Jolification — Cupcake Afloat

Although we have only been anchored here in our secret Great Harbor Cay anchorage for two nights, I am already losing track of the days. Yesterday we went for a walk about a mile and a half up the road to find a tiny little beach on the west side of the cay. Played in the sand for a bit, splashed around for a bit, then headed back to the marina where we had tied up Mr. Flowerpot.

At the marina we checked out the two little stores. Between them, they have a surprising selection of things a sailor might need, and even more things a sailor wants. In particular, ice cream. Moss and I each enjoyed an ice cream bar. Poor Ellen is struggling with a significant sugar addiction and has been cold-turkey on sweets for quite a while now. Anyway, the ice cream was delicious.

We also picked up a big conch shell from a pile of discards at the conch stand. Once we get it cleaned up a bit and knock a hole in the end, we will be able to use it as a musical instrument/signaling device. And as soon as we can get a stick sharpened on both ends we can play Lord of the Flies. Just kidding. The conch horn is typically blown to signal the sunset. Roosters at sunrise, conch at sunset in the Bahamas.

At the marina we met a couple on a big 39’ pilothouse sailboat. They have been staying at the marina since August. There’s so little going on around here, I’ll bet they got lots and lots of reading done. And crossword puzzles. And sudoku. Even knitting. The wife is working on an afghan and, like Penelope, won’t leave until it is finished.

We saw a flyer for a “Jolification and Junkanoo” at 6pm and decided that would be our evening’s entertainment. The event was a party and fundraiser for the local school, also a “get in the Christmas spirit” kind of thing. We had our first conch fritters of the trip (delicious), our first Kalik beer of the trip (delicious), and watched a bunch of guys jam on some big drums (excellent) by a bonfire of pallet wood (plenty warm). In addition to the drums, there was just the right amount of cowbell.

The water is clear, but the bottom is grassy (and surprisingly, the holding seems great). We are in about 6.5’ of water. Saw a manatee this morning.

This morning I went up the mast again to reset the wifi antenna. It stopped working in Bimini, tech support said it probably needed to have its memory reset. Unfortunately, this model has the reset button on the antenna at the top of the mast. No big deal, I got to take some nice aerial photos. And anyway, it has been a couple of weeks since anyone went up the stick, so it was about time,

Ellen decided this morning that because the avocados are getting fully ripe it might be fun for her to experiment with making corn tortillas and guacamole. So that is the activity she’s working on right now. Moss is rotting her brain with video games.

The view from the top. That’s the marina and its condos. The rumor is that this whole area was developed in the 1960s and 70s by the Rat Pack.

After lunch we will hop in Mr. Flowerpot and, if the seas aren’t too rough outside the cut, check out the settlement of Bullocks Harbour and perhaps see if we can snorkel at a wreck of a small plane that is charted in shallow water nearby.

Cruising tip of the day: The AM dial is where it’s at for local news, weather, and music. The newsreaders are modeling a broadcast style that is very 1972 Walter Cronkite.