We interrupt this broadcast…

My last post was covering our trip north. It was part two of three, and my intention was to spend several posts getting caught up to real time. I’m still going to cover the rest of the trip north and the trip south to date, but we’ve had an unexpected interruption so I’m going to “live blog” for the next week or so before going back to playing catch up.

Several days ago I heard a new knocking sound in our engine. It wasn’t very noticeable and I thought I was imagining things, so I didn’t mention it to Jeff. He has since reminded me that he’s getting hard of hearing, so always say something.

On Sunday we were anchored just south of the ICW on Winyah Bay in South Carolina. The plan was to head down the ICW and be in Beaufort, SC eating tomato pie today (Tuesday).

About 15 minutes after we began, we increased the throttle to pass a smaller, slower boat in front of us. As we were passing, I could hear the revs on the engine starting to search. It took a minute or two before Jeff could hear it. We passed the other boat, brought the throttle down, and now the knocking from a few days ago became louder so that Jeff started to hear it too.

We radioed SV Infinity to let them know we were having issues and decided to turn around (he told us later that he could hear our engine through the VHF which wasn’t typical.) Within a minute of turning around, the revs really started hunting, the knocking was really loud (we think – there was a lot going on), and the engine stopped. Uh-oh.

We told SV Infinity what was up and started drifting with the current (there wasn’t any wind) while we talked about our options. Of course the current eventually started to turn us towards the center of the channel, so Infinity came up and within 30 seconds we had a line tied between the boats and he was slowly towing us.

It took awhile to reach TowBoat (they weren’t answering the radio and we didn’t have cell service), but eventually they arrived and towed us to the only marina in Georgetown, SC that had space. SV Infinity arrived about an hour after us.

To make a long story short, we had a mechanic come in yesterday (Monday). He listened to the engine for ten seconds and promptly declared it was a broken wrist pin and we would need a new engine, because the labor to rebuild would approach the cost of a new engine. Keep in mind, in 2018 we had a new Beta 16 HP installed (at great expense) to avoid this very situation. It has almost 2,800 hours on it, and you should easily get 10,000 hours out of one. This was NOT what we expected to hear.

After the shock wore off we decided to get a second opinion. We really didn’t get a good hit off the guy and had the distinct feeling he just didn’t want to do the job, whatever that job might turn out to be. A few people from Facebook had recommended him, but he deals primarily in large, expensive sport fishing boats with standing headroom engine rooms that are larger than the main living area of Pegu Club. Our boat most definitely does not have that kind of an engine room. Boat yoga is involved to work on it. Besides, we would never take just one mechanic’s opinion when we’re talking about something that massive. That would be like having a random car mechanic say your car needs a new engine. You’d go to another mechanic.

There is a Beta dealer in Mt. Pleasant SC, right by Charleston – Zimmerman’s. We figured we’d get a tow there and have them take a look. That’s when we found out that BoatUS’s Gold unlimited towing package isn’t really unlimited away from your home port. It used to be, but now Geico owns it. We can only get a free tow for up to 25 miles, after that they’ll pay 50% up to $3,000. To give you an idea of towing fees, the TowBoat in Georgetown, SC charges $180/hour. We have about 58 miles to go, at approximately 7 miles an hour. Do the math (and don’t forget he needs to go 58 miles back).

Infinity has offered to tow us the entire way, but we don’t want him to do that. Fortunately, it’s a sailboat and today we have a bit of wind. We’re going to ghost to an anchorage not too far away (we’ll need Infinity to tow for about 5 miles where the trees will be blocking the wind.) We’ll wait out the blow tomorrow at the anchorage, then on Thursday and Friday there will be enough wind to sail down the ICW, thereby getting us within 25 miles of the Charleston TowBoat where we can get a free tow.

We’ll have a mechanic look at the boat on Monday morning and see where we go from there. At this point, having received input from various cruising friends, we figure it’s either going to be something simple and we should be quickly on our way, or it will be catastrophic. Keep your fingers crossed! I’ll post daily dispatches to keep readers up to date.

Heading north – part 2. Plugging away at it.

