Making some Junkanoo Instruments

Up at 0830.  Slept well last night with calm seas again.  Weather has been great today as well.  Met up with some of the locals and made these tambourine-type things from bits of driftwood, shells, and flattened bottle caps.  Painted with the bahamian black blue and yellow, they'll be ready for Junkanoo. They are being sold for a local charity, Every Child Counts, who work to educate children with autism.

Few boats outside anchored near me, love that feeling like my neighborhood is constantly moving around and changing.  I get to meet new folks daily.  Kids have been trowing firecrackers all day and little festivals and gaherings continue today.

Developing a bit of a sore throat, so I'll take it easy at the bar for a couple of days and see how it goes.  Should have the meds I need just in case. 

All is well!

New Yarrs

Been sleeping in a little bit more for the last couple of days in order to recover.  Long nights at the local watering holes have taken their toll.  I've continued to help out for a few hours during the day at Sundowners.  Brian and Caroline, their friends Bruce and Janet along with a handful of others have treated me to numerous meals and drinks and I'm very grateful.  

The sea has been calm for the last couple of days ( apart from increasing wake traffic) making trips into the sounds and sleeping pleasent. Locals are preapring for Junkanoo, their version of New Years.  Drummers marching around starting in the late evening continue until 0600 or so.  There have been huge public gatherings every day now with food and drink, music, fireworks etc.

Ive been invited for New Years Eve festivities with the owner of The Green Turtle Club and his family.  That's sure to be quite a good time.  

Glad to see more cruising boats showing up in Abaco.  Everyone seems to be in a big hurry and they aren't anchoring here for very long, but good to see them anyway.  

Alll is well!  Will try to continue posting daily.

Crazy Couple of Days...and Nights.

First of all, sorry for not posting last night.  I remember trying to but it didn't work out apparently.  

Yesterday up late in the morning, headed north about 45min to Cocoa Bay and dropped the hook in soft sand.  Wind was a bit uncomfortable where I was being SW 10-15, but the bay offered good protection.  Took the dinghy into a nearby cut into the Atlantic and picked up some conch to bring to dinner that night.  Fried them up in coconut oil with a curry-based batter.  Delicious.

  

Had a few cocktails with folks in Cocoa Bay and then headed to Sundowners of course.  A few hours passed by, and the details are now too blurry to make out.

Today I sailed back to New Plymouth for Christmas dinner at another friends' house.  Had a bit of an issue with this 4ft long flag at the masthead getting wrapped up.  Long story short, I had to tear down and destroy my Christmas lights in order to somewhat free the flag.  Bummer.

Dinner was amazing, and I'm not just saying this because I generally eat like crap on the boat.  There was an absolute feast of turkey, wine, stuffing, potatoes, casseroles, pies and salads.  I'm immeasurably grateful fore hospitality I have been given over the last two days.  After dinner, I took the dinghy over to sundowners.  I bought 1 out of 6 beers I drank tonight.  There are at least four groups of  families and friends here inviting me for New Years Eve festivities and it is quite the luxury having to pick and choose which ones to attend.  

Weather is now calm and very comfortable at Green Turtle Cay, and the forecast leaves me optimistic for the next few days.  Starting to look like I'll be here for New Years Eve and I'm already looking forward to it.

Christmas Plans in the Making

Up at 0800, headed straight for Sundowners again to continue working on the vinyl enclosure. Got all of them up today, now just need to install pully systems so they can be rolled up to the ceiling.  Weather is still perfect and boats continueto come in during this wonderful crossing window from Florida.  May get a bit breezy tomorrow, but I should be protected where I'll be.

The now enclosed area I've been working on at Sundowners (The deck now has a roof and clear vinyl walls).   Will finish things up tomorrow.

I've been invited back to Cocoa Bay for a Christmas Eve party...then to a Christmas party back in the settlement.  I will probably take the boat up to Cocoa Bay tomorrow just to make the trip to and from easier.  I've had good luck finding conch in a nearby cut there, so I'll take advantage of that.  Other than that, just the regular hangin around on the hook.

All is well in Abaco.

