Leaving the Exumas

Hello everyone. We have made it to Spanish Wells, North Eleuthera. the last 3 weeks have been lots of fun and we have been getting some great sailing in. We plan on leaving to cross to the Abacos on Thursday if the weather continues to behave as predicted.

This blog will cover the final days traveling the Exumas as I have already uploaded the photos. Once we get to the Abacos I will post our adventures on the Island of Eleuthera and Spanish Wells.

When you last saw us we were waiting out a blow in Little Farmers Cay. A beautiful spot with some of the most friendly locals we have met so far. We ended up there for 4 days.

Anchored between Great Guana Cay and Little Farmers,

great protection against the predicted winds (that never really showed up!)

This picture was taken on a walk to JR's to see his wood carving.

beach walk, this is an abandoned home built by a squatter on government property who has since been chased away.

JR's place of business, a lovely man with great talent and pride in his work.

 

While we were out walking we were invited to a family "Fish Fry" that was being held down at the docks. We had such a wonderful time eating and visiting.

Fish, dumplings, conch salad, mhh mhh GOOD!

Krista and I still had some school supplies on board that we have been waiting to find the just the right home, Little Farmers was it. We passed along two full bags to Deborah who was going to make sure it got to the school. They were very appreciative.

preparing the conch

Al thoroughly enjoying his fried fish

In my bag of goodies a also had leftover Canadian tattoos from Canada Day. The youngsters in the crowd were thrilled to have Krista and I help put them on.

So much fun.

We were not having any luck searching out local snorkel sites when we happened by a local fish boat heading out to go diving for lobster. They told us to follow them.pointing out areas for us to check out and let them know if we spotted any lobster. No lobster for any of us but some great snorkeling.

We broke down and purchased some lobster off of Don's buddy that came in later that day. Delicious, but it would have been nice to get one ourselves-or at least seen one!!

Roosevelt is the owner of Farmers Cay Yacht Club, him and his wife were wonderful hosts. Good food and prices, he made a mean Rum punch and  loved to share stories and pictures of his Island and family. This day he was giving us a lesson on breaking into the coconut to get the flesh out and passing along a recipe to cook it down for making pastries. Al and Phil had no problem getting the meat out but i need to get another lesson on cooking it, didn't quite figure it out but would love to try again.

Our next stop was Black Point again to get up on laundry and pick up some groceries.  We ended up two nights at anchor in the bay and managed to go for a walk to a part of the Island we hadn't gotten to before. This is a picture of a "blowhole", ocean water from sea caves creating vertical shafts in the rock where water and air are released.

I also managed to clean the water line of the boat on a beautiful afternoon. I did this while swimming, snorkel and mask also helped out. I was back in the boat for less than 1 minute when a general announcement came over the radio. "All those anchored in Black Point Bay be aware a 8 foot Hammerhead shark has been spotted at the government dock, swimming not advised"! Even after the fact it was a very eerie feeling. Of coarse we got in the dingy and went to get a look, sure enough there she was swimming right along shore. I wouldn't let Al get to close but you could see very clearly what it was.  

Yet another cold front with high winds had been predicted for the nest few days with a west component to the winds. The one nice thing about the winds and heading north is all the great sailing days we are getting in, awesome not to have to run the engine. We left Black Point as it is very exposed and headed into Pipe Creek, just north of Staniel Cay. A beautiful anchorage that we missed on our way down. Very shallow but great holding and protection form most directions. We stayed for another 4 nights. Exploring by foot and dingy.

Haven is the centre vessel

view of the sound side

one of my favorite little private Islands, Pipe Creek 

Heading back into the Exuma Land and Sea Park, we anchored behind O'Brien Cay, just north of Cambridge Cay to go snorkeling on the "Sea Aquarium". A must see for anyone visiting this area of the world, the best site for snorkeling that we have come across. My pictures don't do it justice but it's the best we could do.

Next stopped, Shroud Cay. One night at anchor so we could take a trip up the mangroves on hightide the next morning. Known for high numbers of Seabirds and marine life we were told it's a must see. Unfortunately we did't get to see many birds, but a beautiful ride through the rock cut and mangroves bringing us out onto the sound side and a very lovely beach.

view looking back into cut

view from cut, looking out into the sound

my first attempt at baking bread, I chose the pressure cooker method. It weighed about 8 pounds and was barely edible!
Nancy aboard Angel Eyes has passed on her recipe for the same method so I will try again, I can't let this defeat me.

In the afternoon we moved over to Norman's Island to stage ourselves for leaving to Eleuthera. Krista and Phil were also looking forward to meeting up with friends of theirs from back home, Rick and Doreen aboard Breathless who have travelled to Bahamas 18 times. We had a lovely night sharing food, drink and stories. It was a pleasure to have finally met the famous duo who have been an incredible source of information to so many fellow cruisers who we have met along the way and in turn we also benefited. Some squalls were predicted that night and when we woke in the morning the spiralling winds were causing a bit of grief in the anchorage, were not all suppose to be facing each other!

