June 25 – Day 1 – Marsh Harbour
Our troop took its time arriving after coming in late and then having lunch at Colours. This worked out well for us as it gave us additional time to get ready. Bonus points here.
Around 4 pm, Chichi hails us on channel 78. We are ready for the troop. At least I am–Captain Steve is in the dinghy, fixing something. I make my way to the roadside lot where Chichi was having her meeting with the troop.
This week, she gets my name right.
“This is Captain Carmen,” she introduces me.
“You have a split crew,” Chichi tells me, “here’s your half.”
I greet my troop and we start walking, single file, toward Los Vientos. We sort out shoes, water bottles, sunscreen, snacks, then it’s luggage in the bunks and we all congregate topsides. I do the usual intro and safety briefings and we motor out of Marsh Harbour.
When we get to Matt Lowe, Viento Azul is already there. Our troop takes the swim test, everyone passed. The big troop bag comes out and everyone gets their snorkel gear to jump back into the water.
While we’re putting masks and snorkels together and defogging masks, the troop on Viento Azul starts swimming over. When the troops packed at home, all snorkel gear went in one bag. We have that bag onboard. Suddenly, we’re surrounded by intruders aiming to board our ship. Our troop is ready for the assault, though, and they push back immediately. Eventually, we make peace and allow the invaders to come aboard and visit with us. Soon all is sorted out and we start thinking about dinner.
Maxx, who went to culinary school, volunteers to make gourmet burgers. All good things take time but eventually we do eat and the wait was well worth it.
After dinner, we continue with “Life Aboard” and “Meal Prep” briefings.
26 June – Day 2 – Matt Lowe
The troop is up pretty early. I hear voices in front of my hatch at 6:30 am and I pop out to see who woke me. Across the bow, a big red fireball is rising in the eastern sky. Beautiful.
Mike H. took the above images of the pre-dawn sky and of Dakota in the port pulpit.
This crew wanted to start making breakfast at 7 am sharp. Coffee first, though. By 7:30 am we start to mix up some pancake batter.
After breakfast, we head to Fowl Cay Reef. The anchor crew is ready and we have Sam at the helm to take us there.
We discuss best practices for snorkeling and a little bit of reef ecology, then the crew jumps in.
As the snorkelers approach, the reef comes into view and takes shape:
Fowl Cay South consists of a triplet of patch reefs. Most hard corals have disappeared but the area is lush with soft coral, octocoral, seas whips, and sea fans. Parrotfish, Sergeant Majors, Blue Tang, Grunts, Snappers, Wrasse, and Damsels are among the most common reef fish.
After lots of snorkeling, we head south to Tahiti Beach.
Mike B. makes pork chops for dinner.
27 June – Day 3 – Tahiti Beach
French toast for breakfast. The adults start questioning the carb diet and inquire about the possibility of more protein in their breakfast. A peak in the fridge reveals a good amount of eggs, about four cartons.
After the dishes and the heads have been taken care of, the crew swims or snorkels to the beach. A little after 9 am, as the tide goes out, Capt. Steve and I pull up anchor and move Los Vientos a few boat lengths north, into deeper water to avoid getting stuck on the bottom.
I grab three swim noodles and head to shore, as well. Sara, (who lives on the other boat and I attempt some noodling exercises. It’s impossible to find water that’s deep enough to do all of it but we go through a few.
The rest of the troop has landed near the sandbar.
“This is a postcard location,” says Jenn. Agreed!!
We get underway and motor north to the other end of Elbow Cay where we anchor off Hope Town Harbour. Capt. Steve dinghies the crew to the lighthouse pier and the crew walks up the hill to climb the Elbow Reef Light.
Once everyone has climbed up inside the lighthouse, Capt. Steve dinghies everyone across to Hope Town. Both troops end up at Magic’s ice cream shop for vanilla-strawberry, rum-raisin, and chocolate ice creams.
Our crew rallies after the ice cream coma and they explore Hope Town and Hope Town Beach before we have to move on. (image credits: Mike H.)
