Albany Marina

Latitude:  25.00434 & Longitude:  -77.5062

Click the link below to see our new position.

http://fms.ws/7qnGe/25.00434N/77.5062W

If the above link does not work, try this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.00434,-77.5062&ll=25.00434,-77.5062&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Bahamas Day 124- BD124 (5/9/12)  – We left the mooring at about 6:30 a.m. as the sun was rising and headed back northeast to New Providence Island.  This island is mainly known for Nassau and Paradise Island, but we have chosen to go to a fairly new marina on the southwest side of the island, some distance from Nassau.  The facility has floating docks and was recommended to us by another boater at Highbourne Cay.  The dock master, Derrick, has been very helpful contacting someone to come and work on the generator and someone to dive the bottom of the boat.  We wanted to get the fuel polished (cleaned), but the company said that their fuel polishing truck was being repaired.  We are still waiting on calls back to schedule the work, so we are not sure how long we will be here.  We’re hoping everything can be taken care of tomorrow and we can be back in the Exumas on Friday.  We were supposed to meet Jimmy and Tillie today at Shroud Cay.   After checking in here today, and getting my e-mail, we found out (through their SPOT messenger) that they had gone to Highborne yesterday, so we passed them this morning coming here.

BD125 (5/10/12)  –  The mechanic was here around 10 a.m. and, after 3 hours of working on the problem, he and Rick agreed that we have contaminated fuel which has plugged up both the engine and the generator filters.  We have decided to purchase our own polishing system.  Sludge 101:  Apparently algae can grow in diesel fuel.  Therefore, you should add an algaecide to your fuel to keep this from happening.   If/when the algaecide kills the algae, it settles to the bottom of the tank and becomes sludge.  By purchasing our own fuel polisher, we can be 99% assured that all of the sludge has been removed from the tanks, and, should we ever get “bad” fuel in the future, we can clean it.  We will order the polisher tomorrow and then have to wait for it to be delivered from the States.  Rick believes he can install it.  Once the fuel has been polished, then we will see if the generator works or if we need to have the mechanic come back.  The machine will cost a couple thousand dollars, but, if we had pumped out approximately 200 gallons of fuel and added another 400 gallons of fuel at approximately $5.50/gallon, it would have cost more.

BD126 (5/11/12) – We ordered the fuel polishing system today.  It will take them a week to build it and then it has to be shipped, so it looks like the boat will be here for about two weeks.

BD127 (5/12/12)  –  BD137 (5/22/12) – In Florida.  We booked a flight on Spirit Airline to Tampa, through Ft. Lauderdale, and left the boat around 11 am on Saturday.  When we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, we found out that our next flight had been significantly delayed and the Spirit Customer Service person switched us to an 8:15 flight that would land in ORLANDO at 9:15 p.m.  We rented a car in Orlando upon arrival and dropped it off at the Sarasota Airport on Sunday.  I was very excited to be with my son on Mothers’ Day.  JP and Rick took over the kitchen cooking dinner for Kellie and me.  Vanessa got to celebrate Mothers’ Day with us this year because she is in the midst of a school project to learn how to care for babies.  She has her very own “flour baby” – so we all three enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries for desert.

The nerve signals from the brain cause the muscles in the body, which is a factor could increase agility and more protruding penis with the decline of fats in the area, showing the image of bigger penis size. ronaldgreenwaldmd.com cheap cialis

We talked to Rick’s Mom.  She was happy that her grandson, Mat, stopped by to say Happy Mothers’ Day.  He was just in from Tennessee for a quick weekend of surfing.   On Monday, Rick went to the doctor because he was experiencing pain in his chest/abdomen/back.  The doc said his pain could just be muscle strain, but took blood for testing and scheduled a chest x-ray and abdomen ultrasound.  By Friday, we had all the test results back and he was told it was a muscle strain.  (I think trying to “latch on” to the mooring balls might have been the cause.)  We had also taken a quick overnight trip to Ormond Beach to see Rick’s Mom and brother with a stop in the Ocala forest to see my Dad.  Over the weekend, we enjoyed seeing all the “going’s on” at the Bradenton Yacht Club’s 30th Annual Crosthwait Fishing Tournament (May 17 – 19, 2013).  On Monday afternoon, the fuel polishing system was delivered and we spent all day Tuesday running around getting fittings and other items necessary to clean the fuel upon our return.

