Paradise Found!
We’re in the Exumas! First and foremost we are now witness to beauty beyond words. We had been told over and over that the Exumas are the pinnacle of the Bahamas. We now understand.
We left the Abacos, from Little Harbour at the crack of dawn, on Monday, March 27th. We sailed the 54 miles south to Royal Harbour at the northern tip of Eleuthera. We talked about exploring Eleuthera but came back to our initial plan of hopping a little bit further south to the Exumas. So we left Royal Harbour on Thursday, March 30th and sailed the 50ish miles to Allan’s Cays at the northern end of the Exuma chain. We had been warned, and our charts confirmed, that we would be sailing through coral heads that are dangerously just beneath the surface of the water. We had intentionally planned our departure from Royal Harbour so that we would be transiting through the heaviest coral area with the sun directly over us for the best water visibility. Also important to have someone up on deck looking for the tell-tale signs of coral heads and relaying back to the helmswoman on which course to take. This was not an area where one of us could go down below to make a sandwich or take a nap. We had been told that the coral heads are obvious and that in the right light you can see them from perhaps 100 yards. Until we saw the first one with our own eyes it was difficult to imagine just how clearly we would be able to spot them. We soon learned that when sailing on a turquoise sea they are like big black beacons on the surface! Black as night round patches in the water that were usually ringed by brighter turquoise water, indicating shallower sand around the coral. We were relieved to see how obvious they were to spot. It still wasn’t a relaxing tour through this coral garden, but it was an amazing experience. One that boosted our confidence in our abilities to read the water – a necessary skill in these waters surrounding the Exumas. We were sailing on the west side of the island chain in the shallow waters of what’s referred to as the Exuma Bank or the Great Bahama Bank. The eastern shores of the hundreds of cays that make up the Exumas face the body of water known as the Exuma Sound – very deep water of the Atlantic Ocean.
As we approached the small anchorage between Allan’s Cays and Leaf Cay we were worn out from the long day from Royal Harbour and our first practical experience with sailing through coral heads. We were looking forward to getting the hook set and relaxing in this picturesque location for the evening. The other part we were looking forward to was visiting the beach at Leaf Cay where there was supposedly a large population of “Bahamian Dragons”, the local iguana. As we pulled into the anchorage we could see the beach fill with the iguanas who came out of the brush to greet us and possibly coax us to their shore. From anchor we could get a pretty good look at them but the following day we dinghied ashore to get a close up view. Wild! They are certainly prehistoric looking. If we sat still on the beach they would come out and join us in the sun. We didn’t have anything to feed them but it quickly became apparent that they were accustomed to being fed by curious humans. Making an arm motion like we were tossing food to them would cause a stampede of iguanas in our general direction, searching the ground for invisible food. They were so entertaining that I think we left with approximately 52 pictures of these large lizards!
At Allan’s Cays we met Cindy and Greg aboard “Day Dreamer”, a 42 foot Privilege catamaran. They too are taking some time off to sail about and experience life outside an office for a while. We have much in common with them and have really enjoyed their company as we’ve continued down the Exuma chain.
Rod continues to hone his spearfishing skills and speared a trigger fish and a small grouper at a reef near Highborne Cay, which was our next stop after Allan’s Cays. Those two fish were supplemented by a gift of a large batch of fresh caught mahi mahi from a fishing trawler anchored near us. They had spent the day on the other side of the island in the deep water and finally had to just stop fishing because they were catching so many dorado (mahi mahi)! Fresh fish for dinner was delicious! We were joined in this beautiful anchorage by “Highlander” – the Forbes yacht. This particular yacht had its own helicopter on top, which the following morning we watched take off. Pretty cool! Somebody must have had an important meeting to get to. Poor soul.
Norman’s Cay is notorious for its history as a hub for drug trafficking through the Bahamas in the ‘80s. Carlos Lehder, connected with violent Columbian cocaine smugglers, purchased the cay in the 1970’s and proceeded to run out most of the island’s residents with his armed thugs. He built a landing strip on the island and set up shop, so to speak. Carlos subsequently spent some time in prison for his business activities and is supposedly now in the US witness protection program for testifying against Manuel Noriega. Norman’s Cay is now a quiet stop, still has charter flights using its airstrip – but those planes now carry tourists and the locals that have returned since Lehder’s demise and departure. We were disappointed that McDuff’s, a famous spot among cruisers to stop for a cold beer and a burger, was closed. Ownership has changed and they’re getting ready to reopen. We just happen to be a month or so too early. We did have a nice chat with Stephen, who is running the property for the new owners, and he shared a cold beer with us from his personal cooler. Stephen is a 14th generation Bahamian and was a wealth of knowledge on these islands. It was a real delight visiting with him. And, not to leave out this important detail, Stephen had a 6 month old yellow lab named “Salt” that was a spitting image of Moon when she was that age, except maybe a little smaller. I loved on Salt and thought of my puppy girl back home. Since we missed out on cheeseburgers at McDuff’s, Rod went spearfishing and provided 4 fish for our dinner that evening!
A stop at Shroud Cay, which is where the photo in this posting was taken, gave us an opportunity to explore the beautiful salt water creeks that run from one side of the island to the other. When we reached the other side of the cay we were awestruck at the perfect beach that lay before us. And not another person in sight. We hiked to the top of the hill to leave a momento (“Lucky Peek” carved into a found coconut) at Camp Driftwood, where other boaters leave messages on various items. One message left on an old water jug was left just the day before our visit from a group from Sun Valley! After the hot hike back down the hill we took a refreshing dip in the crystal clear waters. We couldn’t imagine it getting any better than this. A new bar has been set.
We’re now at Warderick Wells Cay, in the middle of the 175 square miles of protected islands and seas of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. This small island is home of the park headquarters and its warden. We are connected to post this update via the headquarters internet. Rod won’t be doing any spearfishing here but we will enjoy seeing all the sealife that make these protected waters their home. We plan to do some hiking on this cay along its 4 miles of nature trails.
From here we plan to stop at Staniel Cay and perhaps some other cays between here and Georgetown. Did I mention how beautiful it is here? Breathtaking.
Yeah, you guys finally have internet connection so we can get caught up with you. I am hopeful that you will be able to get a connection in the evening so you can Skype us – We have so much stuff we have been saving up to talk with you guys about. Cheers! Sounds like you are having a blast.
Hello from your friends on Tide Pool! Sounds like the Exumas live up to their reputation. Sounds like our next winter off will be down there.
Hope to see you soon in some beautiful harbor. Sail safe and have fun.
Doug, Grace, Lexie, Jillian, and Lindsay