Category: Experiences

George Town, Great Exuma….there and back again

So, in early February we made the run from Little Farmers Cay to George Town to send Mike home from that airport.  We were sad to see Mike leave, but, he has a home and boat of his own. The palm fronds were taking over his yard and breaking out all of his windows (hahaha inside joke there)……

George Town is west of and adjacent to Elizabeth Harbor, which is bordered on its East side by Stocking Island.  Stocking is the home to a few interesting sights. Boats in George Town tend to do what they call the “George Town shuffle”.  As the wind changes directions the boats scurry from side to side of the harbor trying to hide from it to insure a smoother night’s sleep at anchor and a shorter, drier dinghy ride to shore.  We are fortunate enough to weigh in at about two to three to three times what the average sailboat weighs, so unless it’s blowing over 20 knots consistently and we are very exposed we sleep well at anchor no matter what.  That weight, coupled with our 85lb Mantus anchor and our inventory of 300′ of 3/8″ chain tends to keep us in place and peaceful once we set the hook.  It has the added bonus of allowing us to avoid anchoring close to the crowds all desperately seeking that protection.

The below image centers on Elizabeth Harbor…..with George Town in the lower left corner.  One of the interesting features of G-Town is Lake Victoria. That’s the small lake in the center of town that is open to the harbor via a small overpass/tunnel that makes you feel like you’re on a small water ride at Disney.  I could never get a straight answer from anyone about whether or not the lake access was manmade or natural and the bridge was simply added for vehicular access…..but my gut tells me the water access was cut for boats to enter and the bridge added afterward.

Satellite image courtesy of Google Maps

We spent ten days, a few before Mike’s flight and a few after.  We had to get away from G-Town though, as it is crowded and was becoming more so as the cruiser’s regatta approached. There were over 400 boats by some accountings.  Now, don’t get me wrong…it’s a huge harbor….but that’s still a lot of people and boats for a lifestyle we chose because of an ability to escape crowds….We met some great people in George Town, we just didn’t want to meet ALL of them in one week…..

We are asked about George Town a lot and the only way I can describe it is a “summercamp” (although technically in winter) for adult boaters.  There are quotidian activities that made it feel a bit like groundhog day, …..volley ball, yoga, art classes, water aerobics and so forth.  It’s ok in small doses for us, but that’s about it. Different strokes for different folks.  There were some people who stayed there for the whole season and it is their entire destination every year.

We went back to George Town a few weeks later when two of my childhood friends (Bob & Tom) came to visit for a week. That’s right..in the Bahamas it’s……Brett’s childhood friends 2 Kim’s childhood friends 0 ….hahaha

Swim faster Bob …..it’s coming …..

At Peace n Plenty ……

 

There was some decent hiking to be done, some spear fishing and snorkeling in the George Town area.  We even managed to get a dozen whelk (a catchall name for a variety of species snails) which we boiled, cleaned and dipped in garlic butter.  I thought they tasted like chewy lobster….Kim disagreed…..the parts we had to clean off made great bait though….

A whelk of the variety which we feasted upon…..

 

and Tom caught this …….he was kind enough to call it a team effort …..

Yes it was as big as it looks ….about 20 pounds…even the locals were jealous of this one

 

Tom and Bob looking for Atlantis…..on the east side of Stocking Island….

The stone monument on Stocking Island east of George Town……view from the bottom

The view from the top…..

Me…..one foot in the dark and one in the light …..as usual

Tom, me and Bob……at the Chat n’ Chill Beach

Cordell Thompson of the Exumas Historical Society giving a talk about the history of the Exumas…….

Mutton Snapper!!!! Caught during our first stay with Mike…

The famous Peace n Plenty hotel…..it became our favorite place due to Jamaro, Emmitt and Tim (plus his adorable son Mason) the bartenders !!!!

Where’s that stone monument ? It’s over there 💪👈

The Top Visitor for April….and a prize !!!

