Our adventure traveling on the south side of Great Exuma Island was a success. The most shallow depths we saw were 7.7 feet in the Comer Channel so we had plenty of water under the keel. We arrived at Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas ahead of schedule, just after 4 pm. The winds were light all day but picked up enouh to sail for the last hour. Our friends Jean and Michael on Desiderata were here along with just one other boat.
We spent today doing chores and running errands. First on the list was attending the weekly farmer’s market. We bought some greens, green peppers, bread, coconut candy and stew conch (that is what they call it-not a typo). The local people eat stew conch for breakfast but we saved it for lunch. After the farmer’s market we walked a short distance down the road to Seafarer Marine. This store is every bit as nice as a West Marine. George was hoping to buy a battery switch and wiring to isolate the engine battery. Not only did they have a selection of battery switches but they had the wire and even attached the appropriate lugs for us. The people here are so nice and accommodating. Our next errand was to dinghy across the harbor to Long Island Petroleum for gas and diesel. A man (the owner maybe?) told us to put the full jerry cans in back of his truck and he would drive us the 100 yards back to dinghy dock. Have I mentioned how nice people are here?
The next item on our list was visiting Hillside Food Supply for more vegetables. Even though the supply boat did not come this week (because of the holidays) they still had plenty of good quality fresh vegetables (in addition to a lot of other food and household supplies).
After George transferred the diesel from the jerry cans to the tank and made another run to Long Island Petroleum we finally had time to try out the new Up-n-Out ladder. We tried it first on the bow since that is the most stable part of the boat. The ladder is made to fit over the gunnel and wasn’t secure on the bow. Next we tried putting it on the side near the forward seat. It was possible, but not easy, to get in from there because the dinghy tipped and the side bowed out when we stood on the ladder. Last, we tried it on the transom. This is more stable than the side and the ladder fits well on the transom. It was quite easy to get in from there so we will call it another success.
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