Back up the Exumas. It's even better the second time.

Alright, I told you about our journey across the Tropic of Cancer. It was awesome. I forgot to tell you about the next day, which was less fun. Remember when I stripped out some threads on the motor tightening a bleed nut? It was 3 or 4 weeks ago, it's okay if you don't remember. It resulted in some amazing sailing one day, and amazing creative engineering the next day. Well, the engineering was a temporary fix, and it was time to make it more permanent. At least stop diesel leaking into the boat. That smell takes weeks to go away, and when it's constantly leaking, it never goes away.

So Trevor dinghied across the harbor to get a Heli-Coil kit. We'd never used one before, but they're pretty cool. We also hauled the dinghy out of the water to do some fixing because it was leaking like a sieve in the back, and we were starting to lose air out of the pontoons. Not good. So it was a day of repairs. Work days are no fun. We managed to get the dinghy patched up (with a little hardware assistance from Jim, always there to help). The transom had a crack that was flexing and allowing water in and air out. So we bolted plywood on either side, along with rubber gaskets and a bucketload of silicone (magic stuff). When we put it back in the water the next day, it didn't leak! Woohoo! Right, back to the Heli-Coil. We had never used one before, but it seemed pretty straightforward.
1. Clean out the old threads. Ours were totally gone, so no problem here.
2. Use the tapping tool to make new threads for the coil.  Not complicated, but kinda tricky.  I ran into problems getting the thing to go in straight.  By the time I realized it was crooked, it was already screwed up.  Crap! (And a few other, more colorful words, to be sure.) 
3. Insert Heli-Coil into tapped threads to make new threads that fit that old bolt perfectly.  This is the easy part. 
Like I said, I ran into problems with step 2.  I made crooked threads.  When we put the bleed nut back in, it leaked crazily.  Nope hope for a good seal.  Super major big crap!  (etc.)  The only option was to drill out the new Heli-Coil threads and start over.  The part is trashed anyway, so what could it hurt?  So Trevor drilled it out, being careful to make the damn hole straight.  Then he used the tap and made new threads.  Then put the new coil in.  Alright, looks pretty good.  Bleed nut goes back in.  Fuel is pumped through the system.  And it leaks more than when we started, but less than with the crooked threads.  So I slapped on some plumbing tape, put the bleed nut back in, and repressurized the system.  No leak.  No leak?  Hell yes, no leak!!!  Happy dance time!  After lots of stress, swearing, and a few tears, we had fixed the problem.  This will get us back to the States, where we may or may not replace the part.  We'll see how we feel about it when we get there.

The next day was spearfishing.  And the day after that was our final resupplying in Georgetown.  Then seafood dinner aboard Amata Marie.  While we were enjoying our pre-dinner cocktails, a familiar sailboat came cruising by.  It was Glenice!  They were back from Long Island, only a day after they left.  Turns out they had some engine trouble and didn't want to get stranded over there.  So they came back.  While the cause was unfortunate, we were so happy to see them!  So we had a great dinner and delicious dessert with great friends again. 

Side note: I have to tell you about this dessert.  It's simple and super yummy!  Mix 1/2 cup of lime juice (fresh squeezed key lime juice is best, but you can use whatever is around) with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk.  If you have a refrigerator, let it chill a little bit, but it's also fine at room temperature.  It thickens on its own.  Then use cookies (ginger snaps are good) to scoop up the goosh like a dip.  Key Lime Pie without all the work!  And it makes a great, fast, take-along dessert if someone invites you over to their boat for dinner.  Totally awesome!

Right, so the next day (are we up to Thursday? I think it was Thursday.) we did our final final restocking in Georgetown.  For real this time.  Then we came back and went for a swim (it was hot!).  We swam over to Glenice to make plans to hang out, since it was our last night together as one big, happy family.  We all got together on shore for cocktails and some Chicken Foot dominoes.  During the 3rd or 4th round, the light went away, but Jim brought some lights.  So we played until way after everyone's bedtime.  Great times!  We were all sad to say goodbye.

Friday, we headed out from Georgetown.  It was sad to leave.  We knew we were finally headed toward home, even if it's a month until we get there.  When we got outside to the sound, the waves were rolly, but nothing terrible.  We had the main up and motorsailed up the coast.  Every once in a while, a wave would knock us around, but otherwise it was a pretty nice day.  We got to Adderly Cut while the tide was still coming out.  With the opposing wind, it made for an exciting ride going in.  It didn't look bad at first.  We managed to stay out of the strongest current.  By the time I realized how big the waves were, there was no turning back.  Luckily, we were going with the waves.  "Waves" being a 6-foot chop.  It was spooky to look over and see a wave at eye level and the trough way down low a few feet ahead.  Yikes!  We managed to surf our way through the cut.

