Saturday
June 13th
Travel - Staniel to Sampson
2009-06-13 - Photo Album
SONG OF THE SEAS
2009-06-13 - Photo Album
Carol and Marny
2009-06-13 - Photo Album
Steve and Marny
SONG OF THE SEAS
|
Travel - Staniel Cay Yacht Club
to Sampson Cay Club - 14.6 Nautical
Miles
.. at 0900 we were ready to leave
Staniel but check out time at Sampson
Cay is not until noon so we relaxed on
the aft deck with our coffee .. we had a
very short run (about an hour) and also
needed to wait for the boat docked in
front of Dee Light to move so we could
get out of our slip .. the owner was
headed to the airport to pick up his
girlfriend who was flying over with his
two dogs and some guests for the weekend
..while we were waiting we were
entertained by the photographer shooting
while hanging out the door of the
Sandals helicopter .. finally at 1100
everyone was back and we were ready to
depart .. we arrived at Sampson a short
time later ..
.. got tied up and registered at the
office just in time to receive a radio
call from Steve and Marny on SONG OF THE
SEAS .. they arrived and were docked by
1300 ..
.. we launched the dinghies and took a
short ride to the shallow sandbar area
just off the marina to enjoy the water
and afternoon sun .. and catch up with
the news of Steve and Marny's trip..
ended up at the Saturday afternoon Beach
Party hosted by Sampson but by the time
we finished a couple of rum punches and
some conch salad they had run out of
chicken and ribs .. oh well - we just
decided to clean up and then headed to
the bar for an assortment of "bar
munchies" - conch fritters, wings,
and onion rings ..
.. before going up for a bite to eat
John and Ivette on Lady Fishswizzle out
of Miami stopped by to say hello and
gave us a lot of great information and
contacts about cruising the islands
south of here .. look forward to
planning the next leg of our voyage ..
|
Sunday
June 14th
In Port - Sampson Cay Club
2009-06-14 - Photo Album
Bahamas 2009 Crew
2009-06-14 - Photo Album
Carol and Marv
2009-06-14 - Photo Album
Carol and Marny
|
In
Port -
Sampson Cay Club - (242) 355-2034
we awoke to another warm and sunny day
.. Monica on SERENITY stopped by to say
goodbye .. they are headed to Highbourne
and then to Nassau to pick up their 2
grandsons who will make the return trip
to Cape Coral with them .. wished them
calm seas and fair weather with the
promise to stay in touch ..
.. enjoyed the morning breeze at the
Gazebo and resolved all the boating
issues of the day .. at 1100 we headed
out to Big Majors to visit the pigs as
we had a shopping bag full of lettuce
scraps donated by the restaurant here at
Sampson Cay .. after we left Big Majors
we to went over to Staniel as Marny
wanted to check on having their mail
sent to them this week .. stopped in at
the Club to get all the info on mail
delivery and then walked up to the bread
store to get some more coconut bread ..
returned to the marina just in time to
watch a couple of guys wrestling with a
rubber dinghy that got caught under the
dock when the tide came up .. quite a
funny sight with all the "locals"
lending their advice!
.. we decided the tide was just
way too high to snorkel Thunderball
Grotto and low tide was not until after
7 pm this evening .. so we headed
for the beach and our "infinity pool" ..
after we beached the dinghies we found
the water just perfect for a dip ..
spotted a couple of large angel fish
that swim around you in the shallows and
picked up a few more sand dollars ..
