Help Thy Neighbor
Feb 9, 2024
This morning while listening to the cruiser net, my dad tried to get some information regarding a rental car or taxi. We figure if the weather is going to be too crummy for us to want to be in the water, maybe we should try and explore the land.
He called a couple different services to show us around for a day. Having some local knowledge to help guide us around the island definitely sounds like a plus. However the rental car places we contacted didn’t have any cars available or didn’t answer the phone. I guess we’re going with a taxi.
Someone on the cruiser net provided him with a phone number to a guy who ran a taxi service. My dad called him and quickly came to the conclusion that he wanted too much money. Now the plan has evolved to possibly getting a rental car when we reach Long Island; yes there is one in the Bahamas too. My parents were able to do it last time they visited and already know many of the attractions on the island including Dean’s Blue Hole. It is the second deepest blue hole on earth so Jules and I are definitely looking forward to that.
The wind from yesterday has calmed down slightly and we used the opportunity to head into town. As usual, we need more vegetables and my dad wanted to stop at the hardware store. The water was far from flat when we took off and instantly we started getting wet. It didn’t take long before my dad was more wet than dry and I think we all started questioning our decision. The moderate breeze coupled with the lack of sunlight and constant spray over the bow was brutal.
Eventually the safety of Lake Victoria came into view and the torment subsided. The next step of the adventure was to find a spot to park. The dingy dock was fully encumbered with other skiffs to the point where some people had begun tying to the back of others’ boats and crawling across them. My dad drove us around the back side and miraculously someone was leaving as we approached. We happily traded places with them.
Cruiser traffic jam
After tying off we headed to the Exuma Tourism Office. Our hope was to find a map of the area with some points of interest on it, but sadly we ended up with a brochure filled with advertisements. Maybe there just isn’t all that much to do around here. Feeling semi-discouraged, we headed to the grocery store. They had apparently just received some supplies as the vegetables looked beautiful and fresh. We also snagged two more big bags of chicken to help supplement our remaining frozen items.
Next it was time for some lunch. We headed out and ended up at the Sandpiper Cafe. Right outside Jules and I met a young local artist named Emmanual who was selling some custom prints and paintings. He explained to us that he had lived on a few of the Bahamian islands and this was his favorite. It was super refreshing to talk to someone in our age group for a change. There was an awesome mural on the wall behind him that he had created for the cafe and he told Jules and I that he had done several around the island.
He did eveything but the logo with spraypaint
Eager for a new project, Jules offered to try and create a map for him that would guide people around to see his work. He was very interested and wanted to hear all about how she had gotten into making maps. They traded some information and we purchased one of his prints before going inside to have lunch.
Jules is always networking
The cafe had the normal conch and fish items, but I was more interested in the tikka masala. I am a huge fan of Indian cuisine and didn’t realize how much I was missing it until I saw it on the menu. It wasn’t the best I have ever tried, but for an Indian dish on a Bahamian Island it was killer. I even finished my mom’s portion.
After lunch, we divided and conquered our final errands. My dad went to the hardware store, Jules and I went to restock on rum, and my mom went to the other grocery store to try and find the remaining items on her list. I think in the end we were all successful. It took every square inch of backpack and tote bags we brought to carry it but luckily the skiff wasn’t far. We loaded our haul into the small boat and headed back out into the harbor. Naturally the wind and waves had intensified while we shopped and we ended up even more wet on the way home. Don’t worry, the groceries were fine; our bodies shielded them from the icy spray.
Feb 10, 2024
While going through the new-found morning routine of listening to the cruiser net, a familiar voice chimed in. It was Captain Chris of Brown Eyed Girl. He arrived in George Town yesterday. We also heard there was going to be a free cruiser concert that afternoon. Apparently there are quite a few musicians spread across the multitude of boats.
My mom was still feeling under the weather when she woke up so Jules, my dad, and I went into town for some more groceries. This time Jules drove. It was a little touch and go to start, but her confidence is slowly growing. She just needs some more practice and she’ll be a pro in no time. It’s a big difference from driving the big boat; she’s never operated an engine with a tiller rather than a wheel for steering.
I think we were all a little nervous
The general rule is turn the arm in the opposite direction of where you want to go. It takes some getting used to for sure. Once we made it to Lake Victoria my dad took over to park and then we headed for the farmers market. It was somewhat lackluster the first time we went and we hoped that arriving closer to when it started would yield better results. Sadly that was not the case.
