Thursday (BD2-0091) – Friday (BD2-0099)

01/01/2015– Happy New Year everyone!  Rick and Ken took Lisa down to Staniel Cay to buy some meat and buns for Tucker to grill.  He has been out of food for the past few days and many day visitors were disappointed.  While there, they made some very important purchases for us (bread and booze)!  We all made a quick trip to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club to pick up Tucker’s brother, Preston in the afternoon.  He has been off the island for about a year.  His doctors told him that he had a serious eye problem and had to stay out of the sun.  Thankfully, now, he has had surgery and recuperated enough to return to Compass Cay.  We ate our traditional New Year’s dinner early and then settled in to watch football games at 5:00 and 8:30.  FSU lost to Oregon, breaking its 29 game winning streak.  And, Ohio State upset Alabama, setting up a national championship game of Oregon vs Ohio State to be played on January 12^th.

01/02/2015– We decided to try to hike the North Cliff Walk trail today that ends at Rachel’s Bubble Bath.  When Rick told Jamal what we were doing, he said he didn’t want me walking back so call him on the radio and he would send someone to pick us up.  Thank you, Jamal!  Everyone who has been on this island for any length of time knows that the walk up to Rachel’s is a challenging one.  Rick and I tried it the first season that we were here, but there was one hill that he determined I just would not be able to climb up, so we turned around.  I guess he thought that if we went with Ken and Jackie there would be more hands to help me (one to push, one to pull, and one to catch me if I fell?).  I was very thankful to have the walking stick that Tokkie gave me our first season here and with all of the helping hands and the stick, I was able to complete the walk.

I would walk for 20 minutes and then sit for 5.  Jackie was on “rock sitting” duty.  I would tell Rick that I would need to sit down within the next few minutes and he would ask Jackie to start looking for a rock that I could sit on.

When we got to Rachel’s, we all got into the water for half an hour or so, before walking up the creek to the pavilion and calling Jamal to send someone to get us.  After we returned to the marina, we rewarded ourselves with a Tucker Burger and a beer!

01/03/2015– After spending some time on the dock, we came back to the boat at noon to watch the University of Florida Gators (Ken & Jackie’s favorite team), meeting for just the second time in history, the East Carolina Pirates in the ninth-annual Birmingham Bowl.  The gators won.  We helped our friends celebrate with lobster for dinner.

01/04/2015 – We took Ken and Jackie to Staniel Cay in Tucker’s boat and had a good breakfast at the yacht club before they got on the Watermaker Air Flight back to Florida.  Before leaving Compass Cay this time, they made a totem and hung it up next to the walkway that goes up the hill from the marina to the wash house.

When we returned to the boat, we took down all of the Christmas decorations and stored them away for next year.  In the afternoon, Rick took Tucker to Staniel Cay to catch the afternoon Watermaker Air Flight to Ft. Lauderdale so that he can go to the doctor in Florida this week.  After I vacuumed up all of the leftover pine needles in the boat, I took a nap!

01/05/2015 – I rested most of the day while Rick helped Mano install the last three electrical pedestals on dock A.  The electrician must do the rest.

01/06/2015 – Rick took some guests down to the airport in the morning.  We heard from Ken and Jackie.  They got home all right on Sunday and had lobster for dinner on Monday.

01/07/2015 – Jamal caught a ride back to Nassau with his brother, Trevor, on Zeus, this morning.  We left Loan in charge while we joined Tokkie and Gail and Mano going down to Staniel Cay to pick up supplies being offloaded from the Captain C freight boat onto the government dock.  Then we did some shopping at the blue store (as they were restocking their shelves); went to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for lunch and then back to the Isles General Store where Tokkie bought a couple of small gas cans for his dinghy.  There were only six boats in the marina when we left and by evening there were twelve.

01/08/2015 – We heard from Bonnie and Marino.  They are coming back to Compass Cay next week.  Not sure how long they will stay this time, but, Bonnie said it was -15 degrees where they live in Canada, so I imagine that they will stay here as long as they can.  The wind has picked up here and it is a little cooler.  Today’s high is 72 F.