.. ended the evening back at the gazebo
where we started the day with cocktails
and snacks before dinner .. again
enjoying the evening breezes which so
far have kept the bugs at bay ..
|
Monday June 15th
In Port - Sampson Cay Club
Southern Boating
Bahamas Update
2009-06-15 - Photo Album
Rachel's Falls
2009-06-15 - Photo Album
dinghy trip to Compass Cay
|
In Port -
Sampson Cay Club - (242) 355-2034
.. we picked up a copy of the May issue
of Southern Boating which contains their
2009 Bahamas Update .. the cover shot is
of Warderick Wells at the Exuma Land and
Sea Park and the issue is full of
articles about many of the areas we been
to or our planning to visit on our
cruise..
the first thing this morning ( low
slack tide ) we were planning to snorkel
Thunderball Grotto but the skies had
numerous Thunder Heads so we decided to
postpone the trip until tomorrow .. by
noon the skies looked pretty clear so we
decided to backtrack and instead headed
up the Pipe Creek area in order for
Steve and Marny to see some of the
sights up that way ..
.. took the dinghies up the inside route
of Pipe Creek past the lighthouse at
Little Pipe Cay and then into the dock
at Compass Cay .. we walked up to hang
our new Dee Light sign board next to
last year's sign and then continued on
to spend some time at the beach .. when
we returned to the marina we played with
the sharks for a while and enjoyed a
cold Kalik at the dock .. ended the
afternoon with a trip to Rachel's Falls
and a refreshing afternoon swim in
Rachel's Bubble Bath ..
..
headed back to Sampson on the outside of
Pipe Creek since we wanted to avoid the
shallows at low tide - ended up a being
a little bumpier dinghy ride back .. by
the time we got back it was almost 5 pm
so after a quick shower we met for
cocktails at the gazebo before having
dinner in the main dining room at
Sampson Cay .. note to the younger gen
.. please teach your "younguns" to
shut the door on their way out .. and in
.. and out.. oh well - you get the
picture ..
|
Tuesday
June 16th
In Port - Sampson Cay Club
2009-06-16 - Photo Album
Thunderball Grotto
2009-06-16 - Photo Album
the Flats
2009-06-16 - Photo Album
Club Thunderball
|
In Port -
Sampson Cay Club - (242) 355-2034
first item on our morning agenda was
our postponed dinghy trip to
Thunderball Grotto .. about
0830 we left the marina during low
tide with lots of blue sky and flat
calm waters .. as we passed Big
Majors there were boats of all sizes
and descriptions anchored there with
everyone getting ready for the day's
activities .. arrived at Thunderball
and tied onto a mooring with another
dinghy .. the water was perfect with
great visibility and we had a great
morning in the grotto observing all
the fish and coral formations ..
Marny had brought along a plastic
bag of bread crumbs and she was
literally swarmed with curious and
hungry fish ..
after we returned from Thunderball
we decided to explore Sampson and
walked to the south end of the
island .. took a photo of the final
resting spot of Lady Sharon's little
dog .. on the way back the
gals searched the flats for
treasures and took a nice swim ..
.. we had hoped to try Fowl Cay for
dinner but were informed that they
are fully booked with resort guests
until the first part of July so
maybe next time .. since it was
Tuesday we decided instead to go to
Club Thunderball for their All-U-Can
Eat Pasta and Pizza night .. it was
a great choice as they make a
wonderful pizza!
.. as we left the dock for our
return trip it was a beautiful
evening and we stopped at Big Majors
to see if the the pigs might like
some pizza crusts .. not a pig in
sight .. they must have filled their
dinghy quota for the day and were
fast asleep ..
.. arrived back at Sampson Cay just
in time to watch a beautiful sunset
after another great day ..
|
Wednesday
June 17th
In Port - Sampson Cay Club
2009-06-17 - Photo Album
shelling the Flats
2009-06-17 - Photo Album
Starfish
|
In Port -
Sampson Cay Club - (242) 355-2034
.. after getting a few things done
around the boat we headed out for
the Flats near the Marina's South
Harbour to do some shelling at low
tide .. from there we took the
Dinghy to the other side of Sampson
to a beach with a gazebo on a hill
which overlooks the Exuma Sound ..
spent some time enjoying the nice
breeze and watching a large stingray
and nurse shark cruising the
shallows .. Marny found a beautiful
starfish on the bottom and after
taking a few photos we put it back
pretty much where we found it ..
