2007.01.16

Happy birthday Allan...8 inches of snow in Montreal, sounds like winter has finally arrived and is making up for lost time.

We have not blogged for 4 days... I just don't know where the days go!!! of course everything is on island time....

Let's try and give you an idea of where time goes..

Two days ago J & I made sour dough baguettes.. well we started the night before making sponge with our starter (yes I have a starter like the American pionners, reminds me of Michener's Colorado !) .

Then, the next morning, we started the mixing, kneading and most importantly the rising.. the first rising, punching it down, then the second rising (sounds almost like a religious happening!) then third.... etc.

We baked 2 in L'Equipe's oven and 2 in Soli's they all came out pretty delicious but mine were a little funny looking!

They were declared a success... I guess anything is better than what you find here ... white sweet doughy bread....so our menfolk are pretty supportive and appreciative...also it is a wonderful satisfaction to know "I made this!"

We had started at 0800 and finished around 1500... at which time we went to the beach for a well deserved walk...that's how one day vanished!!!

Yesterday, needing some fresh provisionning, J & I decided to go into town without the guys, they had their own chores to do ... Heinz, yes you guessed it ,was varnishing the brighwork ... must be on coat number 27!!!

First I had to do my rope walking trick to get off the boat... getting quite good at it...

So we went to the bus stop at 1000 only to find out the next bus was at 1100...we got on the 1100 bus, which arrived at 1130, which is the same one as usual.. the driver picks up the kids at home and Joshua and Willie go for a ride with Daddy....yesterday the Mama came too!

They have the most amazing long curly eyelashes and we cannot keep our hands off their velvet pudgy arms and cheeks.

We went the Fedex office and then had a quick lunch , as you can see, it is 1230 and we have not gone anywhere near the store yet!!!

Then off to the cell phone store to find out why we cannot receive calls from the UK... not their department ...it's up to BATELCO and they won't talk to you on the phone (Bahamas Telephone Company!!!!) they need to see your face to discuss anything with you... I asked for the number anyhow!

Finally Winn Dixie here we come...now we have to keep reminding each other ... we have to CARRY what's in our baskets...

I wanted to buy some sweet potatoes but one package had a nice size chunk nibbled out of it and I sort of lost my craving ...

When the young woman at the cash saw us packing our bags & knapsacks she said "you have a car?" when we said no she looked at us as if we were insane "oh man!!!!"

Then off to the bus stop to wait for #16 with all the school kids....it is by now 1500! and we are trying to stay in the shade to keep our fresh stuff fresh!!

#16 finally arrives... late of course and looking quite FULL...and here we are with all our bulky bags... it looked like mission impossible... but they worked magic , shuffled some of the kids around, stuck us all the way at the back as we were getting off last and here we were crammed in with bags under our legs and on our laps. Then this big woman sat next to me squeezzing me onto J as her little boy was doing a tap dance on my feet !!!

A couple of kids just in front of us were fascinated by J & I speaking French and finally Casey turned around and said "Bonjour" .

Anyhow after we had dropped off all the other passengers, we went by a dock where some fishing boats had just come in, we asked the driver if we could buy some fish so he stopped and we bought 8 red snappers for $20. ...they still needed cleaning (an extra $5.00...well spent money) ...as we were worried about our food needing refrigeration, he dropped the fish off to be cleaned and then took us to the marina... we arrived AFTER 1700!!! the guys weren't even worried.

David had done the most awesome job on Soli's hull she was is clean and shiny and will be well protected against salt water.

The fresh cleaned fish was delivered by our friendly bus driver and we had a delicious meal of baked snapper with cesar salad and boat baked baguette.... which started with our usual toast "ASDIP" !!!

So that is how another day vanished!!!.

Oh !!! and, btw,I forgot to tell you, on Sunday I learnt to ride a bike.... we had gone into the village on a tandem and were having lunch on the beach when, in a moment of shear madness, maybe feeling bold with a rum punch in my belly, I went and got on a bike (a child one) and off I was... I figured if I could learn to walk on ropes and bake bread I could learn to ride a bike... Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks!!!

