Happy New Year!

We are so sorry for being out of touch, I have all kinds of excuses, none of which you probably want to hear. We are in Georgetown. We have been here since the 20th . We anchored in the not so crowded anchorage of Monument Beach and were very happy with the holding. We went to town on the 23rd to pick up Meme from the airport and left MC at Monument beach. While we were waiting for her at Peace and Plenty, who did we meet, my Mom and Dad! I could not believe it, they surprised us with a visit. Meme came in an hour or two later and we all stayed at Regatta point. Of course it was our luck that the town ran out of water the next day and we couldn’t take a shower. We had a wonderful Christmas, Chelsea came in on Christmas Eve and it was great for us all to be together again.

Junkanoo was on Boxing day (day after Christmas). I was impressed with the “old people” who got up at 0130 in the morning to watch the parade. The celebration actually began at 0330 (Bahamas time). Mom, Dad and Meme befriended some of the locals and learned a great deal about the traditions. We were all exhausted around 0600 and walked back to Regatta Point hotel (best place to stay for Junkanoo btw). We crashed for a while and then David and I went to rent a boat for the day to go snorkeling. We woke up when David crashed into the bridge with the bimini of the rented boat and knocked me down. We decided to use a little less cowbell for rest of the day. Snorkeling wasn’t great, but the visitors seemed not to notice.

We ended up leaving MC alone for three days, she was lonely and needed a charge so we brought her to town for some loves. We took her for a cruise the following day (see fish story and pics later). Meme and Chelsea left on Monday the 29th and Mom and Dad stayed with us on MC one night and left the following day. It was a great visit and really helped David and I focus on what was important – each other and our family.

During the visit from our families, we befriended the water taxi guy, Elvis. He was hilarious and continues to give David grief daily over his volleyball skills when driving by. If we have any, we will throw him a beer. Interesting guy, and making a killing on us touristas. It costs $12 round trip to Stocking Island.

After two trips across the harbor in 20 kts of breeze in our small dinghy with a 9.9 hp motor and giving a fortune to Elvis we decided to upgrade our dinghy. We picked up a bigger dinghy and motor (15hp) from another boat. They are both 10 years old, but are in better shape than the dinghy/motor we have now. So now we have two dinghies, which will come in handy for Nancy and Charles when they come to visit this week.

We are now at the popular anchorage off of Chat-n-chill or volleyball beach. The boats are much closer here, but we are getting used to it. Our days are filled with Sam doing school in the morning, then we go to play volleyball or swim in the afternoons. Sam is improving every day and is the only “kid” allowed to play with the grown-ups. Apparently, there is a 15 year old rule, but the people we have been playing with have been very cool about it. Sam also has a pack of cruising kids to run with now. He is having a blast. It is great for us to have a scheduled activity to get some exercise. We are planning bridge lessons tomorrow. I am going to start swimming in the mornings and join in the race across the harbor.

David left today to go to his grandmother’s funeral. She passed after a long sickness that started in early December. Sam and I are holding down the boat.

Fish On: stories for those who care about fish.

Sam in his brilliance caught a 4.5 ft Mahi on the way to Georgetown that was very tasty. We ate that fish for three days. It was also my first attempt at filleting a fish. I got two gallon bags of meat off, and should’ve gotten more.

Sam's Mahi

Dad/Grandpa/John – caught a 3 ft Mahi and 2 ft Little Tunny. The Mahi gave him a good fight, but the smaller Tunny really fought. He kept saying, “oh, this one is big, this one is big”. Then when it came on board, we all had to laugh. Apparently, they are known for sounding (diving deep) and being a tough catch. The Mahi and the little tunny were excellent eating. The little Tunny (which is not noted for good eating in the books) tasted like tuna to me.

Dad Catch

Yesterday, we went for another cruise around the island, hoping to land some more fish. We had out 4 poles with various lures. We took another family with us from S/V Liberty. Luckily for us they know what they are doing and taught us some stuff. After trolling for a while (about 30 minutes) we finally hooked something…a big something. David from Liberty grabbed the pole while we slowed down. The line went out another 100 ft. It stopped for a while and then went out again. My David went to help reel it in to give the other David a break. Then it got easier all of a sudden. We could still see it on the hook and brought it in. It was about a 6-7 ft Wahoo or at least it used to be. We only got 1/3 of it, something much bigger (very large shark perhaps?) took the rest. Even with that amount we got two gallon bags full of meat and enjoyed an excellent dinner at Liberty. The steaks were about 4 inches thick. David from Liberty is a brilliant chef. I think it was the best fish I have ever tasted (sorry Dad).

OMG!