Back on the water again, finally.......off to the Bahamas

[Sumner]

...For my next trip I intend to get one of those spot communicators so I can update with brief txt messages to people back home.
Best
Ix

In hindsight I should of gotten one . I think I will before the next trip. I'd thought about them before when Ruth and I had our experience on Lake Powell and were out of contact for a number of days there,

Sumner

Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

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[Russ]

Hey Sum, thanks for the update. Glad to hear you are safe.

Looks like a beautiful place....when calm. Another thing when wind is howling at 20 knots.

Be safe.

[Sumner]

Hey, I finally found it on a map! Wow, that's a long way out into the ocean! I wonder if Mr. Sumner saw those swimming pigs that Russ was talking about.

Not yet and no aliens but talking about monsters I did see one ...



and he had his eye on me ....



... probably no pigs on that Cay as the 'monsters' ate them...



... and yep it is a long ways out here and Chinook went a lot futher down and east than I plan on going ,

Sumner

============================
2015 To the Bahamas and back -- I hope

Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[BOAT]

Wow, now I know why all the sailors that go to the triangle think they see monsters and ghosts and aliens! Those things look just like a dragon to me. We don't have anything like that over here. If I was tired and dried out by the sun and salt and a bunch of pigs started swimming to my boat I would think I was seeing things.

Now that you are at anchor I hope the sea is calm and the air is warm and you get a chance to walk along the beach and look back at that 26S - it's a good boat. You both can get a good rest. It sounds like both man and boat will soon be ready to shove off for another long leg. I hope the groove is setting in.

Everyone on the site here is going to be really excited that you found enough bandwidth to post pictures! Thanks for going through the hassle to do that for us! I hope the wifi did not cost you much. Everyone here on this website is pretty excited about your voyage. Thanks for writing us.

[Rumdirty]

Hello Sumner!

You don't know me but I wanted to echo Boat's sentiment. I'm REALLY enjoying reading about your trip both here in "real time" and then going back to your website to read about your and Ruth's adventures. Work got a bit pi$$ about me not doing anything productive for 30 minutes... Thank you so much for keeping us all up to date. I bet there's lots more folks that you don't know about reading all this.

So ummm... Thanks!

(Hopefully soon to be owner)

[Ixneigh]

You know you can catch those on a mid weight penn spinning reel with a piece of banana....
Ix

[BOAT]

You know you can catch those on a mid weight penn spinning reel with a piece of banana....
Ix

You can catch the dragon monsters? Really? Did not know that. That would be sort of scary - so you catch them with a banana? I don't think I would want to catch one myself. I'm afraid of the sharks too. The pigs looked like they were not trying eat anyone so I guess I could handle the swimming pigs but I don't think I would want to catch one.

I think that Mr. Sumner is hitting on what all the people out there think about when they see a sailboat in the water and "living the dream" and all that stuff. Mr. Sumner has struck a chord with his story that is very universal to the human experience and well documented by other writers like Herman Melville, Shackleton and others who often mention the strange pull the ocean has on humans and the attraction people have to the coast; but, there are things that happen in a mans mind 24 hours after after he loses sight of land, that's where the dream turns to survival, but still it's always great when people are encouraged to get out there, even if like most of us, it only entails being within 5 miles of land at all times. Nothing wrong with that - everyone needs to start somewhere. As I have become old I now stay close to the land but Mr. Sumner is an inspiration to us all.

As I'm sure Mr. Sumner will also tell you, it's not always as glamorous and liberating as the land lubbers imagine, but it is full of great rewards. As a young person many times 'out there' I have asked myself, "why in the H3LL did I do this?" "Why am I out here subjecting myself to so much discomfort?" Too many nights worrying about the weather or the ability of my rigging. Too many times scared that i might really not get back in without swamping or some real damage. And most of all, too much worry that I am not where I think I am. A lot of cold and a lot of wet. That's the thing I really don't miss, WET CLOTHING or sleeping with a sever sunburn in a cheap plastic sleeping bag that sticks to my skin, but enough of that - no need to scare people away.

Mr. Sumner has a real good boat there - that 26S is a dry boat - he is in a good spot, but still it does not remove all a man's worry when he knows his boat is also depending on it's Skipper to make it through - it is truly a symbiotic relationship - at least it was for me back in those younger days - the thought of Mr. Sumner taking on that relationship without all the advantages of youth gives a lot of hope and inspiration to us.

I myself am not all that ready to go back to that, but that does not mean i never will go back to that! It sure is fun reading about someone doing it. Mr. Sumners posts make me think about maybe trying it again someday. We should encourage the Great Captain as much as possible.