01/09/2015 – We took about 6 empty propane tanks to Staniel Cay where we left them on the government dock to be picked up by the freight boat.  Then Tokkie, Gail, Barry, Rick and I ate lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  I took a nap in the afternoon while Tokkie and Rick went swimming with the sharks.

Saturday (BD2-0100) – Sunday (BD2-0108)

01/10/2015 – We said goodbye to Janine this morning.  She is flying to Ft. Lauderdale and from there to England for a visit with her Mum and Granddad.  He is in ill health.  She will be back next month when Ed and Karen return to Sea Clef. Of course, anytime someone from here is going to Staniel Cay, there are always a few extra people who “hitch a ride”.

When Barry dropped Janine off, he picked up Tucker and brought him home to Compass Cay.

01/11/2015 – Dave is back on “Living Large”.  We all enjoyed his “famous” waffles this morning.

In the afternoon, a number of us went with Barry down to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for a couple of drinks and to pick up some groceries.  Then we had a pot luck supper on the dock with a concert provided by two of the men on the sailboat “In Concert”.  Unfortunately, we also had some rain.

01/12/2015 – Boats came and went.  It rained off and on.  We tried to watch the National Championship football game, but we both fell asleep before it was over.  Ohio State beat Oregon.  I feel certain that a lot of bets were lost!

01/13/2015 – I worked on my page about Great Harbor most of the day.  Around 5 pm, Rick said that Barry asked if we wanted to go to Staniel for a couple of drinks.  So, we loaded up with Barry and Allison, Sea Clef’s captain and stewardess, then picked up the Chris and Mary and their two guests, on Trilogy, and the eight of us made our way down to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  We had a couple of rounds of drinks before deciding that we should just order dinner there as well.  Again, a good time was had by all and we returned to Compass Cay about 9 pm.

01/14/15 – The fuel barge came in to the marina in the morning which meant that Barry had to take Sea Clef off of the dock for a time.  We talked with our son, JP, via SKYPE.  We had not talked since we left Florida, just after Christmas.  All is well at home.  Tucker went to Staniel Cay in the afternoon to pick up Bonnie and Marino.

01/15/15 – It is a pretty day with a light breeze.  Barry and Rick have offered to help Mano with some maintenance on the generators.  Several boats left this morning and I again have a clear view out of the south exit of the marina from the pilot house (which I call the office).   After Barry and Rick finished helping Mano, they got cleaned up and Allison, Barry, Rick and I went to Staniel Cay to pick up some things that had been delivered to the government dock this morning by the freight boat.  While there, we bought some groceries (never pass up an opportunity to do that) and had a light lunch with some drinks at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.

01/16/15 – Rick and I walked over the ridge to the Crescent Beach house in the morning.  A contractor friend of Tucker’s had asked that we take some measurements on the front porch.  I think maybe he will design a railing for it and/or a handrail.

Windfinder.com indicates that the wind direction will change from the west in the morning to the north by this evening and will increase to 22 mph tonight and stay over 15 all day tomorrow.  I’m glad we went to Staniel Cay yesterday.  Along with the higher winds in the evening came the rain.

01/17/15 – Jamal came back to the Cay in the morning and then spent a good portion of the day working on the accounting necessary for the new seven and a-half percent VAT tax that was instituted by the Bahamian government on January 1.  We had some real excitement on the Cay today.  Some passengers for one of the yachts that is docked here were flown in via helicopter.  There is another yacht, Serqué that has been here many times before, as is here now, that has supplies flown in via a float plane.  In fact, the plane was here earlier this week.  They land in the water just outside the marina entrance and crew from the boat go out to meet the plane in their dinghy.  Tucker says that the only other helicopter that has landed on the Cay was a Coast Guard helicopter which came to help someone who had taken a bad fall.  Many of the people here in the marina walked over for a closer look.

01/18/15 – Gail’s daughter, Britany, arrived on the Cay this morning and Tokkie’s son, Aaron arrived in the afternoon with his friend, Julie.  Many of us enjoyed Dave’s waffles for brunch, and we had a pot luck supper to welcome Aaron and Julie and to wish Britany a happy birthday.

