Adventures in Freeport, Grand Bahama

We have a restful sleep, waking to a gorgeous, hot, Bahamian morning. It is nice to step off the boat and have a shower just steps away. What a treat! We walk over to formally check in to the Ocean Reef Resort and then wander around to visit with old friends. Andy and Isabella on Southern Cross IV are here, waiting to move south through the Bahamas and probably to Turks and Caicos. It is great to see them and we spend some time catching up. Gary and Lina on Rum Line II are here, of course, along with their friends, John and Annabel on their new sailboat acquisition Rafiki I. We see other old friends from last year, and meet new ones during our stay.
Our initial plan was to leave at the first weather window, however, we decide to return the new camera purchased in December to Henry's Cameras in Toronto for an over the counter exchange. This involves a little bit of maneuvering through the bureaucratic red tape and "tax and duty" jungle of the Bahamas, but we manage to get the camera "fed exed" - holding our breath that it will return. Lo and behold, it does, much to everyone's surprise. The camera situation does delay our departure, but as soon as it arrives, we plan our getaway.
In the meantime, we use our time here to reprovision, socialize, visit with Ruth and Randy, sightsee...and we spend some time giving some very serious thought to buying a condo at the facility that Ruth and Randy live. We get very excited at the possibility of buying a "fixer upper", going so far as to contact a lawyer. As we think harder about it, though, we come to the conclusion that the timing is wrong for us. While the lure of owning a Bahamian getaway is very sexy, we are really just beginning to reshape our life plans - and the timing is a bit off for now...maybe down the road this will make sense. Nonetheless, it has been fun and a little exciting to mull over the possibilities. Ruth and Randy continue to be the incredible host/hostess to us during our stay here. Ruth makes a great chicken curry dinner...and we enjoy an Oscar nominated movie - The King's Speech - in their home. We have them over for dinner on Odissea xx a few days later, but it is not nearly as organized or meticulous as Ruth always manages. The Beck's purchase a new car while we are here - and kindly offer to allow us to use their old car during our stay. This turns out to be a godsend for us as we are able to shop and even refill our propane tanks. Blair volunteers to do a propane run for everyone at the Marina who are in need of a "top up".
The big achievement for us while we are at the dock here was the launch of our watermaker. We have never turned it on to test it - not even at survey when we bought the boat. So we have convinced ourselves that it is probably not operational. Imagine our total shock, surprise, and ultimate delight to discover that it does, in fact, work, and we are making about 16 gallons of RO water per hour. What a great surprise - this will certainly make our upcoming cruising so much easier.
One day, we enlist Ruth's help in finding a hair stylist for Lina on Rum Line II. I convince Lina that she will look sensational with a short-haired style cut. It is a fun adventure that we document with photographs and a short video tape (precut)filmed with a couple of local Bahamian taxi drivers who try to convince Lina to keep her hair as is - a clip of the video will be included.
We stop, one day, along the side of the road to buy some fresh conch from a couple of Bahamians. They retrieve the conch from the shell and skin it for us. I am determined to try to prepare this local treat - one of the small things in my bucket list! I also take two empty conch shells to clean and keep as a souvenir. Once we arrive back at the yacht club, I put on the pretense that I know what I am doing with the conch - when in reality, of course, I don't. Thank heavens for the internet and YouTube. I take off all the dark bits from the conch, encase it in saran wrap and pound the heck out of the conch with a stainless steel mallet. This draws some attention from passers by (as well as some skepticism, I am sure). I end up making home-made seasoned french fries as a side dish - and cracked conch (dipped in egg and "Old Bay" seasoned flour) with a great homemade conch dipping sauce. It is surprisingly good - but way too much for us - so Blair takes the platter out to the dock to share the remains with the group on the dock and walkway. Everyone agrees that is has turned out well, so that has been added to the list of worthwhile adventures!
Given that we have had the use of the car, we invite Lina and Gail Gratton (Gary's sister visiting from Canada) to join us on a visit to Garden of the Groves. We have a nice lunch there and an enjoyable tour around this beautiful sanctuary that is a protected garden habitat that began with the efforts of the Groves family and remains to this day. We enjoy the serenity of the chapel at the hilltop, the beauty of the waterfalls and the surroundings - ending our visit here with a meditative stroll through the labyrinth. Blair, as patient as a saint, sprawls out on a local bench to wait for the three of us to finish oohing and aahing over tour surrounding. All in all, it is very beautiful and well worth the visit.
We have met a very interesting couple, Dennis and Cam Raedeke, aboard Wild Wind IV, while we are here. They have pretty much cruised the world and have some incredible stories to share with us. One night, they invite us to join them for a night of bowling on board their boat. We accept, of course, unsure what to expect - they have a large boat, but can it be large enough to house a bowling alley? Once we arrive, they give us a tour of their beautiful boat...and then set up the bowling vie WiiSports! It turns out to be a lot of fun- we end up playing bowling, and then we finish off the night ski-jumping! I can't help but imagine how many eye-rolls this adventure will illicit from our kids back hom...lol!
Before Ruth and Randy head out of the Bahamas, they invite us out for a fun evening at Tony Macaroni - a kind of a beach shack right on the water. Tony Macaroni's is a rather colourful local who runs the place. This night, there is a band headed up by a great saxophone player. This was well worth the visit and the experience, although, we leave early as the temperature drops and it is quite cool. Nice evening.
In our final couple of days before we depart Ocean Reef, I plant the cherry tomatoes, basil, and parsley plants - an experiment that may or may not work. Final provisioning...we are full to bursting now. I clean the two conch shells, certain that they will be keepers. Last, but not least, we visit Tom on the BASRA boat to take a membership. This is worthwhile, we are sure, as these fellows volunteer their services to help those boaters in need of assistance - and they do a pretty good job. Plus, you never know when it may be necessary to enlist their help - insurance!
By Saturday night, February 5th, we say our goodbyes to everyone at Ocean Reef and pick up last minute pointers on anchorages along the way for our trip south - as well as tips on fishing and the landing the Mahi Mahi that everyone covets so much down here. We go to sleep, excited about starting the next part of our adventure south.