There were again two stalls of people, but this time there were some fresh eggs available. I opened the carton to check the eggs and found that one of them was huge. I commented to the seller that I’d like to see the chicken that egg came out of and he absolutely cracked up laughing. We bought three dozen before heading to the grocery store to try and find the remaining items on our list.
Scrounging for vegetables
It’s been an interesting transition from shopping in the U.S. We have adopted an “if you see it and want it, buy it” mindset because you don’t know if you’ll ever see it again. If I operated that way in Colorado, it would drain my bank account rapidly. After making three stops in total, we crossed off four of the six items on our list.
As we were leaving town in the skiff, I noticed Chris tying up at the dock. We stopped and chatted with him briefly. He said he was going to attend the concert this afternoon so we told him we would meet him over there.
Leaving Lake Victoria under the bridge was much more difficult than entering. The tide had begun rushing out of the small opening while waves rolled in from the harbor. The two forces were battling it out creating some large, inconsistent swells that bashed us up pretty good. Jules had to hold the eggs up off of the floor to keep them safe.
When we got back to the boat, my mom was feeling much better. I’m not sure if it was just the Tylenol talking but the difference was night and day. We threw together a quick lunch before packing up to head for the concert. With no real idea of what we were getting ourselves into we packed up four chairs, beers, and cocktails. You can never be too prepared right?
The waves in Elizabeth Harbor were much larger than what we prefer to take on in the skiff. In hopes of making it a little smoother for us my dad drove us through the back way as if we were going to town and then made a beeline across the harbor to the opposite side. The second we left the protection of the shore, the magnitude of the waves amplified massively. We pitched and rolled back and forth like the Altitude Adjustment on our crossing from Florida. Luckily it was short-lived.
Now we had to locate Hurricane Hole Number One and the band which was playing on the roof of a houseboat. We drove through a densely packed anchorage with boats everywhere, rounded the corner, and discovered a horde of skiffs. They lined every inch of beach and dozens of them floated on anchor or attached to mooring balls. I think we found the party.
We didn’t even try squeezing onto the beach
There was a large group rafted together and we asked to join. In total, I think there were eight skiffs tied to one mooring ball and not a single one of us was the owner. There was a huge crowd gathered on the beach and on the far side we could see a houseboat parked with a band squeezed onto the roof. There was someone playing a keyboard, one trombone player, and about half a dozen guitars.
We relaxed in the skiff with our drinks and listened to them play all manner of island-themed music, particularly Jimmy Buffet. I expected nothing less. It couldn’t have been much nicer in that little cove, the sun beat down to the point where I had to get in the water to cool off.
Feeling like a cheeseburger in paradise
While we listened I saw Chris pull in and we invited him to join our cluster. There was a very nice couple from Seattle, Mark and Stacey, that we met as well and after the concert Chris invited the two of them and us back to his boat for happy hour. We formed a disorderly line and followed him back to the Brown Eyed Girl just a few minutes away.
Once we got tied up and climbed aboard the first thing I noticed was how nice the wooden deck felt under my feet; Jules mentioned it too. It was so soft and smooth everywhere we walked. The interior layout of his boat was actually pretty similar to the Altitude Adjustment. There was a fore and aft stateroom both with their own bathroom, a nice comfortable salon area in the center and his kitchen was larger than ours. I was surprised at how spacious it felt seeing as how Brown Eyed Girl is about six feet shorter than Altitude Adjustment.
Chris went down into the galley and in no time had mixed up some rum punches. He gave fair warning that they were dangerous and, after two, I can confirm the validity of that statement. We all went to the roof to hang out and chat, swapping stories about our trip so far and reminiscing about covid times.
We really like the wood decks
Eventually the sun crept low on the horizon and Mark and Stacey took off back to their boat. Rather than endure the rough ride across the harbor, Chris offered to tow our skiff across with his boat. He was hoping for some assistance navigating to Red Shanks and hooking up to a mooring ball.
Racing to get hooked up before dark
Chris hauled in the anchor and we guided him into the cove. I used his boat hook to grab the mooring ball and in no time had him secured. I can imagine it is much more difficult to get hooked up without any help. Finally we headed back to our boat and invited him over for some elk burgers and fries.
Feb 11, 2024
After having a couple of Chris’ rum punches yesterday I think Jules and I were both in need of a real breakfast. Not only did bacon and eggs just sound way too good, but having a piece of bread to absorb some alcohol was a must. After some slight debating I suggested fully-loaded avocado toast.
