Friday, May 1, 2015 (BD2-0211) through Thursday, May 7, 2015 (BD2-0217) –
Friday: You are familiar with the saying “April showers bring May flowers”. Well, someone forgot to tell “mother nature” that it is May 1! It rained all day.
Saturday: The sun was shining for a good part of the day and the wind dropped to 17 mph and changed direction. It is now coming out of the northeast which makes traveling on the bank side much better. So, more boats have left and more have come in. We went for a short walk in the morning to check on the garden that Gail planted near the wash house. There are several tomato plants blooming, some basil growing and one good looking pineapple plant. The guys here also have prepared an area nearby where they planted the two key lime trees that Sea Clef left here. They also have a good number of potted herbs by the marina office. There were 12 boats in the marina at sunset.
Sunday, May 3, 2015 – Today is overcast and windy. There are lots of boats in the marina. No sunshine – but no rain. I planted some tomato plants in my EarthBox and some herbs in some small pots on the top deck of the boat. What is an EarthBox, you might ask. We have known a gentleman for many years, through our church, Palm View First Baptist Church. In fact, he was one of the founding fathers of the church and we recently saw him when we attended the “homecoming” service followed by dinner on the grounds. For those of you not familiar with some of the southern vernacular, “homecoming” is the anniversary of the beginning of the church and “dinner on the grounds” is the same as a pot luck dinner which is, in our case, held in the fellowship hall after the church service. We have always known him as Mr. Blake Whisenant. He is 86 years old this year and is in ill health. He is a wonderful man, and an inspiration to all who know him. An article in the Bradenton Herald written in 2014 by James A. Jones, Jr. said the following,
“Robert B. “Blake” Whisenant, 84, who invented The EarthBox and whose family has been farming in Manatee County for 100 years, has been elected to the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame.
In this Bradenton Herald file photo, taken by Tom O’Neill, Blake Whisenant waters herbs at The Earth Box Research Center in Ellenton.
Whisenant is operator of a 1,600-acre farm with cherry tomato packinghouse, where he was one of the first in the state to use laser sorting, according to the hall of fame nomination.
Blake Whisenant is the second member of his family elected to the hall of fame. His father, Robert, was previously inducted.
Asked about the things that have been important in his life, he answered family, church, work.
His EarthBox is a patented container-gardening system that reduces watering and fertilizer needs, and is currently used internationally.
“He has a good passion for people; he is a very kind person, very positive, and very persistent about what he believes in,” Bob Whisenant said of his father.”
You can learn more about the EarthBox by visiting www.earthboxstore.com
Monday: It rained most of the day and there was some gusty wind. I guess that’s good for my new plants. (Can you tell I’m an optimist?) The marina is nearly filled and they had some trouble with the generator on the island today. It turned out that the problem was low fuel.
Tuesday: In addition to the wind and rain, we had thunder and lightning today. At one point, we had a very bad storm. (I was told that the wind was gusting to almost 50 mph.) We gave a nod to Cinco de Mayo by having chili for lunch. It finally cleared up mid-afternoon and, of course, the “no-see-um’s” came out to join us for drinks at sundown.
Wednesday: Another blustery day, but the wind is from the southwest today and the rain held off (mostly) until just after noon. Several boats left in the morning and a couple of sail boats came in just before noon. This is what it looked like out my front window.
Rick received an e-mail from the coordinator at Moffitt telling us that she has scheduled his next CT scan on June 29th. The rain stopped mid-afternoon and the sun came out. It is still windy.
Thursday: What a beautiful day it is with sunshine, blue skies and just a hint of a breeze. What a difference a day makes. We made our flight reservations this afternoon to go via Watermaker Air from Staniel Cay to Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday, May 28. We will pick up a rental car there and drive to Palmetto. I have an 8:15 doctor’s appointment the next morning. We will be returning to Compass Cay on June 30th.
Friday, May 8, 2015 (BD133) through Thursday, May 15, 2015 (BD139)
Friday was sunny with a nice breeze. I was out on the docks for a couple of hours around lunchtime. We had a Tucker Burger for lunch. On Saturday we went with Dr. Kyle down to Staniel Cay. After shopping at all three stores, we enjoyed a nice lunch in their new air-conditioned dining room. (It opened around the first of January.) We had a Mother’s Day Fish Fry Pot Luck dinner in the evening which was a huge success. Rick and Glen fried fish caught by Dr. Kyle and Germal (and some provided by Glen – the second cook pictured on the left below).
The two tables at the marina were packed with diners – some had to stand and eat. The dinner was topped off with cupcakes and cookies which were delicious.
Sunday, May 10, 2015, was Mother’s Day. I started off my day with a large mimosa made with fresh squeezed oranges and pink champagne. Rick made pancakes for us (since Dave is no longer here to provide waffles.) Germal went to Black Point early to spend the day with his mother, so Rick helped on the docks, as needed. It was a pretty, quiet day. I received a Mother’s Day e-card from Kellie, JP and the girls and Rick called his Mom. I found this inspirational poem on the web.
