Vacationing around stormy weather....

I did laundry in Black Point and mosied on down to anchor to the west of Sampson Marina.. That is a nice anchorage, unless you get a westerly wind. There was a 140' yacht there, and a 60' It is also on the Staniel to Compass small boat route, and between boats flying past, and jet skies zipping through the anchorage...





In the morning at high tide, and with the latest weather info, I took the shallow water route south and west of Sampson to the deep channel heading up to OverYonder Cay, and turned into my selected spot tucked in next to Thomas Cay to ride out the weather associated with Tropical Storm Chantel. Later that afternoon, a sailboat, Soon Reach, decided the same thing, but anchored in the middle of the channel. I watched him get bounced around by wakes for a couple of days.





Mercy-dog and I took the Whaler through protected water on Thursday to pick up Dorothy at Staniel Cay.





The Staniel Cay Yacht Club has a good relationship with Watermakers Air, out of the executive airport in Fort Lauderdale. This US based airline of small planes seems to be one of the most reliable forms of transportation. They fly from Fort Lauderdale to Andros to clear Customs/Immigration, and then on to Staniel. I would love to make that flight, just to be able to see the low altitude view of the islands! You can get transportation via golf cart with Staniel Cay Yacht Club from the airport to the marina.





On the way to the MERCY, Dorothy and I swung by Big Majors to feed the swimming picks some old bread that I needed to get off the boat. Mercy-dog always wants whatever we're feeding pigs or fish! We just beat a sprinkling rain back to the boat.





On Friday, with the remnants of TS Chantel providing winds, we roamed the quiet protected waters in the vicinity, drift snorkeling and exploring the areas around Pipe Cay, Little Pipe Cay, Compass Cay, and Joe Cay.





Friday night/Saturday morning in the wee hours, we had a 50 kt storm blow through. I'm sure Dorothy wondered what she was getting into.





Saturday morning we saw two ladies off the Soon Reach, and their two dogs walking the beach, and we went in and joined them for an energetic walk on Thomas Cay along a trail that was new to me. The trail cut across the island to the cut, and then along the sound side. They pointed out a couple of other trails as well.





With the squalls over, and our water tanks topped off, we moved the MERCY through the inside, past Compass Cay, did a drive-by of Rocky Dundass, but didn't stop, did a drive-by of Cambridge Cay, and then went outside into the Sound and down to the Hog Cay mooring field at South Wardwick Wells.





While at the mooring field for a coouple of days, we drift snorkeled with the Whaler through several of the cuts, snorkeled along the outside of Hog Cay, snorkeled around Emerald Rock, and did a dive at Jeep reef. One of the more interesting features is the tunnel that goes all the way through Hog Cay, which is pretty much open at low tide. At high tide, when I did it, when the surge wasn't so bad, there are openings to the sky every few feet, making for an easy snorkel. Having said that, it is a good idea to make sure you are swimming into the current, which ensures a ride back.





There were lots of big lobster in these protected areas, as well as an abundance of conch, and tropical fish. The water clarity and the abundance of coral and rocky reefs are always fun.

Black Point to Rudder Cut Cay

Friday May 31





This morning I figured I'd better move from the anchorage before barnacles started growing on my anchor chain. I've had a great week at Black Point, and there are still a couple more places to explore, but I'll save some of that for when Vicki and Dorothy come.





We headed south, running down the bank outside of Little Farmer's Cay, then east towards the south in of Farmer's Cay. It was a little strange that the wind was SE, and the waves were more southerly. Not that it made much difference, as they were less than a foot on the bank.







Then we turned south and worked our way past Cave Cay, and I decided that on my next time through, I'm going to take the Whaler over by some of those big caves for a closer look. I went in pretty close with the MERCY, but, I didn't want to anchor the MERCY to explore.





After I crossed Cave Cay Cut, I entered into an area I haven't been before on the inside. I went pretty close on the west side of beautiful Musha Cay, then curved around Jimmy Cay (yes, Mr. Callaway, one named for you!) and most of the way down Rudder Cut Cay.









We dropped anchor in a spot with a gorgeous view. From as I sit at the helm, typing with the wireless keyboard, I am looking at hills, rock faces, a cave/overhang big enough you can take an inflatable or jet ski inside, sandy beach, palm trees, islands to my right and left, and the open water of the bank behind me. (The tide is turning as I type, and right now I'm facing into an easterly wind from a passing squall.)







