Power Outages Will NOT Stop Us - Ebenezer Union Baptist Church

April 29, 2015

On this visit to Exuma, we have attended a great little church in nearby Rolleville, Ebenezer Union Baptist Church.  They have so warmly welcomed us to their church that we have to blog about it.

We first learned about the church when we attended the Union Baptist 'Crusade' in nearby Farmer's Hill during our February visit to Exuma.  Ebenezer provided the special music that night and we learned that several marina employees attend there.  We had hoped to attend the final night of the Crusade, when Ebenezer's Pastor, Reverend Brown was scheduled to speak.  We did not attend that night due to a lack of a ride and a planned early morning departure the next day, but we later regretted that we did not make more of an effort to attend.

But this stay we had a car for over a week - primarily to attend regatta, but it also gave us more freedom in attending church.

When we first arrived at the church, we were greeted by a young woman that we later learned was Shazzar, wife of Wayne Adderly who works at the marina.  It was about 10 minutes before the start of the service, and she invited us to the Pastor's office to meet him.  We had a great conversation with Rev. Dr. Adam Joseph Brown.  Pastor Brown exudes joy and friendliness and it is clear that his congregation follows his example.

When you ask Pastor Brown how he is doing - he smiles broadly and responds "Fantastically Well!"!

We so enjoyed the service that we returned the next Sunday, but unfortunately Wayne, who plays keyboard  in the church had to work both Sundays so we did not get a chance to hear him play.  But Pastor Brown announced that they would have an 'Evangelistic' service that evening and that Wayne would be playing, so we decided to return that night.

Shazzar led the worship and Wayne played keyboards and a young man, 'CC', that Wayne brings from 'The Forest' settlement played drums.  It was a great time.

However, at one point the power went out, but the singing continued with only drums and no keyboard. We have previously had similar experiences and we know that power outages do NOT stop a Bahamian church service, but this was the first time we had experienced it at night.  The church was VERY dark and quickly grew quite warm.

Pastor Brown proceeded to the pulpit and wonderfully worked the darkness into his sermon.  The scripture that he had planned to preach on included Mathew 5:14-16

 14 You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill can not be hidden.  15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  16 Let your light shine so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven

The darkened church was a vivid illustration of the darkness in the world if we do not 'let our light shine'.

Thank you Pastor Brown and the Ebenezer church for so warmly welcoming us - you made us feel like family!

Tom

Docked Emerald Bay Marina

Exuma

National Family Island Regatta - Georgetown

April 25, 2015

We finally attended the Family Island Regatta in Georgetown this year.  It was a LOT of fun!

We have been increasingly interested in Bahamian sloop racing since meeting Mark Knowles, a master boat builder and skipper. Mark hails from Long Island, but over the last few years has spent a lot of time on Cat Island where we met him.

While there are many regatta races in various islands, the National Family Island Regatta (NFIR) is the biggest. People come to attend from throughout the Bahamas. It is also arguably, one of the biggest 'parties' in the Bahamas.

The weather this year was less than ideal, with light winds and some heavy rain, but they completed the races in all the classes.  The Bahamian sloops carry an enormous amount of sail, so they need surprisingly little wind to generate boat speed (unlike us).  To give some perspective our boat is around 41' in overall length and has a 53' mast;  the "A" Class boats are 28' long and feature a 60' mast!

Awaiting the start
At the start, boats are anchored and have sails down.  At the gun, they must raise the anchor, hoist the sails and get underway
Photo credit Doc Fig

Approaching the windward-mark
Not from this year - note some white-caps and reefed sails
Photo credit Family Island Regatta Association

Although there are still a significant number of cruisers in Georgetown, this is predominately a Bahamian event.  Additionally, the cruisers typically watch the race from their dinghies at the various turning points.  While this gives them a close view of the action, most Bahamians, however,  watch the race from shore.  We watched the races from shore which was a great experience.  Bahamians love sloop racing!  I brought a pair of binoculars and ended up being somewhat of a 'spotter' for a crowd at the regatta stand and our binoculars ended up being passed around quite a bit.  We saw some friends from Black Point and Cat Island and made some new ones.

