Compass Cay, Staniel Cay, Big Major Cay

Compass Cay, Staniel Cay, Big Major Cay

January 27 finds us at the very small, colorful Compass Cay Marina that appears to be a favorite stopover for mega yachts (two at a time) as it provides mega wattage.  This is another place that we need mid-tide of above to get into.

A dingy ride brought us a cave perfect for snorkeling exploration where stalactites reach towards stalagmites, and sea creatures appear to ignore the constant force of the waves.  I so regret that I do not have books on board for the identification or tropical fish and tropical birds.  The rainbow colored parrot fish, yellow snappers and striped sergeant major fish, pale in comparison to the multitudes of fish sporting neon blue, green and yellow arrays of intricate design.

In the spring, many of the Exumas Islands are home to nesting birds; given that it is winter, we have not seen many birds.

Low tide found us walking an endless expanse of sand flats festooned with sea life that has adapted to not being continually submerged in the sea; tolerating several hours, twice a day of low tide.   In a very small rivulet that was far from the water’s edge we delighted in finding a small skate who, with a ruffle of his wings, covered himself with sand and thus became invisible.  Conch and hermit crabs dwelling in whelk like shells are within arms reach while wadding in knee depth water.  Upon picking up a 3-4” whelk, I quickly put it back in the water when the aggressive, not so little crab, with the large claws and mighty reach, silently protested the intrusion.

High tide at the marina found Kurt in the water swimming with the nurse sharks (remember, the friendly ones with no teeth?) When the water is high enough that it covers one of the low docks, the occasional docile shark will swim onto the dock and invite back rubs from delighted humans.  What fun!!

Have I mentioned that not only are we blessed to be experiencing all of this, but also the weather Gods have been beneficent.  Everyday brings clear skies, moderate winds and perfect temperatures in the high 70’s, low 80’s, with a dip to the 60’s at night for perfect sleep as we gently rock at anchor.

The stopover at the marina at Staniel Cay brought us an opportunity to explore via golf cart, and to re-provision at the three local grocery stores (bright pink, bright yellow and bright blue) on the island.  Between the three Easter-egg colored “supermarkets” we were able to buy eggs, half and half, lettuce, ice cream, tomatoes and beer!  The prices for each item were roughly double what they would be at home, but the good news is that the freighter from Nassau had just arrived so the produce was fresh.

We bought coconut, whole wheat, and banana bread from the home (bright yellow) of the local “bread lady,” Titta Emil. She at least had the use of a stand-alone Kitchen Aid electric mixer in her tidy kitchen.  She was wearing a Cheeka Lodge tee shirt high end resort in Islamorada) and when asked, said that she vacationed there several times, apparently the “bread business provides her with a decent living.

Staniel Cay is the most developed of the Islands that we have visited; modest, well kept homes were scattered throughout Island and there was one mega home being constructed at the top of a rise that provided for a 360 degree of the sea surrounding the Island. 

The cruising guide notes that Staniel Cay is home to many rental properties because it “offers the easiest connections and best flights for friends and family to meet you in paradise.”   Kurt met a local pilot and when asked he quoted a price of $2,500 to fly to Ft. Lauderdale.

A short trip North from Staniel Cay brought us to a crowded anchorage at Big Major Island, home of the famous swimming wild pigs.  More on that later.

My carelessness while anchoring led to my footwear (Croc flip flop) descending to the sea with the anchor and the need for a short dingy ride to retrieve the floating footwear.  That led to a lengthy exploration by dingy to Sampson Cay Marina where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch of thin crust pizza and a couple of brews.  We introduced to the waiter the concept of mixing a bottle of the local beer, Kalik with a bottle of stout and what emerges is a yummy black and tan!  We clearly made his day.  The marina is a very lovely place worthy of a stop next time around.

Snorkeling at Thunderball Grotto, a spectacular skylit underwater cave was a highlight; fish resplendent with zillions neon colors and a piece of royal blue fan coral that was spectacular as it undulated and shimmered in the sun’s filtered light; a large grouper appeared the sentinel of the fan.

