Tuesday, 4/22/08
In the morning, we went into Cooper's Town and found a small grocery store. After we shopped, we walked around the small town. We saw a nice house being built, a church, and a few other things.
After that, we left for Manjack Cay (pronounced "Munjack or Nunjack Key"). It took about 2 hours to sail to Manjack Cay. We sailed the whole way, even into the anchorage. Near Manjack Cay, from closest to farthest, there is Rat Cay, Crab Cay, and Fiddle Cay. You never bring your boat into Manjack Harbour because it is too shallow. The only way to get in is in your dinghy at high tide! I hope we explore there.
After we had the anchor down, we went exploring and fishing. We drove around Crab Cay in our dinghy. On the rocks (the Abaco Islands are made of limestone), we saw tons of crabs! Talk about crabs on Crab Cay! We went to a beach on Crab Cay. There was a lot of sea grass in the water and in it I found 11 dead sea buns! But we only kept one.
We trolled fishing lines around the rocks and coral. Chris caught something small that broke his line, then I caught a bar jack that was too small to keep, so we released it.
After our exploring adventure and showers, we went to a catamaran with 4 kids and we all played together. I am J.
Wednesday, 4/23/08
In the morning, Mr. John from the catamaran came over to see our boat. He looked for about 15 min. and then the adults talked. Because of that, we didn't start school until about 10:00.
We did school until lunchtime. While we were doing school, Dad went fishing in the dinghy. He caught a 2ft. houndfish! It is edible, but there was only enough meat for bait.
Then we went exploring. We took a nature trail to the beach. The waves were big because it is facing the Atlantic Ocean! On the way back, Chris and I scared Mom and Dad by jumping out at them, until I tripped while jumping out of the bushes. We had fun. I am happy.
Thursday, 4/24/08
At 12:00, after school, we went to Manjack Harbour in our dinghy. It was high tide. Connected to it is a large canal with mangroves on both sides, called Mangrove Creek. That is where we went. We saw a few baby sea turtles, 5 sea stars and a big fish! Then we zipped over to Coco beach and Manjack beach. At Manjack beach, we saw a bunch of sea stars, a few lemon sharks, a few reef sharks, and a few huge sting rays! It was awesome! Both types of sharks are edible, but we didn't have any fishing gear. They were probably 4-5 ft. long!
From there, we went home, and Chris and Dad went fishing. I did not go because I got tired of fishing day after day after day. They caught a scamp (a type of grouper) that was too small to keep, and a barracuda. We used a ciguatera poison kit to make sure it didn't have ciguatera poison, and we ate it. I did not really want to eat it, but Dad convinced me it was okay. I am happy.
Friday, 4/25/08
We did school until lunch and then we went to the beach in the anchorage. When we got there, we found a huge hole in the sand. Obviously, Chris and I dug it up. We finally hit a dead end. There was nothing in the hole. Then, Chris had to go to the bathroom, and Dad wouldn't answer the radio and pick him up, so he hitchhiked a ride with some other cruisers who took him back to our boat.
Mom and I got bored, so we decided to go exploring. As we were about to start, we saw Greg and Betsy from Kokopelli Too. So we sat in the water and talked to them. Finally, we hitchhiked a ride back to our boat with Greg and Betsy.
After a good dinner of steak and potatoes, Dad, Chris and I went looking for 2 shipwrecks off Crab Cay. There are actually 3 shipwrecks, and I spotted all of them. Tomorrow morning, we are going to fish at these wrecks. I am J.
Saturday, 4/26/08
Dad, Chris and I all woke up at 6:00am to go fishing. We trolled squid lures past the wrecks and then we went bottom-fishing on some reefs. We fished for hours and all we caught was a redband parrotfish that we released. We must have found the only 2 uninhabited reefs in the Bahamas and the parrotfish must have been a hermit!
