Regatta Time

It’s a hot, still day on the water, a rarity since we’ve arrived. We’re getting ready to go to “Beach Church” a half-hour non-denominational Christian service that the cruisers themselves organize. It appears as if the choir is the highlight of the service. Should be a great time to reflect upon the gift of being here as well as all the other gifts we have been given in this life. No gifts for me yesterday, however, as Wayne and I played in the first “tennis mixer”. This event was in preparation for the tennis tournament scheduled for “Regatta Week”. I’ll try to explain Regatta Week a little later in the post. At any rate, we had a wet 20+ minute dinghy ride into town, followed by a 12 or 15-minute hike out to February Point, a lovely condo resort close to George Town. We were immediately grateful for the air-conditioned tennis clubhouse, clean and spacious bathrooms, and general upscale nature of the entire facility. The event had been announced as an opportunity for players of all levels (A, B, C and D = me) to get together for a fun time to start working on teaming up players based on their ability level. So, 9 “A” level players show up and me. Wayne and I partner for the first doubles game and I am instantly struck by the fact that I am the only idiot unable to play tennis on the court. After we lose our first match, it is suggested that everybody change partners and play with someone new. This strikes fear into my heart, as I will have to inflict my lack of ability on a stranger. I mention that I might prefer to play with Wayne if I can. The organizer does not hear me, and starts directing people to pair up with new people. One of the gals there says, “I would but she whined about not wanting to….” The other shoe drops and my self-esteem hits rock bottom. I am NOT having fun. OK, so I go through the whole thing with various partnerships trying to be a good sport. Each new partner wants me to stand here or stand there, do this not that, etc. on and on. Everyone else is having a great game, as long as I am not on their team. Well, they are not going to get me off the courts, I can tell you that much. So I stick out the entire event which earns grudging respect from a few and even some scattered praise for being a plucky beginner. After submitting to this torture, the payoff is a big, beautiful shower and a real washing of the hair. First time since Nassau, that would be a month. Heaven. Never mind that by the time we walk back to town we are sweaty again. My hair is out of the braids and clean, clean, clean! It even smells great. Forget tennis humiliation, this was worth it. Wayne had a great time and admitted that the gals were actually of an incredible level. He and his friend “Rockin’ Ron” the Volleyball King squared off against the two top female players, and lost! These gals were GOOD. In addition to the clean, fragrant hair the benefit of this event is that now I do not have to participate in the tennis tournament and can stay on the beach that day to help with the Children’s Regatta Event.

Regatta Week: a week of mainly silly and sometimes serious activities designed to keep the cruising community of George Town motivated toward some end more purposeful than random and frequent alcohol consumption. Events range from the aforementioned tennis tournament to “Coconut Challenge” (four people in one dinghy armed each with one flipper attempting to collect as many floating coconuts as possible). Of course there are things for me like Bridge and Trivial Pursuit and things for Wayne like Volleyball and any other number of silly and serious events including a real sailboat regatta. Each day at 8:00 am the VHF radio waves are animated by the Cruiser’s Net, announcing the days’ activities, the Regatta preparation and events, and a kind of tradio of those offering stuff and those needing stuff. The cruisers earn “points” for their participation in Regatta events – I’m not kidding – and the boat with the most points earns some dubious honor as being the greatest participants in the year’s Regatta Week. The event opens with a black and white masquerade dance for which we are even now contemplating the making of our masks. It ends with a variety show, for which Wayne has written a quirky little 12-bar blues jam. He and I collaborated on the words, and although he insists I sing while he plays I think the crowd will be laughing at the words themselves more than my singing. We are looking forward each to our own events (his physical and mine “intellectual”) as well as getting a couple of crazies to get into our dinghy for the Coconut Challenge. If you are still wondering about this all, please review the definition of Regatta Week.

On to the people: we mentioned Pam and Oliver on Dajarlo before. They are both so delightful it’s hard to say much more. Pam has a voice that sounds like elves laughing and fairies twinkling. She always has a smile for everyone, and when she is not announcing the Cruisers Net it’s just not the same. Then there’s Rockin’ Ron and Karen on Sea Dancer. Ron is not only the organizer of the “A” league volleyball players, he’s also the DJ for the dances. He’s a great, friendly guy with a multitude of talents not the least of which is a serious Jitterbug ability. He spins discs for the cruisers every other week or so at the Chat and Chill and we all love dancing under the stars, looking out at the beautiful Bahamian water and the lovely Casuarina trees. Dances start and end early, and all there have a wonderful time. Karen is a great partner for Ron – when they get together on the dance floor it’s as if she is super-glued to him. We are looking forward to another dance this Tuesday, and Wayne is helping Ron with a little carpentry project to add lights all around. Ooopppsss, well time to go to “church”. More later!

