12 January 2013 | Sampson Cay
05 February 2012 | Black Point, Exumas
04 February 2012 | Little Farmers Cay, Exumas
03 February 2012 | Little Farmers Cay, Exumas
02 February 2012 | Rudder Cay, Exuma
31 January 2012 | Lee Stocking Cay
30 January 2012 | Lee Stocking Cay
29 January 2012 | Lee Stocking Cay
28 January 2012 | George Town, Exumas
27 January 2012 | Red Shank Cays, Elizabeth Harbour
26 January 2012 | Red Shank Cays, Elizabeth Harbour
24 January 2012 | Elizabeth Harbour, Exumas
23 January 2012 | Elizabeth Harbour, Exumas
22 January 2012 | George Town, Exumas
19 January 2012 | Conception
18 January 2012 | New Bight, Cat Island
17 January 2012 | Fernandez Bay, Cat Island
16 January 2012 | Curry Murry Bluff, Cat Island
Sampson Cay, Exumas
12 January 2013 | Sampson Cay
sunny but windy
We are currently anchored outside the Sampson Cay Marina, Sampson Cay, Exumas, due to some 25+knot winds that have been blowing from the east for about a week. We are buddy boating with Sandy Paws, a 50' motor vessel who normally stays tied to a dock at Scottland Cay, in the Abacos. They were staged outside Little Harbor the same afternoon that we were, and came to ask if we'd mind them tagging along for the crossing to Royal Island. We've been together ever since, which is great because they are great; Jon & Mimi, Arthur & Muffin (their two large English Sheepdogs.)
Stampede to Black Point
05 February 2012 | Black Point, Exumas
Sunday
Exited Little Farmers Cay at 7 am in order to beat the stampede headed to Black Point for the Super Bowl. Black Point has several good restaurants with televisions, WiFi, and a protected anchorage for the rain storms that are predicted for the next few days, so we figure all 50 boats from Little Farmers will be headed there. Giddy up, Legacy! Arrived at Black Point, 8:30 am.. another brutal day of cruising onboard the Good Ship Legacy. The harbor isn’t too full and we find a fine spot among nothing but sailboats. Not one single power boat in a harbor of at least 40 boats. A little rain is coming and going, the breeze is freshening, and the stampede has started. Every time I look up, another group of 6 sailboats is coming around the corner. They all seem to want front row seats, though, and we’re in the middle back row, so all is well as long as everyone does a good job of anchoring. The various restaurants in town are calling on channel 16, but Ronnie wants to enjoy the game in the comfort of his own mind-- we listen on Sirius radio.
On the way here we passed Sea Schelle, anchored just south, so maybe we’ll see The Kids, again.
More 5 F's Fun
04 February 2012 | Little Farmers Cay, Exumas
Saturday
We had so much fun at the 5 F’s yesterday, we decided to pull anchor and move closer to the action; there are 3 races today. The anchorages at Little Farmers are packed with boats, so we decided to move farther north and anchor in a nice spot close to shore but away from the pounding music and 50 other boats. Scout can make short work of the commute and there’s plenty of room in front of the regatta beach club for him. Beers are only $3, so we’re taking lunch and plan to make a whole day of watching the races. The wind is blowing about 20-25mph and the waves are big enough to drench us, so I have my camera in a baggie and we just plan to stay wet all day. CRAZY racing! See the photo gallery for more pics.
Farmers First Friday in February Festival
03 February 2012 | Little Farmers Cay, Exumas
Friday
Took Scout from Rudder Cay to Little Farmers Cay for the day. We had heard them announce on the radio that the first race would start at 9 am, but that’s Bahamian time, so we planned to get there at 10.. The race started at 1:30! Big crowd of loud sailors drinking A LOT of beer which made for some VERY exciting racing. We’ve never seen any racing quite like this regatta. As they did in George Town, the boats lined up in more or less of a starting line by throwing out an anchor and dropping back to their preferred position on the line. The leeward mark was nothing but a hazard to navigation, as far as we could see, because there were only a few boats that were actually anchored behind it. If someone was judged to have anchored too far ahead of the majority of boats, they were screamed at by the entire fleet until they pulled anchor and dropped back to an acceptable position, BUT if someone had already filled in behind them and they felt like they couldn’t fall back in line, then they just set to screaming back at the fleet, arms flailing, sailing signals flying back & forth, but no change in position. Port & starboard on the race course seemed to be somewhat like the starting line. If the port boat deemed it unwise to tack away from a starboard boat because there were other boats below him, then a collision would occur. Later, on the beach, a shouting match would ensue, lots of sailing terminology would fly back & forth, most starting with the letter F, and then everyone from both boats would break for the bar or the bathroom. No mention would be made of penalty points, or repair to damages, no offer of buying beers for the starboard boat, and we certainly never heard any admission of fault. Usually the response was something like, “What the F#$% did you think I was going to do? Did you see all those boats around me?” An absolute blast to watch, but when we were approached to crew on one of the sloops, neither of us had any interest AT ALL.
Rudder Cut
02 February 2012 | Rudder Cay, Exuma
Thursday
We had decided that sometime after low tide, which was at 10 am, we’d pull anchor and move north to Rudder Cay. When we tried to start the port engine, nothing but clicks.. Ron goes to work, Pam pulls the book, Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual. Then, guess who shows up, Matt!! Perfect timing, and guess who knows some stuff about diagnosing non-starting motors.. Matt!! Ron learns to jump start the starter and YIPPY SKIPPY we’re off to Rudder Cay.
Arrived at Rudder Cay Cut with an onshore breeze of about 18 mph and the tide rising, so sailed through the cut without any worries. Turned right and dropped the anchor in front of a lovely palm tree beach with a very large, non-threatening cave adjacent to it. Still early afternoon, so after lunch we hopped in Scout and went to see. Scouted all the way down the western shore of Rudder Cay, went in to see the marina at Cave Cay, saw some very nice resorts on Musha Cay, and could see lots and lots of boats anchored at Little Farmers Cay.
Came back to Legacy to find Oliver Plunkett anchored next to us! Wonderful surprise, and they were cleaning a HUGE, 50” Mahi Mahi when we arrived to say hello. Immediately got invited for dinner, so that was fun. We had a chance to hear about their week without us at Long Island, and they had a chance to hear all about our love of Red Shank Cays, that was their recommendation. Stradimarius was still in George Town due to a breakdown in communication, but we were all hopeful they’d be joining the team soon.
Jacques had a leaking hose going into his oil cooler and was having no luck getting it free from the cooler, so he was thinking of heading over to Nassau in order to see someone with the proper tools. We had heard of a Bahamian sloop regatta being held at Little Farmers Cay on Friday, called the Farmers First Friday in February Festival or 5 F’s. That sounded like fun to us, so we agreed to meet again at Staniel Cay on the 14th, unless they had bigger problems than what Jacques was expecting.
Coconut Beach
31 January 2012 | Lee Stocking Cay
Tuesday
We decided to spend an entire day just lounging on a beach, so we took Scout for a 5 minute ride to /Coconut Beach, around the corner from Legacy; packed lunch and took beach chairs and an umbrella. Lazy day of reading and some hiking. Climbed up Perry’s Hill to the highest point in the Exumas. Fabulous view, and the anchorage looks like someplace Legacy would enjoy.