SAVED FROM THE EDGE OF THE EARTH!

A double rainbow greeted Magic as we departed Georgetown

           After a two week stay at the “world’s largest adult winter camp,” we were ready to wrench ourselves free of the tentacles’ of this over-organized yacht rendezvous and point the bow of Magic northward once again. Those of you who listened over the last year or so (surely far more times than you wanted!) to our original plans for this trip, know we really wanted to explore a bit further south and visit the Ragged Islands (known for their remote beauty), Long and Cat Islands (beautiful beaches and historical ruins). Alas, as has been cemented in our brains, the God’s of weather dictate our cruising lives and in order to put our feet over the precipice and into the unknown of the seas beyond Georgetown we would have had to remain in place for at least another 10 days…not something I was looking forward to at all! Don’t get me wrong, GTown was a great place to visit, and we had some wonderful times and met any number of interesting, fun people, I just didn’t want to take up permanent residence!

One item of note; although we have almost gotten used to $12 cheeseburgers and $6 diesel fuel, there are some items for sale in the Bahamas that are priced as well or even better than home. Items made in Japan (outboards, Honda generators) can actually be purchased for about what you would pay in the states. I briefly considered ditching our miscreant 15 hp Yamaha outboard and purchasing one in GTown (paying about the same as I did over 6 years ago!) but the dealer was able to correct a problem with my engine and “Christine” was given a reprieve from the used engine heap and we are running pretty well once again. If you are reading this with plans to cruise to the Bahamas and considering a replacement 2-stroke outboard (far lighter than 4 stroke), I’d highly recommend you wait until either Nassau or GTown!

The so-called "Garden of Eden" at
Blackpoint Settlement.

I think this goat got lost!

So, with fishing poles at the ready, we threaded our way north out of the harbor and set sail for a return trip to Blackpoint Settlement…and a laundromat! For only the second or third time this entire trip, we were able to shut the “iron genny” off and actually sail the 45 miles up the Exuma Sound to our destination. It may have been a bit bumpy, but this is a SAILBOAT for crying out loud and both of us enjoyed the absence of our diesel engine drone. Unfortunately for Diane, and although she had two stout fishing lines deployed and extremely high hopes, nary a nibble…nada, nothing. I have to give it to the Admiral however, although frustrated by her lack of “catching” prowess; she continued to try to entice a tasty wahoo or mahi-mahi to grab one of her lures…a more persistent woman I’ve never met!

This "castle" house on the west side of Great Guana Cay
can be seen for miles...too bad the owner doesn't like people!

We enjoyed a two-day stay at Blackpoint to do laundry (4 loads!!), toss back a few Kaliks at the local hotspot (Scorpio’s…and it really is the ONLY hotspot!), and do a bit of exploring. On one of our power walks we made it quite a way south and found the “castle” home on the west side we’d seen when we’d headed toward Farmer’s Cay just a few weeks prior. I actually met the owner who was obviously not pleased we’d entered his property and not so politely recommended we leave. One would think if you built a house that looks like a European castle on a remote island in the Bahamas, you would enjoy having visitors stop by and ask about the place! Not so this guy and when I asked a local later on, I was told they were basically hermits and everyone pretty much stays away from them.  Oh well.

At least the guy with the castle house had completed the task. We’ve seen literally hundreds of partly completed but abandoned houses, buildings and even resorts on just about every island we’ve visited on this trip. Some places have just a rough cinderblock outline or a concrete pad built before work stopped. Others looked almost complete but had obviously been sitting idle for many years awaiting finishing touches. In Georgetown, there was a huge yacht harbor resort that had even advertised in one of our cruising guides that never got past the construction of a single building! Here was a beautiful piece of property in a well-protected bay just going to pot. I couldn’t get a straight answer from locals so have to assume the depressed world economy had affected the Bahamas just as badly (or worse) than the rest of us. A real shame that even reasonable, well-designed projects like the one in GTown have succumbed to the stumbling world economy…especially since a huge part of the islands’ wealth is based on tourism. I can only hope a recovery is just over the horizon and investors will return soon. OK, back to our regular programming…

Diane is thinking of starting
her own "fluff and fold"
laundromat!

