HAPPY NEW YEAR!
31 December 2024
Allan Gray

Although the Christmas dinner buffet was the highlight of our 3 day stay at Warderick Wells it wasn't the only attraction. The narrow channel that loops through the horse shoe sharped anchorage has a fairly strong tidal current providing lots for the marine life to feed on. At certain times of the day we felt like we were in an aquarium as we were entertained by all the fish, turtles and rays that cruised by. We took the opportunity to hike some of the well marked trails that crisscrossed the island during the beautiful weather and of course we got our kayak rides in each morning.
However, after 3 days it was time to get moving again and think about where we would celebrate New Years. Everyone's fresh produce was getting low so it was time to work our way closer to Staniel Cay, home of the Pink and Blue grocery stores. After a couple more days of exploring quite out of the way places we arrived at Staniel Cay. Although it was a little surprising to find the store shelves were bare and there wouldn't be a mail boat until January 7th, the biggest surprise was the number of mega yachts. This year they're way over the top, this morning a conservative count showed over 30 mega yachts in the area, by mega I mean 100' plus with several over 250'. And of course don't forget the toys strung off the back of these things, from floating rafts, seadoos, paddle boards and multi engined tenders. As you can imagine once we managed to find some supplies we were gone in search of a quieter anchorage.
One rewarding aspect of cruising life is the willingness of people to help one another in time of need, no matter what it may be. While in Warderick Wells we met a fellow who was having trouble with his outboard. I stopped by to offer a hand as he readily admitted he wasn't that mechanically inclined. Peter, from White Bird and I helped him trouble shoot the issue, and after the carb and filters were cleaned we discovered he had a load of bad gas. Once the tank was flushed and refilled he was off to the races with the hope that he can help the next guy who needs a helping hand. While listening to the VHF one morning I came across another boat offering assistance that caught my attention. It seems one of the mega yachts was out of feta cheese and avocados, poor guys, however his friend was quick to offer him some as they had a plane coming in that day and they could bring some more in. I thought of offering them some Grey Poupon but didn't know if they would see the humour in it. Oh well, it takes all kinds.
Happy New Year Everyone, have a healthy and happy 2025.
Today's picture is of a visitor to Dagny at Warderick Wells.