A Day of Synchronicity in Spanish Wells

So we’re here, finally – our cruising destination. The first night was a bit rough in the outer harbor, so we determined to find an alternate place to anchor/moor the boat for the next 5 days, until it’s hauled out on Monday for the bottom painting job.

Yesterday we wandered the lovely little town to find out where things are – the pics below are mainly from that walkabout. We negotiated the exhorbitant fee for the importing of our fridge through customs, located a great airbnb for next Monday-Wednesday, when we need to leave the boat, ate a delicious lunch at Budda’s, bought lobster tails for a dinner stir-fry, removed the old fridge parts (yes – that’s Jeff sitting in the fridge) and gratefully fell into bed, exhausted from a very full day.

But today was full of synchronicity – beginning with moving the boat to the customs dock to load the new fridge parts. We happened to get there at the exact right tidal moment, placing us right at dock-level. We had been worrying about where to deposit the old parts that Jeff had removed last night. As we tied up at the dock, along came the garbage truck, which happily took the fridge remains!

Then we loaded the new fridge, and wondered where to anchor the boat, when we noticed some moorings near-by. A radio call to the owner ascertained that there was just one mooring left, and it was ours! So we booked for 5 nights, at $25.00 a night and tied up, just as a dolphin surfaced to greet us.

As soon as we were moored, we left in the dinghy for a 10:15 a.m. appointment to meet at the dock with the owner of the airbnb, so she could show us the house. She ended up taking us on a guided tour of the whole island, and while we were preparing to leave – she handed me two large green tomatoes from her garden. “I can’t believe this”, I said. And I told her that last night I finished reading the book “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café”. At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned – with the star being fried green tomatoes, of course. I thought to myself that I’d love to try that recipe, but where would I get green tomatoes, as they’re usually sold when they’ve ripened already. So here I was being handed two of them, out of the blue – what synchronicity!

We fried them tonight, according to the recipe, and ate them as part of our dinner – Yum-m-m. Tomorrow we tackle the installation of the fridge – hope we’re just as lucky with that as we’ve been all day today 😊.

Ignorance Would Be Bliss

(written yesterday)

In the mid-nineties, when we sailed a 40-foot Moody in the Grenadine Islands, I knew very little, and Jeff complained that he had to worry about everything. I was very relaxed, because I trusted his sailing skills completely, and I didn’t know enough to worry.

Last night, as we were preparing to cross through a cut today that was said to be very challenging, I was researching wind, waves, tides, timing, etc. to ensure that we would make it through the high-currant cut safely. And guess what? Jeff commented that he liked it better when I knew less, and wasn’t worrying as much – can’t win 😊. But I guess that was a complement of sorts – I certainly have learned a ton about everything to do with cruising over the years!

Yesterday we were anchored at Glass Window Harbour – distinguished by a narrow bridge that connects two parts of the Island, with both the turquoise Caribbean on one side, and the smashing ocean waves of the Atlantic on the other. We dinghied to the near-by beach and walked about a quarter-mile to the bridge to enjoy that incredible view. On our walk back we stopped to witness huge sprays of water spurting from a blow-hole – hard to capture on film, but really neat!

This morning we were greeted by not a breath of wind, and the calmest water we’ve ever experienced on the ocean – an almost eerie mirror-like expanse as far as the eye could see. Perfect weather for the final leg of our trip to Spanish Wells. We had carefully planned the timing to cross the cut I mentioned earlier, as there are warnings in the cruising guide about how treacherous the heavy current could be if you go at the wrong time – a very rough ride. We’d done that once before by accident, and were not interested in a repeat performance.

My heart was pounding a bit as we approached the cut, right at slack tide. The current was definitely strong – but the boat handled it well, as it carried us in the right direction at 8 knots (our motor was only doing 5 knots at the time). It was a fun ride, but not a rough one – I guess the planning helped!

Now we’re safely harboured off Spanish Wells, where we’ll be for at least a week for boat maintenance of all sorts, and a bit of time to explore. 

This was our final Northern destination – we’ll be Southward bound back  to Georgetown once we leave here, through Cat and Long Islands.

An Island Paradise

If you haven’t lived on a boat for three months in the Bahama out islands, it would be hard to fathom the excitement we feel when we encounter hot showers, a clean laundromat, great food provisioning and a good haircut!

We’ve had all of these over the past four days on Eleuthera – heaven! Our first stop at the Cape Eleuthera Marina provided the first two, and we’ve experienced the others as we explored several small settlements up the coast towards Spanish Wells.

