3/15/2011 - Warderick Wells to Sampson Cay & on to Big Majors Spot (Staniel Cay Area) - 26.1 Miles
Tuesday morning at Warderick's north mooring field brought a beautiful upwind sail in about 10 to 12 true, 14 to 15 apparent, with relatively calm ~2' seas on the banks side under stunning clear blue skies. The only way it could get better than this is if we were beam reaching instead of on a close tack. Beautiful.
At Sampson we took on 111 gallons of water at 50 cents a gallon, not having filled since St. Augustine except for adding 20 gallons from jerry jugs at Staniel over a week ago. As in prior years we question the accuracy of the Sampson water meters as, per the meter, we put 93 gallons of water in a tank we've always thought was 75 gallons. Maybe we actually paid 60 cents a gallon -- or maybe our port tank is much bigger than spec, which is entirely possible given that every Tayana is semi-custom.
Initially we planned to anchor at Sampson, but with Sabre Tooth and Greenstone already in or heading for Big Majors, near Staniel, we altered our plans. That evening we enjoyed sundowners with both couples in Jubilee's cockpit. Both boats were heading north in the morning, while we would be heading a bit south to Black Point after a dingy trip to Staniel Cay for a few provisions if they were available.
3/16/2011 - Big Majors Spot (Staniel area) to Black Point, and 3/18 Lay Day - 12.8 Miles
Wednesday is the day the mail boat arrives each week at Staniel Cay, and with it come provisions for the cay's three "supermarkets".
Mind you, two of those three "supermarkets" are about the size of our living room at home. The third and best market, Isles General, is perhaps 900 square feet, but it also carries some hardware, post and greeting cards, plus miscellaneous "general supplies". We hit Isles General about two hours after the mail boat had come in, and they were still putting things out on the shelves. Meanwhile cruisers like us were simultaneously putting fresh fruits and vegetables into shopping baskets almost as quickly as the boxes were being unpacked (the pickings can get pretty slim in these stores a couple of days before the boat arrives again). Fresh lettuce, celery, bananas, onion, eggs and bread topped our list for fresh items. We topped all that with a stop at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for an order of conch fritters before departing in the dingy.
Although our route to Black Point Settlement to the south plotted at just under 9 miles anchorage to anchorage, today's trip put about 4 additional miles under the keel, accounting for tacking upwind in the 15+ knot breeze -- a great sail under beautiful blue skies and typical banks-side emerald waters (only about 15' deep) over a clear sand bottom.
Thursday morning we hit Black Point's Laundromat just after 9:00. We were the 2nd folks there and quickly started 4 machines. Within the next half hour the place was full of cruisers using and waiting for machines. Timing is everything!
Tuesday afternoon brought a late lunch at Lorraine's Cafe along with some time on the internet. As usual, Black Point was a very productive stop. We're now pretty much ready for Wayne and Cynthia to arrive after we stage back up in the Staniel area Friday morning.
3/18/2011 – Black Point to Big Majors – 9.2 Miles
We departed Black Point Friday morning, shortly after the 9:00am Exuma Park call-in where we put our name in for a mooring ball at Warderick for Saturday. With Wayne and Cynthia flying in at 9:00am Saturday morning, we wanted to be positioned to run up to the park shortly after they arrived, perhaps get in some snorkeling on Sunday, and be located in a good place to hunker in and possibly do some island hiking on Monday when 20-25-knot winds were predicted.
3/19/2010 - Big Majors to Warderick Wells North Mooring Field - 20.9 Miles; 3/20-3/22 Lay Days in Warderick
Wayne and Cynthia's plane arrived in Staniel via Watermakers Air from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, with a customs stop mid-way at Congo Town on Andros Island. The weather was perfect, with winds only 10-12 knots for the dingy trip between the Staniel Yacht Club and the Big Majors anchorage area.
Before returning to the boat we brought the dingy up closer to “pig beach” at Big Majors, where pigs kept on the island like to swim out to visiting boats for handouts … the Bahamian equivalent of slopping the hogs (see photo of Wally and Connie Waffensmith's daughter, son in law, and grandkids feeding the pigs near the beach).
