Gypsies in the Palace!

As Jimmy so aptly says, “Gypsies in the Palace!” (You must listen to the song!)

As you all know we have become really close to the locals as well as the managers on Sampson Cay, so much so that we were invited to a “locals” party on Sampson to celebrate Cherry’s Birthday Party. This, you must understand is a unique experience totally different from anything American.

The Bahamian, no matter what the age, do not really begin to party until 10pm. And, oh, do they know how to party! The booze flowed freely. The dinner which was not served until 9pm consisted of a Bahamian epicurean delight! Fish! Lobster! Fish dips! Bahamian Mac & Cheese! Salads! Bahamian Fried Chicken!

Gigi & Shirley were even asked to serve as Bartenders while the women decked themselves out in their Bahamian finest! We were really honored.

Bob & Vicki of First Look

We have truly come to love these delightful experiences!

Remember to check out our blog for pictures. The link is http://catspawlog.blogspot.com/.

Happy Holidays from Cat’s Paw in the Bahamas

The outgoing tide in Key Biscayne spits us out into the Gulf Stream at 7.4 knots, and so our crossing to the Bahamas begins and ends! It was the fastest calmest crossing that we have ever experienced. It only took 26 hours. The Bahama banks were so flat that we saw the stars reflecting off the water. We arrived in Nassau cleared customs and immigration, provisioned (rum & New Zealand butter) and left Nassau in 36 hours.

We were traveling with another boat, our friends Vic & Gigi on Oconee. We were in the middle of the yellow banks, a patch of water 3 miles wide covered with coral heads 4 to 15 feet below the surface, when Vic radioed us that he had lost his engine. He was able to restart and continue, though the engine kept cutting out every 5 minutes. We slowed and allowed him to catch up and follow us. We told him where to steer to avoid the heads because Gigi was busy restarting the engine and Vic could not see the heads. Once out of the banks Vic changed fuel filters and was good to go.

We were within 3 miles of Norman’s Cay when engine alarms started going off. The engine had over-heated and the alternator had stopped working! Not good! We had to shut down the engine and with wind out of the east getting into the anchorage to the east would be tough. There is no TowBoat in the Bahamas! Vic & Gigi came to the rescue, towing us into the anchorage. Bob on Pretty Penny helped to replace the fan belt the next day.

After harvesting our first conch of the season at Norman’s, we headed down to Sampson Cay for the arrival of our friend, Cindy, and the Christmas holidays.

The evening that Cindy arrived we organized an “Open Christmas Boat” party with Oconee and Pretty Penny so she could get an idea of how we all lived on our boats. The following day, the first order of fun involved a dinghy ride down to Piggy beach to feed the world famous swimming pigs. Poor Cindy arrived for not only the wind, but a day of rain, though after that the weather improved dramatically. We shared a delightful Christmas Dinner with many cruising friends. Boxing Day we took the big boat down to Staniel and anchored right off of the yacht club. At noon we treated ourselves to lunch at yacht club and did some shopping. After lunch Shirley and Cindy spent an hour snorkeling “Thunderball Grotto” where the James Bond movie “Thunderball” had been filmed. Cindy departed the following day with a list of supplies to send back from the states.

After sending Cindy on her way we moved to Sampson Cay to charge batteries and do laundry - $4.00 per wash and $4.00 per dry. We are now in the company of Vic & Gigi on Oconee, Bob & Penny on Pretty Penny and William & Francis on Alexia.

The week of new Years, of course, had to be celebrated at Staniel Cay. And celebrate we did, though not as much as the Bahamians. Those people can party! We participated in events the entire week, donating items for the auction that supports the Cruising Regatta; then buying stuff at the auction. During the auction the residents of Staniel Cay provided free food and drink which will always draw a cruiser crowd. The Pirate Party took place after our bedtime so we missed it. The C-Class Regatta is as fun to watch as it is entertaining to listen to the locals bantering about the race tactics. Just after dark on New Year’s Eve we watched wonderful fireworks that allowed us to retire at our usual “cruisers midnight” of 9 pm having viewed not only fireworks, but a Green Flash1 and a Blue Moon2.

1. Green Flash – An atmospheric phenomenon created by the refraction of light that allow the sun to flash green just as it is dipping below the horizon. The green/blue light of the prism of the sky curves more so it remains visible after the lower frequency light (red/orange) have fallen below the horizon And, no, they are not observable proportional to the amount of rum you have consumed. Briefly, they are caused by the refraction of light at the horizon. The atmospheric conditions were just ideal and we feel we were so lucky to have had this marvelous opportunity so many time through our cruising life. It is something of which every cruiser dreams, but few get to see. There is a scientific explanation that is related in “Ocean Navigator” #83, July/Aug ’97. There are also pictures in Wikipedia. But, scientific or not, they are spectacular to observe.
2. Blue Moon – By definition, a blue moon occurs when there are 2 full moons in a single month. This event only occurs about once every 19 years. By chance, the blue moon occurred this New Years eve, the second full moon of December. What is unique about this is that to actually have a blue moon on New Year’s Eve is a once in about 100 year event.

The New Year brought with it west winds so we have moved to Compass Cay for the first time this season where we were greeted by Wilson who we had met at Sampson Cay nine years ago. We were joined at Compass Cay by Oconee (Vic &Gigi), Pretty Penny (Bob & Penny), Alexia (William & Francis), My Sharona (Wayne & Sharon), Five Islands (Ralph & Karen), and new friends Matt & Tina on Mattina, and Murray & Anne Marie on O-Escapist. A group of us harvested a few conchs on the first day which we shared at a delightful “Happy Hour” on the dock. As Tina on Mattina so aptly shared, cruisers really enjoy making new friends, because we all travel loosely and if we didn’t continually make new friends our circle would dwindle quickly as we take different paths.

The next night we all shared a Pot Luck to end all Pot Lucks! Each dish qualified as gourmet and the conversation titillating. The breeze did blow and the temperature was somewhat low, though not as low as in the states! The temps here are predicted to be somewhat low through the month of January, but definitely not as low as stateside. Life is good. The water is blue and the only white we see is sand!

Hope this New Year finds all healthy and happy. We will spend the next few months bouncing around the Exumas with only limited e-mail so we will keep in touch as we can. We do love to hear from family and friends so please keep in touch.

Love & warmth,

Mac, Shirley, Star & Cap't