Those of us who frequent the Bahamas love these dogs…Nordhavn 57-26 Istaboa

Flying out of Staniel Cay on a clear day – The Blues!A post shared by Bob Taylor ~ (@istaboa_pics) on Jun 26, 2017 at 5:11am PDT A post shared by Bob Taylor ~ (@istaboa_pics) on Jun 26, 2017 at 6:42am PDT Big Major’s Spot AnchorageA post shared by Bob …

Yes, we’re still in the Exumas and, yep, life remains pretty good.

There are probably those who wonder how we maintain our sanity while hanging out static, tied up at Compass. And we admit, sanity is subjective, but this thing we all do on boats is not actually rational behavior. — is it?  So we do what we makes us happy at the moment.

And…

We’ve said it before, one must understand to be at Compass Cay. It’s an acquired taste. We’re down with that, we feel fortunate to be here and we’re always sad to leave. Those who have put in extended time here will know what I mean.

This trip has had several unavoidable diversions and they’ve forced us to redraw our cruising plans. Future plans? Nothing is off the table yet – everything is back on – so we’re mulling over our intentions for the next few months with eyes wide open.

But, while here we’ve been busy; island busy, anyway.
Good news for those who cruise this area. A whole new source of less expensive and relatively fast island communications has become available so we’re puzzling over how to extend that out to the family island marinas.

In the meantime, the sky has offered up some spectacular vistas and island time has allowed me the opportunity to get out and use my camera.

Last night was such an occasion. The bugs made it an adventure, but I quickly snapped a few photos before seeking protection in the boat.

This week starts with an early flight back to Ft Lauderdale for a meeting with the new owners of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. An exciting opportunity that’s worth pursuing.

Next week, we may be forced to compile existing data and make a decision on when and where to head next. There’s another island wanting our services so that’s a factor. Another consideration: we’ve still got a hankering to do some cruising up the east coast.

As always, no decision will be made before it’s time.

Happy Problems

Yes, as previously stated • Life’s good

A little work, some play, island zen, and we end our days with scenes like these.

Who could complain?

And meanwhile
Summer turns to fall
Roses bloom and fade
Life goes on – You can measure it all
By the difference that it made
Mac McAnally

Adios,

It’s nice to be back; though there was a disturbing moment as we walked onto the boat hearing a highwater alarm.  But, barring a faulty primary bilge pump, after a quick look all was well.
Backup?
Yeah, but still –

Our stay in Jupiter was longer than we had expected. After all that had happened there was a lot to be taken care of and high-speed internet / reliable cell phone service certainly made life more manageable.

Finally, after a week’s stay, we caught a ride to Ft Lauderdale and hopped a little Watermakers plane back to Staniel Cay. Tucker had dispatched a small boat to pick us up and the last leg was a beautiful ride back to Compass and Istaboa.

exhale…

It’s going to take a couple of days to re-acclimate and the wind is puffing up a good blow — so we’ll be here a while.

After that?
Who knows…

It’s nice to be back

Nordhavn 57-26 Istaboa

Just as we’d eased into that restful state of mind that being in the Exumas brings about, the phone rings and reality says hello.

Life’s been good. Lots of old acquaintances have surfaced, some we see often around Jupiter, others we haven’t caught up with in years. The weather’s been nice, hot, but better than you’d expect for June.

And to keep our mind from lulling into total cognitive dissonance, we’ve enjoyed taking on a little technology refresh project on a nearby island.

Of course a stay at Compass Cay wouldn’t be complete without a brief visit by Beacon Won. Capt Bruce and Sheila brought a charter crew in from Memphis. It was interesting to see folks from home all the way down here in the Exumas. They were thrilled to see homeys as well.

And talks like he sings — his words like his lyrics — draw images

Truly worth your time to listen to in it’s entirety – 

After pulling out of Ft Lauderdale, early, in the dark, we eased away from Port Everglades cut and pointed east toward Great Harbour Cay. We didn’t get much help from the Gulf Stream so I pushed the throttle a bit and saw 10+ knots. Our course computer calculated we’d make it in around 6:30PM, but we beat that by about 30 minutes and motored into the marina only to find the place empty.
No problem finding a slip.
After tying up and washing a bit of the salt off Istaboa, we walked up to Rocky Hills Bar and enjoyed a nice dinner of pan fried fresh Wahoo. It was excellent and as always the company and conversations were too.

The next morning came and we could tell it was going to be a bit lumpy out, but we knew it was going to get worse before getting better — so we slogged into the rough on the east side of the Berrys and took it on our nose.
After a couple of hours the seas did settle into a moderate chop and we motored around New Providence then made way across White Bank, straight for Highborne Cay. Again, pushing, we made it into the marina around 6:00 and gladly tied up. We booked 2 days so the next day was a short but enjoyable respite on the island. We enjoyed it so much we booked another one.

We haven’t been to Highbourne in years. The place has become so popular we couldn’t get in unless we made reservations well in advance… and we just don’t roll that way.

Highbourne is a beautifully manicured little island that still manages to hold on to the barefoot ambience of the Bahamas. The other boaters here are friendly and we made new friends as well as caught up with old ones. Some interesting tales we’re told and enjoyed as we sat in the shade of the little gazebos located at the end of each dock. The sunsets, as usual, were quite nice.

So today the plan is to run south to Compass Cay and continue our infatuation with the Exumas.
The good news is the winds are a bit blustery which will keep things cool and hold the bugs at bay.
The bad news is the winds are a bit blustery which will make for a messy day.

We’ll take the good with the bad.

Cheers,

Interesting Washington Post article —

On JFK’s 100th birthday

No, haven’t moved yet.After the davit fix we splashed the tender to run the engine. Well, that didn’t go as planned.Hopefully the fix will happen today and we’ll leave soon. There’s a few days of nice weather coming up and we hope to take advantage of …