Time to turn our bow north

Cat Island

Mon May 16ththru Sat the 22nd

We are greeted by another day of warm sunshine and light south winds as we head north to Cat Island. Not very exciting sailing but since we are crossing 35 mi of open ocean, calm seas are higher priority. Fished all day with no luck. Cat is another long skinny island with very few residents. As the week progressed we found ourselves working our way slowly up the coast with stops at the tiny settlements of Hawks Nest, New and Old Bight, Smith Bay and Bennets Harbor. The pilot has to pay close attention in these waters as coral heads are numerous but very easy to spot with the sun overhead. This is not an area that attracts much tourism and the lack of protected anchorages keeps boaters away in all but settled weather. We enjoyed the miles of deserted beaches and the hike up Mt Alverna to visit the Hermitage built by Fr. Jerome as his retirement home is not to be missed. Everywhere we went we found the ruins of stone plantations that date back to the days when British Loyalists fled the American Colonies to create what was once a thriving farming center.

The Hermitage of Father Jerome

Ruins of Loyalist plantation

Dodging coral heads in 20 ft of water, hard to tell how close they come to the surface

Little San Salvador
Sun May 22nd

While the winds are favorable we decide to head west 20 miles to Little San Salvador. Along the way we have some exciting fishing with a few lost fish but bringing in a big Barracuda that we released and a nice snapper that made a tasty dinner. Celebrated with the last 2 beers from our original stores (started with a dozen 18 packs). I must admit that the boat sits much higher in the water now that we have depleted most of the wine, beer and tonic we carried from Fl. So far I have resisted paying the exorbitant price for even cheap beer ($44/case) but I may break down soon. Wine and liquor are fairly reasonable and available in most towns.
This small island is used by a number of cruise lines as a day stop and is set up to resemble an idyllic Bahamas village. They have renamed it Half Moon Cay and when a ship arrives and 2000 tourists descend on its beautiful beach it becomes paradise lost. Luck has it that no ship is here when we anchor and we enjoyed an afternoon of snorkeling and exploring.

South to the tropics

Long Island

Sat May 7th

Up until now we have been covering areas that we were familiar with from our trip last year but now we move into new terrain. As we cross the Tropic of Cancer we are entering the true tropics. Our next destination is Long Island which is a short sail (about 26 miles) across the open waters of the Exuma Sound. With light winds nearly on the nose we motorsailed most of the way. It seems our luck with the winds has run to either feast or famine lately. As we approached land I caught our only fish for the day, a nice Amberjack that made a tasty dinner and chowder for lunch on Sun. We anchored behind a couple of small Islands about 5 miles from the northern tip of Long Island expecting a calm night. Unfortunately there was still a big swell running in from the open ocean and we spent the night rolling uncomfortably.

Sun- Mothers Day

Another beautiful day found us Snorkeling on a nearby reef with lots of small colorful fish and coral. I brought in a nice Conk for dinner but our excursion was curtailed when a large Barracuda showed up. Explored a nearby creek where we had planned to snorkle in a blue hole but that also was put on hold when we saw a couple of small (4 ft) sharks in the shallows. I cooked a dinner of Conk fritters and steaks (from the freezer) as Chris enjoyed her day of leisure.

Conk for dinner

We shortened our snorkeling adventure when this 4 ft shark joined us.

Mon-

As I won't put up with another rolly night at anchor we moved on to Salt Pond. Had a slow sail in light winds but no fish. Arrived early enough for a hike to the ocean side beach where we decided we should have brought our snorkle gear as the reefs are all close to shore. Quiet night in this large protected anchorage with 4 other sailboats.

Tue- Calm winds and very warm. Of all the days to pick to bake Chris spent the morning with the oven on making bread, cookies and muffins. A picnic lunch at the ocean beach after a great snorkle on the reef made for a pleasant afternoon.

Wed, thru Fri-A morning spent exploring the nearby caves was followed by a sail south to Pratts Hill where we explored the remains of a Spanish church dating from the 1700's. Thurs morning we sailed back north stopping at a blue hole about 100 ft across where the depth plunged from 10 ft to 55 ft. Back at Salt Pond we biked around a bit but found the heat a bit much. Jock from the homebuilt 40ft catamaran Unleaded joined us for an evening of cocktails and swapping lies.

Caves abound in this region

Sat- A trip to the local farmers market supplied us with a few fresh veggies but the pickings were slim. In the afternoon the local sailing club held a mini regatta as a fundraiser. We enjoyed a great dinner and drinks with a local rake/scrape band supplying the entertainment.

Class c boat at the local mini regatta- Long Island

Sun- Sailed north to Calabash Bay catching a small Barracuda that was great for dinner plus at least 3 more meals in the freezer.

Rock formations on ocean beach

More caving, note bat near ceiling

South to Georgetown, Exuma

Stocking Island looking south

Sat April 30th-

Another sunny warm morning found us heading south while the wind and waves are tolerable even though we are still heading into the wind to close for real sailing. Motor sail on the open waters of the sound to Georgetown/Stocking Island. Arrived at the anchorage in time to see the last race of the regatta. This was the final race for the largest boats and even though we didn't try to get close it still looked like a wild time. The waterfront was a real zoo with all the spectators partying. Anchored for the night at Monument Beach.

Class a racing sloop(note crew hiking out on planks)


Class c boat

Andros (in foreground center) anchored off Hamburger Beach

Sun thru Tue-

The wind is blowing like mad again and we have not ventured into town as it's a long dingy ride across choppy water. We have kept ourselves entertained wandering about the island exploring beaches. Cocktails aboard Amata Marie with Jim and Nancy made for a pleasant evening.

Monument Beach Anchorage

Wed-

The winds have abated and it was a mass exit of boats leaving the anchorage to head north. We moved to the exposed anchorage off of town for shopping, laundry, wifi, water and fuel. As I write this we are enjoying lunch prior to finding the Laundromat and bank. Georgetown is a very boater friendly town and even though the winter season has ended their are still over 100 boats at anchor.

Thur-

Another lazy day spent enjoying the great beaches and wandering the island trails. Spent a pleasant evening with Sara and Trevor, a young couple sailing out of Tennessee on a Hunter 27.

So many beaches, so little time!

Fri-
Looks like the winds will finally calm down so we anchored off of town to top off fuel and water and pick up a few fresh veggies. Anchored for the night at Sanddollar beach so we would be close to the south entrance.