A Visit to Andros and the Fabric Factory

Anna's reflection in the flat calm

After our departure from Green Cay we headed up the Tongue of the Ocean to Fresh Creek in Andros. The sail was beautiful. The Tongue of the Ocean is an eroded limestone trench bordered by the Bahamian banks on three sides making a very unique spot. It was not only unique but absolutely flat calm, calm enough to witness a whale and her calf nursing, sea turtles and to take advantage of some of the best fishing in the world with another prize mahi mahi! Anna was able to catch some great photos and of course Finn took the video for his movie, posted a few days ago.

The marina in Fresh Creek, Andros

We arrived in Andros late afternoon. A quick glance in the direction of our planned anchorage and we were on the radio hailing the one marina on Andros about the possibility of getting a spot.  After several tries we were contacted by another boat, what we presume was a US navy person, with some great advice about how to get into the harbor and letting us know that there would not be anyone at the marina, there would be one boat and to just pick a spot.  We did, right on the largest face dock. We found reception at the local hotel. The receptionist was very nice but couldn’t find the credit card machine so she told us to come back the next day. We went for a nice long walk and found a surprisingly well-stocked grocery store, picking up some milk, eggs, bread, apples and a small package of cookies. The cookies were gone before we reached Midwatch.

The entrance to the factory

We had a nice evening on the dock and the next morning headed over to the Androsian Batik Factory. As some of you may know, Anna has been making these cute bandanas since she was six and to date has sold well over 600. We bought some locally-made Androsian fabric last winter and once we managed the time to get them assembled, they started selling like hotcakes. We have also been experimenting with other items and decided a visit to the factory, not only made educational sense, but would likely make economic sense as well if we could pick up a load of fabric at factory prices. Unfortunately the factory was essentially sold out. Only after calling the manager on her cell

Anna presenting questions at the factory

phone did we get permission to select fabric from the cutting room, where employees cut fabric for their clothing assembly business. Apparently they are not only a bit behind on the manufacturing process but a boat load of German ladies came and bought them out a few days earlier. This was very disappointing to us but we did manage to meet the manager, Casey, the next morning and get her onboard with Anna’s plans. Anna has set up an account and has all the information for ordering yardage, bolts and even specialty prints. Anna and Casey discussed setting up a Facebook account and linking it with the Androsian factory’s page. We have lots of planning going on here including business cards, labels and a Facebook page. Expect some news this summer on this front.  

The Dye Room

The Assembly Room

Finn got a new shirt at the factory!

We made one more trip to the market before heading out and chuckled when a lady stopped to offer a ride as we drudged up the road in the hot sun.  We finally headed out late afternoon for the Berry Islands for one more little adventure in the Bahamas before departure for ‘home’.

Anna sporting her new Androsian wear