Bill took this picture while swimming at Cambridge Cay. This goes on for acres underwater.

 Julia in a panic threw the food we had brought for the pigs in the dinghy. She jumped out. They jumped in.

Bill hand carved this driftwood sign commemorating our trips to the Exumas.

Isabella liked playing in the sand almost as much as eating it.

This is the view from the window at the Rockside Laundry in Black Point. The boat is Irish Eyes. You could almost enjoy washing your clothes here.

Hey. We are enjoying life in the Bahamas.

After Easter we left Black Point headed north. We sailed to Pipe Cay, a small uninhabited island. A long abandoned US Navy DECCA navigation station was there, but the island was mostly was sand and beautiful water. We stayed one afternoon and night. I walked the beaches while Bill explored a little of the interior of the island. He found two plastic Adirondack chairs. We put them in the shade of a tree, sat and enjoyed the view. We thought we looked like a Fidelity retirement advertisement.

We left Pipe Cay and went to Compass Cay. The channel going there was shallow and winding. When we were looking for a place to anchor, a large ray jumped out of the water and flew by six feet in the air right in front of Irish Eyes. It just flew through the air instead of swimming in the water. It was a magnificent sight. We spent a pleasant afternoon and night anchored off Compass Cay. There was a marina there which did not sell fuel but did sell us a bag of lettuce for our salads. They also charged $8 per person to land a dinghy and walk on their beach. We decided to give the walking a pass, but we did enjoy our salads.

We left Compass Cay through the Conch Cay Cut going out into the deep Exuma Sound sailing north to Cambridge Cay, one of the islands inside the boundaries of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We picked up a park provided mooring ball for a $15 a night and spent two days exploring Cambridge Cay and its beaches. It was lovely. The only bad part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park is that you can’t fish or shell within its boundaries. Of course, it was there that we saw the largest fish and prettiest shells! Bill found a yellow, net covered, two foot diameter fish float, wrote Irish Eyes, New Bern, NC on it and tied it in a tree to mark the beginning of a trail to the beach on the other side of the island. I was happy to have the float off the boat. Although a nice float, it was too big to fit in any of our lockers.

The weather forecast was not very pleasant sounding, we still needed fuel, and our water tanks were half empty. A cold front was forecast to come through with winds around 25-30 knots. We decided to leave Cambridge Cay and find ourselves a place to anchor off Sampson Cay with its friendly marina. We had a nice sail out into Exuma Sound, back through Conch Cay Cut, through the narrow gap between two rocks, past the Rocky Dundas and out onto the banks side of the islands. I had the chance to spy on Little Hall’s Pond Cay which is owned by Johnny Depp. All looked well there. Hopefully, if he was on his island, he was having as much fun as Bill and I were having sailing past.

Sampson Cay is a resort with a very nice marina, several houses to rent, and a restaurant. They sell fuel, water, and some groceries, and they have a coin laundry. Over the next few days we bought some groceries, filled the boat’s fuel and water tanks, washed clothes, and walked around the island. It was nice to have clean sheets and clothes. Bill mistakenly filled our three diesel jugs with gasoline but caught his mistake before putting any in our fuel tank. He gave the gas in two of the jugs away, and we will use the other 5 gallons in our dinghy outboard before we leave the Bahamas. We spent almost a week in Sampson Cay enjoying the surroundings and waiting out the windy weather.

We left Sampson Cay on April 16 for Staniel Cay. (A long trip - all of about 3 miles max.) We anchored across from the town beach and took our dinghy over to Isles General Store to replenish our fresh food. Isles General Store sells a limited selection of food, hardware, and souvenirs. A tiny Manhattan grocery looks like WalMart in comparison. But, as Bill said, I had to make more grocery shopping decisions in their 40 square feet than in a 40,000 square foot US supermarket. As luck would have it the mail boat had been there that morning so the selection wasn’t too bad. We got lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and some frozen orange juice; luxuries all.

Julia, Josh and Isabella were due at the Staniel Cay airport on the 2:45pm Flamingo Air flight from Nassau. Julia said that when they boarded the plane in Nassau the pilot was adding two quarts of oil to the port engine of the little nine passenger Cessna 402 – not a good sign. The plane delivered Domino’s Pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken to Little Farmer’s Cay and to Black Point Settlement before landing at Staniel making it almost an hour late. Bill and I sat waiting in the Staniel Cay Airport terminal (an open air gazebo with wooden benches around the sides) worried because it was quite windy but enjoying the whole scene. The Self family arrived a little worse for the wear but ready to go.

