February 12 The wind picked up last night. After school Pierce and James went for a walk. When Pierce arrived back his eyes were as big as saucers. He had just met some crew members from the "Pirates of the Carribean 2 and 3" No.. Johnny Depp was not there...shoots. The annimal trainer was in a building along side the canal. Pierce and James saw the Parrot and the monkey used in the movies. The monkey was being trained to hang on a rope slide from a tree to a house deck. Apparently there were three pirate ships built right here where we are anchored. Actually, the ships were barges made to look like ships - movie magic you know. The filming is almost over and the crew is just putting the finishing touches to things.
February 13 Very productive school day. Later we went for a walk. Unfortunatly we never saw anyone - all that we did see was a lot of trash dumped along the barren roads. It is a shame to see so much trash in an otherwise beautiful setting.
February 14 Today is valentines day. 70F high - Low 40F In waterway
February 15 We awoke at 04:00 to set sail to the Berry Islands. We need to approach the islands in good light due to reefs etc. Sailed two hours to 10 miles off shore. The wind was supposed to be due east but we were cutting it short on the nose going south. James Evan and Pierce were sick even though the waves were only 3 -5 ft high, but an occasional swell was 10ft. We were sailing fine but my inner voice said to go back. James did not like our odds of fighting the wind so we turned around and back to the Grand Lucayan Waterway.
February 16 The wind is south east, rain and cloudy. Better than two feet of snow as it is in Maine right now though. The boys and Jmaes went ashore to build a campfire and roast marshmellows. (It was nice to be left alone for a while) While on land the boys decided to clean up all the trash. They gathered and burnt all the trash from about an acre of land. The edge of the canal looks much cleaner now.
February 17 Hanging out and watching for a weather window to set sail.- You don't leave sailing on a Friday.."Old sailor superstition" so we washed laundry in a five gallon bucket - but we have to be careful of how much water we use.
February 18 It is Saturday. We spent some time collecting shells and walking along the beach. Evan found a large conch shell that had already been cracked open. Pierce found a creature that looked as if it had come from outer space. The creature was a funky geen and pink color with black circles all over it in a polkadot fashion. It resembled something between a flower and a slimy ten inch slug which slowly moved. James placed the thing back in the water. We never did find out what the creature was from our encyclopedia. Perfect summer day in Bahamain Winter.
February 19 The fridge and ice cube tray (which is serving as a freezer) stopped working last night. We are living in parradise but sometimes I feel like a contestant on the T.V. show survivor. Forraging for seafood and dealing with the lack of amenities is making me feel old. Still in Grand Lucayan Waterway. We met a very nice family at the end of the canal. The boys made great friends. We also discovered that the boat anchored near to us for the last week HAS Jonney Depp on board. No wonder the crew keep going inside when we try to talk to the captain about weather.
February 20 Left for the Berry Island at 03:00hrs. We made it to Stirrup Cay by sunset. At the cay a large cruiseship was anchored. Tourists visited the small village to buy gifts. Ironically there were probably more people on the ship than all of the people living in the Berry island chain.
February 21 Sailed to Adler Cay, Berry Islands. A beautiful place but privately owned. We stayed for a couple of days.
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