Wordless Wednesday | Lizard At Warderick Wells, Bahamas

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - Most lizards we've encountered scurry away when they hear you approaching.

2 - This little guy happily posed for a picture at Warderick Wells in the Exuma Land & Sea Park in the Bahamas. Maybe because the wildlife is protected in the park, the lizards aren't so skittish.

3 - Scott takes all of pictures on our blog. I'm not sure I give him enough credit for the great images he captures. The blog would be very boring without his pictures.

   
What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

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July In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Views like these are why people love cruising in the Bahamas; (2) Clearing back into the States; (3) Looks like a nice place to chill out; (4) This little guy tried to hitch a ride on our boat; and (5) View of Rock Sound from our boat.

We spent most of July cruising in the Bahamas, but sadly all good things have to come to an end, so we headed back to the States on July 24th. We wanted to get back to the States before the height of hurricane season and we have a number of boat projects to take care of before we head off to the Western Caribbean next season.

Here's some of the random things that came to mind of our time cruising in the Bahamas and Florida last month, by the numbers:

• 13 - Number of anchorages we dropped the hook at - Rock Sound, Hatchet Bay and Royal Island in Eleuthera; Tilloo Cay, Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, White Sound at Green Turtle Cay, Allan's-Pensacola Cay, Great Sale Cay and on the banks in the Abacos; and Lake Worth, North Lake Worth and Pendarvis Cove in Florida.  

• 5 - Number of loads of laundry we did. Three in Marsh Harbour and two when we got back to Indiantown Marina. Sounds like a lot, but it had been a long, long time since the last time we did laundry. One of the downsides of living on a sailboat the size of ours is the lack of a washer and dryer.

• 3 - Number of squalls we experienced between Green Turtle Cay and Allan's-Pensacola Cay. Squall #1 was just some sprinkles. Squall #2 was a big one, lots of lightening and thunder. We bobbed around near Cooperstown while we waited it out. It rained down buckets during squall #3. Good opportunity to wash my hair and take a shower on deck.

• $13 - How much we spent on a chicken dinner, conch fritters and a root beer at a church fair in Rock Sound. We don't eat out much while we're cruising in the Bahamas, so this was a fun treat. Great people watching and possibly the best Bahamian mac n'cheese we've ever had.

• 3 - Number of dinghy mooring balls we tied up to at Sandy Cay in the Abacos. The best snorkeling we've done in the Bahamas, hands down. Even better than what we saw at the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park.

• 13.5 - Number of hours our passage from the Bahamas to Florida took. We anchored near Sandy Cay on the Little Bahamas Bank. It was a roly-poly anchorage, but it was nice to have a shorter passage that we could do during daylight hours. Everyone knows how much I love sailing in the dark.

• 17.88 - Number of gallons of diesel we got upon our return to Florida. Our fuel gauge doesn't work so it's always a guessing game as to how much diesel we have left in the tank. We were both pleasantly surprised to find our 46-gallon tank wasn't as empty as we thought.

• 112 - The real feel temperature while we were anchored in Lake Worth. That's insanely hot! We were going to take our time heading back to Indiantown Marina, but the thought of being able to plug in our portable AC unit was too much of a draw.

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite posts from last month:

Mingling with the Posh Crowd at Highbourne Cay Marina
Tickety Boo Speaks | Berry Islands
Cost of Cruising in the Bahamas & Florida

How did last month go for you? What are you looking forward to this month?

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Close Call At Cambridge Cay | Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, Bahamas

We don't have an underwater camera, so this is the only picture we have from our time at the Cambridge Cay area of the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park.

 

Yep, that's a seaplane taking off right next to our boat.

And by right next to our boat, I mean scary close.

And by scary close, I mean, holy heck, isn't the pilot afraid he's going to crash into something?

And by something, I mean our boat!

****

Okay, that was probably a bit dramatic. But I figure the drama might help distract me from the fact that we don't have any pictures of our adventures snorkeling at Cambridge Cay. If we had, I'd show you shots of all of the brightly colored fish we saw at the Sea Aquarium reef.

