Our first stop in the Berry Islands landed us in Great Harbour Cay.  Right smack dab in the middle of some pretty major election hype.   In fact, we arrived on the same day that the Prime Minister of the Bahamas did  (although we didn't manage to seem him because he flew in and out for a mere five minute photo op.) Despite my best efforts, I managed to get very little information about the three main political parties.  No one seemed particularly interested in discussing their political viewpoints, even though everywhere you looked there were flags on cars and people donning their respective party colours and slogans.  Just as well I suppose, I can barely keep up with Canadian politics.  We could sure learn a lot from their voter turnout though- above 95%!  After several parties and a bustling election day, the PLP was declared the victors.  From what I gathered, they are somewhat more left wing than their previous governing party- the FNM.  Truth be told, most people seem to think there isn't a heck of a lot of difference between the two….at least not on the out Islands.  Well PLP, congrats I guess!  We sure enjoyed the activity that the election brought to Great Harbour Cay.  We've been here for four days and we already feel a sense of community.  The people here have been so welcoming and we've never had so many offers for rides (into town or to the beach) as we've walked down the side of the road.  Thanks to the incredible and interesting people we met who made this one a stop to remember.  Best dance parties EVER.

With the Abacos in our wake, we've been putting some miles on our boat, slowly making our way westward towards the Berry islands.  The wind died out yesterday, and we found ourselves in an absolutely flat calm ocean 20 miles from land. Marianne jumped in our dinghy and sang one of her hardcore ukelele numbers.  Nothing like a little music video project to pass the doldrums.

Umbrellas, helping drunk people stand since the 18th century.

Abacos!  It's been a blast!  Thank you for your beautiful beaches and for being our enormous bathtub.  Thank you also to the amazing people we have met who have helped us immensely.  Your advice has saved our hides and made life just that much more fun.  We will miss you until we meet again.  Next stop, Berry islands!  AHOY!

Oh, you know.....just tryin' to do my part.

Chance to teach!

The last time I taught a yoga class in Vancouver was in January and I'd been feeling pretty rusty.  I started to stress about jumping back on the wild yoga steed once we returned from our hiatus.  It's been tough to find a peaceful and flat spot to practice yoga in the Bahamas and finding a class was not even an option....or so I thought!  Low and behold, on the second floor of the W.M. H Building in Marsh Harbour is a gem of a place called Satori Health Strategies.  I was so excited to take Patricia French's fabulous class, and was even more stoked to have the opportunity to teach one.  Thank you, thank you, thank you Tricia, for your incredible classes and your energy, and for the opportunity to get back up in front of a class.  If I ever find myself back in Marsh, your studio will be the first stop I make.

Cut those costs!

 How to live on the cheap when you're on a boat:

• Drink salt water.  Just kidding- don't do it! 
• Drink rum- for serious this time.  Alcohol is cheaper than pop (or soda for you Americans.)
• Anchor! Anchor! Anchor!  Free rent!  Avoid marinas unless you are blogging or in desperate need of shelter from a storm.  (If possible anchor next to a marina with wi-fi and try to guess their passwords.  Hint- it's usually "sunshine." HAHAHA.)
• Avoid restaurants.  Dive for conch, lobster, fish and try to make the provisions last.  The Bahamas are not the best place to dine out on a budget.
• Make friends!  This community is amazing- people are quick to lend a missing tool or an ice cube (or a cooler- thanks Rick!)
• Sail vs motor.  Use the wind- that's why you're on a sailboat silly!  The last time we filled our diesel tank was a month ago. 
• Don't buy crap! a.) you don't need it.  b.) you have NOWHERE to put it on your boat.
• Stay away from gambling at Bahamian cock fights.
  
• Go to bed when it gets dark and get up when it's light.  That way you save your batteries by not running your lights all night.  Boy, our ancestors sure were on to something!
• Do your laundry in a bucket, but don't use too much water!  Now you're getting it!
• Don't have mimosas for brunch every day. Once in a while it's awesome- thanks Lynn!
• Cut your own hair with scissors.  Why not?  You shower in the ocean and are dirty hippies anyway.  Amen.