I said a Mother’s Day prayer for you
to thank the Lord above
for blessing me with a lifetime
of your tenderhearted love.
I thanked God for the caring
you’ve shown me through the years,
for the closeness we’ve enjoyed
in time of laughter and of tears.
It offers effective cure for sexual and physical weakness due (levitra online) buying this to over masturbation.
And so, I thank you from the heart
for all you’ve done for me
and I bless the Lord for giving me
the best mother there could be!
Author Unknown
On Monday morning, retired basketball player, Grant Hill, was here with his family on a boat called BG3. Out of respect for their privacy, I did not take his picture, but I found the following on the web at http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/336/grant-hill
In addition to playing professional and college basketball, he was a member of the US Basketball team at the Atlanta Olympics and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. His father was also an Olympian and he played for the Dallas Cowboys. In the afternoon, Rick told me that there was a film crew from the Travel Channel here. They are doing a feature on Americans who have made the Bahamas their home.
Tuesday’s weather was breezy and hot. BG3 left in the morning. The day was quiet. We had a pretty good rain storm in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, but when the sun came up it stayed out and dried things up pretty well. A two-mast sailboat came in today named Beacon Won. She had over a dozen people on her. Rick says it is a dive boat that can take up to 24 people.
On Thursday afternoon we borrowed one of the small marina boats and went up to Rachel’s Bubble Bath. When we arrived, there were already five people there. Two had hiked from the marina. Before we left, five more arrived. All but three of us were staying at the Compass Cay Marina. The others had come up from Staniel Cay. This is the first time we’ve been to Rachel’s since we returned at the end of April. We gave the couple that had hiked a ride back and then finished up the afternoon with “sundowners” on the dock.
Friday, May 15, 2015 (BD2-0225) through Thursday, May 21, 2015 (BD2-0231)
On Friday morning, a 142 foot yacht named Sea Falcon came into the marina. I believe that is the largest vessel that I have ever seen at the Compass Cay Docks. Saturday saw a number of arrivals, among them Bob Weems, a frequent visitor, and Germal’ s fiancée, Lisa with her friend Mary. Earlier in the week, when Germal told Rick that Lisa was coming for the weekend, they planned to have a Bahamian dinner for family and friends. But, somehow, as it usually happens, it became a full-blown pot luck dinner with everyone in the marina invited. Lisa and Mary barbequed ribs, made peas and rice, coleslaw and potato salad. One of the boats contributed a yellow-fin tuna which Germal cut up and served as sushi. We also had some killer fried zucchini along with some other appetizers. The dinner was delayed about an hour because the marina received a call from a sailboat about a mile off shore (on the bank side). The gentleman said that they had lost their engine and requested someone to come out and pull him into the marina – and, of course, someone did just that. Then the sailors were invited to come to the pot luck. Again, everything was delicious and a very good time was had by all.
Pictured at the front left is Lisa’s friend, Mary
Sunday, May 17, 2015 was a sunny day. At 1:00, there were only 8 boats in the marina. That’s the smallest number of boats here that I’ve seen for quite a while. May is usually a good month to cruise, but it is also a kind of “in between” time. The insurance companies of many of the boats will not cover them in this area during the hurricane season (June 1 through November 30), so many are heading up north. Lisa told me last night that she and Germal have finally set the date for the wedding – well, not the date but it will be in the month of December! So my Sunday inspiration today is love.
Germal told us that it was love at first sight for him with Lisa. He said that he told her on the first night that they met that he was going to marry her. We are very pleased for them both and wish them many years of happiness. My parents were married for 50 years and were very happy. They met when they were 13 years old. When my mother got sick, she died in just a matter of weeks, so my wish for you all is that you cherish those you love each and every day, because you do not know that you will have them with you the next day.
On Monday evening several of us met at the marina office for cocktails and sushi. Tuesday evening found us doing much the same, but this time with Rick’s conch fritters. Germal was out fishing most of the day. When he returned, he asked Rick to fry some fish as well. Then someone invited a person from one of the new boats who said he’d love to come and bring the other eight people on his boat. So, it turned into a pot luck supper with conch fritters as appetizers– just like that!
On Wednesday, Dr. Kyle, his wife, Regina and their two guests went snorkeling at Thunderball Grotto and then ate lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. While they were there, they picked up a new sump pump for us that had come in on yesterday’s Watermaker Air afternoon flight. The pump was to replace one that went bad a couple of days ago which sucks the water out of our master shower. They returned with the pump just after 3:00 and Rick had it in place by 3:30. Also, in the afternoon, a family came into the marina to stay overnight. They said that they live on Andros. He works at AUTEC (Atlantic Underwater Testing and Evaluation Center) and knows Rick’s Aunt Tillie and Uncle Jimmy.
