"Chicken Harbour", Exumas, Bahamas

Thursday, March 10 – Friday, April 1, 2011

Author’s note: I can’t start a blog on March 10^th without wishing my darling hubby a very happy birthday!

Wow…has it really been three weeks since we’ve blogged? Time flies when you’re being lazy! We’ve spent the past three weeks in Georgetown, aka “Chicken Harbour”, aka “Velcro Bay”…so named for the number of boaters who arrive, intending only to pass through on their way to more exotic Caribbean destinations, yet find themselves coming up with every excuse in the book not to go any farther. Most cruisers have a love-hate relationship with Georgetown. If you’re really into group events, this is definitely your kind of town. Every morning, the cruiser “net” on VHF72 announces a litany of events…bridge clubs, fun volleyball, regulation volleyball, cooking classes, fishing seminars, beach walks, beach church, and our personal favorite, Saturday night ARG (“alcohol research group”, or “Aarggh”) meetings, where the goal is to drink like a pirate. For those of us who aren’t big fans of the “senior summer camp” mentality, the constant radio chatter gets a bit annoying. Not that we’re complaining in paradise, and GT does have a terrific grocery store! J

We made the trip from Galiott Cut to Georgetown on Rene’s birthday, and were blown away by the number of masts in the harbor. We’ve never seen so many boats in one place! Granted, we arrived at the tail end of the big cruiser’s regatta, but this place is pretty busy all season. We were able to find Storyville, Anchor Management, and Guiding Light clustered together near the Chat ‘N Chill on Volleyball Beach. We later learned that the rest of the Texas Navy had left that morning to anchor in a more secluded and protected area known as Red Shanks. Not to worry – Sea Yawl Later played ferry boat to bring the crew back to Volleyball Beach on Friday for the awards ceremony (and Deana’s birthday). Good thing, too…Sea Yawl Later won first place in the multi-hull category, with Guiding Light a close second. Deana also won first place in the underway bake-off contest with her “Golden Crème Brulee Cheesecake” recipe. Congrats to all!

The next two weeks were filled with happy hours, dinners, movie nights, and Mexican Train (dominoes) parties. We all moved our boats over to Red Shanks to spend some time with the rest of the group, and fell in love with the anchorage. As crazy as Georgetown can be, Red Shanks makes you feel like you’re still in a remote part of the Exumas (if you turn off the VHF radio, that is). Best of all, it’s still a short dinghy ride into town. The only tricky part, at least for us, was crossing a very shallow sand bar to anchor near our friends. Granted, we could’ve anchored closer to the entrance in plenty of water, but what fun would that have been??? We managed to cross the bar at high tide, and only hit bottom three, maybe four times. Stacy held her breath the whole time, but Rene did a fabulous job of getting us safely across. We found a spot in the protected cove along with Storyville, Kaleo, Morning Glory, and Guiding Light, and were happy to have the protection (and the great company!) when the winds started to blow 20-25kts later in the week.