And I'd show you pictures of the plane crash we snorkeled over. It was pretty cool. That is until Scott noticed there was a shark swimming nearby. If we had had an underwater camera, he'd probably have taken a picture of the shark. I was making my way back to our dinghy at too much of a rapid pace to care about documenting our latest shark encounter.

But the best pictures I'd show you would be of the Rocky Dundas sea caves. You have to snorkel under a ledge and then you pop up into these incredible caves with eerie looking stalactite and stalagmite formations. Don't ask me to tell you the difference between the two. I can never remember. All I know is that they're cool.

{Sigh} We really need to get an underwater camera.

****

Cruising Log | Tuesday, 6 June 2017 - Thursday, 8 June 2017
 
6 JUNE
Moved over to Pasture Cay. Went snorkeling at the Sea Aquarium. Super choppy, but that doesn't seem to bother the fish for some reason. Nautical Miles = 1. Engine = 35 minutes. Spending = Nil

7 JUNE
Finally used the butternut squash we've been carrying around for months. Still good and even better in soup! Snorkeled the plane wreck and made another visit to the Sea Aquarium. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = Nil. Spending = Nil.

8 JUNE
Anchor up at 8:30 AM. Anchor down around the corner at 9:30 AM at the north side of Bell Cay. Checked out the anchorage at Cambridge Cay first, but too choppy. Super long and choppy dinghy ride to Dundas Rock sea caves, but totally worth it. It's times like this that you hope your outboard engine doesn't decide to quit on you. Nautical Miles = 4. Engine = 1 hour 15 mins. Spending = Nil


Do you have a camera? What do you like to take photos of? Have you ever seen a seaplane take off? Ever ridden on one?

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The Return Of Esme, The Most Annoying Life Coach Ever | IWSG August

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It's a great place to mingle with like minded people each month during IWSG day.

Every month there's an optional question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they're struggling with what to say.

This month's question is:

"What are your pet peeves when reading / writing / editing?"

Check out how people have answered this month's question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list here. If you want to see how I answered the question, have a look below.

The co-hosts for this month are Christina Rains, Dolarah @ Book Lover, Yvonne Ventresca, LG Keltner and yours truly. Try to pop by and visit my co-hosts' blogs - they're awesome people!

****

I heard a knock on the side of my sailboat, followed by a voice singing out, "Yoo-hoo! Is anyone home?"

I knew that overly chipper voice. It belonged to only one person - the overly chipper, annoying life coach, Esme. I started to clear everything out of my fridge with the thought of hiding in there so that she wouldn't find me, but she was too quick for me.

"There you are," Esme said as she made her way down the companionway. She peeked into the galley and noticed the milk on the counter. "Wonderful idea, lets have some coffee while we talk. Extra milk in mine, please."

Esme sat on the settee and looked at me expectantly. If there's one thing I've learned about dealing with Esme is that it's easier to give in. She calls herself tenacious. I call it something completely different, but I'm too polite to repeat it here.

I poured two cups of coffee and set them on the table, along with a plate of snickerdoodle cookies. "What brings you here, Esme?"

"A little birdie told me that you need some help answering this month's IWSG question." She took a sip of coffee and picked up a cookie. "I'm glad to see you're using full-fat milk now instead of that horrid skim stuff you used to serve."

"Would that little birdie happened to be named Simon?" I quickly grabbed a cookie before Esme ate all of them.

"You know that I can't tell you that. In my line of work, keeping what people say confidential is important." She picked up a toy mouse lying next to her and asked, "By the way, where is Simon?"

"He's at the vet getting his claws trimmed. He got a little grumpy when I tried to do it." I held up my arm and showed her the scratch marks Simon had left in an effort to make his views on trimming his claws crystal clear.

"Ooh, that looks like it hurts," she said. "But enough of trying to avoid what we're here to discuss. Let's get down to business, shall we? Now, how about telling me what your pet peeves are when it comes to reading, writing and editing."

"Huh? You're the one who asked about Simon. Besides, I didn't ask for your help. You barged in here."

Esme peered at me over the top of her glasses while she wiped away snickerdoodle crumbs from the side of her mouth.