Beautiful view on the
east side of Cambridge
Cay. Oh yea, the scenery
was nice as well!

On our way south along the Exuma chain, we’d had to bypass a few islands with scenic anchorages due to weather/time constrains and before heading east to Eleuthera, wanted to see at least one of them; Cambridge Cay.  Part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park, Cambridge Cay had been highly recommended by everyone we talked to…and they were all right! The small group of islands in/around CC turned out to be the most beautiful, interesting places we visited during our entire time in the Exumas. I’ve attached several photos, but they just don’t do the place justice. After picking up one of the Park’s well-maintained $20 mooring balls (a huge bargain, especially considering the peace-of-mind they give you in a blow!) we explored Cambridge Cay itself and enjoyed a great hike along one of the trails that took us to the highest point on the island and commanded a 360 degree view of every cay and island within 15 miles. Included in that view was Little Hall’s Pond Cay, wholly owned by the actor Johnny Depp…who was not home! Still, the view was breathtaking.

Believe it or not, the water here isn't all that warm! Shrinkage!

 The next day we dingied to the “aquarium” just a bit north of our mooring field and were astounded at the spectacle of hundreds of multi-colored fish all swimming within inches of our facemasks as soon as we got in the water.  It was like a casting call for a “Finding Nemo” remake, just without the shark! I wished we’d purchased an underwater camera, but again, a photo would not have done this colorful sight justice. We also explored some shoreside caves, only accessible at low tide which were reportedly used by the natives hundreds of years ago to hide from their enemies. The idea of spending the night in a totally dark cave with no way out until low tide makes my skin crawl even as I type this!   We then found the “bubble bath” on Compass Cay, which is a pool of water with a low rock barrier that keeps the ocean waves out until the tide is just beginning to rise. As it does so, the waves crash over this wall and create the illusion of a bubble bath just inside this pool. It was fun to swim over to this rock formation and wait for the water to crash over my head!

Tim in the "Bubble Bath" on Compass Cay. 

The next day we had a huge decision to make. There was a perfect one day weather window for the 48 mile crossing to Eleuthera and allow us to rejoin Jennings and Patty on Veritas, or remain in the Exumas for at least the next week or so when the next “window” opened. Since there are only a couple places on Eleuthera with protection from forecast westerly winds, this was no small decision, but in the end we decided to bite the bullet and make the crossing. So, as soon as it was light enough to see we dropped our mooring line and left the Exumas behind for the last time this season. While we were excited to see new places and certainly get together with the crew of Veritas (who has been our “buddy boat” almost our entire time here), it was not without a hint of sadness that we left the Exumas in our wake. We’d spent almost 2 months exploring these amazingly beautiful islands, met some wonderful local people, and tossed back a few Kalik’s with new cruising friends from all over the world. There is no doubt in our minds that Magic will return!

My next blog will describe our crossing (another great sail…but no fish!) and experiences on this unique island. As always, internet access is difficult to obtain, so please be patient! Till next time….

OUT OF THE LAND OF MAKE-BELIEVE CRUISING

     As I write this I am sitting at the laundromat at Blackpoint Settlement, about 60 miles north of the edge of the cruiser's world, Georgetown. I feel much safer here, a bit further away from the sea monsters which were sure to snatch Magic into their abyss just south of the island of Great Exuma! Diane and I plan to be here for 2 days for laundry (very convenient with their own dingy dock!) and to decompress a bit from the hub-bub of Gtown. From here it's a further run north to check out a couple spots we missed on the way down and then rejoin our buddy boat Veritas and turn east for Eleuthera.
    Since I was unable to get photos to upload to this blog last time, and as promised, basically the rest of this blog will be a bunch of photos we took both in Farmer's Cay and GTown. I hope you enjoy them!

Exploring the semi-fresh water cave at Oven Rock, Great Guana Cay. Beautiful with great swimming, including a 700' underground "pool" off to the left of the photo.

