As Country Joe McDonald sings... this is "Paradise with an Ocean View"

I need to preface this update by letting you know that we intended to post it on April 27th, as you will read below. However, the satellite Internet connection at Norman's Cay was not strong enough to allow us to do that so we are posting this now, as previously written, and will post another update before we leave Warderick Wells early next week.

We left the Nassau Harbor Club Marina Tuesday afternoon, April 22nd, and spent a quiet evening anchored at Rose Island. Wednesday we set course for Ship Channel Cay with a strong northwest wind and a quartering sea. The anchorage at Ship Channel Cay was west-facing and we could see as we got close to the shore that there was no protection from the northwest wind. So, we turned south to go to Allan's Cay and were promptly hit on the beam with 3- to 5-foot waves. Fortunately, Allan's Cay was only a few more miles south. The anchorage was pretty full when we arrived so we went to the north end and found a spot to drop the hook in about six feet of crystal-clear water.

It was still rough in the anchorage but nothing like it had been on the outside! We also had the tidal surge to deal with at Allan's and between the strong north wind and the surge, the boat essentially bobbed and rolled continuously. After putting the dinghy down we went around to the east side of Leaf Cay, just east of Allan's Cay, to a nice, protected beach where we spent a few hours enjoying being out of the wind. While we were there we met a couple who had sailed to the Exumas from England and were on their way back. They apparently had some pretty scary weather along the way, including 25-foot seas at one point during a storm, and the wife hadn't decided if she was going to make the return trip on the boat or fly back to England from Nassau. I'm pretty sure which option I would choose!

Our private hide-a-way on the east side of Leaf Cay.


Thursday was still rough and windy so we went to a different east-facing beach on an island a little further north and did some shelling. We then motored over to the west side of that same island where Todd snorkeled for a bit while I manned the dinghy. When he first got in the water he was spooked by a rather large barracuda but he said the underwater scenery was absolutely spectacular! He did, however, manage to brush up against some fire coral which caused an ugly, hard welt on his shoulder that lasted for several days.

The Admiral searches for sandy treasures!


Rugged beauty.


After a brief stop back at the boat, we went to yet another east-facing beach, this time on Allan's Cay, and spent a few hours reading and relaxing. However, the wind had clocked around to the east enough that we were exposed to the constant blow. That evening the boat bobbed and rocked even more than usual with increased winds and a brief rain shower. Overall, not a good night for sleep. The boat was still bouncing around quite a lot in the strong northeast wind Friday morning so we decided to move further south in the anchorage hoping to at least get away from some of the tidal surge. The wind was continuing to clock more to the east, which helped in the anchorage, but the surge continued to be a factor.

That afternoon we went to a west-facing beach on Leaf Cay, just a short distance from where the boat was anchored, and hung out for a few hours. This beach is one of two designated "Iguana Beaches" and excursion boats from Nassau generally show up twice each day loaded with people who want to see the iguanas. They are used to being fed and are not very shy about walking up to you to see if you've got anything for them.

Relaxing on Iguana Beach with Life's2Short in the background.

Iguanas looking for a handout... aren't they "cute?"



Southwest Allan's Cay anchorage and the only tall palm tree in the area.


We decided to go to Norman's Cay Saturday and anchored on the west side of the island. Unfortunately, the island is very narrow and didn't afford much protection from the east wind, but at least we didn't have the tidal surge to deal with.

The anchorage at Norman's Cay.



Norman's Cay, which is approximately six miles long and 1000 feet wide on average, is one of the longest islands in the Exumas. Norman's gained notoriety during the late 1970's and early 1980's when it was used as a base for a very profitable cocaine smuggling operation led by drug lord Carlos Lehder. Today, the only reminders are the bullet holes in some of the buildings on the south end of the cay and the airplane that crashed in about ten feet of water east of the old marina dock on the south end of the island.

Saturday afternoon we dinghied over to the beach and found the Norman's Cay Beach Club, which was surprisingly nice and predictably expensive. The least expensive "meal" on the menu was a jumbo hot dog for $8.00 and sandwiches, a la carte, started at $13.00. We elected not to eat but we did buy a couple of Kaliks, a Bahamiam beer, for $5.00 per bottle which seems to be a fairly common price (unless you're at Atlantis where it's $7.50!).

Norman's Cay Beach Club, formerly known as McDuff's.


A truly unique open-air restroom, complete with a flushable toilet and running water.


Stefan, the owner of Norman's Cay Beach Club, along with Sally the bartender/waitress.


We started chatting with Sally and learned that she and her husband, Mark, are from a small town in Missouri called Elkhead, somewhere along Highway 14 between Ozark and Ava. Who would have imagined running in to someone from southwest Missouri living and working on Norman's Cay in the Exumas? Yet another example of how small the world is.

We also met several other people while at the bar, five of which had come in on a transport boat that moves various types of cargo between the islands. Mike, the captain, told us that they had quite a time moving some pigs, goats and chickens in rough seas a few days ago. We had seen the boat come through the anchorage at Allan's Cay when we were there but didn't know what kind of boat it was, what they were doing or where they were going. As we talked to Mike, we learned that the boat, named "Yamacraw," was built in the Chesapeake Bay area in 1922 and was originally used to transport fish from the fishing fleets back to land, and because it is a documented vessel it was used in 1944 by the military as a buoy tender in Chesapeake Bay.

After a while Mike told us they were going to take Mark (Sally's husband) to the northwest part of Norman's Cay to pick up a vehicle he had left there earlier and we somehow got invited to go along. We dinghied back to our boat and Mike and his crew picked us up on their way north. Todd stayed in the pilothouse with Mike nearly the entire trip while I stood out on the deck talking to various members of the crew. It was a fun experience with some unique individuals, but I have to admit to being a little nervous going off on a boat with a group of guys we knew nothing about! On the other hand, Mr. Friendly (a.k.a. Todd) didn't seem to think there was anything to worry about and, thankfully, he was right!

Just a bunch of old hippies, and Brenda, out for an evening cruise! What a GREAT time!






We went back over to the Beach Club early this afternoon to share a hamburger and noticed a wireless router on a nearby table. We asked about using it to connect to the Internet to upload the blog and were told we could, so our plan is to go back over later this afternoon and do just that, especially since we don't know when we will have another opportunity. We are assuming that the Internet access is via satellite since there is no telephone service on the island.

The wind is currently blowing out of the east but is moving to the south and is supposed to clock around to the north again by mid-week, so our plan, as of today, is to travel south a few miles to Shroud Cay tomorrow, spend a couple of days there and then possibly come back to anchor on the south end of Norman's Cay until the north wind calms down. Of course, this is all dependent on the weather but the anchorages on Shroud Cay are on the west side of the island so we definitely don't want to be there when the wind shifts to the west and north. This may be "paradise with an ocean view," but the constant wind tends to dictate when and from where you are able to enjoy it!