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UPDATE
#8 03/17
thru 03/24/07
Howdy
Everybody,
We are very interested in hearing from ya’all.
The
period 01/19/07 thru 03/08/07 has been covered in Updates 1 through 7.
We continue with UPDATE07 #8. UPDATE07
#8 03/17/07 through 03/24/07.
Welcome back to the new
Adventures of the trawler AMARSE. At
last update, we were enjoying life to the fullest at Marsh Harbour in the Abaco
Islands of the Bahamas. 03/17/07
SATURDAY ABACO BEACH RESORT
and BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
The heavy rains overnight did a nice job of washing down AMARSE. I spent most of the morning making a birthday card for Judie
Jenkins. We have been invited to
help celebrate this special day aboard ODYSSEY, the Great Harbor 37 of Paul and
Sue Graham. Sue made a wonderful
Red Velvet Cake and Paul scooped ice cream.
While her husband, Jonathan, looked on, the guest of honor, Judie, cut
generous chunks of the delicious desert.
I found her baby picture hidden in the archives and, as you can clearly
see, she hasn’t changed very much over the years.
It was a fun evening for everyone on the guest list that included Fred
and Linda Gassmann from LINDA G II, Doug and Leslie from HAPPY CLAMZ, Fred and
Judy from AMARSE, John and Sue Hauge from LA GARZA VERDE, Paul and Sue Graham
aboard ODYSSEY, and, of course, Judie and Jonathan Jenkins from DOUBLE JJ.
This was the first time we had been aboard a GH37.
We were delightfully surprised at the huge amount of room and all the
amenities throughout the three floors. These
are very versatile, live-aboard boats. 03/18/07
SUNDAY ABACO BEACH
RESORT and BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
It was another absolutely beautiful day here in this island paradise.
The wind was still quite brisk but just a bit friendlier than other days
of recent. We had considered taking
AMARSE out for a little cruise but decided to leave her peacefully in her slip.
Judy has been working feverously on the Teak wood trim and we were
concerned that the salty spray might contaminate the bared wood of the
handrails.
In search of adventure, we set off in our dinghy with Doug and Leslie
close aside in their inflatable. We
eased out of the harbor and followed the coast north to an inlet that is lined
with very nice private residences. Still
wanting more adventure, we agreed to head out across the Sea of Abaco toward
Hopetown. Now, Doug and Leslie’s outboard is a very small 3-1/2
horsepower. To travel along with
them, we committed to a long, wet and windy voyage.
AMARSE’s RIB dinghy (rigid inflatable boat), powered by the Evinrude 15
HP, is capable of about 20 mph in smooth seas.
Our trip of about 6 miles took about 1-1/2 hours at their top speed.
We set our course toward the beautiful Hopetown lighthouse on Elbow Cay.
At the mouth of the harbor, the Abaco Sailing Club was engaged in their
Sunday afternoon race. The local
folks race sail these unique little vessels around a typical course marked with
bright orange buoys.
The harbor was full of boats and it was unlikely that any mooring balls
would have been available for the big boat.
For our little dinghies, we had the choice of either a fixed dock with a
high ladder or this lovely little, sandy beach to land upon.
A historic marker indicated that this was probably the same beach that
the loyalists landed upon way back in 1785.
Just imagine all that history and beauty in the same place.
The gorgeous view across the harbor includes the Hopetown Lighthouse.
We are told that the light is still operated by a couple of keepers and
it still burns oil to provide the bright light.
Vessels are restricted to mooring balls in this snug harbor.
Technically, there is no anchoring allowed in the inner harbor, however,
we did see a few boats that were clearly disregarding the rules.
The spacing is tight even with the mooring balls, anchored boats make it
uncomfortable for the others due to the threat of dragging with very short
anchor scope.
The usual anchorage area, located outside of the harbor and channel,
would be a bit uncomfortable in these winds that seem to persist day after day.
