11/26/08 - Ft. Lauderdale to the Exumas

Overview - We left Ft. Lauderdale just ahead of a strong cold front, beat into moderate easterlies and cleared into Bimini.  We were only in Bimini for about an hour and then rushed eastwards across the Banks to the NW Channel.  Our goal was to stay in the nice weather ahead of the front for as long as possible.  We had a beautiful sail across the banks and through the NW Channel.  The front caught us in the Tongue of the Ocean and had us surfing downwind in 27+ knot winds.  We had very little sleep for the last 48 hours sailing and only about 3hrs on Fri before we left.  Whew... we were happy to tuck into Shroud Cay and get into the relative calm of the Exumas. 

The week and a half were spent: cruising down the Cays; exploring the Exuma Land Sea Park; diving at Thunderball Cave at Staniel Cay; exploring Black Point; diving the "Oven Rock Cave" near Little Farmers' Cay and partying with Ali and the guys on Little Farmers Cay.

The weather has been unusually cool and windy for this time of the year, but we still made the most of it.  Finally yesterday, the weather broke and the forecast for the upcoming week should be light winds and very warm weather.  My nephew flew out of Staniel Cay this morning, so he only got a small taste of the normal balmy weather, but as he said, we didn't slow down and he's "rich with experiences."  One of those experiences can be seen as a video only on this page.  Look for the blue Hyperlink text.

Tomorrow we will have Thanksgiving dinner at Sampson Cay and then head down south for a few days before picking up Deb's daughter next week. 

Enjoy!

Click on pictures to enlarge! 

Broad reaching across the Banks towards NW Channel.  It really doesn't get any better than this.  And it didn't for almost week and a half.

On the inside (west side) of the Exumas, heading for Warderick Wells and the park headquarters.

On a mooring, in front of the Park headquarters, so we could get Wifi.  They probably wouldn't like it if they knew that we were online ordering Manatee steaks.  Yum!

Boo Boo hill with it's small mountain of carved wood boat name placards showing the names and dates of passing cruisers.

The Yacht Club cottages.  Very nice and very affordable.  For those that want to get away from it all.

Thunderball Cave, Staniel Cay.  The Sergeant Majors come out in droves to great new visitors.  Can you tell that they get fed?

Thunderball Cave, Staniel Cay.  The water is still a bit stirred up from the last week of frontal passages.  Imagine what it's like when it is clear.

Black Point, Exuma.  A  friendly town with one of the nicest Laundromats in all of the Bahamas.  Yeah, that is important!

Billy takes us for a tour while telling Deb what a great guy that I am.  He went on to lecture her on the proper way to respect a man.  She still insists that he was joking...

Sour oranges for Conch salad... Billy knowing my love for Conch Salad, gave us a few of these too.  Yum!

Dotham Cut separates Bitter Guana Cay from Great Guana Cay.  Sounds like a bunch of ... well, you know...

This is not an underwater picture. This is looking down into the water from the edge of the boat (notice the corner of the boat).  We're anchored in 7' of water, just off of White Point Beach.

This picture was taken about 6' inside the entrance.  The Yellow arrow points at the full size limestone encrusted bucket.  Gives you some idea of the size and depth of this cave.

"Come on guys, the water wet and there are no monsters" "Really!"  What IS THAT!!!!!!

Ahhh... Little Farmers Cay on a Friday night.  No better place to be than Ali's Bar at the bottom of the hill.

"You're in charge!" the first thing out of Ali's mouth after a hug and hello.  Those beers in our hands are for customers of course.

When we got back to the boat, I pan fried those puppies in butter and fresh garlic... a little seasalt and all was well.  Yum!

You can't see it in the picture, but there's a nice little Nassau Grouper hiding behind a rock and some grass.  Here grouper, grouper, grouper...

We looked and there was no pot of gold... so we went for a Kalik Gold... what the hey!

The entrance to Bimini, with strong currents and beautifully colored waters.  Ahhhh... we've arrived!  Even the crew is saying that the offshore crap  I put them through, was worth it.

Deb took the night watch across the Banks so that I could get a couple of hours of sleep before turning down the Tongue of the Ocean and dealing with the approaching cold front.

Warderick Wells looking down from Boo Boo Hill.  Only 2 other boats and it's mid November.  I don't get it.  Little George just said that the economy was fine...

Bahamas Defense Force in one of their new boats.  Very courteous and nice guys.

