(Darcy’s note) My little brother and his wife came to visit us in Eleuthera! Unfortunately, we had the WORST weather, a string of cloudy days punctuated by one full day of rain – our first rainy day since we were in Florida! We also had some of the wettest, worst dinghy rides ever while they were with us. It’s still warmer here than in Michigan, but without any sunshine we had to send them back to their wintry compatriots without that Caribbean glow. It also meant our batteries weren’t getting charged, so we had some serious power issues while they were here. But we still had a great time and I’m so happy they came to visit! Amy volunteered to write this week’s post, so here she is!

2.5 – Wednesday

From Grand Rapids, it took three flights and an unexpected ferry ride to meet Darcy and Kyle in Spanish Wells. We meant to rendezvous on Eleuthera (the island next door, if you don’t have a map handy), but being the tourist noobs we are (and because the ferry captain didn’t believe Darcy’s instructions), we were halfway across the cut between islands when I realized we were going to the wrong island. Fortunately, a kind lady lent us her phone and we got it sorted out and Darcy and Kyle came to collect us. We spent the rest of the evening getting acquainted with Bahamian drinking culture at a Christmas light spangled bar called Budda’s. Spoilers: All good things come in plastic milk jugs.  

2.6 – Thursday

One thing that I didn’t fully appreciate before spending more than a few hours on the boat is how significantly weather affects everything. EVERYTHING. So, when Darcy said we needed to get groceries and get off the island because the wind was about to change, my initial attitude was more nonchalant that I’d prefer to admit. How bad could it be, really?  

After renting a golf cart (without taking a credit card number, phone number, or last name) we zipped around the island to the best-stocked grocery store to pick up provisions for the trip. Especially exciting finds included bags of chips for under $10, recently expired mozzarella that was half off, pillowy locally-made Johnny cakes, and a sparsely-labeled homemade bottle of hot sauce called simply “Danger Zone.” While Darcy and Kyle ran (read: dinghied) the food back to the boat, Caleb and I explored the island. It was simple to get from one end to the other, the sea was bright and beautiful and the day was breezy and warm. The dingy ride back to the boat, however, was rough. We were soaked by the time we reached Hobbes, and Darcy and Kyle were moving quickly to get things ready to go. A pleasant wind on land meant the boat was pitching and rolling; sailing out of Spanish Wells was not particularly comfortable. However, after a few hours of sailing, we all made it to a protected harbor at Royal Island and settled in to ride out the weather.  

2.7 – Friday

Another thing I couldn’t fully anticipate before experiencing it was the whiplash between extremes. Yesterday, I felt like Captain Jack Sparrow traversing the high seas ­–– daring and bold. (As much as you can feel like a pirate captain after taking a sea-sickness pill and then passing out on some pillows for the duration of the trip, which I did.) Today, we were anchored in perhaps the most boring anchorage in the Bahamas. The island had no place to land a dinghy so we couldn’t go ashore. The winds, while less harsh in the harbor, made the water too rough to swim. And it was cloudy, so laying on the trampolines wasn’t as pleasant as usual. We spent the whole day reading, doing boat chores, and planning what to eat for dinner. In the monotony, there were two notably exciting events. The first, we caught a remora – nature’s gold-digging fish that often stick to sharks or boats to mooch. They’re no good to eat, but it was fun to see something aquatic up close. The second, dinner was really great. Kyle smoked some chicken, I made some tangy slaw with our new provisions, and we piled those glorious Johnny cakes high, all while enjoying various combinations of pineapple, coconut, and rum drinks.  

2.8 – Saturday

The insufferable winds let up, so we moved anchorages to Glass Window, where Darcy and Kyle have been twice before. While en route, we caught a mutton snapper! We named him “Fish Taco” and invited him to dinner later.

The weather was still cloudy but that didn’t stop me and Kyle for going for a long, long swim. Caleb and Darcy’s family is composed strictly of bad swimmers who distrust having fun in water, so it was nice to have a swimming buddy to dive with. It was also nice to be anchored in nature’s bathtub. Seriously, this water was so balmy, I was tempted to take all my meals off the back transom for the remainder of our stay.  

