New Providence, Bahamas

Finally close to really cruising!  We are in Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas. The island is, I think, about 2 miles by 5 miles, and is overpopulated and poverty-stricken. Seventy percent of all Bahamians are on this small island. The population of the country is about 350,000. The Bahamians have a volunteer coast guard (called BASRA) which has 3 lifeboats and no helicopters. The US does provide support, but it takes a long time to get helicopters here sometimes, which can come from Clearwater, Pinellas County! To give some comparison, Bahamas is the size of Great Britain in area of contour, but has the three lifeboats to Britain's 300 and 10 helicopters.

The plight of the people is sad, here, and many of them seem weary when you meet their eyes.  The tourist economy took a nosedive, and that hurt the Bahamians. Our American discretionary spending put food on their tables, and our belt-tightening caused them to need smaller trousers. Crime seems to be a problem. We are warned repeatedly to take defensive measures for our protection (go in pairs or more, no "bling" showing, spread money out into several pockets, carry no more cash than needed, back on the boat before dark, etc.). The island has a bridge over to Paradise Island, where the tourists go. It is a tale of two cities, have and have not. On New Providence, the stores have bars over all glass and buzzers to control permanently locked doors. The stores vary widely, some are cardboard, plywood, and blue tarps, others are clean, neat, air conditioned, and well stocked. We heard lots of police sirens in the night and on Sunday night (Monday morning 1:30 AM) we heard a high speed, WILD police pursuit chase from our boat in the harbor, including screeching tires and zig zagging all around the near part of the island before they went over the crest of a knoll and off into the distance. Fifteen minutes later we heard fire engines, too. The firemen on this island don't sleep all night. We've seen two buildings they have extinguished, and by this, I say they are quite good at it.

We haven't been to a grocery yet. The food vendors under the bridge to Paradise Island on Potter's Cay look about like pictures of Haiti on TV. Produce there was no more expensive than Publix in Miami. I did wash my purchases thoroughly! Many cruisers soak veggies in hydrogen peroxide and vinegar when they get them back to the boat. I may start doing that. I was grateful that we have had our hepatitis A vaccines, and recommend it for all cruisers. We are going to buy some Flagyl in a pharmacy tomorrow, too!

On Paradise Island, well, it looks like Paradise compared to New Providence. Paradise is where the Americans go to play when they disgorge from the cruise ships. 

Local "buses" operated by individuals cannot afford to pay the bridge toll to go to New Providence, so workers going to Paradise over the bridge find they either walk 1/2 mile or they stand by the entrance ramp to the bridge and wait to be picked up by people willing to share the ride for a share of the $1 toll. Chefs in toks and white double-breasted suits stand next to concierges, next to maintenance men,, hotel maids, and landscapers, all waiting in slug lines like commuters in northern Virginia. There seems to be no fear of these strangers, and great tolerance of all motorists as cars stop dead to pick up these passengers.

    Weather permitting, we might leave and go to George Town. Some wind coming to the upper and central Bahamas at the end of the week and the further south of that we get, the better. We can anchor in Elizabeth Harbor off George Town and have good cruiser support services. Up to 600 boats can and have anchored there. This year, the numbers are WAY WAY down (only 225 there now). Failing that, we are looking at our options, including tying up somewhere as we have quite a rolling anchorage for 1/2 the time (the wind against the tide is uncomfortable, so half the time the boat is doing a chaotic sashay dance, the other half of the time it is tranquil). Winds are going to be briefly 28 knts here, maybe less in this 1/3 mile wide harbor.

Elise worked on getting the Sailmail (radio email) going for 4 hours last night. No dice. We need technical expertise from other cruisers that we don't have ourselves. Two boats over (boat name withheld) is an electrical engineer who "reverse engineers things and reads technical manuals for fun." Just our guy, if he doesn't leave on the tide this morning! I think we might need to "follow that boat." He asked me what technical and mechanical problems we were having on our boat and he actually said, "Oh goody!" with a gleam in his eye. He also said his solar array makes more water than they can use. He better keep that tidbit quiet in George Town!  I asked if they want a friend in SeaSpan, which doesn't have a water maker.