Work and free drinks at Sundowners

Up at 0900ish to a very calm sea.  The forecasted "possible thunderstorms" never came.   Enjjoyed a few cups of coffee and  took the dinghy into White Sound (Green Turtle Cay still) and topped up fuel and water tanks.  Gave a couple local falks a ride back into the main settlement at New Plymouth and headed back out to the anchorage to chat with some of the neighboring boats.  Then back to the boat for an hour or so for lunch.

Stopped by Sundowners in the early afternoon as I had heard Brian the owner was needing some help putting in some clear vinyl walls around the outdoor deck.  Got about half the job done and should finish up tomorrow.  In return I got dinner and a few beers later in the evening which is more than fair.  

I've heard a few cruisers complaining about a " bad front" passing through starting christmas day, but all of my sources say it doesn't really exist...not quite sure what to think of that.  Oh well, the anchor is set deep and I've got all the room in the world to swing around.  

Surprise Invite to Coco Bay

Slept in until about 0930, and again, glassy conditions on the sea.  The water is getting clearer and clearer without any waves to stir up the bottom.

Water is about 10ft deep in this picture.

Had  a big breakfast and went ashore to walk around a bit.  Made it about a mile or so down the road when a couple I met last night pulled up and offered me a ride.  We ended up at their house on the north end of the island at Coco Bay.  Had a few beers and caught a ride back into town and back to the boat.  Spent a couple of hours at Sundowners shooting pool and catching up with some folks.  

Another great day.  Will probably stay tomorrow as well.  Hopefully thunderstorms tomorrow wont be so bad ;)  

Glassy passage to Green Turtle

Up at 0800.  Glassy in Fishers Bay.  Made a cup of coffee and picked up the anchor to head towards Green Turtle Cay.  The Sea of Abaco was smooth during the 3 hour trip north (even the infamous Whale Cay cut was tame). 

Drropped the hook in some soft sand at about noon.  Dove down and retrieved a few items that went overboard weeks ago during a norther.  Right where I left them on the bottom!  Other than that I've just been eating, laying around and waching others go by.  

Here after a while I'll be going to see some friends at Sundowners, the best bar I've found yet in Abaco.

Weather is expected to be nice for a day or two, then maybe thunderstorms.  I'll know more soon enough.  Will likely stay here for a few days at least.

Diving off Delias Cay

Woke up at about 0400 due to choppy conditions at north Man O War.  Wind has been a comfortable 5-10mph from the NW throughout the day.  Thankfully the sea calmed down around 0700 and I got a couple hours of sleep in the cockpit and awoke the same perfect weather I have been experiencing since I've been back.

                                              Anchorage at Man O War

It doesn't look like I will get the SE tail wind I was hoping for to help me up to Green Turtle Cay tomorrow...as a matter of fact, it doesn't look like there will be any wind at all.  I figured I'll just motor up there and why not start today.  Motored up to Fisher's Bay at Great Guana Cay at about 5kts will smooth conditions the entire way.

After arriving at Guana, I took a little dinghy trip to a nearby rock sticking out of the water f of Delias Cay.  Did a little snorkeling and was surprised to see a variety of critters down there.  Plenty of Angelfish, Lionfish and Queen Triggerfish.  I was also lucky enough to find a couple good sized conch for dinner.  Tasty.

Tonight I'll get a drink at Grabbers or Nippers and get some rest for tomorrow.  Will probably be at Green Turtle mid-afternoon.

Cruisers are Sheep

Slept in until about....oh....1130 or so (still catching up from lack of sleep during travel).  Last night the gentle WNW winds produced a comfortable 1-2ft chop until about 0300 when the Sea of Abaco became glassy smooth.

Today the sun shined throughout the day and Meadowlark sat near a warm sandy beach at north Man O War.  Did a few chores around the boat and took the dinghy into the harbour to bullshit with a few of the locals and pick up some rum mixers.  Apart from that I sat in the cockpit and watched curiously as other cruising boats followed each other around the island looking for places to anchor.  One thing I'm beginning to learn:  Cruisers (at least many of them) herd like sheep.  When they see one boat anchored all by itself, they tend to flock to it.  Why this is I'm not exactly sure, but it happens all too often without regard to weather conditions, holding, or proximity to other boats.  Meadowlark and I tend to prefer keeping our distance.  It's not that we aren't sociable, we just don't like overcrowded areas. 

