Buddy boating with Agility & Valianna

In early February, we enjoyed ocean beach walks, Mango Pina Colada's at the Snappy Turtle, volleyball at Chat 'n Chill, sailing on Agility with Jeff & Krista, a couples massage at The Beach Club on February Point, taking pictures of other peoples boats under rainbows and hiking to the Monument and Da Sand Bar (otherwise know as StarFish or FlipFlop Beach) with the crew on Agility and our new friends, Carl & Val, on s/v Valianna. Here are some of my favorite pics:

On Saturday, February 12th, Andrew and I set sail for Cat Island, 50 miles northeast of George Town. We had a nice sail (some of it with our chute up) in 12 to 15 knots out of the SE and caught a fish on the way. I posted a picture of the fish on an Exuma group website and started a debate that lasted for 95 comments! Some thought it was a Spanish Mackeral and not edible, others thought it was a wahoo (including Andrew, at first), but most identified it as a Cero Mackeral and good eating. We arrived at New Bight in time for cocktails and the sounds of throbbing reggae music coming from shore while Andrew set to the task of filleting and cooking the fish. 

The following day we hiked up Mt. Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas, to The Hermitage, a small monastery built in 1939 by the renowned architect and priest, Father Jerome. That afternoon, our friends on Agility and Valianna arrived in the harbor, along with almost two dozen other boats that had the same idea of riding out the blow expected over the next few days, in this relatively protected harbor.

On Valentine's Day, we picked up some yummy cinnamon bread at the local bakery, and met up with our friends to visit Debbie's Straw Works (some of the best I've seen in the islands) and sit on tires at the bright blue restaurant called Lil Gippy's to eat lobster and conch, as we watched the weather roll in.

On the most blustery day, we chose to go sailing on Valianna, a Chris White designed catamaran with foil sails. The guys couldn't wait to see what it was like to stress test the foils in 20-25 knots. Once they got it moving forward, instead of backwards, it was wet and invigorating! 

We had planned a road trip the next day, but instead gave showers to our boats in the pouring rain until it cleared up in the afternoon and we went ashore for a game of backgammon with the locals and an impromptu Rake & Scrape (beach party with music played on a drum, an accordion and what looks like wooden kitchen implements) organized on the VHF by the cruisers.

We finally had a day that we could rent a car to explore Cat Island with Carl & Val (from Valianna). We drove along the coast to Fernandez Bay Resort, a beautiful spot that is owned by a Canadian who bought it for a family compound and decided to keep it going as a business, and on through Arthurs Town, which is where the actor, Sidney Poitier was born. After turning around on a dirt and stone road with potholes as big as our car, we had lunch at a roadside shack where Kizzie cooked up the best curry chicken and sweet potato fries I've had yet.

Once the weather settled down, Andrew and I had a window of opportunity to motor to Conception Island, a National Park 36 miles south of Cat Island, which is quite beautiful but very exposed. The island offers idyllic pink sand beaches and the clearest blue turquoise water you can imagine but we never found the good snorkel sites that were promised in the guide book. We did however, enjoy a dinghy ride in the mangroves where we saw a dozen turtles too quick for me to photograph. 

In the harbor off Conception we were joined by an aqua blue, Italian designed power yacht, which Andrew decided he would like to have if we ever went to the dark side AND won the lottery. It gave us a 4 hour head start but ended up following us into Calabash Bay, Long Island, where we had hoped to dine at the Santa Maria Resort. Unfortunately, they were full but the overnight stop broke up the windless motor sail back to George Town, where we'll be spending the next few weeks.

Hanging out in George Town, Exuma

Billy Ruff'n returned from Long Island to George Town, Exuma in order to meet up on January 22nd with a group of Salty Dawgs that we've come to know over the past few years. We met up at the Moriah Harbor Cay National Park shelter off Sand Dollar beach with the crews from Snow Cat, Gemeux, Change Up and End of the Road. It's been great getting to know these folks and having get-togethers here and there to share stories of our adventures.