BD138 (5/23/12)   Wednesday was a travel day.  The alarm went off at 4:45 am; we left the driveway in Palmetto in our rental car at 5:15 am; we pulled into the Enterprise Rental Car return at Tampa International Airport at 6:00 am.  We told the attendant our story – our original flight from Tampa was cancelled last night; we are now flying out of Orlando; but, when we called Enterprise to change our drop-off destination, we were told we could not drop off a car in Orlando.  After the phone call, we went on-line and booked a second car to pick up this morning in Tampa and drop off in Orlando.  Much to our pleasure, the attendant and his supervisor said that was about the dumbest thing they ever heard of and to stay in the car and drop it off in Orlando.  We did just that, with no problems encountered.  Then, we waited in the airport for about 4 hours to catch our JetBlue direct flight to Nassau.  It started raining just after we landed this afternoon and has not stopped yet.

Latitude:  24.5324 &  Longitude:  -76.79779

Click the link below to see our new position.

http://fms.ws/7qEC5/24.5324N/76.79779W

If the above link does not work, try this link:

This in turn affects your sex life in commander cialis many couples.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=24.5324,-76.79779&ll=24.5324,-76.79779&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Bahamas Day 123 – BD123 (5/8/12)  – We travelled approximately 30 miles southeast from Eleuthera, back across the Exuma Sound, going through Wax Cut at approximately 12:30 p.m. and entering the waters of the Exumas Cays, Land and Sea Park to moor off of Shroud Cay.  With me driving the boat and Rick trying to “hook” the mooring ball, we made passes at several and Rick lost both of our hooks.  Finally, a couple in a sailboat moored nearby came out in their dink and took our line to the mooring ball, then brought it back to us.  They also rescued both of our hooks.  Rick then took our dingy and went out and secured the lines better.   All of this was accomplished before 2:00.  Then, we discovered that we could not get the generator to run!  So we have changed our plans and will heading back to Nassau in the morning to get the generator fixed.  Rick says Nassau is about 60 miles away.

Departed Shroud Cay mooring field at approximately 6:30 a.m. watching a beautiful sunrise.

Cape Eleuthera Marina

Latitude: 24.83691 & Longitude: -76.34308

Click the link below to see our location.

http://fms.ws/7nZkk/24.83691N/76.34308W

If the above link does not work, try this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=24.83691,-76.34308&ll=24.83691,-76.34308&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Bahamas Day 119 – BD119 (5/4/12)  – We travelled approximately 30 miles northwest of Highbourne Cay to arrive at Cape Eleuthera Marina (aka Cape E).  While we had done our homework, checking wind and wave height, we had an unexpectedly rough ride across the Exuma Sound arriving at our destination around 12:15 p.m.  There was no answer from the resort to our hail on the radio and no help provided to tie us up at the dock either.  We spent the rest of the day cleaning both the inside and the outside of the boat.

From north to south the island of Eleuthera is approximately 90 miles in length and, in most places, little more than 2 or 3 miles wide except at the extreme northern and southern ends.  Eleuthera means “freedom” in ancient Greek.  This island was fist settled in 1649 when a band of 100 persons and 2 clergymen arrived from England and Bermuda.  The party was known as the “Eleutheran Adventurers” and set up what was probably the first true democracy which the western world had known.  Eleuthera once had a large pineapple growing industry and I look forward to getting some fresh pineapple on our road trip tomorrow.