So one of our  final pictures of Haven in the Exumas. What an amazing place. The clear waters, warm friendly people, the sailing, the incredible colours of the water, snorkeling, meeting new friends, oh did I mention the water!!

anchored off Shroud Cay

George Town and Beyond

The George Town experience has been much more fun and relaxing than we thought initially. 

The amenities and people of George Town speak for themselves for why so many cruisers can spend an entire season right here in this harbour.

Yes, there are more boats here than we can count, but with 3 large anchorages and multiple smaller ones we always felt like there was space for everyone.

An extremely organized group of volunteers that ran a cruisers network, organized sports and events like Yoga, Volleyball, kids’ activities ,and dances. Lectures you could attend on the beach, everything from local history to the never ending discussion on batteries.

This past week was the annual Cruisers Regatta, a week of boat races, large and small, along with varying land competitions such as volleyball, baseball and scavenger hunts. While we did participate in the opening ceremonies we decided that after 8 days of George Town it was time to duck out and explore some of the surrounding Islands.

Al filling the water tanks

George Town was a blast. It was also the perfect host to allow us to catch up on boat chores as we awaited delivery of parts Al had ordered. Valentine's evening was spent at Peace and Plenty, a fabulous meal and a bit of dancing. The grocery store was large(ish) and well stocked and they supplied free R/O water right on the dingy dock. We managed to have our propane tank filled, Lee ran a very organized laundry facility that was easy, accessible and a reasonable cost. Twice a week one of the local businesses, a deli/butcher shop that was a 15 minute drive out of town, picked cruisers up then dropped them back off downtown GT. The ride in the back of the pickup truck was DEFINITELY worth it! A beautiful shop with an amazing selection of fresh meats and cheeses that would rival any shop at home.

Prime Meats and Deli

Harmonium and ourselves ended up renting scooters for a day, having quite the adventure with lots of laughs as we toured a large portion of Great Exuma Island. Devoured probably one of our top restaurant meals at Santini's, bought delicious bread from Mama’s Bakery and just enjoyed soaking in the beautiful scenery – a fabulous day!

Outside Santini's. Little guy wanted me to take him for a ride.

One of my highlights included spending 2 ½ days volunteering with a group people brought together by the Canadian Royal Potcake Team, running a free Spay/Neuter program on the Island. “Potcakes” are the name given to the population of dogs on the Bahama Islands. Two veterinarians, one from Ontario and the other from Florida along with one tech and handful of Canadian and local volunteers managed to spay/neuter over 80 animals during the week. It felt great to actually be “working” again and felt very much at home. Everyone  did an awesome job and it was such a pleasure working with all of them!

surrendered momma and her "parasites"

Along with chores we were spent time wandering around George Town, enjoying the local food, spreading our beer money around the various local businesses and walking trails and swimming in the ocean on the sound side of Stocking Island. We also got to enjoy the company of old and new friends we have met along the way.

propane day

outside "Chat n' Chill

There is almost a mile (or maybe more) between some some of the anchorages over at stocking Island to the dingy dock in GT. The dingy ride back and/or forth could be a very wet experience with the way the winds were kicking up most of the time. When we needed to do laundry or refill water and fuel etc. we would move our boat close to town to make it easier on us. Sometimes the umbrella trick worked to hide behind for protection, otherwise we would just duck when we could and endure. 

We attended Eddy’s Edgewater “Rake n’ Scrape”, local Bahamian music and instruments as well as the

Opening celebrations of the Regatta via water taxis, the only way to go if you want to stay dry!

Anchored off Elizabeth Island were we spent a very fun happy hour aboard Harmonium joined by Millevassions and Seranada. Heading out the next morning for Conception Island, a 40 NM trip, we joined a long line of boats also taking advantage of the good weather system.

Jacques and Cathy with their first Mahi Mahi!!

The day was fabulous, great winds so we were able to sail all the way, right into the anchorage.

Unfortunately, Al discovered his real for the fishing pole was seized and unable to be repaired so no fishing for us. All the way across we kept hearing "fish on" from other boaters but when all was said and done, Millevasions was the only boat that landed one, a Mahi Mahi. They were very kind to share some with us for happy hour the next evening (delicious Ceviche) as well as brought Al and I a piece for us to cook later. -THANKS Cathy and Jacque!

Conception was just beautiful, a designated land park. We spent 2 days exploring the shores, got in some snorkeling as well as a fabulous dingy trip into the mangroves to watch the sea turtles.

