Enjoying the Bahamas.
A mangrove on the sand bars of Pipe Cay.
We left the comfort and protection of Stocking Island and headed east away from the crowds to explore a couple of the “Outer Islands”. We had hoped to make it to Conception Island, an uninhabited small island, and a protected marine reserve just to the north east of Long Island, but the wind faded as we sailed during the day, and we just could not make it that far. Somewhere to save for a future visit. Long Island and Cat Island and the other outer islands are more isolated and less visited by tourists and cruisers.
We pull into Calabash Bay, the anchorage off Galliot Cay, Long Island, and enjoy a glorious sunset with the last of the sun dramatically illuminating the cloud bank which heralded the changing weather to come.
We were right on the northern tip of Long Island where there was no settlement to speak of. There were a few holiday homes and a nice resort, Cape Santa Maria Resort. The restaurant there was open to non residents and had a generous happy hour and enormous pizza. Food for two with more for lunch the following day.
Behind the resort there is a shallow bay that we explored at high tide with the dinghy. We found some caves in the razor sharp limestone cliffs which surrounded the bay. Landing without injury to ourselves or the dinghy was a dodgy affair.
The changing weather that those dramatic clouds predicted was on its way. Calibash Bay was rather exposed and prone to uncomfortable swell so we reluctantly left without really getting a feel for Long Island. There was a lot of Bahamian history, plantation homes, salt pans and the famous Deans Blue Hole that I had wanted to go swimming in. They will all have to wait for a return visit.
We have a lovely fast sail north to Cat Island, the main barrier island that protects the Exuma sound from the Atlantic Ocean. The anchor is dropped in the large bay on the southern end of the island, perfect protection from the anticipated easterly winds forecast for the next week. The Bight, as this area is called, is a good place to hang out for a while. There’s access to a lovely beach, grocery stores and some beach restaurants. In addition the anchorage is at the base of the highest hill in the Bahamas, Mount Alvernia.
Wanting to stretch our legs we set out to conquer this mount. At 63m (206ft) above sea level, the hike was not much of a challenge. It was interesting as it is also the site for “The Hermitage”, the retirement home and devotional chapel built by the Anglican priest and Bahamian architect Father Jerome in the 1940’s.
The climb up to the summit passes by Stations of the Cross, the final one being a replica of Jesus’ tomb with the stone rolled away.
The small chapel at the top and the very spartan living quarters were quite reminiscent of Greek island buildings, with the painted round rooftops and turquoise shutters. It was a surprisingly moving visit.
The Hermitage.
Back down to sea level, we enjoy some beach time with our friends Tim and Diane on Skylark. We also indulge in a leisurely lunch at Hidden Treasures. It seems Trevor, the proprietor, had run low on supplies, so we were left in charge while he ran to the store. It was a fun lunch, with Al Green on repeat and in charge of the beer cooler, we happily waited 3 hours for our mahi taco lunch to arrive.
After a little more than a week at Cat Island we decide to head back to the Exuma chain of Islands, face the crowds and explore some of the anchorages we had not yet been to. These islands are justifiably extremely popular, endless sandy bays to drop your anchor, coves and inlets to explore both above and under the that oh-so-blue water.
In 2020, when we first set out on this adventure, we had been in the Exuma Land and Sea Park when the announcement came that the world was shutting down due to Covid 19. At that time, uncertain what was to come, we decided to stay put where it seemed safest. As a result we watched all the charter boats leave along with many cruisers. For 2 months we had the Bahamas almost to ourselves. We set up a home base in Cambridge Cay along with an Italian trimaran. There were 5 beaches surrounding us, lovely snorkeling and a great hike along Little Bells Cay. We rotated, socially distancing ourselves from our neighbors. Once every 2 weeks or so, we would head to Staniel Cay to fill up on groceries, then return to our safe spot. It was wonderful. We were understandably a little hesitant to return to these same islands now filled with so many boats.
Anchored at Great Guana Cay.
We should not have worried. We explored islands we had not yet visited, Rudder Cut Cay, with the underwater musician mermaid sculpture. Sorry no photos as our camera was temporarily non functional. Big Galliot Cay, with lovely coral gardens and the biggest Angelfish we have ever seen. We then jumped up to anchor behind Great Guana Cay, a good place to explore some caves and Little Farmers Cay.
The cave on Great Guana Cay was impressive, it goes back further than we were willing to venture. There was a tempting pool of water, however the obvious presence of a healthy bat colony made sure we stayed well out of that. There were stalactites and stalagmites throughout, some quite large, all the small accessible ones had been broken off by previous visitors :(
A visit to Little Farmers Cay and we found our latest souvenir, a barracuda carved using wild Tamarind by JR in his little workshop behind his modest home.
Another delicious (but overpriced) lunch at Ocean Cabin and we head back to Helacious.
Little Farmers Cay.
We move on, staying in the shelter of Great Guana Cay and find a lovely anchorage for a few days at Hetty’s Land. There was some nice snorkeling spots and the shallow water at the beach made for a pleasant afternoon’s activity; just sitting in the warm water, watching the world sail by.
The anchorage at Hetty’s Land.
There was a hike over to the windward side of the island, on the map it looked like it went through a salt pond. We ventured out, but when the path literally ran into the swampy and muddy water, we decided to call it a day.
Slowly moving north, we have a lovely gentle sail up to anchor off the west shore of Pipe Cay. We are now back in the company of mega yachts. We pass by Seven Seas, a 357ft yacht owned by Steven Spielberg and his previous yacht, Man of Steel (a mere 282ft) which he sold to his buddy, Barry Zekelman. It is somewhat satisfying to ponder the fact that we, in our modest 43ft home built boat, are enjoying the same water and activities along with these fine folk, who have paid more than $200 million for their vessels. I do not think they are having any more fun than us.
The sand bars at Pipe Cay.
We enjoy the extensive sand bars that are exposed at low tide behind Pipe cay, playing a late afternoon game of Bocce with Tim, Diane and Ted. We dinghy up to the tip of Compass Cay to check out Rachel’s Baths (a little underwhelmed) and we pop over to snorkel the coral off Fowl Cay. Here we spotted a deserted plane on the beach, there has to be a story behind that.
The next day we leave on the morning tide, passing by Cambridge Cay, our home for those many weeks during Covid 19, to make our way north, back to Eleuthera. We had guests to rendevous with the following week.
We pick Brent and Kianna up from the beach by the Queens Baths in north Eleuthera. The wind had been blowing so it was quite dramatic with spray shooting up just feet away.
We went snorkeling and found an impressive school of small fish we could just swim amongst, and some chill turtles.
We managed a little beach time, although it was rather windy. Walking around the back streets of Spanish Wells, we enjoyed the beautiful and colorful gardens. A mammoth game of Mexican train dominoes was won by Brent and the time flew by.
Before we knew it, it was time to get them to the ferry and the ride back to the airport. We went back out to anchor and to wait for the right winds to take us north. It was time to leave the Bahamas and begin our next adventure.