Fifty Shades of Gray

Visitors!

This past week we were graced with a visit from Ken’s sister, Lisa, and her husband, Jay.  We had a blast taking long walks on the beach, hiking a loop across Stocking Island, snorkeling, fishing, kayaking, hanging out at one of the most exclusive resorts on Great Exuma (Turquoise Cay), and spending the afternoon at one of the most laid-back venues on Stocking Island (Chat ‘N Chill).  We all agreed that although Turquoise Cay is undoubtedly gorgeous and a wonderful splurge, we prefer the easy camaraderie of the cruiser scene at Chat ‘N Chill.  Lisa even fed conch scraps to the sting rays in the shallow waters off the beach there!  As she and Jay rode off in the dinghy Tuesday to catch an early morning flight to Nassau and begin their many-legged journey home to California, promises were made to join us again.  We’re going to hold them to that!

Lisa and Jay

Sibs

Turquoise Cay

Food, Glorious Food

FOOD!!

While planning our trip to the Bahamas, we were counting on a couple of things:  the weather would be warm and the fish would be plentiful.  Well, it turns out that neither of those is exactly true, although we are starting to figure out the latter.  Without fresh fish on the table, we rely on Exuma Market in George Town to provide us with essentials.  Unlike stateside grocery stores, island stores stock whatever turns up on the weekly food boat, which can seem a bit random at times.  Dinners are typically thrown together affairs with whatever is on hand.  As luck would have it, when Lisa and Jay arrived last week, we had just returned from our first spearfishing (using a pole gun) adventure in which Ken snagged two very large lobsters.  Our dive partners donated a Channel Crab that they had caught and, between the 3 crustaceans, we had two delicious meals.  The unsettled weather this week cleared up just in time for us to go fishing again and celebrate our last night together with a meal of fresh-caught snapper.  We are now bound and determined to fish more often and enjoy the fruits of the sea.

Channel Crab - a tight fit!

My Hunter-Gatherer bringing home the Lobsta!

Gray, Gray, and More Gray

After so much beautiful weather, the northerlies came and stayed for two weeks straight, bringing cool air, brisk winds, and chilly water to our tropical retreat.  Squalls moved in and out, the rain gave our boat a good washing, we practiced our Mexican Train dominoes game, and we waited and waited for the sun to peek through the clouds.  On the beach one afternoon, Ken commented to me that he’d never seen so many shades of gray.  Indeed, if you looked closely you could discern mauve, turquoise, purple, blue, and yellow among the gray.  As Lisa sat huddled up forward in a heavy fleece jacket, I could only wonder at the Weather Gods that seemed determine to sabotage their trip. 

Squall-filled sky

Keeping Warm!

By Land and By Sea

Having Lisa aboard meant that I had a ready and willing snorkeling partner.  Hooray!  Although the weather was not especially cooperative, we did manage to enjoy an afternoon snorkeling off the beach.  The quiet waters of the lee shore make an ideal setting for a marine life nursery and reef fish were there in abundance, if in miniature.  Even the barracuda we spotted was just a baby!  Monday, we snorkeled several reefs while Ken and our fellow cruisers fished.  We saw beautiful staghorn coral, purple sea fans, and fish of every color, including one school of fish that followed us around like puppies.  The bright white sand below provided a stark contrast to the richness of the many hues and shades of corals and fish, while the ripples on the water’s surface played with the light and danced across the sea floor. 

When the weather didn’t favor underwater exploration, we took walks on the beach and hikes across the island.  As one might expect, the quiet beaches of the harbor side of Stocking Island are quite different from the Exuma Sound side, which is rugged and windblown from the prevailing southeasterlies.  While powder-white beaches line the lee of the island, the continuous wave action of Exuma Sound grinds up shells and throws them up onto shore creating color effects of pink, yellow, brown, and orange in the granular golden sand.  Long stretches of sand are punctuated by rocky outcroppings that give way to hidden coves and numerous opportunities for enjoying a private beach.  Each view provides another gorgeous vista of contrasting land and sea. 