           

Helping Hands

Our engine/transmission repair has been in progress for more than a week, and finally, the fix arrived special delivery from Orlando. Our buddy Elmer, who is THE mechanical genius, figured out what 3 or more "professional marine mechanics" could not, and we are ready for a test drive in the morning. A real knuckle buster, but we are all glad to have that done.

That spells relief!!

This afternoon, the computer genius in the anchorage, Mark of sv Rachel, was kind enough lend a hand in the adaptor/software/firmware/propogation world (yeah right) in order to get the Sailmail functional. This was confirmed true when test message was reported sent to sister Clare in Chicago via Panama station.
Amazing.  Now if we could just clean up the spaghetti on the navigation station.

On to Miami...

Where is 2011? And to where was it taken?

Do you ever pine away for the past? Wax sentimental to have it the way it used to be? Well.....you can get there, just get in you car or boat and drive there (here)!
We are in Belhaven, NC.
If you notice a paucity of phone calls, or that email I promised you never arrived, that would be because it (they) are stuck here in 1975. Belhaven now has cell phone service. They got it in 2009 when US Cellular finally came to town and monopoloized the market. Now people who buy Various roaming plans are doing battle with their cell companies over using the US Cellular tower. Elise and I went to a 1980 grocery store yesterday. No, we didn't get in on the hog knuckle sale. It did make us a little nervous to drive the golf cart on a numbered US highway on the way to the store, but the mayor told the town cop to let people do it in a special arrangement with the marina, "so you'll be all right."
I saw blatant racism in a car parts store when the young white man wanted to help me ahead of the black guy who had been standing there when I entered the store. When I pointed out that the other fellow was first, he helped the black guy, but asked me, "Where are you from?" in a "get with the program" sort of inflection to his voice. The black man was stone silent and didn't make eye contact with either of us. I so desperately wanted to answer, "2011."
I spoke to Someone at the dock about the job as Pamlico County Director of Public Health. She told me that she believed I was capable of the job and could do good work there, but that I wouldn't be permitted to and that, as an outsider, I wouldn't ever be trusted and wouldn't be accepted until I saved someone important, "and that might be a while because people in the network don't go to the health department......for ANYTHING." I asked what the network is, and she smiled and replied, counted off slowly on her fingers the three components, "Good, Old, Boy." OMG.
The mosquitoes are the worst I've ever experienced in an inhabited place in the daytime. They are as bad as Florida at sundown in the rainy season in mid-afternoon. No sentinel chickens needed here, the people themselves can have their sera tested! But they have beautiful churches and a nice library. And the Election Day barbecue outside the polling station sponsored by the mayor smelled delicious as was rode by in the golf cart. "The mayor wants you to fix yourself a plate when you come out from voting," I thought I heard someone say.
Notice there will be no pictures with this blog entry. We couldn't figure out how to get Kodachrome to upload.

Linda Petrat

While we are in Annapolis we've met several other cruisers. One is Linda Petrat.
Linda is nearly Social Security age and a lifelong mariner. As a child, she sailed with her parents and 6 younger siblings on a 70 foot wooden Alden schooner. The Alden had an 8'9" draft and plied the East coast of the US and the Bahamas (!). She has worked as a finish carpenter and has raised 2 daughters.

After divorcing some years back, she began sailing her Pearson Ensign 22. When the transport company dawdled this autumn, she left on her own to sail the boat from New Hampshire to Annapolis on the way to her new home in Sarasota, Florida. She regularly gets seawater baths and has virtually no protection from the elements. This boat is smaller than the boat Washington crossed the Delaware in, and has no fixed instruments, no heat, a 4hp outboard engine, a single bunk with a leak over it, effectively no tankage, a bottle of rum strapped in for emergency fortification, a cuddy cabin so small that Linda can't fully sit up in it, and one INTREPID captain with the gritty resolve to beat winter down the coast. After inviting her to dinner aboard our boat and hearing her story, we won't bet against her success.

