April 30th Great Guana Cay to Marsh Harbour

Arrived 3:20 anchored out in harbor.  This is supposed to be one of the best holding harbor in the Abacos.

April 29 2007 Great Guana Cay, Abacos Bahamas

Lee Way had dragged its anchor and was banging up against a smaller boat.  The people on the smaller boat were doing their best to fend off the larger Lee Way but they weren’t having much luck.  Finally the people on Lee Way pulled up in their dingy and secured their boat.  Bella who had a ringside seat told us what happened.  Lee Way had come into the harbor, hit a shallow spot and grounded their boat.  Instead of trying to get it unstuck they just dropped their anchor and headed up to the bar Nippers.  When high tide came in later, their boat freed itself floated around the harbor until it ran into the boat we saw.  The owners of the smaller boat called up to Nippers and happened to catch them there.  We couldn’t believe they had just left the boat!!  Luckily for all of us they decided to pick up a mooring ball.  We made our way to Nippers later that day.  Nippers is a well known bar up a small hill from the harbor.  It has good food, good music and a two level pool.  To be a respected bar in the Bahamas you have to have a pool.  It overlooks a beach that has some great snorkeling.  We took advantage of the pool before turning in early that night. 

 

The next day we did some cleanup around the boat and the kids worked on their homeschooling.  We did a walking tour of the island.  It is another friendly, sleepy little island with golf carts.  We ate lunch at Grabbers while the kids played in the pool.

Sunday is pigroast day at Nippers.  Every Sunday they roast a wild boar.  They draw a crowd.  It is said at the height of the season they will have a thousand people for the pig roast.  We did an early morning snorkel on the reef outside the bar.  When we walked into Nippers we saw Mike and Ginny from Bellasitting with Brendal.  It is a small world here in the Abacos.  We see the same people, natives and boaters throughout the neighboring islands.  I shook Brendal’s hand and then something painfully embarassing happened that can only be explained in Dan’s own words.  We have several black friends but for some reason, Dan has never been able to master the “black handshake”. I am not sure why.  I think he overthinks it and the ending is never pretty. 

In his words here is what happened.  “I went to shake Brendal’s hand and I wasn’t thinking he would do the black handshake which is always at least a 2 and possibly a 3 part affair. (First you bring the palm down in an overhand  gesture, grab hands, let the hands slide back until just the fingers lock and then the third option is to use the fingers to pull you toward each other and you slightly bump chests.)  OK.  So I did the first part of the handshake and pulled my hand back.  Too late I realized his hand was still there.  So I tried to go back in and recover but you can never go back in because now I end up grabbing his hand as Brendal is now pulling his hand back thinking that I have screwed up the handshake.  So I go back in, grab his hand and end up pulling him toward me.  This throws us both off balance and now to try to steady myself . I end up wrapping my other arm around him   Now instead of a handshake we end up in this groping embrace.  This goes on too long and there is a very awkward moment when we both realize it looks like we are hugging.  Only at this point am I finally able to get my wits about me and let go of Brendal.  It was so embarrassing!”

You know there is really nothing I can add to this so I am just going to move on.  We did buy Brendal a beer later and he either knows we were trying to make up for my husbands AWKWARDNESS or he thinks Dan is hitting on him. 

The pig roast was really fun.  Bill and Elaine from Let’s Went joined us a  little later.  The people watching was great, the weather perfect and the music eclectic.  They played everything from rock to reggae with a little country and disco thrown in.  Tristan went down to play on the beach, Dan and I chatted with friends and Tessa danced the Electric Slide in the pool.  We ended  a great day by stopping at Grabbers and watching a beautiful sunset from the hammock.  Tomorrow we will be heading to Marsh Harbour.
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April 27th Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay

Arrived at 1:36.  Took a mooring ball as wind is supposed to clock 270 degrees in the next 24hrs.