Oven Rock Beach 3/22/2014

We had an amazing ocean run in 20 knots yesterday from Georgetown to Galliot Cut.  Coming in the cut was dicey with stacking 5 foot waves and an opposing current.  Our Desire lost power on their engine half-way through the cut but made it to the Banks under sail.....that was scary.  We took photos of Oven Rock and also of Waves of Grace as we climbed the hill to walk the beach on Exuma Sound this morning.

 We are anchored at Black Point tonight and headed to Staniel Cay to wait out about 10 days of awful weather coming in....20-30 knots with lots of rain.  Hope the forecast is wrong!

Georgetown Vistas 3/20/2014

We are all spending the afternoon today, poolside, at the Peace and Plenty Resort before we start north up the Exuma chain tomorrow.  There is a BBQ here every Thursday with music and free wi-fi so we re-anchored to this side with Our Desire and SnowGoose.  I've included photos of the straw market, the library, and Peace and Plenty.

Cruisers' Tour 3/15/2014

Today we took a bus tour of the island with 30 other cruisers followed by a buffet dinner at Exuma Pt. Restaurant with music by Just Us.  It was a fabulous day.  Our first stop was at the Hermitage Homestead which was one of the first Loyalist plantations.  We also visited the Steventon Jail House which is now crumbling. The statue is of Pompey who led a slave rebellion when the Rolle salt plantation tried to move 37 slaves to another cay.  We walked the beach at Exuma Pt. and saw the beautiful cave where a hermit spend 1 1/2 years.  A fellow cruiser shared his shark story from Friday........he had speared a fish and a reef shark came up and head-butted him several times to get his fish.  He finally released it from his spear but now his lips are swollen...Yikes!

Monument Beach 3/12/2014

We took our dinghy to Hamburger Beach and hiked the trails to the monument where we had beautiful vistas

of Elizabeth Harbor and the three basins by the St. Francis Restaurant.

The Queen Conch 3/5/2014

Conch comprises a large part of the Bahamian diet:  fritters, salad, and chowder.  Walt found two large conch and Anna on SnowGoose showed him how to skin them and prepare them for cooking.  Then Anna made fritters for all of us.  A Queen Conch lays several egg masses with 1/2 million eggs in each mass, so there are lots of conch to be found here.

Georgetown 3/4/2014

It is very difficult to get internet here in the Exumas and the connections are usually slow.....but when I can safely bring in the laptop there is usually a hot spot or two at local restaurants.  We arrived in Georgetown via the western cut and motored very carefully in front of Monument Beach, Hamburger Beach, and Volleyball Beach to anchor in Sand Dollar Beach with Our Desire and SnowGoose.  Two dolphins greeted us as Walt set the anchor.  The harbor here is almost 5 miles long with Georgetown, Exuma Island, on one side and the ocean reefs and beaches on the other side.  There are coral heads in the anchorage so it's good to watch from the bow and avoid those.  The cruisers here have a VHF net in the morning just like Marathon and there are lots of activities.  We've walked the beaches, snorkeled, attended historical talks, gone to the Chat n' Chill BBQ, and attended Mass in Georgetown.  We'll be staying here two weeks to explore the area.  It's a boaters' paradise!

Black Point 3/2/2014

We anchored today at Black Point with about 31+ boats.  It is a delightful settlement with very friendly people.  There is a great laundromat with wi-fi and a very popular cafe called Lorraine's where there is also free wi-fi. Lorraine's mom bakes $6.00 loaves of delicious raisin and coconut bread....worth every penny!  I got to hold an adorable one year old Bahamian boy who had run out into the road.  His aunt tried to give him to me for a few weeks.....!  I miss my grand-kids!

Staniel Cay 3/1/2014

We sailed almost the entire way from Norman's Cay today to the Big Majors anchorage here off of Staniel Cay in west winds of 12-16 knots. The sailing has been awesome since we've left Marathon...no need to buy any diesel for a long time!  Staniel is a cruiser's delight with a small settlement, beaches, snorkeling and a Baptist Church with great music!  Walt and Rich snorkeled into Thunderbolt Grotto at low tide.  We also took our dinghy around the whole island with Deb and Tom---in 17 knots of wind with a strong current.  It was like a white wat

er rapids ride and we all got soaked and pounded.  We also went to see the swimming pigs and their little ones.  We'll be returning here for several days on the return trip.

Norman's Cay 2/28/2014

We sailed like crazy yesterday and at one point we were doing 8.8 knots!  We anchored for two days in a crazy fast current in Norman's Cay with many other boats.  There is a wrecked drug runner plane sticking half out of the water.  At 4:00 AM the wind picked up to 30 knots and a Canadian boat dragged right in front of us.  At low tide we all went to a small island nearby and collected conch shells.  As we sailed out we saw a private yacht that took our breath away.....helicopter, jet skis, umbrella tables...wow!  Rumor has it that it belongs to Steven Speilerg....!

Lyford Cay, New Providence 2/26-2/27/2014

We crossed the very northern tip of the Tongue of the Ocean to anchor in Lyford Cay.  The winds were S 17-18 knots so we had a fantastic sail.  Lyford Cay is a very private and exclusive development.  Sean Connery's principal residence is here.On Thursday we went around the western side of Nassau in West winds 15-20 knots to the Salt Cay waypoint past Atlantis and then thru the narrows to Norman's Cay anchorage.

Bimini, North Cat Cay, NW Channel 2/25/-2/26/2014

We walked along the Bimini shore and enjoyed the beautiful scenery before we left at 11:00 to sail south for North Cat Cay anchorage.  The water here is stunning, the sailing is awesome, and the people are very friendly.  However more and more of the islands are being bought up by private investors and there is either no access or limited access for us cruisers.  We passed the 1929 wreck of the cement ship, Sapona.  Rich wanted to snorkel the sight but the current was too strong.  On Wednesday we anchored just off the NW Channel in 10 feet of water....no land in sight anywhere.  A thunderstorm came up but passed quickly.  In the morning it was so still that you could see right to the bottom of the water-amazing.  We are awed daily by the beauty of God's creation.