Introduction to the Exumas

Ship’s Log – January 21, 2010 – Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas to
January 28, 1010 – Great Guana Cay, Exumas, Bahamas



After a brief check of the weather with the other travelers at the dock in Nassau, we dropped lines early to be able to get onto the fuel dock to fill up before a big line of other boats all headed out. Then we were off and it was a lovely day – light wind and fine traveling. An armada of boats was departing from Nassau Harbor for all courses of the compass as they all spread out for their various destinations. The crossing was on the banks again averaging about 10 feet under our keel the whole way.
Our destination was Norman’s Cay (pronounced Key). We truly had no idea what to expect. For the first timers, of which we are one, every day is new; fun, trying, exhausting, exhilarating, irritating, rewarding, but always a new adventure. We came around the corner into Norman’s Cay and there were our new acquaintances on Ultra and Seas the Day along with Fidelio from Bimini. Anchoring here was a bit of a challenge as the area for actual anchoring was not large, in a huge area most of which was too shallow, and the current was strong. It took a few tries but we got a secure hook. Ultra and Seas were just processing their fresh catch of conch into fritters and salad and invited us to join them. Later that afternoon we did catch a good sized fish that was turned into bait and cat food for the cat on Ultra. Mark is “Sailor’s” best friend now.

That night we had the pants scared off of us. It was the day of the terrible earthquake in Haiti of which we were unaware. VHF radio is an amazing thing. It is basically an open party line with some rules for use to keep things from being chaotic, but the word about the earthquake flew amongst the cruisers. However the word that we got was TSUNAMI WARNING! Boy did the radios light up then. Seas the Day had access to CNN and Jan, aboard that boat opened her mike so we could all listen to the news as it was coming in. It sounded absolutely terrible. Fortunately for us, the earthquake was not the kind that produces tsunamis. A big relief as we are only about 350 miles from Haiti.

That group of cruisers did leave the next day but we were all headed to the Warderick Wells, Exumas Land and Sea Park over the next couple of days and knew we would catch up then. Little did we know then that we would spend the next several weeks traveling together and having a grand time. We stayed at Norman’s Cay to check things out however I found it a bit disappointing to my taste as it was still too cold to swim and the shallows made it hard to get to any of the beaches or other fishing area. So the following day we pulled out and headed to Warderick Wells. Somewhere along the parallel of 24° 24”, we must have crossed the magic line. We turned the corner into the Emerald Rock mooring field and it was absolutely just like you imagine from all the pictures. The island, the unbelievable aqua blue water, the sand beaches – paradise. Finally! It took 128 days to get here!

We did have a grand time there. The water was so inviting that even though it was still a bit chilly we donned our wet suits and went in. Afterwards we dingied over to check in at the Park Headquarters to pay for our mooring. What a view they had from their raised elevation and for extra fun they have a tame flock of Banaquats that would eat sugar out of one’s hand. One of the area hikes is to the top of Boo Boo Hill where one is allowed to leave a piece of driftwood with your boat’s name on it. During one of the evenings the Park sponsored was a bonfire. Along with myself, JoAnne on Ultra we met two other Joanne’s, though they were the Quebec French spelling of Johanne. Over the several days that we stayed there and at another site in the park called Cambridge Cay, we took advantage of a number of the hiking trails and the snorkeling sites. The hiking trails are rugged in that the islands are made of limestone and soil as we know it is nonexistent. At Cambridge the water was even warmer! We are unfortunately seeing the ravages of global warming as the reefs are in bad shape with much of the coral dead. Fortunately there was still some good coral and I just hope it can hang on. Where there is no coral, there are no fish.

After 6 days of spectacular weather and scenery in the park, it was time to keep moving. We went a whole 5 miles. What a change from the 50 mile days. We anchored in the lee of Pipe Cay and had another spectacular day of snorkeling…..and fishing – now that we are out of the park (it is a no take zone in the park). Dinner was on Ultra with the Spadefish that the guys speared, several conch and a few other things we threw together.