At Rock Sound International Airport, we had to wait an hour for the immigration officer to attend to updating our visas, so we took a walk and found a wonderful beauty parlour where I had a haircut that rivals any I’ve had in Toronto. Then we dinghied to the best grocery store we’ve seen in the Bahamas (we think the proximity to Nassau is responsible for that).

The next day we motored in the rain, with no wind, to Governor’s Harbour where we found a lovely community with two good grocery stores, a gift shop and a great hardware store – Jeff was delighted. This morning, as we were preparing to leave, there were dozens of jellyfish swimming around the boat, right at the surface. We’d never seen them live anywhere but in an aquarium before. I think we even saw a couple of small squid.

But the best so far is our current stop – a tiny harbour called Pitman Cove. We’re the only boat anchored here, in 5 feet of water. As we arrived, we noticed fishermen cleaning their catch onshore, so we raced over in the dinghy, and bought fresh red snapper filets for dinner. Then we ordered conch salad from a near-by stand, and bought a whole coconut from the truck beside it for drinks. What an amazing lunch – all to the accompaniment of non-stop Reggae music!

Everyone we spoke to welcomed us like family, and invited us to the party tonight to celebrate the town’s victory as winners of the Eleuthera Junkanoo (like Brazil’s Carnivale). We then wandered the charming little settlement with a lovely old church, nice-looking houses and a surprising number of stores for such a small place. No sign of poverty here – we may spend two days in this lovely cove before we challenge the difficult cut to get to Spanish Wells. This really feels like we’re immersed in true Bahamian culture.

A Repair Every 20 Minutes

A few years ago, when my sister-in-law, Susan and my brother, Robert, sailed with us, Susan commented that there seems to be the need for a boat repair every 20 minutes. How right she was!!

Today, we hung out, relaxing on the boat while the wind blew 35 knots (again!). The harbor seemed too rough even to dinghy into the town of Rock Sound, across the bay from where we’re now anchored. So we made granola, baked brownies, and puttered – occasionally venturing into the cockpit, dressed in jackets and long pants, to watch the white-capped waves and marvel at the strength of the wind.

All was quiet, until Jeff turned on the engine to rev up our batteries. A high-pitched screech alarmed us briefly, until we both figured out that it must be the engine’s belt. So my dear, competent captain disassembled the stairs and box covering the engine, and replaced the faulty belt, like the master mechanic that he has become (among other things).

Another problem solved – thank goodness while we were at anchor, rather than out at sea! Tomorrow we’ll brave the waves in the dinghy to get across the bay to the town, as our temporary visa needs to be renewed (deadline tomorrow) and we’re completely out of fresh food. You can only live so long on granola and brownies – we’re looking forward to some fresh fruit and vegetables, and maybe something to put on the grill for tomorrow’s dinner. Speaking of food – we’ve discovered many ways to serve Jambalaya – the only fresh food we’ve had yesterday and today. We ate it straight for dinner yesterday, as a base for poached eggs this morning, and as cabbage rolls with the last of our cabbage for dinner tonight. We’re really ready for a change of diet!

Seas Rippled

Years ago, when we sailed in Desolation Sound, off Vancouver Island, we listened to the weather forecast every day. And day after day, what we heard was “seas rippled” – meaning not a breath of wind, and very smooth water.

Well, that’s how it was yesterday, when we left for our 5-hour crossing of the Bahama Sound – out of sight of land, on smooth water, no wind and lots of sun. It was perfect, and here we are, safely ensconced in Cape Eleuthra Marina. This is our first stop, as we wend our way up the Eleuthra coast North to Spanish Wells. We celebrated by doing laundry, having hot showers and going out for a great dinner.

We’d spent last weekend waiting out yet another cold front for this weather. Lots of time to hang out reading, practicing choir music, doing yoga on the deck, waxing the boat’s fiberglass, talking to friends and relatives, etc. etc. The pics below are from walks we took around Highbourne Cay, except for the last one, which is what we saw as we traveled yesterday.

The most exciting thing I did on the weekend was to participate in a tournament on-line (my first). The game is Wordscapes – kind of a crossword puzzle, and every word you get gives you points. All weekend, 100 people participated, and I came 3^rd, with almost 1900 points, and 250 point reward. The best part was, when I talked with my 10-year-old grandson, Levi, about it, he became more animated than in any conversation I’ve ever had with him. I guess I’ve discovered what turns his crank!

So we’re now entering a new adventure, exploring an island we’ve never seen. I should have lots of good stories to share in the next couple of weeks - stay tuned.