ARRIVING AT THE BAHAMAS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE WINTER OF 1998

Finally on Jan 23, we hauled anchor at 1530 to make passage for South Riding Rock in the Bahamas.  Arrival at the Rock at 1000 the next morning found us sailing in brilliant sunshine. Dolphins did their welcome dance on the Bahama Banks. 1800 found us anchored at Russel Light on the banks. Rain showers passed through. With a NE blow settling in we hauled anchor with difficulty in the dark at 0400 and moved on.  We slipped off the banks in the early morning of the 25th for a true rollicking sail down The Tongue of the Ocean. Tundra was completely salted en route, but she safely carried us along to our Nassau Harbour anchorage. We were grateful to follow a large ship in at 2100.

Bright and early next morn we tied up at the Nassau Harbour Club. In pouring rain it was heavenly to shower and relax on terre firma. A must see is the Aquarium at Atlantic Casino. Reprovisioned and rested we dropped mooring lines at the end of January and threaded our way through the coral heads east to Allen’s Cay. Wonderfully clear snorkelling and prehistoric looking iguanas ashore were pure delight.   We switched our delta plough anchor for the danforth and hung on. As the northers blew through we sought out refuge at Highbourne Cay. It poured rain as we sloshed back and forth happily filling our tanks with fresh drinking water. Rinsing off the salt is always a treat!

By February 10th, we had caught up with Herbie and Barbara and anchored in Pipe Creek on `Dick’s mooring!’ We said hello to June and David at Overyonder Cay. June became our weather lady for our stay in the creek. By mid Feb we had discovered conch on our snorkel expeditions. Brian shaved off his moustache and became known as `the great white hunter’! Herbie and friend Ray enthusiastically showed us all how to clean and cook conch. It’s quite a feat and we netted our fair share of cut fingers. The results were delicious.
Sad to leave but anxious to see more, we moved over to Staniel Cay-mid way down the Exuma chain.
The famous Thunderball Cay contained a myriad of brightly coloured reef fish all clamouring for our cheese treats. Staniel has a fair provisioning capacity. At Adderly Cut we found our friends on Elysium and gammed some more with them. They are a wealth of information, too. Heading south again Stocking Island was our southernmost destination. Here we anchored under Stocking Island for the month of March. The Georgetown Regatta proved to be great fun. A myriad of activity was planned and executed by over a hundred cruising yachts. The conch blowing contest and race around Stocking Island were great. Nancy and Tom and Yvonne visited. Beach combing was fascinating. We studied the reefs, the shells and loved the snorkelling. Two weeks at the end of April we flew home to satisfy the tax man.

TUNDRA ARRIVES AGAIN IN THE BAHAMAS IN THE WINTER OF 1999

Message From the sailboat Iwanda via HAM email: "Tundra arrived in Nassau today.  Brian is trying to fix his SSB that took salt water on their passage from Florida." ("SSB" stands for Single Side Band. It is their HAM radio).

January 9th 1999
Ron and Wendy, Gary and Kayley Marsh made an unexpected week long trip to Nassau, so we had more pressing reasons to move quickly. As a result we took a short window; offshore, through the gulf stream, across the banks and down the tongue of the ocean into Nassau. Bleary eyed, we tied to the customs dock 30 hours later. Marnel and Reflections were alongside. Departing Miami's Government Cut at 0400 hours was a real treat! We were dodging cruise ships, fishing tugs, and any number of other `floatables'. The Gulf Stream was still a little riled so we were delighted to round North Riding Rock and find the banks quiet and dolphins welcoming. Navigation became a little tense as we met a tug and tow at midnight rounding Northwest Light and falling off into the Tongue of the Ocean. The depthfinder goes from 15 feet to DEEP (over 200 feet) in a matter of minutes. Alberg 37 owners will be interested to know that we met Brandelera and Southern Cross anchored in Nassau. We were grateful when Marcel helped us set our second anchor and we fell into bed for some much needed sleep. The following week we enjoyed company of the Marsh family immensely. Our nine year old niece, Kayley, became our crew for a good part of the week. She is a natural on the boat and we look forward to her future visits. We also were treated to some shore side amenities with Ron and Wendy. I loved constructing `castle Tobu' of white coral sand with 8 year old, Gary.Unfortunately we `salted' our amateur radio coming across and relied on cruising friends for long distance communication until Lady Bea arrived with our replacement. We sure had withdrawal symptoms while we couldn't talk to our early morning 'turkeys'.

