April 6, 2015 -- A Sailor Looks at Fifty (Apologies to Jimmy Buffett) -- Tilloo Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

My Captain is 50 years old today; for just a few months, I will be only six years older than him, rather than 7.  My mother was older than my father, just by a 13 months, but the time between May 24 (her birthday) and June 1 (his birthday), we used to give her such grief about being TWO WHOLE YEARS older than my father.  A funny coincidence, because my other sisters are married to younger men, too. 

So Gary turned 50.  I made him a birthday biscuit as I had no cake makings on board.  No birthday candles either, so we stuck a piece of craft store dowel in the biscuit, lit it, and serenaded him rather badly, but he smiled through it all.

Later, we took a short hop from over to Cracker P's for lunch, which, of course, as is our luck, was not open for another two days.  So we did a U-turn in the dinghy and tied up at Lubber's Landing to check it out as it was right next door to Cracker P's.  Now, we wanted to go to Cracker P's because of the history involved; apparently, this guy, in a legal dispute over a chicken, shot a sheriff somewhere in the United States.  In running from the law, he made his way to the Bahamas and wound up living as a hermit on Lubber's Quarter, what was then a small uninhabited cay.  Locals knew him as the "Naked Man" who came in occasionally for supplies without the benefit of clothing.  We don't know if it's true, but it was on the internet, so it must be.

Lubber's was a great second choice; we ordered a rum drink for me, a Kalik for Gary, and water for Elliott.  We started with cauliflower, breaded and deep-fried, smothered in a lovely spicy Bahamian sauce.  The guys had tuna burgers and I had an awesome salad, with dressing that had a hint of heat, too.  It was so good.  I get salads whenever I can because lettuce just doesn't keep well on a boat.  Cabbage is good and we use it all the time, but cabbage is just not lettuce.

I was keeping my eye on an occupied table the whole time we were ordering and waiting and as soon as they occupants got up, I was on it like a fly on, oh well, you know what I mean.  Kind of in a corner, it was a U-shaped couch with wide seats and large fluffy pillows abutting a table right down the center.  With the straw mat on the walls and the tropical breeze wafting through slatted windows, it was a perfect afternoon of drinking, eating, and people watching.

We lounged around long enough to close down the place, at which point, we were asked kindly to clear the premises.  We took the dinghy over Cracker P's beach, where we figured that he wouldn't mind our trespassing on their off day.  As we walked up the beach, a woman and man came out of the gate that said "Private," and the man got into a boat a left.  We chatted with the woman, who turned out to be the owner.  She said, "We'll be open on Wednesday."  We asked whether we could take the beach trail to the other side of the island, and she said, "Sure; just be sure to reenter the trailhead at the two palm trees." Good advice.

We noticed that she was recovering from an ankle injury; she said that in the 15 years that she's been living there, she'd never had a problem, but on a recent walk on the trail, her foot got caught under a tree root and she ended up having a break.  She was still nursing it as it was tender in the last stages of healing.  I know that feeling.

She looked at my shoes and said that I should be okay; I'm guessing flip-flops would have been out of the question.  Once we entered the trail, it felt like we were in a tropical jungle; birdsong and bugs hit us from all sides.  I got aggravated because I kept hearing new bird sounds, but could not see the birds to take a photo to get them identified.  There are several bird species here that are not found anywhere else in the world and they were being camera shy.  (My friend R. Bruce would certainly know how to get them to come out and pose, I'm sure!)

It was hot and still on the trail and you had to pay attention; roots snaked across the trail every which way and rounded coral heads popped up like the game "Whack-a-Mole," surprising you at every turn.

The water on the other side was flat calm, low tide.  We saw some interesting holes in the sand that were dug by larger animals than the crabs were are used to, so we walked with our heads down in case we ran into any of these strange digging animals. 

A little ways down the beach, there was a nice wooden lounge and a flotsam-fabricated bar called Cracker G's Tiki Bar.  Don't know if people really used it as a beach hangout, but Elliott stopped by to take a call on the shell phone.

