Fun with the Otterbeins--Nassau

Sunday morning, 12/5, we got the dink and boat ship shape and motored down the harbor against the current to pick up the Otterbeins and go to visit the “Liberty Clipper.” Unfortunately Captain Dan had gone ashore and the deck watch could not let us aboard, so we visited the backside of Potter’s Cay and the fishing boats.  We dinked west into the wind and waves to see huge cruise ships up close (getting Judy quite wet as she was in the bow), stopped by Bentaña for cheese and crackers and went to visit the fry fish shacks under the bridge.  In all, it was time well spent, and when we returned to “Liberty Clipper” Dan had not returned.  Carol and Harry had to catch the taxi back to their Time share on Paradise Island, so we saw them off and waited for the captain to arrive. As passengers were expected, he had to return.    We enjoyed visiting Liberty Clipper when Captain Daniel returned at 4 pm and enjoyed meeting most of the crew.

Monday 12/6  the Otterbeins were busy and we decided that it was time to do some food shopping and provisioning for the trek down the Exumas.  We also needed to check our email and update the blog so when we docked the dink at The Green Parrot, we asked which bus would take us to the City Market and Starbucks.  They were not sure but felt that the number 1 jitney bus was a good bet.  We went out to Bay Street and flagged down a number 1 bus and asked if it went to City Market and Starbucks.  The driver assured us it did, so off we went.  It is customary to greet everyone as you get onto the bus, so we did.  Well, we ended up at Starbucks and City Market, but not the ones that we expected to be at!  While I was working on the blog, Steph went over to the City Market.  It was a dismal experience as many shelves were empty and the coolers were broken so there were no meat, frozen goods, nor dairy and the fresh vegetables were wilted.  We stayed at Starbucks until they closed and then hopped back on the number 1 bus to take us “home.”  It was an interesting ride, almost like a tour bus without the talking.  We went through several different districts of the city and then past the Governors residence and into downtown, then back along Bay Street to the Green Parrot.

For Tuesday we had made plans to meet Carol and Harry downtown and decided that a good location to meet would be the Pirate Museum.   ARGHHH! While waiting to meet Harry and Carol here in the center of everything, we checked out the old Anglican Church then stood at the entrance to the Pirate Museum.  Outside in full regalia was not Jack Sparrow, but “Black Sparrow”.  Half carnival barker and all pirate, this buccaneer wheedled us into the museum.  We really didn’t need encouragement, we had planned to enter, but we were early for our partners. “Black” had Judy hanging out in the stocks in front of the place.  As he tried to pry her ring off her finger he told me she was in good hands, “I’m from Allstate…” He said that piracy wasn’t dead, “Look at Wall Street, AIG, Enron, Bernie Madoff, politicians, and even priests…They all PREY.”  It was a pretty good museum.

Around the corner was the “Straw Market.” The place where the cruise ship passengers can get t-shirts, wood carvings, “designer” bags as well as the eponymous straw items to bring back to waiting homebound friends and relatives.  While a new and improved straw market is under construction, this open air, bazaar like hall was piled high with colorful merchandise.  Unusual winter cold had the vendors wrapped in shawls and blankets as the tourists shuffled through the congested aisles. Some wood carvers and straw crafters worked while tending their stalls, both to keep up production and also as an attraction. Carol got a great deal, an authentic “Coach” clutch for $20 when the seller threw in an authentic “Burberry” wallet.

By this time hunger had set in, and we went looking for the “Fish Fry,” a cluster of indoor restaurants a notch above the shacks we ate at in Potter’s Cay. Although they cater to the tourists mostly from the cruise ships, it was a real schlep to get to.  Each local asked pointed a little further down the road.  A fruit juice vendor at the public beach said it was a seven minute walk.  She didn’t count on a senior citizen’s stride.

At last we arrived.  Of the dozen or so places, we chose the one with the friendly huckster in the street.  He handed us a menu and price and selection was agreeable, we were hungry.  We were led upstairs past the windowless bar full of locals to the deck where we would have “a view of the harbor.”  Never mind that this part of the harbour, Arawack Cay is where ships carrying sand and gravel unload.  The diner- like booth’s seats were rump-sprung and the TV was showing a western movie.  Local color is not always what you think it should be.  Lest you get the wrong idea, we came for food, and it was very good and reasonably priced.  The couple in the booth behind us, young Midwesterners off a cruise ship, were enthusiastic about their choices, conch salad and conch chowder.  He said he was a fan of real hot stuff, and they brought him a dab of some.  He was ecstatic about how good it was and how little he used.

