We have been docked at Emerald Bay Marina on mainland Exuma for about a month - a relatively long marina stay.
Aside from enjoying the 'big' island and its resources, our stay allowed Joyce to fly back to the States for a quick medical checkup (all is well) and enjoy the National Family Island Regatta (NFIR).
The NFIR is the 'super bowl' of the Bahamas. Sloop racers from throughout the Bahamas come to Georgetown for the competition. It is also one of the biggest parties of the year. When we say to many Bahamians that we are going to Regatta to watch the races, they often respond, "We don't go for the races".
The racers compete in three classes (A, B, and C); all three are 'rocket ships' with an enormous amount of sail relative to their length.
We have become friends with many of the sloop racers and builders over the years, particularly from Black Point, our 'home' here in the Bahamas. It is great to 'hang out' with sailors and supporters and watch the races. This year Black Point had four Class C sloops ('Crazy Partner', 'H20', 'Smashie', and 'Lady Eunice') and one Class A sloop ('Red Stripe') competing. It was not the best year for the Black Point boats but they competed well.
 |
| "Red Stripe" - Class A Sloop from Black Point |
Stephan Knowles of Long Island (Bahamas) repeated as the winner of the C and B class series on 'Whitty K' and 'New Susan Chase'; He also came in second in the A class series which was won by 'Lady Muriel' of Staniel Cay. If Stephan had won the A series, it would have been the first sweep of all three major classes in Regatta history.
It was a big year, however, for honorees from Black Point; each year they honor 3+ individuals that have had a significant impact in the Regatta over the years.
When I first saw the posters showing the honorees, I saw one that really looked like a friend from Black Point, but I did not recognize the first name - Efford. I called our friend Peermon in Black Point who confirmed that it was in fact the man I knew as 'Kem'. Now a significant fact in this story is that 'Kem is a man of few words. Probably 2-3 years ago I asked him what his name was and now I am pretty sure he responded Kemp - his last name. At that time, apparently, I didn't hear the 'p' and I have been been calling him 'Kem' since that time. True to his nature, he has never corrected me. I only learned his real first name from the poster.
But the Bahamian name story has more to it. He has crewed on the class A boat 'Tida Wave' of Staniel Cay going back to the legendary Rolly Gray days. Rolly gave him the nickname 'Jim' to which he still proudly answers. Why 'Jim' - I have no idea, except the theory that it was a one syllable name that made communication easier in race conditions. Now I am not sure if I should call him Efford or Jim!
 |
| Efford (Jim) before the award ceremony with two of his sons. Edgar on the left, Kelly on the right - both Inspectors with the Royal Bahamian Police |
Efford has his best finish in the last C class race with a 6th place finish on 'H20'.
 |
| "H20 - C Class Sloop from Black Point Efford hooking up the bilge pump - the boats have a large open cockpit and are prone to sinking in heavy weather/seas!! |
Morris 'Tom' Rolle, skipper of the C class sloop 'Lady Eunice' had a tough Regatta; the owner of the boat had shortened the mast for heavy wind conditions, which left Morris with too little sail for the moderate wind conditions this year. But now on to another nickname story. Although I knew who he was, I personally met Morris just this year. Morris is probably Efford's opposite word-wise, he always seems to have something to say.
 |
| "Lady Eunice" - Class C Sloop from Black Point |
When I was introduced to Morris, the very first thing he said to me, jokingly, was "You can't use (the name) Tom, I have a claim on it". Since then it has been somewhat of a running joke between us as we meet, that I need to get a nickname and be called something other than Tom around Black Point (and Regatta). Hanging out a few days before the races began, 'Magic', another Black Point sailor proposed an outrageous bet to Morris - "If you (Morris) place in the top 3, you can keep 'Tom' and give (me) a nickname; if you (Morris) place lower than that, you need a new nickname. It was never a serious proposal and Morris never really accepted. Of course as I noted in the first part of this section, Morris did not have a good regatta and placed well below 3rd. When I ran into him after the races, he was as quiet as I have ever seen him and he said, "Well I guess I can't use the name Tom anymore". I assured him that I never took the 'bet' seriously and would never take his nickname.
A few other pictures from Regatta:
 |
| "Crazy Partner" - C Class Sloop from Black Point |
 |
| "Catch da Cat" - Class C Sloop from Cat Island I 'helped' master-boat-builder Mark Knowles build her last year on Cat Island |
 |
| "Smashie' Class C Sloop from Black Point awaiting her new paint job before Regatta Built, owned, and sailed by our good friend Van Fergsuon Van has been honored on both the Exuma and Regatta-wide 'Halls of Fame' |
 |
| Trophies awaiting the award ceremony |
Our stay here wasn't all Regatta though. We (although more me in Joyce's absence) had some great times with our friends at Ebeneezer Union Baptist Church in Rolleville.
 |
| Ebenezer Union Baptist in Rolleville Our church-home on mainland Exuma |
A few random pictures from Exuma:
 |
| Turtle hanging out in the marina |
 |
| Mrs. Nixon's Pea Soup - Yum Yum! Real Bahamian food - delicous dumplings Americans would call this a 'stew'. Lighthouse Cafe, Steventon |
 |
| Very 'nice' crypts in the Barreterre cemetery They look very comfortable :-) |
We had planned to leave mainland Exuma on Tuesday (5/3), but an unusually strong cold front for this time of year appears to be coming later in the week, making Black Point an unattractive anchorage. So we will probably now leave here next weekend or early next week.
Oh well - 'suffering horribly' as we head off to one of our favorite restaurants (Santana's on Little Exuma) for lunch.
Tom
Docked Emerald Bay Marina
Great Exuma
No comments:
Post a Comment