BooBoo Hill adventure

The wind really howled over the hills Thursday night and we donned long sleeves to eat breakfast in the cockpit, but the sun warmed us up by mid morning. We worked all morning on creating our "souvenir" to leave at the top of BooBoo Hill. Dan found a nice oval piece of teak and I drew a design that he etched in with his dremel. We "colorized" it with magic marker, varnished it and were ready to make the hike by 11:30. All three dinghies headed to the beach by the park office and proceeded to hike to the top of BooBoo Hill with Ben and Popov leading the way. As we started along the path we saw a sign that said "Use only driftwood to leave your sign, all others will be removed" Oh well, at least we got a picture of it before they rip it down! We saw lots of other non-driftwood signs once we got up there, so here's hoping the next CCYC sailors will be able to find our "entry" in the amazing pile of creativity that sits on the top of the hill. The wind was still howling and the temperature was much cooler once we reached the top and were exposed to the ENE winds.

After lunch Oliver needed a nap, so Ben and Jess headed to the beach to play, Dan and Sam went snorkeling over by Emerald Rock and I baked bread and made dinner while the big "O" slept. The guys were amazed at how many fish they found on a relatively small coral head. Sam took some awesome movies, but there isn't enough bandwidth here in the park to load them, sorry! Each 24 hr period you are allowed 100 megabytes, and they go fast! I was only halfway through loading pictures last night when our connection shut down because I had reached 100.

Andiamo invited all of us over for heavy hors d'oeuvres at 5:15. It was great to gather again. I felt I had been going through withdrawal - - not hanging out with our buddy boats each evening for a meal! We hope to be on the move tomorrow, so we probably won't have a post for a few days. ~~~_/)~~~M&D and crew

Oliver reminds us of Ralphie's (A Christmas Story) little brother when he gets bundled for a dinghy ride. Ben likes to look a all the "ships". The shallows at Park HQ are peppered with conchs, so I moved two to the water's edge to show how they can flip themselves over. The middle shot shows a conch "path" under the water.

The top of BooBoo Hill is amazing. Our little entry (Ignore the arrow, it moved when I uploaded the picture!) was dwarfed by most every other grand display! Ben and Grand Mar listen at the blow hole on the top of the hill.

The windward side ---a picture is worth a 1000 words!

This little bird seemed to take a great interest in Sam's shoes as he donned them for the walk up BooBoo Hill...he must not have a strong sense of smell!

Just a few of the shots Sam took near Emerald Rock.

Brunelle at sunrise crossing the Banks

Not all of you are following Pekabu III's blog, so I "borrowed" Kathy's photo of us as we left our anchorage in the middle of nowhere on the banks - - - it's just too good to miss.

Emerald Rock environs

This pretty much sums up life aboard Brunelle on Wednesday, Ben sleeping, poor Brookstone bear drying in the breeze after a bath following a bout with tossed cookies, and threatening skies all around.

Last night was a lot quieter aboard Brunelle, everyone slept very well and were ready for a new day. The cold front that came in yesterday afternoon brought strong winds, so we decided to remain here and do some adventuring around Warderick Wells. Oliver was ready for a nap before everyone else was ready to head off, so Grand Mar remained aboard with Oliver while the rest of the crew lead another dinghy expedition around the southern end of the Cay to the Pirate's Lair. Andiamo picked up Kathy so that Pete could continue to work. We're off to the beach for a while - later.....~~~_/)~~~M&D, et al.

Before any major trips, Ben made sure we were properly de-iced with his special mainsheet deicer hose. Kathy joined the crew of Andiamo for the trip around the southern end. The Hinckleys are following the conch trail into the Pirate's Lair. Jess and Ben brace for the wet ride back to Brunelle.

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Sam's camera was also busy on the trip to the Pirate's Lair and captured some shots from the windward side of the island.

Ben busily sails his boat through bunches of "bobbing buoys."

