Barefoot Cay Marina
Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras
Thanksgiving Buffet 2007
Yesterday marked our first “cruiser” Thanksgiving, and as we had the most galley and salon space, we served as the mothership for the flotilla in Utilla, hosting folks from four other boats for the potluck: Tempest, Wind Free, BabSea (who was with us at Tijax) and Connie Marie. New Emma Jo guests for dinner record: 12 total.
First, the logistics: plate station on top of the television; beverage service on the back deck table; food spread out on the galley breakfast bar, including turkey, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy; turkey gumbo (50% of the boats in the anchorage are from Louisiana), dirty rice, broccoli rice, garlic mashed potatoes, candied yams, and the obligatory green bean casserole – wonderful how a potluck is an organic thing, containing exactly what is necessary without a whole lot of intervention and control.
Thanksgiving 2007 Guests
The company was fine – no bar fights, political brawls or obnoxious drunks – and our feast lasted from 2 in the afternoon until nearly 9 at night. Lots of laughter, great sea stories, and reassurance that our fellow man isn’t such a bad creature when we get together to share a ritual over food.
Friday morning, we left at a reasonable hour for the 34-mile passage to Roatan. The crossing was mild, though of course just as we made the turn through the coral reef into Brick Bay, a squall came up. We opted to stay a few days at a marina, since we’ve been at anchor for two weeks straight, and picked Barefoot Cay Marina, which is halfway between the two principal towns on Roatan, French Harbor and Coxen Hole. Barefoot Cay sent a lancha to meet us at the pass, and they guided us into our spot at the marina. What a beautiful spot!
Our next-door neighbors are a group of 5 30-something Italians in a 1971 58-foot Hatteras called Liquid Minds. They are the dive outfitters for Barefoot Cay – hopefully I’ll have a chance to do a refresher course, since I haven’t been out since my certification dive last December.
On the next pier over is a 93-foot go-fast yacht owned by some rich guy in Mexico City who has the clout and the cojones to have had a private pier built for him in Acapulco. The sucker burns 200 gallons of fuel per hour – you do the math – and expects his boat to be delivered to Acapulco for him by Christmas. The only thing they didn’t think about is the fact that there is no fuel dock here – it all comes over by fuel-truck-on-a-barge!
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