It was a good day for a birthday.  When we got back to the boat, I checked Facebook as I'd been looking forward to connecting with Captain Angie Wilson again--we had first run into her at Riviera Beach (she was the one who visited us bearing ice for a Christmas present). 

She told me where she'd been giving her sailing lessons out of and we were only about 8 miles away!  I asked Gary whether we could go see her even though it would be changing his plans a bit; he was a little hesitant, but since we also had some provisioning to do, he agreed to the sail to Marsh Harbor tomorrow.  Angie and I made plans to meet for dinner.  Yay!

Sunday, April 5, 2015 -- Lynard Cay/Tilloo Cay or "So I Don't Swim? What's The Big Deal?"

The guys just left on the maiden voyage of their newly sail-rigged dinghy.  Another dinghy had gone by earlier from another boat and they were sailing and it seemed to inspire them to finish the project.

PVC pipes and canvas and drills and line littered the aft deck for two days while they worked; when they went off yesterday to explore the aforementioned reef, I took up the sewing of the sail and finished it off for Gary as a surprise.  They had some luck at the reef, but the current has picked up so quickly that they feared becoming separated from the boat, so they scrambled back on and came back.

Elliott saw some large fish under the boat earlier and set about rigging his fishing line, but to no avail. 

Gary was a dear, and plugged into some lively music, did the dishes for me.

We will be leaving here some time today to take an 8-mile sail to our next anchorage, which, Gary presented, has two dockside restaurants.  Looking forward to that, though I've been quite proud of myself for coming up with meals from seemingly nothing.  We're down to barely any fresh vegetables and only apples and oranges, and a soon-to-be-cracked coconut, so rice and beans may become a staple.  I used the last of the cabbage to make a lovely slaw yesterday and that was lunch; we had a little turkey meat left over so I hobbled together burgers, using cracker meal and eggs, onions and spices as filler.  They were pretty awesome.

We do have plenty of canned goods, but fresh is so much better; I hope we run into an open-air market or something like that on this portion of the trip because I'd like to try some new vegetables or fruit.

I am adventurous in some aspects; hah.  Speaking of which, I feel I must address my hesitancy in swimming.  I am a huge fan of water, seas, ponds, lakes, rivers, creeks.  I adore them and respect our dependence on them for sustenance in so many ways.  But while they fill a spiritual niche for me, I do not feel it is necessary to be swallowed up by them.  I especially respect their strength.

My earliest memories of water are being pushed into a deep ditch in Mississippi by the neighbor boy/sometimes bully Bubba.  I was quite small, maybe 5 or so.  As I was floundering about, he said, "Watch out for the snakes!"  I was traumatized.  It was sad and that experience, unfortunately, marks me to this day.  For those who think I ought to swim everywhere, I was "baptized" in the muddy Mississippi River, whose countenance was tricky at best.  Hurling around bends, watery fingers would latch onto you and pull you down to the bottom in a second, with nary a concern for your comfort.  I remember being caught in that current and having to be pulled out by family.  Swimming with gar, catfish, and snakes scared the bejesus out of me and I can still smell the cracked mudflats at rivers' edge, the oozing suck of which would bury you up to your knees and steal your shoes if you weren't wary enough to keep a fast and light step.

And maybe I'm remembering with a heavy heart a boy I had taken a fancy to early in high school.  He and a group of friends went swimming at a local swimming hole one day after school and he dove into the water and never resurfaced, drowning in the tangle of limbs of a submerged tree. 

So, when I do swim, I have to be comfortable and feel very safe.  It's just who I am and I don't think that I'm getting any less from this voyage because of it.

April 4, 2015 -- Lynard Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

We left Little Harbor an hour ago and are already anchoring; now that's the kind of island hopping I like!  Not sure where we are, but Gary and Elliott want to visit here to snorkel a reef. 

