S/V Halley

23 45.944n 76 06.119w If this ends up being my regular work week, I’ll take it. For starters, it was a short week since Monday was a holiday. But that aside, an altogether great week of combining work with leisure. We moved the boat on Tuesday morning from Hawk’s Nest Marina, where we had been hiding from the west winds. The destination was New Bight bay, a little further north on Cat Island. I helped Chris get the anchor up and get us going, after that he was at the helm and I was at work enjoying reliable, good Bahamian cell coverage. Definitely a cool feeling to be fully engaged with the office while making 5-6 kt across the Cat Island bay on the far eastern side of the Bahamas. We spent the next few days in New Bight bay. At one of my lunch breaks we added the highest point in the Bahamas to our list of achievements; the Hermitage at Mount Alvernia, at 206 ft/63m. Gotta love the Bahamas, even the mountains are easy to conquer. Then yesterday, Friday, the winds were favorable to mak

24 08.947n 75 31.457w We caught a southerly wind yesterday and shot across the open waters from the Exuma island chain to one of the eastern-most islands in the Bahamas, Cat Island. It was a 35 nm ride with winds on the beam; stronger than promised with occasional gusts above 30 kt. We reefed both the main and head sail and had a great, feisty trip. Since the winds were predicted to veer from south through west to north and with no protected anchorages for westerly winds on the island, we decided to stay at Hawk’s Nest Marina for a night or two until the prevailing easterly winds return. This marina is the only option on the island and is part of a charming and rustic small resort with its own Indiana Jones style airplane landing strip. People fly in with their own planes to fish in what’s considered one of the best spots in the Bahamas, or come in by boat like us. Here we got to do another one of our kamikaze landings. The entrance to the marina is narrow between reefs and rocks -

  23 41.705n 75 59.158w We took advantage of the calmer conditions and moved north today. The forecast advertised light and variable winds. We were hoping to get the screecher out (the bigger light-wind sail), but no such luck. Whatever little wind we had was stubbornly on our nose the entire way - again… we are starting to take it personally. In any case, it meant no sailing, unless willing to zig-zag at a snail’s pace. But it was a nice trip nonetheless - good to be moving again and good to be out on open water.    We dropped anchor in Black Cay where we stopped a few weeks ago with the kids. It’s a beautiful spot. There is nobody around except one other sailboat at a distance. The water is crystal clear and it’s completely quiet now that there is no wind.  I dove on the anchor to make sure it’s well set (cool cruisers do that) and we took Lucy to the beach for a romp and a swim. Chris worked some more on one of his many boat projects - in this case refurbishing the fenders (the bum

  23 28.481n 75 44.042w After the wind shift today we were too close for comfort to a rocky beach so we moved to a new anchorage nearby late in the afternoon. Our new spot has lots more space to swing and more time to deal with a dragging anchor before hitting rocks, should it come to that. Earlier in the day, we found a nice beach to romp around during my morning break. Lucy needed the exercise badly after a full day on the boat yesterday, and so did I. A good leg stretcher is not always easy to find when on anchor, but I have found a way to make a short stretch of beach get the job done; wade along in knee-deep water, forgetting all about the effort since the scenery is so gorgeous - today, stormy skies above turquoise waters.

23 28.894n 75 44.138w A cold front has swept in over the Exumas. Down here, that means high winds and slightly cooler temps. We've seen 20-29 kt today ("kuling" in Swedish), but still had lovely temps around 74F/23C. So this morning we moved Halley to Redshanks, an anchorage a few miles south of Stocking Island. It's a nicely protected spot surrounded by low lying cays on all sides. This means that the fetch, the distance waves have a chance to build up, is short. But in the negative column, the anchorage is shallow and surrounded by rocky shores, so care must be taken.   And we did nose around the anchorage for a while to find a spot that would work. In fact, we stirred up mud and sand a few times as we got into very shallow territory, this while maneuvering in gusty conditions and close quarters; yes, tense.  We were looking for a perfect circle since when on anchor, the boat will swing with the wind (boats naturally keep their bows to the wind, unless the current

23 31.625n 75 46.042w Sailing Stocking Island to Emerald Bay and back today.  

