Day 163 - Kalik — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased, slip fee $145, diver fee $80, daily high temperature 74°f, daily low temperature 74°f

At 8:00 am there was a knock on the side of our boat. It was the fellow from the dive shop I had spoken to yesterday. He brought along a young man to dive on our propellor and remove the line. Just before they arrived I saw a bull shark swim past our stern. The diver borrowed my dive knife and cut the line off in less than five minutes. No sharks came by. We asked him how much for the dive job and he said $100 and walked away. We assume someone will return to collect. The price seems a little high but I wasn’t about to go back in the water. Dale negotiated a final price of $80 when he walked over to pay them.

This is the wad of line that was wrapped in our propeller.

On Friday we will cruise 95 miles to Great Harbour Cay. We will fuel up at $3.74 per gallon and perhaps spend the night on the hook. We will spend a day or two there and head over to Nassau.

A photo from yesterday on the ICW. This is a fuel barge that delivers fuel to the yachts on the river.

The favorite local beer of the Bahamas is?

We made some new friends while walking along the beach on North Bimini. Domonique and Benjamin invited us to a picnic at their house on Saturday.

When we cross open water such as the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf Stream we get out our safety gear. We have an eight person Liferaft.

Reflections by Captain Jack Sheppard.

Florida Memories

An early walk along the sand
as Kathy quietly holds my hand
the surf breaking along the beach
porpoise playing just out of reach
a soft breeze removes the dawn haze
as ospreys fish in the waves.

Soon I’ll cast from the shore
trying my luck to fish some more
the warmth of the sun on my face
enjoying the slowness of the pace
watching a crane steal my bait
pretending to be my fishing mate.
Cap’n Jack
3-3-16

Congratulation to you
the Bahama landed crew
watch out for big sharks and pirates too
around here it’s snowy, windy and 32(f).
CJ

Bonus photo

Carl ( Chef ) Wooden – quote of the day.

At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” – Robin Lee Graham

Robin Lee Graham – Held the record as the youngest person to sail solo around the world (with stops and assistance). Robin Lee Graham (born March 5, 1949) is an American sailor. He set out to sail around the world alone as a teenager in the summer of 1965. National Geographic Magazine ( Oct. ’68, April ’69, Oct. ’70) carried the story, and he co-wrote a book, titled Dove, detailing his journey.

Before beginning his around-the-world journey, Graham had sailed alone from California to Hawaii on July 21, 1965. However, he declared the official starting point of his around-the-world journey to be Hawaii, where he and his family lived at the time. At the age of sixteen, he started out heading west in his 24-foot sloop. He was originally given two kittens for company, that he named Joliette and Suzette, and through his travels lost and gained several more, ultimately docking with Kili, Pooh, and Piglet. He married along the way and, after almost five years, ended his journey in Los Angeles instead of finishing his around-the-world journey where he started in Hawaii. He and his wife, Patti Ratterree, briefly attended Stanford University, then settled in Montana.

Graham’s book about his voyage, Dove, was published in 1972. His voyage was depicted in a film, The Dove (1974). A follow-up book, Home Is The Sailor, was published in 1983.