Post #77: Return to George Town

 Monday, March 22 to Wednesday, March 24, 2021

With only a few days left before Sarah headed back home and our turn to head northward, too, we spent time in George Town doing boat chores, buying a few souvenirs and stocking  up on groceries, fuel, and water.  I took a few more photos around town.

The supply boat had come while we were on Conception Island so we were overjoyed to find such rarities as romaine lettuce, eggplant and even watermelons at Exuma Markets. We might not see such delicacies again until we reach the States!  I will never, ever, ever, again take for granted the endless abundance of food and water we enjoy at home.

Our last adventure with Sarah was a dinghy ride to go snorkeling and then to a sand bar that boasts a swing, volleyball net, and floating bar (sometimes). We were so glad she was able to join us and experience the Out Islands of the Bahamas.  We plan to be back in the DC area by late May and can’t wait to see our family again.

The next evening we enjoyed sundowners and a potluck supper on the beach one last time with our group.  It was a bittersweet moment as it was finally and sadly, after two full months together, time to go our separate ways.  Miss Adventure headed back to North Carolina. Pleiades teamed up with some other “kid boats” (they all attend virtual school in their respective hometowns) and planned to stay in the Bahamas for three more months. Happy Together would soon head to Nassau to pick up a guest. Buiochas (who had joined us a few weeks ago) planned to stay a while longer in George Town. So Onward, Fantasea, Equinox and Happy Together bade farewell to the others and we began our trip northward.  We will miss our “pod” and remember them always. We began as six individual boats hoping to stay healthy and active during the pandemic and we ended up becoming good friends and supportive seafarers. What a series of adventures we have had together!

Post #76: Conception Island National Park

Thursday, March 18 to Sunday, March 21, 2021

We had time to visit one more island before needing to get back to Georgetown so we chose Conception, which the cruising guides call “the quintessential Bahamian wilderness. It offers idyllic pink sand beaches, clear turquoise waters, diving or snorkeling, and creek exploration by dinghy or kayak. You will probably see sharks and rays cruising through the anchorage.”  It was all true.  The whole uninhabited island is protected by the Bahamas National Trust and is, just like the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a no-take zone.

As we approached the bay, we radioed to the others behind us that there seemed to be a set of light blue-hulled boats all anchored.  We wondered if they were part of some club or tourist group affiliated with a large resort.  As we ventured closer, we realized they were all white-hulled boats (some of them familiar to us from previous anchorages) but the water was so clear and sun so bright that they reflected a lovely turquoise! I wish I could have captured the effect on camera.  Same with the clouds—at times the reflection off the water makes even puffy white clouds seem a shade of aquamarine.

Sarah and I each took out the inflatable paddle board for a bit of exercise, visiting the other boats near us. At one point I was in the water near the boat and Sarah calmly called out, “Mom, I think you should get back on the board.”  I had no idea what she was pointing to but it was big and dark and I did what she suggested—immediately.

Those with better fish identification skills than me said it was a very large barracuda.  Barracuda are gorgeous, famously fearsome, and usually they do no more than stare at you....menacingly.  Probably would have left me alone but I wasn’t sticking around to find out! 

We spent some time snorkeling the reefs but the highlight of our time on Conception was a dinghy trip up the creek. We saw many rays and conch along the sandy bottom.  I think if, left to our own devices, we would probably have just motored slowly along but since we were with the family on Pleiades, we joined them as they jumped right into the shallow water and surface-snorkeled while pulling along the dinghy, taking advantage of the current to simply drift along the creek bed.  And, wow, were we glad we jumped in, too! The water was as clear as a swimming pool so we witnessed lots of fish swimming around the roots of the mangroves,  swam through a blue hole, and kept an eye on the barracuda which kept staring at us, in turn. Further into the center of the island, the creek water deepened and turned a darker green.  This we had come to recognize as turtle habitat.  There were scores of them!  But we dubbed them “Turbo Turtles” cause they swam away like a shot as soon as we approached, even if only using oars.  We all agreed that they deserved their privacy and quietly returned back down the creek to the ocean, appreciating the spontaneous call to adventure that comes from traveling with teenagers.  Sometimes you just have to dive right in!

Our passage back to George Town on Sunday was quite the sail—over 40 miles with winds of 15-20 knots on the beam but it was the large swells from the north that lifted Onward some 6-8 feet every 12 seconds that truly gave us pause.  Up, up, up we would rise and then gently back down again, akin to the sensation of swinging back and forth on the playground swing set.  We passed by the white cliffs we had climbed to see the Christopher Columbus monument a few days ago.  And we were humbled by the crashing waves (seen in the video below) as those same rollers met the rocks and reefs that protect Great Exuma from the Atlantic.  It felt good to be back in the protected bays of Stocking Island.