Next was Long Island, making our way into Calabash Bay. The day was the epitome of a perfect Bahamian day. Very light winds, hot sun and spectacular blue water of varying hues as far as the eyes could see. For the first time on this trip we flew our brand new asymmetric light weight sail. It took a bit to rig it up and try to remember how to sail it but all and all it went really well and looked awesome. Sadly we still came in 3^rd of 3 vessels fighting for a 1^st place finish  – Congratulations to Harmonium for taking first with a special honorary mention due to the fact that they also managed to put a Mahi in their freezer at the same time.

Millevasions came a very close 2^nd, if the finish was further away she may have taken them!

Calabash has one of the most beautiful beaches in regards to the sand quality I heard it described twice in one night, male version= ”like dry wall mud”  female version= ”like icing sugar”. I would agree with both!

First flight in the Bahamas!

the water never ceases to amaze us!

Our time in Calabash started out great. Happy hour at the resort with a bunch of fellow cruisers, and a long walk checking out our surroundings in northern Long Island the next day with a delicious dinner with Millevasions aboard Harmonium as they shared their Mahi catch with all of us. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse, mainly wind direction and strength, leaving us open to VERY uncomfortable waters. After being up all night and exhausted we decided not to move the boat as the winds were supposed to lessen that night and the waves made it very dangerous to put our dingy and engine up for the trip. We went to shore early and enjoyed an entire day on land. Breakfast and lunch at the resort, napped on lounge chairs and read, took that wonderful shoreline walk. To end it all off we had drinks and a good game of Dominoes in the bar with Phil and Krista. Not a bad way to spend a day in the Bahamas.

So, for a second time the weather man was wrong again and another bad night on the hook. In the morning a decision was made just to go back to George Town as the anchorage further down (Thompson Bay) would also be exposed and we couldn’t bear another night of no sleep. We had great winds and although we had to tack a few times to keep us from beating into the waves we managed again to sail the entire way!

Back in George Town and calm(er) waters and picked up an email from Millevasions who had gone on from Calabash that first morning. They reported a good, quiet night on the hook. Oh well, you win some and loose some. We hoped to return to Long Island to see what we missed when the weather system settled out.

Well, the weather system never did settle or even become predictable. Chris Parker “THE" weather guy, sounded as frustrated as the cruisers as he continued to get it wrong day after day. A decision was made that a return trip to Long Island was not in the cards.

We were able to catch the closing party for the regatta and had a chance to meet and share a wonderful meal with friends of Harmonium’s who had just come into town, Nina and John from “Sun kissed”.

Al bought a new real for his fishing rod, our parts finally came in, filled up on water and fuel. I made another trip to the butcher, this time by cab as there were too many of us waiting for the truck. A quick shop for some fresh produce and we found ourselves ready to start our trip north bound. Winds in our favour for the next few days we headed out with a trip plan. This would have us stopping at a couple of places we missed on our way down and then put us into safe anchorage for a predicted storm that would be hitting us Thursday and Friday.

So, winds from the wrong direction and stronger than predicted prevented us from two of our anchorages and took us into one great spot that we wouldn’t have considered if we didn’t meet up with Sea Spirit who had a set tract to get in.

Now here’s a great story. Making our way up from GT to our first anchorage and just before heading into the cut from the sound, Harmonium gets a hail on the radio from a vessel, Sea Spirit. Great folks from Hawaii who all of us have met before. Apparently they had just recovered a dingy floating with a name on the side that 

they recognized, “Harmonica”. Harmonium looked to their aft and were horrified NOT to see their dingy in its usual place! Thank goodness for small miracles – 1. someone saw it and picked it up 2. That someone wanted to return it and 3. That someone actually new who it belonged to.

Harmonica coming home!

Jamie and his gang (wife and 4 young daughters) were making their way into the same anchorage and were happy to drop the dingy by for them. Great end to what could have been a HUGE inconvenience and royal pain in the ass for Harmonium. They we so very thrilled and relieved to have their “car” returned.  It can sure happen to any of us when we are dragging the dingy. The lesson in it for us is that we need to put our boat information inside the dingy, just in case!

We had a great night sleep at this anchorage, Children’s Bay Cay, but it was very shallow and ended up bumping the sand in the early morning. Given the winds weren’t going to let us get in to Barraterre settlement anyway, we choose to move on.

Investigation of our next choice again turned out to be more uncomfortable waters so we ended up going all the way up to Little Farmers to wait out this weather. Just couldn’t win for loosing.

After a wonderful, leisurely 4 hour sail with our fishing line out (no bites) and 2 lines on the dingy we brought our sail in and made our way through the cut. Dropping the hook in almost same place as the last time we visited Little Farmers Cay.

Little Farmers Cay

A really lovely spot that we’re happy to be back at and we know we have great holding. Now let’s just wait and see if the storm ends up hitting us.

Bye for now.