The photo doesn't do it justice, except you can see the dinghy there above the anchor

What we encountered was what they call a rage.  The current flows opposite the wind, and it gets all confused a choppy.  We went through a mini-rage.  The current wasn't as strong as it could have been, and the wind was only 10 (at most 15) knots.  This was small-time.  I can only imagine what strong winds would do.  The idea of a full-on rage is terrifying.  We'll stick to this here inside route, thank you very much.
Oh, and another note.  Remember that day we sailed all day, no motor functioning at all?  We sailed through Adderly Cut.  Incoming tide.  Much better.  Even so, we are still super badass for sailing through it.

But after the excitement of going through the cut, all was well.  We tied up to a mooring ball at Lee Stocking Island.  It was nice to motor onto it instead of trying to sail on like last time we were there.  Amata Marie arrived shortly after us.  We had a delicious dinner of mahi mahi and cero mackerel that Jim and Tim (Nancy and Jim's son) had caught on the way up.  So good!  Trevor dropped a hook in the water when we got back to the boat, just to see what he could catch.  And you know what?  He caught this!

Trevor's fish!  A whopper!

I thought it might have been a crevalle jack (not good to eat), so we tossed it back.  (Thaddeus! Is it a crevalle, or something edible?)  But look how big!  Trevor is getting the bug for fishing.  Who saw that coming?

The next morning (we're up to Saturday now), Amata Marie left, and we went to work.  Like I said before, the research center doesn't have much funding, so we offered to help them out with some volunteer work.  We spent about 3 hours doing trail maintenance.  Snipping away at plants that were trying to take over the trails.  It was hot, exhausting, and backbreaking work.  But afterward, we went for a swim at coconut beach.  It was gorgeous, and we had the beach all to ourselves!  Once we got back to the boat and cleaned up, we didn't do much the rest of the day.  Relaxation is kinda nice, too, you know.  :)

Sunday, we went to work again.  This time, we were on palm frond duty.  We went around the research center, tugging down dead palm fronds and picking up ones that had already fallen to the ground.  They didn't give us a ladder or machetes, so we didn't get all of them, just the ones we could reach and that were ready to let go.  We also picked up fallen coconuts.  Not a bad way to spend a morning.

After lunch, I wanted to do some snorkeling, so we took the dinghy (and the speargun, since it was more than 1/2 mile from the research center) over to Tug & Barge rocks.  We anchored in sand and swam over to the coral.  Pretty coral heads, right next to shore, and coral growing on the side of the island itself.  Lots of fish swimming around.  Trevor spotted a lionfish.  I've been hoping to kill a few lionfish since I heard they were in the Bahamas.  Invasive and voracious, they don't belong here.  So I took a breath, dove down, and took a shot.  Missed.  Hey, those things move fast when they want to.  I dove again.  Direct hit!  But not hard enough, it slipped off and swam away.  When it came back again, I hit it harder and right in the side.  Success!  Okay, so I have this squirming fish with venomous spines ready to stab me if I touch them and put me in excruciating pain.  Now what?  I tried bashing its head on the rocks to kill it.  No luck.  We swam it back to the dinghy and scooted it down the spear.  Then Trevor unscrewed the tip and slid the fish off the pole with a towel.  Sweet!  Now we can go hunting for more.  We swam all the way around the tiny island, Trevor occasionally shooting at a passing fish.  It was a  neat place to snorkel.  Lots of fish and little coral heads all over. 

After a little while, I noticed the clouds were getting darker.  Time to head back to the boat.  We were about a mile from the mooring field, so I put the hammer down and raced to beat the rain to the boat.  Nope.  We were about halfway there when we saw the rain get to the boat.  Oh well, at least it's fresh water.  The wind chopped up the waves a little bit, but we've been in worse.  Onward, to the boat!  As we got there, the rain tapered off.  Of course.  We had left the windows open, but at least we closed the hatch over the bed.  So we had a few damp spots, but nothing serious.  I decided it was time to clean the fish.  I donned 2 pairs of gloves, just to be safe, and dug in.  I'm not very good at cleaning fish.  No one has ever taught me how to fillet.  So I'm still learning.  The fish didn't yield much meat.  But still!  My first lion fish!