Post #75: In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety-two

 Tuesday, March16 and Wednesday, March 17, 2021

We weighed anchor on Tuesday morning and moved the boats a few miles further north along Long Island to Calabash Bay to be closer to a mangrove lagoon that we thought might be fun to explore.

Our first adventure was into the lagoon which proved to be really, really shallow and too murky to see much underwater.  So the next day we decided to stay on land and take a hike to the much-heralded Christopher Columbus monument. The three of us planned to leave about 10 a.m. to avoid the mid-day heat but, well, by now you know us, and instead we started out just before the hottest part of the day. We checked the path out on Google Maps and it looked doable and only about 2 miles each way. (Cue up Peter, Paul, and Mary: “When will they ever learn?”)

From the boat we’d seen some flags fluttering in the breeze so headed toward them.  Turned out to be a lookout structure built to provide a view of the lots available at the soon-to-be-built Point Santa Maria resort. The fact that the lookout tower was pretty rusty and there wasn’t a whisper of a building in site spoke volumes. Nice view of our boats at anchor, though.

We passed by what we thought was a huge hornet’s nest but when I showed others the photo, they said it was a termite nest!

The mile-long path continued on for at least five more miles as it got hotter and steamier.  We had the good fortune to come upon a road repair crew that was laying down hot tar and covering it with sand. They were friendly.  The tar and sand were sticky.  And did I mention, hot? Finally we came to the newly built road (a veritable highway, my friends!) that had just opened up in December 2020 to take tourists directly to the aforementioned monument.  We only had to walk along it for another mile.  Which seemed like three. Greeting us at the bottom of the hill upon which the monument sits was a cruel and unusual punishment for anyone foolish enough to have chosen to hike over here:

Oh, joy, an endless stairway to heaven.  You can see that the decoration from the ribbon-cutting dedication ceremony was still there.  Otherwise, had we arrived before December, we would have had to make like billy goats and climb up the steep slope.  “I am grateful, I am grateful, I am grateful for these 104 stairs,” I chant as I pant.  (Maybe there’s a vendor with cold water for sale at the top?  If only I could see that far...)

But who am I to complain? Really?  Old Chris Columbus and his brother and the others on those three leaky ships had to cross the entire Atlantic Ocean to get here!! The white limestone promontory would have been visible for miles on a clear day and the somewhat protected lagoon would have provided a sheltered spot to land for further exploration. This is purportedly the third island Columbus visited in the Bahamas.

The view from the top (of all those stairs) was truly spectacular and the monument commemorates his landing and remembers the peaceful Lucayans who inhabited the island when Columbus arrived.

All in all, it was well worth the hike. 

Once.

Post #74: “Hole-y” Long Island

 Sunday, March 14  to Monday, March 15, 2021

We took off for Long Island on a particularly beautiful Sunday with clear skies and light winds propelling us for 35 miles to Thompson Bay.  Onward responds so well on days with those conditions, she practically sails herself.

We all went out to dinner at Tiny’s Hurricane Hole, an upscale restaurant run by an ex-pat couple with a creative menu and welcoming hospitality.  We’d read reviews lauding their roasted pork bowl with Brussels sprouts and plantains so were disappointed to learn that the supply ship had “lost” their order and the dish was unavailable.  In fact, their order was so short, they had to close for the rest of the week since they didn’t have enough supplies. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to run a business with such availability issues.  It’s not like you can run to the nearest Costco and fill the larder yourself.

The next morning we walked up from the dock to rent a car from Seaside Car Rental for $75 cash for the day—all David did was fill out a simple form with our home address and driver’s license number. The owner’s brother, Andrew, told us to just leave the car at the gate when we were done, keys in the well under the radio. As we drove up island to the clinic at Simms, I wondered if there was even insurance on the car.  Perhaps best not to think about it......

At the clinic, Sarah took her rapid Covid test since she’d been in the Bahamas for five days.  She continued to fill out the 14-day online tracing survey for 9 more days.  The Bahamas have maintained a very strict protocol and we have all benefitted. There were only 24 new cases in the whole country on March15, and none in the Exumas for weeks.  Oh, how we dread returning to the opposite situation back in the States.

