da Bahamas

Well…I’m sitting in the cockpit writing this. As I sit here, Meggie is suspended in liquid blue and aqua as the waves calmly break on the sand bar beside her. As I watch the sun setting, an unbelievable show of pinks and oranges unfolds again. I can hear the distant calls by other cruisers on their conch shells as it is a custom to do so as the day falls to an end. Mike and I sit in the secluded anchorage with not a soul around, Meggie is the only boat anchored here and the beauty that surrounds us is outstanding. (Really…I’m not kidding…it’s amazing out here). We’ve had the best month or so since we have left. We spent a few more days in Nassau and checked out the city and of course Atlantis resort (only visited…too rich for my blood!). We had a great time exploring the streets and markets of this bustling city. We also experienced the many cruise ships that arrive each day and after a couple of days we were ready for peace and quiet…with no tourists. We left Nassau and headed for the northern part of the Exuma chain. We decided to head for Allans Cay where the iguana resides. Apparently Allans Cay is the last island that these historic dinosaur looking reptiles reside. Once you go to the bare sandy shore, sure enough one by one the iguanas begin to emerge from the bush until the whole beach is full of them. Unfortunately they are looking to be fed by the tourist powerboat that arrives everyday with a boat full of people who jump off, feed the iguanas and then power back on the boat and head back to the mainland. All of this takes about 20 minutes. The iguanas know that the sound of an engine means food. Unfortunately Mike and I don’t have any food for them…we have just come to watch. Allans Cay is our first introduction to a Bahamian island and we’re thrilled. The islands are protective, clean, filled with sandy beaches and surrounded by great reefs. We spent our time there snorkelling the reefs and Mike getting used to his new Hawaiian sling (hunting for lobster), swimming and camp fires on the beach with friends. Allans was also the place that we met Caretta a 29’Bristol from Charleston (wuhoo…and they’re 30!!!!).
So Caretta, Hasten Slowly and Meggie amongst other cruisers have been making our way down the chain. Our next stop was Normans Cay. This semi famous Cay (pronounced key) was under the operation of a man named Carlos, and Carlos was a drug lord. Carlos had a very successful drug business running out of Normans Cay which included an airstip and everything (HAD being the operative word). Rumour has it that the D.E.A. used to hide out on nearby Wax Cay and watch the happenings on Normans Cay. A undercover marine biologist told Carlos he wanted to study the hammerhead sharks in the nearby Normans pond and was accepted to do so, and this is how Carlos was captured. So the island is very interesting needless to say with the main house, guest houses (for “the women”) are all still intact and up until the early 90’s police still maintained a presence on Normans. There is also a plane wreck that is most interesting to snorkel. We spent a few days exploring but with a cold front approaching it was time to move on to seek shelter from the N-NE winds that were forecasted to be 25 knots gusting 30...yikes. So off we went to Shroud Cay which is a whoping 5 miles south, where we were able to seek protection from the wind. Although we were protected from the wind, the swell rolled Meggie back and forth for 2 days straight. Not too comfortable but a good excuse to dinghy along the mangrove lined canals to the other side of the island (only accessible during high tide). We also were introduced to Barney at Shroud Cay. Barney was a 4 possibly 5 foot barracuda that decided to take up residence under Meggie’s belly. Barney kept us on our toes when we decided to take a swim. Shroud was our first stop along the Exuma land and sea national park, so no fishing or taking of shells etc. Once the winds died down we continued our travels to Warderick Wells Cay.
We had a fantastic sail along the exuma bank. Meggie reaching at an easy 6 knots in the 10-12 knots of wind, the sun shining, and the seas flat...it was a perfect sailing day. We arrived at Warderick Wells which is host to the headquarters of the park and offers mooring balls at an inexpensive rate which you can volunteer to work off, which is what we did. John, Erin, Mike and I volunteered our time and were given the task of sanding fibreglass on a boat they were repairing to use as their fuel barge. All of us had had previous experience with fibre glass but it was for a good cause, so we went for it. Warderick Wells is an amazing island.
None of the reefs in the park have been touched so the life surrounding them is truly outstanding, and the island itself is full of trails which offer surprisingly good hiking. Hasten Slowly, Caretta and Meggie spent a good 4 hours hiking the island. We also left our mark on BooBoo hill which is where travellers have left a piece of wood with their names on it. This is a custom that has been done for years, so now Meggie sits among the others.
From Warderick Wells we made our way to Compass Cay where we now sit. With just a taste of the island yesterday, I think it‘s the nicest island we‘ve come across. The island is full of trails and hosts a mile long beach and incredibly there are nurse sharks that hang out in the shallows of the small marina which is quite the site.
Tucker (the owner) was telling us that the sharks have been here for years, just hangin out and people can actually swim with them (just not at feeding time). So maybe on the next blog you’ll see a picture of me surrounded by lots of nurse sharks...hmmm...maybe not.
So just an update as to where we are and what we’ve been doing.
We’ll be in touch soon. As always keep the posts coming.
This be Kylie chillin in da Bahamas mon.

Kylie and Mike

Mini update: We're now in Staniel Cay and I've spent 2 weeks trying to send this blog, but it's proven to be difficult to download the pics. I will update soon as we've had a very interesting couple of weeks!!! Hint: enduring 42 knot winds, black tip sharks, more barracuda and visitors!