The Marina at Emerald Bay

Latitude: 23.63009  Longitude:  -75.91724

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Bahamas Day 512 (BD512 – Saturday, June 1, 2013) – We both had a birthday cupcake for breakfast.  Rick tried to check out around 8:30, but couldn’t because the marina office had flooded overnight.  Clevon Gray, the dock master, told Rick that the island had been deluged with rain again during the night and there were many roads impassable.  The office had dried out enough for us to check out and leave the Exuma Yacht Club docks just after 10 a.m.  We tied up at the Marina at Emerald Bay’s fuel dock around noon after travelling 13.5 nautical miles.  John, one of the dock hands, helped tie us up and put 100 gallons of diesel fuel in the boat at the rate of $5.34 a gallon.  While we were there, I noticed that the gas price was $6.00 a gallon.

We had a pleasant ride up here and it was only just a little bit scary coming in to the marina through the small opening in the breakwater along with the rolling waves.  This marina is different from most we have encountered in the Bahamas in that they do not take cash – only credit cards.  And, it is one of the few places in the Bahamas that takes American Express.  When we visited here, by car last Sunday, the new manager said that he had been brought here recently to make this into a 5-star marina.  He also said that he is supposed to help to re-design the entrance to the marina.  It should be interesting to see what changes are made.  He has been given a two-year time frame.  By 3:15 it was raining again and continued off and on for the next couple of hours.

How many times can I say, it’s a small world!  When we moved from the fuel dock to slip E6, Rick told me that the dock hand was leaving a slip between us and a sailboat because that boat wasn’t tied up very well.  After we got settled in our slip, we began to look at the sailboat and realized that we had seen it before.  This boat was docked next to us last January and February at the Great Harbour Marina in the Berry Islands.  Andre, Helen and their little dog were very friendly.  He was a computer wiz and she was always sharing vegetables and fruit with me.  When we left Great Harbour a year ago February, they were preparing to sail back to their home in Denmark.  There is no one on board now, and it looks like it has been here quite some time.  We wonder what happened to them, and hope they are alright.

I could see spots of blue sky through the clouds when we SKYPED with Ken and Jackie and Bill and Ruth in the evening.  The four of them were at the Captiva Yacht Club drinking champagne and Chamborg to celebrate Ruth’s birthday.  We even got to talk, and see, the club manager, Freddie.  We have celebrated together there many years in the past and it was nice to see that they were continuing the tradition without us.  Maybe next year, we can all be together instead of just together over the internet.  After we finished our conversation with them, Rick cooked supper for us on the boat.  We finished up our supper with cupcakes and ice cream.  Later, he went into the boaters’ lounge where he joined a few other basketball fans to watch the Miami Heat game on the big screen TV.

I received lots of birthday wishes from friends and family and I would like to thank you all.  I had a very nice birthday.

BD513 – (Sunday, June 2, 2013) – The wind finally laid down today.  We took care of some chores and spent a little bit of time in the boaters’ lounge.  Here we met Bob and Judy Fitzgerald on the M/V PDQ out of Tarpon Springs.  They are members of the Tarpon Springs Yacht Club and have been to the Bradenton Yacht Club many times.  In the early afternoon, we took the dinghy around the marina and then out into the open water for a short ride “around the corner”, if you will, to Emerald Bay. We took the dinghy right up to shore near a public park in Roker’s Point that we had stopped at when we were in the car with Brian and Mary Jo last week.  This looks like it will be a great beach for us to go to if we want to take the dinghy.  Just down from this beach is the Sandals Resort beach and next to it is the Grand Isles beach.  We didn’t spend much time there because when we looked over our shoulders there was a bunch of big black clouds with rain falling out of them.  So, we decided to head back to the boat rather than risk getting caught in a storm.  The weather is predicted to be good all of this week, so I’m sure we will try it again.

BD514 – (Monday, June 3, 2013) – I had a bit of a sore throat last night and woke up with a full-fledged head cold this morning.  So, while I stayed in bed all day, Rick  arranged to get us a rental car.  But, he was told that many of the roads on the island are still impassable.  In the evening, he went to the weekly cocktail party.  He said that there were only about 10 people there and most of them spoke only French.  But, he learned about some of the on-going plans to improve the marina, drank some rum punch and ate some of the sandwiches which they provided.

BD515 – (Tuesday, June 4, 2013) – I think I’ll live!  But, we discovered that we were almost out of Dayquil and Nyquil and, therefore, planned a trip to the local drug store.  We went south from the marina along the Queen’s Highway until we reached Smitty’s Grocery and Drug Store.  We found cold and cough medicine and then tried to continue on to George Town.  Just past Smitty’s, the road was under water, but someone had told Rick that there was a detour, so we turned around and followed some other cars going uphill.  We almost made it back to the Highway, but the last 50 yards of this road were under water, so we turned around and headed back to the marina.  On the way back we stopped at the Island Meat Market and Deli.  Rick went inside to check it out and came back saying that they had some good looking meat and pretty good prices.  We will plan to come back here again.  Then we took another short side trip to the George Town International Airport.  A plane had just landed so the pickup parking lot was crowded.  We just drove through so that we’d have an idea where we were going when Rick takes me there to fly back to Florida on the 21^st.

 

BD516 – (Wednesday, June 5, 2013) – Today we drove north from the marina heading toward Rolleville.  When we got to Rolleville, we saw a sign for the Exuma Point Bar and Grille so we followed the directions to get there hoping to have some lunch.  We found the place, but it was closed.

We drove around Rolleville, but didn’t find another place to eat that was open, so we started back to the marina.  We stopped at the very colorful Big D’s Conch Spot Bar and Grille and had a nice lunch before returning to the boat.

I rested in the afternoon while Rick went in to George Town to pick up a couple of things.

