Naming our new boat

It seem the hardest thing about buying a new boat is coming up with a name. The past 2 boats we have owned have had names that we were happy with but the name Jenny M was the previous owners wife and Chris says it has to go. The original name was Sea Questor, not sure about that either. We always liked the name of our first boat "Alli Kat" named after our girls Kate and Alli but it's really a name for a catamaran.

Found this '85 Hunter 34 shoal draft sloop listed on craigs list priced at "make me an offer". She was on a private mooring up the river from our home with a siezed engine. Turns out the owner passed away while having the engine torn down and the boat has been sitting neglected for the past year. The wife(Jenny M) knew nothing about the boat and hadn't been aboard to even check on things. Bought the boat for a great price assuming that we would install a remanufactured engine and still be ahead of the game. The sails were good and the interior was great with new upholstery even though there was lots of mildew to be cleaned up. A bonus is the mooring being included in the sale and it is only 2 years old.

Seatow (AAA for boaters) came thru towing us to our dock with the costs covered under our old membership from Andros. Have spent the past week cleaning interior and pulling out the engine. Upon closer inspection have decided to repair the 3 cylinder Yanmar myself with the guidance of our friend Dan (a professional mechanic). The engine seems to be in great shape and we assume seawater got into the cylinders from cranking to long with the seawater intake open. When these engines don't start water can back up thru the exhaust and enter the cylinders. New pistons, rings, and machine shop work on the cylinders and head hopefully will make it alive again.

Chris doing the heavy lifting!

Pulling the engine was a breeze. Using the winches, boom, main halyard and a spare vang the two of us were able to get it out and onto the dock with ease. (neighbor helped lift it into my truck)

v-berth

VanityGalley

Andros is for sale

After spending a great summer at our home and camp in the Adirondacks of NY we are back in the sunshine state enjoying the great weather. Arrived Oct 21st and were pleased to find both our home and boat in great shape. Since we purchased a new boat last week we are selling Andros.
Our asking price is 17,000 which seems low but prices in Fl are very depressed. I'm sure boat would sell for much more if we were back on Champlain.

31' Hunter 31

Year	Length	Beam	Draft	Location	Price
1984	31'	'	4'	Florida	$17,000

Description:

shoal draft cruiser in great shape ready for Bahamas or Keys , 12 volt refrigeration, Many recent upgrades include full enclosure with screens, second water tank, larger fuel tank, pressure sea water faucets at both sinks and washdown, new upholstery, Stern shower, Pettit protect barrier coat hull, boat has spent much of its life in fresh water on Lake Champlain

Equipment:

sails-Main with 2 reefs, roller furling 110 jib and 130 genoa, Harken #40 self tailing genoa winchs, Harken windward sheeting main traveler, 2 anchors, pressure hot and cold water Navman depth,speed,wind and repeater,vhf, Yanmar 2gmf, origo 2 burner stove

Location: Stuart, Florida

L26140

518-359-3181 Contact Seller

Material	Hull	Type	Rigging	Cabins	Condition
fiberglass	monohull	cruiser	masthead sloop		good

Click on any thumbnail below for a larger photograph, or View All Photographs Inline The URL for this page is www.sailboatlistings.com/view/26140 This Hunter 31 Added 03-Nov-2011

Pushing north thru Eleuthra

Mon 5-23 thru Thurs 5-26

The past few days have found us enjoying some great sailing. We have been hopping along the coast of Eleuthra at a faster pace than planned but since we visited this area on our trip south we have been taking advantage of fair winds.

Departed Little San Salvadore as a huge Carnival Ship was anchoring for the day. Had great winds for our sail across to Eleuthra and up the coast to Rock Sound. Since we havn't seen another sailboat in over 5 days we were pleased to drop anchor next to our friends John and Patty aboard Smart Move. We crossed over together from Fl and spent time together in the Abacos. Enjoyed an interesting evening pouring over charts pointing out our favorite spots as they are first time cruisers heading south.


As we work our way up the coast I have enjoyed some exciting fishing each day. The freezer is now stocked with Grouper, Snapper and Jack while releasing a number of Barracuda.

Thurs- As strong winds are predicted for the weekend and beyond we push on to current cut. Normally we wait for a fair tide to run thru this narrow passage but we decided to push thru early with the wind assisting us into the 3 kt current.

Fri- Anchor up at daybreak to cover the 63 nm open ocean crossing of the Northwest Providence Channel. Great winds and moderate seas made for a good day arriving at Little Harbor, Abaco by 6pm. Hooked a big fish along the way but after it stripped nearly all my line it proceeded to break my new 50 lb test. Was probably bigger than anything I would bring aboard but it made for an exciting few minutes.