BD120 (5/5/12) – We rented an SUV and took off around 9 am headed north.  Not long after leaving the resort, we both noticed an odd sound coming from the car.  We continued north on the Queens Highway but the noises got so bad (creeks, squeeks, clunks, rattles and thumps) that Rick pulled over on the side of the road and lifted the hood to see if he could determine the problem.  He said that all of the rubber was coming off of one of the tie rods.  We had been gone for an hour and a half but we felt we’d better turn around and return the vehicle and try to get another one.  The noises continued to get worse and Rick said that the car was getting harder to control.  We were glad we made the decision to return.  We got back to the resort and got another SUV and started out again about Noon.

With our first vehicle, we had driven through Deep Creek, Greencastle and other small settlements, to get to Rock Sound.  We had been told that there was a nice IGA or Winn Dixie food store there but could only find a small grocery at the Marketplace Shopping Center along with a NAPA store, hardware store and bank.

Our second time through Rock Sound, we decided to turn off of the Queens Highway and drive through the town.  We didn’t find the IGA, but we did find Ocean Hole.  There is a nicely landscaped park here.  The hole apparently has been given its name because the water raises and lowers with the tides in the ocean.

Moving north from Rock Sound, we went through Tarpum Bay, a fishing village, where the road takes a turn and then runs right along the water for some time.  It was obvious from the architecture that this was an early settlement on the island.  Just before getting to Governor’s Harbour, we went through Palmetto Pointe.  (That’s the name of the neighborhood in Florida where we used to live.)

I had used four reference books and several sites on the internet to research places to go and things to see on Eleuthra.  One of the books said that Governor’s Harbour had the only traffic light on the island.  I particularly wanted to go to the Duck Inn after reading, “Sip a cool drink on the waterfall patio where 5,000 species of orchids live and watch the local fowl crossing the street with the light.”  I love orchids and thought that this would be a glorious site indeed.  Well, there was no traffic light in town.  And, after driving past the Duck Inn three times, we were finally able to find a one-way street up the 142-foot hill and another one-way street down the hill to the entrance of the Inn where we discovered a “closed” sign and a “for sale” sign.  I was very disappointed to miss the orchids and to miss the lunch we planned to eat there.

At the beginning of the day, we had decided that we would not make a lot of stops along the way, but drive all the way to the north first and then make the stops on our return trip, so we skipped the antique remains of buildings on Cupid’s Cay, the original headquarters of 17th century Eleutheran Adventurers.  It was 1:30 p.m., we broke out the crackers we had brought with us and continued north.

From here we passed through settlements called James Cistern, Hatchet Bay, Alice Town, and Gregory Town (the pineapple center – with no pineaples in sight!) to get to the area called “The Glass Window”.  This is the “skinniest” part of the island (30 feet wide).  The land is high on either side but falls away abruptly to nearly sea level.

They say that there used to be a natural bridge over it, but it eroded away so a man-made bridge was built in 1961.  That bridge was knocked 7 feet to the west by a rogue wave in 1991 but has been replaced by a very sturdy looking one.

Natural herbal medicine is a promising therapy for relieving symptoms in prostatitis. http://appalachianmagazine.com/2018/11/09/the-1969-vietnam-war-draft-lottery-killed-by-a-birthday/ viagra 50 mg

Story of Glass Window Bridge

The latest edition of Explorer Charts for this area contained the following note:  “Customs/Immigration:  Extension of cruising permit available only at Lower Bogue from North Eleuthera Airport.”  So, we headed for the airport and presented ourselves to the immigration official at the airport.  She was very nice and told us that we would have to wait until closer to the expiration date and not to worry, we would find immigration offices throughout the Exumas.  But, if we were to extend the permit here, we would have to go to the immigration office in town, not at the airport!   She also gave us directions to get to the water taxi that would take us to Spanish Wells.  (Take a right at the Texaco Station and go to the end of the road.)  We followed her directions and came to the end of the road at an area called Jean Bay (although the map we were using – Franko’s Eleuthera Island Adventure Guide – called it James Bay.)  We parked the car and paid the $8/per person round-trip fare to go to St. George’s Island and the fishing village of Spanish Wells.  Several people had recommended that we visit this area, including Wilma and Frankie, whom we met while staying at Great Harbor Cay.  Since Frankie is a fisherman, we figured that was a recommendation which should take.

