Welcome to the cruising blog of Wayne and Michele Sharp!

If you want to learn a little bit about cruising, satisfy your curiosity, live vicariously, or be entertained, I think you've come to the right place.

Feel free to ask questions or post comments in the comment section of each post; I will respond to all of them. You can also email us at reluctantsailor@me.com.

We've written a book based on the blog from our first journey in 2007 - Adventures of a Once Reluctant Sailor: A Journey of Guts, Growth, and Grace. It is available online from my website at reluctantsailor.net, and from Apostle Islands Booksellers, Copperfish Books, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Your local bookstore can also order it for you. We've included over 170 color and black and white photos.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

2/8/09 - Blogging in the Bahamas

The blog for this trip will be quite different from the previous one because it's a totally different kind of trip and the audience is more diverse. On the trip from Lake Superior we traveled about 5000 miles in 109 days, so we were moving constantly and there were many destinations to write about. Our trip to the Bahamas will be more like an extended vacation. The blog from 2007 was written as a simple way to keep friends and family abreast of our journey. Very few of them were cruisers, but this time around it's a different story - some people reading this blog have cruised to the Bahamas (and much farther) many times. I expect the diversity of my readers this time around to make writing the blog more challenging.

At this point I need to pause and thank other cruisers who have so generously shared their wisdom and experiences with us, which will help us enjoy a safer and richer trip. To them - and you know who you are - we send our heartfelt thanks. And I might as well 'fess up right now to the fact that I am nautically challenged because it won't take you long to figure it out.

During the last trip someone asked me early on what my objectives or goals were for the trip. I think my response was that I just wanted to make it all the way to Punta Gorda without abandoning Wayne. My objectives for this trip are to 1) soak up the beauty and splendor of God's creation., 2) scuba dive and snorkel, 3) do some decent underwater photography, 4) take lots of long walks on as many beaches as possible with Wayne and Emma, 5) collect shells, 6) enjoy the fellowship of other cruisers and native Bahamians, 7) eat all our citrus fruit before any spoils, and 8) read - if I have time.

I probably won't have the ability to post to the blog as frequently as I did last time. The Exumas are quite remote and internet access isn't widely available. That said, we do have a satellite phone with a very slow (think slow dial-up) data connection, which I will attempt to use to email my blog posts. By popular demand, I plan to post lots of photos, but they might need to be added later when I have high speed internet access. We'll see how it goes.

6 comments:

  1. Sheesh, I am drooling just imagining your underwater photos. Now I have to go get a rag to wipe off my keyboard, thankyouverymuch.

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  2. Don't start drooling yet, Tracy...there may not be anything to drool about.

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  3. Hello Gramichele and Papa Wayne, Mom is reading the blog to me so I can follow your trip. I love you very much and hope Emma is having fun.

    Love,
    Alex

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  4. Hi Alex! We're sooo glad your mom is reading the blog to you. It would be even better if you were with us because we miss you so much! Emma is adjusting well to being on the boat and seems quite at home here now. Today she was excited because we went to a marina and were able to take her for walks. We also had lots of visitors on the boat today, which Emma really enjoyed.

    We love you very much and hope to hear from you again soon.

    Love,
    Gramichele and Papa Wayne

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  5. Ahoy Lena Bea: As a former sailor and sailboat owner out of Bayfield,WI.(SARACEN/27'Santana)and now a resident/ homeowner in Georgetown,Exuma your effort to get to the Bahamas will be well worthwhile! The photo ops and the diving/snorkeling are without doubt some of the finest in the world! Not to worry! See, I read your Blog!
    All the best,
    David Grant
    SEASTAR
    seastarbahamas.com

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  6. Hey, David - how did you come across our blog?

    I went to your website and looked at the photos. What a paradise! If the sailing thing doesn't work out, maybe I'll give you a call.

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