Reports from the Field: On Assignment in Georgetown

Lightening Storm, by Emily

Hi, how are you? We saw a “light show” last night! It was amasing. We were lucky because 20miles north were 50 mile hour winds. Before the storm, some people thout they weren’t anchored well. So they moved and cot (caught) and dragged another boat. Do not worry. They got uncot!

Hike of the Hills, by Jake

Yesterday we went on a hike to a monument. We met 3 people at the top with a dog named Schooner. The men were very nice. They were from St. Augustine Florida. Bill invited us to fish with him when we pass St. Augustine on our way back. Dad says if my brother and me catch at 4 foot MAHI before our trip is over that we can get a dog. Bill says he will try to help us. It was a good hike and it led to a beach with sand dunes which we sled-ed down.

Here is a late edition from Drew regarding school at Black Point Settlement...

School, by Drew

The first time we went to school in Black Point was for sports day. It was very fun but sort of disorganized. First we did the long jump, and the course was very rocky. Second was the 60 meter sprint. That course was rocky and bumpy too, but the kids were very fast.

The next week we went to school in the classroom. The room had one fan, but it was still hot and sticky. It had 4 computers in the back and a mixed selection of books. I did not really do any thing but read and observe the class. They were talking about social studies and also working on perswasive writing.

The principal was very nice and kind. We only stayed till snack time, but it was very different.

Georgetown

Hello from Georgetown, Exuma... official cruisers’s hub of the Southern Bahamas. We’re anchored off Monument Beach with about 40 other sailboats, and that’s just in this one particular spot! In all there are more than 250 boats scattered along both sides of the 2+ mile-long Elizabeth Harbor.

Many snowbirds come and stay for the season; some use this as a jumping off point for the Virgin Islands, Cuba, etc.; and for others like us, this is a great place to rest and restock before making a U-turn.

Our first visit to Exuma Market, the local grocery store, was like attending a reunion. It’s funny to pull into a place for the very first time yet find that you know dozens of the “residents”. So many of the cruisers we’ve met along the way are here. Although our travel itineraries haven’t always been exactly the same, for the most part we all had this destination in common.

Here’s a photo album from our first couple of days in Georgetown.

Rat Cay

Rat Cay
Here’s a photo album from our last few days anchored off Rat Cay, 15 miles North of Georgetown, Great Exuma. We stopped here to enjoy some quiet, less-traveled beaches before venturing into the very popular anchorages of Georgetown which we’ll be sharing with a couple of hundred other cruising boats.

Turns out Rat Cay might better be named HUGE LOBSTER Cay. Pat and Drew, along with friends Martin and Jonathan from Coxily, speared 4 yesterday, along with several fish. These are by far the largest lobsters they’ve found so far. We had a cookout on the beach to enjoy the day’s catch.

This area, near Barraterre Settlement, has many small uninhabited islands & lovely beaches to explore. At nearby Pigeon Cay, the kids discovered a cut in the rocks which had within it a cave. Not sure how they managed to find the cave - the entrance under a rock ledge had only about 2 feet of clearance! After they managed to shimmy inside on their bellies, it opened up high enough to stand and shake off some sand.

When Pigs Swim

Here is a photo album from our time in the Staniel Cay - Guana Cay area.

Pigs definitely were not among the “sea life” we expected to find in the Bahamas, but a few swimming swine call one of the beaches off Staniel Cay home. They are quite friendly... to the point of trying to join visitors in their dinghies if given the opportunity!

While at Staniel, we snorkeled in the famous Thunderball Cave... very cool spot, but we didn’t think our camera - what with not being waterproof - would enjoy the trip inside as much as the rest of us did.

We also failed to photograph last night’s eclipse of the moon, but hope you were able to see it too... we had an amazing view from our friends’ boat, Coxily, where we were having a “pizza-eclipse” party. Yes, you can make pizza on a boat... we prepared 6 in fact. Their cabin was pretty much wall-to-wall pizza for a time, but with 6 kids aboard and 4 adults, they didn’t last long.

