Day 56 - Thursday, 3-06-08 - Staniel Cay Yacht Club, Staniel Cay, Exumas (SBS)

Jean & Gerry got up early, took both laptops and headed for the Yacht Club porch. Sara took coffee up when she got up and Roger joined the group. After bending over the computer too long, Gerry experienced a debilitating muscle spasm in his back when he got up to come back to the boat. Made it to his bunk and Jean started the heat and aspirin treatment. We quickly postponed our departure until tomorrow.
Roger filled the water tank and then went off on one of the courtesy bikes to see about the propane tank and to tour the island. He visited the new grave of a sailing legend here in the Bahamas. Captain Rolly Gray was in his 80's when he was buried last Saturday. He sailed his Bahamian Sloops, Lady Muriel but mostly Tida Wave, to numerous victories between 1954-1998, mainly in the Family Island Regattas, held annually in Georgetown, Exuma. Roger also went out to take pictures of his boat. Rolly Gray, known as the "Grand Master", was a quiet unassuming man, and in real life a mail boat captain. The "mail boat" is really the lifeline for the Cay, carrying freight including fresh foods as well as the mail. His picture adorns the Wall of Fame in the Lynden Pindling International Airport. The service was attended by a former Bahamian Prime Minister and other political dignitaries. See http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=131&a=15880
Roger took pictures of other old classic hulls and then rode to the airstrip where he saw the plane belonging to the man we met from Texas who has built 30 of these kit planes. His looks like a Mustang. Arrived back at the boat about the same time our propane tank was delivered.
A number of fishermen brought grouper and other fish to clean at the pier and we got a kick watching the nurse sharks and manta rays jockeying for the scraps. They would almost come out of the water onto the rocks in the shallows. We asked why there are only nurse sharks and the Bahamians answered, "We tell the others not to come." They really are such jolly people.
We had leftover conch and salad for lunch; then rested a while. Roger & Sara jumped in the dinghy and headed for the reefs. They used the glass-bottom bucket to see lots of pretty fans and coral as well as beautiful tropical fish. Jean then joined them at the pool where they enjoyed visiting with all the couples who are here staying in the cottages. Tom, one of the pilots, fixed snacks for everybody. (He even brought some to Gerry later!)
Word got around about Gerry's plight and the boating community rallied with muscle relaxants, pain pills, etc. He felt well enough to go for hamburgers at the Yacht Club but hopped back into his bunk as fast as he could. Hoping he's up to the next leg by tomorrow, but we'll see. (SBS)