Jumentos and Ragged Islands

We had partied a lot at the Family Island Regatta in Georgetown, then decided to head down to the Jumentos & Ragged Islands for some Tropical Vacationing! Our first stop was Flamingo Cay. That was a quick, overnight stop for us and also where we experienced a huge thunderstorm several years ago where the waves were huge with lots of thunder & lightning and we actually got a couple of things on our boat electrocuted! My Mom imagined it was like the World being created! When we anchored this time it was really hard and took a long time because there wasn’t a lot of sand the anchor could grab on. We walked the beach and found a beautiful Helmet Shell, which is gorgeous and has white stripes and pretty brown splotches and is just amazing! Usually they have residents in them, a crab that uses the shell as it’s home, and in that case you really should not take the shell and kill the animal for no other reason. In this case, we got lucky and found the shell vacant, so we kept it. Raccoon Cay was our next stop. That is a great one and is a lot of fun to swim in the water and walk the beach. We walked ashore on this sand flat and looked for sand dollars. You probably know what they are, but if you don’t they are white circles with star slits in the middle. We found 80 sand dollars! We kept about 30 and then put the rest back like an Easter Egg Hunt. It was really cool! From there we went further south to Double Breasted Cay and hung out there for a little bit. It is beautiful there and we went ashore and played and walked to the other side where it is rocky and there is lots of stuff washed up on the beach. We hung out there for a couple of days and looked for Sea Beans (or Sea Hearts). They are these brown beans that are shaped like a heart. We found like 45 Sea Beans! The island is beautiful and we were pretty much the only boat there! We went around the corner to a place called Johnson Cay, a very pretty tiny island enclosed by rocks with a beautiful long beach in front of you! It is lots of fun and we spent time walking around and looking for Sea Beans … (none of which we found). Here was the spot where we harvested our first conch, learned how to get the conch out of the shell and clean them, then we made very tasty conch fritters … that seemed to take all day long. We took a trip to a place called Duncan Town, population around 60 residents and the only Settlement in the 100-mile long Ragged Island chain. At this point we were 60 miles from Cuba and we could hear people from there on the radio. It is definitely an interesting place and to get to town you have to dinghy through a mangrove swamp and bush channel. We walked all around and went to the grocery store, which consists of a few bags of chips, drinks, canned foods and some cookies. Then we walked up to the school, which is a yellow rectangular building and has playground equipment. I met this boy whose name is Renn and he followed me around while we did Internet on our computers. After exploring the town, we went back to our boat and guess what we saw … people on a Mega Yacht! We were thrilled to finally see people! They were really nice, we invited them to a beach bonfire and roasted marshmallows & hot dogs and had fun talking to the Captain Peter and his Mate Monty. The place where we had the bonfire is really cool and we thought of it like a Cruiser’s hang out. We actually got invited by the owners Vicki & Alan on the Mega Yacht Victory. It is 80 feet long and is an extremely pretty boat! The inside is huge and amazing, very well done and taken care of. It was a lot of fun and we got to have tea and scones with Alan & Vicky. We moved down to Hog Cay, which is beautiful and really pretty! We snorkeled & spear fished and that sort of turned into an all day event and by 7:00 pm, what do you know, a shark showed up looking for dinner in a fast a sharp movement search! We kept telling my Dad it was time to get out of the water and leave and the shark should have his own space … and finally… we persuaded him and left! Woooo hooo! After being able to explore the beautiful island we decided to do a long overnight trip to Staniel Cay and I entertained myself by playing, reading a little, schoolwork, and watching a movie. We had a safe trip to Staniel Cay and I am now here and playing with my friends on Side By Side.

I will be posting another Blog and I hope you enjoyed this one! Take care and have a good life! Keep in touch with me! Who knows what the next decision will be or where the wind will blow?!

