Georgetown and Returning On the Exumas

On Tuesday, Feb. 7^th, we headed to our farthest south destination, Georgetown, on Great Exuma Island five miles north of the Tropic of Cancer.  The seas were kind and we had a smooth six hour run from an anchorage off Cave Cay the night before.  We found an anchorage right below “the monument” off of Stocking Island.  Georgetown and Stocking Island are separated by a mile wide sound called Elizabeth Harbor.  At peak in March,  500+ boats are estimated to be anchored there.  About 90% of them are sailboats.  Our size cruiser was rarely seen, although there were a few trawlers our size. 

Raydiance at anchor near monument hill.

Pink houses are a visual reference point
upon entering Elizabeth Harbor

Once certain the anchor was fast, we set off in the dinghy across Elizabeth Harbor to tour Georgetown and restock at the local market.    Grocery prices are sticker shock in the Exumas, but we have to remember everything has to be shipped in on “the mail boat” once a week.  The only items we needed were fresh fruit and veggies.  Things like potato chips at $7 a bag are passed by!

Beautiful Anglican Church in Georgetown

We made it!

Dinghy dock behind the market

The following day we again climbed into the trusty dinghy and ventured over to the infamous Chat and Chill Beach.  This area is the nucleus of activities for the cruisers.  Every morning at 8 on VHF channel 72 after the weather report the announcements for the day’s activities are broadcast.  Example:  Yoga on the beach at 8:30 (bring your own towel),  bridge, dominoes, and other games at 2 p.m.,  volleyball at 1 p.m., etc.   We have heard Georgetown referred to by some cruisers as adult daycare.  Following the announcements, new arrivals are asked to call in and tell about themselves.  I found it very interesting and even joined in a game of dominoes.

The infamous Chat and Chill 

Conch stand on Chat and Chill Beach

Hot domino game on Chat and Chill Beach

Fresh conch salad

That evening after sunset, we put the dinghy to work again and crossed to Georgetown to eat at the “Fish Fry”.  This is a group of shack-like restaurants on the waterfront serving local Bahamian dishes.  We each had a lobster dinner with the mandatory peas and rice, macaroni and cheese casserole and coleslaw. 

Atlantic side of Stocking Island

Sunset at Georgetown with Bill's flag

We left Georgetown on Friday, Feb. 10^th, and again the Sound was gentle—1 to 2  foot waves.  So Tom decided over deep water (3000+ feet) to try his hand at fishing once again.  Nothing happened for about an hour.  Suddenly the drag started screaming at him.  A big fish was hooked.  I slowed the boat to allow him to land the fish.  Tom fought it for about 10 minutes when all at once the fish seemed to give up.  As I held the line and Tom went to the platform to net the fish,  well, see the picture below.

Tom says he hooked a 3 1/2 foot wahoo, but only landed the “Wa”.  Apparently a hungry shark ate the “Hoo”.

Fish story #2

That night we caught a mooring ball off Little Farmer’s Cay.  The guys on the sailboat anchored next to us (named In Concert)  invited us to come to the settlement bar that night as they were going to be entertaining.  So we went in and enjoyed a concert of flute, guitar and tambourine.  The next day was quite windy, but we went up the Banks to Compass Cay Marina.  It is located in a very protected bay and with the weather changing to the north we opted to be at a dock.  With the wind howling and the current running strong, Tom did a great job of docking.  I am constantly amazed at his skill with the boat.  In  Concert pulled in a bit after we did and gave another concert that night.  Everyone joined in singing, playing spoons, shaking homemade sand instruments, etc.   This was following a potluck on the dock with lobster supplied by the neighbors (see pic below of the neighbor’s yacht!).  I provided lemon bars (Aldi’s special box mix) and they were a huge hit.

An ol" timer at Compass Cay

Compass Cay Marina

The neighbors!!!!

Crew of In Concert

The following day with the north  wind still howling,  I talked Tom into hiking to the “Bubble Bath”.   I must admit I didn’t realize the length of this hike.  It turned out to be LONG and strenuous--up and down over alternately soft sand then rough coral.  When we arrived at the Bubble Bath, it was too cool to go in the water.  And we thought we wouldn’t get enough exercise on this trip!

The Bubble Bath

Looking back to the start of THE HIKE
in the FAR distance!

