Mother's Day - Ebenezer Union Baptist Church

May 10, 2016

On our final day at Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma, we attended Sunday service at our home-church here, Ebenezer Union Baptist Church in Rolleville.

Mother's Day is always a special day here.  Pastor Adam Joseph Brown, although a passionate preacher, is usually in control emotionally, but Mother's Day seems to be an emotional day as he remembers his mother and grandmother that raised him.

He preached a wonderful sermon on an unnamed  'great woman' from 2 Kings 4:8-37.

Towards the end of the service he called all the mothers and mothers-to-be up to the front of the church to be recognized.  He then asked that the rest of the congregation go forward to wish each of them a happy Mother's Day (Bahamian church services don't pay much attention to the clock).

During this time, he broke into a solo rendition of an old song that we had previously sung - 'If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again'.  From congregational singing, which often is without musical accompaniment at Ebeneezer, we knew he had a strong voice but this emotional rendition was incredible - he could be a gospel singer.

Following is a recording of the song he sang - it is NOT him singing - he was much better.

On Monday May 9, we traveled from Emerald Bay up Exuma Sound to Black Point.  The wind was from the ESE at 15-20 knots, gusting to 23 and we had a great, but bumpy sail.  East winds quickly build up a wind chop across Exuma Sound.

We sailed with our head sail only, having lost the use of our main sail on our sail from Cat Island a while ago.  Our sail track (which holds the sail to the mast) developed some cracks and portions of it chipped out, making the attachment of the sail to the mast, tenuous at best.  Fortunately, this is the 'best time' in the trip for this to happen.  A mainsail is most important sailing to windward, and most of our return trip will feature the prevailing easterly winds on our beam or behind us.

We plan to spend about 2 weeks here in Black Point, before starting our trip back to the States


Tom
Anchored Black Point, Exuma.

Great Exuma - Regatta & Nicknames

May 3, 2016

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

Black Point

April 8, 2016

We spent three weeks in Black Point Exuma, one of our 'homes' in the Bahamas.

We have become quite close with the extended Rolle family there and are 'members' of Gethsemane Baptist Church.

One of the highlights of our visit was spending Easter here.  We attended Good Friday and Easter services at Gethsemane led by Pastor Teddy Dorsett.  He is based in Nassau and comes to Black Point about once a month, so it was a treat to hear him at two services.

Gethsemane Baptist Church
Bell-shaped steeple

Easter is a time when traditionally many young children of Black Point heritage come here to spend their Easter break with grandparents or other relatives.  Typically there are a lot of kids 'roaming' around Black Point (it is a great place for a kid - they have a lot of freedom), but the numbers exploded during the Easter week.  Nothing was cuter, however, than the Ferguson porch with Van playing his guitar surrounded by a virtual flock of little children!

I (Tom) increased my contacts with the Bahamian sloop racing community in Black Point,a hotbed of sloop racers.  This year I was able to meet or just connect people I already knew with the sloops they are associated with.  'Smashie', 'Legal Weapon', 'Lady Eunice', 'H20' and 'Crazy Partner' are all Black Point "C" class sloops.  The "A" class sloop 'Red Stripe' also hails from here.

'Smashie'  getting a new smooth hull and paint job.
 She has had a new mast and boom built since last year.  Van is looking for a win this year at Regatta.

Lady Eunice and Legal Weapon on the 'Lady Francis' on their way back from Regatta last year

Over the last two years we had met Mark Knowles of Long Island (Bahamas), one of the preeminent boat builders and sailors in the Bahamas.  Mark came in third in the "A" class series last year aboard 'Running Tide' behind 'Red Stripe' and 'Tida Wave' of Staniel Cay.  Mark's brother Stefan won both the "B" Class aboard 'Susan Chase' and the "C" Class aboard 'Whitty K'.

'Red Stripe' - winner of the "A" Class last year

Last  year we were rooting for Mark, but this year we are committed to supporting Black Point boats.  I had to be very diplomatic a few times, saying I was supporting Black Point boats, but not picking a 'favorite'.

Go Black Point!!!

One big change in Black Point over the last few years is the increase is tour boats stopping for lunch after visiting the 'swimming' pigs at Big Majors near Staniel Cay.  Two companies are bringing in a total of 60-70 people a day for lunch on their way back to Great Exuma.  We are not big fans of the pigs; with all the natural beauty and wonderful people in Exuma, we think it is a bit sad that the big attraction is becoming the pigs.  But it is good for the economy of the Exuma Cays and we are happy for that.

