George Town

Well we made it to George Town, Exumas. We had wanted to sail from Black Point to Little Farmers then on to here but the wind died and as we made good time on flat seas we just continued on to George town. We managed to catch some fish too! The Mahi mahi came at us from the Atlantic side and we had a double hook up. Whilst Devin was trying to reel in one on the rod the other was left on the hand line to fend for itself. Well after a few minutes the large one had run off a lot of line and then shook the hook and we lost it. So over to the hand line where we still had a fish. We managed to get it gaffed and on deck. After much blood everywhere due to the gaff we had it subdued with alcohol and ready for photo's and the fillet knife. It made six fillets and as you can see a nice little one.

Mahi Mahi



George Town

We arrived in George town to settled weather and since we needed a part for the 15hp Yamaha, which they confirmed had arrived, we dinghied to town the next morning on calm seas. After a long, approx 4 mile, dinghy ride with our small Yamaha we made it to the Parts store. After this we went to town for some shopping, or looking more precisely. We scoped out the place and found the markets, shops and bars. After a short beverage stop we bought fuel for the dinghy and returned to Moosetracks.

The next day, Wednesday, was blustery but we took a walk up Monument hill to the monument overlooking the harbor. We then walked down to a lovely long beach on the Atlantic side which we had all to ourselves. After that we walked a nature trail that the cruisers maintain and had a very lovely walk in the shade and out of the wind. Yesterday and last night it was blowing 20-25 knots from the North East so it's pretty windy here and will be for a few more days. So we think we are stuck here for a week or so.

Time for Lunch?

Monument Beach

Windy Atlantic breezes

Moosetracks (center-furthest out)

Big D's - 11am & before opening

Take a look at the track...   http://goo.gl/maps/50Gpg

Thats all for now, but since we have internet we will be in touch....

Thunder Ball - Staniel Cay

Hello All,

We managed to get into Big Majors and dinghied over to Staniel Cay and had lunch and the Yacht club and walked around town. It's a very nice place with a good population. After lunch we took our left-overs and went to feed the pigs on Big Majors. As you approach the pigs can hear your dinghy and come running down the beach and swim out to your dinghy to be fed. You have to take care as they almost want to board your dinghy and the can damage it so you let them follow you as you hand out scraps. I must admit if was fun to see so many and how well they swim, they certainly all look well fed too.

Feeding the pigs at Big Major

On Thursday we started early to snorkel Thunder Ball Grotto as the tide was near slack (no current). We had a fantastic experience as the grotto is lit by sun light from above and through the many rocks which give stunning views aropund the grotto and surrounding rocks. We saw lots of fish and even a small turtle. We had the place to ourselves (Devin, Liz & Dee) but after a while a British couple we met earlier joined us. Steve and Carol had an underwater camera and were nice enough to share some of the underwater photo's with us. What a treat.

Liz and Dee in Thunderball Grotto

Fish in the entrance

A Beautiful Angel Fish

A small Turtle

After Staniel Cay we moved to Black Point. They have stores, a Laundromat and restaurants so we've done laundry and eat out last night with a group of cruisers. We will probably explore today. They also love cruisers here so have fee Internet, free RO water and free trash disposal. All of these are really welcome and it almost feels like being in civilization again. But not enough to make us stay too long, well be here 2 nights possibly though.

Fair Winds
Devin & Liz



Cambridge Cay and Pipe Creek

Hello again,

So we moved from the Exumas Land & Sea Park to Cambridge Cay for 2 days. After a lively sail down the Exuma banks, with no motoring for most of it too, we arrived at Cambridge Cay. It is a lovely spot with great views of private islands all around. We had decided since we are not in a rush to spend an extra night and just enjoy the place. The first day was spent on dinghy engine diagnosis, unfortunately our bigger dinghy engine decide to play us up. After a few attempts on my own at carb cleaning and testing it was obvious something else was wrong. I noticed the fuel bulb wouldn’t harden and that was the give away. Too much fuel was getting into the engine. The obvious culprit was the fuel float valve, but after several attempts it was definitely not that. After dis-assembly of the fuel pump we found the problem, the fuel pump diaphragm was cracked letting fuel past it and into the engine directly. Now we need a new part, so it was ordered for delivery to George town a few days away. Happily we carry 2 outboards so we can still do trips ashore with the little one, just more slowly.