We plan on spending the night off the “low spot” (aka the “Narrows”) on northern Man-O-War Cay. Capt. Steve dinghies everyone (with a slight delay) to shore.
The picnic pavilion on MOW was rebuilt in March 2021, after the island was devastated by Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
We’re having chicken breast for dinner. The Mikes season and grill the chicken, Sara makes yellow rice and corn, and Mike B. adds squash and salad.
28 June – Day 4 – Man-O-War
The adults are happy this morning–it’s scrambled omelets for breakfast. Brennan and Dakota chop onions and green peppers and sprinkle shredded cheddar on top. Lots of protein!
The cooking crew does the morning dishes and the Mikes tackle the heads:
After breakfast, we spread the collected shell wealth on the table and talk about how shells are made in the ocean. We discuss bio-mineralization, CaCO3 accretion and absorption, mantle protein that magically creates aragonite, the major shell shapes and types, growth direction, coloring, forams and coccoliths, and the size & age of shells.
Next is a brief sailing refresher from Capt. Steve and we’re off and motor sailing north towards North Guana Reef.
Something else arrives at Gumelemi-North Guana with us:
Sam and Jenn take advantage of the rain–it’s the perfect time for a freshwater shower.
Since there’s not much else to do, we start with lunch. Maxx makes Mac & Cheese in the galley and Sara reworks the grilled chicken into a delicious chicken salad.
Dakota is on dishwashing duty. He drops a fork and steak knife into the ocean. Bummer. Then a gust surprises Dakota and he also drops a plate or two. Trying to grab them quickly, he slips and slides into the water–one hand still on the railing, the other quickly grabs the plates. Good reaction but we’re still missing a fork and a steak knife.
Once there’s a clearing in the storm, everyone heads out to the North Guana reef. On the way, Brennan and Maxx spot the missing utensils. Dakota dives down and retrieves both. Great recovery, Dakota!
We can’t shake the weather, so we decide to head to Treasure Cay early, where we’ll spend the night. On the way, Tommy, Sam, Brennan, and Maxx play UNO.
We pass Viento Azul and make good time until the wind dies down. Now Viento Azu has the advantage and they pass us without much effort.
And … it’s Taco Tuesday!! Sara and Jenn and Tommy and AJ are on duty. The dinghy gets back just in time to eat.
29 June – Day 5 – Treasure Cay Harbour
We’ve got an early morning wake-up call by way of thunderstorms and lightning all around us.
When the sun comes up, the sky turns a bright, fiery orange.
Breakfast today, by (almost) unanimous vote, is Cinnamon buns in town.
The wind is coming from the east, so we motor across to Great Guana to snorkel a wreck collection (barge, power boat, golf cart). Our crew discovers treasure there in the form of a beautiful conch.
In the afternoon we sailed across the Sea of Abaco again and anchored at Water Cay. Capt. Steve dinghied the crew over to the island where the first order of business was to make a fire.
We roasted hot dogs over the fire and heated chili in a pan. All images above by Mike B.
30 June – Day 6 – Water Cay
We had a quiet night. The sky cleared up again and at 2 am the Milkyway was bright and expansive across the sky.
Mike B. and Jenn made pancakes and sausage patties for breakfast. After cleaning chores were done, we pulled the anchor and headed toward Man-O-War. AJ put ballyhoo in the water, hoping for one more chance to hook a fish.
At around 11 am, AJ got a bite but he was busy filling his water bottle. Brennon jumped up and took over, reeling in the fish. Sam studied the fish ID card and identified the catch as a large mutton snapper.
AJ took the helm, taking us to Man-O-War to buy presents at old Dave Albury’s conch shop. We didn’t have much time. Mermaid Reef and a Joy shower were waiting.
Back in Marsh Harbour, we started to clean the boat, put provisions away, and the adults did a harbor tour.
At night, we had a little “last night” ceremony with patches, brownies, and a track map/chart:
[A few more images will be posted before long. Stay tuned.]
Respectfully submitted,
Capt. Carmen
S/V Los Vientos
Blue Wind Sailing 