Homeward Bound

The big girl is lifted and ready to be taken to her summer home...life on the hard.

The boatyard crew of Stafford,Craig and Phillip feel like our Bahamian family. Of course the Abaco Yacht Services is Celebrian's home away from home.


Lynn and Peter will be life long friends. Perhaps our wakes will cross again in the Caribbean?

Having the cottage is a real blessing on the last night in the boatyard.


I am sitting in air conditioned comfort writing this blog update in the cottage that we rent the last night at the boat yard. We stayed here last year and it really makes life easier especially when the weather is hot. The captain is putting on Celebrian's cover which we call the circus tent. I am ever so grateful that I was able to get all the below deck work done before he started to put the tarp on. I have been suffering with swollen legs in the heat so I am more than grateful to be out from underneath the cover. The weather has been a scorcher and the boat yard is almost unbearable. We have never had to work in such heat before but by the looks of the weather in Ontario we won't be complaining about being hot for long.
After our exciting time in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay we headed back to Manjack Cay for a couple of days. Lynn and Peter sent us off with a farewell dinner to die for.....steak, LFPs (their friend Len's favourite potatoes), broccoli, and apple pie with vanilla icecream. And just when you think Lynn can't spoil us anymore she gives us a loaf of homemade cinammon bread along with a beautiful card about friendship. We will miss our dear friends next year more than words can say. The weather has been quite lovely and we hated to head back to Green Turtle and Abaco Yacht Services to haul out. Last year The Bahamas had one of the worst winters in forty years; however this year we have been blessed with great weather.
We came into the dock on Friday afternoon at high tide and since then we have been working long days to get Celebrian "summerized." If it wasn't for salt water things would be much easier; however we have to clean everything on the boat in order to keep from getting mildew. That means a lot of laundry at $4.00 a wash and $4.00 a dry. In addition we have to de-salt all our gear whether it is dive gear, comfy seats,life jackets or paddles. In addition we have to deal with all the food....some of which we give away and things like canned food and dry goods if they haven't been open we leave on board. All the engines have to be serviced ...Mr. Yan, our diesel, Mr. Johnston, our outboard and Harry Junior, our Honda generator. In fact Harry had major surgery after his 300 hundred hours of service. In addition there is the pickling of the water maker which is critical. There is a reason sailors call living on a boat in a yard ....living on the hard! All in all things have gone very well this year and it makes us feel good to know that Celebrian has been put away in good order. We always worry during hurricane season but we know she is in good hands at this boat yard.Goldberrry is ready to be hoisted up on deck. The cabin is beginning to fill up and it is getting increasingly difficult to move around below decks. Celebrian's circus tent begins to take shape. Mr. Johnston gets taken for a last spin.The admiral baking muffins for the trip home...as if it wasn't hot enough??

We are now sharing our cottage with another couple from Ontario. Christine came down with heat stroke and her husband couldn't wake her up this morning. Their boat was tied up at the dock. The boat yard found a local medic and they took her to Marsh Harbour where she was rehydrated and released this afternoon. This cottage has two bedrooms so we volunteered to share with them so she could sleep in an air conditioned room and not on a very hot boat. Just a reminder to us all of how important it is to drink lots of fluids and stay hydrated.
I am now sitting in front of the gas fireplace in the condo putting this blog together. It always amazes me at how quickly we slide back into our life in Ontario. It takes us a few days to get through the mail and get caught up but after that things just fall into place. While I am busy getting the condo back into shape the captain has returned to the cottage and framing walls in the loft. When we are on the boat we are dreaming about the cottage and life in Bayfied and when we are at the cottage we are dreaming of sailing in the Caribbean.
We had an uneventful trip home and had both the Green Turtle Ferry and the Yellow Air Taxi all to ourselves. We have flown several times by ourselves in the 8 passenger Cessna. We are always happy that the plane isn't packed since our luggage is usually the equivalent weight of another passenger....this time we were about about 160 pounds. This year we flew our staysail home and plan on having a new one made. It provided good protection for the tree bonkers and looked particularly interesting in the x-ray machine as we came through U.S. customs in Fort Lauderdale. Spirit Air to Detroit was on time so that was a bonus. This year we arrived home to freezing temperatures and rain and it was a rude awakening; however we know better than to complain. Our new neighbours Paul and Jane welcomed us home with a cheerful note and some breakfast treats...very thoughtful and much appreciated.

