What a Whale of a Story!

Cute Cat Island Banner

We had decided to stay another day at Conception and I was getting ready to head into the beach and Al says, “Wow, it would be a good day to sail to Cat Island rather than motor tomorrow when the winds are to go light and variable.”  I could tell that is what he wanted to do, so we readied the dinghy for travel and took off.  

                                           

It ended up being more of a downwind sail than he expected and the rollers were hitting us on the side which made for a rather roly-poly trip but we did sail.  All the way across Al was dragging a lure but had no bites.  As we neared Cat Island the rollers were less and Al turned to look at his lure dragging in the water when he said, “Wow!  What is that in the water?  It is huge.  At first I could not see what he saw.  He pointed right in back of us, and I just saw dark water until all of a sudden I saw a light turquoise spot moving through the water.  It was on the underside of an 18-20 ft. whale!!!  I saw it surface and could not believe it.  It kept following and crossing back and forth next to and under our boat.  It was with us for at least 20 minutes.  I kept trying to get a picture but it was fast and all I got were pictures of something dark under the water.  Every time it surfaced, I missed the shot.  (Dang, those delays on shutters!)   It went under the boat at the aft and then came up with its beak (nose) and breathed several times and rolled 5 ft. from the side of the boat, turned breached one more time further away and then swam off.  Al said that the whale had to have red bottom paint on its nose!   It was just an unbelievable experience.  Later that day I checked on the internet for whales in the Bahamas.  They mentioned two kinds, sperm whales which are very large and dense beaked whales.  It described it quite well; between 15-20 feet, brownish/blue in color with some white on the underside with a more pointed snout rather than bulbous nose.   Never heard of this kind but it’s behavior was similar to a dolphin the way it followed the boat.  I guess he was bored and just wanted to play.  Thank heavens Al didn’t catch that one.  He would have had a heck of a time landing it!

We anchored in New Bight off of Cat Island around 5pm with about 5 other boats.

The Hermitage at the highest spot in the Bahamas.

 After breakfast the next morning we headed into shore to walk to the Hermitage.  This was Father Jerome’s retirement home built on the highest point in the Bahamas, 206 ft. above sea level. (The Leaf Cay spot we mentioned in a previous blog was the highest spot in the Exumas.) Father Jerome had been an architect and then turned to the priesthood.  First in the Anglican Church and eventually turned to the Catholic faith.  He built two churches on Long Island that we had seen on our last trip.  He was known for his knowledge of constructing a church that could survive hurricanes and his missionary work.  When we got to shore there were two couples from France who were walking there and so we joined them on a road that leads to the bottom of the hill of the Hermitage.

The climb up through the Stations of the Cross.

It was not a place for the weak kneed because as you went up through the Stations of the Cross it got quite steep.   

One of the Stations of the Cross.

Don't step back!

As you climbed you always looked up at the building at the top of the hill because you did not want to turn around to see how high up you were.





 It was a beautiful spot with a spectacular view.  He led a very simplistic life and had minimal living accommodations.  He had a small bedroom, kitchen, and chapel. 

AL checking out the chapel

Not much of a bed!

The simple altar.

The well with hand pump.

The bake oven with Virgin Mary watching over it.

 There was a bell tower and his bake oven was in a separate little building away from the house.  He even engineered a way to direct rain water to flow down to a well that was dug and had a hand pump attached to get it.  

Doors to the chapel and home.

I loved the simplistic doors and the one little impatiens that grew in the crack of the boulders which seemed so out of place in this arid climate but gave me the sense that God was definitely here.   

One little impatiens plant in the crevasse.

The settlement (town) did not have a lot there.  We did find a bakery at a private home and one other small store.  There is always the police station and administration office.

Colorful Regatta shacks on Cat Island

 There also were a row of color huts which are for the regatta in August mainly for the Bahamians because of hurricane season most cruisers are not around.  One of the huts was open for business with typical Bahamian menu.  We had lunch there and got to know a bit more about the island and its people.  We met an older gent named Pompei Johnson who seemed to be the patriarch of the island.  The younger girl who served us lunch was named Seadel and she encouraged us to come in later that night for they were going to do “Rake ‘n Scrape” which is the Bahamian music.  We learned that someone from France came to the Bahamas looking for a group they felt represented this type of music for their musical festival and they picked Pompei, Seadel and one other person.  So they got an all expense paid trip to France.  We came in to hear this “internationally” known group. 