The reference books said, “When you meet white-blond hair, close-set pale blue eyes, and a broad West Country burr blended with Bahamian patois, you’ll know you’re in Spanish Wells.  The settlement of Spanish Wells occupies most of compact St. George’s Cay, which is connected by bridge to Russell Island.  The tidy, colorful little community dates back to the 17^th century when the Eleutheran Adventurers left England looking for religious freedom.  On such a small island, its charming cottages and splendid gardens are easily seen on a walking tour.”  Well, we started out walking, but after more than half an hour we hadn’t really seen much of anything, so we returned to the water taxi dock and rented a golf-cart ($10/hr).  We asked the clerk if there was anywhere we could get something to eat and she told us that all eating establishments close at 3:00 p.m. and don’t open again until 6:00 p.m.  It was 4:00 p.m. at the time, so I got a cold drink and a snack and we took off in the golf cart to see the island.  We took some pictures of the old “salt-box” homes.  Some had plaques, noting the age of the home and who had lived in them back them – like Captain Kidd.

Zoom in on the Plaque above the door - Captain Kidd 1875

We caught the 5:00 water taxi back to the “mainland” – they stopped running at 5:30.  Much to our very unpleasant surprise, when we returned to the rental car, the battery was dead!  To make another very long story short, after several inquiries for help, a call for a taxi and a call to the owner of the rental company, we were rescued by the taxi driver, who discovered loose battery cables, and a local he asked to jump the car.   We had vowed that we would stop on the way home to eat, but now that we were going, we were not going to stop again until we got back to the resort.

Cell Tower Palm

On the very long and dark ride home, we saw a very unusual palm tree,  that turned out to be a cell tower; a very nice sunset; and a beautiful moonrise.  It was a full moon and, according to Eileen, was supposed to be 16 times larger than any other month this year – a mere 220,000 miles away.  Just before 9:00 p.m. I rushed in to the Bahama Coffee Company to order a pizza.  We took it back to the boat and really enjoyed the meal.

BD121 (5/6/12) Sunday – This morning,  Rick and the car rental owner agreed that we could keep the car for half a day today to compensate us for our expenses in getting the taxi and jump.  We stopped at a service station and filled the car up.  We had put over 200 miles on it yesterday.  The gas was $6.16/gallon and we spent more than $100 to fill it up.  Now, we headed south with a goal of Lighthouse Point and beach, which had been suggested by the lady who rented us the vehicle.

Driving south through Wemyss Bight, John Millars and Millers, we were looking for a paved road that looped above Bannerman Town which would connect to a secondary road to the Point.  We arrived in Bannerman Town without ever finding the loop.  Before long, we saw a bunch of very colorful buildings and determined that it was the area owned by Princess Cruise Line.  We went to the end of that paved road.  Rick got out and walked to the beach but could see no sign of a lighthouse.  We turned around and headed back, but decided to turn onto a pretty good looking two-rut road.  As we were driving along, we both noticed that parts of the road looked like it used to be paved.  Ah Ha! We had found the loop.  Before long, we saw a sign indicating the turn to Lighthouse Beach.  How lucky could we get?  As we continued along this path – I say path because it was sometimes limestone; mostly washed-out limestone gullies and sometimes very soft sand.  We bounced and jounced for what seemed like forever; went around blind curves and up and down some good-sized hills.  This beach was billed as a blush-rose sand beach that you need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to along with a good hike.  We thought we would be the only people for miles around, but there were three vehicles on the road in sight of each other as we bounced along.  We did make it to the beach and it was beautiful.  There was no “hike” to the beach required.