.. when we returned to the boats we
used the remainder of the afternoon
to stow the dinghies and get ready
for the our departure in the morning
.. met up at the gazebo for an early
potluck dinner of salad, peas 'n
rice and pasta and cleared out
before the mosquitoes and flies
descended to have dinner on us ..
.. summer cruising season seems to
be in full swing .. both Sampson Cay
and Staniel Cay ran out of gas and
diesel fuel for the boaters .. |
Thursday June 18th
Travel - Sampson to Cave Cay
2009-06-18 - Photo Album
Steve and Carol
2009-06-18 - Photo Album
David Copperfield
2009-06-18 - Photo Album
Steve and Marny
|
Travel - Sampson to Cave Cay
.. left the dock at Sampson at 0955 ..
as it was low tide we eased our way out
over the bank until we reached deeper
water .. Song of the Seas left just
behind us .. at 1100 we ran into a
fairly dense rain bank which lasted
about 20 minutes and really helped to
wash all the salt off Dee Light as we
hadn't received any rain since leaving
Staniel last Saturday .. by the time we
reached Big Farmer's Cay only a light
rain was falling and at 1200 we were
neatly tied up alongside one of the
floating docks at Cave Cay ..
docks identical to those we have at our
home port at Legacy Marina in Fort Myers
.. Steve, the owner of Cave Cay greeted
and very graciously welcomed us to the
island and gave us some great tips for
exploring the area ..
.. at 1330 Song of the Seas arrived and
docked at Cave Cay and we all commented
on how serene, peaceful and protected it
is here at the marina .. and with a
gorgeous view off our sterns .. it looks
as if quite a bit of work has been
completed since Dee Light's visit last
year and we are anxious to take a look
around ..
.. we launched the dinghies and headed
out to check out Musha Cay .. an island
just south of Cave Cay owned by
David Copperfield - as described
in Southern Boating's May issue -
Musha Cay "is the ultimate in swanky
tropical decadency. You can rent the
entire island with accommodations for up
to 24 of your closest friends for around
$50,000 per night, including five boats
and 30 staff." It truly is
beautiful to see and really enjoyed
looking at all the different paint color
combinations used on the cottages ..
.. we stopped at the small beach and
cave just outside the marina to do a bit
of shelling and ended the afternoon with
hor d'oeuvres and cocktails on the aft
deck of Dee Light ..
|
Friday June 19th
In Port - Cave Cay
2009-06-19 - Photo Album
Waterspout
2009-06-19 - Photo Album
Ernestine and Terry
Ocean Cabin
2009-06-19 - Photo Album
JR and the gals
2009-06-19 - Photo Album
Cave Cay
|
In Port -
Cave Cay - (242) 357-0143 -
http://www.cavecay.com/
.. spent a quiet morning catching up on
a few boat chores .. Marv walked up to
the office to try to get a better
internet connection while Carol took ice
cream inventory - down to 11 cartons so
we might have to start a rationing
program or try to pick up some more in
Georgetown!??
.. at 1030 we had planned to head out
to Little Farmer's Cay for lunch ..
however, as soon as we left the marina
harbor the winds started to pick up and
we noticed a waterspout off to the
southwest along with thunder and
lightening to the north which is where
we wanted to go .. decided to postpone
the trip until the weather settled or
passed .. Autumn was very happy to see
us return and let us know we made a wise
choice!
.. by noon the dark clouds had moved on
and everyone was hungry so we headed out
again .. most of the rain stayed far
from us and the water was perfectly flat
all the way to Little Farmer's .. after
we tied off at the dinghy dock we
enjoyed talking to a group of young boys
who were catching all sorts of crabs and
small fish along the shore ..
.. we walked up the hill to Ocean Cabin
and enjoyed a wonderful lunch of cracked
conch, baked fish, conch fritters and
chowder prepared and served by our
wonderful hosts and owners Terry and
Ernestine and learned the
restaurant has been in their family for
several generations .. after lunch we
were treated to a tour by JR Woodcarver
who also takes care of the landscaping
on the island .. as we walked up to his
studio he pointed out and explained many
of the native plants and showed us the
wild tamarind trees he uses for his
woodcarvings .. we left JR's studio with
a king and queen helmet conch shell and
a Bahama man carving ..
