Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Winding down in the Bahamas

Which author this time?  DeMille, Connelly, Child, Sandford?
View atop Hope Town Lighthouse
What to order?
Marsh Harbour Pickleball Players
Bonfire, hot dogs, conch horn at sunset - life is great!
RMHYC Treasure Cay Golf Tourney - 1st place team


Margarita Madness - 1st place water balloon toss
Every Child Counts (ECC) final concert
Worlds Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade - 300 ft.
on our way to St. Peter's for Palm Sunday

St. Peter's on Green Turtle Cay
Having fun on Green Turtle Cay

Do you need a glass with that Kalik?
A welcomed visit from Ipswich - the Barous', the Fabri's and the Scopa's!
We moved Mascot to the dock at the rental house (RumRunner) for the week which worked out great.  The weather cooperated which allowed us to cruise to Tilloo Cay, Man-o-War Cay, Guana Cay and Elbow Cay (Hope Town).  We supplemented with a land cruise to Cherokee and Little Harbour, and also to Treasure Cay.  Great time with lots of laughs, food and of course rum!
Mascot docked at RumRunner
Feeding fish at the Blue Hole in Little Harbour

at Treasure Cay

at Nippers

at Firefly

Monday, March 28, 2016

MUSIC IN THE BAHAMAS

What do professional Nashville songwriters, The Barefoot Man, and Rake & Scrape all have in common?  They can be seen and heard right here in our little piece of the Bahamas.  Everyone will likely understand songwriters form Nashville and could imagine that The Barefoot Man is an entertainer and you would be correct.  But what is Rake & Scrape you ask?

In an earlier blog post we talked about the Combustion Music Songwriter’s festival held in Hope Town.  Well, we had another one too!  In February, Nashville heavyweight Patrick Davis brought a few of his friends for a similar festival in and around Hope Town with some of the venues being different from the group in December.  The performances were spread over several days and the performers are songwriters who are responsible for many major hits recorded by big name stars.  They performed in ‘the round’ where one performer would tell a little story about themselves or how the song was created and then sing the song and accompany themselves on guitar.  There would often be a little banter among themselves and the other performers might strum a little background rhythm.  Then, the spotlight would move on to the next in line and would continue that way.  We were able to take in 5 of the 7 performances, sometimes commuting by dinghy to the venue.  Very fun!

The Barefoot Man is a Caribbean music icon sometimes compared to Jimmy Buffett only different.  He performs such classic hits as “She Loves my Deck”, “Dirty Belly Button”, “Fake Boobies”, etc. etc.  You get the picture.  The swimsuit clad crowd goes wild, dancing while singing all the lyrics.  The concert is held on Friday afternoon and then again on Saturday night at Nippers beach bar on Guana Cay.  It is quite a spectacle.


Now for Rake & Scrape.  This is a classic Bahamian music style performed on a standard handsaw using a screwdriver to rake and scrape across the teeth of the saw.  It sounds quite boring but in the hands of an experienced player like Abaco favorite Brown Tip, the sound is quite complicated.  Holding the saw handle just under the arm pit and flexing the blade while rasping and banging with the screwdriver, add a little background from an electronic drum track, perhaps a limbo pole, and you have a party!

Songwriters opening night at Sea Spray Resort
Songwriters at Hope Town Inn & Marina


At 'The Edge'
Very fun night at Firefly 
Patrick Davis (red shirt) at Abaco Inn

Crowd going wild to
Barefoot Man
Barefoot Man at Nippers
Rake & Scrape



Friday, March 18, 2016

What have we been doing?



Weather is always top of mind, we rely on 'Barometer Bob' to plan our adventures. January and February presented us with some cool and windy days so cruising the Sea of Abaco was somewhat limited.  

What a difference a day makes!
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Forecast:  0% chance of rain, sunny, warm with highs in the 70's, low humidity, light breeze


Sunday, January 17, 2016
Forecast:  70% chance of rain, cloudy, temps mid 70's, winds 25-35 mph with gusts 
over 40






Post storm tent repairs.

It takes a village-happy hour can resume.
MASCOT securely tied in her slip

The Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club hosts a number of events during the winter season with everything from country to formal to beach parties, Jib Room steak night, Jamies meatloaf night and more.






Country Western Night took place end of January.  We enjoyed a BBQ dinner, dancing and everyone found some form of country western attire, even us in our denim and a hat from the hardware store.
The theme for the Commodore's Ball was 'A Night at the Oscar's' complete with red carpet and our very own Joan River's wanna be. Thankfully Scott had his tux!  Doesn't everyone carry a tux on board?





A trip to Little Harbour to visit friends and of course, Pete's Pub.


Waterfront dining at Pete's
Abandoned lighthouse



MASCOT in the background on a mooring
Scott enjoying a swim in the ocean