We were thrilled to finally re-connect with LA and Susan on Genesis, who’d spent the past week at the Emerald Bay Marina after their boat guest’s departure. We’ve heard stories about what a gorgeous facility Emerald Bay is (it’s next door to the Sandals and Grand Isle resorts and is appropriately froo-froo for the neighborhood). Best of all, the marina is offering a dockage special of $1/foot. Being able to stay at such a luxurious spot for under $50/night is quite a coup for cruisers, and we’ve talked to many boaters who’ve taken advantage of it. LA and Susan anchored near Sand Dollar Beach and dinghied over to Red Shanks for happy hour aboard Pipe. The next day we moved the boat over to Sand Dollar to anchor near Genesis, and enjoyed a “welcome back” dinner together. Storyville joined us a day later, and Susan made her fantastic pork loin, citrus rice, and mango chutney for everyone. We’re so spoiled! We debated leaving Georgetown to explore Long Island, but weather guru Chris Parker changed our minds with stories of cold fronts coming later in the week. Instead, all three boats moved back to Red Shanks for a few days, where the front was – thankfully – a non-event. The other thing that kept us from leaving GT? No propane! For those of you who remember our “no diesel on Green Turtle Cay” debacle in the Abacos last year, this was along the same vein. There’s a propane truck that services Georgetown every Wednesday, and wouldn’t you know, we arrived on Thursday. No problem…we figured we still had about three weeks’ worth of propane, so we’d just get it the following week. One small problem: the following Wednesday, the cruiser net announced that the propane truck was broken, so there wouldn’t be a delivery. Could we take it to Forbes Enterprises for a fill? It would cost twice as much, but in times of desperation and all that… Nope, Forbes uses the same (broken) propane source. By the end of our third week, we still had no propane and knew we were on fumes. None of the nearby islands had propane themselves – they all sent their bottles to either Georgetown or Nassau on the mail boat once per week – so leaving GT wasn’t really an option. We actually ran out of propane in the middle of cooking Wednesday night’s dinner, almost three weeks to the day after arriving in Georgetown. Someone was apparently looking out for us, because the propane truck was finally fixed and made a special trip to fill up everyone’s tanks on Thursday morning. Talk about close calls!

It’s difficult to cover three weeks, especially when Georgetown lulls one into the complacency of more mundane tasks like grocery shopping, internet, and laundry. When you don’t have access to such simple pleasures in many parts of the Exumas, you tend to go a little nuts in Georgetown. Some of our “off the beaten path” highlights included: hiking up to the monument with Guiding Light; watching the cruiser regatta variety show (in a painful sort of way); having nine people aboard Pipe for homemade cannelloni; listening to Troy “jam” with other cruisers at the Sand Bar; a group dinner at Cheater’s to welcome Christy and Steve back from their stateside visits; movie night aboard GL; and a road trip with Genesis and Storyville up to Emerald Bay Marina and all the way back down to the south tip of the island.

Sadly, Georgetown has also meant some – hopefully temporary – goodbyes. Shane and his boat guest, Michael, left to explore the Jumentos, while Morning Glory, Kaleo, and Sea Yawl Later headed for Long Island and the Turks and Caicos. We all plan to return to Georgetown for the Family Island Regatta at the end of April, so hopefully we’ll get to see the Texas Navy for one more party before the real farewells begin. Steve, on the other hand, left a few days ago to make his way to Puerto Rico where he’ll leave the boat for hurricane season. It was hard for us to see him go, and even more so for Deana and Troy who’ve been his constant companions – friends, marina neighbors, and buddy boaters – for over two years now. We’ve made plans to meet up again in the BVIs for New Year’s…we WILL make that happen!

On a lighter note, we’re finally pulling the Velcro off the boat and are getting out of Georgetown for a few days! Storyville is joining us for a trip to Salt Pond on Long Island, which is about 30 miles south-east of Georgetown. Susan has headed home for two weeks to visit friends and celebrate her mother’s 80^th birthday, and we haven’t been able to convince LA to skip the boat projects and join us as a single-hander. (LA, we expect those toe rails to sparkle when we get back!) Susan returns the same day that Stacy’s parents arrive, so we’ll all be ready to party by then. Till next time…cheers!

Enjoy additional pictures here

Welcoming More Boat Guests: Staniel, O’Brien’s, Cambridge, and Warderick Wells Cays, Exumas, Bahamas

Saturday, February 26 – Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Please help us welcome our friends from Annapolis, Skip and Betsy! We know how lucky we are to spend every day in paradise, but paradise is even better when you get to share it with great friends. Skip & Betsy arrived in Staniel Cay on Saturday. We had visions of meeting them at the plane as they arrived, snapping pictures as they got off the little nine-seater Flamingo Air flight. Since this is the Bahamas (“island time, mon”), we felt pretty safe showing up for the 2:45 arrival right at 2:45. As we learned during Geoie’s visit, 2:45 really means sometime between then and 4pm. Imagine our surprise when they were waiting for us at the boat landing! The plane managed to get in five minutes early – that’s got to be a first for Staniel Cay. Since Betsy’s bag had been put on a second plane arriving 45 minutes later, we figured we could take them to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club to change clothes, watch the neighborhood nurse sharks, and have a welcome drink. Rene went back to the airport to get the bag, only to watch the plane take off…with Betsy’s bag still on it! The airline hadn’t said we had to physically be there when the plane landed to receive the bag, so it was on its way back to Nassau. Oops! Fortunately we had planned to spend the night at Big Major’s anchorage, giving us a chance to show Skip and Betsy the swimming pigs, have happy hour with Genesis, and pick up Betsy’s bag the next morning.