.. on our return to Cave Cay we were
greeted at the dock by the owner's wife
Cindy along with 2 of their German
Shepherds - Zeus and Belle along with
their new little puppy Annie ..
.. later we went on an evening walk with
Autumn and took a closer look at all of
the equipment, supplies and work on the
infrastructure that has gone on here at
Cave Cay .. we are so impressed at
the amount of time and dedication it
must have taken to get it to this point
.. and determined it surely must be a
labor of love!
|
Saturday June 20th
Travel - Sampson to Cave Cay
2009-06-20 - Photo Album
Marny and Carol
2009-06-20 - Photo Album
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
2009-06-20 - Photo Album
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
2009-06-20 - Photo Album
Beach at Cave Cay
|
In Port -
Cave Cay - (242) 357-0143 -
http://www.cavecay.com/
.. we are really enjoying our stay
at Cave Cay .. we have left all the
mega yachts and sport fishing boats
behind and are exploring the cays
and inlets with no other boats in
sight .. we left the marina around
1030 this morning and headed south
.. cut thru a very thin inlet
between Little Darby Cay and Darby
Cay where we saw the ruins of a
large estate that belonged to a
German sympathizer during WWII and
who provided intelligence to the
German U Boats prowling off the US
coast ..
.. landed the dinghy at a long sand
bar just south of Little Darby Cay
to do some shelling and picked up
quite a few "critters" but
decided to leave them where we
found them .. after we left
the sand bar we headed around past
Goat Cay .. the main residence on
this island is still under
construction but that did not stop a
"famous country singing couple" (
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
) from enjoying the afternoon with
dad and the kids jumping off the
dock into the crystal waters .. we
all waved hello and then continued
south to Prime Cay where we found
another wonderful beach .. Steve
finally told Marny his dinghy was
packed to the brim and couldn't hold
any more shells ..
.. again the winds laid down and the
waters on the ride back to Cave Cay
were
absolutely flat .. when we got back
we headed around o the ocean side of
Cave Cay and went back into the
little cove that leads to a very
secluded beach we had seen earlier
.. the bottom is pretty rocky and
with the current flowing you would
definitely want to come in to this
area on a rising tide .. found a few
treasures but as the afternoon was
fading we headed back in to the
marina ..
.. we unloaded the dinghies and
eventually washed all the salt off
from our afternoon excursion
.. met aboard Song of the Sea for a
lovely dinner while watching the
sunset over the stern and said
goodbye to the end of the first day
of summer ..
|
Sunday June 21st
In Port - Cave Cay
2009-06-21 - Photo Album
the Cave at Cave Cay
2009-06-21 - Photo Album
Galliot Bank Sandbar
2009-06-21 - Photo Album
Steve and Cindy
|
In Port -
Cave Cay - (242) 357-0143 -
www.cavecay.com
( Fathers Day )
.. we continue to be amazed at
what wonderful weather we are
experiencing during our stay in the
Exumas so far.. we spent the
majority of the afternoon exploring the
Galliot Bank Sandbar that only exists in
most people's minds .. it is at least a
mile from any Cay in the middle of the
impossibly clear waters of the Bahama
Bank and stretches in a large crescent
shape for at least 5 miles .. we
found it impossible to walk the entire
bar in one afternoon .. we picked up the
best shells of our trip yet ..
.. on the way back to the marina Marny
commented that she was told that the
Exumas were beautiful but there wasn't a
lot to do .. however we continue to fill
our days experiencing this unique
landscape and knew that a couple
Ibuprofen for the old joints after we
had walked and stooped for several hours
would help us sleep well .. we finally
headed back after the dinghy was filled
with all the treasures we found ..
