We have fallen in love with New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay. The town was original settled by Loyalists (many from North Carolina) who fled here after the Revolutionary War. The people were friendly, colorful clapboard houses lined the streets wide enough for one lane of golf carts. The pace was slow.

We made the required stop at Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar to sample her famous Goombay Smash. This is definitely one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. While we were there we took time to look at all the business cards people had left there over the years. Surprisingly we found several from the Charlotte area. Lastly, we provisioned at the grocery store and that night we went back to Pineapples to hear the latest on the shooting victim. According to the locals, she was going to be ok.

The next day we decided to go over to Manjack Cay to do some snorkeling. I had read somewhere that the Stingrays there were pretty tame and would sometimes come close to shore. I really wanted the kids to see them up close.

Manjack itself is pretty deserted. There are some great hiking trails there and really beautiful beaches. I packed us a picnic lunch and we found a picnic table on shore. Not too long after we got there, Brendal’s Dive Center boat pulled in. We had met Brendal the night before at Pineapples. He is a very funny, nice guy and famous in the Bahamas for his diving operations. The kids ran down the beach to check out his boat. A few minutes later they are calling us to come over. As we get closer in the water we see three Southern Stingrays. They are coming right up to everyone. During his dive excursions Brendal stops here, cooks lunch for his tour group and feeds the rays. Brendal would put a small piece of fish between his toes and the rays would swim over his foot and eat the fish. It was amazing.

There were about 12 people on his tour and they were nice and included us in their group. Soon, Dan, I and the kids were sticking fish between our toes. The rays were very gentle when they took the fish. You just felt this slight roughness, almost like a cat’s tongue on your toes as they took the fish. They also liked to be petted. Even if you didn’t have food they would swim close enough so you could run your hand along their velvety wings. It was an awesome experience.

The biggest ray Brendal had named Sandy. She was about 4 feet across. You could tell she had a special bond with Brendal. She would swim up to him and lift as much of her body out of the water as possible and let him scratch her underside. At one point she was even wrapping herself around his leg (as much as a ray can do that). Brendal said he had been feeding her for 18 years. She was beautiful. Because there were so few people there and only about 8 of us actually feeding the rays you really had an opportunity to spend a lot of time touching and feeding them.

Brendal grilled a fish he’d caught and while his tour group went up to eat, we stayed in the water to play with the rays. Brendal invited us to have some of the fresh Conch Salad he had made. I really felt bad at first as these people were paying for this tour and we had attached ourselves to them. He assured us it was fine, that they had plenty, so we joined in the delicious Conch Salad while the kids played with the rays. Tessa would run down the beach and the rays would follow her. The kids were having the time of their lives.

After we finished our Conch Salad, Tristan came up to our table and said there was a shark in the water. We all ran back to the beach. Sure enough, two sharks were now circling clearly in the crystal clear water. The sharks were hungry and very aggressive. Brendal cut up a fish and threw it to them. The sharks came very close to shore; in fact in another Mother of the Year moment they came within 3 feet of the kids. The rays were very protective though and made sure the sharks didn’t get too close.

The water is so crystal clear, almost like a swimming pool, that we were able to get great pictures. It was just such an amazing day for us. To be this close to these beautiful animals, in their natural habitat and actually touch them was such a gift. We owe Brendal a debt of gratitude for allowing us to join his group. He’s a really great guy and if you are ever anywhere in the Abacos please call him for a dive tour.

We had two long sails when we left Grand Bahamas. It was about 43 miles from West End to Great Sail Cay where we anchored for the night. Then it was about 56 miles from Great Sail to Green Turtle. It was a great trip. The water became clearer and shallower the whole way. It was so clear that even in 10 feet of water you could easily see the bottom. Everyone tells you this but until you see it for yourself you have no idea. You can’t stop watching. It was fascinating, bizarre, and a little scary.

After a long day we anchored outside of Black Sound on Green Turtle Cay. A quick dingy tour led us to a wonderful little bar called Pineapples. It was nestled in Palm Trees on the edge of the water. As we chilled in the hammock next to the pool we had a great view of the sun setting on Alegria in the harbor. We were finally beginning to relax and get the Bahamian experience we had been looking for all this time. But as everything so far on this trip, that would soon change.

Dan always has this fear (unfounded!) that our anchor is going to drag (come up from the bottom causing us to drift). This is a sore point with me as I am the one that does the anchoring. For some reason at 3:00am that night, we both woke up. We talked for a few minutes and then heard a signal horn from one of the boats in the harbor. It sounded like a distress call. Dan looked out the hatch above our bed and saw a flare light up the sky. He looked at me and said “We must be dragging.”

Here we go I thought. Dan went outside to the cockpit and called for me to come up. Another flare lit up the sky. As I came out into the cockpit Dan again said, “Our anchor must be dragging.”

The next thing we see is a dingy coming from a boat behind us and speeding towards a boat that is two boats away from our boat. We turn on our VHF radio to see what is going on. Dan still thinks we are dragging and the boats are getting together to talk about us.
The first words we hear (on the VHF) are apparently from the guy in the dingy who has now boarded the sailboat in distress. In a calm, British accent he says “There seems to be a lot of blood.”

