20-odd percent! Is that all?
Catacaos
Graham Shaw
Thu 14 May 2009 13:29
Sorry there's been no blog for a while - I would say we've been too busy, but somehow I don't think anyone would believe me! We have been cruising up through the Abaco islands towards the northern end of the Bahamas, and have stopped in some wonderful places. Lorraine posted some photos on the blog the other day which were taken at a place called Hope Town - very picturesque, quaint little place. We climbed up to the top of the lighthouse in the picture - Lucas managed to get almost all the way to the top on his own, but the last twenty steps were a bit too steep for him! A long way up, but the view from the top was worth the climb, though.
After that, Marsh Harbour, which is the capital of the Abacos. Not a huge place, but big enough to have a proper supermarket, which is always useful. And a Yanmar engine agent, so we were able to get some more fuel filters. We have been going through them - I think we must have bought some dodgy diesel somewhere.
Yesterday afternoon we anchored off a place called Fox Town - a conveniently located anchorage, but the town is obviously well off the tourist trail. Today we intend to make for Sale Cays - just a small anchorage in the middle of nowhere, and then tomorrow the plan is to head to West End, at the west end (oddly enough!) of Grand Bahama. That will be our last stop in the Bahamas, and from there the plan is to head across to Florida, then head north.
Now at nearly 27 degrees north, we are firmly out of the tropics ( think we passed the tropic of cancer on the 2nd), and there is a noticeable change in the weather. It has rained fairly heavily the past couple of nights, but at least the deck is nice and clean now! Also around the time we passed the tropic of cancer, we passed another milestone - 5000 nautical miles logged since we set off. That seems like an awfully long way, but it only equates to spending about twenty-something percent of the time under way. What has happened to the other seventy-something percent??!
Attached are a few photos from the lighthouse visit, and also one of our dinghy. This is one of the most important bits of equipment we have - our only means of getting to and from the boat when we stop anywhere. It carries shopping to the boat, laundry to and from the laundrette, takes the rubbish ashore to dump appropriately, and many other things besides. I think if I was asked for one piece of advice for going off cruising, it would be to invest in a decent dinghy with a good outboard.
That's probably about it for blogs from the Bahamas...more when we get to the States.
