Monday, January 30, 2012

lee stocking island

on the hook at lee stocking. with our pals from Good Trade. no wifi
typing on kindle. we are planning to go to little farmers for the 5 f
party on friday. we'll keep ya posted. crazy pink iguanas here. no
kidding on Leaf Cay. movie when i have connection.

--
John W. Schnauck
S/V Zusammen
781.834.3332
http://schnauck.blogspot.com

Friday, January 27, 2012

Day two at Emerald Bay

Nice day catching up and relaxing.  Lex and I walked the beach while the kids played with their pals on Dahrma and Three @ Sea.  We all got together for a happy hour drink.  Pix below.




Day 1 @ Emerald Bay

Nice to relax in a bit of luxury for a pauper's price.  After we washed every piece of cloth on the boat, Lex and I hit the grocery store as we heard that the owner announced they were going out of business and everything was 30% off.  We loaded two carts and re-provisioned for the next few weeks.  We're definitely getting quite good at buying what is cheap and making the nickles count.  We spend much less here in the Bahamas than we did in the ICW.  (good thing!  this could have been a very short trip!)  Even though groceries are very expensive, we are spending less.  No eating out, very little diesel as we sail everywhere we go.  All of the re-fit expense is gone.  The boat has what it needs and it seems the biggest expense now is dinghy gas!  The dinghy gets used like a family car and eats gas like there is no tomorrow!  It's great having the power and lightweight of the two stroke engine, but the gas consumption is much higher than our pals with the heavier 4 strokes.  We never noticed this in the States, as you don't tend to travel 6 miles in a day in your dinghy.

T and I are sitting in the clubhouse here at the Marina while Liza and Lex are on the boat.  T is doing his homework, and I am boring all of you.  I just noticed signs that were printed this morning and laid out on all surfaces...."All Children must be Supervised when in the Clubhouse at all times.....blah...blah..."  There are five kid boats here all at once and I think the Sandals management is a bit freaked out by all of the rugrats.  Some of them are not quite the angels that the Schnauck children are. ;-)

Met a few new folks last night, one guy is a commercial salmon fisherman from Alaska, he just bought a 45' Leopard cat from a government repossession website and will live half the year aboard in the warm, and summer fishing in Alaska.  Pretty cool.

Time to review Tyler's schoolwork.  More later.


The kids helping our friends 3@Sea tie up

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Fantastic trip to Conception Island

We're now in Emerald Bay again - I know, wimps.....  We need to get laundry and groceries and more water.  Georgetown was nearly innaccessable to us as the wind is 18 gusting over 20 ESE and its so rough in Elizabeth Harbor for the dinghy that we decided to hide in here for a day or so on our way back up the Exuma chain.  Nice having some good internet and killer showers!

We got back from Conception 2 nights ago.  We were thrilled to have a reach for the way over and a reach for the way back!  Fantastic sailing and caught some fish both ways!  I met a couple from Newport in the anchorage there, they do turtle research and I managed to get the kids an to go along with them for tagging and capture.  You'll have to ask the kids about it, but they both thought it was one of the coolest things they have ever done.  There are a few pictures in the video below. 

At the end of the second day of turtle capture, Tyler and I went for a quick snorkel and we ended up swimming with a dolphin and her baby.  Of course I didn't have a camera with, but it was pretty amazing.  The checklist of undersea life over there included a 7 or 8 foot bull shark that made me do a bit of a Jesus immitation on my way out of the water back to the dinghy.  I have seen plenty of sharks in my diving career, but I have never seen a big one while snorkeling.  I felt a bit like a chubby fishing lure, splashing along at the surface.  Enlightening to realize that you could be on the menu for another apex predator...

Lex and I saw nurse sharks, spotted eagle rays, turtles, lobsters, and zillions of fish during our dives there.  The hiking and beach combing was great as well.  We all found some sea beans.  They are large seeds that float over to the eastern most shores in the Bahamas from mid coast Africa.  The locals polish one side of the "Hamburger Beans" and make a necklace.   It is believed to keep you from drowning.  We'll get a few pictures of them posted when we get them polished.

Conception Island Trip.wmv

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Georgetown.