National Family Island Regatta 2010

Hello everyone! What’s up? Oh, that’s right the sky! So how about we continue the Travels of Asolare … it turns out the wind blew us from Conception Island straight to Emerald Bay … or maybe that was us deciding. Emerald Bay is a lot of fun and has a MASSIVE! flat screen TV along with an awesome tropical, fun pool with underwater music, a pool table & lots of great games, and a bunch of other fun things including the cool air-conditioning where you simply relax and have your favorite drink of choice! Ya ... I would say it is really nice! From there it was back to G-Town otherwise known as George Town for this major event called the National Family Island Regatta. Every year this major event happens and is always a lot of fun! It is great for me because that’s when all the children show up and I have a blast with them. Every night there is a huge party, beach bonfire or celebration going on and there are lots of things to do. That’s on shore and all the children will run around in Regatta Park. Mean while … all of the other people will be hopping around in the crowd ordering food and dancing to the music. Occasionally, you will see a guy who is dancing right in front of these ENORMOUS speakers that are just BLASTING! Oh ya! I’m surprised the music can go that loud, the ground vibrates when you walk by. We participate in the National Family Island Regatta every year and it is always a great turn out! There are all these boats that are low to the water and the boom sticks out from the back of the boat really far. They are the original Bahamian Work Boats, sometimes called Smacks. There are the A Class Boats, which are the biggest and have a mainsail and a jib, B Class Boats, which are medium sized and also have a mainsail and a jib, then C Class Boats, which are the smallest and they just have a mainsail. In a day, there are 3 races in each class of boats, so a total of 9 races going on. I actually got to experience this in the Junior Races and it was a lot of fun! There was myself and two other friends of mine on a C boat called H2O. There were also three Bahamian men on the boat so a total of 6 crew. I was the Captain of the boat and the Skipper for 2 of the races, which means I got to steer the boat! At the beginning of the race, all the boats of that class line up at the starting line and when they blow the horn all of the people on the boats start pulling up the anchor and raising the mainsail, there is so much going on, everybody is yelling and it is just WILD! These races are tough and everyone on the boats wants to win. So, when you are under way and the sails are up the excitement begins! When you are sailing some of the people have to sit out on these boards called the PRIE, way over the water, to keep the boat level and going fast so it doesn’t tip over too much and get water inside. What fun! Occasionally, they will get too much water inside the boat and will sink immediately. If she sinks, people have to take the lead out of the keel to make it float, and then the boat comes right up to the surface again. There are buoys set up on the water called “marks” and the boats have to round them. Sometimes, there is more than one boat rounding a mark at the same time and the boats will smash into each other! We bumped into some boats one time. That’s very interesting to watch, but even more so when you’re on a boat! Then after about 3 laps the boats head back to the finish and the Race Committee blows the horn for the person who comes in 1st place. Hope I am not making you jealous! We did really well in the races and were sometimes in the lead! We got 1st place in the 1st race, 2nd place in the 2nd race, and 9th in the 3rd race! There were 30 boats racing in our class. It was a team effort and we couldn’t have done as well as we did without everyone on the boat! I had a really great time with my 2 other friends Parker and Connor, who are on cruising sailboats just like me. I was so glad they could be with me in the race, they were amazing and we had a BLAST! doing it together. The Bahamians Chim, DJ, and Kelly were awesome and they all helped us kids out a lot! We were lucky to get on H2O; it is really fast and had such great people on board! H2O is from Blackpoint, Exumas and is a fantastic boat! At the party that night, we went to see the Bahamian National Marching Band, which all of the police play in together and perform this great show with fun music and the leader has a pole he does some amazing tricks with! We got to watch from the roof of the Straw Market right in the center of town and it was an incredible view! There was an awards ceremony and after a great speech I was called up on stage by the Prime Minister, shook his hand and he gave me this beautiful, outstanding trophy for 3rd place overall in our Class! As the Captain of our boat, I was given these very detailed, amazing medals for all the crewmembers on our boat and as it turned out I was the only non-Bahamian kid who got a trophy! It is amazing! Every child who races in the Junior Races during the Regatta also gets a trophy, it is a sailboat on a stand about a foot tall. All the kids who raced in the Junior Races had such a good time, the highlight of the week for them! It was great and I had a lot of fun doing it! This has been a really incredible time and is one of the reasons I like George Town so much. There is so much going on and I meet wonderful people, who I see every year and sometimes they visit us in Ketchum, Idaho! I will be posting another Blog so be sure to check that one out too! Hope you enjoyed this one! This is Colby signing out!

Bahamas Week 4

The other day we were at Conception Island in the Bahamas and I got to see a Dolphin in the water for my first time! It was so cool and amazing being able to see him do spins and flips, and leaping out of the water for a breath of air! The Dolphin was swimming around my Dad and was playing with him, coming up and smiling at him!

