Holly and Da Captn'

Cruisin To Conception

2000-02-08

The Sun was only two hours from falling into the sea

when they spotted Conception Island, now just a speck on the horizon but with every swoosh-swoosh-swoosh of the bow wake, they sailed closer to their landfall for tonight. "Found" a 47' wooden schooner had performed like a 12 meter racing yacht on the sail over from Welk Cay. The 36 nautical mile distance usually took 5-6 hours but they had only been out for a little over 4 hours and they had spotted land exactly where Conception should be. Capt PY called below to Holly to ask her for another cup of tea before they had to get ready to tack, strike sail and motor the few miles from the deep blue of Exuma Sound to the crystal blue, aqua-green shallows that would take them to the Western anchorage for the night. Holly came up with a cup of Earl Gray, loaded with brown sugar and lime, just as the Captn' liked it. These few moments are why tiny people go ta Sea. To sit on teakwood, sipping tea with you're best friend and lover beside you. Sailing toward a deserted island surrounded by an impenetrable reef that is home to all the grouper and lobster that anyone could ever eat in a lifetime. The Sun setting over your shoulder it's golden rays guiding your way while the wind in the rigging plays a minor chord to the rhythm of the waves. This is why we do it. The Captn' awoke from his daydream and called once again to Holly down below. "Baby, how bout checkin da depth sounder and da GPS juss ta make sure? " Old FOUND had all the modern navigation equipment nestled in her pilothouse. Capt PY preferred eyeball navigation into tight, reef strune anchorages. He would pilot the way in by reading the color and depth of the shallow water, finding the perfect spot to

anchor for the next few days or weeks or months. Their time limit was based on how many other boats were in the area. The fewer boats the longer the stay.

In the past Capt PY had not encountered any boats anchored in the Western anchorage. He had seen one or two Haitian and Cuban "Freedom Floaters" sailing by at night. Some of these Captains are the new Pirates of the Caribbean. They are without honor among thieves being just a rag taggle band of vicious killers and murderers; who for a handsome profit drop boat loads of humanity onto deserted Cays and rocks with the promise of Freedom in the USA. Life savings were given for a ride to Freedom that ended with whole family's starving or drowning on lonely deserted pieces of earth in the middle of the Sea.

Holly and the Captn' had worked with some of the survivors, from the Caribbean area, teaching them that there is ONE who really cares about them even if the whole World has shut its doors and hearts to them.

"There's da cut!" sang out Holly in a lazy Bahamian accent. She sounds just like an Exuma Diva now, having spent the last few years in the far Out Islands teaching and learning from some of the smartest and poorest kids in the Caribbean. This propensity for picking up strays; from dogs and cats to children had been part of Holly since childhood. She now had literally thousands of children that truly needed the wisdom and compassion only found in those that are called out. Those called out to the sea and these islands, to the children that the modern World left behind. If "Freedom Floaters" were to be sighted anywhere, Conception Island would be the place.

On the Eastern or Sea side of the island lay a 3 mile by 5 mile reef. This kept most sailors, that had charts ,from venturing too close. On the Western side there are protected anchorage's, actually little lagoons formed by centuries of the shallows beating against lava rock.These "Lagoons" were easy to spot but very hard to reach if you did not know exactly where to zig and zag to avoid the razor sharp points of coral reef that lurked just beneath the surface. These rocks would rip the bottom out of any boat that did not first mark out a channel to these pieces of Paradise.

The Captn' was ready to take all sails in and to start "Perky" their 24 year old diesel. Then he could trun on the cockpit depth sounder and get down to the serious business of navagating to the West Anchorage of reef strung, deserted Isla de Conception'.

He asked Holly to come up top to steer while he rolled in the two for'sls and dropped the main."Just keep her dead into da breeze, Baby and look out fur Mermaids swimmin too close to da surface HahaHaha!"

The Mermaids had really brought these two SoulMates together after all. "We wouldn't want ta graze one by mistake, now would we?"