Now there is a big difference between avocado toast and fully-loaded avocado toast. Rather than just having toast with some green slapped on top of it she and I made crispy bacon and over-easy eggs to pile on. My dad was a bit skeptical at first but I think we’ve successfully changed his mind. It hit the spot so much better than a bowl of cereal.
My dad managed to get a hold of his friend Jack on the radio this morning after the cruiser net and set up a happy hour at four. My parents met Jack and his wife, Jackie, on their first trip through the Bahamas. At the time they were cruisers like my parents but have since opted to trade their boat for something a little more stable: a condo.
While waiting for happy hour to roll around we got set up to watch the superbowl. My mom started a free trial on Paramount Plus while my dad and I got signed in on the TV to make sure it would run smoothly when we got back. After having another lazy day due to the consistent fifteen knot winds it was finally time for happy hour.
We all hopped into the skiff with our drinks and some snacks my mom made. Being moored in Red Shanks left us only about five minutes away from Jack and Jackie’s condo. Jules again got to practice her driving skills in the skiff and is getting better all the time. Once we arrived in front of the condo, Jack came out and directed us into a narrow cut with a small dock inside to get parked. He then led us across the yard to a cute beach house.
Finally, some elbow room
We sat on the deck outside looking over the water and told them about our trip so far while they explained what it was like to live in George Town. They apparently have no need for a car and use bikes to go everywhere; sounds good to me. I went inside and used their bathroom at one point and it is hard to put into words how amazing it was to use a full-sized toilet. It had been far too long.
Jack was gracious enough to offer Jules and I some Yuengling beer which we happily accepted. We went through the couple of cases we bought in Florida very quickly. He even brought us a six pack when we started getting ready to leave. I see why my parents like these two so much. Jack then asked my dad for a ride to another one of their friends boats and he happily took the two of them towards town and dropped them off.
Great friends = Great times
Jules, my mom, and I waited at their condo while he gave them a ride and were greeted by a very sunburnt island cat. Initially he was wary of us, but after some gentle coaxing we gave him some scratches and made friends. Jules and I have been missing our animals badly.
Soon after my dad returned and we headed home to watch our yearly dose of football. It was a little touch and go with the streaming but it’s hard to complain when it’s free. The worst part is we lost connection right as they started overtime and couldn’t get it back. I don’t think our viewership would have helped San Francisco win anyways.
Feb 12, 2024
Sailboaters tend to prefer different conditions for travel than we do. Where we look for very calm beautiful days with small waves, they are searching for a sweet spot in the wind. Most sailors we have talked to aim for wind speeds in the mid to low teens. That of course means that they travel with whatever waves are present at that time.
This morning the seas were predicted to range anywhere from four to six feet and we didn’t even consider traveling. However the wind speeds were favorable enough to draw a few hardy sailors out into the deep blue.
While listening to the cruiser net one of the departing boats named Snow Problem radioed in a distress call. They relayed that their rudder had fallen off rendering them unable to steer their vessel; they were five or six miles offshore and in desperate need of a rescue. I can’t imagine how badly they were getting tossed around in those huge waves without the ability to steer into them.
We listened as a rescue party was assembled and dispatched. The organizer repeatedly attempted to raise the Royal Bahamian Defense Force which is their equivalent of the American Coast Guard, and never received any sort of reply. If I had any faith in the RBDF before it is certainly gone now. Instead, a few upstanding citizens rallied together and headed out to tow the sailboat back to George Town.
In what has become typical fashion the wind was stronger than predicted this morning. Initially we were all excited at the prospect of paddleboarding, but the ever-constant gusts rapidly discouraged that idea. After lunch, we headed to check out a different beach that my parents’ friend Jackie recommended.
The clouds didn’t last long and it got HOT
It is located on Crab Cay which she said she walks to from their condo all the time. Crab Cay is an island like many others in the Bahamas that began development into a town or resort but failed. This of course means that a group or individual owns the island and, in this case, don’t allow trespassing. Jackie told us she has never had anyone approach or say anything to her about needing to leave so we went ahead and rolled the dice ourselves. If someone shows up and tells us to leave I suppose we will do just that.
The beach was rather small with sand that resembled mud in the way it sank beneath our feet. Jules broke out the frisbee we found earlier in the trip and we all tossed it around for a short time before getting overheated. My mom strolled to one end of the beach and back while the rest of us waded into the water. Jules immediately made friends with the tiny fish that gathered around her ankles. She hypothesized that they were feeding on something in the sand that was suspended as we walked.
