Some highlights:
- Eric made friends with the local bread baker (Barbara), cook (Bernadette), and grocery store owner (Eleanor) and got some great tips and recipes on authentic Bahamian cooking.
- We met two Aussies (Jeb and Greg aboard Zoria) traveling toward Cuba and Reed/Eric had some great spearfishing adventures with them. Cleaning the fish in the dinghy while the nurse sharks waited for scraps and bumped the paddle board to see if it was their mommy ;-)
- Ava met every dog there was to meet and carried her dog treats with her so they were always excited to see her approaching
- Reed made friends with Ruth, who runs the laundry, and would go to shore in the mornings with his homework and keep her company while she ran the laundromat
- Karrie and Ava perfected their stove top pizza recipe with homemade dough and toppings of whatever needed to be eaten first from our stores
- Reed and Ava played many games of pool together and with other kids at the free pool table at Staniel Cay Yacht Club.
- Eric helped a British boat with a 7 foot draft try to kedge off of a sandbar upon which they had accidentally “parked” their boat
- Ava perfected her skills at a “ring game” which involves swinging a metal ring on a string toward a hook and trying to get it to catch on the first try. It’s a fun yet frustrating undertaking!
- Listening to the VHF and hearing the constant chatter of Patrice, the dockmaster at SCYC, calling her dockhands – Tario, Jason, Chubby, and Food - Reed can do a great impression of this that makes us all laugh. Also, hearing the pilot from Watermakers air twice a day call in his arrival to the airport.
After about a week, we decided to sail south toward Lee Stocking Island and meet up with some of our North Carolina friends, Dave and Sandy aboard Bel Canto. We hadn’t seen them since early November and they were heading north so we picked a spot to meet. It was a gorgeous day, with just a little wind so we traveled for 6 hours on the Exuma Sound side of the islands. In deep water, we can troll for big game fish, especially the elusive Mahi Mahi. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any luck that day. Reed was pretty bummed but we knew we had one more offshore opportunity on the next leg to Georgetown.
We had a nice dinner with Dave and Sandy and also Kimberly and Ryan from S/V Sophia. It was great to get caught up on all their adventures and share our stories. The next morning, we went to Bel Canto and Reed made crepes for everyone for breakfast. After waving goodbye to Dave and Sandy, we packed up our snorkel gear and headed across the island. There is an abandoned research center on the island and it was eerie to walk past all the buildings that were in near perfect shape, kind of like the set of LOST! The sound side of the islands was calm so the snorkeling was on the type of reefs that we don’t normal get a chance to see with the usual easterly trade winds that keep the waves up. It was a fun family adventure and after snorkeling we swam in the waves from the gentle swell.
The next day, we headed the last 30 miles to Georgetown. It was another calm day so this time, no sailing, just motoring. Reed and Eric put two trolling lines in behind the boat. After about 3 hrs, we realized one of the lines had a fish. It turned out to be a very large Mahi Mahi that made us all very excited, especially Reed! But now we had to get it on the boat and kill/clean it. Eric brought it alongside next to the bow and hauled it up. Several quick sprays of vodka in its gills killed it quickly. It was sad to watch the stunning colors fade out from green to gray. After pictures were taken, it took nearly two hours to clean the fish and then the bow of the boat. Just in time as we made our turn into the inlet for Georgetown. It had been a fantastic day!
Thanks for following along and hope you enjoyed the post!