Clarence Town, Long Island

 

We arrived in Clarence Town a little by chance as we had not intended on coming so far south on the east side of Long Island. However as our friends were headed south and we were so close we thought we’d have a last get together before they sailed to the Caribbean. So it is we left Conception Island for Clarence Town. We had a motor sail the whole way in light winds. We tried fishing but in 40 miles we had zero bites, despite following a good weed line for a couple of miles too. The highlight was seeing a 244ft Mega Yacht “Kogo” which we since found was the #58th largest in the world and the #10 largest you can actually charter.

With Melinda & Harry

Liz, Dee & Melinda

 

The crews

 

Well we had an easy entrance to the harbor and anchored on the SE side. Luckily we just beat a large frontal system in and within 1.5 hours we had it hit with strengthening winds. It lasted all night and Wind Lass recorded 49 knot gusts which is very strong. All of us (Wind Lass, Sea Schell & Moosetracks) held our anchors very well. In the morning however we had some repairs as Wind Lass and Sea Schell had some lines wear through or close too which needed replacing. Having sorted that out though we all went ashore to the Flying Fish marina. What a lovely place, very welcoming to cruising boats in the harbor which is unusual. We did laundry and had lunch at the restaurant and used their wifi for email and downloads. We had a great walk around the harbor and went for a walk around town for grocery shopping and sight seeing the following days.

Clarence town

We had a fantastic surprise when we heard from DreamCatcher in Thompson bay and we were able to arrange to meet by car. Bruce and Gina shared a ride with Mark from IP40 Down Island and we all met at Rowdy Boys in Clarance town. We had been wanting to meet them again since spending so much time this summer with them, it's great to meet old friends again if only briefly.


Gina, Bruce, Liz & Devin

Mudslides- Gina's favorite

Well all too soon Wind Lass and Sea Schell were ready to go, Harry and Melinda had replaced their outboard which they were waiting on and it was a perfect weather window to head south. So it was on Thursday morning we walked the beach with them and then said our goodbyes. We moved Moosetracks to get more diesel fuel from the marina and re-anchored in the shelter of the NE of the harbor. As soon as we moved our new neighbors came over to invite us for drinks. We gladly accepted and dinghied over the same evening. We had a wonderful chat with Lawrence and Linda on m/v Far Reaches for great introductions to Clarence town from two very seasoned visitors. The following morning we hailed Sea Schell and Wind Lass as they headed south and on to new adventures.

Linda and Lawrence are almost locals here and were the perfect couple to show us the sites and introduce us to some locals as they are treated like family as they are visit so much. We first went for a car ride with them to both shop and discover some secluded beaches. We spent then morning looking for beach treasures on a remote Atlantic beach near Chimney rock, but unfortunately none of us found any spectacular artifacts. Then we had a picnic lunch at Turtle cove near Dean’s blue hole on a lovely beach under the shade of an old gazebo. The afternoon ride we went to the beautiful beach pool at Bonnycourt. We finished the day with appetizers on Moosetracks.

Chimney Rock Beach

Infinity pool

Bonnycourt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turtle Cove

 

On Sunday Lawrence and Linda invited us to join them with a few local families on a nearby Cay. It was great to chat with the local families and learn how to open coconuts and which ones to harvest. Liz also learned a little weaving. We helped them clean & clear some of the beach and burn some of the sand spurs down. They often use this beach and also spend Easter here each year camping with families so they take special pride in looking after it.

 

Dominoes

Devin & Lawrence, coconut lessons

Coconut testing

Liz & Linda

Liz weaving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday we all went in for a drive, first to pick up fresh vegetables, then on to visit some new friends of Far Reaches; Kevin and Audrey who are ex-Pat Brits. They moved recently to Long Island and bought a nice home to settle in. They have been here for many years however and for quite a while they ran private estates/islands for their owners. It was nice to exchange stories of how we all got here especially as we are ex-Pat Brits too. By the way you should see the lovely original condition Fiat 500 they have... of all places! We then went for our beach walk and picnic. This time we found hamburger beans and other sea beans, the beach looked a little too clean but we walk extra far to improve our chances. We visited other friends of Far Reaches; Ena’s shop in Clarence town, and bought some highly recommended Goat Chili Hot Pepper Sauce, and then returned to Far Reaches for drinks.

 

Roadside organic pigs

Kevin & Audrey's Fiat 500

Well it is with a heavy heart we say goodbye to Linda and Lawrence we have so enjoyed their company, we can just hope our paths cross again which is highly likely next year. So it is we are off to Rum Cay for a few days or at least that’s the plan.

Fair Winds

Devin & Liz