Today is Sunday, therefore, almost everything is
closed up tight. It was still fun
to walk around the small village looking at the various sights.
On the ocean side, the view of the beach and outer reef is quite
spectacular.
Hopetown is quite different than Marsh Harbour.
Here, there is a laidback atmosphere more typical of what you might
expect in the Bahamas. With almost
no automobile traffic here, the principal modes of transportation are golf
carts, bicycles, and motor scooters. There
are quite a few lovely, old cottage homes lining the narrow streets.
Beautiful flowers surround many of the beach houses.
It seemed like a long, wet ride back to Boat Harbour.
The wind had clocked just enough to kick up some bigger waves that would
all too often send a chilling spray over us.
Doug and Leslie promised to get a bigger, faster dinghy for their next
trip; We whole-heartedly agree. It
seemed even longer than the 1-1/2 hour trip over.
We got too much sun, we were covered with drying salt, and we were quite
tired. You probably think we’d
had enough, right? Wrong, wrong,
wrong, my friends. We went up to
the pool to calm down and relax in the tranquility of the fresh water pool.
Doug and Leslie coordinated our dinner plan.
We would bring meatballs and they would prepare tortellini in Marinara
sauce. Garlic bread was grilled to
accompany the main entrée. Doug
made some Jell-O Shots. He mixed
Red Raspberry Jell-O with half water and half vodka.
Yummy and smooth. There is
always room for Jell-O (shots).
We had no trouble nestling into the sheets tonight.
These kids were just plain tuckered out. 03/19/07
MONDAY ABACO BEACH RESORT and
BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
Another day and the windy conditions continue again today.
Judy has been preparing the external teak for fresh varnish.
She is ready to put on the first coat of Schooner Varnish that has been
diluted with 10% thinner. This will
aid in deeper penetration for that important first coat. After more sanding between coats, all succeeding coats will
be at full strength.
With all of this wind, combined with extremely low tides associated with
the spring season, the water level
is very low in places. This
sailboat was attempting to get to their slip and they found themselves firmly
aground. Normally, the water here
is not less than 7 feet even at mean low tide.
Even though this sailboat claims to draw 6 feet,
we’re guessing it is a bit more after fully loading it.
They waited for about two to three hours for the tide to refloat them.
We visited the beautiful swimming pool for some sun and splashing.
The temperatures are comfortably in the mid to high 70’s.
After cleaning up, we headed up for the bi-weekly Manager’s Cocktail
Party held every other Monday evening. Everyone
seems to enjoy the free party complete with hors ‘douerves.
I really liked the toast points topped with a shrimp/scallop mixture.
We gathered together a bunch of tables to allow a large gang of us to sit
together. The musical entertainment
was by Brown-Tip. Our plans to
gather at the pool bar later for more music and dance was thwarted by some heavy
showers that attacked immediately after the Manager’s party.
We enjoyed the rest of the evening in the dryness of AMARSE. 03/20/07
TUESDAY ABACO BEACH
RESORT and BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to BOB ALLEN way down there in San Miguel
de Allende. Well, folks, I did something today that I haven’t done since I was a young boy. Back when I was about 10 or 12 years old, I fell off my Uncle’s Chris-Craft Cabin Cruiser in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Well, you guessed it, I did it again today; I fell right into the water off the swim platform. I was attempting to climb into the dinghy to pump out all the rainwater from the night before. As I put one foot into the dinghy, the wind gusted and pushed it away. Unable to do a graceful split, I went over backwards with a splash. Seconds later, I was climbing back aboard from the swim ladder. How embarrassed do you think I was? Sometimes I think I’m following a kind of path forged by my friend Andy Misovec on FROBENIUS. It started with Andy redefining an afternoon nap as doing heart exercise. Then he got onto a waffles for breakfast kick. I figured if Andy could have waffles, then I should have waffles. A few weeks ago, Andy fell off the boat into the water at the dock. Perhaps my falling in is carrying this thing just a little too far. Oh well, I guess since it’s been over 50 years since I fell in the last time, I will try to wait another 50 years to do it again.