BD517 – (Thursday, June 6, 2013) – We drove south all the way to the end of the Queen’s Highway in Williams Town, on Little Exuma.  Along the way we stopped at the Hermitage estate ruins a remnant of the cotton plantation days on Little Exuma, which did not survive long. Correction:  I had previously said that we couldn’t find any tombs here.  We found the tombs two days later about 40 miles away on Great Exuma in a settlement called Hermitage.  According to the Exuma Visitor’s Guide 2013, these buildings were originally built by the Kelsall family in the late 1700s.

As we returned north, we stopped at Santana’s Bar and Grille to get a cool drink and ask for directions to the Tropic of Cancer Beach.  They told us to continue north and just past the church that is under construction, look for a road with some blue trash barrels on the corner.  That is where we should turn.  It reminded me of directions we once had to find the gas station in Foxtown.  “Look for the piling with the tire hanging on it…”

We continued north, but before we found the “church under construction”, we came to another Bahamian Heritage Site — the Salt Marker.  We walked up the boardwalk to the top of the hill where the marker sits.

There was an information sign which said,

“Overlooking Exuma Sound and the “Great Salina” (Salt Pond) of Williams Town, the thirty-foot-tall marker situated on this low waterfront cliff guided ships in to pick up salt harvested from Little Exuma’s three salt ponds.  Designed as a Tuscan column, the marker was most likely constructed in the Loyalist Era of the late 18^th or early 19^th century.

Salt was a very valuable commodity used worldwide to preserve fish and meat.  In 1670, John Darrell, a Loyalist, while hunting whales in Bahamian waters, reported sighting a salt pond on Little Exuma.

Thus, long before there were any year-round residents on Little Exuma, the salina was worked, first by Bermudans and then by rakers from New Providence.  In the 1700s, as many as sixty boats made up the salt fleet, which was often accompanied by armed vessels to ward off attacks by pirates or the Spanish.

Today, not only is the pillar in need of repair, but should the cliff on which it stands be further undermined by wave action, after more than 200 years as a landmark, our Tuscan Column may end up as a pile of rubble.”

After we left the salt marker, we stopped at the Tropic of Cancer Beach.  I put together a collage of the beach and the sign at the entrance.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get all of the sign in the picture, but I’m sure you can figure out what it said.

Lastly, we visited the site of ancient tombs in Rolle Town.  Unfortunately, as with most old cemeteries, the oldest tombs were in much disrepair and we could not find any markers with dates earlier than the 1800s.

At the end of the day, we were glad to be able to say that we have now seen Great Exuma and Little Exuma from the northern-most point to the southern-most point.  But, never fear, there is still a lot to explore.

BD518 – (Friday, June 7, 2013) – Today is the Bahamas’ Labor Day holiday, so many of the stores and restaurants are closed.  I stayed on the boat while Rick walked some of the holes on the Sandals’ Emerald Bay Resort Golf Course this afternoon.  I think I could lose a lot of golf balls if I tried to play it!

Rick tells me that there was a broken window on the upper floor of the house in this picture.  I wonder how that happened?  For those of you who are wondering if Rick brought his clubs on the boat, the answer is no.  He said that his team won the last tournament he was in and he has decided to go out on that winning note!

BD519 – (Saturday, June 8, 2013) – We had a nearly perfect day today.  We went to the beach after eating lunch at Houseman on the Bay which is between the marina and George Town.  Our lunch was very good and the view was fantastic.  See below.

Then we travelled south, back to the Tropic of Cancer Beach.  I noticed a sign on the corner with the blue trash barrels giving directions to Wink’s Beach Cottages.  Perhaps this information will help someone else who is looking for this “secluded” beach.  This beach is the prettiest beach we’ve seen on these two islands, so far.  We spent a couple of hours enjoying the sun, surf and sand.  While we were there, a number of other people came and went.

On our drive back to the marina, I asked Rick to turn onto the road that goes to the settlement called Hermitage and Moss Town.  This road loops around to the west and then rejoins the Queens Highway just south of Ramsey.  We had travelled this road before, but in the opposite direction.  I had been confused, and can’t say that I am not still, we went to the Hermitage Estate ruins on Thursday near Williams Town on Little Exuma where I expected to find several tombs.  In reading the Exuma Visitor’s Guide more closely, I discovered that the tombs were actually in the settlement of Hermitage about 40 miles away from the Hermitage Estate ruins!  The Bahamas government has done a fairly good job of putting up signs along the roadways that indicate the direction to a Bahamas Heritage Site.

These signs are usually accompanied by a smaller sign underneath it that points out the direction of the site and says what the site is.  Unfortunately, they are only one-sided, so are easily missed if you are travelling in the opposite direction.  So, today, we saw the sign and found the tombs.  There was a small area to park and then a boardwalk leading to the the tombs which were surrounded by a stone wall.  The tombs, themselves were made out of red brick with a solid slab on top.

There was an information sign here that said,

“Today’s Hermitage settlement takes its name from the “Hermitage Plantation,” land originally granted to Alexander McKay, a North Carolina Loyalist.  Offered for sale in 1792, Henderson Ferguson most likely purchased it at that time.

Here are three aboveground tombs constructed of red brick.  The inscription on the slab topping each tomb tells us a little about the person buried therein:

Constance McFee – age 52, a native of Georgia, died 1807

George Butler – age 65; a native of Hartford, Connecticut and a resident of Nassau for 33 years; friend of Henderson Ferguson; died at The Hermitage in 1822

Henderson Ferguson – age 53; a native of South Carolina, died 1825

Henderson Ferguson named his widow, Francis Ferguson and their daughter as the executors of his will.  Mrs. Ferguson may have left Exuma but retained ownership of The Hermitage leaving management of the estate in the hands of an agent.  In 1833, it was reported that a boat with 35 of her slaves aboard was apprehended off Fort Montagu (Nassau).  They were running away because of the estate agent’s plan to transfer them to Norman’s Pond Cay, a salt-producing island in the Exuma Cays.  The agent was persuaded to reverse his decision.”

