Cathy Visits the Exumas

When we last left you on May 20th, we were at Black Point taking care of a variety of chores. We had planned to head north that afternoon but Tom & Jackie ("In Your Dreams") came up from Little Farmers so we decided to hang there another day.  About 4:00 p.m. we joined Jack & Susan ("Freyja") and Tom & Jackie on the beach for Susan's homemade white sangria and then "Freyja" and "Life's2Short" went to Lorraine's for dinner that evening.

Thursday dawned cloudy with some light rain but we needed to head to Sampson Cay marina to fill up with water, as it had been thirty days since our last fill-up, and get settled at Big Majors in preparation for Cathy's arrival Friday afternoon. Cathy is a dear friend of ours who lives in St. Petersburg and we are thrilled that she agreed to visit us in the Exumas this year!

While we were at Sampson Cay marina, Stanley, who Todd originally met several weeks ago when we were anchored between Staniel Cay and Black Point, came in to the marina with a boat full of fresh fish and we ended up buying half of a large hogfish snapper to grill for Cathy's first evening with us.

Stanley with the fish he and his buddies speared in 60 to 80 feet of water! That's the hogfish snapper he is holding.


The sharks at Sampson Cay circling Stanley's boat waiting for a treat!


We were anchored at Big Majors Spot by 2:30 and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing. It ended up raining all day, which is very unusual in the Exumas, but it finally cleared off about 6:00 p.m. Friday morning was spent cleaning the boat up a bit and then we dinghied to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club mid-afternoon to meet Cathy. We had a few drinks there, came back to "Life's2Short" and promptly went to the beach for happy hour.

Cathy got to fly in the co-pilot's seat on the Watermakers Air flight to Staniel Cay. How cool is that!


Cathy arrives at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club by golf cart shortly after landing.


Together again....!


Among other items, Cathy brought the party hats. Party glasses to follow.


Cathy meets her fishing guide, Foodey. Instant buds they were!


Cathy's first Exumas happy hour on the beach at Big Majors.


The Captain donning a pair of the party glasses Cathy brought for us.


Todd had made arrangements with Foodey, who is a friend of Stanley's, to take Cathy deep sea fishing for a half-day on Saturday; however, it was somewhat stormy Saturday morning and they weren't sure they were going to go. But it finally stopped raining around 11:00 a.m. and they decided to brave it. The seas were pretty rough, probably three- to five-feet, and they got drenched with salt water but ended up catching a barracuda and two Mahi-mahi and even had a sailfish on the line for a while, although everyone was so awed by it that no one thought to take a photo before it broke free!

Off on our day of rough and wet fishing.


What a smile...FISH ON!!!


Looks like it's going to be fresh Mahi-mahi for dinner tonight!


By 2:30 they had had enough so they stopped by "Life's2Short" to pick me up and we all went to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club to clean the fish. Actually, the Captain cleaned the fish while Cathy & I went to the bar for a cold beverage! Upon returning to the boat we packed up and headed for the beach for a relaxing happy hour.

Nice biceps, Cathy. Fishing is great exercise!


Troll getting up close and personal with Mr. Cuda.


Sunday morning we moved to an anchorage on the west side of Pipe Cay and did some exploring, including the DECCA Station (now in ruins) which we believe was used by the Navy during the Cuban missile crisis. By the time we returned to "Life's2Short," more rain had moved in so we stayed put for a few hours waiting for it to pass.

A previous cruiser's work of art at the DECCA station on Pipe Cay.


Enjoying the water around the old DECCA station.


About 2:00 p.m. we moved to an anchorage at Fowl Cay (a.k.a. Chicken Cay) and went to check out the beach there for happy hour. It was still cloudy but at least the rain had stopped.

Heading out for another anchorage and adventure.


The girls checking out our anchorage at Chicken Cay - what a view! ;-)


Sorry about the view!


The view from our happy hour beach on Chicken Cay.


Rough weather rolls in, batten down the hatches!


Unfortunately, when we returned from the beach storms were forming to the east and the wind starting blowing out of the east/northeast causing the anchorage to get quite surgey. So we once again hauled anchor (for the third time that day!) and moved to the west side of Compass Cay.

Monday was a beautifully calm and sunny morning so we dinghied over to Compass Cay marina for a quick visit and then through a shallow bay just north of our anchorage to show Cathy the huge starfish we found in there last year. As luck would have it, we were there at high tide so Cathy had to don her snorkel to dive down and pick one up!

The infamous "friendly" sharks at Compass Cay marina.


Cathy finds her first starfish!


By this time the wind had switched back to the south/southwest so we returned to the anchorage at Fowl/Chicken Cay and Todd & Cathy did some snorkeling in the vicinity after lunch. Unfortunately, they saw both a reef shark and a barracuda on their first dive so they quickly found another nearby reef to check out!