The next few days were about as calm as we have ever seen it in George Town. We cleaned the boat, re-provisioned, did laundry and other housekeeping rituals and then moved the boat to Guana Key (at the southern end of Elizabeth Harbor) to make water and check out some snorkeling venues. The coral was decent with lots of fan, brain and black specimens but only a few schools of small blue & yellow fish and the occasional big one. Unfortunately, I don't have underwater pics but some nice ones of the serene waters at sunrise & sunset.

On Jan. 27th, Andrew and I celebrated 32 years of marriage by enjoying a special dinner at The Beacon at Kahari Resort on Stocking Island. We don't go out much for dinner so the night-time dinghy ride into the lagoon for goat cheese & beet salad, Langousta in curry pepper sauce and fried cheesecake were an enjoyable adventure. 

The next day, after picking up fresh fish in town from the hairdresser, who's husband is a fisherman, Andrew had to perform an underwater rescue of our snubber hook. He had it connected to a spring loaded J-hook that sprung which required free diving 20 feet to retrieve it. That was his exercise for the day!

The following afternoon, we were hanging out on the boat when a dinghy came charging up to our stern. We were commenting about how close they were and that they were going to hit us, when they called out our names. It was Heike & Jurgen (and their daughter) from s/v Valentin, that we met in Spanish Wells a month ago. We jumped in the dinghy to have drinks with them at Chat 'n Chill beach and pick up dinner to go. That's how our social life often works here in G-Town.

The next few days we were mostly hunkered down on the boat for a blow that lasted a couple days, venturing out at least once to see if we could find a place to watch the NFL playoffs. We decided to check out a new joint for us, the Rusty Anchor on February Point...beautiful view, decent food, no TV.

There are a record 290+ boats in the anchorages of Stocking Island these days, and more dinghies than I've ever seen at the town dock! The boat community chats every morning on the net on channel 72 and throughout the day on 68, announcing all kinds of gatherings & events. One day at dusk, a boat who had been watching the movie, Don't Look Up (about a meteor hitting the earth) proclaimed that a meteor was passing overhead! Turns out it was not a meteor about to hit the earth, but a Space X rocket launch from Cape Canaveral... a pretty cool sight!!

A few days later we were hunkered down again in steady winds at 30 knots, gusts to 40! Out of shear boredom, we made a tool to clean the back of the oven and I discovered Wordle. When it gets too rough to run our own errands, we'll try to use 'the harbor conceirge', a fellow name Jamal, who will pick up or drop off trash, ice, fuel, etc., except on busy days when we need him most, he can be hard to get, so we made a wet run across the harbor in the blow for ice.

On Feb. 4, a good friend from home, Jeff W. (on s/v Agility) and his fiance, Krista, arrived in the harbor, providing us with new friends to play with. Their first night, we had a great meal of sushi & duck wings at Exuma Yacht Club and an adventurous dinghy ride back trying to find our boats in the dark. The next day, I rowed my SUP and Krista rowed their kyack into Chat 'n Chill for some volleyball, drinks and conch salad.

It seems like we spend our days playing while waiting around for a weather window to sail somewhere and just when one opens up, some new friends arrive. I am definitely not complaining...George Town is a fun & beautiful place to hang out and we will continue to do so until the next weather window (or playmate) arrives!!

Playing tourist in Long Island, Bahamas

After a hair raising evening of thunder & lightening storms on January 17th, we left George Town, Exuma for Long Island, a charming, cruiser-friendly island about 35 miles away. Motor-sailing with the jib only in a stiff following breeze that put us dead down wind, we arrived around 3:30 in Thompson Bay, midway down the western side of the island, with about a dozen boats in the anchorage. By sundown, there were 27 boats seeking refuge from the more crowded anchorages in George Town.

The next morning, we were up with the roosters preparing the dinghy to go ashore to Salt Pond and rent a car for the next two days, since this is the best way to see the island. The first day, we headed south to Hamilton Cave, Dean's Blue Hole and Lighthouse Point for lunch. 