    

Magic pet "Solomon" had a very bad night playing "Farkle" and obviously drank WAAAy too much wine!

"Magic" Dance party. Pat, Patty, Laura, Jennings did their best to spell YMCA!

 

Start of the Farmer's Cay 5F Festival "C" Class race. Boats start from anchor, rapidly pull it up while raising their sail and then take off!

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Just after the start of the race. Winds are blowing 30 mph and within just a few minutes, one of these boat filled with water, swamped, and sank! No one was hurt...except a bit of pride!

Waterspout just over the hill from our anchorage at Stocking Island, Georgetown. Luckily, it passed without incident.

Diane hams it up at P&P. This bar in GTown has been there forever and is one of the oldest restaurants/B&B's in the town. Great place with a wonderful history catering to cruisers!

Tim on "Volleyball Beach" on Stocking Island. Markers with distance to lots of cruiser's home ports.

Dingy entrance to "Lake" Victoria in GTown. Kind of tricky getting in when the tidal current is running, but worth it for free dockage and water!

Conch blowing "concert" on Volleyball Beach. It was a HOOT!! Supposedly you can find it on You Tube!

Sand Dollar anchorage on Stocking Island. Magic somewhere in there! Wonderful trails and beach.

Volley Ball Beach. Center of all cruiser's activities on Stocking Island

I think Honey Buns are a recognized food group in the Bahamas! Literally every store with any groceries carries them. This was in a tiny store with just a few items offered, and I saw a truckload delivered!

Shrimp lunch at "Eddies Edgewater" restaurant in GTown. Great food, free internet and once a week a BBQ/"Rake-n-Scrape" (local music) evening event.

     Well, I'm now all caught up on photos of Farmer's Cay and Georgetown. I hope they give you a flavor of what it was like.  I will add a new blog in a few days once we get decent internet access.
     Still havin' fun!
    

   

WORLD'S LARGEST ADULT WINTER CAMP!

After the somewhat truncated 5F Festival and washed out Superbowl we were ready to get the heck out of Farmer’s Cay but as happens all the time around here, the weather had other ideas and we wound up staying a couple extra days to allow the Exuma Sound seas to calm down as we headed south. Before I go any further, the wifi location I'm at has a pretty restricted amount of bandwidth I'm allowed to use which means I probably won't be able to post any photos this blog. Sorry, there are some good ones ready for me to upload! I'll try to catch up next time.

            We’d not been in a marina since leaving Nassau well over a month before so the Captain’s of both Magic and our buddy boat Veritas decided we were ready to treat the Admiral’s a bit and head to probably the nicest marina in the Exumas, Emerald Bay, 10 miles north of Georgetown. This marina, part of a huge Sandal’s resort is absolutely beautiful with huge floating docks, free wifi, free laundry (a really big deal since we’d been paying close to $30+ ever time we washed our clothes!), nice showers and a comfortable lounge with cable TV. They even have a “no frills” slip rate of just $1.00/ft for boats that don’t need electricity. Since we make our own power via solar panels, a buck a foot was just too hard to pass up! Diane and I spent 3 days here enjoying all the amenities they offered. Unfortunately, like much of the Bahamas, even this marina has fallen on some hard times and their only restaurant had closed and the ones at the Sandals resort were prohibitively expensive. We mitigated that by renting a car for a day and driving into Georgetown to shop and eat a couple meals where someone else did the dishes!

            At the end of our 3-day marina “vacation” Diane and I bid a temporary farewell to Veritas and made the short run to Georgetown and Stocking Island. Jennings and Patty were enjoying their stay so much they decided to remain until another wind event passed. 

