March 16-24, 2022- Back to Staniel Cay

March 16, 2022

9:00am-  Left Exumas Land and Sea park and heading to Staniel Cay. We managed to sail part of the way however we had to motor after going in the wind. 

It was a little rough and we had to lower our speed to 3 knots otherwise the boat was pounding.  Nicky and the kids slept in order not to get sea sick. 

11:30pm- We passed  iiWii as they were going to Land and Sea with their grand daughter. 12:30pm- It is a bouncy ride with waves up to 5 ft. 

Brent rode the bow with waves crashing between him. 

2:00pm- Arrived at Staniel Cay and anchored by the pig beach.  We covered 18 miles. Wind was in the nose 16 to 20 knots.  Steve and Brent went to get rid of the garbage. 

The kids didn’t waste time to go see the pigs. 

5:30 pm- Dinner tonight is spaghetti and sausage. After dinner, when Brent was taking off  dried clothes from the rail, he lost one of the stainless steel pins. So he dove in and recovered it along with a nurse shark swimming beside him. 

6:30pm- He and Nicky went for a dinghy ride while Parker and I went swimming off the back of the boat. 

7:15pm- When they returned, they took the kids back to see the pigs. 

March 17, 2022 Happy St Patrick’s Day. 

7:00am-- Steve woke up in a panic wondering where the dinghy was unknown to him that Brent was already out exploring. 

8:00am- Hot muffins came out of the oven for everyone to enjoy this morning with our coffee. 

10:00am-  The kids went to see the sharks and swim in the grotto while Steve and I took count of our supplies and cleaned up a bit. 

Amazing how fast boats zigzag within the anchorage with no respect or safety caution. Told Steve to ignore otherwise it will drive him crazy. 

12:00pm- Steve and I had a hot dog for lunch. 

1:00pm- Sue and Gunter came over for a visit while the kids were away. 

2:30pm-  As Gunter and Sue were leaving, the kids came back to the boat. Kids returned with some snacks.  

Steve and Brent went to see if they could spear lobster but the current was too strong so they were back quick. 

4:00pm-  Brent went to the store to buy beer and ice. The rest of us relaxed. 

4:30pm-  Steve and I went for a dinghy ride to cool off. When we returned, the kids were swimming off the boat. Everyone took a shower afterwards. 

6:39pm- Dinner tonight is hamburgers and bean salad. We then sat on the bow of the boat and watched a guy on an electric foiling board. 

7:15pm-  Brent took the kids to see the pigs on the beach. 

We played chicken foot with the kids before going to bed. Another  great day. 

March 18, 2022

Another beautiful calm day. 

After breakfast, Steve started making water. With 6 people showering and drinking, it doesn’t take long for water levels to go down. We are sure grateful to having a water maker. 

10:30am-  Brent and the family went out on the dinghy. Just before they left, a plane landed right in front of our boat. They pulled right up to the pig beach and let a couple out. Crazy the money people have to spend.
After lunch, the kids went exploring with their parents while I cleaned the boat and then took a nice shower. 
They went snorkelling at a nice reef. 

2:30pm-  Brent and Steve went spearing for lobster. Brent saw a huge grouper but couldn’t get close enough. No fish tonight. 

When they returned, Steve opened up a can of oysters and the kids tried it out. Not the same. 

The kids were not crazy about canned oysters but at least they tried it. 

4:15pm.- The men went to fly the drone while Nicky and the kids went swimming and then showered. 

Sunny and Karen from s/v Passing Wind came by on their dinghy and showed us grouper which they speared today. He volunteered to buddy dive tomorrow morning and show them were to spear. Brent and Steve are so excited. 

5:30pm- Dinner tonight is chicken quesadillas. So good. 

6:45pm- Brent and Nicky brought the kids to the pig beach. They prefer going after dinner since they are alone with them and the pigs are tamer. Lyla and Parker  loved petting them. 

