Thomas Cay
Moving from our spot near Pig Beach up into the protected Thomas Cay.
Feb 1, 2025
We finally got our propane tank back (and filled!) from the general store at Staniel Cay (remember that “cay” is pronounced “key” in the Bahamas!). Managing things we often take for granted in a land home takes more steps when you live on a boat, especially if you’re near remote islands that rely on a mailboat for all their supplies!
We moved to Thomas Cay for a change of scenery. The route into Thomas Cay involves a shallow, winding path. We had a slight tide in our favor, as well as the track from our friends on SV Ada, who had come this way earlier in the season. Nonetheless, Chris stood on the bow so he could see into the water in front of us in case of any sudden changes in depth, while I (Alison) stood at the helm and steered us through the labyrinth of shallow water.
As a safety in the current, Eric from SV Juneiff tied a line with a buoy on the end to the back of their boat, letting it drag in the water. This way, the kids knew how far back they were allowed to swim and could grab the line if they got too tired in the current to prevent them from drifting too far back.
Once there, we could spend time with friends from SV Juneiff. They invited us to spend the afternoon on their boat. The kids had fun swimming off the back of Juneiff in the current and clear water.
On Sunday, February 2, we attended our home church in Holland, Michigan, by participating in the live stream on YouTube. North Holland Reformed Church does a great job reaching out to congregation members who aren’t able to be at church in person, whether due to health, poor weather, or travel (like us), by sending church news emails and more. Thankfully, on Saturday night, I remembered seeing that we would be doing communion, so I was able to get some bread dough rest that night and bake it that morning. Unfortunately, we had no red grape juice, so pineapple juice had to step in for us!
We’ve been working through the Bible in a year, starting at the beginning in Genesis. During this sermon, we were in Leviticus and shared communion while our friends and family back in Michigan also had communion.
On Tuesday, February 4, we had time to go to the shore of Thomas Cay and enjoy a hike. There were two trails: one through the mud flats and one along the upper rocky ridge of the island.
Our dinghy is our family car. It’s how we get from our anchored boat to shore or other boats. Because of the tide change, we use a dinghy anchor. Ewan holds the boat while Chris gets the anchor prepared to hold the dinghy in place while we enjoy the island.
On February 6, Ewan cooked us eggs and pancakes for breakfast! The kids do a lot of baking and cooking on the boat, and pancakes are one of the regulars. It’s nice that Ewan cooks us breakfast every week like this!
Normally Ewan just makes us pancakes, but today he wanted to make us eggs, too! What you see in the picture is our entire galley (the kitchen), with the sink just outside of the picture to the right of the stove. There’s not much space to work!