 

 

During a recent update to our analytical software for our blog we discovered that a listed feature began to function in a more useful manner.  In the home page for our “dashboard” where it lists all the plugins and behind the scenes software that make the blog run, there was always a field that said “Top Visitors”.  There usually wasn’t any data in that field or it was simply an IP address.  Apparently, the creators of that function have improved it and now it lists the subscribers by name, assuming you are a subscriber when you visit.  In recognition of this development we have decided to give a prize away to the #1 visitor for April…….and that person is……(drumroll please)..

BARRY BRIERLEY!!!!! Congratulations Barry and thank you for your continued support of our blog !!!!….

Barry, send me a PM on Facebook and I can give you some choices for your prize….they do sell Cuban cigars here and there is a brand of Cuban rum available also, I think that’s called Havana Club !!!

Here’s Barry…I’m sure he’s reading our blog on his phone right there !!! And maybe recruiting his couch mates to subscribe too !!!

 

Here’s the view of the analytical page that generates the stats….better luck next month Jan, Dave, Kevin, Emerson and K Flick !!!

Rudder Cut Cay….creepy Nazi castle, Mermaids and caves !!!!

Leaving Little Farmers Cay was hard to do…..we made a quick hop down the Exuma chain and tucked in behind Rudder Cut Cay which is one of a few islands in the area owned by David Copperfield.

Image courtesy of Google Maps

This is a cave located on one of Copperfield’s islands…..we went in, shot some pics and “disappeared” before anyone noticed us…..Tada!!!! …….there were actually some security cameras on the hilltops nearby……interesting note….you can only own an island in the Bahamas down to the high tide line on the shore….so, technically anyone can walk the beach as long as your feet are in the water…..

Kim all up in David Copperfield’s cave…..

 

The famous Piano and Mermaid statue submerged just off Rudder Cut Cay… marked with the heart icon on the satellite image…..

A few Mermaid shots through our look bucket (a glass bottom bucket)….

Before and during WWII Darby Island was owned by a Nazi sympathizer and hotelier named Baxter.  He built an 8,000 square foot “castle” on the highest point of Darby Island in 1938.  I interviewed a few older locals and they reported seeing strange flashing lights during the war from the rooftop of the castle.  Later they discovered these were signals to U-Boats that would come to the large dredged channel and concrete dock on the east side of the island and reprovision.  Some of the people who worked on the plantation talked about seeing an elaborate radio and telegraph station inside the house.  Darby Island was reportedly one of the largest and most productive plantations in the islands at that time. Darby Island is currently for sale……

A long view of the Nazi castle…..

 

Closeup….and creepy ….

View from the balcony…..

Mike even found a Gordon’s gin bottle from the 1920’s buried in the sand !!!!

Snorkel towing the dinghy …..

 

 

A message in a bottle…..set adrift on our way to George Town the next day……

 

 

 

Kim and her friend the Manatee

These videos take a while to upload and are somewhat tempermental…..I’ll try and load the others….the longer the video the harder they are to upload…..grrrrrr

Just a girl and her Manatee….

Here’s a link to the video…..

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Kim was convinced the manatee was about to give birth due to extra girth and slow movement…..they don’t call them sea cows for nothing…..no manatee baby sightings yet

Entertainment while afloat …..

Since there’s an upcoming period of unsettled weather headed our way, (prediction is 20-25 knot winds for three to five days) I thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about how we keep ourselves entertained while staying on the boat for extended periods.  Sometimes that can be three or more days straight depending on where we are and how severe the weather might be.  We like to anchor away from the crowds but that results in longer (and wetter) dinghy rides to and from shore.

 

We spend all but about two months a year on board, so keeping ourselves entertained can sometimes be a challenge.

I have reached a point where I am reading about a book per week.  That can be challenging since maintaining an inventory of books in our limited space isn’t really a viable option.  It does present a chance for us to resurrect our old “book club” of which Kim and I were the only members.  It was very exclusive!

I discovered a series of books by F. Paul Wilson which mostly revolve around a character nicknamed “Repairman Jack”.  These books are set mostly in late 1990’s NYC and Jack is a sort of a private investigator/fixer who becomes increasingly entrenched in unusual cases and circumstances that have a supernatural cause.  Jack is sort of a Libertarian / polar opposite to a “Ray Donovan” type.  The first book in that series is “Cold City”.

