Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Chillin' in Emerald Bay

Finally left George Town Monday and decided to treat ourselves to a stay in a marina at Emerald Bay. Wanted to wash the boat (the first time in over 2 months!), do some laundry and just relax for a bit.  Plan to leave for Long Island on Wed. then on to Rum Cay.  Trying to talk Brandon into an excursion to Turks & Caicos as we will have traveled far enough South to make the jump over to check it all out.  Bella is stable and doing much better.  We will return to George Town in a month to check in the local Vet, as well as pick my Dad up for a week stay aboard the SolMate.  

Just wanted to post a few pictures instead of so much content.  Hope everyone is doing great and I know the weather must be improving because it is for us as well.  So enjoy SPRING!

Friday, March 19, 2010

GeorgeTown

It's hard to believe we've been here over a week now.  We had a good sail down from Emerald Bay, 4-5 footers, but with a North wind and swell, the trip was reasonable.  We had heard many stories/opinions about GT, but we tried to come in with an open mind.  There were certainly more boats in one in a single anchorage than we had seen cumulatively on our whole trip so far.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but takes a little getting used to.  We patrolled through the anchorage just off "Volleyball Beach" looking for a spot.  It was really crowded and the boats were anchored uncomfortably close together. We finally picked a spot somewhat on the fringe and dropped the hook.  Our friends on Las Sirenas found a spot close to us and buried in.  
We settled in pretty quick and went in to the beach for a look-see.  The place was hoppin' and Haley and Alana were on fire excited to see all the kids.  We strolled around and soaked in the vibe.  We met quite a few folks, but one couple in particular would prove to the be a most valued acquaintance.  Chris and Vivian on Second Chance saw Bella and came over to chat.  They have a Portuguese Water Dog as well, but proceeded to tell us the sad story of how they recently(about 4 weeks ago)  lost one of their two Porties to tick-bourne disease that the dog contracted while in the Bahamas.  They were heart broken and we nearly cried as she talked about her baby and about how their remaining dog, Zepper, was so lonely and depressed without his sister.  They told us of the need to protect the dogs with K9 Advantix or Frontline, of which Bella has been on since a puppy.  We were concerned, but felt we had protected Bella against any tick issues.
We did a little research on Ehrliciosis to learn about the hazards and symptoms since I did find  a tick on Bella a few weeks ago(I had pulled it off without much thought). 

A few days later, we noticed Bella acting a little sluggish and she had lost her appetite.  We watched her close and radio'd the local Vet on the island(an American that  chose to retire down here and set up a clinic for the occasional pet issue.  He agreed to take a look at her, and so on the second day, we noticed Bella was warm(running a fever) and had still not eaten so we took her in.  WE dingied the 2-3 miles and walked her up the beach to his house/clinic.  He was the nicest man, and went to work right away, checking her out, and drawing blood.  He confirmed that she had a pretty high fever(105deg) and that her white blood cell count was depresed.  His suspicion was Ehrliciosis, but he proceeded with a SNAP test that would be more definitive.  We were absolutely sick when he confirmed that she had indeed contracted the disease.  Carryn sobbed and we just were stunned.  The doc re-assured us that it would not be fatal, but affirmed that it was only "treatable" but there was no real "cure" for the disease.  It is a bit like Lyme disease, and remains latent in the body and manifests on occasion.  It has to be treated with antibiotics and managed from there.  He set us up with a month's worth of Doxicyclene and advice on what to look for.  We have to go back to see him in a month or so, just to check in.
 I must say, we are devastated that Bella contracted this, but we are so thankful that we caught it early and that it is treatable.  We thank God everyday for bringing Bella into our lives, and can't imagine live without her. 

I hate to write a blog that is such a downer, but wanted everyone to know about it.  Bella is feeling much better, pretty much back to her normal self.  We will keep a close eye on her for the next few days and are postponing a trip to Long Island/ Rum Cay until we know she is OK.  It looks like Tuesday will be a good weather window to go, but we should get another post out before we leave. 

