Spot Tracking

We left Mariner's Cay Marina on Wednesday afternoon after John returned our rental car. Monday we had our genoa delivered and our rigging checked and a mobile groomer came and shaved Moose. We had spent Tuesday day at Walmart, West Marine, Office Depot, Petco and Publix shopping like we would never see a store again. I know after this year's trip I will have a much better feel for what can be obtained in the Bahamas but for now we are working in the dark except for what others have advised. There was a Hair Cuttery next to Publix so I got my hair cut by a fellow named Dallas who was born in the Virgin Islands and studied "under Vidal Sasson". We also went to customs at the St. Lucie County International Airport which makes Panama City International Airport look huge. We submitted ourselves along with passports and boat documentation for approval and we passed and now have our "Local Boater's Option Card" which allows us to return to the US without actually going into a customs office for clearing in. It was a long day and we were exhausted when we returned to Spunky. We spent the next hour in the dark transporting bags and bags of provisions to Spunky. Wed. morning we grouped and repackaged purchases and stored them in the v-birth and forward head hoping that we can find something when we want to use it.

We arrived early afternoon at Sunset Bay Marina where we hooked the last remaining mooring ball available for our size boat. We are close to the marina office and dinghy dock which is a wonderful location as it is not so far to take Moose in. It is really pretty here. We are moored with about 70 other boats of all size and design. The marina is about 2 blocks from the old downtown which is a charming village with restaurants, shops and a theater that has a wonderful lineup up of performers for the winter months. I can see why people stay here year round. John stopped in at a barbershop and got a short cut so we are now all shorn. We did pick up some clippers so we can try to keep ourselves and Moose respectable and comfortable in the Bahamas. That will be an interesting experience. A couple we met at Mariner's cut each others hair. Her's looked really good. He said he just puts the 5/8 in. blade on the clippers and shaves like I remember from the film they showed when Elvis went into the Army and they cut off his hair. As I said it should be interesting.

This afternoon there was Ladies Lunch and I went along. It was a very eclectic group of women who live on their boats. All were in long term slips at the marina where they now live as opposed to moving from place to place as we are. My favorite was Amy, who is 70 years old and lives with her significant other Marty who is 82, on a 49 ft. trawler. What a kick she is. Tonight we will attend "Sing-a-long for the holidays".

I am sending the address for our Spot tracking so you can follow us on our journey. The Spot will take a GPS reading and put it on a google map so if you go to the site you can track us on our journey. I think. You will probably have to cut and paste it in order to open it. It also allows us to call for assistance if we are in trouble. Sort of a backup for the Epirb, which we have as well, which calls for help and sends out our position after we have been separated from our radio. As I understand it we will loose phone and computer transmission for a while when crossing the gulf stream and not be able to call on a cell phone until we purchase a Bahamian phone so we will not be able to check in and let everyone know we are ok and have arrived. The Spot, however should continue to track our progress. We will soon see how well this all works.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.15765,-80.19528&ll=27.15765,-80.19528&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

We are thinking of you all and I will try to keep the updates coming.
Elyse