Thurs- Fri, May 4th
BARRATERRE
Heading north out of the Georgetown area under light wind we motor sail as we try to keep up our speed for fishing. After 20 nm and no fish we head into Rat Cay cut where we stop for lunch and a swim. We are expecting strong south and west winds over the next few days so we decide that since we are on a rising tide and with sunny skies to try the shallow route to anchor at Barraterre. Much of the Exumas consist of very shallow sand banks that move with the current as the tide flows between the shallow bank side to the deep ocean on the sound side. As long as the sun is overhead reading the water depth is fairly easy. We find a spot just in front of town to anchor in 6 ft of water with great protection. A walk around this tiny town provided us with a a bag of local tomatoes and a stop at the local bar for refreshments. Late day we stopped a local boat and were able to buy cleaned conch at 5 for $10, not worth hunting and cleaning at that price.
LEE STOCKING ISLAND
Sat thru Mon
As the wind veered to the east and built our anchorage became uncomfortable so we headed north to one of our favorite stops at the abandoned Carribean research center. Spent our days wandering the island enjoying the beautiful oceanside beaches. The first evening we stopped to visit a sportfish anchored next to us and were rewarded with a gift of 5 lbs of Mahi fillets. A great dinner plus plenty for the freezer.
On Mon we took a dingy ride to explore the salt pond on Normans Pond Cay. Had a productive day harvesting 23 big conch. On our return I was reminded why it is easier to buy them after spending hours cleaning and skinning them. Had a feast that evening and still froze many meals.
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| outlet of salt pond at low tide |
RUDDER CAY
Moving north we exit Adderly cut with the wind opposing the current and had a hairy ride for a bit as we buried the bow into about 5 sets of standing waves. By the time we realized how big these seas were it was to late to turn back safely but once we entered open water the seas calmed nicely. Sailing north I lost a nice Mahi after getting it alongside but landed a big Barracuda that was to big to keep. Stayed outside sailing back and forth past the cut we wanted to wait for slack tide. This proved to be a good move and we entered Cave Cut with much smoother seas.
Dingeyed around checking out the man made cave(Germans hid U-boats here) and snorkeling on a site where the Islands owners (supposedly David Copperfield) have placed a mermaid at a piano.
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| mermaid at piano(stock photo) |
BIG FARMERS CAY
Another gunkholing expedition led us into an anchorage we have always bypassed due to shallow sandbars. Anchored in 6 ft off a great beach where we spent the afternoon exploring a stream filled with small conch, rays and turtles.
BLACK POINT
Another beautiful day has us sailing north under full sail making great time. Anchored off of the village of Black Point where we were able to get rid of our trash(always a problem) fill our water and have lunch at Lorraines Cafe. In the morning we hiked to a blow hole on the ocean side but weren’t impressed as the ocean was nearly calm and the tide was out. We are told this is one of the most impressive blow holes in the Bahamas, maybe next trip.
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| Black Point blowhole(stock photo) |
SANDY CAY
Another great sail took us north with plans to stop at Staniel Cay for gas and diesel but it turned out they were out of both so we sailed on and tucked in to a small group of islands once again in about 6 ft of water. As we worked our way thru the shallows caught a nice mutton snapper that we devoured for dinner. Spent the afternoon on a perfect tiny beach that Chris now adds to her list of favorite beaches.
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| another great beach |
EXUMA NATIONAL PARK
CAMBRIDGE CAY-BELL ISLAND
Moving along north we sail with just the jib working our way thru the windy channel to anchor in a cove off of bell Island. We are expecting west winds and the anchorages for protection are very limited. Bell Island is one of the many private islands in Exuma National Park and the owners made their wishes for privacy known with many signs along with 2 large dogs patrolling the beach. Even though all beaches in the Bahamas are public up to the high water mark we didn’t press our luck with the dogs by venturing ashore.
HOG CAY-PIRATES LAIR
I have always wanted to venture into this anchorage but it requires entering from the ocean with calm seas or transiting an intricate channel thru many small islands. We decided to try the channel as the tide was high and soon realized this should have been accomplished at slack tide. The gps made following the channel a breeze but currents flowing off the bank were fierce pulling at us as we negotiated the narrow cuts thru the islands. We had reserved a mooring via radio thru the park service since their are only 5 moorings available and anchoring would be tricky as the current flows at a good clip with the tide.
This narrow anchorage was supposedly a hideout for pirates and we hiked to the spot where they had a camp and well. At low slack tide we explored a cave that connects the harbor with the ocean. Enjoyed an afternoon on the beach with 2 couples journeying south both seeing this area for the first time.
Our second nite brought severe squalls with heavy rain and winds to 50kts but we felt quite safe in this protected harbor. The only problem was that after the storm quieted down and the tidal current flowing at about 3 kts the boat couldn’t decide to lay with the tide or the wind. Until about midnight when the tide switched we had to put up with the mooring ball being dragged back and forth under the bow. I hate to see what this did to our bottom paint.
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| cave at Hog Cay |
WARDRICK WELLS
Tues and Wed
We awake to clear skies and much calmer seas and decide to exit this crazy anchorage before the seas build and trap us here. A short sail up the coast to the inlet at Wardrick Wells Park where we have reserved a mooring for the next couple of days as more squally weather is expected. Drinks (homebrew) aboard Irish Eyes with Bill and Adair whom we have met at many of our stops, and yes they really do make homebrew on their 34 ft boat and it was great. Our second night we had them over for my special conch fritters and cocktails. A couple of hikes and a trip up BoBo hill to replace our updated boat sign made for a relaxing stay.
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| Apres Ski at Wardrich Wells mooring |
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| replacing our sign-BOBO Hill |
HAWKSBILL CAY
Keeping with our island hopping theme we move all of 16nm up the chain to anchor at Hawksbill Cay. Great sailing with 18 kt winds under just the jib until we were hit by a squall with heavy rain but we managed to get our cockpit enclosure sealed up in time to stay dry. Skies cleared by afternoon and we hiked to the ocean side but seas were wild so it was back to our protected beach.
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| three sea turtles kept us entertained- this one is about 24in long |
SHROUD CAY
Another short sail with big winds finds us in the protected north end of Shroud Cay. The center of this island is nearly all mangrove swamp with tidal streams flowing thru. We dingy thru to the ocean side but decide to spend the afternoon at a tiny beach close to the boat.
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| our private beach -Shroud Cay |
HIGHBORNE CAY
Winds are still howling but the seas are reasonable in the lee of the islands as we fly under jib only to anchor for lunch at Normans Cay. We met friends here and had lunch at the resort. If we hadn’t already committed we probably wouldn’t have stayed for the $25 burgers and $7 beers. A nice lunch but certainly not our kind of place.
After lunch we continued our journey north to anchor off of Highborne Cay to prepare to cross back to Eleuthra.
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