By: Mark Tilden

Roseanne and I were excited when we received an invitation from Wayne and Sharon Kirchner to come join a group of east coast Selene owners for the first Selene Bahamas Rendezvous (will there be a second??). We first met Wayne and Sharon in the fall of 2007 when we were aboard John and Kathy Youngblood’s Selene 53 "Mystic Moon" on the FUBAR powerboat rally that runs from San Diego to LaPaz, Mexico (Cliick here for more on the FUBAR). At the time, Wayne and Sharon were living in Mexico near one of the anchorages the rally stopped at and they were very interested in buying a Selene.

Wayne & Sharon Kirchner organized the Bahamas Rendezvous

We’ve corresponded regularly since that meeting—especially once they found their Selene 48, now named "My Sharona". But we hadn’t seen Wayne and Sharon again until we arrived on the beach in the Bahamas for the first of many parties of the Bahamas Rendezvous. It was also a great reunion with our dear friends, the Youngbloods and with Mystic Moon. We hadn’t been aboard her since November of 2007 at the end of the FUBAR rally in LaPaz.

Wayne and Sharon did an amazing job of organizing this rendezvous, and it was evident in the turnout. Eighteen Selenes ranging in size from several 43’s through Richard and Heather Ossoff’s beautiful Selene 59 "Cronulla", made the trek south and east from Florida. The format was a bit different than most of the other rendezvous we attended. There were no seminars, no "trawler crawl", and it was entirely owners and their invited guests. Over the course of a week the fleet moved between three beautiful locations only a short run apart and there were generous opportunities for snorkeling, beach combing and just lounging. A group of intrepid Selene women gathered most mornings for Yoga on the beach!

Sharon led Yoga on the beach for several of the women

So….how does a West Coast Selene cruiser—who thinks that shallow water is defined by anything less than 50 feet—react to the Bahamas—where deep water is considered 4 feel under your keel? Perhaps we would have been more concerned if we weren’t preoccupied by the spectacular crystal clear water and the white sandy beaches. I couldn’t get used to actually seeing the shadow of the boat on the bottom and being able to stand on the bow pulpit and see the anchor set in 20 feet of water!

The Northwest has unmatched majesty in its rugged scenery. (You east-coast guys can ask the Ossoff’s about Princess Louisa Inlet, or check out Richard’s story called "Princess Louisa through Eastern Eyes" in archived news stories on the owner’s site under the "News" tab). The Bahamas are much more arid and less dramatic in terms of scenery, but the 72-degree clear water, 75 degree air, and amazing snorkeling provide more than enough to make up for what might be lacking in the vistas from the cockpit. Of course, the Youngbloods, who have spent the biggest part of the last 3 years in the tropics were moaning about the cold water! Give me a break! We’d just left gray skies, rain, and mid-40’s temperatures in Gig Harbor (near Seattle), so this was paradise!

The Fleet at Anchor in Big Majors Anchorage near Staniel Cay

Roseanne and I flew from Seattle to Miami, spent the night and then boarded a "shared charter" flight operated by Watermakers Air from the Fort Lauderale Executive airport. Watermaker Air started by flying watermaker replacement parts out to cruising boats in the Bahamas, and has since done a healthy business flying small charter passenger planes with cruisers headed back and forth to the Bahamas. The short flight out to Staniel Cay was absolutely gorgeous as we flew low enough in the little Cessna Caravan to get a great view of the Bahamas along the route. After a quick stop to clear customs in Congo Town, we took off for the short hop to Staniel Cay. As we landed, Roseanne was able to snap a few photos of the fleet at anchor in Big Majors, just across a low sandy spit from Staniel Cay.

That evening, we gathered with most of the rest of the owners on the beach at the head of the bay and got acquainted (or re-acquainted) with the East Coast owners. Roseanne and I had the privilege of meeting some of the owners a couple of years ago at a Selene rendezvous in Stuart Florida, but there were considerably more boats this time, so we connected many familiar names from the owner’s forum with faces for the first time.

The swimming pigs were a hoot!

The next day was spent visiting the swimming pigs (what a hoot!) and snorkeling in a small but beautiful cave called Thunderball Grotto, that I understand was used in the James Bond movie of the same name. Fortunately, we were not required to snorkel in tuxedos.

The fleet moved to Compass Cay on Monday—a short run, but one that includes a shallow—even for the Bahamas—entrance. Unfortunately, one of the boats violated the second rule of boating ("When the draft of your boat is deeper than the water, you are aground") and ended up serving as a temporary navigation mark for the rest of the fleet. With some help from a few other owners, they got off a couple of hours later as the tide rose and came into the marina, with nothing more than a slightly bruised ego.

The bold among us swam with the sharks.

Compass Cay has a small school of nurse sharks living in the marina that are quite familiar with human contact and a few of our more brave (or foolish?) owners had some "close encounters" with the sharks. We spent time beach combing and also enjoyed an afternoon in a wonderful tide pool called "Rachel’s Bubble Bath", where surf from the rougher water on the east side of the island churns through a small opening in the rocks to create surge and foam in this shallow, warm tide pool.

Sharon got some great aerial shots of the fleet

As we left Compass Cay, Wayne and Sharon had arranged for a local pilot to take Sharon up in a small plane for aerial photographs of the fleet. Wayne had designed a sort of "double flying V" configuration for the boats, and it took a while to get everyone into position, but eventually it came together quite nicely and Sharon got a number of great shots from the plane.

Our final day was spent at the beautiful marina at Sampson Cay, including a closing dinner party at the restaurant where a raffle was held to give away numerous prizes that Wayne and Sharon had collected from boat yards and other merchants along the east coast.

Friday afternoon, we took another short dinghy ride back from Compass Cay to Staniel Cay for the Watermakers flight back to Fort Lauderdale. Cheryl Klein (former owner of the Selene 53 "Kasekuchen") and Ade Salzer (owner of Selene 43 "Wandering Star") met us at the airport, even though Bob Klein had only the day before been in the hospital expecting bypass surgery that was miraculously avoided! We had a delightful dinner with Bob and Cheryl and Ade at the beautiful Coral Ridge Yacht Club, where Bob & Cheryl are members and then Cheryl and Ade drove us to Miami for the flight home. We returned to gray skies and rain.

Oh well… I just consider the rain and gray skies a population control measure that protects the amazing beauty of our cruising grounds.

Many thanks to Wayne and Sharon for the invitation and organizing the event; to John and Kathy Youngblood for hosting us aboard Mystic Moon for the week; and to Bob & Cheryl Klein and Ade Salzer for the great company and rides to/from the airport!

There are a lot more photos of the 2011 Bahamas Rendezvous in the Gallery section of the site. Click here to see the photos (login required).