Little Farmers Cay, George Town and Long Island

Why the long lag in updating our blog??? Well, we have been in some remote areas where they have internet via satellite and more often than not you get kicked off in the midst of using it….over and over. The WiFi access page even tells you that ‘Hey, this is WiFi in the Bahamas so get a Kalik (Bahamian beer) and just take your time!” We have also been busy socializing now that the weather has improved.
Well, we managed to stay in Little Farmer’s Cay for almost two weeks to…can you guess? What else, but to sit out not just one but several cold fronts. (Since we write so much about these cold fronts we thought we’d give you a glimpse of what they look like as they come through.) It was a lot of fun between the weather!

When we first arrived we had lunch at Ocean Cabin and just as we finished a boat coming in went onto the sand bank (yep, on the charts!) and then proceeded to get their painter line from the dinghy wrapped around their prop while trying to reverse off. So, ba ba ba da ta da…Ed to the rescue. He grabbed his snorkel gear and dove on the prop to unfoul the line. After that he hopped into Terry’s boat (from Ocean Cabin) where they kedged the boat off the shallows. Vicky was watching from the beach and talking to the locals because this was BIG excitement. During conversation Hallie offered to teach us how to line fish. This sounded fantastic so we made arrangements for the next morning.

How to line fish? Simply take a spool of fishing line, tie a hook (a special Bahamian knot), add some sinkers (very scientifically located) and grab yourself a few fresh conch for bait and you are set. We had 8 fish before we knew it. 4 trigger fish, a conie and a big-eyed Tommy. I should have taken pictures so you would believe it! Afterwards Hallie showed us how to clean them as each fish is prepared differently. Right next to us was a fellow who was skinning and cutting up the heads of two goats they had just butchered that day. They don’t waste a thing!

Mija and Chula got to run around with the local dogs so had a great time. The crazy one....that would be Chula....has decided if we don't remember to bring their squeeky ball to shore then coconuts will do the trick. She is obsessed! She finds one and then insists upon carrying it with her on our walks. She does get a LOT of looks! The locals at Little Farmers now know her as 'Coconut'. Paul and Sharleen, this is also the place to come to play Dominos! There is a game always going outside of Ali's liquor store.

We did run into Beth and Wayne, from Gypsy Moon (last seen in Nassau) which was a fun surprise. They knew Debbie and John from Aqua Vita and Doug and Cindy from Never Say Maybe from their Florida and Intercoastal trips in the US. So, the circle of friends grows larger. We also ran into Bruce and Dawn from Lady Hawk (last seen in Warderick). We all had a great time at Little Farmer’s but the weather was breaking and it was time for new scenery so off to George Town we went.

All in all a pretty good day of sailing in light winds until suddenly 5 miles from George Town Doug radios out to tell us his engine has died. After many attempts to get her going again it was time to tow them in before evening settled in. With Boto in the lead, Aqua Vita towing Never Say Maybe and Gypsy Moon at the caboose end we paraded into George Town! The next day many ‘heads’ were in Doug’s engine, filters, you name it and the problem couldn’t be remedied. So, while waiting for a professional repairman to come in a few days, one guy stopped by to check it out. He said, “I don’t think this is your problem but it appears that one of your wire ties is crimping your fuel line a bit.” Wouldn’t you figure…that was the problem!

A couple of other boats, with friends we had met along the way, had set off well before us that day to George Town. On one of the boats they had a man-over-board. All’s well that ends well, but I can tell you that having cocktails with them while recounting the events left me with two thoughts: 1.) I will keep wearing my life jacket at all times while sailing and 2.) It is amazing how difficult it is to spot someone in the water and then get them back INTO the boat. Best to stay on the boat!

OK…we are FINALLY in George Town…’the holy grail!’ It is amazing how popular this place is with over 300 boats in Elizabeth Harbor. And, a bonus! It was the last week of the two week George Town Cruiser’s Regatta when we got here. Amazing! I won’t remember all of the activities but there were 2 sailboat races, a bridge tournament, a sand golf tournament, a sand castle building contest, a cooking competition, a volleyball tournament, a cruiser’s VS the locals softball game, a Rock and Roll dance party and on, and on, and on! Tons of activities. I think the best description I have heard so far is that it resembles ‘Adult Daycare’!

When Vicky heard there were volleyball games every afternoon at Volleyball Beach she was all over it. It has been 10 years since she has played on a sand volleyball league and she wanted to see if she still ‘had it’! The 9-man team play was fun but it is awfully hard to get much play in with that many people. One game she never even touched the ball! Apparently her play was good enough that she was told she could ‘try out’ for the regulation team. What an honor….no? So, the next day Vicky went to join the Big League. After 6 matches she threw in the towel. It was like going from 1 to 100 overnight. She was bushed and for days could hardly get out of the dinghy!

And, did we mention that the weather…and water…are finally warming up! We were so excited that we decided to have our first company over for dinner because we could eat in the cockpit! We had snapper and cornbread, Dawn and Bruce brought Bahamian macaroni, Beth and Wayne brought black beans and rice and for dessert it was gingerbread with lime sauce. Ah, what a spectacular night with good friends.

After a week of fun in Georgetown it was time to go off to a more remote and less active island! At 8:30am Gypsy Moon and Boto weighed anchor to set off for Long Island. After clearing the south end of Georgetown we decided we liked our heading so instead of following the Rhum Line through shallower water we continued outside in the deeper water thinking we would tuck in further down the line. We should have had a clue when Gypsy Moon came over the radio inquiring as to where the heck we were going. We told them and they said....OK?!!!