On Wednesday, there were several 'Cup' races in various classes.  Our friend Mark Knowles, won the Class "B" Governor General's Cup.  Following are some pictures of the victory celebration held on Cat Island with the Trophy 'Cup' being used to host Rum & Coke cocktails - good old Cat Island. Wish we could have been there for the celebration!

Our friend Crystal mixing rum & cokes in the trophy!

On Thursday morning we watched a "C" Class (17 feet length) race won by Long Islander Stephan Knowles (Mark's brother) aboard "Whitty K".  Stephan went on to win the "C" Class series.  The "B" Class (21 feet length) race that day was a yawner, with little wind and we did not stay until the end.

"B" Class "Lady Sonia" of Exuma
Photo Credit Family Island Regatta Association

We had planned to return on Friday, but heavy rains made us change our minds.

Saturday was sunny and featured a light southeast wind that provided decent racing. We arrived in time to see the final "B" Class race in which Stephan Knowles won in "New Susan Chase", clinching the "B" class series.  Stephan had quite a regatta winning both the "C" and "B' class series - well done!

"New Susan Chase"
"B" Class winner
Photo credit Family Island Regatta Association

After a junior race, it was time for the "A" Class (28 feet length) 'showdown'.  "Tida Wave" from Staniel Cay led the series with a first and third in the first two races.  Mark Knowles was a close second aboard "Running Tide" with a first and a fourth.

"A" Class boats
From right "Running Tide"(5), Unknown,  "New Courageous (02), "Southern Cross' (I think)
Photo Credit Doc Fig 

However, it turned out that the day belonged to "Red Stripe"of Black Point who led the race from the start and finished with about a 2+ minute (huge) lead at the finish.  "Tida Wave" was fourth* and "Running Tide" was sixth*.  We were disappointed for Mark, but "Red Stripe" is owned by a relative of the Rolle family, good friends in Black Point, so we were glad for them.
                                                       

Class "A" "Red Stripe
Note hiking boards
Photo credit Family Island Regatta Association

The "A" Class series was won, by the narrowest of margins, by "Tida Wave" of Staniel Cay!

"C" Class "Lady Eunice" and "Legal Weapon" both from Black Point
Loaded on the mail-boat ("Lady Francis") and headed home

*  Unoffical results.  Official results are hard to come by.  As of today, if you Google NFIR results, you will find results from the regatta two years ago.  Maybe they will be online in a year or so :-)

Tom
Docked Emerald Bay Marina
Great Exuma

"Cristal, Maybach, Diamonds on your Timepiece; Jet Planes, Islands, Tigers on a Gold Leash"

April 19, 2015

We are currently docked at Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma.  The highlight of the last week has been super yachts owned by the rich and famous.  It is not unusual to see large motor yachts at Emerald Bay and we have been docked near several over the years; we prefer "H" dock at the marina, because it is more private, but the face docks here are some of the prime docking spots for the very large ships .  But this year has been memorable for the size and ownership of the boats.

When we arrived, M/V "Meduse" was docked on the face dock behind us. At around 200', she is the smallest of three super yachts owned by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.

"Meduse" entering the Emerald Bay Basin
Photo Credit Emerald Bay Marina

Fully engaged in the 'race' to own the largest private yacht, Paul now owns the 414' yacht "Octopus". Reportedly, because it is difficult to find dockage for a boat that large, he recently built the 303' yacht "Tatoosh" to complement his fleet.

"Meduse" created quite a stir in the marina when they left their slip and took up a position head-to-wind to land a helicopter on their aft-deck.  There was a lot of speculation about Paul Allen arriving on the aircraft, but we later learned that it was a 'practice' exercise.

Sequence of Helicopter Landing on "Meduse"

"Meduse" docked behind us
Helicopter on her aftdeck

However, being Meduse's neighbor was not that great .  Generally we have found the big yacht crews (particularly the officers) to be quite friendly and personable.  They are often 'small' boat owners like us themselves and we often have quite a bit in common. But "Meduse" was an exception to that experience.  After they discharged their guests the day after we arrived, they were hardly seen and when they were, they had a 'superior air'.  Additionally, since the marina could not provide electrical power to their 'standards', they ran their generator the whole time they were here.

Keeping up the software theme, 150' M/V "Wabi-Sabi" was docked on the other face-dock near us.  It is a little unclear if he still owns her, but she was built for and owned by Larry Ellison, former CEO of Oracle.  Larry also has larger yachts these days - 150' is so small.