We’re posting today from Lorraine’s Café at Black Point. As you know from their most recent “Reports from the Field”, the kids attended classes at the Settlement’s All-Age School yesterday. Jake in particular was relieved to learn he could visit for the day without having to wear a tie. Drew actually decided to dress up... which for him means a collared shirt!



We continue to spend a lot of time in the water and under it, as well as exploring many friendly Bahamian communities along the way. Tomorrow, we’ll continue to make our way south toward Georgetown... slowly (at least for as long as our provisions hold out!).

Reports from the Field: Black Point Settlement All-Age School

The kids had a special opportunity to attend both a field day and classes at the Black Point Settlement All-Age School recently. Here are their thoughts on the experience...

EMILY...
Hi, it’s Emily, and this is my story about Black Point Settlement All Age School where I went to school yesterday. The kids were in green and yellow uniforms. The girls were in green dresses with yellow shirts. The boys were in green pants, green ties and yellow colord shirts. The teacher was in brown and black clothes.

Before I tell you any more, this was our speshil (special) trip last week to the school field day at Black Point. I took it easy on the long jump first time one foot and 2nd time 2 feet, then I went to play. I have to say Bridlemile’s Field Days are much more ogonisde (organized).

The class rooms were very nice and there is only three. Here are the ways my school is the same and different from Black Poit.

Common
Fun
Kids are nice
They have computers

Difrint
Not so ogonisde (organized) as Bridlemile
Phicilitys are not that good as Bridlemile
They can pray for god at school

JAKE...
Hi, it’s Jake. Today I went to Black Point School. We did it from 9:00 am to 10:30 am just for an experience. I liked the school, but not as much as Bridlemile because Bridlemile is the best. At Black Point we learned something in the Bible about Zaccaus. This is what they call social studies.

Now more about why Bridlemile is the best. Bridlemile is the best because of that it is very clean and nice. Plus it does not have a rocky field and the games are funner and not dicorganized on field day. Inside the school at Black Point is nice and clean like Bridlemile but there are only three classes. Also, the boys have to wear ties. Bridlemile and Black Point are common because everyone does there best and also they have fun and have a nice principal.

DREW...
Drew has focused his latest field report on spear fishing, but like Jake and Emily, he attended school and field day at Black Point All Age School earlier this week. He will be writing about that experience soon, but after catching his first really big lobster yesterday, his mind was on fishing.... like father, like son!

When I went spear fishing yesterday, I caught a big lobster. My dad dropped me and my friends off on a beach so we could walk to the ocean side of the island. He did this so there would not be so much weight in the dinghy and it could reach a plane during the trip around the point of Guana Cay. From the ocean side beach, we got in and motored to a coral reef and anchored the dingy in the sands. We put on our gear and dove overboard. Then we split up in to 3 groups. As we went along snorkeling, I spotted a very big lobster in a hole. I snuck up on it and shot it right in the back. That was the first big lobster I shot on the trip. It was very very exciting to catch it!

Behind the Blog: Valentine's Day Treat

Roses are red; Violet are blue; we did 12 loads of laundry on Valentine’s Day; how about you?

We woke up Valentine’s morning near Staniel Cay. There were no roses or breakfast in bed (Our sheets are so sandy, who would want to linger there!). Though I will say the omelets Pat made that morning tasted especially good... we had just stocked up at the local market after 2 weeks without eggs.

For a special treat, he turned on the hot water heater so we could take hot showers with the small amount of water remaining in our tanks before filling up at the town marina.

The kids made Valentine Cards for some friends and convinced me this should count as a “lesson”. According to Jake, it was 2 lessons because it involved both art and writing.

Our original plan had been to snorkel in nearby Thunderball Cave (James Bond movie filmed there in mid-60s). At least that would only require swim suits... the boys were pretty much out of clean underwear and I’d already hand washed them once in the sink.

