February 28, 2011.

After a few days at Hog cay we took advantage of a shift in the wind and bolted for Double Breasted Cay. We had a perfect sail and finally started the engine as we entered the anchorage.

The anchorage at Double Breasted is marginal unless the wind is predominantly out of the south. So why were we willing to chance this sometimes rolly anchorage in brisk winds from the ESE? Beach Junk Wars, of course.

We’ve never seen the TV program, Junkyard Wars. Rick & Susan on C_Language planned and hosted their Third Annual Beach Junk Wars. The concept is that you comb the windward side of Double Breasted Cay for any type of flotsam and jetsam that you might be able to use to create a project. The projects were graded on Creativity, Functionality, Presentation, Originality and Craftsmanship.

The major catch is that you can only use three things that were not washed up on shore; a pair of scissors, a knife and a handsaw. That’s it, no pens, pencils, rulers, drills, screws, zip ties, tape, nothing….unless you found it on the beach. You could pre screen the beach for suitable crap but you weren’t allowed to collect or “put aside” anything until game day.

Christy and I brainstormed for a bit to come up with several possibilities for projects and we drew up a wish list of supplies we would have to look for. At 0930 everyone headed in to shore to start collecting suitable crap.

By 1100 hours we were back at the boat with a sailbag full o’shit. We decided to make 3 smaller projects and combine them as if they were being offered on a late night infomercial. Presentations and judging was to commence at 1630.

Some of the participants really put a ton of effort into their entries while some, like us, opted for “the laugh”. The first part of our entry was a helmet/ sighting system for the neophyte lobster hunter. A construction helmet with a 5 foot piece of bamboo protruding from the front with a handmade gun sight affixed out at the end. Perfect for the guys who after locating and stalking a lobster, shoot and miss. The Veranda Lobsterman Helmet eliminates those annoying misses and you’ll look so cool wearing it.


Theres always yards of abandoned fishing nets washed up on the beaches. Most people out here don’t have underwear let alone lingerie. That led us to whip up a pair of “fishnet” stockings complete with garters all by Verandas Secret. They only come in green so they’ll be perfect if you want to look slutty for Saint Patty’s Day. One size fits all, quantities limited, call now…….

Our final entry was the easiest but our most practical. Everyone here uses a walking stick when crossing the cays to the windward side. A big reason is that the stick is used to push shit aside when looking for Hamburger Beans. So I used the hollow end of a bamboo walking stick and applied a piece of plastic mesh over the bottom. Now when a bean is found, rather than bending over to pick it up you just have to place the end of the stick on top of the bean and press down. The bean is pushed up into the hollow shaft and trapped by the mesh. The Veranda Bean Gathering Stick with Internal Bean Storage. Get yours now, operators are standing by.

When the voting was tallied we didn’t win but I’ll try not to dwell on that. We had a ton of fun and came away amazed by some of the other projects. There was an exercise machine, a tide gauge, a “Peak O’Meter”, an ingenious pair of marionettes, a hockey rink complete with a brief demonstration game and a Zen Garden.
There was an after contest meal of appetizers and cocktails afterwhich we headed back to the boat.

After another fairly rolly night we were up and underway early headed for Buena Vista Cay. We haven’t been there in several years so it was good to get back. We walked the beach in the morning and after lunch swam a few coral heads in the anchorage behind the boat that yielded a pair of lobsters.

Tomorrow is the first day of Nassau Grouper season and I can’t wait!