A Fancy Marina

Staniel Cay was a nice place with the Thunderball Cave nearby.  That is where a James Bond movie was filmed.  Larry snorkeled in to see it.  He said it was not as big as it seemed in the movie, but was full of fish.  I stayed in the dinghy.  The water was a bit too cold for me.  Staniel had a nice bar and while hanging out there, we met a couple who owned a megayacht.  It was called  "Man of Steel".  Guess he made his money in steel.  They were very friendly.  Sadly, a big accident occurred that night involving their tender.  Six of their crew got drunk and ran into a rocky cay while returning late at night to the boat.  The tender was pretty banged up and so were the crew.  Drinking and night boat driving do not mix.

Little Farmer Cay is where we met our newest friends.  They are from the Solomons, Maryland. Their names are Bill and Jean. Their boat is named Chapter III. Hopefully, we will make it to the Solomons one of these years on the boat and be able to visit them there. Little Farmers Cay is an island with a population of 56 people.   I had one of my embarrassing moments there.  We were trying to find the right mooring balls and I was talking to the owner of the moorings on the VHF.  Little did I know some friends were standing next to him listening as I got totally confused trying to direct Larry to the right spot.  The man kept trying to get us to head to a beach.  That was fine, but there were about 5 beaches.  Finally, I said to the guy, "Do you mean the little beach by the channel" and he replied, "duh".  I thought, oh dear, I must really sound like a dunce.  But we finally got it sorted out.  I chalked it up to cultural differences.  Anyway our friends had a good laugh.

We are now at the Emerald Bay Marina (marinaatemeraldbay.com).  It is quite a fancy place.  But at the present time, it is quite cheap since they are trying to build up business.  The word  (cheap) quickly spread around the cruisers, so there are quite a few here.     Yesterday, we got off the boat, rented a car, and drove to the big boater destination, Georgetown.  The main reason for Georgetown's popularity is the ability to provision, meet lots of boaters (there are about 250 boats there presently) and relax and have a good time.  So we bought beer, rum, and had a nice lunch.  A big regatta is due to begin next week, but we will forgo that opportunity since time is getting short and we need to begin heading north. 

Here in the marina there are some huge catamarans.  They make ours look pretty small.  Most are live aboards.  One cat named "Don't Look Back" turned out to be good friends with the Lius, an Oriental couple who cruise the Bahamas every year.  Another small world experience.

Today we drove to the northern part of the island and stopped at a restaurant.  It was questionable whether or not it was open.  But the owners also live there.  So we asked if they had the makings of breakfast; they did.  Maxwell house instant coffee, scrambled eggs, and bahamian bread made into toast with a smidge of butter on it.  The eggs were deelish. 

Another big blow is arriving on Tuesday.  Sigh.  Guess we'll have to stay in this beautiful place for a few more days.  Anyway, hope the weather is getting better in places in the states.

Overall, all is well with us.  Occasionally, I have a meltdown and wonder what we are doing here.  But overall, it has been quite an adventure.  We have met great boaters and some charming Bahamians.  And today is a beautiful day.
Also, heard good news from home.  Our neighbor's son, Jeremiah, is back from Iraq!  Yea!

Our restaurant owner and breakfast chef  with Larry and Bill

                         Terry Bain (Little Farmers Cay) with us.  We had a good political and environmental discussion with Terry and he made us sing the Little Farmers Cay anthem.

Larry headed for thunderball cave.