I wrote my last blog while we were waiting for our friends Al and Alta to arrive and, after 11 days together, today we saw them off from the airport at Staniel Cay. The 'terminal' at the airport is a gazebo type structure and the check in process is with the lady in the pink shirt who tags the bags and then you stand around on the tarmac waiting to board. It is a busy little place and in the hour and a half that we were there we saw 8 or 10 small planes take off or land. The plane that Al and Alta boarded for their flight to Nassau was probably about a 10 seater and it looked like it was full. Some lucky person may have had the opportunity to sit beside the pilot too!
We had a chance to give Al and Alta a pretty good tour of the Exumas while they were here. They joined us in Georgetown when they arrived mid afternoon short Alta's bag, which hadn't made it after some flight re-scheduling due to snow at the beginning of their trip. Luckily their cab driver Lawrence knew someone that worked for the airline, so he said he would get the bag to us when it came in. Sure enough, just after the evening flight from Nassau arrived we heard Taxi 6 calling us on the VHF and Dave and Al went over to meet Lawrence and get the bag.
We spent a day in Georgetown so Al and Alta could have a bit of a look around and after an afternoon of exploring Stocking Island and a dip in the water, they treated us to supper at the Chat n Chill on Volleyball Beach where we met up with the crew from Slow Waltz. Saturday morning we got up early and headed out of the harbour to go north, back up the Exuma chain. It was a great day, although not enough wind to sail and still make it through the cut before the tide started to drop, so we motor sailed up on the Sound side of the cays until we got to Cave Cay Cut, where we crossed over to the Banks. We were having a great day so we decided to keep going, and we even sailed the last couple of hours of the trip on the Banks. Fifty four nautical miles and nine and a half hours after we left Georgetown we dropped the hook at White Point, just south of Black Point on Great Guana Cay.
The only mishap of the entire day was early on, when I accidentally threw the filter from Al and Alta's coffee pot overboard when I was getting rid of the grounds. Luckily the following day Al and Dave were able to fashion a replacement from a small springform pan I had on board that was almost the right size. Dave even got out his drill press to make all the holes - gotta love boat projects!
We hung around at White Point on Sunday and went into the beach and gave Alta a snorkeling lesson. That day we explored a couple of small coral heads near the anchorage so Al and Alta could get a feel for it and we discovered we needed a better system for boarding the dinghy from the water. I knew that my book of knots had instructions for making a rope ladder, so I got to work making one the following day as we motored up towards Cambridge Cay.
We spent the next 3 days anchored at Cambridge so that we could get some protection from some westerly winds that were forecast. This has become a favourite spot for Dave and I because of all the great snorkeling nearby and this time we also discovered there are turtles near the south beach, there is a trail up to the top of the hill on the north, there are hammocks that some enterprising cruisers have fashioned out of flotsam and jetsom, there is a sandy island with a ton of conchs around it and there is a great spot for snorkeling at slack tide at 'bonsai' island. I got my first good view of a ray jumping out of the water there and it was amazing! They curl their 'wings' back and they look kind of like little killer whales with their black and white colouring.
The generosity and helpfulness of fellow cruisers continues. The first time Dave and I went snorkeling at bonsai island there was a very strong current and I wasn't able to swim quickly enough to overcome it and get around the island. It was windy and I got a bit freaked out so I went to swim back over to the dinghy and I shouted over to Dave "I can't make it" to let him know that I wasn't going to be able to get around the island. One of the cruisers on a boat in the anchorage heard me and by the time Dave and I were back in the dinghy he was over in his dinghy and asked us if everyone was accounted for, because he was concerned. It is wonderful to know that despite the fact that everyone is on their own out here there are still people watching out for each other.
Thursday morning we found out on the VHF that we got a mooring in the north anchorage at Warderick Wells, where Exuma Park headquarters is located. Although we had a bit of rain first thing in the morning and quite a bit of wind, the weather had calmed down so we figured the worst was over and we could set off. We had a really good sail up the Sound with just the jib, but the wind steadily picked up and as we got close to the mooring field some ominous black clouds got closer to us. We managed to pick up the mooring despite the windy conditions and about five minutes after we were secured there was an absolute downpour of rain and lots of wind from the squall that came over. We had lunch in below in the rain and then an hour later it was like it hadn't even happened other than the fact that we had collected a little bit of rain water to rinse a few things and our decks were no longer salty. That afternoon we went for a big hike around the island and although it was still quite windy it was a beautiful sunny day again. Just as we were getting ready to eat supper we got a bit more rain, so somehow the timing worked out just right for us.
