Easter Greetings

Little Farmers Cay, Exuma

March 27, 2016

Earlier this Easter week, forty-six people boarded a thirty-foot derelict vessel in Haiti desperate for a better life, hoping to find it in The Bahamas. Their dreams were dashed on the rocks along the shore of Little Farmers Cay, Exuma.

Beached on the rocky shore of Little Farmers Cay

Cobbled rigging

~~

God walked this sod, pressed His holy heel into the earth, let His divinity fill a container of skin and filled His lungs with all our atmosphere of ache. We aren’t alone in this mess. Us on this pale blue dot of a planet in the vast blackness of the cosmos—we are the visited planet. He came. He sees. He knows. We are not alone. 
God is with us...

Ann Voskamp

~~

Sunrise along the same shore

This Easter, for them and for all of us, may the sun rise with healing in its wings (Malachi 4:2). 

Exquisite Exumas

Ship Channel Cay to Black Point, Exuma
February 29 – March 14

When He made the waters around the Exumas, I wonder if God decided to show how creative He could be using just one color— turquoise. One thousand sparkling shades. We wish our camera could capture all the mesmerizing hues our eyes have seen, but it can’t compare. Here are a few pictures to give you just a glimpse of the beauty we’ve enjoyed as we’ve made our way through the Exumas chain, slowly, on island time.

Ship Channel Cay, a sports lodge for daily iguana tours from Nassau

All speared on one day - none went to waste!

Beach on Lobster Cay

MacDuffs Restaurant at Normans Cay

The thirty-year-old remains of a sunken airplane in about 8' of water
at Normans Cay; lots of coral has formed on the wreckage under water

View toward the west over the banks from Normans Cay

A section of the Exumas is set apart as a land and sea park. These islands and the reefs around them are protected in their natural beauty. Fishing, lobstering, conching, and shelling are not allowed. But the views from the hiking paths and at the snorkeling sites are spectacular. Warderick Wells is home to the office headquarters, and we spent five days there while strong east winds blew.

Mangroves at Hawksbill Cay

Southern Ray in the creek at Hawksbill Cay

The mooring field at Warderick Wells (this is the spot
where I injured my thumb two years ago)

Leaving a driftwood sign with our boat name at Warderick Wells

View to the north at Warderick Wells

View to the west at Warderick Wells

Walking on the sand bar at low tide at Warderick Wells

Chris and Eden, a delightful couple we sailed with two years ago
and again for a week this year

Rag Doll, Chris and Eden's Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 

The clinic in Staniel Cay where I first went when I was injured two years ago,
then on to Nassau

Staniel Cay Yacht Club

We support the local economy by buying lobster from "Fishy"

Sunset in the Exumas

Every night, sunset is an event. Along with many cruisers, we salute the arrival of evening by blowing a conch shell horn. The last several nights, someone has come on the radio right after sunset with the comment, “What a wonderful world we live in.” Amen, and roger that!

~~

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white

Bright blessed days, and dark sacred nights

And I think to myself, “What a wonderful world.”

Weiss and Thiele

~~

Marooned in Hope Town

Elbow Cay, Abacos
January 21-February 20, 2016

Every cruising season is completely different from every other. Different places, different people, different weather. Especially weather, because it dictates our itinerary and activities. This year’s unfavorable weather has been the topic of conversation since we arrived in The Bahamas.

We started our season by staying an entire month on Elbow Cay near Hope Town due to near-constant high winds. But what a great place to be marooned! The village of Hope Town has a high cute-quotient with colorful pastel colonial cottages and inviting shops and restaurants. Everywhere you go, there’s a beautiful ocean or harbor view.

This cottage is more than 100 years old

The miniature cottage is "The Lizard Lodge" 

View of the Atlantic from a Hope Town cottage

The town’s most recognizable feature is its candy-striped lighthouse, one of only two remaining in the world that are hand-cranked and kerosene burning. Every two hours the keeper on duty uses a hand winch to lift seven hundred pounds of weight to the top of the tower. The descending weights turn a series of bronze gears that smoothly rotate the four-ton light apparatus every fifteen seconds, sending out a beam that can be seen for seventeen miles. The tower is eighty-nine feet high with one hundred one steps to the lantern room. Panoramic views from the top make the climb worth every step.