January 20th 1999 found us heading east into the Exuma chain. Our first anchorage was at Allan's Cay. This is one home of the Rock Iguana who are prehistoric-looking reptiles. They scurry to meet company and provide much entertainment. Also we were able to do some drift snorkeling with the dinghy. The water is warm and inviting this year. Our next anchorage was at Norman's Cay which is well known for it's 1970-80's drug smuggling history. The ring leader, Carlos Lehder, was convicted in 1988 to life without parole for 135 years! Ruins on the surrounding islands all attest to the colourful history and struggles between the factions involved. We weathered a front here with 20 or so other boats. Dinghying in this area was great fun and we picked up our first conch. The meat is wonderfully sweet, but takes a lot of tenderizing. We enjoyed this with newcomers full of great enthusiasm. All have conch horns for communication within the cruising community now.Weather allowed us a sail further south to Shroud Cay where we dinghied through the salt marshes to the Atlantic beaches. Warm beautiful weather is such a treat and we're anchored quietly in the lea. Great sleeping.

January 27th 1999 we moved on and entered the Exuma Land and Sea Park where we picked up a mooring for a few days. Boat maintenance took up a good part of our stay here. Caulking several leaks took one morning while Brian searched out what was ailing our sumlog and it's now back in working order. In the afternoons we hiked the park trails, observing loyalist ruins of the 1700's, and studying the flora and fauna. Under a wonderful full moon, a group of five families went ashore in the evening for a hutia search. Hutia are small gerbil-like rodents introduced to the islands by the loyalists. None were sighted, but the blowholes were awesome and company most interesting. One of our snorkeling ventures provided lobster  sightings-our first ever in the water and so exciting.Moving Tundra to the Park Bell Island anchorage, we snorkeled the Sea Aquarium, which is nothing short of magnificent. Every possible kind of coral and fish abound - large and small. Swimming through masses of sergeant major fish was great fun. The winds picked up and so did we. Next am we beat our way to Staniel Cay area and anchored behind good friends, Murray and Heather on Windswept 1V, originally from Chatham. Here in Big Majors Spot, Brian donned scuba gear and replaced our almost non-existent zincs. Provisions are plentiful here and we even had some laundry done. Because it has been so hot and dry, water is not plentiful. The local people are very accommodating and pleasant. Ashore in this anchorage we have a Miss Piggy. She is a friendly pig who loves cruisers biodegradables. When she hears one coming she swims out to meet the dinghies! Yes, a swimming pig. We loved our Christmas mail from all you wonderful people and really look forward to your correspondence. We are not able to receive attachments or graphics from the Internet, so please send us your text only-no attachments. Our next email stop will be Georgetown in perhaps a month. We've just met up with Marnel again and are backtracking slightly to do some drift snorkeling. Each of us holds a line from the dinghy and we drift with the currents over the reefs. We'll be in the Staniel area until we can't find anymore to do and see. You can imagine when that will be! Yesterday we treated ourselves to another snorkel through the famous James Bond Thunderball Cave just off Staniel.With exceptionally quiet weather for this time of year we decided to backtrack to Compass Cay. Here we could enjoy the beauty of Exuma National
Park as well as catch a conch dinner out of the park boundaries. All a short dinghy ride away.

February 9 1999 
 Our first day found us snorkeling a sensational elkhorn coral garden off the southern tip of Cambridge Island, then swimming into two sensational caves in the Rocky Dundas area. The stalagmites and stalactites were magnificent with exceptional colouring, highlighted by open air ceilings. Next day we drift snorkeled an open reef in the park. Corals of all description and colour entertained us; brain, pipe organ, lettuce, gorgonians, sea fans, elkhorn, staghorn and more. We come home and study all the fishes and corals each evening. Our last day we hiked Cambridge Island over to Bell Rock. The Park has labeled a lot of the flora along the trail. Views of the ocean and surrounding reefs were exceptional. In sharp contrast to last year, the water is warm and the days are sunny and quiet. Last year's fronts are few and far between. Noseums are a nuisance when all is quiet, so our screens are a blessing. We don't go ashore early or late in the day.Yesterday we reluctantly hauled anchor and headed for Black Point via Exuma Sound and Dotham Cut, where we re-entered the bank area. Hopeful we were of catching a nice dolphin fish, but of no avail. Marnel trailed 4 lines and ourselves, 2. Maybe next time.
The Black Point community is very friendly. I was delighted to tour one local citizen's 'garden of eden'. He is growing many fruit trees; papaya, native apple, tamarind, almond and more: plus vegetables, indigenous to the area; calloo (like lettuce), chick peas, sweet potatoes, etc. This industrious man is the first person who we have seen composting and attempting agricultural pursuits, other than onions and bananas.Here we will reprovision with a few items and take on water. Water collection has been almost non existent as we've had very little rain.Speaking of foodstuffs, Canadians will be very interested to know that wonderful flour from Canada is used here by all. I've just discovered a new sourdough recipe and am having great fun with it. It's ideal for cruisers as there are not too many dishes involved, and the dough rises quickly in the warm Bahamian sun.

