The one that got away....

I know it is going to sound like a fish story, but I am going to tell it anyway. The weather for the next few days looked about the same, winds 10 to 15 knots from the west/southwest. No need to make the crossing today so decided to stay another day and go fishing with Freddy. ACJM got a picture of Freddy when he stopped by the night before to check out my tackle as usual. I have trolled for Grouper with him before and wanted to try it again. We rigged up several large lead headed feathers with ballyhoo and a few skirted ballyhooo for Dolphin. For the Grouper we troll in about 30 or 40 feet of water along the rocks from just South of South Bimini to Cat Cay. The rig consists of 40 to 60 pound class tackle with a 1 to 2 pound trolling lead followed by a 15 feet long, 400 pound shock leader, then the bait rigged with 150 pound wire leader and a 10/0 hook. We trolled along for 10 miles or so and had three good hits. Two were thought to be Grouper and the other thought to be a Cuda. Freddy said you could tell the difference as the Cuda's usually only got part of the bait that they bit off or the bait would be all scarred up and the Grouper somehow could peel the whole bait off the hook without getting hooked himself. Time to try for a Dolphin or Wahoo a little farther offshore. We left one of the deep rigs out for a Wahoo and put a skirted ballyhoo and Billy Bait out for Dolphin. Caught a nice Dolphin, 10 or 12 pounds and a really big Cuda which Freddy wanted to keep. Here comes the fish story. The water was a lot rougher than we had thought it was going to be so I relieved ACJM at the wheel and she stayed below with Freddy. I am sure she now knows his life story, that is if she could understand him. I saw a Frigate bird acting kind of funny ahead so speeded up to catch up to it and check it out. First pass by and nothing happened. Normally we stay with these birds for a few passes before we give up, but I was going to have to turn back into the wind to go by him again. I almost didn't, but thought I would since there was not much else going on. Second pass was much different. The Big Bull Dolphin hit our 60 pound rig with a skirted ballyhoo and took off. ACJM did not want to reel him in, so by the time she and I switched places, the fish had peeled out about 300 yards of line with the drag set down pretty good on him. It was more than I could handle standing up in the rough seas so I fought the fish from our fighting chair (compliments of COL). We battled for it seemed like hours but was more like 20 or 30 minutes. When ACJM saw him from the bridge she said "Oh my God that is the biggest Dolphin I have ever seen." I agreed. Finally after a couple late runs I got him to the back of the boat and told Freddy I did not think we had a big enough gaff. I might have been right. Freddy got a couple shots at him with the gaff and missed. The Big Bull made one more run under the boat and before I could say forward, he cut himself off on the rudder. It truly was by far the biggest Dolphin I have ever seen or have had hooked. We had our hand on the leader so it would be called an official catch but that is not much consolation. Freddy said it weighed around 50 or 60 pounds. Having the thrill of victory taken from us, we trolled our way back in and gave up for the day. It was the biggest fish we have ever fought on Feeding Frenzy except for GP's 200 pound Blue Marlin.

I could not sleep very well that night. I kept going over and over the scenario in my head. If Freddy could have stuck him with the gaff, or if I could have stood up and moved him away from the back of the boat, or if ACJM could have anticipated his lunge and moved the boat forward we might have gotten him. I had put the bait on the rod when we started trolling it as I always do, just clip the lure leader to the line. Freddy told me afterwards he always uses a shock leader even without the trolling weight so you have a heavy leader you can grab and apply more pressure on the fish when he gets close to the boat. A lot of ifs ands or buts went through my head that night, but the fact is, you can't catch them all. It will take a while to get over this one, but I will and I will get my chance again.

CTM

Two "Little Holes in the Water"

We arrived in Bimini shortly after John & Lori did on Wednesday afternoon. We got the boats all situated and decided to take a dip in the pool or should I say bath. After a 70 or 80 mile run across salt water, and water costing 50 cents a gallon at Bimini Blue Water Marina, I truly mean bathing in the pool. We decided to eat in so we cooked some of the Mahi we had caught the day before in Great Harbour on the back of FF III. For the next day's adventure, John & Lori's last day, we took a dinghy ride in the back country to snorkel around a sunken DC3 jet that John knew about. We struck out across the bay following them as they knew the way. Our little hole in the water is still not running great and ACJM kept saying we need to turn around and go back as it turned out to be a lot farther than we thought. I just told her "they will come back and tow us in if we break down". They kept getting a little farther and farther ahead until it looked like they stopped. We finally caught up to them and their motor, a 9.9 Hp Merc, quit running on them. We both pulled the cord until we were worn out and it would run a minute or two then die again. I checked John's gas tank and it smelled like varnish. I think it was the same gas that was in it when he bought the motor. He switched to our tank and after a few times sputtering it ran for a short time. We ended up towing them in and then they towed us for the last little bit. We thought his motor would pull the two boats in better than our little 5 Hp that was not running so good. By the way I am going to take it back to Roger Lee and ask for a refund since he checked it out for me before the trip. We didn't get to see the DC3 but we did spend a little time on a shallow sand bar checking out the shells, etc. That evening we stopped by Sherry's new/old place up on the hill above the beach but she was not there. We checked out the beach and decided to have dinner at Captain Bob's. Captain Bob's is a local breakfast & lunch place that GP & CP have dined in a few times. Since Bimini Big Game Club is closed up tight now, Captain Bob's is offering dinner also. They put tablecloths on the tables and really welcomed us in for dinner. We said "goodbye" to John & Lori even though John said he would see us in the morning. Lori said, "John hates goodbyes" and so do we. They were gone early on Friday before we got up.....



CTM

Why we carry a ditch bag & dinghy on FF III...

We were hanging out at Pete's Pub in Little Harbour when John heard on the VHF radio a Mayday call from a boat in distress. You see all communications with the marinas, restaurants, taxi cabs, preachers, etc. in the Abacos are by VHF radio. They all monitor certain channels, but channel 16 is the emergency channel as it is at home. Pete's Pub has one hanging above the bar and that is how we called in for a mooring buoy and that is how we heard the Mayday call. It was from a 90 feet long yacht that had caught on fire a few miles offshore and 6 people were in the water. A guy dressed like Roger & Josh when PPVFD is on a call came up to the bar with a radio in his hand and said they were bringing the passengers to Little Harbor. He told us you could see the smoke just over the hill from the bar. Sure enough, you could. The view was beautiful other than the smoke you can see in the picture coming from the burning vessel. They diverted the passengers to Marsh Harbour as the tide was down and they could not get into Little Harbour. We didn't get to see the people or the boat itself, but it still made us uneasy knowing it could happen to us too. We carry our dinghy to use for fun, but also for a life boat and we have a ditch bag with all the essentials, life jackets, portable GPS, flares, flashlight, water, etc. to throw in it when we have to abandon ship. Hope I never have to use it.

