The Joys of Modern Plumbing and An “Un-Cracked” Lunch at Emerald Bay Resort en route to Stocking Island (George Town)

Cruising on Juno isn’t always glamorous - there aren’t any plush towels, brief fresh water body rinses  happen once or twice a week (showers only happen on land to save water), and going to the bathroom is a much more cerebral operation than on land as there is a choice of which toilet to use on Juno. We have two heads - one of which flushes directly overboard while the other head flushes into a holding tank to later be discharged when outside the harbor.  The flushing of the toilet itself is a manual operation taking a minute to accomplish as you must pump sea water through the system manually moving about 8 oz of water with each pump.

In contrast to that world, we stopped at Emerald Bay Marina that is adjacent to a “Sandals” resort to top off our gas and our fresh water tanks. While Sarah and Harry refueled and filled up our water tanks, Katie and James did some reconnaissance work in the marina reporting back that we could tie the boat up for a few hours for free while we ate a meal at a  restaurant in the development along with other pampered tourists.  The decision was an easy one to make as the prospect of enjoying a meal out that isn’t “cracked” (deep fried) is few and far between in the Bahamas.
We walked 1/4 mile from the marina to the gated resort that stood in stark contrast to the natural vegetation, passing a lush green golf course with coconut palms with beautiful flowering bouganvillias, past their spa to the outdoor restaurant located adjacent to a swimming pool where we enjoyed a delicious lunch - most of which wasn’t fried save for the french fries and fried plantains. Like the other pampered tourists, we enjoyed our lunch overlooking Emerald Bay as the breezes blew through and then afterwards, we all enjoyed the use of modern plumbing. It was our few hours of being pampered before we returned to Juno to continue our journey back to Stocking Island (George Town).

After lunch at Sandals

En route, Katie noticed many small fish disturbing the water’s surface so we headed for the spot and one minute later, there was a bite on the fishing line - but once again, the fish broke the line escaping with another prized lure. We closed the day with a little swim followed by beers and appetizers on “Flip Flop Beach” on Stocking Island as the sun set around 7 pm.

Flip-flop Beach