An Enjoyable Summer

Well it's about that time again for Sea Island Girl and her crew to pack up and begin our trip south. It has been an enjoyable summer at our home in Atlanta, but the traffic and rush have taken their toll and we are looking forward to another boating season in the Abacos.

During the summer we made several trips to Brunswick, GA, and Brunswick Landing Marina, to work on a few boat projects and at least one unexpected trip to insure that the boat was well secured. Initially hurricane Hannah was taking a direct path toward the Georgia coast, but she veered north as she approached giving the area a well deserved drenching rain, and a few moderately high winds. Fortunately, hurricane IKE took a more southerly trek than initially expected, and the area was spared once again. Unfortunately, the folks in Texas received the brundt of the storm, and for them we are deeply sorry.

Although it would seem to be an easy project, selecting new upholstery proved to be a major undertaking. Serious discussions were had by the crew amid multiple trips to Atlanta area fabric stores before an concensus was reached. In our twenty years, this project truly presented the most discussions and difference of opinion - but it is all over now and you will have to wait until our next post to see the results.

The Captain engaged himself with exchanging a water heater element, new window screens and a satellite weather tracking system. As is normal, the projects are much more complex than they first appear. i.e. no standard heating element would fit so one had to be constructed; there was no supplier for the window screening for the boat, so we had to change material and replace all six; and after upgrading our navigational software for the weather instrument, we learned there is a glitch in the latest version. The latter issue is still being resolved with the help of the head of technology for Raymarine in NH.

The summer has not been ALL work! and our trips to Brunswick have given us plenty of time to visit with our friends from RMHYC whom are staying at our marina. We managed to eat out a few times, but really enjoyed the fresh shrimp and oysters which came directly from the shrimp boats. Several of our friends traveled during the summer to Italy, Peru while others continued to cruise along the Atlantic coast visiting family and friends. These are always fun times, and our club members have become members of our extended family - good thing, we spend a lot of time with them!

One of the couples in our group, enjoyed a trip that I have often longed for. They cruised by the Statue of Liberty! One of these days we hope to make that trip, as we have heard so many wonderful stories. We cannot close without sharing a final picture that we received and hope you can imagine how wonderful it must have been.

A New Arrival

Sea Island Girl had been the only North Pacific Yacht on the east coast for the longest time, but this year things changed when Jim and Trish Riordan brought hull#14 to the Abacos. It was a fun time to get together with them and compare notes, swap tales and fellowship.

Jim and Trish had traveled some miles before coming to the Bahamas and he had developed an interesting method of keeping track of his fuel usage, which he shared with us. With fuel prices being what they are ($5.11/gal) it has become increasingly important to accurately measure how much is on board. His technique was most helpful and as we continued our travels, it turned out to be most accurate.

We visited them at Harbour View Marina in Marsh Harbour and noticed some slight changes had been made to the boats. It was mentioned that another NP43 will be joining us during the 2008-2009 season, which we both anticipate seeing.

It was soon time for us to be returning to the US. After a series of good-bye get together's and dinners we said good-bye to our newly acquired friends and anticipated a smooth crossing back to Florida. Unfortunately for us, The Whale Passage, which is a very short trip around a reef north of Guana Cay, was somewhat unsettled. We never anticipated the rage conditions and soon found ourselves "testing" our boat and her crew. Eight to ten foot seas had the boat surfing about for about an hour. Despite these conditions, Sea Island Girl managed better than the crew.

It turned out to be another learning opportunity for us and it will help in the future. No real damage done (only Maggie's bowl), but when we arrived in Green Turtle Cay we witnessed first hand the things that can happen.

The balance of our trip was uneventful. We stopped one night on anchor in Great Sale Cay, then had another evening on Grand Bahama Island at Old Bahama
Bay Marina. The following morning conditions were perfect and we made way to Fort Pierce, FL , some 82 miles across the Gulfstream in record time.

We soon sent pictures to Jim and Trish and suggested that they be a little smarter than we were when they begin their return.

It is always fun to see a North Pacific when we are traveling, and we especially enjoyed spending time with the Riordan's during our stay in the Bahamas.

Back In School

Back then (and we won't mention when that was) the gang used to hang out at The Varsity, in downtown Atlanta. The car hops were the best, but none looked as good as Wilma and they certainly didn't wear roller skates.

Our yacht club had a Sock Hop in February and it was a highlight of the cruising season in the Bahamas. We were tired of "island" music and wanted to hear some of those tunes of the 50's and 60's. Ray Vallerie, one of our "youngest at heart," had captured just about any song you can think of on his itunes and he served as our disc jockey.

Everyone got into the act with their costumes. There were poodle skirts, nerds, cool dudes and even a guest appearance or two. The dance floor was full and the decorations help to make it an evening to remember.

Speaking of guest appearances, we should let you in on a little secret....Anna Nichole was not the only celebrity living in the Bahamas.
It was a special performance by Elvis himself. By invitation, the King himself was flown into the Abacos to woo the crowd with a few of his memorable hits.

As it turned out, the autographed, perspiration soaked scarfs were even more popular than the center pieces created for the occasion.