Unreal that we have been in one place for 2 weeks. We had a great day hiking today in some big wind. Perfect day for a hike, blue skies, 80 and 20 kts from the NE. Kids continue to have an incredible time with all of their pals here. They have gained so much independence and confidence, I can't believe we have only been out of Padanaram for 4 months.

We had an awesome dinner last night aboard Darmha with Three at Sea as well. Lobster Fettucinni!

Last few days have been fun with Lex and I getting away for a dive while the kids went to a lecture about protecting the environment with some local kids given by a local scientist. We had a great dive and the kids had a cool experience.

Saturday was some surf towing with the kids. I'll put a video up from the head mounted go-pro on daddy's melon. I had a few folks in the anchorage laughing with that thing on my head while Tyler and Liza were ripping me around in the dinghy.

Today Lex played again for the beach church and then we did our hike. We'll likely head out Tuesday for Conception Island. We have a Darmha and 3@Sea for dinner tomorrow. Going to be a bit crowded, but they are great folks and we'll have fun.

My trip to Miami went well and I'm pretty excited about working with those guys should all the details work out. Got a chance to see Oceanaire while I was there. Fun trip.

Remember to call whenever you can. 242-443-8409

Friday, January 13, 2012

Hunting and music

John went lobster hunting with 2 friends from Slick, Tim and Nathan.
Kids listening to the band at 'Splash', at the Palm Bay Resort.

The band at Palm Bay, with our friend Ayla joining in!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Stocking Island, Exuma

We've been at Stocking Island now since January 5th.  We had thought this would be a 2 day stay kind of place, but we seem to have become quite comfortable here. It helps that there are about 10 (out of the 200) boats here with kids aboard. Most are 10-14 range, so T and E are having a great time. Our schedule has become, school all morning, then at 12:30, the VHF lights up with kids making plans for the afternoon. We usually drop the kids at a beach or boat, and they play all afternoon. We haven't heard any requests for Nintendos, Computers, Movies, since we've been here.

Across the channel from where we are is Georgetown. Its about a mile dingy ride, and if its fairly calm out, only takes about 10 minutes. Georgetown has all the amenities needed by cruisers, so is very popular. Its a tiny settlement though, much smaller than I imagined.  I went with some ladies yesterday to a restaurant in Georgetown for lunch. It was called the Driftwood Cafe, and was fantastic. It was great to have some time with other women to talk about homeschooling, and other issues we share in common. Nearly everyone is doing the Calvert method of schooling, and from what I hear, would have been an easier choice for me. It seems to be very structured, and details the assignments daily. I think what we are doing is good though, as T and E will be ready for re-entry in the school system next year. Only one of the boats we've been with here are possibly returning to land next year.  Most are out for several years.

On the first day we were here, I let slip that I was a violin player. Several days later, I found myself at 'Beach Church' leading a trio of violins in 'Amazing Grace'! We played alone, and then with the choir. It was fun, definately nothing I would have predicted I'd be doing though! We were asked to play again this Sunday, but I'm not sure yet if we will. The other members of the trio were my superstar practice partner, Eliza, and our new friend, Ayla, a 15 year old, who has been cruising with her parents for the past 3 years, but learned the Suzuki method until they left their home town.  Eliza and Ayla had a great time playing Suzuki songs together.


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Pigs...

For anyone who missed it, check out the December 31 post of the swimming pigs. I posted the video and back-dated it to when it happened.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Liza's Log - Exuma Land and Sea Park






Long update - Haven't had a connection for a while

Much has happened since my last long post - We came down to Emerald Bay yesterday.  We're tied up at a Four Seasons built Marina hiding from a vicious Norther - The place is spectacular.  Tyler is currently shooting pool and I am sitting in the captain's lounge with a huge TV and CNN.  A free fast internet connection, unreal facility for $1 a foot.  The place is losing money hand over fist!  Four Seasons sold it to Sandals and Sandals is deciding if they are going to sell it or continue to develop houses....

We had a great time in Staniel Cay and Black Point.  Staniel Cay is home to the grotto that starred in 007 Thunderball.  You dive under some ledge and enter a huge grotto, loaded with fish.  The back side has an opening and blue light fills the back of the grotto - hard to describe, but one of the cooler places I have ever seen.  We need to see if Uncle Tim has a copy of Thunderball so we can see what's changed.