We arrived in Staniel Cay Feb. 13 having been 24 days without access to groceries or laundry. We timed our arrive with that of the weekly food boat, so eggs, fruits and vegetables were no longer a problem, but laundry remained an issue... no laundromats in town!

I’d started counting the days out to Pat about Day 15... trying to drop subtle hints about our need to get someplace with resources “soon”. For a while the counting had an effect opposite that which I intended. It became a challenge to see how long we could last! So when he suggested over breakfast that we skip the cave and head to Black Point Settlement I was taken by surprise.

Some fellow cruisers had mentioned the great laundromat at Black Point about 5 miles south, and Pat was anxious to check it out. I had resigned myself to another few days of disgusting sheets and smelly towels, but Pat had finally had enough! We would return to Thunderball Cave another day. Happy Valentine’s Day indeed... we’re going to the laundromat!

The day got extra happy when we arrived at the Rockside Inn and Laundromat (owner also cuts hair and sells fresh bread). All 12 washing machines were empty and awaiting us!

While the laundry was in process, we walked across the street to a pizza place we’d heard was good. It was about to close due to the staff needing to help cater a special Valentine dinner at another restaurant. The kind owner agreed to make a couple of pizzas for us and another cruising family who happened by before she left as long as we agreed to eat on the patio so she could lock up. She made sure we got a fresh round of Kaliks before she headed off and told us to stay as long as we liked! A nice meal, good company, and clean sheets... who could ask for more!

Exumapalooza!!

We haven't posted to the blog in a while. We've been pretty busy down here in the Exumas. There is a lot to see here and we've decided to take to slow route and see as much as possible. If you want to get right to the pictures, here they are.

We stayed for a week at Warderick Wells the HQ for Exumas Land and Sea Park. The snorkeling was good and the hiking was great as well. After leaving Warderick Wells we headed just south to O'Brien's Cay to snorkel a spot known as the Sea Aquarium/Coral Garden. This location had fantastic coral and fish. It made for great snorkeling.

Adjacent to this site was a plane wreck. It was pretty cool to dive this site with the kids. Their conversation went something like this. Drew: "Emily, have you ever dove on a plane wreck?" Emily: "Nope, only shipwrecks. This is my first plane." Not too many 11 and 8 year olds are having these conversations.

Following O'Briens we spent a day diving the Rocky Dundas Caves. These were amazing caves formed in hollowed out rock formations that came into existence during the last ice age.

After making our way out of the park we were back in fishing territory. The entire Land and Sea Park is a no-take zone. It wasn't long until we were enjoying lobster and fish again. Delicious.

We did a stop at Staniel Cay for water, food and laundry just the other day. We had been out for 24 days without hitting a major settlement so we really needed EVERYTHING. More on that from Joanna later.

Once we were stocked up we headed down to the Black Point Settlement. There is an All Ages School there and the kids were able to participate in the school's sport's day. It was a wonderful experience for the kids and there are a few pictures of them at the track meet in this post's photos album. The kids will be attending a day of school at Black Point next week.

Presently we are at Staniel Cay again so that we can dive the Thunderball Grotto Caves (remember the James Bond movie, those caves). We'll soon be heading south again. We'll keep you all posted. Check here for our latest pictures.

Exuma Land & Sea Park Photo Album

Here are some new photos from our time at Warderick Wells Cay. Our daily schedule... lessons, snorkel, hike, kayak, repeat. The kids have also made time for some volunteer work at the Park.

When he isn't exploring caves or coral reefs, Drew has become our official wildlife photographer... a number of his photos are included in the attached album, including the ray above.

Reports from the Field: Protecting the Animals & Plants of the Bahamas

Introduction
We asked the kids to discuss what they learned on a really great nature hike we took earlier this week at the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park... specifically, we asked them to share a story about a plant or animal they learned about and to comment on both the negative and positive impacts people have had on the fragile ecosystems that make up the Bahama Islands.

