First Experience

Marsh Harbor
N 26 32.845 W 077 03.485

We had our first exposure to Marsh Harbor on Monday. I can't really say what it reminds us of. Parts look very quaint, parts look modern, parts look like the haphazard kind of development we saw in Alaska. The Bahamians are polite and friendly, but the proprietors of most shops seem indistinguishable from their American counterparts. Probably, as we have more contact, we'll see beyond such superficial impressions.

There is a super market here. It is a really big store. They do offer things that we never see for sale in the USA. Things like burnt sugar, beef tails, New Zealand butter, and New Zealand lamb. That doesn't mean that we can buy all those things. The lamb was priced at $16 per pound. Anyhow, we have to go back on Tuesday to buy vegetables. The supply boat comes only once per week, yesterday was 6 days after the last boat and most vegetables were sold out, and the remaining ones were the rejects.
Today, there should be fresh vegetables again.

Our Olympus underwater digital camera is giving trouble. The very first time we used it in the water, it leaked. Now it seems to work on odd days and not work on even days. If it fails, we'll be without pictures for a long time. After returning to the states, and after going through the cycle of mailing it back for warranty and having it mailed back to us via Jennifer, it could take more than four months to get it fixed.

Our masthead VHF antenna appears to be broken. I noticed that we were picking up transmissions on the hand held VHF that the fixed VHF didn't hear. Looking up, I can't see the antenna at all. Perhaps it fell off. Tomorrow, I'll go up the mast to investigate.

Last night we had dinner on board a nearby Westsail 42 (not 32 but 42) with Leon and Kim and Ron and Jethro. Ron is the skipper of the 42, and Jethro is his son. Ron refitted the W42 himself and he single hands her most of time. His wife doesn't go cruising with him, but she does give permission for him to go away for months at a time. Ron's son Jethro, recently quit his job and he decided to join his dad as crew for this winter. I think Jethro is going to have a hard time going back to the
working drudgery after sampling the cruising life.