I took the Whaler to the south between the Darby's and decided that it was not a place I would take the MERCY. Not only was the water minimal going in at high tide, but, it didn't look like much when you got to the deeper harbour. There appeared to be a lot of current. The cut going through was worth the trip however. There are numerous old buildings, and rocky structures, an old wall, assorted old cement docks, a sunken boat barely sticking up at high tide, and a sign announcing Darby Research Center and a University of Miami logo.







We turned back towards the boat, and found "the Mermaid" that David Copperfield sank here. I hope to snorkel and look at it in the morning. We slowly worked our way close to the rocks, and into the coves, checking depths. I looked up and saw my sailboat friends, John and Barbara on the Full Deck, and Simpatico's crew, Scott and Heather, coming to anchor nearby. It is fun loosely traveling with friends.









John took me inside the caves with his inflatable, so I could get some photos of the hole in the top, a view I would have missed from the Whaler.







It is raining now, and I'm smiling because I don't need to get wet catching any water, my tanks are full! I've washed dive gear, clothes, shoes.... Life is good!





Anchored at N23 52.297' W076 14.405 MERCY moved 18.3 nautical miles today.

Great Guana Key Cave

Thursday, May 30





This morning I hold my friends on the S/V Full Deck, John and Barbara, that I was planning on heading south. When they expressed an interest in going to see the really cool cave mid-island from Oven Rock that I had mentioned I was stopping at, I changed my plans to remain on the hook one more day in the lovely Black Point anchorage. We convinced Scott and Heather on the S/V Simpatico to join us for the adventure, and we were all off in the Whaler, leaving the three bigger boats nestled in the great holding sand anchorage of Black Point.







We followed the coast close in, enjoying its rocky, craggy shoreline, with overhanging rocks, and interspersed with gorgeous sandy beaches. We ran in relatively protected water, in spite of the 20kt wind that was blowing out of the SE.










Not the cavern, just a recess along the coast


We anchored just to the north of Oven Rock. Sandy, or one of the storms in the past year has moved a lot of sand around. All the sand was gone from the beach inside Oven Rock, making it a little difficult for me to locate the trail up to the cave. With partners in adventure, however, we quickly located the trail, and walked up to the inland cavern whose slopes drop to a water filled lagoon.





It is hard to imagine that, in the middle of the island, in the side of this rocky hill, there would be a cavern with stalactites, stalagmites, and columns in a room that drops down to a cool, clear salt water grotto. John, Scott, and I snorkeled around the backside of the huge rocky area in the center of the cavern, and with our dive lights could look down into the depths of an underwater cave. It was spectacular. It is always fascinating to me to see cave decorations underwater, since they are formed by the sediment deposits from water dripping in a dry cave.





For boaters following the blog, and wishing to find the cave, go to Little Farmer's Cay town dock, and ask for Dino, and he can guide you to this fantastic cave.





After enjoying the cavern, we continued on to the east side of the island, to look for sea beans on the exposed shoreline. Barbara found three heart beans, while John, Scott, Heather, and I pretended to play with Mercy-dog while we hunted unsuccessfully for beans. Mercy was ecstatic to romp the beach with friends who were keeping her entertained.





It is really amazing all the junk that washes ashore, and is littered along the beaches. I understand why international laws prohibit the dumping of plastics at sea. There are bottle caps, plastic containers, shoes, (yep, always!) line, toys, bags, and anything else made of plastic that you can imagine.





We trekked back across the island to the anchored Whaler, and decided, since we were so close, to go visit Little Farmer's Cay. Dino greeted us as we entered the basin of the gov't dock, helped us tie up, and was quickly showing us his latest huge shell collection. He said he'd make us some fresh conch salad, and we hired him for the task. We all wandered up to Ali's bar to say "hi" to my friends from last year and enjoy a cold drink. Then we returned to the dock, and watched Dino fix the conch salad from pulling it from the water, to ready to eat. (We took it back to the boat to eat it, however.)







Black Point, Exumas, Bahamas





The harbor there is full of rays and turtles that are fun to watch swimming. Dino showed us an octopus he had captured, and had penned.





We ran back to Black Point almost point to point, which made for a rougher ride than in the morning, but the seas were on our stern, so it wasn't too bad. We munched conch salad on the Simpatico.





I don't know how the guys had enough energy to go ashore to watch a Miami Heat game, but, I pretty much chilled for the evening.

Tuesday at Black Point

Tuesday, May 28





The east corner of this bay has a sand beach that is shallow for a long ways out. The local boats have moorings along the edge of where the tide goes out to. It is a great place for dogs and the young at heart to walk.