We moved Irish Eyes from Staniel Cay to Big Major’s Spot, a trip of about a mile. Big Major’s was the place with the pigs on the beach I wrote about last time. We had our dinner on board, rigged the lee cloth on our single bunk to make a crib for Isabella and had a good night’s sleep. The next morning Bill took Julia, Josh and Isabella over to see the pigs. With a two year old on board who does not clean her plate, we had plenty of food scraps for the pigs. These pigs were aggressive, and when they swam over to meet the dinghy and started to crawl in, Julia panicked, screamed, and threw the food scraps (still in their plastic bag) straight up into the air. They landed inside the bow of dinghy. The pigs got in the dinghy and devoured the food, bag and all. Julia jumped over the side and escaped. Why any of us let Julia be in charge of the pig food remains a mystery.

Leaving the now well fed pigs behind, we sailed north to Emerald Rock, another of the mooring fields in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. There were several beaches around the moorings. Bill took us in the dinghy to the first one. Julia, Josh, Isabella, and I walked the beach and then took a trail to the next beach where Bill was to meet us in the dinghy. It looked like an easy walk, just over the rock outcropping to the next beach, and it would have been if we had taken the right trail. The trail we took went inland instead through the palm forest and over bare coral rock. I am never comfortable hiking over sharp rocks in my bathing suit and flip flops much less with my son-in-law carrying my two year old granddaughter. One slip and blood would be spilled. We saw lots of lizards and a couple of hutias. Hutias look like a cross between a rabbit and a rat. They are not really attractive creatures but are the only land mammal native to the Bahamas. Bill then managed to talk us into hiking to the next beach. Once again it was a walk over jagged rocks only this time up a hill and back down again. We were on top of the hill when we saw Bill landing the dinghy on another beach three more hills away. I nearly fainted. It would have been dark by the time we got to that beach. Bill was just looking around while we walked. He got back to the right beach just after we arrived. The beaches were lovely and Isabella had fun getting sandy.

The night at Emerald Rock was rather uncomfortable. The wind brought waves that made the boat rock and roll. We asked for and got a mooring at the Park Headquarter, Warderick Wells. It was more protected from the wind and waves. We spent two nights on that mooring. We explored the nearby beaches showing Isabella all sorts of sea creatures. The five of us went to the top of BooBoo Hill. On the top of the hill was a pile of signs from boaters. Leaving your memento was supposed to bring safe passages to the vessel and crew. Bill found a piece of driftwood and carved our names and the date on it using a church key can opener and putty knife as tools. It was a nice sign. We left it on the pile.

Tuesday morning we sailed back to Staniel Cay for the Self family to return to the U.S. on Wednesday. Julia and Josh snorkeled in the Thunderball Grotto while Isabella and I played on Irish Eyes. All of us went to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for dinner. Isabella had her first conch fritter. She said it was good, and it was.

Bill and I sadly watched the Flamingo Air plane leave with Julia, Josh, and Isabella on board. Just like the old days in the U.S., they didn’t have to have to be the airport hours ahead of departure. There was no security check, and no baggage check. They just gave their tickets and luggage to the pilot, got on the plane, and left. We were a little worried though when the pilot had to try five or six times to get the port engine to start.

It was really quiet and maybe a little lonely back on board Irish Eyes. Bill and I sailed down to Black Point to do our laundry, dispose of our garbage, and top off our water tanks. We were the only boat anchored in the Black Point Harbor. It was the Family Islands Regatta in Georgetown so lots of boats were there, and with spring here, some boaters had already left for US. We did our laundry and went to Loraine’s Café for lunch. We met a very nice couple from Cape Cod who were renting a house on Staniel Cay. It was a fun talking with them.

The weather forecast for Monday, April 26 was for a cold front to pass through bringing west winds. Bill and I decided to anchor Irish Eyes in the well protected area between Big Major’s Spot and Little Major’s Spot. Well, Monday afternoon we had a major squall come through the area. The wind gusted up to 43 knots, it rained, and we had thunder and lightning. Thankfully, we did not drag our anchor. It rained steadily until about 9pm. We went to bed only to have the wind pipe up again about 3am. It was a sleepless night. This was the same front that caused the tornados and storms across the south last the weekend.

Yesterday was a picture perfect day with blue sky, lots of sun, gentle breezes, and the always present beautiful sand and water. We did our beach walking, both morning and evening. Today we pick up our friend Richard Barr at the Staniel Cay airport. He will be with us for a week. It should be a fun time

I looked at the Kingsport weather forecast for today.  Sorry you are going to have frost.