Leaving Hope Town : (

Caught some neat pictures of Nanita and a last look at the Hope Town Lighthouse as we headed for Little Harbor and Pete's Pub (previous post).



ACJM

The Honeymoon.....

The next few posts are a little out of sequence, but we have some time to catch up so here we go....

The day after the wedding in Hope Town was very stormy and rainy but we managed to hitch a ride (see pics of CTM & John in the back of the pickup truck!) to the south end of the island for a change of scenery and lunch. As you can see from the pictures the seas were not wanting to cooperate with a departure from Hope Town or for fishing offshore at Elbow Cay (supposedly a GREAT spot). So...we made the best of it....drank some rum and managed to get in the middle of a photo shoot at the Hope Town Harbor Lodge for Hooters! Now, even with John on his honeymoon and Tim under the watchful eye of his "ball and chain" they managed to get up close and personal with a couple of Hooter Girls! (See pics...) CTM says that since there wasn't time for a bachelor party BEFORE the wedding it was his duty as Best Man to take care of his obligation one way or another. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to get that out of the way when the Hooter Girls showed up!



Catch you on the flip flop....

ACJM

I Cry FOUL!!!!!!

O.K....so here's the story on the status of our Captain's license..... We overnighted our applications to the U. S. Coast Guard in the same envelope on April 16th. There is a way you can go online to the National Maritime Center's website and check the status of your application. So...naturally...every day since April 16th I have been checking on both. They went through some processes early on to be checked for completeness, etc. and the last time they made any progress was on April 30th. Since then the status has been "awaiting assignment to a qualifications evaluator." A couple of days ago I checked and mine said..."awaiting information".... This means "what?" I am thinking. So when I clicked on what they were "awaiting" it said a passport size photo and my sea service forms (which, of course, I sent and were a mirror image of CTM's). Prior to submitting our applications I checked both with our Seaschool coordinator AND the U. S. Coast Guard to see if we did need to include a passport size photo and were told "no" by both since we now have TWIC cards (security clearances through the TSA)! That's another whole story..... We DIDN'T include passport size photos with our apps. The other "awaiting info" item is my sea service forms, which were of course submitted and a mirror image of CTM's. O.K....so you are wondering why I am referring to you know who as CTM???? When I checked his application status it said it has been "ISSUED"!!!!!! What??????????? How can this be???????? When I informed him of the FOUL that has just been committed he does the little Captain Dance (you've seen Caldwell do it many times) and said to me, "YOU MAY CALL ME CAPTAIN NOW!" Well, how do you think THAT went over?????? I e-mailed the NMC and pointed out the error of their ways but do you think I have heard from them??? NO! Now that we are back (and the Gulfstream crossing is ANOTHER story coming soon) I plan to give them a call on Monday and see what's up. Lori, my sailboat friend, said since it was the government it would be better to comply with their requests than to argue with them because my app would just get shoved to the bottom of the pile. If they have lost my sea service forms I don't have a problem resubmitting them but I will NOT send them a passport size photo since it is NOT required!!!! CTM says it is because I am a woman...but I am not even going to go there! I maintain we got two different "qualifications evaluators" and OBVIOUSLY mine is new and does NOT know his/her _ _ _ from a hole in the ground! Stay tuned for the continuing saga of "When Will ACJM Get To Do The Captain's Dance?"

ACJM (STILL)

Day 30 & Peanuts, Popcorn, & Beer

It's Saturday morning and day number 30 on Feeding Frenzy in Bimini and we are down to one jar of peanuts, popcorn, and we're almost out of beer so it's time to head home! The weather looks questionable but we are going to give it a whirl. There have been major thunderstorms popping up later in the day so we hope to get back before that happens. So....Jabet & Caldwell, if you should get a call from the U. S. Coast Guard asking if it is possible that our EPIRB is going off somewhere between Bimini and the U.S. say, "YES"!!!! Catch you on the flip flop.

ACJM & CTM (There's a story here so stay tuned!!!!)

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere in Bimini!

It's Friday night in Bimini...the boats are rolling in...gonna look up Sherry for some conch salad and maybe head to Big John's later for some rum! More later...lots to tell about our fishing today and our dinghy experience yesterday with John & Lori before they headed out early this morning for Miami. Gotta go....Don Lorenzo is calling! Catch you on the flip flop!!!!

ACJM

Billy is Back!

The run from Little Harbour to Great Harbour with a little fishing along the way was a very full day. Needless to say we were a little slow getting around the next morning. By the time we got out on the water it was nearly noon. It is about 7 miles to deep water from the marina. The water surrounding the Berry Islands is amazingly clear. The seven mile run is in water around 10 feet deep, but it looks like it is 1 or 2 feet deep. We had creeped in the day before so we knew the trail was clear on the way out. There was a big cruise ship anchored just off shore and their tender was ferrying passengers to and from their private island. We started trolling the usual rigged ballyhoos and a deep rig and left the Billy Baits out of the pattern. We found a slick and a decent weedline so started following it. It was right along the edge and really looked fishy. We didn't get a strike for a few minutes so I pulled out the trusty old Billy and next thing I know we had a nice mahi in the box. We had a half dozen or so bite offs with the ballyhoo rigs and landed 2 big cudas on the Billys. Only one mahi, but enough for a fish fry on the back of FF III.

We are now in Bimini and getting ready for a dinghy day to investigate some of the back country. We did hook up with our old fishing buddy, Freddy Rolle, and plan on fishing with him Friday. Gonna try trolling for those big Grouper so stay tuned for the results.

ACTM

Great Harbour....In Retrospect.....

We are now in Bimini as our last stop-over before heading back to Islamorada. But, I want to tell of our experience at Great Harbor in the Berry Islands. After we left Little Harbor in the Abacos we fished our way and made the run over to Great Harbor on Monday, about 75 miles. We arrived there around 5:00 p.m. and it is truly in the middle of nowhere! We began calling the marina as soon as we thought they were within VHF range...no answer. We continued to call as we approached and even gave them a call on our Bahamas cell phone. NOBODY HOME!!!! To make a really long story short....we just pulled in and I yelled at a young fellow cleaning fish and he told us there wasn't anybody around and we could just pull in anywhere. Now, mind you this is Monday of Memorial and obviously they don't give a hoot about Memorial Day weekend cause it was Deadsville! After we got settled we managed to find the bar (surprise..surprise)! It turned out to be a great little place and we ate fresh cracked conch and had rum (surprise ..surprise AGAIN)! The next morning when someone did finally show up at the office we checked in and I asked about internet access. She told us to walk down about 100 yards past the bar and there is a chair sitting by the phone booth next to a vacant building.....you can get the internet there she thinks! I asked if we needed a password to get on and she just laughed and said, "No. We don't even know really where the signal is coming from but I've been told you can get on the internet there." Sure enough we made our way down there to check e-mail and IT WORKED!!!! We opted to bypass any posts to our blog while in Great Harbor since you kind of had to balance the laptop on your lap and hold your mouth just right in order to get a signal. I suggested we just wait until we get to Bimini and catch up on everything here. Well, surprise, surprise! When we got all hooked up at the marina and asked about internet access we were told it was down AND had been for a couple of days AND didn't know when it would be working again AND if we really needed to get on we could walk down about a mile to the Batelco office and could probably get on there!!!!! I about had a MELTDOWN!!!!
The internet is obviously working today and we had a good day.....much more later.....catch you on the flip flop!