Our buddy boats were all going to spend time at Dean’s Blue Hole on the other end of Long Island so we drove southward through Bains, Millers, McKanns, Pinders, Pratts, and Gray’s—all small settlements (40-200 people) named after the plantation owners and Loyalists (often referred to in New England as Tories) who fled to the islands in the late 1700’s. Along the way we crossed the imaginary line denoting the Tropic of Cancer:

Dean’s Blue Hole was definitely worth the 25 mile drive! At 663’ deep, it is the second deepest blue hole in the world.  It’s enclosed on three sides by a natural rock amphitheater and the fourth side offers a turquoise lagoon and powdery white beach.  We snorkeled around the perimeter, amazed by the deep drop off in the center that turns the water almost instantaneously from clear aqua to midnight blue.  Some of our group climbed the surrounding cliffs and dove off but the three of us simply enjoyed just visiting with the fish hiding under the limestone edges.  There’s an international freediving competition held here each April—in case you’re game!

On the way back to the boat we made three special stops.  First to check out the new marina in Clarence Town, home to some serious sport fishing boats...and some hungry marine animals looking for lunch, too.

Our second stop was chosen by Sarah based on a mention in TripAdvisor. “Turn here, Dad,” she called out and thus began one of those “thank goodness this is a rental car” rides up and down a cart path, not even close to being a road.  But look what we found at the end—our own private circular bay and infinity pool!

The third stop was for some much needed refreshment—our first ice cream in months!!!

But the biggest adventure was still to come!  About a month ago, we lost our ability to measure the wind speed because the little cups that spin around on the top of the mast had dislodged and disappeared in one of the blows in the Bahamas.  So David ordered a replacement set to be delivered to Sarah and she brought the cups with her.  The only tricky part—installing them at the top of the 63’ mast.  She eagerly volunteered to ride up the mast in the bosun’s chair and complete the repair.  Hauled up using the winch, David and Mike got her safely up and down and much clapping and hollering and words of encouragement could be heard from all the boats around.   I figure if she ever leaves her day job, she has a career in mast climbing!

Post #73: Starfish and Conch Shells and Rays, Oh My!

 Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13, 2021 

We’ve always liked traveling with Sarah as she is inquisitive and encourages to be more adventurous than perhaps we’d be if left to our own devices.  Her quest to see the marine life of the Exumas led to the following photos and videos.  We found the starfish on, you guessed it, Starfish Beach, and the rays came by to feast on the scraps from the fresh conch salad made at the shack on Chat & Chill beach.

Starfish, also known as sea stars, are quite remarkable creatures.  They are not fish but rather are closely related to sea urchins and sand dollars. They usually have 5 distinct arms but there are over 2000 different types and some have up to 40 arms! They can actually regenerate their limbs if they lose one to injury or a predator.  Starfish have microscopic eyes on the tip of each arm which aid them while they “walk” across the sand using the hundreds of tube “feet” on their underside.  

A starfish’s mouth is in the center of the underside and their body houses two stomachs to digest the clams, snails, and others mollusks they ingest.  Since they have no brain nor blood system, they pump seawater throughout their body, bringing key nutrients to all its organs.

Rays are one of the predators of starfish. We’ve seen both Manta rays (no stinger and mouth on the forward facing part of their large body) and Stingrays (stinger on their tail and mouth is on the underside of their body) on this trip.  These Southern Stingrays came to the Conch Shack whenever scraps were dropped into the water. The cruiser kids dubbed the lighter colored one “Sandy.”  Their skin felt like slimy velvet to me.

When not feeding, Southern Stingrays often bury themselves in the sand, with only their eyes and spiracles (gills near the eyes) visible.  They don’t actually use their eyes to locate their food but rather rely on electro receptors on their snouts as well as their excellent senses of smell and touch.  Then they uncover prey by blowing water out through their mouth and flapping their “wings” over the sand, like you see here:

Conch is king in the Bahamas.  Or perhaps I should say Queen Conch is king.  Basically, they are sea snails with a large, muscular “foot” that they attach to the sea floor for mobility and protection, preferably sea grass beds in shallow waters.  Unfortunately this makes them easy to harvest and the species has almost gone extinct in waters off the Florida Keys.  Their shells are strong, ornately colored spirals that are prized as decoration and as musical horns; their meat is prized for raw conch salad, conch fritters, and “cracked conch” (deep-fried morsels). It’s now being over-harvested in the Bahamas, too, so I’ve only eaten the salad once but the fritters are very hard to resist.

After a lovely evening at the beach, we headed back to Onward to get ready for our sail to Long and Conception Islands, the farthest south we will venture this year.

