Fish Fry

Conch Fritters in Nassau

Since our last post we haven’t had much internet since Nassau and when we have had it, it has been very spotty, hence the delay in posting. So this might be a very short post with little to no photos!

We left the Berry Islands two and half weeks ago and had planned to sail to New Providence Island in order to make it onto the Exuma Bank. This was the sail where I was going to do it start to finish: rig all the sails, pick and plot our exact course and choose where we anchored for the night. It was all going great until we reach the cut to get onto the bank. We had read lots about the Rose Island cut and apparently it was a well protected easy to navigate cut perfect to get onto the Bank. On our approach we both were watching it and there wasn’t a wave breaking in sight. As SOON as we neared the cut massive rolling waves started breaking to the right of us and I turned around and said “uhhhh James, we’re surfing right now”. The wind had picked up and we were sitting on top of an 18ft wave - fortunately they were very slow waves and James took over to maneuver to boat back out to sea and the waves didn’t have time or space to lift us and drop us on the shallow bank. All the other cuts had turned into the same state so it was a last minute diversion backwards and into Nassau - the only inlet with a breakwater and a deep enough channel not to create breaking waves. We had not planned on going to Nassau because the docking fees are incredibly pricey and the anchorage is tiny with poor holding and lots of reports of theft, however we didn’t have any other option. The sea had turned quite rough at this point so it took us a while to make it to Nassau and it was dark when we arrived. Our chart book said it was a “well lit channel” - they must have forgotten to turn most of the lights on the night we arrived ;) As we approached we called Nassau Harbour Control for permission to enter the channel and were instructed to wait for the Disney Cruise Ship and then make our entrance. The Disney Cruise ship was already out of the channel and well past us so we started to make our way towards the channel. I think Harbour Control meant wait for the massive container ship since that was headed right for us! We turned back into the sea and once that had passed traversed the very dark inlet with a heck of a lot of current pushing us. There is an enormous bank of concrete slips, barely outside of the channel, for the cruise ships to dock and they were barely visible - maybe throw a light on there - just a thought. The boats in the channel also didn’t have any running lights on and most the boats at anchor didn’t have an anchor light on. We arrived to a very full anchorage in high winds with opposing current - that wasn’t in my original game plan for the day! Usually when we anchor James drops the anchor and I drive the boat since the anchor is so heavy. However, this anchorage was so full and there was so much wind and current he suggested he drove since I’m less comfortable (read absolutely, utterly uncomfortable/terrified) driving in tight spaces - especially when the wind and current are opposing each other. So I dropped the anchor for the fist time and I nearly went over the bow! That thing is HEAVY, which I thought I was prepared for, but not quite!!!! The very thick and heavy chain is wrapped around the windlass (which brings it up thank god) so I had to pull the chain off the windlass and lower the 50lb anchor down into almost 30 feet of water and with each foot of chain I dropped it got heavier and heavier since I was now holding the anchor and the chain. The BEST part is we had to do it FIVE times since I was soon slow at it we were drifting so much we were too close to other boats. I physically could not have done it one more time my poor little shoulders were trembling. I used to give poor James a hard time about how muddy he got when he put the anchor down (since I do all the hand laundry) but after that I was like “I’m sorry, please get as dirty as you like - it is hard damn work”! So we spent a few days in Nassau waiting for the winds to die and despite the anxiety-inducing situation to get there I’m glad we went - it’s a really cool city. This pit stop also allowed us to provision at a huge grocery store that is much cheaper than elsewhere in the Bahamas. 

Conch Fritters

Lots of people (especially you Mo) have been asking about food so here you go! We got boarded by BASRA (the Bahamian Coast Guard) and we got the impression that they basically want to make sure you have paid your entry fee! So once that was established we chatted while they filled out their paper work and naturally we asked where to eat! They recommended Arawak Cay which an area in Nassau filled with 38 fishing shack-type buildings on the beach and they all serve Fish Fry. They recommended a place called “Oh Andros” so we headed there and finally got to try a Fish Fry!! Fish Fry is what the locals called their “native food” - there are lots of different options for white fish, lobster and conch and the sides are: fried plantains, coleslaw, rice and peas (which is rice and beans), macaroni and cheese, potato salad and various other starchy carby side dishes. It’s essentially a grease carb high and it’s delicious, but Natasha you were so right - it’s really only something you need to do once, there is lot of grease involved! We got conch fritters to start - chopped up pieces of conch (sea snail) in balls of spiced dough and deep fried. Then we shared a portion of spicy pan fried grouper, with coleslaw, mac and cheese and rice and peas.

We still ended up with enough for dinner! At first I said “I’m never doing that again” since it didn’t sit so well on the old belly but that was almost three weeks ago and I’m craving it again! There are two main beer companies here: Kalik and Sands - both are tasty light lagers - perfect for the heat. Then there is the rum - delicious and at $8 a bottle in Nassau you really can't go wrong. There is also English chocolate and Irish butter here - basically a dream come true!

James enjoying a Sands Beer

First Boat Pizza

On the boat we have made our first pizza and it was great! Mexican night is also quite popular. We eat a lot of bean salads since most of our food is tinned but so far have been able to get eggs and milk and yogurt fairly regularly. Since we have lots of carrots and have been able to get cabbage and onions I’ve been making military-size portions of coleslaw - if anyone has a good recipe that has more of a vinegar dressing instead of mayo we would sure appreciate it! We are still making bread, pitas and tortillas. We have been able to get coconut bread and it is sinfully addictive and makes the most incredible French toast. It might be the extra time on our hands or maybe it's the need to not waste any food at all but we're getting quite creative with our cooking and loving the results! We’re still stocked from our many shopping trips in the states which is good because food has to come a long way to get to these Islands and understandably it is quite expensive - US$30 for a small bag of coffee, US$17 for a tiny banana bread, US$5 for a small tin of tomatoes, US $4 for a box of pasta, US$6 for a box of crackers - just to give you an idea. 

Mexican Night

Vats of Coleslaw 

Some nights you just want a Mr. Noodle out of the pot! 

More on the beautiful, friendly Exumas in the next post when there's more internet!