Instead, we made our way ashore for some light exploring before the clouds turned to rain. The Queen’s Baths were a marvel. Jagged, craggy cliffs above weirdly tranquil pools, next to a crashing ocean. It was a stunning natural playground with too many things to take in at once. We could have sat there for days and remained perfectly content. But we didn’t; the rain began to pick up, and given my tendency to fall off of things, we decided to come back when the weather was warmer and dryer. And as expected, the Fish Taco dinner was a delight.  

2.9 – Sunday

(Darcy’s note) As a real testament to boat life, Amy missed a day in her recap. They do all blend together! If I don’t write them all down I often forget what happened. I’ll take this opportunity to let you know Amy’s dirty secret. We went to the Queen’s Bath and when we got back to the boat, Amy admitted to us that she’s been picking up tiny treasures the whole time! She showed us the tiny perfect shells she’s been collecting, but the craziest finds are the world’s tiniest sea biscuits! The ten-cent piece is about the size of a quarter, and these sea biscuit seeds are smaller than my fingernail! All told, by the end of the visit her bag of tiny treasures was quite full.

2.10 – Monday

The sun came out, and the anchorage lit up. We decided to take advantage of the good weather and make a day of it; we went to the Glass Window Bridge and Queen’s Baths, followed by a beach day.

The water was the most inspiring shades of teal I’ve ever seen in my life, and you could just about see straight to the sandy bottom. Kyle taught me how to snorkel without choking, so we snorkeled around the boat and found starfish. Darcy and Caleb even got in the water and had some forced fun.  

Eager to find observe exciting marine life, Kyle and I dinghied closer to shore to investigate the rocks and saw little schools of minnows, bright blue and yellow fish, a puffer fish (I missed that because my glasses were off) and bright purple and yellow coral. Right before heading back to the boat, I found a conch shell with the conch still inside! We left it in a bucket of water for a few hours to see if the slug would emerge and it did! It was a slimy yellow and khaki snail, likely a Triton‘s Trumpet. I was glad we tried conch fritters before seeing what it looked like because eating ugly animals is just as difficult as eating cute ones.    

2.11 – Tuesday

Simultaneously sad and eager to go home, we boarded the dinghy one last time at 5:45am. It was still dark out, and as we zipped towards shore, we saw a blue shape move in the water. It was a needlefish. The needlefish did not move out of the way. It flopped into the air and into the boat. Kyle tossed it back. The fish performed an aerobic miracle and flopped back into the boat. Kyle hurled it back, but not before it flopped all over me. I only smelled like fish for a few hours afterwards. The ridiculous providence of that fish felt like an appropriate end to a ridiculous, wonderful week.

(Darcy’s note: this is not the first time we’ve seen a needlefish freak out when hit with the spotlight. I’d like to send out my apologies to everyone else on the airplane with Caleb and Amy, when Kyle got back to the boat the first thing I noticed was the smell!) 

Epilogue

After nearly a week of coconut and rum based nightcaps, Caleb and I were missing our little nighttime boat routine something terrible. So, we went to a store to inquire about rum. There was a modest selection, the attendant explained, because Bacardi had cornered the market, and because rum is made out of sugarcane, it’s not as popular or as accessible up here in Michigan. “Where do you think you are,” the man asked, “the Caribbean?”  

Final Thoughts

Boat life seems like a really difficult, exhilarating, boring adventure. On the one hand, your backyard is a tropical paradise and you can go where you please, weather permitting. (And the weather often does not permit.) On the other, you must suddenly engage with the world in a way most of us don’t think twice about; making potable water, washing clothes by hand, the never-ending game of Tetris that is taking anything out of a locker. And a beautiful view doesn’t really make cooking breakfast as your boat rocks easier. Beauty and novelty do not absolve inconvenience and boredom. I suspect there’s a certain level of compartmentalization you must engage in for survival, and that’s ok. It doesn’t make the thrill any less thrilling or the mind-numbing boredom any less mind-numbing. It just means you get to learn how to engage both things at once, and that’s not easy. But that’s #boatlife.