Warderick Wells (Emerald Rock Mooring Field)

Just a quick update as everyone here is asleep and half are under the weather! We left Nassau Tuesday morning at 8:30 and headed for Shroud Cay with the wind on the nose but not as strong as yesterday. We decided we would rather sail even though it entailed tacking back and forth across the rhumb line to avoid shallows, and made it to the mooring field at Shroud by 4:00. That gave us time to lead a dinghy expedition through the "river" that cuts Shroud in two and takes you out to the ocean side. It was high tide, which is the only time you can make the trip, so we headed off quickly with just Oliver in tow while Sam, Jess and Ben hit the beach in the kayaks.

Oliver was the first to show signs of what we thought was seasickness when he threw up all over Sam after his nap on our way across the banks. Jess had not felt well all day and also attributed it to seasickness, but it didn't subside when we stopped and we now think it was the first in a nasty round of stomach bugs. Ben was up all night tossing his cookies which put a strain on our sheet supply, and then slept most of today. Dan joined him this morning and also slept most of the day. Sam was next when he decided he couldn't face any dinner. I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!

Anyways, we did move today and had a beautiful sail from Shroud to Warderick Wells and picked up the same mooring buoy at noon that we had two years ago, just inside of Emerald Rock, right near a beautiful beach. The sleeping schedule and a rainy cold front kept us from doing much exploring this afternoon and I haven't had the camera out much, so....as they say tomorrow is another day and hopefully a better one! ~~~_/)~~~M&D et al.

Sam's camera is always in action, as are the boys. Ben loves to say "Cheese", Oliver just likes to look cute or make raspberries. Ben loved going to the bow with Dada.

Nasau excitement 2/27-2/28

They're here! Sunday saw us doing one last laundry, building two junior bunks and one big one (the dinette folded down) and heading across Nassau Harbor to Paradise Island and the Atlantis Marina....not something we thought we'd ever do. Turns out it is not such a bad deal. $4 a foot provides an amazing amount of amenities at this first class resort. Admittedly we were in the bleacher section, but it was right next to a perfect swimming pool for munchkins and "The Point", a pool bar and grill. The Hinckley crew was due in at 12:45, so at 1:30 we began wondering. Finally at 2:30 they arrived (de-icing in Boston was the delay - the de-icing trucks kept Ben enthralled during their hour delay!) We immediately made for the pool and Ben showed how much he learned during his recent swim lessons! Oliver seemed to enjoy it too. We fed the boys early and then went in shifts to The Point for dinner.

We fueled up at NHC before heading across to Atlantis where we were instructed to clear to channel because "Casino Royale" was on her way out. We tied up in slip #1 which is right at the entrance, but also near the pool and restaurant. A trip to the pool was imperative!

Check-out on Monday was at 11 and we made the most of the morning by visiting the aquarium which surrounds you as you walk through. It's an amazing display, very well done, and we enjoyed our walk. Atlantis provides shuttle service to and from your slip in overgrown golf carts (room for 6) and deliver newspaper and ice to your slip (the carts are a necessity as it was over 1/2 a mile to the marina office from our slip! We got back to the boat in time to take another short swim before heading out at 11.

The trip to the aquarium was exciting and Ben was happy to offer commentary about the whole adventure.

Our intention was to head for Highborne Cay (a 30 mile trip) but strong headwinds and seas kept our speed down to an average of less than 4 knots and we wouldn't make it there before dark, so we returned to Nassau Harbor, but back to the "other side of town" at Nassau Harbour Club. An early start tomorrow in lighter winds should be better!

The change in plans gave us a chance to send Dan to the "docks" where local fishermen were bringing in their catch for Nassau's restaurants where he got us fresh grouper for dinner AND to celebrate Ben's third birthday with everyone.

Ben enjoyed decorating his sailboat cake

Tomorrow we'll skip Highborne and probably head for Shroud Cay. New day, new month, new adventures! ~~~_/)~~~M&D, S,J,B&O