The Elbow Reef Light Station

Harbor view from lighthouse window

101 steps to the top

A view from the top

An Abaco dinghy, hand crafted right here in Hope Town

We crossed over to the Abacos in order to coincide with friends’ time here. Marty and Barb came to visit Marty’s high-school friend, JoAnne, whose sister owns a cottage on Elbow Cay. It was great to hang out with them while they were here, walking beaches, playing games, eating out. We’d met JoAnne before, but this time we got to know her much better and loved her.

Marty and Barb

JoAnne, Joanie, and Barb

In addition to these friends, we met some very interesting people during the month. Among them:
An older woman who came to Hope Town for the first time in 1957 (when it was a still best-kept secret) and has been here every winter since then in a seaside cottage her father built; she invited us over and showed us around her small and perfectly charming beach cottage…A couple who lived in Saudi Arabia for nine years while he managed a petro-chemical company there (they also have a boat pet, a turquoise iguana)…A couple who took us deep-sea fishing in a boat outfitted with all the best equipment (no trophy fish, only three red snappers); he managed the largest shipyard in the world in Norfolk, VA, her father died attempting to escape from Cuba after Castro came to power…A couple who spent the last fifteen years restoring an 1835 West Virginia brick mansion built by a descendant of George Washington’s brother…A couple who flew their own plane here from Boulder, Colorado…several of the nine “famous Mackey sisters,” daughters of a former lighthouse keeper on the island.

Keith being deck hand. Notice electric reel; they were fishing at 800 feet.

We also enjoyed several events that raised money for local causes, lazy walks on lovely beaches, and meandering bike rides around the island. Then there were the days we hunkered down to avoid wind and rain, reading for hours.

On da Beach Restaurant

A view from Abaco Inn, the first place we stayed in the Abacos 25 years ago 

The protected Sea of Abaco

What to do as weather conditions kept us pinned to the dock?  Settle in, be patient, choose contentment. And thank God for the silver linings in those clouds—the great experiences we would have missed if we hadn’t been marooned.

~~

God, I know You’re not in a hurry.

Your plans for me are on time.

You need no schedule or reminders

For I’m always on Your mind.

Elaine Wright Colvin

~~

Breathe! In the Bahamas

West End, Grand Bahama to Elbow Cay, Abacos
January 18-20, 2016

We had no intention of departing Old Bahama Bay on Monday when we woke. As we examined the forecasts mid-morning, though, we realized it was likely the most comfortable day of the next several for moving across Little Bahama Bank toward the Abacos. We quickly tied up loose ends and untied from the dock.

The next big decision was whether to enter the ocean plateau of the Little Bahama Bank through the barely adequate depths of Indian Rock Channel at dead low tide, or to instead travel two hours extra to the deeper Memory Rock cut. We attempted the shallow cut, inching slowly at times. Exhale! No touching bottom! Then in order to anchor at Great Sale Cay before twilight closed down the day, we motor-sailed all day.

Anchorage at Manjack Cay

On day two, we enjoyed a gorgeous sail, savoring the peace and quiet without engine noise. North winds that would have prevented a Gulf Stream crossing on that day delivered a perfect beam-reach point of sail for six hours. The heartwarming highlight of the day was watching a mama dolphin and her baby swim and jump alongside us. The little one was about one-third the mother’s length. We’ve never seen a dolphin so small in the wild. Sigh… How sweet! That night we dropped anchor at Manjack (pronounced mun-jack) Cay and the wind dropped to a whisper.

On day three, we bypassed many favorite stopping-places and headed to Sea Spray Marina on Elbow Cay. This will be our hideaway for a while, at least while strong storms keep doing encore performances.

From the same point, we can look out at the Atlantic...

...and back to where Pelican is docked -- the last mast on the right

En route to Elbow Cay, we had to transit around Whale Cay—the diciest part of an Abacos trip after the Gulf Stream. The passage lies where a shallow section of the Sea of Abaco forces most cruising boats to leave the protected banks and go out in the Atlantic around Whale Cay. Northeast wind and even storms far out in the Atlantic can create a “rage,” when the deep ocean waters that funnel between reefs and islands slam onto the banks and create dangerous, impassable conditions. Five-foot rollers were the worst we saw, which means it was a comfortable transit.

