The week began with a tease of weather. It was either a rain squall coming through with 50 knot gusts or no wind at all. That made it tough to get the sails hoisted the first couple days. But we used our time in doing some amazing dives on the southern end of the Abacos and got in some fun beach time. We finally got our sailing lesson in on Wednesday morning and just had a fantastic sail!! Everyone was smiles. We also got in a ocean reef dive at Fowle Cay where many of the crew took off and snorkeled the barrier reef putting on some distance on a 2 hour snorkel. Seize the moment they did! Thursday morning after a knot tying lesson we hoisted full sail again. We were very impressed how well our crew did in getting Ciganka under full sail in a very short time. They definitely learn quickly! Thank you to each crew member for a memorable week full of a lot of laughter!!
After a French toast breakfast the crew got in the water for a snorkel and ocean side beach walk.
Mother Nature had different plans and the sky opened up with thunder/lightening/rain and strong wind. Luckily the crew could take shelter and wait for the storm to pass.
This was the picture from inside our cozy pilothouse
And a picture of the crew from the pilothouse. Hi guys!!
Finally the sun came out and so did the Frisbees
We made our way over to Iron Cay so they could do the amazing drift dive
Have FUN ~ Hope you see some turtles!
We flew these flags proudly all week!
Father and son enjoying the view
Thanks to Dominic we have no left overs tonight – Thanks Man!
What a great crew. Glad to have you all on board Ciganka!
That about says it all
The rain came again which chased us all inside and Don provided us all with a free concert!
Our diligent snorkelers found 5 conch. So Captain Thomas is showing how to get a conch out of the shell and clean it.
This is what the “critter” looks like. Cute huh??
Now you have to skin it
Cute huh?
Everyone is decked out in their crew shirts and Ciganka ball caps and they are lookin’ sharp!!
Off they go to explore Hope Town
See you later….
Spanker Crew
Evan and Alex hoist the spanker throat halyard
They have to sweat off the last bit of line to get the sail up tight. They did a fantastic job!
Mike finishes raising the spanker peak halyard
Mike finishes raising the spanker peak halyard
Chuck is in charge of the spanker sheet and is cleating it off
Time for the mainsail to go up
Mainsail Crew hoisting sail
Greg and Bryce, father and son team, work together on the mainsail throat halyard. That is a tough job and they did great!
Joe and Dominic hoist the mainsail peak halyard
Lou and Will are ready to pull up the staysail
And Bart is on the staysail sheet
Hoist that sail!
Bryce takes the helm with Ciganka under full sail
Lou cranks in on the port jib sheet
Mainsail crew sheet it in
Don is happy when he is sailing!!!
Thank you Bart and Joe what a joy having you both on board!
Hanging out with my Dad all week was pretty cool!
Thanks to Mike and Will – We could always count on them to do a stellar job at whatever task they were asked to do. Very Proud of you both!
Dave and his son Luke were the first one’s in and the last ones out on the Fowle Cay dive. They put some miles on and snorkeled for about 2 hours.
Off to see some really cool fish and maybe even a shark…
Don caught a mutton snapper which we grilled right up for dinner. Scrumptious!!
Brandon, Evan, and Don enjoying their time together
Lou and Alex – You both kept us laughing all week and were a major “plus” in all aspects of running our ship. You are welcome back any time!
Father and son hanging out for a week together on a sailboat in the Bahamas – priceless. What a great picture!
Handsome – Handsome
Just love this picture of you two. Thanks Greg and Bryce for the energy and enthusiasm you gave all week long!
Don was in charge of the mainsail sheet
Captain Thomas is explaining to Mike how to make sure you are steering as close into the wind as possible
By George I think he’s got it!
Will was on the starboard jib sheet. He was either letting it go…
Or pulling it in – depending on which tack we were on
Dave at the helm. Ya did good!
And these are our “Stud Muffins”
Great picture “Squirrel Man” Evan. You did learn your knots and did a super job. Thank you!
Alex and Joe were our “Lifeline and Ladder Crew”. It is kind of a thankless job. But very important and we ALL thank you!
Our “Point Man” Luke did a First Class job!! We are very proud of what an incredible job you did!
Evan was also our “Crew Chief” which is our support person we use to lead the crew with getting tasks done. Thank you!
Troop 195 – Wildwood, PA
Congratulations to Luke our “Conch Award of Excellence” recipient. You are a very impressive young man