Stocking Island, looking south

The Monument (osprey nest on top)

Stocking Island, looking Northwest (Dreamcatcher in foreground)

Shark Encounters

Our Explorer charts note that visitors to the Exumas and, especially, south to the Ragged Cays, are afforded plenty of the 3 “S’s” – Sand, Shells, and Sharks.  We’ve experienced an abundance of the first two and enough of the third to make me a bit wary in the water.  Most of the sharks we’ve seen have been nurse sharks, considered non-threatening to swimmers.  Just yesterday, I watched a very large nurse shark cruise by the boat, quite close to the surface, before heading off in the direction of the beach, gradually going deeper and no doubt finding a place to snooze on the bottom.  After all my anxiety about sharks, when I finally saw one that could actually do some damage, I surprised myself by remaining calm.  Unfortunately, it was the very first thing I saw when I slipped into the water for our fishing/snorkeling expedition on Monday!  At first glance, the black-tipped reef shark looked to be about 3-4’ long as it swam away at an angle to my left.  Just a few minutes later, it reappeared to my right and was now swimming parallel to us, showing its full length of 6’ from tip to tail.  I know the water is the perfect medium for distorting size, but that shark looked pretty big and burly!  As I watched it swim toward the other divers, I realized that it wasn’t just passing through but was slowly circling us as we dove on its reef.  When one of the other divers called for someone to “play defense on the shark” while he speared a fish, we decided that it was time to get out of the water and move on.  Maybe I’ll feel differently after I’ve had more experience but, for now, I’m not crazy about being in the water with a bloody, struggling fish and a very curious shark at the same time!  In the meantime, Ken, probably tired of having me point out potential “dinner” for him to catch, has bought me a pole spear of my own.   Wish me luck!

Prevailing Conditions

As the prevailing wind fills in from the southeast, the soft, almost-liquid air is once again filling our world with sunshine, clear skies, starry nights, and briny breezes that can only mean one thing:  tropical paradise has been restored.  All's right with the world.  

A seascape of hard and soft corals

Routine Matters

Two weeks in George Town and we're settling into the cruiser's life and beginning to meet some families. We were spoiled a bit by the discovery of 15 kids in Warderick Wells - there are much slimmer pickings here in George Town. I think there are just two other families with children around Jeanette's age. But, we're told many more will arrive in the next month as roughly twice as many boats show up for the annual Cruiser's Regatta.

Hey, where are the kids?

For the first time, we're in one place long enough that we've developed a routine. Every Monday we leave wherever we are so that we can anchor next to George Town, making it easier to get into town to replenish our water and supplies. After the basics, we figure out which beach we want to anchor next to. We're sampling beaches at this point, no firm winners or losers. They all have attractive points and few downsides.

With the routine comes a more relaxed attitude as there is less stress from constantly moving to new destinations. While each destination brings new experiences, it also brings complexity and stress into our lives as we have to figure out how to safely anchor the boat and take care of the essentials. It's nice not to have those worries now.

Let the Hunt Begin!

Yesterday, we heard a call for a "kid scavenger hunt" on the radio, so we rallied there with a couple of other families. We only wound up with 3 kids, but we hiked a nature trail - saw a huge termite mound, hermit crabs, and lots of the different flora and fauna that make up these islands. We wound up on the Eastern side of the island - which has beautiful beaches and a rugged feel to it as it faces rougher waters.  We finished up at a delightful beach (Hamburger Beach - on the West side) where a deserted waterfront restaurant/shack is slowly falling apart. Tables and lounge chairs are still there, so we just sat around getting to know each other while the girls pretended to create gastronomic fantasies in the little bar area. Such a relaxing time with no worries, no chores. 

Beth strolls the eastern beach on Stocking Island

I'm always following in Beth's footsteps...

Another view of the eastern side

Jeanette's serving the speciality of the house: a sand and weed filled leaf taco!

Today is Sunday, "pig roast day" at Chat & Chill - the bar/eatery perched on the beach across from us. They roast a whole pig and then all the cruisers show up to help eat it. The food was far better than I expected, so it is now part of our weekly routine. There are many other events like this to chose from, but we've been a bit shy and retiring so far. We're letting things come to us more than taking much of an initiative.

The Stars Come Out

One of our routines is to lay out on the trampoline after dinner and look up into a velvet night sky dusted with brilliant glimmerings. We're far from the constant glow of cities and towns and we've got clean, clear air above us for prime viewing. When we have a moonless, clear night, we're treated to a rich display of nature's most brilliant gems. We use binoculars to stare deep into space and time, revealing infinite pricks of light where our eyes see just hazy patches of lighter darkness. We have an app on the iPad that tells us the constellations we should see and where they are located in the sky as we move the iPad. You hold the iPad up to the patch of sky you're interested in and with ethereal music playing, it exposes the names and configurations of the constellations. We trained our binoculars on what we knew had to be a planet (turned out to be Jupiter) and we could even count 4-5 of it's moons strung out above and below the yellowish-orange orb. Of course, the downside to this is that the iPad impairs our night vision for a time.  

One night, as we lay there, we were treated to the largest meteor that I have ever seen. Normally, I see a small streak of light that lasts maybe 1-2 seconds - so they are easy to miss. This monster appeared right in front of us and was large enough to have a shape and continued to flare across the blackness for 6-7 seconds - it just kept going!  What a rare treat and a wonderful memory for all of us.