The time had come to finally tuck in and head southeast to our destination so we took out the charts to pick our course. Could it be possible? The charts all said, ‘un-surveyed’ across the area we needed to cross. We then noticed the area indicated a reef and sandbanks all along the area where it dropped from deep water to shallow water. As we inched our way toward where we wanted to cross the water was breaking and rolling over the reef…many areas where you could see the sand above the water. Humm….what to do? Cross that one spot that appeared deeper (meaning no visible sand and less rollers) or go back to Georgetown? We circled back and talked it over. We decided it appeared we could make it through the small cut so again we inched our way through with Vicky on the bow looking for anything that might be a problem. We carried 9 feet of water through the cut but we had dry sand immediately to port and starboard. I think we held our breath the whole way through the cut. Then, we picked our way around the un-surveyed sand bars and FINALLY hit the Rhum Line. We had a Dah…Ahah! moment and decided the Rhum Lines are on the charts for a reason so venturing out into un-surveyed water may be a thing of the past!

Long Island is exactly that…a long island. It is approximately 70 miles long with lots to see so Gypsy Moon and Boto decided to rent a car. We had it from noon to noon the next day so the first day we headed south. Ed volunteered to drive and had some help from the passengers plus the big KEEP LEFT signage to help him drive on the ‘wrong side of the road’. Wow…hard to imagine but Ed hasn’t driven a car since November 9, 2009!
It is less developed to the south so it was mainly a scenic tour the first day. We had packed our lunches and so headed toward the water for a nice lunch spot. While we were eating lunch we took a peek around. There were some goat’s feet hanging from a nearby tree. Just over a bit were the hides being tanned. Then we saw the large rock with blood on it. A local, Andrew, stopped by to see if we wanted any fish and informed us that we were eating at the spot they called The Gallows. Appropriately named!

The next stop was Deans Blue Hole. It is fascinating because you can stand on a sandy bank and only a few feet away the water drops to 663’ deep. What is even more fascinating is that there are Blue Hole diving contests. Apparently the diver stands on the platform and a weighted line drops them. They release the line after getting as deep as they can and surface on their own. We heard that 500 or so feet was the record. YIKES...no gear!

The islands all have an amazing amount of churches on them for the population. There are old churches in ruins and old churches where restoration work has restored them. In the 35 mile drive south we must have passed 20 churches!

On our way back, Vicky had spotted a road that made a loop off the main road (at least on the map). We decided to take the detour for a change of scenery on the way back. The primitive road led us out to the abandoned Salt Ponds and the related support buildings. Then the roads started branching out all over. After several attempts to find the main road back, we ended up back-tracking to the main Queens Highway (highway meaning the one, double lane road that normally runs the length of the island!). OK…Vicky gets to sit in the back tomorrow and isn’t allowed to navigate!

The next day we were off bright and early to the north end of the island. We stopped at Cape Santa Maria for an incredible breakfast and then started our way back to our starting point. The next stop was Stella Maris which is an older resort on the Atlantic side of the island. The photo shows you a natural pool carved out where the tide comes in from both sides. Very cool.
That night the cruisers in Thompson Bay decided to have a bonfire. Everyone brought the typical happy hour food plus their cocktails and met on the beach. It was a great evening on the beach even though the no-see-ums and mosquitoes have started coming out at sunset. We were a bit eaten about the ankles so it is time to bring out the bug spray!

Well, it is time to head back to George Town to rendezvous with La Vie Dasante (John and Peggy Patterson’s boat….the friends that met us for dinner in Marathon, FL). Yes, we have finally started to loop back to places where we have been before. It had to happen eventually as we will be touring the northern end of the Bahamas next. LVD had sailed directly to Georgetown from Stuart, FL only to leave the boat on a mooring ball with plans to come back the end of April. We had a delicious meal with them as they cooked up everything perishable that couldn’t be left on the boat. What they didn’t cook that night went back to Boto so we feasted on egg salad, potato salad, chicken, hot dogs and cookies courtesy of LVD!

We spent several days in George Town provisioning for our trip north back to Staniel Cay to meet up with Gretchen, Harvey and Jake (friends from MN who are coming for a week). Our next stop north was Little Farmer’s Cay again. It is nice to be back in this quaint island. Our friends, Bruce and Dawn on Lady Hawk, are also here. Dawn is an avid fisher-woman but hasn’t fished in the Bahamas in their 3 years of cruising these waters. So, Vicky picked up Dawn the next day and they gathered some conch (for bait) and proceeded to catch 1 trigger fish, 2 parrot fish, 1 sand fish, and 3 conies. Not a bad haul for 3 hours of fishing.

Meanwhile, back at the boat, Ed had is head in the engine compartment doing maintenance on the 57hp Yanmar as well as the 4kW generator. Who would ever believe that he has become mechanically inclined in the last several months?

We are now back at Sampson Cay getting ready for our company. Basically, you can’t buy much more than the basics (except at big cities like Nassau) at the grocery stores so cooking and baking is a must. It was oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies one day, ginger cookies the next and on to banana bread. Next are corn bread muffins and brownies! As a side note from Ed; I’m not allowed to taste any of these baked goods, as they are for our company; I did get to eat all of the burnt ginger cookies though. The weather has been great and we were actually HOT the other day. It won’t be long before we will probably be wishing for that ‘cold front’ weather!