Sunday we enjoyed a lazy motor-sail up to O’Brien’s Cay, where we anchored near the submerged plane and the Sea Aquarium. LA and Susan joined us for Mexican night – chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, and margaritas – which also kicked off the week-long celebration of Skip's birthday. We spent the following morning snorkeling the plane and aquarium. The sergeant majors swarmed us as soon as we got into the water, and the corals and sea life were absolutely beautiful. Afterwards Rene took the dinghy to a nearby sandbar while we swam behind him. What a gorgeous spot! We got back to the boat in time for lunch and a short two-mile motor to the Cambridge Cay mooring field. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon on the boat, followed by dinner aboard Pipe. Tuesday morning brought a spectacular hike along the Bell Rock bluff, followed by snorkeling at the Rocky Dundas cave. The stalactites and colors were fantastic, but we could easily see how this could be a dangerous place to visit in the wrong weather; even at slack tide, the waves were pounding against the cave walls. The corals outside the cave were gorgeous and worth a snorkeling trip all on their own.

Tuesday afternoon we made an outside run to Warderick Wells. We had hoped to moor in the southern field at Hog Cay (which requires two good weather days for an Atlantic entry and exit), but the weather forecast warned against it. We were able to get a mooring in the north field, and were greeted by a resident eagle ray soon after our arrival. A rainstorm woke us up before sunrise, and the dark clouds signaled a boat day in our future. Wouldn’t you know, winds picked up to 25-30kts and stayed that way until Saturday. We managed to get off the boat long enough on Thursday to show Skip and Betsy the resident Banana Kwits and hike some of the trails criss-crossing Warderick Wells while Rene replaced the whaler pump in the macerator. (Poor guy…for those of you not familiar with a whaler pump, in our world of pink and blue jobs, it’s a VERY “blue” job.) The winds were strong enough that no one wanted to get soaked on a dinghy ride for further exploration, so we ended up having a couple of lazy days with good books on the boat.

We finally decided to brave the seas on Saturday for the 25-mile trip south to Black Point. We’d shown Skip and Betsy the more remote side of the Exumas, and wanted them to have a chance to see a Bahamian settlement. Black Point is filled with friendly people and good shore-side spots, and also allows for a short 10-mile jaunt back to Staniel Cay. We arrived in Black Point at 3pm and were lucky enough to get a reservation for the Bahamian BBQ night at Lorraine’s Café. Fresh battered grouper, fried chicken, barbequed chicken and ribs, crab salad, Bahamian mac and cheese, peas and rice, and coleslaw…what a feast! The place was filled with Canadians, one of whom entertained us with songs on his guitar. There’s nothing quite like hearing “This Land is Your Land” from “Bonne Vista to the Vancouver Islands, from the Arctic Circle to the Great Lake waters…” Can’ say we’ve ever heard that version before! Best of all? Lorraine still had plenty of fresh grouper for the next day’s lunch. We knew we’d be back!

Monday’s light winds allowed for an outside run to Staniel Cay, where we spent our final day with Skip and Betsy before their Tuesday departure. We picked up a mooring ball near Thunderball grotto and were able to get to the grotto in time for low slack tide. Thunderball was first introduced in a James Bond film of the same name; now it’s likely appreciated more by snorkelers than by film buffs. The light coming through the different cave entrances was spectacular, and we were surprised at how much fish life we found. We managed to swim through the back entrance to explore the corals, and made our way back around to the dinghy on the opposite side of the rock.

