"Iggy" the Iguana

So, as you all have read, Allan's Cay is the home of giant iguanas. These pre-historic beasts are about 3 feet long and love hanging out on the beach in the sun. Trudie, Ian and I decided to dinghy to the opposite side of the island to escape a stiff breeze and get some water/beach time. T spread her towel on the beach to catch some rays, Ian was snorkeling and I was wading in the water, and walking the beach. Well, out of the brush comes "Iggy" a three foot reptile who wanted to share his favorite beach. The iguana, boldly strutted to HIS favorite spot (which happened to be exactly where T was laying) and got to about 5' from T and stared at her. T was less than thrilled, but appeared willing to share the beach with HIM. (A day before, T would have retreated to the dinghy) Eventually, T and Iggy bonded and both became comfortable with each other, realizing they had something in common.....sunbathing. As time passed, Iggy must have become very relaxed....for suddenly he stood up , stiffened, started "straining", cocked his right rear leg and his eyes closed half-way (literally).....I shouted "oh my god" as he took a big old _ _ _ _ right there next to T. She screamed, "OOOOO.....YUCK !!!!" Ian and I started laughing so hard we could hardly speak. Iggy took a couple of steps, laid down, spread-eagle and promptly fell asleep in the sun. Typical male........(some things haven't changed in 200 million years of evolution !)

We left Allan's yesterday just before noon, and had a quick sail (< 10 nms) to Norman's Cay. When we entered, we were the only boat in the anchorage....kind of disconcerting, "did we fail to get the memo ?" But we were quickly joined by a couple of other boats...including a grey beard. (I will explain "grey beards" in another post). We have not yet left the boat this morning as we have been busy having coffee and french toast (laced with Black Strap Rum) for breakfast. There is a beach bar called Mc Duff's on the island which we intend to check out and will probably do some New Year's celebrating there....

Ian has charted a seaplane to pick him up tomorrow. So, we will spend the next couple of days here as a front is predicted to roll through Fri late afternoon through Sat AM; so, we want to stay here in this "all weather" harbor. We will then decide where we go next depending on our water supply and weather.

So, THE CREW wishes you all a very Happy New Year's from the tropics.

THE EX-PATS

Arrived Norman's Cay

Just a quick note to let you all know that we sailed south to Norman's Cay today.
We had a great sail, and are now anchored; all without incident. But, we have so
much to blog about....but that will have to wait till tomorrow......

Its "sundowner" time.....so the blog will be postponed....do we have our priorities right or what ?

Allan's Cay continues....

We are still at Allan's Cay for another day. We had an action packed day yesterday. Right after a delicious breakfast made by Trudie's Galley; we re-anchored the boat further away from a rocky lee shore when other boats left the anchorage (which was pretty crowded when we arrived). This took a couple of attempts to position Persephone in deep water, away from other boats, and away from the rocky shore. After the anchoring drill, Ian was in the water swimming around the anchorage, literally. Ian snorkeled over our anchor and said it was not set correctly, so instead of trying to re-anchor I decided to set the anchor by hand. So, I pulled out my SCUBA tank and equipment and dove on the anchor. I was able to set it by hand relatively easily....sure beat moving the boat again and re-anchoring.

We all got into the dinghy (with our snorkeling gear) and went to the beach to visit the lizards (iguanas). They have been trained by people feeding them, so as soon as a dinghy approaches, they waddle onto the beach.....about 50+ of them looking for handouts. We were wading in the water, while Trudie practiced her snorkeling. When we returned to the dinghy, it was surrounded on three sides by lizards.....

We returned to Persephone for lunch and then back into the dinghy for more exploring of the small islands around Allan's looking for potential lobster hangouts. The dinghy looks like it was floating on air because the water at 15+ deep it is so clear.....you can see every detail on the bottom as if the water wasn't there at all....beautiful and a great turquoise color.