            It is extremely hard for me to accurately describe the cruisers “Mecca” of GTown, oft called “The World’s Largest Adult Winter Camp.” Located at the very southern end of the Exuma chain, GTown is the largest town not just on the island of Great Exuma but the entire chain. It is also the turnaround point of a lot of cruisers’ southbound journey and many yachts come here in the fall and literally stay put until late spring. It's almost as if the earth was flat and the end is just south of here! GTown has any number of wonderful anchorages, each with a different flavor and protection from the various "wind events" which come through occasionally. While some boats anchor right near the town itself, most (like us) wind up just to the east along the shores of Stocking Island about a mile east where there is protection from the usual easterly trade winds. During the occasional frontal passage and winds shift more to the west, there is a mass exodus to the other side of the harbor as boats snuggle up to the shore close to GTown for wind/wave protection. Once the wind shifts again from the eastern quadrant, they all shuffle back toward Stocking Island. As I type this, almost 300 boats are anchored in the area and a small, temporary town has sprung up complete with an unofficial Mayor and a group of cruisers who act as a sort of Town Council. Every morning at 0800 the “mayor” (who I haven’t met but really does a lot of work on the cruiser’s behalf) conducts a radio “net” dispensing information on weather, local business specials, cruiser activities, etc. There are more activities here than in a retirement village; volleyball, softball, yoga, cards, basket weaving (see!), and my personal favorite, conch horn blowing…just to name a few! There are even a couple beach front restaurants on Stocking Island which serve pretty good food at surprisingly (for the Bahamas) inexpensive prices. In a couple weeks, the number of boats here will almost double for the annual Georgetown Cruisers Regatta. There are boats that come here year after year, just for this event, which is as organized as Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade…but a whole lot more fun! As for us (and I include Veritas here), the organization is already a bit much and I just don’t see us hanging around for the regatta. Still, there is something to do every day and most evenings there is either a cruiser’s pot-luck or some special dinner ashore complete with what I’ve decided is the national dish of the Bahamas…mac-n-cheese. They eat it by the pound here! That, and packaged “Honey Buns” seem to be the most popular food most places we’ve visited. Just about every tiny store around that sells any grocery items have boxes of Honey Buns...amazing the Bahamian people aren't normally fat!

            I’ll try to post a lot more about Georgetown and our numerous adventures here later, but I finally have found a wifi hotspot and want to post what I have. We plan to leave here in a couple days and begin a tentative run back north (guess I'm one of those "flat earth" people!). Our working plan is to revisit some of our favorite Exuma islands and then head to Eleuthera Island. 

            Till next time…we’re still searching for the elusive wifi network and having fun!

ISLAND HOPPING...BAHAMAS STYLE!

By the time Magic departed Warderwick Wells Diane and I were ready for a bit of civilization. We’d been “off the grid” since leaving Nassau two weeks prior and were ready for a “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and a cold Kalik (the Bahamian national beer…not bad!) served by someone other than ourselves. In short…we needed a bar! So, off to Staniel Cay!

            In the first calm wind day we’d seen since our crossing of the Bahama Banks 3 weeks earlier, we dropped our mooring and headed into Exuma Sound (the large body of water to the east of the Exuma Island chain), and turned south. Most cruising boats take the normally more protected “inside” route along the west side, but the Admiral Of All Things really wanted to fish and that was best done in deep water (well over 2000’) just a few miles east into Exuma Sound. As we cleared the boundaries of the Exuma Land and Sea Park “No Catch” zone, Diane got to fishin’. Diane mostly uses a “Cuban Reel” on the the boat which is nothing more than a plastic pulley-like disk with fishing line wound inside and then attached to the boat with a bungee cord. When a fish strikes, the bungee cord stretches out and you know you have a…”FISH ON!” I should stop here and tell you that despite having more fishing “stuff” than LL Bean, Diane is a true neophyte when it comes to catching fish, and I’m no better. She’d fished any number of times as we transited from Virginia to Miami and again as we moved between a few of the islands here with never a nibble. I must admit I’d gotten totally complacent with no expectation of her catching anything other than a few strands of seaweed. While frustrated with her fishing prowess, Diane was (and is, trust me!) a tenacious woman and wasn’t giving up. Well, literally seconds after letting her lines out it was FISH ON! A beautiful, fairly small Bluefin Tuna had taken one of her lures and dreams of tuna steaks that night entered our heads. We got the fish to the side of the boat fairly easily but from there unfortunately, it was all downhill.  The next few minutes were right from a Keystone Cops film. We quickly realized we didn’t have a net or gaff nearby to board the fish (remember, I never expected it to get this far!) so I dove into one of our lockers to find a net. We’d been told that pouring cheap booze into the gills of a fish would quickly and humanly put it out of it’s misery so while I held the tuna in the net Diane grabbed a bottle of cheap gin. Because it was thrashing around so much in the net, almost all the gin missed its mark and went into the Atlantic. We then had the bright idea to put the fish into a bucket and deal with the rest when we’d calmed down. I finally got the fish into this bucket and turned to put the net down. At the same time Diane reached for something in the cockpit. This poor fish was pretty pissed off and chose that moment to thrash around, tipping the bucket on it’s side and slithering off the boat back into the water. It was one of those slow-motion moments in life as we watched our first fish escape our grasp as I lunged over to try to stop it’s progress toward the side of the boat. Oh yea, no photographic evidence of either the fish or our inept attempt to keep it onboard was taken. You’ll just have to trust me! BTW, while Diane still hasn’t caught anything, she’s still trying every chance she gets!