After a final happy hour at the SCYC, we enjoyed a last dinner of the Omaha steaks that Skip and Betsy brought with them. Tuesday morning Rene dinghied them to the airport, and they were on their way back to reality. Skip and Betsy are such great friends (not to mention incredibly easy boat guests), and we’re really going to miss them. We can’t wait until they get to begin their own cruising adventure, and hope to see them in another beautiful anchorage in the next year or two. In the meantime, we’re heading for Black Point and Galliot Cut, where we’ll make an outside jump to Georgetown. The Texas Navy has been down there for the past two weeks partying at the regatta, and Genesis should be arriving in the next week or so. Til next time…

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/Rene.Foree/2011BahamasVIII?feat=directlink

Hanging Out with the Texas Navy: Black Point & Little Farmer’s Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

Monday, February 14 – Monday, February 21, 2011

Welcome to another beautiful day in paradise! We’ve spent the past week with our friends from Kemah, who have joined up with 3-5 other boats (depending on the day). Given that at least six boats (we’re #7) are from the Kemah, TX, vicinity, the armada has begun calling itself the “Texas Navy”...as in one popular VHF hail: “Texas Navy, Texas Navy…please switch and answer channel 17 for an important happy hour announcement.” (Should we be concerned that a BASRA boat – the Bahamas version of the Coast Guard – was anchored near the group when we arrived??) Three of the boats are catamarans, and we’ve had the opportunity to spend time on two of them. Talk about luxury! When you can comfortably fit 15-20 people on a boat, there’s rarely a question about where happy hour will be held.

Our trip down from Eleuthera was absolutely gorgeous. As much as we hated to leave Genesis, we were excited to get back to the Exumas (and we know we’ll see Genesis again in Staniel Cay next week). Our original plan was to sail 45 miles to Bell Island, and make the 15-20 mile trip to Black Point the next day. Thanks to some good winds on the beam, we were able to average 7+ knots motor-sailing. Three hours into the trip, we realized that Bell Island was 30 miles away while Black Point was 35 miles away. Because of the curvature of the Exumas chain, we could add an hour to the trip and meet up with our friends a day early. Rest day on Tuesday! We arrived in Black Point around 4pm and dropped the hook near the “navy”. Within minutes we saw a band of familiar dinghies come zooming around the point; Steve, Matt, and Christie stopped by the boat and invited us to a get-together on one of the cats, Guiding Light. We joined the multitude of dinghies later that evening, and got to meet Guiding Light’s owner, Shane, as well as Linda and Rusty on Sea Yawl Later and Ted and Millie on Morning Glory. Adding Storyville, Anchor Management, and Kaleo to the mix, we had a terrific evening as usual!

Tuesday afternoon we decided to try our hand at lobster hunting. After a brief stop at a stalactite-filled cave that Shane knew about, we made our way south to a small cove dotted with coral heads. Hawaiian sling in hand, Rene jumped into the water to hunt for dinner. Shane managed to catch the first lobster, and Steve was soon bringing up a two-foot long grand-daddy. Deana was next, while Rene’s prey continued to elude him. Deana pointed out a cluster of rocks where she had seen something scurrying about, and both Shane and Rene began searching under the coral. Rene readied his spear, and…bingo! Only one problem…the poor little guy was tiny! Rene tried another spot up the coast while the others went back to warm up on their boats; sadly, no lobsters. We all agreed to share our spoils over dinner, and Stacy was nominated as chef. She cooked the lobsters a la Brendal (mojo marinade, sour orange, butter, and hot sauce), Deana brought Bahamian mac and cheese, and Shane brought banana bread for dessert. Steve opened up a precious bottle of Zaya rum for after-dinner sipping, and we all felt thoroughly spoiled after a night of good food and friends. Have we mentioned lately how much we love our life?