Back at the anchorage it was late afternoon and the swine were on the beach impatiently waiting for handouts from dingy occupants.  Not wanting to disappoint them we brought an offering of carrots and enjoyed (with a little trepidation, it’s a good thing that there is no audio attached to photos) pitching carrot pieces to the swimming pigs that were bold enough to attempt to climb into the dingy.  To the trumpet of snorting, pig-protests, when the goodies were gone, the piggies swam back to shore.  Does it get better than this!!!

Allan Cay, Exumas

Allen Cay, Exumas

More needs to be said about Highbourn Cay, it is the first inhabited island in the Exumas, it sports a high-end marina that charges for everything but the air that you breathe ($4.00 for a five minute shower, $10.00 to dispose of a small bag of garbage, 40 cents a gallon for water, etc.) 

It was late afternoon when we arrived and we needed to get the dolphin cleaned.  To do that we had to get the dolphin to the end of the dock on the other side of the marina where there was a fish cleaning station.  Luckily a local gentleman offered to clean the fish for us, we in turn, offered half of the fish to him as it was more than we could store and eat.  As we walked over to the cleaning station I was impressed to see that the local denizens of the islands, the local nurse sharks, were queued up and ready to be fed.  The nurse sharks are deemed “harmless,”  “toothless” but is this environment, we have seen over and over again, how they are the local answer to food garbage disposal and they appear to have adapted to this opportunistic feeding; the are analogous to our sea gulls in what they consume.   Given their size, two to six (plus) feet, and my observation of their lightening fast snatching-vacuuming ability, I would not be inclined to want to jump in and give them a belly-rub.  Of course, interspersed with the nurse sharks was a lemon shark that does have those razor sharp teeth that give sharks their bad rap.

                                                

A dingy trip from Highbourn Cay brought us to Allen’s Cay, a unique, protected reserve island that is home to a colony of the Endangered Exumas iguanas.  The attractive lizards can live to 80 years, grow to several feet long and can weigh up to 24 pounds, they eat the scrub vegetation that grows on the island. 

We landed the dingy on the beautiful white sand beach where there the welcoming committee of 30-40 assorted sized iguanas appeared to be waiting to see what treats we brought.  There are prohibitions against feeding the lizards, but most visitors to the island bring iguana kibble so of course we did also.   The stealthy populace quickly consumed the contents of our bag of celery, scallion tops and lettuce.  Kneeling in the sand with my arm outstretched, several bold beasts quickly grabbed tidbits from my hand; one managed to leap completely off the ground to secure a piece of celery (and the skin from his finger) that Kurt held.  How wonderful that this colony of Endangered iguanas is protected from all but the occasional visitor bearing treats.

Warderick Wells Cay, January 22 & 23, 2012

 In I959 the Bahamian Parliament set aside the 176-square-mile area know as the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, overseen by the Bahamas National Trust.  The Park, stretching from Wax Cay Cut to Conch Cut, is 22 miles long and 8 miles wide.  It includes 15 large islands and many more tiny ones, some preserved in their pristine natural state.  The stated purpose of the Park is to provide a safe haven and replenishment area for the wildlife native to the Bahamas and to educate the public.

Warderick Wells is home of the Park Headquarters, we managed to secure a mooring in the serpentine shaped deep water channel that runs between Warderick Wells and Narrow Water Cay.  We nestled in amongst the sailboats and enjoyed exploring via dingy and the Hobie sail-yak.  Snorkeling brought us nose to nose with spiny lobster, graceful rays, crawling conch and endless tropical fish in all their Technicolor finery.  Sailing found us in the company of graceful manta rays who didn’t appear to appreciate our mode of transportation; it always surprises me that we see so many large (3’) rays in very shallow water (2-3’.)

A dingy ride brought us to a cut between Hog Cay and the SE end of Warderick Wells; there are moorings in the cut, but with our draft if would be a rocky challenge to get our boat safely to them.  A walk along “Escape” beach brought us to a short hill to climb and a magnificent view of the Exuma Sound / Atlantic Ocean on the distant horizon.  The Sound-side coastline is constantly awash by the waves and it’s jagged coral edges are accented by the sun glistening off the constantly changing sea. 

We spied a small tunnel at Escape Beach that went from the placid inside bay to the Sound-Ocean….and waded around the shoreline where the sea has carved car size concave scoops in the coral that provided sea-life condos for wonderful whelks, mollusks, stromatolites and sea creatures I am wont to describe.  Photos do not begin to capture the magnificence or the variety of sea life that is flourishing; thankfully, because of the Park, man will not molest it.

