Oops - late posting. Summer plans.

Elsie wrote this months ago but we didn't get round to posting.

Well that was The Bahamas and this is the south of England???

Talk about contrasts. I have spent the winter floating around paradise. The only major decisions taken were which beautiful Island or Cay next. OK, the weather was not perfect but it does add something to the journey, the uncertainty, the joy of a sailing wind, the disappointment of a force 8 instead of a force 4, the wind unpredictably backing, setting the cruising chute on the port side then realising, ten minutes later, that it should have been on the starboard. Yes, it was frustrating sometimes but the compensation for that frustration was visiting the most perfect beaches anyone could imagine or finding little homesteads of half a dozen houses and a school with five pupils. I loved it.

One of the best things about the Bahamas is everyone can find what they want or need. There is room for every type of sailor (or visitor) in this group of perfect islands. Large marinas with every facility that can be imagined, night life, bars, coffee shops, sophisticated restaurants, shops selling designer wear – they can all be found. Some of the islands are just an extension of Florida for those people who only feel comfortable in an environment that is familiar. There are sociable anchorages where people organise pot luck suppers and get together in beach bars. There will be a supermarket selling recognisable food, a laundry and hire cars available. But if you look hard enough you can still find deserted islands with no facilities, large and small cays that may or may not be shared with an occasional local fishing boat, tiny anchorages with just about enough room for one boat, long long deserted beaches who have only your own footprints in the sand. Yes, there is something for everyone in The Bahamas.

I enjoyed our time there. We used it as a winter to slow down and smell the air. To stop rushing around from place to place and enjoy the place. It was sometimes very difficult. Everything is weather dependant so when it rains there is not much to do. There are no ancient ruins to go round, or art galleries to peruse. There are very few cinemas and shopping malls usually consist of three shops in a row selling tacky souvenirs or boat bits with an occasional hairdresser thrown in. When the wind blows form the wrong direction AND it rains it is sometimes impossible to even get ashore so the entertainment has to be found on the boat. Luckily we are both avid readers and use the sailors book swaps constantly, we can loose an afternoon easily with our noses pressed in a book. In the evening radio podcasts are our entertainment, the Archers being the favourite but Lionel has also introduced me to The Navy Lark, Cabin Pressure, and Andy Hamilton’s brilliant serial about hell and the devil, just to name a few. We also have games onboard which can become very competitive. I have gone to bed not talking to Lionel because he won three out of three games in one night. I know very childish but he can be so smug about it.

I found it very difficult being stuck in one place for a week at a time because of bad weather. Of course when the wind blows the correct anchorage has to be found for the particular wind direction so you are forever thinking three or four days ahead when you are on the move. Being a member of a Facebook forum can be a blessing but it can also be a curse. People exaggerate or pass on wrong information or information that has been interpreted into what they think the expert meant. We learnt very early on in the winter to listen but make up our own minds when weather issues were discussed. Some people won’t move a matter of a couple of miles without the weather experts say so. What they don’t realise is what they are missing (but maybe that’s a good thing because the deserted anchorages would not be so deserted if people made up their own minds). However, Facebook was a good way to keep in touch with other sailors and get recommendations about places and anchorages.

We made it further South than we anticipated this winter, all the way to Great Guanya, 50 nm from Cuba. The Island was totally different to the others as it had a definite function and was not full of tourists. Morton Salt Company seemed to run the Island. Most of the land were huge salt pans, filled with sea water that was continuously pumped into canals. The salt was harvested by huge machines and the salt was piled up in enormous white hills awaiting for a ship to deliver it to be processed to Atlanta. Most of the population worked for them, the grocery store and most of the houses were owned by them. I did ask myself the question “is this a modern way to enslave people?” but the population seemed to be prosperous and happy so the partnership worked. The Haitians sailed here in traditional sloops to trade with the islanders. Maybe trade is the wrong word. The boats were empty when they came and full with all manner of useful, and sometimes useless, things. We saw a sloop sail out of the harbour (they have no engines) with a three piece suite tied onto the deck.

Yes, The Bahamas were a contrast of differences. I personally loved them. We could find the peace and tranquillity that we sometimes crave but there were sociable anchorages with something going on most of the time if company was needed. Deserted beaches a plenty, reefs to snorkel but always a shop or eatery a days sail away to get supplies. Yes, my winter was wonderful although I wouldn’t want to do it every year as the Snow birds do.

We left early. We didn’t need to go until the middle of May but when a good weather window appears you jump. The journey back to the States was “awesome”. Passing Great Bahama we got our last weather report. It was not good. There was storms predicted for two days time but knowing how the weather changes dramatically from day to day I was not happy to continue to Charleston so I persuaded Li that we should head for St Augustine. Looking back I was wrong, we would have got into the shelter before the storm hit but I was and will always be very cautious when doing long passages. We eventually found the Gulf Stream and rode it for 22 hours. It added about 6 knots onto our speed. With regret we jumped off and headed west towards St August and Officer Dibble. Loyal readers will know about Officer Dibble from our last entry into the good old U S of A. This time he was as bad, although we did not get separate interviews and he did crack a smile…….once. The weather deteriorated quickly and that was our only trip ashore before we sailed to Charleston. Not a good passage but we got there and we found ourselves anchored beside one of our favourite cities in America. For the next week, we made our way slowly towards Oriental, Ruby's summer home, some of it offshore, some through The Ditch. We arrived, we prepared Ruby to face a whole summer alone on the hard. It was hard to leave her but I think she is in safe hands, ready to face whatever Mother Nature throws at her and lots of friendly people looking after her.

On our way home, we went via Washington (thank you Susanne) and New York. I think I have “done” New York and feel no great urgency to visit again for a very long time. Washington has so many different experiences and I still haven’t seen them all so I may return. We landed back in Scotland and immediately started our new adventure – pet sitting. The whole summer stretched out with over a dozen pet sits in so many different places. From Inverbervie near Aberdeen to Penzance Cornwall. From large Newfoundlanders to Welsh Terriers and chickens and cats thrown in. We are approaching this new adventure as we approach everything new we face, anticipation of all the lovely places we will stay, terror of looking after unknown pets, joy of meeting old and new friends along the way and the whole uplifting feeling of starting a brand new adventure. Wish us luck, we may need it.