Time to turn our bow north

Cat Island

Mon May 16ththru Sat the 22nd

We are greeted by another day of warm sunshine and light south winds as we head north to Cat Island. Not very exciting sailing but since we are crossing 35 mi of open ocean, calm seas are higher priority. Fished all day with no luck. Cat is another long skinny island with very few residents. As the week progressed we found ourselves working our way slowly up the coast with stops at the tiny settlements of Hawks Nest, New and Old Bight, Smith Bay and Bennets Harbor. The pilot has to pay close attention in these waters as coral heads are numerous but very easy to spot with the sun overhead. This is not an area that attracts much tourism and the lack of protected anchorages keeps boaters away in all but settled weather. We enjoyed the miles of deserted beaches and the hike up Mt Alverna to visit the Hermitage built by Fr. Jerome as his retirement home is not to be missed. Everywhere we went we found the ruins of stone plantations that date back to the days when British Loyalists fled the American Colonies to create what was once a thriving farming center.

The Hermitage of Father Jerome

Ruins of Loyalist plantation

Dodging coral heads in 20 ft of water, hard to tell how close they come to the surface

Little San Salvador
Sun May 22nd

While the winds are favorable we decide to head west 20 miles to Little San Salvador. Along the way we have some exciting fishing with a few lost fish but bringing in a big Barracuda that we released and a nice snapper that made a tasty dinner. Celebrated with the last 2 beers from our original stores (started with a dozen 18 packs). I must admit that the boat sits much higher in the water now that we have depleted most of the wine, beer and tonic we carried from Fl. So far I have resisted paying the exorbitant price for even cheap beer ($44/case) but I may break down soon. Wine and liquor are fairly reasonable and available in most towns.
This small island is used by a number of cruise lines as a day stop and is set up to resemble an idyllic Bahamas village. They have renamed it Half Moon Cay and when a ship arrives and 2000 tourists descend on its beautiful beach it becomes paradise lost. Luck has it that no ship is here when we anchor and we enjoyed an afternoon of snorkeling and exploring.

South to the tropics

Long Island

Sat May 7th

Up until now we have been covering areas that we were familiar with from our trip last year but now we move into new terrain. As we cross the Tropic of Cancer we are entering the true tropics. Our next destination is Long Island which is a short sail (about 26 miles) across the open waters of the Exuma Sound. With light winds nearly on the nose we motorsailed most of the way. It seems our luck with the winds has run to either feast or famine lately. As we approached land I caught our only fish for the day, a nice Amberjack that made a tasty dinner and chowder for lunch on Sun. We anchored behind a couple of small Islands about 5 miles from the northern tip of Long Island expecting a calm night. Unfortunately there was still a big swell running in from the open ocean and we spent the night rolling uncomfortably.

Sun- Mothers Day

Another beautiful day found us Snorkeling on a nearby reef with lots of small colorful fish and coral. I brought in a nice Conk for dinner but our excursion was curtailed when a large Barracuda showed up. Explored a nearby creek where we had planned to snorkle in a blue hole but that also was put on hold when we saw a couple of small (4 ft) sharks in the shallows. I cooked a dinner of Conk fritters and steaks (from the freezer) as Chris enjoyed her day of leisure.

Conk for dinner

We shortened our snorkeling adventure when this 4 ft shark joined us.

Mon-

As I won't put up with another rolly night at anchor we moved on to Salt Pond. Had a slow sail in light winds but no fish. Arrived early enough for a hike to the ocean side beach where we decided we should have brought our snorkle gear as the reefs are all close to shore. Quiet night in this large protected anchorage with 4 other sailboats.

Tue- Calm winds and very warm. Of all the days to pick to bake Chris spent the morning with the oven on making bread, cookies and muffins. A picnic lunch at the ocean beach after a great snorkle on the reef made for a pleasant afternoon.

Wed, thru Fri-A morning spent exploring the nearby caves was followed by a sail south to Pratts Hill where we explored the remains of a Spanish church dating from the 1700's. Thurs morning we sailed back north stopping at a blue hole about 100 ft across where the depth plunged from 10 ft to 55 ft. Back at Salt Pond we biked around a bit but found the heat a bit much. Jock from the homebuilt 40ft catamaran Unleaded joined us for an evening of cocktails and swapping lies.

Caves abound in this region

Sat- A trip to the local farmers market supplied us with a few fresh veggies but the pickings were slim. In the afternoon the local sailing club held a mini regatta as a fundraiser. We enjoyed a great dinner and drinks with a local rake/scrape band supplying the entertainment.

