Hope's and Howard's Sailing Adventures

Still here in Old Bahama Bay Marina, waiting for more settled weather to cross the Gulf Stream. There are some thunderstorms coming off the US coast that we would rather not encounter, especially at night in the Gulf Stream. So, we have had an opportunity to explore our surroundings a little. Yesterday we took advantage of the bikes we could borrow from the marina/ resort and had some fun on a tandem, picking up a few groceries and checking out the local liquor store (where yet another bottle of rum was added to our collection). On the way, along the banks side of the island, we understood why conch (pronounced conk) is so popular here; they’re everywhere, piles of discarded conch shells were to be seen all along the shoreline. We were even given a demonstration of how to remove the conch from the shell, which sadly involves making a hole in the shell then cutting the tendon that attaches it to the shell. I’m really not convinced about eating conch, even if they are plentiful. It just doesn’t seem right to be eating a creature that made such an impressive home for itself.

We find people here to be very friendly and helpful. For example, we asked in the marina if they knew of a sail repair place, which of course they did not. However, after involving the resort reception, someone suggested seeing if a lady in town who does upholstery could help. She came to pick up our staysail but a few hours later phoned to say she was unsuccessful as her machine could not cope with material that thick (just like mine). She suggested taking it to either a cobbler or another upholsterer in Freeport. So, the receptionist put in a request for the local bus to stop and pick us up around 11:00 am. We were the only two on the bus for the first part of the trip so had a good conversation with the driver all about local politics, taxes, how Freeport works as a tax free port, healthcare (or lack thereof) in the Bahamas, etc, etc. the mini bus was full by the time we reached Freeport and one by one each passenger was deposited at their desired location, a fare paid (though we had no clue as to how the fare was calculated or how much they paid) but we remained on the bus and he took us to the cobbler. Sadly the cobbler’s machine also could not cope with the task so back to the bus we went and the next stop was an upholsterer who happened to be around the back of a building. We presented the task and, low and behold, his machine was up for the task. About 20 minutes later, we again had a staysail that could be hoisted. Next stop was for the bus driver’s usual lunch spot. For $10 a plate, we had more (take-away) food than we could cope with. Fortunately Howard saw how much freshly fried fish they were putting on my plate so he asked for the smaller version and still had more than enough. Then back to the marina, picking up a few others along the way, each of whom was deposited practically on their doorstep as by this time we were in the middle of a torrential downpour. What a great experience!

Now it’s laundry time in preparation for what we hope is our departure for Port Canaveral tomorrow when our forecaster predicts steadier conditions with light SE winds clocking to the SW and increasing to around 15kts. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We look forward to having use of our phones again (missed talking to S&S for the past 2 weeks) and better internet connectivity (yesterday’s blog was sent by SSB).

6/11 Update: we have Checked out and are leaving in a couple of hours – yea. Forecast is for nice winds around 15 kts filling in by sunset and few thunderstorms.