Back at the boat, it was time for "sundowners" and showers. (Ian took his 3rd swim of the day around the anchorage ....a LARGE mustard color motoryacht entered the anchorage, we T and I held our breaths hoping he wouldn't get run over (it was pretty close).....can you imagine the paperwork we would have to go through !!! Dinner from Trudie's Galley was great as usual; chicken quesadillas always a crew favorite. Afterwards, we all sat on the cabin top, with after dinner drinks, enjoying the warm breeze which had come up to 15-20 knts. There was a nearly full moon and we were able to see the bottom under Persephone in just the moonlight....yes the water is really that clear. The wind was warm, but caused an uncomfortable roll in the anchorage. P-Girl is rolling and bouncing pretty good. Even though, we have decided to stay here for another day of beaching, and snorkeling. We will probably leave here for Norman's Cay tomorrow.

Lots of pix to post when we are able. T and Ian say "hi" to all......gotta hit the beach !

Off to see the lizard.....

"We're off to see the lizards, the wonderful lizards of Allan's !" We left Nassau yesterday with Ian aboard and had a great day moving south to Allan's Cay. We took a dog leg around the "dreaded" (not my word, but the description in one of our cruising guides) Yellow Banks. This is any area of shallow water with patch reefs, and coral heads just below the surface. You must cross this area when the sun is high in the sky so that you can see through the water for dangers. The water is so clear, we could see starfish on the bottom in 16+ feet. The wind was up and down, so we had an opportunity to get in some sailing.

We arrived at Allan's just after 2pm and worked our way in applying the "anchor by Braille" method; as the anchorage has many shallow areas. This consists of working around the anchorage, occasionally touching bottom, backing away and trying another approach. We found a spot and dropped the hook. Unfortunately, we had a wind shift and low tide caused us to begin bouncing off the bottom softly. I didn't want any problems, so we just shifted our spot 50 yards west and re-set the hook; without incident.

T made spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner and we sat in the cockpit as a rain squall went through; all under the Christmas lites. We were all beat, so it was lites out (including the XMAS ones) around 9 pm.

Today we are going to see the lizards. Allan's Cay is one of the few remaining islands which is home to giant iguanas. These prehistoric lizards are about 3' long and very unattractive (read: UGLY) We will post pix when we have "real" internet access instead of "only" ham radio. Think of the Geico gecko on steroids and brown in color.... The rest of the day will be taken up by beaching, snorkeling and dinghy exploring (and of course a couple of "coldies")

Mike, you gotta start making reservations to get down here again before the winter is over....bought a Bob spear for hunting lobster....will let you know how the hunt goes.....

THE IGUANA CREW

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!

Hello all from the sunny Bahamas.....

We are still in Nassau celebrating Christmas and waiting on our friend Ian to arrive. Ian will be joining us tomorrow and will be staying through New Year's Day. T and I are both very excited about Ian coming. So, tomorrow afternoon, we will ride out to the airport and pick him up.....just about cocktail time. PERFECT !!

We have made good use of our time here in Nassau. T has done a lot of re-provisioning, and I have caught up on some basic maintenance. The water here is MUCH saltier than the water in New England.....so it is a constant battle of keeping the salt build up off the boat.

Yesterday, we went to the "fish market" for our Christmas Eve dinner. Well, the "fish market" consists of a beat up pick up truck parked just outside the marina. We climbed up on the back of the truck and looked in the large coolers for the perfect dinner. Yes, the fish were "still of the hoof" so to speak. We picked out the perfect grouper, and the mon asked "how d' ya like it ?" Filleted, perfect. So, our dinner to be was tossed onto a piece of plywood, the flys shooed away, and the knife briskly stirred in a bucket of water and the filleting began. Ten seconds later, we had two large pieces of the freshest fish imaginable. We bartered the "right" price and home (boat ?) we went with our dinner. It was SUPER !!

I made breakfast this morning......french toast with cinnamon, fresh ground nutmeg and oh, yes....a "bit" of Black Strap Rum.......Think I over did the rum a bit......T said it burned her throat......I think it was the cinnamon, mon.

We are hanging today, straightening out the boat for Ian's arrival and doing the beer shopping. Yes, all the stores (including grocery stores and liquor stores are open today). It is a beautiful day wx wise, warm, sunny and a light breeze......not a Christmas feeling at all. It is very different here......Christmas is really not a big deal. There are a few subtle decorations about, but none of the commercialism that you see in the states. Most of the stores and restaurants may have a simple wreath, or a small tree....but that's it. And what is really noticeable is the lack of lights.....no colored lights at all. So, we have been enjoying the string of lights I put up in the cockpit 2 weeks ago.