The next day was spent discovering the islands and walking a few trails and beaches. Our buddy boats have introduced us to beach combing and told us about Hamburger Beans and Heart Beans. They are seeds blown over the Atlantic from Africa and are collected by cruisers here in the Bahamas as they are rare and polish nicely for souvenirs and sometimes fashion accessories. We also picked up lots of sea shells and pieces of the reef life that washes up. In the afternoon we dived the Sea Aquarium and an Airplane wreck around the sound. The Sea Aquarium was fantastic with lots of variety of fish. There were dozens and too many to mention but the spectacular Angel Fish and Parrot fish made the best shows of color (colour for the brits). The plane wreck was a small Cessna which was upside down and starting it’s own reef. The most exciting part was when a large spotted ray swam past us as we dove the site. It was huge and very majestic gliding past. It was dark grey with lots of leopard like spots.

 

The one comment is warranted about the amount of debris we find on some of these beautiful beaches. It is really a testament to how long plastic lasts, it is washed up here on the Atlantic sides of the outer islands and stays for years. It is very sad and disappointing to see so much. However it is still very beautiful overall.

Then Monday we moved to Pipe Creek and the little group of islands around it. It was a short hop with just about half with the headsail only up. We got the dinghy out after lunch and started with some trails and beach combing. We found our first Heart Beans but no Hamburger Beans. After that we walked the sand banks of the creek as it was low tide. We found star fish, helmet conch, milk conch, octopus and my Mum’s favorite the sand dollar.

 

Then today we moved to Big Majors where there are wild pigs ashore and around the south end of the island is Thunderball Grotto which was the set for a James Bond movie... no prises for guessing which one.

Well that’s about it, hope everyone is well.

Devin & Liz

Exumas

Well we arrived at Norman's Cay and what a beautiful spot it is. There are lots of things to see and do, starting with a long beach walk and then a long dinghy ride. The scenery is breathtaking. Then we moved on to Warderick Wells.. the Exumas park Head Quarters.

Here are a few pictures....

Nassau at Potters Key was nice to see local markets and sample some of the local fare....

 Then on to Norman's Cay and a stunning beach and surrounding islands..

  The dinghy ride to the pond at Norman's Island

Lunch at Norman's Pond

 

Then on to Warderick Wells and the famous Boo Boo Hill where cruisers leave their tokens on the hill in the form of small carvings or plaques that tell of their voyage here.

So we are here in Warderick Wells and having a wonderful time exploring, we will stay a while but we need to keep moving as the winds will eventually change and we need ot be mindful of that.,

 

Fair Winds and Calm Seas

Devin & Liz

s/v Moosetracks



Crossing The Stream

Hi All

We have finally got some good internet, all be it at a price ;-)


So here are some pictures of the last two weeks.....
Liz enjoying Christmas with the Moose.. Devin on the night crossing

Christmas



Leaving the USA



Raising the Q-Flag on arrival



Swimming at MorgansBluff

 



arrival at Nassau

Paradise Island - Nassau

So we are finaly in the Bahamas... Nassau was nice but the outer Islands are what we are looking for. We are moving from Nassau to Rose Island then Normans Cay. Then we are planing on visting Warderick Wells the home of the Exumas Park.

Fair Winds
Devin & Liz

Happy New Year from the Bahamas!

We spent Christmas and New Years in Marathon and we'll post a few pictures of the last days we enjoyed in Florida before crossing over to the Bahamas when access to the internet improves.

We left New Years day after topping off water and fuel. We sailed to Channel 5 bridge to anchor overnight before our first light departure. What a lovely sunrise we had to send us off.
The crossing was pretty uneventful as they go, the wind was light and mostly on our bow so we motored almost all the way. We did have a few large vessels to call on the VHF radio as they were pretty close and we need to avoid them or them avoid us! The AIS system for ship tracking really did help to call them by name as we got all of them on the radio.
We raised our Quarantine Flag before we arrived in Morgan's Bluff on the north end of Andros Island at around mid-day. It is a very small town and even smaller port. It was very barren but it did have a bar :-) We arranged to meet Customs and Immigration at the bar as there are very few places to sit and do the paperwork. It's very informal here and the officers were extremely friendly and helpful so we all checked in easily. It's only $300 for 5 months vacation here, the best value we've ever had,  but you have to bring your own accomodation.
The water in the anchorage was just so beautiful Devin had to jump in, what a trooper the water was still pretty cold in January! Yes that was 12ft of water and crystal clear to the bottom. After a night on the hook in Morgan's Bluff we decided to leave for Nassau. A few jobs need to be done by our buddy boats and we could do with checking out Nassau at least this once.

We will post more later, we hope everyone has a woinderful 2013.
Devin & Liz.