Jeff
Saturday August 2nd 2008, Staniel Cay

Emancipation Day, a Bahamas National Holiday, is celebrated the first weekend in August. The islanders take advantage of the three day weekend to celebrate the holiday. Multiple picnics, fireworks, music, and the Black Point Regatta are part of the Emancipation Day festivities. The regatta, a point to point course from Staniel Cay to Black Point Settlement, is for class C regatta boats. Lady Muriel pictured yesterday is a class A boat. I believe the boats are classified by length with class A being the largest vessels. The regatta boats are all rigged similarly with one vastly oversized mainsail. They carry a crew of 4 to 6. During the windward legs the crew hikes out on 2X12 timbers that cantilever out over the gunwale by at least 5 feet. Save for a 12 volt bilge pump the vessels have no electronics and no motors.

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Jeff
Friday August 1st 2008, Exumas

After our aquatic explorations we decided to wander around Staniel Cay. The cay is well known for its proximity to the Thunderball Grotto and the home of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club (SCYC). What the SCYC lacks in volume of dock space it makes up for in the sheer size of vessels that continually pass though. Some tie up for the night some just stop for fuel. During our time in the area (we anchored 200 yards off the marina) it seemed the face dock was never without at least two 100+ foot pleasure yachts. These vessels, Mucho Mas, Sea Bird, Blackhawk, Liberation, Miracle, Penny's Heaven, etc. are floating condos that appear to come complete with doormen, janitors, wait staff, chauffer, and all manner of crew that attend to the needs of the vessel and her owners. The crew all sport matching attire that identify the vessel to which they are beholden. We consistently were greeted with quizzical looks from above as we approached the SYSC in Origami. The SYSC is more of a marina than a yacht club, but any yacht club in the states would be quite pleased with the SYSC's client list.
Moving beyond the SYSC the island quickly takes on the character other Exuma Out Islands. We did stumble upon a shade tree boat yard with the SV Lady Muriel up on blocks for a refit (see image) Lady Muriel is a classic Island Regatta Boat. We would see many more of these vessels at tomorrow's Black Point Regatta.

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Jeff
Friday August 1st 2008, Exumas

Arriving at low slack water we quickly set the anchor and dinghied over to Thunderball Grotto. The grotto, made famous by the filming of James Bond's Thunderball, has also appeared in other films, most notably Splash. Much like the caves at Rocky Dundas the grotto has natural light provided by various sized openings in the ceiling above. These opening range from softball to minivan sized skylights. Unlike the Rocky Dundas the cave is completely filled with water and lacks any areas for walking about. The grotto also has more passages and nooks that the Dundas. Multitudes of fish from small coral fish to nurse sharks populate the grotto and surrounding corals. These fish, save for the nurse sharks, appear to expect food from visitors. They curiously follow snorkelers and congregate in staggering numbers if bread or other food is offered. The light filtering in from above forms wavering shafts through the clear waters. The entire scene is quite spectacular. After a short time, the cave became crowded with other visitors. Anne and I made our way outside and were pleased at the health and variety of coral we found in the area.
Just off the rocky cay to the south of the grotto Anne found what she proclaimed to be the most beautiful coral she has seen on the trip thus far.
We plan to return to the grotto area before departing the Staniel Cay. The image included is of Anne just after our dive at the grotto.
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Jeff
Friday August 1st 2008, Exumas

After snorkeling at the Rocky Dundas on July 31, we decided we had enough daylight left to navigate the narrow channels to Compass Cay. We spent the night along the sand bars just west of Compass Cay. We did arrive early enough to dinghy into the marina. We had heard the marina and cay were beautiful. Beautiful yes, but we were discouraged from landing by a sign that proclaimed $8 per person to disembark. Caught between thinking the sign was a prank and wondering what attraction would draw visitors at $8 per head, we tied up to the dock to investigate. Fortunately the dockmaster and was in the process of closing out for the day and politely asked us to return to the cay in the morning so we could pay the $8 and explore the wonders of Compass Cay. We previewed the trail maps and suggestion on what to see and do at Compass. Unimpressed we chose not to return in the morning. The most impressive thing we observed at Compass was the docile nurse sharks in abundance in the marina. Visitors were snorkeling down and petting the sharks. A friendly sign warned tourists, "Please do not stick your hand in the sharks mouth or pull their tails!"
Our recommendation for Compass Cay would be to go in early and tie up for the night. The marina and island appear beautiful and the trail system looks inviting for some exercise. If you are not going to tie up for the night then save the $8 and go to any of the surrounding cays to explore.
All the guide books warn of unfortunate groundings for those that attempt to navigate the strong currents, shifting sand bars, and numerous hard bars that complicate the passage through Pipe Creek. The guide books continued on to proclaim that experienced crews able to read the waters and ideal conditions were necessary for passage.
After reviewing the charts and guide book, Anne, quite insightfully call me out, by stating that she knew my desire would certainly be to pilot C'est la Vie through Pipe Creek in our transit to Staniel Cay.
I could only reply that I hope the conditions tomorrow morning would be ideal.
Fortunately for us the mid morning high tide corresponded nicely with the sun reaching the critical angle to provide for reliable visual piloting (a.k.a. figuring out the deep passages via the color of the water). Our passage through Pipe Creek was uneventful. We arrived at Staniel Cay just as the tide reached low slack water.