The Rake 'n Scrape Band

 Pompei played a small accordion, Seadel played the drum and a young man played the saw.  That’s right, a saw, the thing with which you cut wood.  He used his hair pick to play but most play it with a screwdriver.  

Pompei

Pompei said their music is similar to the type played in the hills of the south.  We had a concert played strictly for us and a few Bahamians because none of the other cruisers came in.  It started around 8:30pm and that’s too late for most cruisers!  Pompei even commented to me that they were going to start earlier for the cruisers the next night.

We left the next day to return to Georgetown with Al once again not even getting a bite on his lure.  I think fish swam away with all the good ones!  We anchored back at Monument Beach.

Being Sunday we once again went to Beach Church and there we saw a couple who we met at the Seven Seas Cruising Gam in October which is how we started the trip.  It was Dave and Alex from Banyan. 

Historian who spoke about the Bahamas.

We came back to Volleyball Beach after lunch for a talk given by a Bahamian historian.  He also brought another Bahamian with him whom added interesting facts and food for thought about the Bahamas.  Then we went into Hamburger Beach looking for palm for my baskets and on the way out stopped to visit with Irene and Jim on Escapaid.  We ended up staying through Happy Hour, then back to the boat for a restful night.

Read the label!

Back to yoga on the beach for me with about 35 other cruisers.  After lunch Dave and Alex came by and we walked the beach down to the Flip Flop Shop to show them this cute spot. 

We missed the label on this bottle of rum the last time.  From there we hiked the Shoe Trail over to the sound side beach.  This was one trail we had not been on before and now I know why they call it Shoe Trail. 

The Shoe Tree

 At 3PM I went to hear another speaker talk on “Safer Choices in a Toxic World.”  Interesting but I am not quite ready to give up all plastics and fragrances but I will change some things.

Al discussing his conch with fellow cruiser.

The next day we went over to Volleyball Beach so Al could participate in a Conch Horn Oompah Band. 

Conch blowers line up.

It was hysterical watching all these people practice blowing there conch horns, but even more so when the groups tried do it together.  Supposedly they are going to put it on You Tube once it is edited a bit.   While doing this, there was a photo shoot with models going on nearby.  However, I think this babe was cuter.

Guys, she was all of about 14!

What a cutie!

 We had a meet and greet for Seven Seas Cruising Association at Big D’s on Hamburger Beach at lunch time.  Later, Mary and Blair on Strathspay and Alex and Dave on Banyan came over for Happy Hour.  Both are heading further south.  Banyan plans to go to Trinidad and Strathspay to Cuba.  Both are couples from Canada.  It seems often Canadians are more adventurous than Americans.

The latest boat count for George Town is 285!

Lots of Dinghies at Volleyball Beach

Just another beautiful day in paradise!

He Can Catch Them, Just Not Land Them!

 We left Hog Cay in 17-20 knot winds apparent and sailed 7.7 knots which for our non- sailor friends is a nice sail!  Sailed 57 miles in 8 hours to Water Cay.   We had some problems getting the genny in due to the block on the furling gear broke down.  Al replaced it with a slightly smaller block and hopes it does the trick until we get back to the states.  Then we discovered the alternator wasn’t charging but Al’s magical touch of jiggling the inline fuse solved that problem.  Yeah!  It is nice to have a “handyman” on board.

All you need to basket weave.

We were the last of the 7 boats anchored in Water Cay to leave by 7AM.  We had a very pleasant sail, which I define as being able to work on my baskets while sailing, back to Georgetown. 

 We even got through Hog Cay cut which can be quite shallow.  We went straight over near town to anchor so that we could go get groceries, rid of trash and get water.  Since we were near a cell phone tower I was able to get the blog done and sent.