The other good bit of news is that JEM is finally on their way here ... we finally contacted them last evening ...they were planning on leaving West Palm Beach at 0400 this morning to do the crossing ...they should be here in plenty of time for sundowners.

And finally, I have it from a very good source, although I have not seen it with my own eyes nor taken a pic... a shark was seen swimming around the harbour ... we are told they only do this when they are hungry.... did Heinz bait the harbour with our red snapper remains last night?

Karina, get well soon and thanks for proof reading this...

2007.01.12 And then there was a rat...

Jacqueline and Heinz were aboard Soli last evening, we were having nice sundowners and munchies when Carlos apears wearing BOOTS and announces "we have a rat on board!!! "....

That was exciting...David is flipping through cruising books, I, of course, am Googling and finding a picture of the cutest rat walking along a rope ... Jacqueline asks if she can sleep on board Soli tonight and Heinz continues eating guacamole and finishes his rum punch calmly... as if this was an every day occurence...

The only thing to do of course was to catch him.... and I must say the marina was very helpful, they found a couple of traps which they gave to H&J to be baited with pieces of tomato...apparently rats LOVE tomato seeds (Heinz recalled reading that somewhere)...

Hoping this was going to work rapidly, the three of them came back to Soli for more rum punch...but after a while the rat was still not caught, so they decided too go home and make pizza... Jacqueline, after the initial shock, was really amazingly brave...

Eventually, the rat could not resist the lure of the tomato and got trapped...this kind of trap is actually a sort of board with an extremely sticky surface and the rat just got stuck to it... poor little thing...

Heinz caught him by the neck but as he was in the process of putting him in a bag the rat bit his left hand... so off to the doctor they went to have it all cleaned up...and that was the story of the rat..... I had asked to take a picture of it, as I was sure you would all be dying to see it, but the rat in the bag was taken to the doctor and I never even saw it ...

Today was laundry day...which is quite a social occasion... all the women (and some men) gather in the laundry room and juggle time and turns with the machines.

Then I came home and made a big batch of spaghetti sauce bolognese.

David and I ran for a quick walk on the beach....


At 1600 we were invited to "The Manager's Cocktail party" at the straw bar on the beach.... Jacqueline and I sprayed ourselves to guard against the horrid little noseeums (they have been much better lately because it has been very windy) .

Jacqueline's legs look as if the "Q" (quarantine) flag should go up again on L'Equipe...mine are not much better!!!

We were treated to delicious rum punch and food and I mean wonderful food, duck, shrimps, smoked salmon and conch fritters while a local band was entertaining us ...

The chef had all the right moves in the kitchen and on the dance floor!!!

Eventually H&J had to leave as Heinz was going to get a tetanus shot.

So we walked by John Travolta's house.... he only comes here a couple of times a year... wonder if he would lend the use of it to some friends like for a honeymoon for instance!!!
As you can see, the life of a cruiser is seldom boring... one day you are in the rat patrol and the next a beach bum/party animal..... wonder what tomorrow will bring?

2007.01.11

We have been here at the Old Bahama Resort and Marina now for nearly a week thus are pretty well settled into a routine. Catherine, I know, left it to me to describe my feelings about our Gulf Stream crossing which I find hard to do, other than to say that as we were rocking and rolling across I knew why I had always loved what I did in my younger days. The dawn was almost perfect, there was a nice sea running so that you knew that you were on the ocean, but it was not in the least bit uncomfortable and the flying fish jumping out of the bow wave or just out of the swells were just as I remembered.

We pitched and pounded quite hard as we came out of the inlet but it was basically the ocean swell meeting the shore line and once out of it things quieted down and we had a glorious passage. I would have liked that the wind came around onto the beam a little sooner so that we could have sailed rather more than we did but I would say that this passage would be hard to improve upon.

Since then we have spent a day lounging on the beach and drinking rum punches, a day in Freeport, not too prepossessing, and today we spent the day in Lucaya, tourist heaven .