My first lion fish!  Not so scary once they're dead.

Yesterday morning, we went ashore at the research center and hopped online to check the weather.  Looks okay, let's go!  So we headed out.  This time, we were taking the inside route.  No need to go back through Adderly Cut again.  Trevor dropped a line in the water to troll for fish.  Jim was nice enough to give us a lure.  And it was way better than ours!  Within 5 minutes, Trevor caught a bar jack! 

It's bigger than it looks.

Go Trevor!  We continued making our way through the shallow VPR routes, which get a little tricky around the Pimlico Cays.  And it was cloudy, so we didn't have sunlight to help us out.  But I managed.  We rounded the cays with shallows all around us, and I didn't run aground.  Right at one of the more intense parts, Trevor caught another fish.  He was down below taking something for an impending migraine, so I told him when he came back.  He pulled it in a little at a time (we were using the Cuban hand reel, because our other 2 reels have been disabled by the salt water).  Just as the fish was a few feet behind the boat, it jumped and threw the hook out.  Aw man!  Trevor was understandably disappointed.  And he had a headache.  Bummer.

Eventually, we made it back to Rudder Cut Cay.  This was the place where I had spotted a lion fish a few weeks before.  I was ready to get that sucker!  But I waited until I was sure Trevor wouldn't die from taking expired migraine meds before I left him alone on the boat.  First, I checked out the cave on the other side of the hill.  It was pretty cool.  It went farther in than our cave, but had a sandy floor with no coral.  It did have 3 holes in the roof, one of which seemed to have a cactus growing around it. 

Cactus over a cave hole on Rudder Cut Cay.

After sufficiently exploring the cave (there wasn't much to it), I went back to the boat to get my gear.  It was fishing time!  I looked where I had seen the lion fish before, but it had hidden in a hole.  I shot at it anyway, maybe hitting it, maybe just making it mad.  I went to another coral head.  There was a lionfish in there, too!  I shot at that one.  Missed.  Went back to the first coral head.  It went on like this for quite a while.  Shooting at (and occasionally hitting) one of the lion fish.  I finally managed to get the one in the second coral head.  It was a biggie.  I took it back to the dinghy and deposited it in the bucket using the same method as we did with our first lion fish.  Then I went back.  I had to get that other one!  I did manage to hit it solidly, but my spear got stuck in the rock.  No way I was going to reach in there to get it!  So I tugged and yanked and finally got the thing out, but no fish.  So I went swimming around.  I found yet another lion fish.  Shot at it a couple of times, but it was really well-protected.  Then went back to my first lion fish.  Still couldn't get it.  So I went back to the other coral head.  Hey, there's another lion fish in there!  I shot at that one a couple of times, too, but couldn't get it out.  Have I mentioned I'm not very good with the spear?  Well, I'm not bad with it, but it's very tricky to get something tucked into a crevice when there's no straight shot and all you can see is flowy fins (venomous ones, at that).  I went back to my first fish.  I poked the spear into its hidey hole, with no real hope of getting it.  Then it swam out.  I guess it was tired of me harassing it and tried to make a run for it.  But had a couple of big holes in it, so it wasn't going very fast.  I shot, missed, shot again, hit!  It was pinned to the sand, but not dead yet.  I pulled the spear back one more time and gave it a solid shot behind the head.  Dead at last.  I did a little more swimming and stabbing, hoping to get a third fish, but no luck. 
Went back to the boat and cleaned up.  Then cleaned the fish.  I was better at it this time.  And we had lion fish for dinner.  Whoa!  So delicious!  I mean, really really good!  They're a lot of work to kill (if they have good hidey holes) and clean, and they don't have much meat on them.  But boy are they tasty!  Oh, and a shark (maybe a lemon shark) showed up to munch on the morsels I tossed overboard.  Definitely wasn't a nurse shark.  Cool!  First lemon shark!

My second lion fish.

Today, we had an excellent trip back to Black Point.  We even got to sail.  Just sail.  Without the motor.  It was pretty sweet.  We got anchored by 1:15.  Not bad!  Then we came ashore and did some laundry and had cheeseburgers (DeShamon's has excellent cheeseburgers).  Not internet.  It might be the last time for a while that we have internet access.  Internet is scarce in the northern Exumas.  Then we'll be heading over to Eleuthera and eventually to the Abacos and back to Florida.  Not sure what the timeline is for all this travel, but we'll play it by ear.  And keep you informed as much as possible.