Weather should continue to be beautiful tonight and tomorrow, and I will be planning for a big day of sailing on Saturday.  Red beans and rice with Rum and Rain for dinner later so this is bound to be a good night.  

Back in the Sea of Abaco and ready for more!

Just got back from a 10-day trip in Kansas.  Felt nice to eat all of the wonderful food and take virtually endless hot showers.  It is also great to have such a supportive group of family and friends to come home to and spend time with, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Also got to renew my visa on the way back and bring some much needed supplies to the boat. 

Meadowlark was right where I left her on her mooring at Man O War Cay, boredly swinging around and waiting for me to return.  For one reason or another the main outbored is not staring electrcally as she was when I left her, but fortunately, it is just as easy to pull-start.  It will give me something to ponder for a few days.  To save a little bit of money, I left the mooring for the north end of the Island where we sit now broadcasting our position with an array of christmas lights.  

The weather is nearly perfect tonight with winds NW at 5-10mph with a 1-2ft chop on the Sea of Abaco, and the forecast is favorable for more of the same for the forseeable future.  There are more cruisers here now than there were when I left for the states and I'm looking forward to meeting many of them.  My tentative itinerary involves moving NNE on Saturday towards my new favorite spot at Green Turtle Cay.  Until then, Meadowlark and I will enjoy the warm sun and calm, protected seas. 

Over the last couple of months, I have continued to run up and down the Abacos.  Gradually, things are picking up again and I'm beginning to see more cruisers arrive.  I've been anchored at Green Turtle Cay again for about a week.  New Plymouth, the settlement on this island has a more pronounced sense of community and the locals have been much more inviting to me and willing to show me around.  Not that the other settlements are much the opposite, but for whatever reason I feel much more accepted here.

Brian and his wife Caroline, owners of Sundowners bar/restaurant here in New Plymouth have been particularly gracious and have treated me to many meals, drinks and opportunities for me to get local knowledge about fishing, good areas to anchor, etc.  It goes without saying these experiences are somewhat rare and worth every minute.  Won't be forgetting these folks any time soon.

Anchored at Green Turtle Cay!  I figured since the tropical weather has been pretty benign I would head back north across one of the Ocean cuts to these islands again.  I've been here for a few days now and the wind has been out of the West, leaving me exposed to the Sea of Abaco.  It has been a little bouncy but the anchor is buried deep and holding strong.  Winds should come out of the East soon and I'll be sitting pretty.

The aerial photo shows pretty accurately how few people are in the anchorages.  In fact, most of the boats in the water are just being stored.  I am probably one of three liveaboards left near Green Turtle.  

No worries.  I'm like a 2-minute dinghy ride from my favorite bar in the Abacos.  

Well it has been a fairly quiet week or two.  Bopped back over to Marsh Harbour and visited the Department of Immigration...that was a treat.  I have been granted another 90 days stay until I'm required to request another extension on my permit.  Always pays off good to run a comb through your hair, say "yes sir", "yes mamn", "please and thank you".

It is officially the middle of hurricane season and tropical disturbances continue to form all over the Atlantic.  It has been a mild season thus far, but it is always good to remember that hurricane Sandy blew through in LATE October just a couple years ago.  Keeping fingers crossed for sure...

Money is becoming increasingly tight.  Frequent visits to bars is my primary issue since your average beer is $5-6 and up.  Groceries also continue to kill my wallet.  I spent $12 the other day on two cans of evaporated milk and a dozen eggs.  Ouch.  The simple solution is to eat more conch, cook lots of rice, and buy booze instead (much cheaper).

TODAY ANOTHER CRUISER GAVE ME A NEW POWER INVERTER!!! This means I can use my computer more frequently and I hope to post to the blog on a more regular basis (I don't know how many times I have said that in the past, but this will be a huge improvement).  I also hope to continue posting pictures and videos to Facebook regularly.

For those who are not on Facebook, here are the links to some videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fukX0rKJu8&list=UUu4d7k9r9OOZd78JhhM70_A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPxuYLI9ooA&list=UUu4d7k9r9OOZd78JhhM70_A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntsN9n2WOOg&list=UUu4d7k9r9OOZd78JhhM70_A

Yar.

IM STILL HEEEERE!!!

Well another long-overdue post.  I do apologize, my AC inverter refuses to charge my computer and I have to use the generator to run it.  