Yesterday was major maintenance day, all day. For those of you who may think that we are spending all our time lying around, drinking rum punch, and sleeping Catherine and I did the following…….

- All batteries (7) checked and topped up as necessary.
- Main engine raw water filter cleaned.
- Air conditioner raw water filter cleaned.
- Potable water filters removed, cleaned and replaced.
- Main engine oil and filter changed
- Racor fuel filter changed
- Water levels checked and adjusted as necessary.

Since a lot of the filters are low down and in the back of lockers we had to unpack all the additional gear, clothes, stores that Catherine, in her role as Chief Steward, had so cleverly hidden and stowed. I found out how much beer we actually had aboard and had been hidden from me (beer is horrendously expensive here in the islands) so she didn’t want me to know exactly what we had aboard! The unpacking and then repacking takes quite a lot of time.

The previous day had been spent polishing all the stainless steel fittings on deck as the salt air and water that we had taken aboard during the crossing wreaks havoc even with stainless steel.


Look at her shine...

Yes, “Solitaire 1” is now a happy puppy with all systems in top condition and lord be praised the engine started and ran without problem after all this had been done !!!! I think that we surprised even ourselves !!!!

After washing the engine oil from my hands I baked a delicious (if I say so myself...the last one was absolutly horrible!) banana cake...I did have vanilla this time (Louise bought me some ) but I added a shot of rum anyhow ...we are in the Bahamas after all , aren't we?

Jacqueline baked the most amazing SOUR DOUGH BAGUETTE !!! she promised to teach me in exchange for setting her up with on-line banking and showing her how to enter waypoint into the chartplotter using lat and long...we exchange skills...computer/bread baking.... I think hers takes the cake!!!!

Today, as mentioned above , we have been to Lucaya, tourist heaven…… casino, big hotels and tourist trap shops selling everything that you do not need. We walked around , had a good lunch, bought a couple more bottles of rum and returned to our boats in West End , with, I think a sigh, of relief and delighted that we had picked this spot, which is so much quieter to wait out the norther than Lucaya.

Talking of our touring, we are taking public transport, which, I find to be great fun. Small buses with lots of locals all of whom are very friendly and happy, one driver, we have had him twice, even stops at his home on the forty five minute run into Freeport to pick up his children, for the ride so we are almost like family. The buses are small vans like Volkswagon combis, seat twelve people in the back and two up front with the driver, and cheap .

That’s about all for me, I shall hand over to the chief blogger for a more detailed and better informed view on the past week. Binow!

David talking to the office on Skype...between filter and oil change...the many hats one has to wear when cruising, navigator, mechanic, baker, computer geek...

talking about computers count the stack of laptops on the nav table his, hers (Soli's) and D is using MINE!!!

2007.01.07

After an absolutly brilliant crossing we are safely tucked in at West End on Grand Bahama Island...

The journey started at 0300 on a moonlit night ...there were about seven boats leaving at the same time ...I guess everybody had listened to weather guru Chris Parker the day before and we knew we had that "window" for a perfect crossing.

It was a bit rough and choppy going out through the Palm Beach inlet but the seas soon smoothed out to about 4 to 6 feet !!!...I surprisingly do not have any bruises from banging into everything every time I walked around the cabin.... David the brave skipper was at the helm the whole time, except when nature called and I went to relieve him as he did likewise...

I, of course, immediately put on the auto pilot which did a wonderful job of keep ing us on course (much better than I could!) but David is an old fashioned mariner and he just likes to do it the way he did it at sea last century... even though he had to admit that James (our auto pilot) does a "pretty decent job"!
David was in heaven... but i will let him tell you about that himself.

My only other achievement was to attach a tether to my life jacket and the other side to a jack line (there are 2 which run the lengh of the boat on each side) and go forward to bring down the American flag since we no longer were in US water.