Yesterday, our social director Elliott hooked us up with an English family.  We talked to them briefly at Pete's Pub and when he and his dad made arrangements to visit the blue hole, they asked them to go along.  They were joined by the dad and the two daughters.  

Even though they did not find the blue hole, they had a blast, even though a shoe was lost to the sucking sands.  They swam, talked (Gary said the water was shallow and it felt like they were in a hot tub just having a chat), and found interesting animals, including a crab that looked like a transformer.  It started out looking like a shell, but the arms folded out and down to become a crab.  The bottom reminded me of a horseshoe crab.

They were gone a long time, but it seemed to be time well spent.  Everyone came back with stories and smiles on their faces.  The whole family came over later after dinner to visit.  So we formally met Matthew, Pippa, Maddie, and Izzy.  When I couldn't quite hear Izzy's name, I asked her to spell it.  "I, Zed, Zed, Y."  British, for sure.

They were lovely and Elliott challenged them to a game of Carcassone,   Matthew had actually visited the real Carcassone before.  The family is from Surrey, about 90 minutes outside London.  Pippa is a surgeon and we never got around to asking Matthew what he did.  They were good fun and the girls, 16 and 14, were fun and fearless.  They've been sailing all their lives and most of their holidays have been spent on boat, their own or charters.  Maddie said it wasn't until she was 12 that she realized that not everyone went on a boat every holiday.  They left the marina a few minutes before us and we hope to run into them again before they go home on Friday.

April 3, 2015 -- Little Harbor, Abacos

With the faint strumming of guitar and voices raised in song coming from a neighboring boat, we spent our first evening in the Abacos sitting in the cockpit, sated from a good dinner, and a satisfying, though long, day of sailing. 

We left Hoffman Cay in the Berry Islands yesterday at first daylight; we motored for a good part of the day because the wind took her time to fill in.  It never filled in quite as full as Gary would have liked, but we kept an average of 6 knots, which kept us on the timetable to make the mooring field before dark. 

We discovered another aspect of the power of music yesterday; in thinking of ways to prepare me for the long (possibly 7-day) haul from the Abacos to Norfolk, VA in May, Gary said that we could play all the songs he's got on his phone bank.  We played some selections yesterday and it did make the day seem shorter.  We played boisterious Ride of the Valkyrie and the 1812 Overture and then, when it was nap time, we played softer music like Loreena McKennitt.  Last night, we hit the disco a bit and then Gipsy Kings.

I never thought I'd say that I appreciate his music collection; I used to get so frustrated with the time Gary would spend arranging his music collection.  To sort it by artist?  Or song?  Or genre?  I just don't have that attention span thing going.

So it was a good addition to the day yesterday which also involved crossword puzzles, knitting, the aforementioned napping, eating, drinking, singing along to the songs, a little cockpit dancing; I think you've got the drift.

We seem to have made a tactical error; not getting enough cash out for this part of the trip.  Not many places in the less populated and less touristy islands take credit cards.  This isn't a huge tourist destination, but we hope they take cards here.  Otherwise, we'll have to send one of those notes to all our friends:  "Dear Friends:  We are stranded in the Bahamas without any money.  Can you wire me some funds to the account below?  Many thanks."  Oh, you've heard that one before, too, eh?

As soon as we latched onto the mooring last night, we hear, "Hey Elliott!  Hi Elliott"  Three boats of his friends from the Great Harbour Key Marina are also moored here.  I hope he gets some time to visit, but I think they're heading out this morning.  He told me that one of the boat's crews has been cruising for 30 years.  I can't even imagine it.  What a commitment!

We'll be going ashore in a little while to sign in with Pete's Pub, which is the establishment that handles the mooring field.  Pete's family has been on the island for many years, starting the first foundry.  Pete and his son are continuing the tradition of fine spirits and fine arts by producing some, from what I hear, amazing works of art.  Can't wait to see them.  I've never been to a place that bills itself as a pub AND an art gallery.  Now that's a good thing.

