Cat Island - Bahamian Racing Sloop Building

April 3, 2015

We have been anchored in New Bight, Cat Island for a little over a week and have had the honor of watching a master boat builder building a "C" Class Bahamian Racing Sloop.

'Catch da Cat' - the "C" Class sloop under construction.
It has been a number of years since Cat Island has had a boat, so this is a revival of a tradition of great sailors here on Cat.

We met Mark Knowles of Mangrove Bush, Long Island here last year.  He and his wife Lori were living on Cat Island while Mark was heading up a sea-wall construction project along some of the low-lying sections of the main highway.

At that time Mark was building a small fishing boat for Duke of Duke's Conch Stand.  Watching Mark build the boat with traditional techniques was interesting.  We knew that Mark built and sailed Bahamian racing sloops, but we really had no idea that he was arguably the best boat builder in the Bahamas.

After our visit here last year, internet research indicated that Mark was a well-known third+ generation boat builder and sailor.  This year as we traveled through the Bahamas, we found that mention of Mark's name was held in awe by knowledgeable Bahamian sailors.  Just an example - when we were talking to Berky Wright of Black Point, owner of the "C" class sloop "Lady Eunice", he said "Mark built my boat.  He is the best boat-builder in the Bahamas".

We really did not expect Mark to be here this year, assuming that the sea-wall would be long finished.  But he was called back to add some additional sections to the sea-wall and he started a number of boat building projects here on Cat Island.  We also think that, although Long Islanders by heritage, Mark and Lori are becoming Cat Islanders - we expect to see them here a lot in the future.

First a little bit about Bahamian racing sloops.  They are 'rocket-ships' of sail boats, carrying 'insane' amount of sail.  They are sailed by 4-5 man crews.  Most of the responsibility of the crew is to act as 'rail-meat' as they perch on a hiking board (or gang-plank as Mark calls it) to balance the large amount of sail.  They are largely open boats and typically take on water as they race.  They have bilge pumps, but if the battery dies or they hit an unusual wake, it is not uncommon for them to sink.  Mark told a great story about racing to the finish in the Georgetown Regatta, when a large motor yacht passed kicking up a wake that swamped the boat.  The crew went in, but Mark scampered up the mast and into a nearby dinghy as the boat sank - he claims he never even got wet - now that is a Bahamian seaman!  Not to worry, the water is not that deep where they race and they re-float the boats with inflatable  bags.

 About the only difference between how Mark builds a boat and how his grandfather would build one, is the use of power tools; It was all hand saws and planes in the old days - now it is chain saws and other power tools, But the basic construction technique remains the same.

 Following is a few pictures from the traditional boat building process:

Keel has been laid and ribs and framing in process

Prow of the boat cut from a root of a native tree.
The section of log used is selected for a natural shape similar to the desired part.
It is then cut with a chainsaw and shaped with planes

This is the piece of root from which the prow was cut

Ribs in process

More ribs in process

Ribs bolted together and to the keel

40' mast for a 17' boat - hollow box construction
A face and edge being glued together on right
The second face and edge lying on the ground to the left

Close-up of half the mast

The 4 sides of the mast being glued together

Close-up of mast almost complete.
Lighter and stronger than a solid mast!

Mark is also building a small "E" class, which is a youth training boat

Hand-made sculling oars

An existing "C" class sloop, that Mark plans to 'renovate'

Needless to say, it has been a great pleasure and honor to get to know Mark and watch him build boats!

Tom
Anchored New Bight, Cat Island

Black Point - Birthdays and Gullah

March 22, 2015

We have spent over two weeks anchored in Black Point, one of our favorite places in the Bahamas.

Yes it offers some increasingly popular amenities to cruisers, but it is special because underneath it is a true working Bahamian settlement.  It takes time and effort to get beneath the surface, but that is rewarded by a truly unique experience.

Our closest friends here is the extended family of Peermon ('Paymon') Rolle.  Peerman is the delightful matriarch of the family and we spend many hours here just sitting on her porch talking with her and her husband Basil.  It is a simple pleasure that you just don't find much anymore - just sitting in the shade talking.

Joyce, Peermon, and a rare occurrence of a very busy Lorraine relaxing on 'The Porch'

Peermon is a deaconess in Gethsemane Baptist Church of which we are 'members'.  One Sunday featured a visiting evangelist from Nassau, who has come to Black Point annually for a few years.  She had a group of singers and musicians that led a very lively service and we thought her message was very good.