RECIPE FROM THE GALLEY OF TUNDRA

SOURDOUGH BREAD FROM TUNDRA
STARTER

Mix 2 cups of water in which potatoes have been boiled with 2 cups of flour (hard, unbleached, white, available in health stores is best) and one tablespoon of sugar. Cover mixture loosely, stir it once a day, and let it sit in a warm spot for three or four days. When it starts to bubble merrily and lets off a sour odour that is not all unpleasant, it is ready to use. If practical, store it in the refrigerator. Feed it by adding a half cupful each of flour, and water, and a teaspoon of sugar every two weeks. If stored in a warm spot feed it more frequently. In any event, do not let it freeze or be heated beyond lukewarm. When stored the sourdough may appear dormant, a crust or a liquid may form at its top. Have no concern. As soon as it is fed and warm it will come to life and start bubbling again. Don't ever put a tight lid on your sourdough. The stuff is alive and when confined just might burst out making an awful mess.

PREPARATION
Measurements do not have to be exact. Only one ovenproof bowl is needed for mixing, rising and baking. Use plastic or glass utensils. Try to keep all warm.

First Step
Extend your starter by mixing in another 2 cupfuls each of flour, potato water or water, plus a tablespoon or more of sugar. Sugar is an important ingredient in the rising factor, so do not skimp or eliminate it.) Put the starter in a warm place and let it stand for a few hours or even a day or two.
Second Step (Optional)
More fun, but not essential! For basics, skip to the third step.
1. Whole wheat bread.Try bran and white flour. Soften the bran by boiling the bran in liquid or pouring boiling water over it. Otherwise the sharp edges of the bran may allow the bubbles to escape and impede rising. Use half cup of bran to two cups of starter.
2. After softening the bran, try adding a quarter of a cup of molasses and a blob of butter so they, too, will soften in the warmth of the mixture.
3. Also, for whole wheat, try boiling the bran in a cupful of tomato juice or stewed tomatoes and adding herbs, or in peach and apricot juice and adding peel and nuts, or in a cupful of crushed pineapple and adding shredded coconut or in cranberry sauce or mincemeat. Let your imagination be your guide!
4. You may wish to eliminate bran and add raisins, currants, (rolled in flour first), nuts, peel, cinnamon, grated cheese and herbs, or simply more water to increase the quantity of bread.
Third Step
Pour half the starter into a bowl. It is best if it feels slightly warm to touch. Add salt if you choose. Keep adding flour, mixing it first with a spoon and then with the palm of your hands. Knead by pushing the outer edges of the dough down into the centre. By the time you've given 50 punches, the dough will have absorbed almost as much of the flour as it can hold and very little more is required to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Keep on kneading for a total of about 200 punches. Remove the dough or push it from side to side and carefully butter the whole of the inside of the bowl. If you prefer, use bread pans and form loaves or makes buns of any variation. Put the pans or bowl in a warm, not hot, draft free place. Put unused starter back in the fridge.

Fourth Step
Depending on warmth, humidity, etc, rising times will vary from several hours to as much as 24 hours. Dough will double or triple in size. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake the bread 35 to 45 minutes. It should sound hollow if rapped with your knuckles. Give it half an hour and enjoy.

