Day 265 - 268 March 12 - 15, 2023

 Day 265 Sunday, March 12, 2023

Nassau Harbour Club and Marina, Nassau to Highbourne Cay, Exumas

Although this is Day 265 of our adventure, it is also DAY 100 TRAVEL DAY!  It's hard to believe that we've spent 165 days  exploring the places we are in.  To be fair though we did spend 40 days in Clearwater Florida and 38 days in Stock Island Florida. That's 2.5 months where the boat sat still.  Truthfully our count should never be close.  That would mean that we are rushing our adventure.

Today we head to an anchorage at Highbourne Cay. First thing on the agenda is to refuel before we head out.  We took 150.6 gallons at $5.75/gal, 10% VAT included.  VAT is the Value Added Tax that is added to most every purchase in the Bahamas.

  We could admire the mega yachts while we were getting fuel.

Our travel day was sunny and pretty calm.  We left the dock at 08:30 and were joined by Witness.  They decided to travel south with us instead of sit several days waiting for good weather to travel north.  Winds blowing from the north are never good for travel in the Bahamas.  

   Beautiful homes line the Nassau Harbor

We scouted out anchorages weaving our way through the shallow waters around Allan Cay.  Allan Cay is known for the rare and endangered Rock Iguanas.  There was already a lot of boats in the limited anchorage so we moved over to the bay at Highbourne Cay.  

We anchored, rafted to Call Me Curly in 12-13 feet of water, and then dropped our dinghy.  Witness anchored closer to shore -- they have a dog that probably appreciates a chance to go to shore.

  

The dinghy motor is protesting, not wanting to idle.  Jerry spent some time trying to work out the kinks. We enjoyed calls to family, our yummy leftovers and then Wizards.  As usual, Grant wins.  

We planned to spend an additional day at anchor to check out the iguanas but the winds have changed so we will be moving on tomorrow.

Day 266 Monday, March 13, 2023

Highbourne Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas

We had a very windy and rolling night.  Jerry didn't sleep.  We were going to move on but the seas were too rough.  Instead we re-anchored closer to shore, separately from Call Me Curly, hoping for calm. It was.  Highbourne Cay has a resort and marina on the private island.  Boats at anchor are not allowed to use the private beach but can come in via dinghy to the marina to get groceries or go to their high end restaurant.

Our new anchorage was much better but we did try several times to see if we could get into the marina.   Witness decided to move on despite the rougher seas.  

Day 267 Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Still no vacancy at Highbourne Cay Marina.  Should we move to the other side of the island or try to move on?  We made the decision to move on to Normans Cay or beyond, depending on the wind.  We traveled the Exuma Sound side (vs. the Exuma Bank); the seas were calm at 1 foot.

We passed Norman Cay and Warderick Wells both recommended sights to visit and traveled on to Staniel Cay, taking advantage of a great day.  Staniel Cay Marina has both slips and mooring balls.  We didn't have a reservation but hoped we could snag one of the first come, first serve moorings.  Our friends on Phil-N-Wild, Anna Dee, and Donna Lynn have been at Staniel Cay for a few days; we passed them on mooring balls.  We didn't have any luck with our search for one.  Phil-N-Wild on mooring ball

The entrance into Staniel Cay is subject to the wind and waves from the west (Exuma Bank) and the current developed on the east side of the Cay.  As a result we rode huge swells, huge breakers and swift current into the waters around the islands and Cay as the water mixes from each side.  Pretty impressive.  

  Once through the entrance to Staniel Cay

Boat docked at owners home!

We ended up anchoring along with several boats "between the Majors", Big Major and Little Major Islands, not far from the marina.  This area was quite protected from all sides except the north.  Our anchor set hard and we felt confident we would be good for the night.  Grant picked us up by dinghy and we enjoyed boat tales on Call Me Curly. 

Pictures don't really show how pretty the water is!

Day 268 Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Anchorage between the Majors

Terrible night at anchor.  Jerry spent the night on anchor watch up in the fly bridge.  We knew that our anchor was going to hold but he was concerned that other boats anchors could drag or we could swing into each other.  Certainly an advantage to a mooring ball -- no worries about your anchor or swinging into others.  Winds picked up overnight and boats all around us were resetting their anchors.  Our anchor alarm went off a couple of times;  Call Me Curly had to reset their anchor.  

Only bonus was that the rain and thunderstorms rinsed the salt off the boat!  The fly bridge canvas has decided to leak so Jerry got wet doing anchor watch.  Because of our stressful night we decided to change anchorages.  So did lots of boats!  

 We moved to Pig Bay near Pig Beach, hoping to be calmer.  LOTS of boats but plenty of room for us.  

Can you see the pigs on shore?

We had a gray, rainy day and weather predictions aren't good.  Bahamas are still experiencing a wintery weather pattern of North- Northeast winds, which aren't very favorable for travel.  Since we can't get in the marina it is important for us to have a good anchorage.  Our anchor set well and we can see the pigs on Pig Beach from here so hopefully this will be a good spot; 40 knot wind gusts are predicted for tonight, fingers crossed.

   Jerry checking our bridle.

We decided to finally celebrate making it to Staniel Cay and the Exumas with a steak.  It was so windy that Jerry couldn't light the grill.  We had to use the generator and cook it on the stove.  We decided to do shared anchor watches, taking turns while the other slept.  Jerry is pretty tired after so many sleepless nights. Our friends on Call Me Curly had another terrible night.  Their bridle snubber broke which allowed their boat to swing around.  They struggled to install a makeshift solution in the wind and rain while boats around them were concerned that the boat was dragging and would hit them.  Lots of concern voiced on the VHS radio.  The winds finally calmed from around 11:30 to 3am and then picked up again, although not as bad.