After that, we picked up Mom and went to the creek. We didn't see any turtles or stingrays, but we explored inlets that come off the main passage. There was a huge inlet with an inlet attached to it! We went to the inlet off the inlet off the main passage. There were huge pits and a lot of fish, including a barracuda and a damselfish! Then we came out and realized that the inlet off the main passage was another entrance! It was fun.
Once we were finished, we went to a nice beach on Fiddle Cay. We walked around and then left. I am J.
Sunday, 4/27/08
Today, in the morning, we had church. We did a small service in the cockpit and Mom played her flute.
Then we decided to go look for some people on s/v Lady Galadriol. They were not on their boat, but we found them on a beach we hadn't been to before. When they left, Mom and Dad explored and Chris and I played on the rocks. I found tons of hermit crabs in one little tide pool in the limestone with only a little bit of water in it! I added sand to make it comfortable; then I added more water because Chris and I figured out that they are active when they are in water. I even had smaller, separate tide pools with sand and water for King Hermi and Hermi Wise Man! Chris tried to catch baby sergeant majors and mudskippers. He didn't catch a thing.
While Chris went sailing in Independence this afternoon, Dad and I helped Ms. Micah with her anchor and propeller. Some line got tangled on her propeller and Dad had to dive down and untangle it.
When Chris came home, we ate supper. After supper, we saw some people roasting marshmallows and weenies on the beach. We went to check it out and they gave us some marshmallows to roast. This is the best recipe: put a big marshmallow on a stick and put it in the fire until it catches on fire. Blow it out and eat it. It is delicious!
After we ate our marshmallows, Chris and I fed the fire. We figured out that coconut husks and sticks burn for a long time. Palm fronds make the flames bigger, but don't last very long. We had a good time. I am happy.
Monday, 4/28/08
In the morning, we went to the beach where we had left Independence last night. While Chris sailed, we went to the house and met Ben, the person taking care of the house while Mr. Bill and Mrs. Leslie are away. They are the owners of the house. Ben said that they went to Florida to stock up on things. They were checking into the country this morning at Green Turtle Cay.
We went to the boat and hung out after that. Then we decided to go back to the beach. When we got there, we met Mr. Bill and Mrs. Leslie. We helped put fences around the gardens and empty out their boat. They gave Chris and me birdseed for the Black-faced Grassquits. If you put your hand flat on the ground and be still, they will eat birdseed from your hand! It was so cool!
After all that, Ben took Chris windsurfing! Once, Chris fell off! While Chris did that, Dad and I got a coconut down from a tree and opened it. It tasted great!
Once at the boat, Mrs. Maria and Mr. Vinny from s/v Amante came over for cocktails. They had some pictures to give us of Chris windsurfing. While the adults talked, Chris and I watched a movie. I am happy.
Tuesday, 4/29/08
Early in the morning, we left to go to Marsh Harbour. When we went around Whale Cay into the Atlantic Ocean, the swells were 6 - 8ft. tall (I think I saw 10 footers, but Mom, Dad and Chris don't believe me.) and the wind was blowing 15 knots. A knot is a bit more than a mile. The swells were rolly where we were, but they were breaking waves on the rocks and the reef. They crashed high into the air.
It took about 2 hrs. to get to Marsh Harbour. We hung out on the boat for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we will go shopping, have haircuts (I think), and do laundry. I am happy.
Wednesday, 4/30/08
I played this morning and then we went to Jamie's for lunch. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries, Chris and Dad both got cracked conch, and Mom got chicken. It all tasted great! The fries had a special seasoning.
After lunch, we did laundry and school. I did history and science. I am glad I have clean clothes. We saw Un Sea Sing while we were at the laundrymat, and Ms. Sonja loaned us a movie about parrots. We need to watch it soon and give it back to her.
We went shopping today. We went to about 4 stores and bought a lot of things. In one store, we met some people with a little girl on s/v Tauá, a boat in the anchorage. The girl's name is Claudia. She is 8, like me.
After all that, we went back to the boat and decided to eat lamb chops for dinner. I am happy.