The kids have become very aware of their/our impact on the planet during our time cruising. Recently, a marina we stayed in offered 5 minute showers for $4.00. After about 3 minutes, Emily commented on the ridiculous waste of water! (We use about 10 gallons a week, in all.) She also carefully monitors the use of paper products on our boat to minimize trash.

Drew is a firm believer in the rule of only fishing for what you can eat... if you have fish on the boat; you should not be fishing for more. He also can’t stand to throw a used battery in the trash when it could be recycled.

As for Jake, he produces the least amount of laundry in the family (this is both a good and a bad thing!). He also makes sure we never leave the boat for a trip to a beach without a trash bag for picking up whatever might have washed ashore.

Here are their perspectives on the value of the Exumas Cays Land & Sea Park as a nature preserve, along with supporting photographs:

Magroves Ecosystem, by Emily

Mangrove is a water plant. It grows in a desurt/swamp area, and the yellow leaf sacrifisi itself (it takes the salt-water) then the other leaves have fresh water. Those are the green leaves.

The mangrove is very important. It nurchurs fish, birds, lobsters and crabs. All of those thigs live in the water except for the birds. They build there nests in the leaves of the mangroves.

The roots of mangroves stick up out of the ground like snorkels. The threats of mangroves are big, big marinas geting built. No wetlands = no fish, no coral reefs, NO GOOD!!!! Well, bye. Emily E.

Coral Reefs, by Jake

The coral reefs of the Bahamas are very beautiful. There made of little tiny microscopic animals called polyps. It will take fifty years for a polyp to build a pice of coral the size of a basket ball. The coral can get to any shape and size like horns, bowls, caves, brains, fans and flowers.

Coral reefs are important for marine life because they provide shelter. But they are in danger. Many are dying or cracking. One reason is greedy fisherman pouring bleach. 1 gallon can poison 500,000 gallons of sea water. Thing we can do. . . careful snorkeling, carful anchoring, no dumping trash, not fishing for more than you can eat. The End.

Protecting Lobster, by Drew

Baby lobsters grow in the sand after a week in the tides. When boats anchor in the (Exuma Land & Sea) Park they could kill 1,000 of baby lobsters. So the Park has put in moorings so it does not kill the lobster babies.

Of the 5.8 million lobsters caught each year, 5.4 million lobsters get exported to other countries and 400,000 go to locals and cruisers in the Bahamas. The Land and Sea Park is protecting the baby lobsters for the future, or there won’t be enough! Also, lobsters are important for coral reefs because they clean the reefs.

Besides protecting lobsters, the Park is also protecting the land. In the past, the Bahamas was a tropical rain forest. But when the British descovered all the wood, they cut it down for building ships. Now the Bahamas has no old growth trees at all. After all the lumber was taken from the island, some groups of Loyalists burnt the island so to start plantations of sugar cane. The plantations slowly went away after taking all the nutriets out of the soil.

The Land and Sea Park is now protecting the plants and trees that are here today. Now the land here looks like swiss chees but rock and like a desert. There are bushes and palmettos as well as mangroves. This is good because mangroves fields are like nurseries for lobsters, conch and more.

Reports from the Field: Bahama Animals

Here's a photo of Jubilee's intrepid team of reporters heading out into the field for more research. They'll stop a nothing to bring you their stories...

The Loggerhead Turtle, by Drew

The Loggerhead Turtle is an endangered species of the Bahamas. It eats mollusks, crab, and jellyfish. They also have powerful jaws and are suited for eating hard shells. These turtles can weigh up to 230 pounds and grow to 43 inches long. They have horned shaped beaks. Loggerhead Turtles live in warm tropical waters around the world and lay eggs on long sandy beaches.

Some threats to Loggerheads are poachers and trash. If one sees a plastic bag it can mistake it for a jellyfish and eat it. Poachers steal eggs and kill the turtles. At the Exuma Land & Sea Park, turtles are being protected to help them come back.

Bahama Hutia, by Emily

A Hutia is a plump, brown, rabbit-sized member of the rodent family. Its weigh is just over a half pound. Hutias are nocternal, so you can't achilly (actually) seee them, but at the Land & Sea Park Office you can see a feac (fake) one.

