The Exumas

We spent about 5 days in Georgetown.  We never found a lot of Kid boats but it had not changed much since 2009.  They still had an active VHF radio net each morning and plenty of organized activities.  Tom took advantage of the VHF net to advertise to the 300 cruising boats anchored here and unload some used items.  We sold our old back-up dingy, 2 HP outboard motor and all of our paper Caribbean charts to 3 different cruisers.  Here is a pic of our old dingy being towed away…it had no patches but it was almost 10 years old.

We also found the Chat ‘n Chill conch bar was still there and we ordered up 3 salads for a beach snack.  We watched them bring 3 conchs up from the beach, open and clean them and then chop them up (raw) finely with fresh onions, peppers, tomatoes and they drowned it all in lime and orange juice.  I even had them add a little diced habanero hot pepper to mine for some extra zip!  

Man, was that good.  Emily enjoyed petting the tame sting rays that were also enjoying the conch discards.

From Georgetown we moved northwest to Rudder Cut Cay where we took shelter from the wind that would clock from southeast to west to north within 24 to 36 hours before returning to the normal easterly direction.  This happened each time a cold front went through which was happening about every 5 days.  We had to plan our moves to enjoy the south wind while moving north but find good shelter from the clocking winds after arrival.  Because of the limited anchorages giving shelter from the west winds and the sheer number of cruising boats, it was a challenge to find room. 

We saw 3 good sized boats driven hard aground on reefs.  This fellow tried to anchor near me but was convinced (by me) that there was not enough room and anchored elsewhere.  The next morning, he was hard on a reef and was pulled off by the blue salvage vessel.

The water was clear at Rudder Cut Cay.  Kim and Emily Snorkeled each day collecting shells.  We saw an underwater statue here too before moving north to Big Majors & Staniel Cay. Check out the eyes on the milk conch in the photo below.

 

We enjoyed feeding the swimming pigs again and snorkeling Thunderball Cave.  The nurse sharks are still hanging around the dingy dock at the yacht club waiting for handouts.

 

Warderick Wells was our next stop but was a disappointment because we were looking forward to feeding the sugar birds (bannaquits).  During our 2009 stop, the rangers handed out sugar and Emily had swarms of the birds on her tiny hands.  Environmental Nazis have now stopped handing out sugar and they discourage feeding them.  We ignored their idiocy, took out our own sugar and found at least one bird that remembered the good old days with us. 

 

Tom and Emily hiked up towards Boo Boo Hill and Tom slipped on some loose rocks and found a different type of Boo Boo.  Despite a bloody knee we enjoyed the views.

After Wardrick Wells, we stopped at Shroud Cay.  This island was new to us and we enjoyed taking the dingy through the winding mangrove streams all the way to the eastern side and a powder white beach.

 

 

Our last stop in the Exumas was Allen’s Cay.  Although crowded in the main anchorage, we found just enough room to set our hook in southwest Allan’s Cay.  We were all alone with our private white sandy beach. We were a bit anxious as the winds rose to 25 knots and started clocking around.  At two points in this process the stern of Emily Grace was only about 30 feet off the jagged coral coast.  The anchor was dug in hard however and held well.  This was not the first time we were thankful for our oversized 120 lb Spade anchor!

 

The big attraction here is the iguanas.  That same private beach in our cove would swarm with hungry iguanas every time we would come to shore with our table scraps.  Judging from their numbers, they seem to be doing just fine.

From here we will make a short hop northeast to Spanish Wells at the north of Eleuthera before heading up to the Abacos.  These are all new islands to us and we are anxious to see what they have to offer.  Come along.

Tom