It has been a week since the big rains that flooded so much of the island, and that was just enough time for hoards of mosquitoes to hatch.  We didn’t stay as long as we wanted at the tomb site because of the mosquitoes.

Later, we went to Sunset Bluff, which is shown on the charts as being Great Exuma South Side on the Exuma Bank.  We ate supper at a really nice and very friendly restaurant and bar called Catch A Fire.  We split a bottle of wine and enjoyed the breezes and the swaying palm trees as we listened to a local band.  The mosquitoes were a problem here too, but we came prepared with repellant.  While at the open-air restaurant, we met a very interesting man who calls himself “Bahama O’Bama”.  He told us that he was an entertainer.  I mentioned that I saw that he brought a “junkanoo” costume with him.  He said that he tried to keep Bahamian history alive.  The outfit was for tourists to put on and have their picture taken.  I told him that we had visited many of the historical sites on the island, but had been disappointed in the Rolle Town tombs.  He told us that we had gone to the wrong place, then he opened a folder and produced several tour guide certificates  to prove that what he was telling us was true.

So, I started saying that this was a nearly perfect day.  The only thing that made it less than perfect were the swarms of mosquitoes.  I guess you have to sacrifice a little to live in paradise.

BD520 – (Sunday, June 9, 2013) – We ate lunch at the beachside bar called Lattitudes at the Exuma Beach Resort which is on the part of the Queen’s Highway designated “hotel row”.  Our bartender, Alex, was very nice and answered many questions for us.  Rick asked him where the best beach was on the island, and he said, without hesitation, Tropic of Cancer Beach.  He told us that he had lived on the island all of his life (he didn’t appear to be out of his 20’s yet) but he was born in Nassau because there is no hospital here.  I told him that we had seen a number of primary schools on the island, but had only seen one secondary school, in Moss Town.  He said that there were a couple of private schools, but only one public high school on the island.  One of the maps we have indicates that the two islands, which are connected via a one-lane bridge, are approximately 70 miles long.  I imagine that can be a pretty long bus ride for some of the students.

After lunch drove around Lake Victoria (its a one-way road around half of the lake) and stopped at the Exuma Yacht Club to get gas in the car.  Since we had been talking about taking the water taxi over to Chat ‘n’ Chill on Stocking Island next Sunday to celebrate Father’s Day, we stopped at the government dock to check on the schedule.  While there, Rick ran into a couple that we had met at Catch A Fire last night.  They had just returned on the water taxi and said they were headed to Club Peace and Plenty for a drink.  We spent the rest of the afternoon, very pleasantly, at the outdoor bar with JD and Jennifer from Dallas and a number of other visitors.  That evening, I finished reading a book while Rick watched the Miami Heat win the second game of the Finals.

BD521 – (Monday, June 10, 2013) – This afternoon we tried to drive down a road that we had not yet taken.  On the map below, which is printed in the Exuma Visitor’s Guide – a free guide that you can pick up at most hotels or attractions, it shows a road that goes from Steventon down to Richmond Hill and then back around through Forrest and Mount Thompson.  This was our planned trip for this afternoon, only in reverse, starting in the south and traveling north.  When we were riding with Brian and Mary Jo, he had hoped to take this loop, but we ran out of time.  At any rate, our plans went afoul pretty quickly.

We first attempted to go through Forrest, but quickly had to turn around when we found the road at the bottom of the hill completely under water.  Then we started west and north from the Mount Thompson area.  This was a paved road, for a little while, then, it turned into more potholes than pavement.  On top of that, it started to pour down rain.  However, we persevered.  We were following signs along the way that pointed us in the direction of Richmond Hill.  After riding for about 45 minutes, we came to a point where this road, too, was underwater, so we turned around and came back to the marina.  We were lucky that it had just stopped raining here, so we were able to get back on the boat without getting wet.  We changed and went into the marina building for the Monday evening cocktail hour.  Before the hour was up, I would guess that there were about 30 people in attendance.  The marina supplied rum punch, made with real fruit, and sandwiches, wraps and fruit.  The spread was pretty good, and the rum punch wasn’t bad either.  We met several of the folks that are staying at the marina and had a nice visit.

BD522 – (Tuesday, June 11, 2013) – Overnight, Rick had checked our charts and found that they seem to have better road maps in them than the road maps we’ve gotten here on the island.  He said that they indicated that the road we were on yesterday did not loop around, so he thinks we probably would have had to turn around anyway.  He also had checked the charts for the Barraterre area, where we had gone with Brian and Mary Jo, and said that there was more to see in the settlement, so we headed north to Barraterre.

Just before we got to the “T” in the road in Barraterre, we saw the local boat yard with several C Class racing sloops in the yard. According to the Bahamas Cruisers Guide, “There are an amazing number of these racing boats for such a small settlement.”

 

Next we saw the government dock which had a sign designating Barraterre as the “City by the Sea”.

We passed by a beautiful Royal Poinciana tree which I just had to take a picture of.
In this condition, a man ejaculates within a minute or two, or for a find for more buy generic viagra phone call.

We also saw the Bonefish Lodge, McKenzie’s fuel pump and the restaurant and bar called “Same Ole Place”.  Not long after that, the paved road turned into a two-lane road, so we turned around and headed back. All in all, we saw some more things on this trip than the last time we were here, but not a whole lot more.

