Long Island -- The Beauty And The Beast

January 15 - 19, 2014

After a busy morning of preparation, we left Great Exuma Island, George Town and the Emerald Bay Marina.  Brian had a little maintenance to do on the main engine and we decided to top off the fuel tanks to give us more ballast.  By the time we left the fuel dock it was 1:30 and we were 37 miles from our anchorage on Long Island.  The water only had two to four foot waves, but they hit us on the starboard side of our bow giving us a rough ride for four and a half hours.   We arrived at Cape Santa Maria (named by Columbus in 1492) as the sun set and a huge full moon guided us to our quiet anchorage.    

Did I say a quiet anchorage?  Oh, my!!!!  Well, it was comfortable until 2:00 AM.  That's when I moved to the salon.  Our stateroom is in the bow and when the boat starts bouncing that area gets the most action.  At 4:45 AM Brian came up to tell me it was pouring rain and the wind had picked up.  We quickly closed all of the windows and hatches.  A cold front was passing through.  Winds went instantly from 5-35.  Waves from calm to 5+ in our anchorage.  Not hitting us on our bow, but our port side so we rocked.  Our anchor did its job holding us in place, but we were like a rag doll being tossed in every direction as we twisted at the end of 125 feet of chain.  Since we weren't expecting this event, we didn't have things stowed.  Everything hit the floor:  pictures, books, blender, soda stream, lamps…..  We were definitely experiencing the worst water and wind in our 30+ years of  boating!  At 7:15 AM we couldn't take it anymore.  Brian put on his life jacket and went to the bow pulpit to pull up the anchor. This was the only time I was frightened.  He was hanging over the front of the boat with huge waves crashing over and around him.  He managed to get the anchor up without falling overboard and got back inside. Now we were able to get underway with the stabilizers helping to diminish the side to side motion.  For the first hour we were in 10-12 foot waves every four seconds.  Anything that hadn't come loose earlier did now including the television swinging freely.  Falling off one wave was enough of a bump for the pressure struts on our bed to push the mattress up to the ceiling (it usually takes a hardy pull to lift it, so we can get to the storage under the bed).  It was a rough seven hour trip to our new "quiet" anchorage at Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas.  I was no help at all as I laid on the coach in the salon alternately sleeping and throwing up.  

We are very cautious boaters that try to stay out of uncomfortable situations, but when we are surprised we are so thankful to be on our Kady-Krogen.  Gotta Smile never blinked and we never worried about her ability to deliver us safely to our next anchorage.  Now, if I could only say as much for my ability! 

When Joan was visiting earlier this week she told me about another remedy for sea sickness.  This is the weirdest one yet!  Put Vicks Vaporub in your belly button and cover it with a band aid.  Weird as it sounds, I did buy the Vicks and will soon try it along with the wrist bands, ginger pills, Motion eaze and Dramamine.  Sooner or later I've got to find the combination that keeps me upright on bumpy rides.  And, in case you are wondering -- NO, I didn't use any of them on our trip to Clarence Town.  Things happened too quickly as I came out of a deep sleep and I was throwing up before I knew what we were in.  

This little island and a reef offered us protection
from the waves as we took a day to rest at anchor.

On Friday we took the day off to recuperate.  The anchorage was quiet and we had a great wifi connection.  It was fun to talk with both of our kids on FaceTime and catch up on emails.  Earlier I mentioned a cold front came through -- that means the temperature dropped to 78 and I put on a long sleeve t shirt.  After 26 years of cold fronts in Minnesota, this is a welcome change.  

Saturday morning we checked into the Flying Fish Marina in Clarence Town for two days and rented a car to do some serious land exploration.  The island is only 80 miles long and four miles wide at it's widest point.  It is considered one of the most beautiful of the Bahamian Islands and is famous for it's caves and Deans Blue Hole -- the deepest underwater sinkhole known.  At 663 feet deep it is more than double the others.    

A group free diving from a platform.

We think this is one of those rare places on earth
where there are more churches than bars!

It wasn't uncommon to see open graves that had
been cut into solid rock some time ago.  I tried
to talk Brian into getting in it for a photo, but that
was not even up for discussion.

A mat of tires had to be laid across the road
for this tractor to cross.  

Stacked stone walls and slave houses from the 18th 
century cotton plantations.

This could make your skin crawl --
the black is a huge ant nest.
It was about 18 inches tall.  I took the
picture from inside the car! 

Goats, sheep, pigs and chickens roam freely.

 Anglican Church designed by Father Jerome who
later became Monsignor Jerome Hawes and designed
the Catholic church.

A different shade of blue.

This beach was covered with natural sponges.

In the 1970's Diamond Crystal had a salt plant on 25,000 acres of land in Long Island.  They were the primary employer.  When they left a shrimp farming company moved in only to close a few years later.  Much of the equipment is still there.  We set out to find it and it wasn't easy!

The roads got narrower and rougher and then we
were on an abandoned airplane runway.  

   

This rotted bridge didn't stop us.

Finally, we found the evaporation ponds, but that
wasn't good enough.  Where was the plant?

The road gets narrower…..

Thank God, we found it!  I'm sure you can see why
this was worth the search……  But, we still couldn't
leave until we found the tug.

Bingo!!!  Now can we go eat dinner?

Looking forward to getting on our way.  What will our next adventure be and what islands will we visit?            

    Gotta Smile -- we're lovin the ride!