As I mentioned in my previous post, by now it was May 15th, we needed to get up to Connecticut, and we were only as far as Beaufort, SC. But with some cooperative weather we figured we could scoot up to Norfolk and jump outside to at least Cape May (if not all the way to Groton) and be there in about three weeks. Well, you know what they say about cruisers’ plans written in sand at low tide.

Weather kept us in Beaufort for four days. Not a bad thing in and of itself – regular readers know how much we love Beaufort. We hit all of our regular haunts, ate our tomato pie, and attended a nice gathering of current and former cruisers at the home of cruisers who had settled down there upon swallowing the anchor.

It’s not a visit to Beaufort without tomato pie!

From Beaufort we had hoped to jump from Charleston to Cape Fear in a single overnight, but north winds thwarted those plans. Thankfully we still had the ICW as an option, so we put the hammer down and made it to just south of Southport, NC in 3 1/2 travel days. And then we got stuck. Strong north winds of 20-30+ knots kept us at St. James Marina for a week. We needed to go north, going outside wasn’t an option, and inside was also closed to us with very strong wind against the current on the Cape Fear River.

After a week we had a one day break in the weather so we dashed up to Carolina Beach, then had to wait for two more days. We knew from prior experience that the next bridge wouldn’t open in those winds.

All was not lost, however. We were finally at Carolina Beach when Britt’s Donuts were open (they are only open seasonally, and boy, were they worth the wait!). We also found some excellent pizza on the boardwalk, and it was a bright sunshiny day so Jeff did some metal detecting while I read my Kindle on the beach.

Our friends on Twin Sisters have raved about these donuts, and OMG! They were fantastic!

Jeff loves metal detecting on the beach.

You can buy Italian ice right on the beach – such a great idea! And yes, I did!

After we left Carolina Beach, we picked our way up the ICW taking advantage of every weather window we could grab. It was basically travel for one day, wait for two. Travel for two days, wait for one. As we fought the weather, our frustration level started rising.

A typical example was when we were riding out a blow just south of the Alligator-Pungo Canal. The anchorage was well-protected even though a cold wind of 25 knots was blowing from the northeast. We had planned to wait out the day warm in our cabin vs. motoring into the cold wind since we had a two-day window beginning the next day for crossing the Albemarle Sound.

Our scenic anchorage just north of Belhaven.

Checking the weather in mid-afternoon, we saw that the Albemarle Sound window had shut, and now our only chance for at least a week was the next day. Gritting our teeth, we raised the anchor and had a cold ride up the canal, anchoring just before sunset so we could cross the Albemarle the next day.

At least the Albemarle was behind us. But now the forecast was showing nothing but north winds for the next week. Crew morale was starting to dip.

Heading north – part 1.

Now that we were back in the States and anchored, it was time to give the heat in the quarterberth some more thought. Jeff had decided as we were going through Indian River Lagoon that it wasn’t the heat from the engine, and we determined that in reality the batteries were VERY hot. Honestly, this could have been a dangerous situation had they caught fire at any point, but we got lucky.

We consulted our cruising friends on SV Lone Star and SV Minx who are much better at electrical issues than we are, and they both suggested that the regulator in the alternator had failed. The regulator stops the electricity from going into the batteries once they are full. When it fails, the electricity keeps flowing and the batteries get increasingly hot as they overcharge.

Only one travel day away from St. Augustine where we could receive parts, we kicked around various ways to get there without overheating the batteries. Again we consulted Lone Star and Minx, and we decided that we would disconnect the batteries after we started the engine. We could use our iPad for navigation so we didn’t need our instruments. If the batteries were still cool at the end of the day, then it was obviously the regulator.

It was VERY weird traveling without a depth sounder, but we chugged along for the day and 59 nautical miles later we were on a mooring ball with the batteries still cool. It was the regulator.

The herons found a happy spot hanging out on the dock line of this boat at the marina.

We ordered up the needed parts from Beta and had them shipped overnight to the Municipal Marina. Honestly, it had been several years since we had stopped in St. Augustine so it wasn’t exactly a hardship to spend a few days there. We have several friends that live there (some having relocated from the northeast) and while we didn’t have time to see everyone, we enjoyed the company of those we did. Hopefully next season we can get together with everyone!