We know there's another blue hole around here somewhere and we noticed several caves in the cliffs on the far side of the harbor that beg for exploring.  We just hope they're not private property.  We'll take a walk about town after checking in, see if we can get some fresh fruit or veggies (supposedly there is organic produce available, which would be awesome).  I'm not in any danger of getting scurvy, but I love fresh veg and fruit, so I hope it will be a good day for that.  We're also almost out of bread and even though I've got some bread mixes, good Bahamian bread is fantastic.  Kind of like Hawaiian bread; a little sweeter than plain bread and oh so good.

Our plans are to stay for a few days here and then take short jaunts around the Abaco Sound to visit parks and other natural sites.

So, our trip ashore was good; the beach on the other side of the island is craggy and not a swimming beach at all.  Gorgeous nonetheless, with waves crashing to shore and high in the sky.  The color of the waves as they go back out after smashing into coral is beautiful.

The art gallery is quite nice; I read that the original foundry equipment was blown away by a hurricane and they have had to rebuild almost everything.  I can't imagine the disappointment.  

But they're going strong again and I believe a part of the family is in Massachusetts somewhere with another gallery/store that they're running.

Our lunch at Pete's Pub was delicious; they only serve sandwiches, but the food seemed so fresh.  Elliott had triggerfish, Gary had mahi-mahi, and I had chicken.  Each sandwich is served with a peas-and-rice Bahamian dish and a cole slaw with walnuts and pineapples.  Gary and I also celebrated with Goombay Smashes.  Before we left, we played some of the ring game, most of us failing miserably, but Elliott figured it out and got three hooks!  Not in a row, but still, impressive.

Pete's Pub has a signature drink, which we may go back for tonight, which has 7 rums and 3 fruit juices in it.  We'll need a DDD--designated dinghy driver.

The guys just left to explore a blue hole with a geocache attached.  They are accompanied by new English friends; it may be tricky to get to because the tide is low and it is very shallow there already, so I hope they have good luck.

April 1, 2015 -- Hoffman's Cay and The Blue Hole

So, forget my snarky remark up there; it really is unbelievably gorgeous here.  Yesterday, we went over to one of the beaches here and found a trail that goes to a blue hole on land.  I've only seen the blue hole in the water that we saw outside Great Harbour Key, but it was right there IN the water.

Up we trudged through a tight trail of mangroves and pines and probably poisonwood (I squeezed in as much as possible to avoid touching any leaves!) and it felt weird climbing up as we did.  A trail veered off, but we figured that was to somewhere lower, so we kept going.  Elliott was ahead of us and we could hear his gasp when he laid eyes on this blue hole.  Wow, it was big!  

Looked like a quarry hole, but these are natural.  We could see over the ledge that there was a better place to get in the water, though people do jump from that height.  You need to have good trajectory, though, because there is a ledge out from the regular ledge.  We found another side trail and it wound around and down and all of a sudden it felt like we were in Luray Caverns, except not underground and with only three walls.  Very cool.  We even found a deeper cave which Gary crawled into; I had hoped for bats, but no such luck.

The water was very clear and the guys got in immediately;  Gary did a cannonball and Elliott did a beautiful dive.  I acted as official photographer.  Gary had wanted to find a cache but had forgotten to bring the coordinates; he said he may come over again later.

While we were there, we were visited by a nice couple from Ohio and who were sailing a lovely tri-maran named Take Wing.  It's a fold-up and can be trailered anywhere.  We had a nice chat and before leaving, they took photos of us and I took a few of them to send along later when I had an internet connection.

We stayed for a while on the beach and noticed a really crazy looking boat in the harbor named Mirage.  From one side, it looks like an old-fashioned steamer boat from back in the day; as you travel around it, there's a big ama (outrigger) on that side that totally doesn't seem to go with the boat design.  But it is a touristy boat, not a huge one, and we found out that the couple who runs the business is from Washington State and they run out of the marina we had just left.  The couple from Ohio got a tour of it and said they came away surprised at how clean the boat was and how roomy.

