february 2 2004 : en route to staniel cay, bahamas
Well Ali says no go on not buying her a gift. It was worth a shot. We left the Exumas Park yesterday morning and once again motored into 20 knot headwinds for 8 miles. We pulled into a nice little anchorage that looks a lot like the one in Allan’s Cay. It’s a little horseshoe shaped place with some nice coral heads nearby. I went snorkeling over to the coral and within a minute I saw my first shark, underwater that is. That’s a bit of a rush. I don’t really know much about sharks other than the fact that most reef sharks are pretty harmless.
This morning I went out with the spear to do some fishing. I got my first grouper. He seemed pretty big underwater but turned out he needed to have a hot dog on the side to make a meal out of him. That brings the per fish cost of the spear gun down to $100. Ouch. Then we had the shark come by the boat and check us out today. This time I grabbed the camera and jumped in. He circled around for some pictures for a few minutes before taking off.
february 5 2004 : staniel cay, exumas, bahamas
What a great little town this is. Our first day here we went into town and walked around a bit. We didn’t make it much farther than the Staniel Cay Yacht Club where we had some cold beers. We also went to the little library where they let us take a few books and just wanted to know our boat name. Pretty trustworthy folks.
Today we headed back into town to find the post office and go to the Pink Store. The Pink Store is the grocery store and it is in direct competition with the Blue Store located next door which bills itself as a supermarket. I’m not sure of the distinction, but we were able to get bread again.
Then last night we had another flood. Some people never learn. We had an exact repeat of our last flood (see Dec. 5th). I won’t go into details other than to say that we should have known better. We knew that the fix wasn’t a very good one. Oh well, we cleaned it up and aired things out today. Tonight we were back at the yacht club for a burger and fish and chips.
february 6 2004 : staniel cay
Today we headed over in the dinghy to Big Major Cay about a half mile away. Here we came across one of the Bahamas strangest scenes. And I doubt that it will be beat anywhere else in the world. It seems that the owners of this deserted island decided that it would be fun to put a couple of pigs on it and let them run free.
Now as you approach the beach a whole herd of pigs run down to greet you. They don’t stop at the waters edge, they come splashing, swimming, and snorting right out in the water to see what you have brought for them to eat. It’s hilarious, watching as these pigs stick their faces right into the boat. Ali was pretty brave, since she was certain that pigs don’t bite, and went right to feeding them the bread (that’s what we feed all animals) we brought along. There was also a bunch of wild cats running down the beach to say hi and to rub up against us. I am really allergic to cats so of course they couldn’t resist attacking me.
So we had a good time at the beach petting zoo. Then we went back into town to the post office. The hours are supposed to be 10-12 and 2-4 every day but Sunday. We went yesterday and they were closed. So today we went at 2 and they were closed. 2:15 still nobody. We returned a little after three and they were still closed. We finally gave up and will try again tomorrow. I guess when the mailboat only comes once a week they figure it isn’t too big of a deal if they don’t show up to work every day.
february 8 2004 : staniel cay
Still hanging out in Staniel Cay. We got hit with some pretty windy weather the last couple of days. The Staniel Cay Yacht Club even made everyone leave the docks. The wind was predicted out of the west and they have no protection from that direction. That’s got to be tough on business, making everybody leave for their safety as well as the safety of the docks themselves. Of course it turns out the wind stayed pretty much out of the north and it wasn’t really necessary to evacuate. That’s one of the reasons we haven’t tried too hard to figure out the weather. We usually just wake up in the morning and step outside to get our forecast.
We did manage to get back over to the yacht club this morning for breakfast. We’ve become such good customers they are just running a tab for us under Bumfuzzle and we said we’d stop in to settle up before we leave. I tell you, a boat name is all it takes to gain the trust of the people on this island.
Yesterday we went over to the Thunderball Grotto. It’s a big cavern that you have to swim underwater a few yards to get into. There were thousands of little fish hanging out in there and they would come right up to your face. They were obviously used to being fed by the swimmers and weren’t afraid to crowd in so close that when you would paddle your arms you would brush up against them. Unfortunately Ali isn’t a huge fan of getting that up close and personal with fish. She prefers to snorkel in deeper water and view them from up above. She managed to get out a few choice words that I could make out even through the snorkel, before making an Olympic medal type swim back to the dinghy.
february 11 2004 : staniel cay
Today we are just finishing up some errands here on Staniel Cay. We have to pick up a few things at the grocery store and we have to pay our tab at the yacht club. I know, a big day ahead of us. Tonight it’s Club Thunderball pizza night and then tomorrow we are heading down to Black Point.