Hamilton Cave is the largest cave system in the Bahamas and is owned and operated by Leonard Cartwright, who will take you on the hour long tour if you see the tiny sign with his number on it outside a shuttered building and give him a call. He will tell you about the Arawak Indians that inhabited the cave many years ago and how it has been used for mining bat guano for fertilizer more recently.

Going further south, Deans Blue Hole is the world's deepest known salt water blue hole at 663 feet. To get the best view, we climbed up on the rocks and overhanging cliffs, where braver souls are known to jump! 

We continued south toward Clarence Town, where we stopped for fish tacos & a burger at the newly built Lighthouse Point Restaurant, part of the Flying Fish Marina and then briefly visited the church that dominates the hillside overlooking the bay. It was built by Father Jerome, who was an architect and Anglican priest sent in 1908 to Long Island after a hurricane, to rebuild the churches in his unique style of stonework with barrel vaulted arches and thick walls.

The second day, we headed north to the Columbus Monument at Cape Santa Maria.  We drove past some cleverly named establishments like Da Spot Restaurant and Bring De Boat Dis Way Liquor Store and stopped at Bert's Dry Goods for hand made straw gifts. The road turned to gravel and pits before we made it to the bottom of the 164 steps up to the monument. At the top was the most glorious view (difficult to capture with pictures) of the salt flats and lapis blue ocean below.

After visiting the monument, we drove south to the Cape Santa Maria Resort to check out the restaurant and facilities. The white painted main buildings, two story villas and one or two bedroom bungalows dot the idyllic beach on Calabash Bay and offer a nice restaurant on the water but we opted for a highly reviewed restaurant nearby.

 

Our choice, the Sunset Restaurant is in a rather featureless building, barring the aqua colored rope around the posts marking the parking lot. Reviewers come for the food and what I would call 'the Rodney experience'. Rodney is a former mathematics & physical education school teacher and principal, who retired after 40 years to start a restaurant and write and play his music. He requests that you make reservations so he can personalize the experience for his guests but we were in the area and called to see if he could take us right away. Rodney answered the phone and said he was in the grocery store but could meet us in 20 minutes. When we arrived at the restaurant, he was wiping off chairs and setting up the dining room. We asked for whatever he was serving for lunch and he recommended the grouper. He set us up with drinks & nuts and about an hour later came out of his tiny kitchen to put flowers on the table and deliver homemade apple, carrot & onion salad, assorted vegetables and exquisitely poached grouper.

After the feast, we chatted with Rodney about his teaching days and the music he writes and performs to this day. At our request, he added two downloaded tunes to our bill and we returned to the boat with full bellies that were well worth the price and an overall experience that was priceless.

The next morning we were pretty lazy, had a late breakfast and did some yoga on the foredeck. Since it was our last night in Long Island, we had planned to take the dinghy over to a popular restaurant bar on the bay for locals and cruisers. Tiny's Hurricane Hole, with its' adirondack-style chairs, tables & hammocks scattered on the beach and docks, invites you to stay awhile. We ordered rum drinks, conch fritters and Tiny's pizza special made w/ grilled brussel sprouts, pulled pork and jalapeno peppers and settled in for the afternoon. We chatted with locals and met other cruisers as they popped in for a drink (or two or three). One of the couples was from Kennett Square, of all places in the world, about 20 minutes from our condo in Devon, Pa.

Early the next day, we were off the hook and sailing back to George Town at about 5 knots with a full main and jib, in 6-10 knots of wind. It was a sunny and pleasant sail until the wind dropped out and we had to turn on Thunder, our engine, but we arrived safely and anchored off Sand Dollar beach for the next phase of our Bahamas adventure.

 

  

Rainbows, sunsets & weather windows

Since we left Emerald Bay and arrived at Sand Dollar Beach off of Stocking Island (near George Town, Exuma) about a week ago, we haven't done much other than sit around and watch mother nature do her thing! Our first day here, we saw a family of 7 porpoises playing in the calmest Elizabeth Harbor we have seen to date but by evening, clouds had rolled in and the weather was looking ominous.