This morning we hiked to the top of Boo Boo Hill, the famous cairn where we placed a placard with our ship’s name on it among the hundreds of other wood planks that commemorate the travels of so many others to this magical place.   The hike brought us up close and personal with land crabs dragging their 3” shell homes about with them as the scurry about, little lizards with curly tails, a yellow finch and countless other delights. 

                                      

                                      

While on the mooring we were delighted by the frequent visit of a yellow Warbler (more definite ID to follow) the little fellow made himself at home and partook of the crushed granola, and water offered, but his favorite was Goon Bay Punch and brownies!  We so enjoyed his frequent visits to the galley for additional treats, although I fear that we were not necessarily contributing to his overall well-being.  He reminded me of the little Yellow Rumped Warbler that hitchhiked with us as we crossed the Delaware Bay.

                                         

Spanish Wells and Eleuthera

Sunday brought us 53 nautical miles across the NW Providence Channel ( aka the Atlantic Ocean) from Little Harbor on Great Abaco Island to St George's Cay, called Spanish Wells,  just west of North Eleuthera.  We were ushered along by 10-15 kt wind and a following 2-3' seas. 

The picturesque working harbor of Spanish Wells is the world's epicenter of the Bahamian lobster, conch and fishing industry.  Depending on the source, it is credited with supplying anywhere from 50-70% of the total gross production of spiny lobsters.  The 70-100' lobster boats that are processing plants and stay out of 3-4 weeks at a time, tow several smaller (22') center console boats.  Once they are in an area where the spiny creatures are known to be, a diver will go out in each smaller boat and with the assistance of a gas driven air compressor on each boat, will dive to 60-90' to retrieve the delicacies.  I suspect that the mortality rate among lobster divers is high; locals talk about divers who "aren't right in the head" anymore after going too deep.  The mother ship freezes the lobster tail and brings it to shore where they are placed on small freighters that bring them to FL. 

Spanish Wells Lobster Boat with tenders

                                                                Waterfront in Spanish Wells

 Last night we enjoyed a delicious dinner of stone crab claws that measured 7-9,"  (three to the pound) they can be had at the local fish store/processing plant for $6.00 a pound. I won't share what I paid for claws in Fl last year, but suffice it to say, I could buy four times as many in Spanish Wells.  We did not have to purchase the claws as our guests, Rich and Nancy, knew a young woman, Ingrid, who lives on Spanish Wells and she gave them a huge bag of claws. 

It's a small world story; while walking to the supermarket on Spanish Wells, we stopped to ask directions from a woman who was sitting on the porch of her house enjoying the magenta hues of the sunset.  She inquired where were we from, etc. and she shared that for 20 years she lived in Patchogue and worked in Franks Nursery on Sunrise Hwy.   She and her husband retired and 10 years ago bought a home in spanish Wells after vacationing there for 20 years. I still have a Stag Horn Fern that I bought at Franks 35 years ago!

We spent three nights on a mooring in Spanish Wells while a front blustered through, and took advantage of the time to take a ferry to N. Eleuthera, where we rented a car for the day and toured a little less than half of the 90 mile long Eleuthera Island.  We first drove to Current (population 131) a tiny town where there is a Current Cut  (Eleuthera Panama Canal) with a current of up to 10 kts producing rips and roiled seas that were impressive 

We then drove east and south down Eleuthera to the Glass window, a point in the rock spine of Eleuthera, once no more than a natural arch undermined by the ocean, which became a real break from the Ocean to the Bahamiam Banks. It was named for the "look through" window formed by the arch.  We drove across the new bridge, the latest in a series of bridges that have been built to replace the ones destroyed by storms.  

Our southern most part of the car tour brought us to Hatchet Bay, where abandoned grain silos, remnants of a failed cattle-raising venture loom lofty in the distance.  Hatchet Bay has a man-made entrance through limestone cliffs into a landlocked pond, this was accomplished to assure success for the Hatchet Bay cattle-raising project.  Apparently needing more than a deep, well protected harbor to be successful, the cattle-raising didn't come to fruition, but today a lovely protected harbor beckons boaters.  If we had planned to bring the boat down the West side of Eleuthera, we would have stopped at Hatchet Bay.  

