23:38.34N 075:20.50W

We left the Turks and Caicos intending to go to the North Eastern corner of Long Island in the Bahamas over roughly a two day passage.  Squalls and thunderstorms soon put paid to that and slowed us right down.  With the help of radar we can usually dodge the worst of the squalls but this time all the dodging in the world just plonked us in the middle of a four hour thunderstorm.  The forecast showed that winds were not going to be good for the anchorage we had planned to go to and our only option was an eight hour diversion to George Town in the Exuma Islands.

George Town is a delight but deserted on Easter weekend.

Long story short of tides and currents and winds at that time also meant a very, very wet and bouncy crossing in the dingy to the only shop open on Easter Sunday to provision for the following week.  We are flexible, imaginative, robust and watertight so we bounced to the shop/shed and grabbed what we could in the five minutes left before 11am closing.  Then into a taxi to the airport to check in with Customs and Immigration because the office in George Town was closed.

At the Airport (think very small indeed) we were taken through to the arrivals door to start form filling.  A plane was landing which means  live music (keyboard and guitar) to welcome the new arrivals.  So there we are, filling forms in, serenaded with traditional songs and then joining the short queue of air passengers through immigration and customs only we get taken behind the counter while they get a special briefcase out with all the paperwork for sailing arrivals.  It was great; cheerful, fun and pretty slick.  Watching the greeting the air passengers were getting from customs was a treat.  Several couples were getting married and the officials looked genuinely thrilled for each one as though they had never heard of such a thing before.

Back in the dingy that we had tied up on Lake Victoria, actually a small and very sheltered lagoon, we aimed at the channel out to the harbour. 

A moment of calm because we knew we were going to be head to wind, waves, tide, current and everything else.  As soon as we were under the bridge the waves came over the front.  So much water came over the front of the dingy that we (Carol) bailed furiously using a poly bag that the apples had been in.  Experienced, and not so experienced sailors among you will be wondering why.  Not why bailing but why not using a bailer.  And you would be right.  We would have failed our RYA Competent Crew Course on the spot for the gross incompetence of getting in the dingy without the bailer.  Still, it made for a lively ride and we soon dried off.

At first light on Monday we set off back to Long Island to meet Marija and Darren who may or may not be there due to a strike, or maybe not, at the airport in Nassau.  The arrived on time and we didn’t so they took a tour of the island by taxi.  We were updating each other by text and we asked them to see if they could get some fish.  Taxi driver was bound to know where or, even better have a friend who was a fisherman.  Apparently it was as though they had asked for something illegal.  Friendly, helpful, talkative taxi driver came over all mysterious and mumbly.  Strange.

Eventually all were on board and we set off for Calabash Bay, where we had intended to stay overnight in the first place.  Glorious.  In no time the dingy was launched and we were ashore to feel the sand that was more like talcum powder.

How’s this for a classic ‘My holiday in the Bahamas shot’……

Yep, the hotel was open and there were people staying there but it was spread out and only had about 40 suites so there was plenty of room and no sense of crowding. 

The barman went to considerable trouble to produce Margaritas all round…….

The forecast was for some difficult winds to blow up in the sense that we could have had some great sailing towards the west but then a real nightmare going back east to return Marija and Darren to the island for their flight.  We erred on the side of caution and headed north to the most lovely island we have seen so far; Conception Island and for some reason, didn’t take a single photograph.  Aaagh.  But you have probably had enough of perfect white sand, azure sea and blue skies.

We spent the last couple of days back in  Calabash Bay.  Very sorry not to be doing more sailing but it turned out to be sensible as the wind indeed blew hard from the least helpful direction and there was a fairly big sea running.  

Marija and Darren had booked a table at the hotel for dinner on their last night but the boat only ran until 3pm and we were even less likely to want to make the trip in our dingy in the dark than in daylight.  The answer – a takeaway!  All sorts of lovely things, including lobster, brought from the hotel in the afternoon and happily devoured in the evening.

The wind and waves had not let up so once again the hotel boat came out to collect Marija and Darren for their flight.  Super cheerful ‘Loverboy’ at the helm.  That is what it said on his name badge.  We had asked him where we could buy fish as well and got a similarly enigmatic reply.  Not sure what goes on with the fish trade in these parts.

and off for an early morning flight from the nearby airstrip…..