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A Tenacious charter in the Exumas.
by Jill Bobrow
photography by Dana Jinkins
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10/01/2007
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A private jet makes commuting to a yacht a breeze. But even then
you’re limited to flying into the airport nearest the boat, which can mean
hassles if your boat isn’t close by the airport. "November-Six-Four-Papa-Tango"
is not a jet, but for adventurers and romantics there is no better aircraft to
accompany a sailing yacht charter in the more remote regions of the Bahamas. The
N64PT is a Cessna Caravan, the largest single-engine floatplane currently made.
Easily configured for either passengers or cargo, this plane can land on the
water next to a yacht or on the bumpiest airstrip in the Bahamas. When you
charter the 115-foot (35-meter) sailing yacht Tenacious, you have the
option of including "Papa Tango" in your week’s itinerary. When you add the
plane, you get the services of veteran pilot Marcus Mitchell, who grew up in the
Bahamas and lives on sleepy Sampson Cay, in the Exumas. To say Marcus knows his
way around the region is an understatement. His vast knowledge of the Bahamas
deeply enhanced our charter experience.
| Click on the Spec tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
 We joined Marcus and "Papa Tango" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Without fanfare or the annoyance of commercial transfers and the dreaded general
airport drama, he flew photographer Dana Jinkins, her daughter Quincy, my
daughter Sabrina and me directly to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands where we
cleared customs into the Bahamas. From Chub we carried on another hour to Big
Sampson Cay at the northern end of the Exumas. The view below the wings was
breathtaking, a palette of pure turquoise, aqua and cerulean as far as the
eye could see. Upon our arrival, the charter crew was waiting to ferry us to
Tenacious. (Click image to enlarge)
Tenacious, designed by Ted Hood, is a beautifully
maintained sloop. She accommodates eight guests and has a terrific crew of five.
Captain David Evans, a native of Cornwall, England, trained with the Royal
Navy and studied oceanography and mechanical engineering. His Irish wife, Fiona,
also an oceanographer, a PADI dive master and a photographer, is the chef on
board—and a fine one at that. Anticipating that we’d be famished after our
flight, Fiona greeted us with a starter snack of scallops on toasts with crème
fraîche, sweet chilies and chicken satay. To earn our supper, we were encouraged
to take a dinghy ride over to Compass Cay to swim with the sharks. First mate
Dean, who hails from South Africa and is also a captain in his own right,
brought along his professional video equipment to capture the moment.
Top: The seaplane readies for an excursion. Bottom: Quincy
feeds the pigs on Big Major’s Cay. (Click images to enlarge)
The sharks in question were nurse sharks, which are fairly
docile, but scary-looking nonetheless. Swarms of them hovered close to the docks
with an obvious hankering for the hot dogs tossed into the water by well-meaning
tourists. When we finally got up the nerve to swim with them, I couldn’t resist
the urge to feel sharkskin under my fingers. Sabrina and Quincy soon overcame
their squeamishness and got into the water with them as well. Dana and I were
gratified that our teenage daughters were enthusiastically "here" rather than on
"Facebook" or plugged into their iPods. On the way back, Sabrina, who has yet to
get her driver’s license, took great pleasure in hot-rodding the tender back to
the boat.
A nightly tradition aboard Tenacious is the observance
of striking the colors at sundown. That night, the billowing cannon smoke was
accompanied by puff pastry tartlets with sun-dried tomatoes and mascarpone,
avocado and prosciutto garnished with arugula, balsamic basil oil and Parmesan.
Catriona, our delightful Scottish stewardess, served the well-presented dinner.
The main course was fresh snapper served on potato wedges with an anchovy,
tomato and olive sauce, with carrots and green beans on the side. For dessert,
we had summer pudding stacks smothered with fresh berries and drizzled with
blackberry coulis.
 Local color in George Town. (Click image to enlarge)
The next day was what captain David called our "wildlife
extravaganza." We ate breakfast under way in the cockpit as we moved over the
banks to Big Major’s Cay, anchoring close to shore. For some odd reason, this
cay has been populated with pigs (there was some murmuring that concern for the
Iraq War and a potential lack of food led someone to place them there). However
they got there, it was amusing to see them being friendly and looking for food.
They see a dinghy coming and will actually swim out to greet you. We went
ashore with our compost bucket and were stormed by snouts. Quincy and Sabrina
gleefully fed them.
From Big Major’s we proceeded to Staniel Cay. The sleepy spirit
of the place has not changed in 30 years. We strolled around amused by the
heart-shaped roundabout and the airport departure lounge, which looked more like
a local bus stop. We ended up at the Happy People Bar, the kind of place that
attracts round-the-world cruising folk and unpublished writers. Before returning
to the boat, our tender anchored off Thunderball Grotto, which served as a
location for the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. We held our breath,
dove under the water and found ourselves in a cave replete with coral and a
brilliant array of fish. Personally, the Bahamas far surpasses the Caribbean
for reefs and fish. Back on Tenacious, we had lunch before setting sail
westward for Harvey Cay and tacking into the harbor at Bitter Guana Cay.
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