we just want to write a simple blog & say thanks for the sensational sailing trip holiday in the Bahamas. As you know, we had not thought of ever going to the Bahamas and when the opportunity arose via your unsolicited November email which you ultimately admitted you were only half serious, we could not knock it back, even if we didn't know whether or not we'd be sea sick!
Well it started with a bang after flying onto the island of Georgetown on March 30th, 2013. Matt’s wonderful project manager skills were on display right from the start with the scheduled car to meet us at the airport not arriving (always the other person at fault). (Ed Note: Adrian, it's the Bahamas, you're lucky the plane turned up to get you) We then stocked up with the necessary tailored essentials (dozen reds plus “a couple” of beers) and took off for his famous dinghy ride to the Cat that was 500m offshore. Well that went okay but the next day we almost sank the dinghy doing the same trip. Matt had this theory of Karen being in the front to balance the load but with every wave, Karen gave Matt the evil glare to which Matt slowed down & which caused us to get swamped again...and this continued until Karen & Adrian were furiously bailing out the water with the non swimmer amongst us not too comfortable about what was about to unfold. Well Matt finally remembered he had not opened the dinghies one way venturi valve & with a bit of gusto, we took off & made it, finally being able to laugh at was a slightly nerve racking moment. At one point there was at least 12 inches of water in the dinghy & the remnants of it can be seen in the attached pic once back at the boat which shows all our thongs floating around (PS Thongs as in sandals & not the lingerie type!.
The accommodation was great
although it took us a couple of nights to get used to the howling wind generator & the diesel tank swishing noises on our side of the boat but the night caps & Avomine sea sickness tablets made us soon doze off & overall we both slept well for the eleven nights. The food on board was delicious courtesy of Karen’s culinary skills (more surprising as she favours Vegetarian dishes) and much appreciated when compared to the alternative of when Matt tried to be useful in the kitchen as can be seen when cooking chicken on the BBQ!
In fact the 5.00pm happy hours & nightly dinner parties
where we chatted over quite a few drinks until the wee hours for eleven successive nights was a definite highlight. With music setting the scene (rotated each night due to our different tastes such as Neil Diamond vs Nick Cage) (Ed Note: Nick Cage is an actor, Nick Cave is the singer....)we all got on exceptionally well & testimony to this was how quickly the holiday went, at least for us two intruders.
The sailing experience was fine, a bit rocky crossing the deeper water, but nothing to fear even for a non water person such as Jenny. Thanks for all your hard work in plotting the route and checking weather reports to make sure we sailed safely.
We were both amazed at how beautiful the waters of the Bahamas are. The crystal clear waters and the different hues of blues were truly amazing and inviting.
The sailing part of the adventure was a bit delayed due to the weather forecast which had Adrian pacing up & down on Day 7 in Georgetown due to his anticipation of seeing more of the Bahamas & wanting to inch closer to the drop off zone at Staniel Cay for which flights had already been paid. We kept busy reading, swimming, playing games, visiting bars and going to different spots in the always exciting dinghy rides which Matt had almost mastered by then & in hindsight staying at Georgetown for the full week worked perfectly as there were much more varied things to do & the water in Elizabeth harbour was as good as it gets anywhere.
It was nice meeting your friends Jim & Dinah and playing bocce on the beach & the snorkelling near the St Francis resort was a good beginners run for Jenny. On departure from the harbour we sailed to Farmer's Cay achieving a healthy 15knots (Ed Note: 15 knots was the wind speed, we only go 15knots down 6m waves. We were actually doing well at 6 knots) according to Captain Matt & the small two metre (Ed Note: 2 foot not 2 meters but choppy none the less, sorry but been hanging with Americans too long and have unit dislexia) seas kept us two visitors on alert ensuring the seasick tablets were close by but we got through unscathed. We went ashore to the island and walked around and were amazed to see the stingrays so close to shore. The following day we sailed to Little Bay, the water was so calm making the sailing so incredibly smooth. We loved the sand at the beach it was like fine powder, it felt great underfoot & made for a perfect day of chilling & wondering what the rest of the world was doing.
The following day we sailed to Staniel Cay & stayed at Big Majors & rode out on the dinghy to see the pigs but they were not around so headed to Thunderball Grotto for some snorkelling which was truly fantastic. The coral was beautiful as were the fish & Adrian could have spent hours snorkelling there.
Staniel Cay is a pretty town with some beautiful houses. We loved all the pastel colours of the buildings which make the town look inviting and homely. On the way back to the boat we went by to see if the pigs were around and saw two, one of which swam towards us
The following day we had to leave & we were sad as we had had such a relaxing and entertaining time with our generous hosts, Matt and Karen. Once again they do not disappoint us in the effort to leave us with a long lasting memory. Our trip in the dinghy across to Staniel to catch the plane left us breathless and saturated. Even our luggage had a good soaking! It was really quite funny. Karen had hinted at maybe getting a water taxi but being the good tight arse Italians we are, we opted for the daredevil dash & even with Matt's friends (Jim & Dinah) carting our luggage to make our dinghy lighter, well....it did not help! We had lunch at the yacht club and hung our clothes around the veranda to dry!
All in all, if we had to do it all again, would we? A resounding 'yes' as we had an absolute ball and the above summary cannot do justice to all the lifelong memories the trip has provided! Thanks so much guys & we hope we weren't too much bother & you were finally able to get back to your early nights & peaceful days of reading, sleeping & not being hassled about entertaining the Melbourne tourists!!
Jenny & Adrian Castagnini
Melbourne, Australia