After spending Wednesday in town taking advantage of internet at Lorraine’s Café and lunch at DeShaMon’s, we planned to move down to Little Farmers Cay with the rest of the group. Rene raised the dinghy in preparation for our departure, and we waited for the first boat to pull anchor...and waited…and waited. Shame on us for not checking in with anyone; we would’ve quickly found out that we weren’t going anywhere for another day! A few boats had come up with the idea for a full-moon potluck party on the beach, and who were we to pass up the opportunity for a get-together? Better yet, Rusty on Sea Yawl Later had returned from Staniel Cay and offered to play ferry boat. There’s nothing quite like watching a monster catamaran raft up to your boat! Shane got the fenders ready, and Rusty brought SYL alongside Storyville like a pro. The rest of us used Storyville as a dinghy dock and hopped aboard SYL. Once everyone arrived, we tossed the lines and motored to the party at Regatta Point. A crowd of locals and other cruisers had already gathered, and potluck dishes lined the counter. After dinner, Rusty raised a sail and projected Captain Ron onto the canvas; “dockside cinema” was a first for many of us, and everyone loved it.

Friday morning we sailed – yes, motor off and everything! – 10 miles to Little Farmer’s Cay. Pipe and Storyville decided to forgo the difficult and shallow channel into the town anchorage and dropped the hook on the west side of the island; just as we were ready to dinghy over to the others, the heavens opened and a series of squalls passed through the area. The storms lasted until sunset, keeping us all on our boats. We didn’t get to say goodbye to our new friends on the catamarans, who all set sail for Georgetown the following morning. Hopefully we’ll get to see them in GT when we make it down there next month.

Saturday we went ashore to Little Farmer’s Cay and were instantly enchanted by the locals we met. We first saw a man standing in the middle of the harbor, seeming to swirl his arms through the water. We soon realized that he was harvesting conchs, and watched as he used a machete to remove the meat from the shells before cleaning the…uh…less edible parts. After offering up the gorgeous shells to the group, he told us that his wife had tomatoes and green peppers for sale in the nearby green house. Produce! A little boy came out as we approached the steps to take our “order”; we got two peppers and four tomatoes for $3, the best deal we’ve had since arriving in the Bahamas! Our next stop was the local grocery store, where Tasha greeted us as the door and offered fresh papaya and a pomegranate-like fruit from her garden. We gathered a few staples while Tasha wrote out her recipe for Bahamian peas & rice (“peas” being brown pigeon peas, not the familiar sweet green ones). Her secret was using half coconut milk, half water, when making the rice. It gave it a creamier texture than water alone and was delicious.

We followed up our shopping trip with a walk up the hill to Ocean Cabin, where Jim and Nancy from Solitaire were manning the bar. They’ve been coming to Little Farmer’s for years, and were able to share some of the history of the island and its residents. They also offered to lead us to a cave that Shane had told us about, filled with stalactites and stalagmites and a clear pool for swimming. What an incredible experience! We met at Oven Rock after lunch and hiked along the iron shore to the cave opening. Thank goodness someone had told us to bring flashlights, because the cave was pitch black even in the middle of the day. We had to watch our footing along the loose stones as we walked down to the pool, but it was well worth it. The pool was shallow at first, but the bottom dropped out as we rounded the boulders. It led around the back of the cave to a series of smaller under-water tunnels. None of us chanced going through them – we didn’t know whether we’d find breathable air on the other side!

After our refreshing swim in the cave, Jim and Nancy led us to a beach on the Atlantic side where we waded in the surf and looked for shells. We ended the night with a happy hour and star-gazing aboard Storyville, and again marveled at how lucky we are to be doing this. We’ll spend the next couple of days in Little Farmer’s before heading back north to Black Point and Staniel Cay. We’re looking forward to seeing LA and Susan on Genesis again, and can’t wait to welcome Skip and Betsy aboard Pipe on the 26^th. We know we’ll have a great time with them, and should have plenty of good stories and pictures for the next blog. Cheers!

