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After we dropped our friend Emmie, into the hands of our favorite George Town cabbie, we spent a couple days getting the boat ready for a trip to some nearby Out Islands. We did a bit of boat maintenance, stocked up with fresh food and still had time for some fun at Chat & Chill's Sunday BBQ.
Monday
several of us took off for Thomson Bay, Long Island. We were
joined by our friends Tom and Amy on Dream Catcher, Debbie and her guest
on Illusion (my old Island Packet 29 that I sold 10 years ago) and a few
others that were also ready to get out of George Town for a while. A
front was moving rapidly into the area so we ended up cruising across
the banks with about 24kts worth of wind on the stern. We tried
trolling the "guaranteed" snapper corridor but only caught a barracuda.
I know Tom, it's cause I wasn't using a red squid lure...
About 10 miles out from Thompson Bay we were joined by 2 dolphins that
wanted to play in our bow wake. This is really rare as I've seen
very few dolphins in my 26 years of cruising down here. There's a
local Dolphin, Niki (named because of a nick in her dorsal fin) that
hangs out in Elizabeth Harbor and usually has her new baby with her but,
besides that, we hardly ever see any Dolphins. Here's the
Bahamian Dolphin Video that I took
of the two playing off of our bow.
We
anchored up the the northern end of Thompson Bay to get out of the
surge created by strong NW winds.
While
there, we hooked up with our old friends Mike and Dawn. I became
friends with Mike and Dawn about 10 years ago when they were down here
cruising the Islands with their son Eliza. Nicer people you can
not meet! Mike and Dawn picked us up at the dock in their car and
we did both a tour and a mini Conch Crawl through the southern end of
Long Island. We saw many remote beaches, blue holes, settlements,
churches
and bars. We toured Clarence Town and then, at the end of the day,
had dinner at Max's Conch Bar. What a GREAT place to eat!
With it's Tiki bar atmosphere, a mixed menu of high end Bahamian and
Jamaican fare, it was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. Jerk
pork, lobster quesadilla and conch salad were just a few of the items
that we enjoyed at Max's. While waiting for our orders to be
prepared, we were taken on a tour of Max's garden with it's huge
Breadfruit tree and vegetables that add to the freshness and variety of
the dishes.
In the
days that followed we spent time exploring the east side of the island,
combing the beaches and diving. We of course had apps one night
and did the Thursday night cruiser's buffet at Triphena's, Thompson Bay
Inn.
Our first calm day was Friday and we hauled anchor and took off for the Comer Channel and the Jumentos. Our friends Tom and Amy were going to meet us the next day at Water Cay but, because of changes in the forecast, ended up staying in Long Island. We spent a rough 3 days here, spearfishing on the banks with 3 foot seas running and trolling out in the sound, filling up the freezer, before heading back through Hog Cay Cut to George Town. By the time we got anchored in the calm of Kidd Cove in Georgetown, Deb was more than ready for a bit of flat water!
This
time in George Town, besides the usual grocery shopping, we were able to
do a bit of diving with friends from "Borrowed Horse" and "DeJarlo".
In the 2 days of diving, I got 8 lobsters (we already
ate the lobsters that we got in the Jumentos and ate 2 more the evening
after the 1st dive. So yes, I only have the legal limit of 6 on
the boat at any time!) and no fish. I saw several
Nassau Groupers which were still out of season and one Jewfish that was
WAY too big to even think about spearing... "U'dda jus pissd im off!"
Of course we also did the Friday night BBQ at the Peace and Plenty Hotel
and went down to the "Fish Fry" for some Conch salad.
We the
took our only calm day of the week to cruise up to Little Farmers Cay to
hide out from a predicted "strong cold front" with winds in excess of
30kts. Of course while there we saw all of our friends on the
Island, did dinner and apps a few times at Ali's Bar. When we were
here for the 5F Festival we met Jeff and Kelly on "Tiger Sea" and had
them over for apps on the boat. This time, they invited us over
for a nice Nassau Grouper and Lion Fish dinner served with "dirty,
garlicky" mashed potatoes and salad. There's a big push by the
government here to get people to hunt the non indigenous Lion Fish
because they are predators and don't themselves have any local
predators. Therefore the Lion Fish population has just exploded
since their accidental release into the Atlantic Ocean a few years ago.
They taste good... but, knowing me, I'd sooner or later end up
getting stuck by their poisonous spines while cleaning them, so I think
that I'll just stick to the normal spear and release program instituted
by most Bahamians and cruisers alike!
We left Farmers after the front and headed up to Staniel Cay. Right now it's looking like our next guests, Deb and Den, will have settled weather for their arrival. With only 2 days left before they get here, we'll go by Black Point to do laundry and then prepare for their arrival. Having fun. It may be a bit stormy here right now but I'll take that and the cold (low 70's) front passages, over what they're having in the states anytime! No complaints!
Enjoy!
All of the log pictures can be seen by clicking Slideshow