.. Steve and Cindy Cone joined us for
cocktails on the aft deck of Dee Light
this evening .. we are planning to leave
for Georgetown in the morning and
thanked them for a wonderful stay .. we
are reluctantly saying so long to this
very special place in the sun and sand
with hopes of returning some day soon ..
|
Monday June 22nd
Travel - Cave Cay to George Town
2009-06-22 - Photo Album
Clay, Rita-Kay, Marny, Steve
2009-06-22 - Photo Album
Exuma Docking Service
|
Travel - Cave Cay to George Town
- 38 Nautical Miles
.. after saying good-bye to Steve
Cone we left Cave Cay harbor about
0930 .. the breeze switched
direction - now coming from the
northwest ( off the islands ) and
once we got thru the cut on an
outgoing tide (about 2 knots) we had
very light one footers on our stern
.. SONG OF THE SEA put
out a couple of lines to do some
trolling and was able to snag a nice
Spanish mackerel while cruising to
George Town ..
.. we navigated the route thru
Elizabeth Harbour and were surprised
and amazed to see two dolphin on the
bow of Dee Light leading us right
into George Town! .. we
arrived at Exuma Docking Service and
tied up about 1230 .. after
checking in we took a short walk up
the road to the Harbour WI-FI office
which also happens to be a pet store
and car wash ... by the time
we returned to the marina SONG OF
THE SEA was arriving in the
harbor and were docked by 1430 ..
within 10 minutes after arriving
their friends Clay and Rita-Kay
Wetsel ( CARLEIGH -
www.carleigh2.blogspot.com
) stopped by in their dinghy to say
hello and catch up on the latest ..
Clay and Rita-Kay are from Texas and
have been cruising the Bahamas for
about a year and half now ..
.. we all decided to get together
for a casual dinner aboard SONG OF
THE SEA with Marny grilling the
large mackerel the Steve had caught
and cleaned earlier .. everyone
enjoyed a great evening sharing
tales and memories ..
|
Tuesday June 23rd
In Port - Exuma Docking
2009-06-23 - Photo Album
Dr. Cooper
2009-06-23 - Photo Album
dinner at Cheater's
|
In Port - Exuma Docking Service (
Owner - Samuel Gray Jr. ) - George Town
- (242) 336-2578 - Dockage $1.00 - Water
$.20 per gallon
.. last evening we all decided to stay
at the dock today and get caught up on a
lot of the small chores and errands we
all wanted to do .. mundane stuff like -
take out the garbage, laundry, liquor
and grocery store, etc.
Marv walked to the George Town Clinic (
Dr. Cooper ) and had the stitches out
from the operation that he had when we
were in Nassau .. the doctor examined
the area and said that they did a great
job in Nassau and all looks ok .. Dr
Cooper is a niece of the Bread Lady in
Staniel Cay where we bought our bread
and the pie ..
we called Mom's Bakery (242) 345-4062 ..
Denise is the owner
and she said that this time of the year
that they have not been setting up their
Van at the Exuma Dock because it is so
slow .. she does have fresh bread at
both of the Food Stores in town and we
will pick up some tomorrow ..
met up with Clay and Rita-Kay at SONG OF
THE SEA and decided to try Ernie's
Tavern for a bite to eat .. a short walk
later we found out they only serve lunch
but the owner called a friend who owns
Cheater's Restaurant and Bar about 2
miles down the road who said she would
be happy to drive down to pick us up for
dinner .. a short time later Sally gave
us a ride to Cheater's and after dinner
we all agreed it was one of the best
dinners we have had in the Bahamas -
including the dessert of rum raisin ice
cream and home-made rum cake .. Cheater
told us to come back on Thursday when
they have a live band ..
