19th April
Next stop Plana Cay for an overnight stop,there is no need to rush, the distance just 39 nm. The wind decided to let us down but we did keep up the main for stability. We dropped the anchor in 5 metres of water, we rolled about for most of the night.
22° 35N 73°37W
20th April Time to head off to Crooked Island to an anchorage off Pittstown a place we had visited on our first season unfortunately we didn't have time to go ashore.
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| We went ashore in our first season we loved this place. |
22°49 N 74° 73°37 W
Onwards we go to Clarence town on Long Island another "postcard" place with white sands, clear turquoise waters.
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| One of the "spired churches" you can see the other in the right of the picture |
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| The gang, we didn't buy much |
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| It was nice and cool in here |
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| We sat close by enjoying a drink |
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| Local house |
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| Looking back towards the anchorage |
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| Local housing |
2 Nights at anchor in at the South east of the island, we all went ashore for a stroll to explore we had a lunch as a treat with the odd drink admiring the surroundings.
There are a couple of churches built with twin spires both built by father Jerome on opposite hilltops, he changed his views from Anglican to Catholic or it may have been the other way about its confusing.
23 April. No wind again, engine on to another island we had heard of from other cruisers, Conception Island, uninhabited.
06:30 start but by 14:00 we dropped the anchor in 2.2 mts crystal clear water, and only a couple of other boats here. 23° 51 N 75° 07 W
Well we dinghied around the reef and looked for life a few times in different directions we only saw birds and the biggest barracudas ever.
We took the dinghy at high tide into the lagoon to see the turtles and sharks, others had spoken about but were very disappointed, even at high tide we had to row as the engine was in the sand. Its a very tranquil spot, I should image easy to get lost in.
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| Both birds are Tropicbirds Scientific name: Phaethon Lepturus
The adult white tailed has long tailed feathers, roughly half the length of the adult is a pair of feathers that stream out behind extending its length to over 30 inches. They have an "eye mask" and have heavy black bars on the upper side of its wings.
Tropicbirds drink saltwater. Their bodies are able to remove excess salt which is passed as droplets to the tip of the bill, then shaken off. Their legs are so far back on their bodies they shuffle on land pushing themselves forward with their legs, dragging their breast on the ground.
When they dive into the water and fold their wings an air sack breaks the impact of the water.
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| We were treated to a couple of spectacular sunsets |
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| Don was on a mission to snorkel on the reef, I didn't fancy it but he did return to say he saw the biggest barracudas ever so he didn't get in |
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| The entrance inside the lagoon |
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| Surrounded by Mangroves |
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| Just clear water |
25 April: Ok no wind again but by 13:15 we set the anchor outside Great Exuma Island Georgetown, in Elizabeth harbour but is quite a ride out of the town as its depth is a little shallow for us.
A little more info:
Exuma is a district of the Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi (60 km) in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma by a small bridge. The capital and largest city in the district is George Town (permanent population 1,000), founded 1793 and located on Great Exuma. The Tropic of Cancer runs across a beach close to the city. The entire island chain is 130 mi (209 km) long and 72 sq. mi (187 km²) in area. Great Exuma island has an area of 61 sq. mi (158 km²)
This place is a very popular spot for cruisers over the winter time we heard there can be as many as 500 yachts but most of them had gone either North or south so we had plenty of room. The long narrow Stocking Island is opposite with Sand Dollar bay.
Once again we met up with Impressionist and a couple of other yachts we have spoken to on our SSB radio net so it was great to meet up.
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| This is in one of the oldest hotels in town |
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| The gang again on our little walk |
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| Which way? |
The weather always denotes when and where we can be, come or go, the squalls played games with us which isn't so bad when you anchor well enough but the thunderstorms can be very unnerving when we have that big metal thing sticking up for 60ft or so.
Follow the leader:
During our time here we had to move to the lee of Stocking Island for more protection from the wind as it was getting stronger and the direction changed, most other boats followed too but when we went back again so did they.
We do enjoy the Bahamas it seems such a shame to rush past so many others we would love to spend more time here but we need to get to the US and head North. Some of the islands can only be seen if the boat has a shallow keel so who knows one day we will return.
Next stop Rudder Cay to see a Mermaid, what?
BFN
Agua Therapy
Glenys and Don
(now in Fort Lauderdale)
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