Mercy and I walked across the beach, crossed the paved road and worked our way to the east to see a blowhole that we had found before. After a lot of unsuccessful attempts to get a photo of it blowing when the waves slapped the rocky shoreline, I did find this little fireman, and I thought of Darrell, my cousin's husband, the fireman. I took this photo for you!









We tried to walk to the south a little ways to a beach I'd spotted the day before, but gave up when Mercy protested that she wasn't wearing shoes. I was wearing my good Keen sandals, and would have rather had my hiking boots. The rock is sharp and jagged, and it would be pretty easy to turn an ankle walking on it. Besides, there are easier beaches!





We returned to the paved road, and followed it until after it turned to gravel in the north, and then veered NE along a trail through the sand to a beach. I searched unsuccessfully for sea beans, but did find where someone had lined up a bunch of shoes.





How do people lose this many shoes? One of the amazing things to me, is that on the most remote beaches in the Bahamas, you don't have to walk far to find a washed up shoe. I guess I'm not the only one who is baggled by this, since many places I go, somebody has lined a bunch of shoes up for a photo.





The Lady Francis remained tied to the dock today. She is one of the mailboats that services this area, an old steel-hulled vessel that was taking on water the day before. A rust hole had opened under the waterline, and folks from several islands were scrambling to get big pumps to her yesterday. A diver put a temporary patch on her, and she was waiting on the tide to turn to get out Dotham Cut to go to San Salvador. The Bahamas gov't issued a special marine warning this afternoon for vessels to remain in port, and I'm glad the Lady Francis did. The folks on San Salvador may find their fresh cargo isn't fresh by the time she's able to make the crossing.







We made one more trip to the beach in the evening.





A lot of the men on this island work on neighboring keys, and commute to work by small boats towards Staniel, and some of the other cays. I was asked 3 different times this evening to give the captains on the skiffs rides in from their moorings, and complied. Typically, they all help each other, but, I think this evening, everyone was scrambling home, watching the coming rain.





We caught another 5 gallons of rain, as the rain mostly missed us today.

Monday at Black Point

Monday, May 27







The weather forecast looks pretty nasty this week, with 20-25kt winds expected all week, higher in thunderstorms, many of which are forecast. Black Point is a great place to weather out easterly component winds in good holding sand, and calm waters. With its available dock, store, restaurants, churches, fresh bread, and laundry...







Oh yeah, time to do laundry. I love being able to pull up to the Rockside Laundry's dinghy dock, and toss my dirty clothes without having to schlep them through town. This commercial laundry is clean and has free wifi. What more could a cruiser ask for? Tokens are $3.50 ea. for washer and drier. $7/load x 3 loads.







I gave 3 Canadians on a vessel anchored next to me a ride in/out, as their outboard was broken, and they bought me a loaf of Miss Corrine's wonderful coconut bread.





In the afternoon I caught 18 gal of rain water. Life is good!

Church and congregation at Black Point

Sunday May 26

I believe there are three churches in Black Point. I attended the church to the NE of the gov't dock, just up the hill, the Bible Mission church. I was glad I did. If you really want to get to experience a part of Bahamian culture and community, visit a church.







The congregation acted a little surprised to see a visitor from the harbour. It made me wonder how many folks from the boats ever attend church there. I attended morning and evening services, and by the evening, the folks had become friendly, with nearly everyone either talking to me before or after service. If you attend one service, and the folks seem reserved and unsure of you, go back. What a nice group of people. I was individually invited to every event they have coming up.



BTW, in the family islands, the churches frequently read announcements from the community, often in letters written to the pastor from community leaders. So, for example, in Eleuthera last year, that is how I learned about a fireworks celebration time and location for Independence Day. I learned yesterday about some public meetings coming up at the local school. It is an easy way to spread the word.


The church was still reeling from the unexpected death of their pastor two weeks earlier. He was 46. I believe he was also the town's police officer. In spite of the fact that he was air lifted to Nassau, he didn't recover from a sudden collapse. It was his widow's first service after her husband's death, and my heart went out to this beautiful lady. A couple of ladies, friends/family came back to Black Point with her from Nassau, and one of those ladies, a pastor in Nassau spoke Sunday night.

Sunday morning a young man who had been assisting the pastor for awhile taught the adult SS class, and spoke for the morning worship. After service he told me that his wife, Ida, who I'd met the year before, has the laundry.



