Tilloo Cay to Marsh Harbour

—Blogpost written by Bob

We arrived in Marsh Harbour at 1 PM on Saturday, February 10 after leaving Tilloo Cay in the late morning. We had lunch onboard and then headed to Skagg’s Market for some lobster tails to grill tomorrow night (this time we are going to cut them in halves lengthwise before grilling). Lobster tails are about the same price as a good steak here in the Bahamas.

Marsh Harbour provides great protection from wind from almost any direction. It was nice coming back to Marsh Harbour to escape some of the high wind and waves.

Marsh Harbour has become something like our second
home.  Our first home is still in Annapolis,
regardless of our current residence.

We decided to get a pizza for dinner onboard—one of the niceties of being in Marsh Harbour.  So, we called Abaco Pizza (because they make very good pizzas based on our experience with them last season) and placed our order but they said they couldn’t deliver it tonight for some reason.  So, we decided to take a cab and pick up the pizza.  The medium pizza with two toppings cost us $40 (including the cost of the taxi).  We can eat grilled lobsters and it would cost half the price of the pizza!

Sunday, February 11

Even though it was windy and cool, I had trouble sleeping in the v-berth last night. I finally came outside and slept in the cockpit with my pillow and a blanket. I’m surprised at how rested I feel this morning since the cockpit is not all that comfortable for sleeping. 

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The high pressure still dominates our weather this morning. (I’m beginning to sound like a meteorologist!) The sun is shining brightly and a 15-knot breeze is blowing out of the southeast but we are particularly well protected from that direction. There are no waves, rather a nice comfortable ripple on the water’s surface. The breeze keeps us nice and cool.

The water temperature in the Sea of Abaco has been holding steady at 72 degrees F—this is much warmer than the ocean in mid-summer in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware where I used to go as a kid and, later, as an adult.

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After breakfast this morning I decided to tackle a problem with our "lightning connectors."   Lightning connectors are used in small APPLE devices for charging while most other manufacturers use mini USB connectors.  In our two seasons of cruising we have gone through quite a few charging cables with lightning connectors, even though we try to buy the most rugged looking ones.  I have one particular (10 foot long) cable with a lightning connector that I use with my iPad that works with the lightning connector in one position but when I turn it around 180 degrees, it doesn't work at all (and it is supposed to work in both positions).

The faulty lightning connector after my first attempt
at cleaning, using isopropyl alcohol.

I tried to clean the connector with a pencil eraser--it accomplished absolutely nothing.  Then I tried rubbing it with isopropyl alcohol using a q-tip and this did not accomplish anything either.  My third attempt at cleaning was abrasive, using a nail file and even some 180-grit sandpaper--neither of these attempts were successful.  I noticed a blackened area on the connector on one side.  Thinking that the blackened area was the cause of the problem, I used a knife to scrape off the black residue.  While I managed to scrape it off, the original problem still existed.  So, I went back to a chemical means and tried cleaning the connector with lemon juice and then with vinegar but neither fluid helped at all.  Lastly, I soaked the connector in rice wine vinegar for 5 minutes.  It still doesn't work--but it smells nice and fresh!

I think the actual contacts on the cable end of the lightning connectors are designed to be lower than the surface surrounding the connections and they actually get worn through normal use to the point where they are no longer useable.

So, one of our cables with a lightning connector only works when the end is inserted only one way and another one is completely dead.  I found some similar cables on Amazon.com that are guaranteed for life--we'll order several for next season.

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The Conch Inn & Marina is in the center of the image--it
is one of the oldest, if not the oldest,
marina in Marsh Harbour.

We found this sticker in Snappa's where we had lunch
today.  It should read "If you're lucky enough to
live on a boat, you're lucky enough."

Maggie among a group of other mermaids.
Can you tell which one is Maggie?

We had grilled lobster tails (they call them crayfish tails
here) and they were absolutely delicious!

This is a drink I have named "Sun Over the Sea of Abaco."
It is simply a vodka and diet tonic water with some
curaçao for blue color and, of course, a
lemon cut to look like the sun.

Monday, February 12

I may have had one too many “Sunrise over Sea of Abaco” drinks last night. I’m not a big drinker—two is about all I can handle and, then, it’s lights out for me. In my dream early this morning, my dog (a liver and white springer spaniel) came bounding toward me and jumped up into my arms. At 35 pounds and a running start, that was quite a load. She’s been gone for over 20 years now. I had her put to sleep to save her the continuous pain of hip dysplasia  when she was 13 years old. I stayed with her to the end but I’ve never gotten past the loss. (I’ve had Maine Coon cats as pets ever since.)

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It’s Monday morning, and the locals are starting their work week. Work boats are moving around the harbor and a dredge barge is being pushed by a tug on its way to a nearby job site. I can hear trucks on Queen Elizabeth Drive, probably making deliveries to the waterfront businesses.

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As we heard on the Cruiser’s Net this morning, “NORMAL is just one of the settings on a washing machine.”

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The sun is bright, the sky is clear, and the wind is light (about 10 knots) this morning. Generally, our February weather is a big improvement over the weather we’ve experienced in January. It’s 76 degrees F already this morning and the barometer has been steadily rising over the past several days, indicating that the fair weather will be with us for the near future.

We plan to do some engine maintenance this morning (we are nearing 700 engine hours on our new engine) and do some snorkeling at Mermaid Reef this afternoon. Our agenda for the day is certainly not too strenuous.

The engine maintenance is done on 100-hour intervals and involves sucking out the old oil through the dipstick, putting in new oil (3 quarts), checking the transmission fluid level, checking the coolant level, and then installing a new “engine diaper.” (Oil filters are changed every 150 hours, according to the engine operating manual.)

The oil extractor works great, sucking the oil out
through the dipstick using a vacuum.  It
takes about 45 minutes.

The new "engine diaper" is in place to catch
any/all leaks from the engine.

We went out to Mermaid Reef in the afternoon to do some snorkeling.  This is the second time we have been there this season.  The water temperature was very comfortable!  The following photographs were taken with our GoPro on single frame mode.  Fortunately, the fish were very close to the camera.

A doctor fish was very friendly with me for some
reason--he/she even nibbled on my finger.

Two sergeant majors were very interested in feeding.

I think the neon blue fish is a blue parrotfish
while I think the black ones are angel fish.

We expect to go to Mermaid Reef again tomorrow and we have scheduled a snorkeling trip to the ocean reefs on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the weather.

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We will be here in Marsh Harbour until near the end of this week.  At that point, we expect to go to Hope Town again.  Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Marsh Harbour...


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