Life at the Jib Room

We are on anchor in Marsh Harbor, the main city of the Abacos. In fact, Marsh Harbor is the third
largest city in the Bahamas. It is now Friday, March 30, Good Friday, and we finally are getting decent Internet service here in the Bahamas.  Only decent, as I am trying to download a library book from Cuyahoga County Public Library and it is not happening.

We arrived her last Saturday, spent 4 nights anchored out in the harbor. Was pretty blowy the first couple of nights.  The battery was getting low so we moved onto our dock on Wednesday. Have the shore power on and batteries took 24 hours to recharge back to full.  One of the drawbacks living on the anchor is that our single solar panel does not put out enough power to fulfill our needs, especially with the CPAP machine. Then if it is cloudy, we hardly get any charge at all.


The Jib Room is a really fun place to be. Today we had three tables playing dominoes, a very popular pastime here in Marsh Harbor.

Tomorrow is some boat fixing time. Working on some rust spots on the engine from salt water spray leak that we fixed.  Sunday is Easter and after 9 am church we are going out for brunch. Then Jen and family arrive in the afternoon.  Off to Hopetown on Monday.

Will try to more updates but all depends on Internet situation at the Hopetown Inn and Marina.

Joey from My Pleasure, Barbara from Bob Ra Ann, and Joy from High Spirits at the Steak Fry last Saturday, March 23.


Joe

ps  will try to post a video of the Limbo demonstration later when the Net is running faster

Sitting in Marn O War Cay

We have been here in Man O War Cay for the past two nights. Just signed up for Internet for a week so we can go back to reading our email, listening to Chris Parker weather forecasts, and doing the blog.

Looks like we will be here for a couple of more days as two friends, My Pleasure with Jim and Joey , and Bar Ra Ann,  Bob and Barbara may be arriving tomorrow afternoon.  It will be good to see them as we have not seen them since Marathon, Fl.

So on our trip over the last couple of days, we ended up in Great Guyana Cay for the Barefoot Man concert last weekend. Check him out at  www.barefootman.com

The music is great and the lyrics are a riot.  We stayed a couple of nights on a mooring for only $20/night.  That seems to be the universal price for moorings in the Abacos.

At one of the restaurants, Pirates Cove in Great Guyana Cay we got to watch the movie, Identity Theft with Jason Batemen.  The sub titles were in Japanese as it was a pirate copy out of Japan.  The only problem was next to us were a bunch of loud taking locals.  So the movie was a little hard to hear but pretty funny.

So here are some pictures from the last couple of days of places and people:

Pigs off of No Name Cay, nobody but the pigs live there. This baby pig is very small.  The pigs came down to us after we went a shore. We threw them bannas and cabbage to eat. The bananas were tasty, not so the cabbage.  The lucky pig that got the banana took it and ran off, no sharing in his mind.

At the Barefoot Man concert, they had this travelling magician entertaining everybody before the show. He was really good, especially on his card tricks. 

Annette and Larry Carter, they have been sailing with us for the past week or so.  Going to their bot, Island Pleasure for dinner tonight.

Barefoot Man and one of his back up singers. By the way, he does not wear shoes.


Joe

Music on Green Turtle Cay

Wednesday was doo wop night at Sundowner's Bar in the Settlement of New Providence, the name of the town on Green Turtle Cay.

We had met six people from Ohio, four of them went to Muskingham College and two went to Wittenberg.  The guy from Wittenberg, Keith, was in the same fraternity as Nick Buehler, although 3 years apart.  Keith knew Nick's brother Trevor who also went to Wittenberg and was a Beta.

The six decided to have a doo wop sing along at Sundowners and invited us to come.  Had a great time, I have included some photos and will attempt to load a video of the singers.

Later that night we went back to Green Turtle Club and listened and danced to the Gulley Roosters, a great Bahamian band that plays at the Club every Wed.

Heading across the Whale on Sat onto the Marsh Harbor portion of the Abacos to position ourselves for Jen and family arriving on March 31.

Bob(worked with Linda Franko), Keith (school with Nick Buehler), Joan ( Gus's wife), Karen(Keith's wife and Wittenberg person), Linde ( Bob's wife), and Gus( was CFO of Wittenberg for 20+ years)

Yes, it is what it looks like. Stripper pole at Sundowners.

Sunset at Sundowner's Bar and Grill

Here is a short video of the Ohio gang signing at Sundowners


Joe

Sue and Nick's Last Day

Sue and Nick took off on Monday about 11 am to take the ferry back to Treasure Cay and their afternoon flight to Florida and then on to Washington, DC

Had a great time with them. Here are a couple of photos taken with them.

Sue and Nick siting outside of the bakery where we stopped for a light snack.

 

Inside the Wrecking Tree Café.  The tree outside is where the wreckers would meet to divide, sell,  and trade stuff they got from wrecks.

 

 

After they  left, we took the dinghy into the Settlement ( that what they call small towns here in the Bahamas). Took about 15 minutes to get there, the ride over was into the wind so it took a little longer.

 

We will be here at Green Turtle most likely until Saturday morning due to the wind and wave conditions in the Whale Passage.

 

Joe



Day at the Beach - Manjack Cay

On Thursday we decided to cut the dock lines and head over to Manjack Cay, a small cay about 6 miles from Green Turtle. We got there in the evening.  Friday morning after breakfast we took the dinghy to shore and walked 30 minutes to the beach.

