Anam Cara Adventures

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Paradise Found

On our four year wedding anniversary we found ourselves dancing and singing in our little salon, and I realized suddenly that I am happy. Freedom! An inner state of contentment. A feeling of accomplishment. An immense sense of gratitude for all the beauty that surrounds us. For all the hours we get to spend together on our thirty seven feet of paradise. How could one not be happy? If I could send each of you just a small piece of the magic that we are experiencing, I would. Suddenly the giving up of all the material things in the past, and the long journey to get here after many mishaps all have melted into a distant past, and what we have is absolute beauty and bliss! Clear water, good weather, new friends, gorgeous beaches and lots of time to enjoy it all.

Travelling south

We left Miami on a good weather window the day after Valentines Day. For the first time we travelled with other boats, that we had befriended while waiting at Dinner Key in Coconut Grove. Amongst four other sailboats we left in the dark, and made our way through Biscayne Channel into the Atlantic just as the sun was rising. It was glorious! We pulled up our sails, and headed across the emerald blue Gulf Stream. Predictably, as soon as the lumpy seas began later in the morning, I fell prey to the familiar "mal de mer" and could do nothing but lay down and try to keep my breakfast down. Dave enjoyed the trip, as the autopilot worked well, and he could relax. Unbeknownst to us our friends Rick & Sue on "Bewitched" were having engine trouble, and eventually decided to pull into Bimini, which had not been our initial intention. Due to the miserable seasickness I experienced, when Dave asked what we wanted to do,

it took me less than a nanosecond to decide we would alter our course and head for Bimini too. We made our way through the tricky harbor entrance with me on the bow guiding Dave through the reefs. The nice channel markers that were on our chart were nowhere to be seen, so we were glad to make it in there safely! One by one our friends arrived - Mark on "Ma Muse", Vicky & Mike on "Double Exposure" and finally, "Bewitched" limped in, almost in the dark. Poor Susan said her knees were shaking when they came through the reef lined channel - thank God for GPS and chart plotters!

The strong northwesterly that filled in that night, kept us snug inside Bimini's natural harbor for four days. We explored the beaches, (which were covered in millions of man-of-war jelly fish), tasted the local bread, walked up and down the little streets, and watched the little children play in their kindergarden playgrounds right next to the beach. In the evenings we would meet with our fellow cruisers for pot luck dinners or playing music. A special treat for me was getting to know two precocious little ladies on "Happy Ours". Six year old Avery and eight year old Kaylee entertained us royally, and I had a blast playing with them.

The day came when the wind settled enough for us to venture further north and then east across the Great Bahama Bank. In fact it became so calm that when evening came we all congregated and dropped our anchors and went to sleep right in the middle of nowhere! No land in sight - strange as that sounds. The Bank is shallow enough to allow you to do that in calm enough conditions. Up bright and early, we navigated through the Northwest Channel out into the Tongue of the Ocean, and set sail to Nassau. It happened to be Dave's Birthday, and a glorious day it was! Blue sky, a nice breeze, and not too rough. By afternoon we arrived at an anchorage near Nassau, and I made Dave a nice dinner with lobster tails we had bought off a fisherman in Bimini. Avery had previously helped me make carrot cake, which we devoured also.

Nassau

While Nassau is the largest port in the Bahamas, and is partly on "Paradise Island", paradise it is not. In one part of town the cruise ships let out their passengers by the thousands so that they can go and buy Rolex watches and Gucci bags in the many ritzy stores found there.

And across the bridge, on Paradise Island, is one of the worst eyesores I can imagine - the Atlantis Hotel, which one can spot miles and miles away. Every time we took a bus, we managed to end up on the wrong one, and invariably ended up getting a tour of the "real Nassau", where the locals lives in stark contrast to the huge hotels on the other side of the bridge.

We joined our friends at a dock for a few days so we could do some provisioning and wait out some more fronts. Front after front blew threw the entire area, and ultimately we ended up in Nassau for almost two weeks. Part of the time we anchored in front of the Paradise Island Yoga Retreat, and this was the only really nice place in the entire harbor. Incese wafted through to us from their little yoga studios which faced the water, and in the moonlit nights we could hear them chanting. It inspired me to get my mat out, and practice!