We all ordered from the snack listings on the menu and they were substantial at about $10-12 each.  We commented on how big the full dinner must be. The Otterbein’s had fried fish, snapper or grouper “fingers.”  These came with French fries and a paper cupette of coleslaw, or a little roll. Judy, beyond anymore fried food ordered the grilled grouper.  Surprisingly it was prepared in foil with onions, tomatoes and peppers.  The large portion of fish was sitting in a broth of the ingredients in the foil.  It was very good.  I ordered the conch salad, one of the conch dishes I had yet to try.  I am partial to ceviche, hot food and fresh veggies and based on our neighbors praise, I followed suit.  I was not disappointed.  The diced tenderized mollusk was soused in a spicy citrus bath along with dice onions tomatoes and peppers.  It was cool and zesty, and in the little paper cupette was a dab of orange puree I took to be the famous scotch bonnet. I dipped the tip of one fork tine in and touched it to my tongue.  My Scoville meter confirmed my suspicions, and with a conservative and judicious approach I mixed a small amount with each mouthful of lunch.  I accompanied the fish with Barret’s Ginger Beer, one of the sodas actually canned here by Coca-Cola. All in all we enjoyed our lunch. 

               Like virtually every other person we interacted with, our waitress was warm and friendly, helping with our selections, and when we left, she helped us find a supermarket.  We had found two of the “City Markets,” and she suggested a third in Cable Beach.  We could reach it on the number 10 bus.  Harry and Carol took the same bus headed the other way and we waved goodbye standing on opposite sides of the street waiting for our rides.  Our bus stop was in front of the Bahamian Cricket Club.  The sign said its restaurant was open to the public.  Maybe next time.

               It was great that we were going to a new place, especially as the last “City Market” I visited looked like it was about to close.  It happens that Cable Beach is an up-scale neighborhood, home to “Sandals,” and other better resorts.  The dollar twenty-five fare on the jitney like bus is an easy way to look around without being part of the tourist scene. When I got on the bus I realized that I had left my red Mount Gay cap at the restaurant.  To those who do not know, The Mount Gay cap is coveted by sailors like me.  It is earned, and never sold.  One has to participate in some world class sailing event to get one.  It is a badge, if you will, honored by those in the know and a mark of an insider.  Each passage maker in the Caribbean 1500 got one, and mine was now not with me.

               We arrived at the store and Judy tried calling the restaurant with her new cell phone. No answer. So in we go to do our shop.  Again, we want to get some perishables and check out the stock for our trip to the out islands where shopping can be problematic. This store too had empty shelves and many of the staples on our list were out of stock.  Judy commented, “We’re gonna starve!” None the less, we had spent about a hundred and twenty dollars, and had more stuff than we could carry in our knapsacks.  A cab ride back to the Green Parrot would be another chunk of change.  Now, “City Markets” advertises in the cruising guides that they cater to cruisers, and “deliver to your boat, on orders over a hundred dollars.” We went to the customer service desk and asked.  The rep thought we were referring to their “family island” service, where Capital City folks send food shipments back home by the ferry and mail-boat system. She asked an associate, and they put us in the hands of Philemon, their meat-cutter who was through for the day.  While Philemon went to get his car, Judy tried the restaurant again.  Fortune continued to smile on our journey, my cherished cap would be waiting for me at the bar.  Now I had to explain to Philemon that our boat was not at a marina, and I needed to go to a bar.  “No Problem,” He says.   Boy, are these folks nice!!

               Many years ago, when Judy and I took our Bareboat Chartering Certification with Steve Jennings in the BVI, he taught us that the norm in the islands is to have a warm greeting or salutation before conducting business.  Not, “two beers please,” but “How are you today?”  “Fine? That’s great.   May we please have a couple of beers when you get a chance? Great!”

              So here we are, outside the restaurant.  Philemon is between his two full-time jobs, chauffeuring a couple of boating hobos around the island.  I can’t just grab my hat and run, and I don’t want to keep Philemon waiting, so a brief chat with the waitress.  “Do you know Mount Gay? It says on the cap, “The rum that invented rum.”” “No? What rum do you like?” “Bacardi. Don’t they make that here?”  “Well, thanks so much, we really enjoyed lunch, and are glad that you told us about Cable Beach and the number 10 bus.” And out the door.

              Well back to the car and Philemon isn’t in it.  It seems he found friends and is taking time to say hi.  I guess I really need to stop being so uptight and start functioning in Island Time.

              In the rest of the ride, Philemon tells us about his family and what’s going on with the City Market stores.  It went bankrupt due to theft and mismanagement and suppliers stopped shipping, but there’s a new owner and an infusion of cash coming.  The shelves will be full soon.  He also works at Robin Hood, he says, “like Wal-Mart.  It’s where you should shop if you’re buying a lot of stuff.  They have an enormous selection, and they have the best prices.”  “No, there are no buses to there, you’ll need a taxi.”  Back at the Green Parrot we unload, tip and thank Philemon. Back to the dink to the boat to bed for tomorrow we go to Atlantis with Carol and Harry.

Please see our separate Atlantis posting soon to come.

