Paula's PostsThere has been a "Madness" to March that seems to apply to almost everything---Not just basketball! First and foremost, the awful Midwest snowy cold conditions have continued. The first day of spring went completely unnoticed as more snow entered the area. I just returned from visiting Scott and Tabula Rasa in the Bahamas. We really are enjoying anchoring...away from marinas, land and people...just the two of us. Don't misunderstand, we ARE very social people and everyone knows Scott enjoys his Tiki Bars, but when I fly in for such a short amount of time, we like to just "hang together". The "madness of March" began with my travel to the Bahamas...two days in airports, snow in Cleveland, only to meet Scott at Treasure Cay (two days late) with near gale force winds and completely "dinghy drenched" on our trip from the marina to our boat...hair, clothes, NOT waterproofed duffel bag (holding my computer) and my Prada purse (nylon---Thank God!) ALL soaked! The winds had changed and we immediately had to change our anchorage position. What a way to start my week of vacation! It seams that March Madness weather followed me to the Abacos with winds 20-30 knots and gale-force gusts! Speaking of wind, I grew up in Oklahoma..."Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain". When I was a small girl and it was really a gusty Oklahoma wind, my Mom would say, "Paula Jean, it's blowing a gale out there!" My whole life I thought that was just an expression of speech! LOL I didn't know until I started boating that a "gale" was a "real" term! I cooked a lot of yummy galley treats on this visit to the Bahamas including homemade onion-dill hamburger buns, mango cobbler, fresh fruit compote over french toast, fresh pineapple muffins and mofongo! I also experienced my first galley kitchen knife injury. Fortunately, no stitches were required and I still have 8 usable fingers til I heal...Note to self: Be Constantly Vigilant when in the galley! There has been a flock (or is it a gaggle??) of Nordhavns here in the Abaco Islands. I have been so fortunate to meet many wonderful owners. Scott always teases me that I only have "imaginary friends" that I follow via blogs, but no "real" friends in the flesh. LOL Well, Scott.....I HAVE now met REAL people that are no longer imaginary! Phillipe and his lovely wife, owners of N55 South by West, loaned us their dinghy ladder when they heard of my tragic story on my last try at snorkeling! We met Bob, owner of N55 B-Joice, currently living in the marina associated with the famous Jib Room. We had cocktails with Bill, N47 owner of Let's Dance, aboard the amazing N72 Shear Madness, with Kathy and Bradley (plus crew Gary) as impeccable hosts. We also enjoyed a fabulous dinner with Kathy and Bradley. They are SOOOO knowledgable and have traveled so many amazing places. (Plus, Kathy sure makes a great "Shear Madness" secret cocktail and produces awesome videos, as well.) I truly hope our paths will cross again soon! March Madness Basketball...Nothing compares to watching sports on our TV while anchored in a beautiful Bahamas setting! Enough said.... So in summary....March has been Madness! I am now returning to Indiana where a "beautiful day" according to my friend Rochelle is "Sunny and a high temp of 41!" ARGGGHHHH!!!!! I have 88 days til I am back on Tabula Rasa and reunited with my Scott. I can only imagine how many Tiki Bar reviews will be completed before I return!?!?! | Scott SpeaksMarch is over??? Hmmmm...Where did it go? That must be what they mean by March Madness. March was snowy for me as I spent almost a week up in Chi Town visiting my old and new corporate friends. Bill (CEO) invited me up for a 6-8 inch snow storm. By chance? I think not. It was the first time in the past year that I saw frozen water that was not resting in the bottom of a Rumbabba drink! I marched (No pun intended...OK maybe!) in the world's shortest St. Patty's Day parade. It was a requirement of being a past Strawberry Monkey Yacht Club (SMYC) "Golden Coconut Trophy" recipient. I marched with the Marsh Harbor Conch Band. Some say the parade course totals 336 steps. Can't prove it by me as I lost count looking at the beer stop. The parade stretched from Memorial Park to Snappas (See Tiki Bar Reviews). It was such a long and exhaustive walk that a free beer stop was provided at the halfway point of the parade! In addition, Snappa's provided a free Snappa Rum Punch at the end. I do not know what we would have done without all of the hydration stops!?! A fun time was had by all. The balance of the short month I was again blessed with (need I say it again?) --- Spectacular Weather!!! However...The last week of March I moved the boat and anchored off Treasure Cay a day before Paula was scheduled to arrive. I was making sure everything would go just as planned. I anchored and all was good for me that afternoon and evening in anticipation of her arrival. You can see for yourself... Well the joke was on me. The following day Paula's plane broke down and she had to spend the night in Fort Lauderdale. So I ended up anchored off Treasure Cay for three days with deteriorating weather conditions. The winds picked up significantly and clocked (moved) in an unfavorable direction. The last night's anchorage was very, very rough. Midday of the following day I tendered into the harbor to pick up Paula. She was all dressed up looking pretty with her fancy purse, pretty shoes, and hair fixed nice. I took one look at her, smiled and said "You might want to take off those shoes." We proceeded out of the nice smooth water of Treasure Cay Marina and once outside the harbor we immediately hit the extremely turbulent water. It was impossible not to get soaked. By the time we tied up to the boat and she got on board she looked like a drowned rat (I mean that in a nice way :) ) We immediately pulled anchor and moved to a more hospitable beach off Sugar Loaf Cay. The rest of the week we moved our anchorage off a different beach every day or two to avoid the heavy winds of the week. Our Bahama flag is evidence of the winds we experienced. Paula and I met many nice Nordhavn owners during her recent visit in the Bahamas as she mentioned in her blog. However, I must continue where she left off. Bradley and Kathy invited us onto to their boat, a 72' Nordhavn named Shear Madness. Once on their very nice boat it instantly struck me that this was more than a pretty boat; it was a Tiki Bar on the water! It had many of the qualities I look for in a Tiki Bar... 1. On the water 2. Great view of the beach 3. A unique and special Rumbabba 4. Cheap drinks (Free) 5. Good service So, as a Tiki Bar connoisseur, I felt compelled to do an "Unofficial" Tiki Bar review of Shear Madness. Location: 4 Palm Trees (Max Score!) Can't get more on the water than on a Nordhavn! Service: 4 Hula Girls (Max Score!) Provided tender taxi service, guided tour, appetizers, and Shear Madness T-Shirts. Beerometer: 0 No beer and most likely No Miller Lite on board. Rumbabbas: 4 Rumbabbas (Max Score!) They have their very own Shear Madness Rumbabba. It is very delicious, potent, and complimentary. They share the recipe with NO ONE! They even have their very own cheer. They salute with a "Shears" instead of a "Cheers". How cool is that?!?! Now Paula is after me for our own special boat drink. Thanks Shear Madness!?! This will be a hard act to follow. The pressure is ON! Bizarreness: 3 Crazy Fish Sorry Bradley, but the 3 Crazy Fish rating is solely the result of you! Anyone who bikes 5+ miles, then swims another 3+ miles in the same day "ON PURPOSE" and dives on his anchor daily deserves high marks in the Bizarreness category.. :-) Overall Score: 15 High Tiki Bar Score!!! All other Abaco Tiki Bars should be envious. As March comes to a close I am now freaking out as reality sets in. I am about two weeks from making the journey back to Stuart, Florida, the world of mainlanders and a very long boat work list. Oh no!!!!! Tell me it is not true!?!? |
4/2/2014 07:07:06 am
Great post guys! It was great to meet you and we hope to cross paths again soon. Scott, you got Bradley's stats a little wrong - he biked 20+ miles but only swam 1+. Comments are closed.
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AuthorsScott and Paula Archives
July 2015
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