White and Wet Knuckles in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay

The clouds rolling in before the storm hit.

We are back in White Sound taking shelter from a cold front that is predicted to have winds of up to 50 knots. We had hoped to stay out all week at Manjack and Powell; however the weather ultimately decides our movments. We have anchoredin the harbour and First Edition has decided to go in to the Green Turtle Marina given the forecast. For awhile during the front we were wishing we had opted for the marina tie up as well. The storm hit hard and the wind gusts were ferocious. We were anchored in weeds and mud and even though we had backed Big Bruce in hard we started to drag. It was a slow easy drag that was hard to feel on the boat but I kept saying to the captain that we were moving. We grabbed our foul weather gear, started the engine, hauled up the anchor and I drove around in the wind and rain until we found some sand to anchor in. The added complication was finding space among the other anchored boats and those on mooring balls. The storm hit hard and fast and before it was dark the front was through. We have no idea how hard the wind blew but it was one of the worst storms we have been in since sailing in The Bahamas. We have slept with our anchor alarm on before but have never had it go off. Big Bruce has always kept us safe and will continue to do so in the future. Rob and I always say that our job is to keep Celebrian safe and in return she looks after us.

There are advantages to civilization....not only harbour protection but a nice dinner out, a walk on shore and internet; however we love the remote places the best.
While waiting for the storm we decided to get some of our boat jobs started....locker cleaning, shell sorting and packing and Rob managed to wrap six fish floats (affectionately known as bonkers for our cottage tree)in our stay sail. The stay sail is going home to be replaced by our sail maker Kevin. Then the big girl will have all new sails and be very proud. She may have to sail her crew to Cuba or the Eastern Caribbean next winter so she has to be ready for her next adventure. We have had a great year in The Bahamas and the weather has been terrific, but we are ready for new places to explore. We love The Bahamas and feel safe here but the idea of visiting different islands and cultures is hard to resist.
The marina and island are named after the green turtle.

The Magic of Manjack Cay, Abaco

We left White sound in Green Turtle Cay and headed north to one of our favourite cays....Manjack. The weather had settled and was perfect for a kayak out into the ocean and a snorkel on the reef. Peter and Lynn joined us in their dinghy.
How can you not love this woman???

We saw lots of fish and a green turtle who wasn't too shy. It is definitely a sign of spring when you can paddle out onto the ocean. Of course everyday is different and the same ocean can look very different when a cold front blows through with 30 to 40 knot winds.
This collage shows how quiet our spot was one morning and how clear the water is. It sometimes feels like we are floating in an aquarium. Actually the night before we were sitting on the foredeck looking at the stars and I heard the distinctive sound of a dolphin at the surface. We have seen dolphins while at anchor before; however we have never had one around the boat at night. He stayed around for several minutes and we could see his outline as he came to the surface for a breath. It was very special.
Peter and Lynn had bought a new blow up tandem kayak but had not used it this season. Manjack's mangroves are made for kayaks and we had a wonderful time paddling among the baby nurse sharks, green turtles and the odd pig. We had lunch along the ocean beach and then Rob and I did some snorkelling on the way back to the boats. Peter and Lynn were delighted with their kayak and look forward to using it more in the future. It will be perfect on Mill Creek on the Chesapeake where they are building their new home.


Frist Edition and Celebrian happily anchored together at Manjaclk Cay.

We will miss sailing with First Edition and her crew next season.

The Abacos...Celebrian's Home Away From Home

Sunset on the east coast of Great Abaco.

These pictures were taken the day we were kayaking around the Manjack area.