Judy worked on more sanding and the applying of a
second coat of varnish. She helped
me with the routine battery maintenance. I
used the special filler jug that I got at NAPA auto parts and that made
everything so much easier. I just
have to press down on the jug into the filler hole.
Exactly the proper amount of distilled water is added.
It even makes a gurgling sound that lets you know its filling.
Cool! While we were there,
we checked out the below decks systems and even added a little oil to top
everything off.
In the afternoon, we headed off walking to the
Maxwell’s grocery store to pick up supplies. It was a bit exhausting walking all that distance with a
slightly sore leg, foot, and hand that still hurt a little from the fall.
Doug and Leslie were our guests tonight aboard
AMARSE. They claimed to enjoy the
Cocktails, Frito Pie, flour tortillas, and Judy’s dessert of Chocolate Caramel
Cake. Good Stuff!!! 03/21/07
WEDNESDAY ABACO BEACH
RESORT and BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
We are beginning to wonder whether this wind will ever settle down.
The forecast does not offer any promise of any reduction. Other than the wind, the mostly sunny skies and temperatures
in the 70’s are delightful.
Judy tackled the chore of laundry while I dabbled
with the tax calculations. Bah!
We decided to brighten our spirits by making reservations at the Jib Room
for the Wednesday night Rib Feast.
At 5:30pm, we had the good fortune to join some
nice folks in the taxi ride around the harbor to the restaurant.
We sat with Skip and RoseMary from Rochester, NY.
Skip is in the printing business and we enjoyed reminiscing about the old
days when I too was a printing pressman. He
took over the business from his dad so he shared many of the same memories.
Great folks. They have chartered a 43-foot power cat for the week from the
Moorings.
Sharing the week with them were Jack and his wife from Buffalo, NY.
Some of you may know or recognize him, he worked for the IRS. I took the liberty of giving him a list of all your social
security numbers so that he could personally review your returns for any
possible mistakes that you might have made.
He said he was “only there to help”.
Every Wednesday night, the restaurant serves a whole bunch of people at
the Baby Back Rib dinner. I have
never been a real fan of ribs, however, they are one of Judy’s favorites.
I’ve always found them to be a little dry and tough. I thought this place would be special for Judy and that I
would only be OK with it. Let me
tell you, my friends, that these were absolutely scrumptious. The meat literally fell off the bones and was tender and
moist. WOW! If ribs were like this all the time, they’d be my first
choice. Everyone raves about the
place and great dinners. Now I
can’t wait for next Wednesday.
The music is typical island style and lots of fun.
They have a limbo contest boasting of a $100 prize for the winner.
Some of the locals come to partake of the contest.
Some of the tourists are quite enjoyable to watch.
One of the local guys has this sport down to a science.
It is quite unbelievable just how low he can go.
No one else can even come close.
He even clinches the contest by crawling, limbo style, under the low bar
while lighting a cigarette from the burning pole.
No doubt who takes the cash. Even
though I’m amazed at his agility and flexibility, I must admit that I enjoy
watching the young, gal tourists better.
We were fortunate to again share the taxi back to the marina with our new
friends from New York. Thanks
everyone for a great, great evening. 03/22/07
THURSDAY ABACO BEACH
RESORT and BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
The morning started with intermittent rain showers.
The winds were at Gale Force whistling along at over 30 knots.
We walked over to visit with Robert and Patty Mitchell on ORINOCO.
They have been away this week rocking and rolling in anchorages along the
island coast as far south as Little Harbour.
I think that they may be glad to be back in the protection of the main
harbor and Conch Inn Marina.
They had just been seated for lunch at Curly Tails restaurant located at
their marina. We joined them for the conversation only.
