April 20/08
Again apologies are due for not updating the blog before now, but you'll have to take my word for it that internet access has been scarce and unreliable since we've been in the Bahamas. Honestly, it has nothing to do with gorgeous weather, sandy beaches, rum punch, good sailing, new friends, amazing snorkeling, fishing, more rum punch on the beach, my fantastic suntan...
But really, internet is bad,(or expensive and still bad) and that is the main reason for not updating the blog sooner.
So, we have seen and done so much in the past 2 months this could be a long one, so grab a coffee and a snack and hunker down!
When I last wrote, we were on our way to Sampson Cay (pronounced key) for some marina life pampering (that was back on Feb 19!) What a ball we had there! Sampson Cay is really just a resort and marina, so there is no town to explore, but it is a pretty little island, as they all are in the Exumas I think.
Gerry is the best darned bartender in the Bahamas in my humble opinion! The little resort bar was humming with cruisers and resort goers and it was like a never-ending party for 2 days! He introduced us to "Bahamian Root Beer" and other shooters as well as various rum punches and Kalik beer. He also beat us soundly at dominoes time after time!
One night we met a family who had chartered a huge, 147 ft cruising yacht, and wouldn't you know it - they were from Toronto and have a cottage up in Muskoka right near Port Sandfield!! What a small world! They took Graham and I on a tour of the yacht (you really should call something that size a ship!) It was predictably gorgeous, complete with a hot tub, TV's in every room, formal dining room with table and chairs - you name it! It was like a floating house! Very nice, but I wouldn't want to be out in rolly water in it - nothing to hang on to!!
Clare made friends with another family on another big cruiser (this one was probably only 60 ft!) but they had teenagers to hang with. They all had some fun snorkeling and goofing around, listening to music at the bar and playing cards. She still keeps in touch with them via "face book" etc. Larry and Graham took out a little Hobie Cat for a spin and now Graham is hooked! He's looking to get one when we get home!
The local fishermen bring their catch to the docks to clean - lobster (aka crayfish or bugs), conch, grouper etc, and they chuck the scraps into the water... and the nurse sharks, rays and lemon sharks are there to clean it all up! I was amazed to see the number of sharks, patrolling the docks and looking creepy! Needless to say, I didn't go anywhere near the water! But man! we had an awesome dinner of "surf and turf" one night! YUMMMM.
We bid a fond farewell to Sampson Cay and headed on down the road to a small settlement called Black Point. This is a pretty good anchorage (though subject to swells if the wind is wrong) but the town itself is just amazing. Very friendly people (which is the norm in the small settlements), great laundry facilities (always important), fantastic bakery (Lorraine's breads are sooooo good! - especially her raisin bread and coconut bread!) And of course there was the local bar, Scorpios! There are a couple of missionaries who encourage the visiting cruisers to help out at the local school as afterschool tutors. Sadly for us, when we got there, the kids had a holiday, then it was the weekend, so we didn't get the chance to meet them. We enjoyed our couple of days there immensely, and would love to return. As always, there were lots of cruisers in the anchorage, some new faces to us, and some we'd met along the way. It is quite a community, the cruising one.
Our destination was George Town, close to the bottom of the Exuma chain. For some, it is like Mecca, and for us, it held the promise of teenagers for the kids to hang around with!! We made the long passage from Black Point to George Town without incident, but also without wind! We had to motor the whole way! However, since we were in Exuma Sound (the deep ocean side) I wasn't complaining - no wind usually means no big waves! The entry to George Town can be tricky due to many reefs and shoals, so it is necessary to enter only in good weather. We made it just fine - Larry the navigator always does an excellent job!
We were greeted in George Town by about 250 other boats! Now, the harbour in George Town is quite big, and there are several places to anchor, so there really is room for all those boats. I wouldn't want to go swimming there though (people direct discharge their heads as there are no pumpout facilities anywhere in the Bahamas)
Some people come and spend the entire winter in George Town, and as a result, they are pretty organized down there. Every morning there was the "cruisers net" on the vhf radio, which gave a weather report and local news/info on the days' activities as well as cruiser questions/comments etc. It was a good way to keep informed.