This picture shows the difference in boating styles in The Bahamas.
We are soon to up anchor and head out of White Sound in Green Turtle. The front is through and the wind is down. We want to spend the next few days up at Manjack and Powell if the weather lets us. We will return to Black Sound in Green Turtle next Friday afternoon and plan to spend the weekend at the dock getting the boat ready to be hauled on Monday morning. This week we will be cleaning lockers, doing hand laundry and anything else that we can do while at anchor. Rob did some work replacing hoses in our anchor locker yesterday so we are already in boat yard mode which means b oat chaos.
This picture shows the Green Turtle Ferry on its route through the Sounds.
We are meeting up with Lynn and Peter today and Lynn has some veggies from Marsh Harbour for us so that will be a treat.

This is how the captain likes to end his day especially if the head or the anchor hose doesn't leak.

The East Coast of Great Abaco Island....New Anchorages for Celebrian

Celebrian anchored off of Cooperstown in the Abacos. Cooperstown is a true Bahamian settlement not affected by tourism.

The day we came north through The Whale the winds were from the west so we decided to anchor along the east coast of Great Abaco. We normally anchor at Powell or Manjack because the trade winds are blowing from the east. Since coming up from Marsh Harbour the weather has been anything but normal and we have been getting a lot of south wind and very warm spring like temperatures. The change in the wind direction has allowed us to explore the western side of the Sea of Abaco and it has been most enjoyable. Not only have we been by ourselves but we have found beaches that cruisers seldom go to so the shelling has been fabulous. On this beach we found all of these shells in the picture.
I also found this measled cowrie which is a real treasure.

We spent a day over at Manjack doing some paddling when the winds shifted but soon enough we were driven back to the other side. Since it is less than 3 miles across it is not a big deal to move. It is surprising how large the waves can build even in that distance. Every once in awhile a sport fisherman goes by and this is the result of their wake.

As most of you know my captain is a bit anal when it comes to spare parts. Our head (toilet) is 23 years old and Rob has 8 spare part kits for it. Last year we flew down a new Jabsco head (without the china bowl) but until we had tried every option it was not going to be installed. Finally the old head was pronounced dead and I can now flush without leaks....what a joy that is!??

Now Rob has to begin collecting spare part kits for the new head....heaven help us if anything goes wrong with the new head in the next week and a half!?!Having spare parts for everything is the only way to survive as a cruiser. Yesterday was a case in point. Rob stepped on the shower bag head and broke the plastic nozzle....not to worry...our spare shower part's bag had a beautiful new shower head and we are back in business.
Our first cruising season in the Abacos we stopped at Cooperstown on Great Abaco. We had enjoyed our visit so much that we decided that we would try and get back there again this year. It is a truly Bahamian settlement that gets very few tourists and we are quite the novelty when we anchor off the town dock. This year we didn't get a chance to get to the Conch Crawl Bar; however we did get a couple of loads of laundry done at the "C & C Laundrymat"and picked up our favourite take out conch dinner ...one eight dollar meal feeds us both!

The locals are very friendly and always happy to have their pictures taken.

Can you guess what this is?

There are signs through out The Bahamas about sustainable fishing but we sometimes wonder whether the fishermen are thinking in those terms. Our hope is that there will be conch and lobster here for the next generation.

We have been watching a very interesting documentary that we got from Peter and Lynn called Deadliest Catch and it is about the king crab fishing in the Bering Sea. The season is usually only about 3 days long and is based on quota. The boats can take so many crab that they have to limit the season so that the stocks can survive.
We sailed north of Cooperstown to check out another beach area and paddling spot. It was a nice private spot but not anything as special as milk conch beach. Since we are expecting a front with north and west winds it was time to head back to Green Turtle where we are today April 1st. We are anchored in White Sound because you can not anchor in Black Sound. Besides We will have to be at Abaco Yacht Services in Black Sound soon enough to get ready for haul out on the 11th. As it happened Heather and Murray from Windswept 4 are anchored here so we had cocktails with them last night on board Celebrian. It was great to see them after their trip to Cuba last month and to hear all about their adventures.

Return to the Hub ...Marsh Harbour in the Spring

Spring has sprung in Marsh Harbour and there are lots of blossoms on the trees.

Goldberry and her crew are always loaded when they leave Marsh Harbour.

This mural was painted on the side of the hardware store and it does a very good job of depicting life in The Bahamas.

