CAT ISLAND'S NOT ABOUT CATS!

           

 When we left Blackpoint for Emerald Bay, we had no clear plan for the future.  Maybe we’d head down to Georgetown for a day or two and then head for Long Island.  Plans are always written in sand at low tide!  When we got to Emerald Bay and saw that Cat Island was only 37 miles to the East, everything gelled.  We tried to get to Cat two years ago but the weather wouldn’t cooperate.

 Along with s/v Panacea and s/v Tekla Bramble (who was at Georgetown) we set sail for Cat Island.  The gang was reunited at Hawk’s Nest anchorage where we stayed for a couple of nights and then sought shelter at the marina when a blow was forecast.

 We rented a car and followed the only road North, stopping along the way to view gorgeous seascapes, wild, rocky shores, and ruins from days long past. 

 The landscape is littered with abandoned homes and new ones in various stages of construction.  Sometimes one comes across whimsical sculptures on the side of the road.  Maybe this one represents Father Time?

            Near New Bight is the highest point in the Bahamas, a mighty 206 feet above sea level.  Atop this hill sits the Hermitage, final resting place of Father Jerome.  Father Jerome was educated as an architect, then became an Anglican priest and finally a Catholic priest.  He was responsible for the construction of several churches in the Bahamas.  The Hermitage can be approached by way of an easy path or the more arduous climb up a rough stone stairway that takes you past the Stations of the Cross cast in concrete.

            Father Jerome revered St Francis of Assisi and named the hill Mount Alvernia after the mount where St Francis received the wounds of the cross.  Father Jerome sought to live a humble and simple life.  The Lilliputian size of his impressive structure reflects his humility and smallness before God.  It took him seven years to complete the structure while living in a spacious cave, nearby.

           

 The Hermitage may be the most visited site on Cat Island, but it shares its fame with a Cat Island creation, Rake ‘n’ Scrape music.  Rake ’n’ Scrape features a squeezebox, a drum and a saw.  A screwdriver is “raked and scraped” across the teeth of the saw to create a rousing rhythm .  By flexing the saw, its pitch can be controlled and at times can nearly sound like the human voice.  Julian, Frank and James treated us to a late night concert at Da Smoke Pot in Arthur’s Town.  Wonderful!

            A small group of middle school children from Colorado was in Arthur’s Town where they lived with local families for two weeks.  In exchange, the children of those families went to live with the Americans for two weeks.  Julian and his group gave a demonstration of Rake ‘n’ Scrape and showed the kids how to rake  and scrape da saw.

            In the past, boatbuilding was big business throughout most of the Bahamas.  It is still done in many places. 

 Since regattas are very popular everywhere you go, racing boats are what they build most.  They still build them the old fashioned way, using branches that conform to the shapes needed for the ribs and bow of the boat.  The wood of choice is wild tamarind.

            Oh, and if Cat Island is not about cats, where did it get the name?  It was named after Arthur Cat, the British Pirate.  Arthur’s Town was named after him.  Prior to being know as Cat Island, it was known as San Salvador.  As such it is a contender for the site of Columbus’ first landfall.  Today, a Bahamian island named San Salvador claims that distinction.