The sunset was beautiful tonight and the full moon rise was fantastic. 

We all watched the moon rise on the bow of the boat. 

Another great day. 

March 19, 2022

7:00am-  The moon was setting and the sun was rising. So nice to see both. 

8:00am- It was a busy morning. Between moving the boat to a mooring near the marina, preparing bacon and eggs for everyone and seeing Brent and Steve leave for spear fishing with Sonny from ‘Passing Wind’. 

Once they left, it was relaxing time. Nicky listened to her podcast and the kids played games. 

12:00pm- Made Kraft dinner for the everyone. Still waiting anxiously to see if the men come back with fish. 

1:00pm-  Finally, we will be having fish for dinner tonight. Snapper, trigger fish, grunt and lobster. 

Cooler full of variety of fish. 

1:45pm- Nicky, Brent, Lyla and Parker went to the airport to get Covid tested. They are all negative  There results came back negative. They had to get tested 24 hrs prior their flight. When they returned, the kids petted the sharks. 

Nicky, Lyla, Steve and I went diving in the grotto while Brent and Parker cleaned the fish. We then returned and all took a shower. Steve decided to make water   

One of our plugs on the extension cord from the  generator to the shore power plug shorted out and caught fire. Nicky and Steve quickly put the fire out. Thank goodness we had another plug and fuse for the water maker since it blew out a fuse. 

Brent cooked up a feast. I made potatoes, peas and corn bread to compliment the fish. 

What a great way to end our last dinner together  on the boat. 

7:00pm- Brent and Nicky took the kids to visit the pigs one last time. 

We watch the sunset but we also saw the moon rise over the marina. It was spectacular. What a great way to end our last evening together. 

March 20, 2022- Bitter sweet departure 
7:00am-  Another beautiful morning as we all sit and sip on our coffee. 

8:30am-  After breakfast, Brent brought his family for one last photo opportunity along with a last dinghy ride. 

10:30am-  When everyone returned, they all had sad faces. The drone fell on rocks and completely broke apart. Good thing it broke on the last day. 

Parker was showing me what he wore when he got his Covid test yesterday. 

When my daughter was flying over Staniel Cay on their way home, she spotted us. 
By 3:00pm, I had all the beds stripped, floors washed, bread out of the oven, the fridge and freezer defrosted. It is an adjustment not having the family on the boat. Everything went perfect and the weather cooperated while they were here. 

4:00pm- Steve changed the plugs on the outboard dinghy motor. As he was finishing up, we noticed a motor boat from Montreal who was steering straight for the shallow rocks. Steve whistled at them to stop yet they went in the rocks and hit anyways. Quickly Steve went over on the dinghy to guide them to point out the fuel dock. They had no clue where to go. He then picked me up to go to the restaurant. 

We noticed they were struggling to get to the fuel dock due to their incompetence. They didn’t realize the fuel dock was closed so we helped them get on a mooring for the night. They will get fuel tomorrow. 

6:30pm-  For dinner we both had Club sandwiches and fries. So good.  We went for A nice long needed walk. 

7:30pm-  We started watching a new series. 

Bed by 10:00pm. 

March 21, 2022

7:30am-  Had our cup of coffee before dropping off our laundry for 9:00am. It will be ready for pick up at noon. 

9:30am- Came back to the boat for breakfast. 

Steve made water until we picked up the laundry at noon. It cost $52 because we had all our guest towels and bedding on top of ours.  Well worth getting it done with so much to do. 

1:15am- We left the mooring and anchored by Big Major which is the pig beach. 

1:30pm- A couple of squalls came through and it rained buckets. Steve set it up so he can collect water directly in one of the tanks since it wasn’t totally full. 

He went out and washed himself on deck while it was raining. 

2:00pm- Seeing that the there was some hot water, I took a nice hot shower. 

Steve read while I did some weaving, practiced ukulele and played solitaire. My daughter got me hooked on it. It rained on and off all day. 

