Weekend Update

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday  January 10, 2011

Catch up time!  We rode out the storm in Royal Island with no troubles, but woe to some of the others in that anchorage!  Several boats had trouble with their anchors holding and had middle of the night worries doing the re-set.  Knock on wood for Endurance.

We left Royal Island Saturday morning on a lazy-day schedule planning to go only as far as Spanish Wells, all of about 6 nautical miles.  The wind was still blowing, but it would be blowing behind us, so we pulled the anchor and motored through the cut.  And THEN, we had a sail that makes sailors keep their boats.  I wanted to capture the feel of the wind, the sound of the gentle slapping of the water on the hull, the perfect heel of the boat.  It’s not often I complain about not wanting to stop this db (damn boat) but that sail was near perfection.  15-20 knots behind us; sails trimmed to a set even Charlie would have approved; Disney-esque colors, scenery, and comfort.

We arrived at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven docks to be received by other anchorage mates from Royal Island, with a grand welcoming at tie up.  Messenger and Painkiller had arrived an hour before us. 

The island here looks as if Nova Scotia and Bermuda got together to have a baby.  The island is tiny – half mile wide, three miles long.  The houses are mostly one story, concrete construction, with rainbow color paint…aqua marine, seafoam green, peach, turquoise, emerald blue, raspberry, tangerine….and Bermuda white rooftops.  Each house has a carefully manicured lawn, most with cactus near blooming, bougainvillea, orange trees heavily laden, coconut trees and so many more.  There seems to be a 50/50 split between golf carts and small cars as island transport, with a healthy mix of cyclists and walkers.  Spanish Wells is the fishing capital of the Bahamas.  We’re told all the Red Lobster lobster is supplied from here.  The fishing fleets are remarkable – sparkling clean, no rust, no worn areas where nets or cables have worked away at the vessel, absolutely no mud or dirt or grime.  There aren’t even flies at the fishing docks. 

The local folk sound much like the Newfoundlanders, with a distinct accent so thick it’s difficult to understand at first.  Most of them are cradle to grave Spanish Wells residents and the economy is alive.  The last two fishing years ‘have been rough’ but ‘it’s getting better this year and we’re hoping it stays’.  They are a friendly, kind, proud and proper bunch. 

Sunday morning’s first adventure was of a personal nature.  Tony’s first try-on of his new stocking stuffer:  an electric Remington hair clipper set!  We compromised with the “Number 4” setting (Tess found number 3 from Charleston quite Unacceptable) and let her rip.  All went well until Tony insisted Tess NOT use the earguards provided and “just use the clipper with no attachment” to do around the ears.  I was ¾ of the way around the first ear when I realized I was doing it on the wrong angle.  SO, if Tony needs a permanent blue-tooth implant, the space is all prepared!

After our grooming excitement  I packed a picnic and we headed off first to the local Methodist Church for the morning service (options: Methodist, People’s Church, or Gospel Church).  Although we were distinctly under-dressed, we’re from St. Matt’s and proud of it so we asked permission before entering and tried to stay on the sidelines so as not to offend with our shorts and best shirts.  They didn’t bat an eye.  We toured the island by bicycle after church and had our picnic at the town park at the northern end, continuing our bike exploration.  It’s a hilly place!  The story of the naming of the town is that old Spanish boats came in to port here to re-fill their water tanks with the sweet water from wells they had found here.  The hills would suggest there were certainly better chances for fresh water detainment and filtration than on most of the low-lying cays nearby.

After our biking, we took books to the beach and wandered out on the sand bars in crystal clear ocean water.  We ended our day with an evening’s stroll after dinner to watch a fishing boat come in.  They go out for 4 days to lay lobster “Condo”s – open crates lobster can walk in and out of – they will go back to pull the condos and cull the catch for the right size in a month.  This boat pulled in at 9:30 pm, so clean we thought it was a private charter boat.  The crew disembarked and would return on Monday at 8:00 to leave for another 4 days of setting condos.  With the little time they had in their home port, they were each eager to talk to us about their work, their boat, their family, their island. 

Monday morning we cast off lines for Painkiller and Messenger.  Fairwinds, I hope we meet up again.  Tony set out to try to conquer telecommunications with BahamaTelCo and Tess did the usual household chores – laundry, a grocery store sweep, re-sort and stow.  We might have a data plan set?!?  We have picked up some frozen lobster and grouper to add to the on-board provisions, and we’re ready to make our way through the weather news to set our next course!

Three and a half hours at BTC and I have a new Blackberry with a data-only plan (unlimited).  I now have on board every conceivable telecommunications device known to man.  Let’s see if it works.

Based on Tess’ narrative above, we may stay in the Ba

hamas forever.