February 18, 1999.
From Black Point we sailed a short distance south of White Point to rendezvous with Shady Lady. Bill and his brother treated us to a fresh fish dinner and it was nice to meet 'an old friend' again. As another cold front was threatening clocking winds, Marnel and Shady Lady and Tundra backtracked north to the protected waters of Pipe Creek. Here we snorkeled and fished and conched, plus Brian and I addressed more maintenance. We caulked a few deck fittings, rebedded the hatch gaskets, and repaired our dinghy oars.Pete is taking his amateur radio exam in Georgetown on the 22nd so we hiked out of Pipe Creek on a rising tide. The entrance is a little shallow over the banks and the Sound has been too rough for a comfortable exit through the cuts. Our sail down to Galliot Cay was pleasant in spite of a slight beat to weather. Snorkeling here proved beautiful, but the winds were starting to strengthen again with an impending front. Next am we were rocking and rolling, so rather than beat into head seas we moved on down the inside of Cave Cay to sit comfortably behind Musha Cay in preparation for a run for Georgetown. Herb, NMN, our weather guru was preparing us for clocking winds. Westerlies are great for a run south. Today, February 17th, the winds were relatively quiet, so we slipped out of Cave Cay Cut early, 0730, and headed south. What a great day. Fishing was the hit of the day. Dolphin fish were out prime target, but they did a dandy job of evading us. Tundra came in with a mackerel and a oceanic bonito, similar to tuna. The bonito gave us a great fight. Both were a little over a foot long. By the time we got them cleaned, the pickings on the mackerel were slim. The tuna is quite fat and meaty. We'll have tuna salad tomorrow. Time passes quickly when you're having fun. Georgetown has a record number of cruisers here for regatta week - 450+. Welcome voices on the VHF were Don and Barb on Sherlock and Karen and Marcel on Southern Cross. At 1430 we ploughed the anchor in at Hamburger Beach. Our favourite place to be. The hamburger stand on shore has been painted super bright colours and a new dock has been installed. Competition from Volleyball Beach has obviously been recognized. It's a little sad to see paradise gradually becoming more commercialized each year. A response to American standards?

February 23rd 1999
Reprovisioning and hauling water kept us busy for a few days. We were able to enjoy a great day of snorkeling the south cut before another front blew through. Peter got his technician's license so will now study code - another amateur radio buff launched. Shelling is wonderful and Brian has just finished Chesapeake. 
 
March 10th 1999
With over 420 boats registered for the 19th Annual Cruising Regatta, Georgetown is brimming over with excitement and entertainment. We are anchored on the outskirts where all is a little quieter than the center of hustle and bustle. Several good snorkeling expeditions took us to Channel Cay and Fowl Cay at the far ends of the Stocking Island Harbour. Regatta Week sported sailing racing events, a scavenger hunt, tennis tournaments, baseball games, sand sculpting contests, volleyball playoffs, plus lots of native food. The highlight for us was crewing on a Manta 40 catamaran. What a beautiful machine and Brian enjoyed being helmsman all the way. Brian and I have enjoyed some good hikes along the island plus meeting a few more cruising couples. Weather has been wonderful overall and the water warm.
We are back to provisioning again and must fill up with potable water in our on board tanks. Rain has been super scarce this year. Enjoy the luxury of plentiful fresh water, all ye landlubbers. It costs $1.00 a GALLON out here! Later this week we will weigh anchor and sail to the out islands for some peace and quiet. Long Island is on our route south to the Jumentos and the Crooked Acklins. Here we hope to do some great fishing, snorkeling and diving for a few weeks.

On March 10th 1999 we made positive motions re moving out of Georgetown. We hauled and took on 40 gallons of reverse osmosis water and bought as many bananas, oranges and tomatoes as we could hold. Swiss Cheddar cheese is a wonderful product here and not too expensive. Also butter from New Zealand is very good and vailable. Three dozen non refrigerated eggs for the bilge, rotated daily. One chicken, a few pork chops, and some ground chuck went into the freezer. Four 5 lb plastic bags of great Canadian flour rounded out the compliment of food.

