Arrival in the Exumas
20 December 2014
Yah, we made it to Emerald Bay Marina, 10 miles north of George Town where we will leave Bagan as we make our way to Toronto. It is a very nice marina, great floating docks, an amazing club house (more like a country club), showers, laundry, adjacent to a couple of resorts and a golf course. However, it is 10 miles out of town - no shuttle service, no buses. Just taxis which cost $100 round trip to George Town or a car rental costing $70.00 per day. The marina is expensive as well (as everything is in the Bahamas) - $2.75 per ft per day, dropping to $.75 if one stays 30 days +. Water is .40 per gallon and power is .85 kw/h. We have found that it is cheaper to run the generator to make our own water and we use our candles at night! That being said though, it is better to leave Bagan here than the other marina in George Town that could take us. Better water depth, all-round wind protection, better docks, security and cheaper.
When we left Nassau, we planned to stop at Shroud Cay for a couple of days. However, the weather forecast changed to a westerly wind and we would have been hammered there. Instead, we went to Allens Cay, one of the few cays that affords westerly protection on the Banks side. The wind started to pick up the first night and was really blowing the next day. Many other cruisers came in looking for shelter, so we were happy to have come in early for a good spot. Unfortunately it's the latecomers who often cause a problem, squeezing themselves in and crowding the anchorage. We knew we would be up all night and we were! The wind howled that night, currents ran crazy, and boats were swinging everywhere. The boat closest to us came within feet of hitting us. They were doing 360 degree turns every few minutes. The flashlight shining into their cabin did not wake them, but they sure did jump when we employed the fog horn. We were all up, pulling in chain, letting it out again several times, depending on the current and wind. After a few hours, our neighbour decided to get some sleep and asked us to let him know if there were more problems! At that point I just nodded; there was no way I was going to bed! The song and dance continued into the late morning, when our neighbour decided to finally move his boat after a lot of humming and hawing and asking everyone's advice. Another cruiser agreed he should move, but not to move any closer. We all breathed a sigh of relief he hauled the anchor and moved to another part of the bay. The wind died down later in the day and everyone managed to get a good nights rest. Lights were out early that night!
After Allens Cay, we made our way to Warderick Wells Cay which is part of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. We anchored in 12 ft. of water in the Emerald Rock Anchorage. Although there are many mooring balls located within the park, we chose to anchor out as the weather forecast was good for the next few nights. We had the resident nurse shark hanging around the boat waiting for its next meal. Quite obviously, it had been fed many times and thought it was easy pickings! The largest barracuda we had ever seen, also came for a visit, so I was not too anxious to jump off the boat for a swim. Ken did though to check the anchor, but was ignored. We were able to do some lovely snorkeling at several sites and saw a good variety of coral and fish. The water temperature was about 80 degrees, but because of the current, it felt cooler and we wore our shorties in the water.
After two nights at Warderick Wells, we made our way to Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay. What a lovely spot that was. The bay was huge, had lots of water (12 feet), great little settlement with several good restaurants and friendly people. We even managed to get in several nice walks. Nine boats anchored there, but as the bay was so large, everyone was spaced far apart and not bothered by the other's swinging. For the 2 evenings we were there, we watched the meteorites streaking across the sky.
Since our arrival here, we have busied ourselves cleaning the boat - washing the salt off, cleaning the hull with acetone, rewashing, and then applying awlgrip, removing rust stains and polishing stainless steel. We have finished one side and the boat looks awesome. We will complete the other side when we return from Canada. Lots of work, but well worth the effort!
We are off tomorrow to Toronto, returning Jan.6. Not looking forward to the cold, but looking forward to spending time with Leia and family and later my mother in Florida. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you in 2015!