Departing Black Point, south to Georgetown

The laundry can wait.......no more trips to shore, we are heading south again!

The forecast was for winds to be east or a little further to the north so we pulled anchor and headed south.  The sail down the bank was a lot of fun and we made it to Galliot Cut in 90 minutes.  From there we had to go out the cut and it just after high tide and the outgoing current wasn't too bad and no standing waves.

Galliot Cut

We had a tight beat down the Exuma Sound and along the way we met up with our friends on Escapaid.  It just so happens that we passed them at the time they landed a beautiful Mahi.....44 inches long!  Stand by for the picture of it.........I have it but can't find it yet!

sv Escapaid

We ended up sailing most of the time but we should have gone out another 1/2 miles further and we did have the motor on to stay away from the angry shore.  At 4pm we entered Elizabeth Harbor and made it to our first anchorage in Georgetown......the Mecca for many cruisers.

How is this sunset?

Black Point anchorage

Staniel Cay to Black Point

After we left Warderick Wells we wanted to see Staniel Cay along with making our way south.  The Staniel Cay Yacht Club is cool and we had some great lunches at "Taste and Sea".  Love the fish and burgers there.

Yes, can you see the shark?

little bungalows at the Yacht Club

Yacht Club sidewalks

Cathy.....want a job in the Bahamas?

Now......are you ready for the swimming pigs????

While we stayed at the anchorage at Big Major Spot (our location to visit Staniel Cay) we had a perfect view of the pigs and the goings on with all the others in the "Zoo".  There were also goats, roosters and one seagull!   What a laugh....when a boat even comes close to the beach, the pigs come a running.......all they need now is some rosemary and it would

 be time to chow down!

Onion is an option!

Note the ray picking up the scraps

Marty....Recognize any of these guys that you took to town???

All sing now........MARTY DON'T TAKE THOSE PIGS TO TOWN!

Staniel Cay is renowned for the sailors and Tida Wave is one of the boats that have won many races over the years.  Lady Muriel is one of the others.

cool Bahamian Sloop

Tida Wave......love the name!

Some other sights........depending on your interests....Bob, the kite boarding appears to be everywhere......we see boats just waiting for the big wind to come in.

And this is the Bahamian Bananaquit.....

Our last night in Big Major Spot saw us attending a Pirate Beach Happy Hour.  Just about the entire anchorage attended and it was a lot of fun.  Everyone brought a dish, your own cocktail and the campfire was perfect.  We met a lot of new friends and will look forward to another beach party down the road.

All ages in attendance

No lies were told at this party!

Don't lose the dinghy!

Some more updates..........

Because we have had so little good Internet service I am a little out of order but it really doesn't matter much.  Each location has it's own beauty and we will try to be better in the future.

From Allans Cay.....

Yep, this is one of the iguanas on the Cay

guess what?  Not too bad, huh?

Shroud Cay......

We anchored in two locations going south and really enjoyed both locations.  Also, we put Dingh-go through his paces and up a tidal creek we went.  

A look to the west from Camp Driftwood

Anyone recognize this guy?

Tidal Creek

Very nice!

A little more of Warderick Wells

We  are slowly making our way south as the weather allows...but the colors are just too nice not to keep giving you a look at what we are seeing.

This is the skeleton of a Sperm Whale

We are in the Park

North mooring field from Park HQ

Warderick Wells

This vessel has seen better days

We are loving the Bahamas!  Hope you enjoy these pix!  This is shot looking out towards Nati when we were at Warderick Wells.  The remnants of a boat that didn't make it through a storm.

The Exumas Park Headquarters is on Warderick Wells.  It is just beautiful in every aspect. Here we decided to take a hike to put Nati's name on the Island.  So....up "Boo Boo Hill" we go......

View from Boo Boo Hill looking north

Pull up the pants!

Our sign before Anne worked on it

After we did some work with the Dremel and some paint we went up the hill and placed it along with hundreds of other boat signs.  It is the only place in the park that anything can be left from the cruisers.    The park is a "what you bring in...you take out" and NO trash disposal is allowed.

Nati's place in the Bahamas

The north mooring field

We have finally made it!

View to the west from Boo Boo Hill

Later in the day we decided to have a Happy Hour with our friends on Windward.  To make it different we decided to watch the sunset on a raft secured to a mooring ball.......Good friends, good cocktails and a lot of laughs!

The next day we took a dinghy ride over to the south mooring field to check it out.  We will remember this spot as it would be a good hiding place for a front coming through.  The moorings are big and the protection is 1st class.

White enough sand for you?

All I need is a pillow!

Happy New Years from the Exumas!

We are sorry for the delay on our updates but we have been without Internet since we have left Nassau.  At the moment we are at Staniel Cay and have limited coverage on Nati, hence this is only an interim update.

Our position:

N24.10.995
W076.27.486

The trip to here has been great. The weather has been warm and there has been lots of swimming.  So far we have been to Allan's Cay, Shroud Cay, Warderick Wells, Compass Cay, Halls Pond Cay and here at Staniel Cay.  The wind is howling and we would get soaked if we tried for shore so we have hanging out on Nati taking care of loose ends

Hoping we can get to town and do a more complete blog update tomorrow.  Stand by.......