Linda is a very nice person and an inspiration to all of us making the trip in more substantial circumstances. As I type this Captain Petrat is braving 50F rain at the tiller with no self-steering as she pushes down the bay. We'll report back on our blog what becomes of her.Pictures to follow when we have a real computer to send with.

Maryland holds on to us

Nephew Elliot and niece Emily at their cross country running championship meet.  They won!

Maryland has a way of hanging on to us.  There is a perpetual social calendar of family events, then there is the weather, now a series of mechanical glitches.  The latest caused us to be towed into Annapolis where our mechanic, Nick Vernon, is back on our boat for the third time to straighten us out (we hope).  Our alternator is not working properly and we gave it to him yesterday to get it tested at an alternator shop.  Also, he is replacing the drive shaft coupling bolts that sheared off in the first 4 hours of use.  And, now, he is going to realign the engine and raise the engine on its mounts on Thursday.  We hope for a Friday 10/28 departure for points south......fingers crossed as it is getting cold. 

Maryland Autumn

Being towed into Annapolis

On top of Sugarloaf Mountain

But, just when we are feeling sorry for ourselves, we meet inspiration at the Chick & Ruth weekly cruiser breakfast in Annapolis.  We met a woman today who is single-handing a 22 foot sailboat that she can't even fully sit-up in from New Hampshire to "South."  She has no heat and she gets a seawater bath every day she sails.  She's made it to Annapolis and is an INTREPID SOUL.  Her smart phone is not working and she is bundled up in foul weather gear most of the time.  Makes us feel like wimps for complaining about ANY relative hardship we've encountered.  After meeting her and hearing her story, all we wanted to do is help her in any way we could.  Autumn has had a beauty to it, even if summer and autumn weather has caused muted colors and mostly just green or brown leaves to fall off the trees this year.  Flocks of geese are honking overhead and we know what season comes next.  Time to get! 

The RIght Tool for the Job

In a joint iinitiative, NOAA and the EPA  promote a voluntary incentive based program known as the Clean Marina Program. After developing environmentally sound programs for fuel and waste management, marinas may apply to become recognized as environmental stewards. Once recognized, they are more likely to avoid EPA fines, sustain improved water quality and habitat for wildlife and customers, plus,they gain rights to the official clean marina logo and complimentary marketing under the Clean Marina byline.  It appears the federally legislated Clean Water Act of 1972 and revision of 1978 needed an updated approach which requires less administration and more active engagement by those in strategic locations to source pollution.

With all this green attention, it is really surprising to see what still washes up. Honestly, it's such a sin; the mess actually stirs recollections of the anti-pollution PSA of the 1970's featuring the crying American Indian.

And just when I thought a net might be in order, the cavalry arrived to save the day. 

How did I miss this invention? It's the closest thing to a street sweeper you'll find on the water. This device has big arms in front that essentially sweep the debris off the water surface, then collects and stores it. I'm presuming there is an environmentally sound endpoint for all that rubbish too.
Not perfect, but there was much less visible pollution in the post-sweep vs the pre-sweep view to our stern.

BTW, Seven Seas Cruising Association, at SSCA.org, for the last 60 years has embodied he tradition of leaving a clean wake long before it was fashionable. Actively respecting others and the shared environment is a most cherished attribute of the organization which warmly welcomes active cruisers and armchair sailors alike.The annual dues are an excellent value (check out the site), but the members are priceless.  

A Successful Labor Day

Any hard working galley wench will recognize this beauty...