Four C's Tours out of Barraterre Great Exuma
Currently they are running much bigger boats than the one shown here

Swimming Pigs of Exuma

A few random pictures from Black Point:

Remodeled and greatly expanded Lorraine's Cafe, including a new deck

All-aged School
Simple facility, but good education

Government dock where I helped unload two mail(supply) boats.
I got a good workout on the 'Captain C' unloading luggage for about 40 passengers arriving for Easter plus loose cargo.
Tom loves mailboats!

On a very sad note - Basil Rolle's grave.
Peermon's husband and father of Lorraine (and 9 others)
We miss him a lot!

Early Sunday April 2, we left Black Point, exited to Exuma Sound through Dotham Cut, and transited south to Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma.  After over 6 weeks at anchor, it was great to have our first 'land' shower with 'unlimited' hot water!

We plan to base here for about a month to, among other things, attend the Family Island Regatta the last week of April.  We really enjoyed it last year and plan to watch even more races this year.

Tom
Docked Emerald Bay Marina
Farmers Hill, Great Exuma

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

Transit From Abaco to Eleuthera & Marsh Harbour Epilogue

February 23, 2016

Abaco 'Blue Hole'
After trying in vain to find this with directions from the internet, our bible study teacher, Elvane, led us here.  

We arrived in Rock Sound, Eleuthera late yesterday (Monday) after a 3-day transit from Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

Day 1 (Saturday) was a short hop down the 'Sea of Abaco to anchor off Lynyard Cay near Little Harbour Bar (Cut). This is one of those trips that is of 'many turns' as you dodge the numerous shoals that line the way south.  For the first time (at any speed anyway) we briefly hit a small uncharted shoal in water that was supposed to be 10-11' feet deep (we draw less than 5').  After bouncing over it, there appears to be no damage, that we know of, other than probably scrapping some bottom paint off from our keel.

Day 2  (Sunday) featured an exit from Little Harbour Bar to the Atlantic Ocean. Little Harbour Bar is one of the cuts or channels that connect the Sea of Abaco with the Atlantic Ocean.  None of these cuts can be taken lightly.  When a large ocean swell is running, particularly if it is opposing wind and/or tide - the resultant large breaking waves can be very dangerous as you navigate the relatively narrow 'cut'.  Sunday morning featured a 6' NE swell that at near high tide in the morning featured a somewhat bumpy, but safe exit to the ocean.

After exiting the Bar, we proceeded to cross what is known by professional mariners as 'The Hole in the Wall'.  The Bahamas create a huge 'wall' that large ships can not get across to reach the south-east or gulf coasts of the States.  One of the few places where there is a large deep-water channel that allows them to pass is the Northeast Providence Channel or 'The Hole in the Wall'.  Although only about 60 miles across, it consists of deep ocean water heavily trafficked by large ships.  Although much is made about crossing the Gulf Stream with its strong currents, crossing the Hole in the Wall is true 'ocean' sailing in that it is exposed to the North Atlantic swells.  Swells are waves that were created by wind a long way away and have traveled and built up, sometimes to monstrous size.  The swell on Sunday was a moderate 6-8', but even at that, when you are at the bottom of a swell, you sometimes look out of the cockpit at the side of a wave.

Day 3 (Monday) featured a transit through 'Current Cut',  an aptly named very narrow channel between northern Eleuthera and Current Island to the south, through which a huge amount of tidal water flows. We transited a little before a high tide with a modest 2 knot following current.  Then it was across the bank, arriving in late afternoon at Rock Sound, Eleuthera.

Already, we have had great visits here with our friends at Sammy's Place and 3-T's laundry and we are looking forward to our remaining stay.  Although we have done it several times before, the transition from Marsh Harbour, Abaco to here is always striking. Although we have great friends there, Marsh Harbour is the 3rd largest city in the Bahamas and although relatively small by American standards, still has somewhat of a 'city' feel.  Here almost everyone that passes says good-day, how are you - especially the school children - quite a difference from Marsh Harbour.

That said, our time in Abaco, especially Marsh Harbour was precious.  Our friends at Grace Baptist are like family and we enjoy our time together.  This year, in addition to Sunday worship, we joined the Wednesday night bible study and I attended 2 days of a men's conference.  Our time there was a great spiritual uplifting!

The text from one of Pastor Shawn's sermons has become a special passage to me:

Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old,

Behold,  I (God) will do a new thing

Now it will spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert,

...

To give drink to my chosen people.

Isaiah 43: 18-19,20e

Tom

Anchored Rock Sound, Eleuthera