Bellatrix

30 December 2014

Treasure Cay

On Christmas Eve we went to Hopetown Lodge for dinner. Robin had Lobster Thermidor and I Rack of Lamb, it was an excellent meal, well served with a view of the harbor. On Christmas Day we went to open air Mass under the Fig Tree in Hopetown. We opened gifts on the boat. 

On “Boxer’s Day” we went to the Hopetown Marina to hear a “Rake and Scrape” band. Rake and Scrape is a saw and washboard that are played to a reggae beat. A friend of ours had organized a Christmas Photo contest. He had all of the people in the bar do the judging. They must have had plenty to drink, my photo won! I won a Sand Dollar Christmas tree ornament and a gilded sand dollar redeemable for 1 million (sand) dollars at any (sand) bank in the Bahamas (sic).

We moved a couple of miles south of Hopetown and anchored off of White Sound. We dinghyed in to the Sea Spray Marina for a Junkanoo party and parade. Colorful costumes, lots of rum, a fun by all. We partied till midnight and found our way back to the boat.

We snorkeled the Parrot Cays in search of the elusive lobster, skunked again. I did spear a Yellow Tailed Snapper that looked large under water but shrunk by the time I got it back to the dink, funny what salt air did to it.

We sailed to the Fish Cays and tried lobster hunting again. Lots of beautiful fish, a large turtle, and lots of sea urchins but no lobster. Either they are good at hiding or we are bad at finding. We were told there were lobster there.

We sailed to Treasure Cay yesterday and met up with our friends Chad, Marsha, and their kids and also Peter and Steve on their boat “Grace”. The beach here is unbelievable soft sand almost the consistency of powder. The marina resort charges $10 dollars for all the water you want and $10 per night to anchor in the harbor. You can use all of their facilities, showers, beach toys, and pool. We washed the boat, filled our water tanks, then went to the beach.

We were worried about the availability of water, many people install water makers. We haven’t had a problem. We have learned to conserve, our 120 gallons lasts us almost a week. We have paid as much as $0.35 a gallon but usually $0.17 - $0.25 a gallon.

Our great dilemma for today is whether we go to Green Turtle for New Years and another Junkanoo party or back to Hopetown for New Years with fireworks, we’ll let you know!

The Winning Photo!

After Caroling

Under the Fig Tree after Mass

Rake and scrape, notice the saw and knife

Chad and Marsha

Sunrise at Fish Cay

Fish Cay

Junkanoo

Sunset