Sailing On Makai: Long Island

As we were saying good bye to Georgetown, the song verse ...Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day came into mind. And those words were so true throughout the day. We started out with 10 kts of wind, both sails up and gradually down to less than 5 meaning we were going to motor the rest of the way But the sun was shining and the water was like glass, allowing Eva to stand at the bow and look for starfish in the breeding area - she saw at least 40 of them!

Long Island is our anchorage for the next few days. The island is only 60 miles long and 4 miles wide. It has one of the most scenic highways in the Bahamas and is divided by the Tropic of Cancer. It has two different coasts, one with soft white beaches and the other rocky land that descend right into the sea. There are sloping hills in the Northeast and flat white land where salt was once produced. Many of the locals engage in pot hole farming, which involves planting in fertile holes in limestone. They grow peas, corn, pineapples and bananas and many raise sheep, goats and pigs.
We are anchored in the central part, called Thompson Bay. There isn't much around but 3 small restaurants, Long Island Breeze, Parrots of the Caribbean and Club Thompson Bay all with irregular hours. A short dingy ride takes you to one of the newest resorts still in the process of being built, Long Island Breeze. There you will find hotel rooms, laundry, swimming pool and bar/restaurant. They have internet as well and Mike (the owner) does a cruisers net every morning at 8 am providing the weather, national news and info on the local businesses and general information for the cruisers. We met Phil and Wanda from "Amazing Grace" and Fred and Linda from "Cygnus" and had lunch. Ed also had a dip in the fresh water pool.

Across the street is one of two small local grocery stores. Many of the locals get their own cases of food and other items directly from the mail boat which comes in weekly. This is a place just to sit and relax and take it easy. The only downfall is that the once beautiful beaches are now littered with so much trash, it is hard to walk let alone find a place to put your towel and relax! We also found a neat cave that we explored watching out for the bats hanging above your head the whole time!