From: BrianGale@alum.bucknell.edu [mailto:BrianGale@alum.bucknell.edu]
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 8:31 AM
To: celebration_news@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Options
Hello from Marsh Harbor! It's been another two weeks in the Abacos, two weeks of funning and sunning and the flu. My friend John came down for a short visit and left the flu. Fortunately all my fellow cruisers have children my age, and there were plenty of Dr. Moms eager to drop off soup and meds. God Bless Dr. Moms everywhere!
Things have looked up since the flu episode. I spent a day with a professional dive company and we did two incredible dives. The first, to 60', was an amazing maze of coral pillars that rose vertically from the floor to the surface. Our other dive was through a series of caves interconnected by tunnels. Throughout the two dives we saw tarpon, nurse sharks, turtles, baraccuda... The most amazing part for me was the tunnels, which were filled with clouds of tiny silvesides. Least favorite part - eels. Can't stand the eels!
I also went to a lovely Easter sunrise service at a beachside Mehodist church in Hopetown. The tiny church had 8 rows of pews, and with 30 of us there, the church was about half full. Behind the minister was a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, facing east onto the Atlantic Ocean and the breaking dawn. You have to have a good homily if you're competing with daybreak! After the service we had coffee hour on the church's patio, which abuts the beach. We got out there just in time for a perfect sunrise - some times it pays to go to church!
I've had an interesting opportunity arise in the past week. A cruising couple that I've run into several times in the past 6 months are making the trip directly from the Bahamas to Cape Cod. I've always wanted to do a true ocean passage. I've never sailed more than 200 miles at a stetch, and I'm interested to know if long passages agree with me. The boat, a Shannon 43, is well outfitted for oceaan cruising, and the couple is experienced and cautious. Quite an opportunity.
Separately, a friend and I (an actual friend in the Bahamas under 30!!) have been asked to deliver a boat to Stuart, FL. Another interesting option, cruising with someone else. So much of my cruising has been either solo sailing or a week tour of nearby islands. It would be fun to be able to head out and cruise without a schedule for a few weeks with someone else aboard.
But in the end, my heart just isn't in it. I'm ready for ice cream and bagels and a bed that doesn't move. I'm ready for peppers that don't cost $6 and refrigeration that will allow vegetables to last more than two days. I'm ready for grinders and gaggers, cabinets and coffee milk. I'm even ready to get a job (well, almost ready). I'm ready to head home.
Tonight we have a front coming through. As it clears out, I'm heading north. I intend to spend a couple weeks hitting a few more islands and anchorages here at the top of the Bahamas. I expect to cross back to Florida by May 15.
Keep those emails coming, I like to hear what's happening elsewhere. And remember, it's not too early to book your cruise north on the ICW!
Brian
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