Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

We had a fabulous short sail up to Staniel Cay.

I'd forgotten how "busy" this area is.  Lots of mega-yachts here. 

We pretty quickly took the dinghy over to the Thunderball Grotto.  It's a popular spot to snorkel since it was used to film the 1965 James Bond movie of the same name.

It's really just a limestone cave that has openings in it that you can swim thru at lower tides.  Very popular with the tourists here.    Kindof too crowded for our tastes but fun to do since we're here.

Sorry, the photos don't do it justice.  This is the wide opening on one side.

That was about it for the day - pretty sunset.  We'll move on north to a more secluded area while we wait for What If (they're currently approaching Andros to check in to the Bahamas).  

We'll probably NOT be awake at midnight tonight.....put Happy New Years to you all!

Enroute from Black Point to Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

We are currently in route from Black Point how to Staniel Cay just less than 10 miles north. We wanted to change scenery while we wait for Ed and Cathy on What If. They are now crossing the gulf stream, their first opportunity to do so in a couple of weeks.

Black Point, Great Guana Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

It was a rainy, showery day again....we did laundry.  I hung clothes out on the lifelines for 10-15 minutes - flapping in the 20+ knot breeze, drying quickly. Then I'd run out and retrieve them just as another squall would pass. 

We went ashore to jerry can some water.  They have a spigot beside the road where cruisers can come get free water.  Better than running the generator!

On the way, there is a great sea glass beach.  I scored some really cool items.

I picked up some pottery shards - which I don't normally take.  But they were worn from the sea and very cool.

The best prize was a piece of actual yellow sea glass.  Very uncommon!  (it's the yellow piece at the very bottom center).  Looks like it might have been an actual glass turn signal from long ago based on the ribs still visible.

Dinner on Now & Zen - back to the boat it the blustery breeze. 

Black Point, Great Guana Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

We had both Now & Zen and Bluejacket over for dinner. Good fun!  (Duane's hiding up on the sling seat above Donna/Jerry/Leslie's heads).

Visited a while before dinner....Donna brought wonderful appetizers - dates stuffed with pecans/cream cheese plus olives rolled in cream cheese and pecans.

We all played a fun card game - golf - and had some of Leslie's great brownies.  A really good evening.

In the morning, we were treated to another day of on/off showers.

Showery.....

And then sunny with rainbows!!

Black Point, Great Guana Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

We went exploring on the dinghies - found a neat little shallow creek that connected to the ocean side.

Wrecked sailboat - looks like it's been there a while.

 The creek opens to this lovely flat area as we approach the ocean side.  The red arrow is the cliff that we're going to hike to.

You can barely make out Duane and I hiking thru the undergrowth.

The hike was worth it!   Lovely views.

If you look close you can see Ralph and Leslie on the upper left side of the photo.

 Back in the dinghies, we went to the next little cay for some more exploring.

There are iguanas on this cay....signs posted "Do not feed"  and "No dogs".  Weird little creatures.  We did not feed and we had no dogs.   They pretty much ignored us.

Lovely views here as well.

We attempted a "selfie"...but without sunglasses was a mistake....I didn't realize how bad the photo was until we got back to the boat and I could see it clearly.  Oh well....

Spectacular ocean.

Back at the anchorage, our view is of Bluejacket in front of us.  Good day!

Black Point, Great Guana Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

The overnight sail was uneventful.  A bit boisterous during the wee hours of the night but nothing we weren't expecting.

Lovely little anchorage that we used to take naps in the early afternoon to recover from the sleepless night.  The main anchorage at Black Point was still rolly from all the winds so we stayed here in a more protected spot until mid-afternoon.

We passed a oil freighter - got calls from the captain of the ship to "stay well away" - he has fuel hoses in the water going ashore pumping fuel into tanks.

 Anchored at Black Point now.  Dinghied in to go to the Christmas party at Lorraine's restaurant.  Most all of the cruisers in the anchorage are in attendance.

Group photo!

Met up with Oriental neighbors Jerry and Donna from Bluejacket.

Lorraine welcoming us.  

After a wonderful meal we all got in the Junkanoo spirit.  The staff handed out the homemade head-dresses.

Other cruisers....can't remember their boat name.

Much "conga style line dancing".    Good fun!!

Last Day, Lisbon Creek, Andros, Bahamas

We went out for a bit of lobster hunting with Wiliford, Sadie's husband. 

Views as we're leaving the dock.

The green head covering is actually a tube that he pulls down to shield his neck from the sun.

Wiliford in the dinghy with Ralph and Leslie, hunting for lobster.  They got several.

Just a good day out on the water.

Not spectacular reef, but I did get a decent photo of a yellow tang.  They're hard to capture because they dart in-and-out of the reefs so quickly.

And a pretty starfish....about a foot across.

Moving 65 miles over to the Exumas overnight to arrive Christmas day.    Merry Christmas to everyone!

Lisbon Creek, Andros, Bahamas

The papaya we got a couple of days ago was soft and ripe.

Breakfast - with my homemade bread and grits.

We went out snorkeling on the reefs - the surf was a bit rough and the coral was not at all spectacular.

But Ralph and Leslie did get a few fish.  Ralph was cleaning them on the dock and was the main attraction for some of the local kids.


They are so wholesome and cheerful, outside playing all day, every day.

Sweet kids.

Lisbon Creek, Andros, Bahamas

We got the folding bikes out for a ride up the island.


We visited Sadie and Wiliford's house (we're having dinner there tonight).

Beautiful view from their house.

The neighbor's "swimming pool".  It is currently leaking so not full....they plan to repair the crack and fill it back up.  Unique.

A bit further up the road there is a old sluice that  is opened to allow sea water to flow back into some mangrove area.  Sortof a man-made fishing area.

It was very windy still - almost blowing Ralph and Leslie away (haha).

 And one of the "highlights" of the ride was seeing this old outhouse.  Hmmmm.....

Apparently many, many years ago there was a bench here with the appropriate hole.....and you just did your business and the ocean swept it away.  Glad it's no longer in use!!!

 And on to better subjects.....we scored some local fruit!  Papaya and some Sugar Baby bananas.  Yum!