Crashing along upwind to Little Farmers Cay. This was after Bill reefed the sails.

We have been asked if we have to get up early to have the beach to ourselves. Well, no. The sailboat is Irish Eyes, and if you look closely on the mile long pink beach you can see the tiny black speck that is our dinghy.

This is a cocoplum bush. It is about ankle high and the two ripe light green fruit are golf ball size. Sam at Little Farmers Cay told us about it.

Costume, police whistle, and rake and scrape... A Junkanoo band musician in the Black Point Easter Festival.

Feathers, sequins, bells, beads… There were trombones, tubas, and trumpets.

Whistle and cow bells… The costumes were fantastic.

A drum fashioned from a skin stretched over an oil drum… These things were loud.

Happy Easter! Bill and I are anchored in the harbor off Black Point Settlement in the Exumas. We finally got to the beautiful clear water surrounding the Exuma Islands.

While we were in Bimini, we met a young couple who described themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend. They had crossed the Gulf Stream from No Name Harbor in a 23 foot Compac sailboat that they had trailered from Texas. For those of you who know our Tanzer 22, Canary, their boat is about the same size. Only their Compac has fewer conveniences than Canary; no portapotti nor ice box. They were very grateful to be in Bimini as their crossing was a little more adventuresome than they had anticipated. Bill and I had them aboard Irish Eyes for an afternoon of conversation and a few cold beers. I am really glad I never let Bill talk me into coming to the Bahamas in Canary! We purchased five lobster tails from a local fisherman walking down the dock and had the first two for supper. Yummy.

The expected cold front came through Bimini Sunday night and Monday. Tuesday the 23rd was beautifully clear with winds from the west. We paid our bill at Weech’s Dock and left bound for Nassau and the Exumas. The first hour of this leg was not fun. We were motoring into the wind and waves as we ran out through the cut leaving Bimini. This is my least favorite way to travel; into the waves with water washing over the deck, spray everywhere, bouncing up and down, and unmarked shallow sand bars on both sides. I was ready to fly home! We turned first north to sail to North Riding Rock then east across the Great Bahama Bank finally putting the wind behind us which is much, much more pleasant. It was so peaceful on the boat that I was able to knit. Several boats that had been with us in Bimini left when we did. We chose to sail all night, but they basically pulled off to the side and anchored in the middle of nowhere with no land in sight. I don’t know which would be better – sail at night or anchor. Ships headed from Nassau to Florida use this route. It can also be pretty rolly in the ocean swells. I don’t know if I would sleep any more rocking away at anchor than I do between my stints keeping watch while we sail at night. The night passed uneventfully except the passing in the dark of five or six ships and any number of sailboats headed for Florida.

We arrived at New Providence Island around sunrise. The wind was still out of the west and the sun was shining… so on we sailed toward Highborne Cay. The wind died down a little, and after Bill did some of his calculations, we figured we would be in Highborne after dark. Not wanting to anchor in the dark, we turned on the engine. We were anchored before sunset after 36 hours on the move. Whew!

Next morning we decided to move down to Big Major’s Spot near Staniel Cay. We were trying to meet up with our nephew Seth, and Staniel Cay has an airport, cell phone service, and WiFi. The trip from Highborne to Staniel took us about 7 hours. We anchored and agreed the next day was going to be a rest day. It took us two days to get up enough energy to even launch the dinghy.

The beach at Big Major’s Spot is called Pig Beach. There are pigs that live on the island and have been fed by so many boaters that they even swim out to greet the dinghies. I didn’t trust the beasts with their little hooves and teeth around our rubber inflatable dinghy but of course went to see them anyway. They are pretty unattractive but a novelty. We finally made contact with Seth, and sadly he couldn’t make it to the Exumas.

Yet another cold front was to pass over the Exumas which brings wind from the west. This leaves many of the anchorages exposed to wind and wave, Big Major’s Spot one of them. We upped anchor and sailed to Little Farmer’s Cay. The night before we had watched the video Dove. It’s, the story of a young man who sails around the world alone. Of course there are scenes of sailing fast with water coming over the deck and waves crashing into the boat. Well, Bill must have decided we needed to have some heavy weather sailing. The wind was blowing about 20 knots directly in our faces. Skipper Bill unfurled all the sails, except the staysail, so we were sailing at a 30 degree angle with water pouring over the deck! The fuel jugs on the deck were floating and water was spilling into the cockpit. I really don’t like having to hang onto something, anything, to keep upright. I fussed enough to convince Bill to reef the mail and pull in some of the jib. He is never watching another sailing movie! We felt our way through the shallows into the harbor at Little Farmer’s Cay and picked up a mooring. We hadn’t been settled long when the folks from Sea Fox X came over to tell us the other moored boats were going to the Farmer’s Cay Yacht Club for dinner. We radioed the Yacht Club and added ourselves to the reservations list for dinner.