Please enjoy more pictures here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Rene.Foree/2011BahamasVII?feat=directlink

Detour to Eleuthera, Bahamas

Saturday, February 5 - Sunday, February 13, 2011

Welcome to the lovely island of Eleuthera! Eleuthera is the third largest island in the Bahamas, and is only 30 miles away from Nassau and the Exumas at its closest point. Most cruisers only see Eleuthera if they pass through while traveling from the Abacos to the Exumas; we decided to join Genesis for a few days away from the relative isolation of the Exumas…and, of course, for shopping!

We arrived in Rock Sound at the southern end of the island after an easy 45-mile motor-sail from Warderick Wells. You can anchor right off of the main dock, and can dinghy in for a short walk to groceries, a liquor store, restaurants, laundry, hardware, etc. Rock Sound is a relatively sleepy town, especially on Sundays when, as it turns out, everything is closed. Oops! We were directed to Sammy’s Place, pretty much the only place in town that was open for lunch on Sunday. They served a great cheeseburger, and their prices were better than anything we’d seen in the Exumas. Sammy’s also had fliers advertising a Super Bowl party a local club; it sounded great in theory, but an after-dark dinghy ride and a walk to the club proved to be more than we could manage. Instead, we opted for dinner for four aboard Pipe, and got the final score from a local three days later. Aren’t we a bunch of party animals?

Tuesday we rented a car so we could explore the rest of the island. (When you cruise at an average of 5-6mph, a 100-plus mile long island can be a bit daunting!) A brief stop at Eleuthera's "Glass Window" bridge presented us with a view of the shallow, turquoise waters of Exuma Sound to the west of the road, and the deep blue of the Atlantic to the east. Our two-hour drive to the island’s north ferry dock was followed by a 10-minute water taxi (400HP, thank you) to Dunmore Town on Harbour Island. We rented a golf cart to explore the picturesque island, with its colorful historic buildings and “pink sand” beaches. Lunch was from a take-away shack on the waterfront, and we found a magnificent beach lined with posh resorts on the Atlantic side. FYI…a few of the Atlantic beaches on Eleuthera really do have a light pink hue thanks to the coral and shells that make up the sand. It really was gorgeous, and we could see why Harbour Island is known as a world-class resort destination.

Wednesday we went shopping in Governor’s Harbour, known as the first capital of the Bahamas. While many locals feel that Rock Sound offers the best grocery store on the island, Governor’s Harbour is the place to be if you want freshly-baked breads, pastries, and Bahamian empanadas, or a great (and affordable) wine selection at the local Bristol’s Wine & Spirits. And have we mentioned how friendly the people are here? Susan was asking someone for directions to a local restaurant we’d read about, and it turned out he (Michael) owned a resort/restaurant five miles up the road. Cocodimama is a charming resort on Alabaster Bay, just north of Governor’s Harbour. The original owners, a Sicilian couple, opened the resort in 2000; Michael’s family bought the place and re-opened in 2009, and have been running it ever since. The main building has a “Mediterranean oasis” feel to it, while the three cottages (with four guest rooms in each) are painted in lively Caribbean colors. We enjoyed lunch on the outside patio overlooking the bay, and the food was spectacular. The chef is Michelin-rated and comes from Milan, and all of the base ingredients are imported from Italy. There were some unusual takes on Bahamian staples (grouper and tuna, for instance), and some dishes were just plain Old World style…like the platter of Italian meats and cheeses that we shared. We absolutely loved our afternoon at Cocodimama, and wish Michael and his family continued success. They certainly deserve it!

After lunch we drove down the street to an abandoned US Navy base. The property now belongs to Cocodimama, and is as yet undeveloped. The barracks still exist, and you have to weave through some overgrown pathways to reach another gorgeous pink sand beach. We now have some on the boat to show our guests…hopefully it’ll even dry out by the time they get here! From there, we made a few stops along the way home. Stacy was on the hunt for cilantro to make Rick’s Sojourner salsa (no luck), and Rene tried six different hardware/plumbing shops looking for a replacement part for the water-maker. (You’d think you could find a 3/8” pipe fitting somewhere on the island – you’d be wrong.) We had quite the productive day and made it back to the boat by sunset. LA and Susan loaned us their baggie of spare plumbing parts and donated a jerry can of water in case we couldn’t get the water maker up and running. Rene managed to rig a couple of pieces together well enough to make 30 gallons, and we’ll ask Skip and Betsy to bring us the replacement parts later this month.

