The Saga of Sesame: Across "The Whale"

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Across "The Whale"

We wanted to stay in Green Turtle for their modest Junkanoo (sort of a combination of Carnivale and Mardis Gras with an African beat?) on New Year's Day. We anchored in Black Sound for a few days so that we could walk to New Plymouth for the festivities.

The parade starts with a much bigger than life figure which is articulated and moves to the music of the drums and horns behind it. Many home-made costumes and dancers follow. The green feathered costume was quite spectacular. The video below has sound and shows the movement of the costume and some of the other dancers. [Hit the arrow to see and hear it. Make sure your speakers are on.]

That night, we watched the fireworks from our boat back in the harbour. [A puzzlement for an old English teacher: Since we are in a country which uses British spellings, the accurate spelling is "harbour". But when it isn't part of a proper noun, how should an American spell it in his narrative?]

We had to wait another couple of days before the waves died down in Whale Passage, a passage from the ocean to the Sea of Abaco past Whale Cay. It was still a bit "lumpy" when we went by, but we were able to take "Don't Rock Passage" on the inside of the cay where it was fairly quiet.

After Don't Rock we headed toward Marsh Harbour, the largest town in the Abaco islands. It even has a traffic light!

We anchored near the Marsh Harbour Marina and were treated to a beautiful sunset our first night there.

The weather forecast warned us of yet another cold front approaching with strong winds and rain so we ducked into the marina for a few days. Dockage was 65-cents a foot per night as opposed to the $2.50 or $3.00 and up they get in much of New England and Florida. We tried to reserve a slip for just the two nights of the worst weather, but ended up having to sign up for five nights to be guaranteed a spot. A day later, the marina was full.

We went to the Wednesday "Rib Night" (nothing to write home about, but good) and the Saturday "Steak Night" (still as good as we remembered it from two years ago).

The weather never really turned out to be as bad as forecast, but it was nice being on the dock anyway. There was a great sunshower with a spectacular rainbow. Unfortunately, the photographer forgot to bring his polarized filter so it doesn't show up as well as it might.

Josh, the young single-hander who we had been with off and on since West End gave a "seminar" on fish cleaning on the dock. He had speared the fish under a boat on the dock this time, but had gotten all kinds of fin and shell fish with both hook and line and spear from his dinghy too.

We stayed on the dock one extra day to make it easier for The Admiral to catch her plane to Dallas to help daughter Lyz's family move from their temporary apartment to their brand new house.

The Skipper is now on a two or three-week "bachelor cruise" and plans to re-explore some of Southern Abaco. With a little luck, he'll be able to anchor out every night and keep a bit of money in the cruising kitty.

More to follow. . . .

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This Blog

The information in this column does not change. New entries will appear to the left.

We started this blog in August 2006 when we were getting ready for our first winter heading south in our new powerboat, named "Sesame". The newest entries are first and the oldest are last. General information is in this column.

Most of the photographs are high definition. You can click on any one of them to see the photograph full size. If you want to steal one, click on it. When you get the full-size one, right click and "Save as" whatever you want. I would only ask that you give proper credit if you use them for anything other that your personal delight and delectation.

Powerboating on the East Coast

We are Judy and Allen Ames from Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Our boats have all been called "Sesame" (Ameses spelled inside out?). The dinghy, of course, is named "Open".

After 60+ years of sailing, the last 25 aboard a Nonsuch 26 and a Nonsuch 30, we went to the "dark side" and bought a slightly used 28 foot trawler, called variously, a Camano Troll, a Camano 28, or a Camano 31 (see below). This blog starts with our first motor boat trip down the East Coast from Connecticut to Key West and back during the winter of 2006-2007. (We had done a similar trip on our Nonsuch 30 a couple of years before. That trip is pretty well documented in our WebShots albums -- http://community.webshots.com/user/allen_ames) It then picks up with our third trip which took us across the Gulf Stream to Abaco on New Year's Eve 2007.

Like most blogs, the most recent entry is on top and you have to scroll down to get previous entries. You can also click on a specific date at the bottom of this column.

We welcome comments or questions. Just hit the word "Comments" at the end of any entry or email us at: Sesame130@comcast.net. You can send the blog to anyone else by clicking on the envelope with an arrow at the end of each entry.

The Boat

The Camano Troll is a "semi-displacement" trawler, 28 feet long on deck and 31 feet overall if you measure the swim platform and anchor roller. She has a 200 horse Volvo turbo-diesel which can push her up to about 13 knots when we're in a hurry and don't care that we're getting less than a mile per gallon. Normally, we cruise at 7-8 knots which is far more relaxing and gets us close to four nautical miles per gallon. We love the 360-degree view from the main cabin and inside steering station and it's even nicer on the flybridge in good weather.

We have most of the amenities: Hot and cold running water, refrigeration and freezer, 3 burner propane stove with oven, shower and enclosed head, and plenty of room for two people. We have replaced the large dining table (which made it possible to convert the dinette into a double bunk) with a smaller one, but have a 5' x 7' pop-up tent and blow-up queen size mattress that fits perfectly on the flybridge for occasional guests (our penthouse!). The bridge also has plenty of room for a couple of lounge chairs.

We have three AGM batteries on the "house" side of our 12-volt system. To keep the small chest freezer, refrigerator, and various toys going, we usually run the engine for a couple of hours a day when we are at anchor or moored in order to keep the batteries charged We also have a 110 volt belt-driven generator which runs off the main engine to power the microwave, airconditioner (and reverse-cycle heater), etc. Smaller 110 appliances, a TV, computers, and rechargers run off a small inverter. A 7.5 amp solar panel helps keep the house batteries up in sunny weather giving a little more TV and freezer time before we have to start up the engine. Of course, all of the 110 system works when the boat is plugged into dock power too.

We communicate by Verizon cell phone and get our internet through a Verizon air card or WiFi wherever and whenever service is available. (Verizon is not our favorite vendor, but it has the best coverage all the way down the East Coast.) We have external marine antennas for both the air card and WiFi. Where we don't have cell service (Bahamas, some of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Maine) but can get WiFi, we use Skype.

The boat was built in British Columbia but the factory has recently been sold and they say they will begin building in Washington state. See the links below for more pictures and specs of the boat.

The "Saga"

Our title is a leftover from an old English teacher's fondness for alliteration rather than a true description of the contents. Actually, we plan very carefully to avoid having it become a saga, or even an adventure! We refuse to have a real schedule or dated itinerary for fear that we would be tempted to venture out in poor conditions. If we want to meet someone along the way, we give them the choice of when or where, not both. The only exceptions are when we are relatively certain that we can reach a destination easily and safely at least a week before a specific date. Even then, we make it clear that all "plans" are subject to change or cancellation.

Traditionally, there are two kinds of cruisers: those who are happy in slower boats (sailboats and slow trawlers) focus on the voyage, while those with fast boats are all about the destination. We definitely belong to the former group.

Our goal is to do virtually nothing, and do it well!

Or, to invoke the greatest all-time boating cliche, as Kenneth Graham's Rat says in The Wind in the Willows:
Believe me, . . . . there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing . . . . about in boats -- or with boats. . . . . In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not.

The Saga of Sesame

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Across "The Whale"

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