White Cay, Nassau, Highbourne and Staniel Cay

White Cay.

After Great Harbour Cay our intention was to head directly to Nassau. However, when we looked at the weather forecasts it appeared as if there were going to be two, count ‘em, two days of good weather. We decided we would divide our trip to Nassau into two. In Phase I we would stop at one of the beautiful anchorages of the Berry Islands and spend the night. Phase II would be from the Berries to Nassau. Oh, by the way, on both phases of the trip we would have a chance to drag a line and see if possibly, maybe, we could, you know, catch a fish.

I am writing this part of the blog after the first phase. We are now sitting just west of White Cay, north of Devil’s Cay and to the east of Fowl Cay. It isn’t a perfect anchorage in that there is a bit of roll (we’ll see how bad it is tonight), but the holding appears adequate and the view is spectacular. There are three beaches within dinghy range so we downloaded our dinghy and visited them. On one, we actually went ashore. Imagine, exploring a deserted Bahamian Island. OK, maybe we weren’t the first people there, but you would hardly know it from the environs. There was hardly anything man made on the island, other than the remnants of an old aluminum chair that someone left behind years ago.  I wonder if the chair has a story. Nor were there any human footprints – a few birds had left tracks and maybe a lizard or two but nothing else. It was cool. We wanted to visit the other islands, but we didn’t arrive at the anchorage until 1400 and I wasn’t going to miss happy hour at 1700. Moreover, we kind of got stuck at the first beach.

One of the beaches at White Cay. You

 can also see some of the many variations on the color "blue."

It was really kind of embarrassing. Normally when you approach a sandy beach, you turn off the engine, lift your motor out of the water and coast into the beach. The lifting mechanism on the dinghy has been giving me problems lately, so we couldn’t get it all the way up. We still got in to the beach and did our exploring, but when we got back to the dink, the motor was dug into the sand.  I know, I know, the answer is easy. All we have to do is lift a 25 horsepower Yamaha motor (about 150 pounds) out of the sand in which it is stuck. Not so easy when you are waist deep in water. Anyway, after about 10 minutes of twisting and turning we got it out and went back to our boat.

Our embarrassment, however, was nothing compared to one of the sailboats that came in to the anchorage., Two buddy boats had come in, dropped their anchor and appeared to have had either had dinner or drinks with one another. About 1830, just as its visitors were leaving, one of the bots starting moving backwards. We knew right away what was happening – their anchor was dragging. One of the oddities about a dragging anchor is that captain and crew do not necessarily realize they are dragging unless they have set an alarm or they are watching your surroundings. Anyway, as soon as we realized what was happening we tried to call them on the radio. Most people, though, turn off their radio as soon as they are set in an anchorage – as did the crew of Starry Night. Luckily, they only dragged about 100 yards before they realized what was happening and got their engine started; they were only about 50 yards from the beach. You can imagine what would have happened if they would have dragged that night when all were asleep. It would not have been pretty!

We departed the next morning with fishing lines deployed. The depth water in the Northeast Providence Channel varies, but in places it is over 8000 feet deep – certainly deep enough for mahi-mahi and Wahoo. So … where the hell are they? We covered about 60 miles of ocean and you can’t tell me that zero mahi-mahi saw our lures. I mean, come on, I have been skunked before but never quite so badly! (Ok, maybe that’s not technically true. I have been skunked before just as badly … but never worse!!)

Nassau

You know you are in Nassau when you see the Cruise Ships!

We pulled into Nassau Harbor Club Marina about 1500. We joined our friends Vic and Gigi aboard Salty Turtle as well as our friends Stephen and Jill aboard Jillaroo. We had Vic and Gigi over for drinks Thursday night and we regaled one another with boat and Bahama stories – some of them actually true! Salty Turtle is on its way back to the States to replace a generator (and lordy, lord, lord do we know how THAT feels). Vic and Gigi are kind of half-Bahamian anyway, so even though they may not make it back this year, we are sure to see them next year.