As we returned south, we passed through Steventon.  The road map, published by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, says that Steventon is the “site of the Pompey Rebellion”.  I have been telling Rick that I was going to have to do some research to find out about this rebellion.  Well, on a whim, he turned onto a paved road in Steventon and we came to a Bahamas Heritage Site marker that also included a statue and plaque about Pompey.

The plaque said,

“In 1829, a 32-year old slave of the wealthy British landowner, Lord Rolle, initiated a heroic rebellion that began the Bahamian antislavery movement.  Seventy-seven slaves were told that they were going to be relocated from Exuma to Cat Island.  Led by Pompey, the 77 men and women fled to the bush rather than be moved before they could harvest their crops.  When provisions ran out, forty-four of them returned and seized Lord Rolle’s salt boat.  With Pompey at the helm, they headed for Nassau, hoping to appeal to antislavery Governor, Carmichael Smith.  Apprehended en route, they were thrown into the Nassau workhouse and tried.  The Governor had Pompey and his followers returned to Exuma where they were greeted with mass celebration.  However, the government made an example of Pompey, publicly giving him 39 lashes.

Slavery in the British colonies ended on August 1, 1834.”

The structure at this historic site was that of an old jail house.  The information sign said,

“Although the main government offices for the island were located in George Town, a post office, commissioner’s office and jail were built at Steventon in the early 20th century.  Today, only a few walls and foundations of abandoned buildings can be seen.”

After leaving the Steventon Jail House, we stopped for lunch at Big Ds Conch Spot and then continued just a little further south, finding Flamingo Beach.  We enjoyed some time on this deserted beach, but decided we’d better beat the impending rain back to the boat.  And we did, by about 15 minutes.

In the evening, Rick watched the third game of the basketball finals and reported to me later that the San Antonio Spurs won.

BD523 – (Wednesday, June 12, 2013) – We went into George Town to pick up some things at the Exuma Market.  Then we stopped at Top to Bottom to look into buying a new flag to fly on the boat which is required for all boats visiting the Bahamas.  Ours has been flying for a year and a half and it has faded.  When we came out of the store, we ran into a couple that we met at Monday night’s cocktail party.  They were on their way to the Shop Rite store and then wanted to go south to get something to eat and visit a beach.  We gave them directions to Santana’s and to the Tropic of Cancer Beach.  Later in the afternoon, we walked 7 holes of the golf course (about 2 miles).  Most of the holes that we walked were right on the cliffs of the coastline.  The views were spectacular and the landscaping was also very nice.  There were many shrubs in bloom and, at times, it smelled like we were walking through a gardenia garden.

BD524 – (Thursday, June 13, 2013) – We got a surprise visit from Captain Andrew, from the 4-Cs tour company, who stopped by in the late afternoon with two of his sons.  We got to know him while we were staying at Compass Cay where he brought tourists on almost a daily basis. The picture below was taken there.  He invited us to join him and his wife on Sunday for a buffet at Exuma Point.

 

Note:  I discovered that my BD numbers were incorrect since June 2.  I have gone back and corrected those numbers.

BD525 – (Friday, June 14, 2013) – We drove into George Town to the government dock to catch the 1:00 water taxi ($12 per person round trip) over to Stocking Island’s Chat ‘N’ Chill aka Volleyball Beach.

 

I asked the bartendress, Kendra, if they had a drink specialty of the house and she replied “goombay smash”.  So we both ordered one and then sat at the bar the rest of the afternoon getting “smashed”.  We did eat some outstanding grilled ribs as well.  We relaxed in the water waiting for the 6:00 water taxi to arrive to bring us back to the mainland.  Since we didn’t get a chance to explore Stocking Island, we made plans to return via dinghy tomorrow.

BD526 – (Saturday, June 15, 2013) – The sea gods blessed us with a nice, smooth ride from the Marina at Emerald Bay all the way down to Stocking Island’s Hurricane Hole/Chat ‘N’ Chill Beach/Cove.  It took us just less than an hour to make the trip.  We ate lunch at the bar and then took the dinghy over to tie up near a sign that indicated it was a path to the beach.

 

With Rick’s help, I climbed up the rocky path and then over the sandy path to the beach on the Atlantic side of the island.  It was a very pretty beach and reminded Rick and me of Ormond Beach where we grew up, except that the water was crystal clear.

 

 

After spending a little time at the beach, we decided to head over to George Town to pick up a few things before returning to the marina.  We went into Lake Victoria and tied up to the dinghy dock at the back of the Exuma Market.  I stayed in the boat while Rick went up to get some outboard motor oil and a few other things. We started back just after 3:00 and bounced against the current and the wind all the way.

 

We spent another beautiful day together and wished that some of our friends were here to enjoy it with us.

BD527 – (Sunday, June 16, 2013) – We spent a very quiet Father’s Day on the boat.  Rick got a cute e-mail from JP wishing him a Happy Father’s Day.  He watched the finals of the US Open Golf Tournament in the afternoon and the 5^th game of the NBA finals (Heat lost) in the evening.  I fixed one of his favorite meals for supper.

BD528 – (Monday, June 17, 2013) – It was a blustery morning, so we drove into George Town.  On our trip we stopped at the Bristol Liquor Store, Darville Lumber, Shop Rite Grocery Store, and the Top to Bottom Hardware Store.  At the marina’s cocktail party this evening, we not only had a good time with good food and drink, but we also found out where the NAPA Auto Parts Store is – so, I’m thinking they may see us tomorrow.

Harbour Master, Dale, serving fruit, sandwiches and rum punch.

 

BD529 – (Tuesday, June 18, 2013) – We went to George Town again today.  One of our stops was at the NAPA Auto Parts Store.  This store is in a big building that houses the Bahamas Treasury Office and must have, at one time, also housed an office where AID was administered.  So now, in the space where the AID office was, is the NAPA store, but there is no marking on the outside of the building to let one know that.  Ah, the benefit of local knowledge.  In the afternoon, we played some pool in the boater’s lounge.  Or, I should say, Rick played some pool and watched me move the balls around from one place to another on the table.

