After several weeks anchored at Hog Cay and in Southside Bay on either side of Duncan Town, we began our trek north, both because our time is running short and because a weather window was coming for which we needed to seek shelter. The day after the Valentine’s Day party, about 18 of the 24 boats left, and then we were down to three and time to move on. We traveled about 12 miles north to anchor in the bay created at the south end of Buenavista Cay behind Low Water Cay. We were the only boat there the first day, but then two others, followed by a third, arrived over the course of the next couple of days. While there, Rita, from Magic, took Van hunting and he learned better techniques to get down to the coral heads, search for lobster and fish, and enjoy the process. (Unfortunately, all he caught was a puffer fish that blew up like a spiny basketball. Fortunately, the wound was not serious and the animal lived to tell the tale.)
When the winds clocked more to the northeast and east, we moved around to the west coast of Buenavista for a more settled anchorage. We visited Edward Lockhart, the sole inhabitant of the island (well, if you do not count his sheep, goats, geese, chickens, pheasants, and dogs), who continues to claim the island as his family lands. (We are not sure how that is supposed to work, but evidently to make the claim, one must live on the lands.) Edward loves it there – very much like Swiss Family Robinson – and ekes out a simple existence while his wife (24 years his junior) lives and works in Nassau. Yvette, whom we met at the Valentine’s Day party, claims she will be able to live on the island once she retires in a few more years, but that is hard for us to comprehend given the “rustic” nature of Edward’s home, which still lacks a roof. There is no arguing the beauty of the place (it is indeed a lovely view), and that, not to mention Edward and Yvette’s son, may come to figure in the decision. We will have to stay tuned to learn more!
On our last day at Buenavista, Rita and Will invited us to “lunch” aboard Magic. Both were born in Germany (Rita in Bremen, near the area from where Van’s family emigrated, and Will in Berlin), but have lived all their adult lives in the US. During a prior occasion, we got to discussing German food, and Rita invited us over for a dinner of kale, pinklewurst, ham, and boiled potatoes. It was delicious! Of course, it did not hurt being topped off by Lauren’s apple crisp, vanilla ice cream, and coffee. Good conversation completed the event.
Finally, this morning we watched a glorious sunrise, hoisted the anchor, and set sail toward Water Cay. From there, we will head to Long Island and begin easing our way back into civilization. We are not sure we want to as the people and these islands are so lovely. We hope to return!