We have been at the Nassau Harbor Club before, but it has been several years. Amazingly, many of the dockhands and workers remember us and our boat. Dudley, the dockmaster, and Peter, the owner, are two of those who we remember well and both seem to remember us also. Two of the guys we remember, however, have recently passed away, Smitty, who used to clean our boat, and Clark, one of the dockhands. I am wondering if the marina has some bad juju. Yikes!

 I have several tasks to accomplish while we are here, some of them are big and some very little. If they are checked off, I have finished them.

ü  1. I have to get Ann to Starbucks – and fast. She may go into some kind of a frenzy otherwise. “Our Starbucks is right across the street from the marina. Needless to say, the afternoon that we arrived in Nassau, Ann had her first Starbucks since leaving the States.

ü  2. I have to find a heavy duty float switch to replace the one we currently have that sticks. Then, of course, I have to physically replace the current switch. Found it and it cost $72.50. It went in pretty easily, however. AND it seems to be working.

ü  3. I have to try and figure out why it is so difficult to adjust the angle of the dinghy motor. Ok, I have figured out how the motor raises and lowers. I have figured how it stays in place. But for the life of me I can’t figure out why it won’t stay in place when raised or lowered. All the pieces seem to be working individually, but when put together they don’t accomplish their mission. ‘Tis perplexing. 

ü  4. I have to flush our watermaker. Over time, the membrane in the watermaker accumulates salt. Flushing it with fresh water once in a while improves the quality of our RO water and extends the life of the membrane. I have flushed the watermaker several times. It seems to be working -- most of the time. Today, though, the alarm went off for seemingly no reason.

ü  5. Ann and I have to change the oil. We try to change it every 150 (or so) hours. That means once before we leave the Chesapeake and once while in the Bahamas.  Lord, changing oil in a big Detroit Diesel is a messy job. The engines take 5 gallons each, so for our two engines that is ten gallons in and in and ten gallons out. Plus, 0f course the oil filters.

We had a couple of windy days in Nassau, but by Saturday afternoon the wind subsided and on Sunday morning we were out of there and on our way to the Exumas. Highbourne Cay was our first stop.

Exumas

The Exumas are an archipelago of 365 cays and islands, of which 20 are inhabited – with barely 7000 people. Moreover, 2500 of these folks live in George Town. As you can see, there are a number of deserted and uninhabited islands in the chain. For cruisers, the Exumas are THE place to go in the Bahamas. There are a few marinas (four, and one “kind of” being built. In the Bahamas, you can’t count on anything being built until it is finished.), but there are hundreds, maybe thousands of decent anchorages. 

The evening view from the restaurant at Highbourne Cay. 

The food is even better!

The real call of the Exumas, however, is not the islands, it is the surrounding seas. It is everything you have seen on a postcard and more. If I were a religious man I would be willing to swear that the day God invented the color blue he created the Exumas to show off His creation. From some anchorages, you can look into the distance and count a dozen different shades of blue. And looking down, you can see 20, 30 or more feet into the water. In fact, on an earlier trip, we could look into the water and literally see starfish crawling along the bottom. The Exumas are really something.

After heading south from Nassau, one of the first of the Exuma cays you run across is Highbourne Cay. Highbourne has a very nice beach that faces the Atlantic – which is basically the other side of the island from where we anchor – but that is not why we go there; it has a nice and surprisingly well-stocked general store, but that isn’t why we go there either. We go to Highbourne because it has what we consider to be the best restaurant in the Exumas. It has a magnificent view, but what sells the restaurant is the food. I had Shrimp Linguine and Ann had a  lobster Mac and Cheese with Beet Salad. Both meals were scrumptious. This year there was a second reason to go to Highbourne. It was Superbowl Sunday. We sat next to two young German couples, the males of which were both American football fanatics and knew more than we did about football.

Highbourne was only an overnight anchorage. The next day we were off to Hawksbill Cay, an island within the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We had been to Hawksbill before, but didn’t really get a chance to explore it. Last year there were some significant winds and we spent most of our time hunkered down avoiding the gale-like conditions. This year we got a chance to explore inland a ways, and noted the peculiar geology, but we did not make it to the ruins.

One of the famous, spoiled swimming pigs at Staniel Cay.