Once again the weather was supposed to change. A weather change down here is more just where the wind is coming from and rarely includes rain. The islands are quite dry and considered arid. The island geology and fauna reflects that. They are tropical arid, not tropical lush. The latest anchorage change was more challenging. Another mere 5 miles but very confusing. We went quite slowly and the other two boats hung back while we poked our heads into the anchorage off wild Tamarind Cay. Once we gave the ok they came in too. We all ended up doing an anchor reset at low tide which of course was just as it was getting dark – never at two in the afternoon! But, it all settled down and we woke up this morning to what looks like another perfect day in paradise. A few days there with some good snorkeling and conch harvesting and then a few days across the way on Thomas Cay. The snorkeling was not good there but the uninhabited island offered some interesting trails, rock formations and trash. The other sad part of the islands is the tremendous amount of trash that washes up on the ocean side beaches. It looks like several boats have regurgitated entire contents. It seems that cruisers try to pick it up and at least collect it in areas, but then disposing of it is hard – pay per bag down here And not just a dollar. It is also endless. Some folks have had some humor in their groupings of trash and it does present interesting scavenging.

Another move south of a few miles and we were at area of the infamous Staniel Cay. This is where the James Bond movie, “Thunderball” was filmed in 1964! The grotto of the cave used in the movie is there and open to explore but we did not make it on this pass. We had been in some great swim-in caves up in the park. Alas, this area is also depressed. Two of the three marinas were closed, the only restaurant is at the Staniel Cay Marina (we partook only of beverages while using the internet). They do have four – count them, four grocery stores. Each one is about 100 square feet with quite the eclectic selection of items and it would also depend on when you arrived after the mail / delivery boat.

About every two or three evenings we have been sharing meals with Seas the Day (Mark and Jan) and Ultra (Bill and Joanne) taking turns as to whom is inspired by what. We have also been able to assist each other in boat and cooking projects and it is fun heading out to hike and snorkel in a group. Mark on Seas the Day takes their dog to shore every day and has had great success finding trails on the islands. We probably do wander farther on the water than we would alone knowing that there are two dingies and that we girls keep an eye out on each other. So far the guys have managed not to spear anything but fish and they have been few and far between. Although we have had no problem getting conch (and Mark and I are both getting better at diving down for fish and conch) it does seem that the area is fished out – very few fish and we have not seen one lobster outside of the Park. Did I mention though that the water is delightfully warm? Still cool enough to wear the wet suit, but at least you don’t gag when you jump in.

The wind has been persistent from the east now and we are again moving, this time to the Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay where we will get some good protection. We are looking for a good travel day to make the jump to Georgetown and are once again in a holding pattern for that. Hopefully we get one soon as our first guests arrive there in 8 days!

Miami, Crossing, Bimini and Nassau

Ship’s Log – December 31, 2009 – Miami, FL to

January 11, 1010 - Nassau, Bahamas

Indeed Friday it will be for the crossing. We moved out to an anchorage Thursday night the 31st to be nearer the cut and to be able to leave after dark and not disturb anyone – of course everyone was up for New Year’s anyway. It was a gorgeous day and we had a great view of the Miami skyline. There were lots of folks playing in the water and getting into the celebratory mood. That made our pre departure nap a challenge, but we set the alarm for 9:30 and were anchor up by 9:45. Thank goodness for chart plotters and radar. Finding the navigational aids with all the city lights was a challenge. Government Cut was quite sloppy and only calmed down a bit after we got outside. The auto pilot was engaged and off we went. We both stayed on duty until midnight to celebrate the New Year under a Blue Moon on our first crossing of the Gulf Stream together. After that we took turns staying on watch and sleeping. I would have liked for a smoother crossing but I am assured that in regards to the Gulf Stream it was a 9 out of 10!