The next morning we awoke to a double rainbow leaving pots of gold with various boats and spent the day snugged in to our anchor with 15 - 25 knot winds out of the southeast. That evening, Andrew caught a fabulous sunset over the troubled water. 

The next day blew up to 35 knots out of the north, creating white caps all over the harbor for another entire day but it calmed down enough the following day for us to dinghy ashore and enjoy the Art Walk, where children and adults alike paint rocks, wood, seeds or whatever they can find to scatter on the trail from the harbor side to the ocean side of Stocking Island.

We made full use of the calm day and later took the dinghy over to George Town to share a yummy spicy tuna roll and lobster sandwich at Exuma Yacht Club, only to be eclipsed by another beautiful sunset in Elizabeth Harbor.

Now, it looks like we have the weather window we have been waiting for and we hope to shove off tomorrow for Long Island, the one that is 35 miles from here (and not near the chill of NYC)!

 

Out of the cold, into the warm again!

On Jan. 6, 2022, we returned to Emerald Bay, Exuma after a pleasant Christmas & New Year's holiday with family and friends. We luckily made it through the Bahamas travel gauntlet, which requires you to get a COVID test 3 days before your flight and upload your negative results to the Bahamian Travel government site for approval. The problem is that test results can take 2-3 days and government approval... well, who knows! Andrew's CVS PCR results came through and he had his approval the day before our flight, however, my CVS results had not come until after midnight that day. Fortunately, the government changed the recent rule disallowing Rapid tests the day before our flight so I was able to get another test with results and approval in time. Phew!!

We were happy to leave the cold weather and arrive in the balmy Exuma islands to see Billy Ruff'n in  good shape. We had left her in the care of Shane from Emerald Bay, who sent us pictures of the lines, the battery volt meter, and refrigerator/freezer temperature gauges every day or so. The only issues were a few broken lines that had been sawed off due to the sharp edges on our chocks and the relentless surge in the marina. We broke two more (with chafe guards on) since we returned!

Our first day back, I took a taxi ride to the local convenience store to provision, which was better than expected but only supplies us with basic breakfast & lunch stores. We are repairing lines, cleaning up the boat and waiting out the weather before we head back to George Town for more provisioning. Consequently, we go to one of the two restaurants in walking distance for dinner almost every night. Naturally, our first (and only) visit to the more expensive of the two resulted in the best dinner we have had in the Bahamas to date! 

The Grill House at 23 N is on the Sandals property at Grand Isle Resort in Emerald Bay. It is a clean and simply appointed, warm & comfortable space with white walls, dark wood trim, rod iron fixtures, white tablecloths and excellent service but the food is the real highlight. We shared the scallop & pork belly papaya salad prepared w/ cucumber, soy caramel, crispy shallots and cilantro for a starter.

Andrew had seared grouper with grilled corn for his main course and I had stoned crabs (Andrew says they're called stone crabs but I prefer my name for them) and coconut, carrot bisque with rock shrimp, curry crumble & mint topping. It was all as good as it sounds and looks (even though I had to fake the pictures)!!

On our 2nd day back, we took a cab ride to Cocoplum beach, just north of Emerald Bay off White Sound. It is a beautiful white sand beach that stretches on for miles of shallow coastline, perfect for the handful of kite surfers and sunbathers enjoying the venue.

We walked south to the sand bar, in hopes of finding sand dollars, and then 1 mile in the other direction to have lunch at the Shoreline Beach Resort Restaurant. The resort wasn't much (5 motel rooms on the beach) but the colorful restaurant with pleasant service was cheery and the fish tacos w/ french fries and mahi sandwich w/plantains for lunch (along with ribs w/peas & rice, to go for dinner), were excellent!

Today, in compliance with the latest government requirements, we took our 48 hour COVID test, but have no idea what to do with it! At least it's done and we have the results (negative), if anyone asks. We walked part of the Greg Norman golf course, with exquisite holes right on the beach here at Emerald Bay while hoping that our weather window to leave for George Town tomorrow holds up.