The ruins belonged to the Russell family, who were Loyalists during the American Revolution. After the War, many of these loyalists were being driven out of the new United States by revolutionaries who condemned all loyalty to Britain. Particularly in the south, Loyalist plantation owners were driven off their land, often tarred and feathered, even raped and murdered. Some got out with their families and possessions, and some were cast nearly naked to the winds of fate. Many headed for the Bahamas to make a new start in life. In 1785 the Russell family was given a grant to settle on Hawksbill Cay. They tried to make a go of plantation living until 1830, when they finally departed. There are rumors, however, that the last member of the family did not leave the island until 1900.

After Hawksbill, we needed to get some internet service so we headed to Staniel Cay. Staniel is outside of the Park and has a BTC tower, so we get extraordinarily good telephone and internet reception. Staniel is also the home of the renowned Staniel Cay Yacht Club. In the past I have described the Yacht Club as a kitschy, ex-patriot kind of facility where you kind of expect Sidney Greenstreet or Humphrey Bogart to be looming in the background. It still has some of that feel, but things are changing. A couple of years ago they built a new dining room and have since shrunk the old one. The new dining room looks … well … like a dining room, not like the Club with the old fashioned pictures and aging memorabilia of a few years ago. There is, however, one oddity. On a wall next to the TV the Club has hanging the flag that Secretary of War Stimson used at the Yalta Conference during WWII. I wonder what the story behind that flag is.

Well, here we are at Big Major Spot, the anchorage off Staniel Cay, waiting for some weather to pass so we can go to Black Point, just down the chain a little. Until next time …

Ann’s Notes

 Michael has pretty much covered our adventure so far. I have my own list of “To Do” while in Nassau.

First is Starbucks, Michael was correct in saying it was on my priority list every day that I could walk across the street. I even got my ice coffee the morning we departed. And an extra bonus was they refill my Venti cup I use when I am back home. YES…I take my starbucks cup with me to the Bahamas when there is a possibility of stopping in Nassau.

Second, there is a wonderful grocery store, Fresh Market owned by the Solomons food chain. It is like shopping in a normal USA store only most of the items are higher in price. For example a box of Triscuts is seven dollars.

Third the grocery store has a juice bar and they make the best pineapple mango smoothies ever, all fresh fruit, a little ice and no milk…beyond yummy, I had a few of those also.

Fourth there is a beauty salon in the shopping center, so it was girl time for me and I got a pedi. So nice be pampered

Lastly…I like Nassau, not for a long visit but three or four days is good and a bus ride downtown is always fun. Just to people watch, have some lunch and buy a few things.

It was good to see Vic and Gigi, they gave us their latest boat card which is actually a CD of their favorite music. We have been collecting one a year since 2012. They spend almost their whole winter months in the Exumas and have been doing that for many years. They both know most of the local Bahamian on the Exuma islands. He is even the official photographer for the school children on these small islands. One school has only eight children and since their RO water maker broke, the school has no fresh water. Vic takes the pictures, prints them and gives them to the kids and their family, all at his expense and the goodness of his heart. He truly loves the children, such a kind and generous soul.

While in Nassau I had time to do a daily walk, my new friend Jill came with me and we had a great time getting to know each other better.

All I can say about the restaurant Xuma is YUM, every meal we have had there has been delicious. The three things you can count on in that restaurant are:

1 The food is fresh and delicious

2 The view is breath taking

3 The check will always be higher than expected

We love to anchor at Highbourne, the holding is good and the cell tower is close. The down side is when you go to the restaurant in your dinghy for dinner it is still light outside, than after dinner you need to get back into the dinghy and it is DARK, like pitch black…ok..there are anchor lights on the boats but they are tiny, compared to the darkness of the sky, the water, and the reefs we need to pass through to get back to boat. Thank heaven Michael has a better sense of direction than I do. My job is to scan the horizon with our spot light and look for the edges of the reefs until we are in the open water of our anchorage. It is a white knuckle experience for me, however I trust my captain to get me home safely. In case you did not understand, I don’t like dinghy rides at night.

That is about all I have to add…Just I still miss our little feline Spot.

Also I want to thank Dave and Joan, Joan sends a daily picture of Spot to us..

Thank you for following us.

Traveling Soul…OUT