Finally, we have to say that THE CREW misses our friends and family up north. Although we are on our sailing adventure, you have all been in our thoughts during this season.......

So, to all of you from THE CREW, a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. I hope that you all can fulfill your dreams, whatever they may be, the way we have been able to this year. Lastly, "Kinvara" come on....get back to sailing.....you will love it here !!

D + T

Arrived Nassau !!

Had a great sail from Chub Cay to Nassau.....FINALLY !!  We left Chub Cay around 8:30 am yesterday morning for the 36 mile jump over to Nassau.  We put up both sails as soon as we cleared the harbor and took them down at the enterance to Nassau harbor, not once turning on the engine.  AND, we did a passage in daylight.....a real treat for us lately (as the last 2 trips were overnighters).  Very nice to see where you are going for a change.  We arrived at Nassau Harbor at around 2:30 pm (made pretty good time) and anchored just across the harbor from Atlantis on Paradise Island.  WOW, what an operation......you can see the pink building from 15+ miles at sea.  (Antlantis is the second largest employer in the Bahamas behind only the Bahamian government).   If we get a chance, we may go over and check it out, especially the aquarium which is supposed to the spectacular....

We went into our marina this morning to get some boat maintenance done, and check out Nassau.  What a shock from being isolated to being right in the middle of a noisy city.  You walk out of the marina right onto a major downtown street.....WITH CARS and TRUCK traffic.  We haven't seen/heard  that since Florida.  CULTURE SHOCK !!!!

Let me explain "boat maintenance".......  Well,  THE CAPTAIN decided last week to cut a 2' piece of chain to secure the outboard engine to the dinghy to prevent theft.   I had an extra piece of chain aboard, so out came the hacksaw and up to the bow I went where a nice breeze was blowing.....didn't want to get over-heated, you know.   But, not being stupid, I took a large bucket with me to catch the filings. (I was smiling and very proud of myself.....for the bucket idea....old dave was really using his head on this one!!)  The chain project went well and took only about 10 minutes.....great, time for a cold one.    One thing your fearless captain forgot to figure was the breeze.....yup, the filing blew onto the white deck  in a 5' radiius.  About two days later, (in the salt air/water)  the little filing rusted leaving rust spots which looked like huge freckles all over the foredeck.....an absolute unsightly mess !!!!  Holy S&%+@!!!!   Rust stains everywhere......Nice job, Captain "DH" Sawblade. 

So, there I am today, muric acid in hand, cleaning the foredeck for a couple of hours trying to remove  the rust stains.  ( And of course, Captain Reflex lost his balance, and stepped in the acid...burning the bottom of his feet.....some of the skin on the bottom of my feet  is still left)  Got most of the rust spots,  but Captain Acid will be back at work trying to get some more tomorrow.  This could be a very lengthy boat maintenance project requiring at least a case of cold beer to rehydrate me after my toil.

See, it really can be hell in paradise.....all in the shadow of Paradise Island......go figure !  Captain Tenderfoot

Pictures

We got some very limited connectivity last night here at Chub Cay;  Christmas came early !!  We will be leaving for Nassau first thing in the AM.  So, we will probably be out of regular communication until Wednesday when we dock at a marina in Nassau.  Meanwhile, we will be anchored out in Nassau harbor.  Will keep you all updated, but in the meanwhile  here are pictures we promised:

Trudie raising the Bahamian courtesy flag on Persephone (we are required to fly our US flag on the stern and the flag of the country we are visiting on the starboard mast spreader):

Here is the enterance buoy to the Berry Island Club....remember red, right returning....

This is the world famous Berry Island Club....reservations are recommended:

And, finally, after the excitment of the Berry Island Club, Trudie relaxes with a beer (which we had to bring) at the unfinished/abandoned bar at Chub Cay Marina  love the islands, mon!

We are in the populated areas of the Bahamas....50 miles from Florida, 35 miles from the capitol, Nassau...can only wonder what the "out" islands will be like.  More to follow from THE CREW !