So, on the way back to the boat, we decided to do some exploring and took a turn into another protected and shallow bay with a water trail through the mangroves beckoning us to discover whatever was waiting for us.  With a baby barracuda as our guide, we paddled slowly into the canal.  There were definitely a few places that were tight, but we squeezed through handily.  We went on and on and on and I made the executive decision that it was time to turn around and get back to the boat for dinner.  Oh, but we hadn't thought that one through quite well; it seems we had quite the current fighting us as we tried to paddle back through to the bay.  We had to use the paddles to push or pull with our hands against the mangrove roots to keep the boat moving forward; we were like Rose and Charlie from The African Queen, but thankfully without the stinging bugs and malaria and the German Army.  And the baby barracuda had stuck with us and let us go peacefully.

We made it back all in good time and saw a few trigger fish dashing around.   The sunset was grand and the night's sleep was mostly deep.  The almost full moon kept it bright enough to see the beauty of our surroundings late into the night.

The guys did go back to the blue hole and they found the cache.  They came back to my beach camp dripping wet and happy.  Elliott continued his career as an animal whisperer when he was able to get one of these wild curly-tailed lizards to eat out of his hand.  Later, one of them just held onto his finger with his claws.  He named one Zar and the other Dee.

We all go in the water at one point, with Elliott going off snorkeling on his own.  He came back and told us he saw many sea stars and a SHARK.  He's not sure what kind it was, but that was enough to get me out of the water.  We were in shallow water and I didn't think they would come in that close.  Oh boy.

We head out tomorrow for an all-day run up to the Abacos.  We may not have good wind, but we have a motor and will probably sail even in light wind.  I hope we get there in good daylight to make anchor.  We will be staying in the Abacos for the next month or so, visiting and making ready to make the long trip home via the Gulf Stream.

Tonight's sunset and sky were stupendous!  Gary had some jazz on the radio and Elliott was dancing up and down the deck playing air trumpet.  He makes me laugh so much; I'm glad he's here with us.  

March 31, 2015 -- Hoffman's Cay, Berry Islands, Bahamas

Woke up to sweet quiet here at Hoffman's Cay.  Slight breeze and sunny.  Something just jumped out of the water not far from the boat; couldn't see what it was.

Coming in here yesterday was a little bumpy, literally.  Shallow-draft boats are needed here in the islands; catamarans preferred.  We don't draw overly much, but we had to squeeze through some really tight spots.  At the first bump, we threw off the lines and furled the genoa, started the engine and motored off.  Thank goodness for the sandy bottom; we kind of bounced along for a bit until we finally got back to a grand height of 7 feet of water.

Weird to think that just a week ago, we were sailing in 3,000 feet of water. 

I was thinking about personal hygiene this morning and how my routine has really changed.  I get up whenever, which is similar to home, but now, instead of a 20-minute shower, I quickly wet a washcloth, turn off the water, add a little soap to the cloth, and wash my face.  Quick handfull of water for a rinse, brush teeth with a spritz of water and then I'm done.  At home, I'd still be just dazing out under the invigorating spray of the shower.  I do still love my occasional shower, though, and I did partake of one at the marina.  And it was long, five minutes. 

Oh, and speaking of luxuries, we've been using the freezer!  First time ever!  And plagues and locusts and death to the first born son has not happened!  Oh joy.  We stocked up on bread and froze it, some fowl meats, and froze bottled water to help for on-shore excursions.  Gary still doesn't like it because it uses the battery, but well, we can recharge the battery.  Though his discontent does grow; I fear the end of freezer use is nigh. 

And I was right; the male contingent just turned it off.  Oh what do they know, these mortals of the male gender?  And why am I all of a sudden sounding so Shakespearean?  

