Pipe Cay

Ooooozy, oooozy mud.

We had a fast sail from the anchorage outside Warderick Wells down to Pipe Cay. The anchorage is next to a private island. We thought that the area might have good fishing and conching because it is just south of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. The fishing didn't pan out, but we found a Cay with some trails that led to the Atlantic side where we found lots of periwinkles. These snails come jumbo-sized here.

Norman's Cay and Warderick Wells

After leaving Allen's we headed down to Norman's Cay on the Exuma sound side.  We were hoping to troll through the deep waters and catch something tasty, but we only caught tangled fishing lines of epic proportions when we changed direction a bit too rapidly. 

Nightmare Anchorage in Lizard Town

People that live on land (in other words, almost everybody in the world) usually don't worry about their houses moving in the middle of the night. When you're sleeping on an anchored boat, there is no such luxury. We met one couple in the boatyard in Beaufort, North Carolina that had sold everything to move aboard their boat and then less than a year later decided it wasn't for them and threw in the towel. The main reason they gave was that they were never able to sleep well while at anchor due to worry. Of course, you can try and reduce the stress with good equipment and good planning,  But don't think that just because you buy the best anchor setup that your problems are solved. The rub is that even if you do everything right, other boats can drag into you.

[Complains, whines, takes a brief break from complaining...]

When Mark and Conrad play stuffed animals, they verbally script out dialog for each other, including stage direction for the appropriate emotional response ("gets angry", "makes frowny face", "stomps off"). Hence the title of this blog post.

We finally got our raw water pump the day after it was supposed to arrive, for which we were relatively happy. It was $115 to get it from Florida to Spanish Wells and clear it through Bahamian customs (the cost to ship it overnight within the States was only $20). And we managed to avoid the steep 40% import duty which would have added a couple hundred more dollars because we were a "vessel in transit" with a cruising permit and the pump was "critical" to the ship's propulsion.  So there's a big reason to keep as many spares as you can on board. Matt put in the pump and tested it--no leaks, yea! We fired up the engines and everything seemed to be working as expected. Even though there was lots of fixing and reworking, it seemed like it was all under control. Now when things break, it seems that Matt has a pretty good handle on what to do. Some expertise even. Swoosh, nothing but net.

Spanish Wells Haul Out

Clearly, we love being hauled out. Why else would be doing it just three months after the last time? At least this time our engine didn't stick in reverse and almost make us crash into nearby boats. So we have that going for us, which is nice. And our repair didn't compare to the damage to this boat sustained.  She was on the lift when we arrived in Spanish Wells the first time (sooooo long ago it seems).

Current score: Beach Treasures-1, Minimalism-0

Some jewelry I made, along with some beach treasures.

When we first moved aboard, I was solidly in the mindset of shedding possessions and keeping our new home clutter-free. Even with Lego scattered everywhere and a million stuffed animals crowding the boys' beds, I was positive that this was an attainable and desirable goal.