Tuesday found again on the Government ferry (no life preservers  evident) crossing to Three Islands Dock on N.Eleuthera where we took a taxi and another ferry to Harbor Island which is somewhat analogous to FIre Island off Long Island. We rented a golf car and found our way to multiple paths leading down to 3 miles of blush pink sand beaches on the Ocean. 

                                        Government Ferry Boat  (the little one in the foreground)

Homes and shops painted in the traditional pastel blue, greens and pinks dot the streets as chickens strut around pecking at unseen morsels. On the harbor front a local stands at the water's edge and cleans conch amidst a mountain of conch shells whose occupants were rudely wrenched from their homes to be skinned, pounded and consumed as salad, chowder, fritters, and fried tasty treats.  Lunch at Acquapazza Ristorante, with its panoramic  views of the harbor, provided the finishing touches to a beautiful day. 

                                                                    Cleaning conch

Today, Wednesday, January 18 finds us traversing south from Spanish Wells through Fleeming Chanel from west to east into the Exuma Sound on our way to Highbourne Cay (in the Exumas) where will be be at a marina for two nights and hopefully I will have a wifi connection to reconnect with the world.  

The Exuma Cays run northwest to southeast, we will travel mostly on the Exuma Sound side, the east side where there is deep water as we hop from Island to Island. 

When we were an hour from our destination, we slowed to trolling speed and put a couple of lines out, we were rewarded with a 5', 48 pound bull dolphin (not the Flipper variety)  I was the lucky angler who got to bring the fish in,he is by far the biggest dolphin that I have ever caught and he will be delicous dinner many times over.

January 14, Departing Man-O-War, Abaco

January 14, 2012, Departing Man-O-War, Abaco

The partly cloud day finds us motoring to an anchorage North of Little Harbor on the Great Abaco Island.  Yesterday a cold front came through which plunged the temperatures into the low 70"s; very delightful by my standards.  The wind is steady a 15 kt so it will be a great day for exploring in the sail-yak and hopefully snorkeling once we anchor-up.

The last two nights found us at a Man-O-War Marina on Man-O-War Cay which is famed for boat building, sail making and because it is a safe harbor.  A long walk on a deserted Ocean beach brought us to a secluded home of a couple from Cape Cod who sailed here 7 years ago and never left.  

A walk to Lola's resulted in the purchase of yummy homemade cinnamon rolls and Bahamian bread for French toast breakfast tomorrow.  Everyday Lola bakes bread and cinnamon buns and delivers them to the two local grocery stores.  As we walked across the lawn towards her home she greeted us from the chair swing on the porch of her home.  At 76, she has been baking bread "forever" on the gas stove in her tidy kitchen.  Her husband collected the cash and regaled us with tales of living on the Island. Their "accent" was a bit of a challenge to understand as many initial consonants were left off and accents within words were in unfamiliar places. 

This morning Lola was on her golf cart delivering goodies to the bake sale at the high school (one room) where locals supporting locals were trying to raise money for a college bound young man.

I knew about the bake sale as late in the afternoon of day before, I happened to be on the ferry  from Marsh Harbor to Man-O-War Cay.  The  half a dozen locals engaged in easy conversation about the "passing" of five locals within the past two weeks, and the upcoming knee re-replacemnt (in Fort Lauderdale, without health insurance since his wife retired,) of a gentleman on board. Everyone agreed that the loss of power each evening was to blame for one death as that person was dependent on oxygen due to emphysema and her oxygen machine "surely burned out due to the frequent power outages." and wasn't it good that none of them was smoking anymore....

Boxes of homemade cakes and goodies were on there way to the bake sale; I got to sample a treat when a gregarious gentleman started rummaging through  the sacred goods and having found the holy grail for doughnut lovers, negotiated with the college bound senior and treated each ferry goer to a donut. Needless to say that 30 minute crossing passed quickly.