On March 11th 1999 we picked up our mail from Exumas Market, weighed anchor, and sailed for Thompson Bay, Salt Pond on Long Island in company with Marnel IV. It was interesting winding our way around the sand bores. At times, there was as little as a foot under the keel. This has a tendency to keep one quite alert at the helm! It was a comfortable overnight anchorage en route to the Comer Channel and the Jumentos. Shady Lady was waiting for us on the banks and was a pretty sight with all sails set when we rendezvoused. Several other boats, Rockhopper and Antigoon, accompanied us for out first week, as well. Our first anchorage was Water Cay. Coral heads abound and are wonderful for snorkeling, but definitely add a point of challenge to our navigating. The heads are loaded with fish and the ocean feeds us easily. This chain of Cays is 110 miles long and rounds slightly in a semi circle from northeast to southeast providing good protection from the prevailing easterlies. Only several anchorages provide protection from weather fronts, so we are watching the weather patterns carefully. We check in with our amateur radio Waterway Net and turkey net regularly. The islands are uninhabited except for Duncan Town at the southern end with a population of 100 people and a fishing outpost on Jamaica Cay manned by 2 sons of an entrepreneur in Duncan Town. Most cays have resident wild goats, some chickens and one reports a horse. We rarely see the goats,but see lots of scat and can hear them, so we feed them our biodegradables.

 From Water Cay we headed out to the deep water of the The Crooked Island Passage and fished our way down to Racoon Cay where we reentered the banks via the Nurse Channel. At 40 feet I snagged a mighty big fish. It was great fun playing it for a half hour. I had 100 lb test line on with a wire leader, so the fight was on! Within about 20 feet of Tundra it decided it was going the other way and that was that. The leader was chewed to bits and the hook on my lure was straightened as it disappeared. All we saw was a big mouth and some dorsal fins. Great fun. Pete and Lani thought it may have been a sailfish or marlin.

For several days we explored loyalist ruins at Racoon Cay and walked the beaches before hunkering down for an impending cold front at the southern end. Here we snorkeled and rolled a little as the front went through, then headed off down to Duncan Town on Ragged Island to see the village. A beach restaurant constructed around a DC 3 crash provided a lovely meal out for us. Our Bahamian hosts, Percy and Jill, served us wonderful meals of conch and grouper, potato salad, coleslaw, peas and rice, and pickled beets. The shore side abodes were guarded by watch dogs and it was necessary to call ahead as they were chained and fenced! We walked the one and a half miles into the town, visited with the locals, and found only canned provisions. Their fresh fruit and vegetables and R/O water arrive on the mailboat, Mannana, weekly. They must order all the week before. Of particular interest was their method of preserving conch. It was heavily salted and hung to dry on their clotheslines. There is a defunct salt industry here which closed down when the last hurricane destroyed most of the sight, plus the residents houses. The population diminished to 100 from 500 as a result. We visited the local school to find smartly uniformed children from grade one through twelve and a pleasant teaching couple from French Guyana. Our restaurant hosts escorted us to the conch grounds on their 'seadoo!' and showed us their method of cleaning conch. Percy said that he can clean 800 in one day! Amazing! Snorkeling the reefs here netted us some lobster and fish. Brian got his first lobster as a nurse shark about my size swam by! Supposedly they're harmless, but he kept it out of the water beautifully, so as not to attract it. The sharks come into shallow water to mate at this time of year, so we have our eyes peeled and are seeing quite a number.

Antigoon and Rockhopper departed north on the 18th. We three remaining boats moved north to Hog Cay on the 21st. Here we met another cruiser heading for Cuba, only 60 miles south. He took us out bone fishing on the flats and we all participated in a shore dinner of fish and potluck. The Bahamian drug enforcement agency is very active is this area and we have seen several military helicopters maneuvering overhead. One night was particularly exciting between flashing lights, speeding powerboats and unlit helicopters. We ignore everything. Hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil. A thunder and lightening storm produced some much needed rain water for us one night. What a blessing as it's been super dry. I spent most of the night collecting water and did a much needed wash the next morning.
Diving and fishing keep our days very active, plus excursions ashore. One such hike, we found our way, via a loyalist rock fence,to the ocean side and snorkeled a beautiful, protected reef. It is great fun beach combing the Atlantic beaches. Brian teasingly refers to them as the hardware store. One finds it hard to believe what is washed up on shore.On the 24th we moved up to House Bay on Racoon Cay. Lani and I conched until we were exhausted. I made a fish stew of lobster, conch and snapper. It was so rich we could only eat one bowl, with homemade rolls, of course. An expedition to a blue hole inland with fishing poles in hand, netted no fish, but proved very interesting. Poisonwood is rampant here so we hike with caution. A dinghy expedition to the north end of the island revealed some beautiful heads to snorkel. This was the day of the glass eye snapper and we all feasted royally. The sharks and barracudas enjoyed our fish cleaning session.

