8 April 2009
Packed the laptop to town and connected to WiFi at the Long Island Breeze Resort, http://www.longislandbreezeresort.com/ The resort is the creation of three investors. In many ways it is much too nice for the area, but its poor location will keep it from ever being a destination resort. Two of the investors run the daily operations and it seems they are in a long, slow slide to losing their money. Their desperate actions to save money just drive away the few customers that do stop in.
9 April 2009
Mark and I decided to spend the day exploring. We sailed my boat a few miles and anchored at 2317 7507in the bight just south of Dutchman’s Point. Close to where we landed the dinghy is an old Spanish church, built in the 1500’s. It is in sad shape and there is no evidence of anyone trying to save it as an historical site. Then we hitchhiked about 12 miles southeast to the world’s deepest blue hole. Last week a woman set a world record there for free diving. Today, Mark and I swam around the edge of it while several European free divers were practicing in the center. The blue hole is 660 feet deep and the water is quite cool. We hitchhiked back to the dinghy and rowed out to the boat, only to find that the tide was out and we were stranded on a sandbank for 4 hours. Finally, the tide came back enough to clear the sandbank and we returned to Thompson Bay by 9:00 pm.
10 April 2009
Sailed from Thompson Bay to Hog Cay. Left Thompson Bay at 10:30 am. Positions enroute: 1215WT 2324 7513, 1420WT 2333 7521. Anchored west of Hog Cay at 1520WT 2336 7521. Snorkeled a nearby reef and found several coral heads with fish. Hit a couple of fish, but they were too close to the coral and the spear did not penetrate enough for the barbs to open, so the fish wiggled off and got away. I figured a couple of wounded, bleeding fish would attract any nearby sharks, so I quit for the day.
11 April 2009
Sailed from Hog Cay to the south end of Calabash Bay. Left Hog Cay at 12:30 am. Anchored at 1400WT 2338 7521. Several resort houses along the beach and a nearby dive boat full of divers from Stella Maris kept me from spearfishing, since there may have been some local regulation prohibiting spearfishing there. Instead, swam ashore to the beach about a quarter-mile away and swam back for the exercise.
12 April 2009
Left Calabash Bay at 10:30 am. Just a short sail north past St. Peters Point to the next bay. Anchored at 1130WT 2340 7521. Markelle and Pequod were the first two boats there. By evening there were three more. Mark and I took his dinghy about a mile north and climbed up the point where a monument stands to Christopher Columbus. We checked likely reefs for spearfishing spots on the way back. I then rowed to a nearby reef and speared a couple of fish. It was too easy. Climbed out of the dinghy onto a submerged coral head. Sank down the other side of the coral head, speared a small snapper, and put it in the dinghy. Went back and speared a medium snapper. Went back a third time for a big snapper hiding under the coral, but almost had to push a large barracuda out of the way. He was waiting to take the next fish I speared. If he already knew what I was doing, then surely the local sharks were coming over for dinner. Time to quit fishing for the day and eat own my supper.
13 April 2009
A cold front coming into the northern Bahamas will cause the wind to shift westerly and this bay is too exposed to the west, so we decided to head north to Cat Island. One thing to see on Cat Island is the Hermitage, hand-built by Father Jerome as a retirement home at the age of 62 on the highest hill in the Bahamas. Pulled up anchor at 10:00 am and put the dinghy on the foredeck. Nice day sailing north. The seas were fairly calm and there was a light southerly breeze. Positions enroute: 1201WT 2348 7524, 1405WT 2358 7527, 1808WT 2412 7527. Anchored at 1900WT 2414 7524. Anchored just west of Old Bight, Cat Island. Not sure what is in the water, but the bottom is quite dark. Unlike the clear water so far in the Bahamas.
14 April 2009
Went ashore about 10:00am and walked to the southern end of Old Bight. Then walked to the northern end. Lots of abandoned, small stone houses. The locals complain of a shortage of land, but they have a form of property ownership called “generation property” where property is passed to the entire surviving family. For anything to be done with the land, the whole family must agree and sign a document. One person can hold up the whole process. Much of the so-called land shortage in the Bahamas seems to be caused by this outdated law. Hence all the unused stone houses. Picked several coconuts and took them back to the boat for food, and the fun of chopping them open.
