Saying good bye to The Bahamas

After almost six months of living on Billy Ruff’n in The Bahamas, it’s time to move on to our next adventure but we wanted to get a final taste of some of the cays that we missed on the way down the Exumas. So, on April 3rd we left George Town for Farmer’s Cay, approximately 40 miles north. On a sunny, blustery, puffy cloud day like many others, with the wind on the nose, after 6 hours of pounding into the waves, we arrived at the rocky & rolling Farmers Cut. Once inside, we tried anchoring off of Little Farmers Yacht Club but the bottom was scraped rock, so we took a mooring. We called the Club to make dinner reservations and they suggested that we order ahead, which we were happy to have done when we arrived for dinner at 7pm and another boating couple had already been waiting for an hour for their meal. We sat down and immediately got served a tasty and traditional Bahamian meal of chicken, rice & beans (which they call “peas”).

Next stop on our way north was Cambridge Cay, approximately 30 miles of mostly motor sailing. This cay provides a beautiful anchorage in the Exuma Land & Sea Park where they also have moorings for $27/night. Since there was a lot of current, in a relatively tight spot and all types of boats with different swing patterns, we thought a mooring ball was the best way to go. We were proven right when we found ourselves perpendicular to a 56 foot trawler in the middle of the night!

We stayed in Cambridge Cay two nights so that we could spend a day exploring. We took the dinghy past Rocky Dundas (with too much chop to snorkel) to Compass Cay to see Rachel’s Bath, which is a pretty spot on the north end of the island that, in high tide, lets ocean water in through the rocks to fill a deep and calm, sandy bottom pool of sun warmed salty water that the crowds don’t get to. We were told, however, that Taylor Swift was seen there this year!

Another long motor sail and swirly cut and we were further north in Highborne Cay. We anchored off the western shore and took the dinghy in for a very good, but expensive dinner at Xuma Restaurant in a very nice, well kept high-end resort. The rather large boats at the dock looked like they spend their season there.

The last leg of our trip in The Bahamas was to Rose Island, off Nassau, where we anchored overnight near what I dubbed “Gillian’s island” before entering the harbor and taking a slip at Nassau Harbor Club & Marina. We came here to pick up crew, provision and to enjoy the amenities before our crossing to Florida. The marina has a nice pool, restaurant and laundry facilities and an excellent location close to a drug store, grocery store, marine store, Domino’s and Starbucks… good for reorienting us to the US of A. 

Allen, from s/v Woza Moya, joined us on Friday, April 8th and we enjoyed a day of sightseeing before setting sail. We walked to the Queen’s Stairway, where the local kids were taking graduation pictures and found an excellent brewery called Rip Tyd, where we sampled flights of their latest craft and ate barbecue from the stand next door. The owner, from Canada, who had been in Nassau for 30 years, regaled us with stories about how she found a Bahamian sailboat abandoned in Farmers Cay and shipped it to Nassau to serve as her bar in the brewery.

On my birthday, April 10th, we treated ourselves to an English breakfast at The Nassau Cricket Club before shoving off for the 190 mile trip to Florida. On the way, we taught Allan how to protect his head from the hard dodger and other obstacles on our boat and he taught us how to catch a big fish! We had an excellent sail most of the way, only turning on the motor for a couple hours in the middle of the night and made it to West Palm Beach in 27 hours, at an average speed of 7.1 knots… not bad for our last sail in this beautiful place with the shallow seas, called The Bahamas!

Best of Great Exuma

On March 27th my sister and her husband Jim, came for a visit. It was a fleeting five days so we tried to show them the best of Great Exuma during their stay. Here's what we came up with:

1) The best VRBO (that we saw because Pam & Jim stayed there) - AQUA VISTA, on the western side of the island provides a beautiful view of the bank and comfortable accommodations for 4 to 6 guests.

2) The best place for dinner in George Town (especially when it's late Sunday night and nothing else is open or Monday night and Exuma Yacht Club is busy): PEACE & PLENTY serves up excellent fish, burgers, conch fritters and lobster.

3) The best beach for hunting sand dollars - COCO PLUM on the north end of Great Exuma is a long, white, sandy beach with sand bars extending far into the bay, providing soft landings for sand dollars to be discovered.

4) The best place to see (& feed) turtles - HOOPERS BAY, near Jolly Hall beach, is where visitors bring lettuce to feed the turtles. We saw little baby turtles, big mama and daddy turtles, all looking for a handout. They'll swim right up to you and eat out of your hand (or bite your bottom if you're not looking).

5) The best day sail (when the wind is out of the northeast going southeast) - CALABASH BAY, LONG ISLAND is a day sail destination with a spectacularly beautiful beach and a good restaurant at Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort (when you can get a reservation). 

6) The best hike - THE MONUMENT on Stocking Island provides a fabulous view of the 300 plus boats anchored in the three anchorages off the island as well as in the hurricane holes.

7) The best hangout - CHAT 'N CHILL for volleyball, music, dominos, meeting new & old friends, great pork roast & grilled fish and good (but expensive) drinks.

