Sailed, (motored, no wind) south from the Exuma
Park at Warderick Wells Cay to Staniel Cay on 11th March, together with
Breathless. Staniel Cay is a favourite stopping off point for cruisers as
there is a choice of anchorages around the area giving shelter from most
wind directions, and some grocery stores. The main anchorage is between the
Majors, (Big Major Spot and Little Major Spot). The approaches are all
between rocks, reefs and sand bars and a little intricate, but we are
getting used to that. We are also getting used to the very fierce and
confused currents that occur through each cut between islands.
There are occasions when the wind is very strong, but
the boat is sitting over the anchor or the anchor is behind the boat due to
strong currents. This can mean that the anchor does not set properly and the
next time the wind blows and the current is slack, the boat can drag.
We met up with That's It again in the Majors.
Unfortunately their engine had seized, so they had been stuck there for a
while.
The day we arrived, we were immediately invited to a
beach happy hour. This is a regular occurrence in such anchorages and a
great way to meet other cruisers and to exchange travel and fish stories. We
usually takes a couple of drinks and a few hors d'ouvres to pass around.
These affairs are usually closed by blowing conch horns to celebrate sunset.
The end of a conch shell is sawn off and smoothed out and with some practice
an impressive sound can be produced. In some anchorages, dozens of these
conch horns sound off at sunset.
Two days later, Art from That's It came up with a
variation on the happy hour theme. One
dinghy is anchored somewhere up current or wind before sundown. All the
other dinghies tie up to that dinghy. Hors d'ouvres are passed around from
dinghy to dinghy and when the sun goes down, the anchor is pulled and the
raft of dinghies drifts in the current, each dinghy breaking off as their
boat is reached.
Staniel Cay has three small grocery stores, with limited supplies but some
fresh vegetables, eggs and home cooked bread. The most fascinating of these
are the "Pink" grocery store and the "Blue" grocery store. They really are
that colour and this adds to their fame. There is also a marina with
restaurant and bar and fresh fish, conch and lobster can be bought from
local fishermen.
Scenes from the James Bond movie Thunderball were filmed in the grotto at
Staniel Cay, now called the Thunderball Grotto. This is a must to visit, but
only recommended at slack tide. Dinghy moorings are provided and mask,
snorkel and fins are required to get in through the low narrow entrance into
the inner cave.
The
night of 15th March was a little exciting. Wind and waves picked up and the
holding in the anchorage is not that great in such conditions. All night
anchor watches were necessary and a number of boats dragged their anchor, a
very unnerving experience in the middle of a busy anchorage in the middle of
a dark night. The most dramatic was That's It who put out a radio call
for assistance during the night as they had no engine to stop their drift.
How they missed two other boats we will never know. When we went out in the dinghy to assist we could not find them initially as they
had drifted so far in the dark.
We had agreed to wait in the Majors to help
That's It leave. With no engine, they had to be towed out of the anchorage
and the narrow channel to safe waters.
The decision was made that they would sail without engine to Nassau, but the
winds that night and the following day convinced us all that a professional
tow with some local experience would be required. That's It were towed out on 16th
after some interesting unraveling of three anchors. We really enjoy Art and
Joan's company so will stay in touch with them while their engine is being
rebuilt and hope to catch up with them again later in the season.
The original group of boats has now dispersed as expected. Nikita and
Christina Joy have returned through Nassau and are heading back to the
States. That's It has arrived safely in Nassau for an engine rebuild. Chill
and Melissa Sue should be in Georgetown. Breathless left the Majors and
Staniel Cay on 17th March, the same day as Dream On but headed south. We
headed back north to visit the Pipe Creek area, 6 miles north of the Majors.
The entry to Pipe Creek is very intricate. The entry channel passes between
rocky outcrops and shallow sand bars and is best tackled at high tide in
good visibility with the sun behind you. There are very strong currents
between the islands and in the channels between the sandbars.
The Pipe Creek area comprises Compass Cay. Pipe Cay, Joe Cay, Thomas Cay,
Hatties Cay, Little Pipe Cay, Wild Tamarind Cay and a few un-named small
cays. Most of the Cays are uninhabited. Those that are inhabited are private
with maybe one discreetly located house. Compass Cay has a
small and exclusive marina hidden behind other islands. At high tide there
is a lagoon within the area of probably 8 square miles. At low
tide, this is halved as the white sandbars are exposed. There are many
fabulous beaches, soft white sand, small islands to explore and we have it
all, virtually to ourselves. In this whole area, there was one other yacht
and that was over a mile away with two small islands between us.