Class c boat at the local mini regatta- Long Island

Sun- Sailed north to Calabash Bay catching a small Barracuda that was great for dinner plus at least 3 more meals in the freezer.

Rock formations on ocean beach

More caving, note bat near ceiling

South to Georgetown, Exuma

Stocking Island looking south

Sat April 30th-

Another sunny warm morning found us heading south while the wind and waves are tolerable even though we are still heading into the wind to close for real sailing. Motor sail on the open waters of the sound to Georgetown/Stocking Island. Arrived at the anchorage in time to see the last race of the regatta. This was the final race for the largest boats and even though we didn't try to get close it still looked like a wild time. The waterfront was a real zoo with all the spectators partying. Anchored for the night at Monument Beach.

Class a racing sloop(note crew hiking out on planks)


Class c boat

Andros (in foreground center) anchored off Hamburger Beach

Sun thru Tue-

The wind is blowing like mad again and we have not ventured into town as it's a long dingy ride across choppy water. We have kept ourselves entertained wandering about the island exploring beaches. Cocktails aboard Amata Marie with Jim and Nancy made for a pleasant evening.

Monument Beach Anchorage

Wed-

The winds have abated and it was a mass exit of boats leaving the anchorage to head north. We moved to the exposed anchorage off of town for shopping, laundry, wifi, water and fuel. As I write this we are enjoying lunch prior to finding the Laundromat and bank. Georgetown is a very boater friendly town and even though the winter season has ended their are still over 100 boats at anchor.

Thur-

Another lazy day spent enjoying the great beaches and wandering the island trails. Spent a pleasant evening with Sara and Trevor, a young couple sailing out of Tennessee on a Hunter 27.

So many beaches, so little time!

Fri-
Looks like the winds will finally calm down so we anchored off of town to top off fuel and water and pick up a few fresh veggies. Anchored for the night at Sanddollar beach so we would be close to the south entrance.

Hanging around the Central Exumas

Jacks Cove

Cove on Sound side, Jacks Cove

Anchored at White Point

Another great beach-White Point

Mon thru Thurs April 25th - 28th

As the trade winds howl we find ourselves wandering about on the protected Exuma Bank. As I mentioned earlier our goal was to get to Georgetown for race week but the vageries of the weather control our movements. We have spent time at Little Farmers Cay where we hiked and explored the cave on Great Guana. A few days at Black Point, White Point, and Jacks Cove all gave us some great time exploring on the beaches and on the Sound.

Fri-
The winds have lessened and we headed out on the sound to work our way south. The swells were reasonable but taking the wind on the nose we motorsailed much of the way. Trolled 2 lines but not even a bite. Picked up a mooring in late afternoon at the Carribean Research Center on Lee Stocking Island. Hiked around for a bit then a quiet night in their protected cove. Able to pick up their wifi to catch up on weather and mail.

On to the Exumas

On to the Exumas

Sat, April 16th
Anchor up at 7AM for our 40 mile trip across the Exuma Sound. Wind was fairly light and we spent much of the day motorsailing. Fished all the way but only caught 2 Barracudas keeping one as we still have a few meals of fish in the freezer. Anchored at Highbourne Cay in time for cocktail hour. This is the first good anchorage for boats coming south from Nassau and by dinnertime we found ourselves surrounded by a dozen mega yachts (over 150 ft) each with at least 2 jet skis and a 25 ft tender buzzing around. Needless to say we moved to a more secluded spot only a mile away and enjoyed a peaceful evening.

Sun-
After making a batch of fish chowder we moved back to Highbourne where we spent the day snorkeling on the reef and wandering the beaches.

Exuma Park

Bucket showers at the well

Mon-
Great sail to Shroud Cay. We are now in the Exuma Park, a land and sea preserve that stretches 22 miles along the chain of islands and includes 19 major islands and numerous smaller cays. After explored a few of the creeks and bays that cross the island we treated ourselves to bucket baths at the fresh water well.

Mangrove swamps of Shroud Cay

Tue-

After exploring in the morning we enjoyed a great sail under double reefs to Wardrick Wells where we picked up a mooring at Park HQ. Even got to watch a movie as the park boasts a book and dvd library. Wind was up all night but we were snug on the mooring.

Wed-
Spent the morning carving a signboard with our boat name to leave on Boo Hill. Tradition is that all visiting boats leave their sign and it can only be made from driftwood. Met up with friends from last year George and Karen from Sunseeker who were on the same quest. After snorkeling on the magnificent coral reefs we enjoyed happy hour aboard Sunseeker and celebrated my birthday.