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

It's a new year, and we certainly have a new life to go with it. 2013 was a year of many dramatic changes. Moving from land to sea, leaving jobs, selling everything we have (mostly) and sailing 1,500 miles to Georgetown. It's a bit of a blur with so many places, faces and heart aches (OK, that was a bit of a stretch). Not sure where we go from here, but there is a lot of stillness in just arriving at your destination - which we're soaking up now.

Stocking Island anchorage, off Sand Dollar beach

Cruising Mecca

When anyone asked us where we're going, we always had one answer - Georgetown, in the Exumas islands in the Bahamas. Every place we've visited before this, has been a waypoint in getting here. Georgetown is somewhat mythical in cruiser-land because it is a large gathering of hundreds of sailboats (and a few motor yachts) that winter here for six months before abandoning the area during hurricane season.

Community Calls

The cruisers here have a long tradition of organizing fun activities and helping both the native community and fellow cruisers. Every morning at 8AM all the cruisers tune their VHF radios and listen to the "net", which is run by one of the cruisers. We hear about the weather (always something we want to know about), what today's activities are (volleyball, potluck, poker, etc.), and what boat needs help. Even the local shops and restaurants can get on the net and advertise their services to the cruisers. It certainly makes you feel part of a community rather than just a collection of sailboats in one location.

Where are we?

We're the red triangle near Stocking Harbour

Geographically, Georgetown is on a rather large island called Great Exuma - and across from a much smaller Stocking Island. This creates a sheltered area between the two islands that has many anchorages and room for thousands of boats (Elizabeth Harbor). You can either be right next to your buddies or you can move yourself to an isolated location and have it all to yourself. There are white, powder-sand beaches scattered about, Sand Dollar, Volleyball, Monument - to name a few near us. You can find shelter somewhere from wind coming from any direction - a key reason boat vagabonds gather here. The other reason is that the town embraces cruisers and we can get all the basics taken care of: groceries, trash, water, propane, mail, laundry, diesel and even a marina that can haul big boats when things break (which is only a matter of when, not if.) Probably 80% of the cruisers here are like us - we've reached our destination and aren't going anywhere far from here. The other 20% are getting ready or are returning from islands deeper into the Caribbean - something we aren't tackling this year. 

George Town is a dinghy ride away from the anchorages

Now What?

Life is decelerated by perspective. The farther away you are, the slower it appears. Think of how a highway looks from an airplane window from several thousand feet up. Traffic seems to crawl when miles become inches. Yet the people in the cars are hurtling along and risking their very lives through inattentiveness. From the airplane, there is a glacial remove from such hurry and scurry. In much the same way, we're far from the world we left behind and the pace of reality seems much slower here. We are still decelerating from all the changes made in 2013 and need more time to simply "be". Therefore, at this point we have no "Grand Plan," or "Detailed Schedule" - which is a little weird because for the last five years we've done nothing but planning to reach this destination. Plans are now abandoned, shredded to the wind, with pleasure, wonderment and perhaps a little fear.

Island Time

Ya' Mon

Slowly, but surely, it’s happening.  We are slipping into that state of mind where the days begin to blur together.  If I don’t journal regularly, I begin to lose track of where we were and what we did, when.  I suppose it began in Warderick Wells, where we finally cast away the underlying anxiety about “getting there” and let down our guard.  Being surrounded by so much pristine beauty, in an utterly safe and protected environment, was a balm for the soul.  We were on a mooring, so no worries about the anchor (or anyone else’s); the anchorage is surrounded by reefs and cays, so the water was calm and restful; the park (Exumas Land and Sea Park) is a “no take” zone, so the colorful reef fish were plentiful; and, most importantly, there were KIDS (!), so Jeanette was happy and in her element.  While she played on other boats, Ken and I actually had some rare time alone.  We went snorkeling together and finally got our little Pico sailboat in the water to toodle around in.  It was so easy.  Easy, easy, easy.  And, pretty soon, I began to forget what day it was, and any sense of urgency to move on dissipated.  But, move on we did.  On Monday, the 30^th, we slipped our mooring and enjoyed a short 3-1/2 hour sail south on Exuma Sound to Staniel Cay.   Many of the boats in Warderick Wells had already cleared out and we rejoined some of our newfound friends there. 

Girl time - finally!

Ken - all smiles before the capsize!