I ended up on that ferry as a result of a day trip in the inflatable from Man-O-War Marina to Hope Town on Elbow Cay; home to its famous red and white striped lighthouse.  Leaving no challenged unanswered we climbed to the top of the lighthouse where we were rewarded with panoramic views of the harbor and distant Cays.  Elbow Cay Lighthouse (aka Hope Town Lighthouse) is one of the last three, continuously operated, kerosene-fueled, hand-wound rotation lighthouses in the world.   it's 89' tall (with 101 steps) and sits 120' above sea level, ( another 30 steps to climb,) and  it flashes every 15 seconds.  The lighting source is a 325,000-candlepower vapor burner that runs on kerosene that is pressurized via a hand pump and travels up a tube to a vaporizer where  the vaporizer sprays the fuel on a pre-heated mantle (think giant Coleman lantern mantle)  that is known as the "soul" of the lighthouse.  The Fresnel lenses concentrate the mantle's light into a laser-like beam that can be seen 15 nautical miles away. 

Hope Town is a cruisers dream, a safe harbor ( unfortunately with a shallow entrance, we could only enter at or after mid-tide.)  The town sits upon the circular harbor and the pastel cottages and businesses adorn the three parallel roads that intersect the rise from the harbor to the crest where numerous paths descend down to the endless miles of gorgeous Ocean beaches with seas sporting their brilliant green colors out to the breaking water at the reef where the the deep dark blue beckons the mariner. 

Yesterday strolling down the low road  at Man-O-War brought us past the busy boat building shops where the local Aubury boats are built and to the Aubury canvas shop where local ladies have been sewing canvas bags and hats for decades. The canvas shop is festooned with bags of every conceivable size, color and shape; while there the local school Principal came is complaining that everyone wanted the two local schools closed because of a bug problem, I never did discover which "bug" was the concern but the gentleman was certainly railing on about how good it was that he had given up drinking years ago or this problem would certainly "put him on  a binge."  Interestingly there is a total ban on the sale of alcohol on the Island which supports a very strong spiritual commitment that keeps the little community somewhat apart from the ways of the outside world.

Today brings us to an anchorage in the lee of a small Island on the West side of Great Abaco. A wet dingy  ride ferried us into Little Harbor where we meandered around the iron foundry built by eccentric artist, Randolph Johnson in the 1950's and today is run by Pete, one of his sons.  We met a young man from Boston who is an apprentice at the foundry and he explained that  the bronze foundry uses the lost art of cold wax molds.  Randolf Johnson, his wife and children sailed from Northampton, MA, on their schooner Langosta, "to escape the maddening rush of civilization to live their lives in sight of no man, in pursuit of a free life and  devotion to art."  They arrived in Little harbor and lived in caves until they built thatched huts and a foundry.  The lifelike bronze statues adorn the waterfront and gallery; dolphins frolic in the patina bronze surf, a bald eagle wrestles a prize fish from the sea, turtles gracefully swim amid bronze kelp and a mountain lion leaps to grasp a fish from and eagle. Needless to say the statues are stunning....

Bahamas, January 10, 2012

Bahamas, January 10, 2012

As planned we have journeyed to the Bahamas and are currently on the hook in White Sound in beautiful Green Turtle Cay which is 3 miles long and half a mile wide. The Island quietly languishes in a time warp where the Island's children still attend an "all grades" school, and quaint pastel homes and business establishments line the village streets of New Plymouth.  Green Turtle is on the Atlantic Ocean side of Great Abaco Island, sporting a clear azure blue sea teaming with huge conch, crawfish (spiny lobster; dinner tonight,) sea turtles, dolphin and a plethora of other sea creatures.

Today we rented a golf cart and covered nearly every path navigable by a cart on Green Turtle, passing huge expanses of white beach gently sloping into the sea glistening like a kaleidoscope filled with blue, green and gold beach glass. The distant breakers speak to hidden reefs teaming with sea life; the jagged edges of the coral heads threatening ships and claiming many a sailor's life.

The historic settlement of New Plymouth was fun to explore and a lunch of fried conch at the Wrecking Tree Restaurant was a culinary highlight.  Across from the restaurant was a dock where a local had a full time job of pounding the conch to an almost pulp like consistency that made it  perfect for the fried tidbits we so enjoyed for lunch.  The Wrecking Tree Rest. sported the wrecking tree where locals brought their  bounty from wrecked ships to be bartered and sold.

On Jan 12th a lumpy 56nm Ocean transit from Lake Worth Inlet (West Palm Beach) brought us to West End on Grand Bahama Island.  Two nights there afforded us the opportunity to explore and then it was off to Sale Cay across flat calm Sea of Abaco;  entertained by flying fish leaping, dancing with wild abandon, and dolphins too busy feeding, to be more than mildly curious about another passing boat.

