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.