Position: N24 11.521 W076 27.207
We left Black Point and headed north (10 miles of sailing) to Staniel Cay. There was a front coming through and we wanted more protection from the westerly winds than Black Point affords.
Just north of Staniel Cay there are two islands named ‘Big Majors Spot’ and ‘Little Majors Spot’. Rachel chose to head up to Staniel Cay and ride out the front “between the Majors” as the channel between the two islands is known locally.
We were joined there by four other boats, one of which was some friends we hadn’t seen since we left Normans Cay about three weeks ago. While we were volunteering at the park, they went on down to Georgetown and are now heading back up the Exumas.
Not much to say about our time during the frontal passage – pretty much just three days on the boat, pointing in one direction when the tide’s coming in and the other when it’s going out. We did enjoy a few walks on the island, lots of reading, and some bouncing about as the winds clocked around ….
There are three big rocks (small islands?) between Staniel Cay and Big Majors Spot. The largest of these contains the “Thunderball Grotto”, famous for its appearance in the James Bond movies “Thunderball” and “Never Say Never Again”, and the Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah movie “Splash”. We’ve been wanting to snorkel it since we’ve been in the Bahamas today we got our chance. Not wanting to sound too blasé the fish and the corals were awesome. People bring breadcrumbs into the grotto and the fish mill around to eat the crumbs. This makes the fish very tame and they will come right up to you and nibble at you. It’s too bad we don’t have an underwater camera.
When we leave we’ll be going out into the Exuma Sound through the Big Rock Cut. This, and most of the other cuts in the Exumas, can be a bit tricky if you don’t get the tides right. The banks west of the Exumas are like a giant table – with every tide change huge amounts of water flow in from Exuma Sound to cover the table, and then back out again as it drains. Much of this flow takes place through the cuts between islands. When the tide is really flowing it's not a place you want to be in a boat, for sure.
We are a bit behind on the Khronicles so here’s a brief update & synopsis to bring you up-to-date:
March 11 – Tuesday: N24 05.977 W076 24.147
We upped anchor and headed back to Black Point to “top off” the laundry
March 12 – Wednesday: N23 57.859 W076 18.933
Wind dead on the nose, motored 13 miles to Little Farmers Cay. Lovely little island with only 50 residents, school with 10 students K-9 grade, a grocery, liquor store and 2 restaurants. Rather a strange combination!!
March 13 – Thursday: N23 37.796 W075 54.889
Had a fantastic sail, 31 miles, down the Exuma sound with 10 knots on the beam to Emerald Bay just north of Georgetown. It’s sails like these that remind us of what we love most about living on Rachel. We spent the night in a marina for the first time since February 1st. The big draw was that the $50 slip fee included free laundry, great showers, easy fueling and free on-request shuttle to the grocery and liquor stores.
March 14th – Friday: N23 30.864 W075 44.730
We arrived in Georgetown, cruising capital of the Bahamas, and dropped anchor off Sand Dollar Beach on Stocking Island. So many boats!! We’ll tell you more about Georgetown in the next Khronicle. And this week we have WiFi on the boat!!
