Back to Vancouver!

       March 31st......on our way back to Vancouver

We had a great winter in the Bahamas. On March 31st, we cast off Miss Ellie's lines for her trip to Fort Lauderdale and we flew home to Vancouver for a month or so till we have to return to Florida after the post lightening strike damage is fixed.

Due to the super slow internet from our boat, I decided to wait till I got home to post what we did since my last post!

                          

In my last post, I showed pics of Guy sanding the toe rail (the strip of teak  that runs along the edges of a boat's deck). This is the result of the finished 1 coat of application of Cetol 'Natural' under 9 more coats of Cetol 'Gloss'.
The last post also had pics of Guy's art show. It was successful, selling more than half the paintings so far. The remaining ones will stay hung in the gallery. 

In early March, our friend Joe asked if we wanted to enter a race just outside of Hope Town with he and his wife Paula on Sequel II, their 37 ft C&C. We did not win...but it sure was fun!

Joe and Guy check the tale tails on the sails making sure the sails are well set .

This vessel is called the Rage. It is pretty much in every race and is a sight to behold.

It's not unusual to pack up our cooler with an appetizer to share and some cold beer or wine for Happy Hour on other cruiser's boats or have them join us on Miss Ellie

We were often invited to join friends (by way of their boats) at some fun restaurant/bars on the sea of Abaco.

A fishing day on our friends Lee and Cheryl's  Wesmac cruiser/fishing boat "Live Wire"

Guy's catch....a 50lb Maui Maui!

My catch for the day was a 13 lb King Mackerel

With our freezer not cooling as well as it should have been, we gave lots of fillets to fellow cruisers as well as staff at the Hope Town Inn. We enjoyed a few meals of grilled Maui Maui  as well as fish tacos!

We never tire of this sight....just outside the harbor . Directly ahead is the Atlantic. Going to the left you enter the sea of Abaco.

Most Sundays there is a race. One category is for the Abaco Dinghies and the other is of the Sail Fish

On the top left pic, Guy is towing in two sailfish sailboats.  The wind had died and they were going nowhere fast early on in the race. Top right pic is of our friend Steve who is also being towed back in!

We have been  back in beautiful Vancouver, enjoying our kids, grand daughters and friends for nearly 2 weeks now. The cherry blossoms are spectacular as are all the flowering trees and bushes!
Below, from our balcony, we will enjoy the mountains and the cruise ships that are starting to arrive daily.

We will be returning to Florida in 3 to 4 weeks when the repairs have been completed on Miss Ellie. At that time, we will be testing out the new systems, and taking the boat to St Augustine to haul out for the summer and fall months. We have been happy with our insurance company so far. They sent a captain and a crew member to take Miss Ellie from Hope Town to Fort Lauderdale.  Captain Steve, safely delivered the boat in 36-40 hours  non stop in light winds and minimal waves. It was mostly a motor ride.           
 On our return to Florida,  I will post once more on the blog to let you know how we made out with the repairs and the insurance.      
Have a great Spring..........

  

Time flies !

  Oh my....it's already been a month since my last post......

These pics are from the exhibition's opening at the Hummingbird Art Centre that took place Feb 2nd. It was very well attended and several pieces sold within a few hours! More sold throughout the month and the remaining paintings will stay at the gallery and hopefully sell before our return next year!
Robbie Bethyl, the art co-ordinator did a great job organizing the event and serving wine and cheese!  

This is  Susan Abbott. She is an artist from Vermont  and comes to the Bahamas every year to give art classes that are very well attended by locals and tourists. Here Guy watches as she does a Plein Air piece of a local house.

A walk on the beach is always a fun way to spend part of an afternoon!You may have noticed the long pants and sweater. When  a cold front rolls through it may be sunny but the air is cool and you may get a few sprinkles of rain with strong winds but swiftly moving fronts. Short bursts of rain and then the sun shines again.