There are related story lines that make up a series of about six books called the “Adversary Cycle” which start with “The Keep” (set in 1941) which was also an 80’s movie of the same name, that butchered the story line.  If you like fiction drama/mysteries with some supernatural twists, I highly recommend these books.

 

I also picked up a Jack Reacher book called The Killing Floor which turned out to be much better than the movies.  I can’t imagine why they picked Tom Cruise to play the guy described in this book?? I also read a couple of Randy Wayne White’s “Doc Ford” books which are turning out to be good reads…..thanks for that tip Mike !!!!

I have found my Fire Tablet aka Kindle to be indispensable.  Now that we have on board wifi I can download books at will !!! We can also access Amazon videos and games on it !

Shop Amazon Devices- Fire Tablet Starting at $39.99

 

We didn’t have an opportunity to get a “Bahamas phone” until our second trip to George Town.  That has made things much easier as these phones come with wifi hotspots.  BTC (Bahamas Telephone Company) recently started offering unlimited data for $35 per month.  Now we can watch online movies and tv shows through a variety of applications for free !!! Let me know if anyone wants the details of those and I can email them to you.  (They work stateside too so you could theoretically eliminate your cable or satellite tv bill.)  If you’re planning to be in the Bahamas for an extended period be sure to pickup one of these phones…..you can get a Huawei brand smartphone (pronounced Wowee) for about $59 plus $16 for a SIM card on a prepaid plan. I found this link for an unlocked Huawei phone on Amazon which might work throughout the Caribbean if you get sim cards for each place you visit…..that also makes the blogging easier !!!!

We also love to play board games.  But, space again is an issue….board games are out, so we have mostly dice games on board.  We play a lot of Yahtzee, we were recently introduced to a new dice game called “Farkle”….and we have a set of dominoes on board if we want to play “Mexican Train”…..it’s a fun game that was taught to us by our dear friend Joan in Florida …..

thanks for the introduction to “Farkle” Doug and Barb on SV Melinda Kay !!!

 

Little Farmer’s Cay…..!!!!

As we made our way South through the Exuma chain of islands, we found what would become our favorite stop…..Little Farmer’s Cay.  We spent a total of about six weeks here (between February and March) before and after a short George Town trip to get Mike to the Airport for his flight home to Tampa.

Satellite Image courtesy of Google Maps

Little Farmer’s is home to the Farmers Cay Yacht Club (FCYC) which is located on the Northeast tip of the Cay.  The FCYC is owned and operated by two of the sweetest people we have ever had the pleasure to meet.  Roosevelt (Roosie) and Shirley (Bo short for Bolene, her middle name) Nixon have run this Marina for about 27 years and Roosevelt just celebrated his 82nd birthday !!!! Their son Julian and his wife Daryll live just down the street from the yacht club also and are an amazing couple. Julian works for the electric company and Daryll runs a gift shop where she sells her handmade jewelry and is also the local agent for Flamingo Air.

 

 

Kim decided to hang her coffee mug, formerly my mom’s, up for this shot…..

The Nixons !!! “Roosie and Bo”

 

My sister Jo and I in the cave on Great Guana Cay Northeast of Little Farmers.

 

Jo realizing her lifelong dream of petting a sea turtle…..

 

 

 

This is Kim and I with Earnestine Bain….wife of Terry Bain and co-owner of the Ocean Cabin Bar and restaurant.  She is one sweet lady.  There must be something in the water at Little Farmers that makes everyone so nice!!!  She and her husband Terry (who took this photo and is pictured below at the party) have operated this establishment for over 25 years….Terry’s mother built the original bar. We attended their 25th wedding anniversary and Earnestine’s birthday party while we were at Little Farmers Cay…..it’s a great place and Terry makes a doozy of a drink named for the bar…..we came to know them as “the blue drinks that make Kim sleepy”

Terry and Merissa at the party….

