We left Marsh Harbor for Lynyard cay with moderate easterly winds and had some nice jib sailing most of the day. It was a lovely peaceful anchorage when we arrived and we were the only boat there. The following morning we got up early for the long day passage to Royal Island in Eluthera. We had contrary winds and a good period with fighting the current too. So we arrived after dark in the protected anchorage with a very narrow entrance. Thankfully we had been here before and knew of the layout and lighted aids to navigation and were pleased they still were on. We anchored safely but alas with no fish for our long day sail in open ocean.
The next day we again rose early to get onto the White Banks at good tide as they are very shallow about half way across. We had blissful sailing as the short video shows. Devin stood on the bow as the water shoaled as we needed to miss the coral heads. They were easily seen and thankfully missed. We anchored safely at Ship Channel Cay in the lee of the islands and slept very well. The next day we snorkeled the reefs and visited the private club, but sadly not allowed ashore. We enjoyed the very peaceful anchorage though.
The next stop was Allen's Cay to see the famous and rare iguanas. We entered the narrow channels by eye ball navigation and anchored as the only boat there in the prime spot. We walked all three cays and saw lots of iguanas and some picture postcard views of little bays. We didn't feel great about staying overnight as the swinging room was not a lot and at 45 feet Moosetracks likes a lot of room so we moved to Norma's Cay overnight.
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| Hello buddie! |
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| Big Iguanas |
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| Allens cay |
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| Iguana facts |
Norma's Cay is the last opportunity to catch anything before entering the no take zone of the Exumas Land and Sea Park. Just as we anchored we got a short visit from the Bahamas Defense force, they are really friendly and so nice it was a pleasure to know they are there for us!
So we planned on lots of snorkeling and exploring. We found a beautiful converted fishing boat in the anchorage and made instant friends with Stan and Laura of m/v Laura D. We shared a love of exploring, snorkeling and games so we had a fabulous time with them. We spent hours in the water and dinghies exploring and spear fishing. We snorkeled the plane wreck and little cays that abound around here. We even caught two lobsters! It was your true dream of the Exumas and a fantastic highlight to end our first year anniversary of cruising!
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| Anniversary catch!!! |
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| The happiest man on earth |
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| Stan avec lobster! |
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| Dinner |
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| Stan, Laura, Kiwi & Liz |
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| Laura |
As with all things it was sad to leave Laura D but we are all independent types and have our own agendas. So we bid farewell and sincerely hope to catch them down island as we say.
Our next stop was Shroud Cay, we anchored further north than last year to dinghy the mangrove creek at the north of the island. The next morning we took the dinghy into the creek all the way to the Atlantic side beaches and explored Camp Driftwood which sadly was cleaned up by the park and lost some charm. Camp drift wood was built in 1960 by a sailor living in the creek, on the highest spot. You can still imagine the Federal Agents camped out here watching the drug smugglers on Normans Cay which is what they actually did! Hence the plane wreck at Normans from the activities of the smugglers.
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| The well |
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| Shroud Cay |
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| The beach on the Atlantic side |
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| Mangrove dinghy ride |
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| Shroud Cay |
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| Camp Driftwood |
The next stop was Hawksbill Cay in a lovely protected anchorage with lots of other cruisers as we are now more on the direct path from Nassau as opposed to the route we traveled. We hiked to the Loyalist plantation ruins of 1785 that are very tricky to find. We had a few false turns but did eventually find e trail at the far end of the Atlantic beach. The ruins were far more buildings then we thought with 10 in total, but we found only 7.
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| The ruins |
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| The ruins trail |
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| The beach to get there |
The next stop was the Exumas Land and Sea Park HQ at Waderick Wells. We had been here before but felt again it needed a little more exploration. We anchored by Emerald Rock and took the dinghy in the next morning and called our friends s/v Stella who were anchored there to join us for a walk. We took the Causeway trial and then back via BooBoo hill and the blow holes. It was a lovely day but Brian & Susie needed to get back for Hanna their beautiful dog. So liz and I back tracked to see more and picnic on a hill to get Internet with our hotspot.
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| Brian & Susie |
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| Brian, Susie & Devin |
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| Pirates lair |
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| A pirate in their lair |
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| Yes it real! |
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| Things we do to get internet! |
After Waderick Wells we were going to visit Cambridge Cay or Pipe Cay but as happens winds were not playing nicely. We did have wind and decided to use it to tack out on the banks and had 6 hours of nice sailing to Big Majors Spot. We knew the protection would be good here for the clocking wind and so anchored in this beautiful spot. This was Dec 23rd so we also wanted a good place for Christmas and we felt this would be ideal. We made Christmas Eve very special by getting up and going to Thunderball Grotto, a lovely snorkel spot with very tame fish. We hope the video does it some justice.
So that brings us to Christmas Day at Big Majors and Staniel Cay. We were woken by cockerels crowing and the moose calling for their Christmas stockings! The calls to Family were unfortunately short due to poor Internet but we did so appreciate hearing them all at least to say "Happy Christmas". We had a traditional English feast with Christmas pudding to finish, thanks Mum (Maggie).
We hope you all have a wonder holiday season whatever that means for you.