The next duty was to get laundry done.  We had not done laundry for 2 ½ weeks so there were 4 loads.  We found a laundry a bit out of town, but the owner picks you up and takes you back to the main part of town.  It is less expensive, cleaner and quieter so we like it.  After lunch I ordered on line a new pocket camera since mine stopped working. Our friends on Cookie Monster are going back to the states for 10 days and are going to bring it with them.  We also needed a new fan for our refrigeration which they will bring also.

We moved the boat to the other side of the harbor to Monument Beach again.  The winds started to pick up to 25 knots.  Our neighboring boat started to drag anchor when they were not on it so we got on the radio and announced that it was dragging.  They quickly made it back and got it reset.  We were to go to our friend’s boat called Escapaid for happy hour but due to the strong winds and unsettled boats we decided it was best not to go.

Super Bowl Pie

The next day while the winds were howling still, I made a cherry pie for our Super Bowl dinner.  Al continued working on the refrigeration problem between reading his book.  After lunch we braved the strong winds to get to shore to go for a walk on the lee side of the island.  We headed toward the nude beach knowing no one would be there today due to the weather.   

                                                         

The only nude on the beach.

We did meet a nude ghost crab that wasn’t afraid of us which was highly unusual.  Maybe the high winds were getting to him too! 

Bar at the Flip Flop Shack

We continued on to the Flip Flop Shack which is a cute place the cruisers made and just refinished due to the hurricane this fall.  They have a seating area, bar, and path to the head which of course is just Mother Nature’s bush. 
Since the winds were still gusting, our friends from Kathrian backed out like us the night before on coming over for Happy Hour so it was a quiet night on board.

You can see how interested they were in the Super Bowl!

Notice our Ravens sign for our Super Bowl Party!

Super Bowl Sunday dawned with some very dark clouds so instead of crossing the harbor to go to church we went to beach church on Volleyball Beach.  It is all done by cruiser volunteers and it is complete with choir and song books.  It is very well done with a social time afterwards.  Worked on my baskets and prepped my salad for our dinner with Irene, Jim and Jim’s sister, Judy.  They are from Vermont so for some reason they were not as into the Super Bowl as Al and I.  Maybe it was when I said how glad we were when the Ravens beat the Patriots!  After sharing some rug hooking samples, Irene is the only other rug hooker I have met on a boat, and talking about some of the places we had been on the charts, we had a wonderful dinner.  We had baked ham, potato salad, craisin apple walnut salad, fresh broccoli and cherry pie.  What a feast which made it even better when the Ravens won!

Since the weather guru predicted a mild week without any fronts, we decided to leave to see Conception and/or Cat Island tomorrow.  So we headed over to town with Blue Heaven to get rid of trash, get some groceries, and buy Regatta tee shirts that went on sail today.  Afterwards we went to Sand Dollar Beach to anchor for the night.  I went to the beach at low tide but did not find even one treasure.  The cruisers anchored there were having a pizza party so Al and I went over for a short time just to meet the people.

We planned to leave after listening to the weather to be sure things had not change.  We tried calling our friends on Strathspay who were going to go with us but had no luck reaching them.  Finally, on the way out, I was on the internet and Mary sent an email saying that Blair who had the laundry done by someone yesterday in town, discovered they were missing towels and such and so could not come with us.  We headed out with about 6 other boats.  Most of them were going to Long Island.  The fast ferry which you don't see often, came out of the Georgetown Harbor headed for Long Island as well.  

The ferry in the islands- fast but not often!

 Once out there we decided to head to Conception.  Al fished and wasn’t catching a thing all day.  We finally had to put the motor on to motor sail and so I decided to charge the batteries in my camera.  I told him now that the batteries were out of the camera he would probably catch a fish.  I had no sooner got them in the charger down below and he yelled, “Fish!”  I ran up to take control of the boat while Al brought the Mahi Mahi in.  He got the fish all the way to the gunwale and once again lost it when the monofilament knot broke!    We could not believe it.  It was a beauty of about a yard long.  What a disappointment to say the least!  I did not even get a picture!