Hutias are herivores which means plant eaters. They feed on plants and twigs. Hutias live in East Plana Cay, little wax cay and Warderick Wells. Hutias live only these places because they are semi deserts.

Hutias are endangerd species. Bahamaians do worry about hurricanes and birds of prey killing the Hutias, but you can't tell if a hurricane is coming or not to one of the places they live. The End.

West Indian Flamingo, by Jake

The flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas. It is pink and can get up to four feet tall. It has a slanted down beak and they eat fly eggs. Plus with their slanted down beaks they sand for small tiny shrimp. The shrimp have a chemical called carotene which gives them their color.

Flamingos can fly and when it is mating season they have a dance. The male who is the best dancer is who the female will choose to mate. Flamingos are shy and they live in lonely dry places like Inagua Cay in the Bahamas. Since their nests are on the ground they can be trampled by boars and donkeys. This is why flamingos need to be protected. The End.

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE OF REPORTS FROM THE FIELD... How People Can Help Protect the Plants & Animals of the Bahamas

Exuma Land and Sea Park

Even though we’re living every day in the amazing beauty of the Bahamas. There are times when it still takes you by surprise. I woke up this morning and went up on deck here at the Exuma Land and Sea Park and was struck at the colors surrounding the boat.

People talk about having to pinch themselves sometimes to make sure that something is real. There are times on this trip when I have to make sure I don’t leave a mark! It really is fantastic out here. We can only hope our most recent photo album does it justice!

The Exuma Land a Sea Park is a 22-mile long, eight-mile wide conservation zone that provides safe haven for vital Bahamian marine and wildlife resources. The park is a partnership with The Nature Conservancy and is a pristine area of natural beauty.

The Land & Sea Park is also a no-take zone so fishing is strictly prohibited... “take only photos; leave only footprints”, as the saying goes. As a result, the animals here are naturally curious of humans as opposed to shying away. The lobsters, for instance, are enormous and peek out of their holes to see us when we dive! We dove on a ship wreck yesterday and saw three lobsters, each of which would have fed our family for a couple of days. No kidding. Lobsters are one of the only animals that never stop growing and so when left alone they get really large.

Our first full day in the park got off to a great start with a 2-hour nature walk this morning with a volunteer guide, Bill from Lexington, KY, who has been cruising the Bahamas since the mid-70s. It was a great science as well as history lesson for the kids, and yes, “reports from the field” are in the works.

Click here for a photo album of our first 2 days at the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park.

Behind the Blog: The Coffee Chronicles

Chapter 1 - The French Press

Shortly after we began our travels, we picked up a French Press on sale for maybe $10.00. We thought it would be a good way to make coffee on the boat without electricity. Pat had been off coffee for nearly a year, and I generally opt for ice tea in the mornings, but for some reason we both really had an urge for coffee.

Chapter 2 - How to make a great cup of coffee

The “recipe” for a great cup of coffee became a source of tremendous debate on Jubilee for many weeks following our press purchase. Medium v. bold; the coarseness of the ground beans; 5 well-rounded scoops v. 5.5; what exactly is well-rounded?; how long to steep before pressing. The details were endless.

I take cream and sugar in my coffee, so I don’t have nearly the sensitive palette Pat has. From his perspective, no one else can make a good cup of coffee. I began to realize that perhaps it had been a good idea for him to quit drinking it... clearly it was a very stressful activity for him! I considered switching him to decaf. beans for his own good but was afraid I’d get caught!

Chapter 3 - Stocking Up

Pat has never been a Folgers kind of guy, so when we stocked up on coffee for our crossing to the Bahamas we opted for whole beans... about 15lbs of them. I was sure my baby food processor could stand in for a coffee grinder, and this way the coffee would be nice and fresh!