Placing our boatname on Cairn on Boo Hill

Thurs-
Another sunny day with big winds. Great sail south under double reefed main again to Big Majors Spot. Anchored off beach where we enjoyed the swimming pigs. Very busy anchorage with over 30 boats, mostly mega yachts.

Fri-
Early morning trip to snorkel at the Thunderball Grotto and we found it even more exciting than last year. Another great sail under double reefs to Black Point where there are lots of sailboats but no yachts. In to town for their Easter Celebration and take away dinner from the Church.

Sat-

Off again under double reefed main and jib. The trade winds just keep blowing so we are making our way south while we can. Picked up a mooring at little Farmers Cay. Only 2 other boats here, apparently not a glitzy enough place for the big yachts. Wifi on boat so will update this blog.A dip in the cave

Clear fresh water, we were chicken to venture to far.

Easter- Explore beaches and cave on Great Guana, Winds are still blowing "like stink" (a very technical term used by sailors) so the sound side was wild. Wander about town and got caught in the first downpour we've had in a month. Great dinner of what has become our Easter tradition of cracked conk. This is conk sliced and pounded lace thin then fried.

Normally peaceful cove

Mon-

Still big winds and rain squalls as predicted. A quiet day spent aboard.

Central Eleuthrea

Spanish Wells Trawlers

Central Eleuthera

Thurs, April 7th

We spent the morning ashore in Spanish Wells picking up fresh veggies, using computer and checking out a pair of wind generators a local sailor was selling(were old and smaller than we want) but it turns out he is the fellow we took pictures of last year flying his motorized kite.
Set sail south under a gentle breeze to current cut. The cut bisects the western tip of Eleuthera and true to its name the current runs swift with the tides. Spent the afternoon hiking about the beautiful beaches that were home to yet another failed development when hurricane Andrew devastated the area with 200 mph winds.

Rushing waters in Current Cut

Fri-
Anchor up at 7am to hopefully catch the slack water in the cut that lasts for 20 minutes as the tide switches. Our timing was off and we flew thru with about 3 knots of current pulling us along. Even though this is our second transit here it still keeps me on edge as the cliffs fly by and we have to maneuver thru a narrow unmarked channel as we exit. A great sail across to the Glass Window led to a relaxing afternoon exploring ashore.

Ruins of resort at Current Cut

What developer wouldn't love this spot? Defunct Current Cut resort

Ocean crashing into the Glass Window

Glass Window

Lunch stop reminiscent of Lake Champlain

Sat thru Tues
Light southeast winds and sunny skies have prevailed. Since we are in no hurry we have been wandering our way along stopping at a few of the coves along the way. The water temps on the sound are 78 and we have been spending lots of time enjoying the crystal clear waters. The shoreline here is much different from the Abacoes. High limestone cliffs dominate much of the landscape and many of the hills rise to 150 ft.
Rainbow Cay-we spent 2 days exploring and snorkeling both the ocean reefs and the sound side beaches. Campfire ashore with a vacationing family. Dolphins played around the boat a number of times.

Alabaster Bay-Pink sand stretches for 2 miles and the shallow water was like a bathtub. Large Rays would glide by to entertain us. Thankfully none seen while snorkeling even though they apparently won’t bother people.

Waterfront in Governors Harbor

Governors Harbor-This historic colonial village surrounds a large somewhat protected cove. Holding here is poor and a few squalls are predicted so we were pleased to find an old mooring that I dove on to attach our mooring line to. Six other boats pulled in after us, all heading north back civilization. Spent a quiet afternoon wandering about town. The next 2 days were spent biking thru the hilly terrain seeking out the secluded beaches of the ocean side. We found what is now Chris' newest favorite beach "Pink Sand Beach". Biked back there again Thurs morning for the early sun and low tide.

Southern Eleuthra

Possibly Chris' newest favorite beach

Wed April 13th-
Biked to ocean beach called Pink Sand Beach and found what apparently is Chris’ newest favorite beach. The sand really is pink and at low tide as wide as any we have found. Take Away lunch from the Harbor Inn is the best deal we have found yet. Full dinner(much more than we needed for $8 for both of us).

Thurs- Early bike ride to beach followed by another take away lunch (grouper and curried chicken with all the fixings for $8 for both of us). Decided to move on but after sailing in light air for a while with a few rain squalls around we headed back in to Governors again. This time we picked up a mooring off of Ronnies bar where we were able to get wifi sporadically.

Fri- Wind has finally filled in and we had a great sail to Rock sound. To town for a few groceries and propane. We anchored off of the fish fry (A collection of open air shacks found throughout the Bahamas that sell food and drinks. Many are only in operation on Fri nights) and were entertained well into the night by the loud music.