Everytime she moved more tiny fish appeared
After finding a couple of small shells and collecting another full bag of plastic, we vacated the beach and explored our way back to the boat. My dad drove us through some shallow channels of water nestled between small spits of land and eventually we appeared on the far side of the Red Shanks mooring field. Shortly after we got back to the boat, a group of people in a skiff recognized my dad and stopped to talk.
There were two couples in the dinghy that we had met all the way back at Warderick Wells. One couple owns a power boat named Mojo and the other two people were the owners of the sailboat Snow Problem that had lost their rudder this morning. Someone had successfully towed them back into Elizabeth Harbor and gotten them anchored nearby. Unfortunately for them they had been left out in the open with no protection whatsoever and were trying to see if they could possibly move into Red Shanks and get on a mooring ball.
They were hoping to find some help to tow them the short distance and get them situated. After a short discussion with us, and very little actual planning, we loaded up in the skiff and went to assist. I was somewhat skeptical at this point that we could do much to help as their sailboat is close to forty feet long and our skiff is barely over ten.
Luckily the engine and propeller on their boat worked fine so we just needed to steer. It was much easier said than done. My dad grabbed a yolk setup that we could attach to both sides of our skiff creating an even connection point. After securing it to the eyelets on either side of the stern, Captain George of Snow Problem handed us a rope that he had tied to his bow. We clipped on and began letting it out behind us.
Who thought this was a good idea?
At the same time, Captain John of Mojo secured a second line to his skiff from the opposite side of the sailboat. He and his wife started letting rope out behind them and promptly got it fouled around their prop. Luckily it was a fairly easy fix, but the wind and current in the middle of the harbor pushed him around the nose of the sailboat and into us. In his defense, it was a lot to try and keep track of while also maneuvering his skiff in the elements.
After a minute or two, he managed to free the rope from his prop and get reoriented in front of Snow Problem. Next we had to go ahead and pull the sailboat forward slowly so George could haul in his anchor. His wife Carmen operated the throttle and urged the boat forward until the anchor was brought up. Next came the fun part.
My dad and John both tugged on the front of the sailboat and began navigating it around the visible rocks guarding the entrance to Red Shanks. Thankfully there was plenty of room to make a nice wide turn around them because Snow Problem did just about everything but tow straight. George even hopped in his skiff and tried to reduce the swing by attaching himself to the stern of the boat. All he ended up doing was going for a wild ride and he got yanked forcefully from one side to the other while scrambling to try and offset the sway.
I’m sure the whole scene looked absolutely ridiculous. The rope attached to John’s skiff was longer than ours to prevent us from smacking together. That in turn meant that when the sailboat swung hard toward our side the rope attached to the other skiff nearly decapitated us. Jules was put in charge of catching the line as it came in our direction and holding it off us. She did great.
Keeping a watchful eye on the other rope
The entire time we were pulling, the sailboat was oscillating drastically. It would sway to one side, stop, and then sway back nearly one hundred and eighty degrees in the opposite direction. It was literal chaos. At one point, Carmen gave the boat some throttle and, coupled with John pulling hard on his side, we ended up getting into a rather precarious situation. Due to the angle of the rope tied to our skiff, my dad was unable to make a turn to get us back in front of Snow Problem. After about a minute of fighting, we ended up behind the sailboat and began getting towed backwards.
Initially it didn’t seem like too bad of a problem. However, the back wall of the skiff where the motor is lower than the bow and sides to allow the prop to be submerged. This means that it is the easiest place for water to begin filling the boat. The forward momentum of Snow Problem coupled with the opposing waves caused a moment of sheer panic as water cascaded into the bottom of our skiff. I immediately went to the front to try and reduce the weight in the stern and we all screamed in unison to let George know we had a serious problem.
Luckily the yolk we had attached to the tow rope was clipped with a carabiner, and George was able to reach it and quickly release us before we got swamped. Crisis averted. Keep in mind that we were only about halfway to the destination at this point. I snagged the end of the rope back from George and, once my dad had us situated back in front of the sailboat, I reattached us to the rope and we went back to towing.
Very gently, we turned the floating disaster behind us in toward the mooring field and my nerves started to boil. Until this point there was plenty of room for error as the channel was wide enough to accommodate the archaic carnival ride we had created. But once we made the turn, the rocky shoreline on either side of us tapered in towards Snow Problem and the stakes got much higher. We got super lucky that the first five or six mooring balls in the field were empty and we didn’t have to tow the sailboat past any other boats to reach their spot.
