freighter brings provisions to community

weaving grass

Willy's "Garden of Eden-papaya tree

skate 

Nurse shark waiting for handouts

Frank & Walt at Warderick Wells, Exuma Land & Sea park

Dinghy ride up mangrove swamp, Shroud Cay

View from Camp Driftwood-hideout for CIA in 1980s

Shroud Cay beach

Cruiser creations from flotsam

Captain Frank at helm

Fisherman Frank catches albacore tuna on first cast!

gar swimming slongside boat

Boat repairs!!!

Pipe Alley dinghy ride

After our son and daughter departed, we spent a few days at Black Point Settlement doing laundry and re-provisioning.  The supplies come in via a freighter to each community about once a week, weather permitting.  We took a break from chores to visit the “Garden of Eden” attraction.  Willy, the proprietor, has established a method of growing native fruits and vegetables using potholes filled with composted soil.  He proudly showed us the bananas, mangos, guavas, papayas, squash, corn, noni, tamarind, pigeon peas, coconut, and sapodilla.  It surprises me that not many people grow their own produce, yet the climate allows year-round growing.  His wife demonstrated to us how she weaves grass into strips that are sent to Nassau for manufacturing into placemats, floor mats, and baskets.

We headed over to Staniel Cay on January 31^st to pick up our friend, Frank Brouse, who retired on January 30 from teaching.  While we were waiting for his plane to arrive, we watched the skates and nurse sharks lazily swimming around the docks at Staniel Cay Marina waiting for fish scraps.  Once Frank arrived we immediately whisked him over to Thunderball grotto to see the fish and coral in the underwater caves.  He took some great underwater shots of us feeding niblet corn to the fish. We’ll share those pictures on our blog once he emails them to us.  Based on the weather forecast, we decided to head north to Shroud Cay, then work our way back  south.  We stopped at Warderick Wells and did a short hike up to Boo Boo Hill and showed Frank the blowholes.  The next day we continued north to Shroud Cay where we spent a roly night in the surge.  It was worthwhile because the next morning we took the dinghy on a rising tide up Sanctuary Creek to explore the mangroves.  At the far end was Driftwood Camp, a site established by a hippy sailor back in the 80s then used by the CIA for a sting operation to spy on planes bringing drugs into neighboring Norman’s Cay.  We walked the beach and had a picnic lunch before returning to Windspell. 

We then sailed over to Hawksbill Cay where we did some snorkeling and hiking.  The next day we came down to Emerald Rock anchorage at Warderick Wells, the Exumas Land & Sea Park headquarters.  We had some wonderful snorkeling under ideal conditions at the Coral Gardens and fuel dock sites.  There was a HUGE Nassau grouper, at least 1 metre in length, and 5 spiny lobster under one ledge!  We hiked the southern half of the island, showing Frank the Pirate’s Lair anchorage.  From there we headed down to Cambridge Cay.  We anchored temporarily at Fowl Cay to snorkel at  Rocky Dundas Caves.  Entering into the caves and seeing the stalactites and stalagmites and seeing the abundance of fish and corals outside the caves entrance was truly magical.  We also dinghied over to the Champagne Baths, located on the north tip of Compass Cay.,  Here, swells from the ocean spill over a ledge into rock basins causing the water to bubble up, hence the name, the Champagne Baths.  We picked up anchor and moved over to Cambridge Cay mooring field.  In the late afternoon we took Frank to our favorite site, The Sea Aquarium just north of O’Briens Cay.  As you tumble over the side of the dinghy in your snorkeling gear, the little Sergeant Major fish come rushing up to greet you.  Slightly more cautious are the grunt fish that hang back a little, waiting to see if you have any food to offer.  It's likely the best snorkelling spot in the Exumas chain of islands.

Heading south the next day we anchored at Sampson Cay.  We took the dinghy to explore Pipe Alley –a shallow channel between islands known for the beautiful shades of turquoise in the shallow waters.   There is a huge house built there but with a solar array and 3 wind turbines to provide their power needs.  It's likely the biggest private home we have seen in the Exumas.   We sailed the next morning to Black Point Settlement ahead of a strong "norther" coming through.  we spent the day catching up on laundry and hiking out to the tip of the island.  

Hiking on Warderick Wells

Beach combing looking for sea beans

Jenn loves her cacti

Pirates Lair on southern tip of Warderick Wells

Brown snake eating a gecko

A friendly gecko...

Jenn at the helm

Feeding pigs at Big Majors Cay

Mmmmmm.....celery

Staniel Cay restaurant

A nurse shark

Pilot, Solomon is taking us to George Town

Jenn & Andy departing

View from the airplane

After a few relatively calm days, the wind returned.  We were strategically placed at Warderick Wells to do some hiking  ashore.  We hiked the southern tip of the island down to Pirate's Lair. beach.  Then we spent an afternoon on the beach with the geckoes.  On our hike back, Jenn spotted a snake that just captured a gecko.  We left Warderick Wells on Thursday and had a great sail with Jenn at the helm south to Big Majors Cay where the kids had a chance to feed the friendly pigs.  We moved over to Staniel Cay on Friday.  On Saturday, we went ashore and did some grocery shopping, had lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club and then met our pilot, Solomon at the airport.  He flew us to George Town where we dropped off the kids so they could fly home.  Walt & I returned with the pilot to Staniel Cay.  We sailed over to Black Point Settlement where we are waiting for our friend, Frank to join us on Thursday.