15 April 2009
Stayed anchored off Old Bight until 3:00 pm and then sailed north to New Bight. Quite rough because swell is coming straight into the harbor. Rowed ashore and walked a mile south along the main road. On the way back, I passed the local policewoman, Ella Mae Rolle. She was walking along the road carrying a swagger stick, going to her evening check on an elderly couple, a blind man and a crippled woman. Ella Mae, as a cop, definitely wanted to assess the new stranger in town, and called me over to talk. At the same time, she seemed to be a genuinely nice person. Maybe America could improve its police effectiveness by having cops to walk through neighborhoods, talk to people, and check on those who need help.
16 April 2009
Still anchored off New Bight, Cat Island, which is still quite rough with the westerly swell. When will the wind finally shift north? By 9:00 am was walking up Como Hill, the highest hill in the Bahamas. On top is the Hermitage that Father Jerome hand-built at age 62 and lived there until he died at 80. Father Jerome followed a wandering career path, starting as an architect, an Anglican priest, a wagon driver, a bush missionary, a Catholic priest, and finally a hermit. Explored a cave on the way back, but it was too full of bats. Carried a bag of laundry 2 miles south and washed clothes for the first time in a month. Actually, washing shorts and t-shirts in salt water works okay if you can dry them in hot enough sunshine to crystallize the salt, then shake the salt crystals off. Walked to a grocery store a mile north of town. Carrying groceries on the way back, decided to stop at a barbershop and get a haircut. No deal. Haircuts for “Whites, Indians, and Chinese” were $20 and about 3 times more expensive than for locals. The barber swore the price difference was because of the poor texture of their hair, but additional questioning drew out amazingly intense hostility. Not a friendly barber and not on the path to success.
17 April 2009
Move a couple miles north to Smith Bay harbor. Pulled up the anchor at 7:30 am and dropped it at 1030WT 2420 7528. Smith Bay Harbor is a small commercial basin where the supply boat docks. We rafted the two sailboats, Markelle and Pequod, to conserve room. Nice protected harbor with a short dinghy ride to shore. Filled several water jugs from a convenient spigot on the dock. Came here for the nearby Internet Café, which is a real disappointment. Once the ancient, ailing computers finally die, I think the proprietress will simply continue dusting them, while waiting for them to rise from the dead.
Packed the laptop to town and connected to WiFi at the Long Island Breeze Resort, http://www.longislandbreezeresort.com/ The resort is the creation of three investors. In many ways it is much too nice for the area, but its poor location will keep it from ever being a destination resort. Two of the investors run the daily operations and it seems they are in a long, slow slide to losing their money. Their desperate actions to save money just drive away the few customers that do stop in.
9 April 2009
Mark and I decided to spend the day exploring. We sailed my boat a few miles and anchored at 2317 7507in the bight just south of Dutchman’s Point. Close to where we landed the dinghy is an old Spanish church, built in the 1500’s. It is in sad shape and there is no evidence of anyone trying to save it as an historical site. Then we hitchhiked about 12 miles southeast to the world’s deepest blue hole. Last week a woman set a world record there for free diving. Today, Mark and I swam around the edge of it while several European free divers were practicing in the center. The blue hole is 660 feet deep and the water is quite cool. We hitchhiked back to the dinghy and rowed out to the boat, only to find that the tide was out and we were stranded on a sandbank for 4 hours. Finally, the tide came back enough to clear the sandbank and we returned to Thompson Bay by 9:00 pm.
10 April 2009
Sailed from Thompson Bay to Hog Cay. Left Thompson Bay at 10:30 am. Positions enroute: 1215WT 2324 7513, 1420WT 2333 7521. Anchored west of Hog Cay at 1520WT 2336 7521. Snorkeled a nearby reef and found several coral heads with fish. Hit a couple of fish, but they were too close to the coral and the spear did not penetrate enough for the barbs to open, so the fish wiggled off and got away. I figured a couple of wounded, bleeding fish would attract any nearby sharks, so I quit for the day.
11 April 2009
Sailed from Hog Cay to the south end of Calabash Bay. Left Hog Cay at 12:30 am. Anchored at 1400WT 2338 7521. Several resort houses along the beach and a nearby dive boat full of divers from Stella Maris kept me from spearfishing, since there may have been some local regulation prohibiting spearfishing there. Instead, swam ashore to the beach about a quarter-mile away and swam back for the exercise.
