Morning Tea, Abacos

Morning Tea, Abacos

Morning tea posts are a written collection of current thoughts bouncing around in my head. Most of them are related to the cruising/sailing life. 











Blue water is now emerald water.

Powerboats have a lot of "Wooh!" girls on them.

Snorkeling is fun. We have not done much of it since we left but recently I poked around under the water off a beach and it was a good workout.

I found some new leg muscles. Oww

I have not yet been partially consumed by a large fish. Partially would suck wouldn't it? I mean, if it were a great white you saw about to snack on you it's probably the end right? So maybe offer your head for first bite and get it over with? No? Fight to the last bite?

In the Exumas, every time we attempted to hop in, there was a shark. No shit.

We used very little fuel on this adventure. The sails have been used and abused. Starting to show some wear. Our mainsail is ripped near the topping lift swage. Pisses me off.

How much are rigid boom vangs? Holy crap!!! Never mind.

Our Mack Pack is falling apart. Not impressed.

Debra loves to sew. I jest. She's very good at it but it's not going to be a hobby. We have a few sewing projects on the list. I will try to leave the boat when this happens.

Never run an electrical component close to it's rating. Go big or go home.

I have a nose for overheated electrical components.

I'm trying real hard to not be so paranoid but people are not helping me to not be so paranoid.

The other day during an electrical storm I actually sat under the mast in the salon. Maybe I'm not so paranoid because I'm getting stupid.

I need to walk the earth after a few days. None of this full week aboard crap. Deb could float for months it seems without pressing sole to ground.

Deb said she couldn't spend weeks at sea. Really now.

The bakery aboard Kelly Nicole is doing well. Flour power.

I've screwed up several meals now but Deb refuses to fire the chef.

Most of the people of the Bahamas are kind and easy going and that's why it pisses me off to see the occasional ugly American treating them poorly and embarrassing them in public. Not talking about cruisers.

We like the people of Eleuthera. So super friendly and fun. Can't say the same of other islands.

If I were the PM of The Bahamas I would insist on teaching our kids to not litter their Islands with trash. It has to start with the kids. So much beauty, yet so much trash at times.

The Bahamas should be solar powered. Someone call Elon.

The Internet is a great tool while out here cruising. Its a good way to keep in touch. Too bad it's so damn expensive.

When you come across a TV in the Bahamas they usually have some station from Florida showing the "News". Do we have to go back? Friggin embarrassing.

The sat system we have allows us to make calls, email and text. We can even post FB messages. What it does not do well is anything web related. It's really slow and that's a good thing. Too much Internet is like too much TV.

The Internet is slowly turning us into zombies, or maybe just socially inept individuals with neat little tidbits of useless information spoken or typed in cryptic shorthand and symbols.

Hieroglyphics - Formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logo graphic and alphabetic elements. LOL :)   _/)

The last time we bought water was in Chub Cay, and the last time we schlepped was Dinner Key, FL. The water maker was not cheap, but it's proving to be one of our best purchases. We still conserve water like it's our last gallon. A good habit.

Beer consumption is down. Too much sailing going on :)

Guinness is readily available throughout the Islands. It's a much stronger stout. Good, but you don't want too many if you have a long dinghy ride.

Eating peanuts while using a tablet is not working.

Remember how Gumby could walk into any book? What if he walked into 50 shades of gray?

Gumby,"Pokey do you have the key to these handcuffs?" Pokey,"Nope. You ever wonder why they call me pokey?"

Somehow I managed to lose 7 pounds. Now my head looks even larger.

We are slowly getting over our anchor bubble. Come on in. Get as close as you like! Pauly doesn't care! Paint job. Paint job. Paint job.

I bet our underwear hanging on the lifelines ruined a few anchorage photos.

Not having an ACL (hockey) is catching up to me. My knee explodes in pain after about 4 miles of walking. You would think not finding some place after 2 miles of walking would make you go back. Nope. I bet it's just around that bend.

Anchoring is becoming routine. If I was still paranoid I would expect an anchoring mishap to be coming up soon, but I'm not paranoid anymore.

I hate running a trip line on the anchor. Pain in the ass.

Lot's of people dive on the anchor to make sure it's set. What do they do in the ICW? It is nice to see it though. Just in case. Why wouldn't you if you could? Sharks. No, only a paranoid person would think that.

In Hatchet Bay, the boats that dragged had CQR's. Just an observation not an opinion. Don't get all fired up. Oh wait, one was a bulwagga(?). The boats that dragged were in the shallows. Weeds? I'm sure they initially laughed at us anchored in 25 ft. Ain't no grass in 25 ft.