We have been busy, mostly having fun.  Have done some diving and fishing, and generally loafed about for the past week.  GT is a vibrant little village and we have mostly enjoyed our time here, mainly by ignoring all the organized cruiser activities and the hubbub that goes with it. 
We will write up something soon to share the fun stuff going on. 
Keep Bella in your prayers. 

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Emerald Bay Resort/Marina

Yes, you read correctly.  RESORT and MARINA.  WE set a new record of 31 days on anchor(or morring ball) so we decided to splurge and stop in at a marina on the way to Georgetown.  We had a great sail down from Little Farmer's Cay, abiout 30 miles.  The seas were a little rough on the way out of the cut, but became more tolerable as we got a mile or so off shore into 2-3,000 feet of water(the waves tend to stack up as they approach shore line as the sea floor rises up, so it's usually best to get ouit of the shallower water). 
We turned south and put up the main(our jib is shredding along the luff and needs some repair) to steady the motion and pick up we few knots.  We kept the motor on to make better time, since we only had one sail up and our course was very close to the wind(about 60 deg off the port bow).  I picked aout a few good lures and paid them out on the boat rods hoping to catch some dinner.  A few hours later, we looked back to see Las Sirenas stopped and doing circles.  I hailed them on the VHF and they reported they were fighting a good sized Dorado(Mahi Mahi).  I was jealous, but knew it would be big enough to feed us all.  They tood 20 minutes or so the boat the fish and were back on track to catch up to us.  Shortly after talking to them again to get the whole story and them reminding me of the need to have a gaff ready, I went back to get the gaff out and accessible.  Within minutes, Carryn heard the glorious sound of the reel spooling off line.   Whhhhiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzz,  FISH ON!!  We throttled down and turned the boat broadside so I could fight the fish and reel him in.  200 yards away, a beautiful Dorado lept out of the water like a missle.  He flopped back and forth trying to spit the hook.  I worked him in for about 10 minutes and got him to the side of the boat.  A quick swipe with the gaff and we lifted him aboard.  He was beautiful and powerful, 16 pounds of arguably the best the ocean has to offer.  WE would definitely be eating well for the next week.
Carryn got the boat back on course and I fillet'd the catch. 

We pulled into the marina around 4pm and found a real sweet spot.  The marina is nearly new and very well appointed.  Best I can gather, it was built to cater to high end yachts and sport-fishers but hasn't been able to draw a full house.  Construction was in the final phases when the developers sold it the golf course and the resort to Sandals.  Since then, they have left a portion of the marina complete with docks, but no utilities.  they are therefore offering a pretty cheap rate($1.50 per foot or about $70/nt for SolMate) and I'm all about getting a good deal. 

The best part was that when we pulled in on Monday afternoon, we found our frineds on Star Bound and Winfield Lash had pulled in for a few nights as well.  We all got together on the docks for hugs and catching up.  They had been in Georgetown for the past week and are haeding back up to Staniel Cay.  Jim and Heather on Star Bound offered to host everyone for drinks and Scott and I raised the ante, offering up our fresh catch to make it dinner and drinks.  Everyone spent the next few hours cleanign up their boats and getting hot showers.  We converged on Star Bound at dusk and Scott went to work, grilling the fish that had been soaking in his special marinade. 
We made rice and black beans and everyone brought something.  It was a great night.  Most everyone bailed around 10, but Carryn and I stayed to hang out with Jim and Heather for another couple of hours.  We really enjoyed getting to know them- they have a great story and the most incredible boat(I could dedicate an entire blog to sharing the histroy and majic of Star Bound).

Tuesday, we all got up and made a bee line to the landry room.  It was funny to see the men Jim, Scott and I) all psych'd about doing laundry.  I think Jim washed everything on their boat, including taking the covers off the settees.  WE went to work on some big projects, as well as I helped solder an antenna connection on Jim's boat and helped David on Winfield Lash repair his windlass foot switch. 
The big project that we decided to tackle was to take down the head sail and work on it.  We were thrilled when Marge offered her help and er big SailRite sewing machine to help us.  WE drug the sail up to a big grassy area and went to work on it.  We spent about 4 hours and got it all stitched back up.  We shoud be good to go now. 
Additionally, Marge got her clippers out and we all cornered Bella for a hair cut(Marge was a groomer in her past).  Bella wasn't too keen on it but finally gave in and we got her clipped.  She looks and feels great.  Thanks so much to Marge for all her time and effort. 