The next day we woke up to flat calm conditions and although Al and Alta weren't really keen on doing a bunch of snorkeling, it was a great day for using the looky bucket, so we explored a bunch of different reefs that way. Dave and I snorkeled while they stayed in the dinghy and used the looky bucket, and at a couple of the coral heads I pulled the dinghy over the heads while snorkeling so that they could have a look, which worked pretty well.
On Saturday we sailed back down from Warderick Wells to Cambridge Cay, to get protection from some more westerlies. After doing some snorkeling and going for a walk on the beach, Dave and Al came to the rescue of a couple who were having issues with their dinghy engine. Dave took the woman up to the 'Sea Aquarium' in our dinghy so that she could snorkel there and Al helped the skipper fix their outboard.
Sunday we motored down to Big Major's Spot in flat calm conditions again, but there is always something to keep us entertained. This time it was a huge motor yacht that was anchored just off a small cay with a sandy beach, where they had put up multiple tents with lounge chairs, umbrellas and beach chairs and tables - just like a little mini traveling resort that they take with them. I don't know how many people were on the boat, but they were certainly getting the royal treatment!
Al and Alta treated us to lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club and we took them to see the pigs on Pig Beach after a bit of a walk at Staniel Cay, where Alta and I went to check out the airport, ready for their departure the following day. Our supplies of fresh food were getting pretty low - no surprise that it is even more challenging to feed four people for a couple of weeks without re-stocking than it is to feed two. An additional challenge for me is that Alta doesn't eat chocolate, and all of my boat dessert recipes include chocolate, so I had to come up with something different. I ended up making a key lime pie, which turned out pretty well, despite the fact that it took me about half an hour to squeeze half a cup of juice from a bag of little key limes (next time I would definitely use lime juice from a bottle instead - I am not that much of a purist), and I found out that I could modify my Hello Dollies recipe to make a quarter of the pan chocolate free and apparently it is still good.
We continued our summer cruising tradition of playing Skipbo - boys against girls and after a total of five nights of Skipbo the guys trounced the girls 9 games to 3, thereby winning the winter 2014 tournament. It was fun to have friends aboard, and hopefully Al and Alta enjoyed themselves and got a bit of a feel for the Bahamas, as well as an escape from one of the toughest Canadian winters in a long time.
We had a chance to give Al and Alta a pretty good tour of the Exumas while they were here. They joined us in Georgetown when they arrived mid afternoon short Alta's bag, which hadn't made it after some flight re-scheduling due to snow at the beginning of their trip. Luckily their cab driver Lawrence knew someone that worked for the airline, so he said he would get the bag to us when it came in. Sure enough, just after the evening flight from Nassau arrived we heard Taxi 6 calling us on the VHF and Dave and Al went over to meet Lawrence and get the bag.
We spent a day in Georgetown so Al and Alta could have a bit of a look around and after an afternoon of exploring Stocking Island and a dip in the water, they treated us to supper at the Chat n Chill on Volleyball Beach where we met up with the crew from Slow Waltz. Saturday morning we got up early and headed out of the harbour to go north, back up the Exuma chain. It was a great day, although not enough wind to sail and still make it through the cut before the tide started to drop, so we motor sailed up on the Sound side of the cays until we got to Cave Cay Cut, where we crossed over to the Banks. We were having a great day so we decided to keep going, and we even sailed the last couple of hours of the trip on the Banks. Fifty four nautical miles and nine and a half hours after we left Georgetown we dropped the hook at White Point, just south of Black Point on Great Guana Cay.
The only mishap of the entire day was early on, when I accidentally threw the filter from Al and Alta's coffee pot overboard when I was getting rid of the grounds. Luckily the following day Al and Dave were able to fashion a replacement from a small springform pan I had on board that was almost the right size. Dave even got out his drill press to make all the holes - gotta love boat projects!
We hung around at White Point on Sunday and went into the beach and gave Alta a snorkeling lesson. That day we explored a couple of small coral heads near the anchorage so Al and Alta could get a feel for it and we discovered we needed a better system for boarding the dinghy from the water. I knew that my book of knots had instructions for making a rope ladder, so I got to work making one the following day as we motored up towards Cambridge Cay.