Thursday – Checkout time at Atlantis Marina was 11 am, so we got up, had the sanitary tanks pumped, filled up with water and bid adieu to Atlantis.  At the Atlantis Marina you have to ask permission to enter and permission to leave so that you do not run into another vessel.  Well, we got permission to depart, released our dock lines except for the spring lines we had arranged, and started to back out into the channel.  Just as we got to the point of no return, another, rather large motor vessel came around the bend, and they had to slow down for us!  We got out safely, motored back to approximately the same anchor spot as before and spent the day resting up (we had listened to the weather forecast and the weather window was not good for departing on Friday so we would be able to go to Robin Hood then), for we were going to join Carol and Harry at the British Colonial Hotel for Carol’s birthday dinner and then we were going to watch the Junior Junkanoo parade.

It started to rain in the late afternoon, so we put on our good clothes, covered up with foul weather gear and after dinking to the Green Parrot, we walked downtown, past the bleachers that had been installed on Bay Street (for the parade) and past the friends and relatives of the Junior Junkanoo groups that would be performing later that evening.

We met Carol and Harry at the hotel and went into the restaurant.  The lobby of this grand old Hilton hotel was justifiably  elegent,  but the décor of the restaurant had all of the elan of howard johnson’s, without the creativity or color. Thank you Paris. There were several patrons in there, and several people greeting guests, but only two people waiting table.  It took a long time to place our orders and a much longer time to actually get the food, which was delicious and worth the wait.  Judy had broiled baby lamb chops . Carol, the special, surf and turf, Harry had tenderloin and I had the sweet potato coconut soup and the chicken satay appetizer.  The slow service and the desire to see the parade made waiting especially tough, but it was well worth the wait.  Everything was done to a turn and we enjoyed it to the end. Since this was a birthday, we had to have desert.  The waiter pointed to the top of the menu, “Chocolate Molten Pudding Cake”. “This is the very best, don’t miss it,” he said.  Next to the description, it said, “Special order ~ thirty minute waits.” The couple at a nearby table was passionately gobbling one up and the waiter said it could be done in five minutes.  We caved…  It came… we were conquered!!! Our waiter told us that many employees had not shown up for work because they were going to the Junkanoo Parade.   We had heard several different start times for the parade and the rain delayed the start.  We were concerned that we would miss the parade, but we actually got out there just as they were starting, some two hours late.  We walked far enough down Bay Street to find a place where we could look through the crowds to see the parade.  Carol and Harry continued walking towards the far end of the parade route to look for a taxi, and ended up having to go all the way back to the hotel to find one!

We spent several hours watching the parade.  We saw one primary school group and then several High School Groups from Nassau, Andros and Spanish Wells who had come to compete.  The Ministry of Education comes up with a theme and the groups are judged on how well they portray that theme, as well as the performances, music, choreography and how many kids actually perform for the entire parade…the High school groups parade through two times and get judged twice.  We finally left about midnight and the parade was still going strong. We got home about 12:30 am.

Please see our separate Junior Junkanoo posting, soon to come.



Carol, Judy and Harry in the dingy




Oasis of the Sea takes 5000 passengers...



Steph was there also



Fry fish shacks under the bridge




More fry fish shacks




Also under the bridge




A boat that sells live fish




Conch




Liberty Clipper Captain Daniel




Liberty Clipper deck




Liberty Clipper docked




Dreaming of warmer weather...




My Little Mermaid




Oh, the shame of being in the stocks....




ARGHHHHH!




The straw market




Just 7 minutes further




Which one shall we choose?




Judy & Philemon, another angel in our midst



Get Ready…Get Set…Go!!!!

I must say when we started this trip, I really did not expect the barrage of non-stop adventures we would have.  It seems each day unfolds a whole new world unexpected, unbidden, unplanned and to a degree, unbelievable.  In the last two days we visited the world class experience of Atlantis, which out Disney’s Disney. Last night after a lovely birthday dinner at Hilton’s British Colonial Hotel, we were transported by Junkanoo Fever.  If you can’t wait for our narratives, check with Google, Wikipedia, or You Tube for a preview. 

We certainly hope you are enjoying traveling along with us, and we are excited to keep sharing our adventures and misadventures with you.  Meanwhile, several of you have enquired and I think it was Commodore Scarmato who said, “I hope you will let us know how it’s done, so that someday we might take off long term cruising ourselves.”  To those of you whose appetites have been whetted as well as those of you who may someday catch the bug, I plan to interject along with our travel(b)log some of the hints, personal observations and realizations that have cropped up along the way.  In no way is this inclusive as each day teaches us something new.  It is our sincere desire to “pay it forward,” as so many in the past have done for us. If this helps one person step beyond their comfort zone and take the leap of faith, it will all be worthwhile.  In the meanwhile it’s a nice read.