Ramen - what to eat when the money's all gone.

Can you believe they trust us???? Me neither!!!

Matt and I have extended invites to a ton of friends and family to come and visit us on our little sloop.  All respectfully declined due to work, money or I suspect the biggest reason - the fact that they weren't too sure about our ability to sail.  We totally understand!  I wouldn't trust us either - we came down four months ago to take sailing lessons for christ's sake!

There is an exception though.  Lynn and Gary - two brave souls who also happen to be Matthew's parents - decided that they would take the plunge and come aboard the crazy train (Maranatha).  Hahahaha, fools!!!!  (Just kidding)

We picked them up in Marsh Harbour and have been cruising them around Guana Cay, Treasure Cay and next - to Green Turtle Cay.  They have been mighty good sports about our less than 5 star accommodations and it turns out they are pretty salty dogs themselves.  Yay Lynn and Gary!

How are we all coping with living in basically one bedroom with berths and no doors, you might ask?  Well, so far no one has been pushed over board........... so far.  We'll keep you posted ;)

Squall II

With our last severe weather experience 10 days in our wake, we had a somewhat restored confidence in mother nature.  That all changed last week as we were sitting quietly in Great Guana Key, on a mooring ball, watching some "Breaking Bad" on the laptop.  There were some dark clouds on the horizon but it was certainly nothing to panic about.  We were, after all, tethered to a mooring ball.  Just a nice lazy afternoon.....THEN BAM!  Out of nowhere, a wall of rain and wind hit us.  We heeled over violently.  It felt serious.  Marianne looked out and saw a sailboat coming in to the harbour, just off our bow.  It was out of control and hit a boat just next to ours and then ran aground. I jumped out to the cockpit and tried to get our engine started but was virtually blinded by the wind and the rain.  I grabbed a snorkel mask and kept struggling to start the motor.  At that point the rails were almost in the water.  The cockpit bimini was shaking and about to rip to shreds.  I looked over to our left and saw a trawler get caught up in a neighboring sailboat.  Now at this point it appeared our mooring was holding. We were going to pull through, maybe?  But then.....crack! We looked up, the mooring ball was nowhere in sight.  Seems we'd sailed up over it, on our bare poles, and our rudder was slamming down on the cement block used to secure the mooring line.  I hit reverse, full power.  Back in position, nose to the wind where we rode out the remainder of the squall.

Things finally died down and the sun came out.  Peace was restored.  The whole event lasted only 15 minutes.  15 minutes of pure chaos.  We almost fell over the next morning when we heard the winds were clocked at 74 miles/hr.  All things considered, I think we were pretty lucky.  Of the 6 boats in the harbor: 2 had their dinghies flipped over (outboard engines and all), 2 collided with other boats, 1 ran aground.....and us, relatively unscathed with only a slight chip out of our rudder.  Remarkably, there was little to no damage to the other boats.

Afterwards, a local guy and his daughter came by in a small boat to help out.  He looked at us with a big smile and said, "Having fun yet?"  Funny thing is, to the locals, this kind of weather is not out of the ordinary.  I think we're going to need to live through a few more squalls before we can adopt that kind of confidence :)

A neighbouring catamaran captured this video footage of the squall.  You can see Maranatha in the beginning of the clip, on the left side of the frame.  WHEEEE!!!!

Hope Town Lighthouse

If you look at someone's photos from the Bahamas, you will likely see a picture of a candy striped lighthouse.  This iconic lighthouse has been saving sailors lives for over a hundred years and has been lit every night at sunset by the lighthouse keeper for just as long.  After so many have been switched to automated systems, it is a rare gem to find one still functioning on kerosene.  It is an even rarer gem to be invited up by the lighthouse keeper to witness his daily duty.  We couldn't believe our luck when we met "Sam" the local lighthouse keeper.  Sam's father had been in charge of running the lighthouse for many years, and now it was Sam's turn to take on this important role.  When we asked Sam how he would feel if he had a son who wanted to follow in his footsteps, he said that would make him very happy.  Cool.  