Over the last month, Meadowlark has traveled all around the southern Abacos. After my last post from Man O War, I went over to Marsh Harbour to check out the "city" scene.  FINALLY some nice big grocery stores and places to provision.  Met Dan (picture below) who is single handing his small catamaran, and Daniel single handing his 34ft sloop from Munich.  Had a couple nights involving rum, wine, and fishing.  In the picture, Dan and Daniel are preparing a tasty mutton snapper we caught about 2 minutes prior.

After about a week in Marsh Harbour, I decided to head back to MOW because I was having some potential overheating problems with the dinghy motor.  Unfortunately the mechanic in MOW was unable to fix it, but went BACK to Marsh and got her fixed.  It was a pretty major job and required a lot of disassembly, but she's running cool now and I'm happy.

Next we headed south towards Little Harbour, stopping at some beautiful places on the way.  There was beautiful snorkeling, sailing, and plenty of fishing on the way.  When I got to Little Harbour, I decided right away that I would stay for at least a week.  So much wildlife, history, and some very cool (always hammered) locals.  Pete's pub is a popular venue here, and I made it a point to be there every night and spend way too much money.  Here's a bad picture of the place.

So, sailed north to Elbow Cay again to regroup.  Met up with some Australian friends I made in Marsh Harbour, and went on an all-day lobster spear fishing excursion in a rental boat (much faster than ol Meadowlark).  I'll try to post some pictures of that stuff when they email them to me.

Since this is almost the middle of hurricane season,  there are frequent tropical storms to watch closely.  Earlier this week,  hurricane Cristobal was scheduled to come right over is, but fortunately moved well to our east.  Meadowlark was as ready as she could have been for hurricane-force winds at MOW.  She's since been put back together and I'm getting ready to head north soon for more good times.  

Things have been going great.  I'm eating well, feeling healthier, and enjoying these beautiful islands at a nice slow pace.  What more can one ask for?

I have become quite the fan of the mollusk.  Particularly these big guys.  That's the whole critter above once removed from its shell.  Yes, it does look like something from another planet, and cleaning them takes a little getting used to.  The flavor of the meat is sweet; somewhere between shrimp and crab, but is best (in my opinion) eaten raw with lime juice.  Conch are all over the place here.  As a matter of fact, they are so abundant that the locals use their shells to build walls with concrete mortar.  I'm not going to be turning down free food while I'm here, so I plan to take full advantage.

By the way, saw the largest shark I have ever seen in the wild the other evening while looking around for conch near north Man O War cut. Visibility was a little poor, but it was probably a nurse shark. I estimate i'ts length was over 7ft.  I'm not supposed to be scared of those things, but I do know a few things:  It was a shark much bigger than me, it was interested in me for at least a while (or it would not have been there), and it is hard to look intimidating with a stupid mask on your face and a snorkel in your mouth.

This is a picture I took while at Guana Cay.  Kinda shows your daily afternoon thunderstorm madness during the summer months.  These things come out of NOWHERE and go WHEREVER they want.  I recall not getting a drop of rain that day even though I was surrounded by these for a couple of hours.  So I have stopped trying to guess the forecast and just go with it.  What else can ya do?

Don't know what my plan is.  Maybe Marsh Harbor in a few days.

  Nothing quite like winding down in the cozy cabin dry as a bone while the rain comes down outside.  Feels like a little victory.  

   Nice long and relaxing day at the beach, cleaned up the boat a little, short trip to the bank, made some soup.  Not a dollar spent on anything today.  

   

   Why the fuck didn't I start doing this sooner...?

Too much to cover in the last week or so.  Tropical Storm Arthur decided to stick around for a couple of days over the Abacos and gave me about 6 inches of rain.  Continued to rain for a couple more says nonstop so I was in the cabin for most of it.  Boat did just fine, even though I was in an unprotected anchorage at Green Turtle Cay.

Went north to Manjack Cay for a couple of days and fed stingrays, sharks, and turtles.  Very cool.  Also found some conch and tried my hand at cleaning one.  This will take some more practice ;).  Since I had the entire island to myself for most of the time, I did a little exploring and furiously battled the mosquitoes  There is not enough DEET in the world.

Patiently waiting for squid.  One did accidentally bite me (since I put my damn fingers in its mouth), but no biggy they don't have big teeth and I could tell it was sorry.