More G'town

Here's a couple of photos of downtown George Town: main street, me in front of the Computer Mecca and hi-tech center, and Wayne carrying the laundry to the laundromat (sorry it won't rotate correctly). We are still having a gas with all the activites - some we participate in, some we don't. Yesterday they organized a "dinghy float" - people rafted up their dinghies and brought coctails and hors d'oeuvres and floated around the bay togther. We did pass on that one, but this day camp for adults just keeps comin with the crazy ideas. We are loving the great weather and new friends from all over the world, more portraits soon as time is limited today. The most wonderful thing recently is that a lovely gentleman from Canada (Karl) somehow was exposed to our blog and offered us to look at HIS trimaran which is here in G'town! Life is great, the good energy keeps flowing all around.

Lovely George Town

Here are two views of the George Town/Elizabeth Harbor taken from the top of the largest hill upon which there is a huge monument to help sailors find the entrance. The harbor is actually just the space between Great Exuma and Stocking Island. It provides a lot of protection and a lot of activity. We have made SO MANY wonderful new friends! There is a couple from Minnesota who sailed here in their beautiful big Hans Christian - about 40-foot monohull. Their names are Klaus and Rachel. She's a massage therapist and reikki practitioner with a large holistic practice, and he just retired as an electrical plant supervisor. Wayne's out snorkeling with them now, as I use this brief time with a good connection to post this blog post up with a couple of photos. Klaus is a wonderful, outgoing gentleman with an endless sense of humor, a red beard, freckles, and a triangular tuft of hair crowning his head. He is very happy-go-lucky and he and Wayne are having a great time playing beach volley ball. Rachel is very tall, imposing, and intense. She is definitely the driver of the team. She was absolutely determined to sail all the way to the Maritimes, and so instead of taking the "easy" way like we did through the Erie Canal, they did the Welland and sailed all the way up and out. Wow! We enjoyed a lovely happy hour with them a couple of days ago and marveled at all the teak, the stained glass windows, and general "posh" down-below of their boat. In the meantime, we are dreaming about the possibility of trading up to a 40-foot trimaran. Not at all the same kind of boat, but more to our liking - a little funky but fast. We met another lovely couple in Norman's Cay - Fran and Mort aboard their 34-foot trimaran Alato. We have been thinking about it since, and yesterday they arrived in George Town! They lent us a book called "The Case for the Cruising Trimaran" and I think Wayne is hooked. Sounds great to me, now just how do we afford this? It pays to dream, and then act upon the dream, otherwise it may never happen. SO....we are slowly making inquiries. Another lovey couple we have met recently - Oliver and Pam from Toronto - invited us to stop by their 40-foot Beneteau last night (Dajarlo). Again we were impressed with the boat, but a monohull of that size is big and heavy with a 6-foot draft while a trimaran has daggerboards which can be lifted to create a 2.9 foot draft and can sneak into places no monohull could dream of. Pam and Oliver are just about the social center of George Town, and the nicest folks you could ever meet. Olli has a windsurfboard, mast and sail and told us we could use it any time. Wow, that really got us going, so tomorrow we hope to windsurf across the bay. What a life!

Exuma Life

Life in the Exumas is usually gentle, mild, pleasant and fun. As a matter of fact, we may be having too much fun! The pictures above are from Warderick Wells, a park/nature preserve where boaters leave a piece of driftwood with their boat name on top of the highest hill, and Staniel Cay where we enjoyed outstanding hospitality. We'll post up pictures of George Town as soon as we have some! We've been SO busy just getting to know people and events. I have started to offer Pilates to the cruiser community twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I always have 15 or 20 people, and they rave about it. It is extraordinary to be able to do this on a gorgeous beach, and the positive karma it generates is indescribable. I have also been able to barter quite a bit of jewelry, and have had several commissions. I have created some unique earrings from the shells on the beaches on the ocean side of Stocking Island, and hope to bring back enough shells to make a bunch in Marquette. I'm learning to play bridge, and that's about all the time I have. Wayne and I run almost every morning on a gorgeous, deserted beach about 10-minutes away from where we are anchored, followed by a skinny little dip in the turquoise water. We have found some splendid, fragrant long-needled pine trees and after our run and splash Wayne works in small clay figures and I stretch, read, etc. The beaches in George Town are each given names for their primary activities: we are anchored near Hamburger beach as the Peace and Plenty (used to) operate a little lunch place there. The main activities including bridge, dominoes, basket weaving (really, no kidding on that one) and various other games are held on Volley Ball Beach. There is Sand Dollar beach where you can find lovely sand dollars, and a variety of other, smaller beaches. All of them offer gorgeous, soft pink sand and incredible views. Sometimes the hub-bub of Volley Ball Beach is too much for Wayne, and he spends an afternoon just hanging out on the boat. I usually make the 10-minute treck via dinghy to continue to learn how to play bridge and to pander my wares. It's SO FUN to have finally created a unique piece of jewelry of my own design, and I have offered my fellow cruisers the opportunity to bring me their shells for a pair of their own. Life is sweet here in the Bahamas, warm breezes, friendly people of all colors and languages, and the chance to create - learn - live - love - breathe - play - exercise - meditate - and create.

