SLOW TRIP! JUST THE WAY WE LIKE!!

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Diane & Tim hiking

As promised, this blog entry will (I hope) include more photos and less of my ramblings. We are finally in a location where we can get on line, free, with unlimited time. Bad side is that it is incredibly slow, but hey, we’re on island time mon!

           
 Quick synopsis of our time thus far in the Exumas:

   Leaving Nassau, we headed for the Exumas, crossing an area called the “Yellow Bank” as we headed southeast. Aptly named, this area, while not especially shallow, is strewn with coral heads that can get dangerously close to the surface at lower tides, so most of us detour around it…coral vs. fiberglass…coral always wins! After a 5-hour sail, we arrived at Allen Cay, a small island at the NE part of the Exumas, known for the large Iguana population. Unfortunately, it is also known as a bad place to be in strong winds…exactly what we had that night! Although I was very happy with our anchor set, I was far less so with our location near a rocky shore with a wicked current running. Both Diane and I spent much of the night in our cockpit keeping our eyes on our “buddy boat” Veritas as we strained on our anchor chains. Diane gained some sense of comfort looking at the anchor light of Veritas and dubbed it, “the star of Veritas.” Needless to say we won’t be returning unless the weather is absolutely benign.

Palm Tree Isle at Norman Cay

            Hurriedly leaving Allen the next morning we headed to Norman Cay, the largest island in this part of the Exumas with a fascinating history of drug smuggling, including a sunken airplane and a couple wonderful, secure anchorages. We enjoyed several days of mostly calm seas, awesome “dingy ops” in/around the cay, and lots of exploration of the beaches. For those of you who know about this place the down side is the popular beachfront burger bar (McDuff’s) has closed. Renovations are underway but from the look of the work in progress, the grand opening won’t happen for several years! Too bad, I’m told they had the best burger in the Exumas.

Dingy's beached at Norman.

            After Norman, we moved on to Shroud Cay, a series of small islands all connected by a huge mangrove swamp. This was also our first stop inside the Exuma Land and Sea Park where absolutely no fishing, lobstering or shelling is allowed. Needless to say all the lobsters and fish in the Exumas flock to the park to thumb their noses at salivating sailors as we snorkel around marveling at the underwater scenery!

Haircuts in Paradise at Hawksville Cay

            From Shroud, we moved all of 4 miles (there are very few long distance sails here!) to yet another uninhabited islands, Hawksbill Cay, reputed to be one of the prettiest in the Exumas. No one from either Magic or Veritas would argue the point.  Here we found several trails which led us from the west to east side of the island through the ruins of very old homes dating back to the Loyalist Period in the late 1700’s (the British crown gave land in the Bahamas to many of their subjects who remained loyal to them during the Revolution. While beautiful, I’m not sure what the King must have thought of these people to give them land in the middle of nowhere!). In a fit of misplaced adventure, the 4 of us decided to try to hike around the island…OOPS! We made it well over ½ way but were turned back by a total absence of a trail in an area of extremely difficult rock. Each small hill became more and more difficult to climb and the thought of how difficult it would be if one of us was injured eventually forced us to play it safe and go back the way we came. UGH. Even though the hike was a highlight of our stay here, the biggest highlight was our, “haircuts in paradise.” Both Jennings and I badly needed to be shorn so we arranged to take our portable generator ashore along with clippers, scissors, combs, etc. and have our very cute barbers lower our ears. I found a very secluded little beach, set up our improvised barber chairs, and the girls took over while Jennings and I cracked open a beer!  Too cool. I can’t remember enjoying a haircut more!

BOO BOO HILL Sign. Note incorrect year!

            Our next destination was Warderwick Wells, the headquarters of the Exuma Park and yet another really beautiful destination. There is no anchoring there, and everyone must take a mooring ball, which allows more boats to snuggle into the area and prevents damage to the coral. Other than (very expensive) wifi access, the biggest attraction of this island is Boo Boo Hill. All of 20’ above sea level, nevertheless, Boo Boo is an absolute must visit here. Cruisers from all around the world have crossed the mangrove swamp and climbed this hill to deposit a “boat sign” at the top to commemorate their passing. There are hundreds of them atop the hill and it is an interesting sight. We left our gift to the park, a sign I meticulously made with a router and marker…all to find out I’d put the wrong year on it!

Hike From Hell at Warderwick. Note rocks!

Last climb after 6 hour hike!

            When Diane and I were here a few years ago visiting Jorgen and Maria on “Querencia,” we (read SHE) decided it would be a good idea to hike entirely around the island of Warderwick Wells. Heck, it’s only a “bit” more than 7 miles, piece of cake! I try not to make the same mistake twice…I failed yet again! At least this time we enlisted the crew of Veritas for another circumnavigation and we were just a bit better prepared with more water and better shoes for the jagged rocks and wet, sandy beaches. Still, this trek lasted well almost 6 hours. Some parts were pretty difficult and a number of the trails poorly marked but the scenery was spectacular and visit to the “Pirates Lair” at the south end of the island memorable. As we finally reached the eastern shore a bit more than ½ way around, a line from our favorite sailing movie, Captain Ron, came to mind as they battle through a Caribbean gale totally lost (said with a crusty pirate voice); “…I know we are near San Juan! How? Well, when we left St. Simon, we had JUST enough fuel to make it….and we’re just about out of fuel!!” In our case, we knew that Boo Boo Beach and hill were near because we had just enough water to make it around the island…and we were out of water! Even with the occasional adversity, sharp rocks and backracking as we looked for a trail, it was a good day, one I doubt I’ll repeat!

Beautiful mooring field at Warderwick Wells

         
   Since leaving Warderwick Wells, we've made our way back to civilization in the form of Staniel Cay and now at the Blackpoint Settlement a bit further south. I'll blog a bit more about those places next but suffice to say it was nice to go ashore, find a bar, and sit down for a cold Kalik beer. While we truly enjoy the solitude of most of our anchorages we still occasionally need to reprovision fresh veggies and even enjoy a meal ashore!

   Enough for now. I’ll blog again soon since we are stuck in place for a few days by a fierce NE wind. Good news is that we have good wifi (a rare commodity here) and usually can get on line right from the boat! Also, please forgive the format in this blog. I've found this site extremely difficult to navigate and just placing photos in the right spot is a huge challenge! Still, I hope you enjoy this missive and photos of our adventures. Till next time...