Day 113:

Between the Majors, Exumas, Bahamas (anchored)

May 8, 2022

We had been really lucky with weather here. Most nights the temps are in the 70s and the wind keeps us cool. Lately it has been different – sometimes very little winds and nighttime temps around 80. It’s cooler in the salon (the ‘living room’) so I will often lie on the settee and read until I fall asleep. Every night I have been awakened by rain drops coming in through the overhead hatches – I close everything and get into bed at that point.

Early this morning lightning was all around us (although we did not have much thunder) so we put all of our electronic devices into our oven. We have read that this will protect our stuff from electromagnetic shock if Lailia got struck by lightning. We’re not 100% sure if this will work, but it’s worth our energy to try to keep our phones, chargers, and laptop safe. Microwave ovens are actually Faraday cages (and definitely would work) but we don’t have one onboard. It’s pretty amazing how much stuff we could fit in my “princess oven” (that is the brand name and I laugh every time I see it).

Although it seemed like it was going to be a rainy day, in typical Bahamas weather took over and the sun came out. Our solar power is pretty decent for keeping our fridge and water pump running but without the wind generator we don’t have a lot of extra power so we have to run the generator to charge our phones, my Kindle, and our bluetooth speakers.

This was a day that John worked to tighten our shrouds. These cables help support our mast and over time can stretch. I did some basic cleaning (our entire bathroom can be cleaned with two Lysol wipes) and took apart some of the burners on our stove to deep clean them. I also baked some shortbread.

In order to import freight into the Bahamas, individuals have to create an online account through a system called Click2Clear. This system is supposed to expedite the process but we had been struggling to make it work (it’s a newish system). It was frustrating that we were going to have to wait to talk to someone with the customs office on Monday since our package was at the freight forwarders on Friday. We made several phone calls to the forwarders and it seemed as if they were not going to be able to send us our alternator until we got the Click2Clear account straight.

But…somehow they were able to make it happen and get our package on a plane today. We have the alternator. I am not really sure what magic happened but I am really thankful. Hopefully John will be able to get it installed tomorrow.

While we were in Staniel Cay we ran into new boat neighbors and we all decided to stay for drinks and snacks. Conversations between cruisers always seem to follow a predictable threads: we always have to share where we have been; we discuss where good services (like showers, laundromats, and stores) are; we talk about lifestyle changes (like using tortillas instead of hotdog rolls); and the men talk about the stuff they fixed (because stuff always has to be fixed). We usually all share social media links. Sometimes we share book recommendations because there’s a lot of time to read when you have to wait for the weather windows. There’s a strong sense of community among liveaboards that transcends age and politics.

The waves calmed down a lot this evening which made our ride back to Lailia really relaxing. We took a little ride out to watch the sunset before heading back to have some cheese and crackers for dinner.