|
Wednesday June 24th
In Port - Exuma Docking
2009-06-24 - Photo Album
Beauty and Barber Salon
2009-06-24 - Photo Album
the Crew at Big 12 Sports Bar
2009-06-24 - Photo Album
Coconut Cove
2009-06-24 - Photo Album
Coconut Cove
|
In Port - Exuma Docking Service -
George Town - (242) 336-2578
.. the past couple of mornings the
weather has been very unsettled with
short storms cells moving thru at about
0300 and again about 1600 .. it also
makes Autumn quite unsettled who does
not like all the rumbling and light
shows that go with it .. yesterday while
visiting on SONG OF THE SEA Autumn
jumped ship again to roam the docks in
search of us until she found two young
gals to take her back to DEE LIGHT ..
this morning as the winds picked up the
Crews of SONG OF THE SEA and DEE LIGHT
adjusted the dock lines and the
boats we got a good wash down from the
rain showers that passed thru .. Marv
headed to the local Beauty and Barber
Salon to get his hair cut ( $12.00 ) and
on his return trip he got caught in a
good 10 minute rain and a mother nature
hair rinse ..
in the afternoon the crews from the
three boats met again for a short
Bahamas 2009 Cruise Planning Session and
then decided to head to Peace and Plenty
for a bite of lunch .. well by the time
we got there it was almost 3 pm and the
kitchen was closed until 6 pm for dinner
.. we finally ended up at the Exuma
Market after checking out the Town
Restaurant which also finished serving
lunch .. our next option was the happy
hour hor d 'oeuvres at Coconut Cove
- however we needed to find something to
do for an hour or so .. Leslie at
Taxi 12 to the rescue - who
promptly picked us up and took us down
to his place (Big 12 Sports Bar) at the
local Fish Fry on the beach (Leslie is a
big Dallas Cowboys and Roger Staubach
fan).. we also met a local Bahaman
Photographer Nelson A Ramgon -
ImagesbyAlex@gmail.com
- 242-422-7138 ) along with his friends
Chevon and Scott who own a lighting
landscaping business on Exuma .. the sun
came out and we had a great time
chatting with them all while enjoying
some cold Kaliks, etc ..
.. finally it was time to move on so
Leslie drove us down to the Coconut Cove
Hotel and Restaurant - their dining room
is closed for dinner during the month of
June but we loved the pool bar where we
had a few more drinks while Pam the
owner served us a lovely assortment of
hot and cold
hor d'oeuvres
.. when it was time to leave our
Bartender ( who is also a Taxi Driver by
day ) gave us a lift back to the Marina
where Clay and Rita-Kay came aboard for
a tour of DEE LIGHT and stayed to chat
for a bit ...
|
Thursday June 25th
In Port - Exuma Docking
2009-06-25 - Photo Album
CARLEIGH - Clay and Rita-Kay
2009-06-25 - Photo Album
Southern Most Point
Little Exuma Island
2009-06-25 - Photo Album
St Mary
Magdalene
2009-06-25 - Photo Album
Mom's Bakery
2009-06-25 - Photo Album
Crew at Salt Beacon
2009-06-25 - Photo Album
Crew at Fisherman's Inn
|
In Port - Exuma Docking Service -
George Town - (242) 336-2578
today we decided to tour the island and
rented a car ( six passenger ) .. we
first headed south toward Little Exuma
and ended up at the
southern most point of Little Exuma
Island where the road ended at a
mangrove bay with a glass bottom boat ..
we returned to Williams Town where we
stopped in at Mom's Bakery where she and
her daughter were baking up a storm with
help from a friend who is also a
long-time baker and retired from the
Publix Grocery chain .. we left with 5
loaves and cinnamon raisin dinner rolls
.. we then stopped next door at
Santana's Beach Grill for lunch operated
by Mom's other daughter Denise who
had just whipped up a batch of lobster
fettuccini for the day's lunch special
.. met a couple from the Tampa area who
had just purchased a lot up the road to
build a house and enjoyed looking at
Denise's photos of her with Johnny Depp
when he was in the area filming Pirates
of the Caribbean ..
