Busy week

We’ve crossed 24º latitude and are closing in on the Tropic of Cancer. (Landlubbers: look it up on the Internets because the Tropic of Cancer is pretty cool stuff. It’s the highest latitude where the sun is directly overhead at the summer solstice. Between Tropic of Cancer to the north and Tropic of Capricorn to the south, actually. We ought to cross the Tropic of Cancer in March when we head to the Ragged Islands. FYI, the Tropic of Cancer was named by the Greeks, I think.) 

Side note: we traveled something like 57 miles on our very first day in late July when we sailed from Maine to Isles of Shoals. In the two months since we arrived in the Exumas we have traveled 50 miles. We like this pace much much better.

Sailed from that lovely bay just south of Black Point where we spent two nights relaxing, fixing things, and reading, down to Rudder Cay to see some new territory and reconnect with Piper. The sail down was invigorating. We had the mainsail double-reefed and maybe half of the jib rolled out. (Landlubbers: our jib is on a contraption called a roller-fuller which acts like a cheap roll up window shade (except it is neither cheap nor a window shade) and lets us keep the sail furled on the headstay until we need it and unroll as much as is appropriate for the wind conditions. (Landlubbers: the headstay is the heavy wire that runs from the top of the mast to the bow of the boat. That wire, in conjunction with the backstay (which runs from the top of the mast to the back of the boat) and the shrouds (which run from the top of the mast to either side of the boat, and another set from the upper spreader to the sides of the boat, and another set from the lower spreader to the sides of the boat) holds up the mast.))

Crystal clear water. Last night the moon was so bright and the water so clear we could see our anchor in the sand.

The reason we had such little canvas flying is that the wind was up – about 20-22 knots with gusts into the low 30s. If you set the right amount of sail, you can move the boat safely, comfortably, and swiftly. Which is exactly what we did on the reach down to Rudder Cay where we met Piper and another kid boat, Andromedé. The place was lousy with kid boats and because of the weather which held us all there for a while, we anticipated several days of snorkeling and socializing.

We were invited to Piper for sundowners (drinks) but it turned into dinner because the bounty of fish and lobster those guys speared was so great there was enough to feed us. We brought wine and salami to the mix. A good time was had by all.

A good time was not had Monday morning when, during the anchor-raising, Ellen got her hand caught between the chain and the cleat just as a gust of wind pushed the boat back and snapped the chain tight. Torn glove, torn skin, and much blood loss ensued. She cleaned the wound and stayed happy as a lark all day. When we got to the Rudder Cay anchorage Ellen refused to let me take over anchoring duties. Because she is such a tough customer. We are lucky to have her aboard.

Nevertheless, Ellen declined to swim in the afternoon because she did not want her mangled, bloody paw attracting apex-predators. 

Not a lot of room under that keel.

I checked on the anchor alone. The anchor was fine, but boy were we cutting it close on the depth of water under the keel.

On Tuesday we had Finn and Mackie from Piper over for pancake breakfast (and to give their parents Lisa and Tripp a break). The kids stayed and played with Moss until afternoon when we all got into dinghies to explore Darby Cay. We were met by three other kid boats: Andromedé, Mohini, and Bliss. Nine kids swarmed ashore, and we made our way to the ruin of a mansion said to be the former home of a Nazi sympathizer who secretly provisioned German U-boats during World War II. The island was completely overgrown but the buildings still showed their former grandeur. Stone walls were crumbling in the undergrowth, snakes were sunning themselves on the paths. We found a big cave with bats hanging from the ceiling and big spiders in webs on the walls. The island had goats, snakes, spiders, bats, ruins, creepy history…pretty much everything we could hope for. Moss wrote a post about the experience.

Castle tower being reclaimed by the plants.

Despite the fact that Andromedé spotted some brazen lemon sharks in the water earlier, and despite the fact that the afternoon was getting long in the tooth (which means it was shark hour), several of us went into the water to check out the coral and try some spearfishing. I caught nothing because I didn’t bring my spear. Then again, I didn’t get chomped by any sharks either.

We had a leisurely trip down to Leaf Cay near Norman’s Pond Cay. Our mission profile for this part of our adventure is to take things very slowly and explore as much of the Exumas as we can. So rather than scoot down to Georgetown (where, admittedly, we need to be for supplies in advance of Jim, Sherry, and Eliot’s visit on the 27th) we are making a day trip into a week long exploration.

At Leaf I went on an epic spearfishing outing with Piper  and Andromedé. We were out hunting for about four hours, diving some pretty deep coral most of the time. At our first stop I shot at and missed a lobster in about 18’ of water but it retreated into a crevice and I never saw it again. There was a good deal of pressure for me to bring home dinner.

We kept moving from spot to spot, looking for good fish to catch and eat. Saw two enormous grouper, a few barracuda, a bunch of reef fish. The snorkeling was pretty much excellent, I really enjoy the deeper diving, at least at first. After a few hours of repeated dives to 15-20’ I was pretty well worn out. 

Our last stop was at a bunch of coral right at Adderly Cut where we sailed in to our anchorage. I saw what I though were two lobsters in a little hole, took aim, and missed. Turned out they were not two lobsters but instead one enormous monster. It retreated into the hole, I was about to give up and swim away when it emerged from a back entrance to the spot and started crawling across the coral. I shot it quickly and got it back to the dinghy before I completely freaked out.

This is Nala from Andromedé holding the monster lobster.

It weighed around ten pounds. I am still a little bit in shock about the whole episode.

The weather has been remarkably settled lately, so we have been able to explore some little islands which would otherwise make untenable stops for the night. Right now we are anchored off Black Cay which is just to the east of the northern tip of Great Exuma Island. Moss was invited to ride down on Piper from Leaf Cay, so she was our spy – trying to figure out how they catch fish offshore. But Piper outsmarted us by catching nothing so the intel-mission was a bust. However, she is sailing with them again today. Our hopes are high.

Beach at Black Cay. Our girl Cupcake in the background.

Hermit crabs feasting on a coconut.

Our kid boat flotilla expanded from three to four when Andromedé, Cupcake, and Piper were joined by Mojo. The kids kayaked, swam, fished, played LEGOs, and explored Black Cay all day. The adults did pretty much the same thing. In the evening we all got together ashore on the strip of pink sand beach for potluck dinner and roasted marshmallows. This spot is another slice of tropical bliss. 

Ellen looked at the charts and found yet another piece of perfection, Hamlet Cay. So that is where we will head for tonight. It’s under three miles away, not a particularly taxing journey.

Sea snail Ellen spotted near the boat. You can see the trail it left off to the right.

Two mermaids. Word on the street is that the magician David Copperfield commissioned this sculpture of the piano and mermaid (seated) and had it installed near Rudder Cay. Ellen is the mermaid wearing the mask.