Black Point Settlement—a perfect mix of quiet and activity

The reviews are in—we love Black Point!  This small, friendly settlement has a great anchorage with protection from all but west winds, crystal clear waters, happy hour and events, reasonably-priced restaurant options, and the BEST laundromat I’ve seen in a long time!  Oh, and delicious bread baked by Lorraine’s mom!  They also share their town water (via jerry can) and make trash drop-off easy for a small donation. 

We spent almost a week here between two different anchorages.  We were able to take long walks ashore, meet other cruisers, and even have games/happy hour/a bonfire on the beach!  The kids loved the fact that we could get pizza and ice cream, and I don’t think they totally minded that we had popcorn for dinner one night.  There weren’t a ton of snorkel spots, but we did find some reefs (and our first lobster of the trip!) while we were anchored south of the settlement. And the wind was finally calm enough for us to bust out the paddle boards.  

Who knew that cleaning bedding could be so relaxing and beautiful?

Scorpio’s Cruisers Happy Hour was so good that we went three times!

Cruisers play-day included bocce, SUP races, happy hour, a bonfire, and good times with great folks.

We hiked to the blowhole, found bananas in a sink hole, and scored a delicious lobster dinner!

I could go back there in a heartbeat!  But it’s high time we continued south.  We are somehow sailing and making 2-3 knots good in only 5 knots of wind on our way to Little Farmers Cay!

Between the Majors—fun and pain

We ended up spending three nights anchored between Big and Little Major Cays.  In hindsight, we should have only stayed for two!  But...we dropped the hook Monday, well ahead of Tuesday night’s west wind, to ensure we had a safe spot.  With fairly calm weather Tuesday during the day, we revisited Thunderball Grotto and hit a few snorkeling spots with our friends on S/V No Limits.  It was a great day!

When we returned to the boat, it was clear that the dreaded wind vs. current was in play at this anchorage as the chain was grinding against the bow and the boat wouldn’t point into the wind.  Grrrr.  We ported the helm and that seemed to help.  

Wednesday saw the worst of the west wind, with it clocking to the north as evening set in.  This is when we should have moved.  But with our anchor holding well we stayed put.  Around 0300 I heard and felt waves slapping on the side of the boat thought I could hear the chain along the hull way farther back than it should be.  On deck with a flashlight, I was certain we had again gotten the chain wrapped around the hull.  The Captain disagreed at first, but a thud around midship confirmed it.  So he dropped the dinghy and I put the helm over again.  At some point the wheel had centered—I’m pretty sure this was the start of our problem.  With the wheel to port and a nudge of the dinghy we were able to free the chain from the keel and get back to riding the same direction as the other boats.

At some point, one of the little plastic guards covering a drain hole in the anchor locker got broken, but that seems to be the only casualty.  I still hate anchoring in these conditions.  Maybe I had the snubbers out too far, but then I fear the chain would have scraped up more of the bow.  Or maybe our new lightweight chain is too light and we need a kellet when anchoring in current.  Whatever the “perfect” combo is, we haven’t found it yet.  

After all of that fun, we are out of here!  Time to go check out Black Point and get some rest!

A sweet visit to Bitter Guana

After another stop at Staniel Cay for some brisk wind, we decided to head south to Bitter Guana Cay for a night.  This is another prime spot for rock iguanas so a few tour boats and cruisers were around throughout the day, but by sunset the place was all ours!  We visited with the iguanas and got hissed at by them, and also hiked to the Atlantic side.  The rugged beauty was amazing.  

As we settled in to watch the sunset, the kids treated us to cocktails and breakfast-for-dinner!  It was a very relaxing evening!

After that glorious, peaceful night, we are on our way north to hide from some west wind “between the Majors.”  We are out in the sound, trying to catch a fish as we head to shelter!

ECLSP—Cambridge Cay

My, oh my, we may have a new “top 5” spot in the Bahamas!  We spent two nights on a mooring ball at Cambridge Cay within the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park and we absolutely loved it!  It had everything—peace, tranquility, great snorkeling, AND internet!  The teen was pleased.  But seriously, this little spot has access to some of the best snorkeling we’ve enjoyed yet and some little hiking trails—we would happily go back.  The challenge—the sites are spread out, so you can either make some long hauls in the dinghy or shift anchorages to get closer; currents and tides need to be respected; and given the tides/currents, you really can’t rush this experience!  We were very fortunate to be traveling with our friends on “No Limits” for this one. Since we have a small engine on our dinghy, we can’t go on plane with the whole family so they routinely took one of the kids with them so we could all run fast!  They are also pro-socializers and organized happy hours to meet the other boaters.  It was just such an overall great experience!  I even had a cooking triumph with my first (successful!) attempt at making naan!

Highlights:

- Snorkeling Tom’s Elkhorn Reef, Coral Garden, Rocky Dundas, The Sea Aquarium, and Airplane Reef.

- Exploring the caves at Rocky Dundas, the Bell Rock Trail, Rachel’s Bubblebath, and the cairn garden.

- Sea life in the reefs and the moorings!  We saw turtles, barracuda, a black tip reef shark, stingrays, and an eagle ray all from the mooring.

- People.  Isn’t that what makes every experience better?  We got to share it all with great people.

I took LOTS of photos and videos over our two days at this location.  Here are some of my favorites!

Staniel Cay

After a week in Sampson Cay we pulled the hook to head south!  We had visited Big Major to see the pigs and hang out a bit on Cruiser’s Beach, so we decided to head there.

When we pulled the hook there was some chafe on our snubber lines—may have to craft something for that—and a little wear on the Dyneema shackles we use to attach the snubbers to the chain, but otherwise all was well.  We dropped the hook off Pig Beach and headed to town for an unsuccessful provisioning run, but a highly successful lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club!

But the real treat was yet to come!  We grabbed the kids for a wet and wild dinghy ride to Thunderball Grotto!  Wow, it was amazing!  I loved the pockets of light and life within the cave, and the reef along its outer edges.  The kids loved going in and out through little holes, and we got to explore with our friends from S/V No Limits.  It was a wonderful afternoon!

Tomorrow we sail back north to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park for a few days while the weather holds!