Slowly but surely we tugged the sailboat toward a mooring and, once it was in position, my dad unhooked their rope from us. He handed the end of it to me and I managed to slip it through the eyelet on the mooring ball. Now the challenge was getting enough of the rope fed through to be able to hand it back up to George who had just climbed out of his skiff and back onto his boat.
The momentum of Snow Problem coupled with the wind dragging it away from the ball caused me to have to hold the entire weight of the sailboat for some time before we could get the rope tied off. That definitely didn’t do any favors for my recovering shoulder, but I held strong regardless. At least now I can brag that I held an entire sailboat in place with my barehands.
Don’t worry guys, I got it
The second George had the rope secured to the cleat, I think everyone involved took a massive deep breath. Not only was the stressful part over and done with but now we could all stop shouting bloody murder at one another in an attempt to communicate. I’m worried we may all lose our voices.
George and Carmen thanked us up and down before sitting down to relax after what I am sure was an extremely taxing day. I can’t imagine the emotional roller coaster ride they endured. After completing our good-deed-of-the-day we returned to the Altitude Adjustment for dinner. Hopefully we will have good boating karma from here on out.
Hard to beat a killer afterglow
Feb 13, 2024
My hopes of a relaxing early morning paddleboard were dashed by the wind once again. The six knot prediction from Windfinder was inaccurate; I’m guessing it was closer to ten or twelve. We have officially decided to say goodbye to George Town tomorrow morning so my parents took one last trip into town.
They dropped off one last bag of trash and after making the rounds to the grocery stores and farmers market were still unable to find corn tortillas or arugula. I guess fish tacos are just too much to ask for. While they ran errands Jules and I tried our luck paddleboarding in the wind. Initially it didn’t seem too bad, but after creating some distance between us and the boat we realized it was going to be some work to get back.
It might just be my imagination, but I swear the gusts escalated right as we turned around. We battled our way across the mooring field to the northern shore in hopes of getting some shelter; it didn’t help much. Rather than taking our time and relaxing we had to dig hard with the paddles to gain any ground at all. The silver lining was that we procured another pool noodle and drink koozie while fighting the wind.
The sun beat down, and despite the constant gusts of wind, created a very hot day. It wasn’t long after my parents returned that the floaties were in the water. Luckily the water temperature had come up a few degrees in the last day or two and we were able to relax rather than shiver.
Talk about a very near miss
I grabbed the new pool noodle we found and jumped in to give it a test drive. It was actually big enough to support me, which is more than I can say for the one we already had. While we were relaxing, John from Mojo cruised by to go help George on Snow Problem try and move some very tight bolts. They needed to remove the shaft that held their rudder in order to take some measurements for a replacement. Again, it was easier said than done.
The shaft itself is about four inches in diameter and has some beefy bolts holding it in place. My dad grabbed a couple of his biggest wrenches and headed over to assist. He handed George the tools and after a combination of grunting, cursing, and moral support from my dad the bolt finally broke loose; our triumphant yells resonated through the cove. The only thing left for Snow Problem to do now is wait for the new part to arrive. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long.
Next the four of us headed to happy hour with Mark and Stacy on their boat One Life. They had joined us in Red Shanks this morning and graciously invited us over. We hung out in their cockpit and watched the sunset before heading home to make dinner. Of course I managed to leave Julia’s water bottle sitting on the deck and didn’t realize it was missing until the skiff was already put away and it was very dark. We couldn’t wait until the morning because the plan was to head for Long Island early. The next best option was to take a paddleboard over there and retrieve it.
Initially I was a little nervous to get on the board at night in the ocean, but the wind had all but ceased to exist and the water was absolutely glass. Jules accompanied me on the rescue mission and we took off into the inky black night equipped with a tiny flashlight and her phone light. After about ten seconds, we both realized how amazing it actually was.
I wonder whats lurking below the surface
It was so still we could see the stars reflecting on the water. We both stared up in awe at the cloudless sky and basked in the wonderful silence. The only audible sounds other than an occasional voice were our paddles gently breaking the water’s surface. I felt like we were on a stealth mission. I never even pulled out the flashlight. We took our time both going and coming to soak in the new-found activity. I honestly can’t wait for another still night like that to do it again. Just try not to let your imagination wander too far while floating on the dark waters.