Whale of a Time!

Jennifer (The Pearl)

Greetings from Green Turtle Cay!  

We have received a good weather report over the next couple of days and plan to traverse the Whale cut on Monday!   Patti, look for Kluane in the harbour!  Reflecting on our 2 weeks in Green Turtle brings immediate smiles to our faces- we do love it here!  We have met wonderful new friends- and had great adventures and fantastic conversations!  Thanks and hugs to Kathy (Nova Scotia), Brendal, Mary, BJ, and Chris (Brendal's Dive Shop), Lindsey & Richard (UK), Dicky & Maria (Florida), Philip (Abaco Yacht Services), John & Sally (s/v Liliana- Freeport, Maine), Tom (s/v Cielo Azul- Bear Creek, Pennsylvania),  Russ & Buddy (s/v Moon Shadow), Sally at the Green Turtle Library, Staff at the Bluff House (Hi Natasha!), Green Turtle Club and the Plymouth Restaurant & Bar!

We had a wonderful visit and plan to come back!

Goombay Smashes for All!

Hugs, 

The Pearl

Thanksgiving at the Bluff House
John, Tom, Kathy, Natasha, Sally, The Pearl & The Buccaneer

Gratitiude, New Friends & Turkey!

Jennifer (The Pearl)

Turkey Greetings from Green Turtle Cay!  Buccaneer and I are enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of Green Turtle.  We are thankful to Mother Nature for the protective White Sound, where we are anchored as this cold front comes through.  The seas are quite stirred up.  We listen to the Chris Parker each morning on the single side band radio, he gives detailed forecasts and advice to those in the States wishing to cross to the Bahamas and to those already here.  Today, for the first time, he asked for folks to take photos of the ocean on Friday morning in the Abacos- it will be a "spectacular sight".  Not sure what to think about a weather guy saying such things, but we will check it out from the safety of the beach.  We hope go around Whale Cay on Monday to meet Patti in Marsh Harbour!  It is really up to Mother Nature if we do or not.   Going around Whale exposes us to the ocean as well as a narrow cut between islands and coral heads.  Keep calm ocean thoughts for us and safe travel thoughts for Patti! There are quite a few boats here in Turtle, more arriving each day.  We have met fantastic folks from the Bahamas, US, Canada and Europe.  We will be spending Turkey day enjoying the New Plymouth downtown and then settling in for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with 4 of our new friends!  

Enjoy the photos! 

Happy Thanksgiving- wishing everyone a wonderful day with family and friends.  Cliff & I are very thankful for each of you!

Much Love,

The Pearl

PS Watch the next post for Buccaneer's latest catch!

Shark!  Cliff caught diving on the anchor.  

Our friend Tom (s/v Cielo Azul) and the shark!

Parrots!

Happy Hour at Kathy's with Brendal from Brendal's Dive Shop!

Good Friends already!  Making of a Mayor! WRW you know what I mean!

Streets of New Plymouth

McIntosh Restaurant & Bakery- YUM!  Guess who spied the chocolate cake?

Happy Hour at the Bluff House!
Goombay Smash- a rum drink created by a local watering hole here in New Plymouth

Out of Control!

Later the same day, at Green Turtle Club- notice the empty cups and dollars all over the walls!  The dollar bill tradition was started with the Club's inception, when retired World War II fighter pilots would hang signed bills as a token for future friends that may visit The Club to have a drink "on them".

Green Turtle Club

Green Turtle Love

Jennifer (The Pearl)

We arrived in Green Turtle Cay on November 9 and have been in love ever since!  We have walked to the beach, the bay, the bank, to town and ended up in backyards (well sometimes it hard to tell if you are in a front or backyard).  Folks are super friendly and the weather has been incredible.  Last night Buccaneer cooked up some traditional red chile and made enchiladas- not much more a girl can ask for.  Having a grand time!

I've been told our readers want more photos- so I hope these are to your liking! 

New Plymouth, was settled by loyalists- yes, those who sided with the British during the Civil War!

Typical cottages on the bank side of Green Turtle, love the colors!

Buccaneer & I visited the Loyalist Sculpture Garden in the center of town.  The statues are beautiful (so is the sky)!

Name that yoga pose!  Buccaneer enjoys the ocean beach! (Check out those breakers)

Pearl practices her Down Dog!

Seaweed deposits from Sandy & waves braking on the coral reefs.

Brain Coral- super cool!

Small diversion to the Moon!

