Chest Clearing

          We've gotten a handful of emails commenting on how we are the weakest bloggers in the flotilla, and this I won't deny.  Here are my excuses:  1.)  Blogging is turning out to be only slightly less annoying than phone calling,....for me.  However, I am doing it, which is more than I can say for ever returning phone calls.  2.)  Ted has a Wifi antenna which typically gets him internet access when no one else has it.  He always offers to share it with the flotilla, but....(back to number 1).  3.)  Bryan and Angie still have a neurotic internet addiction that has hung on since leaving their shore-based life.  So when wifi signals are just barely readable, they simply bombard the access point for hours until it gives in an lets them connect.  
           I also need to get a couple things off my chest, because I didn't tell about them and in the beginning I said I would.  I saw Ted came clean with his dinghy dumbass story so I'll tell mine real quick.  My canoe has actually floated away twice since leaving Key West.  Once when the family was saying goodbye in Miami, everybody was on the Gualby, some people were sailing the canoe, and I went in to shore to give hugs and tears without taking the sail all the way down.  It was up but the mainsheet was loose, so the sail was free to flap.   I guess it flapped its way free from the line and sailed off while no one was on the boat, because as we were coming back to the Gualby in Bryan's dinghy, we saw the canoe on the beach at dinner key with some "local" shrimp fishermen, drinking and partying.  We went up to them, thanked the guy who saved the canoe, (who was probably in his late fifties, lived on a sailboat with his dog, and had a beard down to his waist) and I told him I owed him a beer.  His reply was that I actually owed him a bottle of gin,  because he had to tow it a very long way.  So the next day he received a bottle of the cheapest gin albertson's liquor sold, courtesy of Meghan.  I didn't want to insult the guy, cuz I was thankful he saved the canoe and I thought he at least deserved the second cheapest bottle of gin available.  But when we took him the Gibley's, he was so excited he did a little dance on the front of his 24' sailboat till the towel he was wearing almost fell off his waist,..the whole time holding the gin like an infant and singing to it. 
          The second time the canoe took off was in Bimini.  I happened to look back at the sugar scoops, where Penny was sitting, just staring off into the ocean.  Upon closer examination into what she was staring at, I saw the canoe floating off in the distance.  This damn dog couldn't have barked or wimpered or came and scratched at the door or something?  Nope, she was just gonna watch the thing float away.  Useless ass.  Luckily Bryan was already in his dinghy, and I think we both saw it at about the same time, so him and Angie got it for me that time.  They declined the bottle of Gibley's. 
          I can't think of anymore F-up's right now, but when I do I'll be sure and post.  And I'll make sure and post the new F-ups as soon as they happen.  Fair is Fair.
C




Chub Cay:
11/30/2010

      We are currently anchored outside the entrance to the Chub Cay Marina. It is blowing pretty hard right now but we are fairly well protected from the wind and Gualby needed a fresh water rinse off so we are just hangin out. At first we were a bit nervous about anchoring in the little cove we found due to its close proximity to what we thought was an exclusive, fancy-sha-mancy resort. There are huge pastel painted houses that clearly all had the same architect and large, ominous signs that say “Private Beach” and
“No Trespassing” in bold, large lettering.
      Our reservations were put to rest after we did some exploring. It seems this was to be a fancy-sha-mancy resort but the investors ran out of money half way through and construction just stopped. There are mansions that are half built and signs for spas that don’t exist. There is a fresh-water infinity pool that has a sweet swim up bar, with no bartending materials behind it. There are brand new lounge chairs set up around the pool with really nice cushions tied to them, overlooking a beach volleyball area yet there is not an employee to be found. Its awesome but a bit of a twilight zone as well. The only sign that we are not in the twilight zone is that there are some mega yachts in the marina. When we paddled our canoe past the newly polished teak and sparkling hulls of the yachts, we decided we didn’t need to ask what the price was per foot for a slip--we could just tell it was not in the budget.
      The wind should die down in a few days and then we are planning to head to Nassau, where there has been some big talks of boat projects. Until then, I think I might go for a swim in the infinity pool and put a cooler on the swim up bar.
M





