All At Sea – Stranded Naked...

As promised in our last, we worked our way south to Fiddle Cay, a
small island between Green Turtle and Hog (which is just south of
Manjack) Cays. It features a prominent sand bar, completely dry
at low water, but between knee and waist deep at full tide. We were
going there because...

Yesterday marked the end to this year's Regatta Time In Abaco (look it up), celebrated by a party on the beach of Fiddle Cay. That party continued a tradition which was previously called Stranded Naked (look it up)...

This was the first year of many we'd wanted to attend, those failures of the past being circumstantial. If we have the opportunity, we'll definitely
come again.

We parked (anchored) well off, the better to avoid bugs and noise, of which there was ample during the party, past a rock out in front of the island, and dinghied in.


It was a real gas. Simply amazing. The party was a blast. By 3PM (10AM start) they’d served 3000 burgers and had already run out of ice and beer despite the massive amounts of both they'd brought. The many trash cans on the beach were quickly filled, and as quickly emptied and relined. Mixed drinks or shots continued, but no ice...

If we come again, we'll choose the furthest burger line; on the two
occasions I stood in the closer (to all the other places you could get
stuff, like free beer, or free mixed drinks, or every dollar spent on
shirts, hats, mugs, etc., etc. goes to benefit the elementary school in
Green Turtle Cay, as EVERYTHING there is donated) line, I marked my position with a parallel person and that person was out the door metaphorically well before I'd reached the grill.

Hundreds of boats ringed the big sand bar, most with 2 and some 3-4 motors
if it wasn't a motor cruiser, with another couple of rings outside of that, AND perhaps a couple dozen or so sailboats anchored off, plus probably
50-100 or so dinghies tied to the shore...

Everyone wants to know... is everyone gonna be naked?

No. It’s the name of the houseboat which had the first party on their arrival from the US (a houseboat across the Gulf Stream, and nearly 200
miles from the closest point to get there, is a real feat). It just grew
from there.

Early on, decades ago, there was probably some nudity but I very much doubt that any style of dress or undress at the parties these days wouldn’t be something you could post on Facebook.

A couple of years ago, the relatives of the original who were doing the
party retired from that gig; it’s now an entrenched part of Regatta Time In Abaco (search page), as the closing party. Look at some of the hundreds of pix to get an idea of dress ☺ This year’s crowd was pretty much the same.

You can't "pay" for anything. Gear is a donation, and the only thing which involves money. Beer, mixed drinks (not an open bar; limited selection but, what the hey), hamburgers, hotdogs and chips? Stand in line and it shall be given unto you.

Burger line(s) is longest, but only due to logistics - two very large
propane grills, with two cookers on each, making burgers as fast as they
can. Every so often they make up a bunch of dogs, which are put in a keep-warm tray. The buns and chips are in paper carrier things like you'd
see for a massive serving of nachos or similar; you get your meat and
proceed to the fixin's table where you can get ketchup and mustard (self serve) and lettuce, tomato and onion, served on your bun per request.

I searched diligently for an FAQ regarding what to bring; this is as close
as you'll get: Yourself, plus whatever makes you comfortable to be on a
beach in the sun, for an entire day. If you like good burgers or hot dogs, and chips, you won't go hungry; it's eat all you want. If you want to get drunk, you won't remain standing, as alcohol in various styles is drink all you want. Straight soda is a bit difficult to come by, but if you want just water, that's there, too, in gimme cups (branded reusable plastic).

Come early for a good dinghy spot; we tied our lifting rig from the stern to
a branch of a tree and used our anchor for the bow. I was initially worried about tying or anchoring bow-to, as waves will splash over the transom.
While what we did was perfect, there is NO wave which can penetrate the defenses of hundreds of boats, several deep, and probably over 1000 people.

And every bit of it done by volunteers...

L8R

Skip, still anchored off Fiddle, but going shelling there on the downward side, today...

Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
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When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not
fit to live on land.
- Dr. Samuel Johnson

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