CREWS OF MAGIC, VERITAS, TEHANI AND SANITY II IN "CIVILIZATION!"

 

            After a couple hours sailing south in the Sound, we came to “Big Rock Cut” (you have to love the names they give to islands, cays and cuts here!) and carefully wound our way to an anchorage just off Staniel Cay. Civilization at last! No sooner had we set our anchor, the dingy was in the water and the crews of Veritas and Magic announced liberty call for all hands! I have to tell you that civilization to us here isn’t the same as home! Staniel Cay, while a very nice island, is still pretty small with limited opportunities for eating, drinking and shopping. Other than the marina restaurant, the place is so small that almost all the stores are identified by color, not name! There is the “yellow” store which sells just fresh baked breads, the “pink” store (not sure what they sold since they were closed), the “red” and “blue” stores sold groceries, but only had fresh veggies for a few hours a week after the mail boat arrived from Nassau! Word gets out quickly when produce is available and if you aren’t there early, the pickings can be a bit sparse. Having said that, this was civilization in our world and the four of us cozied up to the bar for a couple cold Kaliks and some conch fritters. Even Jennings from Veritas, a true beer aficionado has come to like this fairly light lager. He says it makes his dwindling stock of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale’s last longer and taste even better!

            We’d anchored close to town for a couple reasons, not the least of which was an issue I was having with our outboard (I think I’ve said before we’ve come to call the engine “Christine” after the movie). The prop was basically stripped and I couldn’t do more than a couple knots, necessitating close-in anchoring until a replacement reached us by friends sailing over from Miami. The other reason was our close proximity to “Thunderball Grotto,” one of the filming locations of the movie. We were able to dingy over to this very small island, tie to a dingy mooring, and snorkel into what is essentially one of the world’s largest aquariums. As soon as our masked faces hit the water, beautiful fish of all kinds surrounded us…mostly hoping for a morsel of food! We were able to swim into this huge domed cavern inside the island (essentially a hollowed out rock) with large holes in the top where sunlight filters in. Inside even more fish greeted us. For those of you who have watched the movie, this is the place that James Bond is lifted out by helicopter after dispatching Emilo Largo, the #2 evil genius in Spectre empire. We don’t own a waterproof camera and now wish we did even though I don’t think amateur photos could do the peaceful beauty of the place justice.

SHORESIDE VIEW OF BLACKPOINT ANCHORAGE. EASILY 50 BOATS COULD ANCHOR HERE!

            After our “fix” in Staniel Cay, our next priority after well over two weeks was…laundry! One of the only laundromats in the Exumas is right next door at the Blackpoint Settlement on Great Guana Cay, just a hour’s sail away…so off we went! With three (count ‘em, THREE!) restaurants, free internet, that really nice laundromat and even free water, Blackpoint is at the top of all cruisers favorite destinations. The people are also some of the nicest around and it is obvious they truly appreciate our being there. The anchorage here is well known as one of the best around from the prevailing easterly winds and there are often 30 or more sailboats anchored in the bay. 