ACJM

Hole In The Wall.......

Not just for Butch & Sundance.

We said good bye to Little Harbour early Monday morning. The winds have finally laid down. We wrestled the little hole in the water back on the bow of FF as we don't think we will be using it anymore on the trip unless FF sinks. So, with everything stowed away anticipating still some pretty big rollers we headed out. We were to report in to the 2 sailboats leaving yesterday morning also, one being John & Lori and the other some new friends we met, Bruce & Stephanie on Island Time. The tide was nearly at high and the depths were around 5 feet in the channel so they both decided to wait a little longer and then follow us out. We decided the best route for us and to experience another new port was to head to Great Harbour in the Berry Islands. We ran about 30 miles south along the coast of Great Abaco to the southeastern most point called Hole In The Wall. There is actually a fairly protected anchorage there but more importantly there is a point that jutts out into the ocean similar to the saddle area on Bull Shoals only the water here starts at about 100 feet and drops to 1000 feet almost instantly. From studying the chart it looked like a sure thing for fish. I convinced ACJM that we had made good time and we could maybe troll along this area for a little while and then reel up and run on in to Great Harbour, about 50 miles away. About as soon as we got to the edge we put out the baits and caught our first Mahi. It was a nice one, about 12 pounds. We continued to troll along the edge and landed one more nice fish and had 3 good strikes that got off. I'm sure we could have loaded the boat, but ACJM keep looking at the clock, so we reeled up and headed on. Too bad this spot is so far from anywhere, but I will remember it for the next time we pass by. By the way the bait of choice was a rigged ballyhoo and we caught the fish between 10 AM and noon.



ACTM

p.s. ACJM added some pictures to the "One Particular Harbour" post in case you have already read it...scroll down to see the added pics.

One Particular Harbor.....

We have been on the hook now for two days! This is something different for us. Had to run our generator and am sure all of these sail boaters will be GLAD when we pull out! We have been in a neat place....Little Harbor. The only thing here is a little beach bar and gallery called "Pete's Pub and Gallery". Truly a cool little place on the beach....good food and beverage! The Pub and Gallery are owned by Peter Johnston. He is the son of Randolph and Margo Johnston who moved here in the 50's. Randolph who died in late 1992 was an internationally known artist renowned for his lost wax casting in bronze. Saturday night at Pete's was a hoot....two guys playing hand saws provided the entertainment. The bar is literally shaped like the bow of a boat sitting in the sand. This is truly "one particular harbor!" Every evening boats come rolling in and fill up the anchor balls. Last night we were sereneded at sunset by a lady playing a bagpipe on her boat. Then others blew their conch horns.



We hate to go but it is time to head west! The seas have been very angry but we are hoping and think today will be a little better. It will be a 30 mile run south before we can make the turn to the west so an east or wide wind that we have had would NOT be a good thing. At the turn, depending on the seas, we will either turn due west and head toward Great Harbor in the Berry Islands for a stopover or head southwest to Chub Cay for a couple of days of fishing in the Tongue of the Ocean. ACTM has NOT handled NOT being able to fish very well....so hopefully we will get to do a little in the next few days. One side note is that we are 220 miles from Islamorada as the crow flies and have travelled 650 miles so far!!! Wowsa! Have a wonderful Memorial Day and catch you on the flip flop!

ACJM

p.s. My first great niece, Chaney Luna Werner, was born yesterday morning in St. Louis. The really cool part was that within 2 hours of her birth I was looking at a picture of her while sitting on my boat in Little Harbor, Abaco!!! Congrats to Megan and Patrick...can't wait to pinch her little cheeks!!!

Headin' Out!

We have toured the lighthouse, married off our two good friends, eaten in every restaurant, drank in every bar, lost a flip flop in a storm, broke my sunglasses so it's time to move on! We finally got a slight break in the weather today so we are leaving Hope Town and heading south to Little Harbor. The only catch is that there is NO marina and we will be anchored out for 2 - 3 days. We'll see how that goes..... Not sure about internet so if you don't hear from us for a couple of days don't think anything about it. Miss being with all of our friends for this holiday weekend but will be heading home soon. Actually, we will make the turn when we leave Little Harbor and be heading west so slowly but surely making our way back toward home. Catch you on the flip flop....

ACJM

Dum...Dum...DaDum!!!!!

O.K....they FINALLY did it! John and Lori, at 1600 hours on May 21, 2009 were joined in holy matrimony on the sailing vessel Nanita (belonging to them, of course)! The day started out with rain, thunderstorms, and wind! It continued until just slightly before the wedding. Lori, the free spirit, was bound and determined to have the ceremony on the bow of Nanita and John, Mr. Conservative, thought perhaps in the cabin where we would all avoid getting wet should be the place. Well....you know who won that argument (not really an argument) don't you? Minutes before the ceremony was to begin, the skies lightened, the rain stopped, and we walked to the bow of the boat for the ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful!!!! Now...every day at 8:15 there is a 45 minute "Cruiser Net" on VHF Channel 68 and Patty, who operates the net, made the announcement that John and Lori would be getting married at 1600 hours. So...amazingly, there were lots of people on their boats watching and photographing the event! When it was obvious that they were "man and wife"....you know the kiss...people starting honking their horns, blowing conch horns, and shouting! It was AWESOME!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS to John and Lori! We wish them smooth sailing and "following seas!"

ACJM & ACTM

Hope Town Lighthouse

Wednesday we climbed to the top of the Hope Town Lighthouse....here are some stats on it. The lighthouse was built in 1864 and is one of only three in the world with kerosene powered lights (all three are in the Bahamas). The large Fresnel lens floats in a bath of mercury and generates a light that is visible for more than 20 miles. Anybody that has read "A Salty Piece of Land"...the main character, Tully Mars, joined Capt. Cleopatra Highbourne on a mission to find a Fresnel lens for a lighthouse she wanted to refub in the Bahamas!
It is a mechanically operated lighthouse powered by a "grandfather's clock" type chain mechanism with pirate cannon balls as the powering weights. It stands guard over Elbow Cay's harbor. It is 120 feet tall and has 101 steps to the top (yes, we got our cardio workout on that one)! The mantle for the kerosene light looks barely larger than a Coleman type lantern! Someone climbs to the top at dark and lights the lantern and has to manually wind it every two hours to maintain the sequence of 5 white flashes every 15 seconds. Talk about labor intensive!!!!