We spent the next 3 days anchored at Cambridge so that we could get some protection from some westerly winds that were forecast. This has become a favourite spot for Dave and I because of all the great snorkeling nearby and this time we also discovered there are turtles near the south beach, there is a trail up to the top of the hill on the north, there are hammocks that some enterprising cruisers have fashioned out of flotsam and jetsom, there is a sandy island with a ton of conchs around it and there is a great spot for snorkeling at slack tide at 'bonsai' island. I got my first good view of a ray jumping out of the water there and it was amazing! They curl their 'wings' back and they look kind of like little killer whales with their black and white colouring.
The generosity and helpfulness of fellow cruisers continues. The first time Dave and I went snorkeling at bonsai island there was a very strong current and I wasn't able to swim quickly enough to overcome it and get around the island. It was windy and I got a bit freaked out so I went to swim back over to the dinghy and I shouted over to Dave "I can't make it" to let him know that I wasn't going to be able to get around the island. One of the cruisers on a boat in the anchorage heard me and by the time Dave and I were back in the dinghy he was over in his dinghy and asked us if everyone was accounted for, because he was concerned. It is wonderful to know that despite the fact that everyone is on their own out here there are still people watching out for each other.
Thursday morning we found out on the VHF that we got a mooring in the north anchorage at Warderick Wells, where Exuma Park headquarters is located. Although we had a bit of rain first thing in the morning and quite a bit of wind, the weather had calmed down so we figured the worst was over and we could set off. We had a really good sail up the Sound with just the jib, but the wind steadily picked up and as we got close to the mooring field some ominous black clouds got closer to us. We managed to pick up the mooring despite the windy conditions and about five minutes after we were secured there was an absolute downpour of rain and lots of wind from the squall that came over. We had lunch in below in the rain and then an hour later it was like it hadn't even happened other than the fact that we had collected a little bit of rain water to rinse a few things and our decks were no longer salty. That afternoon we went for a big hike around the island and although it was still quite windy it was a beautiful sunny day again. Just as we were getting ready to eat supper we got a bit more rain, so somehow the timing worked out just right for us.
The next day we woke up to flat calm conditions and although Al and Alta weren't really keen on doing a bunch of snorkeling, it was a great day for using the looky bucket, so we explored a bunch of different reefs that way. Dave and I snorkeled while they stayed in the dinghy and used the looky bucket, and at a couple of the coral heads I pulled the dinghy over the heads while snorkeling so that they could have a look, which worked pretty well.
On Saturday we sailed back down from Warderick Wells to Cambridge Cay, to get protection from some more westerlies. After doing some snorkeling and going for a walk on the beach, Dave and Al came to the rescue of a couple who were having issues with their dinghy engine. Dave took the woman up to the 'Sea Aquarium' in our dinghy so that she could snorkel there and Al helped the skipper fix their outboard.
Sunday we motored down to Big Major's Spot in flat calm conditions again, but there is always something to keep us entertained. This time it was a huge motor yacht that was anchored just off a small cay with a sandy beach, where they had put up multiple tents with lounge chairs, umbrellas and beach chairs and tables - just like a little mini traveling resort that they take with them. I don't know how many people were on the boat, but they were certainly getting the royal treatment!
Al and Alta treated us to lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club and we took them to see the pigs on Pig Beach after a bit of a walk at Staniel Cay, where Alta and I went to check out the airport, ready for their departure the following day. Our supplies of fresh food were getting pretty low - no surprise that it is even more challenging to feed four people for a couple of weeks without re-stocking than it is to feed two. An additional challenge for me is that Alta doesn't eat chocolate, and all of my boat dessert recipes include chocolate, so I had to come up with something different. I ended up making a key lime pie, which turned out pretty well, despite the fact that it took me about half an hour to squeeze half a cup of juice from a bag of little key limes (next time I would definitely use lime juice from a bottle instead - I am not that much of a purist), and I found out that I could modify my Hello Dollies recipe to make a quarter of the pan chocolate free and apparently it is still good.
We continued our summer cruising tradition of playing Skipbo - boys against girls and after a total of five nights of Skipbo the guys trounced the girls 9 games to 3, thereby winning the winter 2014 tournament. It was fun to have friends aboard, and hopefully Al and Alta enjoyed themselves and got a bit of a feel for the Bahamas, as well as an escape from one of the toughest Canadian winters in a long time.