Nassau is notorious for its poor holding and strong current, and one night we got to experience just how uncomfortable one can get in these conditions. We had just gone to bed when the wind began howling and rain came down furiously. We quickly went above to make sure all was ok. Within minutes the Nassau police boat came around with sirens and shone their strong lights at us and the other boats to make sure we were all up. However, we seemed the only ones on deck, with the engine running just in case... The strong wind was holding Anam Cara sideways to the swift current,

which in turn causes the boat to sail back and forth at anchor, making the whole ground tackle rotate around and around. The boat next to ours was doing the same thing, and slowly came closer and closer, until eventually we had to honk a loud horn to get them out on deck so we would not collide. By morning we were also dragging closer to a catamaran on our other side. Eventually we had to pull up anchor and move. Of course we slept very little that night, and had to catch up some on rest the next day!

We ended up making delightful friends in Nassau - Alex, Sam and four year old Guinevere on "Splendid". Luckily their route followed a similar path to ours, and we have been able to see them in most of our anchorages since. Alex is an experienced cruiser, and is now introducing his family to this wonderful life. You can check them out at www.projectbluesphere.com if you like. An ex-movie producer, he has made two movies of his previous single handing experiences, and is now working on the next one.

The Exuma Islands

Our true "cruising" began after we left Nassau. From here we sailed to Normans Cay, and anchored in crystal turquoise splendor! Every grain of sand is visible through the clear water, and nothing but beauty around us. "Splendid" caught up with us the next day, and we had them over to dinner. I had made baguettes for the first time, and they were surprisingly good. Little Guinevere sat on the galley counter talking to me while I cooked, and munched away on baguette with glee. We enjoyed our evening tremendously, and were promptly invited to their lovely Cheoy Lee ketch the next evening for home made pasta -yummy!

Alex told us stories about his year living in Panama's San Blas Islands with the Kuna Indians on his previous boat, "Namaste", and Guinevere entertained me in her cabin with her stuffed animals and fairies.

She was extremely excited about her upcoming fifth birthday, which we were lucky enough to share with her! We ended up seeking shelter from the next few fronts at Bell Island, and since no other kids were in sight, I tried to add to little Guin's birthday by making pizza the night before and a small chocolate cake. The next day, on Guin's real birthday, we were all underway to Farmer's Cay. When we radioed them to wish her a happy birthday, we heard that she was fullfilling her biggest birthday wish - breakfast in bed, with pink heart shaped pancakes and watching the movie "Hairspray" on her little portable DVD player!

Our next stop was the beautiful Lee Stocking Island. Here Dave and I had three blissful days in a lovely protected bay with water so beautiful you could feast your eyes for hours! Lee Stocking has a small research station on it, where marine biologists come to study coral and other marine life. They offer a free tour of their facility, which I was keen to participate in. In hopes of learning something about the ecosystems and their research,

we joined a bunch of Canadian cruisers on the grand tour. Our sweet little tour guide showed us where the microscopes are, the dining room, the hyperbaric chamber, and yes, we even got to admire the reverse osmosis water making system. But she knew nothing about the research that went on there, and thus the tour was disappointing! The stunning beaches on the other side of the island made up for it though! Dave and I took a walk across the island, and stared in awe and the incredible sights it had to offer! When you dream of paradise, well, that would be what you might dream about.

We made our way down to Georgetown, which is a cruiser's mecca if you will. We liked it much more than we had anticipated, as we expected another Nassau type of place. Instead we were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful beaches and sheltered anchorages. The Bahamians we meet here are very friendly and helpful, and there are two supermarkets we can provision in, and free reverse osmosis is available at the dinghy dock! We have met Happy Ours and Double Exposure again, as well as Splendid and keep meeting new cruisers daily. We are surrounded by young families who have with them their children, home schooling them on their tiny boats. Top universities seek out these students we have been told, for they have learned to be independent thinkers and are self motivated. My love for children leads me to seek them out and talk to them, and I am delighted to meet these kids. Most of them are so far ahead of their curriculum that they have lots of time to play. It is lovely to witness these young families, who are mostly living on the edge of poverty, taking time out of their lives to give them and their kids an experience of their lifetime. So any of you who have ever considered such a thing, let me encourage you to do it while you can, and don't be afraid to make the jump - it is worth it! In retrospect when I think of how much I worried about everything before we actually did it - I often likened it to jumping off a cliff - I can truly say now that it is worth it, if nothing else but to teach me that there is always a way forward, and that there are many different ways to live. Whichever one you choose, make sure you don't let fear hold you back, as I have done so many times!

From here we will venture further south, to more remote "Outer Islands". The weather is finally better, and we are not just waiting out cold fronts! We are swimming daily, and having a great time. Thanks to all of you for your love and support in making it happen!