 
Decent Cero Mackerel caught just off of Whale Cay on the way to Guana Cay.  Tasted pretty good too.

So now I'm anchored in Fisher's Bay, Guana Cay.  Just up the hill is Nippers, the everyday party venue in the Abacos.  I'm bound to head up there pretty soon, just hoping the budget holds out (it wont).

Now that internet is more readily available in this area, I'm going to try to post every day for a while. Maybe.

The above depression has made the last couple of days a little wet.  Waiting for this to continue north, however it is unusual that it has made it this far south already...will be watching this closely.  Tis the season.

So, what is Martin doing with EVEN MORE time on his hands these days?  More eating, and more rum.  No money for that fancy bar fair, so trying to actually do some cooking.

Sailboat style french fries.   Potatoes + Oil + Heat is always good.  Doing something as simple as this can keep me occupied for quite a while :)  I take a multivitamin so who cares what I eat all day right?

Internet has obviously been pretty shaky since I left Man O War.  Stayed outside of Hopetown for a couple of days and checked out the 150th anniversary of the Elbow Reef Lightouse.  Very cool machine.  A neighboring boat took me over to Marsh Harbor a couple days ago(in his much faster boat).  He needed some engine work done and I had nothing else to do.  Marsh is an interesting place.  Bigger stores, much more like things are at home.  There are some major issues however with illegal immigration, particularly those entering the Bahamas from Haiti.  Much like the illegal hispanic population working under the table in the United States, the Haitians are hired for very little pay, and do most of the work the locals are too lazy to do themselves.

Here is the difference between the problem here, and the problem in the United States:

Pigeon Pea.  A place where people don't know how to build houses in straight lines apparently.  This is one of the two Haitian communities on this small island.  Frequent house fires demolish large sections of the neighborhood and the local fire truck (shown below) can only do so much.

Anyway, enough negativity.  Here are some pictures of the lighthouse.

The last of its kind, the giant fresnel lenses (which can be seen for 15 miles when lit) rotate on a bed of MERCURY.  Yea, crazy.  Pressurized kerosene is vaporized in the lantern room, providing the bright warm light I get to see every night here.

 The lighthouse is also hand wound every day by the lighthouse keeper.

View from the top.  Little Meadowlark is anchored somewhere outside of the harbour on the left. 

Now, anchored just off of Tahiti Beach a little ways south.  Figured I'd slowly make my way south and see what happens.

Anchored outside of Elbow Cay last few days, cool island, but definitely one of the more touristy ones.  The fact that they sell booze alone is enough to draw bigger crowds.  That and the lighthouse of course.  That thing is 150 years old and still burning bright (one of the last ones on earth). 

Internet was surprisingly crap outside the harbor.  So I stayed a couple days and ran back up to Man O War today to "recharge my batteries" so to speak.



Rice and meat. Pretty typical one pot meal for me lately.  Note the mysterious green cocktail on the cockpit floor.

All is well.  All is well...

Around here, when the sun goes down, I do the same soon after.  This is a dry island.  They do not sell any alcohol here...intentionally.  So, you can imagine there isn't much of a party scene around Man O War.  Not something I'm particularly used to. No late night neflix either...

This is obviously going to take an attitude adjustment.  I'm in.

Thinking about sailing to Hopetown tomorrow (weather permitting).

Ran "Wanderer" off of my mooring yesterday.  They decided to anchor over there afterwards.  And I thought I was winging it...

Oh well what can ya do?  Look at a chart I guess.  Or not anchor in a MOORING FIELD.  Durr.

Still alive, sunburned today.  My back has a pulse.  Not good.

Went to one of the beaches at  Man O War Cay today.  Almost got hit by a golf cart on the walk over.  No cars here - just eerily silent electric vehicles with crazy natives driving about 45 mph down "Queen's Highway", a five foot wide sidewalk.  

Actually this is a really cool place.  They have a loooong history of boat building here and they continue to do some outstanding work.  There are still tons of wooden sailing dinghys, schooners, and powerboats still in this harbor.

Anyway, life is good on ol' Meadowlark.  Swinging around on the mooring line, people watching, and cooking dinner have made up about 90% of the day.  Hmmm, rum cocktail time?  Yep.