As our moods darkened after that, so did the clouds.  It really was dark south east of us but we ended up only getting a moderate rain with no heavy breezes as we pulled in to West Beach with about six other boats.  Once again the boat got a good wash down and my herbs got a good soaking which is the positive way to look at rain.

West Bay at Conception Island

We woke to sunshine, so over to the beautiful beach for exploring.  Conception Island is considered a national trust and is a “no take area on land and in the water.”  You would have thought with that we would see many beautiful shells and such, but unfortunately I don’t think the people follow the rules.  These land snails are seen all over the islands but I think they have a beauty all of there own.           

Land snails love the driftwood.

 

We met several cruisers enjoying the beach and going to hike the island.  We used the “Looky” bucket to view the reefs but there really wasn’t much to look at regarding plant life.  I saw only one fan but a variety of fish.  Later in the afternoon near high tide we went into the mangroves via our dinghy to look for sea turtles.  Unfortunately, there was a little too much wind which made the water have too many ripples to clearly see the turtles.  We would see these dark blobs swim by very fast as we drifted but never even got a good picture of one sticking its head up. 

Believe me, it is a sea turtle!!!!

To stay or move to Cat Island is the question of the night.

Roughing it in the Ragged Islands

While I worked on my baskets, Al tried to find out why we cannot hear people far away on our VHF radio when other boaters can and a problem of lots of static when we call.  So once again he went up the mast to check the antenna.  Peter and Michael hauled him up this time, so I got a break. 

Michael and Peter get the job of cranking.

Al up the mast again.

 Unfortunately Al saw nothing wrong at the top of the mast so back down he came to search out other possibilities.  Later he replaced some connector wires and people said it sounded better but we still cannot hear those who are far away.  This is a problem that is on going and so he will continue to try different things.

Jamming at the Hog Cay Yacht Club

We moved closer to shore to anchor hoping it would help with the rocking.  It got better but more due to the fact the wind changed to a better direction for us. 

Later that day we went in to the “yacht club” for heavy hors’deurves and music. Some of the gents brought their guitars, tambourine, harmonica and saw.  It was a good time. 

Us with our addition to the Hog Cay Yacht Club.

We took in our addition for the “yacht club” like all the cruisers which was a buoy we found on the beach.  We added our boat name, our names, the year, a sketch of a sailboat and on the back our motto.  It is:  “Dark clouds are things that pass, the blue heavens abide always.”  We discovered the saying on the back of a Salada tea bag no less!

After a true down pour of rain in the early morning which was great because it gave our boat a good wash down which is what it needed, we went with Michael and Robin from Seabiscuit to hike the trail from the south beach on House Bay.   

On the other side it was a beautiful beach with loads of live conch in the shallow waters and a few palm trees that you don’t see often.    

Small conch all over the shallow waters.

Another beautiful beach.

 We had a nice long walk so came back to the boat to just chill the rest of the day.  We read and I worked on my baskets.  We also watched a movie after dinner.

The weather guru predicted the winds were going to blow, and they sure did along with a lot of clouds.  They were 20 to 25 knots.  We never got off the boat.  I hooked on another project, worked on my baskets and read.  Al spent most of the day reading.

It still was blowing strong the next day so I pulled out my jewelry making supplies to organize, as well as my sea glass.  In the afternoon, Marilyn and Carl on Discovery, and Chris and Karen on Synergy braved the waters and came by dinghy to play Sequence on Blue Heaven.  The ladies were champions once again.  It was close to the bitter end.  There was a late afternoon “burn” on the beach so we went in.  It felt good to be on solid ground.

Another dreary day dawned, three in a row which is highly unusual.  Wind was still up and we had a few squalls but nothing strong. I went to a boat named Cookie Monster to work on jewelry.  We each learned something new from each other which was very helpful.

The chefs at work on the grill.

I made a pasta salad for a potluck dinner on the beach.  They had the fires burning for what meat you wanted to cook and sides and desserts were brought to share. 

Hermit crabs come out in masses!

Close up of Mr. Hermit

 It was amazing once all the food was brought out, the hermit crabs came a looking.  They were not scared of people that is for sure!

