CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored off of the western side of Little Farmers Cay, Exumas, Bahamas
23 57.263' N, 076 19.470' W (CLICK HERE for Google Maps)

This morning we woke up thinking that we would spend the day continuing to wait for our weather window in our Black Point anchorage. After listening to the weather, though, I began to realize that the north winds we were waiting for were going to come with a very strong cold front. It was looking a little too strong for my liking. Perhaps, though, that was just an excuse to pick up the anchor and go someplace new. Someplace a little closer to George Town.

A relaxing morning turned active much quicker than we expected, and before 10AM we had collected just a bit more free water and were ready to go. Again, we had perfect sailing conditions right from our anchorage, so we never bothered to start the engine. We raised the main before weighing anchor, and soon we were on a beam reach past the last remaining boat anchored here in Black Point. We sailed, close hauled, for another 10 nautical miles before turning on the engine. Then we motored the final two miles to our anchorage west of Little Farmers Cay.

After setting the anchor in good holding conditions, we rowed the dinghy to the beach (it was too close to bother with the Evinrude). From there we had to cross the width of the island to town, a walk of about one-third a mile (note that the island is only mile in length). In town, we met some of the friendliest locals we have encountered since we started cruising two months ago. The guys on the government dock invited us to sit and talk with them for a while. A man by the name of James (pictured above) showed us his favorite hideaway. It is a spot where he comes each morning to fish for breakfast. In his words, "This is how we live." It was evident that he aimed to show off his lifestyle, and we were duly impressed. James was home on the island on holiday. He works as a carpenter and is often off island for long periods (he is currently working on Tim McGraw's 10,000 sq.ft. house on a neighboring island). If you look in the photo, just over his shoulder, you can see the roof of a local house (in progress) which he is also working on.

In town, we did find an open grocery store. Well, it became an open grocery when James went to the home of the owner and had her open it up for us. The place was stocked with only a few random items, and from those we selected what we needed. Onions, cereal, crackers and a tin of butter. Surprisingly, the prices were very reasonable.

Before departing town, we found the local liquor store. The proprietor was one of our friends from down at the government dock. Therefore, in addition to the cold bottle of Kalik I purchased, Sheryl and I both just had to join him for a shot of tequila (on the house). One turned into two, but then we really had to take off. The sun was low in the sky and we needed to get back to the boat. Our steps were a little more clumsy and our conversation a little more giggly as a result of the spirits (on top of very little food in our stomachs).

Little Farmers Cay gets our vote for the friendliest island in the Bahamas. That is really saying something, considering that every place we have gone here in the islands has been full of friendly folks. This tiny island, home to about 65 people, is indicative of one of the main reasons we are out here cruising on our own sailboat. You don't get to see places like this or meet people like this on day-trips from a cruise ship.