We left Sunrise Marina in Lucaya at 4:00 AM using our 1500 candle power flashlight to navigate the narrow channel. The full moon was still partially darkened by the remains of the lunar eclipse .
Post eclipse sunrise
We had clear skies, light winds and flat seas for the 60 nautical mile trip. We reached Great Stirrup Cay in the early afternoon and anchored in the cruise ship playground at Great Harbour. We saw groups tourists who had ventured off of their massive floating hotels to play on jet skis, kayaks and parasails.
Cruise ship kayakers.
One of the launches that ferry people from the cruise ships to shore. They spend the night on the mooring balls in Great Harbour.
The ships that we saw when we arrived at Stirrup Cay silently swapped places during the night with their counterparts bringing in a new crop of fun seekers.
Fishing in the Northwest Providence Channel was rather productive. As we sailed down the eastern edge of the Berry Islands after leaving Great Stirrup Cay and headed for an anchorage at Devil’s- Hoffman we trailed one line from a Cuban yo-yo on starboard and a second line from a rod on the port side. We had four catches before noon. The first one was an 18 inch barracuda that we threw back, the second was a “little tunny” (member of the tuna family), the third was a 3 foot barracuda that spit out the hook just as Tom was about to pull it on board with the gaff and the fourth was another barracuda that would probably been as least as big except that something even bigger took a big chomp out of it as Tom was reeling it in and left us with nothing but the head and the gills. The Bahamians always tell us how good barracuda is to eat but we have not been able to get past the vicious looking teeth and have sent them back to the sea. We have also read that they can carry cigutera and would rather not take the chance.
We kept the Little Tunny
Our new Anglers Cookbook describes the little tunny as the least desirable but most nutritious of the tuna family. I marinated the filets in fresh lime juice for three hours then steamed them in the pressure cooker for three minutes with chopped garlic, thinly sliced onions and a peppery spice medley that we had purchased from The Spice and Tea Exchange in Charleston (www.spiceandtea.com). The meat was initially very dark but most of it lightened up with cooking. I discarded the portions that stayed dark and did not look too appetizing. It had good flavor but was a bit dry. Next time I will only steam it for 1 ½ minutes and let the pressure cooker de pressurize naturally.
The leftovers made great fish tacos the next day.
Big Gaulding Cay (Or was that Little Gaulding Cay? It is so hard to keep them straight.) has been home to many cruisers’ gatherings. It has a nice sand beach for dinghy landing and a table to spread out the happytizers. You might even find some coconuts.
Meet Margarite, a Venezuelan potcake who was adopted as a puppy and has lived on a boat most of her life and likes to go ashore for potluck gatherings.
A cold front with winds gusting to 40 knots was predicted for Boxing Day. The anchorage at Devil’s -Hoffman does not have good all round protection so we struck out for the Berry Island Club on Frazer’s Hog Cay hoping to be able to get a good mooring ball to sit on for a few days. The strongest winds were expected to come from the west and we would be in the lee of the island. When we arrived we were pleased to see that there were moorings available and they are quite new with 3000 pound blocks of concrete holding them in place. The red channel marker that had strayed from its proper side of the channel could have been a major inconvenience had we gone aground but thanks to Duncan on Talisa we had an advance warning not to follow the red, right, returning rule there. He even came out to meet us in his dingy, escorted us in and helped to secure our mooring lines.
Our boat sized Christmas tree decorated with shells from Hobe Sound in Florida and a sand dollar souvenir from last year's Christmas craft sale on Man-O-War.
The day before Christmas was baking day on Polar Pacer. Sometime earlier in December I promised to make a truly Canadian dessert for Christmas – butter tarts. I even made a test batch before we left Florida. Do you have any idea how much I dislike making pastry? The test batch was almost a failure. The pre-made tart shells that I would normally rely on were nowhere to be found so I dug up a recipe for pastry that calls for cooking oil instead of shortening thinking that it would be easier to roll. After making it quite clear that I do not like making pastry and almost shipping the whole mess overboard I was able to piece together enough dough to hold a bit of filling. Then I underestimated how hot the oven actually was – no, there is no thermostat – and almost burned the whole batch to a crisp. In the end they did all get eaten.
