Month: March 2024

The Tideye Crew set out into the Atlantic Ocean once again to sail the high seas and do a little fishing. After twenty-nine and a half hours, we didn’t have any fish to share, but we did find ourselves tucked into a jammin’ new place. We had arrived to the Exuma hotspot of Georgetown.

We scooped up Captain Debbie from Marsh Harbor and immediately hoisted the sails to get south to Lynyard Cay (right outside of Little Harbor) to stage for setting out into the open ocean for the first time since we arrived in the Abacos back in December. We had been mulling over the weather for days trying to pick a day and a route that would be best for our crew – turned out to be quite the puzzle! We could pick a day to cross the Northeast Providence Channel then day hop our way down the Exuma Bank. We could cross the channel, hop down Eleuthera then cross the Exuma Sound. OR wait for the calmest conditions and just make a run for it on the outside – all Atlantic Ocean. After lots of deliberation (and a chat with Chris Parker) we opted for option #3 – all the way baby. This gave us three days in our “staging spot” to ride out some impressive storms, knock out a few boat projects and squeeze in a little beach picnic and some snorkeling. It was a great way to say farewell to the Abacos.

The passage was a breeze – since there wasn’t much breeze! An uneventful passage is really an event in itself. Even though we didn’t catch any fish, we definitely got some huge hits. Cap’n Debbie and I saw a billfish hit and jump 20 feet into the air flopping its massive body back and forth. We were so awestruck that we could barely get to the rod in time to stop it from taking all of our line! Then we snuck between Eleuthera and Little San Salvador at day break which turned out to be a cruise ship highway! The sight of an enormous lit up city out in the ocean never gets old – and this time we were going to get close enough that I got to hail one on the VHF to set our course. Just before sunset on the second day, we were moored in Elizabeth Harbor right outside the nostalgic beach bar, Chat N Chill. Yesssssssss.

Logan and I lived here in Georgetown 11 years ago on S/V Stella Blue – the kids are probably tired of stories that start with, “When we were here last time….” But now they are collecting their own memories of this groovy place. In the first two days they have already fed the rays AND swam with a dolphin!!! Not a bad start to our stay here.

We have a few friends coming to visit this month so it’s time to clean up and restock Tideye for some Exuma fun. Spring Break baby!

I’m sure there’s some extreme sand skiing sport out there, but we aren’t quite at that level yet. Plus we missed our family and had lots of milestones to celebrate. So the crew of Tideye made plans to fly off to the mountains for a little change of scenery. But wait. First we need to grab our friends from the airport – time to party!

Having our home filled with happy giggling people has always filled my cup. So when the Sabins mentioned that they would be able to make the trek to the Bahamas to see us I was very, VERY excited. Then the logistics started to filter down through my brain. Ten people…six kids 9 and under…one floating home…one dinghy…hmmmm. After way too much thinking about the how/what/where’s I just figured, well, it’ll probably all work out. I mean, what could actually go wrong?

The thing about good friends is that things do work out and they are usually waves and waves of fun. Thanks so much for all the giggles and hugs guys – let’s do it again soon!

After we got Tideye all tucked in for a week without us, we threw a couple things in a suitcase and made a run for the airport. It looked a little questionable. Five people for a week in the snow and all we had were two carry on bags!? Yep… but we might have done a little online shopping. I’d been sending packages to my parents’ place for weeks. I knew our return baggage would look quite a bit different.

We made it to Colorado after a ferry trip and three flights ready for some snowy fun. Logan and I celebrated 11 years of wedded bliss and Lucy Lynn turned SEVEN. We skied, we celebrated, and we slept. A lot. We came back to the boat refreshed and excited about new adventures on the horizon.

I woke up this morning to a glassy harbor – the kind of stillness that has the truly awesome power to becalm my mind and body. I see this as a beautiful omen since we are tackling a week’s worth of chores in one day in order to make our move south. It’s time. We are sailing from the Abacos to the Exumas over the next week. Route to be determined by the weather, but we’ll have clean clothes, fresh provisions and a rad captain on board. So again, what could do wrong?