Black Point

After dropping Kevin off at the airport our plan was to head out for Black Point. There was quite a strong current where we were anchored and while Richard was getting the dinghy moved into the towing position he inadvertently dropped the towline and Max was set free and making a quick getaway! We both looked at each other with a look of horror and within seconds Richard was stripped down to his underwear (thank goodness he wasn’t commando!) and diving in the water. Thankfully he reached it about 50 feet away from us and easily made it back with Max in tow. That definitely was a refreshing start to Richards’s day:)

  We reached Black Point after a beautiful sail and rowed into shore. We hadn’t done laundry since Florida (yes I was doing it by hand) and heard that there was a good Laundromat here. In Staniel Cay it was $10 a load but here it was $3.50/load. On the boat we tend to wear the same clothes and are in swimsuits a lot but everything gets very salty and when it is salty it doesn’t dry completely so everything feels damp. The bedding is the worst; it feels damp at first so we really miss the nice clean sheet feel! Needless to say sand is a problem on the boat as well, it is everywhere but it’s a small price to pay for being here!

   While we were on shore we met Bill and Regina from Norfolk VA, they are travelling on a powerboat and we ended up having drinks with them in town while waiting for our laundry to be finished.

  Our plan was to attend Church on Sunday but Saturday night and Sunday the winds were very strong and we knew we could get to shore by rowing but would have a really hard time getting back to the boat so we had to forego that plan. By mid afternoon we were both going a little stir crazy so we called Bill and Regina and ended up making plans to go to their boat for sundowners as they were quite close to us. The ride over was pretty wild rowing in 30-knot winds and thankfully they have a great swim platform, which made it easier to get on their boat although ungraceful! They are full time live boards and have a lovely very comfortable boat. We had a great evening and were shocked when they offered us their spare dinghy motor to use since we were both heading to Georgetown where our engine part will be delivered. The fantastic people we have met along our journey constantly amaze us! We didn’t put their motor on Max that night, as it was way too rough so we ended up rowing back to our boat in the dark. Lesson learned for me is to take my glasses (not sunglasses) with me if we are returning in the dark. Poor Richard was rowing like crazy as I was trying to decipher which boat was ours without glasses, he wasn’t impressed when he realized I was directing him towards a trimeran, which I thought was ours! I did concede that it was the wrong boat when I saw that it didn’t have a riding sail up… We finally made it back to our boat – soaking wet and after a good work out for Richard.

    We decided to stay another day as there was a Chicken/Rib fundraiser lunch being held on Monday, which we attended. We also walked around the area and went to see the Blowhole as well. Tuesday morning we headed out and had another great sail to Cave Cay where we anchored next to Bill and Regina on Meant 2B. They came over for a visit on our boat and we ended up with thunder and lightning and heavy rain. They managed to get back to their boat between the rains. We spent a sleepless night between the weather, heat and current sending Max banging up against the boat. Wednesday morning we headed out for 35nm motor sail to Georgetown in light winds.

Staniel Cay

We had an amazing three days in Staniel Cay. Went for a great lunch at the Yacht Club and a nice walk around the town, which is very small, but everyone is extremely friendly.

We snorkeled at Thunder ball Grotto and I can’t even begin to say how surreal that was, we were there by ourselves for quite awhile and it was magical, like being in an aquarium! We snorkeled out around the reef a bit also but there was quite abit of current and I was ready to leave when a shark showed up, it was only a nurse shark though but they still unnerve me!

One of our days here was quite windy and the catamaran in front of us got out a kiteboard that they played on all afternoon, looked like a lot of fun!

 We did the pigs! It was so funny to see them swimming out to greet us, mouths open wide! There are some really big ones there! They definitely know when you are out of food and when new people are coming ashore possibly with food…

We have had a fantastic time with Kevin here, so nice to be able to share in the beauty all around us. His flight left out of Staniel Cay on today (Saturday) for Nassau and then on to Edmonton where he will be in for a shock to be back to Canadian winters!

When Richard got back to the boat with the dinghy, he was moving it from the side to the stern as we were getting ready to go and somehow he let go of the rope! The dinghy quickly drifted away but he stripped down to his under ware and dove in after it – at least the water is warm!