When they returned we all went to snorkel the caves at Rocky Dundas - my first time in the water since we arrived in the Exumas on April 8th! Even though the water is still a little cooler than I prefer, we had a good time and returned to "Life's2Short" in time to go to the beach for happy hour where we gathered a nice pile of wood for an evening fire. But by the time we had finished dinner, the storm clouds were moving in - again - and our fire got rained out.

Tuesday was another beautifully calm and sunny morning and we headed to Rachel's Bubble bath just before high tide. The Captain's timing was perfect and even though Exuma Sound was calm, the bubble bath did not disappoint.

Headed to the Bubble Bath on Compass Cay.


A must-see when in this area.



The view from the top.





An Osprey watches us as we head back to the dinghy.



After cruising through starfish bay again, we returned to "Life's2Short" for a quick lunch and then moved to an anchorage at Bell Island. From there we took a dinghy trip north to Little Halls Pond where Todd & Cathy did some more snorkeling and then we went west to Sandy Cay which literally has a mile-long strip of sand that is exposed at low tide. A very cool place and one of Cathy's favorites!



The Captain & Admiral have a quiet walk on Sandy Cay.


On the way back to Bell Island we cut over to the east side of Little Halls Pond where we came across some of the Bahamians who work on the island, which is owned by Johnny Depp. We pulled in to one of the coves near the dock where the workers' boat was tied up and they came down to the beach in a golf cart to chat with us.

Cathy makes more friends with the Bahamians.


They were very friendly and invited us to go party with them that evening at Sampson and/or Staniel Cays, but we decided to return to our own little beach at Bell Island which turned out to be almost more fun than we could handle!

All I can say is we tried and tried to have fun while Cathy was here - mission accomplished!







Todd & Cathy went to snorkel the Sea Aquarium late Wednesday morning while I prepared brunch and then they cruised by Little Halls Pond again to talk to their new friends. The Bahamians spoke highly of Johnny Depp and his family and are very grateful to be working there. What a nice group of guys!

Cathy enjoys her morning at the Sea Aquarium.



Some of the homemade beach furniture on Little Halls Pond Cay.



We left Bell Island early Wednesday afternoon and fished via the Sound from Compass to Staniel Cay with no luck - probably because the seas were calm! After we got anchored at Big Majors, we met "In Your Dreams" and "Freyja" on the beach for happy hour and then went to "In Your Dreams" where we all had fresh Mahi for dinner, courtesy of Todd & Cathy's fishing trip with Foodey. Thanks for hosting us, Tom & Jackie!

Back at Big Majors with Cathy, watching the wild goats that live on the island.



Getting "rum-punched" with "In Your Dreams" and "Freyja."


Thursday was a mellow morning and was primarily spent getting things together for Cathy's departure. She was originally scheduled to leave Wednesday but we talked her in to staying an extra day. We tried for more but she wouldn't go for it! At any rate, we loaded everything up about 12:30 p.m. and dinghied over to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club to meet Tom & Jackie and Jack & Susan for lunch.

After a very active, fun-filled five days we were all worn out and the plane that was flying in to take Cathy back to Florida was running late, but they finally headed to the airport about 4:00 p.m., even though we learned later that they didn't actually depart Staniel Cay until 5:30 p.m. - a two-hour delay! Poor Cathy had to be exhausted by the time she landed in Ft. Lauderdale and drove another four hours home, but she made it home safely and that's all that really matters.  Thanks for allowing us to host you on "Life's2Short" in the Exumas, Cathy. We had a blast!

As we were relaxing on the boat Thursday evening, Todd spotted a motor yacht anchored north of Big Majors Spot that he thought was "Off Island," which we knew from our trip here last year. Since he couldn't quite make out the boat name using the binoculars, he dinghied over to check it out and he was right - it was "Off Island." Todd spoke with Paul, Doug & Monica, and Paul invited us to join them on Friday for a fishing and snorkeling trip several miles out on the Bahama Bank, near the Tongue of the Ocean. Not being a big fan of open water, I declined but Todd was very excited to join them!

Friday morning Todd changed the oil in the generator first thing and then got his gear together for the day's adventure. Paul and Doug picked Todd up at 10:00 a.m. in Paul's beautiful new Intrepid fishing boat, named "1/2 Off." While Todd was gone I took advantage of the opportunity to catch up on our blog notes over the past nine days, even though we probably won't be able to post it until we reach the Park Headquarters at Warderick Wells (which is where we are today, June 5th).

With that I will end this update and the next one will begin with Todd's fishing adventure aboard "1/2 Off." Hopefully we will have a chance to post a final Exumas update from Normans Cay before we start making our way west sometime within the next week, weather permitting.