On the 25th 1999 we moved north to Buena Vista Cay. Here we have a mile and a half long beach to anchor off and explore great coral heads, hikes inland, and enjoy peace and quiet. The lobster fishermen are hauling their pots for the season and one can't believe how many they can get in one small outboard boat.Here we've been able to do some maintenance again. Tundra's bottom got a good scrub including removal of a few barnacles. The water is wonderfully clear. Line fishing for margate, a type of grunt, rivals bass fishing up north.A couple of local fisherman sold us lobster when we first arrived so we hail them regularly to see their catch. They're most friendly and proud of their accomplishments. I was totally surprised when they pulled up alongside with their hunting results a couple of days ago. They had shot a family of goats-three large and one little. Of course they will use the total animal amongst the community right down to the stomach, one explained.
As the prevailing northeast trade winds have been exceptionally heavy we have layed over here a relaxing week. Only tonight, April 1st, have they let up and we plan a move to Jamaica Cay tomorrow.
Bill and Colleen on Shady Lady left for Florida on Monday and had a fast non stop two day trip to Miami. We kept in contact with them by radio as they sailed over the banks through the Old Bahamas Channel and up into the Gulf Stream back to the mainland. Now we're down to two boats and becoming quite keen with regards to water conservation, meal preparation, etc.

Friday, April 2nd 1999
Happy Easter all. We are thinking of you. This am the weather quietened off. Low and behold, the rooster is crowing and the goats baa-ing, so our spirits were cheered as we weighed anchor for Jamaica Cay. Here, Percy's sons welcomed us, plus 3 other boats, ashore for a tour of their small cay. The mainstay of their existence is based on diving conch and trapping fish, mostly laine snapper, to be transported on the mailboat to Nassau. There is an awesome blue hole just off the cay which we observed through our look bucket. Marvin said it abounds with shark so we fished rather than snorkeled it. Shelling and snorkeling here was wonderful. Marvin agreed to take us on one of his fishing excursions, so all 4 of us loaded into his open Carolina skiff with an ailing 90 horsepower engine which he hand started! 0830 found Brian and Pete diving 30 feet for conch. He used these for bait in his fish trap. We cruised the coral heads with Marvin checking out the fish with his snorkel mask over the side. Basics sure work and he was a fine example of simple, but profitable living. Once we got the fish trap set to his satisfaction, he took us to several other heads to fish and snorkel. In 30 feet, Pete speared a lovely big grouper and a good sized margate with Brian helping on the retrieval. The corals are magnificent. It was amazing to see the beautiful catch that came up in his trap. It included any number of snapper, plus many other good eating fish and a frisky eel. Discarding the eel, we headed for the anchorage. Marvin, navigating by sight, was very careful not to get out of sight of land at any time. We tried some laine snapper and a porgy ( only for a meal or too, as our refrigeration is limited), Marnel took grouper and trigger, and the rest was destined for the mailboat. What a super experience.On brother Johnny's 60th birthday, April 6th, we said goodbye to Marvin and Jurass, setting sail north to Flamingo Cay. Here we had some difficulty setting our anchor in hard coral sand. While diving the anchor a largish, lurking barracuda sent me flashing for the dinghy. Needless to say, we finished the job from Tundra. Here we explored, snorkeled, and hiked. One beautiful beach looked as if it had been recently burned - a reminder to douse our fires thoroughly. It has been so dry that the islands are really threatened with careless behaviour. Our fires are mainly to reduce garbage, so glass and burned, condensed cans are the only items we carry along. The weather fax is invaluable here as most of the Jumentos offer only lee anchorages and it's no place to be caught in a front with the winds clocking. April 8th we dropped anchor in south Water Cay anchorage. The scenery here is breathtaking. White limestone cliffs, eroded with time, drop into crystal-clear water. Lovely hikes on the ridge provided breathtaking scenery and, of course, the Atlantic beaches presented another hardware store as always. We found a great fish bucket for the dinghy. Many reefs surround the island. One, in particular, is called Triggerfish Reef. Here Pete and Lani caught a bucketful of triggers in half an hour, so we all went back to snorkel it. Sea life abounds and spearing produced several more grouper. This has provided breakfast, lunch and dinner for quite a number of days. One incident in particular had us in stitches. Brian released his spear and while I was retrieving it, a beautiful triggerfish, curious as ever, bumped into my spear. They are brightly coloured fish with a lovely smile on their face. I love to swim with them.April 10th we sailed up the Comer Channel with a foot under the keel at times and back into Salt Pond, Long Island. What a wonderful month in the Jumentos and now it's time to make a few phone calls and reprovision. Long Island has a population of 350 people and is 75 miles long. For the past several days we've been touring the island by car. At the northern tip is Cape Santa Maria sporting a monument to Christopher Columbus with a spectacular view of surroundng reefs. The Cape is named after his flagship which ran aground here. Farming and fishing support the island economy. Lobster fishing is particularly lucrative. Another fascinating area was a blue hole touted as the World's Deepest Blue Hole measured to 660 feet. The surrounding area in Turtle Cove is being developed by Canadians. Salt Pond, close to our anchorage, supports a good part of the population. Our lunch stop was a quaint lovely building on the salt marsh with tarpon and bone fish swimming lazily off the front deck. The atmosphere was so interesting with mounds of sponges next door.
 