The Heat won the sixth game of the NBA Finals, tying the series again.  The final game will be played on Thursday.

BD530 – (Wednesday, June 19, 2013) – We drove over to the Sandals Emerald Bay Resort to check out the possibility of getting an evening pass.  This pass will allow us to eat, drink and use all of their facilities from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.  I was greeted at the front door by hotel staff.  One offered me a wet washcloth for my hands and the other opened the door for me.  On the reception desk there was a tray of glasses filled with champagne.  All of the staff was very friendly and eager to answer our questions.  The receptionist told us that folks staying in the marina received a discount on the cost of the pass, but she would need to look it up, so she suggested we wait to pay for it until we came back.  When we asked her about the restaurants and their menus, she directed us to the concierge lounge.  The concierge showed us a table where each menu was displayed for the seven different restaurants on the property and told us that reservations were only required in the Italian and the French restaurants.  We liked the French Restaurant’s menu best, so we sat down with her to make a reservation for tonight.  She was very sorry to tell us that the French restaurant was closed on Wednesday’s, so we decided to schedule for tomorrow night.  Later in the afternoon, we spent some time back at Flamingo Beach.  It is the closest public beach to the marina and is well protected from the east wind.  Then we went to the Palapa Grill at the Grand Isle Resort for a nice al fresco dinner.  They have a unique mosaic backsplash at their bar. For those of you who don’t know (or remember), you can click on any picture on the website to enlarge it.

Life is good.

BD531 – (Thursday, June 20, 2013) – We bought an evening pass to Sandals Emerald Bay Resort which gave us privileges starting at 6 p.m.

We had reservations for dinner at the French restaurant on the property at 9:00, so we decided to go to the Drunken Duck pub upon arrival to eat some appetizers.  We were somewhat disappointed in the limited menu, but Rick got a smoked salmon appetizer and I got a Caesar’s Salad.

 

According to the Sandal’s website, Sandals Drunken Duck Pub was actually built in England and transported to this property.  There is actually a drunken duck pub in England.  The story behind this name is quite cute: the landlady one day found all of her ducks dead in the yard. Unaccustomed to waste, she plucked them ready for cooking. As she finished, the ducks began to revive and a search of the yard revealed a leaking beer barrel surrounded by webbed footprints. She was apparently so contrite that she knitted little jackets until their feathers grew back.

After finishing our appetisers, we got in the hot tub and pool and met some interesting people who were here with a group from his business.  They live in Ocala, so we had lots to talk about.  We left around 8 and went back to the boat to clean up and change and return for our dinner which was outstanding.

After dinner, we went back to the Drunken Duck, met up with the couple from Ocala and several of their group and watched the 7^th game of the NBA finals (which the Miami Heat won.)  We had a wonderful time.

BD532 – (Friday, June 21, 2013) – Today I flew back to Florida leaving Rick on Great Exuma.  I flew out of George Town on Silver Airways which used to be United Express.  The plane was late arriving in George Town, therefore, late leaving and when I got to Ft. Lauderdale, I not only had to change planes but also change terminals.  So, I didn’t make my connecting flight.  A word to the wise, schedule a longer layover than you’d like to have when you are in a situation like mine.  There were quite a few people at the ticket counter getting new flights scheduled.  It seems that every flight coming from anywhere in the Bahamas was late.  Silver was able to get me on a flight two hours later than my original, but JP and Vanessa had gone to the Tampa airport to pick me up and ended up staying there nearly 3 hours waiting on me to show up.  Anyway, I am glad to finally be in Florida for about a week.  Saturday, the 29^th Vanessa and I fly out of Tampa, through Ft. Lauderdale, back to George Town.  She will stay with us for about a month and Rick and I are really looking forward to our special time with granddaughter.   Andrew came by the boat in the afternoon and spent a few hours with Rick.  They are supposed to go out together on Sunday afternoon.

BD533 – (Saturday, June 22, 2013) – JP, Kellie and I discussed dates for numerous things, settling on when I should bring Vanessa back to Florida; when I can schedule a baby shower for her (August 3);  when Rick and I should come back for the birth of the baby (pretty much the entire month of October); where we should celebrate Christmas (they will bring the baby with them to Ormond Beach, so the family will get to meet Emma Grace without everyone having to travel over here); and even talking about what we may be doing in 2014.  In the evening, the four of us went to the Bradenton Yacht Club for dinner.

BD534 – (Sunday, June 23, 2013) – JP and Kellie dropped Vanessa and me off at the Yacht Club while they went shopping this afternoon.  We ate lunch with Bill and Ruth, then we went swimming with Ken and Jackie who had just come in from spending the night on their boat out at the cross.  When a thunderstorm came too near, the pool was closed and we went back to the tiki bar where I had a chance to talk to Carl & Paula, Bill and Mary Beth, Joann Stewart & Lisa Arriago in addition to Jack and Stacy Flanagan and their daughter Misty who was having a baby shower for the little girl she is expecting on 8/8.  This is a really short trip for me, so I was very glad that I had an opportunity to see so many friends.  Back on Great Exuma, Rick and Captain Andrew went to the Exuma Point Grill and Bar for an early supper.  They had a buffet of chicken ribs and fish along with peas and rice and steamed veggies.

BD535 – (Monday, June 24, 2013) – Monday was one of my two weekdays in town to take care of appointments and other business.  In the afternoon, while I was on a website that I use often, I got a notice that I had several significant viruses on the laptop.  Then, the whole thing locked up.  Thank goodness, JP was able to look up the problem on his laptop and download software to fix it later that night.  In the evening, Bill and Ruth picked me up and we went to a local Mexican restaurant for supper.  We were joined by Richard and Deborah Ross and Ken and Jackie Sosville.  By the time I got home, JP had fixed my computer.

