Cat Island - Amazing!!

The big front we expected to be a problem in Rock Sound finally passed through in the night without mishap - winds only up to 35 knots or so, manageable seas and lots of rain to wash off the boats - always a welcome event.  The next day we all met up at "Wild Orchids" for drinks  at sunset.  From left - me, Jim (Brooks), Wendy, Jim (Hall), Bev, Alan, Susan (in orange shirt) and Bill. Behind them is a couple who were staying in a cottage nearby. They were curious about our nomadic lifestyle and came over to ask a bunch of questions. I think we may have convinced them to buy a sailboat!!

Here is that evening's sunset

We sailed about 4 hours south in Eleuthera to spend the night at tiny Davis Harbor Marina before continuing the 50+ miles the next day to Cat Island, yet further south. Fifty+ miles going 5-6 knots makes a trip of 8-10 hours, so it's not far but it's a long day in a sailboat.

Being at a marina gave us a chance to be plugged in at a dock to fully charge the batteries, take on lots of water (well, 70 gallons total in our 2 water tanks plus 20 more gallons in containers on deck), do laundry, stretch our legs on shore and have dinner in the bar/restaurant shown here. The only problem there were lots of no-see-ums, day and night. Our screens in the ports are made to keep out mosquitoes but the mesh isn't fine enough to keep out the minuscule no-see-ums. I get an allergic reaction to their bites, and the reaction to them lasts for days. It feels like your skin is on fire. So I'm extra vigilant now! We have fine mesh screens for the 2 hatches and the companionway, and a local guy recommended I use Bounce dryer sheets to prevent bites. Yup I smell like Bounce whenever I go to the beach at dawn or dusk or am near mangroves - common places where no-see-ums are prevalent. I rub a dryer sheets on all exposed skin and at the marina I taped a piece of dryer sheet up on each port screen to deter them from getting in the boat. It worked!

As we motor-sailed south to Cat Island, we passed Little San Salvador Island where big cruise ships bring guests for the day.  Glad I wasn't on one of those with a couple of thousand other sunburned people.

When it's many hours of motoring and open seas with no hazards, we do boat maintenance or read or do crossword puzzles to pass the time.

Usually the wind picks up in the afternoon as it did that day. So here we are with 3 sails up - tiltin' the house

We arrived at New Bight in Cat Island just before sundown and got a good night's sleep, anchored near our friends, Jim and Wendy on Patty Jean. The next morning we all went ashore to this beach

Cat is less developed in some ways than many of the other islands, This is an old house on the main drag

The main drag, with little snack bars and shops here and there.

We took a walk up to the most famous landmark in New Bight, the Hermitage. More on that in a second. Along the way we passed several fields where unsuccessful attempts had been made to clear brush to grow crops (tomatoes, pineapples bananas, etc). It looked like this. I know most people imagine these islands as being tropical, with fruits and vegetables growing in abundance. But these are limestone outcroppings - not arable islands. So fruits and vegetables are mostly imported, along with everything else. That makes food and drink quite pricey and even small shops selling food are pretty scarce.    

So. The Hermitage. Following the 1908 hurricane, the Anglican Bishop sent an architect/priest to the Bahamas to help rebuild ruined churches. This man eventually became a Catholic priest named Father Jerome. He built a structure for his retirement on the highest hill in New Bight. The approach to The Hermitage has the Stations of the Cross winding up a hill.

Here we are climbing up to the Hermitage - Jim Brooks,  Jim Hall, Wendy and Jim Hall's brother, Randy.

One of the Stations of the Cross

The Hermitage at the top of the hill, with the bell tower on the left

Thick limestone walls and wooden shutters

The entrance doorway and inscription

The view of the road winding up to the Hermitage, with the turquoise bay in the distance

Jim Hall took a photo of me from the roof

Here are Jim, Wendy, me and Randy

Next we visited a ruined church in town. The shadows cast by the remnants of the roof were spectacular for photos!

After that we walked back to "town" for lunch. Wendy got conch salad at this place...

Here is the conch salad, accompanied by Kalik and rum punch...

We had a fabulous if very short sail from New Bight just a little north on Cat Island to Fernandez Bay, where I'm writing this post. Her'a a shot of Jim and Wendy's Cabo Rico "Patty Jean"

Jim and Wendy thought we should fly a Canadian flag on Neverland for the Canadian on board (me). They gave us this one, flying just below the Bahamas flag. Below that are the Ocean Cruising Club "Flying Fish" burgee, and the Eastport Yacht Club burgee is at the bottom.

More to come soon!