Plans are just that...

Plans... detailed proposals for doing or achieving something.
Actions and reactions, that's were the rubber hits the road.

The plan was to wake earlier and run hard to Nassau. That's what we did.  As we slowly scratched our way out of Bimini at low tide it seemed like a good strategy.

As we motored out into the Atlantic and found nothing but small swells we were still feeling pretty good about our scheme. We ran up on the Bahama Bank just north of this rock, aptly name North rock, the winds hit us on our nose and we experienced a little slop, but nothing too uncomfortable. It was that way the whole leg across the bank as the winds were blowing a constant 20+ knots. Even as we left the bank and entered the Tongue of the Ocean at Northwest Channel, all was still copacetic.
It was 3:00 PM and we still had 4.5 hours to go to Nassau... 7:30? Not bad. We could be tied up before sunset. Not a bad plan at all.

Passing Chub Cay off to port, Mel said, "That looks nice, I've always wanted to go to Chub."
Chub was our "Plan B", but I had already made reservations at Atlantis and I new they wouldn't let us out of them.... At $4.00 a foot!
So we bent our course toward Nassau and I threw on a little more steam to make an early as possible arrival.

Then:

The further out we got the bigger the seas became. The above pic is not a good representation of the way it was. See little Don Quixote's silhouette? I knew it was time to turn back to Chub when he disappeared from site. Radar's eyes also convinced me that maybe Chub Cay wasn't such a bad place at all.
4 hours in this stuff was gonna be uncomfortable and we're pleasure boaters... And what do pleasure boaters do when they have a choice of being pounded or turn and give way to an idyllic little island marina?
RETREAT!

So, here we are at Chub Cay. Mel has always wanted to visit Chub, now she has.
It's a nice little place... quaint little restaurant that kinda reminds me of the Abaco Inn. It's all a bit pricey. but, it is what it is, and it's here.
We dined at the restaurant and sat next to a couple who had also just came in from Bimini and were on their way to Nassau and made this their bailout because of the pounding. They were also from Stuart and have plans to head to the Exumas. It's a small world after all.

In a few minutes I'll wake Mel and we'll push out of Chub and make that 4 hour run to Nassau. The winds seemed to have subsided and hopefully the seas have too. According to BuoyWeather.com it should be a piece of cake. We'll see, after the last few runs I'm starting to lose faith in BuoyWeather.

I saved this last bit of info for last... Today is my birthday and I turn 60. I would have taken a bet when I was 25 that I would never see 60, but I'd have lost. Now I look 60 and still think I'm 25.
Who's that guy in the mirror?

This date also coincides with the 30th anniversary of me meeting Melonie. We haven't been apart since so I call this our real anniversary, not the official one.
In the past we always made a big deal out of our milestone birthdays. 40 for me was a surprise birthday party on our sailboat, The Otto, at Pickwick lake. 40 for Mel was surprise party at our lake house at Pickwick. 50 was at Meridian House on Elbow Cay with all our friends.
60... well, we'll just let this one slide by, have dinner in Nassau, and maybe celebrate next year.

Adios,

Istaboa

1st Day At The Beach

Bimini has very nice beaches and we thought this would be the perfect time to let Muddy check out the seashore. Radar has always loved the water and we were hoping Mud would also. He did get a charge out of the soft sand and had lots of fun scampering around, but the surf scared him and he didn't really want to get too close.

You can almost interpret their thoughts in these next few pictures.
Seems Muddy is asking Radar, "What the hell is this?" and Radar's saying, "Be cool Kid, you'll love it. It's the beach."

Radar steps in the water and looks back at the kid. "Come on, it's the beach, it's fun!"

Then Radar tries to lead by example, but Muddy is having nothing to do with it.

So he tries coaxing him in, but nope... Not gonna do it.

Realizing the boy's not coming in, Radar relents and gives Muddy a good run. Radar loves to run in the sand almost as much as playing in the water.

Well they have that in common. Mud loves the soft sand on his feet. He can really get going, almost gets air.

