Our friends Tom and Amy were already there with the megabrella (a super cool homemade beach umbrella), a fire set and ready to light. We felt like we were on a super yacht with the deck hands readying the beach party for us. Some other friends showed up with several paddle boards and I had my first go at it. I’ll have to say I’ve always thought that it looked sort of boring, but I was wrong about that. It was really super fun and definitely a challenge. It was a bit like snorkeling standing up, as you could easily see everything in the water. The one I was one was a neat inflatable model, but I won’t be getting one anytime soon as the price tag was $1400, ouch.
More about the Flip Flop House. Legend has it that it was so named because when cruisers excavated the place prior to building, they came across tons of unmatched flip flops. (not really a rare occurrence on a beach). In years past it was a nude beach, but those days are gone. Anyway, it’s situated on the northern end of Stocking Island,harbor side, and is a bit off the beaten path. Many people come here and stay for months never finding it. The cruisers built a neat bar, some tables and benches with a tiki hut covering, a fire pit, and even a shell lined path that leads to the latrine. It’s decorated with all sorts of beach finds and some Christmas lights. Tom brought his portable generator and nestled it in the woods, so we had lights but no noise. We even had our own New Years Eve ball to drop, that was fashioned from a volleyball covered with lights, and strung from a tall tree.
About 20 folks showed up. We grilled food, swam, played on beach toys, had some musicians in the crowd, too. By 9 p.m. we celebrated boaters midnight by standing around the ball and doing the countdown. About that time fireworks were going off over on Great Exuma Island so we got to enjoy that too.
It was a bit of a scary dinghy ride home in the dark (no moon). Coleen had a flash light on the bow and was looking ahead for obstacles. We had one huge fish jump up and nearly land in the dinghy, and she saw a 7 foot shark. By 10 p.m. we were showered and in our jammies. Admittedly, cruisers rarely stay out late as most of us are up with the sun, and an afternoon on the water will wear you out.