Old Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas

 We went ashore at the lovely Rollezz Resort.

 

Sojourn at anchor, no other boats in the anchorage.

  

Really nicely kept grounds.

 The cutest little dining room and outdoor seating.

 

I'd called ahead and asked if we could have lunch.  Over the phone they asked what we'd like to eat.  I'm not sure there is an actual menu - it's a small place and, I think, mostly caters to it's few cottage guests.  It was delicious but a bit on the pricey side! 

 

One of the most peaceful and beautiful beaches we've seen.

Back to Sojourn.

We did have a brief rain shower - and a lovely full rainbow.

Old Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas

 We put out just the jib for a nice sail south to Old Bight.  The winds were 20-25 knots so the jib by itself held us at 4-4.5 knots.  A short distance and we were in no hurry.

Leaving Cerca Trova and La Gracia - they may follow us tomorrow as the wind is shifting and will make New Bight a little uncomfortably rolly.

Out of bread so made some more in the afternoon.

And that's about it for the day.  We'll likely go ashore tomorrow and explore the Rollezz resort - we hear good things about them.

New Bight Settlement, Cat Island, Bahamas

Nothing much happening, just relaxing and reading.  The sunset was even muted....I had Duane snap a photo of me because you haven't seen me lately!

 We'll move about 5 miles south to Old Bight for a couple of days until these strong winds finally die down on Sunday.

New Bight Settlement, Cat Island, Bahamas

 Yeah, we're kinda stuck here as the waves out in the ocean are 5-6' still due to the high easterly winds.  Nice and calm here though!

The crew from La Gracia (Jose', Maidia, Tomas and Lucas) invited us over to their boat for sundown.

Lovely boat!! It's a Seawind 1260 that they ordered new from the factory a couple of years ago.  

Tomas is very talkative and took us for a very informative tour of the boat.  Very comfortable living areas.

 

It's a beautiful boat - quite different from our boats with the galley "down" in one of the hulls.

 

A fun evening and good to hear of all their plans for future travel.

New Bight Settlement, Cat Island, Bahamas

It was a mostly-on-the-boat kinda day.  Royce and Jennifer called on the VHF in the late afternoon to invite us for a beach walk.  

Good to stretch our legs.

 

And we stopped at a little beach shack for a cool refreshement (Royce got ice cream).

 This morning the weather is a little unsettled - strange colors under the bright but cloudy sky.

 

New Bight Settlement, Cat Island, Bahamas

 I had a hankering for cinnamon rolls....so you know what that means.   After letting the dough rise, rolled it out using sugar on the counter instead of flour. 

 

Spread a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and butter

 

Rolled it into a log and sliced it.

 

Into the pan for a second rise.

 

All done - yum!!

In the afternoon, Royce and Jennifer form Cerca Trova had said they needed to go to the grocery for a few items.  There is a tidal creek that takes you much closer to the store than the dinghy landing beach we've been using.  So we had to go at high tide.

Lovely creek - 

 

Glad we're approaching high tide - even then a few shallow spots.

 

The bridge - odd, but there are not many bridges in the Bahamas!

 

Tied up the dinghies to the mangroves since there is no other way to secure them.

 

Pretty mangrove area beyond the bridge.

 

 

The walk to the store from the bridge was fairly short, maybe 1/2 mile.  Nice grocery, more well stocked than a lot we see here in the Bahamas.  I'm not complaining - glad to have access to fresh items - but I thought you might be interested in a few prices.  Three pack bag of romaine lettuce hearts $7.99.  Green peppers $3.45/pound.  Tomatoes $4.20/pound.  White potatoes $1.79/pound.

 

 

Royce and Jennifer on the way back to the boats.

 

Still just us 3 boats, Sojourn, Cerca Trova and La Gracia.  I expect this will be the view for the next week as winds/waves build around the area.

New Bight Settlement, Cat Island, Bahamas

 We picked up Royce from Cerca Trova in the dinghy for a hike up to the monastery.  

We've all been here before,it's just a nice pleasant walk and we needed some exercise.  (It's the tallest point on the Bahamas at a little over 200 feet).  

 

Beautiful sunny day - I wore a long sleeved white shirt to help keep the sun off at bit.  On the walk, we met the family/crew from La Gracia, the Seawind catamaran that is also in the anchorage.  We made plans with them on the path for sundowners on Sojourn in the evening.

 

Up to the top.

 

We explored the monastery/hermitage built and used by "Father Jerome" in 1939.

 

His prayer room/chapel.

 

His bedroom.  He must have been really short.

 

After a bit more walking around town, back to the boats.  Cerca Trova and La Gracia.

And this is the only photo I snapped of the cruisers, enjoying the evening and conversation.

New Bight Settlement, Cat Island, Bahamas

 A stormy start to the day - a small rain cloud chased us away from the anchorage.

 

But as usual in the Bahamas, that quickly passed and we were in for a lively sail, tacking our way 20 miles south.  We had speeds of 8 knots occasionally, but all the zig-zagging made for a six hour trip.  Good fun - we made it less than 1/2 mile to our anchorage with no engines.

 

And in the distance as we approach the anchorage you can see the monastery at the top of the hill.  We've hiked to it before and will probably do so again as it's a fun walk and we will likely be in this anchorage for several days due to some high winds heading our way.

Treated to a beautiful sunrise once again!

Bennett's Harbour, Cat Island, Bahamas

 Out for another snorkel in the morning.

 

Duane spotted a good sized lion fish  and easily speared it.  (Lionfish are non-native and invasive so we are encouraged to take as many as we can.  They are excellent food fish but you have to be very careful of those lovely poisonous spines!)

 

A little video - this reef is so healthy and full of life!

 

Back to the boat - Duane cut off all the poisonous spines of the lionfish - ready for me to clean it.  (I still wear gloves just in case!)

 Mid-day we dinghied to shore - and walked 1.5 miles to Kessie's Restaurant.  Nothing much of interest along the road and little traffic.  (I had read it was 1/2 of a mile from the "town" so 1.5 miles was disappointing!)

 

But once we had a cold Kalik in hand, all was well.

 

I had to take a photo of the placemant - nicely done!  I may try to replicate if I end up with palm fronds this season.

 

The first cracked conch of the season for me.  It was delicious!

 

Back to Sojourn, we're still the only boat in the anchorage.

 

But a little roll from the south was tossing the boat around in the anchorage when we returned, so we decided to head 5 miles south to a more protected anchorage.  Used that hour to do some much needed laundry.  I bet we were the sight motoring along with clothes flapping!

 

 
Pretty little Bennett's Harbour for the night.  No other boats around and we've seen no one ashore.  Maybe a bit early for holiday travelers.