23 30.614n 75 44.493w I don’t think it will ever get old. While doing yoga on the foredeck I heard the distinct sound of dolphins coming up for air very close to me. I peeked over the railing and - sure enough - a pod of dolphins with babies were playing around Halley. They were so close that I actually got sprayed by one dolphin as it was exhaling to get a fresh breath. The pod stuck around for a good while, then disappeared. I got back on the mat and resumed my yoga - and breathing - and before long, I heard them back again, coming up for air. Back to the railing to cheer them on while they were playing, then they were off again and I got back to the mat and my breathing. This continued in multiple iterations. I think the dolphins were purposely and playfully teasing me. Yes, the yoga was severely interrupted, but I will take that any day for however long they care to stick around.

23 30.614n 75 44.493w Oh the excitement! A little before sunset, the catamaran Starry Horizons drops anchor next to us. That boat is very familiar to Chris and me. We’ve watched countless YouTube episodes over the past few years about Starry Horizons circumnavigating. After the anchor has been dropped, David of Starry Horizons shouts over to check if we are ok with the distance and Chris responds "You decide, David, you are the expert" and promptly invites them over for “sun-downers”. We had a lovely chat with David and Amy. The nicest people; full of experience and good stories. Earlier in the day yesterday, we had another great walk and swim on the Atlantic side of Stocking Island. It was windy as a weather system is passing through with clouds in the horizon, but still beautifully comfortable in air and water.

23 30.607n 75 44.492w Stressing about relaxing is like rushing to yoga. I’ve been doing a fair share of the former this week. Figuring out new routines for working full time from a sailboat in a heavenly location. Gotta get the job done, but also gotta enjoy the here and now. The days are short this time of year even this far south so I’ve been hopping on the computer for work 2 hours before sunrise to squeeze out the most of daylight for other fun. At 7 the sun is up and it’s time for a break with a dinghy ride to the beach and a walk with Chris and Lucy. Then another long break at lunch, with time for yoga and a swim, followed by more work in the afternoon. It was rough to get back to work after 5 weeks off, but the new routine seems to work. Chris is hard at it too. Still wrapping up some loose ends on the law practice plus working his way down the boat project list. Water has been the biggest challenge. The water maker is still not working, probably an issue related to the gene

23 30.626n 75 44.477w Yeah… so we moved the boat yesterday afternoon a few miles down the coast of Stocking Island. This after two dinghy visits from concerned cruisers and, as we discovered later, a dollop of Facebook shaming. Two bruised egos onboard Halley… But on the bright side, if this is the spanking we’ve been due given our good fortune to date, then we’ll take it. Nobody hurt, no boat damage, no money lost. Also a lesson learned: if you think you might be anchored kinda close to a shipping channel, you are anchored in the channel. Screen shots below from the George Town Exuma Sailors and Cruisers FB page. We were hiking at the time and blissfully ignorant of the close encounter with the freight ship. We've clearly made our mark on George Town - it might be time to skedaddle. 😎 P.s. Balm on our wounds. A fellow cruiser dinghied over to our new location to say hello and accepted our invite for drinks. He chuckled about our recent misfortunes (pretty sure he had heard about

23 31.752n 75 46.193w Sunday morning and work angst is starting to set in. I’ve been off for 5 ½ fantastic weeks, but tomorrow it’s back to it. It will be the start of the new normal; working remotely from an anchorage with cell coverage somewhere in the Bahamas. Nose to computer 40 hours per week, but in the shade of the cockpit overlooking turquoise waters - I shall manage ok. And perhaps couple that with yoga on the fore-deck in the morning, then a dip into crystal clear water before work? And a beach walk with Lucy before dinner? Yes, I’ll do just fine. For Chris too it’s the new normal of a sabbatical or retirement or whatever it shall be called. He’s ready for it - no angst there. And no worries about staying busy, there are endless big and little projects to be tackled, along with the ongoing maintenance of a full-time live-aboard cruising sail boat. We are currently anchored by Stocking Island, across from Georgetown. We got down here on New Year’s Eve from Emerald Bay Marina.