Oh, and when I say a "rum cocktail", I mean rum with whatever I have on the boat...and since I don't have a fridge, it's usually tang, lemonade, or the lesser palatable gatorade/rum combo.  I do not reccommend that last one ;)

On a mooring at Man O War Cay in the Abacos.  Thunderstorms blasting away into the distance and  a clear star-packed sky above me.  The skies are always clearer in places like this.  No lights, no haze, no bullshit.  Only sounds are faraway thunder and the Kansas flag fluttering at the spreaders.

It's hard to keep my eyes dry.

Enough adjectives for one night.  Going to bed.

Meadowlark sailed for 36 hours nonstop out of Port St. Lucie to Green Turtle Cay in Abaco, Bahamas.  Weather could not have been better.  Seas were smooth, caught some dolphin, and all equipment performed as expected.  Now it's time to have another drink and have some fun.  

To port St. Lucie tomorrow.

Tonight, a man from the boat docked next to mine gave me a chain necklace with a sterling medallion of St. Brendan, the patron saint of mariners.  Dumbfounded, all I could eek out was a simple "thanks".

With tears in his eyes and a broken voice he said:  "I was just thinking a while of what you are doing....it is a big deal, and a very special thing.   Throw this in a drawer, under your keel, or around your neck.  I've worn it for the last 20,000 miles and I haven't had any problems, so I hope it brings you good luck and fair winds."

This time all I got out was "Thank you so much.".   There aren't words for that moment, but I wish he could know how much it meant.  Because shit is going to get real pretty soon.

Pro: Hull work is done.  Con: It's hot and there are alligators.  Launch (again) at 1100 tomorrow in Indiantown, FL.  This weather window is looking good and we might just go for it.

Bedtime on the boat in Indiantown, FL.   Today was pretty long.  Bought $900 of provisions and $500 of tires for the trailer.  Hopefully launching in a couple of days when the thru-hull fittings are replaced.  The gulf stream is likely to calm down over the weekend and into next week, leaving a potential window for us to cross into the Abaco islands.

Feeling ready to live the good life.  

Launched today, but only until one of the forward thru hulls began to seep in a few drops of water.  F#!$ that, she's back out to have all of them replaced.  This will take the yard a few days minimum.  No worries though, still lots to do and we were just sitting around waiting on weather anyway.   

Off to the yard with my boy Diego

Here, we see the small yet feisty Catalina 25 out of her ordinary habitat and closer to the others.  Notice the proud posture she assumes to successfully intimidate and express dominance over her much larger neighbors. 

  

A reasonably uneventful 1400 miles to Indiantown, FL.  Only one blowout, though the other three looked only a little better than the one in the picture below.  This is a sleepy town, a perfect place to begin staging Meadowlark's Gulf Stream crossing.  Looking like we may be here a while waiting for weather.  Seas are too choppy out there now.

She wants to be home in the water.  This high speed shit is not her forte

...nah it's good, just needs a little air.

Let's get a few things straight:  I have never done anything like this before.  I have never lived this far from family and friends, nor have I needed to rely on myself for such basic necessities like fresh water and electricity.  I will have nearly no bills to pay - I am the landlord, the navigator, the electrician, the mechanic, plumber/rigger/barber/cook/whatever.  My point is, I have a lot to learn.

There will be cussing, and a lot of it.  Also drinking and maybe some minor drug abuse.  Sorry (but not really) if it becomes offensive to some.  There will be blood, sweat and tears.  There will be accidents and unforeseen setbacks.

There will be crystal clear water like nowhere else on earth.  There will be picturesque sunsets and beaches at anchor.  There will be beautiful fish and beautiful women.

I'm amazed at the number of people who ask me "So what are you going to do there?" or "Aren't you going to get bored?"  I fear that people are forgetting what it is like to be bored and to have uninhibited freedom.  This blog should cover most of the things I'm doing.  And yea, I plan on getting very bored.  It's going to be awesome.

But for now, I'm in fucking Chattanooga.

S/V Meadowlark - 1987 Catalina 25 Standard Rig Wing Keel

 This is where I found her in May 2013 near Perry, KS.  It will be about 13 months after this picture was taken that she will be ready to cross the gulf stream and enter the Bahamas.  There, I will live aboard Meadowlark for approximately 1 year.