My friend Nelson suggested that we check out this place called Sarbez (Zebra spelled backwards). They had amazing grilled cheese sandwiches of all varieties, and as you can tell by this blackboard it had a great vibe. We will absolutely go there again. Thanks, Nelson!

Replacing the alternator was easier than we expected (THAT is a rare thing when it comes to a boat project), and a day later we had a weather window to hop outside from St. Augustine and go straight to Beaufort, SC. By now it was May 13th and we REALLY needed to get back to Connecticut, so we were glad to be making some tracks. Little did we know how slow going it would be after that.

The overnight to Beaufort was a mix of sailing and motoring. As we were heading up the river towards the Ladies Island Bridge, a commercial vessel passed us and we couldn’t keep up to catch his bridge opening. No big deal, we figured. It was the weekend so the bridge openings were on request.

When we arrived at the bridge we asked for an opening, and soon the gates were down to stop traffic. Then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Apparently the bridge was stuck in the closed position. We asked the bridge tender how long he thought it would be, and he apologized but said he wasn’t sure. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. It had been 165 nautical miles and we were literally less than 2 miles from our anchorage. We were tired and frustrated, but it wasn’t the bridge tender’s fault. Eventually we gave up. Thunderstorms were coming in, so we told him we were going to backtrack and anchor farther down the river. Going backwards wasn’t the greatest way to end an overnight, but 20 minutes later we were securely anchored – and it didn’t rain on us until after we were tucked into our cabin!

Looks like a lot of rain coming our way!

Coming up: part two.

Back to the States via a new inlet!

When we left Green Turtle Cay to head to Great Sale, we thought we had a window to cross in a few days. It closed en route. Little did we know, this would be a frustrating pattern our entire trip north. We were only carrying 33 gallons of diesel and we had to motor the entire way to Great Sale Cay, but we were hoping the next window would have enough wind to get us to Jacksonville or Cumberland Island. Alas, it was not to be.

With our weather window closed, we waited for a few days at Great Sale with more boats than we had ever seen there. Obviously the weather was clogging travel plans for everyone. Great Sale Cay has virtually no internet, so we were VERY happy we had installed the SSB the previous summer so we could get weather forecasts from Chris Parker. Those of us with SSB gave the weather forecasts on the VHF to the boats without SSB or Starlink.

After the blow passed at Great Sale, a short window opened up to cross back to the U.S. Yay for a window! Boo for not having any wind. If we wanted wind, we were going to have to wait for another week and even then there was no guarantee the forecast would hold. Time to regroup.

We knew we didn’t have enough diesel to make it to Jacksonville, but we were hoping that if we could get a bit of wind we could make it to St. Augustine. Our friends on SV Minx and SV Purrfect were heading there, but with bigger boats they carry much more fuel. We said we’d hopefully meet them there, but we were going to have to see how the weather panned out.

Before we left we had routes set for Fort Pierce, Port Canaveral, New Smyrna, and St. Augustine. Where would we end up? Even we didn’t know.

Our Pelagic autopilot was on the fritz so this was going to be a hand-steering motorfest. Not our idea of a great time, but you do what you have to do. Raising the anchor around 1:00 a.m., we waved goodbye to the Bahamas until next season.

Getting ready to leave the Bahama Banks and head out into the Gulf Stream.

Big Red performed like a champ and we motored along, adding diesel from the jerry jugs as the hours went by.

I never get tired of how blue the ocean is when you get into deep water.

We quickly crossed Fort Pierce off the list and hoped we could make New Smyrna or St. Augustine. But by sunset that night we knew we couldn’t risk it with the fuel we had left. The little wind we had was in the wrong direction, so Port Canaveral it would be! This was going to be a new one for us.

Sunset with a cruise ship in the distance. You can tell how little wind there is by the smooth water.

Around 2:00 a.m. I got up for my shift, and as I grabbed my iPhone and AirPods (I listen to podcasts with one ear bud to pass the time), I noticed that the quarterberth that they were lying on felt warm. I lifted the lid off the battery compartment, and that was REALLY warm. It also smelled a bit odd. Uh-oh. I mentioned it to Jeff who said it was probably heat from the engine. I VERY skeptically agreed and we kept motoring along.

