Now I seek my own volunteer crew or even better... my permanent sailing companion

We decided to head out Tuesday morning the 13th.  We got a bit of sailing in for 8 miles but it was only moving us 4 knots...slower at times.  This was because we had to head west to go through some charted passages through shallow areas.. down to just inches more than our draft.   We dropped sails to motor through these passages.  Once through these passages, which were the East and West Commer passages, we turned sharply and again were heading straight into the wind.  It was not bad but dark clouds were building and we took the misen down just before we hit the first squall.  Gusts were to 30 knots then 20 or 25 knots with some choppy seas that occasionally slowed the boat down to 4 knots.  We were originally planning to go overnight to Crooked Island and anchor and rest but we decided to anchor at the protected side of the south tip of Long Island.  It was dark as we motored toward our resting spot and we went through a second squall.  The...

On our final day Monday, January 12th, anchored in Thompson Bay on Long Island, Otis dinghyed over and asked if anyone wanted to join he and his wife Marty to walk across to the southern beach.  Candace and I expressed interest and at 1:30 we were picked up and dinghyed over to the government dock and walked the road across to the beach.  It was still heavy with plastic trash but perhaps on some level had a bit less.  We walked the beach back and forth and took the photos below..  We also saw a sea turtle near shore that morning when we went to fill a couple jugs with water from a shallow well in the limestone.  It's for bathing as we want to make sure we have enough freshwater to reach ... Haiti?  There are 2 water makers on board but some thing or another must be done before they are ready to use.  Later that evening Walter and Candace went there with laundry and bathing stuff and bathed in plentiful freshwater..  I'd already done my bathing off...

I suspect Candace will be here soon so I'll just post once more from where I've been having coffee and WiFi. It was busy with others but is quiet now.  Some even had breakfast.  

It's January 9th and it sounds like we will be here through the weekend anyway?  The guy from the cat ketch rig stopped over this morning with a recording of Chris Parker's cruiser's marine forecast.  Walter has a nice new SSB transceiver but it's not working yet as it requires some thing or another.  Walter also has an icon SSB receiver that he can connect to a laptop but needs to connect that to the mast head antenna of his non complete SSB transceiver.  I think he plans to do that today.  We have learned of beaches on the outside of Long Island just across from Thompson Bay so that's what Candace and I will be up to today.  I found yesterday hanging out on the boat and reading etc very relaxing.  Candace was more bouncing off the walls so she's excited at the idea of some beach running.  As it turned out all 3 of us went to the beach today.  It was a nice beach a mile or 2 long but as is the usual on beaches around the world these days it ...

M,Nin Thompson Bay.  Again we are here due to a forecast of string winds.  It's supposed to be tonight and tomorrow.   So far at 7:30 it's 10 or 15 knots.. I think we will be setting out Mondsy morning.  So far the SSB receiver doesn't seem to be receiving any verbal signal.. Only various sounds.  I'm not sure how getting the weather on SSB frequencies works but for us it's not working so far.  The cat rigged Freedom 40 captain brought us the forecast from Chris Parker on SSB.  He recorded the Caribbean forecast he does at 6 EST and the Bahamas forecast that follows.  After each forecast he has sessions responding to his paid subscribers requesting weather details for specific passages.  You can't hear the request but you hear Chris Parker's response.  The Caribbean one was pretty much all the SE Caribbean.. It mentioned Dominican Republic a couple times but never the Wîndward Passage which we will be passing through once we head south f...

It's been an interesting day.. January 8th.  We had a calm beautiful morning watching dark clouds build to the north.  About 9 AM  a breeze developed and rain started briefly.. Then it stopped and for a while looked like the day would be sunny and bright...which was followed by clouds, harder rain and strong north winds.. Then that let up and it was partly sunny but the wind got even stronger and from the northeast.  It's basically 20 knots but I'm sure some stronger gusts.  We have heard gusts would be to 30 knots though so far we've not seen it.   When we dropped anchor yesterday at the north end of Thompson Bay on Long Island we were the second sailboat anchored with many more further to the south a mile or more away.  No where near the number in Elizabeth Harbor near Georgetown but a couple dozen anyway.  Yesterday morning a 40' cat rigged ketch motored over from the south end and told us of the coming front.  They anchored nearby and din...