while in Williams Town we stopped by the
ruins of the Loyalist Plantation and
took a look inside St. Mary Magdalene
Church at their beautifully crafted
stained glass windows and doors .. we
also stopped at the sites of the Salt
Ponds and Tuscan-style Salt Beacon which
was used to guide ships into Williams
Town to pick up the salt harvests .. at
one time they were producing over
300,000 bushels of salt a year .. our
intrepid tour guide and driver Marv was
determined to locate the Tropic of
Cancer .. at our first try there
was a very pretty beach but the wrong
turn ended up with the front end of the
our Toyota buried firmly in the soft
sand .. with a lot of digging and the
help of a strong young man we eventually
turned the car around and backtracked to
the next turn-off where we did
locate the Tropic of Cancer beach and
marker (see description below) ..
after all our digging in the sand we
needed a cold drink so we stopped at the
P&P Bonefish Lodge .. although they were
not open the office manager graciously
opened the bar for us and we enjoyed a
nice breeze and cold drink on their deck
area .. the lodge is open in the summer
for lunch and dinner Fri-Sat-Sun ..
by this time it was getting late and we
still wanted to see the north end of
Exuma so back in the car and off to
Emerald Bay .. after a stop at the Napa
Hardware Store for a few necessities we
drove by the Four Seasons Resort which
closed May 26th .. but the little
shopping strip with the Grocery Store
and Ice Cream Parlor across the road is
still in business so we stopped for a
sweet treat .. 3 scoops for our driver
who had driven about 80 miles so far ..
next we headed north to see the
settlement of Barreterre, a small
community at the northern most end of
Great Exuma Island .. we ended up at
Norman Lloyd's Fisherman's Inn which
unfortunately is no longer there as it
had burned to the ground in a fire last
year (started by a power surge!?) ..
however we were warmly greeted by Norman
who served us from his make-shift open
cabana while he is rebuilding his
establishment .. it is located high atop
a hill overlooking beautiful Exuma Sound
and Clay got the scoop of coming in to
anchor along with some local knowledge
about land laws with regard to communist
property in the Bahamas .. very
enlighting!
finally it was time to head back to
Georgetown but not before one more stop
.. this time at Big D's Conch Spot on
the beach in Steventon.. we were served
by Tina, Big D's (Darren) sister who
told us about the local historic site of
the Pompey Rebellion which had freed the
slaves and watched the breaking news
about Michael Jackson's sudden
death from cardiac arrest on CNN ..
We FINALLY got back to the marina - do
not recommend driving on Exuma in the
dark! - but made it back in one piece
(including the Toyota) before 10 pm -
Whew!
|
Friday June 26th
In Port - Exuma Docking
2009-06-26 - Photo Album
shopping
2009-06-26 - Photo Album
the Crew aboard CARLEIGH
2009-06-26 - Photo Album
at Chat and Chill's
|
In Port - Exuma Docking Service -
George Town - (242) 336-2578
before we turned in the car this morning
Marv made a run to Smitty's Convenience
Store at Hooper's Bay which also happens
to be the number one spot for bulk
ice cream in the Exumas - he pretty
much cleaned out the case but the
freezer on DEE LIGHT is well restocked
.. also picked up our mail at the Post
Office and Mom's Bakery delivered the
cinnamon rolls we had ordered ..
Steve walked to the Post Office to check
on delivery of some needed parts for
SONG OF THE SEA while Marv accompanied
the gals on a shopping trip to check out
some of the nice gift and apparel shops
in George Town where Marny found a nice
paint set to make a sign board for their
boat .. after a stop at Exuma Market for
some fresh produce we headed back to the
boats ..
we decided to attend Chat & Chill's
Friday Night Bonfire Party on Stocking
Island .. we considered taking Elvis's
water taxi available for $10.00 per
person round trip but as Clay and
Rita-Kay were already anchored off the
beach at Stocking Island we splashed the
dinghy instead and headed over their way
for drinks and snacks on the aft deck of
CARLEIGH before dinner ..
