Meeting Neighbors

Meeting Neighbors Finally!

This is the first time I ever traveled 2600 miles to meet neighbors for the first time.
Mike and Gloria Gaffney are from Madison, Ohio and own a home four doors down
from ours but we've never been able to connect with them in person. I've spoken to
Mike several times and exchanged many emails with him but we finally connected
with them down here in the Bahamas. They have kept a boat down here for many
years, visiting it from their home in Maine and we met them last Sunday at their
boat in the Abacos. We had a delightful visit, as I had expected from what I already
knew of them. Hopefully we'll get to see them again while down here.
We are presently moving about the islands, walking some beaches, hopefully
snorkeling some new spots, and anchoring out and enjoying the beautiful islands
and sunsets. We've been having quite a bit of wind with even more forcast so we
try to find protected spots, moving around to find shelter from the wind and waves
while anchored. We both are enjoying being on the move again and experiencing
new places.

Mike and Goria Gaffney on their catamaran "Starship"

 

Race Day

Cruisers Become Racers

Many cruising sailors race during the season back at their home ports and when they
go cruising they sometime welcome a chance to do some racing in beautiful surroundings.
Sailboat races are held every two weeks down here outside of Hopetown and two boats
from our marina decided to join ten other boats for the race so other people from the
marina volunteered as crew on the two boats. We had a great time getting ready for
the race and competing on a very windy day. The competitive side of the racers showed
as equipment needed for cruising was stripped from the boats to lighten them to
"racing" form. The important thing of course was the fact that our boat (Jim and Ann's)
won bragging rights in a close well-fought battle. The local sailing club hosted
everyone afterwards for a nice post-race get-together, serving some wonderful fish
and chips.

Cleaning the bottom of our boat with a brush

even though our boat wasn't in the race. Both

boats in the race cleaned their boat bottoms

to make them faster for the race. The water

is so clear it is easy to see the bottoms.

 

Jim at the wheel, with Ann during the race.

Notice we were heeled pretty good due to the wind.

 

The racing crew on "Ubiquitous", all smiles.

 

 

Marsh Harbour Marina

Ping Pong Tables and Conch Horns

Our home base for 41 days was Marsh Harbour Marina, a place where we made good
friends and enjoyed the comeraderie of like-minded people. We made several trips of
1-4 days at a time while here visiting the area islands and towns and it was a good base
for receiving guests. The owners, staff and fellow boaters make it a great place, but also
make it difficult to leave. But we did leave on  the 27th heading for points south and
then back around to islands to the north that we bypassed on our way in to the Abacos.
We will revisit the marina in a few weeks before heading back to the US.
The marina now has a ping pong table which Pete and I helped build and it has been
a welcome addition to the facilities. It turns out there are quite a few players there
and the table has been getting a lot of use.
The other thing I got involved in was making horns out of conch shells, which we play
at sunset each evening. It has become quite a tradition for all to meet out at the end of
the dock each evening and we had about ten horns playing on many evenings. I have
been trying to perfect the art, choosing different size shells and making different size
mouthpieces. The horns have all different tones, some discordant, making a cacophany
of sound when played together. We selected three horns with good harmony and play
them like a bell choir, adding a new twist to the concerts. I finally was able to make a
horn that has two different tones, approximately an octave apart. When OSU fanatics
visited us to play euchre we had the conch choir play the intro to the OSU alma mater.
They recorded it to maybe share on facebook or youtube.

Trying out the new ping pong table with Jim.

 

Directing the conch choir of three harmonious horns.

 

Some of the assorted conch horns showing huge variation.

 

The Jib Room Conch Orchestra

 

Ben and Katie from "Buckeye" join us for OHIO.

 

 

 

The "Harem"

Tuesday, Jan.15

Some people thought there was probably too much estrogen onboard but it was an
enjoyable visit by Sue (Carol's sister), Raina (Sue's daughter), and Dorian (Sue's and
our friend).  After they left, the neighboring boats remarked that it had sounded like
we were always having a good time.
We were blessed by great weather and had a chance to visit some great harbors,
snorkel a couple of times, have good conversations and laugh a lot. One of the
memorable times was getiing to go up in the Hopetown lighthouse at dark with the
lightkeeper while he lit the kerosene lamp. This lighthouse is one of the few remaining
kerosene - lit lighthouses in this part of the world and Sam has taken over as keeper
after the death of his father. Sam is a young Bahamian who was very gracious and
passionate about his duties as keeper. He works the 6:00pm- midnight shift, winding
the mechanism every two hours ( a physical job) and remaing vigilant by the light.
He allowed us to crawl out onto the catwalk surrounding the light after lighting it
and it was awesome to view the operating light from that vantage point. Sam is a
dockhand at the Hopetown Marina where we stayed and that is how we met him.
Limbo night at the Jib Room here at the marina in Marsh Harbor was a lot of fun.
Raina did well at the limbo and became known around the area as the "Limbo Girl".
While snorkeling at the local Mermaid reef we now have seen eleven different
species of fish and some lobsters. We also got to do some good sailing while the
ladies were here, which is always fun, especially while checking out the starfish as
we pass over them. The one day we slowed way down when we were joined by
some dolphins, including some young ones.
We are presently still dealing with some refrigeration issues but we're limping along
okay. We will probably stay at our present marina for a few more days and then
explore some new areas around the Abacos for a while, anchoring most of the time.
The locals are saying the weather has been nicer this year than normal for December
and January which is fine with us.

"The Harem" at Nippers' Beach.

 

Desmond, the Limbo Guy carrying Raina, the

"Limbo Girl" under the limbo bar. Desmond

later cleared the bar at 18" high and said he

once cleared 12". It's amazing to watch.

 

The Hopetown Lighthose from the catwalk

after lighting.

 

Heading out to Mermaid Reef.

 

Enjoying the beach at Nippers.

 

 

 

 

Enjoying the Bahamas with guests

Saturday, Jan. 5

Heidi and Jeremiah arrived on the day after Christmas after leaving Cleveland an hour
before the storm hit and we had a great week together. They brought with them some
Christmas gifts and goodies from home which we enjoyed including "snow in a can"
from which we made a legitimate snowman (semi-legitimate?). We got to show them
some of the sights and islands we have enjoyed, snorkeled, biked, walked the beaches
and relaxed. Some of the days were a little cloudy and breezy but we had a good sail
day going to Treasure Cay. They were ready for some relaxation and that's what we did.
That, and going to a New Year's Eve dinner and party their last night. They, too fell in
love with Bahamian bread. It is soooo good.
We had a great snorkeling day at Mermaid Reef, very close to our home base. Jeremiah
was swarmed by the fish at the reef. He also found three nice conch shells on the beach,
one of which we'll make into a conch horn.
In the last few days a lot more people have come into the marina so there is more going
on now. We just met a younger couple from Florida but originally from Columbus, which
could be guessed from their boat name, "Buckeye". They had been dying to play euchre
because no one down here plays so we joined them on their catamaran last night for some
fun.
Right now we are eagerly awaiting our next guests who should arrive in an hour or so,
Carol's sister Sue, her daughter Raina, and Sue's good friend Dorian. I'll be the only guy
aboard. Pray that I don't drown in all the estrogern aboard. Actually I'm looking forward
to their visit.

Opening the Christmas gifts from home.

 

"Decompressing", island style.

 

"Snow in a Can" snowman.

 

Ladies, here's what you can do with your guys.

 

Heidi, the intrepid snorkeler.

 

Heading back in after some great snorkeling

at Mermaid Reef.