Did you know that Dolphins aren’t actually fish and are mammals just like us! They come up every 30 seconds or so to breath but can actually hold their breath for 6-7 minutes. They have 100 teeth that are used to catch fish but not chew. Instead they swallow it… whole. Dolphins will herd fish in close to the beach to be able to form a fence to catch them. They have very very good hearing and can see well. Their ears are the size of pinholes so you can’t really see them. Their skin is really smooth and helps them go fast through the water. Men have studied this and now some boats use a similar material to help them do the same thing. Their blowhole is their nose and it allows them to breath. It opens and closes like a fist to let in air and it closes when they go under so water can’t get in. Dolphins sleep about 2-3 feet below the surface. Every 30 seconds they push their tail to go up to get a breath of air and then drift down. Dolphins have enemies that are the Killer Whale and the Shark. If either of these attack they will form a group so it is more difficult to get to them and defend themselves by hitting the enemies with their tails, butting them with their heads, and biting them with their teeth.

When Dolphins are born, they are born tail first and immediately have to take a breath of air. Sometimes the Mom and another Dolphin will help him do that. They will also keep him safe by forming a fence around him and help him learn the ways of the sea. I believe a baby Dolphin is called a Pup. If a baby pup is lost, the Mom and the Pup will whistle through their blowholes until they find each other. If there is danger or the pup is doing something wrong, the Male Dad will make a series of clicking sounds with his teeth to warn the pup. Also, the Dad will sometimes hold on to the baby’s tail, like a spanking, to punish him.

If a Dolphin needs help or is hurt, the other Dolphins will often help. One time, someone saw Dolphins helping an injured Dolphin who had hit a boat and was sinking. They brought him to the surface 3 times until he could swim on his own and breath.

An Oceanarium is a place to study Dolphins to see what they are like. You can train dolphins to do flips in the air and jump through rings, ring bells, bow, shake hands with their flippers, put out fires with their tails, wave to people, and sing through their blowholes which they do by whistling. Dolphins will also play and tease sea animals like turtles and fish.

I would love the opportunity to swim with Dolphins because they seem so much like us and are really amazing animals, it would be so much fun to play with them! What fascinating Mammals they are! Maybe… I will get a chance to snorkel with them one day in the Bahamas!

Bahamas Week 3

Greetings from Conception Island, Bahamas! Where we are living the Life!

Last I left off was at Thompson Bay, Long Island. We left the next day and had an excellent sail up to Simms averaging around 7 ½ kts… that’s super fast for us! The sailing and weather conditions were amazing and the wind was perfect. When we arrived we went ashore and walked around town and hitchhiked all the way to a Resort called Stella Maris (hitchhiking is really easy in the Bahamas and almost everybody picks you up and it’s always interesting to meet the locals and learn a bit about their life). We have been here before and it is fun. The Resort has lots of games and pools and a great view of the ocean from the cottages. We had a very fun evening and enjoyed ourselves. In the morning we had a good sail back out to Conception where we were a couple of weeks ago with My Aunt Pam. Conception Island is a beautiful island that sits in amazing blue water. It does not have any towns. Instead it has gorgeous green, tall palm trees that cover the island with its natural beauty. The beaches are wonderful and are so much fun to have the sand slide between your toes and let the sun tan you while you enjoy the warmth! When we got here there were about 22 boats, which is a lot, and the most by far we’ve ever seen here. The children boats started showing up, which is awesome for me and there have been no shortage of them! We went to the beach and played, and splashed around in the water, and hung out on our boat. Our good friends Bob and Sheri on Shamal showed up and gave us this huge Mahi-Mahi, because their refrigerator was overflowing! That was nice of them and they came over for dinner and brought their cat Simba that is the perfect boat cat and is so fluffy and soft. He counts as a child and I had lots of fun roaming around with him on our boat! The next morning Sheri taught Yoga and we went in and played on the beach and did some Yoga, which loosened us up. We did all sorts of stuff like wakeboarding with all the children and jumping off the boats, swimming in the water, and playing on a rope swing.

Every now and then it’s nice to have a relaxing evening and play some fun games. Looking for shells along the beach is also fun to find all these amazing shells along the shoreline. Another fun and cool thing we did was make friends with a Mega Yacht … 110 feet! We were running out of water and didn’t want to leave this beautiful island (which would mean a 6 hour sail to go get water). We hold around 110 gallons and that can last us almost 2 weeks, if we’re really careful. That means like a dribble shower to get wet and another to rinse … so all 3 of us, on a good day, should only use 8 gallons, which includes showers, drinking water and dishes! You should try it sometime! They were really nice to us and gave us a lot of water and we got to meet William the Captain and the First Mate Andy! It was fun to talk to them and learn a little about their lives.

