By Jennifer

It was really quite simple — a little bit of raw chicken skin on the hook and dangle it over the side. Look what came biting!  We’re not sure what type of sea crab it was, but it only had one eye. We took pity and sent him on his way.

By Kevin

Sometimes the crew needs a little time off.

Zach Needs a Little Time Off

By Kevin

Cape Santa Maria is at the northern tip of Long island, just a mile or so from where we were anchored at Calabash Bay.

The Cape Santa Maria Resort is at Calabash Bay and we read in the cruising guides that they are cruiser friendly. And they were.

In the slideshow, you will notice a snapshot of a piece of art of the Christopher Columbus crossing. It is speculated in 1492 that he landed in the Bahamas. Columbus’ ship logs, according to the cruising guide, weren’t clear about his official landings in the Bahamas. However, the island of San Salvador stakes claim to his first official landfall and Cape Santa Maria is said to be one of his stops.

We spent several days lounging on their beautiful beaches and had an afternoon of WIFI and food at their beachside restaurant.

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By Kevin

Near our anchorage at Calabash Bay on Long Island there was a deep water creek that led from the bay to a small inland settlement. We took the dinghy for a about a two mile ride up the creek to explore and, besides the usual egrets and sting rays, we found several  amazing caves along the shore.

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By Kevin

We purchased two inflatable kayaks from Amazon.com before leaving from Fort Lauderdale. We finally broke one of them out of the packaging when we were in George Town and it works very well. It is a “sit on top” two person model that tracks well and is stable, made by Sevylor.

Calabash Bay was the perfect place for kayaking. It has a wide, protected bay, a deep water creek that you can explore, and plenty of sandy beaches to land on.

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By Jennifer

We crossed the Exuma Sound uneventfully to Calabash Bay, Long  Island. Calabash Bay is situated on the northern tip of the island.

By Kevin

When we had our chain plates replaced last summer the bow chain plate was welded to the bow roller. So, the whole assembly had to be replaced. The crew that did the work fabricated a strong and functional new bow roller. See the attached pictures.

You’ll notice that it has two stainless steel pins that that be inserted to keep the chain or rode from “jumping” out of the roller channels. They have a nice swivel device at the end, which make it a quick job to slide them into place in bouncing water.

The only improvement I would make to this bow roller is to flare out the forward edges where the chain goes onto the wheels. This would widen the angle from which we could haul in chain.

Madeline and Zach watching over Parker in Emerald Bay

By Jennifer

On a whim while in Emerald Bay, another boat in the marina employed Madeline and Zach in dog-sitting their highly separation anxiety-prone dog while their family of five went out to dinner (the first time they were able to in a month because of the dog). Of course, the kids complied and spent two hours sitting on the boat watching canine “Parker” rest peacefully in the cockpit. They pocketed $20 for their efforts. Dog-sitting seems quite lucrative!