I sighed. "Fine, anything to make you go away."

"See, we're making progress," she said. "Keep pushing past those barriers of yours and tell me the first thing that pops into your mind."

That's when I noticed that Esme was wearing a bracelet with a large horseshoe charm. She probably had lots of horse figurines as a girl. I don't really like horses, but sometimes sucking up to Esme is a sure-fire way to get her off of your back.

"I hate it when people write free reign instead of free rein. It sticks out on the page like a sore thumb when I'm reading. How could they possibly mix up reins on a horse with the reign of a king or queen? It's like a slap in the face to horses everywhere."

Esme smiled and patted my hand. "I know what you mean. Some people just aren't horse people. Not like we are."

"Speaking of horses, I bet you need to get going so that you're not late to your riding lesson."

Esme looked at her watch, grabbed her handbag, swiped the last snickerdoodle and rushed up on deck. She yelled back down the companionway, "Great session, dear. You made some real breakthroughs. Until next time!"

****

I'm not great with spelling and grammar, so I'm not sure why I always notice when people use free reign, when they should say free rein. You know, as in giving a horse free rein to do what he wants. It's surprising as I rarely notice any other spelling or grammatical mistakes, especially my own. If I can get annoyed by the use of free reign, it kind of frightens me to think about how annoyed people must get when they read what I write and see all of my mistakes.

What are your pet peeves when you're reading, writing or editing? What are your other pet peeves in life?

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Wandering Around At Warderick Wells | Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, Bahamas

Warderick Wells is one of those places everyone who cruises in the Bahamas talks about. It's the headquarters for the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, which was established in 1958 to protect the marine environment, wildlife and plant life.

Everyone who's everyone wants to park their boat in the mooring field just off of the visitor center.

Instead of hanging out with the cool kids, we headed over to the Emerald Rock mooring field. Only two other boats came in for the night. It's definitely the off-season.

After some lunch and walking up to the ruins at Beryl Beach, we dinghied over to the visitor center to pick up the trail head to Boo Boo Hill. We call our dinghy Boo Boo, so of course I had to see a place that has the same name.

Scott always takes sneaky pictures of me when I'm walking. See that bright yellow dry bag I'm carrying? It contains the essentials for excursions away from the boat. Things you might find in any woman's handbag - money, keys, hairbrush, lip balm, tissues - and things that are a little more specific to boat living, like a portable VHF radio and a towel.

Here's the view before you make the final climb up to Boo Boo Hill. Nice, huh?

Cruisers make signs with their boat names and leave them on top of Boo Boo Hill.

Points for creativity on this one - a knitted sail. Our first boat was called Rainbow's End.

We couldn't be bothered to make our own sign so we headed back to the boat. You have to ford this creek to get to Boo Boo Hill. The tide had started to come in, so it was a bit wetter on the way back.

Then it was time for some sort of concoction created from canned goods and an early night before exploring more of the park the next day.

Cruising Log | Sunday, 4 June 2017 – Monday, 5 June 2017
 
4 JUNE
Used the generator to start engine. Anchor up at 7:50 AM. Anchor down at Emerald Rock at 10:45 AM. No one in mooring field. Checked out ruins at Beryl Beach. Did some snorkeling. Went to Visitors Center, hiked up Boo Boo Hill and checked out the blowhole. Only two other boat in anchorage overnight - fishing boat on a mooring ball and another boat anchored. Nautical Miles = 15. Engine = 3 hours. Spending = $20 (landing permit).

5 JUNE
Snorkeled at Malabar Cays. Long, bumpy dinghy ride to get there. Snorkeling just okay. Anchor up at 11:45 AM. Motorsailed to south side of Bell Cay. Went to drop anchor and it got stuck in bow roller. {Sigh} Went back into channel where Scott sorted it out with a crowbar. Came back in and dropped anchor at 3:00 PM. Amazing snorkeling ever at the Sea Aquarium. Very patchy internet reception. Nautical Miles = 15. Engine = 3 hours 15 mins. Spending = Nil.