Normally we try not to enter new inlets or anchorages at night, but we were going to be at Port Canaveral about an hour before sunrise. We weren’t too concerned, however, because it’s a major port for cruise ships. We knew it would be lit up like an airport runway and at least equally wide.

Going through Port Canaveral ended up being easy-peasy, and we wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. We were accompanied by manatees and dolphins as we went through the lock, enjoyed a pretty ride through the canal out to the Indian River Lagoon, and stopped to get much needed diesel at Titusville Marina.

Jeff keeping Pegu Club away from the lock wall.

We pushed on to our regular anchorage on Callalisa Creek near New Smyrna and finally, 205 nautical miles later, we gladly turned off the engine and let go of the steering wheel. As for the heat in the battery compartment? That’s a story for the next blog.

A new stop – Tahiti Beach

After a solid night’s sleep, it was time to sail up to a new spot for us in the Abacos: Tahiti Beach. For some reason we had never stopped there before, although we had read it was lovely. Even better, we learned the Thirsty Cuda was there most days serving up drinks and food. Figuring better late than never, we decided this was the trip to check it out. It’s safe to say we won’t skip it again.

We had a nice sail from Lynard Cay to Tahiti Beach with our friends from Minx accompanying us part of the way. Tanya even got this great video of Pegu Club under sail:

A beautiful, relaxing sail to Tahiti Beach.

Upon arriving at the anchorage, we knew this was a spot we’d be happy to stay for several days. The beach was beautiful, the water was warm, and it was fun getting food from the Thirsty Cuda. We only bought drinks once when we realized how weak they are, preferring to bring our own after that, but the food was good.

Tahiti Beach is gorgeous, and the water temperature was lovely.

At one point there were several boats that participate in the daily Cruiseheimers SSB net all in the same anchorage, so everyone got together one afternoon to hang out in the water and chat in person. This is our first season with a single side band radio, so it was nice to finally meet the voices we’d been hearing for several months!

Cruiseheimers gathering. We all kept moving the dinghies back as the tide receded.

We ended up spending three relaxing days at Tahiti Beach. All good things must eventually come to an end, however. A lengthy weather system was heading our way, so we reluctantly raised the anchor and headed back to Green Turtle where we had made a reservation at Donny’s for a week on a mooring.

As we approached, we joked about how it would be nice to spend a week in a slip for the mooring rate like we did at the beginning of the season. Wouldn’t you know? That’s exactly what happened. As we approached we called Donny on the VHF, and he said he didn’t want to move boats around so how about if we stay in a slip instead. Ok – if you insist. LOL!

The wind blew for a week, but we didn’t feel anything in Donny’s snug spot. We went back to Island Greens produce for some great fresh veggies, and we walked down to the local beach which had a cute series of signs to let you know you were on the right path:

We had breakfast at the liquor store (yes, the liquor store serves a yummy breakfast) and watched the activities when the mail boat came in:

The local grade school was holding a fundraiser with food vendors and bands, so we went to that and had some excellent conch salad.

We were in Green Turtle for my birthday and we wanted to go to a specific restaurant. Unfortunately their credit card machine was down and we didn’t have enough cash (there aren’t any ATM’s on Green Turtle), so we improvised and went to Sundowners Restaurant for the first time. The drinks were good, the musician was good, and we had pizza for the first time in months so it was a very happy birthday indeed!

The only thing putting a damper on our lengthy stay in Green Turtle was the knowledge that we needed to get back to Connecticut, and we were already departing later than planned because of weather. We were going to have to put the hammer down.

Finally the weather cleared, and we had a possible window to head back to the States. Waving goodbye to Donny’s until next season, we cast off the dock lines and headed towards our jumping-off point, Great Sale Cay.

We always enjoy Eleuthera.

We had a great trip from the Exumas to Eleuthera, sailing about 75% of it before the wind died as forecasted for the last few hours. Eleuthera is always a favorite island for us, and once again it didn’t disappoint. Some day we’ll get to explore all of the nooks and crannies, but we made the most of the time we had.

When we arrived in Rock Sound we discovered that Homecoming week would begin in a few days. Given that the weather forecast wasn’t that great, we decided to settle in and enjoy the local festivities.