BD536 – (Tuesday, June 25, 2013) – JP took me to the local Enterprise Rental Car office and I picked up a very nice 2013 4-door Toyota Corolla and drove over to Ocala to spend the afternoon and evening with my Dad.  While there, I received an e-mail from Rick asking me to go by West Marine and pick up a pump part on Friday.  So, I will add another thing to my list of things to do.

 

BD537 – (Wednesday, June 26, 2013) – I drove to Ormond Beach from the Ocala Forest.  Before going to Rick’s Mom’s house, I stopped at the Outrigger Beach Club, where I have made reservations for Christmas, to take a look at the rooms.  I was very pleased to see that they were spacious and very clean.  After visiting with Mom and Edward for a little while I got out the computer and the cell phone and I started making arrangements for my next trip to Florida and scheduling various medical appointments for that two-week period.  Edward, Mom and I talked to Rick, in George Town, via SKYPE this afternoon.  He said that he has been working on the boat in my absence and everything is going well.

BD538 – (Thursday, June 27, 2013) – I returned to Palmetto from Ormond Beach through St. Petersburg and Bradenton making several stops along the way to take care of business.

BD539 – (Friday, June 28, 2013) –  I went to the post office to buy stamps for the baby shower invitations, then went to the dentist, put some gas in the rental and then turned it in.  A very nice young man who works for Enterprise Rentals (Robby Haygood) drove me home and while we were talking, we discovered that he used to live one block over from us and went to school with JP.  He said he had been to our house numerous times in his younger years and had even gone swimming in the pool.  Another example of how small the world really is.  In the afternoon, I drove JPs car to the bank, the party store and Lowe’s while JP dealt with repairmen at the house.  We met Grey and Rebecca Stidham at the yacht club for supper.  Rebecca has agreed to co-host the baby shower with me, so I was very happy to be able to show her around the club and have her meet, Wendy, the food and beverage manager with whom we will work to make the shower a success.  The club was having a wine event in the lobby, so I got to see lots of our friends as we walked in.  We all enjoyed our meal, and the company, and returned home to finish getting everything ready for our early-morning flight to the Bahamas tomorrow.

BD540 – (Saturday, June 29, 2013) – Our morning started before 6 a.m.  Many thanks to JP for driving Vanessa and me to the Tampa Airport to catch our early morning Silver Airways flight to Ft. Lauderdale.  We changed planes in Ft. Lauderdale and landed in George Town around 1:30 p.m.  Both of us were very glad to see Rick waiting at the gate when we arrived.  We got back to the boat and put our things away, then Rick and Vanessa went on a tour of the marina and to walk the golf course while I rested.  We ate supper on board and everyone turned in early.

BD541 – (Sunday, June 30, 2013) – Today is my father’s 83^rd birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad.  A thunderstorm during the night woke us all up about 2:30 or 3:00, so we slept in this morning.  By mid-morning it was sprinkling rain, but Rick was working on a “boat project”.  We got in the car around noon and headed south with the intent of going to the south end of Little Exuma and having lunch at Santana’s.  Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that they were closed on Sunday (as are many of the restaurants and most of the stores.)  We turned around and made a brief stop at the Tropic of Cancer beach – just so Vanessa can say she has been there.  Then we went through the downtown area and proceeded to the hotel area to have lunch at the Augusta Bay Resort. Vanessa said it was the best chicken sandwich she had ever eaten.  By this time, the sun was out, so we decided to return to the boat to change and then we went to Flamingo Beach for a couple of hours.  I really enjoyed sitting on the beach and watching Rick and Vanessa snorkeling together.  I had forgotten how much they enjoyed doing that last summer.

We have decided to forgo traveling to Long Island on this trip.  Rick is afraid that if we get over there, we may get stuck there longer than we want due to weather.  Speaking of which, Windfinder.com is forecasting wind above 15 mph here for the next week, so it looks like we will be staying for a while longer.

Exuma Yacht Club, George Town, Great Exuma Island, Bahamas

Latitude:23.50372   Longitude:-75.76709

Click the link below to see where we are located.

http://fms.ws/CB3RW/23.50372N/75.76709W

If the above link does not work, try this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=23.50372,-75.76709&ll=23.50372,-75.76709&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Bahamas Day 504 (BD504 – Friday, May 24, 2013) – We said goodbye to Jimmy and Tillie on the radio as we left Safe Harbour Marina around 8:30 a.m. then went out through Cave Cay Cut going through waves about of 6 feet in height.  Once we were out of the cut, the waves settled down as we headed southeast.  We ran into a rain shower when we were just west of Farmers Hill Settlement on Great Exuma around 11:30 a.m.  It stopped raining just before we pulled into the Exuma Yacht Club in George Town about 1:00 p.m.  We travelled 39.4 nautical miles today.  It rained again mid-afternoon and then we had a chance to walk across the street to the Exuma Market to buy some groceries.  We ended our first day on Great Exuma enjoying the beautiful full moon as viewed from the back of the boat.

 

BD505 – Saturday, May 25, 2013 –

We received an e-mail from Joy today.  She said that they “loved Georgetown and the locals.  Be sure to go under the big tree and buy your fresh bread….yummy.  Be sure to do lunch or dinner at Peace and Plenty…….the patio is great.”  She also reported that, “Steve has improved dramatically over the last day or two!  He had an appointment with the surgeon yesterday morning and once the sutures were removed he said it was instant relief.  He is able to move much more comfortably now and has been doing little stuff around the boat.”