Post #72: George Town!

 Thursday, March 4 to Thursday, March 11, 2021

Year after year, the George Town area plays host to a seasonal floating population equivalent to a small village (sometimes 400 boats although the most we had was 163) adding significantly to the 3000 residents fortunate enough to call this place home. (Most of the islands we have visited have been uninhabited or perhaps home to a few hundred people.) Each fall, the first armada of George Town-bound “snowbirds” crosses the Gulf Stream bound for the anchorage to escape the northern winter and to reconnect with cruising friends.  For many, George Town is the destination. For others, it’s a convenient place to reprovision groceries, diesel, gasoline and water before moving on.  We fell somewhere in the middle.

The center of activity in the town itself follows the shores of Lake Victoria.  A mere droplet compared to its African namesake, cruisers dinghy under the very narrow bridge and tie up at the dock where free water is available to all.  From there it’s a short walk to Exuma Market, the largest, most well-stocked grocery store we have seen since leaving Miami!  And there are cars! And two banks! And a straw market, clothing and souvenir shops, and many restaurants to choose from.  You gotta love the names:  Peace & Plenty, Frankie Banana’s Tiki Bar, Choppy Waters, and Island Boy. 

Our group decided to anchor near the beach at Chat & Chill, a family-friendly beach bar/restaurant with sand volleyball “courts,” rope swings, yoga and water aerobics classes taught by volunteers, even Beach Church on Sunday mornings. 

There were other beach options with appealing names like Flip-Flop, Sand Dollar, Starfish, Hamburger, and Honeymoon, each with its own special attraction.

We spent a few days readying the boat for Sarah’s arrival on March 10.  Because we had been using the forward bedroom as a storage unit and aptly named catch-all space, this was no easy feat. Finding empty locations for all the contents of said space was impossible, as anyone who lives in a tiny house knows. Added to the challenge was the failure of our water pump just 3 hours before her scheduled arrival.  Which meant taking all the newly made beds apart (including the mattresses), moving them to the dining salon, pulling the new spare pump from its hiding place under Sarah’s bed, and installing it under ours.  Let me just say, this project was not a candidate for an essay on “Describe Your Favorite Day in the Bahamas.” 

But we worked quickly and were almost ready when she arrived by Elvis’water taxi (a.k.a. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride) totally soaked due to the raging Norther that arrived the same day.  We had promised her warm weather and sunny days at the beach.  She’s a good sport, though, and instead we hiked over to the windward side of the island to fully experience Mother Nature’s awesome power:

It was another few days of very strong wind before we could easily dinghy around.  Fortunately, we had this guy frequently pass by the boat, providing loads of entertainment.  (For all our Newfound Lake family, I think we should try to rent this equipment, don’t you? After all, we were so successful at mastering the Air Chair!)

Post #71: “We’ve Got Magic to Do, Just for You”

 Wednesday, March 3, 2021

It’s been a month since I last wrote in this blog but now that we’ve turned northward and are back in the same harbor as on February 28, it’s time to stop procrastinating! So here goes:

We left Black Point with clean clothes, plenty of water, and 2 loaves of yummy bread (we quickly realized this was not enough!) Our passage took us along the shores of Musha and Rudder Cays, owned by the famous magician and illusionist David Copperfield.  You, too, can rent the villa and 5 guest houses for a mere $60,000 per night. For an additional fee, the resort will arrange a treasure hunt for you and your 11 guests which includes “clues filled with magic and wonder” to guide you to visit “live pirates, hidden beaches and cliffs, and a petrified lake.”  We sailed by albeit reluctantly but stopped to snorkel over the intriguing underwater sculpture Mr. Copperfield had commissioned and installed for all to enjoy: 

Our destination was Lee Stocking Island, once the home to the Caribbean Marine Research Center, one of NOAA’s National Undersea Research agencies. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, the center was shut down about 10 years ago and now seems eerily like the set from Lost or The Walking Dead as the buildings, airstrip, laboratories and docking areas are in various stages of deterioration.  

On the other hand, the fauna on Lee Stocking was thriving, especially the coconut palms. Some of our group came prepared with backpacks and shopping bags to carry samples back to the boats.  That night we even toasted coconut for a delicious treat at a beach bonfire!

Tomorrow we will arrive in George Town, for many the cruising Valhalla of the Exumas.  David and I have been reading and talking about it for months.  I wonder if it will live up to our expectations??

(Here we are searching for the trailhead to lead us to the abandoned research center—8 people, 8 different ideas—you can imagine what that was like!)