Fuel and Water, Providenciales Turks and Caicos

Here we are in Provo for fuel and water. Both are much cheaper here! Unfortunately the Cacois Passage was a bit much for some of the crew on the way in so I'm waiting for the wind to drop below 25 knots before leaving. We should get underway on Thursday 6/30 for Great Inagua and hoping for a quick load-in and depart on Friday. While here in Provo we had the opportunity to help out at Bethany Baptist Church. Pastor Hamilton was gracious host this past Sunday at church service and we are happy to serve. I don't know when I'll be able to get online again as my computer had a melt down from running on boat power.......Capt. Bob

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Our New Crewman

Meet Shaquille Moss, our newest crewman. Sharky, as he likes to be called, is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Alfred (Junior) Moss of New Bight, Cat Island. Junior and Cindy are the leaders of the Old Bight Children's home and provide the love and guidance for the children at the home. Shaquille will be a high school senior this upcoming school year and his hobbies include tagging turtles and listening to music. As for his future, Sharky is considering becoming a boat captain and looks forward to the experience he will gain on this mission trip.

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Cat Island Sunday

Ellen and I made a sunrise trek to the Hermitage this morning, I'm always inspired by the view and history here at the highest point in the Bahamas. We returned to the schooner in time to clean up for church services at the children's home. Ship's Chaplin David Ames preached a wonderful sermon about how seeds planted in the Lord's name don't return void and some have global implications, the Billy Ghramn story was one example he used. After church we enjoyed a wonderful lunch of stew fish and crab rice! Ellen spent the afternoon designing a brochure for the children's home and Charles got the boys together to learn some exercise routines. All in all a great day. We'll be leaving tomorrow for the Turks and Caicos for fuel and water before heading to Great Inagua for loading cargo for Haiti.





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Land Ho! Cat Island

We arrived in Smith's Bay Cat Island at 0500 after a calm and uneventful night motor sail. Uncle Floyd, the port captain, was the first to arrive at 0715 and after a warm greeting he let me know that I was free to pick all the Noonee from his yard that I wanted before leaving the island. For those who aren't familiar with Noni (correct spelling), it's a magical fruit with wonderful healing powers that unfortunately tastes like rotten Parmesan cheese! The only taker so far besides me has been 1st mate David Ames. By 0930 Brother Moss had arrived with the offloading crew and by nightfall all the cargo had been transferred to the children's home. Charles and David moved to the staff home for a couple days of home comforts while Ellen and I stayed aboard.
Capt. Bob








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Next Stop Cat Island!

We enjoyed our stay at Little Farmer's Cay and will be preparing some of the Lion Fish for dinner tonight that we shot on the surrounding coral heads today. We should arrive in Smith Bay, Cat Island at first light tomorrow.

A Calm Crossing!

We've stopped for a day in the Exuma chain before crossing over to Cat Island. Our trip so far has been calm-calm-calm! The only down side is the fuel burn, having to motor with no wind.The Gulf Stream crossing was equally calm allowing us to cross in 14 hours instead of the usual 30 hours with tacking against the wind. We're looking forward to our arrival on Cat Island early Friday morning. Crew spirit is high and Ellen is relaxing after a long school year!
Capt. Bob




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Star of the Sea Sets Sail Today!

The tropical weather has moved to the Northeast so today we get underway for the Old Bight Mission Home on Cat Island, Bahamas. I want to thank everyone involved in making this voyage a reality for the children of Old Bight and Haiti. I'll update this blog when possible, please hold our mission up in your prayers! Capt. Bob

Schooner make ready complete

We're waiting one more day for tropical weather south of Jamaica to move and give us a window for departure. The schooner is FULLY loaded for Cat Island and all systems are primed for a successful mission trip this summer. The bulk food load awaits us in Great Inagua thanks to Morton Salt Bahamas and our contacts in Haiti are looking forward to our arrival and our cargo of food and medical supplies. The crew for this trip will be David Ames, first mate on this trip and a veteran of a Cat Island trip of a year ago, Shaquille Moss, the son of Junior and Cindy Moss of Cat Island Bahamas and new crewman Charles Cromer of Little Rock Arkansas. My wife Ellen will sail with us as far as Cat Island before returning to Florida to run our summer programs with the youth of New Horizons. Many thanks to Estero United Methodist Church and Covenant Presbyterian Church for providing funds and food for Haiti and Youth For Orphans of North Naples United Methodist Church for several tons of supplies in support of Old Bight Mission Home, Cat Island Bahamas. Special thanks to Capt. John Puig, Capt. Doug Walker, Terry Hand, Bill and Chris Rowe, John Cox, and the Boat Club of Naples for their help in cargo handling and schooner make ready! My mom Debbie has made 100 stuffed animals and sister Sharon 30 pillowcases for the kids in the orphanages that we'll visit! As usual I'll update this blog as I'm able to get online and we always appreciate your prayers for our safety and guidance as we seek to serve others in the name of Christ. Capt. Bob








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