Goodbye Bahamas
06 May 2010 | Bimini to Rum Cay
jerie
Goodbye Bahamas
We arrived in Bimini from Miami, Florida on February 21, 2010. The crossing went very smoothly and we arrived about midday. This was our first introduction to imaginary bouys. They show up on our chart plotter but have been missing from position for years. The local government has no desire or intent to replace them. Makes navigation a little more challenging. We had planned to leave for the Banks and Nassau the next day but due to weather we remained in Bimini for two days. We met Rick and Donna on S/V Lorbas and Larry and Carol on S/V Cygnus IP. We traveled as a group for the next couple of weeks. We left for Nassau after the storm spent the night crossing the Banks as well as the Tongue of the Ocean and arrived Nassau before the next front arrived. The Banks are shallow and fortunately for us the wind was down and the crossing was beautiful. Again in Nassau we waited for a front to pass. We went grocery shopping and bought some great rum. We are meanwhile enjoying "happy hour" on each others boats. This was the 7th trip to the Bahamas for Donna and Rick. Larry and Carol were also experienced in the Bahamian waters so we had a wealth of great information based on experiences. Our next stop was Shroud Cay, waited for another front. Arrived at Warwick Wells, which is a part of the park system. We were able to moor at both of these locations.
Our next stop was Blackpoint settlement. We visited the settlement but the weather system was not giving us a break so we left Blackpoint for a more secure anchorage. We spent the next storm at Little Farmers Cay. We were moored at Little Farmers for 4 days while the front passed. Meanwhile we are enjoying our friends and taking advantage of what each of the islands has to offer. We watched a man carve a racing sailboat out of native wood. We met some charming people who were very pleasant to deal with. Conch salad was becoming a favorite luncheon item. The waters are a beautiful blue green and the white sand makes a huge contrast.
We arrived in Georgetown ( winter camp for adults) on March 10th at the start of the Cruisers Regatta. The many cruisers who stay in Georgetown through the winter had planned the events. There were numerous activities everyday, vollibal, sailing races, bridge, texas hold'em, scavenger hunts to name a few. We participated in some of the events as well as renewed friendships with some and made new friends with others. Mary Lou and Bob on Cygnus- Crisfield had arrived on December 4th. We had met them at Great Bridge back in Virginia. We were glad to see them. We also saw Ken and Christie on Mosey who we had spend time with on the Sassafras River on the Chesapeake Bay. There were lots of activities, and lots of fun during our entire visit.
On April 8th we left Georgetown with Mary Lou and Bob on Cygnus Crisfield. Mary Lou had taught Jerie how to weave baskets in Georgetown. Now they were on a quest for sea beans, sea glass, and yes, the cherished Portuguese glass fishing balls. Our first stop was Long Island and the quest began. We rented a car and hit most of the Atlantic beaches. We had some good meals at Chez Pierre and Long Island Breeze club and walked miles on the beautiful beaches. The girls did well but no glass fishing balls. On April 17th we left for Rum Cay. One of our favorite stops. Bobby, owner meets us on a surfboard and directs us to our slip. Bobby is the owner but also an artist, gourmet cook, sculptor, jewelry maker and all around nice guy. The girls continued their search while Bobby was able to get them tips on how to make their finds into jewelry.
Sadly, on April 19th, Cygnus headed North and Peking headed South. We hope to meet up again sometime in the future. Peking is checking out of the Bahamas in Mayaguana and then onto the Dominican Republic.