[Chinook]

Actually, the iguanas do favor lettuce leaves. The pigs are on Big Major Cay, and the anchorage there is called Big Majors Spot. It's a spot much favored by cruisers. When we were there, we shared the anchorage with at least 50 other boats. Despite the size of the fleet, we had no trouble finding a good place to anchor, because of the Mac's shallow draft. We could almost always count on finding a good place to anchor, close in to shore, and inside the larger boats. The pigs there come out of the brush and onto the beach, and there are always a bunch of dinghies around them. The pigs are quite bold, and can be a nuisance. Sharp hooves, and they will try to pull themselves right onto dinghy pontoons. Wild goats also wander that shore. I don't think Sumner had a chance to stop there, given the quick pace of his cruise down the Exuma chain. I expect he may swing by on his way back north, however, considering his aversion to crowds, he may just pass the place on by. There certainly are many other places down there, less heavily visited, but full of wonder.

[sparky]

Sum, I've been keeping Francis and Tony up on your Doings--- hopefully passed along the link on to Tony last night. So pleased to get to follow your Cruise. Thanks for posting!!

[Ixneigh]

Yea those pigs. I encountered one of them. It seemed overly friendly so I figured I'd be safe looking at it from the kayak. Little did I know...
When it followed me right into the water and swam towards my little plastic boat I about wet myself.
Once aboard the 22 I did feed it a rotten grapefruit though.
Ix

[sparky]

Sum, Tony sent me a PM on LSR.com that he was able to find your "TRIP" on line. Are you fishing as you sail? I have caught some wonderful small meals underway before.

[dlandersson]

Yea those pigs. I encountered one of them. It seemed overly friendly so I figured I'd be safe looking at it from the kayak. Little did I know...
When it followed me right into the water and swam towards my little plastic boat I about wet myself.
Once aboard the 22 I did feed it a rotten grapefruit though.
Ix

[Chinook]

Sum, Tony sent me a PM on LSR.com that he was able to find your "TRIP" on line. Are you fishing as you sail? I have caught some wonderful small meals underway before.

When Sum called me a couple weeks ago, we talked about fishing. He's not much of a fisherman, and wasn't geared up for it. I gave him some tips, and maybe he's giving it a try.

[BOAT]

I don't like fishing - and I certainly would not want to catch a pig.

[Sumner]

You make some very good points ....

.....and others who often mention the strange pull the ocean has on humans and the attraction people have to the coast; but, there are things that happen in a mans mind 24 hours after after he loses sight of land, that's where the dream turns to survival, but still it's always great when people are encouraged to get out there, even if like most of us, it only entails being within 5 miles of land at all times.

Yep when you leave sight of land and don't see another boat for hours on end you can start wondering is this such a good idea. The seeing land deal is pretty much physiological though as there have been a number of times when I could see land but knew I'd never get there if I was in the water so the results would be the same. The same about deep water, once it is over my head it doesn't make too much difference how deep it is.

There have been times when out of sight of land and just seeing only water and sky on a small boat has had a peaceful quality to it and I can envision how making a major ocean crossing (not in a Mac) would be quite the experience just seeing nothing but the water the sky and the stars at night.

.....As I'm sure Mr. Sumner (just Sumner, my first name ) will also tell you, it's not always as glamorous and liberating as the land lubbers imagine, but it is full of great rewards....

Yep this is about 90% work and worry and about 10% glamor and having that romantic feeling you think you will have on some deserted beach.

......- that 26S is a dry boat - he is in a good spot, but still it does not remove all a man's worry when he knows his boat is also depending on it's Skipper to make it through - it is truly a symbiotic relationship - at least it was for me back in those younger days - the thought of Mr. Sumner taking on that relationship without all the advantages of youth gives a lot of hope and inspiration to us.....

Yep as I mentioned above a lot of work and 10-12 hours on the water fighting to get to the next destination before dark so you can see the bottom going in can be pretty exhausting. I just turned 71 a couple months back and feel I'm in good shape but not sure I could undertake this trip again in a year or two from now. On a bigger boat like the Endeavour, yes, but on this small boat probably not. If one is thinking about doing something like this try and do it now even if you have to pinch penny's to do it and have to figure out a way to take leave from work. Don't necessarily count on doing it in your late 60's or early 70's unless you have a larger boat by then and stay in excellent health. This is like taking that big backpacking trip into the mountains that is 90% work except here you feel like you are carrying the boat on your back.

Also just because I'm out here (haven't made it back yet) and Mike and Sandy and Ix have done the trip in a smaller boat doesn't mean that it is the trip for you. I just added a page ...

http://1fatgmc.com/boat/mac-1/2015%20Ba ... der-1.html

... this morning to my trip report on my site and one might read it before plunging into a trip like this,

Sumner

============================
2015 To the Bahamas and back -- I hope

Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links