We skipped last year, so it had been two years since we had been in the Bahamas. In the interim, someone (or some people) had painted these lovely murals throughout Rock Sound:

Homecoming is a very large celebration with many people coming “home” for the long weekend to visit friends and family. Several ferries from Nassau to Rock Sound were scheduled, and they were all sold out (although one group ferry ran aground in the low tide heading to the Government Dock, so the passengers had to wait for the tide to rise before they could disembark and start celebrating.) By the time Homecoming began, there were more cars and people in town than we had ever seen.

The local dogs know where all of the shady spots are.

The activities included various competitions, including a junior sailing regatta on Optis with a great turnout:

These kids had lightning-quick reflexes every time they tacked.

There were also local bands and musicians each night, a fashion show, numerous food stalls, and the highlight for us – a Junkanoo! (Longtime readers may remember that I LOVE Junkanoo). True to form, the Junkanoo didn’t begin until around 11:00 p.m., but the time flew by as we hung out with cruisers (including some we had met in the Exumas) while we ate and drank. The local package store was doing a bang-up business!

With Homecoming wrapped up, we took a nice sail over to Alabaster Bay (one of our favorite spots) where we hoped to spend several days before poking our way up Eleuthera for a week or so. Sadly, Mother Nature had other plans, so we ended up scooting over to Spanish Wells after only two nights.

The number of well-kept houses in Spanish Wells is VERY high compared to some other settlements.

This new homeowner isn’t screwing around when it comes to construction for potential hurricanes.

It was a hot, windless motor to Spanish Wells, but it ended up being a great stop as always. We found a great private dock with space for rent where we tucked in and enjoyed easy access to town for almost a week. We wandered the beach, stocked up on provisions at the grocery store, met up with cruisers at Buddha’s, and finally tried ice cream at Papa Scoops. We can definitely see ourselves booking a month at the dock one winter and just settling into town.

The sandbar at low tide never fails to amaze.

Spanish Wells has a gorgeous shallow beach all along the back of the town.

The government dock is always busy with ferries and commercial fishermen. This boat was getting a new engine.

Eventually a short weather window opened up to sail back to the Abacos, so we bid Eleuthera a wistful farewell until next time.

Respect the water – always.

The currents in the Exumas are VERY strong near the cuts. The tides either bring the ocean onto the Banks or it sucks the Banks water back out into the ocean.

Shortly after our arrival during our first season, we read a Facebook post reminding everyone to always tie a long line onto the boat and let it drop down onto the water. That way you can jump in while holding the line to gauge the current. Apparently the poster’s wife had jumped in without a line and, within seconds, she was swept several hundred yards behind their boat. She was o.k., but it was a good lesson for newbies like us who had no idea.

We always used a line after we read that post, and it came in handy a few years ago when we were in Pipe Creek. I jumped in, the current immediately swept me behind the boat, and I basically crab walked with my feet against the hull to get back to the ladder. After that we started taking note of how strong the current was by the position of the rope when we put it in the water. But despite knowing better, it can still catch you unaware if you let your guard down, as I discovered when we made a return visit to Cambridge Cay.

In our previous visit to Warderick Wells, we went snorkeling near the cut at slack tide so we could see the drop off to the ocean. We had specifically waited for slack tide, but knew we had wiggle room because once slack was over the current would start pushing us in again (away from the ocean and onto the Banks.)

Once the current started to increase, we moved over to the snorkel area by the Ranger Station. We were starting to tie our dinghy up to the snorkeling mooring ball when two newbie cruisers called out to us. They had been snorkeling when the current picked up, sweeping them away from their dinghy. Try as she might, the wife was unable to swim back to their dinghy (the husband was struggling, but making progress).

We motored over to her and gave her a ride back, and the husband made it to the mooring while we were bringing his wife back. It was a good reminder to be aware of the currents and respect the water – a reminder I would forget a few weeks later – and we decided to snorkel over by Emerald instead where the currents weren’t as strong!