From Sale Cay, that might better have been named Desolate Cay, a glorious day of cruising brought us to Spanish Cay Marina where we were delighted to meet the female sailor, Marilyn aboard her boat the Wimbrel.  We originally meet her in Yorktown and again in Norfolk; it's always great to meet up with fellow travelers.  

In march harbor, Hurricane the pooch who was rescued as a 5 week old puppy during Hurricane Irene via a scoop net from the sea, greeted us warmly as landed at the marina.  While being greeted by a pooch is great,  languishing in a hot tub, located for a perfect view of the Sea of Abaco which was illuminated by the waxing full moon provided a relaxing end to a perfect day.

Cumberland Is., GE

December 4, 2011  Cumberland Island

Three's a charm!  After two passages past Cumberland Island National Seashore we decided to stop and visit; a two night stay in St. Marys, Georgia afforded us the opportunity to take a National Park service Ferry (there is no bridge connecting Cumberland to the mainland) to the Island which is 90% parkland.  Cumberland Island is Georgia's largest (18 miles long and between 1 1/2 to 3 miles wide) and southernmost barrier island,  the largest undeveloped barrier island along the Atlantic coast.  It is rich in history, architecture and natural areas; a nesting place of Loggerhead turtles ( 372 nests in the first 7 months of this year).  Wild turkeys, deer, and armadillo populate the fields, and Maritime forests; horses, called marsh tackies because they roam and graze on acres of salt marsh, roam unfettered by time.  Recent blood typing supports the theory that the diminutive horses we see today are linked to a group of Spanish horses from 400 years ago.

  The Island is a complex ecosystem of independent communities, our favorite being the live oak forest where the sunlight filtered through the tree tops reflecting the undulations of the Spanish moss so gracefully draped across ponderous sweeping tree limbs that are blanketed by resurrection ferns.  In stepping into the primordial forest we were embraced by a quietude and splendor that is rarely seen and felt;  a home of Hobbits and spirits.

The west side of the island supports long needle pine growth, the tall trees (an fledgling trees) gracefully sway in the wind from the near-by sea.

Not without human imprint, for thousands of years people have lived on Cumberland Is. from the Timucuan Indians to the Carnegie's. The island is home to the First African baptist Church established by freemen in 1893 and rebuilt in the 1930's (JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette secretly married there) the Plum Orchard, an 1898 Georgian Revival Mansion,  donated to the National Park Foundation by the Carnegie family members in 1971.  We thoroughly enjoyed a tour of Plum Orchard Mansion festooned in it's holiday finery.

This morning's departure  was slightly delayed with some rudder adjustments and much to my delight there were wood storks, great egrets and snowy egrets foraging about on the mud flats right behind the boat.  Never having seem storks feed before I was surprised to see them quickly walk about with an open bill in the water; no stealthy stalking like the egrets, just frenzied stepping with an occasional wing extension and tail fanning for balance.  Very amusing feeding technique!

                                                     
Several days ago when the winds were high a flock of white pelicans, aligned like the Blue Angels,  gracefully glided over the golden marshland and unto the sea without calculating the 28kn wind and 3kt current;  what resulted looked like a snow drift of feathers as they quickly tumbled upon one another like a 10 car pile up on the New Jersey Turnpike in a blizzard.  They quickly recovered and resumed their orderly progression.

                                     

The American White Pelican, at  62" one of the largest birds in North America, it's capable of soaring for long distances and often flies in a line or V formation.  Unlike the brown Pelican that so gracelessly dives for food, the white pelican feeds while swimming, dipping its bill into the water to catch fish in it's orange-yellow throat pouch.  They feed cooperatively so we almost always see them in a group.

A night on the hook provided a private glimpse at the nocturnal world, a waxing moon illuminated as the distant ocean enunciated peacefully.   On a distant shore an owl delighted my senses with the haunting rhythmic hoohoohoo, hoohoo, hoo; so silent in flight but verbose in shrouded repose. Fish jump, a night heron protested an intrusion, real or imagined.  The little dipper hangs over the SE horizon; so much is missed when we are tied to a dock!