The first thing on our agenda today was to buy some canned goods.  We are fortunate that the grocery store is right across the street from the marina, so we took our two rolling carts over there and filled them up.  We will probably do that a couple of more times before we leave here.  After we put the groceries away and had a late lunch, we took a walk around Lake Victoria. (You can click on the map to make it larger.)

We stopped at a couple of liquor stores to check prices; the Scotia Bank to make sure our ATM card would work there, and the Top to Bottom Hardware Store that Jimmy recommended and the straw market.  Then we went into the Club Peace and Plenty.  We were there in mid-afternoon, so did not get to eat a meal, as Joy suggested, but we did sit on the back patio and have two pina coladas in her honor.

 

There is a plaque at the front entrance that tells some of the history of the place.  It says:

“Thought to have once been the location of a small slave market, this site boasts a rich heritage dating back to the American Revolution.  In 1783, Lord Denys Rolle set sail for Exuma on board an English trading ship, the Peace and Plenty.  Upon arrival, he established a cotton plantation of the same name here on the island.  Almost 200 years later, on January 14, 1958, Lawrence Lewis, grandnephew of railroad tycoon Henry Flagler, opened the Peace and Plenty Hotel on the site.  The old plantation cookhouse became the club’s bar.  The hotel’s main lobby has its own history as a sponge warehouse and later the home of a prominent island family, the Minns.”

 

We passed the St. Andrews Anglican Church and the health department before turning left to continue around the lake.

 

 

And we walked by Eddie’s Edgewater Restaurant, which Jimmy and Tillie had mentioned to us, before getting back to the marina.

 

BD506 – Sunday, May 26, 2013 –  How many times can I say, “It’s a small world!”  While we were shopping at the Exuma Market this morning we ran into Brian and Mary Jo Smith whom we know through the Bradenton Yacht Club.  They told us that they flew over with Jack Jawitz and his wife, Evelyn Treyorg (also members of the BYC).  On Friday, they were at Staniel Cay and had lunch with Joe and Casey McClash.  Joe is a past-commodore of the club.  On Saturday they went to the Club Med on San Salvador, where Jack and Stacy Flannigan have invited us to visit them next week.  They got into George Town and checked into the Club Peace and Plenty about 7:00 last night.  Jack and Evelyn wanted to fly over to Long Island’s blue hole today, so we decided to spend the afternoon with Brian and Mary Jo exploring Great Exuma in their rental car.  We left the Exuma Yacht Club and headed north with our goal being Barraterre, the northern most point on the island accessible by car, and described on the map as a place of “traditional boat building and fishing”.  There was not much to see along the way, but we had the opportunity to stop at the Marina at Emerald Bay (MEB).

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Even though it is somewhat isolated, it is the lap of luxury compared to where we are now.  And, they are running a summer special, if we stay there 30 nights, the dockage is only $.75/foot with $.85/kwh; if we wanted to stay for 90 days, they would only charge $.50/foot.  After seeing the facility and talking with the new manager, Dale Westin, we are definitely going to move up there as soon as the wind allows.  They have floating docks with free laundry, showers and wifi.  There is complimentary coffee, tea and cookies in the marina office all day every day and a “Blue Monday” party every Monday evening with rum punch and finger food.  Also, the boaters lounge has a pool table and a big screen TV.

 

They do not have a pool yet, so I asked the manager about getting a day pass to the Sandals Emerald Bay Resort.  He said that our best bet would be to get a day pass from a resort just as close to the marina called Grand Isle.  A day pass there costs $35 and he said it would cost much more at the Sandals.  So, we went to Grand Isle for lunch at the Palapa Grill for a sandwich and a tropical drink.  It has a beautiful infinity pool and a great looking beach.

 

After our quick exploration of the north end of the island, we said goodbye to Brian and Mary Jo and returned to the boat around 4:30 p.m.  We received a SPOT notification and an e-mail from Tillie and Jimmy.  It was good to hear that they are at Nassau Yacht Haven already.  They decided to go earlier than planned (to meet various family members flying in this week) due to the predicted high winds.

BD507 – Monday, May 27, 2013 – Rick cranked up the boat just after 8:00 this morning so we could move down the dock several feet to make room for a large boat that needed to get in for fuel.  It is rough and windy today, but the three dock hands were able to hold on to the lines as we moved back along the dock and re-tied temporarily while boats were fueling up.  They have limited hours on Sunday, so Monday morning seems to be a very busy time for the fuel dock.  While we were sitting in our temporary position, we noticed that the mail/freight boat was tied up to the government dock.  Tillie had told me that they come in on Monday, making Tuesday the best day to buy fresh food at the market.  The Lazzara yacht, named “Magnificent Dolls”,   fueling this morning was leaving to go to Nassau.  They have a number of “children” on board, including a set of triplet girls who will be spending their 14^th birthday at Atlantis.  The father told Rick that they will take the boat back to Florida from there and then return to their home in British Columbia to be pretty much land-bound for the next four years while the girls attend high school.   Too bad we didn’t have Vanessa with us now.  I’m sure she would have enjoyed the girls’ company.  By 11:00, they were gone and we turned our boat around and re-tied to the end of the dock.  Turning the boat around was not the easiest thing we’ve ever done as it required moving 5 lines and 4 fenders from one side of the boat to the other while the wind was blowing 21 mph out of the east.   We are now facing southeast with our nose into the wind and waves, and we are not bouncing around quite as much as we did during the night.  In an e-mail, Joy said, “We docked at the YC for a couple of days during the Family Island Regatta for me to be able to get on and off the boat easier and got pinned to the dock in a northeast blow which was not fun.”  At least the rain held off until after we were once again securely tied up.  It rained off and on for the rest of the day, so we stayed on board and got some work done, read, played some games and watched a little network TV.