So, back to our trip north. After we left Staniel Cay, we motored over to Cambridge Cay for a return visit. We wanted to grab a mooring ball so Jeff could do some work on the windlass. We had hoped to get one more season out of our chain, but it had become apparent that was a bad decision. The chain was skipping on the gypsy and jamming, basically making us the entertainment of the anchorage every time we tried to raise the anchor. Jeff hoped he could improve the situation by doing his annual windlass maintenance early, but no luck. We were going to have to suck it up until we could buy more chain when we arrived back in Connecticut.

No wind meant we had crystal clear visibility at our mooring.

With that failed attempt out of the way, it was time to have fun! We ordered an Olympus Tough camera a few months prior and had it delivered to Lyn and Ken. They brought it with them when they came to visit, so now we could take underwater pictures!

The first time we used the camera, we discovered two things: (1) taking pictures of fish while snorkeling is harder than it looks; and (2) until I get progressive lenses for my snorkel mask, Jeff will be the designated picture taker. I can’t hold the camera out far enough to actually see what is on the screen, so I was basically randomly pushing the button and hoping that I was lucky enough to capture something!

There are several areas to snorkel near Cambridge, and we wanted to return to a few favorites. We took the dinghy over to Rocky Dundas and jumped in without looking, then immediately jumped out as quickly as we could when we found ourselves surrounded by little brown dots. A Facebook inquiry told us that they were thimble jellyfish. Luckily we were wearing wetsuits, and we had jumped out of the water so quickly that we didn’t get stung!

Thimble jellyfish courtesy of Google Images.

Thwarted at Rocky Dundas, we decided to go snorkeling on the other side of Cambridge – a new snorkeling spot for us. It was around slack current and the snorkeling was getting better as we went closer to the cut. After about an hour Jeff said he wanted to head back, and I said I just wanted to quickly see what it was like at the cut. Jeff waited while I started heading out, and after around ten seconds I could feel a change in the water. I was moving MUCH faster, and in the wrong direction – out to the ocean.

I poked my head up and Jeff was calling my name, and I made eye contact so he knew I was aware of what was going on. My heart rate skyrocketed as the adrenaline hit, but I decided to treat it like a rip current. I swam across the current towards the cay (hoping the current would be weaker closer to the rocks) vs. just swimming straight back, and also tried to settle down my heart rate (which was easier said than done.)

Obviously everything worked out fine, but it was scary for both of us. Candidly, we were both shaken for awhile. Despite having rescued the couple a few weeks previously, I had completely forgotten about being aware of what the current was doing. Big lesson learned, and one I’m sure neither one of us will forget again!

Well hello there, Mr. Ray! I see you hiding in the sand.

That experience was definitely the end of snorkeling for the day. A few days later we left Cambridge and went up to Shroud Cay, another favorite spot. We relaxed and I did some snorkeling (I had finally shaken off my previous misadventure), but the wind direction meant the visibility wasn’t as good for pictures. It’s a great place to snorkel from the boat though, and the current isn’t a factor, so we’ll certainly try again next season.

Ultimately we spent more time in the Exumas this season than any of our previous trips, and we explored several new spots. It was a fantastic stay, but with a great wind forecast for sailing it was time to say goodbye to the Exumas and head over to Eleuthera.

Black Point and mega yachts.

One of the things we were very much looking forward to during this season’s trip to the Bahamas was a visit from my best friend Lyn and her husband Ken. Pegu Club is too small for overnight visitors, but Lyn and Ken had decided to rent a cottage at Black Point for ten days. The plan was for us to anchor at Black Point and take them on day trips, but sadly Mother Nature had other plans. We had to move the boat to our hidey-hole a few times and the day trips didn’t work out because of too much wind, but we still had a wonderful time hanging out, sharing meals, and relaxing together.

We took walks around the cay:

This was a 5 minute walk from their rental.

I don’t know if this floating BBQ is still in business, but I love the idea!

We watched a relay race for field day at the local school (in true Bahamian style, it took around 20 minutes to get organized for a 45-second race):

And we played many games of Rummikub in their rental, which had an amazing view of the shallows on Black Point:

While Lyn and Ken were there, the Seven Seas Cruising Association was having their GAM at Black Point, sponsored by Lorraine’s Cafe, so they were even able to get a flavor of the cruising community.