George and Miriam Grafer aboard TIME OUT invited us to join them for a
impromptu pizza party. We each ordered the pizzas of our choice to be delivered
together to TIME OUT. Together with
Doug and Leslie, we all enjoyed the get-together very much.
03/23/07
FRIDAY ABACO BEACH
RESORT and BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the RMHYC broadcasts our meeting on
VHF channel 78 at 8am. I don’t
know why, but our new radio located inside at the lower helm will not receive
nor transmit on channel 78. All the
others seem OK. This glitch
requires us to go topside and listen in at the upper helm station.
Just as we took our seats, there came a torrential downpour of very heavy
rain. The wind was blowing and we
got soaked from the driving rains. The
meeting only lasted about 10 minutes before we could return to the dry comfort
of the main salon. Soon, the
showers ended but the wind continued to howl.
I can’t be sure if Judy was just being nice or
whether she didn’t trust me to get into the dinghy to pump out the
accumulation of rain water. There
was quite a bit to pump out and we even resorted to a larger hand pump this
time. With all this wind lately, it
seems that we are merely using the dinghy as a rain gauge.
After a great lunch of Chicken Breast Salad sandwiches, our friend Doug
came by offering to pick up anything we needed at the store in town.
We requested some fresh Bahamian, coconut bread.
In almost no time, he was back with a loaf that was still warm.
His next venture was to hunt down some lobster meat from the ice docks.
We slipped him some more cash with the nearly begging request to pick
some up for us too. He knows where
to buy lobster meat that is already out of the shell.
These are, of course, Bahamian spiny lobsters that are often called
crawfish. Not much time passed
before he was back with almost 3 pounds of the stuff.
We can hardly wait to make something delicious.
The main purpose for our wanting coconut bread was
to make a special French toast breakfast. We also needed to get some coconut rum and banana rum to add
to the recipe. We walked up to the
liquor store and made the appropriate purchase.
I bet you can guess what we’ll make for breakfast tomorrow morning.
With the weather cooperating nicely, the boaters of
Dock 4 (Rodeo Drive) hosted a potluck appetizer and cocktail party.
Everyone brings their own cocktails and a fancy hors ‘doeurve plate to
share among the group. Even though
we are officially on Dock 3, we are fortunate to be invited to their
get-togethers. I love these things where we all sip our drinks, nibble on
this and that, and chat about cruising and various other bits of nonsense.
Paul and Mary live and cruise aboard PROPINQUITY.
Now for your vocabulary lesson:
The propinquity effect is the tendency for people to
form friendships or romantic relationships with those whom they encounter often. I think it works quite well for this lovely couple.
03/24/07
SATURDAY ABACO BEACH
RESORT and BOAT HARBOUR, MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO, BAHAMAS
Once again, the early morning rain offered a free boat wash and the
continuing wind assisted with a blow-dry. Doug
had real itchy feet and was chomping at the bit to get underway.
His first action was to finalize his bill for this two-month stay. Here you see Doug and Leslie smiling BEFORE Arthur presented
them with their folio. Then it was
Arthur’s turn to smile. The
astute Leslie found two significant errors on their bill prompting the reminder
to check all bills carefully.
Captain “Gotta-Go-Now” was convinced that the brisk winds and
threatening black skies were no obstacle for the “Little Tug That Could”.
We tried to remind him of movies, “Perfect Storm”, “Victory at
Sea”, and “Jaws”, but nothing could dissuade his wanderlust.
We all really knew that it would be quite safe, albeit, uncomfortable
making their way to the anchorage in Fishers Bay at Great Guana Cay.
Selfish as it was, we just didn’t want to see them leave.
Quite a few wonderful folks came by to assist and wave “Goodbye” to
HAPPY CLAMZ. I heard someone
lovingly proclaim, “OK, you’ve made your decision, now get the Hell Outta
Here!” No matter where one would
travel, they could never find better people than these.
We will miss them dearly.
