Plus, not one, but two willing and even eager female crew members. Wow! For the crossing from Florida to the Bahamas this winter, I enlisted the company of good friend Ann who currently lives in Orlando. Ann and the captain were running buddies back in Houston in the 70's -- pre-Carol and way pre-Let's Dance. So, with two to one odds, we readied for the 60 mile sea cruise. Ann was given the safety lecture, taught how the heads and showers work, cautioned to hold the handrails while moving about the cabin and even shown the location of the ditch bag -- just in case!
To ease Ann into the lifestyle, we motored for only an hour on Day One -- from our West Palm Beach marina to an anchorage off Peanut Island in the Lake Worth inlet. Four years ago, on our very first ever trip aboard Let's Dance, Bill and Captain Bernie (our very patient training captain) were flashed by a boatload of almost bikini clad girls and I believe that Bill is still hoping that if he hangs around the area long enough, they will come back. To date they have not, but hope remains.
The next day we scooted offshore down to Miami to anchor in our customary spot near South Beach. We narrowly missed a too close encounter with a cruise ship while I was at the helm. Bill was on the flybridge lowering our antennas so we could fit under a 35 foot bridge. I swear it wasn't there just a second before! When we had all calmed down we launched the Love Me Tender and took a short ride into shore for a wonderful lunch at Joe's Stone Crab.
On Day Three of the saga we motored on down to a quiet anchorage in Biscayne Bay. At least it was quiet when we arrived. By dusk there were dozens of boats of all sizes, makes and conditions anchored or rafted up together and each one had their own tunes blaring. Salsa, reggae and rap echoed off the shore and we felt like we were inside a floating juke box. About 10 pm a police helicopter circled the bay, shining his searchlight over the revelers. This seemed to serve as a visual "last call" for the boaters, as they soon disbanded and our peaceful anchorage was restored.
Finally, the weather gods give the sign and we are good to go -- Captain and the all-female crew are off to the Bahamas at last! Nine and a half hours later we drop anchor off Great Isaac Rock. We are 67 nautical miles from Florida, floating beside an uninhabited bit of rock that is littered by abandoned pink stucco cottages and a lighthouse that hasn't worked in 40 years. Yes, Ann! We're here! Welcome to the Bahamas!
On Day Six of the now epic voyage, we landed at the Port Lucaya Marina, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. The Immigration Officer was on us in a flash, and we swore our only stores were food and water. (Best they don't know about the ice cream!) The marina is hoppin' big time.....a boat named Strip Center is tied up across the dock and our next door neighbor (a rather brassy broad from Baltimore) drops by to alert us to the evening's entertainment. She sweet talks the local fishermen into parting with fish carcasses, ties them (the carcasses, not the fishermen) to a rope and lowers them into the marina waters next to her boat. You guessed it! Shark feeding frenzy. Yuck!
Anyway, we made good use of our one day in Freeport by visiting the Rand Nature Center to check out the local bird population. Ann is an ace birder and spotted two new "lifers" for her resume....a Bahamas mockingbird and an Emerald hummingbird. Good job!
We followed our birding expedition with a quick stop at the Batelco storefront to re-up our Bahamas cell phone minutes and then found a beach front restaurant for a burger. Bill spotted a pair of bronzed young ladies in neon spandex strutting their stuff nearby.....do you sense a theme developing here?? Ann and I had to remind him that we, too, are pretty hot mamas. Hadn't that parrot at the nature center whistled enthusiastically as we walked by? And hadn't that lonely male peacock in the cage spread his spectacular plumage and preened to curry our favor? They had indeed! So there!
Tomorrow one dream voyage comes to an end for Captain Bill, but another begins. Ann and I, the newly christened Bahama Mamas, will fly from Freeport to Ft. Lauderdale, our enlistment up aboard Let's Dance. Captain Bill, however, will continue the quest alone,,,,with a super seaworthy vessel, calm seas, light winds and only slightly less ice cream. Living the dream!
Let's Dance......Carol & Bill
