Dawn on Saturday, January 3
As the sun was rising in the east, the moon was setting in the west. The moonset was magical.
Quiet Days at Over Yonder Cay, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas
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Category Archives: Boat Technical
Removing the Retainer from the Toilet on New Year’s Day, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas
Sunrise on Thursday, January 1, 2026
It was a chiily morning – only 66 degrees Farenheit! But it was 45-degrees in Florida and snowing in Baltimore, so it much warmer here in the Exumas than the rest of the US East Coast.
Eric celebrated the New Year by making a French toast breakfast with the coconut bread that we’d bought from Lorraine’s mom. This coconut bread was different than the one we’d gotten in Cat Island. In Cat Island, it was basically white bread with a hint of sweetness and a hint of coconut. Looking at it, you’d never realize it wasn’t plain white bread. Lorraine’s mom’s bread was basically white bread with a swirl of coconut jam in the middle — like a jellyroll cake but with bread instead of cake. The jam was made from tiny pieces of real coconut. Eric and Christi loved it and thought it made phenomenal French toast. Keith wasn’t a coconut fan and said he preferred French toast with regular bread.
After breakfast, Eric did a little gaming to help psych himself up for tackling the toilet. The first step was to clear out the closet. Then he had to disconnect the water pipes from the toilet. The water in the outgoing pipe spilled, which was stinky.
Rachel’s Bubble Bath at Compass Cay, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas
The sunrise was blocked on Sunday, December 28, 2025, but there were still some neat colors.
This morning, the boat was moving strangely. When Eric went to see what may be causing it, he saw that the chain had gotten caught on multiple rocks, creating a zig zag pattern. Oy vey.
This morning, the flotilla moved to an island called Compass Cay. We pulled up anchor a little before 1000, and needless to say given the rock situation, getting the chain up was tricky. Eric had to do some serious maneuvering to straighten the chain out and the windlass was strained a few times as the chain clung to the rocks. But all in all, getting it up wasn’t too bad — it could have been much worse.
Moving to an Unnamed Sand Bar in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, The Bahamas
Dawn on Saturday, December 27
We forgot to mention that one of the chores that Eric had done a few days ago was change the generator oil. Today he put away the tools. Eric frequently says that in boat maintenance, getting everything out and putting it all away again often took longer than the task itself. Eric also spent some time in the morning trying to figure out why the air conditioner in the salon mysteriously stopped working. He cleaned the sea strainer and checked the oils, but didn’t see a problem.
Today the wind was dead and the seas were completely calm. Here was our flopper stopper.
Christmas with the Ranger at Warderick Wells Cay, Exuma Islands, The Bahamas
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, Christi woke up at 0500, before first light. Warderick Wells basically has zero lights and it was cloudless (which was rare), making the stars especially vibrant. She sat outside for a few minutes and saw a shooting star! This was the dawn.
Early in the morning, the park ranger’s wife sang to us about the rules of the park. We’d forgotten about her morning announcements!
Some of the other parents organized a scavenger hunt around the island for the kids. in the morning, Keith went on the scavenger hunt. Here was a shot of the group.