.. at Chat & Chill we placed our
orders for grilled chicken and ribs and
got a chance to spend a little time
talking with the folks on MISS ANNE (
Gordon and Nancy ) from Lake Charles, LA
who joined us on the beach .. the Kalik
was ice cold and food was delicious ..
we left Chat & Chill just as the bonfire
was being lit and headed back to the
marina .. with just a sliver of the moon
and a few stars peeking between the
clouds we got back to our boats before
the darkness and mosquitoes overtook us
completely ..
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Saturday June 27th
In Port - Exuma Docking
2009-06-27 - Photo Album
Invest 93L
2009-06-27 - Photo Album
"date night" at Peace & Plenty
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In Port - Exuma Docking Service -
George Town - (242) 336-2578
we are keeping an eye on
Invest 93L
.. at this time it looks like it
will
track through the Yucatan
Straits tonight ..we
are having mostly overcast / scattered clouds (but no rain) as a result of all
the moisture being dragged along with this system ..
Steve and Marny got word via the Internet that their package is someplace on the
Island .. about 1100 they headed into town to track it down .. eventually
located the FedX courier and found out it will be delivered on Monday ..
with the overcast weather
we worked on a few chores and projects around the boat ..assembled a new line
and anchor for the dinghy, did some engine room stuff and picked up some
supplies at Top to Bottom where they have most everything .. we have decided to
wait until we get back for Autumn to get groomed .. she'll have to do with a
little "trim" instead and have nicknamed her "Scruffy" until then ..
the rest of crew elected for a quiet evening at the dock or at anchor so Marv
and Carol had a "date night" with dinner at the Peace & Plenty Hotel in downtown
George Town .. enjoyed drinks at the pool bar where they offered two for the
price of one .. the bartender poured Carol a 12 oz glass of wine (plastic being
at the pool) and we met a nice couple visiting from Alabama .. we then had a
lovely dinner in the main dining room .. decided to skip dessert and topped off
the evening with .. yes .. ice cream aboard DEE LIGHT ..
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Sunday
June 28th
In Port - Exuma Docking
2009-06-28 - Photo Album
St Andrew's Church
2009-06-28 - Photo Album
St Andrew's Church
2009-06-28 - Photo Album
Chat and Chill Pig Roast
|
In Port - Exuma Docking Service -
George Town - (242) 336-2578
it was another overcast day due to
Invest 93L .. "but a cloudy
day in the Bahamas is better than a
sunny day at the office" .. again no
rain and the clouds were broken so we
still ended up with periods of blue sky
..
we attended the 1100 service at St
Andrew's Church in George Town where Fr.
Tellison Glover from Freeport, Grand
Bahama was the guest preacher and we
were welcomed by Rev'd Willish Johnson
.. we also received hugs from everyone
in the congregation during the Greeting
of Peace ..
after they finished snorkeling on a
nearby reef Steve, Marny, Clay and
Rita-Kay met up with us at Chat & Chill
for their Sunday afternoon Pig Roast on
the Beach .. we devoured a humongous
plate of roast pork, peas 'n rice, mac
'n cheese and cold slaw and knew we
didn't have to worry about fixing
anything for dinner ..
after a quick dip in the water we took
off in the dinghy and headed down to
check out the new development at Crab
Cay .. the construction is pretty much
proceeding at a Bahamian pace .. that is
to say not much is happening
at this time .. but it is a very pretty
spot and looks fairly well protected ..
ended the evening with a brief cruise
planning session aboard DEE LIGHT for
the next leg of our trip .. DEE LIGHT
will leave for Cat Cay in the morning
and SONG OF THE SEA will wait for their
parts delivery and catch up with us at
Cat .. CARLEIGH will either leave
mid-morning or wait and leave with SONG
OF THE SEA ..
Rita-Kay got some good pointers and tips
from Marv on using her digital camera
and the Corel Paint Shop Pro Photoshop
Program .. later Gordon and Nancy on
MISS ANNE stopped over to get some local
knowledge about some of the cays and
anchorages as they too will be headed
back north tomorrow ..
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