The island is big enough to house several small towns; ours is Alice Town, which boasts four marinas, four markets (one-story, one-room buildings containing a few shelves of mostly packaged groceries), three liquor stores (where a lot of locals hang out), a smattering of clothing and craft shops, a fuel pump, and a bakery that specializes in rum cake and cinnamon rolls.
Since Christmas. the boaters at our marina (who shared a holiday potluck) have continued to hang out together, walk to the beach at sunset, talk, share drinks. Finally, Pope and I have emerged from the isolation of the Intracoastal Waterway and are immersed in the cruising life!
Our bedding, clothes, and boat are slowly drying out. We have continued to have intermittent rain for three days, interspersed with hot sun that dries clothes fast. Combatting sticky salt residue is more difficult. Today, however, I gave the cleaning a rest and just hung out, walking the town, swimming in the clear turquoise blue ocean, looking for stingrays (no luck) and bull sharks (scored three). I cheered on neighbor Bruce--my hero--who rescued our rug that blew overboard in 10 feet o water, with bull sharks circling. Talk about a successful catch!
Other boaters have assured me that all cruisers have obstacles to overcome--they just have different ones. Dampness and mold is a common theme, though engines and other motors are the big-ticket items.
The majority of cruisers are headed to the Exumas, like us. It's a popular island chain among boaters. The journey will require several stages of island-hopping. We have reserved a marina in Nassau two days from now, when the wind is expected to be calm enough to cross the Grand Bahama Bank, an extensive shallow area between island chains.
Here's how it works on the Bank (and just about everywhere in the Bahamas): You study the charts and peruse the internet for stories of routes people took, where the shallows are, and how to avoid hazards and obstacles. Then you post someone on the front of the boat to watch for sandbars and coral heads in the clear, shallow water. You turn on the depth sounder, feel your way carefully, and pray. There is no US Coast Guard here to pull you off a shoal, no Towboat US to tow you to shore if coral or oysters poke a hole in your hull!
We hope to spend New Years Eve in Nassau, for the overnight celebration called Junkanoo. The big costume parade starts around 1 or 2 am and continues until sunrise! Pope is trying to convince me to stop obsessing over little things like a leaky boat, sticky salt residue, bruises, and insect bites, and instead just relax and enjoy the beauty of the land and culture. He knows I have been feeling a bit "broke up," so today, in an attempt to cheer me up, he played me this song popularized by the Beach Boys--"Sloop John B" (Pope's emphasis in red, though it's not really my worst trip ever...).
We come on the sloop john b
My grandfather and me
Around nassau town we did roam
Drinking all night
Got into a fight
Well I feel so broke up
I want to go home
So hoist up the john bs sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, yeah yeah
Well I feel so broke up
I wanna go home
The first mate he got drunk
And broke in the capns trunk
The constable had to come and take him away
Sheriff john stone
Why don't you leave me alone, yeah yeah
Well I feel so broke up I wanna go home
So hoist up the john bs sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, let me go home
Why don't you let me go home
(hoist up the john bs sail)
Hoist up the john b
I feel so broke up I wanna go home
Let me go home
The poor cook he caught the fits
And threw away all my grits
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn
Let me go home
Why don't they let me go home
This is the worst trip Ive ever been on
So hoist up the john bs sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, let me go home
Why don't you let me go home
© EMI Music Publishing
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