Marsh Harbour is never one of our favourite stops but a necessary one for getting boat chores done....laundry and groceries being the key ones. Rob also did some looking at what batteries are available as we have been limping along with our Surettes which are five years old. We are our own electrical company so our batteries are critical to our floating home. Wives sometimes call their husands amp Nazis but since I don't have things like hair dryers etc.I usually don't get in to too much trouble over power usage. That being said even the computer uses precious amps and often I will use it on its battery and then charge it when the engine or Little Harry is running.

This is why we snorkel in The Bahamas.



From Marsh we did a day trip out to Fowl Cay to do some snorkelling as the weather was great for a paddle on the ocean. Lynn and Peter had to stay in town to pick up their daughter Beth. Beth came for a whirlwind 5 day visit from New York City where she is a chiropractor. We met them at Matt Lowe's Cay and they joined us on Celebrian for hamburgers in paradise. It was nice to see Beth again as we had met her two years ago when she joined First Edition in Staniel Cay in the Exumas.
The next day we decided to head north and get through the Whale Cay passage while the weather was good. We will meet up with First Edition in a few days after Beth goes home and they head north.

Treasures at Treasure Cay

From Guana Cay we motored over to Treasure Cay which is a resort marina on one of the top ten rated beaches in the world. The beach is like white baby powder and goes for 3.5 miles in a beautiful crescent of sand. The anchorage is in a basin off of the marina which can hold 150 boats. There is a hotel/ condo development here which was built in the 1990s. They dredged miles and miles of canal much like Fort Lauderdale for people to have their boats at their home docks. We paddled around much of the area while the wind was down and I had my wish of kayaking with a dolphin come true. While Rob was back talking to another boater I paddled up a canal watching this dolphin fish and every once in awhile he would come closer to me and take a peak at me. Of course most of my pictures show water but I did catch the odd fin at the surface. Rob arrived to see me with a big smile on my face and playing chase and peak with the dolphin. One of the folks we spoke to who live here say that the mother dolphins often bring their young into the canals to teach them how to catch snapper along the edges of the canal when the tide is low.

Today I am heading to shore to do some internet while Rob is tackling the leaking "head" (toilet) job! This is a job that he does not want me onboard for so it works well that I have some place to go and get out of his hair. Besides it isn't pretty and this way the captain can say what he wants to and the admiral won't hear a thing. For ten dollars I can use the pool, showers and internet if it is warm enough. Today the front has come through so it is a little chilly and I will have a fair row to the marina in 20 knot winds but it is good exercise.

Treasure Cay, Abaco....a New Anchorage

From Guana Cay we motored over to Treasure Cay which is a resort marina on one of the top ten rated beaches in the world.


The beach is like white baby powder and goes for 3.5 miles in a beautiful crescent of sand. The anchorage is in a basin off of the marina which can hold 150 boats. There is a hotel/ condo development here which was built in the 1990s. They dredged miles and miles of canal much like Fort Lauderdale for people to have their boats at their home docks. We paddled around much of the area while the wind was down and I had my wish of kayaking with a dolphin come true. While Rob was back talking to another boater I paddled up a canal watching this dolphin fish and every once in awhile he would come closer to me and take a peak at me. Of course most of my pictures show water but I did catch the odd fin at the surface. Rob arrived to see me with a big smile on my face and playing chase and peak with the dolphin. One of the folks we spoke to who live here say that the mother dolphins often bring their young into the canals to teach them how to catch snapper along the edges of the canal when the tide is low.

Today I am heading to shore to do some internet while Rob is tackling the leaking "head" (toilet) job! This is a job that he does not want me onboard for so it works well that I have some place to go and get out of his hair. Besides it isn't pretty and this way the captain can say what he wants to and the admiral won't hear a thing. For ten dollars I can use the pool, showers and internet if it is warm enough. Today the front has come through so it is a little chilly and I will have a fair row to the marina in 20 knot winds but it is good exercise. I am getting lots of computer work done; however even in my fleece top I am a little on the cool side. Perhaps the sun will come out this afternoon and warm things up? We really can not complain about the weather this year as it has been a great winter.

Where there is sand there are sandcastles and mermaids!