An upcoming Bahamas adventure

As the year moves into it's third month, our summer will subside and autumn leaves will slowly appear. Many will be parched from the burning sun and heat which caused so much destruction. They will flutter onto the dry ground and become part of the earth again. Slowly repeating the cycle of life.

Water levels are still critically low and we pray for much needed rain. After March comes April with it's unstable weather. Gusty winds with cool temperatures and sometimes very chilly mornings promise the oncoming winter. Usually dreaded wet days will be a welcome sight. May the rain come and spoil our social days, may it drown out our planned picnics and fill our dams. May it wash away the shock of the summer and bring new green shoots to every tree and flower bed.
For me the oncoming cooler weather will be short lived. For the first time I will evade the icy winter mornings and escape to the warm turquoise waters of the Bahamas and Central Americas for 6 months. I have agreed to be crew and cook on a 60ft catamaran named INVICTUS which leaves Fort Lauderdale, Florida mid April.

The plan is to cruise out to Georgetown, Great Exuma to photograph a sailing regatta from 24-29 April. After that we will head south and search for more pristine waters and glorious islands. There will be no time schedule, no need to wear a watch, a basic plan depending on the weather is all we will work on. Cruising down island we will head for the Caicos Islands, Turks, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba.

Tom the skipper loves to dive and is a keen photographer. So I have packed my light wetsuit which still happily fits after 20 years, fins, mask & snorkel with it. My friend Carol has kindly offered to lend me her thin tropical suit. My personal cook book is in the bag as will be my SLR camera. I look forward to finding time to learn all its amazing devices, play with the lenses and hopefully take awesome photos to share with you all. Tom has a dog named Rocky who lives on the boat with him. Whilst we discussed it, I cannot take my sweet Teddy Bear, the trip would be too long and arduous for him, so whilst he is happily prancing with Daisy and Katie, I will have the joy of another wagging tail onboard.

As you can see Rocky loves to swim. He dives off the boat with great enthusiasm as I hope to! Tom tells me Rocky paddles to shore as quickly as his paws will take him and then RUNS. He loves to race up and down the long white beaches.

These warm turqoise waters offer much in regard sea life. I am told huge lobsters are a regular meal as are the plethora of fish we plan to catch.
The pages of my cook book will be dog eared with use. Unused seafood recipes collected over years will finally be appreciated by all.

It is some 6-7 weeks until I leave for this new part of the world for me. Between now and then there is much to attend to, special people to see and hug goodbye and most of all precious time spent with my daughter Becky who is coming home for 3 weeks before I leave. I look forward to sharing all my adventures with dear friends who wish to read about them........