Bahamas Out Island News

It started with an innocent Googling of two key words: "houseboats" and "Caribbean," a pairing that is sure to spark the daydreams of any Houseboat reader. When "Bahama Houseboats" popped up, offering comfortable rental craft for cruising around the exotic Bahamas out-islands known as the Exumas, Linda Bueh decided to float the idea for a special kind of road trip past her travel companions.

The following May found an all-girl crew of eight anchored in a quiet cove surrounded by tropical beauty and housed in a pair of prim, well-appointed houseboats christened "Papaya" and "Guava."

"II was perfect," described the self-appointed trip counselor or the bevy of 50-something female friends who travel together annually and refer to themselves as "The Babes," Six met each other when they served as flight attendants for Continental Airlines and were based in Seattle; two others joined the vacation team through Bueh, who lives in Aurora, Colo. The well-traveled friends are spread out geographically these days, but since 2003 have converged once each year for specially themed "Babes Getaways" that feature a particular activity in a particularly good place to enjoy it.

So far, each getaway has featured a tropical theme and destination. For example, in 2003, Buch ran across an article in a magazine about women who learned how to surf at a school on the l'\orth Shore of Oahu, in Hawaii. When she learned that the featured Kelea Surf Spa was run by, owned and operated by women, Buch organized a "Babes on Boards" adventure for the group,

“Some of us even learned how to surf," she said. "It was a blasl!”

So was the “Babes on the Beach” event Buch helped organize the following summer, featuring a week of watersports on and around Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, But "the best so far," according to a consensus from all eight, was the recent "Babes on Boats" houseboat adventure in the Exumas, a cluster of 365 islands located in the center of the SOO-mile-long island chain marking the western flank of the Caribbean.

''I've loved houseboats since I was a kid," explained Buch, who was raised in Lancaster, Pa, "I remember watching an old black and white movie featuring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren on a houseboat, and every summer in the mid to late 1960s for vacation my mom and dad would rent a houseboat on the Sl. Lawrence Seaway, and my brother and I just loved it."

A winter day in snow-covered Aurora some 40 years later found her idly lapping the keys on her computer, resulting in the appearance or a website for Bahama Houseboats located on Creal Exuma, the largest island in the Exulllas chain,
“When I learned it was in the F.xumas, which arc among the 1110s1 pristine islands in the Bahamas - and considered 'out-islands' - I was sold," Buch recalled, "I saw Ihe potenlial for us getting away rrol11 it all and having a real island experience while floating aboard a houseboat."

The experience wasn't all good, however,

After flights that average 90 minutes from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the girls cleared custonlS and took cabs 10 the houseboat rental base in downlown George Town, the islands' capilal. Unheknownst to them, they arrived during a major slreet restival associated wilh the annual National Family Sailing Regatta. A series or highly compelitive races aboard traditional "working" sailboals manned by teams from surrounding islands, the Regalia is conducted over a five-day, laleApril holiday.

"It was pretty wild," said Buch. “The street was packed and the music was so loud as we drove through the festival to the docks that when we passed a wall of booming speakers The windshield of the cab actually shattered!”

The music and related festivities continued until the wee hours. she recalled, making sleep impossible. Bright and early the following morning, the Babes were rudely 'roused from their slumber by the Regatta’s starting cannon, which was discharged - loudly - practically next to the houseboats to mark the start of the day's racing - and the Babes' departure for the opposite side or the bay.

But not before provisioning the boats for their ten days at sea. Offered the use or a hand-cart by Bahama Houseboats, the women alternately pushed and pulled it along the narrow waterfront street through the festival throngs to the small but well-stocked grocery on I he opposite side or George Town, about 1/4 mile from the docks. There they found fresh fruit, seafood, meats and canned goods enough to last them for their on-water, Out Island adventure, although they would re-provision and lop off their boats' freshwater tanks mid-way through the trip.

The babes had rented a pair of matching 35-foot houseboats, christened Papaya and Guava, into which they moved four 10 a boat. After being thoroughly briefed on the boats and their operation by Bahama Houseboat's representative Alvin DeMeritte — who Buch described as a real "Renaissance Man" -- the ladies embarked for the short cruise half~way across the protected waters of Elizabeth Harbor to their first night's anchorage at Crab Key, just around the corner or Rolle Cay.

Following what Buch described as a reasonably detailed map given them by Bahama Houseboats, which covered the entire 20 square miles of cruising grounds between Goat Cay to the northwest and Man of Way Cay to the southeast, the Babes had no trouble finding their way around the area. Only once, (okay, two or three times ...) according t0 Buch, did the bunch need piloting assistance from DeMeritte, when trying to negotiate some extreme shallows around Elizabeth Cay late in the trip

The Babes stayed at Crab Cay for two days and nights, Friday and Saturday, swimming and relaxing and getting into the slower pace of the islands and cruising in general. When the wind died on Sunday, they cruised over to Stocking Island where they ate and relaxed al the Chat &. Chill, a small beach-front bar and grill, while the boats were secured to permanent moorings provided by Bahama Houseboats. From there, they could walk across the barrier island to the side that races the open Atlantic, which generates dramatic waves with any modest on-shore breeze.

The next three nights the houseboats anchored at Chat and Chill Moorage off Stocking Cay, where some of the more active Babes briefly considered paddling their rental kayak despite a near-constant trade wind that prevented them from having 10 run the air conditioning even once during the voyage. Others went shelling. and snorkeling. using the houseboats' outboard-powered tenders as their. exploratory craft.

The Babe's final three nights were spent anchored off Elizabeth Island, due east of George TOWI1 of the far side of the bay. which became a group favorite for its. beaches, clear waters, and solitude,

“There was no one on Elizabeth Cay but us," said Buch. "We hiked and swam and snorkeled and felt like we had discovered a deserted island, It was magical."

The Babes were reluctant to leave when they cruised back into George Town after ten days in the out-islands aboard what they referred to as their "mobile vacation condos,"
"It was an excellent trip; a real adventure," described Buch of the Babes' latest theme vacation. "In fact, we're going back."

And for this fun-loving group or girlfriends, that's a first! Meanwhile, the close-knit travel clan is considering a departure from the tropics for the next theme trip. According to Buch they are looking at organizing a Babes on Bikes cycling trip to take-in some fall foliage, but she is already pondering yet another warm-weather getaway: Babes in the Branches. Seems she was surfing the net recently and ran across a resort in Costa Rica where guests stay in tree houses.