Staniel Cay — Cupcake Afloat

It’s all about the weather. As you know, every day (except Sunday) Ellen and I wake up at 6:30am to listen to the shortwave weather broadcast for the Bahamas. We even take notes. Moss generally joins us and does a remarkable job keeping quiet during the broadcast. Keeping quiet is not one of her strengths.

And the weather has been crazy lately. First we had a string of nasty cold fronts, pretty much from just after Thanksgiving until late last week. Now we are getting really brisk winds out of the east. East winds are our favorites in the Bahamas these days because the better weather protection in the Exumas is found on the west side (leeward side) of the islands.

Today we are in an extremely protected anchorage just north of Staniel Cay. The anchorage is called Big Majors Spot (we don’t know why). Although the wind is really howling now (20s gusting to 30) we don’t feel much of it because we are snuggled right up against the island and it blocks the wind. No waves to speak of here either (except during the day when the jet skis and wakeboarders come by). So it is a very safe, restful spot. Best place at anchor since we left the US. (Great and Little Harbour were calm, but neither was ideal for a host of reasons.)

Voodoo catamaran in a sand castle anchorage.

After leaving the marina a few days ago, we headed to Shroud Cay – a favorite of Simon’s from our last trip. Although the anchorage was flat out awful (once again we took a recommendation from a catamaran) the island was magical. We took faithful Mr. Flowerpot across the island on a river through the mangroves. We emerged at the most beautiful beach we have seen since the last most beautiful beach. The current the falling tide made as it churned through the river and emptied into the ocean was formidable. The boys and I jumped in and rode the current around a rocky outcropping and then swam ashore to the sand. Over and over again. Climbed to the top of the little island to see the magnificent view. Built voodoo-catamarans and cast them into the sea. Had a wonderful time. Then we hightailed it to Hawksbill Cay where we met a kid boat (Magnolia) and had a much less rocky night anchored in the lee of the island. (Landlubbers: I use “island” and “cay” interchangeably when I talk about the landmasses, but I use “Cay” when it is the proper name of the spot. I don’t know if there is a real difference and I don’t know why some of the islands of the Bahamas are called cays and some are called islands.)

Sacrificing the voodoo catamaran to the malestrom.

Yesterday we sailed from Hawksbill Cay, intending to get to Cambridge Cay for the night. But once we got moving we realized that with a forecast that the weather would only get more fierce over the coming days, it made sense to get to the Staniel Cay area as swiftly as we could. So we altered course and got down here by early afternoon.

It was quite a sail. We saw winds building into the low 20 knot range. Cupcake likes a good breeze, but when the gusts started climbing into the 30s and then the squally rain and cloudy fog came along, it became a little less fun. For over an hour we even had the radar running so I could keep an eye on other boats around us because we weren’t the only idiots out on the water.

Fortunately, with the islands to our east blocking the bulk of the seas, although we were in whitecaps all day, the waves weren’t any bigger than 2’ or so. We still took plenty of water over the bow, into the cockpit, all over.

But this time the anchor was not dragging in the water so we were able to make good speed. It was a vigorous ride down. At about the two-hour mark I stopped enjoying myself. The funny thing is that as soon as we got to our destination, set the anchor, and realized we were safe and sound, the unpleasantness of the first part of the day melted away. Took a nice hot shower and that really did the trick. (Speaking of showers, my goodness but five people on the boat really blow through our water.)

This morning we had a delicious breakfast of Eggs in Purgatory (poached egg on a bed of grits, covered with marinara sauce). Then we all jumped in Mr. Flowerpot and headed the mile or so over bouncy seas to Thunderball Grotto. Got soaked, but we were going snorkeling anyway. (We watched the James Bond movie Thunderball the night before. What an awful movie that is. But part of it was filmed in the Exumas at the grotto, so it was actually historical research.)

The current was pretty fierce so Ellen and Moss passed on the swim in to the grotto. We will return at slack tide tomorrow or the next day or the next day. Our itinerary keeps us coming back to Staniel Cay over the next two months to pick up and drop off guests.

Thunderball Grotto is a remarkable place. At high tide this morning we needed to enter through an underwater passage. Coming up into the cave is a spectacular experience: the light is magical blue, colorful fish are schooling everywhere, and the sky peeks through a couple of holes in the top of the chamber. Really fabulous.

After the swimming we all went to Staniel Cay where Ellen was thrilled to learn trash disposal is free. Trash disposal is a critical concern aboard the boat. Trash storage and fresh food are the two limiting factors we face on a regular basis. Staniel Cay promises to solve both issues. Also, there’s a laundromat.

Trash is a particular issue today because there was some confusion among the guests as to how to use the composting head. When someone inadvertently pees in the poop bucket, the ensuing stench is truly epic. Ellen, the hero of this epic, just changed the compost bin so things are returning to normal, at least as far as odor is concerned, on Cupcake.

Ellen sees this as a picture of colorful bathing suits. I see it as a picture of our children showing their best side.