The Fab Four are reunited

Wannabe iguana

Chasers

Clear waters at Bitter Guana Cay

Iguana chewed  sunglasses?

Wahoo!!!

Miss Canada

Cracking coconuts for pina coladas

"Barely a cuda?"

The full monty!

Preparing to go snorkelling

Jenn snorkelling

Look who is  under our boat!

Drying towels on the lifelines

Sunset "happy hour"

Enjoying the moment with our kids aboard

Our son and daughter joined us for a week in the Exumas.  Each of us will write a short account of our time together starting with our son, Andrew.

Once again we are together on my parents' boat.  Last time I was on the boat I was in between jobs.  I enjoyed approximately two weeks in the Chesapeake Bay.  On this trip in the Bahamas we have done lots of snorkelling.  We have seen many varieties of coral and fish.  I have also had good luck fishing.  My first fish in the Bahamas was a barracuda.  Well, it was half a barracuda.  As I was reeling it in a bigger fish, possibly a shark, had a snack on my catch before it was in my hands.  However, the next day I had just cast out my line about a quarter of my reel, and I got another hit.  This was another barracuda.  This was followed by another barracuda.  I hope to have a chance to catch another variety of fish that we can eat!

Jenn's next:

Wow!  This is much better than the Ottawa winter, and so much better than working.  My favourites of this trip so far:

-Discovering that flying fish look just like budgies when flying above the water

-Swimming ashore at Bitter Guana Cay to be greeted by iguanas.  While Andy and I tossed a Frisbee on the beach, the iguanas waddled over to snap at the disc as it flew overhead!  They're just like little dogs.

-Cracking a coconut with a screwdriver and butter knife, then devouring it with Mom

-Snorkeling with little black and yellow fish at the Sea Aquarium reef.  These fishies were so curious that they'd swim right up to my mask.

-Having Mom accuse me of messing up the order of the cupboards every time I try to put dishes away!

Walter:

-Constantly sweeping up hair of various lengths and colours from every hiding place on board!

We have been blessed with a total spectrum of Bahamian winter weather which allows our kids to appreciate the many weather related contrasts which continuously govern our daily activities, from calm, gentle waters ideal for snorkelling and dinghy explorations to howling cold fronts which dictate visits ashore to experience the fury of wind and waves on the exposed ocean side Here,on uninhabited beaches, one can spend hours sifting through myriads of natural and man-made flotsam. Heavy weather makes us appreciate the sanctuary our good boat, Windspell, provides us.  A feeling of coziness pervades when we are safely tucked behind the lee of an island. Having our kids with us has been the highlight of our wanderings both in anticipation of their arrival and sharing precious days as a family, as we have done in the past with equal fortune. We are truly blessed!

Donna has the last word...

It has been wonderful to share these activities with Jenn and Andrew, creating new memories for our family.  Although I will be sad when they depart, the memories are ingrained in my heart.  We have learned that our good friend, Frank Brouse, will be joining us shortly after our kids depart.

We have headed north again away from the relative bustle of Georgtown to enjoy the serenity and pristine waters of the southern Exumas. Also, we want to explore more possibilities to show our kids when they arrive in two days. We caught our first lobster two days ago at Windsock Cay and had a candlelight dinner in the cockpit that evening of BBQ lobster and Mahimahi. So it can be said that we are "acclimatizing". Our days consist of snorkeling,hiking,sailing,reading,eating,sleeping,socializing and occasional maintenance of Windspell. We do a lot of navigation in preparation for the next sailing foray and we pay attention to the weather. We get a forecast on our single side band radio every morning at 0630 when we don't have access to the internet.We continue to explore coral heads with our inflatable dinghy which we then snorkel  on to see many varieties of marine life. Twice now we have had to get out of the water when the guys in grey suits start snooping around.We enjoy hot showers in the cock pit with a plastic solar heated bag that we keep on deck.It's a great way to get the salt off and warm up after being in the water for several hours. We truly enjoy our refrigeration system which allows us to enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables as well as meat and dairy products, not to mention cold beer and chilled wine. Going ashore to visit the local population has been a pleasure as everyone is very welcoming, polite and friendly.

Two more sleeps and our kids arrive!!

School children taking a break from basketball at Black Point Settlement

This is "Pappy" popping a wheely  to entertain the school kids .  On his second  pass he stood on the seat!!

Enjoying a cool one with the park warden and his Bahamian Defence Force assistant at  Warderick Wells

The bar at Staniel's Cay where Sean Connery probably had a few  cool ones  while  on location  for the filming of 007 Thunderball

Bahamian C-class racing sailboat out for  repairs

Typical street on Staniel's Cay

Stocking Island Exuma

Stone wall built by the Loyalists who colonized the  Exumas in the mid to late 1700's. This  was taken on Lee Stocking Island

The Loyalist trail on Lee Stocking Island

Atop Perry Hill looking down on the bank side where boats anchor in sheltered coves.

The highest point in the Exumas, 120 feet....