5.8.13
Warning - this is a long post, but worth the read!
We just finished loading Kathleen and Shane onto their planes to head back to real life. What a great four days we had with them!
Shane arrived first and was just in time to snorkel Thunderball grotto. The day was perfect and there was no one else in the cave so we had time to swim around and enjoy the fish and coral without anyone running into or over us.
Kathleen arrived a few hours later and once we had everyone safely loaded into the boat, we pulled up anchor and headed up to Big Major Spot. Unfortunately, the first day they were there, the wind was steady out of the west and we were wide open and vulnerable. We spent the evening at the beach just to get off the rocking boat. We met up with our friends on Kanaloa again and they generously gave us some of their mahi in exchange for some of our beer. After avoiding the bouncing boat for as long as we could, we finally headed back for a delicious fish dinner. We all turned in early as the hours in the sun had worn everyone out.
The following day, the west winds remained so we all got off the boat for some reprieve from the waves. We dinghied around the back side of the islands into some calmer waters and to enjoy the beaches. At lunch, we returned to the boat to find that the wind had finally backed off and we were rocking comfortably. In celebration of Cinco de Drinko, we opted to move the mothership back over near Staniel Cay to attend their happy hour and Mexican buffet night. We headed in that evening and all enjoyed some cervecas and a delicious buffet of tacos and key lime pie. We all ate our weight in tacos and then crawled back to the boat.
We woke everyone up early the following morning and headed North into the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Unfortunately, the wind had died down to nothing, which, while comfortable for sitting at anchor, does not bode well for a traveling sailboat. We tacked for a good two hours and when we had only gotten three miles from Staniel Cay, opted to turn on the motor. We made it just South of the park and so after lunch, dinghied over into the park for some snorkeling. We had heard that Cambridge Cay was one of the best snorkeling spots in the park, so we were excited to show our guests some of the beautiful coral and fish.
After scouting out some of the coral spots, we realized they were in strong current, so we decided to go two at a time, leaving two people to man the dinghy while the other two drift snorkeled the sights. Shane and I were first in, and after about 10 minutes of floating along with the current, we realized the corals there a lot to be desired. They were mostly soft corals and the almost no fish. We climbed back into the dinghy to search out other spots. Brad and Shane were next in at the next site and found the current to be even stronger and the coral to be small.
Kathleen and I had had enough of dinghying around, so the boys dropped us off at the beach and they continued the hunt for snorkel spots. While the girls were working on their tans, the boys found a few decent snorkel sites and also a plane wreck to snorkel.
We were all hoping to snorkel Rocky Dundas, which is supposed to be a neat cave with stalactites and stalagmites, but the current was running too swiftly to allow us entrance.
The following day, we hauled up anchor around 0800 and headed out into the Exuma Sound to try our hand at fishing. It was a beautiful morning, and despite having to motor the whole way since there was no wind, everyone was relaxed and enjoyed the cruise. Unfortunately, we were not successful in our fish catching venture.
Once inside the Staniel Cay Cut, we anchored right in front of Thunderball Grotto to go again and show Kathleen. We took some fish food (corns bits) and headed over. The day was perfect to snorkel, so of course the grotto was crowded. We waited until there was a lull, then headed inside. Everyone got a chance to feed the fish and we took lots of pictures before another group of tourons descended onto the cave. After some lady crawled up my back because she couldn't swim in the current, I took that as a sign to head back to the boat.
We upped anchor again and headed back to Big Major Spot and took them over to visit the notorious swimming pigs. When we dinghied over and showed them we had some carrots to offer, two of them swam out to our dinghy. Shane, the country boy, easily lead them close enough to the dinghy for some good pictures and then fed them the carrots and we dinghied out of the way and circled around the go in again. This time, Kathleen tried to feed the pig, but she was holding the carrot out with one hand and trying to take pictures with the other. She was so focused on taking the pictures, that she was neglecting to give the pig the carrot and he got his head very far in before she quickly dropped the carrot and we sped out of his way. We went in one more time, this time with Brad holding the carrot. He was even worse than Kathleen. When the pig approached, he wanted him to get as close as possible, but when he opened his mouth right next Brad, he panicked and stood up. The pig was not leaving without that carrot and launched himself out of the water and put one of his hooves on the dinghy in pursuit of the carrot, we all screamed and Brad held the carrot higher for fear of losing a finger. Finally, he dropped the carrot for the pig and the pig dropped back into the water. If he had waited another minute, we might have had a pig in the dinghy and I have a feeling the four of us would have been in the water. We were all laughing hysterically and the other boat watching us said we were more entertaining than the pigs. We considered that a succesful pig feeding and headed back to the boat before the pigs approached again.
