February in the Exumas
04 March 2013 | Thompson Bay, Long Island
John catching his 41 inch Mahi!
How time flies! It's hard to believe that it's March already. The month of February was action-packed with two sets of guests: the first pair left one day and the next came a day later! But no worries: we got our laundry, cleaning and provisioning in between the two sets of guests done in a jiffy, and it was all good. We wouldn't have changed a thing as it was so nice to see my brother, Don, and Patty again, and also John's friend from Scout Camp (too many years ago to say), Jim, and Cathy, whom we haven't seen since last summer. Both sets of guests were eager to help and be part of the scene and get into cruising mode. It was also great how aware they were of water and electricity use (quite important to cruisers!). They were also game to try different games (think Crappo) and different rum drinks....very important! Given the cruising grounds around George Town, the weather, and the time available to our guests, we used the same basic itinerary twice: up to Lee Stocking Island, around to Rat Cay, and sail back down to George Town.
To catch up from my last blog post, Don, Patty, John and I sailed up to Lee Stocking Island which used to house the Caribbean Marine Research Center, which was funded by many universities and NOAA. It was closed due to the funding drying up, but it looks like they left in a hurry, as many things were just left behind. During our three hour hike to the highest point in the Exumas (129 feet) we passed by a shed with "Home Depot" painted on its side. It wasn't locked, so we took a look inside. It was filled with all sorts of spare parts for things. We also saw the submersible they used for research, just sitting beside the shed, as well as a few motor boats, a truck, etc. You get the idea.
We anchored for two nights behind Lee Stocking, then took a trip south on the west side of the island through shallow waters. Don was at the helm (my usual spot), and I can report that it was far less stress-inducing to let someone else helm.
We arrived back in George Town on Saturday with Don and Patty, in time for the Sunday weekly pig roast at Chat-n-Chill on Stocking Island. There, we met Cheryl, who is a friend of Patty's from 20 years ago who happens to have a home near George Town on Exuma. What a treat it was to enjoy the afternoon at Chat-n-Chill and catch up after so many years!
On our way up to Lee Stocking Island with Jim and Cathy during the last week of February, we had quite a bit of activity. We put the fishing rod out as we left George Town. Then we put both sails up in a bit of a lumpy sea. Cathy and I went down below to make some lunch when suddenly we heard Zzzzing! Lunch would have to wait; there was clearly a fish on our line. There was quite a pull on the line and bend in the rod. John reeled in the line with difficulty as whatever was on the line was really fighting! I steered the boat, while Jim and John pulled in our catch. Cathy stood at the ready with the alcohol spray bottle to give the fish a dose, as we always like to offer anyone who comes aboard a drink. In this case, it helps to make our visitors a little more docile, which is not always the case with our two-legged visitors! Jim held the rod as John gaffed the fish. Cathy sprayed the gills, and then John lobbed the fish into the cockpit. A 41" Mahi! Wow! Every once in a while it flopped around, spurting blood all over the cockpit. John cut off the head and bled it out, but because the sea was so unsettled, Ms. Mahi stayed in a bucket until it was calm enough to clean and fillet. Once we anchored, John was able to make 19 fillets out of it! It was about an hour in cutting, another hour cleaning the cockpit. We had two meals for the four of us, and we still have a bunch left in the freezer. We don't need to go fishing for some time!
We anchored for two nights off Rat Cay which had been fine the week before. This time, however, the swell that was kicked up made for a somewhat uncomfortable stay during parts of the tide cycle. It was nice to get off the boat, then, for an afternoon on Pigeon Cay, an island adjacent to Rat. We had the whole island to ourselves for a lovely picnic, except that partway through lunch, we thought we heard the bleating of a goat. At first, we dismissed it, but when it repeated we looked through the brush to see two goats looking down at us! Apparently, goats have been introduced to some of these islands, and their owners come to cull the herd, as it were, occasionally.
Once again, we were back in George Town. We said farewell to Jim and Cathy, and got right into our chores: defrosting the freezer, laundry, provisioning, etc. We also attended some of the George Town Regatta activities as the regatta week had just begun. The theme of the regatta this year was "Cruisers Gone Wild". We attended the "No Talent Show" on opening night. It was a hoot. It was ironic, though, that given the theme, everything wound down by 8 pm! We also participated in a dinghy poker run, and met some people and got to see some places we wouldn't have ordinarily visited. Not a winning hand, but a successful day anyway.
After filling with fuel and water last Friday (March 1), we set off for Thompson Bay, Long Island, a day's sail from George Town. We've had two days of squally, blowy weather, followed by sunny skies, but still with wind from the north. Yesterday, we rented a car for the day ($50 per day with no paperwork or insurance..."just bring it back in one piece with the same amount of gas in it as when you leave") and explored the southern half of the island, visiting the largest cave in the Bahamas and Dean's Blue Hole, the world's deepest blue hole. We also visited one of the two "Father Jerome" churches. Why two? He was an Anglican priest, built an Anglican church, converted to Catholicism, built a Catholic church, both within a mile of one another. What did the faithful think of all this? Even though it is only about 40 miles to the southern end of the island (and we didn't even go all the way to the end), it was a full day trip. There are two reasons for that. We generally didn't go over 30 mph on the one road on the island "Queen's Highway", due to driving on the "wrong side" of the road. Now, you would think that with the steering wheel also on the "wrong side" you'd have a constant reminder about what side of the road you should be on. That may be true, but the car we had was from the States, so the steering wheel was on the left side. John drove for most of the day, while I kept calling out, "Left" every once in a while when it looked as though he forgot about which side we were supposed to be on! Also, the road was fairly narrow with no shoulder. The other reason for our 50 mile full day was that lunch in Clarence Town took about an hour and a half for burgers, fries and salad! This is BT (Bahamas Time), folks!