The evangelist had two weeknight services that we missed due to miscommunication.  We didn't know about the services, but when we asked Peermon why she didn't tell us, she replied "I did tell you, you must not of understood".    We understand each over quite well, but I would rate our mutual comprehension at 70-80%.  I have talked about differences in sounding vowels in Bahamian before - for example I am 'Tome' in Bahamian.  But the differences go deeper than that and go back to the African slave experience.

When the slaves arrived, they learned two languages: 'English' to speak to the white people, and 'Gullah' to speak among themselves.   A book that gives great insight into the African slave experience is "The Book of Negroes".  It follows a young woman named Aminata from her capture into slavery through her flight to freedom and later life.  The discussion of when she is being schooled in language after her arrival at a South Carolina plantation helps you understand the language better:

"...I came to see that she was teaching me two languages. ...There was the language that (she) spoke when alone with the Negroes on the plantation, and she called that Gullah. And there was the way she spoke to [the white people] and that she called English."

I am quite sure that out-island Bahamanian is largely derived from Gullah and many years of island isolation have made it the primary language.  The more isolated the island - the stronger the Gullah-based-language.  Black Point has some of the strongest Gullah that we find in our travels.

Now on to Birthdays.  Joyce celebrated her birthday recently and I wanted to organize a little birthday party.  Lorraine (Peermon's daughter and owner of Lorraine's Cafe) agreed to make a cake and I spent several mornings going around the settlement inviting many friends and acquaintances.  I was pleased with the turn-out and we had a great time together.  Elvie, the post-mistress, had recently also had a birthday and it turned into a joint celebration.  Quite unexpectedly, Joyce received several nice presents of straw-work and locally made jewelry and knicknacks at the party.  And then at our last service at Gethsemane Baptist, she received a lovely fruit basket; it was flown in from Nassau - it the best fruit we have ever had in the Bahamas! It is very hard to out-give Bahamians!

A rare picture of us at the birthday party.  I think the candles should read '39'.
Lorraine's son Joshua awaiting a piece of cake on the left

Another birthday picture.
Mrs Adderley of Adderley's Friendly Market on the right
She gave Joyce a pretty straw-work bag. 

Towards the end of the party while a few women remained, the language turned heavily to Gullah.  I could follow the essence of the conversation, but it was not easy.  I am quite sure that the intent was not to hide their conversation from us, but would like to think that we were just thought of as other 'neighbors'.

Our last Sunday service at Gethsemane was a highlight of our time at the church.  It was led by Sister Luann Ferguson and the service was very moving.  Peermon recounted seeing Luann in Sunday School and recognizing at a young age that she was a leader.  She is very gifted and we hope she continues to be a worship leader in the church.  A simple, but moving, song was repeatedly sung with great power - we can't get it out of our heads:

There is nothing that I need that he won't provide

There is nothing that I need that he won't supply

If I believe, If I believe

So, I say to the mountain move

So, I say to the mountain get out of my way

Cause I believe, yes I believe

The people of Black Point are extremely friendly and gracious, but most interactions with 'tourists' are fairly superficial.  But with time and effort, you can build deeper relationships - it is well worth the effort!

In a few days we plan to transit to Cat Island, another of our favorite places.

Tom
Anchored Black Point
Great Guana, Exuma

Transit to Black Point, Great Guana

March 9, 2015


We left the dock at Emerald Bay Marina at around 7:00 AM on Saturday 3/7 and transited up Exuma Sound.

We had a confused 2-3' wind-driven-sea giving us a bit of a rough ride for a about 2 hours before we cleared the foot of Cat Island to the east and the seas smoothed out.

Wind was light, but on the starboard quarter and we motor-sailed with the genoa (headsail) making good time.

At around 1:30 PM, we entered Dotham Cut with about a 1 knot ebb, but with small seas from the SE our transit was relatively smooth.  This cut can have a strong rage (breaking seas) with an ebb current and significant E/NE waves.

There were about 50 boats in the harbour and we anchored farther away from the government dock than we usually do, but this keeps us farther away from the morning and evening boats that taxi workers to nearby marinas and other work sites.

Black Point is one of our favorite spots in the Exumas.  We surprised Peermon Rolle at Sunday service at Gethsemane Baptist Church and spent most of the that afternoon chatting on her porch.

Black Point Signpost

How long we will stay depends on the weather.  There is no westerly protection in the harbour here and there is the potential for a front penetrating this far within the next week - something that has not happened in a few weeks.

Tom
Anchored Black Point
Great Guana, Exuma Cays

Exuma Adventures

March 6, 2015

We have been docked at Emerald Bay, north of Georgetown, Exuma for over 3 weeks - a relatively long winter marina stay.

