Athena's Odyssey

 At Staniel Cay our good friend Sharon joins us. She'll be staying until we're back in the US. No worries about pickup and dropoff schedules!  After a few days buddy boating with S/V Spitfire from Big Majors to Black Point to Little Farmers Cay, we make the big decision that we're tired of fighting into the southeast wind along an island chain that stretches to the southeast. We're enticed to sail another difficult day SE to the popular harbor at Georgetown, but we'll leave it for some other year. Sailing downwind is sooo much easier. We later hear from Spitfire that they had a very rough two days to Georgetown. Glad we didn't.  Back to Black Point, and we hang out with some local women while they weave long strips from local palm into material to be sold to tourists on the resorts. There's not much economic opportunity on these small outer islands, and plaiting can be done anywhere. Most young people move to Nassau or Freeport to find work. Each day we see ...

 It's dry season in the Bahamas, but we get three days of rain while hanging out in Nassau. Then south across the Yellow Bank to Highborne, with its many coral heads which require a sharp lookout for part of the run. But the sun is bright and the water clear, so we have no problem. Across the Yellow Bank Each plays a role that fits Glued to charts and camera Or dancing o're the bow. The danger here is coral heads Which lurk beneath the waves Massive blocks of limestone Send a ship to Davy Jones. Kristen's in her element With Autopilot, sonar, GPS and more  Plus a camera mounted on the mast Gives digital control. Gary wears his PFD Tethered to the rail Keeps an eager lookout For colors tell a tale. Sand shows up cerulean Grass is greenish gray Coral almost black and so Between them we sashay Athena flies her canvas Bouncing o're the waves Showing off her sass  For all who catch a gaze. Highborne is a quiet island, about twenty boats in the anchorage, and an inviting beac...

 Our next guests are Karen and John, whom we know through dancing and friends in New Hampshire. They recently got married and this is their first time away from teenage kids at home.  Karen does family law. John is a machinist. He made some stainless steel parts for Athena last year. They flew in to Nassau and joined us on Friday while we were tied up at the Nassau Harbor Club Marina.  Nassau is the largest city in the Bahamas, with capabilities for massive numbers of tourists from cruise ships and airplanes. We visited some of the popular spots, like Junkanoo beach, where we walked the malecon amidst throngs of tourists off the six cruise ships in port. Each one can carry 5,000 passengers. Just as night fell the wind shifted and we all spent a very rough night at anchor as the swells swept in between the breakwaters and reflected off the malecon wall. Dawn couldn't come early enough.  Daybreak and four new cruise ships steam into port. Finally Harbor Control gives u...

 On to Nassau. We spent another day on Andros, hoping to hire a boat to take us to the coral reef on the east coast of the island. But alas our lack of planning didn't pan out. Instead we rented a car and drove half way down the island. On the way we swam in a 'blue hole' , a limestone sinkhole full of fresh groundwater.  Then we visited Androsia, a batik factory where we got to watch several women making vibrant dyed fabric and turning it into clothing.  The next day gave us a challenging sail to Nassau. Close hauled the whole way, with some strong winds. We made it before sunset to Junkanoo beach. The next day we said goodbye to Tom. It's been fun having him with us. When he was much younger he had lived on a sailboat and cruised the islands.  In anticipation of our next guests, we'll stay nearby, so we pulled up the anchor and spent two nights on nearby Athol island, which hosts many small reefs. It's very popular with tourists from the cruise ships and also ...

Originally posted feb 8 Through an organization called Hope Fleet, we have accepted a shipment of 35 blue buckets for delivery to Nassau. Each bucket contains seeds, a small bag of soil, irrigation tubing, and the bucket itself. Everything needed for someone to start a backyard garden to help the Bahamas to become less dependent on imported food. It seems that during COVID, inter island transportation was interrupted, and some of their people on outer islands ran out of food. So this is an effort to gain independence.  We departed Miami with another sailboat also bringing buckets. For our first day here on Bimini we joined them on folding bicycles to ride to the end of the road and back. About four miles down and four back. The cruise ship dock and the fancy hotel and ritzy homes are all at the far end. Close to the inner harbor where we're tied up is the old town where Earnest Hemingway used to come. Eclectic and sometimes run-down houses, stores and old resorts crowd the street....

 So, who and what is Athena? In Greek mythology, she is the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. She is also a warrior, but very different than her brother Aries. Aries was all brawn and force. In combat, Athena brought in strategy and intelligence. When together, they were a formidable duo, but rarely did they fight. By extension, she is also the goddess of technology, navigation and boat building. Useful attributes on board.  Our Athena is a Stamas 44' ketch, designed by Bob Johnson who also designed the Island Packet line of sailboats. They only made 23 of our boat, while there are hundreds of IPs in various sizes. She was built in 1985 of fiberglass, has two masts and a center cockpit. The interior, typical of her age, is sipele mahogany. She has classic lines, and people have told us she's a good looking boat.  We chose this boat for several reasons. The previous two owners took very good care of her, and she may have spent most of her time sitting in the boatyard. Only ...