Extra Old Rum went from Barbados to Buffalo in 2006, Buffalo to ABQ 2007, and met its end in the Abacos, Bahamas 2012.

Angie, I am sending this home with Patti- it made me think of you!  

Typical grocery shelves.  Prices to note: Tortilla Chips: $6.75/bag, Salsa $5.95/jar.  

It's 5pm somewhere (or a little past noon)!  Buccaneer and our new friend, Kathy from Halifax!  Cold Kalik's in hand  (during the festival Christmas and New Year's festival of Junkanoo cowbells are a key instrument used by bands- "Kalik" is the sound they make).

The Pearl and Buccaneer with Kalik's.   

Sweet Treats!  Coach, um, Buccaneer has a serious sweet tooth (thank goodness).  These local pineapple pies are yummy!

Hermit Crab 

Grand Cay

Whole Grain Crackers, Lobbie Salad and Sprouts!

Jennifer (The Pearl)

Light winds for the 37 miles to Grand Cay.  Grand Cay is the second most Northern island in the Bahamas.  It is a quick and usual stop for the sport fisherman from Florida.  Walkers Cay, which is right next door, was hit by a hurricane a few years back, has never been restored and is now up for sale.  Anyone looking to invest?

Grand Cay

Buccaneer and I walked Grand, end to end, about 1/2 mile each time.  The people are very friendly, and live very simply.  We met many of the fisherman who would be zipping by our anchored boat to bring in fish from their days work.  While at Grand we met George who was a former Mayor of the island.  He showed us the government clinic that is staffed by a nurse, where the visiting dentist works (he comes once per month depending on weather), took us to his store and gave us a HUGE bag of lobster! Thanks George!  Grand has a population of about 500.  Below is a photo of the streets on Grand, they use gas and electric gulf carts to get around.  As you can see from the photos, many of their widows are boarded up to be ready for the next storm.  We found 2 homes that sell baked goods- homemade white bread, banana bread (the best EVER) and pound cake.  We also peaked into 2 grocery stores.  Picture a medium sized room (about 1/4 the size of a Target or Lowe's lobby) with metal shelving, a cooler and a freezer.  The "essentials" are for sale at a higher rate than you would find in the States.  Clorox, Raman Noodles, Pasta, Kraft Mac n' Cheese, Butter, Eggs, Sugar, Flour, Rice, Spagettio's, Ketchup, Mayo etc.  No organic.  The supply boat goes to Freeport once a week to pick up the stock and fresh goods for the week.  Once the veggies are gone, you wait for next week.  Tomatoes, onions, baking potatoes, lemons and green peppers were the most commonly stocked veggies items here.

The holding was not good- silty and sandy.  With the 20-25 mph gusts we decided to head south after 5 days.  Off to Green Turtle Cay!

Typical Street on Grand Cay

Buccaneer at a public dock

Lobbies, anyone?  These are spiny lobsters, they do not have claws

Buccaneer took an afternoon to dive for Conch.  Conch are made into burgers, fried and used in salads.  They are also used for bait.  The shells are seen throughout the Bahamas!

Glassy Seas

Jennifer (The Pearl)

On Nov 3rd we moved from West End to Mangrove Cay.  The entire day the ocean was glassy- a strange sight after such a boisterous ride to West End.  Mangrove Cay is a small island that is covered with Mangroves, no beaches, no docks, no people.  We anchored with Amy and Dave- swam (yah!), showered and had a fantastic dinner on Swallow.  As night settled in, fog moved in.  In the morning the Clevelands will set off towards Marsh Harbour to pick up their daughter and we are off to our first destination- Grand Cay!  

The Pearl

BIG Firsts

Jennifer (The Pearl)

Since the start of our adventure, Buccaneer and I have had may BIG firsts!  Numero Uno would be Sandy- she was big, close and a hurricane turned super storm.  Then we cross the gulf stream in a BIG fashion (9ft swell) and we are the 3rd boat to check into West End, Bahamas since Sandy. Whoo hoo! What could possibly be next?  Jeff, sit down.  Marcee, I was there, believe me.  Mom, he had teeth.

