Here's the thing - I like fish. I like to look at fish - I like going to aquariums, I like snorkeling, I like pictures of fish, I even have a bathroom at home full of fish 'decor'. I also like to eat fish - baked fish, pan fried fish, fish & chips, fish tacos and even ceviche if it is done properly. What I don't really like is fishing. I don't like the struggle of the fish, the idea of catching it on a hook and bonking it over the head or spearing it, the last gasps as the fish sit in the bucket, and then the filleting of the fish.
After we said goodbye to Al and Alta, we spent three more days anchored at Big Major's Spot hanging around with our friends on C-Spirit (Jamey, Nancy and their daughters Phoenix, Indigo, Sage and Skye) and their friends on Makai (Eric & Jackie and their kids Roy, Genny and Marie). Dave really wanted to fish, so he went out with Jamey and Roy all three of those days. Although Dave didn't spear any fish, Jamey and Roy did, and they were generous enough to share the catch.
Meanwhile, I hung out with the girls, which was a lot of fun. We played games, went swimming and then on the third day we went along on the fishing expedition with the guys. The day after the first expedition, Makai hosted lunch with fish tacos and deep fried fish balls and it was amazing. After the second expedition, that afternoon, Dave brought a couple of fish back to Romana and filleted them and we had them barbequed for supper the next day. That night we all went over to Makai for a movie night, to watch The Lone Ranger.
The third outing was a combined sail/fish/snorkel trip. We sailed over to Harvey Cay (a couple of miles away). Most of the crew of the 3 boats sailed on C-Spirit, but Jackie, Roy and Phoenix sailed over on Makai's hobie cat and Dave joined them on the way back. At Harvey Cay We anchored and then using our dinghy as a moving base, most of the girls snorkeled and swam while Jamey, Roy, Dave and Jackie fished. I wasn't all that impressed to be sitting in the dinghy when the fishermen brought their catch back and dropped it off the spear into the bucket but it's all part of the fishing experience.
We had a lot of fun with that gang, but soon it was time to move on and get some chores done. We headed south to Black Point to post a blog, do laundry, call and facetime family, get my hair cut and stock up on groceries. As usual when boating, some of these things didn't go exactly as planned. I got my hair cut by Ida at the laundromat but there was no mirror, so I couldn't see how much she had cut off. When I got back to the boat I looked and saw that it was still too long - I need this hair cut to last me a couple of months - so the next day we went back and I asked her if she could cut it shorter. She said she could, but Dave and I got tired of waiting in the heat, so we left to take matters into our own hands - literally. We dinghied over to a small beach and using a small hand mirror, a comb and a pair of hair scissors I had on the boat, we cut some more of my hair off. Well, I don't know if anyone else has tried to cut their own hair, but I didn't find it that easy. Dave tried to help me out, but he was worried about how it would turn out and neither one of us had any idea what we were doing. So my hair is shorter for sure, but it isn't a great cut. Luckily it will grow back and can be fixed by a professional next time, with any luck.
The mail boat was delayed again, and when it hadn't shown up by 4 p.m. on Saturday we figured we would be waiting until Monday (the stores are closed on Sunday). But, lo and behold, it came through the anchorage around 4:15 and the lady at the store had told us she would be staying open until 7:30 that night, so at 5:30 we dinghied in and stocked up on what we could get fresh.
Sunday morning we got up, ready to head off, and found out that we had run out of milk. Somehow we got the count wrong on the boxed milk that we stocked up on and we had none left. We decided to head down to Farmer's Cay and see if they had some. The wind was not co-operating and we had to motor into it and When we got close we figured there wasn't good protection at Farmer's, so we anchored a bit north of there. We still couldn't get out of the swell and after having lunch we decided we didn't want to spend the night there, so we hauled up the anchor and sailed back north. We had planned to go to Big Major's, but figured it would be almost dark when we got there if we sailed all the way, so we pulled in and anchored at Black Point, just about in the exact same spot we had left that morning. We covered 20 Nm and travelled for four and a half hours and apparently went nowhere.
But that is how it is sometimes. We enjoyed the sail so much we decided we would just go where the wind took us for the next little while and we have done a lot of sailing since then instead of motoring. After Black Point, we spent a couple of days at Big Majors (where we finally managed to get milk) and then went back up to Warderick Wells to sit out a front before heading further north to Hawksbill Cay, which we missed on the way down, and Shroud and Highbourne Cay, where we had never been before.
