Full Up!

Nassau to Great Harbour Cay
March 29 - April 12

Nassau is a can’t-miss stop for us. Because Keith lived there from ages 10-15 and we spent part of our honeymoon there, our associations are all positive. Unfortunately, many cruising friends don’t stop there at all because of the high crime rate. We’ve heard stories but never had problems ourselves. In fact, people we’ve encountered have been friendly and helpful.

The market at Potter's Cay in Nassau harbor

Land crabs at Potter's Cay

Skinny of Skinny's Place on Potter's Cay. Great conch salad, and a great guy!

It was a quick stop, but three of Keith’s school friends from forty-some years ago made time to see us. One was his best buddy who introduced him to sailing at the Nassau Sailing Club. It was fun to hear them trade stories of the shenanigans they pulled off.

Drew and Penny with their son, Ben

From Nassau, we crossed to the southern end of the Berry Islands. Our view at anchor was a private island, Little Whale Cay. One of the best landscaped and maintained private cays, it is surrounded by a handbuilt stone seawall, graced by a coral-stone church.

You can rent the island of Little Whale Cay for weddings or vacations

Keith achieved the trifecta of fishing in less than a week, catching the three most delectable kinds of fish he trolls for (counting the mahi shown in the previous post). We spend most of our time on the shallow banks where catch-and-release barracuda are about all you can expect. During this week we transited deeper water three times and on each trip Keith caught a winner. He also speared lobster and dived for conch. Our bellies and freezer are full!

Blackfin tuna

Yellowfin grouper - the best! 

Conchs

Now we are at Great Harbour Cay Marina at the north end the Berry Islands, waiting for benign conditions for a Gulf Stream crossing. Our trip is drawing to a close and we are full up with memories and gratitude.

Manatee with a dinghy at the marina

New moon spring tides are more extreme; the "low-low" tide allowed us
to walk to Haines Cay and Hawksnest Cay...

...and access this tunnel on the ocean side of Hawksnest Cay

The magnificent beauty we’ve seen has filled our hearts and senses. There’s no counting the number of times we’ve said, “Wow, that’s gorgeous!” or “This is just stunning!” Usually it has to do with the color of the water, shimmering shades of aquamarine and sapphire. Often when we’ve seen yet another spectacular view, the words come out spontaneously, “Thank You, God, for the privilege of being here and seeing this!”

The caves on Great Harbour Cay - awe-inspiring

Lovely water colors

Just another perfect beach

Look at that color!

It reminds me of the three essential prayers Anne Lamott writes about: Help, Thanks, Wow. “Thanks, God, for the wonderful season we’ve enjoyed! And Wow, what a wildly wonderful world!”

Five-Star Exumas

Great Guana Cay to Roberts Cay
March 15 – April 3

The islands of the Exumas have quite a few five-star destinations written up in all the guidebooks. We’d already hit most of the highlights where cruisers and, increasingly, tour groups and mega yachts stop. This year, we tried to sail farther off the beaten path and anchor in places we’d never been before—less publicized locations every bit as much worth a visit.

Pelican off the beaten path

Do you see the white horse?

A day so calm the horizon disappeared

Cave on Great Guana Cay

We swam in the pool in the cave

Extra excitement! An extra-big wave almost washes Keith out to sea

Beautiful and powerful

For a few days we traveled with Kim and Cathy from Quiescence. We’d first met them in South Carolina two years ago and had kept in touch ever since. Keith loved having a dive buddy for spearing lobster…and species unknown.

This was a first! A Clinging Channel Crab,
aka King Crab -- delicious!

Kim and Cathy

Our paths keep crossing with people we've met before. We ran into friends from previous years and made new ones.

A familiar boat showed up in a secluded anchorage

At Little Darby Cay it was time to reverse our heading and go north, with a first stop at Cave Cay Marina to sit out a storm. They maintain beautiful gardens there; last year vine-ripened tomatoes were at their peak. But the island's generator burned up almost a year ago and they weren't able to desalinate enough water for the gardens, so the plants died out.