It was here that we developed our successful strategy for reef fishing. We
take the dinghy and anchor over a reef around 15 feet deep. If it's before 4
pm we both take to the water with our lobster catching equipment. We free
dive down to look under ledges to look for them. One very good one caught so
far. Then one of us remains in the water, (usually Iza because she loves the
challenge), the other hangs a fishing line out usually baited with conch.
The one in the water maneuvers the line so the bait is at the right depth
and hanging in front of the right fish. If the fish yawns, pop the bait
in! Not quite that easy, but once the small fish get excited around the
bait, the bigger fish get curious. This is known as the "hypothermia for one
technique." After 4pm, we are both in the dinghy with
one hanging over the side with mask and snorkel as sharks and barracudas are
usually getting hungry around this time. This is know as "the butt in the
sun technique."
The 4pm deadline reminds us of a comment from one of our other cruiser
friends, Gene on GeWil, who we met with his wife Wilma in Exuma Cays Park.
Gene says. "I never go anywhere where I'm not top of the food chain!"
We also found conch in this area, so had our first attempt at getting one
out of its shell. There is a method, but you have to know exactly where to
cut into the shell to dislodge the conch.
Pipe Creek was so much the picture postcard perfect location and with the
place virtually to ourselves we stayed there for five nights. We anchored
off Pipe Cay on the western side for three nights then moved over to Joe Cay
on the eastern side. We caught lobster and many reef fish, plus conch from
the shallows.
The only other boat anchored in this area was Aviator owned by Dwayne and
Carlene. We met up with them while fishing one day and spent a very pleasant
evening on board Aviator sampling Carlene's fresh conch chowder.
We were reluctant to leave this paradise, but knew there would be more, so
on 22nd March we left there, back into the deep water of Exuma Sound, then
back through to the Bahama Banks through Sampson Cay Cut north of Staniel
Cay to anchor off Sampson Cay Marina for lunch. This is a really upscale
marina catering to mega yachts in a beautiful setting. From there we
continued to Black Point on the western shore of Great Guana Cay.
Black Point has a very large anchorage with protection from southerly winds.
There are three grocery stores, two restaurants and the world's best
launderette in this small settlement. The launderette is somewhat
incongruous as it stands out on the waterfront as the largest and smartest
building, with its own dinghy dock. The machines are all brand new, and the
view is right across the anchorage.
We met up with Harold Hutton on Moomba here. We first met Harold when he was
painting the bottom of Moomba on the hard at Summerfield Boat Yard while we
were painting Dream On. Harold is in his eighties and is still single handing Moomba down to George Town from Fort Lauderdale every year. He gave us more
good tips for our visits to George Town and Long Island.
The following morning, we took advantage of the launderette and also picked
up fresh hot bread straight from Lorraine's mum's oven. (Lorraine runs the
most popular restaurant in town).
We left as soon as our chores on shore were complete, and also just as the
mail boat arrived. The mail boat is the lifeline to many of these islands
and carries not only mail, but all the grocery supplies. In the Central
Exumas it covers most islands on Wednesday, so the grocery shopping improves
dramatically after the mail boat visit..
From Black Point we sailed south east on the Bahama Banks down the western
shore of Great Guana Cay, past Big Farmers Cay and Little Farmers Cay in the
hopes of anchoring off Cave Cay where there is good diving and some
caves. However, the wind was not right for safe anchoring, so we went out
through Galliot Cut into Exuma Sound, headed north for 5 miles back to
Little Farmers Cay. We used one of the permanent mooring buoys here provided
by Ocean Cabin, the main restaurant on the Cay. Galliot Cut, like most of
the gaps between the islands has a confluence of confused water as the
currents from the shallow Bahama Banks meets the deep waters of Exuma Sound.
Galliot Cut sometimes has a 4 foot standing wave during an ebb tide. None of
the cuts are wide either, so they always present a challenge.
At Little Farmers, we met up with George and Maria McNamara and their 2
children on board Koala. They had been in company with Nikita and Christina
Joy on their earlier southbound run but were now heading north again back to
the US.
After one night at Little Farmers we headed south for Lee Stocking Island,
the home of the Perry Institute for Marine Sciences. We used one of their
permanent moorings and immediately went ashore along with other cruisers for
a guided tour of the facility.
We were told that there were lemon sharks, a bull shark and a hammerhead
shark in the local area, along with a few resident (harmless) nurse sharks.
We stayed on night at Lee Stocking Island then after motoring around the
area including Norman's pond Cay and Leaf Cay, left the area through the
very lively Adderly Cut to Black Cay on Great Exuma Island. We anchored in
total seclusion just behind Black Cay and set off in the dinghy for fish. We
caught a number of reasonable grunts so supper was assured.
After one night at Black Cay, we continued to George Town, arriving on 26th
March.
