Starting off the New Year

Once again, there were New Year’s festivities at Staniel Cay.  The annual Pirate Party brought out the motley assortment of pirates and wenches..

 

Dawn and Brooks

Connie and Croc (Dundee)

And who are those wild girls dancing on the bar??

The local community throws a free fish-fry/barbecue with open bar for everyone!

Chris, Connie and Croc

Sarah, Chris and Paul

And then, of course, there is the Staniel Cay Yacht Club regatta.  All are welcome, and T-shirts and prizes for everyone.

On a more sobering note, a week earlier a Haitian sloop had gone aground miles away on the banks.  The 130 people aboard fared poorly after spending many hours in the water, and suffering from dehydration and exposure.  There were some fatalities, and the local Staniel Cayans fed the remaining desperate Haitians before the government shipped them back to Haiti.  This type of occurrence is all too frequent in these waters.  A sharp reminder of the plight of this poor country.

Amazing that so many people were crammed on this vessel

Note the sail sewn from scraps and assorted rigging

The last event is the cruiser’s regatta; any sailboat in the harbor is encouraged to race.  

Crewing Different Drummer

 Our man Pete was on the race committee this year, kudos, for a job well done!

Debi & Bruce accepting award from Brooks

Awards, speeches and Bahamian barbecue.

Quite a kick-off to a great year!