We arrived a bit early at the Bimini Harbor entrance and had to drive in circles to wait for sun up. The entrance was indeed small and a challenge but the water color is now that stunning blue and crystal clear so that we can see the bottom streaming under us. No one was answering the VHF at the marina at 7:30 am so we just tied up and went to sleep. Every now and then Mark would get up and head to customs and immigration and finally was able to get us registered at about 10am. There were four other boats at the marina – it is a really small marina – about 12 slips and the first person that saw us immediately invited us to a pot luck dinner that evening. Before prepping for dinner we took a walk around the town. It seems very sad and depressed. Everything was in disrepair, trash all over the place, lots of vacant building and for sale signs. On the windward side of the island the wind was howling at about 35 – 40 kts. , but we were well protected on the lee side. Back at the boat I threw together some leftover rice and beans and added some “trinity” and spices to it. It was a group of 5 couples – all of the cruisers at this marina. One group – Mike and DeAnn on Fidelio out did themselves with baked ham, stuffing and green beans. There was also artichoke / cheese / olive dip, salad and two desserts. Just as we were about to dig into the spread a squall line passed and the skies opened up. We were the closest boat so with a nod from Mark, we all bolted to our boat and got all the food in. Everyone then scurried to their own boats to close down. It was a wall of cold water blasting out of the sky and I think the inside of our boat got washed too. By the time everyone recovered and made their way back to our boat is was over and we were able to spread out into the cockpit. It turned out that they had all crossed within the previous 24 hours of us. We packed up at about 6:30 and had time for one more nap before the local Junkanoo started at 8pm. It is New Year’s Day after all! The economy may be depressed but they put on a great little Junkanoo parade. Costumes, kids dancing, drum band, local brass band – lots of noise and festivities. The entire island was there for the parade. When they got to one end of the street they turned around and went the other way. All that hard work – they well should make the best of it. Afterwards, some of the local ladies had food for sale and we had some of the conch fritters. They were excellent and we even were able to get a Kalik beer to wash them down with. Finally we crashed at about 9:15. I know that even as the Junkanoo headed down the street again, I was asleep before I was half way through the thought of reaching for my earplugs. It was quite a Crossing / New Years Day.

The next few days were spent discussion the weather – we were “stuck” there until the wind let up – getting to know our fellow boaters and checking out the island. It did come to life once regular life set back in, though I understand it is a mere shadow of its former self. We partook of the local conch delicacies, did some of our own fishing in the harbor, and took a trip to South Bimini (a 4 minute ferry crossing) to visit the Shark Institute. Though located in very simple facilities it is one of the premiere facilities in the world studying sharks with lemon sharks in particular. Seven of us had gone over to see them and we then all traipsed out to their holding pens in the water to see the sharks up close. We had one more picnic / chart party and then we got a break in the weather. The sailors took off on Wednesday and we left the following morning, Thursday the 7th along with the 8 or so anchored boats.

The little harbor entrance was again tricky but no problems and we were outside. We went South a bit to Turtle Rocks and then we turned east onto the Banks. The Banks are this great shallow sea that covers much of the area around the Bahamian Islands. It is bazaar to have 8 – 10 feet for the next 55 miles or so. The sky was overcast and the winds calmed down to 5 knots. We took turns standing on the bow and just looking at the bottom go by. Not much in the way of fish, much to Mark’s disappointment. Several of the sailboats went straight thru to Nassau but the remainder converged with us at the “Northwest Shoal” west of Chub Cay. We arrived at about 4:30 and they straggled in over the next 4 hours. It was just a bit unusual to be anchored out in the middle of nowhere. The shoal is underwater so it looks like you are in the middle of the ocean but we were off the travel path and it was nice to have company and a grouping of anchor lights for the night. The sunset that night was quite spectacular with nothing but the sky and the sea.

Sunrise was also amazing as we got underway at 6:30am. Several sailors had already pulled out and there was quite a line of them on the way to Nassau. About an hour after we left we went from 10 feet to 1000 feet in about 5 minutes. The Banks are interrupted by great bodies of VERY deep water and today’s “sail” would be all in DEEP water. We heard one of the sailboats on the VHF radio exclaiming that he has never seen it as calm as we have today. Fine by me! Mark has his fishing lines out but so far it looks like chicken for supper. We checked into Nassau at @ 3pm driving past the cruise ship dock with four huge ships to get to our marina that once again is not nearly as glowing as the ads, but it will be secure for the next upcoming blow. The farther we get the fewer cleats there are; we tie to pilings and they are fixed. Fortunately the tide is only about 3 feet so the line adjusting isn’t too bad. Had not wanted to go Nassau, but I guess it is like the airlines in that it is a hub and everything seems to have to go through there. When we studied the charts we understood. You can go around but it is really out of the way.

