Off Again!!!

Well, we're off again, after spending several weeks docked in Nassau. We got alot of things done on the boat and took care of much personal business, but we were getting pretty bored. (Actually, I didn't know I was bored until we started off again this morning, and I thought, "Oh, I like this so much better!") So, Sunday morning, May 4, we left Nassau and headed again for the Exumas, where we had been with Craig and Eleni. The wind was not in our favor, and we ended up motoring about 30 miles to Highborne Cay, where we anchored among the baby sharks and the mamma and poppa stingrays. As I write this, I think the baby shark (actually, there was only one) and the rays are under the boat in the shade. I would be if I were them. My thermometer says it's 93 in the cockpit!

To get from Nassau to here you have to go through kind of a 'mine field' of coral reefs. There is about a 10-mile stretch where you have to have someone on the bow of the boat looking out for the coral reefs which have grown so large they are almost above water. They appear like dark patches in the otherwise aquamarine water. Running into one of those could do a real number on the reef, not to mention the bottom of the boat.

We took advantage of being in Nassau and did some 'touristy' things, like went to Paradise Island. That is where most people go who visit the Bahamas on a cruise ship or on a tour of some kind. We also went to the downtown area of Nassau and looked at the neat stuff to buy, but all we bought was lunch. We took the bus all around the island just to see how the people live and what else is out there. The Bahamas is one of the more affluent countries in the region, and many people come here (legally or otherwise) looking for work. This has caused the same type of problems that we have in the US, and they have even fewer resources to deal with them. Last night, for example, we saw two Hatian boats (no engines, no lights, no navigational gear, etc.) leaving the harbor near sunset. We were saying goodbye to a friend we had made, who is the night watchman at the marina. He explained that those are the type of boats they smuggle Hatians into the Bahamas on. In almost 3 months in the Bahamas, we have seen no Bahamian Coast Guard. That's because there is none. They do have a rescue boat I have seen in Nassau, but it is a volunteer venture. I know they rely alot on the US Coast Guard, because the Bahamas is a stopping off point for the people-smuggling business. Next stop, Florida.

Like so many others (the lucky ones) our friend, Ron, the night watchman, came from Jamaica to the Bahamas in search of work. He has been here for 2 years and plans to stay one more. He is living frugally and saving in order to return to Jamaica, buy a couple of mini-vans and have his own taxi business. He would be considered very successful, and I'm sure he will be. In the meantime, we are supposed to be on the lookout for a wife~~something on his list he has not accomplished yet.