Chapter 4 - The Grind

It was in the Berry Islands when we first needed to grind coffee. Pat had the generator running, so out came the baby food processor. After about 10 minutes, everyone aboard was ready to kill me if I didn’t STOP that horrid grinding noise! The kids couldn’t seem to focus on lessons, and Pat was losing his mind.

10 more minutes pass... I’m in the bathroom now with the food processor and a couple of pounds of coffee. (Our head has never smelled so good!) The door is closed to keep the noise down for everyone else. The baby food processor is practically on fire, it’s working so hard. I had a lot riding on it’s success, what with 15lbs of beans aboard and no other way to grind them.

I finally managed to get a grind that could only be described as “extra coarse” but it was adequate (barely, according to Pat) for making coffee if you increased the scoops to 6 well-rounded and let the pot steep a bit longer.

First on the to-do list for Nassau... buy a real coffee grinder.

Chapter 5 - Sticker Shock

When we arrived in Nassau, we found a hardware store that was willing to sell us an off-brand coffee grinder for $29.99. Suddenly, Pat was the baby food-processor’s new best friend. That grinding noise was tolerable; the coffee wasn’t that bad.

Chapter 6 - Starbucks-Ho!

On our way back to the Harbor from the hardware store, we happened on the answer to all our coffee problems... there on the corner was Starbucks!! The baby food processor could be relieved of its duty and the Jubilee crew would be spared any further discomfort and hearing damage. Surely, those nice people at Starbucks would grind our coffee for us!

Pat took 10lbs or so of beans (Starbucks beans, of course) from our “pantry” and had them ground to perfection - no charge. He was compromising on the “fresh ground” thing by having so much ground at one time, but that was a small price to pay. All was now right with the world.

Chapter 7 - Press Overboard!

The next day after enjoying his morning cup-of-Joe, Pat decided to rinse out the French Press with our salt water hose. We’ve taken to using salt water for dish washing, followed by a fresh water rinse, as a way to extend our water supply. While filling up my salt water jug so that I could do dishes, he took the press with him to the bow of the boat to clean it.

Clearly he is not doing dishes enough, because he was unaware - even after 6 months of owning the French Press - that the strainer screws off. By the time he noticed that the bottom of the press was “spinning”, he was watching it fly overboard! (He also watched the strainer separate into 3 pieces just before it hit the water.)

It’s nearly high tide; there’s a cold front passing through so the current is really ripping; and the key components to our French Press are now somewhere at the bottom of Nassau Harbor in 17 feet of water!

Chapter 8 - SCUBA Diving Challenge

Pat loves to dive, though it was a bit chilly this particular morning and Nassau Harbor isn’t exactly a diver’s “destination spot”. Still, he geared up for the salvage mission.
He had to tie himself to the boat with a rope so as not to be swept away by the current. Because the tide was coming in so strongly, visibility was poor, but he did manage to surface with 1 of the 3 missing pieces on his first dive. A few more attempts produced nothing but fatigue and frustration, so he had to give up the search and spent the rest of his air on the other mission of scrubbing algae off the bottom of the boat using a suction cup to hold himself in place.

Chapter 9 - Sticker Shock - Again!

While I made a list of all the people to whom we might give a few pounds of freshly ground coffee (I certainly wasn’t going to be having any any time soon!), Pat went into town - destination, Starbucks. Although they ground our beans for free, they required an outlay of cash - $39.99 - for a French Press.

Chapter 10 - Diving or Dollars

Not willing to part with $39.99 for something we’d paid $10.00 for to begin with, Pat was highly motivated to search again for the missing parts. The tide was now low and the water more settled. Surely, he could find the strainer.

He was out there for a while. The kids and I sort of forgot about him... then we heard the shouts of joy! The French-speaking boat anchored next to us was so taken by the commotion that they later asked our French-Canadian friends on Coxily what what “tresor” the Americans had found in at the bottom of Nassau Harbor. Le pressoir de café!!

Let’s just say the next pot of coffee we made in our trusty French Press was perhaps the BEST coffee Pat has ever tasted!