Half-year
Well, yesterday marked the six-month anniversary of our move aboard Cupcake and the half-way point of our sailing adventure. Although we didn’t start our sail south until the end of July, we began our life on a boat in the middle of the month.
In some ways it seems like much longer than half a year since we began this journey. Part of the reason it seems longer is that it is a little difficult to remember all our shore-based concerns with the kind of immediacy they used to command. In the first month or so of our trip I would actually pine for my job. It’s not that the living on a boat was a problem, but that I really enjoy the challenges and successes of what I do ashore. And for the first months I missed being immersed in that exciting, rewarding world. Now it is challenging merely to recall how I earn a living. (Yes, I know I’ll need to start remembering when summer rolls around again, but still…)
In many other respects, our adventure seems like it has been going much less than the six months. Ellen pointed out that, although we have been in the Bahamas since late November, the truly relaxing portion of the trip didn’t really begin until last week when we were just the three of us aboard again and settled comfortably in the Exumas. Lots of the earlier portions of the trip were about moving the boat and learning to be liveaboards. Now our days are much more about playing, fixing, and exploring.
Pufferfish (dioxin hysterix). Looks so frightened hiding under that coral.
Speaking of playing, we have been hanging around with Harry and Alicia from Jennabird. They are the people who we first met way back at Cape Lookout, NC. Today we all went snorkeling at a pretty excellent coral reef to the north of Fowl Cay and Little Majors Spot. The reef was fairly shallow, pretty well protected from the strong current of the incoming tide, and loaded with beautiful coral and fishies.
French Grunt (haemulon flavolineatum).
Despite the low grey rainclouds, we checked out the reef and just as I was getting ready to head back to the dinghy (Ellen had already called it quits, Moss and Alicia didn’t even go in the water) I spotted a lobster’s antennae. As always, I wasn’t sure I had the nerve to spear it, so I pointed it out to Harry – forcing me to be the hunter after all. Harry peeked at the lobster and claims he used his “lobster whisperer” beckoning skills to entice it out from the depths of the crevice in which it was hiding. When I dove on it again, the lobster (a big one) had crawled out to a spot where I had an extremely easy shot. So I shot and missed. The lobster didn’t even flinch, so I took it with a second shot.
Hanging out.
Ellen was so excited when she saw me lift the spear and lobster out of the water as I swam back to Mr. Flowerpot. She immediately pulled the catch off the spear, and once again ripped it in half with her (gloved) hands. Fearless, ferocious, and hungry. That’s what I look for in a woman.
Tonight we are heading to Jennabird for dinner. Ellen is making lobster penne, Jennabird is providing salad and a movie (and dessert, Moss and I hope). Ellen was going to make lobster linguini but is trying to avoid alliteration. Also, last night she made a marvelous chicken parmigiana to feed the family and was wary of serving a surfeit of red sauce.
Killer.
No Ellen-selfie today because this next set off pictures is so much more fun. Harry taught us a super-cool back-flip trick for getting into the dinghy. Every time Ellen does it, she is overcome with giggles because the trick is such a treat. Enjoy.