Some of the information will be useful specifically for cruising, or for the Bahamas, etc.  Some of it may be useful no matter what your life’s dream may be.  On our past charters, looking longingly at liveaboards, circumnavigators and other committed passagemakers, we have heard again and again the phrase that has become a trademark for sneakers, “JUST DO IT."

A month before we left Nyack for Hampton, Virginia, our Flotilla starting point, we attended an Off-Shore Seminar provided by the Caribbean 1500, the organization we  were traveling with.  One class was “The Six Month Timeline to Departure.” Already we were late! The bottom line is, “Its never too early to start.” Half of the mandatory safety gear, (life raft, parachute flares, second anchor, EPIRB, MOB pole, ditch bag, Single Side Band Radio, charts, etc, etc,) wasn’t on board or in our budget.  All of these items and many more must be purchased, installed and sea tested.  Six months might be a realistic time frame for those items, and we had to get it done in a few weeks.  The countdown was a nerve racking parade of Murphy’s Laws.  Products were out of stock, unavailable, incompatible, undesirable or just plain frustrating.

Arranging  for house care, mail, insurance, taxes, meds, visas, passport for our cat Mary, auto inspection, winter care of our mooring, bill paying, phone service, customs pre screening, ….&&&&more etceteras here……………………………And each of us has our own list.  AGAIN, the point is you can never start too early.

All this assumes that your dream is your passion, and not a passing fancy.  I have wanted to go to sea since before I could read.  My dad, who had a power boat before I was born, lulled me to sleep with stories of Robinson Caruso and Christopher Columbus.  As an adolescent, I spent two summers at a sailing camp in Gloucester, Mass.   Poor vision kept me out of the Coast Guard Academy, but I did get seaman’s papers at 18 and sailed on merchant ships for two summers during my college years.  Judy grew up on Conesus Lake, where her parents ran a marina.

Which brings me to a vital point:  if you have a life partner who you cannot live without, make sure your partner shares your dream AND your passion.  Judy and I celebrated our 28^th wedding anniversary in Hampton, shortly before we went off-shore.  A few days before, I asked Judy, “You think we’ll make it?” She replied, “I haven’t thrown you overboard yet!”  How’s that for tough love?

For the record, I had been pretty stressed for the last month or so with all the preparation and frustrations along the way and was not my usual cheerful self.  Judy was the butt of my anxieties over getting it done “on time and on budget.”  Move over Columbia, Judy is the gem of the ocean.

Which brings up two other issues you should be prepared for, to wit:

     You and your partner will be together 24/7 in the space of your living room.  Think about that for a while.  Not only together, but mostly together and alone, and possibly outside your comfort zone.  That means when something goes wrong, who do you blame.  Blaming the cat only goes so far. Blaming myself? Are you kidding?   (also, things go wrong with a regularity you will find shocking, sort of the “Crisis Du Jour.”) BTW, things have turned lovely here in Paradise and living on Island Time has made crises evaporate (or seem to).

     Issue two is budget.  A cruiser tells the tale of a seminar he attended.  He was told to bring an empty sail bag.  At the conclusion of the program, no mention of the bag had come up.  The curious cruiser asked the speaker, “What’s the bag for?”  The instructor said, “go home and fill it with money, you’ll need it.” We all know that boating isn’t cheap, but neither is staying home.  Early planning is vital in this area.  Personally, I have maxed out my Deferred Comp contribution every year while working.  I have saved and strategized for retirement for years.  I also took the hits that many of you did with investments.  All in all, we’ve been frugal, and are subsidizing this new life-style with our nursing home money.  I think it’s well spent.  After our capital expenses, we can just about live month to month on my social security and NYS pension and Judy’s Teachers Retirement.  As a NYS employee, we have a good health plan, and have no debts or kids waiting for their inheritance. This travel has also made us healthier than we have been in years.  If you haven’t started setting aside money to live your dream, then start now.  Make a tangible effort, set milestones in your life.  Become dedicated to fulfilling your dream.  If you do, nothing will stop you and you will achieve it.

Another thought:  when we first sailed Bentaña, I realized that her sails where heavier, her halyards fatter, her winches harder to grind and in general required more oomph than I was used to on our previous boats.  I joined “Planet Fitness” and went regularly.  I rigged a foot hold down at home, and did sit-ups and push-ups daily.  I shed pounds and felt great.  After years at “Weight Watchers,” I finally made “Lifetime Member.”  No matter your personal dream, being fit and healthy is a gift you can give yourself, and that too is something that you cannot start too early.

Details?  Let me know what you want to know about.  We’ll gladly share what we’ve learned, if you ask.  As the late, great Lord Buckley said, “If you get to it, and you cannot do it, well there you jolly well are, aren’t  you.”

