02/01/02

Royal Island

We motorsailed here from Chub Cay & made it in time for sunset. I almost put us off target. The boat was overcanvassed & to keep the sails full I had to come a bit too far North but the boat was flying with the toerail in the water & I was having too much fun to wake Allen from his nap to help me get the Jib in. It made Allen have to really pinch to get us to the right point for entry into Royal Island Harbor. Sorry, but I was having too much fun…

This is a great little island. There are about 5 boats in the large & well-protected harbor. There is an old plantation on the island that has been let go to ruin. What a great place to live it must have been. There is a small beginning of a coral reef on the other side of the island with many fish & good snorkeling. We will stay here until the threatning front passes through, plenty of snorkleing & hikeing to keep us happy for a while.

2/06/02

Spanish Wells

Easy 2 hour motor from Royal Island. Spanish Wells is a quiet little fishing village with no unemployment & not dependent on tourists. It is very clean & all the houses are well kept & landscaped. John & Linda (Cat Tracks) got here before us & went to Harbor Island on the fast ferry. Pat & Duane (No Se') followed us by a few hours. We are all on moorings ($10/day) run by Edsel Roberts who used to be the caretaker on Royal Island & now helps pilot boats here & helps cruisers anyway he can.

(Harbor Island)

We took the fast ferry to Harbor Island for the day. The route it takes is right along the beach of Eleutheria inside of the "Devils Backbone" a reef that has claimed many boats. Harbor Island is a resort place with many hotels, but not high rises or big names so it is still a great place to visit. The hotels on the "pink sand" beach would be great for a very relaxing getaway or fishing or diving trip. It takes a bit of imagination to see the pink sand but there ARE pieces of pink shell in the sand & it does have a pinkish hue, if you look hard or have enough rum punches. We had a wonderful lunch at the Harbor Lounge (I think) near the foot of the ferry terminal & returned there for a drink while we waited for the ferry. After the rum punch there I believe I could have seen the pink beach for sure! The ferry ride was really part of the fun. We were so close to the beach on one side & the rocks on the other & flying through the water. I'm glad we did not attempt it in our own boat.

Back at Spanish Wells we spent a few days washing the boat & doing some shopping. I have been to the dive shop 3 times trying to get fresh eggs but no luck yet. (Yes, the dive shop is the place to buy fresh eggs but only when the guy feels like bringing them & then they are sold out fast.) Sunday we went snorkleing north east of Ridleys Head (Eleutheria). We took the dinghy over & spent the day alone on a beautiful sand beach (with some pink in it)! The snorkeling was pretty good out by the reef. It was really a sight to see the fast ferry go between us and the beach, I don't know how they take that huge boat so close in. Allen picked his first coconut & managed to get it opened on the rocks. What a provider!

(Eleuthria)

We took the ferry over to Eleuthria today ($4) & rented a car ($70/day) to drive down Eleuthria. This is a pretty island, aprox. 100 miles long & very narrow. We stopped at the "Glass Window" which was at one time a natural stone bridge but since it washed away it is now a man made bridge. From it you can see straight down to the deep, blue ocean on one side & shallow light blue & green water on the other. We checked out the caves near Hatchet Bay. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a flashlight so we took some pictures with a flash to get a view inside, a bit of a waste of battery power but all we had. We had lunch at Governor's Harbor, met & picked up Marci & David (Nine of Cups) in the restaurant. Governor's Harbor is a very nice little town, one of the 1st places settled in the 1700's. There are some very pretty houses here & has a large amount of retired Americans & Europeans. The 4 of us went on down the Island to Tarpum Bay. There was supposed to be an artist colony there but through attrition & death there is only one artist left. We found Mal Flanders there & checked out his studio. I think his earlier work was better than later but he was a wealth of information. We made it South to Rock Sound but that was not really worth the time as we had to get back up North & drop Marci & David @ Hatchet Bay & get back to the ferry by 5:00. It was a nice day & we really enjoyed having company to share it with. We will both be heading to the Exumas soon so I'm sure we'll meet up again.

02/12/02

Nassau

We had an easy motor-sail down to Nassau & docked at the Nassau Harbor Club ($1/ft +$6 water/day). This is a good place to stay. There is a full grocery, Radio Shack, Barclay's Bank & a Liquor store across the street. There's even a Sushi restaurant here in the marina, I suspect that's why Allen chose this particular marina! We did not have high hopes for Nassau, knowing that it was a high tourist area but it is much nicer than we expected. We spent the 1st day working on the boat, Allen on the bilge pump problem & I on laundry (1st time since Florida). We spent the afternoon looking for a new 'Ultra switch' for the bilge alarm (no luck) & had lunch @ the Poop Deck (the usual fried Grouper etc.). When we got back to the boat Allen helped another cruiser (Tom) who just happened to have an extra switch. Sometimes it pays to be helpful.

The next day we played tourist & visited the Queen's Staircase & Fort Fincastle. It poured for a short while so we passed the time waiting in a shop & chatting with Margo. We had lunch at the Parlament Café (wonderful French food) & spent a few hours at an internet café using up the time left on the card Marci had given us. In the afternoon we went over to Paradise Island to see Atlantis. It was very Disney-esque but really neat. There is supposed to be a great aquarium there but we were too cheap to go in ($25). We could see the Shark Tank though. There is a waterslide that goes through the middle of the tank so when you slide down it you go through a clear tube with sharks swimming all around you. The hotel is beautiful & clean with lots of walking trails by pools & waterfalls, kind of like Opreyland Hotel only outside. I'm sure the hotel is very expensive but with all of the things to do here (free to the guests) it would be a nice place to visit, especially with the kids.

