Nirvana

The day dawns pleasantly, and the Long Island rally fleet heads off in a variety of directions; some go back to George Town, some to Calabash Bay at the north end of Long Island, and two of us steel ourselves for the long sail over to Conception Island, a jewel of a small uninhabited island further east, out in the open ocean,  and part of the national park system.  Once clearing the headlands of Cape Santa Maria we find ourselves with a fifteen mile beat to windward.  It shouldn’t be a big deal - we are doing fine on starboard tack but once we go over to port progress comes to a screeching halt. Our speed drops from 6 1/2 knots to 3 knots, and we are pointed back towards Long Island.  Are we dragging a net?  Is there something wrong with the boat? After a while we finally see the small current arrows on the chart that indicate a contrary current where Exuma Sound joins the ocean, and we make the wise decision to drop sail and motor the rest of the way of our now over 50 mile trip.

We enter the west bay of Conception Island by late afternoon and realize that it has been more than worth the effort. We have found nirvana!  The color gradient of blues and turquoise reflect the rapid change in depth from over 7000 feet in the ocean to the shallows of the shoreline.   

The bay at Conception Island

There is only one other boat here in a several mile long crescent beach, but that won’t last for long.  

All this beauty just for us!

 As we pull in, a few other boats join us, and we know of more that intend to sail in tomorrow. We putter around a bit in the dinghy and walk the isolated, pristine beach – ours are the only footprints here. 

The clear view to the west provides us with a spectacular sunset, and the lack of ambient light other than our few anchor lights makes for excellent star gazing.

The next morning we are awakened by the shrill song of tropic birds circling our boat.  These beautiful white birds with streaming long tail feathers are rarely seen, and we have many overhead.  High tide will be shortly so we take the dinghy into the interior mangrove creeks to search for the plentiful, friendly, and curious turtles that, according to the cruising guide, populate these swamps.  What we find are shy and timid sea turtles that are determined to keep us from a close up encounter.  They are here, though, as the mangroves provide a nursery for turtles and sharks.

The mangrove creeks where turtles appear as moving black circles

We spend the afternoon exploring more of the shoreline by dinghy.  At a small rocky islet nearby we find a colony of brown boobies. They stream out of holes in the rocks in an effort to encourage our departure.  Nearby is a vast reef structure we snorkel. The variety and health of the coral is impressive, but like most places in the Bahamas, we are disappointed with the quantity and size of the tropical fish. I lose my enthusiasm when I see large black creature swimming around a distant coral head. It might have been a ray; it might have been a shark, but I’m not sticking around to find out.  The sharks out here aren’t necessarily the friendly, harmless nurse sharks we encounter elsewhere.

Late afternoon several other boats we know sail into the harbor. The setting demands a beachside happy hour so we go from boat to boat to invite the cruisers to the evening festivities. Rock slabs above the sand provide a perfect table, and we are joined by a diverse group of boats hailing from the States, French Canada, and Italy, with the chatter a mix of English, French, and Italian. 

Not a bad table for the hors d'ouvres, eh?

After a little wine, we provincial American women are giggling as the four men from the Italian boat have come dressed in speedos. It will be a happy hour that few of us forget due to both the setting and the interesting participants.

Our new multilingual friends

One could easily spend days at Conception Island but everyone decides to leave the next morning as there is a possibility of strong westerly winds the following day, and due to the rapid shoaling of the water, this is a dangerous anchorage in those conditions.  We head back to George Town on a fast 50 mile reach while several other boats go north to Cat Island where there is better but perhaps not optimal protection. As it works out, the westerly winds are briefer and lighter than predicted, but we are still content with our decision.  When we reach George Town we hear of a sailboat that sank that morning about 20 miles further north.  It had struck some submerged object that was adrift and in a half an hour went down in several thousand feet of water.  The boat had anchored nearby us in George Town a few weeks ago, and we are relieved to hear the couple aboard evacuated the boat safely and were pick up within a half hour.  It is a sad ending, though, to someone’s journey to paradise. The tragedy impresses upon us the need to take every safety precaution possible in this otherwise unforgiving environment.

George Town and Beyond

We are still in George Town.  The weather has been decidedly uncooperative for the first half of March. The anchorage has been so rough that for five days we haven’t even launched the dinghy. On the plus side, that’s a good time to get the taxes done. And, finally the boat gets a good fresh water wash down. Between blows there are still activities to entice us off the boat.  We stay through the conclusion of regatta, going to the Bahamian vs. Cruisers softball game. We discover our side is playing the Bahama’s national championship team, and the results are nothing short of pathetic.  The twelve year old on their team can outplay anyone on ours, and all the cheating and treachery devised on our part still leaves us way behind – good thing the score board isn’t working.  It’s all in fun, though, and raises some money for the Family Island Regatta.  We attend the final regatta dance and awards ceremony on the beach.  The Seven Seas Cruising Association sponsors a lunch at the St. Francis Resort that draws almost 90 people. One of the cruisers, a professional musician, provides a several hour long performance on the deck at Chat and Chill at sunset – a postcard beautiful setting with outstanding music.  We will look him up in Charleston when we get back to the States. 