Finally, I pick him up and set him in the shallow water, but the waves freak him out so he didn't stay long.
He's just a pup, even Radar doesn't like the surf as much as he does smooth water, maybe the tidal creek at Compass Cay will be more his style. We're sure little Muddy will figure it out in time.

And if he doesn't... It doesn't matter... He's such a cute little guy and he gets better everyday. How can you not love this face.

Now it's bath time.

Adios,

Istaboa

Bimini layover

We've never pulled into Bimini before. For whatever reason we've always stopped at the next little island south, Cat Cay, if we didn't want to pull an all-nighter or needed to wait for the stream to settle before crossing back to the states.
Before pulling in I called a buddy back in the states who loves Bimini to ask his opinion on where to stay. He recommended Bimini Bay Resort and Marina. We agree.

Soon after we arrived we met 3 young Bimini kids who said they would wash the boat for $20.00.
I had just finished desalting, but thought the industrious little kids could use the money. So we said, "come tomorrow at 10:00 and if we're still here you can wash the boat."
At 10:00 sharp they were knocking on the boat. I expected that $20.00 price to turn into $20,00 apiece and I was right, but they did a nice job and quickly became our little friends. Mel hired them to run down the road to Edith's Pizza and get us a famous Bimini Bread Pizza, which they did quicker than a Domino's delivery driver,  and we all had dinner together. They are very nice kids. (If in Bimini try Edith's Pizza, it is good.)
Muddy loved the little girls chasing him in the grass on the shore in front of the Dockmaster's office. Radar just looked at them when they tried to get him to play along as if to say... "Please give me a break, I'm not a puppy."

 See, there small, but legal.

Also, shortly after arriving a fellow in a skiff came by selling fresh Conch and Lobster. We like the smallest legal lobster possible and the fisherman sold us a dozen for $30.00. Not a bad price at all.

At customs Captain Mel, (Yep when it comes time to do Customs paperwork she is Captain Mel, the rest of the time she's the Commander.) asked the customs agent where to have lunch. He pointed us to Captain Bob's Fish House.

An iPhone shot of Crab Rice with Grouper Fingers and Cracked Conch.

Truly the best Cracked Conch I've ever tasted.... The Crab Rice? We found nor tasted any Crab.

The winds are still blowing pretty hard in the wrong direction and we're sticking to that, "We have no plans." plan, so we're still here. A whole day of facing a sloppy chop on our nose is not our idea of fun so we think tomorrow could be better... if not the next day. In the meantime, we're enjoying Bimini. Nice folks, interesting place. Bimini History is worth a look... Read here

I borrowed these pics, because we've seen all this stuff so why retake the same shots.

Got lots of video on my iPhone, but haven't downloaded yet.

 This is one I took with my iPhone. Next to the bar at the resort.

Today we will walk the pups over to the beach and let them take a dip. Little Muddy has never been swimming... This should be interesting. Pics and videos if it is.

So, that's it. We're glad the weather turned us and we discovered Bimini.

Adios,

Istaboa

Talk about an abrubt change of plans..

We realized that the winds were picking up and a night on the hook out on the bank was probably going to be uncomfortable... and it dawned on us, we really have no plans... so, we took a hard turn to starboard and are now at Bimini Bay Marina and Resort. Never been to Bimini before; it's nice and the people are very friendly.

Damn Spot Device is sporadic. If some of you are getting crazy emails please let me know.
Anyway, we think tomorrow we will try Chub Cay for the first time.

We'll see.

Adios,

Istaboa

Incognito... for a few days

Something I posted a couple of years ago...

Things have changed somewhat... I ran across this again today and for some reason it hit home...
Click this..http://istaboawaypoints.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-is-short.html

Finally threw off those bow lines...

Not exactly sure about plans, but at least we're moving again. Heading south, which means some islands somewhere.
The weather wasn't exactly pleasant yesterday and it seemed we were on the edge of a squall all day. Which mean we got the rough seas, but none of the rain. Rain is always nice on a salty run. Makes clean up at the end of the day so much easier.




We hate the whole New York/ East Coast plan fell apart. The David Letterman Show actually called a couple of days ago to tell us we had 4 tickets to his show. Damn! Next Year, Dave.