BD508 – Tuesday, May 28, 2013 – It was another “boat” day;  windy with rain off and on – more on than off!  We heard from Mary Jo Smith.  She said, “We both enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Seeing you and Rick in that store will be one of my favorite moments for years to come.”  While we were touring the northern end of the island with them on Sunday, we passed through a settlement called Roker’s Point.  Mary Jo remarked that she thought she might have seen a show about celebrities tracing their family roots where Al Roker traced his roots to the Bahamas.  She wondered if his family was from one of the settlement’s we drove through called Roker’s Point.  Since our conversation, I researched it on the internet and found the following in a newspaper article.

“Al Roker, well-known television weatherman, was able to use interviews and historical documents to learn the origin of his name. It is most probable that his ancestors adopted the name of Exuma landowner, Thomas Roker – a slave owner for whom the settlement of Roker’s Point, Exuma is named.

Records of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in George Town gave him specifics on his lineage. St. Andrew’s records took Mr. Roker back to information on his great-great grandfather, Robert Roker, and his great grandfather, David Roker.

“David and Francis had Albert Hubert, my father’s father,” Mr. Roker said while looking through official parish records. “And then Remelda, that’s my grandmother, Albert and Remelda got married and then had my dad.””

In the afternoon, Rick made plane reservations for me to return to Florida on Friday, June 21^st.   He will stay on the boat and my granddaughter, Vanessa, and I will return to George Town on Saturday, June 29^th.  Rick and I are excited that “V” will be able to share about a month of her summer vacation with us.

BD509 – Wednesday, May 29, 2013 –  In an e-mail earlier this week, Tillie said, “I didn’t get a chance to check the gift shop across the street from Peace and Plenty. Let me know what I missed.”  So, this was our destination today.  Along the way we stopped at the Top to Bottom Hardware Store again.   On their front window, they advertise “EveryTING for Everytim”.  Our next stop was the Driftwood Café for lunch, and what a terrific lunch it was.  We each ordered the cup of curry pumpkin soup and ½ sandwich.   In addition to the good food, the outdoor garden was a sight to see.  The Driftwood Café is next door to the shop where we were going and it is across the street from Club Peace and Plenty.

 

After lunch, we walked across the alley to enter the Sandpiper Arts and Crafts Shop.  Boy, did Aunt Tillie miss a treat.  This little shop was packed with unusual, unique object d’art, including a variety of hand-painted pottery pieces made by local artist, Jessica Minns whose company is called Wave Ware.  There was a small room with baby things and another part of the store was devoted to books about the Bahamas.  There was also clothing and jewelry, sculptures and much more.  When we left, I told the proprietress that I had a birthday coming soon and I thought she might see my husband again.

 

As we walked back to the boat, we passed the library which was housed in what looked like a very old building.  See below.

 

We got back to the boat just before the rain came again.

BD510 – Thursday, May 30, 2013 – It has rained every day since we came into this port. But, it has not rained all day every day until now. Well, I guess we’re not alone. We are able to pick up off-the-air TV channels from Miami and apparently the keys are getting flooded as well. We decided to have lobster for dinner to “brighten up our day”.

BD511 – Friday, May 31, 2013 – Today, I celebrated my last day of being 60.  61 is a strange age.  You are no longer one of the big “0” ages nor are you the magic age of 62 when you may begin to collect Social Security.  So, as has been my tradition for many years, I celebrate the last day of being whatever age I am.  I received a nice e-mail from my “birthday buddy”, Ruth.  They are at ‘Tween Waters where we have spent many birthdays together.  In the afternoon, I baked cupcakes.  I love having an oven on the boat, but it is only big enough to put one six-muffin pan in at a time, so baking cupcakes takes a couple of hours.  About 5:15 set off walking to the Club Peace and Plenty to catch their happy hour and then have supper.  As we approached, we decided to go back in the Sandpiper Arts and Crafts shop across the street.  Rick bought me a cute sundress for my birthday and then we went to the outdoor bar at Peace and Plenty and ordered their red wine “special”.  After “Doc” the bartender poured my second glass, I asked him what kind of wine we were drinking – was it Merlot?  He held up the bottle and the label actually said it was “red” wine.  I enjoyed it anyway – all night long.  While we were sitting at the bar, we saw a couple come in on a dinghy.  We introduced ourselves and were very happy to meet Craig and Vicki Steinkraus from the S/V Wings.  They used to live in Minnesota, but now live on their boat.  Rick recognized the gentleman right away as being the “voice” of the local cruisers net.  It didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to the fact that we were there celebrating my last day of being aged 61.  Vicki said, “So, your birthday is June 1?”  I acknowledged that and then, Craig said, “What are the odds — with only 4 visitors here (all the rest were residents) two of us have the same birthday.”  That’s right, Craig’s birthday is June 1, as well.    In addition to drinking at the bar we all happily contributed $1 to the Exuma Foundation and got a button that says “I love Exuma”.  When we asked the bartender what the Foundation supported, he was not sure.  Later, he introduced us to the one of the owners who told us about the various charities that the Foundation supports.  Among the on-going projects is reef restoration nearby.  The owner also told us that his father had purchased the Club in 1972 and that he passed away a few years ago leaving the club to him and his brother.  He said that neither of them lived on the island, and running the hotel from afar just wasn’t working, so they have put Club Peace and Plenty up for sale.  We enjoyed a two and a-half hour “happy hour” with them and then the rain came down in buckets, so we moved from the outdoor bar to the dining room.  Vicki and Craig had not planned to have supper there, but they couldn’t go back to their boat, moored across Elizabeth Harbour near the Chat ‘n’ Chill restaurant, in the downpour, so they joined us for dinner.  Our friend Joy had recommended that we eat there and, as usual, she gave us good advice.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner (with more red wine) and when dinner was over the rain had stopped.  So we walked back to the boat, about three blocks through flooded streets, and called it a night.