I felt bad that the weather didn’t cooperate, but Lyn said it was exactly the kind of laid-back vacation she needed. And there was the added bonus of getting to spend so much time together!

After they departed, our trip north officially began with one last stop in Staniel Cay for the season. By now it was late March and spring break was in full-swing with mega yachts galore anchored outside of Staniel. It’s always fun to see them, and to know that we get the same views from Pegu Club (if not the same amenities).

Why take a dinghy to get to Staniel when you can use a helicopter instead?

Or you can use a dinghy and a helicopter – your choice.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ yacht, Bravo Eugenia, made an appearance. I didn’t get a picture so this one from Google will have to do. Research revealed that Bravo Eugenia travels far and wide – lucky captain!

The top reminded us of the Wicked Witch of the West. At 282 feet, it used to be owned by Steven Spielberg. Maybe he also thought it looked like the Wicked Witch of the West!

Staniel is a small cay, but if seems like there is always something new to see, like Herbie the Golf Cart:

We also saw the residents working on one of the sailboats that are used for the local regattas. The wooden mast was SO tall compared to the boat that it goes with. The racers carry a huge amount of sail area on the small boats.

A coin at the base of the mast is supposed to bring good luck.

I couldn’t even get the entire mast in the picture because I was thwarted by the placement of the boat. As you can see, it’s VERY tall!

Ultimately, the calendar was insisting that we leave, so after getting more groceries we reluctantly waved goodbye to Staniel for the season. Using Staniel as our base in the Exumas worked out splendidly, especially once we bought the bigger outboard. It’s centrally located along the cays, we can get (expensive) groceries when we need them, and our hidey hole for cold fronts is less than an hour away. There is no doubt that from now on, Staniel will be our home base when we are in the Exumas.

A bucket list spot for us – Warderick Wells.

We have been meaning to go to Warderick Wells in the Exumas Land and Sea Park since we started going to the Bahamas, but for some reason it had never happened. We had anchored near it, but we had never stayed in the mooring field which has some of the most iconic scenery in the Exumas.

I think part of the reason we hadn’t stopped there was because it’s the only mooring field in the Bahamas where you need to call ahead, but no sooner than the day before you want to arrive. If there isn’t availability, then your name goes on a list and you listen to the VHF at 9:00 a.m. the next day to see if you have a spot. So you need to be able to plan a bit, and you need to be within VHF range to see if there’s room. Both require a bit more structure than we prefer when we’re in the Bahamas. But we decided to go for it this time, and after our stay I can say that we won’t hesitate to jump through the minor hoops again.

Warderick Wells has great snorkeling and hiking, and we took full advantage during our five night stay.

The north mooring field is stunning, with a strip of deep water in a semi-circle, surrounded by shallows and sand.

One of the things we wanted to do was hike up to the top of Boo Boo Hill. Boo Boo Hill got its name because it is supposedly haunted from a ship that vanished on a nearby reef during a storm. It is a relatively easy hike – when you go the right way that is.

We thought the trailhead was near the park office so we ended up taking the VERY long scenic route around the Cay until we finally found the hill. Once we arrived at the top, we saw where we SHOULD have gone up, so it was a faster trip back. It was very hot and we were seriously rationing water by the time we got up the hill, but we’ll know better for next time!

Despite the longer route, the scenery was gorgeous along the way.

Normally you don’t need to cross this creek to get to Boo Boo Hill but when you take the long way…

Boo Boo Hill not being mentioned on this sign should have been a tip off.

And once we got to the top of the hill, we could see why it was such a popular hike. The views were stunning.

Exuma Sound on the right, the Banks side on the right.

One of the traditions of Boo Boo Hill is to leave a piece of wood with your boat name (or whatever else you want) on it. Some people plan well ahead and make elaborate decorations. We scrounged up a piece of driftwood along the way and brought a marker with us!

It was fun checking out the signs and seeing which boats we recognized.

When we weren’t hiking or snorkeling, we got together for sundowners a few times with fellow cruiser friends and simply relaxed and enjoyed the view. We even saw a fever of spotted eagle rays – at least 8-10 of them – swim by each evening around the same time. Sadly no pictures this time, but hopefully next time. And there will definitely be a next time. Warderick Wells was absolutely worth it. We won’t miss it again.

