March 9, 2011
There are two legendary places on Great Guana Cay, Abaco. One is Grabbers on the Fishers Bay shore and the other is Nippers on the Atlantic side. Tonight at Grabbers a cruisers tradition is taking place: a pot luck sundown. Each boat brings a dish and before eating the crews mingle with other cruisers to tell and fabricate stories of lands far away or even the Abacos. The beach faces west and sundown promises to offer up a “green flash”. We have never seen a green flash but it is only a matter of time. It happens at the very instant the last of the direct sunlight flashes over a location. If meteorological conditions are just right and one happens to be looking at the sunset at the moment, you see a green flash which lasts way less than a second. Who knows, maybe we will see it tonight. Back to Grabbers: the beach is perfect, the water clear and the pool is cold as the beer they serve. Usually, around a hundred or so sailors, locals, divers, and dirt dwellers show up. Tonight will be our first. Hope we can stay up that long.
Nippers is a place that one must see in the Abacos. It is a weird bar and restaurant with a reputation not unlike Las Vegas. What happens there stays there. It is about 1500 square feet of assembled beach junk, and buildings with vivid paint and great views. It hosts local artists that perform Jimmy Buffett type music. The counterpart in Port A is Larry Joe Taylor or Kelly Maguire in Galveston. Island music follows very few themes mostly drinking, surfing, beaches and lost romances. The difference here is that there are folks from around the earth. This is one of the planets crossroads for sailors. Flags of all nations may be seen here. Nippers attracts them and it is a great place for people watching. Today was a defining moment in our visit to these islands. Bear felt fine and we took the dinghy ashore to meet the crew of S/V Lee Ann to ride a golf cart all over the place.
Our ride this morning took us to Bakers Bay where a very upscale marina and development is struggling to stay alive. An acre lot there is a million dollars. That might explain the slow development. There is a restaurant at the marina. They were serving breakfast and according to the menu, the prices were actually lower than other eateries on the Cay. What the heck, let’s eat. We ordered and decided to have a mimosa for starters. Mimosa is Champaign and orange juice and replaces Blood Marys which Bear and I do not like. Usually the Champaign is some cheap swill but it goes well with the OJ. When the check arrived, we thought there was a mistake. The food was $28 and the four Mimosas (served in scrawny 2 ounce flukes) were $25 each. Wow! That must have been some really great Champaign. Now I know how the place plans to help the bottom line. That might explain why we were the only folks eating breakfast. Breakfast shot our budget for the day.