Tropics

We are officially in the Tropics as we passed the Tropic of Cancer latitude of 23 deg 27 min and no complaints here as the weather has been in the high 70s, humid, and sunny every day. Our thoughts go out to our friends in D.C. area which we understand received two feet of snow this weekend! That is why I have enclosed a beautiful sunset that was taken a few days ago from Cape Santa Maria for everyone to enjoy. Oh well, snow makes for a great Superbowl Sunday, right? Actually, to our friends in California, we will be thinking of you outside with the outdoor grilling of carne asade on a beautiful day as Super Bowl plays... As for Dave and me, we will try to catch the game on a sports bar around here in Clarence Town.

We are still on Long Island comparable to the last blog, although we have been busy in the interim. Because we needed to leave from the other side of the island for Turks and Caicos, we have basically been navigating around the island. From Salt Pond, we left and sailed to Cape Santa Maria on the north side of the island and arrived about 3:00. We snorkeled on some coral heads and saw a wide assortment of beautiful fish. There was even a large fish (grouper?) that was hiding out in the bottom of the coral which would have been an easy catch for Dave. Alas, he did not have his spear with him. Cape Santa Maria has apparently been listed as one of the top five most beautiful beaches in the world and it was definitely gorgeous, but basically deserted! There were two other boats anchored out with us.

The next day we sailed to Rum Cay which should have only been about thirty miles. However, that was a brutal day as we were beating in the wind the entire day and had to motor sail the whole way even though Dave tacked out another ten miles. We barely made it there in time before sunset which is always a consideration when keeping a lookout for coral heads and reefs, so unfortunately did not get to explore much of the island.

The next day we came back to the other side of Long Island at Clarence Town. It was a beam reach sail and made great time with 17 average knts which made up for the previous day. We decided to stay at a marina for the weekend which is where I am currently posting this blog. Oh the luxury of it all! We have not been in a marina for about a month and the things that we normally take for granted. This Flying Fish Marina is definitely my favorite so far! It is relatively new having being built ten years ago and seems to have it all. The appreciation of a nice, hot, flowing shower with electricity in the bathroom (a first), along with laundry facilities ($16 for two loads which is standard price here in the Bahamas), free internet, and a small restaurant with a comprehensive menu (something other than cheeseburgers and conch fritters). There was even a decent grocery store up the road (decent being relative) which I went crazy in.

The best thing that Dave would say happened yesterday here at this marina concerns tuna. A couple of fisherman that were down on their fancy fishing boat for vacation had just caught some rather large fish (tuna and wahoo) and were on the dock filleting them. They had so much fish that they gave us some wahoo steaks and tuna fillets. Dave and I went immediately to the boat and had sushi a.k.a. fresh tuna in soy and wasabi sauce which was amazing! The tuna basically melted in your mouth and obviously doesn't get any fresher. Dave was in heaven!

Tomorrow we are continuing the journey to Turks and Caicos through a few more island hops. Not sure when internet will be available but will keep you posted as able.