One of factors in the length of our stay here was that I needed to fly to Miami, to get an exam on what turned out to be a minor eye problem.  So we took a relatively early weather window from Eleuthera to make sure we could make our airline reservation.  The problem had the potential to be serious, but all is well.

We took the opportunity to have a 5-day 'vacation' in the States.  We had some great food, with a visit to Visa-O1 in Miami Beach for pizza and  the Versailles Restaurant on Cali Ocho for roast pork, along with visits to the nearby Pollo Tropical.

But it was not all food!  We had the opportunity to see the University of Miami Women's Basketball team take on 7th-ranked North Carolina.  It was a great game that went down to the final seconds, but unfortunately Miami could not quite pull off the upset.  We also spent time at the Barnacle, a great little State Park embedded in Coconut Grove.

We have had a good time on Exuma, but little new to report.

We traveled 4 times (yes 4!) to Santana's Grill Pitt on Little Exuma.  Run by the wonderful Dee Rolle, it arguable has the best fish dishes in the Bahamas.  It is interesting to see how the chatter in groups just stops, when the food arrives.  Everyone is so intent on eating!

Dee and Tanya

View from Santana's Grill Pitt

On one visit we got to see Safari, Dee's 5-year-old granddaughter and 3-year-old  Shaddy, son of Tanya who helps Dee cook   We had met both of them last year.  Shaddy, who was rather quiet last year, was much more talkative this year.  He and Safari wanted to go swimming, but Dee would not let them because it was too rough.  Shaddy, however, was determined to get down to what we call, the Bahamian little kid bathing suit - you may know it as underwear.  He had taken the belt off his loosely fitting shorts and was struggling to keep them up.  Joyce tried to help him put his belt back on, but that was NOT the direction he wanted to go (his mother later gave him no choice in the matter).  Santana's had decorated for a wedding later that day, and Shaddy gave me a flower that had fallen off.  When I went to hand it to Joyce, he said "You can't give it to her!"  We think that he was still 'holding a grudge' about the belt assistance.

Safari is showing that she will be a 'strong' Bahamian woman.  We had brought both of the children small gifts.  Safari had been at a church group for the day and was not there when we arrived and Shaddy opened his gift.  It was very busy that day and no one had been able to give Safari her gift which was behind the counter.  Shaddy repeatedly told Safari "You have a present", to which she repeatedly FIRMLY responded "I already opened my present!".   We never figured out what 'present' she had already opened, but probably it was something she got at church.  Well she finally found the present - her favorite part was the costume jewelry that Joyce threw in at the last minute, after I had spent a long time picking out a cute top and sundress.

We have gone to church several times at Mt Sinai Union Baptist Church in Stuart Manor.  And last night we went to a night of the 'Crusade' being held at the nearby Ebeneezer Union Baptist Church in Farmer's Hill.  It was a great night of praise and worship.  Two members of the marina staff, who attend a a church in nearby Rolleville, were part of the special music for the night.  Although we plan an early morning departure tomorrow, we hope to attend the final night of the Crusade tonight.

We had hoped to travel east to some of the outlying islands next, but the E-SE trades have built in with a vengeance, so our next leg will feature a trip north to the Exuma Cays for a few weeks.


Tom
Docked Emerald Bay Marina
Great Exuma

Transit to Exuma - Emerald Bay

February 10, 2015

We are currently docked at Emerald Bay Marina in Exuma.

We did an overnight sail from Rock Sound, rather than splitting the trip into 2-3 day-trips, partly due to the available weather window and also just to cover ground quicker.  We will return later in the year to enjoy the northern Exumas.

The trip between Rock Sound and Emerald Bay is a little over 90 miles - too long for a day-trip, but actually a bit short for an overnight.  Thus we departed as late as possible and had to keep our speed down in order to arrive after the marina has opened.

We departed Rock Sound, Eleuthera a little after 4:00 PM on Sunday (2/8) allowing us to clear the Davis Channel and enter deep water before sunset.

The trip featured a little close-hauled (wind forward) sailing, but mostly motor-sailing as the wind decreased and clocked more on the nose.  We had a 4 foot wind-driven swell bouncing us around as we cleared the southern tip of Eleuthera and one significant squall, but overall it was a decent trip.

We approached Emerald Bay at around 9:00 AM on Monday while the marina area was experiencing a rain shower.  We killed a little more time to allow it to pass and had only a few sprinkles on arrival.