George Town is sponsoring the Bahamian Music and Cultural Festival on our last weekend so we hop the water taxi to town with about 15 other cruisers.  We stop at the festival grounds but nothing much is happening – just a few stands with food and displays of native crafts and art work.  It is worth mentioning that my meager basket making pales in comparison to what the natives produce. We then proceed to the Peace and Plenty Hotel, a long time George Town establishment, for a buffet dinner on their deck overlooking the harbor and a night of Rake and Scrape music. Rake and Scrape is a Bahamian tradition and consists of a metal saw scraped by some sort of tool, a deep bass goat-skin drum, usually (but not tonight) a wash tub bass, assorted electric guitars, and a keyboard.  It’s loud, lively, and very danceable. Most of the music seems Caribbean in nature, but we laugh when we hear John Denver’s “West Virginia” – seems a bit out of context. We stop again at the festival grounds on the way back to the water taxi and find that Gospel Night is well underway.  It’s a bit more crowded and definitely loud and upbeat, but the real crowds will come on Friday and Saturday nights to hear groups from all over the country.

But it is finally time to leave.  Goodbyes are being said as many of the boats head out to return as fast as possible to the States. The sentiments remind us of the day before summer break during our college years as people try to match up destinations and make promises to get together at some point during the summer months.

Our weather guru says the second half of March will be much more benign so we head southeast in a rally (low key race) with almost thirty other boats to Long Island. While some of the rally participants are heading down to the Caribbean, this is the furthest south we will venture this year. At the beginning of the trip we motor between many reefs but once out in the open water we set sail in perfect conditions.  The actual race begins at a GPS waypoint, and we then reach about twelve miles to the entrance to Thompson Bay.  Just inside the bay and one tack away is the committee boat, a motor catamaran which is taking finishes.  We get a great windshift approaching the finish and are able to tack sooner.  We skim by the committee boat as they stare wide eyed at our gutsy finish. 

Our eye popping finish as photographed by the committee boat

The rally has a number of activities planned.  The first evening we all head to an isolated beach in the bay for drinks and snacks.   

Happy hour on the beach at Thompson Bay

The next day features lunch at the Thompson Bay Inn, a traditional Bahamian restaurant.  In between time, Burt is helping the race committee figure results on a spread sheet – with so many different types of cruising boats it isn’t an easy task.  By the next evening the results have been tabulated, and we all head to the Long Island Breeze Resort for the awards dinner and closing dance.  It’s a lovely location with a huge deck overlooking the bay and anchorage.   

Burt surveys the deck at Long Island Breeze before the party begins

Surprise, surprise – our wild finish has garnered us two awards: first place in the A fleet and the now coveted Grey Poupon award (a relabeled jar of Grey Poupon mustard) for the boat finishing so close to the committee boat that they could easily hand off the mustard. We all have a good laugh, but we are also very proud of our finish in our first race with Exuberant - we had some good competition.  As an outcome of our racing performance and Burt’s spreadsheet ability, Burt is now on the race committee for next year’s regatta. The evening concludes with several hours of dancing under the stars.

But the fun isn’t over yet.  The winds have picked up, and we’re staying at Long Island for another couple of days.  Long Island is indeed long (70 miles) and narrow. Spread out over its length are many small settlements linked by one paved road. The sparse population numbers somewhere around 3500.   While still relatively barren, the island has some agriculture, and we see several groves of banana trees. We take a bus trip to the southern end of the island on a school bus.  We first stop at the ruins of a church built in the 1500’s by Spanish missionaries and later restored by the Anglican Church.  

Church ruins on Long Island

 A little further is the Long Island Museum where we hear the history of how residents lived in such a remote location.  Reflecting the sense of out island living, we discover that telephone and electrical service were introduced to the island only in 1996. Now cell phones, internet, and satellite TV keep everyone connected.  We head down to Clarence Town, a settlement on the eastern shore of the island, famous for the two churches built by Father Jerome in the 1930’s – 40’s.  Father Jerome was originally an Anglican priest who had studied architecture prior to the priesthood.  He traveled the islands building churches and ministering to the remote communities.  During this time, he built the Anglican church in Clarence Town.  After leaving the Bahamas he traveled to Rome and there converted to Catholicism. Upon returning to Long Island, he built a Roman Catholic Church on an adjacent hilltop.   

St. Peter's Church in Clarence Town

We take time to visit this church and even climb the narrow bell town to a spectacular view over the ocean. Our final stop is Dean’s Blue Hole on the ocean side.  This is considered to be the deepest blue hole in the world and is the site of a training facility for free diving run by an Olympic Gold medalist.   

