The
winter of 2014 will be one for the books for captain and crew of the motor
vessel Let's Dance. After an uneventful
crossing from Florida to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island in January, I turned in
my wet suit and my water wings and flew back to the states. I spent the remainder of the winter in
Charleston, soaking up the history and culture of the many-steepled city. Bill, on the other hand, soaked up mostly
rays as he single-handed Let's Dance through the currents and swells of
Atlantic waters.
Our
"me" time provided learning experiences for us both which we were
happy to share once reunited in April when I flew to Marsh Harbor to reclaim my
naval rank and maritime status aboard our good ship. For my part, I discovered that.........well,
actually, I'm still working on that.
Captain Bill revealed that while alone at sea he never, not even once,
made a bad decision, a wrong turn, a miscalculation. Hmmmm.
Perhaps there is a lesson here for me!
I will think on it.
For one
week of his mostly solo voyage, Bill was joined by son Paul for a fishing
extravaganza. They limited their range
to the deep waters around Eleuthera and had quite a lot of success. Mahi mahi, barracuda, shark and amberjack
fell for their lures as the guys trolled the offshore waters of the
islands. Fresh fish and ice cream for
all! (But not together, I hope.)
So, the
first stop on the reunion tour of Carol and Bill was Man O' War Cay. Having exercised only his mind for the past
three months, Bill was more than ready to stretch his sea legs on an island
walk. We set out to revisit sites from
our first time on this cay three years ago and to find out if some friends were
on island.
Our route
took us up to the Queen's Highway, a nicely paved narrow road that could just
accommodate a pair of golf carts passing.
We stayed to the side, seeking the shade of tree-sized crotons,
overgrown grape trees and glorious bougainvillea. Soon we saw the sign for Lola's and succumbed
to a loaf of her homemade bread. Lola is
getting on now, and probably won't have too many more years of baking and
selling her delicious, warm breads and sweet rolls from her golf cart, so we
were pleased to have gotten the last fresh loaf this day.
We
followed the Queen's Highway to its end, where it changed to a one lane gravel
path, to locate "Seaglass" -- winter home of Anne and Blaine Bowen
from Toronto. Their compound of
teak-shuttered buildings was a welcome sight and we had a great catch up visit
with Anne. As we left, she gifted us
with hothouse tomatoes, basil, parsley and even a bunch of tiny, delicious
bananas. Many thanks, Anne.
We spent
a few days at this friendly marina on Man O' War, enjoying meals at the Dock
& Dine, chatting with fishermen and admiring the locally made Albury
boats. Very relaxing!
Our next
port of call was Green Turtle Cay Marina -- another personal favorite of mine
and the site this particular weekend of a local wedding party. And yes, they could, and did, party! Thundering drum beats got my attention around
midnight and I watched Junkanoo style paraders dance their way down the
dock.....revelers costumed with tall, feathered headdresses and masks. Quite the festive group!
We took a
golf cart into New Plymouth the next afternoon, looking for a mobile pre-paid
data "top-up" card to extend the life of our depleted internet
account. Guess what? The Batelco office is open on Thursdays; this
was Friday. No luck there. Lunch sounded promising, so we went in
search of Sundowner's. They have signs
posted on trees all over the island, so we went to check it out. The bar was closed up tight for us at
noontime and apparently at all times for poor Irene!
Leaving
the land of marinas behind, we motored north for a few miles and anchored just
off Crab Cay. Three years ago the
narrow, tidal beach and shallow waters between Crab and Fiddler Cays were home
to dozens and dozens of sea biscuits. I
couldn't get enough of them then, and I yearned for more now. Humoring me, the Captain steered us to the exact
lat and lon as last visit where we launched the Love Me Tender and set off on
the hunt.
At first,
the pickings looked slim, but when our eyes adjusted to the sandy landscape, we
found them. Fewer this year, but still
prevalent in the shallow turtle grass.
Most were already dead and departed, but the few that we found alive
were quickly returned to their watery homes.
Back aboard Let's Dance I arranged the 22 little sailors in rows to be
admired. Next morning, one had broken
rank, but after seeing my chagrin, Bill admitted to moving the little guy just
to see my reaction. Thereafter, I
corralled the biscuits inside a heavy line in the cockpit so there could be no
further attempts at desertion.
The
reunion tour is going fast, and it's time to continue the voyage northward, so
we spent one last night anchored out under a crescent moon and scattered stars
before heeding the weather warnings beginning to come over the airwaves. Time to find another marina and tie down for
the winds blowing our way.
Let's
Dance......Carol and Bill
