Sailing Ohana

The Bahamians that we have met during our travels have been welcoming and lovely, but our time on Cat Island was the most we’ve felt a connection with the locals.

New Bight – We sailed to this first anchorage with 4 other boats from Conception and met up with a handful more who came from Calabash. So that I don’t forget the group, their names are Grace, Tangent, Traveler, Vista Vida, Kairos, New World, Ripple, Aeolus, Escondido. On our way, a couple of boats on the radio were reporting that there was a school of mahi mahi around their boat, and that they just caught three. Someone jumped in and asked where they were, so we all rushed to the area, but by the time we got there, the fish had moved on. Fishing can be such an emotional roller coaster. The little town of New Bight was very welcoming to us as our flotilla descended upon the anchorage that afternoon. From the water you can see the brightly colored buildings, which are mostly little fish fry or conch shacks. It is a neat way to identify where the different businesses are located, or when getting directions somewhere: “Turn left at the blue building and walk past the white building with a red roof, then you’ll see Olive’s Bakery, which is the little green building on the right”. Olive is a vibrant woman with a contagious smile and laugh, who takes care of a large garden/farm area, and bakes delicious breads and cookies.

We spent all of our time in New Bight socializing. The locals had a “Rake n’ Scrape” for us one night, and a lot of other locals came out for that. One afternoon we had a birthday party for one of the boys on Kairos, and the local boys joined us for the “birthday ball”. The birthday ball is a game where the kids in the group takes turns rolling dice and unrolling a giant package that holds little gifts donated by each of our boats. Our boys spent their days playing with the local kids and other boat kids on the beach, jumping off our boat, and going to the ice cream shack. Tommy and I enjoyed walks to the very well-stocked (by Bahamas’ standards) grocery store, and did laundry at the shiny new laundromat where some locals pulled over and gave us a ride with all our laundry in the back of their pickup, and on our last night there we spent a late night with the adults playing dominoes.

Our family hiked with our buddies to The Hermitage which was the retirement home of Father Jerome, who is a well-known and beloved man in these parts.

Fernandez Bay – We spent a couple of days in Fernandez Bay, where we had some parts for our generator shipped. Tommy walked with Morris to the airport two days in a row, to get through customs and receive the package. He had to get a broker just to complete the paperwork and calculate the duties we owed. Even though the process seemed frustrating, everyone was so helpful and kind, and went out of their way to get us what we needed. Sadly, the parts did not completely fix the generator. 😭 Fernandez Bay has a small resort and a nice beach where we enjoyed get-togethers with the other kid boat cruisers. The birds jumped off the boat with their friends for hours and we played dominoes once Tommy was able to get the order from Maker’s Air. I dyed my hair since it was getting really sun and saltwater damaged and turning orange, and Susie and I jumped off our boat roof into the water so I could rinse off the dye (and for fun). Turns out it’s really hard to dye your own hair, and I got spots all over my swim shirt and some other things. I was rinsing out hair dye for days. Some friends and I went paddleboarding up the mangrove canal, and the current was so strong that there were times when we could not move forward! Some of the boats from our group spent a lot of time at Fernandez Bay last year, so it was like a reunion with the resort employees when they arrived. Omar in particular was always smiling his sparkling smile, laughing, talking to the kids about fishing, and he even arranged for us to have an adult dinner one night. We left the kiddos from Grace and Ripple on Ohana while we went out. Jackson and Spencer continue to grow as we give them more responsibilities and freedom. I’m so proud of them.

The resort let SV Grace host a s’mores night at their bonfire as well, which was fun for all of us. We have been wanting a real bonfire for a long time. Our group celebrated another birthday with a grown-up birthday ball (from which our family pulled a “Sailing For Dummies” book 😂) and had an Indian potluck dinner that was a gourmet feast not only by boating standards, but by any standards. One boat even made naan from scratch. I’m proud to say that my improvised mutter tofu tikka masala was a favorite too.

Shanna Bay – We stopped here for one night, even though we knew it would be a rolly night, because the restaurant at Shannas Cove Resort was one that Susie said would be worth it. She made reservations for the adults from Grace, Tangent, Traveler, Vista Vida, and Ohana to have dinner together. We had just enough time before dinner to go on a vigorous and scenic hike to a really cool beach the other side of the island with all the kids. The sand was chunky and full of shells which were mostly pink, giving it a very pink hue overall. The weather was rough and stormy as we dropped the kids off at Traveler, but we had faith they could handle it. The resort is run by a delightful couple and our dinner was the best meal out Tommy and I have had in many months. We had fun getting a little dressed up even though we didn’t wear shoes, which is totally acceptable in this area. It was a memorable evening with some people whose company we really enjoy. The kids did great, too. We anchored close to shore where there is less fetch and it wasn’t too rolly a night, after all.