JAM SESSION AT BLACKPOINT

One afternoon we participated (Diane participated, I attended!) a guitar jam session ashore with some pretty accomplished musicians. Great fun. Large part of this experience has been meeting people and learning from their experiences.

LORRANE HOSTS A LOBSTER DINNER AT HER CAFE.

There are just two drawbacks to this anchorage, both of which we experienced. The first is that Blackpoint is essentially a suburb of Staniel Cay and many of the people who work on Staniel actually live at Blackpoint and commute every day by small boat. Right at 0600 EVERY MORNING (!) large wakes from a number of these boats passing through the anchorage act as reliable alarm clocks. The other drawback is if the wind clocks around to the SW-NW (during the rare frontal passage), the anchorage can get pretty exciting! During our 5-day stay, just such a front passed thru and we experienced 2-3’ seas in the anchorage for a good part of the afternoon. Going ashore most of that day was out of the question so we just hunkered down with good books and rode it out. Of course, that was the day other good friends of ours from home waters  (Pat/Laura on Tehani) called on the radio, and anticipating settled weather had changed their plans, were coming to join us and would arrive mid-day. Heard from our bouncing boats in reply; “Sure guys, come on down, it’s a bit bumpy right now but should smooth out by the time you get here!” NOT! We didn’t get together until very late in the day onboard Veritas, and even then got drenched during the short run between boats!

CREW OF VERITAS AVOID HUNGRY "PIGGY BEACH" RESIDENTS.

            At the end of our stay we got word that more good friends of ours from home waters had finally gotten away from Miami and were in Nassau preparing to head for the Exumas. While we were excited about seeing Dave and Mary on Sanity II, I must admit that excitement was enhanced with the knowledge their boat held several important repair parts for two critical items; our outboard motor and one of our toilets! With that in mind, all three of us headed back north and sailed to Big Majors Island, home of the almost famous “Piggy Beach.” On the west side of the island is a sandy beach, which is home to about a half dozen huge pigs, which basically live off the scraps of food left by cruising boats. Of course, that means whenever they hear a dingy approach the beach they run out in eager anticipation of some morsel of food. They have absolutely no fear of these boats and have been known to actually climb in if they sense food onboard. With sharp hoofs this is definitely a bad thing for those of us with inflatable dingys! Still, they are kind of cute and provide lots of entertainment for boats anchored nearby.

CHRISTMAS IN JANUARY AS SANITY II BRINGS ME A NEW OUTBOARD PROP!

            Late the next day, Sanity II arrived and Diane hosted a pasta dinner party for 8 onboard Magic, partly to greet our latest arrival. As Dave and Mary approached our boat I was as excited as a kid at Christmas in anticipation of a new prop for our outboard and they didn’t disappoint…Dave even had a Santa hat on and our “gifts” were inside a huge red Christmas bag! Down here where it is mostly “fix or make do,” having new parts really made our day!

            We spent one more full day anchored and took advantage of our new prop to dingy the short distance to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club where we had lunch and a rousing pool-side game of “Farkle,” with the crews of Sanity II, Veritas, and Tehani. If you’ve never played, it is a hoot, best enjoyed with good friends and a good adult beverage!

            Next stop…Little Farmer’s Cay and the 5F (First Friday in February Festival at Farmer’s). Stay tuned!!

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...

FUN, GAMES AND BOAT REPAIRS ON MAGIC

Magic has made it to the heart of the Exuma Island chain in the Bahamas and it would be a huge understatement to say that it is far more beautiful here than we expected. Let me retrace just a bit.

