Well, we continue to move to the next spot with protection from the upcoming weather. This isn't all that bad as each new destination always has something new and exciting to see and do! Our weather holes lately were Sampson Cay and we are now down in Little Farmer's Cay. Here is a little bit about each.

Sampson Cay: After leaving Warderick Wells we headed toward Staniel Cay. On our way we decided to stop just north at Sampson Cay. Our 'stop' ended up being 12 days! We anchored out the first day and went ashore to visit the island. We thought it was a private island but it is...and it isn't! It is owned by one owner but he put a lovely marina, store, restaraunt and some accommodations on the island for other to use and they use it occasionally as well.

The next day we listened to the weather forecast and a blow was expected on Wednesday with another storm coming through on Friday/Saturday that had the potential to be a 'Super Storm' with 50+ knot winds. It didn't take much convincing but two other sailboats were headed into the marina and encouraged us to do the same. We took a slip for one night and checked into the forecast further. We went back to enquire about staying through Saturday. They had already placed bets that we would be back in wanting to stay on! They won! Actually, the weather just missed us and landed east of the Bahamas...but we sure did sleep well. It was our pricey treat at $2.75/foot per night PLUS water and power so tried to pretend we were on our own private island. We took morning sunrise walks out to the gazebo on the south end of the island and watched the sun rise while sipping coffee. Then we would bring out the squeeky ball and give Mija and Chula their morning workout!

Between the inclement weather we took a side trip to Staniel Cay where we bought a whole chicken and some ground beef to augment our pantry. We dingyied over to Big Major, Thunderball Cave and up Pipe Creek where we ran into Soulmates and Lady Hawk. It is amazing how you bump into the same fun folks along the way!

There was happy hour on the dock every night to watch the sunset and to look for the Green Flash. It is a BIG deal to spot this tiny, elusive flash of light! At happy hour we met some cruisers, No Agenda (Ray and Susan) from Dallas originally. They have a 70' power boat and invited us for happy hour the next night (Valentine's Day). We passed by the next night and Vicky was amazed since she had never been on a larger power boat. Imagine a king size bed, granite in the kitchen, a treadmill on the fly bridge, five levels! Spectacular and first class. Suddenly our 40' monohull sailboat seems small.

Ah, the weather has turned nice and we must leave our 'private island' paradise. So, off we head to Black Point. It was a big 10 or so miles so we leisurely got up and made our way down. It is a nice little community where apparently Lorraine's coconut bread is a must have. We unfortunately missed the store hours so left the next day empty handed and headed down to Little Farmer's Cay. Another lovely spot. So nice that we decided to stay for the weather blowing in on Monday, Wednesday and the weekend....or should we say 'until the next good weather window to Georgetown!

When we first got to Little Farmers we stopped by Ocean's Cabin restarant for lunch. Ed had lobster salad and Vicky had the turkey and cheese sandwich and, of course, Kalik (beer). After lunch several boats had difficulty coming into the anchorage (shallows that are on the charts but not so easy to spot). Ed ended up helping Terry Bain (local) pull off two boats and had to dive on one boat to unfoul a dingy painter that got stuck in the prop while the boat was trying to get off the sand bank. It was quite the site to watch Terry attach a line to the halyard and heal the monohull sailboat while pulling. While watching from the shore, Vicky was talking to the locals and lamenting that Boto had not caught a fish yet. Halle (Jeronimo) offered his services to teach us how to fish Bahamian style. We took him up on it and went on our few hour lesson the next day.

We started our lesson by getting conch for bait (and a few to eat). Then Halle taught us how to fix the hand line, hook and bait. We went to a point, dropped the anchor and BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM...we had 4 trigger fish. We pulled up and went across the harbor. Next thing it was BAM, a Coni, then BAM...a Big Eyed John. After two more of each...we had more than we could eat so we called it a day, went to the beach and cleaned our fish. Yes, it was more work than catching them! We prepared them 4 different ways and are still trying the results, all excellent so far. Looks like we won't starve now! What fun!