Sunday dawned and the sun came out finally.  We hiked another new trail where we came across a stone wall which had to have been built many years ago, a pond and wild goats.   

Was the wall for Hogs on Hog Cay?

We only saw goats on Hog Cay.

Once in awhile you will find a pond.

 We hiked the beach on the other side but not much was found.  I am a bit disappointed in the lack of shells down on this island. 

After hiking, I made veggie lasagna and Robin and Corbett from Cookie Monster and Howard and Lois on Chrispamel a Canadian couple who were anchored next to us, came for dinner.  Robin brought a Caesar salad made with cabbage which was great and Lois brought a dessert called a “Cranberry Orange Duff” which was a cake made in a pan set in boiling water and tasted like a moist scone.  It was great also.  It is wonderful sampling all these new recipes.

I believe we mentioned that it is difficult getting food, gasoline and water in these islands.  There is one small store in Duncantown, Ragged Island but you really need to order ahead to get the things you need.  Maxine the owner has not been around because she was helping her sick daughter in Nassau.  She returned with the boat on Sunday, and so she announced she would be over with the food that had arrived to the beach at the “yacht club.”  Now cruisers who had been there prior to our arrival had placed orders, but she said she would bring what extra she had.  Almost all the cruisers were in at 8:30 am to see what they could get.  People were much more civilized than I expected.  No one took all of one food, they shared what was left to buy.  I got a dozen eggs, a green pepper, 3 oranges, 2 tomatoes, 2 limes and a carrot.  I felt like I hit the jackpot!  The clincher was that she did not want to deal with collecting money.  She said to come to her store on Ragged Island and pay.  She had no idea what you took, she just trusted you to pay.  With it still blowing quite a bit, not many were ready to head to Ragged Island but she said, “Whenever you get there, you get there.  (Imagine a store in the states doing that!) 

This is the easy part up through the mangroves to Duncantown.

First Edition, SeaBiscuit and us had decided we were going to town even though it was rough.  What an adventure!  Even with foul weather gear on we were still wet over much of our bodies when we arrived at the dock.  A Bahamian man came to greet us and gave us hugs, jabbering away in his Bahamian English which we can barely understand.  We politely shook our heads as if we knew what he was saying and thanked him for the welcome.  

Walking Duncantown

We saw more goats than people!

We went to Maxine’s store which carried some can goods and cleaning supplies.  She had brought all the produce to the beach.  We paid our bill and got a pint of Pistachio Almond ice cream with spoons and had ourselves a treat!  The main reason we came was because First Edition was having trouble with adding data to their internet plan and they wanted to go to the phone company to see if they could fix it.  I thought I would have them add our money to our data plan as well.  When we got there, the door was locked!   

Phone company office locked up!  What a disappointment!

We had heard that the person who runs the office was Maxine’s son, so we went to her to ask where he was.  It was Election Day and he had a role in that so he was at the police station.  We went there and he came out and tried to help them even though it was his day off.  We left in our dinghy to go back before they were finished so that I could make dessert to take to First Edition for dinner that night with them and Dick and Nancy on Blue Bay whom we were glad that we got to know better.

The next day while I was down in the cabin I heard some strange sounds coming from our refrigeration.  I called Al down and sure enough the electronic controller for the fan wasn’t working.  He brain stormed with the men in the anchorage and finally disconnected the fan from the controller and got it working again.  It is good we had planned to head back to Georgetown because we might need to have someone look at it, or order a part.   

Look at the strata of blues in the water!

While Al worked on the refrigeration I went hiking with Robin and Corbett and got some great shots of Blue Heaven in the anchorage.  I also loved this natural piece of artwork that was on the path.  I thought it worthy of a picture.  

Nature's artwork.

That afternoon Monkey Man came around selling his seafood.  We got two red snapper and a lobster tail for $20.  He filleted the fish for us too.  Can’t get seafood any fresher than that!

Monkey Man filleting the fish we bought.

The lobster that became our dinner!

We prepared the boat to leave in the morning to head to less rugged but busier Georgetown.