Roombas

wpid-IMG_1206.JPG-2010-03-28-18-561.jpgToday, just our first day at Georgetown, we went ashore at “Chat and Chill”. Technically speaking from a correct grammar, parts-of-speech type of standpoint I believe that “chat and chill” should be capitalized since it is the name of an establishment, however since the establishment is also just a small wooden shack with tattered t-shirts hanging from the ceiling that serves as a bar and beach restaurant I think that you should overlook this seeming grammatical faux pas.

While the “chat and chill” may not have much to offer in the culinary, amenities or atmosphere front the “chat and chill” owns one of the prettiest and most popular beaches in Georgetown. Some of the things that make this beach special are it’s white sandy stretches that are uninterrupted by rocks or other blemishes. This in itself would not make the beach unique, as there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of white sandy beaches in the Bahamas with at least a dozen or more scattered around Georgetown.

wpid-IMG_1201.JPG-2010-03-28-18-561.jpgAnother thing that attracts cruisers is the volleyball courts. These are more difficult to find in the Bahamas than beaches are and there are two at “Chat and Chill”. Nearly as magnetic a pull (at least for cruising kids) is the collection of tree swings. There are about a dozen in different flavors including one that the kids climb up into the tree with and do this crazy Tarzan thing on. The beach chairs, picnic tables, and easy dinghy tie up also contribute to the pluses at “chat and chill”.

For me though the real pull is the roombas. Before I go any further I should make sure you know what a roomba is. Back home my neighbor has a real Roomba. There it’s round electrical device that’s a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a robot. For a mere couple of hundred dollars you too can have a vacuum cleaner that, once activated automatically negotiates the rooms of your home sucking up all the scraps on the floor. When it encounters a static object it is programmed to reverse slightly, change course by a few degrees and then move forward again. In this way it is able to work its way around chairs, other obstacles, and out of corners and continue on its mission of sucking up all of the pieces of junk on the floor.

wpid-PICT0259.JPG-2010-03-28-18-561.jpgHere the roombas I’m talking about are quite similar but most people call them stingrays. Near the chat and chill there is an even smaller and less impressive structure, which is a close cousin to the lemonade stand back home. It is the establishment of the “conch salad guy”. Here a young and enthusiastic Bahamian guy shows up. His schedule seems to have no pattern or rhyme or reason to me but when he shows up he always has conch, onions, peppers, oranges and a couple of baggies with mystery ingredients to make the conch salad.

He is the reason that the roombas come. When “conch salad guy” shows up and starts to prepare the conch he puts the scraps on a big piece of drift plywood nailed to a nearby tree. Those who are brave enough to pick up the slime-covered stuff then hurry to the waters edge (just mere feet away). In come the roombas, better know as stingrays. They glide silently along the waters edge and converge in a collection of 2-3 foot diametered dinner plates at the feet of their mentors. Their long stingers trailing behind make them are distinct and remind us that they are not harmless.

Much like their namesakes, the Roomba these stingray slide along the floor of the ocean coming into the shallow water and hovering over the outstretched conch-filled hands. They suck up the scraps of conch and then slide forward gently bumping against your feet and ankles. As they encounter the barrier of your ankles they reverse change their direction by a few degrees and go forward again. They are for me, “The Roombas of the Sea.

 

On to Georgetown

wpid-DSC06546.JPG-2010-03-26-18-531.jpgFrom Bitter Guana our goal was to find some weather that would allow us to sail on to Georgetown. We lifted the anchor and left the iguanas to themselves. Both boats, ours and Taua needed fuel and we needed water as well so we stopped at Safe Harbor Marine in Cave Cay.

Safe Harbor Marine is aptly named as it is a small harbor nearly completely surrounded by high walled island. It’s almost like boating into an extinct volcano. The dock hand (the owners son) was pleasant and informative. His family purchased the island and moved to it 16 years ago and have been working on creating a resort by dredging and building a hotel for most of that time. I would have liked to meet his parents and find out more of their story. It seems an interesting thing to purchase an island and live in virtual isolation for such a long time.

wpid-DSC06593.JPG-2010-03-26-18-531.jpgPrices were high there but Safe Harbor Marine is one of only two marinas that offers dock side fuel pump until you get to Long Island so we paid what we had to. The other marina is in Farmers Cay and we can’t quite wedge ourselves in there since they don’t have enough water for a 5.5 draft. After that stop we anchored for the night at Musha Cay which is owned by David Copperfield (the magician) as is the island next to it.

 

There is absolutely no going ashore allowed but from the boat it looks like a well-run resort rather than someone’s personal home. Apparently he does rent out the entire island for a mere $325,000 per week. Just in case any of you out there are interested I have contact info if you need it. No? Me either, I probably can’t even afford the 1 hour tour at that rate.

wpid-IMG_0988-2010-03-26-18-531.jpgIt blew like the dickens that night but fortunately the wave action was relatively flat in the anchorage in spite of the minimal amount of protection. As a result of the large shallow area there wasn’t much for fetch.

Next morning we went out Musha Cut and headed for Georgetown. Taua put up a sail right away but the wind was so minimal that even Boyd wasn’t tempted to put any sails out. Our wind speed indicator didn’t even make it to a full knot until after lunch. By the time we got to Georgetown it was almost 3.5 knots but still not enough to do anything with. We entered and anchored in Elizabeth Harbour.

It’s a wonderful, large area and there are several anchorages with good holding. If the winds are westerly, all the boats migrate to Kidd Cove and if it’s an easterly, they come back again to Volleyball Beach or Hamburger Beach.