Warderick Wells and Sampsons Cay: At Least It's Not Cold

N24*12.513 W076*28.394 : This is our current location, tied up at the Sampson Cay Marina, with the forecasted front we decided against anchoring between Little and Big Majors Islands. After having spent Monday, 2/8, anchored just outside the harbor, a wonderful star filled sky and a gentle rocking of Boto lulled us into a peaceful nights sleep. Tuesday, 2/9, brought a beautiful sunrise and a promise of another wonderful calm day. Well that is what Tuesday was, but the forecast for Wednesday through Sunday is not so wonderful nor peaceful. We dinghied into the marina and checked on the availability of a slip for two nights, not a problem. We later learned after we tied up and went to check in that the folks in the office had taken bets on us wanting to stay even longer; and after getting the weather update we made such a request and thankfully they had already penciled us in through Sunday.
So we were assigned to Dock 2, Slip 1, right up against the bulkhead. Let us go into some detail here; Boto is 40' LOA, with another 4-5' of Davit hanging off the stern although high above the waterline the davits do pose an issue when docking. With three fishing boats ranging from 15-25' tied up along the bulkhead in front of us and a MiniMega Yacht (it's only 55') tied up behind we were going to have to parallel park Boto in a space which is about 46' long.. Our plan was simple, come in hot at a 45* angle to the dock, Vicky tosses the bowline to someone on shore then grabs the stern line, meanwhile Ed throws the wheel hard over to Port and pushes the Yanmar Full Reverse, flawless plan. Keep in mind that the lanes between the slips are very narrow, that's VERY NARROW, as in we would not be able to abort and turn around.
So here we come and as usual just as we make the turn into the lane the wind pipes up on our backside pushing us towards the bulkhead, even with Boto in reverse we were making headway. After Vicky threw a vicious forearm at the MiniMega (MM) fending off our beam, she tossed off the bow line then grabbed the stern; meanwhile our intrepid skipper threw the helm hard to Port and went full reverse as the back end slid effortlessly into the dock. Oh, all of this was accompanied by the shouts of TOO FAST, SLOW DOWN, STOP, LOOKOUT. Those doubting souls ashore, all they could do was stare in AWE as Boto and her Crew made it look easy, there were the usual attaboys, and good job Captain afterwards, but the crew simply went about their chores of securing Boto. After everyone had departed and things were ship shape the crew reviewed the landing, with nervous laughter and a cold beer, Hey better lucky than good; And remember any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.

Now for our weather forecast:
Wed 2/10 PC winds NW 20-25k, gusting to 30k Thr 2/11 PC NNW 20-254k, moving NNE and dropping to 5-10k Fri 2/12 MC E-SE swinging to the SW at 25-30k in the morning, kicking up to SW 40'-50k in the afternoon Sat 2/13 Who cares about the clouds, Squalls, SW 40-50k moving to NW and dropping to a calmer 20-25k Sun 2/14 Valentines Day, ahhh, N 10-15k, calm seas Mon-Tues, it starts all over again.

February! Wow, how time flies when you are having fun. We made our way over to Allan's Cay (Key…is how they actually pronounce it around here) on Monday, 2/1, in good weather with just a few passing showers. Rain in 70+ degrees is almost enjoyable when we look back at the rain we had in 35 degree weather! And it comes with benefits. One, it washes the salt off your boat and two it can produce a rainbow…and a spectacular one at that! The anchorages were fairly occupied so we spent the night on the 'Bank' just to the west of the cay.

With everyone scouting for good anchorages to ride out the upcoming storm front (will they ever stop coming???) we decided we liked the looks of Warderick Wells Land and Sea Park. Tuesday, 2/2, we decided to try Allan's Cay later in the season and head down to our next 'hunker down' spot. Warderick Wells, inside (with 360 degrees of protection) was full when we got there but we took a spot just to the south by Emerald Beach and put our name on the waiting list. We had the most beautiful beach almost all to ourselves with a swim pontoon platform right off our stern. Because it is a park, fishing is not allowed so we also entertained ourselves watching the fish right from our cockpit. We didn't even need to jump in and snorkel the water was so clear and some of the fish were SO big!