Blue Hole color code - white is ankle deep, dark blue is 663 ft. deep

We are short on time as the bus has to get back to pick up school children, so we get a quick peek, but we will return on some future visit to snorkel the area.

The next day we rent a car with another couple to explore the northern end of the island.  Our first stop is at the Adderley Plantation ruins, the best preserved plantation ruins in the Bahamas.  The main house was situated on top of a hill and surrounded by numerous outbuildings.   

Part of the manor house built in the late 1700's

The plantation covered 2500 acres stretching from the ocean to the bay. Even with slaves, it was hard to make a success of such an enterprise and, like most other plantations, it devolved into subsistence farming. At the very northern tip of the island we hike a long track to some bluffs overlooking the ocean and a shallow bay. 

White cliffs just below the Columbus Monument

At the peak is a monument to Christopher Columbus who stopped here when the Santa Maria ran aground on the nearby reefs.   

The Columbus Monument that commemorates his arrival at this spot in October 1492

Thus, the point is known as Cape Santa Maria.  We need a little sustenance after such an arduous hike, so we stop at Cape Santa Maria Resort overlooking Calabash Bay for lunch.  This is a five star but out of the way establishment. The food and view are outstanding.  

View of the resort from a sand bar in Calabash Bay

 Our final stop is at the Stella Maris resort overlooking the ocean.  It’s not quite as glitzy as our lunch stop, but it has the special charm of a more traditional resort.  There are swimming pools sprinkled all over the landscaped grounds with some villas having their own private pools.  Our favorite site, though, is the pool and bar perched over the breaking surf and the boardwalk from there winding along the cliffs to a salt water pool carved into the rocky shore.  With the strong winds and huge waves it is nothing short of spectacular. 

The view of the ocean from Stella Maris resort - the natural pool is in the lower left

 

The next day we make a last dash to the grocery here in Thompson Bay, hike over the island to the ocean side to check out the waves, and make more farewells to the friends we have made on this adventure.  Everyone is headed in different directions tomorrow as the weather will be milder for the next couple of days.  We have several scenarios for the coming days, all dependent on the strength of the next cold front coming through.  As always, our plans are totally dependent on our recently unpredictable weather.  

George Town

Some love it and some hate hit.  But, nonetheless, we are headed there.  On the way, we overnight at scenic, but shallow, Lee Stocking Island.  From there south we need to head out into Exuma Sound, east of the island chain, as the banks are too shallow for us. 

Our next stop is at the Emerald Bay Marina.  This is a real treat for us.  The marina offers very discounted rates if you are willing to take a dock with no shore power.  That’s not a problem for us as we haven’t seen shore power for months. We find ourselves at the nicest marina we’ve ever seen with floating wide docks, free laundry and wifi, and a club house that reflects the amenities of the nearby Sandal’s resort.  Our two night stay includes walking the beautiful beaches of Emerald Bay, biking on the golf cart paths of the exclusive and under utilized water front golf course, happy hour in the luxurious and air conditioned club house, and dinner at the Grande Isles Resort’s open air restaurant that overlooks beautifully landscaped grounds and an infinity pool, and where we witnessed a full moon rise over the bay from thickly cushioned chaises.   

Relaxing by the pool at Grand Isle Resort

Our psychic batteries have been recharged, and we are ready to head down to George Town and a less luxurious existence.

George Town is often the final destination of cruisers.  Many make a bee line here and go no where else due to its protected harbor and access to amenities.   Elizabeth Harbor stretches five miles long between the eastern shore of Great Exuma Island and the western shore of Stocking Island and is about one and a half miles wide.  George Town is the main, but not the only, community within Elizabeth Harbor.  

Overlooking the inner harbor (Lake Victoria) at George Town

It offers an international airport and thus has considerably more tourist infrastructure than anywhere else in the Exumas.  There are resorts of various sizes and along with numerous expatriate villas. The town itself is just a larger version of the settlements we have seen so far, albeit with enough cars that you actually pay attention to traffic.  It is here that we finally find a bank with an ATM machine and a full fledged grocery store that stocks some American brands along with produce available on a daily basis.  Freighters come into George Town almost every day and there is a twice weekly car ferry.  We have definitely returned to civilization although it doesn’t quite meet first world standards.

We have anchored off the western shore of Stocking Island. Every morning sea turtles are grazing right off our boat. There are a series of named bays with sandy beaches along this shoreline and each has its own character, so that the anchored boats spread out several miles along the shoreline. If you hike over the island to the windward side you find the shoreline is one almost continuous sandy beach backed by high sand dunes.  