After a visit with Wally, Connie, and family aboard Summer of 42, we had a quick lunch aboard Jubilee before departing on an absolutely beautiful sail to Warderick Wells. Wayne and Cynthia's first day in the Bahamas was about as perfect as one could hope for.
Saturday evening we enjoyed the weekly Sunday night cruisers sundowner gathering at the north mooring field beach. Unfortunately none of us brought our cameras, but as usual we met numerous other cruisers from around the US, Canada and elsewhere. One of the most interesting folks Bill spoke with that evening was famed racing yacht designer Roger Martin, creator of numerous Open 40, Open 60, and other designs. Roger and his wife were cruising his latest design, the Presto!, a 30' lightweight (~5500 pound), trailerable sled constructed of e-glass with two wishbone-rigged carbon spars. Cruising the Presto! must be the antithesis of cruising aboard our Vancouver 42. We have the comfort in any conditions at 6.5 to 7.2 knots; they're capable of surfing at speeds up to 13 knots in a boat best described as “lively”.
Sunday turned out to be a great day for exploring and snorkeling, trekking up to Boo Boo Hill and the blow holes earlier in the day and snorkeling the coral at the south end of the mooring field in the afternoon. Note the giant lobster (one of several) photographed during our snorkel.
We decided to stay at Warderick through Tuesday, holding tight Monday while 25-knot easterly howled all day long, and then hiking the loop to Pirate's cove on Tuesday to complete our Warderick explorations for this trip.
3/23/2011 – Warderick Wells to Cambridge Cay - 11.1 Miles, plus 3/24 Lay Day
After a no-wind motor on Exuma Sound we arrived at the Cambridge north entry at the same time Wally and Connie Waffensmith arrived via the south entrance on Summer of '42. With low slack tide too late in the day for ideal snorkeling we conferred with Cambridge Park Volunteers Roger and Connie, who indicated the Aquarium would be safe to snorkel if we stayed in the hollow of the south end of the islet, right where the fish congregate. We quickly headed off with Wally and Connie for a great snorkel among the gazillions of reef fish there.
While snorkeling, all of the sudden we noticed that Wally and Connie were nowhere to be seen. Fearing they had gone too far “around the corner” and gotten caught in the strong ebb current, we hopped in our dingy to go looking for them just as we saw Wally having about all he could do to pull himself around the corner, hand over hand, by the rocks overhanging the islet. Connie had remained hanging onto the rocks a little further behind the islet where the current was less strong. With our dingy we certainly would have been able to find them before they were swept too far, bring them aboard, and transport them back to their dingy, but the episode gave all of us a healthy respect for how strong the current can be – and for the need to be VERY careful about any snorkeling in cuts outside of slack periods.
That night several boat crews from the mooring field converged on the sand islet for appetizers and sundowners, a perfect way to cap another great day at Cambridge.
Thursday dawned another beautiful day and another great snorkel trip as we walked across the island to the coral garden to the south. Even given the light SSW winds there was a fair chop near the rocks and coral heads. It wasn't the best for snorkeling, but it was still a very successful trip, particularly as we spotted a large sting ray nestled in the lee of a big rock (see photos).
That evening the Minnesota-Toronto contingent gathered again at the sand islet for appetizers and sundowners. As we were about to break up the party a launch arrived from a powerboat who had heard that Minnesota folks were on the islet. Turns out they were from Ely! Small world.
March 25, 2011 – Cambridge Cay to Black Point via Exuma Sound and Dotham Cut – 19.0 Miles
Friday brought relatively light 8-knot SW breeze which was perfect for reaching down to Black Point – our goal a fresh lobster dinner at DeShaMon restaurant there. While underway we raised them on the radio and ordered, which triggered Simon to head out to one of his favorite lobster hunting areas to bag four for us. Can't beat that!
And with a lobster dinner to look forward to, we'll close this long-overdue blog posting, hoping to use DeShaMan or Lorraine's WiFi to update the blog. With our departure from Cambridge for points further south, we'll be leaving behind Greenstone, Summer of '42, and Sabre Tooth, who we'd had such good times with over the past several weeks ... way back to St. Augustine. In our next post we'll be heading back to Staniel to see Cynthia off to Minnesota Sunday morning, then topping diesel and water at Sampson, and turning further south for Georgetown to stage for our passage to Puerto Rico, probably over several installments. Stay tuned!
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