M/V "Wabi-Sabi"
Not at Emerald Bay

One of the distinctives of this yacht was the total absence of any markings (ie name, hailing port).  I struck up a conversation with one of the crew who was very nice, but when I asked what was the name of the ship, he responded "Sorry, I am not allowed to tell you".  Not to be denied, when they were departing, between radio traffic and our AIS system, I was able to identify them.

Finally to the title of this post. It is a line from the song "Royals" by 'Lorde', a 17-year-old  New Zealand pop/rock singer .  The song is a critical view of the lifestyles of the 'rich and famous'.  If you saw the Hunger Games movie  'Mocking Jay - Part I' and stuck around through the credits, you heard her sing "Yellow Flicker Beat", a haunting song that caught my ear.  I have grown to like her music a lot, although I have to 'travel through time' to get in touch with some of her more 'teenage' themes.  If you understand all the references in the line without Googling them - you get 'extra credit' towards being rich and famous (I didn't ).

We plan to stay here at least another week and finally get to experience the "Family Island Regatta" inGeorgetown.

Tom
Docked Emerald Bay Marina
Great Exuma

Cat Island and Return to Exuma

April 13. 2015

We spent over two weeks on Cat Island having a good time on one of our favorite Bahamian islands.  I often describe Cat as like a Bahamian island that you imagined before you came here. It does not have the hordes of cruisers that you find in Abaco and Exuma; the island is relatively undeveloped with great beaches, and the people are incredibly friendly.

Our hangout here, as always is the 'Sunshine Take-away' at the Regatta Park.  Run by Ceedee Hunter and her mother Cordell King and featuring a cast of regulars it is a great place to hang out. Cordell was in Nassau during our visit helping her youngest daughter with a new baby.

One of the regulars  here  is Pompey (Bo-hog) Johnson, a rake & scrape musician of note, who performs regularly backed by Ceedee on goatskin drum and Crystal on saw.



 Mark Knowles' 'boat yard', where he is building a Bahamian Sloop (see previous post) is across the street and Mark and his wife Lori are regulars here as well.

Our visit spanned Palm Sunday and Easter.  On Palm Sunday, we climbed to Mt Alvernia, the 'retirement' home of Father Jerome - extraordinary church builder.  It rests on the highest elevation in the Bahamas (206')  and offers a spectacular view of the Bight (harbour).

Mt Alvernia (The Hermitage)

Station of the Cross

Sttaion of the Cross - empty tomb!

 On Palm Sunday we had a time of worship and praise on the steps of the Hermitage using Psalm 104 as a framework.  The view brought many of the words alive!





On Easter, we attended the Mt. Sinai Native Baptist Church in New Bight, another great Bahamian church.


Cat Island has some spectacular beaches - all virtually isolated and empty.

Beach at Shanna's Cove - 'Down' North

Our dinghy off the beach at Old Bight
Barefoot way in the background

As I write this, we are docked at Emerald Bay Marina on mainland Exuma.  We returned here from Cat Island on Sunday.  We had hoped to travel further east to Conception, Rum Cay, and possibly to Crooked/Aklins Islands but the steady east-southeast trade-winds were unrelenting and we finally decided to give up and return to Exuma - maybe next year, earlier in the year.

We had one of our best sails of the year as we traveled from Cat Island to Emerald Bay, Exuma on Sunday.  Wind at 14-18 knots on the beam with 3-4' seas (with an occasional 6 footer) gave us some great boat speed flying all three sails, but the boat was crusted with salt when we arrived.  We did not see another boat as we crossed Exuma Sound until we were within 5-6 miles from Exuma, when the 'cruiser's highway'  (boats headed north and south along mainland Exuma) gave us numerous boats to contend with as we approached the mainland.

We plan to stay at Emerald Bay for a few weeks as we hopefully tackle a few maintenance projects to get a jump-start on 'summer' maintenance.  This will also span the 'Family Island Regatta' in Georgetown which we have never attended.  We  hope to see Mark there as he races his "A Class"  sloop 'Rupert's Legend'  and probably other boats as he feels like it.  Almost all the boats love to have Mark as their skipper - he is a very good sloop sailor.


Tom
Docked Emerald Bay Marina
Mainland Exuma

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