We usually pack a picnic lunch and head out to the sunfish and Abaco dinghy races on Sunday afternoons in the bay off the Hope Town entrance.

Sometimes we walk along the frack filled shore in search of seabeans. We have found quite a few this year!

Lots of sanding ahead to make them turn into little jewels!

A random statue on a property facing the sea!

These signs are everywhere along the rough roads on the island!

A meeting of guitar players.....Guy, Steve and others often get together, bringing with them a crowd complete with appetizers, smiles and interesting conversations!

Above, myself and our friend Randy look on as the crowd sings along, share sailing stories and sample the many yummy dishes!

Always well attended is this years Song Writers Festival! We attended 2 of the 5 venues!

The first venue we attended was at The Hope Town Inn......same place as we are docked at. Another cold front moved into the area making it a super cold evening but somehow, with the fire pit warming the crowd it was super entertaining!

Here we are dressed in layers to keep warm with our good friends Randy and Lee of S/V Silver Maple, also Canadians from Buckhorn On.

We shared this table for the second Song Writer's festival venue with some cruising friends at the Firefly Restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants on the island.  The place was packed .We waited so long for our dinner order to come that the restaurant placed 3 bottles of free wine on the table!  So we happily toasted to a great evening filled with talented  entertainers again! Because this place is on the south end of the island, a great service that they offer is a pick up and delivery to and from their restaurant by golf cart! 

Well.....now it's time to get some work done!

The dreaded sanding!  This time though Guy used mostly a scraper (loaned to him by our friend Randy) as the many coats of varnish applied last year had started to lift!   Grrrrr.......The boater across the dock from us said,"Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a vacation not a work time." My reply was,"Nope, it is a lifestyle! You have to keep up with the boat jobs. Plus we are only here for a short time and fun and work each have to take turns or your boat looks run down in a hurry."

All work and no play is no fun...so another afternoon get together by the pool area with (from the left), Randy, Lee, Dana, Ted, Diane, Nancy, Goldwyn and Guy!

We may not be sailing much this year, but we have been to other islands on our friends boats. Once to provision in Marsh Harbor on S/V Sequel II with Joe and Paula and a week later, with Wendy and Peter to have lunch at Pete's Pub in Little Harbor. What would have taken us all day to sail there, took 45 minutes in their 42 foot Sabre motor yacht on the clam, flat sea of Abaco.
 And of course there is the ferry that takes us over and back to events in Man O War or on the Great Island of Abaco. 
Never a dull moment!

One more month left to enjoy this beautiful place!

See you next time!  


Guy and Louise xoxox

Guy is having an Art Show!

                  Below are pics of 17 of Guy's art pieces. 
 The exhibit is of  "The Abaco Dinghy" and held at the Hummingbird Cottage Art Center in Hope Town. The opening is Monday Feb 2nd at 4:00 pm. 

They are all 9 X 11 and framed alike. The frames are made by Doug Albury from Man O War Cay. (an island next to us) . He finds this old washed up wood on the beach, takes it back to his workshop, planes it, treats it, and mills it out into boards for frames. He then precisely assembles them to a specific size. It takes him a while to find the wood to work with. Guy waited a year for the 20 frames. The holes in the wood are created by burrowing worms from years and years ago. They are quite unique and very Bahamian.   

Waiting for Sunday

Black Water

Coconut

Off to Man O War

Shackled

Rounding the mark

44

Bailing

Shallow Water

Tom and Jenny

On the Mooring

Across the Harbour

Rigged and Ready

Sisters

Quick Squall

Beached in Hope Town

Anchored in Fry's Mangrove


For more info...copy and paste the url below

http://www.hopetownart.com/projects/guy-mathany-february-2015/ 

Today, we will take the art to the gallery. Guy has been busy for the last little bit, framing and adding the hanging hooks and rope to the back. They have been stacked in our aft cabin for some time now...Although I will like the space they have taken up, I will miss them as they are all beautiful pieces.

Next week.....back to the neglected boat projects or chores! Grrr!