That evening we invited the crew of Happy Ours to join us for dominoes.  Everyone had a good time, but especially the women’s team as we won handily!  They left the following day and told us to call when we got to Boston.  We have plans to enjoy an oyster dinner with them there.

Domino Players 

We left Compass Cay on Monday with plans to anchor at Hawksbill Cay for two night, then Norman Cay for two nights and then return to Nassau.  This all changed when the generator stopped working at Hawksbill.  Tom changed the impeller which was badly chewed up (how does he know how to do all this???), but it still wasn’t pulling any water through.  So we pulled anchor on Tuesday and came into Nassau, staying at Nassau Harbour View Marina.  Another couple two slips down saw our loop flag and came to say hello.  They had done the loop in 2001 (boat name-Whichaway).  Tom was telling Chuck about the generator issue and Chuck said he thought he had a solution.  A little silicone gel for suction and a few more pieces of old impeller removed and the generator is back in business.  Again, the kindness of strangers.  We plan to start back to the states tomorrow, Friday the 17^th.  What a great adventure this has been!

Last Exuma sunset

Chart showing our trip from Bimini to Georgetown in the Exumas

What a beautiful way to end a trip!

WOW! The Exumas

Described by many as "gin clear"

On the Atlantic side of Shroud

There really are no words to describe the clarity and color of the water in the Exumas.  My camera does not do it justice, but here goes.  The Exumas Land and Sea Park covers several cays and about 40 miles in the chain of islands.  The first we visited was Shroud Cay.  At the northern end there is a stream that runs through the mangroves from the banks side (west) to the Atlantic (east). It was a short dinghy ride from our mooring. We happened to go on a beautiful sunny day and when we came to the Atlantic opening we were amazed at the view.  It is absolutely breathtaking.  The white "sugar sand" beaches extend  as sand bars out into the ocean.  No reefs here, just gorgeous water and sand.

Entrance to mangrove stream

Entering Atlantic from mangrove stream

We were joined at the mooring field the next day by Cupcake and Alchemy.  That night we all enjoyed popcorn and a movie aboard the Raydiance.    Leaving Shroud Cay we traveled about 20 miles to Warderick Wells which is the park headquarters.  There we again moored and snorkeled and hiked for two days.

Blow holes on Warderick Wells. These did not blow water, just air and sound.  Could do the Marilyn thing here!

Boo Boo Hill where boaters leave wooden  reminders of their visit.

Good-bye Tom

Ranger stations and Raydiance on mooring

fellow hiker posing

Hiking on sharp coral path

Loyalist ruins on Warderick Wells

Hutia

Another hike on the far end of the island features loyalist ruins from the 1700's.  Following the Revolutionary War, several British sympathizers left the US and came to the islands.  Although the scenery is gorgeous, it must have been a tough, lonely life trying to eek crops from this soil.  The furry fellow to the right is the only mammal native to the island.  According to the ranger,  hutia are becoming a real nuisance as there is no predator and they reproduce every three months.  They are about the size of a small groundhog.

More of the Amazing Exumas

Docks at Staniel Cay

Nurse sharks in harbor

We left the Exuma Park boundaries and headed south to Staniel Cay where we anchored behind Big Majors Spot for a night.  We left Raydiance at anchor and took off in the dinghy for Thunderball Grotto- THE grotto James Bond escapes from in the Thunderball movie.  Unfortunately we did not have the camera in its underwater casing so we have no interior pictures.  As you can see by James' (Tom's) head, even at high tide you can snorkel inside without having to go under the water's surface.  If you want to exit the large opening on the opposite side, you do need to duck under for a moment.  Once inside it opens up to a large cavern which has several overhead openings.  We were there on a brilliant sunny day and the beams of sunlight coming through lit the whole area.  The water was crystal clear and filled with a large variety of species of fish including some big grouper and a small ray.  Tom of course had to pose on the ledge James sat on in the movie.  I was so wishing we had the camera!  It is a magical place and we WILL have the camera ready on our next visit . We have already decided the Exumas are a must return visit!  Have I convinced any of you to join us yet?

The name is Bond, James Bond!

Thunderball Grotto is under this cay.