We spent the remainder of the day swimming with Koa off the back of the boat and then ended the night with a bonfire on the beach. It was a relaxing end to their vacation.
Kathleen arrived a few hours later and once we had everyone safely loaded into the boat, we pulled up anchor and headed up to Big Major Spot. Unfortunately, the first day they were there, the wind was steady out of the west and we were wide open and vulnerable. We spent the evening at the beach just to get off the rocking boat. We met up with our friends on Kanaloa again and they generously gave us some of their mahi in exchange for some of our beer. After avoiding the bouncing boat for as long as we could, we finally headed back for a delicious fish dinner. We all turned in early as the hours in the sun had worn everyone out.
The following day, the west winds remained so we all got off the boat for some reprieve from the waves. We dinghied around the back side of the islands into some calmer waters and to enjoy the beaches. At lunch, we returned to the boat to find that the wind had finally backed off and we were rocking comfortably. In celebration of Cinco de Drinko, we opted to move the mothership back over near Staniel Cay to attend their happy hour and Mexican buffet night. We headed in that evening and all enjoyed some cervecas and a delicious buffet of tacos and key lime pie. We all ate our weight in tacos and then crawled back to the boat.
We woke everyone up early the following morning and headed North into the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Unfortunately, the wind had died down to nothing, which, while comfortable for sitting at anchor, does not bode well for a traveling sailboat. We tacked for a good two hours and when we had only gotten three miles from Staniel Cay, opted to turn on the motor. We made it just South of the park and so after lunch, dinghied over into the park for some snorkeling. We had heard that Cambridge Cay was one of the best snorkeling spots in the park, so we were excited to show our guests some of the beautiful coral and fish.
After scouting out some of the coral spots, we realized they were in strong current, so we decided to go two at a time, leaving two people to man the dinghy while the other two drift snorkeled the sights. Shane and I were first in, and after about 10 minutes of floating along with the current, we realized the corals there a lot to be desired. They were mostly soft corals and the almost no fish. We climbed back into the dinghy to search out other spots. Brad and Shane were next in at the next site and found the current to be even stronger and the coral to be small.
Kathleen and I had had enough of dinghying around, so the boys dropped us off at the beach and they continued the hunt for snorkel spots. While the girls were working on their tans, the boys found a few decent snorkel sites and also a plane wreck to snorkel.
We were all hoping to snorkel Rocky Dundas, which is supposed to be a neat cave with stalactites and stalagmites, but the current was running too swiftly to allow us entrance.
The following day, we hauled up anchor around 0800 and headed out into the Exuma Sound to try our hand at fishing. It was a beautiful morning, and despite having to motor the whole way since there was no wind, everyone was relaxed and enjoyed the cruise. Unfortunately, we were not successful in our fish catching venture.
Once inside the Staniel Cay Cut, we anchored right in front of Thunderball Grotto to go again and show Kathleen. We took some fish food (corns bits) and headed over. The day was perfect to snorkel, so of course the grotto was crowded. We waited until there was a lull, then headed inside. Everyone got a chance to feed the fish and we took lots of pictures before another group of tourons descended onto the cave. After some lady crawled up my back because she couldn't swim in the current, I took that as a sign to head back to the boat.
We upped anchor again and headed back to Big Major Spot and took them over to visit the notorious swimming pigs. When we dinghied over and showed them we had some carrots to offer, two of them swam out to our dinghy. Shane, the country boy, easily lead them close enough to the dinghy for some good pictures and then fed them the carrots and we dinghied out of the way and circled around the go in again. This time, Kathleen tried to feed the pig, but she was holding the carrot out with one hand and trying to take pictures with the other. She was so focused on taking the pictures, that she was neglecting to give the pig the carrot and he got his head very far in before she quickly dropped the carrot and we sped out of his way. We went in one more time, this time with Brad holding the carrot. He was even worse than Kathleen. When the pig approached, he wanted him to get as close as possible, but when he opened his mouth right next Brad, he panicked and stood up. The pig was not leaving without that carrot and launched himself out of the water and put one of his hooves on the dinghy in pursuit of the carrot, we all screamed and Brad held the carrot higher for fear of losing a finger. Finally, he dropped the carrot for the pig and the pig dropped back into the water. If he had waited another minute, we might have had a pig in the dinghy and I have a feeling the four of us would have been in the water. We were all laughing hysterically and the other boat watching us said we were more entertaining than the pigs. We considered that a succesful pig feeding and headed back to the boat before the pigs approached again.
We spent the remainder of the day swimming with Koa off the back of the boat and then ended the night with a bonfire on the beach. It was a relaxing end to their vacation.
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