Here's a link to a full story and history of the Hope Town Lighthouse in case any of you history buffs are interested.....

http://www.go-abacos.com/news/whatson/whatson_lighth.html

"The wind is blowin' harder now, 50 knots or thereabouts...

.........there's whitecaps on the ocean and I'm watching for waterspouts." LITERALLY!(This emphasis added by ACJM)




And, that's about the size of it. We rode out a tropical storm last year in Islamorada after our August Bahamas cruise. It was the worst wind I have ever been in and it went on all night long. It was gusting to 50-60 mph which equates to 42-50 knots. Yesterday here in Hope Town we just beat the storm back to FF after lunch at Captain Jacks. It continued to build through the afternoon with a few openings to look outside and adjust the lines. Just before dark I added an additional line across the next slip into the wind to help with what we thought was coming. It was a fairly uneventful night. The usual slapping of the water on the hull of the boat. The usual squeaking of the boat against the fenders and the sound of the lines tightening on the cleats. Just about daylight it seemed as though the winds had died to little or nothing. Almost no slapping of the waves, etc. All at once it hit. The howling of the wind in the outriggers and across the curtains raised me out of bed to check it out. The winds were roaring. I'm guessing 30-40 knots and gusting higher. The whitecaps in the marina were more than I would have wanted most times at home. The rain poured and the wind continued for 3 hours or so. It is now 10:15 AM and the sun is peaking through and the rain seems to be about over. The wind is still blowing but I think manageable in the little hole in the water so we can venture out for lunch on the other side........and maybe a few cocktails. ACJM says more than a few cocktails after riding out that storm! Adding a few pics of the storm from inside and outside the boat......

Another hole in the water!

One of the definitions of a boat is "a hole in the water you can pour money into". Well, being in the marina business most of my life I have had a lot of holes in the water. Some a lot bigger than the others. On our blue water cruising adventures we usually throw our inflatable dinghy on the bow of the Feeding Frenzy, mainly to be used as a life boat. Before our September cruise we noticed it had a leak in the air deck floor. A couple of our cruisers, Matt & Gabe, patched it just before we left but it did not hold. We took it along anyway as the air deck just makes it easier to stand up in and if the FF sinks and we are all stranded in this little dinghy, we probably won't be standing up much but be on our hands and knees praying. Before leaving on this trip I checked and found that the patch M & G had put on was in fact leaking. Being sure they had done something wrong I took their patch off and replaced it with a bigger patch, followed all the instructions on the glue and checked it for a leak before leaving and it held. This trip we decided to bring along our little 5Hp Mercury outboard as we thought we would be using it to dinghy around in the islands. We could have used it a place or two before now but managed with the help of our cruising partners John & Lori. We are now in Hope Town on Elbow Cay. The marinas are on the North side of the island by the lighthouse and the rest of the town, restaurants and bars are on the South side. The only way to get there is by dinghy. So, yesterday ACJM and I decided to put the old dinghy in the water. Well, the floor was leaking again around my patch. Oh well, just get out the pump and blow it up every morning. We threw the trustworthy Mercury on the boat and with only 2 pulls it started purring like a kitten. We loaded our cooler and headed for Nanita to visit our friends. After just pulling out of the marina the motor died and would not start. We drifted in to a pier and I checked the fuel line, etc. About all I can do and everything seemed OK so I rowed the boat back to our slip. I tried it again and it started. Ran great tied up to the dock. We took off again and it died in about the same place. Our friends came by and we used their fuel tank and it seemed to run better but not wide open. We decided to try it again and it worked. We did not go over an idle, but putted across to Nanita for a cocktail and then on to a restaurant & bar for dinner. We made an early evening of it and it got us home. Today we ran across the bay again, still at an idle and made it just fine. ACJM won't let me open it up, but I may slip out and try it this afternoon if the rain ever quits. At least it is not a very big hole in the water.

STRANDED IN HOPE TOWN!

We made it to Hope Town yesterday from Marsh Harbor. So...we now have some new territory to explore. That's a good thing because the wind prediction for the next few days is 25 - 30 knots with seas building to 12' - 18'!!!! YIKES!!!! So....we are going to be stranded in Hope Town for a few days. That's o.k. cause John and Lori are FINALLY going to tie the knot on Nanita on Thursday. So...they/we will have a couple of days to prepare for the big event. They have asked ACTM and me to stand up for them! Too cool, huh! They actually had to head back over to Marsh Harbor on the ferry boat this morning because they found out they couldn't get the marriage license here....only in Marsh Harbor! We will be holding our breath that they can accomplish the task as this will be the THIRD time they have tried to get the license! In Green Turtle Cay we loaded up on the golf cart with all of their paperwork in John's briefcase and headed over to the Administrative Office. The ONLY guy that can issue the license was "off the island for a week"! So ACTM and I will do some exploring while they are gone to Marsh Harbor and have a slide show presentation of what we find later on. Catch you on the flip flop and stay tuned for the continuing saga of "When and Where Will John and Lori Get Their Marriage License?"

UFO?????

We passed by this "thing" while fishing today. Just wondering if anybody has any idea what this Unidentified Floating Object might be??????

Almost got my Whaler!

While we docked at The Bluff House Marina in Green Turtle Cay, I got up one morning and looked out to see if there was anything going on and noticed a small Boston Whaler floating beside our boat under the main walkway for the marina. It looked as though it might have been placed there intentionally as it had a line going into the water from the stern which looked as though it might have been an anchor. Well, ever since we took the Reef Dancer home, I have been saying to ACJM that I wanted to get a small Boston Whaler with a 30Hp motor or so for running around in the back country and "Booze Cruising". Something small enough that we could park it in our slip behind Feeding Frenzy and if we had motor trouble, I could pull it off and take it home to get worked on or just put another engine on. The main reason I have wanted a Boston Whaler specifically is obvious, so I could say "I may not have the biggest boat in the marina, but I have a whaler for a dinghy". Which of course would be true. As most of you know, I am stealing the line from a Pat Dailey song, but it fits. Unfortunately soon after I noticed the boat there, a lady was calling on the VHF radio saying has anyone seen her lost dinghy, a small BW. Well, being the honest guy I am, I called her and reported it found. She came shortly thereafter and retrieved her boat and when she returned to her other boat she announced to all those monitoring the radio what a great thing I had done. Another good deed, it is time for some good luck fishing now.