BBQ and Trivia. . . Berry Island Style
11/28/2010

      Our original plan was to anchor in between Chub Cay and Crab Cay, which is the southern most part of the Berry Islands. We showed up with hopes of a nice calm anchoring area with little to no boats there-which is reasonable to us considering that is pretty much all that we have encountered so far. The area between the two cays were loaded with five Bahamians boats already anchored, a nasty current ripping through it, and lots of boat traffic in general due to the channel right next to our anticipated anchorage. We did a little turn around, poured ourselves a semi cold rum drink, sans ice, and checked out the GPS for other possible anchoring spots. We were relaxing at the helm when Con spotted a dock with only a small skiff tied up to it and the GPS labeled this spot, “The Berry Islands Club.” We decided to briefly tie up to the dock and I was going to run in and buy a bag of ice for our quickly warming rum drinks. A half toothless, wide grinning Bahamian caught our lines and helped tie us up. Con and the fisherman talked fish while I ran up to the Berry Islands Club.
      Herbie, our soon to be trivia announcer/DJ, greeted me at the entrance. I implored about buying some ice and he gave me a plastic grocery bag of ice, price: “no worries, mon.” I gave a look past Herbie to a seemingly well stocked bar with several unoccupied bar stools and asked with all the charm I have if it would be cool if we stayed rafted up to his dock if we bought some drinks at the bar. He responded with a smile, a nod, and a “rock on, mon” He also said that we happened to have pulled up to where the party was going to be at tonight, which included a BBQ, trivia, and late night dancing. I promptly told Herbie that we were ready to party, after all it was Friday night. It was Saturday, but Herbie only laughed a little as he corrected me. I hustled back to Conor and the boat to tell him about the gem we had stumbled upon.
The rest of the Tortilla Flotilla arrived and we all agreed that we could definitely spend $1/foot at the bar instead of trying to go find a different area to spend the night. We all got on our SATURDAY going out clothes and headed to the bar. Kalik was $3 a bottle which is cheap for beer in the Bahamas and the crew that floated in and out of the bar were all friendly and kind. The smells of the BBQ were floating around and the thought of slow roasted ribs was too much to pass up; and sharing a plate was a non option. Our plates were loaded with ribs, macaroni salad, and a fresh greens and tomato salad. Our meals were enjoyed on a picnic table, which later toppled over, spilling me and Bryan onto the grass as the opposite side of the table got up in seemingly unplanned unison. We gave our compliments to the chef, Big Nasty and his son/sous chef, Lil Nasty. There is apparently a Medium Nasty but he was not part of the culinary team that night.
      Trivia consisted of Herbie at a table with a mic playing jams off his computer and the small crowd in the bar yelling out the artist and title. Our bartender slung cold Kaliks and kept score. The Traynor boys represented the Flotilla well and tied for second place. Prize: More Kaliks. Trivia turned into just jams and Frank killed it on the dance floor--with encouargment from everyone at the bar. We made it to midnight that night which is far and away the latest we have stayed up the whole trip. Nice work Berry Islands Club. 
M



　
Thanksgiving

      We anchored up at Hoffmans Cay the day before Thanksgiving. The water was beautiful, the beach long and clean, and it allegedly was home to a Blue Hole. We paddled the canoe in and found a pretty well traveled path that led into the middle of the island. With Penny as our excited leader, we followed the path and came upon an awesome Blue Hole. The path led us to the edge of a 25 foot ledge that was the perfect jumping off place into the seemingly bottomless Blue Hole. The jumps off the ledge started immediately, and I have to say my favorite jumps were from the Traynor boys. The classics, “I’m still riding my invisible bicycle even though I drove it off the edge” and the “levitating yoga pose.” After you jump off the edge where you climb out is a spooky yet beautiful cave where rock formations drip down from the ceiling. These “rock drips” were not only dangerous to your head (ask Byran) but a topic of debate whether or not they were stalagtites. Gualby crew and Frank think no. The swimming in the Blue Hole was super cool but a little creepy. The talk of salt water sea monsters from middle earth was brought up a few times.  The Blue Hole was definitely the most amazing Mother Nature creation we have seen so far in our travels.  The water was so incredibly blue and deep and the cliffs that surrounded the almost perfect circle of water gave it a feeling of protection.  The cliffs gave way to lush, green vegetation which was a beautiful contrast to the blue of the deep water hole. 
      On the morning of Thanksgiving, the men went out via dinghy and hunted while the women gathered. . . at the Gualby for Thanksgiving gabbing and cocktails. The guys came back with lobster, conch, coconuts, and a grouper. The girls had made lots of laughs, and a key lime pie. We all went back to our own boats to get ready for our alternative Thanksgiving feast on the beach. Our plan was to get to the beach an hour before sunset, so about 30 minutes after the sun went below the horizon we paddled to shore and laid out the feast. Our Thanksgiving included creamy lobster rambul pasta, risotto, stuffing, a stuffing/turkey (canned)/green bean casserole of deliciousness, a salad with beans, corn, pineapple, and almonds, mac and cheese, potato, onion and conch fritter type things, and freshly made bread. Yes, we were carb loaded up enough to run a marathon the next day, but damn was everything delicious. We also met some new friends that joined us on the beach for our Thanksgiving bonfire feast. Dave, Leslie, and their daughter Michelle, joined us for some laughs from their 37 foot Leopard, “Texas Two Step.” Wonderful, different, and a thankful Thanksgiving was had by all.
M