Friday, January 26, 2018

Down in Da Exumas Man!

From Chubb Cay, we crossed the Exuma Bank avoiding the yellow bank and white bank.  In fact leaving from the west side of Nassau gives a much cleaner shot at the Exumas - so I will remember that one. 
Nassau West End

From Chubb, we went to Highborne Cay - perhaps one of the few Cays in the northern Exumas that has any facilities.  We found what we thought was a great anchorage just north of Highborne Cay marina.  It had pretty good wind shelter, but the rollers were coming in as remnants of the earlier north winds.  And they didn't subside over night.  It was a rolly one......very much so.  things flew around the boat all night and not much sleep was had.  Worst thing - Salty had to go ashore.  So pitch dark, driving rain, big ass rollers and off we went to a beach we had not been to before.  Not a very good idea from a safety perspective - but I love the little guy and well; the things we do for our four-legged friends.  I carried my VHF so I could tell friends if we had a problem.  But we accomplished the mission.

The next day.....well the girls had had enough of rolling, so we we went over to Highborne marina.  Of course the seas settled.......so well, we just paid the marina and had a good time.  We will just wait for the credit card bill.

From Highborne, we moved on to the Exumas Land and Sea Park; an absolutely awesome place.  We just love that place, but we were now on a critical schedule to pick up friends from the airport in Georgetown, so we stayed the night and moved on.  We will be heading back up this way soon to get photos and relax.  Our next stop was Little Farmers Cay. Remembering the best lobster we have had, we once again dined at Ocean Cabin where proprietors Terry and Ernestine Bain once again  made us feel welcome and yet again.........the best Bahamian Lobster EVER!  Again, it was a quick stop overnight as we were now a day away from friends arriving in Georgetown.  With an early start and reasonable (not great) weather conditions, we made the hop into the Atlantic through Farmers Cay Cut and down to Emerald Bay Marina.  Its about a 30 mile jump, but can be very weather dependant.  First, conditions have to be OK to get out of the narrow cut into the Atlantic.  At the wrong tide, and especially with wind against tide, rage conditions can occur.  Second, since we were in the open Atlantic, sea conditions need to be at least OK.  For this trip they were OK - not the best as we had to motor with big rollers.  And Third, you need conditions to be favourable to get into Emerald Bay Marina.  Under the wrong conditions, there can be big rollers in the marina entrance.

Well - we made it.  As we tied up the boats, our guest's taxi arrived bringing them from Georgetown Airport.  Talk about "just in time delivery!"

As predicted, we had a cold front on our heels, and while we were safe in the marina, we were essentially trapped until it passed.  Three days.  But as you can see, there are plenty of wort places to be trapped for a few days!  The marina is nice.  Prices reasonable (for the Bahamas) $2.25 per foot per day for a serviced dock and $1 per foot for a slip with no power or water (3 day min).

Next door is the Grand Isle Resort with a nice restaurant, bar and pool.  And a short walk down the beach is Sandals, Exumas.

 You can purchase a day pass to Sandals from the Marina....or you can simply walk by and take in the sights!

While we were ar Emerald Bay, we rented a car so that we could take a trip into Georgetown and generally re-provision.  It was good to be on land a little while, although we know that our guests were anxious to see something other than a marina.  But sometimes, the weather just dictates.....and it is what it is.


In my next post, we visit the swimming pigs, Thunderball Grotto, and Oven Rock.  Stay tuned......the weather has us pinned today (Jan 26, 2018), so maybe I will get caught up!

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