Wednesday, March 10, 2010

West Indies

In Like a Lion or a Lamb?

During our time at the Nassau Yacht Haven we connected with Anita McMahon and family.   Their friends from Paradise Island brought them over to visit in their boat.  We gave them a tour of Blue Pearl and said good-bye – maybe we will see them again next week if we return to Nassau before they leave for home.

Anita and Family
Anita and Family

When we had arrived in Nassau this time, Glen noticed that one of the motor mounts was broken.  Not a good thing.  Went to Albert’s Marine Service to get a mechanic to install the spare that we had.  The mechanic found that two more were broken.  Only four mounts hold the motor on and three had been broken.  Really not a good thing.  Extras were ordered from Florida and we were impressed with the service.  They arrived the next day and Jason from Albert’s Marine Service had them installed that afternoon.  Back the next morning for final touch-ups and a sea trial and we were set.  Turns out that Jason knows Jerome Cartwright, the headmaster from Matthewtown, Inagua in 1978.  That afternoon Jason connected Glen with Cartwright and they had an interesting reunion.  We will meet up with him when we return to Nassau next week.  Small world.  Actually the Bahamas is a small country.

The Sarowas spent three nights at a fancy Cable Beach Hotel before moving onto Blue Pearl with us.  We bought fritters and fish at Potters Cay, provisioned at the supermarket and the liquor store near the marina and took off.  As usual, Captain Chaos provided entertainment to everyone as we left the dock.  The strong current and wind, combined with the Captain’s uncanny knack for banging into things made for a spectacular departure.  We arrived at Allan’s Cay without further mishap and found a good place for the hook.  Alex and Kris from Blue Wind had followed us from Nassau through the Yellow Banks.  They anchored nearby.  Once ashore we amused ourselves looking at all the iguanas.

Jinder - Great iguana feeder
Jinder - Great iguana feeder
Sarowas meet Alllen's Cay
Sarowas meet Allan's Cay


There had been some bad weather so there had been no tour boats feeding them for a couple of days and they greeted all the boats enthusiastically.  Remembering our lesson from Pat on Kolibrie, we had brought grapes to feed them from a stick – too bad we hadn’t learned that trick before Mike learned from experience that, even without teeth, they can draw blood!

The wind wasn’t warm so we weren’t too interested in swimming but Jinder did take a quick dip off a sand bar.

On the beach we chatted with an Oregon family on the catamaran, Texas Two Step, Dave, Leslie and Michelle.  They had sold their house and were fulltime cruisers.  Michelle, a grade ten student, is doing her schoolwork by correspondence.  They dingied by the boat so we invited them onboard for a drink.  They were planning to make their own beer on the beach the next day – they had all the supplies and equipment onboard.  While talking about food, Dave mentioned that he didn’t care for conch.  Pam decided she would introduce him to her cracked conch and invited them for dinner.  Glen used the new conch mallet to tenderize the tough meat and then coated it in Zantarain’s Fish Fry then lightly fried in olive oil.  Paired with Spanish Yellow Rice and Kal’s Special Salad, dinner was ready.  Eight of us crowded around our table and enjoyed drinks, good food, laughs and friendship.  And Dave liked the conch.

Conch dinner with Texas Two Step
Conch dinner with Texas Two Step

We had a lousy night banging back and forth in the waves and current and bolted out of there early in the morning.  As we were raising the anchor, Dave and Leslie dingied over with a gift for us….  a cutting board to use the next time we made cracked conch!  Thank you, Texas Two Step.

We had big (6 to 8 foot) seas so the first part of the ride was uncomfortable but we decided to hole up at Norman’s Cay – only a little way away – where we could anchor with more protection and get some sleep.

 At Norman’s we all had a sleep, showered and then, feeling revived, we dingied ashore and walked over to McDuffs so Jinder could buy us all expensive drinks.

Jambalaya dinner, Bananagrams and Balderdash then to bed.  We thankfully had a very calm night on the anchor but woke up to discover we were out of water.  We couldn’t quite believe that we had used 157 gallons in two days.  Glen did all of the checks he knew and could not discover where the water had gone.  Luckily, Pam had a five gallon jerry can of water saved so we decided to enjoy the day and just not wash.  A day of exploring islands, reading and relaxing.

Principals' Meeting
Principals' Meeting

Just no washing.  Our second morning at Norman’s looked beautiful and we extended our “no wash” rule and spent another day in this beautiful anchorage.  The five gallons were stretching further and further as none of us really wanted to leave.  Dingy trips to Wax Cay and Norman’s Pond kept us busy as well as Margaritas and G&T’s.  Jinder and Kal treated us to Eggs with Indian spices and a Chick Pea curry, using spices they had brought from home.  Glen made his famous Boiled Fish dinner.  Beautiful sunsets, blue water, swimming from a deserted beach – priceless.

Swimming in Norman's Pond
Swimming in Norman's Pond
Exploring Norman's Cay
Exploring Norman's Cay

We are now off to Nassau and will spend the night at the Atlantis Resort.  Not washing can only last so long and we have decided to treat ourselves to this lavish resort for a night or two.

4 comments:

  1. Char of "Char's Web & Mike of the "Fishing Machine"March 10, 2010 at 12:57 PM

    huh....let me see.....who made nasty comments about the EXTRA 5 gallon jug of water comming aboard the Blue Pearl and taking up valuable "space". Mike also wants to know if Glen was allowed water as "La Captainita" was quite definite in her response to those comments.

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  2. Great post!
    Bummer about the motor mounts!

    We'll definetly remember that 'grape on a stick' trick when we go over there next year!

    Hope all is well! f

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  3. good times and friends, I remember them well, similar to our times when you were young but the calibre is greatly minimized by your shots of Bahamian blue water, white sands, dining on conch. It's the smiles, laughs and fun of being with the poeople you enjoy. We Love the blogs and they make our day when they arrive. Suck up those good times.

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  4. WOW! Fun times with Capt'n Chaos and his lovely first mate Pam! Lovely to see pics of Anita & Mike & family, and Kal & Jinder & son with you guys too. Makes it all seem a little more "real" in some ways. Thanks for blogging your adventures!

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