Feb 5 - 7: Salt Pond - Work Party & Superbowl

     Friday we assembled with several other cruisers for a work party.  A small building that was once a school and now houses the Farmer’s Market had some roof damage during Hurricane Joaquin.  A party of men quickly went to work, many of them bringing their own tools.  Dan spent a good part of his morning up a ladder wielding a nail gun.  I joined a small party of women and helped bag free trash and debris from the sides of the road around the small cement trash receptacle.  Trash here in the Bahamas is a big problem, and it’s surprising that boaters can bag it and dump it here for free.  Someone collects it twice a week but it has to be bagged.  We also chopped down the weeds growing up the path and in front of the small building so there’s no mistaking where to put the garbage.  Both our mornings were pretty productive.   While we women beautified the dump, the men got much of the plywood on the Farmer’s Market building.  Next weekend a group is planning to clean up the beach of Clarence Town, the main town on Long Island, but we probably won’t be able to join in, as son Bill is coming into George Town then.

Former school, now a Farmer's Market

    Friday afternoon we did a bit of snorkeling near the landing dock.  Another cruiser had mentioned that the hurricane had destroyed the dock, sending its aluminum ladder off somewhere nearby, and we all three went looking for it.  We found a length of aluminum pipe, many old tires, an engine block, and lots of tree and roofing debris, but no ladder.  We returned to the boat for sun showers and then came back ashore to the Sou’Side Bar and Grill for happy hour and dinner.  We were surprised not to see the whole work party there, as they had talked about gathering for happy hour, but we did meet a couple of Mainers who spend six months here on Long Island and the other six months in South Brooksville/Bucks Harbor.

     Saturday we went ashore to see the Farmer’s Market in full swing.  Lots of interesting crafts but not a lot of produce, but it was fun to see what was there and to meet some of the islanders.  Many of them thanked us for the roof work.  I did buy a loaf of bread and jug of frozen lemon-mango juice whose chief attraction was that it was frozen.  We also visited the grocery store and picked up a frozen chicken among other things.  We have an insulated bag that can work as a short-term cooler, and those two items stayed cold for several days.  I’d almost forgotten what it is like to have a cooler on board!

     In the afternoon we moved the boat over to the Northern section of Thompson Bay (still Salt Pond) and tried our hand at snorkeling over in that area.  We discovered a bonanza of langostino there - the spiny Caribbean version of lobster.  Dan and Joe spent a good hour chasing them out of their holes in the limestone rocks and bagging them up.  Those buggers move fast!  We had our version of surf and turf that night for supper - lobsters and hamburgers.  These lobsters don’t have claws like Maine lobsters, but they taste pretty similar, especially with butter.

     Sunday dawned quite blustery and the sea in the harbor was a bit rough for much of the day.  We did some more snorkeling in spite of this.  Probably the other cruisers in the harbor thought we were nuts, but we had fun and good swim.  As things calmed down in the evening, we moved the Willie closer to shore and then dinghied in to join the Superbowl crowd at Sou’Side Bar and Grille.  The windstorm had knocked out some electricity but the two large screen tvs at the small outdoor restaurant were working and the owners were ready to ply everyone with their chicken wings and ribs.  

     Watching the Superbowl together has long been a family tradition of ours; a year ago we had joked with our sons that next year we’d be watching from a little bar in the Bahamas.  Joe had said “I’m all over that!” and timed his vacation to include this day with us.  Billy couldn’t come as he is at USM, but we were all thinking of him.  

Superbowl Sunday at Sou'Side Bar and Grille.