We've met some nice people along the way. In Black Point we joined some cruisers from London, Ontario for a fun evening of supper and drinks. At Big Major's we had happy hour with a Ingo and Anna from Stradimarius, the Corbin 39 (like our boat) that was originally owned by Marius Corbin himself and the following night they invited us over for supper. At Warderick Wells we ran into a Domonic and Danielle on Asteria, a couple from Quebec that Dave had met in Cape May, NJ way back in early October. They invited us over for happy hour one night, where we practiced our french with them and a couple of friends they had visiting. When we got to Shroud Cay I finally met the crew of Baccalieu - LeeAnn, Brad and their daughter Abbey. Dave had met them when they stopped in Pictou in the summer, but I had only known them via a facebook group called Women Who Sail. We spent some time chatting with them on the beach and Brad came snorkeling with us. We also met some Australians on a couple of Island Packets who had just bought their boats in the US and were heading for Australia. They had left Connecticut on December 1st and told us stories of spray turning to ice on the lifelines instantly and four inches of snow on the dodger - I guess they hadn't really figured out winter in this hemisphere when they were planning that trip. They were pretty glad to be in the Bahamas now!
While we were at Warderick Wells we did some more hiking, including a big hike from the north end of the cay to the south end and back again. It was quite a long, hot trip, but between that and a couple of shorter hikes on other days, I can say that we have hiked almost every trail on that island this year. While snorkeling there we saw the biggest grouper we have ever seen (it must have been over 2 feet long) and saw a lobster walking along the sand in the open (usually they are hiding under rocks) before a couple of shark sightings convinced us to go back to the dinghy.
At Hawksbill we hiked across the cay along a big sand flat with a small creek and some mangroves and at Shroud we dinghied across the cay from the west to the east side in a deep creek through mangroves, ending up at a sand bar where the current was rushing so quickly it created a whirlpool. You could jump in the water and ride the current out until you got to the sandbar where you could make your way back to the beach where you started and do it all over again. We were surprised at how difficult it was to walk through a foot of water on the sandbar in the strong current - a real education in the power of current even in shallow water. We also snorkeled at Shroud and saw an Atlantic spadefish, which we had never seen before, as well as the most lionfish we have seen anywhere so far. What can I say? I told you, I like fish!
Yesterday we sailed up from Shroud to Highbourne Cay, where we arrived just in time to dinghy in to shore and have a look at the swanky marina, store and restaurant there before they closed. Now we are on our way to Nassau where we are going to do some re-provisioning, get the dinghy engine serviced, renew our cellphone data plan and maybe even get some laundry done, although we aren't too desparate for that yet. These days our laundry is mostly sheets and towels, as we spend most of our time in bathing suits and shorts along with the occasional t-shirt, only putting things in the laundry bag when they are just no longer fit to wear (and that definition is stretched to the limit on the boat, for sure).
We will probably spend a few days in Nassau before heading back to the Exumas and who knows where else before we go north to the Abacos in April. Although the weather has been a bit cooler over the past couple of weeks, which we mostly notice when we are sitting in the cockpit in the evenings, it is still hot and sunny most days and the water is great for swimming and snorkeling, so we will continue to enjoy that while we are here.
After we said goodbye to Al and Alta, we spent three more days anchored at Big Major's Spot hanging around with our friends on C-Spirit (Jamey, Nancy and their daughters Phoenix, Indigo, Sage and Skye) and their friends on Makai (Eric & Jackie and their kids Roy, Genny and Marie). Dave really wanted to fish, so he went out with Jamey and Roy all three of those days. Although Dave didn't spear any fish, Jamey and Roy did, and they were generous enough to share the catch.
Meanwhile, I hung out with the girls, which was a lot of fun. We played games, went swimming and then on the third day we went along on the fishing expedition with the guys. The day after the first expedition, Makai hosted lunch with fish tacos and deep fried fish balls and it was amazing. After the second expedition, that afternoon, Dave brought a couple of fish back to Romana and filleted them and we had them barbequed for supper the next day. That night we all went over to Makai for a movie night, to watch The Lone Ranger.
The third outing was a combined sail/fish/snorkel trip. We sailed over to Harvey Cay (a couple of miles away). Most of the crew of the 3 boats sailed on C-Spirit, but Jackie, Roy and Phoenix sailed over on Makai's hobie cat and Dave joined them on the way back. At Harvey Cay We anchored and then using our dinghy as a moving base, most of the girls snorkeled and swam while Jamey, Roy, Dave and Jackie fished. I wasn't all that impressed to be sitting in the dinghy when the fishermen brought their catch back and dropped it off the spear into the bucket but it's all part of the fishing experience.
We had a lot of fun with that gang, but soon it was time to move on and get some chores done. We headed south to Black Point to post a blog, do laundry, call and facetime family, get my hair cut and stock up on groceries. As usual when boating, some of these things didn't go exactly as planned. I got my hair cut by Ida at the laundromat but there was no mirror, so I couldn't see how much she had cut off. When I got back to the boat I looked and saw that it was still too long - I need this hair cut to last me a couple of months - so the next day we went back and I asked her if she could cut it shorter. She said she could, but Dave and I got tired of waiting in the heat, so we left to take matters into our own hands - literally. We dinghied over to a small beach and using a small hand mirror, a comb and a pair of hair scissors I had on the boat, we cut some more of my hair off. Well, I don't know if anyone else has tried to cut their own hair, but I didn't find it that easy. Dave tried to help me out, but he was worried about how it would turn out and neither one of us had any idea what we were doing. So my hair is shorter for sure, but it isn't a great cut. Luckily it will grow back and can be fixed by a professional next time, with any luck.