DIANE'S FIRST STARFISH

            Leaving the small, and forgettable anchorage of Frazier’s Hog Cay in the Berry Islands, Magic and Veritas crossed to the island of New Providence (Nassau) we quickly saw our depth gauge go from 10 to OMG as we crossed over the deepest waters between the US and Virgin Islands. The so-called “Tongue of the Ocean” just east of the island of Andros is so deep (over 6000’ in many places!), the Navy uses it as a sort of “Top Gun” tactics playground for submarines! As we crossed this 30 mile wide body of water, there were likely two or more of them literally dogfighting thousands of feet below. Kind of eerie! Here we were, enjoying a glorious sail on the trip of a lifetime while my “bubble head” brethren were honing their warfighting techniques right below us. Who knows, they may have been using Magic as a practice target!

I’ve always prided myself in our anchoring techniques. For the 12 years we’ve owned Magic, only rarely have we had any problems getting our trusty Spade anchor to grab the bottom and hold like Velcro, even in the worst conditions. Well, As Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said, “…Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore!” Down here, I have to become an expert in reading the bottom and then finding a good spot to drop the hook. Needless to say, it will be a while before I get good at it! Our first night on New Providence Island (Nassau), Diane and I decided to go to a well regarded anchorage called West Bay, about 12 miles from Nassau. The cruising guides said holding was good but stay away from grassy areas and, oh yes, parts of the bottom were “scoured” (a very thin layer of sand over hard packed sand that most anchors will not dig into). After 5, count em FIVE unsuccessful attempts to get our anchor to take hold, we finally dug in. Humiliating to say the least. Later that day, several other boats entered, including one we’d met in Bimini and they all leisurely dropped anchor, paid out some chain, and went back to their cockpit seemingly unconcerned whether or not their anchor had set. What the heck? What was their secret? I dingied over to our friends boat and they explained that in some places, they do what is called a “cocktail anchorage.” When they drop the anchor, if they see a “poof” of sand as it hits the bottom, they just let chain out the prescribed distance for the depth of the water, and go to the cockpit and have a beer! After about ½ hour, they set the anchor with the engine and it almost always digs in perfectly! I guess the weight of the boat and chain slowly forces the anchor into the sand without prompting by the engine! I really like that technique.

NASSAU HARBOR.

After a short motorsail to Nassau, we tied up at the same marina our “buddy” boats, Peaceful Easy Feeling and Veritas awaited. PEF was anxious to get going and left the next day, but we spent 2 days in the city of Nassau, about 1 ½ more than I would like! Unfortunately for us, this is where the title of this blog comes into play. Right after our arrival, we noticed our forward head (toilet for you non-boaters) was no longer functioning. We have manual toilets, which means you pump water into the bowl, do your thing, and then pump it out into a holding tank. Well, I couldn’t get the pump to move so that meant there was a blockage...really not good. I tried all the “easy” things to get the thing to work, all to no avail and wound up literally taking the whole system apart and digging to find and clear the blockage. I’ve done this sort of thing before and it doesn’t get any easier…please excuse the pun, but it was truly a crappy job! After many, many hours of cursing, pulling hoses, cursing, cleaning hoses (YECH!), more cursing, reassembling, yes more cursing, and then doing much of it over to find some tiny leak, we finally got the head back to full function. Of course, our nasal passages will never be the same, but what the heck our toilet works again! As usual, Diane was a champ and worked right alongside me the entire time. LONG, HOT showers did wonders and we were almost presentable. Thankfully, there are no photos to document this repair in an exotic location! To celebrate our accomplishment, we went to a local watering hole for a beer and conch fritters. Name of the place?  The Poopdeck Restaurant of course!

Celebrating at POOPDECK Restaurant

Oh yea, for those of you reading this who are sailors dreaming of this sort of adventure, fixing your boat in strange and exotic locations is just part of the deal. Since leaving home I’ve had to repair our refrigerator, replace our alternator controller, made numerous repairs to our once-trusty outboard (now called “Christine”), Remember, you will NEVER have the right spare part, no store will have exactly what you are looking for, and the price will be at least double what you would have paid at home. Still, it is all worth it, trust me.