Back in the tranquil Sea of Abaco, the sun rose higher in the sky and turned on the aquarium lights. Smooth turquoise water shone with glorious clarity. Starfish, sea urchins, and wavy patterns in the sand were magnified fifteen feet above. Inhale! Breathe in the beauty! There’s life and loveliness to notice and enjoy (not only here but everywhere)...glimpses of beauty in nature that reflect and magnify the beautiful nature of the One who made them.

~~

It is an extraordinary and beautiful thing that God, 

in creation...works with the beauty of matter; the reality of things; 

the discoveries of the senses, all five of them; 

so that we, in turn, may hear the grass growing; 

see a face springing to life in love and laughter.... 

The offerings of creation...our glimpses of truth.

Madeleine L’Engle

~~

The Wind, She Did Blow

West End, Grand Bahama
January 17, 2016

What a difference a day makes! Saturday offered perfect crossing conditions with light and variable winds. Sunday served up a super storm.

Saturday: serene and flat calm in the breakwater

A gale warning was in effect, and the day started out breezy. That didn’t stop us from enjoying our first Bahamian breakfast of stewed fish at the Tiki Bar at Old Bahama Bay. By the time we paid up it was raining, but we decided to run for the boat. Halfway there, the wind kicked into high gear. Simultaneously the heavens broke open and dumped a deluge of blinding, drenching rain. We’d never been outdoors and exposed to such severe conditions. In mere seconds, we were soaked to the bone.

Sunday: raging seas in the breakwater

Wind gusts clocked in at 66 knots (73.6 miles per hour). If that velocity had been sustained, it would have been hurricane strength. Sustained winds were actually in the 50s, designated as a “storm,” the category between a gale and a hurricane. We quickly readjusted lines and fenders. As yesterday’s calm ocean now hurled turbulent waves onto shore and crashed into the breakwater, we were more than happy to be in a safe haven.

~~

He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.

Psalm 107:29-30 NIV

~~

Smooth Sailing All the Way

Palm Beach, FL to West End, Grand Bahama
January 16, 2016

A pre-dawn departure placed us at Palm Beach Inlet just as the sun rose. From the horizon, sunlight cast a sparkling path onto sapphire seas, beckoning us eastward. Throughout the day the waves calmed more and more. The water took on a blue-green hue by the time we made landfall at West End. Best of all, the temperature turned warmer and warmer. The northwest Bahamas lie one hundred miles north of the Florida Keys, yet their weather is similar. Moving east, in this case, is just as good as going south.

Keith hoisting the Q (quarantine) flag before landfall, to be flown until clearing customs

Old Bahama Bay Resort

As always, we’re grateful for the gift of a safe Gulf Stream crossing. Especially when it’s smooth sailing all the way.

Old Bahama Bay Marina

~~

All sunshine and sovereign is GOD, generous in gifts and glory…. 

It's smooth sailing all the way with GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Psalm 84:11-12 MSG

~~

Fair Winds

North Palm Beach, FL
January 15, 2016

Tomorrow—January 16—is the day! Today was a no-go with whipping winds, squalls, even a tornado warning. Sunday is shaping up to be even worse. But there’s a small patch of calm in between. At least, that’s what we’re counting on, based on the best forecast tools. Off we go at first light. We’ll take advantage of the weather window to get ourselves to the western edge of the Bahamas: Old Bahama Bay Marina at West End, Grand Bahama.

Excitement grips us, along with a sprinkling of apprehension. We won’t know the exact sea state until we’re in it. Feel free to watch our progress on our satellite tracker: Delorme Pelican. Once we’ve arrived, we’ll post an update. Fair winds and following seas to us all!

~~

There will always be the unknown. There will always be the unprovable. But faith confronts those frontiers with a thrilling leap. Then life becomes vibrant with adventure!

Robert Schuller

~~

Let the Cruising Begin!

St. Augustine to Palm Coast, FL
November 10, 2015 - January 10, 2016

There are boaters who treat their vessels like floating condos, staying on them but never leaving the dock. This was never our aspiration but has been close to reality so far this season.