Pause as someone on the receiving end of the VHF talks and we can’t hear them. We lean toward the radio. “It is a head wound.”
Pause as someone asks a question. “Yes the firearm is secure. Her husband had her get on the radio to confirm he did not shoot her.”

Dan and I sit back, eyes wide. This time we could hear the other boat he was talking to. What we could put together was that this woman had been shot in the head. The husband put out a distress call and Frank, the gentleman with the British accent was now on their boat trying to help them. The other boat he was talking to on the radio was trying to get hold of Bahamas Air and Sea Rescue to come to their aid. We leaned in again as Frank gave more details.

“She is calm now. She is lying down. It is a head wound.” We are on the edge of our seats.

“I can’t really tell how bad it is. She has a lot of hair and it is all matted with blood.” EEWW!! We sit back. Frank is amazingly calm for coming to a stranger’s boat and discovering a shooting. He continues in a bit lower voice.
“I think there was a bit of alcohol involved.”

Where the husband is in all this we don’t know. Frank later announces the gun was a 38 with hollow point bullets. Why would you possibly need that in the Bahamas? Frank keeps everyone posted for another 20 minutes and finally the rescue team arrives and takes her and her husband to a hospital. We were too wired to go back to sleep. For the next few days their boat sat ominously alone.

Audley promised us he will be back tomorrow “first thing”, so we were feeling confident we would soon be on our way. We decided to celebrate. The guys from Philly had gone to one of the sports bars in the settlement and said the food was good. I was tired of cooking and was craving some wings so we went to the hotel to get a taxi. Our driver seemed very happy that we were venturing outside the gates to mingle with the locals.

The settlement at West End seems very poor. It still hasn’t recovered from the last hurricane that went through. Houses are boarded up, there are very few people there or so it would seem, but oddly there are at least 3 sports bars. Our driver told us that most of the places were closed as there was a big political rally that night and the whole town was turning out. The Bahamian election is coming up on May 2 and the PLP party had just opened a campaign office in West End. His favorite restaurant was still open and a short drive later he stopped at a nondescript building called the Triple Play Sports Bar. Outside were about 15 people milling about drinking beer and wearing matching yellow shirts with the letters PLP. As he dropped us off he promised us good food, friendly people and if we wanted to we should stay and enjoy the political rally. Ok then.

Skirting the crowd we entered the building and were surprised to find 4 large flat screen TV’s. Three were tuned to basketball and the other was tuned to a Bahamian news channel talking about the election. We ordered wings and conch and settled in our corner table. The bar started to fill up with more yellow shirts. Tessa on her way back from the restroom had discovered a back room with video games. She asked if she and Tristan could check them out while we waited for our food. I said sure. A few minutes later Dan says “I think those are video poker machines back there.”

Nonsense I reply. A short while later the kids come back to the table and Dan asked if it was video games and they both said yes. Our food came quickly. The wings and conch were awesome. After we ate, the kids wanted to go back to the game room and we said fine. By this time the bar was getting busier and louder. The waitress came to take our plates away and again mentioned the political rally. We noticed most of the political participants were taking out bottles of Guinness beer and jugs of wine. These people knew how to seriously political party! I can’t help but think we would have more enthusiasm in our elections if malt liquor and wine were included.

Dan went in the back to check on the kids. He came back with them scurrying ahead of him. “Those aren’t video games back there. Those are video poker machines.”

I look at the kids and they look at me innocently.

“Were people playing them?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“What were our kids doing?”

“They were watching.”

I breathe a sigh. “Well if they weren’t bothering anyone.”

Dan shoots me a look. My mother of the year status is in jeopardy.

In our corner white world we watch as more patrons come and go with their yellow shirts uniquely styled to suit the wearer. Here is one tied at the side, that one is knotted at the waist, another is off the shoulder. It is a mini political fashion show. It’s dark outside now and I wonder when the rally will begin. As we wait to pay our bill, the kids are getting bored. They want to go outside and play. At first we said absolutely not as it was dark out, the restaurant was close to the road, there was no one to play with and no place to play. They pleaded. In another “Mother of the Year” moment, with Dan looking at me as if I have lost my mind I say “Sure, but don’t bother anyone.”

Ah, my little militants, off to join the rally. I am proud of myself. Not only am I allowing my children to embrace cultural diversity but I am pretty sure I can count this as home schooling. (I know if I could have gotten them on those video poker machines math would have been covered!)

The bartender brings us our bill, touches Dan on the shoulder and in a reassuring tone again tells us about the political rally. I wonder do we really have an “Oh my God what are all these locals doing in a local bar” look on our faces? He is obviously very proud to be sponsoring the PLP and we are genuinely happy for him. He’s a very nice guy as is everyone there. We pay our bill and he calls the hotel to come pick us up. Tessa runs into the bar. They are in high spirits as they have found a cat and are chasing it. They are having a great time. All too soon however our driver came and took us back to the Marina. I guess we will have to watch the rally on TV.