Black Point has the easiest, boat accessible laundry, complete with dinghy dock!  They have a large, clean laundromat, with a dock you can tie your dinghy up, to eliminate carrying your bags of laundry through town. (Closed on Sundays, of course!)

Black Point

Saturday, May 25

The MERCY remained anchored at Black Point N24 06.127' W076 24.044'



The weather was gorgeous, the wind had settled, though I understand that will be changing. I took the Whaler through Dotham Cut, which was interesting with the full moon tidal current flowing out to the east, even meeting a less than 5 knot wind, created two foot short choppy swells, though only for a few hundred feet from the entrance. I worked my way south for a mile, eye-balling the cliffs along the coast, before turning north, and meandering to the north to the Sampson Cay entrance.




The limestone bluffs facing the prevailing winds are beautiful. I stopped and watched a dozen tropic birds flying around the cliffs on Bitter Guana for fifteen minutes.




I searched in vain for a spectacular dive site. It is really pathetic that my standards have gotten so high! There were so many boats trolling along the drop off that I didn't look deeper than 30ft.



I went into Sampson Cay for gas, which was rumored to be cheaper at Sampson Cay, and then returned meandering through the inside back to the boat by way of a sand beach or two, Pig Beach, Thunderball Grotto, and Bitter Guana.




Tonight I am in the company of one other trawler, and four sailboats, spaciously scattered throughout this huge anchorage, enjoying the majestic full moon.

Black Point and vicinity

Friday, May 24

By 0730, I was underway for another anchorage. I planned to tuck behind Bitter Guana, off the gorgeous sandy beach, and watch the iguanas. There was a southern swell coming in there that kept me pressing on to the Black Point anchorage.

Black Point is a great sandy bottom anchorage protected from all the easterlies from the north to the south. The easternmost portion, where you'll see small boats, and moorings is knee deep or less at low tide. The almost level flat sand makes a great place to enjoy floating or playing in the shallow water.

The people here are friendly and welcoming. There is a government dock, giving great dinghy access to the town. There is a trailer to put your garbage in just off the dock. Walking to the SW, there is a Baptist church, Adderly's (grocery store) and Lorraine's Restaurant, both on the right side of the road. Corrine, Lorraine's mom, cooks scrumptious bread; coconut, cinnamon, raisin, and probably regular, too, though I couldn't vouch for that one! (I'm eating as I write.)

There are always people in the shade along the road plaiting a wide-bladed grass that grows on Guana Cay into strips that they sell to vendors in Nassau to make various purses, baskets, etc. There is a small store on the left that has some of those woven items, and Adderly's sell some as well.

To the NE of the dock, there is a full gospel church, and continuing in that direction, if you watch for a path to the right, you can see a blowhole when the waves are surging in from the east. 

Black Point has the best laundry around, and it has its own dinghy dock, to the SE of the govt dock. They have a sign. There is also a marine store there.



I took the Whaler exploring, and went in the creek near the Dotham Cut. It looked like it would be an interesting place to anchor in the tidal creek, but, the bottom here is rock under less than an inch of sand in everywhere I poked a PVC pole. 

Dotham Cut is an easy entrance to the sound. When the wind is against the current, the seas can build, and are very short. I was drifting east about 3 knots before the swells got sharp, and I continued by journey back inside and to the north. I stopped at a Bitter Guana Cay beach, and then picked my way up to the Pigeon Cay anchorage to make sure I had water to get in there with MERCY (I do) before returning through the shallow draft route to Black Point. (3.9' was the least I saw at low water.)




Around 1430, I went in for coconut bread, mmm, which I waited on Corrine's steps and visited with some folks for fifteen minutes until it was fresh out of the oven. 

I took the Whaler to the south, down to White Point, along the shoreline. You can run the Whaler close in, just watch for fallen rocks. The area looks like great snorkeling. There are a couple of small cave openings in the rocks. This is the same island that has a bigger cave to the south, mentioned in last year's Oven Rock.

Big Majors Spot, Staniel Cay, and Thunderball Cave

We had such a great time at Black Point that it was difficult to leave. But, the summer was flying away, and we still had a lot of ground to cover before getting Allen home in time for school.

Allen windsurfed for the rest of the morning, and around 1pm we left the cove. We went out around Harvey Cay and headed in towards Staniel Cay, and then turned to anchor off Big Majors Spot, a place that I had been before. We anchored amidst a bunch of huge yachts, and I wondered how many of those folks had ever had the opportunity to experience the great things that we did in our out of the way places.

We went in close to Big Majors Spot to look at the pigs that swim out to the boat for snacks. We watched some others feeding them, but, they left us as quickly as they realized we hadn't brought food to share.