We launched in St. Marys, Georgia, on November 7, and after spending three nights at Fernandina Beach, Florida, we pulled in to Camachee Cove Marina in St. Augustine and stayed for a month. During that time, Justin and Kathy Cooper of Cooper’s Canvas designed and created a spectacular new dodger (canvas + windshield) for our boat. They did a fabulous job, and now the person at the helm doesn't need to squat down to see forward.

The new, taller dodger made with EZ2CY glass and classy white trim

On December 10, we moved 30 miles down the waterway to The Marina at Hammock Beach Resort. This completely enclosed harbor provided a safe place to leave Pelican when we traveled home for Christmas. The boat has stayed here for a month, but she was unable to fully appreciate the shore-side amenities, the spa-like showers with stacks of fluffy towels and dispensers of toiletries and the picturesque pool. We, however, thoroughly enjoyed those luxuries on either side of our trip up north (where the best gift was being with the people we love!).

The pool at Hammock Beach Marina

Until now, we’ve had our car with us, which we’d driven down and moved to each new stopping place, That’s not all bad; the convenience of going farther than your feet can carry you is, for most people, essential to everyday life. For us, it enabled the floating-condo lifestyle.

The Marina at Hammock Beach

Now the car is stored and it’s time to cast off the lines and leave this beautiful spot in Palm Coast. North winds bring a winter chill even to Florida. We look forward to several nights at anchor before we arrive at Lake Worth, our departure point for the Bahamas when the weather cooperates. Let the cruising begin!

~~

Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. 

Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

~~

Celebrating a Major Milestone

St. Marys, GA to St. Augustine, FL
November 2-20, 2015

Celebrate with me! Before we stepped onto Pelican on November 2 for a new season of cruising, I passed a major milestone and joined an elite club —those who have lived fifty years with Type 1 Diabetes. If I fill out the proper paperwork, I can even get a beautiful bronze medal inscribed “for 50 courageous years with diabetes” from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and also a Diabetes Journey Award from the Eli Lilly Company.

Halloween marks the anniversary of my diagnosis. Fifty years ago when I was first hospitalized, people in costume came to the pediatric ward to hand out treats. The nurse stopped them near my bed: “Don’t give her anything. She has diabetes.” As they walked away, my new reality began to sink in. A short time later, one of those lovely people rushed back in holding out an apple. (Kind acts toward a stranger that seem unimportant might be remembered and appreciated for a very long time.)

Over the past five decades life with diabetes has sometimes been a challenging sea to navigate. My faith was snuffed out for a while and later reignited. I’ve felt a tangle of emotions and experienced discipline on a sliding scale of near-zero to near-perfect.

Treatment has come a long way in fifty years and so have I. I didn’t always, but now I work very hard at maintaining the best control I possibly can. Every day includes multiple finger sticks to check my blood sugar, calculating how every bite of food will affect my blood sugar, and matching it with the correct amount of insulin.

Coming in to a marina or anchorage, doing a watch, going out on deck, walking on a beach, I need to know my blood sugar is in or near the normal range. I can’t go anywhere without my test kit and glucose tabs at hand. To be honest, sometimes I get tired of the whole routine. Balancing blood sugar is a job with never, ever, a vacation day. Part of me would wish away the blood tests, injections (cannula insertions), diet, and struggles in a heartbeat.

Even if I could turn back the clock and undo the diagnosis, would I really? Well, not if it meant that I would lose all the good that living with diabetes has worked into the fabric of my life. Living with this disease has woven compassion, empathy, discipline, endurance, and determination into my character. Without it, I wouldn’t be the same person at all.

God has used this for good, to change me, to grow me, to show me that He is always loving and faithful. Over the years, my feelings toward diabetes untangled into acceptance and gratitude. I thank God for making our bodies so “fearfully and wonderfully” that mine could withstand years of less-than-ideal blood sugar levels and still thrive.

Since I embarked on this journey in 1965, I’ve led a wonderful life that happens to include diabetes. For more than thirty-three years, Keith’s love and support have been the best possible help. What a gift that with my health issues we can be on a sailboat far from medical care without extraordinary concern. This Thanksgiving, I am profoundly grateful to be so amazingly healthy fifty years down the road.

~~

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV

~~