We had a wonderful time exploring the Chesapeake Bay and Bahamas. We are now back in the USA enjoying some of the comforts we missed while traveling the remote areas of the Bahamas. We feel absolutely spoiled!
Welcome! Thank you! It is Nice to be Home Where We Can Buy All the Groceries We Need Whenever We Need Them.
We thought this might be a good time to write a “By the Numbers” post. In true Cream Puff style our post will be a bit different.
We completed 247 dinghy trips without falling into the water while entering or exiting the dinghy. This distinction made since there were 2 trips completed after falling into the water, climbing up the swim ladder, putting on dry clothes, muttering and starting all over again.
The dinghy was hoisted 231 times. 107 of those times we pulled the dinghy out of the water, removed the outboard, disassembled the dinghy, lashed it to the rail only to reassemble it and put it back into the water later that day. Sometimes after a short 3 hour tour—I mean sail– Sorry, Gilligan’s Island’s theme song started playing in my head and I could not resist. Now it will be stuck in your head too.
Speaking of dinghies; we toured around in 2 completely different styles of dinghies. Neither one was quite right. The dinghy dilemma triggered our study of 12 different dinghy brands tethered to other boats or tied to dinghy docks. Our search sparked at least 8 conversations with other cruisers debating the pros and cons of fiberglass verses aluminum bottom and Hypalon verses PVC. We made new friends in the process and learned to make 3 new rum drinks. Cruisers love to debate dinghies over rum drinks at sunset.
Taking a Walk Through Town
Sunset gatherings on various other boats also resulted in 4 new recipes for appetizers made from low provisions. It is hard to find groceries in remote areas of the Bahamas. This does not deter the smart and creative ladies of cruising who contribute ingredients they have on board to create appetizers for everyone shares.
During our time cruising we visited 38 ports, moored on 10 mooring balls and anchored in 45 anchorages. We miserably missed 1 mooring ball that was fouled. On 4 occasions, after anchoring, we decided to pull up the anchor and move to a better location. Sailing and motoring a total of 4200 miles.
Cream Puff at Anchor
I spent 122 hours in laundromats. I even have 3 laundry tokens left over to prove it. The ever present mosquito population consumed 3 cans of bug spray in the Bahamas and 2 cans in the Chesapeake Bay.
While hiking miles and miles of beaches we met pigs, iguanas, hutias and other inhabitants. Oh, that reminds me; we bought 47 loaves of bread, some of which fed said pigs and iguanas. There were hundreds of jellyfish swimming in the Chesapeake Bay but we did not join them. Not to mention avoiding hundreds of crab pots and oyster beds dotting the bay. We went on 26 snorkel trips in which we swam with dolphins, sting rays and beautiful tropical fish. We also learned to use a dinghy ladder.
We roamed around small towns along the Chesapeake Bay and small island villages in the Bahamas wearing out 3 pairs of sandals, 2 pairs of flip flops and 1 pair of tennis shoes.
The 18 months were happy ones; 43 bottles of wine, 4 bottles of rum, 11 bottles of Sangria and 1 bottle of tequila were purchased, stored and consumed on Cream Puff. Much of this bounty was shared with other cruisers and friends who came to visit. The fastest way to make friends while cruising? A cocktail gathering at sunset.
Time to Relax
We saw a different sunset every evening and gazed at millions of stars while on watch during our passages.
And, finally, we made countless memories in exciting new places making new friends along the way.
Making New Friends
We are eagerly waiting for hurricane season to end so we can start of our next adventure. Let the countdown begin!