The Farmer’s Cay Yacht Club is a cinder block building painted a vivid coral color. It has tile floors and lots of windows open to the breeze. Perfect. We had a lovely dinner of fish, cracked conch, peas and rice, and slaw. It was another boater’s birthday so we had carrot cake for desert.

The predicted cold front whizzed by with high winds and some swells. On the advice of the mooring ball owner, we put out our anchor in case we pulled the mooring’s anchor out. We were fine, and it wasn’t too rough at all. After the frontal passage we dinghied over to Great Guana Cay, the cay across from Little Farmer’s that helps form the protected harbor. It is on the ocean side of the islands and we were trying to find a path to the beach. Along the harbor shore were several houses; all but one uninhabited. We met Sam who lives in a house that is under construction. It has walls and the windows in place, but it doesn’t have a roof. Sam is quite the dreamer. He is building the house himself. It has a great view - just doesn’t have a roof. He may get around to it one day. Sam showed us the way over to the beach which was beautiful. He found two big cowrie shells for me. We ate a few of the wild cocoplums that Sam pointed out to us. They are okay but not my favorite.

We left Little Farmer’s headed back north to the Black Point Settlement for Easter weekend. Black Point is about 10 miles from Little Farmer’s. To break up this ‘long’ trip we anchored off Bay Rush Bay for two nights and for one night off White Point. We went ashore to the beach every day to walk and look for stuff. Bill walked over sharp rock and through waist high vegetation across the island to explore an ocean side cove. He has hiking boots and jeans; I have flip flops and bathing suits. I declined to go along walking the beautiful pink beach on the sound side instead. I did not see another soul all that day.

We arrived in Black Point on Saturday, April 3rd. We had heard via the VHF radio that Black Point was having an Easter celebration with all sorts of contests and a Junkanoo parade on Saturday night. Lorraine’s Café in town advertised on the radio that they were having a BBQ dinner before the Junkanoo. We called and added ourselves to the list. Lorraine’s also has free WiFi. Bill packed the computer into our new waterproof bag, and off we went to town.

The WiFi was incredibly slow, so we gave up on that and joined the couple from Sea Fox X and some folks we hadn’t met for our BBQ supper. I had mutton, which we suspect was goat, and Bill had chicken. It was really good. Our dinner party broke up, and we all went out into the street to wait for the parade. There were food and drink stalls along the street. We tried to purchase drink tickets, but we were told the bar was out of mixers. Bill asked if they had ice and rum. The answers were yes and yes. He purchased tickets for four drinks. We had triple measures of coconut rum over ice; very tropical and very intoxicating.

Black Point has a population of about 300. I believe all 300 were out on the main street along with about 100 boaters and a film crew from ZNS, the Bahamian TV station. The Junkanoo band arrived about 9pm. The band was a small version of what I have seen of carnival bands in Buenos Aries. Loud horns, feathered costumed pounding drummers, rake and scrape players, whistles and cowbells. The parade went about half a block down the street and back, but it took them nearly an hour. All the onlookers were walking, jumping or just keeping the beat while following along. It was great! The young kids were out with their friends; you can’t get away with much in a town of 300. Some of the kids were chanting Obama, Obama in time with the beat. Why, I don’t have a clue. For us the whole thing lasted about an hour and a half. Bill and I set off from the town dock in our dinghy in the pitch black dark, but for reasons we do not fully understand, had a little trouble finding Irish Eyes among the hundred or so anchored boats. Other boaters were still coming home and having problems finding their boats at 3am. We just lay in our vee berth, listened to their shouting, and laughed.

On Sunday evening we once again dined at Lorraine’s Café and then attended the awards ceremony for the fishing, basketball, pool, and dominos contests. They drew ten winning tickets from the raffle. Thankfully we didn’t win anything. After the awards a young gospel singer from Nassau performed. Sunday evening was much calmer than Saturday. The drinks stand wasn’t open.

We somehow have a WiFi signal on board today, so we are spending the day doing our on-line business and updating all of you.

Have a wonderful spring!