12-21-00 We had dinner at Cap'n Jack's right on the harbor waterfront. The food was good, (Crab Pasta!) the service excellent, and the prices reasonable. When we needed to visit the restroom there was some temporary confusion. One door said "Doodahs", and the other door said "Fifis". Following a short conference we decided "who" was "what". (Back home in Branson a music theatre uses canine labels "Setters", and "Pointers", so I guess this is just the Bahamian version). After dinner we walked to the Post Office where about 150 people gathered and had community-wide (bring your own flashlight) Christmas caroling . Song sheets passed out, we left to do the town. The crowd was composed of residents, visitors, cruisers, and whomever. It was really a very nice evening. Following the songs John, Sandy, (the crew of Jubilee II) and we walked down to the beach. As the rollers crashed ashore, and the stars shone above it was a fitting end to a great evening. Later we dinghied around the harbor and videotaped all the lights, including the lighthouse, which is decorated to resemble a giant Christmas tree. 12-22-00 The Cruisers Net is an amazing amalgam. This morning during the "open-mike" part of the net someone asked assistance with a mechanical problem. It seems he'd broken a fuel filter cap ring retainer (?) on his Westerbeke Gen Set, and needed a replacement. Within 30 seconds another boat answered saying he had exactly the piece, and "did you need the whole assembly, or just the retainer itself?" They made arrangement to meet and solve the problem. Right after that, one of the resort owners on Great Guana Cay called to say they'd received a package from Continental Airlines without a name affixed. Everyone there had been contacted , and it belonged to none of them. They asked if any cruisers were missing a package, before returning it to the airline. Again, a call came from one of the boats saying it was theirs, and arrangements were made to put it on the next ferry. Patty and Bob (originally from the Chesapeake, but who now live in Marsh Harbor) are sort of the "Godparents" of all cruisers. If someone has a question, they're told "call Patty (call sign 'Blue Dolphin') on channel 73". If she doesn't know, she'll know where to go. Bob frequently does the morning weather for the net. It sure is nice to have folks who help the visitors and guests to their Island home. The experience of everyone involved is richer for it. Today while walking around town Lori and I happened upon the coin laundry. Actually, it should be called "a lot of coin" laundry. Each load (both wash and dry) costs $3.75. I do believe we can put off the laundry for a while more, thank you. 12-23-00 Time to pick up a few last minute items for the "Christmas Feast". Lori has a Ham, Turkey Breast and some Cornish Game Hens, in addition to all the fixings. I don't believe we'll go hungry. It is very important to "size" the items so they'll "fit" in the oven (that means no 25 pound turkeys). One of the "fixin's" was Plum Pudding. We'd not ever had this dessert. "Pudding" is really a misnomer, as it had a definite fruit cake texture and taste. But it was a nice addition to our meal. We also had to pick up a birthday present for someone (Lori) who has a significant (39th) birthday coming up December 29th. Sorry I can't tell you who, or how many birthdays we're celebrating because that information is strictly classified! (That'll teach Lori to not read these until they are published in our hometown newspaper). 12-24-00 Yesterday was overcast, and a little windy. Today is windier still, with occasional light rain. The forecast doesn't promise much improvement in the near term. There's a "Gale Center" to our southeast, and high pressure to the northwest. The gist of this has to do with closely spaced isobars, and a lot of wind. Lori, B and I ventured to shore to make some phone calls home. While in town we walked over to the beach and peered out at the Atlantic. It looked nasty. Big rollers breaking on the outer reef, and smaller ones all the rest of the way to shore. The color of the water was still pretty, but not a good day to be "out there" unless you were a fish. We planned on attending the Christmas Eve candle light service at the Methodist Church, but the wind was really blowing, and raining, around the time we'd have had to leave. A wet dinghy ride in the dark didn't sound too appealing, so we had our own service on board, and sang Silent Night. 12-25-00 Santa was able to find his way to the boat. (Lori thinks he just followed the lighthouse beam). I think everyone was pleased with the result of his visit. This morning on the Cruiser's Net weather they reported the wind was clocked last night at a steady 40 knots, with gusts approaching 50. At least it is supposed to moderate today. There's also a chance the sun may peek through, too. Hooray! The temperature has stayed a steady 70 degrees, it's just the wind that's been a problem. 