May 24th – June 2nd, 2024

We’ve been on the move for so much of this journey that it’s very strange to have to slow down and chill out while we wait for the rudder bearing part to be made and shipped from Turkey. But where better to slow down and chill out than in the Bahamas?

THE EXUMAS

We had been in Georgetown for several days, so once Pam disembarked, we headed north into the balance of the Exumas which is a district of the Bahamas consisting of over 365 islands and cays. The cays run south to north in a skinny line for over 125 miles. Between the islands are openings called “cuts” which, depending on how wide they are, can be a bit tricky to pass through especially when the tide and wind are at odds. Fortunately the wind has been pretty mild (not great for sailing, but makes for easy passages and exploring.). We stopped at 7 different Exuma cays over a two week period.

Little Farmers Cay was settled by a woman the name of Cressida in the 1800s and all of the ~50 residents (except 2) are somehow related to her. We anchored on the west side of the island and were able to take the dingy around the whole cay. There is just one small village and while most everything was closed as it’s late in the season it was very cool to see the shops (aka local’s living rooms) and restaurants. The inner harbor is actually a marine refuge teaming with sea turtles and rays. As we circled back to the boat we stopped at Ty’s Sunset Bar & Grill which also serves as the islands airport (one landing strip) lounge. The only person working at the restaurant was happy to mix us a couple of rum punches and tell us all about her island.

We loved the “hours” sign at Ocean Cabin:

The next stop was Great Guana Cay and the Black Point Settlement – this is a larger cay with a more established town and while there were only a few cruisers, there are several restaurants and shops. It even has a police station and what seemed to be a small jail perhaps for rambunctious visitors?

We needed diesel fuel and Staniel Cay is one of the few spots in the Exumas that has a fuel dock. It also has a really nice yacht club and we had a lovely dinner with Dawn and Stephen from Pilar. Billy and I walked through the little town and once again realized that on Sundays most everything is closed, so we moved around to Big Major Cay where they have the “swimming pigs”. Billy said hi to the pig he befriended last year (at least she looked like the same one) and the friendly nurse shark was there too! The Thunderball Groto is a popular spot to snorkel – you can enter the rock formation and while the pool is teaming with fish, the view up and out the grotto was most amazing!

From here we chose to travel to the west of the Exumas islands in The Great Bahama Bank which is quite shallow (only 6-10 feet deep). It takes some getting used to seeing the bottom as all times. We stopped at the Great Exuma Land & Sea Park headquarters on Warderick Wells which has a manned ranger station and lots of walking trails. The park covers 176 sq miles with several cays and bays. We were able to snorkel in several small reefs, found a stretch of beach that we had completely to ourselves and climbed Booby Hill where sailors leave their mementos. The view from the hill was amazing and while the pile of planks looks like trash, it’s actually quite organized and we even found that some of our Salty Dawg friends had left one this year.

Shroud Cay was next and it was amazing. It’s really just one huge mangrove. There is a waterway that goes through the mangrove and takes you all the way from the west side to the east shore of the cay where there were beautiful beaches. We did see several turtles, some small barracuda and one black tipped shark in the waterway.

Long Cay is another uninhabited cay and has a large coral reef. There is a strong current as it sits very close to one of the “cuts” that opens to the east. It took a lot of energy to swim through, but it was one of the best reefs that we’ve seen (most fish and healthiest coral). Highbourne Cay was our last stop in the Exuma’s. It has a big marina which caters to sport fishing boats and therefore also has a lot of sharks who are attracted to the fish cleaning stations. They had a nice fuel dock and a grocery store which we desperately needed. From there we headed north past Nassau to the Berry islands.

THE BERRY ISLANDS

The Berry Islands are a very remote district of the Bahamas with only about 1000 people living in the whole district which includes 30 islands and over 100 small cays. Since its so remote the saline is abundant and it is referred to as “The Fish Bowl of the Bahamas.” When we dropped our anchor at our first anchorage off of Bond Cay we looked around 360 degrees and there were no boats and no people to be seen for miles in any direction. This was by far the most remote area we have visited all season.

We had heard about the Blue Hole on Hoffman Cay from our friends the Councils (SV Blown Away) so we took the dingy over and found a little beach to pull it up on. We were the only ones on the island and there were no signs to follow, but we found a scrubby little path and came upon the big Blue Hole. It’s about 200 feet wide and 600 feet deep. Billy was brave enough to jump in and have a swim. No scary monsters in there, apparently mussels are the only living creature and there were thousands of them.

Our last stop was at the northernmost point of the Berry Islands. As we approached the harbor entrance Bill caught two fish! The first was an ugly black fish that we threw back, but the second was a Mutton Snapper which was very pretty and made for a tasty dinner! The Stirrup Cays surround the anchorage which most cruisers don’t particularly like because the cays are actually owned by the large cruise ship operators, Norwegian and Carnival. They bring their huge ships to the islands and the passengers get the whole place to themselves, with all kinds of activities from jet skis to snorkeling and even a hot air balloon ride and huge play structures for kids. We were the only cruising boat there and the activity was actually interesting to watch. It made for a perfect launching point the next morning to complete the final 60 mile trip to Freeport Grand Bahama and our rudder bearing fix!

We’ll be spending about a week in Freeport while the boat gets hauled and if all goes well we’ll be heading home by the middle of June. My last blog of the season will cover our time in Freeport and the passage home.