Jeanette - on her private beach

A last look at Warderick Wells

Thunderball

Staniel Cay is the place to be for New Year’s, as the yacht club hosts sailing regattas, fish fries, and cruiser parties.  For us, New Year’s Eve holds special significance because it’s also Jeanette’s birthday.  We spent a lazy day swimming, lounging about, and diving Thunderball Grotto.  James Bond die-hards will know that Thunderball was made famous in the old James Bond movie of the same name, when Sean Connery was still played the leading role.  This is about as well-known a site as you can find in the Bahamas, outside of Atlantis on Paradise Island.  Happily, there are no concession stands here, just the main attraction itself.  The trick is to wait for slack water at low tide, then swim under the grotto entrance, which is about 6-12” above the surface of the water.  The currents in the Bahamas cannot be taken lightly and, even at slack tide, we had to kick hard to make it through the entrance.  Once inside the grotto, we found ourselves in a large cavern with numerous openings on the “ceiling” as well as underwater and opposite to the main entrance.  Light shimmered on the surface and illuminated the scene below.  The effect was magical.  The grotto is a “no take” zone as well, and is full of reef fish eager for a handout.   A swim along the outside of the grotto took us past more reef, fish, and a nurse shark napping on the bottom.

Staniel Cay

Thunderball Grotto (yes, you can swim under it!)

When Pigs Swim

I’m not sure if pigs can fly, but we now know that they can swim!  Once more in the dinghy, we took a short ride over to the neighboring cay of Big Majors to see the swimming pigs.  Someone had arrived before us and was luring the pigs into the water with food.  A pig on a beach is one thing, but to see them swimming in tropical waters is quite a sight.  While I’m sure there’s a great story behind how those pigs found their way to the Bahamas and learned to swim out for food, we have not yet uncovered it.    

Artistry on the Water

Winslow Homer is one of my favorite American artists and I love his watercolors of Bahamian fishermen in action.  I knew sooner or later, we would see one of his treasured subjects – a traditional Bahamian sloop – but I didn’t know that we would see them up close, showing off their stuff at a sailing regatta.  Remember when I said that when two or more sailboats are on the water, it’s considered a race?  Well, New Year’s was also the day of the traditional Bahamian Sloop regatta – and it turned out to be a race of just two.  Nevertheless, it was quite exciting as first one, then the other, took the lead in a series of three races.  As we settled back onto the boat for the evening, the final race was in progress and the wind shifts that had occurred during the day put the finish line quite close to us.  The boats are not large but the sail area is huge, requiring a crew of 12-15 men – primarily for ballast.  Their vast mainsails sheeted out on the final downwind leg cut a graceful silhouette across the late afternoon sky.  They could easily have sailed right out of one of Homer’s paintings.  Would that I could have captured them as beautifully as he!

Black Point Settlement

Laundromat dinghy dock (sailor's version of a water cooler)

New Year’s Day dawned clear and breezy.  We raised anchor and made the couple hour trip down Exuma Bank to Great Guana Cay.  The anchorage here at Black Point Settlement is full of cruisers, and the community, itself, is warm and welcoming.   Each morning and evening, the boats rock and roll in the wake of fishermen and commuters to Staniel Cay as they head out for the day and return at sunset.  Black Point feels like a real, albeit tiny, town.  There is a decent grocery store, a post office, and three restaurants just a short walk from the dinghy dock.  We had a fabulous Grouper dinner at Scorpio’s, which was full of cruisers watching the Rose Bowl.  The next day, we headed in to do laundry at the most famous Laundromat in the Bahamas.  Seriously, every guidebook has a notation about Rockside Laundermat (sic) and, while I’m not ready to wax eloquent over a couple of rows of washers and dryers, I will say that it was spotless and a fun place to hang out and talk to other sailors.  And, while I try to keep ahead of laundry by doing small loads on the boat, it’s nice to get everything clean in one fell swoop (yes, we’re down to the simple things in life here!). 

Lee Stocking Island

From Black Point, we took advantage of a light southeasterly breeze on Friday to duck out into the sound and make some more headway south.   We pulled in at Lee Stocking Island, home of the abandoned Caribbean Marine Research Center.  Apparently, they lost their funding a couple of years ago and all that’s left behind are the buildings that once housed the center.  

Adderly Cut in calm seas

Lee Stocking Island

We had the anchorage all to ourselves and spent a quiet night.  In the morning, a quick check of the weather revealed that if we didn’t go for Georgetown then, we’d be at Lee Stocking for several days.  Given that our fresh produce was running out, we decided to make a run for it.  In stark contrast to our pleasant sail of the day before, this passage was rough and nasty.   Five hours of hanging on and bracing ourselves as the boat bucked and rolled.  

Going out Adderly Cut the next morning - ugh!

But, we’re here – finally – and in no hurry to move on.  After all, we’re on island time now. 

Sand Dollar Beach - call me in a month