From there we went around the end of the island, to Thunderball Cave. This small island has an interesting domed shaped grotto with a cavern whose rim is underwater at high tide. It isn't dark on the inside, due to the sun coming through a hole in the roof. This site was used in the filming of James Bond 007's Thunderball, and the thousands of tropicals have grown accustomed to tourists feeding them. The sergeant majors approach in droves. It is fun snorkeling under the rim and coming up in the cavern, and then going from section to section. There were a lot of folks that came while we were there, but the current and high tide inhibited some of the folks who weren't used to snorkeling.

When we left the cave, we idled around the side of Staniel Cay, which has grown up a lot since I was there last, and circumnavigated Big Majors Spot before returning to the boat.

Allen windsurfed around again that evening.

Black Point, Exumas

From our anchorage off of Oven Rock, we proceeded to the north along the inside of Great Guana Key. We saw the Next Gig, peacefully anchored along the way, and we talked on the vhf for a little catching up since we'd last seen them in Hatchet Bay.

We found a great holding spot in good sand in the cove off Black Point, and merrily hooked into an open wi-fi signal, that failed along with the rest of the Batelco internet in a storm over the week-end.

We had three remoras under the boat at Black Point

Did I mention storm?! It rained and blew, and then blew and rained. We swung facing the east and southeast, then the west (at which time this little cove gets rough!) before it ever came back to its ESE prevail. But, I'm skipping Saturday ...

We went into Black Point and did laundry at a nice laundry, the Rockside Laundermat. This large white building has a dinghy dock so you don't have to tote bags of laundry through town! While the laundry was in, I went to speak or Lorraine's (from Lorraine's Cafe) mom, the local bread baker. I bought a loaf of cinnamon bread, and a loaf of coconut bread. Allen and I are having trouble deciding which we like better!

I got directions to the church for Sunday and realized it wasn't too far from the local town dock.

Sunday was the day of the squally weather. I'd gotten up and changed the oil in the gen-set and took a shower before church. Allen looked at the weather and decided he didn't want to go to church in the rain. I thought I had time...

A little football keep-away

About the time I got to the town dock, the bottom fell out, and by the time I got to the church, I was soaked. I decided I'd go stand in the back or something, and kept going. When I got to the church, it was padlocked shut, with no one anywhere around. Good things for Americans to know before going out in the rain to attend church in the Family Islands: They don't have church when it rains! As was explained to me by a parishioner on Monday, since everyone mostly walks, if it rains, they don't have church. Now I know.

Monday morning we went in to the dock and walked to see the local blow hole. When the waves crash into the rocks on the Sound side, the water goes into a little cave, and then up, and out a blowhole in a geyser-like fashion.

We walked back into town to the local grocery store, run by Mrs. Adderly, whom I'd met on Saturday. She has two of her grandsons, cousins, 14-yr old Eric, and 13-yr old Warren, visiting her for a couple of weeks from Nassau. Allen and I took them, and a 7-yr old Elton from Black Point to Bitter Guana Cay to see the Exuma Iguanas. We looked at Iguanas for awhile, walked the beach, and the teen-agers played with the nerf football in the water while Elton and I explored up the beach aways. We all had a fun morning.

Mrs. Adderly gave me a sapadilly from her tree, trying to convince me that though, if you remember a previous blog where I'd said I'd found a fruit that I didn't like, it was because it was over ripe. Though dubious, I graciously accepted one from her to try in a couple of days when it ripens.

Stratton and Doug are teaching Allen to windsurf

Monday night a fellow on a neighboring sailboat came by on the wind surfer. It was Stratton, a man I'd taken back and forth to Tortugus a few times when he was in his early 20's. What a small world! He plans to teach Allen to windsurf, so we'll stay here another day.

Tuesday, Allen decided he likes windsurfing! Stratton is a great instructor, and in no time at all, Allen was zipping around on a windsurfer. The shallow cove and beach area was a great place to learn, and the wind was just right.

Allen is a pretty quick learner for windsurfing!

Stratton left in the late afternoon, and a short time later sent a text asking if I wanted to use the windsurfer and return it to him in Florida. Wow! What a great offer. I eagerly accepted, and agreed to run north to meet them at Oven Rock with the Whaler in the morning.

In the morning I ran the Whaler to the north to meet Stratton, and pick up the windsurfer and supplies from him.

For the duration of our summer adventure, Allen practiced his windsurfing. He became pretty adept at it.