Cruising with the Buckleys: 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.