When we got back to the boat the bilge pump was running, again so apparently the new switch did not solve the problem! Finally the next day Allen found the real problem was that there really was water in the bilge but the pump was not working due to a crack in the input fitting. Of course you cannot just replace the fitting you have to buy a new pump. We did have a replacement pump on the boat but since Allen considers keeping the boat afloat a priority we now needed a new spare ($600). Actually we consider ourselves lucky that we could even find an exact replacement here & in the 1st store, no less! We had lunch at the Pink Pearl Café (very creative & good food & cheaper than a fried fish elsewhere). The rest of the day was spent restocking our food & getting ready to head for the Exuma island chain. We are looking forward to this area, most of the people we meet say that is the best cruising anywhere.

02/16/02

Allens Cay

The motor down from Nassau was rainy but easy with the jib up most of the way. Allens Cay is a bit crowded for anchoring so we had to take a less than perfect spot where we bumped on the sand at low tide. Allen was up all night making sure we stayed off the rocks on the West & a boat on the East. Then he had to empty the entire aft locker to lighten up the rear of the boat to keep the bumping to a minimum at low tide (4:00AM). We went over to the beach to see the Iguanas. They are very ugly but interesting colors & unusual to see, & unafraid of people. We had our 1st theft last night. We had our dinghy tied to the boat with our fish finder/depth sounder attached to the transom & during the night someone took the fish finder. The joke was on them though, we had tried to use it to sound out the harbor the night before & it did not work so we were going to get rid of it anyway. Sometimes you have to enjoy simple justice. I'm just glad we had our motor locked to the boat but we will look on this as our very cheap warning, everything must be locked at all times! Three boat-loads of people just arrived from the Cruise ships at Nassau to see the iguanas & a float plane just landed about 50 feet from us, I think it's time to leave.

02/19/02

Highborne Cay

We anchored off the West coast of Highborne Cay on the 17th. It has been very windy & the 1st night was very rough for sleeping although I think we both slept better than the night before since we had plenty of room. The first day we dinghyed around the island & into the marina then went to check out the reef. We considered snorkleing but it looked pretty rough & there were strong currents so we just walked around on the beach for a while. I'm kind of glad we did not go into the water because later that night when I threw some vegetable scraps over the side 3 (small) sharks attacked them. Apparently they are staying under the boat, every time I throw any scraps over they attack them. Needless to say we have not done any swimming from the boat here. It's a pretty scary sight even if they are small & I am not willing to bet any appendages on them not attacking a bigger "fish".

We are pretty much alone anchored here with only one other boat in the area. They are a very nice & quiet Canadian couple, Tony & Maria (Bretanha). We have spent the last 2 days reading all day & are very relaxed & ready to face the crowds again in another anchorage.

02/20-25/02

Norman's Cay

We anchored off the West side of the island for a few days with no other boat near. We had good holding there with a long, deserted beach down to the villas of Mc Duffs. We did some walking around to stretch our legs. McDuffs is a small complex of a couple of villas with a small bar/café which also serves as waiting lounge for the airstrip behind it. They have a very interesting blender there. It is gas powered & runs on the body of a leaf blower. Naturally we had to see it in action so we ordered a pitcher of Margaritas. Apparently we are a little slow. We had to see it several times. Since we were sharing with the other patrons (wouldn't want to let them melt) we had a pretty happy bar crowd that night. We met a really nice couple, Will & Suzy (Agua Azul) there.

The next day we had to move inside the cut of the island to get more protected from the coming frontal passage. We ran aground on a sandbank & were soon surrounded by dinghys from the other boats anchored there. It was a bit embarassing but since, for once, we had timed the tide perfectly we floated off easily. The good thing was that the 1st two people there wereTony (Bretanha) & Will (Auga Azul) so we anchored, with their help, between them in the very crowded anchorage. Naturally we had to invite them both for cocktails & had a great time with them that night.

This island was part of the Columbian Cartel drug path. It was raided several times by the Bahamans then then the US DEA. Apparently all of the important people were not here at the time of any of the raids. They did eventually catch Carlos (the owner of this island) & he is supposed to be in jail in Indiana. (Taking him from here to Indiana- now that's punishment enough!) Some people here say he is in a witness protection program in Germany. Who knows? There are many abandoned & destroyed buildings left here. Apparently many people have come here & ripped apart the buildings in search of money or drugs that may have been left behind. (We found neither!) It is fun to explore them & imagine what it was like here then.

This is a well protected anchorage but the current is very strong during the tides. There are quite a few boats here waiting out the weather so we have out 2 anchors against the tide changes. This, along with some pretty stiff winds, makes for some very interesting sounds at night & no one is getting much sleep. There is a plane wreck just behind our boat & when it is calm enough it is interesting to snorkel but not too much else of intrest in here. Since we are anchored between friends we are having a good time visiting with them.

One interesting thing we learned in conversation with Will; He & Suzy were invited to "Puppie's Home Again" for drinks one night & Larry was showing off his new fish-finder/depth sounder. According to him "someone had just given it to him & he thought it was so neat because he had never seen anything like it." That was very interesting because the day before that he had seen us out using it & questioned us all about it. Will described our stolen unit exactly & since we have never seen any like it I guess we now know who stole it from us. Once again fate struck because apparently that night his dinghy overturned & he lost all of the equipment in it except the fishfinder (which as we know, did not work)!

02/26/02

Exuma Park Headquarters

Warderick Wells Cay

We had a wonderful sail down here with winds on our beam most of the way. The Exuma Park headquarters are here & they have moorings for rent ($15/night). It is great to be moored & not worried about dragging the anchor all night long. This is a great island for exploration with marked (but rough) trails all over the place.

(updated 03/21/02)