This raw water foot pump at the galley sink is the latest improvement for SeaSpan.
While I would never consider using this in the harbor here in Balto, I am sure in clear Caribbean waters, it will almost make doing dishes fun (right.)
We "labored" over the installation, but it is now 100% functional.
It is time tested as well, which is to say, we picked it up at a chandlery consigment shop.  Those of us who have classic plastic, read old fiberglass boats, visit such haunts when in new ports for spare parts and miscellany. During our stop in Oriental NC, our new friend Doug gave us a lift to the chandlery, where a treasure hunt yielded the pump, port and starboard running lights, and a hard to find downwind pole. All in great condition at competitive pricing. Doug was even kind enough to return us, the 13 foot pole and other finds back to our dock in his truck.  Aren't sailors wonderful?

Waning Summer

The days are gradually getting shorter.  The skies more cloudy, and the temperatures are cooling.  Summer has been fun, but it is waning in the mid-Atlantic states.  Time for us to think about what's next.

What's next is a lot of boat work in order to be ready to move on!  The next few entries in our blog are likely to show us head-down in a compartment or bilge space, a troubled or worried look on our faces.  Let us tell you, it has been a LONG LONG time since Elise and Jeff have worried about a coming winter. It has become, already, the start of a race against time! We won't panic until the geese start flying in vees overhead; when does that happen??  

Alas, it is still summer, and we are going to hang on to it as long as we can.  This weekend we enjoyed a sunset at the lake in Columbia

                                            Wilde Lake, Columbia

 Jeff made a trip with his sister-in-law, niece, and nephew to Hersheypark to celebrate nephew Elliot's 16th B-day in style with a posse of Elliot's friends.  I'd post a pic of Elliot and the boys, but we never saw them all day at the park!

Emily, 13, prepares to ride the Comet

CHICAGO

Jumped in Elise's little red roadster and took a little trip to Chicago a couple weeks ago to see Elise's sister Clare, and her husband, Bob.  They were throwing a big Saturday night party to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and we were going to get to see their beautiful new (to them) Lakeview East home.  We had a great time and Clare and Bob couldn't have been better hosts -- they are great family!  Guests from Florida came, too, and we enjoyed getting to know Bob and Clare's newer and long-term friends a little better.  Thanks for including us!

One watches the people in Chicago on TV in the winter time; in a penguin huddle waiting for the "L," or some poor sap harpooned on the sidewalk by falling ice from above, pedestrians in danger of being blown into traffic by the whipping snowstorm.  Why do they live there by the millions?  The answer is summer!

Chicago seems to be a GIGANTIC small town.  Festivals, activities, school and the action draw the young to live there in great hordes.  Public transit is fantastic, arts and culture are world class, and it is quite scenic.  OK, we can see the vision now.  We'll visit in summer, may even get a place and stay for summer some time.

Imagine our surprise when we found the Pride of Baltimore II making a weekend port call at Chicago while we were there.

To Bermuda AND BACK in 5 days!!!

Norman and Sylvia Hazzard

The folks were married on August 12, 1961, so this month they've been married for 50 years.  We cruised to Bermuda together on an ocean liner and threw a big party. 

None of the 2300 passengers on that enormous ship were more grateful than the two of us to be able to turn off the lights, tuck into bed, and sleep for 8 hours uninterrupted as the ship made 160 miles good for Bermuda through the night!  A 500 mile day at sea; can you imagine??!!??  "Rough seas" made some feel ill as we crossed the Gulf Stream; Elise and I shared knowing smiles in public and giggles in private at the notion that we were experiencing rough seas.  Let's summize there were no lee cloths, no wetted table cloths, no spilled dinner wine, and no crawling on the cabin sole necessary.  We can now attest that 1000 foot long ships steaming at 22 kts shoulder 7 foot seas with aplomb. 

Dock Yard, Bermuda

Hamilton, Bermuda ferry landing

Horseshoe Beach, Bermuda

Looking southwest from Horseshoe Cove Beach

Evening in Victoria Park, Harmilton, Bermuda