It’s Sunday morning and yet another sunny day in the Bahamas. Yesterday we motored about 20 miles into a brisk wind, unfortunately as I would have much preferred to sail. The forecast for the next few days calls for strong winds from the east which is too close to our course to allow for sailing. That’s fine as we had planned to spend a few days at Big Major Spot and Staniel Cay, where we are now. Staniel Cay is known for Thunderball Cave, a very popular snorkeling spot which we hope to visit while we are here. This may be a familiar name to you as the cave was used as a filming spot in the James Bond movie of the same name. The entrance to the cave is only accessible at low tide when the current is slack and you can get into the cave without diving, something that a snorkeler wouldn’t want to do. I am told that there is a hole in the ceiling where sun streams in.
Also, another “attraction” is that Big Major Spot is known for their wild pig population. I understand that these guys are very used to cruisers and will swim out to your boat to get any treats that you might have for them. I expect that we will visit them today and I’ll be reporting back on our “encounter” soon. I wonder if they are they are the bacon sort of pigs? I’ll call them “turf”.
We are anchored about a mile from Staniel Cay so getting there by dink is a bit of an adventure with wind and waves on the bow. Our run into town yesterday was a bit rough and took quite a long time. Once there, however, we enjoyed walking around the settlement, visiting the local grocery and yacht club. Everything in the Bahamas is brought in by ship and between the extra freight and duty, prices are high. Believe it or not, we paid $7.50 a pound for red peppers. The lady in the store said that the were like gold, no kidding.
We also had a great lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club a fun place that seems to be the social hub of the island. They have a signature rum drink that’s just terrific. It’s made with coconut rum, cranberry and pineapple juice. Yumm… As you can see, the club is a casual spot. I didn’t see a New York Yacht Club burgee hung from the ceiling. I wonder if the NYYC offers reciprocity with “members” of this club. Perhaps not.
Speaking of “surf”. This morning was the arrival of two nurse sharks off of our stern. I just stuck my hand into the water off of the swim platform and got this shot. They look little but aren’t. I expect that they were about 4-5 feet long. They were having a nice nap it seems and were there for about a half hour. I wonder if Brenda will be swimming today? Perhaps her “encounter” with the ray the other day has made her more brave. Anyone want to place some bets on a swim today by Brenda?
We have been working our way south through the Exumas and are now only a short distance from George Town and are looking forward to meeting up with our boys there on the 9th.
I’ll close with a great sunset. Not bad…