As we entered the marina, we were surprised by the level of activity - we had to wait 15 minutes to get some fuel before docking in our slip.   That activity, however, was just a prelude.  As a strong cold front was approaching on Tuesday, a 'record' 45  boats sought refuge in the marina.  This is our fourth stay here, and we have never seen it this busy!  Exuma is a wonderful place, but it features few spaces to weather a strong clocking cold-front, Emerald Bay being one.

In all our stays here, we have never seen ONE boat on this dock - today it is FULL.  It does not have electricity nor water and it is in the far reaches of the marina -  a looong walk to the bathroom, showers, and other amenities.

We have now caught up some on sleep and as I write this, the strong winds have arrived as predicted!

More to follow on our mainland Exuma adventures.

Tom
Docked Emerald Bay Marina

Rock Sound, Eleuthera

February 8, 2015

We have been anchored in Rock Sound, Eleuthera for a little over two weeks.  The weather has been a bit unsettled so we have had to spend more time on boat than we would like, but we still have had an enjoyable time.

As always, Sammy's Place is our hang-out here.  Featuring authentic Bahamian food and run by the friendly Culmer family, it is a great place to spend some time.  We were sad that Jan was off-island for our stay this year, but it did give us an opportunity to get to know Lisa and Margi better than on previous visits.  Mother Kathleen is still amazing, hitting the restaurant at 3-4 AM for prep-work, typically followed by a stint at her farm.

The most notable event of the stay was attending the breast cancer fundraiser sponsored by the women of several Rock Sound churches.  We have grown to expect that events in the Bahamas are more spiritual than you would expect in the States, but this was a full-blown night of praise and worship.  Led by Pastor Bradley of the Rock Sound Church of God backed by an awesome praise-band, the night was very enjoyable.  

However, we learned something about collections at Bahamian fund-raisers - there will be many more than one!  We had decided how much we were going to give and put it all in the first collection.  We were a little surprised when the collections kept on coming.  We ended up digging a little deeper on some following collections, but it is a good cause.

Joyce is a breast cancer survivor, and hearing about the lack of testing facilities made her thankful she had the medical care she did.  Even though it is one of the larger Family Islands, at this point it does not have a mammogram testing facility, and women must go to Nassau to get the exam.  This leads to many later-stage diagnoses.

Joyce joined two other survivors for a time of recognition late in the service - wish I had a picture!

We rented a car for two days allowing us to get some laundry done at the 3T's Laundromat run by the wonderful Willa Mae and her husband 'Showboat', provision at the Market Place, and have a great lunch at the Sky Beach Club, north of Governour's Harbour.

We have been told that it has been dry here, and it certainly has caused the flowering trees/shrubs to put on a great display of color.

We plan to leave here this afternoon (Sunday 2/8) for an overnight run down to Emerald Bay on Exuma.  The weather is less than ideal, but it appears it is the best window for a week or so.


Tom
Anchored Rock Sound, Eleuthera

Bahamian Rental Cars - Realizing what is really important

February 4, 2015

We occasionally rent a car on our travels through the Bahamas.   It makes things like doing laundry, getting groceries and other chores much easier.  We also find that you really cannot see the 'big islands' without an occasional car rental - it allows you to escape the 'cruiser's ghetto'.  So we have had a rental car from Dingle's Motors here in Rock Sound for the last two days.

Yesterday we drove to Sky Beach Club north of Govenor's Harbour for a great lunch.   After I remarked to Joyce that this was "the best rental car we have had this year",  it really struck me that 'we are no longer in Kansas Toto'.

First as a background, cars are expensive in the Bahamas.  Shipping and customs duties of 35-85% put the price of cars well above what they cost in the States.  Coupled with more modest incomes, cars tend to be smaller and older than typical in the States.

When I first looked over the Nissan Sentra rental, I was a little nervous.  Pressing on the  brake pedal produced a hissing sound as the pedal slowly sank.  Two of the well-worn tires were under-inflated and one showed a rather crude plug repair.  A loose shield or pipe produced a significant rattle as the motor speed increased.  The finish and interior were well worn.  I knew enough not to ask if the air conditioning works - it rarely does.  But the folks at Dingles are great and Mr. Cates himself put some air in two of the tires and I ventured off.

Remember when you had to crank the window up and down - welcome back!
Joyce, in particular, found the upholstery pattern 'eye-catching'

Air conditioning - nah, it rarely works. 

A little noisy, yes, and simple and worn around the edges; but the brakes worked fine, the transmission performed without any slippage, there were no warning lights about checking the engine or transmission  (I don't think this basic car even had any such lights), and the car handled well.    Far from luxurious, but it gets you where you need to go - what more would you want from a vehicle?  By Bahamian rental car standards, it was great.

Tom

Anchored Rock Sound, Eleuthera