April 12, 2020 - April 17, 2020
Easter Sunday started out as usual, Bahamian coconut bread French toast for breakfast and my morning walk. We decided to have lobster tails (from last weeks grocery order) for lunch and we thought peas and rice would make a delicious side dish. We had been sent two cans of pigeon peas accidentally in one of our grocery orders. I looked up a recipe for Bahamian peas and rice and got to work right after my walk. I’m glad I started early because as it was we didn’t have lunch until 2:00 pm. Although it seemed like it would be simple to make there were many ingredients and several steps to preparing the dish. First, I minced a small onion and bell pepper and sauteed them along with a small piece of ham which I chopped up. Next, I added tomato paste, chopped tomato, thyme, salt, pepper, water and pigeon peas. This I simmered for an hour. I added the rice just before I started to boil the water for the lobster tails. I was nervous about how the peas and rice would turn out, but they were delicious. Of course, the recipe made enough to feed an army so we will have a ready made side dish for many meals to come!
We had been noticing an abundance of marine growth on the rudder. On Monday after my walk I put on my bathing suit in preparation for cleaning the rudder. It was Bob’s idea that I sit on the lowest rung of the swim ladder and scrub the rudder with the long handled brush. Once I got the hang of it the marine growth came off easily. We supposed that the boat bottom was covered with the same type of growth (this happens when we sit in a marina for two months). Since the growth was easy to get off the rudder we are hoping that the growth on the bottom will come off easily once we are under way again. Since I was already in the water, and enjoying myself, I brushed the growth off of the water line, too.
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| The water was a perfect temperature. I hadn't been in the water for over a month. |
The weather has been getting hotter and Wednesday morning was no exception. If it weren’t for a breeze we would be sweltering outside. On my walk I always take note of the sea state, which depends on the direction and the force of the wind. Some days the waves roll gently into shore, but today they were crashing onto the sand and the rocks making a delightful sound. Even though the sea seemed a bit angry the sound of the waves never ceases to calm my spirit. That afternoon the grocery truck got to the marina early (1:30). I was walking back to the boat from taking a shower when it pulled in.
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| Even though we order our food and pay for it I still feel like a refugee getting my food out of the back of a truck. |
New restrictions came from the government on Wednesday, also. Foreign boats were encouraged to leave, but would not be allowed to stop anywhere and go ashore on their trip home. Certain marinas where designated as refueling stops during passage through the Bahamas. We still hoped to stay at the marina until mid May and Bob emailed a request to extend our stay. However, that evening we talked about the possible outcomes of the situation and decided to prepare for departure on Sunday, April, 19, even though we were still anxious about the covid-19 situation in the US. Our major concern was that restrictions would continue to get stricter and if the Marina was required to close we would have to leave on short notice. Plus, hurricane season is quickly approaching. We will miss the clear water, our resident nurse sharks, sea turtle, sergeant majors, friendly marina staff, and the relaxed atmosphere of the Bahamas.
On Thursday we started preparing to depart. I inventoried all of our food stuff and assured Bob that we had plenty of food to get back to the US. Bob started plotting our route and determined that it would take us seven days to get through the Bahamas, cross the Gulf Stream, and anchor in Fort Pierce, FL. Of course we would stop each night and anchor away from shore. We converted two gasoline jerry jugs to diesel jugs and filled them, giving us enough fuel on board to make it to Port Lucuya for refueling. We will try to sail as much as possible, but we had to make provision just in case we had to motor the whole way.
On Friday, I washed and polished the windows of the enclosure, filled the sun shower, cleaned and reapplied bug repellent to all of our hatch screens, and made two pizzas (one will be for lunch on our first day out). I finally found an easy way to make face masks without sewing (thanks Nancy). Saturday, will be taken up with final preparations.
My next blog will be when we are on our trip back home. Stay safe and well!
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