Eight o-clock comes way too early for me these days,
but we were up and at 'em when Sally and Martin (and Ellie--sweet dog, whom I'd
forgotten to mention who is Sally's canine companion) tied on their dinghy up to Nalani and
came on board. I made oatmeal for
everyone and by the time I had started eating mine, we were anchoring near the blue hole. Oh well; I can eat later.
We all clambered into one dinghy and made for the
blue hole, which we DID find this time.
A sobering memorial greeted us there, though, as three divers drowned
there in 1994; the message following their names is a warning: "Let this be a forewarning to any who
would endeavor to explore these tunnels below." (catch in throat)
Searching for the Blue Hole |
A beautifully desolate area abundant with life |
We said our goodbyes and I felt a real sadness in
the parting, one because Elliott was so enamored of the two of them and because
it is always so inspiring to meet young men and women who are adventurous and
willing to put aside a relatively safe, ordinary life on land for the sea's
hardships as well as glories. I wish
them both fair winds and godspeed and joy in anything they undertake in the
future.
We got underway and because we had no wind, we
motored for a few hours. Gary kept
hoping for the wind to fill in. Well, as
night fell, of course, he got his wish and then some. I had the early watch from 8-11pm, with Gary
coming on next until 2am, and then Elliott would have 3-5am.
The moon was almost full to bursting and she was a
bring light following us along the water.
We had some traffic, but most passed in front or back of us or ran
parallel. Some just disappeared over the
curve of the horizon.
Elliott's shot of Nalani screaming along! |
Because we'd laid on such speed and high winds, we
arrived a little too early to enter the harbor, so the genoa was furled so that
we'd get down to a speed more to MY liking.
After daybreak, we went to fuel up at the spot designated by the
charts. Well, charts can be wrong.
We sidled up to the fuel dock, had the help of
someone on shore, and found out that, no, there was no gas there, even though
there were pumps there. The woman
explained that the pumps just hadn't been removed yet. Oy!
So, we threw off the lines again and headed for the Yacht Club where
there WAS gas. Of course, there was a
big fishing boat docked there and in no obvious hurry to leave. After another boat cut in front of us to get
their fuel, we sailed by and asked the operator whether we could dock on the
other side to get gas. So that's what we
did. Then the fishing boat left; guess
the guys had finished their bloody marys.
The sign there said they had a deli and drinks; I
was excited to get something other than water on the boat. But, again, it was explained that the sign
was from a former business and that things were being changed out and
updated. Okay. At least we were able to get fuel this time.
We sailed out with a little crew skirmish (there's
almost always one at docks, for some reason), but we made it and sailed over to
the other inlet which would lead to the Ocean Reef Resort in Lucaya. This had been recommended to us by Tony, late
of the Great Harbour Cay marina. He said
mostly Canadians knew about this place.
It was inexpensive, to start. We
came in and had to sidle close by a catamaran which really was too big to be in
the dock it was in; not width, but length, sticking way too far out.
But we got in and tied our lines around shaky
pilings and a shaky finger pier. The guy
next door on a motor boat helped us tie off.
His name is Tom and he's been living here for at least 10 years. Nice guy and a very social boat; there's
always some kind of gathering going on there.
The pool, which is a little chilly, is just steps
away, but is a nice place to take a book to read until you fall asleep under a
big umbrella. A few more steps away is
Miss Esther's Restaurant where very good burgers can be found; I don't eat
them, but she made me a turkey club (without bacon or ham), so really a tall
turkey sandwich. A very social
environment, but not crazy.
Crazy you will find on the other side of the marina
where the larger pool is with attached hot tub.
We walked over there the day we arrived to find 10 people crammed into
the hot tub with a couple of people kicking feet and splashing each other,
seemingly mad. Obviously not a place for
relaxation.
There is a calendar of events, such as bocce, dance
lessons, bingo, walks to town, beach runs, etc.
It is a cute place, not a hugely luxurious resort, kind of like the
Presidential Wilderness Resort that we belong to that is in
Chancellorsville. A little rustic, but
we like it and are comfortable enough.
I was able to do laundry for the first time since we
left Marathon; I know, I should be grossly embarrassed, because most of the
clothing could stand by itself in the corner, but a little bleach went a long
way. Some things need further attention,
but they can wait until we get back home.
There's a little computer/book sharing lounge here
that Elliott and I go to sometimes. They
also have a fussball table; I've been giving Elliott a run for his money. I am extremely competitive, so I usually
don't like such games as it gets my heart rate up and my ability to lose
graciously goes way down.
OCD that I am, as soon as I walked into the room, I
knew I didn't like the way it was laid out.
First was the fussball table on your left, then a loveseat and chair
jammed together on the same short wall.
So, the second time we visited, I had Elliott help me move things around
a bit. The couch went around the corner
to the shelving that held the book exchange selection. I angled the chair on that short wall and the
lone matching table was placed next to it and laid with a nice selection of
magazines.
A large round table was moved a few inches to make
walking by it a little more amenable and we were done. Then we played more fussball. So far, I'm winning. The 70s were good for something, eh?
On the Bahamian bus; Gary screeched every time we came around a bend on the "wrong" side of the road |
We're out of cash again, so we need to get to a bank
as soon as we can. We are so spoiled by our banking system in
the U.S.; here is it catch as catch can and can be frustrating if you've not
made good plans.
Last night was Monday Madness, a resort hosted happy
hour/dance lessons/dancing in general time.
We were late and missed chicken wings and Bahamian mac and cheese, but
we scarfed a few of the free Bahama Mamas, a drink I remember from our time in
Bimini. We may be here long enough to
see the next one on the coming Monday; we'll see. We met a very fun couple from South Carolina and we laughed and laughed for hours.
Here's the tree that makes fools out of the best of us! |
There's a coconut palm around the corner with a
hand-written sign on one of the nuts that says, "Free Beer
Tomorrow." I thought I'd go check
whether there really was going to be beer, but then I realized that it will
always be TOMORROW, and TOMORROW will never come. Zoinks!
Quirky place, but its growing on me, though folks
drink and drink and drink and get quite loud at night. A surprise after all of the quiet we'd
encountered on most of our island hopping.
Seems the bigger drinkers are the condo and hotel guests, so I guess
that's what is different.
Today (Tuesday) has been very quiet as the rain that
started last night lasted through a good portion of the day in varying
strengths. We expect no clearing until
at least Thursday. That crazy low
pressure system is keeping us in port until we get a go-ahead from our hired
gun meteorologist that it is safe to enter the Gulf Stream to head home.
Everyone's watching the system for fear that it will
be an early hurricane; our season usually doesn't start until June, so we're
just as anxious to see what happens. I'm
just hoping for an extremely boring sail home, so I've got my knitting,
crossword puzzles, books, and snack food at the ready!