New Year’s day we had a fast sail up to Pipe Creek. The first part was fun as we had to sail through the boats tacking around waiting for the start of the Cruiser’s Regatta. We went through about an hour before the race started so we weren’t in the way of a race. The entrance to Pipe Creek is tricky. We made it in okay with only one small bump into the sand. In the afternoon we went for a hike on Thomas Cay. The next day we spent quite a long time snorkeling. There are some very pretty coral gardens and we saw a lot of fish. In the afternoon Bill sorted out the fishing gear which we have never really looked at and have only the vaguest idea how to use.
On the third we headed out to Black Point, luckily it was fairly calm so we could go out through Thomas Cay Cut instead of backtracking. Bill decided to try his hand at fishing for the first time. The lure he used was hunter orange and looked slightly like a squid sort of thing. He let out a couple of hundred feet of line and hoped for the best. We talked about what to do if we actually caught a fish and what we know about fish. We realized that the only one we could reliably identify and that was good to eat was a Mahi Mahi. Anything else we would have to throw back, assuming that a fish was dumb enough to be outwitted by our very rudimentary fishing skills. We decided that we would have to buy a book on fish even though we had very little expectation of catching anything. At about that time the reel started spinning. I dug out the autopilot and set that up while Bill reeled in a beautiful Mahi Mahi. When they are alive they are a gorgeous neon green color. Bill brought it to the boat, poured some alcohol into its gill, and it quickly faded to a dull greenish yellow color. Cleaning and filleting it was a challenge in Rondo's tiny narrow cockpit, especially with the auto pilot pushing the tiller around as Bill was trying to lean over it to cut up the fish. After about a half an hour of cleaning it, then cleaning up the cockpit, we had enough fish for several meals.
Tuesday afternoon we went ashore at Black Point. The laundry was busy so we went for a walk to the Garden of Eden where we had a tour along with another couple of cruisers. Willie Rolle, who is the owner and creater of the garden gave us a wonderful tour. The garden is made up of pieces of wood that he has found in the brush. He only picks up wood that has already fallen and that is not rotten and that resembles something. He has an incredible imagination and vision. He tries to have two of everything. For example, an eagle on a tree and an eagle in flight. Without Willie’s guidance it would be difficult to see all of the shapes in the garden. He compares it to looking at clouds and seeing different animals. He also has an impressive garden. Because we are not familiar with the plants in the Bahamas it looks like some shrubs and weedy looking trees among the rock, but he grows coconuts, tamarind, guava, papaya, grapefruit, apples, grapes, and sea grapes along with peas, aloe, lettuce, and many other types of fruits and vegetables. All of this with virtually no soil. Willie is very generous, part of the reason he created the garden was to give the cruisers something to do besides go to a bar. While he was pointing out his various trees he gave us a coconut that he knocked down from the tree with a long stick, some tamarind, a guava, and some lemon grass.
Wednesday’s goal was laundry. The Black Point laundry is a destination in itself. The reason most of the cruisers come to Black Point is for the laundry. Ida has a clean, well run, big laundry with new machines and her laundry probably has the best view of any laundry in the world, and it has a dinghy dock.
This is the view from the window at the laundry.
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