Canals and Lobsters
26 February 2014 | Calabash Bight, Roatan, Honduras
Beth / 30's

We got off the dock and into the Anchorage! We waited for the tide to rise on Monday and with help from Tim (Sound Spirit) and Elvis (Caye Harbour Lodge) we made a smooth exit from our home for the last week.
It was a bit of a trick – we had shallow water ahead and behind us, so we had to get off the dock at an angle (with the wind still blowing 15 knots on our nose.) We used everything we have ever learned about springing the bow out and hung fenders along the portside stern; as Tim and Elvis handled that one last line, we let the others go, the bow swung out and as the wind caught it, we “sprang” away from the dock at about a 75 degree angle and into safe water. Whew!
There were only 8 boats in the anchorage so we easily found a nice sandy bit in which to drop the anchor. I didn’t even have to put the boat in reverse as Jim played out the chain – we just blew back and came to a solid stop when he secured the chain on the windlass, and we didn’t move more than 50 feet sideways over the next 36 hours.
We left French Cay Harbour on Tuesday for Calabash Bight, staging ourselves for another try at an eastward track. It was a short but pleasant motor sail and an easy entry into the narrow but marked break in the reef to a nicely protected bay. We knew that Jasdip had been on a mooring ball here so we motored over to it and picked it up. As I watched the depth drop to 1.8 ft under our keel, I did wish we had asked John how much water was there! It would have been a little easier on the nerves.
This would be a fun area to explore with friends, but we did pretty well on our own too. Calabash and Fiddler’s Bights are connected by a pretty little canal through the mangroves (similar to the one in our home community in Rio Dulce) and then another one to Oakridge, and a strip just inside the reef over to Jonesville where we followed yet another canal paralleling a street. Fishermen waded along the reef while speedy lanchas zipped back and forth with school children, fishermen, and families. The water is the highway here, and the houses closest to it are built on stilts. We could see the remains of old pilings and walls that have been blown out or washed out by hurricanes and waves. Some of the houses were pretty ramshackle while others were new, sturdy and brightly painted. Big shrimpers lined docks and were tucked away in protected corners. There is music at BJ’s on Fridays, but nothing was happening there when we went by, and we never did find Pooky McNab’s where the pork chops are reputed to be excellent.
Soon after we arrived back at Madcap, Marvin pulled alongside on his yellow plastic kayak with a pan of lobsters. We negotiated a price, and as I asked the question I often ask fishermen, “How would you cook these?” he explained how to split open the whole lobster – not just the tail (these are the Caribbean Spiny lobsters that do not have big meat-filled claws so often we just buy the tails) clean it out and put it on the grill. He then continued, “I’ll do it for you if you want.” Great!
Marvin followed me down the steps to our little galley, and asked for a beer and a big knife! I produced both under Jim’s watchful eye and with many many expressions of “Is this OK? You don’t mind?” he whacked open the lobsters, cleaned out the yucky bits, showed us what is good meat in the body and told me to “put some seasonin’ on it, cover it with foil and cook it on the grill”.
As we chatted, we learned that he has lived here his whole life - 40 some years, that the family names are mostly English, and that he, like most of his neighbours has never ventured far from here, although he has a sister in Montreal. With a wave and a thank you (and another beer for the road) Marvin headed home.
We cooked the lobsters just as he instructed and they were delicious. I have always steamed them before, but I’ll be doing them this way again. My seasonin’ was garlic butter, and the smokiness added even more flavor.
PS,
We left Calabash this morning (Feb 26) for Port Royal – one more step along the way. We had hoped that maybe the seas would have calmed enough for us to go to Guanaja, but we really weren’t expecting it. And sure enough, it was like the grib files warned us – better but not great. Because the reports are for less wind tomorrow, we picked up “our” mooring ball again and enjoyed one more lovely sunny day in this fine bay. We snorkeled around cow and calf cays again, went ashore for a chat with Wayne, and took advantage of the free water and free wifi to top up the tanks and get this posting up.
I wonder … will we really make it to Guanaja tomorrow?