 

A freshly speared Lionfish….which I gave to our new friend Dave on a catamaran named Fifth Quarter…..then moments later …..

Dave’s subsequent Lionfish sting……if you ever get tagged by a Lionfish submerge the injured area in the hottest water you can stand for as long as you can…..sorry Dave…glad it’s better

Catboat racing !!

 

 

Pre race preparations….

Sunset from the west side….

 

 

Rays in little harbour….

 

Cruiser’s dinner at FCYC….

Staniel…..home of the 007 Thunderball Grotto…and “Pig Beach” aka Big Majors

On our way South we stopped off for a few days near Staniel Cay which is also near where some scenes from the James Bond movie Thunderball was filmed.  These were shot at the aptly named “Thunderball Grotto” ……We also hit Big Majors which is the Cay famous for the pigs who live on the island.

This is a shot of Kim which we made for a good friend’s son who needed photos for a project with words or phrases describing him.   We thought it would be fun to add a pig….

Dinghy ride Piggy ??? Mike standing “guard” over the dinghy …..

So cute….

 

 

 

 

 

This was an odd one ….I’ve never seen a nurse shark with these kind of markings….

Warderick Wells….. part of the Exumas Land & Sea Park

Warderick Wells is part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park….they have a loop shaped Mooring field with about 20 Mooring Balls.  We spent about six days here waiting for a front to blow through.

 

Image courtesy of Garmin BlueChart

The small black bars with the white dot are chart symbols for Mooring Balls…..

 

 

At the top of Boo Boo Hill is a pile of driftwood signs with boat names and dates.  We found a piece of teak on our beach walk that I used to carve our boat name into….it took about six hours to carve and then I burned the letters to make them stand out….

 

Our sign placed on Boo Boo Hill….

 

 

The enormous pile of boat name signs on Boo Boo Hill….

 

 

As we placed the sign Kim pointed out that our boat sign sort of ended up (unintentionally) looking like a gun…..

The kissing rocks we found and copied….

The Exumas….or Neverland Part III aka Allen’s Cay

After the hustle and bustle of New Providence it was nice to know we’d be back out on the hook soon.  We departed Palm Cay Marina shortly after Junkanoo and moved to Allen’s Cay, the northernmost island of the Exuma chain. Allen’s is known for its population of “prehistoric Iguanas.

 

(Above Image courtesy of Garmin BlueChart)

Image courtesy of Google Maps

 

 

Kim’s new friend…..

 

 

 

We lucked out when we arrived at Allen’s Cay.  As we entered the cut, a power catamaran exited the small cove at the North end of West Allen’s Cay….you can partially see the armada of sailboats anchored in the north side between the two main parts of Allen’s Cay.

Kitty Hawk safely anchored at the SW Allen’s Cay Cove.

Nassau / New Providence

After Bimini, we did an overnight to the West End of New Providence where Nassau is located. We anchored in West Bay and took a cab into Nassau to visit downtown.  While we were there we moved to Palm Cay Marina on the east end of New Providence.  While we were in the marina, we attended Junkanoo. Junkanoo is an annual festival that includes parades and other festivities around Boxing Day and New Year.

The origins of Junkanoo are shrouded in history.  Some say the origin of Junkanoo is unknown. However, it can be traced back to West Africa. The most popular legend states that the name originated from John Canoe, an African tribal chief who demanded the right to celebrate with his people even after being brought to the West Indies in slavery, During pre -and post -slavery days, Christmas was the greatest time for celebration in the Bahamas, and Junkanoo was the highlight. This remains true today.

The Junkanoo floats are built and maintained by volunteer community groups in large warehouse style structures.  The groups engender tremendous loyalty and have names like Valley Boys, Roots, One Family and Saxons.  I’m not sure what the origin of these names are some are based on regions of the island and some are otherwise derived.  The Valley Boys lost the Boxing Day Junkanoo parade contest but won the New Year Junkanoo contest.  Junkanoo starts at midnight and goes until about 5am…..the contestants then take a break and come back around 7am and do the whole parade circuit again.

All the floats and costumes are hand made.  Mostly they are made from cardboard and paper.