6:00pm-  Dinner tonight is steak, cauliflower rice and bean salad. 

7:00pm- Watched a couple of series before bed. 

10:30pm-  Just as I was falling asleep, I heard voices getting closer. Eventually, I could hear “Go to the left”, “now go to the right”. I got up to see what going on and saw a boat coming near us and zig zagging in between the boats. They passed us and anchored right close to the pig beach. It was pure darn and they were shining  a power light to ensure they don’t hit anything. It can be scary at night. 

After I saw they were securely anchored, I went to need. 

March 22, 2022

7:30am-  Little cooler this morning. Steve already had the coffee ready when I woke up. 

9:30am-  Went to several beaches including the pig beach to see if there were any trails but we couldn’t find any. Afterwards, we dropped in to say hi to Sue to Gunter. When we returned to the boat, I did some weaving while Steve read. 

Seeing that we didn’t get much walking on the beach, I did my weights and flexibility exercise.

 
2:00pm- We went spear fishing with Sonny and Karen from S/V Passing Wind. He is an avid spearer. Unfortunately, they did not catch fish. Karen and I stayed in the dinghy for shark watch.  It was really rough. We did find a sunken ship near the rocks. On our way back, we were just soaked and cold. We took a quick shower and I put on a fleece top. Dinner tonight was pea soup and homemade bread. 

Watched a couple of series and played solitaire before going to bed. Very gusty tonight. 

Got up periodically during the night to check on everything making sure no one is dragging. Always a concern when the winds kick up. 

March 23, 2022

Enjoyed having our coffee on this beautiful calm morning. 

8:30am- We decided to go in town and see if they had any provisions also get some exercise walking. We lucked out. We were able to get yogurt, strawberries, bananas and more. Also got asparagus for tonight’s dinner. 

11:00am- When we got back to the boat, Steve read and I painted. 

I finished off the bean salad and Steve had hot dogs for lunch. 

2:00pm-  We went to the cruiser’s beach. I found a sand dollar. Gunter and Sue later joined us. 

The beach has a swing amongst other things like corn hole game. 

There was a family who was dropped off by a tender who chartered a boat for their dad’s 70th birthday. Apparently it cost at least 70,000.00 a week. What a great way to celebrate. 

4:00pm-  came back to the boat and made water. We swam off the boat and then showered. 

5:30pm-  Dinner tonight was creamy lemon, asparagus chicken, rice and spinach. So good. 

The sunset was beautiful and it was the first time we noticed the green flash the minute is set. 

8:00pm-  Watched a couple of series and then played solitaire before going to bed.

It was rocky all night. 

March 24, 2022

7:30am - Enjoyed our coffee and breakfast before going into town to drop off our garbage and go for a 4.5 miles walk. 

We went by the airport. 

We continued our walk and saw so many houses under construction. 

When we across a bridge, we noticed a small stingray along with a lot of conchs at the bottom. 

12:00pm-  After we came back from our walk, Sue and Gunter dropped by to discuss our travel plans for tomorrow. After they left, Steve read while I painted and weaved.

2:30pm-  We like to monitor the vhf 16 channel and we heard someone call in a possible mayday for cruiser Countess Costelle who is a single person who was having health issue. He is not responding to radio which is unusual. His buddy boat was an hour behind and realize he never made it to the destination. Let’s hope he is fine. As of 4:30pm, they still have not heard from him. The Bahamas Defence Force and Warden at Warderick Wales started search. 

4:45pm-  I started preparing dinner. While it was cooling, We went swimming off the boat and showered before bringing up the dinghy in preparation for our departure tomorrow. 

While dinner was cooking, Steve and I enjoyed a glass of wine on the front deck while our hair dried. 

7:00pm-  Dinner tonight is cabbage rolls. Not much much of a sunset due to the cloud cover. 

7:30pm-  Steve prepared his fishing rods for tomorrow. 

8:30pm-  Watched a movie and then played solitaire before going to bed.