Life Aboard

4-20-2013

These pictures were taken as we left Cambridge Cay.

The darker water is deeper, the lighter water is shallower.

A calm day on the water.

We left Cambridge for Warderick Wells at near high tide, so we wouldn’t have any problems with shallow water. We had a good trip up. I am very excited about this anchorage, since I’ve seen so many great boat pictures from here.

Our mooring area.

The park headquarters from our original mooring.

The park office building with the Bahamas Defense Force boat outside.

The white area in the center is a shallow area in the mooring field. When the tide is out it is dry. Emma built sandcastles behind her boat.

We are doing something we haven’t done in a while; we are taking a mooring ball. We were moving thru the mooring field and Shay said I think we just went over a sunken boat. I said well, that’s mooring ball #9 then. I had been told by Margaret and several others that’s where the sunken boat was. We started on #17 but had a bumpy night so we moved to #9 the next morning. We decided we’d like to have 14 or 15 next time we are here.

Sunken boat underneath the boat!

The water is so clear you can see the dinghy shadow.

A beautiful sandy beach.

The colors are amazing!

We went to shore for the regular Saturday night appetizer and drinks on shore. All the boaters brought an appetizer and we shared. We had a good time talking to old friends and meeting new boaters.

Emma and David went snorkeling near our boat the next morning. They were both excited, they saw a monster lobster. The park is a look only area, so unfortunately we did not have monster lobster for dinner.

Some of the pretty fish Emma and David saw.

This one posed for a profile shot!

Shay cleaned the bottom of the boat which meant he was in the water for a couple of hours. He was pleased with how good the bottom looked, nothing like being in Marathon.

Shay doing the bottom cleaning.

He even worked on the dinghy bottom!

We all had a late lunch early dinner on our boat—grilled cocktail sausage, yellow rice, fried cabbage and Emma’s salad with tomatoes, feta, onion, corn and dressing. Everything was delicious and we were stuffed.

I'm supervising the grilling.

We look like we're in paradise, don't we? Well, we are!

We had been invited to Wings for drinks. Craig and Vickie were at the Saturday get- to- gether but we didn’t get a chance to talk.

Monday, Shay and I went for a hike. We started out for Boo-Boo Hill, but ended up taking the long way around and a 10 minute hike turned into over an hour. We started out on a sandy trail but it turned into a very rocky rough uphill hike. But we saw some beautiful places as you can see. It looked like rain, so we hurried on to Boo-Boo Hill. That’s a place that boaters take pieces of wood that have their boat’s name on and leave them on the hill. It’s getting kind of messy as you can see. But the views of the boats are great.

Large land crabs!

A curly tailed lizard.

Great view!

Getting cloudy

Boats at mooring

I like this place!

Not the kind of beaches we usually see. But we are getting used to them!

Boo-Boo Beach shell collection. Since we are in a state park, we can't take the shells, so their are lots of pretty ones to display!

Boo-Boo Hill with Escape in the background.

See, there's quite a collection here!

Escape

Now, for a side view!

Hi!

This is a skeleton from a whale that washed up on the shore.

This is a beautiful place but the internet and cell service is almost none. We have been able to look at our emails but it doesn’t last very long. We have been able to make a few calls, but you never know when you will loose them. Shay talked to Lauren, his mom and Jason last night. I talked to daddy and Chelle today. That’s the down side of being at some of the islands.

It makes me wonder why I don’t call family and friends more when I am in the states. I know we all get busy, but how long does it take to call someone to say hello, how are you, and I’m thinking about you? So maybe when we get back I will aggravate everyone by calling too much for a while. Just remember, I missed not being able to do it while I was away.

Also there is no water, supplies, or garbage disposal. That’s stuff you have to thing about. You can’t go too long without wondering where the next dumpster, cell tower, or water supply is. We are very fortunate since we carry 400 gallons of water and do have the lazerrette to put trash in. So far we still have plenty of water and not much trash. Things that you take for granted in a house are very important here.

We met a boat that had developed refrigerator problems and they couldn’t buy any ice. It makes you appreciate the things you take for granted back in “Mayberry”. Like electricity, water, internet, groceries, shopping, not having to get in the dinghy to go everywhere.

We just made it back to our boat before we had a shower. It’s been raining on and off since about 12:30 and is supposed to rain until about noon tomorrow. So I worked on pictures and blog. Then Shay helped me plot a course to our next destination, Hawksbill Cay. I guess we will leave here tomorrow when the rain stops.

4-17-2013
This video is of us leaving Pipe Creek.

FFF, everyone in their assigned stations!

We had an easy day on the water moving to Cambridge Cay. I baked a poppy seed chicken casserole and au gratin potato casserole on the trip up. My boat smelled really good.

Hello!

Escape heading to the anchorage.

Emma on the bow--checking the water depth.

Escape at the anchorage in Cambridge Cay.

We are now in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We took a beautiful dinghy trip up the water to the Sea Aquarium and it was fantastic! It was like swimming in a huge aquarium. We saw hundreds and hundreds of fish, coral, and rays. It was as Emma says “super”. Emma and I went thru one of their coral reef fish books and identified some of the ones we saw. We think they were spot fin butterfly, goby, sergeant major, blowfish, parrot, queen angelfish, spotlight parrotfish, barracuda, and a huge spotted ray. It really was like being in a tank. The ray was on the bottom as Shay and I were swimming back to our dinghy. His tail was very long.

All these fantastic underwater pictures are from FFF. Thank goodness they had an underwater camera. Next time we come here, we will have one too.

Shay getting the dinghy anchor down

When we snapped our fingers underwater, the fish would come to us. I guess they thought we were going to feed them. Emma got some great pictures, as you can see. It seems like each time we get in the water it is better than the last. Words can’t describe it and pictures can’t capture it….but I will keep trying!

Fan

We were snapping our fingers and the fish would come.

What are you looking at?

You can tell by our faces, we liked this!

This is a plane wreck that you can dive.

Our anchorage

Oh, we went by Johnny Depp’s island. We have been told if he is on the island there’s a flag flying. So by the looks of the picture he’s here! Emma says she’s sure if he knew she and I were nearby, he’d invite us to come ashore. She said he’d probably want us to stay there and offer the guys a lot of money to let us stay. Oh well.

Oh, yeah. I got a fish bite! Yes, a fish bit me while we were snorkeling. I felt it happen and then forgot about it until I was drying off that night and saw it. I guess he decided I wasn’t what he wanted for a snack. Thank goodness!

We all had dinner on Escape. We had poppy seed chicken, au gratin potatoes, green peas, and cole slaw and brownies. Yummy.

The next morning Shay and I went exploring the small island behind our boat. Since we are in the park, we can't take anything. So all the pretties we see, we will leave, so someone else can see them. We saw lots of conch shells on the beach and in the water. It’s windier today and the water was bumpy, so we didn’t go anywhere else. Just a lazy day on the water. We are on the waiting list for Warderick Wells Cay mooring field. We will find out at 9:00 am if we get it or not. The park ranger will ask for boats leaving the moorings and then give out the moorings to the list. Hope we get in, if not we will stay here again.