currently at:  Flamingo Cay, Jumentos, Bahamas
current date:  18 April 2005

It seemed to take forever, but we are finally back in the Out Islands, eating fish and exploring deserted beaches. This is what we go to the Bahamas for. But it's not the only reason that people come here. In the past few weeks we've been reminded that there are as many styles of cruising as there are cruisers, and what makes us happy and relaxed may drive another couple crazy - or vice versa.

In the past few weeks we've reconnected with friends on two other boats that we had originally met our first year out. Neal and Stephanie on Rhapsody share our love for the remote places, but this year because of family concerns they opted to stay close to Staniel Cay, where they could fly out at a moment's notice if necessary. Most of the time they spent anchored in Pipe Creek, an archipelago of small islands most of which are privately owned. Because they were there all winter, they met and became friends with several of the area's permanent residents. That's something that we are rarely able to do; most locals (or expats who have become local) aren't going to bother making friends with cruisers who are there one day and gone the next - and who can blame them? 

Eric and Susan on Elysia have taken this one step further. Last season they spent most of their time in George Town, a big cruising mecca where there may be as many as 400 boats at the peak of the season. They put down multiple anchors in a very protected part of the harbor, and in the summer they left their boat there and flew back to Ohio, where they have family and where they consider "home". In September they flew back to George Town and took up residence in their boat again.

Susan says they don't really feel like cruisers any more - their boat hasn't moved in over a year. They bought a small center-console open powerboat as a "super-dinghy", so they can comfortably zip across the harbor to town, or go out into Exuma Sound for fishing trips. No way could they sail anywhere trailing that! But they're integrated into the local community, invited to weddings and so on. And they are part of the core of cruisers that come every year for the whole season, doing volleyball and the Cruising Regatta - and since nearly everyone else (like us) passes through George Town at least once, they meet them when they come through.

I don't know. I envy the friendships they have made, the real connections with the communities they become a part of. In a way, the lack of this in our cruising life was one of the things that drove us to return to Colorado. On the other hand, we are not satisfied by the summer-camp atmosphere of George Town, and even the less-populated Staniel Cay area seems crowded to us.

At the moment we are parked at a remote island in a remote part of the Bahamas, where we have seen only two Bahamian fishing boats and zero other cruising boats in the last few days. Trolling over the deep reefs of the banks here has been a fishing frenzy; we've caught seven fish (and released all but two) and had probably as many quick hits and fish that wriggled off the hook. (We kept a yellowtail snapper and a blue runner, two fish that we have never managed to spear because they are so darn fast. And boy, are they tasty!)  The water is clear and beautiful. I suppose in a few days we will be wishing for another boat to come by, other people to talk with, but for now we're enjoying the solitude - and the fish!

PS: Our email problems have been partially solved. You can use either my KG4EYP address, or any of the windom.netrack.net addresses given on this website, and it should get to us - but no matter which address you use, you must first register at http://www.winlink.org/accept. Once we reply to your email, you'll be in the system and won't have to register again.