When I last checked in Pam had deserted me to fly home and get an Oscar fix. Seems that she needed a more innocent face to look at than mine.
While back home the family took Pam to Manny's Pizza one night and of course had to call me and send me pictures over my phone of the tacos & pizza. In response I prepared a delicious Complete Meal in the microwave. Who needs Manny's!
With Pam 1500 miles away visiting and babysitting I was left to entertain myself. Wax the boat, lobster dinner at the marina courtesy of Marv & Carol from M/V DeeLight. More waxing, docktails and another Complete Meal. Still more waxing and Bike Night downtown followed by cigars and cocktails with various members of the Legacy cast. Wash the boat, take a quick trip to the Bahamas. What? That's correct. A quick trip to the Abacos. Here's the scoop.
Seems Eric from the marina needed to get a boat from Legacy to Great Guana Cay in the Abacos and needed a deckhand for the trip. Donnie from Kasey's Choice told him that I was home alone for a few days and perhaps would be interested in going along. The only problem was that I wouldn't get back until Wednesday and Pam was getting back on Tuesday. You know what that means. I needed clearance from the Admiral before committing to the trip.
It was almost too easy. I think she was relieved that I wouldn't be here to bug her while she got settled back on Tourist. Actually she was a bit jealous that she wasn't with us since the Marlow is her favorite boat.
Any way with my permission slip in hand I agreed to the trip. We untied the lines at 5:20 am on Monday and headed out onto the dark Caloosahatchie for the run to Stuart. Much to my delight the channel markers were very reflective when hit with the spotlight beam making the early morning run a bit less stressful. We made the lockages on time and lowered the antenna's to avoid having to wait for bridge openings. All went well and we tied up at Pirates Cove Marina in Stuart, Fl. at 6;30 pm.
Tuesday morning we got going a little after 7 am. We wanted daylight so we could avoid the shoals common to the St. Lucie Inlet as we headed out onto the Atlantic.
Once out onto the big water we quickly abandoned the flybridge for the enclosed pilothouse as the waves rose to the four foot stage which was sending salt spray all over the boat. The Marlow handled them with ease as we cruised along at 18 knots. In fact I commented to Eric about what a difference the stabilizers make in the quality of the ride when he informed me that he wasn't using them but had them locked in the straight ahead position. I LIKE this boat! It was smooth enough to break out a couple of Breakfast Bowls and nuke them in the microwave while we were travelling along. Umm, umm good!
It wasn't long before we were approaching the Little Bahama Banks area and much shallower water and so clear that you could see the bottom! For the next several hours we wound our way through the various islands avoiding the extremely shallow spots enroute to our first stop at Spanish Cay to check in with Bahamian Customs. We just made it before the official got on the ferry for her ride home. From there it was another hour and a half to Orchid Bay Resort on Great Guana Cay. We pulled in at 7:30 pm with daylight to spare. Boat delivered. Or so we thought. As we were tying the lines a chap from a nearby sportfishing boat came over and said " I hope you don't want power or water". Apparently the services had been shut down for failure to pay their bills and no one told him or the owner of our Marlow. Time to scramble!
Being the conscientious person that he is, Eric quickly contacted the owner and relayed the circumstances. Following many texts back and forth it was decided that we would take the boat to Treasure Cay on Great Abaco Island the next morning and see if they could accommodate our needs. With a loose plan in place we walked around the cove to a little beachside restaurant for a much needed libation and some conch fritters before hitting the rack.
Wednesday morning we shoved off at 7 am and headed across the water. As we approached Treasure Cay Eric contacted them on the VHF radio and advised them of our needs which were now stacking up. Our flight out of Marsh Harbor is at noon. Once the initial shock of such a request coming as they first opened for the day wore off, the dockmaster was able to find a slip for our Marlow. Upon entering the marina we stopped to fill the fuel tank. In talking to the attendant we were able to secure a ride to the airport and also get someone to wash the salt off the boat once it was in the slip.
Safely docked and the appropriate fees paid we were met by our taxi driver for the ride to the Marsh Harbor airport. We got there at 11:30 am with time to spare. A quick flight to West Palm and the drive back to Legacy got us home at 4:30 pm. Just like clockwork!
By the way. Pam was as happy to see me upon my return as I was her. Of course I had to fill her in on all the nuances of the Marlow but not before I heard all of the Oscar stories!
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