In the morning, we went into Cooper's Town and found a small grocery store. After we shopped, we walked around the small town. We saw a nice house being built, a church, and a few other things.
After that, we left for Manjack Cay (pronounced "Munjack or Nunjack Key"). It took about 2 hours to sail to Manjack Cay. We sailed the whole way, even into the anchorage. Near Manjack Cay, from closest to farthest, there is Rat Cay, Crab Cay, and Fiddle Cay. You never bring your boat into Manjack Harbour because it is too shallow. The only way to get in is in your dinghy at high tide! I hope we explore there.
After we had the anchor down, we went exploring and fishing. We drove around Crab Cay in our dinghy. On the rocks (the Abaco Islands are made of limestone), we saw tons of crabs! Talk about crabs on Crab Cay! We went to a beach on Crab Cay. There was a lot of sea grass in the water and in it I found 11 dead sea buns! But we only kept one.
We trolled fishing lines around the rocks and coral. Chris caught something small that broke his line, then I caught a bar jack that was too small to keep, so we released it.
After our exploring adventure and showers, we went to a catamaran with 4 kids and we all played together. I am J.
Wednesday, 4/23/08
In the morning, Mr. John from the catamaran came over to see our boat. He looked for about 15 min. and then the adults talked. Because of that, we didn't start school until about 10:00.
We did school until lunchtime. While we were doing school, Dad went fishing in the dinghy. He caught a 2ft. houndfish! It is edible, but there was only enough meat for bait.
Then we went exploring. We took a nature trail to the beach. The waves were big because it is facing the Atlantic Ocean! On the way back, Chris and I scared Mom and Dad by jumping out at them, until I tripped while jumping out of the bushes. We had fun. I am happy.
Thursday, 4/24/08
At 12:00, after school, we went to Manjack Harbour in our dinghy. It was high tide. Connected to it is a large canal with mangroves on both sides, called Mangrove Creek. That is where we went. We saw a few baby sea turtles, 5 sea stars and a big fish! Then we zipped over to Coco beach and Manjack beach. At Manjack beach, we saw a bunch of sea stars, a few lemon sharks, a few reef sharks, and a few huge sting rays! It was awesome! Both types of sharks are edible, but we didn't have any fishing gear. They were probably 4-5 ft. long!
From there, we went home, and Chris and Dad went fishing. I did not go because I got tired of fishing day after day after day. They caught a scamp (a type of grouper) that was too small to keep, and a barracuda. We used a ciguatera poison kit to make sure it didn't have ciguatera poison, and we ate it. I did not really want to eat it, but Dad convinced me it was okay. I am happy.
Friday, 4/25/08
We did school until lunch and then we went to the beach in the anchorage. When we got there, we found a huge hole in the sand. Obviously, Chris and I dug it up. We finally hit a dead end. There was nothing in the hole. Then, Chris had to go to the bathroom, and Dad wouldn't answer the radio and pick him up, so he hitchhiked a ride with some other cruisers who took him back to our boat.
Mom and I got bored, so we decided to go exploring. As we were about to start, we saw Greg and Betsy from Kokopelli Too. So we sat in the water and talked to them. Finally, we hitchhiked a ride back to our boat with Greg and Betsy.
After a good dinner of steak and potatoes, Dad, Chris and I went looking for 2 shipwrecks off Crab Cay. There are actually 3 shipwrecks, and I spotted all of them. Tomorrow morning, we are going to fish at these wrecks. I am J.
Saturday, 4/26/08
Dad, Chris and I all woke up at 6:00am to go fishing. We trolled squid lures past the wrecks and then we went bottom-fishing on some reefs. We fished for hours and all we caught was a redband parrotfish that we released. We must have found the only 2 uninhabited reefs in the Bahamas and the parrotfish must have been a hermit!