This brings me to part 2 of the story. Friday night was a big night here at Marsh Harbour Marina. A fund raiser for a local community thing while celebrating the big uneventful move here, then running into the ex Mizzou coach. So, we were a little overserved and did not do much on Saturday but when I heard ACJM say we might go fishing Sunday, I perked up. We decided to leave early as the winds were supposed to build in the afternoon. The winds were still blowing from the East so we made our way to the ocean through a cut by Man-o-war Cay then trolled North towards Logerhead Channel. We used the same technique as before, zig-zagging in and out from 300 to 1500 feet deep. When we had almost made it to the end of our loop, we crossed an area that was a deep canyon called "Tuna Row" which ran from about 1000 feet deep up to 300 feet and that's where we got the hit. Wrestling a nice fish in in those seas was quite a task for just the two of us. ACJM let me make one more pass by the same spot and we caught another fish. First fish about 11:00 and the second about 11:30. So much for that early morning fishing. I'm sure another pass would have produced another hit, but I had all the rough stuff I wanted also. I definitely will hit that spot one more time before we leave here though. Maybe that good deed did pay off.

"OH DEAR...OH DEAR", I said!

It's Sunday at Marsh Harbour...the wind was predicted to be 10-15 knots toady with "only" 5 - 7 foot seas so we decided to go fishing this morning. O.K....I was going to be a good sport so I said, "let's go" even though 5 - 7 foot seas didn't sound too appealing! We left out at 7:30 this morning but had to run by another marina for ice because our marina didn't open until 11:00 (Jabet...what do you think about that...11:00 on Sunday????). We were out in the Atlantic Ocean by 8:30. "OH DEAR...OH DEAR...OH DEAR", I shouted several times! Well, since my kids are reading this and also not to risk getting thrown off of blogspot.com I won't tell you the REAL words I was shouting! There were 7 - 11 foot swells EASY! Sitting in the back of the boat I would just watch the swells coming toward us and was thinking, "Perfect Storm...Perfect Storm"! Now...it was a brilliant sunny day but the wind has been blowing hard for 3 or 4 days so the seas were VERY rough. Now for the really GOOD part....we caught 2 nice mahi mahi, dorado, or dolphin...take your pick of names. After 2 fish I suggested to ACTM, "How many do we really need?" So we headed back in and were back at the marina by 1:00. We just finished frying up more than we could eat in a week but when it's fresh you just have to do it! It is Five O'Clock Somewhere in Marsh Harbor but after "frogging our sides" and showers we will probably go to bed and watch a movie. John & Lori moved over to Hope Town today and we will move there tomorrow. Winds are to be 15 - 20 knots but it is only about 5 miles through the Sea of Abaco so don't anticipate any problem. Will catch you on the flip flop when we get to Hope Town!

Remember Woody? And I'm Not Talkin' Woodpecker....

For those of you that are Mizzou fans....it's a small world! Last night we ran into Woody Widenhofer's offensive coordinator at the bar! He spotted ACTM with his Missouri Tiger tee on and invited us to join them. They live on their sailboat FULL TIME and have for 2 1/2 years! They basically sold everything (put a few things in storage) and took to the sea. WOW...what an adventure they have had.

As They Say In The Bahamas....NO PROBLEM!

After a relatively sleepless night Thursday knowing we were pulling out Friday morning and going to navigate the "most treacherous pass in the Abacos" I am happy to report it was a BIG TO DO ABOUT NOTHING! It was really rough and we were rockin' and rollin' but made it just fine. We reported the conditions to John and Lori as we went though and they decided to pull up stake and head to Marsh Harbor as well. We arrived in Marsh Harbour around 10:30 and they arrived around 3:00. The wind forecast is NOT good so might be here for a few days...20-25 knots and seas 8 - 11 feet!!!! YIKES!!! We are glad we moved yesterday because now we have a whole other island to explore! Licking our wounds this morning from that, as I say, "first night in town syndrome"! Catch you on the flip flop!

O.K.....enough is enough...let's go!

We spent Thursday touring Green Turtle Cay. The winds have continued to increase so fishing offshore has been out of the question. We have now been at Green Turtle Cay since Sunday and ACTM is like a caged tiger! The wind forecast is for continually increasing winds through the next few days so we are going to try to make it to Marsh Harbor today if we can for a change of scenery. Otherwise, we will be stuck here and we've "been here and done this" so time to move on. The tricky part is going through what is called Whale Cay Channel....very narrow between rocks and goes out into the ocean. So...with just the right wind conditions we are told and have been reading that it can be impassable. The bad thing is that it is the only way to get to Marsh Harbor. You have to go through Whale Cay Channel, out into the ocean for about 3 miles, and back into the Sea of Abaco. Once we get back into the Sea of Abaco it should be fine. The ocean part is short and ACTM says that we can stand ANYTHING for 3 miles! So....we'll see. Might end up right back here if the pass looks too treacherous! Yikes!!! John and Lori have opted to hang here and wait out the wind as they are in a sailboat and don't have enought HP to power through the pass. So...we said goodbye to them for now. Will hook up with them on down the road somewhere. Will catch you on the flip flop and hopefully be reporting in from Marsh Harbor later today or tomorrow!

We needed a Prince!

After a couple days of island hopping and beaching it, I was ready to wet a line again. Unfortunately we waited just long enough for the wind to kick up. We are now docked at The Bluff House Marina on Green Turtle Cay. Green Turtle Cay is an out island, across the Sea of Abaco from Great Abaco Island. Great Abaco Island stretches about 100 miles long, mostly North & South and we are about 1/3 of the way down from the North end. The closest access to the Atlantic is about 8 miles South through Whale Cay Channel. It is the most treacherous channel in the Abacos. With the wind at 15 to 20 knots we were a little spooked but made our way through the cut without any problem. With the wind ripping out of the Southeast we decided to fish our way so we would have "following seas" back to the North to Powell Cay Channel which was about 18 miles. The bed sheets were really flying and the waves off our stern caused a lot of heaving and yawing (terms we learned in Seaschool). We trolled from 300 to 2500 feet of water catching only one Cuda about 15# and had another hit or two but that was it. Can't have a banner day every day. We were told later that there was a report of a good Dolphin catch earlier in the day, but did not see any birds working and no floating magical piece of debris. They say the Dolphin continuously eat and gain an inch or two in size per month, so I guess maybe they will be bigger the next day we can get on them.

Maybe Changing My Mind!!!!!

I know it has been a couple of days since we have written, but I was bound and determined to be able to add a slide show of a pics of the "beach day" with John & Lori. Honestly, I have worked on it for hours and FINALLY this morning I think I can do it so here goes......



