Slow Day in Royal Island with Old Friends and New Friends

Royal Island – 1 mile in dinghy, 100 metres snorkelled

The night was one of fits and starts as the strong winds and waves piled into the anchorage. We were awoken many times (as I’m sure folks in the 13 other boats here experienced too) by awful noises coming from the rigging and anchor and also had to get up to reposition the paddleboard from the deck to the cockpit as it was getting tossed around and making a hell of a racket.

Winds from 23 to 30 knots blew in all day from the east, relenting only for brief periods. I did attempt snorkelling and looked for new lobsters hiding in the coral head where we last harvested three (the 1 junior lobster we left was still there but the eel was gone) and found a new small coral patch, but the visibility was poor. Despite that, I was glad to get in the water.

Ana sent out a Noforeignland broadcast message to all the boaters in the anchorage, asking if we could borrow an Apple watch charger. Sure enough, a catamaran named Kaia responded, saying we could use theirs, so I went over, met Dave, and he asked us to join them later this evening for a drink, which I happily accepted. The social programme for the day was filling in rapidly as we had asked Ben and Kate over for lunch. Ana was able to use the charger to restore our “new” Apple watch to factory, after having decided that if the previous owner hadn’t been able to track us down during the six days that had passed since I found it, it was hereby relinquished to us as the new owners.

Our lunch with Ben and Kate turned into an all-day affair as we lounged in the cockpit, sheltered from the wind, and talked and talked and talked. We haven’t had a long and leisurely visit with them for quite a while so we really enjoyed it and was the best way to spend a stormy day.

At 6:30 we went over to sailing vessel Kaia and properly met Dave, his partner Ruth, and their children Leo and Willow. Dave and Ruth are from the UK but have lived in New Zealand for many years and both their children were born there. They had bought their 38 Leopard catamaran in North Carolina in December and had just arrived in the Bahamas a week ago after traversing the ICW in the depths of winter and having some significant work done on the boat. We were happy to share a few of our favourite spots in Nassau with them, as they were heading that way in a few days to do some administration. Their children gave us an in-depth tour of the boat, including the storage area where their dad stashes his beer, the toilets, and every nook and cranny of their bedrooms. They also invited us to a SpaceX rocket launch party tomorrow which we are very excited for.

Our plan to sail to the Abacos tomorrow has been put on hold due to higher than expected winds and very large seas, so instead we will hang around this area until Friday when conditions should be better.

The SeaLight Water Taxi Returns to Eleuthera, and a Bahamian Pronunciation Guide

Nassau to Royal Island – 37 nautical miles sailed

By 6am the anchor was up and we were motoring out of Nassau harbour. Our destination was again the Spanish Wells area (starting to feel like a water taxi) as a convenient first jump on the way to the Abacos. Unfortunately we had to deal with a 15 knot wind almost directly in our face, which we knew from the wind forecasts, but wanted to get ahead of high winds that were due to land later in the day and last throughout Tuesday. Then Wednesday we could do the remaining 50 miles or so to southern Abaco if the winds cooperated, which was uncertain, but at least we’d be nearly halfway there.

The wind was in the 15 knot range, sometime edging closer to 20 with the gusts, and the waves were larger than expected, some looked to be up to 5 to 6 feet. But the period of the waves was thankfully long which kept the pounding less frequent than expected, but still unpleasant.

We arrived at 1:30 and dropped the hook in the well protected anchorage of Royal Island. We were happy to find that Kate and Ben from Waddington were here, but we agreed to meet up Tuesday so we could spend the rest of the day doing a few administrative things, writing, and chilling out.

Since not much interesting happened, I’ll instead write about the pronunciation of Bahamian words. Tourists seem to have a hard time getting the pronunciation of Bahamian ‘tings right, just like I did when I first moved here so many years ago, and I’ve also noticed some cruisers that have been here many times, still getting words wrong. So, if you are planning on traveling to the Bahamas, here’s a quick guide to help you sound less like a tourist.

Kalik is their most popular national beer, but it is not called “Kay-lick” or “Ka-leek”. It is pronounced “Klik” or “Kuh-lik” if you say it slowly. A nice rhyme to remember it is “If you don’t know which beer to pick, make it a Kalik.” If you just can’t remember it, then order a Sands beer instead – can’t get that one wrong.

Nassau is not a space agency. So don’t call it NASA. The city is pronounced “Nas-awh”. Remember it with “You’ll be in awe with Nassau.” Or “I met an outlaw with a chainsaw in Nassau.”

Some Bahamians do live unconventional lives and many are writers, artist, and musicians. But you cannot refer to all of them as “Bohemians”. They are called “Bah-hay-mee-un”. I don’t know what rhymes with Bahamian so you’ll just to remember it.

