Stay Over Days in Emerald Bay

—Blogpost written by Bob

Tuesday, April 7

We had the A/C running all night (set at 76 degrees)—so, we slept great. In the morning there was a light breeze out of the southeast and the sun felt very warm for so early in the day, as our social distancing continued here at Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas.

Social isolation on s/v Rainy Days

Minor Changes to Blog

I decided to make some minor changes to my blog starting with this blogpost. I’m not providing a blogpost overview in the beginning of each blogpost (since my blogposts are now only covering 2 days) and I’m starting to use subtitles for various subjects within each day.  Hopefully, these minor changes will be seen as improvements.

Results of Computer Model Published by Baltimore Sun

“The model run by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation makes the following projections for the Coronavirus pandemic in Maryland and the United States. It’s just one of many models for the trajectory of the new Coronavirus.

     Projected U.S. peak: mid-April

     Projected Maryland peak: late April

     U.S. deaths by Aug. 4: 93,500 (range of 37,500 to 126,000)

     Maryland deaths by Aug. 4: 1,766 (range of 338 to 4,447)

     Peak Maryland hospital beds needed: 5,478”

The “peak” is when deaths have reached their maximum number—not when the pandemic is all over.  I'm not sure what the August 4 date mentioned above represents. Is it the date that the pandemic is projected to be over?  (In Wuhan, China, it took 76 days to be completely clear of the virus but the Chinese government acted quickly and decisively. The first reported case of the Coronavirus in New York City (with a much smaller population than Wuhan China) was on March 1, 38 days ago, and the "peak" in New York City has not yet been reached.)

Boat Movement in Slip Increases Chafe on Lines

No matter how much I tighten our spring lines, our boat, like all the other boats around us, develop a fore and aft movement of between one and two feet (or sometimes more). There is some (necessary) stretch in the 1/2” diameter braided nylon spring lines but the boat’s movement is annoying and troubling. There are only two forces acting on the boat—the wind (right now it is directly abeam) and the water (this doesn’t seem appreciable at the moment). Of course, as the nylon spring line stretches it exerts a force on the boat too. The two opposing spring lines create forces in two opposing directions and they alternate and tend to amplify the original movement. Yesterday, I added a heavy spring line from the main pier all the way back to our port stern cleat—this seemed to have helped until it stretched. This nearly constant movement caused one of our onboard cleats to loosen and it has had its toll on our dock lines in terms of abrasion.

Looking down the length of the
recently added 3/4" spring line.

I have been looking into improved chafe guards. I have read an article in Practical Sailor about 5 commercially available chafe guards and have researched the idea of making my own from fire hose. Scrap fire hose is available from FireHose Supply. There is not much I can do from here on Great Exuma Island but I plan to make fire hose chafe guards when we return home.

News-Breakfast-Blog-Lunch-YouTube-Happy Hour-Bedtime

I really need to break up my daily routine—it’s getting very boring. I have a few small boat projects I can work on. I DO have varnish and foam brushes onboard, so I could touch up some interior teak. I have my Nikon D700 camera (even though the on/off switch is currently stuck in the “on” position) but very limited photo opportunities because our movement is restricted to the marina.  I have an awful lot of old (digital) photos (10 years worth) to sort through.

Wednesday, April 8

The morning was still, very little breeze and the surface of the water was flat calm.  A sea turtle that makes its home in the marina came to visit our boat this morning--I think he/she is a leatherback turtle.

Sprinklers on the nearby golf course
early in the morning remind me
that we are next to a resort
even though it's closed.

Trump Removes Watchdog Overseeing $2 Trillion Pandemic Relief Funds

This was one of the most troubling actions recently taken by Trump in my opinion.  You can read more about it at this link or watch a video on the subject at this link.  This is just another move by this President to limit legal oversight of his chaotic and corrupt administration.

I really hate included things like this in my blog when we have so many other things to worry about at this time but I can't sit back and watch Trump ruin our great country, regardless of what else is happening.  How can anyone justify this action?  Why would he remove a qualified independent individual who has handled large sums like this before and put in one of his inexperienced loyalists?  I wonder how much of this relief fund makes its way to the Trump organization?

Colorful lines coiled against the
bulkhead as we sit in Emerald
Bay Marina on Great Exuma
Island during the pandemic.

I did some touchup varnishing
on the door to the v-berth.
(The varnish deteriorated
from oils in our hands.)

Latest COVID-19 News

As of yesterday there were 29 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Bahamas and five deaths as we enter another 6-day lockdown.  In addition, during the next 6 days we must wear a face mask when leaving our residence to do essential errands.  You can read more about it at this link.  In New York City 731 people died just yesterday alone.  Please stay safe!

Today Was Grocery Delivery Day

The reason grocery delivery day is so exciting is that you never know what you're going to get.  Last week we got 2 cans of pigeon peas (these are normally served with Bahamian peas and rice) but we didn't order them.  We are still trying to figure out what to do with pigeon peas.  Also, there were a number of things we ordered that we didn't get.

Maggie washed down our new grocery items
with a bleach solution to kill any
Coronavirus that may have
been carried on the
packaging.

There were no surprises in our groceries today and we got almost everything we ordered.

Stay safe and thanks for following our blog!