The coconut cracker ... Monday 18th March 2013
... a guest blog from Gloria's brother Rod...
Tap, tap with the hammer, smack, smack on the dock. Mike, trying to open the famed coconut that
we had collected while walking around
the Sandals golf course adjacent to the Emerald Bay Marina. We’re staying here for our last night before
flying back to the States.
In fact, if it hadn’t been for the coconut, the title of
this blog entry might have been, To Leave…..Or Not To Leave, but, of course, we
must, regretfully.
Back to the
coconut. Mike hammered mightily,
but the coconut refused to open. I think
it could have withstood shipping by the US Postal Service. Fortunately, we were rescued by some advice
from the boat next to us. “Slam it point
first onto the dock and it will split open without any tools”, he said. Well, it DOES work, somewhat. Mike strained and was able to finally unhusk
the coconut and harvest the mild, which we are now enjoying added to our rum and pineapple drinks. (Not ALL rum goes to the Mahi-Mahi!)
We’ve had a wonderful week here in the Exumas, all because
of our wonderful hosts, Mike and Gloria, who could not have done more to make
our stay better.
If you’ve been following their blog, you know that we stayed
in Elizabeth Harbor for a few days due to high winds, but we did get a great
sail over to Children’s Bay Cay on Saturday, which was the occasion of catching
the Mahi-Mahi (oh, did it taste great that night).
Imagine a deserted anchorage with deep blue and turquoise
waters and starry skies at night!
Unheard of in the northeast.
All too soon, today happened and we had to start heading
back. Now, you have heard Mike and
Gloria talking about “sailor’s midnight…9 pm”, well I’ve grown fond of that,
but “sailor’s dawn….6 AM’, not so much!
Nevertheless, after listening to Chris Parker’s 6:30 AM forecast and
downing a breakfast of bagels toasted by
Gloria AND having the anchor hoisted by Gloria, we set out on our trip
here.
Violating the cardinal rule of “Gentlemen don’t sail to windward” we hoisted our mainsail and bravely motor
sailed to this harbor in winds of 16 to 18 knot with seas of about 4 feet. Another successful docking by our captain
allowed us to have a lovely lunch poolside at the Marina, with luck another
wonderful dinner at the same place will follow soon.
Such a tough life to lead, cruising, but someone must do
it! Thanks again to Gloria and Mike for
their hospitality!
Cracking Coconuts
The edge of the golf course - Emerald Bay
Watering the fairways
Taking a swing
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