There are pigs on the beach at Big Majors.  If you dinghy close in they will swim out to you in search of hand-outs.  They are reported to be very fond of carrots.  We saw them from our boat, but they did not come out when we had the dinghy close.
  We needed fuel so we went to the docks at Staniel and then stayed there for three nights.  There is a small settlement at Staniel where we bought wonderful homemade bread including the coconut bread I had been reading about in the guides.  Makes great French toast!  We rented a golf cart to tour the island which has several private homes and a few small resorts.  Sunday was superbowl, so we watched it in the marina bar/restaurant with a large crowd of boaters and island residents. With my beloved Packers not involved, I really didn't care who won.  But we enjoyed the environment and the game was a good one.  The next day we again anchored behind Big Majors Spot and the Staniel Cay Divers came to the boat and picked us up to go out in the Sound for a two tank dive.  We were hoping to do more diving from Raydiance but were hesitant to leave it at anchor on the Sound near a drop off area.  So we opted to go with a dive operator.  We did two deep dives (about 100 feet each) so they were short but interesting.    Below are some of the creatures we encountered.

Corals and sponges

Where's the butter?

This green moray was swimming freely when we first encountered him.  Usually morays swim away from divers, but this one was curious about us.  He kept swimming toward me even when I turned away from him.  Finally he gave up and swam into an opening in the coral.  The lobster (above) had been hiding in that hole, but he shot out quickly when the moray entered and proceeded to scurry down the coral wall.  Guess being in the open with us was preferable to the new neighbor!

A three foot long  hawksbill turtle out for a swim.

The Beautiful Exumas

close-up of stromatolite

"field" of stromatolites at low tide

After leaving Nassau we headed for Highbourne Cay in the Exuma chain.  The seas were kind and we arrived in about 5 hours.  Most of the time we are traveling at 7-8 mph.  No need to hurry and it sure helps the mpg!  Highbourne has a very nice harbor and we enjoyed our stay.  While there we hiked to the Atlantic side where stromatolites line the water's edge.  Tom had seen a special on these on TV and was amazed to see them here. The program had said they were only in Australia.  I'll let you research their importance.  One day we took a bikes around the island  (which took about an hour!) and came across this beautiful beach.

Horseshoe Bay on Highbourne

Tom asking about bus schedule

While at Highbourne the crews of Cupcake and Alchemy came ashore to enjoy a get together.  They were anchored just north of the marina.

With crew of Cupcake and Alchemy 

Leaving Highbourne we next stopped at Shroud.  There we picked up a mooring ball and stayed for two nights.  Shroud Cay is part of the Exuma Land and Seas Park so it is an environmentally protected area.  We  dinghyed to the northeast corner of the island and followed a mangrove stream until it entered the Atlantic.  The day was perfectly clear and when the stream opened onto the Atlantic the colors were incredible.  The sand is very fine white "sugar" sand and the water crystal clear turquoise.  I wish my camera could truly capture the color.  It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Entering the mangrove stream

Going through the mangroves

WOW!  Entering the Atlantic

Standing on the sugar sand on Stroud  Cay

Cupcake and Alchemy arrived the next day so we took off for the mangrove path with them.  Later that night they joined us for a movie and popcorn.  We have really enjoyed getting to know them.

We left Shroud and motored about 20 miles to the park headquarters at Warderick Wells Cay.  Again we picked up a mooring.  We spent two days there exploring the hiking trails and snorkeling.  There was an amazing coral head only 100 yards from our mooring with an abundance of coral, fans, and several varieties of fish including three large gray angels and a huge lobster.  There is no fishing in the park, so he had grown fat and sassy!

Park headquarters and Raydiance on mooring

BooBoo Hill where people leave boat names

Blow holes--no spray but lots of air and howls

fellow hiker

view from high point on Warderick Wells

Following the American revolution, loyalist families moved to the Exumas. The stone remains of their  cottages are still present on the island.  While hiking by them,  we heard rustling and saw several hutia, the only native mammal on the island.  When talking to the park ranger at check out, he told us they are becoming quite a nuisance.  I gathered they are overpopulating due to lack of predators.       

Hiking on sharp coral path.  How much farther Jerry????

Loyalist ruins

Hutia

We are now at Staniel Cay and heading for a super bowl party at the marina.  Without my Pack involved, I really don't care who wins.  But the socializing will be fun.  Until next time!  (Reminder--click on the pictures to get a larger view.)