The day started with us motoring up to Manjack Cay to spend the day. We were really uneasy about anchoring the boat and leaving it because the bottom was sand and ACTM said there was no way our anchor would hold in the sand. Well...he was right. After a couple of tries, John and ACTM took the dinghy out and ACTM dove down and and physically set the anchor so we were good to go! John ferried us all over to the beach. We spent a little time there and then decided to take the 2 mile nature walk over to the ocean side where there was supposed to be a really nice beach. Now....remember....I HATE THE BEACH and the thought of walking 2 miles to it didn't appeal to me at all. But, the vote was 3 to 1 so off we went. The guy that owns Manajack Cay had cut this nature trail over to the other side of the island for the boaters to enjoy and while we were hiking through the woods I was all of the time thinking that this was the Bermuda Triangle! This guy lures people into the woods, slits their throats, and they are never heard from again....sound Bermuda Triangleish????? O.K...maybe I was overreacting but never the less I was looking forward to getting there. The woods finally parted and we walked out onto what was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen! Truly unspoiled....no people, no beer cans, no cigarette butts! To make a long story short...I MAY have to change mind about the beach!!!!

Hurricanes of 2006

Rosie's Place was on Grand Cay which is just across the bay from Walker's Cay which was where the fishing show Walker's Cay Chronicles was filmed. Walker's Cay was a very busy fishing area until the hurricanes of 2006 along with some deteriorating concrete pilings and docks resulted in the closing of all commercial operations on the cay. Grand Cay was where most of the locals who worked at Walker's Cay lived. In fact, Prince's wife worked there until it closed and then stayed home to take care of their six kids. There were some new rental units at Rosie's Place, but everything else looked pretty weathered. The same must have been true for the West End. Only the marina and condos at Old Bahama Bay were in very nice shape. The village there was very weathered and run down. The hurricanes must not have reached as far East as Green Turtle Cay as this area is in very good shape although they are feeling the economic crunch as well. The Bluff House restaurant which sits atop the only hill around here is closed because of lack of business. It was said to be a dining experience not to be missed. We will have to try it next time. There are a few cruisers in the dock but almost no one staying in the cottages. Three of the cruisers pulled out this morning and we are off to Manjack Cay to anchor up with our cruising friends John & Lori. Fishing tomorrow.

We're Opening A Laundromat In Green Turtle Cay.....

It's Monday and a day of rest.....well, not really cause we had to do laundry. So...we lounged around and drank coffee until about 10:00. Then it was time to do the dirty deed...sort the stinking fish gut smelling laundry from the last 10 days! (Wow, I think the smell is still in the boat!) After we sorted we trudged up to the laundromat. There were 3 washers and 4 dryers! The washers said 50 cents and I am thinking, "Wow, what a bargain!" As ACTM went to the office for the tokens for the washers and dryers I proceeded to load up the 3 washers. Well, when ACTM returned he announced that the tokens were $4 each! Yikes! I consolidated all of the dirty laundry into 2 washers. I crammed them full! O.K....so we went to the pool while the washers were running. Not too bad so far...... When the two washers were done it was time to dry. Guess what? Only 2 of the 4 dryers worked and they were both full. UGH..... After we waited and waited and waited one dryer finally opened up so two loads went into one dryer. This wasn't really a savings cause it took TWO token to dry one ginormous (a word I learned from Karen Stinson) load. So...we have decided to quit our jobs and move to Green Turtle Cay and open a laundromat. All we need is beer, bait, and gas money and we figure at $4 a load we can do it!!!!! Laundry finally finished ACTM suggested we take a walk over the hill to the private beach owned by our marina. UGH again, I think. Now, I will divulge this deep dark dirty secret that I have harbored all my life....I HATE THE BEACH!!!!!! All that sand all over everything....not appealing at all! O.K I said.....a walk on the beach for a free Bahamian pedicure.....I agreed to go. It was really a pretty place and we took some photos on the beach and at the top of the hill and again on the way back to the marina. I am going to try to post some of the beach pics. I made ACTM take pics of me far far away for two reasons.....so you couldn't see my ginormous rear end (too much cracked conch) AND the "Ooh, I hate the beach" expression on my face!



Heading to meet up with our sailboat friends, John and Lori, tomorrow in an anchorage where they are. We haven't seen them since last Wednesday at the West End but have spoken on the VHF several times. Looking forward to another "down" day! Catch you on the flip flop......

ACJM

The fisherman formerly known as.........

You guessed it, Prince. He didn't sing or play guitar or have the moves the "other" Prince did, but he sure knew how to fish! We had a very successful reef fishing experience with Moses at the West End, so we asked if he knew someone at Grand Cay that we might look up and he said ask for Rubin. After a very uneventful crossing from West End to Grand Cay, about 60 miles, we tied up the boat and cleaned it up and had a beer. Surprise, surprise. We got there about 2:00 and thought we might be the only ones there. There were a lot of locals hanging around the office and it was closed. About 5:00 the boats started rolling in and a couple vendors set up their wares by the office and it soon appeared we would not be the only ones and the place basically filled up. There was a lady selling fresh conch salad so we of course had to have some. I asked her if there was a fisherman named Rubin around and she pointed him out and yelled at him and he came over. He actually did not fish offshore but only on the reef and back country. He recommended Prince. And a Prince he was. He said we should go out pretty early if wanted to catch a Yellowfin Tuna, so we obliged. Believe it or not SBS, we pulled out of the marina at 7:30 and were fishing by 8:00 or so. It is like the other islands we have been to in that only a couple miles from shore we were in 1000 feet of water. Not much going on for the next hour or so therefore, the early morning departure didn't seem to matter. But about 15 miles offshore we ran onto a weed line that was loaded with miscellaneous floating debris or as they say back in Islamorada, that magical piece of debris. We were trolling all bigger rigged ballyhoo and hadn't caught anything for a few minutes and I suggested to Prince we troll a Billy Bait. You previous cruisers know that is a dolphin's delight. Within 5 minutes we had hooked our first fish (on the BB), a nice 8 or 10 pound Dolphin. But then we found a pallet near the weedline and the bite was on. We hooked a double on the big stuff, a 30 and 40 pounder. ACJM drove and Prince mated and I reeled in both. By the time I got those 2 in I was nearly ready to lay down in the fish box also. Next pass by the pallet we hooked a double again, this time Wahoo. Not real big but very nice, about 15 pounds or so. We ended up the day with 5 Dolphin, 3 Wahoo and a Barracuda which I had promised to Rubin if we caught one. What a day! We are sorry SBS missed out on this as he was looking forward to catching a Dolphin, but we wondered if that Jayhawk background was causing the bad luck with offshore fishing. Sure enough it must have been the problem. I have said this before, but I think it might have been one of our best offshore days ever. At one point we reeled up the Billy Bait to get it out of the way for the big stuff. All this and we were headed back to the marina by 1:30. We saw another boat in the area and we called him in and told him what we had found. Never had anyone done that for us, but maybe it will pay off someday. We do not have room to store much in our freezer so we kept some of the fillets, gave some to our neighbor on the dock and gave the rest to Prince....and of course some to Rubin. We also had the local restaurant cook us all we could eat. By the way the local bar was a real treasure. Chris Geroff would have loved it. Kind of weathered, all dark wood inside, a pool table on one end and a group of locals playing dominoes on the other end. ACJM and I were the only non locals in the place, but Rubin was there and I bought the bar a round and we were like locals then. Now on to Green Turtle Cay.