Must be the locale; the serenity (somewhat), the colors, the angle of the sun.

Back to the subject at hand, our beautiful spot here at the Cay.  When we were coming in, inch by inch, we noticed so many sea stars on the bottom sand.  Brown, some with yellow, so many we lost count.  And this morning, we've seen a turtle so far raise its wonderful head and a dolphin.  This place really is unreal. 

I think I'm going to vomit.  Elliott and I just let the dinghy down and as I walked back to the side of the boat, I looked in the glorious depths of the water and noticed a tube of fecal matter floating by.  Gross!  People just don't get it.  I realize they may not be as "strict" as the U.S. purports to be in their waters, but yuck!  There are only three other boats nearby, a cabin cruiser, a boat that brought over visitors to kayak, and a sailboat way down the island.  Elliott says that maybe the people have a dog; I don't care.  You bag it up and trash it in an appropriate place.  Jerks.

So, yeah, welcome to Paradise!

Monday, March 30, 2015 -- Spam Pizza

11:00am:  We've just left the marina and are on our way to Hoffman's Cay, which is supposed to be fantastic for snorkeling.    A beautiful dolphin swam along with us for a while, and was joined by a larger dolphin for a few more minutes.  The larger one had a pink nose and a lighter underbelly and would turn sideways and look up at us ever so often.

I really liked being at the marina; nice people and a vibrant community.  Every night, there's something else to do with others at the docks.  We are missing the Potluck night tonight, then Bingo, then karaoke, etc.  Elliott has been visiting other boats, spending time into the late hours eating Spam pizza and enjoying making new friends.

We visited the beach yesterday, Sugar Beach.  The sand there is amazing, like none I've ever seen.  It's like that stuff we used to get to make drip sand castles; I seem to recall something like that from childhood.  Gary said that because of the shape of the bay, the sand gets ground up over and over again, thus the consistency.  Almost feels like wet clay but much less dense.  We walked up the beach and found a little spot to eat, The Beach Club, but since they didn't take credit cards, and we had little cash, we ate on the cheap.  Still a nice place to just sit and enjoy the view of the gorgeous beach.

At the marina, we noticed a manatee next to a huge catamaran drinking the fresh water pouring out of their boat as they were using their watermaker.  I had never seen the underside of the manatee before and it cracked us up; he'd swim right up, push his nose back, open his mouth, and take big drafts of the water.  So funny and cute.

So, in learning about the history of the Berry Islands, it seems that they used to be quite the hot spot for the kings and queens of Hollywood.  The Rat Pack enjoyed good times there and there's a beach named Bardot Beach for the lovely Brigitte.  Lots of money came in and out of there and you can see the remains of grand clubs and houses that have fallen into disrepair and ruin.  The big club house right up from the marina supposedly is home to a lot of bats, but I wasn't able to get in there to explore before we left.  Brambles and trees block the entrance and I'd have had to suit up appropriately.

The drug trade was huge there, too; there's wreckage from a drug plane that didn't just quite make the runway.  That trade was cracked down on by authorities and the last vestiges of real wealth probably took their business elsewhere.  It is a quieter place now and on the beach side of the island, there are larger homes and condos (some for rent), so while the heyday is probably over, a few people get to share in the wild beauty that is the island.

On our way back to the marina on foot yesterday, we got asked if we wanted a ride; we declined, but how nice is that?  We also ran into Tony, whom we'd met at the Chill and Grill.  He is the former cop and nurse, and is now learning about island medicine--he was in search of the beach, but also of some Neem plants that are used to make a healing tea.  His wife, also a former cop, is into homeopathy and natural and alternative medicine and they hope to parlay that into post-retirement career.  Their skills would be very welcome in the islands, many of which do not have a doctor or health care facilities.

He told us a funny joke about why there are so many Tonys in New York; he said that when the Italian immigrants set off from Italy, many of them wore signs that said "TO NY."  Yeah, heard that one before?