Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Up anchor 10:45am; Down anchor 3:00pm 6.5 ft of water 14.3 miles traveled.

Jackie's Birthday. Happy Birthday! A sunrise picture of where we are this morning for your birthday. It's been a while since we've shared a sunrise. I hope yours was as pretty as ours. I know it's not as warm there but hopefully you're sharing this one with us vicariously and I hope you have a wonderful day.

After hoisting the dinghy and stashing stuff we had a leisurely breakfast then dishes and we said adios to Allen's/Leaf Cays and headed for Normans Cay. After getting out past the coral heads and setting a 180o course south we turned off the engine and sailed until we had to turn into the wind at Norman's Stake. It was high anxiety time (will I ever get used to coming into unknown anchorages?) for me threading through the 6 ft water and coral heads but we didn't have any problems - just zig zagged a bit. This time Wayne took the bow and watched for the rock spots and I had the helm.

As we were anchoring a dinghy approached us - I recognized those two!!! Marie and Chris from Spirit was our welcoming committee again LOL. I love running into those guys! They've been here a couple days now and are with 3 other boats from KY that know the area and are heading out tomorrow - but hopefully we'll run into them at George Town. We plan on staying here tonight and tomorrow and then heading for the park, but it sounds like they've already been to the park. They both look delightfully browned. She's got some conch that they doused with alcohol in hopes of preserving the shells as well as having the meat. If it works, I'll have to try it but I think that the muscle will still stay attached (not sure, I'll have to wait and find out).

Right after that Aeolus dinghied over LOL what a small world! They'd been over to Spanish Wells for 5 days and they'd followed us in here. They'll be going over to MacDuff's (the Beach Club) later for happy hour but we're heading over at 5 for a couple of burgers (it's 4:30 now). I'd heard on the radio that they had pretty good burgers and I can't remember the last time I had one. Sea Witch just pulled in and is anchoring. Later...

Okay - McDuff's. It's a pretty cool looking place. Lotsa ambiance and if I were to put up a place ie restaurant/bar with rental cottages - it would probably be very similar to MacDuffs aka the Norman Beach Club. The people are very friendly and funny. The prices and service though...so, so, to be expected in the Bahamas I guess. To get to MacDuffs you land on the island on a steep sandy/sandstone beach on the west side (that's where we're anchored). There are two colorful cottages - multicolored but dominantly a yellow and a green one - visible from the water and MacDuffs behind the cottages. There are little wooden signs on stakes pounded into the ground that lead you to a path to go to the Restaurant or airstrip or the beach. MacDuffs is a colorful cottage place that has a screened inner sanctum where the bar/restaurant is and a covered porch area if you want to sit out. The restroom is a cornered off section back outside and down the stairs that's like an open air platform with a hatch work privacy fence on 3 sides that has an actual working toilet and sink with a hanging mirror. As you go through the brush to get to it, there's a sign that is clipped to a branch that says occupied on one side, and vacant on the other. You flip it to occupied when you're in it so people don't come around the corner and walk in on you. It's kind of what you'd expect to see on Gilligan's Island (what the professor would build). Practical but homey...

We sat on the porch part outside where there were quite a few dogs from Chihuahua to Labrador. The blond lab adopted Wayne to play fetch with her and she'd catch the stick right out of the air (Wayne couldn't throw it far - we were in a bar/restaurant platform area after all). We sat nursing our beers waiting for our burgers for an hour before we discovered that they'd never put the order in, so had another beer and waited some more. We saw Aeolus come in to the bar, then Spirit with their three other buddy boats came in to talk strategy for the next mornings trip to Little Pigeon or Belle Isl. (it turned out to be Belle Isl.). A half hour later we got our burgers, Wayne's with fries. The fries were perfect. The hamburger looked good until you opened the bun, then it was only half the size of the bun and overcooked. It was served with good condiments though so I enjoyed it anyway. I figured in my semi sober state after 2 beers - it's a $14 burger - it must be good, so it was - at the time. Reflecting back on it - I wouldn't do it again. $6 beers and a $14 burger sounds outrageous to me now. The place was definitely worth a visit though. It has wifi like at the Berry Island Club so purchase a beer and use the wifi I guess. I didn't, because I didn't bring my laptop. Looking at the menu, they seem to have very nice fare - lots of conch and fish dishes but I'd had my heart set on a burger .

We dinghied back at sunset and I'd missed a beautiful sunset and moonrise picture while returning to the boat. One setting and one rising. Unfortunately it was too splashy to pull my camera out during the dinghy ride. I'd gotten one pic of the sun as it was starting to set before getting into the dinghy but the sunset and moonrise was done by the time we got back.