S/V Koinonia Weekly Sailing Log - Big Major, George Town, Birthday (Wed Apr 12 - Tue Apr 18, 2023)

Highlights this week: Big Major and Staniel Cay, Snorkeling Thunderball Groto, Spear Fishing, petting 8ft nurse sharks, passage to George Town, exploring George Town with friends old and new, cliff jumping, and Lizzy's Birthday.

Wed 4/12 - winds a bit calmer this morning but rain squalls continued all day. Paid for another day in the Land and Sea Park ($23.50). Kids did school and Ben did some consulting work. Lizzy and Maddy both coughing. Made water, cleaned out the refrigerator, cleaned the shower. Tacos with all the fixings, street corn, and black beans for dinner. Winds picked back up to steady 20+.

Thu 4/13 - departed Warderick Wells bound for Big Major and Staniel Cay, about 3 hours south. Unfortunately, no sailing as the wind was directly on our nose the entire trip. Anchored just north of Pig Beach close to shore. Water is beautiful here. Met S/V Happy Pancake and Alex of S/V Blue Moon, a Passport 40 (little sister to Koinonia). Took our trash ashore at Staniel ($6 bag), filled Jerry cans with gasoline, and investigated laundry facilities. Took the kids to the beach; Dads went spearing. Olof got a nice Ocean Triggerfish.  Beautiful reefs with tons of fish but they had excellent cover and current was a bit strong, so spearing was a challenge. Went back to the beach to get kids and moms. A small nurse shark swam right up to us on the beach; some of the kids managed to pet it. Amber made baked ziti for dinner.

Fri 4/14 - spent the day hanging out with friends, snorkeling Thunderball Groto (famous location of the 60's era James Bond film Thunderball), and spending time at the beach. Disposed of our trash at Staniel Cay ($6 US per bag X 4 bags) and filled gasoline Jerry cans.  Ben took the windlass apart and greased it.  Went back to cruisers beach and met up with S/V Happy Pancake and S/V Blue Moon; kids played for a few hours. Guys went spear fishing; Olof got a queen triggerfish and Ben got a nice grouper. Kids petted the neighborhood nurse sharks off the back of the boat after we cleaned a fish; very memorable experience that lasted about an hour. Enjoyed sundowners after dinner with a Goombay Punch made by Alex on S/V Blue Moon.

Sat 4/15 - departed from Big Major saying “goodbye for now” to Happy Pancake and Blue Moon bound for George Town to avoid squally weather for the next several days. Wind in the wrong direction, so motored the entire way (9 hours). Trolled lines and only caught two barracudas. Rats!  Lost several sea witch lures to toothy fish. Anchored near monument beach; drove past several friends to say hello before dropping the hook. Went for a short visit with friends on S/V Cat’s Meow (Don and LaVonne) who we were dock mates with in Gloucester Point, VA. Got caught in a short squall on the way back to our boat and got soaked!

Sun 4/16 - beach church was canceled today. Finished two loads of laundry, made another baguette, made water, polished stainless, and met friends ashore at Chat-N-Chill, then went to Flip Flop beach where the kids played on a zip line and we had a potluck dinner that included grilled shark, tons of side dishes, and cake (birthday celebration). Counted 25 boat kids between age 3 and 15.

Mon 4/17 - wind shifting south. Kids do school. Ben and Amber take the dinghy to dinghy dock in George Town to take laundry for drop off and get essentials from the grocery store. Wet ride due to southerly winds and fetch against ebb tide in the harbor. Made water (didn’t fill up the tanks yesterday); changed 20 micron pre-filter. Amber made Lizzy’s birthday cake from scratch, which was a coconut flavored cake batter with mango icing. Washed another load of clothes on the boat. Canned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner using bread Ben made.

Tue 4/18 - Lizzy’s birthday (14 yo) today. Amber made donuts for breakfast. Moved the boat to Crab Cay and cleaned out the forward head. Took the kids to a nearby canal with cliffs and kids (and adults) jumped off the cliffs. Went to a really nice beach with a tiki hut and picnic table with fabulous clear blue water. Hosted friends for cake after dinner. The cake was a bit of a flop, but a fun time was had by all!

S/V Koinonia