12 April 2009
Left Calabash Bay at 10:30 am. Just a short sail north past St. Peters Point to the next bay. Anchored at 1130WT 2340 7521. Markelle and Pequod were the first two boats there. By evening there were three more. Mark and I took his dinghy about a mile north and climbed up the point where a monument stands to Christopher Columbus. We checked likely reefs for spearfishing spots on the way back. I then rowed to a nearby reef and speared a couple of fish. It was too easy. Climbed out of the dinghy onto a submerged coral head. Sank down the other side of the coral head, speared a small snapper, and put it in the dinghy. Went back and speared a medium snapper. Went back a third time for a big snapper hiding under the coral, but almost had to push a large barracuda out of the way. He was waiting to take the next fish I speared. If he already knew what I was doing, then surely the local sharks were coming over for dinner. Time to quit fishing for the day and eat own my supper.
13 April 2009
A cold front coming into the northern Bahamas will cause the wind to shift westerly and this bay is too exposed to the west, so we decided to head north to Cat Island. One thing to see on Cat Island is the Hermitage, hand-built by Father Jerome as a retirement home at the age of 62 on the highest hill in the Bahamas. Pulled up anchor at 10:00 am and put the dinghy on the foredeck. Nice day sailing north. The seas were fairly calm and there was a light southerly breeze. Positions enroute: 1201WT 2348 7524, 1405WT 2358 7527, 1808WT 2412 7527. Anchored at 1900WT 2414 7524. Anchored just west of Old Bight, Cat Island. Not sure what is in the water, but the bottom is quite dark. Unlike the clear water so far in the Bahamas.
14 April 2009
Went ashore about 10:00am and walked to the southern end of Old Bight. Then walked to the northern end. Lots of abandoned, small stone houses. The locals complain of a shortage of land, but they have a form of property ownership called “generation property” where property is passed to the entire surviving family. For anything to be done with the land, the whole family must agree and sign a document. One person can hold up the whole process. Much of the so-called land shortage in the Bahamas seems to be caused by this outdated law. Hence all the unused stone houses. Picked several coconuts and took them back to the boat for food, and the fun of chopping them open.
15 April 2009
Stayed anchored off Old Bight until 3:00 pm and then sailed north to New Bight. Quite rough because swell is coming straight into the harbor. Rowed ashore and walked a mile south along the main road. On the way back, I passed the local policewoman, Ella Mae Rolle. She was walking along the road carrying a swagger stick, going to her evening check on an elderly couple, a blind man and a crippled woman. Ella Mae, as a cop, definitely wanted to assess the new stranger in town, and called me over to talk. At the same time, she seemed to be a genuinely nice person. Maybe America could improve its police effectiveness by having cops to walk through neighborhoods, talk to people, and check on those who need help.
16 April 2009
Still anchored off New Bight, Cat Island, which is still quite rough with the westerly swell. When will the wind finally shift north? By 9:00 am was walking up Como Hill, the highest hill in the Bahamas. On top is the Hermitage that Father Jerome hand-built at age 62 and lived there until he died at 80. Father Jerome followed a wandering career path, starting as an architect, an Anglican priest, a wagon driver, a bush missionary, a Catholic priest, and finally a hermit. Explored a cave on the way back, but it was too full of bats. Carried a bag of laundry 2 miles south and washed clothes for the first time in a month. Actually, washing shorts and t-shirts in salt water works okay if you can dry them in hot enough sunshine to crystallize the salt, then shake the salt crystals off. Walked to a grocery store a mile north of town. Carrying groceries on the way back, decided to stop at a barbershop and get a haircut. No deal. Haircuts for “Whites, Indians, and Chinese” were $20 and about 3 times more expensive than for locals. The barber swore the price difference was because of the poor texture of their hair, but additional questioning drew out amazingly intense hostility. Not a friendly barber and not on the path to success.
17 April 2009
Move a couple miles north to Smith Bay harbor. Pulled up the anchor at 7:30 am and dropped it at 1030WT 2420 7528. Smith Bay Harbor is a small commercial basin where the supply boat docks. We rafted the two sailboats, Markelle and Pequod, to conserve room. Nice protected harbor with a short dinghy ride to shore. Filled several water jugs from a convenient spigot on the dock. Came here for the nearby Internet Café, which is a real disappointment. Once the ancient, ailing computers finally die, I think the proprietress will simply continue dusting them, while waiting for them to rise from the dead.
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