Nurse Shark at Staniel Cay Staniel Cay MarinaHarry at BooBoo Hill, Warderick Wells Cay Farmers' Market, G'Town
Fowl Cay Sunset
Dinner guests at Fowl Cay: Bill, Ted, Jose, Suzanne, Linda, Harry
Staniel Cay Anchorage between Big and Little Majors Spot
Arnold's Eggs Benedict and Dress-up breakfast
From Marsh Harbour, Abacos, Bahamas we slipped between fronts and low, green and rocky cays to pull in to Buckaroo (no kidding) Bay for the night with Caper and Harlequinn as part of our little fleet. Next stop was Little Harbour just down the way where Caper couldn’t get over the 3.5 ft. bar across the entrance. Pete’s Pub has a delightful rum concoction whose name escapes me, but wonderful just the same at $6.00. The weather continued to be cooperative and we headed out at first light for the Exumas. This is across the N.E. Providence Channel which we have crossed before going NE. Wind and waves were a little high, but all in all a good sail through beautiful blue waters; unfortunately no fish rose to our lure. We arrived at Little Egg, turned N and sped up to Royal Island Harbour under full sail and a delightful NE fresh breeze.
Next morning we shot across to Current Cut still with a nice NE breeze and trailing a bright red diving (has a bill on the front) plug with three sets of very sharp tri-hooks. “Fish on!!” and I’m reeling in a large, unfortunately, barracuda: unfortunately because if they are bigger that elbow to wrist the chances are they carry ciguatera, a nasty poison found in the reef fish they eat. Anyway, Harry forgot to get the hook puller so he tried to release the monster by hand. BANG, THRASH, WHAM!!!! And the next thing I know I’m hooked and trying to get us both off. BANG, THRASH, WHAM!!!! And I’m hooked again this time the right little finger. Holy Crap!! And you are not going to believe this (yes you are), but “numba tree” (Hawaiian pidgeon for # 3) BANG, THRASH, WHAM!!!! And now my hands are hooked together. “Linda!” and she’s there like instantly. “Get a pair of cutters!” The stainless kooks are too strong for the dykes we have. “OK, get a razor knife!” She does and we cut thru the one in my little finger freeing my right hand. Somehow I got the hook out of the monster and he slid back into the deep: dead I hope; bugger. Now at least I don’t have the thrasher pulling more hooks into me. Yah, I know, poetic justice. Anyway, we’re coming up on the Cut under full sail and I’m still the “Fish On”. Next thing is to stop the boat by turning into the wind, starting the engines, and taking the sails down. Linda was magnificent. Next, get the Dremel with a cutting wheel and tap-cut, so it doesn’t get hot, through the hook. (Almost) Free Last. I shove the hook all the way thru and pull it out with my trusty, dusty Leatherman needle nose pliers. While I’m cutting, gently the last hook with the Dremel, Linda calls Harlequinn who has gone thru the Cut and asks them for help. They anchor in a small cove just S of the Cut. We whipped thru the Cut at around 12 knots as the tide was running in towards Exuma Sound, swing the right turn and spot our salvation: a doctor (retired) who surely has an extensive medical kit to include drugs and Novocain. James dingys over and produces needle nose pliers! At least he confirms my feeling that going on thru would run the hook thru the nail bed. So, James grabs the cut end of the hook with vice grips and pulls it back out the way it came in. Thank Linda as she had some left-over hydrocodone which helped to dull the pain. Are we having fun yet living the dream?!? Oh, yah. We continued on to Highborne Cay with Linda as Captain, and anchored for the night, just S, at Oyster Cay which had the right price (nada) and better protection from the wind and waves.
We decide two days later, yes another front, to see Carlos Lehder’s x-drug smuggling hot spot and the home of the “famous” MacDuff’s cheeseburger. Boohoo, the place is an abandoned dump with working airstrip and a not-even-up-to-McDonalds’-standard $18 (with fries) burger The Kaliks were $8. Yes, about $3 higher than anywhere else. To beat the next front, we went out the Cut (and caught a 6 lb. grouper, yum yum) next morning and negotiated/navigated NE to Exuma Sound and then SE skirting the leeward islands down to Warderick Wells Cay and the Exuma Land and Sea Park where we took a ball for two days at Emerald Rock, the S mooring field. Unfortunately, the weather is still too cold as is the water for swimming, so we hiked over the Cay for a couple of hours. The water was the color and clarity of Sapphire gin: almost unreal.
Next stop was Cambridge Cay which is still in the Park, so no fishing or taking anything. Hadn’t changed must from our first visit in 2007 except for more $20 mooring balls. Harlequinn left us to head straight to Georgetown. We opted for a more leisurely run thru Cambridge, The Pipes, Staniel Cay (to pick up Suzanne, a friend of Jose on Caper), and Fowl Cay so we could dine in luxury at the Fowl Cay Resort now owned by Sandals. What a meal; what ambience; what great all-you-can-drink booze! Well worth the $100/head. Thunderball has closed. This is the club/restaurant on the bluff at Staniel overlooking the islet grotto featured in the James Bond movie of the same name. We hung out between the Major Spots to hide from another, you guessed it, cold front.
We left Staniel Cut on an outgoing tide which made for a very rough (water over the bows with lots of plunging) 10 minutes until we got into the Sound. Next stop Little Farmers Cay off the southern tip of Great Guana Cay. We tucked in on the SW edge of GG Cay and hooked up to a motley mooring ball that ended up holding for the two days we were there weathering another front. We visited Ocean Cabin and were beered, dined, and regaled by Terry Bain, owner and local color mayor.
Caper decided we should run down to The Marina at Emerald Bay (a Sandals’ property) 15 or so miles N of Elizabeth Harbour and Georgetown to wait out another front (Are you as tired of these freaks of nature as I am?). We rented a van and drove to Berraterre on the N end of the island. Sleepy, little village where the people are very long lived (100+ is not uncommon) and very friendly. We met Julia at the store there who had lived many, many years in Cocoa, FL. She had moved back with her Bahamian husband to take care of his 95+ parents who were still going strong. She said that she’d lost 40 lbs. and reduced per B. P. by30 points both top and bottom in a very short time. We had lunch at Big D’s on the way back. Good prices and the best conch salad and cracked (batter fried strips) conch we have ever had. A definite spot to visit is you are ever down that-a-way.
Once again out the Cut after 5 days of free laundry, ice, and WiFi into an outgoing tide with its turbulent bumps and rolls SE to Conch Cay Cut and Elizabeth Harbour. Lovely sail between fronts – they seem to be getting farther apart – to Chat ‘n Chill at Volleyball beach on Stocking Island. There are not the usual 600 (yes, that’s right) boats this year: probably closer to 300,and another sign of the economy. We’ve seen the Harbour race and the around the island race. Great fun. We were also at the Chat ‘n Chill for Racquel and Scott Watson’s, owners of the Indiantown Marina (FL), advertising/thank you party with free drink tickets. Lovely couple with three small kids. Georgetown in the winter playground for retiree sailors from Canada and the US who come here year after year for 3 or 4 months of games, races, volleyball, bridge, basket weaving, golf, beaning (collecting strange/foreign beans to make jewelry from) etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum; very organized.
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