Leaving the Abacos

Travelling Tools – The Fein Multimaster

Tom has used almost every power tool known to man and can’t say enough good things about the Fein Multimaster, a miracle in a box. It is everything the television ads make it out to be and then some.

Wonder tool in a box

This high quality tool both cuts and sands with amazing efficiency and versatility. It was lent to us by another boater when we arrived in the Abacos with our broken bulkhead tabbing. Tom has used it to remove over 40 feet of fiberglass tabbing from the bulkheads in awkward corners that would not have been accessible with other tools. The very thin blades and their back and forth action make fine cuts possible and minimize the amount of sawdust created. I can attest to the minimal amount of dust that it makes. The job was done without covering everything on the boat with dust. The blades are extremely durable. Tom has used the same 1 ¼ inch (30 mm) blade for the entire job and there is still a lot of life left in it.

Cutting in awkward places is easy with the Multimaster.

The full kit is a bit pricey (around $400 USD) but contains a wide selection of accessories. Tom has said that if he could only have one power tool on board this would be the one. It is at the top of the shopping list for when we get back to the US.

Just look at all the attachments!

Thanks again, Howard, for the introduction to this great power tool. It has definitely made a difficult job a little easier. Everyone should have one.

Leaving the Abacos - February 15 to 26, 2010

We planned on leaving the Abacos within days of our guests going back to Canada but things happen and we got busy and it just took longer than we had planned. That seems to be normal in the Bahamas.

Somehow I got talked into doing some sewing for one of the boats in the marina. Apparently there is no business in Marsh Harbour that is available to do custom canvas work so I sent my Sailrite out to work for a few days.

The Sewing Shop

New Deck Panels in Place

Junkanoo weekend was scheduled for February 19 and 20 with the juniors competing on Friday and the seniors slated for Saturday. Few events in the Bahamas start at their scheduled times. Junior Junkanoo was to start at 6:30 PM, presumably so the little ones would still have enough energy for singing and dancing. Sometime around 8:00 PM Junkanoo Weekend was officially opened by the attending dignitaries and the little peoples party got started.

The littlest junkanoo participants. They should be the winners in the ‘Cutest’ category

.

Drumming is a serious job.

My favorites, the group from Treasure Cay Primary.

The boys from Treasure Cay.

Many food stands lined the junkanoo route selling typical Bahamian food. We tried a few dishes with mixed results. My fried snapper was quite tasty but had a lot of bones to pick through. Tom had the pork dinner which had good flavor but was a little chewy. The guava duff would have been better with more rum sauce; the pineapple pastry was quite good. The conch salad was typically heavy on the onions but the small size was a good choice.

A sample vendor menu.

A trunk full of fresh conch for salad.

Fried snapper with three sides:corn on the cob, lobster n’ rice, coleslaw.

And then Tom and I had an opportunity to enjoy an afternoon sail on a forty foot mono hull one absolutely beautiful day. Photographer, Bill Kund, (www.billkund.com) was doing a photo shoot for Pacific Seacraft sailboats and Ulman Sails and needed someone to crew his boat , Worthless Wench, while he took pictures from Sesame, a trawler from Conneticut. How could we turn down such an offer? Chelsea Renn, a local gyotaku (Japanese fish printing) artist was on board with us as the main model. Chelsea’s art is sold in many of the galleries around the Abacos and she uses the same studio space as my Sailrite occupied (www.chelsearenn.com).

Gyotaku

As much as we have enjoyed our time in the Abacos, with our repairs completed and the Fein wonder tool returned to its owner it was time to move on. We re-provisioned at the Price Right grocery in Marsh Harbour, filled the spare propane tank, topped up the diesel and headed for Little Harbour for staging for the next weather window to make our way to Eleuthra. When we arrived in Little Harbour there were three Prout catamarans in the harbour besides Polar Pacer; another 37 foot Snow Goose with no name and a different paint scheme, a 38 foot model called Knot in Vein, registered in Edmonton and a 45 foot sailing school boat called Kanina built in Thailand.

Sunset in Little Harbour, Abaco

If all goes well we will be on our way before dawn.