The seas further calmed down and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise at sea around 0700... it was absolutly magical to see nothing but water in all directions... I must admit I had been a little bit apprehensive the evening before as we were getting everything ready for that early start...night sailing...offshore passage...no land in sight....crossing the mighty Gulf Stream... those were first for me but I have all the faith in the world in David's expertise and our wonderful Soli is quite well equipped with all kinds of electronics... but you know how it is, you can have equipment failure so I took a position every half hour which I logged then plotted on the chart with dividers and parallel rulers and could see that we were making a staight bee line for our destination, we were right on course for West End .

When the sun was up we saw lots of little flying fish... they are absolutly amazing they just fly out of the water and flap their little wings and go a good long way...probably to get away from a larger one who wants them for breakfast....I had never seen them before, unfortunately I could not get them on camera as they are too small.

Then all of a sudden at 1100 Hawkeye says "land ho" ....blind me could not even see it with binoculars!!! but I soon could... a few tiny palm trees growing out of the ocean... imagine that ...we had found our island and it was just where it was supposed to be...

Up went the yellow "Q" quarantine flag and by 1300 we were entering this most wonderful "Bahamian blue" harbour.

We were greeted by this nice young man, Kyle, who needs to teach me how to tie to a pylon as I still don't know how and could not reach the top of one to throw a rope around even if I knew how!!! I have never felt so short in my life as on this trip... I wonder if traveling with taller women such as Jacqueline and Louise has anything to do with it.

This morning David got into the dinghy and did a marvellous job on Soli's hull.... she has worked so hard for us and deserved a lot of TLC ... we then went to the beach and proceeded to enjoy a "few" rum punches as a trio was playing some raggaemusic at the bar... it could be paradise if not for those horrible NOSEEUMS!!!

Look what's on David's thigh.... Heinz says it's very good luck!!!

A little hermit crab came to visit...guess he wanted to meet the lucky guy!!!

PS for CJ ..... I ran into a guy named John Revolta yesterday on the dock... he is making a film here .....he wanted to be remembered to you... but I told him you were taken so he was SOL... first it was Roy Dupuis in Willsboro and now John in West End ...are you sure you would not rather be sailing????

2007.01.05 Lake Worth Inlet FL

Well we are really off….!! Part three of our adventure starts in a few hours.

We left Loggerhead marina yesterday (4th) at around 11.00 hrs for the anchorage close by Palm Beach/Lake Worth inlet via a fuel stop.

We pulled into Rybovich Stevens boat yard for some of the most expensive diesel that we have seen at USD 3.09/gallon but if you saw the boats that were there you would understand that money is no object and if you have to ask you cannot afford it. Alongside us was a 108 ft Royal Huisman, brand spanking new, being outfitted whilst just across the way was a 125 ft Perini Navi ketch just completing a USD 5,000,000 refit !! It is definitely a different lifestyle for some people !!

After L’Equipe had fueled they had some problem in starting their engine which required attention, but all was well, and we left this very active and professional ship yard for the anchorage across the way. Since then we have been here, peacefully anchored although the wind has been on the strong side, a steady 20 knots with some higher gusts.


This was predicted by the weather guru (meteorologist) whose broadcast on our SSB we are now tuning into every morning at 06.30 hrs for the latest updates. Saturday 6th January is the day to be off and we intend to take good use of this weather window – probably leaving here at sometime around

02.00/03.00 hrs in the morning to give us an eta in West End of Noon/13.00 hrs.

West End is the place that we hope that this update and the story of our crossing may be posted – let’s hope that there is wifi in the marina into which we are booked.




No no!!! do not worry..this is not Soli...some poor abandonned sailboat sank at the anchorage where we were...a very sad looking sight!!!

All for now!

2007.01.04

We got up this morning at 0630 to listen to Chris Parker (weather guru) report on SSB (single side band) and it sounds like our weather window will be between Friday and Saturday.

We are still planning on leaving Lantana today (I think...afraid to pronounce myself anymore)...we've just had nice long hot showers and updated everything on our computers so we should be ready.

The skippers are having a last meeting before leaving... they say they are ready to get out of here...they do not look too tired of this place to me!!!

Talk to you from the Bahamas (eventually)...

2007.01.03

We are still in Lantana... should be off tomorrow...yes I know you've heard that before!!!

