January 2, 2018
A noise woke me up. It was the sound of the wind in the rigging. The boat was gently rocking. The water was lapping at the transom. The aproaching front was near. The boat rocked me back to sleep. I awoke again to the sounds of the boat creaking in resistance to the wind. The rain started softly, but quickly started coming in sheets. The boat was rocking side to side and the water was lapping all around. The rhythm of the boat rocked me to sleep once more. Later I awoke to heavy rain pounding the deck. The boat swaying side to side with more gusto. The cold front had arrived and we were in for a day or two of rain and gale force winds. The perfect time to curl up with my tablet and update the blog.
We had a "Gale party"on our dock last night. Our dock has filled up with boats coming in to find shelter from the approaching weather. It is always fun to meet some new sailors and share some stories. Everyone is in love with Treasure Cay. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful beaches in the Bahamas. Some are staying at the marina as a base to see the Abacos. Others will be moving on to see the Abacos and beyond. Even with a little cloud cover, the sunset was still pretty.
A Treasure Christmas
We spent the first two weeks settling in. The first few days we stayed busy cleaning the boat, inside and out. We unfolded the bikes and took them off the boat. We visited the library and renewed our cards. We all went to the Christmas Cantata at the Community Church together. The music was beautiful. We had fun at the Christmas market, golf cart parade and tree lighting. The ladies in the community served food as a fund raiser to buy toys to give to the local children on Christmas day. They cooked baked chicken, peas and rice, lobster mac n cheese and slaw. It was all delicious. Whole cakes and pies were offered at a silent auction. Oh the food! We've also been frequenting our favorite spots for our favorite dishes. Cracked conch, grouper fingers, cheeseburgers and Florence's cinnamon buns and coconut bread! Splitting our time up between walking on the beach, riding bikes, sitting in the hot tub at Bahama Beach Club, sitting by the pool at the marina, and dinghy rides.
The weather has been absolutely beautiful. I've been enjoying long walks on the beach. At low tide, I love to walk out on the sandbar at sand dollar point. I've collected quite a few sand dollars already. One day there were lots of starfish left high and dry. I was busy moving them to deeper water. I don't know if they will live or not, but I just felt the need to try to save them. Two were as big as a dinner plates with bright orange markings. Steve and Anick arrived on SV/ Kestrel before Christmas. We enjoyed catching up with them about their travels. It was good to see them again. Steve loves to fish...for anything! He could not wait to get out in his dinghy to explore. The guys went out together to look for lobster. Carl showed them some spots where we have had luck finding them before. Steve went to work with his spear. They returned with 5 nice spiney lobsters or crayfish, as the locals call them. I broiled one to have with our dinner salad. Sweet and delicious! We had a girls day out too. Sandra, Anick, Diane, a visiting friend and I piled into a golf cart for our adventure. I gave them a tour of the neighborhood and showed them the greenways to the beach. We hopped out for a group photo. We continued back and through the gates at the entrance to Treasure Cay. Traveling around the "roundabouts", pulling over to the side to let cars pass and reminders from everyone for me to "stay to the left". Our first stop was Abaco Ceramics. We met the owner and she showed us her studio. We made a few purchases, packed up the cart and headed to Treasure Sands Club. We were a little early for lunch so we toured the indoor dining room where we all leaned in to smell the live Christmas tree. We then settled by the pool with a few pitchers of ice water. When our table was ready we moved to the outdoor tented dining room. The sun screens are opened remotely and the view envelopes us. We were lured out to the beach to take photos of the long dock with its pink painted pilings. The food was exquisitely presented and delicious. We had pina coladas for dessert! We spent the rest of the afternoon pool side. It was a fun girls day out!
Steve and Anick have gone out in their dinghy every day. They always return with lobsters, conch, fish and crabs. They shared a conch with us and I made cracked conch for the first time. It was tender and delicious. Anika gave us some of her conch, lobster and fish chowder...yum!
The Christmas candlelight service was just as moving as I remembered. This year two precious little Bahamian children sang a song about Jesus birthday. It was so sweet. We all took our lighted candles outside as we sang "Silent Night".
Christmas morning we saw Santa come in to the marina by boat. He handed stockings and toys out to all of the children there. We had a potluck dinner on Monarch. Anick brought black bean and cheese quesadillas appetizers (on homemade tortillas). Diane cooked a turkey, complete with dressing and gravy. Sandra made a corn casserole and brocolli salad, and I made sweet potato stacks and rosemary bread. It was a great dinner and a lot of fun!
Steve and Pat from S/V Patty Sue arrived before New Years Eve. We met them here two years ago. They have sold their sailboat and are looking for a motor yacht.They are staying for a month in a condo. It was great to see them again.
New Years Eve had many packages to choose from. Five course dinners, open bars, champagne toasts and music at Coco's and Spinakers. We decided on Tipsy Seagull for the countdown to the New Year. We arrived a few hours before to get a table by the pool. Grant, Diane, Steve and Pat joined us for a drink. We had a good seat for the fireworks. It was chilly and we all had to complain a little about that as we threw sweaters over our shoulders. A little after midnight we retreated to our boats to find the tide so low, it looked like the boats had sunk. I was sure that they were sitting on the bottom. The docks here are very high anyway. Getting on and off the boat can be a challenge. The tides are extreme now with the approaching full moon.