Haganes – Freeport.  – Scuttlebutt & Snippets from ‘tween decks. 

There are quite a few Filipinos here in Freeport Grand Bahama. Some are on ships in here for refit, and others working in the ship yard. Word seems to get about quite fast when a new one arrives and we had a regular stream of visitors to see Carol after we arrived.

I walked in to the galley and saw Carol and her new Filipino friend Alex discussing something over and ice tray filled with water. Carol told me that Alex was very knowledgeable. He had explained to her that the locks in Panama get their water from the lake above which is at a higher level than the sea. Then when the boat goes through the locks, they flood it which takes it up to the lake level and the reverse on the other side. Made me realise how much we take people’s intelligence for granted.

There is a bar restaurant across the road from where the boat is moored called the Lobster Trap. A very basic affair but they have cold beer, a small menu and best of all, Wi-Fi internet! It’s the closest place to the ship yard and dry docks, in fact the only one within walking distance, hence very popular with the ships crews. If one or more of the ships in dry dock is a Carnival Lines cruise ship, the place can get quite lively! (carnival actually own the dry docks)

The Lobster Trap

The Bahamian woman in the Lobster Trap bar across the road insisted John pay for his 2 cokes even though he was going to order dinner. She said all you Filipinos look alike to me and I don’t know who has paid and who hasn’t. John being 6’4” bald, bearded and blue eyed and looking a lot more like Santa Claus than a Filipino.

Carol the cook was grumpy with John all day and John couldn’t work out what he’d done wrong. He said from the moment she got up in the morning she wouldn’t speak to him and spent the day swearing at him in Philippine. That evening she said it was because she saw him kissing another woman – “What? When?” said John. “In my dream last night” she said.

Ray said I reminded him of his father, or, he said perhaps his father was a cross between me and John. I said “Eeew. I don’t know that I can imagine myself crossed with a 6ft 4 bearded, sociopathic conspiracy theorist who is very good at taking old pumps apart slowly”.

I came into the galley and saw Carol sitting reading the Bahamas phone book. I asked her if it was good reading and she said no, she was just looking for the comics.

Went for a fish with 1st mate Ray Jr and his father Ray Sr – not a bad haul. Mahi Mahi from the surface, red snapper from 1000ft down!!

John was telling the Bahamian air con’ tech about the ghost on board when the tech’s very expensive looking socket set inexplicably slid off the flat coach house roof, crashed on the deck and tipped its entire contents overboard through the scuppers. The tech took off and won’t come back! I’ve had to employ another one to finish the job!