Family Island Regatta

It's Regatta time in George Town!
We've returned to see the races, and what cool races they are!
The boats are built by hand, here in the islands-and the sailing is like nothing I've ever seen before! (These guys are crazy!)

Running Tide is owned and crewed by some of our new friends from Salt Pond, Long Island. The wife of the captain said it best... "Running Tide, she like wind!"
And she does! She flies!

We had a blast today, following the race from our friend Rusty's boat, "Sea Yawl Later".
He got right up in the middle of the action
(I think maybe he's a little crazy, too!).




























These pics are kind of all over the place... sorry!- It's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to run out of internet minutes again soon!- so here ya go!









At the end of the day, we had a time of sweet sorrow, as we said good-bye to Deana and Troy, a couple we've gotten to know and love. (not the best photo... Ted was still up on the roof of Rusty's boat). We've traveled the same "roads" up till now- but they're heading south for the D.R., and Puerto Rico from here while we head north, back to the states.
Safe travels, Storyville!
We love you, and we'll miss you!

Sea Yawl Later, Kaleo and Morning Glory are moving on in the morning- sailing north.

Happy Easter!

Far from home, some traditions still matter! So, after church, we had Easter Dinner with Matt and Christie, complete with deviled eggs and green bean casserole! (ok, so we had fried chicken instead of ham or turkey... we are cooking without a real oven, you know!)
And ok, we only lasted for 2 hours of the church service- a 7 (that's not a typo. 7.) hour service was planned. We snuck out.
And no candy. (But Christie made some killer chocolate chip cookies... so no worries!)

Then, just as the sun was setting, our friends Rusty and Linda sailed in! We'd heard they were on their way, so saved leftovers. We added a little tomato soup, heated everything up on the grill, and had a reunion party!
A different sort of Easter... but, all-in-all, it was a good day.

It was good to celebrate Resurrection Day with some of the people He's blessed us with on this journey.

Jesus is Risen, He is Risen Indeed...

A Message in a Bottle, Baby!

A stop in Clarence Town for some fresh tomatoes, Peppers, Plantains, and Bananas- and we were off for new horizons. Well, actually, the same horizon- but a new harbor.
Little Harbor, to be exact.
It's a small, protected cove on the Eastern side of Long Island. No towns close by- just a few fishing boats and deserted beaches.
























Lots of good stuff to find!... And one morning, while Ted and I were walking the beach, we found a real treasure. I looked down, and thought "No way!"- I could see a note rolled up inside this bottle!



So I scooped it up, along with some pretty amazing shells and other curious artifacts- and toted it back to the boat.






That night, along with Matt and Christy, we had a bottle-opening ceremony. It smelled like old bait, but.... inside was a letter written by Emily, a (then) 6 year-old from New Jersey, who was on a cruise to Bermuda with her sister and parents. The letter was written in 2007- and made it's way all the way south to the Bahamas. Who knows how long it's been sitting on the beach.- This cove is inaccessible by car or big boat. (We're anchored in an area just north of where we found the bottle.)



We came in by dinghy the first day, then hiked there the next- over lots of rocky terrain and through a little-used path up and over a hill.






We hike up high- but below us are a series of caves and jagged boulders. The bucket holds dive gear, just in case! Sometimes it returns full of fish, sometimes it returns full of other treasures. Like bottles. And shells. And sea glass.
You get the point.

We get our exercise.
And we have a lot of fun.
And it's good to have Kaleo to join us in this crazy adventure. Ted and Matt shepherd Christy and I along, making sure we get back to the boats before the sun goes down.



















And speaking of treasures.... our meals are usually amazing! This Bahamian Breakfast (couldn't resist the alliteration) consisted of homemade English Muffins with Pineapple preserves, a little bacon for protein, and a hunk of fresh coconut (thanks, Kaleo!) Actually, Christy made these English muffins- and there's another story behind that! Another post, another day. ;)




And then we were off again- We spent a few days in the Jumentos, or Ragged Islands, where we did what we always do- fish, beach comb, play games, plan our lives (Kaleo's and Morning Glory's), and laugh a lot.

We're back in Salt Pond, Long Island again. We'll spend Easter Weekend here, then head back to George Town for the Family Islands Regatta.
We've visited the Assembly of God church here twice, and wanted to worship with them on Easter. Looking forward to that! (But sad we're missing Easter at our home church, and with our family.)

At this point, all our travel is homeward bound. Which is kind of fun!- We're really ready for some time with our family- the countdown can begin! (But still planning some fun stuff along the way... so stay posted!).

Conception, Rum and Who Names These Islands, Anyways?

Actually, it may have been Christopher Columbus who named a couple of them!


Sometime, as we sail, we see Dolphin. On this particular day, as we sailed from Salt Pond to Conception, we were joined by a pair that came to hang out and play awhile. They followed us for about a half hour, just racing past us, circling back, rolling, and flipping their tales to say "hey!". They'll go sideways to get a good glimpse, even. (Another shameless commercial for how cool it is out here...)


















Conception Island is a National Park, and all the flora, fauna, and fish and fowl are protected. It was a nice place to anchor, and dive- lots of live coral- Elkhorn, Staghorn, and some huge heads Brain coral. No pun intended. There were 6 or 8 other boats there, which felt quite crowded compared to our next stop.
Flamingo Point, on Rum Cay was totally deserted. Just us and Kaleo.
It was a "quite uncomfortable" spot- a lot of surge in the anchorage meant we rolled around (like on a carnival ride...remember the tilt-a-whirl?)- but the trade-off was pristine beaches, good fish for spearing, and tons and tons of shells. So Christie and I wandered the beaches looking for treasure while Ted hunted for a different kind of treasure. (Dinner.) Sometimes Matt goes with Ted, sometimes he comes with us. He'd rather go with Ted. We understand.


There's a cave here, in an out-of-the-way location, (right on the beach- no roads leading there) that dates back to the ancient Lucayan Indian times. We almost swamped our dinghy getting in, but it was worth it! It's full of bat guano (wish I'd worn shoes!)- but, once inside, you can see the carvings on the walls depicting the sun, and symbols that probably told a story once upon a time.



































This is what life looks like in Port Nelson, the only settlement on Rum Cay... I'm sitting on the porch of the Batelco office (Bahamas Telephone Company). You can sit under the tower, and get WiFi. The guy sitting next to me was scrolling through music videos, so at least we had some tunes going.
It's getting warmer during the days here, but still a nice breeze at night and in the early morning. We're swimming more, and Ted's been able to spear some good dinners.




(And to teach our friend, Matt, how to use his Hawaian Sling!). Grouper, Trigger Fish, Lobster (but that season's over now), Snappers... no Mahi Mahi yet- but at home June's the season for them- so maybe the case here, too. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.



















Today we're heading to another remote spot (As soon as we get our groceries, and finish this blog post!). We'll be out of technology range for a few days, as we venture towards the Jumentos.
Our goal is to be back in Salt Pond (Long Island) by Easter. After that, it's George Town, and heading North...homeward bound.