Hands down my favorite Cay in the Bahamas – so far.

One of the things we wanted to do this season was to spend some time in the Bahamas Land and Sea Park. We had spent a few days at Shroud in the past, and anchored once by Warderick Wells for one night, but we had never spent any extended time exploring the hiking trails and snorkeling.

The Land and Sea Park is a series of protected areas within the Bahamas, and it’s strictly a no-take zone. No fishing, no shelling, etc. If you see it there, leave it there. We had heard the snorkeling is outstanding and the coral was in very good shape, so we were excited to check it out. You do have to pay .50/foot to anchor or $30/night for a mooring ball (for our size boat), but it’s a reasonable price to support an NGO that is doing very good work.

We spent a few more days in Staniel after getting our outboard, and of course it’s impossible not to take pictures of a such a pretty place:

One of the dinghy landing areas at Staniel Cay.

Staniel Cay has some of the most amazing blues in the Exumas.

Staniel Cay Yacht Club rents mooring balls now, but you choose them yourself so you need to know if there is sufficient depth for your boat at that particular ball. This guy learned a good lesson about the tides.

But eventually the weather was cooperating so we were off to our first ever visit to Cambridge Cay. We spent four nights there, and by the time we left, I knew it was my favorite non-settlement cay in the Bahamas (at least of those we’ve seen). I could have spent all winter there.

The water was so still when we raised the anchor to head to Cambridge that we could see the marks in the sand from our chain as the boat swung back and forth. By the way, this is 8 feet deep.

No wind for sailing on our way to Cambridge, but it’s hard to complain when you can see the bottom so clearly at 15 feet of depth.

The water color – it NEVER gets to be ho-hum!

Cambridge has a few hiking trails that we thoroughly explored. The longer one is the Ridge Trail which offered up wonderful views. Jeff and I didn’t go all the way to the end – it was hot and we had only brought one water bottle each – but that just gave us a good reason to go back again next winter.

There typically isn’t much elevation in the Exumas, so it’s a nice treat to find a trail that gives you a view from above. The anchorage and mooring balls are on the top right.

With the exception of the water color, some of the trail reminded me of the scenery when we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway last winter. I feel very fortunate to be able to travel like we have. Memories to last a lifetime, for certain!

I was teasing Jeff by singing “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music as we walked up the trail. Now that song goes through my head every time I see this picture.

The trail to Honeymoon Beach was shorter and flat, but it led to a gorgeous beach that we had virtually to ourselves. The only other couple there had arrived on a small power boat and were on the opposite end.

Our dinghy on the beach that leads to the Honeymoon trail.

You can’t miss the beginning of the trail!

We also took full advantage of our bigger outboard and went to Rocky Dundas in the dinghy for some snorkeling. Our friends Lyn and Ken will be bringing our Olympus Tough camera when they arrive (we had it delivered to their house), so soon I’ll be able to add underwater pictures to the mix. I sure wish I had it when we were snorkeling the Rocky Dundas. There were TONS of fish everywhere and they were following us. I suspect people feed them.

An added bonus was seeing our friends Marc and Nancy on Mer du Jour, who joined us in the mooring field on our second day. We had a great time playing Euchre each night and laughing a ton. Nancy and I even went on a girls hike on the Ridge Trail.

It’s always so much fun when Nancy and I get together!

Since Mer du Jour has a much larger outboard than we do, we all went snorkeling together at a spot called the Aquarium where we saw plenty of fish and a turtle. We also snorkeled the sunken plane where there were a ton of fish and a nurse shark sleeping on the bottom. The current was so strong though that we had to keep kicking our fins just to stay in place. Marc stayed in the dinghy to keep an eye on all of us.

Finally, although we didn’t get a chance to get together for sundowners with them, we were also able to see and chat with our friends Chuck and Helene on Aurora. Their trip to the Bahamas was a bit shorter so our paths never did cross again for those sundowners, but hopefully we’ll see them again this summer. In the meantime, Chuck snapped this fantastic shot of Jeff and I are in our dinghy as the sun went down one evening. Thanks again, Chuck!

Next up: Warderick Wells.