The Real Bahamas....Been There and Now Done That!

OMG! It's Sunday afternoon and we just arrived at Green Turtle Cay (60 miles from Grand Cay) and are now tied up to the dock and back in the 21st century! The crossing from the West End to Grand Cay was fairly uneventful. It was indeed very shallow but we made it fine. We did go into Rosie's Place (the marina) on Grand Cay at low tide and it was a little spooky. We draw about 3 1/2 feet and we saw 4 feet a couple of times. O.K.....so we arrive at Rosie's Place, get tied up to the dock and WOW.....there is wireless internet on the dock!!!! Well, that lasted about 2 hours and that was the end of it. When we would ask about when it would be back up and running we would hear, "Maybe tomorrow...." That is just the Bahamas way....they couldn't care less whether we can e-mail our loved ones or post to our blogs. I think they basically think it is all foolish.....some pretty smart people, perhaps. Now, the last day we were fishing before we left the West End we went through our little routine of dumping the holding tank offshore before coming back to the marina like good cruisers. The gauge never went down so we were concerned but didn't worry because Old Bahama Bay had a marine pumpout and we would just have them pump it out to confirm what we believed about the gauge....that it was stuck. On our way out on Friday we did have them check and low and behold.....nothing pumped so decided that yes, it was just a faulty gauge . Well....NO that wasn't the problem....obviously their pumpout wasn't working! The gauge kept going up until it showed "full"!!!!! Yikes!!!! How can we cruise the Bahamas and not be able to use the head (strange name for toilet...huh...)? The only bathroom at Rosie's was in the bar (which of course opened at 7:00 a.m. so that wasn't a problem)! No toilet paper and the seat in the ladies toilet was actually broken off and half laying in the floor (not that I would have sat on it anyway)!!!!! Without going into much more detail about the head dilemma......my Mother's Day present from ACTM was he got up early and tore the whole thing apart and it is now working again!!!!! Phew....... The fishing was an unbelievable experience but I am going to let ACTM elaborate on that.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!!!!

ACJM

Time To Go

Today we cruise on to Grand Cay on the western end of the Abacos. And today the Stinsons leave us and move on to Port Lucaya. They will be there for a few more days where Scott will flats fish and Karen will shop! Our cruising mates, John and Lori on Nanita, left us yesterday and sailed on toward Grand Key. It is about 45 to 50 miles from the West End of Grand Bahama across the Little Bahama Bank which averages between 5 & 15 feet deep all the way (YIKES!). Since their sailboat has a 5' draft they made sure they left at high tide so there wouldn't be any issues with water depth. We have a 3' draft so should be o.k. but are leaving at high tide just for added insurance. We will catch up to John and Lori in a day or two. Will be at Rosie's Place at Grand Cay which is pretty remote and not sure if they have internet access. So...if you don't hear from us for a few days....not to worry....we haven't been lost in the Bermuda Triangle!!! Signing off for now in prep for the journey and to say goodbye to Scott & Karen.

ACJM

Another Great Reef Spot

Day 7 on our cruise and we are heading out fishing again. Moses didn't exactly part the waters yesterday, but he did take us to another great reef spot here in the Bahamas. We caught 35 yellowtails, a gray trigger, a horse-eye jack, a cero mackerel, a rainbow runner and a couple pretty big sharks. It took two attempts at anchoring, which is always a chore, but we got on them. ACJM saved the spot on our gps and we are heading up there again today. We haven't caught anything to keep yet trolling. A few big barracudas, but that is all. We plan on trolling up there again today and then reef fish. The spot is about 17 miles north of the West End and about 2 miles north of a little island called Memory Rock.

A little history about the West End. The old Jack Tar Marina became Old Bahama Bay Marina a few years ago and was taken over by the Ginn company in 2007. They plan a huge development here, I suppose one similar to Bimini Bay on North Bimini. It is also the home of the legendary flats guide Bonefish Folley. Scott had of course heard of him and said he had fished with his son. Moses told us he was a cousin of his. And a little celebrity news.....John Travolta and Kelly Preston own a home here at Old Bahama Bay and this is where they were when their son died. On our bike ride we saw a small clinic in town but the West End of Grand Bahama is very secluded and basically no medical services nearby.

Goin' Fishing With Moses!

Up early this morning as we are heading out in less than an hour to go fishing with Moses Moxey! Moses is a guide here at the West End. With a name like that....I bet we catch some fish! Will post a fishing report later.

ACJM

Just An FYI.....

While ACTM is doing the light maintenance on the boat I am going to explain the "Almost Captain Morgan" thing. Around the first of the year we decided that we would pursue getting a Captain's license. In March we started the process by going to Seaschool in Key Largo where we had to attend 52 hours of classroom instruction. We then drove to Fort Lauderdale and sat for the four hour written exam. Am pleased to report that we both passed with flying colors (I know I am saying this a lot but.....phew again.....) When we returned back to Missouri we continued with other requirements.....drug test, physicals, CPR/First aid class, obtaining a TWIC card (requiring TWO trips to KC!) and as you can imagine mounds of paperwork for the application. We had to prove we had 360 hours of boating experience since the age of 15 (no problem since we have lived on Bull Shoals Lake all of our lives) with 90 of them in the last 3 years. Fortunately ACTM has been keeping a log of our boating offshore and we easily had the 90 offshore hours and then some. Our applications have now been in the hands of the U. S. Coast Guard since April 16th. We can check the status of the process and they appear to be about 1/3 of the way through the evaluation. You know how the government works......could be well into the summer before it becomes official (barring any snags). So....there you have it.

Off for a bike ride and to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

ACJM

Phew is right!

You know how in a crisis situation you don't always say what you really think to certain people? Well, I was not real confident on the fix of FFIII, but after a 60+ mile run from Bimini to the West End of Grand Bahama, my confidence level has risen. I have knocked on wood a few times when I say it out loud. As for the fishing along the way, as ACJM reported, we had great Yellowtail fishing on our favorite reef spot, Freddie North. We have always caught fish there, but the YT this time were the best quality fish ever. The girls caught fish after fish free-lining baits on the surface. I spent most of the time mating for them, putting on bait and taking off fish. Scott kept trying to catch that illusive Grouper on the bottom. Our anchoring in the deep reefs spots to the south did not work out to well with all the wind and heavy current. We caught a few fish but were not really able to hold on our spot. We anchored the north spot like pros. We found it on the gps (it was loaded with fish), taking the wind and slight current in to account, we motored just past it, set the anchor and when it came tight we were right over the top of the fish. It was a great team effort. This also added a little confidence. The West End is a really nice marina complex. It is loaded with boats of all types, sailboats, trawlers and fishing boats. We just met a nice couple from Maine that just came from the Abacos, where we are heading next. Most cruisers are really nice people. Maybe they are friendly because they have been couped up for a few days with just their significant other and need some interaction with people. We are taking the day off today. A little light maintenance this morning, then off on our bicycles to explore a little of the island. This is May 5th so probably will be a party night, as if we needed a reason to party. We are hooked up to have a local guide go fishing with us tomorrow, Moses Moxey. He said he was going to put us on all kinds of fish. Will report later.