The wait for breakfast was well worth it.
Judy sliced the fresh, coconut bread and dipped it in the mixture of
eggs, milk, and cinnamon laced with a generous portion of Coconut Rum and Banana
Rum. Served golden brown with Irish butter and maple syrup,
even a true Frenchman would be envious.
In the afternoon, Steve and Jean Purdy from SUNCAT came by to visit.
We had first met them in Penetanguishene, Ontario at the Rendezvous last
July. They have a trawler now and
this is their second winter in the Abacos.
Last year was on their sailboat. They
hail from South Portland, Maine.
Later that afternoon, after working around on the boat and on log
updates, we even found time to soak up some sun at the resort pool.
Lots of folks had the same idea on this bright, sunny afternoon.
Lots of young people here on spring break now. Of course, there was no shortage of us “mature” folks
either.
We had reservations for Steak Night at the Jib
Room. We were so impressed with Rib
Night this past Wednesday that we were anxious to try their other specialty
night. Patty and Robert came by
dinghy from Conch Inn Marina, Steve and Jean are docked here at Marsh Harbour
Marina and Jib Room, and Judy and I took a taxi from Boat Harbour.
The steak was very, very good. The
meal is served like a walkthrough, buffet line style.
The barbeque chef is an expert at selecting just the proper steak for
your request.
The revelers eagerly watched as the Bahamian chap did his thing with the
limbo pole. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much competition from the
tourists.
The man gives definition to the words “How Low Can You Go?”
Amazingly, he slithers through on the edges of his feet and his knees
never touch the ground. To the sound of “rake and scrape” on the saw, he
lights another cigarette from the flaming pole.
“….And the band played on” with more tropical island tunes
beckoning everyone to join in with his or her own version of dance moves.
Patty and Judy were doing a great job of strutting their stuff on the
dance floor.
Patty and Robert buzzed off in their dinghy, Steve and Jean wandered back
to their boat, and Judy and I caught another taxi back to Boat Harbour.
As if we hadn’t had enough for one evening, we found a table to enjoy
more music and fun at the resort bar. Brown-Tip
was in great form belting out more energetic island tunes.
He brings the music to life and sparks everyone out to dance.
Until next update, my friends, Bye-bye. POST
SCRIPT:
Our plan is to enjoy this resort marina for the
entire month of March and into the first week of April. Judy’s Brother, Dean
Ordiway, is flying in from Olathe, Kansas to visit with us on the 29th of the
March. We hope to take some side trips to other cays and islands while
maintaining this as our home base. Please
let us know if you have any special suggestions and thoughts.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy these email
UPDATES. We thank those of you who
have contacted us recently and we are looking forward to hearing from each of
you in the near future. Thanks for
allowing us to share our life and adventures with you.
REMEMBER:
The website is now fully active and you can visit it at any time.
You can review any of the 2006 or 2007 logs and learn more about the crew
and our plans. Enjoy. ATTENTION:
SPECIAL NOTE: While we are in the Bahamas, we will not have any regular telephone service. We have set up a SKYPE account and can make outgoing phone calls through the internet. If you have this service, you can contact us at Skype ID: amarse1 . Otherwise, if you would like to contact us, you can send us emails. The marina has Wi-Fi connections that are pretty good but drop off frequently. It is certainly better than we expected. Of course, when we travel to the off islands, we probably will not have much contact if any. That shouldn’t be too much though.
Please Skype or email us if you like, we’d really
like to hear from you. "AMARSE".
is pronounced "AM-ARE-SAY". Our website is: www.amarse.net
. Check
it out while we will attempt to keep you informed via email
We would like to hear more about what is happening
in your lives. Let us know as we
very interested in what’s going on with our friends and family. Please
call or email us with your thoughts and comments and ideas too. Thanks Lot
of Love, Fred
Reed and Judy Law AMARSE MT40 |
Fred H. Reed |
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