Do you carry a handbag, dry bag, backpack or other sort of bag? What's inside of yours? Would you prefer a quiet anchorage without any other boats or one that's really popular and chock full of boats?

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Cooking On Boats | Chana Masala At The Exuma Land & Sea Park

When you tell people you're going to go cruising on your sailboat in the Bahamas, here's what they way to you:

"The Exuma Land & Sea Park! You'll love the snorkeling the crystal blue waters and exploring the islands! You've just got to go there!"

And it's true the snorkeling is great and the islands are made for adventures. But what they don't tell you is how great the curry is there. Seriously, Shroud Cay is the place for chana masala in the Bahamas.

One tiny catch - you have to make it yourself. There aren't any restaurants on Shroud Cay, let alone Indian ones.

Fortunately, chana masala is easy to make. And more importantly, you can make it from canned goods. A very critical point when you're on a sailboat far, far away from well-stocked grocery stores. 

I used my bloggy pal's (Lucy from the Larks of Independence) recipe, adapting it based on what we had on board Tickety Boo. She uses garam masala. I used Patak's hot curry paste instead. I also added some dehydrated bell peppers and then stirred in a container of plain Greek yogurt at the end. Takes the deliciousness level up a notch, if I do say so myself.

You know what's the best thing about chana masala? It even tastes good the next day straight out of the fridge for lunch.

Of course it wasn't all stuffing our faces with curry. There was some adventuring to be had too.

We walked down the trail to the freshwater well. Seriously, that's a well. I know because there was a bucket nearby and water inside.

There was a sign which said "No soap or contaminants." Must be safe to drink, right? Scott looked at me in horror as I took a sip. "Don't you think that you should boil that first?" he asked. Oops. Maybe I should have. Good news is that I didn't get sick.

All the guidebooks say that when you're at Shroud Cay, you have to take your dinghy up Sanctuary Creek to the Atlantic side of the island. Who are we to argue? We got in our dinghy and motored slowly through the creek. After all, I needed to get some adventuring done before I ended up in the hospital with some sort of waterborne parasite I picked up from the well water.

It's supposed to remind you of the movie, African Queen. It didn't, which is good because leeches feature heavily in that movie. Not something I want to encounter.

When you get to the Atlantic side, you can climb up the hill and check out Camp Driftwood. It was built in the 1960s by a sailor who lived in the creek on his boat. People used to bring offerings and leave them at the camp. Nowadays that's verboten.

You can get a great view of the beach from the hill. People have told us it's the most beautiful beach they've ever seen.

The next day we headed to nearby Hawksbill Cay. We had to work off that curry somehow, so we went for a walk and explored the ruins of an old plantation belonging to the Russell clan, Loyalists who settled this area in 1785. It amazes me that anyone can eke out an existence in such a bleak, rocky and barren environment, but I guess they made it work.

Cruising Log | Friday, 2 June 2017 – Saturday, 3 June 2017
 
2 JUNE
Went adventuring in the afternoon. Found a freshwater well. Went on dinghy trip down estuary and checked out Camp Driftwood. Curry day on board Tickety Boo. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = Nil. Spending = Nil.

3 JUNE
Anchor up at 10:00 AM. Anchor down at Hawksbill Cay at 11:00 AM. Leftover curry for lunch. Went for a dinghy ride and tried unsuccessfully to get pictures of sea turtles. Explored the Russell ruins and checked out the cave. Nautical Miles = 4. Engine = 1 hour. Spending = Nil

Do you like curry? Can you imagine moving to an island like Hawksbill Cay and making a life there? Have you seen African Queen? If so, what'd you think of the scene with leeches?

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Wordless Wednesday | Queen's Dock, Stocking Island, Bahamas

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - The Queen's dock was originally built in 1975 by Norwegian Cruise Line. Now, it's used by cruisers to tie up their dinghies when they're visiting Stocking Island.

2 - We tied up our dinghy and started to go for a walk on the island. Then the mozzies came out of nowhere and attacked us. The mozzies won. We skipped our walk and headed back to our boat.

3 - The dock is located on Hamburger Beach. Isn't that a great name for a beach?


What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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