Meant to mention that in Wardrick Wells our newish outboard decided to start leaking propane. Richard took it apart and in the carburetor there was a broken rubber seal. He got a hold of the company and they are sending down a replacement (into Geaorgetown) carburetor that he will have to put in. As the dinghy (and motor) is our family van, the motor will be missed for a week or so! A few days after this Kevin was rowing in strong winds and the oar broke where the oar lock goes through it, fortunately he was close to shore. He spend the next several hours trying to procure another oar but with no success until he found someone who would sell one for $40.00. It was a foot shorter but it was better than nothing. He also managed to find some construction people and they drilled and put a big deck screw into to it to hold the oarlock on. Well that was good but the next day while going to see the pigs the other oarlock snapped at the base! Now we are up the creek without a paddle and motor!!! Anyways the boys managed to jury rig a bolt onto the oarlock so it could slip into place. More stuff needed in Georgetown.

Wardrick Wells

We spent two beautiful days in Wardrick Wells, which is in the Exumas Park so you can’t fish. The snorkeling was great even though being chased by a shark is a little unnerving…. Got a great video of 4 rays … until the shark came and started to head toward Richard and Kevin! They swam away which my have made the shark curious….. We borrowed some kayaks and had fun checking out the area in them.

Kevin and Richard went for a hike on Booboo Hill where at the top cruisers put a memento of their boats in driftwood.

Note the bright flag in the photo – Kevin brought us two new ones to replace our beaten up ones.

Next destination: Staniel Cay!

Rock Sound

We sailed the whole way to Rock Sound, which was nice! It is a big Harbour yet very protected from the winds, we anchored close to the town, once settled we headed in to check out what was ashore. It is smaller than Govenours Harbour but the people were very friendly. We made our way to the Ocean Hole, which was in the town and were surprised to see how well kept and nice it was. There was a family from Toronto there feeding the fish and their little boy was in swimming. After a few noisy nights in Govenours Harbour we were looking forward to a quiet night but much to our surprise we were woken up about 4am when the mail boat arrived and they proceeded to unload it for the next 2 hours. The town comes alive when the boat arrives!

   We were excited to have Kevin arrive on the 31^st. He flew in from Edmonton to Nassau with a stopover in Toronto then changed planes arriving in Rock Sound at 415pm. The airport is just at the end of the bay so Richard took the dinghy over to pick him up. Being New Years Eve we went over to Scott and Michelle’s boat for Happy Hour and were joined by Paul and Phyllis and Jeannette and Terry. In true cruiser style we were home and in bed by 9pm!

  The next morning we left early for Allen’s Cay it was a windy day and we made good time. The guys were excited to try out the yoyos (fishing gear) on the trip so we had them behind us most the way but didn’t catch anything. We ended up staying in Highborne Cay as it was really windy and we didn’t want to risk going into Allen’s with the waves. It was a shock to see all the mega yachts around, a big change from Eluthera! Richard and Kevin weren’t long getting in the water to check out the sights and were quickly greeted by a Nurse Shark hanging around them. The next day we dinghied into the Marina to pick up some supplies, it was definitely one of the more upper scale ones that we have been too and that was the reason we were anchored! Kevin picked up a case of pop for $42! After lunch we headed over to Allen’s Cay to check out the Iguanas, there sure were a lot of them and they enjoyed the cabbage that we brought for them. We snorkeled abit around Leaf Cay, Kevin came across an old truck under water and there were two old engine blocks on shore. The water was beautiful, so warm and clear; I was surprised by the current though as it was definitely noticeable. Kevin managed to spear a lobster – the world’s smallest lobster – amazing how everything is magnified under water! We headed over to Southwest Allen’s Cay and the guys did abit more diving as I enjoyed the sun on the beach! That evening I cooked up Kevin’s lobster and he enjoyed his first Bahamian lobster!

   Saturday morning as we were having breakfast we had a visitor arrive, a little bird arrived on our deck and was quite friendly, we shooed him away but he quickly came back. He ended up sharing Richards breakfast of cereal and toast. After breakfast we headed out for Wardrick Wells but it was very windy and we were beating into it so we diverted into Shroud Cay where we picked up a mooring ball. Once again we were surrounded by mega yachts with lots of jet skies and fast dinghy’s. They guys headed in to check out the island and the rivers that cross Shroud Cay. They did a bit of diving and swimming on the ocean side as well. We will stay here tomorrow as the winds are again forecast to be high.