April 23rd 1999
Some supplies were available at Kay's Last Chance Grocery Store, so we stocked up on carrots, tomatoes, and even a few grapefruit. (imported on the mail boat). Southeast winds, piping, produced an uncomfortable roll in the anchorage so we moved to the northwest side of the island. Flamingo Bay presented quite a challenge navigating around the entrance reefs. Good light over one's shoulder is a necessity to get in. If one is faint of heart, don't attempt it! Snorkeling on the NW reef is exceptional with great columns of coral everywhere, some resembling statues. Hartford Cave in this area displays some early Lucayan lore. We found out later from other cruisers it's exact location. Unfortunately we searched and couldn't locate it, so we'll have to return. This island reportedly supports a Brahma bull population. While exploring loyalist ruins, we encountered their tracks-huge-but never saw them. Very often ruins are surrounded by coconut palms exposing their location. Carefully picking our way out of the reefs in brilliant sunshine and perfect conditions, we sailed for San Salvador on the 25th. Whales, we think humpbacks, gave us a lovely display en route. Marnel caught a cow and bull dolphin fish which we all cleaned upon arrival. Yummy!

San Salvador was the easternmost point of our cruise and a truly fascinating island. We spent several days anchored off Cockburn Town, the capital, before being forced into the one and only Riding Rock Marina with westerly blows. Here we tied up to a wall under construction and were glad of even that. It poured rain, much to everyone's delight; but produced 'lake Tundra' on the other side of our cement block mooring wall. For several days we dinghied to the gas dock to go ashore!!!! And, of course, that brought out the mosquitoes and noseums in full force. Never mind the weather, we met many friendly and interesting people, onshore and from our cruising community.The island is unique in that here Christopher Columbus discovered the new world in 1492. The Bahamian population of less than 1000 people are friendly, honest and fiercely protective of their heritage. Several other out islands have laid claim to the first landing and in our discussion re this fact we were promptly informed by one of our lovely hostesses, Peaches, that San Sal was undoubtedly 'THE' spot! Peaches, one of 13 siblings became our fount of local knowledge. After meeting her we went across the road to a small lunch restaurant, Carter's snack bar, the next day. The waitress looked just like Peaches, so I said "You must be Peache's sister". She said very proudly, "No, I am Peaches"! The local population are very industrious and many hold down more than one job.The island is quite prosperous due to the presence of a lovely Club Med and the Riding Rock Inn. Club Med entertained many french Canadians and seems that it would be a perfect spot to spruce up your french. Treating ourselves to dinner there one evening was an extravagant experience. The food was unparalleled in quality or quantity. Our RR Inn catered mainly to scuba diving tours. When the water had settled down and cleared, we joined them for a dive of the nearby drop off area. All around the island the water drops from 50 to 60 feet to 7 and 8000 feet, so the wall dives are spectacular. The corals were spectacular, many canyons and tunnels. As we hadn't been diving for some time we stuck pretty close to our guide, George, a young man from Cape Breton Island. Along with Marnel and Dannie from Lena Mae we rented a car for a day to tour the sites. Again, the Queen's highway took us around the circumference of the island with Brian driving on the left hand side of the road. (British precedents are still very much in evidence despite the fact that the Bahamas have been an independent nation since 1986.) The north end sports a marine biology facility and we observed the students on their daily field trips. The Dixon Lighthouse was another fascinating stop. Eighteenth century technology was in beautiful operating condition. Eight thousand pound fresnel lenses float in a pool of mercury and are lit by kerosene vapour firing a pre-heated mantle. The lighthouse keeper had to wind by winch a seven hundred pound weight the height of the tower every two hours to rotate these lenses. Only 3 of these hand wound lighthouses are in existence in the world today at San Sal, Hopetown, and Great Inagua in the Bahamas.The Dixon cave was about a mile hike through the underbrush and sported bats and many tunnels. Needless to say we didn't venture very far inside, but this is typical of the saltpond islands. Caverns and caves are plentiful and it would be a spelunker's paradise.The Columbus monument was a must on the tour and equally impressive at the same site, was a monument constructed by the Mexican government in honour of hosting the first Olympic Games in the new world. Apparently the flame came via Christopher Columbus' route, thus San Sal.Dannie patiently tutored us all in Spanish and cooked us a Texas style breakfast one morning. Newfound friends on Mayuc, Ian and Katherine, entertained us royally with B C smoked salmon, and all. We all took another guided tour with the Inn and visited their local museum. Loyalist, Lucayan and Columbus history and facts were fascinating.

