Position: N 24 19.168 W 075 28.416
Yet another front comes through the Exumas and we head north to Warderick Wells to sit it out. We get great protection there and like the many trails we can walk even during bad weather. We’re getting tired of running back and forth around the Exumas to hide from weather, so, after the front passes and the winds clock around to the north we decide to go somewhere else. This weather is a perfect opportunity to head east to Cat Island on a beam reach. We set off early for the 57 nm trip knowing it’s going to be a long day. The wind and seas are perfect and the sun is shining – we’ve been waiting all winter for a sailing day like this. To make things even better we catch a 35” mahi mahi about half way across. About 45 minutes later we have it aboard, filleted and refrigerated and the cockpit clean again.
We arrive at Arthurs Town, Cat Island and drop anchor for the night. Over the next days we travel along the west coast of Cat Island passing towns with names like The Lot, Zion Hill, Bluff, Rokers, Gaiters, and Industrious Hill. Landmarks on the chart describe the coast: Pompey Rocks, Big Bluff, Ben Bluff, Lindsays Bluff, and Curry Murry Bluff. We are intrigued by some notes on the chart along the way: “cave”; “brackish wells”; “bat cave”. The coast is mostly ironshore interspersed with high bluffs and the occasional beach making a dinghy landing possible. The waters contain scattered coral heads, so we keep a close watch whenever we’re on the move.
We’ve been at Cat Island for 10 days now and have fallen in love with it. One of the Bahamas more remote islands and for us that is one of its biggest assets. We’ve been the only boat in all of our chosen anchorages until just the last couple of days. The VHF radio is virtually silent, and we’ve been enjoying the quiet and solitude.
Cat Island has very few anchorages that are protected from the west, one of the main reasons many cruisers tend not to come here. For the first time this winter, however, the forecast is for ten days to two weeks of easterly winds, making it a perfect opportunity for us to explore this beautiful island. The weird part is that we sit at anchor and look off the back of the boat and are looking straight out into the ocean. It’s a disconcerting yet liberating feeling.
Most days we go off exploring by land. We dinghy ashore from wherever we are anchored and start to walk along the road - there’s really only one road that runs the length of the island. Usually within a few minutes, maybe 15 at the most, a car will drive by, stop, and offer us a ride. When asked where we want to go we say “Wherever you are going, we are just exploring”. They usually get a chuckle out of that and say “Well, come on, then!”
, and we pile in. We have met the nicest people and learned a lot about life on this small island. After 10 days we have covered most of the northern 2/3 of the island. We’ll give you some highlights of our explorations in the next Khronicle.Quiet and content,