8) The best boat tour - MINN's in Victoria Lake rents boats for $375 per day and we were able to take ourselves on a four hour tour to find good snorkeling venues (Guana Island & Moss Cay) and explore the vast Man 'o War beach at low tide.

9) The best special occasion dinner - BLU'S ON THE WATER offers a great view of Man 'o War beach and elegantly presented deliciousness in a lively, music enhanced indoor and outdoor space.

10) The best sunset - ELIZABETH HARBOR, from any Stocking Island anchorage provides a  spectacle of sunsets, one day after another.

Entertained in Exuma

On Feb. 21, the day after we returned from our voyage to Cat, Conception and Long Islands, we were graciously invited to the beautiful blue hulled catamaran, Agility, to join a group of other Chris White designed boat owners, including the owners of Valianna, Penmanship as well as Chris (himself) & his lovely wife, Kate on Leopard. The Chris White designs are sleek and low with lifting dagger boards that help the boats go upwind. Some of them have the latest sailing technology in the form of foiling masts. We got a chance to go out on one of these boats and found sailing foiling masts a whole new skillset!

Over the next few days, we caught up with Allan & Joey on Woza Moya, enjoyed yoga, lunches and volleyball at Chat 'n Chill and met some new friends on s/v Shooting Star and s/v Gaya, that started up a regular pickleball game with their portable net set up on the town basketball court.

One day after pickleball, we went to a roadside restaurant in Georgetown called Island Boy for lunch and across the bar, we saw a fellow that looked a lot like one of our favorite CNN commentators. After confirming that it was he, we spent the next hour or so talking with him about everything from his process for preparing commentaries to where he went to college (Villanova). He asked us questions about what it's like to live on a boat and invited us to his farm in Virginia where he raises cattle. Really nice guy... anyone recognize him?

We spent the next few days making water, provisioning, planning our trip north and trying to find a good snorkel site in Elizabeth Harbor. We found an excellent spot for breakfast in town, called Driftwood, and enjoyed their Signature Benedicts: Benedict Royals served with salmon on Italian Bread with hollandaise for Andrew and Caribbean Benedict served on corn fritters w/ their secret "comeback" sauce, pickles and pineapple mango hot sauce for me. Delish!

Once again, it was time to hunker down so we picked a spot off of Kahari Resort for another blow with steady 20-25 knot breezes gusting to 35 - 40. Some brave wind surfers took advantage and a few moorings broke lose, anchors dragged while multiple dinghies went on a walk about.

When we could finally get off our boats again, I enjoyed a long walk on Sand Dollar beach and attempted to take some photos for the Georgetown Cruisers Facebook Group photo contest. This week, we will be continuing planning for our trip north in April and getting me prepared to fly home to do our taxes. When I return, we're looking forward to having my sister and her husband visit so we can show them all of our favorite things in the Exumas.

Buddy boating with Agility & Valianna

In early February, we enjoyed ocean beach walks, Mango Pina Colada's at the Snappy Turtle, volleyball at Chat 'n Chill, sailing on Agility with Jeff & Krista, a couples massage at The Beach Club on February Point, taking pictures of other peoples boats under rainbows and hiking to the Monument and Da Sand Bar (otherwise know as StarFish or FlipFlop Beach) with the crew on Agility and our new friends, Carl & Val, on s/v Valianna. Here are some of my favorite pics:

On Saturday, February 12th, Andrew and I set sail for Cat Island, 50 miles northeast of George Town. We had a nice sail (some of it with our chute up) in 12 to 15 knots out of the SE and caught a fish on the way. I posted a picture of the fish on an Exuma group website and started a debate that lasted for 95 comments! Some thought it was a Spanish Mackeral and not edible, others thought it was a wahoo (including Andrew, at first), but most identified it as a Cero Mackeral and good eating. We arrived at New Bight in time for cocktails and the sounds of throbbing reggae music coming from shore while Andrew set to the task of filleting and cooking the fish. 

The following day we hiked up Mt. Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas, to The Hermitage, a small monastery built in 1939 by the renowned architect and priest, Father Jerome. That afternoon, our friends on Agility and Valianna arrived in the harbor, along with almost two dozen other boats that had the same idea of riding out the blow expected over the next few days, in this relatively protected harbor.

On Valentine's Day, we picked up some yummy cinnamon bread at the local bakery, and met up with our friends to visit Debbie's Straw Works (some of the best I've seen in the islands) and sit on tires at the bright blue restaurant called Lil Gippy's to eat lobster and conch, as we watched the weather roll in.

On the most blustery day, we chose to go sailing on Valianna, a Chris White designed catamaran with foil sails. The guys couldn't wait to see what it was like to stress test the foils in 20-25 knots. Once they got it moving forward, instead of backwards, it was wet and invigorating! 

We had planned a road trip the next day, but instead gave showers to our boats in the pouring rain until it cleared up in the afternoon and we went ashore for a game of backgammon with the locals and an impromptu Rake & Scrape (beach party with music played on a drum, an accordion and what looks like wooden kitchen implements) organized on the VHF by the cruisers.