I managed to find a boxed pastry mix in the grocery store at north Palm Beach that I remembered worked for my mother many years ago. (I inherited my dislike of pastry making from her.) It was so easy to work with, even with only a jar of jalapenos for a rolling pin.
Not the test batch.
The Berry Island Club is not as commodious as it might sound. There is room for four stools at the bar and a couple of tables. You will likely be asked to move if someone has made a reservation for dinner. The Explorer chart book indicates that three new cottages were under construction in 2006. In typical Bahamian fashion they are still under construction in 2011! The Club hosted a party on Christmas Eve, complete with a DJ and food flown in from Nassau for the event, to say goodbye to one of the customs officers who was being transferred to another island. No one minded us crashing the party but I’m sure that our so-called dancing did not do justice to the popular Bahamian version of the Macarena – “Shake It Up! Shake It Up!”- in spite of some coaching from Johnny Scott.
According to Stephen Pavlidas, in his guide to the guide to the central and southern Bahamas, On and Off the Beaten Path, this building was the first house built on the island about 60 years ago. All considered it is in rather good condition.
Several of the boats that were in the area when we arrived, chose to take advantage of the light winds on Christmas Day and headed for Nassau. That left Polar Pacer, Mutual Fun and Talisa to share Christmas dinner on the Lawn in front of the beach bar. Nothing was missing from the menu. We had turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, a special chicken dish, several different vegetables, pickles, chocolate fudge, butter tarts, pumpkin bread and stolen. A very normal Christmas meal. It was sunny and cool but still pleasant enough for an outdoor meal. An added bonus we were able to get internet access long enough between power failures to call our son and our very good friends and wish them all a Merry Christmas.
Relaxing after Christmas dinner.
Merry Berry Island Christmas
Johnny Scott, our new best friend in the Berry Islands, offered to give us a tour of Chub and Frazer’s Hog Cays, if he could get his truck to start. It took a bit of coaxing on his part but eventually he got it to stay running without too much sputtering and wheezing. After obtaining his assurance that he would get us back to the marina (he did not say when), six of us piled into the truck prepared for a little adventure.
The little truck that could…..
We took a left turn on to the main road and headed towards Chub Cay with Johnny pointing out the various lots owned by ‘second homers’ from different corners of the globe, all ‘good people’ according to Johnny. The road is not much more than a dirt trail bordered by mangrove, two different kinds of buttonwood and love vine that supposedly makes good tea. I have not been tempted to try it. We passed by a blue hole that comes right up to the edge of the road. That part of the road is often under water at high tide. You want to be extra careful not go off the road in that spot after too many rum drinks as the blue hole is 65 feet deep.
The Chub Cay resort is just a short ways past the air strip. Be sure to check left and right for aircraft before entering the runway and again in the rear view mirror to make sure that nothing is coming in for a landing behind you as you cross over to the other side.
Lots of room for customers at the Chub Cay Club.
The last stop on Johnny’s tour was the private residence at Pointe Nirvana which we understand is where he lives and works. Elegantly rustic and in need of a few repairs it has been used as a private get-away by the rich and famous. It is for sale and can be yours for just a few million. www.pointenirvana.com
Pointe Nirvana from the beach.
lOn the deck with Johnny. As you can see it was not exactly sun bathing weather.
Just about the time we were ready to return to our boats the little truck that could decided that it just couldn't anymore. Fortunately our host had the keys to another set of wheels...............
1 comment:
Greetings - we met you up in the 1000 Islands last year when you were just starting your trip. We keep checking in on you through your blog. We are now living aboard & are in Stuart FL getting ready to go to Miami and then over to the Exumas. See you have been having success fishing. What gear are you using? Bob isn't a fisherman but we want to be so he is gettting some gear- any tips are appreciated so we can have fresh fish too! Best wishes
Janice & Bob
s/v Tsamaya
Post a Comment