Cat Island

March 16, 2016

First a quick update on passages:

We left Rock Sound, Eleuthera on March 4 after almost 2 weeks there.  Quick highlights were our time with our friends the Culmers and a service at the Methodist church to hear the new pastor.  She is a relatively young black woman from Atlanta and she can preach!  We think she will be a great addition to the church; unfortunately she is a 'circuit pastor' and will be at Rock Sound only about once a month.

We made a direct 77 mile trip from Rock Sound to New Bight on Cat Island.  Previously we have always broken this trip up into two legs:  one from Rock Sound to Little San Salvador; the second from there to New Bight.  Our worst case scenario on this trip was 15 hours of motoring arriving after dark, but a moderate southwest wind gave us a great broad reach motor sail and we arrived in around 12 hours, a little before dark.

On this trip we pass two 'private' cruise ship 'islands'.  Princess Cay on the lower southeast coast Eleuthera coast hosted the "Emerald Princess" as we passed.  Little San Salvador, or Half Moon Bay as the cruise ships call it, hosted the "Westerdam".  One of the reasons we bypassed Little San Salvador, is that it can get a little crazy in the bay when a cruise ship is visiting.

On March 12, we left Cat Island and transited Exuma Sound over to Black Point in the Exumas.  Another great broad reach motor sail of 58 miles.   Arriving about an hour before low, Dotham Cut was still a bit 'lively'  with an ebb current of 2-3 knots, but we entered without incident.

Now more about Cat Island:

Cat Island is definitely the most 'primitive' of the islands we visit here.  A lack of protection from west winds and relatively few services keep the numbers of visiting boats down, but we love the authentic island feel.

Cat Island has some beautiful beaches:

Beach at Old Bight

Starfish 'aground' at Old Bight

Beach at Shanna's Cove way 'down' north

Beach at Shanna's Cove

The 'Fountain' - a small blue hole near Orange Creek

A quick word on 'Up' and 'Down' in the Bahamas.  Here you go 'Down North' and 'Up South'.  I have never gotten a good explanation, but I believe it has to do with the orientation of the islands and the prevailing E ESE winds.  To go south down the chain, you are typically sailing up wind - thus 'Up South'.

We had a good time visiting our friends the Daniels at Alnor Bakery where we renewed a tradition by helping them shell some green (lima) beans.

We also frequented Missy's takeaway in Old Bight several times.  The food there is awesome.  Great food, big portions, reasonable prices, and friendly folks.  This year we got some time to talk to the owner, Miss Erika, where we learned she has a son living in Black Point - the Bahamas is a small world!

Worn sign, but great food!

One of the highlights of our visit was attending the annual Modern Languages Assembly at Old Bight High School.  It was billed as being entirely in Spanish and we were afraid we would not understand a lot, but a good portion of the program was in English.  The assembly featured presentations from eight age groups.  The primary school presentations were very cute (songs about numbers, days of the week in Spanish, etc.) and the older student presentations featured dancing and funny skits. One skit featured a 11th grade girl playing an old Bahamian, woman unsteady on her feet and rambling-on about an oft-seen slogan in the Bahamas.   We will never be able to see "Keep the Bahamas Clean, Green, and Pristine" without thinking of her.

We are currently planning on staying in Black Point for about two weeks, before heading 'Up South' to mainland Exuma.


Tom
Anchored Black Point, Exuma

Bahamian Farms

March 5, 2016

We have recently had the opportunity to visit two Bahamian farms; one in Abaco and one in Eleuthera.

When people think of farms they think of images like the following:

American Corn Field

American Tomato Field

This is NOT how a Bahamian farm looks.  The soil here is sparse and very rocky.  Typically they can not plant in nice straight rows, but rather they plant in the best available soil, which is often scattered between rocks.

A few pictures of a Bahamian Farm:

Tomato Field
Note the tree trunks left after clearing for tomato supports

We were given a quantity of these tomatoes and although they were somewhat small, they were sweet like only a 'home-grown' tomato can be!

Despite the looks, these farms produce substantial amounts of produce.  The tomato crop was weak this year, but last year this farm 'bottled' 4 75-gallon drums of tomatoes.  As a side note, the tomatoes are traditionally canned in recycled beer bottles here - hence the term 'bottled tomatoes'.  

Some bottled tomatoes given to us a few years ago on Cat Island (along with some green beans)

Green Beans - filling out nicely!

Lime trees -sweet and juicy!

 

Potato Field.

I grew up in the country working on farms and have done a fair amount of gardening.  I know that you want to plant any root crop in the cleanest, rock-free soil, so the roots can grow smoothly.  As you can see, this is not possible in this field.  I have dug potatoes before, but digging from this field is hard!  The potatoes grow around rocks they encounter and you must dig and pry, dig and pry until they surrender.

Hot peppers - being made into a 'seasoning salt'

Seasoning salt

These farms are typically located at the end of a series of progressively smaller and smaller 'roads'; at the end of the trip there, the vehicle is pushing through the foliage that lines the road.  This is necessary to reach available land, but also to protect the farm from 'unauthorized harvesters'.

The generosity of our Bahamian friends is amazing.  We were given more produce than we could use - I was constantly saying "Thank you so much, but we don't have a lot of storage room on the boat" to keep the gifts manageable.   Everything we received, however, was delicious - much better than what you buy in the store!

The two farms and their generous owners shall remain anonymous here - but much thanks to both of them!

Tom
Anchored New Bight, Cat Island

As a postscript, one of my favorite signs from Eleuthera
The logo says it all!

Continuing Series: Blue Holes of the Bahamas & On To Cat Island

March 3, 2016

In our 'continuing series' on the Blue Holes of the Bahamas - here are two from Eleuthera:

"Ocean Hole" in Rock Sound

"Boiling Hole"  South of Rock Sound
When the seas are up, this hole near the shore is supposed to have water movement
- obviously not happening when this picture was taken

On travel plans -  after a great time here with the Culmer family and other friends, we plan to leave tomorrow (Friday) for Cat Island.  Wind should be light - probably a long (15 hour) motor-sail.


Tom
Anchored Rock Sound
Eleuthera