We finally had a day that we could rent a car to explore Cat Island with Carl & Val (from Valianna). We drove along the coast to Fernandez Bay Resort, a beautiful spot that is owned by a Canadian who bought it for a family compound and decided to keep it going as a business, and on through Arthurs Town, which is where the actor, Sidney Poitier was born. After turning around on a dirt and stone road with potholes as big as our car, we had lunch at a roadside shack where Kizzie cooked up the best curry chicken and sweet potato fries I've had yet.

Once the weather settled down, Andrew and I had a window of opportunity to motor to Conception Island, a National Park 36 miles south of Cat Island, which is quite beautiful but very exposed. The island offers idyllic pink sand beaches and the clearest blue turquoise water you can imagine but we never found the good snorkel sites that were promised in the guide book. We did however, enjoy a dinghy ride in the mangroves where we saw a dozen turtles too quick for me to photograph. 

In the harbor off Conception we were joined by an aqua blue, Italian designed power yacht, which Andrew decided he would like to have if we ever went to the dark side AND won the lottery. It gave us a 4 hour head start but ended up following us into Calabash Bay, Long Island, where we had hoped to dine at the Santa Maria Resort. Unfortunately, they were full but the overnight stop broke up the windless motor sail back to George Town, where we'll be spending the next few weeks.

Hanging out in George Town, Exuma

Billy Ruff'n returned from Long Island to George Town, Exuma in order to meet up on January 22nd with a group of Salty Dawgs that we've come to know over the past few years. We met up at the Moriah Harbor Cay National Park shelter off Sand Dollar beach with the crews from Snow Cat, Gemeux, Change Up and End of the Road. It's been great getting to know these folks and having get-togethers here and there to share stories of our adventures.

The next few days were about as calm as we have ever seen it in George Town. We cleaned the boat, re-provisioned, did laundry and other housekeeping rituals and then moved the boat to Guana Key (at the southern end of Elizabeth Harbor) to make water and check out some snorkeling venues. The coral was decent with lots of fan, brain and black specimens but only a few schools of small blue & yellow fish and the occasional big one. Unfortunately, I don't have underwater pics but some nice ones of the serene waters at sunrise & sunset.

On Jan. 27th, Andrew and I celebrated 32 years of marriage by enjoying a special dinner at The Beacon at Kahari Resort on Stocking Island. We don't go out much for dinner so the night-time dinghy ride into the lagoon for goat cheese & beet salad, Langousta in curry pepper sauce and fried cheesecake were an enjoyable adventure. 

The next day, after picking up fresh fish in town from the hairdresser, who's husband is a fisherman, Andrew had to perform an underwater rescue of our snubber hook. He had it connected to a spring loaded J-hook that sprung which required free diving 20 feet to retrieve it. That was his exercise for the day!

The following afternoon, we were hanging out on the boat when a dinghy came charging up to our stern. We were commenting about how close they were and that they were going to hit us, when they called out our names. It was Heike & Jurgen (and their daughter) from s/v Valentin, that we met in Spanish Wells a month ago. We jumped in the dinghy to have drinks with them at Chat 'n Chill beach and pick up dinner to go. That's how our social life often works here in G-Town.

The next few days we were mostly hunkered down on the boat for a blow that lasted a couple days, venturing out at least once to see if we could find a place to watch the NFL playoffs. We decided to check out a new joint for us, the Rusty Anchor on February Point...beautiful view, decent food, no TV.

There are a record 290+ boats in the anchorages of Stocking Island these days, and more dinghies than I've ever seen at the town dock! The boat community chats every morning on the net on channel 72 and throughout the day on 68, announcing all kinds of gatherings & events. One day at dusk, a boat who had been watching the movie, Don't Look Up (about a meteor hitting the earth) proclaimed that a meteor was passing overhead! Turns out it was not a meteor about to hit the earth, but a Space X rocket launch from Cape Canaveral... a pretty cool sight!!

A few days later we were hunkered down again in steady winds at 30 knots, gusts to 40! Out of shear boredom, we made a tool to clean the back of the oven and I discovered Wordle. When it gets too rough to run our own errands, we'll try to use 'the harbor conceirge', a fellow name Jamal, who will pick up or drop off trash, ice, fuel, etc., except on busy days when we need him most, he can be hard to get, so we made a wet run across the harbor in the blow for ice.

On Feb. 4, a good friend from home, Jeff W. (on s/v Agility) and his fiance, Krista, arrived in the harbor, providing us with new friends to play with. Their first night, we had a great meal of sushi & duck wings at Exuma Yacht Club and an adventurous dinghy ride back trying to find our boats in the dark. The next day, I rowed my SUP and Krista rowed their kyack into Chat 'n Chill for some volleyball, drinks and conch salad.

It seems like we spend our days playing while waiting around for a weather window to sail somewhere and just when one opens up, some new friends arrive. I am definitely not complaining...George Town is a fun & beautiful place to hang out and we will continue to do so until the next weather window (or playmate) arrives!!