Pink Sand of Lighthouse Beach

But, we didn’t have our bathing suits and we were running out of time for the rental vehicle, so we braved the path back to the paved road and continued back to Cape Eleuthera.  With the recollection of all we had been through yesterday plus this “wild ride”, I dubbed us the “New Eleutheran Adventurers.”  If you do come to the island of Eleuthera and decide to see the island by car, I would strongly advise getting one of the Adventure Guide Maps.  They were selling for $10 in the office, but we found one in the first vehicle we had.  How lucky for us, because even with its flaws, we would literally have been lost many times over without it.

As we were returning, we came upon Davis Harbour Marina and Rick decided to turn in to check it out.  If we should ever come this way again, I believe I would try to stay here.  We returned the car just after 12:30 p.m., went back to the boat for lunch, then gathered our laundry and walked back to the marina office/laundry.  While Rick went to the Sunrise Beach, I sat with my foot propped up and “attended” to our three loads of washing and drying.

BD122 (5/7/12) – Rick had put the dingy on the top deck, using the lift that he repaired in Andros, for the ride over from Highborne Cay.  This morning, he lowered the dingy into the water and we took off to an area called the sandbar.  The water is beautiful and I sat in my chair looking back toward the resort. We also explored an area called the grotto and then returned to the boat.  When Rick tried to lift the dingy back up on the boat, the lift would not work.  He said he thought it was the motor – a new problem.  So, we will put it on the swim platform when we leave here tomorrow and then probably just trail it behind us as we move south through the Exumas.

Topped off the tanks with diesel fuel – no gasoline available for the dingy.  Departed approximately 10:00 on 5/8/12.

Highbourne Cay Marina

Latitude:  24.70963  Longitude:  -76.82214

Click the link below to see our new position.

http://fms.ws/7hk5e/24.70963N/76.82214W

If the above link does not work, try this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=24.70963,-76.82214&ll=24.70963,-76.82214&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Bahamas Day 110 – BD110 (4/25/12) – We travelled approximately 60 miles west of Andros to arrive at Highbourne Cay around 1:00 p.m.  This privately-owned island is 35 miles southeast of New Providence Island and is part of the Exuma chain of islands.  From a distance, Highbourne Cay is easily identified by a 300′ telecommunications tower, visible from 12 miles out on clear days. As you get closer, a house with a bright white roof, situated 102′ above sea level and north of the tower, is the next easily identifiable landmark.  After docking and checking in, we had a $75 lunch at an open-air restaurant, Xuma, perched on the west side of a bluff overlooking the beach.  Then Rick cleaned the boat (every surface on the outside of the boat had salt water on it) while I napped.

Resort/Marina Office, Xuma and Beach

We will be here for a few days.

BD111 (4/26/12) –  Today, we explored to the north, visiting SW Allen’s & Leaf Cay.  Although these islands are protected sanctuaries for rare marine iguanas, visiting is allowed.  We beached the dingy and Rick set a chair in the sand for me.  The iguanas are not very shy.  As soon as they realized we were on the beach, they came to investigate.  You can see one on the rock, just behind my head.

Charlene & Iggy on Leaf Cay

BD112 (4/27/12) – Today was overcast, so we opted not to go out in the dingy.  We walked up to the little store by the office and sat in the rockers on the front porch talking to three fellows who were on a three-week sea kayaking trip.  In my opinion, brave men indeed!  They had hoped to continue a little farther north to the very top of the Exumas, but had decided to start their trip back south once they heard the weather prediction.  They were very interesting and we enjoyed our chat very much.  We ate lunch at Xuma (Rick says they have an awesome cracked conch sandwich and curry conch chowder) and then walked over the hill to see the other side of the island.  Rick had gone over earlier this morning and walked to a beach.  The view was beautiful, but the beach was too far for me to “clomp” to (as Rick put it) with my boot on.  The bartender at Xuma told us that they were expecting 200 people tonight for a buffet supper.  These would mostly be people here for the fishing tournament that starts in the morning.  We were going to leave tomorrow, headed for Cape Eleuthera on southwest tip of Eleuthera Island, but small craft advisories and thunderstorms are predicted, so we have opted to stay here to wait out the weather.

