Month: April 2024

After we dropped the anchor in Black Point on Great Guana Cay, Logan and I spent five hours debriefing our day. What crazy breed of people spend eight hours actively sailing then still feel like yapping about it for hours? Sailors, that’s who.

It was an incredible day out on the ocean. This was our first ocean passage on this boat as a family without a captain or crew on board. (That didn’t really occur to me until we were out there!) When we anchored up at 7:07a off of Flip Flop Beach, there was literally zero wind – we could see straight through to the bottom and marvel at our beautiful anchor and chain.

We took advantage of the calm conditions to switch roles and Logan hoisted the main sail inside the harbor while I stayed at the helm. We throttled up our happy engines and set out into the Exuma Sound (aka the Atlantic Ocean). Morale was high as we enjoyed breakfast and coffee. Fishing lines were rigged and deployed. The day was setting up nicely.

Then the horizon looked like this…

We were expecting a line of squalls as the front pushed through, but they came a little earlier in the day than we hoped. Squalls can bring gusty winds, so we decided to throw in a reef just in case things got spicy. That decision ended up being critical to the next five hours of our passage. While we managed to skirt the squalls, the winds filled in behind them with gusto. We went from less than 5 knots to blowing 18, gusting 20 in minutes. And then the seas. 3-5′ short period chop. On the beam. It was a sloppy mess. It was all forecasted and we were prepared for it, just happened a few hours earlier than we were hoping. The kids stayed up at the helm with dad to keep the fresh ocean air on their faces while I stayed inside trying to catch tissue boxes and ginger beer cans as they went flying across the saloon. Not too many pictures for this leg of the journey…

THEN there was the cut. The water is too shallow to stay on the banks all the way up the Exuma chain – that’s why we had to go out into the ocean in the first place. But at some point you have to get BACK on the banks through one of several cuts between islands. As the tide ebbs and flows, a massive amount of ocean water squeezes through these tiny gaps resulting in crazy strong currents. Add to it that they can be narrow and shallow and whewee! The trick is to time it so that you sail through at slack tide (very little current) with calm conditions. Well, we got the timing right for the current (good job Cap!) but these were not calm conditions. Hearts were pumping as we approached Galliot Cut. We fired up the engines, rolled in the jib and secured the main. Logan hand steered and Tideye surfed right through. Deep breath. Then another deep breath.

The second you pop out the cut onto the banks (that’s honestly what it feels like), the sea state is a completely different story. Even though the winds are still honking, land knocks down all the wave action. The water is back to neon and everything feels totally groovy! After navigating through some shallows, we pulled the jib back out and sailed like you wouldn’t believe. Now it was blowing 15-20, gusting 22. We were close hauled with almost flat seas – time to see what Tideye could do! Logan had a blast trimming the sails and we saw 8 knots of boat speed all the way to our anchorage. Yeah baby!

It was a great day. Really great. The kids did amazing. No one felt great, but we didn’t hear one complaint. These kids are showing some serious grit and that makes us damn proud. And Logan and I, we couldn’t be happier. All the sailing and training we’ve done in the last nine months is coming together. We are sailors again. Sailors who like to talk about sailing.

…just floating here on a big rock as it spins round and round. Full moon welcomed us to a new harbor.

Georgetown has been everything we wanted (and needed!). But for several days now, Logan and I keep looking at each other and saying the same thing, “I’m ready to go sailing.” And so sail we shall.

Just because the boat hasn’t moved it doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy. The weather FINALLY decided to chill out giving us lots sunny days with reasonable wind. Some days were spent running errands in town. After we dock the dinghy, the kids go running up to shore ahead of us to hop on the swings at Island Boy like they’ve lived here their whole lives. I’m on a first name basis with Ms. Lee at the Corner Laundromat. (Logan is on a semi-first name basis – he is Mr. Gillian.) Then we usually pair errands with a lunch out. Tucker has developed a love of Indian food here in Georgetown – craziest thing. Lucy’s favorite is a grilled cheese sandwich from Chat N Chill, and Charlie….well, kid loves a strawberry daiquiri.

Other days are spent soaking up the salt and sand. Logan got out the Guppy, our inflatable sailing catamaran, and zoomed through the harbor for a couple of days. Pizza Night at Sand Dollar Beach was accompanied by a bonfire and fire dancing! And afternoons of swinging and beach volleyball with friends have brought some groovy rhythm to our days.

We finally made it to the lazy river! I say finally because we’ve had it on our radar ever since we dropped the hook, but it’s an hour dinghy ride one way and we just never seemed to make it happen. We joined a flotilla of kid boats and made the journey up to the Moriah Harbour Cay National Park and floated that lazy river like you wouldn’t believe! An incoming tide to pulled us through the neon water. I don’t think it matters how long you’re here, the color of the water never stops taking your breath away.

All of our tanks are full, the fridge is loaded up and the last round of clean clothes collected from Ms. Lee. We used a calm weather window to jam down here, but we plan to take our time island hopping our way back north up the Exuma chain. We will head out of Conch Cut back into the Exuma Sound, then slip back through Galliot Cut to get us back on the banks. Should be a great time – can’t wait to explore new islands, hopefully catch a fish or two and SAIL.

S/V Tideye, anchor up.

They are stinky. They are big. And yes, they poop everywhere. But man are they cute. Referring to the swimming pigs, not our friends. Just to be clear. March was filled with vacay vibes, fantastic friends and terrifying t-storms.

We arrived in Georgetown with four days to spare before The Gunderman Gang flew in for Spring Break. We learned all the how’s/when’s/who’s here at a record pace in order to get ourselves ready for company. But by the time they landed, we had Tideye stocked up with everything we needed for a jam packed week of Exuma fun. Our families have been vacationing together for the last decade – Jenny and Taylor actually flew here to Georgetown to stay with us on Stella Blue. So the kiddos (young and old) were pumped to play with good friends, even if that meant sharing their cabins for a few days. We beached, hiked, snorkeled and even took Tideye out for a sail to fish the Exuma Sound.

We had known a front was coming through around the time the Krutsch Family was supposed to make the trek down from Milwaukee. But holy front! Some forecasts were predicting winds at 55+ knots. I told Jamie that they must have signed up for the adventure package for spring break! But frigid conditions up north delayed their trip by a few days and we weathered the storm alone back in Red Shanks. So. Much. Lightening. The biggest squalls hit at sunset putting on a pretty spectacular show, one I hope not to see again.

With that excitement out of the way, we re-RE-proivisioned and picked up the kool Krutsch crowd for more island adventures. We moved the boat every day to a new anchorage and managed to hit all the hot spots. We took advantage of a calm day to hop on a go fast (REALLY fast) boat to jam up to see those famous pigs, snorkel a blue hole and drift to spot some giant starfish. I don’t think two families could have had more fun together. We laughed for five days straight even as we determined that I am the worst Yahtzee player in history.

And so ends Spring Break 2024. Our hearts are full and our bodies are salty. Is there any better way to be? Now it’s time to focus on a few pesky boat projects and figure out what our next move will be. Gotta keep on keepin’ on.