Staniel Cay

March 15, 2016

Staniel Cay is known for being home to the famous swimming pigs. These are wild pigs that are believed to have descended from livestock shipwrecked on the island many years ago. We took carrots and tomatoes to feed them and just as promised they came right up to the dinghy for us to feed them. They weren't aggressive at all but definitely expected to be fed. They would lie in the shade until they saw a boat approaching and then would always come out to meet the boat.

 Staniel Cay is the home of Thunderball Grotto where two James Bond movies were filmed in 1965 and 1983. There is an amazing snorkeling area inside the cave with light from above with all kinds of marine life. The interesting part is that at high tide you can hardly see the opening but at low tide it's very easy to swim and snorkel inside.

Warderick Wells

March 14, 2016

We left Nassau with smooth seas and traveled to Warderick Wells where we had a beautiful anchorage that was part of Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. We hiked to the highest point on the island through a rugged trail over rocks, sand and coral where we experienced a spectacular view!

On this bench was a plaque which read "Do not regret getting old, it is a privilege denied of many"!

Actual skeleton of a 52 foot whale that washed ashore in July 1995.

Unexpected layover in Nassau

March 6 - 13, 2016

Our journey from the Berry Islands to Nassau started out being a great trip but the last hour was horrible and when we came into the Nassau Harbor we encountered 6-8 foot seas!  We were happy to get to our marina at Paradise Island which had a beautiful pool. Ideally, we had planned to stay in Nassau one night and leave the next day for Exuma but the wind was blowing and all of the forecasts were for strong easterly winds and did not recommend traveling.

We made the most of our 8 days in Nassau and made some great friends and discovered there is much more to the island than the straw market and the cruise boat terminal. Randy went for a bike ride one morning and came back with five new Canadian friends. They were a group of five women that were celebrating a birthday and were staying at a resort near us.  We had so much fun with them at the pool and beach. Josie has a son who is a NHL hockey player for the New Jersey Devils so now we have become New Jersey Devil fans! We went with them to a restaurant one night to watch the hockey game. We had a great time with them and are truly sorry that North Carolina and Canada are so far apart. 

Other  friends that we made were Ben, Grace Ann  and Lee House from Tennessee. Unfortunately, we didn't meet them before our last couple of days at Paradise Island. Randy thoroughly enjoyed talking to Ben who is a senior yachtsmen and had lots of knowledge to share about the Exumas. They spend a great deal of time in Paradise Island and attend St. Andrews Presbyterian Church and invited us to go with them on Sunday. It was a great experience with a mixture of tourists and Bahamians. We had a wonderful afternoon with lunch and a tour of the beautiful western end of New Providence Island.

We enjoyed a tour one day and saw old forts, a tour of a gourmet chocolate business, and a rum distillery.

 

One night we went to the Atlantis Resort where we lost a few dollars in the casino and walked through the beautiful aquarium. 

By the time we left our unexpected 8 day stay in Nassau, we had a new appreciation for the island and 8 new friends.

Berry Islands

March 3 - 5, 2016

We stayed at Great Harbor Cay Marina and it might be our favorite marina.  The staff was by far better than any place in the Bahamas or US!  The other boaters immediately welcomed us and told us about all the activities available. This wasn't a fancy resort but a small Bahamian marina where they went to great lengths to provide entertainment and service for the boaters. Some of the activities were a pizza night, Junkanoo parade, and a dinghy drift where dinghys tie up together out in the Harbour, have cocktails and watch the sunset.

We did some exploring on our own after getting directions to Shark River. I don't know why it's named this because the water is definitely too shallow for a shark to swim. You literally go through a narrow waterway with mango branches hanging down and at times the water is so shallow you need to row instead of motor. It was absolutely quiet and still and unlike anything we've done before. 

The next day we walked through what used to be a very fancy resort for the rich and famous back in the 60's.  It was built by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and others of the Rat Pack. It was said that they had lavish parties where they entertained some of the top actresses of the time such as Angie Dickinson and Bridget Bardot.  It's in complete shambles now but you could see the remains of many of the rooms including a huge round bar in the middle of the building. You could only imagine what you would hear if those walls could talk! They also built a golf course and air strip just steps away. 

We would have been glad to stay there longer but when a good weather window appeared we decided to leave after just 2 days in order to meet our schedule of arriving in Exuma on March 16th. 

Bimini at Last!

March 2, 2016

After a nice day and 8 hours on the water we arrived in Bimini where we cleared customs and stayed overnight. 

Not quite sure why I bought this book except maybe I was trying to keep Randy cautious!  I got him this book with the warning not to tell me anything about what happened!

Florida

January 27 - March 2, 2016

I met Randy in Fort Lauderdale and we were happy to have a chance to visit with our friends, Mark and Pixie Mothena, which is always a favorite stop when we are in Florida.

On February 8th the wait started for leaving Florida to cross the Gulfstream to Bimini. We knew it might be awhile but didn't expect it to be quite so long!  We spent a few days in Coconut Grove and then moved to No Name Harbour at Bill Baggs State Park in Key Biscayne. It was a beautiful protected harbor and we met quite a few other boaters. 

We stayed at Key Biscayne much longer than planned because of the wind offshore. No Name Harbor was great although a bit isolated. We used Uber several times and then met Tim and Miriam King who live in Raleigh and own Village Deli and Grill.  We enjoyed spending time with them including drinks at the Ritz Carlton one night and they were so generous to loan us their car for many of our errands. The best part is, unlike many people that you meet while cruising, we will be able to spend time together when we're at home as they have a vacation home in Beaufort.

We were having some good times but getting a little impatient with the long wait. I  was lucky that Debbie Phillips was in Key West and invited me to visit her for a few days. It was a welcome break and I had a great time with Debbie who knows Key West like a local!  We even were able to enjoy the sunset with friends from home, Lynne and Scooter Brown.

Randy, of course, met everyone for miles around and was known as the mayor of No Name Harbour!  We have several very detailed and reliable weather services that we subscribe to and were so glad when the reports were for light winds and very smooth seas to cross to Bimini. I don't know if the pictures can accurately show how beautiful the ocean really was.  The long wait was worth it and we had a perfect day leaving Florida on March 2nd!