St Francis Superbowl Party

We're out and about on foot in George Town after a fun-filled Super Bowl party at the St. Francis resort last night. What an exciting game. The mix of cruisers was great - Patriot fans, New York fans, Americans, Canadians, and folks from as far away as South Africa! Wouldn't you know that attempting to get into the dinghy for the ride home, Wayne lost his grip on the dock and I ended up in the drink. We got back no problem other than a salty, soggy girl with a moderately grumpy attitude. Today we are trying to get "stuff done" in George Town. Drinking water, gas for the dinghy, assorted groceries, a trip to the little library, and using the internet within a stone's throw of the antenna. The signal does reach out to the boat, but it is so weak it is just annoying. We hear it's nasty up north, and are so glad to be in the gentle trade winds and on the beautiful, sunny, pink-sand beaches of Stocking Island. Not much to say - the next month or so will be more of the same I am sure. There's never a lack of activities on the Volley Ball beach, and so my current project of learning to play bridge is only one of the attractions. I also have managed to barter some jewelry and start teaching pilates a couple days a week. Wayne is busy becoming a Volleyball expert, and learning to spear fish. It's a rough life, but someone has to do it...

Fun in the sun

Staniel Cay was the most boater-friendly place in our trip down the Exuma chain – until George Town that is. We enjoyed a 2-hour service at the Baptist Church on Staniel, replete with much singing and fantastically dressed ladies in full millinery finery. Big ladies in bright colors and unthinkable hats dominated the small sanctuary, offering big hugs as well. Most of the service was spent singing hymns, followed by a fiery sermon from the preacher. Afterwards, we shifted gears (and clothing) and played our last game of tennis. We never got to dive the Thunderball cave, as the weather turned foul that afternoon. Monday morning we got up early and set sail for Cave Cay. Once there, we decided to take a marina one last time, and were the only boat at the extremely well-protected Cave Cay marina in the Exumas best natural hurricane hole. The marina is still largely under construction, but we managed to get a shower and do our laundry. We wanted to support them, as they are the most “green” marina in the Exumas, utilizing primarily solar power and growing their own vegetables. Tuesday early morning we took off for George Town on a nice east-northeast wind at about 15 knots. Our first challenge was the Cave Cay Cut – heading out into the ocean from the inside or “banks” side of the Exumas. The Cut is deep, not too wide, but neither is the boat. We made it no problem. After about 30 miles of big ocean sailing, we approached our second big challenge – the George Town Harbor entrance. It is surrounded by coral reefs and shallow shoals, and requires navigation of four reasonably exact legs to get safely in. We marshaled all our resources – GPS points, compass, charts, and written description of what to head for, and braved our way in. The written descriptions are the best: line up the Smith Cays with the houses on the highest hill behind them…head for Simon’s Point which has two highly visible pink houses…etc. We made it no problem, and dropped the anchor at monument beach amidst what has been called the largest floating trailer park on earth. There are literally hundreds of boats here! So far we have enjoyed a night out at Eddie’s Edgewater and dinner at the Peace and Plenty, a gorgeous pink sand beach for running which is usually entirely deserted, an introduction to what’s happening via the Cruiser’s Net (broadcast every morning at 8am on VHF 68) and an expedition to Volley Ball Beach. True to it’s name, Volley Ball Beach boasts sufficient facilities for 4 games of volleyball to take place simultaneously, as well as chairs and picnic tables for other activities. The Chat-n-chill bar and grill serves lunch and dinner as well as beverages. This is the epicenter of George Town Cruiser Life. I have started to learn how to play bridge in the afternoons, thanks to the willingness of Bill on “Nice and Easy” and his assistants. Wayne is not quite as interested in the social life, but plans on going to play some pick up games of volleyball. We’re also learning how to really relax now, knowing that for at least 6 weeks we don’t have to go anywhere else. Regrettably, internet is difficult – the sole provider of wi-fi lives in a small shack near the marina and his antenna is not extremely powerful. BUT, with persistence we can get a weak signal at the boat or just bite the bullet and go into town. Telephone service is unreliable and prohibitively expensive. But in some ways it’s just as well – learning how to relax involves being at peace with oneself and the world around you. The less you know about the world around you, the easier! Although our hearts and home are always in Marquette, our current world is that of sailboats, cruisers, sun and sea. What a delightful place to be. We are heading in to the little library this morning to check out some books on Bahamian history, and hope to come back not only having learned about the life of leisure, but also about the lovely people who live on these islands.