Monday, August 08, 2005

Sail to Allens Cay

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Monday, August, 08, 2005, 12:47 UTC
the Exuama's

Guest Sophie, age sixteen:
I've been at sea for four days now and already miss land. Not enough to quit my journey though. I suppose I miss the necessities of living in a house, the showers, toilets, hairdryer's and so on. Fortunately I have some of the best company around. My father the eccentric grown up little kid who sweats profusely near a grill and my mother the over protective wild child who when she was a kid would most likely have been the one to suggest playing with fire works have not yet started to annoy me. Yay! No forgetting the other family that we share our adventures with is completely crazy. The good kind of crazy though. The father (a motivational speaker) is completely out of his mind, he talks in a made up language only he and all of his imaginary friends can understand. The mother reminds me of my own except less adventurous. She doesn't like the water and takes pleasure in jumping off the front end of the boat. Nicole their daughter is 3 or 4 years younger than me. We have a lot in common I guess but there still is an age barrier we can't connect on. She is outgoing and wild so we're a non stop-laughing group. Then there is the captain, one in a million. A mix of Gene Kelly and Jack Sparrow, the hidden smile, no bs and lots of charm. Sure he took us to a place where he thought was another and only has one working engine but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Today I'm going to make it national pirate talk day, full of "ahoy matey" and terms like "scallywag"! I'm brilliant.

Everything seems ten times better out here, except maybe the bottled water. It all looks so delicate. It reminds of when I was a toddler and my mother would scold me if I touched anything in a pottery store. "You can look but don't touch Sophie" she would say. The water looks like glass and our boat a sharp blade cutting through the shiny material. At night you can pin point every star and make up your own constellations. But if you reach your hand up to high you might put a crack in the sky. The breeze for the past dew days has been awesome. It's just enough to make the weather bearable. We've been snorkeling where a reef had been terminally damaged from a storm and everything was dark excluding the fish. Every animal was so vivid due to their bright colors and the brown coral. Then a selective few and I snorkeled an amazing un-destructed reef where every peace of coral was more vivid than the last, the population of fish grew and more and more fish traveled in schools. The captain pointed to a school of fish swimming directly next to my left shoulder, the most beautiful blue fish I'd ever seen, but the surprise wasn't the school it was the barracuda swimming next to the school. Obviously I decided to swim the opposite way but then ran into a massive amount of different types of jellyfish. That's when I decided that I had seen enough of that reef.
We made a quick shopping stop in Nassau to buy groceries and take a stroll through the straw market where I found an adorable red necklace with a shell attached. The next day we were on the water again off on an eight hour journey to a small island in the middle of nowhere with no convenience store, but iguana's. We stepped foot on the infested island and thought, they thought, we were lunch. The islands were swarming with big and little iguanas. The wild mother of mine and crazy father of the other family decided they would scare them offnot a good idea, more came, more angry than before, or so we thought. Later we noticed tourists flocking to the island feeding them snacks and such petting the iguanas as if they were house cats. They weren't threatening us, they wanted food. Oh well. Back at sea, hot and sweaty again.

NNNN
/EX

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chill-in

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Monday, August, 08, 2005, 12:41 UTC
the Exuama's

Monday, August 8, 2005

Outside Hybrid Cay, Bahamas

Another Day in Paradise. This is what I love about these trips last night we ate filet mignon and roasted potatoes with a great bottle of red wine and listened to Al Jarreau sing jazz. The stars and Milky Way were the evening entertainment. We slept in the web forward on board. I woke up sometime in the early morning hours to a light show of lightning 30 or 40 miles away. Absolutely beautiful.

The shopping in Nassau is okay - it's great if you are a shopper. The straw market is wonderful for the bargain hunters, jewelry, local crafts, purse knock-offs, t-shirt buyers. There are stores for the more luxurious shoppers - fine jewelry, boutique clothing, etc. But, you can do that anywhere. I love coming on Captain Mark's Stray Cat III to get away from all of that.

The hidden cays are a delight to come upon. The water is pure azure. The relaxation is so abundant it is profound. I haven't worn my watch or wedding ring since boarding (can't wear shiny jewelry while diving hence the doffing of the ring). My hair has been either. 1. Wet 2. Under a Hat 3. On it's Own. I am sure I look a bit like a rodeo clown with hair flying out from under a hat in every which way - but. How nice not to have to care.

It is great not having time commitments pulling at me. I wake up and don't know what time it is. I eat lunch when I feel like it. I have no idea when we have dinner or what time I go to bed. How nice to live according to my body time clock instead of one worn on my wrist. This is a great place to get quiet with self - and also to connect with family and self. It is also a great way to play with family without electronics, media or paid-for stimuli.

How fun to walk on Iguana Island and swim off shore with the family. How fun to explore the waters, the islands - each other. This has been a great trip - once again I am reminded how wonderful it has been to meet Captain Mark and be with him in his water home.

NNNN
/EX

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Friday, August 05, 2005

Nooo Wind, Hot

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Friday, August, 05, 2005, 19:39 UTC
Green Cay, Bahama

August 5, 2005

Great morning! Last night we headed out from Yacht Haven in Nassau & stopped for the night about 15 miles to anchor off lovely little island. Capt. Mark was bringing a part to another Catamaran and we rendezvoused with two other "Cats" to share stories and information about snorkeling, nearby reefs, etc. Everybody has a story about the sailing prowess of Capt. Mark. He has helped more people around the world! We heard of couples who got bailed out of hurricanes by the Captain, boats that were repaired, hours of sleep lost by Capt. Mark while he was helping other sailors out of trouble. This guy is quite something.

Last night, we dined on fresh lobster tails, chicken, corn on the cob and chocolate cake. The cabins were kept cool with air conditioning running all night. The girls (13 and 16) slept on deck last night - it is their favorite spot.
This morning, Ross and Gary woke up to do their "morning workout" - they stretched, did push-ups on board and then swam to the little island. When they came back, they took the kayak back out and explored the circumference of the island. Upon their return, Capt. Mark tied the kayak to the back of his dinghy and towed the girls like a banana boat while I made eggs benedict for the group. Capt. Mark finished our breakfast by giving us our briefing about safety, latrines, water and electricity usage.

This is our fourth trip with the Captain - how lucky we were to find him 7 years ago for our first adventure. He has never disappointed us - whether it be the secret snorkeling places, the funky new found islands with little bars filled with locals or fishing off the back of the boat. And his strength of character shows in everything he does. He makes everyone feel welcome - our daughters (13 and 16) are treated with tender respect. He will become as involved or as detached as the group requires. There might be other catamarans - bigger, fancier, but there is only one Captain Mark.

The girls hopped a ride on the dinghy to the little island where they gave themselves a natural "spa treatment" - exfoliating with the sand. Gary and Cherisse are going exploring in the kayak, Sophie is sunning while Ross is napping inside. Nicole is snorkeling and I am going to journal and read. The great thing about this trip is there is a lot to do and there is nothing to do - you choose. And this group is fine playing together or being alone in peaceful mode

It's time to read.signing off Debra Nash

NNNN
/EX

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