Thursday was a big day for us – the supply boat arrived! That’s one thing you need to remember if you’re ever cruising in the islands. If you want anything beyond onions, potatoes, and maybe even green peppers and tomatoes if you’re lucky, you have to get to the store right after the supply boat arrives to get the best selection. The people at the grocery store told us that the dry goods boat would come on Tuesday, and the cold boat (produce, dairy, meat, etc.) would arrive on Thursday. Woo hoo! Right on schedule, the Tuesday boat was at the dock when we woke up; we got a little concerned when Thursday morning came around and none of us had seen or heard it arrive overnight or that morning. By 3pm, we began to wonder if something had gone wrong. We finally decided to go ashore and check it out; after a dinghy run to the Four Points Marina dinghy dock, we wandered down the road to the store. What a difference a day makes! The produce aisle was filled with avocados, mangos, plantains, fresh spinach, asparagus, seedless cucumbers, snow peas, parsley…everything except cilantro! Hey, we’re not complaining. We can always use the dried stuff. (Sorry, Rick!)

We have another blow coming through Saturday night…20-22 knot winds from the north, which means we’ll stay hunkered down here in Rock Sound for a few extra days. We have a long list of boat projects to work on (repairing the cockpit enclosure, changing the gen-set oil, varnishing the companionway stairs, etc.), so no worries about staying busy. Susan and LA are going to explore a few anchorages north of here, so we’ll be on our own for a couple of weeks before Skip and Betsy arrive. It’ll be strange not seeing Genesis off our beam…fortunately we’ll see them again soon in Staniel Cay.

Other than that, we hope Stacy's Aunt Sue and Uncle Don have a fabulous 23rd anniversary, and that the rest of you enjoy a romantic Valentine's Day. Weather permitting, we'll be sailing back to Bell Island on V-Day, and will meet up with Storyville and Anchor Management in Black Point later this week. Til next time...

Pictures with this Blog chapter:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Rene.Foree/2011BahamasVI?feat=directlink

Kemah Reunion Time: Norman’s, Shroud, Hawksbill, & Warderick Wells Cays, Exumas, Bahamas

Saturday, January 29 – Friday, February 4, 2011

Drum roll please…and help us welcome Storyville and Anchor Management to the Bahamas! Our Kemah friends, Deana, Troy, and Steve, have made it to the Exumas, and we finally got to meet up with them in Shroud Cay on Sunday. We intended to get to Shroud on Saturday, but a gorgeous offshore run from Bell Island ended with a bouncy trip through the inlet and a rolling anchorage courtesy of some strong north-westerly winds. LA and Susan recommended a last-minute detour to Norman’s Cay; it meant for an extra miserable hour on the water, but gave us a much calmer night’s sleep. Great call, guys! Our VHF still doesn’t transmit beyond about two miles, but Susan was able to reach Steve on Anchor Management to determine that he, Deana, and Troy were all still in Allan’s Cay and would arrive in Shroud the next day. We made it to Shroud around lunchtime, and quickly spotted Anchor Management and Storyville on mooring balls. We hopped in the dinghy and had a Kemah reunion on Storyville, along with their buddy boaters, Christie and Matt, on Kaleo.

Not wanting to waste the afternoon, we all rode up to the northern end of Shroud for a dinghy trip through the mangroves to Driftwood Beach. The cut wasn’t ripping like a water-slide as it had the last time we were there, but the views were as gorgeous as ever. We hiked back up to Camp Driftwood for some photo ops (much easier in Teva's than flip flops), and made our way back to the boats in time for sunset. Genesis had arrived while we’d been on the north side, and we all joined up for happy hour aboard Pipe Muh Bligh. It’s great to be surrounded by good friends!

