Bahamas

Writing or Laundry

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments
Farley hinting it's time to do the laundry

#writing #sailing

Why is it that when something is hard to write, doing the laundry becomes imperative? Since I live on a sailboat, laundry can be an adventure on its own.

I can do the laundry by hand (not my favourite).

I can go to a laundry mat.

I can drop my laundry off at a laundry service.

The last two are harder than you might think. First the laundry has to be bagged and loaded into a dingy. Then I have to drive the dingy to shore (where I am currently anchored this is across a couple of miles of open water).

The next challenge is to carry the laundry across a dock and through town, avoiding the local dogs and fast moving cars that drive on the left side of the street.

Phew! Made it. The drop off is my favourite. Somehow it takes a long time to get the laundry done, but it certainly helps me procrastinate.

Cruising Dogs and Weddings

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

#sailing #dogs Being a cruising dog, our wheaten terrier has all kinds of adventures. Farley loves to go to a wedding. Our friends got married, barefoot on the beach, and they invited our dog to be part of the party.

Farley caught the bouquet, but hasn’t found another dog to marry yet. Maybe this year he’ll meet someone nice and settle down.

Conch For Lunch

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#sailing Anyone hungry?

These queen conch make a fabulous conch salad but take a lot of work to get into a bowl. The easy part is finding them.  The folded over lip means they are old enough to be harvested, otherwise they need to left alone at the bottom of the sea.

How does one make a salad?

  • First use a hammer and screw driver to make a hole in the shell.
  • Proceed to get the conch out.
  • Clean the skin off. (a slimy messy job)
  • Hammer until soft.
  • Soak in lime juice, to make it softer.
  • Cut into small cubes.
  • Mix with tomatoes, red pepper, lemon, lime, onion, and touch of hot sauce.
  • Get some crackers, invite your friends, and yum yum, it’s lunch time.

Where’s Farley?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments
Star Fish Beach, Bahamas

#sailing #dogs

Sailing with dogs is sandy business if you like to go to the beach. Farley, our wheaten terrier, is the colour of sand, and maybe we should have called him Sandy.

He loves to dig a hole and hide in it. He’ll sit perfectly still and make us play the Where’s Farley game.  I think he might actually be making fun of us, but who knows?

If you’re thinking of cruising with a dog, an outside freshwater hose is a must. Ours is on the back step of our catamaran. Farley gets a rinse before he’s allowed passed the stairs. Then he gets a rub down with a towel. That’s the other item we brought . . . Farley has his own set of towels.  One more little thing to keep us all happy.

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Spotted Eagle Ray

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments
Near Cambridge Cay, Bahamas

#sailing The Bahamian waters are crystal clear and make viewing sea life easy.

This beautiful spotted eagle ray swam along side our Lagoon 380 at slow speed. I was so excited that I had time to get my camera and snap this photo. The water is nine feet deep here, but it looks like we are about to go aground.

Sailing and Kayaking Together

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing  The Bahamas provides a wide range of wind for a cruiser. Sometimes it too much and we have to find a protected anchorage. Sometimes it’s too little for windsurfing.

So for the light wind day, our friends brought out the kayak – sailboat.  It’s an interesting contraption. For kayaking, the rider pedals the boat to propel it forward. If it’s windy, then the wind does the work.

There’s always a new way to spend time and here is Matt trying out the gear.

Check out the colour of the water!

Sailing Dogs Get Tired Too

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

#Sailing The best way to keep your dog happy while underway it to exhaust them first. Farley and Jasper had a 5K beach run before getting onboard for a day of deep sea fishing.

I’d say they look pretty happy. And so were we after catching Tuna and Mahi Mahi.

Fishing Off a Catamaran

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing Does it get any better than pulling a Mahi Mahi up the back steps of your catamaran? Bahamas offers incredible deep sea fishing. The catamaran offers a great platform to fish from.

Get your gaff ready, fish bag open, and pull it aboard. Then get ready for a fantastic meal.

Beach Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing Our dogs love the beach. While we’re windsurfing, kiting, kayaking or swimming, the dogs are able to entertain themselves. Farley and Cali have become BFFs. They watch with concern while the gang gets geared up for another windsurfing/kiting session.

There are many uninhabited islands in the Bahamas and this means the dogs spend hour after hour off leash. There’s nowhere for them to disappear to. There’s nothing that can hurt them – well, that’s not quite true.

The sting rays can be a problem for dogs. If your dog is prone to chase them, they are likely to get stung. Not a fun experience.

The dogs keep fit digging, running, swimming and chasing crabs.

Goats and WI-FI?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#sailing

Getting wi-fi while cruising the Bahamas can be challenging, but it can also be funny.

For the first time in my life I’ve been to a store where I can buy wi-fi and a goat at the same place. How is a woman supposed to make that decision?

A goat on the boat. Hmm? That might be difficult to explain to my husband. I mean there are shopping impulses, but this could be seen as a little extreme.

In then end, I gave up the idea of having a goat and bought the wi-fi card. I just couldn’t figure out where the goat would sleep.