Our choice to come to the marina proved to be a very good deal overall. The place is beautiful, has great showers, a luxury clubhouse and FREE LAUNDRY!! WE got our money's worth on the laundry alone. We took long, hot showers(I felt like a bank robber using that much water!), and took advantage of the nice beach at Sandals. We were hoping the waiters would come and offer us cocktails on the beach since Sandals is an all inclusive, but we must have clearly looked like "boat people".

We hated to see Wednesday morning arrive, as we knew  Star Bound  and Winfield Lash  would be sailing on.  Las Sirenas and Sol Mate were enjoying the marina life a bit too much so when the winds piped up around noon, we decided to go one more night in the marina. 

We knocked around, hit the little market and liquor store, and got a few more projects done.  Scott's holding tank(where the poop and pee goes until it can be pumped overboard off shore) had sprung a leak, so we did the unpleasant job of draining and repairing the fitting that was leaking.  We got together for a great dinner- I baked chicken parmesan on ziti w marinar.  It was awesome.  We enjoyed our last night in Emerald Bay Marina. 
So this morning, we are getting things tied down to head out into the deep blue for the 6 mile run to Elizabeth Harbor(GeorgeTown).  I hope to blog again in the next few days, hopefully reporting that GeorgeTown is a fun, interesing and entertaing place(we heard much to the contrary, with complaints of overbearing boaters, activities planned and directed like a cruise ship, and less than ideal anchoring and dingy rides to get across the harbor to GT.  We'll see. 

Until then. please leave us a comment.  We love to hear from you.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Pipe Creek Yacht Club

Yes, we are now members of the rag-tag, unofficial Pipe Creek Yacht Club.  A very loose organization of veteran cruisers that make Pipe Creek(not really a "creek" but more of a channel that cuts between Rat Cay, Pipe Cay, Little Pipe Cand Thomas Cay).  It is a great place to weather fronts, which is what we have been doing for the past week.  It is amazing how you meet great folks and how they come in and out of your life at various times while cruising.  To make a long story short, our Savannah friends John and Kathy on Miss Alice, introduced us to Al and Ann on Calypso Poet who live aboard in Ft Lauderdale and Al works at the West Marine there(he helped me with my batteries replacement).  Al and Ann take a few months each year and come to the Bahamas and Pipe Creek is their hangout.  He and several other regulars have spent so much time her over the years that they started the unofficial "PCYC", to which they granted Carryn and I "membership" to this year since we hung out with them for over a week. 

It has been al long week at that.  We dove and hunted as much as we could, but on Tuesday, a big front blew in and we sat through 36 hours of 25-30 knot winds.  By Thursday, winds were still 15-20 out of the NW and we were pinned down.  fortunately, our ground tackle was in solid and we stayed on the boat and coped.  Finally, this morning the winds lightened up and we are forecast for several days of light N winds.  Chris Parker said we may even have up to a week of settled weather!  So we are on the move.  We pulled anchor this morning at 9 and threaded our way back out of the anchorage.  We are headed to Staniel Cay for a quick trip to Isles General Store(the mail boat came in this morning and brought some fresh stuff).  We'll then head for Black Point for a quick trip into Lorraines for some home-made bread.  Then probably anchor south of Great Guana Cay for tonight(Fri).  Saturday we'll get to Little Farmer's Cay for a stay Sat night.  Then we'll go on the outside(the sound) to make the 35 mile run to Elizabeth Harbor to hang out in George Town for a while.  Carryn has been on me to prepare blogs so when we got an internet connection, I could just load them up.  But I didn't listen and obey, so I don't have alot of details about what we have been up to this past week.  Instead, I'll post a few pics.