Dec. 31-Jan.10

Dec. 31 - Jan. 10

Wow,  can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I've written on my blog.  I did warn you though that once we hit the Bahamas, the writing would slow down.
Dec. 31 was amazing.  Tida Wave and Lady Murial are two national champion A-class Bahamian racing boats that are raced each year on Dec. 31  giving tourists chance to race on them.  You sign up in advance and then names are drawn to decide which boat you will race on.  There are 10 crew to a boat ( not including the regulars) and we are basically ballast and rail meat.  This year 70 people signed up so 60 names were drawn to make up 3 races.  I was drawn for the 2nd race on Lady Muriel.  Greg's name was not drawn, but Francis, being the sweetheart that she is, gave here spot for the second race on Tida Wave to Greg.  She had done the race before and wanted Greg to have the experience of racing.  Luckily, Francis got a spot in the third race when someone backed out on Lady M.
So, first race, Lady M wins in a very close heat.  2nd race, with me on Lady M and Greg on Tida Wave starts off very close, but we gradually take a whopping lead.  Then the wind dies off to nothing.  Both boats are barely moving.  The only way we can tell for sure that we are going forward is to watch the rocks and shells go slowly by under our boat.  Almost three hours later ( in a race that should be about an hour) Tida Wave drops their sail and admits defeat.  We continue on to cross the finish line, but it was painful.  The third race was called due to lack of wind.  The good news....because Lady M won two races,  all the crew received very nice jackets, including Francis, who had given up her spot to Greg (on the losing boat) and never raced in the third race.  Just proves that all good deeds are rewarded!

New Years Day was the much anticipated Regatta. Unfortunately Ken and Merydie were not able to crew on Glory Days which opened up a space for Greg and me.  We had a great time, and even with a not so great start, we were able to come back for a 2nd place finish.  It was a lot of fun and a huge thank you to Laurie and Francis for allowing us to join them.  That evening was the banquet and awards, and even with the deluge of rain, it was a good time.  Ask Francis to show you the donkey dance!

Now it was off to Black Point, about a two hour sail from Staniel Cay.   This is a beautiful little spot with great walking and gorgeous beaches.  We collected beans for making jewellery and 8 of us spent one day on a beach with not another person or boat in sight.  It was heaven!

After a pleasant stay at Black Point, it's on to Cave Cay for a night, where we anchored off a small beach with just two other boats.  This is where my stomach finally did me in and I was pretty much down and out for the next 4 days.  Being sick does not mean we don't take advantage of the weather windows. So the next morning saw us up bright and early and motor sailing 38 nm to Stocking Island, across from George Town.  I made the trip into town with Greg for much needed produce and cash and promptly back to the boat and to bed.  We anchored at Sand Dollar Beach, which is just past Monument Beach and Volleyball Beach.  There are approximately 200 boats anchored at the three beaches.  The first night the winds were fairly strong and we watched one boat drag it's anchor and hit another boat.  All the boats swung to the east so we ended up only about a boat length away from the boat behind us.  Too close for comfort so we moved early the next morning.
The next day was a quick trip to George Town for water and then back to bed for me.  When we saw Mark and Kay of CKII the following day, they gave me a beautiful sea biscuit they found when snorkelling the day before.  It's so fragile, I have no idea how I will get it home without breaking it.  Now I definitely want to go snorkelling

Today we joined Mark and Kay for a hike to Monument hill.  What a view!  It was worth all the mosquito bites.