1 - 7 April 2009

1 April 2009

Rowed the dinghy to the beach and walked two miles to town.  Bought 4 bags of groceries and carried them all the way back.  Updated the blog.  Wireless Internet service was available for $5 by the day in a third-world shack.  It was quite slow because so many people were using it.  Finally, in the afternoon the whole system simply quit, which meant it was time to go grocery shopping.  Later, while eating a hamburger at Eddie’s Edgewater Café, an obnoxious, older woman came in preaching loudly about why the world should recycle and demanding to know where she could recycle her trash.  The bar maid said she thought some guy in a green pickup truck collected beer bottles.  The lady was technically correct in the points she was making, but completely out of place and an embarrassment.  An ugly American out to save the world, preaching from a moral fortress.

 

2 April 2009

Lazy day.  Mark and Rakelle stopped by and we all went to the Chat-n-Chill, the main cruisers hangout on Stocking Island across the Georgetown Harbor.  Around the Chat-n-Chill are the big showoff boats.  Reminds me of Ego Alley in Annapolis, Maryland.  Mark and I hiked to the stone monument overlooking Stocking island.

 

3 April 2009

Kayaked into Georgetown.  Paddled 1.7 nautical miles in 45 minutes against a 15-knot wind and two-foot chop.  It was a good workout and much easier than walking from town with heavy groceries.  Checked out the Dive Exuma dive shop in Georgetown.  It is safely hidden in the gated community of February Point and obviously set up to cater to rich tourists.  Gear was limited to basic rental gear with high prices.  But, they send a boat out almost everyday, sometimes as far as Conception Island for a wall dive, then on to Long Island for a shark dive.  Will sail to Pigeon Cay tomorrow with Mark and Rackelle.  Looking forward to a remote anchorage with a chance to go spearfishing.

 

4 April 2009

Left Georgetown about 9:00 am.  Anchored northwest of Pigeon Cay about 1230WT at 2328 7536.  Am getting closer to the tropics.  Am now just one mile north of the Tropic of Cancer.  Paddled ashore on the surfboard but the swells were too small to ride.  We went spear fishing and Mark speared a decent lobster.  I took several shots at fish, but did not hit anything.

 

5 April 2009

Left Pigeon Cay at 10:10 am.  Moved southeast to Pelican Cays and anchored there at 1100WT 2327 7536.  Am finally in the tropics.  Snorkeled for a couple hours looking for lobsters or fish.  Found a few rocks where fish were hiding.  Took quite a few shots but did not spear anything.  One large grouper looked especially tasty.  Swam into a cave until the surge from the waves coming in from other side of the cay became too strong.

 

6 April 2009

Left Pelican Cays at 10:00 am.  Headed for Thompson Bay on Long Island.  Decided to navigate the 26-mile trip solely by dead reckoning to practice navigating without the GPS.  Position enroute:  1300WT 2326 7525.  Anchored in the north end of Thompson Bay at 1822WT 2322 7508.  A strong cold front is blowing through.  We used the clocking wind to sail to Long Island.  The trouble is that Thompson Bay is open to the West, so it is a rough anchorage until this westerly wind finishes clocking around.

 

7 April 2009

Wind shifted back southerly during the night, so I was sheltered during that time.  Cooked pancakes this morning.  Need to mix an egg with the Bisquick so the pancakes hold together better.  Am leery of buying eggs without refrigeration, but have heard they stay fresh if you turn them every couple days.  Rowed ashore and walked a couple miles to the main crossroads of Salt Pond, Long Island.  Along the way, saw a couple of good grocery stores and a decent marine supply store.  The business owners seem to be more self-motivated here than in some places.  Easy tourist dollars seem to harm the fragile Bahamian work ethic.  Or, maybe simple hunger is the only thing that gets them going.