    

Nassau

Wednesday, December 1, the opportunity we waited for to go to Nassau, the nation’s capital on the island of New Providence, arrived.  We weighed anchor and left the protection of Royal Island harbor.  A little way south of the island is perhaps the best dive wreck in the Bahamas.  The story goes that a guano carrier was on fire, and the captain beached the ship to save the crew.  The ship was then hauled off shore where it went down, the fertilizer killing every living thing in the area.  Surprisingly however the biota was given a clean slate and every formerly indigenous life form returned with a vitality and variety unseen elsewhere.  Marine biologists are interested in how this effect came about, and divers are treated to a great underwater show.  We would have missed the wreck, if I hadn’t spotted a sweet looking two masted schooner in our way.  She was the “Liberty Clipper” which Judy renamed the “Flibberty Gibbet.” She seemed to be anchored, and as we approached we saw her jolly boat was launched and a dive party was exploring.  As we passed by we saw the superstructure of the ill fated freighter sticking out of relatively shallow water.

By the time we reached open water, Judy was feeling headachy and under the weather.  She spent most of the thirty mile or so passage down below resting. At first we were motor sailing but as the wind came around to our bow, we hauled our sails and motored the rest of the way to Nassau. The sky was an even blue and cloudless except for a low bank of cumulus clouds in the direction of New Providence (NP).  Another piece of sea lore tells that in pre-GPS days, skippers could use cloud formations as tell tales of land.  Another lesson observed! In the general direction of our heading there were two faint gray areas which I first spotted about 17 miles out of our waypoint outside the Nassau Harbour Channel.  I took them at first for trash fires which is the islands form of recycling, then for the smoke stacks of cruise ships.  Finally I decided it must be the high rise of Nassau’s skyline..  I was grateful that it was stationary and I could use it as my guide-post.  As we got closer I realized I was seeing the famous architecture of Atlantis, the Mega resort on Paradise Island.

As we came within sight of the channel markers, I was hearing the harbor traffic communicating with Harbour Control.  I woke Judy who had plotted our entry to ask if we needed to check in with the harbormaster.  The Cruiser’s guide affirmed my thoughts and we announced ourselves and asked permission to enter the harbor.  After switching down to channel nine, and stating our boat name, documentation number and last port of call, we were welcomed.  They asked which marina we would be staying at and told them we would be at anchor off of the “marine centre.”  It was all very simple and polite.  “Permission granted.”

Paradise Island ( F/K/A Hog Island)is a small island north of N.P. separated from the city of Nassau by a channel perhaps a half mile wide.  One could see how it made a great natural protection from the elements and from any enemy.  Nassau is one of the oldest harbors in the western hemisphere.  We entered the channel at minimum steerage speed to give room to all the commercial traffic.  Ahead of us lay the giant cruise ship docks that are the life’s blood of this city (and probably the country as well.) On our port side just before Atlantis was the Sivananda Yoga Center.  There are many paths to paradise. The anchorage we sought was just a little beyond, after the few container ship operations which were in full swing.

The cruising guide suggests that there is no really good holding in Nassau harbor and suggests cruisers use one of the dozen or so marinas that are here.  The charts that Lou Spitz loaned us showed a good anchorage and with marina fees over a hundred dollars a day, we joined about two dozen other cruising boats just off shore  of “the Green Parrot” harbor side restaurant.  I wasn’t sure our hook had set, so I asked Judy to let the anchor settle a while and see if she moved.  The promised front we had come to avoid was starting to pipe up in the harbor, but we were here and probably settled in time.  We kept the engine running for a while, and kept an eye on the GPS to see if we were snug or not.  I looked around, and noted that some of the boats near us had two anchor rodes out.  The infamous “Bahamian Mooring.” The guides tell us that this form of two anchor mooring was popular before the advent of newer styles of anchor, such as the Danforth, the CQR, the Bruce and the Plow.  We use a Delta, generally recognized as the best for these bottoms.  The old fisherman anchor, famous on Tattoos everywhere, but rare on boats anymore was not very secure in these waters and often required two anchors set at 45 degree angles. The guidebooks add, “avoid anchoring near boats with two anchors out.”

Later, speaking with cruisers with local experience, they concurred, but added that in this harbor with a strong current changing with every tide, large and frequent commercial traffic and a bottom scoured by long time heavy use, the old mooring technique “still holds.”

