Stormy Nassau
The wind is howling at up to 40kts on our mast top anemometer and Stardust is rocking on it’s doubled lines in the marina. The huge charter catamaran left 2 hours ago bound for Allans Cay, so they must be getting whacked out in the middle of the bank somewhere. Can’t be much fun to start off that way, but if you charter a trip, you go when you get onboard, times a wastin and if you are the captain of the charterboat, time is money. The front will produce wind for the next 24 hours and since we want to leave the marina (and the slip space fee) tomorrow, we’ll anchor nearby and then leave for Allans Cay on Tuesday morning. I’ll try for one last blog in the morning before we leave the marina since we won’t be online again until Georgetown, and that might be 2 weeks away.
We toured Atlantis yesterday which is the over-the-top resort on Paradise Island. It features a gigantic aquarium with rays, sharks, lobster, and many, many fish. We watched the fish for an hour or so and it was really something. I can’t wait to get to the reefs and see the real thing. Atlantis has a huge casino, plenty of sculptures and statues, shops with high dollar offerings (Kathy tried on a $1500 emerald bracelet), waterfalls, and totally outlandish architecture. We discussed the Atlantis myth and the underwater Bimini road which is supposed to be part of the ancient road to Atlantis.
I bought a Skype phone and downloaded the software from the internet. This phone can call out from our computer when we have an internet connection for about 2 cents a minute. Much better than a local phone card for a dollar a minute. My Skype name for those of you with a Skype phone is jgleejr2. Unfortunately only Skype users can call us and then, only when we are online. So the phone is mainly for us to call out on. More computer magic. What’s next? I called Mom and it faded in and out due to the quality of the internet connection, I’m told, but it did the job.
Our fuel tank is clean. I sampled fuel from different locations in the tank and found only clean fuel. The fuel pick-ups were then blown out, but didn’t seem to have any restrictions. I found a nice big fuel filter in a local store, but no fittings to make it work. Tomorrow may bring success and then we’ll have a better fuel filter and hopefully the end to our engine problems. I’ll leave the pick-ups reversed since that seemed to cure the problem at least temporarily.
Our next stop, Allans Cay, is special because it is populated by hundreds of iguanas! They are protected, and you aren’t allowed to “molest” them, so Kathy says I can’t eat any. There will also be patches of coral reefs, so I should be able to shoot dinner, since the local Fisheries Department Head, Mr. Lloyd, stamped my fishing license with a pole spear stamp!
Rachel is taking her last exam right now, and Kathy will mail off the packet with 8 exams in it to Calvet tomorrow. They have both been working very hard with reviews and then testing. It was nice for the three of us to play tourist yesterday.
We enjoy getting comments on the blog, so if you like what you see, drop a line. As long as someone is reading this I’ll keep it up!
We toured Atlantis yesterday which is the over-the-top resort on Paradise Island. It features a gigantic aquarium with rays, sharks, lobster, and many, many fish. We watched the fish for an hour or so and it was really something. I can’t wait to get to the reefs and see the real thing. Atlantis has a huge casino, plenty of sculptures and statues, shops with high dollar offerings (Kathy tried on a $1500 emerald bracelet), waterfalls, and totally outlandish architecture. We discussed the Atlantis myth and the underwater Bimini road which is supposed to be part of the ancient road to Atlantis.
I bought a Skype phone and downloaded the software from the internet. This phone can call out from our computer when we have an internet connection for about 2 cents a minute. Much better than a local phone card for a dollar a minute. My Skype name for those of you with a Skype phone is jgleejr2. Unfortunately only Skype users can call us and then, only when we are online. So the phone is mainly for us to call out on. More computer magic. What’s next? I called Mom and it faded in and out due to the quality of the internet connection, I’m told, but it did the job.
Our fuel tank is clean. I sampled fuel from different locations in the tank and found only clean fuel. The fuel pick-ups were then blown out, but didn’t seem to have any restrictions. I found a nice big fuel filter in a local store, but no fittings to make it work. Tomorrow may bring success and then we’ll have a better fuel filter and hopefully the end to our engine problems. I’ll leave the pick-ups reversed since that seemed to cure the problem at least temporarily.
Our next stop, Allans Cay, is special because it is populated by hundreds of iguanas! They are protected, and you aren’t allowed to “molest” them, so Kathy says I can’t eat any. There will also be patches of coral reefs, so I should be able to shoot dinner, since the local Fisheries Department Head, Mr. Lloyd, stamped my fishing license with a pole spear stamp!
Rachel is taking her last exam right now, and Kathy will mail off the packet with 8 exams in it to Calvet tomorrow. They have both been working very hard with reviews and then testing. It was nice for the three of us to play tourist yesterday.
We enjoy getting comments on the blog, so if you like what you see, drop a line. As long as someone is reading this I’ll keep it up!
posted by Stardust at 3:45 PM
5 Comments:
Being an old time hang glider pilot I have often thought that sailing would have been a better[family] sport. My family and I have rented boats from the Moorings twice and sailed around the BVI's and from st.Vincent to Grenada,So it is with intrest that I read your accounts.Wayne Ripley
This reminds me of another Atlantis story. We had gone there to shoot a "famous" TV Chef at poolside. The resort had set him up with lobster, shrimp, red snapper etc. all at a huge charcoal grill. When the shoot was over, everyone walked away leaving all of that grilled seafood behind. As we wrapped the cables and equipment, we would grab some of the food and scarf it down. It was wonderful.
That afternoon, this TV Chef was spotted in the Atlantis food court eating burgers and pizza. The only hint I will give at his identity is that he is from NY!
We read your blog to keep up with the lifestyle we love and miss!
Jason thought he might be in the Nassau area on his ship during his return voyage from Europe.but looks like that has changed. If he had, he was hoping to hail you on the radio!
We love the pictures!
Cindy, Hayley and Jack
Please keep the news of adventures coming. I love catching up with what you all are up to from the other side of the world. Safe sailing and I'll keep dreamin'
Cheers, Randi
I've been catching up on this blog since I discovered it last week! (What an amazing thing the internet is, when you can type a few keywords into a search engine and find out what new things are going on, despite having lost touch years ago.)
Thank you for sharing your family's exciting adventure with the rest of us! I eagerly await the next installment...
Your long-lost cousin, Nancy
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