On the Way to Glovers Reef? South Water Cay, Belize, Feb 10, 2013, #32

When we left Placencia last Friday (Feb 8th), we intended to spend a night somewhere on our way to Glover's Reef. It didn't quite work out that way, as often happens, and we are still "on our way" to Glover's!

We dinghied up the canal in Placencia to the Hokey Pokey dock and filled the jerry cans with fuel (they have both diesel and gasoline, and it's so easy there - the fuel pumps are right beside the dock), loaded up with provisions from Mings Grocery and the produce stand by the cemetary, had one last gelato at Tutti Fruitti, bought a couple of pounds of coffee at Above Grounds and a fish burger at the Purple Monkey and we were off. Two hours later, we dropped anchor by Wippari Cay where we circled around and around trying to find a place less than 30 ft deep yet free of coral heads. A lovely big white mooring ball was staring us in the face but we weren't sure about taking it. While I was calling the Whip Ray lodge on the phone, an incoming Moorings catamaran called on the radio to ask if we were taking the ball. To my reply of, "Yes, if it's OK with the lodge and if it's a secure mooring", the gentleman - and he really was a gentleman - said, "Yes it is a good one. I was on it a few days ago, and go ahead and take it - you got here first!" I told you he was a gentleman. Seconds later, Julian answered the phone and confirmed that his two mooring balls are available, free of charge, to visiting boats.

Ashore on this tiny cay, we found a charming little palapa where Beverly had just finished serving delicious lobster pizza to a crowd of land visitors and boat visitors. We hopped up on bar stools, quickly had Belikins in hand, and while I admired Beverly's gorgeous ziricote wood salad bowl, Liam and Jim listened carefully to Julian's fishing advice. It turns out that Julian is a renowned fly fisherman who has been in the business for 35 years. They have two cabanas to house fly-in fly fishermen, and he was most generous with his time and tips (and Beverly was generous with left over pizza!) Check out their website at www.whipraycayelodge.com, or send Julian Cabral an email at whipraycaye@yahoo.com if you want an expert flyfishing guide.

We sailed much of the way to South Water Cay on Saturday, fishing lines out and fingers crossed. And sure enough, Liam reeled in a barracuda. Now in the Bahamas, those were guaranteed to be thrown back in, but Julian told us that: barracudas caught inside the reef are ok, barracudas that have healthy-looking scales are OK, if you stick something silver in it and it doesn't get tarnished, the barracuda is OK to eat. And so, Liam cleaned and filleted it - and stuck a silver fork in it, I pan-fried it, we all ate it, and it was good. And we are all still feeling well!!

We enjoyed a pleasant stroll around the cay, taking a look at the IZE (International Zoological Expeditions) education centre (no educational groups here at the moment) and the very attractive beach cottages at the south end. The Grand Mariner (that small cruise ship we saw in Placencia) was here but left in the evening, making it a lovely quiet place. The fishing boat in the picture went cruising by us - we bought fish from one just like it last year out at Turneffe Atoll. The anchorage was a little rolly overnight, but nothing objectionable at all, and all 5 boats were facing north at dusk but east again by morning. The Fisheries officers arrived beside us about 5 minutes after we got there to collect $10 B per person park fees, and they told us that we could swim, snorkel, do some catch and release fishing, and stay overnight in the parks. (We had been told at the SEA (Southern Environmental Association) office in Placencia that cruising boats were no longer allowed to stay overnight in park areas and must have a guide to do any activities. This seemed preposterous to us at the time, and appears to have no relation to the rules enforced by officers out on the water.)

Soooo �... Sunday �... Going to Glover's Reef Day. Not! We lifted anchor and headed out through the cut in the barrier reef at 8:30. It's a nice wide cut and that part went smoothly. But the waves were well over a metre and the wind was right on our nose - meaning a bouncy motor sail all the way. After a short discussion, we all agreed that was an unnecessary way to spend a few hours and there were other places to go, so we turned around, came back in, and had a leisurely 3.5 kt sail over turquoise seas along the inside of the reef up to Tobacco Cay. What a contrast! Tobacco Cay (a tiny one) is listed as a day anchorage although if you don't mind the swell and the wind is right, it would feel similar to South Water Cay. A couple of fishermen roared up to sell us 2 lobster tails, and Liam and I did some snorkeling along the edge of the reef but we didn't go ashore. It seemed to be really crowded with cabins and there was wind coming so we opted to move a bit farther west to Tobacco Range. That turned out to be a bit of an adventure as we sailed slowly down along the west side to get back to the Southern entrance. The depth was fine most of the way (at least 8 ft - giving us 2 ft to spare) until we got down to the southwest corner when we skimmed between some shoals and over a bar with inches to spare. It's a great all weather anchorage though and the entrance would have been straightforward from the south. There are sandy bars coming out from both sides and you have to slalom through them, but there is lots of water inside and room for several boats. Anchor was down by 4 o'clock and we dined on curried lobster and rice under the stars. One more great day in the cays - even if we weren't at Glover's Reef.