I do think that any anchor will work just fine if deployed properly. I guess we're doing it correctly or we're pretty lucky.

We basically wear the same clothes over and over again. Time to clear out the wardrobe.

Less cotton, more nylon. I do think I have a slight allergic reaction to nylon though. Not as bad as latex or butternut squash. Weird eh?! Butternut squash will give me a rash up my arms and latex will make me itch badly. I know warped minds are trying to come up with a witty reply right now.

We are salty. Literally. We have to clean our glasses at least a few times a day.
Everything is rusting. Even the zippers on my shorts.

My fear of barbers has left  me with a huge fuzzball underneath my baseball cap. I finally got it cut. Dude took out the dog clippers and basically sheared me. Might have to buy some clippers for Deb. Don't trust her with sharps around my throat.

I've finally started wearing a proper hat to keep my ears from becoming pork rinds. The Sun is brutal down here.

I am craving a good cup of Coffee and a donut. There a DD or Timmy Ho's in the Abacos?

My pizza craving has diminished (thank you Tammy and Debra), but Thai food needs to happen soon. Going to have to wait until the states to satisfy that. Why no Thai in the Islands?

Here are the things I missed while in the Bahamas:

• Fresh veg's. When you find them, eat them soon. They don't keep.
• Electronics. Make sure all your cables and devices work together.
• Micro Brews. We don't pound beers, so we like a variety of flavors
• Restaurants with a menu you can order from
• NY pizza. Home made is good but...
• Strong tea. The Republic of Tea. Any black tea. NOT LIPTON!
• Sweet tea in restaurants. I don't always drink beer.
• Riding a bike. I love riding a bike but if I hit a Bahamian pot hole I'm a goner. I stepped into one and wrenched my back. Yes, I was checking out some booty across the street and not paying attention to the road.
• Good cheese. They have some good cheese once in a while but when it arrives the French descend on it like locust and all you are left with is the cheese flavored wax. I think it's Bahamian govt cheese. I imagine the wine disappears as well.
• Obviously family. Getting pictures and video of the grand kids are treasures.
• Old friends. We've made awesome new friends but old friends are easy. Know what I mean?
• Music. Good music. What's with the disco and 80's pop in the Bahamas? We went to a bar the other night and the bartender told us it was his fav song on right now. Friggin Madonna or some other knockoff. Really dude? He was old man dancing at our table. You know, where you just shuffle a little but you think you are really shaking it.
• Hockey playoffs. Best time for hockey and I'm missing it.

Anchor lights - Use Them! We had a couple of boats near us without any lights. None! Maybe they were naked under the stars or something. Solar lights as anchor lights do not work. After having small powerboats rip past us in the dark we decided to light her up! We have a blue LED on the stern and another one going on the bow. I have noticed LED spreader lights being left on at night now. Beats getting a powerboat enema.

The LED at the top of the mast looks like a star. A couple of pirates pointed this out to me. Best to have a 2nd light.

This list is getting long

I am not a barefoot person while underway. I have the broken toes to prove this. Bring extra footwear. Been trying to buy flip flops in the Bahamas since we left. No dice. I actually prefer sneakers when underway because I'm always moving around and adjusting sails. I need to get a grip.

Do not vacuum up spilled Parmesan cheese. Your vacuum will smell like your sandals. Forever. I hate that damn shop vac anyway.

We need to stop wasting food. Too much goes bad before we eat it. I think we are over purchasing. This kind of falls under the chefs responsibility. Meal planning is key. Maybe I should start.

Too many pot luck dinners will wipe out your food stores. Can't we all just bring a snack and shoot the shit? Here, have some chips.

Our Nook books are starting to get flaky. They are the original. Time for a kindle. You ever read a horror novel during a major thunderstorm on a boat being tossed around at anchor? Scary shit.

Just about every seam that was sealed with 3M 4000/4200 has dried out from the hot baking sun and now leaks. Everything sealed with butyl tape is fine.

There's not a lot sealed with butyl tape.

The day of the dead macerator will come and I am not prepared. How much are hazmat suits?

You ever wander the street of a new town and not take pictures?

Because of recent failing in my electronics world I found myself enjoying the moment more when not recording it.

Is it wrong to want an electric guitar on a boat? The acoustic is annoying as hell to anyone in the anchorage and Deb. Might have to add another solar panel.

When I get good at guitar and everyone is blowing their stupid conch shells at sunset I'm going to fire up the amp and play Smoke on the Water.

Some days the boat is really small.


Cheers Peeps!
PJJB