The highlight of the past few days though, was the beginning of Regatta Time in Abaco, and the Stranded Naked Cheeseburger Beach Party on Friday! In case you are not familiar with Stranded Naked, it is a houseboat that was brought to Green Turtle Cay from Ft. Lauderdale back in 1988. In 2008, its owner, Bobb Henderson, hosted a party to celebrate their 20th year “on island”. In a gesture of thanks to their generous adopted community on Green Turtle Cay, Bobb charged a modest fee from each guest, then donated the monies collected to the Green Turtle Cay Volunteer Fire Department. These philanthropic parties have grown every larger, and are now the official kick-off for Regatta Time in Abaco. Free food and drink for the first 1300 people -- over 280 cheeseburgers, 600 hotdogs, 400 pounds of Fries, 100 gallons of Margaritas, and 100 gallons of Boat Drinks were available! (Check out their website, www.strandednaked.com for the history of Stranded Naked and many fun photos!)
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| The Stranded Naked houseboat itself! |
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| We have reached Margaritaville indeed! |
Ron and I attended the Stranded Naked Party last year, but this was the first time for Jim, Vicky and Jay to attend this classic event, and enjoy it we did! The sun was out, the clouds held off, the weather was here on the sand bar off Fiddle Cay! Our "boat base" of operations was Lucy, the 35’ Intrepid, which we brought over early in the day to join the myriad of others who were anchoring in the shallows near the designated swim area. There were boats of all kinds: center consoles, skiffs, sport-fish boats and express cruisers, kayaks and cabin cruisers! Once you received your wristband and signature Stranded Naked plastic cup, you were good to go…you could get unlimited drink refills until things ran out! It's a family event; besides all the food and drink, there was ice and water, plus Kool-aid for the kids, limbo contests and hula-hoop contests, and free raffle giveaways. We delightedly purchased some t-shirts and a couple of souvenir towels – we were more than happy to do so, since the proceeds of their logo merchandise to fund the event. It's really an amazing day as all other goods/services are donated, and the various tables manned by unpaid volunteers. It's a huge feat to coordinate it all!
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| The contest area |
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| Some of the party revelers in the shallows off Fiddle Cay |
It was a fabulous time, as always! The five of us spent time chatting, floating or wading in the water, meeting new people, sipping cool drinks, listening to “live Jimmy Buffett music via CD”, people watching and generally just enjoying the upbeat atmosphere and ambiance. Loved it! Bobb Henderson was, of course, wearing his famous “landshark” hat, and we enjoyed checking out all the festive swimsuits and outlandish outfits; some folks are definitely fruitcakes, thus oh so fun to watch! We all felt quite lucky being together, enjoying yet another boating adventure with like-minded folk, having fun in the sun in the Abacos!!
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| Bobb Henderson in his hat, with Karyn |
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| Definitely an original use for Hawaiian leis! |
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