We’ll spend the next few days figuring out how to get Wifi – probably the Starbucks across the street. Our Mifi card does not seem to be getting the job done. Mark ran out of Bahamian phone minutes having a discussion with Verizon and needs to replenish, but my phone is still on US / Verizon / $2.00 a minute. One day was spent checking out the tourist area of town. I honestly don’t get it. The largest cruise ships in the world head here and it’s just not that great here. The squall came through and the winds have been howling at 35 – 40 kts. So we hang tight , lay low a bit, do boat chores, check out the area and study the weather. Looks like Tuesday departure, about 50 miles and then the pot of gold – the Exumas chain of islands begins.

Stuart, FL - Key Biscayne, FL

Ship’s Log – December 16 – Stuart, FL to December 30, Miami, FL

12/16 – 18, Our three days in Stuart were marked with much rain and wind. Mark struggled with the mooring ball and our lines. We got ashore inbetween showers and explored the downtown area and walked out to the shopping mall area to get a few things.

Finally on the Saturday the 19th, though it was windy it was finally sunny, we headed to the dock to do pumpout, get water and hit the road, turned right back onto the Magenta line and headed south. There were several bridges, most of which we were able to “skinny” under. The scenery ran from wildlife areas to modest homes on the water to very grand homes with even larger boats.

We did a 35 mile day and pulled into Lake Worth at about 1:30. LW is a nice body of water just off the ICW surrounded by homes, high rises and mongo boats and regular cruising boats at anchor. I spent the afternoon finally redoing the food inventory so we might have a clue as to what we have and where it is. Mark chilled with a cigar and book. The wind finally abated at about 4pm but came up again during the night so the night was a bit noisy but not too bad.

The next day also was a straight forward day – ditch, bridges, some wild areas, lots of homes and then dropped a hook in “Lake Boca Raton”. We were treated to a highly decorated catamaran for hire driving around with a party onboard.

Monday the 21st – Halleluiah, I took a few minutes to work out the bridge schedule and figured that we needed to be at the first bridge – about 3 minutes away – for the 8:40 opening. I knew I got it right when a 100 footer jumped out of his slip in front of us and then another behind us. Eight bridges and very little waiting time at any. Actually we did skinny under the last two and then we went into Sylvia Lake a Fort Lauderdale, a lake-like body of water off the ICW, again surrounded by million dollar homes. Dropped the hook at about noon.

One of the BIG guys!

We were right by a 7 foot bridge (more like 5) that when the tide was low we could get under with the dingy which cut the trip across the waterway to town quite a bit. Other times we had to go around the island. The first trip was around and then to a dingy dock in town; $10 unless you dined so we had lunch and then Bluewater Books – the mecca of boating information.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Bridge and Pelicans

Since it appeared that our weather window that we had hoped for would not appear we decided to stay put for the next couple of days. Local rules have us in question as to whether or not we will be harassed by the authorities, but most of the other boats seem to be staying put too. The anchoring laws just changed down here to the benefit (amazingly) of cruisers and according to our literature was not yet being routinely applied. Since publication was awhile ago, the authorities seem to have worked it out as it has not been an issue. Again a morning catching up on paperwork while Mark cleaned the hull which was still sporting its brown mustache from all the brown water of the Carolinas and Georgia. After lunch we took the dingy and headed up the

New River to explore the downtown area. Wednesday we spent some time revamping our thought process as it appears we may be “here” awhile before being able to cross. Went back up the river and had a beer intown and explored the riverfront. All lined with interesting homes, some pricy, others not. Very Venice like.

Sylvia Lake

New River Decorations

The Little Bridge!