Monday (BD2-0109) – Tuesday (BD2-0117)

01/19/15 – Jamal left early this morning to travel, by boat, up to Nassau to pick up some supplies for the island, as the freight boat is not coming this week to Staniel Cay.  Tucker also went to Nassau, but he flew.  The helicopter returned to Compass Cay today to pick up the Silvana passengers that it brought on Saturday.  Both of them returned to the Cay in the evening.  Jamal said that his boat trip was fine from here to Highbourne Cay, but for the last 30 miles, from Highbourne to Nassau, the seas were very bad.  He brought his buddy, Charlie, back with him to do some tiling work for Tucker.  I had made lasagna for supper and we had a lot left over, so I was more than happy to reward Jamal and Charlie with a plate of food that evening.

01/20/15 – Today was a fairly quiet day.  I started taking an inventory of our food stuffs.  I try to do that once every month or two.  I have food stored in so many different places on the boat that I use a spreadsheet to help keep track of it and it usually takes me about three days to go through everything.  I thank my friend Joy, on Ocean Angel, every time I do it as she is the one who shared her spreadsheet with me to get me started.  We haven’t heard from them recently, but I imagine she and Steve are making their way up from Trinidad to “who knows where” this season.  They usually leave Palmetto in January, sail through May and, after putting the boat up “on hard”, they return to Florida for the hurricane and holiday season.

01/21/15 –  Serqué left the marina this morning, leaving “the faithful four” as the only residents for a couple of hours until a sailboat came in.  By “the faithful four”, I mean the four boats that will be here for about four months straight.  Of course, we are one of the four and our boat will be here for a lot longer than four months while we fly back and forth.  ATA Marie, with Tokkie and Gail, came here in December.  Tokkie’s children have all come to visit with their families since his arrival and one of Gail’s daughters is here now.  I believe the other one is scheduled to visit here as well.  Sea Clef also got here in December, while we were in Florida.  The owner’s, Ed and Karen, were here with family for the holidays then they flew home, but the boat and most of the crew will be here for several months.  Dave came in on Living Large in January.  He usually plans to stay for about 16 weeks.  So, I think that we four will all be here until sometime in April.  Then, we will say farewell and wait for them to come back next season.  Marino’s Mom had some kind of infection in her mouth that was making it hard for her to chew on anything, so Tucker took her with Bonnie and Marino to the clinic on Staniel Cay this morning.  Thanks to Bonnie for buying us a loaf a bread while they were there.  Jamal took Aaron and Julie out fishing today and Tokkie, Gail, Brittany, Barry and Allison left to go to Staniel Cay while we were talking with our son via SKYPE.  We got an e-mail from Rick’s mother and brother.  They tell us that they hope to go up to Knoxville to see our nephew (and Godson) Mat for his birthday on Sunday.  We are glad to hear that.  We got a request from Bob W. to take some measurements at the house which is under construction.  I think that they refer to it as the Honeymoon Cottage because it only has one bedroom.  It has been under construction since we first came here in 2012, and it looks like there is still a lot to be done.  Rick and I went up after lunch to take some pictures and the requested measurements.  This house is near Hester’s Ruins on the north end of Crescent Beach.

We joined the two couples on the sailboat for cocktails at sundown and spent a pleasant hour acquainting them about this area and learning from them some things about the Abacos, as they home-base their boat in Hopetown.

01/22/15 – It was a lovely day.  There were many day-visitor’s.  We went out on the dock for “sundowner’s” aka cocktails, but the mosquitoes got too bad and we retreated to the boat.

01/23/15 – We went to Rachel’s Bubble Bath to pick up Tokkie, Aaron, Julie, Britany and Allison, who had hiked up there.  After bringing them back to the marina, we returned in our dinghy and spent a couple of hours enjoying the water, sun and scenery.  When we returned to the marina, we shared a “Tucker Burger”.  Five of us went to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the evening for drinks and a light supper at the bar.  It was a beautiful ride back by the light of the quarter moon.

