On to the Exumas

12/28 – When we woke this morning, we found that the strong winds had somewhat subsided. It was still breezy, but the weather forecast called for decreased winds and diminishing seas. We had been in a marina far too long and were anxious to move on. We huddled with the gang on Second Star and decided, at the very least, to leave the marina and head to Rose Island and anchor there if the weather proved too tenuous. Once out of the Nassau Harbor area and heading to the Exumas across the Banks we decided the sea conditions were acceptable and continued to press on. Unfortunately, we’d gotten a late start and realized we couldn’t make it quite as far as we intended (Highborne Cay), so we decided on Allan’s Cay which was a bit closer. We chose to navigate by way of the White Banks instead of the Yellow Banks as there were fewer coral heads and patch reefs. Once out a couple of hours we encountered stronger winds and seas were on our beam (not our favorite point of sail). Our ETA was 5:00 p.m. – a little later than we’d have liked as it didn’t leave us much margin for error before sundown.

We ended up making it fine with the anchorage having fewer boats than we expected. We were all settled in before 5:30. However, we decided from now on our hours of cruising (unless we’re making a long passage) should be between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Plenty of time for a nice leisurely morning as you really shouldn’t travel in the Bahamas until the sun is overhead so you can read the waters – as they say in the Islands, later is better. Then arriving by 2:00 p.m. gives us plenty of leeway and time for exploring in the afternoon. Anyway, that’s our plan and we’re sticking to it (until we change it!!)

12/29 – We were up shortly after sunrise and after a quick breakfast hopped into the dinghy for a little exploring. Allan’s Cay is uninhabited, except by iguanas. Most everyone comes to this Cay to see the iguanas, and we were no exception so we went in search of the critters. There were several signs posted explaining the fact that they are an endangered species along with several other interesting facts about them. They are actually quite curious and come up to you so you really don’t have to hunt very hard. We strolled along the beaches of both Leaf Cay and Southwest Allan’s Cay for an hour or two and then returned to our boat, raised the dinghy and headed out to our next destination.

We had a very short run with flat seas to Norman’s Cay – quite delightful compared to yesterday’s travels. There are several different anchorages in and around Norman’s Cay, but we choose to simply drop anchor on the west side of the island in the lee from the eastern winds. When we arrived there was only one other boat already anchored, with another one just ahead of us ready to throw the hook out.

After settling in, we dropped the dinghy, picked up Michael and Jana and went ashore for lunch at MacDuff’s. Great atmosphere and food , although a bit pricey. There was also a very neat yellow lab named Salt to play with. However, instead of tossing a tennis ball (like we used to do with our chocolate lab Rocky), we tossed a coconut for him to retrieve. After lunch it was back to the boat where we relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed just being in the Islands. Life is good!!!