You probably think that all we are doing down here is playing, having fun, enjoying the beautiful Bahamas, and living the good life. But … that isn’t entirely true. Everyday we’re not traveling, I do school. Sometimes, I just wake up and don’t even get out of bed! I go until lunch and then afternoons I’m free to play! Occasionally, we will have a bonfire on the beach at night and everyone in the anchorage will bring some food to share. The other night we had 33 kids show up! We play all kinds of fun games like flashlight tag, football and just make up our own ones. It is really cool!

It was my Dad’s Birthday the other day, so be sure to wish him one if you email him! We had a very fun time celebrating it in the tropical scenery … opening presents, snorkeling, wake boarding and surfing behind the dinghy and the most delicious birthday cake ever.

By now the anchorage is starting to empty out and all the boats are starting to leave. Just a few children boats are left now. Everyone is leaving to get protection from a storm that might be coming through. It is just us and a boat called Liberty who have Josh, Chris, Nancy, and Dave on board. It is fun and we are having a good time hanging out with them. We took a beautiful walk on the rocky seashore that has an amazing view and was really cool and sort of like a jungle expedition. We made it to a beach and walked the whole thing, which was pretty far. We played in the sand and found lots of pretty sea glass at the other end until we decided to turn around and walk back. This morning my Mom and I and Liberty went back to Turtle Creek which runs trough the interior of the island, through mangroves with the bluest of waters … it is really beautiful … we looked around and found this beautiful Conch. We left when it started to rain and ducked under a huge mangrove bush that had lots of fish swimming around and was in deep beautiful blue water. We will be leaving Sunday for Emerald Bay or George Town.

I will be posting another Blog in a week or so be sure to check it out! But as you may have figured out, our plans change and we try to go where the wind blows!

Bahamas Week 1

Hello again! We have made it to our boat and it so good to be back! Before we left, our good friends the Kers came to visit us and it was a Blast! They have 3 children that are my age and they are all fun to be with. After that we had a pleasant flight down to Vero Beach, Florida where we stayed with my Gramma and Grampa for 1 day and then it was down to George Town, in Exuma, Bahamas! We had a nice flight down there and it was so much fun to see all of the islands along the way.

When we arrived in George Town we provisioned which means to organize and provide all of the supplies that you would need to be out on the ocean. Then my Aunt Pam flew in and stayed with us for a week, which was a lot of fun! We showed her all around George Town and she got to experience Johnny’s delicious Conch Salad that she loved. That night we went out to dinner at this Rake and Scrape where a bunch of Bahamians play music by doing stuff like scraping a screwdriver up and down a saw. I think the mosquitoes thought we tasted good because the next day everyone else except me was covered in itchy red spots! The next day we took a long, really rough, but beautiful trip to Conception where I made the mistake of staying below! You can figure out what happened next! It was so good to be back and I think my Aunt loved it! When we got there we went ashore and swam in the water that was like a hot tub and then we played at the beach and made marble rolls then built sand castles. The next day we took a dinghy exploration to the other side and went in this place that was called Turtle Cove. It was amazing! There were tons of turtles that were all zooming around at a very high velocity! Then we went around the backside of the island where it was super rough and walked the beach looking for hamburgers (A pretty shell) and Sea Beans (Also a shell.) My Aunt found a Hamburger and I found a Hamburger and a Sea Bean! They are really cool! We did some snorkeling out on this reef that extends about 5 miles out! That was also cool and it was fun to be back in the water. Then we sailed back to George Town and said our good byes to my Aunt Pam.

Just the other day we sailed over to Long Island for Easter. I had a wonderful Easter doing an Egg Cracking Competition, Easter Egg Hunt, and decorating Easter Eggs. We met up with our good friends who we met in the Bahamas last year, Side By Side, (who also visited us last summer in Sun Valley, Idaho), Taua, and Liberty, who all have a bunch of children.

We are now in Long Island and everything is going very well! I will be posting another Blog next week. Hope everyone is doing well!

From, Colby Marsh