Highbourne Cay Stop Sign

We saw a very unique stop sign on our walk at the top of the hill.

You can place an order using find for source viagra 25 mg credit or debit cards.
BD113 (4/28/12) –  We awoke to rain.  It drizzled off and on all day.  Around noon, we decided to take our coffee and our books and go sit on the porch by the marina office.  As we were watching boats of all sizes go in and out of the marina, we were surprised by a sea plane landing in the channel and making its way to the floating deck in the swimming area.  One of the ladies who works in the office came out to the porch to watch the passengers get off the plane and get on a small boat that the marina sent out.  She said that the 9-passenger plane had been chartered in Nassau to bring the group of 5 here to Highbourne for lunch at Xuma’s to celebrate a birthday (and we thought we were living the good life!)

Floating Deck in Swimming Area

BD114 (4/29/12) Sunday –  We awoke to rain.  For me, it was a “stay in your PJs day”.  Rick got restless in the afternoon and walked through the rain to the front porch with his book.  Two new boats came into the marina today.  One had come 700 miles (over the last three days) from Puerto Rico.  The gentleman told Rick that the last day (on the outside/east side) was pretty rough.  He and Rick discussed satellite TV coverage down there and Rick was pleased to hear that you can get an English version.  A 58’ Sedan Bridge Sea Ray docked in the slip next to us with 5 people aboard from Canada.  We are lucky to be in a really well-protected marina because as the rain continued to fall, the wind also picked up.

BD115 (4/30/12)  –  We awoke to rain.  Rick went up to the office to “hang out” this morning.  He said that a Bahamian told him that they believe if it rains all day on Sunday, it will rain all week long!  The others in the office (not Bahamian) said that their weather information indicated that the weather should improve on Wednesday.  The Sea Ray next to us left this afternoon in the rain.  They said if it was going to rain for the rest of their vacation, they were going to spend it in a casino in Nassau.  The rain is still coming down, but the wind has changed direction and so Rick has been out (using the foul weather suit that the BYC Power Fleet gave us as a going-away gift) resetting the lines and bailing out the dingy.

BD116 (5/01/12)  – Although it rained during the night, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day.  It seems we are back in paradise.  Yet, it is still pretty windy.  We checked weather forecasts and decided to stay here until Friday morning.  I was ready to get off the boat, so we packed a lunch, an ice chest and a chair and rented a golf cart for the day ($50).  We drove around the island to all of the area that was open to the public (it is a very small island).   We passed a bus stop, which is odd since there is no bus, and thought this patron must have waited a little bit too long!  We stopped at several beach access trails along the east coastline, but finally decided that it was just too rough on that side of the island.

Missed the Bus?

So, we went to a beach that we had seen the other day when returning from SW Allen’s Cay.  There was a bench and a picnic table at this beach under an Australian pine tree.  We ate our lunch at the picnic table and I sat in the shade of the pine tree while Rick went to explore.  He found one nice starfish, but didn’t find much else in the water.

Rick with Starfish

After lunch, we returned to the marina beach and I took off my boot to sit in a chair at the edge of the water.  God has been so gracious to us to give us the opportunity to enjoy these beautiful surroundings.

BD117 (5/02/12)  – Today we went south in the dingy to the next group of small islands.  We stopped on an island that had a house and some other out buildings, but did not appear to be occupied at this time.  We ate our picnic lunch and Rick did a little exploring.  We returned to the boat and spent the rest of the afternoon reading.  We have been intrigued by the many small birds on the island.  A lot of them just seem to walk along the docks and sometimes visit the boats.

BD118 (5/3/12)  – We talked to JP via SKYPE.  Rick spent some time at the marina beach.  We prepared to leave in the morning.

Departed Highbourne Cay Marina at 9:30 a.m. on 5/4/12.