Still stormin' and cool... Frontal passage after frontal passage.  On this day, the temps didn't rise over 74F!  Bitch bitch, whine whine...

The prevailing attitude... "you done reach!"

Grab a Kalik and who cares...

Thunderball Cave, Staniel Cay.  Fish and sponge on the cave floor.

Thunderball Cave, Staniel Cay.  These sponges looked like they were glowing... no really!  This is not some Photoshop trick!

Black Point, Exuma.  Kids playing and laughing on their way home from school.  Nice!

Billy also introduced "pot hole" farming to the island and grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables this way.  We sampled  some of his fruit and left with a piece of his wife's banana pudding.  Yum...

Lorraine Cafe is a wonderful respite for the cruiser.  Her beer prices have not increased over the last 2 years and the Wifi is free!  Oh... and great food too!  We sampled her conch salad, pea dumpling soup and one of our favorites...Lorraine's Mac and Cheese!!!

Michael getting to know the local inhabitants of Bitter Guana Cay.  "Do they REALLY taste like chicken?"

White Point Beach, between Black Point and Little Farmers Cay.  Very nice!

The limestone encrusted bucket full of great tasting, fresh, cool, mineral water.  A small plastic cup at the bottom makes quenching your thirst simple.

About 8' underwater looking at the edge of one of the dark holes.  The underwater stalactites and stalagmites tell you that this was all above the water at some point in time.

Anything you ever wanted can be found at Corene's.  That's what I always been told anyhow...

The view from the working side of the bar.  No, really... we ARE working. 

Speaking of Yum... Tim, I posted this picture just for you.  Deb's home made wheat and 2 loaves of orange swirl... mmmm I'll be right back...

In the short week and a half we've been here, I have seen a ton of these Lionfish.  Indigenous to the Pacific, they have no predators here, and are multiplying like mad.  They're voracious eaters, so look out Bahamian fish...

Just plain beautiful.  We have tons of these, cause when you cruise, you can actually see the horizon and see the full splendor of the sunset and sunrise.

Enjoy!

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Approaching the marinas of Alice Town, Bimini.  Doesn't look like much, but it's very easy to fall in love with, ask Joe.

Surfing down the Tongue of the Ocean... pictures or videos  just doesn't do 27+ knots justice...  it looks like a cloudy day, blowing only a mere 10-15 knots except for the white foam trailing the boat.

Warderick Wells... I don't know, just a pretty shot.  Enjoy it for what it is, alright.  You guys asked for more pictures.  Well, here you are!

Pictures on Boo Boo hill.  Can you say "Achterlieber! Mihael... ", that always made him smile.  Cheese didn't get it.

Staniel Cay Yacht Club dinghy dock with it's resident Nurse Shark population just below the surface.

Thunderball Cave, Staniel Cay.  Where two Bond movies were filmed, as well as "Splash" and some others.

Thunderball Cave, Staniel Cay.  Some nice colors.

Pig Beach, Staniel Cay.  The old pigs that used to swim out to your dinghy are gone...  BBQ or something.

The Garden of Eden - Black Point, Exuma.  Gotta love it!  Billy has a great imagination, not to mention a sense of humor.

Huh, I don't remember what Billy told me it was... but it looks so cool that I had to post it...

And we will!  Often...  In fact I'll post this log update from Lorraines.

Another inhabitant of the beach.

The entrance to Oven Rock Cave.  Doesn't look like much until you climb in and let your eyes adjust to the darkness.

A salt water pool starts at the right side and runs towards the back.   Shallow at first,  then drops down into large, dark caves.  Can you imagine some Leviathan looking creature lurking within the depths?

I was just using the flash to see if anything was hiding behind the pillar but hey, got a great shot too.

Harvey being... well... Harvey.  Always dancing, smiling and having fun.  I still don't understand the Bristol Cream comments...

Six fresh snapper I bought from Ali.  I kept them in the ice bag while we worked.  A few complaints about the Gin and coconut water tasting fishy, but they drank them.

For only a week and a half in the Bahamas, Michael got pretty good at diving and holding his breath.  If he could have stayed another week, I would have had him spearing lobster and grouper.

They are quite photogenic though.  Just don't whack one of those feathery spins or you'll be in a world of hurt.  The toxin is similar to the scorpions.

Then the next day, you get another sunset that seems pretty special too.  Nice.  Enjoy yours, wherever you are!