Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.
When you think about how big these oceans are, and the fact they cover 80% of our planet, it is mindboggling how little of the world we have seen in our first five months aboard our boat Equus. To us, the expanse of water we have already covered seems massive. We have only visited half a dozen islands in the Bahamas when there are over 800 still to see. Our journey through the Bahama chain continues south. We gained confidence and momentum as we continued to learn about handling our boat in the shallow banks and anchorages with little more depth than our 6 ½ ft. keel.
The magic and mystery of the Bahamas are apparent upon arrival at each new island. There is a distinct personal flavor to that place. Each has its own unique characteristics, charming and quaint surprises, and features not found on any of the other islands. After leaving Eleuthera, our next stop was the Exuma Land and Sea Park at Wardrick Wells. Giant rays swarmed beneath our boat as we entered the harbor and were customary visitors each day. We snorkeled in the protected waters of the park and toured the beautiful island. Dotted along the paths were informational placards describing vegetation and providing facts about the island’s features. The most famous point on this island is Boo Boo Hill. Somewhere along the line, boaters climbed to this highest point on the island and left 
wooden planks with their boat names and the year of their visit. This tradition is carried on and currently, the mound of boat placards is monumental. The view from this particular spot is incredible.
Just a little further down the island chain, Staniel Cay boasts the famous Thunderball Grotto. The Grotto is a cave underneath a large rock in the harbor. It has been hollowed out over time. At low tide, you can snorkel into the cave which has natural lighting filtering in through a hole in the ceiling.
This cave was used in the James Bond 
movie Thunderball. Once in the cave, the local fish inhabitants swarm in schools around you as fishing is prohibited and lots of people bring treats to feed them.
A hop and skip from Staniel, Little Farmers Island is, of course, a neighbor of Big Farmers Island. We surmised that the names of these cays were derived from the occupation of farming which many of the settlers of these islands undertook in order to survive. Currently, you can only be a resident of these islands if you are related to someone on the island. Young local men often spend time on the larger islands in the Bahamas to find and bring home brides to enrich their population. The Ocean Cottage on Little Farmer is owned by the mayor of the island. It is a restaurant and also his home. Dinner is served family style. The owner and his wife, as well as a plethora of local fisherman, gather at dinner time. Dinner is punctuated with stories, avid conversation and a welcoming feeling of being among family. There is no better lobster in the Bahamas than comes from this little kitchen and nowhere will you find more welcoming hosts.
The spirit of the islands is strong on the island of Great Exuma. Georgetown hosts one of the most amazing sailing gatherings in the islands. A mile across the bay is a tiny island, Stocking Island, which harbors hundreds of boats through the course of the year. It is a gathering point, a favorite stopping place I would describe as the “Cheers” of Caribbean sailing. Everyone knows everyone else, has run across boats met previously, or have been neighbors at their home harbor. If you are a first-timer here, it isn’t long before you feel part of the community.
Georgetown Regatta Week is more than a week of contests, races, parties, feasts, dancing and beach bonfires. Each year in March, sailors congregate from various countries to take part in the festivities. At 8 am sharp each morning, the Cruiser’s Net crackles to life on channel 74. Weather, tides, vital information is shared with the community. All new arrivals are announced as well as those departing. There is an opportunity to ask for assistance, broadcast events happening that day and share information and resources with other boaters. Many of the events and much of the congregating takes place at the beach on Stocking Island where the famous Chat and Chill bar is located. Cold beer, beach volleyball, pig roasts, dances, dominoes and hand feeding the resident stingrays are just some of the activities that occur daily there.
We felt fortunate to have arrived during Regatta Week. Being the non-competitive people we are…(NOT), we had to jump into the thick of things. We raced paddle boards and inflatable dinghies sailed in the in-harbor big boat race and played in volleyball and boccie ball tournaments. We managed to take home three firsts, a second and a third place. Prizes included brightly colored burgees and bottles of rum and wine. We met new friends and had a wonderful time hanging with our group of sailing buddies we met in Governors Harbor a few weeks prior.
While the allure of the islands, their beauty, unusual customs, and features have been magnificent, I feel that on a personal level, a great change is occurring within us. We are adapting to this new lifestyle and evolving. As we meet new people and get to know our boating friends, we find that our story is just a drop of water in this infinite ocean. While we have had hardships and scares, there are those among us who have experienced the death of shipmates or watched as their boat sank to the ocean floor. We have just ourselves to take care of while there are those raising entire families in this tumultuous way of life. What we have endured on our travels is now thought of as a learning experience. We can look upon those events with a new perspective.
I find that most mornings, we wake up relaxed and smiling, not thinking about the rigors of the day but what fun each day has to offer. We fall asleep remembering the adventures, laughter, and experiences each day has brought. I look in the mirror less. Hair, makeup, clothing, are not as important as they used to be. I see fewer worry lines and more smiles. Somewhere, in this nowhere, we are finding ourselves. We are finding happiness and realizing that maybe, just maybe, we did the right thing. Life every day is not easy. Things break, bad weather happens, and not everything goes as smoothly as planned. However, life is simpler on this boat and the opportunity to enjoy the world around us, abundant. A new journey is always on the horizon waking the adventurers within us. Tomorrow, we leave our boat in the safety of the Georgetown harbor and board a small plane to fly to Florida. We will be sailing with our friends Lori and Jonathan on their 
gorgeous 40ft. Leopard Catamaran “Asteria”, to the island of Cuba. New horizons and epic adventures on the way! Fair winds my friends.
Alison and Dan
S/V Equus