Shroud Cay to Big Major and a Real Time Update

 I was awoken on March 11th at about 5 am by some rocking in the boat. The winds had picked up out of the Southwest as forecast. We had no protection from that direction and it did not take long to make the anchorage very uncomfortable. We got up and got the boat ready to go. I put up the mainsail while on the mooring. It was not long, and we were moving south at a good clip. We had between 12 to 17 knots of breeze out of a good direction.

At 9 am, Warderick Wells Ranger office does a radio call on channel 9. The first thing they do is call for departures. Nobody spoke up. With these winds, nobody wanted to leave the very protected mooring field.  We were on the list for available balls, but once you have a ball at WW, you can stay as long as you keep paying the nightly fee. So, no ball for us.

I had been looking at alternatives that would give us some protection, but there are not many places that have protection in a SW wind. The best looked like Bell island, that was 25nm south. We were sailing fast enough that we covered that distance in just a few hours. 

This is a shot from the helm seat on SHIFT. We had strong wind, but it was pretty close to the nose, so we had to sail very close hauled. The seas were a bit choppy making it a rough ride. 

We motored into the channel to Bell Island and found a spot to anchor in the lee of the island. About 20 other boats were already there, but there was plenty of space for us. We ended up having a very good night is almost no wind chop. 

Our good anchorage at Bell Island.

On March 12th, we had a very calm forecast. Bell Island is a private island, so we could not go ashore there, so we decided to move on to a very famous place in the Exumas, Staniel Cay. We made the 10nm trip in about 2 hours. The first order of business was to get water at the Staniel Bay yacht club. We had made it 3 weeks on our 90 gallon tank, but that was now empty. When we got to the fuel dock, we were 5th in line. They could only do one boat at a time and island time is slow, so patience is required. We went over to one side of the channel and put the anchor down and waited. Everyone waited their turn and after more than an hour wait, it was our turn. It cost $198 for 9 gallons of Diesel and 105 gallons of water. Still cheaper than a water maker. 

As we were waiting, we discussed our options. We had a very strong weather system coming in 2 days and I was wanting to find some protection. Kim wanted to take advantage of the nice day and do a couple of things in this area. I am so glad she convinced me to do it her way. 

We went around the corner and anchored at a place called Big Major. This is the place with the famous Pig Beach. We got the dinghy down and headed out.

This is the famous and original Pig Beach. Tour boats come here to feed the pigs. Not my kind of thing, so we just did a quick drive by. The baby pigs were pretty cute. 

After that, it was off to another tourist attraction called Thunderball Grotto. This is a cave in the limestone. Thunderball Grotto was used and named for the James bond film "Thunderball". You have to go there at low tide to get into the cave without an underwater swim. The current is very strong, so swim fins are required. We got there and got advice from one of the tour boat operators how to anchor the dinghy.  I went first to check it out and I was blown away. I went back to get Kim. She got in and impressed me with her ability to make the swim in the current. We went in, and the cave was awesome. The fish underwater also were abundant. I shot some GoPro of the outing, so I will insert that here:

Click here to see a video I made of our sim in Thunderball Grotto: Thunderball Grotto

After Thunderball Grotto, we went on a ride in the dinghy to check out the local beaches and rock formations. 

The limestone shores have many interesting formations.

We saw a cool beach and went in to take a look. Another dinghy pulled in just in front of us and went up to the tables that had been set up on shore. We were told that this is the famous "Cruisers Beach". There are many signs from other boats that have passed through. We stayed there for a couple of hours and enjoyed making some new friends. This is one of those time that I really enjoy being part of this lifestyle. Sadly, I did not take any pictures. 

We finished this very good day with a nice sunset. That huge boat on the left is a toyhauler. The back end lifts up and they pull out a ski boat and jet skis.  

The wind picked up the following day. In the Bahamas, when a northern is approaching, the wind starts from the West, then clocks to the north. We did not have good protection from the west so it was very rough for a day, then it clocked around when the front arrived. It blew hard at close to 40 knots. Those were the strongest winds we saw in the Bahamas while on anchor. We held fine and so did all of the boats around us. We heard of winds close to 60 knots further south that caused some boats to drag anchor and run into each other, but we were fine. 

Lots of boats came in for the big blow. 

Surrounded by boats at anchor in Big Major

Life in the Bahamas on a boat has been a challenge. The weather totally controls your plans. It can be exhausting and frustrating. You really have to make up for the days on the boat with awesome days when the weather is nice. I don't know what I would have done without my Starlink. I had fast internet the entire time. I am still amazed by that. I couldn't get a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread, but I had fast internet. 

In my next entry we will make one more move south. Black Point has been on my places I wanted to go and it was only about 10 miles away. I will tell you now, I loved Black Point!

Real Time Update: I will interrupt this blog to give you a real time update. As I write this on April 5th, we are safely anchored in West Palm Beach, Florida. I just wanted my family and friends know that we have returned safely to civilization. How did we get here? Well that is a pretty good story that I will write about in the next few entries.  

