Exumas - Cruising Paradise
Karen:
Highborne Cay
We left Nassau at 9am and set off for 35nm to reach Highborne Cay. Our much anticipated Exuma leg of the trip had begun! Winds were light and we motored most of the way.
We got the fishing rods out. Brunswick Marina had a great community of people selling their unwanted things, and Michael had purchased 2 rods + fishing tackle box full of lures AND a full set of snorkel gear for 4 for $150. The time had come to try our luck.
Being very new to fishing, we didn't know what to expect. It was not long at all until we had our first bite! Michael got on the rod and started to reel him in. We could see him bouncing around behind the boat. We had just finished reading the passage out of ‘Cruising Chef’s Cookbook’ on how to catch a fish - which is pretty hilarious, and was the basis of our knowledge. According to the author, when you have reeled in a fish, you then put gloves on, and grab the line to pull the fish onboard, put it in a garbage bag, which calms the fish down. You then whack it on the head (harder is better!). And this was a pretty big fish! Almost 3 feet long and thin, beautiful silver colour. Michael got it right up next to the boat and started walking forward with it. Why? Not sure. But the line snapped and it sadly got away. It was probably a barracuda anyway which is not edible and we would have thrown back, but it would have been nice to keep the lure!
I chose the next lure and let the line out again. A few minutes later the rod bent and we had another fish on!! Again we could see it bouncing behind the boat. This time, we slowed the boat down, and I reeled in the fish, a beautiful, much smaller one, that we identified as a yellow tail snapper - a great eating fish! Seasoned now, we pulled it on board, got it in the bag and Michael did the deed of whacking it on the head. We had caught a fish!
More Youtubing on how to clean and fillet. I felt it was my duty as I had caught the fish. I was using our regular kitchen knives so not quite as smooth as the videos but I had a good technique. We ended up with 2 nice filets that I pan fried with butter and we had a little Saltspring chili oil with - it was divine. We are all hooked on fishing.
Highborne Cay is gorgeous. The Exumas are the main cruising grounds of the Bahamas for a reason - white sand beaches, turquoise water, just what you picture when you think of Caribbean cruising. We were able to pick up a mooring ball for free! An American company has installed a fantastic mooring field, with the intention of charging for it, but it was not approved by the Bahamian Government. So these balls are just sitting there waiting to be removed. We had a snorkel off some rocks and let Christian take the dingy on his own around the bay - he was really ripping around and having a blast planing with our 15hp outboard.
Shroud Cay
We had a late start as we only had 15 nm to cover for our next stop. We sailed for an hour but ended up motoring when the ESE winds died at 1pm. More fishing today but only Christian caught a barracuda, so we threw it back. We entered the National Park and got anchored up early, by about 2pm. This anchorage was recommended by Gary as it has a long, meandering cut across the island that you can dingy (or paddleboard, we don't have ours inflated yet), to a reef on the other side that has a cut you can float on and get pushed out the other side - giving you the feeling of being washed out to sea! You end up on a huge shallow sandbank and can walk or swim against the strong current to do it all again! It's called ‘the washing machine’
We took the long way to dingy there, avoiding shallows, spotting sea turtles and enjoying the ride. There were a few other people there, but not many. We had a luxurious swim and snorkel and float, soaking in the gorgeous scenery. Christian built an incredible sand sculpture out of the dripping white sand. It was a lovely lazy afternoon.
Staniel Cay
We had the anchor up at 9am and were sailing by 9.30. By 12.30 we had to turn the motor on as the winds had calmed.Our next stop along the Exuma chain was Staniel Cay, a small community with some famous Thunderball Grotto, used in the filming of the James Bond movie of the same name, so of course we had to watch the movie to get in the mood. This was another 35nm from Shroud.
The next day, we took a rest day here and got in the dingy in the morning to go check out the cave. We took turns, Michael and Flo went snorkeling first and Christian and I climbed up on top of the island and could peer down through the holes into the cave itself. Michael and I traded off and I went snorkelling into the cave with Flo as my guide. I love how fearless she is in the water. She took me around the outside and through a small opening into the cave, we had to swim hard against the current. There were a few other people there, and we watched 2 brothers from texas film each other scale the wall of the cave and do backflips into the water. Wow! Another group arrived and let them know that they could cliff jump into the water if you climb up the outside where I had been with Christian earlier. These 2 were off and had climbed up and were then jumping 30 ft from the top of the cave into the water! It was pretty fun to watch them, I'm sure giving Flo some ideas for the future.
We dingying into town and went for a walk. Its a small community with just a few stores, restaurants and a Marina. We bought some cold drinks and checked out the general store. I secretly bought some icing & cake mix (Michael’s birthday is coming up) and also some bug spray and fly traps as we are having a battle with flies at the moment on the boat.
Flo has been jealous of my sarong I picked up at a thrift store in St Augustine, so we went on a mission to find her one - she picked out an awesome rainbow one that suits her perfectly. Sarongs remind us of our friends at home, Sarah, Anjali and Arya, who always had the best ones when they stayed with us on Saltspring. Sigh, tinges of homesickness as we miss our friends.
The next stop was at the pig beach. There is a colony (?) of pigs that are cared for on the beach that we anchored off, where you can pet and swim with pigs!! This very unusual attraction was a hit. Christian in particular really bonded with the pigs, he did not want to leave them. They were all piled in a heap under their shady gazebo, napping. Then, 1 pig would decide he needed to find a new spot and would bulldoze through the group, causing mayhem of snorting, kicking and rolling over. Then they would all settle again. There were baby pigs nursing, who were a little more energetic and with lovely velvety soft ears you could stroke. Some of the pigs would go for a refreshing dip and then come back to the group and get back to napping. One fell asleep in the water tray. Christian got in the hammock above the sleeping pigs and swung back and forth, joining the nap.
Rudder Cut Cay
Getting to Rudder Cut Cay meant we had 2 tidal passes to navigate. Our 6 foot draft means we are too deep to stay on the inside passage, so timed our passage back to the Atlantic side at 10 am. We could then have a leisurely sail south and make the 5.30 tide change back into Rudder Cut to anchor for the night.
Another glorious day. We have the kids doing school in the mornings and they can get their fishing rods out once they are finished school. We had a couple bites and a couple big ones get away. Our lures collection is shrinking, so I am on the lookout of how to make your own. We listen to music, chill on the foredeck and look at the ocean.
Rudder Cut’s claim to fame is that David Copperfield owns one of the nearby islands and sunk a piano that can be snorkeled to. So after we anchor up, we go for a snorkel to look at it. There is a mermaid playing the piano - we take some photos. Michael and Christian also got the drone out and did some filming of us jumping off the boat. At the end of our swim, Flo and I were in the water, and I looked over and saw a massive shark!! I waved frantically at her and got her out of the water. We looked down and could see the dark shadowy shape. We got Michael and took a closer look and realized its a nurse shark - not one of the dangerous ones. So Michael and Flo jumped back in the water to swim with the shark. I still had the creeps and was not feeling that! There is also another large fish & baby that are loving the shade of our hull and appear to be snacking on something on our keel. So cool.