The mail boat was delayed again, and when it hadn't shown up by 4 p.m. on Saturday we figured we would be waiting until Monday (the stores are closed on Sunday). But, lo and behold, it came through the anchorage around 4:15 and the lady at the store had told us she would be staying open until 7:30 that night, so at 5:30 we dinghied in and stocked up on what we could get fresh.
Sunday morning we got up, ready to head off, and found out that we had run out of milk. Somehow we got the count wrong on the boxed milk that we stocked up on and we had none left. We decided to head down to Farmer's Cay and see if they had some. The wind was not co-operating and we had to motor into it and When we got close we figured there wasn't good protection at Farmer's, so we anchored a bit north of there. We still couldn't get out of the swell and after having lunch we decided we didn't want to spend the night there, so we hauled up the anchor and sailed back north. We had planned to go to Big Major's, but figured it would be almost dark when we got there if we sailed all the way, so we pulled in and anchored at Black Point, just about in the exact same spot we had left that morning. We covered 20 Nm and travelled for four and a half hours and apparently went nowhere.
But that is how it is sometimes. We enjoyed the sail so much we decided we would just go where the wind took us for the next little while and we have done a lot of sailing since then instead of motoring. After Black Point, we spent a couple of days at Big Majors (where we finally managed to get milk) and then went back up to Warderick Wells to sit out a front before heading further north to Hawksbill Cay, which we missed on the way down, and Shroud and Highbourne Cay, where we had never been before.
We've met some nice people along the way. In Black Point we joined some cruisers from London, Ontario for a fun evening of supper and drinks. At Big Major's we had happy hour with a Ingo and Anna from Stradimarius, the Corbin 39 (like our boat) that was originally owned by Marius Corbin himself and the following night they invited us over for supper. At Warderick Wells we ran into a Domonic and Danielle on Asteria, a couple from Quebec that Dave had met in Cape May, NJ way back in early October. They invited us over for happy hour one night, where we practiced our french with them and a couple of friends they had visiting. When we got to Shroud Cay I finally met the crew of Baccalieu - LeeAnn, Brad and their daughter Abbey. Dave had met them when they stopped in Pictou in the summer, but I had only known them via a facebook group called Women Who Sail. We spent some time chatting with them on the beach and Brad came snorkeling with us. We also met some Australians on a couple of Island Packets who had just bought their boats in the US and were heading for Australia. They had left Connecticut on December 1st and told us stories of spray turning to ice on the lifelines instantly and four inches of snow on the dodger - I guess they hadn't really figured out winter in this hemisphere when they were planning that trip. They were pretty glad to be in the Bahamas now!
While we were at Warderick Wells we did some more hiking, including a big hike from the north end of the cay to the south end and back again. It was quite a long, hot trip, but between that and a couple of shorter hikes on other days, I can say that we have hiked almost every trail on that island this year. While snorkeling there we saw the biggest grouper we have ever seen (it must have been over 2 feet long) and saw a lobster walking along the sand in the open (usually they are hiding under rocks) before a couple of shark sightings convinced us to go back to the dinghy.
At Hawksbill we hiked across the cay along a big sand flat with a small creek and some mangroves and at Shroud we dinghied across the cay from the west to the east side in a deep creek through mangroves, ending up at a sand bar where the current was rushing so quickly it created a whirlpool. You could jump in the water and ride the current out until you got to the sandbar where you could make your way back to the beach where you started and do it all over again. We were surprised at how difficult it was to walk through a foot of water on the sandbar in the strong current - a real education in the power of current even in shallow water. We also snorkeled at Shroud and saw an Atlantic spadefish, which we had never seen before, as well as the most lionfish we have seen anywhere so far. What can I say? I told you, I like fish!
Yesterday we sailed up from Shroud to Highbourne Cay, where we arrived just in time to dinghy in to shore and have a look at the swanky marina, store and restaurant there before they closed. Now we are on our way to Nassau where we are going to do some re-provisioning, get the dinghy engine serviced, renew our cellphone data plan and maybe even get some laundry done, although we aren't too desparate for that yet. These days our laundry is mostly sheets and towels, as we spend most of our time in bathing suits and shorts along with the occasional t-shirt, only putting things in the laundry bag when they are just no longer fit to wear (and that definition is stretched to the limit on the boat, for sure).
We will probably spend a few days in Nassau before heading back to the Exumas and who knows where else before we go north to the Abacos in April. Although the weather has been a bit cooler over the past couple of weeks, which we mostly notice when we are sitting in the cockpit in the evenings, it is still hot and sunny most days and the water is great for swimming and snorkeling, so we will continue to enjoy that while we are here.