Down at the Rake 'n' Scrape

Man in red plays a saw

Our last night in Georgetown, we went to shore to hear a rake 'n' scrape band. I’d somehow missed hearing about this type of music although we’d been to the Bahamas before this. Even though we were feeling exhausted that day, we felt we owed it to ourselves to experience a rake 'n' scrape.

We ran into these old friends from  2017

The town of Georgetown stretches out both north and south on the slender island of Little Exuma with Elizabeth Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean on the east side and the shallow Exuma Bank on the west. Elizabeth Harbor itself is an exceptionally large harbor, although I would argue that it technically is not a true harbor but rather a wide waterway separating Little Exuma Island from Stocking Island. 

Preparing to exit Lake Victoria through
tunnel and go into Elizabeth Harbor

At times during the year hundreds of boats are anchored here without it feeling crowded, I am told. We chose to anchor closer to the Little Exuma side in order to make provisioning easier. When the waterway is calm, it is a very pleasant trip to shore. When there is some chop on the water, it quickly becomes a salt water shower and bath.

Sometimes there's a bit of a *Rage at the
entrance to the tunnel into Lake Victoria,
although in this photo water is calm.

We traveled slowly across the water that evening and through the tunnel that leads into Lake Victoria around which Georgetown is arranged. 

We arrived early at Eddie’s where the rake 'n' scrape was to take place. We found ourselves  good viewing spots by sitting at the bar. Across the room sat a homemade drum, a huge barrel with the skin of an animal stretched tightly across it.  Next to it was a more traditionally manufactured tom-tom type of drum. 

Man on left playing the saw.

Three men wandered in with electric guitars and speakers which surprised me. I guess I was expecting all of the instruments to be on the order of homemade things. There was however, a saw lying on a chair next to the guitarists and the young man who was sitting next to it eventually came up to the bar. I took that opportunity to question him a little. “Is that just a regular saw you play? What do you play it with?”

Roadway along shore overlooking
ElizabethHarbor. Note layers of packed
coral forming rock walls.

With my husband sitting between us, he shyly, it seemed, leaned over to hear me better. A slow smile and a head nod. “Just a regular saw.” And “A screwdriver.” He was friendly and if it weren’t for the band preparing to play, I’d have loved to ask more questions of him.

The Rack and Scrape band. The man in the pink shirt has just joined the band by
crawling through the window with his instrument.

 The man returned to a chair in front of the single window next to the guitarists with one of them playing host to an exceptionally friendly woman who plopped herself on his lap. One empty chair remained after the two drummers sat. The mystery of the empty chair was solved when during the first number, the last member of the band appeared.  He, in fact, crawled through the window behind the band, bringing his instrument with him, another shiny saw. 

More tourists than locals dancing

A few folks started to dance to the music. At times, the dancing reminded me a bit of dancing to “Y.M.C.A.” Lots of arm movements. The local folks relied upon the hips and feet to do most of the work on the dance floor. The tourists' dancing would have been at home at any American Legion in the U.S. Sometimes dancing partners caught hold of one another for a smooth arm pass. 

Inspirational musician

The musician that had crawled through the window with his saw and screwdriver played his instrument with an intensity that was inspirational. We never saw him sit down in his chair. He played standing in the midst of the dancers. With one end of the saw tucked against his left upper thigh, he thrust his hips back and forth in time with the music and could even accomplish a limbo while playing. I admired his spectacularly muscular legs. It’s been a while since I could do the limbo.

Lot of energy in this band

One of the guitarists was the singer and was actually good. The two drummers were as different as can be. The larger homemade drum was played by a silhouette of a man in dark clothes and hat who never cracked a smile nor turned his head. I could make out only the whites of his eyes in his black face. He seemed to stare through me the entire time; of course, I was sitting squarely in front of him. The other drummer wore light clothing and a Caribbean knitted hat. He played with personality to spare. HIs hands flew as they slapped that drum. Awesome spirit.

Supply ships unload at these piers facing
out into Elizabeth Harbor

Neither of us had reserved enough energy to dance at the rake 'n' scrape. We may have wowed the crowd with some of our dance moves if we had, but then again, probably not. We stayed long enough to photograph the band and dancers and to get a feel for rake 'n' scrape music.

Dinghy dock inside Lake Victoria

We walked back to our dinghy to head home for the night.  The water had become choppy while we were at the rake 'n' scrape. Thus, we were obliged to share yet one more salt water bath in Elizabeth Harbor on our way home to Northern Star. 

Stocking Island, across Elizabeth Harbor from Little Exuma.
Note monument atop hill on the left. Photo taken during calm water.

*Rage refers to an onshore swell that piles up water near shore. At the same time, wind and/or current coming from a different direction converges to make an area of chaotic waters. Traversing a cut (narrow passage between islands) or a tunnel into Lake Victoria can be difficult.