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Published: February 27th 2009
The Bahamas - Winter 2009
We arrived in Georgetown a week before our daughter Julie and her fiancé Dan were due to fly in. Everyone out cruising cautions to never set arrival deadlines but in order to enjoy visits from family and friends it is necessary to be in a certain place at a certain time. Luckily the weather cooperated and we were able to sail in before their arrival date.
This extra week gave us a chance to catch up with other cruising friends we met last year in the Bahamas. There were already about 55 boats anchored in Georgetown harbor. We quickly settled into our normal routine of waking up at 06:30, turning on the single sideband radio and listening to the weather forecast given by Chris Parker at the Caribbean Weather Center. Then eat breakfast, followed by boat chores and maintenance projects until lunch. After lunch we normally take a beach walk or hike through the islands paths or go for a kayak ride around the harbor. At 2:30 most cruisers gather on Volleyball beach and participate in a variety of activities such as cards, dominos, basket weaving, beer drinking and of course beach volleyball. There
Sailing Back
Screecher & Reefed Main?are serious volleyball players that play 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 but most of us old folks play what is called “Fun Volleyball”. This generally is 9 on each side of the net and the mantra is “nobody move - nobody get hurt”. Actually there is a chance to get some exercise but it is not the beach volleyball game you see on TV.
One of the other activities we participate in is Monday night Texas Hold’em Poker at the St Francis resort, I actually made the final table my 1st 2 weeks and finished 2nd place one night. I won a prize of $35.00 which will cover my entry fee for the next 7 weeks. We also attend beach church which is a non-denominational service held outside under a grove of Casuarina trees each Sunday morning and conducted by volunteer cruisers. Some of the cruisers bring musical instruments such as guitars, flutes and electric organs. There is even a volunteer choir.
Julie and Dan flew in on December 21st and spent the Christmas holidays with us. We had a great Christmas day dinner with the crew of “About Time” and their family aboard “Double-Wide”. Sharon
Water Cay
Cool Pool and Nancy cooked Turkeys plus there were all the fixing’s one expects on this holiday, including mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad, saurkraut and Sharon’s rum cake for desert. After dinner Doug and his son Stephen played guitar and sang Christmas carols and other great songs. Everyone was entertained by Doug & Sharon’s one year old granddaughter, Ella.
The week was filled with beach walks, kayaking and beach volleyball. For Dan & Julie it was a welcome break from their hectic business world and came to an end all too quick. On the day of their departure we took them for lunch at the Peace & Plenty hotel which provides a great view of Elizabeth harbor from a raised deck. Our lunch consisted of grouper fingers and hamburgers. All too soon we had to see them off in a taxi to the airport.
On the 8th of January we departed Georgetown and headed towards Long Island 40 miles SE of Great Exuma along with our friends on “About Time”. Our ultimate goal was to explore the Jumentos Islands and possibly the Ragged Islands at the far southern edge of the Bahamas. This is a very desolate area with virtually no
inhabited islands. There is a string of small rocky cays and the beautiful coral reefs that surround them. The area is known for the great fishing and the lobstering that it provides. We anchored at Water Cay the northern most island in the chain and were soon joined by the sailing vessel, Runaway. We met them in Lucaya, just after crossing the Gulf Stream from Florida. The six of us enjoyed a day of diving and beach combing before agreeing to meet on the beach that evening for a bonfire. We gathered driftwood for the fire and brought fresh fish we had speared earlier in the day.
The next day we moved further down the chain to Flamingo Cay. Here we met with several other boats that we had seen in Georgetown, including Freebird a 42’ Lagoon catamaran. John from Freebird is a really good diver and has been to the Bahamas many times. He asked me to go along on a trip in search of Spiny Lobsters. We dove on a great reef filled with Elkhorn coral. John can free dive to 20’ or more and is good at chasing the Lobsters into the rocky coral holes where
they hide during the day. I still have not mastered the ability to stay underwater for the amount of time it takes to shoot the Lobster with the spear slings that are allowed in the Bahamas.
We spent several days anchored there. One of the things I had to fix during this time was the anchor light that was at the top of the mast head. I had noticed that it had become loose and would fall off if I did not fix it. This meant a trip to the very top of the mast (not my favorite activity). But I had no choice so up I went. The repair went pretty well, but while I was up there, I notice that the halyard that pulls the mainsail up the mast had worn badly and needed repair. I was not prepared for that job, so that meant a 2nd trip up the mast a couple days later.
The 2nd day in this anchorage a Bahamian commercial fishing boat arrived. They look much like a shrimper but tow several small boats like Boston Whalers. The crew go out 2 men to a boat and free dive for lobsters and
fish. They stay out in these small boats from just after sunrise until nearly dark. Our friend on “Runaway”, Matt went over to the anchored fishing boat around noon and inquired if they had any lobsters to sell or trade. The only crew left on board was the cook and he said Matt would have to come back later when the Captain was aboard. Matt showed him the 3 cold beers that he had brought along and a minute later the cook produced 9 lobster tails which he quickly swapped for the beer. Matt gave 3 each to About Time and us. It was fresh lobster for everyone that evening.
After a couple of days at Flamingo, we were waiting for favorable winds to go further south, our friends on “About Time” developed a serious problem with their refrigeration unit. It had stopped keeping things cold. We were able to put their frozen foods in our freezer but all of the refrigerated things were rapidly coming to room temperature. Therefore, we made the decision to head back to Thompson Bay, Long Island so they could try to get the unit repaired. Doug was able to effect a temporary repair
Running Tide
Bahamian Sloop to their damaged compressor by using a dinghy patch and a c-clamp and order a new refrigeration unit to be delivered to Georgetown.
We took three days exploring Salt Pond Long Island. One highlight was touring a large cave (reputed to be the 8th largest cave in the world). It was a very deep cave with arms going off in different directions. Some of the ceilings were 40’ tall and filled with bats. We had heard that a 30’ python lived in the cave but luckily did not see him. Nancy had a good time beach combing and found quite a few pieces of sea glass. One day a little boy about 8 or 9 came over to visit us in his own little dinghy. His name was Victor and he was loooking for someone to play with. Nancy got out the dominos and they had a good time for an hour or so which was very interesting because Victor spoke only French.
We sailed back to Georgetown, Great Exuma the center of the cruising activities in the central Bahamas. Nancy's sister Gayle and her husband John were scheduled to fly in for a week long visit the
following week.
I was surprised to see that a very large schooner had anchored in the harbor, and it looked very familiar to me. The next day I took the dinghy over to see what boat is was. It turned out to be the Nina, a 63 foot boat built in the 1930's. It has won many, many ocean races and was the biggest boat in the fleet at the Merchant Marine Academy while I was there. I sailed as part of the crew until the school sold her in 1971. I got to meet the current owner and his family and found out they are on there way to circumnavigate the world. Seeing this boat brought back many memories and I was certainly surprised to see that she was still crossing oceans.
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