On Thursday morning, the fuel barge came into the marina to deliver some very badly needed fuel for the island’s generators.
If there are any boats on the north side of the C Dock or the south side of the B dock, they have to move to give the fuel barge room to tie up and then pump fuel up the hill to the holding tanks. The boat in the foreground of this picture is called Mobility. They have been here for a month and will be staying for about another month, I believe. They had to move from the north side of the dock to the south side to accommodate the barge. The folks from Andros (in a Formula) left this morning, as did an 80-foot Lazzara yacht that came in yesterday called Soul Mate.
Friday, May 22, 2015 (BD2-0232) through Thursday, May 28, 2015 (BD2-0238)
Snowcrab left on Friday morning along with her captain, Dr. Kyle, his wife Regina and their guests, Marcus and Edgy. You can sure tell that today is the beginning of the long weekend that the US celebrates as the Memorial Day holiday. By 2:30, there were already 17 boats in the marina with more expected. Saturday was a pretty day, but the wind was starting to pick up. Rick and I went to Staniel Cay in one of Tucker’s whalers. We had lunch at the yacht club then went around to Isles General Store, on the creek, to pick up Tucker’s mail and a few groceries. Tucker needed lettuce and tomato for his burgers and the Isles didn’t have any lettuce, so we proceeded to the government dock. While I stayed on the boat, dipping my feet into the cool water, Rick walked up the hill to the blue store to get the lettuce. While we were eating at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, we saw several others who are staying at Compass Cay including Juwan Howard. Wikipedia says:
“Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973) is an American retired professional basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howard formerly played for the Heat from 2010 until 2013. A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBApower forward, he began his NBA career as the fifth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, selected by the Washington Bullets. Before he was drafted, he starred as an All-American on the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team. At Michigan he was part of the Fab Five recruiting class of 1991 that reached the finals of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Division I Basketball Championship in 1992 and 1993. Howard won his first NBA championship with Miami in the 2012 NBA Finals and his second NBA championship in the 2013 NBA Finals.”
He is here with his family on a boat out of Miami called Fab 5. We returned to the marina to find out that someone on one of the boats had organized a pot luck dinner for tonight. I made a cobbler. It is a very easy recipe. Pour two cans of pie filling in a baking dish; then pour a box of cake mix over the top and then pour a stick of melted butter over that. Bake for half an hour. As usual, everyone else had a wonderful time. I asked how many boats were in the marina now and was told 28! That tops the old record of 24. But with 24 we had 3 boats rafted off of others. This time, everyone is tied to a dock even though Dock A (the newest one on the north end of the marina) still doesn’t have any electricity, it is also full.
Sunday, May 24, 2015 – Germal went out fishing with some of the guests in the morning, so Rick spent most of his time out on the dock, in case Tucker needed any help. I stayed on the boat cooking, cleaning and doing some laundry. On Saturday there were 28 boats and just about as many on Sunday, but on Monday there were less than a dozen boats in the marina. What a difference a day makes! Rick worked on the bilge pumps all morning. Tucker’s grandson, Trevon, came to the cay. He will be here for about month while on summer break from the school he attends in Nassau. He is learning to be an electrician with an emphasis on solar. Monday was a holiday in both the US and the Bahamas.
Memorial Day started as an event to honor Union soldiers, who had died during the American Civil War. It was inspired by the way people in the Southern states honored their dead. After World War I, it was extended to include all men and women, who died in any war or military action. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. The current name for this day did not come into use until after World War II. Decoration Day and then Memorial Day used to be held on May 30, regardless of the day of the week, on which it fell. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed as part of a move to use federal holidays to create three-day weekends. This meant that that, from 1971, Memorial Day holiday has been officially observed on the last Monday in May. The Bahamians observe Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday (also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit) on the day after Pentecost, a movable holiday in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter. So this week’s inspiration goes to all of the Veterans of the United States. My father and uncle both served in the US Navy as did Rick’s birth father and Rick. They served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Thanks to all veterans for your service.
Tuesday was bright and sunny, but still windy. We enjoyed cocktails at sundown with about a dozen folks. On Wednesday, Germal decided that we should have a covered dish dinner since this was our last night here. They had some conch which Rick cleaned and beat to tenderize for conch fritters. I boiled up all of the eggs we had left about a dozen and a half and made deviled eggs. Rick went out fishing with Germal to try to catch a nice sized fish to have for the pot luck in the afternoon. Rick returned just before 5 and started working preparing the batter for the fritters. Thursday was a travel day for us. We packed in the morning and closed up the boat. Then Tucker and Preston took us to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club where we ate lunch and waited for them to take us, by boat, to the Black Point airport to catch the 3:30 Watermakers flight. Our rental car was waiting at the air terminal. We picked it up and then met some of our Compass Cay friends for dinner before driving to Palmetto.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at