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Jeff
Thursday July 31st 2008, Exumas

Another image from the caves at Rocky Dundas, note the water to the lower left. Once inside this cave at low tide there was enough dry area to allow us to slip off our fins and walk/scramble around.

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Jeff
Thursday July 31st 2008, Exumas

The image included is of Anne climbing around in the caves. Hmm... Anne climbing in caves? It is true - the caves have openings in the ceilings that provide natural skylights in most areas of the caves. The natural light and sheer size of the rooms made Anne more comfortable in the confined space. As for her sudden interest in climbing... the stalactites & stalagmites were too much to resist.

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Jeff
Thursday July 31st 2008, Exumas

After anchoring off Fowl (Chicken) Cay, it was only a short dinghy ride over to the Dundas. Our timing on visiting the Rocky Dundas was ideal. The tide was slack and the surge from the nearby Conch Cut was mild. The image included is peering out of the cave opening towards our dinghy moored just off the cliffs.

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Jeff
Thursday July 31st 2008, Exumas

Anne and I continued our slow southward progress through the Exuma Land & Sea Park. Currently we are averaging less than 5NM every other day, but according to many of the locals and cruisers we meet this is much too quick a pace for traveling in the Exumas. With the trade winds consistently hampering any efforts to motor or sail south and many opportunities for exploration surrounding our location it is easy to understand the lure of lingering here in the central Exumas.
We departed Wardrick Wells early in the morning, 08:00, and ran outside in Exuma Sound southward. A desire to reach the Rocky Dundas at the midday low, slack tide fueled our sudden increase in efficiency of motion. Our plan to run offshore from Wardrick Wells to Conch Cut was subverted by the allure of the beauty of the shallow passage to the west of Cambridge Cay. The park has placed moorings in the anchorage west of Cambridge Cay. The area is littered with beautiful beaches, but the approaches are narrow and require good light for navigation.
The Rocky Dundas, seen on approach from Cambridge Cay in image above, are two rocky cays. Multiple caves on the east face of the southernmost Dunda can only be accessed by swimming. Strong tidal currents in the area limit approaching the caves to slack tide only. Tick-tock, tick tock.

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Jeff
Wednesday July 30th 2008, Exumas Land & Sea Park

The image above is looking out from the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park office across the Wardrick Wells north anchorage. C'est la Vie is just left of center and Birba Blu is further back and to the left. We spent two nights on a mooring ball in the anchorage. Mooring balls are the only option here. The channel it scoured by strong tidal currents. The only area that would offer hold would dry out to sand bars at low tide. The water is amazingly clear and the area a full of fearless fish. Within moments of our arrival a school of 2 to 3 foot Jacks collected beneath our hull. The jacks switch from port to starboard of the keel relative to the location of a huge 4+ foot barracuda that patrols the channel.
Small, yellow breasted birds locally known as Banquits are also fearless. If you pour some sugar in your palm they will land on your fingers and feed. This is fun at first, but when your hand vanishes in a cloud of feeding birds it becomes a bit disconcerting. I thought I had an image of this, but I'm unable to find it. I'll have Anne place the video on Youtube and we will provide a link.
We spent an afternoon snorkeling in the area. The coral growth was ok. The fish life is amazing. The fish appear aware of their protection in these waters and are much more numerous and inquisitive.
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Jeff
Tuesday July 29th 2008, Exumas

This image is from the same bluff as the preceding shot, but it is looking to the south.
Anne and I spent the morning exploring some ruins from a Loyalist Settlement along one of the high ridges in the mid section of Hawksbill. The community was founded in 1785 by Loyalists fleeing persecution and torment in the newly independent United States of American. The British Crown offered land in the Bahamas to citizens that remained loyal to the crown throughout the American Revolution. Many of these families opted for land in the Bahamas and fled south on sailing ships. It is difficult to believe they were please with what they found in this new land. While in modern times aboard our high tech vessels this land and it waters appear to be a playground. Making a life ashore on the arid, rocky islands in the late 1700's would be difficult. The Hawksbill settlement survived until 1900 when its final citizen bled to death from a barracuda bite suffered with fishing in the flats. Stone walls, stone fences, and beehive shaped stone ovens at all that remain of the settlement on Hawksbill.
While exploring the ruins, Anne and I happened upon a geocash. We signed the logbook and read notes from others that found the geocash. This discovery has peaked my interest in the geocashing phenomenon.
Moving south from Hawksbill to Wardwrick Wells, we chose to take a short, yet challenging route to the Exuma Sound. As seen in the image above the water depth can be judged by the color of water. Shallow to deep goes from white to blue with greens in the 4 to 6 foot range. Black can mean grass beds or coral heads. Browns are bad news... see brown you will go aground is the local rhyme. With the tide at full flood we motored southeastward towards Little Cistern Cut. I bounced between reading the charts and standing atop the bow sprit attempting to read the water. Anne remained at the helm and deftly steered while I used hand signals to indicate direction and speed. The current ran so strong between the rocky outcroppings that we were only able to make 1.5 knots as we bounced through the standing waves. Most of the route proved deep, but intricate. We never observed less than 6.5 feet of water. Anne did an outstanding job of piloting C'est la Vie.

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