After that, we picked up Mom and went to the creek. We didn't see any turtles or stingrays, but we explored inlets that come off the main passage. There was a huge inlet with an inlet attached to it! We went to the inlet off the inlet off the main passage. There were huge pits and a lot of fish, including a barracuda and a damselfish! Then we came out and realized that the inlet off the main passage was another entrance! It was fun.
Once we were finished, we went to a nice beach on Fiddle Cay. We walked around and then left. I am J.
Sunday, 4/27/08
Today, in the morning, we had church. We did a small service in the cockpit and Mom played her flute.
Then we decided to go look for some people on s/v Lady Galadriol. They were not on their boat, but we found them on a beach we hadn't been to before. When they left, Mom and Dad explored and Chris and I played on the rocks. I found tons of hermit crabs in one little tide pool in the limestone with only a little bit of water in it! I added sand to make it comfortable; then I added more water because Chris and I figured out that they are active when they are in water. I even had smaller, separate tide pools with sand and water for King Hermi and Hermi Wise Man! Chris tried to catch baby sergeant majors and mudskippers. He didn't catch a thing.
While Chris went sailing in Independence this afternoon, Dad and I helped Ms. Micah with her anchor and propeller. Some line got tangled on her propeller and Dad had to dive down and untangle it.
When Chris came home, we ate supper. After supper, we saw some people roasting marshmallows and weenies on the beach. We went to check it out and they gave us some marshmallows to roast. This is the best recipe: put a big marshmallow on a stick and put it in the fire until it catches on fire. Blow it out and eat it. It is delicious!
After we ate our marshmallows, Chris and I fed the fire. We figured out that coconut husks and sticks burn for a long time. Palm fronds make the flames bigger, but don't last very long. We had a good time. I am happy.
Monday, 4/28/08
In the morning, we went to the beach where we had left Independence last night. While Chris sailed, we went to the house and met Ben, the person taking care of the house while Mr. Bill and Mrs. Leslie are away. They are the owners of the house. Ben said that they went to Florida to stock up on things. They were checking into the country this morning at Green Turtle Cay.
We went to the boat and hung out after that. Then we decided to go back to the beach. When we got there, we met Mr. Bill and Mrs. Leslie. We helped put fences around the gardens and empty out their boat. They gave Chris and me birdseed for the Black-faced Grassquits. If you put your hand flat on the ground and be still, they will eat birdseed from your hand! It was so cool!
After all that, Ben took Chris windsurfing! Once, Chris fell off! While Chris did that, Dad and I got a coconut down from a tree and opened it. It tasted great!
Once at the boat, Mrs. Maria and Mr. Vinny from s/v Amante came over for cocktails. They had some pictures to give us of Chris windsurfing. While the adults talked, Chris and I watched a movie. I am happy.
Tuesday, 4/29/08
Early in the morning, we left to go to Marsh Harbour. When we went around Whale Cay into the Atlantic Ocean, the swells were 6 - 8ft. tall (I think I saw 10 footers, but Mom, Dad and Chris don't believe me.) and the wind was blowing 15 knots. A knot is a bit more than a mile. The swells were rolly where we were, but they were breaking waves on the rocks and the reef. They crashed high into the air.
It took about 2 hrs. to get to Marsh Harbour. We hung out on the boat for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we will go shopping, have haircuts (I think), and do laundry. I am happy.
Wednesday, 4/30/08
I played this morning and then we went to Jamie's for lunch. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries, Chris and Dad both got cracked conch, and Mom got chicken. It all tasted great! The fries had a special seasoning.
After lunch, we did laundry and school. I did history and science. I am glad I have clean clothes. We saw Un Sea Sing while we were at the laundrymat, and Ms. Sonja loaned us a movie about parrots. We need to watch it soon and give it back to her.
We went shopping today. We went to about 4 stores and bought a lot of things. In one store, we met some people with a little girl on s/v Tauá, a boat in the anchorage. The girl's name is Claudia. She is 8, like me.
After all that, we went back to the boat and decided to eat lamb chops for dinner. I am happy.