Conch is a tricky one. It’s nearly impossible for visitors to drop that pesky “ch” at the end and replace with a “k”. Probably because of that Lord of the Flies movie where they blow into the “kon-sh” shell. But here in Bahamas, you just have to call it a “Konk”. Yes it sounds funny, but that’s what it is. Try not to get bonked by a conch.

A small island here is referred to as a Cay. But it is pronounced like “Key”. Shroud Cay, Farmers Cay, Two Breasted Cay – there are lots of them so best to remember how to say it. See me in Spanish Cay?

Here are two bonus words, which you probably don’t want to pronounce like a local, but they are fun to listen for. Church is “choich” and you don’t ask for something, you “axe” for it.

Have phun!

Exploring Royal Island – Ruins, Berry Poisoning, a Giant Conch, and Fresh Lobster For Dinner

Royal Island, Eleuthera – 1 mile in dinghy, 2 kilometres walked, 1 kilometre paddled, 500 metres snorkelled, 3 lobsters, 1 conch

We had a full day to consume before the anticipated storm arrived later tonight so we got started with a big breakfast of eggs, sausages, sweet fried plantains, grapefruit, and juice. Dave had gone for an early paddleboard ride to scope out the anchorage and shoreline and had found some things of interest for us to all check out.

After breakfast we loaded ourselves into the dinghy and eased across to the shore. Royal Island is privately owned with a small resort on the south-west end, but there was nobody around to ask permission to explore, so we tied the dinghy to an old and battered concrete pier and went for a walk. After ascending a weathered concrete staircase through thick bush we walked into a ruin of what looked to be an old hotel, loaded with small bats that burst out and circled around us as we explored the various stone buildings, some with collapsed roofs, others with large trees rooted into the walls.

We carried our snorkelling gear as we walked a trail leading to the other side of the island, hoping to find a reef. Instead we found a small, abandoned harbour, with sea grass and plastic littering the shoreline and a small boat with fishermen casting their lines into the water. Ana found a rubber ducky on the shore, washed it off, then stuck it into her pocket. Dave found a beaten hard hat, excellent for alternate use as a mushroom foraging bucket or possibly an improvised beach bidet in a pinch. But no suitable reef.

On the way back Kira and Dave analyzed the foliage as we went, scanning trees and plants and shrubberies, far more interested in the greenery than Ana or I usually are. They spotted a fruit tree and we pulled off some small oranges, which were later used to add a touch of tangy citrus flavour to our gin and tonics. They spotted a large termite home and I did what all ten year old boys do – poke it with a stick then throw rocks at it. Kira found a tree sprouting berries and plucked one off, mashed it with her foot, smelled it, then passed it to me, which I rubbed into my fingers and sniffed. I held it up close to Dave's nose for him to sniff it too. Ana googled it. Poisonberry, highly toxic. We washed our hands in the ocean then back at the boat with soap. Good thing I didn’t lick my fingers or stick them in any body cavities.

We constructed magnificent chili dogs for lunch with the leftover veggie chili, which had only improved with time. Dave the Explorer went back out on the paddleboard to find a snorkelling site and surprised us by returning with a giant and beautiful conch, by far the largest of the trip. I demonstrated conch cleaning technique and wished I had planted a hidden camera to capture Kira’s expression when I removed the giant slug from the shell. Shock and awe. Maybe a bit of revulsion. Certainly surprise. Dave was thrilled when I offered him the six-inch long jelly tube from the conch. He opted to chew it into pieces, relishing the flavour, instead of sucking it down whole in one go. This would likely accelerate the jelly tube's aphrodisiac properties, bringing on the Midnight War Hammer earlier than expected. I kept my distance and warned the girls to do the same.

The ladies floated in the dinghy while Dave and I snorkelled, as the approaching cold front had dropped temperatures and rendered the swimming a bit cool. While the visibility was not great, the snorkelling was excellent near the abandoned jetty where thousands of fish had gathered including a swarming school of minnows that remained still as you swam above them, and a huge hermit crab that had taken over a conch shell and was busy feasting on a dead conch from a shell beside it.

I circled further out and found a series of large coral heads, the third of which was home to no fewer than four lobsters and one big moray eel. I called Dave over so we could double team the catch and we were able to tickle-extract three of the spiny beauties, leaving the last one (she was just a teenager), and the eel, as who wants to skin and eat an eel.

A magnificent nacho plate was constructed and eaten as a post-lunch, pre-dinner snack, then we moved onto the main feast of garlic-baked lobster tails, kale salad, and fried eggplant as the 80’s playlist streamed in the cabin and the winds started to build.