Shroud Cay

 The weather abated as forecast on March 9th. We pulled the anchor and made a lazy 11.9 nm sail to Shroud Cay in light conditions. Shroud Cay is in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. That is a National Park that does not allow fishing of any kind. We had heard that the wildlife was abundant and we could not wait to go see. 

When we arrived Shroud Cay, we decided to pick up a mooring ball. There is a cost to anchor that is the same as a ball, so why not? I always sleep better at night on a mooring. The balls in the park are way overbuilt to handle large yachts. Kim had trouble lifting it up to the rail to attach. I went forward and got it done. It was a calm day and the water was beautiful. 

I went ashore to deposit money in the iron ranger, but there were no envelopes. I did not want to just stuff money in, so we went back to the boat and paid on-line. That turned out to be a mistake. Two days later I was contacted by my credit card company about a fraudulent charge. My card was deactivated. Luckily, we carry three cards, so I can wait until we get back in the US to get a new one sent to me. I have found out since that many people had the same problem and they have shut the website down. 

The crystal blue water on our sail to Shroud Cay. 

We found a beach that was stunning. If you look through the rocks you can see SHIFT on her mooring ball.

One of my favorite beaches.

We have to have a Kim on the beach shot.

The following day was also very calm. The thing to do at Shroud Cay, is to take the dinghy on a slow ride through the mangrove rivers. You have to wait for high tide because it is very shallow. We saw a number of turtles and a shark. We loved it!

The water was crystal clear and the current was light. 

One of my favorite days of the entire trip. Looking a bit scruffy, Captain!

The turtles were easy to spot

The limestone rocks added to the scenery

The river opened up into a large basin. It was pretty shallow out there.

A side canal

There is a turtle in this shot

OH look, there is anther one.

I just can't get over the water 

We found a beach and hung out for a while

Then it was back to the boat. I wanted to get some shots of SHIFT in the beautiful water. There were some birds flying overhead. The strange thing is we have seen very few birds while we have been in the Bahamas. These are White Tailed Tropic Birds.

SHIFT is very photogenic. She has taken very good care of us for almost 4 years. 

 

We had an amazing day at Shroud Cay, but the weather was going to change the following day. We had called in to Wardwick Wells to get on a mooring ball the next day, but that was not for sure. The wind would be coming in from the southwest and arriving at about 5 am. In my next entry, I will write about the following day. It was a bit crazy. I will end this with some final shots of our beautiful day at Shroud.

The water was so clear, you could see the mooring like there was no water.

Our beautiful sunset at Shroud Cay. Too bad that Super Yacht was in the way.

Allans Cay and Lobster Cay

 As I have written many times before, the weather dictates what we can do and what we can't do much more than a land based lifestyle. That is even more the case in the Exumas. There are much fewer places to hide from strong winds, especially if they are coming from the west. We had been lucky the first few days we had been in the Exumas, but I saw in the forecast that was about to change. We had two more decent days and then we would see some strong wind coming from the North. We had arrived in the Exumas and anchored at Ship Channel Cay on March 5th. We had until the 7th to get some place with northern protection. 

We decided to move on March 6th a grand total of 5.5 nm to Allans Cay to see the famous Iguanas. The Iguanas live on the island and will come to beg from any and all boaters that come ashore. 

Allans Cay is made up of two lagoons that are surrounded by the very rocky island. The water is unbelievably clear and beautiful.

We took the dinghy over to the famous beach with the Iguanas on it. 

Kim on a beach photo op.

It was not long before these big guys came out for the free food. We did not feed them.

This guy looks like a dinosaur. 

After spending some time with the Iguanas we cruised around the island in the dinghy. The anchorage got a bit rolly that night, but we slept ok. 

This was our sunset at Allans Cay. We finally had sunsets with no land in the picture.

The following day it was time to find that protection. I saw a small Cay on the chart that looked like it would have good protection. The name of that small island was Lobster Cay. The guide book did say that the snorkeling was good there, so we would give it a try before the weather turned bad. The trip was only 5.6 nm, but it required me to make some turns trough some rocks in some very fast moving current. We cruised right by the famous Highborne Cay, but maybe we would stop by on our way back. 

Our view of Lobster Cay. We never found out the situation on the island, but there were a series of small cottages on the island. We saw some some guys working up there, but we are not sure if it is open for business or not. 

I got in the water and went for a snorkel. I took my spear, but did not see anything that was worth shooting.  

When we arrived, we were the only boat there. After a while, we were joined by 4 other boats, all looking for the same protection. The weather arrived as expected and the water got rough. We rocked and rolled a bit, but it wasn't too bad. We saw winds that peaked at 30 knots.

The picture does not show how rough it was, but the good news it only lasted one full day. 

After the bad weather cleared out, we had two good days to enjoy. Our next stop was Shroud Cay. I can tell you now, it was one of our best days in the Exumas. I will write all about it in my next entry. 

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.