We finally found someone working at the post office yesterday. When we handed her a small package to mail back home she asked us, “How many stamps?” As if we were supposed to know what postage rates are here in the Bahamas. So we told her $2.00 and now we have our fingers crossed that it will make it. She didn’t even have the stamps there, she just had us write down the amount on the envelope.
february 14 2004 : great guana cay, exumas, bahamas
OK let me tell you about our 15 minutes of fame. A very prestigious newspaper has written a story on us and our adventure. No not the Times or the Tribune, but the Oakdale Lake Elmo Review, our hometown newspaper. When I was a kid they would write little stories about our hockey team, and it was always a thrill to see my name in there. I still have some of them. Anyway, it’s supposed to run in the Wed. the 18th edition. So everyone rush out and get your copy before they all disappear.
Now back to our day. We left Staniel Cay headed for Black Point. It was only about 8 miles and we were able to sail a bit, but the wind was once again out of the south and a little wavy. No big deal.
So yesterday we went for a hike. In our electronic chart program it has details on most of the towns. For Black Point it said don’t miss the hike out to Dotham Cut on a cool day with your trusty water bottles. So instead we set out on a very hot sunny day with a water bottle. On the chart it showed there being a road that was interrupted by a stream and then the road again on the other side leading up to the bluff. So we hiked the mile or so along the road, wearing our flip-flops, of course. The road was really more of a trail of loose rocks that we nearly broke our ankles on a number of times.
Then we got to the “stream.” This was more of a small river about 50 yards wide and 7 feet deep. What the heck, it was hot out and the water felt good. The only problem was I had to hold the camera over my head as we swam across. We got to the other side and found that there was no more road, or path, or trail. So we set out into the bush. We eventually came to a place where we could wade through another creek and it looked like we could climb up the bluff. We finally got to the top of the bluff and looked around only to discover that this wasn’t Dotham Cut. The correct bluff was back on the other side of the creek we just came across. But on the other side was just more thick mangroves and other assorted bushes that there was no way we were getting through without hiking boots and machetes. So we enjoyed the view for a while and hiked and swam home. We were a little sunburned, a bit exhausted, and our feet were swollen. All of this and we didn’t even see Dotham Cut.
After getting cleaned up, we went into town and ate at the Scorpio Lounge. Apparently at night this is quite the nightclub. They had a D.J. booth and everything. But during the day it is just a bar with bar food. We had a couple cheeseburgers and beers. But best of all we got to sit back and watch American Pie Wedding. It was a nice end to the day.
february 16 2004 : little farmer’s cay, exumas, bahamas
Wow was it a hot one today. Ninety degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and not a breath of wind. So of course we motored on down here to Little Farmer’s. We came here knowing that the charts showed very poor holding in the anchorages, so we weren’t too surprised when we couldn’t find a single place to anchor that we felt comfortable with. After an hour of circling the island we finally gave up and hooked onto one of the moorings available. We dropped the dinghy in the water and headed ashore.
It took all of about five minutes to walk around the entire island. Lots of dogs and chickens and not much else. We just missed the 5F’s Festival, the First Friday in February Farmer’s Festival. Apparently it is quite the party where everybody that has moved off the island comes back home to celebrate. As well as a lot of others. But aside from that festival there isn’t much happening here. We did of course manage to find the restaurant and have dinner and beers. I guess for some reason we were expecting more out of this island. Maybe because of all the hype surrounding the festival.
february 18 2004 : little farmer’s cay
We were going to leave today but got pinned down by 35 knot winds. The strongest winds we have seen in at least two months. It looks like the front should pass by tonight or tomorrow morning. So since we were here, we toured m/v Blue Sky, hope the owners don’t mind.
february 20 2004 : rudder cut cay, exumas, bahamas
We had a nice day yesterday. One of those long ones where you can’t believe how much you did that day. We started out in the morning going into town to update the website and buy the next charts that we will need. We had to have them sent to us, instead of just being a quick download. Then we sailed on down to this little group of private islands. Which basically means that they have airstrips and beautiful houses on them which the owners use about one week out of the year. We never see any people on these islands.
In the afternoon I went snorkeling and found a bunch of grouper hanging around the coral. So after a quick stop back at the boat for the spear I went into hunter mode. I was able to spear three nice groupers which we then turned into a huge plate of fish fingers for dinner. Easily our best home cooked meal in quite a while. Alright, when I read back over it, it doesn’t sound like we did that much. But believe me I was exhausted last night.