I did some diving while Tyler and two other guys spear fished above me.  We went to a number of spots on the ocean side of the islands north of Staniel.  The visibility is well over 100' and the topography was amazing.  All of the Northern Exhumas are spectacular and the water color is indescribable.  The kids call the 40' water "Blue Gatorade".  I did a second dive with Lex and the kids snorkeling above fairly close to the SCYC that the local dive shop recommended.  Amazing spot with great fish and great shallow water coral.  We saw a 7' nurse shark out snooping for chow.  Liza climbed up on Lex's back and I could hear the bubbles from her fifteen feet below.

Last night we joined a the other cruisers for a little home-made happy hour.  This is a pretty regular thing with the cruising crowd.  Every brings their own drinks and makes an app to share.  Good fun meeting folks from all over and hearing their stories.  Last night Lex was speaking to a woman with a bit of a British accent.  Long story short, the woman was not only from Shamley Green, she lived on Sweetwater Lane.  (That's where Lex grew up before she moved to the states.  Same road in a TINY village.) Crazy coincidence.

Our next stop will likely be Stocking Island a bit South.  I have a meeting to go to in Miami to meet with my buddy Rick and some other folks to discuss employment upon our return.  I will be in Miami for 2 nights and the jump back to Georgetown.  I'll leave Lex and the kids on a mooring in Stocking or we'll come back here to Emerald Bay as it's a bit closer to the airport, has free(!) laundry, internet, TV, pool table and the best showers since the Hyannis Yacht Club!

Weather has been great - the pictures from fishing were taken in some squalls that we were happy to get to help wash the cockpit fish cleaning station.  We also have had great luck with our rain collection system.  Water costs .40 to .50 a gallon here in many places and we haven't had to pay for it yet.  Today is bit of different story - still around 80 degrees, but the wind is blowing a high stink and is forecast to hit 30 by 1 PM.  Glad to be be in our posh, cheap digs!

Forgot to mention in earlier posts that Santa got us a GoPro camera - we'll shoot lots of video and post it to Youtube and the blog - this one was the first - I had the camera on a strap on my head in Nassau - pretty funny stuff.  Liza will post a new "Liza's log" with some underwater shots from Warderick Wells - was a pretty cloudy day, but the video is still cool.



(Keep in mind its Christmas Day...the boat isn't always this messy!!!!!)

Monday, January 2, 2012

Black Point to Emerald Bay

Great Team effort catching a couple of Mahi yesterday with T clearing lines and Lex keeping fish on the port side of the boat.  We're not winning any tournaments with these two but we had a great lunch and look forward to a few dinners to come!

A couple of cruisers gave me some interesting advice yesterday - once a Mahi is landed cover it's eyes and it will stop flopping.  Worked like a charm.  A little rum in the gills and it's curtains for Mr. Mahi.  


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Black Point, Exuma

 We left Staniel Cay today after spending 3 nights there in a great protected harbor, but with about 100 other boats of all sizes. We sailed a few miles south to Black Point, which is a small community of about 250, with a beautiful harbor, with only 4 other boats. Perfect! They have a laundromat which I plan on visiting tomorrow, and a restaurant with internet, which is where we are now. We will be here for a couple of days I think.

The highlight of Staniel Cay was definately the swimming pigs. Its really unbelievable. We will post pictures and videos as soon as we can.  We also had some great snorkeling, saw rays, nurse sharks, tons of fish, and beautiful reef.  A bunch of friends we've met along the way were all there too, so it was fun to see them again.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Staniel Cay by Eliza

staniel cay was really great! on the first day, we went to see the most absurd thing ever- SWIMMING PIGS!!!!!!!! WE DROVE THE DINGY to the island and they swam right out to us!!!!we fed them carrots and then dad said the pigs were going to bite us and that they're "BACON ON FIRE!!!!". we convincede him to drop us on the beach.the pigs started to run over to us! they just wanted food, so we held up our hands because we were out of carrots. eventually they got bored, so we went back to the boat. the next day me and mom paddle boarded over again,with bananas. the pigs gobbled up the food and then got bored, again.staniel cay was AWESOME !!!! PIGS rule!!! whooo hoooo!!!!