178 - Paisley's Pirates — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 94, fuel purchased $0, mooring ball $25, daily high temperature 78°f

It was a relatively flat 94 mile ride across the Northeast Providence Channel. We cruised for 5.5 hours. The entry to Little Harbour was very rolly and the channel into Little Harbour is thin water. We had to wait until half tide to have enough water to enter the harbour. There are a limited number of mooring balls available so we wanted to arrive early. No problem, there were several available.

We took the dingy into the dock next to Pete’s Pub. The happy hour was 4 – 6 pm. Little Harbour was settled by the famous artist Randolph Johnson. He sailed from Northampton, Ma in 1952 to escape civilization and open a bronze casting foundry. He lived in a cave on the beach for several years before building his first cottage. Randolph died in 1992. His son Pete opened the pub and maintains the foundry and art gallery.

Our first authentic Tiki Bar of the trip.

This place is awesome!

We met a family of a father and two children ages 8 and 10. The mother Krissy and youngest child Paxton got off the boat after the first year and stayed home. They are from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin have been sailing for a two years on a 43′ sailboat. They are on their way to the Dominican Republic. The father sails day and night and home schools the children. The last time the children were in public school they were three grades ahead of their classmates. Here is their story as written on their boat card.

Paisley’s Pirates – L to R – Ezra, Ophelia and Sean Linnan

SV 2000 Dufur Classic 43; we named her Paisley. Mission is to spend four years 2014 – 2018 learning how to live simply and enjoy a time when we are all young, energetic and still have options. We hope to learn more about happiness and fulfillment by slowing down to celebrate people, fleeting/precious time and vast beauty while shifting away from a “fast culture” of competition and a seemingly unending and unfulfilling goal to accumulate “more stuff.” Follow their blog at www.paisleyspirates.com

They hoisted anchor at 7:00 pm to sail all night to arrive at dawn at Allan’s Cay in the Exumas.

The night on the mooring ball was somewhat annoying. When we returned to the boat from dinner at Pete’s the house battery was very low. We fired up the generator and watched TV for several hours. The Vikings series is back. At 2:30 am the CO detectors went off which means we are about to be asphyxiated by carbon monoxide poisoning or the batteries are low. I started the generator and let it run for an hour. It should have occurred to me that there was something drawing down the battery but after checking all the electrical switches I went back to bed. At 4:00 am the CO detectors went off again. I started the generator and let it run for an hour. I am sure we were a big hit with our nearby neighbors. Then I did some looking around. In the past when the battery ran down prematurely it was due to leaving the bilge lights turned on. The switch for the bilge lights is on the dashboard helm and glows red when the lights are on. No light glowing on the switch. However, the switch was on. I turned off the switch and went below and lifted the engine hatch. The bilge lights were still on even though the switch was turned off. It is 4:00 am. I opened up the fuse box and wiggled the wires for the bilge lights and they went off. It has been six hours and all is well. Time to start the generator and make coffee.

This is a photo of CL sitting in a hammock on the beach at Little Harbour. She is in the right side hammock.

Our boat has been surrounded by sea turtles and flying manta rays. They are very shy so we have not been able to get a photo.

We climbed to the highest point in Little Harbour. There is an abandoned lighthouse at the top. This is Andy framed in the doorway of the lighthouse building.

There are several cars on this part of the island. In order to slow traffic down around the pub they use rope road bumps. It is effective.

On Sunday we will cruise 20 miles from Little Harbour to Hopetown. There is a red and white candy stripe lighthouse at Hopetown. I first climbed that lighthouse in 1974.

Bonus photo – life is good at Little Harbour.

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“The beach is not a place to work; to read, write or to think.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Anne Spencer Lindbergh (née Morrow; June 22, 1906 – February 7, 2001) was an American author, aviator, and the wife of aviator Charles Lindbergh. She was an acclaimed author whose books and articles spanned the genres of poetry to non-fiction, touching upon topics as diverse as youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and contentment, as well as the role of women in the 20th century. Lindbergh’s Gift from the Sea is a popular inspirational book, reflecting on the lives of American women.