Since Judy was still achy, we were uncertain of our holding and unsure of where to tie up our dingy ashore and the day was wearing on, we planned to hang out on board till the weather improved in a day or so. Since the first few days at Marsh Harbour, we hadn’t stayed at a slip once.  We anchored out every night except a few nights: at Hope Town where we picked up a mooring ball and paid a twenty dollar fee and Spanish Wells for two nights at $15 a pop. Part of island living is not feeling rushed to do anything, so a nap or some book reading time is always in order.  The regimen of getting up at six ayem to listen to high grade weather reporting on the single side band radio with Chris Parker, and getting to bed not long after dark to conserve battery power was now out of sync.  The “Big City” noises of police sirens and ambulances blending in behind the grinding of machinery at the container port gave way to the competing bands playing ashore at “the Green Parrot” and “Luciano’s.”  Here it was midweek, but the music was Saturday night, and went on loud and for hours.  Here was the flip side of the solitude we’d enjoyed for the last few weeks.  On top of this, the cruise ships are fueled with bunker “C”, the molasses of the petroleum industry, the stuff left over after everything of value has been stripped out.  It’s the part of petroleum where the stink lives.  At sea where these behemoths burn a gallon every six inches, no one gets to smell the smoke left in their wake.  Here in port, with up to seven liners belching smoke to keep the burgers frying and the spas bubbling, the bright lights and bells of the slots and the air conditioned heated pools up to snuff, you might say it stank.

And there was evening and there was morning.

Day two in the capital-- Well, the wind is still blowing and we don’t really need to go ashore so let’s read the guide books and plan our visit.  Dave’s folks, sort of the object of our trip to Nassau, weren’t due till Saturday and nothing on shore looked that inviting and Judy still was not up to snuff…It is eighty degrees and sunny, except for the wind it’s lovely, another pass-day.  Lying on the chaise in the lee of the dodger and almost at the foot of the Atlantis tower, book in hand, “ain’t life grand!”

Steph

Nassau continued

Judy here.

Friday morning, December 3, we saw an official looking boat visiting several of the cruisers anchored nearby.  When they came to us, the harbor police decided to board us in a random check.  It was fine and the men were very polite.  Soon afterwards, Kelly and Mike from FL on Ciao Bella a 41 foot Morgan ketch stopped by to visit and give us some local knowledge, and Jean Francois from Quebec on Misty, a 37 foot Gulfstar sloop, stopped by to see why the police wanted to board us.  Some of the local knowledge gained was that for $1.25, you can get on any bus and ride the entire route and get to see the whole island that way.  We found out where the internet is available unlimited time for free and for an hour if you buy something.   Kelly and Mike also told us about eating “under the bridge” at the local fish fry shacks.  Jean Francois is a boat builder and had lots of suggestions on materials and projects.

Steph deployed the dingy and we motored into the “Green Parrot “dock. We walked west on Bay Street towards downtown and ended up in the cruise ship crowds….Too many people in too crowded a location for my tastes! Tourists with a few hours ashore to buy duty free alcohol, Cuban cigars, Chinese “Designer” bags, T-Shirts and gifts from the straw market. We wandered through a Christmas crafts festival and found Dunkin Donuts for internet.  Part of the crowdedness of the streets was the fact that they were setting up bleachers in every available spot for the junior Junkanoo parade on Thursday, December 9.  Junkanoo is like Mardi Gras or Carnival and the bands are all dressed in these amazing costumes and headdresses.  Unlike the festivals surrounding Easter, this festival is held on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas and again at New Years.  It is strictly a “Bahamian Ting!” It bears no relation to Christmas except the date, and as far as we can find out, its origins are unknown.  Even theories about the name differ.  One is that it honors John Canoe, A leader of slave rebellion (or a slave holder.)  Another theory is that it is a corruption of the French, “gens inconnu” or “unknown people.”  The musicians play goat skin drums, sousaphone, trumpet, flugelhorn and COW BELLS and whistles.  The cow bells and whistles are the trademark of Junkanoo bands.  The term for cow bell is Kalik, which is also one of the local beers.  So, Junior (kids) Junkanoo bands will parade on December 9 and the adult Junkanoos whoop it up on Boxing Day (December 26) and New Years.

On our way back to the dink, Steph said he wanted to go eat  at the Fish fry under the bridge, so we dropped the computer at Bentaña, petted and fed Mary, and hopped back in the dink to see if we could find the right place.  Well, we found the right place and it was a hopping Friday night.  It is mostly locals who hang out there and they enjoy the conch salad and “Fry-Fish” along with the beer.  You can even get Barracuda (eat at your own risk—they eat reef fish which carry Ciguatera)!  In searching out just the right place to eat, we decided on Doc Sands and sat down with Ed (Eduardo Jimenez) and Tina, who are professional photographers, both Bahamian.  We mentioned that we had been to The Current and Ed said he was from there.  We mentioned that we had met Sue Martin and he said, “Oh, she is my cousin!”  It didn’t seem to be a surprise to me. Small world…..and the six degrees of separation made smaller again!

The harbor is very busy with all sorts of traffic; tour boats, diving boats, booze and cruise boats, speed boats and work boats ply the waters.  Most of them have no idea what the term “NO WAKE” means, so we have been doing quite a lot of bouncing on the hook here.

