Boy Racers | Making Our Way to Allans Cay, Bahamas

Wreck off of Powell Cay

Boy racers are obnoxious. 

I don't know if boy racers are a problem in other parts of the world, but when were were living in Scotland and New Zealand, we would often hear on the news about how the police were trying to clamp down on their crazy antics on the roads. We would also hear the boy racers roaring down the street in their modified cars with their music blaring and their engines revving. So annoying. So obnoxious.

There are some girl racers, but it seems like the boys cause most of the problems, at least in New Zealand. They seem to have a need for speed and a need to compete with each other. Racing feeds that need. 

You can find boy racers on water too.

I think Scott has some boy racer tendencies. He loves to race on sailboats and he obsesses about how he can make our boat go faster and faster. When we're out sailing, he'll look for any opportunity to race someone else. Even if they don't know that they're racing against us. 

"See that boat over there? I bet we can reach that buoy over there before they do. Come on Ellen, bring in that sail! Crank it! Crank it!"

Yeah, that's pretty typical chit-chat on our boat. 

The problem with the Bahamas is lack of wind. Or, wind coming from the wrong direction.

We really didn't get to do as much sailing while we were in the Bahamas as we would have liked. The wind just wasn't in our favor and we ended up motoring much of the time. If Scott has one complaint about the Bahamas, it was having to use our engine so much. Which isn't really the Bahamas' fault. We could have let the wind decide where we would go or where we would stay. But, as we were only planning on being in the Abacos for a month or so, our need to get around and see new places meant the engine was roaring more than the sails were soaring.

Fortunately, that all changed when we headed from Spanish Cay to Allans-Pensacola Cay. Not only did we have a good sail, Scott got to embrace his inner boy racer. I'm pretty sure the other couple didn't know that they had entered a racing competition. But anytime there's another boat heading the same direction as you, the race is on. At least in Scott's mind

We had met Michael and Heidi from S/V Heidi Ho the previous day when we were out strolling along the beach on Powell Cay. They were out paddle boarding and we stopped to chat with them. Nice couple. He's a diver with one of the Florida fire and rescue units. Some of the stories he told us about what's involved in his job were fascinating. Such a dangerous profession. I wonder what drives people like Michael to do what they do? Firefighters are amazing - they willingly risk their lives every day to save other people.

We ran into Michael and Heidi again at Spanish Cay. They seemed surprised that a night at the marina cost them almost $300.

But by the time you add up the slip fee, the electric and water charges, dinner at the restaurant and a case of beer, you can easily get to $300 for just one night. This is why we don't stay at marinas in the Bahamas. We do think spending our money on coconut bread is a wise investment though. Coconut bread makes us happy. That's money well spent. So we stopped briefly at Spanish Cay and splurged on a $6 loaf. 

Spanish Cay Marina - a pretty, but expensive place to stay at.

Then we all left Spanish Cay and the race was on!

We were all headed to Allans-Pensacola Cay. Michael and Heidi have a catamaran which meant they had more options about how to get there. While we have a relatively shoal draft, we still like to avoid hitting things and grounding our boat, so we picked our route carefully. Turns out we chose our route well. Turns out Michael and Heidi chose poorly. They hit a spot where there was no wind whatsoever and just floundered, while we zipped along.

And we won!

Thank goodness. If we hadn't won, then Scott would have spent hours afterwards dissecting the "race" and where things went wrong. Scott still spent hours thinking and talking about the race, but with a smile on his face. He's cute when he smiles.The next day, Michael came over for a visit and congratulated us on our win. I guess maybe we were racing after all. Scott smiled some more.
 
LOGBOOK NOTES | Monday, 1 June 2015

• Total Nautical Miles - 15
• Anchor Up - Powell Cay
• Provisioning Stop - Spanish Cay
• Anchor Down - Allans-Pensacola Cay 
• The first annual Spanish/Allans Pensacola Cay Regatta was held and victory was ours!
• First prize - French toast made with coconut bread the next morning

Next up on the blog...we go for a little walk on Allans-Pensacola Cay to see the famous signing tree.

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