This is the lovely pool we have used ONCE in two weeks... what a shame! Fil talk about tans shaping up.. not mine...not much sun inside supermarkets and boat lockers or computer rooms for that matter... but there will be lots of time to rest and sun later.

Jacqueline and I hit Publix (supermarket) again... last time (yes I know you've heard that one before too!) and the inventory list is growing and the water line is sinking...not really but it should be! I had a propane tank filled... imagine all that food and no way to cook it !

Heinz put on just one last coat of varnish to L'Equipe... we've all heard that one before and D scrubbed Soli's decks so she is nice and clean for the voyage...

Hopefully we'll be able to do this from the Bahamas..but it may take a little time to get it organized...so do not be impatient or worried please.

ttfn

2007.01.02 Lantana

Well I have finally made it to the computer room and wifi, so I added a few pix to David's blogging of the last few days.... he is getting quite good at this "copy and paste" thing!

Forgive me if I've already mentionned this but getting of the boat can be an interesting challenge as these are not floating docks and when the tide is low there can be a difference of 3 to 4 feet between the dock and the boat ..but I must say I've got quite the hang of it now... rope walking can be fun!

We had a wonderful New Year's brunch as you can see.... somewhat different from the Boxing Day brunches we have had with our family back in Montreal. We missed the kids running around... I never thought I would hear myself saying that!!!

But soon enough we had to get back to work ...here is Karina redoing the registration numbers on L'Equipe's dinghy.

Jacqueline and I then went to the laundromat and did all our linen and clothes so we will be off to a fresh clean start and I of course had to go to Publix (grocery store) for just a few more things...

Heinz demonstrated how fit he was by chinning up to the mizzen boom....must be from all the exercise he had just had when he climbed up to the top of the mast..

On Friday evening we went back into Fort Lauderdale to have dinner with friends from Montreal... actually Cynthia (my cyber buddy) and Max live right across from us at "The Fort" ... they very kindly brought us our mail from home... I guess I must have done a pretty good job as there was very little mail and NO BILLS... I must say that Fil had done an equally good job of weeding out junk..... forgot to bring my camera...

This morning we sadly had to say goodby to Karina who is on her way back to Montreal and then Munich where she has been accepted into an MBA program... pretty and smart but mostly very very nice... she was such great help chauffering us around and an angel of patience as her mother and I ran around the store filling our baskets and stressing out as to WHERE we were going to stow all that stuff... I am pleased to report it has all vanished from view on board Soli.

We have just hear from Jem and it looks like they might meet up with us for the crossing... that would be great.

That's it for now...you are up to date.

We are off tomorrow as D has told you .... I might have time to do a last posting before we leave as I have no idea when I will be able to do so next.....ohmigosh....cyber blackout....how will we survive!

2007.01.01

We trust that you all had a wonderful New Year celebration and are not feeling the after effects too much!!

Yesterday was another busy day for the ladies as they completed our provisioning including beer and soft drink supplies, all of which are, so we are told expensive in the islands.

We had a sumptuous feast aboard L'Equipe to round off the old year with much good conversation and conviviality. The main dish were fillet steaks done to perfection on the BBQ.

The "petits pots de creme" appeared for pud.

Midnight saw the champagne opened and the New Year toasted - amazingly all made it to midnight despite the long day that had been put in but it was not so long after that we were all in bed and asleep!

So here we are - it's early morning on the 1st and I have decided to post this whilst the others sleep. This is the limit to my knowledge the blogmaster (mistress) will have to add the pics etc later.

Best wishes to all!

2006.12.30

A very happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year to all our readers.

We shall be thinking of you all, wherever you may be, as we celebrate the birth of 2007 here in Loggerhead Marina with our friends on L’Equipe. Last year we did not celebrate the actual birth of the New Year, but did see the first sunrise of 2006, floating in a hot air balloon above the beautiful African park at Kapama, where we were staying. 2007 will see us in similar warm weather but floating on our faithful “Solitaire 1”.