Thursday the 24th we decided to head to Miami. Nice day –10 bridges and about 22 miles, made mental and paper notes of the other anchorages on the way. We pulled into our chosen anchorage area at about noon which is just north of the Venetian Causeway right by the island of Miami Beach. It was a bit exposed but fine for the night. We headed ashore at a nearby boat ramp / dock and walked around a bit. Stopped into the Publix which was jammed with people and food, being the day before Christmas. Picked up only a few things as we did not bring the back packs. Then we discovered a canal across the street that lead back to where we were anchored. After getting back to the dingy we went and checked it out to discover that it followed Dade Ave. almost the whole way across the island and went right by the Publix. Next trip to the store will be that way.

Back at the boat we had we sung in the current and were really close to shore and some apartments so we moved out more into the middle and reset. Then we continued with our Christmas Eve dinner of grilled pork chops and black beans and rice with a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.

It did end up being a noisy night with the wind and some noise from the apartments and I did not sleep well. The anchorage is a bit open. In the morning we took the dingy and checked out a more protected area that I had seen on the chart. We went back and got the big boat and moved into the new area called Sunset Lake. It was again amongst lovely homes (just discovered that one sold for $9.75 million!), is back behind some islands, and is more protected from the predicted north wind. Then having earlier done some restaurant research we dingied back to the dock, called a cab, waited through a rain shower and headed to Miami South Beach to a Cuban Restaurant – Puerto Sauga for our Christmas dinner. It was very full of people – always a good sign – in a family like atmosphere with every ethnic group represented and the food was very good. We were very pleased with our choice. After dinner we walked out to the main drag on Ocean Ave. The street was jammed as far as one could see with people dining in street cafes, strolling playing volleyball (in bikinis of course) and lounging all over the huge beach. The weather had cleared up and it was now in the 80s. We joined the strolling out onto the beach and then worked our way back up Ocean Ave, Collins Ave, to Espanola Ave and the Lincoln Street Mall. Quite a sight! Back at the boat we crashed from our long walk and full bellies, resting for awhile before calling friends and family to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Sunset Lake

We are now pretty much on hold looking for the correct set of wind direction and speed and a 3 day opening with that to make our crossing to the Bahamas. Hopefully we’ll get something close to that. In the meantime (Saturday) Mark worked on reapplying a coat of varnish to the cap rail, I dubbed on log / blog. After lunch we headed back to town to check out the Lincoln Rd. area. It is a 5 block section that has been turned into a pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants all with outdoor seating. Glad we had eaten as the food looked great but it was very pricy. Finally some restaurants as good as Portland. A big sight is an area of palm trees that had a large population of parakeets. Maybe Portland should enclose Congress Street and turn it into a covered promenade (skip the parakeets).

Sunday – Looks like the window of opportunity for crossing is close but not quite. Thought we might hit one on Wednesday. Good weather direction, long enough window – too much wind. May be another one in a few more days. So what to do now? Mark is doing the 2nd coat of varnish. I researched the area for another anchorage. Looks like it is more of the same, but before moving we did head ashore this time taking the bus south and walking back. Monday the 28th we did move to another area and we are now at Crandon Marina on Key Biscayne – a Miami Dade Municipal Marina. We did fuel up and pumpout and got to our slip. No cable and no wifi. A great disappointment – (spoiled?). The docks were new and good. The slip was tight and we are on top of the sport fisher next to us – didn’t seem to bother him when he showed up the next day. Also – very Spanish here – may need that Spanish for Cruisers that Mark got at the Annapolis Boat show. The bathroom and laundry are a bit of a hike – I’ll get my exercise. The upside was that the commercial boats at the back side of the marina are selling fresh fish off the backs of their boats. They have cutting tables all set up and Mark picked up some mahi-mahi. Wow – a bit different right off the boat – it was yummy. Tuesday we spent the day prepping the boat (cleaning inside and out, figuring out the bus schedule for last run to the store, etc.) in order to be able to go as soon as the window appears. Could be Friday now or maybe not until next week. It is not a great passage mileage wise, but can be the nastiest if not done carefully. So we wait – at least we are not having a nor’easter!!!!

South Beach!