Laundry day in Nassau and JUNKANOO

Sat 12/4  We loaded the dingy with dirty laundry, the dock cart and detergent and headed east to the Nassau Yacht Haven which was reported to be near a coin laundry, and hospitable to cruisers “on the hook.”  We tied up under their Poop Deck Restaurant and Judy stopped in at the dock master’s office to request docking privileges. When I asked if what I needed to do to check out, the Dockmaster said, “Well, you can come in and say Thank you!”The marinas all have washing machines, at marina prices, so we headed for the “townie” wash house. It is at Shirley Plaza on Shirley Road. We got several differing sets of directions and found ourselves walking all around town on the east end, far from tourist venues.  This is a great way to soak up local flavor and color. There were about four washer loads, so once again I left Judy to wash while I went shopping.   “City Markets” advertises in the cruisers guide…”We deliver to your boat.” There are seven “City Markets” in Nassau, and the word was they were the place to shop, and there was one nearby.  With my knapsack on my back and my camera around my neck, I did more sightseeing along the way.  The store was a pretty good representation of a super market.  Not as spiffy as “Maxwell’s “in Marsh Harbour, but that was only a month old.  My plans were to scope out the store and replenish our milk and eggs and a little meat, just what would fill my knapsack. We would return here for a big shop before heading to the out-islands.  We discovered the out- islands are referred to here as the “family islands.”  It’s where everyone has family.  I found a pretty decent selection of groceries, and some of the prices were competitive with home.  I’ve gotten over the sticker shock of all imports being marked up ~33% duty, plus shipping costs. It appears that commonwealth products may be exempt, and we now eat Irish butter. I did notice some empty shelves, and what my friend Bill the book retailer calls “wallpaper,” the art of spreading items out a mile wide and one row deep.

Outside “City Markets” was a whole plaza with a KFC, Starbucks and more.  This is important because, where there is Starbucks there is usually internet. Outside the clothing store a bake sale was going on.  Besides the usual brownies, blondies and cup cakes with sprinkles and store-bought iced loaf cake there was duff, (I don’t know either,) delicious gooey chocolate cake and homemade rum cake.  As good as the chocolate cake looked; I chose a slice of rum cake.  After all, I was sampling the local delights, and it was for a good cause.  BTW it was good!

I hoofed it back to the wash house where Judy was finishing up the folding.  I pitched in while the TV played “The Fugitive,” with Harrison Ford.  We loaded up our dock cart, a handy little item that has big wheels for irregular terrain and collapses to take little space and then headed back to the dink. Along the way we saw kids carrying buckets of water from a spigot in a side street.  Soon this will be us! Down on Bay Street, Judy got splashed by passing cars where a water main had broken.  This explained the decently dressed kids carrying water to a decent looking house.   Almost back at the marina a guy with a card table is set up along this busy waterside street. He is selling spiny lobster, fresh fish and conch. We chatted and took some pictures.  A passer by cracked a pose with these large crustaceans .

Well, back at the marina, Judy returns to the dockmaster’s office to thank him.  The tide is out, and our dink is six feet below the dock, and almost at the end of the ladder.  While we are loading our day’s work product, a tall curly haired sailor enquires, “Is everything OK?” Aside from the frustration of a dropped cell phone call to Harry and Carol Otterbein who had arrived safely to Nassau, we told him we were fine, doing laundry, etc and taking it back to our boat.  He introduced himself, Daniel, the Captain of the “Liberty Clipper.” We told him we had passed his schooner at the dive spot south of Royal Island and came in close for a good look at his pretty ship.  He invited us to tour the boat tomorrow and we asked if Harry and Carol could join us.  “Of course,” he replied.

Headed back to the boat, we stopped off at “Caio Bella” to tell them about the Laundromat.  Kelly says, “there’s an anniversary party at Green Parrot, we’re going over, I think maybe they’ll have free food.”  “What time,” Judy asks and we now have dinner plans.

Well, we stowed our cargo, something you can’t do at home, and dressed for a party. Kelly said they were going over in a half hour, so we were right on time , but when we motored over there the place was quiet with a handful of regulars at the bar.  There was more activity next door at “Luciano’s of Chicago” so we returned, without going ashore, to tell Mike and Kelly.  They were all ready to leave, but now there was no rush so they invited us on board for a tour. Mike reminded both of us of our late friend Max, sun parched and wiry with a braid down his back.  Max hated the term “aging hippie” often applied to him. “Aren’t we all aging?” he would ask indignantly.  Kelly is his partner and they have lived and traveled on boats a long time. The boat had been transformed by the two of them into a very personal home.  Mike’s woodwork and their decorating created a practical, cozy and snug space full of good vibrations. We talked about diesel engines, and he explained why Perkins, the brand we share, is the best. It was getting dark and we were ready for dinner, so ashore we all went.