Preparations are continuing non stop as we prepare for our departure from North America to the Bahamian Islands. More food is being loaded and stowed, only Catherine knows where, whilst, today, I have been preparing the dinghy with lights with the great help of Heinz Weber.

Help had to be enlisted to load our provisions on board...I don't know that we have left any food or beer for the locals!!

Yesterday we spent a very pleasant day, once more looking for and finding additional spare parts for all the various bits of machinery that must be tended, followed by a delicious lunch on Singer Island at the entrance to Palm Beach Inlet. This is the inlet from which we intend to leave to cross the Straits of Florida and the Gulf Stream, so it was nice to be able to scout out the area in daylight, through which we shall pass once we have a proper weather window. The plan at present is to leave this marina on the 3rd January for an anchorage (possibly, but unlikely, a mooring buoy) adjacent to Singer Island so that we can leave immediately the time is right. You may be sure that from tomorrow onwards we shall be following the weather forecasts with great attention!

For those of you who are not aware, the Gulf Stream flows at an average speed of around 2.5/3.0 knots from South to North through the Straits of Florida and in a wind with any North in it can cause a large and somewhat confused sea. If this is the case then we stay where we are, since we would like this crossing to be a pleasant experience and not a battle!!! Therefore we need a wind from the south which flows with the current and we need it to have been blowing for a day or so in order for any choppy water to have calmed down. Once we have that all should be plain sailing!!! The distance we have to make is about 51 nautical miles at an average speed of say 6 knots, maybe somewhat less, so we are looking at around ten hours of sailing. For this reason the accepted practice (and the one that we intend to follow) is to leave the anchorage at about 01.00 hrs which should give us an eta at our destination of around Noon to 13.00 hrs. This gives us good light to enter what for all of us is completely unknown territory and allows us to hopefully clear the authorities within working hours rather than having to pay overtime.

Our destination is West End on the north western tip of Grand Bahama Island – we will put a waypoint in our GPS off the entrance to the harbour which will give us the course to steer and also the amount of leeway/drift with the current that we are making. We understand that at the moment the most westerly edge of the Gulf Stream is about four miles off the Florida coast so one is soon into it. All this electronic aid is no reason for us (particularly Catherine I suspect) not to use our normal nautical knowledge, and you can be sure that there will be a position on the chart every hour without fail. So it’s should be all fairly plain sailing…….! Something can always go wrong however, which is why we try to be so prepared.

To add to all this is the fact that we will be crossing one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, commercial freighters, bulk carriers, tankers and tug and tows all going between the U S East Coast and U S Gulf ports. A good lookout must be kept and the radar will be very useful, since these ships are unlikely to alter course for us, we must alter for them.

Once we have arrived in West End, we can either anchor or berth at a marina (depending upon whether they have room). Upon entering we will be flying our Q (quarantine flag), a plain yellow flag, which is a signal to the Bahamian authorities that we are a foreign vessel entering their country and that we wish to clear customs and immigration. If we are lucky and get to a dock then we may be visited by the officials, but if we must anchor, then we will probably launch the dinghy from it’s resting place for ocean passages, lashed to the foredeck, and go ashore in the dinghy with all our papers to perform the formalities at the customs house. The cruising permit for our boat is $300 US in cash and is good for a year, once cleared in, we lower the Q flag and hoist the Bahamian courtesy flag, and we are set to go cruise the Abacos!!!

There will likely be a day or so of rest and exploration of the West End area before we depart for that uninhabited tropical isle of which we have all been dreaming!!!

So that’s the plan, stay tuned for what actually happens ‘cos it’s quite likely that something will change!! My apologies to anyone who finds this too simplistic, but I wished to try to explain to those who are unaware of what is involved.

Now – over to the Admiral !

The Admiral is exhausted, after a day of provisioning, and entering each item and its location on Exel… that is after I had found locations…. Then more cleaning of the boat while the water is plentiful and FREE!!! Happy new year everyone.

On a lighter note ..a picture of an egret on Las Olas in West Palm Beach... she looked a lot smarter than most other locals!