The night before we left Stuart, Florida we walked down to the Southern Angler- a fishing store.  They have colorful bobbles, trinkets and lots of stuff we had no idea how to use.  Luckily, we were in good hands (Thanks to Cory, Dennis & Giles) and Buccaneer was set up to catch us fish for supper.  It was not "if" we catch something, it was "when".  The silver shiny lure was a secret weapon and the large green and blue ones... well...  the picture tells the story.  The s/v Kluane became the fishing vessel Kluane by hooking a Great Barracuda.  Buccaneer had the line hanging over the stern of the boat (trolling) for much of the morning, into the afternoon.  Nothing.  He changed the lure a few times. Nothing. He leaves the cockpit to go into the cabin for the first time and I hear a noise that I think is a sail flogging.  I look up and the main is fine.  I look back and the line is fiercely unwinding.  Yikes!  I stop the line and Buccaneer starts to reel in his catch.  Yep,  he hooked a BIG one.  We watch in anticipation of what we may be having for dinner- grouper, yahoo, snapper?  Unfortunately a 4'+ Barracuda is not a fish you eat.  They feed on reef fish and have a high risk of ciguatera (google it, we don't want anything to do with it).  After a good fight- on both sides mind you- Mr. Cuda went back into the ocean.  

Our day of natural wonders did not stop there.  Mr. Birdie, which we called Captain Birdie visited every nook and cranny Kluane.  We were in the middle of nowhere- where did she come from?  How could such a tiny bird fly so far? What type of bird was so friendly and comfortable with humans to come so close?  We had fun watching as she explored the boat- inside and out.  She rested on my foot, Buccaneer's heel and the Kluane's wheel.  Susan, if you can identify her, send us an email!  kluanesails@gmail.com

"Check out my Pearly Whites"

I'd say he was at least 4ft.... cool 80 test # line!

Mr. Cuda and Buccaneer are exhausted!  Shameless plug for the Southern Angler!  Thanks Guys!

Snow White's tune "Animal Friends" started to play in my head.  I am super excited to be learning more about the Bahamas and all of its' residents- BIG and small.   Maybe when there is no wind the dolphins, er dwarfs can pull us to the next island! 

Very Proud of my Fisherman, Buccaneer!

The Pearl

Crossing the Gulf Stream

Buccaneer reading the chart as we navigate the Gulf Stream

Jennifer (The Pearl) 

Greatings from the Bahamas, Mon!  On November 1st at 4am the Buccaneer and I pulled up our anchor and headed east.  The first 2 hours of our journey were in complete darkness.  The coastal waters had a North swell running 2-3', wind was heading WNW.  The 2-3' was courtesy of Sandy.  Will she ever leave us?  At approximately 10 miles East if West Palm Beach, around 6:30am we reached the western edge of the Gulf Stream.  Once in the Gulf Stream, we were greeted by 4-6' swell with waves coming through as high as 8-9'.  Note the waves were not crashing- this makes a big difference.  About this time is when I focused on the horizon and tried not to look behind us.  I ended up feeling much better in the fetal position in the cockpit- sleeping!  I think my Mom and Dad said something about me falling asleep regularly in the car when I was young- Kluane's motion put me right to sleep- Thank Goodness!  Buccaneer and Klaune motorsailed the entire way.  The journey through the gulf stream was like a roller coaster with no track, no other cars and no sight of land.  The water is the color of indigo blue (looked fake at times) and the temperature in the middle of the gulf waters was 82 degrees.  In the end, I slept about half the trip, but did not loose my cookies!  It took us 10 hours to reach our destination- West End, Bahamas.  Yeah! Once in the slip at the marina we put up our quarantine flag (yellow flag) and filled out the customs paperwork (lots of paperwork).  I waited on the boat, while Captain cleared us in on land.  Once clear, we took down the quarantine flag and put up the Bahamas flag, followed by the United States flag.  We then toasted with cold Cokes!  We stayed in West End for  2 nights, we were the 3rd boat to cross into West End since Sandy.  We walked the community of West End, took in the beauty, observed the hurricane damage and talked with some locals.  The community experienced downed power lines and flooding over the sea wall.

The well rested Pearl excited to see land!  Check out the line connected to my lifejacket- it is connected to the boat- via lifelines.  There is no falling out of Kluane!

The Gulf Stream.  The yellow lines you see are the life lines and we are flying the geny! 

While at West Palm Beach we meet a couple, Dave and Amy on s/v Swallow.  They are from Boulder, Co and are on their 2nd big cruise through the Bahamas.  The first time was 12 years ago with their 2 small children.  It was great to talk with Dave and Amy and hear about there adventures- and talk about life aboard a sail boat!  We could see Swallow our entire way to West End and had a celebratory cervesa with Dave and Amy at sunset before collapsing to our beds!  What a day!

Happy to be in the Bahamas!

Much Love,
The Pearl

Ah, Heaven!

Looking East from West End, Bahamas!