Today we just walked around a couple of the nearby beaches and explored an old abandoned house. It’s amazing how many houses there are like that on these islands. It seems like there was a bunch of these houses built maybe fifty years ago that have been abandoned for at least the last ten years or more. They’re still in pretty good shape though, so it’s fun to walk through them and check out the views.
february 21 2004 : rudder cut cay
Another perfect day in the Bahamas. Today we went tooling around in the dinghy checking out another couple of small islands. One had a couple of pretty big caves in it. I swam into one of them and the other one was a little climb over the rocks. It was pretty cool. Not a lot to see in there except a bunch of big birds nests. I didn’t stick around to see what was living in those. Then I went spearfishing again and got some more grouper. Ali cooked them to perfection once again.
Then after we ate the wind completely died and the water was like glass. So we took the dinghy out to check out some of the coral heads and look at the fish. You literally can’t even tell that there is water between you and the fish. We even found a sand dollar when we were coming back to the boat. And I grabbed a big old starfish for a quick picture. They are huge, and actually pretty heavy.
february 22 2004 : lee stocking island, exumas, bahamas
Another beautiful day today. We motored down to Lee Stocking Island in the afternoon. There was just a whisper of wind, so no sailing again. Upon arriving, we found a nice little place to anchor all by ourselves. A couple of hours later the sheep started coming in. I don’t think we’ll ever quite understand some cruisers. I understand sometimes there is only a little area that is suitable for anchoring. But then there are days like today when you could anchor anywhere along this two mile stretch of island. All of it equally good. Instead of finding their own slice of beach, they feel the need to congregate like a flock of sheep.
The first boat came in and anchored just off to our side. Then another boat came in and anchored directly behind us. As if that’s not annoying enough, a while later I look over at one of them and see they’re staring at us through binoculars. Weirdos.
february 24 2004 : lee stocking island
We got a copy of the article from the Lillie Suburban Newspapers. They actually ended up running it in three of the local suburban papers. We were really happy with how accurately it portrays what we are doing.
This morning we upped anchor and moved a couple miles south. The charts showed a big bunch of coral heads and we were hoping to get some fish. When we got here we found a crowded anchorage with not very good holding. I then took the dinghy over to the coral and jumped in. That’s when I realized the current in that spot was flying. Even if I had seen a fish I wanted to spear it would have been the equivalent of trying to shoot a flying duck with a slingshot. So all we ended up accomplishing by moving today was to find an anchorage we don’t like and fish we can’t spear.
february 27 2004 : george town, great exuma island, bahamas
We spent the last couple of days in Rolleville. We knew it was a small town but it had a nice anchorage. We were the only one anchored anywhere near this area, since just about everybody else was making a straight shot down to George Town. We took the dinghy in to walk around the town and were immediately feeling pretty conspicuous. This was the poorest community we have been in and we felt out of place and maybe a little unwelcome.
The town didn’t have much in it, but one thing we found amazing was that they were building three new churches within a couple hundred yards of each other. So we went back to the boat which we had conveniently anchored right in front of a building which was supposed to be Kermit’s Tavern. But after walking up there hoping for some dinner we found that it looked to have been turned into a house instead.
The next day I went out fishing. I was snorkeling along in about eight feet of water when all of a sudden a huge blue hole appeared right underneath me. It was essentially an underwater cave. It dropped straight down to about 50 feet, and in the deeper water I could see quite a few large fish swimming around. I couldn’t risk shooting at any of them though since if I missed, my spear would have been laying at the bottom where I couldn’t get it. So I just hung out and pretty soon a nice grouper came swimming out, which I promptly missed. He was the only grouper I saw all day. Suddenly as I was swimming back to the dinghy a whole school of yellow jacks came swimming right by me. I had my pick for dinner. This was by far the biggest fish I have speared so far and he made a pretty good meal. That about sums up Rolleville.
This morning we left for George Town. We had about 10-15 knot winds right from behind which along with the 5 foot waves pushing us along made for a quick sail. The wind has picked up to at least 20 knots and made it really rough in here though, so we are confined to the boat for the night. Tomorrow we are going into town and finding a good place to eat. We are out of everything. We have no meat (i.e. hot dogs), no bread, no snack food of any sort, and the closest thing to sweets that we have is our crunchy peanut butter. So we have had tuna fish sandwiches and soup every night for the last ten days unless I managed to get fish for dinner. We’re desperate.