All in all it was another grand evening, and when Good Night Sweetheart boomed over the sound system, just after The Tennessee Waltz, our group of tired seniors paraded back to their respective boats to rest their backs and get some well deserved shut-eye.

It is amazing how these parties come to pass. An idea is created and a host of volunteers pull it all together for the enjoyment of everyone. What a great group of friends they have been.

Our Trusted Crew Member

As you can see, Maggie is adjusting once again to our live aboard lifestyle here in the Bahamas. It represents her seventh extended cruise - not too bad for a stray pup found on the streets of downtown Atlanta.

She was a master at handling the companionway stairs on Gypsy Common, and it is fun to watch her now as she descends the steps of the new boat. She puts her two front legs down a step, turns a little side ways and then follows with her rear legs. It's almost a hopping action and she seems very sure of herself as she moves around the boat. Maggie loves being where ever we are, and makes the trip many times a day.

Being the ever present watch dog, she loves lying in the shade, occasionally unsettled by a passing dog or cat. Following her "attack" response, she settles back and watches every thing and everybody in the marina.

Maggie is comfortable with her treks around Abaco Beach Resort. She has some favorite trees, and rest stops, and always enjoys being petted by friends and staff members. When we are away from the boat she retires to her favorite spot on board at the foot of our bed.

Having Maggie travel with us has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Now that she is thirteen years old, we cherish the time we have had together.

Visitors To Abaco

It's always fun having friends visit with us when we are traveling, and recently one of our good friends, Don Smith finally made it down to Abaco for a few days. He is a sailor and long time friend from Atlanta and was easy to have aboard Sea Island Girl.



Carolyn greeted Don with her world famous fried chicken. He has been trying to duplicate it during his periodic visits to Africa and got a first hand lesson on her technique. For a girl from the North, she really does surprise a lot of people.




This was Don's first opportunity to see the boat, although he was around us when all the planning and preparations for our trip was going on. We were able to take him around to several of the surrounding islands, where everyone dined on the fresh fish of the Bahamas and had a few Kalik beers as well.





One special treat for us was taking Don to Man O War, a long-time favorite cay. We were able to introduce him to the many friends that we have made over the years, and gave him a tour of the entire island via golf cart. He seemed particularly impressed with the history of boatbuilding in the area and before we left Man O War we had an opportunity to witness just how proud the residents are of their heritage.


A forty-foot sailing vessel, Malolo II, was one of only two wooden pleasure boats built by Edwin Albury some forty years ago. After twenty five years and multiple owners in and around the Abacos, she had been taken north to Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Ray and Donna Howard, a Canadian couple, discovered Malolo lying in a field, learned her history and decided to take her back to Nova Scotia following some repairs.




To fully celebrate her fine construction, and the pride of those on Man O War, the couple

decided to take her back to the Bahamas once she was found seaworthy. So, while we were visiting the area one local boatyard worker commented, "Malolo's come home."

Such a refreshing ending to a story that started many years ago. We were able to visit with several people that had either helped to build Malolo, or had sailed on her from the Bahamas up to Cape Cod. It was a thrilling experience for the islanders to see her again, and we were glad that we had an opportunity to share in the historical return during our visit to Man O War.

It was good having Don with us. He had sailed his boat in the Caribbean 1500 some years ago from Virginia to the British Virgin Islands, and having an experienced visitor was most helpful.

We have some other friends and family coming down while we are here, and hope that they too can enjoy the beauty of these islands.

Another Abaco Year

Our first month in Abaco has been busy. First, we had the getting settled period i.e. securing our lines at Boat Harbour Marina, meeting all the new folks on the dock and then there were a few RMHYC responsibilities to involve ourselves. While several folks returned home for the holidays, some had family and friends visit them in Marsh Harbour and everyone seemed to enjoy the Bahamian Holiday Festivals and an occasional Junkanoo. Couples managed to get together with cruising friends Christmas Day to share a ham or turkey with all the trimmings.

Just before Christmas we had an unexpected guest aboard. A young lady had flown into Marsh Harbour to meet her husband who was sailing from Wilmington, NC to meet her. Unfortunately he was delayed, out in the Atlantic, due to a storm and was several days overdue. When we learned of the circumstances, we welcomed Suzanne to stay aboard Sea Island Girl. She was rather tough for a couple of days but we decided to report their boat as missing to the USCG. As it turned out, the husband was located a short distance from Marsh Harbour and they were safely re-united. If interested, we can email the details or you can read the story in the Lakeside News.

Now that the New Year has arrived, the yacht club activities will be on the rise. We have a chili cook-off and a sock-hop scheduled, and our big annual event is the Commodore’s Ball in February. This year it will be a “black and white” ball and everyone tends to dress in their best resort wear i.e. dress or coat for some, shorts for others.

Carolyn begins her volunteer work at Every Child Counts later this week. She will have a class of seventeen, and has been assigned an aide to assist with her art projects and activities. ECC is a valuable resource here in the Abaco’s and it is supported in total by donations. As for the Captain, he has already had three articles published in the Abaconian, the only local newspaper, and stays busy walking the docks and being the consummate Commodore, politician and problem solver.

We hope to have many more exciting things to report in the near future, so stand-by!