There are six private homes on Manjack.  We met one of the owners, Lisa. She has lived there 21 years with her family.  She has been coming to the Bahamas for 45 years or so, and finally built a house.  They raise vegetables, chickens, and other items. They collect rain water for drinking and irrigation.

The beach was long and white. Joy and Sue went on a long walk.

After walking back to the dinghy we took advantage of the chairs and hammock that Lisa has put out for boaters to use.  This is a very friendly place.

Some pictures of Friday's activities.

 The place has all these signs telling you which way is the Beach.

At the beach at Manjack
Cay.  Nick, Sue, Joy and Joe

Nice place to rest

View from the hammock

Sue at the helm, two sails, no engines, focused on course 240 degrees.

Our Friday dinner being prepared by one of the local fisherman.


Joe

Dancing Under the Stars

Wednesday night is music night at Green Turtle Cay Club.  They have a great 4 piece band, keyboard, lead guitar, bass guitar and drums. The tempo is Bahamian/Island music so it is very fast.  Even the "slow" numbers are faster than most US dance music.  Anyway, some pictures below.

It has been great having Nick and Sue here with us. They fit into the boat life with no problems, except they forgot a few items back in their car.  Plus Sue keeps forgetting the store closes at 5 pm, so no  cookies tonight.

Joy, Sue and Nick took a walk and ended up at the Bluff House marina, across from White Sound from Green Turtle.  They had no money so they called the Green Turtle office and talked the guy into giving them my VISA card number so they could buy beers.  So much for security of financial information.

I stayed behind to work on some boat maintenance issues:  water refill and oil change.  The water here is reverse osmosis and cost $.25.gallon.  Not that bad, since we have seen $.60/gallon in other places. Got my jobs finished just when they got back.

We are thinking today of sailing over to Manjack Cay and anchor for the night. All depends on the wind levels this afternoon after the beach cookout.  It is tough being on a boat.

Here today's photos.

 

Nick on dish washing duty

 

 

 

 

Sue and Nick on the deck listening to the music

 

 

Si here is the story about the guy in the white shirt and hat. He is playing a washboard, the style of music here in the Bahamas is called:  "rake and scrape"  Sometimes the player just holds the wash board but he is wearing it, leaving two hands to play. He is actually holder old metal beer bottle openers.  His name is Brendal and he owns the dive shop here at Green Turtle Club. He just sat in for a few numbers.  The band started at 9 pm and played till midnight.



Joe

At the Ocean Beach, Green Turtle

Another great day with the Buehlers. We have known each other since 1976 when our daughter, Jennifer, was in nursery school with Lorien, their daughter at the old age of 3 years old.
Plus Nick is from Dover, Ohio and is a big Cleveland Browns fan.  We were living in Andover, MA then.  I was working for James Huggins and Son, Joy's family business, and Nick was a professor at Merrimack College in North Andover and Sue worked in special ed for pre school children.

We hiked to the Ocean Beach carrying beach chairs, lunch, books, towels and body suites that we rented from Brindal's shop at Green Turtle Club. He only charges $10/day for a body suit.  It does not cover the legs.

The water was a little rough and there was not much to see.  Later in the day, Joy tried another spot and had some success.

We took a lot of pictures at the beach

Here is a good way to spend the afternoon.

Joe

Sue & Nick are here

Sue and Nick arrived this afternoon at Green Turtle Cay and are staying for a week with us on High Spirits.

They took the ferry from the Treasure Cay airport to the club. Cost was $13/person.

Before they got here Joy and I rented a golf cart and drove around New Plymouth, the name of the main settlement here on Green Turtle Cay.  Checked out the local beaches and had lunch at Harvey's Grill.  Tomorrow is going to be beach day for part of the day.

Several boats are leaving tomorrow for the Marsh Harbor area.

Joy's flowering plant, purple orchid sitting on the dining room table.

Sue on her first day this time on High Spirits

Nick on his first day on High Spirits, this trip.

We will exploring the Ocean Beach here at Green Turtle Cay on Tuesday,  More later


Joe

Spanish Cay

Arrived in Green Turtle Cay yesterday, but first a little about our stay in Spanish Cay.
Spanish Cay is a good stopping spot between Great Sale Cay and Green Turtle Cay when the tide is not high enough to get into Green Turtle. We can come in only on half rising tide or higher.

Spanish Cay is a private island and at one time was owned by Clint Murchison, former owner of the
Dallas Texas NFL football team.  There are only 6 private house on the island along with 12 hotel rooms and two house to rent along with 81 docks.

However it was totally vacant when we got there.  Their big season starts in May through Oct for
sport fisherman. In fact during the season the restaurant is open all day every day, along with the bar, pool and hot tub.  For us it was all closed.

After we arrived, another sail boat and power boat came in and that made three of us.  The staff is super friendly and hard working.

Here are some pictures of Spanish Cay.  Note the tennis courts filled with sand from Hurricane Sandy.

This was sunset at Great Sale Cay the night before we arrived in Spanish Cay

The empty marina at Spanish Cay

The sand filled tennis courts.

So now we are in Green Turtle Club's main dinning room.  Nick and Sue Buehler arrive tomorrow afternoon for a week on High Spirits

Joe