On to the Exumas

 We had an awesome time at Royal Island. We tried to go visit the town of Spanish Wells, but we unable to get a spot in a marina. We don't feel that we really did a proper job visiting Eleuthera, but we really don't have time on this trip to see all of the sites. Our Visas only have 90 days, and it was March 4th. We only had about 6 weeks left before we had to be out of the country. We really wanted to get down to the chain of Cays in the center of the Bahamas called the Exumas. This 100 nm chain of islands, include some of the clearest water and most beautiful beaches in all of the Bahamas. I have been reading about it, and watching videos about it, for many years and we just couldn't miss it. So, we decided to chart a course directly south. This would bypass the infamous Current Cut and head south through the Pimilico Islands. My course then would head out into a large open area of shallow water (12 to 14 feet) that has hundreds of Coral heads lurking just below the surface. They show up on the chart, but the accuracy is suspect. The only way to do this safely is to wait for a settled weather day and do it with a high sun. The water is so clear that you can see the coral heads as you approach them. Then you just have to steer around them. The entire trip was only 44 nm from Royal Island to Ship Channel Cay at the top of the Exumas. 

I really had to trust the forecast when we departed. The wind was out of the south at close to 20 knots. We were heading directly south, so we had to motor right into it. We had large waves that were very close together. The good news is that the wind was supposed to die off as we made the 11.1nm trip down to the Pimlico's, where we were going to anchor that first night. The forecast was spot on and we were able to anchor in a great spot on flat water. When we arrived there was one other boat, but they soon left, and we were out there all by ourselves. 

Sunrise over the Pimlico anchorage. The day before we had 6 foot waves.

Here we are cruising to the Pimlico cut. It was a beautiful morning and the forecast for no wind was accurate. 

We have a set of wireless headsets that we use to communicate when we are doing anything that requires accurate, fast information. We put them on and I headed to the bow. As we approached the field of coral heads, Kim was at the helm and I was able to easily see down into the water. I found it very easy to see the heads in plenty of time to give her directions. I would just say 10 degrees port or starboard and she called it back to me. Just like in the Navy. The worst part was only about 10 miles long and then I was back at the helm and I could see what I needed to see from there. The entire trip was only 33 nm. It felt great to get the hook down at Ship Channel Cay. The water was beautiful and we were very happy to be there. 

As you approach Ship Channel Cay, you can see the remains of a lighthouse on Beacon Cay.

I wanted to get a few shots of SHIFT in the clear blue water. The scene was amazing.

This is 12 feet of water. It looks like a swimming pool. Someone really needs to clean the bottom.

That is the limestone rock of Ship Channel Cay

We had a very restful night at Ship Channel Cay that night. There is not much to see there, so we were moving again the next day down to Allans Cay, which has some very famous inhabitants. I will write about our continuing journey down the Exumas in my next entry.