The next morning they had a spot for us so we moved into our temporary home for the next 5 nights. This park is a 'must see' for anyone coming to the Exumas. They have miles of incredible hiking trails, reefs for snorkeling, fantastic beaches and the park HQ where the finches will eat right out of your hand.
Basically, when you come into the anchorage it makes a big U. The U is carved out by the current and is about 10-12 feet deep. BUT…just outside the swinging room of your boat is 1-3 feet of water depending on the tide. You can see what we mean in the picture of the dogs playing in the water. This is the middle of the U at low tide where we went to play ball.
One of the hikes brings you up to the top of Boo Boo Hill where there is a blow hole and a view to the Exuma Sound (east) and The Banks (west). The picture is looking toward The Bank and shows the boats in the anchorage. Yes, the deep blue water is the 'deep' water and the light blue is the 1-3 feet of sand. Pretty narrow and shallow but we are slowly getting accustomed to it! What's the worst that could happen….go around?....done that before!

In Nassau, Tom and Cathie (Interlude, who we met in Marathon, FL) told us to look up Rob and Mary (Sojourn). We didn't get a chance in Nassau so as luck would have it they were at Warderick Wells. We enjoyed a very nice happy hour with them on board their boat. Ed and Rob started talking boat geek (yes, Ed is now a techie!) and determined they both had MMSI numbers and wanted to try them out. I must admit, I was impressed. In non-techie, using the VHF radio they programmed in our number, like speed dial, and it actually called our VHF radio. It even rings like a phone….something I haven't heard in a long time! Ah, the only downside would be that it has a 20-30 mile range but very Maxwell Smart-like and cool.
We also met numerous others and I am sure our paths will cross again. The cruising community is quite large but amazingly small at the same time. Most we talk to are cruising 'for the season' and then heading back home. We haven't met up with any other boats that are continuing down the island chains but we know they will be out there!

The big, huge storm front that dumped tons of snow in the NE has now passed and so we made our way south to Sampson Cay. Now everything is a hop, skip and a jump away. I think we went 14 miles today…what a treat. After dropping the hook we went up to the marina. Lovely! I don't think I have seen a nicer one yet but will keep you posted. At $2.75 per foot it should be nice right?! There is a small general store, restaurant, bar and about 10 guest cottages/rooms. Us…we are in our floating hotel! The dogs went to the beach again….yes, more sand in the boat, and then we dingied over to check out our next anchorage for the west blow coming Wednesday and the front coming this weekend. I know, you people in the north are saying stop your whining but I want to know, "When will this winter weather end!" We have heard this has been an unusual year but we don't have anything for comparison so to us it has been fine. Really, it just takes planning so that you are comfortably settled for the upcoming 5 days worth of wind. Ah, that word comfortable! Yes, we are cruisers…not sailors. We like being comfortable.

Morgan's Bluff-Andros Island

Legend has it that the dread Pirate Morgan buried treasure on Andros Island, in the area now called Morgan's Bluff; we shall see if we can find it. Failing that we'll settle for a Kalik Gold. We're here in Morgan's Bluff protected from all but North Winds taking some time to enjoy and absorb the fact that we are in the islands. Mija and Chula certainly enjoy the Bluff as they get to go ashore and run without a leash in and out of the water chasing the ball, the wingding and the waves, oh and of course, CHula gets to chase her Coconuts, she just loves 'em (this dog ain't right). The last two days have been great at anchor, no worries about moving, especially as we can see the ten feet down to the anchor to check on it and Ed has dove on it twice to make sure it is dug in.
As we sit getting ready for dinner before heading ashore to the beach and the small fishing harbor complete with bar/restaurant and live music; we watch the M/V Titus, this is the second time we've seen here, taking on her load of fresh water (4MMG) for Nassau. She'll be back within 24 hours. Andros Island is one of the exceptions in the Bahamas as it has its own fresh water supply from inland lakes, these lakes are being harvested for other islands. The welcome has been great from long term cruiser/residents as well as from the Bahamians, last night we were treated to Crab and Duplings ala Monroe, a locale fisherman. Tonight we shall have a taste of the Bahamian music nightlife, all within a few hundred yards of our back porch.
Tomorrow, Monday, we shall take the circus bikes and head the few miles to Nicholl's Town a settlement of some 600 people and the seat of local government. These excursions are very tiring to plan so as usual we will turn in sometime around sunset; OOPS, forgot about the music tonight, guess we'll have to sleep in tomorrow morning hope no one misses us.
We'll this is our first SSB update, that's the HITECH usage of radio waves, so we hope this comes across ok. We hope to do a spread, ala Homes & Gardens in the near future to welcome everyone into our new abode, until then Keep Smiling and Keep 'Em Guessing.
Adios

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