Today, January 7th, Walter hoisted Candace up the main mast to sand and varnish it.  I went to shore and mostly hung out at the Long Isla nd Breeze Resort where I had lunch and WiFi.  I docked the dinghy at a closer dinghy dock option and walked which was hot and sweaty.  It took a while once I got there to not feel like I'm in a sauna.  I then checked out a grocery store the other direction past where I'd docked the dinghy.  I asked around about BTC phone cards and public phones for Candace but failed to find out anything other than few places are still selling the cards besides BTC themselves plus finding a working public phone booth is rare.. Mobile phones have made those a lot harder to find everywhere, the difference is old non working remnants remain here where they are generally removed in the USA. Once I returned to the boat, the mast varnish project was progressing and once they were done they went off to get showers at the Long Island Breeze Resort. ...

We motored to Thompson Bay on Long Island in the Bahamas.  We are now beyond the Exumas I believe but have a few more Bahama Islands before we head south though the Windward Passage to Haiti's south coast.   We have a very shallow area to traverse next day out but due to a norther we are going to stay here a few days or maybe just 2?  30 knot winds again are forecast.  Surely we will get some nice sailing in on the way to Haiti.  Anyway I'm not sure I'll be back here to use WiFi at the resort here in Salt Pond, Long Island..   Only if we all come back.  Depends on the weather.. Candace and Walter are varnishing some upper parts of the mast(s)?  Not sure if it is just the main or both?  She was high up in the bosun's chair as I rode off in the dinghy.   It's a nicely protected bay which is why we want to wait out the norther here.  Protected from all but the SW. Once we continue south from here there are no really good anchorages so ...

Candace instigated the project of making a 'Asperida' sign for putting up on a post at the Chat and Chill beach bar restaurant.  As it turned out its really one of those sign posts of arrows pointing with distances to different cities and countries around the world from visitors.. There was one or two that had a boat name along with home port and distance but Asperida's fish sign will be the only one quite like it.  We plan to attach that later today and have dinner there while we hang it.  Here's a few photos of the project.. Sorry none of it hung as it's not up yet and we are heading out tomorrow so no more Georgetown Internet.  Next Internet.? Who knows. It goes on this post somewhere?

After We were done with lunch and internet today at Peace and Plenty we decided to walk down to a place called Fish Fry Village.  Perhaps a half mile from P & P.  Surprisingly a few booths were open.. Maybe 3 out of over 12 or so.   Candace was trying to take a selfie of the 3 of us and a lady from a couple nearby walked over and asked if she could take our picture and then we would take her and her husbands.  She snapped ours and Candace went to take theirs and of course was chatting away with them.  She came back and said they were from Minnesota so I had to go say hi to fellow Minnesotans.  Then as I mentioned I was on  the sailboat as volunteer crew they said their son had gotten into sailing with his wife and sailed around the world.   As we were about to leave we decided to go sit at their table and then found out that the husband was the father of the husband who with his wife had sailed around the world and it was the Bumfuzzle couple ...

Next thng you know we decided to go to town.. Another trip to fill our 3 five gallon jugs and eat lunch and use wifi.  It was a ghost town and everything seemed to be closed.  I assumed the hotel peace and plenty would be open and it was.  About the only thing open in town perhaps?   The Internet is not working so good for posting on the blog so this post is mostly to try a different app.   

Note* over the last couple of times with Wifi I've added a few photos to the 7 blog posts I'd posted without photos from Exuma Cayes Land and Sea Park. There are some photos out of sequence added to the wrong post. Also it's still slow internet in Georgetown but a lot better than the Park. Anyway..back to the present. We had met an interesting single harder sailor on New Year's Day when we took the dinghy to the beach on Stocking Island. He was also on the beach oil painting. Later he stopped by our boat to ask if any of us wanted to go snorkeling at a nearby patch reef. Candace and I went with and it was ok but a bit murky. Then we ended up visiting his boat and cracking open coconuts. I like coconut water but really don't care for the 'meat'. Later when he brought us back to Asperida and we were taking and suddenly were thinking of heading to town to check out the evening scene. Actually it was already well past sunset so More like checking out t...

After about 5 hours in Georgetown for Internet, Deisel, phone call to my mom and lunch etc...Candace and I returned to Asperida. We spent the evening onboard and watched a small fireworks display on the nearby island east of the anchorage. It was about 10 pm. We then went to sleep and while Walter and Candace did get up again for the midnight fireworks in Georgetown, I didn't bother. Probably bigger displays but from farther away s no loud noises like the explosions on the beach out here at 10 pm. We had a nice breakfast of ham, eggs and pancakes. I'm not sure if another trip to town will happen but I think we might? It feels like we won't be departing today so why not a trip to Internet and what ever else one more time. OK..new news.. We are having a discussion. We are now contemplating heading to Haiti to drop Candace off sometime around January 20? She is going to volunteer with a group from home at a Haitian orphanage in the town of Les Cayes. Formerly, one op...