ACTM

Now At The West End....

We arrived at the West End of Grand Bahama around 3:00 today. We stopped on the way from Bimini at our favorite reef spot just north of Bimini and caught 24 really nice yellowtail snapper! Also a couple of nice amberjack. To make a long story short....we had a great fresh yellowtail dinner. Our friends from California, John and Lori on Nanita , a 44' sailboat, caught up with us today and we enjoyed their company, along with Scott and Karen, for dinner and cocktails. We will be cruising with them on into the Abacos for the rest of our trip. We met them last May in Bimini. We actually met them again in the Bahamas last August when we cruised to Chub Cay and to Nassau and also in October in Key West for the Meeting of the Minds. They keep their sailboat in Fort Lauderdale...however, they told us today that they are officially moving their boat to South Miami when they return from our trip. Now they will be closer to us in the Keys which is a good thing! More later.......

ACJM

Phew!!!!!!!!!!!

As you can see from the previous post from ACTM we are on the road again! Thankfully after a few bloody knuckles and not too many curse words we are back up and running. We're leaving early in the morning and heading to Grand Bahama. Plan to fish a reef spot on the way so hopefully will have a fishing report tomorrow.

ACJM

On the road again

Sunday morning and another attempt at fixing the fuel problem with FF III. The problem started about 10 miles from Bimini on Friday. The starboard engine started starving for fuel. We were able to limp in at about 1500 rpm's (10 knots). Saturday morning the first and easiest thing to change was the Racor secondary fuel filter. Having just serviced the engines I knew it was a long shot but was the first thing to do. It didn't help. We fished the rest of the day anyway and decided to take the next step on Sunday. By the way the Bahamas phone is coming in handy. I called a tech from Yanmar Friday evening on his cell phone to get a direction and he said we absolutely could not hurt the engines running them this way and that the problem had to be a supply problem. This morning I pulled the fuel pickup from the tank. The guys who have serviced our boats in the past Carl & Gerd Wunderlich from Port Engineers had told me they had experienced a fuel tank pickup problem in a couple 35 Luhrs like ours. I used the old Bahamas phone again and called Gerd first thing to go over what I needed to do. He was very helpful, even on a Sunday morning. He said no problem Cap'n, I was just riding my bicycle to pick up a paper. Pulling the pickup was a chore. I had 4" of room to snake an 18" long tube out. I usually tear up more than I fix in these situations. I saw nothing wrong when I got it out, but Gerd told me to cut it at a 45 degree angle to help the flow and put it back in. It worked. Running good again. Went fishing for awhile this afternoon and caught dinner. Still doesn't get much better than that. Tomorrow mornig leaving early for some fishing and then on to the West End of Grand Bahama.

Cap'n T. Morgan, Almost

Another Saturday Night.....

Well, it's Saturday night in Bimini and I am all alone....yes, the Stinsons and Almost Captain T Morgan have abandoned me.... The bad news is..... Almost Captain T Morgan changed the fuel filter on the engine and we went fishing......unfortunately it did NOT fix our problem. However, the good news is we were still able to go fishing. Unbelievably we can troll at about 7 to 8 knots but if we go any faster than that the starboard engine shuts down. So.....tomorrow Almost Captain T Morgan will try something else. The good news is we just went out and trolled down to the reef spot south of Bimini where we typically catch Queen Triggers, etc. So.....yes, we did catch 6 queen triggers and 3 margate snappers. On the way back we caught 2 blackfin tuna and 1 bonita (baitfish). So...I guess we had a successful day cause we had fresh fish for dinner. Fresh fish, rice, and salads from the restaurant nearby. Wonderful dinner but nobody wanted to head to North Bimini to Big John's for music and dancing.

Now....a note for those of you who have been here with us before and know and love Stevie S music.......we asked about Stevie S and get this.....everybody has just smiled and said he won't be around for a while. Everybody has been very tight lipped about his whereabouts. All they would say is that he wouldn't be at Big Johns.... We finally got someone to fess up last night about what the deal was and he is in jail in Nassau! So....that is why I am all alone and everybody else is in bed....no reason to go to Big Johns (the "no pot smoking" place!). No Stevie S........ :( Stay tuned for more on this when we get the WHOLE story!

Almost Captain J Morgan

What to Read?

Saturday morning...........as with all cruises, you can expect some down time so you should always bring along some good reading material. Since none of my fishing magazines made it in the mail before we left I chose a couple books for the trip. My choices were, PAPA, Hemingway in Key West, The Old Man and the Sea (a must for fishing cruises) and An Embarrassment of Mangoes, a book borrowed from some former cruisers, G & J Blackburn. I have just started the later and at the beginning of a chapter titled Blown away in the Bahamas there was the following quote, "It is unlucky to start a cruise on a Friday, the day Christ was crucified. In the 19th century the British navy tried to dispel this superstition. The keel of a new ship was laid on a Friday, she was named HMS Friday, launched on a Friday, and finally sent to sea on a Friday. Neither the ship nor her crew were ever heard of again". I hope we have not jinxed this cruise leaving on a Friday, but wind and engine trouble on the first day which was a Friday is not a good start. There were a couple bright spots though. During the time we had engine trouble, we were parallelled by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, but were not stopped by them (seeing them is a little comforting). And, clearing customs was the easiest so far.

Almost Captain T Morgan

Dejavu.......

Friday, May 1st, our scheduled crossing day was once again windy windy windy. So.....Almost Captain T Morgan suggested we cruise the intercoastal to Miami and spend the night there. We would then only be 45 miles from Bimini and could shoot across when the wind finally died down. We got to Biscayne Bay around 1:00 and decided we could stand ANYTHING for 45 miles. So...off we went! It was pretty bad! Now for the really bad part.....we developed engine problems about 10 miles from Bimini (this is where the dejavu comes in for some of you who remember the last time we were in Bimini and had a breakdown). When we got into port we were actually able to call our now good friend Kevin with Mastry Engine and he has given us a couple of things to try. We hope this will be a simple and easy fix so stay tuned......

Almost Captain J Morgan