With clear weather we hauled our anchors on May 6th 1999 for a passage to Cat Island. With a rendezvous planned with the Hansens from Sarnia in mid-May we moved up islands quickly. Anchorages included Little San Salvador, Cat Island, and Eleuthera. While in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, amidst a storm, a companion boat was struck with lightening, resulting in major equipment failure. They were only 100 feet from us and lost their computers, self-steering, radar, radios, and more. This is apparently fairly consistent with summer weather in the Bahamas. Also, while here, we met two other Alberg 37's- Nancy and Nicolas on Nancy Mae and Lee on Mondia 1V.

In Spanish Wells we were pleasantly surprised to find Jill and Jennifer Doherty at their island residence and had a wonderful visit ashore. Before leaving the area we booked passage on the mail boat, Eleuthera Express, to Harbour Island and back. The route is strewn with reefs and treacherous so this was a very comfortable and relaxing look at the route. Brian took GPS way points all the way, but I'm not sure we'd like to take Tundra there in spite of them.

May 14th 1999 found us heading for the Abacos via Royal Island. Ruins at Royal Island indicated a luxurious early 19th century lifestyle-servants quarters, steam baths and all. Just off of our Abaco entrance at Little Harbour Bar we caught a lovely dolphin fish-45 inches long and super sport to catch. Thirty pounds of delicious fish was shared amongst 3 boats.
En route to Marsh Harbour we had an 'eyeball' with amature radio friends, Jeannie and Andy, on their Canadian made trawler, 'Eureka'. We've talked to them for years and never laid eyes on each other. Jeannie is N4ILJ. They're heading down islands for the summer.
Found Karen and Kelly on May 16th and spent the next ten days visiting and speeding around the Abacos in their Albury rental power boat. Greased lightening travel for us, for sure. While in Hopetown we climbed their lovely lighthouse and drank in the view. It is exceptional.

On May 27th 1999 we headed south again across our favourite Atlantic fishing ground and caught two more dolphin fish for the gang. The Berry Islands were to round out our Bahamas season. In fine fashion we were weathered in Little Harbour anchorage until June 3rd. Frozen and Alder Cay where we had good shelter near private concerns with no trespassing signs abounding. As a result we enjoyed a few dinghy trips and snorkels when weather permitted. We'll have to come back here in better weather.
From Slaughter Harbour in the northern Berries we made an overnight passage through the Gulf Stream back to Lake Worth, Florida-106 nautical miles later. Companion boats were Marnel 1V, Heron's Wing (without instrumentation), and Silkie (acquaintances from Oregon).

It was a wonderful crossing. The moon came up behind us and the welcoming glow of North America could be seen 50 miles offshore. With customs and immigration behind us, we're heading for Titusville near Port Canaveral to haul Tundra for the summer. It's rained 6 inches in the last 24 hours. They tell us this is normal summer weather here.Our latest and happiest news arrived from Courtney. She and Greg will be married in Sarnia on November 6th1999.

Monday, June 14th 1999
High and dry in Westland Yard in Titusville. Lots of bugs. Hot and humid. It's off to Canada for the summer.