Eastern shoreline of Stocking Island

Off shore are some shallow reefs whose green colors contrast nicely with the turquoise of the sandy bottom areas and indigo of the deeper water.  It’s another spectacular Bahamian beach shared with only a few other people.

The controversy surrounding George Town revolves around the cruising community.  Currently, there are around 250 boats anchored here, although in the years prior to the recession that number would be closer to 500.  At night the perimeter of the sky line is ablaze with constellations of anchor lights. The cruisers develop their own community, also known as daycare for adults, and with it come some elements that people find less than delightful.  The VHF radio is constantly blaring and gets pretty annoying after a while. There is a pecking order, and sometimes it can result in some rude behavior.  The first timer is on the defensive, trying to make friends without breaking the sometimes ambiguous protocols.  But, our experience, so far, has been pleasant.  We catch up with boats we met as early as our launching in Annapolis, so it’s fun to hear what others have experienced on their cruises. We make new friends from home ports around the world. There are circumnavigators and long timers that have been coming here for several decades. Most of the cruisers are quite friendly and encourage you to join in all the scheduled activities.  And scheduled activities are in abundance.  The morning VHF net announces activities which include yoga on the beach, bridge and other games, crafts and basketmaking, volleyball at several levels, and classes and workshops geared towards cruisers with subjects ranging from destinations such as Cuba to free diving, given by a woman who won the Olympic Silver Medal in this sport.  All are centered on “Volleyball Beach” a beautiful sandy point of land on Stocking Island shaded by native pines and hosting a fun beach bar and casual restaurant, The Chat and Chill, which has a sign post out front showing distances to other cruiser havens. 

Chat and Chill, where we enjoyed a Valentine's Day dinner dance under the stars

The home built wooden schooner, Ask For, from Nova Scotia puts on a show for Volleyball Beach

 

We are pleased to see that Put-in-Bay is among those listed.   

Look carefully - only 1315 nm to Put-in-Bay

Nearby is a conch salad stand where the left over tidbits are feed to some very tame rays that you can pet.

Sting rays feel like a combination of velvet and slime

Burt enjoys the less competitive volleyball league, I am busy making baskets out of palm fronds, we take several days’ of weather seminars given by a well known forecaster out of Florida, attend a talk on boat electrical systems, and Burt meets with a Ham radio support group and takes (and passes) his Ham radio license exam.  We take a bus trip to the annual Exuma Horticultural Fair which is a little underwhelming compared to stateside, but still the homegrown produce is impressive considering you rarely see anything resembling grow able soil around here.  We attend beach church on Sundays.  This is a non-denominational service, replete with small choir and an electric keyboard instead of an organ, held in the shade on the beach and led by volunteers as this year there is no pastor in residence. And finally, we endure some Bahamian immigration bureaucracy to get our visitor status extended another 90 days.

The high point of the George Town cruising season is the annual Cruisers’ Regatta, and it begins while we are here.  Plans have been underway since the conclusion of last year’s regatta by a core group of perennial George Town cruisers.  There is a theme of cowboy boots and bathing suits, but we never got that memo so the boots and hats were not a part of our provisioned supplies. There are sailboat races, small boat racing, volleyball tournaments, a softball tournament against a Bahamian team, a number of sillier events, and an opening night variety show, dinner, and dance.  

The cruising kids put on a skit about the night sky at the variety show

Sadly, the annual Family Island Regatta, a national level competition for the Bahamian sloops, is a month later when we will be heading northward, and thus these activities focus almost exclusively on the non-native cruisers. We are a part of the opening dinghy parade on a day that happens to be blowing 25 knots. With our Ohio and “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flags securely fastened to an extended boat hook, we join the other dinghies to proudly represent our home state only to be drenched by marauding cowboys with super soaker guns – all in fun, though.   

Conclusion of the dinghy parade

The Coconut Harvest, something that qualified as "silly"

A few days later Burt participates in the fun volleyball (as opposed to regulation volleyball which get too serious) tournament and his team comes in a respectable third wining us a regatta flag and gift certificate to the local supermarket. 

The proud third place volleyball team and their regatta flags

We enjoy watching the in-harbor sailboat race with about 40 boats participating and featuring a downwind leg that went right through our anchorage. The winner of the monohull fleet is Nocturne, a boat originally hailing from the Vermillion (Ohio) Boat Club. 

Nothing like finding your home in the middle of a race course!

Our plan is to leave shortly and head a bit further south to Long Island, our first destination outside the Exumas.  But, the weather gods have other ideas.  The daily weather broadcast states that the next week to ten days will probably be the most significant weather event of the winter season.  We are to expect gale force winds for a number of days, very high waves on the open water, and a very small chance of tropical development.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we will be staying where we are in this safe and protected anchorage. Our energies go into last minute preparations such as grocery shopping and disposing of trash. Some people call George Town “Chicken Harbor”; I call it intelligent planning of one’s itinerary.