We anchored first at "Hamburger Beach" ('cause there is usually a hamburger stand there) aka Monument Beach, but quickly moved along to "Volleyball Beach" where, suprise! there are beach volleyball courts and they play every day! There is also the "Chat and Chill" bar and restaurant where patrons gathered daily to be abused by Arlene (you have to meet her to understand this) and drink Kalik beer or rum punch on the beach. Volleyball Beach is where it all happens in George Town! They have the aforementioned volleyball (and these people are serious!), dominoes, bridge, basket weaving, church services and of course, drinking, all day every day! It is really the gathering spot, and therefore always busy.
For the past 28 years, George Town has been home to the George Town Cruisers Regatta, a week of fun and games..."winter-summer camp for adults!" We arrived about a week before the regatta, so there were lots of activities in preparation for it. We took part in some things, like oldies dances, learned a bit of basket weaving, and practiced the fine art of sitting on the beach with beer in hand.
Clare and Graham were able to meet up with some old friends and make some new ones too, but we were surprised at how few teenagers there were in George Town, as so many people had promised us reams of them! Alas, Clare pointed out that George Town was full of "old people" as is the rest of the Bahamas and Florida! Of course that term applies to anyone over 20 I think!
Clare and I had to fly home on March 3 for her to (eventually) write her first 4 exams for ILC and she also had to spend "March break" with her buds and I had to go to St. Anne's Spa with Mum, Trish and Pam to celebrate Mum's 90th birthday! Way to go MUM!!
Sadly, I was sick with a viscious cold for almost the whole time I was back, so I kind of hid out at my wonderful friend Leslie's for much of the time. Luckily for me, her Mom was away on a trip which allowed me to take over her apt in the basement of Leslie's place. That way I didn't have to give that bunch of Kings and Wilsons my cold! Unfortunately, it meant that I didn't get to see the friends I'd hoped to. I did manage to do some house hunting while I was back and happened to find a place I liked, and we are in the process of buying it!! Wahoo! we'll have a place to live when we get back. I can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from various friends and family who are now off the hook!!!
While we were away, Larry and Graham held down the fort in George Town. We had met up with friends Barry and Susan from Night Hawk when they returned from the Dominican Republic, so the boys were not lonely! They dressed Beau up in a tux, complete with martini glass and top hat, for the Pet Parade in the regatta, and he won best in his category!! (The category might have been dog with the worst hair cut, I'm not sure!!!) Anyway, it was reported to be a blast, and we owe it all to Susan for her creative use of bibs and toilet rolls! Hopefully pics will follow!
Star Shadow and Night Hawk, looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of GT headed out to the top of Great Exuma Island, to Rat Cay to do some fishing and snorkeling. Wish I could have been there because they had great success at finding and spearing lobster as well as several other types of fish. When Clare and I arrived back, there were 5 big lobster tails plus a pile of fish in the freezer! The most exciting part was when Graham caught a needle fish, parts of which they later used to "chum" the water, and a big reef shark took the bait and took off with it! Naturally, it broke the line, but not before they managed to get a good look at it. Then, Graham teased the shark by dragging the bait just out of it's reach and they got some great pics of it! It just kept on coming back! Graham sent me some great emails about it - he was so excited by those fishing and snorkeling experiences.
Once Clare and I got back to the boat (March 19), we made tracks out of George Town (a nice place to visit, but not for long!) and headed across the Exuma Sound to Cat Island. we had several boats travelling with us, which is always fun. It was a great day for sailing and we were just rocketing along. Suddenly, the deep sea fishing rod jumped and we had a hit! Larry took the reel and I had the helm, trying to sail but having to help play the fish! It took a while, but we had caught a nice big Mahi Mahi or Dorado. What a beautiful coloured fish! It was about 3 feet long, probably about 20 lbs (Clare has the pics on her camera) and it was the most amazing colours of blue and green. It was a bit of work to get it on board, but Graham gaffed it (the big hook on a stick) and then Larry had to clean and fillet it so we could get it in the fridge! We told the rest of the boats that the fish dinner would be on Star Shadow that night! Then, to our surprise and delight we got another hit not long after! This time Graham took the rod and had the honour of bringing in dinner! We were thinking it might be a barracuda because the water was shallower as we neared Cat Island, but it was a Mutton Snapper, which is another good eating fish! What a day! This one was close to 3 ft in lenth and another 15 - 20 lbs! It really made Graham's day! This was the biggest fish he'd caught yet. We did have a great feast on board that night with the crews of Night Hawk, Sapphire and Star Shadow!
We were anchored at New Bight on Cat Island and there must have been about 10 boats there by nightfall (everyone was getting out of George Town!).
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