There was a kite surfer enjoying the strong winds.  It was getting so dark I don't know how the dinghy following him could see him.  I tried to get a pic of him but hard to see him through the door.

Day 261 - 264 March 8 - 11, 2023

 Day 261 Wednesday, March 8, 2023

We woke to rain so we chilled around the boat.  Jerry walked the docks and saw a boat getting fuel.  He was at $16,000 and still counting.  That’s a big boat and a lot of fuel at $5.75/gallon!  Later we headed to the Straw Market with Sharon.  It has changed a lot since we were there last when we cruised Royal Caribbean.  Lots of the same stuff at each booth, not much that is hand crafted.  Since it's in the center of the cruise ship port it is very crowded. 

 Government building

Day 262 Thursday, March 9, 2023

Today is laundry day.  Each washer/dryer requires $3 worth of tokens that you purchase from the office.  This must be to discourage theft and locals from using the machines.  Everybody had the same idea so I had to wait for the washers to be free.  $18 later my 3 loads of laundry were done.  Jerry headed to Solomon’s Fresh Market in the shopping plaza across the street for milk.

Once the laundry was done we decided to do real grocery shopping and headed back to Solomon’s.  It was quite well stocked and not as expensive as I thought it would be.  We paid $7.19 for a gallon of milk, $1.49 for a lime, $6.89 for Dave's Bagels (only ones they had), Vlasic pickles for $5 and $7.49 for a 3 pack of romaine lettuce. 

The shopping plaza also had a Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, NAPA, a boutique clothing store and Starbucks, among other stores.  I made a point to go into the store where they made clothing and bags from the materials that they screen print on site.   The fabric was primarily white background with a single vibrant color in a tropical type design.  They made it as both upholstery and lighter weight fabric.

 Silk screened fabric

Groceries put away we joined Sharon and Grant for dock tales.  

The marina is YERY rocky and rolly with all of the boat traffic going by.  We sat on the dock with Call Me Curly for dock tales in order to get off the boats.  There we met Peter the dock master.  Quite the character, he is Greek, 74 years old, a former pilot and has a lot of colorful history.  His wife's family owns the marina, the hotel, the shopping plaza across the street and a construction company.

 Some big boats in the marina.  This one is Lonestar.

We enjoy people watching on the docks and Peter shared a lot of info about the boats around us.  Most of the mega yachts are actually chartered.  Owners charter them out so that the boat will always be in "ship shape".  The boat doesn't sit dormant and is always ready to cruise when the owner is.  We watched the  crews provision  and scrub in anticipation of their next guests.  We spoke to a man who was on a diving charter.  He paid $1500 for a 4 day charter. It included 4 dives daily, 3 meals and snacks each day, and alcohol.  He was doing the trip with his son.  Peter told us the only draw back with that is the bunk beds.  "You don't know who is farting above you!"  

 Day 263 Friday, March 10, 2023

We are still considering when it would be best to leave.  We decided to do some sight seeing. We got a taxi (an expensive ride at $45) and headed to Jack Watling's Distillery.  Not at all what we expected, the free tour was only 10 minutes long and then an opportunity to purchase their rum and vodka products.  Of course they had a bar and teased us with a Pina Colada sample at the start of the tour. 

 

  

Cemeteries along our walk.  They are all above ground.

     

 

We walked the neighborhoods and found ourselves at Pirate's Republic Brewing, our next planned adventure.  Inside we found a bar/restaurant and no brewery.  So, I asked.  I was told that they had outgrown the space and had moved the brewery to near the airport, 20 minutes away.  The manager saw my disappointment and  realizing we had walked quite a way he offered the 4 of us a free drink.  That made it all better. 

  

We added a snack and all was good.  We wandered the town and shops some more and then headed back to the boat.  Tired of the heat and walking, we got another taxi -- somehow this one was much cheaper!

 Our boats in the marina.

Surprise!  Jennifer, Seth and family were at the pool.  They had spent 2 nights at the Nassau Atlantis Marina and Resort.  The resort includes aquariums, pools, marine habitat, exclusive shopping, a casino and more. After their big splurge and now were waiting out the weather before heading back north. They are home schooling their 2 teenagers while doing the Loop.

We opted for dinner at the marina restaurant, Latitudes.  Excellent choice.  Great view of the marina and harbor and really good food.  The menu offered sushi, seafood, steaks, gourmet pizzas and Italian.  Jerry had the Bolognese and I had the chicken parmesan.  We shared a Caprese salad and Bailey's cheesecake for dessert.  Everything was delicious.

 View from the restaurant of our boat and Call Me Curly

Day 264 Saturday, March 11, 2023 

We are still waiting on the weather and getting very tired of the rocking in the marina.  Antsy and ready to move on, Jerry and I decided to adventure on our own and started walking into town. We walked all the way to the Margaritaville Hotel!  We walked around the resort, like we belonged there.

  

 

 Glass chandelier of fish, bubbles, and floating jellyfish.

 View of the private beach, and attractions at Margaritaville

  Margaritaville balcony with infinity pool and hot tub.

Definitely a different atmosphere from the downtown streets and poverty that we had seen during our Nassau stay. 

We wandered and did some shopping (another T-shirt purchase) and then started walking balk.  We treated ourselves at about halfway back with another stop at The Green Parrot.  This time I had a Mango Daquiri; I highly recommend them. 

Back at the pool we visited with Call Me Curly and Witness.  Weather is always the discussion; we are leaving the dock tomorrow and headed south to the Exumas.  Witness may join us since travel northward isn't an option for over a week; they would rather explore another area instead of sitting in the same spot for a week.

Our original dinner option was closed so we chose Latitudes for dinner again. We introduced Sharon and Grant; this time I had chicken alfredo and Jerry had the lasagna rolls.  Leftovers for tomorrow.  The clocks change tonight!!