We left Rock Sound on the 19th headed for the Exumas. Since I wanted to go to Staniel Cay, we offered to pick up a package for Barefootin’ to save them the trip. We got to Cape Eleuthera and had a fantastic sail across Exuma Sound. We wanted to head to Conch Cut at Belle Isle but the wind kept us a bit north and we entered at Wide Opening (yes that is the name!) and were able to tack in the banks and drop the hook at Belle Isle anyway.Many years ago some friends knew the caretaker at Belle Isle and once, when the owner was not in residence, we were even allowed on the beach. Alas, those days are gone. From what we understand the island has now been purchased by the Aga Kahn. Although technically it is part of The Exuma Land & Sea Park, a marine habitat & ‘no take zone’, he has been allowed to dynamite, dredge and build. We have also heard that he has done some wonderful things for the locals and even the cruisers too so I guess it all works out.As usual this season there was even another front on the way with strong west winds (again) so we knew exactly where to go hide……. Pipe Creek. There is a great deal of protection in most of Pipe Creek from Compass Cay all the way to Sampson Cay. A few years back we went past a small, privately maintained lighthouse to Little Pipe Cay. While it is a private island with signs every 50 yards or so saying “Private Island – Please Respect Our Privacy” it is really pretty.
It seems that the guests/residents arrive by seaplane and YES, they really were that close! After that blow, we moved on to Staniel Cay where we picked up the package and a new shirt and had a nice walk around the Cay. We were happy to see that the “Pink Conch” had reopened. On Staniel there are 3 ‘grocery’ stores. The pink store, the blue store (Burrows) and Isles General. The woman who had run the pink store passed at 85 and it closed. Now one of here daughters has reopened it and spruced it up too!We saw some new friends, Kimberly & Ryan on Sophia and had a great happy hour on their boat before yet another round of west winds was due. We also met up with Phil & Irene on Plan B and told them of our Pipe Creek spot. It really is only big enough for 1 boat & we had decided to try the other side of Pipe Creek so off they went!
We went for a long dinghy ride and saw the finished result of a spot we had seen under construction a few years back.
While there was a break in the fronts we thought it wise to get south. We decided to stop in Black Point for laundry and a nice meal at DeShammons and perhaps some fresh coconut bread from Lorraine's mom but it was not meant to be. As we approached Black Point we saw that the anchorage was empty! Completely empty! Perhaps that the wind had come around (from guess where?) and there were 3-4 foot rollers in the harbour had something to do with it! Since we wanted a decent nights sleep we went down towards Galliot Cut. There is an anchorage near the cut that appears open to the sea when you look at it.
That evening as we ate in the cockpit we heard the sound of a goat in distress. We had already taken the motor off the dink so we couldn’t investigate but looked with the binoculars and thought we could pick him out. It looked as though he may have fallen & got his leg caught. We do not think there are any predators on the cay and someone probably comes by every few days for a dinner goat so we hope he gets some help.On Saturday Jan. 30th we dropped the hook in George Town Exuma after another fantastic sailing day! We had not gotten rid of garbage since Rock Sound and the only groceries we were able to get at Staniel had been 1 frozen Abaco Big Bird so those two items were high on our agenda! As it as mid-afternoon when we arrived we dropped the hook at Monument Beach and had canned goods for dinner. Even so, it was linguine & white clam sauce.The morning saw us in town where we did the garbage run ($2.00 a small bag) and got groceries too. There is a Haitian man who sells fresh veg by a church & we were happy to see him there still! He always has fantastic tomatoes and his onions are great too. There is a woman at the straw market who also sells veg and she has great papayas.And then there is Styles Seafood. It is exactly as it sounds. You can have your hair cut and also by seafood! I have had my hair cut there before and she is great. On this day we got grouper and conch. Her husband is a fisherman and she is a licensed cosmetologist!Once our chores were done we moved the boat back across the harbor in front of Chat N Chill which is a G’Town institution. Actually it is on Stacking Island.We call G’Town ‘adult daycare’ as there are many activities. Volleyball, both serious and fun, bocce ball, softball and my favorite – Mexican Train Dominos!
In the evenings there is always something happening too. Trivial Pursuit, Texas Hold ’em, Rake & Scrape (Bahamian music) and the always popular ARG Meetings (Alcohol Research Group). It is always fun to stop in G’Town but we never like to stay too long so on 2/5/16 we made out for Long Island & Salt Pond.We have a boat load of school and hurricane relief supplies. We will have a lot more room once we make delivery! In addition to what we had and what our friends in the US supplied we have picked up several more large bags of clothing as well as a bag of tools! I’ll try to get photos of all for the next posting.Later!
