Shedd Park

From Black Point, we stayed on the Bahama Banks down to Little Farmer's Cay where we enjoyed a few days of scenic walks and views while awaiting suitable conditions to go out to Exuma Sound and down to Georgetown, Great Exuma Island. We fished almost all the way down to the cut into Elizabeth Harbour, but the only bite we had was so sudden and forceful that the entire rod flew off the boat, never to be seen again!

With the annual Cruisers' Regatta soon approaching, the boat count was already over 350 in Elizabeth Harbour. We joined the masses for a few days, took our favorite walk and got provisions before having our fill of the chaos and seeking out a more peaceful setting.

We chose Moriah Harbour Cay, part of a national park that we hadn't visited before. We were able to tuck in closer to shore than the charts indicated, thanks to the greater depths we found on our hand held depth sounder. This enabled us to cut off some of the NE ocean swells that we had read about in reviews from other cruisers. In addition, a cruiser anchored nearby showed us how to rig up a swell bridle. Swell bridles only work when there is some wind and, with ESE winds of 10-15 kts, our conditions were perfect for it. We had only a few neighbors and enjoyed 5 days there, walking the long beach and sand bars, exploring the network of crystal clear mangrove lined creeks and floating down the Lazy River.

Our weather has been as good as we can ever remember it here, which has allowed us lots of flexibility. After spending a couple of days in Red Shanks, where we had almost all around protection and dinghy access to provisions, we ventured for the first time down to the Jumento Cays. We chose the Hog Cay Cut, a way to save half a day of travel to get there, but it was touch and go with the depths. The high tide was lower than normal and we only had 6-8 inches to spare below the keel for about 20 minutes as we crossed over the bar on the west side of the cut. Not for the faint of heart....

We spent our first night at Water Cay, anchored alone in front of dramatic white cliffs. We went from there to Flamingo Cay and anchored alone in the Bight in front of a long white sandy beach and surrounded by amazing healthy coral. We did some great snorkeling right near the boat in perfect conditions- warm water and no current. The third night we were back at Water Cay, this time anchored alone in a gorgeous little cove, also near decent snorkeling. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful at finding any lobsters.

With the high tide prediction even lower than the one when we had come through Hog Cay Cut, we chose to go the long way around Hog Cay and headed over to Long Island. We're anchored by Bain's Bluff near Simms, the oldest settlement on the island. We took a much needed walk this morning and noticed several closed businesses and abandoned houses. Other than the private homes, high school, primary school, medical clinic and police station, there isn't much going on here, Twice, however, cars stopped and asked us if we needed a ride. Two young women even offered to take us to the store, the closest one being about 12 miles away. Not in need of anything, we politely turned them down and walked away overwhelmed by their kindness!

We were hoping to move north up Long Island then go east to Conception Island, but now the seas aren't favorable for this coming week. We plan to move north tomorrow anyway and spend a few days up in Calabash Bay, another new destination! Stay tuned...Read more