12-26-00 Happy Boxing Day! According to local sources, Boxing Day is when the Lords and Ladies of merry old England took all left over holiday goodies, and "boxed" them up for their servants, and those less fortunate. Brandon guessed it was "pugilistic" in nature, but that's not the case. The wind died down some, but it's still quite breezy. All the boats in the harbor are doing variations of the "mooring dance". Swing your partner back and forth, and back and forth and...etc. One unattended sailboat which we can see swings rather "violently". Every time it reaches the end of the "swing" the pedestal mounted steering wheel runs up against the stop, and shudders. It's obviously reacting to the movement of the rudder, but that shock load can't be good for the steering mechanism. One boat doesn't appear to be doing the same dance. "Lady Jane", a beautiful Grand Banks trawler, has rigged a steadying sail on their mast and boom. That really seems to dampen the movement. The plan is to check out the weather tomorrow, when the wind is expected to "clock around", and perhaps head out. It's funny how things just come around. A certain un-named charter boat in a certain un-named charter fleet came to Hopetown Christmas Eve day. I note this fact because while threading their course through the mooring field this catamaran came very close to several boats (including ours). When they turned at the south end of the harbor they crashed into a dinghy trailing off another boat, then ran over a large mooring ball (that clunked and clanked through the entire "tunnel" of the catamaran hull. Finally, a palpable sigh of relief engulfed the moorage as they decided to head into the marina. That night, while tied up to the dock, their anchor light shone brightly, probably because it hadn't been turned off since its' last use. Christmas Day there was no word, but today a loud "thank you" was broadcast on the net for assistance rendered in un-grounding the same boat by BASRA, (Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association) Abaco. I don't want to rain on anyone's charter parade. We've chartered boats on two different occasions. I'm certainly not implying that these same circumstances couldn't happen to any of us, ourselves certainly included. But the number of calamities befallen in such a short time does raise a question. Perhaps some folks would do better with a Captained vessel. 12-27-00 Just like soldiers called to battle, the "fleet" is on the move. "Everyone's" taking advantage of the break in the weather and moving here, and there. We dropped the mooring and headed off, too. In fact, we were third in a spread-out line of trawlers, with several sailboats along for good measure, leaving Hopetown. Our destination, Marsh Harbor. It was a little "rolly" passing the spot where the cut at south Man-O-War allows uninterrupted passage of the Atlantic swell. There was no where near as much "wave breaking" as Christmas Day, however. The rest of the short trip was uneventful, and Marsh Harbor was relatively un-crowded. Our goal was to do some laundry. Nearly three and one-half weeks had elapsed since our last time. Our second task was to re-provision. Nippers had previously announced, by way of the cruiser's net, that their "pig roast" schedule was changed from Sunday, to Thursday because of New Year's Eve. No confirmation of this change had been made, though, in the last couple days. Definitely calls for more investigation. Timing for the laundry was perfect. By late afternoon the morning rush had cleared, and machines were readily available for the taking. We finished 6 loads in record time. It was evident that the freighter from Palm Beach hadn't been in town since last Thursday. A lot of the shelves at the Golden Harvest grocery store were empty, or nearly so. We went for fat free milk, but alas, the "cupboard was bare". We'll try again tomorrow. 12-28-00 Again no mention of the Nipper's pig roast on the net. I called Johnny (the co-owner) and inquired. His answer was quite non-committal. "Well, we might have it tomorrow, not today for sure, but I don't know". Apparently, it is not yet meant to be . We'll have to try again later. Following school, we went to town. After some discussion as to whether we wanted just "bare essentials", (i.e. milk) or more serious provisioning, we loaded the dock cart ("serious" prevailed). Margarita I, the freighter was at the dock, but a lot of the usual supplies didn't make it (probably because of the holiday). The store shelves looked better, but still had lots of "holes". We bought things for several major meals, but... guess what? There's still no milk. "Next Thursday Mon" we were told. Welcome to the Islands. (Rest assured, we'll survive!) I went to the Island Bakery to try and order a birthday cake for Lori. They stopped baking to order a while back, but suggested another alternative. So, I walked to that bakery, and yes they would fill the order. Tomorrow there should be a special cake on board. I intend to try and send this message while picking up the cake. Our very best wishes to all in the coming New Year. Be safe. Be Happy. Be alive. Bob Nostrum Again 37' Newburyport Double Cabin Trawler