Crossing from Nassau to Exumas

Since leaving Nassau we’ve visited a number of small islands in the Exuma chain all more beautiful than the last. Our good friends Bob and Maryln Oates on PEF have moved south faster than us in search of exotic locations but Veritas and Magic have pretty much hung together for the last couple weeks. Lively sessions of Hearts and Spades take up much of our evenings and even Jennings (Veritas), a dedicated "night crawler," has gotten used to our early bedtimes and even earlier wakeups to listen to Chris Parker (Shortwave Bahama weather guru) at 0630 every morning.

My next blog will have a lot more photos and descriptions of some of these awesome locations.

NASSAU HERE WE COME!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!           

  Bimini was great and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with the crews of Peaceful Easy Feeling and Veritas, but it was truly time to go and on New Year’s Day, we decided to forgo the traditional Rose Bowl Parade and college football games on TV (amazing, all the Miami networks have repeaters in Bimini and reception was better there than in Coconut Grove!) and head east. Following Veritas out the now-benign channel, we turned north, then east into a dwindling breeze and almost flat seas…finally! Within a couple hours, we found ourselves on the “Great Bahama Bank,” a vast expanse of water east of Bimini where depths vary from 9-20 feet. Words simply cannot describe the scene. Absolutely crystal clear water with visibility so good you can see the bottom with depths greater than 40 feet! While we didn’t see much in the way of fish (Diane was disappointed since she had two fishing lines out, hoping to catch that elusive marlin!), the bottom itself was covered with conch shells, sand dollars, starfish, etc…and it was all there to view from the deck of Magic as we motored along at 6 knots! That was WAY better than the Rose Bowl Parade!

  Mid-afternoon, our little convoy were a little more than half way across “the bank” and instead of sailing through the night to Nassau, and with seas rapidly dropping to just about flat, we decided to anchor for the night. Here’s the picture, two boats, anchored about 100 yards apart, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN! Absolutely incredible. There just aren’t enough adjectives in the English language to describe the scene, but in a word, it was breathtaking. Even Diane, who had some concerns about anchoring because of other boat’s experiences with choppy seas and wind, was ecstatic as we moved along and along with the rest of us kept pointing at interesting things on the bottom some 20 feet below. After a group dinner on Veritas we sat in the cockpit or on deck (the girls abandoned us since we were smoking cigars!) marveling at the night sky, brilliantly lit by stars and planets. Other than our anchor lights, not another light on the ocean. Well, maybe not quite. A glance over at Magic caused all to chuckle since, as assurance against another boat crossing the bank at night hitting us, not only had I turned our anchor light on but plugged in all our Christmas lights as well!  It was an interesting sight seeing the reflection of a big string of multi-colored Christmas lights reflecting off the glassy ocean surface! Unfortunately, we forgot to take a photo!

  After a sound sleep I arose well before dawn early the next morning. I glanced out and to my surprise, saw what I thought was an anchor light of another sailboat, reflecting it’s light on the glassy smooth water very close by. Figuring that boat had seen our lights (with my Christmas lights who could have missed us!) and decided to anchor near us I went below, made coffee and then came back up only to find that boat’s anchor light had gotten MUCH closer since it had gotten quite higher. OOPS! As thousands of other sailor’s have done in the past, I’d mistaken the rising planet Venus for a ship’s anchor light!

   Since departing this magical anchorage (by the way, we were really lucky, lots of others who anchor on “the bank” have far less enjoyable experiences!) we have made our way to Nassau, the capitol of the Bahamas. Here, we are resting up in a nice marina, doing some boat work (you may recall in a past blog that I described cruising as “fixing your boat in exotic places!), and reprovisioning. This is the last place for us to easily obtain fresh veggies, and other groceries at anywhere a reasonable price, so we are making the best of it! We also discovered a great restaurant/bar where they have happy hour with free conch fritters!

  As I have done in just about every blog for a while, I apologize for the few of you who are reading this for the delay in submissions. One, internet service is really hard to find, expensive, and there is just so darn much to do I have trouble finding time to get to this. Still, please stay tuned as we head for the Exuma chain and beyond.

  FYI, bandwidth down here is extremely limited and until I figure out both where the photos I transferred to this laptop are and then how to upload them effeciently (less bytes!) to this blog, you won't see many photos. Please bear with me!