01/24/15 – Tokkie escorted his son, Aaron with his friend, Julie, to Staniel Cay to catch an early flight to Nassau where they will make connections to return to their home in California.  I knew that it was a windy day, even before I got out of bed.  If you have ever slept in a “V” berth (at the front of the boat) with a flag, aka burgee, flapping in the wind right above your head, you know that it makes a lot of racket.  So, I was not surprised when I checked www.windfinder.com this morning to find that the wind is predicted to blow over 15 mph for the next week or more.  Another sure way to know that windy weather is approaching, is the number of vessels in the marina.  When we left for Rachel’s yesterday morning, there were 4 boats at the docks; this morning there are 11 – and I expect there will be more before the end of the day.  That is a testament to the very good wind/weather protection provided by this marina at Compass Cay.

01/25/15 – Today is our nephew, who uses a combination of his first and middle name, Robmat‘s birthday.  We wish him well.  He is working two jobs now, at an art museum and a sporting goods store – two of his loves.  Dave made waffles under overcast skies.  In the early afternoon, 5 of us went to Staniel Cay.  We stopped at the yacht club for a drink and some appetizers then walked to the Pink Pearl store where we were graciously helped by Eleanor Roosevelt.  We bought a couple of chickens for tonight’s pot luck supper as well as a few groceries for ourselves.  They didn’t have much since the freight boat did not come this week.  Miss Eleanor said it was expected this coming Tuesday or Wednesday.  The weather gods smiled upon us in the evening.  We had a terrific pot luck supper under the stars with very little wind and no bugs.

01/26/15 – The morning was overcast and windy and cool enough for Rick to wear one of his long-sleeved denim shirts.  It rained a little bit in the afternoon and again during the night.

01/27/15 – The wind continued to blow out of the west. When I look out of the main entrance of the marina, to the west, I can see waves crashing on the Bahama bank.  There are 16 boats in the marina now and nearly half of them are sailboats.  That is very unusual.  But, at least today is bright and sunny.  Many are wearing long sleeves or light jackets with their shorts and flip-flops.

Wednesday (BD2-0118) – Saturday (BD2-0121)

01/28/15 – Despite the continued wind, several boats left the marina in the morning (mostly sailboats) but they were quickly replaced by both sail and power boats.  The wind moved a little bit to the north, making it a northwest wind.

01/29/15 – The wind changed direction and was now blowing out of the east making the Bahama Bank much calmer; so, more boats left today.  In the afternoon, Gail’s daughter, Brittany, flew back to Florida and will be making her way back to Alabama and the family farm on which she lives with her sister.

01/30/15 – We went with Barry to Staniel Cay to pick up his sister, Carrie and her husband, Jason.  Bonnie and Chiara, Marino’s mother, went along as well.  Barry dropped us off at the Isles General Store’s dock and then took the boat to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club (SCYC) to await his relatives.  We bought some groceries at each of the three stores on the island and then had breakfast at the SCYC before returning to Compass Cay.  The wind had dropped into the single digits today, but it was cloudy.  In fact, we got a few drops of rain on the ride back.  We were back down to the “faithful four” in the marina.

01/31/15 – Today is Jamal Rolle’s birthday.  His fiancé, Lisa, flew in this morning and will be staying for a week.  After her arrival, she decorated the boater’s grille for a pot luck supper tonight so we can all help them celebrate.  He does not care for seafood, even though he makes a living catching it and selling it to restaurants, so we had ribs, ham and pork chops.  But, Rick did grill some lobster bites which we served in a bun with some citrus mayo.  Lisa had brought a nice birthday cake and Gail had made his favorite pie.  There were 18 of us sharing his birthday with him.  He is much like his father, though, and would never tell us his real age.  I think it is safe to say that he is somewhere in his 30’s.  Many of us were very surprised to learn that we have not been spelling his name correctly.  On the birthday cake that Lisa brought, his name was Germal!  When we asked him about it, he said that most people think it is spelled Jamal and he just doesn’t tell them differently.  I got a good picture of Germal and Lisa just before the party started.

Since it is the end of the month, I will put my “boat log” below.  Please let me know what you think of it.

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