We arranged to meet with him at 7:30 - just before sunset.  We stood at the bottom of the lighthouse, nervous that we had gotten the time wrong and had missed him, when a head popped out of a little window about half way up and shouted "ten minutes!"

Exactly ten minutes later the old wooden door creaked open and Sam led us into the tower.  Immediately the smell of kerosene filled our nostrils.  We started to climb the 101 steps up to the top.  Along the way, Sam explained to us how when the lighthouse was initially proposed in the 1860's, there was a lot of resistance from the locals because they made their living from wrecking.  After much argument, the safety of the sailors was deemed a priority and the lighthouse was built.  As we neared the top, we went outside through a tiny door to catch a breathtaking view of the sunset.  It was equally exhilarating and terrifying to be up so high, especially with the 20 knot breeze.  After a few minutes, it was almost time to light the lamp so Gary, Lynn, Marianne and I crawled back inside through the little door.  Sam showed us the massive metal housing that encircled the lamp.  The 18 ton lense housing rotates atop a thin layer of mercury, driven by a system of hand cranked weights.  Sam has to re-crank the system every 2 hours until sunrise.

The time had come to light it up.  Sam struck a match and in an instant the 325,000 candle power light shone 17 miles out to sea.

We started back down the 101 steps, thanked our new friend and were struck by the ironic realization that none of us had remembered to bring a flashlight to guide us back through the woods to our boat. 

We've been living without internet for the past few days.....so belated Happy Easter!  Matt and I stumbled upon an Easter egg hunt on the beach.  Matt said, "it's only for kids".......I said, "you won't be getting any of my eggs!!!!"

Poisonwood: DO NOT TOUCH!

Matt and the Wook and I were traipsing through the woods the other day in search of a beach, when we passed another traveller. We said hello, exchanged niceties and continued walking in opposite directions when she casually added over her shoulder "watch out for poisonwood". "Thanks" I yelled back, eager to get on my way.  What I should have done was grab her by the arm, look her in the eye and demand some answers.  "Wait, what???" what's poison wood? What does it look like? Where do you find it? (and perhaps most important,) what does it do to you? I mean, there's wood everywhere, how do I know which wood is the poison?

Instead, we spent the rest of our hike nervously avoiding branches and wondering to ourselves if the leaves we just brushed against would later cause havoc to our epidermis. To save you folks the confusion- here it is.......POISON WOOD.

Apparently touching it can cause you some pretty nasty and painful blisters. So do yourselves a favor, next time you go to hug a tree, make sure it isn't this one, aiiight?

There comes a time in every sailors life (or so we've been told) that one must run aground.  For us, that time was this morning.

To run aground is just how it sounds- you simply get stuck on the ocean floor when there is not enough water (or no water) between your keel, your rudder and the bottom.  We draw only 3"11, which is probably why we've managed to avoid it for this long, but alas, every dog has it's day.

We were looking for boat storage for when we come back to work during hurricane season.  We found a potential spot and were sailing past the dock to show the owners our boat to see if they could accommodate us.  Matt was trying to talk to the fellow on the dock and I was trying to steer the boat a little closer so they could have a decent conversation. A little too close, in hindsight.  All of a sudden I lost the ability to steer, and came to an abrupt halt.  Both our keel and our rudder were lodged in the mud. We looked at each other and realized simultaneously that it was a falling tide and over the next five hours things could only get worse.

We would still be there now, if it weren't for the help of two good samaritans and their dinghy (with a motor bigger than our boat's). They pushed on our bow and managed to help us on our way. Ahhhh, I LOVE people!

Sailing With Skipper Marianne : Episode 1