This banana tree survived

Beach on Cave Cay

A conch shell, intricately and
wonderfully made on the inside

Next stop, Little Farmers Cay and Ty's Sunset Bar and Grill

A Haitian vessel that washed ashore (see "Easter Greetings" post below)

Easter Sunday we celebrated the hope found in Jesus’ resurrection at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church on Staniel Cay. It’s the only church in town, and a number of cruisers joined the local congregation for an exuberant service with lots of singing.

A little farther north at Big Majors Spot, the swimming pigs are definitely on the beaten path and well fed.

Are you kidding?! You brought me veggies??

Well, okay, maybe some cabbage

Lobster season was set to end March 31 to give the crawfish privacy while they make babies. Before then, we scurried to the northern Exumas, Keith’s favorite hunting grounds. On the way there, he caught a mahi mahi. The next day he speared a lobster. What a great way to end our month in the Exumas: enjoying five-star dinners in the cockpit in a first-rate chain of islands.

Several delicious dinners

One fabulous meal

Easter Greetings

Little Farmers Cay, Exuma

March 27, 2016

Earlier this Easter week, forty-six people boarded a thirty-foot derelict vessel in Haiti desperate for a better life, hoping to find it in The Bahamas. Their dreams were dashed on the rocks along the shore of Little Farmers Cay, Exuma.

Beached on the rocky shore of Little Farmers Cay

Cobbled rigging

~~

God walked this sod, pressed His holy heel into the earth, let His divinity fill a container of skin and filled His lungs with all our atmosphere of ache. We aren’t alone in this mess. Us on this pale blue dot of a planet in the vast blackness of the cosmos—we are the visited planet. He came. He sees. He knows. We are not alone. 
God is with us...

Ann Voskamp

~~

Sunrise along the same shore

This Easter, for them and for all of us, may the sun rise with healing in its wings (Malachi 4:2). 

Exquisite Exumas

Ship Channel Cay to Black Point, Exuma
February 29 – March 14

When He made the waters around the Exumas, I wonder if God decided to show how creative He could be using just one color— turquoise. One thousand sparkling shades. We wish our camera could capture all the mesmerizing hues our eyes have seen, but it can’t compare. Here are a few pictures to give you just a glimpse of the beauty we’ve enjoyed as we’ve made our way through the Exumas chain, slowly, on island time.

Ship Channel Cay, a sports lodge for daily iguana tours from Nassau

All speared on one day - none went to waste!

Beach on Lobster Cay

MacDuffs Restaurant at Normans Cay

The thirty-year-old remains of a sunken airplane in about 8' of water
at Normans Cay; lots of coral has formed on the wreckage under water

View toward the west over the banks from Normans Cay

A section of the Exumas is set apart as a land and sea park. These islands and the reefs around them are protected in their natural beauty. Fishing, lobstering, conching, and shelling are not allowed. But the views from the hiking paths and at the snorkeling sites are spectacular. Warderick Wells is home to the office headquarters, and we spent five days there while strong east winds blew.

Mangroves at Hawksbill Cay

Southern Ray in the creek at Hawksbill Cay

The mooring field at Warderick Wells (this is the spot
where I injured my thumb two years ago)

Leaving a driftwood sign with our boat name at Warderick Wells

View to the north at Warderick Wells

View to the west at Warderick Wells

Walking on the sand bar at low tide at Warderick Wells

Chris and Eden, a delightful couple we sailed with two years ago
and again for a week this year

Rag Doll, Chris and Eden's Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 

The clinic in Staniel Cay where I first went when I was injured two years ago,
then on to Nassau

Staniel Cay Yacht Club

We support the local economy by buying lobster from "Fishy"

Sunset in the Exumas

Every night, sunset is an event. Along with many cruisers, we salute the arrival of evening by blowing a conch shell horn. The last several nights, someone has come on the radio right after sunset with the comment, “What a wonderful world we live in.” Amen, and roger that!

~~

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white

Bright blessed days, and dark sacred nights

And I think to myself, “What a wonderful world.”

Weiss and Thiele

~~