We're hoping our friend Peter can make part of the trip with us to wherever. Again, we had plans that melted when it looked like weather was going to be bad enough to keep us in Ft Lauderdale, but now that system has moved on quicker than expected and we're hoping those plans can reform. Would love to show Pete the Exumas.



So now we're tied up at Los Olas City docks, our friend Karen has kindly loaned us her car so we can continue provisioning.

It's great to be moving again.
We'll keep you posted on plans as they solidify.

Adios,

Istaboa

Beryl's not much

For Stuart, Beryl was just a nuisance. Not much more than a bit of puff and rain. That is a good thing.
We arrived back in Stuart at the beginning of one of the bands of showers and it lasted an hour. So, getting a little wet was the only damage we sustained. It did make the drive from Valdosta, GA an interesting one though.

Yep, we're back. Nope, still not sure about plans yet.

Our last night in Memphis was fun. It started with a surprise birthday party for a good friend and ended with fireworks right outside our windows and over the river.

 The new kitchen... kinda small compared to Rocky Point, but nice and functional

A few folks have asked for pics of the new digs. I took these with my iPhone just before leaving for Stuart.

I guess you could call this the sitting area. It and the kitchen are part of the same room.

Graffiti on the old brewery is always interesting. We've always wondered what it all means.

Though we're only on the 3rd floor, the fireworks seemed as if they were bursting just outside our window.
Little Muddy didn't like this at all, but the fireworks we're spectacular. They marked the end of Memphis in May festivities as well as our stay in town.
4:30AM the next morning brought our departure from Memphis with Istaboa as a destination.
Home away from home and it's good to be here.

Adios,

Istaboa

The Start of the Hurricane Season

Started earlier this year than I can remember and doing weird things too.
Like Alberto, that started in South Carolina — Now Beryl that's kicking up just east of where Alberto began and heading... Southwest?

So tomorrow morning we head back to Stuart and Istaboa... and hopefully just scattered showers.

Weather has been weird everywhere this year. It's been an unusually cool/dry spring in Memphis, very pleasant. The Exumas have seen more rain than they have in years. (Bugs gonna be bad Mon.) There hasn't been winter anywhere except Alaska and other folks at that latitude.
Oh well... can't do anything about the weather. Crew Istaboa starts getting nervous this time year, there's something to be said for keeping the boat on The Tennessee River this time of year.

Memphis has been fun!

Last night we walked down to Main Street where they were having the annual Memphis Zombie Massacre.

Not sure what to think about that, but lots of folks seem to enjoy it.

Tonight is the Sunset Symphony which will be held just below us at the park. It's been fun, but it's time to go home.
Istaboa and our life there awaits.


Adios,

Istaboa

A facinating article

Out of this week's New Yorker Magazine.
All those who read this blog on occasions will probably recall my fascination with Cuba.
Crew Istaboa has always wanted to go to Cuba by boat and even though the current administration is more lenient on travel to the forbidden island nation, we still resist.
Over the years we've met those who are Cuban or of Cuban heritage and we have learned to sympathize with the exiles. Most of them say that no matter what, they will never return until "The Beard" is dead and the regime is dismantled.
Still we dream of doing the Bahamas/Cuban Loop. Maybe someday.
Anyway...  Here's a excerpt from the article — The Yankee Comandante

For a moment, he was obscured by the Havana night. It was as if he were invisible, as he had been before coming to Cuba, in the midst of revolution. Then a burst of floodlights illuminated him: William Alexander Morgan, the great Yankee comandante. He was standing, with his back against a bullet-pocked wall, in an empty moat surrounding La Cabaña—an eighteenth-century stone fortress, on a cliff overlooking Havana Harbor, that had been converted into a prison. Flecks of blood were drying on the patch of ground where Morgan’s friend had been shot, moments earlier. Morgan, who was thirty-two, blinked into the lights. He faced a firing squad.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/28/120528fa_fact_grann#ixzz1vXS6us00

 It's a great read, steeped in history and intrigue.

Enjoy.

Adios,

Istaboa