Captain’s Blog

We left Black Point fairly early and hoped to get to Cave Cay to anchor early afternoon. The colors of the water still amaze me!

We dropped our anchor near Cave Cay and took the dinghy out to find this “mile long” sand bar I had seen online. Unfortunately, it was far too choppy and we both got soaked. A boat passing by stopped to make sure we were okay. They told us we were still pretty far away from it so we turned around and came back to the boat.

Later the wind really calmed down. Jeff put the drone up and got some great photos.

Sunset at Cave Cay – Jeff’s first drone attempt of the trip. Awesome!

Another short hop from Staniel to Blackpoint. Time for a visit to the best laundromat in the Exumas. Here’s our view from the laundromat.

We met some Canadians on Serenity Belle who let us know Lorraine’s coconut bread (a treat on this island) was about to come out of the oven.

It started out a little rainy by Johnny Depp’s house but we motored out into a beautiful blue sky and even bluer water. The trip to Staniel Cay only took a few hours. When we got here, we launched the dinghy and went to the grotto for more fish viewing. it was amazing!

Later we went to the yacht club for some grouper fingers and a burger. Met some nice Canadians, Monica and James, and shared some sailing stories.

Outside the nurse sharks were lining up for their dinner.

We dinghy’d back during sunset – beautiful view!

It was an easy sail from Wardrick Wells to O’Briens Cay. Along the way we saw a sea plane flying from Bell Island.

Once we reached O’Brien Cay we set an anchor and went by dinghy to the aquarium. It’s a wonderful spot to see a ton of fish in the Land and Sea Park. The fish came right up to the dinghy when we approached. We snorkeled by ourselves for a few minutes before more boats came. The fish were everywhere!

We did get out around the corner from the aquarium and the current started pulling us away. I lost a flipper but miraculously Jeff recovered it.

We then walked around a few sand bars and had a chill afternoon.

We didn’t do too much today as the water was super rocky in the morning. Later in the afternoon I took the dinghy out for a spin and did a little swimming. Jeff worked on the generator replacing the pull cord. Pretty lazy day!

At the beach party yesterday I met Kristi who told me there was great hiking near Emerald Rock where we are anchored. So Jeff and I took off for the beach near our anchor in search of this beautiful walk. “You’ll see a bridge and a beautiful pond” she said. Well we found a brown water pond and a lot of sticks but not much else.

We went another way and did some heavy duty vertical rock climbing. (It seemed vertical to me.) After about 20 minutes I was ready to go. Super hot and wobbly walking – but we did get some great pics

When we got back Jeff worked some on the bottom of the boat with his “hillbilly” dive set

After work, a little downtime.

Another lovely sunset and the sweet sound of the conch horn.

A short hop to Wardrick Wells took only about 3 1/2 hours

Shortly after we got there it was time to go to the beach party to mingle with other sailors. We saw Sharon and Mike and met several new friends. Katherine and John were on their way to Panama to possibly buy a house there. Jeff conferred with Mike and John about his boat issue.

We picked up a mooring ball at Emerald Rock because the North field was full. It was a long dinghy ride back to and from the beach party. By the time we got back it was getting pretty dark.

Luckily Jeff had smuggled in some Valentines Day chocolate from Titusville – some with lava cake centers! Much loved Valentines Day!

It was an easy – and short – sail to Shroud Cay. We arrived about 2:00 in the afternoon, found our anchor spot and lowered the dinghy.

We floated down the lazy river and found plenty of turtles.

Our sunset had a few clouds but was still lovely.

It’s a quick trip from Allen to Highbourne but it was a perfect day for motoring.

Here’s the view from the general store – so beautiful!

We walked a bit around the grounds of Highbourne Cay. Very fancy and really nice! We also saw the ferry / mailboat and some hungry nurse sharks.

Later we met up with Sharon and Mike on Monarch and had a fun happy hour. Then another beautiful sunset.

We left early an after stocking up on water at Rudy’s Gas Station. We passed by Oprah’s home on Paradise Island but didn’t stop for a visit.

It was a smooth ride to see the iguanas at Allen Cay.