Sunday we took the kayaks into the central creek on Shroud to play explorer. Motorized vessels aren’t allowed in the mangroves in the central and northern creeks, and we quickly understood why – depths are anywhere from zero to six inches at low tide, and it’s easy to ground in a kayak (let alone with an outboard motor). We towed the kayaks behind the dinghy to a beach near the mouth of the creek and set up camp. Deana and Troy joined us in their kayaks for a trip up the lazy river, and we were blown away by the gorgeous scenery. We saw small fish, sea birds, and even a small shark. (The creek dead-ends in the mangroves before it reaches the ocean, so we’re guessing the shark must’ve come from either the north or south end of the island. Quite a trek for the little guy!) We spent the rest of the afternoon lying on the beach, while Steve, Christie, and Matt took their own tour in the kayaks. We had a fantastic afternoon, and will definitely go back when we have boat guests.

On Monday, the Kemah crew headed south to Warderick Wells while we and Genesis made our way to Hawksbill Cay. It looked like a perfect day for sailing, and we saw ten sailboats in front of us – all with canvas out. Since Hawksbill was only three miles from Shroud, we didn’t even bother raising a sail. Talk about a downer…it’s just not right motoring when you have 15 knots of wind on the beam! Still, the stop in Hawksbill Cay was entirely worth it. We and Genesis were the only boats in the anchorage, and we enjoyed a beautiful walk along a sand bar at the cay’s north end during low tide. We also hiked up to the Loyalist ruins, only to see a snake warming itself on the rocks. Yuck!

We met up with the other boats at Warderick Wells on Tuesday afternoon. Warderick is a lot like summer camp – or at least how you imagine summer camp should be. There are four miles of hiking trails, plenty of snorkeling spots, blow holes, sandy beaches, and even a hammock near what used to be a "pirate’s lair". Of course, a visit to Warderick isn’t complete without a trip to Boo Boo Hill, where people leave pieces of driftwood painted with their boat names as they pass through. We hadn’t come prepared on our first visit to Warderick, but made sure to add our own sign when we reached Boo Boo Hill this time. We continued on to Boo Boo Beach, along the rocky shoreline, and across the causeway “bridge” (rocks) until we completed the loop back at the park HQ. Another day was spent snorkeling at Malabar Cays and Emerald Rock, where Rene spotted a HUGE lobster hiding under a ledge (sorry – it’s protected. No fishing!). The wildlife didn’t end at the snorkeling site; we watched a beautiful spotted eagle ray swim right past our stern, hiked with birds who would land on your palm looking for a hand-out, and saw a nurse shark and a stingray near the park HQ. Our most adventurous day was spent hiking a longer loop, starting at a sandy beach near Emerald Rock, up to the Davis Plantation ruins, along a rock wall to the Atlantic side, south along the rocky coastline to Pirate’s Lair near the southern mooring field, across the island to the western side, and back up along the beach and interior trails back to our starting point. Did we mention that 90% of this involved walking on jagged limestone?? Falling was definitely not an option! We were rewarded with spectacular views at every turn, along with a cold beer back at the beach. Add a few dinners and happy hours aboard different boats, plus an after-dinner concert courtesy of Troy and his guitar, and we absolutely loved our time in Warderick Wells.

Our next trip is a tour of the island of Eleuthera, which is a 42nm sail from Warderick Wells. LA and Susan read that Rock Sound, Eleuthera, is a good place for US-like provisioning, so we're excited about getting some "real" produce. We've been able to get onions, tomatoes, and green peppers in Staniel Cay, but haven't seen any mangoes, avocados, or anything more "fragile" (shipping-wise) since Nassau. Our friends, Skip and Betsy, are coming down from Annapolis for a visit at the end of February, so this is also a good opportunity to find a few extra provisioning items before they get here. In the meantime, we’re working diligently to clear out the guest room so they’ll have a place to sleep… guess we’ll just have to drink more so we can get those wine boxes off the bed! :-)

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/Rene.Foree/2011BahamasV?feat=directlink