrived at the James Point dive site, the swells were diminishing, and conditions were good enough for diving, so we dropped anchor in the sandy bowl there. The boys had a nice dive, although Ron noted that the fish were less numerous today than the last time, perhaps due to the rough and chaotic conditions of yesterday. Still, a pretty site and always good to get in the water! We dropped in some fishing lines as we headed back north, meandering our way along the deep reef contour lines on the chart (unfortunately without success -- we just can't seem to attract the fish from the tender!). Finally, the guys got bored, and when we reached the dive site "The Plateau". Ron and Greg were eager to dive again. A discussion of surface intervals, depths and dive times ensued, and we found the mooring buoy and tied off for the guys to do another dive. Once again, I was the anchor woman and boat buddy, keeping an eye on the guys' bubbles. While I'd rather be diving myself, it wasn't too much of a hardship, being out in the sunshine: I wrote, read and enjoyed myself, during that bit of quiet time while they were underwater.

Greg and Ron comparing notes on what they saw during their dive

Once back in the harbor and in the slip, it was the usual routine of work after play: the rinse and clean-up of dive gear, and wash down of the boat. Ron and I had a light dinner of fish chowder (Ron's somewhat experimental -- but delicious -- use of the leftover of trimmings of some grouper fillets, simmered in fish stock with all sorts of veggies) before a quiet evening. We're watching the weather as usual...with an eye on the next nasty cold front that is due to arrive tomorrow evening. Hmmmmm...what a surprise!