By now the crowds had gathered, and the DJ was “laying down hot tracks.” I think that’s how they say it. Peter, a jovial cruiser from Nova Scotia joined us with a bucket of Kaliks he offered around. This place, the Green Parrot, has been so accommodating to cruisers on the hook.  Free waterfront docking is rare in many places.  Most waterfront is private property here, as in most urban areas. For commercial and insurance reasons a good tie-up near anything is hard to find.  So, just like the nice people at the Nassau Yacht Haven we were made to feel very welcome here too.  About five or six dingy’s were tied up at their small rickety floating dock, and I guess most of them were patrons tonight.

As we arrived in Nassau earlier in the week, I smelled barbeque on the shore.  I was sure it was from this place, but in all our wanderings, BBQ was not forthcoming.  Cracked Conch; Conch Salad; Conch Fritters; Conch Burgers and Seared Conch or, Fried Grouper or Fried Snapper was ubiquitous.  Tonight I get my BBQ Chicken. Judy and I would split the dinner, and Mike and Kelly split a Fried Chicken dinner.  Peter still had four beers.

Our timing could not be more perfect.  Good friends, good music, good food and then the DJ paused. Out in the parking lot was the sound of a brass band.  Marching, strutting, mumming to a growing drum beat and staccato kalik sound, in came a dozen musicians. They were costumed in bright colored masks, breastplates and aprons covered with feathers, sequins and mirrors, putting out a raucous rhythm. Lead by an assortment of brass, followed by the kalik rattlers and whistle blowers and pushed forward from the rear by large booming drums, the music was infectious.  Instant Junkanoo Fever.  Winding their way around the bar’s oval, twisting and turning, the winds blaring, the drums throbbing and the steady whistle and clang became euphoric as they wove their way around the patio where we sat. They gyred and gimbaled.  I was ecstatic.  This is what travel is about.  Another National Geographic / Kodak moment, we were razzed and we were jazzed. (I have successfully downloaded a video clip to my facebook page, “Stephen Sellinger(not the one from Maryland.))



Liberty Clipper preparing to dive at the ship wreck




Entering Nassau Harbour, Atlantis to the left




"Northern Light" departing Atlantis




Tina and Ed




"Bahama Mon"




The never ending laundry...




Spiney Lobsta!




Dinking back to Bentaña at dusk




Kelly, Mike and Peter at the Green Parrot




Junkanoo




Junkanoo




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Junkanoo--notice Cow bell (Kalik) in right hand of dancer



Blow, bro, blow!



The Current settlement

Saturday 11/27 the three boats departed for THE CURRENT settlement anchorage after getting fuel and water, which took a while since there was only room for one boat at the dock at a time. 

We had a nice jaunt about 6 miles down the Island of Eleuthera towards the Current Cut.  We had decided to anchor on the western side of the Island (and the Cut) to be protected from the wind.  When we arrived Last Tango and Maribelle were all anchored, so we decided to anchor between them. We dropped the hook and started to back up, forgetting that the dingy was on a rather long painter (rope) and WHAM the painter wrapped itself around the prop shaft and the engine died.  Luckily Steph and Kevin (from Maribelle) were able to untangle the rope without cutting it after about 45 minutes in the water with snorkels.   The water was so clear that we could see the anchor chain stretched to the anchor about 90 feet away.

We had a Saturday early evening cookout on Last Tango, and we bid adieu to LT and Maribelle the next morning as they were heading for the Exumas and we were waiting to head to Nassau on Wednesday.  They left just after sunrise as the tidal flow was going in the right direction through the Cut.  For those of you familiar with Hell Gate, you do not want to go through the Cut against the current…..

We decided to head to town and see if we could find a church service.  If you have not yet read it, see our posting “So Far…”

Our new friend Sue Martin, who we met at church, is also the town librarian.  She invited us to the library on Monday to use the internet, which we gratefully took her up on.  We also visited the general store and met some more towns’ people.  After finishing up on the web, we scurried back to the boat to sail back to Royal Island to be sheltered from the forecasted high winds. 

We sailed off the anchor with the Genoa and Mizzen (Jin and Jigger) and sailed a wonderful beam reach almost the entire way at 6-7 knots with a 15 knot breeze.  This was the first time since arriving to the Bahamas that we did not have to motor sail for some reason or another.  Mary really enjoyed it also and very vocally insisted on being in the cockpit with us for most of the sail.

She seems to be getting younger, or at least more fit.  She talks to us a lot and spends a lot of time near us.  She is also more curious as you can see by the photo….. 

Our anchor rode stretching to the distance in 15 feet of water

Sign says " Beware of Falling Coconuts"

Another idyllic beach with Bentaña in the background

Raptor!

What do I smell????

Oh, I found it!!!

We stayed in Royal Island harbor (we were the only boat there except for a workboat) all day Tuesday and did boat projects and read and worked on the blog (probably!) until Wednesday morning when we got up and departed for Nassau.